RWBY: Tiger King and Dragon Queen

We do not own RWBY or any other copyright content. All rights to it go to Monty Oum, Viz Media, and their original owners. All OCs are owned by us.

Writing credits go to Uzumaki Ricky, Monsterhuntergod, Sharad the hedgehog, and SlimShady2015.

Tiger King and Dragon Queen

Volume 1 Chapter 7: Heat of the Moment

The shocking events on the grounds of Signal the previous day spread across the island like wildfire. It carried on the wind and lips of everyone who heard it. Yet among the few who remained silent on the matter were Yang and Ruby. As they walked into the school the next morning, they did so with a heavy heart, and worry stretched across their brows. Violet and silver eyes darted around looking for the man of the hour. They finally found him, though in a state most would not expect from performing such a heroic act.

If man had truly mastered stealth technology, Azura wished for it more than air in his lungs. Leaning on a wall in a small nook for a water fountain, he was sipping on some coffee from a thermos, trying to use the halfway faulty light above him to somehow make himself disappear into a shadow dimension. To the boy's dismay, it failed in a most complete fashion. As he felt two familiar pairs of eyes on him, he stopped mid sip and looked at his female companions. Both noticed a twitch in a large nerve on the left side of his neck as he looked at them. Not even the vastness of his scars could cover it up. The girls could see clear as day his mask was slipping, and Azura was trying desperately to prevent it.

"Morning, Azura. How did you sleep?" Ruby asked softly, as if trying not to scare away a frightened animal.

Fighting back the urge to flinch, the azure samurai forced a smile onto his face as he closed up the thermos and put it away. "Quite well, Lady Rose. Thank you for asking." The blue shogun replied gently, doing his best to lie convincingly.

"You still look pale as a ghost. Are you sure you should be here today?" Yang asked, her concern ringing in her voice like so many wind chimes from Azura's youth.

This time, the azure swordsman did flinch. Looking away, he could not bring himself to answer. Any answer he would have tried to give would have been an obvious, bold-faced lie.

"Look, you don't have to tell us here and now but just know that you have nothing to fear by telling us. We're your friends. We're here for you." Yang explained, trying to get something, anything out of him.

"Is your hand shaking? Is that normal?" Ruby asked, pointing to Azura's left hand.

Taking a deep breath, the azure shogun slowly let it out. "I could hardly get to school today without someone whispering about me as I passed, you know. They are acting like I did something worth praising. Like I am some kind of big hero for what happened yesterday…" He admitted quietly.

"The fact you jumped into action at the drop of a hat, afraid, and still fought that thing and killed it? That's what being a hero is." Yang answered him.

Shaking his head, the blue swordsman sighed. "I am no hero. I was just fulfilling my duty, doing what is expected of me. That is hardly worthy of praise…" He replied sadly.

"You stood by what you believed in. The code of Bushido. Isn't that worth anything? If that doesn't give you solace, even if you don't take too much of what others think, we think you're a hero." Ruby said, clear admiration in her voice.

Azura could not help but smile at his silver-eyed friend's innocence. "Thank you. Both of you…" He responded, trying to fight back tears.

"That's what friends are for. Now let's get you to morning sparring class before the waterworks get so bad people see them and think you have emotions. Would ruin the stern, honorable samurai vibe you're going for." Yang said, giving him a smile, grabbing his left hand, and planting a gentle kiss on one of the scars covering it.

For some reason, as soon as he saw Yang smile and felt her take his hand, the azure samurai felt some of his tension and worries ease. He could feel the warmth of her hand flowing into his scarred left hand, like the warmth of the sun breaking through a cloudy day. The warmth he felt was only magnified when her lips made contact with the back of his hand. Trying not to blush, Azura smiled at the sisters. This time, however, the smile was genuine and from the bottom of his heart.

This took the two sisters by surprise. They had seen Azura smile before… but not like this. There was a clear difference from his usual smiles to this one. This one felt… warm, soothing, and gentler than they had ever seen from him. It was almost as though his smile was a fireplace during a cold winter night, relaxing and with a kindness to it even they hadn't seen from him yet.

Even as the two sisters parted ways, what they saw stayed with them. Ruby, though being alone until lunch, felt her heart that weighed so heavy that morning lifted. She had a much easier time heading to class, her light feet practically gliding across the ground with ease. Yang, meanwhile, felt a fire lit inside her. For the first time she got through that tough exterior of Azura's, catching but the briefest of glimpses inside. For someone who was renowned for reckless and impatient action, it was a very promising first step to understanding him better. It practically made her heart skip a beat at the thought.

As the blonde pugilist and the azure shogun walked to class together, neither of them noticed a surprising detail. Throughout the entire walk, even as they separated from Ruby as she headed to her own class, they never once let go of each other's hand. It just… felt right to them for some reason. It was a feeling they did not want to allow to end quite yet.

Later: In Hand-To-Hand Combat Training Class

"Now then class, any volunteers for today's demonstration?" Professor Taiyang Xiao Long, Yang and Ruby's father as well as the hand-to-hand combat instructor, asked.

Upon hearing that, two hands immediately went up high in the air. To no one's surprise, one of them belonged to the class's resident blonde pugilist Yang Xiao Long. The one who did surprise them, however, was who volunteered to be her opponent. It was the new boy in class, none other than their resident celebrity Sōtora Azura. That immediately set off whispers in the class.

"So, he's got to go up against that blonde bruiser? Feel bad for him." A boy whispered behind Azura.

"Warrior clan member or not, he's got no chance. Yang's the strongest hand-to-hand fighter in our year…" A girl nearby whispered back.

"Just say she's good at punching, Mindy! Oh my god…!" Another girl whined.

"Ms. Xiao Long, Mr. Sōtora. I thank you both for volunteering." Taiyang said with a smile.

"No problem, dad. Got to keep you employed somehow." Yang said with a smirk.

"I've told you before, Yang. It's 'Professor Xiao Long' during school hours." Taiyang replied to a bit chidingly.

"Whatever you say, dad." Yang said, cracking her neck and knuckles as she warmed herself up a bit.

Setting his blades down and standing up, Azura smiled as he got up and ready. He had not really had a chance to spar seriously against Yang much. It would be good to see just how good she really was. Stepping into the ring and doing some stretches, Azura looked over at his blonde friend, who noticed him still not being at his best.

"Hey Azu, quit with the long face. We got to show these chumps a thing or two about real fighting. Show me your GRR face!!" Yang said loudly, getting animated and letting her hot blood show.

Raising an eyebrow, Azura could not help but chuckle at Yang's infectious if cocky attitude. "Careful, Yang. The Sun Dragon may end up biting off more than she can chew if she gets too ahead of herself." He playfully told her.

"Listen, beefcake. You're big, but you're not that big of a mouthful to handle. Be careful not to choke on these guns, oh mighty Azure Tiger." Yang said, flexing her arms in a bit of a showy display.

Azura could not help but chuckle at that. Yang was certainly a confident one. You could say overconfident. But damn it if her mood was not infectious as all hell.

Smirking, Azura dropped into a combat stance, his still injured hand behind his back. "So how do you want to do this, Yang? Should we start with a warmup and then pick up the pace from there so that the crowd can keep up? Or should we go zero-to-sixty in a flash?" He asked with a grin.

"You look like you could use a warmup. Considering your funk earlier, we got to get the rust off." Yang said, cracking her back a bit.

"If both combatants are ready. BEGIN!" Taiyang shouted.

With that, Azura and Yang rushed in at each other, Azura being noticeably faster. As soon as they got in close, the two smashed their forearms into each other right in the middle of the ring. With matching grins on their faces, the two pushed back against each other for a moment before pushing off and jumping back. Rushing in, Yang took the initiative by aiming a left hook at Azura's face.

Dodging by tilting his head back, Azura quickly swatted aside a right cross from Yang with his uninjured hand before unleashing a high roundhouse kick aimed at her head. Yang ducked under the kick and lashed out with a kick of her own that Azura blocked and deflected. Planting her foot on the ground, Yang went for a low sweep which Azura jumped over before coming down with an ax-heel kick aimed at the top of Yang's head. Pivoting on her leg, Yang spun out of the way as Azura's heel crashed into the floor of the ring, cracking it a bit with the force.

"Careful, Azu. You don't want to hurt your heel now." Yang said with a playful smirk.

Azura gave a playful grin of his own. "It'll take a lot worse than that to hurt a Sōtora, Yang." He replied as he lashed out with a mawashi kick aimed at Yang's stomach that she was forced to block with her crossed arms, sending her skidding back.

"Nice kick, big boy! Now that one had some force behind it!" Yang called out excitedly.

Smirking, Azura stood up straight. "Thank you. Now that we have finished with the warmups, let us move onto the main event." Azura replied, shrugging off the jacket of his uniform to reveal his training weights underneath and causing much of a stir with the rest of the class.

"Well get on with it!" One in the cheap seats yelled out.

"Yes, get on with it!" Another piped up.

"Get on with it! Get on with it! Get on with it!" The rest of the class chanted.

Chuckling, Azura took his arm weights off his wrists one by one before tossing them back, making them hit the floor and crack it a bit. This immediately made the chanting start to slowly die down as Azura began stripping off his weighted vest. Tossing that back, it hit the floor and cracked it loudly. Kneeling, Azura then removed his leg weights before tossing them aside, cracking the floor on either side of the ring as the rest of the class fell silent and looked at the azure shogun in shock as Azura began doing some stretches to loosen up.

"How does he hide those under his uniform?" One guy asked.

"He's a samurai. Those guys are practically wizards." Another one near him said.

Shaking himself off while jumping on his feet, the blue shogun gave Yang a smile before starting to hop back and forth on one leg. First the left, then the right. "Ready to show them what we can really do, Yang?" Azura asked, ceasing his hopping after having loosened up and dropping back into his stance with his injured hand behind his back again.

"Took you long enough. For a second there I thought this class was going to be boring. Bring it." Yang said, giving him the come-get-me gesture with her hand.

Smiling, Azura decided it best to work on squashing Yang's cockiness before it got her in trouble. "Be careful what you wish for!" He replied before taking off at Yang with shocking speed.

Yang aimed a left cross at Azura. However, before she could come close to landing a hit, he spun around her before knocking her aside with a roundhouse kick, shocking her and the class as she was sent tumbling halfway across the ring. All Yang could do was stare at the ground in disbelief as she got up.

"Where are you looking, Yang?" Azura's voice asked, causing Yang to turn in shock only to get hit with a right straight that, much to the disbelief of the entire class, sent her skidding back.

Standing there was Azura, having just thrown the punch. He had a smile on his face as he pulled back his fist and dropped back into his stance.

'He's fast!' The rest of the class thought as Taiyang, the only one who was able to track Azura's movements in that brief moment, raised an eyebrow.

'Yang, you made the oldest mistake in the book. Egging on your opponent.' Her father thought and shook his head in a hint of shame.

Getting back into her stance, Yang wiped a bit of drool from the corner of her mouth from the hit. "I thought we weren't allowed to use our Semblances in this class? After all, this is pure hand-to-hand combat." The blonde pugilist asked playfully.

"Oh, that was not my Semblance. That is just my full speed without using my Semblance when my weights are off." Azura explained, causing a realization to dawn on Yang and the rest of the class.

'D… Does that mean he can get even faster…?' The other students mentally questioned in shock.

"To prevent another uprising in the cheap seats, can you two please continue?" Tai sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

Azura nodded in response. "Yes sir, Professor Xiao Long." Azura replied before smiling at Yang in a way that, before that point, would have looked playful to her. Now, however, it had an almost sinister edge to it.

Gulping a bit, Yang steeled herself and took off at Azura. 'He may be faster than me, but I'm sure I'm stronger! I just need one hit to start unloading on him!' She thought, pulling back for a strong hook on her azure friend.

However, before she could get in close enough to unleash it, Azura got in close to her. Looking at him in shock, she was hit with a hard knee to the gut before she could react. Grunting in pain, this left her open to a hard right cross, followed up by a backhand punch. He then swiftly followed up with an uppercut to Yang's sternum that knocked the wind out of her before knocking her back with a mawashi kick to the face.

As Yang slid back from the kick, the other students stared in shock, unable to believe what they were seeing. Yang was… losing. Yang Xiao Long was losing in hand-to-hand combat. They could not believe it!

However, none of them were more surprised than Yang herself. 'How am I… No. It's another one of his samurai tricks to make me lose resolve. Well, it's not gonna work. He's not beating me, and I sure as hell ain't going down without a fight.' She thought, steeling her resolve and firmly standing her ground.

Seeing this, Azura dropped back into his stance with his injured left hand behind his back and a smile on his face. Raising his right hand with the back of it facing her, the azure samurai motioned for Yang to come at him. Despite the blue shogun being her friend, this gesture irritated Yang.

"Alright, pretty boy! You want me? You'll have me!!" Yang yelled, frustration oozing from her voice as she surged forward like a flash flood.

Rushing in at Azura, Yang unleashed punch after punch at the blue shogun. However, each hit he either dodged or deflected. Right cross, left straight, right haymaker. Blow after blow was thrown by the blonde pugilist only to be dodged or deflected each time. He was too fast!

Growling in frustration, Yang pulled a feint at Azura's head. When Azura moved to block it, she switched gears and put all her Aura-enhanced, non-Semblance boosted strength into one punch aimed at his kidney. However, to her shock, she felt no give when her fist made contact. In fact, it felt like she had just hit a thick iron wall.

"Gah, fuck! Aura or not, the hell are you made of!?" Yang yelled, gripping her hand as it throbbed in pain.

"This is why I tried to tell you to not get cocky, Yang. You are definitely strong, one of the strongest women my age I have ever met outside of other warrior clans. But, like my sensei always told me, there is always a bigger fish out there in the ocean." Azura calmly replied.

"I ain't done yet!" Yang yelled as she readied another punch.

However, as Yang swung, Azura dodged as he deflected her punch. Sliding his hand up her arm, he smacked her hard in the face with the back of his hand to stun her. As Yang's head reeled back from the blow, feeling like she got hit with a cast-iron pan, Azura slid back down and grabbed her wrist before pulling her forward as he turned his back to her. Pulling with all his might, Azura flipped her over his shoulder with one hand and slammed her hard into the ground.

As Yang cried out, Azura twisted her wrist and put her in an arm bar. Twisting hard on her arm, Azura looked down at his friend. As Yang tried to get loose, she found that she could not. Seeing that Yang could not get free, Taiyang decided that they had seen enough.

"Combatants cease! The match is over. I am giving the victory to Mr. Sōtora. Excellent job, Ms. Xiao Long, but I recommend you keep your head in the game and level. Class dismissed!" Taiyang yelled as Azura released Yang, the blonde teacher turning to erase the notes from the board for the next class.

Meanwhile, the rest of the class stared in shock. They could not believe what they had just seen. Yang Xiao Long, the strongest girl in their class at hand-to-hand combat… just lost to the new boy.

"Wow… those warrior clan types really are built differently…" One of the boys commented as the students got up to leave.

"He's built like a brick house…" Another said.

"You think if I eat iron nails, I'll get as tough as him?" A third asked.

"Shut up, Jeremy." The other two groaned as they left class.

Meanwhile, Yang could only sit there in shock. She had lost to Azura, and in front of the entire class. She could not believe it. Before she could think any further about it, a gentle hand was put out for her to take it. Looking up, she saw the azure shogun in question looking at her with a concerned look on his face as he wordlessly offered to help her up.

Giving a smile, Yang took the hand offered to her as Azura helped her up. "I hope I was not too rough with you, Yang. If I was, I apologize." The blue samurai told her.

"It's alright… good job back there…" Yang said in a more deflated tone.

"Do not be so down, Yang. Remember: I have been training since practically the moment I could walk. You are definitely strong, and you are not unskilled, but, in a fight, technique and speed trump strength. That is why sensei always told me that it is best to have all three to be a great warrior." Azura explained.

"Easy for you to say with all that training of yours. Not everyone can get as much as you in their lives." Yang said as she packed up her things.

Looking a bit hurt at that, Azura looked away as he went to get his training weights and put them back on. Sensing that she had struck a nerve, Yang immediately regretted her words.

"I'm sorry, that was uncalled for. Guess you're right… I guess I took that loss worse than I should have. I should not have taken that out on you after you tried to help me. I am sorry, and if you can't…" Yang said, only for Azura to cut her off.

"It is okay, Yang. I understand. It is not easy having your pride wounded." Azura told her as he got his jacket back on and collected his things, sounding a bit upset but seemingly trying not to let it bother him.

However, to his surprise, Yang walked up to him and pulled him into a hug. Blushing, Azura looked down at the blonde bombshell in disbelief. As he tried to process what happened, he also tried to ignore the sight of her breasts pressing against him from the hug.

Pulling back a bit, Yang glanced up at the blue samurai with a look of genuine regret on her face. "It still doesn't mean I should have done that…" Yang said, sounding genuinely sorry for her words.

Gulping, Azura looked away shyly at that. "I… It is okay, Yang. I forgive you…" He told her a bit nervously.

"Are you okay?" Yang asked curiously.

Nodding nervously, Azura tried to avoid looking down. If he did, he would not be able to focus his gaze purely on her face. Hugging Azura a bit tighter, Yang noticed him blushing deeper.

Finally realizing what was going on, the blonde pugilist blushed a bit with a playful smirk on her face. "A man who can turn as hard as iron now folds to a mere hug? Are you sure you're all right, Azu?" Yang playfully asked.

"I-I am fine…!" Azura replied nervously, clearing his throat, "W-We should get to our next class…"

"I suppose we must if we are to maintain ourselves as good students." Yang said with a slight sigh.

Azura sighed in relief as Yang released him from the hug. However, he quickly blushed again as he felt her wrap her arms around his uninjured right arm and pull it against her. Gulping, Azura looked at Yang as she gave a playful smirk at him.

"So how did you do that hard as iron thing you pulled back there? Or does a magician never reveal his secrets?" Yang asked.

"Th-That is a technique called the 'Iron Body.' It originated in the area of Eastern Mistral known as Kuro-Tsubaki, named after the color black and the camellia flower. Its name comes from the technique's ability to make any part of your body as hard as a piece of iron to better endure and take damage, allowing you to waste less Aura on protecting yourself." Azura explained a bit nervously.

"So, when were you going to teach us this one?" Yang asked curiously, raising an eyebrow.

The azure samurai scratched the back of his head nervously. "I-I can start you on the basics this weekend if you want. How does Saturday sound…?" He replied, hoping Yang was not upset.

"That sounds great. Where do you want to meet up?" Yang answered with a warm smile.

Blushing a bit, the blue shogun smiled shyly. "I-I know a nice clearing in the forest near our homes we could use. We can be alone there and train in privacy…" He offered.

"Hope you don't mind teaching both me and Ruby this." Yang asked.

"O-Of course not! The more the merrier…!" Azura replied, for some reason that he could not understand feeling a bit disappointed at not getting to be alone with his blonde friend.

"Oh, you wanted me all by my lonesome to do all sorts of 'training' with. Oh Azura, you naughty, naughty boy." Yang chuckled, giving an evil smirk to the large boy.

Azura blushed more and gulped in response. "I… I… I-I mean… I…" Azura stammered out, trying to find the words to say what he meant.

"Only kidding, Azu. See you Saturday." Yang said teasingly, heading off to class.

'That girl is gonna be the death of me someday…' Azura thought, blushing lightly as he watched his attractive blonde friend leave.

Hearing someone clear their throat loudly, Azura turned to look at the source. Seeing Taiyang, he looked him in the face to see the blonde man's expression. The kind of stern, cold look only a father looking out for his daughter could give. As the man's eyes bored into Azura's soul, he made sure to gesture that he was watching him. Gulping nervously, unable to think of anything cleverer in the face of this, Azura nodded and headed off to class. As strong as he was, he was not going to mess with a wary and protective father.

Saturday: Clearing Near Azura's Cabin

In the middle of the clearing, Azura took a sip from his thermos of coffee. Setting it down, he opened the overshirt of his gi and left it around his waist. Stripping off the undershirt, Azura hung it from a nearby tree branch to keep the wind from blowing it away, showing off his naked upper body. His torso and arm muscles were very toned, impressively buff without being too bulky. Overall, his body was one built for both strength and speed.

Along with his obvious muscle tone, Azura's body had multiple scars on it, marks left behind from his intense training and past fights and battles. An x-shaped cross scar was over his left pectoral, a stab wound scar on his right side just below the kidney, and a diagonal slash mark scar across his chest from shoulder to hip were on full display with multiple other smaller ones dotting his body. But what stood out most of all was a tattoo of his clan's roaring tiger head emblem, proudly on full display large in the center of his back.

Pulling out a blindfold from his pocket and putting it on, Azura began doing some warmup training while he waited for Yang and Ruby to show up. He went through katas, practicing blows and other techniques in an attempt to both hone himself further while also warming up for training with the Xiao Long-Rose sisters. Trying to remain calm, he attempted to keep his mind focused on his training rather than thinking about his own anger and frustrations at himself.

Dropping back into his stance, the azure shogun prepared to continue. 'It is not enough. I need to train harder. I need to become even stronger…' He thought, going back to work on his warmup training while he waited for Yang and Ruby to show up.

Meanwhile: With Yang and Ruby at the Xiao Long-Rose Cabin

"Ruby, where did you put my workout clothes!? I know you did the laundry last!" The familiar cry of the blonde brick shit house ringing throughout the house.

"You mean aside from a fire where they belong? I put them in with the rest of them!" The equally familiar cry of the red speedster ringing out of answer.

"The shorts alone were forty lien, Ruby! You burn them, then your backup capes you bought dredged up from the bargain bin burn with them!" Yang shot back.

"They're cloaks!" Ruby yelled indignantly.

"Whatever makes you sleep better at night, sis!" Yang yelled back before finally finding what she needed.

Wasting no time, for to waste it this day means less time with her only boy friend, she swiftly and seamlessly changed outfits. To say there was much to it would be a bold-faced lie, something both sisters were less than stellar at. A basic sleeveless shirt in gold and white covered her top loosely. The real crime against human decency was a pair of gold athletic booty shorts that made her normal cargo shorts look modest. Yes, it technically covered everything it should, but it left little room for imagination. Not that that is saying much with the junk in the dragon's trunk.

"Alright Ruby, hurry up! Azura's waiting for us, you know!" Yang yelled after admiring herself a bit in the mirror. She even, in her infinite corniness, gave a wink and giggled a bit.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Ruby called out in exasperation as she walked over to the doorway to Yang's room.

Ruby was, of course, dressed significantly more modestly than Yang was. Wearing actual shorts of a crimson red color with a more form fitting athletic shirt of red and black, it was clear what Ruby's intentions were. She was there to train, not draw eyes.

Ruby narrowed her eyes at her big sister's choice of workout clothes. "You sure you wanna wear that, Yang? After all, we don't want you giving Azura a heart attack before he can teach us this 'Iron Body' stuff." The red reaper said, criticizing her sister's attire.

"If that technique is tough enough to take my punches, surely his heart is strong enough to enjoy a more pleasant view." Yang answered coyly.

Ruby rolled her silver eyes at that. "Okay then, sis. Let's get there so he can teach us this. I may be more interested in weapons than martial arts, but this technique sounds really cool." The crimson speedster huffed as they went to grab their water bottles, towels, and house keys.

"My baby sister is finally expanding her horizons. They grow up so fast." Yang said happily, faking a little cry as they grabbed what they needed.

"I'm not a baby, Yang! I'm fourteen!" Ruby whined, locking the door behind them as she and Yang stepped out the door and shut it.

"No matter how old you get, you're always gonna be my baby sis Ruby." Yang told her with a smile, bugging her little sister.

"And don't I know it…" Ruby grumbled as they began their trek.

Yang giggled at that as the two sisters made their way to the clearing Azura had told them about. "I wonder how you do this 'Iron Body' thing. Azu didn't explain anything specific about it before he made the offer to teach us the basics." The blonder of the two sisters wondered aloud.

"I'm sure he'll explain before we start training. But, since I've never heard of it before now, it's probably some super-secret technique that only warrior clan martial artists know how to do." The red hooded younger sister replied with a shrug.

"Well, you're no fun." Yang sighed.

"It's probably gonna be fun learning how to do it. Plus, it'll help us out when we become Huntresses by helping us waste less Aura." Ruby pointed out with a smile.

"True. Well, no time like the present. Let's pick up the pace and get to our dear 'sensei'." Yang said with a smirk.

"Right! Race you there, sis!" Ruby replied chipperly before taking off via her Semblance, leaving a trail of rose petals behind her.

"Showoff." Yang chuckled and ran after her.

By the time Yang reached the clearing, she saw that Ruby was already at the entrance. Strangely enough, she was just standing there, clearly staring at something. Curious, she made her way to check it out. When she got there, she understood why. Before them was a shirtless, sweating, and blindfolded Azura deeply engrossed in his training. So engrossed he seemingly hadn't noticed the two arrive. Or Ruby.EXE no longer being able to comprehend what was going on.

"Azura? I hate to interrupt you, but we have arrived for our training. Isn't that right, Ruby?" Yang said, trying extremely hard not to drool as she punched Ruby's arm to reactivate her sister.

"Y-yes… of course…" Ruby nervously said, embarrassedly looking away.

Stopping his training, Azura put his hands together as he took a deep breath, his left with the palm facing up while the right had the palm facing left as he brought his hands to his stomach. Letting his breath out slowly, Azura smiled as he turned to "look" at his two female friends.

"Right, sorry girls. I just figured I would get in a warmup while I wait for you." He replied as he stretched out, causing his muscles to flex as Yang and Ruby continued to stare at him.

"It's okay, Azura. Totally understand…" Yang answered, looking him up and down.

"R-ready to b-begin…" Ruby nervously answered.

Taking off his blindfold, Azura immediately blushed as red as the crimson colors on Ruby's top when he saw what Yang was wearing. Seeing that she got the reaction she wanted from the blue shogun, Yang turned to give him a front and back look before facing forward.

"Like it, Azu? This is one of my personal favorite workout outfits." Yang purred.

Gulping, the azure samurai nodded as he could not look away from the blonde bombshell. "Y… Yes… It… looks good on you, Yang…" He replied to a bit nervously.

"Thank you. You look good yourself." Yang answered with a wink.

Blushing a bit more, Azura smiled at the compliment as Ruby decided to try to move things along. "C… Can we get started now…?" She asked nervously.

Looking at Ruby, Azura nodded. "R-Right. One second, please." He replied as he went to the tree his undershirt was hanging from.

Grabbing a water bottle at the base of the tree, Azura drank from it. He then poured some chilly water on his head to cool himself down as Yang and Ruby watched. If the day were any warmer out, then likely steam would come out of the sisters' ears. Granted for quite different reasons, but the same reaction, nonetheless. After drying himself off and calming down a bit, he put his shirts back on and turned around to face his "students."

"Alright, girls. First, before I teach you, you need to know the basics about how the Iron Body works. The 'Iron Body' technique was developed in the Eastern Mistral province of Kuro-Tsubaki. The premise of it is to remain immovable. To be resilient to blows and forces, and to lift and handle large loads with minimal risk of injury. Your body needs to be stiffened to become unbreakable. The martial arts of Kuro-Tsubaki have embodied these strength principles as a way to develop the 'Iron Body' by the use of muscular stiffening augmentation with some breathing and breath holding techniques…" Azura explained like a professor explaining a theory in class.

"You lost me at the first Kuro… whatever…" Ruby said innocently.

"What she said." Yang added.

Sighing, Azura realized that a less detailed explanation would be needed here. "To perform the Iron Body, it typically involves learning to control your breaths and muscle tension to make the muscles even tougher." Azura answered simply, a hint of exasperation quite clear in his voice.

"Why didn't you say that the first time?" Ruby asked.

Face palming, Azura sighed again. "Let us just start with some basic breathing and muscle tensing techniques. Then we'll work on getting the feeling down right and committing it to memory." He told them.

"Lead the way, Azura. Or should we call you 'sensei' today?" Yang asked with a hint of coyness.

Blushing, Azura coughed into a fist and cleared his throat. "R-Right then! Let us get started, girls!" He nervously called out.

With that, Azura began showing them the proper breathing techniques. Once they started to get those down, Azura began teaching them how to tense up parts of their body to begin working on performing the Iron Body. As they breathed and tensed their muscles, Azura began smacking them in the areas where they tensed their muscles to test the strength of the muscle tension. This went on for several hours. Progress was slow, but they did begin to improve. All the while, Azura had the brightest, proudest smile on his face that warmed Yang's heart for some reason.

To Be Continued...