Sorry for the short chapter, but this is all my exhausted mind could squeeze out.

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"If only they could listen with their hearts & not their minds, maybe then they would understand that often times it's the emotions not spoken that are longing to be heard."

-Christine Upton-

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She couldn't take it anymore; her heart was swelling with the aggressively growing emotions within, the well of feelings ready to burst, the dam ready to break. It already had cracks spanning its width...all it needed was one more thing to destroy it, and the contents to spill out.

The object of said emotions was staring back with a red face, both equally in embarrassment and annoyance; annoyance because Blake wasn't cheering her on as Goodwitch shouted the command to fight.

No, Blake was too busy staring into pleading silver, and she all too soon remembered why she was here. She stood up and shouted over the cheering crowds. "Go Ruby!"

The sincerity in Blake's eyes, the feeling it put in Ruby's stomach; all of these were new feelings, but for whatever reason they spurred her on, and she turned her head bravely to see and dodge a small vertical slice from Weiss.

As she back flipped, that Emerald girl began firing her dagger-guns at Ruby, causing her to constantly weave in and out with practised grace and superhuman agility. One of the bullets hit her shoulder, and had she not raised her aura at the last possible second, then the bullet would have pierced her flesh: Another trophy of scars to add to her puzzle-like body. The scars on her body made her resemble something of a jigsaw.

Everyone watched on shocked as the bullet sent her aura to a mere forty percent. One bullet did that.

Blake simply watched curiously- it didn't matter if Emerald hurt her or not; that shot was deliberately packed with aura and Dust, and was made to eliminate aura quickly...

...but then her amber eyes widened, as did everyone else's, as Ruby's aura levels began rising. It went slow at first, from red to orange, but then it sped from orange to green straight away, her levels now back at one hundred percent.

How was this even possible? The semblances...the aura...just what was this girl?

Weiss' gaze lowered and darkened, and she flung herself wildly at Ruby, slashing, swinging with grace, and practised mobility, causing Ruby to panic. She didn't want to have to use her scythe on her sort-of friend, and she definitely didn't want to have to use her...'other' weapon on her.

As the saying went, 'the most dangerous things are those hidden in plain sight'. This, in Ruby's case was correct, but if Weiss kept forcing her to dodge and block with her robotic hand, and then she would be out of options, and would have to resort to offensive.

Ruby was worried, scared, frightened and, above all else, fearful. She hated hurting people whilst sane, but...this was a sparring match, right? Simply a sparring match, used to test abilities, right? Well...she supposed she couldn't really do much bad if she focused on offense and won. It would show that she was strong enough to be here, and not some snivelling kid that hid behind teacher's backs for protection and ran when things got dangerous...or resorted to her other side.

And so she steeled her resolve...just in time to dodge an attack from the forgotten Emerald. These girls were impressive, extraordinary fighters, and she would have to fight as if her life depended on it. It probably did during the past, but this was different.

She was thankful for the small bow she wore atop her head concealing her ears; it showed her that none knew of her heritage save for Blake yet and that this was a simple sparring lesson; Blake had given her the bow before the day began, telling her it was a gift and should help conceal her ears. Ruby loved it- not only because it was soft and gentle on her ears, but because Blake had given it her...

And so, her face relaxed, her muscles eased, and her stance changed (A/N: see the film Ip Man, and it's his fighting stance) and her eyes closed momentarily before opening, revealing...normal silver.

This showed she was in complete control of herself, and maybe this could show that she didn't always have to resort to insanity when she fought.

Emerald's eyes widened- that stance...that stance was one that her father had only spoken of in stories, shown her images of when she was little. It was the stance of a once great fighter, who fought for freedom of the corruption that plagued his lands, and he beat many with it, not ever obtaining a single blow.

While in her trance, she just barely back flipped out of surprise when Weiss pushed her away, flinging her rapier to the side and switching the dial of Dust to a red one.

Ruby just stood there in her stance, barely breathing.

Weiss flicked the rapier-holding wrist in Ruby's direction, fire erupting from it; Weiss had lost herself to battle now, she would not be beaten, a Schnee is never beaten. Her pride got the best of her, and killer instinct took over, seeing red, not Ruby; Ironically, Ruby as wearing red, and so this made her all the better for a target.

The line of flames reached closer and closer and closer at unimaginable speeds.

But when it finally arrived at the destination of Ruby...she simply sidestepped it, swung her hand, and everyone watched in awe as a ball of flame flew towards Weiss, her blue eyes widening in fear- she had not even seen her own line of flames travel, but Ruby's singular fireball? That was travelling at impossible speeds, a small ring of air bursting around it as it destroyed the sound barrier.

All too soon did it impact her chest, and all too soon did it send her aura down to twenty percent- she had lost, and all because of what? A little red girl with freaky speed? No, she would not be bested!

But a blunt object impacted the back of her head, knocking her out as Goodwitch lifted her and dragged her to the other side of the arena, where the rest of team RWBY were.

So much for not being bested.

Blake didn't even send her a second glance- she saw the killing intent within the Schnee's eyes; she had seen it before in White Fang soldiers, in other Schnee members, in human Faunus hunting parties. Her eyes were solely placed on Ruby, her narrowed eyes widening when she saw Ruby simply smile at her before turning her head to Emerald, the next opponent to fight.

(^^^^^^)

Emerald was, to say the least, probably one of the best fighters around.

Goodwitch probably should have called the match at least forty minutes ago, but the curiosity ate away at her- as it did with Ozpin and Qrow, the two watching spectators next to her; just what could Ruby do before resorting to insanity? Well, by what they've seen so far, she could resort to fighting with her hands, speed, and her scythe...but that wasn't all she could do, and Glynda could sense it.

She remembers the form Ruby filled out on her first day here; Iaido, stealth and free-running had yet to be seen, though she guessed the last two of those were not exactly suitable to be used in an arena such as this. Qrow seemed to silently agree- he simply shook his head slightly as he watched Ruby flip her scythe around her body vertically, creating a sphere of red to be seen around her- she was just that fast with the scythe.

"Her form's all wrong. Her legs aren't spread apart as they should be and her back isn't straight. It's not a very good defensive position-"

And Qrow was proven wrong when Ruby spun her entire body in a complete circle to dodge an oncoming rain of bullets from Emerald, the scythe's bulk covering her back and taking the fire as she span around, barely visible.

"-Never mind..." Qrow had been like this for the entirety of the match; calling out that Ruby's forms and attacks were wrong, and that she traded defence for offense, and then she'd go on the defensive almost as quickly as Qrow could blink.

Glynda turned to him, an annoyed expression on her face and a scowl forming. "I don't know why you constantly have to say something, and then correct yourself; you should know by now that Ruby's style and form is much better than yours. So leave it be..." she pinched the bridge of her nose, and spoke softer. "I know what that feels like, to see someone you love grow up before your eyes..." her eyes drifted down to Ruby- hell, the way she stared at her, she may as well have been her mother- and her voice got stricter when she looked at Qrow. "...but that does not mean that you have to constantly comment! Be quiet and let us watch."

And so Qrow huffed- very childish of him-and sat down with a flop.

His bored eyes soon widened when Ruby had finally been disarmed of her scythe. The Emerald girl had tried countless times to disarm Ruby, and now that she did, she couldn't even lift or use the scythe to begin with.

Ruby looked hesitant to fight now- she had one last weapon at her disposal, but what if she hurt Emerald? What if she scared away Neo? What if...lake didn't like her for it?

Blake had told her countless times of the partner she had- Adam, she thinks his name is- and his style of fighting; Iaido was a very rare style nowadays, but Ruby found some old tomes, and while she agreed that her form needed improving, the actual skill she possessed was on par with that of a mater's.

And so, she looked up as Emerald kept fumbling around with the scythe, trying to lift it out of the ground it was currently impaled in, and her silver eyes locked with Blake's amber ones.

She heard purring in her mind again, and it soothed her fears, turning them into nothing more than emptiness. Blake seemed to relax at ruby's soft expression, and she simply waved, casually pointing to a recovering Emerald.

Ruby just nodded and smiled at her, before turning to Emerald hardening her gaze again. she casually unclipped her cloak, Emerald and the others watching in fascination, as she placed it on the floor in front of her.

"What are you doing?" Emerald's tone was full of curiosity, but the simple shrug of Ruby's shoulder told her everything; this was a last resort, something Ruby didn't even want to use in fear...and now Emerald had pushed her to the limits.

She should have given up after testing the girl, but she wanted to see how long she could last, and the fighting instinct to win took over her- a Sustrai was never beaten in combat to anyone who wasn't a Sustrai. Emerald was no exception, and defeat was not an option in her mind.

Ruby simply looked down at the cloak, flattened on the ground, and raised her two fingers to her lips.

She blew, and an ear-piercing whistle flew from her lips, as if calling a dog from afar. Nothing happened, and everything was-

The cloak began to shake on its own volition, tightening as if someone was wringing dry a wet towel, and then shifting.

The blade was red, with a fantastic black hue decorating the hilt and tip of the weapon. A red piece of cloth hung from the back, waving in the non-existent air, the ends of it rippling, asif distrorted by the very ground it touched.

Blake's eyes widened in shock; a sword like that...she knew what it was. A Iaido sword was almost impossible to make, and clothing that transformed into a weapon was next to impossible to create or find. But Ruby had done it.

She had created a sword from cloth.

And now, Emerald was terrified.