Seeing the Nuckelavee standing before them, all three members of Team TNPR tense up, ready for the fight ahead.
"…That thing," Nora said through clenched teeth.
Ren didn't respond. He was already moving, charging directly toward it.
Without hesitation, Nora followed from behind.
The Nuckelavee roared again, swinging its elongated arms toward them.
"Left!" Ren called.
Both of them rolled aside just as the claws slammed into the ground. The Grimm twisted its body and spun, striking them both and sending them flying back.
Ren recovered first and opened fire, shooting his bullets toward the Grimm's torso.
The Nuckelavee thrust one arm forward, catching Ren mid-movement and slamming him against a wall. The impact knocked the wind out of him.
"Ngh!"
The Grimm's other arm shot forward, stretching unnaturally as it aimed to finish him off.
"Ren!" Nora shouted.
She jumped in, swinging Magnhild and blocking the attack, but the force drove both of them back into the remains of a building. The Nuckelavee pressed in, pinning them.
Pyrrha moved instantly.
She dashed forward and slashed at the Grimm's leg, drawing a roar from it. The creature staggered back, releasing Ren and Nora.
"Regroup!" Pyrrha called.
The three of them rushed back in together, coordinating their attacks. Pyrrha struck where she could, Ren fired from mid-range, and Nora hammered at its limbs, missing most of them.
Despite their efforts, none of their attacks did any lasting damage.
"Why isn't this thing going down!?" Nora shouted, dodging another swing.
"Tsutsumi!" Pyrrha called out, glancing back, realizing that throughout the fight, he hadn't made a move.
Tsutsumi stood several meters away, just staring.
"…Tsutsumi?" Pyrrha tried again before dodging a strike from the Grimms.
Still, he didn't move from his spot.
"Tsutsumi!" Nora yelled, narrowly avoiding another strike. "What are you waiting for!? Do something!"
"Why are you just watching!?" she added, rolling away as the claws narrowly missed her head.
The Nuckelavee managed to grab Pyrrha, lifting her like a rag doll and swinging her straight into Ren. Both were thrown back hard.
"Tsutsumi!" Nora yelled again, bringing Magnhild down onto one of the Grimm's arms. Before it, another stretchy limb slapped her aside, sending her rolling across the ground.
She pushed herself up just in time to see the Nuckelavee dragging Ren by the chest, slamming him into buildings, trees, and the ground.
"Ren!" she shouted.
Nora turned toward Tsutsumi, who was still standing there.
"Tsutsumi! What are you waiting for!? Have you..."
"Have you betrayed us!?" she yelled. "I thought we were teammates!?"
Tsutsumi continued to stare, watching as Ren was slammed into the ground, before it raised its sharp, bony claws, aiming to finish him off.
"…Yeah," Tsutsumi said quietly. "This is too much for them."
He raised his hand slightly, pulling out a card.
Attack Ride: Time Vent!
The world froze.
Everything stopped, then rewound, broken walls reassembled, wounds vanished, footsteps reversed.
A moment later, time resumed.
The three of them blinked, standing where they had been before the fight started. Their bodies were unharmed, but the memory of what happened remained.
"Huh? What? What just happened?" Nora started turning left and right and even looking down at her own body, seeing no wound.
"…Did we just?" Pyrrha murmurs, shifting her gaze toward Tsutsumi.
Ren looked at his hands, then shifted his gaze toward Tsutsumi. "You can turn back time?"
"Somewhat, I need another 24 hours before I can use that card again, so no do-over now." Tsutsumi said calmly, intrigued by finding a limit in his own ability.
His other weaker, simple ability can be reused multiple times, but a truly broken ability like Time Vent actually needs a full day of recharge before he can use it again.
Since his power is a part of him, and not a Driver like the original Decade. By simply holding the Rider Card in his hand, he could easily tell whether or not he could activate the card or not.
A roar echoed through Shion Village.
All four of them turned their heads at once.
The Nuckelavee stood in the exact same spot as before, its hooved feet scraping against the cracked stone as it shifted its crimson gaze toward them.
Tsutsumi finally stepped forward.
"Alright," he said calmly. "Remember what we practiced, follow what I taught you, and we can kill it together."
His purple gaze locked onto the Grimm. "So let's kill it properly this time."
The Nuckelavee roared again, and the fight resumed.
"Remember your positions," Tsutsumi said.
He raised his Rider Book, switching it into Gun Mode, and opened fire. Light bullets streaked through the air, striking the Grimm's long, stretchy arms as they shot forward. The impacts forced the limbs to retract.
"Got it!" Nora shouted.
"Understood," Pyrrha replied.
Ren nodded silently.
The Nuckelavee snarled and swung its arms again, sweeping across the battlefield.
Nora jumped high, Aura flaring as she empowered her legs with her Semblance. She flipped once midair, spun Magnhild, and brought it down with a heavy swing.
The Grimm jerked away just in time. Nora's hammer struck the ground instead, shaking the ruins and sending dirt, broken bricks, and dust flying everywhere, forming a thick smokescreen.
The Nuckelavee's crimson eyes glowed through the dust.
Gunfire rang out.
Bullets slammed into its torso, forcing it to turn and lash out in Ren's direction.
Attack Ride: Connect!
A magic circle flashed beneath Ren, pulling him out of harm's way an instant before the Grimm's claws passed through the space he had occupied.
"Ren," Tsutsumi said evenly. "Focus. Hide your presence."
Ren took a breath.
"You're a ranged assassin. Hit, disengage, reposition. That's your role."
"…Right. Thanks and sorry."
Ren reactivated his Semblance, his presence fading from the Grimm's senses almost instantly. The Nuckelavee hesitated, its attention shifting back to Nora and Pyrrha.
"Pyrrha," Tsutsumi continued, "mid-range pressure. Keep it guessing."
"Understood."
"Nora, keep pushing. Don't let it breathe."
"Heh, my specialty!" Nora grinned.
The Nuckelavee found itself under constant pressure.
Nora stayed in front, hammering at it and drawing most of its attention. Pyrrha supported from mid-range, occasionally stepping in close before retreating again. Whenever the Grimm's arms stretched toward Nora, Pyrrha intercepted, throwing her weapons to knock them aside before pulling them back with her Semblance.
Ren reappeared briefly, striking at weak points before vanishing again. Shots, slashes, and sudden impacts came from different angles, forcing the Grimm to constantly turn and react.
Although their team was winning, Tsutsumi frowned; his team didn't lack raw power.
What they lacked was adaptability.
With proper command and direction, they can easily handle most opponents, but if left for their own devices, the three mostly fight for themselves, lacking the adequate teamwork that they have practiced.
Well, somewhat practiced... they didn't have much practice when it came to teamwork.
"They really need more training," he muttered.
The Nuckelavee, realizing it was losing ground, turned and tried to retreat. Its intelligence was high enough to know when to run.
Attack Ride: Luminosité Eternelle!
Jeanne's Noble Phantasm appeared in his hands. He spun it once and slammed the butt end into the ground.
Golden light surged outward, forming a massive dome around the battlefield.
The Nuckelavee slammed into the barrier, roaring as it clawed and struck at the glowing wall, but it didn't budge.
"If Jeanne ever saw this," Tsutsumi muttered, "she'd probably hit me."
Using a shield meant to protect others as a cage wasn't exactly its intended purpose.
Cornered, the Nuckelavee turned back, roaring loudly. Even a trapped animal fought back.
It swung its stretchy left arm toward them. Pyrrha countered by throwing Miló in its spear form, the spear stabbed into the Grimms' hand, pinning it to the ground.
The Nuckelavee howled and swung its other arm.
"Move!" Pyrrha called.
The group rolled, dodging the attack before Ren suddenly appeared behind the Grimms, swinging StormFlower at its back horse leg.
Causing the Grimms to release a painful roar, it tries turning back to swing its other hand toward Ren, as Nora swung Magnhild down, slamming down on the hand and keeping it pinned.
"Now!" Nora shouted.
Ren moved fast, cutting into the remaining horse legs. The Nuckelavee staggered, unable to run.
The Nuckelavee could only roar in pain, as both its hands were pinned and its legs were injured. Ren falls back, using StormFlower and stabbing it down onto its hand, pinning it and letting Nora pick up Magnhild.
"Pyrrha, boost me!" Nora yelled, running directly toward Pyrrha.
Pyrrha nodded, lifting Akoúō̱ just in time. Nora stepped onto it and launched herself upward, spinning Magnhild as she fell.
She slammed the hammer straight into the Nuckelavee's horse head.
The Grimms could only let out a painful scream as Ren calmly approached it, drawing an old dagger that he kept hidden.
His cold, calm magenta gaze locked onto the Nuckelavee, even as its roar washed over him, whipping his hair back, he didn't flinch.
"For my mother..." He began cutting off its first arm, the Grimms scream painfully, but Ren simply ignores it.
"For my father..." He continues cutting off its other arm, and it screams again.
"For all those you have slain..." He swung again, slashing at its chest, and another loud scream rang out.
"And lastly," Ren said, glancing back at Nora, "…for us."
The final strike took its head clean off. The Nuckelavee collapsed, its body dissolving into black mist.
Tsutsumi lowered his camera, having captured the moment.
Throughout the entire fight, Tsutsumi never stepped in directly.
That had been Ren's request, to finish it with his own hands. Tsutsumi understood why, and he respected it. So he stayed out of the fight, intervening only when it looked like someone was about to die.
Once the Grimm was gone and the area was clear, Tsutsumi pulled out his phone. He sent a short message requesting extraction and slid the phone back into his pocket.
Their mission was complete.
"Alright," he said, looking around. "Nothing else here. Let's pack it up."
It took a few minutes before the sound of engines grew louder. A Bullhead descended and landed a short distance away, kicking up dust as it touched down.
The four of them climbed aboard without much fuss.
Nora immediately dropped into a seat and leaned back with a tired groan. Ren sat beside her, just as exhausted. At some point, without either of them really noticing, their hands found each other and intertwined. Both of them closed their eyes, breathing evenly.
Seeing this, Pyrrha wanted to do the same with Tsutsumi, only to find the pilot sitting outside with them.
"Um… shouldn't you be in the front? Driving?" Pyrrha asks the pilot.
"Tch. Your leader kicked me out." The pilot said in anger.
"He took my seat and said he'd handle it himself." The pilot crossed his arms, scowling. "Do you have any idea how humiliating that is?"
This was like a passenger kicking a bus driver off their seat and taking the wheel, and doing their job for them.
Pyrrha: "..."
"He is doing this on purpose. I just don't have a way to prove it." She murmurs, following how her understanding of his character, Tsutsumi, would use this as an excuse to not sit together with her and hold her hand.
She wasn't wrong; Tsutsumi really did this to avoid sitting with her and being trapped in another handholding lock again.
After landing the bullhead and returning to Beacon, team TNPR began making their way back toward their room to rest. And of course, the second Pyrrha took her eyes off Tsutsumi to greet Ruby and team RWBY. Her leader had disappeared like usual.
In a different world now, Tsutsumi stretched lazily, letting out a long breath.
"…Finally," he muttered.
For once, he wasn't surrounded by girls who were interested in him. Just that alone already made this world feel significantly more relaxing.
Honestly, if he truly didn't care about any of them, then he probably wouldn't care whether they lived or died. But the problem was that he did care. And knowingly letting people walk toward their own deaths wasn't something he was comfortable with.
Which was why leaving, at least temporarily, was a relief.
"Now," Tsutsumi said, glancing around, "where exactly am I?"
The first thing he noticed was steam.
A lot of steam.
His eyes drifted around the area, taking in hazy outlines and the faint sound of water moving. Then he looked down.
He was in a huge bath.
His lower half was submerged in hot, constantly flowing water, the heat seeping into his muscles and making him relax despite himself.
Like usual, whenever he entered a world he'd never been to before, he'd be assigned a role. And more often than not, that role meant taking the place of whatever version of him existed in that world.
"Oh?" a voice called out lazily. "Getting irritated now, are we?"
Tsutsumi stiffened slightly.
The voice was feminine, smooth, confident, and somehow cold despite the relaxed tone.
He turned to see a woman moving through the water toward him, completely at ease. Her skin was pale, almost unnaturally white, contrasting sharply with her long, wet cyan-blue hair. Sharp blue eyes locked onto him, assessing him without any hint of warmth.
Steam clung to her form, doing just enough to obscure details without really hiding anything. A black symbol rested just above her chest, visible even through the haze.
She stopped a short distance away, standing tall, posture relaxed but commanding.
Tsutsumi felt it immediately. Memories of the him in this world, flooded in.
"…Esdeath," he blurted out before he could stop himself.
The woman's expression darkened instantly.
She looked at him the same way one might look at dirt stuck to the bottom of a boot.
"Did I give you permission to speak my name," she said coldly, "Dog?"
Tsutsumi: "..."
What the fuck did this version of me get himself into?