Red walls burst apart. Whatever supported them, whether it was steel, brick, or wood, to the man-shaped missile tearing through them it didn't matter.
The first room in the base Clark had entered was a large storage room with a few dozen White Fang. Most seemed to have been moving cargo or directing others in forklifts and tractors. Now it was jumble of boxes and overturned shelves, many of the lights had gone out and the few remaining flickered.
At his appearance, the closest workers shouted and jumped back. The fastest reactions were split between picking up weapons to fire and running away.
Finding this base had been easy. Ilia had tried to fight Clark at first, but when she'd snapped her whip he'd merely caught and crushed it. After a precise strike to reduce her aura, she'd revealed this place to him without any delay.
Clark stomped forward as the White Fang attacked. He let their attacks wash over him, bullets ricocheted off and the few exotic Dust rounds shattered on impact. Fire, ice, lightning, they might as well have been part of an elaborate light show for all the damage they did. They certainly made up for the lights that had shattered on his entry.
He reached the first terrorist and smacked him aside. His back clanged against a metal shipping container. His friends became desperate and poured on their ammunition, but they ended up the same, knocked back and bouncing off solid concrete or metal surfaces. A few luckier ones only split wooden boxes. The moment they landed their own weapons were used to bind them.
Clark could have tied up everyone in this building before they'd even realized he was here, but right now he couldn't even stand the thought.
If asked, he would have readily admitted that he'd been filled with rage after talking to Adam. Even when questioning Ilia it hardly died down, and not even the subjective minutes of super-speed racing to this building had calmed him.
It was a period of time that normally would have allowed him to cool, but despite his experience it had still only been a moment. Not nearly enough time to return to rationality even if he'd had a superhuman restraint of the same degree as his other superhuman abilities.
Now, as he blasted through the building and knocked aside terrorists with a reasonable perception of time, the explosive eruption of anger had subsided to a controllable sear. Still this attack wasn't solely motivated by rage. He was disgusted and fed up.
Why should he have to rely on his speed and hide from these people? Let them see what he could do, how nothing they tried would stop him as he brought their hatred down around them. That was what they deserved after lashing out against innocent people, taking their lives, and even poisoning the survivors' memories with their very existence.
Alarms blared, warning everyone about the intruder in their building. More fighters headed his way. Clark broke through the wall into the hall with the most White Fang, the closest didn't even have time to raise their guns before he struck.
The rest rained fire, and he realized that he couldn't just work through them indiscriminately. They were terrorists, they fired at him even if their shots came close to hitting their own. In fact, if it weren't for him swiping their bullets out of the air, there would have been casualties from friendly fire.
So he had to stay on the move, make no chance for them to hit their own allies or the fallen. Through layers of concrete, Clark saw a large open room deeper in the building and went straight to it. Every wall in his path surrendered in his path.
Clark made it through the last one and scowled at the details now easily visible. It was an empty rectangular room that could have held hundreds. At one end were stairs leading up to a throne. Tapestries hung from the ceiling and walls with the White Fang's symbol.
Fine, it would be a fitting place to end them.
He heard their communications as they relayed the fact that he'd entered 'High Leader Adam's throne room'. With a red glare, Clark shot down an entire side of the room, where the doors had been. The more came, the faster he could beat the message into them.
The first few, however, came in through the hole from his entrance. Terrorists with automatic rifles fired at him, and he leapt to them. They kept shooting the whole time, as if the bullets would suddenly start working when he was showing them just how pointless they were. They were struck aside in seconds.
Then, their main force finally arrived. Dozens of fighters streamed in and this time they had more than guns. They threw in grenades, Clark mostly had to make sure he was away from any terrorists when they threw them, although a few times he just kicked them aside. Once he just caught one and kept it in his hands to detonate harmlessly as he simultaneously body-slammed several White Fang.
It was the rocket launchers that finally hit home for them just how hopeless their resistance was. A rocket flew through the air with a streak of smoke and hit him square in the face. The explosion was so loud that it shook the building. The White Fang paused, probably thinking they'd finally succeeded.
When the smoke cleared, showing how he hadn't even budged, fearful gasps travelled through them like a wave.
That was when he'd decided that they'd understood. His open calms clashed together in a blast of wind that sent them flying. There was plenty of metal to work with, and the moment their bodies collided with the walls and pillars of the room he confined them in a flash of speed.
Now, the conflict had changed nature. Significant numbers of White Fang tried to leave instead of fight, and he couldn't allow that. Many of their vehicles together in a field outside, and he made another beeline to it. The obstacles in his path like tissues in the way of a speeding bullet.
He arrived and in the blink of an eye pulled away all those who'd gotten near the vehicles. Then, he shot invisible packets of heat to set them alight. Explosions burst in succession so quickly that to most eyes they would have seemed simultaneous.
Clark's ears picked up the arrival of the next few arrivals, a retinue of White Fang. A useful one now that he'd accomplished what he'd needed. He blocked their path and focused on the two up front. "Fennec and Corsac Albain."
They all aimed their weapons at him, the brothers standing together with their daggers. Fennec spoke. "What do you people want?"
'People'. So they hadn't realized that he was the only attacker. "To destroy the White Fang," Clark answered.
They bristled at that but hesitated before attacking. What a sight he must be. Clothing torn and scorched, indicating what he'd gone through when he'd arrived, yet his skin was clear of any harm.
"I'll accept it if you command your people to surrender," Clark said. "Actually, I recommend it. It'll be less painful."
Of course, just like their high leader, they didn't listen. Their daggers glowed and a cyclone of wind and fire rushed towards him.
Clark blew it back at them. They all screamed, and to make sure they weren't seriously injured, he added a chill to his breath. Any flames caught on their hair or clothing went out, and they didn't even have time to realize that spots of ice were forming on their skin before he latched them onto any suitable surface with spare metal from their vehicles.
After that, it was more of the same. Plenty of White Fang hadn't heard just what kind of enemy they were up against and tried to fight him. Those who tried to run ended up just as trapped as everyone else, but for them Clark used super-speed.
Finally, he finished. By his count, he'd eliminated around half of them by the time he'd found the Albain brothers. He put on a spare jacket he'd found and looked back at his handiwork. The base was in ruins, he'd honeycombed through it so many times that several sections had collapsed. In fact, the only reason any part of the building still stood at all was because it had been more convenient to leave it that way than to move all the people inside.
This was what he'd accomplished after only a few minutes. The devastation in front of him a visible, tangible declaration that the source of so much pain and fear in the world had been eradicated. This particular evil would never rise again, or if it did, he'd be back to stomp it back into the ground. It wouldn't make up for Velvet's death or Satin's suffering, but no more would have to go through the same.
His triumph was a heady feeling, but the despair on the faces of so many White Fang sobered him up. However, knowing the cause of their anguish easily erased any pity or sympathy. If they devoted themselves to an organization of hatred and murder, its destruction was what they deserved.
\\\\\
Waiting on top of a rock bluff wasn't Phil's preferred way to spend a morning, but that was where the Interference had dropped him off. A few hundred meters above Iona's fort with a good view of it thanks to the binoculars he'd gotten.
It was an old place. One of the first buildings constructed in the city, so it had a distinguished air despite being on one of the lowest levels of the city. Malachite's files on the place had already made it look tough to crack, but now that he could see guards and the expensive cars of their employers it looked more impenetrable than ever.
Phil still had faith in the people he'd spoken to last night. They were strong, an actual huntsman and eighteen or so Haven students. Incredibly enough, they'd all agreed to help after hearing his story about Andrea being kidnapped. Even for the syndicate alliance, it was unlikely that they had enough quality fighters to match them.
It made him wonder, just who were the Interference? Before talking to those students, Knight, Prevail, and Sharpshooter had told him that the people he'd speak to were affiliates of the Interference, not actual members. Phil hadn't gotten the chance to ask the new faces more about it, so all he could do was speculate.
Phil's radio crackled with Knight's voice. "Phil, we're about to attack. Do you see anything we should know about?"
"No, you're good to go," Phil said.
"Alright." And with that, the attack began.
\\\\\
Jaune took his finger off the radio and faced the rest of team JNPR behind him. "Now."
Pyrrha stepped forward. She closed her eyes, and with a wave of her arms Jaune saw the men below lose their weapons. Guns clattered along the ground and a few even fell off the edge into the water below.
"Jump!" Jaune called. He leapt to the fort, and he saw the colorful outfits of the other Haven students around him. Not just Ruby and Yang, but team SSN and the Dart fan club. SSN had been willing to help out their friends with this, especially after hearing what it was for, and the Dart fan club had been convinced by the thought that this was what the Dart would do.
Which was actually true. If Clark were here, he'd probably tear through the place without a problem. Or more likely, he wouldn't have even allowed Andrea to get kidnapped in the first place.
Jaune didn't see Qrow, which was a good sign. The huntsman was supposed to sneak into the fort in his bird form. Hopefully, he'd find Andrea fast and escape discreetly, but if not he could help cause plenty of chaos.
Just before the ground rushed up, Jaune's teammates and lots of the other students used the recoil from their weapons to slow down and control their descent. Jaune didn't have that option, so he landed on his shield and tanked the fall with his aura. He and most of the others had landed on the east side, where the main entrance was.
Some of the alliance men had gotten their guns back and fired at him. Jaune brought up his shield to block. He ran at them, but other students got to them first. He was incredibly satisfied to see who met them.
It was all going as planned, fighters like Ruby and Nora were supposed to handle the outer defenses. They were going to keep outside or to the large entrance halls of the fort since their weapons weren't suited for the narrow corridors inside.
Jaune ran to the fort with nobody stopping him and saw Pyrrha, Ren, and a few others do the same. With a yell, he kicked the doors open and ran through.
He was met with gunfire, but only pistols fired by civilian level thugs. Nobody with aura yet. Jaune took care of two of them and his allies mopped up the rest. It took up time, and it would have been nice if Pyrrha could have used her Semblance again to disarm them all, but at this range she'd affect the Haven students too.
As Jaune had seen in the charts of the fortress, there were several ways they could go. "The three of us will go that way." He pointed to himself, Pyrrha, and Ren. "The six of you should split up into groups of three too."
"Gotcha," Yang said and looked around. "Who wants to go right with me?"
A guy and girl went with her while Iris went off to the left with her teammate and another member of the club. Jaune and his team went straight.
As they ran, it was clear that Pyrrha had made a mess of the place. Metal objects had been thrown all over the place, torch holders, decorative suits of armor and weapons, even some random silverware.
This place was actually old enough to have dungeons, so that was where they headed. However, just as they reached the stairs they came up against enemies. They had distinct weapons and outfits, but even if they hadn't Jaune would have been able to tell they had some training and likely aura. There were four of them, two men and two women.
Jaune's eyes widened as he recognized one of them. The wiry man with a bulky spear, he'd ambushed him and Pyrrha during a night patrol months ago.
"What the hell? Is that Pyrrha Nikos?" A silver-haired woman pointed, spiked knuckledusters on her fingers. Her companions shared her surprise, not sparing Jaune a look.
Of course they'd focus on her. Even if that man had recognized Jaune, Pyrrha warranted their attention more than he did.
"Yes, I am," Pyrrha answered them. "There's no need for violence. You can surrender peacefully and tell us where Andrea Mache is."
The muscular man beside knuckledusters snorted. "What? You think you matter because you won some tournaments? It's time to face the real world."
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
With a yell, the man surged towards them. Rather than face the bull rush, all three avoided him. His fist burst into the stone wall behind them and collapsed it. No weapons or Dust were visible, he seemed to be pure hand-to-hand besides whatever Semblance he might have.
The brute turned around and tore his way towards Pyrrha. The woman with the knuckledusters was moving to join him.
Jaune saw the spearman rush to Ren, which left the remaining fighter for Jaune. A woman twirling large knives at the end of cloth bands. She threw one of them at him, which he blocked with his shield. She pulled it back and hurled the second. However, the moment before it hit his shield it veered up and bounced off the aura on his face. No damage, but it had still stung.
He jumped back. The cloth didn't seem to be tech. They were glowing slightly though, so he assumed a Semblance.
Around them the others' combat raged on. The staircase was a wider area than the narrow halls that the three of them had travelled through to get here. In a small space, Jaune would have had the advantage against this woman. Here though, she could easily keep her distance as her knives slithered around and thrust towards Jaune. Her attacks came in quick succession, her initial attacks proving to be probes. They didn't take much aura when they hit, but a few times they almost wrapped around his arms or legs.
Jaune kept strictly on the defensive as he backed off towards Ren. There was a moment of pause in her attacks, but she soon tried to take advantage in his seeming lapse in concentration.
He got near Ren, who was jumping around in his fight with the spearman. Ren didn't look at him directly, but Jaune could tell that he'd noticed him.
When the timing was right, Jaune shouted "Places!"
It was the callout to switch that they usually used in spars against Clark. In a practiced move, Ren disengaged from his opponent and shot at the ribbon-knife wielder. Meanwhile Jaune leaped at the spearman.
The spearman hopped back to avoid the swing from Crocea Mors' blade. He was more agile than Jaune, but that didn't matter too much in these halls. He seemed to realize that and shot from a distance. Jaune's shield blocked his bullets easily, especially now that there weren't any other gunmen this time.
Jaune heard the combat between Ren and the knife-wielder behind him get further away. The woman was letting out curses, having a much harder time with someone who could more easily maneuver around her weapons.
The spearman's face burned with frustration and he halted in his retreat. He reconnected the guns of his weapon to transform it back into a spear and shot forward to meet Jaune in close combat.
Avoiding Jaune and firing from a distance probably would have been a better choice in a one-on-one fight, but this wasn't just a one-on-one fight. The spearman needed to protect this place, so even if he wore Jaune down there were plenty of others he had to worry about. Like Ren against his knife-wielder friend. Or Pyrrha who was even further in the distance but managing to induce audible roars from her opponents.
The spearman had chosen close combat but he still had the range advantage over Jaune. His spear could hardly make it past his shield, but Jaune didn't have much of a chance to swing his sword at him either.
The spear scraped his shield once, twice, each time the thrust was too careful and measured for Jaune to do much with it. So he made a false opening, he pulled his shield too far to the left while staying ready to shove it to the right at just the right time. The spear came, this time with some serious strength behind it and aimed at his shoulder where his armor was absent.
Jaune shoved it aside, the tip just barely missing him. Before the spearman could bring it back to defend him, Jaune hacked into him with Crocea Mors. Aura lit up in defense, but the spearman's features twisted in pain.
"Agh! You bastard!" A rushed and sloppy attack flew at Jaune.
He blocked it with his sword, and the spearman jumped back. His anger reduced the skill and effectiveness of his next attempts, and his desperation became more and more obvious. In the next few minutes Jaune chopped off large chunks of his aura.
"Jaune!" Pyrrha's was off to the side and behind him. Of course, she'd dealt with two opponents before he'd finished with even one.
"Go find Andrea," Jaune said. "I'll take care of him."
"Alright!"
In the middle of combat Jaune saw a glimpse of her leave. He'd acknowledged a long time ago that there was no point in comparing to her, but it was hard not to.
Jaune bashed his shield straight onto the spearman, a painful slam right into the shoulder. The answering thrust was accompanied by bared teeth topped with an enraged glare.
After all, Pyrrha had years of top-notch training and competition. He had what, less than two? That didn't explain all of it, Jaune had to admit that with her hard work was talent that he couldn't match even if he put in the same amount of time and effort.
One of the next few spear thrusts caught Jaune in the leg. A bitter attack meant only as revenge with no expectation that it would lead to victory. It should have been easy to block or dodge. It would have been if he focused.
"Enough already!" Jaune stomped forward and could feel that the fight was about to end. The spearman kept up a hostile and vengeful offense, but when his aura finally ran out Jaune knocked him aside.
Jaune had beaten him, an opponent who'd previously pinned him down like a powerless child. Maybe it wasn't much compared to Pyrrha's accomplishments, but it mattered. It was his. He wasn't going to sulk over his own abilities and let dissatisfaction and resentment worm their way into his love for his partner and other friends.
He shook his head and rushed off. What he definitely shouldn't do was get distracted from his mission.
\\\\\
The moment the loud noises outside her room had started, Andrea had pounded on the door and shouted to get her kidnappers' attention.
The sounds had died down now, so she just sat back and waited. Her cell was a cramped high stone room with a single barred window. From it she could see the waterfall and hear it pound the surface of the lake below. The wind sometimes blew the spray into the room, making it annoyingly damp. The mold in the corners and ceiling of the room a sign of just how regularly it happened.
The window had given her a sense of day and night ever since she'd been thrown in here and now it had acted as the source of the hopeful gunshots of the attackers. It couldn't have been a false alarm, right?
Suddenly, the door flew open.
"Hey!" Andrea jerked back even though she hadn't been near it. It hadn't just been opened, the man on the other side had kicked it off its hinges.
He seemed to be in his forties, and he had a big sword in his hands with lots of seams in the metal and seemingly unnecessary parts added to it. Besides the mecha-shift weapon, his red cloak and unique black and gray outfit identified him as a huntsman.
"You Andrea Mache?" His voice was rough and he looked at her with concern.
After a stunned moment, she answered. "Yeah, that's me."
He nodded and stepped out of the room, signaling her to follow. "Okay. Come on, we're leaving."
She came out and stared at the limp bodies in the hall, stunned. "Did Farmer send you?"
"Farmer? Oh right, that's what you call him." The man chuckled as he led her up. "He didn't send me exactly, but you could say we're friends. I'm not a fan of his secret identity style, so you can call me Qrow."
"Alright . . . I guess that makes sense. Thanks for saving me, Qrow."
"You're welcome, but I don't get all the credit. There's plenty more of us who were involved in taking down the guys here."
They walked up and in the halls she found more of the alliance's fighters either spread out on the ground or tied up and guarded.
Her eyes widened when she realized that they were teenagers, but their weapons and clothing showed that they were huntsmen.
"What is it?" Qrow asked her.
"They're the ones who attacked this place with you?" Andrea gestured at the young men and women who gave smiles and waves when noticing them.
"Yep. Huntsmen students, the best of the best. When they heard about what was going on here, they volunteered to help."
That made Andrea feel a bit embarrassed for doubting them. More than a few of them were laughing and fooling around like the immature boys and girls back in her high school days, but they'd taken down the alliance's stronghold.
Qrow kept her going until she was at the main entrance of the fort, the room a mess just like the rest of the building.
"Hey cop," Qrow announced as they went through the doors and went aside to present her. "Look who we have."
Phil had been talking to some other students. He was in his police uniform, and when he saw her an enormous smile ran across his face. "Andrea!" He shouted and ran to her, catching her in a crushing hug.
"Oookay, that's enough," Andrea said after a few seconds. She appreciated it more than he knew, but she needed to breathe.
"Right right." Phil leaned back, tears just barely held back in his eyes. "You're okay, right? Did they do anything to you?"
"I'm fine. They treated me like a prized hostage." Andrea had been worried about torture, but luckily that they hadn't decided to try it yet. "Phil, what's going on? Who are these people?"
"They're Haven students. Except Qrow, he's a licensed huntsman. They have some sort of relationship with the Interference, I'm not sure what. But they helped get you back!" The cheer and excitement on his face returned.
"Alright, I guess we'll leave that as another mystery of the Interference. There's something important though, the family heads that were here. Did you catch them?"
Phil's grin grew more pleased. "We hit the motherload. We caught them in the middle of a meeting. Thrace, Iona, Xiaoping, Kallis, the alliance is finished after this."
Andrea gaped at his words. Those were families that had been in the rotten core of the city for decades, even centuries for a few. Their presence had affected her all throughout her life in the city. Just the fact that they existed had partly undermined her motivation for joining the police, and that wasn't even including their influence on the police and government. Hidden to most, and even she hadn't known their moves in detail, but there'd been rumors that she heard and had verified with Malachite, who'd gotten a lot bigger than she liked to think. Cases left alone instead of being investigated, people mysteriously disappearing or clamming up,
There'd be no more of that. At least not from them.
She just barely held back from shouting and jumping in joy. If there hadn't so many strangers around, she wouldn't have held back at all. .
Andrea settled for a shared look of excitement and anticipation between her and Phil. The Interference's end goal seemed like it was just ahead. They were going to be busy.
\\\\\
At her desk, Pyrrha looked up from her scroll and saw Jaune fall back on his bed. He let out a breath and groaned.
She laughed lightly. "Tired?" Ten p.m. was rather early to turn in for the night, but after the day he'd had he deserved it.
"Mmhm." Jaune had showered so his wet hair spread out a bit as he stared up at the ceiling. "God I hope Clark comes back soon."
"I agree. It really was chaotic handling the Interference without him."
"He takes a short break and suddenly we have to deal with a double-kidnapping and organize a raid on a crime base. It doesn't make sense. How can a situation get that bad that fast?"
"We must be spending too much time with Mr. Branwen," she answered.
"That has to be it. You know he told me that Andrea was in the last place he looked? I should have thought more carefully before sending him to rescue her."
"He's still a professional huntsman, and his Semblance would have caused bad luck for the criminals around him first. It was a good choice."
"I guess." He held his hands over his stomach and spoke again after a few moments. "Pyrrha, we did well, right? Like, Clark won't be disappointed when he gets back."
"Why would he be? This is the best outcome we could have hoped for from such a disaster."
"It is, but I just keep thinking that we could have done better. Andrea said she had a window. If we'd done some more recon first, we might have learned that and have Qrow fly right in. Or us going to that Malachite woman for information. That can't be okay, we should have tried harder to find out more on our own before going to someone like her-
"Jaune, stop." Her voice was firm, then she returned to a comforting tone. "Don't worry. We did our best, Clark will understand."
"Y-yeah, you're right."
"I mean it. You should be proud of how you reacted to Andrea's kidnapping. Clark thought it would still take months until we could get these families vulnerable, and with Andrea and Phil we've brought the whole city's attention on what they've done." She walked over and pressed a hand on his shoulder. "You did wonderfully."
"Thanks." He sat up and showed her a genuine lopsided smile. "I would have been completely lost without you, Ruby, and Phil though. You should pat yourselves on the back too."
"Don't forget Mr. Branwen and all the Haven students that helped us."
He nodded. "Especially Iris, it's amazing that she got the entire Dart club to come."
That single sentence was enough to turn Pyrrha's smile brittle. She casually turned away, expecting him to otherwise see the falseness in it. "I'm surprised she agreed so readily. Are you two that close?"
"Nah, we're friends, but she came because she wanted to some good like 'the Dart' would do."
That would have comforted her if it weren't for the clear admiration in his voice. Pyrrha faced him with her best attempt at a teasing smile. "You know, Andrea and Phil seemed to get very close after the raid. Closer than friends normally would be. If you want, it might also be a chance to get closer to Iris."
It wasn't Pyrrha's style and she cringed at how awkward she sounded. Maybe if Yang had spoken with that kind of voice it would have been suspicious, but Pyrrha thought it should be believable that she'd actually be that awkward when teasing someone.
Jaune gave her a confused look. "Pyrrha, do you think I like Iris or something? Thanks for the help, but there's nothing between us."
Now relief flooded her, she nodded. "Just checking. As your partner though, I'm sure I'd know if you felt that way for somebody."
"Come on, I think I could hide it pretty well."
"I think Weiss would say differently."
He groaned and brought a hand to his face. "Can we pretend like that never happened. It's not like I'd go up to the room of the girl I like now with a guitar and song ready."
Pyrrha blinked and leaned forward. "Hold on a moment. There is someone?"
He went red and pulled back. "N-no, I was just talking hypothetically. You know. If there was a girl I liked right now, I wouldn't . . . heh heh."
Jaune couldn't meet her gaze any longer. Pyrrha scrutinized his expression carefully before slowly retreating. "You're not that good at hiding it when pressed."
He muttered something that she didn't catch.
"What?" she asked.
"Nothing. Okay, you win. There is someone." He frowned and leaned back on the headrest of his bed.
"I didn't mean to upset you. I'm just curious. Is-is it someone I know?"
"No way, I can't tell you that." It was a miracle that Jaune didn't read any deeper into her nervousness.
"Why not?" she asked, hurt by his refusal. Even disregarding her feelings, she'd thought they were close enough that he would tell her these things. "We're partners."
"Still, I can't."
Pyrrha's eyes traveled along the room. She suddenly felt empty. Even if he told her, what could she do? Try to win his feelings instead? There was little hope of that when they already knew each other so well as friends.
Jaune sighed. "You don't have to be like that. Okay, compromise. I'll just tell you what she's like."
Pyrrha nodded, still not sure if she wanted to hear it.
Jaune hesitated, thinking before deciding what to say. "She's a great fighter. Well, almost everyone at Haven is compared to me, but she's really skilled. She's humble too though, she never brags and doesn't have a hint of arrogance." His initial hesitation had vanished, the enthusiasm that had replaced like a tight grip on her heart. "She's surprisingly shy too. I mean, you'd never know it, she handles strangers really smoothly, but she doesn't like their attention at all. It's really something special when you're with her and she decides to act like herself."
"You must really like her."
"I do, but I don't think anything will ever happen between us." Jaune looked aside. As if what he'd just said were unfortunate but something he couldn't change.
That stirred Pyrrha's interest, for reasons both good and bad. "Why not?"
"Not that long ago, I kind of blew up at her. We're cool now, but it just reminded me of something. She'd never say so, she's too nice, but I just can't measure up to her.
"Of course you do. No matter how great you think she is, there's no reason for you to think that way."
He smiled, strangely amused by her statement. He soon returned to his expression of accepting a harsh reality. "Thanks, but it's true. It's not just that she's a better fighter. It's me. I just get so jealous sometimes, and upset, and it's even stupider because of courseshe and everyone around me would be better. They've trained for way longer and worked hard. That's how I feel though, and if that's the kind of person I am, then I don't even deserve to be as close to her as I am now."
Pyrrha didn't know what to say in response. For some time they sat there in strained silence, and her next words had the same effect as a sharp pin on a balloon.
"This probably comes as a surprise to you, but I've had feelings for someone for a while. I thought it would be best to hide them, to not allow them the chance to ruin a great friendship, but I'm not sure I can anymore." She turned away and a hand went to her forehead. "Maybe it's because I learned how hurt he is and I want him to love himself as much as I love him. Maybe it's because there's now a very real possibility someone else might take him and I'm just being selfish. I don't even know."
"Pyrrha . . ."
She faced him, meeting his gaze with a determination that was hard to maintain. "Jaune, I love you. More than a friend, more than a partner. I've felt this way almost as long as we've known each other, and it's only gotten stronger as we've become closer."
"R-really?" His eyes were wide. "I never knew."
"Yes," she laughed. It was such a relief to say it that her fear was temporarily forgotten. "Our friends have even teased me about hiding it so badly."
"They have?" Jaune blinked, clearly trying to remember any such incident. He shook his head, and then looked at her with his head hunched in embarrassment. "Well, um, okay. I think it's only fair that I tell you who mine is."
"You don't have to," Pyrrha said, immediately stamping down any temptation to find out.
"Actually I do." He smiled, shining with joy. "It's you. Pyrrha, I love you too."
She stared at him, speechless for a few seconds. The words she'd wanted to hear for so long, and he'd said them so easily. She laughed, too giddy to think clearly and leapt onto him in a tight hug.
"Whoa!" he fell on his back and they bounced lightly on the mattress.
Pyrrha looked down at his smiling face, locks of her hair had fallen down around it.
"So, um, what are we gonna do?" he asked.
"First, this." She leaned down with a courage that would normally have been impossible for her. She closed her eyes and with a pounding heart pressed her lips against his.
The kiss didn't brim with heat and passion, they were too inexperienced for that, but she still thought it was perfect.
The door flung open. "Hey-oh!" Nora left the room and shut the door before Pyrrha even caught sight of her. From the other side she said, "Don't mind me, just continue."
Pyrrha looked down at Jaune. Having regained her senses, her cheeks burned and she backed off. She sat on her knees as if asking for forgiveness. From who, she had no idea.
Jaune got up with confusion. "So . . . are we not going to continue?"
She hunched her shoulders. "I-I think we should talk about our relationship first. After that, we'll see."