REAPER IN RED

Chapter 23

For some odd reason, Jaune was actually paying attention in Professor Port's class. No, not just paying attention. He was actively involved in class. Even I wasn't actively involved in his class and I loved class! Jaune sat there, between Pyrrha and Ren; back straight, right hand on his pencil eagerly scratching down notes and left hand on the desk to steady himself and his notebook. Compared to the rest of us -well, the rest of us, not including Weiss- he was looking to be a model student. Yang was taking a nap on the desk and Blake was reading a book.

Nora, even when sitting, looked like she was ready to bounce around the entire room and Ren was there -trying- to calm her down. Pyrrha was… Pyrrha. It was always hard to get a clear read on what she did in class to pass the time, because it was most certainly not taking notes like Weiss or Jaune were doing. But class was going relatively smoothly; Professor Port talking about the time he accidentally stumbled into a witch's layer and battled to the death with one over the contents of a sweet-smelling potion. From the way he made it sound, there was a lot of cackling and potions being lobbed around the layer, exploding and leaving their mysterious contents everywhere.

"With my incredible speed and tenacity, I dodged a red potion. Sure enough, it struck the cave wall behind me and the very rock itself engulfed in flame! The rock was so hot, it melted before my very eyes, students. The dastardly witch seemed to want to continue her foolhardy onslaught and let out a howling cackle, spinning its magics right in front of me. What a sight to behold. If I was not in a fight for my very life, I would have watched it work its wonders. Watch it indeed."

He paused for a moment, gaining his usual expression which told us that he was reminiscing from his adventure. Probably something amazing. It really was a nice story, though there seemed to be a little too much cackling from the witch. I wondered if he misconstrued a witch's creaking bones for cackling. They did sound eerily similar.

"Now students, how are witches subdivided?"

Jaune's hand shot up faster than even Weiss's. The professor picked him.

Standing up, he cleared his voice and began. "Witches are subdivided into those with sealed mouths and those with unsealed mouths. Commonly referred to as Silent witches and Loud witches respectively."

"Very good, Mr. Arc, very good indeed. And were I to ask what the risks of fighting each type of witch was?"

Jaune spoke without a moment's hesitation. "Loud witches can use their aura and spoken language to cast spells which can negate the semblances of people or stop the effectiveness of dust, among other things. Silent witches can harness dust themselves, using their aura to strengthen or enhance the dust they use."

"Continue, if you will."

"So, fighting against a Loud witch, hunters need to pay attention to what witches are saying in their language to know what will and won't work for their next attack. And for Silent witches, hunters need to be careful about the dust being used or they had brought with them, because the strength of it can vary wildly."

"And for both of them?"

"The reason they are considered Higher Order creatures is because of their clear signs of forethought in battle."

"Brilliant, Mr. Arc!" Professor Port jumped as he spoke, his mustache bouncing on his lip. "Were this a test, you would have passed with flying colours. Truly remarkable to have someone who has payed so much attention to the subject of witches and witch-lore. Yes, witches are devious creatures and one of the only ones to be truly strategic. While a pack of Grimm may surround their pray, it is a tactic used by many animals. A witch may at one time corner you, and another lead you into a previously set up trap. My witch had the habit of throwing potions at me in order to guide me back towards the exit of her layer."

I stared at Jaune. I knew he was smart and had been training really hard lately, but this amount of knowledge was crazy. That was Weiss levels of information.

A hand went up and someone I didn't recognize asked about types of potions and if humans could use them. As the professor rambled away at another story which might have answered the boy's questions, my team and our sister team's attentions were on Jaune.

"Since when did you know so much about… well, anything." Weiss hissed.

I nodded, "you do know a whole lot about witches."

Jaune shrugged and whispered back his reply, "Ruby, I did tell you when we first met that it was witches I was after."

Huh, he did say that, didn't he?

"Why?" It seemed like the obvious question. Though, both Pyrrha and he flinched at it.

"No reason."

His reply didn't seem to assuage Weiss, who continued to glare at him as the professor continued into another story. He shifted in his seat; eyes straight ahead, somewhat glossed over. What was he thinking about? Maybe he was remembering something about his ancestors. Famous Reaper hunters most definitely had experience fighting with witches too, right? It made sense to me.

I smiled, thinking back on my first day at Beacon. It felt like a lifetime ago. So much had happened since. And Jaune was the first person I had really met here. He had given me a scare, but since then, he had become such a great friend. I needed to talk to him again. Maybe see how he had been doing this past week. My focus -my entire team's focus- had been solely on our team. But Team JNPR? Well, they may have fallen to the wayside in my mind.

"Mr. Arc! You seem to be knowledgeable on our current topic. Can you tell me the three methods in which a witch-"

"-witch a witch-" Yang snickered, only to receive a hard shove by Blake.

"-can die?"

Jaune Arc replied immediately, "Age, Beheading, Combustion."

"Correct yet again. The ABC's of witches, if you will. As a powerful and respectable huntsman myself, I mainly care about the final two of them. If you want to kill a witch, you remove the head, or you burn them alive. Fire dust is the most powerful weapon in a huntsman's arsenal. Though as previously mentioned, it is a two-way blade. If you want to focus your studies on witches, then it is paramount that you understand your dust theory."

Jaune sank in his chair, groaning and mumbling to himself.

"Beheading is similarly an effective method. Make note that while beheading is the most effective way to keep a witch from attacking, a witch can function for up to- how long, Ms. Schnee?"

"Four minutes."

"Four minutes without a head. It will be without the ability to see, hear or speak, but it can still move and utilize potions. This reminds me of a time in which I broke into a witches coven…"

The professor went back into another round of tales and the class, once again, tuned him out. Yang was passing notes with pictures of headless chickens and headless witches running around. They were honestly quite good. Trying my hand at it, I sent back my own. A headless witch throwing around potions which all seemed to look like different professors. That got a small chuckle out of her and a thumbs up in my direction.

Pleased, I continued to doodle a little, even as the classroom bell rang and Professor Port gave out the week's readings.

The day was much like it usually was. Without heat or cold, I looked to Blake as my temperature gauge. Weiss and Yang were unhelpful for equal and opposite reasons, thanks to Yang being a perpetual heater and Weiss a freezer. It looked to be jacket weather, so there I was in a jacket. Classes were divided between taking notes, phasing in and out of attention, and trying to force my magic out of my body only to be left with a shortness of breath, a pounding headache and no results to speak of.

And then there was Professor Goodwitch's class. It had… changed a little since the skin-crawler. For one, Ozpin had begun showing up. He just stood at the back of the classroom, drinking his coffee. Silent and with that expression I could never quite figure out. Like the one he gave whenever I thought he might know what I really was.

He had to know. Right? All those subtle hints and comments had to mean something. Nobody could be that ignorant, right? But then again, I did know Jaune, and even I -a non-human- knew that Pyrrha was infatuated with him. Why anyone would want to kiss or touch another like that was too strange for me to even begin to try and explain -and Salem, that was a really awkward chapter of my books to get through-, but Pyrrha was so obvious that it may as well as an open-secret around the school. Open to everyone but Jaune of course, who was oblivious to Pyrrha, oblivious to most things Grimm or monster related and yet surprisingly knowledgeable about witches in particular.

I couldn't think to much about it, because Professor Goodwitch called me to the front of the room for another fight. 'Competitive Tag' Yang had named it, after my first fight with Jaune. That really did feel like such a long time ago.

"You will be up against Lie Ren and Blake Belladonna, Ms. Rose." The professor spoke in her normal strict fashion, not even bothering to look at us as she got the stage set up for our upcoming duel. "I trust that you will continue to make a mockery of this class?"

I nodded. I knew what she really meant; how she wanted me to fight back for once. But even after talking with Headmaster Ozpin, I was still having some trouble with strength management. With the vampire soul wearing off and plans for sneaking into the library and the fiasco at the docks, I didn't have much time to actually practice. Just another thing to add to my list of things to do.

Ren gave me a small nod, withdrawing his weapons and getting himself in his readying stance. Blake smiled, placing a hand on her own weapon.

Professor Goodwitch swung her crop, whapping her thigh. "Ready?"

The two nodded.

I withdrew my own weapon, unfurling it and holding it behind me. I nodded.

"Begin."

Blake shot forward, hopping right towards the wall and ricocheting off and above me. Ren unleashed a volley of shots from his stabby-gun. I had watched fights in class plenty of times already and I knew how strong my two friends were. Blake begun her downward strike as Ren darted forward, weapons ready for a cross-strike.

I sidestepped Blake's weapon, then hopped over Ren, using Crescent Rose to maintain my balance. Setting up for a new round of strikes, I ran towards them, weaving in and out of range, keeping them from setting up attacks or gaining control of the fight. Blake phased out of view in a puff of smoke, only to reappear to my other side. I ducked, sweeping my leg slowly to give her ample time to react. I winced as she fell, rolling backwards into a new stance as Ren took up her spot. Maybe a little slower next time.

Ren was faster than Blake, using his dual weapons in perfect tandem, leaving few paths open, save for a backward retreat. A quick block of a downward blow with my scythe and I pushed him back a space. Enough to get some room to strike.

Well, I lowered Crescent Rose carefully so I would miss him entirely, but close enough that it looked like it wouldn't. Or so I thought. Darn, Professor Goodwitch didn't buy it one bit. Or maybe she was annoyed that there was a huge crack in her floor. Slower, weaker next time.

I felt the wind blow by me, coming from Blake's ribbon. Pole-vaulting over to keep myself from becoming entangled, I let go of my scythe, cartwheeling through another attack.

"Ren has fallen out of bounds," the professor said, following the loud beep which signaled the 'ring-out'.

"Oops."

"Go Ruby!" Yang shouted from the stands, waving her arms like a madwoman. "Take her down! Give her the ol' one two!"

"Break her legs!" Even Nora was cheering, though who she was cheering for was anyone's guess. Now that Ren was out at least.

I waved sheepishly at them, shrugging my shoulders to deflect a glancing attack, then spinning to move out of the way of a flurry of powerful kicks by my sister's partner. She was breathing hard. Should I be breathing hard? She had been moving around more than I had, using her semblance to try and catch me off-guard. I let rose petals appear from wisps of shadow, trademarks of my human-magic semblance at work. I weaved, I jumped. Rolling under blows and kicks. Anything to keep myself from being hit, but slow enough that it looked like I was trying my hardest. To be fair, Blake was exceptionally talented with her chosen weapon, but she was still slow. Much slower than the huntsman who had killed my mother.

Than any of the huntsmen my mom had spoken of from her youth. Was there really such a steep learning curve between professional huntsmen and these students? I had always assumed that humans were like us Reapers in a way. Faster and faster until our prime, then slower and slower until death. Did they only get faster and stronger with age? Did that mean that the human who killed mom would be that much stronger as well?

Blows continued missing as the fight continued. Even as I dodged another kick and punch combo, my mind was fixated on the disparaging strength between students and professionals. Professor Port was old, did that mean he was super powerful? Well, I already knew he was, judging by his incredible, though sometimes a little long stories. He had been a skin-crawler hunter after all. Professor Goodwitch was also incredibly strong. That semblance of hers was no joke. If she was as fast as she was strong, especially if caught off guard, I doubted many young or old Reapers could slip by her. Not the ones in their own territories, those would rip her apart with ease -figuratively, of course, then again...- or those in their prime -like Cinder- but young and old for sure. Humans loved going after them. I wondered why.

Blake poofed out, then back in, a foot away. A thrust towards my chest. An open-palm strike against the flat of the blade pushed it out of harm's way.

Then cheering.

Blake gave a small smile, still breathing heavily when I noticed her sheath in her other hand in a reverse grip. What? When? She had hit me. A soft strike against my arm, but a strike, nonetheless. I must've lost my focus. My gaze landed on the overhead screen. No change in my aura-metre. It must have only grazed me.

I saw my opponent looking too, her smile dropping to a frown.

I had enough of this, with a deep breath, I shot forward, a smattering of petals in my wake. I was in her face when I stopped, letting the wind I dragged behind me be the only force propelling her off the stage. The ring-out beep sounded and Professor Goodwitch called the fight, proclaiming my victory. Ren and Blake smiled at me, giving me comforting nods in turn, letting me know they held nothing against me.

I high-fived Yang as I passed by on my way to the locker rooms to drop off my weapon.

The locker rooms were mostly empty, just me and Blake inside, putting away our weapons and changing back into our school uniforms. Retrieving Crescent Rose from my belt, I placed it gently into my locker, wiping off a bit of dirt I saw on the corner of it. Happy with my little bit of cleaning, I closed my locker and sat down to tie my shoes. Feeling someone beside me, I turned to see Blake, looking at me funny.

"Hi?" I half-asked, half-welcomed. She was glancing at me, eyes roaming up and down my body.

"I hit you." It wasn't a question.

"It was… more like a graze, right? Didn't really do that much damage. I think you might have come super duper close," I offered as a response.

Blake shook her head, eyes still glaring at me, "No, I felt stoppage. I hit you, then sliced. There should have been damage."

"Weak damage?"

"Strong damage. Ruby, tell me now. Did you do something to your scroll so your aura wouldn't read properly? Because if you did, you're going to need to fix it now. That's an offence that could get you expelled."

I shook my head, "No! I promise I didn't do anything to my scroll."

"Then explain to me how my attack didn't effect you."

I… I was at a loss. I had no idea how to respond. To justify my strength. Well you see, Blake, I don't actually have aura at all. Just my Reaper magic which just so happens to be like a hundred times stronger than your aura, everywhere except my weak points and your attack felt like a flick. Oh, and while I'm sharing secrets, how about the fact that I don't know my own strength against humans, and I'm scared to hit you.

Blake sighed, "Ruby. You were the first person to find out about me," Blake's faunus ears twitched underneath her bow. "You also defended me against Weiss during that… event. But I think I can trust you fully with the secrets I have. Don't you think I've earned a little of that trust returned?"

"You do, of course you do." My voice was rising with every word and I wasn't sure if it was because I wanted her to know what I said was the truth, or the underlying fear and panic I was feeling.

Should I erase her memory of it? Or modify it? It would work, but the risk of someone coming in and spotting me was too great. Professor Goodwitch's class was still going on after all. And I wasn't completely sure I could catch her off guard fast enough with that semblance of hers. She wasn't one to freeze in fear like Weiss was, or charge in guns blazing like Yang. I didn't yet know if she was the fight or flight type of person, but my lien was on the latter. Too risky.

"I do trust you. It just has to do with my powers, my semblance. It's long and confusing and I don't fully understand it yet. Yang doesn't know either," I preemptively answered Blake's question. "Just for now, think of it like an… extra aura or something. And please don't tell anybody about it."

Blake stared into my eyes and I held her gaze. After a moment, she backed off. "Alright Ruby, I'll believe you. But know that Yang, Weiss and I, we're all your teammates. You can trust us with anything. Just as we no doubt trust you."

With that, she left the change room.

Was this the emotion that humans called shame?

Thank you all for helping me reach such an incredible milestone. 400, that's insane! This story has been a blast to write so far, so I'm glad to see so many of you enjoying it just as much as I am. See you all again in two weeks!

chinaluv - Thanks!

Alucard45 - She does know that she's going to need some souls again, but after the first time led to a bit of overreaction, you can kinds see how she would realize that lack of temperature isn't the end-all. Yet. I have thought of using AO3, but I myself very much prefer ffn. If this story does make it's way to AO3, it'll probably happen much later, probably after the second arc has concluded.

Dragonqueen1993 - Things are getting interesting and a little trickier for our girl.

jenbug1 - *shrugs* who knows?

snoopykid - I am very much excited for the reveal. Whenever that does happen.

FN75 - I felt for a while that Weiss and Ruby hadn't yet had a big heart-to-heart to show that they actually did care for each other (as friends). It was also a nice change of pace, showing that Ruby wanted to reveal stuff about herself, even if it's under the guise of a special semblance.

Firewyrm2 - I will definitely need to check those two out!