Glynda scoffs. "A hassle?" She looks at Seraphina. "Do you want to go next?"
Seraphina stands up. "That's fine by me" She's just glad she doesn't have to wait longer to take Alabast down a peg or two.
"Very well then. The next sparring match will be between Seraphina Cyrus and Alabast Noir" Glynda states.
——————
Alabast looks at Jaune. "Keep training your technique. You are physically adequate. But you lack skill and technique. Good fight" He then goes and grabs Dark Heart and reforms Nights Fall.
"Thanks and all. But what happened at the end?" Jaune asks as he sheaths Crocea Mors on his hip.
Alabast rests Nights Fall on his right shoulder and holds his fist out for Jaune to see. "I tapped you with the hilt of Hollow Silence and got a clean hit with Bestia Fang"
"Huh?" Jaune pats his body all over and then pauses. "But I didn't feel anything?"
Alabast walks over to the right side of the stage. "I'm sure you'll feel it tomorrow"
——————
Seraphina stands across from Alabast on the stage.
"Did you really need to borrow your teammates weapons for this? I was rather looking forward to this fight" Alabast asks Seraphina.
In Seraphina's hands are Emerald's weapons, Thief's Respite. A pair of revolver-sickles. Similar to Ren's own weapons. Except these are revolvers and don't fire as fast. And Ren's blades are smaller, they also collapse smaller than Emerald's. "My weapons are currently being repaired. So these will have to make do. And even without my own weapons, I'm still fully confident in winning this"
Alabast narrows his eyes. "Don't disappoint me then"
"Big words" Seraphina smirks. "I hope you can back them up"
Nights Fall's tip taps the ground. "Before we begin" Alabast looks at Seraphina's amber eye. "Are we using semblances?"
Seraphina spins the revolver in her right hand around her index finger. "You might have to use it, but I'll just be fighting with these two weapons"
Alabast closes his eyes. "And you said I talked big"
——————
Jaune sits down next to Weiss. "That was intense" He slumps into his seat.
"You did surprisingly well" Weiss comments as she looks at Alabast talk with Seraphina. She's trying to hear them but even if she strains her ears she can hear more than indistinguishable words.
"Thanks" Jaune takes the compliment and ignores the surprising part.
Yang leans over Weiss. "Look Weiss. He's really going to take this on seriously"
Jaune, Neptune, and Sun look at Alabast and he looks the exact same, just without his side cape.
Blake looks at Seraphina. "Do we know how strong his opponent is?"
"Seraphina will win" Emerald speaks up.
"How can you be so sure?" Yang asks as she turns to look at the green haired girl.
Emerald grins overconfidently. "Because it's her"
Weiss looks over at Ruby who is busy talking with the vixen, Ayaka. "Can't we say the same thing? It's because it's Alabast we think he will win"
Emerald balls her hands into fists. "Seraphina WILL win. That's all that needs to be said!"
"Humph!" Weiss looks back at the stage down below. "You should pay attention and watch why we believe Alabast will win. It's easier than trying to explain it to a simpleton such as yourself"
"Why you…." Emerald grits her teeth. "You will only see why Seraphina is the victor" She turns to face the stage and folds her arms across her chest and tightly grips her biceps.
Jaune, Sun, and Neptune all try to ignore the argument.
——————
"Go Alabast!" Nora shouts. "Kick her butt!"
Ren facepalms as he looks at Nora. "Quiet down Nora" He helplessly says. He knows Nora will continue to be loud though.
——————
Glynda's voice sounds out through the room. "You have 4 minutes and then the person with the higher percentage of aura wins. The time will start when you move to attack"
Alabast pull Nights Fall into its separate parts. He holds the katana, Hollow Silence, in his right hand. And in his left hand is his rifle, Dark Heart. "You heard the lady, ready to lose?"
Seraphina catches the still spinning weapon and aims it at Alabast. "It's cute the way you try to antagonize me. Too bad that's all it is"
Alabast shifts his right foot forward and aims his rifle at Seraphina. "This is why I dislike talking. It never works out"
*Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!*
Seraphina begins firing at Alabast and runs to her left.
Alabast strikes down the first three bullets of dust and then runs to his right and returns fire as he keeps pace with Seraphina.
Seraphina and Alabast stop running and then charge at eachother as they dodge the other's bullets.
The revolvers in Seraphina's hands extend their blades and she begins to slash at Alabast.
Alabast blocks the strikes with his single sword while he continues to fire upon Seraphina which causes her to constantly be moving and not be able to stay still.
Seraphina swings the sickle in her left hand towards Alabast's chest but it's blocked. "Whoopsie~" She coos playfully.
*Bang!*
Alabast gets hit in his shoulder by a bullet from Seraphina's weapon he just blocked. He forces his katana to push the revolver-sickle away from himself.
Seraphina spins in the direction Alabast pushed the weapon. She tries to kick him in the chest but is met with his shin blocking her kick.
They lock eyes before they go back to their battle. Both dodging bullets and blocking the others attacks with blades.
Alabast acknowledges Seraphina's physical strength. Her kick was strong. And her technique is good as well. And she isn't even using her own weapon. But that's just it.
The students and teacher watch the fierce battle. The bullets are flying and their weapons spark when they clash. And the pace of their fight keeps speeding up slowly.
Seraphina steps in close after blocking a strike. Alabast drops Dark Heart and goes to punch Seraphina in her side.
But the girl does a backwards cartwheel and kicks his jaw upwards. She also shoots Dark Heart off the stage as she lands on her feet.
Alabast's head was forced back from the kick and he looks up at the ceiling. His back is towards the crowd so they can't see that his bangs aren't covering his face anymore. He slowly looks down at Seraphina, his eyes glowing a deep and dark blood red. "That's more like it"
Seraphina's eyes slightly widen when she sees the left side of Alabast's face. The scars that mar his left side. The skin around his left eye, the skin on his forehead, and the skin that goes a bit past his cheekbone.
Alabast uses his now free left hand to move his bangs back down.
Seraphina narrows her eyes. "How did you get those scars?"
Alabast lowers and widens his stance similar to that of a squat. "Curious? Some prick decided to carve my body when I was 6. Now focus back on our fight….."
He moves fast and almost surprises Seraphina when he strikes her from the side. She is able to block, but the force behind the swing moves her 3 feet. The strain on her wrists is more than she would like to admit. If she had her swords she would have easily blocked it, but the sickles are attached to the revolver which she holds by it's handle. It makes blocking very difficult and requires a lot of forearm strength. And if she did have her swords, it would ruin her plans completely.
Alabast tosses Hollow Silence from his right hand to his left as he stands up. "….. because if you don't start focusing this will end rather anti-climatically"
Seraphina spins each revolver once and then grabs them tightly. "We wouldn't want that, would we?"
Alabast smirks. "Exactly"
Seraphina takes two steps towards Alabast and then they begin their fight again. She switches her fighting style to a more agile one. Alabast doesn't have any ranged attack now so she would make sure to take advantage of that. But she realizes that range wasn't Alabast's goal when fighting.
Any distance she gains is immediately taken away by Alabast. And he keeps switching hands. He even strikes with his free hand when he gets the chance. And it's getting on Seraphina's nerves.
"Enough!" Seraphina hits Alabast's hand back.
Alabast sees a raging fire in her amber eyes. He jumps back as Seraphina tries to sweep his legs with a kick.
"Looks like you finally decided to take this seriously" Alabast grabs Hollow silence with both his hands and shifts Bestia Fang into its second form that covers his knuckles and fingers. "About time"
Seraphina dashed towards Alabast and he meets her halfway. Their strikes cause the air to move with each attack. Seraphina now shows off her flexibility as she moves around Alabast and performs various aerial attacks as well.
Alabast gets annoyed of constantly having to keep track of where each barrel is pointed at. A bead of sweat goes down the right side of his face.
Seraphina holds back her semblance that she wishes to use. It's ready to burst forth and scorch Alabast. But she keeps ahold of herself. She won't ruin her future plans just because she has to work a little harder to win this stupid match. 'Why won't you just roll over already?!' She shouts in her mind.
Alabast swiftly and strongly blocks every one of Seraphina's attacks. He had hoped this would be more intriguing. Perhaps only Pyrrha could pose a challenge?
As Alabast blocks a strike he lets out a breath he had been holding in for some seconds against Seraphina's barrage. Fighting without his semblance has been rather challenging. But that's why he did it to begin with. And he wasn't about to start using it now.
Seraphina goes to kick Alabast in the side of the head after he blocked both of her strikes. She planned to either kiss his head, or shoot him after he blocks her kick.
But suddenly, she felt herself being flung through the air by her ankle.
Alabast had simply grabbed her ankle and brought it up over his head. And with that momentum he simply forced her over him and then back towards the ground behind him.
*BAM!*
Alabast brings Hollow Silence to her throat. He glares down at her indignant face. He stands with her ankle in his left hand and his sword in his right. He uses Hollow Silence to move her bangs out of the way and sees her full face. "That was a terrible fight"
Glynda's voice rings out. "The winner of this match is Alabast Noir. Both of you go and change and return to your seats"
Alabast drops her ankle and stabs his sword into the ground. He holds out his hand.
Seraphina swats his hand to the side as she sits up.
"There's nothing wrong with losing". Alabast takes his hand back. "It just depends how good you are at it and if you learn from it or not". He walks away after grabbing his sword and goes and takes his rifle and cape. He will need to sew the cape back together when he gets back to his dorm.
——————
Alabast changes into his school uniform and attaches the cape to his left shoulder like usual.
He enters the classroom and walks towards his seat.
"Good fight Alabast!" Nora shouts and gives him a thumbs up and a big smile.
Alabast returns the thumbs up as he moves to his seat and sits down. He looks over at Ruby who looks to be closer to Ayaka than before the day started. Ruby waves at him and he returns the wave. But he glares at Ayaka who smiles back with her eyes closed.
As Alabast takes his seat Seraphina enters and sits next to him. They don't say a word to eachother. Alabast is actually more invested in listening to his friends that are sittting behind him to his right. Blake, Yang, and Weiss as well as Sun, Jaune, and Neptune.
——————
A few random people spar as the class continues on. And nothing really special happens. The fights are either one sided or it's just a fight between two weak opponents.
"Ruby Rose and Ayaka Mika. Go and get ready for your spar" Glynda says to the two girls conversing.
Ruby jumps up to her feet. "Finally!"
"It does seem like it is about time" Ayaka calmly says as she slowly stands up.
Ruby runs down the steps and skips a step to reach the bottom faster.
Glynda practically facepalms at the girls childish act. She has to remind herself that Ruby is still younger than the rest.
Ayaka makes her way down with her fox tails swaying behind her. She looks over at Alabast and winks at him as she reaches the bottom.
Ruby goes to the right door while Ayaka goes to the left.
As Ruby goes towards the right door she passes Alabast.
"Be careful. You remember what she did to Weiss?" Alabast asks in a flat tone.
Ruby smiles and nods. "I do. But I've been talking with her and she changed. Like actually changed"
"Ms. Rose. Please continue towards the changing room" Glynda tells Ruby.
"Eeeeh!" Ruby hastily walks to the door and enter the changing room.
Alabast is left with the words that Ruby was able to say. He doesn't know how to feel about them. Mainly because he was in a similar situation to Ayaka before. But that doesn't give her a clearance for her previous actions. Just as he is trying to make up for his actions by becoming a Huntsman. He wonders if Ayaka left the White Fang or not. It was honestly a coin flip at this point. But only time would tell.
——————
Ruby is wearing her black long sleeved blouse with her red cape. Crescent Rose in its compressed form is on the back of her waist hidden by her cape. She has a big smile on and is looking down at the stage.
The stage gets fixed by Glynda and her semblance after each fight.
A few minutes later and Ayaka enters the stage from the left stage. Her dark purple hair held together near its tips by a hair tie. Her three fox tails move like they are weightless behind her. And Ayaka's black kimono, with purple hydrangea patterned across it, is tightly wrapped around her figure and held together by a dark purple obi that is tied into a bow behind her. And her katana-revolver is sheathed behind her below the obi but above her tails.
Ayaka slowly walks onto the stage and stands across from Ruby.
Ruby looks like she is overflowing with energy as she jumps in place. "You know, you look really beautiful Ayaka! And the way your weapon sits behind you makes it all the better!"
Ayaka gently smiles. "You really do like weapons"
"Like?" Ruby reaches behind her and grabs Crescent Rose. As she brings it out she shifts it into its Scythe form. "I absolutely love weapons! They're all unique! Even if two are the same, the way they are wielded and used makes them different! They're just….. Eeeeeeh!"
"Well mine isn't anything special" Ayaka draws her weapon. It's a black katana with a revolver barrel going part way up the blade. It's black with the edge of the blade and some engravings beings purple. "It doesn't even shift between a gun and a sword. It's stays exactly like this"
Ruby let's Crescent Rose rest on her left shoulder. "That's still cool!"
Ayaka holds her weapon in her right hand and rubs her left hand over the length of the blade. "I suppose it is" She smiles and looks at Ruby. "It's name is Ven, not something fancy like your Crescent Rose"
Ruby blushes slightly and scratches her cheek. "I just really liked the name. And…. it's kinda like my baby y'know?"
Ayaka covers her mout with the sleeve of her left hand. "Oh? I didn't know you and Alabast were 'that' close"
Ruby's eyes widen slightly as her blush deepens. She waves her free right hand. "No! We…. we haven't gotten…. 'that' close…."
"Hmmmm" Ayaka smirks behind her sleeve. "And exactly 'how' close are you two? How far have you gotten?"
Ruby blushes harder but spins Crescent Rose around her and stabs it's blde into the ground pointed at Ayaka. "W-We're supposed to be sparring! Not… gossiping!"
"Exactly" Glynda's voice startles Ruby.
Ayaka drops her arm back to her side and has her small smile on her face.
"You have 4 minutes and then the person with the higher percentage of aura wins. The time will start when you move to attack" Glynda announces for what feels like the hundredth time.
Ruby takes Crescent Rose from the ground. She takes a deep breath and then she runs at Ayaka.
Crescent Rose is aimed behind Ruby as she fires 3 rounds to accelerate her speed. Ruby gets in front of Ayaka and swings her giant scythe blade.
Ayaka holds up her katana. The size difference is laughable in comparison from the giant scythe to the thin katana blade.
But Yayaka simply deflects the first swing as she backs up. Her free left hand behind her back as her right hand holds the katana-revolver in front of her.
Ruby doesn't stop after getting deflected. She continues to spin and touches the ground with the sole of her right foot as she jumps towards Ayaka's new position.
Ayaka fires a few shots from her revolver but Ruby either dodges or bats them away with her weapon.
As the fight goes on one would assume that Ayaka is winning. She elegantly moves around the stage like she is in no rush and is leading this dance. Her right arm moving to block and attack while her left rests behind her back. Ayaka's face stays calm with its charming small smile. Her kimono and hair sway slightly with her movements.
And in comparison to Ayaka's calm and concise movements is Ruby. She's running around and spinning fast and erratically. She attacks only with her scythe and chooses to use the sniper only to assist in her maneuverability. Her cape flaps and sways behind her. She doesn't just stay on the ground. She also jumps over Ayaka to attack from above. And when she is on the ground Crescent Rose is spun around Ruby's small frame with an insane amount of technique and finesse. It shows how much she has trained to be able to use her scythe so proficiently.
Ruby might look like she's wasting a lot of energy, but that's not the case. She simply redirects the already built up momentum of her weapon. Crescent Rose spins around Ruby's hands, arms, and shoulders as she fights.
Ayaka simply keeps using her katana in her right hand. She shows off her proficiency in the slight movements she makes to deflect the giant scythe.
It's definitely an entertaining fight to watch.
*Buzzzzzzz!*
"That's time!" Glynda declares. On the giant hologram screen it shows Ayaka's and Ruby's health bar.
"The winner is-"