I... could feel myself regaining cognisance... mind contorting through natural and learned behaviour, as my mind reasserted itself.
I could feel the pain in my retinas, even through my closed eyes, as light washed over my face, from whichwhere I could not identify.
After several minutes of going through my body, and finding nothing wrong at all, I risked opening my eyes a fraction.
I could make out the shapes of what I guessed were figures, people, standing around me. I squinted, keeping my eyes open a fraction, letting them adjust, despite the pain it bought.
I could smell antiseptic, cleaner products, and all the other smells unique to places of medical practice. I guessed I was in the medical ward. Good. I went through my body, tensing muscles and focusing on joints. There was nothing wrong at all. It was like I had never fought that fight against Pyrrha. In fact, I felt better then before, and I guessed several other minor ailments had been mended as well.
"Jason."
The voice was quiet, kind, and I cracked my eyes open, and answered.
"Yes?"
New hands, not rude, but experianced and rushed, tilted my head back the other way, and opened my eyelids up, shining a light into my pupils.
I know they had to do so, to check for brain dammage, but damn that hurt.
"Pupil dilation normal. Patient, can you tell me your full name?"
"Jason Roy Richards."
"Good, the voice said, "Now, follow the card with your eyes." The person, who I guessed was a nurse by then, raised a card with a dot on it, and moved it across my vision. I followed it, as she said.
"Now with moving your head." She repeated the motions.
"Good, good, patient is Sanguine," she muttered to herself, likely filling out some kind of medical log. "Well Mr Richards, you have made a full recovery, no complications present. You are free to go when you wish."
"Excellent to hear." a new voice said, "Could we possibly have a moment to talk, privately."
The nurse nodded and left, pulling the privacy curtain as she went.
I sat up, as Ozpin spoke.
"Well, I'm sure you'll be happy to hear that, in lieu of your performance against Pyrrha Nikos in the arena, I have deemed you fit enough to enter in the student roster. Welcome to Beacon, I suppose congratulations are in order." He said, smiling.
It should have hit me harder, being a Huntsman in training, but I had company, and was too reserved to burst out emotionally like that. I respected Ozpin, I didn't want to embarrass myself in front of him. Even so, I allowed myself a satisfied grin. "Thank you Professor."
He waived his hand "You earned it, with your performance. But now that brings me onto another point."
My heart sank, hearing the seriousness of his words. "You are aware how I did not awake your aura previously, before the fight. Well, simply put, you have none."
I nodded. In a darker part of my mind, I had expected such. I was not of this world. It would stand to reason I wouldn't have something like an aura. If earth humans didn't have one, why should I just because I changed universes. My mind whirled as he continued.
I grinned. "Am I technically a Grimm then?"
An eye roll. "Yes Jason, you are. But in all seriousness, whilst your position remains unchanged, your curriculum likely will for the first year or so, which will make it harder to graduate. You will have to work especially hard in all regards to make up for this, just so you know."
I nodded.
"But remember, you will always have the full support of the staff at Beacon, and the teams you work beside. It is a narrow road, but it is a road that cann be traveled, and I have little doubt you will."
"Thank you sir." I said, the full implications beginning to hit me "It means a lot to me."
"That's good to hear. Now, down to business." He said, mood changing. I sat up, paying attention to his words very carefully. "As I doubt that you have a full set of supplies, I am giving you until sunday to fully sort your supplies and living requirements. Today is thursday. On monday we will introduce you as an Auxiliary team of one, who will operate alongside other teams"
He reached into his coat and presented a card with a flourish. "This is a school card, the pin is 7209. It's good for practically anything in Vale, from bus fares to clothes shopping. It draws from a specific savings account dedicated to exactly this kind of scenario, where someone might find themselves lacking in required material. The budget for expenses is vast, so you should have no issues with money, but I remind you that it is school money, and ask that you do not spend too much of it on entertainment products or a similar analogue."
I nodded, taking the proffered card.
"There is a bullhead waiting for you to take you into the city. It will pick you up again at five thirty to bring you back for dinner tonight. Now the pilot will be tracking your scroll, so keep track of time." He turned, leaving.
"Sir, one final question if I may?"
He turned back, "Go ahead."
"What are the rules for weapon design?"
He raised an eyebrow, surprise evident. "Well I don't know of any rules per se. There are definitely conventions, common designs, general groups of nature and behaviour, but nothing I could call a rule or a restraint to weapon designs. Granted, there are some standards in competitions yes, but I doubt you will be doing much of that. Does that answer your question."
I grinned, a plan forming in my head. "Why yes, yes it does professor."
"Good to hear." He said, smiling in return, and then leaving. I noticed a pile of freshly washed clothes, my clothes, sitting beside me. I changed quickly out of the hospital gown I was wearing and into my clothes. Stuffing the card in my pocket, I opened the curtain and left the wing.
The Bullhead pilot was a young woman, intent mostly on piloting the vehicle down to Vale below. I don't know if I should have tried to make conversation, but I sated myself by going through a map of the shopping centres in Vale. As expected, the city was huge, fittingly so, and most interestingly, planned. Everything I needed would be in the commercial district. God planned cities were nice. The intercom crackled to life.
"So where shall I set us down?"
Ahh, "The commercial district, anywhere suitable in there that won't get us into trouble."
She snorted, and I felt the Bullhead move slightly under my feet, adjusting course. Soon after, the doors hissed open, the craft slowing to a hover, two meters above the ground. I said my thanks, and jumped out, bending my knees to absorb the shock.
The Bullhead turned and rocketed away, leaving me alone to walk to my hearts content.
I strolled along first into a clothing store. The first thing I bought was a backpack, to hold all the stuff I would then be buying. A big thing, a backpack to wear tramping, one that you would use to carry all your living possessions, which was fitting. I bought ten pares of underwear, ten pares of socks and five pairs of fairly fashionable pants and shirts. And a proper belt. Then I bought a coat and some thermal wear to use. I payed, happy to not be using my own money, and sat down on a bench, and loaded my stuff into my bag. The coat I wore, the many pockets could hold more stuff.
I checked the time. 2.35. Good, I would have masses of time.
I slung my half full pack over my shoulders and kept walking. I found a pharmacy, and procured the required toiletries. Toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, deodorant. I also grabbed a first aid pack and a couple of low strength painkillers from the shelf. Good to have, I reasoned. The person at the counter didn't bat an eyelid at this, and I once again packed my new possessions into my pack.
What else did I need. Stationary?
I grabbed six or so pads of paper, some pens, mechanical pencils and a graphics calculator from a store down the road. I doubt I would need anything else.
Shoes? I grabbed a spare pair of nice leather ones and strung them over the back.
Time? 3.27. What else?
Something to distract myself?
I bought a sketchpad and a collection of fiction works. I confesses I was interested to find out what Remnant grade fiction was like, and I didn't want to get into some of my other hobbies quite so fast. I had enough to think about already. I had a whole world to adjust to, rollplaying can wait.
I bought a drink bottle and stuffed it into my pack, then bought a multitool and placed it into my pocket. A wallet, where I put the card.
Time? 3.45. Was there anything else? I had plans for my weapons, but I also had three more days to do so, and I didn't want to rush myself and do it wrong.
I bought an ice-cream and sat down in a park, going through a suspicion I had in my head. I searched up diving stores, then scrolled through the options, looking for heavier duty stores. Ones that sold diving suits. If diving existed, sea Grimm also existing, then it was likely that armoured and armed diving suits would exist. And something that heavy, moving at pseudo combat speed, underwater, I reckoned would be self supporting at least, powered at most.
My fist pistoled into the air in victory, as I found a store that sold just such suits seemingly. They looked heavy, bulbous, chrome. They were ugly things, designed to swivel around joints. The armour was perfect, but they looked slow, oozed slow. But at the same time, it was a start. And if my plan went through as I expected it to, I would not even be wearing it, but something else entirely. Something far better.
My had felt wet. My Ice cream was melting. Shit.
The ride back was uneventful, even less words were spoken. I thanked the pilot as I left, and followed the instructions to get to my new room. By the time I had gotten there, after a day of pacing and.
Come to think of it, it has only been two days I had been on Remnant. I had woken up in a different bed, in old clothes, taken and practiced with a new weapon set, fought a three time champion fighter, to the point of going unconscious, woken up, been accepted into an elite fighting school, then gone shopping by myself in an unfamiliar town vastly different to what I know, for the vital supplies for my continued existence.
It had been a very long day, I concluded, slumping on the bed. Dinner in the dining hall was at six, so I grudgingly pushed myself upright, and set off to find the dining hall. I remember it was on the ground floor, from watching Sun and Neptune walk around it, so that was a start. It took a little while, but I found it eventually, and joined the line. It took a while, as all lines in a boarding school do, in the few minutes after opening, but I got through in time, and looked around for a seat.
And then I saw it. A flash of red amidst the crowd. Joined by a flash of yellow, a shimmer of white and a quieter black. They were sitting halfway down the hall, by one of the walls.
I kicked myself, walking forward, if I didn't do it now, I likely never would.
"Excuse me. Is this seat taken?" Four pares of eyes, silver, gold, ice blue and lilac turned round in unison.
"Of course." Blake said, and I sat down.
Weiss looked over, suspicious. "I do not recognise you from initiation, who are you?"
Cold, blunt. Beautiful in a sense. Very German.
"My circumstances were abnormal. I was tested differently, and as such you would not have seen me. I'm starting classes on monday, where I will be introduced as an Auxilary team of one. My name's Jason by the way. Jason Richards."
"Would a team of one really be a team though?" Ruby said, caught in thought.
"I'd imagine it would depend on your personal philosophy." I replied.
"But a team requires more then one."
Blake of all people spoke up "What if the person has two souls, two personalities?"
"Dissociative identity disorder? Can't fault that." I was impressed that Blake would think of such. She learns from what she reads well.
"Dissawhatnow?" Ruby said.
"Split personality sis. Jerkyl and Hyde stuff." Yang clarified.
"Ohh."
"So what have you all been up too?" I ventured.
"Oh you know, school stuff, sitting through stupid lectures, learning to be badasses. Fighting evil monsters and the dread..." Ruby said with a passion "Homework."
Weiss for her part, pinched the bridge of her nose.
I laughed, letting a little bit of bass seep in. "Well sucks to be you all, because I don't have classes till monday." I said, leaning back as outrage errupted on the table.
"What!" Yang shouted, palms slamming into the table, "Bullshit!"
"Language!" the other three chided. Ruby for her part was staring, a pleading look in her eyes. Blake didn't seem to care or mind. Weiss seemed almost insulted.
"If you would like," she said with a slight huff "you can come round to our dorm in the evening and use our notes, so you aren't behind in class when you do start."
"Ohh Ice Queen." Yang grinned voraciously "Of all the people in our team, I never thought you'd be the first to invite a boy back to our dorm. Should we leave you too alone?"
I sigh, feeling a headache setting in. "Yang, stop being like this would you."
"Oh harsh Jason, harsh." She said, recoiling, placing a hand over her chest in mock horror. "Although, if you do want to..." she said, leaning forward again, eyebrows wiggling.
"No thanks." I said "If it's all the same to you, I've had... quite the sizeable day, all things considered. I'm going to sleep for at least eight hours after this."
That actually took the wind out from her proverbial sails, and she slumped. I guess she didn't expect me to actually reject her advance. I finished my food as they talked, and excused myself, bussing the tray, and making my way up to my room. I locked the door, and sat down on my bed.
I just met team RWBY. I just met team RWBY. That was something I never expected I'd ever find myself doing. Talking to cosplayers, ones that get too in character, maybe, but this, never.
I busied myself with laying out my stuff, unpacking my clothes and assorted possessions. I'd need my bag for more shopping tomorrow. It took an almost depressingly short amount of time to unpack the sum total of my possessions. But with that completed, I could then move onto researching the store I found. As before, they sold heavy diving suits, the kind of thing for use at a depth where the human body is crushed under the pressure. It was an old place. Small, and I would bet money that it didn't see a great flow of people. They mostly looked to hire out suits or sell them to independent buyers for private use. I did notice that the no prices were advertised for the models shown. That distressed me. That, plus the lack of business meant that the price would likely be on the high end of the scale. And those suits didn't look cheap. I had faith in the Beacon treasury, but this would be a significant drain of Lien. Would it be worth it? Could I spend so much on something I intend to immediately replace?
I decided to find out tomorrow, and lay back on the bed, hand falling to my side. I didn't even notice myself fall asleep until I did.
