Out of the Ashes

Proposals

The sound of swords clashing and feet beating against armor echoed throughout the lecture hall. You sat amongst your team as you watched Pyrrha battle against the entirety of team CRDL. And quite frankly, she was beating their asses. "Yeah! Give them what they deserve Pyrrha!" You cheer, raising your fist after she deals Cardin a heavy punch right in the jaw.

Ruby was right next to you, squealing whenever Pyrrha got in a trick shot or screaming like a 50 year-old man if she happened to get hit herself. Though, not quite as loud. Still, your displays of... encouragement got the pair of you a few dirty looks.

Before long the match was over and Pyrrha stood victorious. "She didn't even break a sweat!" Ruby exclaimed, grabbing you by the shoulders and shaking you with surprising strength. "Woah! Hah.. I can't wait to get to her level, she's like a real huntress already." You mused, still dizzy from being shaken around like a cocktail.

"Quiet down children." Professer Goodwitch began, "It looks like we have time for one more match. Any volunteers?" You sigh, placing a hand against your healing bullet wound. "Ms. Belladonna? You've been awfully quiet these past few days. Why don't you-"

"I'll do it." A gruff voice spoke up from behind you. You turned curiously, trying to get a look at the person who stepped up. It was the silver haired boy you and Ruby ran into a few weeks earlier. You frowned as you watched him take a step forward and cross his arms confidently. This guy practically screamed bad news. "Well then, Mercury Black, was it? Please don't keep us waiting, Mr. Black. Choose your opponent." The Professor replied, glancing at the clock every few seconds.

Mercury smirked, pointing across the room at Pyrrha. "I wanna fight her." Pyrrha's face twisted in confusion as several gasps rang out through the hall. "You want to fight me?" Professor Goodwitch crossed her arms, "I'm afraid Pyrrha just finished a match, so you'll have to choose another partner." Pyrrha shook her head, readying her sword. "No, I'd be happy to fight you." Mercury's smile seemed to widen, but you couldn't shake the unsettling feeling that something bad was about to happen.

"Okay children." The Professor spoke, typing a few words onto her terminal. "You have 5 minutes. The first person to have their aura drop below 40% loses. Start." Like a switch was flipped, Mercury exploded into action, surprising Pyrrha with his vicious offense. She stumbled backwards a few steps, but quickly collected herself enough to block a high speed kick with her shield.

Mercury doubled his barrage on Pyrrha, waiting to find a weak spot. The smell of dust filled the air as he forced her onto the defense. Just when it seemed like she was pushed into a corner, Mercury missed and the inertia of his kick swung him to face the opposite way. Pyrrha had an opening to attack; she shoved her shield against Mercury's back to gain some distance between them.

You narrowed your eyes. Mercury hadn't made a single mistake before now, so it was unusual that he'd miss a simple roundhouse kick. Especially when it seemed that his fighting style revolved around kick based attacks. You turned to Weiss, hoping that the worry you felt wasn't as obvious on your features as you though it was. "Weiss, you're the fangirl here-" Weiss frowned, a deep crimson blush forming on the tips of her ears, "-what's Pyrrha's semblance again?"

Weiss' brows furrowed, "I am not a fangirl. I'm just very... appreciative of her... fighting style." You chuckle, waving your hand dismissively. "Yeah, sure. But really, what is it?" Weiss looked down at the two thoughtfully. "Pyrrha's semblance is polarity. She can use magnetism to control metals." You hummed, looking back down at the match; your mind was racing. 'She can use her semblance in combat without drawing too much attention to it. So Mercury must have some type of metal in his boots that she can control...'

Mercury must've taken notice of this as well because once Pyrrha started getting a few good hits on him he held his hands up in defeat. "I forfeit. You're way too good for me." Pyrrha came to a grinding halt. "You... don't even want to try...?" Yang chuckled, leaning over to whisper into your ear. "She's always a good sport, that's for sure."

Professor Goodwitch's face twitched in annoyance. "Next time take greater care in choosing an opponent." Just then, the bell rang; signaling the end of class. Blake jumps in surprise, caught off guard by the loud ringing. You glance over at her, worry crossing over your features. "Well that's all the time we have for today. Your essays on the 5 core fighting styles are due tomorrow. Class dismissed." 

Yang groans, stretching her arms out above her head. "I'm starving, let's grab something to eat before curfew, yeah?" Ruby jumps out of her chair, following her sister out of the class. "And Weiss is paying!" "What?!" You laugh, waving at your teammates as they stroll out of the room. "We'll catch up with you, I've gotta talk to Blake for a sec."

Blake rubs her eyes, slowly rising from her chair. "Hey, Blake, are you doing alright?" You inquire, placing a hand on her shoulder. Blake sighs, her grip tightening over her notebook. "I'm fine." You frown, placing your hands on your hips. "Look, I said I'd trust you, but this is getting out of control. I-" Blake pushes her way past you and out of the classroom. "I said I'm fine. Don't worry about it."

"Hey! You can't expect me to just sit around and watch as my friend destroys herself!" You shout, running up behind her and spinning her clean around. Blake yelps, but quickly regains her composure to scowl at you. She opens her mouth to say something but she's cut off by a familiar cheery voice.

"What's good, Faunus squad! We were waiting outside for so long, we thought you guys were gonna have a sleepover inside the classroom!" Sun chirps, wrapping his arm around Blake's shoulders. "We?" You question,"Yeah, we! I brought Sage with me~" Sun smiles mischievously, pointing behind you. You watch as Blake's eyes harden and slowly turn around.

"(Y/N)," Sage clears his throat, holding out a bouquet of flowers. "I was wondering if you'd like to go with me to the dance this Sunday." You gasp, heat rising from the base of your neck to your hairline like a thermometer. Sun guffaws, wiping tears from his eyes. "Dude, I told you she'd react like that!" You send a deadly glare behind you to shut Sun up. "Sage, I... I'd love to!" You smile sweetly at him and he hands you the bouquet, mirroring your smile with a flirty one of his own. "I'll pick you up at 7, see you around." With that, Sage spins on his heel and jogs to catch up with his teammates. You sigh, hoping that your smile reached your eyes.

You turn back to Blake but to your surprise she's already studying your face intently, her eyes narrow and unreadable. Sun fixes his hair obliviously, "So Blake, you wanna tag along with me and make sure those two don't get up to any funny business?" Blake pulls herself out of Sun's grasp, turning to look at him. "What?" Sun frowns, "The dance, you wanna go?" Blake looks to you then to Sun and begins walking back to the dorms. "I don't have time for a stupid dance. I thought you of all people would get that." You sigh, mouthing an "I'm sorry" to Sun as you run to catch up with her.