Hello again! (See what I did there? I'm so funny). As much as I unashamedly proclaim that Weiss is my favorite RWBY character whenever I get the chance, I like other characters as well. One of those characters is Pyrrha Nikos, whose kindness, wisdom, and all around badassery instantly drew me in. So, I decided to write a short story about her. I don't plan for this to continue for a long time, at least five chapters at most. I just had this idea after reading a few stories with Pyrrha in them. I don't typically like writing multiple multi-chapter stories at one time, as starting too many projects is a good way to be thrown off-track. Writing my story Ever After is more important to me than writing this one and I don't want to be distracted from that task, but at the same time, I often forget ideas I liked because I failed to get them down and pursue them. So, in a compromise, I decided to write this story on the side. I've never really written for Pyrrha before, at least not seriously, so I hope I do her justice.

Pyrrha Nikos. You'd have to be living under a rock to not know that name. She was the shining star of Sanctum, her presence causing enrollment rates at the school to practically double over a mere six months. She won the Mistral regional tournament four times in a row, setting a new record. She was even the mascot for Pumpkin Pete's Marshmallow Flakes, the popular and unhealthy cereal eaten throughout Vytal. Then, she became a student at Beacon Academy, one of the most prestigious combat schools Remnant has to offer. Her celebrity status and word of her battle prowess spread throughout the world, traveling to the other three continents of Remnant. Arguably the most famous teenager in Vytal, she was also arguably the most down-to-earth. Humble, kind to a fault, and wise, her personality was just as big of a factor in her fame as her combat skills. She had an entire continent enthralled with her, and yet the only person whose affection she cared about was a boy who hadn't even known her name until they first met. He was the only person whose gaze she wanted on her, and he was completely oblivious to this. His name was Jaune Arc, and he had no idea that Pyrrha Nikos, the world famous celebrity, was madly in love with him.

"So, Snow Angel, I hear that there's a ball coming up. Now I don't want to brag, but I'm pretty light on my feet. I know you are, too. I was thinking that we could blow Beacon away with our chemistry on the dance floor. What do you say?" Jaune asked Weiss, leaning on the chair opposite of her. She was sitting at a rectangular table in the library, trying to study for her classes. She had though the library would give her some peace and quiet. She had been wrong. Jaune, for his part, was trying to appeal to Weiss' sense of competition by treating the dance like a competition. Unfortunately, she didn't see it that way.

"I came to the library to escape one annoying blonde. I didn't expect to find another," she said testily.

"Oh, very funny," Jaune replied sarcastically.

"Besides, if your coordination in battle is any indication, you'd be tripping over your own feet every five seconds. I'm not particularly interested in dealing with that, and I pity the poor girl who is subject to such torture. Now, if you could leave and go back to your studying, that would be just lovely," Weiss continued. Jaune frowned deeper.

"I'll have you know that I learned to dance from my mother, who...the point is, I'm a very skilled dancer, and if you gave me half a chance, you'd be impressed," he said.

"Then why not dance with her?" The heiress asked scathingly. Jaune, indignant, went to stand up straight and ended up falling forward, the chair unable to support the weight he put forward to push himself into a standing position. He would have hit his head in the table, but luckily for him, as he didn't active his Aura in time, it flipped over as the bottom of the chair collided with its underside. Two of its legs reared upwards and it fell towards Weiss. Her books slid off and she quickly used a glyph to hold them in midair. She used another glyph for the table, holding it there before gently pushing it back on all four of its legs. Letting her books rest float in the air, she quickly picked them up and stormed off. Pyrrha, who heard Jaune's adorably high-pitched squeal, rushed over.

"Unbelievable! This is exactly what I was talking about! You have the coordination of Ruby on a sugar high!" Jaune put the chair back in its original position, looking very embarrassed.

"I'm really sorry!" He shouted back at her, but she didn't turn around. Pyrrha quickly walked past her and brushed her teammate's hair from his forehead to see if he had hurt himself.

"Oh, I'm fine. Besides, I could have just Aura-healed it," he said, looking dejected. Pyrrha spent a few more seconds looking for wounds before stepping back. Jaune sat down in the chair he'd knocked over and moaned.

"I must be some kind of masochist. Why do I keep trying to ask out Ice Queen, of all people?" The redhead almost chuckled at the use of one of Weiss' many pet names, and walked next to Jaune, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"I can't blame you for pursuing her. Beneath all of that snark and sarcasm, Weiss really is a wonderful person."

"Right now, I'm having a really hard time believing that. I guess we'd better get back to studying, huh?" Pyrrha nodded in response to Jaune's reluctance, walking away.

"I think you're sufficiently woken up now. Anyway, we have history next. Don't feel the need to rush through it."

Jaune bit his lip as he bent his over his textbook, trying to focus on the ridiculously small print. His head was titled to the left and he rested it in his left hand, his left elbow propped up on the table. His right hand was splayed out across it, twirling a pencil as if it had a mind of its own. Pyrrha, to his left, was pretending to read an X-Ray and Vav comic, her guilty pleasure. She couldn't help it; the hapless heroes had such hilarious adventures that she just had to keep up with the latest issues. In this particular comic, they were battling their arch-nemesis Mogar, the mighty warrior with a very short temper. However, she was really looking at Jaune; she had read the issue five times already. She took notice of every little thing, the way his hair dipped into his eyes, the way he blew at it in an effort to get it out of his vision, the way the light from the glass windows shone on his hair and made it shine. Jaune was often mocked by other people, if, for the most part, only jokingly. He was really coming into his own, and had even earned the respect of Cardin Winchester, but he was still the butt of many a joke. People made fun of his shabby armor that looked like it had been thrown together at the last minute in an attempt to make himself seem somewhat like a Huntsman. They made fun of his plain weapon, a mere sword and shield with no notable transformations save for a sheathe. They made fun of his ignorance of popular culture and the way he tended to refer to his mother in conversation. But they didn't know him like she did. Jaune wanted, more than anything, to protect people. He had dreams of heroism and a legendary family legacy looming over him. He constantly felt pressure to be more than he was. He was an Arc as well as the leader of his team, and he felt as if he wasn't good enough sometimes. But he was changing, slowly but surely. Jaune was gaining confidence. He wasn't just getting stronger, he was getting more comfortable with himself. He was learning something that Pyrrha had always known: That he was good enough. He had nothing to be ashamed of, no reason to compare himself to others. All of his quirks, everything that made him such an easy target, those were things that Pyrrha loved about him. And beyond all of those things, she knew that Jaune was a true Huntsman. He was willing to overcome all of his insecurities and weaknesses so that he could protect people. That was more important than any level of skill.

It had been an hour since Jaune finished his studying, and he was off with Nora and Ren somewhere, no doubt having fun. He had asked Pyrrha to join him, but she didn't feel in the mood. Despite his persistence, she eventually convinced him to go without her. She was preoccupied, thinking about his flirtation with Weiss. Alone in the library save for Ruby, who came in half an hour after Weiss left, she was able to freely think about what had happened. She couldn't help but feel hurt by his actions. She knew that it wasn't his fault, that he wasn't trying to hurt her. She knew that he just didn't notice her feelings. Jaune, for all of his budding tactical prowess, was the most socially inexperience person she'd ever met. Even Ruby seemed like a social butterfly compared to him. However, she still noticed the annoyance within her, the annoyance at his flirtation, something he would even do when she was around. Pyrrha was comforted by the fact that he mostly chased after Weiss, who was clearly not interested. She knew that there was a simple way to fix her problem, but she was too scared. For the first time in her life, Pyrrha was ruled by her fear. She was afraid that Jaune only saw her as a friend, that he would have no interest in being anything more than that. It didn't matter that he would still like and care for her; knowing that her feelings would never be returned was all it would take. As she wallowed in her unease and longing, she realized that it was dark out. Deciding that it was time to go to her dorm and see if Nora had destroyed anything or possible anyone, Pyrrha got up and began walking out of the library, only to be stopped by a voice behind her.

"And then I ate all the cookies and killed all the Nevermores..." It was Ruby, talking in her sleep. The redhead laughed and walked over to the younger girl. Her face was resting in one of her textbooks, one that looked to be for history. She struggled with the subject just as much as Jaune did. Drool was splayed on the page her face lay on and fell from the book and onto the table. Tapping her on the shoulder, Pyrrha gently slid the book out from under her as Ruby woke up.

"Huh? What? Weiss, I'm really, really sorry! I'll finish tomorrow and...Pyrrha?" The older girl smiled.

"Hello! I thought you might want to spend tonight in your bed instead of out here, so I woke you up," she said. Ruby grinned widely, getting up. Hastily wiping the drool from her book with her billowing red cloak, she embraced Pyrrha gratefully.

"Oh, thank you so much! I can't believe I fell asleep! I totally have to finish this homework. Weiss said that I was falling behind in history and then I said history was dumb and she got mad...and she's gonna get mad again once she finds out I've been sleeping instead of working! Pyrrha, please don't tell her!" Pyrrha laughed, the sound of her calm voice putting Ruby at ease.

"Don't worry. Your secret is safe with me. But why are you working alone? Surely you could ask her, Blake or Yang for help, right?" She asked. Ruby sighed.

"Well, Weiss was busy, Yang is even worse at history than I am, and Blake went off on her own again to read. She always takes this one book with her...I wonder what it is?"

"Then how about you join Jaune and I? We're working on history as well, and I think that the two of you would benefit from having someone else to study with," Pyrrha offered. Ruby beamed, nodding hurriedly.

"That would be awesome! Jaune always says that you're super good at studying and stuff," the younger girl replied. Pyrrha smiled and walked away, waving to Ruby as she did so. However, she was called back.

"Pyrrha? Are you okay?"

Pyrrha was honestly surprised that Ruby had asked such a question. To her knowledge, she didn't seem sad, and she didn't think that Ruby was so observant as to notice that something was bothering her. Turning around, she sighed. There was no reason to lie to Ruby, not that she could if she wanted to. Her big silver eyes could charm almost anyone.

"...No, not really," Pyrrha replied.

"Oh...Weiss came back to the dorm and complained that Jaune was being, uh...I can't really pronounce some of the words she said because they were really long, but it was something about him being oblivious. Then Yang asked if it was about you, and Weiss nodded and didn't really say anything else. Later, before I fell asleep, I saw you looking kind of sad, so..." Ruby trailed off, smiling kindly. Pyrrha walked over to her and sat at the table. Ruby sat next to her, and she began to talk.

"...I really like Jaune."

"Huh?"

"I...it's not easy to say, but, I...well..." Pyrrha looked downward, having second thoughts. She was wondering if she really wanted to tell Ruby what was on her mind. Then, the younger girl spoke up, trying to comfort her.

"It's fine. I really like Jaune too!"

"It's a little more complicated than that...um, I, well...I am...attracted to him. Romantically." Ruby's eyes widened, and her mouth curved into a small 'O' shape. Pyrrha's face was as red as her hair, and she couldn't bring herself to look up. An awkward silence permeated the room, but was cut very quickly by Ruby as if she was swinging Crescent Rose.

"Uh...I...I don't like him in that way. I mean, now that I know you like like him, it would be really weird if I like liked him, but I don't because I just think of him as a friend. I just regular like him, you know? I mean, I can totally see why you like like him because he's funny and nice and he listens to me when I talk about weapons and he's a good leader, but that doesn't mean I like like him-" Pyrrha chuckled to herself at how nervous and awkward she sounded, and put her out of her misery with a quick interjection.

"Ruby, it's fine. You don't have to be so nervous; I know what you mean. It's not like I'd be mad at you if you did like Jaune in that way."

"Well, Yang said that you totally would..."

"Perhaps I'd feel a little awkward and maybe even threatened, but I wouldn't be angry at you. Yang has an active imagination." Ruby sighed, and Pyrrha glanced up, smiling at her to reassure the younger girl.

"So...I really don't know a lot about romance and stuff like that..." Ruby said, playing with her cape now. Pyrrha knew that she wasn't interested in this kind of thing. She didn't think much of romance, and was completely out of her comfort zone in this conversation. Deciding that it was rude to force her to talk about something she was so uncomfortable with, Pyrrha got up.

"I'm sorry I made you talk about this, and I'm really glad that you listened. I suppose it goes without saying that I don't want you telling anyone about this conversation, so I'll just be off now. We'll study tomorrow. Goodnight, and thank you." As she walked away, Ruby hurried from her seat and ran to her.

"I know that I don't know a lot about this kind of thing, but I want to help!" Pyrrha was surprised by her boldness. Looking down at the younger girl with wide eyes, she waited for her to speak. She herself couldn't think of anything to say.

"I know that if I like liked someone, I'd want to talk to them a lot about weapons, but that doesn't really help you...well, I guess if you talked to Jaune more outside of studies and training, maybe he'd think of you more as someone he could, um, like romantically. Maybe he thinks of you as a teammate, friend and mentor, but if you talked to him in a different kind of situation, he'd see you differently. I mean, I know that I'd feel really weird about like liking a teammate because I fight with them and it would be kind of like a work relationship...or something," Ruby told her, smiling expectantly. Pyrrha was surprised before; now she was amazed. She had been so intensely focused on Jaune that she failed to notice the growth of her other friend who had been thrown into a position of leader. Ruby was gradually learning to assess problems and come up with solutions, a skill that she no doubt had help developing from Weiss. Pyrrha had always thought of Ruby as being something of a little sister, immature but lovable. She never saw Ruby as particularly wise, although she thought the younger girl was a great leader, but now she saw how much her friend had grown. Pyrrha smiled a big, proud smile and embraced Ruby in a tight hug.

"Ruby...you really are amazing. Thank you so much!"

"Y-yeah, sure! Uh...you're kind of crushing me." Pyrrha quickly released the younger girl, still smiling, and walked off quickly.

"Remember, we're studying tomorrow! I'll get you when Jaune and I are ready." She exited the library, mulling over Ruby's unexpected advice. Maybe she should have gone with Jaune when he asked her to.

Ta dah! An Arkos story! Because there aren't enough of those in the world already, right? I'm just so original it hurts. Anyway, internet sarcasm aside, I'm excited to see where I go with this. I think I did alright with this chapter, but as always, I'm open to criticism. Did I do the characters justice? I'd love to know what people think! Anyway, I do want some good old-fashioned Arkos in this story, and Arkos basically drives the plot, but I also want to use it as an excuse to have Pyrrha interact with team RWBY. Aside from some lunch table gossip and a conversation with Weiss, who was only trying to use her as a pawn in her grand scheme to take over Beacon, we haven't seen Pyrrha talk much to the four main characters. I want to show her interact with them and try to make their dynamic like what I think it might be in the show. To do this, I'll have the four RWBY girls give Pyrrha relationship advice! Ruby's already given her two cents, and now I've got Weiss, Blake, and Yang left to go! Up next is everyone's favorite Ice Queen, ready to dish out relationship advice like she dishes out epic burns ("By who? Your mother?" Lines like that are why Weiss is the best).

I always thought of Ruby and Pyrrha has having kind of a sisterly relationship. Pyrrha is more mature and has more wisdom than Ruby, and she's also a famous warrior with a badass Semblance. It only makes sense that Ruby would admire her like she does Yang. I can see her thinking of Ruby like she thinks of Jaune, but in a non-romantic sense. She knows that Ruby has great potential and wants to encourage her to unlock it. However, she's significantly more mature than Ruby's actual sister, so it stands to reason that they'd have a calmer relationship. Yang, despite being older than Ruby, doesn't often act like it, so the two have a much more competitive, exciting dynamic while I can imagine Ruby being rather humbled by Pyrrha.