6 Storm

Breakfast was a unique experience of its own. Sitting with possibly the most popular gal in school as the most popular boy attracted attention like moths to a flame. This was especially bad due to the new Aura perception that forced uncomfortable feelings to be stronger.

"You can block it."

"Hm?"

"You can control your Aura to block out the stares. It's like ears. You focus on them to hear further or-"

"You give it less attention and you ignore the surroundings."

She flashed me a toothy smile. "Exactly. Now it'll take some practice-"

"Done."

"-but don't worry. I'm here to help you." A moment was all she needed for her mind to compute his words. "What?"

"I did it. Not all the way, but a quarter of the uncomfortable feeling left me. Thanks, Pyrrha."

She first gaped at him and then secretly pumped her fist under the table. Finally. Finally! She met someone better and more talented than her! It felt so good!

"After Initiation, I can help train you in Aura manipulation if you want."

He hesitated but ultimately agreed once he thought about it for a minute. "I guess I owe you two of my gifts. Here." Drew opened his palms, revealing a bean that didn't seem all that special. "It has a basic appearance. I had the same thought. Then I ate one and its value shot up. As long as you don't die, eating this will a hundred percent save you."

"Really?"

"Afraid so. I only eleven of those. Two of those now belong to you."

She gazed at it before meeting his eyes. "Take it back."

"Why?"

"I don't need gifts for doing favors for a friend."

"Then all the better. We're not friends."

Pyrrha winced and her hurt expression was highly effective. "We're not?"

"No. We just met. I help you. You help me. That's our relationship."

Chewing the tasty sausage, Drew was reading through his mission reports. He underestimated how much tedious work he has avoided since Onyx was there constantly there for him. When his obnoxious guide was here, everything he required took orders. Now? Drew had to say status, click the boxes, accept things, and manually do every task Onyx has done for him.

It was another action that he was grateful for, but he would never say that out loud.

"It doesn't matter."

"What?" Drew was sincerely confused. What was she talking about?

"I said it doesn't matter if we're not friends." Pyrrha had an overflow of determination albeit with hints of fragility. "It's only temporary. We're going to be friends by the time we graduate if it's the last thing I do."

Speechless. With a side of forming migraine.

"Have people forgotten the definition of rejection? It means, go bother someone else." 'In layman's terms.' "I owe you. That's it."

Shaking her head, she answered, "No."

'You stupid little...!' "Fine. Do what you want. Just don't go telling everyone about the beans." 'Not like you're ever going to find me anyway.' Sighing, he went back to the Gamer.

[Rewards]

[Large Exp.]

[Dragonslayer]

[Skill(Sprint: Increase running speed by 30%.)]

[Hidden Objective - Unlock Aura accomplished.]

[Reward: Random item(High) or Two Titles]

[Choose.]

'Titles.'

[Two Titles Chosen.]

[Title(Aura Prodigy: Aura Reserves Upgrade, Aura Control Upgrade)]

[Title(Aura Sage: Enhanced quality of Aura, higher physical battle boost, faster recovery, more protection, stronger semblance, etc.)]

'That...is amazing. It makes me wonder what the random item could've been.'

"Hey, Mask.'

"What?"

"What did you do?"

"What do you mean?"

She gazed at him weirdly. "Your Aura spiked, but it's stable and clear. If it was a muddy sea before, now it's a clean ocean with a ridiculous amount of depth. You're like an Aura factory."

"Thank you?"

"Uh, yeah," Pyrrha replied, unsure. "I don't know if that's a compliment though," she muttered to herself.

"As for what I did. How do I describe it? I discovered myself if that makes sense." 'Please believe the lie. I rather not let anyone know.'

Pyrrha considered it. "Go on."

"Aura is a physical manifestation of your soul right?" She nodded. "So to master Aura, don't you need to understand yourself as it is you?" 'When was the last time I lied this much?'

To his disbelief, Pyrrha had some kind of enlightenment. Similar to him, her Aura reserves and quality were enhanced and her Semblance became stronger. When she opened her eyes, there was this confidence that can take on the world.]

'It worked! Are you kidding me!'

"Mask. This favor...no amount of words or action can repay it."

"No. It simply means that you're not gaining a second bean."

Out of nowhere, she began to laugh. From his wisdom, Drew quickly concluded that her laugh was a positive one unfettered by negativity. She was truly happy, for whatever reason.

Once her laughter died down, she kept her smile. "I'm not letting you leave me and I won't leave you. You are my first friend whether you approve or not."

'Yeah no.' Drew rolled his eyes. 'She's sounding familiar to Naruto. Oh no.' He gasped under his mask. 'I'm her Sasuke!' "Whatever."

Initiation could not come sooner. Pyrrha stuck to Drew like Gum on a table. Ever since Pyrrha went through an awakening, her Semblance, which she already told Drew about, has gotten better, allowing her to sense the location of metal through magnetism. As he always wore his armor and sword, there was no escaping her no matter what he did. In his words, she was also the cockroach to his Wall-E.

Thinking about that exceptional movie brought back nostalgia, homesickness, and an itch to talk with Onyx. He won't accept it, but he was missing their random banters. It was mostly because Onyx knew where he came from and understood references. Here, his very culture doesn't exist and it sucked.

Arriving at the Beacon Cliffs, Aura Perception told him that someone was watching his every move. It didn't take long to figure who that was as she and her boss were waiting for him and his future classmates.

At the furthest edge of the cliff at the right was him and Pyrrha hummed a tune as she stood on what looks to be a launchpad a few feet away from him. Vomit Boy was to her left and going down the line was little red riding hood, the flirty blonde, a literal white-themed Karen, an obvious bully though he'll wait to see if he became one, the cat, hyper orange, poker face, and others.

[First Person POV]

'She's still glaring at me.'

[You kissed her. Normal women get offended by such an action.]

'You're back?'

[I am not going to miss this. Don't worry. I won't bother you. I'll leave as soon as you are done.]

'Oh...right.'

[Mission: Tease her]

[Dude. I think she's into you. She's paying so much attention to you. Flirt back.]

[Bonus Objective 1: Make her blush.]

[Bonus Objective 2: Don't die.]

'You broke your promise so fast. Why am I not shocked?'

[I said I won't bother you. I didn't give you a time as to how long I won't do it.]

'Uh-huh.'

[I'm still mad.]

'I know.'

[You better kick ass.]

'I know.'

[Mission: Badass]

[Show how awesome you are.]

[Bonus Objective 1: Solo a strong Grimm.]

[Bonus Objective 2: Save someone.]

[Bonus Objective 3: Wear weighted clothes the entire time.]

[Bonus Objective 4: Wield Dragonslayer until the end of Initiation.]

[Bonus Objective 5: No Aura Healing]

[Hidden Objective: ?]

'You have got to be kidding me.'

[Optional.]

'And yet I can't resist it. I should've never told you about my gaming habits.'

[Oh, your perfectionist behavior? It's not like I'm abusing it to inflict revenge upon you or anything.]

'Uh-huh. And after this, we're going to look up subtlety.'

[Pay attention. He's saying something.]

"...you have trained to become warriors and today, your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest." Taking a sip of his coffee, he waited for his employee to continue his words only for her to not do her part. "Glynda, please further elaborate."

"...yes sir." One last scathing glance later, she stated, "Now, I'm sure many of you have heard the rumors about the assignment of teams. Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion."

[What are you doing?]

'Changing?'

[Right now? In public?]

'Where else am I gonna change? There isn't exactly a bathroom in the wild and I doubt they'll let me depart to wear different clothes.'

[I...sometimes I question your common sense.]

"Mr. Blank. May I ask why you are stripping?"

[Yes, Mr. Blank. The hell are you doing?]

"I want to wear a different set of clothes and I don't want to miss your words so what I'm doing is a compromise. Don't mind me. Please continue."

"Yes. I would. Unfortunately, most of the females in this group are quite captured by your presentation, and the males are very confused or envious."

I turned to my right and saw what Ozpin mentioned. Pyrrha, being the closest, had a laser-like focus to her. While the others except Glynda was blushing or shamelessly staring, Pyrrha was studying his scars.

"What? Never seen a guy's body before?" I aimed this at nobody in particular.

"Mr. Blank. Enough of this behavior."

"Why? I'm not hurting anyone."

"You're causing a disturbance. If you want detention on the first month that badly, I am willing to comply."

"Oooh. Detention. What are we gonna do there? Do you wish to continue where we left off?"

Her face flushed in both anger and embarrassment. Ozpin quickly came to the rescue of the tablet as she nearly demolished it. "You...!"

"Enough Mr. Blank. Hurry up."

"See? You should be more like him. So open-minded."

To the disappointment of some ladies and one or two guys, his pants were left alone. Unknown to them, he had the weighted pants on from the morning.

"I have a request."

"What is it?" Ozpin is such a nice guy. Suspicious, but nice.

"May I get a headstart?"

His left eyebrow raised slightly. "Why?"

"In total, I weigh about nine hundred pounds. I doubt that the launchpads can launch me." Many openly gasped.

"Please explain as to why you have so much weight on you."

"Training?"

[Third Person POV]

Glynda stepped up. "I may dislike you, but this is a test. This is to show us your capabilities. With those restrictions, either you won't pass or you'll die."

[Hehehehehe.]

"Awww. You do care."

"You little...!" Ozpin held her back.

"Young man. Do as you please. Just remember to not complain about fairness later."

"Understand."

"Do you have your scroll with you?" Drew nodded. "Glynda will text you your evaluation details."

"Sir!"

"Thank you, Headmaster." He accidentally looked left and saw Pyrrha's hopeful gaze. In resignation, he waved. "Stay safe, Pyrrha."

"You too, Mask."

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