A/N: Well here it is, the last One-shot. I hope you all enjoy and please read the note at the end if you're interested in the next story.
It wouldn't be considered an exaggeration to say that Pyrrha Nikos was going to go somewhere in the Softball world. Colleges had been scouting her since she was a freshman at East Mistral High School. The move to Beacon Valley High School, even in the middle of her senior year, had been a stroke of luck for her shot at the pros. With three of the top seeded teams in all of College Softball were located just an hour outside of Vale. On top of being the star athlete on a very good team back in Mistral, Pyrrha would consistently rank amongst the top students in her class and was known as a pillar in the community for her volunteer work at the local food bank and animal shelter. With all these activities and the constant praise from those around her, one would expect Pyrrha to have more friends than she knew what to do with; you'd be wrong. It was lonely at the top. Rumors were a lifelong constant for her and that only got worse when she entered high school. No matter how hard she tried to get in front of them, she was never fast enough.
"Anyone could be that good if they got as much playing time as she did. Must be nice to have the coach be your mom."
"I heard that the reason her grades are so high is cuz she's sleeping with the principal."
"She's so desperate for attention, that's why she does all that volunteer work. Pyrrha Nikos, the girl who needs the spotlight on her at all times. At least she's moving now."
A social outcast at home in Mistral, Vale was supposed to be a fresh start. So why wasn't it? The same rumors and lies had begun spreading upon her arrival, tainting the student body's opinion of her before she got a chance to make a first impression. Word travelled very quickly in high school. With the slander going around, her first practice with the team hadn't exactly gone as planned. Coach Watts wanted to see her swing the bat around, get a feel for where she'd be in the lineup. He made a point of saying that her spot wouldn't be handed to her here, she'd have to work for it like everyone else on the team. That was fine with Pyrrha, she might be able to dispel some of the negative spotlight as well. They had matched her against the top pitcher on the team: Cinder Fall. Cinder had quite a reputation for bringing people down a peg or three. That had been her intended goal, it was obvious to Pyrrha from the first pitch. It was high and inside, used in a normal game to back the batter off the plate a bit and make them think twice about getting too close. Not a big deal, a little attempt to assert dominance, it either works or it doesn't and everyone goes about their business. It wasn't something you did against your teammates during practice.
Pyrrha may not have handled it all that well though. In most cases, the batter backs off the lets the pitcher have the plate. That extra inch didn't usually matter in the long run and for someone trying to build a good reputation in a new school, she should have just let it go. But that inch mattered to Pyrrha so she took it and held onto it. Protecting it like a mother bear protects its cubs. Instead of stepping back, she stepped in and up in the batter's box essentially standing on home plate. Her gaze hardened, as did Cinder's. Coach Watts did little to alleviate the rift that had formed between the two, instead offering to remain silent. Cinder shared a look with the tall mustached man who simply nodded. Another inside fastball, right on the hands. Close enough that the redhead could've sworn she felt the stitching of the ball graze her knuckles. Still, Pyrrha dug in and waited for her shot. She'd get something to swing at, she had to. Cinder still had to maintain appearances for those not privy to the mental war that was taking place. The ashen haired girl shifted into her stance and fired. A high curve ball, she waited for the pitch to start its break and stepped up as she made her swing. Every ounce of power she could muster from her hips was sent forward with the bat.
The noise from the hit wasn't super impressive, a simple, albeit a very loud, ding. What was important though was the subtext surrounding the hit. That simple action changed everything. With the swing of aluminum, Pyrrha Nikos declared to everyone on the field that day that she would not be a victim. She'd stand tall and not let those around her control her life! She'd make her own destiny. There's a funny thing that happens with destiny though. Sometimes, plain and simple, shit happens.
That'll be a nice new scuff mark on Milo. She followed the neon green missile through the sky. She didn't just make contact no, there was a good chance that she did actual damage to the ball. Further and further it travelled into deep center field crossing the mesh fence and continuing on its course. The redhead smirked and began to prepare herself for the next pitch that would come. Pyrrha would pay for that, she knew full well but it was worth it. A flash of yellow beyond the fence crossed her vision and her stomach fell into the dirt under her feet. No no no no no… Someone was out there. They were making their way across the field, no doubt taking a shortcut off of school property.
"HEADS UP!" Someone shouted it as loud as they could. It took a second for Pyrrha's mind to process that it was her own voice calling out. The blond mop in the distance had heard her and turned in her direction but kept walking. The collision course was guaranteed at this point and the thump of ball meeting skull could be heard from home plate. No no no… this was NOT happening. Pyrrha threw off her helmet and tossed Milo to the side, making a mental note to apologize to her beloved bat later, and sprinted towards her victim. She was acutely aware that she was the only person moving towards them. Didn't they know how dangerous this could be? He could be dead! The baseball team barely got away with using metal bats thanks to their propensity for line drives to hurt, and in one such case in Vacuo, kill players. Softball got away with it thanks to the ball being a bit easier to see thanks to its size and color as well as the fact that it was significantly softer than a baseball. It was by no means a 'soft' ball but it had more give than its counterpart.
The figure lay prone on the ground; the faint rising of their chest told her they weren't dead, which was a good thing. With her running start, she cleared the fence and slid down next to the person. She peered down, a mask of concern upon her face. It was a boy. He wore a simple hoodie and jeans despite the warm April weather. How was he not sweating to death in that? She shook her head. Not the time for that Pyrrha, focus. He was breathing, that was good.
"Are you OK?" A groan of pain escaped his lips and he opened his eyes. In the sun they sparkled like sapphires. Wow… Stop thinking like that. You're the reason he's on the ground!
"Mom? Is that you?" Pyrrha suppressed a laugh and shook her head,
"No, I'm sorry. My name's Pyrrha and I'm the reason you got hurt." He placed a hand to his head and groaned again.
"What did you do? Hit me with a baseball bat?" She let out a nervous chuckle.
"Not exactly… I hit a home run and it hit you in the head." The boy pushed himself into a sitting position, still holding his head. At the very least it was going to leave a nasty bump at the point of impact.
"Nice hit then." She laughed and felt bad about it immediately. His eyes opened fully and he looked at her, whatever he was going to say died on his lips and what came out was. "Wow." Blush creeped up her cheeks.
"Are you OK? Do you remember your name?" His eyes shot open.
"Jaune! Jaune, my name is Jaune Arc. Nice to meet you." He held out a hand which Pyrrha shook with a small smile."
"Well Jaune Arc, we should get you to the nurse and make sure you don't have a concussion." He dismissed her worry with a wave of his hand and attempted to stand.
"I'm fine." He reached his feet and smiled. "See? Right as rain." That was proven untrue with his first step, which sent him hurdling towards the ground. Pyrrha caught him by his arm and kept him from having another meeting with the grass. "Maybe I should go to the nurse…" Pyrrha nodded.
"Good idea. I'll go with you, wouldn't want you falling and hurting yourself more trying to get there." She turned to see Coach Watts sauntering his way towards the pair with Cinder in tow. How nice of you both to join us… "Coach Watts, I'm going to take Jaune here to the nurse's office and make sure he's alright. I'll be back by the end of practice." He shook his head.
"Don't bother Nikos, we're calling it there before you concuss anyone else. Meet back here tomorrow after classes let out." He turned and walked away before she could reply. Pyrrha took notice of the smirk on Cinder's face before she turned and followed after the coach. With a dejected sigh, she pulled Jaune to his feet.
"Let's get you out of here." He nodded, still holding his head. The walk was short as the nurse's office was just outside the gymnasium. "I'm sorry I hit you Jaune. I should've been more careful." He shook his head, an action that caused him to wobble. The redhead gently took his arm to steady him and they stopped in the hall for a moment to collect themselves.
"It's not your fault… Well, I guess technically it is but it was an accident right?" Pyrrha nodded emphatically. "Then it's no big deal. I probably shouldn't have been cutting across the area while you guys were practicing." She shook her head.
"Normally you would've been safe. You were a good distance away from the field but I guess I really got a hold of one of Cinder's pitches." She let out another sigh and looked the boy over. "Aren't you warm in that?" A sad laugh escaped his lips.
"A little. I… uh, lost my clothes and these are the backups I keep on me." Pyrrha raised an eyebrow.
"How do you 'lose' clothes at school? Also who brings spare clothes for anything other than P.E.?" He sighed and shook his head.
"Look, I don't want to talk about it. Can we please just get to the nurse's office?" The redhead nodded and they continued slowly towards the nurse. Pyrrha rapped her knuckles on the door and opened it before heading inside with Jaune in tow. A woman sat behind a desk, shuffling papers. She was rail thin with stringy orange hair. Crow's feet marred her dark blue eyes. She looked up and sighed upon seeing her visitors.
"Again Jaune? This is the third time this week and it's only Tuesday! What happened this time?" Again? Why is he at the nurse so often? Before Jaune could reply, Pyrrha stepped up.
"This time it's my fault Ms….?" The woman stood, nearly seeing eyes to eye with the red head. She's tall for a woman. Long veiny fingers brought glasses to her face.
"Ms. Saffron. I'm nurse here at Beacon Valley." Pyrrha inclined her head as Ms. Saffron went to get some ice. "What happened?" The redhead began to fiddle with her fingers. How do you explain that you nearly decapitated someone with a softball?
"It was my fault Ms. Saffron, I was crossing the softball field trying to get home and Pyrrha's homerun hit me in the head." The older woman's eyes narrowed at the boy.
"Why were you crossing the field during practice hours? You weren't running from a certain someone were you?" Who would he be running from? Jaune paled and began sweating. A small miracle it took this long in his current outfit.
"I'm dealing with him Ms. Saffron, I promise." She didn't seem convinced but handed him an ice pack which he placed on his head. She motioned for him to sit down in a chair across from her and took out a light, checking his eyes. She gave a quiet 'hmm' to herself before checking his other eyes.
"Are you feeling nauseous at all?" He shook his head. "Is your vision blurry?" Another shake. She turned to Pyrrha. "Was he slurring his words or anything like that?" The younger girl shook her head. Ms. Saffron sighed. "Doesn't look like you have a concussion. Your pupils aren't dilated, your vision is fine, you're not nauseous, and you aren't throwing up everywhere. Go home, tell your mother, and get some rest." The boy nodded and tried to stand. The nurse turned to Pyrrha. "Can you please make sure he gets home? It's just around the corner behind the softball field. Pyrrha nodded.
"It's the least I could do. Just let my collect my things back at the field and we'll go, OK Jaune?" He nodded and turned back to Ms. Saffron.
"Thank you. I'll bring the ice pack back tomorrow." The older woman shook her head and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Throw it away when you're done and get some rest. Nurse's orders." She gave a small smile that he returned. "Alright, both of you scram. He needs rest and I've got other things to do than sit here and listen to him moan like some kind of leper." The two nodded and began to make their way back to the field to retrieve Pyrrha's things. Upon reaching the field, the two of them found that Pyrrha's things were already put away in her bag. Suspicion clouded her mind and she opened her pack, checking to make sure her glove and bat were inside. Milo's here, Akoúo as well… Who would've put my things away? With a shrug, she hefted it up and turned. As she turned however, she felt the weight shift and everything fall to the ground. The end of Milo that stuck out of the top crashing into the back of her head. She fell to the ground and Jaune cried out.
"Pyrrha!" He made his way to her side. "Are you alright? What happened?" She sighed and rubbed the afflicted spot on the back of her skull.
"I'm fine, thank you though." He offered a hand in helping her up, which she took. He's got very soft hands. The blond pulled her to her feet and she sighed. He offered his ice pack which she declined. "You need it more than me Jaune, thank you though." She turned back to her bag. It was brand new; she'd gotten it just before coming to Vale so there was absolutely no way this was the result of wear and tear like her last bag. Cinder.It had to be her, or it was someone she had gotten to do it. Seems her display of defiance was already coming back to bite her.
"Maybe it's been bad from the assembly line and finally gave out?" Pyrrha shrugged and collected the bag, holding it by the secondary straps like the world's largest, most awkward purse. "Come on, let's get you home." He nodded, leading the way towards his house. "So do you have any family? Like brothers and sisters?" Jaune gave a small bark of a laugh and nodded.
"Seven sisters actually." Pyrrha slowed her walk.
"Wow. What's that like?" He shrugged.
"It's fun most of the time and stressful the rest. You have any?" She shook her head.
"Unfortunately no, it's just me and my mother. We live on the other side of town." He nodded, turning to her.
"I'm sorry for forcing you to escort me home like a kid." Another shake of her head.
"You didn't force me into anything Jaune. Nurse Saffron asked me to and I was going to suggest it anyway. It's the least I can do since it's my fault you got hurt in the first place." I should do something more… just walking him home doesn't feel right. "Actually, let me treat you to lunch sometime." He sputtered out a reply.
"That's too much. Walking me home is more than enough." She scoffed.
"Hardly, we'll get lunch one day next week after I get done from practice and then we might be even. I could've killed you Jaune. I'm going to make it up to you." She hoped her tone and sincerity would be enough to get him to stop fighting her on it. With a sigh he nodded.
"Alright alright. You can buy lunch once next week." A contented smile found her lips. "But..." But? But what? Me buying would even us up. "You have to let my sister take a look at your bag." She started to protest but he held up a hand. "Hear me out. She's an amazing seamstress and she owes me a favor." Pyrrha crossed her arms over her chest.
"Why would you use a favor from you family on a stranger who almost killed you?" He smiled. His smile is very nice. "Mom always said 'strangers are just friends who haven't met yet.' Plus I don't think I'll ever get around to using it on myself anyway, I sew my own stuff if I need it and she's not around enough to get her to do my chores." Pyrrha thought for a second. I guess it wouldn't hurt for her to take a look at it. Would be nice to save the money…
"Are you sure?" He nodded.
"Pyrrha please. I insist." The redhead sighed.
"Alright, you've got yourself a deal." She held out her hand and he shook it. Jaune slowed their pace as they came upon a large house with a veritable lot's worth of cars in front of the house and in the driveway. As they reached the property, the front door opened and a little blonde girl in a bright blue dress ran out.
"Big Brother!" She leapt up into Jaune's arms who, despite still holding the ice pack to his head and being a bit dazed still, caught her and brought her up for a sloppy kiss on the cheek. His smile grew exponentially upon holding her.
"Mare-bear!" He squeezed her tightly, swinging her back and forth in his embrace. She giggled and attempted to flee, eventually escaping and standing in front of the two of them.
"What took you so long? You nearly missed play time!" He shook his head.
"I'd never miss something so important but I got hurt today and had to go to the nurse." The little girl balled her hands into tiny fists, stomping her foot.
"Who hurt you? Was it Cardin again?" There's that name again. Just who is this 'Cardin?' His cheeks reddened and he dropped to one knee in front of the little girl.
"No it wasn't Cardin. And stop talking to Aurelia about me, it's rude." He sighed and leaned down, showing the area he got hit. "I got hit with a softball and had to go make sure I didn't have any brain damage." Pyrrha's eyes immediately found her hands, trying to avoid looking at her victim.
"You already have brain damage big brother! That's why you're in the dumb people classes." He scoffed.
"I am most certainly not. I'm in normal classes and you know it Marron." She giggled. "If you keep being mean to me, I won't play with you." Pyrrha's eyes shifted back up to see the little girl start her apology, complete with folded hands and puppy dog eyes.
"I'm really sorry big brother! Can we still play later?" He smiled again. Why do his eyes sparkle when he smiles? How does that even happen? She may not know the cause but the effect was obvious on account of the butterflies fluttering around her stomach.
"Of course, but first I've gotta talk to Aurelia and Mommy, can you get them for me?" The little girl nodded and ran inside. He turned back to the redhead.
"Soooooo… That was my sister Marron..." At that, Pyrrha burst out laughing for a full minute while his cheeks turned a deeper red than her hair. Wiping the tears from her eye she finally smiled back.
"I can see you're very close with her." He nodded.
"Yea. I'm pretty much the only one who still plays with her. Everyone else is working or not home or just doesn't want to. I feel bad for her though, so I play with her when I can."
"That's very sweet of you Jaune." Before he could reply, Marron sprinted back out with two women that could've passed for identical twins were it not for the height difference. The larger of the two was quite tall and willowy, rivalling Pyrrha's own height. Still, she didn't move like a newborn giraffe like you'd expect. She moved more like a blonde flamingo, all grace and leg. She was very pretty though, high cheekbones and a pointed chin. She had the same shade of blonde hair as Jaune, as well as sharing the same sapphire eyes. The other woman coming out was much shorter, barely cracking five feet tall by Pyrrha's estimate and a good bit curvier. Prominent laugh lines sat upon her face as well as the same cheekbones as the taller of the pair. Again, a cascade of blonde hair complimented by sapphire eyes. Are they clones or something? The shorter woman quickly walked to Jaune, pulling him into a tight hug.
"Welcome home baby." He wrapped his arms around her.
"Hey mom." She pulled back and cupped his cheek, dragging him down to her eye level and flashing a look at the redhead.
"I got a call from the nurse today…" Pyrrha paled at that. She's going to kill me, I know it! Jaune immediately began sputtering out a reply but he might has well have been speaking another language. She held a finger to his lips, silencing him. "Are you OK?" He nodded and she stared for several seconds, examining him. The taller blonde woman was standing off to the side, hands on her hips and trying to vaporize Pyrrha with her mind it would seem. A smile found the elder Arc's mouth and she patted his cheek. "Good, I still want you staying home the rest of the day to make sure you're alright though." He nodded, probably expecting the outcome.
Attention turned to Pyrrha now. "From what Ms. Saffron told me, you're to blame for this." The redhead managed to pale even more, eyes studying the cracks in the sidewalk. She nodded. Jaune opened his mouth to speak but a raised hand from his mother stopped him in his tracks. "Was it an accident?" Pyrrha turned her gaze up towards the woman, nodding profusely.
"Of course! I would never intentionally try to hurt anyone, I promise." She began to wring her hands again. "I hit a homerun in practice and it hit him, I swear I didn't mean to." She hoped the sincerity was getting through to the woman. Based off the look from the taller blonde, it wasn't. The elder Arc stared at her for what could've been eternity, Pyrrha wasn't sure at this point. Time had all but stopped it seems.
"Would you like to come inside?" The redhead seemed to short circuit. Wait… what? After doing a mental reboot, she raised an eyebrow
"Excuse me?" The woman gave a small smile, repeating her question slower.
"Would. You. Like. To. Come. Inside." Wait… what? She shook herself out of the confusion.
"I think it's best if I just go home. Jaune needs to get some rest and I don't think my presence would help with that. Thank you though." The older woman nodded.
"Alright, do you have a ride home?" Pyrrha shook her head.
"I'll call my mother; she was going to pick me up from practice anyway." A hand was placed on Pyrrha's shoulder.
"Please, wait inside. I insist." After a second of deliberation, Pyrrha nodded.
"Thank you Mrs. Arc." She waved a hand.
"Please, call me Stella." Pyrrha gave another nod and followed the woman inside. She drew her phone from her back pocket and called her mom. Not exactly how I planned to make my first friend but I'll take it.
A/N: Well the long and short of it all is that I'm starting a new project called Perseverance. Normally I have a rule in which I don't do OCs but I'm breaking it this time. The main character will be an OC but I'm balancing him out and trying to make him as interesting as the normal cast. The other big change is that he's taking Pyrrha's place at Beacon. Hear me out though before you burn my house down or what have you. She will still be in the story but it'll be a bit before she gets there and she won't be integral to the plot. I hope you all will give it a shot. I'll be doing the standard two week gap between chapters just like I did with Destiny. So expect chapter One on the 24th. I hope you enjoyed the One-Shots and I hope you'll all like Perseverance. Please give this a review so I can keep getting better and if you really liked it give that favorite button a click. As always, May fortune favor you all.