Chapter Fifteen: Hamartia

Ruby couldn't help but feel a sense of déjà vu.

She and Pyrrha were studying for the upcoming semester finals, or rather, Ruby was trying to study while Pyrrha was spacing out. It felt just like a few months ago, when Pyrrha had been down. Like the couple of weeks after I found her crying in the practice room…

In the months since then, Ruby's friendship with Pyrrha grew - so much so that Ruby considered Pyrrha to be one of her closest friends. Yet in the entirety of their second semester, Ruby was no more closer to finding out why exactly Pyrrha had been crying, why she had looked so… un-Pyrrha-like that night.

That's not to say Ruby wasn't trying to figure it out; no, it was more of a matter of privacy. The young team leader figured that Pyrrha probably had a good reason to be so sad and gloomy for a few weeks, for breaking down in the practice room. As curious as Ruby was, she wasn't going to press the issue. After a time, Pyrrha stopped being gloomy and more like her old self again – Ruby had figured whatever troubled her had been resolved.

Still, Ruby had her a few theories on what had happened. They ranged from failing a test – if she is anything like Weiss – to a rejected confession – not that Ruby had a shred of evidence for it. The only credible theory Ruby did have was that Pyrrha might have had a falling out with Jaune. It made sense; ever since then, Pyrrha was hanging out far less with her partner. Then again, we've barely hung out since he started dating Velvet… maybe he is just too busy to hang out with anyone?

As Pyrrha sighed for what must have been the tenth time, Ruby felt concerned. Did something happen? The emerald eyes that usually seemed so focused and driven were staring at the book laid out in front of her, with no indication of Pyrrha reading the words. Pyrrha had spaced out again. Ruby frowned, she was cheerful in class earlier…

It's time to figure out what's going on! Ruby had promised herself to get Pyrrha to smile and laugh more only a few days ago. She wasn't going to break her pledge so soon! "Um… Pyrrha?" Ruby queried hesitantly.

Pyrrha didn't move, only sighing as she stared down at the book. That's… bad? "Pyrrha?" This time Ruby spoke a bit more loudly, but still to no effect. Drastic measures were called for.

"Hello~?" Ruby drew out the word before waving her hand in front of Pyrrha's face. "Anyone home?" This, however, did get a response; Pyrrha flailed about at the sudden visual stimulus, her chair tipping backwards before Ruby grabbed on to it, preventing the taller redhead from falling on the ground.

"Sorry!" Ruby blurted out the apology to Pyrrha. She had wanted to get the girl's attention not cause her to fall over! "I didn't think you'd fall over a-a-and I-"

"It's fine!" Pyrrha weakly waved off the apologies. "It's fine, I didn't even fall. You caught me, after all, and it was my fault for zoning out." Pyrrha stiffly looked towards Ruby's books. "Did you need help with something?"

"Uhh…" Words were not coming to Ruby's mouth, causing her to panic. I should have thought this through! The younger girl frantically gestured towards the sheets of paper spread out where she was sitting. "I… uhhh… finished this." Her brain automatically switched to why they were there, for studying. "Could you double check it?"

"Oh. Sure." Ruby watched as Pyrrha scooched over and started to read over her work. The small movements of Pyrrha's head as she read causing her long red ponytail to swish back and forth.

It didn't take long for the elder girl's actions to slow down, the swishing stopping, and the sense of déjà vu returning. It was clear even to Ruby that Pyrrha was lost in her thoughts as she stared, unmoving, at the school work. Okay, I just need to ask her what's wrong, that's all! It's not that difficult!

This time, Ruby hesitantly tapped Pyrrha on the shoulder to get her attention, the taller girl seemingly coming back to life. "Sorry, I must have zoned out again, is something wr-"

"What's wrong?"

"Huh?" Pyrrha seemed taken aback at the sudden question. "What do you mean?" The lethargy that had its grips on Pyrrha today seemed to abate slightly as she gave Ruby a reassuring smile. "I'm fine."

To Ruby, it was anything but reassuring. Ruby had seen when Pyrrha had smiled; after all, she had spent a considerable amount of time with her over the months and knew enough to tell that the smile Pyrrha was currently sporting was anything but genuine. Whatever doubt Ruby had about staying out of Pyrrha's personal matters started to leave her as concern filled the empty space it left.

"No. No, you aren't." Ruby's voice had a hard edge to it, something that not only surprised Pyrrha but herself. "You've been spacing out a lot. Like a lot a lot. And you're sighing a bunch, like something sad is on your mind…"

Pyrrha's smile drooped slightly as the melancholic quality returned to her movements. "I'm just tired, that's all. I spent too long staying up helping Jaune train and study for exams." She shook her head. "That's all." Pyrrha repeated, trying to reinforce the idea.

Ruby frowned. There isn't much else I can do, is there? "Well, if that's it, maybe you could take a nap? I think I got the hang of this." She gestured towards the schoolwork. Yet thoughts filtered into Ruby's head as she stared down at the table. This isn't right, I know something else is wrong with Pyrrha.

"I see." Pyrrha seemed to mull over the words before stiffly getting up and gathering her books and notebooks. "Perhaps that would be best." Even just doing that, Pyrrha's movements were slow and unfocused. It took Ruby a moment to realize Pyrrha was doing; she wasn't making any real effort to pack up, but rather she was stalling, wasting time. The dawdling stopped altogether after a minute, leaving Pyrrha motionless.

Just as Ruby was opening up her mouth to say something before Pyrrha sighed loudly and sat down - her things half packed up on the table - hands clasped in her lap as she looked down at them.

"Jaune and Velvet are breaking up."

Huh? Ruby's eyes widened. "Wha…. W-what do you mean?" This was not what Ruby had been expecting; she'd been expecting something involving Pyrrha, not Jaune. Moreover, the fact that the two were breaking up was just… crazy. "W-w-why?"

"I… I don't know." Pyrrha gave a brief head shake. "Velvet was asking about Jaune before you got here." Ruby could hear Pyrrha's voice shake as she spoke with a tone that Ruby couldn't quite put her finger on. "Jaune has been avoiding her, and Velvet thinks he's going to break up with her at the end of the semester. "

It was surreal to think Ruby's first friend at Beacon would break up with anyone, let alone Velvet. I've seen those two together. Jaune's always been happy with her and Velvet looked happy too… Jaune breaking up with Velvet? That can't be right. It wasn't just surreal, it also wasn't like the awkward, dorky blonde that Ruby knew at all. I might not of have hung out with Jaune much this semester, but he can't of changed that much… could he?

"Jaune… Jaune wouldn't do that…" Ruby looked at Pyrrha, who just seemed to be frozen in her seat. "He wouldn't do that right? I thought Jaune really liked her, especially after the dance! He even skipped out on our trip to the ValeExpo because Velvet couldn't go…" Ruby was starting to find it hard to speak. "He wouldn't do that… right?"

Pyrrha just shook her head again. "I really don't know." Ruby's shoulder slumped at the response. "Velvet… she broke down in tears." It's really going to happen isn't it? They are really going to break up…

The small group of friends Ruby had at Signal had never dated anyone – had never even gone on a date herself for that matter – but she knew about break ups from Yang. She knew how bad they were and how much they hurt, how they turned a once-beautiful friendship into bitter hatred. Ruby didn't want to see Jaune and Velvet go through that - it'd be devastating to them.

"I told Velvet I'd talk to Jaune," Pyrrha quietly spoke, her voice barely audible to Ruby. "I said I'd try and figure out what's going on."

"Oh." Wait, that doesn't make sense. Ruby's brow furrowed. If Pyrrha had said she was going to help, why was she here? "Why aren't you already there right now, then?"

"I don't know what to do!"Pyrrha burst with frustration, her hands wringing in the air, her rigid posture flexing as she leaned over the table. "I don't know why Jaune is avoiding Velvet, I don't talk with him much, and I don't know if Velvet actually did something!" Pyrrha pinched the bridge of her nose. "I don't even know if Jaune thinks there is a problem."

Ruby didn't know what to say to that; what was there to do? It was clear Pyrrha didn't know what to do and while Ruby might be Jaune's friend, Pyrrha was his partner; she should know what's best. Speaking of which, this must be horrible for Pyrrha! Ruby eyed her as she tried to imagine what she would do if they were in switched places. I'd be terrified for Jaune!

Yet Pyrrha didn't look like that all; quite the contrary, the older girl looked nowhere near as panicked as Ruby would expect. She wasn't twitchy or jittery like Ruby would be – then again, she is Pyrrha Nikos: cool, calm, and collected. Even so, the several-time champion had her cracks - Ruby knew that from experience - yet they weren't , instead Pyrrha looked conflicted. That makes sense in a way, I guess? I mean, I would be too.

Ruby snapped her fingers as a thought occurred to her; if Pyrrha doesn't know what's going on, I could ask Jaune for her. That way, Pyrrha would know what's going on better and make a better choice! Ruby stood up, drawing Pyrrha's attention, startled emerald eyes tracking her. "Maybe I can help?" The seated girl's head titled. "I, um... I could talk to Jaune as a fellow team leader and ask what's go-"

"No!" Ruby flinched, surprised at the hard edge she heard in Pyrrha's voice and the hand she felt grab onto her arm. When Ruby looked at Pyrrha, however, she didn't see that harshness in her expression; rather, her emerald eyes were wide with panic . "T-t-there is no need to drag you into this! I-I-I told Velvet I would talk to him, not you or anyone else."

"O-okay." Ruby said, deflated in the face of Pyrrha's words as she sat back down. To Ruby, it made sense in a way, but Sun's words flashed in her head - 'You should always get friends involved!' I guess Pyrrha didn't want to involve me. "I was just trying to be helpful…"

"I know, I know." Pyrrha's voice softened, almost terrified at her own severity. "I just really need to do this by myself, and I need to do it right or else they'll break up." What struck Ruby as crazy was the shaking that had been in Pyrrha's voice from earlier was gone. Is she not nervous about this? Ruby thought as she studied Pyrrha. The redhead didn't seem as distraught or even as distant as she was ten minutes ago. No, that can't be right - Pyrrha cares for Jaune, right? She must be just really good at hiding it, is all? Ruby was so lost in her thoughts that she very nearly didn't hear Pyrrha speak, only noticing her lips move.

"Perhaps I should just… let the chips fall where they may."

Ruby didn't immediately register the significance of what Pyrrha had just said. For her to even suggest that… "Wha-what do you mean?" I can't have heard that right.

"It's not my place to meddle in Jaune's affairs, and if he wants to break up with Velvet, why stop him?" Pyrrha said with a straight face. I didn't hear her wrong, then… "All I'd be doing is prolonging something that he doesn't want."

Ruby stared at Pyrrha in shock. "But… wouldn't Jaune be sad?" Figuring out her logic was starting to frustrate Ruby; why isn't Pyrrha doing anything? "Aren't you his partner? Don't you care?!"

"I do care." The hard edge returned to Pyrrha's voice. "That's why I think it might be best to just let it come to pass… if they aren't meant to be, then they aren't meant to be." Pyrrha sighed as she leaned forward, putting her elbows on the table. "…and maybe I'll get my friend back."

"Huh?" Pyrrha's words only confused Ruby more. "Isn't Jaune already your friend?"

"Yes, of course he is."

"So why can't he be your friend and dating Velvet?" Ruby tilted her head. "I'm confused."

Pyrrha's brow knitted in concentration before continuing. "Before he was dating Velvet…" Pyrrha trailed off as she fumbled with words. "Jaune was… That is to say…"

Pyrrha took a deep breath and closed her eyes to collect her words. Tiredly exhaling, she asked, "Ruby, have you ever liked someone?"

"Yup!" Pyrrha gave Ruby a strange look at the quickness of the response. "I like you and Weiss and Jaune and Blake and Nora and Ren… why would I be friends with someone I didn't like?"

"Romantically."

"Oh." Ruby could feel the heat rising from her cheeks as she thought back to Signal. There had been a few persons-of-interest there, but she'd never gotten the courage to ask them out. Then, there was Beacon; while Ruby felt a close connection to her friends – some more so than others - it wasn't like she exactly had a crush on any of them, at least, I don't think I do? Ruby could admit that she wasn't the most perceptive cookie in the cookie jar, as the saying goes. "I… guess?"

Pyrrha nodded. "Did you ever ask them out?"

Ruby slowly shook her head. "What does this have to do with Jaune and Velvet?"

"Jaune was-" Pyrrha stopped herself before restarting. "Jaune is the person I wish I was with."

"Oh…"

"Ruby, I don't have many friends… I didn't have any when I came to Beacon. I had love and praise, but all that did was put me on a pedestal, a place where no one could reach me." Pyrrha's voice grew bitter. "Would you believe it when I say I chose to go to Beacon for a fresh start, away from Mistral?" Pyrrha had a faraway look in her eyes. "When I was partnered with someone who didn't know about the Invincible Girl, who didn't think of me as some idealized champion… it was like a dream come true. Jaune… Jaune was the first person to actually treat me like a person in years. I had a friend. I... I was happy for the first time in a long time."

An odd smile tugged at the corners of Pyrrha's mouth. It looked… sad. Far sadder than how a smile should look. "I was finally with people that didn't think of me as someone other than just… Pyrrha." Pyrrha didn't look happy to Ruby, is she trembling? "If someone makes you happy, happier than you can remember being, that means you're meant for each other, right? Right?"

The smile reversed as Pyrrha's mood fouled. "Then my source of happiness left."

"It was like a void had appeared, sucking the happiness I had gained away." Pyrrha's eyes glistened as she continued, her hands gripping the edge of the table, as if holding onto it would help - like the table was her lifeline. "It felt like what it had been before, when I was alone." Her voice sounded small, feeble, vulnerable– it was hard to believe it belonged to a nearly six-foot-tall combat tournament winner. "I was lonely."

"You aren't alone!" Ruby blurted out. "You have your friends!" Pyrrha regarded Ruby with a questioning look. "You have Ren and Nora… and you have me."

"Yes. Yes I do." Pyrrha favoured Ruby with a genuine smile – one that didn't carry the same sadness as before, her grip slackening on the table. "I have you." The warm smile disappeared as quickly as it appeared while the table groaned in protest. "But wouldn't it better if I could have both?" Ruby's response died in her mouth as the Pyrrha continued. "I-if they break up, I can have Jaune back. I get that happiness back."

Tears started to stream down Pyrrha's cheeks as she continued. "He might never notice my f-feelings, but it's b-better than not trying, better than n-never knowing what it would be like to be with him. All that needs to happen is Jaune and Velvet b-b-breaking up." Pyrrha snapped out of her trance, the death grip on the table released only for her to hug herself as she looked directly at Ruby, emerald eyes misty. Curled up in a ball like that, Pyrrha looked as if she just wanted to shrink away from the world.

Ruby could not fathom how to react to it all. She was frozen with uncertainty of what to do, hands hovering lamely in an attempt to reach out to her crying friend. Ruby stumbled for something to say, but a pained croaking gave her pause.

"Do-does that m-m-make me a bad p-person? I-I just… I jus… I just want to be happy..."

It clicked. It finally clicked in Ruby's brain. Pyrrha's uncharacteristic sadness in the training room at an unholy hour of the morning, when she had broken down upon Ruby had hugged her. Why she had seemed to be agitated in class. Why the cloud of gloom that had followed the redhead for weeks. The way she had seemed so forlorn. Why Pyrrha had been so angry after seeing Jaune and Velvet on a date.

The reason for why Pyrrha was presently softly sobbing over the table and had even suggested allowing Jaune and Velvet to break up. It all made sense now.

Pyrrha is heartbroken.

Editor: ASouthernRussian

AU: Well that was a thing.

Now *I* am sad over my two redheads.

I had this chapter done and sent to editing within a week of the last chapter. Problematically when my editor, ASouthernRussian, sat down and started to edit he basically said "Yeah, so, this might take a bit longer then a week." I think the extra two weeks did wonders for this chapter and allowed me breathing room, which was great.

Release for the next chapter is going to be targeted for the first week of November. I have many real world obligations this month plus my editor does as well. So I'm going to set a hard limit of November 6th, or five weeks from now. You may or may not of noticed I like to do updates at the beginning of the month, which is why you are getting a Spoon Equality, Dilation and Acceptance updates within a six hour span of time. I'll try and do it the first Friday of every month. Try being the key word. I would like to keep updates going at least once a month even though I'm stupid busy compared to summer.

If you remember from last time, I mentioned commissioning a story... well the person I was trying to allude to was Momoxtoshiro, i.e. Hana. Also, that particular story is now out, so have some more Pyrrha/Ruby everyone! The story in question is called 'Date at the Zoo'

Kudos to ASouthernRussian (my editor) for the chapter name. Hamartia is a term from Greek theater and is defined as: 1. Sometimes employed to mean acts of sin "by omission or commission in thought and feeling or in speech and actions" 2. concerns the "weakness of the flesh" and the free will to resist sinful acts.

I think its personally quite fitting considering Pyrrha's situation as of now. Yup.

I have a question for you all as well; what do nicknames, pet name or term of endearment do you think Pyrrha and Ruby would come up with for each other?

As always, thank you for reading, and the extremely kind words (and useful feedback) you dudes and dudettes leave in reviews. Seriously, thank you guys! :D

Thank you for reading and have a great day!

Omake:

"Do-does that m-m-make me a JOHHHHHHHHHHN CEEEEEEENAAAAAAA? I-I just… I jus… I just want to be AT THE WWE SUUUUSUUUUPER SLAAAAAAAAAAM!"