I realize now that the last chapter was really, really, really short. Sorry about that, also kind of bland… Again sorry. So, I'm making that one the prolog and this will be the first chapter, I hope it turns out better, longer and more action packed. As always enjoy.
The night passed by slowly. The stars inched their way across the sky at a snail's pace. Yesterday, after the orientation the soon to be students of beacon were sent to the ballroom. With both the excitement and the dread of tomorrow's exam looming over their heads, very few could sleep soundly. Some couldn't sleep at all...
The ballroom was big and jam packed with new students, many were tossing and turning in their sleeping bags from all the anticipation. Some people were awake, just staring at the ceiling hoping sleep would take them to dreamland as soon as possible. There were other students who were listening to music to try and calm their nerves and others who spent the night tinkering with their weapons. Crystal was one of the students who couldn't sleep that night, she felt cramped in her blue and grey sleeping bag and all she wanted to do was get up and move around. Particularly she wanted to move away from this academy, but after seeing the people here and how much they wanted to serve the people of the world she couldn't bear to leave without giving this place a shot. Instead she just made due with moving in her sleeping bag. She rolled over to the left and saw all across the room.
Across the room she could see the moonlit figure of Rachelle working on her weapon in the moonlight. She looked like a totally different person, she was wearing pajamas and held her weapon with such admiration that you could see it from where Crystal was sitting. The more she tinkered around inside the large silver and green wrench the more she seemed satisfied. It was like she wouldnt be happier doing anything else, which was probably right...
Crystal left her to her tinkering and rolled the other way, she saw that the sleeping bag where Ashton was lying a few moments ago was now empty. She looked around and saw a door slightly open towards the central courtyard. She rose slowly, careful not to let Rachelle notice her, she didn't want that crazy girl to wake the whole ballroom…
Crystal moved towards the door, stepping over people as she did. A couple people were awake and acknowledged her presence with a little wave or nod then let her continue on her way. She felt cold in her pajamas, the fabric was thin and soft but provided little warmth outside of her sleeping bag. She rubbed her arms over the fabric to try and warm them and then slipped her hands under her pajama shirt to attempt to keep them warm. She shivered as her body tried desperately to adjust to the sudden change in temperature.
Crystal reached for the door, careful not to be too noisy as she pushed it open. After she had closed it she found herself in an empty hallway. There were a few windows towards the top of the wall that let some of the light from the moon shine in, giving her an almost blinding amount of white light to move around in.
She walked through the hallway and found herself outside on a terrace. There were a few shrubs towards the side facing beacon tower and a running fountain the reached down into the courtyard like a waterfall. The moon made the terrace appeared pale, like it was covered in snow.
Ha! Heyah!
The sound of metal on metal suddenly became apparent the closer she got to the railing, as well as the battle cries that had come from the yard. She stopped looking around the terrace and instead looked down into the courtyard. To her surprise she didn't see much, despite the noises she had heard. There were a few lamps that lit the central walkway and two spotlights lit up the statue honoring the lives lost in last war. The fountain in the center was also lit. But these were the only lights in the courtyard, yet a light was coming from towards the darkness. Black, red, green and brown dashed around the battlefield as two figures matched each other's strikes with a parry or a dodge. She noticed that one of the people in this fight was Ashton, his body seemed to be emitting large blasts of fire as he moved. His arms covered with fire they ignited with speed driving home as punches towards his enemy.
His shield bounced off of his opponents two swords and he was pushed backwards. He decided to go along with the momentum and dash backwards, his fire emitting a roaring, beastly, powerful gushing noise. He continued backwards, embers falling from every part of his body, his opponent was fast despite the fact his semblance gained him no speed advantage. He moved with incredible speed in another more intricate way, he fired rounds from his two revolvers and every bullet soared through the air to hit where Ashton's weak spots where. However, Ashton was fast and skilled with his shield.
The tip of the shield made contact with every bullet that was heading towards it's wielder. It was almost like it had a mind of its own, fire gushed from underneath it and pushed it towards the oncoming projectiles. It augmented Ashtons course and pushed him back towards the wall of the building. His feet made contact with the wall and he pushed off of it accelerating with his fiery semblance straight at his opponent. The figure stepped into the the light and his appearance was made visible.
The person in the shadows was obviously male and was slightly taller than Ashton. His narrow brimmed hat almost had a bronze tint to it. His coat was buttoned sideways starting from the bottom right and working its way up to the top left held in place by bronze colored buttons. He wore a red bandana over his mouth. He looked fierce and Crystal worried for her friends safety in the presence of someone like this.
But, Ashton gave it his all, he dashed 4 times, each burst causing a small sonic boom, his whole body had turned into a living rocket, the shield was breaking the air and causing a large crescent shaped gashes in the wind. The opponent fired first a few bullets, then the speed almost doubled, then tripled in the span of a few seconds. Soon his arms were moving at such a fast paced the onlookers couldn't see him reload at all, although he must have. Ashton burst towards the figure with the red bandana, his shield morphed, the sides of it folded under and a large sword blade shot from the center of the kite shield. He raised his arm backwards and readied a mach speed slice. The opponent's weapon shifted also, two large blades extended out of the bayonet on the bottom of the pistol. They then flicked downwards and turned into two rune encrusted short swords.
Ashton sliced at his foe, the foe fired two shots to the side and moved out of the way of his attack. The figure in green spun around and held his weapons like ballistic knives. Ashton turned his head and began to slow, the figure fired his swords out of the bottom of his pistols grip. Then the figure ditched his two pistols and grabbed the swords mid air. The force of the movement pushed him towards Ashton at a speed that Ash wasn't expecting. He wasn't fast enough to react, the foe sliced downwards and then used his other sword to reach under and jab Ashton. The two landed opposite of each other, both breathing hard, the figure with the bandana pulled down his red cloth mask and revealed his face.
"Have you been watching long?" a voice asked. Crystal jumped slightly. She turned around and noticed for the first time a man standing next to her. The man had grey hair, glasses and a green suit. The aroma of coffee hit her nose the moment she noticed him carrying a mug. Even the idea of coffee was enough to warm her. She thought she had seen this person already but she couldn't remember from where.
"I didn't mean to startle you, I have been watching the fight since they started and only now noticed you standing there," the man said, his face genuine. He had this all knowing feeling, yet despite that he was watching these two settle their differences. It seemed odd that someone with such a smart attitude would watch something a simple as a fight between two boys.
"Are you by chance a professor at this school?" Crystal asked, "you seem too old to be a student."
He turned to her and couldn't help but smile, he also let out a light laugh, "oh no, I'm not a student. I'm the headmaster of this academy. It may come as a surprise but I recognize you Crystal. You look just like your mother when she came her oh so many years ago."
She seemed depressed at the mention of her mother however Ozpin had resumed watching them so he didn't notice. The two were pushing each other's blades against one another trying to see who had more raw strength.
"You know, they aren't mad at eachother," he said simply before taking a sip out of his coffee.
Crystal looked up at him but he never made eye contact, "how can you tell?"
"I've been doing this job a long time, while I may spend my time doing paperwork or short speeches I do take the majority of my time to walk the grounds and see some of the sparring matches. A fight is never fought for a set reason, most of the time it's more than one reason and sometimes it's for no reason at all. Tell me, why do you think they are fighting if not out of anger?"
Crystal looked at the two of them, they both had intense eyes and both of them were covered with sweat. Their clothes took the brunt of the hit, Ashton looked like his had been charred like a burnt steak and the other figure looked like his had been scratched by an incredibly angry cat. They looked tired, they looked exhausted, but most of all they looked excited. They both wore small smiles.
"This is not a battle to test one's own skill, this isn't a battle to see who is more clever or superior in brawn. This is simply a battle for those who admire the art of fighting."
Crystal had noticed it, the two of them looked happy. Despite the fact they were fighting they seemed to enjoy it. For someone who didn't like to fight it was an odd notion, she never thought you could fight for any other reason than to hurt someone else but obviously they weren't fighting for that reason.
"Ashton looks like he's having fun," Crystal commented, slightly surprised. Ozpin nodded.
"That boy there he's up against has great promise, despite Ashton's obvious advantage in mobility Nickelas is holding his own," Ozpin elaborated
"Nickelas huh… he's tough," Crystal mumbled.
"Indeed, he's not one to give up easily."
"That it?" Ashton asked.
"Not hardly!" Nickelas yelled. Nick back flipped towards his weapons that lay on the ground. His hand grabbed the pistols and as he flipped for the last time they formed back into 1 set of weapons. He spun the cylinder of the pistols and pulled the trigger, the whole magazine fired in rapid succession. The salvo hit Ashton like a wall of bricks but he dashed forwards, his sword reached up, the blade stopped right at his foes neck. He had surprised his foe! Nickalas didn't move, he was totally and completely still. The first movement came from the gunslinger, he reached down and holstered his weapon signaling the end of the fight.
"I guess I was over after all," Nickel replied looking slightly defeated.
"Rematch?" Ashton asked.
"For sure," the gunslinger smiled.
Ozpin looked down over at Crystal, she still wore that distressed look. He thought he knew what was causing it and as her future headmaster he thought it was important to offer his assistance. He took a sip of coffee and looked up at the shattered moon.
"Something is troubling you…"
Crystal nodded, the professor didn't look her way but somehow he had heard her answer.
"I see, it wouldn't have anything to do with your parents would it?" he asked, hitting the nail right on the head one simple sentence. Crystal looked over at him genuinely surprised he figured it out so easily.
"How did you know?"
He took another sip from his mug then spoke, "I told you before I knew your mother. She is a very strong willed individual or at least she was back when she attended beacon. Yet, that strong will only helps her half the time and something tells me that her overbearing attitude hasn't helped raise you. My guess is she wanted to do what she thought was best for you and it turned out she was just trying too hard."
Crystal nodded, a tear escaped her eye, "I never really wanted to be a huntress or to do any fighting at all but even when I heard my parents tell me what they were going to make me do I never even hesitated to agree. I guess they always dictated my whole life for me, from my clothes and hair to my occupation they controlled me… And I never fought back… Not once. Does that make me weak?"
"No child is weak because they listen to their parents."
"But… I should at least try to rebel isn't it normal to not just accept things the way they are?"
Ashton and Nickel clashed in the background, their sword blades making rapid contact as the two tangoed in it air. Ozpin took in a deep sigh and then looked back at the two fighting. The skirmish reminded him of a sparing match from long ago.
"So the root of the problem is this school?" he asked to confirm.
Crystal just nodded slowly, trying not to be rude.
" Then I understand your problem, I know you don't want to be here or even attend this school but consider this. If you look at this moment like an intersection you have three paths to take. Firstly, you could simply accept the fact your parents sent you to this academy and put you through combat schooling and simply go on with life here. You would then become a huntress and by that time you would be accustomed to a life like that. You could also do the complete opposite, fail your entrance exam and go home to deal with your parents wrath but make the first step towards independence. From there you could enact your dreams."
"What would be the other option?" she asked.
"Look at this situation like the duel that is taking place before us," Crystal looked down at the two combatants that grappled in the courtyard.
"You may not want to fight but you have complete freedom over the moves you make and freedom my young friend is something I wouldn't take lightly. So despite being forced into this situation you still have more freedom here than you would at home, you can be yourself here while at beacon even if that self isn't a huntress. The path you take after this academy doesn't have to be the one of a huntress."
Crystal looked back, she remembered how things went on the airship when Ashton and Rachelle were there to cheer her up. She didn't have many friends and the ones she did have didn't have this much life to them, they were content with doing simple things like being a banker or a shop keeper. Crystal thought she wanted that but now she didn't know, did she dislike the idea of being a huntress because her parents forced it on her or did she just not understand what it meant to be a huntress yet.
"Well, it's very late… I best be going," Ozpin said preparing to leave.
"It was nice talking with you sir," Crystal said honestly.
He looked back at her one last time, "I only hope your stay will be longer than you intended Miss. Zinca. Goodnight."
Ozpin walked off, using his engraved walking cane for balance. Before not too long Ashton and Nickelas's fighting had overtaken the sound of Ozpin's footsteps. She looked down at the two duelists again. Ashton dashed at Nickel but Nickelas held his weapon a way that Ashton didn't notice. It was a very underhanded move that would no doubt cause him to lose the match. Crystal panicked, in the heat of the moment she forgot this match wasn't real.
"Ashton watch out!" she yelled, surprised the shield wielder looked over at her as did Nickelas. The gunslingers sword sliced downwards, a large crescent slice flew by Ashton and soared across the courtyard. It eventually hit a tree and spit it down the middle causing a loud crash. The two of them looked at her with surprise. Ashton's face was more of a "she's been watching us this whole time?" face while Nickelas was wearing a more "who watches two people sparring?" face.
As soon as Nickelas saw another person he decided to book it,"We um… best call it a night Ash, I'll see you in initiation," Nickelas said. He seemed off put by Crystal's presence, it was like when someone shows you something gross while your eating and you lose your appetite. So, without an appetite for fighting Nick ran off the back way towards the front of the school.
Ashton didn't speak at first, he waved to Nickelas as he walked off but his gaze never left Crystal. He walked up the stairs that led down into the courtyard and approached Crystal.
"I'm sorry, I really didn't want to interrupt but it looked like that slice was going to hurt a lot and I forgot it was just practice," her face was genuine. The shield wielder sighed.
"It probably would have, don't worry too much about it. Nick just doesn't get used to people quickly, he only opens up around people he knows, it's not you it's him."
Crystal nodded, she understood what he meant or at least she thought she did.
"Why are you up?" he asked, "I'm surprised anyone is up this late."
"Well, you're up late…" Crystal muttered. He shrugged.
"Guilty as charged…" he said with a smile,"you still didn't answer my question though."
This time she was the guilty one, she looked towards the wall hoping he would accept the fact she didn't want to answer but she could feel his eyes looking at her. He wanted an answer so she would have to give him one.
"I… didn't want to be here, I wanted to live a normal life. My parents were both warriors, they fought to keep the world safe. But, I've never liked fighting, I never wanted to hurt anyone. I just don't think I can do it."
Ashton nodded, "walk with me," he instructed. She looked at him like he was crazy.
"It's better for talking," he explained, as if that made any sense. He walked behind her and pushed her back until she walked on her own. He was persistent but the more she walked down beacon road the more she liked it.
"Better right?"
She grumbled, "I guess…"
"Want to know why I chose to be a huntsman?" he asked. Why not? She was out in the middle of nowhere with a guy she just met, so why not just hear Ashton's whole life story. It wasn't like she could sleep anyway.
"Sure, why not?" as soon as she had said that she regretted everything...
I'm ending it here because I don't want to draw this chapter out any more than it is. I hope you enjoyed it. Hope it wasn't too boring. If you want to see more, follow because otherwise I won't feel guilty when I don't upload chapters. Stay tuned for more.
