Ruby was getting more frustrated every second this fight went on and she knew that Pyrrha knew she was.
She was barely keeping up in this spar, her aura just barely hovering above the red zone. She barely had the energy to take a swing with her scythe, opting to instead just narrowly dodge Pyrrha's thrusts with her spear and sidestepping whenever she attacked with her shield.
The skill gap wasn't as obvious from the start of the match, but that was the start, and she could feel the eyes of her classmates on her as it became increasingly evident how outclassed she was against Pyrrha.
Finally, her exhaustion got the better of her, and she took a wrong step, and Pyrrha immediately took advantage. She quickly slammed her heel into Ruby's stomach and swung her shield up.
Then, the buzzer rang in the middle of her swing.
And Pyrrha didn't have time to stop.
The hunk of bronze collided with Ruby's nose with a sickening crunch, and the girl reeled backwards, her hands immediately flying to cup her nose. The rest of the students in the gallery groaned in sympathy. Blood from her nostrils was already leaking between her fingers and onto the sparring room floor. She fell to her knees and let out a muffled groan.
"Ruby!" Pyrrha and Ruby's team cried out.
Pyrrha dropped her spear and shield and dropped to the ground next to Ruby, curling an arm around her shoulders while fiddling with the sash around her waist. She yanked it off.
"Ruby, I need you to move your hands, okay?"
Ruby eyed the cloth before finally lowering her hands. She avoided Pyrrha's gaze as the older girl pressed the sash to Ruby's nose, taking special care not to put too much pressure on it.
Pyrrha thought absentmindedly that she would need to get another sash. Blood was hard to get out. She looked up from Ruby and met Professor Goodwitch's eyes.
"Professor, may I take leave of class for a moment to take Ruby to the nurse?"
"No." Ruby protested nasally, voice a little muffled by the cloth at her nostrils.
"Ruby, your nose may be broken. You need-" Pyrrha began gently, trying to convince the girl to swallow her pride and get help.
"I said no!"
The taller redhead flinched at the tone in Ruby's voice. It was jarring. Ruby frequently raised her voice, but it was always in excitement or in joy. The girl was rarely angry, especially towards her friends.
"I'm afraid I'll be asking you myself, Miss Rose. While your aura may heal it in time, it would be beneficial to have it bandaged so it will heal correctly. And yes, Miss Nikos, you may take her to the nurse."
Ruby groaned, but acquiesced, letting Pyrrha lift her up with the taller redhead's arm still around her shoulders. She let Ruby hold the sash up to her nose. Pyrrha looked at the rest of team RWBY, who had descended from the gallery to check on their leader. Yang's eyes were red, and she looked like she was about to give Pyrrha a verbal lashing if the way she was grinding her teeth together was any indication. Blake's brows were furrowed as she reached out to touch Ruby, while Weiss frowned, concern evident in her blue eyes.
However, just as Yang opened her mouth, Pyrrha shot them all a look.
"It'll be alright. I'll make sure Ruby is taken care of."
There was something in the way she said those words that raised the suspicion in team RWBY that Pyrrha had something more in mind in taking Ruby to the nurse. In response, Yang nodded slightly. Blake's eyes flicked to Yang, as if waiting for her confirmation that everything was alright.
With that, Pyrrha tugged Ruby out of the room and down the hall.
Ruby was silent as they walked, her eyes downturned. Pyrrha could see that she was glaring a hole into the floor. Ruby had been doing that a lot as of late.
Though she didn't spend as much time with Ruby as she did her own team, Pyrrha made it a point to pay attention to all of her friend's moods. Changes in their regular behavior would be enough to set off alarm bells and she would take it upon herself to discover the cause. Teams JNPR and RWBY were the first real friends she had in her life, and she wouldn't let any of that be ruined. Her friend's happiness was a top priority, and that's why she had a plan for Ruby.
It had been evident in Pyrrha's keen eyes. The bags underneath Ruby's eyes in the mornings, the times she had spotted the younger girl late at night in the library studying, and the numerous hours she spent sparring or practicing with her scythe. Behind it all, Pyrrha could sense frustration in that silver gaze.
When they arrived at the infirmary, the nurse promptly led them to one of the many beds and plopped Ruby down on one of them, departing for bandages.
Ruby sat there, moping as she held the sash to her face. Pyrrha said nothing as she observed the girl, hands clasped together in her lap. Soon after, the nurse arrived to patch Ruby up, setting bandages on her nose.
Pyrrha chose to speak up once the nurse departed.
"Ruby, are you alright?" She said in an even tone. She needed to get to the bottom of this.
"I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?" Ruby replied, the forced cheeriness of her tone being incredibly obvious.
Pyrrha didn't buy it for a second.
"Ruby…I'm your friend, yes?"
"O-Of course you are!"
"And friends tell each other when something is wrong, correct?"
"…Yeah…?"
"Ruby, I can tell that something is bothering you. I want to help, so please let me."
Pyrrha reached forward and grabbed one of Ruby's hands, curling it against her own. She squeezed to prompt Ruby to look up at her. She did, hesitant silver meeting earnest emerald.
"Please?"
Ruby was silent and Pyrrha could see the gears turning in her mind. Finally, the smaller girl sighed as she looked down.
"I suck."
Pyrrha blinked. That…wasn't what she had been expecting.
"Pardon?"
"I suck. At everything I do here. I can barely keep up with the classes and Weiss's tutoring isn't helping me. I have to spend hours at the library going through stupid books I barely understand just to get a barely passing grade on a test I'm barely awake for." The girl sniffed as her grip on Pyrrha's hand tightened. "I can barely keep up with everything I have to do as team leader. All of the schedules and paperwork takes away all of the time I have doing other things."
Pyrrha watched in increasing distress as Ruby began to tremble.
"I can hear what people say. All those whispers and looks in the hallway. That I'm a child. That I don't belong here. That Ozpin was wrong to pick me." The tears were flowing down her face now and Pyrrha resisted the urge to wipe them away until Pyrrha finished. "That's why I volunteered to fight you in class today. If I could put up even a decent fight against the "Invincible Girl", then maybe…maybe I could prove that I belonged here. But all I ended up with was a broken nose in front of the entire class."
Ruby hiccupped as she seemed to curl in on herself. Pyrrha pulled the chair closer to clasp one of Ruby's hands in both of hers.
"I want to prove that I belong here. I'm expected to prove I belong at Beacon. But nothing is working…" The girl said in a small voice.
Pyrrha was silent as she watched the girl cry. It was such a stark contrast to how she normally was. Bright, cheery, a bundle of energy. Seeing that girl reduced to bitter tears before her eyes was so jarring to Pyrrha.
Finally, she reached forward and placed a gloved hand atop Ruby's head.
"I know what it's like…the weight of expectation." She said softly.
Ruby opened her eyes to see Pyrrha looking at her with a sympathetic gaze.
Oh…that's right. Pyrrha "Invincible Girl" Nikos. The girl who from almost the day she was born was trained and bred to be a fighter. Who spent hours upon hours to win tournaments. Sponsors and scholarships given to her. And she had to prove she deserved all of it.
She probably thinks what I'm going through is nothing compared to her…
"We're a lot alike in that way." Pyrrha continued. "We both feel like we have to prove something. For me, whether I like it or not, I have to prove here that I still deserve the title of 'Invincible Girl'. You have to prove that Headmaster Ozpin was right in hand-picking you to come to this school. We have to get the good grades and be the best in the arena." Pyrrha absent-mindedly rubbed the top of Ruby's head. "Ruby, I completely understand. I remember well all the rumors flying about the school of the 'child prodigy' handpicked by Headmaster Ozpin. I understand how other people's opinions can get to you. They affect me sometimes, too."
Pyrrha's hand moved lower to cup Ruby's cheek, and the younger girl couldn't help but lean into the touch.
"But you shouldn't weigh yourself or your skills based on what others think of you. Everyone knows you're a talented fighter, Ruby. My team and I all saw the way you took down that Nevermore during initiation. I've seen you fight Grimm in the field plenty of times. You're a talented girl, Ruby." Pyrrha smiled. "So maybe you have a bit of a hard time with one-on-one sparring. That's nothing that can't be fixed with time and training. And there are plenty of upperclassmen or tutors who would be more than happy to help you with your studies. I'm sure Velvet would volunteer in a split second."
Pyrrha's gaze hardened. She grabbed one of Ruby's shoulders and squeezed lightly, making sure the girl's attention was completely on her.
"But more importantly: you can't be trying to match the expectation's others have of you. You need to work because you know and want to be better. Set your own goals, your own expectations and meet them. And once you do, set your sights higher, if even by the slightest bit. And knowing your work ethic, I don't doubt you'll be there in no time." Pyrrha said with a smile.
Ruby looked owlishly at Pyrrha, absorbing the words into her mind. Ruby knew she could be insecure, incredibly sensitive to what was said about her. She desperately wanted to prove that she belonged at Beacon Academy, that she could do this. So, she always worked to meet expectations. Well, meet other's expectations. She knew she was seen as special, was expected to be special. To be the "bee's knees", as her sister put it. But she knew what she was.
A normal girl with normal knees.
And, Ruby thought, looking at Pyrrha who still looked at Ruby with that gentle, understanding gaze, maybe that was okay.
Ruby sniffed and, without thinking, leaned forward and wrapped her arms around the taller girl, who hesitated for only a moment before returning the embrace.
"You're a very talented girl, Ruby. And you deserve to be here."
Ruby laughed a bit as she tightened her hold on Pyrrha.
"Thanks, Pyrrha. That really does mean a lot."
They sat like that for a while, with Ruby relishing in Pyrrha's warmth. Soon, too soon, in Ruby's mind, they parted, with that dazzling smile still gracing Pyrrha's features.
"I think you should talk to your team about this. I'm sure they would do whatever they could to help."
"Yeah…yeah, you're right. I'll be sure to do that." Ruby nodded.
"Good." Pyrrha stood from her seat. "Well, I'm afraid I must depart. I'm sure my team is looking for me."
"Right."
Pyrrha nodded and turned to leave.
Ruby spoke up again when Pyrrha was some distance away from her. "Hey, Pyrrha?"
"Hm?" The taller redhead looked back.
Ruby winked. "I'll get you back for that spar."
Pyrrha blinked before the grin on her face grew even more.
"I'll be looking forward to it."