Some More Bonding Time.
In the Training Room, Ruby and Lucina were facing of. The two leaders had been chosen as each other's opponents, which made this little clash very important. Since they are the leaders of their teams, they needed to do their best to reprosent their teams in a good way. Defeat wasn't an option for either of them. They eyed each other for several seconds. Lucina's stance was solid and balanced, while Ruby was more loose. Lucina would be ready to defend against any attacks, while Ruby would be ready to sprint in any direction she needed to.
Lucina suddenly dashed forward and delivered a strong slash that Ruby was forced to block, but the force of the impact made her slide back, and Lucina was not letting up as she pressed the attack. Ruby had to shift Crescent Rose to repel the attacks and fired downwards to use the recoil send herself in to the air. While in the air, Ruby fired again and used the recoil to enhance a downward slash. Lucina deflected the blow to the side before having to jump back to avoid another strike. Ruby fired three shots at Lucina, forcing her to deflect them and Ruby in for another swing but Lucina reacted quickly and kicked Ruby in the chest sending her back, and began to unleash another powerful offense, with each strike being both strong and dangerously precise. Ruby was pushed back and had to use her semblance to break away from the onslaught. Ruby landed a well placed kick to Lucina's chest, making her slide back a few inches.
Lucina smiled, not a bad kick, but while Ruby was indeed strong, it was clear physical combat was not her strong side, and she relied a lot on her weapon. Their clash had allowed Lucina to analyze Ruby and taken her measure. Time to put her theory to the test. Lucina focused her own semblance and her sword began to glow. She charged in and when Ruby got ready to block the strike... it sent her weapon flying out of her hand. Just as Lucina expected. Ruby did indeed look far less confidant without her beloved Crescent Rose. Lucina struck again and Ruby desperately avoided her strikes before using her semblance to dash for her weapon. However that's exactly what Lucina expected she would do and suddenly threw her sword like it was a throwing knife and just before Ruby could grab Crescent Rose, the sword hit her right in the chest.
Lucina held back since she didn't want to risk impaling Ruby. Good thing too, since while her blade did not cause any injuries, it did take a lot out of Ruby's aura, enough enter the red zone which marked the match to end of the match.
"Lucina Lowell is the winner of the match" Glynda announced "Good job Ms Lowell, keep this up and you will equal your father one day".
"Thank you, Professor" Lucina said.
Glynda looked at Ruby "You did well Ms. Rose, but you still have a long way to go".
"Yes, Professor" Ruby said.
Lucina walked up to Ruby and offered her a hand up "It was a good fight. Your speed was hard to keep up with".
Ruby smiled as she accepted Lucina's hand "Thank you. But we both know you crushed me. I could barely even fight back".
"Don't beat yourself up over it. I do have two more years of training and my parents were both very skilled fighters who taught me a lot. So the fact you managed to hang in there for as long as you did proves you have true potential" Lucina said.
"Are you always this nice to those you defeat?" Ruby asked.
"I always try to be polite. But I am only this nice towards friends" Lucina said with a smiled.
Ruby smiled back "That makes sense, thank you Lucina".
Lucina nods before retrieving her sword and left the training room as the class was now over. Ruby picked up Crescent Rose, but still wanted to talk to Lucina some more.
Once classes were over, Lucina decided to do some exercise outside. She changed in to some more normal looking work out clothes before going outside. She began doing some stretches in preparation for her exercise. As she was doing this, Ruby noticed her. For some reason Ruby blushed a little when she saw Lucina doing stretches in her work out clothes, which hugged her form a little more than her battle outfit did. Not to the point that her clothes were tight, but they did show of her figure rather well.
Ruby shook her head and walked over to her "Hey Lucina".
Lucina looked at her "Oh, hello Ruby".
"Umm, what are you doing?" Ruby asked.
"Just some stretches. I was planing to run a few laps around the school" Lucina said.
"The whole school?" Ruby asked.
"Yup. Why do you ask?" Lucina asked.
"I mean, training is over for today, and there will be more tomorrow. Shouldn't you take a break?" Ruby asked.
"I will once I am done. Want to join me?" Lucina offered.
"Oh, well sure, I guess" Ruby accepted.
Lucina smiled and they did a little warm up before beginning their run. Lucina made it clear that no semblance was allowed. This run was meant to keep their stamina in good shape. Ruby didn't mind, she only used her semblance when she needs to anyway. They ran around Beacon for several laps. About an hour later they finally stopped to take a break. Lucina drank some water and offered Ruby some. The younger girl hesitated for a moment before accepting it. Felt a little strange to drink from the same bottle as Lucina had just drank from, but she didn't have her own water, and she was not going to drink from a fountain.
"A nice run really makes you feel good, doesn't it?" Lucina asked.
"Yeah it's pretty nice. Though I prefer target practice" Ruby said.
"Speaking of that. Ruby, do you know how to fight without your weapon?" Lucina asked.
Ruby blushed a little embarrassed "Honestly... no, I am garbage without it. Yang tried to teach me some hand to hand, but it never really stuck. I am just not cut out for it. But as long as I have my baby, I won't need to worry about that".
Lucina shook her head at that "Ruby, being over specialized can become a fatal weakness. My parents made it very clear that I couldn't get to comfortable with only a single way of fighting. Tell me Ruby, what if Crescent Rose was taken away from you in the middle of battle? I mean just look back at our match today. All I had to do was disarm you of your weapon and you were utterly helpless. And when you went to retrieve it, you created the perfect opening for me to beat you".
Ruby looked down and sighed "I see your point...".
Lucina put a hand on Ruby's shoulder "Ruby, I understand. You are very attached to Crescent Rose. I am attached to Falchion too".
"You are?" Ruby asked with a curious look.
"Yes, but not for the same reasons as you love Crescent Rose. You made your weapon yourself right? That's one of the reasons you love it so much. It's your weapon, something you can take pride in. But Falchion is different. I didn't forge it myself, just like Jaune's sword and shield, it's a hand me down. My father used it before me, and my grandfather before him and it keeps going back until it's original wielder, Marth, my ansestor. It's a very special sword that has endured decades of combat without growing dull, which shows it's no ordinary blade. It's the symbol of my family, and the moment I accepted to be it's new wielder, all those responsibilities fell on me" Lucina explained.
"Wow..." Was all Ruby could say.
"What I am trying to say, Ruby. There is nothing wrong with relying on your weapon. But don't trust your life to it. It won't always be able to save you" Lucina said.
Ruby thinks for a while "Alright, you made your point... think you can help me with that? Maybe I will even score a win against you one day".
Lucina smiled "Sure, I don't mind. We are the leaders of our teams after all. So we need to keep growing so we can lead them to victory".
"Yes!" Ruby agreed with determination.
They shook hands, sealing the deal.
Meanwhile, Blake was sitting by a tree while reading a book. But she wasn't alone. Next to her was none other than Bernadetta, who was painting. This was an unusual sight, given Bernadetta always seemed so timid around other people, yet she was perfectly fine around Blake. Something the black haired girl had taken notice of, but didn't bring it up yet. But it was a mystery she wanted to solve so she looks over at Bernadetta.
"What are you painting?" She asked.
"Oh, that's a secret" Bernadetta answered.
Blake raised an eyebrow "Ok... can I ask you something?".
Bernadetta looked at her "Oh, sure, what is it?".
"It's just that. You get really nervous or even scared when you talk to others. Yet with me you are perfectly calm. Why is that?" Blake asked.
"Are you bothered by it?" Bernadetta asked.
"Oh no, that's not it at all. I enjoy your company. I'm just curious" Blake said.
"Well to tell you the truth, you just have this calming aura around you. You are kind of like a cat" Bernadetta answered.
"A cat?" Blake asked, sounding a little nervous.
"Sorry if that sounds weird, it's just that whenever I look at you, I for some reason remember a black cat I met back in Atlas. She would show up every now and again. I would feed it whenever it did. Back then I was scared of everything, but for some reason that black cat made me feel safe. Funny since I keep hearing black cats are bad luck. But nothing bad happened to me whenever that cat was around. She was cute and was always so happy whenever I brought some fish to it" Bernadetta began to explain.
"I see. Sounds like a nice cat" Blake said in a awkward tone.
"She was a good friend..." Bernadetta said, her voice changing.
"Was?" Blake asked, sounding worried.
"One day, my dad found out what I had been doing. He was angry that I was wasting time with, what he called, a filthy cat. He chased the cat away and it never came back... it just ran away and never came back..." Bernadetta said as she looked down with a sad face.
"That's horrible... I am sorry Bernadetta" Blake said, feeling anger towards Bernadetta's cruel father.
Bernadetta wiped her eyes "Anyway, that is why I feel more comfortable around you, Blake. You remind me of the first real friend I ever had".
Blake was silent for a moment before she smiled "Well, I am happy to be your friend now".
Bernadetta smiled "Thank you Blake".
But when Bernadetta got distracted by their talk, Blake managed to catch a look of her painting "Wait, are you painting Yang?".
Bernadetta gasped as her face grew bright red "What?! No! It's not! I mean-!".
"Wow you are really good. The painting looks exactly like her. And you are not even finished yet. Amazing" Blake said in awe of Bernadetta's painting skills.
"AAAAH! How embarrassing!" Bernadetta cried out as she got up and began running away "Ugh! Idiot! Hopeless! Waste of time! Just burn the whole thing, Bernie! Break your stupid brushes and never paint again!".
"Bernadetta! Wait!" Blake called out as she ran after the now crying girl.
Well this was normal for Bernadetta. But Blake still wanted to make sure she didn't run away every time the situation becomes a little more demanding of her. Still it was cute that she painted Yang, and Blake wondered if there was something more going on here.
But that could wait. For now, she just had to make sure Bernadetta didn't get lost.
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There, some more bonding time between the characters. Some talk between the leaders, and I wanted to take the chance to show the strange thing about Bernadetta. Despite being scared of almost everything, in her support conversations she always somehow form very strong bonds with some of the scariest and mysterious characters around. Blake may not be scary, but she is easily the most mysterious of her team.
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Tell me what you think.
