Across The Field And Back (ch2)

EARLY RELEASE FOR ALL MY PATRONS!

Day 2: Soulmates

Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.

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															Chapter 2.

Ruby was slowly building up her energy. They were halfway through their game with Weiss' team, and the score was 4 to 3 in the heiress' favor.

Most of the goals Ruby's team (and Ruby herself) had scored had been achieved in the second quarter when Weiss had been benched for her break. And Ruby could see her best friend on the edge of her seat, nails digging into her knees and teeth biting her lip in frustration as she watched the other team rake up the points.

But while the red team's offense was strong, their defense was rather poor. Once an opposing member had slipped past Ruby, Sun and their other attackers on the offense lines and Nora's defenders, poor goalie Jaune was a sitting duck.

He'd been designated as goalie not so much because of his skill, but more so because of his poor luck and the fact that half the time the ball managed to hit him instead of the net.

But so far in this game Ren had snuck past Nora and scored on his classmate, putting the blue team in the lead by one.

As the whistle blew to signify the end of the second quarter, Ruby kicked her cleats into the grass like a horse. She was getting fired up now. They needed to make their comeback.

Coach Oobleck called them all over to tell them the slight changes in formation for the next quarter and give his long-winded advice. He finished with Ruby.

"And Miss Rose! Do give good consideration as to when you're going to utilize that impressive speed of yours! Just be absolutely certain you don't choose the wrong time and have the burst of effort go to waste, or else the first game of the season will be lost!"

"I got it, coach!" Ruby saluted.

"Very good. Now drink, all of you, but not too much! No cramps in the third quarter! Not even from the goalie, Mr. Arc!"

"Yes, sir..."

Ruby jogged back onto the playing field and got into her forward-left position, keeping her eyes on the goal in spite of the players blocking it. Just then she felt a flick of fingers on the back of her head.

"Gwah!" Ruby jumped and spiraled around to find Weiss standing there as confidently as ever, not so much as a drop of sweat on her. And not just because she'd had the last quarter to break, but even when she played all 4 quarters of a game she never seemed to break a sweat.

"What's the matter, Ruby? Has the summer break made you rusty? We're ahead you know."

"I know!" Ruby whined and swatted her hand away playfully. "Don't put all your chickens in one basket, Weiss!"

"You mean eggs? And besides, I think you were looking for the 'Don't count your chickens before they hatch' phrase."

"I know what I mean!" Ruby pouted.

"Don't get so worked up, you dolt." Weiss bonked her on the head again, though softly. "I'm just saying I haven't seen that incredible speed of yours yet this game. I'm disappointed."

"Oh, just you wait!"

"I will."

Weiss smirked and stalked off to her own side of the field, taking up her defensive position on the right side of the goal. When they turned to face each other, Weiss was on the same side of the field Ruby was.

The referee, a woman named Glynda, brought the ball to the center of the field and blew the whistle to begin the third quarter.

Ruby wanted to make the score even or else they'd start losing points. So she showed Weiss the speed she'd been complaining about missing.

Ruby zig-zagged between the opposing team members with ease, zipping between Neptune and Ren, circling around Pyrrha, passing the ball to whichever of her own teammates was up front before swooping in to take it back.

Weiss blocked her every time at the goal, swinging her legs out in an effort to knock the ball away.

But of course Ruby was faster. She was always faster.

In the third quarter she scored 4 more points, putting them in the lead with 7 to 4. Glynda blew the whistle to end the third quarter.

As Ruby headed off the field she sent a smirk of her own over to Weiss.

"How was that for speed, Miss Ice-Cold Defense?"

Weiss looked back with mild interest.

"Not bad, I suppose. Let's see you keep it up in the fourth quarter."

And Ruby was intent to. But she really must've gotten out of her groove over the summer. Because her energy wore off almost instantly, right at the beginning of the fourth and final quarter.

Her teammates passed the ball to her, but she couldn't manage any of her passes or tricks quickly enough before a blue team member was stealing it from her again. She'd almost make it to the opposing goal, only to have Weiss glide in and pluck the ball from between her ankles with a precisely-timed roll of her cleat, or a very controlled tap to send the ball just far away enough for Pyrrha or Neptune to take it all the way back across the field and into Jaune's net.

Ruby had lost her stamina during the third quarter, and without her speed to rely on to keep up that crucial lead, Weiss' team eventually pulled ahead.

The game ended at 9 to 7. Coaches Oobleck and Port walked to the center of the field and shook hands, old friends as they were, and Glynda commended the players for the thrilling first game of the season.

Ruby collapsed onto her back in the grass like a star fish and sighed and groaned. She could already hear Weiss' poised footsteps heading her way.

"Good game," she said a little smugly, gazing down at her. "But you're still as gullible as ever, Ruby. Honestly, I'd thought you'd learned by now."

"Aw, shut up." Ruby said this not unkindly as she rolled over in the grass and hid her face. She should've known that was Weiss' strategy all along. To egg her on into using her speed too early in the game so that she wouldn't be able to recover in the final quarter.

And she'd fallen for it. Just like she always fell for Weiss. In more ways than one.

"Well," Weiss was saying. "It was only the first game. You have the entire season to make your comeback. If you can manage, that is." The tone of friendly challenge didn't go unnoticed. Ruby pushed herself up with a grin of determination.

"Oh, just you wait. I'll show you a comeback."

"I eagerly await it." With this, Weiss offered her hand once again, pulling Ruby up and out of the mud and grass to dust her off. "Ugh, honestly. You're filthy. I suppose I have to commend you forwards. I don't know how you can stand to be in such a sweaty, grimy position."

"That's the fun of it!" Ruby chirped. "What good's a sport where you can't get all sweaty and exhausted and a little dirty?"

"Tell that to everyone who plays golf, bowling, curling-"

"Okay okay, I take it back, yeesh!" Weiss reached out to ruffle Ruby's hair, making her chuckle. "But I'm surprised you never get sweaty, Weiss. Defense is really tiring, too. I mean sure, it's a lot of just staying back and watching and focusing on the ball and the players, but when it gets into your area you have some pretty heated plays!"

"That may be so," Weiss acknowledges. "I suppose some people are just above sweating."

"Oh, please."

"I'm serious."

"Uh-huh."

As they walked over to where their friends and teammates were also conversing, Ruby looped her arm around Weiss' elbow and swaggered along next to her, purposefully trying to mess up Weiss' more refined gait.

Weiss had to admit she was impressed by Ruby's assessment of the defensive position. Weiss had always had a knack for it as opposed to offense, not just because she wasn't particularly inclined to positions of high speed, activity, and stamina, but because of what the defensive position did require.

It required a lot of standing at bay, holding down the fort, a lot of watching and waiting; observing and assessing. And she'd always been good at that.

She'd observe, assess, and wait until just the right moment to make her move, to interfere with whichever over-confident forward who'd thought they'd made it far enough to score a goal.

More often than not Weiss brought them back into a harsh reality when she used her agility and grace to slip the ball right out from under their noses and send it back off to one of her own teammates halfway across the field.

Ruby was the only person who'd ever managed to slip past her more than once in any given game. It wasn't just her speed and her cleverness that managed to get her past Weiss' defenses.

Maybe it was because they were friends. Maybe Weiss lost her focus for a split second every now and again.

But that was only half the time.

Because the other half Weiss fended her off, like today, using her own tricks and fancy footwork to steal back the ball before Ruby even noticed it was gone.

Weiss often used Ruby's speed against her, using just a slight tap of her toe here or there to put the ball an inch off from where Ruby wanted it. Weiss was a pro at controlling how hard or lightly she touched the ball and exactly where and how she wanted to position it, even in the heat of the moment.

It was irritating to Ruby that just a tiny tap from Weiss would throw off her entire strategy, but that was just one of the many things about the heiress that Ruby admired.

They'd been doing this for years from opposing sides of the field, often coming together right in front of the goal to perform their amusingly maddening little dance with one another. Twirling, side-stepping, advancing and retreating. Always matching each other, adjusting to their speed or following the direction of their body.

Sometimes they'd pull off a new trick here or there and leave the other one pleasantly surprised. They'd done this dance together many times, but it was never the same twice.

Presently, as they walked off the field with their friends that evening debating where to go for ice cream, Ruby and Weiss kept their arms entwined even as they sat in the back of Tai's car, and even as they waited on line in the ice cream shop.

Ruby had made it her goal to get past Weiss' defenses no matter how skilled she might be at building them up.

And Weiss was determined to give the girl a run for her money, since Weiss clearly had more of that.

It was all in good fun, all in friendship, and perhaps something else that had been forged between them over the years.

But that was for another day.

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A/N: Not really in-your-face kind of soulmates thing, but I just wanted to show how they match one another perfectly. Offense and defense go together as well as any other opposites, right?