Author's Notes: I've officially written an Arkos story now. For some time, I never thought this day would come. I would like to clarify after saying something like that, but I don't dislike Arkos. I was even perfectly content watching it unfold in Canon... until, well you know. I'm just a little late to the party for writing something with it, is all.

Anyways, this isn't your traditional Arkos story... and it's a bit weird, probably even for me. The title for this comes from a chapter in Kami Nomi zo Shiru Sekai, specifically the Megami-hen when he is attempting to reconquer Yui. For those that know what I'm talking, you should already know what this entails.

Perfect Heroine

"Please come again!" Pyrrha waved backwards at the hair-dresser that called out to her.

Once she stepped out from the barber shop, she turned and looked back in the window, using it as a mirror to check herself over once again. She wanted to be absolutely sure everything was perfect. After all, today was the big day.

Today was her very first date with Jaune.

She had almost given up on her feelings ever getting through to him. Until the fateful night of the Vytal Festival Dance. Jaune left briefly, only to return in a dress and asking her to dance. The pure bliss and joy she felt in that one moment… she didn't even think it was possible to be that happy.

So overflowing in emotions, she hadn't been able to contain anymore, she had kissed him very publicly… leading him to asking her on this very date. Of course she had agreed, but… there had been one stipulation.

It wasn't anything drastic, at least she didn't think so. He had been really hesitant to agree at first, so maybe it was. In the end, he did accept her stipulation with one of his own. This was something she had no problem with and so their date was set.

Satisfied with the way she looked, Pyrrha gave a content nod before turning around to scan for Jaune. Checking her watch quick, she confirmed that it was about their agreed meeting time. Despite living in the same room together, they set out separatly so each could prepare and had just decided to meet outside this very barber shop.

So the only thing left to do was wait.

"Hey~ Come on cutie, why won't you say something to me?" Pyrrha tensed up, not so much because of the words, but because she recognized who they belonged to. Emerald eyes scanned the bustling sidewalk, looking for the owner. "If you don't like me, all you have to do is say something." It was when he spoke again she finally located him, Russel Thrush of team CRDL.

The shorter boy with a green mohawk was leaned over, hands in his pockets in a way he probably thought looked cool as he tried to hit on some poor girl. Flanking the girl so she couldn't retreat was Sky Lark.

Pyrrha immediately felt for her. For someone like Pyrrha, it had become a practiced habit to brush off annoying flirts, even the more persistent ones and while it never came down to it, well, she was a world-renowned champion so she could take care of herself. This girl didn't seem to have that same ability.

Looking closer, Pyrrha realized that the girl might even be a little taller than her. She had beautiful, flowing blonde hair that was combed straight. She couldn't see her eyes, for they were hidden by bangs at the moment. As for her physique… well, it was actually kind of hard to tell from the way she dressed.

She wore a gorgeous blue long-sleeve shirt, the whole thing looking to be several sizes too big as it hung loosely off her frame. Then there was the skirt she had on, equally blue but surprisingly conservative, with it extending all the way to her ankles and completely concealing any leg. This pretty much left the girl's whole figure to your imagination… and it appeared Russell liked what his was showing him.

"Since you're not saying anything, that must mean you're free, right?" Pyrrha couldn't stand to watch anymore as it looked like Russell was about to drag the poor soul off against her will. She didn't think him a bad person or that he would try anything, but he was definitely coming across too strong.

The girl was absolutely shivering in fear now, arms held up and hands nearly pressed against her mouth. No one else appeared to even notice her distress, the passing by civilians not even suffering a hitch in their step. So when Pyrrha started towards them, a resolute gleam in her emerald eyes, the girl must have somehow felt it because it was at that moment she looked up, the bangs hiding her eyes shifting to reveal them.

"Ah-" Pyrrha stopped dead in her tracks. How could she not? She knew those sapphire eyes… having spent so much time staring into them in the past. The whole situation before her made so much more sense. The reason she couldn't speak… was because to speak was to give away that she wasn't a girl at all.

At the same time, that made this whole thing… really freaking funny. She almost wanted to take a picture. The only reason she didn't, was because from the moment their eyes made contact, his were pleading to be saved from further humiliation. Deciding he had suffered enough, Pyrrha held a hand up to her mouth and cleared her throat.

"Hey! Get away from hi- her! I meant her!" She yelled out in a voice several octaves deeper than usual, just like she had been practicing over the past couple days in preparation for their date.

"Ha?" Russell asked, turning on her. She froze for a second as his eyes scanned her up and down. To her relief, they didn't light up with recognition. "Who the heck are you supposed to be, dude?" And just like with the guy in front of him, he mistook her gender.

On the inside, Pyrrha was doing mental cartwheels, because this meant without a doubt she had pulled the look off. Surely one of their close friends would notice it was her, but to everyone else, she just looked like a regular teenage man.

All her hard work had paid off. It was strange, taking off the metal armor she had become so accustomed to wearing to trade it in for a more contemporary look. The denim of tight blue-jeans was such an unusual fabric, but she didn't dislike the way it felt against her legs. On top she wore a basic t-shirt depicting one of Remnant's more popular bands and over that a red-leather jacket which was currently unzipped.

Her breasts would've been a dead giveaway of her gender, so she had bought some special wraps and currently had them firmly tucked against her body. It wasn't perfect, but fortunately for her, she was already pretty built so they looked more like pronounced pecs than womanly anatomy. The final difference… that hair-cut she had just got, making it so her once flowing red hair was even shorter than Jaune's. And without the ringlet she normally wore, even she had trouble recognizing herself.

So yeah, she was pretty pleased with herself, knowing it was all worth it. She didn't let any of this show on her face, instead settling for an intimidating scowl as she stepped in between Russell and the other "girl".

"She's with me." She draped an arm over his shoulders, immediately feeling how wide and strong they were which stood in stark contrast to the otherwise feminine air he was giving off. She also noticed upon close inspection the long blonde hair was a wig, a very impressive looking one. Neither of them even gave Russell a chance to respond before they walked off, leaving him and Lark behind.

They walked for several minutes in silence, currently en route to the cafe they had decided to start at and plan what else it was they wanted to do now that they were together. She kept glancing at him out of the corner of her eyes, watching him fidget and shooting glances of his own at everyone they passed by.

"Jaune, you should relax." She tried really hard not to laugh at him, but a feminine giggle slipped past her lips despite herself.

"Y-You were really slow, idiot!" When he spoke, it was in a higher pitch, not quite yet convincing enough but they had plenty of time to practice. "And don't call me Jaune while I'm dressed like this. The dance was one thing… but if anyone sees that I've taken it this far…"

"You're fine, Jeanne." She referred to him by the name he suggested she called him earlier. "In fact, I would say you're a little more than that." She looked up and saw a majority of the people they passed staring their way. She supposed it should have been embarrassing, but instead all she felt was excitement. This was a thrill she never got fighting in the ring.

"That's not funny, Pyrrhus." He too referred to her by a name more fitting for her disguised gender. "I was seriously freaking out back there."

"You were so cute though. I can't blame him for trying to hit on you." Pyrrha leaned over as she said this, placing a strong kiss on his cheek. The faded blush on his cheeks returned in full force and his attention once more found the ground at their feet interesting.

"You're… acting a lot less reserved than you usually do." Her smile faltered at those words. Did he find the way she was acting off-putting? She didn't mean to be so different than how she usually was.

"I just… this is the first time I've ever really gone on a date." She kept the octave low, but her voice was much more sullen and in tone with how she usually spoke now. "And not just that. Right now, I'm not out here as Pyrrha the Mistral Regional Champion, but just normal, average run-of-the-mill Pyrrhus." She stopped walking and Jaune did with her. "I guess… maybe I let that go to my head and just fell into character?" She turned to look at him, eyes offering an apology. "I'll try to be more like my usual self, if that's what you want."

Jaune let out what sounded like a guilty sigh. He glanced back and forth, checking to see if people were looking. He must have undoubtedly seen that they were but he leaned forward, placing a kiss on her lips anyways. Pyrrha grinned happily, leaning into it and ignoring the uncomfortable coughs of those around them.

"It's fine… you're fine." Jaune stated as he pulled back. "I can't complain about you acting differently… when I'm being more timid than I usually am." He looked down at himself, pulling at the skirt and spinning it slightly. "Besides, if something like you being excited for our date was enough to really make me mad, I never would've agreed to come dressed like this in the first place."

"Jeanne…" Oops, Pyrrha could tell her voice slipped back to its usual octave for a moment there. She was just so happy, hearing that he was willing to go through with this for her.

"Also," Jaune grinned brightly at her. "I think Pyrrhus is way more than average. The way you swooped in to save me is one of the coolest things I've ever seen. I know a guy named Jaune that would've been envious for a chance to look half that awesome." Pyrrha held up a fist to her mouth, stifling another girlish giggle.

"You were playing the heroine so perfectly, I had no choice but to step up to plate and give it my all." She turned back in the direction they were heading, extending an open palm out towards him.

"I'll be counting on you from here on to properly look out for and protect me from any other guy that thinks to hit on me. I don't want to be the damsel in distress... but if we're on a date I'll make an exception." He took her hand, giving a tight squeeze to which she returned. "When we're on dates, you're my knight, Pyrrhus."

"I won't let you down, Jeanne."

The two of them then continued on the path, determined to enjoy the rest of their date. No matter what other awkward circumstances they ran into.

END

Post Chapter Author's Notes: So yep. This was a cross-dressing story.

This is actually a several-month-old idea I had that was supposed to be longer than a one-shot. Not the length of my other on-going stories, but probably something in the 30k word range.

The beginning of the story was supposed to start out like this, silly and just kind of for shock value. As the story went, it was going to shift in tone, becoming less about playing their cross-dressing dates for laughs and delving more into the psychology that went behind it:

Why did they continue to do this? Was it possible they felt more comfortable in their roles as opposite genders? Was this something they just did for the thrills? Or were they doing this not for themselves, but in order to satisfy each other?

To try and find an answer for these questions, they would start to take the charades and dates farther than originally intended and doing things increasingly more risque (This probably would have ended up rated M). The resolution would be them determining the answer to their questions and deciding whether to stop or continue into the future.

Ren was also supposed to take the place of Russell, hitting on Jaune. Of course, not nearly as forcefully, as that would be out of character. And when he recognized Pyrrha he would realize it was Jaune and be forced to acknowledge something about himself he had never been comfortable with. Again, played for laughs initially but then coming to accept himself and be more open about it.

Obviously, that's kind of a heavy subject, gender-identity and all that. One I'm not sure that I'm actually qualified to write for, haha. So the idea never really got anywhere, but I started thinking about it the other day and ended up with the free-time to write it as a one-shot, at the very least covering the premise. And this is what I got.