RWBY: Tiger King and Dragon Queen

We do not own RWBY or any other copyright content. All rights to it go to Monty Oum, Viz Media, and their original owners. All OCs are owned by us.

Writing credits go to Uzumaki Ricky, Monsterhuntergod, Sharad the hedgehog, and SlimShady2015.

Tiger King and Dragon Queen

Volume 1 Chapter 5: First Day Blues

Goodbyes were never Azura's strong suit. Big or small, for short or long, the idea of losing someone for any reason sunk very deep into his core. His normally affable face quickly turned sour as his eldest two siblings prepared their luggage for boarding an airship home. The rest of the Sōtora's were also there, with less feeling of loss as the middle child. Lazuli quickly noticed her younger brother's change.

"It's not forever, Azura. Our paths will cross again quicker than you realize." Lazuli said to him with a reassuring smile.

Azura tried to smile in response. "I know, elder sister. It is just…" He said, cutting himself off due to being unable to bring himself to say it.

"You do not have to worry about your older siblings, Azura. We can handle ourselves. It's us who should be worried about you." Lazuli said, putting a hand on her brother's tense shoulder.

Azura sighed. "I know. It is not that I am worried. It is just… I am going to miss you…" He replied somberly.

"We will miss you too, little brother. Don't let your feeling of longing make you unable to enjoy the company you already have. Especially going into Signal in some months." Quain said, giving his brother a smile.

Azura smiled a bit, trying to appear more confident than he was. "Look out, Signal Academy. You will not know what hit you once Sōtora Azura comes to town." He replied a bit more chipperly.

"Just keep him out of the pantry…" Argent muttered, before a smack from Azura stopped him.

"Quiet, you…!" Azura told his younger brother sternly.

"Oh, and make sure you say hi to Yang for us, Azu." Quain said with a cheeky smile.

"Do try to keep yourself to just the scales of a dragon. I hear a rose's thorns are quite pointy to those who get greedy." Lazuli cheekily added.

Azura blushed at the implications of his elder siblings' words. "L-Lazuli, Quain…!" He spoke up nervously.

"Be nice, you two. I'll get plenty of grandchildren from him in due time." Their mother said, half sternly, half cheeky implication.

Azura's blush merely deepened from pink to light red at that. "M-Mother, please…!"

"I think you two should get going. Don't want to keep things up too late." Azolum said.

"Of course, father." The two oldest said in unison with a nod.

Taking a deep breath, Azura gave his elder siblings a smile. "Say hello to Kenshi for me. Also, please make sure he is not causing too much trouble without me." He said, his tone more playful than before.

"Oh please. He's only a disaster when you're involved. You're such a bad influence, Azu. For shame." Lazuli smirked back with clear humor in her voice.

Azura had a mock offended look on his face. "I am the bad influence? I was not the one who turned sensei's toilet into a fountain that sprayed him with toilet water when he opened the seat." He snipped back with a smirk.

"Sounds to me like an excuse." Argent muttered.

"That was Kenshi, not me. None of you can prove I was involved." Azura said with a playful grin.

"Alright everyone, let's not make the good airship pilot be late." Azolum said, a hint exasperated at his kids' antics.

Argent walked up and hugged his eldest siblings, not worrying about being caught showing a public display of affection. "You'll call every day, right?" He asked. Looking up at them.

"Of course." Quain said with a nod.

"Why wouldn't we? Don't worry, Argent." Lazuli said, rubbing her brother's mess of a head.

Argent smiled and stepped back as Aqua tackle hugged her eldest siblings, the baby of the family trying not to cry. "I don't want you to go! Can't you stay a little longer…?" She asked, trying to put on her best "puppy dog eyes" look.

"Aqua. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, little one." Quain reassured her.

"No matter where we are, we are always your siblings. And we will be back." Lazuli answered her sister.

Sighing, Aqua nodded and gave them one last hug as tight as she could. She then stepped back and tried to wipe away her tears. Trying to show that she was a strong little future Onna-Musha. Because samurai, male or female, did not let others see them cry.

"Take care, you two." Azolum said, giving them a respectful nod.

"Please keep Kenshi out of trouble for me." Azura replied with a smile and a light bow.

"Take care, dears. We'll see you again during the holidays." Verdant told them with a smile of her own before pulling them both into a quick hug.

"We'll show this place what a real member of the Azure Family can do, you two." Argent said, pride clear in his voice.

"Bye, Lazzy! Bye, Quain!" Aqua called out with an energetic wave.

With a wave and one final goodbye, the two got their luggage into the airship. Soon the doors closed, and with a whir of its great engines, the airship began its ascent. The Sōtora family saw the great ship make its way off into the distance, towards the great kingdom they call home. With a heavy sigh, Azura turned around and began walking back to the van. If there was one kind of goodbye that he could not stomach the most, it was long ones.

Four Months Later, Azura's Cabin

Darkness still wreathed the small island of Patch, and the misty haze of early morning still clung to its landscape. The quaint cabin of the wayward samurai stood in its normal dogged fashion, holding itself on the small rock with the same fatalism of its people. Its occupant, however, was not sharing in this same continence of his shelter.

Tossing and turning, the sleeping Azura was clearly distressed. In the throes of some kind of terrible dream. If one listened closely, you could hear him muttering something in his sleep.

"N… No…! Not again…! G-Go away…!" The samurai whimpered out, unable to remain comfortable in his own bed.

Suddenly with a start, Azura's eyes wrenched themselves open, wide with terror and panic. With the grace of a jungle cat, he grabbed his ōdachi, which he kept right at his side on his bed as he slept, leapt himself from the bed to the floor, landing on his feet in a crouch with his blade drawn in a flash. Panting, the fearful samurai looked around the room, blade drawn and at the ready as he searched for any signs of a potential threat in the darkness. The flash of a blade reflecting any light off it, glowing red eyes, movement in the shadows of night. Anything that could signal some kind of danger.

Seeing nothing, Azura tried to catch his breath, his breathing heavy as he trembled in fear. Slowly sheathing his eastern style great sword while keeping his eyes peeled for anything stepping out of the shadows or any kind of movement, he sighed in frustration as he held tightly to the sheath of his blade.

"That same dream again… every night, it's the same thing…!" He gritted out in frustration, looking at his alarm clock.

Looking at it, he saw the clock at four o'clock, a full hour when he was supposed to get up. Hastily grabbing his simple azure-blue nightgown, he threw it on and tied the sash. He tried to get up as he usually did but quickly found his legs trembling and buckling a bit. Gritting his teeth, he realized between that and a sudden feeling of fatigue, he was robbed of a lot of sleep he could have gotten. Even this, however, was not going to stop him on his first day. He had a good impression to make, damn it.

Taking a deep breath, he set his ōdachi against his nightstand and went to the bathroom to go splash some water on his face. Going slowly from exhaustion and lack of sleep, Azura made it to the bathroom and turned on the light. Walking over to the sink, he turned on the water, leaned down, and began splashing cold water on his face in an attempt to wake himself up more. After several minutes of this, he stopped and turned off the water before looking in the mirror. What he saw chilled him to the bone.

The mirror flashed red like a pool of blood reflecting light as his image was briefly replaced with a younger face, one eye closed tight from open wounds across his face and blood ran down his face from the open wounds. Screams of agony and sheer terror echoed out as the sounds of flesh ripping and tearing and the howls and roars of ferocious beasts filled the air. The image in the mirror then spoke in a voice that was not his own, one that sent chills down Azura's spine.

"This is all your fault!" The voice told him, a roar of fury as the words cut him deeper than any blade ever could.

On pure instinct, Azura punched the mirror, shattering it as he panted from the vision he had just seen. Looking down, he slowly lowered his left hand and flinched at the sight of pieces of glass in his hand, having subconsciously not used Aura to protect himself. Sighing, he began the slow, arduous task of picking the shards of glass out of his fist and tossing them in the trash before setting out to clean and bandage his wounded hand. Looking down at the floor, he sighed in frustration as he saw the shards of glass from the broken mirror.

"Great… now I need to clean that up and pay for a new mirror…" The scar faced samurai grit out in anger as he carefully went to get a broom and dustpan for the glass shards and something to wipe up the blood.

Once the cleanup was finished, Azura set about making himself breakfast before brushing his teeth and starting his morning meditation. Like he always did before his morning workout to wake himself up more. Sitting down in a meditative stance, Azura tried to take deep breaths, center himself, and calm down. However, this morning, his mind could find no inner peace. Still haunted by the nightmares that had kept him from sleeping.

'Note to self, refill those sleeping pills. I cannot have any more nights like this if I want to keep sane.' Azura thought to himself.

Seeing that meditation was not going to work, he got up and decided to do his morning workout to see if that would take his mind off what happened. Dropping into his stands, he began going through katas. Practicing move after move, technique after technique. Each with honed skill and trained precision, flowing from one to the other like an undisturbed river. Horizontal slash, sweeping kick, upward slash, elbow blow, backwards stab. Flowing from one strike to the next like a well-oiled machine, Azura continued practicing.

Finally, after fifteen minutes, Azura felt content with his skills. Despite this, he did note that he was moving a little too far to the left, but that that could be explained by his lack of sleep. Sighing, Azura began going through his physical exercises. Pushups, sit ups, crunches. All of them.

Once that was done, he drank some water and set out to go take a shower. After showering and putting on his Signal Academy uniform, he looked over himself with a mirror in his room. Satisfied with how he looked, he smiled tiredly as he collected his blades, bow, and quiver, packed a backpack for his first day, and made himself a boxed lunch. Finally ready, he looked at the clock to see how much time he had left.

With a loud sigh at the sight of it being an hour earlier than it should be, Azura shook his head mournfully. Throwing his backpack and lunchbox into his side car, he sat down and revved it up slowly, deciding to try to drive slowly to school today.

"This is going to be a long fucking day." Azura muttered tiredly as he slowly rolled away.

Later, at Signal Academy

The Xiao Long-Rose sisters merrily make their way up the drive to the academy. It was never the hardest walk, though being locals helped. Yang felt especially chipper that morning. Though she was not the best morning person, she was not the worst either. Something about last night gave her a very invigorating sleep.

"What's your secret to being this chipper today, Yang? You look like you slept for two." Ruby asked, getting her red backpack in a better position on her shoulders.

"No idea. I'm just in a really good mood today." Yang replied, a big smile on her face.

"You sure?" Ruby asked inquisitively.

Yang grinned a bit at that. "I'm sure." She replied in an upbeat tone.

"Man, guess we need to have Azura over more often if this is how you're gonna be. I'll never have to deal with snaggletooth Yang ever again in the mornings." Ruby said cheekily.

Yang grinned a bit and giggled in response. "Maybe we should…" She replied as they made it to the spot where they had to separate for class.

"See you at lunch, Yang!" Ruby yelled as they parted ways, waving to her big sis.

"See you then, Ruby! Do your best in class and try not to fall asleep!" Yang yelled back with a playful smile.

"Oh, one time!" Ruby yelled from off in the distance.

Giggling, Yang made her way into her homeroom class and went to go sit down. She knew from what Azura had told her that they'd be having some of their classes together, including homeroom. So, she wanted to save him a seat so that they could sit together. She smiled at the thought of her blue-haired samurai friend as she sat down and put her bag in the seat right next to her to save it for the azure shōgun.

Relaxing and getting ready for the day, Yang held some of her hair up to look at it and make sure it was properly brushed. Smiling at the sight of her own flowing golden locks, she let go and tried to make herself comfortable while she waited for Azura to show up. That is, until four shadows made their way over and loomed over her. Sighing, she already knew who these idiots were as she looked up at them.

They were always the types to stand out. George was pudgy, to the point where Yang swore, he fudged his way into this joint. Purly certainly deserved his name, with his lanky frame and shiny dome of a head she swore he waxed every day. Con always had that observing look on his face, as if he were going to turn you into the hall monitor at the drop of a hat. Finally stood the boss of this fun little barbershop quartet, Cramer. With the slicked back and combed over hair of every detective on this side of Vale, he looked down at her with his mangled pretzel stick in his mouth.

"How's it going, Yang? Ain't it a bit warm for long sleeves today, or is that just me?" Purly asked, trying to be smooth as ice.

Biting back a gag, Yang rolled her eyes. "Hey, Purley. Would you guys mind beating it? I'm waiting for a friend to show up and I'm saving him a seat." She replied.

"Since when is saving a seat in the rules? Leave it to you to always try to break the rules around here." Con piped up, glaring down at her.

"Shut it, Con. Why don't you go somewhere else and be a stick-in-the-mud?" Yang replied with a smirk.

"Apologies for Con's behavior. He forgot to wear his smile this morning." Cramer said, taking his pretzel stick up out of his mouth in the same way one would a cigar.

"Don't you bozos have some other poor girl to harass? Like I said, I'm waiting for someone." Yang replied in annoyance.

"Who's this someone you're talking about?" George asked inquisitively.

Yang smiled as she saw the man in question step into the room. "He just showed up. Hey Azura, over here! I saved you a seat!" Yang called out, getting up and waving at her blue shōgun friend.

Turning around, the group of four immediately figured out about whom she was talking. With his blue hair, tall, well-formed figure, scar-faced good looks, and three swords as well as a bow and quiver of arrows, the guy stuck out like a sore thumb. Purly gave a smirk, Con a growl, and Cramer simply put his pretzel back in his mouth.

"So that's the Azura I've heard so much about." George mused.

"You hear about things? When did that start?" Purly asked.

"Shut up, cueball. Focus." Cramer sternly warned.

Azura, upon noticing Yang waving at him, gave her the brightest smile he could on so little sleep and waved back as he walked over to her. However, before he could make it to the seat Yang saved for him, the four goons stood in his way. Frowning, Azura looked at them.

"Excuse me. Would you mind please letting me through? I would like to sit with my friend." He told them, trying to be polite despite his lack of sleep and clear irritation.

"What's it to you, pretty boy? There's plenty of seats." Con gruffly answered.

Azura frowned, trying to keep from getting angry. People tended to not like him when he was angry. When he got angry, he tended to make a mess and people got hurt.

"Like I said before, I want to sit with my friend. Now please move aside." Azura replied, a bit more sternly this time.

"Consider us the welcoming committee." Cramer answered him simply.

"I appreciate that, but Yang has done more than enough to make me feel at home here on Patch. Now please stand aside so that I can sit with her." Azura replied, trying not to sound as irritated as he was getting while attempting to go around them.

"Can never be too sure on that front." Purly quipped as they stood in his way, clearly intent on not letting him pass.

Azura glared at them at that moment, starting to lose his patience with these four. "You are starting to make me angry…! You would not like me when I am angry…!" He growled out, trying to keep from losing control.

At that, the four realized that provoking him this early was not likely the wisest idea. They then dispersed and headed off to their seats, leaving the way open for him now. With a deep sigh he sat down next to Yang, who immediately gave him a warm smile.

"Pains in the neck, aren't they?" Yang said in a playful tone.

Azura smiled a bit at that, starting to calm down. "They're certainly a pain in something, but what that thing is would be something that shouldn't be said in polite company." He replied, a bit tired but feeling better now that he got to see Yang.

"You all right, Azura?" Yang asked, a heaping helping of concern clearly being introduced to her face and tone.

"I am fine. I am simply tired. I did not sleep well last night…" Azura explained.

"Does it also have something to do with your hand?" Yang asked, motioning to his somewhat clenched left hand.

Azura sighed a bit at being caught. "You noticed that easily, did you…?" He asked.

"Last time I checked, ninja wasn't in your job description." Yang answered.

"It is nothing. I just hurt my hand this morning and had to bandage it up…" The azure shōgun explained.

"Let me see it." Yang said, concern quite clear in her voice.

Azura wanted to say no. He wanted to just deal with it on his own. However, something compelled him to choose otherwise. He did not know why, but something about Yang made him want to open up to and trust her. He simply held his hand out while gently removing his leather gauntlet, revealing his wrapped and injured hand.

Slowly, she unwrapped the bandages to get a good look at the damage done. "By the twin gods, you tore this thing to shreds. You need to go to the hospital for this…" Yang said, overly concerned at what she saw before being cut off by Azura.

"N-No! I mean… no. It is fine." Azura quietly told her.

"Fine? This thing is bleeding like a stuck pig. What did this to you, Azura?" Yang asked sternly, looking directly into the samurai's eyes, as if trying to detect any form of deception.

Azura flinched and tried to look away. He knew that, if he looked into his friend's concerned lilac eyes, he would not be able to lie to her even if he wanted to. Which, at this moment, he really wanted to.

"Azura. Look at me." Yang sternly said to him.

Sighing, knowing what he was going to see, Azura reluctantly obeyed her. If he tried to keep this from her, she would either try to beat the tar out of him until he talked or force him to tell her. Looking right at his golden blonde-haired friend, he saw the look in her eyes. One that made him feel guilty for even thinking about trying to hide something from her. 

"I… I punched a mirror this morning…" Azura quietly told her.

"What!? Why did you do that!?" Yang asked huskily, trying to keep her voice down.

"I'd… rather not talk about it…" Azura replied, trying to avoid the subject of why he punched the mirror.

"You need to go to the nurse right now." Yang said, starting to stand up, only to be stopped by Azura.

"I will go right after homeroom. I promise. Besides, my Aura is already starting to heal the cuts." Azura replied, trying to calm the blonde pugilist down.

With a look that could kill if given to a rhino, Yang sat back down as the teacher walked in. However, despite the authority figure in the room, Azura still felt Yang's watchful gaze on. Even as he was rewrapping his hand and putting his gauntlet back on.

"Greetings class, and welcome to the new school year. I'm excited to announce that we have a new student with us this year. If our new student could stand up, introduce himself, and give a bit about himself for the class?" The male teacher said, before turning to look at Azura.

Nodding, Azura stood up and cleared his throat. "Hello, my name is Sōtora Azura. My friends call me Azu. I am from Mistral, and I like my family, reading, cooking, training, long walks in nature, and spending time with my friends. I hope that we can all get along well." He told them politely, giving a formal bow to the rest of the class.

"Thank you, Azura. I look forward to having you here for the school year. Now then. Feel free to use this time on your studies or other academy related activities." The teacher said, as they set up for the next class they had in the room next period.

As the students turned to their friends and pursuits, the gruesome foursome turned their attention to the blonde and blue pair. As they looked at the sight, they were left seething. How some punk from another kingdom comes in here and cozies up with the hottest girl this side of the island was beyond them. And what was beyond them, they resolved to always bring down to their level.

Later, at Lunch

After coming back from fulfilling his promise to Yang to see the nurse, Azura found that his day went surprisingly well. For once, he was lucky enough to have most of his classes with a friend and some of the other students were genuinely nice and accommodating to him. Yang had even introduced him to some of her other friends and they had accepted him surprisingly easily. However, some were not so accommodating, like the four who had been blocking him from sitting with Yang that morning.

He could almost feel the dirty looks they were shooting at him all day. Not to mention the fact that they were actively messing with him, as if they were trying to make him angry. Trying to trip him, shoving past him in the halls, pulling childish pranks. Anything they could to try to get a rise out of him. However, every time, Yang went out of her way to try to calm him down.

Azura smiled as he came in with his bento lunch and tried to find a place to sit. To his joy, Yang had once again saved him a seat and waved him over. Ruby was even there with her. Making his way over to his friends, he did not notice the death glares from the gruesome foursome as they talked amongst themselves about him.

"Ain't no way we get this guy. Ain't no way." Purly moaned.

"Not on my watch." Con growled.

"You got a plan?" George asked.

"This." Con simply said, putting out his leg in the walking lane.

As Azura walked past, he tripped as his bento went flying. Normally, for anyone else, this would have resulted in them being covered in their own lunch and laughed at by the entire dining hall. However, what happened next surprised the four goons. Azura rolled to one knee with catlike grace and agility, caught the box for his lunch, and then proceeded to catch each scrap of food bit by bit neatly in the compartments of the box. Chicken, rice, fish, vegetables. All of it neatly and perfectly caught in the right compartments. Standing back up, Azura raised his other hand, caught the lid of the box as it fell, and gently placed the top back on his lunch, leaving the rest of the lunchroom in awe before they all started to clap.

"Nice going, wise guy. You allowed this shit to happen." Cramer said, slapping his comrade up the side of the head.

With a polite smile, clearly holding in his anger, Azura looked at the foursome of students. "Pardon me, Mr. Con, but I believe you accidentally left your foot in the walkway. Please try to be a bit more careful. Someone could get hurt." He politely told his fellow student.

"Crystal." Con growled in response.

Nodding, Azura walked over to go join his two friends. Upon reaching them, he gave them a bright smile. "Greetings, Yang, Lady Rose. Thank you for saving me a seat." He told them, a more chipper tone to him now.

"Nice flip. Did you do acrobatics when you were younger?" Ruby asked curiously.

"Actually, my sensei included it as part of his basic training regimen for his students." Azura explained, sitting down between the sisters, opening his boxed lunch, and giving his silent thanks for the food before pulling out his chopsticks to eat.

"Sounds like your teacher's a taskmaster." Yang answered pointedly before biting into an apple.

"To be fair, my father had already started me on the basics of acrobatics beforehand. But that did not make doing the more advanced level parts under my sensei any less grueling." Azura explained as he began politely eating.

"No wonder they let you in the advanced class…" Ruby said, amazed.

Swallowing a bite of freshly chewed food, Azura smiled. "I was training extremely hard for most of my life. However, I am glad to see that it is all paid off." He replied before continuing to eat.

Later, After Classes

The first day of class had finally come to an end, and the trio could not have wished for it more. Aside from feeling down from the loss of summer that anyone their age gets, but the quartet of trouble did not make things easier for Azura. The trio grabbed their backpacks and began to file out of the front doors and towards the gate like everyone else living off campus. However, they were stopped by the familiar, and very unwelcome, sight of the foursome.

"Congratulations, pretty boy. You made it through your first day. I'm so proud of you." Cramer said, finished mangling a pretzel stick.

Azura frowned at the four boys in front of them. "Can I help you four gentlemen with something?" Azura asked, trying to keep his irritation out of his voice.

"He's asking if we want something, boys." Purly sneered.

"Shut up, pencil neck." Con growled.

"But I…" Purly tried to say.

"Can it. Well, Sōtora. You ever so conveniently made us look like fools. We don't take kindly to that. So, let's see how well that mug of yours deals with our fists!" Cramer growled, before charging.

Pulling back his fist, the pretzel stick chewer tried to punch Azura. However, to his surprise, Azura easily sidestepped his blow while pushing it aside. Glaring, he turned on his heel and tried to punch Azura again only to be met with the same result.

"Is this really necessary? I would like to go home and relax after a long day, thank you very much." Azura questioned as he evaded and parried punch after punch.

"Don't just stand back there, you three idiots! Get him!" Cramer yelled back at his goons.

As if on cue, the three rushed in to try to attack Azura. However, before they could get very far, Ruby and Yang stepped in between them and the blue samurai. Both girls were clearly not very happy about what was taking place.

"Can't you idiots all take a hint!? Back off and leave the three of us alone!" Yang snapped out.

"Should we?" George asked his friends.

"Stop being an idiot." Con growled.

"Maybe you guys should learn some manners!" Ruby said in a huff, walking up to confront Cramer.

"Out of the way, second year. The big boys are talking." Cramer said, shoving Ruby hard into the ground onto her left side.

"Ruby!" Yang and Azura called out in concern, the blonde pugilist rushing to her baby sister's side.

"Maybe teach your sister to know her place, blondie." Purly said, squarely from behind Con and Cramer.

Yang glared at the four as she helped Ruby up, getting ready to bring out Ember Celica and bust some heads. However, all six of them were stopped in place by a sudden chill in the air. Turning towards the source, they were all shocked at what they saw. Azura had his head down, his hands clenched into tightly balled fists, both fists trembling in fury as the cold chill in the air seemed to be coming from him. His eyes glowed an icy azure blue, like a pair of deep-frozen lakes in the middle of a cold, unforgiving tundra, beneath the shadows cast over them by his bangs. In Azura's silhouette, something seemed to form. The image of an azure-blue colored snarling tiger with cold, rage filled yellow eyes.

"I thought I already told you… Do not make me angry! You would not like me when I am angry…!" Azura ground out, his voice a low, growling roar of fury that one would expect to be more likely to come from some kind of beast as the shadowy tiger vanished as quickly as it had appeared.

"Okay, George. You're up." Cramer said simply, pushing his fat meat shield to the front of the group.

"W-Wait a-a m-m-minute…" Was all that Azura gave for George to stammer out.

"You four wanted this fight and now you are going to get it. You are going to learn that you should be careful what you wish for…!" Azura growled out threateningly as he walked over to Yang and Ruby, taking his three blades off his belt and his bow, quiver, and backpack off his back.

Azura handed his swords off to Yang, then gave his bow, quiver, and backpack to Ruby. The gesture was an obvious unspoken sign that he was entrusting his things to the sisters and would not need them for the fight. Beginning to strip off his button-up shirt for his Signal Academy uniform, Azura revealed his weighted clothes underneath it over his undershirt. Taking them off one by one, Azura let each one hit the ground with a resounding clang. First the arm weights, then the weighted vest, and then finally the leg weights. With each clang of the weights hitting the ground, the four bullies tried not to flinch as they began to realize what they had gotten themselves into while Yang and Ruby looked on in surprise.

"Azura, don't stoop to this. You're way better than these bozos." Ruby pleaded, gripping his arm.

"There are many things I am willing to tolerate, Lady Rose. This is not one of them…!" Azura growled out, making it clear that he had had enough.

"Be careful, Azura. Remember your hand." Yang warned.

"Trust me, Yang. I will not need to use both hands to deal with the likes of them." Azura replied chillingly as he stepped forward, out of the grip of his silver-eyed friend as he walked over to a space across from the four bullies.

"Don't worry, we can make them match for you." Con said, cracking his knuckles.

"You vermin get one hit each. Make them count…!" Azura growled out, his eyes as cold as ice and his tone as biting as the gale of a frozen tundra.

"Well, if you're offering. Rattle him, boys!" Cramer yelled to his gang.

The four bullies then charged in to attack as Azura dropped into a stance, the arm of his injured hand kept behind his back. The first to make it to Azura was Con, who struck out at Azura with a front kick to the stomach. Azura easily took the blow and barely budged an inch. Cramer was next, running up to Azura and hitting him with a knee to his sternum. Again, Azura barely reacted. George was next as he punched Azura in the jaw with a wild haymaker, once again getting no reaction. Finally was Purly, who hit Azura with a double-ax hand to the top of his head, but still no reaction.

"The fuck?" Purly asked.

"How the hell did a pussy like you get into Signal?" Cramer asked, more confused than anything.

"Probably bought his way in, not working for it at all." George scoffed.

"You don't belong here, pretty boy. Get out of here and go back to your little mountaintop castle." Con sneered.

"Besides, it's not like you'd ever become a Huntsman. Probably join your two stupid girlfriends over there in that." Purly sneered.

Looking up at them, Azura gave a smirk, seeming completely unhurt. "Did you really waste your free hits on those? They barely tickled." Azura sneered back at them.

"Alright, tough guy. If you think you so good, fucking throw a punch then." Con growled.

"You first, vermin. If that is really all you have, then I am disappointed." Azura replied.

"Oh, we got more!" Purly yelled, practically flying at him to punch him directly in the face.

However, Azura easily caught the punch, surprising Purly. "What was that you said? I bought my way in and did not earn my spot here? Says who…?" Azura drolled out, lightly clenching onto the pencil necked bully's fist.

"How the…?" Cramer asked, his pretzel dropping from his mouth in shock.

"I do not belong here? Who decided that?" Azura asked with a bored glare, clenching tighter on Purly's fist as he winced in pain and tried to no avail to pull his hand free as Azura began to bend his fist back.

"Oh balls…" Was all that Purly was able to say before being cut off.

"I will never be a Huntsman and neither will the girls? Who. Decided. That?" Azura asked, enunciating the second sentence as he squeezed Purly's fist hard enough for popping sounds to be heard.

"Oh gods! Oh gods!" Purly squealed in pain, trying to get his fist out of Azura's crushing grip only for Azura to pull him towards him, let go, and meet him with a hard punch to the gut that doubled him over.

"Well don't just stand there, you two idiots! Punch that puffed up blighter!" Cramer yelled at his non grappled goons.

Temporarily frozen in fear, they could not move in time for Azura's next words. "The only ones who will decide these things are us. Not lowly vermin like you…!" Azura shot back with a glare before rushing right at Cramer.

Before the pretzel chomper could react, he was met with a hard knee to his stomach that doubled him over and knocked the breath from his lungs. Azura swiftly followed up with a right uppercut to his chin that swung his head up before grabbing him by the back of his head and headbutting him hard in the nose. As Cramer cried out in pain from his bleeding nose, Azura hit him with a hard right cross to the jaw that rattled his brain and made him stumble back. Delivering a swift spin kick to the bully leader's stomach, Azura knocked Cramer backwards and flat onto the ground, clutching his stomach in pain.

"Motherfucker!" Con roared, going in for a sidewinder to the jaw.

Easily dodging around and deflecting Con's punch, Azura slid his right hand up Con's arm to smack him hard in the face, disorienting the belligerent thug. Grabbing him by the wrist, the blue samurai kicked Con hard in the side of the knee, making him cry out in pain. Kicking the angry bully's leg out from under him, the azure shōgun flipped him and slammed him down hard onto the ground. As Con gasped in pain, he was met with a hammer fist to the throat that made him choke on the curse he was about to let out.

"Fucking bastard…" Con choked out.

Azura turned to look at the other two thugs, a smirk on his face as he raised his open right hand upwards in front of him with the back of it facing them as he motioned for them to come at him. "Next?" He asked.

One could hear a pin drop for the next few seconds as the remaining two stood there like deer in the headlights. Then, in the blink of an eye, they booked it out of there, the remaining two limping the best they could behind them. Azura, however, turned away with a scoff.

"Are you okay, Azura?" Yang asked in concern.

"I am fine, Yang. Really, I am." Azura told her reassuringly.

"Are you really sure you're okay?" Yang asked, not really convinced.

Azura nodded. "Really, I am fine. Outside of those free hits, they did not even touch me." He replied, trying his best to reassure his blonde friend.

"How did you just do all that so easily?" Ruby asked, wide eyed in sheer shock.

"Years of hard training and sparring without stopping until you see blood." Azura explained as he walked over to begin putting his weights back on.

"How's your hand?" Yang asked, motioning to the one he had behind his back.

Azura brought it out to show it to his blonde friend. "Perfectly fine. I did not need to use it at all, just like I said." He replied reassuringly.

"Azura, why did you let them go?" Ruby asked, confused.

"I felt they had learned their lesson. At least for now. Besides, a tiger does not waste his energy chasing mice." Azura said in response as he began putting his weighted clothing back on.

"Um… so… want to come over for dinner tonight? You must be at least a bit hungry after all that." Ruby asked him sweetly, trying to shake off her shock from what happened as she and Yang handed him back his belongings.

"I would be happy to. I simply need to stop by the hospital first to get a doctor's professional opinion on my hand first." Azura replied with a smile as he finished putting on his weights and began to put his overshirt back on.

"That's good to hear. How about we whip ourselves up a one pot meal tonight? Have a nice relaxing slow dinner to calm ourselves down." Yang proposed.

"That sounds delightful, Yang." Azura replied, giving Yang a smile that made her get a much better, longer look at his eyes than earlier in the day.

What caught her off guard was the sheer depth of them. It was as if she was looking into a deep, arctic ocean. Yet, despite their icy deep azure color, they held a calm, kind, and approachable look to them. A gentle warmth one would never expect from that deep, cold shade of blue. Yang then gave a smile.

"Alright, battle tiger. Let's get you off to the doctor." Yang said with a smile.

"Ladies first, Yang, Lady Rose." Azura replied with a smile and a gentlemanly gesture.

"You can stop the lady thing already." Ruby said as she started walking.

"Try doing what I did, little sis. It worked for me." Yang whispered.

"I don't want to go out on a date with him, unlike you." Ruby said a hint louder, enough for Azura to hear.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" Azura asked, surprised and blushing a bit.

"Nothing! She said nothing!" A blushing Yang replied, covering her baby sister's mouth.

With a shrug, Azura stood in the middle as the three began their trek to their mighty metal steeds. As they mounted them, Yang looked over at Azura. With a smile that was covered by her helmet, she turned the key, making the two wheeled iron horse roar to life. Then she raced off, Ruby being forced to hang on tight. Azura gave a smirk. A good race to stretch his baby's wheels never hurt anyone.

To Be Continued...