We finally get to see their battle weapons in this chapter.

DEMONSDEMONSDEMONSDEMONSDEMONSDEMONSDEMONS

The next day, excited chatter filled the class. Yunokawa told them to settle down and to follow him. He led them to where they usually had Physical Training. It was a huge room with cement walling in a large area that had been cleared for the class that day. Usually, it held obstacle courses for them to run through.

"Alright class. I know some of you have never been able to pull out your weapons, but we're gonna try today. Is there anyone here who has?" Yunokawa asked, looking around at them. Hesitantly, Rin raised his hand. So did Izumo.

"Excellent! If you wouldn't mind telling the class, what made you pull them?" The teacher wondered. Rin and Izumo shared a look.

"Being in danger." Rin spoke up first, albeit quietly.

"Oh? Yes that's usually the case. Do you think you could pull them now?" Yunokawa requested.

"We'd have to fight, sir." Izumo spoke up this time.

"Ah, then the spotlight is yours." He stepped back.

The two students stood in front of the class. They both willed their clothes to change to their uniforms. Gem Uniforms were the armour that Gems could summon at will and were almost always skintight, hugging every dip and curve of the body. For people that were insecure, it was torture. The uniform was kind of like it was a part of them, but could be taken off. It usually left their gem in the open as well since Gems originally were supposed to proudly display their clan's shared feature back before the wars.

Gasps were heard when red and blue light shined around their classmates to make purple, then faded.

Izumo was wearing a short red dress that fluttered around her thighs. Black tights and fingerless opera gloves matched the black choker around her neck, which formed around her deep red gem. Red steel-toed wedges complimented the dress and gem and her eyes.

Rin's uniform was in different shades of blue. A dark blue v-neck crop-top and leggings the same color. A sheer flutter of fabric formed a skirt around his hips. He had thick knee-high armoured boots that were the same pale blue as the fingerless gauntlets covering his lower arms and hands. Right between his last two ribs and four inches above his belly button was a shining Sapphire. Rin's hair was up in warrior braids along the sides and top of his head.

Something waved behind him and they saw a tail curl up around Rin's waist to keep it in check. "Woah, he's one of the rare ones...." Shima noticed. Jadeite had a tail, he knew, but he figured fusions always turned out to be both a sort of mix of the gems' personalities, but still entirely their own person.

Izumo seemed perfectly comfortable in her uniform, but Rin was blushing blue, arms crossed across his front as if to hide his gem.

"Huh. So that's where it is." Suguro said softly.

"Never seen one placed there before. That's interesting." Konekomeru commented.

To distract himself from the attention, Rin charged Izumo. He grabbed her by the hair when she went to dodge and swung her around. She shrieked and kicked at his shin. It didn't work because of the armour, but it distracted Rin enough for her to grab his wrist and judo flip him onto his back.

He saw another flash and two Kusarigamas landed on either side of his head. They were close enough for him to see the Fox designs on both handles. He kicked himself up and drove his heavy boot into her chin before springing away. Because he was so good at hand-to-hand already, he didn't see the need for his weapon yet.

The next time the Kusarigamas were thrown at him, he crossed his arms in front of him and they sparked against his gauntlets. He cartwheeled away from her charge. This was too easy. Suddenly, Yunokawa charged in with a dagger in hand. Rin, without thinking, grabbed for his weapon to parry.

The whole room froze.

Rin stood there with a shocked Izumo off to the side, Kusarigamas hanging uselessly and Yunokawa with a blade to his throat. Rin held a katana in his hands. It had a black and blue hilt and a long blade that almost looked silver with the metallic blue it shined.

Rin stepped back, sword down. "Sorry." He muttered.

"What are you sorry for? That's what I wanted you to do. Good job kids." Yunokawa congratulated them. Rin frowned. He could've cracked the man's gem and he was thanking him for it?

"Rin?" Shima tapped him on the shoulder and he turned, raising his eyebrows in question.

"It's okay to not like using your weapon. Even if you're going to be a warrior." The Citrine told him. Rin blinked.

"Oh, no, it's just....I'm not used to using this and the last time I did was.....not a good day....." He said. "And I'm not a big fan of swords either." He grumbled, looking distastefully at the blade. Shima laughed. "That's okay. Between you and me, I only have a fancy staff." He leaned closer to whisper.

"Really? That's it?" Rin didn't mean to be rude. He'd just assumed all weapons were....well, weapons. Weapons with blades and stuff.

"Yeah. I guess I'll just stick to whacking people over the head with it." Shima snorted. Rin snickered. Shima always knew how to cheer him up. Maybe it was just his personality that seemed so kind and charming, but still understanding.

"Hey, try thinking of a different shape to change the sword to." The Citrine suggested.

"You can do that to your weapon?" Rin wondered.

"Yeah. Your weapon is supposed to fit you and your personality, but that doesn't mean it always comes out that way. Sometimes, it tries to fit your culture, you're heritage. Whoever you got your gem from, you probably got their weapon. Just think of yourself and what you think your weapon could be like and maybe you can change it." Shima answered.

"How do you know all this stuff?" Rin asked.

"My parents. They want me to be like my older brothers, so they kept giving me advice. I remember some of it, not all, but it seems like it's helping you more than me right now, so I don't mind." The teen shrugged.

Rin smiled softly. "Thanks Shima." Shima's cheeks flushed orange.

"No problem."

Rin closed his eyes and concentrated. He kept his breathing steady and thought of who he was. Who Shiro had raised him to be. Who he wanted to be. He felt the sword meld into a different shape in his grip. Rin opened his eyes to see Shima staring at his sword wide-eyed. Rin looked down and grinned.

In his hand was no longer a katana, but something more flexible and curved. The hilt had a part that curved over his fingers, like an old pirate's sword.

"That....that's a Saber." Shima gaped.

"Again, how do you know this?" Rin repeated.

"Juzo is a nut about swords, he's a total nerd about the more old fashioned weapons. The saber was always my favorite...." He trailed off and looked at Rin, cheeks practically glowing orange. Rin stared back, cheeks slowly burning blue.

"Are you guys gonna fight or are you gonna stare into each other's eyes like you're in a Shojo Manga all day?" Suguro walked past them. Rin rolled his eyes and got in a stance. Thank you Suguro, for ruining the moment.

"I still don't like swords, but I like this a lot better." Rin admitted. Shima nodded and got into stance.

It wasn't long before the Citrine had pulled his fancy staff and they were fighting blade against staff. Parry, duck, feign left, go right, dodge, parry again. Finally, Rin had his blade to Shima's throat just as the end of his staff, which had a sharp spike, was also at Rin's throat. They panted, having worked hard to come to the draw.

"That was amazing! You two work very well together! But tomorrow, I want Okumura with Suguro to teach him a lesson." Yunokawa told them.

"In combat, that is." He cleared his throat and the two snickered at the embarrassed expression on the Ruby's face.

"Will you be okay with Bon?" Shima turned to the Sapphire.

"I'll be fine. I get to beat him up with my weapon, which is even better than hand-to-hand. As long as I don't have to fuse with him, I should be fine. Thanks for asking, though." Rin waved off the concern. Shima nodded and they left to hit the showers before going back to the Dorms.

§~•~§~•~§

"Today, I'm switching a few people and you will not argue!" The words had made Rin suspicious. Please don't do what I think you're gonna do, Kirigakure.....

"Shima and Kamiki. Moriyama and Noriko. Takara and Miwa. Okumura and Suguro. Get to dancin!" Shura called. Rin groaned. Damnit, I knew it.....

Suguro opened his mouth, but Rin stopped him. "If you have nothing good to say to me, just keep your mouth shut." He requested. Suguro shut his mouth and Rin sighed, ignoring the disappointment stinging his chest. As expected.....

"I.....wanted to apologize. I was an asshole." The words surprised Rin. He raised his eyebrows at the Ruby.

"But you and Shima look like you have so much fun together and genuinely enjoy each other's company. I don't feel like that with anyone in this class. I'm hoping I can feel it with you." The taller Gem admitted, almost shyly. He was looking away with one hand tugging the hair at the base of his neck nervously while Rin blinked several times and watched red slowly tint the bigger Gem's cheeks.

"Oh. O-Okay." Rin answered dumbly. And with that, they started dancing. Rin used a different style of dance with Suguro. The ballet salsa was for Shima. It was soft and sweet and warm, like honey. Rin didn't feel like that with Suguro. He saw the Ruby and he thought of something quick, but fun, something spicy. Rough around the edges, but not without grace.

So he danced without thinking. Eventually, Suguro joined him and they danced together in a fast-paced, energetic Samba of sorts. It was a different kind of feeling from dancing with Shima. Shima's body was similar to Rin's and nimble like Rin's. Suguro was bigger and taller. He was more intense and moved with a sureness that Shima didn't have, a confidence that even spread to Rin as they danced.

Rin found he didn't mind dancing with Suguro as much as he'd thought he would.

§~•~§~•~§

"Are you ready to beat my ass?" Suguro called to Rin, who already had his Saber out. The Ruby's uniform consisted of a sleeveless ruby-red top, dark red pants, ruby-red spiked boots, ruby-red spiked armored gloves, and a dark red shoulder-clasp cape. His usually styled hair was down in wild curls with his bangs held out of his face by a red helmet of sorts, a visor protecting his eyes and forehead.

Rin grinned. Without answering, he ran at the bigger gem. It took a few cuts and bruises to the Ruby for him to be able to pull his weapon.

Suguro's weapon was a heavy blaster resembling a bazooka. He seemed to like it and immediately aimed and shot with a grin. It shot something the same red as Suguro's Ruby. When Rin dodged and the blast hit the ground where he'd been standing, he still got pelted.

Shards of whatever that blast was hit him and cut his uniform in several places. His hands, forearms, feet, and shins were protected by his gauntlets and armored boots, but the rest of him wasn't spared. He winced as blue tinted blood began leaking from the cuts to stain his uniform.

Rin was back on his feet in a second, running straight at Suguro again. He dodged blast after blast. He even had to put his saber away to avoid getting hit. At one point, a blast hit him dead on and it hurt a lot, not to mention shards stuck in his body and hurt to pull out.

He growled and jumped, arching in between the two blasts meant to hit him in a graceful backflip. He landed on his feet and slid to the ground in a split to avoid another blast. Without thinking, he pulled his weapon from his gem and cast it towards Suguro, hilt-first.

The bottom of the hilt was open and producing whip-like things that wrapped around Suguro's gun. Rin yanked the sword back towards him and the gun was yanked out of it's weilder's hands. Suguro looked just as surprised as Rin felt.

Then, Rin shouldered the heavy gun and aimed, pulling the trigger. He hit Suguro square in the chest, but the shards were absorbed by his body and Suguro was simply pushed back by the force of the blast. Rin figured that was because it was his weapon, which meant it was a part of him and therefore, wouldn't hurt him.

"Damn. I'm actually pretty impressed that you can even lift that thing. It's half the size of you!" Suguro admitted. Rin raised his brows. The blaster was heavy, but not that heavy. Then again, he'd always been abnormally strong for someone of his stature. He wondered if it was because Sapphires were just below Diamonds on the hardness scale at a nine.

Rin grinned and in response, threw his saber at the Ruby like a spear. He nailed Suguro in the shoulder. The teen shouted. Rin felt a little bad for it, but this was training.

"Never get distracted." Rin told him. And then he took him to the nurse's office.

They understood each other better after that day.

"They flirt violently." Konekomeru noticed.

"That seems on point since they clashed so much before." Paku agreed.