Okay everyone I know its late and im sorry about that, I have been a very busy guy lately helping with my brother's rennovations to his house. I have been shattered. But here it is, Im a little glad to have kept you all in a little bit more suspense. Here is the chapter we've all been waiting for, the date with Pyrrha, I hope you enjoy~
Jaune had had a monumentally busy week with what he could only describe as a mountain of homework to do. The Professors had been giving out far more than usual as the Vytal festival rapidly approached its crescendo with the monumental tournament, in the efforts of keeping their students busy and out of trouble as the excitement began to work its way into the hearts of their students. Beacon had come truly alive as the week had wound on as the countdowns had officially begun until the tournament was due to kick off in its usual spectacular glory. As a child, the blonde leader remembered watching it on the T.V. with his family, all nine of them crowded around the set with wide eyes and excited expressions. It had always marked a particularly competitive time within their household as the eight Arc siblings had bet everything from their respective chores to extra desserts on the fights and who they expected to win.
The same had to be said for the students at Beacon Academy. Every one of them had gotten whole-heartedly into the spirit and embraced the festival for what it was. There were no clear distinctions between the students as they all mingled together into one big melting pot of excitement. Yet perhaps the event which had stirred them up the most was the try-outs for the tournament itself the following week, it was there that this new found camaraderie ended and was replaced with a true competitive spirit. Naturally, the majority of the hunters and huntresses in training wanted to compete which served to reignite old rivalries between the schools and nations.
The big question which was being debated by all was where the world famed Pyrrha Nikos would stand. The four time champ was by all accounts, the one to beat, and given her situation she qualified to represent both the Mistral side and that of Vale. Her decision was the talk of the school as both the Vale students and those of Mistral sought to sway and persuade her into fighting for their side. They did so in every way possible, by bringing her refreshment in the library (despite a strict no food and drink policy), fetching her mail for her and ensuring that a plate laden with all of her favourite foods was ready and waiting in her usual place at every meal time.
Pyrrha herself didn't seem all to fond of the proceedings and often seemed to be putting on a forced smile so as not to offend these poor individuals. It didn't help that on top of these new social pressures, that she was organising a date between the blonde knight and herself. Ordinarily, Jaune would have insisted on organising it himself but the champion had been firm on the matter, claiming to have something special in store for them. Despite his inherently nervous nature when it came to both girls and any form of social situation, the awkward blonde found himself unusually calm about the whole situation. Though whether that was due to the responsibility being out of his own, somewhat clumsy, hands or whether it was due to his partner's smiles whenever she fed him details about what it was advisable to wear, he did not know. Regardless, the overload of homework gave him plenty of work to do to distract himself from thinking about it, something that he was eternally grateful for as it helped keep his mind from lingering on the growing dilemma that he was facing with his affections towards both his partner and Ruby. His words still pressed on his mind, lingering in the background of his thoughts, like an itch that was impossible to scratch. His numerous assignments occupied the vast majority of his time when he wasn't sparring with the champion, helping to pass the time swiftly. So much so that before he knew it, the night of his date arrived.
"Finally done!" Jaune grumbled with a sigh. The blonde knight set aside the small stack of papers which represented the sum total of his homework for Port's class. A five page, hand written assignment on the feeding habits and respective vulnerabilities of the common Grimm. It was an assignment that had left the blonde leader wanting to claw his own eyes out if only so that he had a genuine medical excuse for not completing the assignment. In fact, the subject matter had been so dry that even Weiss Schnee, the Ice Queen and patron saint of homework had seemed thoroughly fed up and bored writing about it.
"You would have been done sooner if you had worked on it with the rest of us~" The heiress gloated, a smug smile tugging at the corners of her lips.
"I know, I know but I had to do that Oobleck assignment on the tactics of the 'Thundercats' units in the faunus rights wars." he replied as he organised and stapled his assignment together.
"Well that was your fault for leaving it until the last minute. Even Ruby managed to finish that one in plenty of time."
"Is it really so hard to give me just a little bit of sympathy here?" Jaune teased, leaving his seat and shuffling over to collapse on his bed.
"Maybe" She replied with a slight amused smirk, her icy eyes following him every step of the way. They narrowed as he settled onto the soft mattress of his bed.
"And just what do you think you're doing?" She demanded.
"Well, I just finished my homework so I am going to take a nap." He sighed, his fatigue coming through in his voice.
"Oh no you're not. Have you forgotten what tonight is because it would be a shame if you have, especially after all of the work that Pyrrha has put into her planning and preparation. Honestly it was beautiful to watch, all that organisation, right down to the tiniest details." She began to wander, led aside by thoughts of incredible organisational prowess. To anyone listening, it would seem that it had actually been the heiress whom had planned this whole thing rather than the red haired champion. Bolting upright, Jaune grabbed his scroll and checked the time before leaping off of his bed and dashing into their team's shared bathroom. He had no time to waste.
Weiss chuckled as she watched him dart off at similar speeds to a caffeine supercharged Ruby. She slid to the side of her bed and stood, smoothing imaginary creases out of her uniform as she did so. With slow and measured steps, the heiress stepped over to her wardrobe and opened the doors. Inside, at the bottom rested two identical bags. Selecting the one on the left, she picked it up and closed the doors again. She set the bag down on Jaune's bed and settled back onto her own once more. Picking up a leather bound sketchpad and pencil from beneath her bed she began to sketch out various potential glyph designs. The book was aged, the leather binding scuffed and had clearly seen better days. It was peculiar that the heiress, a girl of precision and perfection, should own such a ragged looking object let alone that she might seem fond of it. She handled it with the utmost care as she drew.
Before long, the blonde came back out of the bathroom. His blonde hair was combed and untangled so that it hung in a straight and tidy looking manner. Still moving with a sense of great urgency and haste, he shot over to his bed, stopping dead at the sight of the bag. He looked at Weiss with a questioning expression even as the heiress rolled her eyes, setting her book carefully aside.
"I couldn't let you go out in your usual outfit again. It was bad enough that you did so on your date with Ruby. This is a date and you are required to dress yourself with a little more pride than usual so I got you some new clothes so that you might appear to have made an effort." She explained with a sigh.
"Really? Thanks Weiss! You're a softy at heart, I don't care what they say about you~" He replied with a cheeky grin which Weiss couldn't help but smile at. It felt oddly good to be able to help her teammates.
Reaching into the bag, Jaune pulled out the new clothes contained within. As Weiss had said, they were an awful lot nicer than anything he currently had. It was a blue flannelette shirt of a colour similar to that of his eyes. Yet despite its appearance, the material was some of the softest that he had ever felt. As well as the shirt was a set of jeans, admittedly they were similar to the pairs he already owned, only these lacked the numerous patch jobs and tears. They were also black in colour, granting a slightly more smart-casual look to the whole outfit. He quickly dressed himself, and just as he had done for his date with Ruby, he gave himself a quick hit of his aftershave. He cast a quick glance at Weiss who gave him a quick once over before giving him a nod of approval. Contented he checked his scroll and made his way to the door.
"Wish me luck?" He asked with a slight waver in his confidence. The homework had kept him distracted but now without them, his nerves were coming flooding back to him.
"I can't really do that given Ruby is my partner. It would be a bad idea to take sides but I'm sure you'll be fine. The clothes were a one off since it actually pained me to see you go on a date dressed as you did with Ruby. Thankfully she didn't seem to mind but that is besides the point. Now you had best get going, it would be a bad idea to keep Pyrrha waiting."
"But Weiss... I'm not due to meet her for another hour yet..." He protested.
"Well then nip down to the cafeteria or go for a walk. I don't care what just do something. I can't have you moping around here whilst I'm trying to sketch out my glyphs."Jaune listened for a few moments before nodding and leaving the room, heading down the corridor and ambling aimlessly across the campus in an effort to burn time.
Once he was gone, the heiress sighed in relief and took up her book again and pulled a loose sheet of paper out of it. Reading down the list she smiled mischievously, everything was going smoothly. Grabbing her pencil, she ticked off an item on her list '1730: Give Jaune clothes and get rid of him'. Checking her own scroll she counted down the minutes until at exactly 17:35 the door opened and a nervous looking Pyrrha entered the room. She looked at the young heiress with something akin to fear, a strange sight indeed to see in the four time champion's eyes. With a sigh, Pyrrha made her way over to her bed and perched on the edge, her hands clasped in her lap to prevent them from trembling. To her this was a very important night indeed, one which she simply couldn't afford to mess up. To do so would be to break her own heart and take away what she felt was a chance at being truly happy and leading a relatively normal life.
"Weiss... Are you sure about this? I appreciate all the effort you've put into planning this, I mean I have no idea where to start but are you sure that this isn't too much?"
"Oh nonsense, this is exactly the right amount of effort." She replied, dismissing her team mate's concerns with a wave of her hand. Heading to the wardrobe, she brought out the second bag and handed it to the champion.
"You really had this all planned down to the finest of details didn't you?" Pyrrha asked with a sly smile.
"Not me Pyrrha, you." Weiss replied with a cheeky wink before settling back onto her bed. "Now hurry up and get dressed or you'll be late."
Twenty minutes later, the champion was almost ready. She re-emerged from the bathroom dressed in the outfit that Weiss had bought for her. It was a lot more casual that what she usually wore and perhaps even more impressively, it was more comfortable than her armour. Usually, whenever she took it off it left her feeling exposed and vulnerable, yet these clothes let her feel free and... normal. They were simple enough, just some well fitting jeans and a semi-baggy red sweater, rolled up at the collar. It was knit from a soft wool that felt incredible against her skin, far from the itching that she had been expecting.
Weiss called her over and had her sit against the side of her bed so that she might tame the champion's fiery hair. After another few minutes work, her hands flying like some kind of creature possessed the heiress sat back with a satisfied smile to admire her work. She had woven Pyrrha's famed red hair into a long plait which ran down and over one shoulder to hang just above her waist. It was a simple yet effective design which took her out of her set appearance and gave her a look of natural and classic beauty which, of course, she was.
"There! It is done, there is nothing more that I can think of which would benefit you in any way. You are ready. If this doesn't help him make up his mind then he truly is a lost cause." She spoke in a confident tone before her eyes grew wide at the realisation of what she had just said "N-not that I'm taking sides! I-I'm just doing what I can to help y-you both!" She spluttered out, desperately trying to back-pedal. The champion only laughed her sweet laugh and stood, turning to face the heiress she placed a hand on Weiss' shoulder.
"I know Weiss, I know. Thank you, for all that you've done." Pyrrha said graciously before turning towards the door.
"You had best be off, you don't want to keep the knight in scraggly armour waiting." Weiss replied with a rare smile. However just as the champion began to head towards the door she grasped a small glass bottle shaped elegantly like a rose. Dashing over to the champion, she tugged on her arm and gave her a couple of little blasts from the bottle. Pyrrha paused a moment, catching the fragrance. It was a pleasant and subtle scent which reminded her of the flowering gardens back home in Mistral that she had spent so many summers in. Giving the heiress a quick, warm smile, Pyrrha left the room and began the walk down to the main courtyard where she was due to meet her date. She felt every butterfly in existence fluttering round within her and frantically went over the plan for their date in her head, praying to every god and goddess both known and unknown for help.
Jaune broke into a light jog, frantically checking the time on his scroll. He was going to be late, even after all that Weiss had said about not being late and leaving his date waiting. Just why did he have to walk so far into the gardens, what was he hoping to achieve? It had helped him quieten his nerves and yet now they had sprung back up, ten times as bad as before. He had only wanted to kill the time he had before he was due to meet Pyrrha but he had failed to keep an eye on the time and now he was paying for it.
He was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't see the figure step out in front of him until it was too late. He collided with them and together the two of them fell to the ground in a groaning heap of tangled limbs. Immediately Jaune scrambled to his feet, apologising frantically for not watching where he was going when he caught sight of the bright red hair and intense viridian eyes which could only have belonged to one person.
"P-Pyrrha?!" He stammered, immediately shooting forward and helping her to her feet, dusting her off as best he could and apologising all the while.
"Pyrrha I'm so so sorry, I was on my way to meet you but I got sidetracked in the gardens so I was running late and I wasn't watching where I was going and Weiss said that I shouldn't be late cause it's rude and you aren't hurt are you?" He spoke at a million miles a minute which only seemed to confuse the champion.
"Jaune. It's alright. I'm not hurt and you're not late. I was just on my way there now." She answered him, raising her hands to cut him off. Immediately the blonde stopped speaking and looked away, a bashful expression of his reddening face. She giggled slightly and waited patiently for him to recover from his embarrassment. When he did, he got his first look at her and it took his breath away. She was truly beautiful in a way that he had never seen before. Ruby had been sweet and innocent when they had gone on their date but that didn't quite compare.
Pyrrha looked incredible, completely different to how he usually saw her. Certainly, some features were still the same such as her signature green eye shadow. But to see her out of both her armour and uniform was a rare sight indeed, completely unlike anything that he had seen before. He looked her up and down over and over, his mouth flapping open and shut as he tried to form fords but couldn't. There were no words to describe what he felt as he looked at her. His heart pounded in his chest and the butterflies in his stomach had formed some kind of a fluttery tornado. He felt his knees turn to jelly and wasn't sure if they would be able to hold his weight.
"P-Pyrrha... you look beautiful." He finally managed to say, his voice barely above a whisper. That didn't stop a blush from spreading across the champion's face like wildfire.
"Thank you Jaune, you look very handsome yourself." She replied with her signature warm smile.
"S-shall we?" He asked as the rest of his body kicked into gear, offering her his arm. She nodded happily and entwined her own arm with his as the two of them made their way off and towards the airships, their minor indiscretion forgotten in the face of their evening together. As they walked, each of them stole glances at the other when they believed it would go undetected. The two of them walked along in companionable silence, content to simply be in each other's company.
"So what did you have planned for us this evening?" Jaune asked with a smile, trying to drum up a little conversation between them.
"Well, I thought that since its summer, it might be nice if we went ice skating... i-is that alright with you?" She asked a little nervously.
"Is that alright with m-... Yeah! I haven't been ice skating in ages. My sisters and I used to go all the time when we were younger." He replied, at his words, Pyrrha seemed to visibly relax a little.
"W-well, I've never been before so you'll have to show me the ropes." She continued, her voice still a little shaky.
"Sure! I mean I'd like that. Looks like I'll be teaching you for once huh?" He laughed playfully.
Before long, the two of them arrived at the Vale ice rink. All around the reception area were huge posters emblazoned with the 'Vale Beacons' hockey team logos. The two teenagers made their way across to the receptionist's desk. The receptionist behind it looked thoroughly fed up with their job. She was a middle aged woman with half moon glasses resting halfway down her nose and a face fixed in a permanent scowl.
"Two please." Pyrrha said with a smile. The receptionist looked at them for a long moment before processing their tickets. In a moment, the champion had paid and the two of them made their way through to the rink. Dropping onto the benches provided, they removed their own shoes and traded them for skates at the skate hire kiosk. Pulling his skates on Jaune felt as though he were climbing back onto a bike after years without riding it. Once his were tightened properly, he stood balancing on the blades and walked over to his partner. Crouching down he checked hers over and adjusted them a little.
"You ready?" He asked, offering her his hand.
"As I'll ever be." She replied, taking it and climbing shakily to her feet. Holding tightly onto the knight for support, the two of them slowly made their way over to the edge of the ice. The rink itself was mostly empty with the exception of a few hardcore skaters running backwards laps, and what appeared to be semi competent couples. Jaune stepped onto the ice first,getting used to the feel of the skates underfoot. Pyrrha gave him a nervous look, her brilliant green eyes darting between her date and the ice itself. Jaune smiled warmly to her and waited patiently as she slowly and tentatively stepped out and onto the ice again.
"There you go, see? It's not so bad is it?" He chuckled. She nodded but seemed more focused on trying to stay upright and not fall over in front of him. Taking her other hand he gently pulled her out onto the ice a little. She wobbled a little as she followed after him but a wide smile soon grew across her face.
"Jaune I-I'm doing it! I'm skating!" She chirped excitedly. Seeing her so happy to have taken the first step truly melted his heart.
Time seemed to stop for the two of them as they skated together. Pyrrha was a fast learner and aside from the occasional tumble which gave her a brief knock to her confidence, the champion progressed quickly. While they may have started out with slow laps around the rink sticking close to the barriers, it wasn't long before she was perfectly happy to be skating independently of him. Jaune felt an ever growing sense of pride as he watched her perform slow pirouettes on the ice and couldn't help but wonder whether or not this was the same feeling that she felt in teaching him the ways of combat. It was a rewarding experience to say the least.
Yet as with all things, the time for them to hang up their skates came all too soon for the both of them. Panting softly and with legs like lead they made their way off the ice and retrieved their shoes. Together the two of them sat together, putting their regular shoes back on, conversation flowing easily between the two of them.
"I can't believe how quickly you were learning Pyrrha!" Jaune smiled.
"Well, I did have the best teacher." She replied casually, giggling as she saw Jaune's cheeks turn red with a mixture of both embarrassment and pride.
"That was really fun Pyrrha, we should totally come back sometime. Maybe we should get Ruby and the Ice Queen to come along too and make it a team thing... T-that is if you want to?" he asked with a nervous smile.
"I-I think I'd like that Jaune... although I'd like to practice a little more with you first if that's alright?" Pyrrha looked at him with her big green eyes and Jaune's heart absolutely melted. She laughed mentally, knowing that she couldn't possibly have pulled that off any smoother if she had tried.
"Of course! What kind of coach would I be if I called it quits now and threw you out into the big wide world of skating. I would love to come here again with you." He cheered happily. "But for now, we should probably start making our way back. I don't wanna wake Weiss again. C'mon I know the perfect place to grab something to eat along the way~" He smiled and took her hand again, playfully tugging her along and out of the rink again.
Only a little while later, the two of them were stood outside Jaune's favourite fast food stand in down town Vale. Rising from it were a plethora of smells from the wide variety of dishes that it prepared. Numerous pots were sat on top of several gas hobs, each bubbling away with a different dish and each one rich with many spices. Behind the stand was a young woman, her hair barely contained underneath a worn old baseball cap, despite how frazzled she looked, the bright smile on her face never once faded as she served her customers. Every order was seemingly prepared with great care and love for the food involved. It was clear that she loved her food and that she loved the job. Jaune looked at Pyrrha with a slightly nervous expression. He knew that The red haired victor wasn't a major fast food fan and seeing the look on her face as they approached was more than enough to validate that belief. He looked at her with a warm smile as she seemed to want to object to their food choice.
"Its alright Pyrrha, it's not all fast food here. Besides you can't eat totally healthy all the time. You gotta treat yourself once in a while." He said, the frown on her face lessened a little as they reached the front of the queue and Jaune placed in their orders. Before long, two fair sized tin foil packages were handed across to them.
"Thanks Tracy." Jaune sad with a smile as he paid, handing one of the packets to his partner as the two of them began a slow walk towards the air station. Pyrrha looked at it with a reserved expression before she slowly peeled away the foil to reveal a burrito. It was double wrapped with a generous dose of filling, one of the many reasons that Jaune chose to frequent that stand in particular. Taking a sidelong glance at her date, she watched as the blonde unwrapped his own and took a big bite out of it, a little of the filling escaping and running down his chin. With a slight blush of embarrassment, he quickly wiped his chin and took another bite. Looking back to her own, the champion shrugged before she too took a bite.
What she tasted was not at all what she had expected. It was a rich blend of spices, meat and chilli that left her whole mouth tingling and wanting more. Eagerly she took another bite, expecting it to be worse than the first yet it only amplified the sensation. Bit by bit she worked her way through the burrito, savouring the flavours and feeling of warmth that coursed through her body from head to toe. She could understand why it was that Jaune had defended the food now, it was incredible. Perhaps he was right? Maybe she should give herself a break every once in a while and treat herself to one of these. It was something that the two of them could do together after all.
To Jaune, it was clear to see that Pyrrha was a big fan of the food. It was written all across her face. Her face seemed to light up with ever bite that she took, her eyes glinting happily in the twilight. He Moved closer to her so that they were walking shoulder to shoulder, the champion pulling her food out of his reach as though she expected him to prey on it as she had often seen Nora do with Ren. Jaune only laughed.
"So you like the fast food huh?" He asked.
"It's incredible! One of the best things I have ever tasted." She blushed as Jaune cocked an eyebrow "I-I mean its still not very healthy but well... I was thinking that maybe you and I could come to Vale after one of our training sessions to get some more of these... Once in a while I mean."
"I'd like that Pyrrha." He smiled "Maybe we could make these a thing after your skating lessons." That was a suggestion to which the champion nodded emphatically. After that, the two walked in companionable silence, too wrapped up in eating their food before the evening chill got to them and they got cold. Of course, it wasn't long before Pyrrha had finished hers and found herself wanting more.
Disposing of the wrappings in the airport terminal, the two teenagers climbed on board the flight to take them back to Beacon, both of them more than a little disappointed that the night had come to an end and eagerly wishing that they might go back and do it all again. Yet their landing at Beacon pulled them out of such thoughts. With a soft yawn, Jaune got up and left the aircraft with his partner. The two of them made their way across campus and through the courtyard.
"Y'know Pyrrha, I really enjoyed tonight. It was something different." he smiled, reaching out and nervously taking her hand as the two of them walked.
"Yeah, I wont be forgetting tonight I don't think. I mean I ice skated!" She replied excitedly, though her heart skipped a beat as she felt his hand take hers. Yet before she knew what she was doing, she had interlocked her fingers with his, fretting as she felt her palms clam up for the first time in years.
"You did, we will make a champion skater out of you~" He teased. After that, the two of them walked in comfortable silence back to their dorm pausing only once they were outside the door. Smiling to his partner, Jaune took out his scroll and unlocked the door as the two of them made their way in for the night to join their two teammates. Both with wide smiles fixed on their faces and the blonde knight a sizeable step further towards knowing his own feelings. Internally the blonde felt that he had let Ruby down by treating he champion differently yet, to him he felt a burning desire to spend more time with his partner, a want that was more than simple platonic fondness. He had jumped at the opportunities to spend more time with her because in truth she was still somewhat of an enigma, there were many natural opportunities for the champion and her leader to spend time together, through their training and now for her wanting to learn to skate. There seemed to be no such opportunities with Ruby, as though their interactions were staged. Jaune found himself feeling more comfortable around Pyrrha, she was a warm and encouraging familiar presence who wanted Jaune to develop into the man he was. Jaune sighed knowing that one date wasn't enough to base his choice on, he would have to give himself more time. Perhaps at the end of the championships he would be able to make up his mind.
It broke his heart knowing that making any decisions either way would hurt one of his closest friends, yet it was unfair to string either of them along. It was unfair but that was love. There are always winners, and there are always losers.
There, it is done and the poor blonde is still as clueless as ever! How very frustrating huh? Next time we get into the main arc of the story, the Vytal chapters. It will be interesting I hope as I reintroduce Penny (I kinda forgot about her but she will be back!). If you liked this, please do favourite, follow and always reviews help me gain a feel of audience reaction to my work. Once again I hope you all enjoyed this latest addition, sorry it was late.
As always I have been TheFlagshipArkos and I'll see you all in the next chapter.