Git Gud

[A/N:

Firstly, for those who don't speak Redneck American English, that says "Get Good".

Secondly, I am finding it troubling to get around to writing chapters recently, so it has slowed considerably. I won't apologize, it is just how I am, and I only write when I feel like it because otherwise, I find myself writing in a way I very much dislike.

Once again, I would like to make sure you're all aware that almost all of the new names/people used in this chapter are filler, which is why I left their physical and power descriptions vague at best.

And though I'm pretty comfortable in my romantic choices for Argento, if you have any input about it I am willing to listen and change plans to include the better ideas.]

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"Alright everyone, for the last section of class we will switch things up."

Gathering the attention of the class, some of whom were lightly goofing around instead of paying attention, Glynda motions for me to follow her as she floats to the middle of the room. Deciding to be just as flashy, I step onto the railing and take a step into the empty air; at least it would be empty if I didn't have my Time-Steps appear below my feet as I go, though I made sure to make them invisible.

Finally, at a point where she could see the whole class, all of which were now paying attention to the floating teacher and student walking on air, I stopped just slightly behind her, though neither of us left the air.

"So far, I have had you fight as pairs either against someone you were at a significant disadvantage against, or against someone whose style was similar but done differently. But knowing how you are at this age, I believe this to not be enough.

Therefore, I will have many of you fight someone who is undoubtedly better at combat." Interrupting her speech, she then raises her hand, still holding her tablet, to gesture to me. "As those who have a good memory will know, this is Argento Chrono, fellow 1st year and leader of team AZTC.

For the rest of the fighting portion of today, you will take turns to try and beat him. While I have a list of names I will put against him, if there is anyone who wishes to fight him just raise your hands and I'll change the list accordingly.

The rules for these fights will be slightly different. The opponent that faces Argento will be out once their aura is fully depleted, though do be aware that I may call the fight whenever I deem it necessary. Argento will only be out once either he surrenders or I call the fight, regardless of whether he runs out of aura or not."

As Glynda was finishing up, the students were murmuring between each other with increasing intensity, and looking around there were several reactions. Some were arrogantly snickering, others were just shaking their heads no doubt thinking this was because I was trying to show off, while I could see some of the gentler souls look on in curious worry.

Finally, as Glynda is about to continue with the first name on the list, a hand is raised from a moderately large blonde male, the center from which much of the arrogance originated. Noticing his hand, she goes through the list, finding his picture and name a little ways into the list.

"Alright, Tanner Nave of NVJO [Navajo White] come to the stage." Turning to me and now lowering her voice, she gave me a look that told me she had full faith in my ability to get through until the end. "Now I might want you to beat some sense into them, but not all of your opponents will be the ones I want to teach a lesson to. If you can hold back, go ahead and do so… Unless you think they deserve a righteous beating."

Nodding my head, I release the Time-Step keeping me in the air, allowing myself to fall the short distance to the ground. Looking ahead to observe Nave closer, I notice the light armor his outfit has on as well as the dual maces he had in his hands.

An arrogant smile was plastered on his face, and because he hasn't fought someone today I can only assume he believes himself better than others; like a certain blasty-boy from another anime but without the skills to back it up. Since we were both classified as melee fighters we were instructed to go to the stage.

[Goodwitch] - "Semblance use is allowed. Now, begin!"

Wielding his maces, he stalked forward, only keeping as on guard as his ego would let him. Though seeing how he acted, I wasn't very impressed, so when I didn't reach for either my katana or chokuto blades, which were easily seen, it seemed to anger him.

Giving up the slower stalking, he rushes forward and puts all of his weight into his right swing. Predictable, so I easily step just out of range, with it barely swiping past my face.

It seems my neutral expression didn't do his anger any favors as he began to wildly swipe several times in hopes of connecting. A sidestep here, a backstep there, a light hop, and bending backward into a handstand vault back to my feet.

[Argento] - "Man I wasn't expecting much, but this is kind of sad."

At my taunting, he lets out a noise I can only acquaint as a growl, and as his body lightly glows blue he launches forward faster than before. Once again he swings in a way where a slight backstep is all I need to dodge, but this time the air pressure is much higher than before. With just the slightest twitch from my eye, I can only conclude his Semblance has something to do with speed or strength.

Several strikes pass, with me only needing to move my body out of the way slightly for each one, slowly doing circles around the stage that has been given a few tiny craters and many cracks from the force of Nave's strikes that hit the ground. Not a single moment has passed where he deactivated his Semblance, the drain slowly showing on his face as he desperately tries to hit me even once.

Once again with an overhead swing, this time with both maces, I decide it's time to stop messing with the angry and arrogant blond. Once again sidestepping his blow, this time with more enthusiasm, I easily circle to his back by the time his maces meet the ground.

Lowering into a power stance, a very light golden glow encompasses my right arm as I pull it back, and just as Nave has enough time to look back in slight concern I let loose a punch that throws him not only off the stage, but it sends him into a wall that grows cracks upon his impact. As some of the students glance down at the student struggling to stand, his Semblance finally deactivated, I glance up at the display of our aura that was above the stage.

My aura was nearly untouched, and what little I used was visibly regenerating, though at a very slow rate. Nave's aura, on the other hand, was deep in the red and nearly gone.

It seems him constantly keeping up his Semblance was a taxing move, though, from the many cracks across the stage, it seems it's a big enough increase in power that would've ended most fights he was in before now.

[Glynda] - "And that's the fight!"

Standing from her spot in the stands, Glynda swipes her riding crop, causing a purple glow to cover the many cracks across the stage and the wall where Nave impacted, causing them all to go back to perfect condition. Giving a gentler wave she lifts Nave into the stands to his team, who crowd around him without getting too close.

Looking into the stands as Glynda goes into teacher mode and asks what he did wrong, I see a couple of changes among the crowd. The arrogant ones were more toned down than before, the ones who thought I was merely trying to show off were now more neutral after having been proven at least slightly wrong, and those who were curious but worried for me lost the worry but still held that curiosity.

Though what I didn't miss was the cheering I could hear from my team, and while Glynda called for a volunteer, with no success, I smiled and waved at them.

The next one down was another of the arrogant-looking ones, though now after seeing my skills it seems he became more wary. He was of medium size, and his choice of weapon was a large, collapsible halberd that seemed to have a ranged weapon as one of its transformations.

With another melee fighter, we were made to fight on the stage again, though I was already there so I just chose the side he was farthest from to make his arrival just a tad faster.

[Glynda] - "Semblance use is allowed. Begin!"

Not choosing to approach slowly as Nave did, the halberd-wielder dashed forward, holding his weapon at the ready. Then, when he was a few paces away, he jumps into the air and thrusts his halberd as he descends.

Deciding to take a similar but aggressive approach compared to the last fight, I wait until the last second to sidestep the halberd. On its way past me, I grab the shaft with my right hand and kick at his still air-borne body with my left leg.

Nailing him right in the side as I let go of his weapon, he veers off course, and after he unsteadily lands I begin walking to him. Deciding to stay on the ground, he dashes forward, and instead of jumping or thrusting, he swings as his halberd becomes laced in fire.

Seeing the solution he made caused me to have to fight a little more earnestly, I decided to slide below his swing, and planting a foot and my hands on the ground I thrust my remaining foot straight to his chest. Though when I did that I forgot to hold back, and not expecting the strength of this attack to be so much more than the last one he was once again launched backward.

This time, not moving forward, he begins to swing his halberd above his head in circles, and while doing so he produces flames, causing a pseudo-fire tornado to start forming around him. Without access to him, I decided to back up slightly, though this might have given him the idea I was scared.

In the next second, he swung his halberd down, and with a bang, the fire began to coalesce and rush to the tip where a now open muzzle is shown. With the fire no longer around him, a grin like he already won splits his face as he sends the now human-sized pillar of fire straight at me.

It seems he forgot that in doing so, he would no longer be surrounded by his flames, and waiting until the pillar of fire is halfway to me I slow time, going at a sprint around the fire and behind his back. Instead of doing the same finishing move, I allow time to go to normal as my left leg gains the same dull golden glow my arm had before.

Suddenly seeing nothing in front of him, and a sudden danger behind him, he tries and fails to move out of the way as my powerful kick hooks his head on my foot and slams his face into the ground hard enough to once again create cracks.

Noticing his struggle to get up, Glynda once again calls the fight and both fixes the stage and brings the student back to his team. This time, several of the students that seemed mostly disinterested or neutral became more invested, now seeming curious about what my Semblance could be.

It seems my speed, strength, and 'walking on air' has added elements that, when asked whether they would like to fight me, a few hands went up. As my opponent is being decided, though I can still feel how much aura I have left, I decided to look up at the screen above showing it.

By the time the fight with the fire halberd started, my aura was almost completely restored because of how little I used it beforehand. Now, watching the female opponent coming my way, the bar is more used than before; not by much, but enough to know I would officially be losing aura as these fights progressed.

Aryle Bress, my next opponent, was of much smaller stature than the rest of the class. She wore a dark cloak and had daggers in each of her hands, and as we waited for the signal to start she lightly hopped in place.

Thankfully, she was one of the first to fight, so I had a general grasp of how she fights. That being said, I knew I would need them, so I decided it was time to draw my Chokuto blades.

As soon as Glynda gave the mark, Aryle shot forward with speed that was no doubt faster than almost every other student this year. Thankfully my enhanced aura sense, as well as my own impressive speed, allowed me to keep up with her enough to block or deflect her numerous strikes.

Instead of staying in one place, she continued to shoot around me, randomly striking several times per second as I let myself get used to the pace before I tried fighting back. Most of the attacks didn't hit, and I'm sure I could slow time, but this was the first person so far to both not be on the shitlist and to be properly skilled.

Finally, after several long seconds of the occasional light blow hitting me, I was able to properly anticipate and deflect all attacks. When one of those deflections caused Aryle to stumble I didn't hesitate to plant a very strong knee straight to her stomach.

Unable to dodge it, she ended up flying backward into the stage's wall, though she managed to land feet first on the wall before she once again flew straight at me. Now with an understanding of how she fights, she continued to only land a small graze here and there, while now and again I would manage one on her.

An elbow here, a kick there. At one point I baited her by fake dropping my weapon, and that allowed me a solid punch. It was 42 seconds into the fight when she finally slowed down, showing signs of both stamina and aura depletion.

Once I got another kick in, she was sent flying again, but this time she chose to not jump right back. Instead, she flicked her cloak out of the way, sheathing both daggers in the same area I had my own chokuto blade sheathes, and raised her hands.

[Aryle] - "I give, from here on I can only lose."

[Glynda] - "If that is what you wish, then Argento is the winner!"

With the fight done, and Glynda once again going over the fight with the now fully invested class, Aryle decided to approach me with a barely noticeable, though exhausted, smile.

[Aryle] - "That was a great fight. If it lines up I would like to fight you again at some point, Argento."

Taking the outstretched hand from the girl I had thought to be the silent type, I gave a smile in return.

[Argento] - "It would be my pleasure. That speed was something else though - was it your Semblance?"

[Aryle] - "Yeah, though a little more complicated it gives me a massive boost to my speed. It helps that I'm so small, which makes me harder to hit."

[Argento] - "I'll say - I could barely keep you from hitting me, even when I started to acclimate to your speed."

[Aryle] - "Well that's the point. Strike fast, don't give them a chance to fight back. Either way, you have a good couple of matches left, assuming you don't lose, so good luck with those."

[Argento] - "Thanks, though I'll only need it if the rest are as good as you at their own thing."

With our conversation over, mostly due to the next student now coming down, she waves and once again disappears in a burst of speed that brings her to the stands within a second.

The next few opponents fell pretty easily; one had a pair of kukri with a lightning Semblance, another had a broadsword with some form of barrier, and then a pike wielder with some type of glue that almost got me hit by a massive thrust.

The next opponent to give me trouble was my first ranged opponent, which Glynda made us fight on the whole arena floor. I wasn't going to say no to a challenge, especially because my aura was still only at half.

The challenge with the ranged user wasn't the weapon - I could deflect and dodge bullets easily with Slow Time, it was their Semblance mixed with their weapon. I figured it out relatively quickly, because as soon as Glynda gave the signal they brought their pistols up fully and opened fire.

Having pulled out my chokuto blades to make the fight easier on myself so I wouldn't have to rely on dodging and my aura shield, I slowed time and began deflecting what I couldn't dodge. It was after the third deflection that I realized my sword felt much heavier than usual, having not noticed because I deflected once with each blade before the third.

Having a solid idea, but wanting to test it, I made sure to only deflect with my left for the next couple of shots, only able to make moderate progress in my pursuit of them before I was assured in my assumptions. With the fifth shot, its weight felt like it doubled from its already heavy weight, so I decided to drop it for the rest of the fight.

Now down to two proper blades and my throwing knives, I decided I didn't want to find out what happened should they hit my body. Suddenly pushing Slow Time into overdrive, the bullets became easy to dodge, and sprinting at my opponent I made it in almost no time.

Looking back at the aura meters, I notice mine going down at a rate I can perceive even at this time dilation, while theirs is about half. So acting quickly I jump when I arrive, lighting up my leg in a brighter gold than all my previous hits, and when I get within striking distance I disable my Slow Time.

To all those in the normal time stream, they saw me going even faster than I had against Aryle, only slowing down as I deflected more bullets. But once I dropped my sword, which fell blade down and managed to plunge into the ground enough to stand up, I suddenly bolted at a speed many could barely follow.

And suddenly being above my opponent, my leg shone a visible gold, a move my team was now familiar with, and on impact they flew across the arena, making a crater with cracks unlike Nave had when I punched him into the wall and he only made cracks.

It was only a few seconds between before and after I used Slow Time, but my aura went from half to a quarter with that final kick. It was better than my opponent's half to empty after my kick, but I would still have to deal with more fights.

Speaking of, going back to my discarded blade and pulling it out, I was happy to feel it back to its normal weight. Might have been when I accidentally knocked my opponent out, but they should feel satisfied they had to make me use so much aura just to take them out.

With the fight being called, and the arena fixed, I noticed only 15 minutes left of class. Leaving at least 5 minutes for Glynda to do teacher things, I only had to make it 10 more minutes, which would only be a problem if I had to fight more people that gave me that much of a challenge.

And lucky me, not only would it be difficult, but it seems Glynda might have a hidden sadistic side. As she stood to give the class instructions on how to move next, she gave me a brief look that led me to that conclusion.

[Glynda] - "We have only a little bit of time left for today, so let's ramp up the difficulty. Would the following people go down to the arena floor?"

As several names were called with increasingly confused looks going around, I almost didn't realize what she was trying to do, and I could only shake my head in exasperation. By her direction, we grouped up where, although not in a uniform shape, I was in the middle of the group spread out around the floor.

[Glynda] - "Now, for the next 10 minutes the 15 of you are going to work together to take Argento out. All attacks are allowed, if the time runs out and Argento is still standing it is his win, if he takes all of you out he wins, and when you are out you will be moved to the stands. Begin!"

Almost immediately, I felt danger coming from my back that I narrowly dodged, seeing a moderately sized knife attached to a chain begin flying back to the user. Jumping out of the way of a Warhammer that proceeded to create a small crater on the ground, I swiftly threw a throwing knife in retaliation that was blocked by a transparent barrier.

Coming to the swift realization that I need to keep my aura for as long as I can, I couldn't help but be annoyed. I was forced to slow down time to get out of the way of several bullets converging on my location, but using this moment I decided to get out of the encirclement to have them all in my line of sight.

Doing so caused a small break, in which I looked at the area where my aura was still being shown in real-time, and instead of seeing their aura, it was a large countdown that wasn't even 30 seconds in. Taking the remaining seconds until they rushed forward, I observed the weapons I could currently see.

The man with the Warhammer was near the girl wielding the dual knives connected by a thick metal wire, the barrier user with the broadsword stood at the forefront with a collection of some other melee fighters. The more mid- and long-range fighters stood further on the fringes, no doubt trying to keep away from me after what I did to the weighted bullet user, who is thankfully not in this fight.

Finally taking things seriously I take a deep breath in and out, settling into a lowered fighting stance as I draw my katana in my right hand and a chokuto blade in my left, held in a backward grip. The second before I launched at them I activated the part of Chronokinesis that allows me to have increased processing speed as the world seemed to go slower than usual.

As the bullets from the backline came forth the moment I burst forward, my chokuto blade was busy blocking bullets as I swept my katana forward. As a glaive blocked my blade I twisted my body and snapped my left leg into their side, launching them to the backlines.

The bullets became much more scarce as more melee fighters got into the mix, allowing me to focus my blade on deflecting the broadsword swing that was coming my way. A swing with my just freed chokuto blade to my back caused the approaching Warhammer to have to defend, and while I jumped over the incoming knife on a wire I created a Time-Step.

Twirling my body, I launched myself to the backlines and as both blades came to swipe down on my target the same barrier from before interrupted me. Having now become thoroughly annoyed once I landed, I threw my chokuto into the barrier, and as I suspected it bounced off it.

This was just my distraction though because I swiftly drew a throwing knife and precisely threw it through the coming crowd, and because of the dull golden glow signifying I sped it up no one was able to notice it in time to stop it from heavily impacting the aura shield of the barrier user.

With the barrier user distracted for at least a second or two, I once again twisted my body and kicked a ranged fighter with a golden leg. Capitalizing on this non-barrier moment, I heavily planted the leg that lost its glow, causing me to launch over my chokuto blade, which I grabbed, and swinging them both sideways with enough strength to break a tree trunk I launched another of the ranged fighters.

As they impacted the wall, Glynda outed them with the telekinetic aspect of her power, and now with 13 opponents and 9 minutes left, I made it my goal to not have to win by time, but instead by total KO. Knowing one of my biggest obstacles would be the barrier, I chose that to be the next target.

With that in mind, I dashed straight through the melee fighters in my way, causing the ranged fighters to be useless as I methodically dodged or deflected every attack sent my way. Finally, within range of the barrier user, I threw my katana at him.

The barrier was brought up, as I assumed it would be, and with little care for the aura drain, I launched myself right in front of it, and therefore him, as I 'charged' a punch. It would just be getting into a stance to allow a maximum power punch, except now a golden glow I didn't even have during my fight with the gravity gunner flashed into existence across my body.

The unfortunate thing about speeding up my melee attacks is that the more I speed it up the more I have to spread the power through my body. I'm sure as my body becomes stronger I'll become able to resist higher percentages without spreading it, though that also means my normal attacks would be much stronger regardless.

Having not done something this flashy yet seemed to bring caution into him as he braced despite the barrier, but it wouldn't be enough. As if my fist teleported, three loud shatters resounded across the arena almost simultaneously; one causing the transparent particles to flutter down around me, the second being the shattering of a broadsword into metal shards that flew outward, and the third being the aura shield that still couldn't resist the power behind the punch as he was sent flying into the wall.

The only thing saving him from potentially genuinely harmful injuries was a purple sigil that caused his body to vastly slow down, only creating cracks in the wall as he was no doubt unconscious. The fight halted for a few breaths, watching me stand up straight as the golden glow slowly left my body, as I stared at them with slowly dimming golden eyes.

Looking up toward the screen, I sighed while bursting back to the still-unmoving group. Only a few moments had passed since I took out the last two, making it three people in a little more than a minute. What made me sigh though was my aura levels.

Having conversed with others about this topic, it seems to be able to feel how much aura you have left isn't the most common skill to have, and at how accurately I can do it I can safely say it would be extremely rare to find another who can do the same. So seeing the aura levels that had gone from about 30% to 10% since the beginning of the fight wasn't a surprise to me, but I couldn't help the sigh.

Taking advantage of the surprise factor I imprinted, a strong kick to the dual knife wielder's head with a minor golden glow brought their head into the ground, outing them seconds after the last. This brought the others completely back, but I had already launched to another ranged user.

For the next 4 and a half minutes I used my aura as sparingly as I could, and as I felt the final 1% of it leave my body in a punch to the gut of a tired glaive user, I only slightly teetered on my feet. After exactly 5 minutes I was the last one standing, and with a wave of Glynda's riding crop, the downed glaive user and I were both floated out of the arena and to our respective teams.

As she floated to the now repairing arena, I was gently welcomed back to my group since they could tell I was pretty tired. Although the fights weren't all too difficult if taken individually, constantly being in fight mode and with some of the fights being decent it can take its toll.

Once I sat down any adrenaline I had up to now left, and without the will to resist it, I leaned onto whoever was closest at the moment.

[Celestia] - "You did good out there."

Hearing where her voice came from, I could tell it was her shoulder I had landed on, though I was too tired to really pay attention to anything other than how gentle her voice felt. It's not like Celestia is all that loud to begin with, but how she was talking felt like she was singing the softest lullaby.

[Argento] - "Thanks, though I probably could've come out with more aura if I hadn't gone so overboard against barrier boy."

My words came out more slurred than I would've liked, but I was able to resist the yawn that tried to escape.

[Celestia] - "Well given the possibilities his Semblance could have, I think you did the smart thing."

[Argento] - "Alright, well if I fall asleep then do wake me up, I have a meeting with Ozpin in about an hour."

[Celestia] - "Whatever you say, oh almighty leader."

With her small chuckle that lulled me even deeper into my drowsy state, an echo of a "fufufu" played in my head once again. I simply attributed it to the fatigue and not the friendly, gentle soul that was Dawn that continued to pay more attention to the two of us than Glynda's speech.

<Glynda POV>

I had noticed by the way he could barely stand properly that Argento was more tired than he would like to let on; this was only shown true when, by the time I finished my speech to the now speechless class, I looked over to find him leaning on his teammate's shoulder asleep.

Now I can't say I know him very well, and I don't know how he was able to recover from what he went through at such a young age. But even after seeing his proficiency in combat, there was something about the peace he held as he slept that made me wish he would quit now and move onto a different path.

It's a dumb thought, and though he is easily bright enough to make it anywhere, I know he would never stop. I can't quite tell whether it's a latent maternal instinct or simply because I know that he's already lost enough to the forces we fight and that if he continues he may very well lose more.

His fight started much earlier than almost anyone's, which makes it my job to ensure he has the tools for both success and happiness. The resources to grow ever stronger are apparent, but his connections to those around him might very well be even more important for his happiness.

It is these connections that will give him more to fight for, as well as the memories to hold onto in even the darkest of moments. So to see the boy I knew, that was once so broken and lost, have what is obviously a very strong budding connection with these teammates, brings joy to my heart.

Truthfully I never wanted to leave the boy with Rose and Taiyang. Not because I thought little of their ability to care for him, if anything there was no one I could think of to be more worthy of such a responsibility, but because doing so would mean to keep him far enough off the grid to keep him safe.

It was especially difficult to not visit after Rose never came back, and I had to be held back by Ozpin when I heard about what happened when Argento got injured protecting her children. Though I know my pain from losing a dear friend isn't nearly as bad as Taiyang's loss from losing a wife, it barely passes as an excuse for his negligence.

But regardless of the reason, I shall be here for him now, though now that I am hovering back over to his team after the class was dismissed I wonder if he actually needs me now that he's an adult. However that's not for me to decide, so I chose to address his team which has yet to move as they decide what to do with the sleeping Argento.

[Glynda] - "I guess him being tired is an expected result, so I'll let you all in on a little open secret. Our kitchen staff is 24 hours, so at any point you can request a meal by either going to the kitchens or by scroll and a Beacon drone will bring it to your dorm."

[Eugene] - "So why is this an open secret and not given information?"

[Glynda] - "We like to try and keep the students on a reasonable eating schedule, and the array of food we offer promotes healthy eating habits. On another note, Argento has a meeting with me and Ozpin at 19:00, so just keep in mind it takes a regular person about 20 minutes to walk to Ozpin's office. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some stuff to do before the said meeting."

<Celestia POV>

Nodding to Professor Goodwitch, I see a small, fond smile on her face as she takes a final glance at Argento. The familiarity they've shown backs up his earlier remarks of being connected to the Headmaster, not that I doubted him in the first place.

[Celestia] - "I think it's pretty obvious what she was getting at, so you two go ahead and go eat. I'll either meet you there or back at the dorm."

[Eugene] - "Are you sure? Won't you get-"

Before he could continue Dawn softly smacked her hand over his mouth, muffling any other words he might've said.

[Dawn] - "Sounds good to us, have fun!"

And with a sense of hurry that she didn't even have during the fight with the Nevermore, she dragged Eugene away before he could even make any noise. Wryly shaking my head I look at the clock to see it has just barely passed 18:00, so I decide it's probably best I move to keep us comfortable.

Using the wing on the same side of the shoulder he is lying on I prop him in place, bending around his body to put his legs onto the same level he is sitting at. Once I get him there I move myself slightly away and slowly lower his upper body until his head is resting on my lap facing up.

Finally, in a position we can both stay comfortable in, I look down at my team leader, peacefully sleeping after having just annihilated almost 30 students, most of which were among the best of this generation's Huntsmen recruits. Thinking back to the back-to-back battles, then the 15v1 he was in, and finally his interaction with the Professor right before he cackled and went up, I can only shake my head as I find out more about him.

Back in Initiation, he seemed very calm, collected, and reasonable up until we got caught by the Nevermore. Once it came into play, the pure elation he seemed to portray then, as well as the near-maniacal grin he gave here, seems to all point at a battle maniac - but that doesn't make much sense.

Sure he outwardly shows he enjoys fighting, as well as his working out every morning after the first despite the workout he would be getting in combat class today, but nothing about him screams battle freak. A hidden side of him, if you will.

His obvious love and care for his family, which I can similarly portray for my own family, and his kindness toward others, like the faunus from Initiation day, seem to be the top-most layer above this hidden battle-freak and the even more hidden, seemingly soul-crushing pain he must have endured.

As I think back on it, I can't stop a frown from forming; his innumerable scars on just his upper body, and that pain I saw shock his body for the briefest of moments can't be from different incidents. Not that it's impossible, but the thought that he might have gone through harsh physical and emotional pain on several occasions saddens me.

A slight jostle pulls me from my thoughts, but the frown stays as I see Argento keep rustling in his sleep. Not a lot, but I've seen my younger brother do it enough to know how to recognize night terrors; not yet nightmarish enough to wake up, but bad enough to affect the body.

As a reflex of helping my brother, I reached down and began rubbing my fingers through Argento's hair, but as I noticed and was about to bring my hand away he stopped rustling. The scrunches on his face relax as a peaceful look slowly returns, and as I begin to move my fingers gently against his hair and scalp more a smile starts to show.

Just a small smile, but the sight warms me as my frown is turned upside down. Reminiscent of being by my brother's side, yet feeling completely different and just as peaceful if not more, I begin to fall into a trance.

It is a trance I am familiar with, and having no will to stop it I begin to fall into a rare meditative state, a place where my own past fades away and any pain I feel becomes unnoticeable. I am unsure how long I stayed there, but I only fully noticed I had fallen into it as I came out, once again jostled by Argento; though this time, he was awake.