RWBY: Remnant's Blond Bard

Chapter 17

"You know Pyrrha Nikos!" she hissed, gripping his shoulders. "You're friends with Pyrrha Nikos!"

"W—Weiss…?"

"Do you not realise how big a deal that is?" she hissed. "That's like… That's like being best friends with Guitar Cutie and not telling anyone!" Jaune winced. "Do you have any idea how much I'd love to know her!? Just think of what I could learn from sparring with her! You must introduce us!"

"That might be a little difficult when we're in Atlas and she's in Mistral."

"Idiot!" she scoffed. "Pyrrha is coming tonight!"

"She is!?" He was surprised, excited, but also left wondering why she hadn't mentioned it. Maybe she wanted to surprise him.

"Yes! My parents have invited just about everyone and anyone that is someone. Actresses, directors, politicians, celebrities. Argus isn't so far from Atlas that we couldn't send her one, though she's never accepted any from us before." Her voice dropped. "We always got polite rejections before because of how busy she is, so it was a surprise her agents agreed to this one. Now I know why!" Weiss yanked him close. "You will introduce me!"

"Y—Yes. Of course."

"Good." Weiss let go of him. "And if you can convince her to spar with me, I'll… I guess I'll owe you something. Anything you want, within reason."

"Anything…?"

Her eyes narrowed. "Within reason!"

"Hey, I wasn't going to ask for something crazy like your first kiss."

"Maybe you wouldn't. You'd be surprised what things I've been asked for after a performance. When I'm covered in makeup and in an outfit I need a team of people to help me get into and out of." She sighed and toyed with some strands of white hair. "Some of it is creepy, some of it frankly illegal, and then there's some that is just sad."

"Sad…?"

"The old men who let their hands linger on me are creepy but sometimes you get fans who are much less fortunate. I was told to do a PR visit to a hospice once." Weiss grimaced. "I thought I knew what I was getting into. Go, sing, give toys out to children without much time left. One of them was a boy my age who told me he'd never kissed a girl before. He'd been in a hospital bed all his life."

"You kissed him."

"What was I meant to do?" she asked, looking away sadly. "It made his day. I was told he died a few weeks later." She sighed. "That was my first kiss too, and even today I'm not sure if I should say it was wasted or not."

Damn. Jaune sucked in a breath. "I'm sorry."

"I shouldn't even be sad," she said, smiling faintly. "With one kiss, I made him happy in his final days. It's a small price, isn't it?" Her eyes finally came back to the present and locked on his. "Don't become famous. That's my advice to you, given for free. Travel Remnant, find a job you like, then settle for it. Don't stand out. It's not worth it." Weiss brushed past him after her piece was said. "Please excuse me. I need to meet my makeup crew."

He didn't stop her, but watched as she walked off the stage and made her way off with several professional-looking women with makeup cases. It was a rare moment from Weiss to share things like that, propelled in part by talk on Pyrrha but, he liked to think, continued because Weiss trusted he wasn't the type to share it.