Author's Note: Enjoy.

Beacon, despite all of its grandeur, was first and foremost a combat school. The courses, while not all focusing on the direct elements of fighting, tended to follow that same mind set. The classes were meant to help the students in their eventual duties as guardians of the Kingdoms. It was the reason that they had lessons like history and survival classes instead of simply Grimm studies and combat classes. It was important that Huntsman and Huntresses knew about the Kingdoms they were fighting to protect, and it was also important that they knew how to take care of themselves out in the wild.

Apparently it hadn't always been that way, as the school, as well as the other Huntsman Academies, had initially been focused entirely on combat and fighting Grimm. Things were different now though, and the older generations of Huntsmen and their training was on the way out, being replaced with a more standardized and diverse lesson plan. A result of that decrease in combat focused lessons was the expectation that students would train outside of school hours, and the school provided the space to do so.

Whether it was the sparring rings near Glynda's classroom, the rings located closer to the dormitories, or even the Emerald Forest itself. The school had plenty of places to go if someone wanted to spar or train. Pyrrha had taken to the rooftops to train Jaune, and despite how similar this new timeline was, it seemed that particular memory would remain hers alone.

Pyrrha watched on with a mixture of nostalgia and morbid curiosity as Jaune was batted back by her counterpart with welding her former sword; Akouo. She'd seen the move done countless times before, mostly because it was her own attack, and so she knew the leg sweep was coming in long before her past self even started moving. Jaune was quickly thrown to the floor, and that was where the similarities ended. Usually, in her past life, they would have reset and gone again. Pyrrha's training had been more akin to a test by fire than any real lesson plan. She did offer the occasional note on his form or his general fighting style, but she hadn't ever taken it to the extreme of being a lesson. Something she probably should have done, as Weiss was doing in between bouts of sparing.

"You are sacrificing your form and footwork when you attack." Weiss gestured vaguely down to Jaune's feet as he stood. "It leaves you off balance and easily toppled over during a counter attack, something that even someone with my smaller size could manage."

"Did she just call herself small?" Ruby whispered from beside Pyrrha, sitting on the bleachers with her as they watched her team train.

Pyrrha smiled and chuckled. While clearly not her intent, Weiss had set that one up. She was lucky that Yang wasn't here to jump on it.

"-op throwing everything into one attack." Weiss finished, moving back to stand a few feet away from the two combatants, signaling them to start back up once more.

The sparing had gone on like that for a little under two hours now. Pyrrha, her past self that was, and Jaune fighting in a quick engagement before Jaune either made a mistake worth addressing or he was defeated. Never by Aura loss of course, in fact, he was still somewhat in the green for Aura, usually losing his footing or simply being pushed back far enough for it to be clear he was going to lose if pushed any further. Then, they would stop and discuss it. The lessons were longer, and they spent far more time talking than fighting, but it was probably better for Jaune than what she had tried in her own attempt. He had grown, but that progress was slow. Despite how he lacked confidence, Jaune was a smart man and a natural Huntsman, he took to the lessons well, rarely complaining even when Weiss got a bit too snippy with some of them.

"No, you dolt!" Weiss interrupted the fight, stepping forward and forcing Nikos to pull her attack suddenly before turning on Jaune. "That doesn't mean stop committing, you need to stop over committing. It's a spectrum, not a binary choice!"

Weiss was referring to how Jaune had started pulling his attacks, either in an attempt to follow what Weiss had said or for fear of what might happen if he missed.

"You're stronger than her in terms of outright strength." Weiss said. "Use that strength, but don't sacrifice yourself in doing so."

Her past self didn't seem offended, though judging by the slight smirk that had quickly been concealed behind a mask of indifference, she disagreed with that statement. Pyrrha could help but agree with her past self, narcissism aside. She had been strong, far stronger than she might have looked at first glance, and while Jaune was indeed built with more muscle than most assumed, Pyrrha was confident she could beat him in a contest of strength. Her past self seemed to agree, although they both knew she wouldn't use it. That would defeat the purpose of this training after all. Both the goal of helping Jaune grow, and her obvious interest in getting Jaune to notice her.

That was part of the reason Pyrrha was here now, although only part. She wanted to see how this new training regime was fairing for Jaune, and she would gladly say she was impressed, but she had also wanted to make her presence known a bit. Obviously it was no secret that her and Jaune had gone on a date, but one date was simply that. It didn't carry with it any promises of something more and it would potentially be the last chance for her past self to make a move if she wanted to. Or was willing.

Pyrrha knew her past self well of course, and she also knew that self-sacrificing urge. Coco had seen it, as did the rest of Team CFVY, and they had bemoaned her for it and forced her into action. It was only because of them that she had the courage to ask Jaune out in the first place, and her past self had no such support. She was sure that, had they known, Weiss and Ruby would have supported her in it, but it seemed that she was a little bit better at hiding her interest than she thought. Pyrrha had yet to notice anything that screamed itself as a 'sign' of interest from her past self, and it was somewhat of a comfort to know that her pining hadn't been quite that obvious.

Jaune and Nikos both laughed, drawing Pyrrha's attention back to the arena as a whole. Weiss huffed and turned away, pretending for all four of them present that she was over whatever it was that Jaune had said. That seemed to be their signal for the end of their session as they all walked over to the bleachers. Ruby and Pyrrha tossed them all some water, though Weiss grumbled something about idiots as she took her and noticeably looked anywhere but at Jaune. It seemed some things never changed then.

"You're getting way better Jaune!" Ruby called out as she stood from the stands. "Before long you'll be giving Pyrrha a run for her money."

Everyone there rolled their eyes at that, even Jaune despite how his face heated up. It was an exaggeration, but clearly done to help him feel better about himself. Ruby, while maybe putting it on a bit thick, was trying to help as best she could. She had wanted to spar with them, but her fighting style couldn't really help him any when he didn't use a scythe. Her encouragement was the next best thing.

"We have a little bit of time left." Nikos looked down at her scroll, checking the time and seeing their reservation wasn't entirely up yet. While keeping to that time wasn't strictly enforced, it was common courtesy for the rest of the student body at Beacon. "If anyone would like to spar, I would be willing. I think I still have a fair bit in me."

Pyrrha didn't miss the way her past self's eyes lingered on her just a little bit longer than it did Ruby and Weiss. There didn't seem to be much animosity there, but it did make the request seem a little bit more pointed.

"Ooh, Amber!" Ruby rounded on her in an instant. "You fighting a lot like Pyrrha, you should totally-"

"That's not necessary!" Her past self panicked slightly, surprisingly. "I wasn't trying to start-"

"It's fine." Pyrrha smiled warmly to show she wasn't offended. "A friendly spar is a good way to air out any extra tension." Whether that be the body, mind, or simply poor relationships between people. They both believed that after all, and it was clear that her past self didn't hate her as much as before, if she ever had to begin with. This would help, and it was sort of necessary considering how present they were going to be in each others lives thanks to Jaune. "I'd love a chance to spar with you."

Thankfully, Allos was attached to her hip, as it had been for the past several days. She had taken to keeping it with her whenever she walked the school grounds for comfort, and on the off chance she found someone who wanted to spar. They were both down in the arena in under a minute. Pyrrha stretched and lazily swung her sword around so that she could warm up while her counterpart worked the tension from her muscles from the last couple hours of sparing.

"Are you both sure?" Weiss had stepped up to take the place of Glynda, watching over the match likely to make sure they didn't get carried away. Pyrrha very much doubted anyone had missed the awkwardness and seemingly mutual distaste that they held for one another. It had been a misunderstanding of course, but to everyone else it might have seemed something more. Weiss had clearly picked up on that, judging by the skeptical look on her face.

"It's fine Weiss." Pyrrha said with a smile, before turning towards her past self. "It's just a spar between friends." She added the later more as a question, thankfully, she wasn't alone in that sentiment.

"Amber's right. This is just my way of ending whatever arguments we had before."

Pyrrha nodded. "I couldn't agree more."

"Go Amber! Go Pyrrha!" Ruby called out, adding support for her teammate for good measure. It seemed either way, the young team leader would be happy with the result. Jaune might have done the same, but if so it was drowned out by the sound of the buzzer as the fight finally started.

Allos flew up to catch her his sister blade, Milo in a test of strength. It was a strong opening attack, something Pyrrha had always favored as a way to try and keep the momentum on her side. For a split second she nearly responded with her open hand by launching a devastating attack with her Magic. She managed to stop herself however, knowing not only that this was a friendly spar, but that her Magic was technically supposed to be a secret. Panicking, she tried to reach down for her sheath to pull up her shield, but was unable to do so before a follow up attack was launched.

She tried to parry the strike, but it came in too fast for her to properly slip it down the blade of her sword and so managed to strike her forearm in a clash of Aura. The first strike had gone to her past self, and Pyrrha forced herself to try and focus on the test of strength as their blades locked once more, only to be pushed back and forced to dodge the strike. Despite all of her training, she still wasn't up to the physical standard she had been at before her death. Without her Magic to even the odds. Winning the fight would be difficult.

Then again, it was only a spar.

Pyrrha smiled as she lost the engagement, taking a great amount of pleasure from the fact her past self did as well. No bad blood, no unneeded angst about having to achieve victory. This wasn't a life or death struggle, and for the first time in weeks, Pyrrha could just focus on sparing for fun. The reason she had started her journey to become a Huntress in the first place.

"It was amazing!" Jaune gushed.

"Really?" Pyrrha couldn't help but smirk, adopting a look that felt more like Coco than it did herself. "I thought the first movie was better. Solid six out of ten."

"Not the movie, your spar with Pyrrha!" Jaune seemingly missed the sarcastic tone of her voice, and she couldn't help but roll her eyes. Of course she knew he was talking about the spar, he had been for the last few hours. Not constantly, but every now and then their conversation would inevitably turn back to it. He had refrained from it during the movie, though she felt that was probably because he was nervous about how to act. "I've never seen someone come so close to beating her."

Pyrrha rolled her eyes at that statement, mostly because she knew from personal experience that some of the fighters in their year were a lot closer to her level then they all seemed to think, but he wasn't incorrect. She had lost to her past self, though neither of them had been giving it their all. Had it been a real fight then Pyrrha would have won, handedly. Magic and the Maiden powers couldn't be overcome by just anyone. In fairness, her past self hadn't used her Semblance either, so she could have pulled Allos from her hands the second the fight started. It wouldn't have stopped her Magical attacks, but it would have given her an advantage at least. Neither had felt the need to try so hard though, because at the end of the day, it really had just been a spar between friends.

And wasn't that odd to say knowing just who it was she was slowly becoming friends with.

They had even talked a little bit after the spar, both subtly hinting that the other had been holding back. Neither of them were offended though, and before long Pyrrha and Jaune had gone off to prepare for their date. Going to the movies may have been a bit cliche, as Coco put it, but it was something familiar. Team JNPR had gone to a number of them together as a team, and even though she had greatly enjoyed those bonding moments, she had often thought about what it would be like to go with Jaune alone. She hadn't made any moves as Coco had joked about, nor had Jaune. Not so much as a kiss, instead they simply watched the movie while making the occasional joke or comment at its expense. It was nice and honestly what she had always envisioned on the rare occasion she let herself think about what a relationship between them would actually look like.

Sadly, the night had to come to an end eventually, and with him having class tomorrow they couldn't stay out too late. The sun had already started setting, but she knew a few shortcuts through Vale to save them some time. If they hurried back, a few of the restaurants in the CCT Mall might even be open, letting the two of them get something to eat before going their separate ways. She'd learned about these shortcuts from Coco and, though they did lead through the occasional alleyway, they were far from the seedier parts of town. That was why it was so surprising when she realized they were being followed.

Jaune hadn't noticed, though he did seem to pick up on her change in mood. Unfortunately, and quite predictable, he thought it was something he had done.

"Is something wrong?"

It was an innocent question, and had this been any other situation Pyrrha's top priority would have been to make sure he knew she had greatly enjoyed their time spent together. This wasn't just any situation however, and the moment he said those words their stalker rushed forward.

Pyrrha turned, striking out with her palm and launching a sudden gust of wind at the man. He was launched backwards and crashed down on the street; a knife falling from one of his hands as he did. She heard something from beside them, and she managed to turn about halfway before three more came rushing at them, one towards Jaune and one towards her, while the third stayed back. She hesitated to use her Magic, fearing she may hit Jaune, and so was forced to let them approach.

She hadn't brought Allos, nor had Jaune brought Crocea Mors, this being a date after all. She ducked under a blade that thrust for her throat, but rather than the short and concealable knife like the other attacker had used, this was more akin to a saber. Not nearly as high end or well maintained as Winter's of course, but still something that would have been far harder to hide if one had to. She felt something graze her shoulder, drawing her attention to the third attacker who hadn't charged in to face her or Jaune. The gun in his hands, while a bit shocking, wasn't particularly dangerous.

The fact it was standard Atlesian issue was concerning, and she made a note to talk to the General after they returned to Beacon, but it wasn't any more dangerous to people with Aura than any other firearm. Her eyes drifted to Jaune however, who she knew would be far weaker without his sword and shield. He had lowered himself into a stance not too dissimilar to Yang's, though obviously lacking the same refinement. He was holding his own though, and his attacker seemed almost desperate to take him down as quickly as possible. The reason why was pretty obvious as Pyrrha fought back against the saber user in front of her.

So close, she couldn't use any kind of fire Magic for risk of hurting herself, nor could she push him back with wind in case she launched him at Jaune. Instead, she swept out with her legs, pushing him back a step, before closing her eyes thrusting out her hand. Usually, taking your eyes off an opponent was a bad idea, and here it likely still was, but with what she had in mind it was necessary that she cut out any and all outside distractions and that meant cutting off any distractions she might see. Even if only for a moment. She felt something slowly take shape in her hand, and she forced her Magic into it. Envisioning a weapon stronger than steel, yet lighter than air.

Creating things, as Ozpin had taught her, was hard. Magic was capable of so much, so directing it into any one avenue of form took monumental amounts of discipline and control. She hadn't yet tried it, focusing more on getting the theoretical lessons down before anything practical, but desperate times called for desperate measures. Feeling that it was done, she clamped her hand down and around the hilt that had formed there. The grip was familiar, but not necessarily to her own hands. She had never wielded the blade herself, but she had spent countless hours fighting against it. Her eyes snapped open, the entire process likely only taking two or three seconds, but that was often a lifetime in combat. The fact she had gone unassaulted for that long was a miracle on her part, and likely only due to the fact her opponent had thought she would be launching an attack at him; judging by the way he had brought his blade up to guard his face. Rather than any attack however, she had summoned a blade made of ice. A frozen Crocea Mors with which to defend herself.

She launched herself forward, using her Magic to bolster her speed as she thrust her borrowed blade into her opponent's chest. He didn't have time to adjust his sword, all four of her strikes landing in the matter of a second. His Aura flared and he faltered, his blade hand dipping slightly as he nearly doubled over. With a strike to his wrist, he dropped the blade entirely.

Pyrrha caught it with her foot, kicking it back up enough for her free hand to grab.

"Jaune!" Her timing couldn't have been better. Jaune was strong, but he lacked training, and while their opponents weren't exactly the strongest fighters ever, they were skilled and Jaune was without his preferred weapon. He had been kicked backwards by his attacker, affording him the single moment to look over at her.

She tossed him the frozen version of his sword before turning back to her own attacker. Now armed, she trusted Jaune to be able to deal with them. Her own opponent was still clutching his wrist and, now that she had his sword, he seemed understandably hesitant to attack. The man behind him fired off two shots, one of which she dodged, the other she deflected. Her stolen saber chipped slightly, but otherwise withstood the blow. Both of the men's eyes flicked behind her, and it was only that brief warning that saved her life. It had been more instinct than anything else, her subconsciously calling up her Aura to defend her back only a moment before something cracked against it.

Pyrrha flicked her wrist at the man in front of her, summoning a small flame that lanced out towards his eyes. The fire met its target and, Aura or not, he was pushed back. Turning suddenly, she saw three more attackers at the end of the alley, all of whom had elected to stay back and shoot at her. She thought she felt something wet run down her back, bringing up the worrying possibility that she hadn't quite stopped the attack, but when no real pain flared she trusted that her Aura stopped anything too serious happening.

Leaving to deal with them would force Jaune into a three on one, she knew that, but she also didn't trust his Aura training just yet. That had been what he had struggled with the most in her lifetime, and three assailants firing guns at his exposed back was exactly the kind of attack poor Aura control would let through. She closed the distance between her and them in under a second, her speed once more boosted by her Magic. The first man, so surprised by her sudden attack, didn't even have time to call up his Aura as his comrades' saber crashed down into and through his shoulder. The second, a smaller female by the looks of her build and face, was little better, though the fact she managed to get her gun up to catch the blade likely saved her life. The third actually thrusted the but of his rifle up towards her face, managing to crack it against the side of her forehead. The saber snapped as she withdrew it from the weapon it had nearly cut in half, but the jagged blade was still sharp enough to cut, and with her attacker so close it might have been better to have such a shortened blade.

He gasped as it collided with his stomach, Aura flaring brightly as the air was forced from his lungs. She headbutted him before he could breath however, knocking his head back and forcing him down into a pile of limbs and over the body of his slowly bleeding out comrades. He didn't immediately rise to attack her again and she kicked the two still working weapons away before turning her attention back to Jaune.

He'd beaten his own opponent, judging by the blood that dripped from the edge of his temporary sword, and he had forced back her previous opponent now that he lacked a weapon. Thankfully, while Jaune was facing off against them directly, it was with either side's backs to the walls of the alley, leaving her with the perfect angle to use her Magic. The two remaining thugs likely didn't know what hit them as a sudden wall of ice crashed into them, throwing them down the alley and into the ground.

Jaune sagged as the fight ended, stabbing the sword she made for him down as he fell to one knee. She rushed over to him quickly, sparing only a moment to look at the bodies of those she had just dealt with. None of them moved, and so she felt willing to leave them for now.

"Are you ok?" Pyrrha knelt beside him, looking him over slowly. It was only then she noticed the sloth of red on the back of his shoulder. "You're bleeding!"

"I couldn't get my Aura up in time." Jaune spoke through gritted teeth, though Pyrrha was at least grateful that his voice didn't sound weak. "Y-you're bleeding too." He pointed out, though she paid it no mind. Her bleeding had already stopped, her Aura, while not having healed the attack just yet, was at least preventing her from dying. It was his she worried about.

"You need to focus your Aura on the area." The bleeding hadn't stopped yet, though it had slowed. "Breath, and focus. I'll call for an evac."

Pyrrha's scroll was in her hands before she even finished, Calling Winter. It barely made it to the second ring when the Specialist picked up.

"Pyrrha, I thought you we-"

"We've been attacked." Pyrrha's words cut Winter off instantly, and the cold yet familiar expression she wore before melted away. Replaced instead by one of pure anger.

"Where are you?" The background was moving, and she easily recognized both the look of the Beacon dorms, and the sound of Qrow's voice in the background. Pyrrha turned on her Scroll's locator, allowing Winter to find them using the CCTS. "Is it safe to stay where you are?"

"We've already dealt with the attackers." Pyrrha assured her. "But they did manage to ambush us, both Jaune and myself were wounded. Him more so than myself."

"I'm fine." She ignored Jaune's attempt to wave off her concern.

"We'll be there shortly." Winter stated. "If any more arrive, you are free to retreat, but keep your locator on." Pyrrha nodded and the call cut to black.

Leaning down she stopped Jaune from standing. "You don't want to risk stretching the wound. Just focus on your Aura."

Jaune grumbled something about her sounding like Weiss but she ignored it. Moving instead over to investigate the bodies of those that had attacked them; specifically the one Jaune had cut down. He was alive, though the nasty cut on his chest made it clear he wouldn't last long if he didn't receive treatment. Luckily for them, Atlas would provide it. If only so they could interrogate them. For once, Pyrrha didn't feel squeamish at the thought. Not only had they ruined a perfectly good date, but they had hurt Jaune. While she would never condone torture, she very much looked forward to asking them some questions.

Namely, who the hell they worked for. They looked rather unremarkable; each wearing what looked to be normal clothes, a little baggier in the jackets so that they could conceal their weapons perhaps, but that was it. There weren't any identifiable markings or masks. Most appeared to be Faunus, which made it a possibility of this being a White Fang attack, but the one Jaune cut down didn't seem to be a Faunus. At least not at first glance. Pyrrha sighed heavily, recalling the argument between Blake and Weiss in her past life that sounded eerily like what Pyrrha was thinking.

Just because they were mostly Faunus didn't mean they were White Fang… still, Pyrrha couldn't ignore the possibility. James would be able to find out, and she would withhold her judgment until then. In the meantime, she had to make sure Jaune got the care he needed.

Author's Note: Hmm, who might these individuals be I wonder? If only we knew of organizations that might otherwise not like our fair Maiden. Oh well, guess we'll never know.

Let me know what you think.

Sincerely, SE