Sorry it's late. No excuses that I plan to share.

Enjoy.


Jaune did not fit in.

At all. The fact that he had made it into Beacon was incomprehensible to her. Yet he stood, leader of a team and owner of a weapon that had its own version of fame. Perhaps it was a silly twist of fate, or maybe he just scraped by on the skin of his teeth? Neither answer was certain to Pyrrha, but the rational in her favored the latter.

So he stood a leader. For all of about twenty three seconds before the bigger boy's mace crushed through his guard and sent him to the floor. Jaune stood up quick enough to avoid the follow-up, something that earned Cardin another warning from Ms. Goodwitch over rules. But his footwork was flimsy, his arms were tensed, his sword held at an inopportune angle despite his admittedly superior battle instinct. He was slow and more cumbersome than he had been during initiation, relying on his shield and armor without any base of combat skill to make proper use of either.

What confused her was the way he moved, the way he dodged and predicted things almost as if he had years of practice under his belt, a complete opposite to how Jaune took to offense. His counter attack, appropriately timed during Cardin's back-swing, was so weak that it didn't chip away any more than a sliver of Aura. Whereas Cardin's strike took chunks from Jaune, even if they didn't send him sprawling. Had Jaune not possessed the ridiculous amount that he did, Pyrrha was certain he'd have lost several times over.

To the side, he heard Yang mutter something under her breath.

It made no sense. She had seen his potential, had seen who he was at his core when she had unlocked his Aura… or perhaps that was the answer, in that simplicity of potential. He was here because of it, maybe, and being here would create that warrior she had seen. He had improved since his first few bouts, giving Cardin a hell of a fight despite not actually winning a single one(though he was close). He had improved, though, to the point that Pyrrha was sure Cardin only hit because Jaune didn't know how to adjust to Cardin's adjustment to his own. Battle was, by and large, a dance of adaptability.

"He's getting better." Blake pursed her lips, "His dodges and counters almost look natural… But…"

"He sucks still." Yang finished as Goodwitch began her explanations over his mistakes and few improvements he could implement. "Bad."

"He seems completely untrained, even if he's got a good intuition. Perhaps it is when he is not relying on it that he falters..." Pyrrha's expression matched Blake's. Yang grimaced. "Combat schools in Vale do not seem to be too different compared to Mistral..."

"He did fine against that Blighted."

"Chopping is the easiest part of using a sword." She patted her own. "Wielding it properly is something completely different. Perhaps he just needs… practice?"

"Good try, Jaune." Yang gave the approaching teen a thumbs up, "You'll get him next time."

"Probably not." He replied without tone, settling down between her and Pyrrha. His hand wiped the sweat from his brow, brushing aside the blonde hair that stuck to skin. Pyrrha offered one of the nearby towels, situated with her between him and the cloth. Her eyes never left him, yet he turned it down with an easy smile. "What are you ladies on about?"

"Gossip. Talking about cute boys, doing our hair, going shopping. Wanna join in?" Yang's reply was smooth and quick. Blake raised an eyebrow, while Pyrrha rolled her eyes with a smile. Both were aimed at Jaune's expression, which was pointedly followed by a "I think I'm okay."

Same song and dance, almost ritualistic for the team. Jaune never asked what they really talked about - mostly because it was what he called "girl stuff" - and they never opposed his changing the subject. Pyrrha knew she wouldn't be around to join in. As Jaune's partner, she was always next in line to fight. True to form, Goodwitch called out her and her opponent. Today she was to fight the bubbly Nora, a girl that she most definitely liked, and most definitely underestimated at first. Not in a bad way, however, Pyrrha simply didn't think that the girl could swing her oversized hammer so fast.

Her first opponent had shared Pyrrha's assessment, and the result had been… explosive. To put it lightly.

"Don't go easy on me!" Nora hopped on the balls of her feet, Magnhild in hands. She still managed to singsong her words through all that motion. "That'd be so rude."

"I won't."

"Promise?"

"Promise. I do not coddle a worthy opponent."

"Pinky swear?" The girl stopped her hopping to hold out her smallest finger. With a smile, Pyrrha took it in her own. Nora grinned and skipped back to her starting place. "I get to fight a champion, I get to fight a champion~"

Pyrrha, stepped back to hers and twirled Milo in her hand, extending it into its spear form and bringing her shield to her back. Speed would be her friend this fight, since Nora's strikes would hit far too hard to block more than once or twice, possibly too hard to redirect without making her Semblance obvious. Though she had fought opponents like this before, none had possessed the monstrous strength that Nora did. A Semblance, more than likely, since the girl was also tough as nails when it came to pain tolerance. She'd take hits that no other would to ensure that her hammer connected. Often times the single blow decided the bout.

Even dodging would require attention, as her style involved spinning Magnhild in a way that would allow for quick, successive strikes.

Pyrrha knew she would need to strike hard and fast, put as much damage into her aura as quickly as possible. If she could remove the ability for Nora to take a hit to return one, then Pyrrha would have the upper hand in close engagements. Milo gave her the range advantage and the speed advantage, all she had to do was not get hit more than once… or not get hit at all, possibly. Striking was dangerous in its own right - if Nora got her hands around her weapon, she could very easily wrench it away.

And in a fight of fists versus hammer, Pyrrha was certain she wouldn't win easily.

Nora was much smarter fighter than she put herself out to be. Commendable and respectable, and straight out of the philosophy books.

But, Pyrrha was known as the Invincible Girl for a reason. Losing was not an option. Goodwitch raised her hand, looking between the two of them and prepared to signal the beginning. The hand dropped. She closed the distance in a few steps, lashing out with Milo in hopes to score a quick hit. It was a bit low of her, in some ways, but most fights weren't won by fighting fair. Arena fighting was rife with little crimes; an 'accidental' kick of dirt, a spit towards the eyes, among many others. Nora seemed to have anticipated her move however, the girl stepping to the side and spinning the hammer in a circle that would very quickly end the fight if it were to strike her. Instead, Pyrrha dropped down into a roll to come up to the side of her opponent and lashed out again.

Nora deflected this strike with the shaft of Magnhild and retaliated with another heavy swing of the hammer. True to the speed Pyrrha had witnessed, the hammer whisked just barely across the air where her torso had been not a moment before - a miss aided by her Semblance. Two more strikes of her spear, one catching Nora's thigh and dipping down that Aura just a slight bit while the second struck nothing but air. The hammer came spinning again, one strike following the previous in the sequence of strikes Pyrrha had studied over the past few weeks. Her issue came with Nora being Nora - chaotic and unpredictable.

Seven strikes in, Pyrrha slipped into an opening in her guard, bringing Milo into the form of a sword and drawing it over her opponent's stomach. She continued with a dance around Nora's feet, transforming her weapon back to the spear form and setting another cut across Nora's back as she retreated past her. Another follow-up blow was sidestepped and countered with a crosscut that removed the last of Nora's aura and forced Goodwitch to call the match. Though she seemed bummed, Nora shot a smile at Pyrrha and pointed at her. "Next time, you're going down."

"I look forward to the challenge." Pyrrha replied, retracting her weapon and offering her hand. Nora took it with a grip like iron and a smile reminiscent of a child's birthday. Once their shake had ended, the pair retreated from the stage to their respective seats. Before either had even sat, Goodwitch's voice rang over the crowd. "Ms. Nikos, impressive bout as always. I see you have taken my advice into count."

"Yes, Professor. It has been most helpful."

"As we saw." She straightened her spectacles, turning to Nora. "Once again, Ms. Valkyrie, it would be wise to avoid your 'suicide' attacks, especially against a faster opponent. While Ms. Nikos is sure to avoid doing permanent damage, many opponents will not be so kind to avoid the advantage. Aura does not make one invincible."

"Got it, coach!" Nora, with a smart salute, stood straight as an iron rod. Pyrrha, understanding the dismissal, turned back to her team and ascended the stairs. Her team leader and partner offered both water and a towel, the latter of which she took and the former settled onto the bench. She lifted the cloth to her forehead and dabbed away the sweat there. "That was a good fight." He told her, before returning to his quiet conversation with Blake. Pyrrha smiled and accepted the compliment, settling down into the chair and evening her breath. "Nora's quite a fighter."

"She is." Pyrrha confirmed, handing him the towel back. Jaune accepted it with a glance towards Yang. He laughed, though there was a hint of nervousness. "Ah, huh. I wouldn't want to go up against her myself."

He was trying to make conversation. Unsuccessfully. Possibly trying to coerce something out of her, and judging by the subject matter it was definitely going to be a story from the Arenas. She smiled and shut it down. "Understandable. Jaune, the Professor will be cross if we were to continue talking during her lesson."

"Ah. R-right." Once again he glanced at Yang, who shot her a hard to read look, before he fell silent. It was another repetition in their team. Jaune seemed to like asking about combat. While it was always punctuated with how she was doing personally, Pyrrha was far more than tired of it. Nobody ever cared that she liked embossing armor or chiseling stone, or that she wanted to learn to sing and dance.

"That concludes our live combat for the day." Goodwitch straightened her glasses, beckoning the most recent combatants back to their seats. "Now I believe it is time to discuss the rules of the Vytal Festival tournament. As you all know, Vale is hosting the tournament this year, shortly after our annual dance…"

As much as she hated to admit it, Pyrrha's attention wavered and Goodwitch's voice ended up a dull drone in the background throughout the final ten minutes of the class. The bell startled her out of her reverie, interrupting an imaginative daydream in which she had been designing a new ornamentation for her armor.

Pyrrha was the third up from her seat, only after the Rose-Xiao-Long sisters. "Finally!" The blonde of the pair cheered, "Free time!"

"Time that would be spent best studying for Professor Oobleck's test tomorrow." Weiss crossed her arms at Yang's face. "I suppose that I should not be so surprised that you and Ruby share that expression."

"It's Doctor Oobleck…" Jaune muttered under his breath. Pyrrha gave him a look, unnoticed due to him facing away, and smiled. "Both Jaune and Yang do require tutoring." Pyrrha waved a hand in the air, as if presenting Weiss. "It is quite kind of you to offer."

"Wh-Wha-" Weiss reddened, cleared her throat, then controlled herself back into form. "It is the duty of a Schnee to excel and reach for greatness, it would be unbecoming to not extend my knowledge onto those who don't."

"Gee, thanks." Jaune slouched and hung his head. Yang followed suit, leaning onto their leader. Ruby joined soon after, already chosen as the Heiress' personal student/torture victim. "Kill me now, Yang."

"I don't think Weiss-cream will let us die, Sis."

"Come along now." Weiss-cream patted their heads as she strode past, shooting Pyrrha a humored scowl. "Pyrrha and I have a day of work ahead of us."

The redhead giggled at the three defeated teens that followed after Weiss. "Yes, I suppose we do."


There's not an AFTAA this chapter. I originally planned to do one on motivation and keeping yourself from being discouraged, but it didn't work for me. It came down to not making excuses, to write every day. Even if it's just twenty words, and even if they're awful. Don't put too much stock in being compared to the big names, either in the FFNet community or as a writer in general. Use your free time. Life is full of it, and don't let anybody tell you otherwise.

Geared towards the people who take writing seriously like me; Writing should be like a friend. If you can't make any time for it at all, then it's simply not your friend. Which makes you a hobbyist writer. Nothing wrong with that.

I'll see you guys next chapter.

-Phoenyx