Chapter 6- The Training

"In order to facilitate with the induction of new members to the Support initiative, members will be working together in pairs… Therefore, you'll be working with Miss Safyre here in order to bring her up to speed. I assume you don't have any problems with this arrangement?" Ozpin questioned him.

(Beacon Academy Training Arena- 12:15pm)

"No problem... I hope..." Orion thought to himself as he recalled the conversation he had with Professor Ozpin a day ago. Pushing those thoughts aside, he continued preparing himself for a little combat practice. He was currently standing in the middle of the training arena, which the school had for students to spar against training drones or each other, with his weapon drawn in bow form. "Training System now setting up room for... Arena Target Practice. Objective: Elimination of Moving Target Drones..." A monotonous voice echoed throughout the room.

"Phoebus' energy levels... Reading fully charged." Orion whispered to himself as he continued to check his weapon.

"Activating Arena Defense Dome... For the safety of the audience... Please remain seated behind the protection of the Hardlight-projected dome." The speakers announced as the entire arena was immediately enclosed in a large, bluish transparent dome.

"Beginning training program... Please standby."

Orion slowed his breathing while he rested two of his fingers on the bowstring.

"3... 2... 1... Begin!"

The first wave of drones came hovering into view and began flying in a circular pattern. Each were moving at random speeds in different directions, adding variables to the training session. The training drones were actually Atlesian H-010 hover-drones, redesigned for the purpose of adding the element of live firing during target practice. Each drone was equipped with a Holo-Target board that was designed to shut down the drone when it took a hit... and a mini-laser that was set to stun upon body contact.

Orion quickly got to work, firing several translucent arrows that took out two of the targets with deadly accuracy. The others immediately retaliated with laser fire, but most had missed their mark as Orion had made a break for it by running through the gap he made in their formation. The drones altered their flight path and began to chase him all around the arena, firing their lasers as they went.

As he ran alongside the arena's curved wall, he narrowly ducked and weaved through the storm of lasers while returning fire with volleys of arrows.

After a minute or so, there were only three drones still active in the air. An idea immediately struck him and he began running straight up along the surface of the wall, before leaping off it and executing a backflip over the hovering drones. As he made his descent, he fired three consecutive shots at the remaining drones, hitting their marks precisely and taking them down in an instant.

Orion made a fairly decent landing before watching the drones hit the ground with a loud thud. He quickly checked himself of any injuries, finally taking notice of the many burn marks on his sleeves and cloak. He sighed in disappointment before looking at the holo-display above him, which showed the time he took to complete that round.

"4 minutes 56 seconds... Would you like to end this train-"

"Repeat training program." He announced out loud.

"Acknowledged. Resetting training room floor for: Arena Target Practice..."

(Beacon Academy Training Arena- 1:00pm)

"So now that lunch is out of the way... How about we all head to the training room for a little workout before the next class?" Yang suggested to her teammates as they left the school cafeteria. "Keeping ourselves in shape is important... Don't you think so, girls?"

"Seriously? Yang Xiao Long, we just ate our lunch not more than 10 minutes ago... The last thing I plan on doing is overexerting myself over a little training session, especially right before class!" Weiss argued back with a little exaggeration.

"All right, Drama Queen... You can sit this one out with Ruby while watching me and Blake duke it out then!" Yang replied, emphasizing on the nickname for their resident heiress.

"Humph! Fine by me then." Weiss pouted with her arms folded across her chest.

Team RWBY, with a slightly reluctant Weiss in tow, soon arrived at the training room to start their own self-training when they noticed Orion in the arena, already in the midst of his own training.

"Aw... It looks like someone beat us to the training room..." Yang commented as the group slowly approached the edge of the arena.

"How long do you think he's been in there?" Ruby wondered out loud, as she watched him trading volleys with the numerous training drones. "He looks way too exhausted to have only just started..."

Her other team mates, who had no idea either, merely shrugged or shook their heads.

"... He's been in there for at least 45 minutes..." The four nearly jumped out of their skins when they heard a voice behind them. They immediately turned around to see a bluish haired girl, who looked about Ruby's age, sitting on one of the benches behind them. Dressed in the school's uniform, she also wore a pair of brown spectacles that sat on her nose ridge, giving her a rather studious look.

The blue-haired girl got up from her seat and walked up next to the group as she continued to watch Orion fight against the drones.

"This is the ninth time he's repeated this training program. Not only that, he's also raised the level of difficulty each time he's finished. He's currently tackling the hardest setting this program has to offer." She said as they watched Orion narrowly dodging the storm of lasers, most missing him by a few millimeters.

"Nine times... And at this difficulty? I'm surprised he hasn't collapsed yet." Blake commented, as they notice his movements beginning to slow down. His slower speed allowed the drones to fire more accurately, one of which managing to inflict some damage to his right arm.

"Ouch... That one looked like it hurt!" Yang said as he got backed into a wall, all the while trying to defend against the torrent of lasers using the shield on his uninjured arm. "Wait, shouldn't the damage from that last shot have been absorbed by his aura?"

"... His aura was depleted after the sixth round. He hasn't even stopped for a break to replenish his aura..." The blue-haired girl told them, their expressions turning from surprise into that of shock and disbelief.

"That's crazy! Without any aura protecting him, those lasers could prove fatal. We need to stop it now!" Yang exclaimed, quickly rushing towards the arena control panel to stop the program but her path was cut off by the blue-haired girl, who gave her a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry, the look in his eyes says he can still pull off a victory... Have a little faith in him." She said with great confidence before turning back to the arena. The members of Team RWBY looked at one another in confusion before looking back towards Orion.

"Right... Let's end this!" Orion muttered out loud before switching his shield to bow form. As if unaffected by the injury to his right arm, he quickly got into his standard firing position. The feather-shaped segments of the bow, which were previously closed up, immediately unfolded like a paper fan, a cloud of hot air began venting out from the gaps between them.

"Energy Dampeners... Disengaged." Locking his fingers onto the bowstring, he pulled it back as far as he could. As he did so, large amounts of orange flame-like energy began gathering at the head of the bow into a sphere of condensed energy. He pointed the sphere at the cluster of drones, making sure to aim at the center of the group.

On the other hand, the drones continued to fire upon him. Most of their lasers were immediately absorbed into the energy sphere, causing it to build in size. The remaining shots had managed to graze him in numerous locations, but he appeared unaffected from taking those hits.

"Take this!" He yelled before releasing the taut bowstring and sending the large sphere of energy hurtling towards the drones at high velocity. When the sphere made contact with one of the drones, it exploded into an enormous, swirling mass of flames which threatened to engulf the arena in its area of effect.

Ruby and her teammates had to shield their eyes from the blinding light of the explosion with their hands. Once they believed it was safe for then to put their hands down, they were shocked by what they saw.

Half of the arena was seared black from the fiery explosion while the drones inside had been fried to a crisp. The arena's fire safety system immediately kicked in, activating the fire sprinklers to put out any fires that remained.

Meanwhile, Orion, who was drenched from head to toe from the fire sprinklers, was leaning against the wall behind him, his fatigue and multiple injuries now wearing him down. He brushed his disheveled hair out of his eyes as he looked up at the large holo-display above to check his completion time.

"3 minutes 10 seconds... Would you like to end this training?"

"...End-" Before he could utter another word, he immediately collapsed from sheer exhaustion.

(Beacon Infirmary 1:15 PM)

"Is Orion going to be okay?" Ruby asked Professor Goodwitch, who had just stepped out of the infirmary.

"I assure you, Miss Rose , that there is nothing to worry about. Apart from the minor cuts and burns, he only collapsed due to over-exertion. Given he gets sufficient bed rest... He should be able to make a full recovery and be ready for class in a full day's time."

"Oh thank goodness! I was so worried! Thank you Professor Goodwitch!" She said happily, relieved to hear that Orion was all right.

"You're quite welcome. Now off to class with you, You'll be excused for your tardiness, but not if you don't get to class immediately. It is only a five minute walk to Professor Port's room from here, and I will check in to verify that you turned up, so don't think you will be able to get away with ditching his class."

"Yes ma'am!" Ruby said and quickly hurried to class. She dreaded having to listen to the boring lectures that Port conducted, but she reluctantly went to his class, fearing she would incur the terrifying wrath of the blonde professor. She left in such a hurry, she didn't notice Professor Ozpin walking in her direction as she zipped past him in a blur of rose petals.

"So... How is our patient doing?" Ozpin asked as he entered the room, sipping his coffee. "He's...fine, all things considered. The current diagnosis indicates that he has very few injuries, which is surprising... considering the state he was in when he was brought here. Despite his aura being depleted, his injuries seemed to have, strangely enough, vanished... As if they-" She paused to watch the sleeping Orion, noticing a small orange flame light up over the inch-deep cut on his face.

As the flame quickly spread over the cut, the wound itself began to close up till it disappeared, leaving behind a completely smooth cheek where the cut should have been. "- Healed themselves, leaving no traces."

Ozpin raised an eyebrow upon witnessing that scene. "Interesting... Healing Flames, eh? With an ability like that, it is no wonder he seems much sturdier than he looks. It would be as if the events of today had never happened." He said, taking another sip of coffee from his signature mug.

Professor Goodwitch cleared her throat before facing the headmaster with a serious look in her eyes. "But they most certainly did. A single student being admitted to the infirmary for major injuries and the training arena under repair due to fire damage. Perhaps it would be best if I had a nice, long chat with this young man about trying to bite off more than he can chew. We can't have him on missions if he continues to overtraining and getting injuried in the process."

"True... But as I seem to recall, you were once like that as well. Young, bold... and if I might add... a tad reckless." He said, taking one more sip from his mug. As much as he enjoyed teasing the blonde discipline mistress about her youth, he wanted to avoid the death glares coming from her.

After staring angrily at Ozpin for a good minute, she let out a sigh, deciding not to give in to the headmaster's little banter."Perhaps it's best if we took our leave and let the boy rest. There's a stack of forms in your office that demand your immediate attention, mostly regarding the repairs to the training room and the requisition for an additional set of training drones."

"... All right then. After you, Glynda." Ozpin said as they headed for the door, closing it quietly behind them as they left.

(Beacon Infirmary, 4:00 PM)

Since classes for the day were mostly over, Ruby decided to take the opportunity to drop by Orion at the infirmary first before heading to the school caferteria for dinner. But as soon as she had reached the door to the room he was admitted to, she could hear several voices coming from behind the door, which was left ajar. "Orion, perhaps you shouldn't be up and about right now. You're not exactly in a condition to be moving."

Fearing she might be interrupting something, Ruby quickly slipped through the open door unnoticed and hid herself under the infirmary bed opposite Orion's and quietly observed the conversation between Orion and the blue-haired girl she had met at the training arena.

"You worry too much, Safyre. I've gotten myself out of situations much worse than this-"

"All the more reason I should be worried! You were gone for almost a year... Only leaving a note saying you were going on a journey. How can you expect me, your little sister, not to be worried about you!?" The girl, who Orion called Safyre, yelled at him, tears starting to well up in her eyes.

A gentle expression spread across Orion's face as he walked up to her and gently wiped away the tears from her eyes with his hand. "I know... You're right... I'm sorry for not telling you and making you worry all this time. I had my reasons... But I promise you that I won't ever do it again."

"Really? *Sniff* You're not saying that just to make me feel better, right?"

"Of course! What kind of brother would I be if I can't keep a promise like that? Now, you should probably go and freshen up for dinner. It won't look good for you to turn up at dinner looking all teary-eyed like that, right?"

"What... *Sniff* about you?" Safyre asked him as Orion escorted her to the door.

"Me? I'm just going to get myself checked over by the doctor so he can let me leave. With any luck, I'll be out within the hour."

"All right, Orion. I guess I'll see you later at the cafeteria then. See you later!"

Orion continued waving to his sister till she was completely out of sight, before stepping back into the room and closing the door behind.

"Right then... You can come out now, Ruby. I know you're hiding under that bed." He annouced out loud, prompting her to come out of hiding.

"Hehe... What gave me away?" She said gingerly, scratching the back of her head.

"You left a pretty big trail." Orion pointed out, gesturing to the rose petals leading from the doorway to the bed she was hiding under.

"Umm... So, Orion... that person earlier was...?"

"My little sister, Safyre. She enrolled into Beacon yesterday under the Support Initiative too."

"Wow... What were the odds of her joining this school too?"

"The odds were relatively low... But then again, nothing is completely impossible. In any case, as part of the Team Support roster, she's been assigned to be Team JNPR's support member... So I think she'll be helping Jaune's team for a while." He answered her as they made their way out of the infirmary ward.

"I take it that you overheard most of our conversation back there?"

"Yeah... Sorry for eavesdropping on ya like that." Ruby murmured, with her head hanging low as she walked.

"I'm not angry, Ruby. But you shouldn't be doing stuff like that. It could get you into a lot of trouble." Orion told her.

"I know... I didn't mean to do that... I was just curious, that's all. Everyone hardly knows much about you, like what you like to do and stuff... You just seem so... so..."

"Distant from the others?" He said.

"Yeah! That's it! So maybe we could... you know... get to know each other a little better?" Ruby said with pleading eyes.

"Well... As much as I want to start going on and on about me, I'm afraid I have to meet the doctor for one last checkup before I leave." He replied as they stopped in front of the Doctor's office.

"Aww... Just when we were about to get started too..." Ruby said dejectedly.

"Maybe some other time... All right, Ruby?"

"Hmm... All right then, bye Orion!" Ruby said as she left for the school cafeteria, a slight skip in her steps.

Orion smiled as he watched her leave before facing the Doctor's office, muttering under his breath.

"Ruby... As much as I want to open myself up to others, there are still some things which are better left unsaid..."

There it is! Chapter 6! Sorry, I'd been loaded with a ton of work to think about starting. So, I hope this will make it up to everyone who are reading this. With my workload currently slowing down, I may have another chapter up within 2 weeks, so look forward to it! Also, please remember to Read & Review because all feedback is useful.