Time to pace this story up a little.

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Chapter 5: Sticky semblance

"I'm back!" Ruby's voice was heard as soon as the door was opened.

"Welcome back sweetie." Her mother greeted from the kitchen.

"Mommy!" Little red ran to her in eye-blinking speed upon smelling something familiar, "Cookie!"

Summer Rose just smiled and packed up the cookies in a jar, saying that it was for dessert.

"You have to eat proper meal to grow honey." The woman motioned her head towards the dining table.

"Uh…then I'll finish the food fast so that I can eat cookies!" She hummed, "Also, mommy?"

"Yes Ruby?"

"I'm uh…going to hang out with my friends later." Ruby said shyly, her cheeks slightly turned red.

"Wow, you made friends." A deep voice was heard near the door.

"What do you mean by that daddy!" Ruby pouted.

"Well, seeing you as the socially awkward…" The man smirked, "Didn't expect you'd actually make friends. I see an 's', it means you've made more than one."

"Qrow! Stop mocking her!" Summer threw him a fake glare.

Qrow just laughed and walked to his daughter, putting his arm around her neck and ruffled her hair, "That's good Ruby. You need to learn how to deal with people if you wanna become a huntress."

"They're all good people daddy!" Ruby struggled out of her father's death grip, "It's Blake our neighbor and Yang who's like a big sister! Weiss too she's such a sweetheart! Also, I don't need people to help me grow up, I, drink, milk!"

"Oh, our little weapon dork's made three friends by herself!" Qrow laughed.

"Qrow…" Summer karate-chopped his head, "That's enough."

"Ouch…" He faked pain and lifted his daughter up and put her on the chair, "Now eat well kiddo."

#

Her parents were still at work. They often traveled around Remnant to survey their business and even if they were back in Vale they wouldn't be staying in their house much. Atlas was the place they went to the most often since the headquarter of the Schnee Dust Company was there; they had thought of moving to Atlas so that they didn't have to travel much but they knew the air and the environment in that high-tech city weren't good for growing children.

Vale on other hand was a nice place; not too advanced but enough to make the life of the people there easy. There were still thick forests here – the only thing one couldn't find in Atlas. They had decided they would let Weiss lived here until she was old enough to take over the company.

Her elder sister Winter showed no interest at all in inheriting SDC and instead she joined the military in Atlas. Her parents allowed her to do whatever she wanted to for that they loved their daughters very much. Weiss volunteered to take over the company and vowed to keep it going as she didn't want the company that her grandfather started to end at her generation.

George waited for her when she ate lunch which consisted of just a bowl of salad and some fruits – simple and healthy for a growing child like her. But perhaps many years later she would regret this decision, because she couldn't grow taller due to the lack of protein.

Not that she cared now.

"I'm done eating." She wiped her mouth and politely thanked the maid for preparing the meal, then walked out to her driver, "Let's go."

"Yes Miss Schnee." George smiled and they both got in the limo ready to go to Dragon Tears Forest.

#

Blake was relieved when she arrived at her home. Her father was out in the shop so at least she didn't have to worry about them fighting over small stuff again; both of them were actually really nice parent – as long as they don't argue that was.

Beatrix prepared baked salmon for the girl and she thanked her mother by giving her a kiss on the cheek. The woman smiled and asked if she had any plans after lunch.

"I…uh…I'm going out with my friends." She answered shyly.

"I see." Beatrix smiled, "The neighbor girl who studied in a combat school?"

"Her name is Ruby." Blake smiled too, recalling her friends, "And there's Yang. She studies in the same school as me."

And Weiss.

Her heart bounced a little faster than usual whenever she recalled that white-haired girl. After giving it some thought she had come to a conclusion that it was because she saw Weiss as her best friend.

She was the first person to approach her when she was really upset – although technically it was Ruby but Blake had never felt that kind of strong emotion when she was around the younger girl.

Perhaps…she would understand it when she grew older.

"I see." Beatrix raised her eyebrow, "I bet there's one more friend isn't it."

Blake blushed and her mouth kept opening and closing as if she wanted to say something but was too afraid to say it.

"It's so easy to read you my dear." Beatrix said smugly, "So who's this third friend?"

"Uh…it's…Weiss." The girl mumbled in a low voice but her mother had caught it.

"Weiss?" The woman gasped in shock, "Weiss…Schnee of the…Schee Dust Company? The heiress?"

Blake nodded timidly.

"Wow Blake, I didn't know you were so good in choosing friends. That girl's rich as hell." Her mother put her chin on her palm, looking at her daughter with a smirk on her face.

"I…I'm not befriending her because she's rich!" Blake protested, "It's because I like her!"

"Oho~"

"Mama!"

"It's hard to see you liking another people. You guys must be really close friend eh?" Beatrix chuckled, "I'm just messing with you. It's good that you've made new friends Blake. I mean it."

Blake pouted and proceeded to stuff all the salmon into her mouth, took a bottle of water and a towel, stuffed it in her favorite black kitty bag and stomped out of the house.

Beatrix giggled and was genuinely happy for her daughter.

"Blake's grown up…" She said while closing her eyes, "Mama's so sorry for not providing you a peaceful environment to grow up honey."

#

When Yang got down from Weiss' fancy car, Topaz was sitting at the other entrance to Dragon Tears Forest, silently waiting for her.

"Ruff!" He barked at the driver and Yang quickly explained that he was thanking the man for driving her home.

"It's alright miss, I understand." George smiled, "I had a dog too."

"Ah I see." Yang smiled, "Glad you do! Thanks for driving me here mister!"

"My pleasure."

Weiss waved to her and the car took off then disappearing over a corner. Yang sighed and turned to Topaz who was looking at her while tilting his head.

"Yeah yeah, she's cute alright." She shrugged and walked into the forest.

"Ruff." Topaz barked as he followed her at the back.

The journey from the entrance to her house wasn't far; in fact it just took ten minutes for her to reach her home.

The abandoned house looked extremely old from the outside but Yang had asked for Dr. Torchwick's help to clean it and take old furniture that people dumped to decorate it so that it looked more like a house from the inside.

There was a rule in Vale; any large garbage, for instant furniture like old couch or a table would be charged extra fees from people who threw them away. Therefore many of the citizens who wanted to get rid of these 'expensive' garbage would just line them up in front of their house with a 'dump' sign for the needy to take it to their use. Both party benefited from this system; giver didn't have to pay extra to the government and taker didn't have to waste money to buy a new one when most of the 'dump' furniture was still in good shape. Plus, it would help save the environment by not wasting valuable resources when one could reuse things. It was a win-win situation.

Yang requested for Dr. Torchwick's help to move some furniture she found on the street to her house. The man had gifted her a mattress to make her more comfortable in her sleep and Yang was whole heartedly thankful to him.

"Alright, let's eat." The blonde threw her bag on the couch and walked to the kitchen, searching for suitable canned food.

The money from Vale Social Benefit wasn't really a lot so she didn't have much choice in food; she didn't have a refrigerator too to store fresh food. In fact her house didn't even have electricity – she used fire dust to cook food and light the lanterns up to see in the dark.

She found a lunch box near the table and remembered it was discounted so she had bought it from the convenient store two days ago.

"Let's have lunch box today Topaz." Yang grinned and the dog barked back.

#

Blake went to Ruby's front yard to stay with the younger girl while waiting for Weiss' driver to come pick them up. Ruby took her into her house to greet her parents and Summer had offered Blake a cookie which she happily accepted and thanked the woman. They knew each other but this was the first time they had ever talked – and Blake was surprised that two legendary huntsmen in Remnant with deadly skills and weapons were actually very nice people.

She had imagined them being super serious, like a Spartan but they were the exact opposite of it. Summer was a super mom – baker of cookies and slayer of giant monsters, according to Ruby while Qrow was a laid-back type and Blake had mentally compared the man to Yang; those two were really alike if you thought about it. Loud, outgoing and nonchalant – the only difference being Qrow was much cooler than the blonde.

They heard a honk coming outside and after saying goodbye to Ruby's parents they had gone out. Weiss opened the door for them and both got in while greeting the driver.

"We can go now." Weiss said.

"Aye Miss Schnee." George answered and had driven towards a particular direction.

When they reached the entrance of Dragon Tears Forest they saw a familiar blonde and her dog looking at them with expecting eyes. Ruby was the first to rush out of the car and hug the dog while shouting his name, the latter gratefully barked once to greet her.

"Oh you're so cute!" Ruby nuzzled against his cheek.

Blake was hiding behind Weiss when they got down from the car; no matter how hard she tried to convince herself that Topaz was harmless she just couldn't face the dog. And Weiss was surprisingly understanding as she led the shaking girl slowly down the car, not letting go of her hand even for a second.

They thanked George for the last time and waved him goodbye before he drove off, leaving them at the entrance. Ruby then raised her hand and shouted, "To Secret Base!"

"Yeah!" Yang mimicked her and grinned, "Lead the way, Topaz!"

"Ruff!"

Ruby and Topaz were leading the gang through the forest and the journey was longer than they had expected.

"Oh oh I recognize this!" The younger girl happily shouted when they walked pass a huge tree, "This is where I tripped when I was looking for Blake yesterday!"

"That's why you were covered in leaves when you reached here yesterday?" Weiss asked.

"Well yeah…hehe…I was too busy chasing after Blake I didn't pay attention to the surrounding…" Ruby smiled sheepishly while scratching her head.

"Why didn't you tell us you dolt!" Weiss shouted, "You didn't hurt yourself did you?"

"Just a scratch!" Ruby grinned, "Really, it's no big deal Weiss. I'm a huntress, I can take care of myself!"

"You're just eight year old! You're not a huntress! Did you get proper treatment when you got back home?" The heiress huffed.

"C'mon, Weiss! I'm sure Rubes can take care of herself!" Yang put both her hands behind her head and said.

"I'm sorry Ruby." Blake looked down guiltily; Ruby tripped and fell because she was chasing after her. She blamed herself for letting the younger girl got hurt.

"It's okay Blake!" Ruby stopped suddenly, causing a domino effect – Yang bumping into Blake who was in front of her, Blake herself bumping into Weiss and lastly Weiss who just managed to hold still before bumping into Ruby.

"Ruby!" The three girls shouted at once.

"Sorry…" She scratched her chin, "I just wanna show you guys my leg."

"Your leg?" Blake asked after rebalancing herself – as well as maintaining to be calm. She might have…inhaled Weiss' shampoo when she bumped into the white haired girl just now. It was a mixture of aloe vera, rosemary and mint and it was a pleasant smell.

"Yeah!" Ruby said as she lifted her right leg at a small angle. She didn't want to flash any of the girls her panties as she was wearing a black colored mini skirt with red frill and a rose-like pattern which was her emblem.

"What do you want to show us? There's nothing on your leg." Yang said as she bent down to inspect Ruby's leg. Not even a single scratch was there.

"Exactly!" She said as she put down her leg and crossed her arms while smiling proudly, "I've healed it with my aura!"

"Aura?" Blake asked.

"Yeah!" Ruby exclaimed.

"Do you know what is 'aura'?" Weiss asked and Blake shook her head.

"Aura is the manifestation of our soul." The heiress answered, "It bears our burden and shields our heart. It can deflect harm and protect our body from any potential injury. Apparently you can sense threat using it too. Aura can also heal minor injury."

"It's like a force field." Ruby added.

"Wow, your aura is already unlocked!" Yang looked at the younger girl, "You're just eight! Looks like combat school students aren't for nothing…"

"They have us practice to unlock it once we started to enroll in the school." Ruby said, "And thanks to daddy's help I've unlock it a little bit earlier than other people…"

"Aww don't be so humble!" Yang slapped the girl's back, "People normally get their aura unlocked at the age of ten. Two years aren't 'a little bit' Rubes!"

Ruby just blushed, "Ehehe…but, how did you know about that Yang? You're…studying in a normal school?"

"I did my research." The blonde shrugged, "Wanted to go to a combat school too but…no money. Meh."

"Oh…" Ruby looked at the other two who didn't say anything, silently pleading for help as she didn't know how to continue this conversation without offending Yang.

"W…well." Weiss said, "Let's go."

"Yeah." Blake answered.

"Sure~" Yang said, "Ladies first."

Ruby and Topaz had continued leading the gang to Secret Base and a few minutes later they had finally reached their destination.

"We're back!" The younger girl shouted as she burst into a blur of rose petals running into the cave, Topaz following behind her.

"Wow, a semblance!" Yang shouted.

"Oh no…" Ruby stopped just at the entrance of the cave. She wanted to keep her semblance a secret but was too excited that she had used it subconsciously.

"Semblance?" Blake asked.

"It's a higher form of controlling your aura." Weiss answered as she walked towards Secret Base with Blake following behind her, "Everyone's semblance is different. Hers apparently…is super speed."

They all turned to the blonde who was still a distance away from them.

"Yang! Come hereeeee!" Ruby shouted while waving her hand.

"Nope." Yang whispered to herself, "Definitely not jealous because she's discovered her semblance…at the age of eight."

She shook her head and smiled, waving her hand back as she made her way to the gang.

However, she stepped on her toes and tripped.

"Yang!" The girls shouted in unison as they ran to the blonde, the dog following closely behind them.

"Yang are you okay?" Ruby asked.

Nope, Yang wasn't okay. Her reflex was fast enough to not let her face directly hit the ground but her hands were bruised from the impact. She got up and turned around, revealing her knees which were injured. Blood was starting to drip from the wound as she closed her eyes and clenched her teeth, cursing herself for wearing short pants today.

"Yang, does it hurt?" Weiss asked and Blake frowned.

"Nah, just a scratch." She waved her hands and immediately her wounds began to heal.

"Oh Yang, your aura's already unlocked!" Ruby exclaimed, "Why didn't you say so earlier?!"

"Nah…I haven't really fully mastered it yet." She said, eyes still closing. She had a really strange sensation in her body now and she couldn't explain what was it; she just hoped to ignore it but the sensation was quick to spread through her whole body and she felt powerful – as if she had so much energy in her body that was ready to burst out.

"Yeah I guessed so." Ruby said while gently touching the healed wounds, "I'm the same too. If we've mastered it it would've activated the time we fell and we won't get hurt."

"Yeah…" Yang said, finally given up and opening her eyes.

The three girls were shocked and Weiss had fallen backwards on the ground.

"Guys?" She said, "What's wrong?"

"Y…Yang!" Ruby said, "Your…your eyes!"

"My eyes?" She turned to Blake who was still kneeling beside Weiss.

"They're…red…" The black haired girl said.

"What? My eyes are purple guys!" Yang huffed.

"No, it's real." Weiss said, recovering from her shock. She had taken a small mirror with a Schnee logo on the back from her pocket and handed it to Yang.

Curious, she took the mirror and looked at herself – still the same face but the eyes were a burning crimson. She gasped and blinked a few times, closed her eyes for a few seconds before opening them and no matter what she did it was the same. Her eyes were still red.

"What…what is this?" She turned to Ruby, then Weiss and lastly Blake.

"I…I don't know too Yang." Weiss answered.

"Maybe it's…your…yes!" Ruby squeaked, "Oh Dust Yang it's your semblance!"

"My semblance?" Yang questioned.

"Yeah!"

"But…what's it do?"

"I…I don't know." Ruby shook her head, "How are you feeling now? Normally if you're using your semblance you'll have this strange sensation surrounding your body. Like when I run really really fast there'll be a feeling surrounding me…like a force field or something like that."

"I feel really powerful now." She said, "Like there's so much extra energy within me that…that's ready to come bursting out of me."

"Maybe try releasing it. It might help." The heiress said.

"How?"

"Don't ask me," Weiss crossed her arms, "How am I supposed to know how you release stress?"

"Release stress…oh!" Yang stood up and looked at Topaz, "Go get a stick boy!"

"Ruff!" The energetic dog barked and took off into the wood.

A few moments later he came back holding a huge stick in his mouth. He hopped to Yang and put it down in front of her while wagging his tail.

"Good job Topaz! You ready?"

"Ruff!"

"Here we go!" She took up the stick and it was surprisingly lighter than usual. She shook her head and grabbed it behind her head, getting ready for a powerful throw.

It was the way she used to release stress; although she preferred punching things, she was too poor to afford a pair of punching gloves or to go to the gym. And government gym which was cheaper compared to usual gyms had poor equipment and smelly gloves. When she was in school she did a lot of physical exercise as she was from Class B so most of her energy was used up but sometimes when she felt really angry she'd have extra energy and it had to be released out.

That was when she started to play fetch with Topaz. Throwing a stick didn't require money and she could release all the anger within her because although it looked simple, throwing a stick to a far place required a lot of physical power; especially if you were doing it more than once.

She grabbed the stick tighter before throwing it towards the opposite side of the cave – that area had no trees so it would be easier for Topaz to locate the stick.

However as her grip tightened she heard the sound of 'pop' and when she turned around she saw that huge stick was already being split into half.

"Wow." Ruby exclaimed, "You smashed that stick into half!"

"What?" Yang turned to the girl.

"Oh I have an idea." Weiss smirked, "Come here Yang."

Yang tilted her head but obliged anyway.

"Is your aura activated at the moment?" She asked.

"Wait." Yang focused for a while and there was a faint glow covering her skin shortly after that, "Okay now. What do you wan-"

She was cut off when the heiress landed a punch in her stomach.

It wasn't a powerful punch as the blonde wasn't affected much by it; her expressions showed shock instead of pain.

And when Weiss punched her she had that sensation again and this time it spread much faster throughout her body compared to the time she fell. She felt really hot – and powerful and she was eager to release that built up energy within her.

She flashed Weiss a smirk and picked up the longer half of that huge stick she'd broken.

"Watch." She said as she gripped it with her right hand, "Okay…here we go."

This time she used a smaller force compared to the last time and the stick was literally smashed.

"So your semblance is something like when you get hit you build up energy and you hit back harder, and your eyes turn red as a side effect. Something like Ruby's rose petals." Weiss smirked, proud of her intelligence.

"Yeah! Wow Yang, that's a really powerful semblance!" Ruby exclaimed, "Just wow!"

"Wow…" Even Blake was in awe.

Yang was about to say something when she had a strange feeling in her palm – the one that she used to smash the stick to demonstrate her semblance. It was rather…sticky, like there was some kind of liquid on it.

"Ewwww!" Ruby was the first to notice the blonde's palm, "What's that white colored liquid?"

"It's tree sap I guess." Weiss answered.

"The stick that Topaz brought back had tree sap in it." Blake said, her voice low.

"This is so…" Yang paused a while before a sly grin was seen on her face, "Stick-y."

"Yang-"

#

That stupid pun in the end!

Was this considered as pacing up? They discovered Yang's semblance!

Kudos to you if you know the reference I use of Yang's way to discover her semblance~

I need to build up their friendship before the main event happens so yeah, it's really gonna be a slow pace.

I rushed this chapter today when I felt better that my eyeballs weren't exploding and my head wasn't killing me anymore. Hopefully it'll make up!