Chapter 240: Battle of the P's [2]

He arrived in a blink, his blade swung ruthelessly towards Pyrrha's head. She raised her shield, diverted the attack and as her sword whizzed to clash with him it met only air and flying feathers.

She felt the air shift, her head turned, Parc was crouched behind her his dagger aiming for her calf. She lunged into a forward roll quickly evading but he was relentless. Just as she was rolling he was upon her once more.

Pyrrha narrowed her eyes, kicked out her legs midroll and threw herself upwards with powerful extending of her arms just narrowly avoiding his dagger plunging tip deep into the purple stone plating of the arena.

She landed, spun around and in a second flipped a switch on her sword shifting it into its rifle form and fire off one shot then two. Neither hitting their mark as the Professor spun out of their way. Fading to flurrying feathers just before the third shot could be fired.

Voices of astonishment echoed around them as they traded attacks, never once hitting the other.

Parc's stride came to a halt just at the edge of he arena, his breath puffing out in low pants but still alert. "Good lord," he streatched his back clicking his spine, "I really need to fight more often. God, karma for being a lazy bastard." Grumbling he eyed up Pyrrha who was completely unaffected by their short scuffle.

He lifted his blade and pointed its tip her way, the way it bobbed seeming almost like he was amused with her. "You're skilled, I'll give you that." Chuckling he circled Pyrrha, she mimicked him, following in tandem his movements keeping a constant distance between them. "But you're not good enough." Suddenly Parc's voice lowered and turned cold and he charged. It was a simple attack with obvious openings that Pyrrha could easily counteract it, a nimble duck and a thrust upwards to his throat would send him reeling.

But at the last moment she jolted, a memory rising that forced her to aim for his shoulder and pierce into the aura shield coating his body. She stared as if surprised, 'he has an aura?' she thought and for a split of a second looked to those seven women.

A grunt from Parc drew her back to meeting his irate scowl, he reversed his grip and rammed his blade towards Pyrrha's chest but missed when she rolled out of the way.

"Pathetic." The Professor grumbled as he paced and rolled his shoulder. "I was expecting more from you Pyrrha. That would have been a perfect attack. Lethal, rutheless. But you didn't."

"I didn't know if you had an aura. If I attacked like that and you didn't I would have killed you." She responded flourishing her xiphos and lowered her stance. Eyes hardening as she heard Nora and Ruby's excitable bellows of encouragement.

"Cute," he chuckled, "you think you can kill me." Shaking his head he bounced on the balls of his feet like a boxer hyping themselves for a fight. "I think I'm done testing the waters."

Pyrrha said nothing except hissed and tightened her jaw as within a single second a blade, its tip pointed and jagged arrived before her eye. Her arm shot up and her semblance latched to the blade slowing it enough that she could knock it to the side only for the moment it spun to the side for her to feel a harsh thump crash against her back sending her fumbling forwards.

Quickly she caught herself, spun around her blade but kept her body going in case the Professor used his semblance to lurch on her back once more.

"Pyrrha!"

Only, the moment she spun around once more to find Jaune stood there wide eyed. Hissing she stopped her blade just millimeters from his neck and the boy let out a relieved sigh.

"Jaune?" she exclaimed and darted to where her team was sitting. RWBY, Ren and Nora all staring at the now empty seat besides them. "How did you-"

Unable to even finish her thought she tackled Jaune to the ground as another dagger glided over her head.

"What are you doing!?" she shouted, "you could have hit him!" Parc loomed over her and Jaune. She'd put her back to her team leader, glaring with spiteful intent as Parc spun his blade.

"So what if I hit him? He'll survive."

"He's not a part of our duel."

The professors smile widened. Something was wrong, something was incredibly off. Before she knew it was Jaune's arm was hooked around her throat with his wrist tight in his opposite elbow to fully leverage what strangling force he could mustre.

She patter and clawed at Jaune's arm, "Jaune let go… what are you doing." She tried to gurgle through strained breaths.

"It's not me! I'm not doing this!"

Pyrrha dug beneath his arm but his grip was tighter than he'd ever been able to produce before. Not even during their training sessions did he ever show as much strength as he was now.

"Let her go." The professor sounded and she was freed, a hand raising to her throat as she gave a few low coughs and refreshed her breath. "My lord. And your supposed to be some elite champion?" he mocked. "You're more just a child with a stick then a warrior with a sword." He stepped close and lingered over her, "you're not prepared for anything at all. None of you are. You're all single minded hooligans with weapons you shouldn't even be touching." With one last flourish of his dagger he shoved it into a hilt and pulled out a silver token. Staring at it he grunted and threw it down to Pyrrha's feet.

"All in all. You were disappointing Pyrrha. You could have easily gotten out of Jaune's grip and yet you didn't even try. You're gentleness will get you killed. It will get Jaune killed. It will get Ren and Nora killed."

It was like a bucket of cold water was thrown over her, chilling her to the bone and raising bumps across her body. It wasn't even embarassing, she knew as well as anyone that she wasn't infallible. It was just… frustrating.

The chain Pyrrha was only now realizing was wrapped around Jaune's leg unlatched and slithered back to the Professor, disappearing into wherever he stored them. "It's sad you know." His back seemed large to Pyrrha, like a wall she couldn't climb. "You'd think that after all my lessons at least you would grow a spine. It's honestly so bloody pathetic that out of every person here, CRDL has shown the most growth and they're the losers!" He stomped and turned to the class.

"Those idiots are better than all of you combined! They're prepared to get down and dirty, to beat down anyone who gets in their way and they're the bullies!" he desperatly voiced, "Then again." He paused and mulled his coming words, "it's always the bad guys who are ready to take the gravest risks."

Pyrrha laid her hand on the ground, finger curling and scratching the stone. He wasn't talking to her, she knew that, yet it felt like she was the only one there.

"Come a real fight, one where you don't deal with Grimm where you deal with people like me. The subversive and conniving bastards, I don't see many of you getting far on your own." A hand rose drawing all eyes. "Apparently I'm doing questions. What is it Ruby?"

"But that's why we have our team mates. We're not on our own."

Parc's gaze narrowed harshly and Ruby began to shiver from his cold glaring, "Yang's mother abandoned her own daughter and her team." Ruby squeaked and her sister jolted, crimson stealing her previously lilac orbs. "Teams are… skin deep." Parc mulled, "given enough reason they will stab you in the back whether for their own gain, someone elses, or as I've just shown, not by their own will."

"That's not right." Ruby blurted out breaking the terse silence that collected through the halls.

"How so?"

"Well, we're uh, friends. We work together, support each other when we're sad. We wouldn't betray each other." Blake by her side twitched and hung her head, "er, ignoring a few small incidents."

"Small incidents are still incidents nonetheless. Just a sign indicative of tensions and vulnerabilities that can be manipulated to turn them against you. Of course," his hand rolled accentuating his words, "that isn't assured. Still, you should always be prepared for betrayal as well as dirty fighting. Bad guys rarely if ever will not throw sand in your eyes then beat you down while you're wincing. I should know." His glare and twitching lip directed towards the nonchalantly whistling Leone. "That will be all, Lili, Ferry, as per the usual you two can stay. Velvet should be here soon for your lessons."