Chapter Text
“Alright Petal, show me what you’ve learned while I was gone.” Qrow’s hair was slicked back, and the pair of them stood within the training arena, where their class sparred on a regular basis. The rest of her team was watching, and Qrow could tell Ruby wasn’t too sure how to feel about that.
His attention didn’t waver from the girl, and he made no move to indicate the others should leave.
Ruby nodded once, and backed away to the other side of the sparring arena, pulling crescent rose from her back. He waited, allowing her to fully transform her weapon while his remained sheathed.
It was almost the only grace he offered her.
As soon as she nodded at him, Qrow drew Harbinger and darted inward, and Ruby rushed to meet him. They exchanged blows rapidly, with Qrow pushing her onto the defense almost immediately.
He heard movement near the doors but didn’t take his attention from the girl. He knew it was probably Ozpin, and maybe Glynda. It didn’t matter, there was nothing wrong with what they were doing, and no one would be hurt. Well, hopefully, no one would be hurt. His Semblance - no. Now wasn’t the time to think about that.
Eventually, Qrow’s onslaught slowed, and he allowed Ruby to take an offensive approach since she had satisfied him by at least reacting the correct way to each of his attacks, even if he did have the power behind him to blow through her defenses. That wasn’t the point of the session.
She’d gotten faster since the last time they sparred, and stronger too. More confident, he might have thought. There was a certain focus and determination that she’d lacked before. The time at Beacon had clearly done her good, Ozpin and Glynda had done their jobs well so far. It was hard to be annoyed that she’d been pulled early when she met him so easily.
No, of course, her attacks didn’t push through his defenses, but she was creative and there were several points in which he was surprised by the solutions she came up with as she worked against him.
Pride shone in his eyes, he couldn’t help it. Ruby had grown so much while he was gone.
Eventually, they went back to just trading blows back and forth, Qrow put a little more force behind his attacks, and Ruby met his expectations easily.
He didn’t dare push the intensity any further, there was too much risk from his Semblance, even in this relatively clear space.
Hm. All this, and she wasn’t even using her gun for movement, much less against him. Yes, Ruby had improved significantly in her strength and mobility, though she had a long way to go, and he knew it.
His mind drifted back to the Vytal festival fight. It had been messy, but her team had come out on top. He could critique that performance later. For now, he’d concentrate on the girl in front of him and just how much work she was putting into this dream of hers.
“You’re getting better.” He said it in a languid tone as he easily blocked the vicious attack.
The words caught Ruby off-guard, and she stared at him blankly for a second. Qrow moved as if to sweep her legs out from under her with Harbinger’s long shaft, and Ruby darted back out of reach.
“Good recovery.” He should clearly be freer with his praise if it caught her that off guard for him to tell her that.
Ruby beamed at him, but her expression quickly focused back into a flat serenity as she charged in with another attack that he easily blocked. “But your attacks are still too predictable.”
Ruby frowned slightly, considering the criticism as they continued exchanging blows for a few more rounds. He could tell she didn’t quite know what to make of the statement. Still, if he tried to explain it wouldn’t make enough sense. She’d have to sort it out on her own.
Here and there she activated her semblance, bursting around him and darting passed him. She was doing well not to rely on it too much but…it certainly did make it harder for him to keep up with her.
“Alright, alright Petal. I think that’s enough for now.”
Ruby stopped in her tracks, reversing Cresent Rose in her grasp rapidly to kill the momentum she’d built up. He could tell she was disappointed.
“No need to wear us both down. You’ve still got quite a bit ahead of you in the festival, hm?”
“Oh, actually, Yang and Weiss are moving on to doubles. I’m not.” She laughed with a small shrug. “It’s fine though, I know you just got back.” And wearing him down wasn’t nice either. Qrow was a busy person, and maybe he wouldn’t have much time to recover before he left again.
That thought made her sad.
“Hey, don’t look at me like that,” Qrow said, nudging her with his elbow as he moved closer to her. “I’ll be here until the end of the Festival at least, so relax. We’ll get to do this again.”
He could pretend it was the sparring she was upset about, and not the idea that he might leave too soon to recover. The look Ruby gave him made it clear that she didn’t exactly care about the sparring match. He looped an arm around her loosely.
“I meant it, kiddo. You’re getting much better.”
“Thanks.” She ducked her head slightly, looking embarrassed.
As he’d thought, Ozpin was sitting near the rest of Ruby’s team, watching. He hadn’t anticipated it being James beside him instead of Glynda, but the overall ending was the same.
Ruby noticed them at the same time he did and looked almost uncomfortable for a second before it disappeared and she beamed up at him before shrugging his hand off to rejoin her team.
There were many things he should have said to her in that moment. But even if she wasn’t going into doubles, her team was, and a team leader was their team’s heart. It wouldn’t do to distress her before something so important. It could wait. He’d tell her before the next mission. He’d tell her before her next semester.
Qrow made his way over to Ironwood and Ozpin, his expression neutral.
“You’re quite gentle with her,” Ozpin observed.
“You call that gentle, Oz? If I was pushing any harder we’d have eventually hit an aura break.” He said with a snort. There was a pause, and a slight frown, and then before Ozpin could say anything more. “Two years early, Oz? Is this a good idea?”
“It’s a little late to consider if it’s a good idea or not,” Ozpin said in a level tone. “But I don’t believe it was a mistake. Miss Rose is doing just fine keeping up with her peers.”
Sure, Qrow was sure she was. Still, with everything else that was going on, he couldn’t help but feel unease about her being here.
Then again, training her to face the darkness was probably a better bet than hiding her from it for much longer. Sometimes, it seemed there were no right answers.