(AN): By GOD I am so sorry for having this take such a ling time to update but it's nearing the end of the school year where I am at so tl;dr – I have been busy doing much more pressing things currently and POSSIBLY for the next few weeks.
I apologize in advance if the quality of the story drops from here since I have been editing this thing sporadically, so yeah.
As always though; I hope that you enjoy what I got…!
(Ruby's POV)
'Oh my god it's Him' Was the first thing that I thought as I protectively shift myself behind Crescent Rose. I feel my grip tighten as the feeling that swept over me during his skirmish in Forever Falls resurfaces from the back of my mind. A cold chill had overrisen the climbing exhaustion from the sparing that I was participating in. A hitch forms in my throat as I absentmindedly work my way closer towards my team.
Meekly, and with a whole butt-ton of embarrassment, I peeled my eyes to look straight at Him despite something in my mind telling me not to do that. It took me a few tries for me to muster up the smallest ounce of courage to even look at his face. Internally I cringe.
'Oh man, this is so-o-o embarrassing! I must look like an idiot right now!' A frown pulls down at my lips while he picks Jaune out of his grasp and places him onto his feet as if Jaune weighed nothing more than a small kitten.
Shaking away the negative thoughts I try and distract myself by taking a closer look towards him. Glad that no one was paying attention to my odd behavior I stare at the man who gave off this awful and just plain foreboding aura.
'Is… that his semblance…?' I wonder before dismissing the thought.
'No way is his semblance like that. It was strong enough to halt an army of Grimm coming at all sides. Or… maybe that says something about him…' I stopped and reminded myself a lesson that was taught to me long ago; still training with my Uncle Qrow back at Signal…
"Don't go on and try and predict everything your opponent might do kiddo'! You'll just trip yourself up later in the fight, just go with what feels right! Your instincts are your best friend, right next to your weapon, of course...!" The little flashback turned my spirits around just a tad; reinforcing my confidence. Even when the sense of danger permeates my mind; I peer through the atmosphere surrounding the mysterious Hunter and make my mind go into autopilot.
My eyes linger at his unmasked face. A dried, blood red hue of hair swept to the sides was crowned upon his head. A pair of opaque circular glasses rested on his nose. A brief questioning thought passed through my mind about why he had them but by then I had already decided to move on. His skin was a healthy yet fair milky brown. And all things considered, looked quite young. He looked to be somewhere in his late twenties. A thin line adorned his lips which, weirdly enough, was dry and seemed to be slowly twitching.
My eyes shifted downwards towards his large red cloak that was draped before him; a black leather like material ran around the mid-section just above the shoulders; the collar was popped up. The inside of it looked eerily empty, way too dark for it to be any kind of shadow. Suppressing a shudder, I force the feeling of danger down, taking in his armor. But before I could interrogate any further a sharp jab hit me in between my ribs. I cried out, "Oww! Hey! What was that-" as quickly as the jab came a finger was firmly placed just above my lips.
"Shush!" It was Yang.
"…Ruby, I get that the dude is decked out in some sweet looking armor and has the air of a magnificent Hunter and all, but you really don't have to openly ogle him." Yang chastised letting her finger down. I flush red; slapping my half-sisters arm with a "solid" punch.
"Y-yang! I wasn't ogling him!" I counter a little flustered.
She replied leaning towards my ear, "Pfft-! Yeah right! You totally were!" Her eyes wide in mirth and mischief.
I only manage a small grumble, settling for a puff of air and crossing my arms.
"Wait, 'magnificent'? Why that specifically? And since when have you ever used that to describe a person?" Blake asked, "Personally, I have this really weird feeling of trepidation around him. But it's background noise compared to the overhead instinct of… umm…? Unparalleled dexterity? I'm not sure what I can call this feeling…" She trailed off as she waved her hands in a small over-arching gesture, finishing by leaning on one of her legs.
'Unparalleled dexterity…?' I look back at the armored Hunter, his arms crossed. His posture upright, tight, and still as a statue. I shake my head shrugging, "… I don't see it."
Without hesitation Weiss scoffed, "Seriously? You see him;" she points at the man, "… as someone who has "unparalleled dexterity"? What he did to the Grimm in the forest wasn't nothing but that, Blake. It was just pure carnage. If anything, he seems to me like he's nothing more than a big brute." She huffed, turning her nose upward. Yang couldn't help but chuckle/snort at the same time.
"Yeesh, you obviously don't like him. Not like it matters though, he's still going to be our substitute combat teacher anyways. And I'm honestly really pumped for it! I wonder how he got so strong…" That made my entire body freeze.
"He's going to be our WHAT?!" My eyes widen as I realize that I said that out loud. I quickly clamp my mouth shut as I shrunk under the gaze that my teammates were giving me.
"Umm, yeah Ruby. He just explained to us why he was here. Ms. Goodwitch had to take care of something for today and had to go… somewhere. Along with the fact that he was impressed with our sparring. For some reason." Blake informed. Yang's smile dropped a bit, her eyebrows dropping in suspicion. "Yeah, I don't know why he would commend such a basic warmup so enthusiastically. Maybe he's planning something?" Weiss and Blake shrugged.
My head felt light headed while the back of my eyes stung for a moment. It went as fast as it came; too dizzy to stand I lay myself gently onto the ground. Weiss blinked.
"What's with her?"
"I think she's just trying to wrap her head around the fact that he," Yang pointed to the man "…who just slayed an army's worth of Grimm with their bare hands, will be watching her train for the day." Yang replied shrugging and deactivating her gauntlets feeling the scratches on her weapon before squatting down towards my face. An unworried expression crossing her features.
"…I think she'll be fine. Hey Weiss? Could you watch my sis for a bit? I want to go and ask the dude a few questions. The entire class is practically swarming him! Wanna' come Blake?" Yang asked taking a few steps toward the small crowd. I could barely make it out, but I could see Blake shaking her head, even if it was a bit blurry.
"I'm alright, besides," she took my arm and pulled me upright. "…the floor is dirty and filled with Dust shells." She added patting away the dirt from my back.
I could only groan before promptly landing back onto Weiss taking us both down into a daze.
"Wha- RUBY! You are such a DOLT!"
(John's POV)
'Oh boy, here we go…' The whole class practically swarmed me after I told them all why I was here. Many of them clamoring to ask a few questions. Understandably I was quite overwhelmed yet thankfully my cool façade held strong as I raised a hand. Instantaneously they all quieted down.
'I… cannot believe that worked.' Not going to complain, but oh well. Clearing my already dry throat, I watch as Yang slowly made her way to the front. Feigning ignorance I turn my head around the group of students starring into their eyes behind the sunglasses before gesturing towards Pyrrha. I knew for a fact that Yang wanted to get something out of me and it would just be too obvious if I picked her the moment she moves in. Hindsight is a very, very useful skill. I cannot possibly mess introductions at all. I sigh.
"Yes, Ms…?" I say evenly trying my best not to smile out of sheer glee of the fact that I was talking to what I had once that was a fictional character. She had straightened up, her eyes steeling themselves into a warrior's stare. I could most certainly read, however, that she was bouncing a few questions in her head before settling for one.
"Pyrrha Nikos, sir. And, well, many of us would like to know what's your preferred weapon type? You were only able to go out with just your bare hands to battle the Grimm in the Forever Falls forest. Are your hands your preferred weapon?" That made me blink. It was much simpler than the stuff that I had bouncing around in my head.
"Well… I do like a fist fight but if I had to choose…" I ponder for a moment visualizing what kind of weapon would seem to suit me the most. After a few imaginary images of me wielding all sorts of things I answer truthfully, "primarily I use swords. But in all honestly? Anything that has the potential to do damage is my, preference really." I let the information sink into their minds, eyebrows raising as I caught them off guard. Seeing this I continue raising my right hand and balling it into a dense fist, the hallowed metal giving a little.
"But if all else fails, a fist to the skull would do the trick am I right?" I say smirking. Soon enough the young hunters were chuckling as they commented idly to each other approvingly. A hand shot up from the small gathering, it was Ren's.
"Mr. Lumin, my name is Lie Ren and if I may ask; how were you able to run across tree branches in the forest so effortlessly? I mean no disrespect but, with a full set of armor you were much too weightless in your movements in travel. Do you think you would be able to teach us how to do that?" He said courtly, a glimmer of awe present in his eyes.
I forced my mind to calm itself, preparing for the next 'bout of questions as I procured an answer for him. I gestured with my hand as I spoke, "Sorry to say, but I can't really teach you how to do that kind of stuff. It practically manifests by itself as you train your body physically for moving the way I do. Seeing as that I am going to be your substitute for today I can teach you all some pointers in how to do it. We have just over two hours anyway." The students smiled, some even high fiving each other. Another hand shot up right next to Ren, obviously it was Nora's.
"Ohh! Mr. Lumin! How did it feel tearing all those Grimm apart with your bare hands! Man, It must have been a thrill doing all of that." Her face held a very… disturbingly cheerful expression. JPR noticed this and slapped a hand to their foreheads. Shaking my head, I think back to the whole thing. And I found myself reeling with how clearly I remember the fight. Every fist thrown, every attack dodged. It was fast but somehow also slow at the exact same time.
'Oh sweet mother of goodness that's confusing...'
I came back to reality before looking at her in the eyes behind my glasses. "… before I answer that, how long was my fight with the Grimm from beginning to end?" Nora blinked before putting a hand to her cheek. Another student answered for her. "According to the videos? Just under ten minutes, umm, sir." They said. I continue asking kind of surprised. "Might be a stupid question, but isn't that pretty long for a battle with the Grimm?" They all stared at me as if I just went insane. Didn't help my subconscious one bit considering the circumstances.
"Are you kidding? What you did a literal blur for all of us, even the cameras!" They nodded. Holy crap even Pyrrha. If a bit slowly.
"Yeah, and those things should be able to catch the trails of bullets, albeit the small caliber ones…"
"Huh." Wow, nice reply me. In times of stress I quickly push back my hair, looking back at Nora. "Well, anyway, the way how I would explain the feeling of battling so many Grimm at once barehanded is simple: Absolutely terrifying." I do a mock expression of absolute terror placing my hands just to the sides of my head. Catching them off guard.
"Wait really?!" They screamed.
Jeez, please tell me they are not this gullible… "No, not really." I say reverting back into my earlier collected mask. Consequentially; all of them face vaulted. I stifled a laughter.
Getting serious I continue. "Seriously though: If you ever find yourself with nothing but your bare hands without any backup or backup weapons in a fight while battling Grimm, please, do go and just cry out for help. That is unless you are exemplary in hand-to-hand combat, then try your best to improvise weapons." That seemed to satisfy them. A few of the students even glancing at their own personal weapons.
"Now, I know that you all just have so many burning questions about who I am and how I did what I did in the Forever Falls forest and all, but this has taken a whole lot more time than I expected so just one more question, that is it. Afterwards I'm going to show you exactly what I meant by "training" from what Lie Ren here asked. So, you!" I point straight at Yang. "… what is your question?"
Yang smiled before pointing to herself with a thumb. "Yang, Yang Xiao Long, Mr. Lumin." She parted her hair to the side with a hand pointing at me. "And I want to know just who you are." A student in the back of the group nodded speaking up. "Yeah! A Hunter of your caliber should be practically everywhere on social media, but as far as anyone else is concerned you… kind of just appeared out of nowhere."
I could feel myself sweating bullets now; the panic seeping in.
'Okay, Ozpin I really hope to dear god that you coverup is goddamn solid. If this fails I will be pointing at YOU.' Taking a deep breath, I start at the beginning of my "life" in Remnant.
"… Well, that's because you not being able to find any information on me is very much purposeful," The students squawked in confusion. "mainly because I technically didn't become an official citizen of Vale, if not the world, in the time span of only a day."
"You weren't a citizen? How's that possible? You must have been born somewhere on Remnant." I nodded my head. "And you would be correct. I was born somewhere on Remnant, it's just that my circumstances at birth were very…" I put on a deep frown pairing it up for what I was going to say next:
"Grimm."
The moment I uttered their name I could see some of the students take a step back; both literally and figuratively. A barely audible "Oh." came from somewhere in the group. I nod a bit solemnly too. I had come to terms with my position of probably never going to ever see my friends and family again while sitting in that small white interrogation room and in the Airship. I don't think they would have noticed me sniffling unless they were right next to me.
I pause for a moment before rubbing my eye with a finger.
"I'll go and spare you the details but let's just say that since then, I really hate the Grimm. I know for a fact that some of you already know how destructive they are to Mankind and Faunus alike, which is why you and I are here now: To protect those who couldn't themselves." The last bit of motivational and borderline hero talk wasn't something that I had planned on saying, but the opportunity kind of gave itself away.
One thing that I took note of from the class was that some of the Faunus students and Humans held a very solemn expression. One of them needed to look away but my eyes already caught the glimpse of water in the corner of their eye. These guys were all still very much kids. Hoping to become the light of tomorrow for whoever they had in mind.
'And considering what's coming next, the world will need real, bona fide heroes in its wake. And I sure as hell will be right beside them when that comes.' While I wasn't a person who had any military training at all, my grandfather, god bless his soul, did. Before he had passed away my family used to always go on and fish with him. We now go annually in memory of him because of it funnily enough.
One day in the summer of my Sophomore year of College, I had asked him: "Just what did it take for you to decide to go to the army?" He looked to the sky for a minute before turning back to me. While I couldn't remember the latter parts of our conversation since it had drifted off into something else, one thing stuck with me since then. He had told me that the first thing that someone needed to have before even entering…
"Is that they had to have spirit. They had to know what they were about to go through before attempting to join John. Without it you will hold little to no integrity within your team."
It sounded a little bit cheesy at the time, but I had found meaning in it later in life. Glad that I did too now that I am stuck in this world. Suddenly; a voice snapped me out of my musings.
"Umm, sir? Are you alright?"
"Wha-? Oh, sorry." Did I just have a goddamn flashback just now? Bah, never mind I'll think about that stuff later. They stood silently as I gather my scattered thoughts. I hadn't noticed but many of the students held concerned looks on their faces. Ren, meanwhile had a knowing look.
"Anyway, my parents were strong enough to hold back the literal black tide of Grimm just long enough for a long and trusted friend to hide with. They will be responsible for pushing me to my absolute limits, so on and so forth." I gesture. I stare into the eyes of Yang as I talked, trying to make sure if Ozpin's backstory was holding up. It seemed that it was since they had looked down.
"… Your parents didn't make it did they…?" I was surprised, it was honestly really jarring to hear such conviction and sheer remorse coming from- wait, Ruby? I caught myself staring before turning my had to the side.
"No." I said much too quickly for my liking, but they didn't seem to notice. In fact…
'Wow, that just brought down their spirits by a whole lot. Not like I could change it now. Honestly Ozpin why did you make up such a sob story?' I ponder for a moment before coughing in my hand.
"I hope that answers your question Ms. Long." Yang only nodded. Seeing as it was time to finally get some training done, I proceeded to try and cheer everyone up by saying that all of it was in the past and then went on into something about "don't dwell on the past" or something. In mere minutes the students were back into their routine.
Idly I saw Ruby in the corner of my eye giving me an unreadable stare. Pyrrha, too, was giving me such a stare. Understandably, a cold chill went down my spine. Thankfully I was able to be distracted by "teaching" the rest.
The rest of the day went smoothly. Once the second class of students funneled into the building a similar story happened with the whole QnA. Thankfully they were much less questionable about my past and more on my abilities. I was only able to go with half-truths since I didn't know them. This repeated three times when it was finally the last class of the day. Which was an od experience when I found myself not even a little tired after teaching over one-hundred super powered teenagers how to land even softer than a feather. Guess it was another perk of being unable to feel degradation of stamina. You wouldn't believe how relieved I was when I found out I could still sleep.
It all went downhill however when I realized just who was in the class.
Cinder was here; complete with Emerald, Mercury and Neo right behind her. I knew the moment that I saw them that I had to keep my guard up. By this point, the chill that ran down my spine every two hours has become nothing more than a nuisance. I mentally prepare myself for what is to come.
…which seemed to be oddly unfounded when they seemed to keep the most amount of distance away from me. Not like I'm complaining but-
"Mr. Lumin, look OUT!" What-?
SCHLLICK!
Oh.
T-that's not good…
