Sigh~ these chapters are taking a while and I don't know why.

Oh well, hopefully it's a phase I'll get through.

Chapter 11: Training

Velvet stretched as she finished her morning run. Her head always felt clearer on crisp mornings and the quietness was always welcomed.

Hup… hup… hup…

Her head swiveled as she narrowed in on the strange sounds. They were coming from the courtyard, sounding as if someone was hopping around.

She cautiously sneaked over to some bushes and peered through.

Ruby, bare-footed, was hopping around the courtyard with determination in her eyes. Several books were stacked on the nearby benches, comic books if she was not mistaken.

Ruby paused and sniffed the air. Velvet sighed and stood, knowing that Ruby had already sensed her.

"Velvet!" Ruby happily cried as she saw her.

"Good morning, Ruby," Velvet greeted with a smile. "What are you doing here this early?"

"Oh? You saw?" Ruby glanced around embarrassed. "I was practicing."

"Practicing? What were you practicing?"

"You want to see?" Ruby grinned and pulled Velvet to the benches and sat her down.

She took several steps away and gazed ahead. Her body lowered, knees slightly bent.

Ruby took in a breath. "Curl your toes…" she whispered. "Take hold of the power beneath you…"

Velvet watched in fascination as Ruby's eyes narrowed.

"Leave everything behind… and become the fastest in the world…"

Her eyes fully closed, Ruby's presence suddenly became thin.

"…Return to the earth… Grasp the earth, grasp the world…"

Her eyes snapped open.

In flash, she disappeared!

Velvet's eyes widened in shock.

Ruby was indeed the fastest in the world. No one could have face-planted faster than that!

Shaking herself out of her stupor, she rushed over to the Ruby-shaped crater.

"…Oww…" came the pitiful cry.

"What were you thinking?" Velvet chided as she helped Ruby up.

"I was trying to do this," Ruby gingerly rubbed her nose, her eyes welled up with tears. "You can disappear and then reappear somewhere else."

Velvet was confused until Ruby showed her the book that listed the technique. "Instant Movement?" she muttered as she read it. It was, of course, a fictional story, so there was no way Ruby would have been able to perform it.

"Why did you want to learn this in the first place?"

"I thought about it, and I don't want to fight. I want to help Weiss and team RWBY, but I don't like fighting," Ruby answered, her face conflicted. "Blake told me there are a lot of roles to a team, not just fighting."

Velvet smiled. "That's right, Ruby. I don't like fighting either, but I still help out my team where I can. So I understand where you are coming from."

"You do?" Ruby asked, hope lighting up in her eyes.

"But I don't think you need to be faster," Velvet advised. "You're already really fast. I think you should work on defense and build up strength and stamina."

"Why? I'm not going to be fighting right?"

"You never know," Velvet answered sagely. Though she dislike fighting, she has seen more than her fair-share of skirmishes. "Besides, you said you would rush in and pull your friends out of battle if they got hurt right? How can you do that if you don't have the strength to pick them up and run?"

"You're right!" Ruby exclaimed as the realization struck her. "Hey, do you know how I should build up strength and stamina?"

"Err… that's not really my area of expertise. Sorry," Velvet admitted. "But if you go to the gym, I'm sure there are plenty of people who would know more than me."

"Gym. Got it." Ruby grabbed her books and ran off. Velvet heard riding on the wind a faint, "Thank you Velvet!"

Yang had just set up her punching bag when Ruby barreled through the doors, nearly crashing into a set of a weights.

"Whoa whoa whoa! Slow down there Ruby," Yang called out and stopped Ruby before she could hurt herself.

"Hi Yang!" Ruby said excitedly. "Hey, you're pretty strong, right?"

"I'd like to think so," Yang said with a smirk, folding her arms across her chest in a confident manner.

"Can you teach me?" Ruby pleaded with big puppy eyes.

Yang was slightly taken aback. "Err… not that I mind, but why so suddenly Ruby?"

"Well, you see," Ruby recounted her conversation with Blake and Velvet.

"I see… so you want to build up more strength and stamina right?" Yang grinned. "Well I'll teach you, but I don't hold back, so you're going to have to keep up, got it?"

"Got it!"

"Alright! Let's get pumped! Punch that punching bag as hard as you can!"

Ruby's eyes blazed with determination as she reared back her arm and shot it straight forward.

Fwump.

The punching bag barely swayed back and forth, as if a gentle breeze had come through the window.

"What was that?!" Yang shouted. "Did a fly just pass by or were you even trying?"

Ruby was kneeling on the ground, clutching her sore hand.

"You okay, Rubes?" Yang asked, worried about the inexperienced girl.

"…ow…." came the meek response.

"You were using your bag's normal weight, weren't you?" Ren's soft voice came from behind Yang.

Ren and Pyrrha entered the gym, as they always did in the morning.

"Oh yeah," Yang sheepishly scratched the back of her head. Since she was so used to it, a 150-lb punching bag of packed sand was nothing for her. It probably felt like a brick wall to Ruby.

"Morning Ren, morning Pyrrha," Ruby greeted them softly.

"Why brings you here today? We don't usually see you around the gym," Pyrrha asked.

For the second time, Ruby recounted her story.

"Hmmm," Ren hummed while deep in thought. "While Yang is strong, her physical strength is probably greater than either mine or Pyrrha's, I do not think her style of strength training will be of much help to you."

"And just what do you mean by that, Ren?" Yang asked with narrowed eyes.

"Your style focuses on overwhelming the opponent with power punches, so you tend to focus on strengths that work towards that end. But Ruby might benefit more from core strength training."

"I still do core training," Yang muttered, but conceded that she does tend to focus on power training more.

"Well, I think it's wonderful that you want to learn support, Ruby," Pyrrha exclaimed. "They're important roles that people tend to overlook because they're not 'flashy'."

Ruby grinned. "So will you help?"

"We'll be glad to, right Ren?"

Ren smiled. "Of course."

Yang, Pyrrha, and Ren decided to take turns spotting Ruby as she trained. This allowed them time for their own training as well as having a breather.

True to form, Yang focused on upper body training with push-ups and pull-ups. While Ruby struggled to remain hanging on the bar, let alone perform an actual pull-up, she did understand the importance of having such strength in case she ever needed to pull a teammate up from a cliff.

Pyrrha's set was a bit more rounded, focusing on the abdominal and back muscles along with stretching the thighs. They went through crunches, sit-ups, bridges, and leg presses among others. Each motion caused Ruby's muscles to burn, not being used to such treatment, while Pyrrha did the same exercises alongside her, keeping pace with the girl and offering her kind words of encouragement whenever Ruby looked ready to give up.

Ren decided to forgo teaching her to build up strength.

"I think those two have the majority covered," he explained. "I would like to teach you something else if you are interested."

"What is it? What is it?" Ruby panted happily. The previous exercises had left her winded, but nothing could dampen her bouncing spirit.

"Alright, just do what I do and try to follow as best you can."

Ren proceeded to move in slow but steady steps, raising and lowering his hands. It was almost like a dance. Ruby followed along, not knowing quite what to make of the exercise.

"Um… Ren? Is this really working?" Ruby asked confusedly. In every fight, and even the training exercises she just went through, everything was energetic, she had to work hard to keep up. This? She felt… relaxed?

"A strong body knows to be flexible," Ren answered without pausing his movements. "It is also good to regain your balance after practicing."

Ruby had to admit it felt good to follow along with Ren. The movements were slow, but deliberate. Each action stretched a muscle and because she did not have to strain against her burning limbs, each motion felt relaxed and simple.

"Very good Ruby, just keep at it. Breath steadily and relax your legs. Your head will find its balance."

After several minutes of practicing, Ren eased the motions to a halt. "Very good Ruby. Just remember that these are practices. You need to find what works for you."

"Okay Ren, thanks!" Ruby felt refreshed after that workout, as if energy was freely coursing through her limbs again.

"You ready Ren?" Yang called out as she readied her gauntlets.

"Ready for what?" Ruby asked.

"After a workout, we like to work on live combat," Pyrrha explained.

"Hmm," Ren looked at Ruby in deep thought. "You…might benefit from this as well."

"Umm…" Ruby nervously fidgeted. "I'd rather sit this out." Though she understands that her friends are strong, stronger than her even, she does not want to fight them.

"Not at all. You won't need to attack at all Ruby, just dodge," Ren told her. "In a battle, the enemy will not wait for you to save your friends. You'll need to know how to dodge and evade."

Ruby mulled over the thought. As long as she doesn't have to attack… right?

Her eyes regained a sparkling glint. "Let's do this!"

The group retreated to a training arena, where they were allowed to use live ammunition with impunity. Yang and Pyrrha were worried about hurting her with live rounds, but Ruby grinned confidently and said, "Only if they touch me!"

For this match up, Yang, Ren, and Pyrrha will be facing off against Ruby, as per Ruby's request. The match ends immediately if Ruby touches all three of them once each or if Ruby gets clipped by any bullet or hit. "A bit unfair", Pyrrha disapproved, but agreed with Ruby that she may face even more unfavorable match-ups in the future.

Ruby stood on one side of the arena while her friends stood on the other. She lowered towards the ground and looked at them. She felt something strange in the back of her head… whisperings? A sudden urge of growl slightly...

She shook her head to clear it. The whisperings stopped. She blinked and saw strange lines overlaid on her friends… on their wrists and ankles… and necks.

She blinked and they disappeared.

Readying her gaze, she barely noticed as Pyrrha flipped her sword into a rifle and fired three shots at her. All three shots flew harmlessly to her right as she wove forward.

Pyrrha took aim and compensated for Ruby's speed. She fired one shot and watched as Ruby clipped the bullet by a hair.

"It's over!" Pyrrha called out.

"Uh… not yet," Yang corrected her. Ruby's aura was still full. Had it actually clipped, her aura would have been spent slightly to offset the damage.

"An afterimage?!"

"Yeah, she's already like a blur right now," Yang grinned.

The red streak skated around the room, quickly and steadily dodging their barrage and making its way closer.

Ren open fired, his continuous streams of bullets peppered the ground as he narrowed in on her position.

As Ruby ran forward, she noticed the other stream closing in from the other side. With two guns, Ren can close off his opponent's escape route.

…LiNe…. eSc_pE... pA_H...

She shook her head again as she heard the whisper.

If she jumped, she will not have enough maneuverability in the air and be an easy target for any of them. Instead…

Ruby swerved towards Ren and slid underneath the stream of bullets, following the faint trail she saw on the ground. She rolled forward as Pyrrha let off another shot.

"Heh, run from this!" Yang shouted.

Ruby looked at her and froze.

Yang jumped into the air and reared back her arm. One after another, red bullets fell to the ground like fiery rain, exploding the area around Ruby.

"YANG!" Pyrrha called out in shock.

"What? She escaped Weiss' fireball, this should be nothing," Yang chuckled nervously. They all quickly turned around, expecting to see Ruby on the opposite wall again.

Nothing.

Ruby burst out of the smoke and lunged towards Yang. Lightly touching her elbow, she continued towards Pyrrha before Yang could over come her shock.

All three noticed Ruby by this point.

It's okay, Pyrrha's weapon is still a rifle right now. She's weaker at close distances.

Ruby reached out with a grin as she saw Pyrrha's eyes widen.

Clang.

Ruby felt the cold metal of Pyrrha's shield.

"I have no weak distances," Pyrrha said playfully. The shield pulled back as the rifle flashed forward. Pyrrha gripped the barrel, swinging the rifle like a bat.

Ruby flipped and timed her kick to strike the stock of the rifle. The combined force sent her flying backwards.

The moment Ruby landed, Pyrrha's rifle was aimed at her again. Ruby smirked and took off.

Only to fall flat on her back.

"We win," Ren's voice called out.

Ruby looked behind her and saw her cloak nailed to the ground by the spike on one of Ren's pistols.

"Aw… I messed up," Ruby pouted.

"You did really good though Ruby," Pyrrha encouraged her happily. "You faced three opponents at once without flinching, not many people can do that."

"But I still lost."

"Of course you did. You didn't think we'd go easy on you, did you?" Yang raised an eyebrow questioningly at her.

"No, no," Ruby sighed. "I just thought… I'd last longer."

Now that the skirmish was over, she felt fatigued. More so than she thought. "I'm… going to wash up," Ruby panted slightly as she made her way towards the showers. Her head was pounding and her eyes ached. She shook her head for the umpteenth time to clear it. She turned back and gave them a grin. "This was really fun! Can we do this again?"

"Sure thing," came three simultaneous answers.

While Ruby happily skipped off to the showers, the three remaining looked at each other.

"Did something feel off to you guys?" Pyrrha asked.

"Yeah, she wasn't going nearly as fast today," Yang muttered.

"She didn't disappear. She left afterimages," Ren murmured with closed eyes as he recounted the battle. "Our eyes could actually keep up with her this time."

"You don't think she was holding back, did you?" Pyrrha worried.

"… I don't…. think so," Ren admitted.

"I agree with Ren. She seemed like she was giving it her all… but…"

Despite their worries, they definitely agreed that Ruby made significant progress. If she kept up with this kind of regimen, she would be nearly untouchable in the coming weeks and, according to Yang's grossly overzealous estimations, be able to carry Weiss and Nora over her shoulders simultaneously without breaking a sweat… if only because Weiss would complain about a sweaty rescue.

While Ren and Pyrrha's projections were not nearly as farfetched, they both agreed that Ruby had plenty of potential to tap into with the right proper training. All throughout breakfast, the group had fun designing training schedules for their little puppy.

Extra:

"TADA! Introducing our own Medic Ruby!" Nora exclaimed.

Everyone had varying expressions: Yang and Jaune were excited, Pyrrha didn't know what to say, Weiss looked like she had plenty to say but not enough words to express it, Blake had the words but didn't want to say it, and Ren face-palmed.

Ruby was excited and determined. Strapped to her back was a backpack more than twice as large as she was.

"Ruby has everything we could ever need ever on a mission. Bandages? Check. Pain relievers? Check. Rations and water? Check and double check! You name it, she's got it!"

"You guys actually got tents as well?" Yang asked, shocked at how much they were able to cram in there. "The only thing you're missing is the kitchen sink," she grinned.

"Not from a lack of trying," Ren muttered.

"Any time on the field, just scream 'MEDIC!' and our adorable medic will rush to your rescue!"

"Ready to move out!" Ruby gave a seriously cute salute.

She took one step forward.

And was immediately crushed by the backpack.

"MEDIC!" Nora screamed for help.

What's a journey in life without a training montage/episode? If this was a shonen manga, this would continue on for another 50 chapters, and I don't think I or anyone can handle that haha...