The next day

The next morning, Pyrrha looked over and saw her team getting ready for the day. Ren was busy doing his tie in a practiced manner. Nora was standing next to him, bouncing on her toes, eager for them to get down to the cafeteria for breakfast.

Jaune, though, was already dressed in his uniform, sitting on the edge of his bed and staring off into space. Usually, he'd be reading some comic or something like that. But not today. Evidently, he wasn't in the mood for the latest adventures of X-Ray and Vav.

Pyrrha stood, having already gotten dressed in her school uniform. She knew this would be her only chance to talk to Jaune before he spoke to Goodwitch. And once he did, she'd likely have him on the first transport out of Beacon. It was now or never.

Ren turned to his team, having finished with his tie.

"Ready?" he asked, stepping towards the door.

"Absolutely!" Nora exclaimed, rushing forward and grabbing the door handle.

"Actually, you two go on ahead," Pyrrha said, placing a hand on Jaune's shoulder. "I need to speak with our team leader. Alone."

Ren nodded respectfully and kept walking. Nora looked back with a devious grin.

"Oooooo. Someone's in trouble," she said teasingly before she and Ren disappeared out the door, closing it behind them. Once they were gone, Jaune looked up at Pyrrha, slightly annoyed.

"Pyrrha, I know what you're going to say, and I've already made up my mind," he said. "I-"

Pyrrha cut him off by placing one of her slender hands over his mouth, his voice muffled for a moment before he stopped talking.

"Jaune...just listen to me. Please."

Jaune wanted to protest. Wanted to get this whole charade over with. But the look in Pyrrha's eyes made him stop, just for a moment.

He nodded, and Pyrrha removed her hand, sitting down next to him.

"Jaune..." Pyrrha began, choosing her words carefully. "Despite what you may think, you do deserve to be here. Even if you don't have the skills, you have the heart and soul of a huntsman. That, alone, warrants a fair chance for you."

"And I had one. You tried training me, and it didn't work. I'm not a huntsman."

"Wrong," Pyrrha responded, feeling her voice get stronger with each word she spoke. "You were given a handful of training sessions, and you gave up after you got frustrated. Does that sound like a fair chance, to you?"

Jaune paused, really considering her words. When he compared that to the years of training his classmates had had at that point, he realized the truth of the matter.

"Well...no, I guess not," he said, averting his gaze.

"It's ok, Jaune." Pyrrha reached over and placed a hand on his cheek, forcing him to meet her eyes. "We've all gotten frustrated during our training. I certainly have. I'm sure Ren and Nora have, too."

Jaune raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"Really? You, getting frustrated? But...you're Pyrrha Nikos! You're the best fighter in the school!"

Pyrrha smiled at the compliment, and continued.

"You think that happened overnight?" she asked dropping her hand from his cheek. "Part of that was natural talent, yes. But talent will only take you so far. You need to nurture it, hone it, develop it. You need to allow yourself to fail when you have a safety net, so you can learn for when it really matters."

Jaune nodded, actually understanding what she was saying. Pyrrha had tried to tell him this when they started training, but the message hadn't gotten through. Now, though, he got it.

"I understand," he said, smiling. "Thank you, Pyrrha."

"You're welcome," she said, reaching out and rubbing his knee. She then felt herself get nervous. She had convinced him to stay longer, but now she had to solidify it. She had to do something to keep him training, even when it got frustrating. "Now...to ensure we don't have this conversation again in a week...I'm changing our training routine."

Jaune perked up at that. Changing it? Was she going to be dumbing it down for him? He didn't necessarily like that idea, but...she was the teacher. If that's what she thought was best...

"Change it how?" he finally asked

"Well...we're going back onto the roof, tonight. And we're going to be doing the same exercise we did last night. However..." She paused. Once she said what she was about to say, there was no taking it back. "Every time you get a hit on me...I will remove the piece of armor that you hit."

Jaune's eyes nearly shot out of his head when she said that. She would, essentially, strip for him whenever he did good. Obviously, Jaune found her attractive. Beautiful, even. But he never thought, in a million years, she would suggest something like this!

Then, another thought came to him. A much more serious one.

"Wait...won't that be dangerous for you?" he asked. "When you...take your armor off, won't there be...more of you exposed for my sword to cut?"

Pyrrha smiled at that. Mostly for his genuine concern for her over his own reward, but also for another reason.

"Feeling confident you'll actually get a hit?" Pyrrha asked teasingly.

Jaune blushed and smiled. He wasn't used to her being this...playful?

"I'll be fine," she assured him, rubbing his knee again. "Any hits you actually get on my skin will be blocked by my aura. And we'll just stop if it gets too low. So..." She held out her right hand towards him. "Sound like a deal?"

Jaune hesitated for barely a second. Only an idiot would turn down a chance to see Pyrrha freaking Nikos strip while she was training them to fight better!

"Deal," Jaune said, taking her hand and shaking it once. The two of them then nodded, stood, and walked out of their room to join their teammates at breakfast.

The entire walk down, though, Pyrrha couldn't stop thinking about what she'd just done. She agreed to expose herself to Jaune Arc, the man she'd secretly had a crush on since the day she arrived at Beacon. And he had accepted! He actually wanted to see her do that!

Of course, he'd actually have to get a hit on her to make that happen. And, even more so than last night, Pyrrha found herself hoping Jaune was successful...