The two of them pressed on toward the temple.
Tsutsumi's thoughts drifted uneasily; he worried that this "quick adventure" might stretch into something long, keeping his little sister waiting far longer than he intended.
"Oh, I see Yang and Blake have already made it," Pyrrha suddenly said, spotting the two girls ahead at the temple.
She quickened her pace, clearly eager to greet them. Tsutsumi followed, though more at a relaxed, measured stride.
"Hey, Pyrrha! Is that you?" the blonde with vibrant hair called out, her voice carrying with ease. She grinned, lavender eyes sparkling with mischief. "Oh ho! And who do we have here following you?" Her gaze swept him from head to toe, several times.
Did I just get checked out?
"My partner," Pyrrha introduced smoothly. "Tsutsumi, meet Yang," she pointed to the blonde, then toward the other girl. "and Blake."
"Tsutsumi, huh?" Yang looked him over again, completely unashamed. "So you're into pretty boy, huh, Pyrrha? Gotta say, I'm impressed. Girl, you got some good taste. Not too bad except…" She squinted at him. "He could learn how to crack a smile or two. C'mon, buddy! You're getting checked out by three totally hot chicks and no reaction?"
Tsutsumi only gave her a flat, unreadable stare.
"Aww," Yang cooed, leaning closer. "No need to play hard to get! Like Wonder Girl said, I'm Yang! Yang Xiao Long. Nice to meet ya, Purple!" She threw in a wink for good measure.
This is wasting more of my time than I thought, he mused. Walking away wasn't an option, too suspicious.
Tsutsumi sighed. "It's Tsutsumi. Tsutsumi Ryoko. Not Purple."
"Gotcha, Purple!" she fired back with a grin.
He turned instead to the quieter girl with the bow. "Blake."
The raven-haired girl gave a small nod, her expression disinterested, almost withdrawn. Yet her golden eyes betrayed her, sneaking glances at him more often than she likely realized. The bow atop her head twitched, oddly enough, drawing one of his brows upward.
"Yes? Do you need something?" she asked evenly.
"No," Tsutsumi replied, shifting his attention back to Pyrrha as she retrieved relics. "Just thought you looked familiar for a moment."
Her features lingered in his mind; if her eye color matched his own, she could've almost passed for an older Miyu. But the differences were there: darker hair, a sharper nose, subtle but undeniable.
"So, Purple!" Yang suddenly sauntered over, shouldering up to him. "How come yours truly," she gestured at herself with a flourish, "didn't see you at orientation? With hair like that, you'd stick out. Especially with that build, you'd have girls checkin' you out left and right."
She really had no shame.
"I was late," he said calmly.
"Late?" she parroted in disbelief. "And they still let you in? Man, Purple, aren't you a lucky guy?"
"It wasn't my fault," he kept composed. "Unfortunate events came up at the last moment. The instructors assured me it was fine."
Pyrrha returned, holding two chess pieces. "Here's yours."
"Thanks," he murmured, accepting the white knight relic. He studied it briefly, the horse-shaped carving resting cool in his palm. "So what do we do now?"
"I dunno," Yang said, kicking at the dirt. "Feels like we're supposed to wait for more people? Hey, Pyrrha, Blake, you girls got any clue?"
Blake shook her head. Pyrrha tilted her head thoughtfully. "Well, I think-"
"WOOHOO! YEE-HAW! GIDDY-UP, TEDDY BEAR!"
All eyes shifted to the chaos crashing into the clearing. An orange-haired girl was riding atop a massive, armored bear-like creature until it collapsed beneath her.
"BOOP!" She smashed its skull with a hammer, and the beast dissolved into black dust. "Aww, had to retire the old Ursa-mobile."
Then she spotted them. "Ooh! Ren, look! A white knight! It's-" In an instant, she zipped past Tsutsumi and snatched one of the relics. "MINE! A little horsey! Isn't it just the cutest thing?"
"NORA!" a male voice cried out.
"Hehe, I'm coming, Renny!" she chirped, dashing off again without missing a beat.
"Uh… excuse me? Did that girl just ride in on a… Ursa?!" Yang asked incredulously.
"Uh… I think so?" Blake shrugged.
Tsutsumi exhaled softly, eyes drifting upward to the sky.
"Are you alright?" Pyrrha leaned closer, her voice warm despite the strangeness. "I think we're almost done with our initiation."
"Somewhat." His gaze sharpened on a speck hurtling down from above. "Hey… Pyrrha, is that a person falling towards us? Towards me?"
"I… I believe you're correct."
"Err, hey Yang," Blake nudged her blonde partner, "I think that's your sister falling. Along with… Weiss."
"AHHHHH! HEADS UP, EVERYONE!"
Tsutsumi leapt, catching the red-cloaked girl in his arms just in time. She yelped as he dropped her and immediately moved to catch the second falling figure. The white-haired girl's landing was heavier, forcing him down to one knee. Stone cracked beneath his boots.
"Thank you- oof! Hey, you brute! What was that for?!" the girl snapped. "How rude! Do you know who I am? How dare you just drop me like that?!"
Tsutsumi shot her a bored look before offering a polite bow. "You're welcome."
"Hmph." She brushed herself off with an indignant sniff and marched away.
"Great!" Yang clapped. "The gang's all here, plus the new guy! Psst, hey…" She grinned, whispering loudly, "Bet they were quite the catch, eh?"
"Heh?" Tsutsumi blinked. That pun made no sense to him, and it sounded terrible.
"Hey, everyone," Blake cut in, voice firm, "I don't want to be the bearer of bad news, but Ruby and Weiss brought a Nevermore. It's circling above us right now."
As if on cue, a piercing screech echoed overhead.
Weiss pocketed her relic, her tone commanding. "Well, everyone has their relics, correct? Then we shouldn't dawdle. All we need to do is reach the extraction point, and we're finished."
Tsutsumi rolled his eyes.
If only it were that easy.
That massive bird wasn't letting anyone walk away, not without a fight.
Still, he kept quiet, watching the group's optimism play out as they ran.
When danger struck, he reacted on instinct. Tsutsumi tackled Pyrrha aside just as the ground erupted under a shower of feathers, earth quaking from the impact.
"Thanks for the save," she said breathlessly, quickly regaining her footing. Together they caught up with the group.
The Nevermore loomed above them, wings beating with gale-force winds as it perched on the central tower of the ruins. Its screech sent painful echoes through the air.
"Well, ain't that just peachy!" Yang muttered. "What do we do now?"
"Alright," Tsutsumi huffed, eyes narrowing at the bird. "I'm going to tell you this once. Stand to my left, behind me."
"And what are you going to be doing, huh?" Weiss crossed her arms. "I'm not sure if you noticed, but you're the only one who doesn't have a weapon. And if I'm being quite honest, your plan of having us stay behind you doesn't instill confidence in me."
"If you want to ignore me, go ahead," he said coolly. "But don't blame me if you get caught in the crossfire."
"Alright, princess!" Yang grinned, clapping her hands together. "Let's trust Purple's plan! He's got something in store, right?"
"Don't worry, Tsutsumi," Pyrrha added gently, smiling at him. "I believe in you. After all, we still have another date to go on."
Leave it to his partner to crack a joke now of all times.
Exhaling, Tsutsumi slid a card into his belt.
Attack Ride: Half-Cold Half-Hot!
He crouched, pressing his right palm against the ground.
"Freezing At Moment."
Frost spread like wildfire. Ice surged forward in towering layers, consuming the terrain and the Nevermore alike. The forest transformed into a frozen wasteland, the massive bird entombed within crystalline walls.
Exhaling a cloud of mist, Tsutsumi rose to his feet. His purple eyes swept over the shivering group.
"S-S-S-So c-c-c-cold," Nora chattered through her teeth.
"A-a-aw-awe-some!" The girl in red squeaked, clutching her cloak tightly.
"A-amazing," Pyrrha murmured, though her body trembled.
Heat flared from Tsutsumi's left side, orange flames melting the frost creeping over his arm. The warmth radiated outward, thawing the group. One by one, they edged closer, huddling near him like moths to a flame.
"So warm…" several of them sighed in relief.
Tsutsumi slipped a hand into his pocket, pulling out another set of cards before he quickly put them away.
...
Far away, an elevator ascended.
"I still strongly believe we should contact James about this," Said a blonde woman in a hushed tone to a man with silver white hair.
The man leaned on his cane, eyes fixed on the holographic screen replaying the forest scene, Tsutsumi freezing a Nevermore in one strike.
"And I disagree. James has enough on his plate already. He hounds me daily for updates on our… guest. Between his council, his pet projects, and the upcoming Vytal Festival, I'd prefer we keep this to ourselves until we know more. If it escalates, then yes, James and Qrow can be involved."
He is the principal of Beacon Academy, Ozpin.
"But this is something we've never encountered before. Mister Ryoko's power raises a lot of questions, Oz. Especially since he's teamed up with that girl, Pyrrha Nikos. It's just going to attract a lot of unnecessary attention that we-"
"Later, Glynda," Ozpin interrupted smoothly as the elevator doors opened. "For now, I have teams to announce."
She gave him a sharp look, realizing he was sidestepping. "…I hope you know what you're doing, Oz."
"Don't worry," he said with a small, weary smile. "I'm positive it will all work out. For now, we have our own work to begin."
Her eyes narrowed. "Did you ever find a color for their team?"
Ozpin coughed discreetly. "As you can imagine, abbreviating TNPR proved… difficult."
"So it's just… blank?"
"…" He hesitated. "Yes."
She sighed heavily. "…I suppose it will have to do, for now."
...
Upon returning to his world, Tsutsumi widened his eyes in horror, seeing it was already nighttime.
"Damn it!" He cursed under his breath as he quickly made his way back home.
When arriving home, he already found Miyu tucked in bed; she had finished her study, had dinner, she even gone out for a walk at the beach before being tucked into bed by... himself?
Tsutsumi was confused looking at the pictures that "he" took, having the same overlapping glitched effect that all of his pictures have. Indicating this is really him who took them.
"Wait a minute..." He murmurs, pausing for a moment and thinking back about his dreams.
The Aurora Curtain indeed has the ability to travel across time, like how Tsukasa sent Kamen Rider Zi-O from 2019 to the future to mean Kamen Rider Zi-O from 2069.
He raised his hand, summoning out his Aurora Curtain, and let it take him away.
Tsutsumi walked around an unknown city, his gaze shifted toward a newspaper.
2010 - Breaking News! Tony Stark is Iron Man!
"Wrong world." Tsutsumi murmurs before disappearing in the Aurora Curtain.
He continues crossing between worlds, trying to figure out how to travel across time.
"Back in Japan again, this is Tokyo?" He murmurs before a piercing roar reaches the sky, turning around, he saw a massive black reptilian creature of massive size, surpassing the skyscraper around it.
It roared, letting a blue energy blade blast from its mouth that piered the heavens.
"Another failed." He murmurs before raising his camera at the beast and snapping a picture.
He then leaves using his Aurora Curtain again, this time reappearing inside so dark cave, his purple eyes glowing faintly in the dark, as he hears footsteps nearby.
"You seem to know a lot about this. Experience?" Pyrrha's voice rang out.
"I suppose so," Then came his own voice.
Standing there, Tsutsumi watched his past self walking alongside Pyrrha.
"Finally got the time travel thing down," he murmured with a satisfied grin, before an Aurora Curtain swept him away, returning him to his own world.
Reappearing back in his world, just moments after the Sports Festival ended, Tsutsumi left to buy some groceries.
Although he is tired from the nonstop travel between worlds, it won't stop him from spending time with his family.
He opened the door to his home. "I'm back."
"Welcome, Ryoko-niisan!" Miyu called brightly, closing her book and hurrying to greet him.