RWBY: Unbound Instinct (Ruby Rose x Male Reader)

Ch. 17 - Strangeness

Today, sparring classes go on for a whole lot longer than usual. Going over what would qualify for the tournament, as well as... special... matches happen pretty much for most the day. Teams squaring off against one another, one on one, you name it.

Toward the end of the day, the class started really getting into it. Some intense tight battles go on, then, something pretty funny happened.

CRDL, specifically Cardin, volunteered to fight Pyrrha.

Not her team.

Not even in a duo.

Pyrrha VS CRDL.

Goodwitch nearly burst a blood vessel, but Pyrrha agreed to it. And the match was honestly super fun to watch! Not because it was close. Not even in the slightest. But because of Pyrrha's absolute mastery of her craft. She moves elegantly, fluidly, every single movement has purpose and strategically carried out.

Honestly, it's quite beautiful.

I would be lying if I said I haven't thought I could handle Pyrrha one on one. After this showing, though, I don't think I'd even come close. She dismantled CRDL. Alone. She fought them against every strategy and plan they had and won without taking any major blows. Her aura is still in the green. Hell, she practically held herself in the air for 20 seconds straight and kept Cardin in a fighting game combo. She's unreal.

"Now I know that's a tough act to follow, but it looks like we have time for one more sparring match," the professor's voice snaps me from my thoughts. I look around the room and see many people hesitating to even look down at the arena. Blake coughs quietly, and Goodwitch immediately latches her gaze onto her, "Ms. Belladonna? You've been rather docile for the last few classes, why don't-"

I shoot my hand up from my seat next to Ruby, "I'll do it!" Surprisingly, my voice isn't the only one. I quickly turn back to see one of the new students raising his hand. His attire gray and black, which matches his hair. He looks down at me, and I feel a sort of... weight. With him gaze.

"Mr. L/n, I believe you raised your hand first," Goodwitch says, pressing a button on her tablet. She looks down, then back up, "However, I do not believe Mercury has participated in one of our classes yet."

I let a disappointed sigh escape my mouth and let my hand fall, "Yea, of course!" I say, trying to sound as okay with it as possible. Truth be told, I have fallen in love with sparring class. I participate as often as I can, against as many people as I can. It's a blast seeing so many different fighting styles and weapons, learning how to combat them properly on the fly. I was hoping I could fight Pyrrha. But to no luck.

"Very well, let's find you an opponent," Goodwitch says.

"Actually," Mercury interrupts her process, "I wanna fight... her!" He says, pointing down at Pyrrha, who's still on the stage.

The entire class seems shocked that he'd even suggest going up against her right after that display.

Goodwitch places a hand on her hip firmly, "I believe Ms. Nikos has just finished a match, I would recommend you to choose another partner."

Pyrrha then spins around, waving a hand toward the professor, "No, it's fine!" She interjects, looking back up toward Mercury in the stands, "I'd be happy to oblige."

There's a short wait, but Mercury emerges onto the stage with an aura of pure confidence. Slowly strutting his way to the center of the ring to face off against Pyrrha. He comes to a stop a few feet from her and gets into his stance, which is a bit orthodox. Using my semblance to see him better from here, he has weapons attached to his ankles or heel, maybe something of a smaller caliber. But nothing else seems tricky about him. He must be a hand to hand specialist.