ㅤㅤㅤ
To Thrive and be Victorious
CHAPTER 9
What did I do wrong to come to this?
I always knew that my lies wouldn't last forever; It was only a matter of time until someone discovered the truth one way or another. I did everything I could to uphold this charade to spare them from experiencing the pain of realizing that all of my achievements that they respected me for were unmerited. But in the end, it was all for nothing.
Pyrrha, Ren, Nora, and all of Team RWBY stared at me with varying expressions of disappointment, betrayal, fury, disbelief, or regret, and I couldn't blame them. They discovered that someone who they thought to be a hero, a friend, and a leader turned out to be a selfish fake who used them to his advantage to get through his hectic school years. They had every right to hate me.
Pyrrha stood in front of the group, her emerald eyes fixed on my own, tearing in dismay, hoping that this was nothing but a cruel joke. I could almost see my pitiful reflection as I gazed back. "Is it true? That everything we thought about you was a lie all along."
To my regret, I could only nod silently. I already deceived her for too long now and there was no point making more white lies. I couldn't do anything but remain idle and admit to everything I have been hiding from them since the beginning and it was far too late to apologize.
She woefully squeezed her eyes shut, barely fighting back her tears. Her fist clenched as I felt my armor quiver from her magnetism. I expected her to hurl me away with it, but nothing happened. She unclenched her fist as the sensation left my armor before putting her disappointed gaze at me again. "If you cared about us, you would have told us. You would have been honest. But you weren't, and that says a lot."
I silently stared at them ashamedly before my eyes fell to the ground which felt like a black void as I could not even remember where I was standing anymore. Ruby was noticeably weeping; Weiss was folding her arms as she shook her head. Blake averted her gaze with her ears turned back; Yang's eyes furiously blinked red, being that repulsed to my existence alone; Ren likewise glared at me while Nora closed her eyes, facing the ground.
Pyrrha spoke again, "Why, Jaune? Why must you lie to us like this?"
I made a sorrowful sigh as I looked into her green eyes and gave her my explanation. "I didn't know what else to do. It felt trapped and I thought you'd hate me if I told you the truth. But it looks like that wouldn't have made a difference, now would it?"
I was so afraid of what might happen that it only ended up as another testimony of my spineless cowardice. Sometimes I asked myself why I even bothered to continue lying to those who called me a friend when I knew this was going to happen eventually.
She kept glaring at me, barely fighting back her grief. "I-I still can't believe this. I thought you were my friend, my partner, our leader. If you're not really the Jaune we grew to know then who are you?"
"I'm nothing," I regretfully stared at them as I finally told them who I truly am.
After she took a brief moment to contemplate, she stood upright and reasserted her calm, yet furious glare. "If you are that much of a coward that you had to pretend to be something else and have the audacity to lie to us about it, then maybe you do deserve to be treated as nothing," she growled coldly.
Part of me wanted to apologize but I knew that an apology won't fix all the bridges I burned behind their backs. I don't believe I deserved any pity anyway. I took advantage of their friendship. I manipulated them into believing something I'm not. I took all glory away from the true heroes. And I did all of those things being fully aware of it. I deserved all of this.
She turned away from me and led everyone out. Ruby gave me a disheartened glance before following the other girls. Ren simply shook his head before walking away as well.
"Nora?" I looked at her standing, sorrowfully staring at me for one last time. Tears were dripping out from her turquoise eyes when she turned away her gaze and followed Ren without uttering a single word.
The only person remaining was Weiss who continued to frown at me. She appeared aggrieved before shifting to a more regretful expression. "I trusted you…"
"Maybe you shouldn't have," I grieved.
"I wish I didn't at all," she turned away her icy gaze and walked out.
I was all alone, left with nothing but guilt and ruminations of my wrongdoings. I didn't do anything further other than stand there. Disheartened, defeated, without any more friends, and without any more will to move forward, let alone a clue of what to do next.
There was nothing left.
As the growing abyss of darkness was about to engulf me, I suddenly woke up. My heart pounded rapidly as I took heavy breaths before I looked around my surroundings and realized that I was at my dorm, lying on my bed.
It was thankfully all just a dream, or a nightmare to be more accurate. But even still, it felt like a cautionary vision of what might happen if I didn't set things right when it was too late. My secrets were still hidden and I still have plenty of time left, but if I were to make sure this nightmare won't become a reality, I would have to tell them the truth as soon as possible, no matter how taxing it would be; and I already decided that I would confess to Pyrrha later that day.
Rubbing my eyes, I continued to scan around my dorm before seeing that Nora was pounding on the bathroom door anxiously. "Hurry up, Ren! I can't hold it for much longer!"
"Defecating is like an art, Nora. You can't rush art," Ren responded in his usual deadpan demeanor while inside the bathroom. That sounded like something Ren would say, but at the same time, it didn't. It wasn't the most appropriate thing to hear after an upsetting nightmare, but those very words were everything I needed to hear to assure myself that all was still well.
"You're. In. The. Bathroom. Silly! Just hurry up or I swear by the Omnissiah I will play louder music in your next meditation session!" Thankfully for her, the door opened not long after. The toilet flushed before Ren walked out of the bathroom. "Oh finally!" Nora rushed inside before slamming the door shut.
Ren saw me awake as he stood in front of the bathroom door. "Good Morning, Jaune."
"Morning to you too, Ren," I replied before making a quiet sigh of relief, knowing that I was still on amicable terms with whom I call my friends.
Ren took a moment to notice my expression, feeling concerned over it. "You look a little troubled. Is there something the matter?"
"It's… nothing. Just had a weird dream. That's all, I dismissed as I tried to remain at my usual level of composure before changing the subject so I could quickly move on from it. "So does Nora ever get tired?" I asked him, rising from bed and sitting on it.
Nora partied hard for the previous night and was still full of energy even when heading to bed. She wasn't able to sleep until much later that night and she was still able to wake up earlier than us, as vibrant as ever. We tried to tell her to slow down and save most of it after Pyrrha wins the final round for us, but it did not make her any less excited over our victory in the previous round. If this is how she celebrated our win in the doubles round, then one cannot imagine how she was going to celebrate when we win the finals shortly before our first year comes to an end. All I knew is that we should brace for it.
"Maybe when she eats more pancakes than her stomach can handle, but rarely reaches her limit," he stated.
"Huh," I mumbled. That meant there was simply no way to wear her out. Even if she gets tired, she'll only need a few hours of sleep before waking up fully rested. Sleeping in the same room with her was quite a challenge because she snores louder than Torchwick's screaming when she broke his bones. Thankfully, I was able to get used to it as time went on.
I was rather thankful that she was a short sleeper because it meant that I wouldn't have to bear with it for too long. I have to pity Ren for dealing with this every night, at least I stay in a separate room with thick walls from my rowdy sisters. This is one of the reasons why you shouldn't feed Nora any sugar.
"As much as I want to spend some time alone and let someone else look after her, everyone seems like they're going somewhere so I'll have to accompany her for the whole day yet again," he said with an exasperated sigh.
"Nothing you can't handle, buddy," I told him. This slightly raised his spirits, which was hard to tell since I rarely see Ren change his expression. If there's anyone who can babysit someone like Nora, it's him. She hasn't broken him yet after being stuck with her for half of his life and that's saying something because I couldn't imagine putting up with Nora for more than several years, let alone half my life. Being on the same team as her as well as being her leader for three more years is already asking too much, and I wasn't sure if I will even be around for that long. At least my sisters can give me a break.
"So anyway, where's Pyrrha?" I stood from my bed, noticing that she was the only team member not present in the dorm.
"She's sparring with the girls in the combat hall. She thought she'd practice for tomorrow while she still has time before your date, or a 'totally platonic hangout' as Nora would call it."
After hearing that, it made me wonder if these two are even dating or not. For as long as they are together, they still seem indecisive if they want to treat their relationship as romantic or not and it would probably stay that way until one of them does something about it. And it looks like my relationship with Pyrrha would get there first even though we've only known each other for a much shorter period in comparison. It's kind of sad if you think about it.
"Look, just give us some time, then maybe you can say we're really dating," I said.
"Whatever you say. Just treat her well, alright?" He walked back toward his study.
"Of course, why wouldn't I?" I nodded at him right before the bathroom door abruptly popped open.
"You're finally going on a date?!" Nora happily shouted, thrilled by the implication that she and Beacon's favorite freshman duo is going together. "Where are you two going? Are you going to take her to the movies? To a romantic dinner date? Oh! Maybe you two could watch the fireworks later tonight?!"
I exhaled through my nose, not being surprised by her reaction at this point. "Maybe one or two of those things, Nora. Just let us learn to know each other more and we'll see how it goes from there, Okay?"
She nodded. "Roger-Dodger! Go get her, Fearless Leader!"
It worries me how enthusiastic Nora was over our relationship as there's a chance that this might end up being our last date, but that wasn't something I should be thinking about. It was too early for me to assume the worst.
I proceeded to my daily routine before I go meet Pyrrha, taking a blissful shower and an appetizing snack to wipe out all remaining thoughts about the nightmare I just had. The only thing left to do is to prevent the possibility of it ever happening and I was determined to make sure of it.
I headed to the combat hall after having my breakfast. Upon entering, I saw Blake and Yang pitting themselves against Pyrrha. A battle between three of the most popular girls among Beacon's freshmen, [1] something that a fair amount of people dreamed of seeing, especially the more perverted ones that get off to Huntresses getting it on with each other. It's a popular fetish these days and I'd be a complete hypocrite if I didn't admit that I was also guilty of enjoying it. Brothers forgive me. [2]
The match was presumably to give Pyrrha some extra challenge while Yang also got to practice for the next round as she was the one going to represent her team. She was also able to practice her dynamics with Blake while getting a taste of what fighting with Pyrrha feels like, giving her some preparation in case she faces her in the future that would make for a fairer match. It's a win-win regardless of who will come out victorious in that spar.
Of course, being what she's famous for—Pyrrha still had the upper hand even if she was facing two opponents that were close to her level, and they were already a duo that was known to be a deadly force together despite contrasting fighting styles, much like Ren and Nora.
Pyrrha was parrying blades with Blake while pushing Yang from her behind. She changed her xiphos to its spear form, turning to Yang to sweep her leg with her spear. Yan hopped above it and threw a kick which Pyrrha blocked. She shifted back towards Blake and swung her spear, shoving her katana away before bashing her with her shield and then striking her until she was down.
She began twirling and thrusting her spear at Yang who tried to use her gauntlets to block them before they eventually overwhelmed her, hitting her with chained strikes before Pyrrha hurled her into the air. As Yang was thrown off mid-air, Pyrrha threw her shield at Yang, hitting her face before pulling it back to her.
As Yang quickly recovers after landing on the floor, "Oh you wanna play it that way, huh, P-Money?" Her eyes then shifted to red while her blonde hair began glowing. "Then let's fucking do it!" She yelled as I finally heard her swear once again.
Not counting the infamous food fight, I haven't seen anyone beat Yang while her semblance was active prior to this, making her invincible to an extent. Even Pyrrha struggled against her in the aforementioned food fight, but she didn't have any of her weapons back then so seeing her take on Yang at her fullest was something worth watching.
I sat in one of the front seats and watched the battle unfold. Yang hurled herself toward Pyrrha prompting her to raise her shield. A single strike was strong enough to push Pyrrha back, albeit slightly. Pyrrha began dodging Yang's following punches in an effort to wear her out while finding an opening for her to strike.
It was then that Yang decided to step back and fire shotgun shells at Pyrrha. Pyrrha ran across the arena, transforming her weapon into a rifle as Yang's shells missed her. Pyrrha began firing back as Yang attempted to avoid her bullets. One of Pyrrha's shots managed to hit her, thus making her more dangerous with her semblance as a side-effect of landing a hit on her.
Pyrrha kept a distance and her shield raised as Yang charged at her again. She continued to aim and fire at Yang while avoiding her until she was practically blinded by rage. Yang's attacks became harder and quicker that a single hit would even deplete all of Pyrrha's remaining aura (which was still close to full by the time I got in) but this also made her easier to tire and she was running out of ammo after several failed shots at Pyrrha.
Yang carried on with the offense, hoping to make a successful strike at her. Unfortunately for her, Pyrrha was determined enough not to get hit at least once. She used everything she had to block and avoid all of her attacks while countering them when getting the chance. Yang's aura was slowly draining from the damage and the use of her semblance.
"For Fuck's sake! H-Hold still!" Yang's punches became slower as fatigue was wearing her out. Pyrrha kept dodging until Yang was slow enough to give her an adequate opening to finish her off. She repeatedly sliced Yang with her xiphos before turning it back into a spear and giving one last thrust that finally put her aura in the red.
Having lost all the aura needed to keep her semblance active, Yang's hair went back to normal after she collapsed to the floor. She took a few deep breaths before being able to speak again. "Good shit, P-Money." Her eyes turned back to purple, losing her strong power as well as losing her strong language. "F—Fu—Fudge."
Got to hand it to Pyrrha, she managed to defeat Yang even with her semblance, a feat that most people thought was impossible. That's my girl. If Yang couldn't beat her even with backup and her semblance, then I don't know who could. Penny might be an even match for her but we'll see. The winner gets tea, that's for sure.
Pyrrha walked onto Yang and helped her up. "Are you okay?"
"Don't worry, I'm good. It actually felt kinda nice losing like this for once even if it did tick me off," she said as she went back on her feet. "No one has ever been able to knock me out like that. You really can't be beaten, can you?"
Pyrrha shrugged, "I don't know. I haven't lost a match for a long time. Maybe someone will defeat me someday."
"So you won like four tournaments in a row and still haven't lost a single fight for a long time? Hot Dang. Looks like I know who I'll be betting for."
Blake approached the two as she stretched her own back. "Yang, I know Pyrrha's probably not gonna lose but please don't gamble."
"Oh, come on, I was only kidding!" Yang chuckled, "…or am I?" This made Blake glare at her, making her partner giggle. "Okay, okay, I won't." she conceded before going back to the subject of combat. "Well, here's one way to learn that I'm not that invincible. The same kinda goes for you too, Pyr. No offense, but winning all the time doesn't mean you can't lose. There is a first time for everything after all."
Pyrrha nodded. "I know, but I don't plan on tasting defeat yet," she affirmed.
Yang cockily smirked. "You're on, P-Money."
"So I'm guessing both of you are ready for tomorrow then?" Blake asked.
"Oh, I sure am!" Yang chirped before noticing me in the seats. "And look who's here. Enjoyed the show, lady killer?"
"Pretty much," I laconically replied. Showing a friendly grin to hide the fact that I was fawning at three of the hottest girls in class, all drenched in sweat. "Got to say, you girls sure show one heck of a fight."
"Glad to hear," Pyrrha nodded, showing a hint of flattery on her face. "The last two rounds are going to be quite interesting won't they?"
"You got that right, and there's no way I'm losing!" Yang boasted. "By the time my match is over, everyone will be talking about me!" [3]
And not for the wrong reasons hopefully. You have to adore her confidence though, she knew that Pyrrha was an undefeated champion and already witnessed her skill, even after it is proven that her infamous semblance wasn't enough to beat her, she was still assured enough to challenge her anyway. Whatever was going to happen, Yang was definitely going to enjoy her Huntress career, punching Grimm and taking names as she takes selfies with people who would be too busy staring at something particular to look at the camera.
"Hey, guys!" Ruby zoomed into the arena as Weiss followed behind her. "How did it go?"
"We still can't beat her. She's that good," Blake answered.
"Then this means that our best hope in winning the championship is if she's never matched against us, and that's only if Yang or Pyrrha loses a match before that could happen," Weiss lamented.
Pyrrha's constant victories are pretty much why I wasn't that much worried about the outcome of the tournament. Even if she loses, I could always console her and tell her that losing is just part of life, and sometimes you just have to give someone else room to win. I never really cared that much about the tournament anyway and I only bothered to enforce my own fame while it lasts, and since there aren't any more rounds that concern me, I could safely say that I might as well sleep through it at this point which I could but I have to be there for Pyrrha as long as she's still representing my team.
"Undefeated or not. I'll be ready. I learned some of her tricks this session, they can't save her forever!" Yang pumped her fists.
"I'll keep that in mind," Pyrrha calmly nodded.
"But hey, second place doesn't sound bad either. I'll be happy to see either of you winning!" Ruby piped buoyantly.
I smiled at Ruby's contagious optimism before looking at my partner and asking her about the thing which was the reason why I was there. "So Pyrrha. Are you ready to go now?"
"Oh right. I'll be there in a second!" She headed out off the stage.
"Where are you two going?" Yang asked.
"Oh, you know, just spend some time in town and all," I answered.
She made a teasing grin. "Sounds to me that you're going on a date together."
Ruby beamed while Weiss' expression remained unchanged and Blake could only give me a slight smile. "You're finally dating?!"
Here we go, I mumbled to myself, blushing along with Pyrrha who was standing beside me. While it was the best way to describe it, I was still hesitant to call it that. "Maybe. But it's nothing like what you might be thinking," I told her, not that it helped me much.
"Yeah, sure," Yang said, unconvinced. I figured as much that it wasn't worth trying to tell her otherwise since she would just continue teasing me to her last breath.
"It's just so cute seeing you two together like this. D'aaaw!" Ruby bubbled while her partner just stared at her with an unsure look.
Keep being cute, Ruby, I thought. At this rate, she'd be too adorable for the Grimm to even touch he that it was almost endearing if you ask me.
Blake smiled at us both. "Well, date or not, I do hope it will turn out great for the both of you," she said as her partner patted her on the back for giving us her best wishes.
"Appreciate it," I thanked before turning toward the exit, which I noticed was being opened.
A familiar rabbit entered the combat hall, holding an old-school-style camera that bore her colors. "Excuse me. Sorry if I disturbed you. But do you mind if I take a few pictures?"
"Sure, why not?" Ruby answered.
"Thank you," Velvet walked closer toward us. "Would you mind showing Miló and Akoúo̱?" [4] she requested Pyrrha.
"Oh," Pyrrha pulled out her weapon and showed it to Velvet. "Yes, of course."
Pyrrha posed as Velvet took a snap of her camera. A click was heard from the camera before Velvet put it down, taking a second to review her shot. "Alright. Thanks, Pyrrha,"
"You're welcome."
Velvet walked closer to the stage on which Blake and Yang were still standing on. "Oh, so it is our turn?" Yang said as she and her partner turned to her.
"Say cheese, you two!" Velvet pointed her camera at the duo. Yang posed with a wide grin, showing off her gauntlets while Blake just shyly smiled and held her katana and its sheathe down.
Ruby approached Velvet as the latter finished taking a photo of the two. "So what are you up to, Velvet?"
"Oh you know, just working on my photography," Velvet replied. "Wanna see what I took?"
We took a look at the gallery on her camera. Her photos looked… amateurish to put them into kinder words. Her photo for Pyrrha zoomed in too close to her weapons, barely showing her face, the same likewise goes for her other pictures including the one that featured me posing after the doubles round; the camera was too focused on my sword and pistol.
As much as I want to comment on the photo's questionable quality, I didn't want to be rude to her. Velvet could use some commendations even if it looked like she wasn't trying. "Uh, they're okay…" I said, forcing a compliment before trying to make some constructive feedback. Emphasis on 'trying.' "You… just need to work on your angles. I guess."
"Yeah, I know they're not really the best…" she put the camera away with a slight frown. "Photography isn't something I necessarily enjoy. I'm just doing it for something I need."
"You could take another picture. I won't mind," Pyrrha told her.
"It's okay. I got what I came for. The pictures I need don't have to be perfect or even be good," she insisted as her smile returned to her face.
Pyrrha nodded to her understandingly. "If you say so."
"Thank you all for your time. I really have to go now! Take care!" Velvet said, taking the stairs back to the exit.
Ruby waved at her as she left for the door. "You too!"
After there was nothing left to do in the combat hall, Pyrrha and I left the building. I looked at her and saw that she was still filled with sweat, taking short huffs from her recent fight with Yang. "Ready to head out?" I asked.
"Give me a few more minutes. I need to wash the sweat off," she replied.
I gave an understanding nod as she headed to the residence hall. I took time appreciating her backside until she was out of my sight. I shook my head off from all the dirty thoughts of her taking a shower and went to sit on one of the benches in the courtyard. I was about to spend a day with her and perving wasn't going to help me. Still, I have to thank whatever Gods out there for letting fate have me be paired with a formidable beauty like Pyrrha. I guess there are a few silver linings to some of my misfortunes.
A rough ten minutes passed and Pyrrha came back wearing a red shirt underneath a brown jacket and black skinny jeans. Her hair was also down, a rare sight to see, likely so that the paparazzi won't instantly recognize her in public. "I'm back!"
Although her appearance was more modest, showing less skin, she was no less beautiful than she was. I stared at her wide-eyed, dumbfounded at how gorgeous she looked even when she was only wearing simple casual clothes. It almost gave me déjà vu when I first laid eyes on her.
"Is something the matter?" she quizzed, seeing that I was spacing out on her.
"N-N-No! Not at all," I stuttered before regaining my composure. "Let's just go, shall we?"
We walked down the courtyard together as we headed to the Bullhead docks. On our way, we encountered Coco who saw us walking together in civilian clothing. She was wearing her usual clothes which she also wore during combat. I presumed that she was wearing different sunglasses since the previous one was destroyed during her last fight.
"Hey there," she greeted, making us stop to spare some time with her. "Finally going on a date, are you?"
"Something like that. I mean…"
She grinned as she shook her head. "Come on, just admit it. You two are going somewhere to get to know each other. I don't know about you, but that sounds like a date to me."
I shrugged knowing it couldn't be helped. If that was the term they wanted to use then I wasn't going to stop them. I just wanted to be honest with Pyrrha regardless of what might happen next and we still haven't fully decided if this was going anything beyond platonic.
"By the way, that look is rocking you, Pyr. Simple and clean; I like it."
"Why thank you, Coco," Pyrrha said. "Sorry that you didn't make it last round."
"It's fine. They got us there, I have to admit," Coco crossed her arms as her tone became somewhat bitter. "I'm honestly impressed. I didn't expect my ass to get kicked like that. But at the same time, I can't help but feel something weird about those CMEN guys. Especially that green-haired chick. Maybe it's because I can't help but feel pissed at her for breaking my rims, but I don't think they're about as sweet as their team's name."
So it looks like I'm not the only one smelling something fishy about them. It could be because they always have that suspicious aura around them. I was likely just paranoid but even still but I couldn't help but think about it. "Yeah, they probably might be as salty as their other name," I quipped, slightly flashing a childish grin over that remark.
Coco chortled at my dirty joke. "Do you say stuff like that near your girlfriend, Jaune?" she told me as I looked at Pyrrha who was giving me an unsure look over that joke. And before you get the wrong idea, I only knew that because my sisters make jokes like this all the time and this was one of the cleaner ones.
We were about to bid her farewell and leave when we suddenly heard an enticing voice coming toward us. "Hello, everyone."
We turned to see Cinder Fall walking toward us, wearing her combat clothes that consisted of a light brown sleeveless jacket reaching down to her midriff which was unbuttoned to show the sarashi wrapped at her top as well as her forearms; black fingerless gloves; and grey pants with matching boots. She was followed by her black-haired, green-eyed, gothic lolita of a teammate, Nico Dougal, who I've rarely seen since I first bumped into her. When I thought about it, I don't think I even heard her talk once.
As I met her again, so did that nagging feeling in my subconscious whether she was around, and I still had a faint hint of what was causing that.
"Hello there, Cinder," Pyrrha greeted.
"Oh, it's you." Coco lost her smile, feeling ambivalent about their presence. "Don't take this the wrong way, but I don't think that outfit suit you that much."
For some reason, I agree with her. Maybe it's because I wasn't used to seeing her wear something like that with her mysterious beauty, but something felt wrong. I don't know exactly what it is but I think it is.
"Well, that's your opinion. But don't worry these aren't my only set of clothes," she replied with that alluring voice of hers that complimented her gorgeous looks. Well, if that's the case then I thought she should have picked something better to wear but I digressed. "Anyway, I'm glad you remember me, Pyrrha. What are you up to today?"
I stopped gawking at both of their exposed midriffs and answered the question. "Not much, just hanging out with my partner."
"Is that so?" She lifted an eyebrow at us before she began leering at Coco. "And you must be the leader of the team that Mercury and Emerald defeated last round."
She crossed her arms in a somewhat resentful manner while trying not to appear outright hostile. "That's right. Props to your team, I guess."
"I'm so sorry about Emerald. She can be very rough sometimes. But at the end of the day, it's all just fun and games right?" Cinder tilted near her.
I could notice Coco's eyes narrow behind those shades. "Right…"
Her companion, meanwhile, continues to make an ominous gaze at me with her emerald green eyes. I wasn't sure what to say or what to think. "Uh, hello… Nico."
She just smiled at me, not saying a single word. Kind of reminds me of another short girl I used to know. Thinking of her is probably why I had that annoying sensation when I'm around her or even her team.
"Okay then…"
"Oh, don't mind her. She's not much of a talker herself," Cinder stated before facing me. "I can see that she fancy you," she said as Nico grinned at me. I could only force a smile as I looked down at her petite face.
Coco glared at Cinder for a few more seconds before she stood up from the bench. "You know what, I think I'm needed elsewhere. So if you'll excuse me, I'll see myself out," She excused herself as she began to walk away.
"If you say so," Cinder uttered as Coco left.
Which reminded me that Pyrrha and I should be leaving as well. As much as I would like to know more about Cinder and her partner, my curiosities had to wait. Not to mention, this conversation was becoming a little too uncomfortable. "Speaking of which, we should be going too. It was nice talking to you again, Cinder."
"Alright then. Have a nice date" she said before turning to Pyrrha. "Be sure to put on a show for us tomorrow."
We walked away from them as we made our way to the Bullhead docks. I glanced back to see that the two were watching us leave before I noticed that Pyrrha bore a somewhat worried expression on the way.
"Something wrong?" I asked, making a brief halt.
"I don't know…" she muttered, contemplating on the ground what that might be. "Let's just go."
With that, we carried on as we went back to focusing on our date. We can't let whatever's been bothering us disturb what was supposed to be our time together as partners.
As we were about to reach the Bullhead station, we saw that Ren and Nora were already there, apparently waiting for us.
"Hello, Ren and Nora, is there something you need?" Pyrrha asked Nora zoomed in front of us as Ren caught up with her.
"Oh, y'know, just enjoying the weather," she grinned.
Being a stranger to subtlety, it was clear that she was not even trying to hide it. While it was autumn, the weather was almost the same as it always was. It was clear that she wanted to see us before we left. "Yeah, sure you are," I snarked.
"Well, Jaune and I are heading to town. So I only ask you to take care and try not to wreck the academy while we're gone, okay?" Pyrrha told her.
"Don't worry, I got her under control… hopefully," Ren forced a smile.
"Okie, dokie! Just make sure you two have a great time!" Nora chirped.
Pyrrha and I looked at each other and shrugged before proceeding to one of the Bullheads. The Bullhead took off to Vale a few minutes after we boarded. I could hear Nora celebrating with some fans as we left. Some confetti can be heard springing until we were at a distance where their cheering faded.
Leave Beacon with Pyrrha, check. What was supposed to be a simple task honestly felt like the hardest step to complete and I'm just getting started.
=o=
1. Despite her introverted nature, Blake did receive fans of her own, as much as I personally find that to be a ridiculous fact. This was largely due to being part of Team RWBY especially after winning our victory during the first round.
2. While I find that to be obscene for more reasons than one, I frankly couldn't care less as long as he's not imagining it with me. I'm still wondering where the absurd assumptions about my sexuality even come from.
3. Oh Yang, you always talk too much.
4. Velvet has everyone's weapon's names memorized, mostly thanks to her semblance, which was photographic memory, explaining her knowledge and decent grades. It should be noted that much like other semblances, it only works when her aura is active, otherwise, her memory wouldn't be as effective.
"So where are we going?" Pyrrha asked as soon as we stepped out of the Bullhead station.
I rubbed my chin and went to thinking. Vale's capital was a big city so there were plenty of places to start with. "Just somewhere simple," I replied, recalling the retro diner where my sisters ate. "There's a diner Downtown if you want to eat."
"Sure, I haven't eaten yet so that's a perfect place to start."
We proceeded on foot, traversing Downtown in the direction of Diner 9 while engaging in some small talk. It was a good call for Pyrrha to sport a different look because only a few of her fans were able to recognize her and it's usually because they were able to notice me since I was wearing my usual clothes just with a different hoodie and without any armor.
Thankfully they weren't much of a hindrance, all they asked for were some photos and some autographs, the usual thing we've been doing for a while now. They were nice enough to respect our business too, hence why they didn't bother us any further. Far better than dealing with the gods-damn paparazzi, I'd say.
When we arrived at Diner 9, I ordered a chicken sandwich with some fries. The lack of tanna was disappointing but it didn't bother me that much as I never expected it to be on the menu, considering there were only like five people in Vale who even knew of its existence. Besides, I just drank one last breakfast. Pyrrha, meanwhile, settled for a salad meal. Someone was having a healthy diet today, I thought.
To top it off, we took chocolate sundaes as dessert. It was then I found out that not even the mighty four-time champion was immune to brain freeze. There were just some things that aura can't protect you from.
There wasn't much else noteworthy to tell; we weren't able to talk as we were too preoccupied with our own food during the duration. At best, we gave each other some awkward glances and a few gazes. We had plenty of time to chat anyway so it wasn't much of a loss.
After we left the diner, we wandered around the town and looked for a place to go to, when all of a sudden, we witnessed a group of faunus getting arrested in the street. By the looks of it, it was no ordinary arrest as the Atlesian authorities were more involved than the local police who were only watching on the sidelines.
I was so used to seeing Atlesian patrols outside Pucelle that I haven't noticed their increased presence in Vale until I saw this. They don't usually occupy another nation unless they have a good reason for it. It seemed like Weiss's specialist sister didn't just visit the Kingdom for the festival or assist the general with something. I figured that constant White Fang attacks had something to do with it. My team may have crippled the Valish cell but you can't be too sure nowadays especially when a Mad Scientist tried to unleash some super-Grimm not too long ago, and that I just found out a Triad gang has possessed extreme narcotics and hard and rare drugs a couple of days before this. It has been a wild year for Vale so far, a lot was happening aside from just people getting stabbed.
"Oh, my," Pyrrha watched the Atlesian security troops escort the felons to the transport van.
We decided to walk closer for a better look. "What happened here?" I asked the copper who was standing behind his patrol car's door.
"Some faunie gits just caused a public disturbance by assaulting some Atlesian Paladins while hollerin' that their people should rise up against Atlas or something." He glanced at the two broken robots lying on the ground. "Quite a mess, innit?"
"White Fang?" I inquired, being the thing that popped up to my mind when I think of Atlas-hating faunus radicals; it was too feasible for it not to be the case.
"Could be. Could be just a bunch of arse-kissers trying to spread the word for we know." The officer shrugged. "Damn bastards are everywhere, I don't even want to start my own car because of them. In any case, these wild animals will be put in their cages where they belong. We even found some of them carrying some frenzon. So it could be possible that they could just have lost their marbles from those things but nothing is stopping us from guessing that it's both."
My eyes widened after hearing about the drug they had. If I remembered correctly it was Aren't the drugs Junior's gang has apparently been hiding?
"I frankly don't mind people demonstrating their right to protest, but during the middle of the festival…" Pyrrha gave her opinion.
The officer nodded in agreement. "I know that not every sod is happy with Atlas, but this ain't helping at all, especially when this bloody festival is 'pose to be a time when the kingdoms have a good craic together and all." He looked back to the scene and saw that news vans have arrived, which is a good indicator for us to leave before they noticed us. "And if I were you two lovebirds, I'd get out of this frog and toad already and carry on me day. Wouldn't want to think of some rubbish like this on a lovely date now, right?"
As much as I'd like to correct him on that last part, he was right that we should be leaving the scene. There wasn't time to try to debate over it. "We'll do just that. Thank you, officer."
He nodded as we left. We quickly walked away from the scene before the press (or as I'd like to call them, The Pests) [1] would find us and ruin our day.
After passing a few blocks. We noticed that we were nearby Vale's park and thought it would be a nice place to visit. Sightseeing was always obligatory for these kinds of dates. If you don't have any money to buy food, tickets or flowers, you could always go for a walk, especially to a place where you don't have to pay to visit.
We entered the park. The place looked astounding during the season, even if there were some leaves littered everywhere on the ground that cleaners had to rake away. The vibrant green and red trees were pretty to look at and set the mood for us. The park wasn't that crowded, helping with the peaceful and quiet atmosphere. There were a few people there going on a stroll, along with some tourists who happen to come by during the festival; thankfully, none of them bothered us, letting us enjoy our stroll without any rude interruption. It felt refreshing not to get mobbed by fans in public for a few hours.
Pyrrha smiled at the sight around her as we traversed through the park. A good sign since I was supposed to make her feel good and show her how much her well-being means to me even though I wasn't exactly honest with her for the whole year we had as partners.
"You know, I always enjoy the outdoors during fall. It's my favorite season," she said.
"I can see why," I appreciate my surroundings as well. "Fall can be fun sometimes. I remember playing with leaves when I was little."
She giggled, "I can imagine that. I used to chase some flying leaves myself, usually at the park at Argus. I would go home and decorate my wall with the leaves I collected."
"Really?" I looked at her with a bright expression, admiring the reminiscing of her childhood.
"Those were simpler times. I didn't have to worry about staying on top then. I was just a normal girl with a normal life with normal hobbies, and I miss those moments. I think of them every time I look outside during autumn. It always puts a smile on my face."
Listening to her only reminded me of how much I missed being an innocent, naive boy, and how much I wanted things to go back the way they were if not for the painful memories that changed my life, memories that I have been struggling to let go of for years. But now it was my chance to make happy memories again, and I was intent on making this day into something we could never forget for the sake of our goodwill. "Well, what's stopping us from reliving those moments? We're here so we can forget our troubles and enjoy ourselves aren't we?" I said before I saw a maple leaf flying in the wind. "Look there's one now!"
Pyrrha grinned and began running toward it. "Well, then what are we waiting for? Let's go get it! Whoever doesn't catch it gets to pay for our next snack!" she said cheerfully. Since she usually acts like a serious valedictorian, it was rare to see her in a playful mood and I was happy to see her finally enjoying herself, not thinking about her worries and cherishing the moment.
"Challenge accepted, Miss Nikos!" I smirked, chasing the leaf as well.
We raced toward the leaf as it continued to fly through the park. Despite my Huntsman training, Pyrrha remained ahead of me even though holding back since she ran slower than her usual pace, and I didn't run as fast as I normally would because I didn't think of an Ursa chasing after me, but then again, that would have been cheating. I should have jogged my lazy ass more often.
The maple leaf left the pathway and flew above the grass. We stepped to the grass before Pyrrha caught it with her two hands and put it in one of her jacket pockets.
Well, I guess I'll be the one paying for our snacks then, I thought, not that I minded at all.
I saw a pile of leaves near a tree. I promptly jumped into it, coming out from the top of the pile shortly after when I saw Pyrrha about to jump into it while I was still in there.
"Wait!" I tried yelling at her, but it was no use as Pyrrha was already diving into the pile before she could hear me. She crashed in front of me, which would have hurt a lot more if our auras didn't thankfully make sure we only experience minimum pain. When we both recovered, we stared at each other awkwardly at what just happened. Pyrrha looked pretty embarrassed for her abrupt action and doing it without thinking while I just looked into her eyes, not knowing what else to think.
We eventually laughed it off and rolled to my side. We both remained laying down in the leaf pile, peacefully watching the cloudy sky above us.
"I'm glad I came here with you," she said, satisfied. I was just as happy with how this day was turning out. But I still had to remind myself of one of the main reasons I took her out and it gave me time to think while relaxing on the pile with her.
After half an hour of lying there, we resumed walking through the park, exchanging stories about our childhood during the season, telling each other how fun autumn can be even if it isn't as popular as summer or winter, or even spring.
We then found ourselves near a lake. We spotted a small flock of pigeons walking on the ground nearby while being fed with some bread crumbs from a few passersby.
"Aww, I think they're hungry," Pyrrha said. "It's unfortunate that we don't have anything to feed them with."
I sweated nervously as I noticed some of the pigeons started staring at me with malicious intent. "They look fine to me," I shivered while giving a half-suppressed laugh as I tried slinking away with her. "Come on. I think we should go."
Before I knew it, the pigeons abruptly flew toward me en masse. They swarmed all over me as they tried scratching me with their talons. Pyrrha just stood there and watched, frozen in shock with her hand covering her mouth. If it wasn't for my aura, I would have been covered in claw marks.
Pigeons are probably the worst type of bird ever, and I assume many of you that had unfortunate encounters with these creatures understand why. I'm still wondering how people were able to use these winged rats as couriers back then by shoving their messages in their asses when the other thing they're known for is dropping literal shit from the sky. [2]
It took some struggling but I managed to shake them off. As they flew away from me, I panted while checking myself for any scars they left.
"Are you okay?" Pyrrha lifted my chin and looked for injuries. "What was that? I didn't see you do anything to provoke them."
I did and it was existing as Jaune Arc. It begs me to wonder what I did to Mother Nature for animals to hate me that much to this day. Was it for the deer that I accidentally shot as a kid? Probably not, because I could still remember animals trying to kill me far before that. Hell, the reason why Verte made her cottage was to keep her pets away from me when I was still a baby, if I recall that correctly, suggesting that I've been having this trait since I was freaking born so it couldn't be my semblance either because I didn't have my aura back then.
"I'm fine. I probably just caught them in a bad mood." I forced a barely convincing smile. Nevertheless, she was reassured that I was mostly fine. "Let's just keep going."
Pyrrha and I carried on and passed through the bridge above the lake while I watched the same flock of pigeons that attacked me flying away into the sun. After seeing that, I was willing to forgive those winged bastards for giving me such a beautiful sight. It would've made a nice photo.
When we reached what I believed was the center of the park, we saw the statue of King Phadrig VII on horseback, raising his sword—The Crocea Mors, the sword that he gifted to my family and the sword that was currently stored on my locker during that moment. This was one of the few things I know about Valish history, mainly because my family loves to remind me of it.
We stopped to comment on the statue. "Well, would you look at that, King Phadrig VII. And it looks like he has The Crocea Mors with him."
"Oh right. If I recall correctly, your ancestor—Harry Arc used to serve him during the Great War and the king passed him his sword as a token of gratitude," Pyrrha mentioned.
Looks like everyone knows that story, I thought. "Yup, quite the relic it is. And as a kid, I always wanted to be like him."
"I'm sure he'd be proud of you," she comforted. "You Arcs are destined for greatness and so far you've been doing well at following it."
Doing well at maintaining the illusion of it, to be more accurate. He'd probably be disappointed to learn that my reputation was unmerited and that I was only carrying the family legacy to save myself. [3] "And I have a lot to live up to. You know how it is."
She looked down and frowned. "Yeah. I don't know how long I will still be called the Invincible girl. I have a feeling this could be my first time to lose after several years of continuous victories."
"You'll be alright. No matter what happens you'll always be our champion," I consoled, cheesy as it may sound.
She looked back up and her face brightened up. "Maybe I'm overthinking this. Thank you, Jaune. I appreciate your kindness."
"Just being a good friend," I instinctively said in my nice guy routine before looking back at the statue. "You know I wouldn't be surprised if they make a statue of us."
"I hope not. I want to be remembered as something more than an idol. But I guess that won't be happening any time soon."
I stared at her, confused about that last part. "What do you mean?"
"I-It's nothing. I'm probably just rambling again."
I kept my brow raised over whatever that was before going back to the statue. "I get the feeling too but at least you deserve one."
"I appreciate your support, Jaune, and I do love my fans, but I don't want to stay on a pedestal for long. Everyone is expecting a lot from me; I don't know how much I can take it anymore."
I look at her and realize that she was having the same dilemma as mine, the only difference is that she earned her reputation, but everyone is treating her to be too much of an icon. Even I was guilty of it since I tend to use her to keep me safe knowing that she'll succeed largely because she's known to win every time. "I understand..."
"I'm sorry. A lot has been going on in my mind right now," she muttered. "Can we go?"
We walked away from the statue. I looked at Pyrrha who seemed upset, probably thinking about her hardships again.
Thinking of a way to cheer her up so I could see her in a jovial mood again. The coin eventually dropped as I realized that I should take her to the fairgrounds back in Beacon. What better way to forget our troubles than to go enjoy the festival like what everyone is doing? I thought.
After a couple more hours of sightseeing, we reached the other side of the park. We noticed that dusk was arriving and that we'll have to find a way to spend the evening. Luckily, I already had something in mind.
"So, you want to head back to Beacon and go to the carnival?" I asked while aimlessly wandering around Vale's sidewalks.
"I'd love that," she nodded, almost smiling again. "Why not?"
I gave her a modest grin before hailing a cab to take us back to the Bullhead station. The park was a great place to relive memories, but I was going to need more than that to give Pyrrha what she deserves. I was about to give her a night she wouldn't forget.
And hopefully, it would be for the better.
=o=
1. The media isn't exactly well-regarded so he's not the only one to call them that.
2. First off, only a breed of homing pigeons are capable of delivering messages; they do so by being sent in a cage and flying back to where they came from with a message. And anyone who's familiar with carrier pigeons is that their messages are strapped in a cylinder attached to their legs. I have never heard of a pigeon carrying a message in their rectums and the thought of it alone disgusts me.
3. As someone who has access to classified documents regarding Harry 'The Flash' Arc, I could at least say that Jaune was actually far nobler and braver than his ancestor, especially later in his career.