"So, how's it feel to be back?"

Ruby looked to the side at Blake, who was striding along with her hands clasped behind her back, entirely at ease. She had always moved fluidly, but now there was something more to it. Blake used to move like she was sneaking through shadows, like a panther stalking prey or avoiding a hunter. Now, though she still held grace in her movements, there was power and authority in her stride. She was stronger now too, bands of muscle pressing against her skin with the slight motions her body made as she walked. But the thing that caught Ruby's attention was the tilt of her head. Her chin was held high, as if braving the world's judgement was no longer an issue. She didn't wear the bow either.

"I guess it's good. I'm not really sure." She answered, pulling herself away from her thoughts. Blake smiled.

"I can guess that it would be a little disorienting." Ruby nodded. "What do you think you're going to do now?"

Find Weiss. Ruby immediately thought, but she couldn't say that.

"I'm thinking I might hunt."

"Do you think you're up to it?" It wasn't like Jaune's reaction. Blake seemed at ease with the idea, but she was just checking up with her friend.

"Yeah, I mean I don't know. I'm not really sure how this works. Like, am I years out of practice or am I the same as before, y'know?" Blake smirked at her.

"Well, do you want to find out?"

Yang wanted to be sick. She was staring down the full glass of scotch, wanting to toss it back as she had so casually even just a few days ago. But Blake's words rang in her mind as she tried to blot out the pain.

"I know you don't want to talk to me. I don't care. I'm just going to say some things that I should have said long ago but didn't because I was scared of losing you. But I think you're gone now anyways. Ruby's dead, but what you're doing is a disgrace. Your sister stood for good, she always tried to help others. That's who she was, and it's what her legacy should be. It shouldn't be a broken heiress and a broken sister. Weiss is at least working to change things. She's at least been doing something.

"You might justify what you're doing by saying you do help people, that you're a huntress. But you're not. Right now, you're a mercenary. You don't do what you do to help others. You have no responsibility to the people. You're not a guardian. You're nothing. You're a knife, and you only cut where others point you. You haven't taken any responsibility. If your sister could see you now, what would she think? Ruby wouldn't even be ashamed. She'd just be sad. She'd be hurt that you're doing this to yourself. I think she might even be disappointed."

And had she been wrong? Ruby didn't know yet. Dust, Yang still couldn't believe she was alive. But Ruby didn't know yet. She was out with Blake. Yang wasn't sure if the faunus would tell Ruby anything, but it didn't seem her style. Blake would urge Yang to show herself, show her true colors, but she would never force Yang's hand. So it was up to Yang, and she knew that she was too much a coward to say a damned word.

She lifted the glass again. What did it matter? She was already a shame. She had already let Ruby down in more ways than she could possibly imagine. She had already failed her duty as a huntress. She was at rock bottom. She might as well act like it.

"I'll get what she's having." Yang sighed. She wondered if this was another stupid attempt at a hookup. She'd had plenty, oftentimes even with men she had no attraction to. She just didn't feel like she should stop them. They had every right to shame her however they wanted, and she was never surprised when they left after without a word. She let them use her. But tonight, as much as she felt like the filthy backwater scum of the world, something was making her stop. She didn't want to be used tonight.

"Look, I'm sure your confidence and bravado works on all the la-" Her voice died as she turned to the newcomer. It was Jaune. "Oh." She said dumbly.

"Yeah, I know." He sighed.

"wha-"

"It's one of those days." He interrupted her before she could ask.

"Yeah," Yang agreed looking back down into the warm liquid. It had been cold at some point. Ice cubes and all. Now it was warm. Yang wondered if she'd ever drink it.

"You have to turn down a lot of guys I guess." He said grimly, as if something had left a bitter taste in his mouth.

"No, don't have to turn them down a lot." Yang let her voice drop weakly. Maybe she would have lied before, and it was only a half-truth, but Jaune looked over at her, catching the hidden meaning.

"You weren't just partying those nights after visiting their graves, were you?" Yang shook her head.

"In Atlas, I drank just about every night. Sometimes I wouldn't end up alone. Here, I made sure to end up alone, but drank twice as much to make up for it." She wasn't sure why she was being so candid.

"So, guys just hit on you at bars?"

"Yeah, it used to be fun when I had no intention of letting them do anything. But, after Ruby…" She trailed off, not sure how to finish.

"You didn't feel like saying no anymore?" He suggested.

"I felt cheap. At first I just noticed I would party a bit more. Then I started letting guys get handsy. Then pretty soon I stopped the partying, and just let them do what they wanted. Who was I to say no?"

"It changes you, doesn't it?" He asked, taking a big swig of whisky. He let out a sharp breath after.

"Yeah,"

"Are you glad she's back?" Yang paused and looked over at him. Of course she was, wasn't she? Her sister was back… Wasn't that what she had wanted? Prayed for? But that's not what she said.

"I don't know." Yang hated herself just a little bit more as she admitted it. "Are you?"

"Of course I am," Jaune let out a heavy sigh. "It's just that, when someone's dead, you have to forgive them y'know? I thought I had. I thought I owed it to her memory to not be mad. But now…" He trailed off, looked into the icy shock of his drink, and downed it. He grimaced. He looked over at her glass, now noticing the condensation on the side. "You gonna have yours?" He asked as he held his finger up to the bartender for a refill. He was obliged almost immediately. Not many people were in the bar this early.

Yang looked down at her drink once more. She could feel her pocket hanging heavy at her side. She gently brushed a finger against the outside, fingering the three little pills inside. But the thought of them disgusted her. Today, she wouldn't let herself run.

"For the first time in years I think I'm going to do something brave." Yang said hollowly and brushed the glass aside.

Jaune chuckled at her. "What do you mean? You risk your life everyday you hunt."

"Is it really a risk if you're hoping you'll get killed?" Yang stood, pushing the stool back. She slapped a small stack of lien on the table, enough for at least eight more drinks. "You're gonna need a lot more than that." Yang nodded at Jaune's drink, he was looking at her with subtle shock. "Trust me."

And she walked out of the bar. There was a gym nearby, and Yang made her way there. It had a boxing ring and a few punching bags. And Yang needed to hit something really, really bad.

Blake struck with lightning speed, blades flashing towards Ruby faster than she knew was possible. Ruby raised her own blade in defense. The steel clashed together before splitting off a second later. Blake dipped low and Ruby only barely managed to get the sword low enough to fend off the blow. Blake just kept spinning, cutting towards her head and shoulder with her blades, but Ruby blocked that one easily.

Unaware of the foot now hooked behind hers. Blake pulled her foot back, bringing Ruby's ankle with her and sending her crashing to the ground.

Ruby let out a huff of breath as she looked at the sky high above her, clouds drifting lazily overhead, heedless of what was happening below. That was an odd thought.

"Wow Blake!" Ruby laughed as she stood. "You're really fast." Blake gave her a thin smile and a hum. Ruby stood again.

She looked at the sword in her hand. She hated swords. Their reach was so short and they felt so light. She liked being able to use her weapon as a source of momentum, spinning and twirling in a never-ending weave. She would have to adjust.

This time, Ruby attacked first. She leapt at Blake, slashing at her chest. Blake parried and whipped her sheath around to smack Ruby on the back, but Ruby was already rolling away, not stopping to engage in swordplay. If she let clash go on for more than a few traded blows, then Blake would inevitably best her. Her best bet was to keep the clashes short and brief and hope to get in a few blows here and there.

Ruby came out of the roll to look at Blake again, who was eyeing her a bit more carefully. Ruby crouched low, sword held in front of her, ready for the attack. She barely saw it as Blake shimmered into two, twin versions of the faunus running at Ruby. She didn't remember that trick.

Ruby dashed between the two, swinging at the one on her right as she passed. Her blade passed through, and Ruby braced as she felt blades smack into her back, sending her crashing forward.

Ruby got up again, not letting there be a pause in the combat this time. She leapt at Blake, swinging low. Blake parried and cut towards her head, but Ruby ducked under the swing and brought her sword up to slash across Blake's front. It would have worked if Blake hadn't been dual wielding. As it was, Ruby's sword was brushed away. She kicked low, connecting with Blake's leg. It buckled and the faunus struggled back. Ruby gave her a quick hit on the shoulder then darted away as she saw Blake's form blur.

Ruby turned when she was five steps away, looking at Blake already standing and facing her, head cocked.

"Alright then," The raven-haired girl said, a grin spreading across her face. Ruby smiled back. She missed her scythe though. Both of them knew it. Ruby hadn't used blades since she was what? Thirteen? Even if she wasn't out of practice mentally, she certainly was with this medium. Both she and Blake knew who would win at this point, it was just a matter of how much Ruby could do until then.

This time Blake didn't hold anything back.

She leapt at Ruby, who raised her sword to parry. A shadow of movement above the faunus, and Ruby realized that it was a shadow clone coming at her. She twisted, narrowly avoiding the blade that ghosted past where her face had just been. As she came out of her spin she saw Blake already slashing towards her. Ruby raised the blade and deflected it. As steel rang against steel, Blake dashed to the side, leaving a shadow behind her. Ruby swung at the real Blake, ignoring the still one beside her. She was shoved forward and stumbled, had to roll to not sprawl and turned to see Blake behind her. She hadn't been the one running.

The faunus came at her and Ruby spun her sword so it was in a backhand grip. She weaved under the first cut, saw the sheath descending towards her ankle. She leaned backwards, hopping into a tight back hand spring as the twin blades cut the air above and below her. Her hand touched ground and Ruby clenched her core, forcing her legs into a swift kick as she flipped back around. Her boots passed an inch from Blake's face. Then the faunus was jumping back as a clone disintegrated in front of Ruby.

Ruby leapt after her, having to choose between twin images of the faunus again as she approached. She picked the static one this time, grinning as Blake flinched and raised Gambol Shroud. Rather than slash or cut, Ruby instead used her sword as a guard to crash into Blake, sending both of them sprawling. Having expected it, Ruby recovered first and jumped at Blake. She brought the sword down towards the faunus, and it passed right through its chest and the shadow clone sank into the ground. Ruby looked up, realized that the clone that had dashed away a moment ago was the real Blake, and sighed as Gambol Shroud's tip rested against her chin.

"That was incredible." Blake said with a twinkle in her eye, sweat beading down her forehead.

"What was that?" Ruby asked, standing again. "Your shadow was solid."

"That," Blake had an edge of pride in her voice. "Was the longest I've been able to sustain a clone for. I've been working on it for years. My shadows are solid - they're empty copies to be sure - but the hold weight. Normally they disintegrate after being hit, but if I focus, I can maintain them for a while. It uses a lot of aura though, and doing it for more than a second is really taxing."

Ruby smiled. It was incredible. When she had come to Beacon, Blake was one of the most adept semblance users she had seen, second maybe only to Pyrrha. She had been able to summon several clones in an instant, and could summon one after the other smoothly in combat. Blake's semblance was a part of her fighting style. But this was a whole other level.

But it left a bitter taste in her mouth. How much else had changed while Ruby had been rotting in the ground?

"I think you could go on a hunt." Blake spoke thoughtfully as she replaced Gambol Shroud on her back. "I'll go with you of course, and if I can get them to, Jaune and Pyrrha as well."

"I don't think Jaune would like that." Ruby said meekly.

"He's scared Ruby. We all are. We don't know what this is, and we've already lost you once. I don't know what would happen if it happens again." Ruby looked at the ground, that familiar pit opening in her stomach had she done to all of them? Stupid, selfish- "Of course, you can't just walk around Vale for the rest of your life. You were always meant to be a huntress Ruby. You were the best of us, and I think you can be again."

Something unfamiliar happened then. A little spark of hope flared in Ruby. She could be a huntress. She could make up for some of what she had done by helping others. She could do some good, and all the while she would be searching for any mention of Weiss. Hunting would give her a chance to search far and wide.

"Blake, you've changed." The faunus smiled at her.

"For the better, I hope. But you left some pretty big shoes to fill Ruby. I've tried, but I'm not sure anyone will do it as well as you."

Ruby wasn't so sure. Blake held a wisdom now that Ruby wasn't sure she herself had ever had. She felt so uncertain about everything right now, and how could she have been any better before she had died?

But now she had others that were willing to help her make up for it.

She smiled, genuinely hopefully for the first time. Maybe this life thing wasn't so hard.

A loud growling interrupted her thoughts. Blake's eyes widened and she flushed as her stomach rumbled noticeably.

"Sushi?" Ruby suggested. Blake laughed.

"Sushi."

I'm loving Blake's character right now. I also like Jaune and Yang's interactions. They understand each other a bit more than the others I think.

This chapter is the start of the next 'section' of the story! It starts with a hunt, it ends with a shocking revelation. That's all I have to say about that.

Anyhow, hope you enjoyed! As per usual, tips, ideas, thoughts, and comments are welcome! I'm still getting better at writing, and I hope to keep improving with all of your help!

Till next time,

Unjax