章 1793: 24
Black Rose Blooms SilverCyberQueen_JolyneChapter 24
Chapter Text
"-And that's how I defeated an Alpha Beringel with nothing but a rock, a stick, a squirrel, and a megaphone!"
Wow.
So that was why Cinder hated Professor Port's class.
Ruby sighed, ears visibly drooping as she tried very hard to pay attention to Professor Port's "lecture", one story flowing into the next as he went on his long-winded tangents. Oh sure, some details gave her a few ideas on how to lure in grimm and fight without a weapon… but she was also part grimm. And could just eat them. And was strong enough to wrestle a fully grown ancient Deathstalker into submission with her bare hands.
Either way, it explained a lot about why Cinder hated the old Huntsman- sure, she knew intellectually that he was extremely dangerous considering that he moved with the power of raw muscle with a relatively thin layer of fat, wore old-timey knee high leather riding boots and walked without making the slightest hint of a detectable sound, and was teaching ways to actually take down grimm if anyone paid enough attention to jot down more than just the cliffnotes of his long and winding stories… but also, Cinder hated when people didn't just get to the point of what they were trying to say. And was also really dodgy about listening to people who spoke in certain ways. And also got a little tetchy the more wealthy a location seemed.
Ruby thought Professor Port was cool, but he was only talking about grimm that she'd actually seen and fought before! Like, sure it was just the first day of class, but the most impressive thing he'd actually talked about was that fight with a Beringel, and even then- Ruby had been to Anima. She'd fought Beringels before.
Even without Crescent Rose- it wasn't hard .
For her, at least.
Years of practice and lessons reminded Ruby that not everyone had the… skill set… that she did. Or the intense dedication to putting every last ounce of her effort into learning how to be the best Huntress ever. Or her cool scythe.
She couldn't blame them. Not a lot of people thought that 38mm was an appropriate caliber for anything short of heavy weaponry. Most people couldn't freehand heavy weaponry.
Either way, all she could do henceforth was stare blankly ahead, vaguely aware that Weiss was somewhat agitated by her lack of attention, but still occasionally jotting down notes so she could review some team training plans for later maybe. She'd heard that there were some really good training rooms at Beacon- Cinder approved of them, as did Mercury, and those two were always really picky about what made a good training area.
Hmm…
"-the moral of this story? A true Huntsman must be honorable! A true Huntsman must be dependable! A true Huntsman must be strategic, well-educated, and wise! Now, for our last item for today- who among you believes themselves to be the embodiment of these traits?" Professor Port asked, looking over the assorted group of freshmen and searching for a volunteer while he motioned to the clearly vibrating and bouncing reinforced crate that Ruby could definitely sense held a very alive, very angry, and surprisingly big Boarbatusk.
Near her, Ruby could just barely tell that Weiss was warring with herself- she clearly felt she deserved to volunteer herself for combat, but also didn't want to seem desperate to stand out on the first day. Or- maybe she did and she was warring with her own thoughts about performing in front of a crowd? Ruby didn't know for sure. Feelings were hard sometimes when they weren't very simple and all encompassing in their simplicity. Sadness, anger, fear, panic, general discontent- all of that was simple. Trying to diagnose her sister's partner's myriad of issues that were constantly simmering beneath her skin just based on whatever Weiss happened to be feeling at the moment? Super duper hard.
Unfortunately for Weiss… Yang beat her to the punch with a call of,
"I do!"
And, honestly? Ruby didn't think that was a bad choice. Yang was honorable. Yang was dependable. She was her year's valedictorian graduate at Signal. And she had a pair of double barreled shotgun gauntlets strapped to each arm, along with Fire Dust mechanisms that allowed her kicks to explode, send waves of fire, shoot fireballs, rocket her forward for short distances, boost her jumps, etc etc etc.
Also, Yang knew how to disable a Boarbatusk in fifteen seconds or less. Depending on the size of the thing in the crate, it'd probably be easy.
And so, Ruby sat up a little straighter in her seat as Yang walked out to the closest changing room to swap to her combat outfit, the barely audible sound of a descending rocket locker roaring in her (and probably Blake's) ears as it descended through the specialized panels in the ceiling of every changing room and locker room. Two minutes later, and Yang strode back into the lecture hall with Ember Celica armed and ready, rolling her neck as she held her hands up in her usual combat stance.
"Alright teach! I'm ready to Burn , let's go!" Yang grinned, staring at the cage as her Aura made the tails of her coat flare out around her and bathe the area around herself in oppressive heat, the red markings along the pitch black leather appearing to be a pair of draconic wings and a tail.
"Ho ho! Well, I can see that you're fired up! Let's see if that attitude keeps up!" Professor Port laughed, then in a single swift motion he sliced the lock off of the cage and allowed the grimm within to burst free with a horrid screech and the rending and tearing of metal as it crashed into the lecture hall.
Yang didn't bother to wait for a starting signal, immediately launching herself forward the moment the Boarbatusk came free of the cage with a twin blast of Ember Celica's gauntlets- four barrels of four gauge Fire Dust laced booster rounds flinging her forward like a rocket and letting her cross the space in an instant- though, instead of attacking directly, she instead used her momentum to carry her into a rapid slide that left her extended leg outstretched and beneath the pitch black beast. As soon as she slowed to a halt, Yang slammed her hands into the Boarbatusk's tusks, grabbing the massive, curled bones and hauling the thing just into the air with raw arm strength alone- just enough to give herself a bit of leverage as she kicked up and slammed an exploding foot into the beast's underbelly with such force that the eruption of flame flung the pig-like grimm back the way she came and landed it helplessly on its back.
The moment it impacted the ground and cracked the tiles, Yang simply flipped to her feet, walking over to the squealing, baying beast as it struggled to right itself… and then punched in the underside of its jaw with such thunderous force and retort that the sound of the blast from her gauntlet rattled the window and sent 4 gauge explosive buckshot tearing into and through the Boarbatusk's head until nothing was left but a cloud of black smoke (that Ruby surreptitiously absorbed while no one was looking) and a scorched crater on the floor.
The entire affair had taken less than ten seconds, start to finish.
It hadn't been one of Yang's flashier combos, but it was fast, it was efficient, it was lethal, and it'd take down anything short of an Alpha Ursa with sheer firepower. She'd need one of her longer combos for an Alpha Ursa.
"Excellent! Excellent! My word, I haven't seen a first year take down such a large Boarbatusk so fast in years! Absolutely stupendous work, Miss Xiao Long!" Professor Port clapped as Yang bowed dramatically for the crowd, her hair and coat still fluttering from the light breeze kicked up by the strength of her roiling Aura, long tresses flowing behind her as she sauntered back to her seat and grabbed her school bag and flung it over her shoulder.
Ruby could tell that the only reason why no one else was clapping was because they were all too shocked to actually say anything- honestly, most of them probably hadn't even gone on solo grimm hunts before, now that Ruby thought about it. Even Signal didn't tend to do those, which was why she got bumped up so much and got to skip so much stuff.
Oh, except Pyrrha, who looked… weird. Like she was excited about something, and itching for a fight. Gods, Ruby hoped Pyrrha was staring at Yang's gauntlets and not the subtle bulge in her sister's (way too tight, seriously Yang wear your actual size holy mother of muffins) leather pants.
Weiss, meanwhile, just sat there with her jaw dropped as her own insecurities flared up even more and- ooh, Ruby couldn't let that stand. Weiss was her sister's partner, and that meant that she was gonna be one of Ruby's besties- and what kinda friend would she be if she let her new bestie suffer alone under the crushing weight of her own self doubt. Ergo, as the bell rang, Ruby took one look at the vaguely shell-shocked Weiss, sidled past Blake as they all stood up to leave, and wrapped Weiss in a hug.
"Gah! What- what are you doing, Ruby!?"
"Giving you a hug! You looked like you needed it- you seemed a little… self conscious and sad? And hugs always make people feel better!"
"W-well don't do it out of nowhere like that! I-it's rude!"
"S-sorry!"
"I didn't tell you to let go, I said not to do it out of nowhere!"
"Aheh… right…"
[Apropos of absolutely nothing, here's a semi-casual Ruby]
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