Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Pyrrha” twitched as the announcer used her epithet: the “Goddess of Victory.” She knew it wasn’t his fault she loathed the title.

After all, how could he know that she had once been a ruler from another planet—a man who had dedicated his life to destroying the gods? He had once been called Yharim, the Godseeker. The Golden Heretic. Or rather, she—as Yharim—had reincarnated on the planet Remnant as a redheaded baby girl. Her skin was far paler than it had been before, now marred and tainted by burn scars left by the gods. At least she had retained her hair color. Not that it was much of a consolation.

She resisted the urge to bury her head in her hands and thought about how she had ended up in this situation. It was probably the result of Yharon’s domain over rebirth mixing with the bond they had shared. Their souls had been tightly linked indeed.

At first, she hadn’t remembered anything. But by the time she was four, vague memories and emotions started surfacing. Mostly guilt and sorrow. Not the healthiest thing for a four-year-old to feel. Her parents had said she was a quiet and somber child.

As she got older, she noticed more differences. She was too quiet, too sharp, too serious. It all made sense when she unlocked her aura. Honestly, wearing your soul like a jacket still sounded ridiculous, but it worked for the people of Remnant.

She had awakened her aura at five, when she’d wandered off to find a quiet spot to read—a habit she hadn’t realized she’d kept from her old life. A Beowolf attacked her, and when she woke up, it was gone. Her head was full of memories, her body glowed with molten-gold aura, and a four-eyed baby dragon was curled up in her lap, fast asleep.

She didn’t know how Yharon had found her, or why he was a baby again—especially considering that in their past life, he had hatched big enough to fly her out of the underworld. But after watching him coo in his sleep, she decided not to question it, and merely be thankful for his presence.

She had to hide him, obviously. People would ask far too many questions if they saw a mythical creature cuddling their daughter. It took a miracle to keep him hidden from her parents, but Yharon’s loyalty and their faint telepathic link helped.

When she returned home after the attack, her parents scolded her thoroughly. She accepted it with a sheepish smile. That night, when the fear and shock finally caught up to her, she cried quietly in her bed. Yharon snuggled up beside her in an attempt to comfort her. It worked. The idea of having parents who truly cared was still new to her, even after years with them.

As she gently stroked Yharon’s head and listened to his soft purring, Pyrrha considered her future. Yharim’s life had ended when the Terrarian struck him down. She was Pyrrha Nikos now, no longer bound by his responsibilities or past mistakes.

She was free. Truly free, for the first time in over a century.

She stifled a giddy laugh and took a deep breath. She was tired of fighting people. At least huntsmen didn’t fight wars. They fought creatures—soulless, mindless monsters. That was more tolerable.

Of course, she knew huntsmen didn’t only fight Grimm. Eventually, she’d have to face another person. Maybe even kill again. But at least that wasn’t the point of the job.

Once Yharon’s purring slowed and he fell asleep, she decided to get some rest too. She’d talk to her parents in the morning about becoming a huntress.

To her surprise, they were open to the idea—though clearly worried. She appreciated their concern more than she could say.

Soon after, Pyrrha began work on a new weapon. She forged a sword, infusing her aura into the steel during the process. The result wasn’t true auric metal, but it was close. Closer than anything this world had seen. She called the alloy “Auric Steel.”

Infusing aura into weapons wasn’t unheard of, but few could do it well. Even then, the benefits were minimal—slightly better durability, maybe a bit more strength when channelling aura. Most didn’t think it was worth the effort.

But Pyrrha was different. Her semi-auric soul gave her aura a divine quality. Stronger. Brighter. More alive.

The sword resembled a palette-swapped version of the True Tyrant’s Ultisword. Where black had once coated the blade, it now shimmered faintly gold. The gold highlights had turned to dark steel. She named it Dragon’s Fury.

Once she enrolled at combat school, her instructor quickly recommended entering tournaments after seeing her skill with the oversized weapon. Pyrrha agreed. She was curious to see how she matched up against her peers.

Unfortunately, she had overestimated them.

She had expected some difficulty, especially adjusting to a new body and a different fighting style. She didn’t even have a semblance. But the other students were underwhelming. She won every match with ease. Titles and praise followed. She tried not to let it go to her head. After all, she was just an old warrior beating children in duels.

The announcer’s voice snapped her out of her thoughts. The match was starting.

She sighed, lifted Dragon’s Fury, and charged her opponent.

Chapter Text

Pyrrha hid a grimace as a blonde, scraggly huntsman-to-be hurled all over the floor of the airship. She was not looking forward to the prospect of interacting with her peers before boarding the airship.

The sad reality was that her meteoric rise in fame meant that people interacted with her to try and take advantage of her fame for their own self-interest. That, and her normally neutral expression outside of fights tended to put off some people. Additionally… her charisma hadn’t exactly changed for the better during her self-imposed exile before her death, and her lack of friends didn’t help her remedy that.

She shifted uncomfortably in her new armor. It was reminiscent of her old auric armor, with the glowing blue highlights replaced with the same shade of red as her hair and minus the helmet which she could mechashift on to her head at a moment’s notice. Finally, she returned to the same stiff, unmoving position she had adopted the whole ride, the same position she used to sit in when she once ruled as Jungle Tyrant.

She really wished Yharon was here with her at Beacon. While she had set him loose in the Emerald Forest in case of any emergencies, she had warned him to stay far away from Beacon to prevent him from being spotted.

Pyrrha took a slow, controlled breath as the airship’s engines cut off and its door opened before standing. She could face anything, bring the former Jungle Tyrant — that didn’t mean she couldn’t find the whole ordeal painful.

Pyrrha walked out of the airship and stopped. Despite the fact that her own palace was once a place that eclipsed Beacon in grandeur, it still impressed her.

The majestic towers of Beacon seemed to skewer the very sky, piercing into the heavens. It was by far the most impressive thing she had seen on Remnant. While she had once owned buildings larger and more lavish, a building of this scale with Remnant’s relatively inferior technology was practically a miracle.

Her head turned when she heard a crash and some yelling. Fighting practically the moment they landed felt like a bad omen. She walked towards the commotion to intervene.

“You should refrain from doing that. Dust is quite volatile,” an inflectionless voice cut into the white-haired girl’s tirade and somehow startling the sneeze out of Ruby.

She turned to find a tall, red-haired girl — no, a woman — who seemingly materialized out of nowhere, cutting an imposing figure in her gold armor.

She looked like a person belonging in the battlefield, not Beacon’s courtyard. Was she already a student here? No, that was unlikely. She wouldn’t be in the courtyard if she were. She also looked… kinda familiar?

Nah, she was probably imagining things. “That, or seal your vial correctly. I doubt the dust should be escaping the way it is,” continued the woman.

The white-haired girl grit her teeth as her face flushed with either anger or embarrassment. Judging by the girl’s attitude, it really could’ve been either of them.

She fired off a quick “Mind your own business,” before paling drastically. That, or she reverted to her original skin color. Ruby couldn’t really tell because of how light the girl’s skin was normally. Seriously, that couldn’t be healthy. Was she a vampire or something? Maybe that is why her hair is white. She is just really old. Wait, no, she was standing in the sunli-

“I-I apologize Ms. Nikos. My behavior is most unbefitting of someone of my station, and I will rectify my attitude immediately,” the white-haired girl said stiffly, cutting into Ruby’s inner ramblings.

She raised a finger and opened her mouth as though about to ask a question before seeming to think better of it. She closed her mouth with an audible clack before turning and hurrying off somewhere while her luggage was carted away.

The woman watched all this with a blank face except for a slightly raised eyebrow. She then turned to Ruby with her head tilted in a way that reminded Ruby of a bird. She extended her hand for Ruby to take before helping her up. The woman then paused before speaking.

“…I am Pyrrha Nikos. Might I have the pleasure of knowing your name?”

Yes! Now was her chance to make a friend! Yang would be proud when she told her. After she yelled at her, of course. What kind of meanie abandoned her sister the way Yang did? Realizing Pyrrha was still waiting for her response, Ruby beamed and introduced herself.

“Hello! I’m Ruby Rose, nice to meet you!”

“A pleasure to meet you too.”

An awkward silence lasted for a few moments before Ruby whipped out her precious Crescent Rose. Pyrrha tensed for a moment, her hand twitching, before relaxing. Heh, whoops.

“So— uh, this beautiful thing here is my weapon, Crescent Rose. She’s a scythe and a high impact sniper rifle,” Ruby grinned as they began walking away from the courtyard and towards Beacon.

“Truly, a beautiful weapon,” Pyrrha replied, a faint smile tugging at her lips. “You seem very attached to her; did you perhaps build her yourself?” she inquired.

“Yep, made her by myself. Actually, that isn’t true. My uncle Qrow helped me build her. Anyway, where’s your weapon, Pyrrha?”. Such a cool and intimidating person must have a sword that reflects that, right?

Pyrrha’s smile widened before she unsheathed a gold sword that was exactly that. It kind of looked familia- wait, is that Dragon’s Fury?

Pyrrha’s eyebrows shot up and her smile changed into a look of mild surprise. Oops, looks like she spoke out loud.

“You… seem to be familiar with my weapon?” Pyrrha inquired, bemused. Her head was once again tilted in that bird-like way.

Ruby chuckled sheepishly. “I love reading weapons magazines and Dragon’s Fury has been featured before,” she replied awkwardly.

Pyrrha’s eyes widened with realization. “Ah, I do recall giving permission for that to be published,” Pyrrha stated, the smile back on her face.

They walked in silence for a few moments and Ruby suddenly had a realization.

“That other girl already knew your name… do you know each other?” Ruby asked.

“We do not know each other, but rather know of each other. I am rather well known in the competitive fighting scene; hence my weapon being featured in that magazine. She is Weiss Schnee, the heiress to the Schnee Dust Company,” Pyrrha intoned.

Ruby took a second to mull over the information and grimaced. Yep, definitely not a vampire. The only thing Weiss would be bleeding dry was her wallet. She should’ve recognized the hair.

“Hey there ladies!”

Pyrrha and Ruby turned to see—

“Vomit boy?” Ruby blurted before slapping a hand over her mouth as Pyrrha grinned. Poor social skills strike again.

The boy’s face flushed, and he opened and shut his mouth a few times before just sighing.

“The name’s Jaune. Jaune Arc. Say, do either of you two know where we’re supposed to be headed?”

Pyrrha watched as Ruby scurried off towards her sister and Jaune shifted awkwardly to her side. Her head suddenly jerked to the side in astonishment as she felt something she hadn’t felt coming from another person since her transmigration to Remnant... Was that—

Her eyes locked onto the headmaster who stepped forward onto the stage. That man seemed to contain a large amount of magic. She knew this because once you had unlocked your aura, your very soul was always bared to the world. It was how the grimm always found people with aura.

Pyrrha forcibly relaxed and untensed her body. The magic itself seemed to be bound not to his body but in his very being. Soul magic. It was the only explanation. That wasn’t where it stopped, oh no. She wouldn’t have been able to sense the magic at that distance if it were a regular form of soul magic. The very essence of Ozpin, Headmaster of Beacon… was filled to the brim with rebirth magic.

Oh,  by the ancient dragons…

Clearly, the rebirth magic had enough soul magic entwined within it to mask its presence from Yharon and her for so long. Had it been purely rebirth magic, Yharon and she would have sensed it long before, having absolute control over the domain. How irritating.

If she tried sensing the magic, she could tell that it was structured in a way that indicated it was a sort of ritual, but she couldn’t make heads or tails from it.

Ozpin gave a short, strange speech and walked off after giving instructions to prepare to retire in Beacon’s ballroom. Pyrrha absentmindedly headed towards the aforementioned location, still distracted by the recent revelations.

Weiss was feeling… conflicted. On one hand, she really needed a competent partner. She would settle for nothing less. On the other hand… she had lost control of her emotions in front of Pyrrha Nikos, who would definitely be the strongest fighter in their year. Having a strained relationship with her partner from the get-go seems like a recipe for disaster.

So, she decided to seek her out before bed. Maybe she could ensure that Nikos bore no ill will towards her. Furthermore, it may make Nikos more receptive to her request of partnership the next day.

She walked over to where Nikos was standing in her nightgown. Next to her was that annoying child and a bulky blonde girl. The Child seemed to be in discussion with… the girl in the black bow who had insulted her family earlier. Ugh.

Regardless, she pushed on. This would be worth it.

“-Unfortunately, the real world is not the same as a fairy tale. It isn’t all sunshine, rainbows and unicorns.” the girl with the bow spoke with a forlorn look on her face.

Nikos held up a finger. “Are unicorns not… evil?” she mumbled, bemused. Everyone just turned to her, baffled.

What?

“… next you’ll be telling me dragons are beings of peace and goodness.” The blonde chimed in with a strange expression on her face. 

“…are they not?” replied Nikos, frowning, and with her head slightly tilted to the right.

What.

Every person listening in to their conversation just stared.

Weiss turned around and walked away, pinching her nose in hopes of alleviating the headache Nikos caused.

It seems as though her hopes of getting a competent partner had been smashed by a sledgehammer, thrown into a blender and used in a smoothie belonging to the menace that was Pyrrha Nikos.

Initiation was going to go just great.

Chapter Text

Initiation was not going great. Granted, having Jaune, her… friend as her partner should’ve been a good thing. He was quite entertaining, if only for his ability to somehow blunder his way into a corner and dig himself a deeper grave. Unfortunately, this extended to his ability in combat.

It wasn’t that he lacked a bit of experience. It was that he had no experience whatsoever. She had seen people with more skill the first time they had taken up a sword. Some people Yharim had known had even achieved impressive accomplishments with little experience and training under their belt. Jaune was most obviously not one of those people. Painfully so, in fact.

“Jaune,” she spoke flatly.

“…Yes?”

“Have you ever even swung a sword before today?”

“Y-Yes, of course I have!”

Pyrrha’s dead expression turned into a glare, and Jaune wilted quickly under her intimidating gaze. “Have you really?” she said, her tone deceptive light.

Jaune was not one for social cues and interaction, but even he understood the threat for what it was. “…O-Only a few times” he mumbled sheepishly.

Pyrrha groaned.

“I’m sorr-“

“Shut up. Follow me.”

Her tone lacked heat to it, letting Jaune know she wasn’t truly angry, but he definitely still felt shameful judging by his expression. She turned and walked towards where she presumed their objective was.

Pyrrha suddenly felt her telepathic bond with Yharon flare up. “[Curiosity] Friend-Master alright? [Concern]”. Pyrrha smiled softly as Yharon’s communications reached her. His speech and awareness seemed to have regressed slightly- and frankly, it was adorable. She suspected that he would soon begin to grow larger and regain the rest of his memory and his mind. In the meantime, she enjoyed fawning over him.

“[Love] Do not worry. I am fine. Merely frustrated with someone.”

“[Joy] [Love] Love you, Soul-of-my-Soul.”

Pyrrha smiled and reciprocated the emotions projected towards her. She licked her lips and rubbed her hands together. If Jaune was useless at the moment, that was fine. She would more than pick up the slack. However, if he was no use in a fight-

She turned “I am going to carry you through this initiation. I am going to train you whether this pleases you or not.” Whatever expression she wore on her visage clearly informed him that this wasn’t something he would enjoy, judging by how scared and close to tears he looked. Good.

-then she would make him into the stuff of myths and legends.

Pyrrha ran through the forest, easily dispatching any Grimm that approached them. Jaune, who had long since gotten tired, was hefted onto her shoulder in a fireman’s carry. He looked violently ill at this point, but she didn’t want to fall behind the other pairs in case they were being timed.

After a short while, they made their way into a clearing containing the ruins the partners were attempting to locate. A couple of people stood in the ruins, examining the objects placed upon the pedestal. 

Yang was engaged in discussion with Blake when she spotted them. Her face brightened and she grinned.

“Hey Pyrrha! Nice of you to join us,” she yelled, beckoning them over. “Our relics are chess pieces,” she called while holding up a white knight.

Pyrrha dropped Jaune, who fell onto the floor with an ‘oomph’ that she ignored. She walked over to the ruins in long strides. Pyrrha paused, her index finger on the top of a rook and her face scrunched up in concentration.

“Do you… hear that?”

Yang was about to reply but was interrupted by the screaming increasing in volume. Blake pointed up, dumbfounded. The sound was not increasing in volume. It was increasing in distance. Yang extended her arms and grunted as her sister landed in them.

Ruby blinked owlishly and Yang just stared back. A beat passed before Ruby cheered her sister’s name and brought her in for what could tentatively be called a hug.

“Do you… hear that?” repeated Pyrrha. A look of dread passed over Yang’s features before she tilted her head upwards, suddenly frightened.

Her gaze then snapped on to the forest as an orange haired girl came crashing into the clearing on an Ursa of all things with her partner trailing behind her, panting heavily.

“Did that girl just ride in on an Ursa?” muttered Yang, whose expression was somewhere between scandalized, offended and absolutely done.

“I think so,” her partner replied dryly.

“Is she insane?”

“…I think so. Then again, your sister did just fall from the sky.” Blake looked like she was stifling a snort when Yang suddenly realized that Ruby was still in her arms and when she suddenly looked worried, as though she had offended Ruby.

“Hey guys!” Jaune exhaustedly grinned as he appeared after puking his guts out, before his breath caught in his throat. The group looked up slowly, Jaune with apprehension, Yang with terror, and the rest with amusement.

“How could you leave me?!” screamed the white-haired girl, hanging onto a Nevermore while glaring at Ruby, who looked sheepish.

“…She’s falling.” Blake noted blandly.

Jaune extended his arms as Weiss fell rapidly closer. Weiss’s face flickered from fear to extreme revulsion, then to embarrassed realization. She twisted her body and kicked off of a glowing blue-white glyph that flickered into existence, placed vertically. She flipped gracefully and bounced off another glyph to bleed off some speed before landing with a roll.

Jaune nervously moved his arms behind him, as though nervous she might see them. He opened his mouth to say something before being cut off as Yang’s patience died valiantly in the battle against the general insanity of the world.

“I can’t take it anymore! Could everybody chill out for two seconds before something crazy happens again?!” she screamed, eyes and hair blazing, the former metaphorically and the latter literally. The Nevermore gave what might have been a screech of protest, had it been sentient.

Yang turned her baleful glare upon the Nevermore, which wasn’t yet smart enough to know that an angry Yang was something to run from and would never get the chance to. The pairs each scrambled for a piece before taking up battle stances.

“…wait.” Pyrrha stopped them, forcefully. 

Yang turned her irate gaze to Pyrrha, and both Ruby and Nora looked like they were contemplating charging into action anyway. Pyrrha’s head was bowed, and her helmet was on, obscuring her expression. Her hands twitched on her oversized blade before she cried out, as she swung her sword and her aura highlighted the blade.

Shining gold energy flew screaming out of the sword which took the shape of the blade, spinning in a blur. The projectile flew just over the shoulder of the circling Nevermore before it curved and moved through the Nevermore diagonally. It screeched as the cut burst with shining gold particles, the projectile disappearing. The beast crashed into the ground as a wing and a small part of the rear end of the Nevermore were separated from it in a perfectly clean cut, tail feathers included.

They paused in astonishment, Blake with a pale face, before Pyrrha started cackling madly. Her semblance was sword beams! They broke out of their trance when Yang grinned and charged into the fray to avenge her patience and her sanity, and the others followed suit. The Grimm had recovered its balance and stood, looming imposingly above them. It didn’t stand a chance. 

Ren and Ruby each sliced off a leg, and it collapsed again, its head hitting the ground where the cable of Gambol shroud lay. Yang fed it blazing red shells after Nora shattered its mask with the help of Weiss, who used her weapon as a chisel for Nora to hit with her hammer.

The Grimm thrashed violently, and Blake, standing atop it, pulled on the cable of her weapon. Its head forcibly jerked skyward and bared its neck which Pyrrha split in twain, separating its head from its body. The clearing was silent for a moment before everyone cheered. 

Pyrrha gazed critically at Jaune, who hadn’t contributed to their victory. She paused. The road to being a legend is a long one. We all have to start somewhere, after all. It requires dedication, determination, and training. Lots of training.

Jaune tensed as he caught her gaze and saw her expression and gulped, before nervously turning away.

Ozpin’s eyebrows were faintly raised and his eyes slightly wide. Glynda gaped unashamed at the sight on the headmaster’s scroll.

“It seems this year will prove to be an exciting one, if nothing else,” noted Ozpin as he recomposed himself.

Glynda groaned as she imagined the inevitable chaos.

Exciting was one word for it.

After making their way back up the cliffs (Jaune on Pyrrha’s shoulder), they each presented their chess pieces to the headmaster who collected them and looked at their exhausted expressions with a knowing grin before ushering them into the auditorium.

The auditorium was blissfully cool, and they were all provided with bottles of water which they each accepted gratefully. The audience, which seemed to be composed of older students, clapped as their group took their seats, some more enthusiastic in their applause than others.

Ozpin took up the microphone and made a brief speech, well aware of the tired students. He called the students up on to the stage one by one.

Pyrrha grinned as Jaune gaped at his role of team leader and gave Jaune a friendly punch in the shoulder, causing him to stumble. It seemed that she wasn’t the only one who saw his potential. Her grin faltered slightly when she saw the headmaster in the corner of her eye. One did not use soul magic lightly. She would be watching him very, very closely.

At last, they were escorted into their respective rooms. Pyrrha chose a bed by the wall, that was furthest from the door. She dressed into her nightgown, snatched something from her belongings, and collapsed into her bed, shutting her eyes and exhaling. She inspected the object in her hands. The Yharon-shaped plush toy looked back at her. Certainly not her finest work, but a masterpiece nonetheless. While definitely not a good substitute for Yharon, she brought it to her chest and closed her eyes again, cuddling with it.

She flared her link with the dragon eponymous with her plush toy and sent her love and affection, which he enthusiastically returned, and rested.

Chapter Text

Pyrrha hummed in dissatisfaction and twisted in her seat, cracking her joints. The empty classroom was illuminated by the late afternoon sunlight seeping in through the windows, and the very faint glow of the bottle containing the souls of flight extracted from the wind dust on her desk. For the amount of crystals she used, the quantity she managed to push out with her magic was very little. She had hoped that lower-grade dust merely contained more impurities that hindered its power, but it seemed the dust itself was inherently weaker. She had expected this, but it was no less irritating.

Pyrrha sighed and collected the magically charged dust crystals in the hopes they might be useful. Perhaps Weiss could get her a discount to buy some of the more expensive grades of wind dust. She closed the dust bottle’s lid in two turns and picked it up, along with the bottle of the souls of flight, and concealed them inside a duffel bag, which she slung over her shoulder.

She made her way back to Team JNPR’s dorm and set her duffel bag by her bed. She glanced over at Jaune, who was taking a much needed nap, and smiled. Ironically, school days exhausted him less than weekends as she intensified his training without needing to be concerned about his exhaustion affecting his academics. He really had come quite far. While he was by no means an exceptional fighter yet, he was an exceptional student and had managed to defeat Cardin when Jaune had challenged him to a rematch.

Of course, he stood little chance of winning against the titans of their year; namely, any of RWBY’s team members. He was able to last an impressive amount of time against all of them but Ruby, despite getting utterly trounced as he had gotten accustomed to her own swift and punishing strikes. Ruby was a much more challenging opponent, since she had taken it as her duty as Jaune’s friend to help train him and knew his style inside out. It didn’t help that Jaune could hardly defend himself against her overwhelming speed.

The door opened gently and Ren walked in, his eyes darting to Jaune. Ren turned and quickly clapped his hand over Nora’s mouth, who was about to announce their presence with a shout.

Pyrrha chided her softly, “Should you wake him now, there is little chance of him being able to return to his rest. It is for the best that we leave him be.”

Nora’s eyes widened slightly as she saw Jaune asleep, and Ren pulled away his hand as she looked suitably chastised.

“Sorry!” Nora whisper-shouted. Her eyes found the duffel bag. “I don’t think I’ve seen that bag before, what’s inside?” she asked.

“An experiment. I am creating… something of a last resort. Should it succeed, then it will be a powerful tool indeed,” Pyrrha said, her voice soft. “I would ask of you not to look inside, but relying on your impulse control is an exercise in futility, so I will be concealing it somewhere safe,” she teased.

Predictably, Nora pouted, and thankfully didn’t seem too offended. Ren looked mildly curious, though he didn’t voice his thoughts aloud.

“Come on, just give us something! Is it a weapon? Is it a new flavor of pancakes? Is it a weapon that shoots pancakes?! That explode?!” Nora asked, getting more and more excited.

“No,” Pyrrha responded flatly.

“Is that a no to the pancakes or a no to the weapon?” Nora asked, undeterred.

“No,” Pyrrha repeated in the same tone, fighting the grin tugging at her lips.

Nora deflated and groaned softly with a mumbled, “You’re no fun.”

Pyrrha just rolled her eyes. Nora shot her a glare.

“He improved very quickly,” Ren suddenly spoke, his eyes on Jaune. “You must be an excellent coach. Generally, being naturally talented and being a good teacher don’t overlap often,” he noted, and smiled at her. Pyrrha grinned back.

“How presumptuous of you to assume that my combat proficiency stems from natural talent, and not a skill honed through long practice,” she jabbed at Ren, who just huffed.

After the sun had set and they had retired for the day, Pyrrha had come to the realization that for the first time, she had made friends she would fight for, who saw her as an equal. Her genuine smile was hidden by the dark in the dorm room.

Pyrrha raised her eyebrows as a silver haired huntsman-in-training by the name of Mercury challenged her to a fight.

“I’m afraid Miss Nikos has just finished a match. I recommend you choose another partner,” Professor Goodwitch responded, ever unflappable.

“But she’s barely even winded!” Mercury whined.

“It will be up to her then,” Goodwitch acquiesced, and turned to Pyrrha, who gave a sharp nod.

Mercury beamed and made his way to the arena, and Goodwitch announced the start of the match.

Immediately, Mercury’s gaze sharpened and he began to slowly circle around Pyrrha, who just stood and watched him.

He suddenly exploded into action, and launched into a rapid flurry of kicks.

Now, Mercury was a formidable foe, who seemed to have mastered his style. However, there were four reasons why he wasn’t going to land a single hit on her.

One — Pyrrha, or rather Yharim, was far more experienced and had fought enemies blindly fast. Mercury could hardly be compared to them. His seemingly quick attacks and movements were practically telegraphed to her.

Pyrrha dodged all of Mercury’s attacks lazily and effortlessly. Mercury retreated and then charged at her to build up momentum for an obvious roundhouse kick.

Two — his style had a flaw, and was particularly weak to her own. His style relied on being able to deliver a constant stream of attacks. To build up momentum for heavy, more powerful attacks, he had to  either jump or go into a spin, both of which made it incredibly difficult to dodge.

Pyrrha waited and carefully timed a sword beam to hit him in the back mid-spin, causing him to stagger and leaving him open to be struck by her sword. His eyes widened when he realized what occurred — surprisingly, it seemed as though news of her semblance had not traveled far. Mercury gritted his teeth as Pyrrha did not capitalize further and merely watched him passively.

Three — the more confidence a fighter has in themselves, the more frustration they encounter when they encounter an enemy that seemingly overpowers them yet dismisses them anyway. And the more frustration they feel, the more mistakes they let slip.

Mercury rushed her, repeatedly shooting his legs forward towards her in a barrage of kicks, Pyrrha let herself be pushed back, blocking with one arm and losing aura. With the same arm, Pyrrha grabbed his shirt and slammed him brutally into the ground. Several students hissed in sympathy. Louder than them was Nora yelling in approval. 

Finally —

She leaned in close to his ear as the hit to the back temporarily disabled him, her face upside down in his vision.

“You will not stand a chance unless you choose to fight me with the intent to win. Even then… I still outmatch you,” Pyrrha murmured before flashing him a smirk as his eyes widened.

“I forfeit!” he called out.

Goodwitch narrowed her eyes and looked between them. Pyrrha’s smirk stayed on her face for a good few hours after that.

On the day of their first mission, Team JNPR had been rudely awoken an hour earlier than they meant to by Jaune’s scroll ringing loudly. Jaune answered his scroll, a call from Ruby, but all they heard was static and indecipherable noise. Since there was little chance of them returning to sleep, Team JNPR prepared themselves for the long day ahead of them.

While Jaune once again voiced his concerns for Ruby and her team — understandable, considering their reputation for being the team that always accidentally stumble upon places they had no place being —  they paused as a loud siren shattered the peace of sunrise with its piercing wail.

… It was the siren that indicated a grimm breach.

Well damn.

They rushed to the bullhead, and waited as the bullhead got the clearance to depart. The ride was occupied by a tense silence. Even Nora’s ever bright demeanor had dimmed, and she wore a grim expression on her face.

They readied themselves, and dived on to a horde of grimm.