Chương 790: 133
Chapter 133:
Before the beginning of the match:
"Oscar-kun..." said Miyu, glancing sidelong at him as they made their way through the halls of the coliseum, heading towards the spectator seats.
"Y-yes?" asked Oscar, jolting and looking sharply at Miyu, as though he'd been startled out of a daze.
"I'm sorry," said Miyu. "I imagine you weren't expecting Natsu-chan to do something like that."
"I-it's nothing wrong," said Oscar, averting his eyes, his cheeks blushing again. "I'm sure she didn't mean anything by it."
"Natsu-chan is frivolous, yes, but not inconsiderate," said Miyu. "Amongst the Mibu, such a gesture is not one of casual affection."
"R-really?" said Oscar, shocked, his eyes widening.
Miyu glanced up at the ceiling. "Granted, amongst our people Natsu-chan is inordinately friendly and affectionate. But I believe her feelings towards you are genuine."
"O-oh..." said Oscar.
"However, please don't feel that you are under pressure to respond in any particular way," said Miyu, giving him a calm smile. "Natsu-chan is very...easygoing...with her feelings."
"Easy come, easy go, huh?" asked Oscar.
"I suppose that's one way to put it," said Miyu. "But don't think that she's making shallow gestures. Perhaps she's mentioned what happened between us and Ruby-chan, with regards to Setsuna."
"Y-yeah, she mentioned something like that," said Oscar.
"Natsu-chan developed a crush on Setsuna the same time we did," said Miyu. "However, unlike Ruby-chan and I, she gave up easily, when she saw how serious we both were. It wasn't that her feelings weren't genuine, it's just that Natsuki is that considerate of others. If she believes her affections are making you uncomfortable, or that you have no wish to return her feelings, she will give up easily enough, and there will be no hard feelings."
"And if I do return her feelings?" asked Oscar, his cheeks heating up, even though he was speaking hypothetically...or, at least he thought he was speaking hypothetically...he wasn't so sure.
"I'm not completely sure," admitted Miyu. "You're only the second person she's shown those kinds of feelings for. But I know Natsu-chan well enough to say that she isn't someone so callous that she would toy with you, nor would she be so inconsiderate as to put too much pressure on you."
"What should I do then?" asked Oscar.
"Whatever you feel comfortable with," said Miyu. "My point is that Natsu-chan would never want to unduly pressure you. In a way, she's simply announcing how she feels. She won't let something like misgivings on your part compromise your friendship. All I can really say is..." She reached over and rested a hand lightly against Oscar's shoulder. "...please be at ease. Talk with her, after the match, if that's what you feel is best. Setsuna and I will give you privacy."
"Thanks," said Oscar, looking down at his feet as they continued to walk, his mind spinning.
Present:
Which brought Oscar back to the here and now. Having carried Natsuki into the locker room on his back, Oscar delivered her to the showers where she finally, if reluctantly, got off him, and went to get cleaned up. Setsuna had given him a reassuring pat on the shoulder, before going to do the same. Then he and Miyu waited in the lounge, not having anything more to say between them.
After a few minutes, Setsuna appeared, with Natsuki following after him. Miyu went over and took Setsuna's arm, guiding him to another part of the lounge, out of hearing-range of Natsuki and Oscar, while Natsuki plopped herself down on the couch next to Oscar.
"H-hey," said Oscar nervously. "You looked great out there."
"Thank you," said Natsuki, smiling.
The sight of her smile sent shivers down Oscar's spine. This wasn't her regular, energetic smile, one belonging to a girl with far too much energy for her own good. It was a relaxed, warm, and affectionate smile.
"Um...About earlier," said Oscar, his hand reflexively going up to rest against his cheek.
"Oh..." Natsuki's smile wavered slightly, and she turned to look ahead of her. "I'm sorry...I guess, I just..."
"No, it's fine," said Oscar awkwardly. "I...I really wasn't expecting that. I'm not used to that sort of attention." He looked down on his knees. "I'm not anything special."
"Yes you are!" said Natsuki with a powerful insistence, whipping her head around to look intently at him. Her expression softened. "Is this about what happened with Ruby-chan again?"
"Um..." Oscar couldn't bring himself to deny it, however much he felt he should. There was still a part of him that continued to pine for Ruby, even though he had officially given up, and that part couldn't help place at least part of the blame for that on himself.
"Oscar-kun, what happened with Ruby-chan had nothing to do with you," said Natsuki. "You're incredible. You're strong, kind, considerate...and pretty darn handsome, if I do say so myself."
"You...think I'm...handsome?" Oscar blushed furiously.
"Uh huh!" replied Natsuki energetically. "You're pretty rugged-looking, you've got cute freckles, and...you've got the most amazing eyes." Her cheeks turning pink, Natsuki looked ahead again. "Your eyes were the first thing I noticed, you know."
"O-oh..." said Oscar, shifting awkwardly. He remembered the circumstances of their first meeting, the pair of them staring straight at each other.
Natsuki took a deep breath. "I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable. You're still on the rebound from Ruby-chan, and maybe I jumped the gun." She paused, then giggled. "That's me...always jumping right in, feet first."
"You really go with your gut, don't you?" asked Oscar.
"I prefer saying I go with my heart," said Natsuki. "But I guess that's all just semantics."
Oscar shrugged. "I guess..." he conceded. "So...I...I mean...I don't know what to think about it."
"Then don't," said Natsuki firmly, giving him a pointed look, though she was still smiling.
"Huh?" Oscar jolted, looking back at her, confused, but also a bit nervous at her proximity, with Natsuki leaning closer to him.
"Don't think about it," replied Natsuki simply. "Don't worry about it. Let's just live."
"What?" Oscar blinked.
Natsuki giggled, bringing her hand to her mouth. "It's...something that Ruby-chan told me once. When I was going through a...difficult...period...I-I had a decision to make. It was really important. But there was a lot of time, and no pressure. But, you know, sometimes the decision itself is just a lot of pressure."
"I can see that," said Oscar. He wasn't sure what kind of decision Natsuki was talking about. If she was being so vague, then she either couldn't or didn't want to go into specifics. However, he could still imagine what it would be like, facing an important decision. Even if there was no time limit, or pressure to make a choice, if the decision itself was so important, that could become its own kind of pressure.
"I was worrying, but Ruby-chan told me that we should just live our lives, until I was ready to make that decision." Natsuki grinned that infectious, cheerful grin of hers. "So...why don't we do it that way, Oscar-kun. Let's just hang out, have fun, and do a lot of stuff together. Don't worry about romance or feelings or answering me or stuff like that. Let's just live."
"Huh..." Oscar raised his eyes up, thinking it over. "That doesn't sound like a bad idea."
"I thought so," said Natsuki, before opening her mouth to yawn. "I'm sleepy."
"There's still time until we've gotta leave," said Oscar. "You can take a nap if you'd like."
"Yeah," said Natsuki, leaning towards him. Her head came to rest against his shoulder. "Is this okay?" she asked. "You're really comfortable."
Oscar found himself smiling. "Yeah, it's fine."
"Thanks," said Natsuki, closing her eyes.
Oscar sat there. Despite what Natsuki had just said, he found himself thinking about his own feelings. He wasn't quite sure of where they lay. But the one thing he knew was that he was genuinely glad he'd met the girl sleeping against him. Even if he'd been turned down by Ruby, it had still been worth it to come to the Vytal Festival after all, if only because he'd met Natsuki.
Behind the pair, Oscar was unaware that Setsuna and Miyu were looking on, both of them wearing approving smiles on their faces.
"Going right after Natsu-chan's team is a surprise," said Ruby, sitting back on the couch.
When silence greeted her remark, she looked over to see Pyrrha, seated on a nearby chair, staring down at her hands, which rested on her knees, fingers clenched tightly into fists. "Pyrrha...? Is everything okay?"
"I'm fine," said Pyrrha, looking up at Ruby with a smile.
It was the kind of fake smile Pyrrha had often worn in her champion persona, so Ruby could tell she was deflecting. "Pyrrha...is it about your parents?"
Pyrrha looked down again, then took a deep breath, before sighing it out again. "Yes..." she admitted.
Pyrrha and Dove had filled in the rest of RASP and RYNB about the situation. Yang and Weiss had been livid, the former vowing to track Holly down and pound her into oblivion, barely managing to get herself talked down by the others. Weiss genuinely considered asking a favor from her brother to see if there was something Whitley could do about the situation, an idea that shocked her with its sheer novelty.
Pyrrha and Dove had turned down their offers of assistance for the most part, with Dove explaining that he had a plan, though he'd kept quiet about what exactly said plan entailed. Apparently, for the time being, everyone would go on as though nothing had changed. But Ruby could see that the anxiety was getting to Pyrrha.
It had been one thing for Pyrrha to just view her parents as a pair of immature fools, who had gotten carried away with the wealth they'd obtained off the back of Pyrrha's own hard work, spending more money, then demanding that Pyrrha be the one to pick up the slack for them. It was another thing entirely for her to realize that her parents were victims, who'd been mentally manipulated by someone's Semblance into a lifestyle that they couldn't sustain. From that point of view, they were essentially Holly's hostages.
"Ruby..." said Pyrrha tentatively, looking up.
"What is it?" asked Ruby.
"Could you...that is...could I…?" Pyrrha blinked, then shook her head. "No. Forget it."
"Pyrrha, if you want to go to the quarterfinals, I'll let you," said Ruby earnestly.
"No!" Pyrrha's voice was strangely harsh. She shook her head, rubbing her temples. "Please, Ruby. Don't give in to me so easily. That makes it hard for me to..."
"Her Semblance is still affecting you, isn't it?" asked Weiss nervously.
"I think it is," said Pyrrha, scrunching her eyes shut.
"Is there anything we can do?" asked Jaune.
"Dove says that the best thing to do is to just stay away from Holly," said Pyrrha, still rubbing her forehead.
"Well...this could have an effect on your performance in the match, if this keeps up," Weiss pointed out. "We still have time to request a substitution."
"No!" shouted Pyrrha urgently, startling the others with her insistence, before she grunted. "I mean...I'm sorry...Maybe we should..."
"Pyrrha..." whispered Ruby, horrified to see her friend in such a state.
"Maybe there's something I can do," suggested Jaune, holding up his hand.
"No!" This time it was Ruby who was using an urgent voice. "Jaune, physical wounds are one thing. But messing around with someone's brain is another thing entirely. It's way more delicate than anything you've ever done. I can barely treat a concussion, but nothing at this level."
"But...perhaps there is something I can do."
Ruby gasped, looking towards the door to see her sister standing there. "Sasame-nee?"
"I'm a bit disappointed you didn't think to tell me about this, Ruby-chan," said Sasame, walking sedately towards them.
"Sorry...I didn't even think about it," admitted Ruby. Of course, since it was hard for her to actually think of Pyrrha as "wounded", it hadn't occurred to her to ask Sasame to treat Pyrrha, or that Sasame even could.
"In situations like this, it could be a subtype of addiction," said Sasame.
"Addiction?" Weiss blinked. "I don't understand."
"At its root, addiction is an automatic condition towards a particular course of action," said Sasame. "It usually takes the form of indulging in some form of vice, such as drugs, alcohol, gambling, or even overeating. It's been found that a person indulging in their favorite foods can trigger the same hormones as those triggered by alcohol or drug use."
"So...in that case, would Pyrrha be 'addicted' to following Holly's orders?" asked Jaune.
"That might well be the case," said Sasame. "The mental conditioning that this woman has instilled apparently induces mental pressures similar to withdrawal symptoms, when it comes to defying her, while obeying her provides a form of mental relief, probably triggering those same areas of the brain that respond to other addictions."
"Can you fix it?" asked Ruby.
"It will be tricky," said Sasame. "As you've already pointed out, Ruby-chan, working with the brain is delicate work, and one can easily inflict permanent, debilitating, or even fatal damage, if they aren't careful. However...the first step in any situation is to determine the full extent and true nature of the problem. That said, Pyrrha-chan, with your permission..."
"Of course," said Pyrrha, bowing her head, allowing Sasame to easily reach it with her hands.
Sasame lightly rested her fingertips against Pyrrha's temples, then closed her eyes. Faint pulses of her pale-pink Aura rippled out across Pyrrha's head, washing over her face. Pyrrha's mouth slackened slightly, a faint sigh of relief escaping her.
"Well, doing this much is easy enough," said Sasame, "though it's nothing more than a temporary relief."
Just coming into contact with Sasame's Aura had abated the pounding in Pyrrha's head, the nigh-habitual urge to do as her former-manager told her receding. She began to relax, almost to the point of falling asleep.
"Hmm..." Sasame frowned. "Well...this is unusual."
"What is it?" asked Ruby worriedly.
"In a sense, there is the presence of a foreign Aura in Pyrrha-chan's brain," said Sasame, her eyes remaining closed. "It's a form of synchronization. Pyrrha-chan's mind has been...tuned...you could say, almost like an instrument. As a result, the words that carry this Aura resonate very strongly with her, all the more strongly the more exposure there is. Furthermore, the presence of this Aura, and the way it persists, rather than fading..."
"Is it...Kotodama?" asked Ruby.
"Not quite," said Sasame. "It's not that powerful, thank goodness."
"Koto-what now?" asked Jaune, canting his head in confusion.
"Kotodama," said Ruby, frowning.
"Another Mibu art, I'm guessing," said Weiss.
Sasame hummed, and her fingers actually sank into the skin of Pyrrha's skull. "You could say that. Though, even by our standards, it is a somewhat mythical ability, more theory and legend than actuality. We are certain that there were practitioners at some point, but its secrets appear to have been largely lost."
"Basically, it comes from the belief that words have a power of their own," said Ruby. "In fact, that principle is still there, in the form of attack names...sort of."
"Indeed, but the old legends take it to a more substantial extreme," said Sasame. "A master of Kotodama, or one of its affiliated arts, could essentially use words to control their target completely."
"What, you mean tell someone what to do, and they'd do it?" asked Jaune.
"That's right," said Sasame. "Used properly, you would behave as though another person's orders had come from within your own heart and mind. It's a powerful force."
"They could order you to kill yourself, and you'd do it," said Weiss, gasping with horror.
Ruby shook her head. "They could order you to 'die', and your heart would stop in your chest."
Jaune and Weiss flinched back, blanching at the idea.
"It is a frightening thing," said Sasame. "Fortunately, Holly-san's ability does not appear to be to that extent."
"It's strange that someone's Semblance would just happen to resemble one of your arts," Weiss pointed out.
Sasame opened her eyes to look at Weiss with a wry smile. "Why should that be strange? Semblance is, essentially, Manifestation in a raw state. It is born from the same principles of Aura that we draw from Manifestation. Therefore, anything that a Semblance is capable of could be either replicated, or even refined, through Manifestation. Technically, Holly-san, if she refined her abilities in the manner that all you have, could well advance her ability to make it into a genuine form of Kotodama."
"That's...bad news," said Jaune. "We'd better not let that happen."
"Ideally, no," said Sasame. She closed her eyes again. "I can alleviate your symptoms, Pyrrha-chan. What's required is for me to exorcise the lingering remnants of Holly-san's Aura from your mind. However, you will still feel a small degree of impulse to follow the orders she's given you. But it won't cause you so much distress anymore."
"That's...fine," said Pyrrha. "As long...as long as I'm not doing anything to hold my friends back."
"You don't need to worry about that at all," said Ruby.
Sasame's Aura seemed to sink into the skin of Pyrrha's head. Pyrrha let out a soft breath, then slumped completely, looking as though she'd lost consciousness. Finally, Sasame withdrew her fingers. "There. The operation is complete."
"I feel so much better," said Pyrrha, opening her eyes.
"Just try to relax until the match begins, Pyrrha-chan," said Sasame, beaming at her. "I'll be cheering you on from the spectator seating."
Sasame turned away, heading for the door to the locker room. As she walked, Ruby noticed something, her eyes widening. "Sasame-nee...?"
"Hmm...What is it, Ruby-chan?" asked Sasame, turning back towards Ruby with a smile...a smile that seemed a little too...intense...for her.
"N-nothing," said Ruby. "We'll see you later."
"Good luck, Ruby-chan," said Sasame, leaving through the door.
Ruby swallowed, a cold sweat breaking out across her brow. Sasame-nee...she's furious. I...I can't remember the last time I saw her this angry.
In the hallway outside the locker room, Sasame took several deep breaths to calm herself down. "Ruby-chan's grown so perceptive," she said. "And I thought I had a lid on it too." She glanced down at her feet, frowning darkly. That Aura though...I will have to make sure I take part in that woman's reckoning.
Ruby and Pyrrha's match went off without a hitch. Their opponents, Flynt Coal and Neon Katt, of Team FNKI, were a force to be reckoned with, demonstrating incredible skill and a surprising degree of coordination, hidden behind a veneer of casual disrespect. However, the pair of them were quickly overwhelmed by Ruby and Pyrrha's skill and ability.
It was a decisive win for Team RASP. Fortunately, there were no hard feelings from the other team. Pyrrha was relieved to find that her opponents didn't hold her Semblance against her, nor did they act as though their defeat had been preordained. In fact, they had made the match a challenging one.
Their friends, including MNPS and RYNB, were there to cheer them on, all of them celebrating the fact that RASP had made it into the next round. The stands were echoing with the cheers of an enthralled crowd. It seemed that the scandal of Pyrrha's Semblance was little more than a memory at this point.
In one of the skyboxes lining the coliseum's upper rim, Holly Ji looked on, sitting in a seat behind Pyrrha's own parents, who scowled down at the ring. Despite the fact their daughter had won, the pair looked anything but satisfied.
"This is not good," declared Anatolius, glaring down at his daughter. "To struggle that much against second-rate opponents...It's like she's holding back to make that brat of a leader of hers look better."
"That might well be what's happening," said Phoinix. "It's clear that this Ruby Rose is scheming to take center stage in this tournament. She's probably forcing Pyrrha to not outshine her."
"And Pyrrha is letting her get away with it," growled Anatolius. "Atrocious. At this rate, Pyrrha won't even be in the finals."
"Please do not read too much into things," said Holly, leaning forward to put her head between theirs. "This is the Vytal Festival Tournament, after all. It brings together the best and brightest from all four Academies...and then some. The level of competition is substantially above that of a mere regional tournament. It's only natural that Pyrrha's opponents would be of a higher caliber as well.
"In fact, the struggle for victory can make for a more entertaining match. It will help your daughter regain much of her lost clout. After her fourth run in the Mistral Regional Tournament, it was clear that her momentum was petering out. She was winning too easily. People, both the audience and her opponents, were losing interest. But now she's in a position to be the achiever again. This will fully reestablish her reputation, and erase the shame of that last little scandal."
"But not if she stays out of the finals," Phoinix pointed out worriedly.
"Please don't concern yourselves with that," said Holly with a smirk. "Pyrrha will be in the finals. By the time the weekend rolls around, it will be the only obvious choice for her."
Of course, thought Holly to herself, there's a certain troublesome interference that needs to be stamped out first.
"Here's to an awesome match!" declared Coco, raising her glass. "Cheers!"
"Cheers!" shouted Velvet, Yatsuhashi, Fox, and Oscar.
"Cheers!" echoed Miyu and Setsuna, a beat behind them.
"Kanpai-er-Cheers!" shouted Natsuki, grinning awkwardly at her flub.
"That your word for it?" asked Coco, glancing across the table at her former opponent.
"Yep," said Natsuki, giving Coco an easygoing grin.
"Thank you for buying dinner for us," said Miyu, bowing her head politely to Coco. "This was hardly necessary."
"It's fine," said Coco, idly waving a hand at them. "I heard Natsuki here say you don't have any lien. So you guys probably haven't gotten much of a chance to eat out."
"Sorry," squeaked, Natsuki, shrinking in on herself as Miyu and Setsuna gave her deadpan looks.
It's almost like she's shrinking, thought Oscar, smiling wryly.
The restaurant they'd come to was hardly anything all that special. However, it was a favorite haunt of Team CFVY, one of their favorite places to come back to, after a successful mission. The food was good and filling, and the ambience was relaxed. No one there would bat an eyelid at an eight-person party talking and shouting energetically. In fact, there were the occasional flashes from the cameras of nearby scrolls, bystanders recognizing, and snapping pictures of, the tournament participants.
They quickly fell into conversation, chatting easily with one another. Despite being so much older than their former opponents, the members of CFVY demonstrated that they were extremely personable, one of the things that made them such a popular group at Beacon.
"I'm still uncertain how you managed to attack, after you were affected by my Semblance," said Yatsuhashi, giving Setsuna a curious look.
"What is your Semblance, exactly?" asked Setsuna. He already had a vague idea, but he would prefer that Yatsuhashi to confirm it.
"Memory erasure," said Yatsuhashi. "I can erase memories of varying periods of time for equally varying periods of time. It's usually temporary. However, I can erase more immediate memories permanently."
"That's a frightening ability," said Setsuna.
"It is," agreed Yatsuhashi.
"Why would you say that?" asked Miyu.
"When I first discovered it, I was young...and foolish," said Yatsuhashi. "At first, I found that, when I tried to explain it to my family, I was also just making them forget about it later. Then I was able to use it for my own benefit. However, one day, I overreached. I accidentally used my Semblance to make my mother forget about my baby sister for a day."
"That must have been frightening to go through," said Miyu sympathetically, "that and the aftermath."
"It was," said Yatsuhashi. "After that, I fully came clean about my Semblance. My parents told me to never use it again, but Grandfather suggested I come to Beacon, and learn to use it for good."
"So then, you erased my memories at the moment of contact," said Setsuna pensively.
"I figured that, whatever your next move was, if I could erase your memory of deciding to use it, I could stop you long enough to launch my own attack," said Yatsuhashi. "But you didn't even hesitate. How?"
"Muscle memory," said Setsuna, "plain and simple. You might have wiped the next move I was planning to make from my mind, but my body still knew what it was doing, so it carried on without needing my conscious input."
"You can do that?" asked Fox, aghast.
"With sufficient training, yes," said Miyu, giving Setsuna a proud smile, while resting her hand over his. "That's not even the kind of thing that would be specific to the Mibu arts."
"It takes a lot of practice," said Setsuna. "I'm not all that talented, not like Ruby-chan or Natsu-chan. So, when push comes to shove, all I can really do is put my all into mastering every move I'm taught. Of course, the flip-side is that they become all that more deeply engrained."
Miyu laced her fingers with Setsuna's. "When it comes to dedication, Setsuna won't lose to Ruby-chan or Natsu-chan."
"She's not wrong," said Natsuki with surprising ease.
"Yeah, but what were all those crazy skills you used out there?" asked Coco. "I mean, I've seen Semblances and Dust do some crazy stuff, not to mention the stunts Ruby's pulled, but painting yourself with your own blood like that...?"
"Even going by the standards of Dust, the way you manipulated gravity was remarkably unusual," added Yatsuhashi, giving Setsuna a confused look.
"Well, since you're good friends of Ruby-chan, I think we can trust you," said Miyu, smiling at them.
They began to lay out the nature of their abilities, explaining Aura and Manifestation to the stunned members of CFVY. They'd gotten some basic explanations from Ruby before, but this was a much more detailed and comprehensive explanation.
"Well damn," said Coco, when the explanation was wrapped up. "That's...awesome."
"We're sorry for keeping you in the dark like that," said Natsuki, clapping her hands together and bowing her head over them.
"Well, it's no different than people keeping their Semblance under wraps for a tactical advantage," Fox pointed out.
"Darn right," agreed Coco, before noticing that a certain teammate of hers had been strangely quiet, having not spoken a word since their toast. "You okay, Vel? You're not still sore about the match, are you?"
"N-no," said Velvet, stammering nervously, though her drooping ears gave her mood away a little.
"Did you have something important planned for the finals?" asked Oscar.
"You could say that," said Coco. "Yatsu and I were supposed to power through, and then Velvet would strut her stuff in the next round."
"Is there something special about what she planned to do?" asked Miyu.
"You could say that," said Coco. "You wanna explain, Vel?"
"Um...Well...I...My weapon that is..." Velvet looked away shyly.
Coco sighed. "I'll do it," she said. "Anesidora, Vel's weapon, uses a special formulation of hard-light-Dust to produce replicas of the weapons she photographs. With her Semblance, she can perfectly mimic the moves of the people who use those weapons."
"An interesting ability," said Miyu. "In other words, you could change your style and strategy according to the needs of the fight."
Coco nodded. "But, you see, the important thing is Anesidora. Hard-light-Dust is hardly anything new on the scene. But what Vel's done with it is huge."
"How so?" asked Setsuna. "I'm sorry to say we don't have much knowledge about the particulars of Dust, so this is all very new to us."
"Hard-light-Dust is usually used for shields and the like," said Coco. "It can create a static barrier, or one that's at least anchored to the mechanism it's generated from. But Velvet created a device and specialized formulation of that Dust to create a hard-light object that can be manipulated as though it were a physical one."
"Basically, it's a huge step forward for Dust-tech," said Fox. "By demonstrating it on such a large stage, even if Velvet didn't win the title, she'd still be able to make a major impression."
"And what would the purpose of that be?" asked Setsuna. "While it seems exciting, I can't imagine arranging to show it off in the tournament simply to be lauded for it."
"Yeah," agreed Coco. "But you see...if Vel shows that off, then people are gonna get interested. If they get interested, people are going to be asking about it, asking her about it...a faunus will be the driving force behind a huge technological innovation."
Natsuki, Miyu, and Setsuna all canted their heads in confusion. "What's so special about that?" asked Natsuki.
Team CFVY and Oscar stared at the three Mibu in confusion. "Um...Well...a lot of people wouldn't expect something like that of a faunus," said Velvet.
The three visitors from the Mibu shared confused looks. "Oh!" said Natsuki, the realization dawning on her. "It's that racism thing Ruby-chan was talking about, you know, how the humans in the Kingdoms look down on the faunus."
"Oooooh..." said Setsuna and Miyu in unison.
"I completely forgot some people in the Kingdoms get worked up over stuff like that," said Setsuna, Miyu nodding her agreement.
"Um...Haven't you gotten any strange looks?" asked Velvet, staring at Setsuna in confusion. "I mean...you're a faunus too."
"Is that why?" asked Setsuna, his eyes going wide. "I thought it was just because Miyu and I looked too foreign to some people."
"So...you don't have issues between humans and faunus in your clan?" asked Yatsuhashi.
"Nope," said all three Mibu in unison.
"That's...amazing," said Velvet, breathless at the thought.
"Is it really?" asked Natsuki. "It seems normal to me. I was gonna ask about your ears, Velvet-san."
"What about them?" asked Velvet, the ears in question standing up attentively.
"I was wondering if you have any special products you use to get your fur to look so nice," said Natsuki. "Tomo-chan, back home, is always trying to get her ears to look better, and your ears make me think that's the kind of look she's going for."
"Ah...well...I mean, there are a few specialized products," said Velvet, surprised by the unexpected line of conversation.
"Ooh!" squealed Natsuki. "Maybe we should bring some back as a sample."
"It couldn't hurt," said Miyu, nodding sagely.
"Well, I'm impressed," said Coco.
"It makes me want to see your homeland, someday," said Velvet.
To their surprise, the faces of the three Mibu visitors fell.
"Yeah...that's not to say that we're completely free from discrimination," said Setsuna warily.
"Even if there is no discord between humans and faunus amongst our people, the Mibu are biased against those hailing from the outside, as Ruby-chan can attest," continued Miyu.
"So, while nobody would discriminate against you, 'cause you're a faunus; they'd still discriminate against you 'cause you're from the Kingdoms."
"Oh..." said Velvet, her ears drooping.
"We're trying to change that though," said Natsuki quickly, sitting up a little straighter. "That's why we're here, after all."
"It is?" asked Fox.
"We're here to teach and learn," said Setsuna. "We'll show the people what the Mibu can bring to the world."
"And, while we're at it, we'll bring back the things that can show the Mibu the benefits of joining with the rest of the world," added Miyu.
Natsuki nodded. "Sasame-sama is gonna become one of the Goyosei, when she gets back. And then she's gonna help Sora-sama-that's Ruby's mom, by the way-campaign to open our borders, so that we can interact with the Kingdoms. And we're gonna do everything we can to help her."
"That's great," said Oscar, giving his three friends an admiring look.
"If there's one thing we've learned by coming here, it's that we can't simply continue to stand in place," said Miyu firmly. "If the Mibu are to continue to develop, we'll need to keep moving forward."
"But, from the sound of things, you people have everything you need," Coco pointed out. "You aren't even using Dust, but you're able to hold your own in a tournament of people who are all multiple years older then you, using pretty much nothing but your Auras."
"And yet, battle strength isn't everything," said Miyu. "We've already seen incredible things that we know our people would be grateful for."
"Yeah," agreed Natsuki, nodding to herself. "Like, the other day, when we went with Oscar to talk to his aunt. Even though she's on a different continent, we were able to talk to her like she was in the same room with us. That's amazing!"
Miyu nodded. "You all carry miniature versions of that technology with you, making you able to keep in contact so easily with one another. The sheer number of applications we've seen for it are dizzying."
The members of CFVY shared confused looks. It was understandable. The CCT was something that Atlas had developed for the Kingdoms, following the Great War. The towers themselves had been around since before any of them had even been born. They'd grown up with that technology being an accepted part of life, something they had come to rely on without question.
And yet, when one stopped to think about it, it really was incredible. The ability to communicate with others, even if they were on a completely different continent, was something bordering on miraculous. If someone had gone their entire lives without such a convenient thing then their introduction to such technology would be something akin to a revelation.
"I think the airships are really cool too," added Natsuki energetically. "In the Mibu, we have zeppelins and blimps, but they aren't near as fast. And you can make entire buildings fly."
"Yeah, that is pretty neat, when you get down to it," said Fox. "Granted, the coliseum is pretty special, even by our standards."
"So, I wouldn't worry about an unequal relationship," said Setsuna.
The eight of them found their friendly conversation continuing long into the evening. Had Sasame or Sora been present, they would have looked on with expressions of approval.
Dove made his way through the streets of Vale, taking his time on the trip back to the docks. Though evening had fallen, there was plenty of time until the final airship back to Beacon departed, which meant that he was free to stroll leisurely. With the Vytal Festival in full swing, it was occasionally nice to visit Vale, which could be less-crowded than the festival grounds themselves. There were plenty of bars and restaurants running specials, that were, nonetheless, relatively uncrowded this early in the evening. In this case, Dove was on his way back through the faunus quarter, after visiting a certain bakery that had come highly recommended by his friends.
The only thing Dove regretted was that Pyrrha hadn't come down with him. However, Ruby had explained to him that she was still dealing with some of the stress of shrugging off Holly's Semblance, also telling him about Sasame treating its effects, Dove finding himself rather disappointed that he hadn't thought of such a solution. Granted, it wouldn't change the fact that he intended to do everything in his power to ensure that Holly never so much as said a word to Pyrrha, face-to-face, ever again. But he was at least relieved that Pyrrha was no longer struggling with the impulses that Holly's Persuasion had implanted in her head.
Because the real action was taking place at the festival grounds, the streets of Vale were fairly uncrowded. In fact, they were almost downright deserted. In fact...they were a little too deserted.
Dove paused, frowning. His posture straightened, and he began to take in his surroundings with a more attentive eye. It seemed that there was a conspicuous absence of people in his immediate vicinity, something that set off warning bells in his head.
His hand drifted towards his back pocket, reaching for his scroll. It would be extreme to call his locker to him, merely out of suspicion. Doing something like that in downtown Vale would be a pretty serious move, if there wasn't any real trouble. However, Dove wanted to have his device on hand, just in case...
Passing an alley, Dove caught a flicker of movement out of the corner of his eye. Pausing, he turned to look into the darkness between two buildings. As he did, he caught sight of someone.
"Oh...It's you," said Dove, recognition appearing on his face.
A second later, he was dragged into the shadows, the sound of something hard and blunt against flesh filling the air.
Meanwhile, up above, perched on the corner of one of the buildings, a crow looked down, letting out a harsh caw.
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