Authors Note: Slow burn warning. I recognize that romance seems to be at the back of Ruby's mind... Seriously though of course it is! What else do you expect from someone who just escaped a hellish future.

Questions, comments, concerns, please let me know. I have 2 chapters beyond this written already. I've been writing about 2,000+ words a day and my chapters are averaging about 3000-4000 words. So there will be more... stay tuned next time.

The weekend came faster than I had expected. As our last class ended on Friday Yang looked to be bursting at the seams, "Let's go out!" She said jumping up and down, "Oh come on, it will be so much fun." Everyone looked a little wary of the idea

I took a deep breath and figured we might as well, "Alright Yang, lets go into town and get a bite to eat." I was having a hard time being around all the girls but I figured the only way to fix my issues and fears with the girls was to be around them.

The four of us changed clothes really quick and then headed for the air ships to Vale. The trip over I noticed Yang had been giving me strange looks. Upon arriving at the restaurant and ordering, Yang's confused looked only increased. Her brow was creased to extreme concentration and I just couldn't take it anymore.

"What is it, Yang? You look like you're about to burst into flames if you concentrate any harder."

Yang just sighed and bluntly stated, "Somethings off about you."

Everyone at the table looked shocked and I tried my best to try and copy the reaction. The fact was, I knew this was going to happen. After all, I wasn't their Ruby. None of them even lived long enough to see who I became. I sat there in 'shocked' silence.

Blake spoke up next, "You have been quieter than I expected." In my opinion that spoke volumes coming from Blake, the quietest among us.

Weiss crinkled her nose in this cute way that signaled to me she was thinking pretty hard, "Now that you guys mention it… Ruby, you've been acting a lot… well… uh… different than I had expected when you first became my partner… I'm not saying its bad… it's just uhh…" She looked at the other two. It was clear she was floundering.

I finally decided to speak up, "Well, like the headmaster said, I will likely be different. Concussions do that to you."

Yang shook her head, "It's more than that. You are like… eh… you're you but you're not. It's like you matured over night."

I almost did a spit take at that remark, "Noted. Can we just enjoy our afternoon?"

Yang shook her head, "Not to mention you are eating less sweets. Weiss even mentioned you took your coffee black. BLACK RUBY! You hate black coffee. You always take it with 5 cubes of sugar and a ton of cream. I should know! I'm the one who first introduced you to the wonders of coffee!" Yang looked exasperated by the time she calmed down. I could tell though that there would be a long conversation with my sister soon if she had anything to say about it.

As we were leaving the restaurant to head back to the airship we heard screaming. My instincts kicked in and I ran towards it. The other girls hesitated for a second and then started following after me. Unlucky for them, my semblance had kicked in leaving them in the dust.

Within seconds I was standing in front of several White Fang robbing a dust shop. I quickly counted and found there to be about 6 of them. Easy enough for me to handle.

I felt my eyes turn red for a split second as the rage boiled at the sight of the terrorist group who eventually became a threat to the entire world. I pushed down the anger and grabbed Crescent Rose out. As the scythe began to expand I growled loudly at the faunus before me, "You have precisely 20 seconds to choose. Continue stealing from this shop, or run. If you stay, I will make sure your asses land in a prison cell."

They laughed. They had the gall to laugh in my face like they didn't know who I wa… oh… I shook my head as I realized they didn't know, "Oh give me a break kid," one of them said almost choking as he laughed.

I shrugged, "10… 9… 8… 7…" I loaded some frost-dust into my chamber and they just kept loading up the dust, "6… 5… 4… 3…2…1. Very well." One of the White Fang lackeys sprang at me. I lunged to the side and kneed him in the chest with enough force to knock the wind out of him.

Two of them looked at each other and nodded. They shouted at the remaining three to take the dust and run, "We can handle the kid."

I calculated that I could take these two down in a minute or less, and then chase down the last three. For good measure, I hit the first lackey in the face effectively knocking him out. The two in front of me charged. I did a front flip over them and fired at one of their feet midair. The frost-dust effectively stopping his movement attacks. He began trying to figure out how to remove his foot from the dust.

The second one I figured, fuck it there's no one around. I let Yang's semblance bolt through me and knocked him out with a single punch then back handed the one frozen to the floor. Three knocked out. Three left. Then I switched back to my own semblance and sped off after the remaining three.

I used my scythe and momentum to swing onto the top of one of the buildings. I ran from roof top to roof top in the direction they went until I found them. I leapt down and landed on the one carrying the dust. He groaned in pain on the floor. I thoroughly doubted he was going to get up and fight me.

His buddies looked shocked and then pulled out a couple of guns. They started firing at me and I just rolled my eyes as I spun Crescent Rose in a circle deflecting the bullets. I then charged the one on the right, ducked under his weapon arm, angled my arm up while pulling his gun down. I figured, if he let go he'd be okay. If he didn't, this would hurt. His choice, really.

He chose to hold onto it a little too long. His arm didn't quite break but it sounded like I might have given him a hairline fracture. He threw his other hand up, "I'm done, kid. I'm done."

The other guy gave him a disgusted look, "Well I won't just surrender to some snot nosed Huntress wanna-" He didn't get to finish his sentence as I hit him with the flat part of Crescent Rose's blade right on the head.

I smiled at the guy who had surrendered, "You seem to be the only intelligent one among you guys. Bravo. I then turned the ice dust infused rifle on his foot and shot. He wasn't going to leave until the cops showed up.

The girls finally caught up to me as I was speaking on my scroll with the police department, "Yes officer. Ruby Rose, officer. I'm a student at Beacon. Of course, I'll wait for the cops to arrive. I'll gather all 6 of them in front of the dust shop. Thank you, officer, see you guys soon."

The girls all looked baffled at the sight. Their tiny, 15-year-old leader, had just stopped a dust heist all while they were just trying to catch up.

I hung up on the officers and looked at the girls with a big smile on my face, "Hey, Yang, you think you could melt this dust off him? We need to take him and his buddies to his other buddies.

Yang just stood there with her mouth agape, "I… uh… Rubes… Sis… That.. Was AWESOME."

I looked confused, "You didn't even see the fight."

"I wish I had. Oh my god sis, you left us in that alley like 5 minutes ago. How'd you take out five dudes in 5 minutes?"

Weiss nodded, "I'd like to know as well. I mean you seemed capable at initiation but not quite this capable."

Blake was staring at the men with a very different thought on her mind but she stayed silent.

I then looked at Yang, "I'd like to add that it was 6 guys, not 5." I then hefted one guy on my shoulder and motioned to the others to help with the other two. The one who was still awake fearfully followed as Yang not-so-gently pulled him along.

I wished deep down that the police would have taken longer. The air ship home was spent giving them a dramatic retelling of what happened. Of course, I left out certain parts.

What I was dreading was the conversation with Yang. I wasn't the same sister she had before and a concussion could only explain so much.

Upon landing, Yang told the others to go on ahead and then rounded on me, "Rubes, we need to talk."

I nervously smiled, "Uh… of course sis…" She led the way to the courtyard and motioned at a bench. I took a seat and waited for this hell of a conversation to start.

"What were you thinking? I mean, yeah, it was awesome. I didn't even know you could fight that well, but seriously Ruby you could have gotten yourself killed! That was the behavior of a lone wolf hunter, like Uncle Qrow. That was not good leadership at all." She looked to be shaking after she finished ranting.

I smiled hesitantly, "I was thinking, oo I heard a sound and bad people are doing bad things. Then I stopped thinking and just… stopped them?" I figured my response was… less than stellar but what was I supposed to say.

Yang looked down at her feet. It was evident my response did not help. "Ruby… you're our leader now. You can't just leave us behind. Even if… you were clearly capable of handling yourself. I was so worried when you just ran off. Then we followed your trail of bodies and… please don't do that again." I had never in my life heard Yang sound so small.

I tried to think of how to respond, "I'll work on it." I muttered.

Yang shook her head, "No, I want a promise Ruby. You can't just do reckless shit." Yang tried to put on her happier face and added, "That's my job Rubes."

I rolled my eyes, "You don't get a monopoly on recklessness Yang. Besides, I knew what I was doing."

Yang's eyes flashed red, "Promise me, Ruby!" Then her eyes went back to their normal violet hue and she looked like a young lost girl, "I… can't lose you like we lost mom."

That hit me hard. I couldn't exactly explain to her that I was afraid of losing her because I actually had. I sighed audibly, "I can't promise anything considering the job we chose. I will try though to make less reckless decisions in the future." Then I hugged my sister tight. I'd missed her so much, "Please though, try and do the same." I mumbled quietly as she held me.

Yang chuckled, "Fine. We'll both try not to be reckless."

Monday morning brought combat class with Professor Goodwitch. Jaune was paired against Cardin to begin the class. I watched quietly knowing what was about to begin and plotting to stop it. I began replaying in my mind the events that would occur this week. That was when I realized it… I couldn't stop this event. It was vital to Jaune's well being. As much as I wanted to pound Cardin into a pulp I would pretend I didn't notice.

After Jaune lost Professor Goodwitch glanced around the room, "We have time for one more match. Miss Nikos, if you would please come up here."

Pyrrha smiled brightly, "Of course Professor." She happily bounded up to the stage.

Professor Goodwitch glanced around the room but her eyes kept coming back to me. Oh come on… please don't do this. "Miss Rose, if you would please come up here."

Okay… I can either kick her ass or throw the match. She is one of the best fighters in the school. If I beat her without breaking a sweat… that would be way too suspicious. I tried to look anxious about the idea and also excited, "This will be fun Pyrrha." I beamed, "May the best one win…" I said nervously. Inside I was debating how to lose without looking like a complete idiot.

Pyrrha grinned, "I'm sure this be very fun Ruby. I've always wondered what it'd be like to face a scythe wielder." She politely nodded respectfully at me and I smiled back. We both then got into our fighting stances. I pulled out Crescent Rose and Pyrrha pulled out Milo and Akouo.

"Alright ladies. I want a good clean match with tournament rules. The first one who's aura drops into the red will be considered out of the fight." My eyes widened as I came to one realization, how do I get my aura into the red. My aura hadn't dropped that low in about 3 years… unless you counted Salem's explosion.

Pyrrha charged first with her shield and javelin pointed towards me. I rolled out of the way and made a sweeping motion at her legs with Crescent Rose. She leapt over it pretty easily and aimed her javelin at me. She was trying to use gravity to bring the blade down on me. I rolled backwards and kicked up knocking the javelin out of her grip. My momentum continued until I was standing with my weapon in my hand.

She tossed her shield my way and I batted it aside and began to charge at her using my semblance. Pyrrha used her own semblance to summon the weapon and shield back to her hands. Crescent Rose slammed into the shield and I made sure to not put too much strength into the attack.

The battle continued as I pulled my punches and made sure not to injure Pyrrha. About 10 minutes into the battle I concluded that the only way to possibly run down my aura was to use my semblance continuously. Right before I could begin my plan I had a different thought pop into my mind.

I allowed Pyrrha's blade to get through my defenses and throw me back onto the floor with a heavy thud. I then pretended to look dazed.

"Stop." Professor Goodwitch sounded. "Match to Pyrrha Nikos. Class dismissed."

Pyrrha and Team RWBY stayed behind to check on me. I quickly recovered and put on a dopey smile, "I'm fine guys. I just thought I had more aura than I actually did," I lied through my teeth, "I'm just gonna rest here for a second. I'll meet you guys back at the dorm." Team RWBY looked unsure but nodded and turned to leave.

Professor Goodwitch checked me over, gave me a suspicious look, and then hurriedly left the room. I sighed in relief and then just laid on the floor to go over the fight in my head when I heard it, "I'm sorry for injuring you…"

My eyes snapped open and met Pyrrha's, "Uh… I'll be fine don't worry about it."

She paused as if debating what she was about to say, "What I'd like to know is why you took it easy on me."

"Whh-what." I stuttered. How could I think a brilliant fighter like Pyrrha wouldn't notice. "I didn't take it easy on you."

Pyrrha grabbed my scroll, much to my protest, "Your aura is at full capacity. You pulled all of your attacks. You didn't go full on at all. Why?"

I started debating on whether I should lie or just tell her a modified version of the truth. I figured another attempt at lying wouldn't hurt, "My scroll must be broken. I feel exhausted."

Pyrrha seemed to have an answer for everything as she pulled out her scroll and ran the aura identifying program over me, "Nope, full aura."

I finally snapped, "Damn it Pyrrha, just drop it. You are an amazing fighter and thats all that matters."

Pyrrha looked taken aback by my outburst, "I'm sorry," instinctively came out of her mouth. Then she shook her head, "No! I am not sorry. I deserve to know why you held back. Why you didn't think I was worthy of fighting you to the full. I deserve to know why you threw the match. No one ever gets better when their best opponents refuse to fight."

I glared, "Don't you think it would be weird if you got your ass handed to you by a 15 year old!" Pyrrha looked surprised but I pressed forward, "Yes, I let you off easy. Just deal with it and keep this between us." I got quiet and then said, "Please Pyrrha no one else can know."

Pyrrha contemplated it before stating, "I'll keep this between us on one condition." I groaned and motioned at her to explain, "You give me a real fight. No holding back."

I smirked, "So, you'll keep this to yourself if I fight you?"

Pyrrha nodded, "We have a free period right now, an arena no one is using for an hour," she motioned to the room we were still in, "Let's have this real fight."

"Fine." I got into my fighting stance and positioned Crescent Rose so it was in my right hand while my left hand was free.

Pyrrha smiled. She rarely had anyone who could match her, let alone win. She was brewing with excitement at the idea. Pyrrha took position and then counted down.

When she got to one, I lazily twirled my blade and fired a round at her using the sniper rifle. Pyrrha held up her shield to protect herself but, once she dropped it I was not in front of her anymore. She instinctively turned around and threw the shield at me while turning her javelin into its gun form. She began to fire at me but stopped for a moment as shock waved through her.

I had rolled under the thrown shield and used my momentum to counter its while slipping my left arm into the handled. Pyrrha had no idea what to do about me stealing her shield. So using her polarity, she tried to take it back. I smiled as the shield didn't seem to budge. I wasn't going to tell her that I was using her own semblance against her.

I then used the shield to block the rifle fire as I quickly moved forward. I used a sweeping motion to force her to jump and then bashed her in the face with her own shield. She fell backwards onto the floor and was about to get up when Crescent Rose found itself next to her throat.

She dropped her javelin and yielded. I then handed her shield back and muttered, "Sorry about that."

She shook her head vehemently, "Don't apologize! That was so much fun. How'd you get so good? Can you teach me?"

I rolled my eyes, "Sorry, its not something I can teach you. You might want to consider teaching Jaune though. He's a great leader but needs some work on his combat." I smiled at Pyrrha, "Thanks for the fight. Its about time to head to class though."

Just like that I was gone and Pyrrha was left standing there both baffled and excited. She did, however, consider my recommendation to train Jaune.

The rest of the week went by as it had before. Jaune was bullied and blackmailed and pushed to the point of almost breaking. This allowed him to finally break out of his shell and take the steps towards being a good leader and warrior. I was proud of him. It became pretty evident that Pyrrha was training him as his form and stamina improved over the week. I knew he had a long way to go, but at least he had her by his side.

Team RWBY spent the week doing homework and pretty normal stuff while JNPR was trying to handle the Cardin situation. Occasionally the team would give me weird looks but I learned to shrug them off. I was mostly trying to plan for the Vytal festival tournament and the destruction it brought. I had a few plans but it would definitely change the future, I just hoped it would be in a good way.

I would like to thank TheShadow977 for pointing out that I've been spelling Jaune's name wrong. I hadn't even realized that I was butchering his name. Thank you. I have gone and fixed the issue in every chapter here and that I've been working on.