A/N: EDIT: Well, flames will be flames I suppose, guess folks didn't like this chapter.
As ever, the Embers rule Remains. If folks don't like this story, poof! Gone! Deleted! That's no joke.
Strange as it might sound, live for reviews and feedback; without them, I simply can't write a single word. So by all means! Speak up! Really, that's no joke. Your feedback is the reason this story continues. Ever bit helps. It keeps me going in these crazy times. So by all means! Speak up! No review is too short or too small!
Now, then, a warning. I'm sure you all know what's coming this chapter.
So.
Yuuup.
You've been warned.
Now for a few quick questions:
Q: What! IS! PAIRING?!
A: As I've said many a time before, it depends on the reception this story receives. By all means, read and find out.
Q: Can we get some more P.O.V. from different characters.
A: The primary viewpoints are Naruto and Pyrrha to be sure, but naturally we'll see others, and we have as the story progresses.
Q: Minato and the others are busy little bees, aren't they?
A: They certainly aren't sitting back and twiddling their thumbs. Just because we don't see them in a chapter doesn't mean they aren't there. Naruto's not too good at sensing others just yet, but well...
...the best guardian is a silent one.
Q: Is IT going to happen?! Are you going to take the plunge?! Oh let it be so!
A: ...okay?
Well, I've kept you long enough.
You came here for a story, didn't you? Don't mind the rambling of sickly man.
As ever, I own no quotes. references, themes or memes. Not a wit or a one! Hope you enjoy!
"Isn't it remarkable, how easily one word can change things?"
"You told her to be selfish. She listened."
Congratulations."
~?
Madness Becomes Me
Pyrrha gloried in mindless melee.
There was just something so freeing about it; no thoughts, no worries, just simple chaos in the courtyard.
She didn't fight. She danced. Miló and Akoúo̱ were awhirl in her hands, whirling cutting, parrying and blocking as she raged back and forth, trusting her back to her teammates as she forged a path in the madness.
Damn, but it felt good to have a team.
Perhaps that was a bit of an understatement on Pyrrha's part; she'd long sicne had a partner in Naruto long before she came to Beacon, but she felt it worth saying regardless. Friends were one thing, but teammates were another. Naruto she could trust to watch her flank, and to a lesser extent Yang -no matter their rivalry-so she needn't fear much on that front.
Weiss...was something of an anomaly.
Technically their team leader, she slotted in rather well in this morning madness; in that she'd promptly claimed the high ground for herself and made devastating use of it via her glyphs. At least she knew better to shout commands that would be summarily ignored.
"Pyrrha! On your left!" that warning did not go unheeded.
Ruby's scythe swept at Pyrrha's head from the side and was caught it with a lazy swipe of her shield, the back-swing of which sent the small girl twirling end over end before crashing into a fountain facefirst. Oh, dear. In all fairness she really hadn't meant to hit her that hard. She winced as little bubbles welled up from the water. Ruby was tough...right? Surely she'd be alright...?
"I'm sorry!"
"Vengeance for Ruby!"
Some madwoman with a hammer rushed her.
Naruto fell upon them like a falling star, all but smashing them into the ground.
"Sorry," he patted her stunned forehead. "Power of friendship really ain't a thing, here...
Nora groaned. "Oooh, pretty stars...
A shadow fell over them.
Pyrra whirled and flung Akoúo̱ like a discus, only for her shield to pass through empty air. No, not air, it crashed through something, but it wasn't a person. Impossible. She'd glimpsed a girl with dark hair and golden eyes. So where had she...? She had half an instant to realize her peril before someone slammed a knee into her back -she never remembered who in the madness- and sent her stumbling away.
Yang's gauntlet barked and her would be attacker went flying; she caught a flash of startled pink eyes and green clothes as they sprawled at her feet.
There!
She pivoted for a knockout blow, only to find another of them caught and bound by a pair of glyphs, courtesy of Weiss. Oh, a stranger! Good. Easy pickings. A vicious kick sent her victim to her knees. From there her hand snapped up, her Semblance flared and the weapon of her would-be attacker shot into the air, dragging its owner with it. Foolish. Really, Sometimes one had to know when to drop their weapon and fight on...
"Hey, Nikos!"
She turned and planted a fist against her hip, mildly nonplussed to find a familiar face awaiting her.
"Not going to sneak up on me, Cardin?"
"Nah." her next opponent brandish his heavy mace with a lazy grin. "No fun that way. 'Sides," he looked past her, wincing a little as Naruto blasted Melanie and Miltia into the air. "I'd get my ass kicked for it.
True.
...so you'd rather take your lumps the hard way?"
He ducked a flailing body and stormed forward. "Something like that."
She settled into a loose stance and moved to meet him, shield raised before her face.
Cardin Winchester wasn't the same bully he'd been before the Leaf Gym; he'd had that mean streak beaten out of him and come out the better for it. Minato would allow nothing less. Under his tutelage, you became your best self or...no, wait, he really didn't let anyone quit these days, so she supposed the point was moot. But even he had his pride.
"I'll get you this time." He swore.
Green eyes flashed as she dove in. "We'll see!"
Sparks flew as her spear skittered off the jagged face of his mace.
Cardin fought well. Honorably, even. No flourishes or stupid showmanship here. He gave ground slowly, but reliably, retreating toward higher ground as she pressed him. Points for that. He knew he couldn't hope to match her in sheer speed, but then again, he didn't have to. A single swipe of that mace could shatter aura in an instant, even break bones if one wasn't careful. Unfortunately his weapon was every bit a one trick pony. For all of his strength, it really didn't matter so long as he didn't hit you-
Their weapons clashed, Pyrrha moved to sweep his legs...and paused when she saw his smile.
A hand reached around, ignoring the blade grating against his skin to grab her wrist. She hacked into it a snarl, but his grin only grew. With neither word nor warning, that massive mace lost the wide flanges at the edges as its bulk folded inward, gears clicking and whirling as gave birth to an entirely new weapon. Too late, she realized her mistake as she found herself staring down the barrel of a cannon. Rule number one of the Leaf Gym. Adapt, adapt, adapt.
Cardin had adapted.
"Gotcha!"
Her body moved of its own accord. Her heel soared upward and nailed him in the groin.
Cardin folded like a wet paper bag. "Pyrrha...what the hell...?!"
"I'm sorry!" her face colored. "It was instinct!"
Pyrrha stepped over his crumpled form of her defeated adversary aside, hoping no one had seen that. Just as well; because water erupted from the fountain behind her as Ruby came up swinging...and soaking wet. Silver eyes promised murder.
"VENGEANCE WILL BE MINE!"
Pyrrha dove to meet her, laughing.
Perhaps this wouldn't be so bad after all.
She moved to meet the raving reaper, grinning from ear to ear. "Do your best!"
(.0.0.0.)
In the days that followed, Team WYPN settled in rather nicely.
At least Naruto believed they were. Oh, there was a bit of teething problems at first as there were in all things, but in good time the kinks began to work themselves out for the most part.
Lunch proved little different.
What was once meant to be a simple meal soon became a torrid affair that few would forget. Four tables were dragged across the room crammed together for both team, two to each side. WYPN and RVRB sat on the right, while CRDL and JMMN on the left. It made for a mad little hour, but it was strangely wholesome all the same. Naruto rather liked it. Just about all his old friends were here, with some new ones to be boot. All sorts of juicy gossip to be had here.
Today was no exception.
"Seriously, its not fair." Ruby buried her head in her hands. "We trained at the same gym!" accusing silver eyes narrowed upon them "Why does our team always lose to yours?!" Her hands slammed down on the table, all but jolting her plate. Even CRDL does better than us!"
Cardin lazily flipped her off across the table. "You're also two years younger than us, sooo...
It was an old argument by now; one Naruto felt only a little chagrined for. Most teams had found their groove by now; while RVRB yet struggled. He supposed it made sense; Ruby was still struggling with the idea that she should be leader of anything and when you had two recluses and a Nora on your team...well, that was a volatile combination to begin with. She'd come into her own, soon. He hoped. She had to. He had faith in her.
And so he scratched the back of his head. "You'll get there. Trust me, its just a matter of-
"Cohesion." Weiss interjected, lifting her chin and preened like a proud peacock. "Well, that and two championship fighters."
"Pushups, sit ups and plenty of juice." Pyrra chimed in. "I'm not sorry."
"Holy crap!" Yang coughed. "Pyr just made a joke! Is the world ending?! I mean," she backtracked at her siblings glower, "Sorry sis, that's just how it is."
"Boo!" the little reaper whipped a piece of toast off at her sibling's head. "You suck!"
Yang caught it with her teeth and munched happily. "
Weiss raised a hand as they ate. "So, Jaune and Neo are...?"
"Together-together?" Nora swallowed another bite of her pancackes. "Oh, yeah. There's a story there."
Now that she mentioned it, they'd been wondering about that.
"Yeah," Naruto grinned around a mouthful of muffin, "You and Neo. How did that happen?" keen blue eyes found Jaune, "C'mon, spill. Who made the first move?"
Melanie and Miltia exchanged a knowing look. "Neither."
There was a silence.
"Whaddya mean neither?!"
His fellow blond turned red. "Well..
Pyrrha leaned in on her elbows, rather curious herself. Jaune looked left. Jaune looked right. Jaune realized all eyes were on him, and summarily, that he'd been had. His lips parted...and were summarily silence as hand came up over Jaune's mouth. Firm fingers clamped down hard and held fast, holding the words at bay. He turned a baffled blink on Neo.
"Aw," he sulked, "I can't tell them?"
She shook her head fiercely and lowered her hand.
Blake found her voice next. "She can't talk? Then how do you two...
"Scrolls and body language." a rueful grin tugged at Jaune's mouth. "Lots of body language."
All eyes turned to Neo, who'd somehow managed to squirrel away another gallon of ice cream in the last five seconds when nobody was looking. She flashed them a thumbs up.
Cardin clapped him on the back. "Thatta boy!"
"Cardin, ow...
"Well," Weiss stood with a frown, "This has been...bracing, But we have a schedule to keep and homework to do..."
The rest of Team WYPN blanched. Yang frowned. "Are you sure we can't skip those extra lessons."
Weiss bridled at that. "Certainly not!"
No privacy these days for them.
Naruto groaned. "Ugh...!"
(.0.0.0.)
Things finally reached a head in Port's class three days later.
Well, that was when Naruto finally noticed it; if only because Pyrrha couldn't seem to sit still. She just kept squirming. In hindsight, it was a miracle he'd missed it. She was usually so calm in class, so composed, careful never one to let the mask fall anywhere save when they were alone. Which they hadn't been for at least two weeks now-
Tap.
"Eh?"
Her elbow nudged his side, a desperate cry for attention.
Naruto flicked a quick glance at their so-called teacher, found Port all but engrossed in one of his stories, and looked back her way again. "You alright?"
Pyrrha didn't answer; not with proper words at least.
She slid a folded note across the desk to him.
He took it and unwrapped it an instant.
A lone line awaited him.
"Rooftop tonight?"
Strange.
Yang tried to lean over his shoulder and peek, to no avail. Not trusting himself to a note with Yang and Weiss watching, Naruto scooted a bit closer. His hip brushed hers and Pyrrha made a little noise of surprised pleasure. Her lips pursed, not quite understanding until he raised his left hand and made a quick gesture with his fingers.
"Training?" he flicked two fingers back and forth, using the old code they'd concocted as children.
She recognized it at once and subtly signed back, eyes gone half-lidded. "Of a sort."
Well, that didn't allay his suspicions. She was definitely up to something.
Weiss noticed.
"What're you doing?" she hissed. "He'll notice!"
Naruto waved her down and sighed once more. "Team?"
Pyrrha's pale face turned a lovely shade of red.
"No." her motion was stiff, almost choppy. "Alone."
"Sure." he nodded. He didn't see the harm in it.
She reached across and hooked her pinky finger in his. "Remember. You promised."
"Yup." Naruto mirrored her smile. What was the harm in it?
Wasn't like they were doing anything wrong...
(.0.0.0.)
Say what you would about Beacon and its madness, but the nightlife was strangely...peaceful.
Few were out near midnight, and with most of the training facilities housed indoors
Naruto let her drag him up the last flight of steps.
"Alright," he released her and turned to face her fully. "We're here. Why did you want to train on the roof...?"
Pyrrha closed the door behind them and did something with her semblance; he knew, if only because he heard the handle click, despite lacking a lock. Alright. Whatever it was, she didn't want to be disturbed. And had she wedged her shield in the latch? Alright, now she was starting to make him a little nervous.
"Privacy."
An alarm went off in the back of his head. Naruto ignored it, not quite comprehending what she was up to.
"Well," he planted both hands in his pockets, "We've got it now."
Pyrrha gave him a strange look. "We certainly do."
She sauntered forward, hips swaying as she kicked off her shoes.
Naruto frowned...until her skirt hit him in the face.
'Huh, neat.' his mind chirped. 'Black lace.'
There was something new about her smile; it was tiny and shy, yet for all that, he glimpsed something new there. Something that had been simmering for the last few days now. He knew that look; or perhaps it would be better to say he...recognized it. He'd seen it a time or two when she was stressed, when things weren't going her way, when he'd missed no shortage of hints.
Hunger.
"Aright, just calm down." he collapsed his weapon and raised a hand. "I know its been a bit, but-
Her eyes flashed as she reached out and reeled him in. "No."
She was quite close now. Terribly close, really.
She stepped in with a quiet sigh, looped her arms around his neck, and fastened her mouth to his. A jolt shot through Naruto. Her lips were warm and soft, tasting faintly of berries and sunshine, so much so that he found himself leaning into her embrace despite his earlier reservations. She yielded to him with a pleased hum, reaching around to guide his arms unto hers.
She pulled away first.
"Its been so noisy these last few days," her voice was breathy whisper as she pulled away. "I can't take it anymore."
Small wonder she'd been antsy lately.
He grabbed her by the waist, to which she made a pleased noise and dove in again. Her legs swept his and she rode him down to the roof. Aura cushioned the impact. Even if hadn't, he surely wouldn't have felt it in such a state. His mind had already fizzled out and his attention was firmly elsewhere.
Pyrrha sat atop his chest, legs splayed.
Green eyes bored into blue.
"Don't move."
Nimble fingers reached up with infuriating slowness, dancing across the buttons of her blouse. A tantalizing expanse of pale creamy skin greeted his eyes as her bosom was freed. Black lace there, too. There was a wild, glazed look to her green eyes now and he all but lost himself in them. He leaned up to kiss her as her hips ground against his.
She reached down, fumbling with the buttons of his jacket.
And behind them, the door to the roof rattled.
Pyrrha absolutely hissed.
"I swear," she sang with faux sweetness, "If someone opens that door, I'm going to throw them off the roof."
The rattling ceased and they heard footsteps retreat rapidly.
It was the straw that broke the camel's back. Naruto sniggered. Pyrrha snorted, covering her mouth to hide her smile. Before long they were both hopelessly lost in laughter, doubling over as they clutched at themselves and cackled.
Naruto finally subsided with a sigh.
...you sure about this?" he drawled. "This ain't something' ya can take back."
She leaned down and kissed him again, sweetly this time, tongue tickling at his lips.
Her forehead touched his, bright hair tickling his face. "Does that answer your question?"
Yup. The hell was he waiting for again?
Probably just as well too; because she lost patience with his clothes and started tearing. His buttons -and most of his jacket!- flew away in a shred of fabric and soon enough, his trousers joined them. He took the tie that bound her hair in recompense, and her hair spilled down over her shoulders.
"Touch me." she begged. "No interruptions this time."
His hand moved to cup her bare breasts and she jolted, sucking air in between her teeth.
"Cold hands!" she gasped out the words.
He nearly withdrew. "Sorry?"
She tilted her neck back, gasping softly. "I didn't say stop!"
He leaned up to kiss her again at that, twisted his hips, and rolled. She had half an instant to cling to him before she wound up sprawled beneath him. Scarlet tresses sprawled against the ground behind her like a bloody halo, further highlighting her pale skin and striking green eyes. Chest heaving, eyes half-lidded, she gazed up at him for a long moment.
And then.
"Thank you."
Naruto stilled. "What?"
Her eyes began to water.
"Oi!" he reached down, cupping her face. "Why're ya crying?"
"Because!" she sniffled and snickered in the same instant, producing a strange sound caught somewhere between a sigh and a sob. "Because I'm happy." her hands threaded with his. "Thank you for fighting me that day." She laid a kiss on their interlocked fingers. "Thank you for telling me to be selfish. Thank you for loving me."
An awful feeling stirred in his chest. "This is starting to sound like a goodbye, ya know."
"No." her eyes flashed. "Never. I just can't help myself. Sometimes I wake up and wonder if this is all dream, if its even real...
His heart skipped a beat. "Of course this is real."
"But what if it isn't?"
"Nope." he swatted her on the nose.
"Alright. I won't argue." she reached up and pulled him down to her, nuzzling her nose agains this. "I'm so glad I met you. Thank you for saving me."
"Saved you?"
"Hmm." she smiled. "Sounds strange, doesn't it? Still, I can't help but feel that you did...
There were no more words after that. The last of their clothes fell away and she began to move against him. Her skin was soft as satin under his hands. His palms came up under her rear and cupped it, held her fast as he only could. Neither of them knew what they were doing. Neither cared.
Together, they fell into carnal bliss.
A/N: As ever, the Embers rule Remains. If folks don't like this story, poof! Gone! Deleted! That's no joke.
Strange as it might sound, live for reviews and feedback; without them, I simply can't write a single word. So by all means! Speak up! Really, that's no joke. Your feedback is the reason this story continues. Ever bit helps. It keeps me going in these crazy times. So by all means! Speak up! No review is too short or too small!
Thirsty!Pyrrha really is best Pyrrha.
As ever, read the previews before you review, please.
So In the Immortal Words of Atlas...
...Review, Would You Kindly?
And enjoy the previews.
SUR~PRI~SE~!
(Preview)
"Really?!" Weiss looked away. "Have you no shame?!"
"Nope!"
Minato tugged on his mask. "Alright, then."
Time for work.
"Soooo." Yang grinned. "You two, huh?"
Pyrrha whipped a pillow at her and knocked her off the bed.
"Training, please!"
Naruto looked down at Ruby. Frowned.
Distantly he heard her words, but his brain didn't quite catch up.
"Its a weekend. Why are you awake this early?"
"I'll buy you ramen for a month."
"SOLD~!
Naruto whistled. "Did I ever mention how much I love you?"
She shivered a little. "Could you...say it again?"
"Such a glutton...
EDIT: Thanks for reading. As ever, the Embers rule Remains. If folks don't like this story, poof! Gone! Deleted! That's no joke.
Strange as it might sound, live for reviews and feedback; without them, I simply can't write a single word. So by all means! Speak up! Really, that's no joke. Your feedback is the reason this story continues. Ever bit helps. It keeps me going in these crazy times. So by all means! Speak up! No review is too short or too small!