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To Thrive and be Victorious
CHAPTER 2
Heading to the fairgrounds back at Beacon was also somewhat of a challenge itself. I had to deal with the press, and answer their questions while doing my best not to get blinded by their flashing cameras. I also had to sign autographs for some fans, take pictures with a few of them (though I won't lie, the fan art of us they asked to sign was really cool and mostly well-drawn even though nobody could get my stature right), and take another Gods-forsaken flight for a few minutes just so I could get to back on Beacon grounds.
The lines at the fairgrounds were also another thing. Thankfully, being well-known heroes and victors of the recent match has given us some special treatment so everyone insisted we skip the line. As a result, we got a couple of large boxes of pizza in a matter of a few minutes when the booth had the longest line because it sold pizza. It's nice to feel the upsides of my reputation every now and then after enduring the burdens that came with it ever since I killed that stupid bandito and that stupid Ursa.
"All of this fightin' and poundin' is making me hungry!" Nora blurted, unsurprisingly looking just as lively as if she never fought. "Itadakimasu!" [1] Aside from the fact that all of my teammates came from different parts of Anima, that's pretty appropriate to say after beating up a team from Mistralis and rewarding ourselves with some good ole' food. I humbly receive indeed.
We were all sitting at a round table where we placed our food and drinks. I pleased myself with the fragrance of the pepperoni pizza before taking a bite. Pyrrha was enjoying the pizza too, Nora munched on her first few pieces after removing the pepperonis while Ren finished his fourth bottle of water, still refreshing himself after the fight. "Be careful Nora. We need to keep you fit in case you are chosen for the next fight," he panted out before taking a piece of pizza on his own.
"You worry too much, Ren. You know I always keep myself in shape. It's not like I plan to be the first fat girl in Beacon or something," she reassured after finishing the crust of her last piece.
"Now that this round is settled. Which of us is going to represent our team in the doubles?" Pyrrha asked after swallowing her food.
It was agreed that Pyrrha was obviously going to be present in every round since she's our key to winning the tournament. Normally, I would have loved to sit all the following rounds out and have but as I thought about it, I still had a reputation to uphold. Otherwise, people will be suspicious that the so-called Hero of Beacon has only competed in one round and chickened out with the rest. I can handle one more fight, it'll be the last one at least.
If it really was up to me, I would have picked Nora to accompany her in the doubles. The combined power of those two—along with some electric dust—could curb-stomp the following match with almost no effort. If only it wasn't for the fact that Noire and Blanche want me to participate in the next round because that is when they are scheduled to perform the tribute song for me and it will sound awkward if I don't compete in the match after that.
So, it looks like it's going to be me Pyrrha then. If there is some consolation, I can always count on her at my side. I'll just have to endure for one last round and then let Pyrrha handle the rest. One more show and then I no longer had to worry about doing any more combat-related tasks for the rest of the remaining school year. Pyrrha hasn't lost a single fight yet and she's a stubborn enough fighter to keep herself from making her first defeat, so there was no reason for me to doubt her.
"Pyrrha and I will take care of it. Pyrrha's the key to this, and she's going to need someone she trusts and works well with for the next round. Besides, we're crowd favorites; who doesn't want to see more of The Hero of Beacon and the Pride of Mistral in action together?"
"The power couple of the year to represent Team JNPR?" Nora then stood up and raised a fist. "No objections on that one!"
"I thought you and Ren were the power couple of the year," I teased, remembering their reputation as a pair.
"Well, we're the runner-ups." Nora embarrassedly glanced at her side. "I mean, I know while we are inseparable—not that it means we're more than just besties than anything. You two make a much more awesome duo. Not to mention, cuter."
Pyrrha and I awkwardly looked at each other and saw both of our faces reddened at that remark. As much as I am doing my best to get close to my partner, I still have yet to decide if I wanted to go to that level. It still felt too soon in my opinion.
Ren came to rescue us by bringing up something I haven't thought about in a while, "By the way, have you found your semblance yet?"
Honestly, I almost forgot about that. Don't get me wrong, I'm interested to see what kind of underwhelming superpower I might have, but I might have already gotten to the point where I'm starting to believe that I am perfectly fine without one and that having one might cause more trouble than it's worth. "Not yet. I'm still figuring out what it could be."
"Maybe it's already awakened and we just don't know it yet?" Nora pondered.
"That's possible. Some people theorize that everyone already has their semblance unlocked, they just need to discover what it is and how to use it at will." Pyrrha chimed in.
Nora giggled before saying a seemingly random word. "Heh. Potato."
I did not know what she meant by that until Ren replied to her. "You really need to spend less time on Skimdat, Nora." That was when I realized it was just that dumb holonet term used to refer to whatever nonsense people pull out of their hinds.
"Don't worry, I will. The people there aren't even funny anyway," she reassured. "But I'll keep moderating our board."
I raised my brow when I heard that. "Your board?"
"Our board! Someone made a board in Skimdat about you! It's like the closest thing you have to a fansite right now. Pyrrha has one too!" Nora answered as Pyrrha chuckled and blushed when she mentioned her fans' message board. I felt the same way, doing my best to hide my grimacing.
"She got moderator privileges after she verified that she was one of your teammates," Ren added. I'd say that's probably the biggest mistake that board administrators ever made. I'm not even joking, what they did is like giving a knife to a raging toddler in a tantrum.
"And I even banned everyone who dared to criticize you!" Nora grinned brightly as if doing holonet janitorial work for no pay is something to be proud of.
"You should do a Q&A there sometime. They'll love it," Nora then proposed.
"I'll keep that in mind," I murmured, not that I will actually do that. I find the chances of me even visiting that place, let alone making a Q&A there to be very slim. I would rather eat one of Nora's grenades than even bother with them. I just find that board to be a scary place because I'm not particularly comfortable being in an echo chamber that worships me and I'll probably get myself ironically banned if I post honest opinions about myself anonymously. The only good thing I could say about that travesty of a community is that unlike certain other boards on Skimdat, its users are not wasting time moaning over politics their underdeveloped frontal lobes barely understand or have unhealthy obsessions over supposed sexualities of cartoon characters, or something as equally dumb as those things.
I took a sip from my soda and put us back on topic, "Anyway, I wouldn't say I have a semblance until I know for sure."
"We should bring back the exercises where we try to awaken your semblance. I'm still excited to see what it would be!" Nora said, leaning from her chair with a wide grin.
I'll be frank with you, I do not miss those exercises. My experiences with them were nothing short of unpleasant. Although putting me in tests courses and throwing everything not nailed on the floor at me was kind of fun for the first few times, I quickly called them off when I started to realize it was becoming less about getting my stupid semblance and more about me being a glorified lab-rat inside danger rooms. The last time I had those exercises was with my family in between the first and second semesters since they had the same idea. To make a long story short, I almost got a trip to the hospital.
"Maybe after the tournament, Nora." Or preferably never again, I silently added to myself. "I can't be too distracted trying to unlock my semblance right now."
"Understandable, dear leader," Nora said before slurping her straw on a can of diet soda. We were careful to make sure we didn't mix it with regular soda again, otherwise, the fairgrounds would have been closed early, to put it simply.
My scroll suddenly began ringing in one of my pockets. I took it out and discovered that it was a call from Mom. It's been a while since I called her, we did exchange e-mails every once in a while. In fact, I just messaged her the previous week. Whatever she wished to discuss on the phone, I wanted to make the most out of this call so I stood up from the table and walked away a short distance. "Excuse me for a minute," I told my team.
I accepted the call then and a video feed of her popped up. "Hi, sweetie! I saw you won your first round. You're doing great, keep it up."
Although I felt a little awkward since even now she is treating me as if I was still a child, I couldn't help but smile to have seen her face again, it alleviated the homesickness I'd been having for a while. My mom can be very sweet and doting at times that it's almost easy to forget that she used to be a ruthless Watcher agent who made a living off of brutalizing death cults or something along those lines. "Good to see you too, Mom. I guess you could say Noire and Blanche don't need to worry about me not showing up tomorrow anymore."
"Oh, they never had to worry about that, they were confident you're going to win that round," she replied.
Well, that was unsurprising. They always gave me more credit than I usually deserved as they were obligated to keep encouraging their idiot brother. "That's quite a gamble, but I appreciate it," I shrugged.
"My baby boy has grown up and is leading a team in the tournament. I always knew you had it in you," she said. I was having rather mixed feelings about her encouragement, I still don't believe I deserve to be in this position but I was glad she was happy, and maybe that's what mattered. "Oh by the way, where are your teammates? Is it okay if I talk to them?"
"Uh sure, Mom," I said. I trust her enough that she wasn't going to embarrass me too much. I went back to the table and held my scroll horizontally so I could show her my whole team. "Here they are, Mom. These are the guys who helped me get to where I am now."
"Hello to you all! You must be Nora, Pyrrha, and Ren! I cannot thank you enough for accompanying my son this year and being such good teammates to him."
"Hello there, Mrs. Arc!" Pyrrha waved her hand at the scroll's video feed. "You're quite welcome. Your son has been a great leader to us too."
"I'm delighted to meet you too, Pyrrha. My son told me a lot of great things about you." Mom chirped, "Still doing your best to win another tournament, are you not?"
"I've done that too many times, ma'am, but I'll be happy to do it again for my team," she nodded.
"That's great to hear. It's nice to know that you and my son are working well together like a well-oiled machine."
"Indeed, I sincerely couldn't think of a better partner," Pyrrha said, which flattered me for a bit.
"How sweet," Mom remarked before asking a question Pyrrha and I didn't need. "By the way, you don't happen to be single, are you?"
I turned my scroll away from my teammates. "Mom… please." I sighed to her as I hid my blush while she smirked at me. You know that the shipping between you and your partner is getting out of hand when even your own mother is doing it.
"She still is, but not for long!" Nora answered with a wide grin on her face.
"Nora!" Pyrrha stressed with her face almost as red as mine.
Mom laughed, something which I missed since I left home. "You know I'm only kidding, sweetie. But you have to admit, she'd make a good daughter-in-law."
My flustered state was getting worse and I had to quickly change the subject before it escalated. "Alright, alright, we get it. So, how are the others?"
"It's still just me, your father, and Verte here. Rose and Rouge should arrive there soon," she answered. Looks like Viola is still busy at Acadia even during the festival, probably designing some outfits for some performers or something; and Bleu still has some business to take care of in Mantle. This could only mean Noire and Blanche are my only sisters that are in Vale so far, and word told me that they were preparing for their performance tomorrow.
"May I see them?" I asked.
"Of course!" She then turned to her side to call the others, "Cai, Verte, Jaune's calling from Beacon!"
Footsteps were heard on the other side of the feet as Dad and Verte approached Mom's scroll. Mom adjusted the camera of her feed so they could be visible. "Good to hear from you again, Jaune! We just saw your match. You did a great job!" Verte waved.
Dad was wearing some 'casual dad clothes' as I liked to call them—specifically a simple black polo shirt and shorts, his signature hat was most noticeably absent which is something most people are not accustomed to seeing. I was reminded that I still had to ask about the Salem person that Merlot mentioned, but I didn't feel like it was the right time to ask that question so I'll have to inquire about it on another date.
"Well, if it isn't the Hero of Beacon. You really have been making moves there, haven't you?" He said, partially talking as if he was a stranger.
Sadly, I was. In another life, I would have been proud of it, but right now I don't think I'll ever know peace again because of it. "I'm just doing what a Huntsman is supposed to do."
"Sounds like something I would say. Looks like you're growing to become like your old man." He warmly replied. It was something I have been hearing since I was a kid and I have always feared that it might come true. And unfortunately for me, I seem to be heading that way whether I like it or not. And I don't know what else to do at the moment. Trying not to stain the Arc family name in the process was the least I could do.
"Thanks, Dad. I couldn't have done it with my team though. Speaking of which, here they are." I adjusted the camera to show my teammates.
"Oh, it's Caiaphas Arc! The guy single-handedly defeated Harvesters and Tyrants." Nora squealed. I should have seen this coming, everyone was familiar with my dad, and if there were anyone Nora would fangirl over aside from me, it was him. It was part of the reason why she was worshipping the ground I walked on.
"Yep, that's me." Dad nodded as tried to put on his famous 'Hero smile', a smile that I have been trying to imitate ever since I attended military school. I wasn't as charismatic back then, and I was convinced that my classmates only listened to me because of my last name, but those days were able to teach me how to control people and get them to do what I want.
My dad continued, "You guys put on a good show, keep it up. You're the future Remnant needs right now."
"It is an honor, Mr. Arc," Pyrrha said. "Your son is hard at work to lead us to our best."
"So I've heard. I worked hard to get where he is now, and I'm glad it's paying off greatly," he replied. It was the reason why I am even playing along with all of this. Because otherwise, I would be slacking off around my room in Arcshire by now and be apathetic about the tournament.
Nora turned to Ren. "You heard that, Ren?! Caiaphas Arc told us we did great!"
"I heard, Nora," he replied and faced the screen. "Thank you, sir. It's not every day we get a compliment from a living legend."
"Don't sweat it." Dad smiled modestly. "One day, you'll become living legends yourselves."
Nora made an excited shriek while she looked like she was suppressing an explosive burst of exhilaration after being complimented by her idol's father who was also her idol. Ren noticed this and used his semblance to calm her down before her excitement could destroy the pizza parlor. After she settled down, she faced back at my scroll and saw my sister, "Hey, you must be Verte. Is it true that you really have that many pets?"
"You're Nora, right? Man, you really are a bundle of energy." Verte went closer to the camera. "Yeah, but I wouldn't call them pets. They're more to me than that, even if they hate Jaune. One thing is for sure, he won't have to worry about them while he's still there."
I still have to worry about a certain dog unfortunately, I've been extra cautious on the corridors ever since it arrived on Beacon. Sure, it usually stays in Team RWBY's dorm and it's probably not allowed to go outside, but I can't be too sure nowadays especially since pets tend to wander off whenever they feel like it.
"Which reminds me, I still have to feed Bibi. It's really nice meeting you all! Take care!" Verte waved at us before leaving.
"I should go too. Good luck tomorrow, squirt. Tell your sisters I said 'hi' when they get there and remind Rouge to behave." Dad nodded at me.
Eh, Rouge being Rouge, that's asking a little too much for her, but I've been living with her for most of my life so I at least know that I can handle her. "Of course, Dad."
"Keep up the good work, we're rooting for you here." He continued before walking away as well, leaving Mom the only person left in the field.
"I won't let you guys down," I assured her.
"I know you won't. Good luck out there, honey," she said before ending the feed.
"I still couldn't believe that he is your dad. I'm under the leadership of the Hero of Beacon who is the son of Caiaphas Arc himself! I've been aware of this for months and I still couldn't stop gushing about it!" Nora bubbled. She can thank my family's nepotism for that.
We finished our meals and took a stroll around the fairgrounds. There was a colorful assortment of people around the vicinity—mostly students in their combat gear, either eating, chatting, playing games at one of the booths to win some prizes, or simply just hanging around doing their own thing whatever it may be.
I managed to recognize a few girls there from the day I was helping Sun and Neptune get a partner for the dance—including those two cute Atlesian girls that Sun rejected. I gave them a wave and they excitedly returned the gesture before giggling and covering their own blushes. That gave me a pleasant feeling, though I don't think I could say the same thing for Pyrrha. [2]
Occasionally, some fans would approach us asking for photos and autographs. While they can be annoying sometimes, I am grateful for their support. I kind of enjoy being on a pedestal even if I don't feel like I deserve it. Some fans would even offer me food, though I would either decline or throw them away the moment no one is looking. As much as I adore them, I don't trust them to feed me; there are chances that the food they offer could contain poison or something harmful. 'Fans' can be that deranged sometimes. I advised my teammates to not accept food from fans, and since we had already eaten recently, we had an excuse not to eat.
We suddenly stopped after being called by Emerald, known for being a member of the unfortunately-named Team CMEN. "Hey, you dropped this." We turned back and saw her holding Ren's wallet.
Ren checked all of his pockets to find out it wasn't there. "It must've fallen when I was sitting and I did not notice it," he stepped onto Emerald and took his wallet. "Thank you, I'll be sure to be careful next time."
"I told you they would slip out from pants like those!" Nora remarked, "Imagine what would happen if she didn't get it, we'll get broke and we won't be able to pay for more tickets ourselves!"
This is pretty much why I keep my wallet in my front pocket and attach it with a hook string that is affixed to my belt hoops. That way, not even the cleverest thief would be able to successfully pick up my wallet. Though it was rather suspicious that Emerald was able to pick up Ren's wallet that conveniently so I couldn't help but slightly narrow my eyes on her.
Emerald looked at me back and showed some noticeable apprehension. Her face went back to donning a more positive expression after she was greeted by Pyrrha. "Hello again, Emerald! How are you doing today?"
"I'm having a great time, the festival has always been my favorite. By the way, you guys did great back there."
I stopped glaring for a moment to give her an amicable reply, "Thanks, it was quite fun." Well, at least as defined by your average thrill-seeking Huntsman. "How about your match? Sorry, we weren't able to see it. How did it go?"
"It went really well, thank you for asking," she answered proudly, smirking for a second.
"That's great, it appears you will be proceeding to the double rounds with us," Pyrrha said.
"Yeah, I look forward to it. Merc and I would be representing our team, we've been practicing hard for this."
"Cool, Jaune and Pyrrha would also be the pair that would be for us in the next round." Nora chimed in.
"Really? Shucks. Oh well, I guess second place won't be bad then." Emerald jested.
We all shared a laugh. Given Pyrrha's stature along with mine, almost everyone expected us to win so much that I wouldn't be surprised if our opponents ended up forfeiting, believing their efforts to fight us would just only be in vain. But the thought of everyone literally betting their money on us has made me more anxious. Because not only do I have to preserve my family's honor and image, but I also have to save the finances of some gamblers depending on us. Hopefully, Pyhrra's winning streak would carry us out of any problems as always.
"So, how are your teammates?" I asked.
"Cinder and Nico are busy planning for something really big. As for Merc, well..." she glanced at her back where Mercury was standing in front of a stall selling boots as he sniffs one of them. "He's being just... Merc." [3]
Mercury put the boot down and moved next to his partner, "Yo, I saw that you guys won. Not really that surprising, is it?"
Gotta live up to a name. "It took a bit of sweat, but we showed them what we're made of," I replied before taking note of his subtle voice change. SoundS like Ren wasn't the only one. "And is it just me or do you sound a little different since we last spoke?"
"Yeah, you kinda sound like Ren if he was a dark and brooding ninja," Nora commented.
"Wait, what?" Ren blinked at her.
Mercury coughed, "Now that you've mentioned it, I knew something weird happened to my voice."
"It's probably because you finally passed your late puberty." Emerald gibed.
"Ha-ha, good one, Em," he snidely replied. Emerald smirked at him before he turned back on me to ask more questions. "So, when are you going to do more hero stuff?"
I shuddered a bit with the question, but I remained calm and composed and answered confidently as he expected from someone of my stature. "When there's trouble nearby. I'm just around the neighborhood in case somebody needs help."
"I see," He cupped his chin. "You're like a real-life superhero. No wonder why everyone's gushing over you. Man, people would kill to be you now."
Yeah and I'm certainly not one of them. Dreams have a weird way of becoming true to an extent, and this one chose to become a reality far after I gave up on it. Since I couldn't do anything about it, I might as well capitalize on it. No dumb capes and speedos though; give me a peaked cap and a long coat any day. As much as I love X-Ray & Vav as the next nerd, I wouldn't want to dress up in public like them.
"Well, I feel a lot safer with people like you around," Emerald remarked. "Anyway, we're going to go catch some more fights, see you!"
"Bye now, and thank you for giving my teammate back his wallet!" Pyrrha said.
"Don't mention it," Emerald said before turning back and walking away with her partner.
My conscience remained unsure about the two. I feel like there's something odd about them like my cheeks feel itchy when I'm around them. I continued to stare at them as they walked away. Emerald glanced back and noticed me looking at them. They kept moving until they suddenly disappeared when someone passed them by. Then I thought that I was thinking too hard about this and that I'm worried about nothing.
"Jaune, are you okay?" Ren asked, prompting me out of my paranoid musings.
"I'm fine. I was just spacing out." I answered as I let go of those two from my thoughts. "Let's just keep moving."
We resumed walking around and explored the fairgrounds until we spotted Team RWBY at a noodle stand called 'Simple Wok Noodles'. They were part of the next match, so we approached them to wish them well.
There were large bowls of noodles on their table; and in Blake's case, she got a huge bowl full of fish. The shopkeeper of that stand looked oddly similar to the pawn shop owner I sold my loot to, and I also remember seeing him near the crashed car during the day we investigated the White Fang. Either many of Vale's businessmen are skinny old men in aprons or I'm looking at the same person who has a lot of different jobs. [4]
The shopkeep suddenly threw back their credit card and pointed at his cash register that it had been declined, much to the girls' disappointment. "What? How can my card be declined?! I was barely into my monthly allowance." Weiss said as the shopkeep took Blake's bowl of fish away from her. Blake laid her head on the table and lamented over it.
Looks like our friends need our help again. Pyrrha and I looked at each other before I gave her a nod. We all stepped in as she pulled out her own card. "Maybe I could help?" Pyrrha asked, making them turn their heads to us.
"Hey, guys! Why am I glad to see you!" Ruby chirped, slightly bouncing off her chair.
"Oh, you don't have to. You might have done enough for yourselves back there." Yang said.
"But she could!" Blake said frantically at her partner before turning to us. "Please, I'm begging you. From one Huntress to another, I really need that bowl!" Cats do love their fish, huh? Either it's something hardcoded within every feline's instinct or she's perpetuating a stereotype, I'm not really sure. Regardless, it's not every day you see Blake like this, considering that everyone is too used to seeing her frown and be disinterested in everything that doesn't involve the White Fang or pieces of literature that involve a flowery title and cover.
Pyrrha gave a short chuckle as she went to pay for their meals. "Alright, but we're doing it because we wanted to. That's what all friends are for, right?"
"So, are you gonna eat with us too?" Ruby asked.
"Nah, we just ate a bunch of pizzas but we'll hang around for a bit," I replied just as Nora stepped forward.
"Well, I'm still not full from the pizzas I just ate. One large bowl for me please!" Of course, she was still hungry even after eating almost half the pizza box; her stomach was deeper than a bottomless pit. "Okay then. You're the queen of your own castle Nora." I said as she happily sat down and grabbed her bowl once the shopkeep slid it to her.
After minutes of Team RW_Y plus Nora eating noodles from their ridiculously sized bowls while Blake ravages a bunch of fish on hers, they finally finished and were left with satisfied expressions from their meals. However, Weiss meanwhile kind of looked like her small stomach was trying to grasp everything she just ate, let's just hope it doesn't affect her performance for this match.
The four of us were sitting at the side of the stand, with Nora rubbing her stomach and then suddenly making a burp from all the noodles she ate, making me grimace in repulsion.
"Are you sure it's wise to eat this heavily before a fight?" Ren decided to ask.
"Maybe, but you can't fight on an empty stomach either," answered Yang.
"Right, but this much?" Ren gestured to the bowls which were being gathered by the shopkeep as he took them away from the tables.
"Relax, we ate a lot, sure, but not enough to give us stomach aches during the fight," she reassured him.
"So, are you girls ready?" I asked them.
"Of course we are! After everything we faced before, this will be a piece of cake." Ruby enthusiastically asserted.
"You're not wrong," Blake said before she counted the adversaries we faced with her fingers. "High-level Grimm, violent extremists, a destructive sociopath, a mad scientist, his robot army and experiments..."
"And that's all while we're still in training! Oh, imagine what we would fight after we graduated!" Ruby excitedly gushed.
That is something I have been trying not to think about since the first week. With all the increasingly ridiculous threats I'm forced to deal with, I won't be surprised if I end up facing something worse but I'll be VERY annoyed. I just hoped the payoff is worth enough to fund my own worry-free vacation from all of this nonsense. I only have a few more months until the school year ends, so I just have to hold on for a bit. On the bright side, I no longer have to worry about passing written exams since I was able to complete a mission that no freshmen deserve to be put through.
"Maybe then I'll be able to pay for a meal." Weiss mumbled, "I'm just glad we're back to participating in friendly matches like normal students. It's refreshing to take on people who aren't criminals for once."
That's what we thought. Pit me with dumb kids over any type of ruthless killer any day. This might be why I wasn't that bothered about putting myself to the double rounds even though I prefer to avoid combat whenever possible. "You have no idea…" I sighed.
All of our attention was then grabbed when we all heard Professor Port's voice on the academy's P.A. "Would Team RWBY please report to the battlegrounds immediately!"
"Here it goes," Ruby stood from her chair as her teammates followed.
"Good luck and fight well," Pyrrha said, giving them all an encouraging smile.
"You betcha, P-Money." Yang nodded as she slightly adjusted her gauntlets. "This is what we've all been waiting for."
"Show 'em no mercy, you guys!" Nora shouted at the four as they left for the arena, Nora then felt her stomach hurt after everything she ate. "I think I need to use the bathroom," she then quickly bolted away.
Nora was able to get back after a few minutes and we all lined up for an airship to the coliseum. The line was packed full of students, with some of them eyeing us, particularly me and Pyrrha. A few of them even greeted me, congratulating my team on our recent win and I recall one of them uncontrollably squealing my name. I politely greeted and smiled at them, they all seemed to be very delighted to have been waved back by their idol that I swear that one of them almost fainted.
Such life as the Hero of Beacon. Gotta enjoy it until it eventually dies down. If only these people found someone else more deserving of this to fawn on.
=o=
1. A phrase used before eating in the Mistrali language and customs. As Jaune mentioned shortly after, it is commonly translated as 'I humbly receive.'
2. I can definitely sympathize with her here.
3. Actually, sniffing footwear is a perfectly legitimate way of determining their quality and value. I admit that I'm also guilty of doing this since I care about the value of the clothes that I wear, including the shoes.
4. The latter is correct. Said shopkeeper only had one or two part-time jobs at a time but had to constantly move businesses due to continually being victimized by incidents that cause his businesses to close down or simply cause him to leave them. It was reported that he returned to working in From Dust Till Dawn soon after the festival.