Chapter 5: Worries
One week later, The Amphitheatre, 12th September 18 BBY, 15:45 pm…
Nathan couldn't hide a smirk as he watched the sparring match below him unfold.
It was Pyrrha against all of Team CRDL. Hardly a fair fight.
For Team CRDL, that is.
Pyrrha was fighting them all off with an ease that Nathan never found himself bored by. Not a single member of Team CRDL was landing a hit on Pyrrha, making it all the more amazing that Pyrrha was fighting them all at the same time.
Nathan watched as Cardin smashed aside a member of his own team in an effort to get to Pyrrha, only for the four time regional champion to somehow get him into the air, then leap up to join him.
From there, it was purely scientific, as Pyrrha managed to manoeuvre herself behind Cardin, wrap her sword around his neck, and send them both spiralling down towards the floor, slamming the leader of Team CRDL onto the ground in brutal fashion.
Oof, Nathan thought. That might warrant a trip to the hospital wing.
"And that's the match!" Goodwitch declared as she walked towards Cardin as he got up.
"Ugh… Lucky shot." Cardin groaned.
"The only thing lucky about that was the fact you survived!" Nathan shouted back. "Or that it's the closest you jackasses are ever gonna get to a hot girl like Pyrrha!"
The rest of the class laughed, and Nathan could see the ghost of a smile crossing Professor Goodwitch's face as she addressed Pyrrha:
"Well done, Miss Nikos." Goodwitch said. "You should have no problem qualifying for the tournament."
"Thank you, professor." Pyrrha said, a polite smile crossing her face in that moment.
Moving on, Goodwitch then declared: "Alright, now I know that's a tough act to follow, but we have time for one more sparring match! Any volunteers?" At this, Goodwitch looked around the room, her eyes meeting Nathan's at one point, but moving on. "Miss Belladonna?"
Nathan looked to see Blake look up and shut the book she had been engrossed in, and he found himself frowning.
Blake looked… exhausted, for lack of a better term. Dark circles were visible around her eyes, and her face was gaunt, indicating a severe lack of sleep.
Nathan sighed. He'd known that Blake had hardly slept since the investigation him and Team RWBY had undertaken that previous weekend alongside Sun and Neptune. He'd just not had the time to confront her about it. That ends today, Nathan thought to himself.
Goodwitch continued: "You've been rather docile for the past few classes." Seeing Blake look away, visibly guilty. "Why don't you-"
"I'll do it." Said a voice.
Nathan looked to see a familiar face having raised his hand:
Mercury Black, one of the two Haven students Nathan had ran into whilst shopping in Vale the week prior, was raising his hand to volunteer.
"Mercury, is it?" Goodwitch inquired, adjusting her glasses. "Very well, let's find you an opponent."
"Actually…" Mercury said. "I wanna fight… her." At which he gestured to Pyrrha.
Bit of a dick move when she's already fought today, but guess he wants to try his luck, Nathan thought to himself, smirking. He wasn't sure of Mercury's combative abilities, but regardless, Nathan had a feeling that it would make for an entertaining fight.
"Me?" Pyrrha asked, as Goodwitch said:
"I'm afraid Miss Nikos has just finished a match. I recommend you choose another partner."
"No, it's fine." Pyrrha said, looking at the professor. "I'd be happy to oblige." She added, looking up at Mercury.
Nathan sat forward as Mercury made his way down to the combat area, intrigued as to what to expect from the grey-haired Haven student. His eyes met those of Pyrrha, and Nathan gave her a confident smile.
Pyrrha smiled back, before returning her attention to Mercury.
Nathan watched as Mercury drew no weapon, merely adopted a fighting stance. Damn, he's a hand-to-hand fighter? Nathan thought. If he's doing this against Pyrrha, then this looks like it's about to get interesting. He looked on as before long, Mercury rushed towards Pyrrha, and immediately attempted a series of kicks.
Nathan took this in. It looked like Mercury was a practitioner of kickboxing and several other martial arts, creating distance with the help of his legs.
Eventually, Pyrrha managed to smash him back with her shield, leading to a brief stand-off.
"Hey, your friend is doing pretty good!" Ruby said from nearby, looking at Emerald, who smiled in return.
Nathan looked towards that brief snippet, then returned his attention towards the fight, looking on as Pyrrha and Mercury continued to exchange blows.
Mercury was a blur of motion as he launched into a variety of spinning kicks and the like, forcing Pyrrha to fall back to better defend herself against the onslaught Mercury was throwing her way.
Nathan observed this and folded his arms. Mercury's almost showing off with these flashy kicks and the like, he thought to himself. Problem with that is, flashy doesn't always mean effective.
Pyrrha rallied, facing Mercury in a defensive stance as the Haven student charged, attempting a series of kicks that pushed her back, albeit all blocked with her shield, then blocking a roundhouse meant for her head with her arm.
Nathan continued watching as the two exchanged more blows, ending with Mercury managing to disarm Pyrrha of her weapon. Not bad, Nathan thought to himself.
Mercury promptly went for a spinning kick, similar to the one Nathan always favoured, although he used his left foot to attempt it, rather than the right as Nathan always did.
Nathan watched as Pyrrha barely avoided this strike, although he could swear that he saw a familiar black glow envelop Pyrrha's hand and Mercury's leg as Pyrrha did so. Does Mercury have metal prosthetics or something? Nathan wondered, as Mercury once again created distance between himself and Pyrrha, the latter of whom charged in to attack.
"I forfeit." Mercury declared, stopping Pyrrha in her tracks.
Wait, what? Nathan thought to himself.
"You… don't even want to try?" Pyrrha asked Mercury.
"What's the point?" Mercury asked, shrugging. "You're a world-renowned fighter. We're obviously leagues apart."
Nathan could see the scowl crossing Pyrrha's face from where he was sat, finding it crossing his own face as he thought: Something's not quite right about him.
"In that case, Pyrrha Nikos is the victor of the match… again." Goodwitch declared as she joined Pyrrha and Mercury, the latter of whom was smirking rather unpleasantly. "Next time, you may want to think a little harder before choosing an opponent."
"I'll be sure to do that." Mercury said as he walked off.
Nathan watched him leave with a suspicious frown, before looking to the professor as she said:
"That is all for today. And remember, the dance is this weekend, but you all have your first mission on Monday! I will not accept any excuses!"
At that, the whole class stood up and left the room.
Nathan watched as Blake continued reading her book, and sighed. Someone really needs to talk to her, he thought to himself. Before that, he jumped down and joined Pyrrha on the amphitheatre floor, alongside the rest of JNNPR. "You alright, Pyrrha?" Nathan asked her.
Pyrrha shook her head. "That boy didn't even want to try. He just forfeited the match without a second thought."
"Well, maybe he was just scouting you in case our teams face off in the tournament." Nora pointed out.
"Or maybe he just didn't want to mess you up ahead of the dance on Sunday." Jaune said with a grin. "Might be looking to ask you out."
Pyrrha sighed at that, and walked off.
Nathan rolled his eyes and walked off after Pyrrha. "Clueless jackass." Nathan muttered as he joined Pyrrha.
Pyrrha merely sighed again, at which Nathan wrapped an arm around her shoulder. She looked at Nathan and smiled, a gesture Nathan returned, offering her all the comfort he knew Pyrrha would need.
Outside…
Nathan had just exited the amphitheatre with his teammates when he heard:
"Hey Blake! You uh, doing okay?"
Nathan looked, and immediately stopped in his tracks, affixing his eyes on the scene before him:
Sun was talking with Blake, and evidently, was asking her out to the dance.
Jealously gripped Nathan with an iron fist, and he mentally prepared himself to walk on over there and give Sun something to think about.
An arm then took him by the shoulder, and Nathan turned to see Pyrrha stood there, smiling at him.
"It doesn't look like she's interested, Nathan. There's still a chance." Pyrrha said softly.
Nathan smiled back at Pyrrha, nodding agreement. "Yeah. Still a chance." He said, looking back at Blake as she stormed off.
He sighed as he saw how tired Blake was. He could tell Blake was headed for the library, and figured he could join her.
"I'm sure I can do it this time, for sure!"
Nathan looked to Jaune as he joined the group, saying:
"All I gotta do is walk up to the door, knock, ask for Weiss, and then serenade her with my invitation to the dance this Sunday!" Jaune declared, smiling confidently.
Nathan had to admit, it was a solid plan. Weiss was renowned for her own singing voice, and Jaune had a decent one himself, if Nathan wasn't mistaken. "Sounds like a good idea, Jaune. Bet you'll definitely nail Weiss with that." Nathan said, before looking at Pyrrha and winking knowingly. "He won't." Nathan mouthed to Pyrrha, who giggled. Taking a deep breath, Nathan looked in the direction of the library, saying: "Hey guys, I'll catch you guys later. Gonna try and talk to Blake."
"No problemo, Nate! Good luck getting in her pants!" Nora said cheerfully.
"Nora!" Ren chided.
Nathan laughed as he walked away. He'd decided to tell his team that they were right to assume he did have feelings for Blake a few days ago. And he was glad he did, as it meant he could talk about it freely with anyone but himself. Now, all that remained was to convince Blake to rest up, and hopefully attend the dance.
Beacon Library, not long later…
It didn't take Nathan long to find Blake.
She was sat by herself at one of the many computer desks within the library, scrolling through lines of text Nathan couldn't read clearly from where he'd been standing.
Taking a deep breath, Nathan walked over to where she was, saying: "Hey, Blake."
Blake jumped at the voice, then looked to see Nathan stood there. "Hey, Nathan." She said, a tired smile crossing her face.
"Can I sit with you?" Nathan asked. "We… haven't talked in a while, so…"
Blake nodded. "I can always make time for you, Nathan." She said.
At that, Nathan used the Force to call a seat over, and then sat next to Blake. "Are… are you alright? You don't look like you've slept well since the investigation."
Blake sighed. "I haven't." She said. "As much as we managed to uncover, I'm still left with so many unanswered questions, with no idea of what our enemies are planning, and no idea of how much time we have until they put that plan into action. So the rest of the team can enjoy themselves at this upcoming dance on Sunday. I can't stop until I find out what's happening."
Nathan frowned. "That doesn't mean you don't need to rest, Blake. The more you run yourself into the ground, the more likely you're actually gonna miss that vital piece of information you need. Trust me, I know."
"How?" Blake asked, looking to Nathan.
Nathan sighed. "About a year before Order Sixty-Six, one of my best friends was framed for a crime she didn't commit." Nathan said. "Her name was Ahsoka Tano, and she was innocent. She spent several days on the run, trying to clear her name. Back at the Jedi Temple, I was fighting for her, too. I was everywhere, leaving no stone unturned in my quest to prove Ahsoka was innocent. But… in doing so, I refused to sleep, or rest in any capacity, such was my desperation to make sure Blake would be okay." Pausing, Nathan said: "Because of that, I worked myself into the ground, and while my mind was all for what I was doing, my body was not. And… as a result, I finally fell asleep. By the time I woke up, yeah, Ahsoka had been proven innocent. But…" Nathan closed his eyes as a few tears blurred his sight. "But the damage was done. She walked out of the order that same day, and I've not seen her since." Looking up, Nathan saw that Blake was looking on with a sympathetic expression on her face.
"I'm… I'm sorry that happened to you." Blake said.
"It's fine." Nathan said as he wiped his eyes. "But… you're running the same risk. Sooner or later, you're gonna fall asleep while doing this, whether you want to or not. And by the time you wake up… who knows what might have happened. So please… get some rest, Blake. Don't make my mistake." Standing up, Nathan turned to walk away. "Oh, and… if you decide to… to attend the dance this Sunday…" Nathan added, swallowing nervously as he looked back at Blake. "I wouldn't mind accompanying you." He then gave Blake a warm smile before turning and walking away, hearing Blake sigh sadly as he did, causing a frown to cross his face.
Part of him knew that he probably hadn't gotten through to her, but another part of him still held out hope. It was Blake, after all. She'd listened to him plenty of times before. And if not him, hopefully, she would listen to her teammates, especially Yang, who Nathan knew Blake considered as one of her closest friends besides him.
But for now, Nathan would have to keep worrying that all he was doing was paying Blake lip service. He prayed that wouldn't happen. The last thing he wanted was for Blake to make his mistakes. Hopefully, she wouldn't.
Later that evening…
Nathan stepped out onto the roof to see Pyrrha stood there, a sad expression crossing her face. He sighed. "Jaune being a dense dumbass again?" He asked.
Pyrrha nodded sadly. "Weiss shot his invitation to the dance down, again." She replied. "When I told him that there was plenty of fish in the sea, he just said that was easy for me to say, because I'm more than likely up to my neck in boys asking me to the dance."
"When as a matter of fact, there isn't." Nathan said.
Pyrrha nodded. "Because of who I am, most men just wouldn't even look at me. I'm on a level they simply dare not try to step up to." She sighed. "You, Jaune and Ren are the only young men that treat me like a normal young woman, and because of that, I consider all of you my friends. I just… I can't help but pine for something more with Jaune." Bowing her head, Pyrrha added: "I just can't help but wonder if I'm not good enough for him! If… there's something wrong with me physically that I simply do not realise yet."
"Pyrrha, look at me." Nathan said firmly.
Pyrrha looked up to meet Nathan's gaze.
"There is nothing wrong with you physically, Pyrrha. So what if you have more muscle than most girls or are taller than most of them. Look at yourself in the mirror. You are a fucking gorgeous young woman, Pyrrha." Nathan said, before rubbing the back of his head. "Hell; if Blake wasn't in the picture, I'd be trying to get into your pants."
Pyrrha giggled at that, smiling warmly. "I'm flattered you think so highly of me." Pyrrha replied, hugging Nathan and kissing him on the cheek. "And admittedly, I would certainly consider you if Jaune were not an option. But… I fear our similar appearances would make any romantic relationship between us awkward."
"True, but still…" Nathan said, before sighing himself.
"What's wrong?" Pyrrha asked, eyeing Nathan concernedly.
"It's Blake." Nathan replied. "Did you see how tired she looked today?"
Pyrrha nodded. "She does look like she needs some sleep. Didn't you talk to her earlier?"
"I did." Nathan said. "I told her about a similar mistake I made to the one I'm worried she's about to make, and begged her not to. But… I'm just worried that all I'm doing is paying Blake lip service, and she won't listen." Sighing, Nathan added: "And more than that… I'm worried that even if she listens to me and attends the dance… it'll be with Sun instead."
Pyrrha bowed her head and walked up to Nathan, placing a hand on his shoulder. "It hasn't happened yet, Nathan." She says. "You still have over a day left to ask her. And who knows? Perhaps you will surprise yourself."
Nathan nodded and stepped away from Pyrrha, turning his back on her. "Maybe." He said. "I hope so, at least."
At that, a pregnant silence developed between them, until Pyrrha gave birth to sound by saying:
"All this talk of our romantic woes is saddening. What do you say we do something to take our minds off of all of this?"
"Sure." Nathan said, facing Pyrrha. "What did you have in mind?"
Pyrrha smiled back at Nathan, and drew her weapons.
Nathan smirked, adopted a fighting stance, and drew his lightsaber.
You probably all bloody hate me for that tease, don't you?
More than that, apologies for the delays in updating. Work has been an utter chore, what with a new manager replacing our old one.
But enough of that. Let's answer some reviews, shall we?
Guest: Trust me, this romance will have a happy ending. But... it won't be smooth sailing. Especially come the Atlas Arc. As for his reaction to Blake essentially being a princess, that will come in time.
With that said, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I will see you tomorrow with chapter six, which sees more of Nathan's backstory come to light.
T-Rock14