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Requested By : Polemoduke

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The media was in an absolute frenzy by the morning after their return, already swamping Beacon in calls for interviews that the Headmistress had a legal obligation to relay to her. Every agency and news site on Remnant, seemingly, wanted to know where they'd been. How they'd made it. Who had died, if anyone. Unending, it went on and on, demanding, begging, pleading for a quote they could use, a comment, a line. Anything they could get out of her, as if they were entitled to the story, somehow, simply by being news makers. Simply by asking.

It was enough for her to miss the island…

"Hey." Pyrrha blinked, turning away from the Scroll she had open on her desk - denying every request Goodwitch had to send her - to where Ruby was standing, smiling thinly and holding out a chicken sandwich for her. "Food for your food hole."

"My food hole…?" She snorted, taking the sandwich and setting it beside her Scroll. "You're ridiculous."

"Yup yup~" She nodded, shooting Pyrrha with a finger gun and plopping on the edge of Pyrrha's bed chewing on her own sandwich and asking around a mouth-full of food. "Dey shtill shtoopid?"

"I speak several languages, Ruby." Pyrrha chuckled, "Full-mouth-anese isn't one of them, I'm sorry to say."

Ruby rolled her eyes, swallowed, stuck her tongue out at her and asked, "Are they still stupid?"

"As is their nature, I suppose." Pyrrha shrugged, taking a bite of her sandwich and realising exactly how hungry she was - and how much she'd missed the greasy, empty calorie mess that was a spicy chicken sandwich with barbecue sauce and onion rings on top. Grunting, she took another bite and murmured, "Dis good."

"Hey!" Ruby squawked, "I thought you didn't speak full-mouth-anese?! Liar! Deceiver!"

"Dork." Pyrrha countered, shaking the sandwich at her gently and adding. "Thanks, though. Needed this…"

"I figured, yeah." Ruby sighed, "Ah, empty calories… How I've missed you."

Pyrrha chuckled quietly - it seemed they were of one mind, at least here - and turned back to her Scroll. Five more emails had come in while she'd been distracted, all replying to her denials and trying to cut deals or pressure her into changing her mind. She hated it, it felt like a waste of time, but the only option was to keep working through them until they stopped… Or risk letting her agents decide what to do regarding them.

Which had an obvious end point she wasn't particularly eager to rush towards, frankly.

"So…" Ruby started, hopping up and pacing over to stand beside her, "Whatcha doin' tomorrow?"

"Likely declining more press requests." She sighed, "Or caving in and planning one…"

"Yeah, I noticed your Scroll exploding…"

"Why," she sighed, "do I feel like there's another half to that sentence?"

"I also had a, uh, creepy lady find me outside the jogging ring earlier today." Ruby admitted, stepping back when something dark flared up in Pyrrha and she spun around. Laughing, Ruby said, "Security, uh, dealt with her. And she didn't do anything weird, other than, you know… Hiding in a bush. It's fine. I just… It made me realise how hectic things might start getting, soon."

"Indeed." Pyrrha sighed, easing back into her seat, "Vytal is soon, but… Until then, every tabloid and paper on Remnant wants a story out of me."

"TV, too…"

"Yeah." She sighed, shaking her head. VTV and MistralToday had both been in her emails, too. More than once - more than ten times, in fact - but… "They, at least, are covered by libel laws. So at least until I give them something, they can't run much of anything at all."

"Are the papers not…?"

"Not if they're only sold in one Kingdom." She shook her head, "Broadcast between Kingdoms is, tied up in treaties and the like as the CCT is. But a paper can write whatever they like, true or not, so… I suggest avoiding them for a while."

"Rumor mill?"

"Like you could never imagine, Ruby."

"Well…" Ruby smiled, "Guess that makes my idea, like, way better, then."

"Oh?" She smiled, in spite of the stress of it all, and leaned back to take another bite of her sandwich. "How so?"

"Well, I know Weiss has her thing…"

"Her opening ceremony performance, yes." They'd learned when they got back that her father had set her up for a performance at the Festival, here in Vale. Quite an honor, she'd reassured them all when Jaune looked ready to very well swim to Atlas to see her father over it.

"Jaune is gonna stay with her, of course. She got him premium seats, after all, and he has wanted to hear her sing for a long time. We all know about his Scroll's little folder of Weiss' performances, ya know?" Ruby chuckled and Pyrrha smiled knowingly. He'd only mentioned it once, and even then only in passing, but Jaune was the proverbial man with the glass eye, and willing to wait and let it lie when Weiss didn't seem happy with the idea. Shrugging, Ruby said, "So… I was wondering… Are you busy for the week?"

"The week?" Pyrrha scoffed, "What could we possibly do for a week?"

"Go Hunting." She smiled, "Press can hardly complain if you aren't around to, uh, do interviews if you're out helping villages kill Grimm…"

"No, but…" Pyrrha shook her head, "Headmaster Ozpin and my sponsors-"

"Already agreed!" She smiled, flashing away to the door, where she'd hung her pack, and back to Pyrrha's side so quickly it showered the Mistralian in the smell and feel of roses. She blinked and looked down as Ruby handed her a little folder, bouncing back when she opened it, "In honor of the Vytal Festival, and what it represents…"

"Mistral proudly offers Pyrrha Nikos herself to the protection of her ally's villages." She read out, a smile tugging at her lips, "Sponsored by People Like Grapes… Ruby, how did you get them to agree to offer this?"

"It wasn't hard." She shrugged, "I told Ozpin I'd, like, super appreciate it and he said… I could owe him a favor."

That was… Ominous, but the offer was good. It had a ledger for a pilot and Bullhead to meet them at the end and drop them off, credit for supplies, a sponsored offering of ammo, and a map of an area about a hundred miles in diameter. Much of it was forest, south and west of Vale, but a few of the villages were out in the plains. Leagues away from where they would shift into scrublands and, eventually, the badlands between Vale's territory and the great deserts of Vacuo.

It was… An excellent hunting ground, frequented by powerful Grimm.

But…

"Even with the four of us, I doubt we would be capable of this…" She looked up, "What aren't you telling me?"

"Well, we have to leave tomorrow…"

"And…?"

"W-Well… We'll have an escort." She smiled, bouncing eagerly and gesturing at the door. "My uncle!"

After a few moments of nothing, Pyrrha turned to her and asked, "Is… Something supposed to…?"

"Yes…" She sighed, shaking her head and flitting away in a flash, through the door. Moment later she came back, dragging a sleepy-eyed man by the arm who stumbled into their dorm, burped quietly and gave Pyrrha a lazy wave. Suddenly bashful, Ruby clapped weakly, "My uncle! Yay…"

"Ruby…"

"He's a great Huntsman." She promised, "He taught me everything I know, and-"

"If you trust him," Pyrrha smiled, "I'm sure all will be well. And it's a lovely idea."

"So…?"

"Why not?" She smiled, "Let's go. I could use the excuse to get away from all these reporters until…"

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"Everything quiets down, in Vale…" Weiss nodded, smiling thinly, politely, as she watched Ruby carry her bags up the ramp while Pyrrha stayed to say her goodbyes. All while Ruby's oh so illustrious uncle down on one of the seats inside, mouth moving soundlessly in his sleep. Frowning, the Mistrali added, "If you would prefer us stay, Weiss…"

"What?" She blinked, "No, no. If anything, I'm jealous. I'd much prefer to be out there with you. Rather than playing fair pony, prancing about for my father…"

"We could always just go." Jaune shrugged, laying a hand on the small of her waist gently until she leaned to the side to welcome it, and he wrapped his arm around her waist and held her more firmly. She flicked him a look, eyebrow raised, and he shrugged, "What?"

"Jaune," she sighed, "I can't just run away."

"What is Jacques going to do, walk about the countryside looking for you?" She rolled her eyes and shook her head, turning back to Pyrrha. "Forgive him. He's a bit dull when he has his arms around a beautiful girl. He's easily distracted, you understand."

"Oi."

"Quite." Pyrrha smiled warmly.

"Oi!"

"Excuse me." They both turned as a man in a flight-suit approached them. Unlike Atlas', his was lighter in the armor and brown, with the symbol of Vale on the breast and an open-faced helmet with a flip-down visor. He also wore a small sidearm on his thigh, in a worn strap that spoke of experience. He gave each of them a nod of respect, then turned to speak to Pyrrha, "Supplies are loaded, and fuel is taken, Ma'am. We're to dispatch in five minutes."

"Very well." She nodded, "Thank you, Captain Flight."

"Of course." He nodded, turning to head into the waiting airship without a backwards look.

"Good luck with your performance." Pyrrha smiled, "As much as you may not enjoy it… You are skilled."

"Good luck with your Hunt." Weiss nodded, gratitude, resignation and a pang of irritation crackling to life and mixing in the pit of her stomach. It was a familiar cocktail she tamped down easily enough - it wasn't like Pyrrha was at fault for Weiss' father being the typical excuse for a man that he was.

So she waved as Pyrrha turned to leave, and lingered long enough to see the airship off before she turned and looked up to Jaune, "So…"

"So?"

"We have a few hours before we need to head for Vale to meet my handler…" She smiled, "Care for a dance?"

"With or without the armor…?"

"Without." She smiled, leaning up to peck a kiss at his chin before she pulled away and added. "You have got to work on your speed, after all, Sir Arc."

"Look…" Jaune sighed, "Just because one of us can dilate time if she has enough Dust…"

Weiss only laughed as she slipped through the door into Beacon's halls.

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Jaune grunted as Weiss leapt and ducked at the same time, flicking Myrtenaster between them to force him to block rather than try to charge her in the same motion she summoned a Gravity glyph between them that she stood on horizontally. It was only for a second, though, before she pushed the force out into him and her both, sending him reeling while she leapt and spun, landing on another and propelling herself at him with a powerful rapier thrust. Which he barely caught on his shield, turning to let her momentum send her past him where she landed, rolled, and spun on a knee, smiling at him as she came up and he charged.

Myrtenaster caught Crocea Mors mid-swing as they met, and Weiss turned and slipped around him as he swung his shield into her to try and shove her back. But, before she could collect herself, he threw himself at her and slammed into her mid-section elbow-first, drawing a muted 'whoof' from her and propelling her back a step as he stumbled, caught himself, and brought his shield around into her shins, sparking off her Aura but, more importantly, knocking a foot out from under her. Which, combined with how winded and off balance she was, sent her tumbling to the padded floor of the sparring arena where she looked up along the sword he put to her neck to meet Jaune's eyes.

"That," she smiled, "was excellent."

"Yeah, well, like you said." He grunted, sheathing the sword and offering her his newly freed up shield-hand, tugging her up. "I have weight behind me, so I should use it and keep my enemies off balance."

"I meant it more proverbially." She told him, smiling still as he shrugged and wrapped an arm around her. "But good work. You have continued to learn incredibly fast, Jaune."

"I have a good teacher."

"Miss Goodwitch?"

"Eh." He shot her a look, "I was thinking someone a bit…"

"Cuter?"

"Shorter, yeah." He smiled, dancing away when she tried to elbow him in the side. Throwing his hands up in surrender, he retreated towards the men's showers and laughed, "Hey, short girls are cute!"

"Run away, Arc, run away fast!" She warned playfully, "Before I stab you!"

"Didn't you try that five minutes ago- Hey!" He ducked under a shard of ice the size of his thumb and pointed a finger at Weiss as she vanished into the women's showers. Still, he called out, "Ice shots are cheating, Weiss-cream!"

He could feel her indignation from through the walls as he ran into the small shower that adjoined the training room and hopped into the shower.

Weiss was actually waiting for him when he came out a bit later, leaning against the wall between the doors and listening to what sounded distinctly like cat videos on her Scroll. She had one foot propped on the wall and seemed so engrossed, she didn't hear him coming. So, quietly, he snuck towards her, pressing close against the wall until he neared the corner he could just see her around. Finally, smiling, he prepared to leap and-

"Don't you do it." She cut his thoughts off, making him stumble a step as she pushed off the wall and turned, one brow raised. "Arc, I heard the shower stop."

"That doesn't mean you knew I was there…"

"You also took a while to come out, which meant mischief or a bathroom break." Weiss smiled and backed up a step, raising her chin imperiously. "And I, as wise as I am, just knew that you would be up to some mischief. After all, I am an excellent girlfriend and know you incredibly well."

"You just flipped a coin," he crossed his arms and smiled, "didn't you?"

"Do you want me to answer that, or would you prefer a kiss later?"

"Wow." Jaune smiled, shaking his head and snapping his fingers. "I can't believe you know me so well, Weiss. Darn. I'll have to think my pranks through way better to get one over the smartest girl this side of… Well, anywhere, really, won't I?"

"You're adorable." She smiled, leaning up and turning her head in a clear invitation he was happy to take, leaning down to give her the quick, stolen kiss she often enjoyed in the halls. When she pulled away and turned, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and listened to her sigh and ask, "Are we hungry now, Jaune?"

"Oh I'm starving." He nodded, watching her as they walked, as he so often did. "And all I have is this snack I got out of Atlas…"

"Oh you absolute buffoon…" She shook her head, thumping his chest playfully. "Come on. Something grilled sounds delicious."

"Oh, maybe some chicken…"

"Oh, chicken and rice?" Weiss cocked her head, smiling as they walked, "That sounds wonderful…"

"We could get that tomorrow." Jaune suggested, "Head into Vale, find somewhere decent. There's a cheap enough hibachi grill Nora mentioned a while back they found. I'll buy."

"Jaune, I am dirty levels of rich." Weiss chuckled, smiling ruefully up at him. "We should hit up Filio's. What better way to spend my father's money than at a Faunus grill-house, after all?"

"Fair." He smiled, "And we are alone, so… Date night?"

"Date night." She nodded against his chest, "At least while we have time…"

Jaune frowned, but nodded and let it lie. If Weiss wanted to vent, she would, and he wasn't going to push her on that. Instead, he simply hugged her tighter and asked, "How did you pull off that Gravity trick, by the way? That was pretty slick, even for you, blasting it both ways."

As she launched into a detailed explanation of her Semblance, he smiled and relaxed.

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Polemoduke Headcanon 1:

Ruby found a joy in dancing ever since the Dance and Jaune is the best dancer on the team and her best friend so they bond and goof off through Jaune teaching her dance moves to popular pop songs. Pyrrha is sometimes convinced to join in, but mostly Pyrrha and Weiss like to watch their partners have fun.

Headcanon 2:

Blake, needing more than just one hobby growing up in the Fang, learned how to play Guitar. She's also the best singer on NYBL but she's most familiar with sea shanties and folk music. She's easily peer pressured into singing and playing her guitar when it's just her team and PRWJ.