Team RWBY's dorm appeared peaceful, calm and quiet, with three of its occupants nestled in their respective beds. The early morning sun blanketed the room a warm yellow haze as it shone through the half open curtains.
Slowly, the door creaked open, Blake's ears perked up at the initial sound of footsteps entering, but the Faunus girl remained still, undisturbed by the strides that came from the individual in question.
After becoming accustomed to the occasional snoring from Yang for several months now, anything softer than that was considered silent to her.
What came next however, proved to be one of the few minor occasions Blake wished she wasn't a faunus, her heighten hearing proving to be both an advantage as well as a hindrance.
"Goooood mooooooornnnniiiiiinnngggg teeeeeeaaaaaammmm RWBY!" Ruby yelled at the top of her lungs in an energetic voice, violently startling her teammates.
Blake's ears, which had stood upright before, folded down as the sudden, sharp change in ambience nearly deafened them, causing her to awaken with a headache, receiving twice the pain compared to Weiss or Yang.
Weiss gasped for air, fearing this to be some form of emergency, but once she realised who had awoken her, she lay in bed trying to recall the pleasant dream she was having before it was yanked away from her with no good reason why.
And as for the brawler, she just opened her eyes and looked in the direction where her younger sister stood, complacent to the sound of the overly excited fifteen year old, yet was still agitated by the ordeal never the less.
"Agh! Ruby! I thought we were past the whole, waking us all up by giving us heart attacks was done and over with!" The heiress said, angrily glaring at her fully dressed, wide eyed and cheerful teammate.
"Sorry Weiss. It's just one of those days where I'm in a really good mood and nothing is going to change that." She beamed, still feeling contempt by her morning wake up call, despite her teammates visibly opposing the warm reception.
"Well, you almost ate that entire box of cookies before going to bed.
So I'd say that anyone with the same amount of sugar pumping through your veins would also be in a good mood. Not to mention being energetic as you currently are on top of that."
Blake tiredly said, dreary eyed, pulling back the covers while massaging the right side of her temple as she made her way to the bathroom.
"Where did you get them from anyway?" Yang asked, noticing said box at the end of her sister's bed from her vantage point.
Looks very fancy compared to the usual box of cookies she would normally buy.
"They were a gift from Penny and Zen." Weiss interjects before Ruby has time to answer, noting the expression Yang has as she mentioned where the box had originated from.
After which, she proceeded to address her team leader.
"So exactly why are you in such an unusually good mood? You nearly have the same expression now as you did when the three of you came back from Vale. Though even for you, I've never seen you so ecstatic at this hour. Does it have to do with helping them out yesterday?"
" It kind of does, after all, I got to hang out with Penny, I made a new friend...and, I helped him out with his weapon.
But don't you remember our conversation last night?
The three of us were discussing about having a sparring match tomorrow, which is now today, and we'll do it after classes.
I'll be able to see how Zen fights with his weapons close up.
As well as how he'll use them now that they've been modified." She said, trying to keep her words as coherent for her partner as possible, suppressing the urge to ramble on about the modifications she made, down to the very last detail.
"Yes I definitely remember the conversation. I just wanted to know for sure that's reason you're especially cheerful this morning as well as why you felt it was appropriate that you had to voice your eagerness to the rest of us."
"Of course that's the reason. You know how excited I get when it comes to weaponry Weiss." Ruby replied. Ignoring the subtle hint of Weiss' plight with being awoken via a miniature cardiac arrest.
"It figures. I mean, if I recall correctly, once we got to know each other after our... rocky start, you pestered me for days on end to 'look' at Myrtenaster, inside and out.
I am also aware that you tried the same thing with Blake whenever you had the chance to talk to her when neither Yang or I were around.
And you only ceased your persistent pleading to handle our weapons when you decided, no, convinced us, that it would be a essential for all of us to understand how each other's weapons' operated.
'If ever there were a situation that meant we traded weapons mid confrontation'... or... 'Somehow we were parted with our own weapon yet had our teammates' one instead', were the exact words you used to explain your reasoning." Weiss said, her eyes narrowed as she remembered the exercise.
Ruby turned a slight shade of red as Weiss called her bluff, staring at the ground to the side of her as she rubbed the back of her neck.
Heh heh.
"Well you can't say I don't shy away from being dedicated to my goals." She said in a voice just loud enough for her teammate to hear.
Weiss' hand immediately went to the bridge of her nose, sighing as she rubbed the tiredness out of her eyes, knowing full well that her team leader couldn't hide behind her passion.
Despite openly sighing at the exercise being an excuse for Ruby to use Myrtenaster, Gambol Shroud and Ember Celica, she admitted to herself that their leader's decision was quite a rational one.
Given the fact we've trained as a team, and at this stage, know each other's strengths and weaknesses, it made sense for us to do the same with our weapons.
After pausing for a few minutes from regaling their discussion, Weiss returned her attention to Ruby and her oddly chirpy demeanour.
"Going back to your plans with Penny and Zen.
Just so I'm clear, you'll be sparring with Zen more so than with Penny, since the exercise is meant to be about his weapons and fighting style, correct?"
"Yep."
"Hmmm. I just have a feeling that even though this is merely a friendly match, it will not be easy for him to hold his own against you.
Given what you told me about his match with Jaune, Zen will most likely find you to be, a bit more...advanced, based on your fighting style.
"To be honest, he wasn't as bad as you think. Jaune's only means of attacking and defending himself usually involve direct slashes, lunges, parries and his shield. Those types of attacks would have caused Zen to be seriously injured. So Jaune had no other option besides switching to the shield to use against him."
"I'll admit it, I was impressed to hear he was able to adapt to the situation as quick as he did, this is just another reason why Jaune has demonstrated himself to be a good team leader."
"And given Zen's well...you know...aura situation, I'll have to be careful in how I attack him, especially since Crescent Rose was designed with the intention of mowing down as many Grimm and hostiles as possible.
It's going to be difficult in preventing instincts from kicking in, but it won't be impossible.
Actually, while I'm thinking about it, this may help me...after all, being less aggressive would have been helpful with that one time I 'accidentally' killed that beowolf you were going for during initiation."
" Well, although knowing how to subdue an opponent by non lethal tactics may prove to be quite a beneficial skill for you to learn. I still find it strange to hear he has a condition that renders his aura as nonexistent."
"Weiss...you're starting to sound like you did when you first saw Sun at the harbour." She said in a stern tone.
"I'm sorry if I seem to be sounding like...how I use to, but it isn't what I meant.
What I'm trying to get at, is something I once learnt about aura and it's connection to dust."
She took a minute or so to think, wondering the appropriate way to phrase her reasoning.
"You know how we have the ability to use dust alongside our aura? or rather, when humanity first discovered and harnessed the power of dust, we did so by controlling it with our auras.
If my memory serves me correctly.
According to most academics, the leading theory as to how all life in Remnant can even generate an aura could be due to trace amounts of dust contained within us.
This would explain why Grimm aren't able to produce their own aura and why they seem to dissipate upon being neutralized.
Also, there have been studies that demonstrate the environment might also play a role with the strength of the aura you are able to produce, notably the concentration of dust in the region where you grew up relates to your aura level.
Though the differences are minor and aren't game changing, they do differ from kingdom to kingdom nevertheless.
By the logic of this theory, if he doesn't possess the ability to generate an aura, it would mean he must have lived somewhere that is totally devoid of it...and that wouldn't make sense coming from Atlas.
Ruby stared at Weiss, suggesting that the team leader wasn't convinced by the given explanation as well as what she could be implying about Zen, prompting the heiress to change the topic, clearing her throat in the process.
"Speaking of which, where in Atlas does he come from?"
"I never did ask him about where he lived, Penny and I were too preoccupied worrying about how he would be able to protect himself during missions when they happen.
Plus, I feel that, on a regular basis the first thing people will say to him besides a simple 'hello' when they get to know him is;
'So, you can't generate an aura...how come?' or 'What's that like', what about; ' How have you gotten so far in combat training with such a limitation? finally; 'Why do you want to be in this line of work, protecting others if you can't protect yourself'?"
Weiss felt slightly ashamed, specifically with Ruby's last example, it was going to be her next question, but not to the point of questioning the legitimacy of his capabilities to become a huntsman.
Ruby continued,
"So instead of bombarding him with questions about his aura, I decided not to bring it up unless I needed to.
Also why does it matter why he isn't able to generate an aura?
What matters is, that even if this hinders him, he is willing to perform better as a huntsman in training, something that we all are striving for."
"I know, I know, I still find it unusual, mainly just that I have never heard of something like this, let alone come to know of someone living with it."
"It is unusual, I'll admit that, but besides this, he is a kind person, and my newest friend, so please, can we not talk about his condition anymore."
"Alright, I won't mention it any further.
But if I do get a chance to talk to him, I'm sure he won't mind if I ask him about Atlas and the training he's received during his time at the academy."
Weiss said, shifting herself whilst still in bed.
"What about why he wants to attend Beacon, I know that he will be doing so by next year, but did he mention the reason?"
"No, not really."She said, with a hint of sadness, missing an opportunity to find out why Zen would choose Beacon over Atlas. Though Beacon was considered the best of the four academies, she never thought it would be possible for anyone to transfer from one academy to another. Especially if you'd be joining the academy at the second year with the possibility of having no team of three to join.
"Hmmm, what about his friendship with Penny, when did they become friends?"
"They never mentioned how long they've known each other, perhaps they became friends after being paired together as teammates."
"Interesting, considering when we met her, we all assumed you to be her first friend after you said she was.
Then again, you were the only one to spend time with her initially, so point proven.
Though once the rest of us got to know her, I don't recall on any occasion Penny mentioning him or the rest of her team." Weiss pondered, voicing her thoughts aloud while addressing Ruby at the same time.
" I've tried asking her a few times, but she didn't want to talk about them.
Probably with the constant private training and how little free time she gets to herself or explore Vale, she would rather talk about other topics when we did have the chance to be together.
But remember how I said she has been giving Zen extra training lessons?
Well, I found out that they've been training together since the second half of the break, which was shortly after Zen arrived at Beacon.
And that's all they were doing before the start of lessons.
In fact, when we were out yesterday, Penny became really excited about the match, since I feel she is worried he might become too accustom combating her and her weapons, which are similar to his own."
"That sounds rather odd, considering even at Atlas there should be a large range of students who use hand to hand weaponry as well as-"
" So what you're trying to say is...it almost sounds like you mean he's never encountered another type of weapon other than a sword or swords in sparring matches?"
Yang piped up after sitting in silence for the duration of the entire conversation between Weiss and Ruby.
"To be fair, she described it as 'variety'.
Now does this necessarily mean he's fought against combatants that don't use weapons similar to his own?
I wouldn't say that is what Penny was referring to.
If anything I'm sure I was the one who assumed that he had been focusing on sparring with an opponent who primarily used a sword or sword like weapon.
From our time at Beacon, I've seen many people use weapons that can be classified as being a sword or sword like weapon, so by her saying he should practice combating against an opponent with a non sword type weapon is justified.
Penny was most likely trying to suggest to Zen how she wants him to be able to train with other people in mind... eventually they will no longer be on a team together, and by having this sparring match together may help him adjust to the new academy."
Ruby replied, looking up at Yang, feeling slightly uneasy by the tone her older sister used when asking the question.
At that moment, Blake exited the bathroom, causing Yang to immediately jump down and enter before Weiss could even move herself to get out of bed.
The blonde not wanting to begin the day with a headache so early in the morning, her mind wandering back to yesterday.
"Background experience or not, are you sure that it is a good idea to spar with the two of them?
I mean, don't forget, they are from Atlas and therefore our rivals when the Vytal tournament begins. What if they pick up on your fighting style and learn how to exploit any weakness you have with using your scythe?" Weiss asked, giving a hesitant look at her team leader.
"It'll be fine Weiss. How would it be any different from us interacting with students from other kingdoms when we have sparring classes?
Or when we'll be starting to go out on missions?
There's the real possibility we'll be working with them during future missions.
So it would be likely that if someone would have a chance to learn one's moves in preparation for the tournament, the best opportunity to do so would be during those lessons, where you can gain a better insight on a person's strengths and weakness if they are faced with opponents with varying degrees in skill."
Blake said, ruffling her hair dry.
It became a mess slightly once she pulled her head out of the towel, she added one more note to her reasoning, her ears twitching now they felt the cool air.
"Remember, this is Ruby we're talking about, she has proven herself to be quite capable of being unpredictable when fighting, not to mention resourceful when need be.
Consider what we discussed yesterday, Ruby mentioned that Penny had been training Zen, I'd hazard a guess in saying he'll be too focused on his own abilities to fight, rather than focusing on Ruby's techniques."
"I guess you're right Blake. And you'll be going easy on him anyway, won't you?" Weiss said, quickly looking over to her teammate.
"That I will." Ruby said as she smiled at the checkmate duo.
"Oh, and don't forget to tell us about the techniques they use when you comeback."Weiss added, garnering an eye roll from both Ruby and Blake.
Meanwhile in Penny and Zen's dorm.
The redhead awoke to the sound of the door opening, followed by soft, but heavy breathing.
Sitting herself up, she was greeted with an almost out of breath Zen, looking as though he was about to collapse where he stood.
"Um Zen, why are you fully clad in your armour?" She asked, looking at him up and down as she got out of bed.
"Well. I wanted to get use to the weight of it on me. So I decided to wear it while I went for my run. You know, just in case I might have to do that when we go on our first mission tomorrow." Was all he could string together, while sweat ran down his brow.
"And so I take it you're quite worn out from the experience?" She said, trying to suppress a laugh at the sight of her teammate.
"I mean sure, for now I am, but in time I'll be good."
"Will you be alright for the afternoon match with Ruby? I can tell her we can do it another time if you're too tired."
"Nope, I should be alright by then, right now I just gotta go... and...sit ...down... for... a...minute." He said, as he landed face first on his bed, with absolutely no grace whatsoever.
"Oh, Zen are you alright? Did you need some water?"
With his face still buried, he lifted his thumb up before it landed on the bed with a thud.
In doing so, a book which sat on the end of his bed bounded upward and came to rest at Penny's feet as she returned with a glass of water.
Picking it up after handing him the glass, she inspected the cover as Zen the guzzled entire contents of the cup in mere seconds.
"How did this get here?" She asked once she had scanned several pages, feeling as though she already knew why Zen would have borrowed this book but still thought it appropriate to ask.
The cover displayed a map of the kingdom of Atlas, as she flipped through it described in great detail the history of the kingdom as well as the provinces that made up atlas as a whole, also going into detail with regards to the distinctions of each province.
"I thought it would be a good idea to read up on the region I come from, since I'm still using the alias Ozpin gave me. And, since we'll be seeing Ruby again, we might get into a conversation about my time there, so it won't hurt to have some background knowledge just in case."
"If you're sure you'll be fine, I will get ready and head out for my lessons." She said, receiving yet another thumbs up as Zen propped himself up, undoing some of the guards that protected his limbs.
"I'll just get cleaned up and then head out for my own, I'll see you this afternoon."He replied.
For Ruby, time seemed slow, but she kept her thoughts on what awaited her, a chance to square off against someone in possession of a weapon of her own making.
Slowly but surely she was eventually dismissed from her final lesson, which happened to be a class that Zen and her didn't share.
As she made her way to the training room, in anticipation to see the full potential of Zen and his weapons, even now, her mind was focused on how she would fight him without letting any harm come to her friend as well give him a challenge.
Sure, it seemed simple enough of a task, just copy what you'd do in a supervised sparring match right?
But under those conditions, you still had leniency to allow your weapon to connect with your opponent, but here, there was the underlying case of avoiding injuries.
I'd imagine that most tactics Zen would have to use in combat would be evasive, if he would ever last long enough in a match, considering that's what it seemed like he was doing when he sparred with Jaune.
As Ruby was nearly about to place her scroll on the scanner, a new thought came to her, and before she could think twice, the scythe wielder turned on her heels and activated her semblance.
Within a few minutes, Ruby flung open the door to her dorm room, startling Weiss, causing the heiress to shift her attention from what she was currently doing to the teammate who had nearly broken the door in order to get inside, one or two petals floating to the ground as the air became still.
"Ruby? What are you doing here? I thought you were going to spar with Penny and Zen?" Weiss asked in a surprised, yet concerned tone.
"I am, there's just something I need to do before hand." She replied with a large smile, before she dashed towards the cabinet where she kept spare weapon parts and equipment.
"As I was going to the sparring rooms, I remembered our talk this morning, and it made me think about Zen and his ability to move around in combat.
This made me think that Zen might need something to help him, or rather add to his attire."
Ruby smiled as she pulled out what she needed, then grabbing her toolkit, she began to combine the individual pieces, continuing to address Weiss, who at this point had her full attention focused on what the team leader was doing.
"You wouldn't happen to know if Pyrrha is in her dorm by any chance?"
Ruby said, looking up once she had finished what she was currently doing.
"She entered her room as I arrived at ours. But why did you need to see her?"
"Oh, it just has to do with what I'm making."
"And what are you making exactly?"
"It's to help Zen, so he can save time with carrying his weapons."
"I still don't understand..."
"Well, if you do want to understand, you'll just have to come with me to see for yourself, get a chance to know Zen a little better." She said as she finished with attaching the last harness to the frame, before getting up and making her way to the door.
"Sorry Ruby, but as much as I want to, I actually have to review my notes from Professor Port's lesson, but tell those two I said hello to them."
"Okay Weiss, I will. Try and not work too hard alright." Ruby beamed with an encouraging grin as she proceeded to exit their dorm.
"You Dolt." Weiss smiled and slightly shook her head.
She could barely make out the sound of Ruby's distinctive carefree knock on JNPR's door, followed by the younger girl saying something along the lines of 'hey Pyrrha I was wondering if you could use your semblance to help me with something.'
The heiress then went back to looking over the papers in front of her, as well as documents that were related to medical conditions and aura usage as well as a news article she was reading on her scroll.
The headline talked about an unusual disturbance that happened a few weeks ago in downtown Vale, a strange flash of light that appeared with no explanation as to what or who caused it.
Once Ruby had what she needed as well as thanking Pyrrha for her help, she wasted no time in hurrying back to the sparring room, nearly bumping into Yang in the process, who called out to her, stoping the younger girl in her tracks.
"Wait Ruby, there's something I wanted to talk to you about."
"Yeah sis, what's up." She beamed as she looked up at her older sibling.
At that instant Yang froze, she had it all figured out as to what she would say to her, yet seeing her sister now, she was lost for words.
"Yang..?"
"You know what sis, just go and have fun training, you'll do great, show 'em what you can do." She finally said.
"Okay thanks Yang,"
Yang just stood there and watched the figure of red and black race off in the direction of the sparring rooms, before mentally berating herself.
Okay Yang, you blew it. Just have to try again another time.
"Where can Ruby be ,it is most unusual for her to be running late. Perhaps I should contact her, see if she is delayed or not." Penny said, bringing her sword downwards, Zen blocking it before pushing her back and responding to her query.
"I'm sure she'll be here soon, you saw how eager she was when we planned for this match, she's not going to miss this."He replied as he lunged at her, before being blocked by his opponent, as she side stepped him and locked her swords with his.
Just as they separated, preparing for another set of attacks , the sound of the scanner from outside activated, resulting in the door to open shortly after.
The hood wearer entered with a smile on her face, slightly exasperated as she spoke.
"Hey guys, sorry I'm late, but here I am, so we can fight in a minute, there's just one thing we need to do before starting.
Zen, this is for you," She said as she indicated the brace she held onto, which had peeked the pairs curiosity the moment she walked in.
"I remembered that you had your scabbards to holster your weapons in their initial sword form, yet you had no way of holstering your weapons either in their dual guns or single rifle mode.
So I modified one of my old weapon holster frames that I used for carrying Crescent Rose, and with Pyrrha's help, I've made a magnetic back brace.
Now you don't have to worry about having to return your weapon to its primary mode without having to carry them.
The rifle can attach to the back, while the two guns can rest in the lower back holsters.
"Thank you, y-you didn't have to do that for me Ruby."
"Aw it was nothing, once I told Pyrrha the reason why I needed her help, she told me it was a good idea to equip you with a brace so you didn't have to spend time returning your weapons to their original form, since; 'every minute on the battlefield counts.'. She replied, as she helped attaching it to the rest of Zen's attire.
The brace appeared to resemble an upside down "T", where Zen's weapon in its rifle mode would be magnetically coupled to the brace along the length of his back, where as the secondary mode would rest on the lower half of his back, allowing him to grab them from behind his hips with little effort.
Once Zen had practiced holstering his weapons in their secondary and tertiary modes as well as getting a feel for the difference in weight distribution of the weapons on his back, he took his position on the sparring floor, Ruby doing the same.
"Zen, are you ready?" Penny asked taking her place in the viewing area.
"Yes, I am." He replied, with a hint of excitement as well as nervousness, excited he was finally going to see Ruby fighting in person, but nervous as to how she would fight him."
"Ruby, are you ready?"
"Yep, I've been ready since we organised this!" She exclaimed.
"Alright, you may initiate a friendly conflict in a controlled environment, now." She said, seating herself and began to analyse the fight that commenced in front of her.
Zen was the first to make a move, dashing towards Ruby, his weapons slightly raised above his waist. Once he was within arm's length of her, his right sword went for a jab, while the left lifted above his right shoulder, coming down a second later in an attempt to slash at her mid section.
Ruby realising what her opponent was doing, swung Crescent Rose, knocking the left sided attack down and guarding her right side by using the lower half of her weapon to push against his.
They held their respective position for a few seconds before Ruby pushed off against Zen, twirling the scythe in her hands until the position they were along the weapon had been swapped.
Pointing the tip of the base of Crescent Rose, she jabbed at Zen similar to how Pyrrha would use Milo in its javelin form, he crossed his weapons together as he deflected the sharp tip of Ruby's scythe, the move nearly coming in contact with him, had he not shifted himself whilst guarding the attack.
Once she was free to go for another attack, the hood wearer raised the weapon above her head, bringing it down in one motion, usually Ruby would have done so twice as fast, but given her current opponent, she allowed him time to assess the situation before dodging.
As Zen moved out of the way, he flicked his wrists, allowing the weapons to transform into their secondary mode. Once finished, he fired several shots at her, causing one or two points on her body to flicker red.
Zen's opponent activated her semblance and sped around the track, making his job even harder.
As if hitting you relatively stationary wasn't already a challenge. He thought to himself.
Despite spending most of his ammo failing to land a hit on the scythe wielder, he was quite surprised when one of his shots met its target, several rose petals bursting outwards as the projectile came into contact with the mass of red.
Click
Oh-oh
Was the only thought that came to his panicked mind as Zen fired another two shots before the audible tell tale sign came from both his weapons that he had spent his last round.
His concern was warranted, knowing that was exactly what she was waiting for, sure enough, once his fingers left the trigger, the mass of red petals subsided as Ruby came out from the other side.
As she slid to a halt, she drew Crescent Rose and pressed a button just above the trigger, the weapon's normal curved blade straightened.
Once it finished transforming, she rotated it in her hand and followed through in the motion of a sweeping arc, allowing the blunt side to face Zen.
As it came close, Zen lifted his swords up in response, the weapons collided, nearly causing him to lose balance, but he held his position.
Pushing off her, he went for another attack, only for Ruby to dodge it and knock him to the ground.
She waited patiently for him to stand before allowing him a second chance at an offensive manoeuvre, giving him an encouraging smile as he did.
He lifted both weapons above his head, believing that if she blocked an overhead strike, she wouldn't have enough time to react to an attack that came at her from two separate directions.
Sure enough, when the swords came downwards, Ruby lifted her sweet heart to meet them, after which, Zen pulled his weapons back a little above her, before bringing them towards Ruby's midsection, the pair of swords crossing each other as they sliced diagonally at Ruby before parting ways.
The board displayed Ruby's aura being reduced by five percent after the two successive attacks from Zen.
He went for a second attack, but his weapons were met by Crescent Rose, first knocking back the left sword, then the right, performing the motion as if her weapon were a glaive, before knocking back Zen again with the body of her scythe.
Once Ruby had distanced herself, whilst he was facing away from her, she thought for split second and decided to act upon her idea.
It's a little risky, but I'm sure Zen can do it. The scythe wielder rationalized.
She brought crescent rose around and executed another sweeping motion, this time, testing Zen's reaction, as she had the scythe's blade facing him.
Knowing he had only seconds to react, Zen lifted his swords above him and brought them behind his back, almost as if he was sheathing them, he held them there as he heard the metals of both weapons meeting.
He felt himself losing footing and was sent flying as he fully lost his balance by the weight of the weapon and wielder behind it.
He slid along the ground until coming to a stop at the end of the wall, as a result of being carried by the momentum of Crescent Rose.
"Zen are you alright?" Ruby asked concerningly, she stowed her scythe to its holster, before sprinting towards the fallen combatant.
"Yeah, I'm alright, I would like to do that again, but maybe another day?"
He said happily as she helped him to his feet.
"Heh heh, sorry about that last manoeuvre, I guess I got carried away, I wanted to see how you'd handle an attack like that... from what I saw you did reasonably well...minus the whole - flying through the air for a second or two."
"So how did I do?" He said as looked over to Penny who had now come to their side, also looking worried, before changing her expression of relief.
"For your first fight with someone that isn't me, you did alright, though I'm sure you had sufficient time to face that last attack and guard it without issue.
But maybe in a few days we might work on your reflexes, considering Ruby only used a fraction of the speed she is capable of- " Before she could continue, Ruby piped up, slightly nervous as she spoke at first.
"Actually this brings up something, I know this is a little sudden, but I was wondering, would it be weird if I wanted to spar with you again...or should I say, I want to help with Zen with your training?
I'm not saying you need the help, but I want to have more sparing matches and, like Penny said, I can attack a lot faster than I did, so I can help you with testing your reflexes ." She said as she looked away, feeling awkward by what she was asking.
"Ruby, you're more than welcome to help with training, if you hadn't asked us, I was going to talk to you about it later, but since you've brought it up, there is no need worry." Penny said with excitement in her voice.
"Well I just thought, since you two had been spending nearly every moment of your free periods sparring together, why can't I join and help out, plus who knows, I might learn a thing or two...or even better I might teach you something." Ruby said with a slight smirk on her face.
Once it had become evening, the three walked along the corridor of the dorm for Beacon students, where they were greeted by the remaining members of team RWBY.
"Hey guys." Ruby said as she entered the dorm.
"So how'd it go today," Blake was the first to speak, as the amber eyed girl welcomed the hood wearer.
"It was really good, very 'different' from a normal sparring match." she said, glancing back at Penny and Zen. "I had fun."
"I can't thank you enough for sparring with us Ruby, hope we can do it again real soon." Zen replied, knowing how much this could help him with his training.
"We can probably do it after we've finished our missions tomorrow."
"Okay, well then see you then, we should head back to our room, got to be ready for what's in store for us." He said, look at Penny who nodded in agreement.
"Okay, goodnight guys." Ruby said as the pair headed towards their dorm, feeling contempt that the scythe wielder wanted to assist them with their training.
Aaaaannnnd I'm back, from one week hiatus...which somehow ended up being two months.
This chapter was actually a tough one when it came to dialogue, or rather the explanation Weiss gave about aura, ( personally I never liked the explanation that was "it's a fraction of human potential, or whatever Jin's explanation) still not sure if it makes sense, when you say it out loud.
But I will say that the gap bewteen posting was not in vein, I spent most of it writing other chapters for the future (rough drafts at least).
So much has happened between when I last posted, RWBY had an alright end...some things were done well at the begining, others were not, when I saw Atlas, it made me think of Alita and the sky city in that movie.
My birthday was great, the AH were funny as always.
Again, posting this at 2 in the morning Sydney time, so kinda tired, really wanted to get this chapter out, but hope after reading it you found it to be alright, I am really looking forward to this next one, it will be good, so will see you in the next chapter.