The Last Maiden

Chapter Two

It had to be the luckiest moment of his life. Well, luckiest or worst. Jaune sat next to his partner in the library as they grabbed the books they would need for class and chatted. He could not have been more blessed to be partnered with Pyrrha in the forest, yet, there was one huge downside. He could barely speak around her. She was breathtaking, and yet still managed to be humble, funny, and casual. As the weeks had passed, he was getting better at talking to her, but he still blushed anytime she looked at him for too long. Her piercing emerald eyes seemed to be able to read his mind sometimes.

"You're not even paying attention, are you?" Pyrrha glared at Jaune as he tried to pretend like he had been taking notes. The two of them were going over the various types of Grimm that had disrupted peace since the beginning of time, and Jaune had to admit that such a cool topic managed to be ruined by Professor Port's class.

"I'm definitely keeping up, no worries. There's just a lot going on." Jaune mentioned vaguely, hoping to stop studying for a few minutes.

"Yeah, I know what you mean." Pyrrha glanced down at the table, looking awfully sad for a girl who was usually fairly upbeat. "The dance in two weeks is much more frightening than any fight I've ever seen."

"Well…" Jaune started to stumble over his words. "You know…I haven't got anyone – I mean not that, I haven't – hold on. Wouldyouliketogowithme?" He rushed the last part to get it out.

Pyrrha looked at Jaune and opened her mouth, and Jaune could've sworn he saw her blush. He immediately felt bad, the blushing had to have meant she was embarrassed. Before she could speak, Weiss interjected as she walked up to the table.

"Of course she wouldn't Jaune. Do you even think before you talk?" Weiss said coldly. "Pyrrha is a tournament champion, and renowned across the continent. I saw you trying to shave this morning, and I would not trust you with that sword."

Ruby, who was just coming up behind Weiss, had to stifle a giggle. Jaune did indeed have a cut on his jawline thanks to a shaving incident. She then dragged Weiss away, feeling bad for the harsh criticism that the icy girl had thrown in Jaune's direction.

"I had no clue you were famous!" Jaune announced, his eyes wide.

"I'm not really, honestly! Well, I guess I kinda am. But I'm normal, and I would rather not be treated like a celebrity." Pyrrha scratched the back of her neck, her already red cheeks deepening in color.

Jaune laughed. "Well, I'm not convinced. Given how many times I had to save you in that forest, I think you're making up anything relating to being a good fighter." His usual charm brushed through, to his own surprise.

Pyrrha rolled her eyes, but giggled as well. She knew fully well that he knew that wasn't true. The only use he had been in the forest was to keep Pyrrha company as she did all the real work.

Jaune had pulled his book back to him as he noticed the time. Class was only a few minutes away, and they had hardly even scratched the surface of what they needed to know about the Grimm.

Pyrrha looked at him with an unusual intensity. She had noticed him the first day, when they all rode on the Bullhead to Beacon. As she expected, several other students had surrounded her to ask for autographs or talk to her about her history. Jaune had remained in his seat, glancing at the group periodically but with no expression other than confusion. Even when the two of them had become partners, she suspected that he had no clue who she was, and for some reason, she loved it. He was handsome, with a great physique. His dorkiness was hilarious usually, and only became a concern when it extended onto the battlefield. This all in combination with the way that Jaune treated Pyrrha, she realized had made her have real feelings for him. She would definitely go to the dance with him.

"Jaune, about the…" Pyrrha stopped as Yang came up and grabbed the collar of Jaune's shirt.

"Come on, Blondie, or you two will be late for class!" Yang grinned and dragged Jaune out of his chair as Pyrrha grabbed all their books.

She would have to talk to Jaune another time, soon. Yang was a great friend, but a vicious fiend when it came to teasing.

Class wasn't necessarily tough, but nonetheless, Pyrrha came home at the end of the day completely exhausted. She looked around the dorm room that team JNPR inhabited and couldn't help but sigh at the mess. Oddly enough, it wasn't just the guys. Ren was incredibly organized, much like Pyrrha herself. Nora and Jaune, on the other hand, would have kept a room similar to a cage at a zoo. Clothes were strewn all over their beds, and books lay open on their desks. Pyrrha smiled to herself when she looked at Jaune's desk, where his book was open to the same page as it had been at the library.

I knew he wasn't paying attention, she thought. I wonder what was distracting him. It couldn't be…?

She turned that notion aside. Jaune had definitely asked her to the dance as a nice gesture, but he never really seemed to talk much around her and she assumed it had to do with him just not liking her much more than as just a teammate.

Her eyes dropped at this thought. Her thoughts about him had lasted all day since the library incident, but she was always the type to fall hard and not look back. She wanted to be more cautious, or else the team dynamic would be torn apart.

"Hey Hothead." A voice crept from the doorway.

Pyrrha turned to see that Blake was standing there, looking at her with her curious yellow eyes. Her bow atop her head did not hide her cat ears as well at this point in the evening, but everyone on team RWBY and JNPR knew she was a Faunus so she did not put as much effort into hiding it.

"Oh! Hi Blake. Looking for someone?" Pyrrha started, knowing that her and Blake did not talk often. She talked to Ren more, the two of them being similar in their quiet demeanor.

"You actually."

Pyrrha looked confused.

"Well, you know that we start duels for the first time tomorrow. Goodwitch even said that it was time to put what we've learned into practice."

Pyrrha nodded, thinking about Professor Goodwitch's earlier lecture. As she put it simply, hunters and huntresses could not go into the real world without any practical experience. So, in the classroom arena, two duelists would challenge each other and fight until one's Aura, or measurable manifestation of spirit, would be reduced to a certain point. Semblances, or personal abilities, were allowed as long as they would not irreversibly harm the other student.

"Well, Pyrrha, it's customary for leaders to fight first. And, you know how Jaune is leader for JNPR…he's not exactly the greatest fighter…but you are…" Blake trailed off.

Pyrrha understood what she was saying.

"Alright, tell Jaune to meet me in the arena tonight after dinner. We can work on it then."

She turned back to her desk as Blake left the room, and the cat woman did not notice a growing smile on Pyrrha's face.

Sword clashed against shield as Jaune swung across his body, and Pyrrha immediately pushed back in order to throw Jaune off balance. She swung her own sword above her head and it swiped at Jaune as it also transformed into her traditional long red spear. Jaune barely had time to duck under his shield as the spear clanged against it. Jaune decided to try something risky, and pushed his shield up against the spear while also driving forwards. In one smooth motion, he spun behind his shield, dropping it with his left hand, and put both hands on his sword to… immediately feel Pyrrha's spear pressed against his throat.

"You…how…did you know?" Jaune gasped for breath.

"You told me exactly what you were going to do just by the way your eyes darted around." Pyrrha was not as short of breath as Jaune, but she had to admit that he was surprisingly not as bad as she expected.

"Well all you told me with your eyes is that green and red look like Christmas colors." Jaune stammered out. He relaxed as he saw Pyrrha giggle at this.

"This is enough for tonight Jaune; I think this is as ready as you'll be for the fights tomorrow." Pyrrha caught herself saying this and immediately regretted it. "NO NO, I mean you're going to be really ready – but – "

"It's okay Pyrrha." Jaune looked at her with a smile, but his eyes were downcast. "I'll try as hard as I can for you all, but don't be surprised when we come in last."

Jaune immediately felt all the air rush out of him as Pyrrha hugged him tightly. He silently prayed for both the hug to not end, yet also for his face to not be as red as her hair.

"Oh…I'm sorry…" Pyrrha stepped back, a bit shocked at her own reaction. She was as red as Jaune was. "I just wanted you to know that it doesn't matter, we'll be alright no matter what our initial standing is."

"Thanks." Jaune chuckled.

Neither one of them knew what to do, so Pyrrha quickly mentioned something about studying before bed, and she took off to go to the team showers. Jaune stayed behind, the dark arena barely lit. The hug would have normally captured his attention, but there were some very pressing matters on his mind already.

He looked at his weapons and steeled himself for the first test of his school career.

First off, I would just like to say thanks a ton to everyone who has read the first chapter, and especially to anyone who left a review. I'm shocked that people have even seen it, and really humbled that people want to see more. Thank you a lot, I already loved writing but the fun of doing it is only getting better.

I'm going to try and figure out how often to put out chapters. I'm in college, so time isn't always on my side, but I really enjoy writing so I try to do it when I can. That being said, I also don't want to rush and put out lazy chapters. If you all have any tips or anything like that, feel free to let me know.

Thanks again, and hopefully chapter three will be out soon. I'm excited to see where it goes, and I'll admit that the Arkos power couple is incredibly fun to write about, but other characters will hopefully all have their own stories.

Finally, I should mention that none of these characters are my own. All content is related to RWBY, a property of RoosterTeeth Productions.