16

Chapter 16

The next morning, after breakfast, found everyone gathered outside the Xiao-Long home to watch the sparring match between Qrow and Ruby.

The two scythe wielders started about thirty feet apart.

"Alright Kiddo. Time to show me what you've learned." Qrow said with an easy smile, calmly drawing Harbinger from his back in its sword mode.

"Be prepared to be surprised, Uncle Qrow." Ruby shot back, her eyes twinkling with inner mirth as she twirled Crescent Rose from behind her back into it's scythe configuration.

Qrow held Harbinger in his left hand in a casual manner, its point aimed in Ruby's general direction, and made a come-hither motion with his right, and Ruby took the cue for what it was, blurring into motion, using her semblance to cross the distance in an instant to bring her scythe down in a sweeping arc towards her uncle's head.

Qrow parried the blow to the right as he stepped slightly to the left, letting Crescent Rose sweep past him, missing him by no more than half a foot, his cocky smile not altering in the slightest. He lashed out with a kick, a simple, forward thrust kick which, while it lacked elegance, was both swift and powerful, and came exactly when Ruby's guard was lowered.

Ruby rolled sideways in mid-air, firing Crescent Rose once to gain distance and dodged the kick just as easily. She landed a dozen feet away from her uncle, who looked mildly impressed.

"You have gotten better." Qrow complemented calmly. "But I've yet to be surprised."

"You ain't seen nothing yet, old man!" Ruby yelled, leaping into the air, firing Crescent Rose behind her to give her even more height before going into the same spin she'd used to break Roman Torchwick's arm.

Qrow parried again, although this time he wasn't able to deflect the attack, instead simply blocking and absorbing it with Harbinger, the force of the blow causing his arm to buckle slightly and one foot to slide backwards to compensate. Qrow grunted and with a shove, launched Ruby away again, then rushed in after her, trying to catch her while she was still in mid-air.

Ruby used her semblance to zip away from his follow up attack and landed twenty feet away, although Qrow was rapidly closing the distance. Before he reached her, Ruby zipped away again, Qrow swinging Harbinger harmlessly through the trail of rose petals left behind as she zipped to the left, then came out of her semblance to fire Crescent Rose backwards to send her shooting past her Uncle. Ruby then alternated between bursts of semblance enhanced speed and shots from Crescent Rose to start zipping around Qrow faster and faster.

Qrow had started to try and follow her movement at first, and it seemed like he could... just... keep up with her speed with his eyes, spinning in place to keep Harbinger between Ruby and him, but after 10 seconds or so, he stopped spinning, simply holding his sword loosely and following Ruby with only his eyes and ears, not even turning to face her when she sped behind him. He suddenly swung his huge blade behind his back to block a shot from Ruby's sniper rifle, the small girl having fired from directly behind him, but obviously Qrow had anticipated the attack.

Qrow blocked several more shots with ease, then turned and lashed out with Harbinger as Ruby came in for a swipe, again blocking Crescent Rose and locking blades with his young niece.

"Better..." Qrow drawled, sounding slightly bored. "But nothing I haven't seen before." He hit the button to transform Harbinger into it's scythe configuration, and he and Ruby started nearly identical spins of their weapons, sparks striking off each other as each blade struck and parried the other. In this Ruby seemed almost evenly matched with her uncle... but that illusion was quickly shattered when Qrow casually kicked Ruby in the stomach in the middle of their rapid series of exchanges, sending the small girl tumbling nearly a dozen meters to smash into a tree at the edge of the clearing, while at the same time, managing to hook Crescent Rose with his own scythe to pull it from her hands. "You've still got a long way to go, Kiddo." He said as he dropped Crescent Rose lightly to the ground behind him.

Ruby groaned and slowly got to her feet, putting a hand to her stomach. "I'm not finished quite yet, Uncle Qrow." Putting one hand on the ground she got into a sprinter's stance. Qrow grinned, lowering his own center of gravity slightly in response. Ruby shot at him like an arrow from a bow in a blur of rose petals, swirling around and past him at the last instant. Qrow spun with her, keeping Harbinger at the ready as Ruby landed and launched back at him again, coming out of her semblance a dozen feet away from him, going into, as Jack had named it, a 'rocket powered side thrust kick' aimed squarely for Qrow's face.

Qrow, who had been preparing for his niece to attempt to retrieve her scythe from the ground in front of him, had to adjust at the last second to get Harbinger in the way, and staggered back a couple paces from the force of Ruby's kick hitting the shaft of his weapon.

Ruby used the kick to reverse her momentum and land on top of Crescent Rose, rolling backwards over top of it and collecting it on the way, transforming it into rifle mode and firing it over and over towards Qrow as he recovered, sending herself flying away from him again before he could catch her.

Qrow parried each shot with Harbinger, transforming his weapon back into sword mode to make parrying her rounds easier, then he took three incredibly quick steps forward and launched himself into the air, moving faster than Ruby had ever seen him move. He caught her before she could use her semblance to escape and hammered downwards with his sword, crushing the smaller girl to the ground under the blade.

There was a loud 'ping' sound from Ruby's scroll, which Tai was holding. "And that's the match!" Tai called out. "Ruby's aura is in the red."

Ruby just lay on the ground and groaned. "No... kidding..." she moaned.

Qrow leaned down to offer his niece a hand up. "OK... you NEARLY surprised me there at the last second. Nice kick."

Ruby groaned. "But you still blocked it."

Qrow shrugged. "Sure, but it was still a good kick. Might have worked..." The grizzled looking hunter grinned. "On almost anybody but me, that is."

Pyrrha came up to the two of them with a smile. "You did very well, Ruby." She then turned to Qrow. "Are you still willing to spar with me, Mr. Branwen?"

Qrow grimaced slightly. "Call me Qrow, everyone does." He looked the Mystrailan champion up and down. "And sure. I heard you gave Tai a run for his money. Should be interesting."

Blake and Yang came out to help Ruby out of the clearing. "He's really strong..." Blake said quietly as she and Yang helped Ruby walk to the edge of the clearing where they could watch the match between Qrow and Pyrrha safely.

"You have no idea." Yang said with a slight chuckle. "He was holding back. I've seen him in action when he was actually trying."

"Hey! I made him work for that... at least at the end." Ruby protested.

Yang looked thoughtful. "OK, yeah. He did turn it up a notch at the end there."

Blake was looking at her young girlfriend in concern as she and Yang lowered her onto the ground by the house. "Are you OK, Ruby? He hit you pretty hard."

Ruby grinned at her. "Oh, I'm fine, Blake. I've taken harder hits from Grimm."

Yang raised an eyebrow. "Hard to believe a Grimm hits as hard as Uncle Qrow."

Ruby rolled her eyes. "OK, maybe, but it hurts more when your Aura's down."

Yang nodded. "Yeah that's tru..." She blinked. "Hey! When did you fight Grimm without your Aura?"

Ruby blinked. "Oh right... I guess I didn't mention. Right before I came to Vale to see you... just before I got invited into Beacon? I visited mom and... well, there were about fifty Beowolves. I took them all out, but my Aura broke right at the end. I had some pretty bad bruises."

Yang blinked, looking alarmed, her eyes actually flashing red for a second. "Ruby!"

Ruby rolled her eyes. "Obviously I was fine, Yang. I saw you the very next day. My Aura healed me just like always."

Yang grimaced, then sighed, her shoulders sagging. "Sure... I just... I worry about you sometimes, Ruby."

Ruby smiled softly. "That's what big sisters are for, I guess."

The two sisters shared a moment, smiling at each other, then Blake spoke up quietly. "Fifty Beowolves? I can't imagine having to deal with so many by myself."

Ruby shrugged. "I'm actually pretty good with large groups of weaker Grimm."

While the rest of her team was talking, Pyrrha and Qrow sized each other up.

Pyrrha pulled Miló and Akoúo̱ off her back, getting into a defensive stance, Miló in it's short sword configuration pointed towards Qrow with Akoúo̱ in a relaxed guard position.

Qrow had Harbinger in his left hand, held behind his back, the tip sticking out over his right shoulder as he leaned casually towards Pyrrha, then made a 'come here' gesture with his free hand.

He was off balance and unprepared... or looked it, but Pyrrha had seen his fight with Ruby and knew the man was lightning quick. She wouldn't fall for such an obvious ruse.

Nevertheless, she lowered her center of gravity and approached at a dash, bringing Akoúo̱ forward to ram it into the man.

Qrow sidestepped her, but she'd anticipated that, already swinging Miló in that direction as he moved. Qrow was forced to bring Harbinger around to block her strike, and he parried three quick strikes from Miló in a row before he opened the distance again. As he opened the distance, Pyrrha whipped Akoúo̱ at his face.

Qrow blocked the shield, the force of the strike making him take yet another step back, and Pyrrha spun, catching Akoúo̱ on the rebound before launching skyward, spinning down with both her weapons coming in one after another at a sharp angle to force Qrow to block again, and again, and again.

But he did, blocking every strike as if they were coming at him in slow motion, an almost bored expression on his face. Pyrrha smirked back, and ramped up the intensity of her attacks, throwing in kicks and a shoulder rush with Akoúo̱ in between more traditional weapon strikes in order to force the older man to work harder and harder to defend. Then she started shifting Miló between attacks, changing her reach and style from moment to moment to take advantage of the distance between them as it changed. She started to smile wider and wider as Qrow actually started to struggle a little to meet her assault, and focused on forcing him off balance so that he'd make a mistake.

Finally, after a minute of increasingly quick and powerful attacks, she connected, hitting his right arm with a slash from Miló, then tagging him in the shoulder with a shield bash a second later.

Qrow parried her follow up attacks and stepped back again, grinning now just as widely as she was. He rubbed his shoulder with his right hand, and nodded to Pyrrha. "I guess all those tournament wins weren't just a fluke, huh?" He said with a snort.

"I guess not." Pyrrha agreed, not letting down her guard for an instant. "I don't suppose you plan on fighting back at some point?"

Qrow laughed. "Yeah, yeah. I think I've gotten enough of a warm up now." He brought Harbinger around into a two handed grip and lunged with incredible speed.

Pyrrha blocked with Akoúo̱ even as she dodged to one side, and even with all her focus on defense, the single strike nearly bowled her over. She spun away from him to eat up the momentum from the hit and barely managed to parry a follow up strike with Miló, and a third strike nearly tore the weapon from her hands.

Pyrrha rapidly backpedaled, now completely on the defensive as Qrow struck at her again and again with the huge sword, swinging the enormous blade one handed as if it was a short sword instead of a massive four and a half foot blade that must have weighed nearly thirty pounds.

Pyrrha was forced to call upon her semblance to help deflect the massive weapon, causing it to miss her by inches several times or managing deflections with Miló that she would have otherwise been too slow or weak to manage without its help.

Qrow became overbalanced from one particularly aggressive swing that Pyrrha avoided by the smallest of margins, obviously expecting to connect solidly and being surprised by the miss, and Pyrrha kicked him solidly in the stomach in that instant, doubling the man over and sending him flying.

Qrow landed on his feet a dozen feet away, and they both paused to assess each other again, while Yang whooped excitedly in the background. "Kick his ass Babe! You've got him on the ropes!"

Pyrrha smiled slightly at her girlfriend's encouragement, although she wasn't so sure about that. Qrow certainly didn't look phased in the slightest, and he certainly didn't look like he was suffering at all from the last exchange, although she was sure she'd knocked his aura down at least a little.

Qrow saluted her with his sword, then launched himself at her in a lunge so quick and powerful that Pyrrha once again found herself forced to rely on her semblance to deflect his massive blade... and then his right fist caught her in the jaw. She'd never even seen the blow coming, she'd been so focused on his sword.

Pyrrha spun around twice before hitting the ground on her back, too dazed by the blow to be able to catch herself, and before she could rise, Qrow had Harbinger at her throat.

"Not bad kid." He complemented. "You've got a tricky semblance there."

Pyrrha let her head fall back onto the grass and raised one hand in surrender. "I yield, Mister Branwen."

"Call me Qrow, kid." Qrow said, sheathing his weapon behind his back and reaching down to give her a hand up.

Pyrrha sighed. "Was it that obvious?"

Qrow shook his head. "Not really... took me quite a while to figure out what you were doing... and even then, just knowing you were deflecting my sword somehow didn't give me any easy ways of breaking through your guard. Still, can't deflect something you don't see coming, right?"

Pyrrha smiled. "That does make it more difficult." She decided not to point out that she wouldn't have been able to use her semblance on his fist anyway. Apparently he didn't know exactly what she'd been doing, only that it was something that could deflect attacks. Deciding not to enlighten the man, she simply bowed slightly and placed fist in palm in respect. "Thank you for the match."

"No problem kid." Qrow said with a shrug. Turning away, he pulled hip flask out and took a long pull. "Well, it's been fun, kiddos." He said as he wandered over toward Yang and Ruby. "But I've got to get going. Got a meeting with Ozpin."

"You know professor Ozpin?" Yang asked curiously.

Qrow grinned. "Hey, I know everyone to some extent."

Ruby grabbed him around the waist. "Are you going to be staying in Vale for awhile, Uncle?" She asked plaintively, giving him her best puppy dog stare.

Qrow laughed. "I MAY be able to stick around for a while, yeah. I'll probably stay at Beacon tomorrow, but I'll be back in a couple days if you want to hang out, kiddo."

Ruby beamed at him. "That's great, Uncle Qrow."

Qrow said his goodbyes and headed for the ferry, and team RPBY was left to their own devices as Tai was doing errands in Patch that day.

As Qrow was leaving, Yang went over to check on her girlfriend. "Hey, you OK, Babe? Uncle Qrow hit you pretty hard there."

Pyrrha smiled at the concern but shook her head. "I'm fine, Yang. My aura's handling it. Your Uncle is very strong. I thought your father was strong but Qrow... he's amazing."

Yang chuckled. "Yeah, for a a drunk old man he does alright."

Pyrrha raised an eyebrow. "Better than alright I think. And I'm pretty sure he was holding back on me."

Yang shrugged. "Well, he has been a professional huntsman for twenty years. He does a lot of solo missions, so he's got to be tough."

Pyrrha frowned. "Solo missions? That's pretty dangerous, isn't it?"

Yang nodded. "Yeah, but Uncle Qrow is one of the strongest Huntsmen out there. He can handle himself. He always says he works better alone anyway."

Pyrrha wanted to ask why Qrow didn't work with his team anymore, but then, she remembered. Summer had died. Raven, Qrow's sister, had left... Pyrrha wasn't really sure why exactly, and apparently Yang herself didn't really know either. Tai had become the sole parent to Ruby and Yang, leaving Qrow the last member of their team still actively working as a hunter. Although now that Yang and Ruby were in Beacon, why couldn't Tai help Qrow out in the field?

Yang caught Pyrrha's expression, and guessed at it's source. "I do worry about him sometimes... but what can you do? That's the life of a huntsman, right?"

Pyrrha shrugged helplessly, then looked over to Blake and Ruby, who were already headed inside, Ruby sharing some story or other that included a lot of hand waving and chopping motions. "I suppose." She finally agreed. "But... I think Ruby was right. It's better to hunt as a group. Each of us is strong in our own right, but even if we are, it'd be good to stick together, regardless. I don't want to think about losing any of you."

Yang took a deep breath, then nodded. "Yeah. We'll stick together. I'll always have your back, Babe."

Pyrrha just smiled. "I'll be counting on it."

/-/

After dinner, as they were headed up to their shared room, Ruby looked at Blake hopefully. "Blake... since Qrow's not going to be back till tomorrow, want to stay in my room with me tonight?"

Blake hesitated, frowning. "I don't know..."

Ruby blushed. "It's just... it's going to be our last real chance to be alone together before we have to head back to Beacon."

Blake blushed as well. "Oh..."

Yang looked torn between being interested and being mildly disturbed by the idea, then she glanced at Pyrrha. "You know, I wouldn't mind one more night alone with my girlfriend either..."

Pyrrha was blushing now, but smiling as well. "I agree..." She turned to Blake. "Would... would that be alright with you?"

Blake's shoulders sagged a bit, but after a moment she rallied, then nodded and smiled. "Sure. Ruby and I will clear out tonight, and give you and Yang some privacy."

Yang grinned at her. "Not to mention you and Rubes..."

Blake rolled her eyes. "Yes, that part was implied."

Soon, Blake and Ruby were alone in Ruby's room again. Ruby hopped up onto the bed immediately, but Blake was pensive, pacing back and forth.

Ruby looked worried. "Blake? Are you alright?" Blake wrinkled her nose, but didn't answer right away. Ruby tried again. "Am I doing something wrong? Did you... not want to be alone with me tonight?"

Blake's eyes widened and she turned to face her girlfriend. "NO!" At Ruby's shocked expression, Blake winced and tried again. "No... you're not doing anything wrong. It probably will be our last chance to spend some time alone like this... it's just... I... I don't know... I just..." She trailed off, not sure how to explain.

Ruby sighed. "You're upset about the White Fang, and Tuckson, and you want to be doing something."

Blake blinked, then slowly nodded. "Yes... yes. I mean... I know we have a plan, and it's a good one... I just... I feel like I need to be doing more."

Ruby smiled softly. "I know you do. I do too. But I think... I think... we're doing everything we can. And it won't help anyone if we're miserable in the meantime. We need to take care of ourselves so we're at our strongest when it matters."

Blake sighed. "Yes... probably. I just... I feel like I don't deserve..." she gestured vaguely to Ruby. "That I don't deserve..."

Ruby raised an eyebrow. "What, you don't deserve to be happy?"

Blake shook her head. "It sounds stupid when you say it like that."

Ruby slipped off the bed and gave Blake a hug. "It's not stupid to be upset. I just wish I could help you more."

Blake returned the hug. "You do help me. And I appreciate it." She patted Ruby's head fondly. "Come on, let's get to bed."

Ruby turned her face up to look into Blake's eyes, a small twinkle sparkling in her own. "And...?"

Blake blushed, then chuckled. "Maybe we can figure out SOME way of taking my mind off my problems."

Ruby ducked her head, looking nervous but determined. "I'll do my best."

She did.

/-/

"So..." Ruby said as Yang and Pyrrha were putting the breakfast dishes away. "I know we're supposed to be on vacation, but I was thinking maybe we should do some training while we're here."

"I agree." Pyrrha said with a nod. "We shouldn't let ourselves get rusty."

Blake nodded, frowning in agitation. "I want to be doing SOMETHING constructive."

Ruby grimaced, glancing over at Tai, who was looking at Blake in interest and concern, then patted her girlfriend on the back. "And we will. I've gotten some new ideas for team attacks, and I've been wanting to work with Pyrrha on her semblance."

Pyrrha blinked. "My... semblance?"

Ruby nodded firmly. "You're capable of so much more than you do with it, Pyrrha. I know you like keeping it secret, as a trump card, but someday you... you could need every bit of power you can get. How much training do you have using your semblance offensively?"

Pyrrha blinked. "Well... not very much, to be honest. I hardly ever use it except to deflect. Most of my training in that area was to make those deflections as subtle as possible."

Tai looked interested. "Qrow mentioned that you were using your semblance to deflect. I admit, it was really subtle. I still have no idea what your semblance actually is."

Pyrrha blushed. "Well, my trainers insisted I keep it secret... and it has been a very useful edge in difficult matches."

Ruby nodded. "I know it is. They don't call you the Invincible Girl for nothing. But not everyone uses..." she paused. "Er... do you mind if we talk about it in front of my dad? I know you try and keep it secret."

Pyrrha blushed, then shook her head. "No, that's quite alright, Ruby. I trust Tai." She smiled at the man. "My semblance is Polarity, sir. I can control metal."

Tai's eyes widened, and he whistled. "Oh! I can see how that could be useful. Almost all hunter weapons are metal, or mostly metal. And if you just use it for subtle deflections, it would be almost completely unnoticeable, people would just think they'd missed you by a tiny amount." He nodded to himself. "Probably only a really experienced Hunter like Qrow would notice something like that." He looked curious. "May I ask how strong it is?"

Pyrrha frowned. "I... well, it's been a while since I tested the upper limits, since doing so risks exposing my semblance to anyone who witnessed it, but... the last time we checked, I could levitate around two tons."

Tai blinked. "Two... tons?"

Yang whistled. "Damn, Pyrrha. I had no idea you were that strong."

"How many objects can you move at once?" Blake asked curiously.

"Like, hundreds and hundreds!" Ruby exclaimed excitedly. "It's amazing!"

Pyrrha blinked. "Ruby... how do you know that?"

Ruby blinked. "You levitated all those soda cans in the cafeteria during that awesome food fight..." Ruby trailed off, going pale.

Yang blinked. "There was an awesome food fight and I missed it?"

Pyrrha shook her head. "No... no there wasn't." She frowned at Ruby. "Ruby... what are you talking about?"

Ruby swallowed, then shrugged, her eyes looking anywhere but at the faces of her teammates. "Er... hah! That's right, that was just a dream I had!"

Pyrrha blinked. "You dreamed that I levitated a bunch of soda cans during a food fight?"

Yang chuckled. "Trust Ruby to have wild dreams I guess..."

Ruby chuckled as well, although with more than a hint of nervousness. "Yeah... just a dream. Hah. What was I thinking?"

Pyrrha smiled, shaking her head. "Well, in any case, Ruby is correct to some extent. I can control all the metal within the reach of my semblance at once, although I've never actually controlled hundreds of objects simultaneously, I suppose it'd be theoretically possible, although I don't think I could do anything more than throw everything in a single direction at a time."

Blake nodded thoughtfully. "It does sound pretty powerful. Although you'd need a lot of metal around to take full advantage of it."

Ruby grinned. "And I know just where we can get a whole bunch of metal! The forge at Signal academy!" She turned to Tai. "You can get us in, right dad?"

Tai blinked, then frowned. "I don't know, Ruby... Signal's closed down for the break as well."

Ruby gave her father the full force of her puppy dog pout. "Dad... come on. How will we help Pyrrha train with her semblance properly if we can't get a bunch of metal for her to work with?" She brightened. "Actually, I've been meaning to make Pyrrha some new equipment..."

Now it was Pyrrha's turn to frown. "Ruby... I do appreciate the thought, but I'm quite happy with Miló and Akoúo̱."

Ruby shook her head. "I'm not suggesting you replace your babies. Miló IS awesome... and you're really good with using Akoúo̱ with your semblance..." Pyrrha blinked at this, trying to remember if she'd ever used her semblance on her shield around Ruby. It was true that she sometimes used her semblance to allow her to bounce Akoúo̱ off of multiple targets before returning it to her wrist, but it wasn't something she practiced often, or openly. But Ruby was still speaking. "I was thinking of a brace of knives, and, maybe some armor?"

Pyrrha blinked. "Armor? I understand the point behind the knives. You mentioned them before... but why would I need more armor?"

Ruby stood up from the kitchen table. "I was thinking, you could wear a bunch of metal strips... on your arms, and maybe your shoulders and on your back. You could layer them like splint mail, but if you needed projectiles, you could pull them off with your semblance and throw them at people!"

Pyrrha blinked. "But why would metal strips be better than knives? Although, I suppose I wouldn't want to wear sharp pieces of metal as armor. It'd wear down my aura."

Ruby shook her head. "No... I was thinking more like you could use them like restraints and blunt weapons."

Pyrrha blinked. "Restraints?"

Ruby nodded, grabbing a napkin off the table and folding it over into a thin rectangle to try and demonstrate. "Like this... they'd be thin enough so that you could throw them at someone like..." she made zooming sounds and carried the napkin over to Blake, then brought the napkin down on top of Blake's wrist where she had one hand on the kitchen table, and held the napkin down on both sides of Blake's wrist, holding her hand down. "And you could pin someone like that..."

Blake slowly raised her wrist. "Couldn't they just... slip free?"

Ruby grinned, then folded the napkin around the upraised wrist till it made a kind of bracelet around Blake's forearm. "Not if she uses her Polarity to bend it around like this... then she could throw you around by your wrist, or even lift you into the air so you couldn't fight back!"

Pyrrha blinked, looking mildly shocked. "That... actually sounds like it could work." She frowned. "Although I'm not sure my control is good enough to do it..."

Ruby grinned. "Which means you need to practice, right?"

Pyrrha nodded slowly. "I suppose it's worth trying, at least."

Ruby turned to her father and gave him the full force of her puppy dog pout once again. "Dad..."

Tai laughed. "Fine, fine. I probably can get you access to the forge. Give me a couple days to set it up though, OK?" Ruby nodded eagerly, and Tai sighed, then smiled indulgently, shaking his head. "One of these days I'll figure out how to say no to you, kiddo."

Yang chuckled. "But not today."

/-/

That afternoon, team RPBY gathered in the backyard again, this time to try some new team attacks Ruby had come up with. Tai helped Ruby with setting up half a dozen training dummies at various spots around the yard, and then Ruby went to her team to explain.

"So, I've got a couple new partner team techniques in mind..." Ruby began. "One for Yang and Blake, and one for me and Pyrrha."

She pointed at Blake. "So, the idea is, you throw Yang one end of Gambol Shroud while Yang is running, then you pull on it while Yang accelerates with shots from Ember Celica, and you spin her in an arc into the enemy... kind of like a slingshot..."

"Or a Yang-a-pult!" Yang enthused.

Blake groaned, shaking her head, while Pyrrha giggled appreciatively, but with a snort, Blake nodded. "I think I get what you mean. It'd give Yang more speed, and I could help aim her at the enemy in a way they'd have trouble avoiding..."

Ruby nodded. "We'll call it Bumblebee!"

Yang blinked. "After my motorcycle?"

Ruby opened her mouth, then closed it. "I was actually thinking because bumblebees are yellow and black, and you two are yellow and black... but OK?" She shook her head as if to clear it and pointed at the training dummies. "So, I want you two to practice that, getting up to speed and aiming for the training dummies. After you've had a go, then it'll be my and Pyrrha's turn."

Pyrrha looked interested. "What did you have in mind for the two of us, Ruby?"

Ruby grinned. "Actually, pretty much the same thing... except that instead of using Gambol Shroud, you'll use your semblance on Crescent Rose. Like... I'll start by going into my semblance and zip forward like I'm going to fly past the bad guy, and when I come out of my semblance, you use your polarity to kind of... pull me to the side and speed me up so I go spinning into them like a bladed yo-yo on an invisible string..."

Pyrrha blinked. "That sounds... incredibly dangerous."

Ruby grinned. "Yup! And awesome!"

Pyrrha laughed. "I suppose it might be rather awesome... assuming we can pull it off."

Ruby held up a thumb. "We can do it. Although we should probably wait for Yang and Blake to get out of the way first. There isn't enough room in the backyard for all four of us to practice big moves like that. At least not until we're better at it."

Yang looked interested. "OK, but what are you going to call it, sis? Got to have a cool attack name."

Ruby blinked. "Um... we've both got a red theme... so... Crimson Reaper?"

Yang chuckled. "How about Milk and Cereal?"

Pyrrha blinked. "Milk and Cereal?"

Yang winked. "Because Ruby loves drinking milk and you're on cereal boxes."

Blake chuckled. "I like it. Besides, if you call out 'Crimson Reaper' everyone is going to be looking out for some sort of team attack using Ruby's scythe... which would kind of spoil the surprise."

Ruby wrinkled her nose. "Fine... Milk and Cereal then. Until I can think of something cooler."

The team spent the rest of the day practicing the new moves, taking turns so that each pair could have a turn in the space of the backyard. "Bumblebee" worked just as Ruby remembered, and Yang loved it. "Milk and Cereal" on the other hand, had some issues. Pyrrha could indeed grab hold of Ruby's scythe as she came out of her semblance, and when they timed it right, she could indeed give Ruby a great deal of extra angular momentum, causing Ruby to come around in a curve at high speed... even accelerating Ruby slightly if their angle and timing was right, but it was difficult for Ruby to adjust her position in mid-air to swing Crescent Rose into the target accurately. If they got the move wrong, Ruby would end up being dragged around by her weapon, and be unable to get a swing off at the right moment.

Still, they kept practicing, and by the end of the day, they could pull the move off better than six times out of ten. They'd even tried a few times with both pairs doing their moves simultaneously, with Pyrrha swinging Ruby high and Blake swinging Yang low so that the sisters wouldn't collide in mid air. Even though Ruby's accuracy with the move still needed work, it at least looked terrifying to watch, and Ruby highly doubted anyone would be able to come up with a counter to it easily... at least not without having seen it a few times first. They ran out of training dummies and were working on taking out logs that Tai had been planning on turning into firewood by the end of the day, and everyone was exhausted by the time it was time to call it quits, especially Blake and Pyrrha, who'd been doing most of the work, but Ruby considered their progress to be worth it.

That evening, during dinner, Yang turned to Ruby, looking curious. "So, Rubes... got any moves for Pyrrha and me?"

Ruby shrugged. "Well, I guess Pyrrha could use her semblance to throw you at the enemy..."

Blake grinned. "If Yang uses her semblance at the same time, you could call it 'Greek Fire'."

Ruby blinked. "Greek Fire?"

Blake blinked. "You know, like the weapon the ancients used to drop off of castle walls... or throw with catapults to catch stuff on fire?"

Ruby nodded thoughtfully. "OK, yeah I can see that."

Yang punched Pyrrha on the shoulder playfully. "Or because the two of us get along like a house on fire, eh, babe?"

Pyrrha rolled her eyes, but her fond smile betrayed her, and Yang continued to beam.

Blake glanced at Ruby. "You and I already have Ladybug." Blake commented, then nodded to Pyrrha. "Got any ideas for a team attack for Pyrrha and me?"

Ruby looked thoughtful. "Well, aside from Pyrrha using Gambol Shroud to tie someone up with her Semblance...?"

Blake frowned. "What would I be doing while that happened?"

Ruby shrugged helplessly. "OK, I haven't thought that one out very well yet. I'll come up with something."

Yang looked at Ruby curiously. "Got anything for you and me, Sis?"

Ruby wrinkled her nose. "Well, we already know how to work together really well, Yang... but I guess it'd be good to have a team attack name for us so I could signal that I want you to gang up on somebody with me."

Yang grinned. "We'll call it Strawberry Sunrise!"

Ruby blinked. "Er... sure. That works."

/-/

The next morning, they went back to work, trying to perfect team attacks for each pairing among the group.

'Greek Fire' didn't work especially well at first. Yang tried running and jumping into the air with a boost from Ember Celica to give Pyrrha the momentum she'd need to fling her in an arc like she'd done with Ruby, but she couldn't get enough speed up to really make use of that.

Pyrrha frowned, then gestured for Yang to come over. "How about this. Keep your arms in close to your sides, and I'll try simply throwing you at the target as hard as I can. Then you can throw a punch as you get to it."

Yang shrugged. "Sure. Let's give it a try."

Pyrrha cupped her hands between her legs and gestured for Yang to step into her hands. "I'll start by physically throwing you, maybe? We might get more speed that way than if I used my semblance alone."

Yang grinned and put one foot into Pyrrha's cupped hands. "OK babe. Let's see your best fastball."

Pyrrha grunted and heaved Yang into the air, then drew her hands back towards her chest before thrusting them forward again as Yang sailed into the air, her palms glowing with a black aura as she did so. Yang's gauntlets glowed as well, and Yang went flying up and away... too far. Yang was clearly going to fly into the treeline on the far side of the yard, and Tai had asked the girls not to damage the forest if they could help it.

Pyrrha grimaced and twisted her hands inward, pulling backwards, and Yang came to a stop mid air, hanging above the trees by her shotgun gauntlets.

Yang laughed. "OK. That sort of worked. Can you let me down, babe?"

Pyrrha opened her hands slightly and started gently guiding Yang down and towards her with her Polarity, while Blake walked up to her side, looking interested.

"Hey, Pyrrha... you've kind of got Yang trapped right now, huh?" Blake observed mildly, her eyes betraying the fact that this fact interested her more than she was trying to show.

Pyrrha blinked, her hands freezing and leaving Yang hanging in mid air about fifteen feet away. "I... suppose I do?"

Yang herself had been looking a bit bored as Pyrrha had been gently lowering her down, blinked up at Ember Celica, which she was hanging from as Pyrrha lowered her towards the ground, and frowned slightly. "Huh..." She started to struggle, but without leverage, she had nowhere to go.

Blake licked her lips involuntarily at the sight of the toned blond brawler squirming and struggling in mid-air. "Do... do you think you could pin her better? Like... pull her arms apart a bit?"

Pyrrha looked thoughtful, and gestured, drawing Yang's arms apart slightly. "Hmm. She also is wearing steel toed boots... metal in the heels as well." She spread the fingers on one hand, maintaining her grip on Ember Celica with one hand, then reached out with her semblance again to grip the metal in Yang's boots. Spreading her fingers again, she spread Yang's legs and arms wide, holding her in mid air in a spread-eagled position.

Yang growled and struggled harder, managing to bring her arms and legs closer to her chest, but still not having anywhere to go. "This isn't funny, Pyrrha!"

Pyrrha gulped and quickly lowered her girlfriend to the ground. "Sorry, Yang. I've just... never been able to practice my semblance like this. It's... fascinating what I can do with it if I really put my mind to it."

Yang's scowl softened and she rolled her shoulders as she walked up to Pyrrha. "It's fine. It's kind of awesome that you have that kind of control... and a bit terrifying. But that's kind of who you are. Awesome and a little bit terrifying. And I wouldn't have you any other way, Babe."

Ruby had noticed, and came over to comment. "That was perfect! If you have some metal strips to throw at people, you can restrain them the same way you just did with Yang!"

Yang frowned. "Well, I could have taken off Ember Celica and gotten loose."

Blake shrugged. "And your boots? And I bet Pyrrha could have grabbed you by the belt as well."

Yang's frown deepened. "I could have..." she blinked. "Huh. By the time I'd done that, you'd have had time to shoot me a couple dozen times while I couldn't move... or just throw me off a cliff or something, I guess."

Ruby giggled. "Plus you'd have had to fight Pyrrha in your underwear."

Yang colored, then glanced at Pyrrha with a thoughtful expression. Her cheeks colored slowly, causing Pyrrha to flush as well, both girls looking away from each other as they blushed.

Blake just grinned, eyes flashing. "That, I'd pay to see."

"You wish, Belladonna!" Yang shot back.

Blake nodded. "Yup."

Ruby blinked, not understanding, then blushed, then grimaced. "Eww! Ugly sister, ugly sister! Nope, nope nope..." She pointed at Pyrrha. "Do that when I'm NOT around!"

Pyrrha went crimson, her hands flying to her face in embarrassment. "NO! I wouldn't! Of course not...!"

Yang started to laugh, which set off Blake, and Pyrrha, face still flaming, tried very hard not to join them while Ruby was watching her with such a stern expression, but finally she couldn't keep it in and burst out laughing too.

Ruby groaned and shook her head. "Yang. Stop corrupting my team!" She stalked into the house, looking sulky.

Blake's chuckles came to a halt, although she was still grinning. "I'll go cheer her up, and... give you two a little privacy."

"We don't need...!" Pyrrha protested, face going a shade darker, but Blake was already leaving, laughing and waving goodbye over her shoulder.

Yang grinned. "Maybe we do..." she stepped into her girlfriend, wrapping her in a hug. "Maybe a little bit of privacy would be good, hmm babe?"

Pyrrha returned the hug, only slightly reluctantly. "Yang..." she whined in a complaining tone. "Stop teasing me."

Yang kissed the side of her neck, causing Pyrrha to shiver. "I thought you liked it when I teased you."

Pyrrha licked her lips. "I've never said that..."

Yang chuckled. "You know you love it."

Pyrrha sighed and lowered her head so that it rested against Yang's neck. "You drive me crazy sometimes, you know that?"

Yang nodded, and kissed Pyrrha on the left temple. "Yeah. Love me anyway?"

Pyrrha smiled softly. "I suppose I do, at that."

/-/

After lunch, Tai took Pyrrha and Ruby over to Signal so that Ruby could use the forge there. Yang and Blake stayed behind, Blake doing some reading and Yang just relaxing with some music.

Once he'd opened the forge, Tai wandered off to his classroom to do some paperwork he'd been putting off, while Ruby started moving around the forge, finding some good pieces of scrap metal she could use to turn into metal strips for Pyrrha.

She heated up the forge, and got to work. Pyrrha observed, and helped where she could, but Ruby did most of the work.

Ruby worked on one piece at a time, cutting a metal strip to the length she wanted, then heating it in the forge. Once the metal was hot enough, she'd get it out and start beating it on an anvil to create the dimensions she wanted. When she was satisfied with the first strip, she dunked it in water to cool, then moved on too a second.

The second piece she made longer and thinner than the first, the third thinner yet, but a bit shorter as well. Once all three pieces were cool, she turned to Pyrrha.

"OK, why don't you try these out? Try throwing them at my wrist... and then bending them around my wrist as they hit, as quickly as you can."

Pyrrha frowned slightly. "Won't that hurt you?"

Ruby raised an eyebrow. "My aura will handle it. Don't worry. Besides, the best way to figure out if they work is to try them on an actual person, right?"

Pyrrha wrinkled her nose, then nodded. "Very well." She picked up the longest piece, and hefted it, then flexed her hand, letting her semblance get a feel for the metal. Then she used her semblance to cause the metal to bend up, then down at the edges. She nodded, then turned towards Ruby. "OK, let's give this a try."

Ruby grinned, then held out a wrist to one side. "OK, how's this?"

"Perfect." Pyrrha answered. With a snap of her wrist, Pyrrha threw the metal strip at Ruby, end over end like a throwing knife. As the metal flew, she made a curling gesture with her hand, and it turned and slapped sideways into Ruby's wrist at the last moment, and bounced off. Pyrrha closed her hand and her semblance caused the metal to bend a split second too late, the metal, now curved, hitting the floor with a thunk.

Pyrrha frowned, gestured, and the metal flew back into her hand, and straightened itself out. "Let me try that again."

It took Pyrrha over a dozen attempts to manage to get the metal strip to hit her target and wrap around Ruby's wrist quickly enough to stay in place immediately. Pyrrha tried with each of the test strips, finding the shortest and thinnest one to be the easiest to use. Ruby made a few more strips, going thinner with each, and experimented with trying to find the perfect length. After half a dozen tries, both Pyrrha and Ruby were satisfied that they'd gotten the best size and shape. About 10 inches long and 2 inches wide, and just under half a centimeter thick, each strip of metal was light and easy to throw, but still strong enough to hold Ruby securely easily once it was fully wrapped around her wrist. With Pyrrha maintaining a hold on the metal, Ruby found she couldn't pull loose at all. Pyrrha's semblance was far stronger than she was. In fact, one thing Pyrrha had to work on was not using too MUCH force while holding the metal strip closed, so as not to injure her target.

Ruby's aura was nearly in the red, and both girls were exhausted when Tai finally came to get them, but Ruby had made three more strips to match the one they'd decided was the best for the job, so that Pyrrha had a set of four.

"How'd it go, girls?" Ruby's father asked curiously.

"I think it went very well." Pyrrha answered with a genuine smile. "Ruby is very skilled with the forge."

Tai grinned. "She could apprentice as a weapon-smith if she wasn't bound and determined to be a huntress instead."

Ruby blushed slightly. "Dad... you know being a huntress is all I want to be."

Tai nodded. "I know kiddo, but you really do have a talent for weapon design. If you ever decided to change careers, you'd be great."

Ruby snorted, but Pyrrha nodded in agreement. "Well, I can't disagree. Crescent Rose is a work of art, and you certainly seem to know your way around the forge."

Tai grinned at them both, then raised an eyebrow. "So... are we good to go?"

Ruby hesitated. "Well... we've got a testing design... but I want to knock out another... dozen or so I think, so Pyrrha can practice using a whole bunch at once..."

Tai blinked, then nodded. "How are you planning on testing them, anyway?"

Ruby grinned and held up a wrist. "Live testing dummy, of course."

Pyrrha blushed slightly again. "I think I'll set up a target and do some drills for the next few days. No reason to keep stressing your aura the whole time."

Ruby massaged her wrist lightly where it ached from all the impacts and from being crushed by Pyrrha using too much force. "I won't complain about that... but after you've gotten better, you really should try on live targets again. And in an actual sparring match."

Pyrrha nodded. "Of course. Once I'm sure I have the basic move down, I'll be sure to ask for your help again."

Ruby smiled. "Sure. In the meantime, maybe I could design you some armor pieces that incorporate these strips? Like around your upper arms, and forearms? And maybe like splint mail on your back?"

Pyrrha raised an eyebrow. "Well, I'm not against it. But please do show me the design you have in mind before forging me a new set of armor. My sponsors may be a bit upset if I wore something too different for any public appearances..."

Ruby nodded. "I'll show you sketches when I finish them. I've got a couple ideas how to do it..."

Tai's eyes widened. "A whole new armor design? That's a bit ambitious, isn't it? You're only going to be on Patch a few more days..."

Ruby shrugged. "I can use the forge at Beacon once we're back. But if I could come back tomorrow and make Pyrrha some more strips to train with?"

Tai chuckled. "Sure. Just make sure to tally what materials you used so we can reimburse the forgemaster properly. He likes you, but he won't thank you for using up all his stock without replacing it."

Ruby saluted her father quickly. "Yes sir!"

/-/

Qrow returned that evening, forcing the girls to double up in the two beds in Yang's room.

The next morning, Ruby returned to the forge at Signal alone, as she already knew what she was making, leaving Yang, Pyrrha, and Blake to their own devices.

Yang helped Pyrrha set up some training dummies in the backyard so Pyrrha could practice with the metal strips Ruby had made for her.

Blake watched from the porch, tapping her foot to a rhythm only she could hear.

As Pyrrha started practicing, tossing out metal strips to wrap them around the limbs of the various wooden dummies Yang had set out, Yang moved over to sit next to Blake, just staying quietly beside her at first, her eyes occasionally straying toward the cat faunus's tapping foot or to glance at her face for a moment, noting her agitation, but not sure what to do about it yet.

After half an hour of practice, Pyrrha had gotten to the point where she was hitting her target and wrapping the steel strips around their wooden limbs on almost every attempt. She'd occasionally use the strips to yank a dummy of its feet, or even suspend them in mid air for a few moments.

Yang shook her head. "You know, when I first saw her fight, I thought... she's good, but I bet I could beat her." She told Blake quietly so they wouldn't be overheard. "But Pyrrha's been holding back this whole time... I don't know how any of us would stand a chance in a real fight."

Blake's tapping foot stilled as she started paying full attention to her partner. "Does that bother you?"

Yang wrinkled her nose, looking off into the middle distance as she considered the question seriously. "A little? I mean... she's my girl, and I love that she's the baddest ass on the planet and all but..."

Blake raised an eyebrow. "But you're used to being the strong one?" She guessed.

Yang shrugged. "Yeah... I mean, I always used to look after Ruby. I helped train her, you know? And for a long time, I felt like I'd always have to be there to protect her. But... she doesn't really need anyone to protect her anymore, does she? She's... she's changed so much... and she doesn't need me like that anymore..."

Blake put a hand on Yang's shoulder. "Yang... Ruby is always going to need her big sister. You know that."

Yang sighed and nodded. "Yeah... I do. It's just... she always used to look up to me, but now, I feel like she's passing me by."

Blake frowned in concern. "Yang, you're the strongest person I know. Ruby... and Pyrrha may both be... amazing, but that doesn't mean you aren't important, that you can't help them."

Yang sucked in a breath. "I know. I'm just not sure how to deal with being weaker than my baby sister... or my girlfriend."

Blake snorted once. "How do you think I feel? I'm the weak link on this team, even if nobody says it. I haven't beaten any of you in a spar since we started at Beacon... there isn't a single class outside of history where I'm doing better than Ruby."

Yang raised an eyebrow. "You were kicking Ruby's ass in hand to hand..."

Blake rolled her eyes. "Sure. And she's been practicing unarmed combat for how long? It's obvious she never even tried fighting unarmed until Pyrrha started training us all, and at the rate she's improving she'll be better than I am at that by the time we get back to Beacon. And when she's using Crescent Rose... she's terrifying. And she's like Pyrrha in combat spars. She's always holding back. It's obvious. Especially after seeing her sparring with your uncle."

Yang looked concerned. "Does that bother you?"

Blake looked thoughtful. "I... obviously I wish I was stronger. And I'm not just going to sit by and let Ruby be the one to protect me... but..." she shook her head. "No, it doesn't bother me. My old boyfriend, Adam, he was a whole lot stronger than I am as well. And, when I decided to leave him, to run, the thought of him coming after me... it frightened me, because I know how dangerous he is. But Ruby being strong? Pyrrha? I trust them. With my life. If anyone can be trusted to be strong, to do the right thing with that strength, it's those two."

Yang grinned. "OK, you've got a point. We're pretty damn lucky to have them in our lives, huh?"

Blake nodded emphatically. "We are. I am. But Yang... Ruby... and Pyrrha. They're lucky to have you as well. And I count myself lucky to have you as my partner as well. You're stronger than I am... and that doesn't bother me, because I trust you. And I know you'll use that strength to protect me and the people we both care about."

Yang nodded once. "Damn right I will." She spontaneously hugged Blake. "We're pretty lucky to have you in our lives too, Blake."

When they broke the hug, they both noticed Pyrrha had stopped practicing, and was looking their way. They broke apart guiltily, but Pyrrha only smiled warmly at them. Nodding once to them from across the yard, the "Invincible Girl" got back to her practice.

Yang looked thoughtful. "You know... maybe we're not QUITE as talented as our girlfriends, but that doesn't mean we can't help them get stronger, right?"

Blake looked curious. "What did you have in mind?"

Yang grinned. "Let's tag team Pyrrha."

Blake blinked. "What?!"

Yang stood and called out to her girlfriend. "Hey Pyrrha! How about you get in some practice against a couple moving targets?"

Pyrrha blinked, and turned to face them, looking interested. "How shall we do this?"

Yang stretched her arms over her head, then brought her fists together. "You verses both Blake and me. No holds barred."

Pyrrha hesitated. "I'm not sure exactly what you mean...?"

Yang stepped off the porch. "I mean use your semblance. Really use it. Don't hold anything back."

Pyrrha's eyes were a bit wide. "Are... are you sure about that?"

Blake took a deep breath, then stepped up to Yang's side. "It's a good idea. You won't get a chance like this again, not when we're at Beacon, not if you want to keep your semblance secret. You can cut loose with your polarity here where nobody will see but us."

Pyrrha wrinkled her nose in concern. "I don't want to hurt you..."

Yang rolled her eyes. "We're not made of paper, babe. We've got aura. When we're down to the red, we're out, same as usual."

Pyrrha closed her eyes, took a deep breath, then opened them, a determined expression crossing her face. "Very well. I accept your challenge."