Ruby waited just outside the door for Weiss' calibration to finish, her sketchbook held tightly against her chest. Her cloak had fallen out of her lap in her rush to leave the room, but she couldn't bring herself to go back in and face her partner. Really, was it that bad? Who doesn't doodle stuff like that, right? Everyone does it! She was certain she'd seen Blake drawing stuff like that, too, so it was totally normal! Well, maybe not totally normal but definitely not weird! Or creepy! Besides, could she really be blamed? She knew Weiss had some kind of feelings for her, right? How couldn't she? They'd just been dancing around it for the past week but there was definitely something. Ruby felt like she was going mad. The bond. She looked down at her arms, the criss-crossing web of scar tissue almost mesmerizing enough to distract her, but the fact it led to her situation was an ever-present reminder. In that moment, it had been tangible, at least to her. It was as if she could picture it in her mind's eye; a snowman in a field of roses. She could feel the emotions surging across, more than just a jolt of energy and a sensation of heat, this time it had been like a wave of magma washing over her Aura. She had become lost in it, totally sucked into the overwhelming sensation of connection.

Ruby's head snapped up as she realized someone was approaching. Blake slinked towards her, clearly trying to take advantage of Ruby's distracted state to sneak up on her. Upon realizing she'd been had, she smirked. Ruby waved and gave her the best smile she could.

"You okay, Ruby? You've really gotta study for the test tomorrow." Blake said as she approached, then looked between the door and her team leader. "I think she'll be okay without you."

Ruby groaned. "But history is so boring," she drawled, "Why can't we just learn the best ways to kill Grimm? That's what this place is for!"

Blake raised an eyebrow. "Ruby, this place is for education. Education as a whole. Would you really trust your life and the safety of your community to a person who doesn't even know basic algebra?"

"Maybe I would!" Ruby pouted, her hands on her hips. "Besides, I left my study books in there with Weiss."

"So… go get them?"

Ruby blushed, the idea of having to face Weiss making her heart sink into her gut. "I can't!"

Blake shrugged. "Whatever, I'll grab them." She reached for the doorknob but Ruby jumped in the way, her arms stretched out to block the way.

"You can't either! She's… calibrating! The arm! The doctor's in there and they need privacy to work! That['s why they kicked me out!"

Blake blinked. She wanted to call Ruby's bluff but she also really didn't care much about whatever was going on between the two. "Fine," she relented, "You can just use my stuff. I've crammed enough today and I need a break." She turned and began walking back to their dorms. "C'mon, Ruby, I'm sure Weiss will message you when she's done."

Ruby was going to object but she really did need to study, and maybe keeping her mind off what's been going on between her and her partner would clear her thoughts. She sighed and followed Blake, Weiss would probably be glad that Ruby had decided to study anyways.

Weiss was beginning to grow frustrated. These tests were frustrating. The technician's disposition was frustrating. Weiss hated the way they raised both eyebrows and hummed whenever Weiss was taking too long to complete a task with the arm. The tasks were embarrassing. Move your index finger. Move your thumb. Clench your fist. Hold a fist for ten seconds.

"Catch!" Weiss' eyes followed the ball like a beast stalking its prey, perfectly tracking its arc of movement as she moved her arm to… tried to move her arm to catch it but feebly batted the ball away in mid-air, her fist clenching to grab nothing but air a whole 3 seconds too late. Ross hummed. Weiss fumed. The technician picked the ball back up, then prodded the arm with a long metal rod. Each poke hurt like someone pressing on a bruise, but it wasn't painful enough to be anything more than a mild annoyance. Ross hummed and tapped on the arm's display.

"Catch!" That green ball went airborne again, and once again Weiss tracked it perfectly. She went to catch it, but this time was different. This time her arm actually got in place, her hand open and waiting in the perfect position for the ball… to bounce off of her empty palm and back onto her lap. She hung her head, humiliated as the fingers came together almost ten whole seconds too late. Ross hummed again, poked again, tapped again. Hold this stick. Let the stick go. Move your index finger. The ball went up, and again Weiss' arm simply refused to catch the damn thing.

Ross hummed.

Yang flipped the flashcard over and Ruby groaned. Yang had been studying for their exam, too, so Ruby just went ahead and joined her sister. Unfortunately, it was going very poorly. In the hour that had passed since Ruby joined Yang in studying, she had only guessed right a handful of times, and Yang was becoming increasingly concerned at her sister's performance. "Jeez, Rubes, history's really got your number."

Ruby huffed and drew her mouth into a line. There were so many names and events with specific dates, and none of them were clicking in her head. She slumped. Usually Weiss was the one to help her study, and she just had a way of making Ruby get it. She made history into something Ruby could digest: a story, one with characters and drama, something that could keep Ruby hooked for hours! Now she was thinking about Weiss. Weiss and her bright blue eyes, with that cool scar. Her hair, cut into an asymmetrical bob as an act of defiance. The shirt, the cape, the pants. She was like a noble prince who came to challenge Ruby's admirers for her hand. She could picture it… scooped up into her—

"Ruby!" Yang called, snapping her sister out of her stupor. "Really out of it, huh?"

Ruby's face only grew redder, and she couldn't trust her voice. She nodded.

Yang nodded. "Yeah, I'm getting kinda burnt out, too. You wanna take a break?"

Ruby nodded vigorously. Anything to keep Weiss out of her head.

Yang smirked and pounded her fist into her palm. "Sick, let's hit the pit!"

Weiss was incensed. "Can we please end this? I'm never going to catch the ball."

Ross hummed. "Nope, you'll catch it. You have to." Up the ball went, Weiss' eyes firmly on it. She tried to catch it, but to no avail. It bounced off her wrist and hit Ross in the forehead. Weiss stifled a chuckle.

Ross hummed, seemingly unphased. "Okay, I'm not supposed to help you with this because it kind of sours the feeling of getting it, but…"

Weiss immediately perked up and leaned forward, grabbing the technician's shoulder with her flesh arm. "Please." She hissed, equal parts begging and demanding.

Ross rolled their eyes. "Slow. Down."

Weiss gave a puzzled look, but the ball was already in the air. She moved to catch it but caught herself and deliberately moved her arm at a snail's pace, giving the bionic time to process the commands her body and brain were sending it. Remarkably, she felt a noticeable difference as the arm actually moved as she wanted it. She missed the ball by a mile, but the feeling of being in sync with the arm more than made up for it. She looked up at Dr. Ross with a tentative smile on her face. Ross smirked, then went back to poking the arm and tapping the display screen.

Ruby sighed as she stepped into the sandpit and felt the fine sand under her bare feet. She'd changed into a tank-top and joggers to keep sand out of her clothes, and left her boots near the pit for much the same reason. Relief washed over her as she took in her surroundings. The sandpit was situated in a room adjacent to the gym, the pit itself being a large rectangle about 20 meters wide and 40 meters long. It was also outfitted with a display for gauging the participants' Aura levels. She realized how pent up she'd been getting, it'd been almost a whole month since coming back to Beacon and she hadn't stepped foot in the pit once! Ruby felt momentary shame, but it quickly faded to excitement as her sister stepped into the pit, barefoot and wearing only joggers and… was that one of Blake's shirts?

"Alright, sis," Yang said from across the pit, "I'm sure you've been keeping up with your training. Some hand-to-hand sound good?"

Ruby shuddered. She really hadn't been keeping up with her training at all, she realized, much of her time was being spent accompanying Weiss as she recovered. Seeing the display light up with her and Yang's faces with an accompanying Aura meter, she gave a thumbs-up to her sister.

Yang gave no countdown.

Weiss reached out with one deliberate movement, willing her fingers to close as the ball came down. They responded ponderously, but Weiss' hand was in the perfect position. The ball fell into her hand, her fingers closing the rest of the way to prevent it from bouncing off her palm. "Yes!" Weiss shouted, unable to help herself.

Ross sighed. "Excellent work, miss Schnee. Please return the ball to me."

Weiss dropped the ball back into Ross' outstretched hand, unable to school the smile from her face. "Anything else?" Weiss asked as Ross returned to prodding the arm and tapping buttons on the display. Hold this stick. Hold it tightly. Attempt to break the stick with only your grip. Weiss was quickly getting used to the limb, and she felt the limb getting used to her. She could even feel limited sensations like the presence of her arm, the dull pressure of an object in her hand, the pokes from the technician's prod, which she had just noticed were extremely sharp! "Ow!" Weiss cried as Ross prodded her. "What is that thing!"

Ross smiled. "Oh, good, the sensations are simulating properly."

Weiss frowned. "Like the sensation of you poking me with a sharp stick? Why would I want that?" She crossed her arms, then surprised herself when the cold metal of the appendage met her other arm.

Ross' eyebrows shot up. "Wow, already regaining your natural mannerisms?" Ross prodded it again, at which Weiss flinched.

"Stop doing that!" Weiss whined, "Why would someone even program it to hurt?"

Ross put the prod back in their shirt pocket and typed a few things on their Scroll. "Well, pain is a necessary function of all life. If you can't feel pain, you won't know when you're damaged. Don't know when you're damaged, you won't know when to retreat. Don't know when to retreat, you wind up dead." Ross looked Weiss in the eyes. "If you'd like I could request your bionic to be incapable of simulating pain."

Weiss considered Ross' words and shook her head.

"Good," Ross said, tapping their Scroll "Now, let's get these last few tests done."

Ruby knew her only way to win against Yang was to exhaust her, so she started by letting Yang rush across the pit to engage her. She sprinted towards Ruby, her footfalls kicking up plumes of sand. Ruby held her ground. Yang leapt, clearing the rest of the distance between them and bringing her fist down, aimed squarely for Ruby's head. Yang was fast, but Ruby was faster. She caught Yang's fist and turned, bringing Yang over her head and slamming her into the sand. Yang gasped but scrambled back to her feet quick, immediately besetting Ruby with a flurry of punches.

Ruby kept her hands up as she blocked the punches she couldn't dodge. She ducked low under a jab and barely managed to swerve away from the ensuing uppercut, then sent out a couple quick jabs to Yang's side. Yang pressed on, ignoring the measly shots from Ruby. A strong right hook crashed into Ruby before she even knew it was coming, making her stumble. An uppercut soon after, cutting under her blocking arms and driving into her sternum. Her Aura shuddered as it held back the blow, but the display showed it was still at least half-intact, more than enough to complete her strategy. She would only have to—

Ruby was not prepared for Yang to fully launch herself onto her. She landed with her sister straddling her as her fists came in a barrage. Ruby had to think fast, as each punch blocked still reduced her Aura. Ruby's hand shot forward, catching Yang's wrists as she pulled her legs out from under her sister, then firmly kicked both feet into the brawler's chest. Finally separated, Ruby rolled backwards to get some space. She barely had time to get back up before Yang was on her again. This wasn't working. Yang wasn't fighting nearly as recklessly as she used to. How much had she trained with dad over the break?

Yang, in the most terrifying move Ruby had ever seen, suddenly grabbed Ruby's blocking arms and yanked them apart, leaving her fully open as Yang's forehead crashed into hers, the force of the blow sending her sprawling into the sand. "Shit!" She squeaked as she hit the ground and cradled her now-bleeding nose, "Jeez, Yang!"

Yang, the worry for her sister overtaking her surprise at hearing a curse slip out. She rubbed the back of her neck. "Uh, sorry, sis. Honestly didn't think that'd work. Sorry."

Ruby hissed as she got up. "It's fine, I'm fine. Dang, that… ouch."

Yang cracked her knuckles and stretched. "Welp, you done? Wanna go back to the dorm?"

"What?" Ruby shouted, her blood still hot. "No, no way! We just got started!"

Yang smirked and the two took a quick recess while Ruby's Aura replenished, then met again in the pit.

"Ready?" Ruby asked.

Yang laughed.

Ross held their hands up like a boxing trainer. "Alright, Weiss," they urged, "hit me."

Weiss recoiled. "What?"

Ross wiggled their hands. "Y'know, punch my hand. Don't hit me, just the hand, please."

Weiss looked down at the metal appendage and flexed her fingers. They responded in real-time, now, the fingers stretching and curling as she commanded. "Are you sure? I don't want to hurt you."

Ross scoffed. "Oh, please, you think you're the first Huntsman I've worked with?"

Weiss frowned, then rose from the examination bed. She bent her knees and brought her hands up, just like Yang (and Ruby) taught her. She slowly jabbed once with her new arm, gauging the strength and the feeling of impact.

Ross hummed and nodded. "Good, alright, try to hit me with a one-two."

Weiss nodded, and delivered a meek couple of jabs with her flesh hand, then the bionic.

Ross sighed. "Please try a little harder, miss Schnee."

Weiss scoffed and threw another couple of jabs, much harder this time. Ross hissed when the metal hit their palm. "Good enough for you?" Weiss asked as she crossed her arms.

Ross shook their hand out and motioned for Weiss to let them see the arm. Reading the display, they nodded. "Yes, perfect. Excellent, actually. Remarkable, even. Your compatibility has skyrocketed since the breakthrough with the ball." Ross raised an eyebrow as they eyed the display. "Hmm. Okay, we can move onto the last thing. It might be too difficult for you right now, but we've made a lot of progress today so I can make another appointment if you'd like to be done now."

Weiss pulled her arm back and admired it. The metal was plain, completely unadorned save for the display panel, but Weiss was beginning to see the beauty of it. She could hear the softest whirring from within the casing. "No, I'd like to continue. I could at least try whatever you're proposing."

Ross nodded. "Alright, up next is extending your Aura to the limb. This one is much more… psychological, so there will be little I can do to help you. Are you familiar with meditation?"

Weiss scoffed. "Of course I am."

"Perfect. Please find a comfortable position for yourself to meditate and let me know when you're ready to begin."

Weiss sat back on the bed, crossed her legs, and straightened her back. After a few slow, deliberate breaths, she closed her eyes. "Okay, I'm ready."

Ruby grunted as she was assailed by her sister. Yang's punches were becoming fast, too fast. She was locked in now, unable to do anything but block the rapid and numerous punches. Her fists pounded against her like jackhammers, and the force of the attack was slowly pushing her backwards against the sand. She grit her teeth. She was in no position to retreat, her back was almost against the edge of the pit, she would have to fight back. She surged forth, but Yang immediately redoubled her attack and pelted her even more quickly, forcing Ruby back into the defensive. Ruby tried to break out again with a kick to Yang's leg, but she just raised a knee and batted it away. One punch slipped around her defense, landing solidly against her cheek. She rolled with it, eager to take an opportunity to gain some distance. Her Aura was barely above 20%, and Yang's was well above 70%.

Ruby rushed forward. One hit would drain her enough to end the spar, so she would have to be quick and hope she didn't exhaust herself before Yang did. She slipped left, then right, dodging jabs and slipping in a single shot to Yang's face before darting back again. Yang shook herself and took a wider, more defensive stance. In and out Ruby darted, barely slipping past her sister's fists before disengaging. She could tell she was beginning to invoke Yang's anger. She was gritting her teeth, and throwing fewer, much more powerful punches. All Ruby had to do was dodge them, and it was getting easier the more furious Yang became. She lunged forward, dodging left under Yang's hook and striking at her side, then kicking her behind the knee. Yang's knee buckled but a flurry of attacks kept Ruby from pressing the attack further. Ruby slipped back out of range and glanced at the Aura display. Yang was at 44%.

Ruby grinned, she could claw it back. With Yang still on one knee, Ruby lunged forward again, dodged right, then—

Yang's attack had been a feint, and she had perfectly predicted Ruby's dodge. Yang's hand was around her arm before she even knew it. She yanked Ruby's arm, pulling her back into range and laying a final blow on Ruby's cheek. Ruby fell, sprawled out on the sand. Her blood boiled, her head spun.

She felt magnificent.