Is that a plane? No that's...

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"Do you think this is the place?"

Yang inquired of her raven-haired, cat-eared companion as they cautiously neared the ancient edifice. Upon their approach, they encountered several short stone columns, each adorned with small objects in gold and black that seemed oddly familiar.

"Chess pieces?"

Blake whispered, eyeing them curiously.

"Some are missing. Seems we're not the first to arrive."

Yang observed, scanning the surroundings. Indeed, while the columns were too few to display a full set of chess pieces, there were just enough to represent pairs of knights, bishops, and rooks, along with the king and queen, in each color. However, as she noted, some pieces were absent.

"We should choose one."

Blake suggested, surveying the remaining pieces. Her golden-haired partner drew closer to a golden knight, examining it intently.

"Hmm..."

She pondered, lifting the chess piece.

"What about this charming little steed?"

She proposed, and Blake's lips curled into a smirk.

"Agreed."

Blake replied, joining Yang, who flashed a mischievous smile.

"That was simple enough!"

Yang exclaimed. Even with her reserved demeanor, Blake couldn't help but smile.

"After all, this place isn't exactly hidden."

"Eeeeek!"

Suddenly, both girls let out a scream as they noticed Shizuo lounging near the ancient structure, with Elia, Miltia, and Melanie using his legs as cushions. Holding a pair of pawns in the palm of his hand.

Before they could question Shizuo, a girl's shout echoed, followed by a figure tumbling through the air, ascending so high they almost missed it.

For the second time that day, Jaune was catapulted into the skies above the Emerald Forest, and surprisingly, he didn't find it thrilling, which explained his terrified screams. As he continued to scream, he began to descend, heading back towards the forest floor, seemingly destined to land beyond a large clearing.

Drawing nearer, he noticed his fellow blonde leaping towards him, possibly to his rescue. Unbeknownst to him, a large shadow loomed overhead.

"Heads uuuuuuuup!"

Ruby's voice pierced the air as she fell from the sky, arms flailing, eyes wide with alarm.

Jaune felt Shizuo brush past him, using him as a springboard to launch himself upward, catching Ruby and propelling Jaune towards the earth.

Shizuo had little choice but to use his Semblance to absorb the kinetic energy Ruby had accumulated during her fall. To prevent her from getting hurt, he enveloped her in his arms, and together they spiraled down, narrowly missing a stone structure and crashing onto a tree's lower branch.

"Oohhhh... What was that?"

Ruby moaned, shaking off her dizziness, then realized who had caught her.

"Shizuo? Where did you come from?"

"Just taking an aerial stroll and caught a pretty flower."

Shizuo replied with a charming smile, causing Ruby to blush.

"I could ask you the same thing, Ruby."

"Did your sister just fall from the sky?"

They heard Blake ask Yang, as the two girls below looked up at the tree in bewilderment. 

"I..."

The blonde paused, uncertain of how to react to the unfolding events. As she searched for words, rustling sounds came from the forest, and an Ursa appeared, rearing up on its hind legs and waving its front paws. Suddenly, a large pink explosion erupted from behind the bear Grimm, making it fall and throwing the ginger-haired girl who had been atop it to the ground.

"Yeeee-Haaaaw!"

She exclaimed, rising to her feet to check her now-still mount, which promptly disintegrated into ash.

"Awwww... It's broken."

The ginger whined.

"Nora!"

The pink-eyed boy shouted as he emerged from the forest, coming to a stop right next to the girl he had given Adam the name for, before doubling over, gasping for breath.

"Please... Don't ever do that again."

He looked up to make sure she was listening to him, but the girl was already gone. Currently, Nora was in front of the temple, eyeing a golden rook chess piece eagerly.

"Oooohh..."

She cooed, before snapping the chess piece up, doing a victory dance while the rook rested atop her head.

"I'm queen of the castle! I'm queen of the castle!"

Nora sang jubilantly. 

"Nora!"

The pink-eyed brother called to her. The girl stopped dancing, and then snapped herself into a salute, causing the rook to fall into her hand.

"Coming, Ren!"

She smiled, skipping back towards her partner, and finally giving the bull Faunus the other name for their bizarre dynamic duo.

"Did that girl just ride in on an Ursa?"

Blake asked, her amber eyes wide with surprise.

"I..."

Yang was interrupted a second time as an ominous screech echoed out of the forest, before Pyrrha Nikos emerged, running for her life as a giant Death Stalker knocked a few trees down in pursuit of her. The redhead leaped away from a pincer attempting to snatch her up and continued running, spying on the group in front of her.

Ruby stood onto her feet, her dizziness fully gone, and the silver-eyed girl jumped off the tree landing in a roll, then slowly stood back up.

"Ruby!"

Yang called, concerned for her younger sister's safety.

"Yang!"

Ruby called back excitedly, running towards her older sister, arms out in front of her. Before the two siblings could reunite in a heartwarming embrace, though, Nora leaped in between the two, arms outstretched, posing dramatically.

"Nora!"

The ginger announced, completely oblivious to Pyrrha running away from the giant scorpion monster, which was happening right in front of them. Blake was watching this, though, scarcely believing her amber eyes.

"Did she just run all the way here with a Death Stalker on her tail?"

She asked Yang. The blonde girl snapped. Her eyes turned red and fire erupted over her body, as she thrusted her balled fists down in frustration.

"I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!"

Yang shouted.

"CAN EVERYONE JUST CHILL OUT FOR TWO SECONDS BEFORE SOMETHING CRAZY HAPPENS AGAIN?!"

For exactly two seconds, everyone was quiet, allowing Yang to calm down, a panting Ren to join her, and the rest were now in front of the temple. Only then did her little sister notice something occurring above them, causing the silver-eyed girl to tug at her sleeve.

"Umm... Yang?"

Ruby whimpered, pointing up at the sky. They all looked up to see a giant Nevermore soaring high above their heads, Weiss Schnee dangling from one of the raven Grimm's talons, which was as large as the heiress herself.

"How could you leave me?!"

The pale girl called down to her partner, furious.

"I said 'jump!'"

Ruby called back up at her defensively.

"She's gonna fall."

Blake stated matter-of-factly. 

"Nah-! She'll be fine?"

Ruby said, not sounding entirely convinced herself.

"She's falling."

Ren noted. Indeed, Weiss was spiraling downwards, her mouth open in a panicked scream.

"Oh no!"

Ruby gasped, her eyes darting around the clearing that enveloped the temple, desperate to find a way to assist the heiress. She caught sight of Shizuo nearby; he was closest to Weiss's predicted point of impact.

"Shizuo! Shizuo!"

She shouted, beckoning him urgently. As the burly blond Lion Faunus turned her way, Ruby gestured skyward towards Weiss.

"Catch her!"

Shizuo's gaze followed Ruby's direction as she formed an 'ok' sign with her left hand and playfully poked her right index finger through it, her cheeks tinted with a blush.

With a soft chuckle, he soared into the air once more and caught Weiss in his arms just before she could reach the ground. She remained unharmed, thanks to his semblance which absorbed the kinetic energy she had gathered during her descent, saving her from any injury.

"I remember we're still in autumn, so there shouldn't be any snow in the forecast this morning."

Shizuo remarked, eliciting an eye roll and playful hits on his chest from Weiss.

"My hero."

She said sarcastically, prompting a smirk from Shizuo as he stole a kiss before they landed. Weiss, blushing and nestled against his chest, was gently set down by the Lion Faunus, and together they walked over to join the rest of their group. They were soon accompanied by Pyrrha, who leaped away from the Death Stalker, gliding through the air to land heavily on her side.

"Great! The gang's all here!"

Yang declared, clapping her hands.

"Now we can die together!"

"Not if I can help it!"

Ruby proclaimed, hoisting her scythe above her head. She unleashed a battle cry and charged at the colossal scorpion Grimm, only to be yanked back as Shizuo seized her cape.

"And just where do you think you're going, little cinnamon roll?"

Shizuo interrogated her.

"You won't be able to take down that Death Stalker by yourself. I could, but none of you can."

He asserted, surveying the small assembly of teens gathered before the forest temple, who had already taken their relics. And incredibly Jaune too, who for some reason had a new Semblance. Which Shizuo quickly stole once again.

RACE: Lion Faunus

NAME: Shizuo Heiwajima

Semblance: Energy Absorption

LEVEL: A Rank

Aura: A- Rank 

Vitality: A- Rank 

Endurance: A- Rank 

Strength: S- Rank 

Dexterity: A- Rank 

Perception: A- Rank 

Skill: A- Rank 

Charisma: A- Rank

Libido: A+ Rank

Virility: B Rank