Fusion of Forces: Remnant's Maelstrom

The need to push for answers never arose though, "Sanctum...wasn't...as enjoyable for me as it was for others." Seeing Naruto's raised brow and concerned eyes, Pyrrha mustered up the strength to continue, "I performed excellently in almost every area and well you know that I earned myself the title of 'The Invincible Girl' and while my family was proud it...it made it hard for me to find friends. Everybody either didn't talk to me because they thought I was too far out of their league or they wanted something from me, like I owed them something."

"Well that's dumb."

That one simple phrase broke Pyrrha out of her sullen walk down memory lane. While she had long since come to terms with the hurdles placed in front of her due to her status and fame, she never thought she'd meet someone so unaffected by it. Weiss, the heiress to one of the most wealthy families in Vale and Remnant as a whole, had almost begged her just to be her partner on their first day at Beacon, because of her own reputation. Even Ren and Nora had seemed a little surprised to find out that they were on the same team as her.

Naruto however simply didn't seem to care.

"Naruto..." She uttered.

"I've never really cared for titles or all that other fancy crap. To me you're not 'The Invincible Girl' or whatever, you're Pyrrha Nikos, my friend and partner...who just happens to be really strong and beautiful."

As the last part of his little speech left his mouth, Naruto's eyes widened.

'Shit, shit, shit! Damn you brain! Damn you red hair!'

In that instant Pyrrha's face was lit by a blush dusting her cheeks. Being told she was beautiful was nothing new to her and Naruto had already let it slip once before and just like that time, it was the sincerity with which it was said that caused her to blush.

Or maybe it was the entire moment. Here she was getting to know her partner and, now, closest friend in a way that she had never really been able to do with anyone outside of her family. It was almost surreal for her, finally getting what she had so longed for since her rise to fame. And with someone so...uniquely himself. While not normally a gambling person, the red haired beauty was willing to bet that there was no one like Naruto, as cheesy as that may sound.

"Wait! We don't have a shipping name yet!"

And with that, the hyperactive team member of team NNPR shattered both the awkward tension and the budding romantic one with ease by seating herself between her teammates with a look of deep concentration on her face.

"Nora! I told you to leave them alone!" Came the cry of the final member of team NNPR.

"But Ren! We can't have a pairing without a proper shipping name!"

While both Naruto and Pyrrha stared in shock and embarrassment, Ren simply sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose, "Nora, what have I told you about that?"

With a childish pout the eccentric teen replied, "To wait until they're an actual couple."

Realizing that it was Nora, Naruto and Pyrrha recovered from their shock and began to laugh at the oddity that was their teammate. At the same time, the blond leader came to the conclusion that it had been awhile since they hung out as a team - as friends - and hailing from the ninja village that emphasized teamwork and camaraderie above all else, that was a no no.

Standing to his feet, Naruto brushed off his pants and jacket, "Team! Seeing as it's Saturday and we've finished our work for the day, as your captain I declare today...a team bonding day!"

Nora cheered at the declaration while both Ren and Pyrrha simply smiled, the red head's being more noticeable as she absentmindedly gazed at her friend.

That smile soon turned into giggling though as the blond Jinchūriki looked at their current attire. Both Ren and Nora were still in their school uniform, while he and Pyrrha were in their battle clothes and looked - and more than likely smelled - rather foul.

"After a shower and change of clothes that is," Naruto chuckled.

A freshly showered and casually dressed team NNPR made their way through the streets of Vale, the team laughing at the plight of their captain.

"How does Vale seriously not have one damn ramen stand!?"

Garbed in a set of black jeans, a burnt orange shirt with the Uzumaki family crest emblazoned in black on the chest area, and his old Konoha headband tied loosely around his neck, Naruto childishly fumed at his so far futile attempts at finding a simple ramen stand.

"I don't think we'd find one in the shopping district, Naruto," a still chuckling Pyrrha responded. Dressed in a pair of form fitting blue jeans with a simple black top that bore her own unique symbol at the bottom left portion of it, and her crimson locks done up in a simple ponytail, the statuesque teen still managed to turn quite a number of heads, not that she was paying attention to that.

Prancing around in her pink skirt and white blouse with her insignia printed in a matching pink on her chest, Nora garnered her own fair share of stares, mostly due to the fact that despite her age she was acting like a five year old on a sugar high, seemingly ignorant to both the stares and her captain's plight.

:::

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