The Lost Sections: Pyrrha's Parents

Hey everyone,

Since I'm still not intending to start a sequel, and as it was requested by a couple of people, I've decided to post some of the cut content for everyone to peruse at their leisure. Unless I state otherwise, assume that these events could have occurred within the scope of the overall story. This particular chapter was originally intended to occur at the same time as the arrival of Jaune's parents, but was later rewritten to bet set early in Semester III before I ended up cutting it entirely. It's not quite as polished, so please forgive any grammatical errors or odd sentence structures.

Expect maybe five or six of these in total. I've got a hundred or so pages of cut content and notes, so it's mostly a matter of picking out the parts that are actually relevant / suitable for posting.

In other news, I also have a new RWBY story out there, "She Who Fights Monsters"; it's an Ilia-pov White Fang story. It's on a twice-a-week release schedule, please go take a look if you liked this one. It won't be an epic length feature like Student of Vacuo, it'll hit 20 chapters at the most, and I have another story of similar length (A Pyrrha-pov AU) planned to come after once it's finished. See my profile for more details on both.

Thanks to everyone who reads as always,

Kat

Lie Ren enjoyed Saturday mornings. They were quiet, peaceful, relaxing... true, that was usually because his three teammates were either hungover from their team's Friday night clubbing with Miss Neo, or from pretending to be clubbing while supporting the professor's more clandestine efforts, but he would take whatever he could get. Not that he minded his friends, he was rather fond of all of them, but once and a while the excitement level could grow a bit beyond what he was comfortable with.

Especially with Ilia and Pyrrha's private war with Yang and Blake resuming.

Of course, there was also the minor problem that a drunken Nora was a handsy Nora who thought sleeping in his bed preferable to remaining in her own.

That tended to leave him feeling both awkward and conflicted come morning. He was not so blind as to miss Nora's increasingly obvious efforts to progress their friendship into something more physical, and his unfortunately active hormones entirely supported that kind of thinking. His mind and heart, however, remained wary of taking that step. The absolute last thing he wanted to do was to hurt Nora, to risk ruining the one constant he was able to rely on his life. They might have been... 'official' now, but he wasn't certain he wanted to progress things quite that quickly.

He let out a quiet sigh as he opened the bedroom window, a gentle pull on his semblance calming him before he could grow too concerned, or too tempted to give in.

"Rennnn..." Said young woman groaned, pulling his blankets up and over her face. "Turn off the sunlight..."

Ren chuckled softly. "I can't turn off the sun Nora."

There was a long groan from beneath the covers. "Use Magnhild... it can turn off anything."

He smiled, stepping away and walking to his desk to check his scroll. "There's medicine and water on the dresser for you. Pyrrha, are you feeling all right?"

A champion shaped bundle in the bed nearest to the wall might have made a mumbling sound, but he couldn't be sure over the sound of the shower running. Ilia, at least, had learned the lesson of moderation, unlike their partners. Which, to be honest, surprised him somewhat. Of the three girls he would have expected Ilia to be the most vulnerable to the lure of alcohol.

But then again, Pyrrha seems to like the confidence it grants her... rather too much really. And Ilia likes playing cat-burglar rather too much as well, so I suppose they're even in that regard.

"We're supposed to spar with team RWBY after lunch." He reminded her, "I don't think you want Yang to volunteer to wake you up."

Pyrrha groaned but dutifully rose, pulling hair out of her eyes and covering her mouth as she yawned. Ilia emerged from the showers in her combat uniform before he could fully rouse Nora, letting Pyrrha shuffle into the bathroom next. Thankfully she washed herself fairly quickly, coming out within ten minutes, a towel wrapped around her hair as she made a beeline for the glasses of water he'd collected before any of them had awoken.

She downed two with barely a pause for breath as he finally coaxed Nora into movement. "Come along Nora. Get yourself clean, get some water in you."

Nora grumbled something about never letting Neo pick out her drinks again, but she let him guide her to the bathroom.

"You both need to ease off a bit on our evenings out." He told Pyrrha once the shower was going again, "It's growing concerning."

Pyrrha flushed a little as she sat on her bed, not quite shielding her eyes as she dried her hair. "I... suppose that's not unfair, but it isn't as though we do this any other day of the week."

"No," Ren agreed, "But you are drinking to excess when we actually go to a club, and that does not always go well when we have to try and track down various criminals on our other evenings. Perhaps limiting it somewhat would be good for everyone."

"It's not entirely her fault." Ilia noted, already lounging in her own bed once more. "Neo thinks she's a hilarious drunk. You going to talk her about cutting back too?"

There wouldn't be a point, he knew that as well as any of them.

Miss Neo was an interesting mix of fun, hard, and fair, and still managed to be enjoyable company despite her status as a criminal-slash-professor. He was consistently impressed by how she didn't allow her disability to affect her, simply bulling through life with a confidence that was most assuredly mixed with arrogance, a mix that he knew Pyrrha envied in her own way.

I just wish her idea of fun did not include seeing what we're all like after we imbibe several shots of straight whiskey.

Sill, he found her rather interesting to 'converse' with, especially when he could compare her to her romantic partner. She had far fewer reservations about discussing the less... politically correct missions they had undertaken in Vacuo, usually while conducting similar missions against various corrupt or racist targets here in Vale. And if her stories of fighting bandits and criminals were less pleasant and more graphic than Jaune's amusing tales, he thought them no less valuable as lessons.

In a way the pair were similar to himself and Nora, sharing a few traits yet being so different in... Ren closed his eyes, his semblance again rising as he realized he'd allowed his thoughts to wander back to Nora.

A pen promptly struck him in the nose, making him flinch and jerk his eyes open to see Ilia glowering at him. "I can tell when you're using that, stop it."

"I was merely calming myself." He replied.

Ilia lifted an eyebrow. "Uh huh, and why is our fearless leader using his semblance instead of talking to his teammates?"

Ren considered that, considered how often he'd gently prodded both of them to talk rather than bottle up their feelings, and was about to respond honestly, if tactfully, when there was a knock on the door. That made him frown and check the time, and frown more deeply when he saw it wasn't yet eleven. "They're rather early."

"Ruby probably wishes to drag us all to the forges beforehand." Pyrrha sighed, rising from her bed. She took a moment to rustle her towel through her hair, letting it fall to the floor as she walked over to the door, opening it with her usual smile. "You're earl...y..."

Her words cut off in a stuttering gasp that made him sit up in alert, moving to one side so that he could see over her shoulder. A pair of older adults were standing in the hall, both immaculately dressed in dark gray business suits. The woman of the pair had striking red hair the same color as Pyrrha's, and the same pale skin, though her blue eyes lacked his teammate's warmth.

"Pyrrha." The woman stated. "We need to talk."

Pyrrha just stood there, frozen and immobile, and he quickly glanced at Ilia before lifting a hand. His efforts to learn the strange sign language Miss Neo used were progressing slowly, but they all knew the gestures she had invented for everyone's names at this point.

Jaune. Neo. He told her, Ilia nodding once and whipping out her scroll. Ren didn't wait for her to finish, instead simply walking to stand beside Pyrrha in the doorway. "Good morning. My name is Lie Ren, leader of Team RAVN. I'm afraid that I don't know either of you, further, this building is supposed to be restricted to students and staff."

The man, Pyrrha's father, was evidently the source of her green eyes, though his short hair was black speckled with silver. He regarded Ren, then tilted his head and spoke in a calm, measured voice. "I am Mavro Nikos, this is my wife, Kokino. We are here to speak with our daughter in private."

"I see." He said, glancing at Pyrrha and seeing her throat work as she swallowed. That made up his mind in an instant, a partial lie coming out, "I'm afraid we don't quite have time for that at the moment, we are due for a training session with a professor and a fellow team."

His wife pressed her lips together in what only a poor observer might have called a smile, her cold eyes flashing. "We must insist."

Ren tipped his head, stalling for more time. It would take the professors several minutes to arrive, even if they got the message at once and ran here. He wasn't sure what the exact rules were on parents visiting their children, considering that both Yang and Blake's had visited, leaving him rather hesitant about trying to force them away.

Best to drag this out, protect Pyrrha by not letting them talk to her alone, and wait for an authority figure.

"We have a few minutes," He kept his tones polite and measured, "If you wish to step inside, we may talk within our dorm rather than out here in the hallway."

The woman looked ready to argue, but her husband spoke over her first word of protest. "That would be acceptable for now."

A gentle tug on Pyrrha's arm got her moving, the pair of them stepping aside to let her parents in just as Nora emerged from the showers, still sopping wet. Ilia must have used the short conversation to step into the bathroom and alert her to what was happening, because his partner was giving the pair the coldest look he'd ever seen on her features as she absently tried to towel off her still shampoo covered hair.

Of course that was a far more polite expression than the frankly murderous one on Illia's face, so he quickly resumed speaking before either of them could escalate matters. "On the left is my partner, Nora Valkyrie. Sitting on the bed is Ilia Amitola, Pyrrha's partner. A pleasure to meet you both."

"The same to my daughter's comrades in arms." Once more her father was the more polite of the pair, though in a cool, upper class way he hadn't seen since he and Nora had left Mistral. The man even gave both girls quick, perfunctory nods while her mother ignored them entirely, her attention still on her daughter.

"Pyrrha." The name came out from the woman's lips like a whip cracking, "You look terrible, you can't have possibly just awoken at this hour. I hope that it is not related to the news reports we've received about you fighting in the streets, tell me they were inaccurate lies."

Pyrrha seemed to finally find her voice at the rapid fire deluge of clipped words. "...fighting in the streets?"

"Against that trash in the White Fang." Kokino Nikos continued, missing Ilia bristle as her freckles and eyes both flared into angry scarlet. "Once was bad enough, but three times!? We had to come here to hear you tell us it was all pathetic drivel in person."

"The second time was a our yearly professional assignment." Pyrrha held her hands out at her sides, clearly trying to calm the woman. "They're required for graduation, Professor Ozpin decided our skill-set fit the mission. And the last-"

There was a scoff as her mother cut her off, "A Nikos does not lower themselves to fighting such rabble. You should have refused such a banal task."

Ren cleared his throat, drawing their attention towards him while Ilia pulled her scroll out once more, likely to urge the professors to hurry. "That was my decision, ma'am. Pyrrha accorded herself excellently, fighting alongside-"

"I was not talking to you." The woman whirled on him, "If you insist on being present for a private conversation than at least-"

"Kokino." Her husband grasped his wife's shoulder, and from the way she flinched he'd just squeezed it none too gently. "We are guests in their room, we will comport ourselves as such, according to our station."

Ren subtly motioned for everyone to say quiet as the two exchanged a long, less than loving look with one another. It was hardly a few minutes into the conversation and he was already starting to understand both Pyrrha's fixation on manners as well as her utter lack of social confidence. He couldn't even begin to imagine his own parents acting in such a fashion, especially in front of others. Though he had to wonder where her sense of right and wrong had come from... perhaps they'd been different once, or someone else had helped raise her?

Her mother backed down after most of a minute of silence, looking away while Mavro Nikos nodded, turning back to Ren. "We would dearly appreciate privacy for this conversation, it is a family matter."

"I am sorry." Ren replied, not meaning it in the least. "But we do not have the time today. If you wish to have a long, private chat with your daughter, I would recommend you find a time that works with our team's schedule."

Once more the woman seemed to swell with anger, and once more her husband held her back. "I see. I did not know that you had found a new agent, Pyrrha. Is this one at least demanding a smaller percentage than the last?"

"He is my team leader." Pyrrha replied quietly. "And my friend."

"I see." Mavro frowned slightly, clearly not thrilled that Ren and the others were not leaving, and clearly aware that it was a matter of time before someone pushed the issue. He resumed just before Ren could attempt to divert the conversation once more, evidently deciding that making his grievances with her actions public was preferable to being chased away before he could say anything. "You know you caused a great deal of chaos back home with these stunts of yours, young lady."

Pyrrha swallowed again, "That was not my intention, father."

"I very much doubt that." The man responded flatly, hands folding behind him. "Do you have any idea how difficult it was to appease your sponsors? How many of your fans were devastated when we put out the press release stating you had accepted an offer from Beacon? Nevermind their terror at finding you fighting terrorists and Grimm in the streets."

The second sentence had Ilia rise from her bed, "She knows, stop throwing it in her face."

"Throwing it in her face would have entailed me bringing the letters we've received." Her mother said coldly, even as Pyrrha flinched. "I am sure your headmaster is blocking them from arriving here as well, or you would be as deluged in pathetic sob stories from children as we are."

Ilia started to take a step forwards, only for Nora to beat her to it, her voice hard. "I think it's time for us to get going. Right Ren?"

"I believe so." He agreed.

"We," Pyrrha's mother stated, that not-smile once more appearing on her face. "Are not done speaking to our daughter."

Ilia's skin rippled entirely to red as her freckles brightened further into a dangerous yellow, and he noted the startled step back that Kokino took at the sight. "I think you are."

"Pyrrha has not yet told us to leave." Her father rumbled, his voice as level and smooth as it had been at the start. "As far as I am aware, we are well within our rights to visit and speak with her. Or do you intend to remove us by force? I can assure you our lawyers would welcome such action."

Ren glanced sharply at Pyrrha, and found her jaw clenched and her eyes on the floor. Defiance and venting in the absence of her family had apparently been one thing, but even that had taken her months to build up the nerve to. Doing similar actions in their physical presence was evidently something else entirely.

The sound of a door slamming open somewhere in the hallway, followed by heels striking hard on the floor made his shoulders slump in relief. Pyrrha evidently heard both as well, because she almost swayed in place, her eyes jerking up to look over her parents' shoulders.

Professor Neo arrived in a rush of color, her face somewhat flushed, her parasol resting on a shoulder... and he felt his worries resume almost at once when there was no Professor Arc accompanying her.

He really did like Miss Neo, he trusted her with his life when it came to a battle. But liking her as a comrade in arms and trusting her to calmly defuse a situation were entirely two different things. His draw on his semblance increased as he forced himself to remain calm and observant, ready to act if the situation devolved.

Mavro Nikos turned at her arrival, frowning, "Another student friend of yours? I had thought teams were only ever four strong."

Ilia smirked, clearly not as concerned as he was. "Sorry for being late, Professor Neo, Pyrrha's parents decided to pay a social call."

"You're joking." Misses Nikos scoffed. "If this is a childish prank then it is in very poor taste."

He winced.

Neopoliton's eyes slowly began to lose their color in a way he hadn't seen before, until the only things visible were the tiny dots of her pupils. It was entirely too unsettling, especially with the way her fingers began to drum along her parasol's grip... it was clearly taking all of her willpower not to draw her blade. After a few seconds she seemed to force her other hand into her pocket, pulling out her scroll.

She rested it on the bookshelf closest to the door, set it to project, then rapidly began typing one handed. It is not a joke, and you're both trespassing.

"We are here visiting our daughter." Pyrrha's father countered, taking the odd form of communication in stride. "We are entirely allowed to do so."

With permission from the staff. Neo countered. Revoked. Get out.

Kokino sneered, "Stop attempting to deceive and threaten us by refusing to speak. If Pyrrha wished us gone, she would have said as much."

In response, the tiny professor leaned backwards out of the room and let out a sharp whistle. There were several startled sounds from farther down the hall, then more footsteps as several more people were evidently attracted by the noise. Cardin, Meral, and Yang, the three had probably been reminiscing about their old school days over a late breakfast, all filled in behind her while the only boy rumbled.

"Professor," Cardin cocked his head to one side, "Uh... what's all this?"

Civilian trespassers. Throw them into the rain. All three looked various degrees of surprised, though Neo continued to type. What are you four waiting for? You're late for sparring. Arm up.

"Yes ma'am." Pyrrha said at once, her feet moving as she headed for her area of the dorm to collect Milo and Akouo. Ren stepped aside to pull his out of his desk as well, Ilia doing much the same. Nora, in a less than surprising display of Nora-ness, kept Magnhild fully extended and resting on a shoulder as she maintained her unfriendly expression.

Both of the elder Nikos noticed the less than subtle act, and their postures tightened further as Cardin and Yang grasped the situation, both of them sliding into the room as their expressions darkened.

"Hey you two, come on." Yang waved a hand towards the door, "You heard the professor. It's time to go."

Misses Nikos quivered in barely suppressed anger, but she evidently couldn't try to keep calling out Miss Neo with three more witnesses present. "I... see. In that case, Pyrrha, you will accompany us to dinner tonight."

Pyrrha, who had been making a show of inspecting her blade with her back turned to them, seemed to shrink in on herself once more.

"Pyrrha!" Her mother all but snarled, "You will face me when I am speaking to you."

"Ma'am." Cardin rumbled, a cold, aristocratic mask that wasn't all that dissimilar from Mavro Nikos' firmly in place. "This is your last polite warning. Let's go."

"Very well." Mister Nikos said calmly, quieting his wife with another painful looking grab of her shoulder. "We will see you tonight at the Grand View, eight pm sharp, Pyrrha."

He gave Cardin and then Ren a pair of aristocratic bows, then the both of them followed Meral out the room, Yang and Cardin following to loom behind them. They were scarcely gone for more than a moment before Pyrrha slumped, her weapons falling from her hands, and Ilia and Nora both rushed forwards to embrace her.

Ren bowed his head, his semblance the only thing keeping him calm as he stepped over to Miss Neo. "They'll be back. We have to talk to Ozpin."

Neopolitan closed her eyes a few moments, and when she opened them soft pink began to return in both of them. She nodded sharply, bringing her scroll over and killing the projection so only he could read her words.

Take everyone to Arena Three, Jaune is there with his sister. Distract her, spar, talk, whatever. I'll get the old man and meet you there.

"Yes ma'am."

Please read and review, criticism is welcome, flames not so much, as usual. Reviews are my lifeblood as a writer.. every-time my email goes off with a review it makes me want to write more, so please take the time to leave one. Guests can leave them as well, and it only takes a minute, so please. Even if it's as simple as "I enjoyed it, please continue."

Thanks, Kat