Ruby cheerily skipped down the hallway to the combat room, well ahead of the others that followed in her wake. The sun streamed through the windows as she dashed along, giddily preparing herself for her spar.

'This is going to be so much fun!'

The best room in the entire school came into view. The combat training room, a massive auditorium lined around the edges with seats for spectators, and in the center of it all, one square raised platform that served as the arena. Ruby paused at the door, giving one glance back towards the pair behind her. They were still a fair distance down the hallway, walking next to each other in silence.

Ruby darted in through the doors and turned the lights on. The arena was immediately lit with large stadium lights that beamed from the ceiling above, while the spectators' stands were lit only by a dull glow. It was a boon for the competitors, so that they would not be distracted by those watching.

With a single light hop, Ruby vaulted up on to the arena floor, already stretching in preparation for the fight. A familiar sense of warmth spread through her body, the urge to battle against her opponents. Among all the classes in Signal, sparring is where Ruby shined. In this room, it didn't matter what clique you were a part of, nor the day's drama. Just two people competing against each other to see who was the best.

For the last two years against everyone in her own grade, Ruby remained undefeated. The young huntress was beginning her warm up, returning Crescent Rose to its scythe form to do a variety of spins meant to get her muscles ready, when Qrow and Olivia finally entered.

"Alright, kids. Let's have a clean fight and get outta here. I'm stuck in the place enough as it is without being here during break," Qrow grouched. He didn't bother to climb the stairs up into the stands, but instead simply leaned against the wall, a hand already reaching for his flask.

Olivia hopped on to the arena floor as well, giving herself a moment to take stock of the size and shape of the room around her. Ruby gave the faunus girl a careful once over. With the dark bags under her eyes, and the slump to her knees and shoulders, Olivia looked tired. The young huntress was almost ready to call off the spar when she remembered that this would likely be one of the few chances she would have to spar against Olivia. Tai hadn't been exaggerating, Yang and Olivia were both destined for Beacon. There was no doubt that either would get in.

As Olivia stretched and pulled out Oath, Ruby warily spared a glance towards the faunus girl's eyes. While the young huntress was never very good at speaking with people, she had always been able to get a good sense for who they were as a person. Ruby did not make many friends, but those that she did, were the type she knew she could trust.

The faunus girl was one of the first that Ruby had ever changed her mind about. It was confusing, the way Olivia could switch between someone that Ruby feared, and someone that she wanted to spend time with and get to know better. Right now, Olivia had fallen very squarely back into the guise of someone to be feared.

The older girl's eyes, so bright with excitement when presented with the comics, or filled with confidence during her second spar with Yang, had lost those qualities. The first time Ruby had ever laid her sights on the faunus girl, her eyes had been as they are now. Cold and dulled. The eyes of a person that didn't see you, only an obstacle. It was the reason she had sprung into action with such aggressive intent. Olivia's eyes held no compassion, then or now.

The young huntress breathed out one long, slow breath, intent on calming herself, 'I'll see for myself what this Olivia is like, too.'

Ruby gave her scythe a few final spins and lowered into a readied stance. The pair of fighters were twenty feet apart, each positioned along one edge of the raised arena. The floor itself was tiled in foot wide squares, made of a white ceramic that could be easily replaced if necessary. It often was. Even training battles at this stage included the use of explosives, gunfire, and weapons that could easily shatter wide swathes of plates.

With a few quick stretches and spins of her own weapon to test the weight, Olivia transformed Oath into its shotgun and sickle version. The middle of the blade separated inward, following the weapon's usual curve and revealing the gun's barrel in the process. After pulling on the black and purple gloves that went along with her new weapon, the faunus girl lowered herself into a stance of her own.

"How about a countdown, Qrow?" Olivia suggested evenly, not taking her eyes off the opponent opposite her. Ruby followed suit, keeping a close eye on Olivia's movements. Each subtle shift or glance was information that could be used against someone else. The other students in her class hadn't yet realized that fact, and gave Ruby the advantage before the fight even began. Olivia, on the other hand, was set in stone. She betrayed nothing of her intentions.

"One-two-go," Qrow replied nonchalantly.

'What kind of a countdown was that!?' Ruby shrugged her shoulders and flexed, getting a good grip on Crescent Rose for the maneuver she was about to do. It was her favorite opener for many reasons. In a burst of petals, Ruby dashed across the intervening space in a flash of red, already beginning to swing Crescent Rose as she rapidly approached her foe.

Olivia drew her arm back further, and in the instant that Ruby began her forward dash, activated the lightning dust into its blade and hurled Oath with all her strength. In a panic, Ruby was forced to drop into a low roll. The spinning sickle grazed the top of her head as it flew past, cutting off a few strands of her red and black hair and sending a tiny surge of electricity through her spine.

Ruby came up from her roll, scythe held between herself and Olivia as the girl leapt forward, using a strength and power in her legs that the young huntress had not yet witnessed. In an instant, the faunus was in her face, striking with precise blows that bypassed Ruby's defenses.

Desperately, the young huntress swivelled the haft of Crescent Rose between herself and Olivia, attempting to block any blow that she could. Most slipped by, and already she could feel her aura reserves being quickly depleted, 'She didn't fight like this against Yang!'

Ruby's eyes widened as she realized that Olivia's gloves had lit up, the gravity dust within activating along with the dust contained in her weapon.

Ruby had helped design Oath, and knew in that moment that the blade would be flying back towards Olivia, with the young huntress positioned in the middle. Ruby activated her semblance and blasted off to the side in a flurry of petals, narrowly avoiding the electrified blade that streaked past. Olivia caught it deftly by the handle, unconcerned by the lightning dust that coursed through it.

Olivia pressed the attack, transforming Oath into its regular sword form as she charged forward. In yet another burst of petals, Ruby avoided the other girl and switched Crescent Rose into its gun form. Now across the arena floor, Ruby fired round after round towards the faunus. Each shot pinged off the sword that was held between them. No matter how Ruby positioned her weapon, it seemed Olivia could sense where the bullet would land.

As Olivia attempted to close the distance, Ruby would once again activate her semblance and dart away, keeping at least ten feet between herself and the faunus at all times. Still, she could not get a shot to land past Olivia's defenses.

'What now?' Ruby thought to herself in dismay, trying to take stock of the situation. Olivia could best her in both ranged and close quarters combat. Even now while blocking sniper rounds, her body was positioned in a way to defend against another one of Ruby's semblance infused dashes.

Gritting her teeth, Ruby reloaded one of her magazines that had been infused with gravity dust as well. With this, perhaps she could propel herself around Olivia's defenses. She transformed Crescent Rose back into its scythe form and blasted off, using both her semblance and the gravity dust to rocket forward at a speed that the faunus hadn't yet seen.

Olivia's eyes widened momentarily before transforming her weapon into the slightly more compacted sickle version, the tip of Oath now pointed back towards her own body so that its overall form resembled a hook. The tip of Crescent Rose glanced off the side of Oath, leaving a long scratch as the metals screeched against each other.

Not wanting to leave herself open again, Ruby used the momentum of that swing to bring her scythe behind herself, and blasted off another round. She was flung past Olivia, Crescent Rose already arcing overhead to swing downward across the faunus's exposed back.

Without turning an eye to look, Olivia brought Oath up above her head and caught Crescent Rose in the hook's hollow. The faunus then spun both herself and her weapon, using it to trap the scythe's blade in her own and attempt to rip it out of Ruby's hands.

The young huntress fired it again, propelling her scythe back towards herself to fight against the attempted disarming. It helped to keep the weapon in her hands, but even still, Olivia's greater strength allowed her to throw both Ruby and her scythe into a sprawling heap across the arena floor.

As the young huntress attempted to stand, Oath's electrified blade collided with her back. Aura still intact, her body was launched across the arena once again. The charge of lightning dust that flashed through her caused her fingers to reflexively open and close. Crescent Rose was dropped from her hands to clatter against the white tiles as Ruby's body was sent even further away.

Ruby slid to a stop near the edge of the arena, her head slumped over the side. The girl groggily raised her head up to watch as Olivia approached, the familiar look in her eyes that she had when the fight began. The same eyes that had looked down on Yang the night of the club. Ruby's aura sparked and shimmered, fading with a silent pop that washed across her entire body.

Olivia stepped toward her, lightning dust still coursing across the exterior of Oath in her hand. The faunus was expressionless. Ruby's body shivered from both the leftover lightning dust, and mounting trepidation. In a panic, Ruby raised her hands in front of herself, desperate to block any incoming blow.

The young faunus simply deactivated her weapon, though, and compacted it, clipping it once again to her lower back. Instead of the attack Ruby had been fearing, Olivia's hand was held downward, an offer of assistance accompanied by a smile that once again reached her eyes.

With a sigh of relief, Ruby accepted it and was shakily pulled back to her feet. Her hands weakly dusted herself off, knees trembling as she eyed Olivia. The slump had returned to the girl's shoulders, but though the eyes were groggy, the light had returned, "Nice try, Ruby. That trick with the dust cartridge nearly had me."

Ruby smiled despite herself, "O-Ohhh, stop. I didn't do any better than Yang."

Olivia shrugged, "I was going easier on your sister this morning," the faunus put an arm around her shoulders, causing Ruby to stagger as she felt more weight than was necessary now resting on top of her, "I wanted to get this one over with quickly, but you still managed to last so long." There was a weakness in the smile that Olivia gave her, and the young huntress now realized just how tired the faunus must be.

The young huntress shook her head, "I didn't stand a chance."

Qrow gave a brief laugh from the sidelines, "You're good for a kid from Vale, Ruby. Olivia is good for a kid from Mistral. Big difference."

Ruby frowned, glancing between the two, "What's that supposed to mean?"

Olivia yawned, "Let's just say… surviving in Mistral is harder to do than Vale. I might not have gone to a combat school, but I've had a lot more real fights than any of you."

Ruby couldn't help but feel a little sad for that admission. Outwardly, it didn't seem to bother Olivia much, but inside…? 'Is that why she seems so different when she fights? Is she used to fighting for her life…?'

With only a quick dip away to grab up Crescent Rose, Ruby returned to Olivia's side. Slightly shorter of the two, Ruby put her arm around the faunus girl's waist and hugged her from the side as they began to leave the arena. Olivia's arm wrapped back around Ruby's shoulder, letting the younger girl silently support her as they began to walk back through the halls.

"Are you going to come back to our house?"

To her surprise, a slight shiver ran the length of Olivia's body before she replied, "No… I'm going back to my apartment for the night. I have a lot of work to get caught up on before Beacon. Coming out here was a nice break from all that studying, but... I can't afford to slack off now."

"But my dad and Qrow are both teachers. Who better to help you?" Ruby pressed, curious about the reaction that Olivia had unknowingly shown, 'Is there something wrong with our house?'

"I have a couple friends that I study with," Olivia spared a glance to Ruby and seemed to notice the younger girl's worry, "Besides, I'll have to come back to read more of those comics anyway. You'll take good care of them for me, right?"

Ruby scoffed lightly, the mere suggestion that she would mistreat her comics was ridiculous, "When will you be back?"

Olivia's other hand came up to tap against her chin as they exited the building, now enroute to the small airfield that hid behind the school, "Well, there's a little less than two weeks left until Beacon starts. I suppose I could use another break a day before then?"

When Ruby's demeanor deflated, her shoulders slumping as well and feet beginning to drag, Olivia gripped her more tightly around the shoulders, "And we'll make a day of it, promise! I'll pick you up and we'll head over to Vale to hang out. Does that sound good?"

Ruby cheered up and hugged her back, "Yeah! I want to meet your friends, too!"

Olivia smiled, "That should be fine. I think they'd like you, honestly."

They were now nearing the bullhead, with Qrow a short distance behind, walking through the freshly cut grass. The older huntsman gave a small nod to Olivia, "Call me if you need anything else, kid. I'm available whenever."

"Thanks, Qrow," Olivia stepped up into the bullhead and turned back to face the pair of them, "See you then, Ruby."

Ruby waved goodbye as the bullhead departed, engines creating a gust of wind that ruffled clothes and grass alike. With one hand up to block the sun from her eyes, Ruby watched the bullhead disappear into the distance, overtop the trees toward Vale.

"You ready, kid?"

"Yup!" Ruby skipped next to Qrow as they began their journey back home, her mind now analyzing the fight. An idea popped into the forefront, ignited by the weapon she had just helped design.

"Hey, Uncle Qrow?"

"Yes, Ruby?"

"Can we upgrade Crescent Rose with gravity dust, too?"

Qrow paused, eyeing Ruby closely, "That only works so well because of her extra sense, kid. If you try that it could end up being just as dangerous for you as it would your opponent."

The young huntress shook her head, "I don't want to try and use it like she did. I was thinking more about how she disarmed me. I need a way to get Crescent Rose back if that happens again, right?"

The older huntsman seemed to think it over as they resumed walking again, "I suppose. It's better to train yourself to avoid getting disarmed in the first place, but as a last resort…?" Qrow turned to give Ruby a nod, "We can do that."

"Wooh!" Ruby fist pumped the air and zipped around Qrow in a flurry of semblance infused dashes that would have made the huntsman nauseous if he tried to keep up with her, "Thank-you-thank-you-thank you!"

"Would you stop that? You're gonna give me a headache," Qrow grumbled, the smile on his face betraying his true feelings.

Even so, Ruby calmed down. The pair continued their trek along the trail that would eventually lead to the cabin they each called home. Ruby, giddily listing off other features she had thought of adding to Crescent Rose, while Qrow simply resigned himself to sacrificing another day back at the school during what should have been his break as well.

Later that evening, with Ruby having retold the story of her fight in all its extravagance, and with the inclusion of Qrow's promise to help her outfit Crescent Rose with gravity dust, both of the adults were forced to deny Yang's sudden desire for gravity dust in her own gauntlets. Apparently the siblings' idea of 'rocket punches' was going a little too overboard.

It took quite some time to convince them of that fact.

Widow watched her daughter's bullhead take off and sighed, shaking her head, 'You've learned restraint, Lotus. I'll give you that.' She had been looking forward to the fight going a little too far, and for the surrogate family to realize even an ounce of the truth. Widow's gaze fell on the young girl happily skipping next to the grizzled huntsman, a sneer crossing her face.

'Perhaps my daughter's ignorance is getting the best of her. If she won't go too far against the child she calls friend, then will she go too far in her defense?'

Widow removed her scroll from her pocket as she dialed up one of the new contacts she had made in Vale, a weasley orange-haired man that supposedly ran the city's underground. Subjugating him and his pet had been easy enough. The child's semblance had been meant as a trump card, and had meant nothing against Widow's sixth sense. The girl had sought to surprise a spider faunus, and had instead ended up groveling at her feet.

'I wonder where she went?' The pink and brown haired girl had disappeared soon after, with 'Roman' relaying that she had been hired by someone else. Her semblance would have been little use on its own for Widow's purposes, but together? 'We could have gone anywhere undetected, even by Lotus.'

Still, the criminal could have his uses. Widow finished her texts, telling him to round up a group and be ready for action a day or so before the next school year would begin.

'If Lotus has grown attached to this girl… will she kill to save her?'

Widow smiled at the retreating forms of the two that wished to take her daughter away. While the huntsman might forgive, the young girl would definitely not understand the absolutes of their world. One look at a dead Roman would certainly push her away from Lotus, and when she did…

Widow's smile grew, 'We'll be together again soon, darling.'