Ruby was cautious as she approached the dome shaped building that was Beacon's training arena, where students would battle students and entire teams would battle against a lone but always victorious Pyrrha Nikos.

Considering she knew exactly who waited for her within, she felt like her caution was justified. Yang was a good big sister, the bestest of all the best big sisters in fact! But the problem was that she was Ruby's big sister, which guaranteed either something mildly humiliating, mildly embarrassing or a mixture of the two.

Not to mention she knew for a fact Yang was wearing the stupid Halloween costume that was pretty much just strategically placed leoprint string to prevent her breaking any public indecency laws, so yeah- something was definitely going to go in the opposite direction of her way.

Taking a deep, calming breath, Ruby hurried up the stairs and pushed open the double doors to the arena. Within she saw a lone, blonde figure tapping her foot impatiently with her arms folded over her chest.

"Took ya long enough!" Yang called out as Ruby approached tentatively, making her sister roll her eyes. "C'mon Rubes, we both know I grew out of that biting phase, so you can come closer."

"I don't know Yang." Ruby replied nervously, nervously meeting Yang's mischievously glinting eyes. "You've said similar stuff before. One minute you're all like 'I've grown out of that punching people in the face phase' and the next minute I'm meeting you in Vale after you left me at a Dust store to find you outside the smoking ruins of some poor guys club."

"I told you, they were criminals Ruby." Yang scoffed, shifting on her feet guiltily.

"What if they were trying to do honest work for once, Yang?" Ruby protested. "A club's gotta be hard to run with all those drunk, dancing people doing drunk, dancing people stuff. What if they're forced back into a life of crime now because of you?"

"Ok bucko." Yang replied, rolling her eyes again. "By the way, you've gotten soft with old age."

"What…" Ruby trailed off as she noticed just how close Yang had gotten to her, and just how badly she had slipped up by not noticing.

"Surprise Big Sis Attack Hug!" Yang cried, arms moving lightning fast to wrap around Ruby and squeeze her like she was an orange and Yang was trying to make fresh orange juice. Her back arched as she gasped for breath and Yang shook her a bit, making her legs wibble and wobble.

"B-Bad touch!" Ruby wheezed. "Bad touch! Yang stop!"
"Spoil sport." Yang grumbled, releasing her immediately with a definitive cringe on her face. Ruby stumbled away from her sister, grabbing onto the first row of benches to get her breath. "And can you stop saying bad touch? Makes me sound and feel like a creep."

"Only way y-you'll stop." Ruby panted, before groaning and standing up. "Can I have my present please?"

"Hmm…" Yang hummed, tapping a hand against her chin before sidling over to the bench further down from Ruby and bringing a wrapped package from underneath it. "You mean this present?"

"Yeah! Gimme, gimme, gimme!" Ruby cheered, hurrying over with outstretched arms only to be stopped short by Yang firmly planting her hand on Ruby's forehead. "Yaaang!"

"Nuh-uh." Yang tutted. "You want this, you're gonna have to do something for me first."

"Yang it's my birthday!" Ruby protested. "Just let me have my present. Please!"

"It's not embarrassing Ruby." Yang grinned, lowering her arm and hiding the birthday present behind her back. "Just a little informal test. Even if you technically fail then you can have it, alright?"

"Yang…"

"Please Ruby, for me?"

She sighed and nodded. People always talked about her puppy eyes, but Yang could pout like the best of them.

"Fine. What do you want me to do? I won't do anything embarrassing by the way!"

"That's fine." Yang grinned. "I don't want you to run around naked or anything. All I want is for you to show me how far you've got with those hand-to-hand combat moves I showed you at Patch before Beacon. For peace of mind."

"Let's get this over with." Ruby sighed, knowing she was about to get her butt kicked by Yang. On her birthday too! Yang could really suck sometimes.

"Okay, show me your stance." Yang ordered, eyes appraising as Ruby put one front in front of her, one back and raised her hands up. "Good. Move on the balls of your feet for me, like you're a boxer in front of your opponent."

Ruby obeyed the instructions, sway as she bobbed back on forth. It felt a little fun, the movement not something she usually did and not painful or exhausting enough to be irritating.

"Alright. I'm gonna swing at you with my right. I'm gonna go slow, but I just wanna see what you'll do ok?" Ruby nodded. "Okay, here I come."
Yang swung slowly, like she was stuck in slow-mo from movies. Ruby stepped to the side, and Yang pulled back with a sigh.

"I meant I wanted to see what you'd counter with, don't just dodge." Yang instructed. Ruby moved back into her prior position with a roll of her eyes. "Okay, take two!"

This time Ruby used her left palm to diver the blow whilst her right curled into a first that slow-mo made its way towards Yang's face. Once her knuckles brushed against her sister's chin, she pulled back.

"Hmm." Yang thought. "Good enough I suppose. Remember in a real fight your opponent will have momentum, so you'll have to think and move fast. If they're bigger than you, and they're barrelling at you, you better be able to move out the way or hit hard enough to stop 'em in their tracks."

"Can I have my present now?" Ruby whined. "I did your test thingy!"

"Fine, fine." Yang sighed placatingly. "One more test though. You have to get it from my cold, dead hands!"

Before Yang could take off Ruby used her Semblance to surge forward in a barrel roll of petals and seized the present from Yang, who groaned and glared at Ruby from the middle of the arena, Ruby herself having managed to escape to the top of the arena seats.

"That's cheating!"

"Winner, winner chicken dinner, Yang's saltier than the sea!" Ruby replied, tearing away at the packaging of her present like a wolf devouring a lamb. "Another book?"

"Look at what's inside strawberry cheeks." Yang said, pinching Ruby's cheek.

After giving Yang and undoubtedly terrifying glare that would prevent her committing such heretical actions ever again, Ruby opened the book and blinked at the rows of pictures, breath hitching in her throat when seh recognised who they were.

"Mom…" Ruby gasped, eyes shining with tears as the phantom smell of cookies and a strawberry scented cloak wafted up her nose. "I-Is that-"

"Yup." Yang smiled, though it was watery and sad as she wrapped an arm over her shoulders. "Every photo I could get off of dad and Uncle Qrow. Hell, even Goodwitch gave me one. Can you imagine her and mom kicking ass as Huntresses back in the day. It's that one there, at the top corner."

Ruby followed Yang's pointed finger and saw a much younger looking Goodwitch smiling a rare smile at a camera, a silver-eyed woman with red-tipped black hair standing next to her with a more reserved, but no less happy, smile.

"Mom knew Professor Goodwtich?" Ruby wondered aloud, and Yang nudged her.

"She did yeah. Professor G told me to tell you that if you wanna hear some stories about their Huntress days, you can speak to her. After school of course."

Ruby nodded numbly, instead flickering through the pages and pages of photos, detailing a different time and giving her a glimpse at the mother, the Super Mom herself, that she never really knew and struggled to remember.

"T-Thank you." Ruby mumbled quietly. "Thank you so much Yang."

"Don't cry." Yang replied, pulling her into a hug that was more softer and loving than her earlier one. "If you cry I cry."

"M'kay." Ruby promised, sniffling on Yang's shoulder as her sister sniffled in her hair. They both pretended they didn't cry for a good few minutes afterwards.

"Before I give you your clue for your final treasure hunt present thing." Yang said, wiping her cheeks and turning around. "I got one more present for ya. I couldn't wrap it in time so you'll just have to make do with it how it is."

"Another photo album?" Ruby asked, taking it gratefully and opening it quickly. "It's empty?"

"That's because you are going to fill it with memories and photos." Yang smiled. "We can remember the past, but we can't get lost in it. This is so you can look forward to the future, and when the future becomes the past you can remember it easily by just opening this book."

"Thank you Yang." Ruby replied sincerely, giving her sister a bone-crushing hug rather than being on the receiving end of one for once. "I mean it, thank you!"

"N-No problemo sis!" Yang grinned back, trying to hide how badly affected she was by Ruby's lung-breaking hug. "Wanna hear your clue for your last present?"

"Sure, can you look after these for me though?" Ruby asked, handing Yang her presents. She nodded and took them, stacking them on her lap before coughing to clear her throat.

"You earned your name when you met me Crater Face, but to find me you will have to discover the road where we got lost." Yang smirked after finishing the clue, her voice returning to normal from her put-upon showman's voice. "I take it you're looking for tall, blonde and scraggly?"

"Yup." Ruby replied, standing up and giving Yang another quick hug. "Thanks again Yang!"

"No problemo again Ruby!" Yang exclaimed loudly as Ruby made her way to the exit. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do!"

A/N: Next update 20/01/23!