Alabast has had to survive boring class after boring class. It was mostly thanks to Phyrrha and Weiss who basically carried him to the finish line. That's not to say Yang and Ruby hadn't helped him from time to time. It wasn't something he was proud of admitting, but they were actually helping him keep his grades up... along with keeping the broken pencil pile high.
It boggles his mind how Blake, who was in a similar situation, managed to stay ahead of the average of the class.
Aside from studies they have had some free time, which they mostly used to train. During said training, Alabast has actually been amused by team RWBY and his own team. Helping them get stronger… it was surprisingly enjoyable to him.
That isn't to say he shows that enjoyment. He is very harsh and critical during training. It mostly comes from his annoyance at being unable to cut loose, but he knows there is a time and place for everything. Slowly, extremely slowly, he's getting used to holding back.
To add to his annoyance, there is this idiot Cambin, Cadin, Casing? His name starts with a C. Anyway, this guy has tried his best to bully Alabast and his team only because Alabast is a Faunus.
Alabast has seen the guy bully other Faunus but the guy stops when Alabast enters the room. Calin goes and tries to poke the wolf to get a reaction. It wouldn't be that bad, if not for the fact they share many classes since they are both first years.
Combat class couldn't come fast enough. This was basically the only chance for Alabast to beat the idiot's team into their place without getting in trouble.
The words of Glynda remained in Alabast's mind. Which is ironic since she teaches combat class and something about etiquette.
Besides that nuisance, Alabast has had to deal with Ruby bothering him about getting their teams to hang out more.
Ruby gives reasons like 'being able to work with other teams is important' which Alabast finds rich coming from the girl who dreaded the whole team forming thing and didn't want to interact with others behind fighting.
After the 12th reason why, Alabast found it easier to go with her whims. Then again, at this point it would be harder to separate the teams. They already spend so much time together with just classes and training it's a miracle they have extra time to hang out and sleep.
What has contributed to this 'togetherness' is that some people are calming down from the high tensions from the first few days of school.
Weiss has restrained her strictness but not that much. She was still acting like a Princess, but not as much of a stuck-up Princess. Alabast has noted that she has continued her attempts at understanding the Faunus, it's just that she still has a ways to go.
Then there's Blake who has calmed down after a few days of Alabast not outing her as a Faunus. Although, she still won't actively talk to him. They've sort of come to an unspoken agreement of nonaggression.
On the opposite hand Yang is easy to get along with as long as Alabast ignores her 'hil-hair-ious' puns. She's a nice girl who knows what she wants and does her best to help others when she can. She isn't all that complicated and is straight forward most of the time, which Alabast appreciates. He doesn't like trying to decipher what the girls actually mean.
When it comes to Ruby… well, it's Ruby. She's socially awkward but very energetic. She's introverted but also extroverted. Smart, yet not very wise. She trips and stumbles along her path but doesn't stop as she paves it. Alabast has heard her called pure, and he agrees. Where he sees the many faults in a plan and works to avoid them, Ruby sees the best parts of a plan and strives to reach them. Alabast views himself as the opposite side of the same coin as Ruby.
Now Pyrrha. Alabast has ended up spending the most time together with her since she is a major factor in his studying and training. It isn't just one sided with Pyrrha gaining nothing, Alabast helps her train her Semblance.
The two found the perfect way for them to train together isnt to fight. It's actually for Alabast to train his strength and technique while Pyrrha trains her semblance.
Since Pyrrha controls any metal's polarity she can basically add resistance to any and all of Alabast's workouts since he has Bestia Fang on his wrists and the giant metal sword on his back.
It may sound like Pyrrha has it easy, but she has to actively try not to injure Alabast. This helps her train her control and focus. She also can work on changing the polarity of different objects simultaneously. An example would be making metal around Alabast's ankles press down towards the ground more than Alabast's wrists or sword.
This wasn't their initial idea when it came to training. There was a rough draft and this is the finalized plan… for now.
After spending this much time together, the two understood the other's Semblance better. As long as Alabast had no metal on him, and used a weapon made of his Semblance's Darkness, he would likely be the victor. But how easy that victory would be is a different story.
When Alabast tries to remember Ren and Nora's relationship from the show, he can only remember a few bits and pieces. Mostly, he remembers their relationship being awkward. The kind of awkward where they both have feelings for the other but they are at different levels and neither wants to say anything about it in fear of ruining their friendship.
As teammates, Ren and Nora follow Alabast's instructions as best they can. And compared to Blake and Weiss following Ruby's instructions… they are doing excellent. Whether that has to do with Alabast's leadership, or with Ruby's lack of experience, is unknown.
As friends, Ren and Nora have grown close to Alabast. Ren being the only guy between the two teams it was unspoken that they needed to become friends for both their sanity. And when it comes to Nora, Alabast is already capable of holding a conversation with Ruby so having a conversation with Nora isn't a problem… most of the time. Nora knows more about the world than Ruby, but during conversations she jumps to random topics faster than lightning. Alabast prefers to take Ren's approach during conversations with Nora. Giving brief responses while the steam in Nora's trains of thoughts run themselves out.
Alabast had forgotten what having friends is like. Even knowing them for such a small amount of time, he wonders if he had any friends as good as them in his last life.
——————
This Friday marks the first official combat class of the semester. It hadn't taken place previously due to the students needing to adjust to their normal classes first, but it's more like they were forced to wait.
Even with Glynda Goodwitch teaching, and the class being combined with Huntsman and Huntress etiquette, Alabast was still looking forward to it. He had trained with team RWBY and his own team but actually sparring hadn't taken place in a while. And there are a few students he wouldn't mind setting straight, namely a student whose name that starts with a C he still hadn't bothered remembering.
Team ANVL walks through hallways to reach their class when:
"Ashy! Wait up! We can all walk together!"
From behind Alabast he hears a familiar voice.
Turning around team ANVL sees team RWBY approaching them with Ruby bursting into petals to start bouncing around with energy.
Alabast keeps his eyes on Ruby as she practically shines with enthusiasm. "Little Red"
"Aren't you guys excited for combat class?! I can't wait to see all the weapons and how they're utilized! EEEEEEEEEEEE!" Ruby squeaks when she thinks about the weapons. "I also can't wait to see how much we all improved!"
Alabast shakes his head. "Yeah yeah, it'll be a blast"
"Awwww~, cmon Ashy! Show some more emotion!" Yang slaps his shoulder as she stands across from him.
"It definitely wouldn't hurt" Weiss adds, the most emotion she's seen Alabast express is his anger and frustration at their assignments and his muddled enjoyment during training.
Ruby pictures Alabast being as expressive and outgoing as she is. With his ears and tail assisting in showing his happiness and big smile. But after a few seconds she decides that it would be weird and that Alabast is best when he is himself.
Pyrrha doesn't comment. Over the past days she has been able to make some progress in deciphering Alabast's hidden emotions. He may be able to hide them, but his tail usually betrays him. Like if he is happy it sways, or if he's annoyed or angry it will flick instead of fluidly moving. And if he's sad or down it will usually stay relatively still. Granted these are only her current observations, they could be wrong but the more time she spends with Alabast the more data she will be able to collect. She tried using his ears as a tell but decided the tail was easier for now.
Alabast can only sigh at their attempts to get some emotion out of him. This isn't the first time they've brought it up, and it certainly won't be the last. To Alabast it not like he can flip a switch to be as outgoing as Yang. And there's no way he could jump from happy to sad, and then to excited like Ruby in three seconds.
"It's so pleasant that everyone is so interested in combat class" Alabast sarcastically says while continuing his walk.
"Ashy is having a tougher time getting sleep lately" Nora loudly whispers appearing beside team RWBY.
Alabast stops walking but doesn't turn around. "I am a wolf Faunus Nora. Did you think I wouldn't hear that?"
"Whoopsie! Sorry leader Sir!" Nora jumps back to Ren's side and salutes.
Alabast continues towards their classroom and mutters: "You spend your life not going to school and then suddenly you are attending the best hunter academy in 'Sunas'"
Pyrrha was going to correct him but doesn't. The correct name wasn't 'Sunas'. The continent they are currently on is Sanus, but she smiles and shrugs. "Close enough I suppose"
Yang appears at Alabast's side and punches her right fist into her left palm. "So! Are you finally gonna put Cardin in his place?"
"That's his name?" Alabast asks, more to himself.
"He's been in a better mood since this morning! I think he's raring to go!" Nora says as she punches the air like she's shadow boxing.
"Nora, watch your punches" Ren chides as he narrowly avoids a fist.
Nora continues to shadow box as she looks at Ren. "Don't worry so much Ren~, everything is under contr-"
*Wham!* *Thud*
Nora slowly faces forward, her fist is fully extended upwards. She had just delivered an uppercut that actually hit somebody.
On the ground, holding his jaw, is a fellow first year student with burnt orange hair. Even sitting on the ground he would be considered tall. He glares up at Nora and recognizes her as he is filled with rage. This is a teammate of an annoying mutt he's tried dealing with lately.
This particularly racist student is Cardin.
Without wasting a second thought, Cardin jumps from a crouched position with his right fist raised above his head.
As the blow was about to connect, the fist is caught in the palm of Alabast.
Alabast squeezes the fist as he looks down at Cardin. "I am sorry my teammate hit you. However, I will not allow you to hit her back. If you must exact your petty revenge… then hit me"
Cardin moves his glare from the stunned Nora up to Alabast who he hadn't even seen. He had tunnel vision from the rage of getting hit off his feet.
Now he's even angrier as this is the first time Alabast has physically confronted him.
As his fist gets squeezed to the point his aura has to protect it Cardin's mind clears. He is also a Huntsman-in-training so he's practiced controlling his negative emotions since a young age, although he's always struggled keeping his anger in check.
"T-this will be settled in our next class. Leader to leader" Cardin pulls his hand free and walks away, followed by his three teammates who were a few feet away.
Alabast lowers his hand to his side. He had expected a little more from that interaction but he won't turn down beating Cardin in class like he originally planned.
"Thank you, Alabast" Ren lowers his head in thanks while he puts a hand on Nora's shoulder. He tried to save Nora as well, but he was too slow.
Before Alabast can respond:
"That was so cool and manly Ashy! You caught his fist and….." Ruby starts reenacting the scene but with weird sound effects and exaggerated arm movements.
Alabast cuts her off after a minute of her not stopping. "Ruby, I only did what is expected of me as a leader"
"Ok cool guy" Yang quips while rolling her eyes.
"You don't need to hide behind that excuse…" Pyrrha whispers under her breath.
Alabast turns to Pyrrha which causes her to remember he has better hearing than most. "Whatever…."
He just went back to walking to class. There was no point in idly standing in the hall when class was going to start soon.
Everyone follows him and talks about various things. The most notable thing discussed was Ruby asking Pyrrha what she meant.
Pyrrha tried to avoid it but eventually said that she thinks that Alabast is just using the leader excuse to be a nice guy instead of owning up to the fact.
"He has the 'bad boy' mindset and doesn't like being called nice or good. He doesn't get upset if you do, but he does correct you. Like Ruby whenever she brings it up" Pyrrha tells team RWBY.
Ruby looks ahead at Alabast's back and sees his tail. She leans over to Pyrrha and points. "Look at his tail… what do you think that means? It's not like when he's happy"
Alabast's tail is flicking side to side.
"That is… it typically means he is irritated..." Pyrrha says looking at the tail. She notices Alabast look back over his shoulder, his red eye squinting.
Alabast isn't too pleased that they are reading his emotions, especially since he can't really control his tail every second of every day. "Must you all stare?"
Yang, ignoring his sass, cups her chin. "When you dress like that, it's hard not to"
The school uniform Alabast is wearing does it's best to hide his muscles, but it's best just isn't good enough. Not to mention that the material is a bit elastic to allow for a wider range of motion compared to more stiff uniforms.
Alabast's eyebrow twitches as he mutters. "If a guy were to say that to a woman…"
Blake sighs at Yang's comment, wishing that her team wasn't so close with Alabast's.
While Weiss facepalms, however, she peeks through her fingers at where Yang is staring. She can understand what Yang is saying, but would rather prefer a front-view compared to this back-view.
Ruby jumps on Yang's back and whisper-shouts. "You said it was impolite and rude to stare!"
"It is rude to stare, but I'm admiring. There's a difference" Yang tries to push Ruby's face away and sends a smirk towards Alabast. "Besides, I wouldn't mind your stare"
Alabast's face stays neutral as Yang gives him a wink. He doesn't even bother responding as Ruby speaks up.
"Well I admire weapons, but you tell me not to stare… Why is everything so complicated when it comes to social interactions!?!?!" Ruby scratches her head in frustration. There is still so much for her to learn about social cues. Why are there so many double meanings and random unspoken rules?
Nora looks at Pyrrha, then to Yang, and back to Pyrrha. She lets Pyrrha know that another challenger has appeared.
Pyrrha slightly blushes but doesn't let it affect her. She knows that Nora is just waiting for her to react so she can gossip or do something drastic.
Ruby gets pushed off Yang after a second. She quickly stands back up and looks at Alabast. "Staring vs admiring…."
His tail flicking side to side reveals his toned legs and glutes. Upon seeing their definition, Ruby also cups her chin as a small blush spreads over her cheeks.
——————
Entering the classroom team RWBY and team ANVL were able to find seats beside each other. Alabast and Ruby sit next to each other with their team on their respective sides.
The classroom itself is like a stadium with long benches instead of individual chairs and desks that rise from the floors or sink into them depending on which part of the class the teacher is teaching. This specific class has Hunter etiquette and combat mixed together.
"I can hardly sit still! I'm so excited!" Ruby bounces on her seat, causing the bench to shake.
Alabast is resting his chin on his palm while his elbow is propped up on the desk. He looks down at Ruby who has one of her brightest smiles on full display. "You know that Goodwitch is gonna spend like 30 minutes explaining the rules and how proper huntsmen/huntresses are supposed to conduct themselves, right?"
Ruby deflated at Alabast's words. She was looking forward to seeing all the different weapons in action as soon as possible.
"That is correct Mr. Noir"
The voice catches everyone's attention as Glynda Goodwitch walks to the front of the classroom.
Alabast turns his gaze to the professor while everyone quiets down.
Glynda begins explaining various things. Such as, how their scroll will display their aura in green, yellow and red. Their aura basically acts as a health bar like in a video game and when it hits red you are eliminated like tournament rules state. She explains that the class is to be taken seriously and she won't tolerate any goofing around.
Alabast stops listening here as she explains how you should behave in her class and what huntsman do.
After she is done talking the wall behind her goes down revealing a stage and a giant hologram screen above it displaying two hp bars that are grayed out along with two blank profile photos. On either side of the new room there are two doors that open, and two doors open in their current room. These are used by students to change into their combat uniform and grab their weapons.
The desks fold and lower into the floor as Glynda looks up from her scroll. "Now, we will have two students demonstrate for us. Any volunteers?"
Immediately, Cardin stands up with his chest puffed out, filled with pride and arrogance. "I volunteer, ma'am! And I want Alabast to be my opponent!"
Alabast looks towards the teacher and sees that she isn't particularly pleased with how Cardin spoke without being asked to.
"Mr. Winchester. Normally, I would deny such a request for a multitude of reasons. However, I believe that you and Mr. Noir would be a good match to teach the other students. You two, get ready and step onto the stage. Wait for the signal before starting. This isn't some street brawl, show the class how Huntsmen-in-training should conduct themselves in combat" Glynda adjusts her glasses and looks between the two students. She is aware of the way Cardin treats Faunus and was waiting for the moment to correct his behavior.
"See you on the field… 'Ashy'! Hahaha!" Cardin laughs and moves to the room on the left.
Team RWBY, along with his own teammates, look at him. Alabast doesn't need to hear them to understand they want him to put Cardin in his place. Blake especially wanted Cardin to be set straight, but she would rather do it herself than rely on Alabast.
"So be it" He stands up and makes his way over to the opposite room as Cardin.
Before he enters he looks over at Glynda. "So either his aura gets depleted to red or he surrenders, those are my winning conditions correct?"
"That is correct, or if you have the higher Aura when the time runs out for your match" Glynda lowers her scroll and looks him.
"What is the time limit?" Alabast scratches the back of his head nonchalantly. He hadn't bothered paying that much attention.
Glynda's right eye twitches as she responds. "I recommend you pay more attention in class, Mr. Noir"
Looking at the rest of the class she goes into a little more detail about the class. "With the Vytal festival around the corner it has been decided that the combat part of this class be slightly altered to include some extra tournament rules. First and foremost is the safety of those that participate. There is also the 5 minute time limit for each spar. Later on down the line we will also include team vs team fights to simulate what will happen during the Vytal tournament"
Alabast walks into the changing room. "Good to know"
As the door shuts behind Alabast, Glynda sighs heavily at his attitude.
——————
4 minutes after entering the changing room Alabast steps onto the stage and waits for the idiot Cardin.
He looks around the stage and doesn't see anything out of the ordinary. It's a flat surface that is smooth but not smooth enough to cause him to slide. It also is made of some strong and sturdy material to be able to withstand the more destructive attacks someone might use. The walls also look sturdy. Not to mention there is a force field or something protecting the spectators from any attacks that might come their way. This means the combatants don't need to worry about others getting caught in the crossfire, although, Alabast has a sneaking suspicion Glynda will give a stern talking to whoever ends up testing the strength of the force field.
It takes another 5 minutes before Cardin steps onto the stage. Alabast couldn't help tilting his head at what Cardin is wearing, but at least he realized why it took so long for the idiot to get ready.
Cardin stands proudly in a suit of armor as he swings his mace around. "Ready little doggy?"
Alabast stands there looking at Cardin, having lost any interest immediately.
Cardin points his mace at Alabast with a smug grin plastered over his face. "What? I thought you were gonna be all bark and no bite. Guess you can't even bark!"
Alabast reaches over his shoulder with his right hand and grabs Nights Fall's hilt. "I thought you were looking for your dignity since you took so long"
*Ptang~*
Nights Fall is drawn over Alabast's shoulder and it's tip clanks against the ground.
"Guess you gave up, bet you couldn't find it. Don't worry, if it's anything like your IQ it's small enough for the untrained eye to overlook" Alabast taunts back with his neutral expression.
——————
Back at the stadium seats both team RWBY and ANVL look surprised.
"Did he really just diss Cardin? And why was it like a kids response?" Ruby was puzzled and had to ask.
"Hahaha! You're right!" Yang leans towards Ruby. "But I think Alabast just fired back at the level Cardin shot at. But it's Alabast's first public snide remark! We HAVE to celebrate tonight!"
"Celebrate?" Nora focuses on this, mainly because it means food is involved.
Weiss can't help but shake her head. "I don't think we should encourage this type of behavior…"
Blake looks from Alabast to Yang to Nora. "Agreed…"
Ruby gives Blake a thumbs up. "Celebration it is~!!!"
Ren stays silent, not wanting to get dragged into whatever they are planning.
"That's not what I-" Blake tries to correct her leader.
Pyrrha smiles. "It would also be celebrating Alabast's victory"
"Right!" Ruby chimes.
*Wooo-Ts!*
"Enough talking!" Goodwitch grabs the attention of everyone with the crack of her weapon The Disciplinarian, which is a riding crop whip.
The screen above the stage comes to life with color as a photo of Cardin appears on the left while Alabast's photo appears on the right. Simultaneously, their Hp bars increase from red to yellow and finally to green. As the bars were filled a sound Emirates from the speakers that remind Alabast of a certain Master Chiefs health bar.
The screen proceeds to count down, starting with a giant 3 on the screen. A monotonous electronic voice matches the countdown.
"3, 2, 1… Go!" The robotic voice states while the screen returns to normal and glows a holographic blue.
——————
With the match started, Cardin walks towards Alabast holding his mace.
"I'll pay you back for that hit your teammate gave me earlier" Cardin spins his mace in his left hand, showing he's trained with it enough to learn a few useless tricks.
"Fine then, you'll only get to hit me once, and never again" Alabast moves Nights Fall to his side. He doesn't get in a stance and stands tall.
A tickmark throbs on Cardin's forehead. "Are you serious?! Whatever, your funeral!"
Cardin charges forward, winding up his swing. He stomps his foot on the ground and brings the mace around. The dense and heavy weapon squarely smashes into Alabast's diaphragm.
Alabast gets sent back 15 feet before he stops his momentum. He nearly falls to his left knee, but remains standing. His left hand is over his chest while his lungs try to regain some of the air that was forced out if it by the heavy blow. His hair covers his face completely while he looks down at the marks his boots made on the stage.
"Hahaha! I'll admit, I'm surprised you're standing… So let me fix that!" Cardin laughs and taunts.
——————
"Why didn't he defend?!" Ruby is baffled by what just happened. That was also the cleanest hit she has seen Alabast take.
The others know why Alabast took the hit. They may not like that he did it, but they know why.
Nora has her head down. She's disappointed in herself that she made her team leader take a hit like that because of her.
Ren puts a hand on her shoulder. She looks over at Ren with slight tears in her eyes and sees Ren pointing toward the stage.
——————
Cardin confidently smiles, thinking he already has the match in the bag after the free hit. He swung as hard as he could and Alabast didn't even defend against it. He didn't care if Alabast didn't fall to the ground, he would make the Faunus personally acquainted with it soon enough.
Alabast drops his arm to his side while still looking at the ground. "If that's the hardest you can hit… I'm sorely disappointed. But I guess it doesn't matter since you won't be able to hit me again"
Cardin's smile falters as he watches Alabast straighten back up to his full height. Cardin himself is decently tall, standing at 6'4". He's taller than most, but Alabast stands even above him.
Before anything else can happen Cardin's smile reappears as he gets into a fighting stance. "There's the bark I was expecting!"
Alabast holds Nights Fall out to his side in his right hand. He takes his first step forward. It's slow but firm. And every step after is the exact same. He walks towards Cardin one step at a time, the only sound being Alabast's steps and the whispers of the spectators.
Cardin watches Alabasts figure and sees so many openings that he thinks this is a joke. The only thing he can't see is Alabast's face, but his body language doesn't give anything away. It's like he's asking to get hit again, and Cardin will happily oblige.
When Alabast takes a step in range of the mace Cardin attacks. This attack is similar to his previous one, but this one he swung over his shoulder instead of from his side.
Even if Cardin didn't think Alabast could wield the giant blade with one hand, he decided it would be safe to swing downwards. This way he can either hit Alabast as planned or change his swing to hit the sword if Alabast tries to counter.
Cardin can feel the mace in his hand and prepares to make contact with Alabast. He's practiced countless hours and never had an opponent been able to avoid an attack from this distance.
But just before he hits Alabast, he suddenly doesn't feel the weight of the mace. He looks a little up above his shoulder where his weapon should be in his hands but they're empty. His trusted mace gone, as if it had never been there to begin with.
As he looks at his empty hands he notices a shadow cast over himself. Looking past his empty hands he sees the giant blade wielded by Alabast. The hunk of sharpened metal inches above his own head.
Cardin hadn't even been able to see the strike. Not only had it disarmed him, but he could also have taken a devastating blow with just the weight of the sword falling down on his skull. Even with Aura it might have given him a concussion.
*Clank!*
The sound of something metal hitting the floor comes from behind Cardin. This wakes Cardin up from his stupor.
Jumping back, Cardin finds his mace laying on the ground. He hadn't expected Alabast to actually be able to swing such a massive weapon. And if Alabast did manage to swing it, then the weapon must have been made of a light alloy that wouldn't have been able to stop his mace. But it seems he was wrong in both regards.
His gaze goes back over to Alabast who hasn't moved an inch, and beneath the black hair he can see two glowing red eyes staring back at him.
"If you want this fight to continue, you should pick your weapon up" Alabast monotonously says as he lowers his sword back to his side.
Cardin may have been intimidated, however, his pride and arrogance take the reign upon seeing Alabast leave himself open again.
Cardin Winchester will NOT be made a fool of like this!
Throwing caution to the wind Cardin picks his mace up and charges at Alabast. He can picture over 20 different strategies that he can use to attack Alabast. It may have been over 100, but now he knows what Alabast is capable of… or, thats at least what he thinks.
As the mace comes swinging down towards Alabast's left shoulder there is a brief moment in which Cardin actually believes he hit his opponent. Yet, at the last second he misses.
Cardin hits nothing but air as he sees Alabast effortlessly move to the side. His left boot not even leaving the same spot.
This does nothing but infuriate Cardin beyond belief. A FAUNUS dare do this to him?
Cardin's aura bursts to life around his body as he nearly goes into a berserker state. A dazzling red flame begins to emit from inside the head of the mace. The red dust crystal acts exhilarated at finally being utilized as it threatens to explode whatever is unfortunate enough to make contact with it.
Alabast immediately notices the sudden change in this fight. He's still able to continue dodging Cardin's attacks, but there is this sort of… weight tying him down.
It's hard to explain the feeling, but Alabast explains this by chalking it up to being Cardin's Semblance.
Cardin's attacks become fiercer and faster the more he swings, switching from one hand to wielding the mace with both. His attacks flow together almost perfectly as he pushes Alabast back.
After 20 seconds or so, Alabast gets tired of playing this boring game.
*Fwooosh~!!*
Alabast's black aura engulfs him as he shrugs off the pressure he felt. If it was still there, he ignored it like most of his problems.
Upon seeing Alabast brush off the pressure Cardin appears confused. But the guy quickly moves past it as he chains his attack into the next one.
Alabast narrows his eyes as he leans to his right to avoid the next strike. This is the time he finally decides to counterattack again.
Anticipating this exact moment, Cardin's grin widens as he changes the trajectory of his attack. His target being Alabast's shoulder is changed to the ground beneath Alabast's feet.
Alabast's eyes widen at the last moment as he realizes what Cardin's plan was.
The mace connects with the ground-
*KRA-KA-BOOM!!!*
A red explosion engulfs the two combatants in its fiery embrace which quickly turns into a smokescreen as the stage crumbles in the immediate area.
Cardin is the first to emerge from the dust and smoke as he takes a few quick leaps back. Not wanting to be too far away, he sticks to the edge of the smokescreen.
Breathing heavily, Cardin gets into a one-handed stance. He gets ready to run at Alabast for when the Faunus appears on the other side of the crater he just made in the stage.
Not two seconds later, the swirling smoke and dust is disturbed as Alabast emerges from it.
Alabast's black aura mixing with the smoke and dust as he emerges from it without a single scratch on him. His eyes shine menacingly through his dark aura as they stay locked on their target, not moving away for a moment.
Before Cardin can even take a step forward Alabast grabs his face with his left hand.
This stops what little momentum Cardin had managed to build up in an instant.
Cardin can see his orange Aura struggle against Alabast's abyssal black Aura.
"Kneel" Alabast commands as he forces Cardin onto his knees.
Cardin can look up through Alabast's fingers as he is forced to his knees. "Gah-!"
It takes all of Cardin's Will to not drop his weapon and try to pry the fingers off his face. He's about to grab Alabast's wrist with his left hand when-
"Your Semblance has something to do with applying pressure, right? Like some sort of intimidation debuff" Alabast coldly and rhetorically asks.
Cardin freezes. He can't help as his eyes become saucers. Not only was he just effortlessly pushed to his knees but Alabast had also just correctly guessed his Semblance.
He is able to use it as a passive debuff on his enemies while not affecting his enemies. It had taken Cardin countless years to be able to control his Semblance to not affect others randomly. But what gets him the most is that Alabast was actually able to feel it. Normally people would just assume Cardin had become faster and stronger when in reality they had become slower and weaker.
"That's not how you intimidate someone" Alabast squeezes Cardin's face as he stands over him and leans down.
The black Aura around Alabast condenses as he stares into Cardin's fear filled eyes.
"This. This is how you intimidate someone" Alabast pushes Cardin back to the point the guy fall onto his back and raises Nights Fall, covered in his black Aura, high into the air. Immediately he swings it down at a blinding speed.
The blade is about to make contact with Cardin's skull by a measly few centimeters before Alabast stops it.
Cardin's eyes had gone white while his entire body went limp.
Alabast deactivated his Aura as he stands up and puts Nights Fall on his back. He moves away from Cardin's body before turning towards Glynda and the other students.
He folds his arms across his chest and lifts his chin up. "Is that enough of a demonstration or do you want me to teach some others a lesson?"
It's silent for a few seconds as nobody says a word. The students are all left speechless at how the fight had just ended.
"No" Glynda speaks up as she adjusts her glasses. "That is quite enough, Mr. Noir"
Alabast looks at a few other students who are rather 'vocal' when it comes to the Faunus race. Those people avert their eyes and seemingly shrink under Alabast's glare.
Glynda points her wand at the crater which glows purple before repairing itself.
"Your opponent is already defeated, so go change and get back to your seat Mr. Noir. Team Cardinal (CRDL), collect your team leader and take him to the infirmary. Even if he wasn't hit he still passed out and needs to be checked up on" Glynda commands as she returns her arm and weapon to her side.
"Hmph" Alabast grunts before walking to the changing room and gets back in his school uniform.