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“Pyrrhaaaa Nikosssss!” Yang called out, jogging to catch up with Pyrrha before they ducked into the locker room together.  “How’re you this fine afternoon?”

“Not much has changed since we saw each other last,” Pyrrha replied while setting her bag on a wooden bench and pulling out her track clothes and shoes.  Attempting to coolly toss her gym bag next to Pyrrha’s, Yang failed miserably and dove forward to catch it before it fell to the floor.

“Plenty has changed!  Like maybe now you’re ready to tell me how lunch with Jaune went?”

Grinning when Pyrrha blushed yet again, Yang took off her school shoes and threw them into an empty locker.

“Like I said during class, lunch was just fine.  Thank you for asking.”

“That’s such a lie!” Yang said, making Pyrrha blush even deeper.  “Something happened, and you’re not telling me!  Do I need to remind you that we’re best friends and that means we tell each other everything?”

“Oh really?  Then what’s going on with you and the new girl?”

“I’m being nice!” Yang exclaimed.  “I think she’s pretty cool and - hey!  Don’t change the subject!”

Yang threw her balled up shirt at Pyrrha, who easily caught it and laughed while throwing it back.

“What’s with you and using your shirts as weapons instead of wearing them?”

“You got a problem?” Yang replied, arching one eyebrow as Pyrrha pulled on her track shoes.

“No, but what if a certain new student walked in right now and found you half-dressed?”

Instantly flushing at the thought, Yang pulled on her gym shirt and sent Pyrrha a glare.

“She wouldn’t come in here.  And if she did, I would - I would...”  

Imagining the scenario, Yang’s cheeks grew decidedly warmer. If Blake walked in right now and caught Yang in her sports bra and short shorts, she’d probably burst into flames and never be seen again.  

“I’d be totally fine with it!” she lied, only succeeding in making Pyrrha laugh.

“Hurry up.  You don’t want to be late, do you?”

Grumbling under her breath, Yang finished changing at lightning speed before following Pyrrha out of the locker room.  

“Dammit, what about Jaune?” Yang asked again while they walked towards the double doors leading into the gym.  

How did Pyrrha change the subject so fast?  Normally, Yang didn’t take the bait so easily!

But there was something there, she knew it.  Of course, Pyrrha was too embarrassed to bring it up.  It was probably something small like last time - their hands accidentally brushed or some other nonsense like that.  It was so cute when Pyrrha was embarrassed…but seriously!  Get embarrassed over something real - like tripping and unintentionally kissing him while falling into his arms!

“You know you have to tell me eventually, right?” Yang added, unwilling to let it drop.

“There’s nothing to tell,” Pyrrha replied, sticking to the party line like glue.  “We went out to the track and worked on his starting stance. He’s still having issues placing his hands correctly.”

“I’m sure you have a vested interest in his hand placement,” Yang teased, making Pyrrha blush once again.

“Sometimes I wonder why I’m friends with you,” Pyrrha playfully grumbled while they walked into the gymnasium. 

The moment they stepped inside, Yang forgot all about teasing her friend when her eyes were drawn to the top of the bleachers.  Her heart did a joyful little flip when she found that Blake was sitting there again, already reading.  

Usually, Yang noticed people who weren’t enjoying themselves - those were the people she liked to reach out to and give a smile or well-placed compliment.  But she noticed Blake for completely different reasons. There were no signs that Blake was in need of a friend. If anything, she gave off the impression of someone highly independent and extremely comfortable with who she was.  Still, Yang’s eyes were drawn her way.

“Yang.”

“Yeah?” she asked, tearing her eyes from Blake to find Pyrrha smirking at her.  After chuckling, Pyrrha shook her head and walked away with a wave.  

“Have a good practice!  Don’t get too distracted or you might get hurt.”

Throwing one more glance towards Blake, Yang shook her head and tried to focus on practice.  That’d be much easier if her mind wasn’t burning with questions she’d rather ask Blake. Like what was she reading?  Was she enjoying it? What brought her to the gym after school? Did she like the ambiance or was there another reason she was here?  The library was also open after school, so she could always read there - it was probably better to read in the library because it was quieter than the gym.

Selfishly, Yang kind of wished that Blake would join the You-Crew.  Not that Yang wanted a You-Crew to begin with! But it wouldn’t be too bad if there was one more member…

Yang’s thoughts were still elsewhere when she joined her teammates near the edge of the gym, but the punch Nora threw into her shoulder woke her up in an instant.

“Coach isn’t here yet!” Nora announced.  “You’ve gotta start practice!”

“You realize that you could start practice, right?” Yang replied.  When the question made Nora’s eyes widen like saucers, Yang laughed and quickly counted to make sure everyone was here.  Nodding when she found they were all ready, she gestured for them to follow her out to the track for their usual warm-up.

“Guess we’ll get started without him,” she muttered, blinking in the afternoon sun as they walked outside.  The moment their feet hit the slightly-springy surface of the track, Yang set them off at a moderate pace while searching for -

“Yannngg!!”

Turning to the side, Yang grinned when Ruby whizzed past their group.  Once she was several paces ahead, she turned around and ran backwards in front of them.

“Hey Yang!” Ruby said with a grin, easily jogging backwards to match their forward pace.

“Hey Ruby,” Yang said, her breaths coming in short huffs.  Turning to the new girls, she gestured towards Ruby. “Guys, this is my sister, Ruby.”  

“Hello boxing team!” Ruby replied with a grand wave and friendly smile.  “Welcome to the track. I’m Ruby Rose, and I’ll be your tour guide today!”

After shooting a quick look over one shoulder to make sure no one was behind her, Ruby motioned towards the edge of the track.

“This is what we track folks like to call a turn,” she said as they rounded one of the corners as a group.  

Several of Yang’s teammates chuckled at the subtle joke, but Yang shook her head and laughed at the fact that Ruby was running backwards and speaking without any difficulty.  That girl sometimes - she made running look almost too easy.

“This is another turn,” Ruby remarked while they rounded the next one.  “And that leads us to the straight! Who wants to race??”

“I do!” Nora shouted before charging forward without hesitation.  Laughing, Ruby turned and chased after Nora, catching up in just a few paces before pulling ahead and running slightly sideways the rest of the way - chattering Nora’s ear off all the while.

Again, Yang shook her head.  Now Nora would be exhausted for the rest of their warm-up and lost to Ruby once again.

By the time the rest of the team caught up at the other end of the track, Nora had stopped running and had both hands on her knees, panting for breath.

“ - and if you practice the right breathing techniques, you can basically run forever,” Ruby was saying before noticing the rest of them and lighting up.  “Who wants to race after the next turn?” she asked, hopping back into place in front of them and looking at each of them hopefully.

“I’m sure Yang wants to,” someone said - someone who was going to do extra sets of whatever their worst workout was today.  Turning to the side, Yang tried to figure out who’d just volunteered her but was only met with several innocent smiles.

“Yeah!  Come on, Yang, let’s race!!”

As Ruby hopped up and down in excitement, Yang knew there was no possible way she could say ‘no.’  But there was also no way she could race Ruby and maintain any semblance of pride.

“Ruby!” someone shouted from the center of the field, drawing Ruby’s eyes away from them.  “Come on, let’s get started!”

“Oh, gotta go.”  After shooting Yang an apologetic smile, Ruby beamed at the rest of the team.  “It was nice to meet all of you!”

After receiving several labored “You too”s in reply, Ruby waved and raced away from them for her own practice.

“Saved by the bell,” someone commented before several of Yang’s other teammates laughed.

“Ok, who said it?” she demanded, speeding up to get a little in front of them - far enough that she could turn and point at each of them.  “Whoever it was is going in the ring with me first.”

They laughed at her playful annoyance, but no one claimed that ‘prize.’  

“And just so everyone is aware,” she huffed out, the effort of speaking taking far more energy from her than it took from Ruby.  “I’ve been racing Ruby for years so - ya know - don’t really need to do it again.”

“Because you keep losing!” Nora remarked, having finally caught back up to the group.

“I just...haven’t won yet...” Yang said, smiling when her teammates laughed.

The last time she could remember beating Ruby in a footrace, they were in middle school and Yang still had an advantage in size.  The second Ruby started growing...well, that was the end of Yang’s dominance in their foot races to the mailbox and back.

After reaching the end of their warm-up jog, Yang led them back inside and slowed to a stop when they were in their corner of the gym.  Once they stopped, she gave the new girls a quick once-over to see how they’d fared. While the rest of them had consistently worked out the past few weeks of summer, the freshmen were always forced to start from scratch - it would be a rough couple of weeks for them until they got into better condition.

They seemed to be doing ok though.  Sure, they were breathing heavily, but all of them were breathing heavily right now.  And that was only going to get worse because today would be an intense cardio day.  At least, that’s what Coach Ironwood told them yesterday at the end of practice.  

“Nora,” Yang began to say, but Nora immediately scurried off to do what Yang was about to ask.  At least, hopefully that’s what she was going to do…

“Just a warning,” Yang said to the rest of the girls, placing her hands on her hips while waiting for her heart to slow its hammering pace.  “Today’s gonna be kind of rough.”

Earning a few groans from the group, Yang looked over as Nora raced back to them - holding a box of jump ropes in her hands that she immediately emptied onto the gym floor in a haphazard pile.

“You could’ve just left them in the box, you know,” Yang commented, to which Nora grinned sheepishly before tossing the empty box off to one side.  “Alright, grab a rope and find some space,” Yang instructed before grabbing a rope for herself and heading over to one side with Nora. “We’re going to start with sets of thirty seconds.  You’ve all jumped rope before, I hope?”

Looking down the line, she was pleased to find that everyone nodded.  At least she didn’t need to teach anyone how to jump rope today. Last time that hadn’t turned out so well…

Turning away from the team, she suddenly realized that the bleachers were situated almost directly behind her.  That wouldn’t be a problem on a typical day, but…

“Hey Nora, switch spots with me,” she called across to her friend, who hopped over and took Yang’s spot without question.  Which was highly unusual...and a little concerning...but now Yang had a nearly unobstructed view of Blake sitting in the stands.

It was extra motivation, that’s all.  Although she should try not to stare too much - getting caught twice in one day might edge her further towards ‘creeper’ status.

“Wanna see who can go fastest?” she asked Nora, who grinned at the challenge.

“You’re on!”   

“Ok everyone -”  Looking up at clock posted on one wall of the gym, Yang picked out the second hand and watched it slowly tick around to the start of the minute.  “And...go!”

As everyone began swinging the ropes at their own pace, Yang started up her own and swung as fast as she could reasonably push herself.  They had two more sets of this, so it was important to find a good middle ground between pushing themselves to get better and conserving energy so they didn’t exhaust themselves before the end.

Focusing on Nora to check her speed, Yang used her peripheral vision to watch for any movement near Blake.  Unfortunately, Yang’s attention was drawn almost completely away when she realized how fast Nora was going.  She’d quickly burn out at this speed, but damn if she wasn’t skipping fast right now!  

Speeding up, Yang matched Nora’s pace and pressed herself a little faster.  Her toes barely touched the floor before she lifted them again, developing a steady rhythm of back and forth that lined up with the rapid taptaptap of their ropes hitting the floor.  At this frenetic pace, however, that sound was rapidly becoming secondary to the sound of their labored breathing.

Her muscles were beginning to burn when she looked up at the clock and silently rejoiced at the end of their first set.

“Time!” she called to the rest of the group.  Ropes hit the ground and feet immediately came to a thankful rest while their elevated breathing filled the air.  “Thirty-second break,” she huffed out before turning to Nora. “What’re you trying to do, Nora? Kill yourself?”

“Gotta have...quicker feet...than you!!” Nora got out between deep gasps for air.  Shaking her head, Yang stepped back into place and held her rope at the ready, already dreading the next couple sets.  When her eyes drifted up towards the bleachers, however, Nora’s gaze followed.

“Whatcha lookin’ at?” Nora asked, looking over her shoulder in such an obvious way that Yang cringed.

“Nothing, Nora,” she quickly replied.  “Now don’t hurt yourself. Let’s go!”

Of course Nora didn’t slow down, which meant that Yang couldn’t either.  Speed roping hadn’t been in the plans for today, but there was no way she let Nora be the fastest at practice.  Pride was at stake! Plus, people told her before that it looked pretty impressive when she jumped rope as fast as possible.  Not that she was trying to show off or anything, but if Blake happened to glance down, Yang didn’t want to be caught looking like some lumbering blonde.

Not that Blake seemed to be interested in watching their practice at all.  At least, not that Yang could tell. Why was that so disappointing? Other people were watching - the You-Crew was here in force - but whenever Yang shot a glance up into the stands, Blake was reading her book.

Meanwhile, sweat was starting to pour as Yang flipped the rope around her feet at a pace she’d regret tomorrow.  But good boxers needed light and quick feet, and using the rope was one of the best ways to train. Maybe she was trying a little hard, but pushing hard was the only way to get better!

“Time!” she called out, dropping her rope on the ground in relief.  “Go ahead and get some water.”

While everyone searched for their water, Yang found her bottle and took a big drink before wiping the sweat from her brow.  Two sets in, and they were already feeling it.  

“How’re you feeling?” she directed towards one of the newcomers.  The girl was sucking in big gasps of air but managed to smile and flash a thumbs up in return.

“Don’t worry, it gets easier,” Yang replied, putting her hands on her hips and taking deep breaths that disproved her words.  “Kinda,” she added with a grin.

The last set was going to be hard.  They could always skip it since Coach wasn’t here, but what would he suggest if he was here?  

That question was easy to answer - he’d always pick the most painful option.  One sprint or two? Three rounds or four? Whatever was hardest - go with that.

In the midst of making a decision, Yang found herself staring up into the stands at her new favorite spot.  And Blake still wasn't looking down here.  It must be a really good book to hold someone’s attention for so long...Yang had never read a book that interesting.

“I wonder what she’s reading…” she mused while popping the top back on her water bottle and tossing it on the floor.

“Huh?” Nora asked, again looking over her shoulder to follow Yang’s gaze.  “You mean the new girl? Why don’t you ask?”

“Because we’re practicing right now,” Yang answered easily.

“We don’t mind waiting.  Oh! Are you too scared to ask?”  

“What?  Of course not -”

“I can do it for you!”

“Wait - Nora!”

She reached out and tried to grab Nora’s arm, but she was too late - Nora had already dropped her water bottle on the ground and was skipping over to the bleachers and up the stairs.  The only thing Yang could do was watch in horror while Nora waved her hand in front of Blake’s face to get her startled attention.  

Gesturing her hands while speaking, Nora pointed to the book before turning and pointing directly to Yang.  Immediately blushing, Yang awkwardly waved when Blake met her eyes. Blake gave her a little wave in return before returning her attention to Nora, at which point Yang promptly slapped herself on the forehead.  

This was why she should keep some things to herself.  As in, never, ever say them out loud. Especially not at practice.  Or anywhere that was within earshot of Nora Valkyrie. The girl had no filter.  She could be saying anything to Blake right now - talking about the weather, talking about school, or straight up saying ‘oh yeah, Yang’s been staring at you but is too scared to come up here and talk.  By the way, did you know that I have a pet unicorn and am using a stolen identity?’

Which wasn’t true!  The part about Yang being too scared to talk, at least.  She was more than willing to talk - she’d actually love to talk - but they were in the middle of practice right now!  Although practice had kind of stalled because Yang was more invested in making sure Nora didn’t do something ridiculous than in running another drill.

Thankfully, besides being mortally embarrassing, it appeared as if the two were having a pretty regular conversation.  At least, as normal as a conversation could be when it included Nora.  There were no cartwheels or other theatrics involved, and eventually Nora bounded down the stairs and raced over to Yang with a book clasped in one hand.

“I did it!” Nora proclaimed, waving the book for Yang to see.

“What’re you doing with that?” 

“What?  She said I could take it,” Nora answered proudly, beaming like she’d just pulled off the heist of the century.

“I don’t think she meant you could have it.”

“How do you know?”

Snatching the book out of Nora’s hands, Yang looked at the cover before flipping it over.

“This is a library book!” she exclaimed when she found the barcodes on the back.  The discovery only made Nora pout like Yang just ruined her bounty. “What’re you even going to do with it, Nora?”

“Read it!” Nora retorted before dissolving into giggles and shaking her head.  “But probably not...”

Shaking her head, Yang didn’t return the book to Nora, knowing that if she did Nora might never let go of it again.  

“Start everyone on the next set, will you?”

“What’s next?” Nora asked curiously, earning herself a look of consternation.

“What’s - Nora, you know exactly what’s next!  How many times have we done this same set?”

Shrugging, Nora grinned and picked up her jump rope.

Trusting that Nora could handle practice for a few minutes, Yang jogged over to the bleachers with the book in her hands.  Taking the steps two at a time, she discovered that it was really easy to tell which students stared at her and which went about their afternoons without pause.  The You-Crew members sat up straighter and whispered excitedly amongst themselves at her presence in the stands. Her ‘fans’ as Pyrrha called them, but Yang only had eyes for Blake.

Racing all the way to the top level and over to the corner, Yang stopped when she was standing right beside Blake.

“Hey,” Yang said, the greeting making Blake look up from her notebook and set her pen in the middle of the pages.

“Hey.”  

Even when Blake wasn’t smiling, her eyes were.  It was such a pleasant expression that, for a brief second, Yang completely forgot why she came up here.  It wasn’t until Blake’s gaze drifted to Yang’s hands that she remembered the book.

“I’m sorry Nora took this from you,” she apologized while handing it over.

“I actually gave it to her,” Blake replied, taking the book from Yang’s hands and slipping it into the bag at her feet.  “But I was hoping you’d bring it back.”

Filled with the unmistakable feeling that she’d somehow been tricked again, Yang still blushed at the honest answer and took a step back when Blake stood up.

“I have a report to write on one of the chapters tonight,” Blake added with a slowly-building grin while slinging her bag over her shoulder.  “Looked like you were hard at work down there.”

So she had been watching.  That bit of knowledge made Yang a lot happier than it probably should, but she liked the thought that Blake was at least a little curious about what Yang was up to.  It was nice to know that killing herself over the ropes hadn’t been for nothing.

Glancing at practice, Yang found Nora chatting with the group of girls rather than running through the next set.  Oh well, they’d just make up for it later on...

While turning away from the gym floor, Yang happened to glance down and notice that her shirt was drenched in sweat - the unfortunate result of trying to show off.  Attractive. Real attractive. Taking a step away from Blake, she chuckled nervously and prayed that she didn’t smell horrible. Because sweat always smelled like roses, right?  Maybe if she was Ruby...

“Uh, yeah, we egg each other on most of the time.”

When Blake took a step forward, Yang moved back to match, hoping to maintain a smell-free distance between them.  They kept up the same little dance as Blake made her way to the stairs, where Yang finally moved off to the side and settled into place beside Blake while they walked to the gym floor.

“How often do you do this type of workout?” Blake asked curiously.

“The ropes?” Yang asked in return, earning a soft “mhmm” as a reply.  “Uh, usually Monday, Wednesday, Friday, but we’re off schedule because of the short first week of school.  We’ll get back on track Monday.”

“What do you normally do the other days then?”

“We’ll work on moves and sparring,” Yang explained as they reached the gym floor, internally thrilled by the interest Blake was showing in their practices.  “Those days are more fun because there’s a ton of action going on. But we can’t do that every day because the sparring kicks our butts.”

“Sounds like it’s very physically demanding.”

“It kind of is.  Contrary to popular belief, it’s not all hitting each other!”  When Yang chuckled, Blake turned towards her and smiled.

“So that’s how you stay in such great shape?”

Immediately flustered by the unexpected compliment, Yang ran one hand through her hair.

“I mean, yeah, I guess.”

“I can certainly see how you earned your nickname,” Blake added casually, not at all miffed by saying that Yang was in great shape.

“What nickname?”   

Momentarily pausing, Blake turned and smiled at Yang, clearly pleased that she was the one who got to pass along this bit of information.

“The Blonde Beauty of Vale High.”

Speechless, Yang stared in dismay while Blake smiled back at her.  Blonde Beauty? Who the heck was calling her that??  

“Fitting, isn’t it?” 

“What?  N-no!” Yang finally stammered, waving her hands in front of her.  “Who calls me that??”

“Everyone,” Blake replied, looking a little confused by Yang’s reaction.  “I’ve already heard it several times since I’ve been here. And I heard at my old school too.”

“Are you kidding?” Yang asked, walking slightly in front of Blake so she could turn and meet Blake’s eyes.  “You are, aren’t you? You’re playing another joke on me - like the prince thing!”

When Blake laughed, Yang’s grin widened.

“No, I’m being very serious...this time.”  

There was no reason to believe that Blake was making this up, but Yang still felt her jaw drop in disbelief.  Blonde Beauty of Vale High? How had she never heard that before? Was it something everyone was calling her behind her back, and no one bothered to let her know?  What the hell, Pyrrha!

“At least it’s flattering?”

The hopeful question made Blake laugh, which was honestly one of the most amazing sounds Yang could think of.

“Very flattering.”

Glancing at Blake out of the corner of her eye, Yang tried to figure out if Blake was agreeing with the nickname or merely passing along the information.  She’d love it if Blake thought she was beautiful, but it was impossible to tell what was going on behind those amber eyes.

“Do you have a nickname I should know about?” Yang teased instead.  “Like, I dunno, Witty Ninja or somethin’ like that?”

Yang expected a laugh at the joke; instead, Blake briefly bit her bottom lip before answering.

“That’s a story for another day,” she replied with a soft smile.

“So a story for like...homeroom tomorrow?” Yang asked hopefully.  She really wanted to know now, not later...but tomorrow wasn’t that far away.

“If you’re lucky,” Blake replied with another pleased smile.  “Thanks for walking me out.”

Looking around in surprise, Yang only then realized that she’d followed Blake all the way to the front doors.  Like...all the way through the gym, down the hall, through the lobby, and to the doors. Without realizing it.

It was clear from Blake’s sparkling eyes that she’d realized it...and was enjoying the knowledge immensely.

“Oh, um...yeah, you’re welcome!” Yang replied as if this was what she meant to do all along.  “Gotta...ya know, don’t want you to get lost or anything. Being new here and all.”

The miserable excuse only made her blush while Blake gave her another one of those knowing smiles.

“I appreciate the chivalry,” Blake commented as she walked outside, waving once before letting the door fall closed behind her.  

Completely floored, Yang could do nothing but stand at the door and stare while Blake headed down the steps and towards the parking lot.  

How had that just happened?

After a few more seconds of disbelief, she shook herself out of that transfixed state and took off for the gym.

“Jesus…” she muttered to herself while jogging back to the gym.  “What’re you thinking following her out?”

She hadn’t been thinking.  She was so absorbed in their conversation that she hadn’t even noticed that she just abandoned her practice.  Not that anyone would mind, but that had probably looked like...well, what would that even look like? She just walked out with Blake without letting anyone know where she was going or when she’d be back?

Shoving open the door to the gym, she ran across the long room and was back at practice in no time. 

“Yang!” Nora called out as soon as she was without shouting distance.  “You should’ve seen it! The You-Crew almost revolted after you walked out with another girl!”  

“She’s new!  Didn’t want her to get lost,” Yang insisted before deciding it was a better idea to change the subject than continue using that lame excuse.  “Did you finish the last set already?” she asked, taking note that the jump ropes were still lying on the ground.

“Nnnnope!” Nora answered without hesitation.  “But I did find out that one of the new girls has three cats named Eenie, Meenie, and Miny!”

“What about Mo?” Yang asked distractedly, only paying full attention when Nora burst into laughter.

“Her mom didn’t want no mo!” Nora said before dissolving into giggles.  When a couple of the other girls laughed, Yang couldn’t help but join in.

“Ok, you’re forgiven because you had a good joke to tell,” Yang finally said, shaking her head before addressing the rest of the team.  “We’ll skip the last set today, but be back at it Monday.”

As everyone nodded their agreement, Coach Ironwood stepped through the doors and strode over to them.  Nudging Nora in the side to get her attention, Yang gestured towards the ropes on the floor. Working together, the two of them quickly gathered all of the jump ropes and tossed them into the box as their coach joined them.  

“I hope everything went well,” he stated without bothering to wait for a breakdown of how their conditioning had gone.  “Let’s get started. Pair up.”

Grinning, Yang lightly tapped one of the new girls on the shoulder to grab her as a partner for the first drill.  The real fun was about to start.

“Ok ladies.  Here’s what we’re going to work on first.”

Forming a circle around the tall man, everyone watched him explain the basic postures and how to best use them.  Even though Yang knew all of this by now, she still loved listening to the explanations. It felt like she learned something new every time - making some tiny observation she’d never made before.

“Try the offensive and defensive postures with your partner, alternating every few minutes.”

It was rudimentary for Yang, but she spent the rest of practice helping her teammates perfect their forms.  What came as second nature for her was still awkward for some of them, but that’s where practice and experience came in.  The girls in their second or third year had already come a long way in a short period of time, and now served as a measuring stick for the newbies to go by.  With enough hard work, they’d get there too.

And with even more experience, they’d get to Nora or Yang’s level, which they demonstrated at the end of practice at full speed.

All-in-all, it was a rewarding end to a pretty rewarding day.

“Good job guys!” Yang called out to her teammates as they finished changing back into their non-gym clothes and left the locker room behind.  “See you tomorrow!”

Her words were met by a few groans of acknowledgment and mumbled ‘see ya’s from the tired crew.  Laughing, she threw her bag over her shoulder and headed back to the gym.  

The first few days of practice were always the toughest, especially when they were getting used to being at school all day again too.  It got easier! Plus, before they knew it, the season would be over and boxing would be done for the year.

Whistling a tune to herself, Yang walked across the gym floor and took a seat on the bottom level of the bleachers to wait for Ruby.  The volleyball team had just finished up and was heading to the locker rooms, so the track team should be done shortly too.

“See ya, Yang.”

“See ya guys!” she called back to a couple of volleyball players as they walked past her.  More voices caught her attention then, drawing her eyes to the other entrance to the gymnasium, where the members of the track team were now pouring inside. 

It didn’t take very long for a hopping bob of brunette to separate from the crowd and head her way.

“Yang!” Ruby exclaimed as she ran over to the bleachers. 

“What’s up, Ruby?” Yang asked with a smile, standing up and cracking her back before grabbing her backpack.  “Do you ever stop running?” she joked, watching Ruby shift impatiently between her feet.

“Yeah, when I have to walk with you.”

Laughing at the super innocent burn about her running ability, Yang patted Ruby’s shoulder and turned them away from the bleachers.  “Ready to go home?” she asked at the same time.

“You betcha!”

Scanning the group of students who’d just walked inside, Yang noticed the conspicuous absence of a certain redhead who currently owed Yang a huge explanation.

“Where’s Pyrrha?” she asked when she couldn’t find her friend anywhere.

“She’s staying late to work with Jaune.”

Rolling her eyes, Yang gave up on the idea of talking to Pyrrha today and headed for the doors instead.

“She rearranges her schedule for him, doesn’t she?”

“He needs a lot of help!” Ruby answered, shoving her shoulder into the gym door and leading them towards the front of the school.  “Oh! Can we get to school early again tomorrow? I wanna meet up with one of the new track girls to help her out.”

“Sure.”

Even though that was the answer Ruby wanted, she looked at Yang and narrowed her eyes.

“You never agree to come to school early.  What’s wrong with you?”

For whatever reason, the question only made Yang smile.

“New year, Ruby!  New me.”  

Ruby shook her head at the reply.

“Well can the old you come back?  This one’s starting to freak me out.”

After walking through the doors Blake had so cleverly led Yang to just a little while earlier, she wrapped her arm around Ruby’s shoulders and smiled.

“You’re just gonna have to get used to it, little sis.”

Heading down the steps to the sidewalk that led them home, Ruby made a disgruntled ‘hmmph’ noise before changing the topic.

“How’re the new girls?”

The question sent Yang’s mind to Blake, but then she realized that Ruby was asking about her new teammates on the boxing team.

“They’re doing pretty well!  Still a lot to learn, but they have promise.”

“Think I can beat ‘em?” Ruby asked, jumping in front of Yang and holding up her fists.  Laughing, Yang held up her own and threw two slow punches that Ruby easily dodged and countered.

“You’d be our best boxer if you gave up track.”

Giggling at the response, Ruby fell back into step beside Yang and bumped her shoulder.

“Cuz I’m fast, right?”

“That’s right!”

“But you don’t want me to hit other people,” Ruby added, to which Yang shook her head.

“That’s my job, remember?”

“And my job’s being cute!” Ruby answered with an adorable hop to match.

“You got it!” Yang responded, ruffling Ruby’s hair and grinning when Ruby squirmed away.

When Yang had started her boxing lessons, she took the time to pass along some of that knowledge to Ruby.  Surprisingly, Ruby was really good at it. But Yang had only taught Ruby as a precautionary measure - so she could protect herself if she needed to.  If push came to...well, punch...then Ruby was supposed to let Yang do the...uh, punching...if necessary.

“Think we can convince Dad to take us out for ice cream tonight?” Ruby asked as they got closer to home.

“Did he forget a special occasion recently?”

“Prettyyyy sure he forgot my quarter birthday!” Ruby replied, grinning when Yang laughed and shook her head.  “But how ‘bout the beginning of school? Shouldn’t we get something for surviving the first two days?  I mean, that’s like sixteen hours of learning!  Two lunches of mediocre food, getting up early, plus practices and carrying these super heavy books -”

“Ok, ok,” Yang cut in before Ruby listed all of the reasons why school was such a drag.  “I get it; we deserve a reward. Don’t worry - I got your back.”

Beaming, Ruby raised a hand for a high five - which Yang willingly gave - before flying to the front door and unlocking it.  Following at a slower pace, Yang smiled to herself at how excited Ruby was for ice cream.

Their dad had the hardest time saying ‘no’ to Ruby, and an even harder time saying ‘no’ if the two of them asked for something together.  Unfortunately for him, they figured this out when they were in elementary school and had been using the knowledge to their advantage ever since.

They might not play the same sport at school, but they were still on the same team in all other aspects of their lives.  As far as Yang was concerned, whether it was ice cream or some group of bullies, she had Ruby’s back no matter what - and she knew Ruby had hers in return. 

In this case, it meant they were getting ice cream tonight.  And Yang couldn’t think of a sweeter way to end a pretty awesome day.

Comments

🌸Mina🌸

Loved it Miko and Yang walking Blake out it was cute Nora oh gosh she's too hyper active also are we ever going to see Ren and ah love Pyrrha's and Yangs friendship and the two sisters are adorable.