Breathe Chapter 54: Combat Evolved

…
 Aura Affinity
Due to mastering your Aura, you’ve gained the ability to shape and extend it to whatever form fits your need.

A new system has been unlocked.

Inventory
Through mastering your Aura, you’ve unlocked a limited space, allowing you to store items. Warning, the Inventory is incapable of storing living beings. Attempting to do so can inflict fatal damage on both you and the living entity you’re attempting to store.
 …

It wasn’t exactly what I’d been expecting from mastering my Aura, especially since I’d gained three status effects from mastering Total Concentration Constant, but they were fairly useful.

Inventory was fairly straight forward. It allowed me to store things without being weighed down by them, but it did have its limits. I couldn’t just store an entire airship in my inventory, but I could store backpack sized objects in it which would make long term missions far more bearable.

I did have a slight concern about not being able to store living things… Not because I wanted to try and shove a person into my inventory, but because of things like food containing bacteria that might count as living. At what point did a sandwich count as living.

After a quick test, it seemed that ‘living beings’ was limited to sentient life, much to my relief.

As for Aura Affinity. Much like the Iron status effects I’d gained after mastering Total Concentration Constant, there was far more to it than what was described.

Outside of being able to draw on my Aura to create… Well… Pretty much any construct I wanted, I was also seemingly able to extend it through inanimate objects, making them far harder to destroy.

I had a few other ideas on how else I’d be able to manipulate my Aura, but, seeing as I’d cut a town in half the last time I’d used it, it might be better if I kept my experimentation far away from Beacon.

I really didn’t want to have to explain why there was a new ceiling to Glynda, nor did I want to accidentally bisect someone. Both would be pretty bad.

A short trip into the Emerald Forest solved that issue well enough. It also helped that students weren’t allowed to venture into the woods too deep… At least not without expressed permission from a teacher or mentor.

“So this is where you’ve gotten to,” Ozpin said, announcing his arrival. “It’s an apt spot if I do say so myself, though I am curious as to why you felt it necessary to bring Team RWBY out here.”

Glancing towards the aforementioned team that was currently fending off wave after wave of Winter’s summons, I winced when Yang was smacked to the side by a charging Ursa Major. Aura might prevent injury and heal the body, but that looked like it hurt.

“I thought I’d let them get a little practical experience while working on controlling their breathing before taking them on an actual mission… Besides, this way the other students can use the Amphitheatre now.”

I had sort of been hogging it. It wasn’t exactly that big of an issue when Beacon started as the teams were still getting into their routine’s, but now that a little time had passed, there were more than a few that would want to use the room to train… Especially with the Vytal festival coming up.

I couldn’t exactly keep the room to myself, so I brought Team RWBY here instead.

Since there weren’t that many Grimm for them to fight, Winter volunteered to help supply the Grimm and Pyrrha was eager to help however she could. Together, they’d been able to run them through various scenarios they’d be facing as Huntresses.

Currently, they were tasked with fighting off a horde of Winter’s summoned Grimm while keeping Pyrrha, who was acting as a civilian, safe from harm.

They’d already failed once before when a Grimm got to Pyrrha, but Ruby appeared to be adapting to the scenario surprisingly fast and seemed to be pulling through.

“Indeed,” Ozpin hummed. “It does make for a far safer form of training. I can’t help but feel that Professor Port would be envious of the Winter’s ability to summon slain Grimm.” He chuckled. “It would certainly make his job easier.”

I nodded at that. Yeah, I could definitely see Port being a little envious of the Schnee’s Semblance. It was a little odd though… With his job as the Headmaster of Beacon, Ozpin rarely had much time to relax. He wouldn’t be here without a purpose.

“Is everything okay, Oz?” I asked.

“Yes, I merely found myself with some time on my hands,” Ozpin answered calmly. “It seems I’ve overestimated how much work I had for the day and found myself finishing quite early.”

And here I thought Salem made another move.

“There is however one thing I find my mind occupied with,” Ozpin continued. “As I make progress with your breathing technique, I find myself struggling to measure where I am. Unlike Team RWBY, there are very few Grimm that are actually capable of overwhelming me and those Grimm are better left undisturbed.”

So he was looking for something to measure himself against?

“Are you asking for a rematch?” I asked, doing my best to not sound too eager.

Even without accessing the Transparent World, I could still tell that he’d grown stronger. How much? That remained to be seen.

“I am,” Ozpin said evenly. “It’s been a long while since anyone has been able to best me in a spar that I found myself looking forward to the next time we fought.”

“Well, if that’s what you want, I’d be up for a quick spar,” I answered eagerly.

At the very least, it’d give me the chance to try out a few new things. Now all we had to do was wait for Team RWBY to finish off the remaining Grimm and then we could start. Come to think of it, it might be better if they went back to Beacon before our match. I had a feeling that we might go a little overboard.

…Breathe…

“Whoa, hold on for just a second,” Yang said, giving me a pointed look. “Are you seriously telling us that you’re going to have a fight with the freaking Headmaster of Beacon and we can’t watch?!”

“I was just suggesting it,” I replied. “Things might get a little dangerous here.”

“Yeah, well, we’ve grown stronger, haven’t we?” Yang asked. “We can handle it, right guys?” She asked, glancing back at the rest of her team.

“I don’t really care either way,” Blake muttered as her bow twitched, betraying her true feelings on the matter.

“Well… I would like to see the match, but,” Weiss trailed off, glancing towards her sister, before her gaze settled on her partner. “I think we should let Ruby decide. She is our team leader after all.”

Seeing everyone’s gaze settle on her, Ruby shrank back a little. “Um, I think… I think we should stay,” She decided.

I guess that settles it then. It was just a suggestion, so it wasn’t like it’s the end of the world. “Okay then,” I said. “If that’s how you all feel, then I suppose you can stay. Just… Be careful.”

“We will,” Ruby promised.

Meeting Winter’s gaze, I glanced towards the team and she nodded. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust Team RWBY to stay out of the fight, but that they might be standing too close and get caught up in an attack. Winter on the other hand knew what I was capable of and would make sure the team didn’t venture too close.

“Then I guess we can start,” I hummed. Taking a step towards Ozpin, I paused and turned back to the group. “Actually… Do any of you have Fire Dust that I could use? I’ll buy you more later.” I never really used Dust, but now that I’d mastered my Aura, there was something that I wanted to try.

“I do have a Dust crystal on me,” Pyrrha volunteered. “I’ve been meaning to have it processed, but just haven’t found the time. Would that work for you?”

“Yes, thank you Pyrrha. That would work perfectly,” I smiled.

Taking the red crystal from Pyrrha, I thanked her again and mentally promised to do something nice for her after this.

Placing the Dust crystal in my inventory, I met up with Ozpin who had been patiently waiting for me a little further away from the group.

“Sorry about the delay,” I apologized.

“It’s quite alright,” Ozpin answered. “I understand how it can be when one is busy with their students.”

That was an odd thought. Even though I’d been teaching them for a few weeks now, I’d never actually thought of them as my students. Even now, it was a bit difficult to do.

Fortunately, it wasn’t something that I had to think of right now.

Snatching a small stone from the floor, I held it between my fingers. “How about this? The moment the stone touches the ground, we start our match.”

“A fairly acceptable way to begin this spar,” Ozpin hummed.

Flicking the stone with my thumb, it whizzed through the air and collided with a tree branch, before falling to the floor with a dull thud.

Much like our last match, Ozpin disappeared in a blur of speed, only this time, I was ready for him. Meeting him halfway, a loud clang sounded throughout the forest as our weapons met in the middle.

“You’ve gotten a little faster,” Ozpin idly commented.

“Well, I did master my Aura,” I muttered.

Pressing forward, our weapons ground against one another, generating sparks of heat as the friction slowly turned my blade red.

Taking a short breath, Ozpin stepped forward and slipped his cane past my sword, landing a blow to my chest that sent me skidding backwards into a tree.

A little surprised by his sudden increase in speed and strength, I dodged to the side, just barely avoiding Ozpin’s cane as it collided with the tree, shattering its trunk.

Grabbing his arm, I brought my blade down with my free hand only for him to do the same, stopping my blow from landing.

Taking a short moment, I quickly examined his body to see what was going on. Ozpin hadn’t been as fast or as strong when we fought last time.

“I see,” I muttered softly. “That Breathing Style that you’re using doesn’t seem suited for your body, Ozpin. If you want, I could help you figure out which one would suit your body type after our little spar.”

“All that with a single glance,” Ozpin chuckled. “While I appreciate the offer, I think this is something that I would like to figure out on my own… Although, I wouldn’t say no if you wished to offer some advice.”

“Sure thing,” I hummed.

Releasing his arm, I lashed out with a super fast kick, sending him tumbling backwards as a blade made out of condensed air passed over him, cutting through several trees before it dissipated.

Raising my blade above my shoulder, I took a hissed breath while Ozpin quickly got to his feet.

“Sun Breathing: Sun Halo Dragon Head Dance”
  -800 AP

Rushing forward, I brought my blade down on him.

Bringing his cane up in an attempt to stop my sword, he was knocked to the side under the weight of the blow.

Feeling the ground crunch under my feet, I brought my blade down on Ozpin once more and smirked when, instead of trying to win through sheer force, he adapted and used his cane to partially deflect my sword.

Stumbling, Ozpin’s breathing grew more focused as he followed my next blow and managed to avoid it almost entirely.

Seeing that he was beginning to follow my movements, I decided to kick it up a notch. With another hissed breath, I brought my blade down in a circular motion, catching Ozpin off guard.

“Sun Breathing: Burning Bones, Summer Sun.”
  -500AP

Jumping backwards in order to put some space between us, I followed after him, cutting down several trees as I moved through the woods

Rushing around a large tree, I met Ozpin on the other side. Our weapons clanged together, before we separated once more.

Darting through the forest, we met several more times, only meeting briefly before we separated again. Keeping an eye on our environment, I began to slow down when I caught sight of the ruins that existed in the northern portion of the Emerald Forest just on the edge of a ravine.

Coming to a stop on the stone bridge that led to a building in the center of the ravine, I blocked a thrust from Ozpin that sent me skidding to the edge.

It seemed that in our fight, we’d travelled a significant distance away from the spot I’d been using to train Team RWBY. I guess that meant, I could let loose a little without having to worry about hurting anyone.

Since Ozpin hadn’t mentioned anything about being here, I took it to mean that he wouldn’t be mad if this place was a little more destroyed.

“You know, I’ve been wanting to try this out for a while,” I muttered. “I hope you don’t mind that I’ll be testing it against you.”

“By all means,” Ozpin replied, looking just as interested.

Reaching into my inventory, I grabbed the Dust crystal Pyrrha had given me earlier. Copying what I did at the town filled with Chill, I formed a pair of ethereal hands like before and had one grab onto the crystal, shattering it in its grip.

-10000AP

“I should probably warn you, Oz… You might want to avoid what comes next,” I said, forming dozens of ethereal swords behind me.

“Noted,” Ozpin replied, taking a stance in preparation, green Aura sparking around his form.

Pointing my blade, the ethereal swords shut off towards him, whistling through the air at high speed.

Moving in a blur, Ozpin’s form flickered, leaving afterimages behind as he deflected all of the blades, scattering them across the ruins.

Not giving him a moment to rest, I rushed forward and lashed out with a strike that was further enhanced by the spectral arms aiding me. Ozpin, eager to meet my attack, moved to meet me in the middle, his cane humming with released kinetic energy.

Our weapons met in a deafening crash as a shockwave washed over the ruins, threatening to destroy them once and for all.

“So this is what it looks like when one has mastered both their Aura and the Breathing techniques,” Ozpin said, struggling under the weight of my sword.

“Yeah,” I muttered as a bead of sweat dripped down my forehead.

Feeling the ground begin to crack underneath my feet, I took a lower stance, shifting my weight in order to prevent it from collapsing too soon.

Using one of my spectral arms, I released my blade and lashed out to strike Ozpin while he was preoccupied, only for it to smash into a green sphere of Aura that surrounded him, sending him skidding towards the building at the center of the ravine with no real injury.

Deciding to exhaust what remained of the Dust Pyrrha had given me, I sent several waves of swords Ozpin’s way. Watching as he used his own enhanced speed and his surroundings to avoid the ethereal swords, I waited until he’d deflected the last one before making my move.

“Olé.”

Clapping my hands, the numerous ethereal blades hummed, before each of them went off in a small, focused explosion that destroyed even more of the ruins.

With all of the damage done, a few of the ruins collapsed, crumbling into the abyss down below while the tower at the center rumbled ominously.

Finding Ozpin standing in the center of this, looking no worse for wear, I raised an eyebrow when he lifted his cane, before jamming it into the ground, collapsing the bridge that I was currently standing on.

Standing calmly as the bridge crumbled and I began to fall, I glanced between the pieces of rubble and debris, before kicking off. Bounding between the falling pieces of rock, I launched myself through the air, towards Ozpin’s location, only to find him waiting for me with his cane charged up for another attack.

Taking a hissed breath, I swung my blade just as Ozpin released his burst of kinetic energy. Meeting the concentrated wave of pressure, I briefly struggled to cut it, before forcefully pushing my way through with the ethereal hands attached to my body.

“Sun Breathing: Clear Blue Sky”
  -300AP

A wave of burning red Aura cleaved its way through Ozpin’s attack. Some of it crashed into the green sphere of Aura that surrounded his body while the rest of it passed over the ruins, cutting through the ancient stone that kept it together.

Landing near Ozpin as the tower began to collapse, I took a slow, calming breath.

“I do believe this spar of ours has reached its climax,” Ozpin noted, sounding a little strained. “What say we put an end to this?”

“That’s fine by me,” I answered, glancing at the skeletal hands clenching my shoulders. It wouldn’t be long now before they faded and I didn’t want to have to bring them out again.

Hearing the whirl of gears, I looked up to see Ozpin charging up his final attack.

Taking a hissed breath of my own, I gripped my sword tightly with both my regular and ethereal hands, turning it bright red.

Upon seeing Ozpin lowering his cane, I launched myself towards him, aiming my blade at the base of his cane.

Much like before, a wave of pure pressure shot towards me, but I was ready for it this time. Tightening my grip on my blade, I stabbed it forward, piercing through Ozpin’s attack.

“Sun Breathing: Sunflower Thrust”
 -50AP

While not exactly the flashiest of the Sun Breathing techniques, it did have the most penetrating power and that was something I used to my advantage when faced with Ozpin’s attack.

Pressing forward, I quickly noticed that the closer I got to Ozpin, the harder it was to pierce through his attack until finally, I found myself coming to a stop as our two attacks seemed to completely nullify one another.

For a brief moment, everything was quiet, before a massive shockwave exploded from our respective attacks, shattering the remains of the ruins.

Finding myself flung backwards, I struggled to right myself, flipping several times before I was finally able to regain my bearing.

Kicking off the air, I took a few moments to look for Ozpin and found him employing his own landing strategy as he fell towards a section of the forest. Following after him, I made my descent as he landed on the ground in a heavy thud.

Touching down, I took in his slightly battered form, ensuring that he wasn’t in need of medical attention, before letting out a breath I’d been holding.

We might have both gone a little overboard with that last attack of ours.

“It would seem that I lost once more,” Ozpin noted. Wincing as he stood, he used his cane for its intended purpose and took the weight off of his sprained leg.

“It was a pretty fun fight though,” I replied.

“Indeed,” Ozpin chuckled.

Once he mastered Total Concentration Constant, he’d be a hell of an opponent to fight, but as for right now, he just couldn’t keep up. He burnt through Aura too quickly and ended up exhausting himself once more while my Aura would be fully regenerated sometime in the next two minutes.

I couldn’t help but be reminded of when I’d just started learning Sun Breathing and was forced to time my techniques just right or else I’d end up running out of Aura.

Spotting one of Winter’s summoned Nevermore heading towards me, I let out a relieved sigh. For a moment there, I’d been dreading having to piggyback Oz to Beacon, but it seemed Winter spared him and I that embarrassment.

…Breathe…

A day passed since my spar with Ozpin and, making good on my promise, I was taking Pyrrha to replace the Dust crystal she’d lent me. I was also planning on taking her on a surprise date.

There was, however, one big problem. Since I’d wanted to surprise her, I’d kept the date a secret from everyone else and when they heard that I was heading to Vale, they’d pretty much invited themselves.

Even Maria decided to tag along.

Luckily, I had a plan that should deal with Team RWBY. As for Maria and Winter… I was still working on it.

“So…” Yang hummed as the Bullhead shuddered. “Any idea on when we’ll be ready for some of that cool crap you pulled when fighting Ozpin?” She asked, shooting me a grin.

“Probably a while,” I shrugged. “Outside of learning your Breathing Styles, you’ll also need to master your Aura and Total Concentration Constant.”

“And you’re sure there’s no shortcut that can cut through all of that extra stuff?” Yang asked eagerly.

Raising an eyebrow at Yang’s hopeful tone and how the rest of her team seemed to lean in, I smirked. “Nope. If you want to be stronger, then there’s only one way to do it… Train until death.”

“Huh, that’s no fun,” Yang wilted slightly, before puffing up. “But I guess we all kinda knew what we were signing on for. So, outside of filling up on Dust, any idea on where we all want to go? Ooh, how about we all hit up a club… It’d be fun.”

“Or…” Ruby suggested. “We could go to Freddie's Arcade and Pizzeria.”

“Didn’t that place go out of business after one of the animatronics came alive and tried to kill everyone?” Blake drawled.

“It didn't come alive, a Geist possessed it, thank you very much,” Ruby replied. “And they just reopened last week. This time with 100% less murderous animatronics or your money back!”

“But… That means they win either way,” Weiss said. “If you’re murdered, then of course you won’t get your money back and if you’re no... You’re following this, right?”

Ruby shook her head. “You just don’t get it, Weiss.”

Well that was mildly disturbing. Feeling the Bullhead jerk to a halt, I was grateful to get off, away from whatever the hell that conversation was.

Waiting for Pyrrha, who in turn waited for everyone else to get off first before she climbed out of the airship, I realized that this was my chance and slipped my Scroll out of my pocket.

“Oh, hey. I forgot,” I said, catching everyone’s attention. “Ruby, do you have your Scroll on you?”

“Um, yeah,” Ruby hummed, grabbing her Scroll. “Why?”

“I still need to pay you back for your help with Pyrrha and Winter’s weapons,” I replied.

“You really don’t have to,” Ruby said, sounding a little unsure.

“I insist.” Tapping my Scroll to hers, I pressed a confirmation button and waited for her Scroll to ping before pulling away.

“Well, thanks then,” Ruby smiled. “But you really didn’t have t–“ Upon looking at her Scroll’s screen, she froze.

Peeking over her sister's shoulders, Yang’s eyes widened dramatically. “That’s enough to buy two Bumblebees,” She muttered softly. “Hey, Ruby. How about we swing by the garage today? Momma needs a new exhaust… Oh, and maybe a windshield as well.”

“Don’t you go pressuring Ruby into buying things for you,” Weiss snapped, taking up Ruby’s other side. “Motorbikes devalue over time. Buying stock into a worthwhile business on the other hand…”

“Who’s putting ideas in whose head now?” Yang asked.

Coughing lightly, Blake stepped forward. “Perhaps you two should ask Ruby what she wants to do instead of trying to decide yourselves.”

“Maybe we should. What will it be, bestest sister ever?” Yang asked, batting her eyes.

“I suppose you’re right. What will you pick… Wise and trusted team leader,” Weiss said, laying it on thick.

“Um… Uh…” Ruby hummed, looking between her two teammates before turning back to her Scroll. “I just want some cookies and maybe a new gun mod… Bye!” She called out, taking off.

“Ruby!” Yang yelled, running after her sister with Weiss following closely behind.

Sighing as her teammates quickly disappeared from view, Blake began following after them at a far more relaxed pace. “I guess I’ll see you all later.”

That went surprisingly well. Now all that was left was Winter and Maria and then I’d be alone with Pyr–

“I suppose I should get going too,” Maria announced with a small smirk. “I’ve got an appointment with one of Vale’s top spas. Around the clock masseurs, mud baths and saunas… The works. Good work on distracting those four by the way, Coal. Be sure to enjoy your date,” She finished, waving goodbye as she headed down the street.

“Date?” Pyrrha asked quizzically. Glancing towards Winter, she smiled curiously. “With the two of us?”

“Well,” I started, choosing my words carefully. Pyrrha hadn’t been opposed when Yang climbed into bed with us back in Argus and I couldn’t deny that I had grown to care about Winter. Closing my eyes, I exhaled slowly. “If that’s something that would be alright with the both of you.”

Waiting for the inevitable slap, I was met with silence. Opening my eyes once, I found Pyrrha who was still smiling and Winter with an oddly indecisive look on her face.

“I wouldn’t… Be opposed to going on a date with you,” Winter remarked. “If you would have me.”

“We’d love to,” Pyrrha beamed.

Okay, I can’t say I’d been expecting that, but that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. Now all I needed to do was figure out how to not screw up a date with two women at the same time.