Capítulo 693: 36
Chapter 36:
"Pyrrha, you need to withdraw from Beacon."
At this time of the evening, the CCT center in Beacon Tower was almost deserted. Pyrrha supposed that was for the best. She got the feeling that there might be some raised voices, before this conversation was over.
Normally, Pyrrha would have answered her scroll, and told her parents that she was doing evening practice, and that would be enough to mollify them, along with the assurance that she would talk with them on Sunday. Instead, however, they had sent a notification for a terminal call. Arranging such a call took more work than just dialing her scroll, which meant Pyrrha was obligated to answer said call...which, unfortunately, required her to abandon her friends to their practice, without her, and head to Beacon Tower to find the first available terminal. Calling in to just chat or check up on her didn't require such an elaborate action, indicating that her parents meant business...in the most literal sense imaginable.
It was a mixed blessing that the center was deserted. There were plenty of available terminals, which meant that Pyrrha would not have to wait for one in order to answer her parents. Unfortunately, Pyrrha felt she would have liked to put this conversation off, just a little bit longer, getting the feeling that it was going to be an unpleasant one.
And, given that opening line, delivered by her father, Pyrrha felt vindicated in her suspicion.
Anatolius Nikos didn't look all that much like his daughter. His short hair, combed back over the top of his head, was a lighter, almost reddish-blonde color. If one looked closely, they might see some resemblance to Pyrrha's profile in the angular lines that made up his face and the green of his narrower eyes, though it was a paler green than Pyrrha's own eyes. His chin narrowed almost to a point, decorated by a beard that was just short enough that calling it a goatee felt wrong.
Had he been sitting a little farther back from the screen, Pyrrha would have been able to see more of the dark-brown suit jacket, with its bronze trim, that he typically wore. Her father's build was nothing impressive, neither particularly muscular, nor scrawny. It was just...average...mainly because her father wasn't a Huntsman, neither of her parents were.
"I have no intention of doing that," said Pyrrha firmly, looking her father in the eye as best she could through the screen that separated them.
"Pyrrha, dear," said her mother plaintively, "don't be rash. Your image took a serious blow when those videos started circulating. Remaining at Beacon could just make things worse."
In Pyrrha's mother, Phoinix Nikos, there was a much more definite resemblance. In fact, their faces were virtually identical in shape, though her hair was a darker-red than Pyrrha's. Unlike Pyrrha, Phoinix wore hers loose, allowing it to cascade just past her shoulders, allowing it to frame the smooth, flawless skin of her face, along with her deep, dark-blue eyes.
From the cloth over her shoulders, Pyrrha could tell that her mother was wearing a cream-colored dress, probably a fairly plain-looking, albeit expensive designer-brand one. The dress would be just enough to show off the lines of her mother's impressive bust and hips, the figure of the woman who had once been one of Mistral's most-prominent fashion models. Granted, her mother had filled out a little more, since her retirement.
No wonder she wanted Pyrrha to withdraw from Beacon so badly, seeing as she was looking across the screen and at the reason she'd been able to retire at such a young age in the first place.
"I'm not overly concerned by my image, right now," said Pyrrha. "I'm concentrating on my studies and training."
"You're so unconcerned because you have no notion of just what a mess those videos are making over here," declared Anatolius. "Do you have any idea how much harassment we've received since those videos went viral?"
"I'm sorry to hear that, Dad," said Pyrrha. "But I'm sure you can filter the mail, and I know that our neighborhood's security is more than up to the task of keeping anyone dangerous out."
They had better be up to the task, to Pyrrha's mind. After all, that was why, after her first two tournament wins, her family had used the money she brought in, through her endorsements, to buy a house in one of Mistral's more affluent, gated communities. They could live in luxury and comfort, out of the reach of the masses that Pyrrha was forced to deal with on a regular basis.
"Please, Pyrrha..." pleaded her mother, "...think of the damage this is going to do. Holly advised us that this incident could cost you more than a few sponsors. Even if the the tournament committee has rejected accusations of cheating, that won't automatically turn public perception around. Your sponsors are more affected by opinion than the committee, and they will drop you, if they feel that this sufficiently damages their image."
"Exactly," said Anatolius, closing his eyes and nodding decisively. "That is why you need to come home, Pyrrha. You can't work with your sponsors from over in Vale and, because you disregarded the endorsement offers we got from Vale-based companies, when we notified you about them, you haven't made inroads over there. No company in that Kingdom will touch you, now that you've become such a controversial subject."
"You don't have to give up your Huntress-training," added Phoinix in a conciliatory tone. "You can go to Haven instead. You'll be close enough to home that you'll be able to do more to control the damage this has done, and engage with your sponsors more closely. I'm sure Professor Lionheart will approve your transfer in a heartbeat."
"Most importantly, it will enable us to avoid the possibility of another incident," added Anatolius, making the crux of the matter perfectly clear to Pyrrha, though she'd already suspected that was the actual reasoning behind their desire to get her out of Beacon from the beginning.
In other words, they wanted to get her away from Ruby, and the possibility of future matches that might end in draws, or worse, a loss. In the long-term, a draw could be glossed over. But a loss would mean a definitive end to her status as the 'Invincible Girl' that so many of her sponsors had staked their reputations on.
"No," said Pyrrha simply. "I'm staying at Beacon. I refuse to withdraw just because of a draw in a sparring match."
"A match that happened to be recorded and spread across the entire world!" exclaimed her father, his frustration at her defiance bleeding through into his voice. "On top of that, your Semblance has been revealed to everyone. There is no going back from that. It's destroyed your greatest advantage in your future matches."
"Then I shall simply have to reassess how I use it," said Pyrrha. "I'll have to train harder and evolve my combat-style to make more effective use of it. That's entirely the reason why I sought out Ruby as an opponent in the first place, to push my limits and learn more about what I can and can't do. I gained more from that one match than I have in the last four years of training."
"Don't exaggerate," scoffed Anatolius. "That uppity brat got lucky, and tricked you by concealing the true nature of her weapon. That's all there is to it."
"That 'uppity brat' is my teammate and team leader, not to mention one of the first real friends I've had in years," said Pyrrha, an edge of real anger finding its way into her voice as she glared furiously at her parents, who quailed. "Don't you dare refer to her so disrespectfully. She's a brilliant fighter who has trained as hard, if not harder, than I have. And you're one to talk about her tricking me by concealing the true nature of her weapon, when I've been doing the same thing with my Semblance for years."
"That girl is undermining your career!" Anatolius shouted back, gritting his teeth. "If you allow her to completely wreck your image now, what do you think you'll do after you get out of Beacon?"
"I don't know," said Pyrrha sarcastically, unable to keep from rolling her eyes, "maybe take bounty missions, work as a Huntress; you know...the thing I've been training my whole life to do."
"Don't take that tone with me, young lady!" snapped Anatolius. "We did not raise you to talk back to us like that!"
"I'll take whatever tone I like, Dad!" Pyrrha snapped back, leaning forward and glaring at her father through the screen. "I know you don't care so much about how I make a living as much as you care about how you'll keep yours, once you don't have all my sponsorship money to live on. Why do you think I've been practicing living within my means as Huntress and putting all that extra money into savings? I figured it would be a nice nest egg for you to live on after I graduate, and go into proper Huntress work."
"Pyrrha...darling...please..." pleaded Phoinix, trying to work a more sympathetic angle. "It's lovely that you want to leave us all that money. But...I'm worried that you might need more..."
Pyrrha frowned, pressing her lips in a tight line as she looked at her mother's face very closely. She recognized that tone, the guilty shift in her mother's eyes, glancing back and forth. "Mom...what did you buy this time?" she asked tiredly.
"W-well...I figured that...you know, before all this happened..." Phoinix waved her hands vaguely. "...I thought it would be nice for us to have a way for you to get back to Mistral on short notice...like during school breaks and such...and I thought that having an available means of transport-"
"Oh my God," groaned Pyrrha, her eyes going wide. "You bought an airship?!"
"I-I put a deposit down on a lovely new model," said Phoinix, her voice picking up, betraying her unease. "It wasn't too much-"
"Moooooom!" groaned Pyrrha, palming her face with her hands, unable to look her mother in the eye for a moment, before lowering her hands to glare at her father. "I thought I gave you control of my account, and told you not to let her do anymore impulse buys."
Now it was Anatolius' turn to look guilty and shift his eyes, a habit he'd, predictably, picked up from Phoinix. "Sh-she talked me into it. I thought it was a sound investment."
There were no words to Pyrrha's next groan, as she once again rested her face in her hands, unable to believe her parents. How is it that I'm more responsible than the two adults in this conversation? she wondered exasperatedly. "I can't believe you two."
If there was one glaring fault about her mother, it was the fact that Phoinix Nikos often had eyes higher than their means. With the income from her sponsorships, Pyrrha's work had placed the Nikos family in the tier of Mistral's lower-to-mid-upperclass. But her mother wasn't truly satisfied with that, not completely. She wanted the kind of trappings that the ultra-rich elite enjoyed, like private airships. She wanted to be a part of the so-called "jet set" who could go galavanting off to exotic locales at a whim, despite the fact that supporting such a lifestyle would beyond their means, even if Pyrrha continued the same work she'd been doing.
"Pyrrha, it's a smaller model-" her mother began.
"It's an intercontinental model!" Pyrrha exclaimed. "I'm willing to bet the down payment alone would be enough to buy a short-range model twice its size, if not bigger...up front, no less. I can't believe you'd do this!"
Private airships were expensive enough as it was. But intercontinental models were in another bracket altogether. Flight within the confines of a Kingdom wasn't all that dangerous. But the world outside the walls was a different matter. Airships were the safest and most reliable means of travel, seeing as the Grimm made things like road-maintenance all but impossible. But that didn't change the fact that flight outside the Kingdom had its hazards. There was always the risk of encountering Nevermores, Griffons, or other flying Grimm. Some large and powerful Grimm had the potential to down low-flying aircraft with thrown objects. Intercontinental airships had to be equipped with tech to counter such threats. A small model, like the one Phoinix apparently wanted, would probably have shields and emergency boosters at least, which would increase the price by an order of magnitude over a short-range model for local flights.
Despite not wanting to hear the answer to her next question, Pyrrha narrowed her eyes at her parents. "How much?"
"The deposit was ten-million," her mother began, "and we can obviously pay off the rest-"
"TEN MILLION LIEN!" shrieked Pyrrha, her eyes going wide. "And that's just the down payment? Are you insane, Mom? That's almost a third of our total assets. And it's going to be decades before you can pay it off!"
"Don't get hysterical," urged Anatolius. "We can manage, so long as you can keep your sponsors happy."
"Cancel that purchase," said Pyrrha, with every ounce of authority she could project into her voice. "Cancel it. Return the airship, NOW!"
"We can't do that," protested Phoinix. "We'd lose the deposit then."
"Then you're just going to have to live with it!" snapped Pyrrha. "It's your fault for thinking you could get away with buying something that ridiculous." She groaned in frustration, massaging her temple with one hand. "Do you have any idea how costly something like that is? It isn't just the payments and interest, you know. We can't exactly park something like that on our driveway. We'd have to rent space at the air-docks. Then there's maintenance fees, fuel, and permits. We'd also need a crew, or just a pilot at the very least, because I suspect neither of you is going to learn how to fly an airship yourselves anytime soon."
Seeing her parents shift uncomfortably, Pyrrha figured her guess was on the mark. Even though her youthfully-retired mother had plenty of free time on her hands now, a personal airship wasn't a true status-symbol unless you had someone to fly it for you...at least, that's how Phoinix thought of it.
Pyrrha frowned, pressing on. "Even with my current sponsorships, this is way too much money. Between what you're already paying for, with the house and the car, we can't cover an airship and its associated costs. I'd have to..."
Pyrrha's voice trailed off. I'd have to go back home, she'd realized. I'd have to work harder, get more sponsorships, do more promotions. I'd probably have to start doing work in other Kingdoms. The airship would come in handy for that...which means... "Mom...Dad...What did Holly think about this?"
"She was all for it," said Phoinix. "In fact, she was the one who brought it up, and even identified a good model-"
She was cut off by a very undignified and angry snarl from Pyrrha, a sound that Pyrrha almost never made. It was so ferocious that both her parents lurched away from the screen, as though Pyrrha might somehow strike them across the distance that separated them.
"That bitch!" hissed Pyrrha, pure fury surging through her veins. "So that's her plan...I'm going to fire her for this!"
"Y-you don't get to make that decision," declared Anatolius, trying his best to sound imperious, even though he was clearly disconcerted by Pyrrha's anger. "Holly works for us, and she has done a marvelous job managing you these past few years..."
"Of course she has," growled Pyrrha. "After all, her commission increases the more money I bring in."
She could see her agent's plan now. Holly had been the talent manager and promotional agent hired by her parents, after Pyrrha's second tournament win. She had developed Pyrrha's public image to make her more marketable, and managed all the celebrity work Pyrrha had done. It was a natural relationship of give and take. According to their arrangement, Holly's fee was a cut of the profits from each sponsorship, endorsement, or promotion.
When they had met, a naive, fourteen-year-old Pyrrha had thought Holly was nice, easy to talk to, someone who clearly knew what was best for her. But, in the following years, Pyrrha had begun to see that Holly's pleasant behavior was a persona, not unlike the one she had forced Pyrrha to adopt, designed to put her at ease and make it easier for Holly to steer Pyrrha in whatever direction she had wanted. Beneath that facade lay the heart and mind of a shrewd manipulator, someone who maneuvered others primarily to suit her own interests and wellbeing.
When Pyrrha had decided to attend Beacon, instead of Haven, it had been Holly who had objected most strongly, protesting how hard it would be for Pyrrha to keep up her image and stay current in Mistral, if she was away at Vale for nearly the entire year. It had given Pyrrha an opportunity to see the cracks in Holly's mask, and get a proper glimpse of the woman's true self.
And now Holly's scheme was painfully apparent. However much she was annoyed by their frivolous behavior, and the way they treated her fame as something that existed for their sakes, Pyrrha did love her parents dearly. She wanted to support them, and ensure that they could live comfortably. It was only natural that Holly would be willing to use that sentiment to control Pyrrha. Manipulating her parents into threatening to spend themselves into destitution was the ideal lure to bring Pyrrha back to Mistral, and put her back to work.
Perhaps Pyrrha had indulged that sympathetic desire to support her parents too much, and now her parents had become too inured to the idea of getting what they wanted, without having to think too much about the cost. After all, if Pyrrha signed up for another calendar-shoot or posed for another swimsuit-magazine, the costs would be covered just fine.
Even going to an Academy, like Beacon or Haven, worked out to their benefit, in the end. Finishing her training and graduating, Pyrrha would return home, a full-fledged Huntress, along with all the adulation that came with such a title. Of course, Pyrrha's prestige could be further boosted if she racked up even more achievements while in an Academy, like...say...winning the Vytal Festival tournament one or two times, something her parents had probably assumed was a natural outcome for a girl of her skill and talents (an assumption that might well have been shaken by the sparring match that had sparked this conversation in the first place).
"In any case, it should be obvious what you need to do," continued Anatolius, oblivious to his daughter's train of thought. "You need to come home, right away. We can still work through this. This match can be explained as a fluke-no-we'll say that you let that girl do as well as she did. She's two years younger than you. There's no way she could obtain such an absurd result legitimately. You just wanted to help her gain experience and polish her skills. You're just that generous after all."
Pyrrha bit her bottom lip, fighting back the urge to scream at her father for talking down about Ruby like that. She decided to at least let him finish, before tearing down his ambitious plan. "No." She injected every ounce of her personal conviction into that word.
"What?" blurted her father, shocked by her response.
"I will do no such thing," said Pyrrha simply. "I am not going to say or do anything to undermine the legitimacy of our match's outcome. Besides, if you're so worried about my image, think about what it would mean if I abruptly left after this match. It would look like I was running away, that I was afraid to face Ruby again."
"It's a risk you need to take! You have to leave!" shouted Anatolius. "Your future is on the line."
"My future is on track," said Pyrrha, coming to a realization that she realized had been long in coming...too long, if she was honest. "All I ever wanted was to be a Huntress, to protect people and make a difference in the world. All of this...it's what you wanted. But I wanted to be a good daughter and support you."
"Of course you do," said Phoinix. "After all, we helped you realize your talents, darling. Remember how we scrimped to pay for that fighting class, to get your Aura unlocked. After you discovered your Semblance, we paid for that personal trainer. We even covered the cost of your weapon."
"And how many times over have I paid you back for that?" asked Pyrrha. "The house, the neighborhood, the fact that you could retire before you were even forty, Mom; I think I've more than adequately compensated you for all the money you spent on me, even if we factor in the expense of simply raising me as your child."
"How dare you talk back to us like that, young lady?" growled Anatolius. "We are your parents. We deserve your respect and consideration. We are the ones who helped shape you into what you are today."
"Maybe so," said Pyrrha. "But this has made me wonder who the responsible adult is in this conversation. You might be my parents, but...when I look at you...all I can see now is two spoiled children who've gotten too used to getting what they want, when they want it. I've indulged you too much...but this is the final straw."
"Pyrrha!" gasped her mother. "How can you talk about us like that?"
"Because it's true," said Pyrrha. "Because I'm about to do what a responsible adult does, when their dependents fail to realize what's at stake. I'm cutting you off."
"You can't!" protested her father. "You legally can't. The account is in all our names. You can't change that without our consent."
"You're right," said Pyrrha. "But that account is all you have now, that and whatever money comes in through the sponsors that don't abandon me after this false controversy. That's yours to do with as you please. The investments our financial advisor set up will be there too...in a few years from now...assuming nothing goes wrong with the stock market in the meantime. That should be more than enough to support your current living conditions, assuming you-I don't know-don't do something completely foolish, like blow it all on a private airship, and all the associated costs that come with it. But I'm not bailing you out anymore. You're going to have to learn how to live within your means, to live like adults, in other words. That's the end of it."
"And what will you do?" asked Anatolius, his face crimson with fury. "How will you live?"
"On my stipend as a Beacon student," said Pyrrha. "Once we're allowed to undertake missions, I'll be able to earn bounties as well. That's what I planned on doing from the very beginning. All the money from my work...that was for you. It's always been for you. And it will continue to be, for the rest of your lives, so long as you don't do something utterly ridiculous. But everything I do from now on...it's for me, for the life I've been working towards. If you can't accept that, then I'm sorry. But I'm not turning away now. I'm happier than I've been in years. I won't let anyone take that away, not even you. I'm sorry, but this is the end of this discussion."
"We are not remotely finished, Pyrrha!" shouted her father. "We are not giving you a choice. I am ordering you to come home, right now."
"No," said Pyrrha. "Goodbye."
"Py-" Her mother's voice was cut off as the screen went silent, Pyrrha hanging up on them without a second's pause, not wanting to hesitate, lest she endure several more minutes of her parents' alternating between berating and cajoling her. Getting up, she walked out of the call center, the few other people there watching her go.
Pyrrha managed to hold herself together on the elevator ride down. She managed to keep her chin up through the lobby. However, only partway back to the dorm, she noticed she was completely alone in the courtyard and felt her self-control deserting her. Finding a bench, she settled down. A shuddering breath escaped her and Pyrrha sagged forward with a sorrowful moan, burying her face in her hands.
In a way, she felt foolish for trying to give Jaune advice about his own family. She'd unwittingly allowed hers to come to see her more as a tool, a financial asset, than a person in her own right. Now, supporting their indulgences had apparently become more important than the hopes and dreams she'd carried with her for most of her life.
She had to admit, she had a lot to thank her parents for, even beyond the costs of raising her and getting her trained. Pyrrha's repeated runs through the Mistral Regional Tournament had given her the drive to keep improving, the prospect of next year's tournament, and the challenges it would bring, always inspiring her to work harder, keeping her from resting on her laurels. Even working with her sponsors and promotions had taught her a lot about self control and keeping her cool. There had been so many lessons she had learned, so many experiences gained, that she wouldn't have, had her parents not pressed her onto the celebrity path.
That understanding made it all the harder for her to remain committed to her current course. Even now, a part of her wanted to rush back up to the call center, call her parents back, and apologize profusely and promise to do what she could for them. Maybe there was a way to help them out without having to leave Beacon. She'd be able to convince them that the airship was a terrible idea. She could find something to do in Vale-
Pyrrha pulled her hands away from her face and brought them back in, slapping herself...hard. No! she thought fiercely. Don't give in. I made the right choice. She knew that the urge to apologize, to try and make amends, even though she knew she was in the right, was her training talking; not her combat training, but the social training Holly had given her, the persona of forced modesty trying to assert itself. The weeks she'd spent on Team RASP had helped her to begin breaking out of that mold, to let her true feelings shine through, to occasionally indulge her own wants first. She might have been grateful for all that her parents had done for her, but that didn't mean she was obligated to spend her life living solely to prop them up.
A pair of small, yet strong, arms encircled her shoulders from behind, wrapping her in a warm embrace. The sudden, unexpected contact should have startled her, but Pyrrha only felt comfort from it, that realization alone telling her exactly who she had to thank for this. "Sasame?"
"I came to check on you," said Ruby's adoptive sister, leaning over the bench to hug Pyrrha. "Ruby-chan and the rest of your friends don't need me to supervise their basic Aura-training anymore than I already have. On the other hand, your conversation does not appear to have gone well."
"You could say that," said Pyrrha.
"Tell me," said Sasame simply.
That was all the prompting Pyrrha needed. Normally, she didn't want to speak about her issues and insecurities with those close to her. It felt like she was burdening them with her problems, while each of them already struggled with plenty of their own. Yet, there was, once again, something about Sasame, something about her that made Pyrrha's restraint fall away, and all her worries leave her mouth in a continuous stream, all while Ruby's sister listened in silence.
Finishing with a summary of the conversation that had just occurred, Pyrrha wrapped up her story. In the meantime, Sasame had slid over the top of the bench to sit next to her. Now Sasame's tail divided, the furry appendages wrapping around Pyrrha and pulling her close, even as Sasame's arms tightened their hold. Pyrrha was enfolded in a warm, fluffy cocoon that was softer and more comfortable than the best bed she could ever remember sleeping in.
"Goodness me," said Sasame wryly as Pyrrha sank into the embrace, "not just Ruby-chan, but all of you seem to have such absurdly difficult families."
"I suppose that's true," agreed Pyrrha. After all, there was Weiss and her, admittedly difficult, relationship with her father. Then there was Jaune, whose family had tried to stifle him in a manner similar to the way Ruby's father had. There was Yang, who'd been guilted into helping stifle Ruby by a mistake made, back when she'd been young and desperate. There were Ren and Nora, who were orphans, with God-knew-what in their background. And, of course, there was Blake...with no telling what secrets lurked within her past.
"Well, I suppose that it's fitting that you all came together like this," said Sasame. "Your own families may have disappointed you in some manner or another. But you have each other now. Your unique circumstances, your distinct forms of pain, give you each something to teach one another. From that, you can forge bonds far stronger than those of blood."
"And what about the ones I am bound to by blood?" asked Pyrrha.
"From the sound of things, you've done all you can for them," said Sasame. "It's always sad to see adults lose their perspective, and regress back to the mindset of children. What you did is, perhaps, the most measured and moderate response that would have been appropriate. If your parents truly cannot manage with the means you have provided them, then there may be no saving them.
"It may seem harsh, but children do not exist to be a tool of their parents. Everyone is born into this world to live his or her own life. A parent's obligation is to help a child step onto that path. Parents who have lost sight of that, and focus only upon what their child can do for them, are not worthy of the title."
"Thank you," said Pyrrha. "Still...it's hard."
"Of course it is," said Sasame. "You love your parents very much. You are aware of their faults, but you wish to be a good daughter all the same. In some ways, you are much more mature than Ruby-chan and Jaune-kun, when it comes to such issues. In your case, the hardest thing to do is stand back and allow life to take its course, to remind your parents that they should be able to stand on their own, as they had back before you were there."
"You're right," said Pyrrha.
"In some ways, you possess the same weakness Ruby-chan has been wrestling with," said Sasame.
"Weakness?" Pyrrha blinked, looking over at Sasame in surprise.
Sasame nodded. "You have a tendency to be too selfless, Pyrrha-chan, too willing to help others find happiness at your own expense. That has always been Ruby-chan's greatest weakness as well, something we have been working long and hard, and will continue to work, on breaking her out of. One's life should be lived for oneself, first and foremost. True selflessness is a terrible thing, Pyrrha-chan. It means seeing yourself as nothing more than the value you have for others, becoming empty, hollow, not really living."
Pyrrha swallowed. When Sasame put it like that, being completely selfless really did sound terrible. "Thank you," she said softly.
"It was nothing," said Sasame. "I'm glad we got this chance to talk. I'd been meaning to speak with you privately, like I have the rest of Ruby-chan's teammates."
"Did you want to assess us?" asked Pyrrha.
"I wanted to know more about you," said Sasame. "As I told Jaune-kun, Ruby-chan does not respond well to people manipulating things behind the scenes 'for her own good.' I do not wish to do that to her. However, though it is a selfish desire of mine, I do wish to dote on her, from time to time. Helping her friends, helping all of you strengthen your bonds and come together, that is something I'd like to do."
That made Pyrrha giggle. "It makes me wish I had a sister like you," she said.
"You could," said Sasame.
"Huh?"
"In fact," continued Sasame, "you could have a sister that is me. I made a similar offer to Yang-san, though she hasn't accepted yet. But, if you'd like, I would be happy to be your sister, like I was for Ruby-chan. Truth be told I feel a certain kinship with you."
"You do?" Pyrrha was both shocked and confused.
Sasame sighed. "Yes. I can understand quite well what you've gone through...because your parents very much resemble my own."
"How so?" asked Pyrrha.
Sasame sighed, her eyes growing distant. "Parents who seem more concerned about how you can be a tool to advance their station, more than they care about your happiness...I know that quite well.
"I was born into the Mitarai Family. Our ancestor, Mitarai Tokichiro, was the creator of the healing arts that our clan relies on to this day. Because of that, our family is highly-regarded, and those of us born into it have a natural affinity for the healing arts, which is something that prompted my parents to push me onto the path of a healer, even before I had given much thought to such things as what I wanted to do with my life. And...while I do love them, I also can't help but resent them for that as well. Needless to say, their obsession with our family's status made things very tense between us, when I made Ruby-chan my ward."
"I think I understand," said Pyrrha, smiling wryly. After all, it was her own friendship with Ruby that appeared to be a major point of contention between herself and her parents, now that Ruby had proven herself someone capable of fighting her as an equal.
"And so, as two people with similar issues, I imagine we would get along quite well as sisters," said Sasame.
Pyrrha didn't have to think about Sasame's offer for very long. "I...I'd like that very much," she admitted.
"Wonderful!" cheered Sasame, hugging Pyrrha just a little bit tighter.
"Then, as my new big sister...could I ask you to let me stay like this...just a little longer?" asked Pyrrha.
"It would be my pleasure," said Sasame, stretching up to kiss Pyrrha's cheek.
Pyrrha sighed in relief and allowed the last of her tension to leave her. Before she even realized it, she completely dozed off in Sasame's arms and tails.
"You're not training with us?" asked Ruby, surprised by Pyrrha's statement, Saturday morning.
"I'm not," said Pyrrha, a slightly guilty smile decorating her face. "I know Jaune needs to keep working hard, but I don't think I'm needed to help with that. I have some training of my own that I want to do. I want to follow Professor Goodwitch's advice and address the weaknesses in my combat style."
"Oh..." said Ruby, at a bit of a loss about how to respond. It was true that spending so much time helping Jaune train meant that they had less time to work on their own skills. Ruby realized that she hadn't been doing a lot of practice for herself lately. She could definitely stand to work on addressing the issues that Glynda had brought up about her own style.
"I'm sorry," said Pyrrha, lowering her head. "I know it's selfish of me, but..." She raised her head, her eyes drifting to Sasame, who beamed proudly from where she sat, by Ruby. "...someone told me that I need to work on being more selfish."
Jaune rubbed his head, grinning sheepishly. "Well, I can't complain," he said, "not after everything you've already done for me Pyrrha. If anything, I should be apologizing for taking up so much of your time. In fact, I should apologize to all of you."
"That's not necessary," said Weiss. "As a matter of fact, I have some things of my own that I would like to work on. I'm sure Ruby does as well." She smirked at their team leader. "In fact, I think now would be a good time to see if Jaune can continue to work on improving himself, without the rest of us hanging over his shoulder."
"Good enough for me," said Jaune, before blushing slightly. "Um...I'm gonna regret asking this, but I'll still need some help with that core exercise Ruby likes torturing me with."
"I'll rig something up," said Weiss. "A little fire-Dust, set to the right output, should be more than capable of serving the same purpose. I have to admit, if you'll put yourself through that willingly, then I can't help but acknowledge that you're serious about this."
"Thanks," grumbled Jaune, though he was still smiling slightly.
Ruby sighed. "Well...I guess that's the way things are going to be from now on. We still need to do team exercises from time to time."
"Of course we do," said Weiss. "Professor Goodwitch did say that team-battles will be occurring, later in the semester. We'd best prepare for that as well."
"We'll have our Aura-training in the evenings too," added Pyrrha.
"Well, I guess we're going to start doing our own thing on Saturdays," said Ruby.
"During the week too," said Jaune. "I know Pyrrha's pretty much taught me all the basics of sword-and-shield techniques. Anything more advanced she could teach me would be things specific to her weapons. I need to work out the best way to use my own weapons for myself." That last line sounded suspiciously like the one he'd used to try and turn Ruby down, during Initiation. However, this time, it wasn't born from an absurd sense of pride, but instead the knowledge that he was in a unique situation, and had to find his own way through it.
"Okay..." said Ruby hesitantly. "Just don't be afraid to ask for advice."
"I won't," promised Jaune. "Whatever else, I know that you girls know way more about fighting in general than I do."
"Be careful," said Ruby, squeezing his shoulder. "They might know better than to shove you into a locker, but I bet Cardinal is still looking for their chance."
"I'll manage," Jaune promised. "I can't exactly hide behind my friends forever."
Ruby nodded, still feeling a little nervous at the prospect. She could still recall, vividly, the night Cardin and his cronies had stuffed Jaune into his rocket locker, and nearly launched him into the Emerald Forest. She was certain that CRDL wouldn't go that far again, not when they'd been caught, and were fully aware that they'd been treading on some very thin ice with Glynda. But that wouldn't stop them from subtler forms of bullying that were easier to hide. But if she refused to leave Jaune alone, just because of that fear, then it was basically saying that she had no faith in his ability to stand up for himself.
The team broke up, its members going their separate ways to work on their own for a little while. As they did, Sasame watched them, Ruby in particular, a slightly sad smile on her face.
The next bombshell was dropped when they reconvened for lunch.
"What?!" exclaimed Ruby, eyes wide at Sasame's announcement. "You're leaving?"
"Yes," said Sasame. "It's my intention to depart tomorrow evening. All things considered, I've already stayed longer than I probably should have. Two weeks is more than enough time. I promised you that I wouldn't hover."
Ruby frowned, looking down at her plate. Her first impulse was to beg Sasame to stay longer. She still wasn't confident that she could properly supervise her friends' Aura-training, much less help them develop anything resembling a Manifestation. They were still working on the basics of Temper and Suppression, and hadn't even begun on things like Flow or Projection.
Still, Sasame had her own responsibilities back home. She couldn't stay out forever, just to look over Ruby's shoulder. More importantly, Ruby knew that depending on Sasame hanging around would be almost like admitting that her father had been right, that she wasn't capable of handling things on her own, not if she kept clinging to her older sister for help and support. Sasame was just visiting after all.
"All right," said Ruby.
Sasame smiled and gently patted Ruby's arm. "You're doing just fine, Ruby-chan; better than fine, in fact. You've been blessed with good friends and, even though I will be leaving, you still have another loving older sister to depend on."
Across from Ruby, Yang blushed slightly, moved by Sasame's faith in her.
"You're right," said Ruby.
"I'm glad that I got to see how you've been doing," said Sasame. "I'm even happier to meet the people who have become so important to you. I know you'll continue to grow, even when I'm not watching over you directly."
"We'll watch over her in your place," promised Pyrrha, hugging Ruby around the shoulders, "just like she's watching over us."
"Well then, I can see I have nothing to worry about," said Sasame, beaming happily.
"So, if you're leaving tomorrow evening, that means you'll have all of the rest of tomorrow to hang out," noted Yang, something strange, almost melancholy about the tone of her voice.
"That was my intention," said Sasame. "I was certainly planning to spend my last day here with Ruby-chan. Yang-san, would you like to join us again?"
"Actually...I'll pass," said Yang. "I'll be there to see you off. But what I really wanted to do was suggest something, if this is gonna be your last day together for a while."
"Oh? What's that?" asked Sasame.
"You should go to Patch," said Yang, looking at both Sasame and Ruby. "There's...there's something there you should see..."
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