The next morning, Pyrrha awoke, the soft sound of birdsong drifting through the window as the others lazily lay sleeping.
Just another average morning I guess, she thought to herself. The events of the previous day were still fresh in her mind.
She told me she loved me. The girl I like confessed to me on the best night of my life…
Even now, it still felt very surreal to her, like it couldn't possibly be real. How could everything be going so perfectly well for her? Looking at the clock, she had woken even earlier than usual for a weekend, the hand just barely scraping past eight.
I wonder why I'm up so early… maybe the excitement woke me.
She wasn't very hungry, so she lay back in her bed and started reading through some news articles on her scroll. There were the usual stories about dust robberies and political corruptness floating around, but one story in particular caught her eye.
Valian restaurant owner arrested after being suspected of drug smuggling.
The restaurant in question was the exact same one that they had visited last night. The police had apparently gotten a warrant and busted in during the early hours of the morning. The very same man who had provided the two girls with one of the most private seats, along with top notch service and exquisite food was being charged for a very serious crime. Needless to say it came as much of a shock to her, but Pyrrha realised from the conversation with the waiter yesterday that Blake was obviously quite close to the manager. If she got word of what had happened…
Pyrrha shook the thought from her head. Deciding that was her goal, she headed out to get something to eat and then distract Blake as soon as possible so she didn't find out about the arrest. She decided to grab a few slices of toast as she wasn't very fond of the milk that came with cereal. After eating, she headed back to her room, Team RWBY's door still undisturbed indicating that nobody was awake yet. She flopped back onto her bed, thinking to herself about what she would say to Blake.
Maybe I should ask her if she wants to read with me?
No, she said she wanted to keep our relationship on the down low for now. It'd only draw attention to the both of us if we suddenly started spending time together with just the two of us it would only make us stand out.
After thinking hard on it for a while she decided to ask both Team RWBY and Team JNPR if they wanted to go see a movie later that night. It would give them something to talk about and would distract Blake from the news. Sending a message out to Ruby, Weiss, Blake and Yang on her scroll, she soon got replies back from everyone but Blake, each one of them agreeing. Anxiously awaiting Blake's reply, she assumed that her black-haired lover must still have been sleeping. While she waited, she decided to go take a walk to get some fresh air.
It's such a lovely morning, she thought to herself, the rays of sunshine illuminating the lush green grounds of Beacon Academy. She had always been a fan of the outdoors, and this was definitely one of the reasons why. She loved the smell of the fresh morning air, untainted by the urban atmosphere. It made her feel calm, reminding her of the time she spent growing up with her parents at a rural village in Mistral. Reminding her of the young Faunus girl she spent many of her childhood days playing with. She never learnt that girl's name, but the resemblance she bore to Blake was striking. Whenever Pyrrha thought about it, it brought back those memories of what the girl had always replied with.
I don't have a name. Mummy says I don't deserve a name, so I wasn't given one.
That's a sad thing to say. Everyone needs a name. Hmm… how about Black, like your hair?
Black…
The girl's ecstatic smile upon being given a name was forever forged into Pyrrha's heart. It filled her with joy, thinking back on how happy she had made someone, even if it was only for a short while.
It's a nice name! Call me Black from now on then!
The next day, Pyrrha had returned to that same spot they always met, only to see a large bruise around her new friend's eye.
Mummy said my name was silly and told me to forget it, the girl said dejectedly. She said an animal like me shouldn't have a name. I'll always remember it though, that's a promise!
Before she knew it, Pyrrha had done a full circle of Beacon's grounds, completely lost in her past. Shielding her eyes from the sun which was now blazing down upon her, she headed back inside to see if Blake had sent a message back. Several students were beginning to lazily make their way over to the cafeteria, all seemingly groggy and unsociable. Pyrrha never did understand how people could be so lax in the mornings, especially as Hunters and Huntresses. She had always held a firm belief that you had to be ready for anything, anytime and as such had trained her body to the point that she could wake at any time and not feel the effects of fatigue or tiredness. But while she held many of the other students in contempt over their casual attitude to the academy, she respected their skills and trusted them to pull themselves together should anything actually happen.
Arriving back in her room, the rest of her team had woken and were going through their morning routine, Jaune greeting her when she came in.
'Hey Pyrrha. I guess you went to stretch your legs?'
'Something like that,' she replied half-heartedly. The thought of that girl still lingered in her mind, enough to distract her from casual conversation. Quickly checking her scroll once again, Blake had still not sent a reply.
That's strange, she thought to herself. I would have thought Ruby and the others would have woken her by now.
Putting the thought out of her mind for the time being, she decided to ask her own team about their plans.
'Hey, do any of you want to come see a movie with me later? Ruby, Weiss and Yang will be coming too.'
'A movie? Sounds fun!' Nora joyfully squealed. 'Do I get to break anything?'
'No, Nora,' Pyrrha answered with a chuckle. 'You don't get to break anything.'
'I'll go too,' Ren replied, the usual stoic look on his face.
Pyrrha looked at Jaune after hearing Ren's answer.
'What about you?'
'Sorry, I already made plans. It sounds like a blast though, I hope you guys have a good time.'
With that, Jaune headed out, presumably for breakfast judging by the rumbles coming from his stomach.
Jaune making plans ahead of time? Now that definitely doesn't sound like him.
As Pyrrha tried to figure out what was going on due to the strange happenings as of late, she headed out with Ren and Nora to go get some food.
Grabbing a few slices of toast, she sat down with her teammates again, discussing which movie they were going to see. Ren had heard of two called Dear Diary and What Could Have Been that had come out recently and wanted to watch one of those, but Nora had her mind set on a very different kind of film. An action-horror called The Dark World, apparently it had gotten extremely good reviews and was being critiqued as a masterpiece of its genre. There was a lot of hype surrounding it because of the fact that the author of the book it was adapted from was well known for writing excellent pieces of literature, some of which Pyrrha knew Blake was a fan of. Ren knew there was no point arguing with her, so gave in and agreed to her suggestion, Pyrrha not being particularly bothered which one they saw as long as Blake was there.
Shortly after, Pyrrha received a message on her scroll. It was from Blake.
Sorry, I can't make it. I've made plans with a friend ahead of time.
Pyrrha had a bad feeling that she already knew who the friend in question was, and realised she had to do something or else all her efforts would have been for nought. Excusing herself from breakfast, she headed back to their dorm room early to think up a plan.
There's only one thing I can do, she thought. I'll go meet up with the waiter from the restaurant and ask him about Blake's friend. If it really is the manager, he'll be able to contact Blake and postpone the date by at least a few days. If all goes well, he'll be proven innocent soon enough and Blake will never know about this whole situation.
She decided to wait a few hours before putting her plan into motion. As risky a move as it was, if she asked Blake to come see a movie with her and then all of a sudden Blake's schedule frees up it would only further her suspicion.
11:30 AM. Time to go.
Heading out, she made sure she wasn't seen as she slipped out the front entrance to Beacon. It was still the weekend so most students would probably be lounging around or meeting friends. Pyrrha thanked her lucky stars for giving her the opportunity to carry out her plan swiftly and easily. She soon came across the restaurant they had eaten at the previous night, finding the waiter smoking outside. It seemed as though he had been cleared of suspicion as the police weren't swarming him, but he also seemed quite depressed, most likely due to the fact he had just been put out of a job thanks to the story.
'Hello,' Pyrrha introduced, the waiter tilting his head to look at her before facing forward again, taking a puff of the cigarette.
'What brings you here? The restaurant is closed for the time being. I'm sure you understand.'
'Actually, I didn't come here for food. I came to ask you a few things.'
'No, I'm not involved with his drug dealings. If that is all, please leave.'
'I wasn't going to ask about that.'
The waiter seemed to perk up at the mention of a question that wasn't, 'did you have anything to do with the crime.'
'Go on,' he said, intrigued by her statement.
'Was your boss planning to meet up with Blake today?' Pyrrha asked, the waiters eyebrows rising at her words.
'How did you find that out?' he asked, sceptical of how she had come across this information.
'That's not important. I need you to send a message to Blake for me. She doesn't know about the situation with the manager, and I want to keep it that way. All I need you to do is send her a message saying that their meeting was postponed for a while. Even if just for a few days, I want to keep her out of the loop on this one. It might even be enough time for me to prove your boss innocent and get your job back.'
He seemed to garner interest at the mention of his job, replying quickly.
'Very well. But he's guilty, no doubt about it. She's going to find out at some point.'
Realising that she would not take no for an answer, he sighed before continuing.
'At best I can delay the meeting for five more days. Is that OK?'
'That's plenty,' Pyrrha gratefully responded, happy that she could get that much time. 'And thank you,' she finished, the waiter nodding his head in response.
'The name's Cobalt, by the way,' the waiter called after her.
Heading back to Beacon, proud of a job well done, she beamed as she thought of how well her plan was falling into place.
Maybe I can prove his innocence in those five days. Blake will never have to know about this whole thing.
Shortly after returning to her team, she received a message from a certain Blake Belladonna.
Seems like something came up with my friend, so I can make it to the movie tonight after all. I'm looking forward to it.
After arranging the movie and time, she sent the details out to everyone else that was attending.
If there's anyone up there watching over me, thank you for giving me this chance.
Later that evening, the group left the cinema, slightly depressed and with a bittersweet tone hanging around the group.
Ruby was the first one to start a discussion about the movie.
'So, what did everyone think?'
'I liked how it made you think about the Grimm,' Weiss answered. 'It really makes you wonder, are they intelligent? Is there a reason to their killing? And if so, are we the real monsters for just assuming they are all malevolent and evil creatures?'
'I liked the parts where they fought the X-Classes,' Nora chirpily added, seeming please with her choice of movie. The group continued to talk like that for a while as they walked, before Pyrrha realised a fatal flaw of her plan.
'Hey, what's happening over there?' Blake asked, pointing over to a place across the street quite far down the road. In the front of the building, it looked like…
Police cars.
Pyrrha immediately realised that her carefully executed plan had a major fault – the cinema was but a few blocks away from the restaurant that she and Blake had visited. Without even realising it, she had literally guided Blake to the last place she wanted her to see.
'You don't know?' Yang answered, surprised that Blake wouldn't have heard the news. 'Apparently the manager was caught selling illegal drugs, and the police came in with a warrant and found a huge stash in the back.'
Blake shot Pyrrha a piercing glare. She had put two and two together, the bizarre delay of her meeting and Pyrrha's morning absence. It didn't take a genius to figure out what Pyrrha had been up to, and the look on Blake's face was proof of that. She didn't say a word on the trip back to Beacon, the rest of Team RWBY and JNPR heading to their rooms to finish the night in there, only Pyrrha and Blake staying behind in the main entrance. There was a cruel silence developing between the two, one which grew stronger with each passing second until Pyrrha broke it.
'Look, I-'
'You tried to trick me, Pyrrha.'
Pyrrha could do nothing but shamefully stare at the ground, fighting back tears.
'You tried to hide this from me. What, did you think I wouldn't find out? Did you think I'd just magically forget all about him after just a few days? I thought something was strange when Cobalt messaged me, but I'd never have thought you of all people would set him up like that.'
'I wasn't trying to hurt you! I… I just didn't want you to find out about what he was accused of. I know from the night we spent together that that man was a good friend of yours! I thought if I could buy some time, I could prove him innocent and you wouldn't have to go through this!'
Blake was clearly angry, but she couldn't scold Pyrrha for her actions. She knew that the redhead had acted out of consideration for her feelings, and a part of her liked that.
'Just please don't try to hide things from me again, OK?'
Blake's voice almost sounded sorrowful, and she leaned into Pyrrha to give her a hug.
'I know you only did what you did because you care. I'm sorry for being so harsh with you, I just don't like it when people try to hide things from me like that. And… thank you for being so thoughtful. It was sweet of you to want to keep my spirits up.'
Locking eyes with Pyrrha, she gave her a longing kiss before departing, waving cutely as she left. Pyrrha soon headed to her room as well, glad that everything had worked out for the best despite her intentions backfiring.
You've got to stop being so kind, Blake. You'll make me fall even more in love with you than I already am.
With that thought in her head, she drifted to sleep, a smile still on her face after the kiss Blake had left her with.