Summary/disclaimer: Time for another chapter of Wolf and Reaper. Enjoy the 900-word chapter. I don't own RWBY, Monty Oum, and Rooster Teeth do.
(Mistral.)
Ruby watched Azul train with Jaune and Ren. He ducked backward under Stormflower's slash at his head. He then knocked Jaune backward with a kick.
"You're getting better," Azul said while twirling Violet Shadow. He wanted to end this sooner or later. They had been dueling for several minutes. Azul slowly started to gain the advantage due to his speed.
The fact that Jaune's shield left him with a defensive stance more than offensive helped. As did Ren trying to shoot Azul who dodged with help from his semblance. Azul rammed into Ren, knocking him to the ground, his aura flashed pink.
sh"Nice recovery." Azul said before Ren leaped at him. Azul managed to backflip away and fired a shot in a crouch.
Azul then rushed forward, Ren braced himself only for Azul to slide under his legs and then leap at Jaune. He flipped over the shield user and dropkicked him to the ground.
"You're messing with us, aren't you?" Jaune asked as Azul stayed silent. Jaune sighed and looked at his scroll.
Azul had taken a few cuts, but he still had 70% of his Aura. Jaune had 80%, and Ren 50%. Azul was improving on how good he was with his semblance and combat skills. It showed quite a lot.
"No, but you're holding back a lot more than you should be," Azul said before twirling his sword again and placing it in his hip holster. "You can't hold back when you're fighting to the death… What if I was a Grimm? I would have taken your head off with the first slash if you held back." Azul stated and crossed his arms.
"You're still recovering," Ren stated simply to which Azul turned to look at him.
"I'll be healed within a few days," Azul responded and let out a sigh. "The more you hold back. The easier it is for someone to kill you because they AREN'T." Azul said and rubbed at his temples before he turned and walked away.
Ruby approached the others as Ren looked at Azul. The Faunus left the training floor.
"This is the third fight I've seen him try and win at in 3 days," Jaune said, rubbing at the back of his scalp.
"He's been taking what happened to his team hard, Jaune," Ren stated to which Ruby nodded. "You haven't spoken to him since then?" Ren asked and got a frown from Ruby.
"He's been busy preparing for when Cinder shows up," Ruby stated while gesturing towards her room. "Azul shows up to talk before it's time for us to sleep, but that's it. I don't think I've ever seen him this serious since he tried to fix my cloak for school." Ruby added with a frown once more.
This wasn't fair, first Cinder had to ruin their city, crippling it and slaughtering people during a tournament. Something Ruby knew Cinder chose just so her attack would kill more people and cause more chaos.
Then she came after their school, killing Professor Ozpin as far as she knew. It also came at the cost of killing or maiming students as well.
Finally? Her attack also succeeded in making someone she loved just as much as she cared for the innocent… To suffer. Azul was going down a dark road. Ruby knew that far too well compared to her father drinking.
"Ruby?" Jaune questioned before looking at Ren. "Are you and Azul having…. Issues?" Jaune asked only to immediately regret it as Ruby glared at him. The look was enough for JNPR's team leader to back off.
Ruby followed after Azul. She had to figure out why he didn't want to focus on his issues. Ruby hadn't lost her entire team, so it was impossible to relate to that.
But she knew what it was like to fail something. Cinder's attack crippled Vale. Even if the damage was repairable? The loss of life was far too disgusting for Ruby to consider it a win for her.
Still? Azul was a very stubborn Faunus when it came down to it. Ruby could press him as much as she liked. Ruby could make Yang confront him… Only for her to realize Yang wasn't here and if she was? She would probably still be furious her younger half-sister fled to Haven in the first place when it came down to it.
Ruby sighed and decided to go and find Azul. Even small talk would help since it would allow Ruby to understand how to attack the issue.
Ruby still knew that Azul would try and weasel out of it. He wanted to fight, not to talk and think about things from the perspective of combat.
Author Notes
Phew, another chapter is done! I want to point out that Azul and Ruby will be having issues with their relationship. I also want to point out that due to other stories and such? Rwby stories will be more infrequent and such. The next chapter will be in 7-9 weeks and will show Ruby and Azul talking and such. Until then, Lighting Wolf out!
P.S: Ruby is 900 words Sunday. Raven 900 Sunday, Penny 900 Tuesday, Yang 900 Saturday, Cinder 900 Monday. Glynda, Saphron, Tock, Willow, Weiss, and such are unknown.