He knew one thing for sure as he prepared himself for this fight with Deku.

Well, he had always known a lot of things, don't ever let anyone let you think he was stupid, and if they told you that, tell him so he could blow their fucking face off.

But anyway, he knew one thing for sure...

Bakugo Katsuki had always known he was a patient man.

If someone said otherwise, well then, they`d better shut the hell up, because clearly Bakugo had to be a frickin patient saint to not constantly explode with rage with all those idiots surrounding him in that school and all of the bullshit he had to put up with.

All right, maybe all things considered, Beacon wasn't all that bad.

True, he had ended up not being a team leader for reasons entirely beyond him.

Probably because he would have just ordered himself to get a job done by himself and the rest of the team to not stand in his way. All that teamwork was nice to learn for all the weaklings needing it, but which professional Huntsman didn't fight on his own? You sure didn't see All Might getting weighed down by a team that couldn't keep up with him, did ya? Since guys like that were his goal, teamwork was only a necessary evil he'd leave behind after he was done with Beacon.

And if until then, him not being team leader would let him concentrate on important things, all the better.

Things like training and actually winning in spars at more than a meager 50% ratio even someone like Deku managed. And if someone like Cardin was considered team leader material, who bullied Faunus girls because even as an entire team he couldn't down someone like him? Well, that was Beacon's loss, not his.

Ok, it could have been worse. His team wasn't all that bad, for one thing they weren't that weak. The runt at least had spunk, even if in a real fight he would have gotten her down. And she knew it or she would have rubbed that win into his face way more. Because that lucky shot surely wouldn't have a repeat.

Actually facing him head-on still showed way more balls than guys like that wannabe sniper that had 1-hit KO-ed Deku. Wanna see him try that in the field facing a Grimm pack. What's a Huntsman worth who needs an entire team to babysit him in order for him to get one decent attack off? Laughable.

So the runt wasn`t worthless like that. Hell, he could tolerate Lie Ren and Todoroki, at least those guys knew how to shut up and not be annoying. And Lie Ren prepared decent food and great pancakes, so that was one good decision Ruby had made to push all the cooking duties on him entirely. Though why a team needed two frail speedsters was beyond him.

But for some reason Bakugo couldn't really get that angry around Lie Ren, guy had something soothing about him. Maybe because he always seemed so sleepy. At least when his whack-job of a girlfriend wasn't around. But apparently Deku did a decent job at keeping her occupied. Deku doing something right. Hell froze over apparently.

Todoroki? He'd have to fight him at some point, the guy was the real deal judging from their training and one of those he'd have to step on to rise. Especially because he had the annoying feeling the guy held back for some reason. Frankly he'd have preferred him on some other team to deal with him sooner, but as the fight with Ruby had shown team mates were fair game. At least something that Glynda did right, despite all those unrealistic pansy-ruled spars she insisted on.

But yes, it could have been worse. He could have ended up on Deku's team. Because book smarts plus a meager barely-trained aura and backfiring Semblance were clearly team leader material. How the stuttering wuss ended up getting anything done while surrounded by girls was beyond him. The mere presence of girls usually paralyzed him, now half of the school envied him for the luck of the draw he had in that regard. Heck, beyond their looks, that team was actually decent enough to carry Deku on their back enough to let him train non-stop for his second awakening. Which really hadn't taken him long to achieve, but considering he was years behind that was still awful.

Deku even muttered less, so he was clearly getting conceited. And getting a reputation after his second spar and those trial exercises. Time to show him that maybe he could squeeze through Beacon's programs, but clearly just belonged to the riffraff.

And for all the brains he had, he was still too stupid to just train his Semblance over other things, when that Semblance clearly was the only thing with real potential, considering what it did to that Giant Nevermore.

Time to teach him again. Having gone so long without roughing Deku up kinda made Bakugo look forward to it. Just because they came from the same combat school didn't mean anything like being on a similar level. If anything he'd show him the gap would never lessen.

He stood up, having completed his third set of hundred push-ups by using his Semblance only. Fine control was something he still needed to work on, doing these small explosions to push himself up was still a pain in the ass to control. Still didn't mean he couldn't get into a better physical shape while he was at it.

Katsuki Bakugo would show all of them that he was the full package and not just hype.

Maybe that redhead would be next. A four-times tournament champion was more like what he wanted to face than the likes of Deku. But until then he'd have some plain ol' fun for old time's sake.

Izuku had always been pretty laid-back at heart. While his nervousness often covered it to the point it was hard to recognize or even to believe, most people would agree there were few instances when Izuku would get angry or sad. He was the type who kept going, who stood up for another attempt, who'd try over and over instead of getting discouraged or throwing a fit.

He'd rarely pity himself, while easily feeling the pain of others and putting it over his own.

And most of the times he got really serious, he wouldn't just get angry for his own sake, but for the sake of others that were mistreated or victimized.

No, when Izuku got angry it was usually if someone innocent was in danger and cried out for help, help from anyone. Like Bakugo that one time, even if it was only his eyes that called out to him or anyone, in blatant panic and desperation. And those were the times when Izuku lost all restraint and took things up to eleven if it meant possibly saving someone.

Izuku was also a rather meticulous person, as anyone would readily attest for. Be it his note taking, his training schedule, his punctuality...

Izuku was keen on doing things perfectly, if he was at all capable of doing them. No matter how often he had to try it, he wouldn't settle for mediocrity and would keep improving his work. He liked things complete and structured. He liked things orderly. He liked being able to find whatever his mind demanded him to have around when he got inspired, within the small time frame before inspiration would possibly elude him again.

He knew he wasn't exactly a genius or a creative person. So when inspiration struck, when a chance revealed itself, he was the type who would act, making use of his analytical mindset and preparedness that allowed him to act thoughtfully even when the time to think was so limited others would be forced to rely on instinct. The number of journals he had written on all kinds of topics spoke, literally, volumes.

When he had been a forsaken child of the moon, there really weren't many people that he could go to when having problems or feeling sad. His parents, well, sometimes in life you don't want to be helped by your parents or are too embarrassed to ask. Other times his father, as much as he loved him, would simply not be there when he might have needed a man-to-man talk and some things you just couldn't talk through by scroll. His mother Inko did the best she could to always be there for him, bless her soul, but she couldn't fill every gap at once, that the lack of friends or a reachable father-figure had left.

So Izuku had to look somewhere else. When it came to persons he could look up to, hunters were it. Sure, he wished to be a huntsman too, but it had also been him looking for an admirable figure he could strive to reach, that he could shape himself after, for all of his far-off dreams for the future.

So that he could look at himself in the mirror and not be disappointed. To not see all those flaws anymore.

The news wasn't enough though. The coverage, never enough! So many gaps, so little facts!

So he dug.

Deeper and deeper.

Archives. Newsgroups. Message boards like "remnantbattles" with all its VS-threads on Huntsmen of all kinds. It was at that place he had found the courage to speak up when someone was wrong on the web, because Izuku would always be prepared enough to back-up his arguments with facts and sources. It was here he had found the first semblances of acknowledgement. There no-one knew he was a child of the moon and his mind amounted to something.

It had been a bit of a hope spot for him that kept him going when a day had started getting called out and tossed around by Bakugo and his underlings or after having failed a physical test again, despite giving triple the effort others did.

But still, all that he could find out there were just dry facts. While that allowed for educated guesses, it really didn't tell anything about the persons behind those heroic acts.

What were their thoughts, their feelings? Their motivations, what kept them going, what were their hopes and dreams? What would they tell someone who aimed to be like them?

It had been at that point Izuku had gotten into huntsmen comics.

Sure, at first look that seemed weird, even to himself. Well, naturally to himself was more like it, because he didn't really have anyone to share all those thoughts with.

First he aimed to find facts, then he went after fictional stories that may barely share any relation to the real events? Kind of... stupid?

Izuku had been thinking that way too, at first. But the comics had gripped him.

They actually answered all his earlier questions. A huntsman's dreams, their goals, their fears.

Maybe it weren't all facts, but it were possibilities at least? Or maybe just ideals? And seriously, if someone was searching for something to shape themselves after, would anything but an ideal suffice?

And Toshinori Yagi, in his eyes being the most simple, yet somehow also the most complex of those ideals, had of course been his number one.

Even if it hadn't been Toshinori Yagi who saved Mountain Glenn, the sheer scope of his kind of heroism, the way he reached out to the common men. It was just... perfect. Izuku's ideal.

Izuku adored his collection of Toshinori comics more than most of his other worldly possessions.

So when he had found Nora just clutching one of them without any thought, a limited edition to boot!

Izuku had gotten a little angry. Maybe even a little loud.

He had seen a bit of hurt in Nora's eyes and the surprise on Pyrrha's and Weiss' faces. With a little regret, he had still asked:

"Nora, how would you feel if I just took that small wooden hammer you cherish so much, mishandled it and chipped it by accident? Wouldn't you get angry too?"

For a moment Nora looked shocked at that thought, before giving him an understanding look and an embarrassed smile.

"I'm sorry, Izuku, I should have asked first. Can I still read them if I promise to handle them more carefully?"

Izuku nodded. "Sure, actually it would be fun to have someone around to discuss them."

Pyrrha smiled. "You might want to get them autographed. All Might has become one of our teachers after all, but who knows if he will be able to stay around for a longer time?"

Weiss shook her head.

"Still, I don't really understand what the big deal is, they may be collector's items, but they're still just comics."

Izuku turned around and gave Weiss a saddened look, the kind you'd give an uneducated child who just said something exceedingly dumb.

'Fucking hell, why am I stuck here with this loser?'

'Todoroki's gone to who the fuck knows where, and Rose has gone off to her little play date with the other team leaders. With Him.'

'And now I'm sitting here, trying to focus on my homework, when that other quiet asshole is doing the same except for when he looks over at me. Arrogant little shit. Is he pitying me because I lost that fight with Deku? Really? Look at me one more time, you weak shit, and I'll blow your goddamn head off! Who the hell uses some weak ass .45 caliber guns anyway? A useless bitch, that's who!'

'And there it is! '

"What is it, asshole?!"

"You're smoking."

"Huh?"

'I look up at my shirt and see that, yeah, there are a few burn holes on the back. And a little smoke too.'

"So what?"

"Does that hurt?"

Bakugo couldn't help but roll his eyes at that.

"Of course not, dumbass. Semblances don't hurt their owners."

The quirked eyebrow says all he needed to. 'Deku's hurt him when he beat your ass.' I snarl to shut him and his smug eyebrow up.

"Deku's a loser, and his semblance is one too."

The eyebrow kept mocking him.

"And he got fucking lucky anyway. It's not like your semblance is useful in a fight."

'This moron needs to be reminded his place in our group. He was a skirmisher/harrier at best, chew toy at worst. I haven't even seen him use his power, so that pretty much says he either doesn't have one like Iida or it's so useless it'd be funny if it wasn't pathetic.'

Ren shrugged.

"It is against the Grimm, and I simply don't like using it on people."

"Well isn't that lovely. Enjoy that moral high ground when everyone beats you into paste."

Bakugo fully turns around so he could properly sneer at him.' "So don't you dare look down at me for one fuckup, or I'll put your head so far up your own ass you'll be pissing tears. Get it?"

He held up his hands in surrender, 'like a proper loser should do. They should submit to who's stronger. They shouldn't fight back.'

"Good. Like some bumpkin from some Podunk backwater knows about fighting, Grimm, or anything else."

Just as He began to turn around, he saw it. A flash of anger in those pink prissy eyes.

'A challenge.'

In a split second he was on his feet, making his way across the room and glaring down at Ren. He didn't shrink away that time. Bakugo leaned in.

"Oh? So what I said finally got under your skin huh?"

"What was it? That you're a shit fighter?"

'C'mon'

"That you know shit about anything?"

'C'mon!'

'C'mon, you quiet fuck! Do something! Show me what you've got'

"That you know shit about the Grimm?"

Finally the young man let out a reaction, a hiss reminiscent of a King Taijitu.

"I know more about Grimm then you ever will."

'His response is simple but filled with venom. It shows me he's got some spine, but it isn't enough.'

'I want him to lash out.'

'I want him to take that swing I know he wants to take.'

'I want him to fight.'

'I need to win!'

"Oh? Did they smash up a few walls? Scare some yokels and flips some skirts?"

Bakugo didn't even realize Ren had grabbed his tie until he leaned out of the way and yanked, sending the blondes body toppling forward and his jaw into a desk. Before he could muster his aura and blow Ren's ass away, he suddenly grabbed him by the hair and he was calm. The anger was quickly bled out of him, even as he suddenly had a jet black knife pointed straight at his eye. 'Huh. Didn't even see him pull the damn thing. Maybe he's a fucking ninja or something.'

Ren was panting a little, but quickly pulled himself together before he talked.

"You are right. I am from a backwater. It's name was Kuroyuri."

"Was?"

He murmured out, 'My brain feels a little like someone is pushing cotton wool into it. I can push through the sluggishness if I focus, but I wanna piece together how his semblance works first.'

"It was destroyed by a Grimm."

"One Grimm?"

He managed a snort. 'So it doesn't take away emotions. Suppresses obviously. But all of them?'

The knife trembled.

"No. It was many."

Rend looked down at Bakugo.

"Lead by a Nuckelavee."

The sheer hate in his tone made him actually blink, and the tremble he felt in the power being forced into his head gave him a clue.

"So you know about those kind then?"

His tone was still angered, but it was cooling now to an icy gloss. The way his eyes glossed over grey for a moment sent another spark through Bakugo's artificially calm mind.

"Hard to fuckin' forget. They can even wipe out vets if they aren't careful."

'Maybe just works on negative emotions. Fuck that'd be effective in fighting the Grimm. Seems he can spread it too. So maybe he's not entirely useless.'

'But who uses .45's? Seriously.'

"And my village had no Huntsmen."

He let the bomber go and drew back the knife, not stopping Bakugo as he got up and forced his sissy semblance out through sheer irritation.

"Mistral was planning to make it a grand trading hub like Mountain Glenn, so they sent engineers to build more, and guards to guard them and the merchants."

Ren leaned back in his chair, his focus now just going elsewhere. For a second Bakugo considered blasting the fuck out of him, but he waited.'

"They lasted long enough to sound the alarm. But by then they were everywhere."

There's a second he shuddered before he looking back to his audience.

"Have you ever seen your father gutted like a fish? Have you ever crawled over corpses and bloody streets to try and get away from the monsters eating your friends? Have you ever lost everything in your world but one solitary person?"

He wanted to sneer and spit at him, but couldn't that time. Not because he was 'getting soft', or 'moved by the almost aching tone in his voice.' He just got a good hit on Bakugo, so he figured that at least earned his attention. So he just shook his head.

"Then some arrogant ass from some Podunk, known only because one Hunter came around, doesn't know as much about Grimm as I do."

That damn near broke the boys restraint, his hands smoldered as he considered blowing his face off. 'He may have done decently for one second, but he sure as fuck hasn't got the right to talk to me like that!'

"Do you know what I learned that day?"

"What's that, fucker?"

"You're alive."

...

"If you're still alive, you can get better and win. So I would greatly appreciate it if you stop pouting about your loss and get over it."

This time he forgoed blasting him and just grabbed him by the shirt, pulling him up so they were eye to eye.

"You don't know shit! It wasn't just a fight! It was a fight with that fucking Deku!"

'Dammit. Now I can't stop.'

"He's weak! He's always been weak! The weak should get out of the way of the strong, and let them do the fucking fighting!"

"Or they'll hurt themselves."

"Finally! Someone gets it!"

He shoved him back into his chair and burnt off some energy by pacing around.

"Hunters are the winners! They're the strongest! They take care of the shit everyone else is too weak to do! People who aren't strong should just get out of the damn way!"

He was so wound up he almost don't hear it.

A chuckle.

A little 'heh'.

'Was he...mocking me?'

...

'WAS HE MOCKING ME?'

He was in Ren's face all over again.

"What's so fucking funny, you pink-eye shitstain?"

"You sound just like Nora."

And just like that, confusion replaced anger.

"Huh?"

This time he smiled a little, just plain not worried about Bakugo in the least.

"She said something like that when we trained together. I wasn't as strong as her, so she should be the one to fight. I shouldn't put myself at risk or get in the way."

He let out a sigh.

"She was right though. I'm not as strong as her. Or Ruby. Or Shoto. Or even you. But I have my own strength, don't I?"

'That damn quirked up eyebrow is back.'

"Don't I have a right to decide if I can fight, if I prove it?"

"You're different obviously!"

"But isn't Izuku different from before?"

"A scrub is always a scrub! If that idiot isn't gonna keep his head down like he should, something will take it off! He's always run into things too big for him! And guess what happens every time?"

Bakugo spit on the carpet.

"He gets his shit kicked in. Just once, once, he should fucking listen!"

Ren was silent for a few seconds, then nodded his head.

"I think I understand things a little better."

'Something tells me he came to his own fucking weird conclusions,' but Bakugo just snorted and went back to his desk. 'The green idiot,' on the other hand, just got up and went out the door. 'Couldn't even close it all the way, the stupid fuck.' But that's what helped him hear him again.

"-id you hear?"

"A lot of it, honestly. I'm sorry if I was eavesdropping. He's very loud."

"I noticed."

'And of goddamn course that prick Todoroki was listening in. I'll give him a piece of my mind.'

"How was the call? Is your sister doing alright?"

Bakugo reached for the door to throw it open, but a sigh stopped him.

"She's...alright. Mother just got out of the ward, and is living with her now."

"I see."

"...I know what you're going to say. Don't. I...Can I even talk to her? Should I even try?"

"I d-"

"Of course I know she was sick. It doesn't justify what she did."

"No it doesn't."

"..."

"...Shoto."

"..."

"I can't even imagine how much she hurt you. I won't lie. But if you just cut her out of your life, you will never get closure. You won't be able to move past it, or him."

"I don't want her to see me as His son."

"I suppose I could adopt you."

"Huh" "Huh."

"Well, according to some of the old charters in Mistral, I technically am the head of the Ren family. If you wanted, I could make you part of my family instead."

"Oh? And where would I stand?"

"As my brother, obviously."

"Anyone else?"

"Hmm.."

Ren almost chuckled.

"I suppose I have always wanted a nosy little brother too."

Bakugo took that as his cue to open the door and roll his eyes. I

"I'm surprised you didn't offer that to Nora."

"I did, actually. I don't think she liked the idea."

"What did she say?"

Shoto quirked the only eyebrow he's got...the asshole.

"Well, I explained the idea, then asked if she wanted to have my last name."

Ren shook his head.

"She stared off into space and started humming this odd tune. Then she had this odd smile on her face before looking at me, turned bright red, and then ran off to her room. She laughed it off later."

He looked at Shoto, then to Bakugo.

"Do either of you have any idea what that meant?"

The two looked at each other. An understanding was reached.'

"No clue."

"Come on...come on," Ruby could feel her arms shiver as she pushed the bar up, "...si-s-six," she finished as her arms became fully extended. She then, slowly, began to bend her elbows, bringing the bar back down towards her chest, breathing out as she guided the weight back into the lower position. A second later, she sucked in as much air as she could into her lungs, and then began to push back upwards, "sev-se-seve-seven."

She breathed in, and then looked back up at the bar. She nodded to herself, and then prepared to bring the bar back down, only for her eyes to widen. She locked her elbows, but the bar was headed down towards her chest, and she could not control the descent. It was going to land on her, and crush her chest. She desperately tried to catch the bar again, but she couldn't. She closed her eyes, trying to force every last bit of energy out of the rest of her body and into her failing arms.

"Ruby!"

And suddenly, the weight stopped coming down. With all her strength, she began to push up, and then backwards, until she heard the distinct sound of metal clinking together. She stopped, and then breathed in once again. Her vision was very blurry, and it took a second for her to see clearly. However, soon she could see that the extra weight had been lifted up by a long pink muscle. It took nearly ten seconds for to actually realize what had happened, though in fairness to her, she had only seen the tongue when it had been moving at the speed of pun.

"H-he,"she tried to keep catching her breath, "Hey Tsuyu."

"What were you thinking?"

It was monotone. But there was clear accusation at the center of it. Her eyes were still as round as ever, but there was a hint of displeasure in them. Before Ruby could actually respond, the older girl continued.

"It's 11 at night," Ruby winced, or maybe heaved from the exhaustion of the exertion, "it's 11 o'clock and you are weight lifting," she then looked at the bar, "a hundred fifty, at least twenty-five pounds heavier than you," she then looked back at Ruby, "alone, without a spotter."

"Yeah...bu-"

"Ruby," the Frog Faunus just shook her head, "I may not have been chosen to be a leader, but I know that this is grossly irresponsible of you. You could have been seriously hurt."

"Bu-"

"What would happen if I hadn't been walking outside?"

"Well...I would have used my aura."

"...oh yeah."

"I just sort of forgot in the heat of the moment, I'm sure when it hit my chest I would have activated it and threw the whole bar off pretty easy."

"Sorry," Tsuyu almost seemed to look down in embarrassment, "But still, that would have hurt a lot. You really should have a spotter, or at least do it at a time when there are more people around to actually watch out for you."

"...yeah, I guess," Ruby nodded, finally having pushed herself up to a sitting position, "I...I just wanted some privacy is all."

"..." Tsuyu looked at Ruby, and then looked at a nearby bench, and sat down on it. Ruby looked at her companion for a few seconds, and tried to figure out what it all meant. She had never been particularly good at the whole "social interaction" thing before.

"Um. Wha-"

"You want privacy. That's not your normal character," Tsuyu didn't seemed to miss a beat, and Ruby began to blush at the accusation, "You need to talk through it with someone."

"Hey, I can be a very private person!"

"Oh really...when?"

"...well, I don't tell people when I go to use the bathroom."

"Ribbit."

THWIP-CRACK!

"Ow!" Ruby rubbed a red spot on her forehead after the assault, and, as tears welled up on the sides of her eyes, she looked at Tsuyu, "Why does Yang even try to make her stupid puns anymore. That stings!"

"Stubborn pride and a bad humor," Tsuyu offered, before nodding, "But, it's is out of character to hide what you are doing," she then leaned forward, "Tell me what's going on."

"...," Ruby looked at the ground, before turning her head back at the Frog Faunus, "Do you promise to not tell Yang?"

"I'd need to make sure you aren't doing something that could really hurt you before I could promise that."

"...well," Ruby sighed, before steeling herself, "I need to get stronger."

"Ribbit, Okay."

"I saw that I wasn't as physically strong as you all, and so I decided to start training," Ruby continued, waiting for Tsuyu to cut in. Luckily she did not, "So, I decided to start working out."

"At 11? On your own?"

"Well," Ruby rubbed the back of her head, "Neither Run or Shoto are really the weight lifting type," she blushed slightly, "And you know Kaacha-"

"I wouldn't lift with him if you paid me," Tsuyu nodded, and then both chuckled for a second. Tsuyu stopped, and stared at Tsuyu for a second, "And I suppose you didn't want to work with Yang either?"

"...no," Ruby became quiet, and Tsuyu just stared at her.

"I...I suppose I just want to move on and become stronger my own way. I mean, I love Yang, she's my best friend and the best sister I could ever ask for, but..."

"If you told her, she would either insist that you are 'Too young to worry about that stuff' or just try and make sure you did exactly what she did, rather than let you push yourself the way you want to be pushed?"

"...your good at this."

"I'm an older sister too," Tsuyu coughed, two small pink circles under her eyes, "I just thought what I might do to make my little siblings want to push away from me."

"...you won't tell Yang will you?"

"No, I won't. On one condition though. Ribbit."

"What."

"You agree to work out and train with me, and let me help you plan it out so it maximizes your growth."

"...I don't want to force you to do anything you don't want to," Ruby rubbed the back of her head, looking slightly flustered at the whole offer.

"Nonsense," Tsuyu continued, "I'm just helping my partner's sister become as strong as she needs to. And besides," Tsuyu winked at Ruby, "What Yang doesn't know, won't hurt her."

Suddenly, Tsuyu placed her hand on Ruby's shoulder, "So, I hate to say it Ruby, but I don't think a bench will be the best for you. We need to work on your core, and the best weight lifting exercise for that is dips."

xXxXxXxXx

"My muscles are plotting my murder."

Thirty minutes later, Ruby was laying down on the floor in a pool of her own sweat. Tsuyu had run her through a gauntlet of four different exercises three times, and by the end of it her poor tummy had been pulled and squashed so many times that she wondered if she would ever be able to eat again. Tsuyu was also clearly tired, though she was still able to stand up, and had managed to grab two bottles of water, and then kneel down and hand one to her pupil.

"They do that for the first few weeks," she admitted. She then popped the bottle remaining in her hands, and downed what looked like a third of its contents, before turning back to Ruby.

"So...you and Yang are really close aren't you?"

"Oh yeah," Ruby smiled and laughed, "She's the best. I don't think I could have gotten a better sister if I sat down and designed her like Crescent Rose."

Tsuyu nodded, and then took another sip, as Ruby opened the bottle, and then proceeded to gulp the water down. Tsuyu waited for another second, and just as the water finished entering her gullet, Tsuyu just shook her head.

"I just find it kind of strange. I mean me and my siblings are very close, but you and Yang are just beyond what I usually see."

Ruby stopped for a second and looked at Tsuyu, who was clearly thinking through her next words.

"In some ways you guys seem to be more mother and daughter than anything else."

Instead of the spluttering that Tsuyu expected, Ruby looked at the ground, and then nodded.

"My Mom...she's been gone for a long time. Since I was really little," Ruby began to speak, "And, well, Dad was great. Really caring, really supportive, but...well, when it came to things that were more...girly, Yang helped. She did a lot of the cooking and cleaning. She told me things about the birds and bees way before Dad ever thought to. I wouldn't be who I am without her."

"But it also makes things awkward in some ways, huh?"

"Yeah," Ruby blushed, "When I got my first...womanly sacrifice... it threw my aura off. Yang nearly had a heart attack, and tried everything to fix it. While it is impressive that I got in early, I don't really like how much she brings it up. It is kind of embarrassing. She keeps checking on me to make sure that I am doing okay, she keeps trying to intimidate Kacchan. And if she figured out how I am trying to get stronger than her, well she would really get overprotective and try to tell me not to do it. I love her...but I kind of wish she could give me a bit more space."

"That's why you don't want to work out with her," Tsuyu nodded. She then stood up, confidently.

"Okay, here's the deal," she pointed down at Ruby, who fell back slightly, "You want to get stronger, and I need to get back to actually working out. How about, each night at 10:30, we meet here for weight training, and for some cardio. I will help you get stronger, and I will make sure that my partner doesn't here about what you are doing."

"That's so cool," Ruby laughed, clenching her fists in victory.

"I want only one thing in return," Tsuyu smiled, and stretched out her hand, "Please, call me Tsu."

Ruby smiled broadly, before taking the older girl's hand in her own, and shaking it, "Sounds great. Tsu."

E/N: Contra Productive and A Boy And His... by Vandalgyon, In The Heat of The Moment by Preventer Squall, and finally Building Up by Wind Waker.

-Shovern

Tsuyu has always had a bit of a hard time sticking out from the other characters. I actually wrote the first omake about her confronting Blake, but that didn't really fit into the story.

Instead, I thought it would be better to give her something to work with by working with Ruby, and I thought her taking the role of Ruby's personal coach would work well. We already know from canon that she's a big sister, so her caring for her partner's little sister made sense. It's just nice to give Ruby something different to work off of in comparison to Weiss's exasperation or Yang's...smothering.

-Wind-waker