Pyrrha Nikos was a woman everyone knew of but a select few actually knew. The list of people she believed she could count on was limited to her team, the friends she had made so far at Beacon and one of her old managers.

She could not trust the rest of the world beyond her small one. They would want to use her, whether because of her skill, looks, influence, wealth or the sheer power of her semblance. Polarity had the potential to be a weapon of mass destruction if she grew powerful enough, with the foundation of the modern world being made of metal and concrete.

It was always something that had kept her up awake at night when she had been younger, more weaker through the chains that she had allowed to be placed on her by her parents. The prospect of her semblance being used for evil rather than to protect mankind, and the faunus of cause had been troubling to her. She'd always wanted to be a hero after all. Now all she wanted was the hero's retirement, to be forgotten about by the next generation of heroes and allowed to live her life in peace with those she loved.

Pyrrha sighed, letting the feeling of the cool evening breeze wash over her. Jaune should be there soon for their training session, which they had brought forward a few hours earlier in order to watch a movie with Nora and Ren. Movie night was a relatively new idea her partner had implemented to improve morale and build bonds. He had chosen the first movie, an action flick that had been enjoyable enough. The fact Pyrrha had been able to cuddle up next to him didn't affect that opinion in any way shape or form.

Now it was Nora's turn however, and Pyrrha was both morbidly curious and terrified about the things she may or may not witness in the coming hours.

The sound of the door clicking open broke her from her thoughts before her imagination could send her spiralling. Her partner's face broke out into a wonderfully goofy grin and he gave her a wave, Crocea Mors held eagerly in his hands.

"Heya Pyrrha." Jaune greeted, striding over to her. "Wanna get started?"

"I would love to." Pyrrha answered honestly, standing and brushing the dirt off the back of her skirt. Then she picked up Milo and Akouo and readied herself, taking note of Jaune's whilst he did the same. His stance had improved considerably, as had the rest of his ability with his blade over the past few months. However she noted that he seemed overly cautious, and that his shield was raised too high so that it affected his vision.

There was no point in using a shield to defend yourself if you didn't even know what direction your opponent's attack was coming in.

Now that she knew what she needed to improve, Pyrrha surged forward, holding herself but still taking him by surprise as she slid to the right at the last moment and dove into an attack against hist exposed side.

To his credit he managed to move quickly enough to knock Milo's bladed form away from his side and she let out a soft grunt as her momentum carried her forward into Jaune's shield. Jaune adjusted to the weight quickly, though rather than using the opportunity to push her back and unbalance her he instead swung with his sword. She raised Akouo and blocked the attack, sliding around again, sparks sparking as his sword grated against her shield, and she managed to score a hit on his back, making Jaune cry out and stumble.

Pyrrha allowed him to regain his footing before charging in again, trying to move slower this time. Jaune had improved dramatically, but it would still be a long time before he'd be able to hold his own, let alone try to defeat her, if she didn't hold back.

He was getting better. Just not better enough to challenge her. He would at least be able to put up a fight against Cardin and his cronies.

The fact she cared dearly for him had no effect whatsoever on her holding back against him.


The food fight was over. Four food-stained figures trudged towards their dorm. Unsurprisingly, Nora was leading the charge, dragging an unwilling Ren who was too exhausted to argue against the decision.

Leaving her with Jaune. Who was starting to take off his blazer. Then he was starting to unbutton his shirt.

"D-Do you need a hand?" Pyrrha asked, swallowing nervously and trying her best not to stare. It certainly looked like her training was starting to pay off.

"Nah I'm alright." Jaune said, giving her a grin. "Thanks for offering though Pyrrha. I just wanna get out of these clothes now they're covered in crap."

She agreed with the sentiment. There was indeed a lot of 'crap' staining her own clothes.

'Momma likes.'

Pyrrha made a gargling noise that made Jaune give her a funny look, her face quickly heating up with mortification and flusteredness at the sight of her half naked crush.

"Are you okay Pyrrha?" Jaune asked worriedly, wiping away some leftover soda still splattered on her head before pressing his hand against her forehead. "Did you catch something from all the good Ruby vortex'd onto us?"

'He's teasing. He has to know!' Pyrrha's mind wailed desperately. 'Tell him! Admit your feelings damnit then give him some one-on-one training sessions. Nora would distract Ren whilst you did! She's cool like that.'

Nora was cool about that. What wasn't cool was the images of the 'one-on-one training' her imagination helpfully conjured up for her.

She stopped and stared at Jaune, who didn't stop giving her that worried, considering look of his. She could tell him. She would!

Except she was a coward.

"W-Who knows?" Pyrrha asked rhetorically, a soft, almost manic giggle spilling out of her. "Are you okay Jaune?"

"Yeah. I'll be better after Nora's out of the shower though." Jaune replied with a sigh, the soft warmth of his hand leaving as he continued towards their dorm, grumbling something about 'Dibs'.

'Damnit Pyrrha.' Her subconscious growled. 'Why do you have to be such a coward?'

Pyrrha didn't know. But she hated herself just as much as her subconscious did in that moment.


Pyrrha sighed as she took in the cool air of the dark, moonless night. She was alone on the rooftop where she had spent the past few months training with Jaune, though tonight she did not expect much company. Jaune was busy spending time with Ruby, trying to distract the girl from the chaos that had erupted due to her sister's actions.

Pyrrha wasn't sure what to make of the situation. Yang denied it, but Pyrrha knew that tournament fighting could be overwhelming. Her first outing had been bad enough, though it had mostly been limited to Argus with only a small mention in the national news the next day.

Time had changed that of course, but that had meant she had the time she had needed in order to acclimate to the pressure. Yang hadn't had that, and her very first outing had seen her fighting against international opponents in an arena spectated by at least 40,000 and broadcasted internationally. It was an immense amount of pressure that still made Pyrrha's stomach queasy at the mere thought of it, and that was with the benefit of prior experience. No one else competing probably could say that, and Yang definitely did not.

But at the same time, for all the hothead she was, Yang wasn't cruel or violent. She wouldn't break that poor guy's legs just because she thought she saw him make a move. For all Pyrrha knew the guy had a speed semblance or something like that, or an illusion one that distorted what others or just Yang had saw.

She shook her head. She'd come here for peace and quiet, not just to worry herself to death with things already being debated online and the evening news.

She'd come there to think. To wonder.

Pyrrha Nikos was a tournament fighter. She was a member of Team JNPR and a student at Beacon Academy.

She was also cursed to be a coward.

She had been a coward when she had run away to Beacon rather than confront her parents over her lack of desire to continue competing in Mistral's tournament scene. She had been a coward when she had refused to speak for her older sister's eulogy and she was a coward now when it came to her feelings with Jaune Arc.

'Why can't you just be honest with him? Tell him how you feel?'

Because she was a coward. Because she was scared to lose what they already had.

Jaune had been unique that the only way he had known her was because of her sponsorship for Pumpkin Pete, not her skills as a fighter. That had been a definitive reason why she had sought him out at Initiation. He knew of her by face, not by deed, so that any attempt of his to be friends would be honest as he had no idea as to her true extent as a fighter. He hadn't even recognised her at first.

Why that was so important to her…she didn't really know. Her time in the limelight had made her more sceptical when it came to people. She was an optimist at heart, but being exposed to celebrity culture at a young age had opened her eyes, and she knew to look for the motive behind people's deeds.

Ruby wanted to be a Huntress because her mother had been. Weiss wanted to be a Huntress to make a name for herself beyond that of just a Schnee. Nora and Ren wanted to be Hunters because they wanted to be strong enough to prevent another Kuroyuri.

The heavy meaning behind the name may have escaped Jaune, but Pyrrha knew Mistral's version of Mountain Glenn well, so when the Nora had accidentally let the name slip once it had told Pyrrha enough to know that her friends deserved to be Hunters more than herself and anyone she knew, even Jaune.

The point was that making friends was hard for her because she always saw a motive behind what they did, even if it may or may not have been there in the first place or just at all. It was an entirely self-inflicted wound, but one made because of her experiences in the past that made such behaviour valid.

Jaune had no motives she could see. He was honest in her eyes. Pure. It was something that she had been searching for so desperately when she first came to Beacon, something she was desperate enough to abandon her family without another word.

A fresh start.

And that fresh start may be ruined if she admitted to Jaune she loved him.

Pyrrha sighed, closing her eyes and feeling the breeze tickle her skin for a few more moments. She would need to go to bed soon, she had a fight tomorrow after all, but she thought it would be best to enjoy the nighttime breeze for a little longer.

She had a feeling tomorrow was going to be a big day.


Beacon was falling.

It was not metaphorical. It was not an exaggeration.

The school that had become her home in a few short months was falling, under attack by hordes of Grimm and roaming bands of White Fang terrorists. There were screams, there was gunfire, there was death.

And now Professor Ozpin had seemingly been defeated, and the Fall Maiden was ascending the tower, the one place she had been instructed to defend at all costs.

If there was one thing Pyrrha could do, it was fight.

She glanced at Jaune, who was staring wide-eyed at all the horrors erupting around him. It was funny. She was willing to lay down her life to protect those she cared about, a quality some would either deem brave or stupid, but she was unwilling to admit to those same people just how much she cares about them.

She was a weird coward, but it seemed to make sense for her.

"Jaune." She said, voice filled a resolve she had not had in a long time. "Go to Vale. Bring back-up."

"What about you?" He asked, eyes narrowed. He already knew, even before she turned to face the tower. To face her destiny. "Pyrrha no! You saw how powerful she was! I won't let you-umph!"

He was cut off by Pyrrha grabbing his face and smashing her lips against his own. For the first few seconds it was clumsy and uncomfortable, but in the next few moments she poured every ounce of passion and love and frustration she could into the kiss.

She may never say the words to him. Her cowardly self won't allow her. But she could show him.

They broke apart. He was dazed, confused, scared.

But he knew.

"I'm sorry." Pyrrha told him honestly, and she semblance activated and pushed him into the nearby weapons locker. He protested, shouted and pounded at the door, and she was forced to tune him out. If she listened to his words her resolve would falter and she could be convinced to let him die with her.

For a moment, a brief moment before the rockets took off, their eyes met through the slits of the locker. His eyes were filled with tears and pain, and most hurtfully of all, betrayal.

But he knew. He knew she loved him. And in those eyes that mesmerised her in their final moments together she knew he loved her too.

Then the rocket took off, soaring in a distant arc towards Vale. A bitter sob left her.

He loved her back. She knew it. She'd always known. She'd just been too cowardly to act on it.

That was her curse. To be a coward in all the ways that truly mattered.

Pyrrha turned and walked towards the tower, wiping her eyes as she did so. She would not go down without a fight.

And she would not accept her fate without dignity.