The Rose of Nakajima

"Schwarzefaust."

The attack came too fast for Yang to dodge, and as she twisted in an attempt to anyway, a fist shrouded in black slammed into her side and sent her sprawling, her Aura dropping down into the red on her scroll, which buzzed and beeped at her to let her know she was, under tournament rules, no longer capable of fighting.

"I thought you said you're not a melee specialist." She complained, from her position on the ground, glaring up at the faintly-smiling face of Haruka, who hovered about a foot off the ground, red trailing from the large black wings extending from her back.

"I am not. That was one of my handful of close-range spells, in fact, my only Enhanced-Attack-Type spell beyond parts of the Strike and Kaiser Arts, which I am honestly not too proficient in. Schließlich habe ich nur mein Können in den Kaiser-Künsten geerbt." Haruka told her in Valian first, the other girl's accent incredibly thick, the final sentence still in Belkan, before she changed her orientation to offer Yang a hand up from the ground. She took it, still glaring at the other girl. "Incidentally, I think I have figured out why I keep winning, and it has very little to do with my magic."

Right, like I believe that. You've been saying for weeks how it's not your magic that lets you win. Yang thought with annoyance.

It had been about six weeks since Haruka had shown up that one evening with Drunkle Qrow, and it had taken less than a day for her to begin sparring with Yang and Taiyang. She didn't fight like anyone else Yang had ever fought before, and not just for the fact she fought with her spells.

"And what would that reason be?" Taiyang spoke up from his position on the porch, leaning against one of the supporting posts.

"Your style is designed to get into an opponent's face and trade blow-for-blow. Es ist sehr von Angesicht zu Angesicht. And it is made to fight opponents with similar styles. I've noticed you have difficulty adapting to other opponents. Andere Kampfstile geben dir Ärger. My own style is primarily based around staying out of an opponent's reach. Ich bin immerhin ein besserer Fernkämpfer. The fact I am primarily using spells against you just makes things go quicker, if I had a gun instead, the outcome would not really change. It would just take longer." Haruka told Yang and Taiyang, still switching to Belkan every so often.

"She's not wrong." Taiyang noted. "I had a lot of problems with opponents who fought like that. Heck, I still do, on the rare occasions I fight."

Yang just gave a groan of annoyance in response.

"I don't want a lecture right now."

"You are not getting one. I do not have much further to say on the subject, as my knowledge of close-quarters fighting is limited, without resorting to Rosenkreuz's various modes, or the Butcher's Nails." Haruka told her, before turning to Taiyang. "I think that is enough for today, es wird spät. Unless you wish to spar as well?"

"Nah, I'll pass." Taiyang responded with a grin. "Came out here to let you two know, Qrow's heading out tomorrow morning, and he's taking everyone out for a night on the town before he leaves again."

"Yeah!" Yang cheered. "Qrow always brings us somewhere fun, usually to some club or something like that." She explained to Haruka, who had tilted her head at Yang's reaction.

"Ah. I see." Haruka smiled faintly again. "I would like that, I have not seen much of this world."

"Well, you'll need to stop saying 'this world'. Just say you're not from Vale." Yang advised. Haruka snorted at her.

"Ich bin nicht dumm. I understand operational security. You only know because it is necessary for you to know." She pointed out.

"True." Yang conceded. The discussion had been had before, after all. She turned to her father. "So, when are we going?"

The door behind Taiyang opened as if on cue, and Qrow stepped out.

"Soon as everyone's ready." Yang's uncle told her, grinning. "You coming too, Haruka?"

"Ja—yes." Haruka responded in Belkan first, then seemed to catch herself and used Valian.

Why weren't you doing that earlier? Yang wondered, then mentally shrugged it off. Six weeks was an incredibly short time to become nearly fluent in a language, even if, according to Haruka, it was similar to another one she knew.

"Well, unless anyone has anything they really need to do, we can leave as soon as you want."

"Think we both ought to take showers first." Yang said with a glance at Haruka. "We've been sparring for a while now."

"And I could use the time to check on my cybernetics." Haruka agreed.

"So, leave in… Half an hour, forty-five minutes?"

"Sounds fine to me."

"Ja."

***

"A nightclub?" Haruka raised an eyebrow as she looked at the building in front of the three of them, Taiyang having elected to stay home, having mumbled something about having to finish grading assignments before class tomorrow. "This is unexpected." The Knight noted in Belkan, before switching back to Valian. It confused the others, she knew, but using the first of her two native languages as her main one was a hard habit to break. "I do not mind, but I do wonder why." This she said with a glance at Qrow.

The Guardian Beast shrugged.

"I've heard some good things about Junior's. Not so much about the man himself, but quite a bit about the place, figured we could see for ourselves."

"You ever been to a nightclub before?" Yang asked as Qrow finished.

"A few times." Haruka responded. "With my unit during Cross-Training." She smiled at the memories, most of them amusing.

"Ah, alright." Yang nodded, then grinned. "Any stories to share?" She asked, as Qrow pushed open the door.

"A few. Just not right now." Haruka responded as she walked in, Yang right behind her.

It wasn't a bad club, from the appearance. A bar took up most of one side, with a series of tables and booths on the other. A decently-sized dance floor was located in a depression in the floor, and shone with light.

The place was also quite full; only a single table hadn't been taken, and the dance floor was nearly crowded.

"Busy tonight." Yang commented. "Catch you in a bit!" She told Haruka and Qrow over her shoulder as she immediately headed straight for the dance floor.

Haruka glanced at Qrow as he ambled towards the bar, and made her way over as well.

"You're young, go have some fun." Qrow told her when the two reached the bar and he noticed she was following him. "Don't just hang around me and drink with this old man."

"Not intending to." She told him with a grin. "Just getting something to drink myself."

"You're a bit young for alcohol." The bartender, a rather massive man in a suit, noted as he approached the two, apparently catching Haruka's second sentence. "What'll you have?" He asked Qrow.

"Whiskey. Whatever's the best quality." The Guardian Beast responded as he slouched onto one of the stools.

"Alright. And you, little miss?" The man nodded at Haruka, who glanced at the menu above the bar.

I'm glad he chose to bring us out now, rather than earlier in my stay. I can actually read Valian now.

"An Atlas Mountainside, minus the liquor, please." She requested, and the man nodded again, turning to the bar behind him. Qrow's drink came in only a few seconds, and he immediately downed half the small glass.

Haruka just shook her head at him, and took the glass the bartender slid across the bar, setting off in the direction of the unoccupied table in the corner.

She pulled her scroll out as she slid into the seat in front of the wall, connecting to the club's WiFi.

"So, where were we?" She asked Rosenkreuz, tapping away on the scroll, to pull up a news site to look through as she spoke with her Device.

"We were talking about you potentially attending Beacon Academy, Meister! It seems Knight Ozpin would like you to attend his school, for however long we remain on Remnant."

"Ah, right. So, where precisely were we in the discussion? Nevermind, I remember."