Akashic

"So… anything else I can help you with?" Arthur asked the group.

"No, we really just came here to ask why the ring wouldn't come off." Blake answered sending worried looks to the blank eyed Weiss who was muttering something about physics,impossibility and rice.

"Yeah, well sorry that there is nothing that can be done about that."

"Not your fault, if someone" Blake replied sending daggers to Summer who was poking her two index fingers together "had been a little more careful about the ring that appeared from a magical book."

"Sorry~" Summer sang. "Also, I've been meaning to ask, why don't you have yours on?" she said with unconcealed menace as she looked at the black and red ring as well as the ashen ring on the nightstand next to him.

"Well, I don't really intend on putting it on, this was sort of forced onto Ruby, so I feel actually putting it on is a little… fast paced?" Arthur replied, unsure of how to put it.

"And what about that other one? Who's that for? I didn't see a second one last night, so is it just a normal accessory?" Summer astutely pointed out.

"I have no idea… wait, Ashe?" Arthur thought as he turned around to see his Tome hovering with the extra page, Screen? Showing Ashe holding up her pale left hand which had a ring on it with a wide, shit eating grin.

"When did…"

"Wait a minute! She also has one!" Weiss screamed breaking out of her rice based breakdown, staring angrily at Arthur "So you get one girl tricked into an engagement with you while you already have another!? Disgusting."

"Hey! In my defense, One of them I had nothing to do with, and the other I dissapeared into particles of light right after reviving her from the dead." His eyes widening as he stared at Ashe "Wait a minute. I revived you from the dead, or at least I'm assuming I did. How are you here? How did you even get in the book? Also you look… Older?" He asked getting a flying book to the face and dangerous glares from most, if not all the girls in the room.

"O Sorry, I forget age is a s.e.n.s.i.t.i.v.e thing for women… Ow" He muttered as he rubbed his now injured face.

"So, seriously what happened over there?" he asked watching as Ashe began an unintelligible game of charades that confused everyone but herself.

"Can anyone guess what she's trying to say?" he asked getting "No's" and "Nope's" from the others.

Seeing their confused face's Ashe held her chin and began to think, suddenly having an "Aha!" moment as she raised her right index and mouthed "Aha!" and then lifted both of her hands, fists closed with the palms on top of each other as she lowered her left hand that was on the bottom and raised her right hand that was on top, mimicking the action of opening an actual paper scroll.

"A scroll?" Arthur muttered getting a nod in return.

"You want a scroll?" getting a mouthed "Nope" as she then pointed at Arthur.

"You want MY scroll?" getting another nod.

"Okay, and what do I do with it then?" he asked as he watched the Tome flip open to a blank page as a the title "Assimulatio" appeared above a empty slot much like the one on the storage page.

"Assimilation? So I just put the scroll here then?" he guessed correctly as he placed his scroll atop the indentation in the page of the book, that really should have caused a large hole to appear in it, but didn't.

Once the scroll had been placed into the slot the Tome suddenly slammed shut as it began to shine a blinding light, as an eloquent hymn filled the air of the room before disappearing along with the light, revealing that the Tome, had not changed at all.

"Well that was underwhelming." Yang mumble through her muzzle. "Can someone please take this off?" she mumble some more, before Summer looked at Arthur shrugged and did indeed remove the muzzle. "And the chains?" she asked, as Summer once again looked between Arthur and Yang and thought 'It's going to happen eventually'

"Fine, just stop trying to kill him, what's done, is done."

"We will see…"

"So, what did that do?" Ruby asked, still avoiding eye contact with Arthur. Her question being answered when the Tome opened onto the page showing Ashe now holding a scroll as she pushed down on a button causing the Tome to… vibrate? As a small button appeared in the upper right hand of the screen she could be seen through.

"I think, my Tome turned into a phone… a Phome?" Arthur said, chuckling at his terrible pun getting headshot by numerous pillows, a book titled 'Ninja's of love' and strangely enough rice, from who that came from is 'unknown'.

"Wow Blake, nice choice of material there." Arthur said as he threw the pillows back towards Ruby, removed the rice from his hair and flipped through the new book in his hands with a wide smile as he began to read aloud "He pulled her close, his hands gripping the edge of her sar…." His words being cut short as a black cleaver came hurtling towards his head with a black ribbon trailing it. Narrowly avoiding it as he began to laugh at the now furiously blushing Blake.

"ur… Arthur… testing, testing, one, two, three. Can you hear me. Houston, do we have a copy? Over." Came the light soothing voice of a woman from the direction of the Tome. Causing Arthur's head to bolt towards its direction at hearing the familiar voice of Ashe, albeit more 'womanly' than he remembered.

"Ashe, You sound more m.a.t.u.r.e." He said with a light, loving smile.

"I would hope so! It's been almost five years since you decided to up and disintegrate yourself!" she bellowed, causing Arthur, and the others closest to the Tome to flinch.

"Wait. Five years! That only happened what two weeks ago!?" Arthur argued in confusion.

"For you maybe, but if you remember the library is outside of normal space and time. Aka I'm from the future after you evaporated." She explained

"Does anyone have any clue what she's talking about?" Yang whispered

"Not a clue, but considering what has happened, I have no doubt it's probably going to destroy the very foundation of the world if it gets out into the public…" Summer answered.

"Arthur we can continue this in private. You would be correct, Summer" Ashe said "As such I will be asking of you all to be signing a silencing contract"

"A silencing contract?" Blake asked concerned at what the contract would mean.

"Essentially it's a contract that forbids you from releasing any information that Arthur doesn't want you too, mostly revolving around the Tome and any of the more… mystical? Divine? What do we call this?" She turned to Arthur who only shrugged his shoulders and said "Akashic?"

"Right, Akashic works. So basically it prevents you from talking about the Tome, and any other things Akashic in nature" she finished.

"And what would happen should we break this contract?" Summer asked, squinting at the idea of being put under a contract that could lead to more things like an irremovable ring.

"Oh, nothing too bad. Just that you would immediately die and your soul would forever be trapped within Arthur's Tome for all eternity with no hopes of ever being released from your eternal damnation in a void of black and white. And quite honestly, it's lonely in here." She morbidly explained getting cringes from everyone.

"You're joking, Right?" Yang asked as she slowly rolled backwards.

"Yes." Everyone seemed to release a sigh of relief "Really all it does is prevent you from speaking about anything related to the Akashic or that Arthur doesn't want you to speak with anyone else about"

"And why should we trust you on this? Last I remember you tricked my partner into becoming the bride of him!" Weiss yelled indicating to Arthur with a disgusted expression.

"Well, for one. It was Ruby who entered the Tome, I didn't actually drag her in" Her words shocking Ruby and the others as she tried to say who muttered "But you said…"

"Yes, yes, that 'I dragged you into the book' and yes, I did do that. But you were the one to initiate it, I simply finished and allowed the process to continue. I also remember saying it was my first time doing that, so I wasn't really prepared to offer you the contract when you suddenly decided to start the process, hence the black and white void." She explained as ruby confusedly stated "I am the reason that happened? Why? How?"

"Well, to understand that you first need to know the requirement to start that process. There are actually quite a few different contracts that have different requirements, but Arthur first needs to discover them before I will say anything about them" She explained.

"And what are these 'requirements' for the contract my dolt of a partner signed?" Weiss questioned

"The first is she needs to have some form of connection with Arthur, he can't just get new sperata from people he has never met. The next is… wait, we're getting side tracked, you need to sign the silencing contracts before I say anymore" remembering what she had originally been explaining, the page next to the one Ashe was on began to gain new writing, which ended up just being a title 'Silentum' as well as numerous lines like those of a register.

"Don't worry, I was kidding when I said you would die and your soul would be entrapped within the Tome for all eternity. That's a different contract."

"…" silence filled the room as Arthur felt sweat dripping down his back 'Just what can this book do…"

"Right, that alleviates so many of my worries" Weiss sarcastically replied with her regular snarky attitude.

"Hey, just be happy the book doesn't devour your soul for a quick meal!" Ashe retorted

"Wait, what? Can it actually do that?" Ruby asked cautiously.

"No, the bo…Tome is here to help Arthur, eating souls is more likely to hinder him. Now would you just sign the bloody contract so we can be done with this? Because I'm pretty sure you have lessons in twenty minutes" she said as she pulled up a schedule on her scroll.

The girls looked between themselves pondering if they should, the ones with the most reluctance being Weiss and Yang, followed by Blake, surprisingly Ruby and Summer seemed more 'calm' at the idea of making the contract.

Summer thought 'She doesn't seem to be lying… alright then" as she stood up and walked towards Tome that was floating in front of Arthur.

"So, how does this work?" she asked, seeing a small needle emerge from the register page.

"Blood, just prick your finger and let a drop of your blood fall onto the page and then the contract is complete" the younger girls visibly recoiling at the thought of having to spill their own blood.

"Oh, easy enough then." Summer replied as she quickly poked her finger with the razor sharp needle, squeezing her finger slightly to force a droplet of blood to fall onto the page. The droplet soon began to squirm, turning into thin lines as it trailed up to the first row on the page, turning into a block writing of Summer's full name 'Summer Rose' quickly drying once the blood had found purchase on its new home.

Summer soon found herself clutching her c.h.e.s.t as pain wracked her body, causing her to lose her breath in the process. "Mom!" both Yang and Ruby shouted as the ran up to her

"What did you do!" Yang roared her eyes turning crimson.

"Yang… it's alright… I expected this..." Summer weakly said as the pain just as quickly subsided as it had arrived. "I didn't expect something that could force silence upon someone to be an easy ride. If I'm not mistaken, this contract is connected to my soul?"

"But!" Yang tried to say

"No buts, I prepared myself for it, I advise you prepare yourself for it, or leave, if you are so against it." Summer said with a mixture of care and disappointment,

"I! But. Fine!" Yang said giving up as she stood up and walked towards the Tome, copying the same actions her mother took, pricking her finger and letting her blood fall onto the page. The only difference being that she instead fainted from the pain instead of just clutching her c.h.e.s.t.

Everyone only looking at the once again unconscious blonde.

"So, who's next?" Ashe asked with a scary smile.