An Aurora Curtain opened, and Tsutsumi stepped out from it, several Rider Cards resting between his fingers. They belonged to Faiz, Kiva, Ryuki, Drive, and Gavv.
He had spent the past several days searching for the remaining Heisei Riders, but no matter where he looked, he couldn't find them. Since they were nowhere to be found, he settled for searching for the Rider powers he no longer possessed instead.
Unlike before, when he would take the time to understand each Rider, earn their trust, and become their friend, things were different now.
Decade no longer hesitated.
He defeated them, destroyed them, and claimed their powers.
Little by little, he had begun to accept the title of the Destroyer of Worlds. Because of that, the hesitation he once carried had slowly disappeared, replaced by a cold resolve that allowed him to end his opponents without looking back.
After returning to the world of Remnant, Tsutsumi quickly learned that Beacon's school dance was only a few days away. It was an event he had completely forgotten about until Pyrrha grabbed him by the sleeve and insisted that he accompany her into Vale to buy clothes for the occasion.
Personally, Tsutsumi saw no reason to go shopping. Azu could easily create whatever outfit he wanted, whether it was a formal suit or something far more extravagant. To him, making the trip felt unnecessary.
Pyrrha, however, refused to hear any excuses.
She insisted that buying the clothes together was part of the experience, and before Tsutsumi could come up with another reason to avoid it, she had already dragged him into the city.
At this point, he was fairly certain she simply wanted an excuse to go shopping with him.
As they walked through the streets of Vale together, Pyrrha wore a disguise that Tsutsumi had helped put together before they left Beacon.
Her long crimson hair had been braided into twin tails that rested neatly behind her back. Instead of her familiar combat outfit, she now wore a knee-length skirt beneath an oversized hoodie, paired with long stockings and a simple pair of dark brown shoes. To finish the disguise, Tsutsumi handed her a pair of large wire-rimmed glasses with clear lenses.
The change was surprisingly effective.
The confident, four-time Mistral Regional Champion who always stood out wherever she went had disappeared, replaced by someone who looked like a shy, slightly awkward girl spending the afternoon shopping.
Pyrrha absolutely loved it.
Ever since they had left Beacon and entered the streets of Vale, countless people had walked past them, yet not a single person had recognized her. Some glanced at the pair for a moment before continuing on their way, while others barely paid them any attention at all.
For the first time in years, she was able to walk through the city like an ordinary person.
It was a strangely refreshing feeling.
From the perspective of everyone around them, they simply looked like a normal young couple enjoying a day out together.
That said, it was still an unusual sight.
On one side was a sweet-looking, slightly nerdy girl holding onto her companion's arm.
On the other was a young man dressed almost entirely in black, wearing chains on his clothes and carrying himself with the intimidating aura of a delinquent.
The contrast between them was so obvious that more than a few people gave them curious looks as they passed.
Still, thanks to Tsutsumi's naturally intimidating appearance, no one dared approach Pyrrha or interrupt them. Most people took one look at the black-clothed young man beside her, quietly decided it was none of their business, and continued on their way.
Upon entering the clothing store, Pyrrha's eyes immediately lit up as she began browsing through the rows of dresses with obvious excitement, picking one after another off the racks to compare them.
Tsutsumi, on the other hand, looked far less enthusiastic. He quietly followed behind her with his hands in his pockets, watching as she happily disappeared into the changing room before coming back out in a different dress every few minutes.
Even so, despite his lack of interest in shopping itself, Tsutsumi still helped her choose. Looking at colors, styles, and how each outfit suited her came naturally to him. He might not have cared much about clothes for himself, but he had a good eye for these kinds of things.
After changing into another dress, Pyrrha stepped out from the fitting room and slowly turned in front of him.
"What do you think?"
Tsutsumi looked at her for a few seconds before shaking his head.
"The red one from earlier suited you better."
Pyrrha glanced down at the magenta dress she was wearing before smiling.
"You seriously want me to go with the red one?"
"Yeah." Tsutsumi nodded. "It matches your hair much better."
She gently smoothed the skirt with both hands before looking back at him. "I know... but I like this one more."
Tsutsumi tilted his head slightly. "Why?"
Pyrrha's smile became a little brighter. "Because this color reminds me of you."
"Me?"
"Your Decade clothes are magenta, isn't it?" she replied cheerfully. "And if I'm remembering correctly, magenta is somewhere between purple and red. My hair is red, yours is purple, so... I just thought this color felt like the perfect middle ground."
She laughed softly, looking genuinely happy over something that simple.
"So... I think it's the best color for us. Like the color for our BestMatch."
Hearing her explain it with such innocent sincerity, Tsutsumi couldn't help letting out a quiet sigh. It wasn't an annoyed sigh, but the kind that came from someone who had already accepted there was no arguing with her.
"Sure, whatever you like."
"I knew you'd say that."
Pyrrha giggled before happily returning the rejected dresses to the rack. A few moments later, she picked up another set of clothes and walked back over.
"And this one's for you."
She held up a simple black suit paired with a magenta dress shirt.
"Now we'll have matching outfits."
Tsutsumi looked at it, and for some reason, the moment he saw it, he felt a strange sense of déjà vu. Something about the color combination, the cut of the suit, and the way she held it out to him made a distant memory stir in the back of his mind, one that belonged to a different time and a different version of himself.
His thoughts drifted back to the time his future self had returned wearing this exact outfit.
"Oh... sure, I'll wear that," he said after a brief pause.
Pyrrha tilted her head slightly, studying his expression. "You do not sound very excited."
"No, it is not that," Tsutsumi replied, waving off her concern. "I just remembered something unpleasant."
Pyrrha didn't press him any further.
Instead, she simply nodded with understanding before carrying both of their outfits toward the register.
As the four-time Mistral Regional Champion, she had more than enough prize money saved up, so despite the clothes being expensive, she paid for them without the slightest hesitation before they left the store together.
The afternoon sun hung high above Vale as the two slowly wandered through the streets side by side.
Workers were still repairing sections of the highway damaged during Roman's attack, while people carried on with their daily lives as though everything had already returned to normal.
Tsutsumi quietly watched them.
Children laughed, shopkeepers called out to customers, people smiled as they walked past one another.
It was peaceful.
Their gaze drifted toward the nearby repair work being done along the highwave and the distant streets beyond, where people continued going about their day as if nothing unusual had happened.
Tsutsumi took a slow breath as they walked.
The sight of the repaired streets brought back the memory of that day, the one where Team RWBY had decided it was a good idea to chase down a criminal rampaging through the city in a giant mech suit.
His gaze slowly lowered toward his own hands. They were clean, with not a single stain remaining on them.
Yet no matter how long he looked... He could still see blood.
An entire world that had disappeared beneath his own hands before he recreated it.
Even if everyone had been restored... Even if nobody remembered...
He remembered.
His fingers unconsciously curled into a fist. The weight in his chest refused to disappear.
He now possessed the power to recreate a world, but that did not erase the fact that he had destroyed the previous ones with his own hands before bringing them back again. It was a strange contradiction, one that did not sit easily with the idea of being a hero. At the same time, it was also what allowed him to accept the part of himself that had started calling him the Destroyer.
It was a cruel irony for someone who had once learned to become a hero.
"Ryo?" Pyrrha's gentle voice pulled him back to reality.
He blinked before turning toward her.
"You've been awfully quiet." She looked at him with obvious concern. "Did something happen?"
Tsutsumi did not deny it. "A little."
He glanced away for a moment before speaking again.
"My thoughts have been... a mess lately."
Pyrrha nodded understandingly.
"I don't know if I'll be able to help..." As she spoke, her hand slowly reached toward his before gently intertwining their fingers together. "But if talking about it makes things even a little easier, then I'll listen."
Tsutsumi looked at her for a moment, then let out a slow breath.
"You can say that I am destined to bring destruction anywhere I go," he said. "So tell me... do you think someone like me can still do good?"
He asked it directly, without trying to soften it or make it easier than it was. For once, he wanted an honest answer, not a comforting one.
Pyrrha didn't answer immediately.
Instead, she spent several moments thinking carefully.
Her emerald eyes turned toward the road ahead, and for a brief moment she looked distant, as if she was recalling something from long ago. When she finally spoke again, her voice was calm, but it carried the weight of experience.
"I don't think..." she finally said, "I have the right to decide whether what you do is good or bad, Ryu."
She looked toward the busy streets of Vale.
"When I first entered the Mistral Regional Tournament, I was just another competitor." A nostalgic smile appeared on her face. "But after I won once... everything changed."
"The second tournament felt completely different. People recognized me. They treated me like someone special."
"Then I kept winning. Again. And again."
"Eventually... people stopped treating me like an ordinary student." She let out a small laugh. "I became a celebrity before I even realized it. The Headmaster of Haven even offered to let me enroll early and gave me a scholarship."
"I turned him down." She looked up at the sky. "I wanted to come to Beacon instead. I wanted somewhere I could simply be... Pyrrha."
She squeezed his hand gently. "Back then, I realized something."
"The stronger someone becomes, the more the world begins changing around them. The rules don't always stay the same."
"Sometimes, they bend. And people decide what is right or wrong based on who is standing in front of them." Her emerald eyes slowly met his. "I can't change the entire world."
"But..." She smiled warmly. "I've seen what you can do. I know your strength is on a completely different level."
She took another small step closer.
"So whether the world accepts you or not. I think that's something you'll decide for yourself someday."
Tsutsumi quietly listened without interrupting.
Then Pyrrha smiled again, softer this time.
"Ryo, I didn't fall in love with you because you are strong, or because of anything like that." She gently held both of his hands now. "I fell in love with you because you're you."
"No matter what happens. What mistakes you've made. What name people choose to call you." Her grip on his hand tightened just slightly. "They don't change the person I know."
Her smile remained as warm as ever.
"So... I'll stay by your side. As long as you'll let me."
Tsutsumi's eyes widened a little at that.
He had not expected something that direct, not from anyone outside of his family. Miyu, Oguri, and Ryushu had all cared for him in their own way, but Pyrrha's words felt different somehow. There was no hesitation in them, no condition hidden behind them, and no attempt to make him feel better by avoiding the truth. She meant exactly what she said.
For a few moments, he did not know what to answer.
Then, slowly, his expression softened, and a faint smile appeared on his face.
"...Thank you, Pyrrha."
He quietly tightened his fingers around hers.
"I don't know what the future has in store for me." His eyes drifted toward the distant horizon.
"But..." He looked back at her. "I'm glad you're here."
Pyrrha's smile widened, and without saying another word, she leaned against his shoulder as the two continued walking through the streets of Vale together, their clasped hands never once letting go.