Destiny No More

Chapter 58

Pyrrha stumbled through the halls of Beacon with a smile on her face. Her legs were sore, her arms felt like they were made of lead, and it felt like her Aura was on fire, but she couldn't have been happier. They'd been training with her Magic again, much as they had been for the last couple days, and Ozpin had been beyond grueling. Any thoughts of him getting the position of Headmaster through nothing more than manipulation were banished after seeing him in action. He was a genuinely good teacher. Patient yet insistent, he had a tendency to know when you were going too far and needed a moment, or if you could keep going.

For many it would have been overwhelming; for Pyrrha, it was exactly what she wanted. It actually reminded her of her first coach. At the time she had thought he knew everything there was to know about fighting; she still respected the man even after all these years. Once she'd started winning tournaments however, her family had replaced him, instead paying for a team of people to support her during training and fights.

Ozpin and him would have gotten along well, assuming they didn't already know each other. The world had turned out to be a far smaller place than she could have ever imagined back before Beacon. Or perhaps it was just their line of work, Huntsmen only made up a small portion of the population after all, so it wasn't insane to think that they all at least knew of each other, especially when it came to the influential ones like Ozpin.

Despite all his training, she hadn't been able to mimic his move entirely yet, but aside from the pain, she was managing to feel... something stir inside her as she tried to do as he instructed her to. He had insisted that was good progress, even if it had taken them a few days to get to that. The mere fact that she was able to tell the difference between her own Magic and his was proof that their theory had some merit to it. Now it was just a matter of practice and repetition.

As she walked, she couldn't help but wonder what else he could teach her. There were so many new possibilities and things she could learn. She had missed moments of discovery like this, figuring out her fighting style early on had been an experience she hadn't truly appreciated at the time. She had gone through a few different weapons before settling on Milo and Akouo, this felt much the same.

So lost in thought was she, that she didn't catch herself as she collided with another student.

"Sorry." Pyrrha apologized as she fell backwards. Normally she would have been more than able to catch herself, but with how tired she was, it was a miracle she only fell on her backside and wasn't sprawled out on the floor.

"No, no, I should have been watching where I was going." She recognized the voice instantly, even as she looked up at the familiar gloved hand trying to help her. She gripped his hand a little harder than was probably normal but, considering the size of his Aura, he didn't even seem to notice.

Jaune pulled her up with a muted smile.

"It's no problem, I am a little distracted today." Pyrrha rubbed her hand against the back of her neck. "I should have been paying attention."

Jaune nodded to her, pulling his hand back. "So we're both at fault, nobody takes the blame?"

Pyrrha smiled brightly. "That sounds fair to me."

He returned it, though again it seemed muted in some way. He moved to step around her, already starting to say his goodbyes. She spoke before she could stop to think however. "Is something wrong?"

Jaune froze, and only then did Pyrrha realize it might have been a bit odd to call him out in such a public location. Thankfully, the halls were pretty much abandoned at this time of day. Which, now that she thought about it, only seemed to lend some credence to the fact something was wrong.