Sleep Hypnosis Struggles

Writing Prompt: Pyrrha tries to copy Chibi Ruby's sleep hypnosis.

X

"You got in trouble for what?"

Pyrrha was talking to Ruby in the library, and for once in their time at Beacon it was just the two of them. The younger huntress-in-training rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment. "Yeah, my team didn't exactly like what I made them do with the sleep hypnosis."

This confused Pyrrha greatly. "Sleep hypnosis? Is that even real? And what did you make them do that they hated so much?"

"Yeah it's real, I did it! As for what, weeeell, I made Weiss have a super awesome day full of fun activities with me as her super-bestie-better-than-the-restie, Yang had to give me some spending cash and the keys to Bumblebee, and Blake wore a Back-up Bestie t-shirt. Oh, and Weiss and I had matching outfits, too."

"I'm… struggling to see how any of that worked."

"Here, I'll show you." Ruby pulled out her scroll and showed Pyrrha a web page. Hypno's Hypnosis was the name displayed in yellow letters at the top. "This site showed me how to do it, but I missed the line where it says 'if you make your target do an act they would normally despise, the hypnotic effect is likely to break.' My team managed to shake off my wonderful ideas after a day and a half."

Pyrrha questioned Ruby's concept of 'wonderful,' but there was a part of this that intrigued her. What if she could use it and just, you know, not do something the person would hate?

After all, Jaune doesn't hate her, so… "Can you… teach me this, Ruby?"

There was something about Ruby's Cheshire grin that unnerved her. "Of course, Pyrrha. We're friends, after all! And friends help their friends do things like finish a whole team's worth of weekend homework, right?"

'Wow, she can really be a little shit sometimes, can't she?'' Pyrrha was learning all sorts of things that day, but with a nod she began to help Ruby as she hand copied her personal notes for team RWBY'S sake.

X

Step one: fifteen to twenty minutes after the target has fallen asleep, use a musical triangle or similar instrument lightly and cause vibrations in the air with it. Strike no more than twice, and separate the notes by five seconds. If there is an active thunderstorm in your area, the frequencies let out by one lightning strike shall suffice.*

*Note: No, we do not know why.

Attempting to focus on her tasks after getting everything she needed from Ruby had been difficult. Even her training with Jaune was a blur because she was so excited about what she was going to do that night.

Using her scroll as a timer, she quietly kept time as her teammates fell into dreamland. Waiting in silence was dull, of course, but it helped to think of herself as a hunter: trap set, bait out, patiently awaiting the perfect moment to strike. The bait? Sleep. The trap? Sleep.

This analogy wasn't working.

Shaking her head, she finally slid out from her covers and tip-toed over to her friend, her partner, her one and only. Bringing out the triangle she borrowed from Ruby, she tapped it lightly with the rod in her off hand a few feet over his head.

Ting! A clean tone rang out, and she counted to five. Ting!

Step two: Address your target by name, softly but loud enough that they can hear you. If they respond with coherent words without awakening fully, they are ready.

She set the triangle down and squatted low, right next to him. In a whisper she said, "Jaune? Can you hear me?"

Jaune shifted his head just a little, but did not open his eyes. "...not the dress, sis, please…"

Yes, he was ready!

Step three: opening with the words 'listen closely', begin describing what they should think or do. As they respond to each request, do not interrupt whatever they may say.

Important! Even under hypnosis, people still have their free wills. Pushing difficult or particularly unwanted orders onto them may result in the failure of imprinting instructions, or in them realizing something is 'wrong' some time after waking up.

This was it, make or break time. "Listen closely: you want to be Pyrrha's-" boyfriend? Husband? Friend-with-benefits?! "...partner."

His face scrunched a little in confusion as he answered, "Okay, but… I already am?"

Shit! She had to be more assertive! Just say what you mean, champion! "Yes you are, but I mean a partner for life! You two will face all obstacles together, hand-in-hand, knowing that no matter what you'll always have each other!"

This time he smiled, and it sent such happy flutters in her gut to see it. "...Yeah, that sounds nice. I like that…"

Yes! He wanted this! She grinned as she went for the finish. "Tomorrow, after you get out of bed, you will talk to your dearest friend and tell her how you feel! Maybe even ask her for a date, just the two of you!"

Jaune rubbed his face against the pillow, looking rather content. "Mhm, I'll do that first thing."

SUCCESS!

Step four: know when to back off. Extending the imprint process too long shall result in the target waking up.

If failure occurs at any step, do not try again for at least two days.

Okay, time to withdraw. She was giddy as she slipped back into bed, only pausing to turn around and hide the triangle she'd used. Tomorrow was going to be absolutely grand!

It took her nearly thirty minutes to fall asleep from the excitement.

The morning greeted her with the sounds of her beloved stretching in his bed, so she forced herself up to greet him. Mimicking his stretches, she greeted him with, "Good morning, Jaune. Sleep well?"

"Morning! And yeah, I did."

He looked over at her, and while normally he wasn't one to stare, she caught him gazing deeply into her eyes with a smile. Playing it as cool as she could she asked, "Yes, Jaune? What is it?"

"Sorry, it's nothing bad." He rubbed the back of his head, just like Ruby had yesterday. "It's just that I was thinking about how lucky I am to have you in my life. Ren and Nora too, of course, but I don't know what I would've done without you."

Pyrrha could feel her grin splitting her face, and she didn't care. This was perfect! "I'm happy you think so, Jaune, because I feel the same. We'll be together forever, won't we?"

"Partners to the end." He flashed her a thumbs up, making her giggle. "If you'll excuse me for a second, I need to go talk with Ruby real quick."

She froze. "Ruby? Why? Is something wrong?"

"Nah, I just wanna ask her if she wants to hang out later." Jaune slid his feet off the bed as he grabbed his scroll, typing a text message into it rather swiftly. "She was my first friend here, and helped me be a better leader for you guys when things were tough. Plus, I just like hanging out with her, it's always a good time."

No! NO! FUCK! It's all gone wrong! It took every fiber of her being not to start screaming out loud. "...I see. Are you going anywhere in particular?"

"Don't know. Maybe I'll let her finally tinker with Crocea Mors like she's been bugging me to let her do." His scroll buzzed out with message notification. "Alright, she's already up, so I've gotta get dressed. See you later, Pyrrha?"

"Certainly, I'll go wash up in the restroom. Would you kindly tell Ruby I need to talk with her before you two go anywhere?"

"Sure, no problem." Jaune waved at her as she disappeared behind the bathroom door. Hopping to the sink, she immediately splashed her face with water to wake up.

Oh she was gonna talk with Ruby, alright. Because she was Ruby's friend, and friends don't take their friend's future partners-with-benefits from them.