This is a Rough Draft Concept...
Brought about by a particular detail about Pyrrha that came about from RTX 2023...
So they officially revealed all of JNPR's birthdays.
And for some reason, I now share birthdates Pyrrha.
I now have the same birthday as one of my top characters in RWBY.
Funny how that works...
So... Dammit, that forces my hand.
Don't expect this to get worked on any time soon.
This was just a quick show of work and needs far more time to be prepared while I work on finishing other stories.
Enjoy the preview.
Darkness.
Everything around him was shrouded in it.
What was ripping at his arm? Stupid annoying bugs…
Get off!
A brilliant bright light filled his vision.
"Huh, where am…"
What felt like a scorching pain seared through his skull. His eyes rolled in the back of his head, and his head struck the hard ground below him.
Was that a voice speaking to him?
Was someone speaking to him?
What were they saying…
The searing pain overwhelmed him once more, and he couldn't concentrate or hear what they were saying.
So instead, he focused on what he could do instead…
And he brought his right hand to grip his forehead.
"Ugh… My head…" He muttered, his eyes fluttering before feeling droplets of a steaming liquid dribbling onto his chest as he brought his hand over.
But with his hazy vision, he still was able to see what it was that was dripping on him.
And shock overcame him.
"Nani! I'm bleeding?" He shouted, overcome with dread at the image before him. "Where's my arm? Ah! Everything hurts!"
"Hold on!" A concerned voice reached as a gentle hand grasped his stump of arm and drew attention into shining emerald eyes. "I know it must be agonizing. I've been trying to patch your wound, but your aura isn't being receptive to mine for some reason to buffer and help yours along!"
"Aura…" Cerulean eyes blinked in confusion, the word not clicking. "Doesn't sound right…"
"Must have lost too much blood, and things don't make sense right now…" A gorgeous and robust young woman with brilliant red hair tried to keep a calm demeanor before looking over and away from him. "What's taking so long? Shouldn't the medevac have arrived already?"
Was there someone else here…
She seemed like she was addressing someone else…
"Lady Nikos, they'll be here as soon as they can…" The voice of an elder man spoke, his voice filled with trepidation.
"That's not good enough!" He could see the fierce determination glinting from her emerald gaze as she refused to accept that answer, looking back down at him as he heard the sound of cloth ripping and felt something tightly wrapping around his stump of an arm. "If I can't stabilize him with my aura, I'll just get him to the hospital myself!"
"Lady Nikos! Do be patient…"
"He'll die if nothing is done!" She defiantly retorted, looking back and over with emerald eyes gleaming. "I'm not letting someone fighting for their lives against Grimm out here die like this!"
Her words, however, caused him confusion.
"Grimm…" He had no idea what that word meant and didn't recognize it, but she wasn't wrong.
He was fighting. Or at least… It felt like he was fighting. "No… Was that what I was doing? I remember fighting something…"
"You don't know what happened?"Lady Nikos looked at him, her eyes shimmering before grimacing. "Going to have to get your head examined too! Sounds like you have a severe concussion…"
Huh…
Why did he know what that word meant? And why did that make sense?
The severe rolling pain in his mind. The intermittent blurriness…
Struggling to recall anything.
It felt like it was right, but…
Was she picking him up and carrying him? Huh, she was powerful…
"Close your eyes." He heard her speak to him with a gentle voice, and he gazed into her emerald eyes. "You might get sick from motion sickness if that's the case once I start moving you."
"Huh…" He was confused at first at what she was asking before it made sense to him. "Okay…"
With how his brain was hurting, any motion would probably treat him horribly. And with how firm her grip was, he imagined she would move pretty quickly too. And that would make the pain unbearable…
But why…
"This feels slow…" He muttered, not sure why the words left his tongue.
It wasn't like he was trying to insult her. But for some reason, he felt this wasn't fast. His body kept up with her motions even as he opened his eyes…
He kept up with everything around him, even if the pain was not worth it, and immediately shut them.
His stomach regretted that act.
"I'm moving as fast…" Lady Niko's voice retorted, sounding almost antagonized by his words, but a more worried tone followed. "What did you fight to leave you in this condition if this is slow to you?"
That was a question.
Exactly what was he fighting?
What caused these injuries to him?
Cut off his arm…
Bashed his head in like this and left him unable to think straight…
Hopefully, he gave as good as he received.
Heh, something told him that was precisely the case.
But why was there only darkness? There was nothing that came to mind.
Only pain…
"I… can't remember." He muttered, wincing and squirming in her grasp.
"That's not good!" Lady Nikos winced, keeping a tight grasp on him while frowning at hearing his response. "I'm going to ask you a few questions, okay? I need to keep you talking. With how much you have been bleeding, you could go into shock, and I need to keep you awake, okay?"
"Okay…"
"Do you remember where you were when you were fighting?"
It seemed she was starting simple with her questions.
But the problem was, he still didn't know.
There was nothing there for him. He didn't have an answer. It was only pain and darkness.
She struggled to keep a grasp of him as he responded. "No… Just that I was fighting… Not even that… I remember the sensation of fighting… My body feels like it was in a fight, ya know?"
"That's worrisome…" Lady Nikos grunted, her emerald eyes glistening as she gazed into his, and he could see the concern within. "What can you remember before that? Something before fighting? Do you remember anything that would have led you to take a mission or training that would have taken you out here?"
"...No. Ow…"
"What's wrong?" Lady Nikos' voice echoed as she nearly dropped him, but with a quick readjustment, managed to hold on. "What happened?"
He only hissed.
What was this?
Were these…
Voices?
What were they saying?
So many!
Too many!
"I heard voices… Many voices… But they're all indistinguishable… Can't make anything out…" He grunted, breathing ragged as the voices in his head washed over his mind but slowly faded.
Lady Nikos quickly recognized the issue and gnashed her teeth. "Okay, stop! It isn't doing you any good to try and remember right now! I'll leave that to the doctors to help you."
"...Okay." He muttered, everything blurring as the voice had left, but now his vision was obscured, and the darkness in the corners of his eyes crept slowly in. "Everything is becoming fuzzy…"
"Stay with me! Keep talking!" She shouted, commanding and trying to keep him awake before her eyes gazed into his, a clear panic glimmering within.
She wasn't sure what to do. She was lost and confused. Never having been in this situation before. He couldn't blame her…
Wait, did he know what to do in this situation? Why did it feel like he did?
It would be helpful if he could tell her…
"I, uh, do you remember what your name is?" She tried to keep him talking, desperately trying to pick up her pace.
His head flinched. Why did that hurt?
"...My name? Ugh… What is my name…"
No… He had to be able to remember his name. Why couldn't he?
How could he forget his name? How could anyone forget their name?
What was wrong with him? What was happening?
Everything… Was so… Wrong…
"Oum, you can't even remember your name…" Lady Nikos' eyes widened in alarm before seeing his eyes flickering and his body wavering in her hold. "Hey! Stay with me!"
But as he fell into her, red whisps fluttered in his vision as he unintentionally buried his face into her hair. It was so pretty… So comforting…
He liked the color.
"Red hair… Mom…"
"Oh no, you're going into shock and losing it! We're still a while away!" Her eyes shimmered fearfully, and grunted, pulling his gaze into his gaze into hers. "Come on, fight! Stay with me!"
"Fight?" He blinked before he gnashed his teeth, finding something within, and his cerulean eyes flickered, picking his head up and making her look at him with a bit of shock. "Just who do you think I am? …I'm Uzumaki Naruto! The best there is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be. I don't give up…"
"Ya better believe… that."
Emerald eyes quivered.
She made it back to Argus faster than she could have ever predicted. The extraction team had barely left by the time she arrived, which left a bitter taste in her mouth. If she had stayed, he would have been…
It showed how much Huntsmen and Huntresses who cared were in need worldwide. Those who acted could make a difference and, maybe with enough influence, change the world.
Perhaps even change one's destiny…
It strengthened her conviction. Her desire.
She made the right choice. Not in saving his life…
That would always be the correct decision. That was never a question.
Her decision to leave this place and travel to Vale to learn from the prestigious Beacon Academy. Many of the best would be heading there—training to become Huntsman and Huntresses. The challenge would be thrilling.
And perhaps, she wouldn't stand out like she had all her life…
Her eyes drifted…
And faded onto his sleeping form.
"What are you?" Pyrrha whispered, curiously gazing upon him as her eyes glimmered as his chest expanded and depressed with each breath.
She had only been drawn to his location as a bright golden light had flashed throughout the area that nearly blinded her and her tutor. At the center, she found him in what was a crater and several kinds of Grimm fading and dispersing into smoke, so she assumed it had been a battle.
His injuries were severe, and she was glad she managed to get him here. What was more extraordinary was that he stayed conscious the entire time she brought him here. If he had gone into shock…
She trembled.
Hopefully, the doctors could run some tests and help with his memory, which was alarming…
How could he not recall anything? He struggled with recognizing he had been in a battle and remembering who he…
Gently stroking her hand through the hair of her ponytail, observing it, Pyrrha's emerald gaze fell upon Naruto once more and shimmered. "Red hair…"
"Just who are you, Uzumaki Naruto?"
Brilliant cerulean eyes blinked at the lights flashing and flickering in his eyes. He held his head very still as the doctor ordered him to. The loud whirring noise around his head he could do without…
And having to be told to stay still for the last ten minutes. That wasn't very pleasant. He wanted to be up and moving around…
These machines were weird but cool. And if they could help identify why he couldn't remember anything but his name, that'd be awesome. It would be a step in the right direction, as the blood test certainly didn't find anything.
But he really hoped they would be done soon.
It was giving him a headache…
And he wanted to get out of here soon.
He was hungry…
And that red-haired girl was probably not eating again. She needed to take better care of herself first before worrying about him. He was fine…
Just didn't know what anything was! Or who he was. Or where he was, for that matter…
"Mah, what do I know?" Naruto muttered, squinting at the machine loudly thundering around him before a flickering of an image came to his mind. "Mom… I remember Mom…"
"Why do I only remember my mom, my name, and nothing else?"
"How does someone not possess any records on file?" A tall man with graying black hair frowned as he stood beside a woman with red hair tied back in a ponytail and black-rimmed glasses, looking worried as a man in a white lab coat sighed in front of them. "How can someone not have any medical records in this day and age? Unless the boy is from that horrible tribe that wanders the swamps…"
"I don't have answers for that, as the young man does not know or remember anything." The doctor responded his tone professional and light. "What I do know is that we barely managed to save him, and it was because of your daughter's actions. She truly is something special… She is truly the pride of Argus, nay, all of Mistral."
"Yes…" The woman with red hair and glasses gleamed, looking upon the door the doctor had come from. "She really is."
"Shame she chose Beacon over Haven." The doctor exclaimed with a heavy eye roll and almost spat in disgust. "Can't imagine why, though. Maybe they should get rid of the headmaster… Filthy…"
"That's quite enough," The man sternly addressed the doctor, glowering in disapproval. "If that is all…"
"Ah, my apologies. You must be busy. I will leave you be." The doctor grimaced before heading down the hall.
Frowning, finding the interaction entirely displeasing, his attention turned to the same door his wife had been gazing upon. Seeing her gaze, he exhaled deeply.
Then a proud smile came to his lips. "Should we go in and make sure she's eaten today? She has been quite obsessed with making sure he's been okay since she found him out on her training excursion."
"She's been doing better." She gleamed and gazed back at her husband. "Let's leave her be for now. Maybe this will allow her to make a friend her age…"
"Someone that doesn't know who she is may be the best chance she has to make a connection before she heads to Beacon to become a Huntress."
There was nothing on him on record?
No medical records on file to help fill in any gaps. No one to call or notify.
There was nothing.
How was that possible?
It didn't make any sense…
Naruto winced, his temple throbbing. Why couldn't he remember anything? It would be so beneficial for him to recall something…
Anything! All he had was his mother's face and her hair and his name! And none of those were helping! They were drawing blanks!
He just wanted some answers, as all of this was so confusing!
"Can I get you anything?" Pyrrha asked, a gentle resonance in her tone.
Glancing into her eyes, he couldn't help but sigh. Why was she as troubled as he was? He was the one experiencing these issues!
But, he felt if these roles were reversed, he would be doing something similar, he supposed. Not in the same caring manner…
He had a feeling it would be far more foolish and reckless. Just a hunch…
"Lunch?" Naruto squinted as he looked at the girl, knowing she wasn't taking the greatest care of herself, and he was pretty hungry. "Mah, if I don't know what's going on, at the very least, I want to get out of here and eat something to fill my stomach. This place isn't doing me any favors… And sucks right now…"
Pyrrha let out a soft laugh, her eyes twinkling at the response. She smiled and shook her head, understanding the frustration. "I could bring you something if you like. I don't think you are supposed to be leaving due to amnesia and…"
"I don't listen to rules like that! They don't make sense!" Naruto waved her off with his left arm, feeling a rush of adrenaline surge through him as he smirked. "Besides, I'm done with this place! They've already done all they could and found nothing useful, so it's time to get out of here!"
Being taken aback by his bluntness, Pyrrha tilted her head at him before frowning. "I understand it can be frustrating… Hold on. Are you remembering something? You break rules like that all the time?"
"I, uh… Huh." Naruto awkwardly paused, mulling over what he said before his expression fell and his eyes glistened. "No. It's just a feeling, and it felt right to say, but now that you bring that up… I can't think of anything. No memories related to breaking the rules, so would I do something like that? I'm so confused… Why did I say something like that?"
Pyrrha's expression softened. She lightly bit her lip and let her gaze drift away. Not being able to remember anything of your past would be terrifying. Having the vaguest glimpses here and there of what you were and having no connection to what they were or understanding…
Lifting her head and directing her gaze at the solemn blonde in the room, a warm smile spread. "Say, I know of a Mistrali Noodle stand that is not too far from here if you would like. Maybe we could stop there and return before anyone notices. Best of both worlds?"
Cerulean eyes met emerald, and a curious expression crossed Naruto's face. Tilting his head, his head as his brow furrowed, and he almost winced, his eyes sparkled for a moment. "Mistrali… Noodles… Is that anything like… Ramen?"
"I don't know," Pyrrha could see the genuine excitement on his face and could tell he was remembering something and gently smiled. "I've never had Ramen before, but if it's another noodle dish, it might be. We can find out."
"Yatta! Sounds like a plan to me!" Naruto jumped up and grinned wildly, quickly removing his medical equipment attached to him uncaringly as he located his stuff. "Just let me get on my clothes…"
Pyrrha's face flushed. He didn't even hesitate! He was changing in front of her! She rapidly turned around, her emerald eyes flickering and her heart beating rapidly.
So that's what…
"Oh… This looks good." Naruto grinned, drooling at the Mistrali noodles as they were served up before them. "Something tells me I'm gonna like this… I can feel it!"
Pyrrha giggled, placing her over her mouth. His excitement was contagious, and she couldn't help but feel encouraged by it. She was also entirely starved too, having not eaten very much since she had brought him to the hospital.
So she was glad she ordered the largest size they had. She had quite the appetite and needed calories, for she burned through them…
"Oh my…" Her eyes widened, seeing his ravenous appetite as he began to devour the dish before him. "You must have been starving."
"And it's delicious!" Naruto slurped through the noodles, his eyes sparkling brilliantly. "It's no ramen, but… It's amazing, nonetheless! This was a good call! Gonna need seconds!"
Smiling, Pyrrha picked up her chopsticks as she proceeded to start on the dish. But a motion behind her caught her attention, and she rolled her eyes.
Typical. She couldn't go anywhere without them. She should have expected it. It was why she always had a tutor or a bodyguard around at her father's behest. Even if she didn't want them around… It was the closest she could get to having normality…
With paparazzi always following her.
This would put a damper on her meal. Would she even be able to eat? Or were they going to pester her nonstop like they always did?
It seemed to be the latter as they were already making their way to the stand.
"Mah, what's wrong?" Naruto noticed something was amiss with Pyrrha beside him, his eyes trailing where she was glancing and frowned. "Yo, what? What's going on here? Can't ya'll see we're eating! Get outta here!"
"Lady Nikos!" The first report completely ignored Naruto's outburst, holding a camera at an exasperated Pyrrha as she held her hand in her head. "Vi Vender, Mistral Outlet! With your decision to spurn Haven and choose Beacon, many have speculated it was because of Haven's Headmaster! Can you elaborate on why? Perhaps it's due to…"
"Yo! Don't ignore me!"
"Lav Asio, Mistrali News! Since the Vytal Tournament is this year, many anticipate your participation, Lady Nikos. Having won the Mistral Regional Tournament four years running, there are high expectations that you may be the favorite to win. Did that affect your decision on choosing Beacon, knowing they have done very well historically in the Vytal festival, and do you feel any pressure on winning?"
"What, no…" Pyrrha looked alarmed at the questions thrown at her and the cameras focusing on her, grimacing. "That's not why I chose to go to Beacon… I… Please…"
"Okay, that's it!" Naruto banged the table, his eyes flickering for the briefest moment. "You all have gotta go!"
"What… Ah!"
Pyrrha's eyes widened.
What just happened?
Where did they all…
In the middle of the street?
How did they get there so quickly?
Was Naruto hoisting them up onto a street light and tying them up?
Looking beside her and back in the street, she saw him stride back into the stand, attempting to dust his hands before cursing. "Dammit! That's gonna take some time getting used to!"
Her eyes shimmered, unsure what to make of the situation. She hadn't even seen him move, and the next thing she knew, all media members were tied up with this strange wire. She recalled him saying she was moving slowly when bringing him to Argus…
Pyrrha looked at Naruto. He was her age. Yet he was able to move with such speed she couldn't track…
"Mah, those guys were annoying, so I took care of those guys so we could eat and not be bothered." Naruto sat back down, grinning with his eyes closed. "What was that about, anyway?"
Lowering her head, her eyes shimmered as she looked away. "I… Happen to be quite famous here in Mistral. As they said, I've won four straight Mistral Region Tournaments… The media had dubbed me the Pride of Mistral, and I've been getting endorsement deals and the like for years now. People follow me around, trying to get my autograph or trying to be my boyfriend or girlfriend… I have fan clubs…"
Naruto was taken aback, his eyes widening and shrinking as he listened to Pyrrha's lament. She had to go through all of that? That was absurd! How could someone have to deal with all of that?
How lonely that would make someone feel…
Lonely…
Why did that…
Naruto felt his stomach clench, and a searing pain surged through his head…
Red eyes…
Why was he seeing red eyes? With weird markings within them?
"Naruto?"
"I'm okay!" Naruto grunted, rubbing his forehead as he gasped for breath, and his eyes flickered as his vision blurred momentarily, returning to normal. "What was that? Who was that…"
"Maybe we should…" Pyrrha gazed upon Naruto, concerned about seeing something triggered.
"Nah, I think I'm good." Naruto shook his head, took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and smiled at Pyrrha. "But, I wouldn't have guessed any of that about you! You seem like a normal girl to me!"
Pyrrha went rigid.
Did he just…
Call her…
Her eyes glistened as he kept going, a broad grin on his face. "Mah, definitely strong, though. Carried me all the way here. Oh, maybe we could spar! That would be fun! Have a friendly throwdown! I'm all for that!"
Pyrrha only gleamed at the smiling blonde, a light giggle escaping her lips. "Perhaps… Maybe when everything settles down? And when you start to remember more about who you are? I think that is more important than worrying about a silly little test of strength."
"Oh…" Naruto frowned before gazing at his hand and his stump of an arm and grimacing. "I guess you have a point… And why did that make me so excited? There are so many things I don't understand…"
"And that makes two of us." Pyrrha brightly smiled, reaching out and placing her hand into Naruto's open palm, drawing his eyes into her. "There is a lot that I don't understand. I don't know what it is. There is something… Can I ask you something?"
"Huh, what?" Naruto stared curiously and tilted his head as he looked into her shining eyes.
"Do you believe in destiny?"