Destiny No More

Chapter 54

"Lie Ren, Nora Valkyrie, Blake Belladonna, and Yang Xiao Long." Ozpin called them up to the stage, half of her old team now standing with their new partners. Whether by Fate, intervention, or simple chance, things had gone very differently this time, and Pyrrha felt her stomach roll at how effortlessly her team had been broken up. "Together you managed to gather the Black Rook pieces. You shall henceforth be known as team Rainbow, led by Lie Ren."

Pyrrha clapped politely, much like the rest of the room, but she couldn't force herself to feel better. Team JNPR had felt like family to her, they'd been her closest friends and had treated her like they would have any other student of Beacon. To see that team broken up was painful. There had been a time she thought they might never break up, that even after their time at Beacon they would have gone on missions together, she'd really been looking forward to it.

A hand resting on her shoulder helped to snap her out of her thoughts. Coco could tell that something was wrong, and was probably already planning to talk to her about it back in the dorm room. The simple gesture meant more than she really expected it to, and Pyrrha tried to offer her a more confident smile.

"Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Jaune Arc, and Pyrrha Nikos." The room immediately erupted in whispers, as if the student body hadn't already been painfully aware of her presence there. It had been the exact same last time, at least this time it was aimed at someone else... technically. "Together you gathered the Gold Queen pieces. Your team name shall be Rowan, and you will be led by Ruby Rose."

Ruby was surprised, much as she had been the time before. Though she didn't know it yet she would make an excellent leader, Pyrrha was confident that Ren would as well even if she didn't have the benefit of foresight for him. He would have to adapt, but he was smart and acted as the calm voice of reason to Nora's... Nora-ness. He would be a great leader for Team RNBY. Looking back at Team RWAN however, Pyrrha sighed at what that all meant. Jaune wouldn't be a leader, at least not during Beacon.

Leading Team JNPR had helped him to grow faster than the rest of them. He'd managed to catch up to students with nearly a decade more experience than him in the time span of only a few months. Her own bias probably influenced her opinion of his capabilities, just a little bit, but he'd certainly been making swift progress. He'd been thrown into a position he was woefully unprepared for and forced to make it work. A trial by fire that she was sure most people would have given up on. He'd come out the other side stronger for it. Could he do the same now?

Pyrrha sighed and turned away from the stage as Ozpin called up another team she vaguely recognized but didn't truly know. The auditorium had been reserved for the team assignments for the day and outside it awaited the various older students who were meant to show the younger years around.

Team CFVY had been the only one to go in, mostly because Coco said they should, but they weren't the only ones waiting for their assigned teams. A few of the second years glared not so subtly at Coco and her team, which she supposed also included her.

Seeing an excuse to get her mind off what was happening inside Pyrrha asked, "What's that about?"

Coco shrugged. "I don't know, must be a bunch of sore loser's upset they don't get to show around the Invincible Girl." Her smug smile, and the way that those same people bristled under her words, betrayed her feigned ignorance.

Pyrrha wrapped an arm around her front, rubbing her elbow awkwardly as she let that sink in. There were only a handful of people who hadn't heard the name Pyrrha Nikos these days, Jaune somehow being one of them, and her name was especially well known among the would-be Huntsmen of her generation. Despite her skill however, she knew that she was nothing compared to a real Huntsman.