Chapter 11:
A Day in Vale

Vale, the large capital city of the Kingdom of Vale, is divided into multiple sectors. Right now both Jaune and Pyrrha, who chose the name Pyrene as not to be recognized, are headed towards the Commercial District.

Riding the bullhead to Vale together, Jaune and Pyrrha try to plan their day.

"So, we need to be at the docks after lunch to meet Ruby and the others. Is that good with you Pyrrha?"

"Jaune, please call me Pyrene, it would be hard for us to continue the day if you keep calling me Pyrrha. Also yes, the schedule is fine with me." Pyrrha says gently with a smile.

Looking at her now, Jaune is still having a hard time to believe the changes he sees in his partner. Dark hair, cat ears, and those clothes…. Not to imply Pyrrha isn't pretty in her normal clothes, she always is gorgeous with whatever she wears, it's just that those were her normal clothes. These clothes however….. Wow, Jaune could only blush.

"Uhhh….. Yeah, sorry Pyrene, it's just hard to remember sometimes."

"...If you want… Maybe you can call me by a nickname?" Pyrrha shyly asks.

Gorgeous.

That was the first thought Jaune had of a nickname. If Jaune was blushing before, then he's probably lighting up now. The first nickname he thought of to call his partner was gorgeous? What the hell is going on with him? Faking a cough to push the awkward thoughts away, Jaune thinks of a nickname that he could use, suddenly realizing that he's already been using something familiar before.

"...Then is Pyr okay? Just so it's familiar for both of us. I wouldn't want to make it awkward by calling you Babe or something." Jaune replies, making the both of them blush.

Great, now you made it awkward.

"...It's okay…" Pyrrha mumbles out while blushing.

"Great! I'll just call you Pyr then!" Jaune says loudly, to drown the awkwardness out, not noticing Pyrrha say "Call me Babe".

Just before the bullhead lands, they both go over their schedule.

"Okay, so we head to the dust shop first, an affordable dust shop and equipment called From Dust Till Dawn, then visit some clothes store for Coco's list, and finally have lunch somewhere before meeting up with Ruby and the others." Jaune says.

"Right, it's just about 9:30 AM, we have enough time that we don't have to hurry." Pyrrha responds boldly, trying out one of Coco's tips to support your disguise, you need to act differently.

Unknown to Jaune, Pyrrha Nikos has decided to act just a little bit bolder to break through Jaune's denseness. A little hip sway here, some light touching there. Just little innocent things that wouldn't make it obvious you want to jump your guy's bones.

Walking to their first stop of the day, From Dusk till Dawn, they see that it's still closed for the day with a sign saying under renovation.

"Aww man… I was hoping to see some of the stuff from here." Jaune laments, disappointed he won't be able to get some dust yet. He was really looking forward to testing what he could do with it just like in the dream.

"Don't worry Jaune, I'm sure we could find somewhere else that's also affordable." Pyrrha comforts him, also not wanting their not date-date to be worried so early.

"You kids looking for a dust shop?" An old man says raspily as he opens the door from inside the closed shop.

"Yes sir, are you gonna open your shop?" Jaune asks politely.

"Nah son, I'm gonna need to renovate first. This is the fourth time I've been robbed in four months. First, it was mobsters, now it's the White Fang. Thank the Gods for insurance."

"The White Fang? I know they've been active lately but to hit the same shop 3 or 4 times? That is strange."

"Well I don't know what they want but with all this trouble in Vale, you'd be hard pressed to find a shop that hasn't been robbed. Though, I heard a new guy set up a shop near the docks, you could check there and see if he's still open." The Shopkeeper answers.

"Thank you Sir."

"What now Jaune?"

"Well, we could walk to that shop he mentioned, and since we'd be near the docks we wouldn't have to hurry later."

"Alright, I hope that shop's open, I heard that this was one of the more affordable shops despite the dust price hike."

Walking towards the docks, they talk about how Jaune's training has been. Nora's workouts are always killer, and he has only had one lesson about Aura with Ren. Eventually, they notice the number of people getting higher.

"What's up with the crowd? I didn't think there'd be a lot of people out on a weekday." Jaune wonders aloud.

"It's probably because of the students from Vacuo arriving at Vale today. People might like to see the competition or just foreigners in general." Pyrrha answers simply, seeing the advantage of observing your possible competition.

"Huh, maybe that's what Team RWBY is doing, do you think we should plan something like that?" Jaune asks, wondering if as a leader he should be planning things like that.

"Hmm. I think we already have our own plans. We're already training together, right?" Pyrrha responds with a smile at him.

"Haaa… I'm sorry Pyr, if you didn't need to train me, you'd already be doing something more productive." Jaune apologizes with a wince, being reminded of his own weakness.

"Don't say that Jaune, you're coming along very well. In fact, I think you're growing faster than I was." Pyrrha comforts her partner, laying a hand on his shoulder.

"...Thanks Pyr, you know that's just because I have great teachers, right? And you're the best of them all." Jaune replies in gratefulness, thanking his partner with a smile while patting her hand back.

"...You're welcome Jaune… But! I really do believe this, if you started your training the same time as we did, then I'm confident you would already be at my level, or even better than me!" Pyrrha cheers him excitedly with a blush.

"Hahaha, I feel like I've said this a lot already, but I'll say it again. Thanks Pyr, really. Knowing that you believe in me, makes me want to live up to your expectations." Jaune thanks her again with a smile and a slight hint of a blush.

"It's no big deal Jaune, as your partner, I will always be here for you." Pyrrha says to him seriously, looking straight at his eyes.

Speechless at being told that seriously, Jaune can only blush at depths and sincerity in her eyes. He tries to change the subject to save him the embarrassment.

"...Hmmm, hey look, your disguise is working. We've passed by a lot of people and no one recognized you." Jaune says as he tries to change the subject.

Widening her eyes at that, Pyrrha looks around them and sees no strange reaction from the people passing by them. No rabid fans asking for her autograph and photos.

"You're right! This really is working! I owe Coco a lot for this." Pyrrha says giddily, finally having a way to have some time for herself.

"Hahaha, she sure knows what she's doing."

"Yes, she told me that the outward disguise isn't the only thing important. That I should change the way I move or think so I won't get recognized. Kinda like taking a new identity."

"Oh? What have you been doing differently? Other than the hair, the cat ears, and the… clothes, I haven't noticed anything different from how you act."

"Ahh. That's because when I go to interviews or meet the fans in public, I already act differently. I always need to put my best foot forward with them. But with you….. I can be myself. And that's what I've been doing all this time, if just a bit bolder. So thank you Jaune, really."

"Awww, shucks Pyr, you're gonna make me blush."

"You mean you weren't already blushing before?" Pyrrha asks coyly. High on the realization she can be herself without needing to look good for the public, Pyrrha's confidence is the highest it has ever been.

She noticed?!

"..I.. uhhh…. You.. uhmm.." Tongue-tied, Jaune could only gape at his partner for pointing out that he was already blushing before.

"Relax Jaune….. I already noticed…. I noticed when you saw me back at Beacon." Pyrrha says confidently, as she motions towards her whole body with one hand. Pyrrha might have said that confidently, but deep inside she is so embarrassed at what she is doing.

Jaune could only follow her hand with his eyes. From her long shapely legs and slightly wider hips covered by her tight pants, to her exposed flat stomach with a hint of abs, and to the part of her covered by a crop top and slightly tight open leather jacket. Every piece of clothing looks like it was designed to emphasize every hint of curve just enough to give a man a taste of what could possibly lie beneath them.

Realizing he's been staring too much, Jaune Arc snaps his eyes back towards her face. He blushes heavily when he notices that she's been staring at him looking her over with a smirk on her face. A smirk! Pyrrha is smirking at him while he looks at her! What the hell is happening?!

"I'm SORRY!" He says loudly, getting the attention of some nearby people.

Pyrrha laughs at him at that.

"Relax Jaune, I would have said something if I didn't like it. Plus you just gave me some confidence, I thought I looked weird in these clothes" Pyrrha says while still chuckling at him.

Weird?! You're already acting weird?! Jaune can only think to himself in disbelief and embarrassment

"Though judging by your reaction, I think Coco did fine." Pyrrha says while smiling at him confidently

"I'd say you're more than fine." Before Jaune can even get his mental faculties together, his mouth blurts out the compliment which causes the both of them to blush.

"Oh… Thank you Jaune." The sudden compliment takes Pyrrha off guard and forces her embarrassment to the fore making her silent.

Still blushing and embarrassed at these sudden turn of events, Jaune's mouth runs off before his brain can even stop it.

"You've always been ... .beautiful, Pyrrha. You have nothing to be ashamed of." Jaune says, getting control of his mouth midway, he decides to double down on what he has already been thinking. Not realizing, he said something that would be noted when walking out in public.

"PYRRHA?! Pyrrha Nikos? Did someone say Pyrrha?! Where?"A stranger shouts from around them.

SHIT!

Eyes widening at that, both Jaune and Pyrrha look at each other preparing to make a run for it, they stop when someone points somewhere not anywhere near them.

"OVER THERE! I SAW RED HAIR!" A voice shouts in the distance.

Did that sound like Nora?

Turning around, both Jaune and Pyrrha see people beginning to look and run towards the direction someone pointed at. With that chance given to them, they both turn the other way and walk towards the shop they wanted to go to, now visible in the distance.

Walking inside in silence, both Jaune and Pyrrha look at each other again. Still shaken by the close call of being discovered, they think back to their conversation before.

I called her beautiful! What the hell am I thinking?! I mean she has always been beautiful, that's true. What is happening with me?

Before they can even talk and address the situation. Someone interrupts from the inside.

"Hello! Welcome to Dusty's Dust Shop! The name's Welf. How can I help you?" A red-haired young man interrupts them from behind the counter.

Knowing the time has passed to address the earlier conversation, both teens walk toward the counter. Unable to really look at each other because of the moment they just shared earlier, both teens look around the shop. They see magazines and holsters arranged in shelves meant to catch the eye of anyone who enters. Jaune even sees pieces of armor and dust-weaved clothing in posters. This makes him interested in upgrading his own battle gear.

"Hello Sir, do you have any dust and something to hold them with?" Jaune asks, getting straight to the point. Now that they're here, he starts to get excited again since he'll be able to experiment on dust.

"Depends on what you want, we don't have hard-light dust right now, that's crazy expensive, but everything else is available. As for holsters, it depends really on how and where you want to draw dust from."

Remembering his dream self wearing multiple belts to contain vials of dust, he takes note of which would fit him best. Finally looking to Pyrrha for some help, he finds her looking at dust-rounds that would look to be compatible with Milo.

"Hmm, For raw dust, I think the easiest to use for a beginner would be fire and lightning dust. It's straightforward and mainly useful for attacking at range, which is what you are looking for. As for holsters, most people start learning to use dust with a belt holster. I think it would suit you, Jaune."

It's a good thing she agrees.

"Then how much for 3 vials each of fire and lightning dust plus a belt holster?"

And so begins the time honored tradition of every buyer and seller in a small shop, haggling. Jaune's lived most of his life in a frontier so he is no stranger to haggling with shopkeepers to get the best deal and make everyone happy. Yet, his opponent as of this time is not a slouch himself, he's traveled all the way from Mistral to Vale and sold a lot of things on his way here.

With Jaune busy with haggling and Pyrrha enamored with the research articles on weapons. Neither notice the growing number of visitors, most of them faunus, in the shop. One of the visitors, the only human among them, is a short girl with heterochromatic eyes and pink-brown hair. She moves forward smoothly, not making a sound and leans over a shelf holding the odd comic books in the store near the counter.

Welf manages to sell Jaune the additional magazine detailing the advances in armor-weaving and dust research, as well as a pair of nice black gloves to protect his hands. In return, Jaune managed to get an additional 2 vials of ice dust. It's expensive but he thinks it's lien well spent. Satisfied, Jaune moves to pay for his purchases., but before he can hand over the money a raspy male voice shouts.

"NOBODY MOVE! THIS IS A ROBBERY!"