For a moment, Sasuke was silent as he watched a familiar scene play out, almost like he was back at the academy.
Some things don't change, even in a different world.
Well, not quite. Sasuke must admit he did not expect a team-up between these two sisters. It seems I was wrong, and there are people out there who are willing to share love.
Probably because Ruby and Yang are sisters of similar age who grew up sharing everything and had a strong bond.
However, it was a really specific scenario, so he couldn't expect it to extend further to include other people...Not that Weiss would agree to it, anyway.
Now that was a big shift if Sasuke ever saw one.
Weiss's interest in him started with suspicion before giving way to curiosity. Then, she had goodwill born of empathy and was willing to step aside for Ruby or even Yang to be his "girlfriend." But after Weiss found out just how much in common they had with each other, the possibility of losing such an amazing partner made her prioritize her own feelings over some girl she barely knows.
Can you truly call that a betrayal? If anything, it's just a little selfish or, dare he say, human.
Now, Sasuke had to figure out if this rivalry and competition for him were a good thing or not. As far as he knew, Sakura became the best kunoichi of the year, and Ino a close second just because of him.
Who knows, maybe this would motivate these girls to become even stronger.
Now, before he could say anything, Yang, Ruby, and Weiss started to receive notifications on their scrolls like crazy, to the point that they couldn't even ignore them anymore. Checking it out, it only took a second for their eyes to widen and their hearts to sink.
While the messages came from different people, all of whom were family members, the meaning behind them was roughly the same: "What the hell are you doing in front of the whole world?!"
Looking around, the girls finally realized that they were the center of attention, not only from the surrounding crowd but also from the cameras that were focused on Sasuke for his match.
His opponent was already in the arena, waiting for some time now. And boy, he wasn't happy to be ignored like that.
In short, everything they just did was being watched by hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people around the world.
"Well, shit," Yang murmured as she waved to her father at home and maybe even to her fuking mother with an awkward smile. "Ruby, I think we are famous now."
And not in a good way.
If anything, they were now the main characters of a fucking drama that people couldn't have enough of!
For Ruby and her social awkwardness, this was nothing short of a nightmare, and it didn't take long for her to pass out and be caught in Sasuke's arms for the public's delight.
This was getting better and better.
As for Weiss, now she could understand what all of those messages that she had received and ignored from her father the day before were about.
She couldn't believe the amount of nonsense people were talking about Sasuke and her online.
Like, they don't have a life or something better to do instead of wasting time gossiping about someone else? This was ridiculous!
Still, Weiss was no stranger to being under the spotlight...even if it was for a different and more scandalous reason than usual.
But then, before she could say anything, her Scroll received one more message, and it was from someone who had never contacted her before.
"Mother?" Weiss said in surprise, sounding almost like a whisper that only Sasuke could hear, as he sat Ruby down on the benches for Yang to watch over her. "Why is she messaging me..." She stopped and then smiled as something good came out of all of this. "That's exactly what I intend to do."
Then she showed Sasuke her Scroll and the message from her mother that read: "Do your best."
While Willow could be talking about the tournament, Weiss knew that it wasn't it, as her mother never cared about such futility. So the fact that she was even watching it at all was nothing short of a miracle, but a welcome one.
Sasuke didn't say anything after he understood what this was about, but he was amused enough to show a smile.
Even if the situation was absurd, he could still appreciate the support from a close relative... although the thought did sting a little, as Sasuke didn't have any family rooting for him, be it in love or in fighting.
So, this is where the similarities between us end. Sasuke got up and jumped from where he was standing without saying anything to Weiss, all the way to the arena where his opponent awaited him. "Let's get this over with."
That alone was enough to shift the conversation around.
"Well, would you look at that, folks!" Professor Port resumed the narration, enthusiastic about this show of physical skill. "This young challenger is good at more than just conquering the ladies' hearts, but will it be enough?"
Sasuke did his best to ignore those remarks and focus on his opponent and the look of sheer snideness in his eyes.
This one hates me more than the others. He could see that, and it was still disappointing because of the petty reason behind it. Jealousy is such an ugly feeling.
In that case, Sasuke should give this boy who goes by the name of Jake Collins a better reason to hate him.
"Now that the two of you are ready." Glynda decided to set aside everything else and go straight to the match, hoping it would end without any major incidents. "Begin!"
Jake drew his sword and made it burn with fire dust.
"Get ready, pretty boy," he said with a wicked smile, wishing for nothing but to tear this fucking playboy a new one! "When I'm done with you, not even you fuking mom will be able to...gahh!"
He didn't finish talking because Sasuke didn't let him, as he sent this idiot flying with a kick to the face. It happened so fast that Jake couldn't even see what happened as he rolled across the arena like a rag doll, all the way until he collided with the wall on the other side and cracked it.
For a moment, there was nothing but silence as Jake's Aura meter hit zero all in one go, and his body fell unconscious on the ground.
"Watch your mouth when talking about someone else's mom," Sasuke said, annoyed at having to hold back so much against trash like this before turning to Glynda. "You should hurry and take him to the infirmary."
The last thing he wanted was to kill in front of an audience and get even more unwanted attention.
Too late for that, though.
Defeating an Aura user with one hit was already something almost unheard of, and this also confirmed what Glynda had suggested earlier about someone just as strong as Pyrrha being in the tournament.
Above all, it was the same boy dating Weiss Schnee and potentially two other cute girls!
Strong and attractive...some people are just blessed with everything.
Speaking of which, Pyrrha was just as surprised by this result as she was barely capable of keeping up with Sasuke's speed.
I need to watch out for that. In her mind, she was already preparing for their imminent clash. Be it today at the finals or in a future combat class.
Eventually, they would fight, and she needed to be ready for him!
As for Glynda, she snapped out of it and moved to help the collapsed student, checking his condition. Fortunately, the boy was breathing without any visible injury, but still...
This was too much! She wanted to scold Sasuke right there for not holding back, as he had promised the night before when they had a little talk! But...can I really blame him for this?
Glynda knew about this boy's past and what happened to his family, so a reaction like this was somewhat expected after his late mom was badmouthed.
Let's keep going for now and have another conversation with him before his second round. She made her decision and got up after the medical team took that stupid boy to the infirmary. "Jake Collins had his Aura broken, lost consciousness, and is out of bounds, so Uchiha Sasuke wins!"
A triple K.O., if you will, and people rejoiced at that.
Now they could understand why Sasuke was in the very first match and Pyrrha in the last one.
These two were most likely to fight in the finals, and the people watching couldn't wait for it!
"You know, every time I see Sasuke fighting, I feel less and less upset about losing to him when we first met." Yang had chills running up her back and a smile on her face as she looked at that handsome monster making his way back to them. "Just...what kind of life did he live to get this strong?"
Especially for him to remain unknown until that incident in Vale?
While being a ninja could explain a lot, just like that broken Semblance of his, that shouldn't be enough to get Sasuke this far...unless you factor in his desire for revenge, and that only raises even more questions.
"While I want to know why you made the stupid decision to fight him in the first place, does that really matter?" Weiss's smile was completely different as she looked at Sasuke with nothing but admiration and affection that only Winter had ever received from her. "At the end of the day, Sasuke is still Sasuke."
And hopefully, that was not going to change.
Besides, most of what made Weiss curious about him had already been revealed to her, anyway. Like, the reason why he was hiding his face, and how he could do so many things.
If anything, Weiss already knew a lot more about Sasuke than she expected initially. So much so that he even promised to show his mysterious left eye, or Rinnegan, to her later!
"So, you are okay not knowing anything else about him?" Yang couldn't believe what she was hearing right now. "There's a limit to how blind you can be by love, you know?"
Even more so after what Sasuke said the day before, about wanting revenge for most of his life to the point of being willing to die to achieve it, and the fact that this destructive goal had changed to something else that was still dangerous.
No one can blame Yang for being curious.
"I'm not going to be some hypocrite and say I don't want to know more about the first boy that I came to like." Weiss had a solemn look in her eyes that only got worse the more she thought about the kind of home she left behind. "It's just that... there are things about myself that I prefer to keep just to me." Then she looked at Yang with a sad smile. "I like to think I'm not the only one who is like that."
So Weiss stands by what she said the day before, and Sasuke could take his time opening up to her, if he ever does, because that's exactly what she intended to do.
After letting this girl's words set in, Yang thought about her mom, and that hit way too close to home for her liking.
If possible, she didn't want to talk about that with anyone, ever. So, as Weiss said, everyone must have something they don't want to talk about.
Given Sasuke's reaction just now, his problem must be related to his family, too.
"I hate to admit it, but you're right," Yang conceded with an exasperated sigh. "Let's not pry into his life."
If Sasuke wants to talk about himself, he would do it naturally over time.
"Glad to hear." Weiss nodded in agreement, satisfied, but only for a moment before returning to her usual colder self. "I'm still not giving him to you, though."
That possibility was completely off the table now.
"Heh," Yang laughed it off and then hugged herself to accentuate her generous breasts. "Like I need your permission to get what I want~."
This princess may have the advantage for now, but that won't last.
With Ruby by her side, Yang was sure that they would be able to turn things around and win Sasuke over!
It was just a matter of time.