A/N: Apologies if this chapter is a little different to the rest, I was fairly busy over Christmas and of course didn't have time to write. Hopefully the pace will continue unaffected, so keep an eye out. (Second A/N: Rewritten the ending due to personal displeasure, apologies for any inconvenience caused.)

"Are you sure you're up for this?"

Ruby sighed at the eleventh time she'd heard that question in the past ten minutes, making her way to the far end of the outdoor training field opposite her opponent. Few clouds in the sky, a nice open flat area to duel in, the Academy a hundred or so meters to the south. A few pillars at each corner formed an intricate arch around the square pitch, marked with only a simple white line in the dead center. Clearly, this has never been treated nicely.

"Sis, I'm fine. There's no pain anymore and I've been extra careful not to compromise it, the medical people checked me over and said that I was back up to full health. I need to catch up on my training, and Weiss refused to fight me because she said she was too busy or something. Blake has her classes and...I trust you."

She gave a small smile at her sister and pulled her weapon out from behind her back, unfolding it and listening to the mechanical clicks and sounds that were like music to her ears. Yang deployed her own weapons on her wrists and adjusted her gloves, passing a concerned but warm smile at the girl at the far end of the ring. They had the foresight to practice when everyone else was in class, so they wouldn't be interrupted and they could train without the risk of hurting someone by accident. Ruby was a little over a week behind with her schoolwork, and while she had been studying as much as she could while bedridden - there was only so much physical combat you can do while crippled.

"Yes, alright, I'll stop worrying. Same as usual?"

Ruby nodded the affirmative at the question and took her position, waiting for the countdown before their battle began. First to three, with a point being scored every time you have your opponent in a position where they could be hit. Ruby would halt her scythe swing inches before making contact with her sisters body and Yang would hold her punches centimetres from Rubys own skin. Then, they would return to their ends and start again. It wasn't exactly what she needed to be learning but it helped her get used to the pace and speed of combat, they would move on to more complicated things later on.

Yang would go easy despite Rubys insistence, they both knew that far too well. Ruby would win relatively easily, then she would argue a little with her sister about how hard she was trying and they would try it again. It had always been like this, but at this point Ruby knew better than to try and change her sisters ways. It was easier to just get it over and done with so the training could begin properly after Yang was satisfied she wasn't going to incapacitate her sister.

"Three!"

The two of them tensed up, raring to go.

"Two!"

Yangs voice wasn't quite as playful as it usually was, but Ruby dismissed it as nothing. She took one final glance at her knee and, confident that it wouldn't bite her raised her weapon. The blades glinted in the sunlight, a wickedly sharp edge that has cut through many things during its use. And due to her fanatical devotion to it, it was still in top form. Every single moving part worked flawlessly, every millimeter of metal was polished rigorously and every chamber was cleaned thoroughly to ensure that her beloved Crescent Rose was always working as well as it could be. Her logic was simple, something that her Uncle Qrow had taught her on the very first day of Signal.

'You are only ever as skilled as your tool.'

It sounded a little odd to her at first, inanimate objects don't have skills like people do, but as she began to learn how to use it effectively and improve her own techniques she understood what he meant.

"One!"

Yang held her hands behind her, ready to launch herself quite literally into battle.

"Let's go!"

A dual explosion rang across the air to match the large red flash that flickered into being before wasting away, with the blonde girl using the momentum to sprint towards her foe at max speed, slugging a punch into the air as another glowing projectile was sent hurtling forwards. Ruby didn't even have to move, knowing that she would have the best chance of avoiding the initial slew of punches if she let Yang come to her. Instead she only tightened the muscles in her legs further, quietly relieved that there didn't appear to be any unnatural feelings manifesting under her skin.

The dust was kicked up high, making it very easy for Ruby to predict where her sister was. It wasn't obvious enough that the bright orange bullets slamming into the ground behind her came from there, or even the bright yellow hair that was easy to see even at that speed. A speed which would force Ruby to find herself staring at a clenched fist in a few seconds. Her silver eyes narrowed and as she counted the time in her head, she made sure to move at the last possible second.

In one swift movement, Ruby had swung her scythe a full half-circle, simultaneously jumped into the air and fired a round into the dirt below, sending the girl flying into the air out of reach of the initial punch. Yang skidded to a halt, rapidly turning around to chase after her airborne sister without a second though. A proud grin danced across her face as she took pot-shots, her aim purposefully a little off to avoid hitting the flying enemy. She was moving at the same speed Ruby was falling, and as they both covered the ground below Yang failed to notice the path Ruby was taking.

The young girl landed nimbly on the top of the arch, rolling into a crouch on the pillar and standing to her full height. In the time it took for her to do this, Yang managed to slow herself to a halt seconds before running straight into the adjacent pillar. She stuck a thumbs up at her sister, smiling happily at the one she received in turn. The smile remained as Yang hurled a shot towards the pillar, glad that it had done its job in forcing Ruby off her vantage point and back to the ground. She rolled again, using her momentum to her advantage and spinning around with scythe at the ready.

It turned out that her innate reflexes were sufficient enough to catch Yang off-guard, or perhaps the blonde had done it on purpose. But as Ruby caught the brief 'o' of surprise and the glimmer of delight in her purple eyes she knew that for once, Yang had honestly underestimated her. She held her hands up in defeat, gave Ruby a quick hug and strolled back to the west end of the field before her sister could respond, leaving the girl to take her position again.

"Three! Two! One!"

The two girls charged into battle again, this time in a much more close-quarters engagement. They were both far too caught up in the heat of the moment to notice their company, but the man did nothing to advertise his presence. On the contrary, he was content to watch from afar, noting with faint satisfaction that the young leader had healed well. He watched calmly as they dueled, resting his cane on the grass with both hands. A single smile rested on his lips for a brief second before the wind took it away.

Yang kept her attacks fairly predictable, throwing left hook after right hook to which Ruby deftly avoided, bending her back and ducking underneath the blows. At this range her weapon was pretty much useless, but she lacked the physical strength to force her sister back into the danger zone. And while Yang was going easy, she still wasn't giving Ruby any opportunities to escape, her rain of blows forcing a level of concentration that prevented any other movements.

All she could do was wait it out until she was given a break, intentional or not to increase the gap between them. Another swift string of dodges was followed by a spur-of-the-moment dive-roll, only to find herself staring at the closed fist of a certain gauntlet-wielding blonde. Silver eyes widened in brief surprise until Yang winked and bopped Ruby on the shoulder, again striding off before she could react. Ruby cursed herself a little under her breath, she should have known better than to make her own luck. Yang was deceptively fast, and ironically enough now Ruby had underestimated her. Still, it was only tied one-to-one and they had the next two hours to themselves, so she wasn't really worried about winning or losing.

Again, the two of them took their places and Yang began her countdown, catching the brief glimpse of something unusual in the corner of her eye. A figure of some sort, shrouded by the shadows of the trees they stood underneath. Even before she could blink and double-check, they were gone, like a ghost. She mentally shrugged, assuming that it was just a trick of the light and refocused her attention on the job at hand.

"One!"

The noises of battle filled the air again, the side-effects of a training regime resting atop a sibling rivalry.

The air in the room could be summed up in one word: bored. The entire class had spent the past twenty minutes listening to Professor Port ramble about his tales of adventure and prowess, and it was clear that none of them believed a word of it. Blake half assumed she had come to the wrong room but she knew that she was in the right place. This was supposed to be Grimm Studies, but so far the only thing she had studied was how much Port liked to talk about himself. This wasn't new information by any stretch, but she didn't really class this as learning.

And judging by the politely sitting but undeniably bored heiress beside her, neither did Weiss. She had her pencil and notes spread evenly across her section of the bench ready to be used but she hadn't touched them since the class had started. There hadn't been anything for her to actually take notes on, only the embellishments of a proud man. She was paying attention but she was by no means enjoying it, as after the first few weeks of listening to what was basically the same story over and over again it appeared to have lost its charm. This, along with their dealings with partners was one of few things the two girls mutually agreed on sharing with oneanother.

Plainly however, Professor Port neither knew nor cared about this, and while he proudly held an arm across his chest and gestured with the other Blake could hear the pride practically oozing out of his voice, as though he truly believed he had done the things he claimed to have accomplished. She reasoned that perhaps he really had rode a Nevermore to exhaustion, she didn't know what happened all those years ago. But looking at the man before her and hearing the way he spoke, she highly doubted that was the case. But on reflection, it did remind her of someone else she knew.

Someone she thought she had known.

She shook her head, refraining from traveling down that road again no matter how tempting it sounded and instead trying to focus on the class at present, although her accursed mind was making it difficult. Port wasn't exactly grabbing her attention, and despite the many times she had shunned the thoughts away they still insisted on coming to light. But Blake resolved not to buckle under their weight, for she had endured it for so long already, and she couldn't afford to break now. Somewhat luckily for her, she was jolted out of any risky thoughts by the low hiss to her right.

"What are you doing?" Weiss whispered under her breath, catching Blake off guard. She blinked a few times and glanced over at her teammate, following her eyes and only now realizing that her fists were clenched. Upon putting the pieces together in her head she quickly released her hands and shoved them in her lap, somewhat ashamed and disappointed in herself at allowing her guard to drop so easily. She had to keep her wits about her even in a classroom, as one wrong move would result in all her efforts being undone at a single slip.

"Are...are you crying?" Another whisper, but far less severe this time. Blake brought a hand up to her eye and wiped it a little quizzically at first, until her heart stopped briefly at the damp touch on her skin. She was crying, but why? There was nothing to be upset about, or afraid of, she wouldn't be here otherwise. This was exactly what she didn't want, another person potentially working out that Blake wasn't as cold as she appeared to be. It was a ruse she had erected and maintained for years, in much the same way as Weiss fronted arrogance and an egotistical facade. The heiress would never admit to this, but Blake caught on fairly quickly after the way she reacted to Rubys injury. That concern went far beyond simple acquaintances. Blake swallowed and wiped her hand on her skirt, shaking her head slowly and whispering back with the faint hope that she sounded convincing enough.

"No, I'm not. I'm just tired."

Even if Weiss did believe her Blake didn't look back at her to check, and instead she hunched her shoulders a little and stared hard at the professor in front in an attempt to distract herself from her memories. She wished nothing more than to leave the room right there and then, but obvious problems aside it would only make things worse. Weiss found it unquestionably odd, but she didn't speak anything of it lest it caused unnecessary hostility, and instead did her best to try and pick out something useful from the class at hand. Though she did make a note of bringing it up the next time Blake opened up, she knew that if that time came it would be very difficult to break down her walls.

The two of them sat in silence along with the other students for another five minutes until finally Professor Port finished the sixth tale of wondrous talent and began his actual teachings. He mostly detailed the habits and hunting methods of the various Grimm that inhabited the Emerald Forest, and while both Blake and Weiss already knew about the pack instincts of Beowolves and the Taijitus ambush strategy, Blake did manage to pick up one little thing that she didn't previously know.

Deathstalkers weren't the only tricksters.

Port skimmed over the topic briefly, but something about his words struck a chord inside her that she didn't like the feeling of at all.

"I'm sure you are all aware of the glowing stinger of the mighty Deathstalker, and that it uses that appendage to lure unsuspecting prey into reach? Well, I bet you didn't know that the Deathstalker is not the only Grimm to employ such tactics. Yes, there are truly many terrifying tales of ambushes and unprepared huntsmen being tore apart by ferocious beasts! Why, I recall of one time when I was hiking across the mountains of..."

'The Deathstalker is not the only Grimm to employ such tactics.'

She recalled what she had seen on that night with such vividness that her chest tightened with foreboding, her whole body beginning to shake with nerves that she did her best to suppress.

'It couldn't have been a few seconds after the Nevermore had begun to screech. She had watched in a twisted sense of tranquility as something very large burst from the trees. It was now at full height, towering above the canopy as it erupted from its cover, launching itself at the perching Nevermore with startling speed. It closed the gap within three strides, each one shaking the ground with the sheer force behind it. She remembered the lightning striking the ground, and the obsidian scales that the rain slid down. That terrifyingly guttural growl had echoed around the clearing as the Nevermores cry was sliced in half.'

With the memory fresh in her mind, Blake paid full attention to the class from that point onwards. She now listened intently to the Professors story not out of interest to the actual account, but out of a somewhat desperate but rising hope that he might have the answers she was searching for. And although he did ramble on for far too long about his own physical abilities and the not-so-impressive amount of times he forcefully subdued an Ursa Major to the ground, Blake did manage to pick out a few little snippets that she could find to be useful.

With these in mind, the first thing she did when the class ended was pull Weiss to the side of the crowd of relieved students, who were no doubt heading to their dorms to relax or perhaps a class that they were actually interested in, and whispered her plans into the other girls ear to avoid any unwanted attention.

"Are you sure that's a good idea? You keep telling me to keep it quiet and now you're going to blurt it all out?"

Weiss's voice was hushed, but undoubtedly annoyed. Blake did her best to calm the heiress, keeping her voice as level as possible to quell any potential outbursts.

"I'm going to choose my words carefully, Port will only know as much as I want him to know. I'm not new to this, and I doubt you are either."

The brief shift in Weiss's posture and the refusal to look Blake in the eye confirmed the accusation. No doubt she had much experience in the way of twisting your words in such a way that she was the one in control, that people would hear what she wanted them to hear and say what she wanted them to say. It was another thing the two girls had in common, though they used their verbal talents for very different reasons.

After a further few seconds of silence, Weiss replied with a distinctly displeased tone. She wasn't happy about conceding to her teammate, that much was obvious.

"I hope you know what you're doing."

Blake gave her a look of mock disbelief and turned away to walk towards Professor Port, missing the silent scowl that she received from Weiss. The two girls immediately straightened up as the mans booming voice echoed around the now-empty room.

"Ah, ladies! What do I owe the pleasure of your company this fine afternoon?"

They both internally cringed at his attempts to flatter them, but kept it inside. Blake flashed him a brief smile before speaking for the two of them, knowing Weiss probably wouldn't be as tactile as she needed to be.

"We'd like to know more about the Grimm you were talking about, the 'tricksters'?"

He took a moment to think, and just when Weiss began to think it was a lost cause he stirred back to life, causing her to jump a little in surprise.

"Ah yes! You want to learn about Grimm outside of Vale?"

Blake nodded her head somewhat eagerly.

"Well then, what would you like to know?" He held one arm behind his back and stood against his desk, the other resting proudly across his chest as Weiss and Blake shared a glance.

"How many other species are there?" Blake queried, her voice holding no small amount of intrigue. The teacher looked at each girl in turn before answering, no doubt a little surprised to find some of his students actively interested in his lessons.

"Of what we can call Tricksters, several that I know of. There is of course, the Deathstalker and its desert relatives...did I tell you the time when I was fiercely attacked by such a creature?"

Weiss resisted the urge to roll her eyes, and though Blake shared her teammates feelings she decided to steer the conversation as she so often did - to where she wanted it to go.

"No sir, I don't believe you have. We were actually interested in the large, exceedingly rare Grimm called Umbra. Do you know about those?"

He appeared a little deflated at being denied a retelling, but answered her question no less enthusiastically. Weiss did note how he seemed a little more interested himself and could only hope that her fears were wrong.

"Ah yes, the legendary Tenebris! Also known as Umbra, among many other names. Mighty beasts which exist only in the furthest reaches of Remnant, far from civilization. Yes my student, I do know of the Grimm which you speak of. But what, pray tell, do you two wish to know about it?"

"Well, everything. I'd read about them in books of course but if the Grimm in the Emerald Forest are anything to go by, they must be a sight to see."

Professor Ports eyebrows raised comically and his mustache twitched as he spoke, giving Weiss the impression that his mouth was inside his facial hair. A ludicrous thought, but one she found quietly amusing.

"Quite so! Unfortunately even an explorer as renowned as myself was denied any opportunity to even see such a creature, let alone subdue or capture it."

They half expected him to launch into another impassioned tale of adventure and ego-stroking, but much to their surprise he held off on such things, no doubt interested in their intentions.

"You tried to find one?" Weiss asked, earning a nod from the man. She rolled her eyes almost immediately afterwards, his voice taking on an overdramatically melancholic tone that she would've expected from someone as immature as Yang, not a well-respected and knowledgeable teacher.

"I did indeed, but alas as fate is kind so must it be cruel, and every attempt I made only ended in failure. My time was limited and I had precious few days, but I failed in my quest. To this day it stands as the only beast that escaped my grasp."

"Aren't the Grimm supposed to be anonymous? You talk about this Tenebris as though it was unique."

"Ms. Schnee, the Tenebris are few in number and varied in appearance, though they like all Grimm share key features. The mask, the black colour scheme and most importantly, the soulless mind of a frenzied killer. They may be rare and somewhat different in their aesthetic appearance, but not all anonymity is visual."

After that, Weiss remained silent, what little curiosity she had put down before she had a chance to raise it. Blake took the reigns from that moment onwards and after several tense conversations she took his offer of another story as an excuse to leave, and while she nodded her head in respect in much the same way Weiss did Port bowed to the students and bade them farewell, watching the two girls leave his class.

He turned to the desk and gently moved his golden bust of his own head to one side, rummaging through the pile of papers until he found the item he was searching for. Professor Port moved towards the windows on the right side of the room and held it up into the light for him to see.

A black folder.