Another World Again [ RWBY x Spirit Chronicles Crossover ]

Chapter 5: Fame, Feelings, and Fairy Tales

A/N:

I've finally returned to this! And LORD-EE-LORD has it been a long time.

Fun fact.

When you write a character that would sooner rather joke about sexual abuse than ask for medical attention due to the knife in their body, predictably, going back to writing a character as kind, polite, and SANE as Rio is a bit of a challenge.

Who knew?

That being said, it definitely took me a while to get into the swing of the things Rio says and the way he says them. But of course, just because it was difficult, doesn't mean I should have given up. So no more excuses! Let's dive straight in!

Ah, but first, everyone put your hands in.

Respecting women on three, respecting women on me!

GO!

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In the Amity stands, the excitement radiating from the spectators had reached feverish levels. Outside the arena, and even farther still, their cheers would likely still be able to be heard. It got to the point where many faunus amongst the crowd, ones with sharpened hearing especially, began to twitch uncomfortably.

Thus, where RWBY and JNPR were in the stands, Blake began to do exactly that, squirming in her seat. But even that was just instinctual actions her body took. Because in reality, all of her focus was down on the arena. And that had been the case for the entirety of the fifteen minutes she had just witnessed.

With the way Rio always carried himself, Blake never really had the impression he was weak. There was when she spotted him practicing, and then even the brief spar with Yang to consider. But those didn't even come close to hinting at what he was really capable of.

Quite simply, she had underestimated him. Not by intention, but by practicality.

She had doubted he would exceed a certain skill-threshold in her head. As good or better than actual Huntsmen? Such a thought didn't even cross her mind. Then he had fought three—technically four—of them at once, practically forcing her to switch gears.

Anyway, the fight had concluded not even a few minutes ago.

Currently, the white-haired boy was talking animatedly with his competitors. Well, that's how the Huntsmen appeared. Rio was, as usual, a bit more measured, but still amicable. Although that changed when the boy blinked, taking a look around him. He was looking at the crowd. It was as if he was just now noticing the streams upon streams of spectators.

And in that moment, he looked confused, dazed even.

Then his lips curved upwards.

Blake's heart momentarily stopped beating.

It was an attractive expression. As a girl, she could freely admit that. But her reaction didn't stem from that. And it certainly wasn't because Rio never smiled, because he did, and often. So the problem wasn't a matter of quantity either. No. Rather, it was—

"Rio's never smiled with us like that..."

Ruby took the words right out of Blake's mouth. And aptly, their leader had a sad little frown on her face.

Rio wore an expression they hadn't seen yet.

While it was true the boy had been slightly more assertive in treating them as friends, there was still a wall not one of them had managed to break down. Rio was kind to them, yes. But that was it.