AN: This entire chapter was written back in February, but I hated it so much that I never posted it, and thus never continued the story. For the sake of an update seven months later, here's a rough-as-hell chapter 11.
The already warm tones of Forever Fall were ever more magnificent under the warm orange glow of the setting sun. The amber underbrush reflected a comfortable amount of light as the eight students made their way to a clearing deep in the woods. There was a nervous excitement emanating from Nora and Jaune that the rest didn't feel. Ruby and Yang had both changed into more appropriate clothing. The older sister's heavy boots and denim lent a certain gravity that she normally shed for levity. Weiss couldn't help but worry the inside of her lip as the pair walked towards the center of the open space.
Weiss knew, better than most, the tricky relationship between siblings. She knew how older sister's could be strict, that younger sisters could be petulant. That even if they both loved each other it could be hard. And that sometimes 'hard' meant… conflict.
Ruby was standing at the end closest to the group, her body turned slightly so she was standing perpendicular to Yang. Weiss could easily see, as would anyone else taking care to look, the grim expression on the woman's face. As she pulled taught the laces on her boots her gaze was focused on the ground in front of her. Tenseness that didn't befit Ruby had stiffened her posture. Nervousness had her nearly vibrating, and Weiss knew if she was a hair closer she'd be able to see the hairs on Ruby's arms standing straight.
"If she didn't want to fight, she shouldn't have offered." She mumbled to herself. Ruby had thought that caving to what people wanted could be turned into a humorous event. She'd bitten off more than she could chew if she thought Yang wouldn't volunteer. Weiss thought it was rather stupid, but she along with everyone else was lining up to watch. It really was too good to pass up. Yang was quite possibly the second strongest of the known fighters after Pyrrha — though Weiss considered herself substantially more talented — in a melee.
Ruby finished limbering up and faced Yang, but not before pulling out her scroll and fiddling with it for a moment. She glanced between Pyrrha and Weiss in consideration before finally throwing it to her partner. The heiress grabbed it out of the air with a harrumph and saw that the aura reading for both girls was showing on it. Just like with the match between Blake and Ruby, the aura readings were green and blue.
"If this starts getting out of hand," Ruby began, pocketing her hands in the pockets of her trousers, "you guys should probably do something."
Weiss rolled her eyes but nodded. With the preamble out of the way Ruby motioned to Yang, who stepped closer until the two were only about ten feet apart. The two squared off, then with a shake of Ruby's head, they began.
Yang knew, both instinctively and from practice, that this was a poor match for her. She kept her feet planted and her fists up, deep breaths centering her mind and her core as she thought out her options. Getting mad didn't work, and if she let Ruby get in her head she'd get mad pronto. She needed to be a bit more… cerebral. Not that her subconscious cared much for that.
"Yang, when I say I'm upset, I'm upset because throwing yourself into a fight headfirst is dangerous. I know, I know, you did it for me and your mom. I'm thankful, I'm just worried you might do the same thing in the future. But it won't be some nameless goons, it'll be real danger.
Real Danger? That was the point.
Yang dashed forward, swift and low as she tried to deliver a prodding strike to Ruby. It never made its mark, which didn't really surprise Yang. Knowing that Ruby always dodged the same way, Yang whirled on the spot with a backhand, aiming and head level directly behind her. A second whiff, that one actually quirking a brow as she cast her gaze side to side. Ruby was nowhere to be seen, but the air around her was scattered with a haze of petals. What must've been thousands were choking the air out around her. In the moment that Yang took to wonder at the sight she felt her legs get swept out from underneath her. Gravity took over, but as the cloudy haze around her got thicker she couldn't see where Ruby was. She tried to twist in the air to catch herself but her arm was snatched and wrenched to the side. She hit the ground on her stomach, her arm twisted up behind her as a boot was placed on her back between shoulder blades.
Tilting her head to the side she could see that the haze had cleared, and that she was facing away from the rest of the students. The grip on her arm was loose, loose enough that it felt more like a threat than an actual hold. Even the boot on her back wasn't as heavy as it should have been. Ruby was going either offering a choice, or going easy on her.
Fuck danger.
Blake was nonplussed. You see, while she didn't normally hold grudges, she had been rather cross with Ruby for not taking their bout seriously when they first met. She was still carrying that grudge forward, and she was still training with Ruby to eventually take the girl to task. It still would have been nice if Yang'd been able to take her down a notch.
Oh well, there was always next time. Blake waited for Yang to tap out. With a glance to the horizon she could tell that the Caf was going to be closed soon. It would be nice if she could snag a little bit more ice cream before lock-up…
With a roar that thought flit away, Blake's gaze snapping back to the pair as Ruby launched herself away from her sister. Where Yang was quickly rising to her feet a circle of flame was slowly creeping outward away from the blonde. Yang raised her fists again and she had a smirk on her lips, one that wasn't particularly nice. Ruby, meanwhile, was grimacing, gently rubbing her hand. In the darkening light it would have been difficult to see for the humans, but to her eyes she could see the wince on Ruby's features. One that seemed genuine, not just surprise. Which was odd for a number of reasons; firstly that Ruby didn't react in time to dodge, secondly because the girl's aura should have protected her from it.
Blake looked to Weiss, who was watching Ruby intently. "Is she OK?"
"Her aura levels haven't changed." Weiss sounded confused by the question, but held the display up for Blake to see. Neither fighter's status had changed. Bizarre. Yang's made sense because the girl hadn't even been struck, but Ruby's…
"Is her sensor broken?" Blake wondered aloud.
"Of course not." Weiss sniffed, pointing to the blue bar. "These devices are specially manufactured by top scientists in Atlas. They're nearly indestructible."
Blake didn't even try to suppress the roll of her eyes. "Yeah, well," She shuffled a bit closer, dropping her tone closer to a whisper, "I think Ruby might have actually hurt herself there."
"What?" Weiss hissed, her eyes narrowing as she tried to peer at Ruby's now-schooled expression. She was very clearly using her semblance, a wave of her hand once again summoning petals. The heiress' demeanor returned to aloof; "Sure you're not seeing things? She's using her semblance."
Blake hummed in understanding. That did seem impossible. Even her own defensive aura couldn't normally be tapped when her aura was depleted. Ruby was probably just surprised.
The burn was electric. It danced on Ruby's fingertips before grounding out in the nerves along her arm, settling into a throb in her shoulder. Even as her mind wandered to dark places and wistful thoughts it kept her in the moment. She saw the confident sway of Yang's hips, the determined look in her eyes. An unkind monster that lived in the valley of her spine coiled, gasped, and whispered in her mind. She ignored it, ignored the rage that bubbled up under the taught muscles of her neck, the clench of her jaw, the maw in her gut.
Yang lept forward again, as predictable and as slow as before. A Ruby half her age could have dodged, could've felt the path of the air, seen the hum of her breath in the night.
"Breathe." Ruby ordered herself, inhaling, exhaling. Seeking calm that her mother had spent a decade trying to engender in her. As the distance closed she willed herself to find the person she wanted to be, the saviour she was supposed to be. She lied to herself again and again in that moment between breaths.
Calm, calm enough at least, she raised her scalded hand. Yang's fist was inches away now, but still too far, too slow. Rose petals slipped up from the ground below, falling into place along the skin of her forearm. Long nights of practice with Cinder proved fruitful as with a flicker of red her arm was ensconced in darkened metal. Yang's flare-clad fist met a thick leather palm, and aside from the electric itch Ruby felt nothing.
Aside from the cobra coiled on her back.
The heat receded, as Ruby suspected it would without more damage to Yang's aura, but the younger girl didn't flinch. Immediately Yang moved to strike again, wrenching back then forward with a punch aimed at Ruby's head. The blonde preferred to scrap, and she probably thought that so long as she avoided being put in a pin she was safe up close.
Ruby ignored the strike, aside from summoning her axe. It landed just behind her, falling into the ground as she jerked right to avoid the punch. She shifted her grip on Yang's other hand, moving to her wrist as the brawler pulled it back. Following the motion right into her sister's personal space threw the girl off. Yang's bluster turned to awkwardness as Ruby moved her leg forward. A hazarded backstep turned perilous as she couldn't both move and maintain her balance, not against Ruby. Her posture collapsed, and with the sole point of contact being the gauntlet-clad arm not even a flash of heat helped.
With her free hand Yang grabbed at the axe, contorting as she did so to swing it backwards at Ruby, who was trying to stay planted during the throw. Ruby growled low at the offense, but was confident at the blade crept closer to her midsection.
She dropped Yang, who arced her back midair to catch herself and flip away. With her gauntlet-clad hand free she grabbed the axe by the blade and dispelled it.
"You know," Ruby began, taking a step forward to follow her sister, "in a real fight, this would have ended already with a broken arm."
"Oh yeah?" Yang smirked, raising her fists. "Well, you let go, your loss."
Ruby frowned, hooking her hands on the belt-loops of her black carhartts. "Because I hoped you'd tap without me hurting you."
"Sometimes when people spar they get hurt." Yang replied, rolling her eyes. "That's just how it is. If you're too scared, you can admit defeat."
Ruby sighed. "Not every lesson needs to be painful." The itch on her back was more pronounced than usual. She was starting to slip. Her voice was soft, "I wish you'd just listen."
Yang's expression soured. Firing her gauntlets behind her, she rocketed forward. She kicked low, aiming at Ruby's knees, then followed with a flurry of blows, weaving side to side as she did so. Ruby matched her beat for beat, not fighting, protecting herself when Yang fired her gauntlets by blocking with her armored arm.
In the moment where Ruby couldn't see anything, her vision obscured from the smoke of the explosion, she heard a whistling noise. Turning her head she saw Yang's boot hurtling towards her head at high speed. She lifted her arm in time to block, grunting from the impact. Soil was kicked up under her feet as she was driven back five feet, deep gouges being left in her wake.
"This girl really doesn't hold back." Ruby mumbled to herself. If Yang had hit her, it would have been pretty bad. Ruby had already made one mistake getting burned, and using her armor was already probably suspicious as hell to her classmates. It was the only way to safely fight without hurting Yang — or herself for that matter. That said… Yang's smile made it pretty clear she didn't mind scrapping. "Fine, I'll indulge her."
Yang fired five more shells which were blocked haphazardly, expanding the smokescreen as much as possible. The older girl positioned herself slightly back from the cloud and closed her eyes, listening closely to the sound of running. The moment she heard Yang leap she opened her eyes, shifted her right foot, and reeled back her right arm. A gust of wind dispelled the cloud of smoke as Yang was traveling through it, and without enough time to adjust course it was simple for Ruby to adjust her angle.
Fists up, knees bent, a flash forward to make speed then…
A haymaker to match Yang's own caught the brawler in the chest, knocking the wind out of her. The sudden change in momentum forced a bit of a retch from the blonde's mouth, a noise Ruby tried to ignore with a grimace as she tossed Yang to the ground. Before Yang could right herself, even to cough her lungs out, Ruby summoned her axe and forced the fork of the labrys around her neck. Wheezing, panting, grumbling, Yang raised her hands to yield.
"I quit." Yang managed between coughs. Her eyes were watering, more with frustration than anything Ruby hoped as she dispelled her axe and knelt to check for wounds. A large bruise was blossoming on the girl's chest, just below her collar bone. The fact not a single rib had been broken was a testament to Yang's resilience. Ruby idly thought about whether or not Yang could have come back twicefold with her semblance if she hadn't been stunned. Her aura had flexed, but not broken from the hit. That was impressive. "Damn sis, you throw a mean punch."
There was a cheer from the sidelines, which was easily Nora, followed by a less loud but still audible Jaune. Blake was speeding over to check on her partner and Ruby as subtly as possible dispelled her armor and hid her hand. .
"She'll be fine." Ruby said with a smile as Blake gave the pair a searching look. "Her aura didn't even break."
"Yeah, but now I feel like I'm going to need second dinner." Yang grumbled as she accepted Ruby's help in standing up. The blonde clutched her stomach as she walked towards the trees, brushing past the rest of team RWBY to find a bush.
"Why?" Jaune asked, his brows quirked.
Ruby winced at the question as Yang hurled the contents of her stomach into the shrubbery only a few feet away. She glanced at the boy, who suddenly looked a little green himself, and Weiss who looked simultaneously suspicious and disgusted.
After a few minutes most the collective were gone. Everyone but Ruby, Weiss, and Pyrrha were planning on sneaking into the cafeteria in order to get some grub for the suddenly-hungry Yang. Weiss and Pyrrha lingered with Ruby, who was watching with thinly veiled amusement as Weiss tried to vaporise Pyrrha by force of will.
"I'm sorry Pyrrha, I'd like to talk with my partner in private if you don't mind." Weiss growled, hands akimbo as she stared down the much taller woman. Ruby could only wonder at how Weiss had gone from being on the fan bus to using her bitch voice.
"I understand, but I'm worried about Ruby too as her friend." Pyrrha's response was level, her smile polite as she said 'no' in a nice way. Her distinction colored Weiss' cheeks in mild indignation, which forced a chuckle from Ruby.
"You guys aren't going to join the noisy ninjas squad?" Ruby asked with a hint of humor as she kept her hands pocketed. "It's your first real chance to get expelled from Beacon you know, breaking and entering."
Weiss' nose wrinkled and she shook her head. "Those idiots are going to get themselves caught. I'd rather not get in trouble with the headmaster."
"I wanted to make sure you were OK after your fight. You looked a little put-out." Pyrrha answered.
The brunette stood still for a moment, absentmindedly scratching her own neck as her shoulders slumped. The sigh that escaped her lips felt like it rattled her very bones, raspy and faltering as it was. "If it's OK with you two, I'm going to spend some time thinking on my own. Sorry."
Without another word she vanished in a haze of petals, shooting off into the forest, towards the approaching storm.