It had been a very exhausting week, though for once, it wasn't because she had spent too much time playing around with her friends in some random place, nor was it because she had too many sleepless nights binge-reading HunterX or any other Mistralian comic.
She still did the latter from time to time though, but most of the exhaustion came from all the training she did, all just so she could increase her odds against Beacon's famous abysmal passing rate.
That wasn't counting the time she spent studying many other difficult theoretical subjects, such as Grimm Biology, Combat Diction, and Smoke Tracking - the most boring part of being a Huntress.
Thankfully, the tedious reading didn't take up too much of her time.
Aside from physical training and theory studying, she also spent many hours training her Semblance, whether by improving the speed of her movement, reducing the Aura required to use it, or increasing the number of rose petals she could split into, which was currently four at most. But if she trained hard enough, she believed she could split into five by the time Beacon's entrance exam began.
Uncle Qrow was very helpful in that regard, making time in his schedule to assist her by keeping track of her speed. That, and also acting as her sort-of babysitter - oftentimes, she would overuse her semblance until both her Aura and stamina were depleted, causing her to collapse from exhaustion. When that happened, Uncle Qrow would bring her back, though recently, due to how often it occurred, she could now continue to fight or move after pushing herself to the brink, albeit barely, instead of flopping down to the ground, defenseless to all attack.
So, alongside increasing her Semblance's speed, she was also able to improve her stamina and Aura capacity - two areas she was quite weak in.
She wasn't even a quarter as fast, strong, or durable as her big sister Yang, nor Uncle Qrow or Dad, but she was one of the best Huntresses-in-training in her year. That had to count for something.
Just like Uncle Qrow and Dad often said, rather than rushing to improve herself in a single area, it was better to focus on what she lacked and train in those areas, so she wouldn't have any glaring weaknesses that could be exploited.
Ah, crap! She was daydreaming again!
She was in the middle of training too!
Ruby took a deep breath and surveyed her surroundings, mentally mapping all the training dummies placed randomly around her.
The dummies she used for training were makeshift ones she had crafted using wood, clay, and scrap metal found in trash bins. She didn't see a good reason to buy Atlas-manufactured dummies - the ones that could move and fight back - even though their prices had fallen significantly since the new version hit the market a few months ago, since she's doing the kind of training where she need to cut apart the dummies.
Ruby shifted her stance slightly, tensing her leg muscles before taking a couple of deep breaths. She closed her eyes and tightened her grip on Crescent Rose. She had just done some maintenance on her beloved weapon this morning, so it should still be in peak condition.
She instantly opened her eyes and pulled the trigger. The first shot destroyed the first dummy. Using the strong recoil from that shot to her full advantage, she let her body relax as the kickback propelled her towards the second dummy. As she neared it, she spun her scythe around herself, cutting through the second dummy and another one right next to it.
Just as the third dummy turned to bits, Ruby fired again, rocketing herself at an even faster speed towards the toughest dummies she'd made from reinforced steel. Harnessing her momentum, she cleaved one in half while still airborne.
Then, using the tip of her scythe to stop herself, Ruby landed with a soft spin. When it was all done, she relaxed her body and let out a sigh. A yawn threatened to escape her mouth, but she held it back. Instead, she turned her head, scanning the area to ensure she had sliced through every target.
Yep, all's gone.
A big success.
Ruby couldn't contain the smile forming on her lips, and she sat on the ground, morphing Crescent Rose into its more compact form before hugging it tightly and laying down.
As her eyes looked toward the moving clouds high in the sky, she couldn't help the widening grin that crept across her face.
Soon, she was going to achieve her dream.
Her musings came to an end by a long whistle that caught her attention. "Oi, Rubes! You done yet?!"
Yang, now wearing a t-shirt with 'The Achieve' men poster on the front, a jacket draped over her shoulder, approached her with a grin. She stopped in front of a dummy, playfully kicking it aside, and flashed a knowing smirk. "Still, that's impressive for someone your age. It's a true 'slice' of brilliance!"
Ruby rolled her eyes at her big sister's pun, but maintained her smile nevertheless. "Thanks, Yang."
Her blonde-haired sis kept grinning as she walked, whistling all the way, and extended an open hand. When she was close enough, Ruby set Crescent Rose aside and took the open hand.
Sometimes, when Uncle Qrow was busy or had to cancel watching over here to do some 'top hush hush secret mission'–Uncle Qrow Words, not her, he left the matter of watching over her training to Yang. Though, unlike her uncle, her big sis insisted on training her with a more practical approach.
"Up you go!" Yang released her hand. "Feel good enough for a spar?"
Yang's 'practical teaching' were constant sparring matches, which, in truth, she felt was just an excuse for her big sis to beat the living daylights out of her. Even with Crescent Rose and her semblance, she could barely last more than ten seconds against Yang.
Ruby forced a smile and shook her head. "Pass."
She liked sparring as much as her sis, but the memory of last week's match was still too fresh.
Well, it was more of a beat-down than a match. From the moment Yang said "Go," despite using her semblance at full power, while her big sis handicapped herself by only using her left hand, she never landed a single hit. Yang just kept launching punches one after another until her Aura broke.
That match didn't even last five seconds!
So, of course, she didn't want another fight.
At least not so soon.
Yang, for her part, just shrugged her shoulders. "Fine by me. Just don't forget to take a break before your next round of training."
Ruby giggled. "Okay~"
Then, she picked up Crescent Rose and started making her way home, but stopped mid-step. She turned her head and asked, "Say, why have you been helping me train in combat so much? Not that I'm complaining, but we've focused a lot on fighting lately. I would love some help with my studies too. There are a few subjects I don't understand."
"Nah~ you really don't need that," Yang waved her hand dismissively.
Then, just as her sister was about to walk with her, she stopped mid-track, a frown appearing on her face.
After a few minutes, she actually waved a hand in front of Yang's face to snap her out of her stupor.
Yang swiveled her head left and right again, then beckoned her closer. Cupping her hands around her mouth, she leaned in and whispered, "Pretend you don't know any of this, but 90% of this year's entrance exam is about combat. The theoretical side is the other 10%, mostly just a formality."
"Ah, really?" Ruby whispered back.
"Yep, but don't tell anyone you heard it from me, or I'll be in big trouble."
"Ummm...what? I think I got something stuck in my ear. Yang, did you just say something?" she asked with an innocent smile.
Yang let out a short laugh and patted her back. "Nope, must have been the wind. Oh, right, I almost forgot." She quickly pulled out her Scroll. "I have some important training videos for you. Check them out later."
She tapped her Scroll a few times, and Ruby felt vibrations from her pocket as files came through. Pulling out her own Scroll, she saw Yang had sent a bunch of videos.
"What are these about?" Ruby Scrolled through titles like 'How to Fight Clone-Based Semblances as a Melee Fighter.' Curiosity piqued, she clicked on that one and it started playing, revealing a black-haired cat-eared girl facing a blond man in military-esque armor with a giant shield. When a black-haired man standing by the side shouted the word "Start!", the faunus girl multiplied into a dozen clones surrounding him.
"My sparring videos from a few months ago. Consider it extra help," Yang winked.
Ruby nodded, pausing the video and putting her Scroll back to sleep mode and sending it back to her pocket.
"Anyway, let's go home. I'm sure dad is cooking something delicious" Her sister put an arm around her, pulling her close as they made their way home.
— One Week Later —
Since Semblances were exclusive abilities tied to each individual, Ruby had to get creative with different training methods to push her Petal Burst to its limits. And for that, she first needed a deep understanding of her current limitations - something she'd become quite familiar with over her years at Signal Academy.
Like how she lacked total control, unable to change directions mid-burst. That lack of maneuverability was why she always triple-checked to ensure her trajectory was clear before activating her semblance. Even a stray tree branch could spell disaster if she couldn't adjust course.
Or the embarrassingly limited vertical height she could achieve with her semblance, and how little excess weight she could carry along at maximum speed. She would just fall flat on her face if she exceeded that.
Which was the reason she now found herself standing on a mossy rock next to a pond. Her silver eyes were locked onto a wooden box situated across the water's edge.
She wanted - no, needed - to learn how to alter her direction mid-flight, because her big sister Yang had drilled into her head that predictable movement left her defenseless against experienced opponents. Grimm were too dumb to anticipate her plentiful feints and spins. But other hunters or students could quickly analyze and learn her patterns. An abrupt 90-degree turn mid-burst might not be possible yet, but even a slight angled adjustment would be a huge step forward. Like not landing squarely on the box itself, but next to it.
Taking a few breaths, she activated her semblance, and in a burst of speed, crossed the body of water, reappearing on the other side - right on top of the wooden box. She frowned and tried again, but this time landed atop the mossy rock, a trail of rose petals peacefully floating on the water's surface.
Changing direction mid-flight was actually much easier said than done.
Of course, it would be simpler to train over longer distances, but real fights weren't like that. She had to learn how to adjust course across short bursts.
So she tried again.
And again.
And again.
Getting the same infuriating result each time, turning the once-serene pond a shade of red with scattered petals.
"Okay, one more time," she muttered, activating her semblance and putting every ounce of focus on trying to change trajectory.
In that split second, she finally managed to alter her course.
Except it was in the wrong direction entirely.
The next thing Ruby knew, she was submerged at the bottom of the pond. She thrashed her limbs, quickly propelling herself back to the surface. Gasping for air, she sloshed her way out of the water, drenched from head to toe with rose petals sticking to her clothes and hair.
This was going to be a pain to clean, she could already tell.
Thankfully, she was only carrying her scroll, which was waterproof.
But it wouldn't hurt if she checked to make sure her Scroll was okay. After squeezing some water out of her clothes, she pulled out her scroll and turned it on, noticing a pending message notification.
Maybe it was dad telling her to come in for lunch. Or her friends wanting to chat.
Unable to contain her curiosity, she unlocked the Scroll to check.
And it was neither of those things, considering it's said that the sender of the said message notification is [Beacon Academy Administrator].
Ah crap, did her transcript not good enough?
After taking a deep breath, Ruby tapped the message icon with a feeling of dread. Her mind already conjured dozens of possible bad scenarios, but the moment she saw the word 'acceptance letter', a smile blossomed on her face.
"YES!"
It might be marked 'conditional'–Which means she still needs to pass the entrance exam first - but that didn't matter, she had been accepted! Nothing else was important. She had to tell her family right away!
Ruby took off in a burst of petals, using her semblance to race home as quickly as possible, very likely leaving a rosy trail in her wake. And when she's at the entrance to her home, she practically slammed the door open.
"Wha-! Ruby?!" Her dad jumped in surprise, nearly dropping the broom in his hands.
"DAD, I DID IT!" She pulled him into the tightest hug. "Look! Look! I got accepted!"
She waved her scroll in front of her dad's eyes. The message from Beacon is still in it. It only took him for a moment to see what's written in it, before letting out a jovial laugh and giving her another hugfest.
"What's with all the noise..." A drowsy Uncle Qrow appeared, rubbing his eyes and yawning.
"UNCLE QROW!" Of course she wouldn't forget him, tackling him with an equally fierce hug. "Look! I got accepted into Beacon!"
"Whoa! easy there..." Qrow blinked a few times, taking in her drenched appearance. "Did you take a swim with your clothes on?"
Ruby just giggled, squeezing him even tighter.