Chapter Eight
Days, weeks, months… if Lune were to be honest with herself, she'd found them passing by her without doing so much as pausing to stop and wave.
It was like, for one moment she felt as if she could whine about all the workload piled on top of her. Despite her constant self-reassurances that things will get better, that the sun would shine and the big, bad raincloud would finally go away and bother someone else, the first half of the school year had involved much more academic-related stuff than she would have liked.
Most of them were things she already knew, like science and math and all other fun stuff. But even if some of those subjects were actually interesting because they involved the basics of combat, Remnant history, or the usage of dust in daily life and etcetera, etcetera, there were plenty enough aspects of it that would have made her cry if she was of the crying sort. Honestly, it was fascinating to learn the first time that a person could make a weapon out of this or that (forks, anyone?). But to then learn how useful it was in general, and to go on and on about what made it viable in combating the Grimm, what materials it was constructed with and blah, blah, blah… it was like high school all over again.
And here she thought she'd had enough of that in her past life.
Then for another moment, a couple of months had already passed.
Here was Lune now, in Qrow's—Professor Qrow, really, but the guy was just so informal that she mentally referred to him as just plain Qrow every time—combat class and applying what she'd learned so far. Nearly half the year was already down the drain, and her lessons in this class had included some basic maneuvers that she'd taken her time mastering, some introductory lessons involving weapons like sword-swinging or arrow-shooting, and some semblance training because nobody had a good handle on them yet.
Not that she'd discovered hers so far. Unfair, really, because nearly everyone in her class already had theirs.
"Head in the game, Lune! Come on, let's get this started." Yang said loudly from across the sparring room. Her voice had effectively shoved Lune out of her reverie.
The faunus blinked, regarding the blonde. Other than the fact that Yang was shifting her weight from one foot to another, she was also decked in a simple shirt and shorts, brown being the predominant color. Her hair was loose today, and to be honest, Lune felt kind of awed how the blonde managed to fight without getting annoyed with those thick, shining locks. Lune's own hair tended to get in the way when she was continuously moving, and it was actually pretty hard to fix her hair in a way that complemented her loppy rabbit ears, too.
…Did she also mention she was currently in a sparring match with Yang Xiao Long today as her quiz of sorts? She was inside one of Signal Academy's sparring rooms, a rather plain—though large—area that could be split into several sections where several pairs of fighters could spar with each other in comfort. At the moment, however, all students present were doing anything but that; they were all grouped together, watching the faunus and the blonde with interest. Mostly because they were excited about watching Yang kick ass.
Love you too, Lune had thought when she found that out. But then, Yang was just the kind of person anyone could like. The bad puns were a part of her charm, too.
"Oops, sorry. I spaced out again, didn't I?" Lune said. She yawned and rolled her shoulders, sheepishly smiling at Yang. On the other hand, she had opted for an attire almost similar to the other girl, her white hair tied into a braid behind her.
…Yes, almost, because Lune wore a shirt with long sleeves for reasons none other than just because. No hate, please.
"You really should stop doing that. At the rate you're going, you really will end up on the moon." Yang told her.
Lune shrugged. "I'll tell you all about my stay there when it happens."
Yang rolled her eyes.
Anyway, Lune already knew how this was going to turn out. But what the hey, Yang wasn't going to let her hear the end of it if she didn't give a simple sparring match her one hundred percent.
(Simple, pffft.)
"Ladies, less talking, more fighting. I've got a quiz to grade—and it's not just yours," Qrow reminded them bluntly. The man was playing the part of a referee and was thus standing at the side of the sparring area. "Just remember that whoever wins won't be graded the highest. Instead, I'll be judging your performance. I'm expecting you to do better this time, Beryl. You're smart, but you have to be more than that to beat your opponents."
Some snickers all around. The sound easily reached Lune's ears.
The images that flashed across Lune's mind made it worse—images of the faunus getting her butt kicked in the most embarrassing of ways. There weren't that plenty and she thought she was at least competent enough not to fall behind (or else her dad would never let her hear the end of it), but… on the moments that she lost a fight, whether it was a simple target practice or a punching session, it happened in a way so attention-grabbing that anyone would have difficulty forgetting it.
She'd worked harder ever since, but her classmates seemed to out-pace her every time. She was good, just that everyone always ended up being better.
She knew she'd been awesome when it came to just hitting a practice dummy now. She could hit her targets and swing a practice weapon the way she'd been taught to. Could position her feet the right way so she didn't stumble, could make use of her crazy awesome reflexes and dodge projectiles like crazy. Just like Dad taught her, thanks to his crazy exercises. And, depending on whom Qrow decided to match her with when it was time to apply what had been taught, she'd won her own small share of matches.
But then she mostly had the luck of being matched against the better students, which meant she lost more than she won—if that hadn't been obvious enough.
The perks of being a reincarnated person could only be so many, okay? Knowing how to fight and win wasn't one of them. At her current, self-evaluated skill level, she was doing better than Amelie probably would. Maybe. But seriously, she really should have taken a taekwondo class from the World Before. Or judo.
But here she was, getting off-track again, and she best stop here and focus on the present.
Shoving those awkward memories away from her mind, Lune fought the urge to visibly wince and settled for a twitching left hand. "I'll try."
"You better!" Yang said. Seeing that Lune finally had her head in the game… mostly… Yang took on a combat stance that resembled a boxer's.
Lune sighed inwardly and took on a lazy battle stance of her own. She hadn't decided yet on how she wanted to present herself before a fight like this, so better she looked lazy than awkward. Besides, the overall image would've looked more complete if she had her signature weapon with her.
Qrow glanced briefly at Yang, and then at Lune. With a nonchalant shrug, he took a step back and said, "Seeing as you two are ready… begin."
Yang was upon Lune at once, having dashed forward the moment Qrow finished his sentence. The punch Yang meant to aim at the faunus' stomach would have smarted if Lune's rabbit reflexes didn't come into play. Thank goodness. She managed to twirl out of the way just in time and leaped back, unable to counterattack as Yang quickly recovered from her missed punch. Yang wasn't about to let Lune score a hit, so the faunus thought, better safe than sorry. She watched Yang charge at her again.
Lune remained on the defensive and continued avoiding the blonde's flurry of punches and kicks that promised suffering should she get herself hit. Yang was so relentless, Lune couldn't find her window of opportunity—her friend was just that good and all Lune could do was weave in and out of Yang's punches. Yeah, even if the lilac-eyed ten-year-old girl was yet to be the polished gemstone she would be when she turned seventeen; her movements not as smooth as Lune had remembered.
As Lune continually failed to find her opportunity to attack, she couldn't help but think how ridiculously strong Yang's semblance was in general, too. Like, how could she even think of hitting the blonde if it only meant her getting stronger every time—
Oh, darn, close call.
The rabbit girl had backflipped as Yang managed to get close and performed a spinning kick, narrowly avoiding what would have really hurt her chest. Aura prevented injuries, alright, but the sensation of pain would still be there. Just more noticeably muted so as not to hinder in combat.
Heck, Lune so didn't want remember how, every time, she had to override her body's instincts of avoiding any kinds of pain as much as possible. It was hard to make her body believe that a slash from a pointy sword wouldn't result in a nasty flesh wound because her aura existed and it was one heckuva force field—
"Gah!" Lune went flying when one of Yang's punches finally connected. She got hit right in the gut and felt like a deflated balloon, but she didn't end up sprawling awkwardly on the ground. Just like she'd been trained to do, Lune managed to flip her body midair and land into a crouch. Nice and feline, which was funny because she was technically a rabbit. She'd skidded backwards before she finally grew still.
"Come on, aren't you going to fight back?" Yang said as Lune shook off the brief ache, warily regarding her friend as she straightened up. The two ended up circling each other. "You're not exactly getting a lot of points for being on the defensive, never mind if your aura pool's large enough to make you last that long."
"You're not exactly giving me an opening, either." Lune shot back dryly, eyes never leaving Yang. That, and you're just leagues better than me.
"Neither will your real opponents in a real tournament. So you better up your game!"
"…Point." Lune said reluctantly.
From the background, Qrow idly added, "Either you attempt to do a single hit, kid, or you don't get a decent grade for this exercise. A defensive strategy is fine and all, but you've yet to even whittle down Yang's aura."
Lune kind of wanted to scream out that she was trying her best here. It wasn't her fault she was pitted against someone who could easily wipe the floor with her if Lune went on the offensive all willy-nilly.
She didn't get the opportunity to say anything else, anyway, not when Yang shook her head and decided to continue what she'd been doing: performing straightforward punches that definitely reassured Lune that the girl was getting Ember Celica in the future. But several avoided attacks later, her opening finally came.
Deciding that there was no time like the present, Lune spun on her heel and immediately shot her leg forward to do a kick. But then—
No, she was wrong. It wasn't an opening. Yang fooled her into doing that, and with Lune now more vulnerable than before, the blonde had no trouble grabbing her foot. Lune didn't even manage to gasp in surprise when the blonde then let it go, stepped close, spun on her heel and raised a leg, dropping it on top of the unfortunate faunus with the force of stampeding elephant Grimm. The way Lune hit—cracked—the floor made the other students wince.
The entire spar pretty much went downhill after that.
By the fifth month mark, the first years' class rankings were as follows: out of forty-five, the top ten were dominated by a handful of students Lune wasn't all too familiar with—that is, except for Yang, who'd managed to snag ninth place. As Yang was an exceptional fighter, Lune wasn't all that surprised… so long as the blonde wasn't being overconfident or overeager during her spars, anyway, because that was mostly the reason why she didn't rank any higher.
It was also of note that Yang was actually pretty decent in her academics, too, though anything of the sort wasn't really much of an influence towards a student's overall class standing. Just a small percentage, enough to make known to a teacher whether a student's been keeping up with his studies while training for both a future spot on the Huntsmen academies or qualifying for the local tournament.
'Sides, at the end of the day, this was a combat school. Anything combat-related would be prioritized while still making sure that every aspiring Huntsman would at least not grow to be dumb as a rock.
As Lune went over the rankings she'd downloaded into her scroll, sitting cross-legged on her bed inside the dorm room and feeling sore from the beatdown Yang gave her earlier in the day, she realized that the top ten included another familiar name. Her eyebrows raised.
Whoopsie-daisy, she didn't mean to miss that. Though it did accurately describe Vanilla Blackthorn, who'd been usually so quiet and reserved that she was easily missed.
Not so much during combat class, as Lune had found out.
When the faunus had to go over her recent memories of her stay in Signal, she concluded that Vanilla did deserve placing tenth on the rankings. The girl wasn't a prodigy, but she sure as hell got really close to being one when pressed. Lune recalled one moment when the shy girl was a natural at archery and shone like a beacon during class with Qrow supervising, shooting bull's eye upon bull's eye with enough consistency to make the dark-haired drunkard whistle, impressed.
And, while the cream-haired girl tended to twiddle her thumbs and stutter when talking to anyone, during an actual fight her actions were anything but shy as the twelve-year-old fought with well-placed strikes and graceful maneuvers. Vanilla didn't hit hard like Yang or dodge like a maniac like Lune would, but she was accurate. And perceptive; most of the time, she could tell where her opponent was going to hit next and respond accordingly.
Of course, she was still flawed, just like everyone else. She had her own share of wrong judgments. Just like that one time when her opponent managed to confuse the poor girl and strike where Vanilla least expected.
Lune, on the other hand…
After being reminded of her current ranking, the faunus puffed her cheeks and pouted.
Okay, so she wasn't anywhere near Vanilla's or Yang's rankings... or skill level. But! She was fit as a fiddle and could give people a run for their money during exercises. Sometimes. And for someone with no prior experience in combat other than what she'd been taught by her dad and Qrow (so far), she'd done pretty fine. Not spectacularly, but not terribly, either.
She'd ranked 20th, didn't she? It wasn't Jaune Arc levels of bad (no offense to the guy she hadn't even met), but then…
She wasn't impressing anyone, either. She knew that she couldn't please everyone, but it sucked that she wasn't as skilled as she'd hoped to be.
"Kid, I've heard from Yang that you're thinking of getting into the tournament like her," Qrow had said several hours ago, just after class ended and everyone's current rankings were projected on the white board. "You haven't done so bad, but if you don't step up your game sometime in the future, the tournament's going to be nothing but a dream. I'd like to think that seven years is a long time, but believe me when I say that that amount of time flies fast once you've gone deep into your studies here."
Basically, if she was too lax she'd lose the opportunity to be in the tournament. She hadn't been too keen on the idea of being there before, but now… now that her mind was set on it, it was difficult to change her decision. It didn't help that it sparked the competitiveness in her.
…Okay, so maybe she did want to be in the tournament, after all.
But here was reality, slapping her in the face. How could she even do that when she felt like there were so many she hadn't accomplished yet? The creation of her own personal weapon, her atrocious control over dust, even if she had improved over the months… and her semblance…
Huh. What will my semblance be, anyway?
The card scanner beeped before the door it was stuck on swung open, interrupting Lune's thoughts. She blinked, looking up from her scroll. Green eyes then met violet, bespectacled ones, and Vanilla offered Lune a polite smile before placing on her study table a stack of books she'd been carrying for who knew how long.
"Had a trip to the library, I see," Lune said idly, shutting down her scroll and stuffing the thing underneath her pillow.
"I wanted to study some things in advance." She blurted out. "And um, well, we have a lot of homework, don't we? I've been doing bits and pieces of it for the past few days, but I've barely scratched the surface." She then plopped down on her chair. The girl was more relaxed around Lune now, but they hadn't exactly bonded enough to step into best friend territory just yet. Lune wanted to fix that, she did, but she didn't really know what wouldn't make the older girl run away, screaming.
"Oh, god, don't remind me," Lune grimaced, now thinking about her own little pile of homework, too. "For a combat school, we sure are getting a lot of non-combat-relatedhomework."
"Idrisa—the headmistress, I mean—did say that she's balancing out the academic side of Signal as best as she could. We won't be learning as much as we would in a civilian school, but… at least we're not growing up ignorant." Vanilla said, toying with her bracelet as she did so. "It's not so bad, if you ask me…"
"Doesn't mean I like it that much, though," Lune said. Mostly because it's all a repeat of what I already know.
"Right…" Vanilla said. She merely gave Lune another polite smile before looking away, not knowing what to say anymore. Lune had managed to catch a thoughtful expression on the other girl's face before she did so.
Silence then ensued, with Vanilla distractedly sorting out her books and Lune making frowny faces at the notebooks she'd pulled out of her backpack. A blue pen soon accompanied it, and she flipped open a blue-covered one that mostly contained subjects pertaining to general education. Dealing with her academics should be a breeze since these were stuff Lune already knew, but that fact didn't make the whole activity any less boring or mind-numbing. Here she thought she'd had enough of that in civilian school, but apparently she was wrong—
"Do you need help with combat training?" Vanilla blurted out several minutes later, unable to take anymore what she'd appeared to be mulling in her thoughts.
Lune lowered her notebook. While she was more than happy to be distracted, the older girl's question kind of surprised her. "Say what now?"
"C-combat training." She repeated with a stutter. "I-I mean, it's not that you're bad and all, since I could see you becoming really good if you put your mind into it and I bet you could really impress our teachers when you do…" She toyed with her bracelet again as she worked through the words she wanted to say. "But I was thinking, since you've been so nice to me even if I made known that I don't exactly approve of everything you do like your unwillingness to do work or your falling asleep in class—"
"Rambling's worsened," Lune calmly cut in, not the least offended.
Vanilla blinked, blushed, cleared her throat, and tried again. "…I just thought that maybe I can train with you on our spare time. As paying you back for your kindness, that is. And, ah, so you'd improve your class standing and heighten your chance of being in the tournament someday. Is that a bad suggestion?"
Lune stared at the girl before shrugging. "No, it's not. But why the sudden offer?"
The violet-eyed girl took a deep breath and exhaled.
"I've seen the way you looked after finding out your current rank in our class. You know, before we left our combat class," Vanilla quietly said, not meeting the faunus' eyes. Lune froze momentarily, surprised that someone managed to notice the subtle shift in her expression earlier. "And, um, I know not a good feeling to have, so I thought you shouldn't experience what I've experienced before. I mean, you must be trying your best, and to find out that it's not good enough… it's a blow to your self-esteem, isn't it?"
A distant, bittersweet look crossed Vanilla's features as she seemed to recall her own experiences.
No kidding. Lune was still familiar with the feeling, even if those kind of experiences literally were a life away now and all it did was make her feel a faint pang in her heart.
(And at the same time, she suddenly remembered her old family's support during some particularly rough times. She missed them—no, stop.)
"Well, that's kind of up in the air right now, but I get what you're saying." Lune said, inwardly wiping off the memories that rushed at her without warning.
Vanilla relaxed at that, smiling in relief. "That's good. But, well, it's that, and I really want to do something for you this time," Vanilla said. "My sister forced me onto you and all… and I don't want to feel like a burden to you."
"I've said it's okay, though, and this isn't the first time you've told me that," Lune said with a kind smile. "I didn't mind then, I sure as hell don't mind now. We just need to… spend more time as actual friends, is all. You know, seal the deal and all? Because I'm going to be blunt here: we haven't exactly done much beyond simple hi's and hello's and the occasional small talk. Like, we see each other during class and during lunch, but when I'm in the room… you're not, and vice versa."
"Oh. That's true…" The older girl said. Seconds later, she blinked, realized something, and straightened up. "Oh! I have an idea. Now that you've mentioned it, maybe training time can double as bonding time? If you want, that is. You can say no."
That was probably Vanilla-speak for I-want-to-get-to-know-you-better-but-I-don't-really-know-how. Lune found it kind of cute—and the girl did have a point. It was the best way to spend some time with her roommate and get to know her better, right? Yes, she'd definitely made up her mind now. The smile she offered the older girl was brighter than before.
"Well, that's not a bad idea. Hey, maybe we could end up finding out what my semblance is in the long run. I'm thinking it'll help me progress better when I finally have that out of the way." Lune said. "Yours is… invisibility, right?"
"Temporary invisibility… yes," Vanilla answered. To support her answer, she literally faded before the faunus' eyes before reappearing again. "I don't know how my aura does it, but as my sister put it, I kind of end up bending light away from me until I'm hidden. I can't stay that way for long, though. It's like cupping water with your hands. If I do it longer, my aura weakens." Vanilla seemed more like she was disappointed at that glaring flaw, offering an empty smile as she made a helpless gesture with her hands.
"Hey, think of it this way: it keeps you flawed. Perfection's boring," Lune grinned, making the other girl relax even more at the acceptance. "So, training together it is, then."
"I'll set the time and place," Vanilla said. And then she caught sight of her books and offered Lune a sheepish expression. "…After we deal with our homework this week. Oh, and our exams are coming up soon, but I think we can squeeze some sparring sessions outside of class."
Lune ended up glancing down on her own notebook, as well, the object open to a page where all her tasks were written in an untidy scrawl. At the bottom of the page were the underlined words exams by the end of the semester.
She made a face again, reminded of what she needed to deal with today. Yang's lucky, she thought; the girl had most likely done hers already so she could go hang out with her other friends. Lune kind of wished she could do the same, but no, she let all her schoolwork pile up and now was as good a time as any to play catch up. Now all her fellow faunus acquaintances would just have to hang out without her.
As it was, though, there was homework to deal with. Social interaction could wait.
"…Right."
Vanilla had proposed to do some training together during the weekend, so when Saturday came to kick Friday out of the door, the two girls had found themselves on the relatively large clearing behind Lune's house with the entire afternoon to make use of.
Why train there when Signal Academy had a crapton of sparring rooms accessible to its students, you ask? Other than the fact that those were usually filled to the brim with upperclassmen and making use of one would require asking permission and setting a schedule… Lune preferred training out in the open. Simple as that. Signal Academy's sparring rooms were large and ventilated enough, thanks to its windows, but that was it—the only source of air came from there. She always felt stuffy and suffocated at the end of a training session.
Especially when she was dripping with sweat.
…And, okay, if she really had to admit it, she always went home during the weekends because her home was that close to the academy. She'll pull her rabbit ears off if that changed anytime soon.
"You kids go on and have fun," River Beryl said, moments after greeting the girls when they've arrived in front of the Beryl residence. She'd accompanied them towards the back of the house while chatting a fair bit with Vanilla. Now, the woman was standing by the back door, a hand on the knob. "I'll be inside if you need me. Just give a holler."
"I'll use a megaphone if I have to," Lune said. That earned a wry grin from her mother. And a hair ruffling that resulted to a small, surprised squeak of protest.
River was completely ignorant of the pout sent her way as Lune fixed up her now messy hair, turning towards the shy girl with a smile on her face. "And you, Vanilla, make yourself at home, 'kay? Lune's friends are always welcome here. God knows she doesn't enough of them." Her blue eyes were alight with mischief as she added, "If my little girl ends up falling asleep, though, feel free to kick her awake. Trust me, that's the only method that works."
Vanilla could only smile awkwardly back at that comment, unsure what to say to such a statement.
Lune stuck a tongue out at her mom. Obviously, River didn't really mean that and Lune was used to it. But still, that didn't stop her from pretending to take offense, saying as she crossed her arms, "You're a good role model to mothers every where. I hope you realize that."
"Hey, I'm not the one looking to win awards for Mom of the Year," River shot back. She then pushed the door open. "But seriously, if anything comes up, I'm here to help. Oh, and the moment your ears pick up some strange noises, don't even try investigating it. Could be a Grimm, and I have no illusions that two kids are able to handle that by themselves. Cats aren't the only things killed by curiosity."
"Noted," Lune responded, looking as if she'd merely been told what weather to expect today. "Anything else?"
"Nah. I just thought you both should know. Those bastards don't really come anywhere near here, but better safe than sorry, yeah?" Her mom said. She shot Vanilla a sweet smile before turning away and going back inside, humming a tune she'd no doubt heard from the radio.
The two girls were now left to their own devices, with Vanilla staring at the closed door several feet behind Lune, her expression easily described as stunned from the presence of River Beryl. She looked to be processing what had just transpired for the past few seconds and, seeing this, the corner of Lune's mouth twitched into an amused smile.
Lune then crossed her arms behind her head and walked forward, briefly relishing the calm atmosphere the location provided.
Today seemed to be a good day, and it was always nice to be back in the comforts of her home. In a place where the noises were limited to the rustling leaves, the chirping birds, and the occasional singing cricket during the night... her home was a good one. No honking cars, shouting neighbors, machinery sounds, nothing. She'd remembered being a city girl in a past life, and as it had turned out, she'd much preferred being away from the hustle and bustle of the big city. The quiet suited her, she'd realized. She used to think that living in an island like this was lame. Lame and boring.
She was glad to be wrong.
"Um…" Vanilla began, returning Lune to the present. She noticed the older girl now glancing at a nearby flowerbed with admiration. "Did your mom plant all these flowers?"
Lune let her hands fall to her sides and she cast a glance at the vibrant flowers. Now that Vanilla mentioned it, there were indeed a lot of flora within the vicinity. And Lune wasn't surprised. Most of them were wild and simply left alone to sprout wherever they wanted, but there were still plenty enough of them that revealed how they were the handiwork of River Beryl. Those were planted in a neat row, organized by type—and color.
Yup, Lune's mom might not be the gentlest mother or the nicest person out there, but she always had a knack for gardening. Lune bet the woman could grow anything through sheer force of will.
"My mom has a green thumb," Lune explained, squatting down and letting her fingers caress a daisy. She then stood back up, grinning. "Neat, huh?"
"Yes, it is," Vanilla said. A guilty look crossed her face as she added, "I think my sister would end up wilting a plant if she ever tried something like this. She's, um, more likely to break something than anything else."
"Remind me never to get on her bad side then." Lune could almost imagine how that would go down. Deciding that now was a good time to do what both girls came here for and Vanilla obviously didn't know how to broach the subject, Lune put a stop to that line of thought and said, "Anyway, wanna start the training? We can chat as we work through the movements."
Vanilla blinked, as if having momentarily forgotten that there was a reason she was here with Lune. The flowers—and River Beryl—apparently got her distracted enough for that to happen. The older girl flushed slightly and managed a weak nod. "Right…"
The two girls proceeded to do just that, starting with a round of warm-up exercises before moving onto performing the basic movements and stances taught to them during their combat class. This was the portion that Vanilla had decided to take the lead on, and after instructing the faunus to repeat the movements so she could observe Lune critically, the cream-haired girl had formed her first assessment half an hour later.
"Your stances are fine, and so are the moves Professor Branwen taught us," Vanilla said softly as Lune paused to wipe some sweat on her brow, having finished a round of branch-swinging. Sometime earlier, Vanilla had found that particular piece of wood and had handed it to the faunus as her makeshift weapon. "Which means that you're fine in that department. So, judging from the fight with Yang earlier in the week…" Vanilla tilted her head at Lune, eyes slightly narrowed as she seemed to recall what had transpired during that particular day. For that one moment, the girl looked like a different person. She returned to being shy after she realized what she'd just did, awkwardly tugging at her braid. "Um, other than a case of being matched against classmates a lot better than you… you're actually decent. Y-you just need to be more offensive."
"Darn. I figured that was the case," Lune said, sighing and sitting down on the grass, legs stretched out. "I'm aware I'm not the best fighter out there, but honestly, I really wonder how you guys manage to just…" She gestured with her hand. "Do things when you're fighting."
"Oh?"
"Like, when your opponent's about to punch you, how do you realize it's just a fake move when you're actually going to get a kick in the stomach or something? And how do you react accordingly?" Lune asked. "I'm good at dodging things and Qrow's done a really good job at teaching us combat. But for me… fighting back, knowing where to hit so I can turn the tables… I admit, I'm not spectacular in that department. I'm trying my hardest, but combat is like… wow."
Vanilla nodded in understanding. "We all have our flaws… but as I've said before, I'll help you out. Am I incorrect in saying that you're not all that used to combat yet? Getting creative, thinking outside the box, and surprising your opponent?"
"I could lie and say I'm getting there, but honestly… you're not wrong," Lune said. "It probably wouldn't matter much if we're fighting Grimm, but…" She shrugged. "I dunno. I've still got six more years of stay here along with you and Yang. That's plenty enough time to improve. Not gonna lie, though, right now I feel like nothing but a disappointment."
It… was true. There was just something about the girl in front of her that had Lune feeling that it was okay to let off a bit of steam. The rational, more grown-up part of her would understand that this was something she'll have to get it over with eventually, but right now, she felt what she'd felt. She could only deny so much.
In fact, Vanilla had been right when she said she'd noticed how crushed Lune looked after finding out the current rankings. Even if the faunus had already experienced something similar in a past life, it turned out that it didn't help her deal with that dratted negative feeling any easier.
Aw, gee darn it. Now she just felt sad, and she couldn't stop herself from frowning.
Vanilla moved to sit beside Lune and rest her legs. "That's… a been there, done that situation for me. I completely sympathize." Vanilla glanced skyward, sighing. "I confess, being the headmistress' sister… people couldn't help but think that I should also be as skilled as her by default. I'm—I'm not, you know that. I think Yang does, too. But whenever I notice the look of surprise from our classmates' faces after I do badly in something I'm expected to be good at, I can't help but feel the same way you did. It's… hard, so hard to keep doing my best so they don't look at me that way."
Lune could only listen, not entirely sure what to say to that one. Right, of course her own problems weren't the worst ones out there.
"And sometimes? The pressure gets to me so bad, it's like… I'd rather stay in bed all day." Vanilla continued. She shut her eyes, seemingly feeling the breeze against her face. A gentle smile stretched on her lips. "But despite that… I keep trying, anyway. That's—that's why I managed to be one of the top ten in our class. Idrisa's taught me that I shouldn't give up no matter what, and…" She reddened slightly. "And she'd even said, s-screw those people who think I'm supposed to be anything like her. I'm supposed to be my own person.
"W-what I'm basically saying is, Lune, you might think you're disappointing someone, but I think that if you've done your best, then you've done your best. You might feel down now, but eventually you'll just get right back up and continue where you left off. If Yang is disappointed, I'm certain she'll understand. She seems like a good person. And as I've said before, I'll help you out. We're friends, right?"
When the older girl finished, Lune didn't really know what to do other than staring at the normally shy girl.
It wasn't that Lune completely didn't expect anything like that for someone who was the sister of Signal Academy's head, but hearing it firsthand from Vanilla kind of made things feel more real. No wonder why, at times, Lune had noticed Vanilla to be trying too hard when it came to the exercises in not just their combat classes, but also with their other subjects. And when she'd failed, the girl had simply sighed, shook her head, and went on with her business. Vanilla might be shy and a bit wary of new people, but she was anything but weak.
She should do the same, honestly.
"…I guess it's true when they say that the older you are, the wiser you get." Lune finally said, wryly. "Alright, you've made your point. And yes, of course we're friends. And believe me, I appreciate the pep talk. You really know how to raise someone's spirits, you know?"
Vanilla blushed. "Oh, c-come on, Lune, don't flatter me."
Lune stuck a tongue out at her. "Hey, I was being honest here. So, since you're so willing to help me out, I should do the same."
"Um… how?"
"Well, it's been established that you're generally awkward around people. Maybe I can help you with that."
"I… see."
"Anyway, that's food for thought for now. In any case, I'm thinking break time's over"—Lune then stood up, stretching and yawning—"we've got some more training to do."
Vanilla blinked before nodding, standing up and patting away some bits of grass and dirt that stuck to the back of her clothes. "Right! So I suppose you want some tips for combat? I was thinking that, um, we ought to see which weapon suits you best so we can narrow down what kind of fighting you're most comfortable with… Oh! And we know you're quite agile, thanks to your being a faunus, so I-I think we're off to a good start."
"Well, you're the teacher here. I'll do as you say." Lune gave the other girl a salute, making Vanilla giggle softly. "Afterward, though, we've got a batch of cookies waiting inside. Nothing like a nice treat after all that hard work, right?"
"Cookies would be very nice, yes."
The weekend was pretty much spent with Lune and Vanilla training and getting to know each other more, in no particular order. Vanilla had come to learn that Lune was apparently good at drawing but poor at making her writing legible, among other things, and Lune had learned that the girl had a penchant for anything that seemed magical, like in one of those comics the girl was apparently a fan of.
That was actually the reason why Vanilla had confessed that she enjoyed learning of dust and using it; she'd said it was practically magical when a ball of flame or a shard of ice materialized in thin air. Though of course, both were aware that magic didn't exist—well, mostly Vanilla as Lune knew that wasn't the case with the whole maidens thing—but! The illusion was there, and it was good enough for the shy girl.
Eventually, Monday came back to terrorize the Signal students, and both girls had attended all their classes and paid extra attention to the lessons until the bell rang and signaled that it was lunch time. This time, Vanilla hadn't sat all by her lonesome by the table she'd picked. She ended up looking at the faunus, surprised, as the faunus suddenly placed her food-filled tray beside the other girl's as her way of saying she was eating lunch with Vanilla, grinning as she did so. Yang had later joined the two on their table after spending some time with her other friends, and the minutes ticked by as the three classmates chatted about things ranging from their recent homework to the approaching finals.
Things had been uneventful—until one student walked towards their table with a sneer sent towards the surprised Vanilla. He didn't stop looking at her, as if quietly prompting her to speak.
"Can I help you?" Vanilla asked softly.
The student—their classmate—shrugged. He said, "Actually, yeah. I have no idea how else I'm going to put this, but basically… you can help me by dropping out of the top ten rankings."
Vanilla blinked. Yang looked to have not expected that, slowly realizing how wrong the guy sounded, and Lune had started regarding the boy with a dubious expression.
"Um… why?"
"Because I'm thinking you don't really have much to prove to everyone. You're the headmistress' sister, aren'tcha? That's enough of a reputation to have for the years to come. Why not give a chance to those who deserve some kind of recognition? It's not like you'll last long in the real tournament, anyway—hell, I'm not above thinking you only got in because you're who we know you to be."
"Well, excuse me, mister," Lune couldn't help but say, lowering the carrot stick she'd taken a bite of and raising an eyebrow at the rude kid. "But I'm pretty sure Vani here got her current class standing because she's been working so hard to be in it. I don't see you griping about Yang when her dad happens to be the teacher."
Lune was pretty sure the boy knew she was there, but the way he regarded her made it seem like he'd just noticed her there for the first time. The look sent towards the faunus' way was a condescending one. "Apparently being the kid of another teacher wasn't enough to get you in the rankings, loser." He shrugged. "Then again, it's not like the rankings even need a faunus dirtying up the list."
The rabbit girl was barely offended, having grown immune to those kind of barbs. But to Vanilla—and Yang, to an extent—the statement had been very offensive. "Y-you leave her out of this!"
"You might wanna listen, bud, 'cause if you're messing with my friend, you're messing with me," Yang warned, a hand closing into a fist.
The guy raised his hands. "Hey, she shoved herself into this mess. It's not my fault anymore. I've got no beef with you, Xiao Long." Then his sneer was back in place. "Blackthorn, on the other hand… maybe the rabbit, too… well, you know what answer I'm waiting for. I'll leave you alone after that."
Vanilla looked at the guy, and then at Lune with the beginnings of panic visible in her eyes. She swallowed, seeming to consider her options.
Well, Lune wasn't about to let the guy get what he wanted. Before Vanilla could open her mouth, Lune yawned and idly said, "Dunno about you, but I'd rather you go away and bother someone else. No agreement's going to be made here. You're wasting your time, bro."
"Nobody asked you."
"Yeah, well, you have my answer, and that's there to stay."
"This whole thing would've been nice and easy. But now I'm thinking, maybe you and your dad shouldn't have been here. It's not like 'Professor' Beryl teaches any decently, anyway—gah!"
Lune found herself surprised at how the guy was suddenly dripping wet in the face, blinking as she stared at him and then at her now-empty glass of water.
She immediately forgot about the idiot at once. Her mouth slightly hung open as her previous action registered, and apparently Yang and Vanilla were just as surprised; both had the same expression of varying degrees.
But then she remembered that he was there, and she wordlessly looked up at him, body tensed for any kind of reaction that would most definitely be something along the lines of violent, and bruising.
But no. That didn't happen. For a moment, the guy seemed to be stuck in this spot where he was wondering what to do. He settled for shooting Lune a nasty glare before turning and walking away, muttering about her being lucky that fighting each other outside of combat classes was not allowed or else Lune would have had the beatdown she deserved again and again.
Lune relaxed and, after seeing the guy's back turned against her, she sighed in relief.
Silence. And wondering. Those were what basically happened now. When she tried recalling what had just happened seconds ago, she'd ended up remembering that feeling of control, of suddenly gripping into some strange kind of power... and having the idea of grabbing her glass of water and throwing its contents at the bastard's face because he'd just insulted her dad and that was a line not meant to cross.
Except she didn't have to touch the object itself. As if through pure willpower, the water slipped out of the glass and floated in midair. And, at the same time, Lune had flung her hand forward as if to command the liquid to do what she'd been thinking of doing. There was a certain sureness to her actions; there were no doubts, nothing. Just that she knew what she wanted and it happened.
Oh my gosh were three words that didn't even begin to describe what she felt just then.
…Did she just discover her semblance?
Judging from the realization that dawned on her friends' faces, apparently that seemed to be the case.
A/N: Before anything else, I just want to say that there's a good possibility of errors and the like because I haven't proofread this one much. As of right now, when this chapter's uploaded, it's late at night here and I may or may not have the capacity to completely go over this. But hell, I just want this uploaded because this chapter is a long time coming.
Now, I also want to apologize for the late, late update because life got in the way and things might not have been all that good on my side. It was distracting and it interfered with my motivation to do anything and damn that was one hole difficult to crawl out of. But now I'm feeling better. Yay. So if the quality suffered, yeah... sorry. I'll go over this again after I set this chapter simmer down.
In any case, I hope this has been worth the wait! XD I also notice we're approaching 100 reviews, and while I don't exactly see that as a complete basis for story quality... I'm actually feeling accomplished about that. Something something I've never experienced this before and it's awesome. That's all.