Welcome to my very first RWBY fanfic! Just a heads up- if you didn't read the summary, the main character in this story is YOU, so if you're not comfortable being the hero of the story, turn back now. For everyone else who stayed, I bid thee good luck on the rollercoaster of fiction! Also, this is Rated M for potential future content being a little in the... "descriptive" category. For better or for worse. Enjoy!
(Y/N) - (insert your name here)
The room is silent, despite the large cogs rotating high in the ceiling of the clock tower. The room itself, aside from the cogs, is more like an office than a maintenance room- the floor is made of grey tempered steel, with a large ring pattern adorning the center of the metal floor. The walls are comprised of steel up until they reach the cogs, where they turn into green tempered glass. On one side of the room, built into the walls, are three fancy elevators that provide passage to and fro the room, while on the other is an observation window that overlooks the entirety of Beacon Academy and the vast reaches of the city of Vale, the room illuminated by the bright daylight shining through despite the fact that the sun is not visible through the window at this time of day. A steel plate hangs over the area of the room in front of the elevators, supported by chiseled pillars that add an air of solemnity to the room. Just in front of the window sits a silver boomerang-shaped desk that faces the elevators as opposed to the window, and seated at the desk is a grey-haired man, his walking cane resting against the side of the desk. In his right hand sits a cup of coffee engraved with the symbol of Beacon Academy, and in his left hand his scroll, which is relaying a report of increased Grimm activity in the Forever Fall Forest, which began only twenty minutes ago.
The report was made by some citizens in the commercial district of Vale who could hear the commotion and howls of the Grimm and see the occasional tree fall over in the forest. The Grimm were apparently following a direct path headed straight for Beacon Academy as opposed to the commercial district, which the man found odd. Grimm are attracted to places of high populations filled with negativity and fear, so it doesn't make sense that they were headed straight for Beacon as opposed to the city of Vale, and even so, the kingdom is enjoying a time of peace, aside from the occasional reports of small-scale White Fang activity. The only other explanation that the man can think of is that they were following something.
Or someone, the man thought. Something else crosses his mind then- the Grimm have been following this person for the past twenty minutes. As Headmaster of Beacon Academy, the man knows the names of all of the Huntsmen and Huntresses in his kingdom, whether they're in-training, graduated, or teaching, but he currently doesn't have anyone assigned to the Forever Fall Forest. This tells him two things- one, the person being chased is not one of his Hunters or Huntresses, and two, they have enough skill battling Grimm to have lasted being chased for this long. However, the man knows that this person won't last much longer against the Grimm- they've been chasing him for twenty minutes after all. Grimm are attracted to distress and panic, and they're target must be panicking and distressed if more Grimm are being drawn to this person as opposed to less.
The man sits back in his chair, his mind made up. Huntsman or not, this person clearly needs help, and all of his staff are either teaching class or out on missions. He leans back on his chair, another solution already presenting itself in his mind: send out one of the teams currently in training. Technically, they're not supposed to go on their first mission until the Vytal Festival, but it's the only thing he can think of at the moment, and he already has a team in mind. He closes the report from his scroll and sends a call request to one of his contacts. Moments later, the scroll beeps three times, indicating that the request was answered. A woman's voice sounds through the scroll.
"Professor Ozpin. What can I help you with?" Ozpin leans forward in his chair, his previous concerns about the matter setting a sense of urgency in his mind. He set his cup of tea down as he spoke.
"Glynda. I need you to tell Ruby Rose to see me in my office as soon as possible. It's rather urgent."
"Yes sir, I'll find her immediately," she replies, her earlier quizzical tone immediately replaced by the same urgency that now plagues the Headmaster's mind.
He didn't have to wait long. After only two minutes, one of the elevators on the opposite side of the room slides open to reveal a young girl in a red and black outfit, her weapon compacted and clipped to the back of her waist, her combat boots tapping against the floor as she stepped out of the elevator and into the Headmaster's office.
"Hello Professor Ozpin!" she greets him. Her voice is childlike with an innocent tone to it, and her silver eyes sparkles as she spoke. "Professor Goodwitch said that you wanted to see me?" She's younger than all of the other students at the academy, but her combat skills were the same, if not better, than the rest of her class, signifying an experience slightly beyond her age. Ozpin smiles as she enters the room despite the matter currently troubling him, and he folds his hands.
"Ah, Ruby, come in. I do apologize for such short notice, but I need your team's help with something. Call it a mission, if you will."
"Oh! What's the mission?" she asks, trying to keep the excitement out of her voice, but failing. My first mission as team leader! I wonder what it'll be!? Ozpin chuckles and, unfolding his hands, takes a sip from his coffee.
"The Grimm are making a lot of racket in the Forever Fall Forest. Normally I'd ignore it, but this has persisted for much longer than usual. What's more is that they're right next to the commercial district of the city, but they went right past it, as opposed to attacking the people present there. I think they're chasing someone through the forest." He takes another sip of coffee. "If I'm right, and they've been chasing someone for this long, then this person must have exceptional experience in dealing with Grimm... but no one lasts forever against a constant wave of Grimm. I want you and your team to find this person, if he or she does exist, and bring them back to Beacon."
Ruby is just about ready to burst with excitement. In her mind, this mission sounds really important. This person must be super important if Professor Ozpin wants them rescued! "You can count on us, sir! We'll get 'em out in no time!" The instant she stopped speaking, the spot where she was standing was instantly replaced by a flurry of rose petals, with Ruby herself already standing inside the elevator as the doors close and she descends back down the clock tower.
Ozpin chuckles to himself and takes another sip of coffee. "Ahh, so full of energy and youth. Godspeed, miss Rose," he says to himself, adding the last part as he hears a very soft groaning sound from outside, and turns around to see yet another tree fall down in the Forever Fall Forest. Well, finding this person won't be too difficult, with the ruckus they're causing.
The surrounding trees begin to lightly shake for a few seconds. The birds in the nearby trees flee from their perches and nests and call out cries of alarm as they fly off into the clear afternoon sky, the shaking never ceasing, but never growing either. On the shaded forest floor, one of the nearby bushes rustles, and a small hooded figure emerges, panting from exhaustion. The figure swings his head from side to side, then leans his arm on a nearby tree for support, his scythe hanging lazily from the other arm. His hood falls over as he leans down to catch his breath, whilst a shaft of sunlight pierces through the shade of the forest, illuminating his upper body. He's small, being only slightly taller than five feet in height, wearing a black combat jacket, a grey shirt, and black combat pants. A metal plate with a diagonal hole through it sits on his back, attached to his jacket. His wavy brown hair is all messy from wearing the hood for the entirety of the morning and for some of the afternoon. The boy takes a few more quick breaths, then his body snaps around to look behind him, his silver eyes scanning for any more signs of trouble, his last spare scythe blade, which is clipped to his belt, swinging around as he turned.
The bush he just came out of begins to rustle again, and a low, threatening growl reaches his ears. In an instant, he's already in a combat stance, his scythe no longer hanging lazily, but held at his side with purpose and an intent to kill. The bush stops rustling, and the boy tenses up. A heartbeat later, a Beowolf shoots out of the bushes, its claws already extended and teeth bared with aimless rage, but the boy was no longer where he was a second ago. The Beowolf swings its head from side to side, trying to find its prey, before it feels a blade pierce through its head. Then it felt no more.
The boy slides off the back of the beowolf he was standing on before he goes to pull his scythe out of its head. Much to his dismay, however, the blade cracks and half of the end snaps off when he removes the scythe, the limp body of the Beowolf misting into a black smoke. The panic from being relentlessly chased by Grimm only grows worse as the boy watches the broken blade fall tragically to the forest floor. Cursing, the boy quickly kneels down and rotates the end of the scythe that the broken blade was attached to, and it falls with a thud to the forest floor. With practiced ease, he swiftly removes his only spare blade from the clip on his belt and rotates the metal stud with the attached blade around the end of the scythe. After a few rotations, a clicking noise is heard, the metal bit holding the blade locking firmly into place on the rest of the weapon.
The boy is too busy refitting his weapon to notice the other Ursa sneaking up on him. Anyone would assume that the Grimm would relentlessly charge him down, but this one makes no noise- no growls, no snapping branches, no heavy thudding of its paws. No noise is made at all as it raises a paw to deliver a crushing blow to the oblivious boy's head.
A loud roar makes the boy tense up and ready his scythe as he turned around. He sees the Ursa with its paw raised to strike. He sees the strength that flexed through the massive form of the monster.
He sees the red scythe sticking through the Ursa's head from behind, shortly removing itself from the now-dead Ursa's head. It falls over with a loud thud on the dirt, and the boy sees who had done the deed- a red-and-black-haired girl about the same size as him, with the same silver eyes, a massive high tech red scythe which was easily double the size of his own weapon, and a red skirt and hoodie. Her black combat boots land softly onto the dirt floor as she disembarks the fading body of the Ursa.
They both stand there for a few short moments, waiting to see what the other would say, momentarily forgetting the light shaking they can feel through the dirt. The boy breaks the silence and relaxes his grip on his scythe, lowering it to his side, his earlier distress fading like mist.
"Err- t-thank you," he stutters. The girl was about to respond, but stops as the shaking from earlier starts to grow in magnitude, the sound of nearby trees crashing reaching both of their ears. They both instantly turn around and ready their weapons, the shaking growing steadily stronger. No more than five seconds pass before a Death Stalker finally crashes into view. The boy's eyes widen and his state of panic instantly returns. He was about to yell for them to run when a few more figures emerged behind the Death Stalker- a yellow haired girl with gauntlets strapped to her hands, a white haired girl with a long pony tail and a rapier already poised to strike, and a black haired girl with a bow on her head and already throwing a pistol with a blade attached at the Death Stalker, a black rope connecting her and her weapon. The girl that saved the boy earlier was also leaping at the Death Stalker, her scythe changing around itself until it resembled that of a gun.
The boy can only stand there and watch as the team of fighters continuously lash out at the Death Stalker, attacks constantly connecting to the shell but dealing no damage. The boy's breath hitches as the black-haired girl is sent flying from a smack hard enough to snap a spine. Much to the boy's surprise, however, she only gets back up as launches herself back at the massive Grimm as if she had never been hit in the first place.
He shakes his head and readies his own scythe. He doesn't know how she tanked the hit, but that's not his concern right now. The only thought taking up the forefront of his mind is getting rid of his original pursuer. He drops into his combat stance, but doesn't move. He doesn't know how this team works together and how they coordinate. He decides to wait until an opportunity to strike its tail presents itself. The team currently fighting right now are staying out of range of its tail and pincers, launching their own attacks when they can. After a few seconds, the boy realizes that the Death Stalker's completely forgotten about him, the team engaging it on one side of the small area, the Death Stalker in the middle of what is now a clearing of fallen trees... it's back turned to the boy.
He wastes no time in dashing forward towards the back of the Grimm. The sound of his footsteps are being muffled by the sound of the yellow-haired girl's gauntlets shooting fireballs at the massive scorpion's face, forcing the Death Stalker to raise its claws to block the shots. The gauntlets then click, signaling a need to reload, and the fireballs stop coming. The Death Stalker immediately raises its tail in the brawler's direction, poising it for a strike. Though the boy doesn't know it, the poison contained in a single strike from its tail is enough to leech the entirety of someone's Aura and leave them weakened. The second strike will be the death blow.
The brawler notices the raised tail and tries to move, but a pincer swings around and pins her against a tree, the bark groaning and splintering, but not breaking. Her eyes glitter with fear and she tries to struggle free as the stinger on the tail of the Death Stalker catches the sun, giving it a deadly gleam. The red-haired girl launches herself at the Death Stalker, only to get knocked away by its free pincer, her body crashing through a tree, her aura taking a massive hit and her weapon flying out of her hands further behind her. She goes to grab her weapon, but the tree she smashed through lands on one of her legs, effectively pinning her to the floor and away from her scythe. She looks back with a look of horror in her eyes as the Death Stalker shifts its attention back to the prey now trapped between its claw and a dense tree.
"Yang! Look out!" She knows her warning will be in vain, but she calls it out anyway, desperately praying for a miracle to save her sister from the deadly threat that hangs above her. The other two teammates immediately try to aim for the weak point that connects the pincer to the main body, only to be met with the same treatment as their red teammate, only with a lot more force this time. Their bodies were sent flying into the trees and out of reach of the remaining two fighters. The pinned scythe wielder can only watch in fear as the stinger starts its descent.
She shuts her eyes, unable to bear the traumatizing sight about to unfold before her. She braces herself for the scream of pain, for the sickening sound of flesh being pierced by a sharp point. She flinches as she hears the sharp pierce of flesh. She flinches as she hears something hit the floor with a thud.
She looks up with hope as she hears the scream of pain not from her dear sister, but from the Grimm, its tail impacting a spot only inches away from where Yang is pinned. The boy from earlier is now on the Death Stalker's back, a black mist protruding from where the Grimm's deadly tail was only moments ago. Even before the entire tail has hit the ground, he's already poised his own scythe to strike the small bit of muscle connecting the Grimm's pincer to the body. He vaults off the back of the enourmous monster and strikes the weak spot as he lands in front of the Death Stalker, the pincer impacting the ground. Finally free, Yang erupts into an orange energy and fires merciless amounts of fireballs into the Grimm's face as more black mist spews out from where the Death Stalker limb was just hacked off.
More growling from the right draws the attention of Yang and the boy to three more approaching Beowolves. However, before they can advance on the remaining two fighters, the Death Stalker charges the both of them again. It slams its pincer on the ground where Yang and the boy were a heartbeat ago, and they land on opposite sides of the Death Stalker. The Beowolves give off blood curdling howls and charge at their closest prey- the boy. The first one was already leaping at him by the time Yang notices the threat, and she turns to try and help, only to get knocked away a few feet by a stray blow from the Death Stalker. The boy is on his own against the Beowolves.
The first Beowolf swipes at the boy's head, only for its paw to impale itself on the boy's scythe. Its howl of pain is quickly silenced as the boy withdraws his scythe from its paw and quickly decapitates the wolf's head, letting it fall limp as the remaining two enemies rushed him down, fangs bared. One Beowolf lunges for his legs, and the other lunges for his chest. The boy waits until the last possible second to act, jumping over the lower Beowolf and thrusting the bottom of his scythe at the oncoming head of the second Beowolf. The first loses its footing and falls awkwardly to one side, while the other collides head-first into the boy's weapon and bounces backward onto its back, the boy quickly slamming his scythe's blade into its upper chest and ripping all the way downward. By the time the final Beowolf regains its footing, the boy is already sprinting towards it, his scythe low at his side in a ready position, the other Beowolf's body fading into a black mist. The last remaining Beowolf roars a challenge and leaps at the boy already within a few feet of the beast, aiming its fangs at his head. Once again, the boy waits until the last second before dropping his body onto the ground and sliding below the Beowolf. As he starts to slide, he repositions his scythe so that the blade of the deadly weapon is on a direct course for the Beowolf's head. The wolf Grimm dropped to the forest floor in two pieces, the boy standing back up from his sliding position.
Just then, Yang lands beside him, the Death Stalker now about a dozen feet away, but closing the gap between itself and its prey, its final pincer raised to smash the ground where they stand. Both she and the boy jump several feet away as the Death Stalker swings its pincer at where they both were a heartbeat ago, barely missing them. They both land a few feet next to Yang's sister, still trapped under the heavy fallen tree trunk and unable to move. Tension besets all three of them as the Death Stalker turns and begins thundering back towards them, its red eyes ablaze with uncontained rage. Relief floods all three of them as they see the other two teammates break through the nearby undergrowth to rejoin the battle. They start attacking the Death Stalker in rapid succession, allowing Yang and the boy to turn their attention towards their pinned comrade.
"Are you okay, Ruby?" Yang asks, glancing uncomfortably at the spot where the fallen tree was pinning Ruby by her leg, the young fighter struggling in vain to lift the trunk off of herself.
"Yes, just get this thing off of me!" she cries, desperate to get her weapon back and continue fighting. Yang and their mystery fighter immediately lean down to try and free Ruby from the fallen tree, but it proves too heavy to be moved. Yang turns back to their teammates fighting the giant Grimm.
"Weiss! Blake! Keep it away from us while we free Ruby!" she yells as they continue to struggle against the fallen tree. Weiss and Blake continue to fend off attacks from the giant Grimm, but they eventually start to lose ground to the Grimm. The boy stops lifting the trunk and faces Yang.
"I have an idea- blast off the parts of the tree that aren't pinning her down. That way, we don't have to move the whole tree." Yang's eyes light up at the idea, and she nods in approval.
"Good idea!" she exclaims as she preps the rounds in her gauntlets and aims them at the tree. Ruby's eyes widen in fear and she puts her hands up to protest despite being pinned.
"A-are we sure there isn't another way to get this tree off of me? I like my legs!" The boy leaves Yang to try and free her panicking sister on her own. He picks his scythe off the ground where he dropped it and runs over to help Weiss and Blake against the Death Stalker, which is trying to keep its exposed side away from the two fighters, no longer gaining ground. Before he can make it over, Blake throws her weapon like a grapple around the Death Stalker's last pincer and holds on, keeping it pinned to one side momentarily whilst Weiss speeds around the struggling scorpion to its exposed side. The boy stops in his tracks, hoping that Weiss's next attack would finish off the Death Stalker. She stops on the Grimm's exposed opening and drops her stance, her rapier primed at the Death Stalker's head. The Grimm finally manages to yank its pincer away from Blake's weapon and tries to turn its exposed side once again away from Weiss.
It was one second too late. Weiss glides over the ground like it was ice and pierces through the Grimm's head at lightning speed. The scorpion's cry of pain was quickly cut off as Weiss stops dead in her tracks on the creature's opposite side, the creature's body growing limp and collapsing. The mist that begins to envelope the Death Stalker tells everyone there that the massive Grimm is finally dead. Weiss and Blake stand there triumphantly as the last specks of the creature's body evaporate into the forest shade.
A few seconds later, two shotgun noises sound from behind Weiss, Blake, and the boy. They all turn around to see that Yang had blasted off the two ends of the tree and was lifting the remaining middle section off of Ruby with ease, the latter immediately sitting up and holding her freed leg tenderly as everyone else gathers around her. After a few seconds, she lifts herself off of the ground and turns around to the boy.
"Are you okay?" Everyone turns their attention to the boy in question, and he scratches the back of his head, his wavy brown hair still messy from both the fight and from wearing the hood earlier.
"Y-yeah, I'm fine," he stutters out, slinging his scythe upside-down into the metal plate on his back, sliding it into place with a clicking sound. Ruby takes a few steps toward her weapon and, picking up off the ground, compacts it back into its passive rectangular form. Weiss slides her sword back into place on the side of her waist, Blake sheathes her weapon and allows it to attach to the magnetic plate on her back, and Yang disarms the rounds in her gauntlets and compacts the twin weapons into large metal wristbands.
The boy doesn't know how to respond to the situation he was in- he was used to fending for himself without any help, but despite his previous time in the wilderness, that was the first time he'd ever seen a Death Stalker. Another question enters his mind, and he looks back at the team that rescued him from the giant Grimm.
"How did you know I was here?" he asks, genuine curiosity conflicting with confusion in his mind. Usually, people tend to stay away from the Grimm, especially big ones, and the boy thought he was still a ways away from the kingdom of Vale, so he figured he wouldn't see other people for a while yet. Everyone else looks at Ruby, knowing that it was her who was briefed by Professor Ozpin. She tilts her head as she thinks about her response for a split-second.
"Well, we were asked by our school's Headmaster to see if the Grimm were chasing someone instead of attacking the commercial district, and we followed a trail of Grimm all the way here, and then we found you. He also asked us to get you back to Beacon safely in case anyone was being chased." Before the boy could respond, Weiss steps towards him, fixing him with a stern stare.
"But that's besides the point- why were you outside the walls of the kingdom? Citizens aren't supposed to be outside the kingdom unless accompanied by a Huntsman or Huntress," she scolds. The boy was about to defend himself, but the implications of her words strike him.
The walls of the kingdom? I'm that close?! He mentally facepalms, then looks around the group with a now-cautious look and repeats the question in his mind out loud.
"Wait... the walls of the kingdom..." He looks back at Weiss. "How close are we to the kingdom right now?" Everyone looks at each other like he had just asked a stupid question. Blake was the first to answer his question.
"We're about a kilometer away from the kingdom walls, just outside of the commercial district." She narrows her eyes at the boy, her question already clear in her gaze. "You're not from Vale, are you?" The boy shakes his head slowly, his silver eyes emanating confusion.
"No... I'm from the other side of the mountains. I didn't think I'd reach Vale for another month," he explains innocently. Just then, something in Ruby's pocket starts beeping, and Ruby quickly pulls out her scroll. The beeping was from Professor Ozpin calling her scroll, and she answers the call, holding the scroll up to her ear.
"I no longer hear any commotion. I take it you solved the problem?" the man asks, his voice sounding relieved. Ruby nods her head, even though Ozpin can't see that.
"Yes sir. They were chasing a boy through the forest." She heard the Headmaster hum in thought, his earlier suspicions confirmed.
"I see. Well done, Team RWBY. I'm sending a Bullhead now to your location to pick you and the boy up."
"Thank you, sir!" Ruby chirps before ending the call and putting the scroll back in her pocket. As she does, Yang turns around to the boy.
"By the way, what's your name?" she asks, tilting her head to one side as she waits for his response.
"It's-" He's cut off by a sudden thundering behind him accompanied by a roar.
"Look out!" Ruby calls out a warning as an Ursa thunders into view behind the boy. The boy's adrenaline instantly kicks back in, and his scythe slides out of the metal plate into his hand. The Ursa raises its paw to slam the boy, and he readies his scythe to block it. Or so he thought.
The paw that the boy was tracking didn't slam down on him. Instead, the Ursa's other paw swipes sideways at him, and the boy realizes this at the last possible instant. He brings his scythe around to try and block the paw. Much to his dismay, however, the paw went right through his scythe's rod, completely snapping the rod of the scythe in half and staggering the boy backward, his hands both gripping a half of the destroyed weapon. Lightning fast, the Ursa dropped back onto all fours and swiped its other paw at the boy before he could regain his balance.
Blake's weapon buries itself into the Ursa's head only moments after the paw makes contact with the boy, catching him on the side, ripping a scream of pain from the boy and sending him soaring to the ground unconscious, the remains of his weapon flying from his hands. Team RWBY rushes to his side, Blake's weapon returning to its owner with a quick flick of her wrist, leaving the Ursa's body vanishing in the same fashion as the Death Stalker from earlier. At the same time, the roar of an engine alerts the team to a Bullhead now hovering over their heads, the side doors already opening. Yang bends over and picks up the boy's body and climbs into the Bullhead with the rest of the team. Luckily for them, a medic is also onboard the Bullhead in the event that anyone's Aura was depleted and they were injured. The medic sees the injured boy and immediately pulls a metal slider out of the walls of the transport bay, revealing a built-in stretcher. Yang carefully sets the boy down on the stretcher, blood seeping into his clothes from where the Ursa caught him in the side. Ruby quickly tells the medic what happened.
"An Ursa caught him in the side with its paw. He needs help!" she says quickly, concern for the boy's condition filling her mind along with her teammates. The medic nods and responds while pulling another metal sheet from the wall containing first aid.
"We'll get him to Beacon's infirmary," he states as he pulls off the boy's jacket and shirt, then takes a wipe and cleans the blood off of the wound. He then pulls out a disinfectant spray from the supplies and applies it to the wound, before putting it back and grabbing some gauze roll, wrapping it several times around the wound lightning fast. Blood is already staining the roll red. He knows it wouldn't fix the wound entirely, but it will help him last until they got to Beacon's infirmary. He knows that this kind of thing requires professional treatment, and Beacon's infirmary is about as well-equipped as the kingdom's state-of-the-art hospital. The rest of the team stands there nervously, watching the medic work on the boy's wound as the Bullhead speeds off towards the academy.
Ozpin places his scroll on his desk after the call with Ruby ends and leans back in his chair, sipping his coffee. He's pleased that Team RWBY was able to find and rescue whoever was reported being chased through the Forever Fall Forest, but he didn't expect it to be a boy- he assumed that it was a grown adult fending off the Grimm assault. Even though this part came as a surprise to him, he had already decided to talk to this person and find out more about him, and possibly invite him to Beacon Academy despite the first semester having started two weeks ago. About three minutes later, out of the corner of his eye, he notices the Bullhead sent to pick up Team RWBY pulling out of the treetops and heading back to Beacon. A few seconds later, a call request appears on his scroll from the Bullhead's pilot, and Ozpin raises an eyebrow. They only ever call in if something's gone wrong, but Ruby says that her team completed their mission and found who was being chased.
What went wrong?
Ozpin sets his coffee mug back on the desk and reaches for his scroll, apprehension besetting the elder's features. He answers the call and holds the phone up to his ear.
"Yes?" he says warily. A gruff voice responds back through the scroll.
"Sir, we've picked up Team RWBY, but the target is badly wounded. We're speeding back to Beacon as fast as we can."
"The boy's been injured?!" This catches Ozpin by surprise. Ruby didn't tell him that the boy was wounded. "How did this happen?"
"I don't know, sir." Ozpin taps his finger on his desk a few times, frustration starting to creep into his mind.
"I see. Thank you for reporting in," he states, closing the connection afterward and immediately sending a call request to Team RWBY's leader. It's answered almost immediately by a distressed Ruby.
"I'm so sorry, Professor! We were waiting to get picked up but then an Ursa showed up and hit him on the side and I know I should've been keeping a better eye out-" Ozpin interrupts her before she can continue rambling on with her apology.
"Calm down, Ruby," he calmly states. It's clear that Ruby is blaming herself for what happened to the boy, and Ozpin continues speaking into his scroll, trying to calm her down. "These kinds of things happen every now and then, and you must not blame yourself for every mistake, whether big or small. As for the boy, I'm sure he'll be alright. You did your best, and that's all anyone will ever ask of you." His reassurance is met with a few seconds of silence before Ruby finally responds.
"Thank you, Professor," she says, sounding a lot calmer than she did ten seconds ago. Ozpin inwardly sighs as he gathers his thoughts. He does care for each and every one of his students, and he usually doesn't like to see them, or hear them, distraught over something they did wrong.
"Remember Ruby, being a Huntress isn't always going to go the way you want it to. Mistakes are going to happen, and you need to learn to accept that," he lectures, his apprehension finally fading from his mind as he observes the Bullhead growing ever closer to the academy. Ruby's voice cuts back in through the scroll, the distraught tone in her voice now replaced with a more solemn one.
"Yes sir." Ozpin allows a smile to cross his face as he turns away from the observation window and sits back down at his desk.
"Regardless, you did a good job rescuing the boy, and that Death Stalker seemed to be a lot larger than any Grimm you've probably seen. Once you've landed, come see me in my office, and then you and the rest of your team can take the day off."
"Yes sir," she chirps, a sense of conviction replacing the earlier sense of failure. Ozpin lowers the scroll from his ear and disconnects the call, placing it back where it was lying on the desk and allows himself to lean back into the chair, beginning to rehearse the questions that he wants to ask the boy in his mind. He plans to visit him in the infirmary once he's completely recovered. He figures he won't have to wait long, with both the infirmary nurses and his aura working to heal his body.
After a good ten minutes of thinking of questions that he wanted to ask him, an elevator on the other side of his office beeps, alerting him to a visitor. He already has a good idea of who it is, and looks up from his desk to see Ruby standing on the other side of the room, stepping out of the elevator with a sense of purpose in her step. He smiles and motions for her to approach. She waves a greeting and walks across the room to stand in front of him, curiosity sparkling in her bright, silver eyes.
"Ruby, I want to ask you about the boy you rescued- what was he like, how does he fight, what weapon does he use- you know the sorts," he states, folding his hands on his desk in a manner of professionalism. Ruby looks up in thought at the cogs spinning above the room, thinking about how to word her descriptions of the boy. After a couple seconds, she looked back at Ozpin, though not making eye contact at him, opting instead to look at the flat of his desk.
"Well, he was dressed in black, and he was about the same height as me. Oh, and he uses a scythe just like I do, but it got destroyed by that Ursa... but he was really good with it!" While she continues to list off what she observed, Ozpin moves his scroll to the corner of his desk, which brought up a holographic console that he was now using to note down everything that Ruby describes about the boy. "When three Beowolves approached him, he cut them down like he'd done it a million times! Oh, and when the Death Stalker had Yang pinned to a tree, he jumped on its back and cut off its tail and one of its pincers! He also-" Ozpin continues to jot down what he could piece together from Ruby's story, listing them off in his own head as they're written down on the note he's making.
'Young boy, same height as Ruby, possibly same age, uses a scythe, experienced in fighting Grimm...' He couldn't really list anything else as Ruby keeps on rambling about how he fought, and Ozpin wants to know the rest of the boy's profile. He raises his hand to stop Ruby from getting too invested in her recap, and she stops and looks at him with the same curiosity from earler lighting her eyes.
"Did you note any facial features? Did you get his name, or where he's from? Did you see him use his semblance?" Ozpin is curious as to what the boy looked like and where he's from, and Ruby rests her chin on her hand in a cliche thinking pose, swaying her hips back and forth in a cute way.
"Well, he has wavy brown hair, all of his clothes are black except for his shirt, err..." Ruby pauses for a few seconds, trying to think of other things to describe. "I don't think he used his semblance... um... we didn't get his name, but he did tell us he crossed over the mountains to get to Vale... oh!" Ruby remembered what the boy said about getting to Vale, considering that she had found it odd when he first told them. "He told us that he didn't expect to reach Vale for another month, which is a little wierd considering how close he was to the edge of the kingdom." Ozpin stops making notes when she says this, and he looks up at her perplexed.
"You're right, that is a bit odd. The trails that go through the mountains are relatively high, so it would be almost impossible not to see Vale when you go through the mountains. So why didn't he know that he was so close to Vale?" Ozpin asks this question more to himself than to Ruby, his brow furrowing in concentration as he tries to think of how the boy didn't know where Vale was. In the end, he can only think of two possibilities: either he crossed the mountains while visibility was poor, or he lied about crossing them in the first place. However, not even those two possibilities make any sense to the Headmaster.
If he did cross the mountains, why do it when visibility is poor? If he lied about crossing them in the first place, why would that benefit him? What would he have to gain from lying about where he came from? On the console, Ozpin puts down 'origins unclear', then looks back up at Ruby, all of his previous questions answered.
"Thank you, Ruby. I think that's all the questions I have for now. You may return to your dorm, and please, enjoy the rest of the day off," he dismisses her, leaning back in his chair and saving the boy's profile onto his scroll. Ruby's bows her head slightly and, spinning around on her heels, returns to the elevator that she came up in. She presses a button on the elevator's console, and the doors slide shut, leaving Ozpin alone in his office to contemplate what he's learned.
The boy's eyes slowly blink open, only for him to squeeze them shut as a bright light flashes into his vision, raising his hand to block off the intense glare. After a few seconds, he blinks his eyes open again, his hand still blocking off the overhanging light, and takes a few moments to observe what he could see: he was lying in a bed in only his jeans- his shirt and jacket was resting on the table near his bed, with his shoes resting on the ground near the chair adjoining the table. He could see a screen off to his right displaying his vitals despite the fact that no wires or equipment were connected to him, making a soft humming sound as its information updates to match the boy's conscious state. The door that leads in and out of the room was on the far end of the wall on the bed's right, with a clock hanging next to the doorframe reading 11:11 as the time. The room was painted in a sterile white color that's stereotypically found in any decent hospital in Remnant, which only adds to the bright flare that the fluorescent lights of the room are giving off. Sunlight was shining through a window just to the left of the bed, making the fluorescent lights seem a little redundant.
The boy's eyes adjust to the brightness of the room after a minute, but he still reaches his hand up to the overhead light to find the off switch. His silver eyes lock onto the small slider sitting in the ON position, and he flicks his finger upward, pushing the slider into the OFF position and shutting off the annoying overhead. He sits there for a few more seconds and stretches, trying to recap what had happened to him. Immediately, his side flares in pain, making the boy flinch back into a slouched sitting position and hold his injured side gingerly, and he looks at his wound for the first time. His side is wrapped tightly in a few layers of blood-stained gauze roll. The boy gives the spot with the most blood a small poke, and he instantly feels it sting in irritation. After a few seconds of staring at the injury wondering how it happened, he remembers what happened- he had just been rescued by a team of young girls from a Death Stalker, they had a conversation he couldn't remember, one of them screamed a warning, he turned around and saw an Ursa raise its paw-
My scythe! The boy cringes as he recalls the Ursa's other paw swiping at him and snapping his weapon in two, then a lot of pain, and then nothing. Those girls must have taken me to a hospital... what were their names again? The boy crosses his arms and leans back against the bed's pillow, trying to recall their names. Err... there was... one sounded like bang, but I know that's not right... Their names start to click in his memory one-by-one. Oh right, it was Yang, not bang... the black-haired girl was Blake... the white-haired girl was Weiss, and... the red-haired was... umm... oh, Ruby. Before he could recap anything else, he hears voices on the other side of the door clear as day, despite the fact that the door was closed.
"He's in here. His vitals show that he's awake now, though I'm not sure he'd be willing to answer any questions, given his current condition." A woman's voice sounds into the room from the other side of the door.
Probably the nurse. Another voice answers her, this time belonging to a man.
"I see. If I may, I'd like to ask him some questions alone."
"Of course, Professor."
Professor? The boy's eyes squint in confusion. What's a professor doing in a hospital?
The door to the room opens, and a grey-haired man with glasses, a coffee mug, a walking cane, and a small black box pinned to his side by his arm walks into the room, though the boy can tell he's not putting his weight on the cane. Then why the cane?
"It's special to me," the man says, as if he could perfectly read the boy's mind. The boy doesn't react, only continuing to stare as the man sets his cane against one of the table legs and sets the box down on the table, then gently pulls the chair from the table, turns it so that its facing the bed, and sits down. The boy subconsciously sits up straighter, his posture still casual but no longer slouched. The man looks at the boy, then blinks in surprise at what he notices, and the boy raises an eyebrow in question, his questioning gaze never leaving the old man's face.
"What?" he quips. The man takes a sip from coffee and sets it down on the table, then looks back at the boy.
"From what I've heard, I thought you'd be a little bit... older," the man says, making a mental note in the back of his head. His age wasn't what he found most interesting, but he had other things more important to discuss. The boy's body tenses up and he turns his head slightly away from the man in restrained suspicion, not breaking eye contact.
"Why do you say that?" The man chuckles slightly and takes another quick sip from his coffee.
"It's not every day that I hear of someone being chased by the Grimm for a lengthy amount of time that isn't one of my Huntsmen or Huntresses. The commotion you were making lasted quite a while, so I was led to believe that this person was experienced in dealing with Grimm, so forgive me if I find your appearance a little misleading." In the boy's mind, the man was speaking as if he knew who he was, and the boy didn't quite like that. He turned his head so that he's directly facing his mystery visitor, suspicion still sharpening his gaze.
"Sorry, but I don't think we've met." The man nods in acknowledgement and sets his coffee back down.
"Ah, of course. Where are my manners?" he states jokingly. "My name is Professor Ozpin."
The boy had heard of that name before. Before he crossed the mountains from Tyrock, people occasionally talked about him. From what he knew, Professor Ozpin was the Headmaster at Beacon Academy, the best combat school in Vale. The boy's eyes widen slightly in a newfound respect for Ozpin, but still remains in his casual posture.
Professor Ozpin leans forward slightly and gestures to the boy. "And you are?"
The boy relaxes, his body no longer tense. He feels like he can trust this man, and he hasn't met a lot of people who've given him a reason for him to trust them.
"(Y/N) Reaper."
Ozpin gives a small chuckle as you tell him your name. "(Y/N) Reaper. Really rolls off the tongue, and it suits you well, considering that you use a scythe as your weapon." You can't help but also chuckle in response. The same thought has crossed your mind numerous times over the years. Then, you remember that your scythe breaking was the last thing you saw before you got pimp-slapped by the Ursa from earler. You are about to say something about it, but Ozpin is the first to speak.
"Something else I was also told was that you didn't know how close you were to the kingdom despite being literally right next to it," he blandly states, his curious gaze now replaced by a more pensive one. Your mind instantly clouds in confusion. "If you really did cross over from the mountains, you should've been able to see the kingdom when you were passing through, considering that the trails through the mountain range are quite a ways up."
Your mind immediately clears in understanding, and you mentally facepalm. I should've known that! Nevertheless, you shrug before responding to his query. "Actually, when I was in the village of Tyrock, Nevermores had been seen attacking travelers and hikers trying to pass through the trails, so the village chieftain told me about a trail that wound through the valleys in the mountains. Usually, that trail's more dangerous that the higher trails, but with the Nevermores circling the upper parts of the mountains, it was actually safer to take the valley trail, even though it took me a month. However, because the trail goes through quite literally the bottom of the valleys, I couldn't see the kingdom at all while going through the trail."
Ozpin occasionally nods in understanding as you speak, the situation making more sense in his head, even though you know that it's not the whole truth. The Nevermores weren't the reason you avoided the mountain trails and instead opted for the valley trail. You mentally push the thought to the back of your head as Ozpin continues.
"That makes sense," he concedes as he picks up his coffee mug again, takes a quick sip, and then rests his arm on the arm of the chair he's sitting in. "Then if you are from across the mountains, why have you come to Vale?"
It was an honest question, but it immediately made you uncomfortable. The reason behind your traveling is a bit of a personal one for you, and you generally try to avoid that kind of question in the first place. You could've chosen to settle down in a village instead of risking your life every day traveling around, but you were seeking out Vale- Beacon Academy specifically- because of an incident that occurred in the village of Norris, and that day was about as far from a happy day as you could get. Then again, the incident at Norris was the reason why you settled on going to Beacon in the first place.
"Well, I... er... want to learn how to be a Huntsman," you answer, hoping that Ozpin doesn't ask why. He grunts in response and gestures to you again with his free hand.
"A Huntsman, you say? And how did you plan on accomplishing this?" he asks in a nonchalant manner. When you were young, your father used to tell you stories of the combat school he attended in Atlas to try and become a Huntsman. Even though he flunked out three times, he still gave you a pretty general idea of what you're supposed to do to become a Huntsman.
"Well, I figured I'd attend a combat school, and then once I was strong enough, enroll here at Beacon and become a Huntsman," you say, confident of your response. You've survived the wilderness of Remnant for three years on your own. Most people would have perished by now, especially at your age.
How hard can it be?
Ozpin grunts once in response and sets his coffee mug back down on the table. "And do you know how long that would take?" he asks as he folds his hands on his lap. You shrug before you answer him.
"Well, I'd probably spend two years at one of the local combat schools, then from I understand, it's another four or five years at Beacon, and then boom-" You clap your hands together once in confident enthusiasm. "-Huntsman."
Ozpin can't help but crack a small smile at your enthusiasm and confidence, but it only lasts a moment as his face adopts a more shrewd expression. "What if I offered a way for you to become a Huntsman in less than six or seven years? Call it a shortcut, if you will." Your interest peaked, you lean forward, eager for him to explain more, and Ozpin scoots his chair forward closer to your bed and sits up a little straighter than before continuing. "One of the main reasons people attend a combat school in Vale is exactly like you think: to prepare for their time at Beacon. Or rather, more specifically, the rigorous entry exam into Beacon." Your eyes squint slightly and your mouth parts open a tiny bit in confusion, and Ozpin gestures to you. "Basically, if you already possess a good amount of combat experience, then you should be able to pass the entry exam without first attending a combat school."
"Ohhh..." you breathe out in understanding, your next question already on the tip of your tongue. "So, when can I take this entry exam?" Ozpin frowns slightly and pushes his glasses up closer to his face.
"Unfortunately, the entry exam is only once a year: two weeks before the start of each school term. And Beacon's entry exam was held five weeks ago. Technically, that means that you'd have to wait 'till next year to apply," he states nonchalantly, and your face droops in disappointment. However, Ozpin catches your attention again as he continues.
"However, there is a way to be admitted to Beacon without going through the exam, and that is to be recommended by one of Beacon's professors for enrollment." His smile returns as he leans forward slightly, the shrewd look still in his eyes. "And here's the best part: if you get recommended by a professor, then you can immediately begin attending Beacon Academy regardless of what time of year it is."
You inhale sharply as he reveals this juicy bit of information, hope once again filling your mind and making your heart beat slightly faster in joy. Ozpin's leans back in his chair, secretly enjoying your response to what he's offering. In your mind, you're hoping with all your soul that Ozpin is actually going to offer to recommend you for enrollment at Beacon, and your breath hitches as his next statement confirms your theory.
"So, here's the shortcut: I'm offering not only a way to skip both going to combat school and waiting for the next entry exam, but also a chance for you to start training to become a Huntsman right now." He pauses for a moment before looking you right in the eye with a serious expression. "However, that's assuming that I'm right about two things. First, that you have already accumulated a great deal of combat experience despite your age. Just because you'll be training doesn't mean that you'll be safe from danger during your five years here."
You nod in understanding. After all, you'll be training to be a Huntsman. It makes sense that the best way to learn how is hands-on experience. You give Ozpin your undivided attention as he continues, your body and soul filled with absolute confidence. So what's the second thing?
"And second, that you understand exactly what becoming a Huntsman might entail for you in the future." Your confident expression evaporates into concern as Ozpin says this, and he immediately elaborates, his glasses catching the sunlight filtering into the room and hiding his eyes behind a lens flare.
"I'm going to be straight-forward with you right now, becoming a Huntsman isn't just going to be a legacy of glory and heroic feats. As a Huntsman, your first priority is first to the people of Remnant, both inside and outside the kingdom. Under most circumstances, this will only involve you fighting off Grimm, saving people's lives, and assisting them with their daily lives and any problems they may have. At other times, however, you will be asked to do those things that you aren't comfortable with and those that are considered at best morally questionable, and sometimes you will either fail to save a person's life or fail to finish what you were assigned to do. Either way, worse case scenario is that you also lose your own life in the process." He leans back out of his chair and closer to your resting form, his face now devoid of positivity as he tells you the very real risks of becoming a Huntsman. "Not only that, but the Grimm won't be the only enemy that will try to stop you. As I'm sure you're aware, not everyone in Vale is interested in the well-being of others, and instead choose to take advantage of them in order to benefit their own agenda. As a Huntsman, it's your job to protect the people. However, I can garuntee that at many points in your career, you will have to make a hard decision." He leans forward in his chair, the lens flare disappearing from his glasses.
"If it means protecting the people, you may be asked to take the life of another person." Your eyes narrow as he reveals the dilemma that plague the minds of many a professional Huntsman. Ozpin watches your reaction with guarded interest, but he can't help but let some degree of surprise enter his expression as you give him your response.
"Naturally." Your response isn't the only thing that catches him off guard- your demeanor has completely changed from its interested, charismatic tone to a much darker one, giving off the impression that you almost expected this news.
"So (Y/N), knowing all of what I've told you, you've now got two choices," Ozpin says, regaining your attention and pulling you from your dark train of thought. "Either you can choose to walk away from the potential risks of a Huntsman and pursue another way of life here in Vale or elsewhere in the world, or... you can choose to accept my offer to become a Huntsman-in-training at Beacon Academy and commit yourself to protecting others and putting their needs and lives before your own at any and all costs." He sits up straighter in his chair as he takes a small breath. "If you do say no, I won't hold it against you. Know that there is no shame in abstinence, only in retreat." He takes one final sip of his coffee and looks you square in the eyes again. "(Y/N) Reaper, do you wish to enroll at Beacon Academy and become a Huntsman-in-training?"
"Yes, I wish to become a Huntsman," you declare, conviction evident in all of your features. Ozpin nods once and leans back in the chair, concern still edging his mind. He knows that you're mind is made up, but he asks the question anyway.
"Despite knowing the risks?"
"Especially knowing the risks."
"And why's that?"
"It's just like you said: there are people out there that will take advantage of others. If I'm not ready to... stop them..." you say after a brief pause, carefully wording your explanation. "...then they'll only continue to make others suffer." You take a deep breath before continuing, ignoring the burning pain flaring up from your side stretching in response to your breath. "I had already figured out that Huntsmen don't just fight Grimm." Ozpin nods in understanding and stands up, gently pushing the chair back into its spot at the table.
"In that case..." He gestures to the rest of the room in front of your bed. "Welcome to Beacon Academy!" His gesture confuses you, and you sit there for a few more seconds confused about his gesture until the implications hit you.
"Wait, we're at Beacon right now?" you say in disbelief, and Ozpin nods in confirmation.
"Yes. In the Infirmary Wing, to be exact," he says casually, and your mouth parts open slightly in both surprise and disbelief. You thought you were in a first-rate hospital in the middle of the kingdom, not in Beacon's infirmary. To be honest, you didn't even know Beacon had an infirmary to begin with. Ozpin allows a smirk to cross onto his face and walks back to the table he got the chair from. He reaches into the box he set down earlier and withdraws a neatly folded uniform and sets it down on the table. It consists of a black suit, a blue vest, a white shirt with a red tie, and black dress pants. He then reaches back into the box and pulls out a scroll and holds it out to you. You grab the scroll from his outstretched hand with an unspoken question plastered to your face, and Ozpin explains.
"That'll be the scroll you'll use during your time at Beacon. It's already got your class schedule and dorm number on it. Since you're now a student here at Beacon, you'll be expected to attend classes on a regular schedule, though you won't start until next week. In the meantime-"
"He won't be going anywhere for a couple weeks until that wound on his side completely heals." A woman's voice sounded from the door, and you see a middle-aged woman with blond hair, glasses, green eyes, and a black-and-white outfit standing there. Her arms are crossed in a stern business-like manner, though she's holding a scroll with some information already pulled up. Ozpin turns and greets her.
"Miss Goodwitch, his aura should heal all of that in due time-"
"Except that his aura isn't doing anything to heal him at all," she interrupts him, a concerned yet stern look on her face as she crosses the room to Ozpin, her black high-heels clicking on the bare floor as she hands him the scroll she was holding. "According to this, his aura isn't activating at all, despite the fact that he's been here two days with his wound getting no better."
"(Y/N) sustained a pretty bad wound, Glynda. It's possible that his aura has only just now recovered enough to begin healing him. Not everyone's aura functions at the same rate, you know."
"Aura doesn't take this long to regenerate and begin healing the body, Professor Ozpin. Besides, that bed should be enhancing his aura. He should've been fully healed by this morning."
"Then perhaps there's something else-"
"What's an aura?" The question was out before you can stop yourself, and you inwardly cringe as Ozpin and Glynda slowly turn their heads to look at you in disbelief. Suddenly self-conscious, your gaze nervously flits between the two professors as they stand there and look at you as if you'd grown two heads. It was a very long ten seconds before Glynda finally breaks the silence.
"You... don't know... what aura is?" she says, the surprise in her tone matching the surprise evident on her face. You slowly shake your head, and Ozpin slowly pulls the chair from earlier next to him and sits down, his fingers pinching the bridge of his nose in thoughtful disbelief.
"So, let me get this straight- you've fought enough Grimm to gain a pretty decent knowledge of how to fight them, then crossed the mountains from Tyrock through the valley trail, which you said took a month and that the trail was normally more dangerous than the mountain trails under normal circumstances, wandered the Forever Fall Forest for... however long you've been in there, fighting Grimm as you did so... all without an aura?" You slowly nod your head in agreement, though confusion still clouds your mind.
"Yeah... I think."
"What do you mean 'You think'?!" Glynda shouts, then glances around nervously, worried she'd been a little loud, then glances back at you. "How did you do all of that without an aura?"
Aura this, aura that, WHAT IS AURA?! you mentally scream that in your head, but you say it out loud in a calmer tone. "Can someone please tell me what an aura is?" Both Professors exchange a look between each other, and Glynda slumps her shoulders and sighs.
"Okay, how can I put this in terms you'll understand... aura is, in a way, our souls as a physical energy. Anything that has a soul has aura, but those who have learned to harness their aura have also learned how to manipulate it to their physical advantage." You slowly nod your head as she continues explaining, but you're still not sure why this has to do with you still being in a hospital bed.
"Okay, but what does this have to do with my injury?" This time it's Ozpin who responds to your query.
"Like Professor Goodwitch just said, anyone skilled enough in using their aura can utilize it for a variety of abilities. For most, if not all, Huntsmen and Huntresses, these usually fall into three different uses: the first is as a defensive force that can be used to deflect physical harm away from the body." Your eyes widen slightly in understanding and amazement.
"Like a shield?" Ozpin nods his head in confirmation and pushes his glasses further up the bridge of his nose.
"Precisely, although it does have a couple drawbacks: even though your aura can deflect physical harm, you can still feel pain and exhaustion, and you're not invincible. The more damage you sustain, the more aura that is used to deflect the damage. If you take too much damage, you'll run out of aura, and when that happens, you can actually get hurt."
Your eyes flit downward in thought, a thought forming in your head. You think back to your fight against the Death Stalker, specifically when you saw Blake get sent flying with a powerful hit, but just shrugged it off after a few seconds. Suddenly, it all makes sense. You raise your head back up and look at Glynda, then at Ozpin. "So, if I had my aura when I was hit by that Ursa, I could've avoided being hospitalized in the first place?" Ozpin grunts in response and props his arm onto the arm rest of the chair, his head leaning onto his hand.
"Technically, yes, but that's only one way you can use your aura. The second way people tend to use aura is as a weapon." This catches your attention even more than before, and you lean a little further forward in interest. Ozpin notices this and chuckles a little and starts to elaborate further. "People who've used their aura to block damage long enough usually figure out how to do the opposite and use it to deal damage. The most common way to do this is to project your aura outward suddenly and forcefully, almost like a shockwave. But-" he says as you're about to speak. "This also has a major drawback, and it's the reason people don't do this often. Using your aura as a weapon requires quite a significant amount of aura, and in a fight, if you use too much of your aura for offense, you'll have lost all of your aura without even taking a hit. It's basically a double-edged sword."
You lean back into the backside of your bed disappointed. Using aura as a weapon sounds so cool to you, but Ozpin's made it sound like it's too much of a risk to use often. You think back to when you fought alongside the team that rescued you and realize that none of them used any kind of shockwave against that Death Stalker.
In a fight, you'd need aura to defend yourself if you get hit. If you use it all up as an attack, then you're pretty much doomed. You feel your disappointment fade like morning dew and you look back at Ozpin.
"Okay, so what's the third way aura is used?" This time, it's Glynda who answers your question. She hasn't moved from her spot halfway between the table and the door, her arms crossed on her chest.
"As I'm sure you've guessed by now, if you're aura is depleted, it won't stay that way for long. As time passes, your aura will gradually restore itself over time as your body rests, and here's the best part-" she says as she shifts her weight onto her hip. "Once you've recovered enough of your aura, it will automatically begin to heal any damage done to your body while your aura was depleted."
The full implications of her words hit you, and you look down at the blood-stained gauze roll wrapped around your side. "So, if I had known how to use aura, I could use it to heal myself?" Both professors nod in agreement. Ozpin lifts his head off his arm and shifts around in his chair slightly to get comfortable again.
"Well, in order to use aura, you have to..." He trails off for a few seconds, trying to think of the right word to describe what he's trying to say. "... unlock it, in a sense. Once you've unlocked your aura, it will do the healing all on it's own."
You take your eyes off of your injured side and look at the Headmaster. "So, how do I unlock it?" Ozpin grunts once and stands up, pushing the chair back into place at the table. He walks up to the side of your bed and kneels next to you so that your head is level with his.
"For one to unlock it on their own requires practice and training- learning how to focus on projecting your soul as a physical force to ward off harm. As your knowledge of your own soul increases, your aura will unlock within time. However, if you are to start attending classes here at Beacon, we need to unlock your aura now." You stare at him confused, and Ozpin smiles and shrugs at the same time. "For the sake of time, I'll go ahead and unlock your aura using my own. Now-" Ozpin places a firm hand on your shoulder. "Close your eyes and concentrate."
You close your eyes and try to imagine what an aura looks like. Aura is, in a way, our souls as physical energy. Glynda's words echo through your head, and you try to imagine that your body is surrounded by your soul. Ozpin's words cut into your thoughts, but he sounds far away, even though you know he's right next to you.
"For it is in passing that we achieve immortality. Through this, we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all. Infinite in distance and unbound by death, I release your soul, and abide thy shield to protect thee." As he speaks, you begin to feel a growing numbness spread throughout your entire body, and by the time Ozpin's done speaking, you can't feel anything- not the bed, not Ozpin's hand on your shoulder, not even your own heartbeat. Unfamiliar and uncomfortable with this new feeling, you open your eyes. As soon as you do, you notice that the feeling vanished as soon as you opened your eyes.
The next thing that you notice is that your body is glowing in a big blue outline, and in your peripheral vision you see Ozpin is also glowing with a green outline. Your mind instantly clouds in a mixture of awe and fear, and you draw your body a little closer into your chest. You immediately feel your side start to act up again, but the pain isn't as severe this time. You look down at the roll covering your wound, and as you stare at it, you notice that that same numbness you felt earlier is still in your side, but barely.
Is this my aura?
"Curious..." Ozpin says eyeing your wound, his eyebrows furrowed in thought. The green outline that was surrounding his body has already vanished, and the outline surrounding you has also started to fade, albeit slowly. Glynda tilts her head in confusion and, uncrossing her arms, inches a little bit closer to him.
"What's curious?" Ozpin pinches the bridge of his nose in thought. As soon as he finished unlocking your aura, something felt off. He didn't sense anything wierd about your aura, but something definitely caught his attention.
I didn't feel anything wrong with his aura, but something was... off? No, that's not the right word... familiar? Hmm... I'll dwell on this drags his mind back to the present and stands back up from his kneeling position.
"Now that you have your aura unlocked, there's one more thing that needs to be taken care of," he says as he turns around and grabs his cane from its resting position against the table. You inwardly sigh as he turns back around to you.
Next he's going to tell me I have superpowers, you think sarcastically. Ozpin holds his cane in front of his chest, and your gaze flits to it. He gestures to it with his free hand.
"From what I've heard, your weapon got destroyed back in the Forever Fall Forest, and a Huntsman is incomplete without their weapon," Ozpin states, and you audibly sigh, your posture slouching downward momentarily.
"So, where do I go to get a new weapon?" you ask. To your surprise, Ozpin just shakes his head and points his finger at you.
"You won't just be getting a new weapon. You'll be making it yourself." Instead of feeling excited, you feel a little discouraged, and you bring your hand up and scratch your head.
"As awesome as that sounds, I don't know how to make a new weapon. My last one-"
"And that's why you won't make it on your own," Ozpin interjects, grasping his coffee mug with his free hand and resting his other on his cane. "Is a scythe the only weapon you've ever used?" You shrug.
"Well, I'm also good with knives," you say honestly. Ozpin raises an eyebrow at you, and you scratch the back of your head again. "But yeah, I normally use a scythe." Ozpin grunts once in amusement and starts for the door.
"Well then, you can begin making it as soon as you're fit to leave the infirmary. As soon as you've recovered, though, I'd like you to go ahead and get situated in your new dorm room. The directions are already on your scroll, as is your new schedule that will start four days from now. As soon as you're ready to make your new weapon, I've got two people in mind that can help you with that." He opens the door and starts to walk through it, only to pause and look back at you. "Also, remember to wear your uniform to all your classes, except for her sparring class," he says with a gesture to Glynda. She only huffs in response and struts past Ozpin out of the room, the Headmaster shortly following suit. The door closes behind him, leaving you by yourself on the bed.
You look back down at the wound wrapped in gauze roll on your side, and you feel a sudden curiosity to see what the aura's done for your wound so far. You reach around and start feeling around the back of the roll, trying to feel for where the end of the roll was tied in a knot to keep the gauze in place. You feel a bump in the roll after patting the roll for a few seconds, and you grasp the knot with your hand. After fiddling around with it for a dozen-or-so seconds, you finally manage to loosen the end of the roll from the knot, and you give it a good tug. The end slips free of the roll and loosens it from your waist. You slowly unwrap the roll, layer by layer, until it's been completely removed from around your side, and you get a good look at the wound on your side.
Your eyes land on a decent-sized cut in your side with a blue outline around it, which you assume is your aura working to heal it. There was also a scar on both sides of the cut, which you also assume were the other gashes inflicted onto you by the Ursa.
This is what landed me in the infirmary? Man, aura works fast, you think in silent awe as you sit there, your eyes transfixed on the cut in your side. After about fifteen minutes or so of watching, you can start to visibly see the wound slowly closing up from your aura healing it. You sit there for a while, watching it slowly close up until it's been reduced to nothing more than a scar identical to the two surrounding it. You look back up at the clock on the wall and widen your eyes in surprise at the time- 11:43.
All that happened in less than an hour?! You shake your head in momentary disbelief, then look back down at your cut, which has been reduced to basically a paper cut at this point. Well, I think it's safe to say I can walk now. You swing your legs out from under the covers, and a stiff feeling immediately spikes up in both your legs from being in a bed for two days. You stand up despite the feeling, and shake each leg out, getting rid of the stiffness in about a minute or so. You then turn towards the table with your original clothes, your uniform, and your new scroll. You put on the shirt and jacket, rolling your shoulders around afterwards. Then, you grab your scroll and open it, and immediately a map of the campus grounds appears on screen, with a line winding through campus from where you assume the infirmary is to where you also assume your dorm room is. You look at the scroll a little longer to memorize the route, then pocket the scroll in one of your jacket pockets, grab your uniform from underneath to keep it folded, and start out the door of your room towards you dorm, and your new life as a Huntsman.