Chapter 10
Job Change

"And finally... Blake Belladona, Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee and Yang Xaio Long. The four of you showed solidarity and coordination in the face of overwhelming adversity. From this day forward, you will work together as Team Rwby, led by... Ruby Rose." The last student team was formed, and Ozpin could finally dropped his formal tone. Though the students were not able to retrieve any of the relics for the test, there was plenty of observational data for the teachers to work with. It might not have been what the headmaster originally intended, but the tests still gave him enough results to make a decision.

Unfortunately, he still had another important decision that he had to make soon. Turning off his mic, Ozpin faced the girls once more, his voice a bit more serious. "When you girls have time, could you all come up to my office? There are still some things we need to discuss. Oh, and please inform Team JNPR to attend as well" Truthfully, he only needed Ruby to act as a translator for her ... aggressor, but it would be better if the entire group was present, since they were all probably as curious about the man as he was.

When Team RWBY confirmed his orders with a diligent nod, Ozpin finally left the stage, making his way to where the rest of the teachers, save Glynda, were standing. "Now that we've resolved the issue with our prospective students, I'd like to discuss our... other problem. Have you found out anything, Bartholomew?"

"Unfortunately not. The writing in these books are unlike any I have ever seen, in terms of both current day languages and common historical ones." Oobleck quickly answered, one hand holding his thermos while the other supported a book. "And most of the images in this book are just as foreign to me. I'd say this was a product of childish imagination if it weren't the fact that this book was professionally made."

"An unknown man speaking an unknown language carrying unknown books..." Ozpin pondered the implications, before finally settling his thoughts. "Well, for now, we must discuss is what to do with the boy. I'd like to hear everyone's thoughts..."

Glynda kept an eye on the young man that was currently seated in Ozpin's office, throwing him the occasional glance while she read over some paperwork. The headmaster had decided to unbind the young man, but as a precaution, kept a hold of his bag, so it was her duty to ensure the person didn't cause any trouble. And from what the teacher could tell, the man was just fine behaving himself. From what she could tell, he was content with simply standing there, looking out the window. Less stress for her, at least.

Of course, she remained vigilant, one hand ready to draw her weapon at a moment's notice. But for now, it was a rare moment of reprieve, and she wondered what Ozpin planned to do with the man.

That was the tricky part, wasn't it? They could not overlook the attack on one their students, but at the same time, they also couldn't deny his assistance with the resulting grimm. She was also certain that he had something to do with the student's recovery, but that left more questions than answers. Finally, all of this occurred within academy grounds, so they would be the only ones passing judgement on this young man.

Young man. A young man with unknown items, a mysterious semblance, and strange aura, but a young man all the same. Taking another look at him, Glynda couldn't help but notice how out-of-place he was. It wasn't hard to imagine him as a second or third year student of Beacon, as long as she ignored his odd choice of clothing. And likewise, it wasn't hard to guess that Ozpin wanted the him to stay here. At least it would keep him out of trouble should something unexpected happen again.

"You'll be on your best behaviour, right?" Glynda's question was rhetorical, and she knew it. The man's confused expression confirmed that he still had no clue what she was saying, despite the fact that he seemed to understand the words of the student from earlier. This whole thing was either an elaborate ploy, or something far more serious, and the teacher couldn't help but stare impatiently at the door. "The sooner we resolve this, the better..."

A knock sounded out the moment she thought that, and Glynda quickly suppressed her surprise as she opened it.

"Hello! Um... Professor Ozpin said we should come by his office after we were done." Ruby flinched a bit at Glynda's questioning glance, but quickly composed herself. After all, they were supposed to be here, so no reason to be worried about it. "Is he here yet?"

"I'm sorry, but the headmaster has not yet returned. He should be along shortly, so you can all wait inside." The teacher led the Team JNPR and Team RWBY into the office, and all eyes widened at the sight of it. Ozpin's office was nothing like any of them had seen before; a circular room of considerable size, with cogs and clockwork decorating the ceiling. Sunlight streamed in through the clear windows, overlooking the entire Academy below. Everyone knew his office was at the top of the tower highest tower in Beacon, but they never actually appreciated that fact until now. Ruby was the first to run to the window, captivated by the view.

"Wow! To think, it was just yesterday when we were down there looking up here." She turned to her sister, unable to contain her excitement. However, a look of confusion grew on her face when she saw Yang's mixed reaction. Ruby couldn't help but follow Yang's eyes. "Huh? What's the matter, Yang?... Oh, hey again!"

"Qqb'fp hvjg acz?" The young man turned around, to meeting the sisters' gaze as he glanced at Ruby.

"Yeah! You too, huh? I guess this is why Ozpin wanted us here." Unlike Yang's solemn expression, the red girl had a carefree tone to her, almost ignorant of the fact that no one else could follow her conversation. Almost. Her tone fell considerably as she asked her next question. "So uh... I know this is kind of awkward, but... Why did you try to kill me?"

"..." It wasn't just the man who was quiet. Everyone heard Ruby's question, and their eyes fell onto him. Yang, Nora and Pyrrha's had the most pressure behind them, followed closely by Weiss and Ren. Even Jaune, normally bumbling and carefree, had a look of seriousness to him. It was only Glynda and Blake had an inquisitive look on their face, more curious than anything else. "... A fpry't dwcu hz. Yfm uviydvv lbge lzcg avp mffuascs."

"What? I don't sound anything like those things! And you're not making that mistake now, right?"

"Tgmcce kzg avtnx ap Cowhrdnh, mzu rdn zcfnuwf avp sreg. Swve dwvhz mrvsmpbr aev eyslkzfi avcolyj h ttlkwt."

"Huh? How'd you figure that? Our voices don't sound anything like that. Unless metal sounds different where you're from."

Blake was the first to respond as hers eyes widened at Ruby's statement. She spoke up immediately, a question heavy on her mind."...Ruby, what does he sound like to you right now? And what did he say we sounded like?"

"What do you mean, Blake? He doesn't sound like anything." Ruby gave a curious glance to her teammate. "And he said you all sounded like broken metal put through a filter, which is weird. Why?"

"Because that's what he sounded like to us the first time we saw him. Now, he just sounds like gibberish, but before..." Blake's voice trailed off for a moment, eyes falling on the young man. "He sounded wrong. Worse than any grimm I'd heard before." They never considered the possibility that they sounded the same to the man. Now things were even more complicated.

"It doesn't change the fact that he attacked you all the same." Yang was adamant with her statement, as was Weiss. 'It was an accident' doesn't change the fact that he nearly killed Ruby, and they weren't about to forgive him for that any time soon. The rest of the teenagers slowly nodded in agreement as their gaze fell on the man, and though it was no longer filled with the same amount of distrust as before, it still bore into him.

Of course, it was at this very moment that Ozpin decided to speak, announcing his presence to everyone.

"Which is why I have gathered you all here." The sudden voice caused all eyes to shift behind them, and Ozpin returned their stares with a playful smile. "From the sounds of things, this entire incident was the result of miscommunication. That's not to say that he won't be punished, however." He brought a finger to the bridge of his glasses, pushing them up as his gaze fell on the young man. "Though he assisted in suppressing the grimm, his actions provoked their presence in the first place. And the fact remains that he still wounded a student.

"Because of these transgressions, I have decided that he will be put in the custody of the School. He shall learn discipline alongside the rest of you, and his schedule shall be managed directly by me as necessary. Are there any questions?" He gave a look to each of the students, gauging their reactions. As expected, Yang and Weiss seemed to take the suggestion the hardest, and looked like they were on the verge of voicing their opinion. However, Ozpin was the headmaster, so they kept quiet, and he made note of this. "If not, then I'd like to ask Miss Rose to relay my orders to our associate."

Ruby quickly nodded, and turned to face the man. It didn't take long before he reluctantly nodded at her, seeing no other way for this situation to resolve peacefully. Having obtained consent from the individual, Ozpin took out his Scroll, filling out the necessary paperwork for his gross misuse of power. He paused for just a moment, a curious expression forming on his face as he looked back to Ruby. "This may seem a bit late, but could you ask him what his name is? Hopefully it's something that translates well."

"Sure thing! So what did you say your name was?" The girl was happy to have resolved everything, and turned her attention to the young man.

"Ea qcm tzlnl wd Stzqsoc."

"You just said that's a title! What's your name?"

"... A fvb'e hrng vbp."

Ruby was a bit surprised at that statement. Had he been going by his job title alone? Why? Still, she needed to report it, so she turned back to the headmaster. "He says he doesn't have a name... Just the job title of 'Scholar'."

'...What a troublesome child.' Those were Ozpin's final thoughts on the matter. "If he wishes to go by a title rather than a name, then I suppose we'll call him... Hall. For hall monitor."

The sudden silence, followed by snickers from the teenagers gave the Scholar a bad feeling. It was strengthened when he saw the expression on the other man's face, and was finally was vindicated when Ruby turned back towards him, speaking without ambiguity, and with an innocently earnest voice.

"Nice to meet you Hall Monitor!"