CHAPTER IV: Stray

Pyrrha kept patrolling with Officer Aoi. This life as a police officer on Earth... and as a girl that was so brave and so beautiful. She couldn't forget about her old life, and about her friends from Remnant. But she felt like… Like she had to move on. Like this new life of hers was all she had now. And it was fine. It was not a bad life, even if at times… she would miss her old life a little bit.

"Before we start patrolling. We are going to visit someone who is eager to see you" Aoi entered a street covered in the shade of many trees. Aoi led her to a beautiful building. It almost looked like a shrine... Pyrrha Nikos thought it looked like a shrine of some kind. She wondered now who was the person that was eager to see her. Once they arrived outside it, Aoi turned to her and said "Saori, he is very excited to see you." Aoi seemed very proud of it. But now the question came... who was this person?

Oshou. An elderly man, partially bald but with a thick moustache on his face. Dressed in some kind of ceremonial black robe greeted the pair "Nice to see you Aoi" He bowed "And Saori..."

Pyrrha was surprised to see this elderly man now. There was something about him... the way he looked at her... the way he acted...

And yet he knew... he knew her new name. He knew... he knew her...

"It's a pleasure to meet you, sir." Saori said with a smile. She wondered what else he was going to say to her now...

"I know your secret" The Man murmured as Aoi went abroad to water the flowers of the shrine "You're another soul in my Saori's body" Oshou said calmly as he poured tea for Pyrrha.

"O-Oh?" Pyrrha looked at the man with shock. That wasn't what she expected to happen now. But... she also knew that her secret was going to be revealed here, right now. She wasn't Saori... but she was going to pretend that she was. She had to live with this name now and the responsibilities that came with it…

"W-what do you mean, sir?" she asked, trying to keep her cool.

"You are not who you think you are." The man continued. "You are the soul of someone as beautiful and courageous as Saori, who resides in her body, correct?"

Saori was confused now. She didn't know what to say to that. She wanted to tell the truth... but she had to pretend otherwise. She didn't want to... she didn't know what else to do… Saori just nodded. Still surprised. Maybe embarrassed. She thought (correctly) that the man was a priest or someone who had a third eye to look beyond the evidence.

"My name is Pyrrha Nikos. Sir" She said before sipping tea.

"Indeed you are, Pyrrha Nikos. And yet, you are also the soul that now owns... the body of Saori Saga, correct?" Oshou asked.

Saori kept drinking her tea in silence. She was feeling ashamed now. How could she lie to the man? How could she be so cruel to Oshou? She didn't want to tell the truth. But it was...so difficult. What should she keep doing? She wanted to cry, but she had to keep going… "Yes sir. I came from Remnant. Another world. Light years away from here"

Saori took another sip of her tea, still feeling awkward.

"Can you describe to me what this... world is?" Oshou continued. He seemed so patient and calm, even with the incredible situation he was experiencing. Saori didn't know what to say now. She was a little bit nervous about what else she would be asked now...

"It looks pretty much like Earth. It's inhabited by humans... and faunuses, who look like humans but have animal features... Our animals, plants, and even minerals look similar... But with great differences, we have a power called Semblance, we use a mineral called Dust for almost everything, and we are plagued by the Grimm. Horrific creatures that predates on our negative feelings"

"Faunuses? Semblance? Grimm? Dust?"

The man was listening to her with a wide-open mouth. He couldn't believe what she was saying.

"There were warriors called Huntsmen and Huntresses. They fought the Grimm and protected the people." Saori was amazed to see this man listening to her with such a huge smile. He was so interested in Remnant...But Saori was so worried now. Why was she saying these things? She had to stop! It was too early to reveal the truth… Or maybe she shouldn't reveal the truth...

"Don't worry. My dear. Your secret is safe with me" Said the elder

Pyrrha felt grateful for that… But now she felt even more worried. How could she keep pretending like this? She wanted to tell the truth, she wanted to tell him everything she knew about Remnant, but it was so difficult.

"But. If your soul was transported to Earth. Does that mean that our Saori-chan is stranded in that world of yours?" He wondered "Poor girl. She must be so scared"

"Oh, I hadn't thought about that..." Pyrrha replied. She didn't want to think about what happened to the real Saori Saga in Remnant. She didn't know if her team, Ruby, Yang, Jaune and all of her friends... were alright now… And now, she also felt worried about this... other Saori. Maybe she was scared, alone now... and she was now in a world where she didn't know anyone.

"You're right." Saori said. "She might be very scared now..."

In Remnant, at the same time, another girl opened her eyes… She was trapped underneath something. But what happened now? What had happened to her? She tried to move, but she couldn't do it. Her legs hurt a lot...

"What happened to me?" asked to herself. "What is this place?"

With her blurry sight, she saw someone coming to help her. She could see a blonde woman. Dressed in white. With a black and purple cape and a matching skirt. Glasses over her green eyes.. She could see this now... She was saved! But... she didn't know what else had happened…

Trapped below the rubble of what used to be the Continental Communication Tower. She opened her eyes. Or the only eye she could use now. The rubble over her moved apart, thrown by an unknown force.

"Are you okay?" The woman asked

"My legs... I think they are broken..." The victim answered crying in pain.

"Don't worry dear. We are going to take care of you. What's your name?"

"S…Saori Saga" the victim answered.