Glynda Goodwitch busied herself setting up for her next class. It would be the first sparring class for the new students. Among them Ruby Rose. Glynda frowned as she looked over the young girl's file. She didn't know what to think about Ozpin's decision. She knew they were short on applicants, but a fifteen-year-old with a heart condition?
"Having doubts?"
Glynda jumped slightly at Ozpin's sudden appearance. "Since that night in Vale. Really, Ozpin, what are you thinking?"
"We have applicants who aren't half as skilled as miss Rose." Ozpin told her. "Give her a chance, and I believe she will prove herself beyond her age and her injury."
Glynda rolled her eyes and huffed. She couldn't undo Ozpin's decision, no matter how much she may disagree. Then again, more often then not… he proves right in the end. "Is she why you're here?"
"I believe she will prove herself." Ozpin repeated. "That being said, she still must actually do some… proving."
The first students starting filing into the classroom, Ruby and her team among them. By the time the bell rang, only team CRDL was late, though Glynda did note team JNPR barely beat the bell.
"Please take your seats." Glynda called to the class. "The purpose of this class is to keep you sharp on your fighting skills. While fighting the creatures of darkness is methodical and routine, people can be unpredictable. And with the number of bounty missions and bandits in the countryside, it would be foolish to assume that as Huntsmen and Huntresses, you would never face human and faunus opponents."
The class nodded. The sparring class was a required part of the curriculum, and now they knew why.
"Aside from special circumstances, matches will be determined randomly. For this first week, we will do a series of one on one spars where everyone will fight at least once by Friday. There won't be 'homework' for this class, however I strongly advise you to practice fighting as partners and teams outside of class. Leaders can schedule for the training rings outside an hour at a time."
Yang half-froze at the thought. She looked over Ruby, the younger girl's expression serious. She was determined to do this leader thing right, and Yang sensed a lot of awkward combat practice in the future. The blonde found herself wondering just how much free time she was going to get with Ruby as leader… But if I can prove myself as a fighter, just maybe I can work my way through Ruby's shell.
Ruby was called within that first class. She stepped down to the ring and watched the randomizer pick her opponent. It settled on her partner, Weiss Schnee. The heiress stood up and stepped down to the ring.
They were walking side by side down the steps when Weiss spoke up. "You know that anger makes one's fighting erratic?"
"And?" Ruby asked.
"And I'm not angry this time." Weiss smirked.
"Okay…" Ruby raised an eyebrow.
Weiss almost stopped in her tracks. She couldn't tell if Ruby missed her attempt at friendly banter or intentionally wrote it off. Maybe she just didn't do it right? It's not like I have any experience with… friends… Ruby is my friend, right?
The girls settled in opposite sides of the arena.
"You may be partners, but that is no cause to hold back." Glynda reminded them. Both girls nodded, and the teacher started the countdown. The two girls drew their weapons and set their stances.
Ruby watched Weiss carefully, trying to suss out any weaknesses. She did notice Weiss glancing at the screen displaying their aura levels. Training herself so watching her aura doesn't become a tactical disadvantage. Ruby learned early how to gauge her own aura without technology, and resolved to work on teaching her team the same thing.
Weiss took note of Ruby gripping her sheath as an additional weapon. She did see this when Ruby first intervened with the beowolves, but it didn't stick. She was just realizing that Ruby was essentially dual-wielding. I have to watch out for twice as many weapons, as well as whatever else she has up her sleeve…
The horn sounded the beginning of the battle. Weiss rushed Ruby at superhuman speeds, nearly taking the redhead by surprise. Nearly. Ruby still managed to avoid damage at the last second, jumping aside and knocking Myrtenaster off course with Gilded Thorn's sheath. Weiss planted her feet and spun back around, bringing Myrtenaster back in a vicious arc. Ruby barely blocked the strike with her blade.
Weiss's thin frame and thin sword made her excellent at quick attacks. Ruby stayed on the defensive, looking for an opportunity to counter. Once it came, Ruby took advantage by swinging her sheath right at her partner's face. Weiss instinctively cushioned her face with her aura to avoid a broken nose. She cursed herself when she saw the extra aura points she lost for the match.
Weiss realized that while Ruby wasn't quite as fast as her, she was still pretty quick. Swordplay wouldn't win this fight. Ruby rushed Weiss, wanting to finish this as soon as possible. It wasn't a good idea for her to drag out a fight, after all. Weiss whipped around and unleashed a wave of fire that Ruby jumped over. She brought her sword down on Weiss's figure, but her attack was blocked by a black glyph. Silver eyes widened as the gravity powered glyph held her in place like a magnet. Weiss smirked and swung Myrtenaster hard, flinging Ruby into the air.
The redhead flipped and landed on her feet. I need to stay close, not give her time to use her glyphs… She looked up to see Weiss rushing at her again, sword forward and both feet gliding above the ground. Ruby ducked, using her semblance to dodge Myrtenaster's point just barely, and brought her blade to Weiss's knees.
The heiress rolled across the ground and barely got back to her feet to see Ruby's follow up. She still couldn't raise Myrtenaster in time to not take the hit. Weiss splayed out on her back again and had to roll sideways to her feet to avoid Gilded Thorn, which Ruby stabbed at the ground. Back on her feet, Weiss watched for the next attack.
Ozpin watched intently as the spar dragged on. Weiss certainly had some level of training. Not quite as much as Ruby, but enough to give the redhead pause for thought. But he didn't doubt Ruby's skill. There was something else he wanted to see, something he couldn't predict but only hope he could see happen.
That's when Ruby's bracelet went off.
Myrtenaster and Gilded Thorn locked just a moment after the alarm sounded. Glynda reached for her tablet to pause the match, but a hand on her shoulder interrupted her. She turned to see Ozpin shake his head before refocusing on the match. The sparring teacher reluctantly set the tablet back down.
Ruby knew that Ozpin was watching. She had seen him at the beginning of the class. She also knew the match would not be halted for her condition, otherwise it would have stopped by now. Weiss's eyes darted around with concern, waiting to see what was going to happen. Ruby's face hardened as her alarm kept wailing. She knew what she had to do. "Don't hold back."
"What?" Weiss's eyes grew concerned at Ruby's words.
"They're not stopping the match. Don't. Hold. Back." Ruby repeated.
It took Weiss a moment, but she figured out what was going on. Her face became serious again, and she nodded. A red glyph appeared beneath Ruby and the redhead had to jump out of the way before the red dust glyph exploded. Ruby had already lost precious time between her bracelet's early warning and the impending heart attack. She physically dropped her sword and sheath, and had to focus on her medicine. Her acrobatic skill shined as she ducked, dodged, and flipped her way around Weiss's attacks. She was able to do so without using her hands, and instead focused them on setting up her shot.
Ozpin smiled as Ruby managed to take her shot in the middle of the action without pausing the fight. He had seen what he came to see. Once properly medicated, Ruby ran back to her weapons to re-entered the fray. The entire situation also proved to tire Weiss and give Ruby an edge in the fight. The redhead picked up her weapons, and quickly put together her bow form.
A multitude of glyphs appeared around Ruby, and Weiss flew at her once more. Ruby blocked that first attack, but Weiss quickly bounced of one of her many glyphs and struck Ruby nearly ten times in succession. A black glyph appeared behind Ruby that Weiss kicked her through, launching her back across the arena. Ruby back-somersaulted onto her feet and came up with her arrow notched. Weiss couldn't react before Ruby let the arrow fly at her chest.
An explosion rocked Weiss backward, and the heiress barely recovered in time to see the next arrow fly. Ruby ran at Weiss while notching another burn arrow and shot it next to the white swordswoman, staggering Weiss to one side. As Ruby herself reached Weiss, she spun and swung her bow-sword, the sheath end catching the heiress across the face. Weiss attempted a retaliatory attack, but it only hit air as Ruby's semblance had the girl retreating once again. The heiress heard a thwack and looked to her feet to see an arrow planted in the ground beneath her. She could only groan before the arrow exploded and took the last of her aura, ending the match.
Weiss heard the buzzer as she lay on the ground. She stayed there as Goodwitch announced Ruby the winner and the class ohh-ed and ahh-ed. The heiress eventually sat up, catching her breath. Ruby's hand entered her vision, offering her help to her feet. "You fought really well Weiss."
"Thank you." Weiss nodded. "You still beat me, though."
"You almost caught me when I was medicating." Ruby pointed out. "Just a little more one way or the other with that third glyph, and it might have been a different story."
"Ms. Rose." Ozpin approached the duo. "Congratulations on your victory. I look forward to seeing how you grow here at Beacon."
"Thank you, Headmaster. For everything." Ruby nodded respectfully.
"Like I said, the path is not easy. You understand what just happened was a test." Ozpin made sure.
"One I've had before." Ruby nodded.
So this was nothing new to her, Ozpin thought. "Ruby, if you don't mind me asking, who was your master?"
Ruby's face darkened the same way it did in Port's class earlier. "Christine Miizu."
Ozpin's eyes flitted down to Gilded Thorn. "I see. Please, enjoy your time at my school, Ms. Rose."
"Yes, Headmaster." Ruby nodded. Her and her partner made their way back to their seats to watch the next spar, which had already started during their small talk with Ozpin.
A few days passed and the girls settled into comfortable routines. Ruby would shower at night, get up early, and make her and Blake tea. The others would debate who showered after who in the morning and eventually get ready for the day. After classes, Ruby made sure everybody studied for a set time. Weiss always studied further, while Blake read and Yang either went out with friends or slept. Ruby would alternate between studies, reading with Blake, or one of her various other task of both personal and leadership nature.
"I got us booked on Saturday for one of the training rings," Ruby announced after study hour, "Noon to one."
"You only booked one hour for the whole weekend?" Weiss questioned.
"There are a ton of other teams besides us, Weiss." Ruby reminded her, "Everyone, not just first years, competes for time in those rings. I only got that hour because the guy in front of me was there to cancel. We may have to find an alternate solution. I asked an upperclassmen leader, and he told me they sometimes train in the Emerald Forest. We would just have to be careful of the Grimm."
Weiss nodded and found herself watching Ruby. She had decided to make arrows today. She had a large collection of arrowheads, each with a small empty tube set in the center. Ruby meticulously filled the tubes with various Dust types before fixing the arrowhead atop the wooden shaft from the Vacuan trees. The heiress watched the process closely, thinking back to when she saw Ruby use the bow mode against the Nevermore, and again in their spar on Monday.
Finally, Weiss spoke the question burning in her mind. "How do you fire arrows with no string?"
Ruby looked up to Weiss and took out Gilded Thorn, putting it together as a bow. She pointed to a spot on the black connecting device linking sword and sheath together. "She these little pins sticking out?"
Weiss looked closer at the pins. She notes a transparent black energy field suspended between them. "Okay."
"A combination of magnets and gravity Dust create an energy field with specific properties." Ruby explained. She took a coin and placed it on the field. Pushing the coin down stretched the field underneath it. "Extreme elasticity, and perfect shape-memory." Ruby let the coin go and the field sprung back flat, and the coin launched into the air.
Weiss caught the coin. "Heads or tails?" She smirked.
"Tails." Ruby nodded.
Weiss opened her hand to reveal heads. "Guess I finally win something. Did you build the device yourself?"
"No, I only came up with the concept." Ruby answered. "A weaponsmith up north built it for me."
Yang spoke up from her bed, "Hey, whatever happened to that Sniper Rifle-slash-Scythe you wanted to build? Crescent Rose?"
Ruby sighed, and answered with the same condescending tone she had used to answer all of Yang's stupid questions this past week. "Well, Xiao Long, I never learned how to build weapons. People who get to go to combat schools like Signal learn how to build weapons."
Yang winced at the hostile tone. She had made zero progress since her talk with Weiss. She sat up in her bed and decided to take a more direct approach, swallowing some of her pride in the process. "Ruby, can we talk? Seriously talk?"
Ruby halted in place, before slowly setting down the arrowhead she was holding and turning to Yang. "Fine."
"I'm sorry."
Yang's first words took Ruby by surprise. She raised an eyebrow. "For?"
"For back then." Yang clarified. "Maybe things would have been different if we had sat and talked things out like a family should. Maybe I should have at least had your back. But you understand, it's not entirely our fault?"
Ruby's eyes narrowed back down. "Excuse me?"
"Just, please think. We may have done it wrong, but we only wanted to keep you safe." Yang pleaded. "Yes, you made it. But it wasn't easy, was it?"
"I never thought it would be easy." Ruby pointed out.
"And so you ran because what?" Yang asked, "Because me and dad didn't let you train? I admit none of us handled things well, but that includes you. You signed up for that combat class behind dad's back. And I know you stayed behind school not to study with friends, but to hang around Patch's Huntsmen headquarters. We weren't too understanding, but you were just being selfish."
"So because of that, I'm supposed to forgive you for never having my back!?" The redhead's voice rose, "For going along with what Taiyang said without question!?"
"Not that, but because I'm trying to apologize!" Yang shouted back. "But you need to see how you were wrong too! Get off your high horse and grow up! You really ran because we wouldn't let you train? You realize how childish that is!?"
"OF COURSE IT WAS CHILDISH!" Ruby broke, "I was a child! I was ten years old! I was repeatedly denied my dream! And none of you took two seconds to LISTEN TO WHAT I HAD TO SAY! And that's why I never came back!"
It was Yang's turn to be surprised. "What do you mean?"
"I thought about coming back," Ruby matched Yang's now calmer tone, "A few years into my training. I realized how stupid, how selfish, my reason for leaving was, that I could have talked things through. But in that same thought, I realized why things never got talked through. I wasn't given the chance to talk things through. Your father never even tried to explain things beyond 'it's more dangerous for you'. And I never truly denied that. But he spoke like it was perfectly safe for you to be a Huntress, and I showed him how I could make it as well. But he never listened, and then he just yelled at me. There was no communication, Xiao Long. Not since the day I came home from the doctors. That's not how you treat family, and I stopped feeling like family even before I left."
"I tried." Yang countered. "I always tried, to get you to hang out and join the dinner table."
"But it never worked out," Ruby rebutted, "Taiyang never tried, you never had my back, Qrow never even came around, and this 'conversation' is going in circles!" The redhead got up to leave the room, not wanting to continue this revolving argument.
"Ruby, wait!" Yang called out.
"What!?" Ruby shot, turning back at the open door.
"Say what you will about me and dad. I'm not blind enough to deny we deserve some of it," Yang told her, not hiding her scathing comment about her stubbornness despite her coming point, "But you should know Qrow was always on your side."
Ruby's expression softened slightly and she hung back in the doorway. "What do you mean?"
"Qrow wanted to train you," Yang explained, "And dad always shot him down. Threatened to stop him from seeing either of us if you ever caught wind. And well… if you ever want to talk to him, I can give you his number."
Ruby stared into space, thinking over this and the rest of this recent conversation with a calmer mind. "Thank you." She said, before closing the door and heading for the library.
It didn't feel like a victory, but Yang couldn't help but give a small smile.
In case more of you have the same concern as Heavenlyenigma (Weiss being faster than someone witha speed semblance), I mean to say Weiss's natural speed is faster than Ruby's natural speed. Ruby doesn't use her semblance constantly, only in short bursts to swing her weapons.