Chapter 20

…

It was a pitch-black, endless space. A void, nothingness, abyss, call it however you want. She felt weightless, as if she didn't have any physical body, and her mind, her consciousness alone was drifting along intangible streams in this very weird place. If at all, this weird space was any place at all. Truth be told, it didn't feel bad at all, this bizarre predicament she found herself in. Well, technically speaking, she felt absolutely nothing, but that's exactly what was so…nice. This freedom from everything and anything, and her tranquil drifting along streams to destinations she didn't care about at all.

'Pyrrha!'

Before suddenly a tiny, annoying voice messed up her peacefulness.

'Pyrrha!'

Seriously, it was so darn annoying, and she really wished that voice would just stop.

'Pyrrha, please, wake up!'

Wake up from what!? And even if there was something to wake up from, she didn't want to! Piss off! All she wanted was-

"Pyrrha!"

Suddenly, her eyes fluttered open, and the moment they did, her vision was attacked by a sudden flood of light. "Uuuhm…" She groaned, and then slowly but surely, she managed to make out 3 faces staring at her intently.

"Pyrrha!? You're awake! Thank goodness." She heard one of those faces speak, and with a bit of determined focusing, she realized it was Jaune.

"Umm, what do you mean?" Words came slowly for her, but they did none the less. She then tried to fix herself into a sitting position after she realized she was flat on the floor.

"Hey, don't move for now. Just rest," Jaune tried to tell her, but she shook her head.

"It's okay. I'm fine," She said, and even though her limbs felt like a jelly at the moment, she managed to sit upright quite fine. "Seriously, why am I on the…" She trailed off for a moment, her eyes locking on firmly into his face, before a sudden realization hit her. They were sparring and then he…her eyes ever so slightly widened.

"You knocked me out, didn't you?" She asked incredulously, but struggled to remember how exactly it happened.

He let out a humorless chuckle. "I uh…yea, yea I did. But more importantly, are you feeling okay?" Her asked her worriedly, his hand holding her own in a gentle grip.

"You actually did it." She didn't answer his concerns right away, but instead marveled at the fact that he was able to defeat her so thoroughly.

"Pyrrha-"

"I'm feeling fine, yes." She reassured him, and to prove her point, she tried to stand up, and even though her limbs still felt a bit shaky, she managed her tiny endeavor just fine.

"Please, just take it easy for now, okay?" Jaune, being the caring type that she thought him to be, couldn't help but worry about her.

"I can manage this much, please believe me," She said, a tiny smile tugged in her lips.

"You can relax, blondie. She'll be okay." Nora finally chimed in, and a second later chuckled. "Though I can't really blame'im. Not after a knock-out like that."

"Was it really that bad?"

She snorted. "I'd say it was worse. I think I saw your soul trying to leave your body for a second or two."

Pyrrha shook her head. "Goodness," She said, before letting out a dry chuckle herself.

Nora giggled. "But I have to say, it's kinda sad you didn't see his reaction after it happened. He was going absolutely mental, praying to every God and deity he knew that you'd be okay."

"Nora!" He exclaimed in utter disbelief and shock. "I was just worrying about our friend here!"

Pyrrha giggled at his outburst, much to his chagrin. "Thank you, Jaune. I appreciate you worrying about me so much, but I'll be okay."

Nora shrugged her shoulders. "See? She'll be fine you dork. What's a little beauty sleep for a champ like her? Right, Renny?" She looked at him, and he merely nodded his head. As if witnessing your friend being knocked out cold was as ordinary as adding milk to your cereal.

Jaune gave them a disturbed look. "You're insane. All of you." He muttered in a low voice, and heard the girls giggle at his comment. He sighed. "Seriously. I'm starting to wonder if there's anyone normal here at Beacon," He said, but then wondered if any sane person would willingly become what was essentially a monster hunter. Perhaps not. "Anyways, could we at least all agree that we should call it a night?"

"After a quick shower, yes," Pyrrha said.

Jaune nodded.

She flashed him a cheeky grin. "Perhaps it'd be best if you joined me. I did suffer a devastating knockout, didn't I? So shouldn't someone keep a close eye on me to make sure that I'm safe? We can even share a bed if you want," She said to him, and noticed how quickly his face reddened. She laughed.

Nora gaped at her. "Hey, whoa, at least start with a date or two before going all in," She said, paused, and then flashed a grin. "But that smooth none the less," She said, and then joined in the laugher.

Amidst of it, Pyrrha noted just how surprising it was that she let such words slip her tongue. After all-

Several pairs of adult eyes were staring at her. Their gazes expectant, perhaps even demanding. One of them spoke.

"Miss Pyrrha, I assume you're well aware of the circumstances of this meeting?" The person spoke, not coldly, but rather matter of factly.

"Yes." A short, precise and clean answer. The way she knew they'd like it.

"Good." The person nodded approvingly. "Then I shall keep it short and simple. Miss Pyrrha, multiple teachers have reported to witness you displaying a rather unsavory conduct during this week. Instances such as using inappropriate jokes, language and questionable behaviors amongst other things have been witnessed on multiple occasions," The person informed her, their gaze testing her every single second. "Is there any explanation you could give as to why?"

"I'm terribly sorry. I can't offer you any reasonable explanation to excuse my misconduct. I can only promise to do better from now on." She flapped her gums, uttering words which to her were dry and tasteless, completely void of who she actually was as a person.

"I see." They said, paused, and then let out a sigh. That sigh always irritated her. "Miss Pyrrha, on behalf of every teacher and myself, I do expect you to do better. As the face of this academy, you bear the great responsibility to lead other students by example, satisfactory behavior included." A pause. A pause she knew was meant to drive home just how important this whole spiel was. "I hope you understand." Lies. They didn't just hope, they expected.

"Yes." A short, precise and clean answer. The way she knew they'd like it.

Because any other way didn't matter.

-She was so used to acting a certain way around people, it pretty much became her second nature. In fact, she sometimes struggled to remember who and how she truly was as a person. What she used to be like before becoming 4 time Mistralian champion, the 'Invincible girl.' The pristine, exemplary student every other student should learn from.

Before she became everything people knew her for.

She thought back to those times, and felt a sense of longing and maybe even desperation as she did. However, as she glanced around and noted the people, friends, who surrounded her, that unpleasant feeling fleeted away. She gently smiled to herself, and realized then and there that she hadn't felt this good around a group of people in a very, very long time.