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  This chapter has been edited by Lonestar, Reiter, and SurvivorSam.

  Thursday, 24th of August

  Jaune sighed as he stared at the scroll giving him a No Connection error message. He rubbed the back of his head before reaching for the cup of coffee and taking a deep gulp.

  “Everything alright?”

  He gnced at Bke as she looked up from her book, her cup of tea nearly empty. They were seated at a cafe in the skyport where they waited to board the airship to Beacon. Jaune, Bke, and Ren chose to patiently wait for the boarding call while Weiss, Ruby, Nora, and Yang explored the vast skyport.

  “Not really. I’ve been trying to contact my family in Vytal for a while now. I thought I could use the skyport’s rey tower to reach them, but to no avail.”

  “Ah, you will have to use Beacon’s main terminals in the CCTS tower for such a long-distance call.” Lie Ren nodded sagely. “Although, I believe there is a simir terminal somewhere around here.”

  “...Never mind then. I don’t wanna go searching for it only to find it crowded.”

  Just in case, Jaune activated Search and gnced around, finding thousands of Aura signatures all over the skyport. A rge cluster of them were at the top of the skyport, many with above-average reserves. He wagered that’s where the terminal was, but it would simply be too bothersome to go for it when boarding was about to be called.

  Lie Ren shrugged before returning to his breathing exercises, Bke also returned to her book, leaving Jaune to his thoughts. It was nearly five in the afternoon, and the boarding call should be announced at any moment. The day had gone smoothly enough as he and Weiss gave their farewells to Becky and their temporary home at the Wayward Mermaid Inn, before meeting with Ruby and Yang at the port. From there, they took a bullhead to the Commercial District, where Nora and Ren stayed, finding out Bke had spent the night with them.

  The cat-faunus may have compined a lot about Nora, but both girls had grown on each other. Though, Jaune noticed that Bke preferred Ren’s company purely because it guaranteed silence. In fact, both of them were usually so silent that Jaune felt like he was intruding on them whenever he even breathed.

  Sighing inwardly, he reminisced on the rest of the day. Having a hefty lunch at some high-end restAurant that the sisters insisted on inviting them to—considering their windfall, they had gone on a spending spree tely, though hardly anything foolish. At least they left their bikes in Patch, where their father promised to send them over once they passed Initiation.

  Thinking about Taiyang Xiao Long had Jaune chuckle inwardly. The man had not been amused when he found all of them at Junior’s. Yang and Ruby were forced to fess up to all the mischief they had done, yet the man eventually sighed and hugged them closely. Jaune had greeted him then and, after a brief discussion about the whereabouts of Torchwick, Taiyang had taken his daughters away. Jaune had wondered if the man knew his daughters now had enough money to live comfortably for many years.

  Asking Yang and Ruby when they met a couple of days ter gave him some thoughts.

  “Dad insisted we properly report the money to the government,” Ruby grumbled. “Something about taxes and other annoying stuff, but thankfully they didn’t take a lot.”

  “Yeah, just a few thousand Lien for fines or whatever.” Yang shrugged. “Honestly, I think it was more like bribes to grease enough hands so that no one would notice that two seventeen-year-old girls’ bank accounts suddenly jumped by half a mil.”

  Becky ter expined; Money undering. Taiyang was far more shrewd than he thought, yet he had not bothered to warn him or Weiss about it. Thankfully, Becky was more than willing to help clean that money through a few businesses she ran.

  His gaze wandered to the nearby screen, where Mayor Thorne was visiting some orphanage. The man had a permanent fake smile pstered on his face, as would be expected from a politician, but waved at the camera as he handed gifts to the children. A reporter was saying he and his family sponsored many orphanages in Vale, and while admirable, Jaune had no doubt it was all a PR stunt.

  Or maybe that was just his cynical side speaking? He sighed, as long as they did good, Jaune did not care about the motives.

  Thinking back on the rest of the day, after lunch they headed to Meg’s, met the other owner and bought up more supplies before they headed here. Jaune had not given any abilities to the rest of his group; Only him and Weiss had Storage, though he did wonder what held his hand this time. Most likely his test discussion with Krystal; he may have told him about not wishing to waste MP, but perhaps he should see about investing in something.

  Checking on his table mates and finding them both busy, Jaune closed his eyes and looked inwardly. “Hey, Krystal? Up for a spin?”

  “Certainly, Jaune. Which one will you choose? Reroll for your INT perk? Or perhaps try for a new ability?”

  Jaune thought for a moment and decided to py it safe, “One random ability roll.”

  “Very good, sir.”

  Suddenly, a wheel of fortune appeared in midair, yet no one could see it apart from Jaune. It had been some time since he st saw it, but it never ceased to amaze him how many abilities there were on the thing. He barely had time to gnce at it before it began spinning, the sole arrow expanding and contracting as the wheel spun until finally, it stopped at:

  “Hair Control?”

  It was a D-Ranked ability, and as he tried to use it, he grimaced heavily; it worked exactly as it sounded, allowing him to control the length of his hair.

  “Hmm, perhaps you could go for another spin?”

  “…No, I knew this was not worth it. Thanks, Krystal, you may go now.”

  “As you wish, Jaune.”

  Jaune sighed again but decided to py a bit with his new ability. After excusing himself for the restrooms and finding a private toilet, he stared at himself in the mirror and explored its capabilities. A few minutes of subtly working the ability, he noticed it barely drained his Aura. Jaune also realized the extent of Hair Control; his ponytail had shrunk back to his head, before he lengthened it down to the middle of his back. His eyebrows twitched as they grew bushy, forming a single brow, before they retracted to their original shape. The hair on his arms thickened so much he looked like a golden ape, causing him to burst out in ughter as he stared at himself in the mirror.

  “Maybe this would be funny to use the next time I meet Adrian.” It’s been over a year since he had met his nephew, and Jaune wondered how he was doing. “Hmm, I wonder if it also affects color?”

  At that thought, Jaune willed all his hair to return to normal, aside from keeping his hair slightly longer and spikier, as well as fixing his eyebrows to give a more sword-like shape than his normal thin and girly ones. Then, he imagined his hair growing darker and grinned as it shifted from yellow to gold, to a yellow so deep it looked dark brown, almost bck but not quite. Going to the other spectrum, he discovered he could change his hair color to a yellow so pale it looked nearly as white as Weiss’ hair.

  “Hmm, so I can only control the shade of yellow. Interesting.”

  Not sure how this could be useful, Jaune decided on one st experiment, causing his hair to grow so long it reached the ground before willing it to float around him like tentacles. It was tough, but he managed to have his hair split into several branches and writhe like snakes in the air, but required too much focus and Aura for limited control. Nothing serious to him, but still noticeable.

  “So, limited in scope, but certainly interesting. Then again, I highly doubt I will ever find this useful except for party tricks.”

  Jaune returned his hair to its original shape and color before leaving the restroom. Once he returned to the table, he found the rest of his friends waiting for him.

  “Ready to go, Jaune?” Weiss smiled when she saw him. “They already called for boarding.”

  True enough, Jaune noticed the terminal was emptier than usual and realized his friends were waiting on him. “Sorry for the wait, let’s go.”

  They grabbed their things and made their way to the airship. After storing their weapons and bags in the lockers, though Jaune and Weiss naturally had no luggage as everything was either in Storage or already checked in, they made their way to one of the observation decks, the girls chatting about one thing or another, just as the airship lifted off.

  They entered the spacious deck to find it crowded with hundreds of aspiring huntsmen, and Jaune led them to stand by the windows, near a lone figure dressed in a long coat. Bke, Nora, and Ruby quickly engaged in another discussion about pancakes or whatever, but Jaune and the rest took this chance to size up the competition.

  “I recognize several students from Signal.” Yang nodded towards a group, “They’re alright, I suppose, but not nearly good enough to give me a decent fight.”

  Weiss hummed, “What about you, Ren? Normally, Pharos students have their own airships, but since you joined us here, do you recognize anyone?”

  “No, and looking closely, I reckon most of these applicants come from the many prep schools scattered around Sanus. I believe many of them moved here during the war a few months ago, but they are a complete unknown to me.”

  “What do you think, Jaune? Did you find anyone interesting?”

  Jaune had already used Observe on everyone on the deck, over two hundred aspiring huntsmen in one pce was supposed to have his heart racing as he inspected each of them for a potential ally or even a rival to drive him on. Sadly, the reality was far more disappointing, as he sighed loudly and tried not to judge too harshly.

  “No, Weiss. No potential in this lot. In the politest way possible; I have no idea how any of them even graduated from prep schools.” He gnced at them again, noticing that a few of them at least realized he was using Observe on them, yet none of them managed to pinpoint where it was coming from, causing him to frown. “Barely worthy of being fodde–”

  Suddenly, something, no, someone, caught his eye. Jaune stared at the suspicious looking figure that was standing close by; so close that Jaune must have skimmed past them earlier, but now that he had his full attention on them, Jaune’s eyes widened in shock. Such Aura, such efficacy, such control, strength, and–

  They had everything!

  Profile:

  Name: (?)

  Css: (?)

  Age: 17

  Sex: Female

  Height: 6’1”

  Build: Curvy-hourgss

  Race: Human

  Stats :

  Aura Points: 2292

  Aura Recovery: 344/hr

  Aura Control: 93%

  Aura Efficacy: B+

  Strength (STR): 88

  Vitality (VIT): 92

  Dexterity (DEX): 112

  Agility (AGL): 91

  Perception (PER): 71

  Intelligence (INT): 74

  Who was it? Who was it that had such excellent stats that dwarfed even some of his own? Jaune Arc’s blue eyes bzed as they stared right into his target’s bright emeralds.

  T*A*M*S

  Earlier that day

  Beep-Beep-Beep

  The arm bred in the dark room, but the girl groaned as she extracted an arm out of her tightly covered body, absentmindedly smacking the clock until it stopped, before quickly returning it back under the bnket. The cold was so biting that she shivered pleasantly as she sank back into the pillow, snuggling deeper into the soft mattress, and gently snored away. Later, the arm sounded again, causing her to growl, but she was so cozy beneath the warm and comfortable bnkets, the girl just ignored it, burying her head deeper into her pillows. She was having a good dream…or so she thought, but she could hardly remember; maybe she could continue it when she got back to sleep.

  It was an unknown time ter, just as she was about to sink back to sleep, when the door to her room banged open and an elderly voice called out.

  “What’s with the racket? And why is it so bloody cold in here? You’re still asleep, Pyrrha?! Wake up, girl!”

  Pyrrha Nikos groggily opened her eyes to find the elderly face of her great-grandfather above her, shaking her awake. “Five more minutes…”

  “Girl, it’s nearly noon! Wake up or else you’ll miss your flight.”

  For a moment, Pyrrha didn’t answer until she processed the uttered words and her eyes sprang wide open. She yelped as she sat up so fast she would’ve hit the elderly man’s head if not for his own fast reflexes. Still, her bnkets were so tightly bound like a cocoon, just the way she liked it, she struggled to release herself.

  “Noon?! I set the arm for eight!”

  “And I just got back from work…you must have slept through all of those arms. And why did you make the room so chilly if you were going to cover up in so many bnkets anyway?!” Cherif Munier shook his head before grabbing the AC controller to turn it off. He walked to the balcony of her room, and opened the curtains, making Pyrrha grimace at the sudden sunlight. Then, he opened the gss door, letting in the warm humid air of Vale as well as inundate her ears with the loud cacophony of thousands of cars and people going about their day. “Hurry up now, we still have enough time for your shopping before we head to the skyport. We will have to eat something on the road.”

  “B-But didn’t you just come back from work?”

  “Never you mind that, girl! I won’t let you navigate Vale on your lonesome.” Great-Grandpa Cherif smiled at her from the bedroom’s door. “Knowing you, you’ll have a whole army of rabid fans stopping you at every corner for a picture. We’ll take my patrol car, so make it quick.”

  As Cherif walked away, Pyrrha finally managed to extract herself from the bnkets before stumbling out of the bed towards the bathroom. “Thank you, great-grandfather!”

  “Don’t call me that! Call me grandpa or gramps!” Came the shout from the hallway, but Pyrrha was already stripping in the bathroom and hopping into the showers. Within a few seconds, she sighed in relief as the hot water fell on her skin. Pyrrha grabbed a loofah and soap and started scrubbing herself.

  She had arrived in Vale yesterday evening and had not had the chance to explore the massive city. Pyrrha had thought Argus was rge, at least rger than other popur cities in the region, like Massalia on Vytal, but Vale was on a completely different level. Mistral was also massive and even more crowded than Vale, yet none truly saw the entirety of the city because of the massive mountain range it was built in, on, around, and underneath. Her great-grandfather Cherif had welcomed her at the airport with his partner, Raya Seeker, who then quickly took her to the bathroom to disguise her properly. Pyrrha had hoped her popurity had not made it to Vale, but judging by the few people she interacted with so far, from airport security and control, to other passengers on the Airbus, she had been naive.

  First thing to go was her lucky tiara and any other bronze accessory that may hint at her identity, packed away in her luggage until she arrived in Beacon. Next, her long hair was gathered and tied into a bun and covered by a beret. Finally, a heavy brown overcoat and dark shades hid her body and face just enough that people would not instantly realize it was her. Pyrrha was lucky that Raya was simir to her in both stature and size; why the older woman had such a coat in summer with her was waved away as job necessities.

  “You may never know when you need to go undercover.” The stoic woman smiled as she beheld Pyrrha’s appearance. “Excellent. Now you only look suspicious and up to no good, instead of a diva screaming to the world to come and attend her.”

  Pyrrha pouted as she recollected that memory. Her armor was not just for style! It was very practical and efficient, especially when combined with her combat style and sembnce.

  After that, they managed to sneak away and properly greet her great-grandfather. Her memory of him was vague, as she had only seen him once many years ago when her mother visited him in Vale following the death of her grandfather; some inheritance issue or another, but Pyrrha barely remembered.

  Her father was alive back then too. There were aunts, uncles, and younger cousins she never knew existed and Pyrrha had a vague sense that great-grandfather Cherif had not been pleased with her mother, but it was probably due to the death of his firstborn. Nevertheless, with her enrolling in Beacon, Pyrrha had two options when she arrived in Vale; rent a hotel and hope no one recognized her, or nag her mother to give her Cherif Munier’s contact information.

  Pyrrha had been delighted when she called him st week and he enthusiastically greeted her with a promise to pick her up, offering his guest room for her to stay in. Still, she always had this nagging feeling that things would still go wrong somehow; that reporters and others would discover her in Vale, hounding her every step to Beacon. Thankfully, grandpa and his young partner were smart and efficient, taking her from the airport and dropping her at his apartment before they had to go to work.

  Pyrrha had been so nervous the past few days and barely slept at all. Even on the Airbus, the passengers who recognized her irritated her to no end. She didn’t mind her fans; after all, if there was one thing Pyrrha was proud of, it was her combat prowess and her accomplishment in the Mistral Regional Tournament. She just wished people would see her for herself, Pyrrha Nikos, rather than just the four-times champion. Her participation in the tournament was to prove her strength, and show the results of her training as she prepared for her career as a huntsman; even if Huntsmen were not allowed to participate, there were many fighters all over Mistral who eagerly participated for the glory and fame, as well as the generous cash prize.

  Pyrrha would not deny she loved the fame and the adution of the fans…at first. But it quickly became tedious, and she began to wonder if her fans liked her, Pyrrha Nikos, or their idea of what she should be.

  It was no easy task to beat Aura users from all over Mistral, some older than her parents, yet she still succeeded through pure combat skills. Pyrrha rarely used her sembnce in those fights; whether it was out of confidence or keeping it as a secret weapon, she ended up proving her strength through her martial skill. Her mother initially wanted her to show off, but quickly changed her tune when she realized the media would burn with specution on what her sembnce was. Pyrrha truly loved her, but her mother sometimes took her fame too seriously and couldn’t help but feel vexed that she helped prop her up as this idol for the masses to desire and adore.

  She understood the people needed a shining figure to look up to in their eternal conflict against the Grimm, but it sometimes became too much. Why would it have to be only her? She did not truly seek the limelight. Pyrrha would rather be a frontline fighter, taking the fight to the Grimm, than hanging back and pying a character for the people. So her fame became a curse, as even her childhood friends either shunned her, used her, or treated her like a stranger as if they had never known her.

  She did not recall when she st had true friends.

  Pyrrha needed to get out. She could not stand going to Haven and dealing with all of those expectations. She only ever wanted to be a Huntsman like her te father, to protect the world from the threat of the Grimm. Being a champion for the people was just a bonus, not her main goal. Her mother disapproved but after a lot of back and forth, finally agreed to let her go, yet warned her that her fame would always haunt her, even in Vale.

  She hoped she would be wrong, that she could simply blend in with the millions of people in Vale and enroll in Beacon like a normal girl wishing to do good in the world. The reality was disheartening. At least, great-grandfather was understanding when she called and expined the situation, promising to help her as much as he could. Cherif turned out to be a godsend, as her enrollment in Beacon had somehow been leaked, judging by how Pyrrha saw her face pstered all over the massive city. Billboards and rge screens had her in some very risque attire that she could not recall ever wearing—or was that really what her armor looked like from that angle?

  Old advertisements of her pyed, some of them were even when she was only thirteen, having been duped into accepting a contract for that terrible cereal; she had wanted her own spending money after winning her first tournament, but swiftly regretted it greatly.

  At least her mother had found out and decided to become her manager, allowing her to focus completely on her training.

  Once she had arrived at Cherif's apartment, she immediately fell asleep in her room. Which expined why she slept for so long; her great-grandfather had just returned from his night shift. She shook her head as she got out of the shower and stood in front of the mirror—the shower not long enough to cause it to fog, and Pyrrha watched her tall reflection staring back at her.

  It was not her fault that she grabbed so much attention. Even if she managed to hide her identity, people on the streets would still stare at her due to her blood-red hair and emerald eyes that seemed to shine as a side effect of her rge Aura reserves. Her eyes trailed down the rest of her body, showing soft unblemished skin with hardy muscles hidden underneath in her arms, prominent abs, and thick thighs; even if Pyrrha did not care for her looks, her mother, as her manager, did. She made sure she followed a training and dietary regimen that maximized muscle efficiency as well as gave her a beautiful appearance.

  She was not a vain woman, but Pyrrha did like her appearance. She knew she was beautiful; she would have to be dumb and blind to miss all those lustful looks people threw at her, even from the same sex.

  Still, Pyrrha cupped her breasts idly before turning sideways and looking at her bubbly butt; while a pretty face and streamlined body were easy for her with care and training, these two things have grown rger than she expected. Her butt too, but that can be attributed to her training.

  Pyrrha sighed before drying her hair and brushing her teeth. She dressed in a bathrobe, exited the bathroom for her room, and stood on the balcony overlooking the Residential District; the hustle and bustle of the city made it all the way to the balcony despite being hundreds of feet up. She appreciated that her room was soundproofed, yet the warm and humid air was unpleasant and made her long for the cool breeze of Argus.

  Pyrrha cpped her cheeks and clenched her fists before grinning at the city—it had not even been a day since her arrival, it would not do to let herself feel homesick already. She intentionally arrived only a day before Initiation to avoid any distractions. Vale had much to offer, and she looked forward to exploring it in the future—maybe with her team. Pyrrha felt giddy at the idea she could finally make friends who would respect her for herself and her abilities rather than her body or fame.

  “Pyrrha? Are you ready?” Cherif’s gruff voice sounded from outside her room.

  “Sorry. I’m coming, Grandpa.”

  Pyrrha hurried back into her room and dressed in simple clothes: a beige sweater and bck skirt, a pair of shades and a cute beret. Then, she covered it all with the same heavy brown overcoat that Raya lent her yesterday. She was already feeling the heat but it was better than the alternative; people discovering her identity. Following Raya’s suggestion, she left all her armor and weapons in a bag to not attract more attention to herself than necessary. Within a few minutes, she was dragging her luggage to the front door, her grandpa waiting for her patiently; she felt bad as she caught him yawning, but the elderly man quickly smiled as he inspected her.

  “You look lovely, my dear. Now, let’s hurry; you’ll need to stock up on Dust and ammunition.” Cherif grabbed one of her bags and led her to the elevator, where they rode it to the ground floor. “I still can’t believe they didn’t allow you to carry any onboard. The price of Dust has been steadily climbing for a while now.”

  “Well, there have been many incidents going on tely with aircraft hijacking and kidnappings.” Pyrrha grimaced as she recalled the situation in Mistral, bandit activity had risen greatly and this time, it was not the White Fang. “The Grimm have also been more active in the skies as well. Still, I’m sure mother could have talked to someone to allow my ammunition onboard, but that would defeat the purpose of me sneaking into Vale.”

  “All the more reason to allow everyone weapons and ammo in case of Grimm attacks, not just Aura users,” Cherif grumbled as the elevator arrived, and he led her outside. “Come on, Pyrrha. Let’s get a quick bite before we go.”

  Pyrrha followed her great-grandfather out of the building, greeting the receptionist and leaving her luggage with the doorman, whom Cherif instructed to pack them in his car. A minute ter, they were in a street different from the typical designs of Vale. She was too tired to notice st night, but the neighborhood that Cherif lived in felt like it came straight out of the region of Farsia far to the south of Sanus. Plenty of arches, mosaics, coffee and smoke shops, bakeries, candy shops, and more adorned the busy street. Her great-grandfather led her to a nearby street stall manned by a man wearing an eborate turban and sporting a fabulous mustache operating a rge grill, holding an incredible amount of meat upright.

  “Boss Cherif!” The man warmly greeted them. “It’s very rare to see you out and about at this time of day. The usual?”

  “Yes, Cyrus. One for my great-granddaughter as well.”

  “Two beefsteak shawarmas coming up for the bossman and his shy granddaughter.”

  Barely a minute after taking their order, they were already waving goodbye as they enjoyed the hearty meal. Pyrrha had never had something like this before, but it reminded her of the roasted mb she ate back home; the garlicky sauce was heavenly as it seeped into the juicy meat, pickled cucumbers and onions, hot peppers, and toasty ftbread. Soon, they were throwing away the paper wraps in a trash bin before Cherif bought two cups of freshly squeezed mango juice and led her to the garage underneath his apartment building where his patrol car was parked.

  “Did you like the food?” He asked after making sure her luggage was packed in the trunk and handing the doorman a tip.

  “Oh, yes, thank you so much, grandpa.” Pyrrha sipped on the straw with a happy moan. “The mango was also delightful. I’m sorry, that must have been expensive. How much do I owe you?”

  “Don’t be silly, girl! Let me spoil my great-grandchildren for once. Your aunts and uncles hardly visit with their kids anymore, and your mother and I don’t see eye to eye on things. Heavens know I don’t get to spend my money on anything else these days.” Cherif started the car and drove out of the garage. “I know a good pce for Dust and Huntsman products. It's a bit of a drive, but we should be there in an hour or two if we take the highway. Luckily, it's quite close to the skyport where the airships to Beacon will be setting off.”

  Pyrrha beamed, “Thanks grampy. You’re the best!”

  Cherif chuckled, and then they chatted about anything and everything. Pyrrha was dying to learn more about her great-grandfather, and she was surprised to learn he was so involved with Vale’s police force and the city’s rampant crime. For his part, Cherif asked all about her life in Argus, her time in Sanctum, the tournaments she won, the tough fights she fought, and why she chose Beacon over Haven.

  Pyrrha had gotten so rexed speaking to her great-grandfather that she unintentionally blurted out her super-secret sembnce—something that had Cherif ughing out loud when she confessed she hoped to keep it a secret due to how powerful it was.

  “You think you’re special? Well, you definitely are, at least to me, but don’t be so arrogant to think controlling magnets and metals to be all that special. I know a man whose sembnce is an utter cheat that allows him to empower himself and others, as well as instantly recover Aura. Yours, in comparison, sounds like a limited version of another associate of mine. I work closely with Beacon’s combat instructor, Glynda Goodwitch, and I’m sure she would be an excellent tutor for you. Especially considering how simir your sembnces are.”

  To say Pyrrha was shocked would be an understatement. Nevertheless, aside from feeling a bit miffed at the light-hearted rebuke, she felt excitement coursing through her veins as she realized her decision to enroll in Beacon was already paying dividends. They chatted more about Huntsmen and what to expect from school, comparing and contrasting what Pyrrha knew of Sanctum and Haven with Beacon.

  “Hmm, I don’t know much about Haven or any of the other schools, but Beacon is an excellent choice. Especially with this generation of students enrolling.” They had parked the car outside the rge store with the sign C&C’s Dusty Trinkets and entered, the doorbell ringing followed by someone welcoming them from the counter. “Alright, grab what you need while I talk to the owner.”

  Pyrrha was curious about the students enrolling with her, but she was quickly distracted by the plethora of options on dispy. Not wishing to waste time, she grabbed a shopping cart and loaded several boxes of standard rifle cartridges for Miló. Next were Dust rounds such as FDRs, LDRs, IDRs, and other elemental Dust rounds. Then were regur Dust capsules, several tools she might need such as fire starters and portable stoves, weapon care kits, first aid kits, as well as other miscelneous things she needed but forgot to pack in Argus. By the time she was done, her cart was filled to the brim with enough firepower to start a war…she giggled inwardly and wondered if the shopkeeper would think she’s weird.

  “Oh, are you ready, Pyrrha?” Cherif greeted her by the counter, where he was talking to two women. One of them was a brown haired rabbit faunus while the other was a brown-eyed blonde human who eyed her cart curiously before heading off to a backroom.

  “Yes, I am worried if I over-prepared, though.”

  “Nothing of the sort, dear. Let’s ring you up while Tanya comes back. Oh, I’m Meg, by the way.”

  As the rabbit faunus rang up her things, Cherif tapped on the counter in thought. “You mentioned our mutual friends came by a few hours ago?”

  “Ah yes, Jaune had an even bigger crowd with him this time. They loaded up on extra rations and tents for some reason, but who am I to refuse their business.”

  “They did, huh? Strange, someone like him would hardly need to prep so much.”

  “I know, right? I wonder what Ozpin pns for tomorrow. Tanya hinted that things would be different this time.”

  Cherif hummed and gnced at Pyrrha, “What do you think, girl?”

  “I’m sorry, but I don’t know enough to give a judgment.”

  “Never you mind then, we’ll make sure you're properly geared up and not leave anything to chance. Ah, here’s Tanya.”

  The blonde woman from earlier returned with a heavy bag that she pced on the counter, just as Meg finished scanning her st product. “Camping gear and supplies to st you for a week. I doubt anyone else will have pnned so thoroughly for the Emerald Forest.”

  “Thanks, Tanya. I’m sure that Peter would frown if he learned you told us that, but–”

  “Don’t worry about my husband, he is far smarter than he lets on. If he didn’t want me to learn something, he would not tell me. I didn’t say much, nor will I advise you on anything other than to buy this.” Tanya stared right at Pyrrha, and the Argus native was not foolish enough to miss what was not being said. “Your total, including a veteran’s discount courtesy of Cherif here,” her gramps scowled as the woman grinned pyfully, “will be ?8056.”

  Pyrrha nodded, finding the prices slightly higher than she expected, but Cherif did warn her that Dust prices were rising. She brought out her bank card and paid swiftly when she noticed Grampy was pulling out his own wallet, causing him to scowl, but Pyrrha folded her arms until he shrugged. Accepting some freebies from her great-grandfather was fine, but this was her stuff and she had enough money to not blink twice over such expenses.

  They started the arduous process of packing all she bought in an empty bag she bought. She would need to properly sort through the ammunition and other tools and store them in her pouches and bandoliers.

  “Pleasure doing business with you, and good luck with initiation. Ah, and one st thing,” Tanya Cinnamon added. “My husband, Peter Port, is an instructor at Beacon. He teaches Grimm studies, and mentioned that he’s going to be involved in this year’s initiation. Make of that what you will.”

  Pyrrha and Cherif waved goodbye as they got back to the patrol car, and her great-grandfather hurried through traffic towards the skyport. Vale had multiple smaller airports and Beacon had prepared several airships in two of them to ferry students to the school for those not wishing to take the bus; one near Pharos and the other that they were headed to.

  Soon, they arrived and Pyrrha was hugging Cherif goodbye. “It was a pleasure meeting you, Grampy. Try not to work too hard and get some rest. Mom may not act like it, but she really misses you. Maybe go visit her in Argus sometime?”

  “Hah, perhaps, but not now. I have plenty of things to do here in Vale.” Cherif patted her back before looking past her at the airships lined up at the skyport, like massive metal whales docked to a shipyard. “Go on now, we barely made it in time. Good luck and make some friends. Don’t forget to call me ter when you pass.”

  Pyrrha nodded, shouldered her bag, and dragged the cart holding the rest of her luggage to the airport. She looked back to find Cherif waving at her, causing her to smile; she had barely known him for less than a day, but mother was right, he was grumpy but had a heart of gold.

  After checking in her bags, keeping her weapons and gear in her carry-ons, and watching the workers load them in the baggage compartments, Pyrrha crossed the metal bridge and entered the airship. Crowds of Aura users her age were already boarding, yet none looked twice at her. She was gd that she put on her shades and hid her hair under a beret. Pyrrha followed the crowd of aspiring huntsmen to a sprawling locker room, where she stored away her things. People chatted with friends and colleagues from the same prep school as they discussed the Academy. Some introduced themselves as foreigners from Ats, Vacuo or Mistral, and easy conversation sprang up as the native Valeans happily chatted with them for information.

  As everyone filed out of the locker rooms and towards the observation decks, Pyrrha tried to insert herself in some discussions, but everyone just looked weirdly at her. It quickly dawned on her that wearing such heavy clothing in the heat looked quite suspicious, but she did not regret disguising herself, considering what happened next.

  “Oh yeah, did you hear that the Pyrrha Nikos will be enrolling in Beacon?” One of the boys loudly excimed and just her luck, the holoscreen had an ad featuring her running.

  “For real? No way dude! I’m a huge fan of hers!”

  “More like a huge fan of her bazookas.”

  “Hey, it’s not just the tits, but she has an ass to die for! I’d kill to have her sit on my face.”

  “I wish I could put my head between those thick thighs and have her squeeze so tightly–”

  “Ugh, you boys are the worst.” A group of girls rebuked the boys, and Pyrrha smiled; maybe they would– “Fawning over a slut who must have bought her fame with her body like that. Who knows how many rich and ugly bastards tapped that ass you’re fawning on.”

  “Yeah, no way anyone actually cares about some tournament that doesn’t allow huntsmen.” Another girl ughed gratingly, and Pyrrha sighed; it was not the first time she heard such things but she learned to ignore it. Men lusted after her, while women either scorned her or–

  “Well, with a booty like that, even I suddenly question my sexuality.” Another girl snorted in amusement. “I wonder which team she swings for?”

  Or that.

  “Heh, you girls are just jealous of her.” One of the earlier boys retorted. “And you guys are so predictable, fawning over her tits or ass or even thighs when her greatest virtue is her feet–”

  “Ew, man, gross!”

  “Freak!”

  Many of the boys and girls loudly mbasted the pervert, as if none of them had not said anything just as bad earlier. Suffice to say, Pyrrha had quietly excused herself, her face going slightly green as she hurried to the nearest observation deck. What was wrong with these people?! Were they really her age and aspiring to be huntsmen? Not just the boys, the girls were just as bad. She had really hoped she would be able to make friends in Beacon, but if all the students were cut from the same cloth…

  No, it was unfair to judge too rashly. There were hundreds of students on this airship alone, and hundreds more on others. Pyrrha still had hope that she would be able to make friends and form a loyal team around her, who would trust her as much as she would trust them.

  And yet, to make friends, she would need to properly introduce herself. She took off her shades and sighed as she watched Vale passing below them. The airship was quite slow, clearly made for rge storage rather than speed, but it was only a short distance to Beacon, and already, Pyrrha could almost see the tip of the massive castle in the distance.

  Voices from nearby grabbed Pyrrha’s attention, and she found herself staring at a strange group of two boys and five girls as they approached from the corridor and stood near her.

  “…And there were pancakes falling from the sky, Ruby!” A short girl with orange-haired excimed to a taller dark-haired girl dressed in a red cloak. “The whole world was like a massive pancake!!”

  “Oh wow! Were there any chocote sauce on them?”

  “Nope, it was all Forever Maple Syrup!”

  “Booo! What kind of silly dream is that? Chocote pancakes are the best!”

  “Hey, you take that back! Chocote is overrated and only tastes sweet because they dump so much sugar in it, you would get diatribes from it!”

  “It’s diabetes, you pancake monster.” A bored-looking girl dressed in bck and white and wearing a peculiar ribbon over her head chimed in without looking away from the book she was reading. “And I don’t want to hear you speak about health issues stemming from eating too many sweets.”

  “Geh, Bkey! How could you betray me like that?!”

  “Ha-HAH! Even Bke agrees with me. Chocote rules!”

  “Not really, I prefer strawberries.”

  As the three girls argued and bantered, Pyrrha found herself smiling; that was the kind of friendship she desired. Nearby, a blonde girl with lic eyes and a white-haired girl appeared to have a serious conversation with the two other boys.

  “What do you think, Jaune? Did you find anyone interesting?”

  Pyrrha perked up at the name, remembering the storekeeper and grampy mentioning it. She gnced sideways, finding the tall blonde young man humming as he inspected the rge crowd of aspiring huntsmen. She followed his gaze and for some reason, some whom his eyes settled on seemed to shiver and look around warily.

  Finally, he sighed in disappointment before turning to the white haired girl. “No, Weiss. No potential in this lot. In the politest way possible; I have no idea how any of them even graduated from prep schools. Barely worthy of being fodde–”

  He froze, and Pyrrha shivered as his gaze fell on her. It felt like someone pced a block of ice on the back of her neck, allowing freezing water to trickle down her spine. Pyrrha had the strangest sensation, as if something were intruding on her soul! Her Aura roiled in agitation, and she unconsciously bsted away a wave of red Aura that caused many of the occupants of the airship to look at her warily.

  Yet, none of that mattered to Pyrrha as she felt the sensation disappearing. She found herself staring at the grinning visage of the tall blonde man as he purposely walked towards her, followed by his curious friends.

  Dangerous!

  Every instinct in Pyrrha’s body told her this man was dangerous, and when she finally remembered to sense for his Aura, she nearly puked from how vast it was! She unconsciously squared her shoulders and took a combat stance; regrettably, she did not have any weaponry on her. The young man stopped a few feet from her, his dark blue eyes seemed to undress her, yet Pyrrha instinctively knew there was nothing lustful in his gaze. Instead, it was something entirely different, something that caused her to subconsciously smile as she knew she had found someone who could understand her.

  “You…” The young man said as he gazed heavily at her. “You’re Strong!”

  Pyrrha shivered and licked her lips, “You’re not too bad yourself.”

  “Although,” He inspected her from top to bottom and his brow twitched. “Why are you dressed like a B-Rated movie spy?”

  “Hey, it’s not so bad. It is not!” Pyrrha insisted as the blonde raised an eyebrow. “Anyway, don’t you think it’s a bit rude to come to a stranger and judge their clothes?”

  “Oh, but strangers are just friends we have not yet met. I’m Jaune Arc, what’s your name?”

  Pyrrha was about to answer before she froze as she noticed the white-haired girl’s eyes widen in shock as she seemingly recognized her. This was it, she would introduce herself, and this seemingly pleasant conversation would quickly turn into something not so pleasant. Yet, Pyrrha had eyes only for Jaune Arc; it was strange, she had never felt something like this before. Her Aura almost sang to her as she felt his own; such boundless Aura!

  “Pyrrha Nikos, a pleasure to meet you.” Contrary to her expectations, Jaune did not react much to her name aside from a nod. “You…do know about me, right?”

  “Naturally, hearing about you is entirely different from meeting you in person. You’re taller than I expected.” Jaune’s grin seemed to grow feral, “Truly, an incredibly impressive specimen.”

  Despite the creepy way Jaune worded it, Pyrrha was under no illusion that he was flirting with her. This was a man whom she felt an incredible kinship with. She had no idea how he could tell her strength, yet all her fight or flight instincts screamed at her to either fight him or flee; such an indescribable feeling, Pyrrha was undefeated even against huntsmen when she occasionally sparred against them. Never had she felt so conflicted about a potential fight; that there was a chance she could actually lose against an opponent. It was inconceivable, and yet, so, so exciting!

  “Oh? What is so impressive about me, then?”

  “Your Aura and its efficacy are superb for your age, but your control is better than most I’ve met. Almost as good as Weiss here,” Jaune pointed with his thumb at the white-haired girl, who looked shell-shocked as she stared at her in fugue while the blonde-haired girl beside her shook her shoulders while calling her name, “yet falling well short of Ren.”

  He gnced at the stoic bck-haired young man, who nodded to her, before continuing, “You still have a lot of room to grow in that department. Your strength, however, is close to Nora’s over there.” The bubbly orange-haired girl from earlier had approached with her two friends and perked up at the mention of her name. “You have such boundless vitality, nearly as much as Yang here.” The blonde-haired girl with lic eyes grinned at her before assuring Weiss that yes, this was Pyrrha Nikos, but she was not sure why Jaune and her were flirting so madly.

  They were not! None of them could understand!

  Jaune caught her attention once more, “—more agile than any of us apart from Bke and Ruby. Truly, you are the finest and most well-banced specimen in this airship!”

  The young man did not bother lowering his voice as he spread his arms to the side, as if truly witnessing something marvelous.

  “And what about you? You compare me to your friends, but make it sound like I’m not at your level.”

  “You are not,” Jaune Arc stated bluntly as he lowered his arms, causing her brows to twitch. “Yet no victory is certain until the battle concludes. Which brings me to this…”

  Suddenly, Jaune Arc pced a hand on her shoulder, gripping it tightly, while Pyrrha’s hand shed out like a viper to grab his wrist just as tightly. Idly, she noted Weiss muttering something about him confessing, while Nora and Ruby squealed in joy. Yet, Pyrrha Nikos already knew what she wanted from such a man.

  Both of them opened their mouths at the same time: “Would you like to spar?”/“Wanna spar?”

  Silence prevailed around them, but Pyrrha could barely hold herself from throwing the first punch; A powerful foe! A truly powerful foe approached her!!

  Her grip on his wrist tightened hard enough to crush bone, but she could barely feel the slightest give. Jaune’s grin only grew wider and full of teeth as his grip on her shoulder crushed through her Aura and she could feel a bruise forming.

  Her heart beat like a war drum and her blood boiled with indignity; she had lost the first bout.

  “Of course, that battlenut would only think about fighting.” Weiss finally sighed before pushing her way between them, yet neither of them would budge. “Yang, some help here? We really don’t want an actual fight to erupt here. Ren and Bke, could you send away the spectators? Nora and Ruby, back them up if someone decides to go rabid fan mode.”

  Several ‘Ayes’ sounded, and Yang gripped both of their hands before slowly forcing them to release each other. “Come on, you battle maniacs, you can have your fight ter. Unless the illustrious Champion of Mistral wants to deal with her fans, I suggest making our way out of here. We are about to nd, but you’re welcome to join us.”

  Pyrrha flinched and looked around, finding dozens of eyes staring at her in shock. At some point, her beret had fallen off, showing her face and hair to all. Jaune also blinked, and his grin melted away to a frown as he stared at the spectators whom Nora and Ruby were trying to disperse; some of them seemed to stare at Pyrrha like a piece of meat, which finally woke her from her stupor.

  Before anything more could happen, the holoscreens turned on and a blonde woman appeared. Pyrrha listened to what the deputy headmistress was saying with half an ear, just a generic greeting to the students, in favor of excusing herself from the distracted crowd. Now that she calmed down, and tried to control the shivers in her spine from how awkward and cringy their conversation was like, Pyrrha decided that she needed to learn more about this man.

  How did he know about her abilities? Did he know about her sembnce? His friends were also decent, both in character and power, at least at first gnce. She couldn’t help but recall Yang’s gentle invitation to their group. Was there an ulterior motive? No, Pyrrha felt the girl’s strength, and her instincts said she would be a decent sparring partner as well.

  That entire eclectic group seemed tailor-made for her to test every aspect of her strength on. Suddenly, Pyrrha worried if she had just ruined her chance to finally make friends before shaking her head and clenching her fist in determination; it was never too te to approach them again!

  So many things she was keen to learn about, and as she collected her weapons and gear from her locker once the airship nded and made her way to the training arena, Pyrrha decided that one way or another, she would have that spar. Not just with Jaune Arc, but the rest of them as well.

  What was it her father once told her?

  When two warriors cross bdes, their Aura will tell more about their character in a few cshes than a year of conversation.

  Pyrrha could hardly hold her grin, barely listening to Headmaster Ozpin’s speech and Miss Goodwitch as she instructed them to make their way to the Ballroom to spend the night. She was one of the st to arrive in the ballroom, owing to her taking a wrong turn. Nevertheless, she pushed open the double doors determinedly and strolled in, easily ignoring all the gawkers and brushing off anyone who tried to stop her.

  Pyrrha entered the hall and located her targets in a corner as they spread out their sleeping bags. The conversations in the hall died down once she entered and suddenly, Pyrrha felt shy about approaching them. What if they brush her off? What if they merely entertained her on the airship, but now found her to be annoying? Or what if they truly had an ulterior motive?!

  So many conjectures that would not gain her anything. Pyrrha took a deep breath and squared her shoulders before she walked purposely to the corner they commandeered for themselves. This was her chance to finally make friends, to perhaps even partner up with someone who was her equal in power.

  She did not buy Jaune Arc’s cocky cim that he was stronger than her. Huntsmen older and more powerful than her cimed the same, yet she still defeated them all.

  Whatever the group was chatting about stopped as Pyrrha approached. She looked at them one by one until she stared straight at her original target.

  “Hi, do you mind if I join you?”

  Bub3loka