Ruby wasn't sure if it was possible to die of boredom, but she was also pretty sure she didn't want to find out.
Unfortunately, skipping class was a one way ticket to a Weiss scream session that she really didn't want to experience.
'Wait, Weiss…Scream?' Ruby thought to herself in dawning horror, 'Oh no I'm starting to pun like Yang!'
"-and of course when presented with the sight of my glorious mustache, the foul flock of Giant Nevermore had no choice but to flee from me!" The man at the front of Ruby's classroom laughed boisterously, and the reaper felt her eyelids droop further.
Her eyes cut to the clock in the corner of the room, and she nearly groaned out loud as she saw that only thirty minutes of the hour and a half long class block had passed. She brought a hand to her face, rubbing at her tired eyes with a sigh as Professor Port continued his story up front.
To her left, Yang had already given up on the class, and was resting her hand on her cheek as she snoozed comfortably. Behind her, Blake was staring down at her lap, clearly not paying attention to anything going on up front.
'She's probably reading that book that nobody will let me read.' Ruby pouted in her head, 'I don't get it! Ninja's are awesome! I don't know what love has to do with awesome battles with katanas and shuriken, but it can't be that bad!'
Her mind suddenly went back to something very specific. Someone very specific, and her face flushed lightly as the image of a smirking faunus in a blue jacket appeared in her thoughts.
Rei Lynx was a name that had become synonymous with flustered confusion lately and Ruby wasn't really sure what to do about that. It seemed every time they talked recently she was left a stuttering blushing mess thanks to the other girl's words.
Ruby had met the faunus when she was young, having happened upon her bakery while she was wandering around Vale with her dad. She had caught the hint of fresh baked cookies on the wind and followed it to its source, eventually finding her way to the bakery.
They had become fast friends, and soon enough Ruby was looking forward to her almost weekly visits to her newly found best friend. She found they had a lot in common, both of them preferred their hobby's over people, they both liked Spruce Willis, and they both loved baking! In fact, Ruby was pretty sure she had never tasted cookies as good as Rei's were.
And she even got paid to make them. Ruby wished she was that lucky.
Still, in the past few years something had changed in the way Rei acted towards her. Something had shifted in their dynamic, for better or for worse, though Ruby personally believed it was the former.
Ruby's mind went back to the other girl's constant teasing and she could feel her face beginning to heat up with just the memory.
Rei's passes had been pretty overt as of recently, especially so after she got that new job that she had asked Ruby her opinion on. Ruby may have been a little naive, but she wasn't an idiot, she could see what the other girl was trying to say.
Rei was interested in her. Romantically. Her. Nerdy, weapon-maniac, cookie obsessed Ruby Rose. And she had no idea what to do with that information.
Ruby had never really examined her feelings towards the lynx faunus, but now she had been made extremely and acutely aware of their existence. And now that she was, Ruby was able to look at them with new eyes. That weird fuzzy feeling in her chest whenever Rei smirked at her, or the way her eyes softened when Ruby babbled about weapon designs. The hugs.
Ruby had a crush on her best friend. And she likely had for a while now.
That revelation was not as life changing as it should have been. Sure, it definitely put some of their interactions into perspective, but it wasn't like Ruby was suddenly going to start avoiding her best friend like one of the teenage girls from those teenage love dramas that Yang liked so much.
No, instead Ruby was honestly a little relieved. A little of things clicked for her after that little realization, and now Ruby just had to decide what to do about her feelings
Maybe…maybe Ruby would give it a chance. It couldn't hurt right? She could just ask Rei on a date to the movies or something, see where things led. Unless Ruby was reading the signs completely wrong, Rei was already interested in her, so she wasn't likely to reject her.
'And even if it doesn't work out, it's not like Rei's not gonna be my friend anymore.' She thought optimistically, 'And if it does work out, then I'll get to keep her cookies all to myself. It's a win-win!'
Now to figure out how to ask Rei on a date. That…was going to be the hard part. Great.
Ruby was snapped out of her thoughts by a sharp pinch on her arm, "Ow!" She recoiled, bringing a hand up to rub at the sensitive skin as she looked towards the offender.
Icy blue eyes glared at her unamusedly from under snow-white bangs as Weiss retracted her hand. "Pay attention Dolt!" The heiress whispered furiously, "He might quiz us on this! And I don't want to lose points on the team comprehension part of my grade!"
Ruby pouted, turning back to the front as Professor Port continued his tale of adventure and battle. She sighed as she felt her eyelids immediately begin to droop once more, and couldn't help but wonder if the man's semblance was being able to put people to sleep with his voice.
As her teacher continued to regale the uninterested class in his exploits, and as her eyes began to droop again, Ruby sighed.
Hopefully Rei was having fun at her new job…
"AGAIN!" I flinched as the scream assaulted my ears, bracing myself in preparation for what I knew was coming.
There were few things I regretted more at this moment than agreeing to Gerard's offer. It hadn't even been a month, and already I was feeling the consequences of my agreement.
Sweat ran in rivulets down my face, soaking into my shirt as I panted in exhaustion. My arms felt like they were on fire and my legs were only faring marginally better. My lungs screamed at me to stop
My opponent rushed at me, muscled legs eating the distance between us in mere moments. I brought my escrima sticks up in a desperate block, focusing my aura as best I could in preparation for the blow I knew was about to land.
It did nothing. The staff my opponent wielded slammed against my own weapons like a truck, immediately breaking through my guard and slamming into my unprotected chest.
"Gah!" I cried out in pain as I was sent sprawling to the floor, weapons clattering out of my grip to land on the mats several feet away from me.
My aura sparked and sputtered around my body as I laid where I landed. Sweat soaked my face and back, sticking my tanktop to my skin uncomfortably. I winced, feeling every single muscle in my body throbbing in pain with every breath I took, and I was reminded why I hated fighting. It sucked.
"Get up." The woman who had laid me out commanded, "We aren't finished yet. You are far from up to Lord Gerard's standards."
Damn taskmaster. I rolled over, placing my arms against the mat below and levering myself up with a grunting effort. I swayed lightly on my feet, breathing heavily as I turned to grab my escrima sticks from where they had landed, before turning to face the woman who had put me on the floor.
When Gerard had said I would be showing up to train at his estate multiple times a week, I was expecting something simple to start off with. Maybe some katas to go through, or some stances to practice.
I didn't expect to show up to the dojo, be handed two sticks of wood by my apparent instructor, and then be beaten black and blue until my fucking aura broke! Like seriously, she didn't even ask me my name before she started beating me senseless, what if I was just some random person who happened to make their way inside!?
…Though I suppose that that is exactly what she would do to said person, minus the handing them a weapon bit.
My instructor, Misa, was an older short woman who was clearly of Mistralian descent. She was also more than likely the same woman who had been guarding Gerard when I had first met him. Her distinctive long silver hair fell in a braid down her back, somehow staying neat even with our rigorous training. She was also barely breathing hard, clearly more than used to this level of physical activity.
If the color of her hair didn't clue me in, then the way she used her weapon certainly did. I recalled a spear attached to her back when I first met Gerard, and clearly it wasn't just for show.
While the wooden staff in her hands wasn't a spear, that didn't seem to matter one bit as the woman dexterously used it to kick my ass up and down the dojo for the past two hours. The length of wood was practically a blur as she spun it around her body, twirling like it was just another limb and I was hard pressed to even attempt to protect myself from her constant assault.
Her guard was perfect by all accounts, and any time I tried to go on the offensive, my attacks were easily blocked and then countered, leaving me on the backfoot once more. It was tiring to say the least.
And I couldn't even use my Semblance on her! I could feel it, the power bubbling under my skin and begging me to take her abilities for my own, but as I had found out the first time I tried, she was somehow immune to getting her semblance stolen.
It was like something had erected a barrier around her soul, only allowing me to observe what was inside and not interact with it. It was endlessly frustrating, because I could just feel that her Semblance was one that could help me out.
Our most recent exchange ended better than most. And by that I mean I just barely managed to stay on my feet instead of being sent crashing to the floor as she swept my legs out from under me.
"Why are we even fighting like this?" I panted out as I got back into the stance she had instructed me in, one stick held outward to ward off attacks, while the other was more near my body and ready to strike, "I'm a thief. Shouldn't you be training me on how to get away from people instead of fighting them?"
I could instantly tell that was the wrong thing to say but the way her expression hardened. Her arms blurred and the next strike to land against my weapons was much harder, and I winced as my arms shook with the force.
"Not every heist will go the way you plan it to." Misa scolded as she stepped back, immediately going in for another strike that I could barely block, "There will be times where you have no choice but to fight. Humans, Faunus, Grimm, a good portion of them are faster than you, stronger than you, smarter than you. Knowing how to hold your own long enough to escape can be the difference between life and death!"
Along with her words came a flurry of blows that I was hard pressed to keep up with.
The dojo was filled with the sounds of clacking wood as our weapons struck against one another. My breath came in short pants as I defended against her constant assault, while at the same time my eyes darted back and forth as I looked for an opportunity to get a hit of my own.
Right leg. Left arm. Abdomen. Head. The blows came one after another, Misa's weapon was a blur as she continued her attacks, never giving me even a second to rest as she tested my guard for all it was worth.
And then, after one particularly solid hit against my escrima sticks, I saw it. On the backswing, Misa's foot stepped ever-so-slightly too far to the side and she stumbled minutely. That was my chance.
Misa was an expert, and so the momentary lapse in footing was fixed in the fraction of a second, but it was still enough time to get my attack into motion.
One of my sticks slammed into the bottom of her staff, pushing it up and away from her middle. I grinned as her eyes widened in surprise, bringing my other arm forward, second weapon brandished as I struck out…
And landed a solid hit against her side, green aura flaring out from the area my attack hit.
'Hell yeah! I finally got her!' I grinned as I made contact. I immediately brought my other stick downwards, preparing to capitalize on the opening, 'Now I just need to keep her on the backfoo-'
Something changed. Misa's guard suddenly tightened like a castle closing its gates. Her staff moved impossibly fast, slapping my arms in quick succession and knocking my hands up and away from my body.
And as my arms flew to the side and my guard was broken, I stared helplessly as Misa reared her leg back for a devastating kick, 'Oh this is gonna hurt.'
She shot her leg forward, and I was pretty sure I could feel her foot touch my spine as her boot made contact with my abdomen. I went flying backwards, my escrima sticks falling out of my hands to land on the mats as I clutched at my middle in pain.
As I landed on the floor with a grunt, my aura shattered spectacularly, white sparks flickering over my form before fading away. Instantly, my limbs became heavy and my eyelids started to droop as exhaustion set it. I tried briefly to regain my composure and sit up, but I immediately gave up and let my head hit the floor with a small thud.
"Ugh… This sucks." I muttered to myself as I stared up at the lights on the ceiling. I really missed my relatively soft bed, hell, I'd even take a rough leather couch at this point.
As I moaned pitifully from my place on the floor, Misa sighed, twirling her staff lightly as she took a deep breath. "We're done for today." She said, and I nearly cried with relief. I was pretty sure that if I kept going, I would actually die.
Misa looked down at me, expression severe as always, "Get up. The longer you stay down there the harder it will be to stand again."
I groaned, before following her order. I planted my hands on the ground and levered myself up, huffing tiredly as I stood to my feet shakily.
As she took in my pitiful form, Misa's harsh continence softened ever so slightly, "You did good today. You've taken to your training faster than most. It's been a while since one of my students managed to land a hit on me."
I tried to grin as I did my best to get my breath under control, "Thanks I guess. Didn't do me much good in the end though..."
"Don't diminish yourself." Misa stated firmly, "I have been fighting for longer than you have been alive and have fought opponents far stronger than even veteran Guardians. It would be foolish to compare yourself to me. You did well."
I smiled despite my exhaustion, "Thank you."
"So well in fact, I'd say we've progressed far enough to begin live weapons training." she finished.
And there went my good mood. "Ugh… please tell me we don't have to do it this week. I have plans, you know."
Misa scoffed as she walked around to gather my discarded escrima sticks, "And do those plans involve sleeping until noon on a Saturday?"
"No!" I yelled in denial. Misa just raised an eyebrow and I blushed in embarrassment, "I only sleep until ten now…"
She shook her head wryly, "Right. In any case, you are in luck. We will not be sparring anymore this weekend, or next week as a matter of fact. You will need ample time to prepare yourself."
"Yes! Thank you so much!" I cheered.
She ignored my outburst, "To start off, you'll need to craft yourself an actual weapon to start training with." Misa said as she placed our weapons back on the rack, "Do you have any designs in mind? I recommend dual wielding. You have become rather proficient with the escrima sticks, though I would recommend something with more reach to make up for your relatively short arms."
I pouted, but conceded her point. I had noticed early on that my reach was rather limited even with the added length from the sticks. I had solved this problem by adjusting my fighting style accordingly, but it would still be good to have some more reach for my attacks.
Luckily, I had already thought up a solution to that problem, and several others I had yet to address, "I do actually have a design in mind. Several in fact." I told Misa.
She nodded in satisfaction, "Good, I am glad to see you preparing yourself even without my instruction. I will send you the address of the estate smith. You will have to craft the weapon yourself of course but he should be able to acquire whatever you need to-"
"Oh, I already have someone who can help me make it." I interrupted her. She froze, hands still in the air as she finished placing her staff in its place.
She turned to me, and I raised an eyebrow in confusion at the severe expression in her eyes, "What?" I asked.
Misa just stared at me, green eyes piercing into my own and I automatically straightened, "Rei…A Guardian's weapon is something sacred and not to be taken lightly. It is akin to a piece of us, a very intimate piece."
"It's just a tool though. What's so special about it?" I asked, only to recoil at the stern glare I received.
"It is not just a tool." Misa stated severely, "Every Guardian's weapon is an extension of themselves. To gaze at one's weapon is akin to glimpsing a sliver of their every being. There is virtually no limit to what you can glean when looking at one's weapon if you know what to look for."
"Pieces of yourself go into every aspect of your weapon's creation. Your personality flows into every strike of the hammer, every push of the bevels. Your soul is laid bare for anyone witnessing the creation of the tool you would call your own."
"Tell me Rei, do you trust this weaponsmith to be a part of something so important. To assist you in crafting what would amount to another limb on your body? Are you prepared to give this person insight into your very being?"
I swallowed reflexively at the question as I thought. Did I trust Ruby like that? Enough to let her help me make something so important to me. Something that I would be staking my life on to protect me in whatever situation transpired?
Of course I did. It wasn't even a question.
"I do." I nodded seriously, keeping my eyes trained on Misa's own, "I trust her. More than anyone."
Misa continued staring at me for another long moment, before she nodded in acceptance, "It's your choice. I only hope you won't come to regret it."
"I won't. I'm sure of that."
"Alright then." And that was that. We finished packing up, I bid her farewell, and began making my way home.
As I walked my way through the emptying streets of Vale, I could only wonder what Ruby's reaction to my request for her assistance would be. I could practically already hear the barely comprehensible sounds of her gushing about different alloy mixes or mechashift placements, talking about taking measurements and weapon types.
I couldn't wait to hear it in person.
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