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To Thrive and be Victorious

CHAPTER 10

The sun had already set by the time we returned to Beacon. The festival at the fairgrounds was in full swing as colored lights illuminated the place while students and visitors alike reveled in the vivid event that was taking place. The singles round beginning the following day might have contributed to that factor. To say nothing of the fact that there would be a fireworks show within a few hours. Wouldn't want to miss that.

Pyrrha and I walked through the fairgrounds, enjoying the vibrant sight before us. Our fans and fellow students greeted us as we passed through them with some wishing Pyrrha well on her next fight and others complimenting her appearance. Naturally, we returned their gestures and wished them a great night.

"So what do you want to do first?" I asked Pyrrha as we stopped walking briefly to discuss our next activity.

She shrugged, glancing around for a moment. "Can't decide on where to start. There are plenty of things to do here."

I began looking around before noticing a shooting gallery behind her. It was one of the booths I had been wanting to try out for a while. The game used rifles so it would give Pyrrha some practice as a plus. It was without a doubt that she could easily win one of the prizes on display. Hell, she would have undoubtedly won all of those prizes if she played repeatedly. "How about some target practice?"

She turned back and saw the booth. "Sure. I don't see a reason why not to," she said to me with a grin.

We walked over to the counter of the shooting gallery and paid for a round of the game. Pyrrha stepped in and picked up the air rifle. She took some time examining the airgun before she realized that it functioned similarly to the one her weapon, so it took less than a few seconds for her to figure out how to use it.

As the round started, five targets sprung up on the range. Pyrrha aimed with the airgun, her facial expression shifted from warm and amiable to professional one; tranquil and focused, never making a single blink. She dispatched all five of them within less than a couple of seconds, shocking both the booth attendant and me with her quick and sudden draw and firing all of the targets without missing a shot.

She swiftly fired from one target to another as the next batches of targets appeared, quickly pulling the bolt in between shots and clearing the gallery in only a matter of a few seconds or less with perfect efficiency. Even when the next batch provided more challenge, with moving targets and targets that you have to avoid shooting appearing, she still manages to clear them with complete accuracy and without breaking a single drop of sweat.

After the final batch was done, confetti began springing at the range while the lights began to flash as the scoreboard says that she just won a new record. Pyrrha blinked and dropped her stoic look. "Did I win?"

The booth attendant stepped in, still awed by her exceptional marksmanship. "You! You just won a new record!"

"I did?" She asked, almost sounding puzzled.

"I have never seen anyone shoot like that. My, your score is going to be impossible to top. Congratulations, Miss! Now pick a prize to your liking!" The booth attendant gestured to the prize corner, mostly consisting of stuffed animals.

Pyrrha drew her gaze to the prizes hanging on the wall and started to choose between them. "I haven't got a stuffed toy in years, but if I were to pick one, I'll take…." A fluffy yellow-brown bunny then caught her interest. "That one."

She pointed at the bunny. The booth attendant took it from the display and gave it to her. It was simple yet satisfactory enough of a prize and it would be easier to manage than, say, Nora's large teddy bears which had to be sewn multiple times.

"A rabbit huh, good choice," I commented. Her choice felt appropriate as Pumpkin Pete's new mascot; must be one of the reasons why she picked it. Speaking of which, it does remind me of my Pumpkin Pete doll when I was a kid. Good times.

"I just like rabbits. I always wanted to have one as a pet," she hugged her new rabbit toy. "And they kinda remind me of you."

"Really?" I asked, feeling curious and amused at the same time.

She flushed. "Indeed. I don't know how to describe it. Maybe because rabbits are smart and full of surprises."

"And because they're cute?" I added cheekily.

"You said it yourself," she giggled, giving me a good chuckle. "So, do you want to try?"

"Sure, why not?" I stepped in and paid for a round. The booth attendant gave me a rifle; it almost weighed the same as an actual battle-ready rifle but it was still lighter.

"You sure you know how to use these? I recall that you once told me that you went hunting before." Pyrrha asked. Well, I did, but I didn't give her the full story and that was probably for the best. She didn't really need to know that I had (accidentally) killed an innocent animal before.

"Yep, I held these when I was twelve. I'm just more of a handgun type of guy so I don't use rifles much though," I answered. Although I was trained to use any type of firearm just to be prepared for anything, my muscle memory was too specialized in wielding handguns with my left arm despite that requiring more skill than using long guns with two arms.

"There aren't any dears nearby, are there?" I looked around for anything that had antlers on their head.

She gave a puzzled glance at her side before looking back at me. "Uh, no. Why did you ask?"

"Oh, nothing," I began aiming the rifle toward the range. "Here goes nothing."

The targets popped up as I aimed toward them through my iron sights and then fired, repeating until the gallery was clear. Naturally, I wasn't as impressive as Pyrrha. I took my time to aim to make sure the shots would land at the target but I still had to act quickly since the game was also about how fast you could shoot so I ended up missing one or two targets. There was also the fact that the targets weren't threats that could make my survival instincts enhance my marksmanship for a brief moment. I can shoot rifles, true, I'm just not as good with them as with one-handed guns, let alone as good as how Pyrrha used them.

When I finished the round, my score was, while adequate, barely enough to reach the leaderboards. Which was fine, I never really expected much of myself to begin with.

"Not bad," Pyrrha remarked.

"Not my best work," I handed the gun back to the owner. "At least you got a prize."

She smiled. "Still, I think what you did was solid for someone who's not a dedicated marksman," she said as we left the booth while she carried her prize, moving on to look for the next attraction we might visit. We still had plenty of time to spare.

While exploring, I noticed two familiar figures sitting in front of a pancake stall while I was looking around. Those two figures turned out to be Ren and Nora. They noticed us as Nora gave me a thumbs up while Ren gestured to me that we shouldn't worry and that he was keeping a close eye on her while eating cotton candy.

Pyrrha was too focused on finding the next attraction to notice our two other teammates watching us. "Hey, Jaune. This one looks exciting. Let's check it out, shall we?" she said as she pointed at a swinging pirate ship ride and grabbed my arm, and pulled me toward it.

"Uh, sure thing," I said, not being able to do anything but comply with her.

The day was so far looking out to be one of the best days we had as partners. I had never seen Pyrrha be this happy before. We only had a few more days left until the school year ends following the tournament and I wanted to make pleasant memories for us to look back on. And I wanted to enjoy it while it lasted.

We spent the next couple of hours visiting an assortment of attractions—from simple carnival games to riding a roller-coaster. If I'm honest, I enjoyed the rides that aren't too extreme like bumper cars, and others that don't involve much adrenaline as they are much less nauseating. I think I must have thrown up in at least four plastic bags. That's not even mentioning that the scale of the rides weren't as impressive as the ones from actual amusement parks so they could be more manageable by the academy, meaning I lost my lunch and almost wet myself to downscaled rides; the roller-coaster didn't even have a loop.

Overall though, it was an enjoyable experience. It was funny seeing Pyrrha be scared at the haunted house that she almost used her semblance which would have made her harm someone or break something. Thankfully I was there to help her get through it. She continued to dominate most carnival games though, and the ones she didn't were known to be rigged.

After a few more activities, the fireworks display was about to begin. We thought that it would be nice to watch it while riding on a Ferris Wheel to wrap things up, so we stood in line for roughly ten minutes before it was scheduled to begin.

Like most other rides in the fairgrounds, the Ferris Wheel was modestly sized but it was tall enough to give you a nice view of Beacon, Vale, and the sea between it.

While still in line, I bought some cotton candy for the two of us to eat while riding the Ferris Wheel. I checked my scroll to see if we were on schedule and saw that we were just in time to see the show shortly begin once we were next in line.

I returned to the line where Pyrrha was waiting for me. I saw that we were almost next. "Here, this should keep things sweet." I handed her the pink cone of cotton candy as I kept the blue one. She smiled as I sniggered at my lame joke. "Get it? Cause cotton candies are… nevermind."

We finally went on board in one of the passenger cars. As we took a seat, the Ferris Wheel lifted us from the ground as we watched the fairgrounds come into view, along with the cityscape of Vale whose lights glimmered across the sea from Beacon under the starry night.

"You know, I had a lot of fun today. I enjoyed every minute of spending time with you, Jaune. I never wanted it to end," she said after a few minutes of silence, admiring the sight around her. The restful quietness of the passenger car ascending upwards into the tranquil sky helped the serene atmosphere, compared to the noisy crowd at the fairgrounds accompanied by the cheery carnival music, even if those were still slightly audible from up there.

I gave her a warm smile. "Happy to be here with you as well, Pyrrha."

"This is what I exactly needed—A time with just the two of us; having fun with nothing to worry about," she said. I glanced down to see that my hand was dangerously close to hers, both were resting in the passenger car's seat.

"Yeah…" I looked back at the scenery as I'm reminded of what I wanted to tell her. I hesitated for a minute, contemplating in the night sky if I should divulge the dark secrets that I have been keeping from her since the beginning. I silently sighed, I knew that it was time for me to reveal to her what I truly am.

"I'm glad that I have you in my life and as my partner. People only like me because of what I am, and not because of who I am. If I wasn't the invincible champion they see me as, would they still love me?"

"I think about that all the time…" I muttered to myself as I looked back at my life before this whole mess started. It's funny how it felt like the world was once against you and then began singing chants to your name the next day all because of an unfortunate series of events. If it wasn't for my undeserved reputation, I'd be a nobody.

"You know how it is. It's why I'm grateful that you see me as something more than what everyone's been perceiving me ever since I made my first win. For all the achievements I have, having you as my partner has been my greatest one yet."

I felt my cheeks burn. It was one of the sweetest things she ever said if a bit corny coming from someone like her. "You're welcome, Pyrrha."

She gave me a gratified look before her eyes shifted downwards with a downtrodden expression. "It's just a shame that some good things would have to come to an end soon."

"Yeah..." I said, feeling worried that what she said would come true. I was so deeply bothered by it that I could barely hold a smile at the moment.

"It's just that…" she took a deep breath and turned to me. "Jaune… do you believe in destiny?

Befuddled by that question, I didn't know what else to do but give her my answer. "Um... I-I don't know. I guess that depends on how you view it."

Her frown slightly disappeared temporarily. "When I think of destiny, I don't think of a predetermined fate you can't escape from. But rather... some sort of final goal, something you work towards your entire life."

I had no clue where this was coming from nor was I aware of what she was thinking, though I do remember hearing this question from Ozpin the day this semester began. "Yeah. I can see that, sure," I remarked, not knowing what else to say.

She continued to ramble and I noticed her fists clench. "Well, what would you do if something came along that you... never expected? Something that had the potential to stand between you and your destiny?"

That was when I started to become more curious about what she was talking about. "Like what?"

She suddenly stressed out and spoke vehemently. "Or what if you could suddenly fulfill your destiny in an instant, but at the cost of who you were?"

I was taken aback by her yelling. I knew something was bothering her since the day started and I wanted nothing more than to help. "Pyrrha, are you okay?" I was about to place a hand on her shoulder to comfort her.

Tears burst out from her face. "I don't know anymore!"

I pulled my hand back in shock. She sobbed for a moment before taking a deep breath, realizing she must have ruined the mood and was close to lashing out at me. "I'm sorry for yelling. You've done nothing but be a good friend to me. You didn't deserve to be yelled out like that."

But I wasn't always a good friend. Hell, I didn't think I could ever say I ever was. I saw it as nothing more than an act to reach a certain end. And maybe I did deserve to be yelled out, which was why I have finally decided to open up to myself. If I could even genuinely call myself her friend, I would have to be honest to her and no half-truths this time. "No, if anything I should be sorry."

"Huh?" She gazed at me tearfully.

"There is… something you should know about me." I made a regretful sigh as I looked down. "You're going to hate me after hearing this." I was afraid that my nightmare from earlier was about to come true, but I was at a point where I didn't want to keep up this charade nor could I care about it anymore. She deserved to know the truth.

She gave me another confused stare. "Why is that?"

I sorrowfully returned her gaze. "Because it's going to change how you see me forever."

She took a few seconds to look at me in disbelief. "Why would you say something like that?! I could never bring myself to hate you," she chided on the verge of tears.

I made another sigh as I acknowledged that I was about to pass the point of no return. "Pyrrha I… I-I'm not what you guys think I am."

She stared at me speechlessly as she paid attention to what I was about to tell her.

"I'm not a hero." I shook my head before I went on to elaborate. "I'm not brave; I'm not selfless, I'm actually the opposite!" I stated, raising my voice in the most candid manner I've ever been. "I didn't want to be a Huntsman and I didn't want to be here! I never deserved to be called a hero, let alone get all the credit while almost everyone else gets glossed over. I never tried to save anyone; everything I ever did was to save myself! What happened in Podunk, the bank, and at Mountain Glenn were all because of stupid mistakes. Being a hero has been nothing but trouble for me!"

I was barely looking her in the eye, yet this was the most honest I've ever been to her since we met. "I have been trying to avoid fighting the best I could. Hell, I've been trying to get you, Ren, and Nora to do most of the work for me because you all would make better Huntsmen than I ever would. But I had to keep putting on a show to keep people believing that I'm a hero because if everyone finds out that I'm a pathetic coward who doesn't deserve the praise I've been getting, my life will become worse than it already is and I might take the family down with me! Now I'm stuck with people hailing me as something I'm not that it got Ozpin into giving me attention and sending me on dangerous missions because he thinks I could magically solve his problems because of my reputation. And it's all while I keep hoping that one day everyone would just forget about me and move on so all of this bullshit would just FUCKING END ALREADY!" I almost yelled at the top of my lungs that my voice almost cracked, and it all so that I could show that I wasn't kidding around.

"I'm… I'm nothing! I'm nothing like my father, or my grandfather, or my grandfather before him!" I bellowed, almost sobbing. "I'm just a dumb, selfish loser who isn't worthy of my family's legacy yet I still try to keep up this stupid act because I was afraid of what might happen if someone finds out that I'm a fake. So I had to keep lying to everyone including those who I call my friends while asking myself why do I even bother?!"

I panted, catching my breath before continuing in a lower tone. "I just all want this to stop. I can't keep doing this anymore. I don't think I even care about what you might think of me now nor do I care about what's going to happen to me. I just wanted to stop lying to you. This stupid charade has gone far too long now."

Pyrrha looked at me frozen as she pondered everything I just said to her. I was finally able to get all of that out of my chest with the possible cost of her trust and maybe my family's honor and getting months of work down the gutter. I expected her to be disappointed in me for realizing what I am just like what happened in my nightmare. At best, she might show some remorse, but I told myself not to push my luck because at that point it must've run out. All I needed to tell her the truth, whatever the cost; my whole life be damned.

But then she did the unthinkable.

"Pyrrha, I am really sorry." I looked down and avoided her gaze out of shame and guilt. "You thought you found the friend that you always needed when it turned out that I'm not much better than the ones who put you on the pedestal. You deserved far better. I don't know if you'll ever forgive m—"

Before I could notice it, she grabbed my head and planted her lips towards mine as the fireworks began setting off. Her eyes were closed while mine was wide open as I just sat there, paralyzed in shock, but I could still remember it being so soothing that I almost forgot about my insecurities.

After a few seconds, she finally pulled herself away. "You're wrong! You are a true friend. Even if you were aware of my reputation, you still saw me for what I am and gave me something that no one else had ever given me. You have shown me more than once that you truly care, not just for me, but for your team and others as well. That's not something a selfish scoundrel would do."

I wordlessly stared at her with my jaw dropped while trying to process what just happened as she continued explaining her conviction.

"Maybe you did lie about being a brave hero, and maybe you aren't as good as people thought you to be. But does that matter if you have been nothing but a good friend to me? I can see in your eyes that you are better than how you see yourself. I have been lonely for most of my life with no real reason to move on other than to keep winning, and then you came in. I know for certain for all the flaws you told me, you truly do care. You are a true hero and more than that in that regard. Nothing you say or deny is going to change that."

I was still frozen in shock but I was nonetheless relieved that I was able to realize that I wasn't dreaming this at all. Pyrrha still thought warmly of me despite my transgressions that I bluntly admitted to her. "Pyrrha… I don't know, I-I—"

"I love you, Jaune. I don't care what you think of yourself and how much you can't see what everyone sees in you. There's no one else I'd rather be with right now," she expressed. By then, I had trouble making any more self-deprecating thoughts as I was too engrossed with her bright and beautiful smile that I always loved her for. Fireworks bursted in the sky behind her heavenly face that only a Goddess would have.

Even though I had trouble believing it for myself, I always suspected Pyrrha of having feelings for me. The way she looked at me and how she feels better when I'm around her made it evident. I would have happily returned those feelings sooner if I didn't think that it could ruin our friendship and if I didn't feel so unworthy. She was too much of an amazing person to be with someone as pathetic as me. I doubted that she'd like me for what I truly am. But maybe I was wrong.

"I love you too," I returned, finally being able to vent that nagging feeling I had for her for a long time. I thought it was just a stupid phase that happens in every single school year but turned out to be more than that. "I guess I was just too scared. Some fearless leader I turn out to be."

"You are a fearless leader." She gently held my hand. "You fought on and faced the odds when you knew the risks; you continued to walk the path of a Huntsman even though you said you didn't feel worthy. And you staunchly led our team for months into a force to be reckoned with. But most importantly, you were always there for your friends when they needed it. That is what truly made you brave. Don't you ever forget that."

It was that moment when I couldn't help but brighten up. My usual routine of musing with denial, guilt, and self-doubt after receiving such a compliment was absent and I welcomed the change. After all the dilemmas I'm forced to deal with, I was just happy that things turned out this way, I didn't want to ruin it.

"I just don't know what the others might think of this," I muttered.

"You can handle it. You're an Arc, and you're not as bad as you thought yourself to be. I'm sure they'll forgive you." She comforted, placing her hand on my cheek. "And I'll be there for you."

I noticed her frown and gave her a comforting look. "I know you will. You have never let me down, Pyrrha, and I doubt that you ever will." I said before I leaned forward and kissed her. I could feel her letting go of her troubles, along with mine as she returned the kiss.

After we finished, she turned to the sky and admired the fireworks before her. "We should let go of our worries for now. We're supposed to have a good time, aren't we?"

I looked back up and nodded. "Yeah, you're right." I wouldn't want to miss the show. "Let's enjoy this while it lasts."

We fixed our gaze on the dark blue night sky and watched the colorful explosions together, all while at the top of the world. Any anxious and doubtful thoughts faded away thanks to our mutual comfort. There was nothing to worry about, it was only me and her on this beautiful night.

Pyrrha leaned next to my shoulder, "I don't want this to ever end."

I wrapped my arm around her. "Me too, Pyrrha. Me too."

I never thought I would finally get a sincere and serious date, let alone see the day when I become the boyfriend of one of the mascots of my favorite cereal brand. I was sure that Rouge was going to be absolutely livid when she heard about this. She'll definitely celebrate by wrecking the town with her drunken antics unless someone hides the drinks away from her again.

I do still have some doubts and I don't know if this relationship might even last. But as long as she's happy, so was I.

For all the complications I've been through, I finally found myself being glad of being a part of someone's life.