A/N: Welcome back to a new term, everyone! Here is where things start getting (kind of) serious. There are so many of you following along- I'd love to hear from all of you! Let me know what you think :D
Laws of Attraction
"Students, please remember that tomorrow is your first day of classes. Take today to relax and get settled in, as we will be back to your usual schedules tomorrow morning. And, to all the students who are coming from other Academies: welcome to Beacon. We hope that the bonds you build amongst one another will last you a lifetime." And with that final note, Professor Goodwitch's face flashed off the large monitor, leaving the students to enjoy their final day of freedom in the bustling dining hall.
"I still can't believe we had to sit through a speech from Professor Peach about welcoming the new students," Jaune moaned, poking at his food. "Why did we have to wear our uniforms so early, anyways? I don't care if we have to 'identify ourselves as Beacon students'. This should still be our break!"
"At least it's nice out," Pyrrha murmured distractedly. Unlike the previous week of snow, the sun was shining through the windows, promising an endless amount of activities for them to enjoy before academics began once more.
Pyrrha cut a small piece of her pancake and ate it absentmindedly, watching Nora toss grapes across two tables and into Yang's mouth with delicate precision. Team RWBY had arrived late to Sunday brunch after Professor Peach's speech, and thus had been forced to sit at the edge of the dining hall rather than with Team JNPR like they usually did. The other girls didn't seem to mind, thankfully.
Pyrrha took in all of these facts blankly. Her mind was a million miles away- well, a few thousand miles in a lonely house in Mistral, to be more precise. In her pocket, her Scroll buzzed with a fervour that hadn't ceased since the winter solstice. Her mother had clearly not been happy to find a distinct lack of a Mistralian champion in their home the previous week.
The redhead took a deep breath, forcing the lines in her forehead to smooth out, her face becoming impassive once more. She had also received more calls from Professor Tumnus over the course of the week, along with a few other professors from Sanctum- apparently they had wanted her input on how to distribute the weapons from her father's forge and workshop, while her mother had wanted her to speak at a symposium for Huntsmen Academy candidates. When she hadn't shown up like she usually did when her mother summoned her, something in the older woman had snapped.
And yet, Pyrrha didn't care. She wasn't going back- not if she could help it.
If she did, she didn't know whether she'd be able to handle the sight of the empty, torn-apart workshop; and, she didn't know whether she'd be able to shut the little black box again afterwards.
Nora pumped her fist in the air as she successfully got another grape to reach the blonde girl. "Ooh yeah, target practice is paying off," the girl announced, reaching over to Ren's plate to grab more ammunition.
The dark-haired boy merely rolled his eyes, moving his tray a little closer to hers so she didn't have to reach so far while he continued eating. "You shouldn't play with food, Nora," he chided quietly.
Jaune poked her shoulder, chewing on a piece of bacon. "Why's Ruby carrying that?"
Slowly, Pyrrha ripped her eyes off of Nora and Yang's show, seeing Ruby lugging a huge white binder towards her team. The short girl flashed her a bright smile before dropping the book on top of their table with a loud thud, startling everyone seated nearby.
Ruby took a stand at the end of the table, looking prouder than Pyrrha had ever seen. Clearing her throat, she gestured towards everyone as she announced loud enough for even Pyrrha to hear, "Sisters, friends… Weiss."
The pale girl yelped, "Hey!" indignantly at that, and Pyrrha couldn't help but chuckle as she took another bite of her pancake.
"Four score and seven minutes ago, I had a dream-" the brunette continued sagely.
Yang interrupted, "This ought to be good," before catching another berry from Nora.
"-a dream that one day, the four of us will come together, as a team, and have the most fun anyone has ever had… ever!"
Weiss demanded, "Did you steal my binder?"
Making peace signs on both hands, Ruby insisted, "I am not a crook."
"Sounds suspicious," Jaune whispered to Pyrrha, amused by the entire show happening in front of them.
Blake asked, "What are you talking about?"
"I'm talking," Ruby explained, "about kicking off the semester with a bang!"
Pyrrha couldn't contain her good-natured groan as Yang added, "I always kick my semesters off with a Yang! Eh? Guys? Am I right?"
Out of the corner of her eye, Pyrrha saw Nora fling Ren's apple across the room, hitting Yang squarely in the face. "Not cool," the orange-haired girl muttered angrily under her breath. "That was worse than Jaune's jokes." Louder, she yelled at Yang, "Boo!"
"Hey!" Jaune protested, embarrassed.
"Look guys," Ruby pleaded, "it's been a good two weeks and between more exchange students arriving and the tournament at the end of the year, our second semester is going to be great! But, classes start back up tomorrow! Which is why I've taken the time to schedule a series of wonderful events for us today."
"I don't know whether to be proud or scared of what you have in store," Weiss commented.
With a glare, Yang picked up the apple and threw it hard across the dining hall. Pyrrha let out a tired sigh as Nora giggled on, while the poor victim of Yang's throw cried out helplessly.
While Team RWBY continued to plan their day, Nora began searching her own tray for anymore things to toss at Yang. Ren murmured, "I don't have anything left, Nora. Unless if you want the dishes… don't throw the dishes, please."
"But Ren," she pouted, swiveling out of her seat. Suddenly, she stood, shouting, "I got it!" Out of nowhere, the girl had managed to find a creamy pie, and her arm was cocked and ready to throw it.
Ren jumped up and grabbed her arm, crying, "Nora, don't throw that!"
Pyrrha's hand flew to cover her mouth in shock as the pie flew gracefully from Nora's hand- but due to Ren's interference, it landed squarely in Weiss' face, splattering cream all over her. The orange-haired girl immediately sat down, feigning innocence while pointing at Ren, the latter so thoroughly defeated that he just hung his head in his hands.
The heiress reached up, wiping cream off her face. Her pale eyes burned in fury, her posture going rigid as she wiped her hands on her handkerchief. A moment of hushed silence fell over the hall as people began to look over at the fuming girl, the air starting to practically crackle from the tension.
Finally, Weiss reached down and picked up the offending pie. Looking from the pie to Team JNPR, still sitting in shock, she called, "These are new shoes. I will destroy you." And with that, she raised her hand, launching the pie right back at the opposing table where it landed flat on Jaune's face.
"Food fight!" someone nearby yelled, and in that moment, chaos erupted.
Jaune stood up immediately, tossing his tray to the side. Pyrrha spun to her feet, taking a napkin and wiping the cream off his face. The blond's expression was solemn, eyes glinting with determination. Pyrrha recognized that expression- with it, she felt a swell of pride in her heart, her Scroll forgotten, frustration and uneasiness melting away quickly. With a smirk, she whispered, "This is ridiculous, you know."
"They're not backing down, either."
"I know. Are we going to just take that?"
An almost devilish grin pulled at his lips. "Not today, we won't."
Her heart pounded in her chest, the excitement and anticipation building inside her something that she hadn't felt in a long time. That was what I wanted to hear. "Alright, leader. What's the plan?"
He finished mopping up his face, calm and calculating as half of the students bolted out the door, stampeding their way through the rows of chairs while the other half jumped into the fray, tossing trays and fruits all around. "Our target is Team RWBY," he declared to the team.
Nora, Ren and Pyrrha all traded looks. "Got it!" Nora agreed, eyes shining with anticipation.
Before they could come up with a concrete strategy, a dark brown blur in the corner of her vision warned Pyrrha. "Look out!" she cried, grabbing Jaune and pulling him to the ground as a table soared over his head. With a resounding crash, it fell against another table, effectively cutting off the route for a few of the other students.
"Nora, Pyrrha, Ren- move out of the way!" Jaune yelled, bolting to the other end of the hall away from the crowded doors. "Build a barricade! Remove the projectiles!"
"Got it!" the trio cried as Yang lobbed over another table their way.
In a blur of movement, Pyrrha sprinted towards the other end of the hall, kicking tables up and off balance while Nora used her strength to toss each on onto a huge pile at the end of the hall. If we take them all from this side, we can clear the area for the battle.
A nearby student yelled, "What the hell?! They're throwing tables!"
"Get out!" another cried, and soon, even those who had been participating in the food fight began fleeing to the exit.
By the time the dining hall had completely evacuated, there was a giant fortress of long tables and benches stacked haphazardly upon one another, the entire formation just a hairsbreadth away from collapsing. Nora perched herself proudly upon the top of the stack, laughing maniacally, instilling a sense of dread even in Pyrrha as she watched crazed sparks in Nora's eyes.
"I'm queen of the castle! I'm queen of the castle!" she sang, voice echoing throughout the hall.
Ruby, leading her team at the other end of the large room, stomped her foot on the table she stood upon, pointing an accusatory finger at the other team as the plates and cups from the table went flying around her. Somehow, throughout the whole ordeal, she had managed to keep holding onto her milk carton. "Justice will be swift! Justice will be painful!" She crushed the carton of milk, fire blazing in her eyes. "It will be delicious!"
"Yeah!" her team cried, raising their fists in unison.
With a graceful flip off the table tower, Nora yelled, "Off with their heads!"
As she landed lithely in front of a row of watermelons, Pyrrha scooped up two watermelons with her hands. Sharing a determined grin with Jaune, she launched them in the air towards the other girls, smiling in satisfaction as Nora and Ren filled the air with their own barrage of fruit.
Ruby was unfazed. "Yang, turkey!"
Obediently, Yang grabbed two whole turkeys, shoving her hands inside them with no hesitation. Before Pyrrha could stop to process how odd the girl looked, the blonde began punching the watermelons out of the air, protecting her team from the giant projectiles.
Blake jumped and rolled over her partner, grabbing long baguettes from a discarded bread basket. By some miracle (or with Aura fortification) she used the loaves as blade, breaking through the last of the melons with ease.
Running to her side, Yang punched the air, sending the turkeys flying towards Pyrrha. Instinctively, she rolled out of the way, grabbing a long baguette as she rose back up to her feet. She winced as one of the turkeys landed squarely in Jaune's face. "Sorry," she whispered under her breath, a little bit of guilt emerging as she watched him stagger about in a daze. I probably should've warned him about that.
Before she could feel too much guilt, a presence from above caught her attention. Jumping backwards, she watched as Blake swung her own baguettes down on where Pyrrha had been standing only a moment earlier. Grasping the bread like Miló, the redhead swung her baguette at Blake, gritting her teeth as the girl held her own, blocking Pyrrha with her two own bread-blades.
They shared a moment of eye contact, each girl bearing down on the other. Briefly, Pyrrha's eyes ran over the dark shadows which were barely masked by concealer underneath the other girl's eyes. Is she alright? The thought was fleeting, however, as she pulled away, swinging her baguette around.
Blake, true to form, lithely jumped over Pyrrha's head, dodging the blow. As she tried to attack Pyrrha, the redhead pivoted away, swinging back around until the two were locked in a fierce rhythm of strikes and dodges.
Eventually, Blake jumped high in the air, throwing one baguette down at her. Pyrrha stepped back with grace, ignoring how the loaf shattered to pieces at the impact. Running forward, she lunged with her weapon, destroying her own baguette and throwing the girl back with the force of her blow.
Easily picking Blake's remaining baguette out of the air, Pyrrha took a step back, raising the loaf in her right hand. With the ease and grace that only came with years of handling Miló, she leaned back, closed an eye, and watched Blake's trajectory. With a sharp breath in, she took a step forward and threw the baguette like a javelin straight for the girl.
Yang intercepted it, breaking it to pieces with a single punch. Grabbing a few more, Pyrrha lobbed them her way, but as Ruby surfed in on a tray towards her, Pyrrha had no choice but to roll out of the way when the smaller girl used the tray to deflect one of the loaves right back at her. Before she could get back on her feet, the girl picked up the tray and kicked it towards her, as if to ride the tray on top of the redhead.
Pyrrha immediately braced herself, holding her arms up as if Akoúo was on her arm. The impact was great, but not too terrible to bear- discretely, she pulled up her Semblance, holding the metal tray away from her as much as possible to lessen the weight of Ruby practically leaping on top of it.
Unfortunately, the girl threw an extra kick down, and Pyrrha felt the world spin as she flew backwards. Her Aura immediately rushed forth as she landed awkwardly on her shoulder blades and she rolled head over heels. Shaking her head, she heard various crashes as bodies flew into piles of tables and strewn dishes, half-eaten meals flying into the air. Absently, she murmured, "This is going to be awful to clean."
A particularly loud crash caught her attention as she staggered to her feet, her eyes snapping up to see Weiss falling from a shattered pillar by the door. Ruby leapt forward, catching the girl as she fell and jumping out of the way as the large shards of stone began tumbling forward. Cradling the pale girl in her arms, Ruby collapsed on her knees, turning her face mournfully towards the heavens. "Weiss, Weiss! Don't leave me! No!" As she cried, the pillars by the door finally collapsed with a thunderous crash, dust and rubble filling the air in chalky clouds, obscuring everyone's vision.
Out of the dust cloud came Yang, equipped with more turkeys. As Pyrrha straightened up, Ren ran past her, holding spring onions menacingly as the blonde approached. As the two exchanged blows, he fought as if he held StormFlower, but soon the blonde kicked him down. Nora took his place, eventually managing to send Yang flying through the ceiling; but soon, Pyrrha saw her crash into the vending machines they had used as the base of their table fort. Cans spilled out from the broken machines with a clatter, a few bursting from the impact, covering the floor with sticky, fizzing soda.
As Nora began throwing cans to keep the other team at bay, Pyrrha knelt down. By sending out just the smallest wave of her Semblance, she could feel the tingling presence of all of the aluminum surrounding her. Glancing upwards, she saw the team of girls fending off the slow stream of cans JNPR was throwing at them. But they can't block them all.
Focusing her energy into the liquid, she sent out a shockwave of her Semblance, tossing all of the cans around her into the air. More rolled out of the machines, pulled by her magnetism- soon, she had raised an entire projectile artillery in the air behind her.
Even in the distance, she could see Blake's eyes widen in fear.
With a small, satisfied grin, Pyrrha summoned all her strength and guided the soda cans into the distance, the rivers of metal streaming through the air like silvery snakes. Blake couldn't run- before she knew it, the black-haired girl had been thrown against the opposing wall, helpless as cans exploded on impact upon her.
Suddenly, a red blur in the distance caught her eye, speeding like a bullet towards her. She raised her arms to shield her face, but as the blur raced past her, the wind it carried picked her up bodily and threw her against the wall. She was helpless to move, pressed against cracking concrete with the force of a hurricane holding her down.
As all of the food caught in the same forceful wind flew towards her, all Pyrrha could do was close her eyes and accept their defeat.
The next thing she knew, she was on the floor, chairs and tables flying all around her and rearranging themselves back into neat rows upon the floor. All around her, the pained groans of her teammates guided her to her feet, her bones moaning at the movement after the assault they had just endured.
A hand reached out in front of her face as she tottered back to a stand. Grabbing it with a grin, she let Jaune pull her completely upright, the blond smirking back evilly, "Now you know what it feels to be on the other end of your training sessions."
"Ha-ha," she rolled her eyes, but she bumped shoulders with him playfully nonetheless before turning to find Nora, a slight pink on her cheeks that she would later blame on the soda that had exploded over them.
The other two were already by one of the fixed tables, facing Weiss, Ruby and Blake who sat upon the tabletops the next row over. "Wait, how is this…?" Jaune muttered as they walked over, looking around at the flying tables and neatly stacked dishes in wonder.
Dread instantaneously flooded Pyrrha's stomach. I think I know… she thought, biting her lip as she peeked out of the corner of her eye.
And just as she had feared, Professor Goodwitch stood tall in the middle of the hall, marching over with fierce disappointment in her eyes as she guided each and every object in the room back into its proper place with frightening precision. As the last table clanged into place, she turned her scathing glare to the guilty seven students huddled before her. "Children, please," she said sternly, adjusting her glasses as she swung her riding crop around, "do not play with your food!"
"I told you," Ren murmured under his breath.
Nora burped loudly, a blush immediately lighting her cheeks as the professor glared at her. Before she could say anything further, however, a faint scream grew louder and louder from above them. A loud crash was the only real warning they received before Yang, still yelling in fear, plummeted through the ceiling and down into one of the nearby tables.
As Team Ruby went to make sure she was alright, Nora whispered, "Think we'll get in trouble?"
Pyrrha wiped a smidge of ketchup off of the smaller girl's cheek. "I think she'll be okay with it," she murmured, heart still racing from the exhilaration from the fight. From her head to toe, every vein was on fire, every pore oozing with excitement.
That had been the most ridiculous thing she had ever done- and to top it all off, her team had lost. And yet, she still couldn't deny the fact that it felt good.
A little part of her whined unhappily at that fact, but she quickly shut it up and turned her attention to Professor Goodwitch, who was murmuring to a familiar slate-haired individual who had followed her in. The conversation was short, however, and soon Professor Ozpin sauntered out of the dining hall, leaving the blonde to deal with the aftermath of the cafeteria mess.
She took a moment to calm down, massaging her temples before turning to face Pyrrha and the others. Putting on her best smile, Pyrrha nudged her teammates, urging them to do the same. In a moment, everyone was giving the blonde woman sweet, meek smiles.
"No one is leaving until this hall is cleaned up," she said dryly. "Go get changed, and be back in comfortable gear. I suggest you get started right away- if this isn't fixed by dinnertime, you'll get to know what detention feels like for the next month."
Yang mutedly pointed at the ceiling where she had fallen through, the sunlight catching the dust floating in the air eerily. "Your job is to scrub this place, not fix holes in the roof, Miss Xiao Long," she muttered, the girl nodding quickly at her answer.
Murmuring words of apology, the group walked past the unimpressed woman, sheepishly trailing out of the dining hall towards the dormitories. As they walked, Jaune and Ruby chatted about how to go about the cleaning process, with Weiss and Ren adding their pieces when necessary. No hard feelings about the fight were had in anyone's eyes.
Exiting the hall, Pyrrha froze, feeling a gentle hand upon her shoulder. "Miss Nikos," Professor Ozpin said gently, beckoning her over. "I'd like a word."
"Yes sir?" she replied, suddenly acutely aware of just how messy she looked due to the various sauces, sodas and food stains clinging to her.
"So, Miss Nikos," Professor Ozpin drawled, crossing his arms in amusement. "This is certainly a change in presentation."
Instantly, she froze, feeling the flush rise to her face. Before she could defend herself, however, he raised a hand, halting her words. "That isn't necessarily a bad thing." Eyes softening, he added, "Pyrrha, I know that Sanctum Academy had high hopes for you, as do we. However, you are still just a student. You will not be penalized for being young."
She ducked her head, the words crawling into her skin, carving themselves into her brain. Was that all she was, at the end of the day? Was she just a student?
No. You are Pyrrha Nikos.
The twisting of her gut made her want to gag, but she bit it down.
Letting out a heavy sigh, Professor Ozpin changed the topic, adding levity to his voice as he laughed, "I heard about your training videos. If they're as good as Professor Goodwitch says, then maybe we'll add them to the curriculum one day."
She snapped her gaze up to meet his in a panic, the twisting vanishing only to be replaced by a deep-seeded embarrassment. "Oh no, it wasn't anything-"
"Professor Goodwitch doesn't endorse things lightly, you know," he commented, turning to look out at the empty gardens. Despite the sunny weather, the chill still remained, meaning that few students were out and about. "You'd be a good professor one day. You know how to supplement weaknesses in your team." He barked out a laugh suddenly, startling her. "Maybe you'd even be a good team leader!"
Suddenly, Pyrrha paused, studying the man's face. He seemed placated enough, not a hair out of place. "Thank you, sir," she replied at last, unsure of what else to say.
"You have the skills, the strength, the versatility, and have displayed more than enough charisma to guide people," he continued, almost as if he was blind to her presence. "You could, by all means, be an excellent addition to our teaching staff one day, once you are an established Huntress."
She blushed a deep red, bowing her head lightly in thanks. What else was she supposed to say?
"But would that be enough?" the man murmured, his tone suddenly so heartbreakingly forlorn that Pyrrha's attention snapped back to him.
"Sir?" she asked hesitantly, taking in his expression. His face was just as smooth, calm and unperturbed as usual, but his eyes sitting behind his sunglasses were full of emotion.
He turned his head to one side, glancing at her from the corner of his eye, his expression now unmistakable. It was regret.
"But would that be enough…" His voice trailed off.
There was something else he wanted to add- she could feel it.
He spun on his heel and walked away before she could question his sadness further. Pausing by the door, he waited until Professor Goodwitch exited the dining hall, trading quiet words with her and then leaving. The blonde woman cast a quick glance Pyrrha's way, her own expression pained, before she trailed after him without question. As they walked away, Pyrrha's mind whipped back to a familiar scene, one she hadn't thought about since her first few weeks in Beacon.
"White, merely representing one side of the battle," Professor Ozpin jumped in. "And a rook, one of the most powerful pieces. Able to play a support role for weaker pawns, or cover wide areas due to its range and directionality." He spun around, looking straight at her. "A piece that gains the most strength during the endgame."
Does he still see me as the rook? What for? she couldn't help but ask herself, a chill running down her spine. As the man turned the corner, blonde curls only a few steps behind him, she felt the unease settle in her stomach, immoveable, weighing down like lead.
She still didn't know who the king was, nor what game in which she was a piece. Something told her that she wouldn't like the answers, either.