Just A Shadow (RWBY male reader insert)

The Interim

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Beacon Academy

Noon

The towering campus of Beacon Academy sat surprisingly quiet as it overlooked the large lake, peering at the nearby city of Vale that was finally showing its first signs of Fall. Even Beacon itself was showing such signs, as shown by the trees as their leaves slowly began to turn orange, some even already falling.

As for the (relative) silence of the school, the Vytal Festival grew ever closer, and in order to clear the area enough for final preparations to be made, students were given a week long break from school activities.

Many students took this opportunity to head home and stay with their families, but of course there were those who chose simply to remain at Beacon. Whether it be to study, train, or even just enjoy the place while they didnt have schoolwork. And thus, the halls and paths were still accompanied by groups of students who wandered about, chatting about...well...whatever it was they were chatting about of, course.

There was an unusual amount of commotion, however, inside Beacons own combat classroom.

Ruby: "Hiyah!"

A leaping kick from Ruby Rose was swiftly and effectively blocked by a stern faced Y/n as the rest of team RWBY could be seen watching from the edge of the arena. Y/n waited not even a second to retaliate as he firmly gripped the leg she kicked with, and pulled her towards him.

Poor Ruby was forced to watch as a swift fist quickly connected with her face, sending her to the floor once again. Weiss, Blake and Yang collectively winced at the force of the blow.

Groaning with a mixture of pain and frustration from the arena floor, Ruby glared angrily at the ceiling as her aura made short work of the red bruise on her cheek. Y/n watched with his hands on his hips as his stern expression remained.

Y/n: "Kicks are great for throwing something unorthodox at your opponent, opening them up for other hits, and for flashy entrances. But when its just a one on one fight, they do tend to leave you open to a whole range of counter-attacks. Big kicks like that are best for catching your opponent off guard."

Ruby only groaned again in response as she sat up on the floor, clearly upset with what seemed to be her latest in a series of failed sparring matches with Y/n. The shade allowed his expression to soften as he let out a small sigh as he approached her.

"I know it sucks, but this will really help you out in the long run Rosebud. You need to be able to fight with more than Crescent Rose. You may not always be able to rely on it."

As he came to stand just in front of her, her held his hand out.

"Lets call it a day for now alright? I'm not exactly a fan of knocking you around either."

Taking his hand, she allowed him to help her to her feet, she rubbed her cheek in annoyance at the still remaining soreness from the strike.

Ruby: "To be fair, I literally asked for it...did you have to hit me that hard though?"

Y/n: "Do you think some thug trying to kill you is gonna pull his punches? You can't dodge everything unfortunately. Part of fighting for your life is learning to roll with the pain."

Ruby deadpanned at him slightly, trying to find almost any reason to not believe him.

Ruby: "Really? There's gotta be a better way..."

Y/n, sensing he needed to give an example, turned his head to the rest of team RWBY, who by this time had already walked over to them. More specifically he looked to Yang.