The Strength of a Soldier: Male Reader x Pyrrha Nikos (Part I)

Chapter XIX: Summit

For the first few minutes, everything was quiet. Then the shooting began. The echoing of the gunfire could be heard all the way from the tent, and the live feed offered sounds of people screaming. There was an explosion, the screens turning to static, then everything was quiet. The chief of police, white in the face, eventually gave in to (F/N) and allowed him and the others to enter the school.

Pyrrha and Jaune entered the building first, shields raised as they slowly made their way through the halls. The first few hallways were empty, then, rounding a corner, they saw the beginning of the havoc. There were bullet holes in the walls and lockers, the windows shattered and broken glass littering the floors. There were a few bodies, some White Fang, most Purifiers. Ruby buried her face in her sister's chest, tears falling from her eyes. As they continued, they saw more signs of fighting, more scattered bodies. Following the destruction, they stepped through a pair of heavy double doors that lead to a large courtyard in the middle of the school. It became immediately evident that this is where the explosion had sounded from. The area reminded (F/N) of the battlefields from the Great War, bodies piled high, the smell of gunpowder and ash filling his nostrils. There was evidence of an explosion, the ground shattered beneath where the bomb must have been.

They weren't really sure where to go next. There were three doors, not counting the one behind them, one on each of the walls. They decided to split up. Team RWBY took the door on the right, JNPR the one on the left. (F/N) went alone, pushing through the set of doors that lie straight ahead. He knew he had chosen the correct path before he had even stepped inside. His semblance had told him everything he needed to know, and so he had convinced the others to split up and leave him to take this path alone. He was the only one who could finish this.

Despite the many branching corridors, (F/N) navigated his way to the gymnasium with ease. Peering through the thick glass in the large, heavy doors, (F/N) saw the collected student body and faculty sitting tentatively on the bleachers. On the floor were about a dozen White Fang troops, just as many Purifiers standing across from them. Both sides had their guns drawn and were aiming at the others, fingers ready on the triggers of their weapons. Though he can't hear the conversation, it's obvious that the situation is only getting worse, as one of the White Fang members grabs a student from the audience and puts her gun to his head. Quickly, (F/N) opens the heavy doors and steps into the gym.

"Hi. Hi, hello." He says, trying to draw everyone's attention to him. "Oh, hello." He says as the White Fang point their guns at him. The young student manages to break free from his captor's grip and run back to the huddled mass on the bleachers. "Stop this." He says, moving to stand next to the two groups. "Stop this, please."

Suddenly, the doors burst open again and Pyrrha runs inside, guns now pointing at her. As they close, (F/N) can hear the sound of distant gunfire. If he had to guess, Teams RWBY and JNPR ran into some trouble in the halls, whether Purifiers or White Fang, he didn't know. It might have even been both. It seemed however, that Pyrrha had run ahead to catch up with him

"Pyrrha?" (F/N) whisper shouts, walking towards her. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Stopping you from getting yourself killed." She hisses back as she approaches.

"Who the hell are you two?" One of the White Fang members asks agitatedly.

"Us?" (F/N) asks, turning away from Pyrrha and walking back towards the two groups. "We're nobody. Nobody important. It's you you should be more concerned about." He says, indicating the White Fang and Purifiers. "Because what you do here today will affect the entire world for years to come."

"Good." One of the Purifiers snarls.

"No, no." (F/N) says. "Not good, very not good. Have you even stopped to consider the consequences of what happens here?"