Chapter 26

Sights

Ruby hissed as she stretched out her aching muscles. She unceremoniously plopped herself down on the forest floor, inhaling deep lungfuls of the earthy, calming scent that permeated everything around her. She had been running through some basic defensive martial manoeuvres for hours now, committing them not just to her basic memory but an entirely different level, all the way down to into her subconscious - her muscle memory. It was a habit that had been drilled into her by her uncle. When it came to fighting she wouldn't settle for anything less than perfection, it was the difference between the best and the dead in the world of Hunters. It was part of the reason she was considered a prodigy. Every skill Ruby learnt, she drove herself to master.

She glanced over to the other side of the clearing, watching as Blake struggled with yet another set of weights. Aura was a wonderful thing and its ability to heal was astounding. The damage one endured when building muscle could often be healed almost as fast it occurred. This meant that Hunters had the ability to workout far longer and more strenuously than normal soldiers. It allowed them to boost their physical attributes to the superhuman levels that every successful Hunter or Huntress boasted.

Rose was not going easy on Blake. Ruby knew that it could be far worse; she'd seen the mind-boggling strength training her father put himself through every few days. Blake was undergoing a professional Huntress' training regime, albeit scaled to her level, and according to Rose it had been made specifically for Blake by Yang. The cat faunus hadn't been impressed by that particular fact until her trainer had pointed out that Yang was the most well versed in human and faunus physiology out of the entire team. Blake had been extremely surprised by that, but then Yang did seem to do extraordinarily well when questioned on any topic about the human body.

She'd been even more surprised when Rose had shared that Yang had once considered going into medicine, having been inspired by veterinarians and eventually doctors from a young age. It seemed she had been underestimating her partner's intelligence.

Ruby could empathise. She was incredibly grateful to have been extended an offer to attend Beacon. She was ecstatic that she had actually passed initiation. She was over-joyed (and a little nervous) that she was selected to be leader of her team. She was also tired of being treated like a child.

She understood that she was young, the youngest student at Beacon in all fact. And she would be until she turned seventeen, and even then she would still always be the youngest amongst her peers by a not so insignificant margin, especially at their relatively young age. She could also admit to herself that she was - in some aspects - a little immature. She had her flaws; a small attention span, less than stellar study habits, poor dieting ability, she had trouble in social situations and she wasn't the most intellectual leader. No, she couldn't claim to be perfect.

But she was underestimated. It had been far worse when she'd first begun; she'd practically been treated like a toddler that had walked into a Beowolf den wrapped in steak. Fragile, out of place, useless.

She'd dissuaded every one of those assumptions fast. Often quite literally, beating her sparring opponents into the ground with overwhelming barrages of strikes before they could even hope to defend or retaliate. She also proved her worth outside of ring, doing her best to excel in her studies. She wasn't the most lauded on that end of things, sitting above average – good even – but far from the most accomplished. She worked hard at it, often asking Weiss on tips and for help with her studies, which her secretly super nice and friendly partner never hesitated to provide. She didn't have the best marks, by that were a far cry from bad, especially for a student that had skipped two entire years of preparatory schooling.

And she was improving everyday.

Suffice to say she was more than the kid she was so often seen as. She was much more discerning than any child, for one.

And as she watched Blake and Rose, she would be hard pressed to miss that there was something between them.

Blake cursed viciously as she squatted once more, Rose sitting on her shoulders and counting out for her.

"Ninety-seven, ninety-eight, ninety-nine, so close now, and one hundred! Well done Blakey!" She congratulated, hopping off the exhausted faunus' shoulders.

"Ah huh, wahh, phew, okay – hah - I'm so – hah – done." Blake said in between harsh pants. Her body felt like jelly. If jelly was composed solely of magma transported directly from the centre of the sun, of course. She hurt in places she didn't know she had. Gathering the last of her energy, and her pride, Blake attempted to come back to a natural stance.

Keyword there being attempted. As soon as she moved again, she regretted it. Her legs, still weak from the intense workout they had just received, buckled under her. She braced herself for a painful(ly embarrassing) fall.

Except suddenly there was a warm, solid waist around her stomach. The scent of roses and gunpowder with hints of charred birch and various mechanical oils hit her nose. She collided with something soft yet unyielding, sinking into the warm, comforting embrace.

Rose. It was Rose holding her.

With a flush of warmth on her cheeks, Blake craned her head upward to meet Rose's eye. She felt a trill of triumph rush through her veins when she saw the older woman's eye dilate, the trill becoming a roar when she licked her delicate pink lips unconsciously.

"Careful there, kitty-cat." Rose said low drawl, and Blake was almost certain there was more to her words than was apparent at first glance.

"I will be, Rose, thank you." Blake replied softly, purposefully moving further into their impromptu embrace. Both were caught up in moment, completely unaware of a pair of silver eyes watching them from across the clearing.

Ruby was pretty sure holding someone like that wasn't standard training procedure.

Ruby was sort of disappointed with Rose at the moment. She, just like the others, often underestimated her. It was even more chafing coming from her, for obvious reasons.

It was understandable however. Rose had a fairly large cynical, self-depreciating streak and obviously thought that in her younger years she had been hopelessly naïve. Ruby just so happened to be a younger her. On the other hand Rose encouraged her to be simply better more than anyone bar Yang. She wasn't exactly humble and Ruby could admit to herself that it was for good reason, Rose was a remarkably capable Huntress, and she obviously saw similar potential in Ruby. In fact, she often encouraged her by saying that she would Ruby surpass her in due time.

It was hard for Ruby to express how much she appreciated that. But she knew even Rose had her moments, times when she didn't give enough credit to Ruby, when she dismissed her for her inexperience. Or perhaps she just didn't care, but that didn't fit with the image of the Rose she knew. But Ruby was nothing if not observant, a learned habit that Qrow lauded as essential for an accomplished sniper, and there was an air between Rose and Blake that was far from simple friendship.

No, there was something happening between those two. As leader of team RWBY, and as a sister and friend, she was determined to find out exactly what.

FAVOURITE~REVIEW~FOLLOW!

Just a little RUBY P.O.V for yall. She's been sort of ignored perspective wise so far, and I decided to fix that. I also wanted to make the reasoning aobut her actions in the near future to be very clear to the reader. I won't explain why just yet, but I think you'll enjoy finding out my justification for focusing such a small chapter on highlighting her observation skills and her thought processes. It's important, I swears.

For those of you who asked, I managed to lock myself in my bathroom for 5 hours before resorting to kicking the door down. Not fun.

Cheers!