(A.N: And welcome back to the story. So far, starting to get back on track, so hope is not lost yet thankfully. Anyway, let's get right into it. P.S, I don't own anything minus my OC's.)

Into the Dark

Chapter 10

Limits have been broken!

Raiden (Arena Amphitheater)

I sat in the arena, completely alone and waiting for the next class to begin while I calmed down... or tried to. 'Kagome... damn it!' I clenched my fists, trying to calm down. "Why... why here of all places?" I growled.

"It might be because she despises you," A new voice said. I quickly turned and saw Yang, slowly walking towards me, and I actually simmered a bit. I registered her words as she sat next to me. "Yeah, you're... not wrong." We sat in this warm, comfortable silence for a while before she asked, "Wanna talk about it?" I thought for a bit before I nodded. "Sure, why the hell not? Kagome and I... well, we were once friendly rivals, and eventually, we..." I coughed uncomfortably, shifting in my seat.

"We became... more than just friends."

Yang raised a brow and grinned, though it didn't really reach her eyes. "Oh, so you smashed?"

I scowled and playfully backhanded her shoulder; she caught my hand quickly to my surprise. "You're getting faster," I commented.

"I have a good teacher."

I rolled my eyes and smiled slightly. "Anyway, never-mind me, just go on." I nodded and went back to my pathetic sob-story. "Yeah... turned out that she didn't like the fact that I was stronger than her for some reason for the other, and I eventually became the strongest in Haven, so we... sort of grew apart." That happy look dropped off her face, and I felt a bit bad; I actually liked that look on her face. "Don't lie to me. She was at your throat because she was jealous of your strength, wasn't she?"

I sighed and nodded. Yang, in the week that I've known her, was surprisingly perceptive. "Yeah, that pretty much sums it up. One day, roughly six months ago, my team and I were called up to Headmaster Lionheart's office. Kagome was there, that shit-eating smirk on her face, and it was just announced that we were expelled. A friend of mine whom you've already met, Azure, was found badly injured and near-death, and Kagome managed to frame it perfectly on me. Hell, she even took my shoes and bits of my damned hair, she planned the entire thing out without a hitch."

"I knew she was the one who did it, and, I just... lost it." I rolled up my sleeve up to my shoulder and showed her my orange scars and markings. "That was when I forcibly unlocked my semblance, my own power scarring me for life, burning these marks into my skin. I literally nearly drowned in my own rage, grabbing her by the face and sending us hurling out of the tallest building in Haven, and I swear," I started, my voice rising and my aura visibly manifesting. "If I could, I'd do it over, and over, and fucking over again, right up until she was beaten to a bloody paste for what she cost me and my team."

Suddenly, Yang's hand gripped my hand, again calming me down. 'How does she do that?' I thought. She looked at me, a surprisingly soft but serious look on her face. "Raiden... just, listen to me for a second. You've decided for some reason or the other to help me get stronger, and I want to help you back. So... I'm going to tell you something about myself, something only Ruby and Blake knows about. My mom... she was the coolest. Cookie-baker, monster-slayer, you name it, she did it. But one day, she left for a mission and just... never came back."

My eyebrows shot up into the air at that. I couldn't image my life without my mom to help me. "My dad shut down, and I found out why. Summer Rose was Ruby's mother and my step-mother. The first love of his life... was my mom. Raven Branwen. She left me when I was just a child, and then Summer stepped in." I don't think I could have been more surprised. "The Red Death herself? Damn Yang." She smirked a bit before going back to her own story. "Yeah. When I tried to ask my dad, who had shut down, about my mom, I got nothing, so I went out to find my own clues."

"Eventually, I found something that I acted stupidly on, taking Ruby, who was around five years old with me. I wandered for hours until I found it, one of my mom's old safe-houses. Then... then came the Grimm. I couldn't defend myself or Ruby, but my uncle Qrow showed up just in time, saving our asses. The point I'm trying to make is that... going too fast to your goal, be it finding something or tying to exact revenge... it'll only lead to something bad. But, I'm not saying to stop: just... slow down. I'm still trying to find my mom, but I won't let that search control who I am. I think it could be the same for you too."

I just stared at Yang blankly, taking it all in. She got a bit uncomfortable, waving my hand in front of my face. "U-um, hello, you still there?" I smiled and nodded, still looking at her. "...You're not saying anything, and that's kinda weirding me out. Seriously, are you alright?"

I laughed and waved my hands frantically, "Yeah, yeah, sorry about that! It's just that... I didn't think you we so... wise." It was her turn to have her eyebrows raised, a slight blush on her cheeks, making my heart skip a beat. "Huh?" She asked.

"Yang, I never knew you were that insightful. To be honest, I don't think anybody's given me such good advice, not even my mother." I looked at her and smiled, sincerely saying to her, "Thank you Yang, I needed that." She stared at me and grinned, a surprisingly cute blush on her face. "Hah, no need for the thanks. You've already helped me out, so I think it's only fair for me to return the favor." I smiled back, fist-bumping her and staying silent for a while, my heart and heat clear. 'Slow down huh? I'll have to try it.'

"Next question," Yang started seriously, and I slightly turned to her. "That... that weird human-ish thing that appeared around her and punched me. That was her semblance, wasn't it? I've never seen a Construct-Type like that!" I scowled and looked off into the distance as I spoke to her. "Yeah, and it's pretty likely that it's the only kind you'll ever see in your life. Her semblance is a super-rare Semblance known as a 'Stand'. The reason why it's so rare is because a person's aura and mental will-power need to be so strong, they manifest as a completely different being which they can control."

I looked at my fist before clenching it slightly. "The worst part about it is that the Stand itself comes with it's own unique ability, which is technically supposed to be the user's true semblance. That being said, you might as well be fighting a person with two semblances, or two people with a shared semblance. You heard it being called G-W.A.T, and it's a fitting name. It literally stands-" I hear Yang snicker at that, and I smirked at her.

"Hah-hah, no pun intended. Anyway, it stands for Gone Without A Trace, which gives you a hint as to what its ability is. Might as well tell you, it's-"

Just as I was about to tell her, the doors to the class burst open, students quickly filling the seats in. Instantly, my eyes landed on Kagome's and I snarled at her. She didn't hesitate to return the expression. 'Slow down,' Yang's voice said to me in my head, and I breathed in, calming down. When most of the students sat down, Professor Ciara, walked in, almost gliding across the floor, everyone going silent. "Welcome once again class," She said, her sharp, cold voice washing over us. "Today, we will simply be going over basic sparring with random matches. As per usual, no excessive maiming is allowed for now, and no killing. Ring-outs, surrendering, Aura-levels below 5% or being knocked out will result in a loss. Am I understood?"

A chorus of, "Yes Professor Ciara," echoed through the room, and she looked satisfied. Barely. "Anyway, let us see who the first match-up of the evening will be," She said, pulling out her scroll from her armor, starting up the randomization process, the Aura-Display on the wall showing it to us. "The first combatant will be... Kagome Kuroken." I sighed and shook my head, thinking about the poor student who'd be pared up with her. "The next combatant is... Yang Xiao Long." Then and there, I felt my heart drop to my balls.

Ciaran

The moment I called it, I knew it was a mistake. I wanted to call it off, but that would raise suspicion among the class, and I knew I couldn't risk it. With that Kagome child being of the Abyss, it was a massive risk to allow her to fight anyone, even someone as headstrong as Xiao Long. "Combatants... please step into the arena." Yang and Kagome looked at each other, hate and curiosity flaring across their face. 'Gods help me, the already hate each other,' I thought as they stepped in, staring each other down.

"The match will begin in 30 seconds, I expect a clean fight from the two of you, understood?" They nodded idly as they sized one another up. "So, Raiden has taken you under his wing? What a waste," Kagome called. Yang smirked and put a hand on her hip, her eyes flashing red. "Jealous I managed to get with your ex?" Rage flared across Kagome's face, her Abyssal aura rising around her. "I will make you regret saying that," She said murderously, whipping out her spear and moving into a stance, her feet apart and the weapon pointed at Yang.

(Que Music: DBZ Battle theme 1)

"You'll die trying," The brawler replied, her face turning serious as she slipped into her own boxing stance, bouncing on the ball of her feet. "5...4...3...2...1... Begin!" I shouted.

Without a second thought, Yang leaped right at her, furious determination on her face. "Don't do it Yang, back off and be defensive!" Raiden shouted, panic laced in his voice, though Yang didn't hear a word. Suddenly, Yang's strength exploded from her, her hair glowing as she threw the first punch. 'That's strange, she hasn't even gotten hit yet...'

Kagome bat it aside and swung the shaft of the spear right into Yang's jaw with a resounding clang. Yang rolled with the blow, quickly coming back to her feet and dashing at her again, faster than before. She wasn't swinging wildly this time; she came right into her, dodging a stab and slipping through her guard faster than I've seen her do. 'She's gotten faster...' I thought as she shot her fist out. Again, it was bat aside and Kagome easily stepped out of range, swinging her spear at Yang's calf.

Yang instantly took her chance, stomping on the spear and wrenching it our of her hands, quickly kicking it out of the ring. 'Remove the fangs from the snake. Well done,' I thought. However, Kagome didn't even look fazed; as a matter of fact, she looked gleeful, sliding into a strange stance, her feet apart, her left side facing Yang, while her left hand was up by her face as if she was trying to keep the sun's glare out of her eyes, her right fist by her right side.

Still, Yang moved forward, and I sensed her aura trickling into her legs and feet, speeding her up considerably. "Let's see how well you fare against my attack rush," Kagome said as she disappeared, and Yang stopped, her guard up and her eyes darting all over the place. Her head was violently jerked back from an invisible blow, blood spurting from her nose. She stayed on her feet, her guard tight. 'She's moving faster than the eye can see,' I thought as I saw small clouds of dust being kicked up randomly.

Again, another invisible strike hit her in the side, causing her to wince and her legs to buckle. It was quiet for a few moments before all of a sudden, Yang was being flung around by a rag-doll, her head slammed into the ground before she was flung up into the air, Kagome appearing soon after, along with that strange humanoid being which Artorias warned me about.

Just as Yang fell, the being unleashed a storm of punches, Yang being hit almost everywhere on her body before Kagome appeared behind her and grabbed her hair, hurling her over her shoulder and into the ground, Yang's gauntlets flying off and into the seats. Yang tucked her body tightly and landed on her feet , reversing the throw and launching the dress-clad girl in the air with ease, her golden aura flaring even further than before.

"Auric Arte: Brave Heat!" She roared as her fist was coated in fire, dashing forward as she channeled aura into her legs and feet again, considerably speeding her movements up before she slammed her fist into Kagome's stomach before back-flipping high into the air, a hand raised as a golden ball of her concentrated aura formed. Her strength suddenly spiked right before she shot her fist at the prone girl, blasting a massive cone of golden flame at her. The second it hit the ground, a massive BANG echoed through the room, all of us covering our eyes. When we opened them, Yang was sailing through the air before she landed perfectly on the arena floor.

(Music End)

People started to slowly clap and cheer for Yang, myself included. 'She's much gotten stronger and faster within such a short period of time. I'm highly impressed, to say the least,' I though before i looked at the Aura-Display, and was surprised. Yang, despite having taken all those hits was at a very respectable 79%, but Kagome... she was at an astounding 92%. 'Their Auric defense is incredible for first-years...' I thought before I looked back to the fight.

The guard was floating in front of Kagome, a hand held out with a sphere of black aura engulfing the last of the flame. Kagome was now wary of Yang, though her and her bodyguard relaxed slightly. "Interesting... your aura control has been heightened by training with Raiden. How does such power feel? Quite astounding, is it not? Even for a low-class fighter such as yourself, you must find it quite intoxicating." Yang didn't respond, slipping into her stance before flicking away some of her blood with her thumb.

"That's it Yang, keep a clear mind and a cool head!" Raiden called over. Her eyes flicked to him, and she couldn't hide the smile on her face. Seeing that, Kagome's face turned into a snarl for a brief moment before she calmed down, smirking. "By the way, Yang Xiao Long, you had a bit of dust in your hair. I decided to remove it for you." She held out a closed hand and opened it. Everyone went dead silent in fear as out dropped a bit of dust... and several strands of Yang's hair. '...By the Gods, no.'

Yang

I stared at the lock of hair that she pulled out, watching it slowly float to the ground before landing so softly, but I could hear it perfectly. Everyone was silent, but all I could hear was blood rushing through my veins, my head pounding and adrenaline blasting through my body. "How..." I muttered, my stance loose as I stared at her. Kagome seemed confused, and I realized why in the back of my mind. 'She was trying to show off her speed...' I thought before my face twisted into something that I hoped have her nightmares. "HOW DARE YOU!? HRAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

When I screamed, my aura blasted off of my body, bathing the room in a golden light, the stone beneath me cracking from my newfound power output. I looked at her again, please to see she was shocked. 'Still, this isn't going to be enough to beat her. I need to go all out!' I took my scarf in my hands and ripped it off, throwing it to the side before doing the same to my brown jacket, leaving me in my yellow T-shirt.

I widened my stance, my clenched fists at my sides as I pulled all of my aura in, power violently crackling within me and on the surface of my skin. Raiden instantly knew what I was about to do and yelled, "Yang, don't do it! I'm begging you, stop!"

"HRAAAAAAAAAAA!" I screamed again, as I sped up the natural pulse of my aura. Aura runs through every living thing like a heartbeat, and the stronger the person, the more powerful the beat. The Arte Raiden taught me within a surprisingly short amount of time, no thanks to my own control over my aura, forcibly sped up a person's beat.

As my own sped up, my skin started to turn a slight pinkish hue, steam rising off of my body. Pain started to shoot through me, but I ignored it. My muscles tensed and began to grow very slightly, but too quickly, a loud CRK-CRRK-CRRRRK sound echoing through the room. I realized that it was the sounds of my bones creaking under the strain, yet I didn't care.

There was a loud HMMMMM sound in the air, my aura actually humming like an engine about to explode, my body shaking and almost vibrating before my golden aura suddenly turned blood-red with a WHOOM sound, a blast of wind emanating from me. "SECRET ARTE: RED KING BURST!"

(Cue music: DBZ ost 5, Kyofun no Ginyu Tokusentai)

I leaped right at Kagome, drawing my fist back as I sailed at her through the air. At least, it was less of a 'sail' and more of a 'rocket', my own speed surprising me. She barely raised her hands to block before I swung my fist right into her cheek.

I couldn't get over how powerful that first punch was; her head whipped back so fast, and her body followed soon after, the ground underneath her feet shattering with a BANG. The first punch made every single other punch, even with Ember Celica on made it look like I was fooling around. The first punch... it set my soul on fire.

As soon as my foot hit the ground, I sprinted at her, twice as fast as I normally would have done, leaping up and landing a flying-knee to her ribs, her armor cracking from the blow. I grabbed her by the neck and slammed her into the ground, raising another fist again. 'Finish it!' My soul roared at me, and I obliged, bringing my fist down with all my might. It never landed.

Kagome's eyes were full of fighting-spirit, a snarl on her face as she quickly summoned her Stand and knocked my hand out of the way, throwing me off balance before delivering a vicious kick to the back of my head. I didn't feel it. I grabbed Kagome's foot and threw her across the floor before I leaped to my feet, running right at her again. She did the same before disappearing again. 'I can read her movements!' I thought as I saw a black blur race towards me.

I shot my foot out, catching her clean in the face, halting her. "Auric Arte: Red King Assault!" I shouted as I poured my aura into my fists and legs, uppercutting her in the chin with all my might, sending her flying into the air. I dashed behind her before leaping up and drop-kicking her in the spine. Focusing all my aura into my feet after a tight backflip, I blasted off the air itself, using it like a platform to leap at her again and hit her with a massive roundhouse kick to the face, sending her crashing into the ground. I kicked off the air again, and just as she was getting up, I shot my fist into her jaw.

Still she fought back, kicking me in the face while her Stand did the same to my stomach, my body flying through the air. She warped right in front of me, her and her Stand's fists raised high. "Impudent bitch, don't think you've won!" She hissed as a ball of black aura forming int their hands. "Aura Arte, Black Flash!" She shouted they slammed their open palms on my stomach, my own body crashing into the floor this time.

I tried to roll out of the way but she landed right on top of me, fists (hers and her Stand's) drawn back. I put my arms up in front of my face as a guard just in time to stop her punch, but I didn't feel the power of her Stand's. Quickly peaking, I saw that its eyes went white, staring at me... I dunno, almost respectfully. She noticed it too, glaring at it, it's eyes turning black again before it threw it's fist at me.

That was all the opening I needed, bucking her off of me and rolling out of the way, getting up in a kneeling position before, leaping away from another ground-shattering kick, countering with a swift hook to her Stand's head. "Smile for the barrel, you-!" I shouted, pointing my fist at her face and getting ready to shoot Ember Celica into her... oh. I took a second to realize that it slipped off a while ago right before she grabbed my face and punched me in the ear, my head ringing as I stumbled around slightly.

"This is the end! Mystic Arte: SOUL STEAL!" She roared, her voice sounding tinny in my ears. He and her stand had that black ball of aura in their right hands respectively, slamming it into my stomach. I felt my aura being violently pulled from me, my reserves draining way too fast. "Fine, if that's how you want to play, MYSTIC ARTE!" I roared right back, focusing all of my power into my fist, cocking it back and relishing in her shocked face. "SUNSET SMASH!" I screamed, my fist rocketing into her face, exploding with a giant BANG.

(Music end)

I stood proudly as I watched her crash into the ground, just as Professor Ciaran yelled, "Match over!" Kagome stumbled to her feet, a burn-mark on the side of her face. "Winner, Kagome Kuroken!" I nodded to myself, expecting as much. I looked at the display and grinned as I saw her at 62%, while I was... "Oh shit," I muttered. I was at 3% and still dropping. I quickly breathed in before breathing out slowly, my Aura Beat returning to normal, the red glow fading.

"Excellent fight from both of you. Please return to your seats." I smirked at Kagome scowled at me before she leaped with ease to her seat. I turned around, and landed flat on my face, my body exploding in raw agony. My stomach roiled before I throw up at least a pint of steaming blood, my sight going red as I practically had a seizure on the arena floor.

I barely heard people calling out my name in worry, feeling someone pick me up gently and hurrying off somewhere, their aura healing me and slightly taking the edge off the pain. I tried to mouth a thank-you, but my eyes rolled up into my head and I finally blacked out.

Ruby

"Yang! Yang, please wake up!" I shouted as I ran by Raiden, who was carrying her in his arms, panic and fear on his face. Blood was still dripping from her mouth and nose. "C'mon... stay with me," he murmured, pouring his aura into her. Her breathing slowly got deeper and less erratic. "She's lost way too much blood, and her hearts going wild! If we don't give her a blood-transfusion, she may die if her aura doesn't kick in!" Claire said to Raiden as she checked her quickly.

Minutes later, we burst into the infirmary, Raiden kicking the door so hard, they ripped off their hinges. "We need a blood-transfusion and a full body-scan, now!" He roared, many nurses jumping in shock before taking one look at Yang and leaping into action. "Anyone here willing to donate blood?" One nurse asked us, and Raiden shot his hand up. "Just go with it, I'm O-negative!" He said quickly, following Yang into the ER. The rest of us (Weiss, Blake, Claire and I) stood right by the viewing-window, all of us worried.

Raiden hopped onto a chair as they gave him a needle to put in his arm. He shrugged them off and quickly stabbed in into a vein, like he's done this hundreds of times before. 'You know, he probably has,' I thought sadly. "I'm not sure if she'll make it in time, she's lost way too much blood and her aura's completely drained," One doctor said bluntly. "Don't worry about that," Raiden cut him off. "Just make sure that her needle's placed in right."

After a tense few moments, the doctor nodded to Raiden, who squeezed his arm, muttering something we couldn't hear as his aura started to manifest in his right arm. His eyes shot open, pulsing intensely as glowing blood raced through the tube and into Yang's arm, the glow going from orange to gold. Yang's breathing stopped for a for a while, my heart dropping before her eyes shot open, pulsing red.

I took a quick glance at her aura-bar on my scroll and my eyes went wide as I saw how fast it was refilling. "10%... 29%... 43%...!" I counted it off, and in a matter of moments, she reached one hundred percent, right before she fell asleep again, this time looking way more comfortable than before, smiling slightly. Raiden on the other hand looked very literally drained, his face a bit gaunt and his breathing heavier.

"Just gimme a sec," he wheezed painfully, the sound grating on our ears. He still had a lot of aura left, up to 72% left, but I was worried about what he'd do to himself. He breathed in deeply, placing his hand over his heart before his hands began to glow again, along with his chest. In a couple of minutes, he was back to normal, his aura now at 31%. "How..." The doctor said, astounded by both feats which we all saw before he shook himself back into business. "Right, no matter the case, I want both of them placed in room No.365, and they're to have their rest there for a full day. Let's move it people!" He said briskly.

Raiden got up, about to protest until he stumbled, latching on to the wall for support. "Exactly. Replacing all of that lost blood in a handful of minutes has its drawback young man, so you will rest for a full twenty-four hours, regardless of what you think. Understood?" Rai smiled and nodded a bit weakly, being gently guided onto one of the movable hospital beds.

We tried to follow them until a nurse stopped us. "I'm sorry, you will not be able to see them for the next hour. We need to ensure that their health is alright before anyone can see them, and that means at most sixty minutes of check-ups, understand?" I hesitated for a second before Weiss laid a supportive hand on my shoulder. "Y-yeah, alright." She smiled at me and went off to Raiden and Yang.

"Have no fear Ruby Rose," Claire reassured me. "Raiden-san is very adept when it comes to healing others and himself They will be fine within the day, ready for the tournament no doubt." I nodded idly, still worried for them. "...I hope so."

Raven Branwen, The Red Death

I flinched a bit and I looked back behind me, my hand going to the hilt of my sword. "Something wrong ma'am?" My Lieutenant asked me, his hand reaching for his own battleaxe. I stared into the distance for a while, one grating thought in my mind. 'Yang...' I grimaced and looked down slightly. 'Stop that, get your feelings under control. You lost the right to be her mother long ago, so get over yourself,' I thought harshly. "I heard something," I said blankly. It wasn't a lie, really.

"What do you think it was?" He asked, hefting his weapon on his shoulder. I stayed silent and hoped that something would happen. Thankfully, a lone Beowolf launched through the foliage at me, black drool dripping from its jaws. I relaxed and flashed my sword out, beheading it in an instant. "Never-mind, just a lowly Beowolf," I said to him. We continued to walk along, back to our encampment. 'Yang, whatever you are doing... please stay safe.'

A.N: And that's that for this chapter! And yes, Stands are now a thing. Don't expect G-W.A.T to be the only Stand you'll see in this story though. That, and the Red King Arte... well, I think its fairly obvious where I got the idea from, and if you don't get it, it's basically the Kaioken from DBZ. Granted, there's more to it than just that... anyway, see y'all later!