"Are we seriously supposed to fight a full-fledged hunter?" Blake hissed in disbelief.
Pyrrha couldn't seem to look away from the smirking visage of Qrow, the man they were to face next in Ruby's adventure she had laid out for them. I believe we will need to discuss our differing definitions of 'fun' at a later date, she mused with an eerie sort of calm.
"Alright, girls!" Yang called out excitedly from behind them. "Kick some butt!"
The pair turned to regard both Yang and Weiss as they approached. The blonde carried a tub of some sort in her hands as they sat down on the edge of the statue's pedestal as if to watch the entertainment.
"Is that… Did you bring popcorn?" Blake asked incredulously.
"Yep!" Yang replied cheekily. "I came prepared!"
"Though she didn't actually pop it, so I have no idea why she even bothered," Weiss grumped.
The blonde snickered as she flexed her fingers around the cardboard tub. "Still got some of my semblance stored up, figgured this'd be perfect!"
Before long there came the sound of kernels popping, and both the blonde bruiser and the heiress were sitting there, contentedly munching on fresh popcorn while waiting for the festivities to start.
"I don't believe you two," Blake sighed, turning forward once more.
Pyrrha did as well, glancing over at the patiently-awaiting hunter. Well, he's still there. I presume this is truly about to happen. "Er, I don't suppose you intend on going a bit easier on us?"
"Now, where would the fun be in that?" the lanky man snickered.
Yes, obviously a relative of Ruby's and with the same twisted definition of fun…
"You c'n do this, guys!" Yang shouted excitedly. "He's a creaky old man! You c'n take 'im!"
"Who you callin' old, kid?" Qrow snarked back.
"Please, Yang, do not agitate the hunter who is about to slaughter us," Blake pleaded weakly.
Pyrrha straightened her shoulders. "She is correct, though. We can do this, between the two of us. We are excellent fighters. So long as we work together…"
The Faunus girl nodded, her resolve strengthening as well. "Together," she simply stated with renewed confidence.
The pair took out their weapons and began to approach the hunter. Qrow held his position, cradling his scythe almost negligently behind him with the blade resting on the ground.
"You sure you wanna do this?" he asked mildly. "Not gonna blame you any if you turn away."
"Are you suggesting we would turn our backs on Ruby?" Pyrrha asked, an eyebrow raised defiantly.
"Because there's no way that's going to happen," Blake added firmly. "She is very worth fighting for."
Qrow gave them a nod and a tight grin. "Just what I was hoping to hear." And with that, he was off.
The man moved incredibly fast, his aura-assisted speed-attacks like a whirlwind. Blake had to leap around almost constantly, leaving countless shadow clones behind to keep from becoming bisected. For her part, Pyrrha was able to deflect the rapid strikes from his oversized tool of death, but it took her full concentration and both of her weapons to do so. She couldn't even hope to get a strike in of her own.
After a good five minutes, both Pyrrha and Blake ended up together once more across the courtyard from Qrow. He seemed content to let the two panting girls regain their breath, though he seemed to be barely winded.
"This…" Pyrrha groaned, stretching her arm muscles out. "...is not working."
"No, I think we need to use some more of that teamwork you mentioned," Blake mused, flexing her grip around her weapon. "You seem to be able to hold him off pretty well."
"I can, yes, but I cannot strike back."
"So… just keep him off me. I'll stay behind you and use you as a shield."
Pyrrha barked out a quick laugh. "It's worth a try. Ready?"
"Ready."
The pair moved in again and were eagerly met in the middle by the scythe-wielder. This time, however, Pyrrha kept up her constant defense, not even looking for any openings to strike out, simply concentrating on intercepting each and every one of Qrow's attacks. Blake, for her part, stuck to Pyrrha like a shadow. Every so often she'd strike out, fast as a King Taijitu, with Gambol Shroud either in katana or kusarigama form, holding her sheath across her body to block any strikes that Pyrrha could not when she exposed herself.
It took a good fifteen minutes of intense combat, both of the girls staying light on their feet to avoid decapitation by the giant scythe, but eventually they wore Qrow down enough that Blake could trip him up with her weapon on the end of its ribbon. The hunter and his weapon hit the ground, but before he could roll back to his feet both Blake and Pyrrha were standing on either side of him, Gambol Shroud and Milo pointed at his throat.
"Yield," Pyrrha demanded, her chest rising and falling as she gulped in air.
Qrow chuckled and raised his hands up in defeat. "Not bad, you two," he murmured appreciatively. "Not bad at all." He reached into his breast pocket and withdrew another of the familiar cards.
"I get now what she sees in the both of you," he continued as he dropped his head back again wearily. The girls put their weapons away as Pyrrha took hold of the card. "You tell her I approve, okay?"
"Um… sure. That is, thank you, sir," Blake replied, nonplussed.
A laughing blonde strode up, having left the popcorn with Weiss. "C'mon old man, lemme help you up. We gots popcorn to share."
With matching exultant grins, the redhead and raven-haired girl moved off to read the note together.
"'Come claim your prize where we first smooched'?" Blake murmured incredulously.
Pyrrha laughed lightly. "I suppose she lost patience with the flowery writing."
The pair took off eagerly, racing up the steps of the familiar small tower on the edge of Beacon. At the top, waiting with barely restrained patience, was a small brunette girl clad in a red dress and sheer black stockings, though without shoes on her feet. She was bouncing on her toes in anticipation of their arrival.
"My heroes!" Ruby exclaimed with a squeal, launching herself into her girlfriend's arms and covering the both of them in kisses.
Blake and Pyrrha laughingly returned the affection, though Blake brought her in for a more intense kiss, followed on the heels by Pyrrha.
They separated breathlessly, all three of them still holding hands.
"So what exactly was all this, Ruby?" Blake asked curiously.
"Well… it's our three month anniversary!" Ruby laughed. "You two asked me out on a date three months ago today!"
She began moving backwards, leading the three of them over to where a blanket was laid out with a picnic lunch.
"I wanted to do something special for you guys!" the brunette continued cheerfully. "And the best part is that Ozpin gave me temporary access to some security cameras so I could watch and record the whole thing! Oh, hey, that reminds me!"
She pulled her scroll out and turned so that both Blake and Pyrrha were looking over each of her shoulders. "I wanna selfie to commemorate!"
The trio of grinning girls posed for a quick picture before they fell upon the meal Ruby had assembled for them. Blake was practically purring over the smoked salmon, and Pyrrha gratefully dug into the pasta salad teeming with the vegetables that she loved so, while Ruby contentedly wolfed down cookies from a platter she pulled out. Both Blake and Pyrrha gave their girlfriend their enthusiastic thanks for both the activities of the day as well as the wonderful picnic.
"I still can't believe you set all this up for us," Blake laughed, reaching over to give Ruby's knee an affectionate squeeze.
"Even getting your Uncle in on it," Pyrrha shook her head ruefully. "That was a bit of a shock."
"Aww, Uncle Qrow's a big softie once you get to know 'im," Ruby giggled.
"Well, he did say to tell you that he approves."
"Of course he does!" Ruby exclaimed. "Who wouldn't love the both of you? And anyways, he gave me a fist-bump when I told him you were my girlfriends!" She frowned briefly. "Though he did crack up when I told him dad doesn't know yet. I dunno why that was so funny…"
"Still…" Blake murmured. "Not a pair of fights I want to do again anytime soon. And I definitely couldn't have done it without Pyrrha."
"I had your back, kitty cat," Pyrrha winked at her.
Ruby suddenly sat upright and gasped loudly. "You called her 'kitty cat'!" She let out an excited squeal and dove into Pyrrha's arms. "I'm so happy!"
"Well, she did ask me to, and I'm more than pleased to do so," Pyrrha murmured, blushing lightly.
Ruby hopped off of Pyrrha's lap to jump into Blake's next, happily spreading around her affection. Truthfully, it was just as likely she was missing the touch of her girlfriends after being absent from them all day.
"You know," Blake said with a smile. "This means we need a nickname for Pyrrha now."
"It does!" Ruby gasped once more, sitting up in her lap. She and Blake faced the redhead, cheek to cheek and with identically mischievous looks on their faces.
"No, truly, you do not need to do so," Pyrrha protested weakly.
"Oh, yes we so do," Ruby giggled. "Operation Find Pyrrha The Most Adorable Nickname Ever has been set into motion!" She turned to Blake, and they gave each other a high-five. "Banzai!" they proclaimed jointly.
"Why do I have a bad feeling about this," Pyrrha mumbled as she stuffed another forkful of delicious pasta salad into her mouth.
Oh, who am I kidding. I would love anything the two of them came up with for me.
Just as much as I truly love the both of them.
A/N: Mayyybeee Qrow was holding back just a smidge. Still, we know how kickass a fighter Pyrrha is, and even though she wouldn't stand a chance by herself against him, teamed up with Blake gave them an edge. And that finishes up the three-chapter set of adventure! Next chapter, though, I think it's time for Pyrrha and Blake to resolve some things finally, don't you?
Also, I just posted up a second chapter to A Thorny Bind, my fluffy smut companion to this tale!
FelipeCH98, Boarador, Jazzatron, The-Shadows-of-War: Pyrrha and Blake are pretty powerful fighters in their own rights, even if they have different fighting styles. I think a teamup between the two of them would be a thing to see. But yeah, seeing Qrow as your final opponent is enough to loosen anyone's bowels.
DarthMaine: Glad you liked the final boss, hope the fight didn't disappoint! But yeah, I figure Qrow is going to be pretty chill about the whole thing, mostly just finding it hilarious he knows before Tai does.
Demonic Angel C: Nah, the girls got this. And yeah, poor Weiss and her near-suffocation by mammaries…
THB4: Heh, I think Weiss was just more flustered than anything. Besides which, she has this unnamed crush she's got working right now. And you know Zwei approves of anything that makes Ruby happy. Happy Ruby means happy Zwei. Though we all know Blake's feelings on the corgi terror...
Stay shiny!