Author's Notes: Chapter edited and corrected by Scott Fellman.
We quickly made our way to the training room. Ravel took off her shoes almost immediately and grimaced in relief.
"I really feel uncomfortable in any shoes now," Ravel said, twisting her feet as if they were cramped.
"Will you stop wearing shoes?" I asked curiously. Ravel hummed as she began to jump lightly.
"Maybe? It's not like I'm going to fight anytime soon. But it is slightly uncomfortable to have something covering my feet," Ravel said simply. "I'll have to see how I do during other activities. I can already see that it will be uncomfortable walking around barefoot," Ravel said with a grimace.
"Maybe we can find an alternative? Something fireproof or with holes? Alternatively, you can simply add them to your inventory with a mental command. Or I can create something like a bracelet, something that doesn't cover your feet but acts as a cushion for your feet when you walk. It shouldn't interfere with your fire." I said simply. Ravel nodded as she moved her legs to stretch before grimacing.
"Maybe I should stop wearing skirts too," Ravel said, pouting as she grabbed the hem of her dress.
"Why?" I asked in confusion. Ravel blushed slightly.
" I -I thought you didn't want me to... expose myself in public." Ravel said timidly. I wrinkled my nose.
"Why would you think that? You wore something much more provocative to our engagement party. I don't really mind you wearing it." I asked, terribly confused.
"Well, maybe it was because of the succubus you tried to kill for flirting with Enid," Bella asked mockingly. "You're possessive and slightly murderous. That's a good guess, Ravel," Bella added. I could feel my cheeks heat up slightly.
"It's not the same! Like I said, I would never impose anything on you! Certainly not clothes you can wear! It doesn't matter what you dress like. If you want to walk around naked in public, I really have no problem with it! " I said immediately. The completely flat and unsure look they both gave me made me blush even more, and I looked away. "...I mean... the problem isn't with you. If someone decides to leer at you and try to flirt with you, then the problem is with them."
Both girls snorted in amusement.
"It sounds like that 21st-century feminism you and Enid were complaining about," Bella said mockingly. I shuddered slightly. Ravel laughed lightly.
"Anyways! Let's get started with the training! " I said as I slapped Aria into my training clothes. Bella laughed one last time, but moved slightly away from us. "By the way, can you use your Zanpakutou's Shikai?" I asked in Ravel's direction. Ravel shook her head in disappointment.
"No, I know the name. I have no doubt about that. But even if I can say it, nothing will happen. I'm not ready to release the Ryuujin Jakka yet." Ravel said disappointedly. I nodded. A pity.
"Too bad. Are you ready?" I asked with a smile.
Shinra's deranged grin reappeared on Ravel's face as she got into position. Ravel bent slightly so that one of her hands touched the ground. Her face darkened as her eyes glowed brightly blue. Her feet exploded into flames, and instantly, the flames on her feet began to form fire devil wings, far more intense and devilish than her regular wings.
I smiled widely as I began to use all my metals and prepare myself. I could see Ravel flex her muscles and-
BOOOOOOM!!! huh? I looked at the spot where Ravel had disappeared from before looking behind me where the explosion had occurred. Ravel went headfirst into the wall. Fire was erupting from her wounds as she healed.
A shiver ran down my spine as my smile grew wider. That speed! Simply amazing! She hadn't even made a noise!
"Are you okay?" I asked playfully.
"Y-Yeah! I just miscalculated! " Ravel said shyly, still wearing her huge smile, but instead of it seeming forced like always, it appeared completely genuine. She was having fun with it. "Once again!" Ravel got back into position. I started using more metals. Specifically, zinc to increase my mental speed hundreds of times.
I could see the instant Ravel began to disappear, and I could also see the point where Ravel reformed in front of me. I gritted my teeth and began to move. But I wasn't fast enough to avoid Ravel's blow. I felt my bones and organs shatter under Ravel's foot.
A damn lightspeed kick was incredibly powerful. My gold-mind immediately began healing me as I shot off at high speed in the opposite direction. Ravel finished reforming, and a massive smile of victory crossed her face.
"AHA!" Ravel exclaimed happily. My eyes sparkled, and before hitting the wall, I created a portal that my body entered. I rearranged myself in the air, took advantage of the push Ravel's kick gave me, and exited through a portal next to Ravel.
Ravel opened her eyes slightly in surprise, just in time to raise her hands and defend herself from my kick. Ravel backed several feet as fire surged from her arms to heal herself.
"Don't get distracted, dear!" I smiled widely as I landed on the ground. Ravel looked at me, and her smile turned feral before disappearing and appearing next to me. Her foot hit my cheek hard, and I was sent flying once more. Ravel disappeared and appeared next to me again. This time, I was able to turn around quickly enough to protect myself from her attack.
I clicked my tongue. I couldn't keep up with Ravel's speed. It was impossible to keep up with her. And attack her at the same time. Damn, Ravel, she started with her Adolla Burst directly, not the base Shinra version. Apparently, she was more anxious than I thought.
Still, I wasn't discouraged. My eyes remained fixed on Ravel. The instant she disappeared, I began to let my magic flow. She appeared just inches from me, creating a portal where her foot entered and came out just in time to hit her own head. Ravel glared at me, and I just smiled.
Ravel accelerated once more, disappearing from my sight. I gritted my teeth as I felt both of Ravel's feet slam into my back, sending me hurtling across the room again.
Okay, I had to do something. I swallowed a bead of Atium-electrum and let my mind expand into the spiritual realm. I began to see shadows from Ravel's future, but it was disconcerting. Normally, shadows moved like people. But Ravel's shadows appeared and disappeared out of nowhere.
But that was a start. I immediately jumped to the right, avoiding a blow from Ravel just where the atium shadow had passed. Ravel's eyes widened as I evaded her attack. I tried to hit her with a Stupify, but the magic attack was too slow; It wasn't even halfway there when Ravel disappeared again.
I clicked my tongue again, but I ducked without hesitation, avoiding another blow from Ravel. I needed something faster. Even the damn Railgun would be too slow for Ravel. I swallowed a Philosopher's Stone without hesitation. I aimed at Ravel, and a Meltdowner erupted from my fingers and shot in Ravel's direction.
Ravel's eyes widened, but she dodged the particle beam. Now. Who would win, someone who could move at the speed of light, or someone who could see the future with a weapon that fired particles at 90% of the speed of light? Let's see if I can overcome that difference.
With a flex of the Philosopher's Stone, I created a silicon card. It was a small card made up of silicon triangles, which, when struck, dispersed my Meltdowner into a large number of smaller rays. But the number was a good thing.
I created portals and continued firing Meltdowners at the silicon cards, quickly making the entire room look like a cage filled with lasers on all sides. There were hundreds of Meltdowners all over the room. Ravel seemed to be sweating slightly as she continued moving through the beams.
She was fast, obviously, and my Meltdowners couldn't reach her in a direct confrontation, but the number of them made it increasingly difficult for Ravel to attack while dodging all the beams.
Apparently, her reaction time was on par with her speed, because she could easily track and predict the direction of my Meltdowners, even while using atium to see where she'd be moving. But she could react so quickly that the beams, even if I aimed for where she'd be, still couldn't hit her.
It took a few long seconds until I finally cornered her enough so that a lightning bolt was about to strike, but I watched in disbelief as Ravel's atium shadow performed the feat. Then Ravel did precisely what I had seen.
The Meltdowner approached Ravel. Ravel simply moved her foot quickly and kicked the Meltdowner, deflecting it towards the ceiling. Me.. what? It shouldn't be possible?! I clicked my tongue as I dodged another attack from Ravel. Though it lightly grazed my cheek, I grimaced before firing more Meltdowner.
I looked at my hand and saw the fire alchemy circle, and it finally reminded me of the weakness of pyrokinetics. I almost wanted to grimace at having to win this way, but I did it anyway. I used my alchemy circle, but not to create fire, but rather to lower the amount of oxygen in the air.
I didn't need to breathe, thanks to my metals. But Ravel still did. I hadn't given her the medallions that copied my metal arts yet, so she still relied on oxygen. Even more so. Pyrokinetic abilities were harnessed by the oxygen in Ravel's own body. No oxygen, no fire.
As expected, Ravel landed with a slightly panicked look on her face, unable to breathe properly. She attempted to accelerate once more, but her fire failed for a few moments. Long enough for several Meltdowners to pierce through Ravel.
I canceled all the Meltdowners and portals around me and returned the oxygen levels to their proper levels. I saw Ravel breathing properly again as the fire healed her wounds. Ravel looked at me with a huge smile, before simply disappearing. By the time I realized it, Ravel was clinging to my upper body while hugging me tightly.
"That was amazing!" Ravel squealed happily, not the least bit upset about losing. In fact, she had a huge, genuine smile on her face from the excitement. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Ravel squealed as she started kissing me all over the face in happiness. I just giggled as I held Ravel's body.
"I'm glad you're happy," I said between kisses. Ravel just laughed lightly as she got off.
"I am! That was exciting! It was amazing! I never would have gotten to that level if it weren't for you. Thank you!" Ravel said once again while smiling brightly. I smiled softly at her.
"All right! It's my turn! " Bella interrupted with a wild grin. Ravel paused before mimicking Bella's smile.
"Good! I've been wanting a rematch with you for a while! " Ravel said excitedly. I sighed while smiling but walked away from both of them.
They both got into position and, without any fanfare, began the fight. Ravel vanished from her spot and appeared behind Bella, punching the back of Bella's head, and causing her legs to explode in huge flames.
Bella's upper body immediately turned into a black mist, and Bella moved. In fact, she had moved before Ravel. The spikes immediately grew in all directions, from the ceiling, and from the ground. They didn't point at Ravel, but simply covered the entire area around Bella.
Ravel had to get close to hit her, so Belle took advantage of that. All the stakes filled every corner around Belle and even pierced through herself, but a couple of them grazed Ravel before she could escape.
Bella, still with her body half destroyed, raised her arm with Kazikli Bey and activated its effect. The stakes emerged from Ravel's body, stopping her in place. This time, instead of remaining impaled in place, Ravel's feet created strong thrusters. Ravel's body contorted, generating enough force to break Bella's stakes.
Bella began to expel large amounts of smoke, much blacker than the smoke her body was made of. My eyes widened slightly; she really wasn't playing around if she started using the Yami Yami no Mi right away.
Ravel accelerated once more and punched Belle in the stomach, Belle's torso turned into black smoke, and Ravel attempted to disappear once more, only for Belle's body to become a vacuum cleaner as it attracted the gravity of all objects preventing Ravel from being able to accelerate for a split second.
Just long enough for Bella to place her hand on Ravel and use her Devil Fruit's power nullification. Ravel attempted to use her fire only to fail miserably. Ravel's eyes widened in surprise, yet she immediately moved, trying to punch and push Bella away, only for Bella to ignore the blows to her body.
Bella's free hand turned completely black, not the blackness of her fruit, but the blackness that came from her armor haki. Then she hit Ravel in the cheek hard enough to send her flying.
" aaahh! Aaau! That hurts! Fuck! " Ravel began as she rolled on the floor. My eyes widened in alert and I immediately approached her.
"Are you okay?" I asked immediately as I checked the wound. It only looked slightly bruised. I could feel Bella approaching and looking worriedly at me as well.
"What the hell was that? That hurt like nothing I've ever felt before! " Ravel complained with tears in her eyes. She looked completely healed, just sore, like she'd never felt pain before. To be fair, being hit with Haki hurt a lot, even if it didn't actually do any damage. I blinked before sighing in relief. Bella did the same behind me.
"That was Haki, quite effective. I suppose I can provide you with the full explanation later. It's a bit complicated." I said simply. Ravel grimaced, but nodded.
"I didn't know you could cancel powers." Ravel grunted as she stood up once more. Bella nodded.
"By contact, it was something I kept to myself. A trump card and all that," Bella said with a shrug. Ravel nodded.
"I guess I'll just have to avoid getting hit," Ravel said firmly. Bella opened her eyes and looked at her slightly.
"Do you want to continue?" Bella asked, surprised. Ravel smiled widely.
"Of course!" Ravel said simply before pulling a katana from her inventory. "If you dare." Ravel challenged Bella, and Bella smiled widely.
"Of course!" Bella said, I chuckled before walking away, much more than before. Ravel began to release her demonic power or… her reiryoku. It felt different, but very similar. The amount she released was enormous, and my eyes widened slightly. A T4 insole shouldn't have provided her with that much improvement.
It certainly wasn't overwhelming, but it was several times more than Ravel had ever had before. The only sad thing is that it seems a T4 wasn't enough for her to release her Shikai. I really wanted to see Ryuujin Jakka in action.
I focused my gaze on Ravel's Zanpakutou and half expected UBW to begin replicating it. Unfortunately, absolutely nothing happened. And I couldn't blame UBW; Zanpakutou were forged from the souls of several shinigami.
I watched as Ravel attacked with force. Ravel may not have been able to use her Shikai, but she had definitely learned how to use a sword. Her movements were far more fluid and graceful than anything she could have done with Emiya's template.
Belle just smiled widely and began to clash her spear against Ravel's sword. That was until Ravel disappeared, positioned herself on top of Belle, and pointed her fingers.
"Bakudō #61. Rikujōkōrō" Ravel's words left her mouth with authority, and a flash of light shot from her fingers before six thin and wide beams of light impacted against Bella's torso, causing her to freeze in place. Ravel swoops down and slashes Bella in half, from her shoulder to her opposite hip.
Bella exploded into black smoke, swallowing the rays of light inside her, and freed herself from her prison. Bella's body turned into smoke, and the bodies of devils Bella had consumed began to emerge from it. Bella started to attack her with a mob, while Ravel began to defend herself.
Kidou, uh… spells cast by shinigami. Hadou for attacks, Bakudou for binding. I'm very interested in it. Much more than in Zanpakutou. Would Ravel mind if I got Shinigami Physiology to learn kidou? Yamamoto's staff should have taught her all 99 of each discipline, so she could teach me all of them. I just needed access to Reiryoku. Just thinking about it made me drool.
Leaving that aside, now that I thought about it, Ravel is now physiologically a shinigami. Technically, she should be a soul. Like Ichigo? Able to let his soul leave his body easily? I'd have to do more research.
I might also consider adding Fire Force's pyrokinesis potential. The second- and third-generation abilities, and an Adolla Burst, sounded spectacular. I'll discuss this with Ravel later.
I continued to watch the fight between Bella and Ravel closely. Maybe I should join in. The question was, who… who am I kidding? I created two Meltdowners and shot one at each of them through my portals. The particle beams pierced both girls, catching them in the act. I grinned wildly as I joined the fight. Something the other two echoed.