The girl stood there on the corner of the street, exactly the same as she did every day. She didn't want her mother to hate her after all, so she did as she was told. She waited and waited, several kind-hearted souls giving her what little change they had. It was a rather poor area, but that just made the local people band together even more. And then she saw her. Her eyes lit up at the sight of her flame-haired friend turning the corner, both of them giddy to see each other again.

'Hello!'

That was what the redhead had said to her with such a cheerful smile.

'My name's Pyrrha! You look lonely… are you alright?'

She simply replied with a nod, just like her mother taught her.

'I'm OK. It's nice to meet you, Pyrrha.'

I mustn't get too close to her, the girl thought to herself. Mummy wouldn't be very happy if she found out.

Trying to remain as distant as possible, she gave vague answers to each of Pyrrha's questions, hoping she would soon leave. But Pyrrha was persistent, and stayed with her for hours, talking about nothing in particular. As much as she feared it, the girl enjoyed the company more than the rare praise her mother gave her. Every day, day after day Pyrrha returned with news of what she had been doing, and she would occasionally bring some snacks for the girl. Eventually, she asked for her name. After hearing she didn't have one, Pyrrha suggested one to the girl.

Black…

She loved it. She felt like she had been reborn as a new person, free from the shackles that she was cursed to wear. Since that day, that memory had been engraved into her heart. The girl had not betrayed her promise to remember it, and she had also begrudgingly listened to her mother. Her mother beat her until she swore never to call herself Black again, leaving a swollen black eye on her otherwise beautiful face. The next day it rained down so hard she thought she would drown in it, not even being given an umbrella as punishment for her insolence.

The name she had chosen for herself was not Black, but a slight modification. Therefore she was listening to both her mother and her friend, so to her it was perfect.

The girl decided her name would be Blake.

Blake saw Pyrrha again the next day, the redhead questioning her over her black eye. After explaining, Pyrrha was visibly distressed. She truly believed she had caused her friend to suffer, despite the fact that Blake was happier than ever.

Blake's eyes burst open, her face breaking out into a cold sweat as she panted heavily.

Why…? Why did I have that dream?

To this day, she had never forgotten her childhood friend. After that rainy day, she never saw Pyrrha again. She knew there had to be a very good reason for it, but she felt as though a part of her had died. She felt empty, and even at that tender young age she knew she was in love. She watched her love blossom and disappear, both of them happening so suddenly. Getting up to get a drink, she soon felt a nauseous feeling in her stomach and rushed over to the bathroom, barely making it to the toilet before throwing up.

God damn it, my stomach's acting up again.

After her ordeal was over, she washed her mouth out with water, taking some medicine for her sickness and going for a walk outside. The fresh air would do her good, she thought. However, outside she saw a familiar face sitting on the grass in the distance. It was Pyrrha. She seemed to be thinking hard on something alone, so Blake went over to speak with her.

'Hey.'

Caught off guard, Pyrrha looked at her with a surprised expression.

'Hi,' she replied, a heavy expression on her face.

'What's wrong? You seem… down.'

'I'm just… thinking,' Pyrrha replied, her voice distant. 'Thinking about the future.'

A lump formed in Blake's throat at the mention of the future.

'What about it?' she nervously asked, unsure where Pyrrha was taking this.

'I was just thinking about life after Beacon. I mean, we all talk about becoming Hunters and Huntresses, but the reality is many people die in this job. Some never see their friends from their respective Hunter academies again,' she said wistfully. 'I just don't want to be one of those people. Around other people I put up this strong image, but when I'm alone and when I'm with you I can't hide it. I'm scared, Blake. I'm scared of leaving all this behind. Scared of losing everyone close to me.'

Blake knew what she meant. She had experienced firsthand the kind of pain Pyrrha was speaking of during her childhood, and it was a powerful suffering that almost crushed her. Had she not held the belief that the two would meet again Blake would have likely let herself slip away into death, as the other belief she could have chosen to follow was one of abandonment. Pyrrha quite literally saved her life with her optimism, though she didn't know it.

'There was a girl once,' Pyrrha continued, 'back when I was eight years old, I met a girl. She just stood on the corner of the street every day. She said she had a mother, but if you asked me I would have thought her to be homeless. I grew close to her during the time I spent with her, and we became friends. Then one day my parents moved from Vacuo to Mistral all of a sudden. I screamed and shouted, begging them to let me stay, all for that girl. In the end, I had to go with my parents. I wasn't even allowed to say goodbye. It hurt so, so much to leave her like that. I was scared that she would hate me or even kill herself, because I'm pretty sure she didn't have anyone else she could confide in. No, I'm certain she hates me for leaving her. She doesn't know my side of the story. All she knows is that the girl she was friends with suddenly left her behind, with no warning at all.

You big dummy, Blake thought, fighting back tears. I could never hate you. I loved you more than anything. I still do.

'I loved her,' Pyrrha finished, turning to face Blake as she spoke, a pained look in her eyes. 'You remind me so much of her. I could have sworn you really were the girl from my childhood. The name, the eyes, the cat ears… everything would fit. But… you aren't her, right?'

Blake's heart felt like it would wrench in two. She wanted to tell Pyrrha the truth, she really did.

But she couldn't.

'No, it's a different girl,' Blake replied stoically, Pyrrha giving her a small yet forced smile.

'Look,' Pyrrha began again, 'Blake, I've been thinking… maybe… maybe we shouldn't be together. I'm just using you as a stand-in for that girl I met all those years ago. Yes, I really did fall in love with you, but that was because I started growing interested in you after you reminded me of her. It all goes back to her. Maybe we should end it here, before it begins to hurt too much,' Pyrrha said solemnly.

Oh no you don't, Blake thought. I'm not letting you go that easily. Even if I can't tell you the truth about who I am, I'm not letting go of you so soon.

'Don't be stupid,' Blake reprimanded, giving Pyrrha a harsh look. The redhead looked utterly helpless, and for the first time in her life, Pyrrha felt weak.

'Help me, Blake. I don't know what's going on with me. I've got all these emotions flying around in my head, and none of it makes sense. I love you, but I love the girl from my memories. I'm angry at myself, but I feel happy for some reason. I don't understand, Blake. I don't understand at all…'

Blake gave her a knowing smile.

'That's love, Pyrrha. Not knowing why or how you're feeling all those strange emotions, having them all conflicting yet co-existing at the same time. That's what love is. Stay with me, Pyrrha. In fact, that's an order. You're going to stay with me for a while,' Blake said, smiling lovingly, pulling the redheads head into her chest, planting a small kiss atop her head.

'I love you, and you love me. That's just how it is, no matter which way you want to look at it.'

The two stayed in that embrace for a while, Pyrrha feeling a numbing happiness from being in the comfort of Blake's arms.

'Let's go out later on for some drinks, okay?' Blake offered, Pyrrha looking up at her with a confused expression.

'But it's a Sunday,' Pyrrha replied, bemused by her strange suggestion.

'Who cares? There'll be places open still, let's go and enjoy ourselves a little. Let's let ourselves go for once, and just forget about all the painful stuff, okay?'

Pyrrha silently nodded, the thought of having some relief from her stress calming her considerably, especially when she got to spend that time with her lover.

The two headed back inside, not letting go of each other's hands. In their current state, they couldn't care less who saw them. They just wanted to be close to one another. Nora and Jaune both already knew about the couple, Nora seeming to have told Ren about it at some point, though nobody else knew. When they announced to them that they were officially dating, the ginger practically bounced off the walls in excitement, happy for the two of them. Team JNPR was very laid back, so Pyrrha wasn't worried about their reaction, but Team RWBY however had one person she feared would be quite apprehensive about their relationship.

'You're what?' Weiss blurted out, unsure if her ears were playing tricks on her, Ruby deciding to join in the conversation.

'They said they're… dating…'

It seemed it had finally dawned on Ruby what was going on, the look on her face almost comical.

'Wait… Blake, you're into girls?'

Blake wanted to slap her hand against her forehead. All the questions she could have for the two of them, and that had been the one Ruby considered the most important one? Blake stifled a giggle at the typical attitude of her leader, Ruby's jaw dropping at the earth shattering revelation. Yang seemed strangely accepting about it, Pyrrha asking the reason why.

'Oh, I saw you guys kissing when you were at the front entrance the other night. From where I was stood I thought you were gonna get busy right there!'

'Yang!' Blake said, blushing furiously at the blonde's preposterous suggestion, before timidly looking to her lover, Pyrrha's face turning the same shade of crimson as her hair.

'So, when's the wedding?' Yang teased, a cheeky grin on her face. Blake merely sighed at her taunt, deciding to ignore her completely, the brawler pouting as cutely as she could in protest. Weiss was still struggling to comprehend the information she had been given, the two lovebirds announcing their exit before heading out. Yang poked her head out the door after them, calling down the hallway.

'I've got batteries; if you want to use them just ask!'

Blake shot her a warning glare, daring her to say another word to which the Huntress said no more.

'That was… a lot easier than I was expecting,' Pyrrha whispered to Blake. The two of them had headed to the library, preferring the quiet and the rustic atmosphere of the books adorning the walls to the bustling academy grounds. Several students entered the library for the sole purpose of relaxing, and it made the place seem like the only truly peaceful place in the entire building at times. They passed a good few hours there, both reading the same book and occasionally making comments about it to the other. Pyrrha read much faster than Blake though, so the Faunus girl occasionally pouted when Pyrrha accidentally spoiled part of the book for her. Even the ending was not safe for the poor girl, the romance they were reading ending in tragedy which Pyrrha ever so kindly revealed whilst Blake was only three quarters through. One of the lovers in the story had a terminal illness, and as such their love was doomed to fail from the start. Blake defiantly ignored Pyrrha for the next few hours, the redhead finding her resistance rather cute and endearing.

Eventually, evening came and the two got dressed up to go out on the town for some drinks. Pyrrha led them to a bar which she occasionally visited when she had a meeting with some talent scouts, the drink helping calm the mood and lighten both parties up. The two sat at the bar, Pyrrha ordering a martini while Blake sifted through the list of drinks, eventually settling for a piña colada. Taking a sip of it, she found she rather enjoyed the taste, the flavours blending perfectly for her.

'I can never drink those,' Pyrrha said, nodding towards Blake's drink. 'The white rum gets me every time. I like the martini for its simplicity. It's not an extravagant drink by any means, but it's straight and to the point.'

They sat like that for a while, drinking and enjoying their chat together when Blake excused herself to go to the bathroom. After making sure nobody was around, she grabbed her stomach and dropped to her knees, the intense pain in her stomach making her want to scream. She dug her nails into her arm to try and prevent that from happening at all costs. She knew that it would subside eventually as it always did; it was just a matter of when. Sometimes it lasted a minute. Other times, it could last for up to three hours. After around five minutes, Pyrrha began to grow worried. She was convinced that Blake had been gone far too long, and headed to the bathroom after her to make sure she was OK. Pushing open the door, she couldn't hear anything.

'Blake, are you in here? Are you OK?'

She poked her head around the door, but saw no sign of the girl in the room. Noticing one of the cubicles was locked, she opened the door to find Blake unconscious on the floor.

'BLAKE!'

Immediately rushing to her aid, she checked her pulse.

Good, she's still got a pulse and she's still breathing, albeit weakly.

Carrying her out of the bathroom, she shouted out for help.

'Someone call an ambulance! Please! My friend, she's passed out and she's barely breathing!'

Clearing a space for Blake, she laid her down on one of the tables whilst a barmaid called the ambulance. After making sure nothing was blocking her airways, she held Blake's hand until the paramedics arrived, the two carrying her into the ambulance on a stretcher.

'Can I come with you? She's my friend, I found her like that in the bathroom.'

'Of course you can,' one of the men replied. 'It's probably for the best that you stay with her anyway. She'll be happy to see you when she wakes up,' he said with a smile.

During the entire ride to the hospital, they applied various pieces of medical equipment and Blake's condition stabilized slightly, her breathing growing more pronounced on the journey. When they arrived at the hospital itself she was quickly wheeled into an emergency room, Pyrrha fretting with worry, panicking more with every second. She tried to think of what could have possibly caused her to suddenly collapse like that, but despite all her thoughts she couldn't think of anything. It wasn't as though Blake had drunk much, and she knew the bartender well enough to know that they were trustworthy. Nobody had tampered with her drink, either. It didn't make any sense to her. A few minutes later, one of the doctors came out, a casual smile on his face.

'Is she alright? What happened to her?'

'It's nothing to worry about. I know it seems serious, but she's been having these episodes for a while now. She just needs a little bit of rest and she'll be fine. In the meantime, you can go in to see her if you like. She's awake, but she's a little fatigued so she won't be able to leave tonight I'm afraid.'

'Thank you,' Pyrrha replied, breathing a sigh of relief, heading into the room.

Blake turned her head slightly upon hearing the door.

'Hey, Blake. How are you feeling?'

'I'm sorry,' she replied, tears forming in her eyes.

'What are you talking about? You have nothing to be sorry about,' Pyrrha comforted, her words doing nothing to soothe Blake's mental state.

'I should have told you… I got angry at you for hiding that information about my friend the other day, yet here I am hiding my condition from you…'

'Blake, a medical condition and your friend's accusation are two completely different things. You weren't obligated to tell me about it, and I don't mind that you didn't. I'm just glad you're OK.'

Walking over to give her a hug, she wiped away Blake's tears, the girl smiling back at her.

'Thank you… I promise I won't keep stuff like this from you anymore, OK?'

'Alright,' Pyrrha replied, letting out a slight giggle. 'Just get better soon, alright?'

'Will do.'

'I'd better get going. I'll come back to visit tomorrow, and I'll explain what's going on to everyone else. And… I love you.'

Blake's heart melted with those last words, a joyful smile crossing her lips.

'I love you too. I'll see you tomorrow.'

Heading out, she left Blake to get some rest. When she returned to Beacon, she explained the situation to Team RWBY and Team JNPR, and a small part of her still worried over Blake's condition. She still wasn't convinced that it was just something that happened to her every now and then. There must have been some reason for it. Putting it out of her mind for the time being though, she drifted to sleep, thoughts of tomorrow and Blake's release putting a smile on her face.