Looking at the massive swarm of Atlesian bullheads docking at Beacon, Tsutsumi shifted his attention away from them. The reason they had brought so many military transports into Vale was to ensure the safety of civilians during the Vytal Festival.
As reassuring as the sight of another kingdom's military force might have been, Tsutsumi honestly did not care much about it.
As long as Pyrrha and his team were fine, that was all that mattered.
Inside Beacon Tower, the elevator chimed, and the doors slid open.
Stepping out was a drunk man in a dark gray suit with a red cape.
"Qrow?" Ozpin quickly turned toward him. "Why are you here? We have not heard from you in some time, and you show up here without so much as a warning."
"I got some intel that I couldn't risk sending through a Scroll or a letter…" Qrow said, shaking off the last bit of his buzz long enough to explain why he was here. "The person, or people, who put Amber in critical condition are currently here…"
Then, as if remembering something else, he glanced at Ozpin again.
"Speaking of which, that kid you told me about… Why are you putting so much effort into him, and why did you have me look into his past?"
"I asked you because there is… a concern of mine." Ozpin admitted. "Or perhaps not so much a concern as a curiosity. This boy has no idea where his heritage truly comes from, and I must admit, I am curious about the origin of someone so… powerful."
Ironwood saw his chance and stepped in. "Ozpin, if we are not going to test what we have down there, then I think we should discuss our candidate now that we know who to choose. With the Fall Maiden in the state she is in, we cannot afford to waste time. We need to act as soon as pos-"
"James, we have not even told her about it yet," Goodwitch cut in, already sounding tired of the Atlas General's insistence. "For one, everyone is still in the tournament, and they need to stay focused if we want them performing at their best. And for another, this is not the kind of decision that should be taken lightly. If Pyrrha Nikos chooses to accept the powers of the Fall Maiden, even partially, that is a very different responsibility from becoming a Huntress."
"And on top of that, we are not putting stock in your theory," she added. "Considering all the myths and legends surrounding it, I am not risking a student just to find out which one is true."
"Okay, hold on." Qrow frowned. "Oz, what are you talking about, risking a student? And your golden goose for the next Maiden is Pyrrha Nikos? Why her specifically?"
Ozpin cleared his throat. "Despite my reservations about James's impatience, he does make a good point in nominating Miss Nikos. She is kind, strong, and incredibly capable as a warrior. She knows how to use her abilities for good, which gives me reason to believe she would be a fitting choice." He took another sip from his mug before continuing. "As for the other reason, James can explain."
Ironwood turned his gaze toward Qrow and began to elaborate. "Tsutsumi Ryoko has shown enough ability that he has been categorized as a Danger Level 7."
"As you are already aware, Remnant currently only recognizes six levels of Danger Rating." Glynda said as she opened her tablet. "Tsutsumi Ryoko has demonstrated the ability to adapt and acquire other people's Semblances, weapons, appearances, and skills without any visible drawback or limitation."
She brought up several projections, showing Tsutsumi transforming into different people and races, while also summoning weapons and vehicles from thin air.
"Amber's situation is complicated. There is a high possibility that during the transfer of the Fall Maiden power, her consciousness would take over Pyrrha Nikos's body instead of gradually merging with it."
Qrow raised a brow, looking just as surprised as everyone else had been when they first heard it.
"It cannot be helped," Ozpin said quietly, his expression growing more and more troubled. "Because the Fall Maiden power is only partial and incomplete. We have to accelerate the integration process before the remaining power slips away to the other stolen half."
"Wait, if we do that-" Qrow started, but Ironwood finished the thought for him.
"Then Pyrrha Nikos's soul might be swallowed by Amber. She would die within her own body, and another soul would take it over."
"Mr. Ryoko and Miss Nikos are currently dating," Glynda added, though her tone made it clear she found the situation just as unpleasant. "Although the relationship seems one-sided from Miss Nikos's side, and he does not appear particularly interested in her. It is unclear how he would react if he discovered that his girlfriend's body had been taken over by another soul."
She opened a few more projected clips of Tsutsumi and Pyrrha's strange back-and-forth.
For all the times he talked about breaking up, she still kept clinging to him. And yet, there were moments when the two of them actually looked like a real couple.
Qrow took a sharp breath. "Yeah. Kill the girlfriend of a kid who can probably kill you with his thoughts, then have another soul take over her body. I am sure he would be perfectly fine with that."
He could not help but sound sarcastic.
If Tsutsumi really had feelings for Pyrrha, then it did not take a genius to guess how badly he would take it.
"It really cannot be helped," Ozpin said, looking like he had just developed a headache on the spot. "Without a strong vessel, Amber will not be able to hold the Fall Maiden power. Of course, there is still a small chance that their souls would slowly integrate instead of one consuming the other."
This entire operation was a massive gamble.
Even so, they did not have much of a choice.
If they waited too long, Amber might manage to hold on and die anyway, which would cause the Fall Maiden power to return to the other half.
But besides Pyrrha Nikos, there was no better vessel for the transfer. The only other possible candidates were the members of Team RWBY.
Qrow would never allow his nieces to become vessels for the Fall Maiden. The same went for Winter Schnee, an Atlas Specialist and one of their strongest fighters, who would never simply stand by and watch her own sister be used that way.
As for Blake, her background had already ruled her out. The risk of their souls integrating and her running off with the Fall Maiden power was not one they were willing to take.
...
With the Vytal Festival Tournament underway, Team TNPR was currently having the time of their lives as they faced another team from Atlas. The match was completely one-sided, to the point that none of the four took their opponents seriously.
They had even thrown out their usual tactics just so they could mess around.
"HAHAHAHAHA!!"
Nora's unhinged laughter echoed across the battlefield as she held Magnhild in its launcher form and fired wildly in every direction.
Explosions erupted one after another, blanketing the arena and forcing the opposing team to keep moving if they wanted to avoid being caught in the blasts.
Standing beside her, Pyrrha calmly fired her rifle at the opposing team, preventing them from getting close while Nora continued spreading chaos across the battlefield.
Smoke and dust filled the air, with Ren hidden somewhere within it, silently acting as another layer of defense. Anyone trying to push through toward Nora or Pyrrha would either be exposed by Ren or slowed down before they could get anywhere close.
And even if someone somehow managed to break through...
Pyrrha was still standing there.
Good luck beating her in a one-on-one fight.
"Hahahaha!"
Meanwhile, right in the middle of the enemy formation, Tsutsumi had taken on Lappland's appearance and was causing just as much chaos, surrounded by explosions from every direction.
After letting himself relax enough for Lappland's unhinged, almost psychotic personality to influence him a little, he had charged straight into the center of the enemy team.
Twisting his body in midair, three enormous black wolf heads burst out behind him before lunging toward three of his opponents while he focused on their leader.
The four members of Team LAPP were already in full panic as they found themselves completely overwhelmed by Team TNPR.
Nora's endless rain of explosions was already forcing them to stay on the move every second just to avoid getting blown up.
Now they also had to deal with a white-haired wolf Faunus lunatic charging straight at them.
How should they even describe it?
Lappland's reckless, almost suicidal fighting style, combined with Tsutsumi's absurd resilience and recovery, had created an absolute monster in combat.
Someone who barely cared about defending himself and put everything into overwhelming offense.
The members of Team LAPP were practically on the verge of tears. They could barely land a hit on the white-haired psychopath, let alone slow him down, while he continued beating them senseless without giving them any chance to fight back.
The one-sided match finally came to an end as the last member of Team LAPP collapsed onto the ground, their Aura meter dropping into the red.
Tsutsumi returned to his original appearance before walking off the field alongside the rest of his team.
"That was so fun!! Let's do it again!" Nora shouted as she happily walked beside everyone else.
"Nora, we already agreed that Ryoko and Pyrrha would represent us in the second round," Ren reminded her with a helpless smile.
"Awww..." Nora's shoulders drooped for a moment before she immediately perked back up. "Then, Overpowered Leader! Please go cause chaos in Nora's name!"
"Sure. I don't mind." Tsutsumi smiled.
"Alright!!" Nora cheered at the top of her lungs.
The Vytal Festival Tournament consisted of four rounds. The first was a team battle, followed by doubles, then singles, and finally the championship match to decide the winner.
After finishing their match, Team TNPR returned to the stands to watch the rest of the tournament unfold.
One match after another quickly came to an end before the announcer's excited voice echoed throughout the stadium once more.
"And with an amazing finish, Team RWBY advances to the finals! Please give us a few minutes while our final doubles match gets underway between Team TNPR from Beacon and Team BRGD from Haven!"
"Looks like it's your turn." Nora grinned as Tsutsumi and Pyrrha stood up. "Don't worry about anything! You two are definitely gonna kick butt!"
The two headed toward the waiting area together.
As they walked side by side, Pyrrha smiled to herself before slowly reaching for his hand. Her fingers slipped between his, gently intertwining with his own.
Unlike before, Tsutsumi didn't pull away.
That alone made the smile on the redheaded girl's face grow even brighter.
As they continued down the hallway, they ran into an unexpected pair.
"Pyrrha... Tsutsumi..." Ruby greeted them, smiling at Pyrrha before her voice became noticeably more timid when she looked at the man beside her.
"Oh, Ruby. That was incredible." Pyrrha smiled warmly. "Your leadership and tactics have really improved."
"Thank you." Ruby let out a small giggle at the compliment.
"Hello, friend!" the orange-haired girl beside her greeted cheerfully. Penny smiled brightly at Pyrrha as her emerald-green eyes sparkled with excitement.
However, the moment her gaze landed on Tsutsumi, her smile froze.
Her eyes immediately sharpened, locking onto him with the alertness of someone preparing for a fight.
Tsutsumi looked at her for a brief moment before immediately losing interest after realizing she was nothing more than an android sent by Atlas to participate in the tournament.
Compared to Azu, his own advanced artificial assistant, Penny was little more than a household appliance in his eyes.
"U-Uh... Tsutsumi, this is Penny, my friend." Ruby quickly stepped in after noticing the sudden tension. "Penny, this is Tsutsumi, the leader of Team TNPR."
"As I have been informed..." Penny replied, taking a small step in front of Ruby. "If I recall correctly, he has been classified as... dangerous."
"A machine doesn't need to recall," Tsutsumi replied dismissively.
He never cared much about what other people thought of him.
What annoyed him was when people who had nothing to do with his life insisted on sticking their noses into his business while acting as though they were helping him.
His relationship with Team RWBY had fallen apart because of his own choices.
He had already accepted the consequences of those actions.
What he did not need was someone repeating things he already knew.
The fact that Penny had looked through his files and immediately treated him as a threat only reinforced how outdated she seemed in his eyes.
Yes, he was dangerous.
Yes, he was a potential threat.
But provoking someone who had chosen to remain neutral was nothing more than stupidity.
Sensing the tension before it could get any worse, Ciel Soleil quickly walked over.
"It has been one minute, ma'am. We have to go."
Without waiting for a response, Ciel grabbed Penny's hand and hurriedly led her away.
Watching the two disappear down the hallway, Ruby turned back toward Tsutsumi and Pyrrha with an awkward smile.
"Um... sorry about that. Penny just isn't very good with people."
The memory of what had happened before still lingered in her mind.
"Ruby, you don't have to be nervous." Pyrrha smiled gently. "We're still friends."
"You can stop pretending, Ruby." Tsutsumi spoke before she could continue. His voice remained calm, almost indifferent. "Honestly, it's disappointing to see you like this."
Ruby froze, not knowing how to answer.
"Let's not lie to ourselves. You and your team don't see me as a friend anymore, and I understand that."
He spoke without anger or resentment, simply stating what he believed to be the truth.
After spending nearly the entire school year together, Teams RWBY and TNPR had grown incredibly close.
That closeness only began to crumble after that incident.
"And honestly..."
"I'm not even bothered by it."
Both Ruby and Pyrrha looked at him in surprise.
"People died that day. Families lost their loved ones, their homes, and their livelihoods." His voice remained as calm as ever. "The fact that you and your team can push all of that aside because none of the victims were your own family or the people you cared about only proves how incompatible we are as friends."
"Will Team TNPR's Tsutsumi Ryoko and Pyrrha Nikos please report to the arena immediately!"
Professor Port's voice echoed through the intercom, signaling that their match was about to begin.
Ruby lowered her head as tears slowly gathered in the corners of her eyes.
Without another word, Tsutsumi simply turned around and walked away.
Pyrrha looked at Ruby with a helpless smile before gently placing a hand on her shoulder in silent comfort.
Then she quietly followed after Tsutsumi, the two disappearing together down the hallway.