April 16th, xx16
The first official week the new semester, their second Friday, at Beacon was coming to a close. The first years spent most of it being brought up to scratch, learning the basic behaviors of Grimm and learning Pre-Great War Politics during Grimm and Remnant Studies respectively.
It was Combat Studies that didn't bother with things like that. Glynda Goodwitch threw her students straight into One-on-One battles. Throughout the week, random students were chosen and forced to fight it out on the black steel arena, the rest of the class spectating from the stands above. And after a week of watching these Huntsmen and Huntresses in training duke it out, the Headmistress had to say. . . she was rather disappointed. . .
A vast majority of her students had trained to fight monsters, but were novices when it came to fighting another person. This led to rather disorganized and drawn out battles. At the very least, the inexperienced were careful while fighting an unknown variable. The few students who did know how to properly fight against an intelligent opponent, faced unintelligent opponents.
Yang Xiao-Long and Nora Valkyrie both ended their respective duels with a single blow. In the Viking's case. . . Jaune became very acquainted with Magnhild. For Blake Belladonna, she easily overwhelmed Sky Lark of Team CRDL without breaking a sweat or needing her semblance. And Pyrrha Nikos. . . her opponent forfeit before the fight even began, much to the Spartan's dismay.
Goodwitch hoped the few remaining students, who had yet to fight, had some promise.
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Holy white Glyphs formed a rhombus in the center of the rectangular arena, Weiss Schnee bouncing off them endlessly, Lie Ren ensnared in their center! The Ninja swayed back and forth, narrowly evading Weiss' strikes as she flew from glyph to glyph! Ren cartwheeled over another attempt to blitz him, the young man whirling as he predicted Weiss next move, the Heiress landing on the correct glyph! The Ninja opened fire, Storm Flower unleashing a storm of bullets as Weiss rushed Ren once more! A glyph appeared before her, shielding her from the bullets and forcing the Silent Ninja to backflip out of the way!
A second gylph appeared beneath Schnee, the young woman creating a line of them between her and Ren before she was propelled across it, becoming a blur of white for a moment and blitzing her opponent! The Ninja was flipped through the air, catching himself and landing on one knee as Weiss appeared behind him! Ren spun and parried a thrust of Myrtenaster, then punching with one of sickles, the whitette leaning aside and twirling to his right! Ren turned to face her as she rapidly swung her rapier, ending the five-hit combo with an upwards slash to knock his weapons up! The Heiress followed up with six quick thrusts of her blade, each hitting Ren's chest before she stabbed with a glyph boosting her momentum, sending the Ninja flying backwards!
Don't let up Weiss!
She gained a tick mark as she looked up to the stands, glaring at her partner!
Weiss: Quiet! I'm trying to focus!
Ruby: *frowns* I'm just cheering you on.
The White Heiress glanced back at her opponent only to see that he was gone. . . nowhere to be found. Lie Ren had activated his semblance, Invisibility. The whitette shut her eyes and reached out with her aura, only to feel nothing. . . and then she received a heavy strike to her face! Staggering back, Weiss grit her teeth as she was hit twice more before being carried off her feet by an upwards force! The girl backflipped into her heels, sliding along the metal floor.
Weiss: My aura couldn't sense him! And I couldn't hear him either. . .
The Silent Ninja had earned the name. His invisibility made him invisible to all six senses, aura included. . . Weiss took a deep breath and stabbed her rapier into the ground, a wave of glyphs moving out and covering the entire arena's floor as the revolving guard switched to Ice Dust. A number of glyphs began pulsing black. . . They were motion sensors! Ren realized it too late, a wall of ice surging towards him! The young man leaped out of its way, Weiss swapping to Fire Dust and swiping her rapier at the air! Streams of fire flew out and hit the Ninja in midair, exploding and blowing him off the arena!
The screen above them displayed their aura levels in the form of a health bar with their names attached. Both were in the yellow, but now that Ren was out of bounds, his name was crossed out.
Glynda: Winner by ring-out, Weiss Schnee.
The Heiress smiled proudly to herself as Ren groaned from the sidelines. Before long, they had regrouped with their teams as their Professor cleaned up the arena.
Nora: You alright Ren?
Ren: I'm fine. I lost fair and square. At the very least, I got to fight.
Pyrrha: (Mumbles) Yeah, must be great. . .
JNR: Sorry Pyrrha.
Pyrrha: *sighs* It's fine, there's nothing any of you could've done about it.
Just a few empty seats away was the regrouped Team RWBY, their leader celebrating another victory!
Ruby: That it's 3 and O, Team RWBY!
Yang: YEAH! Woohoo! We're awesome!
Blake: *thumbs up* Go Team.
Weiss: Would it kill you all to quiet down?
Ruby: Oh come on, Weiss! You were awesome! We're going flawless so far! All I need to do is win my fight, and then RWBY will be the certified best team!
As childish as it was, the Heiress did like the sound of that. . . As her face became conflicted, Ruby's eyes glimmered with hope as her other teammates waited with baited breaths.
Weiss: If you lose, you're a failure.
Ruby: DEAL!
—
And then the time came. After a few more matches, Ruby Rose was chosen by the projector. Team RWBY waited anxiously for her opponent, watching closely as the name rapidly sorted through the remaining students and landed on. . .
Moon Lumos
Ruby: . . . *smiles* What are the odds?
Her silver eyes looked across the arena and to the other end of spectator seats, meeting her brother's eyes of amethyst.
Glynda: Ruby Rose and Moon Lumos report to the arena?
In a flash, the siblings were gone and preparing for the battle. The Heiress glanced at Yang, the Yellow Dragon cheering on her younger siblings.
Yang: FIGHT HARD, YOU TWO!!!!!!!
Weiss: . . . She can defeat him, right?
Yang: Oh, I have no idea. Those two have always been competing over who's stronger.
Blake: In other words, this will be fun to watch?
Yang: *laughs nervously* . . . Uhh. . . It might be hard to watch.
The blonde fiddle with her hair as her teammates looked at her weirdly with JNPR tuning is as well.
Blake: How so. . .?
Yang: Well, as much as I hate to admit it. . . My dear little siblings surpassed me a while ago.
All eyes widened at the statement, most in shock but a few in disbelief. . .
Pyrrha: Wait. . . Little?
Yang: Oh yeah. They're only fifteen. Professor Ozpin scouted them himself and invited them to Beacon.
If them being stronger than the Yellow Dragon was shocking to others, them being scouted by Ozpin was absolutely stunning.
Jaune: Wow, they really do have to be amazing to get scouted by Ozpin of all people.
Nora: That's so cool! Your whole family is cool!
Yang: *laughs* Thanks!
Blake and Ren simply acknowledged the two with very impressed faces, and Pyrrha seemed the most shocked of them all.
Pyrrha: So they're prodigies?
Yang: In every sense of the word!
The Yellow Dragon smiled and gazed down to the arena as her little brother and sister stepped up the plate.
Yang: I may be physically stronger than both of them, but they're too fast for me. And I mean REALLY fast. Geez, it's embarrassing being outclassed by my little siblings, but. . .
I'm proud of 'em.
Weiss Schnee. . . couldn't believe a word she said.
———————————————————————
The Red Reaper and Violet Swordsman were undoubtedly skilled, but they were the first students to ever be allowed to attend Beacon Academy early, and so. . . Glynda Goodwitch rigged the draft to ensure the siblings would be pit against each other.
She needed to know if they truly were a cut above the rest, if they truly deserved to be here, if she could truly see what Ozpin did. . .
—
—
Ruby Rose drew Crescent Rose, the scythe burning red as she smiled and held it at the ready.
Moon Lumos unsheathed Luna, the shortsword glistening violet as he donned his stance.
The countdown began from - Five. . .
Four.
Three.
Two.
One.
Glynda: Begin.
The Violet Swordsman crossed over half the battlefield in an instant, his arm swiping forward and sending a wave of amethyst crystals towards the Red Reaper! His opponent began to rapidly spin her scythe, a single swing blowing away the crystals as Moon began to rapidly thrust his blade, Crescent Rose blocking each and every single one, a final rising slash of the scythe parrying Luna's cleave and knocking away her holder! Ruby gave chase, a wall of crystals rising between her and her brother, the Reaper cutting past it and twirling her weapon, the massive blade reaching for Moon time and time again! The Swordsman's body evaded a vast majority of the slashes, Luna rising to meet the final three before Violet cartwheeled out of the way!
Crystals suddenly began to rise out of the steel floor, Ruby backflipping out of the path of nine sharp pikes before spinning Crescent Rose around herself in midair, deflecting the shards of amethyst soaring towards her! She landed and quickly cleaved her scythe to negate Moon's upwards slash! His momentum reversed, Violet twirled twice with Luna cutting at Ruby, who blocked with Crescent Rose! Red fired her sniper attachment, boosting the force of her sweeping swing, her brother bending backwards and letting it pass over him! He flipped onto his feet as his sister readied her guard! Kicking off the ground, the Swordsman threw himself at the Reaper! Brother and sister clashed, Ruby negating Moon's stab with the handle of her weapon! He slid past her and whirled around as she spun her scythe, the two beginning to unleash a flurry of swings and stabs, sparks storming out of the circle of their collisions!
Suddenly, Violet swayed out of Crescent Rose's path, Red's eyes widening before she was uppercut hard! The force carried her off her feet, Ruby shifting her body while airborne and bringing her foot down onto Moon's head, sending him sliding backwards as she flipped onto her feet! They whipped their heads towards one another and smiled excitedly as they rushed forward! They crossed paths, scythe stabbing and being negated by the shortsword, the two turning towards each other with Moon flipping into the air and as Ruby twirled Crescent Rose, weapons clashing before Violet grounded himself and swung up, scythe intercepting the blow before they both threw left hooks, fists colliding with enough force to knock each other back! Their auras flared as they slid backwards and rushed back in, meeting in the center of the arena and exchanging blows! Ruby then backflipped onto her hands and sprung up, channeling Rose Storm and sending a cloud of razor sharp petals towards her brother, Moon rapidly swinging Luna and cutting down roses before twirling and swiping his arms forward, Crystal Shard mimicking Red and countering her storm with a hail of shards! The petals and crystals collided endlessly. . . .
—
RWBY and JNPR watched carefully, attempting to guess as to who will win.
Pyrrha: Ruby seems to have the edge in power, but Moon has it in speed.
Ren: They are undoubtedly equals in skill.
Weiss: As impressive as they are, this doesn't really convince me that Ozpin himself scouted them.
The Yellow Dragon laughed and let her face settle into a mischievous smirk. . .
. . . They're still just warmin' up.
—
Glynda Goodwitch's carefully analyzed both participants, easily noticing just how much they were holding back.
Glynda: I wonder when they'll begin to take things seriously.
—
A pillar of amethyst carried Moon Lumos into the air as trails of crystals arose beside it. He held his hand out and let them lose, five streams of shards flying towards Ruby Rose, Red sprinting forward and cutting down the first two before vaulting over the third and blitzing the fourth and fifth, then twirling to send in streams of her own rose petals! Violet dived for his opponent, slicing through three clouds of petals before twirling and surrounding himself with crystals, shielding himself from the rest before emerging from the amethyst above his sister! Ruby shielded herself with Crescent Rose as Moon sledgehammered Luna down onto her, the impact creating a shockwave and blowing all the nearby crystals and flowers away!
The Swordsman spun off the Reaper who gave him no time to recover, appearing before him and relentlessly attacking with her scythe! Violet backpedaled whilst parrying with Luna as best he could, sparks flying as he was pushed back towards the edge of the platform! Ruby cleaved with Crescent Rose, Moon standing his ground and holding Luna up, their weapons locking together! Kicking off the ground, the Swordsman soared over the Reaper! The redhead smiled as she pulled the trigger of the sniper, jerking the scythe and tearing the shortsword out of Moon's hands! It was flung out of bounds as he landed behind her! Violet immediately put distance between them as Ruby removed herself from the edge and whirled, beginning to rapidly fire her sniper, the ravennette dashing and evading the rounds before erecting a wall of crystals behind her! It detonated and blew her forward, Ruby flipping herself upright and stabbing Crescent Rose into the ground! Her body whipped ahead, kicking at Moon only for him to slide beneath her legs and thrust his own up, kicking Red in the gut and knocking her away from her scythe! The Swordsman sprung himself onto his feet and kicked his opponent's weapon off the platform.
Now disarmed, Red and Violet circled one another. . . and then rushed forward, their fists clashing before the latter sideswiped his sister's follow up swing! She gasped as a fist pressed into her abdomen, a left hook striking her in the face and sending her staggering back! Although better with his sword, Moon was no stranger to hand-to-hand combat, adapting Yang's signature brawling to his speed! He shoulder barged into Ruby and rammed three fists into her torso before slugging his arm into her temple and knocking her backwards, the Reaper bouncing off the ground and into her feet! She dashed forward and drop kicked his crossed arms, stunning Moon before springing herself into the air and spin kicking him in the chest! Violet caught himself on a handstand and fell to his feet as Ruby landed and kicked at him twice, her brother blocking both before closing the distance for a right hook, the Reaper ducking beneath it and sliding behind him before and jump-kicking the Swordsman away! Although capable of fighting hand-to-hand, Ruby was far more comfortable with just kicking! Moon bursted forth and struck, Red crossing her arms to block the punch before twirl-kicking, Violet negating it with his arm before elbowing, the Reaper catching it as they reeled their arms back and thrusted them forward at once, fists crossing! Their knuckles crashed into the other's face, repelling one another!
Ruby and Moon slid apart, their boots grinding against the metal floor as they both let out a heavy breath. Red laughed and smiled.
Ruby: Oh geez, we got a little carried away, didn't we.
Moon: *smiles* Yeah. Why don't we stop playing around?
Ruby: You. Are. ON!
—
Glynda Goodwitch felt the atmosphere shift, and the students watching began to feel a heavy pressure press down on them.
—
—
The Red Reaper began to glow crimson as The Violet Swordsman shined a deep mauve. Blood petals and magenta crystals began to swirl around their summoners, Crescent Rose and Luna receiving the same treatment. The weapons began to rise into the air before the whirlwinds threw them back to their respective holders, Ruby Rose buckling her knees as she reloaded her sniper and held the scythe at her side, Moon Lumos twirling his shortsword before holding it close. Rose Storm and Crystal Shard began to form into tornadoes around Red and Violet before. . . they vanished.
The ground where they once stand broke open, a shockwave detonating as they met in the air above the arena's center! Luna and Crescent Rose struggled for dominance as the impact sent wind all across the arena! Petals and shards coated Ruby and Moon, their telekinetic control over their spawns greatly enhancing their speed and giving them the ability of flight! The Reaper and the Swordsman blew each other away before becoming streaks of crimson and mauve! They spiraled after one another as they rose up to the ceiling and collided! A shockwave of sparks from the flash of their weapons was created from the impact before they soared down, colliding again near the direct center of the building and then a third time near the arena's platform! They flew around the battlefield, a dozen collisions of magenta appearing all throughout the room before a grand thirteenth!
Time seemingly slowed for Ruby Rose and Moon Lumos. They smiled as they hovered in the air, slowly ringing around the other. . .
In an instant, they began to appear in three places at once! Shockwaves of sparks began to detonate all over the arena as flashes of red and violet shined through the air! To almost everyone watching. . . it was like fireworks.
—
Yang had seen them battle enough and had learned how to keep track of them, and the ever perceptive Ren and Blake managed to follow just enough to understand what was happening. However, both Jaune and Nora were completely lost. Unlike them, Pyrrha Nikos had almost no troubles observing this battle of extreme speeds, the Spartan amazed by what she was seeing. Only Glynda Goodwitch could easily keep track of the two battling siblings.
And much to her dismay and utter horrible, Weiss Schnee could barely keep up with what she was taking place right before her eyes.
—
The pyrotechnics raged on and on, the streams of red and violet coming together time and time again. The sparking shockwaves suddenly halted as the streaks danced through the air, narrowly missing one another repeatedly.
Moon and Ruby reached for the other relentlessly, but the other would vanish in a burst of speed before the other could land a blow, a pattern that continued as they spiraled into the black steel arena! The fireworks proceeded to reignite along the ground, the eternal rivals clashing infinitely! Massive waves of crystals began rising from the floor as swarms of petals collided against them! In the center of the crashing storms, the Red Reaper and the Violet Swordsman endlessly met blades, a myriad of slashes between Crescent Rose and Luna meeting and riddling the battlefield with sparks!
Moon spun through the air, cleaving his shortsword onto the scythe as Ruby twirled her weapon, Violet swirling to evade the weapon! He landed on the ground, the two twirling together and clashing, the impact blowing each other backwards! Ruby Rose let out a toothy grin as Moon Lumos let out a small smile, ending their battle with one final clash of Crescent Rose and Luna. . .
The roses flying through the air flaked into nonexistence while the crystals crumbled into dust. . . In the center of the battlefield, the Violet Swordsman held his sword an inch away from his sister's throat, and the Red Reaper held the barrel of her scythe against her brother's chest. . .
Their aura was in the red, and a single move would end the match. . .
Glynda: I believe that's enough.
They pulled apart and immediately began to catch their breaths, Moon's being expelled by a tackling huh from Ruby!
Ruby: THAT WAS AWESOME!
Moon: Yeah, yeah. . . I wanna sleep. . .
Ruby: ME TOO!
And just like that, Red and Violet passed out on the arena floor, Ruby snuggling against her brother, Moon yawning his sleep. . .
Glynda: . . .
The Headmistress playfully shook her head and smiled. That was quite the fight, easily the best she had ever seen from first years. . . and to be entirely honest. . .
Glynda: These two. . . These two already rival certain Huntsmen.
It was not extremely rare for such an occurrence. . . but for fifteen year olds. . . The Professor lifted them up with her telekinesis and looked to her class.
Glynda: Well. . . I believe that is enough for today. You're dismissed. Team RWBY. I'll hold onto your leader until she's recovered.
That being said. . . The Goodwitch eyed the unconscious teens at the edge of her wand. She now understood what lied beneath the surface. . .
What Ozpin saw in them. . . .
———————————————————————
Team RWBY's Dorm
Ruby Rose yawned as she awoke late at night, the dorm's light burning through her eyelids.
Ruby: *yawns* What happened. . .?
Yang: You and Moon overdid it, is what happened. *laughs*
The Yellow Dragon was on the floor, playing videogames. The Black Enigma was on her bunk, reading a book. The White Heiress was at the desk, studying.
Ruby: Huh. . .? Oh yeah! Did I win? I don't really remember. *laughs nervously*
Blake: It was a draw. Kind of lame if you ask me, especially after a fight as cool as that.
Ruby: Sorry! Moon and I can never win, all of our fights always ended in draws. . .
Blake: You should still be proud. I don't think I'd be able to win against either of you, even with my Shadow Clones taking hits for me. . .
Ruby: Hey, don't sell yourself short. You're an amazing fighter too!
Blake: Maybe, but. . . *smiles* With that much skill, I'm glad you're our leader.
The Red Reaper felt her cheeks flush redder than her cloak. . . She laughed as she fell back onto her pillow.
Ruby: Th-Thank you. . .
The blonde eyed her little sister's bunk, pride bubbling up within her. . . And at the desk, the White Heiress tightly grasped her pen, breaking in two. . .
Weiss: . . . I've trained myself into the ground for years, fine-tuned my skills to perfection. . .
I will not be surpassed by a child.
———————————————————————
Moon's Dorm
A knock awoke the Violet Swordsman from his slumber. He groggily rose up from his bed and rubbed his eyes. . .
Moon: Who is it. . .?
TEAM JNPR!!!!!!!!!!
He was half asleep before Nora yelled through the door and popped his eardrum.
Moon: Ow. . .
Before long, JNPR had invaded his dorm, Jaune and Nora curiously looking around while Ren and Pyrrha sat on the couch in the lounge.
Moon: What brings you all to my humble abode?
Violet set down a plate of drinks, all being apple juice.
Pyrrha: Thank you.
Moon: No problem. Anyways. . .?
Jaune: Well! Ruby's got a team to compliment for her after that crazy fight, so Pyrrha thought we should stop buy and do the same for you.
The Swordsman felt his cheeks redden slightly as Pyrrha smiled at him.
Moon: That's not. . . necessaRY-
The Viking appeared behind him with her hands on her hips!
Nora: Of course it is! You were every bit as awesome as Ruby was! And you two being fifteen only makes it even more awesome!
Moon: Oh. . . You know about that?
Ren: Yang informed us. It's quite impressive you both received invitations from Professor Ozpin himself. . .
Moon: Oh, uh. . . It was more of being at the right place at the right time.
The Invincible Spartan set down her glass of apple juice and stood up, confronting their young warrior and placing a hand on his shoulder.
Pyrrha: And, I'm sure whatever it was you did to catch his attention was amazing, just like that battle. . .
Moon: Uh. . .
Jaune: We aren't leaving until you take the compliment.
Moon: Right. . . *smiles* I guess it was a pretty cool fight. . .
Nora: That's the spirit!
She dragged the poor boy along, Pyrrha giggling at her antics before eyeing Moon with a competitive glint. . .
I hope you and I can cross blades one day, too. . . .
———————————————————————
Beacon Tower
Professor Ozpin finished watching a recording of today's one-on-one battles from his desk. . . He hadn't seen Glynda so invested in a fight between her students for quite some time.
Ozpin: I have an inkling that someone may begin playing favorites soon.
The Headmaster was right, of course. . . .
———————————————————————
(A/N - Oh boy, this was fun. Now, I have some explaining to do with my statement of Ruby and Moon being Huntsmen level in this fic, along with other students that will be revealed later on.)
(In the actual series, there is a bit of a problem when it comes to powerscaling. The main characters are all students and can't do jacksh*t against any of the older characters besides get their asses kicked. Like the only thing that kept them alive in Volume Five was plot armor. This way I can actually avoid plot armor stuff and also make the fights more impactful.)
(An argument can be made that I may make some characters way stronger than they should be, but I'll try my best to avoid that.)