ushernet Interactions and Aura
Interactions and Aura
This was supposed to come out yesterday, but the current chapter of (P)(A)(T) took a bit longer because it has 7k words and all... I liked how it turned out.
Well, if anyone wants to support me, or just be 3/7 chapters ahead, that's possible with my (P)(A)(T).
If not, I still appreciate you reading my stories, thank you very much!
(P)(A)(T)/CalleumArtori
[...]---[...]
POV: Devas Asura.
I managed to walk about ten, maybe fifteen meters after leaving Ozpin's office before being attacked.
Not just metaphorically, but literally as well.
Ruby decided it was a good idea to jump to my right side and hug me while screaming.
"Devas!"
I didn't mind, to be honest. Even with the speed of the red missile, she wouldn't be able to hurt me, and I didn't want her to, so I didn't defend myself, just lowered the hand that was pulling the chains tying Tyrian down and accepted the "blow."
The crap came from the other side, as Yang, for some reason, decided to turn at the same time as her sister and punch the hardest she could into the pit of my stomach.
I still had my armor on, so I doubted it would really hurt me, but still raised my left hand to catch the punch.
"Lost your mind, Yang?" I asked, especially after seeing that the punch was really strong.
Not strong enough to even make my arm move, but enough for me to feel that something collided with my hand, even through the armor.
"Tsk..." She clicked her tongue. "Just wanted to test something. Need to increase the training..." The last part of the sentence was muttered, but I ended up hearing it.
Weiss and Blake decided it was time to introduce themselves, the first one shaking her head and sighing while the latter apologized.
"I knew this would happen..." Weiss held the tip of her nose. "Pleasure to finally meet you, Devas." She made a slight bow that practically screamed "I'm noble" and introduced herself.
"You already know, but still, I'll introduce myself. Pleasure, Weiss Schnee." Yeah, I already knew, the color theme matched...
"Sorry about her." Blake spoke right after. "Yang tends to act before thinking." The cat faunus ignored Yang's shout saying "Look who's talking!" and introduced herself.
"Blake Belladonna. Nice to meet you, Devas." The colors matched as well. Seems like I guessed right.
Why the hell did they all wear clothes with the same color as their names? Is that some kind of rule in this world? My name doesn't mean any color, am I going to get bullied because of that?
"Pleasure to meet you all." I waved back with the free hand, since the other one was holding Ruby's back, who chose this moment to consume all the air in the room.
"Devas, are you really here? How? Why? The emergency mission ticket? It must be that, right? Damn! I missed the streams of the last few days because of the mission! Doesn't matter, you're really here! How cool! Let's go! I have so much I want to talk about and so many places to show, we don't have time to waste!"
The incredible ability to say that whole sentence in less than a second and without pauses was quite a feat. I could barely keep up, and I'm sure the other three couldn't either, as they seemed confused.
I'm sure if I didn't weigh as much as I do, plus my armor, and was holding Tyrian's unconscious body, Ruby would have dragged me away with the force she was pulling me.
It was amazing how she actually managed to pull me a few centimeters. I wasn't resisting, but still, it was amazing.
The crow on my shoulder decided this was the best time to introduce itself, and by introduce, I mean squawk in my ear just before jumping on my head and starting to peck at me as if angry with me for some reason.
Listen here, you damn bird, I don't care if you're Ozpin's familiar or some kind of transformed person, if you don't stop, I'm going to pluck you!
I think I must have conveyed my intention just with my thoughts, as the bird stopped pecking me and squawked one last time before flying off my head and landing on Yang's shoulder.
"Did this little guy follow us here too?" Yang ran her finger over the crow's head, who flapped its wing on the finger quickly and flew to the other shoulder.
"He followed us from Patch?" Ruby asked, looking at the bird, realizing that pulling me wasn't bearing fruit. "Did Uncle Qrow send him?"
"Is this noisy thing your uncle's pet?" Weiss asked.
"Caw!" What I was almost certain was Yang and Ruby's uncle squawked back.
"Yes!" Yang waved to Weiss. "But ignore that, you!" She pointed at me. "You said my name before I introduced myself, did you imagine me so much that you were sure it was me?" She smiled provocatively and leaned, showing some cleavage.
I made a point not to look away from her eyes, which seemed to have both irritated and pleased her at the same time. Curious...
"No." I replied in a dry tone. "I knew it was you by the color scheme." I pointed to her clothes. "Don't know if I should applaud for creativity or the lack of it." I couldn't applaud, as Ruby didn't let go of my arm.
Yang raised her finger as if she wanted to argue before lowering it and shrugging. "Fair."
"Can I be offended now?" Weiss remarked.
"I feel a bit offended too." Blake nodded in agreement.
"I said that as a compliment." It was a lie, well, at least half a lie.
Their clothes matched well, but it was still strange to see someone named literally "White" wearing white. The same went for all of them.
If I started doing the same, Aqua would probably have a heart attack in no time, and if I went to Percy's world, I'd have some problems... Well, more than the ones I already knew I would have.
"Shall we go?" I waved with my free hand, letting Ruby pull me.
"Let's! There's so much I want to show you!" Ruby didn't waste time dragging me again, this time succeeding as I followed along.
The other three members of Team RWBY didn't waste time in following us, walking quickly behind the two of us.
"Are you going to drag that thing with you all day?" Blake was the one who asked, and by "thing," she meant Tyrian's body.
From the angry look she had and the way she seemed not to put all her weight on the injured left leg, I could tell that whoever gave her that wound was the unconscious body I was carrying.
That or the fact that he tried to kill Ruby, that was a good reason too.
"I promise he'll behave." I joked, earning some snorts and short laughs from everyone.
I wouldn't hand Tyrian over to anyone here, be it Ozpin, who was the headmaster, or James, who was a general...
My shadow chose this moment to writhe, the anger I hid reflected in its movements, which fortunately, no one seemed to notice.
...No, this guy was mine...
[...]
Interestingly, the first place Ruby wanted to drag me was outside Beacon, but she ended up being stopped by the other three, who protested.
"Ruby, I'm filthy! I'm not going anywhere without taking a bath!" Weiss barely managed to finish the sentence before closing the bathroom door, having won rock, paper, scissors with the other two, Blake and Yang.
Ruby stayed outside, saying she could be the last, probably not to waste time; oddly enough, she seemed to be the cleanest of the four.
While Weiss took her bath, I took this time to look at the girls' dormitory, and... Frankly, how this place was still standing, I couldn't say.
"I'm sure these beds violate some safety laws..." I muttered, seeing the bizarre bunk beds of Team RWBY.
The way Stark could convey his dislike and disgust for the engineering applied in building the bunk beds using only emotes was incredible.
"Nope!" Ruby popped the "p". "I checked, all within the law." Finishing the sentence, she sped up, leaving a trail of rose petals and ran around the room, looking for something.
"Did you lose something?" I asked.
"The devil, probably." "Zwei!" "Probably Zwei."
Blake, Ruby, and Yang answered me respectively. Wasn't Zwei the dog?
"Doc's with him, remember?" Yang commented. "He said he would take care of him while we went to talk to Ozpin."
"That's true..." Ruby seemed to wilt for a second before speeding up again and appearing in front of me. "Want to see Crescent Rose?" She asked, barely containing her excitement.
She was fast, so much so that I had to concentrate a bit to see her movements, but the most impressive thing was how she could move without altering or damaging anything.
I could do something similar, but only if I focused and took great care with all my movements; she didn't even seem to be trying.
Her Semblance, from what she told me, was speed, right?... Curious... But why the rose petals?
"Ruby, no!" Yang jumped, holding her sister's hands. "We're inside the dorm, last time you pulled out Crescent Rose, the beds almost toppled!" Super safe...
"But Yaaang!" Ruby whined.
"No, no buts." Yang pointed outside, ignoring Ruby's puppy eyes. Extremely effective weapons; my heart ached just looking at them. "If you want to show Crescent Rose to Devas, do it outside."
Blake nodded in agreement.
Ruby didn't waste time speeding up, pulling me along with her while using her own Semblance.
I let myself be pulled without resisting.
"Is it just me, or did they want me away from there?" I commented, looking at Ruby, who had a box at her waist.
"Yang is probably embarrassed for not being dressed up and not taking a bath while Blake probably wants to hide her dirty books." Ruby quickly replied, transforming the box into a freaking giant scythe in less than a second.
"Here, my baby, Crescent Rose." Baby? "Isn't she amazing?" She spun the scythe, almost hitting it against the corridor wall.
The crow on my shoulder flapped its wing against its beak so hard it almost fell off.
Ruby really was herself, even outside of (CHAT), huh?
"May I?" I asked, extending my hand. Ruby didn't hesitate to offer me the scythe's handle.
First of all, the scythe was heavy, probably around thirty kilograms. I could see the muscles in Ruby's arms, but no way in hell aura wasn't involved here for her to be able to wield this thing in combat.
I swung the scythe a few times, testing it, and... It felt strange?
I was much taller than Ruby and had a completely different fighting style, so it was normal for me to feel awkward using a weapon she designed with her body in mind.
Still, it was an excellent weapon; I wasn't an expert or anything, but from my own experience, this was a weapon I would use... Well, after training, since I'm sure using a scythe in combat must be at least complicated.
While I analyzed Crescent Rose, Ruby seemed barely able to contain herself, jumping in place before speaking.
"Devas?" I asked confused. Was this the view he had when using nightmare energy? How was I seeing this? Was it the radio?
The crow seemed confused too, looking around and then at Devas, but before Devas could answer, I heard a voice...
("Can you hear me now? Helllloooo? Is anyone there?!!!")
... The voice was female and sounded cheerful. Who was this?
"I see you finally managed to hear Lucy. Say hi, Lucy." Devas spoke, looking amused, even more so when I widened my eyes, realizing whose voice it was.
("Hi, Ruby! Nice to meet you, my name is L.U.C.Y!")
"The axe talks..." I murmured... The axe talks... "You talk..."
("I talk, you talk, everyone talks!")
"Hey... Ruby! Come back here!" Devas shouted, his voice getting distant as I sped up.
"No! She's mine now!" Lucy might not be as cool as Crescent Rose... But she came pretty close...
("Run, Ruby friend!")
"Don't encourage her, you maniacal axe!"
[...]
POV: Devas Asura.
I must have spent the next ten minutes chasing after Ruby and Lucy, both of them laughing all the while.
I could have caught up with them in a few seconds, but since Ruby wasn't giving her all, I didn't go at my maximum speed either, just playing along as the two seemed happy.
I knew these two would become friends, but not in this way...
"Can I keep her?" Ruby asked, hugging Lucy against her chest and making the cutest puppy eyes I've ever seen.
"No." Too bad my heart turned to stone a long time ago.
I ignored the pain in my chest when Ruby pouted and repeated.
"No... but you can keep her while I'm around." Screw it, anyone would have given in in my place; whoever denies it is lying.
I ignored Stark commenting "Weak" and braced myself for impact when Ruby collided with me, hugging me.
"Yay! Thank you!"
("Thank you, Lucy's companion!")
I ignored my schizophrenia and responded to Ruby.
"You're welcome, but you can only hear her within radio range." I'm pretty sure these two didn't even realize they could only communicate during the escape because I followed them with the Radio Thing in hand...
"Can I..." Ruby reached for the radio. I flicked it away.
"No, this time it's serious; this thing will harm you if it stays on for too long." I was sure a few minutes at a time wouldn't hurt, but the hours that I was certain Ruby would leave this thing on could.
She didn't have my adaptation; better not to risk it.
Ruby sighed but nodded, understanding what I meant, yet she didn't give up.
"Two hours!" She raised two fingers.
"Half an hour." I replied. I would allow an hour, but Gilbert taught me a few bargaining tricks...
"An hour and a half!" She didn't give up.
"Half an hour." I didn't change my statement. "Your team won't let you keep the radio on."
"Cow!"
"See, Qrow agrees with me." The way the crow stood still was my confirmation. Gotcha!
Ruby didn't seem to notice the little wordplay I did and continued to bargain.
"Forty-five minutes!" She made puppy eyes again.
I pretended to hesitate before finally responding.
"Deal, but only during the day." I don't think the Radio Thing will survive if Ruby leaves it on at night...
Either that or I'll face an attempted murder for letting her turn it on.
"YAY! THANK YOU, THANK YOU!" Ruby thanked me even more.
("Lucy's companion is very nice!") Again, I ignored my schizophrenia.
Saya commented something about me having favorites but fell silent quickly when I pulled her into a private chat and sent her a quick message about some things I had done for her.
I could almost see her blushing from here...
I'll need to talk to her later about all this... Damn rare Pylon...
As my thoughts ran wild about my current situation, Ruby seemed to remember something.
"You still haven't unlocked your Aura, have you?" Ruby asked me, grabbing my attention.
"Uhm? Yeah." I replied, ignoring the "Cow" from the crow behind me. I still hadn't adapted to Aura, if that was even possible. I was going to ask later, but since the topic came up...
"How do I unlock it?" Some kind of meditation? Training under a waterfall?... Near-death experiences?
"There are a few ways, but they all take time..." Ruby hesitated, looking down before continuing. "I can unlock yours if you want." She had a slight pink tint on her cheeks.
Even if I were retarded, blind, and deaf, I wouldn't suspect that this was some kind of romantic thing in this world...
"How does that work?" I asked.
"I... need to use my Aura to pull yours. Basically, pulling it out." Oh, using her soul to touch mine... Damn!
"I don't think that'll work." It wasn't me avoiding something; it was the truth. My title prevented any interference or modification to my soul, and I believe literally pulling my soul out would count as such.
"Your title..." Ruby murmured. "But it's worth a try, isn't it?" It's worth a damn lot, actually, as I had no idea if my title would simply expunge her soul from reality...
[The title "The Streamer" reacts according to the emotions and intentions of "The Streamer."]
...Fuck, you little shit!
When I ask you something, you stay silent; in fact, you've never answered me once! But now you give me this information for free?!
No response, as usual... Damn stream...
You know what, screw it. I'll let Future Devas deal with any problems that might arise later.
"Let's try, but if something happens, stop." I spoke in a serious tone. I was sure nothing would happen to Ruby, or rather, I wanted nothing to happen, so nothing would.
The crow behind me cawed but didn't interfere, flying to a branch farther away as if to give us privacy.
Ruby nodded, walking slowly towards me and placing her hand on the center of my chest.
I didn't have time to ask, as before I could open my mouth, she began to speak.
"For it is in running that we achieve immortality..."
The words seemed to flow from her lips smoothly, as if she didn't even need to think to say them.
"...Through this, we become the best we can be, heroes to save others...."
I felt something pulsate inside me, within my spiritual realm and even deeper...
"...Infinite in kindness and unbond from evil, I protect your soul,..."
I felt something move, react to the words, the change, something I had been avoiding until then... The second of my three racial traits...
"...And by my hand, I free thee.."
Then my vision twisted, my body and soul energizing like never before.
Ruby stumbled, tripping forward. I caught her before she fell. She seemed tired.
"Are you okay?" I asked quickly, a life potion and Purification Powder seconds away from appearing in my hands.
"I am, just tired... This took more aura than I thought it would..." Ruby yawned, rubbing her eyes. "Did it work? Your aura looks... condensed? Strange..."
I took a moment, closing my eyes and feeling the changes that had occurred.
"It worked, don't worry..." I replied, unable to hide the smile on my face, and moved my aura that reacted exactly as I wanted...
"More than right, actually..."
...After all, my soul had been molded based on my body... A body that I knew how to control perfectly.
[...]---[...]
Apologies for the delay in this chapter; I was dealing with some personal issues and had some trouble deciding how the interaction with team RWBY and the Devas would unfold.
I like how this chapter turned out, and I believe I managed to convey a bit of everyone's personality. Well, feel free to comment if you have any thoughts so I can improve.
Ruby and Lucy finally met, and, well, Ruby is Ruby, and Lucy is Lucy... :D
Some things are happening with the Devas, both with their Aura and in the spiritual realm. Any theories? Well, I don't have any; I'm like the math teacher during exams... Amnesic!
No spoilers!
As always, a good night and happy reading to everyone!