Author's Note: Hi everybody, I'm back! I hope you enjoyed the first chapter, and please don't hesitate to let me know what you think about this one. I intend to write at least four chapters of this story, but it might go on longer, depending on how the story evolves. Enjoy!
"Ladies and Gentlemen," Glynda Goodwitch began after curtly acknowledging Weiss and Ruby's late arrival, "in light of the rapidly approaching Vytal festival, and the combat tournament thereof, in which all of you have expressed interest in competing…" Professor Goodwitch shot Jaune a withering look, but offered no further criticism, "Professor Ozpin has decided to suspend classes until the conclusion of festivities; that said I see no reason why we need waste that time."
Weiss nodded approvingly while Yang took a boxing stance with an ear to ear grin, and Ruby took to stroking the Crescent Rose like cherished pet. Only Blake, her nose buried in book with a blank sleeve, appeared totally unmoved. Across the field stood team JNPR arrayed opposite team RWBY; Nora mirrored Yang's huge smile, spinning her hammer like it were just a little baton. Pyrrha smiled pleasantly, and Jaune seemed nervous, but then, when didn't he? Similar to Blake, Ren was unruffled over on the JNPR side, though ostensibly more attentive to Professor Goodwitch.
"To that end, it has been suggested that interested teams practice together for the tournament-,"
"Uh, Professor Goodwitch? Were we really the only teams to sign up for this?"
Weiss let out an unimpressed sigh; it was such a Jaune question, practically a repeat of the initiation.
"No, Mr. Arc," Goodwitch glared at him again, "If you'd prefer to practice with team CRDL, Professor Port would be happy to have you in the eastern field,"
Jaune visibly flinched, "Uh… no thank you ma'am…"
Yang sniggered despite recent events, earning a swift sisterly elbow to the ribs to shut her up.
"At any rate, let's start with paired exercises; turn to your partners and take five minutes to spar; after that, reconvene and take a few minutes to discuss each other's strengths and weakness before reporting for the next exercise. Any questions?'
"Team RWBY ready to go!" Ruby added with an enthusiastic salute.
Finding no objection from team JNPR, Goodwitch nodded approvingly, "Good, now face your partners and begin!"
The four pairs spread out across the available space of the field, and suddenly it was just Ruby and Weiss; the rest was just so much background. Breathing deep, she drew Myrtenaster and leveled it in Ruby's direction. As she met those silver eyes across the few meters distance between them Weiss's grip tightened about the hilt of her weapon. This is your chance Weiss; show them all how great you are, show this child how much better-. Weiss shook her head, no, this is practice; Ruby and I are partners- think teammate, not rival…
Ruby lowered her scythe for a moment as the others started in earnest, "Weiss… are you alright?"
The heiress straightened her posture afresh and blinked a few times, "Of course you dunce! Now let's get this over with!"
"Alright, here I come!" before the red-cloaked girl could even finish her broad smile she was gone, as though she had simply vanished.
Where did she-? GAH!
Weiss barely sidestepped the first stroke of Ruby's crimson blade,
Damn, that was fast!
Quickly composing herself, Weiss conjured a glyph at her feet so as to drift safely out of the Crescent Rose's reach and take stock of the situation. During the initiation in the Emerald Forest, Ruby had been all over the place in streaks of red and black almost too fast to be followed by the eye, always attacking to the exclusion of any other maneuvers, but now…no, that was exactly how she was coming at Weiss now too. Weiss rolled her eyes, such a spaz-
She couldn't finish that thought though, as three more consecutive strokes from her hyperactive team leader forced her to backpedal again. As Ruby kept coming, spurred to even greater determination by her succession of near-misses, Weiss found herself at a loss for what to do; the little maniac didn't give her a moment to think. She gritted her teeth as she adjusted Myrtenaster's dust chamber to the red setting, No excuse Weiss! A Grimm wouldn't give you time to think either!
As Ruby wound up for a vicious spinning attack, Weiss took her first action beyond evasion. Holding out Myrtenaster to block Ruby's hurricane of blows, Weiss allowed a slight grin to tug at the corner of her mouth as the younger girl's crimson scythe met with the percussive barrier of flaming Dust and was set off balance, a surprised look on her face. Seizing the initiative, Weiss skated forward to close the distance between them, putting herself inside Ruby's attack reach. Eyes wide, Ruby barely managed to twist to the side fast enough for Weiss's thrust to miss her stomach by inches. Pirouetting so as not to waste the momentum of withdrawing her sword, Weiss followed up with a lateral stroke, this one connecting and sending Ruby to a knee. Weiss was about to exploit the perceived opening when Ruby's sly grin and the sound of the rifle chamber cocking stopped her cold and she noticed that the Crescent was immediately behind her.
Crap!
With a panicked flick of the wrist Weiss used the Glyph that she'd been standing on to propel herself skyward as the Crescent Rose discharged and the blade cut through where she'd been standing a heartbeat earlier, That would have bruised…
Not about to let Ruby's smug look go unanswered however, Weiss responded by lunching a Dust-fueled fireball at Ruby as she landed on a fresh glyph and slid backward. Ruby lunged out of the path of the flaming destruction and leveled her 'sweetheart' in Weiss's direction, letting off three more shells. The Schnee heiress met the assault with a vertical barrier glyph, a shower of pale blue sparks erupting with each impact. By the time she'd let the shield fade, however, Ruby had vanished again, and it was only when the breath was knocked from Weiss's lungs that she discovered that Ruby had used the time Weiss had been preoccupied to dash forward and take a swing.
The heiress's footing evaporated as she tumbled down onto her back but before Ruby could seal the deal with a downward stroke, Weiss conjured a vertical glyph some meters away in the direction she had only just been facing; the circle of power darkened as Weiss felt herself being dragged towards it and once more out of Ruby's reach. The glyph righted itself as the felt her feet come into contact with it, and she was one more one her feet, facing a momentarily puzzled Ruby.
"How did you-? AAAH!" Ruby didn't have time to finish the question as three shafts of ice rocketed in her direction. Spinning the Crescent Rose instinctively, Ruby smashed the first two projectiles midair and arched herself backward to dodge the third. To prevent herself from falling onto her back she thrust the head of her weapon into the ground behind her and jumped backward in a partial flip until she was balanced aloft at the top of the shaft.
"Hey Weiss! Look!" Ruby called over, her voice muffled by her cloak, now draping down over her head, "I'm just like Nora at initiation!"
Weiss let out a sigh; Does she think this a game?
When she started to lose her balance, Ruby fired off the Crescent rose again, using the force to complete her partial backflip and land firmly on her two feet once more, "How was that?"
Weiss drew herself up for another charge and launched herself forward, Myrtenaster ready to strike, but Ruby, giggling like a schoolgirl, tore into another death spin with her scythe. Attacking that head on was suicide, so Weiss called up vertical glyph to allow her a sudden change in course, throwing herself instead thirty degrees to the right, rather than into the gaping maw of Ruby's favorite toy.
Okay, so she can defend, Weiss thought, once more taking stock of her options, Now how do you get around THAT? Loopholes Weiss, think Loopholes!
Realization dawned on her with a grin as she checked to confirm that Myrtenaster was still set to the blues setting, Maybe I can't get close, but…
Weiss took a knee, planting Myrtenaster into the ground, causing a sheet of ice to overtake the grass before her and surge towards Ruby. Too late the crimson-cloaked huntress-in-training realized her peril and slipped into a tumbling fall as the ground froze over beneath her. She only just avoided slamming to the frozen earth by plunging the Crescent Rose's blade into the earth and using it for support as she struggled to reclaim her footing on the sheet of glassy ice. Never one to waste an opportunity, Weiss sprang into action.
Ruby unceremoniously yanked herself out of the way by the haft of her weapon, pulling herself onto a reliable footing once more as she heaved her scythe out of the ground. Stifling the urge to growl in frustration, Weiss pivoted on her left foot and positioned herself for another pass. The distance was closed in an instant, and steel rang on steel in a flurry of blades. Weiss's attacks were frustrated at every stroke by Ruby's manic spinning defense. Weiss knew that if she could just get to Ruby before she could launch into that crimson pinwheel the Crescent Rose's sheer size would prove cumbersome in a close-quarters duel, but fast as she was she could never seem to get to Ruby quicker than she could turn herself into a human buzz-saw.
Weiss took a flustered glance down at her scroll while she waited just out of reach for Ruby to dizzy herself. Yellow. This has to end. Now.
Then there it was: her opening. Ruby slowed and planted both as she ended the spin, disentangling her weapon from the otherwise impractical grip between her arms and back that enabled her spinning attack to take a more conventional hold of it. As the scarlet blade passed her by for the final time, Weiss lunged forward, sword-arm extended in a thrust for chest.
I have her!
The heiress's sense of triumph evaporated at the sound of Professor Goodwitch's whistle. Her pale blue eyes blinked several times as her focus shattered into a thousand pieces and she found that her assumption of victory had been a premature. Ruby had collapsed the Crescent Rose, and was holding the now considerably shortened barrel of the weapon inches shy of Weiss's chin. Weiss cursed herself silently for her carelessness and then Ruby in turn for the stupid grin on her face.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, take a break to recover; In twenty minutes we'll move on to the next exercise," Professor Goodwitch instructed with an authoritative tone.
Ruby relaxed her shoulders and offered a hand to shake, "Call it a draw?"
The Schnee heiress lowered her weapon but remained tense, ignoring the handshake with an exasperated sigh, "Sure,"
A draw wasn't good enough though; Father certainly wouldn't approve. Worse still, as Weiss heaved breath after breath from the exertion, Ruby didn't seem to have so much as broken a sweat.
In this world there are winners and losers, Father had said it hundreds of times, And I have no time for losers.