After a bit too much of hesitation he managed to swallow his bad feelings and knocked the door, only for the door to open without him having to knock, there was a screech when it finally opened to a dimly lit room with some candles, stones and something that looked suspiciously like an altar.
Of course in the middle of all there was a cloaked person, this is why he hadn't want to come in the first place.
"I knew you'd come" said the cloaked figure that was giving their back to him but when
There were probably many appropriate reactions to such scene and welcoming, a fearful question, maybe some cautious steps, or stunned silence.
A snort what probably the last thing expected, and even for him it was a little surprising to give in in such disrespectful behavior, and of course the figure bolted around with furious eyes to him.
"Wha- You're not my Darling?! Where is my Darling! My vision showed me-" As she continued to rant on about how his presence must have done something to cloud her 'visions' Gongenzaka was aware that they weren't alone.
"Hey are you two listening to me!?" Mieru practically screamed at the top of her lungs, and Gongenzaka caught the glint of something round being thrown at a corner of the dorm.
For a few seconds the glint disappeared but there was no shattering noise, only some shuffling around and then from the corned emerged a tall, lean figure clothed with a light armor and mask.
"Mieru-dono, you should be more careful this would have been the tenth crystal apple in the month." He spoke almost in hushed but still clear voice and holding the object back to his team leader.
"Would it matter? It's clearly defective if it didn't show me the future!" she seemed to be in the verge of a breakdown… or a tantrum.
At the very least that is how it looked, with Tsukikage trying to reassure her that she was probably still adapting to her new surroundings and needed to attune herself to it before it got right back on trial, and Mieru nodding while sniffing and wiping off her eyes.
Whatever the reason was for her being allowed into Beacon at still fifteen years old, much less appointed as team leader was beyond him, but it was not his place to question Ozpin's decisions, not out loud anyway.
"State your purpose." He heard Tsukikage say.
"I… have a request, for a training partner."
"I see, however Mieru-dono has to give her consent in order to-"
"Take Hikage and Tsukikage." She said in an even voice, as if her past crying had not happened.
"I only need one-"
"You are Noboru Gongenzaka right? You specialize on strong defense and nullify your opponent's attacks, but a sneaky opponent who uses dirty tricks to get past your defense could easily defeat you, despite you great stamina because your main weak point is speed." She finished
"…I see, so when can we work on a training schedule?" he asked, maybe now he could see why she was capable of leadership.
"What do I know? I'm not their nanny ask them!" she said huffing.
'...Or maybe not' He hoped Yuya was having better luck.
-oOo-
'Ouch'
Yuya had been aiming to his chest, after come musing he had come to terms that it would the easiest part to land a hit in, but before his staff could even make contact he caught a flash of shoe.
Next thing he knew his body tumbled once, twice then thrice against the arena grounds.
His whole body was tingling but he knew it wouldn't last long before the aching pain would take its place, when he opened his eyes he was met with a spinning, blurry vision and he had to blink several times before his eyes could focus, he wished he could just use his Aura to make the dizziness go away, but painful lessons at Signal had thought him that you couldn't rely on it for every little ache or injury.
It was not an endless supply after all.
"Again" he heard as soon as he was able to get to his feet.
He bite back a growl before charging again this time aiming for his lower side, and just as his staff made contact with it he felt himself being pushed back again.
This time by Kachidoki's elbow landing on his back, having him biting the dust, literally.
"Again." He said this time not even waiting for Yuya to gather himself.
"Just… give me a minute." He retorted.
"…I'll give you five, not that it will make a difference." He answered before walking back to the bench.
The thought of just lying there in the ground for the remainder of the break was a little too tempting but he forced his arms to comply and stood up, not without stumbling a little on his feet.
And of course that earned him a snort from his 'teacher' which Yuya fought very hard not to respond to but he had to remind himself that he was the student here, complains would led him nowhere.
"Here." Kachidoki said throwing him a water bottle.
"…Uh, thanks"
"You need to work on your balance and your footwork." He was told.
"I thought we were working on my defense." He said feeling offended, besides there was nothing wrong with his balance, there never was.
"And how exactly do you plan to defend yourself when you depend on your semblance for standing up of all things?"
Crap, he noticed and he must had a panicked look on his face because Kachidoki limited himself to sigh and added:
"Don't act so surprised, you are way too obvious, I suspected it long before you trusted me about it." He even rolled his eyes for emphasis and Yuya found himself wanting to run away and pretend that none of this training had been his idea.
"Am I really that obvious?" He said after releasing a deep breath but still not wanting to meet his eyes.
"To the trained eye? Yes you are, your stances are full of openings to the point it could barely said that you have any defenses, you keep messing up when it comes to blocking attacks making your lack of anticipation is glaring." Finished Kachidoki with a matter-of-factness that made Yuya feel like a toddler.
"I-I don't …Is not that I can't fight it's just…" he attempted. "I did learn, and I was good…" but just that: only good, not good enough to fight Grimms and definitely not good enough to apply for Beacon.
But above everything: not as good as his mother.
"So you took a shortcut? I bet somewhere along the way you thought that if you could move fast enough that if no one would ever land a hit on you could go on neglecting all the other aspects of your training? Did it ever occur to you that 'Agility' doesn't not replace technique? Or stamina? The biggest mistake one as a warrior can make is thinking that Semblance or Dust will make up for our lack of training."
"I know that, that's why I'm here." he bite out, pouting.
"Then work on it, the only reason I agreed to this training partnership was because I thought you had an angle, that you were trying to measure me up and that I could get to do the same to you, such disappointment."
"But… I don't even know where to start." Well, more like restart as much as Kachidoki's comments hurt, he was right, he had been neglecting actual training for almost three years now.
He then saw Kachidoki fixing him with a glare but ultimately releasing an exasperated breath.
"It occurs to me that… maybe this isn't the best approach, maybe we should start with more simple drills and basic forms." As he said this he was rubbing his neck and tore his eyes from him.
"Sure! I can do that" he said feeling his energy lift a little.
"But no semblance, and believe me I will notice" he demanded.
"Not even if-" Yuya was caught short by a sweaty towel smacking right into his face.
So much for a joke.
Well, this is very much meant as a partner of the "A sword dance" one-shot, showing to whom Yuya and Gongenzaka choose to turn to for training, also Yuya's "secret" it's out in the open, I like the idea that besides the pertinent Professors people's semblance are... not necessarily secret but private, unless is an incredibly obvious one (like Hokuto's or Reiji's) people are careful to keep information about them to themselves, after all it doesn't strike me as a clever thing to have the battle stats of Hunters-to-be in the open.
I bet many of you are wondering if Mieru is really fortune teller in this AU, but for now I will keep that for myself, don't wanna spoil the surprise.