RWBY: Tiger King and Dragon Queen

We do not own RWBY or any other copyright content. All rights to it go to Monty Oum, Viz Media, and their original owners. All OCs are owned by us.

Writing credits go to Uzumaki Ricky, Monsterhuntergod, Sharad the hedgehog, and SlimShady2015.

Tiger King and Dragon Queen

Volume 1 Chapter 6: Echoes of Dishonor

"I am deeply ashamed of all of you. Unauthorized bouts of combat are strictly prohibited on school grounds unless during active emergencies. You boys better have an exceptionally good explanation for all of this." Headmaster Birch sternly said, the old man fuming with indignant fury at what happened the previous day.

"So, we…" Purly tried saying, before being elbowed by Cramer.

"I got this. You see, good headmaster, we as you know are the unofficial welcoming committee. And this here samurai, high and mighty as he is, decides to walk into this glorious establishment, thinking he owns the place. So, we, elected as we are, felt it our duty to put him into his proper place." Cramer explained, trying his damned best to sound professional.

"That is the worst explanation I've heard in my life. And I have lived an exceedingly long time." Headmaster Birch dryly responded.

"Points for trying?" Purly asked.

"No." Headmaster Birch retorted.

"Can we…" George tried to say, before being cut off.

"You had your chance. Miss Xiao Long and Miss Rose. As witnesses, what is your testimony on the matter?" Headmaster Birch asked.

Yang cleared her throat before beginning her explanation. "You see, Professor Birch, Ruby and I had done everything in our power to make Azura feel at home here on Patch from the time we met him. We befriended him, we've gotten to know him, he's even renting a place near our home. I was saving him a seat for homeroom, minding my own business, when these four shmucks-"

"Hey!" The four bullies called out, interrupting the blonde brawler.

"-came over and started talking to me. Not being in much of a talking mood for them due to wanting to keep my eyes open for my new friend, I tried to get them to go away. When Azura here showed up, I called out to him and waved him over, but these idiots tried to start something with him. Azura, very clearly not in a good mood as it was, scared them into backing down and took his seat right next to me." Yang explained, starting out the story.

"Azura, can you give me the reason for your ill mood yesterday?" Headmaster Birch asked, looking over at the young samurai, who had stood stock still and said not a word the whole time.

Azura sighed at that. "Yes, Professor. You see, I did not get much sleep the night before, so I was already in a bad mood starting out my morning. To top it off, I accidentally injured my hand while getting ready to start the day, so the pain from that was making me even more irritable. So, I was already in a bad mood before getting to school, but seeing Yang had made it a little better until these four decided to ruin it for me." He explained as best he could, not wanting to give away too many details.

"Why did you not seek medical attention for your wound?" Headmaster Birch asked, looking at the hand with visible concern.

"I just wanted to get to school and see my friends. I fully intended to go to the hospital to get it looked at after the day was done. In fact, I was going to head on my way to do so when these four goaded me into a fight in the first place." Azura explained.

"That's a bold-faced lie! We didn't goad nothing!" Cramer scoffed.

"Mr. Cramer. I have had more than a fair share of witnesses here today. Most of my day has been consumed by this great spat. And one of the few common threads I have heard is that you four have goaded Azura into the situation. Now then, Mr. Sōtora, I strongly suggest that, if you injure yourself before school again, go to the hospital. As long as you can provide a doctor's note, and they will be happy to provide such a document, then everything will be fine. I pride myself in keeping this establishment a place where our students can safely learn." Birch said, surprising everyone that the old man had so much lung capacity.

Azura nodded in response. "Yes sir, Professor Birch. I simply did not think of it until I had already arrived for class because I was tired and eager to start my first day. I will do my best to be more mindful from now on." He replied, bowing his head as an apology.

"Thank you. Now then Ms. Xiao Long, do please continue." Birch said, sipping some coffee before reclining back a bit to listen.

"Well, after homeroom, Azura went to the nurse to get his hand looked at really quick. After that, we started going through our classes throughout the day and I introduced him to some of my friends. Some of the other students were nice to Azura, some not so nice. These four included as part of the latter, since they were messing with Azura all day, doing childish crap in an attempt to embarrass him or make him lose his temper." Yang said, continuing the explanation.

"I can vouch for that, since I actually saw one of those attempts." Ruby piped up after her sister finished that part of the explanation.

"Your rebuttal?" Birch asked, turning to the four.

"Nuts! Lies! Lies and slander!" Purly yelled, only for him to be smacked in the back of the head by Con.

"Noted. Continue Ms. Rose." Birch said with a nod, before turning back to Ruby.

"Anyway, Yang and I were saving Azura a seat to have lunch together. When Azura saw us and started coming over, Con tripped him on purpose by sticking his leg out as Azura was walking and Azura stumbled and sent his own lunch flying up. Thankfully, Azura managed to catch it all in his bento box without letting a single piece spill. It was really cool." Ruby explained, picking up where she left off.

"It did look kinda cool…" George muttered, only to get elbowed by Con.

"After lunch, I separated from Yang and Azura to head back to class. I didn't really get to see them much until classes were over, so all I have to go off personally from then until we were able to meet back up after class is hearsay from other students and Yang and Azura themselves." Ruby continued.

"This is when the major incident occurred?" Birch asked, clearly having had to ask this many times already.

"Yes, Professor. You see, Azura and I tried to mind our own business while these four bozos kept messing with us throughout the rest of the day. It all came to a head at the end of the day when we were gonna go with Azura to get his hand looked at, only for these four to get in our way and try to spark a fight with Azura." Yang said, picking up where Ruby left off.

"What was the cause of this grand incident?" Birch asked.

"Well, at first, Azura was just dodging and deflecting punches from Cramer while trying to deescalate the situation even though he was clearly getting sick and tired of them. It was only when Cramer called for the other three to back him up that we stepped in. We tried to get them to just leave us alone and Ruby started to lecture Cramer only for Cramer to push her hard, shoving her to the ground." Yang explained, glaring disdainfully at the boy in question right after.

"Is this true?" Birch asked Cramer.

"Yes, sir…" Cramer answered with a sigh and a nod.

"Continue, Ms. Xiao Long." Birch said simply.

"It was as soon as Cramer did that that Azura had finally had enough and took them up on their offer for a fight. Azura handed off his weapons to us since these four were unarmed, seemingly wanting to give them a fair fight. We tried to talk Azura out of it, but he was intent on making them stop one way or the other, since it was clear they had no intention of stopping on their own." Yang explained, trying her best to both tell the truth and paint the situation in a better light.

"Mr. Sōtora, how best would you describe the rest of this encounter for me?" Birch asked, clasping his hands together.

"Well, Mr. Con threw the first hit, followed by Mr. Cramer, then Mr. George, and then Mr. Purly. I did not really feel the hits much and was willing to let them off easily. Well, until they insulted me by saying that I bought my way in here and didn't earn it, said I didn't belong here, and then insulted all three of us by saying that we'd never be Huntsmen. It was when they said that that I decided to really teach them a lesson in respect, manners, and treating others the way you want to be treated." Azura explained as best he could.

"Very well. That is all I needed to know, everyone." Birch said, surprising everyone, "Sōtora Azura, due to this being your first offense and the extenuating circumstances, I will let you off with a firm warning. However, if you find yourself on this side of the rules again for a similar reason, then consequences will potentially be much more severe. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Professor. I apologize for my disgraceful behavior and will endeavor to be better than this from now on." Azura replied with an apologetic bow.

"Kiss up." Purly muttered, before being elbowed by Cramer firmly.

"Mr. Cramer and company. I wish to speak with you further. Mr. Sōtora and company, you are dismissed." Birch firmly ordered.

"Yes, Professor Birch." The blue shogun and his two female compatriots replied before getting up and politely leaving.

As the three headed off for their last few remaining classes for the day, the two sisters remained uneasy. There was but one single question left in their minds. Finally, unable to take no more, Yang decided to ask.

"Azura, can I ask you a question before we have to part for classes?" Yang asked.

"Of course, Yang. Ask away." Azura replied, curious about what she wanted to ask him.

"I understand why it might have happened, considering the stress you were under yesterday… but exactly why did you snap?" Yang asked, clearly concerned.

Azura sighed, clearly not wanting to answer the question but knowing that he had to. "Despite how I may seem, Yang, I am an immensely proud person. I do not take well to anyone, in my eyes, making any kind of affront towards my pride. The entire time those four were messing with me that day, I was seething with anger and trying to keep from lashing out. But then, they committed an offense that my pride will never allow me to just let slide: They messed with one of my friends." He explained.

"You think that much of us?" Ruby asked, shocked at hearing him say that.

Azura nodded in response. "Of course I do. You both went out of your way to make me feel welcome and were so kind to me, even when you did not need to. I would have jumped to the defense of anyone they messed with, but, because you two are my friends, I took what Cramer did when he shoved you down for trying to stop the situation as an affront to my pride as well as an insult to your honor, Lady Rose. And I could not let that stand." He told the sisters.

"Thank you." Ruby said with a blush.

"Don't let guys like them get to you, Azura. They just caught us off guard. We can take care of ourselves. But we always appreciate a caring soul. There's not enough people like you in this world." Yang said, trying to comfort him with a warm smile.

Azura blushed a bit at Yang's smile and bowed his head. "I-I will keep that in mind, Yang. Thank you." He replied a bit nervously.

"You're welcome. Now let's get going. Last thing we need is to be late." Yang said.

With that the three continued on their way to classes. The two sisters held their heads a bit higher, and their feet moved across the ground with a bit more pep. Azura, however, lagged a bit. He felt the stain on his honor weigh him down like a great anchor on a ship. Despite everything, he knew that it was there. And to regain one's honor was never an easy task to accomplish.

Later After Classes, with Cramer and His Boys

The four Huntsmen-in-Training were seething through their training at their usual spot in the woods. Headmaster Birch kept them for another hour lecturing them. Never mind the fact they have a record none too pleasing by this point. It was merely, in their eyes, the principle of it.

"If I get my hands on him, I'll…" Con growled, punching a tree.

"You'll what? Get molly whopped like last time? As much as I don't want to admit it, it's obvious we ain't beating Azura in combat." Cramer said with a sigh.

"How about sneezing powder in his backpack?" Purly asked.

"And then you put it in the wrong backpack like that kid from Shoreville? Forget it." Cramer sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose before looking at George.

"I got nothing." George simply answered before biting down on a sub sandwich.

"You never do. Sometimes I wonder what I did to get stuck with idiots like you three." Cramer sighed, pulling out another pretzel stick.

"Idiots? How about you, the dumbass who never led us to a damn win! Why are we the problem Cramer? Maybe it's been you the whole time!?" Con growled, walking up to Cramer and getting into his face.

"You wouldn't have gotten this fucking far without me and you know it. You're nothin but a hot-headed buffoon, Con." Cramer growled back.

"I'll show you hot headed!" Con roared as he threw a punch at Cramer, forcing him to dodge.

Before the two could properly square up, the two heard the sound of a roar. Then a whooping and hollering noise as they heard something crashing through the underbrush. Rolling out of the way of a large black mass, the four looked up to see the monstrous form of a large Beringel. The great ape Grimm surveyed the four and curled what little lips it had in a big, fanged grin. Soon its great, meaty fists pounded its bone armored chest, before letting out a monstrous roar of challenge.

"The hell is that thing doing here!?" Purly asked in fear.

"F-Forget a-ab-bout it! R-R-Run!" George said, dropping his sandwich and booking it.

"Don't gotta tell me twice!" Purly yelled, scurrying after his obese friend.

"Fucking cowards, get back here!" Con roared in anger.

"Focus on the Grimm, Con!" Cramer said, getting into a boxing stance.

Meanwhile, With Azura, Yang, and Ruby

The three were having a relatively lax training day. Despite Azura's insistence on a long, grueling training day to really improve their progress, the sisters wore him down. Made to see the point that you can skip one exhausting day of training, and it is not going to kill you. The peaceful, joyous mood however was shattered by George and Curly running through, only to be stopped by Azura.

"Mr. George, Mr. Purly? What is wrong? Where are your friends?" Azura asked, genuinely confused and worried since he had not seen the four of them separated before this point from his first two days at Signal.

"Grimm! Big! Monkey! Cramer! Con! Still there! Help!" Purly panted out frantically, the poor guy tried desperately to catch his breath from the Olympic sprint he just performed.

Azura's eyes widened as soon as he heard that. "Big monkey Grimm…? Beringel…!" Azura muttered before turning to look at Yang and Ruby.

"Those are pretty rare on Patch. What's it doing this close to civilization?" Ruby asked, confused.

"Likely those guys gave it a tempting enough target to risk getting this close." Yang answered.

"The reason does not matter. What is important is that they need help. Yang, Lady Rose, you two get these two somewhere safe and come back with a teacher or something. I will go and help them." Azura said, going to get his bow, quiver, and blades while surprising all of them with his words.

"They're that way…" George panted, pointing to the direction they ran from.

Azura nodded in response. "Thank you." He replied as he collected his weapons.

"Be careful." The two sisters said in unison, to which the blue shogun nodded.

"Azura, for everything, I'm sorry. And thank you." George said, his voice tinged with regret and gratitude.

"Look, don't make me say it. I ain't ready for that. Just please go save those two. I know they're mean idiots, but they're our mean idiots you know?" Purly said with a sigh but kept up at least somewhat a presentable face.

"Do not worry, Mr. Purly. I will see my duty fulfilled. So long as I am here, neither of them will die." Azura replied before rushing off, leaving behind a very confused set of sisters and an equally confused Purly and George.

"Nuts. The hell is that supposed to mean?" Purly asked, confused.

"He means your friends won't die if he can help it." Ruby said with a sigh.

"Well, why didn't he say that?" Purly asked, annoyed.

"Shut up, Purly. We need to get the teachers." George said, rushing off with Ruby and Yang.

"It's just never my day, is it?" Purly muttered to himself, running after the three.

As the four ran off, Ruby looked back at the direction Azura took off in. Yang looked over to see her sister's face warped in worry.

"Don't worry, Ruby. Azura's strong. If anyone can save those two, it's him." Yang tried to reassure her while trying to hide her own concerns for their friend's safety.

"I know, but it's a Beringel. Are you sure he can take that?" Ruby asked.

"I'm not sure, Ruby. But he's sure as hell gonna try. Now we'd better hurry!" Yang replied to her little sister.

"Right!" Ruby yelled, mustering up determination before activating her Semblance, disappearing in a burst of rose petals.

Seeing Ruby take off, Yang looked back in the direction Azura ran in with a look of obvious worry on her face. 'Be careful, Azura…' She thought before bringing out her Ember Celica and launching herself through the air with shots from her gauntlets.

Cramer and Con vs the Beringel

Cramer and Con lay on the ground panting, Aura broken. Despite their best efforts, the monstrous ape's sheer strength and ferocity allowed it to manhandle them. With a sickening glee it tried to stomp Cramer's chest, but the boy was able to roll out of the way just in time. That, however, spent what little energy he had left, and it now loomed over him. Cramer shut his eyes as it readied to turn his head into a red mist. However, the death blow never came. What came instead was the roaring crack of a Lightning Dust slash slamming into the great Grimm. And a familiar voice calling out.

"Both of you, get away!" The voice called out.

"It can't be…" Cramer muttered, opening his eyes.

"I don't believe it." Con said, looking to the direction the voice called from.

There, in the opening of the clearing, stood Azura, his Semblance alight with its lightning-like aura, azure-blue in color along with his glowing eyes. His ōdachi was gripped tight with both hands in a post-swing position, indicating that the attack had indeed come from him. Glaring at the ape Grimm as best he could, even as he panted and his hands trembled, he launched another Dust slash at it in the form of a Fire Dust attack. The blade of flames exploded on impact with the beast, forcing a roar from its nearly nonexistent lips as it stumbled back.

"Get out of here, you idiot!" Cramer yelled.

"The only ones who need to get out of here are you! I gave my word to your friends that neither of you would die on my watch! And a samurai never goes back on his word!" Azura called back, a tinge of fear in his voice as he rushed in front of them and dropped into a stance with his blade at the ready.

"You seriously think…" Con growled before getting cut off by Cramer.

"Just shut up for once and get moving. I ain't wanting to get hit another time by that monkey. Best of luck, Azura… this one ain't a push over…" Cramer said, slowly rising to his feet.

Azura nodded in response as he focused on the recovering Beringel, not once turning back to look at them. Looking only straight ahead, facing the foe before him. Even as his body trembled in fear… even as his legs shook… he stood his ground. No matter what, he would not let this beast pass.

"Better him than me." Con sighed, limping away.

"Hey, after taking his left hook, I'd be shocked if he doesn't beat it." Cramer said, following close behind.

Glaring at the beast as it recovered, Azura loosened up his stance a little to be better prepared for its next move. Once it recovered, the ape Grimm glared viciously at Azura before roaring, beating its bone armored chest in a challenge towards the human before it. Accepting the challenge, Azura lit up his eastern great sword with flames as he prepared to fight. The two opponents stared each other down for a moment before rushing in at each other, the Beringel letting out a bestial roar that Azura met with a roar of his own.

With Cramer and Con

The two limped away from the clearing as fast as their near broken bodies could carry them. After what felt like agonizing hours, they finally made it a good distance away. However, to their surprise, they saw Doctor Pyrus, Taiyang, Yang and Ruby coming from the other direction. Normally the sight of the worse two instigators would not be a pleasant one for the sisters. This time for quite a different reason. Seeing their bruised, bloodied, and bludgeoned bodies limp along horribly made their guts seize up in worry.

"Are you two boys alright?" Pyrus asked.

"Frankly Doc, not so much." Cramer said, coughing up a hint of blood.

"Where's Azura?! I thought he'd be coming back with you!" Yang demanded, worried about her friend.

"He's back there with the beast." Con answered simply, leaning against a tree for support.

Immediately, that knowledge filled the two teachers and the sister duo with fear. Azura was still back there? Alone? With a Beringel of all things!?

"We have to help him now!" Ruby yelled.

"Yeah, you do that…" Cramer coughed dreadfully.

"Girls, you stay here!" Taiyang told his daughters.

"But dad!" Yang protested.

"It's too dangerous for you two! Neither of you are ready for a Beringel yet!" Taiyang told them.

"He's our friend, and we are going to help him!" The two sisters protested in unison.

Sighing, seeing that their minds were made up, Taiyang nodded. "Then be careful and stay close." He replied reluctantly.

The four then rushed off after the blue samurai. Con and Cramer, not able to take much more, sat down under a tree. In the distance, they heard sirens, and they got a smile. For once, they would not have to walk somewhere. However, even they felt a hint of dread in their stomachs. How was a samurai their age supposed to stand against a monster like that?

Azura vs the Beringel

Azura dodged around a punch from the ape Grimm's absurdly long arms. Rushing in, the blue shogun leaped over a second blow from the primate Grimm before landing on its fist. Dashing up its arm, the azure samurai swung his fiery ōdachi with great force. The flames alight on the blade exploded on impact with the Beringel's face, making it roar in pain as it stumbled back. Kicking off from it, Azura landed on his feet as it recovered and glared at him, murder in its eyes.

Roaring in fury, the ape Grimm swung at Azura with its massive fist. Barely jumping to the side, Azura had to leap to dodge a swing of its hand, jumping over it to evade the blow. Slashing down at its wrist with his blade coated in yellow electricity, the azure samurai managed to shock the primate monstrosity but failed to cut too deeply into its skin. Gritting his teeth in frustration, our favorite blue shogun noticed a growing shadow appearing above him. Quickly looking up, he saw a second massive hand coming down to smash him like a bug.

Pulling his blade free, the azure tiger swordsman leaped back and away, barely evading the hit. Slashing with his blade, Azura unleashed a wave of fire that struck his foe, exploding on impact and driving it back. However, the attack did little more than annoy the beast. Growling in frustration, Azura readied to keep fighting.

"This isn't working. With how tough it is, I'm not getting anywhere fast enough. I'll have to kick it up a notch…!" The blue shogun growled out, concentrating on his Aura.

Soon, the lightning-like aura surrounding him began to glow brighter as it grew in intensity. Its color changed from azure-blue to cobalt blue as his glowing eyes changed to the same color. Gripping his blade tighter, the azure samurai dropped back into his stance before taking off with greater speed. Rushing in at his opponent, Azura coated his great blade in Ice Dust as the beast swung at him.

Turning on the ball of his foot to dodge, the azure tiger swordsman spun to evade the blow as the large fist struck the ground, cracking and cratering it on impact. Slashing with his frost coated blade, he struck at its wrist. Even if he once again failed to cut through it, he could hopefully freeze its hand to make it more brittle and smash it. His prediction came true as he once again failed to cut through its wrist, even as he cut deeper than before and froze it in place. However, it did not last long as the gorilla Grimm pulled with all its might, cracking and breaking the ice as it freed its hand.

Gritting his teeth in frustration, Azura tried to keep from panicking as a wave of fear coursed through him. He heard the sound of claws and fangs shearing through flesh, screams of agony and terror. Shaking his head and trying to refocus, Azura jumped back as a hand came down trying to crush him. Glaring up at the beast before him, the azure samurai moved his blade behind him as he cycled through the Dust he had in his sword and landed on the Gravity Dust. Unleashing it with a slash, the ground behind the blue shogun cracked and broke as he was launched forward towards the beast at high speed.

Cycling through the Dust in his blade again, he landed on the Fire Dust as his blade glowed red hot. Slashing with it, Azura unleashed a wave of flames that exploded on impact with the Beringel, forcing it back. Again and again our favorite azure tiger swordsman swung, unleashing wave after wave of explosive Fire Dust at the beast. Each wave of fire exploded on impact and forced it back further and further.

Once Azura landed on his feet, he glanced up at the smoke kicked up from the repeated explosions. Squinting his eyes, he tried to peer through the thick black smog and flames to try to see any signs of his foe.

"That had to have done something. I just know it did…!" The azure samurai muttered.

However, a thunderous roar was heard as a hand swept across the smoke, clearing it to reveal the Beringel within the smog and flames. One of its eyes was destroyed and part of its mouth, but the beast was otherwise unharmed. If anything, Azura's barrage had only infuriated it.

Gritting his teeth, Azura prepared to keep going. Seeing that he was not getting anywhere, he knew that he had no other choice. If he was going to beat this thing, then he needed to set aside his pride and fear. He needed to take things more seriously and go for close combat.

Closing his eyes, Azura concentrated on his Aura again. Immediately, he felt a rush of power and energy surge through him as the aura surrounding him began to change again. Growing in intensity and shining brighter, the lightning-like aura changed from cobalt blue to sapphire. Opening his eyes, Azura showed that his eyes shone the same color as his Aura as he felt his muscles bulk up slightly and pulse with power.

Dropping back into his stance, Azura quickly took off at the beast. Moving faster than the Beringel could track, he struck, slashing into its side as he passed it, and the beast roared in pain. Looking back at the damage he did, the azure tiger swordsman could not help but be pleased. He cut right through its bone armor and into the flesh beneath. He could finally cut this thing!

Turning, Azura looked up to see the ape Grimm raising its fists and bringing them down into a double handed hammer fist. Rushing in, the azure samurai easily evaded the attempt to crush him as he slashed into its leg. Cutting clean through, the blue shogun's blade slashed off the Beringel's leg as the beast roared in pain. Dropping to one knee, the gorilla monstrosity tried to smash him only for Azura to disappear in a burst of speed and slash through its other leg at the knee. This blow cut through the unarmored joint and sliced the lower half of its leg clean off, making it roar in a combination of fury and agony.

As the beast toppled onto its belly, Azura saw his opening. Cycling through the Dust in his sword, the azure tiger swordsman landed on the Gravity Dust. Leaping forward with all his might, the blue shogun slashed behind him to launch himself down towards the Beringel's left shoulder as it tried to push itself up. Slashing downward with all his might, the azure samurai cleaved through armor hard flesh, cutting through it, and slicing off the ape Grimm's arm at the shoulder.

The beast roared in agony as it fell back to the ground, unbalanced. It tried to push itself back up with its one remaining arm as Azura leapt back up as high as he could. Unleashing another Gravity Dust slash behind him, the azure samurai launched himself at high speed down towards its other shoulder. Gripping his blade with both hands, the blue shogun let out a roar as he slashed with all his might. Slicing through skin as hard as chain mail, the blade cut clean through it and cleaved off the arm at the shoulder as the gorilla monstrosity roared helplessly in rage and pain.

Leaping up, the azure tiger swordsman gripped his blade with both hands. Pulling his blade back, he prepared to deal the killing blow. It was at this moment that Azura and the Beringel found themselves unknowingly having some uninvited guests. Four, to be exact.

Ruby was the first on the scene, stopping with her Semblance's petals floating away in the wind. Yang, Tai and Pyrus, with a bit more effort and panting, caught up. All arrived as Azura, practically gliding off the ground with ethereal grace, launched himself against the great primate Grimm. Yang could not even keep up with his great slicing blade, but Ruby, Tai and Pyrus, whose reaction speeds were more advanced, could. With an eerie level of precision and surety, the blade was turned with complete ease and grace into a horizontal slice. Biting into the Grimms neck, in but a moment its brutish head was sent flying into the air. Dissipating into black smoke as its body did the same, slamming into the forest floor with a great thud.

As the blue-haired teen landed, however, everyone could tell something was off. He was panting heavily, great globs of sweat running like rivers, and his body shook like leaves in a windstorm. The girls approached first, trying to get around to his face. They jumped a bit when Azura dropped to his knees, and his sword hit the ground, as if his hands lost any and all strength in them. Where his body was covered in that brilliant sapphire blue aura, it faded away into the ether. Shaken, but unfettered, the two girls finally got around to his face.

It was clear despite being in front of him, Azura could not see them. He did not move, he hardly blinked, and kept a stare that looked off into the tree line. Any color his face may have had was replaced with a ghoulish white. His mouth hung a bit as he huskily panted, as if even his vigorous lungs could not keep up with the air he needed. Yet what chilled the girls to the bone and would haunt them was his eyes. His loving, passionate, and noble blue eyes, those were not there anymore. Instead, they saw faded blue eyes consumed in sorrow, horror, and a haunting pain.

"N-Not again…" Was all Azura could muster.

To Be Continued...