Black Sword, Blue Eyes (New)
Black Sword, Blue Eyes
“Ruby, is something wrong?” Pyrrha asked as the two of them walked towards the cafeteria. The sun was up, the day was bright, Pyrrha could think of nothing that ought to be troubling Ruby, and yet, it seemed that Ruby was troubled. Her head was bowed, and she was playing idly with her fingers as she walked.
“Huh?” Ruby asked as they walked past Professor Ozpin – who nodded genially to them, which Pyrrha acknowledged with a bow of her head – going the other way. “No, sorry. It’s just… I was thinking about what you said about Sunset’s sword. About how the two brothers fought on opposite sides of the Great War. I was just thinking about how terrible that must have been for them.”
“War has a habit of turning brother against brother, friend against friend,” Professor Ozpin lamented. “All the moreso when ideology and the demands of faction mingle with the call of kingdom and comradeship.” He smiled sadly. “Forgive me, ladies, I happened to overhear.”
“That’s quite alright, Professor,” Pyrrha said, turning to face the headmaster as Ruby did likewise.
“So, it happened a lot?” Ruby asked.
“Regrettably often, yes, Miss Rose,” Professor Ozpin replied. “With exiles from Mistral and Mantle, and of course, there were some amongst the Valish to whom the philosophies of Mantle and their emphasis upon the suppression of individual feelings resonated greatly.”
“Uh, of course,” Ruby said nervously, reminding Pyrrha that she had missed on a great deal of history by skipping two years of combat school. “I can’t imagine anything that would make me fight against Yang.”
“War is a terrible business,” Pyrrha agreed. “That is why we train to uphold the peace that blesses our world.”
“Of course,” Ruby said. “I’m just saying that it would have been hard on them.”
“No doubt, although neither of them left any testimony to that effect,” Pyrrha said. “But, brave as Achates was, he was only human, and I am sure he felt the pang of separation from his family.” She looked down at Ruby. “What do you think should be done with the sword?”
Ruby’s eyes widened in surprise. “Why are you asking me about something like that?”
“Because you are righteous and kind, and you have a good heart,” Pyrrha explained. “One that is not clouded by tradition or what my family has done in the past or Sunset’s desire to hang on to the sword.” She smiled. “So, what do you think?”
Ruby stopped walking, clasping her hands together for a moment as her lips moved without speaking.
“I think… I think that maybe your family should have given the sword to his brother,” she said. “After all, the war was over; there was no reason to hold a grudge just because you’d fought on different sides. I mean it was still his family.”
“You are… correct, of course,” Pyrrha murmured. “But I don’t think we should be too quick to judge those who came before us. I’m sure it must have been a lot harder to forgive and forget for those who had just emerged from the war.”
“That’s the other thing,” Ruby said. “I’m not sure if they would have really wanted it. I mean… he was still dead. If Yang died… if I lost her, I don’t think having Ember Celica with me at home would make me feel any better. I don’t think having Mom’s weapon would make me feel any better. Maybe that’s why nobody made a big deal out of it at the time.”
“You may be correct,” Pyrrha said. “Although in Mistral, we certainly act as though it will bring comfort to those we leave behind to receive our effects.” Her brow furrowed. “If I die-”
“You’re not going to die, Pyrrha,” Ruby declared, cutting her off.
“If I die,” Pyrrha repeated. “Will you bear my circlet home to my mother, and Miló too, if it can be found? So that she might have something to remember me by?”
“Do you think it would make her feel any better?” Ruby demanded. “Do you think that having a circlet will make up for not having a daughter any more?”
“No,” Pyrrha admitted. “Probably not.” Although if she yet has Sunset, that might offer some consolation. She chuckled softly. “As I told you, you can see things much more clearly than the rest of us because you’re an outsider to all this.”
Ruby shrugged. “I just know a little bit about losing someone. Anyway, I don’t think that the sword belongs to that Phoebe girl. It’s all so long ago now, too long ago to suddenly insist that it matters. If it’s been in your family since the Great War, you should be allowed to do what you like with it. And besides, she sounds like a bully.”
“I fear that she can be,” Pyrrha confessed. “Please, Ruby, if you can, stay out of this matter while Phoebe is around; I fear that she can hold a grudge against those whom she perceives to have wronged her.”
“I’ll try,” Ruby said softly. “Is Sunset going to be okay?”
“I hope so,” Pyrrha replied. “Sunset… can usually handle herself. Although I do wish that Phoebe hadn’t brought her into this; I would tell her so myself, but it would do more harm than good.”
“Are you one of the people she’s holding a grudge against?” Ruby asked.
“Yes,” Pyrrha replied candidly. “Phoebe… does not accept defeat in the same good sport that someone like Arslan does.”
“Hey, guys!” Jaune called out as he jogged across the courtyard to catch up with them. “Thanks for waiting for me.”
“No problem, Jaune,” Ruby said, winking at Pyrrha.
Jaune grinned at her. “What were you just talking about?”
“Sunset’s sword,” Ruby explained as the three of them now – Jaune fell in easily in between Pyrrha and Ruby – started walking towards the dining hall, as more and more students from Beacon, Atlas, Haven, and Shade descended upon it from all four corners of the school. “And whether or not she ought to give it back.”
Jaune snorted. “Even if she should, there’s no way that it’s going to happen,” he said.
“No,” Pyrrha admitted. “But I was hoping – and Ruby agreed with me – that Phoebe has no real claim upon the blade. Sunset is under no obligation to do other than what she wishes.”
“Is there anything that she can do to take the sword away from Sunset?” Jaune asked.
“Legally, no,” Pyrrha replied. “She could challenge Sunset to a duel with the sword as the prize of victory-”
“Like her mother tried to do with you?” Ruby asked.
“Yes,” Pyrrha said. “But I think that, against Sunset, Phoebe would more likely have someone else challenge Sunset on her behalf.”
“Why?” Jaune said, his brow furrowing a little. “Surely that would mean that whoever she got to do it would get the sword.”
“Yes, but they could make arrangements beforehand,” Pyrrha explained. “Or Phoebe could buy it from them once it had been won.”
“Why not just challenge Sunset herself?” asked Jaune.
“Because…” Pyrrha hesitated for a moment. “Phoebe is very proud; I think that she would fear losing to Sunset, because she has never fought in the arena and…”
“And she’s a faunus,” Ruby murmured.
“Exactly,” Pyrrha confirmed. “We Mistralians are supposed to surpass all others in single combat; if Phoebe is defeated by Sunset-”
“Would she be defeated?” The question came from Jaune. “I mean, is she any good?”
Pyrrha considered what she could say that would be both kind and accurate towards Phoebe Kommenos. “She is… not one of my great rivals,” she admitted. “I think that Sunset would defeat her and, in so doing, destroy Phoebe’s reputation, or she would fear it would be so. As I say, if she goes down that route, she will most likely use an agent.”
“It doesn’t seem to me like she has many other routes to go down,” Jaune said as they neared the dining hall doors. “I mean, it’s not like she has a deed or anything, right?”
“No,” Pyrrha allowed. “But… there may be something else that I haven’t thought of.”
“I’m sure that Sunset can handle it, whatever it is,” Ruby said, and on that, they were, all three of them, in agreement.
They entered the dining hall, picked up their trays, and joined the queue of students waiting in line for the counter.
“So, Jaune,” Ruby said, “are you sure that you can’t tell us what it is that you and Sunset had to talk about?”
“I’d really rather not,” Jaune murmured.
“You know that if you’re in trouble, Pyrrha and I can help out too.”
“I’m not in trouble!” Jaune squawked. “I just needed to… please, Ruby, just drop it, for Sunset’s sake.”
“We won’t pry into anything private, of course,” Pyrrha said, a tad reproachfully. She hesitated. “But you’re not in any trouble, are you?”
Jaune chuckled. “No, I’m really not in any trouble.”
Pyrrha smiled. “I’m glad. Then everything went okay with Dove?”
“Ooh, right, you two switched partners last night, didn’t you?” Ruby remembered. They had both been quite tired when they were done and hadn’t talked at length about what went on. “How was that?”
Jaune shrugged. “Dove… he fights dirtier than you do.”
Pyrrha’s eyebrows rose. “How do you mean?”
“You fight… formally, I guess,” Jaune elaborated. “But Dove, he… does things that might not be in the rulebook, like grabbing my shield with his bare hands to pull me off balance, or kicking me in the face when I’m down.”
“I see,” Pyrrha murmured. It was true that she never did anything like that when she sparred with Jaune, although it was not quite accurate of him to say that it was because they were not in the rulebook. There was less of a rulebook when it came to fighting in the arena than there probably was in Professor Goodwitch’s class, but Chiron had taught her to fight with a certain dignity and poise, and the fact was that she was sufficiently skilled fighting in that fashion that she didn’t need to stoop to low tricks… unless one counted the way she used her semblance.
Jaune, on the other hand, was not that skilled – not yet, at least – and Pyrrha was beset by worry that she had been letting him down by neglecting this area of his development. “Would you like me to fight dirty?” she asked. “Or show you how?”
“Do you know how?” Jaune asked, a touch of amusement in his voice mirroring that which was on his face.
Pyrrha hesitated for a moment. “No,” she said, turning away from him briefly and focussing on the queue that was bearing her forwards towards the counter.
“Uncle Qrow likes to say that fighting fair is a good way to end up dead,” Ruby said. “Maybe it’s something you could both learn.”
“Perhaps,” Pyrrha conceded. “But from who?”
“Dove?” Jaune suggested.
“I can’t train with Dove if I’m training with Lyra,” Pyrrha pointed out.
“That’s a good point; how was Lyra?”
“Lyra… would be much more skilled if she applied herself more,” Pyrrha said quietly, and hoped she wasn’t overheard.
They all got their breakfast – protein-heavy sausages and bacon for Pyrrha, cereal for Ruby, waffles for Jaune – and sat down at their usual table, which either by luck or habit was still free to receive them. Pyrrha sat down opposite Jaune, with Ruby sitting next to him.
“Guys,” Jaune said, as he sat down. “There’s something that I’ve been meaning to talk to you about – especially you, Pyrrha – for a little while, since we got back from that mission on the train. I think that someone might need to talk to Flash and find out what the story is between him and Sunset.”
Ruby pursed her lips together. “Aren’t they exes?”
“Yes, exactly, but I’d like to know what he did and why, and… and does he know how badly he messed Sunset up?”
“That’s rather a harsh way of putting it,” Pyrrha murmured. “Not least to Sunset herself.”
Jaune took the opportunity of eating to not reply, or perhaps he simply couldn’t reply because he was eating. In any case, it took him a few moments of chewing and swallowing before he said, “Did you guys know that Sun’s teammates locked him out of their dorm room for a bit?”
“No,” Ruby said.
“Blake mentioned it,” Pyrrha said. “But she also said that they had relented and that Sun was taking his responsibilities much more seriously now.”
Jaune nodded. “But before that, while you were all out, Sunset let Sun nap on the camp bed in our dorm room when she found him… on a sofa, I think. Anyway, she told him that he hadn’t done anything wrong and that he ought to put Blake first above everything else, because that was what a guy was expected to do if he was in love.”
Pyrrha pursed her lips together. The vision of romantic commitment outlined by Sunset was, she had to admit, a tempting one. As the current recipient of Jaune’s affections – now and hopefully forever – there was something alluring about the idea of him devoting his life wholly, solely, and only to her, dropping everything and anything to time and again put her at the centre of his life.
And in the privacy of her own heart, she had to concede that there was something… rather magical about Sun stowing away on the RSPT airship to join Blake on her mission. Blake might have affected to be annoyed by it, she might have genuinely been annoyed by it, but at the same time, it was so breathtakingly romantic that it made Pyrrha sigh inside. She almost wished that Jaune were on another team so that he could chase after her.
Foolishness. Pure silly, feather-headed foolishness. If Jaune were on a different team, then he would never have seen Pyrrha Nikos, still less seen her as a partner in love as well as in battle. She would never have had the courage or the chance to let him know, in any way, how she felt. If Jaune were on a different team, then his responsibilities would be to that team, and anything he did to be with her instead would be placing his own prospects at risk for her sake. No, it would have been the most selfish thing in the world to allow him to do that.
Blake is very lucky, but so am I in other ways. In fact, I’m luckier, because I get to have my boyfriend right beside me and never feel guilty about it at all.
With Good Fortune, indeed.
More rationally, she could recognise that what Sunset was advocating was rather unwise. It was quite surprising to hear that Sunset had said this, although she didn’t doubt Jaune was being honest with them. “Of course, if you had behaved-”
“That’s what I said,” Jaune declared. “She didn’t really have an answer to that. And then she… I don’t want to say she threatened me, but she kind of gave me the shovel talk about how I needed to treat you right, and if I was just messing around, then I needed to come clean about it and how you deserved better than that. And you do!” he added hastily. “I’m not trying to-”
“Jaune,” Pyrrha said softly, reaching out to place her hand on top of his. “You don’t need to defend yourself in front of me. I’m not afraid of any of that.”
“Good,” Jaune said, sagging with relief a little bit. “Because, honestly, I’m the…” He grinned, and Pyrrha guessed that he had been about to deprecate himself but had stopped because he could predict her reaction and wished to avoid the distraction. “The point is, I think this has a lot to do with how things ended between her and Flash.”
“She has said some things about boys,” Ruby agreed. “And there are times when… I mean, something hurt her; I just assumed that it was a lot of things from Combat School. Could it be all about one thing?”
“I’m afraid I have no idea,” Pyrrha whispered. “He broke up with her because she was a faunus, didn’t she?”
“Apparently, but if he was always like Cardin, why did he go out with her in the first place?” Jaune asked.
“Maybe it was all a game to him, hence why Sunset was worried about me,” suggested Pyrrha.
“Perhaps,” Jaune agreed. “I feel like… like someone should talk to him. He might not understand what he did.”
“Well, what are you going to say?” Ruby asked.
Jaune started. “Me?”
“It was your idea!” Ruby pointed out.
“That doesn’t mean I should get volunteered!”
“But you’re the one who gets all this!”
“I have to agree,” Pyrrha said. “Of the three of us, you are the one who seems to understand this situation best; in fact, I might say that you understand people the best out of the three of us. You see things that we don’t.”
Jaune stared at her. “Well… thanks, first of all, but second, if I’d know this was going to happen, I might have kept my mouth shut.”
Pyrrha covered her mouth with one hand as a giggle escaped from between her lips.
Her laughter was cut off as Arslan Atlan slammed her tray down onto the table before she occupied the seat next to Pyrrha.
“Morning, P-Money,” Arslan growled. “Oh, right, sorry: is this seat taken, and can I take it?”
“Um, I suppose you can,” Pyrrha murmured. After all, there was no sign of Team YRBN or Team RSPT at the moment, and it wasn’t the first time they had found those seats taken when they showed up. “Arslan, this is my teammate Ruby Rose and my…” She got butterflies in her stomach just thinking about saying it. “And my boyfriend, Jaune Arc.”
“It’s nice to meet you,” Ruby said. “Who’s P-Money?”
“I am,” Pyrrha sighed.
Jaune frowned. “Why?”
“I have no idea.”
“Pleasure, Ruby Rose,” Arslan said casually, before affixing Jaune with a glare. “So… you’re the boy, huh?”
“Is everyone from Mistral going to hate me for dating you?” asked Jaune, his eyes drawn to Pyrrha like a perplexed and worried magnet.
“I hope not,” Pyrrha said. “Arslan, please stop it. Where is the rest of your team?”
Arslan growled. “My team and I are having a little bit of a fight. I’m not just over here because it’s you but because I felt like your team leader- where is your team leader?”
“Having breakfast at Benni Haven’s,” Pyrrha explained.
“Without you?” Arslan asked.
“With someone else,” Ruby explained without really explaining anything.
“What about Sunset?” Pyrrha inquired.
“Bolin is going to challenge her to a fight over that fancy sword your mother gave her,” Arslan barked. “Phoebe Kommenos has paid him to do it. Little… I’d challenge her to a duel if I thought she’d accept.”
“I’m not sure that you have cause,” Pyrrha murmured.
“I have plenty of cause; she’s slighted me!” Arslan snapped. “Just because I don’t have ancestors stretching back to la de dah and ancient wars does not mean that I do not have honour. I am the Golden Lion of Mistral, and that is worth as much in the arena as noble blood and gilded circlets… no offence, Pyrrha.”
“None taken,” Pyrrha replied.
“She offered me money, you know,” Arslan said. “She told me that since I’d already beaten Sunset once that I could do it again, and then she offered me money. Me! She offered me money for a fight as though I was some amateur hour part-timer with a side gig as a leg-breaker. The insult! I am a professional athlete! I have dedicated spoils in the Temple of Victory! And she offered me money. And then she put the lid on it by offering Bolin money.”
“And he hasn’t got your scruples,” Jaune guessed.
“Unfortunately not,” Arslan replied.
“Is he any good?” Ruby asked.
“Not as good as he thinks he is,” Arslan told them. “He thinks he should be team leader instead of me, which tells me how cocky he is. But he knows what he’s doing.”
“So does Sunset,” Pyrrha declared. “For the most part,” she was compelled to add by honesty.
“Well, if she loses, then… well, she’s lost,” Arslan said. “And lost the sword as well. But you won’t be able to say that I didn’t warn you.”
“I’ll let Sunset know,” Pyrrha said. “Thank you, Arslan.”
Arslan shrugged. “I’ve never liked Phoebe,” she muttered. “Never liked her, never rated her; the last thing I want to see is her getting the chance to gloat over getting one over on you and yours. That and, well, I kind of like your team leader, even if she did insult me.”
“Really?” Pyrrha asked. “I mean, there’s a lot to like about Sunset, but I wasn’t aware that you knew her beyond taking offence.”
“I can recognise someone who’s had to struggle to get where they are,” Arslan said. “I admire that.” She paused. “I warned you that there was going to be trouble over this.”
“Yes, you did, I admit,” Pyrrha conceded. “You’re not… I wouldn’t want you to suffer for our sake.”
Arslan snorted. “Only a little rich girl from the heights would think that having the likes of Reese and Bolin act disappointed in me was suffering,” she declared. “No offence.”
“Um, none taken,” Pyrrha murmured. “Nevertheless, you may have put yourself on the wrong side of opinion with your fellow students, and I am grateful.”
“Well, if you’re looking for ways to make it up to me...” Arslan said.
Pyrrha’s eyes narrowed. “Is there something that you want?”
“Not me, exactly,” Arslan said. “You remember that documentary series we were in about the history of the tournament scene?”
“Ooh, you’ve made TV programs as well?” Ruby cooed.
“I didn’t make it,” Pyrrha explained quickly. “Current tournament fighters were asked to contribute talking head segments, about what it was like to fight, how it felt to walk into the coliseum, that sort of thing.”
“Well, the producer called last night just before Phoebe showed up to ruin my evening,” Arslan went on. “MBS are making a documentary about the Vytal Festival – to explain it for everyone before it all starts, you know-”
“Who doesn’t know about the Vytal Festival?” Ruby asked.
“Uh, I wouldn’t mind a primer,” Jaune said.
“I was going to say ‘kids,’ but okay, it’s for P-Money’s boyfriend.” Arslan said. “Besides, just because people know what it is doesn’t mean that they understand the history and stuff. Anyway, Autumn Blaze is doing the voice over, but they asked me to host it… except what they really want is for the two of us to host it together, only all your calls go through your mother, and you’re not talking to your mother at the moment, so the only way to get in touch with you was to ask me to ask you, so… what do you say?”
“I say that you should explain what you mean by ‘hosting,’” Pyrrha replied.
“Just some scripted bits, taking the cameras on a tour of the Amity Arena, reading out the questions for some interviews with, like your headmaster,” Arslan said. “I’ve been practicing my face for when the camera cuts to me when the interviewee is answering the question.” Arslan proceeded to make ducky lips, squinting slightly as she furrowed her brow and nodded repeatedly, in what Pyrrha realised was supposed to make her look sage and understanding.
“I think you may need to work on that a little more,” Jaune suggested, and Pyrrha was rather glad that he had said it and not her.
“But it sounds fun, doesn’t it?” Arslan said. “Can I tell him that you’ll do it?”
Pyrrha sighed. “I’m not sure that it’s such a good idea; we’re only students; doesn’t it seem as though we’re getting rather above ourselves?”
“We’re not just students though, are we?” Arslan demanded. “Come on, Pyrrha, who has a better chance of winning than one of the two of us? I’ll even flatter your ego – don’t expect that to happen too often – and say that it’s most likely to be you. How cool will that be for a trivia note: the presenter of this show went on to actually win the tournament?”
“I came to Beacon to get away from that sort of thing,” Pyrrha reminded her.
“If you wanted to get away from the limelight, then what are you doing running around Vale busting robberies and nailing gangster kingpins?” Arslan asked sourly. “Face it, P-Money; you’ve only gotten more famous since you came to Beacon.”
“That’s different,” Pyrrha said. “That was duty, and a public service-”
“And this is public service television; it’s not as though I’m asking you to co-star in an original miniseries,” Arslan said. “Look, I know that you don’t like the fame, but the fact is that you are famous, and you do have fans, and so, that being the case, don’t you think you have a duty to use your fame for the public good? That’s why my fee for this show is going to go to Magic Mealtimes.”
“Magic what?” Ruby repeated.
“It’s a charity back home in Mistral,” Arslan explained. “They deliver meals to schools to give to the kids who’d go hungry otherwise. It’s a worthy cause, and it makes a big difference, believe me. Which is why… I didn’t want to have to guilt you into this, but the production company has agreed to match my donation if I can get you on board, so what do you say?”
“Hmm,” Pyrrha murmured, looking down at the half-empty breakfast tray in front of her. She looked around the dining hall, at all the students tucking in before the start of another day of exertion of the mind and body. She couldn’t imagine what it must be like to arrive for classes with an empty stomach, a yawning that might not be appeased until lunch time, if then. She had never had to go hungry like that in her life; the wealth of the Nikos family meant that she had always been guaranteed a nutritious meal. That was why she didn’t get involved in the work of charities like Magic Mealtimes: Arslan had grown up poor and hungry, so when she went on TV to promote the organisation people took notice. The same message from Pyrrha would have seemed like pious virtue signalling by comparison.
But this was not a direct endorsement. This was just an opportunity to do some good, and she supposed that it was all educational.
And she did owe Arslan for the warning.
“Very well,” she said. “You may tell your producer friend that I’ll do it. We’ll do it together.”
Arslan grinned. “Thank you, Pyrrha,” she said. “This will be very classy, I promise.”
“I might hold you to that,” Pyrrha said with a slight smile playing across her face. “Although I’m a little surprised to see you excited about scripted segments.”
“Oh, I’m sure I’ll manage to punch up the lines a little,” Arslan said airily.
“Excuse me,” Cinder said, walking up behind Pyrrha. “Do you mind if I sit down?”
As there was still no sign of their usual companions – Pyrrha wondered what was keeping them – Pyrrha felt as though she had no choice but to say, “Please, be our guest.”
Cinder smiled and chuckled ever so slightly as she sat down next to Arslan. Her brow furrowed slightly. “No Sunset?”
“She’s having breakfast at Benni Haven’s, with Twilight,” Ruby explained.
Cinder’s nostrils flared slightly. “I see,” she murmured. “How very… selfish of her.”
“Not really,” Ruby replied. “She had something she needed to talk to her about.”
“Indeed?” Cinder asked. “And what were you talking about, may I ask, before I so rudely interrupted?”
“My mother gave Sunset a gift when we were in Mistral last,” Pyrrha began.
“Ah, yes, the famous blade Soteria,” Cinder interrupted. “Yes, it is a subject of some talk amongst we Haven students. Lady Nikos does Sunset great honour, wouldn’t you agree, Lady Pyrrha?”
“Just Pyrrha, please,” Pyrrha whispered. “I believe I’ve mentioned that already.”
“Oh, yes, you did,” Cinder conceded with a little laugh. “How foolish of me to forget. Please forgive me, Pyrrha.”
“It’s quite alright, just… try and remember next time,” Pyrrha urged gently. “The talk amongst the Haven students, is it as bad as Arslan says?”
“You don’t trust me, Pyrrha?” Arslan demanded.
“Don’t take it so personally, Golden Lion,” Cinder said, her voice soft and soothing. “In matters such as these, it is always wise to get a second opinion.” She smiled, a bright smile that yet had something sharp about it. “Not everyone cares, of course, but there are those who think it is rather unnatural that Lady Nikos should favour an outsider above her own daughter. I only repeat what others say, of course.”
Jaune scowled. “Cinder, can I have a word with you? Outside?”
The scowl remained on Jaune’s face as he led the way out of the dining hall and into the morning sunshine in the courtyard beyond. His face might be thunderous, but his stomach was squirming a little. Cinder had that effect on him. There was something about her, the way she moved, the way she spoke… she was creepy, like he’d said to Sunset, and it was amazing to him that nobody else seemed to feel that way but him.
He couldn’t help but think back to that night in Mistral, to the hunt for the Karkadann, when Cinder had stayed up all night as the fire died down before her.
"Some might even feel emasculated." That was what she’d said to him, when talking about being on a team with Pyrrha, and then to say that to Pyrrha herself?
'I only repeat what others say,' my ass, Jaune thought to himself. There was not a doubt in his mind that she was stirring the pot, and he thought she’d probably done it with Sunset as well, for all that Sunset denied it.
He wouldn’t just stand by and let it happen. He didn’t think that it would work, what Cinder was trying to do, breaking up their team, but that didn’t mean that he was going to simply stand by and let it happen.
…Granted, he wasn’t sure what he was going to do to stop her, but… but he was going to let her know that she wasn’t getting away with it, and maybe that would be enough to get her to back off.
He kept on walking, looking up at the statue of the noble huntsman rising above him. Valour, like Professor Ozpin had said; he just had to tough it out.
Jaune turned around, to see Cinder very close by him, practically close enough to touch.
“So, Jaune,” Cinder purred. “What is that you wanted to say but couldn’t say in front of your girlfriend?”
Jaune took a step backwards, and then another for good measure. “Stop it,” he said coldly.
Cinder looked at him blankly for a moment, before she started to giggle uncontrollably. “I was joking,” she declared. “Don’t tell me you’re so uptight that you can’t take a little harmless fooling around.”
“It isn’t funny,” Jaune declared. “None of this is. And I want it to stop.”
Cinder stopped laughing. “You want it to stop?” she repeated, her voice cooling rapidly. “And what is it, precisely, that you want to stop?”
“All of this,” Jaune declared. “What you said, just then; you were trying to turn Pyrrha against Sunset.”
“I was only telling what I had heard.”
“I don’t believe that,” Jaune insisted. “Were you only repeating what you heard when you asked me if I felt emasculated? Or were you trying to make me feel it so that I’d pull away from Pyrrha?”
“Now why would I want to do that?”
“I don’t know; why did you encourage Sunset to follow her worst instincts?” Jaune demanded.
Cinder was silent for a moment. “'Her worst instincts'? Since when is defending yourself an immoral instinct?”
“When-”
“When those that are being defended against, those who commit acts of aggression, are the ones with the power,” Cinder growled. “When they make victims of those they consider to be powerless, when they take out their fears and frustrations on the ones beneath them, then the last thing they want is to be challenged. The last thing they want is for the underdog to bite back. And so they call it wickedness and villainy and name you foul for even considering it. And if you agree, then maybe I’m not the one that Sunset needs to be careful of.”
“What Sunset did was wrong,” Jaune repeated firmly. “What you encouraged her to do was wrong. Sunset isn’t some powerless victim, and Bon Bon and Cardin aren’t oppressors. What you did was wrong, and Sunset realises that now.”
“Does she?” Cinder murmured, sounding almost disappointed to hear it. “And did Sunset tell you that I had put her up to those awful things she now regrets?”
“No,” Jaune replied. “Sunset told me that it was all her own idea and that you had nothing to do with it.”
For a moment, Jaune thought he saw relief blossom on Cinder’s face, although he couldn’t quite work out why. It wasn’t as though he could get Cinder in trouble for what she’d done; even if Sunset did point the finger, it would still be Sunset that had done these things. So what did she have to fear?
Unless… could she actually like Sunset? Was she actually worried that Sunset had betrayed her?
But she’s manipulating her!
“I… I see,” Cinder whispered. “Sunset didn’t say anything, but you… you saw it anyway. Because you see everything, don’t you? Nobody’s watching you, so you see it all with those blue eyes of yours.”
Those blue eyes of his narrowed. “If you want to put it that way, I guess.”
Cinder chuckled. “Let me tell you what I see,” she said. “You may call yourselves Sunset’s friends, but none of you really understand her. What she is. What she could be. I am the friend and ally that Sunset needs. I am the best friend that Sunset Shimmer could ever have.”
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Is it just me or I feel like there should be a little more at the end ? If it's just me, then I am sorry, it is because it's seem odd to me to finish on this phrase, I don't intend to offend anyone.
This story is the first when I aggree with Cinder Fall, it does surprise me, and it is true in both canon and here than she had a shitty life until the had fight back does Cinder teacher had come fight her before she had the time to kill one of the two daughters, in this case, Phoebe in this story ? .
Also, even if Sunset accept to fight, she doesn't have to give the sword, why should she care of some "honor"? And also, it's not like Bolin, who had accept to be essentially a mercenary (without the whole killing part) and Phoebe who send others to win her fights could really say something.
Good chapter as always scipio.
I think this is the moment when Cinder recognizes that Jaune has more going for him then most would suspect.
Also, I cannot help but feel like Cinder will talk to Sunset about Phoebe in the near future when she discovers that the latter has taken an unhealthy obsession with Sunset... if not make plans to take action against the bitch herself. Partly just a matter of tying up loose and and vengeance long overdue, but also because this is a rare case of being able to mix business and pleasure; Phoebe is a dangerous wild card in the scheme of things, even if a small minded and petty one. Removing Phoebe from the board is not just in Cinder's personal interest for laying the last shred of the sad, painful life of a tragic girl to rest, but if she finds the right moment to do so under the right circumstances... she would further her own efforts to cement herself in the good graces of those she wishes to believe she is friends with.
I love it when the villain makes a point that is hard to argue with, and points out the less-than-noble flaw in the hero’s logic.
And what about when Sunset finds out what Cinder really is? She’s no fool, she’ll quickly make the connections and realize that she was being manipulated like a puppet. I wonder if Cinder will actually feel a little sad that Sunset will be so furious at her?
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I'd say it's not just you, however I would also say that this clipped ending was intentional.
My belief is that Scipio left the ending open as a cliffhanger, to leave the readers wondering what Cinder truly means by her words.
Although I should mention I have not seen the canon of RWBY and therefore have a different perspective of Cinder.
I'm sorry, does anyone know in which chapter is Sunset and Pyrrha's discusion about Lady Nikos. The one where Pyrrha express her fear that her mother would see Sunset as a better daughter. I don't find it.
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This one?
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Exactly! Thank you!
She's not, and neither is Blake, but Bon Bon and Cardin are certainly helping oppressors. Jaune's got the right idea, but his phrasing could use some work. And man, Cinder, that chip on your shoulder couldn't be more obvious if you labelled it.
I think causing Cinder to recognize that Jaune could be a real threat to her plans might not have been the most healthy of his life choices.
But then again he is Jaune “I applied to Beacon without any aura” Arc.
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And without basic sword fighting ability.
I am not sure about that, someone also needs to yell at you.
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I think than she is really projecting herself on Sunset.
The fact than Sunset is similar on many points and is a interesting and powerful person make Cinder attitude even more "logic".
Did Ozpin spontaneously dematerialize from the conversation?
*didn't he
Calling your reflection your best friend, doesn’t mean you know her Cinder.
Bugger off, Cinder! Shoo!
I must say, I am impressed Jaune had the guts to call off Cinder. He is one of the few People who perceive how off she is.
On a side note, I picture Arslan as a taller, buffer Elm.
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Considering that Elm is already a friggin' tree I'm not sure what they would look like, but in any case it proves that I haven't done a good enough job describing her because this is Arlsan:
static.wikia.nocookie.net/rwby/images/a/a7/Vol3_Arslan_ProfilePic.png/revision/latest?cb=20151025184959
And she's only about as tall as Yang.
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So this is the first confirmation that cinder cares
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I can see him sipping his cocoa and listening, even as the students completely disregard him.
He DID pass Stealth and Security himself once, you know...
Didn't he