Sorry about any confusion in the previous chapter. It's since been fixed! Though several people asked for a belt ranking scale. I'm going based off my school's ranking system which is no-belt, white, yellow, orange, green, blue, purple, red, brown, jr. black, and black.

Dedicated to gophersaurus! Thanks so much!

Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.


Chapter 2. Planting The Seed

For close to three months, Ruby trained in her taekwondo classes at least twice a week.

Being her senior, Weiss helped her out whenever she could, usually before class – as Weiss was always sure to be ten minutes early – or after class as she waited for her father to arrive and pick her up.

And even though Yang was two ranks above her little sister, helping Ruby out with her curriculum served to refresh her memory of her previous ranks.

Since their father drove Blake to most classes as well, the Faunus girl often visited the Rose-Xiao Long residence, and the three of them would practice together outside in the yard for a while before coming inside for snacks or movies prepared by Summer.

Ruby had a lot of fun training together with Blake and her sister, but she also really enjoyed the miniature lessons Weiss would give her before class. Ever since the white-haired girl had corrected how she made a fist and punched, Ruby had never regressed back into her old bad habit of sticking her thumb inside her fist.

She just wished Weiss could come over to visit sometimes and have fun with the rest of them.

But Weiss always had to go home after classes, and Ruby had quickly gathered that her father was a very strict man. Weiss had once told her, "I'm lucky he's even letting me take classes here. If I don't excel in every sense of the word, he'll have me quit. And I don't want to quit."

It was clear to anyone how passionate Weiss was about the martial art, even at the simple rank of white belt. At that stage, she didn't have as much curriculum to remember as the higher ranks, but she was always trying her hardest, even when she wasn't having a good day. She always paid attention in class and followed instructions to the best of her abilities. She was always pushing herself beyond her limits, and that was a good thing in martial arts – at least to a certain extent.

Just as Weiss coached Ruby a bit every day, she herself got some lessons from her fellow classmates.

Weiss truly admired Pyrrha, perhaps even to the point where that admiration mixed with the faintest bit of jealousy.

Pyrrha was an exceptional student in every sense of the word. While the rest of them had their weaknesses in certain departments, Pyrrha didn't seem to have any at all. Even as a white belt, she was a model student, and the instructors always called upon her for demonstrations.

Whenever she offered Weiss assistance with things, the girl was conflicted; there was a part of her that wanted to be begrudging and curt because of her humiliation at the prospect of needing help. But even stronger than that was the side of her that looked up to Pyrrha and wanted to be close to her.

Despite the wounds it blew to her pride, Weiss listened to everything her friend told her, always trying to better herself in her classes.

When Weiss didn't feel she was kicking high enough, Pyrrha was there pushing her back as she stretched to touch her toes. When Weiss didn't feel she was running fast enough, Pyrrha was beside her to offer a shout of encouragement.

Pyrrha not only pushed the girl to encourage her, but also took care of her, as she knew sometimes Weiss' stubbornness could work against her health.

Once, after a workout that was rather intense for a white-belt class, that had consisted of fifteen straight minutes of cardiac exercises, Glynda told the students to pause for a water break. Sun and Neptune had raced out of the dojang toward the fountain in the back, wrestling for first dibs.

Weiss and Pyrrha limped back into the girls' changing room to retrieve the water bottles they'd brought themselves. With a hand on her hip, Pyrrha chugged at least half her bottle before wiping her arm across her forehead, collecting the beaded sweat as she let out a long sigh.

"Wow! What a great workout! Even if we feel a little exhausted or sore now, it still feels really good to have accomplished making it through the entire routine, don't you think?"

Weiss simply nodded, her usually-erect posture slouched as she sat on the small bench there, her unopened water bottle clutched in her hands between her knees.

Pyrrha waited for a moment as the girl caught her breath, but Weiss didn't open her bottle. She merely stood up and put it back into her bag before heading back toward the dojang. Pyrrha immediately rushed after her and grabbed her sleeve.

"Weiss, hold on! Aren't you going to drink?"

"Don't need it..." she mumbled. "I'm fine."

"I didn't ask if you were," Pyrrha said. "And of course you need water. After something like that? It's essential that you keep yourself hydrated or else you're going to get sick. You could easily collapse in the remainder of class and I don't want to see that happen. So please, Weiss. Drink."

Her friend's shoulders were still heaving as she caught her breath, but Pyrrha refused to relinquish her grip on Weiss' sleeve. After a few seconds, Weiss turned back around.

"Alright..."

She staggered back into the changing room and took out her water bottle. Pyrrha watched as she unscrewed the cap and began to drink, feeling relieved that Weiss wasn't risking her health. Weiss drank a little less than Pyrrha might've liked her to, but it was much better than nothing, and in the end, the crimson-haired girl was satisfied with it.

"Thank you, Weiss," she smiled, pulling her classmate into a brief hug. "Don't be pushing yourself so hard, okay? A little bit is good, but things like water and rest aren't optional."

Weiss relished the moment in Pyrrha's arms, her intense heart rate finally slowing. That was the first time that words of concern for her had ever truly seemed to sink in.

"Thank you..." she mumbled.

They walked back onto the dojang with the boys to commence class, and finish up the final twenty or so minutes, which was more curriculum learning and a bit of review.

The no-belts had begun to arrive for their own class that day, just as the white belts were bowing and finishing up.

There was a ten minute break time in between the two classes, which was when the students of different ranks tended to interact the most. Sometimes their classes were combined, but they couldn't speak casually during class very often. So no was the best time to do so.

Pyrrha went straight over to Jaune who bowed awkwardly to her.

"H-Hi, Pyrrha. Didja have a good class?"

"Excellent!" she beamed. "It was grand. Now how are those punches coming along?"

"Uhm..."

"Why don't you show me?"

She took him aside a little bit to help him.

Nora and Ren tended to follow along as well, though they often kept to their own practices. Nora preferred to kick the large, stationary target set up in the space between the changing rooms and the dojang, while Ren utilized a bit of the space to practice his motions.

Sun and Neptune practiced their self-defense and usually engaged in a bit of unprofessional wrestling before getting changed and heading home.

Ruby tended to simply sit at the edge of the dojang and wait to be called in, and today was no different.

Which was why Weiss paused when she saw her kneeling there, like a puppy waiting for a command. Weiss ducked her face into her sleeve and grunted a greeting.

"You know, you can practice a bit with the others before class."

Ruby perked up instantly, delighted that Weiss had stopped and taken the time to speak to her.

"Hi, Weiss!" she said. "And... I mean, yeah I could do that. But it's like..." She looked away, her smile disappearing.

Weiss crossed her arms and tapped her foot a bit.

"It's like what?" she prompted.

Ruby looked back over her shoulder to ensure none of the others could hear her before she continued.

"Well... It's like... they've all already got their own little groups and stuff. Everyone already has friends here, but I... I don't..." Her shoulders slumped and she hung her head.

Heaving a sigh, Weiss opted to sit down beside her.

"That's because you haven't made an attempt to become friends with them," she explained.

"But I have!" Ruby protested. "I mean I always talk to them and say hi and train with them and stuff but... but everyone already knew each other before joining taekwondo. But I don't have anyone like that except Yang and Blake, and they're not in my classes..."

"I see..." Weiss shifted a bit until she was sitting more comfortably, a feat she never would have dreamed of a month ago before she was entirely comfortable with being at this school. "So what you're saying is that you've got no pre-existing relationships prior to when you joined the school, and your attempts at initiating mutually-intriguing conversations with your fellows since joining have proven to be fruitless, am I correct?"

Ruby's eyebrows furrowed and her jaw gaped a little bit, her eyes swimming with confusion. But Weiss was waiting for an answer, and she seemed to have known what she was talking about, so Ruby simply nodded.

"Y-Yeah... Pretty much."

"Then you're still a lot better off than I was," Weiss murmured.

"Huh?" Ruby blinked curiously. "What do you mean, Weiss?"

The older girl glanced at her briefly, allowing Ruby to catch a glimpse of bright blue for just a split second.

"I've been coming here for almost five months now, and for at least four of them, I never wanted to make any acquaintances. I only wanted to focus on myself and my own training. I never wanted anything to do with the rest of you. I never showed an interest in anyone else here. Which was why... I was confused when you all showed an interest in me, regardless."

She tilted her head back a bit as she continued, as if getting lost in memories.

"I was only coming to classes for myself until recently. But then you spoke to me after my testing. You complimented me specifically. Pyrrha's always worried about me taking care of myself. That hyper monkey boy Sun and his friend are always asking me questions about our curriculum and wanting me to help them out.

"And even your sister and her Faunus friend say hello to me and ask how I'm doing. I never expected the people here to be like this. But now that I'm discovering they are... I've got to change myself accordingly."

There was a brief moment of silence before Ruby piped up timidly.

"What do you mean?"

Weiss looked over at her once more and continued.

"I mean that I've got to start... interacting with other people more. Being aloof won't do me any good here; I'm stuck with the lot of you whether I like it or not. And I don't really dislike it..."

She brought her chin back down and returned her gaze levelly to Ruby's. "What I mean to say is... well, at least you tried to make friends. I haven't even put in the effort. And I guess I really should be.

"Training here pretending to be aloof and on my own won't fool anyone. As far as I can tell, the people who come here to train together are almost like a family, in a way. There are some people you really like, some you'd rather avoid, and some you don't mind. But we're all going to be here training together for a while, so we might as well get used to things and enjoy it as best we can."

She'd more or less gone off on a tangent or two, but the words just didn't stop coming until then.

Ruby was silent for a moment, absorbing the girl's words. Weiss seemed wise beyond her fourteen years, that was for sure.

And yet, Ruby had seen for herself how stern and unhappy Weiss' father had appeared to be, how indifferent her sister was. Maybe this group of students not related by blood was the best shot at a real family Weiss was going to get.

If she could, Ruby would be proud to be a part of that.

Ruby had been fumbling for something to say that wouldn't sound too cheesy or make either of them uncomfortable, but Weiss beat her to it.

"Anyway," she said. "My point is that you're off to a good start, Ruby. This is only your first month training here. You'll make plenty of friends before you know it. In fact, I think you already have."

Just as she finished speaking, Jaune came running up behind the two girls.

"Hey, Ruby!" he called. "Wanna go over our self-defense together? If you partner with Nora, I can be with Ren, and he won't almost fracture my arm, I'm pretty sure..."

"U-Um..." Ruby flashed a glance to Weiss without fully knowing why. The white-haired girl sighed and rolled her eyes.

"You don't need my approval to make your own decisions, you know." Weiss stood and stretched her arms a bit. "Just don't forget to drink a bit before you start class."

Ruby scrambled to stand up after her.

"Are you going home, Weiss?"

The older girl turned back briefly.

"Not right away. I've got to change first, then I think I'll stay a while to observe your class before I call my father."

"Okay then!" Ruby finally cracked her smile once again. "Then in case I don't get to talk to you again before you leave – thanks, Weiss!"

The white belt froze, her eyes going wide. She cleared her throat quickly but didn't turn to look back at Ruby as she replied – her face felt warm.

"Don't thank me, you dunce. It's just common sense..."

"Heehee~ Even so! Thank you, Weiss! I feel a whole lot better now! I'll see you next time in class!"

Ruby couldn't see it for herself, but she heard the smile in Weiss' voice.

"Of course you will."

That was how the two of them got into their little routine.

Whenever the no-belt and white belt classes were separate, Ruby and Weiss would talk and train together in the time in between. When their classes were joint, Weiss always gave Ruby pointers whenever she could, be it during the exercise drills or any other times they could converse.

Everyone quietly noticed the bond forming between the two girls.

As Ruby had said, everyone else in the school seemed to already have friends and formed relationships upon starting their classes.

Ruby had been a bit of an outcast just because of her social awkwardness, and Weiss had been an outcast by choice to isolate herself from the others.

So naturally, people started noticing when the two started spending more time together. Pyrrha and Yang in particular.

Pyrrha was delighted to find that Weiss was taking better care of herself. Rather than refusing water or neglecting to eat after a class, Weiss was opting to bring snacks along with her and often shared them with Ruby. Now that she felt the need to take care of her underclassman, Weiss was finally looking out for her own health as well.

And Yang noticed that Ruby's initial excitement that had been directed towards attending classes had increased tenfold since she'd started getting to know Weiss.

As the older sister, Yang had noticed how shy and uncertain Ruby had been in her first several weeks' worth of classes. She'd been worried Ruby might lose interest if she wasn't comfortable.

Luckily, Weiss had stepped in just in time to salvage both Ruby's and her own passion for the martial art.

Yang's mind was eased now that she knew she could leave Ruby in Weiss' care during her class when Yang wasn't with her.

Because the blonde had her own problems to deal with.

Yang's issue was Cardin again.

Even after they had changed the days they took classes so they wouldn't have to see him so often, it had only served to deter Cardin and his gang for a few weeks.

During those peaceful classes, Blake and Yang had been together with Coco and her friends as well as Sage and Scarlet. Those had been productive days, and they had all enjoyed working and training together, helping one another practice their kicking or forms or whatever they needed assistance with.

Blake had been visibly more relaxed without the boys there to harass her every time she turned her back, and she'd even allowed her ears to stand tall and proud.

But evidently, Cardin and his gang had grown bored with attending classes without their favorite target to pick on. So they had started coming on Yang and Blake's new days.

The first time it had happened, Blake ears had instantly drooped as she'd frozen at the doorway. Yang growled and Ruby groaned beside her.

"Why are they here?" she whined to her father.

"Maybe it's just a fluke..." Yang grumbled. "Hopefully they won't keep coming on our days. Let's just take class, Blake."

She took her friend's hand and led her back into the changing rooms, bowing only to Ozpin and the instructors as they passed.

Once they closed the door and started to change, Yang could tell how uneasy Blake was. As soon as she tied her belt, she sat on the bench and pressed her back to the wall, curling her knees to her chest.

"Yang... I don't want to take class. I don't feel well anymore..."

Dismayed, Yang went to her friend quietly and sat beside her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

"C'mon, Blake. You can't let those jerks get to you. We've been having so much fun lately."

"Yeah, without those guys," Blake mumbled. "All they ever do is laugh at me behind my back. I already know I'm not good at kicking, but they always say it's because I'm a Faunus. I'm lesser, so I'm not good at anything like they are."

"Hey now, you know that's not true!" Yang protested, pulling her closer. "We're only yellow belts! No way we're gonna be great at everything we do right off the bat. And you're not lesser in terms of anything, Blake!

"In fact, I think it's because you're a Faunus that you're so good at everything! You're so coordinated and balanced and poised and stuff. Your form's the best in the school, even better than Velvet's or Yatsuhashi's! You can't let stupid Cardin get in your way of becoming a martial artist."

She knew that Blake's worst enemy was her own lack of confidence in herself. She took everything to heart, especially ridicule about being a Faunus. It was something she'd been targeted for all her life, and here it was no different.

But taekwondo was something Blake was truly passionate about. She didn't want to be bullied away from it, and Yang vowed not to let her be. She'd do whatever it took to keep Blake here with her.

Yang rubbed her friend's back for a minute, feeling Blake sigh.

"If this is really bothering you so much, let's talk to Master Ozpin or Head Instructor Goodwitch about it. At least that way they'll know to keep you as far away from those guys as possible."

Blake sighed again, but surprisingly, she shook her head.

"No..." she mumbled. "No, you're right, Yang. If I don't start standing up to them now, I never will. I don't... want to keep running away from them. I don't want to tell Instructor Goodwitch or Instructor Port or Instructor Oobleck, and especially not Master Ozpin. That would be like running away from Cardin and just... hiding. Making the adults take care of me. I want to... I want to start learning how to take care of myself. I want to become more confident."

She slipped her legs off the bench, straightening her posture a bit. Yang cracked a small smile.

"Yeah! You can do it, Blake! I believe in you! And I'll be right here beside you all the way! Don't worry about a thing! I'll always be here to help if you need some support!" Blake finally smiled too. She turned to the side and slipped her arms around Yang's torso, burying her face into her collar with a hug.

"Thank you, Yang."

Once they'd parted, they tied their hair into ponytails as per usual. Yang noticed that Blake didn't try to keep her ears down anymore – instead, she let them stand tall as they walked out of the changing room.

The boys were stretching and preparing for class, kicking at one another and throwing each other to the ground, laughing harshly. As soon as the girls walked on, however, the boys paused and started casting looks their way.

Blake could hear them snickering clearly with her keen ears. They said things like "here comes the kitty cat!" and "watch out, her aim sucks so bad she might kick you instead of the target!"

Yang saw her friend's ears droop again for a second, and it made her angry. If not for learning self-control and how to only use violence as a last resort as any martial arts student should, Yang would already have roared and charged the boys to start pounding them.

But since joining taekwondo, Yang had become a bit more refined. Although she did still have small bursts of rage every now and again, Blake was always there to ensure they never got the better of her.

Even now, Yang restrained herself from making snarky comments back at Cardin, and instead focused on fixing her uniform and retying her belt.

She and Blake chatted with Sage and Scarlet and practiced their kicks. Kicking was Blake's weakness and the main reason Cardin decided to pick on her other than the fact that she was a Faunus. There was only one of those two things that Blake could change, and she was eager to do as much, more so for herself than for anyone else.

But she knew there was more to it than that as well. It wasn't just about the physical training; it was just as much about the mental.

It's only as bad as you make it out to be, she reminded herself. I can easily choose not to listen to him. He's saying these things because he's taking out his own frustrations on me, but nothing's my fault. If he chooses to deal with his problems by taking them out on others, then I'll just refuse to give him a reaction. My reaction is his reward, and if he doesn't get it, then he'll eventually stop.

She coached herself until class started, and then even throughout the class. When they started kicking drills, Blake had no choice but to stand on line with the boys as she awaited her turn with the instructor. Every time she finished kicking and returned to the back of the line, she could hear them mumbling taunts and laughing at her.

But Blake didn't flatten her ears anymore. She kept them tall and her chin held high as she awaited her next turn.

She could tell she still had a lot to work on in terms of her technique, especially if she compared her kicks to Yang's. The blonde's were always powerful and precise, and the accompanying shout she'd give always made everyone flinch just a little.

Yang was rather intense, to say the least. She was someone none of them was looking forward to sparring once they'd moved up a couple more belt ranks.

Blake could tell that her own kicks were improving bit by bit every time.

But even so, what was most important was that she build up her confidence and not let detrimental words or thoughts get to her. She didn't want the boys to chase her away from this sport that she was growing to love so much. She deserved to have fun here and learn, and she resolved herself not to let them take that away from her.

Once they'd finished kicking drills, they spread out in one group to practice their basic hand techniques and self-defense. For the latter, Blake and Yang still rushed to be partners with one another – neither really wanted to touch or be touched by any of those boys, after all.

By the time the class had ended, Glynda had given Cardin and his friends a collective total of forty push-ups for constantly disrupting her classes. She pulled the four of them aside afterward and scolded them, threatening that if they didn't shape up soon and find better attitudes that she would confiscate their belts.

Glynda was at the end of her rope with them, and she made sure to scare them a bit.

After that day, the boys weren't as much of a problem anymore, and everyone noticed it. The higher ranks didn't have to worry about their underclassman being bullied anymore, and the lower ranks didn't have to dread going to their classes.

Yang was mostly proud of Blake, and hugged her tightly.

"I'm so glad you stood up to them. Well, without actually confronting them about it! You're so great, Blake! You fought them by bettering yourself, and I think that's what all this is about."

Blake nodded, wrapping her arms around Yang's shoulders.

"Thanks, Yang. For everything."

From then on, they could train in peace, and the boys went back to attending classes on different days. Without Cardin there to constantly taunt Blake over her shoulder, she could focus more on her kicking and what needed work.

Since Yang was an exceptional kicker, she helped the Faunus girl out before and after classes and even at home when Blake came to visit. She suffered mostly with the roundhouse kicks, which happened to be Yang's best kicks.

Their next testing date was drawing near, and Blake wanted to make her technique as good as she could get it before then.

Presently, the two of them were in the changing rooms before class. Blake sat on the floor with her legs stretched out in front of her, reaching for her toes. Yang sat behind her and leaned her weight onto the girl's back.

"Now for roundhouse kick..." Yang was saying her. "What'cha gotta do is turn your hip and kick at the same time. Don't do one and then the other. It's not gonna work."

"Right..." Blake huffed, chest pressed down to her knees.

"And also," Yang went on. "You don't have to kick high. I mean, sure kicking higher looks cooler and stuff, but that's mainly for showing off, like in a demo or something. But we're still too inexperienced to hafta worry about that kinda thing. So what I mean is, you can kick a bit lower – maybe like just belt-height – and make it powerful instead of a higher, wussier kick. Just make sure you-"

"O-Okay, Yang?" Blake mumbled against her pants. "This is all great advice and all, but my legs are on fire and I can't breathe."

"Huh? Oh, sorry." Yang stopped pushing on the girl's back and slowly helped her sit up, sheepishly chuckling as she smoothed Blake's ponytail and bangs. The Faunus girl huffed as the pain in her legs began to dissipate. Yang took her hands and helped her up, fixing Blake's belt for her.

"Alright, why don't you kick me," the blonde invited.

Blake gave her a look as though she'd sprouted an extra head.

"What? Yang, I'm not just gonna throw a kick at you."

"Come on! It's fine, don't worry about it. Just do it. Roundhouse me."

Blake gave her a dubious stare, but nonetheless took a step back to get into her kicking stance. She swung a roundhouse kick at the blonde, expecting that Yang planned to dodge.

She didn't.

Blake ended up kicking her in the side, but Yang let her, grabbing her leg and holding it in place.

"Ow, ugh..." she mumbled.

"Yang!" Blake shrieked. "Why didn't you move?"

"Cuz that's no fun!"

"I don't believe you..."

"Anyway," she went on, holding Blake's leg against her side, leaving the Faunus to wobble on one foot. "Ya see how your toes are angled kinda upward? For a roundhouse, you have to turn them more sideways. And to do that, you need to turn your hips. Easiest way to do that is actually just by turning your other foot! Give it a try. Twist your left foot and see what happens."

Though a bit unbalanced, Blake did as Yang suggested, turning her left foot sideways. Automatically, her hips followed, causing her kicking leg to extend a bit more.

"Yeah! There you go! See?" Yang said. "Try that little trick from now on in class and see if it works for you, okay?" She dropped Blake's leg and the Faunus girl straightened up again, slightly baffled.

"Thanks for the tip," she said. "But more importantly, are you okay? I didn't try to kick hard, but still..." She stepped closer to Yang and rubbed the girl's side gently. Yang winced a bit and let out a sigh.

"Yeah, I'm all good! I literally asked for it, haha."

"You're something else..." Blake sighed.

She gave her friend one more hug before they headed out to the dojang.

Blake did start to improve her roundhouse kick, but the yellow belts soon began to learn a brand new kick that was to be their breaking technique at their next belt test.

While Yang and Blake spent their classes trying to perfect their new side kicks, Ruby was working with Weiss in their combined class.

For the exercise portion of the class, they got to train together with the rest of the students. But when it came time to split up, Weiss was with Pyrrha, Sun, and Neptune while Ruby was with the rest of the no-belts.

Even then, Weiss sacrificed a bit of her focus on Instructor Port so she could occasionally flick her gaze to Ruby's group.

Pyrrha did the same for Jaune. Pyrrha had a bit more to look out for, considering how the blond boy was fairly flimsy in all that he did.

Weiss didn't have as much on her shoulders as Pyrrha did.

Ruby was skilled in most of the curriculum. She fumbled a bit whenever Glynda asked them to recite their mental knowledge, but it was still only the first few months for Ruby, and those things would come in time with more practice.

Her punches had definitely improved since Weiss had started helping her, and she was very good at her self-defense as well. But what Ruby seemed to excel at the most were her bounce steps.

The motions were a series of several in-place bounces, followed by a skip forward or backward or to either side. Sometimes it was switching feet or stepping in a certain direction.

Bounce techniques were mainly used in the rank of green belt and higher, since that was the level when sparring lessons began. Bouncing and movement was key to molding a successful sparrer, and so those techniques were thought at the earliest level so students would be ready for sparring when the time came.

Weiss could tell just from her movements that Ruby would be a brilliant sparrer. That happened to be the department Weiss herself was dreading the most, but that didn't stop her from striving to improve with her technique.

After class, the students bowed to Master Ozpin and the instructors as always, but before they could all leave the dojang, Glynda had them halt.

"I've got some testing papers to give out," she announced.

Standing in rank order, Weiss was right beside Ruby, and she physically felt the girl jump in excitement. Hastily, Weiss hushed her and prevented her from squealing out loud.

Glynda started calling names, and at each one, the students clapped and cheered in congratulations. The white belts received their papers, Weiss' being the last name called. Ruby clapped a little harder for her.

Then, Glynda began reading off the names of no-belts.

"Lie Ren," she called.

The boy walked up to her wearing a calm expression. He bowed and accepted the paper with both hands before taking his spot in line once more.

"Nora Valkyrie."

"Whoo!" Nora pumped a fist into the air before running up to Glynda and throwing her torso forward in a huge bow. "Thank you, ma'am!"

"Very good, Miss Valkyrie. Now back to your line." Glynda glanced down at the next paper. "Jaune Arc."

The boy beside Ruby nearly fell over from shock.

"Wh-What? Me? I'm getting my testing paper?"

Pyrrha beamed at him from down the line.

"Congratulations!"

The boy's jaw hung open and his legs seemed to turn to noodles. Glynda cleared her throat and called for him again.

"Mr. Arc? Would you like your testing paper or not?"

"Oh yes, ma'am!" he said, stepping forward to accept the sheet.

There was one paper left in Glynda's hand. She looked up past her glasses and called out.

"Ruby Rose."

"Aaaahhh!" Ruby slapped a hand to her mouth as she stepped forward, bubbling with excitement as she bowed and took the paper with trembling hands. "Th-Thank you, Head Instructor Goodwitch! Thank you thank you thank yoooouu!"

"Don't thank me," the woman said with a small smile. "You've earned your testing paper by working hard. You all have. Don't forget that."

Ruby's gaze traveled over her first testing paper ever, and she ended up kissing it before zipping back into line.

Glynda raised her voice a bit and continued.

"Now, as it says on your papers, your testing date is next Friday at 5PM. Come ten minutes early to prepare. I'll see you all next time in class."

They all bowed to one another before scattering, heading for the changing rooms and exit. But Ruby dashed instantly over to where her father and Yang were sitting in the chairs at the edge of the dojang.

"I did it!" she squealed. "I got my testing paper! I'm gonna be a white belt!"

"That's awesome!" Yang cheered, standing up to hug her little sister and twirl her around. "I'll be gettin' orange!"

Their father congratulated them both and hugged his daughters.

"Just wait until you tell Mom!" he said.

"Yeah!" Ruby gasped. "Oh my gosh, do you think she'll bake cookies to celebrate?"

"I sure hope so!" Yang grinned.

Ruby ran back to the changing rooms to get dressed, hugging Weiss tightly just before she left.

"I'll see you next week in class!"

"Yes..." the older girl wheezed. "Don't forget to help your sister study the mental knowledge, alright? And you better make sure to study your things as well."

"I will! Thanks, Weiss!"

Ruby grabbed her bag with her uniform in it and rushed out back to where her father and Yang were waiting. Blake had went over to them as well, ready to be driven home.

But Ruby noticed Weiss' father wasn't here to pick her up yet.

"Um... Dad? Can we stay just a few minutes? I don't want Weiss to have to sit here all by herself while she waits..."

"Of course," he said.

When Weiss emerged from the changing room, she was a bit surprised to see Ruby and her group still waiting. Weiss said hello to the girl's father politely before addressing Ruby.

"Aren't you going home?"

"Well yeah," she shrugged. "But there's no rush! I wanna wait till your dad gets here!"

Weiss' eyes went wide.

"...Really?"

"Yeah!" Yang cut in. "While we wait, maybe you could help me with my mental stuff! How do you remember everything so well just as a white belt? Teach me your ways!"

"Well, it isn't so hard, really..."

Weiss sat down in one of the chairs, and the other three girls gathered around her. Yang handed her the sheet with the yellow belts' mental knowledge typed out on it. Weiss confidently began informing them of her own successful study methods, and the others listened intently.

They were getting rather into it by the time Weiss' phone buzzed to inform her that her father had arrived. She quickly stood up and ran to the shoe rack to put her socks on.

"Sorry. I'll tell you more later. Father hates to be kept waiting," she said quickly.

The others frowned a bit, and Blake's ears drooped.

"Okay then..." Ruby mumbled. "Thanks again, Weiss! You're always helping me out."

She ran forward to hug her one last time, feeling as though Weiss could use it. The white-haired girl sighed and squeezed her back gently.

"Don't thank me. I'll see you next week."

Before she could pull away, however, Yang had stepped up to hug her as well.

"Lemme thank you, too! I'll do my best to make you proud, Weiss! I'll study hard, I promise!"

"A-Alright..." the girl stammered. "Good, then. But I've really got to go. I'm sorry."

Blake was the one who put a hand to both Ruby's and Yang's backs and gently pried them away. The Faunus girl met Weiss' eyes briefly before the white-haired girl dropped her gaze.

"Bye, Weiss," Blake said softly.

Weiss dipped her head to all of them before stepping into her shoes and hurrying out the exit toward the parking lot. The others watched her go with worried eyes.

"Her dad's really strict," Blake murmured. "I feel kinda bad for her."

"Yeah..." Ruby sighed. "She told me that... if she's not perfect at doing taekwondo, her father's threatening to make her quit and he'll stop paying for her lessons. It's really mean of him..."

"What a jerk," Yang huffed. "But there's not really anything we can do about it..."

With a collective sigh, the three girls got their shoes and socks on, and went back to Ruby's and Yang's father. They headed for the parking lot, and Ruby almost felt guilty in knowing her car ride home would be full of fun music and talking, while Weiss' was probably composed of uncomfortable silence.

All the way home, she thought of anything she might be able to do for Weiss, and at last came to a decision.


The next week passed by as all of the students attended their final lessons for their current rank levels.

They perfected all of their techniques as best they could; Weiss helped them all study mental knowledge before and after classes, Yang helped Blake with her kicking, and Ruby practiced her punches.

And before they knew it, it was Friday.

Yang tied her hair with an orange scrunchy so that it would match her new belt after the test, and she had given Blake a matching one to wear. Ruby clipped a small barrette of a white rose into her hair, just above her left ear.

As they waited in the carpeted area of the school, Ruby noticed that even Weiss had tied her hair with a yellow scrunchy.

All of the students had gathered, even the higher ranks; Coco and the other green belts were testing as well.

When Ozpin gave the call for all of them to enter the dojang, everyone lined up in rank order and bowed before walking on.

Ruby's heart was thudding a mile a minute, and she swallowed hard to keep it down. Since she was the lowest rank, she'd be testing first.

Glynda called her to a spot, followed by Jaune, Nora, and Ren. As per Glynda's instructions, they all bowed to Ozpin where he sat at the front of the room behind a portable table to take notes of their test.

There were various papers he'd be writing on in front of him. To one side were the medals and trophies for students receiving their new belts, and to the other side were the new belts themselves.

One of those white belts was Ruby's.

That thought – combined with the knowledge that Weiss, Blake, and Yang were watching and supporting her from the sidelines – was what chased Ruby's last bit of uncertainty away.

Together with her classmates, she went through their basic hand techniques as ordered, doing her best to show off her accuracy in each block and strike.

For her kicking, she made sure to aim above her head and always yell loudly, even louder than Nora. Jaune fell a few times, but he always got back up. Ruby was his partner in self-defense, and though he forgot the motions at first, she mumbled a quick reminder to him.

They all stumbled a bit with reciting the mental knowledge; Jaune made a few things up on the spot and Nora flat-out forgot a few of them.

But Ruby felt she had done Weiss' lessons justice, despite how she'd missed a few words here and there.

When it came time to break their boards, Ren went up first. Instructor Port was holding the board for him, and though Ren didn't shout particularly loud, he brought his fist down more swiftly than a snake strike and broke it perfectly in half. The audience clapped as he was given his boards and asked to go back to his spot to kneel.

Nora was next, and with a loud "KEEYAAH!" smashed her fist through the board without a hitch.

Jaune, however, wasn't so lucky. His fist bumped off the board without breaking it, and he shook his hand in pain. Ruby saw Weiss flinch from the corner of her eye, and she assumed the girl was remembering her own first failed breaking.

"U-Uh..." Jaune grunted. "M-May I try again, sir?" he asked with a bow.

Ozpin nodded.

"Yes, go ahead."

As the boy raised his fist above his head, Pyrrha was the one who started the cheering. She clapped her hands and called out: "You can do it!"

After that, the others gathered started to call words of encouragement as well.

Fueled by their energy, Jaune gave another cracked yell and broke through the board. Cheers erupted at his success, and even Weiss was clapping.

Finally, it was Ruby's turn.

She took up her stance in front of the board and made a fist, eyes focused – this would be her first breaking ever, and she didn't want to miss it.

She concentrated, took a deep breath, and aimed her fist. With a short shout, she brought her fist down and split the board, hitting it so hard it fell out of Instructor Port's hands.

Yang cheered loudest of all for her, but as Ruby excitedly picked up the pieces of her board, she saw Weiss was smiling and clapping as well.

Ruby bowed to the instructors and master before giving her boards to her father on the sidelines. She went to where the other testing students were sitting on the floor and hugged Yang briefly.

"I'm so proud of you, sis!" she cheered softly.

"Thanks, Yang!"

Blake shifted onto her knees to hug Ruby as well.

At last, the brunette turned to Weiss.

"You did splendidly, Ruby," the white belt said. "Good job."

Ruby knelt down in front of her and hugged her too, not caring if Weiss' father saw. In fact, she wanted him to see, so that he'd know Weiss was loved here at her taekwondo school.

"Thank you, Weiss! It's your turn next, so good luck! I know you'll do amazing!"

"Thank you, Ruby."

The no-belts sat down as the white belts stood and were called to their spots to begin testing. Ruby sat beside her friends as she watched the next test, though her gaze was mainly focused on Weiss.

The four white belts did well with their hand techniques and kicking. Pyrrha's and Weiss' long ponytails swayed behind their backs, and while Pyrrha kicked the highest of the four only because she was tallest, Weiss was aiming above her own head height.

The girls and boys were paired up for self-defense, and while Sun and Neptune were a bit more hyper, Pyrrha and Weiss were more refined.

The white belts performed the first of ten forms created by the school. The form was a combination of stances and blocks or hand strikes, and Ruby watched in amazement as the four of them moved in unison, almost like one person. The girls' hair whipped out behind them, and Ruby absorbed their motions into her memory – she'd be learning this soon enough.

When it came time for the mental knowledge, Weiss' voice rang out loudest and most clearly. Where Sun failed to answer, Ozpin called on Weiss, who provided the perfect response word-for-word. Once again, she displayed her exceptional mentality.

The white belt's breaking technique was an ax kick to the board.

Sun and Pyrrha broke on their first try, but Neptune didn't get it until his third kick.

When Weiss was called up, Ruby grew anxious, stealing a glance behind her at the girl's father. He looked uninterested as usual.

Come on, Weiss! You can do it!

Weiss took up her stance, measuring the distance between the board and herself. She took a deep breath and let out a short yell.

With one swift motion, she lifted her leg for the kick and slammed her heel down onto the board. There was a satisfying crack as it split in two.

Ruby jumped up to her feet and started clapping instantly, before anyone else started to cheer. Weiss picked up her board and bowed to Port, then to Ozpin.

She then looked back over her shoulder to her father and sister. He wasn't smiling, but he didn't appear to be angry either, and that was better than nothing.

The white belts went to hand their boards off to their parents, and Weiss gave hers to her father. She set them on the counter in front of him, and though he didn't touch them, he did give her a slight nod.

Weiss didn't miss it.

She spun around and hurried back to her spot on the dojang, trying to contain her excitement. She bowed with the others before Glynda had them sit down and began calling up the yellow belts.

Ruby clapped for Blake and Yang as they were called up, but the second Weiss sat back down beside her, she hugged her again.

"You did it!" she cheered softly. "You did awesome, Weiss! I'm so happy we're gonna be moving up together!"

"Yes, me too," Weiss whispered. "But let's celebrate after. There's still testing going on."

They were quiet as they watched Blake and Yang go through the yellow belts' motions.

Rather than using fists like no belts, or single open knife-hands like white belts, the yellow belts' motions were double open knife-hand motions.

Their kicking focused mainly on side kicks, a slightly more advanced kick than roundhouse.

Their form was the second numbered one, and it was a bit more complicated than the first the white belts had done, though it still followed the same basic pattern.

Yang did her best with the mental knowledge, but even despite all the practicing she'd done, she still blanked on several of the questions.

Even so, Yang was called up first for their breaking, which was a single side kick. With a loud yell, she pushed through and broke it on her first try, and the cheers rose up.

When Cardin and the other boys got their turn, Ruby didn't clap as energetically, nor did Weiss or the others.

Blake was called up last, and by now, her nerves had gotten the better of her. She tried to remember all Yang had told her, and did her best to ignore the boys' taunting gazes.

Blake gave a yell and twisted her hips, throwing out her leg. She hit the board, but it didn't break. She stumbled back into her kicking stance and faced the board again, but when she inhaled, it was a shaky breath. She could feel their judging eyes upon her, and her heart started to pound.

Then, to her surprise, a cheer went up for her, initiated by Weiss.

"Take your time!" she shouted. "You can do it!"

"Yeah!" Ruby added. "You got this, Blake!"

The others started to cheer as well, but the Faunus girl's eyes went to Yang. The blonde grinned a reassuring smile and gave a nod.

"You're fine!" she said.

Blake swallowed and took another breath, directing her attention back to the board. With another shout, she pushed through and broke it, and the cheers went up all over again.

Blake went to her parents and gave them her wood, and Yang gave hers to her father before hugging Ruby and Weiss together.

Once the yellow belts' testing was over, they sat down beside the others to watch Scarlet and Sage, and finally the green belts. Their breaking technique was a flying side kick, which consisted of running across the dojang before jumping and kicking the board.

Despite her quieter voice by nature, Velvet let out a loud shout as she broke her board, and even Yatsuhashi made a bit of noise. And it was always a pleasure to watch Fox break with the bell dangled over his board. Coco finished up the testing with her break, and at that time, Glynda had all the students rise and line up.

Ruby stood with her head held high as her white belt was placed in front of her.

They all bowed, and then the students with belts turned around and knelt down to untie them.

For a moment, no one wore a belt.

And then Ozpin and the instructors came over and began tying the new belts onto their students.

Ozpin himself made sure to tie for the no-belts; as the master, he wanted to be the one to bestow the first belt upon each person.

When it was her turn, Ruby lifted her arms and tried to keep a serious expression, but ended up smiling in the end.

The belt felt odd around her waist, but she got used to it very quickly.

"Thank you, Master Ozpin," she said humbly, bowing low to him.

"Congratulations, Ruby."

Everyone was awarded their new belts and medals – Weiss looked a bit strange in yellow, as Ruby had gotten so used to seeing her in white, but she liked how Yang and Blake looked in orange.

The highest ranks now adorned blue belts.

Only the new white belts received small trophies for accomplishing the first milestone achievement. The rest of them were awarded medals.

Everyone was congratulated once more, and the parents and gathered families cheered.

Glynda arranged the students into formation for a brief picture-taking session, and finally, after nearly two hours, they were free to go.

Ruby bounced and jumped around excitedly, holding onto the ends of her belt and marveling at it.

"I did it, I did iiiit!" she sang.

She didn't bother changing; she was far too excited and intended to wear her belt and uniform home.

Yang and Blake were the same, still adorning their uniforms and with their hair in ponytails as they sauntered up to Ruby. The brunette turned around and hugged them both.

"Good job, Ruby!" Yang hummed, nuzzling into her sister's hair. "You too, Blake!"

"You were great also," the Faunus said. "We all were."

"So~" Yang cleared her throat. "Are you coming back to our house, Blake?"

"Yeah. I asked my parents and they said it's okay. They'll drive me over, then pick me up later."

"Great! Mom's gonna make those cookies!" Yang stepped away and ruffled Ruby's hair. "Ready to go home, Ruby?"

"Hold on," she said. "Just gimme a sec..." Ruby caught sight of Weiss as the girl headed toward her father and sister. Ruby slipped through the crowd and hurried to reach her. "Weiss!" she called out.

The older girl froze, turning to flash a glance at her.

"Ruby? Good job today, but I-I've got to go home now."

"Are you sure?" Ruby halted beside Weiss, just in front of her father. "Cuz I was just wondering... well, we're having a little party at my house to celebrate the testing and we wanted to know if you could come. I mean, if that's okay?" She looked innocently up to Weiss' father.

He glowered down at her with unmoving grey eyes.

Then, he took Weiss' wrist and walked away with her. Weiss flashed Ruby an apologetic glance as she followed behind him.

Ruby felt her heart sink, and her shoulders slumped. Defeated, she walked back to her parents, Yang, and Blake.

The three girls gathered their shoes and socks and slipped them on. Blake went with her parents who would follow the Rose-Xiao Long's car back to their house to drop their daughter off. She could tell Ruby was sad that Weiss wouldn't be joining them, so she smiled sadly and hugged her friend.

"I'll see you in a few minutes."

"Okay..." Ruby retreated to her sister. Yang ruffled her hair and sighed.

A hand on her shoulder had Ruby looking up at her mother.

"Is your other friend going to be coming over as well?" Summer wondered.

"No..." Ruby sighed regretfully.

"I see..." she murmured. "Maybe next time."

The family of four headed out of the taekwondo school, bound for the parking lot. Blake and her parents followed just behind them.

Just as they reached the parking lot, Ruby suddenly paused and turned to her sister, puzzled.

"Yang? Did you call me?"

"Huh? No. What-"

"Ruby!"

Again, she heard her name, and the brunette turned around.

Weiss was running toward her waving, and Ruby had her family halt. Weiss carefully slipped around Blake's family and came to a halt in front of Ruby, hands on her knees as she panted for breath.

"Weiss!" Ruby cried. "What's wrong?"

"N-Nothing's... wrong..." she gasped. "My father decided... I-I can come!" she said, lifting her head with a smile.

Ruby felt her jaw drop, and then her heart soar.

"Really?!"

"Yes..." Weiss straightened up and ran a hand through her bangs. "I'll text him your address, and he'll pick me up later. I can celebrate with all of you."

Blake and Yang shared joyful smiles, and with a squeal of delight, Ruby hugged Weiss once again.

Together, the four girls headed to their respective cars, Ruby insisting that Weiss take the middle seat between Yang and herself.

That afternoon, the four of them had their first belt celebration party together, playing games, watching movies, and enjoying cookies all the while.

They didn't know it at the time, but it was only the first of many.


A/N: Alright, so lots more info here, huh? Forms are also called pom se and there are plenty of videos and things you can watch to help you visualize what they look like. You could also look up the different kind of kicks and what they look like in action if you want~

Again, any questions, please ask! Oh, and both this chapter and the first chapter's titles are actually phrases of my own school's different belt meanings!

Next chapter, you'll get some insight on a tournament!

If you like my work, you can support me as Kiria Alice on !

Please review!