18

Chapter 18:

"Jaune! To me!" shouted Pyrrha, beckoning Jaune to her side. "Weiss, Ruby...behind us!"

"What should I do?" asked Jaune, coming to stand next to Pyrrha.

"Link shields and raise them!" Pyrrha shouted urgently. "It's going to launch its feathers at us!"

That doesn't sound so bad, thought Jaune, as he did as he was bid, raising his shield so that its rim overlapped with the circular rim of Pyrrha's, the two of them bracing their defensive weapons together and raising them into the path of incoming Nevermore as Weiss and Ruby took cover behind them.

The Nevermore abruptly flared its wings, bringing its swooping flight to a halt, then swept its wings forward, hard, launching its feathers down at them in a barrage, like arrows. Somehow, they rotated in the air so that they struck quill-first, their tips piercing the solid ground like they were made of metal.

It was a widespread barrage, striking all around them. However, several feathers found their mark on Jaune and Pyrrha's shields, striking with incredible force. I take it back! It's bad! Jaune thought frantically, as he strained to keep his shield from faltering. Luckily, having Pyrrha's shield linked with his braced it, and he managed to keep it up until the feathers stopped striking the ground.

"Scatter!" shouted Ruby from behind them.

They all jumped away in separate directions, which was good. Following firing its feathers, the Nevermore had resumed its swoop towards them. Its talons struck the ground, gouging out trenches right where they'd been standing earlier. It kicked off, beat its wings once more, and took to the air again, circling around for another pass.

"We need to get out of here!" Weiss shouted.

"It's not gonna let us!" Ruby shouted back. "It'll take us out while we're going up the cliff!"

"You're not saying we should fight that!?" Weiss exclaimed, staring at Ruby, aghast.

"Yep," said Ruby, sounding far more cheerful than the situation warranted.

"You think we can?" asked Jaune, with no small amount of trepidation.

"I know we can," said Ruby.

Pyrrha switched Milo into its rifle-mode and took aim at the Nevermore, firing off several shots at it. "We're going to have to figure out how," she said. "Its feathers might as well be armor."

Weiss grimaced, then pirouetted about. A formation of four small glyphs appeared around her body, which then fired a barrage of bolts at the Nevermore. They exploded against the beast's feathers as it completed its turn and came stooping for them again. Despite her best efforts, none of her attacks seemed to do the creature any harm.

"Jaune!" shouted Ruby, looking to her partner. "Raise your shield!"

Jaune did as he was bid, raising his shield up and over his head. Ruby jumped and landed on it, the sudden addition of her weight driving Jaune down, his knees screaming at him as he strained to remain standing.

"PUSH!" shouted Ruby excitedly.

Jaune grunted, then roared with exertion, pushing upward with all his might, using his arms and legs in the maneuver. At the peak of his efforts, Ruby kicked off his shield, the force of her action practically flinging Jaune back down so that he fell to the ground with an impact that knocked the wind from his lungs. Ruby shot upwards in a streak of red, her flight angling to take her directly towards the Nevermore, which screeched wrathfully as she approached.

Ruby merely smirked, then threw her body into a spin, wrapping her cloak around her so that she resembled a crimson cyclone, streaking through the air, leaving a trail of swirling, red petals in her wake. More petals seemed to peel off her cloak, congealing together and forming into swirling clouds that circled around her body. About six such clouds formed. Abruptly, they condensed, converging inwards, erupting into arcs of electricity that grew denser, their crimson color lightening, until they became a brilliant violet color, filling the air with an intense buzzing sound.

"Hibana!" The shimmering bolts of energy launched along a spiraling path to meet the incoming Nevermore, impacting with a series of powerful explosions that caused the birdlike Grimm to jolt and screech in pain. Ruby followed in the wake of her attack, her sword lashing out in a streak of red to cut along the Nevermore's side, drawing a spray of red from a line slashed along its torso as Ruby glided past.

The Nevermore's body jolted, and its wings convulsed. No longer flapping to keep itself aloft, the Nevermore plummeted to the ground, landing with a crash that shook the earth, smashing a few trees, before sliding to a stop just inside the clearing.

"Incredible," breathed Pyrrha.

Weiss' eyes widened. "Unbelievable!"

It was Jaune who realized what Ruby had done. "It's on the ground now. We can take it."

He rushed forwards. Pyrrha gasped and dashed after him. Weiss looked after her two teammates, hesitating for just a second, before following in their wake with a muttered curse at their recklessness.

The Nevermore rose up, folding its wings slightly so that it could brace the claws that protruded from the joints against the ground, strangely giving it a posture more like a bat than that of a bird. Its caw was more like a roar than the sound a crow should make. It lumbered forward to meet the incoming students. On the ground, its movements were ungainly.

It lunged forward, trying to plunge its beak into Jaune. Jaune responded by raising his shield, deflecting the beak off to the side with a spray of sparks. Yelling out, Jaune swung, his sword biting into the Nevermore's neck. Putting as much of his strength into the swing as possible, he was rewarded by a screech of pain, finding that he actually had managed to penetrate those tough, armor-like feathers.

In the meantime, Pyrrha rushed to flank the distracted Nevermore from the other side. Leaping into the air, she raised her weapon, transitioning it into its javelin form and hurling it, firing a shot from the back at the same time, to send it plunging into one of the Nevermore's glowing eyes, making its shrieks reach an even higher pitch. Its entire body lurched as it tried to pull back, preparing to try and take to the air again.

But Weiss intervened, plunging her rapier into the ground. With a ringing sound, ice rose up from the earth where the Nevermore's claws rested, locking them in place. "Finish it!" she shouted, looking up.

Ruby descended from above, her body spinning, cloak flaring out around her in a familiar motion as her sword rang and blazed with crimson light, seeming to merge with the edge of her cloak in the process of her spin. "Kazebara!"

Both Jaune and Pyrrha leapt back as a red crescent cleaved through the Nevermore's neck, decapitating it in one fell swoop, both sides of the wound sending a spray of red particles in the air that showered around Ruby as she touched down. The Nevermore's body gave one last lurch, then slumped lifelessly.

For a moment, the clearing was silent. Then Jaune let out a gasp and slumped down. "Geez! That was more than I was hoping for today."

"Me too," said Ruby, laughing sheepishly as she ran her hand through her hair.

"Honestly, I can't believe your luck," growled Weiss irritably. "First, those Grimm during the initiation...now this."

"Hey! You're the one who woke up the Deathstalker," Ruby retorted, drawing an embarrassed blush from Weiss. "Besides, I'm surprised this Nevermore didn't come after us during the initiation. I didn't think there was anything this big left in the vicinity."

"Well, whatever the case, we brought it down...and quite easily at that," commented Pyrrha, coming between the two, her hands raised in a placating gesture. "If anything, I'm surprised that it gave us so little trouble."

"That was mostly Ruby though," said Jaune. "Her swordsmanship is amazing."

"Very true," agreed Pyrrha as Ruby's face turned red.

"It's...uh...no big deal..." said Ruby, nervously tapping her fingers together.

No big deal...huh? Weiss frowned, looking at Ruby from behind. That was no ordinary lightning she made. Lightning-Dust was a potent force to be sure. But it was hard to control properly. Generally, using more Dust produced a larger volume of lightning, enabling the user to increase their range, or cover a larger area.

Ruby's attack, on the other hand, had been much more intense than anything Weiss had ever seen lightning-Dust produce. In fact, unless she was mistaken, Ruby's attack had combined lightning and wind to produce orbs of plasma, super-energized, ionized gas that contained so much energy that it had actually reached the violet point of the visible spectrum. Is that the result of using Aura rather than Dust? Can she really produce so much destructive power with just her Aura alone?

It was amazing to consider...and daunting. Weiss had grown up living and breathing Dust, everything to do with it, from its usage as the foundation of the civilization of her world, to its commercial importance, to its direct application in battle. Dust was the foundation of Weiss' life. The prospect that people could use Aura to create similar effects, or even more pronounced effects than Dust, rocked Weiss to the core of her being. And, according to Ruby, there's an entire civilization that uses nothing but their Auras.

If that knowledge spread and proliferated, what would it mean for her and the Schnee Dust Company? If people realized that they had the potential within themselves to use the power of Dust, without having to actually acquire Dust, then why would they bother with Dust at all? Now that she thought about it, Weiss figured that, perhaps, wounded pride over having their technology overcome by a bunch of assumed "primitives" might not be the only reason that the powers that be had a vested interest in keeping the Mibu Clan out of world affairs.

"Well, that was bigger than we were expecting," said Ruby, staring at the Nevermore's dissolving corpse, her words drawing Weiss back into the present. "Should we call it a day, or is everyone okay if we keep going?"

"Well, I'm rattled," admitted Jaune. "But you did all the heavy lifting on that, Ruby. So...I'm good to keep going if you are."

"That's true," agreed Pyrrha, nodding slowly. "No doubt there were more Grimm attracted by that racket, so we'll have plenty more to train on shortly."

Weiss frowned, but couldn't find any reason to abort their training session. "I'm willing to keep going," she said.

"Okay then," said Ruby. "Pyrrha..."

"On it," said Pyrrha, heading back to her perch.

Ruby stretched, then flicked her blade through a few passes. "If there aren't anymore crazy-big Grimm crashing the party, we'll probably get through these waves by lunch."

"I'm cool with that," said Jaune, stretching himself out. "This is probably some of the best training I've ever had. I can't thank you girls enough for this."

"Just do your best," said Ruby. "Right now, that's all we need."

"Don't slack off, in other words," admonished Weiss, before marching away.

Ruby giggled. "She certainly has a unique way of cheering people on."

Jaune looked after her and chuckled. "Well, considering it's her, I'll take what I can get."

"Heads up!" Pyrrha called over their scrolls. "I see more Beowolves on the way."

"Well...here we go," said Ruby. "I'm not going to tell you how many I'm letting through this time. Try and keep your awareness up."

Jaune gulped, but set himself all the same. "B-bring it on," he said, not able to completely hide the nervous quaver in his voice.

Ruby giggled. "That's the spirit," she said, heading for the edge of the clearing, and towards the approaching Grimm, their barks and growls already reaching their ears.

"And now they go back to their previous work like nothing happened," said Ozpin with a chuckle as he sipped from his mug, watching RASP's progress on his scroll.

"I have to admit, I'm impressed by their determination," said Glynda, watching the same thing on her own scroll, the two of them standing at the edge of the cliff. "Mr. Arc, in particular, continues to surprise me with the level of dedication he shows...though it remains to be seen if he can sustain it for the prolonged period that he needs to reach the level of his teammates."

"Indeed, that will be the true test of his mettle," agreed Ozpin. "He will encounter no shortage of difficulties at the hands of his classmates. I imagine that he will become frustrated sooner or later. The real question will be whether or not he allows that frustration to stymie him, or if he will work past it."

Glynda nodded. "As for Ms. Rose...She truly is uniquely capable."

"Agreed," said Ozpin.

"I'm beginning to see why she is the leader of this team," said Glynda. "Although I think that Ms. Schnee is beginning to understand the potential ramifications of the Mibu Clan...and their philosophy on Aura and Dust...becoming more widely disseminated than before."

"Yes," agreed Ozpin. "Jacques is one of the strongest proponents of hostility against the Mibu. He has even proposed another expedition to Leng on occasion."

"If his proposals gain ground..." said Glynda warily.

"It would be disastrous for Atlas," said Ozpin. "The Mibu cannot be underestimated. The destructive power of their unleashed strength surpasses that of any individual Kingdom's military."

It seemed like a gross exaggeration. While actual statistics were virtually impossible to get about the Mibu, estimates placed their total population at less than a hundred-thousand, all told, fewer people than occupied Vale itself, to say nothing of the myriad settlements that dotted the Kingdom's territory. Based on the reports from the previous failed expedition (what of them that hadn't been redacted, of course), their military seemed to number no more than a few-hundred at most. And yet, at the very least, it seemed that even their rank-and-file soldiers possessed Huntsman-level capability, on par with an Academy graduate, which would give them the worth of well over a hundred of the average soldiers that made up the bulk of any Kingdom's particular military. The fact that there were those among their number who stood above that, some by orders of magnitude, suggested combat capability that bordered on the fantastical.

In other words, the Mibu were nigh-unconquerable, so long as they were defending their own territory. Of course, such small numbers made the offensive projection of their power untenable. The amount of destructive force any one individual could bring to bear would have little influence on their ability to take and hold territory on a wider area, with the Mibu seeming to only have enough numbers to maintain their own territory, which made the risk of them seeking to make their own expeditions into the outside world a remote thing.

"Yet they continue to maintain neutrality," said Glynda. "I cannot imagine that She would be content with leaving them be, when she has turned her wrath on the rest of humanity."

"Perhaps eventually," said Ozpin. "If She crushed all other resistance and She was free to marshal her forces for that single purpose, She might proceed against them. That might well be her plan. However, the Mibu, or at least those who lead them, hold themselves back…for reasons that only they seem to know."

Glynda looked at Ozpin curiously, wondering what he meant by that. However, he volunteered no other information.

Then again, perhaps he had none. Mystery pretty much defined the Mibu, as far as the Kingdoms were concerned. It might have seemed odd that an entire continent could have been claimed by someone, without the Kingdoms knowing, but historical records were far from perfect. The perpetual threat of the Grimm had seen Kingdoms rise, then fall, histories written, then lost over the course of centuries. Even now, with the CCT having ushered in a new era in communications, it was still all too easy for people and places to be lost. Coverage was far from perfect, with settlements often falling out of contact for days, or even weeks, at a time. More than once, a settlement had simply disappeared, with no one realizing it had been overrun until weeks later. Because of that, it was all too easy to overlook the existence of a people who had absolutely no access to the selfsame communications technology...and even easier to wall them off.

There had been attempts by the Kingdoms to found settlements on Leng, before Vale and Atlas' disastrous expedition, but they had disappeared without a trace, contact lost without explanation. Before the expedition had encountered the Mibu, Grimm had been blamed, leading to speculation that Leng was infested with particularly dangerous varieties, the reason that Vale and Atlas had made a concerted effort, after the Great War. The existence of the Mibu that the expedition had encountered suggested that those earlier attempts at settlement had either been destroyed or assimilated by them.

As it was, with their low population, vast swaths of their territory remained completely undeveloped, which potentially suggested it was possible for the Kingdoms to create settlements of their own, without engaging with the Mibu at all. However, the Mibu appeared to have a covetous streak, regarding the entirety of the Leng, whether the lands in question were previously occupied or not, as unquestionably theirs, and any attempt by outsiders to stake a claim was clearly to be repulsed.

Because of that, it was difficult to ascertain to what extent they knew of the situation regarding Her. What Qrow had told indicated that at least a few of them did. Why they appeared to be content to sit back and allow a threat to the entirety of humanity to go unchallenged was a mystery in and of itself. But, then again, perhaps that just spoke to the sheer intensity of their isolationist mentality. After all, by and large, they seemed just as determined to ignore the Kingdoms as the Kingdoms were to ignore them, with Ruby being the, so far, sole baffling exception.

Frowning, Glynda turned her attention back to RASP and watched as they continued to train.

"Gah! What a day?" groaned Jaune as he sagged into his seat, setting his tray down in front of him. His entire body felt as though it was made of lead.

"You did great," said Ruby. "You were able to handle five Beowolves at once, at the end there."

"True," agreed Pyrrha. "Your improvement is remarkable, in all honesty."

"It's thanks to that stupidly huge Aura of his," commented Weiss. "The way he bounces back from any physical exertion is, honestly, ridiculous. It took a whole day of continuous fights against the Grimm just to run it down to the last quarter."

"Hmm..." Ruby frowned, tapping her chin, staring at Jaune intently.

Jaune quailed away from her gaze. "Suddenly I get the feeling my life is about to get a lot more hellish."

"I'm just thinking," said Ruby. "Your Aura allows you to physically rebound really well from physical work. I'm thinking we should push you harder during your fitness training."

"That's a good point," said Pyrrha, nodding in agreement. "Perhaps, on the days we don't have Combat Class, we should focus on more physical conditioning for him."

Jaune gulped, a slight whimper working its way out of his throat.

"Relax," said Ruby, patting his arm. "If we're doing that, then it means you'll get strong a lot faster than you normally would." She giggled. "We're not gonna work you to death...just right up to the edge of it."

"I don't know what to say," said Jaune weakly.

"Say 'thank you,'" said Weiss, giving him a raised eyebrow. "Don't make me keep reminding you just how far out on a limb Ruby and Pyrrha are going for your sake, Arc. You'd better not do them the disservice of giving up now."

"No, Ma'am," said Jaune.

Ruby transitioned to gently rubbing his back. "Hey, it's okay. You're doing awesome. On top of that, tomorrow is gonna be our day off. We can do anything we want."

"That's right," said Pyrrha. "And, thanks to us getting our homework out of the way, we really have the whole day to ourselves."

Jaune chuckled. "Well, I have that to look forward to, at least."

Abruptly, the table jumped as Nora practically landed on the bench next to Jaune, grinning excitedly, her eyes shining as she looked around. "Hi, guys!" she said eagerly.

"Hey, Nora," said Ruby cheerfully.

"Where were you all day?" asked Nora, as the other members of Team RYNB took their seats at the table, Yang resignedly taking the furthest position from Ruby that she could, though she couldn't quite stop looking in her sister's direction. "I was gonna suggest that we hang out together, but we couldn't find you anywhere."

"We've been down in the Emerald Forest," explained Pyrrha.

"Wait! You guys were training on Saturday?" asked Yang, her eyes going wide, unintentionally ignoring the flash of irritation that appeared on Ruby's face when she jumped in.

"Well, we still have Sunday and it's a good time to dedicate a whole day to training," said Pyrrha. "It's hard to get time blocked for ourselves in the sparring ring, plus this gives us a chance to train against actual Grimm, until we can start taking missions."

"Impressive dedication," said Ren, nodding sagely, before glancing sidelong at Nora. "I only wish my team were half as motivated."

"Aww...it's not my fault you make such delicious pancakes, Ren," said Nora cheerfully. "I just couldn't stop."

Ren sighed and slumped forward. "I really need to stop indulging her."

"You should quit while you're ahead," said Yang. "It's obvious you're wrapped around her finger."

"You could help a little," grumbled Ren, glaring halfheartedly at Yang. "You were stuffing your face right alongside her."

"Hey, your pancakes really are that good," said Yang, grinning. "Consider it a compliment."

"You could stand up for yourself more," said Blake, watching Ren with a slight smirk.

Ren merely glowered back at her. "You could have helped. But, instead, you disappeared right after breakfast."

"A girl can only take so much of these two," said Blake, flicking her gaze between Yang and Nora. "I need some peace and quiet."

"So you disappear for the whole day?" asked Ren.

"It was a really good book," said Blake, by way of explanation, her cheeks coloring slightly.

Ren sighed, slumping again. "Like herding cats," he muttered petulantly.

Ruby watched Team RYNB's interactions, feeling a small degree of trepidation. She could sympathize with Ren having difficulties leading his team. Like her, he had been thrust into a position that he wasn't completely comfortable with. It was clear that the dynamic between his teammates wasn't helping much either. Yang and Nora were obviously getting along like a house on fire, while Blake apparently preferred spending extended periods in her own company. With a situation like that, it was understandable that Ren was having a hard time getting any kind of cohesion from his team.

In the case of Team RASP, it was an ironic stroke of good fortune that they had Jaune. With his development to rally around, they were already coming together as a team, getting accustomed to one another's quirks, adjusting to working together, and getting a feel for one another as people. Jaune's weakness had actually become the lynchpin to bringing them together as a team.

Team RYNB, on the other hand, didn't have any such catalyst. Because each member was confident in their individual skills, they felt free to go their own ways, when it came to working and training, instead of working with and helping one another. Furthermore, it was clear that Ren was uncomfortable exerting any authority as leader. But Ruby's experience over the past week had taught her that leadership was a two-way street. Ren's teammates had to be willing to actually listen to him, and set aside their own foibles, at least occasionally. Right now, they lacked the impetus to do that.

Well, it is only the first week, thought Ruby. Frankly, she found herself feeling incredibly lucky that she and Weiss had resolved their conflict so quickly. It was fortunate that Pyrrha had been in her corner and willing to do her part to bring Weiss around. And doing that had required Pyrrha to get over her own reluctance to assert herself and push a partner she hadn't originally wanted into doing the right thing. She supposed that Team RYNB would find their groove, sooner or later. Hopefully they could manage that before their education and training started becoming more team-oriented...or before their first missions.

Internally, Ruby shrugged, figuring it was best to leave things alone for now. Besides, dealing with RYNB's problems meant dealing with Yang...and she had no intention of doing that anytime soon.

"So..." teased Nora, leaning forward eagerly. "What are you guys doing tomorrow? Are you doing even more training?"

"No, we're taking the day off," said Jaune succinctly.

"We aren't sure what we're gonna do yet," said Ruby.

"Or even if it's going to be a 'we' situation," added Weiss tartly. "I don't know about everyone else, but I would be fine with some time to myself."

"Well, we can talk about it after dinner," said Ruby. "I was thinking of going into Vale." Then she blushed slightly. "But I don't have money to spend on anything yet."

"Wait! How did you live until now?" Yang blurted, before remembering her situation with Ruby, which she was promptly reminded of by the withering glare that Ruby flashed her way.

However, seeing as members of both teams were intrigued by Yang's question and were looking to her for an answer, Ruby realized she didn't have much choice. "I lived off the land, in between settlements. When I reached one, I usually traded work for food and a place to stay. A couple had Grimm problems that I offered to solve. They usually liked that."

"Probably because it saved them from having to shell out money for a professional Huntsman," Blake noted wryly. "Compared to that, asking for a couple nights' room and board is a pretty small compensation."

Ruby nodded. "I also did some odd jobs for lien. I didn't really do that often, 'cause it's usually easier to just exchange work for services in a place I'm passing through."

"You mean like trading dishwashing for meals and that sort of thing?" asked Ren.

"Yeah," said Ruby.

Both Ren and Nora were nodding sagely. "We've done that," he said.

"You have?" asked Pyrrha, leaning forward with interest.

"We're orphans," said Ren, exchanging a look with Nora. "We went through a bit, before we managed to get into a Combat School in Mistral."

"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry!" said Pyrrha, her eyes going wide.

"It's fine," said Ren, a slight sadness to his smile. "We're fine now."

"'Cause we have each other!" cheered Nora, hugging Ren's arm, which he looked perfectly fine with.

Ruby giggled, feeling glad that the topic of conversation had shifted away from her. She shot a grateful look at Ren, who smiled back politely, making her realize that he'd done so intentionally, if only to keep Yang from prying even further into her life and history.

Then Jaune tapped her shoulder lightly. "We'll need to talk to Ozpin," he added. "We're gonna need to open our own accounts so that we have a place to deposit our stipends."

"Right," said Ruby, nodding.

They resumed chatting with the others as they ate. All told, dinner proved to be a pleasant experience. By the end of it, Ruby was even beginning to feel a little bit comfortable with Yang's presence, though she avoided addressing her older sister as much as possible. It seemed that Yang, while suffering the occasional impulse to ask about something or other, was managing to hold back from prying.

Sasame-nee wouldn't be happy if she knew I was treating her like this, thought Ruby as she thought about the way Yang's gaze kept darting to her throughout the meal. Sasame had always pressed Ruby about reconciling with her blood-family, to reconnect with them, and mend the pain they had put her through. But, whenever Ruby looked at Yang, she felt that painful bitterness rise up within her all over again.

But she didn't have to deal with it for now. For Ruby, that was enough.

Despite Weiss' initial reluctance, they managed to talk her into making a joint trip into Vale on Sunday. Ruby hadn't spent much time in Vale proper, before running away from home, and her time in the streets hadn't exactly left her with the leeway to sightsee. She'd only been there briefly, prior to being invited to Beacon. Jaune hadn't seen much of the Kingdom either, having spent most of his time in his hometown of Ansel, with his family. Pyrrha, of course, having lived in Mistral her whole life, had never seen the Kingdom; and Weiss had spent her entire life in and around Atlas and Mantle. Sunday was a perfect day to head into the Kingdom and see the sights.

Of course, Ruby and Jaune had to see Ozpin first.

"I see," said Ozpin. "Your circumstances are understandable. I'll make arrangements with Vale Central Bank to open accounts for both of you."

His figure was highlighted against the night sky, visible through the window of his office. It was the first time the pair had been up there. Jaune was fascinated by the massive gears, visible through both the floor and the ceiling, slowly spinning around as part of a giant clockwork mechanism. They were surprised that Ozpin was willing to see them this late. Ruby was beginning to wonder if the man actually slept.

"Thank you, Professor," said Ruby.

"Mr. Arc, I'll provide you the information to transfer funds," said Ozpin, looking at Jaune. "Since your account will be set up tomorrow, your father will, hopefully, have not frozen your current account yet."

"Thanks," said Jaune. "I hope so too."

"Ms. Rose, I shall also deposit some funds for your immediate use," said Ozpin, turning to Ruby. "I know that you won't receive the first installment of your stipend until the end of next week, so I'll make sure you have something to tide you over."

"Y-you don't have to," said Ruby, fidgeting and looking down, a bit shocked by the Headmaster's generosity.

"Given your circumstances, it's only natural," said Ozpin with a chuckle. "Glynda and I saw your fight with the Nevermore earlier. We were both quite impressed with you and your team's performance."

"O-oh..." Ruby found her cheeks heating up.

"In any case, it is important that you are able to enjoy yourself on your day off, after working so hard over the course of the week," said Ozpin.

"Thank you, Professor," said Ruby, bowing her head slightly.

"Have a good night, both of you," said Ozpin. "Your scrolls will be updated with your account information tomorrow morning."

"All right," said Ruby.

The next morning, Ruby woke up as early as usual, by force of habit. Even on her days off, she still ran through her basic katas in the morning, so she figured she would do so at Beacon as well. She tried to dress as quietly as she could, not wanting to disturb her friends, who had earned the right to sleep in, if they so wanted.

"Ruby?" Blinking blearily, Jaune raised his head.

"Sorry," said Ruby. "I'm just going out for a bit."

"Training?" asked Jaune.

Ruby nodded. "I'm just doing a little practice. You can sleep, if you want."

Jaune blinked slowly and Ruby thought he was going to put his head back down and go back to sleep. However, she was surprised to then see him shift out from under the covers and get up. "Jaune. It's your day off. You don't have to get up."

Jaune gave her a smile. "It's fine," he said. "Besides, I can run through some of the basic techniques Pyrrha's taught me. I figured you might like the company."

"That would be nice," Ruby conceded with a shy smile, surprised that Jaune was so willing to join her.

The two of them made a quick detour to the locker room, so that Jaune could retrieve his weapons, then adjourned to the courtyard. There, Jaune took his stance and began to go through repetitions of the basic strikes Pyrrha had taught him, going through a one-two-three sequence of slashes, before resuming his position and starting over.

Ruby took up her own stance with Akaibara and began to move through the steps of her kata, speeding up and slowing down at certain intervals, keeping her movements smooth as she transitioned from one technique to another, completely losing herself in the feeling of perfecting her own body's movement. Because her attention was so focused inwards, she didn't realize that Jaune's eyes were on her until she was nearly finished.

Coming out of her kata, Ruby looked over to see Jaune staring at her, his mouth hanging slightly open in an expression of complete awe. Realizing that he'd been spotted, Jaune blushed profusely. "S-sorry," he stammered, looking away.

Ruby found herself giggling, though her own cheeks turned slightly red. "It's all right," she said.

"You're amazing," said Jaune, recovering a little. "Once you got going...I just couldn't stop watching you. Your technique is beautiful."

Ruby's heart hammered in her chest. She'd heard similar praise, including from Pyrrha once. But hearing it from Jaune made her feel especially giddy. "Thank you," she said.

"I guess I have a long way to go before I'm that good," said Jaune with a sigh.

"You'll get there," said Ruby, sliding her sword back into its sheath and going over to him. She rested a hand on his shoulder. "You only stop improving if you stop trying. Just keep that in mind."

"I will," promised Jaune.

Pulling out her scroll, Ruby checked the time. The sun had already crested the horizon. "Well, we weren't planning to head out until ten, what do you want to do until then?"

"Hang out, I guess," said Jaune with a shrug. "We don't want to wake Weiss and Pyrrha before they're ready, especially Weiss."

Ruby laughed. "That's true," she agreed.

They wound up making an early visit to the dining hall for breakfast. The massive room was almost desolate in its emptiness, hardly anyone being up this early on a Sunday.

Afterwards, they returned to their room to use the shower and get cleaned up for their day on the town. By the time they finished, Weiss and Pyrrha were beginning to stir.

"Were you two up already?" asked Pyrrha sleepily as she sat up to look at the pair.

"Yeah," said Ruby. "We were going through a little morning practice."

"I thought you were taking today off," said Pyrrha, looking at the pair.

"It's habit for me," said Ruby.

"And I thought it sounded like a good habit to get into," added Jaune with a chuckle.

"Well...you're not wrong," said Pyrrha, still sounding a bit sleepy.

"I think you're both crazy," grumbled Weiss as she got up and stumbled into the bathroom.

Ruby and Jaune looked after her for a moment before they both broke down laughing. After a few seconds, Pyrrha was laughing along with them.

For their trip into Vale, they noticed that Weiss and Pyrrha had opted for some different clothes. Weiss had gone with a white, flower-print dress, over which she wore a white jacket with slightly ruffled hems. Pyrrha opted to wear a bronze-colored blouse over a red skirt, with light sandals on her feet.

"You girls look good," commented Jaune, who had changed into a plain, pale-blue collared shirt with short sleeves and dark-brown slacks.

"Thank you," said Pyrrha with a faint blush, while Weiss huffed, though she couldn't quite keep her cheeks from coloring as well.

Then Weiss blinked and looked over at Ruby, who was wearing her usual outfit, sans the armor on her shoulders and hips. "Wait! You're wearing that?"

"Um...It's all I have," said Ruby, looking down at her outfit, "I mean...aside from my pajamas and underwear."

"You mean you don't have any other outfits at all?" asked Weiss, completely flummoxed by the idea.

"Clothes add up to more weight than you'd think on the road," said Ruby plainly. "I travel light."

"Well, you're not traveling now," Weiss pointed out.

"I don't exactly have money for clothes shopping," said Ruby, pulling out her scroll. It took her a minute to find the app that allowed her to access the account Ozpin had set up for her. She was still getting the hang of using the device. The money Ozpin had deposited for her was a pretty generous sum, but Ruby didn't want to blow it all over the course of a single day.

"Well, I do," said Weiss pointedly.

"Weiss! I can't let you-" Ruby began to protest.

"I won't hear of it, Ruby Rose," said Weiss insistently. "As a member of this team, it is my responsibility to see that my teammates are properly outfitted."

"But-" began Ruby.

"We're getting you some more clothes and I won't take 'no' for an answer," said Weiss definitively, striding out the door to put an end to the conversation.

"I never expected her to be so forcefully generous," commented Pyrrha, looking after her, before looking at Ruby. "I thought she'd be leery of using her money on anything for us."

"Huh? Why?" asked Jaune, still confused by the whole issue.

"Because most people try to be friends with her so that they can use her money," said Ruby simply. "I don't really feel...right...letting her do it."

"Well, if she's going to insist, there's no reason not to accept," said Pyrrha, squeezing Ruby's shoulder as they followed Weiss.

"It reminds me of when I was traveling with Sasame-nee and Kyo-nii," said Ruby. "They could get anything in the settlements for free, because people were always so happy to have them. I felt bad for getting things, just because I happened to be with them."

"That sounds...odd," said Pyrrha. "Why would people be so willing to give to these people to travel with."

"Um...well...You wouldn't believe me if I told you," said Ruby, looking away.

"Oh out with it," said Weiss, rejoining the conversation. "It can't be anything more outlandish than what you've already told and shown us."

"You have no idea," Ruby muttered. "Sasame-nee is a skilled healer. She can treat injuries that would take weeks to heal in seconds. She can cure pretty much any disease too. Whenever we get to a settlement, she visits their hospital and treats their patients."

"That's amazing!" gasped Pyrrha. "I suppose a healing Semblance isn't impossible."

"It's not a Semblance, not really," said Ruby. "It's a skill. Technically, anyone with their Aura unlocked can learn to do it. There are dozens of healers in the capital alone, though only a couple are even close to Sasame-nee in skill. Sasame-nee even taught me the basics."

"You can heal too?" said Weiss, gaping at Ruby, even as she and Pyrrha took their places in line.

"Just basic first aid stuff," said Ruby. "I can close minor and moderate wounds. I can speed the mending of broken bones, if they're set properly first-"

"And cure motion sickness," Jaune noted wryly, remembering his first meeting with Ruby. "So that's what you did on the airship."

"Yep," said Ruby. "I don't hold a candle to Sasame-nee though. She's the second-best healer in the entire Mibu Clan. She's considered next in line to be the clan's Chief Physician. She can heal all kinds of major injuries, repair internal organs, and basically perform a full surgical operation without even breaking her patient's skin."

"And you're saying that this is an actual skill, not a Semblance?" said Weiss, now that they were taking their places at the table.

"It's actually kinda the same thing," said Ruby, looking away slightly. "It's also the basis for the techniques that I use. You see, in the Mibu, instead of Semblances, they have what they call Manifestation. Functionally, it's the same thing, using your Aura to create phenomena to interact with the world. However, in the Kingdoms, it's believed that a Semblance is a thing you discover, something that's innate and unchangeable. But, by learning Manifestation, you can basically...create your own Semblance...is how I would put it."

"That's...insane!" gasped Weiss. "That flies in the face of the entire logic behind Aura and Semblances."

"It's what I've learned to do," said Ruby. "That's why I can use lightning and wind together. Most Mibu focus on a particular kind of Manifestation. Those who study to become warriors generally learn a particular elemental school. Earth, Water, and Fire are the popular ones."

Weiss stared dumbly at her plate, trying to process what all this meant.

"But you've picked up things from multiple schools," Pyrrha noted.

"Yeah...I kinda dabbled," said Ruby. "Sasame-nee said I should try and create a style unique to me, something that best suited me as an individual. I've got a few things I've picked up. I'm still trying to put them all together."

Thinking about how easily Ruby had dispatched an elder Deathstalker and finished off the Nevermore from the previous day, Jaune grinned. "Well, I think your style is coming together nicely. But, if this girl you were with can heal like that, I can see why you'd be so welcome in settlements."

"Yes...well..." Ruby shifted. "That's only part of it. The real reason we were always welcome was because of Kyo-nii. This is the part you won't believe."

"What did this Kyo-nii..."

"You can just call him Kyo," said Ruby. "I call him Kyo-nii because he became my big brother."

"Oh..." Pyrrha blinked. "So that -nii and -nee...?"

"-nii means 'big brother'...sort of...and -nee means 'big sister.' It's an informal thing," said Ruby. "The Mibu use honorifics from the Old Tongue, even when they're speaking in Common."

"I see," said Pyrrha, blinking. "Anyway, this Kyo-person…your brother...what does he do that the settlements value so much?"

"His Aura repels the Grimm," said Ruby.

"SAY WHAT!?" exclaimed Weiss, shooting to her feet. "That can't be true."

"It is-and keep it down," hissed Ruby. "I'm not supposed to talk about it too much."

"I mean...if that's his Semblance or Manifestation or whatever...I guess it doesn't seem completely out of left field," said Jaune with a frown.

"It's neither," said Ruby as Weiss fussed her way back into her seat. "Kyo-nii is one of the strongest people I know. His Aura...it feels...endless, like he'll never run out. Sasame-nee says that his power is so great that even the youngest, stupidest Grimm won't come within miles of him."

"That's outrageous," said Weiss, her eyes wide.

"It's true," said Ruby. "That's why the settlements didn't just let us stay and eat for free, but they basically threw a party, whenever Kyo-nii shows up. The people got some time where they didn't have to worry about Grimm attacks, and the festival kept morale up so that they were less likely to draw Grimm in after Kyo-nii left. I know it's true, 'cause I traveled with Kyo-nii for months, and never saw a single Grimm, even when we were cutting straight through the wilderness."

"Amazing," gasped Pyrrha.

"When we went on training excursions across Leng and Anima, Sasame-nee and I had to travel separately from Kyo-nii, so that I could actually have a chance to apply my skills against the Grimm," said Ruby. "That's one of the reasons I was by myself this last time. If Kyo-nii had been there, I wouldn't have been able to fight any Grimm."

"This is utterly unbelievable," groused Weiss, settling her face between her hands. "But I'm beginning to see that this is a trend with you. I can't say I actually buy this whole idea of a person being able to repel the Grimm like you describe...but...I won't waste time arguing over it."

"I told you you wouldn't believe me," commented Ruby wryly.

"I suppose you did warn me," grumbled Weiss.

They settled down for a while, waiting while Weiss and Pyrrha finished their meal. Then something occurred to Jaune.

"Wait a second," he said. "This Manifestation thing...is that what you're going to teach me?"

"Um...well...sort of," said Ruby.

"Sort of?"

"The three basic exercises are designed to help you learn how to control your Aura," said Ruby. "Once you really begin to get a feel for it, you can start learning the more effective ways to use your Aura to affect the world around you, even transform it into different forms or forces." She sighed. "The problem is that I can only really teach you the exercises. Teaching you Manifestation...well...any Manifestation other than mine...I don't have the skill or knowledge to do that. I don't really know what would work best for you either."

"Oh..." said Jaune, slumping.

"But Sasame-nee will be here in a few more weeks," said Ruby, her enthusiasm rising. "She helped me work out the basics of my Manifestation, so I'm sure she could help you with yours."

"I hope so," said Jaune. "It sounds awesome."

Ruby nodded.

Weiss sighed. "Well...as dubious as I find all of this, I've reached the point where questioning every little thing you say and do is become far too trying. I guess I'll just have to take you at your word, Ruby."

"Thanks," said Ruby, grateful that Weiss wasn't going to let her skepticism cause issues again.

"In the meantime, let's just enjoy our day off," said Weiss. "We'll head into town and get you some new clothes first."

"Um...okay," said Ruby, getting a sinking feeling.