Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY
Chapter 8: Evening Contemplations
Evening began to fall on Beacon as the first week of the school year ended. Students and teachers alike were relieved and were all looking forward to the coming weekend. The topic of discussion for the entire day was how everyone was going to spend their time off, with most groups coming up with plans to do as a team.
Team RWBY and JNPR had decided to go out to the city together. Despite living in the Kingdom, the Xiao Long Sisters hadn't seen everything the main city had to offer, being only able to do the occasional day visit. Jaune had only visited parts of the city as well and while Nora and Ren had lived in the city for the last couple of years, they had been in the dorms at Bonfire Academy in the Agricultural District, so there was a lot for everyone to explore and discover about Vale.
Pyrrha walked around the grounds of Beacon, occasionally breaking into a jog before settling back down into a slow pace. She wasn't out here for the exercise; this was just what she did when she needed to think.
In many ways, she was the most excited for this weekend, as she was completely new to Vale. Exploring a whole new city with a group of people she saw as friends and who saw her as a friend and not a celebrity. This was what she had wanted when she decided to leave Mistral and part of her was overjoyed that everything was going so well.
But she wasn't outside thinking about how happy she was; she was here because of another set of emotion was plaguing her. That emotion was confusion and it was made all the more confusing based on the cause, namely her new friends from Team RWBY.
It had started a few days ago, during afternoon classes on the second day at Beacon. Combat Class was the last class of the day and she wasn't surprised that she got called up to take part in a demonstration spar. She was more surprised that it didn't happen the first day, but then that first class had been all about introduction to what the class would be about, so this was the earliest opportunity to have the new students fight.
She was a bit surprised that it was Yang who was chosen to be her opponent but thinking about it, it made a lot of sense. Outside of her championship, Pyrrha had graduated at the top of her class at Sanctum while Yang had done the same at Signal. It would serve as a good benchmark to showcase two top first-years against each other.
The two exchanged a few words as Professor Goodwitch set up the match. Yang was bouncing on the balls of her feet while throwing a few practice jabs. Pyrrha hefted her shield and sword and took a ready stance opposite of Yang. The two girls both nodded when Goodwitch asked if they were ready, with Pyrrha quietly thinking about how she would have to hold back a bit. She didn't want to hurt Yang's feeling by defeating immediately, but also didn't want to insult her by making it obvious she was holding back for her sake.
It was thoughts of maintaining this delicate balance that were forefront in Pyrrha's mind when the buzzer sounded the start of the match and caused her to make a serious mistake right away. It was a simple mistake, one that everyone could make; especially as it was something as basic as blinking.
One moment, Yang was several feet away from her with her fists up in a standard boxing stance and a wide grin on her face. The next, the bell was given and Pyrrha unconsciously blinked, still thinking about how best to approach this fight.
When her eyes open a fraction of a second later, she saw that Yang was right in front of her with her right fist heading straight for Pyrrha's face. The blonde brawler was still grinning, but it was more feral and vicious then before.
Sheer instinct saved Pyrrha as her Semblance activated before she could consciously think of it and by pushing against Yang's gauntlet, made her fist change trajectory. Given the distance and force behind the punch, she wasn't able to make Yang miss completely and so Pyrrha received a grazing blow to her right cheek.
Pyrrha stumbled to the side, reeling from the blow. How…how could a simple punch have so much power that a mere graze could knock her off balance? Her cheek was burning with pain, worse then many direct blows she had taken in the past.
The Champion of Mistral, often called the 'Invincible Girl' in the media, had to scramble to regain her footing and rise her shield to block Yang's next punch. This one sent Pyrrha sliding backwards, almost to the edge of the stage and she felt the force of the blow reverberate through her shield arm. All thoughts of holding back were cast aside as Pyrrha had to use everything she had to prevent herself from being knocked out by the impossibly strong blonde Xiao Long.
For the next three minutes, the two Beacon students clashed in a furious bout of combat. Along with being incredibly strong, Yang was very fast with her punches. It took everything Pyrrha had to dodge and block, her Semblance turning several hits into grazes or near-misses. They still hurt a lot, so a direct hit was something she didn't want to experience.
Still, Yang was a fairly straight-forward fighter, so Pyrrha was able to get in plenty of her own hits in; while having less power the Yang's, they were direct hits versus grazes. When the bell sounded the end of the three-minute match, both fighters' Aura levels were in the yellow but Pyrrha's was slightly higher then Yang's
"Winner, Pyrrha Nikos" Goodwitch called out, followed by the excited applauses of the audience. It was an amazing fight to see and everyone was thoroughly impressed.
Pyrrha wasn't basking her in victory, being more focus on catching her breathe and trying to get some feeling back into her now numb shield arm. That was perhaps the toughest fight she had been in for a long time, and it was only a simple classroom demonstration fight; no high-stakes championship on the line here.
She had won based on Aura level at the end of the time; she had won on points. It had been years since she had won that way, being instructed to always go for a more direct and spectacular Aura or ring knockout. All her victories at the Mistral Regionals had ended that way yet a simple spar with a classmate at Beacon had pushed her over the time limit.
She was surprised when Yang came over and thanked her for a good match and asked if she was okay. Pyrrha was stunned by this display of sportsmanship and could only nod dumbly. She knew that it was supposed to be this way, but the last couple years of her life had revolved around the Mistral Championships and most of her opponents couldn't disguise their anger and disappointment when they lost to her.
Yang was being completely genuine, she wasn't mad that she had lost and seemed to really have enjoyed their fight. Beside some light-hearted chiding, her sisters weren't angry over the outcome and the praise Pyrrha got from her team-mates seemed more real then any she had received before. Afterwards, the rest of the afternoon and evening pasted like it had before, with friendly conversation; the match being only one of day events.
It was all so surreal but not in a bad way. She couldn't help but feel good about everything as she went to sleep that night.
The next day, Pyrrha was again called up to fight in Combat Class. She was a little surprised to be up again so soon but a part of her was eager to be fighting again. The fight with Yang had lit a fire inside of her and she was actually excited to fight.
She couldn't remember the last time she felt that way. It had always been that fighting was a duty and obligation she had to fulfill, not something she did for herself.
While more then fine with going up again, she had to raise an eyebrow when Weiss was announced as her opponent. Weiss had also graduated top of her class at Signal and had shown some interesting powers during the fight with the Boarbatusk, but it seemed odd that she was facing off against another member of Team RWBY so soon.
Pyrrha said nothing, simply nodding at Weiss as she climbed the stage before getting into a readied stance. She gave another nod when Goodwitch asked if they were ready, never taking her eyes off Weiss. She wasn't going to get caught off guard again.
The bell sounded and neither combatant moved at first, merely watching the other. After several seconds, Weiss suddenly dashed forward and began rapidly jabbing with her rapier.
Pyrrha blocked these attacks easily, but the speed and force of each jap kept her on the defensive. Weiss was managing to keep her at a distance, so Pyrrha decided to rush forward and keep her pinned. She crashed her shield against Wiess's rapier and managed to push the smaller girl back several steps.
Weiss rallied and succeeded in holding Pyrrha back. Despite the difference in size, Weiss was matching Pyrrha's strength and started to push back. The two become locked in a pushing match, neither giving an inch.
Weiss's rapier, held in her right hand, was now pinned against her chest by Pyrrha's shield. Pyrrha's sword, however, was still freed and she raised it over her head, preparing to take advantage of the opening to land a powerful blow.
Pyrrha had learned that Weiss was supremely intelligent during their earlier talks and had just learned first-hand how physically strong she was. Now, as she prepared to attack, she learned another interesting thing about Weiss; she had a mean left hook.
Weiss's left fist collided with Pyrrha's jaw, scrambling the Champion's brain and making her stumble back a few steps. While not as devastating as one of Yang's punches, it was still incredible and hurt more then most hits Pyrrha had taken before. A swift kick put one of Weiss's platform heels into Pyrrha's gut and forced her back further.
Pyrrha bent over and sucked in air, her head spinning and her stomach aching. A whirling mechanical sound made her raise her head and see that Weiss had changed her rapier into its lance form and was preparing to throw it.
The red Myrmidon gritted her teeth and got up. She deflected the thrown lance with an upward swing of her shield, sending Myrtenaster spinning into the air. She was about to counter-attack the now weaponless Weiss, but the white-haired girl had other plans.
Lightening fast, Weiss dashed forward, ducking under Pyrrha's reactionary sword swing and got behind her, grabbing her by the red sash tied around her waist. The red-head only had time to glance at Weiss and see the smirk of her face before the white Xiao Long pulled Pyrrha up and over her shoulders. She arched her back and fell backwards, slamming Pyrrha's head into the floor in a perfectly executed Atlesian Suplex.
"Welcome to Suplex City, bitch!" Pyrrha thought she heard Weiss say softly but couldn't be sure with how much her head spinning. She was only vaguely aware of Weiss rolling away and standing back up.
Years of harsh training forced her to focus just as Weiss grabbed her falling lance and stabbed down at Pyrrha's face. Her Semblance activated, more by instinct then conscious thought, and moved the lance tip so it embedded in the floor next to her head. The fallen Champion leapt up and rammed both of her feet into Weiss's chest. As her opponent fell back, Pyrrha hefted her weapons and charged forward.
A furious melee ensued, with Pyrrha attacking with almost reckless abandoned. Weiss held her ground, switching Myrtenaster between it's two forms but she was definitely taking more hits then she was giving.
"I am Pyrrha Nikos!" The red-haired fighter shouted in her mind. Anger, an almost foreign emotion for her, filled her being. "I am Champion. I will not falter… I will not lose…"
A loud, sharp sound halted her attacks and it took her a moment to realize it was the bell to end the match. Pyrrha slowly looked up to the scoreboard and saw an almost exact copy of yesterday's result; both of their Aura levels were in the yellow but Pyrrha's was a bit higher then Weiss's.
She had won again…on points.
Weiss walked over and thanked her for a good match. The anger Pyrrha had felt vanished and she returned the gesture. She stumbled numbly through the rest of the day, trying to understand why she had felt that way at all.
The next day brought the same, with Pyrrha being called to fight. Several students began to openly wonder if Pyrrha had done something wrong or was being punished. They were all here to learn how to fight but this seemed excessive.
Pyrrha simply accept it all. What she had a harder time dealing with was who her opponent was. She couldn't help but give Professor Goodwitch a hard, inquisitive stare as Blake Xiao Long was called up. The veteran Huntress gave away nothing, merely instructing Pyrrha to get ready.
Blake gave no sign that she daw this situation as being odd, so Pyrrha resigned herself to another match with one of the Xiao Long Sisters.
Neither Pyrrha or any other student knew how desperate things were becoming, that the situation with the Fall Maiden was dire and that a new Maiden needed to be found before the powers were lost to Salem and her ilk. Ozpin needed to push this group of warriors hard and see if any of the young females were perhaps worthy of being the next Fall Maiden.
Thanks to her previous accomplishments, Pyrrha was at the top of the list for potential Maiden candidates but her social awkwardness and lack of people skills was a problem. They needed a Maiden who would help people and stand against the darkness because she wanted to, not because she was told to. They needed to push Pyrrha, both physically and mentally and what better way then with the group of girls that she was quickly becoming friends with.
Perhaps it was cruel to do this at the very beginning of the school year, but time was of the essence. It also tested the members of Team RWBY against a strong opponent. The daughters of Taiyang and Summer were also of interest of Ozpin; could one of them what they needed?
But that was for the future and both Pyrrha and Blake didn't know of it. The only thing they cared about was this match and how to win it. Pyrrha gripped her sword and shield tightly and Blake held her sword in one hand and her bladed sheath in the other. Pyrrha wouldn't be able to pin or disarm Blake easily.
When the bell rang, Pyrrha rushed forward, intending to end this fight quickly. Blake didn't oblige and dodged Pyrrha's blows. It was like trying to hit a shadow, she just slipped around Pyrrha's attacks before counterattacking and soon Pyrrha found herself on the defensive.
Blake wasn't limited to just her blades and she launched a left high-kick to the side of Pyrrha's head. The Mistralian raised her right arm and while she succeed in blocking the kick, the sheer force of it cause her upper body to bend slightly. Again, Pyrrha was astounded by the raw strength these girls possessed. If that kick had landed, she would have been knocked out for sure.
Pyrrha tried to back away but hit a snag; while her attention was focused on Blake's kick, the black Xiao Long had shifted her sword into its sickle mode and used it to wrap her ribbon around Pyrrha's left foot. A strong tug and Pyrrha was swept off her feet,
Instead attacking her fallen opponent, Blake slid down onto the ground herself, wrapping both her legs around Pyrrha's left leg and getting in her into an ankle lock.
Submission holds weren't very common in this age of superpower Semblances and weapons that were also guns, so Pyrrha had very little training on how to deal with them. Her Aura couldn't block out all of the pain from this type of attack and as Blake start to pull and twist her ankle, Pyrrha knew it would only be a short time before she would have to submit.
Thinking fast, Pyrrha threw her shield up towards the ceiling. It hit the metal support beams and deflected back down at just the right angle to be aiming towards Blake. The cat-girl's senses were sharp, and she broke the leg-lock and roll away, the bronze shield striking the floor where she had just been. Pyrrha quickly got back to her feet and retrieved her shield. Blake had jumped back onto her feet and the two resumed their fight.
Twice, Blake tried to get Pyrrha in a submission hold again. She tried to grab her leg again with her ribbon but Pyrrha swiftly cut it with her sword. Blake then managed to move around Pyrrha and grabbed her left arm, twisting it behind the Champion's back. Pyrrha countered by changing her sword's form and the extending butt of her spear hit Blake in the side, forcing her to release her opponent.
Blake continued to dodge and weave around Pyrrha's attacks, using her dexterity and flexibility to avoid blows. Pyrrha found herself using her Semblance to pull Blake's weapons, and thus Blake herself, closer rather then pushing them away. It was the only way that she could knock Blake off balance enough to land a hit.
Again, anger began to build within Pyrrha. What few blows she could land were filled with her rage and hit harder then she meant to. Blake took they the hits well and it barely slowed down her own attacks.
They did have a notable effect on her Aura though. When the time ran out and the two stopped their fight, Blake's Aura was lower then Pyrrha's, giving her the win.
Pyrrha Nikos had won again…on points.
The anger disappeared again, leaving only confusion and unease with how everything was turning out. Looking at Team RWBY after the fight didn't bring about any rage or hate and talking to them only reinforced how much she enjoyed their company and really hoped they could forge a solid friendship. She laid awake long into that night thinking over this situation, with no real answers to be had.
Today was the last day of classes for the week and the script had been pretty much set. Goodwitch had the decency to look a little apologetic as she called Pyrrha up for the fourth time in a row. She wasn't the only one who knew what was going to happen, as Ruby jumped out of her seat the second her name was called and got prepared in record time.
Pyrrha gripped her sword tightly and found herself glaring at the little red reaper. She just didn't understand why-
The bell rang and Pyrrha suddenly found herself on her back and looking up at the ceiling. Her mind was clouded, not sure what had happened; at least the falling rose petals were nice to look at…
Her ingrained instincts made Pyrrha cover her face with her shield just as Ruby brought her scythe blade down. Pyrrha pushed the blade away and leapt back onto her feet, lashing out with her sword. Ruby dashed away in a swirl of rose petals, right to the edge of the stage before leaping forward in as a mass of red and launching a power drop kick at her opponent.
Pyrrha blocked with her shield and Ruby backflipped off it, reengaging her scythe and swinging widely as she landed. The bronze shield took the blow, but the force of it still made Pyrrha slide sideways along the floor for a couple feet in a half circle. Absurd strength seemed to be a family trait for all the Xiao Longs.
Pyrrha pushed the scythe away and took several steps back to catch her breathe and size her opponent up.
Along with great strength, the, the Xiao Long Sisters had all displayed impressive speed, but Ruby's was exceptional. The way her cloak would wrap around her and the cloud of rose petal spoke that this was her Semblance. She had used it to knock Pyrrha down the second the match started and was utilizing it effectively to both dodge and attack. It seemed she could only move at superspeed in a straight line; she was using it to great effect to hit and run but it made her movements somewhat predictable.
Predictable didn't mean easy and Pyrrha again had to give all she had to hold Ruby back. Rage started to build within her as images of her previous fights with this family swirled in her mind.
"How…How can they be so strong?!" Pyrrha screamed in her mind. She had been called the best of her generation and that wasn't an empty boast. Her family had spared no expense in her training, employing experienced Huntsmen to teach her all there was to know about combat. In regard to fighting other people, she had been far ahead of any of her peers throughout her time at Sanctum.
She wasn't arrogant to think she was the best in the world and knew there had to be bigger fish outside of her own little pond. But she didn't expect to be pushed this hard so quickly, especially by people in the same year as her; hell, Ruby was two years younger! It had been a solid fact to her that she was the best in her age group at least; these last four fights had shattered that assumption.
Along with images of Team RWBY fighting her, another set of past scenes filtered through her mind. These were scenes of the Xiao Long Sisters just being together; of them eating and laughing together. The unwavering love they held for one another seemed to shine in their eyes.
Hot, angry tears formed the corners of Pyrrha's eyes. "Why, why… why do they get to be so strong and are still allowed to be HAPPY?!"
Growing up, Pyrrha had been pushed as hard as possible everyday for almost as long as she could remember. How many times had she been too sore and bruised to move, yet made to go another round? How many nights had she been sent to bed hungry because she hadn't done well enough, told that the hunger would motivate her? Not once had she seen a glimmer of warmth or affection in her parents' eyes and the love of family existed only in her dimmest memories.
That was just how things were, ever since her older brother had died twelve years ago in that great tragedy off the coast of Vale.
Pyrrha had inherited a great destiny, one that required her to be the strongest. She had come to accept that to she had to give up being happy in order to gain that strength and that her life would be one of sacrifice, to ensure that others could be happy. For years, she had accepted that and made it a foundation of who she was.
But now she had seen first hand that it wasn't the case. Yes, the Xiao Long Sisters had suffered hardships and tragedy, but it hadn't crushed their spirits. They were strong and happy…was everything she believed just one big lie?
The rage inside of her was towards herself and fueled by the intense envy she now had towards these girls. She ducked low under Ruby's scythe, pulled her left arm back and smashed the edge of her shield as hard as she could into Ruby's chest. The younger girl was thrown backwards, falling to her knee and left wide open. Pyrrha took a step forward, intending to follow-up when the bell sounded and ended the match.
Pyrrha took several deep breathes before turning to look up ta the screen. She was both shocked and confused when she saw there was still ten seconds left on the clock. Looking over at the screen displaying Ruby's face, the bar showing her Aura had changed to red. That last hit had dropped her Aura just enough for it to be counted as a knockout.
Pyrrha had won by Aura-level knockout…barely.
"Whoa, that one heck of an attack at the end. Wish I could have fought to the end like my sisters, but I guess I still need lots of training." Ruby skipped over to Pyrrha, none the worse for wear or upset over her narrow loss. She paused as she looked at Pyrrha's face. "Hey, are you okay?"
Pyrrha hastily wiped away the few tears in her eyes. "Yes, I…just got something in my eyes"
Ruby nodded and said no more. They exited the stage together and were greeted by their teammates, who praised them both for such a close battle. There were several comments on how odd it was for Pyrrha of all people to be called up so many times, but she waved they away, not wanting to explain her fame right then and there.
Class was soon dismissed, and the two teams headed to the library to hold their study group. There wasn't much to go over after only one week, but Jaune was thankful for everything they could give them. They spent much of the time talking about how they found Beacon so far and discussing their plans for the weekend. By the time they separated, they had a solid plan to check several well-known places in the city, do a bit of shopping and have lunch at a new café that was getting lots of good reviews.
Pyrrha had spent the last couple of hours since just walking and jogging around the school, lost in her thoughts. Even with this strong force of envy now within her, she could only describe the time with Team RWBY as being lovely. They were such nice and interesting people that she loved spending time with despite all the confusion they had brought into her life. Those matches, while frustrating, had made her feel alive in a way the Mistral Regionals didn't. Their strength and skill were on another level compared to her past opponents, with Ruby's Semblance being quite difficult to deal with…
Pyrrha suddenly stopped in her tracks as something dawned on her. Ruby had used her Semblance during her match, but Yang, Weiss and Blake hadn't. Blake and Yang didn't fire their gun attachments of their weapons and Weiss didn't do any of the crazy Dust attacks she had seen before. They used only raw strength and skill to match her and lost by the barest of margins. If they fought again and used everything they had, could Pyrrha win? The only answer she could come up with was a maybe.
The last few years Pyrrha had trained against multiple foes at once, to better hone her skill and provided a better challenge that most solo opponent couldn't give her. But if she fought two of the Xiao Long Sisters at once, could she win? And if it was all four of them, there wouldn't be a maybe at all.
The tall girl stood still as a statue for several minutes, breathing deeply as her mind raced. Suddenly, she took off in a dead sprint, running as hard as she could. She needed to burn off all the energy she suddenly felt if she wanted any chance of sleeping tonight. A big, bright smile shone on her face as she made her lap around the school.
It really hit her just how amazing her friends from Team RWBY were, how great her teammates were. They were kind, generous, supportive and didn't try to pry into her background, instead simply accepting her for who was. She now wanted to support them while simultaneously wanting to become strong enough to truly surpass them. They were friends and rivals in one, a goal to reach not because she was told to, but because she earnestly wanted to.
Her parents would be shocked and humiliated that their prized daughter was acting in such a childish manner, but she didn't care. While they had disapproved of her going to Beacon over Haven, one Huntsmen Academy was as good as another and they accepted her reasoning that a different Kingdom with new fighters would do her skills better then staying in Mistral.
Of course, they real reason was that she wanted to get away from her fame and her family. She didn't know what real freedom would be like, but she was curious enough to leave her home behind to find it.
She wasn't sure if she had found it, but she was certainly looking forward to the future. She had a goal in defeating the Xiao Long Sisters while also looking forward to tomorrow where she would be hanging out with them all day. It was a crazy situation and she was loving it. Today may very well be the best day ever.
Pyrrha wasn't the only member of JNPR taking in the evening air while contemplating. Jaune had found a small section of the roof of the dorms and was leaning against the railing as he looked out at the campus ground and the lights of the city beyond. He thought he spied his partner running down below but couldn't be sure from this distance.
Thoughts of her partner and her recent fights were the cause of this particular night's musing. It was very strange to him that Pyrrha had been made to fight four times in four days, and against each member of Team RWBY in turn. It seemed wrong to make her fight so much in such a short time. If it continued to happen, he would make sure to file a formal complaint with the faculty. Pyrrha seemed unlikely to do something like that herself, so as her leader it was up to him to look out for her; it was the least he could do.
That of course was the problem; he was team leader to people who were such amazing fighters. Pyrrha's matches against the Xiao Long Sisters had left him speechless. They were only simple class fights, yet they were beyond anything he had seen before. And these were the first week for the First-Years; what could the older students and full Huntsmen and Huntresses do? He had known that Huntsmen were great warriors, but it was now hitting him just how far above the average they were, how much better they had to be.
Jaune wasn't a great warrior; he could barely swing his sword well enough to not hurt himself. He had learned the bare basics of self-defence, everyone living outside of the Kingdoms had to, but he wasn't Combat School-trained. His parents detested violence and conflict and wanted all their children to live peaceful lives.
Jaune wanted to be a hero like his great-great-grandfather, to help those who couldn't protect themselves. But with no Combat School close by, his only option would be to leave home and his family and for the young Arc that was too much. Even now, it had been hard to leave his home and all that he knew but he had to grow up and seize his dream. His older sister Saphron had done just that, having found both a good job and even love, if her last videocall was anything to go by.
This proved to Jaune that he couldn't just sit around at home, that he to go out on his own if he wanted to make his dream come true. His parents had argued against it but eventually relented to his desire to at least try. His lack of formal training should have made him a sure-in to fail outright, but against all the odds he had made it. He was on his way to becoming a Huntsmen.
But after only one week it had been made clear how much of a gap there was between a normal guy like him and the others. Team RWBY were all so incredible and Pyrrha was unbelievable in how good of a fighter she was. He overheard some of the other students calling her some kind of 'Champion'; he had no idea what that meant but it seemed to fit. He also knew how quick and acrobatic Ren was and had first hand experience at how monstrously strong Nora was.
He was completely out of his depth. What sense did it make that he, the absolutely weakest member of this team, be the leader? Part of him wanted to go to the Headmaster and ask to have Pyrrha made leader instead.
But then he would have to explain why he thought that way and the issue of his transcripts would have to brought to light and he was certain to be kicked out. He didn't want his dream to end so soon, not before he had really given it everything thing he had.
He was taken out of his musing when the door to this area opened and his other red-headed female teammate appeared.
"Ren? Are you up here?" Nora asked aloud as she exited the doorway. She looked around, failing to see her partner but spotting Jaune. "Oh, hey Jaune. Have you seen Ren around?"
Jaune turned around to face her. "Hey Nora. No, I haven't seen Ren since dinner, so I have no idea where he could have gone."
"Dang it, where could that ninja have gone to?" Nora tapped her foot in irritation. "Oh yeah, I noticed Ren was acting a little weird all day. Didn't say a word to me when I asked; you know anything about it?"
Jaune thought back on the day, specifically to that morning.
Flashback
Morning light filtered through the window of Team JNPR dorm room as the teenagers within roused themselves, with varying degrees of success. Pyrrha was the most successful, showcased by her not being in the room at all. She had gotten up right at dawn and was out for her morning jog. Ren was up and slowly doing some morning stretches in his baggy green and black sleepwear as Jaune pulled his blankets off and reluctantly got up. Nora was still in bed, huddled under her blankets in a vain attempt to deny the fact that it was time to get up.
"Morning…" Jaune said between yawns. He stretches his left arm upwards, his right still in a sling, the sleeve of his blue onesie on that side hanging empty.
Ren gave a small nod in return before resuming his stretches. Jaune shook the rest of the sleep away and looked around the room, noticing Pyrrha's absence. He was still a bit in awe at how diligent she was, always doing a jog in the morning then taking detailed notes during classes and going over them again before bed. He was actually getting a bit worried that she was overdoing it, especially with how hard the teachers seemed to be pushing her. Hopefully she would get time to really relax this weekend.
Jaune popped off the top buttons of his onesie as he headed to his clothes drawer and pulled out a clean uniform.
"You mind if I take a shower first?" he asked Ren.
Before he could get a response, Nora suddenly flew out from under her blankets, snatched her uniform that Ren had already laid out for her and rushed into the dorm's bathroom. A moment later, the sounds of the shower running could be heard.
"Well…I guess Nora's going first" Jaune said after a moment.
"Yeah, she really likes her hot showers. Their pretty much the only thing that can really get her up in the morning." Ren replied.
Jaune nodded; he was still learning all these little things about his teammates. Less then a week together was only enough time to scratch only the surface of who they were as people and what their habits were. He did have much experience with fighting with his sisters over using the bathroom and hoped that it wouldn't be so bad here.
Jaune quickly looked at the clock and saw that there wasn't a lot of time left before classes started. Pyrrha would be back soon and she would need to use the shower as well and they would than need to grab some breakfast.
"I'll get a shower later." Jaune said as he started to undo his onesie and awkwardly pull his left arm out. "Hey, so what do you think we should do this weekend?"
"I don't have much of a preference. I do need to buy some shampoo but beside that I'm okay with…with…with…"
Ren was stuttering due to Jaune having completely removed his onesie. A question that Ren hadn't been wondering was suddenly answered; did Jaune wear boxers under his onesie? The answer was a definitive…no.
"Yeah, we should all pick up some basic necessities. Beacon got most of it covered but you never know. Right…Ren?"
Jaune's only response was the dorm's door being slammed shut and he found himself suddenly alone. Jaune pondered why his teammate had rushed out and settled on that he must have really needed to use the bathroom and had gone to use the dormitory's public washroom.
A small draft had entered from the brief time the door was open and it quickly reminded him of his current state of undress. He hurriedly put on his clothes, chastising himself over being so careless. There was a girl just in the bathroom and another was probably be returning soon; what would happen if they had seen him naked? At best, they would probably scream and run away.
He had to remember he wasn't at home with his own room anymore and thus he had to take care to be decent at all times. He was lucky it hadn't caused any problems this time.
Outside, at the end of the hall, Ren was leaning against the wall and was trying to steady both his breathing and his rapidly beating heart. His face was bright red, and it had taken everything to not scream loudly while running out of the room.
That was a guy's…a boy's…gahhhh! Ren had been able to avoid such situations while at Combat School, sharing a room with only Nora and never using the boy's locker room to change. It hadn't occurred to Ren that such a situation might happen with Jaune on the team. Ren really didn't have much experience when it came to spending time around boys.
"Other boys…" The flustered ninja mentally corrected himself before coughing lightly. After a few more moments of steady breathing, Ren headed to the building's public washroom, intending to splash some very cold water on his hot face.
Beacon was going to have some unique challenges for Lie Ren it seemed.
Jaune knew nothing about Ren's reaction but had noticed that his face had been a bit red throughout the day.
"Ren seemed a bit red in the face and flustered all day, so maybe he's feeling under the weather. Have you checked the Nurse's Office?"
Nora shook her head. "No, but Ren would definitely have told me if they was feeling sick. Instead, Ren's just been kind of weird all day." The pink Valkyrie shook her head before turning back to Jaune. "How's the arm? It's not hurting or anything?"
Jaune raised his right arm, now free of the cast, and waved it around a bit. It had finally been taken off just after lunch. While a bit sore and stiff, it was otherwise completely healed.
"It's fine, really." Jaune answered. This was the third time today she had asked that and several more times over the preceding week. No matter what he said, she continued to worry and fret, insisting that she carry his school bag. He didn't blame her at all for what happen, but she still wanted to make things right.
Nora was a really sweet girl.
"You know, Ren's really lucky to have you Nora." Jaune found himself saying. "You're always trying to make sure everyone else is fine and happy."
Nora blushed at the surprise compliment. "I, umm, well…" She really didn't know how to react to that; even Ren didn't say those kinds of things very often.
That thought clued her in to what Jaune was implying. "Me and Ren are together but not together-together or anything. We've known each other and…basically lived together for a long time but we're just good friends!"
The look Jaune gave showed he wasn't buying that. "There no need to deny it here, I'm not going to tell everyone one or anything. I think it's pretty clear that-"
"No!" Nora interrupted forcefully, surprising Jaune. She quickly turned aside and started fidgeting with her skirt. "We're together but not together-together. Ren has…made that very clear…on multiple occasions."
Jaune had to raise an eyebrow at this. It was clear as day that Ren and Nora had strong feelings towards each other. The night before Initiation he had spied how she had jumped on Ren's back when introducing herself to Ruby's sisters. They were almost inseparable throughout the day and just at lunch today he noticed that they had huddled together and were whispering to each other. They were a couple in all but name, though it seemed that there was a lot more going on then he realized.
Much more in fact, as that lunchtime huddle had been anything but romantic.
Flashback
Beacon's cafeteria was, as usually, a chaotic affair. Team RWBY was again taking full advantage of the facility to stack their plates with as much food as possible. JNPR were more modest in their selection, though only slightly in Nora's case. They had gotten their food first and were waiting for RWBY to arrive.
She was just about to start digging in when a crash made her stop and turn to look. Jaune had fallen to the ground next to the table and spilled all his food over the floor. The cause of it wasn't due to any clumsiness, but the large, brown-haired boy standing next to him.
"Gotta watch where your going, Jauney-boy" Cardin sneered, barely trying to hide the fact that he had tripped Jaune. He quickly beat a retreat before any of Jaune's teammates could raise out of their seats. His cowardice was plain to see, as he completely avoided Team RWBY and the others of Team JNPR, going solely for the one unable to fight back.
A despicable bully, through and through.
Pyrrha got up and quickly went to her partner's aid, while Jaune tried to wave her off and state that he was fine. Nora remained in her seat, glaring daggers into the back of Cardin.
What he was doing was…not right. He was bullying Jaune as a way to get back at RWBY for humiliating him. He didn't have the backbone to directly challenge them, so he went after their friend. With Pyrrha giving such a great showing in Combat Class, she was out of the question and both Ren and Nora had good reputation for their skills and strength respectively. That left Jaune as the easiest, risk-free target.
For the last few days, Cardin had been relentless in picking on Jaune; tripping him constantly, bumping into his injured arm and once making his shield deploy in the classroom doorway, knocking him to the ground and getting him reprimanded by the teacher for not being more careful with his weapon.
They had all repeatably told him to go to the teachers and report Cardin but Jaune had refused. Cardin was crafty enough to always do these away from the teachers and where neither JNPR or RWBY could immediately react. One more harsh lesson in manners from RWBY would probably be enough to get him to back off but Jaune said that this was his problem to deal with. A real Huntsmen could handle any problem, be it human or Grimm.
It sounded like stupid male pride to Nora. The only reason Cardin was targeting Jaune was because his arm was broken, which was her fault. She wanted to help and glaring at the retreat form of Cardin Winchester, the only solution she could think of involved lots of violence.
"Should break his legs." She thought darkly to herself, her anger building. "Break his arms, break his face, break EVERYTHING!" Her muscles tensed as she began to envision bringing what she saw as righteous retribution to the person causing Jaune so much grief.
Jaune, who had been nothing but kind and generous and open to her…
Ren suddenly grabbed Nora's left hand, snapping her out of her thoughts. She looked at her partner in confusion before realizing that her left hand wasn't on the table holding her fork. Unconsciously, she had dropped her fork and raised her hand to her neck; right to the released switch of her Limiter.
Nora slammed her hand back to the table and placed her other hand on top of it, as if to hold it in place. Her breathing quickened as panic gripped her. She had almost released her Limiter, unleashed her power in a crowded place. She…she could have hurt or killed so many people, would have. She was a monster, a complete monster!
Ren leaned in close to the hyperventilating Nora and gently placed one hand on her left arm and the other around her shoulder. If anyone had been looking closely, they would have noticed the two suddenly seemed to have lost their colour.
No one was looking, so Ren's use of his Semblance went unnoticed. Along with shielding people from the Grimm, it had a strong calming effect in general.
"Nora, breathe. It's alright, no one is hurt. It's okay…" Ren whispered over and over into her ear. Slowly, Nora began to calm down and her breathing steadied.
"I'm…I'm okay…" She said.
"Nora…you need to control it, control your temper." Ren chastised.
"I know, I just…"
"You have to control it! I won't always be here to fix it." Ren's voice grew hard and cold, as it often did during these episodes.
"I know!" She growled back. The two locked eyes for several moments before Ren looked down. Nora followed and noticed that his gentle grip was now digging into arm. Ren immediately let go and muttered an apology.
Jaune and Pyrrha returned, Jaune having a new tray of food. Ren only glanced at Jaune before turning away with a blush. Nora had no idea what that was about and went back to being her happy-go-lucky self just as Team RWBY arrived. Even if she wasn't feeling joyful, she had learned that it was better to pretend then to wallow in the truth of what she was.
Anything was better then that.
Nora took a deep breathe to settle herself. Despite the conflicted emotions she felt towards Ren right now, she always wanted to stick extra close to him after one of her episodes just in case. It was safer for everyone that way.
Jaune looked on with concern. "Nora…are you and Ren okay? If you need me to talk to him or something, I'll gladly help. I'm you team leader after all."
"No, no. This…it's just a little personal thing between us. You don't need to bother yourself with it."
Jaune turned away and leaned against the railing. "Yeah…don't need me mucking things up even more. I'm a pretty sorry excuse for a leader…"
Nora turned in shock. "W-hat? No. I didn't mean it like that. I just…you are doing a great job so far." She walked up and stood beside him, concern written on her face.
"So far…how longs that going to last?" Jaune said, his voice tight. "Nora I…I don't belong here. I didn't go to Combat School or anything like that. I faked my transcripts and its only dumb luck that I made it even this far. Pyrrha's being treated unfairly in Combat Class, you and Ren are having problems while I can't even deal with a single jackass bully. And if Ruby and her team were suddenly in a bind, I would be no help at all. I'm absolutely useless."
Nora didn't know what to say. Despite her friendly attitude, she never had any other friends besides Ren before coming here, so she didn't know how to comfort and help someone when they were in need. Hell, Ren had a huge ongoing issue and she was no help there at all.
Going with her gut, she gently laid her hand on his arm.
"Well, you're here now and I don't think you're useless at all. But if you think you need to improve yourself, Beacon is the best place to do that. If you need to get stronger, then I'm more then willing to help."
Jaune looked down at the short girl, a smile slowly coming to his face. "Thanks, I appreciate it. Though I doubt I'll improve a lot."
"You hadn't seen what kind of training I do." Nora laughed softly. "When I'm done with you, you'll be one of the strongest here. You'll be so good, you'll be sweeping all the other girls off their feet and into your…not-harem."
Nora was worried that she may have crossed a line there, given his early reaction to that word, but his happy chuckles let her know he knew what she meant.
"I don't think it works that way. Besides, I don't want a huge number of partners or anything." Jaune turned aside slightly. "And they don't all have to be girls…"
Nora raised an eyebrow at that little revelation but didn't say anything. Her question must have shown clearly on her face though.
"I was always taught that love had no boundaries, not one, and it up to you to find what makes you happy. I was raised in a polyamorous family and that's was normal for me, what loved looked like. I would like to have something like that, but that's for the future. I'm at Beacon to be a Huntsmen, not pick up future wives or husbands. Not that I have any experience with girls or guys, but relationships are something I know you have to work on over a long time."
Jaune looked over at darkening sky, slowing nodding to himself.
"I would guess that being a Huntsmen wouldn't be much different. It something that needs lots of work to do and if its something that I really want, I can't give up so easily."
A bright smile came to his face as he looked back at Nora. "Thanks, Nora. I really needed that."
"Seems to me that you mostly convinced yourself." Nora replied with a smile of her own. "So, do you want my help with training?"
"I…I'm not sure. Part of me wants to do this on my own but another part realizes that I'll need all the help can get to catch up. Give me some time to think about it, okay? Let's focus on just having fun this weekend and leave training for next week."
Nora nodded and turned back to watch the sunset with Jaune. For a little while, she forgot about her earlier episode, her anxiety over it and her desire to find where Ren was. She found herself completely at ease around Jaune and it wasn't until much later that she realized how strange that was.
Neither of the two teens noticed the white figure eavesdropping at the doorway, and who quickly dashed away when they were finished talking. Nor did they know that someone else was listening in at the window below; listening in and planning.
The weekend began tomorrow, and it was going to be eventful.
That's the end of this JNPR-focused chapter. There will be more of these in the future, as I do like JNPR and will be making them a major part of this story, but I will try and spread them out. The next chapter will probably be fairly short, with a speedy conclusion to the Bully Arc, after which we will be heading into the Volume 1 finale.
Atlesian Suplex = German Suplex. This and more Pro-Wrestling moves will be showing up in this story.
One aspect of the show that I wish was done was to highlight what an average Huntsmen's skills were and how the main characters stacked up against that. Pretty much everyone is supposed to either be a famous elite or are incompetent. There were times while watching that I wondered why this particular group of young warriors is so special over anyone else, especially when their fighting skill were sometimes inconsistent.
For this story, Team RWBY are among the best of their generation and when fighting together, are almost unstoppable. Pyrrha is still the single best fighter out of the group, but not by as large a margin as in canon.
Team JNPR will be in their own polyamorous relationship and after this chapter is should be clear that the first focus will be on JaunexNora. This is one of my favorite pairing and will be getting a lot of attention from me. Arkos and Renora will be there of course, just that there going to a bit later down the line. Ren and Nora have some very serious issues to work through first, which we will be going more into later.
I've decided to go back and remove the instances where the Xiao Long Sisters kissed each other on the lips. These are only pecks, but it seems to have put off some people. I've decided to have the Sisters only start kissing each other on the lips when their relationship starts to become fully romantic and it will be a fairly big thing for them.
I've also changed Ruby's last name from Rose to Xiao Long-Rose in all the previous chapter except the first. The main reason is that the phrase, 'Xiao Long Sisters' can go back and forth as to whether it includes Ruby or not. I want to include all the girls together, as them being a single unique unit is important to this story. Story-wise, Ruby was born as Ruby Rose but later changed her name to Xiao Long-Rose because she wanted to share her name with her sisters while still honouring her mother. Many adults will still call her Miss Rose, to specifically identify her and to highlight her position as Summer's biological daughter. The phrase 'elder Xiao Long Sisters' will refer to Yang, Blake and Weiss.
Thank you all for the support and please continue to leave reviews, as they really help. I welcome any ideas you may have for this story, as there is still a lot I'm figuring out as I go. Case in point, the notion that Pyrrha had an older brother who died in the same shipwreck that sent Weiss and Blake to Patch, and thus linking her to this story's first major event, only occurred to me halfway through writing this chapter. I can't say what I'll use and when, but I appreciate it none the less. I also ask for feedback on this story, not just the broad story and the pairings but also the smaller things like the unique character quirks I've introduced.
I also apologize for any spelling and grammar mistakes in this and previous chapters. I do try and proofread these chapters, but a lot still slips by me, especially near the end as I'm rushing to finish the chapter. If there are any major mistakes, please don't hesitate to PM me.
That's all for now, so thanks for reading and I'll see you next time.