24

In the Twilight Gap

Ruby found the woman lounging out on the terrace, sunglasses on and parasol open next to her chair. The young reaper was nervous in approaching the dangerous woman but gulped and gathered her courage. She'd been rather absent in the days after the Battle of Haven but had been instrumental in the defeat of Cinder.

Poking her fingertips together Ruby took a deep breath and her words gushed out, "So I don't think we ever thanked you."

The sunglasses were lowered to the tip her nose so that mismatched brown and pink eyes could focus on the young girl talking to her, one eyebrow went up.

"For helping us against Cinder, I mean. I know you did it because of what happened to Torchwick but, well, I still want to thank you. Without you who knows what would have happened." Ruby did her best to put on a winning smile but was rewarded by a dismissing wave of a hand and Neo's attention returning to nothing as the sunglasses went back up.

However that wouldn't discourage the huntress-in-training from talking to the mute, "But besides that it made me realise that you're strong. Really strong." The woman didn't move but Ruby could feel those heterochromatic eyes focus on her again, "I want you to train me."

There, it was out in the air now and the reaper could feel the stillness in the air and the utter lack of reaction in the woman before her. After a minute passed by Ruby started to get antsy, shifting her weight from one foot to the other. She'd realized how weak she was when she had fought with Cinder. She'd barely been able to land a hit in and yet the woman had barely used any of her powers. What would happen when they met again? Or if she had to fight people just as strong.

Ruby couldn't let herself be satisfied with where she was, she needed to get better, stronger. She was interrupted from her thought when a pink parasol was pushed into her vision. Neopolitan was standing and had her weapon at the ready. A smirk from the woman showed her agreement and a certain confidence surged through the younger girl. Her hand fell instinctually to Crescent Rose but she bit her lip and drew forth Rose Thorn instead.

As the segment blade unfolded Ruby took position in the center of the terrace and Neo casually strolled to a position opposite. The multi-colored woman stood with her umbrella in one hand while the other came up to beckon the reaper.

The brunette lowered her stance, knees bent and both hands atop the hilt of her sword which she held in a drawing position. She took a single deep breath to focus herself. Silver eyes became sharp and rose petals began appearing on a non-existent wind as the two stared one another down.

The stillness exploded into action as Ruby jumped forward, Rose Thorn flicking out towards Neo's face. The woman dodged within a hair's breadth and the reaper felt an impact in her stomach as a heel was planted in it, forcing her back a few feet. Ruby came in again from a low angle with a horizontal slash that she bent over backwards to dodge, the tip of her boot slamming into the brunette's chin.

Shaking the stars from her eyes she pressed on, Rose Thorn weaving a silvery web that was dodged with near effortlessness. An umbrella hand caught her wrist and pulled Ruby off balance while a booted foot swept her legs from under her. The brunette felt a foot descend on her back, pinning her to the ground, as the handle of the woman's weapon hooked around her throat. She felt her face tilted upwards to meet mismatched eyes.

Ruby wouldn't be put off that easily. She had asked for it and through grit teeth she forced out words, silver eyes never swaying from pink and brown.

"Again."

Neo's smile took on a vicious edge.

Jaune was nervous when Qrow dragged him out to a local tavern. The blond stared warily at the huntsman across the table from him as a busty tavern girl set down two pints in front of them. The dark haired man winked at her which elicited a giggle as she swayed away, Jaune caught the man staring after her.

"What?" Qrow asked when Jaune coughed pointedly at him, "I'm not the one with a girlfriend."

"She's easily twenty."

"Still legal." Qrow returned with a grin, much to Jaune's disgust. Gingerly he took the beer in front of him and took a sip, wrinkling his nose at the bitter taste. The bastard seemed to find it amusing if his shit eating grin were anything to go by. At least it was easy to tell he was related to Yang.

"So, why bring me here?"

Instead of answering Qrow took a long draft from his mug before expelling a satisfied breath. Setting the pint back down he considered the young man before him, "You're dating my niece." He finally answered, "Though I'd come and get to know ya better."

"And so you brought be to a tavern?"

"Heh, best way to get to know someone is to go a few rounds with 'em."

"You aren't going to try and fight me are you?" There was a gleam in Qrow's eye, "Right?" Jaune's voice had just a hint of desperation in it and only relaxed when the huntsman could no longer keep a straight face and burst out into laughter.

"Oh man, the look on your face." He stopped laughing after a minute, "Don't worry, I'm not interested in beating up a snot nosed brat like you."

"That's comforting."

"Y'know when your not busy being a wet noodle you've got a pretty good sense of humor." Qrow continued after the blond arched his eyebrow, "Heard about you from Yang, back during Beacon. She wasn't impressed, said you didn't have a spine, or confidence. Whatever you wanna call it. Looks like something changed."

"Something. Maybe." Jaune looked into the amber depths of his drink but sighed when no answers came forth, "Kinda had to. I can't afford to be weak. Not anymore."

Qrow's face hardened, no doubt sensing where the conversation headed, "This about that partner of yours?" Jaune nodded, "I know all about bein' weak, kid."

The blond looked at him in surprise or perhaps disbelief, "You?"

"I wasn't always the bad-ass I am today. 'Sides, I know what it's like to lose your partner. Someone you care deeply about." There was a sadness in his voice and Jaune could almost swear he'd head it crack before Qrow drained the rest of his pint, holding up a hand to signal the server for another. As he looked at the man, the blond figured he knew who he was talking about.

"Ruby's mom?"

"Summer." Qrow answered, "She was a fantastic leader. Ruby's just like her too. Unfortunately."

"Yang told me." This got a surprised look out of the older man, "Told me how she thought Ruby might end up the same if she wasn't there looking out for her."

Qrow let out a long sigh, "That's how those girls are. They're wonderful, don't get me wrong, but they're messed up too."

"What do you mean?" Jaune felt himself getting defensive and Qrow noticed as well, putting his hands up.

"What I mean is that Ruby's just like Summer and we all know how that story ended. No need to tell you how concerned I am for the runt. But Yang? That's a whole other bag of slightly twisted. See, after Summer died ol' Tai broke down. First wife gone and second dead? Yeah, no. The guy shattered, only managed to pick up the pieces an' put 'em back together somewhat recently. Firecracker had ta take care of Ruby, became the mother. But see that's not all. Yang will do anything for her family."

"Well, yeah. She really cares about her family. I care about mine too."

"Nah, you're not getting it. I mean anything. She'd sacrifice her own happiness in a heartbeat if it meant Ruby would have her own. She doesn't think about herself at all, only Ruby. Ain't no one on Remnant who isn't selfish to some extent. And Yang does a pretty good job with it, that is until you involve family. Get what I mean?"

"I think so." Jaune mulled over Qrow's words some, "But why tell me all this?"

"Because something changed, kid. My niece decided to do something for her own happiness, something that's pretty big." Qrow pointed at the blond in front of him and Jaune sucked in a breath. He hadn't thought of it but think back he could tell.

In Beacon Yang had almost shadowed her sister. Maybe she had teased her constantly but she had always been close by. Looking back with what he knew now made it fairly obvious. She'd even almost as much as said it herself. She'd started on her path to become a huntress just for Ruby. That was…. Jaune couldn't even think of what it was.

Qrow must have noticed his confusion, "It's you kid. All of a sudden she's fallen for you. It's pretty incredible actually. See even in Signal those boys she was with, it was obvious they were superficial. Something she did because she thought she had to or something, whether or not she knew it or not. You? Heh, well i guess you can see why I wanted to get to know ya better now."

"But I haven't done anything. We've talked and stuff but I don't really think I helped all that much, just kind of gave her my opinion."

The huntsman grinned again, "Well whatever it is, keep it up. Lil' firecracker needs to live for herself a little." Qrow raised his mug and Jaune reluctantly did the same when the black haired man stared at him pointedly, "That reminds me." His face getting serious as he leaned in close over the table they were sat at.

Jaune couldn't help but swallow air as he did the same. Is this what he really wanted to talk about?

"How far have you guys gone?"

Jaune head made a loud thudding sound as it hit the table.

Yang circled the mat, eyeing her opponent carefully. She had to be very careful about him, every movement screamed martial artist. From the fluid and graceful movements to the calculated guard that left no openings. Pink focused on lilac as they slowly circled each other. The blonde put her knuckles to her cheeks and elbows kept tucked in as her guard came up. She bounced on the balls of her feet and then flew into action, not being one to sit back.

Her opponent, Ren, dodged to the side and threw out a quick, precise strike towards her side. With a grimace Yang took the strike and pushed through, her right fist rocketing towards his face. The young man deflected her punch but the grimace showed that it still grazed him. The brawler felt her smile come through as she started a flurry of punches and kicks that drove him back.

Ren was slippery, however, and never took a full blow from her while countering and delivering damage of his own with his palm strikes. Yang could feel herself getting into the fight as lilac shifted to scarlet and a feral grin plastered itself over her face. It was rare to find someone who could pushed her in unarmed combat.

Why have we never sparred before? She thought to herself as Ren bent into an incredible dodge that brought his foot into contact with her ribs. Automatically her arm clamped down on the limb and pinned it to her side. She caught his eyes widening as she drove her fist into the side of his knee. Jumping up he drove his other foot into her chest, knocking her back and allowing his other foot to slip free as he flipped backwards. The damage was done, however, as he gingerly put some weight on the leg.

Her raised his eyebrow at her and her grin only widened before he shook his head. Ducking low, Ren rushed in. He was fast, but she'd been sparring with Ruby since she'd gotten her semblance. Casually she raised her knee to the space his face would enter as he ran but she had miscalculated. Ren wasn't rushing in as fast as Ruby did. This gave him plenty of time to use his palms to vault off of her knee, his own coming up to strike her in the head.

Her vision exploded as she hit the mat and it took a few seconds for her vision to clear and when it did she saw a hand hovering within reach. Grasping it she got back on her feet with Ren's help. Yang let out a contented sigh as her rear end contacted the bench. Grabbing the bottle out from under it she enjoyed the sweet orange taste of the electrolyte drink. They been sparring in short bouts for the last hour and it showed in the way their skin glistened with sweat.

"Is she still jogging?" Yang asked as she began dabbing sweat off her body with the towel she had brought to the local hunter gym. The facilities were excellent for the price they had paid, and expansive set of sparring areas with a second floor that held a track around the inner perimeter of the building. A lone red headed person could be seen jogging across said track with pink sweatbands and her outfit doused with sweat.

"Yes." was Ren's enigmatic answer.

"How?! She started an hour ago!"

"It's Nora." he said like it explained everything. With a sigh Yang conceded his point, it did explain everything.

"By the way what made you wanna spar like this?" Their eyes met briefly as she looked at him seated next to her, gulping down his own drink.

"That man, Hazel, was so strong. I realized how much further I have to go to reach my goal."

"Your goal?" Yang didn't know why he was surprised, everyone chose to be a huntress or huntsman for reasons of their own.

A small wistful smile spread across his face, "Did you know that I was born in a village near Mistral called Kuroyuri? We passed very close to it on our journey."

"I had no idea. Why didn't you say anything? We could have visited it."

"Kuroyuri was destroyed a long time ago. I met Nora that night." He seemed lost in thought for a moment, "You didn't see it but there was a large Grimm among those that attacked Kutsuri. It was called a Nuckalavee and it was that Grimm that attacked my village. I cowered in a dry canal as I watched it stalk the village and murder innocents." His hands gripped tight on the bottle of his drink, "It's the same Grimm that murdered my father."

Yangs hand was brought up to her mouth as it hung agape, her eyes wide.

"That's when I met Nora, hiding underneath a house. I remembered my father's words 'Be Brave'. But I was scared, terrified. I was only eight, what was I supposed to do? I unlocked my semblance and my fear just… washed away. And I was able to finally act. I guess I became a huntsman in order to slay the Grimm but now that I have I feel as though that wasn't right. I don't feel better about the whole thing but now that it's dead I feel more at peace and I realized something."

Ren looked her in the eyes, "I wanted to become a huntsman so that maybe, through my efforts, someone would not have to go through what I did. I wanted to spare them that pain, even if it's just one person, it would be worth it."

With a cry they were ambushed by a Nora who had been waiting in the shadows to make her move, "Ren saved me that day. If he's gonna be a huntsman then I'll be a huntress." She declared while striking a heroic pose. Ren chuckled at her antics but Yang could see in his eyes the boundless gratitude he had for his childhood friend. He noticed her looking and gave her a small smile back.

"I may have saved Nora but she's saved me countless more times."

Yang grinned and chugged the last quarter of her drink before ren spoke up again.

"I was hoping you could do the same for Jaune."

She went still and slowly turned to see him regarding her with a complicated expression. He didn't seem used to expressing himself like this and it showed in his difficulty finding the right words to explain what he felt.

"Jaune doesn't show it but he's angry. At himself. He blames himself for not being the when Pyyrha died and for not being strong enough to stand alongside her. He's never said as much but when you as close to each other as our team was you pick these things up. Well, that and Jaune's a bad liar." Yang felt her heart throb painfully in her chest when his eyes pleaded with her, "So please Yang. Look after him?"

She blinked away the tears and forced a determined look over her face, "Of course, Ren."

A/N: So this is coming in a day early because I'm sorry I didn't get one up last weak. Work called for mandatory overtime on Thanksgiving weekend so I was working and far too exhausted to write. That and a nasty case of writer's block. Ugh.

In other news I've put up a poll on my profile if you're interested in voting on what fic I should do next after LR is done, mind you it's still far from over however.

Edit: I just realized something. The conversation Ren has is also from chapter 11. sigh. I need to do better with continuity, though the convo here still works because of what's added to it. So I'm not going to change it, just look out more.