RWBYond Hope

AN: We're coming down to the wire on this story. These last few chapters focus more on Ruby's training and realizing her goals of becoming a huntress. So this 'arc' actually works in a lot of the same way that RWBYond Destiny and RWBYond Human.

Chapter 20: Petals Behind You

Qrow scratched his head as Ruby stumbled to the ground once again. Tai was across the yard working with Yang. He had decided to personally oversee Yang's training sense Yang's semblance and abilities were perfectly tailored too hand-to-hand and Tai's abilities with that style were well known across Remnant and he had never lost a fist fight.

Qrow on the other hand was more of a weapon specialist. He was proficient with any weapon and preferred a broadsword in typical situations. His scythe was made specifically for targets he wanted to keep at a distance and his whole weapon was designed to be nigh impossible to actually defend against. So, Tai had asked him to train the weapon enthused Ruby.

Tai had taught both girls early on about aura. He had unlocked their aura at age ten, so that they can get used to using it before they really start training. From there, they would train them in various styles to see which stuck, and of course unlock their semblance. Qrow had yet to officially discover Ruby's semblance. But he had a really good guess. Ozpin had told him that many in the Rose family had a semblance of speed, scatter to be exact.

Sadly, Ruby just was not getting it. She was built like her mother. Yet, she saw what her sister and dad were doing and wanted to be like them now. Qrow wasn't even using his weapon as Ruby tried boxing him. He didn't need it. Every time she would throw a punch he would either block it, which would do absolutely nothing, or he would dodge it and shake his head as she fell to the ground.

"That's enough Ruby." Qrow said. "Let's take a break." She looked at him disappointedly, tears welling up in her eyes. As they sat down he passed her a juice box.

"What am I doing wrong?" She said sorrowfully. Zwei barked and ran up to her. She grabbed the dig and held him close.

"Well for starters, you're trying to bully me over. That's not going to work out, especially for someone like you." Qrow said as he took a drink from his flask.

"I just…I've tried everything." Ruby curled up into a ball.

"You're only eleven Ruby. You still got time." Qrow reached over and pet Zwei causing him to pant.

"Next year Yang's going to have her own weapon and it's going to be super awesome and I'm still going to be here not knowing what to do!" She fumed. Zwei could probably sense her feelings, which is why he started licking her face.

"Well, can't expect to get everything at once. We don't even know your semblance yet."

"That's another thing…" Ruby fumed.

"Yang didn't discover hers until last year." Qrow cut her off. "Look, everything we do, is an extension of who we are. Our soul, our aura, our weapon, all of it." Qrow said.

"Hmm." Ruby said.

"Why are you so concerned about keeping up with Yang?" He asked purposefully.

"Because…" Ruby slumped back. "I know she doesn't want to have to baby me all the time. I want her to be happy. I want her to be able to go off and not have to worry about me."

"Hm." Qrow messed Ruby's hair. "She'll always worry about you. It's what siblings do. At least when they aren't sure where they're at." Qrow spoke from experience but was careful. As far as Ruby knew, Raven was just his sister and nothing more. Ruby didn't know about the truth, that Raven was Yang's mother.

"I guess you're right." She leaned her head on his shoulder. "I just want to be like those heroes in the books she reads to me. They are brave and noble and don't need anybody constantly watching their back. They are cool, and they always save the day and make it better."

Qrow didn't respond. He couldn't bring himself to tell her the truth. The world was very similar to a fairy tale, yes. But there were no heroes. Not real ones anyway. Even people as noble as Summer had their price. Most huntsmen didn't want to fight Grimm, they wanted to take advantage of the freedom a hunter's license gave them.

"Because I know just how bad things can get." Ruby sighed. She stood up straight. "The world needs people who are willing to do the right thing no matter what. People like my mom. Now that she's gone, I have to do this. It's what she would want, for me to do whatever I can to help people."

"Your mom, would want you to be happy." Qrow said. Ruby's words had caught him by surprise, but he should have figured something like that was kicking around in there. The world had never done her any favors to make her want to protect it.

"Well, helping people makes me happy."

"But people aren't always nice."

"Well maybe if someone were nice to them despite that, they would change." Qrow held back a laugh at Ruby's reasoning. Maybe she was right. The question was, will she maintain this path, or lose hope? Summer had put her faith in people and lost. Qrow had put his faith in other things and lost some but won others.

"I want you to run laps." Qrow said. "One last training exercise. It's important to keep up your cardio."

"Uh-huh." Ruby nodded. She set Zwei down and began running.

"Faster Ruby, you expect to make it running so slow?" He pushed her buttons. "When your mom was that age she could run twice that speed…. Even Yang can run faster than you." He could see with each passing lap that Ruby was growing more and more tired. "Come on, how can you expect to save people if you can't even catch…." Qrow ate his words as she screamed in anger and disappeared in a cloud of red rose petals. An instant later she smashed into a tree on the other side of the yard.

"Ruby!" Tai said shocked as he rushed over to her. Qrow wore a self-satisfied smirk as he strutted over to her side.

"What was that?" Ruby said in a daze. She was holding her head where she had impacted the tree.

"That, pipsqueak, was your semblance." He put a hand on her head, causing her to blush.

"Thank you Uncle Qrow…for believing in me."

"Always."

AN: Now, Ruby has her semblance. Next chapter is one I've been dreading. It's something I said in RWBYond Vale, that I almost just want to skip. I have no idea how I'm going to write it. You'll just have to see what it is next time. In the meantime, review, follow, favorite and read and review my other stories if you haven't already.