Chapter 10: A New Job, or Two

"I won't drown in this sickening mediocrity anymore!"

"If you walk out that door, you are no longer my son."

"This is your last chance. Are you ready?"

"As I'll ever be."

Mato opened his eyes.

For a long while he did nothing but lay there staring at the ceiling, listening to the beeps and whirs of the machinery around him. Luckily, the pain of the past was drowned out by the pain of the present. His right arm ached. Actually, every part of his body was hurting right now, but his arm hurt like a bastard.

Mato made to sit up, but something held his arms down. Looking down his torso, he saw there were cuffs locking his wrists to bars on either side of the bed. He rolled his eyes, flexed his left arm to rip the cuff off the bar, and reached over to pop the other cuff off his right arm. He half rose, half rolled out of the bed to stand in front of the window, absently removing various tubes connecting his body to the machines.

Mato took stock of the situation. He was still in the city, mostly likely in some kind of human medical ward. He was battered, tired, hungry, and, Mato looked down at the odd half-robe he was wearing, in need of new clothing. He wasn't in much of a mood (or shape) to fight, so taking any of these things wasn't really on the table. He could go back to Mist Village, but the idea of limping back to beg for help repulsed him. So that really only left one option. Head out into the wilderness, find a deer or something-

"You're not one for staying still, are you?"

Mato whipped his head around so fast it made his neck ache. In a chair in the corner of the room sat a human dressed in a green suit, a coffee mug in his hand. Had he been here the whole time? He must have, the only thing more implausible than Mato having not noticed the man when he surveyed the room was that he had somehow arrived without being noticed.

Mato glared at the human as though his mere presence was an affront. Almost unconsciously, he clenched his fists and shifted his stance to turn his weaker arm away from the human. The man noted the motion with a raised eyebrow, but didn't move beyond taking a sip of his coffee. "You're in no danger here. I just want to ask you a few questions."

Another sip and he continued. "I am Professor Ozpin, headmaster of Beacon Academy." He paused, as if waiting for Mato to contribute something to the currently one sided conversation. When he didn't, Ozpin continued. "And you are Mato, the Saiyan Warrior." There was another pause. "You are a Warrior, correct?"

What the hell was that supposed to mean? Mato stamped down the surge of fear that felt like a dagger of ice plunged into his gut. It meant nothing, this human knew nothing. How could he? Despite this reassurance, Mato's fists clenched so hard it hurt and he didn't trust himself to speak.

You could cut the tension in the air with a knife. The sound of the door opening served well enough though. Mato turned to see the leader of the soldiers from the colosseum. He looked a lot less martial carrying a tray with two plates of food on it. He seemed surprised to see Mato standing and pulled up mid stride, looking to Ozpin for guidance. A low growling noise filled the air and all three men glanced at Mato's stomach.

"Would you like something to eat?" Ozpin asked, not unkindly. His tone annoyed Mato enough he wanted to refuse out of stubborn pride. He didn't, but it was a close run thing. General James Ironwood, as he was introduced, set the tray on the bed after getting an approving nod from Ozpin. Mato half sat and began to eat quickly even for a saiyan.

"You should know," Ozpin began as Mato stuffed his face. "What exactly you've done for us."

Mato didn't stop his eating to ask, but he did make an exaggerated confused expression.

"Whatever your reasons for attacking her, you did us a great favor by defeating Cinder Fall. She was an enemy of ours, one made far more dangerous by her being skilled at evading our attempts to find her. You not only revealed her, you did the lion's share of subduing her. That was a massive help to us; the amount of danger she posed to us could not be understated."

Mato continued eating, but his mind's gears were already working. The White Fang were in ruin, the only other force he could sign up with as a fighter would be their enemies, the kingdoms. Was that why Ozpin had interceded when the Kai had been attacking?

"You've also done us a disservice." The general said. The man folded his arms with a disapproving look. "Or do you deny that you aided the White Fang in their attempts to attack this city?"

Ozpin started to say something, but Mato could defend his own actions. "I didn't aid them." He said around a mouthful of apple. "I worked for them."

Ironwood rolled his eyes. "Same thing."

"No." Mato set an empty plate back down on the tray and picked up the other one. "Saying I aided them implies I fought for them because I agreed with their ideas. I fought for them because they paid me, no more and no less."

"So you're not a terrorist, just a mercenary." Ironwood said, his tone making it clear there was little distinction between the two in his eyes. Mato just shrugged and continued eating.

"Well," Ozpin interjected. "Whatever your reasons, it's undeniable that you possess an abnormal amount of power. You said that you are a Saiyan warrior. The meaning of warrior is obvious, what a Saiyan is is not."

"'at's ny," Mato swallowed. "Species."

The two humans shared a significant look. "Species?" Ozpin asked slowly.

"I'm from another world." Mato said bluntly. He knew there were some rules about not revealing there was life on other worlds to mudmen, but he was already on the Kais' shit-list, so who cared? "My ship broke when I landed here, so now I'm stuck."

It would not have surprised Mato for the two of them to disbelieve him, think him crazy. Mudmen have such narrow perspectives, after all. But instead the two shared a long, significant look. "That would answer several questions..." Ozpin said.

"But raises others." Ironwood finished for him. His gaze shifted back to Mato. "The main one being, why are you here?"

Mato took a bite of his apple, more to give himself time to think than because he was still hungry (though he was still hungry). "I came here on a whim." He said when he'd swallowed. That was a true answer, from a certain point of view.

"Whatever you're history, we won't pry." Ozpin said. Ironwood looked very much like he wanted to do some prying anyway.

"My reasons are my own," Mato said. "But I can tell you I'm here alone and no other aliens have any interest in this planet, just in case you were getting worried." From the look on the general's face, he had been. Looking a bit relieved, he just asked another question.

"Why did you join the White Fang? What could they possibly offer an alien?" Mato was a bit surprised. He was expecting a barrage of questions about the interstellar community. You didn't expect people to ignore the revelation that they weren't alone in the universe. Then again, Ironwood struck him as a practical man. Mato was in front of him, so questions about the greater galaxy could wait until he was sorted out.

"Food." Mato gestured at the now empty tray.

Ironwood's eyes widened at that. "That was enough food for two grown men."

Mato burped. "Got any more?"

He wasn't actually expecting to get any, but was still a little disappointed when Ironwood just continued the interrogation. "You worked for terrorists for nothing but food?"

Mato folded his arms, bemused. "You say that like I should have just starved to death instead. I landed on a foreign planet with a busted ship. I have no marketable skills but combat abilities, I can't even read this planet's script. It shouldn't surprise anyone that I turned to fighting for a living. A man must work, after all."

Ironwood's eyes narrowed as he folded his arms. "Not necessarily. There are plenty of institutions in this city that provide food and shelter for those in need."

Mato's own eyes narrowed. For the first time in the conversation, anger seeped into his voice. "I will not beg to survive. Not ever."

It was surprising. Based on how this conversation had gone Mato had expected a grudging nod from Ozpin and a look of disapproval from Ironwood. He got the exact opposite, a nod from the general and glare, quickly masked, from the headmaster. Before he could ponder the meaning of that, Ironwood asked another question.

"You mentioned your combat abilities. What exactly is the nature of those powers?"

Mato's brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"

"Your flight, energy blasts." Ironwood waved a hand. "These powers of yours. What exactly are they? Learned skills? Innate abilities of you, your species?"

"In a sense. Those are just simple ki manipulations, anyone could do them. Saiyans are naturally gifted at controlling their ki though." Mato half smirked and took a stab in the dark. "If you're asking if your own people could learn how, then it's possible. All living beings have ki, regardless of what they call it, and your fighters seem to have some rudimentary techniques for controlling it already."

"I have a question." Ozpin said from his corner. Mato was a little surprised; he had figured this was Ironwood's show. "Are you satisfied with your life?"

Mato didn't know how to respond to that. Lies, glib deflections, and smart-ass sarcasm battled in his brain. Even the truth was in there, somewhere. Sarcasm won. "Oh yeah, I love being beaten within an inch of my life. Very fulfilling experience."

"I'm talking about more than just the past few days." Ozpin said with a hint of reproach as he set his coffee mug down. "Is selling your skills for mere survival a fulfilling way to live? Do you have no higher aspirations than a full belly and a warm bed?"

Mato had the feeling this was the sales pitch this conversation had been about. He didn't really feel like playing along. "Of course I do. But since it's impossible for me to get what I want, that's an academic point."

A small smile graced Ozpin's face and the sight of it made Mato inexplicably furious. "In my experience, things people call impossible tend to merely difficult."

Mato was no longer inexplicably angry. "Really?" He asked, voice light. "Then you could resurrect my dead brother? I didn't know humans possessed such a power."

He succeeded in wiping the smile from Ozpin's face. "Ah, no." He leaned forward and looked at Mato with sympathy. "I'm sorry for your loss."

"Don't be." Mato gave a flippant wave with his good hand. "I have no siblings, dead or otherwise." His voice hardened and eyes narrowed into a glare. "You know nothing, human, about me or my life. Do not speak to me as though I am some ignorant child."

"I see." Ozpin drew himself back up, his expression once again unreadable. "I apologize for my presumption, it was not my intention to offend. I just thought someone of your power and ability would desire to make more of an impact than that of a simple fighter-for-hire. To have purpose, make a difference, leave a lasting legacy."

This is where he offers me a job. "Oh? And where would I get such lofty ideals?"

Ozpin leaned forward, serious. "Come work for us. We have need of someone of your skills."

Called it. "A job offer? I don't think so. " Mato said dismissively. He folded his arms, repressing a wince at how it stressed his right arm. "I have no interest in anything like that. You have nothing I want."

"Don't be ridiculous." Ironwood said, stepping forward. Mato raised an eyebrow and the general nodded towards the empty tray. "You were willing to fight for the White Fang to make a living. Our money is as good as theirs, better even. We have more."

Mato mulled that over. He took a moment to ask himself if he had any reason to not want to work for them. It certainly wasn't that he had anything better to do.

"Fair enough." Mato conceded. He sighed. "Alright, fine, I'll teach your students how to wield their ki like me."

That was, of course, what they had been angling for this whole time. They were both headmasters of combat schools. Ironwood had asked if his abilities could be taught to others. Ozpin talked about leaving behind a legacy. They said he defeated a dangerous foe of theirs and he'd used skills that could be taught to do it. So they wanted him to teach them those skills. It was obvious.

It was not, apparently, obvious to the two of them, however. Ozpin and Ironwood stared at him like he'd grown a second head. For an uncomfortably long time they just stared at him, until Mato began to shift self-consciously. Well, what had they been expecting him to say? Ozpin found his words first.

"That isn't exactly what we were-"

Ironwood cut him off. The general looked intrigued. "How quickly could you train a class of students in your techniques?" He asked eagerly.

Mato rubbed his chin, thinking. "It kind of depends on your students and I doubt any of them could become as strong as me. They wouldn't have the ki reserves. Still, I'd say in a year's time they would have all but the more esoteric abilities down."

"I could probably pull together a class of Huntsmen, it shouldn't be too hard to rearrange assignment schedules…" Ironwood said more to himself than Mato. His eyes were far away, Mato could practically hear the gears of his mind turning.

"Not the adult Huntsmen, I hope." Mato said. "They would have too many bad habits to unlearn. Younger, less talented students would be better. Probably more open to taking instruction too."

"Yes, that makes sense." Ironwood agreed. "If nothing else, that will give us some latitude with-"

"James." Ozpin said firmly. He was standing now, a hand clutched around his cane. He nodded towards the door. "Can I speak to you outside?" Looking surprised, Ironwood exited. Ozpin paused at the door and gave Mato a surprisingly cold look before following. When the sound of footsteps receded Mato slumped back against the bed. What was that about, he wondered?

Ozpin led the way down the hall, probably looking for a place they could talk privately. James was happy to follow along, his mind was too awhirl with Mato's offer and its implications to think about anything else. Even assuming the boy's estimates were being very generous, the future was suddenly looking a lot brighter. The Maidens had never been the perfect guardians for a number of reasons, chief among them that there were only four, there was no way to get more, and they had the constant risk of losing their power to the enemy. Flaws Mato's students wouldn't have.

James made some conservative estimates. If one in five students were able to learn these techniques, that was still half a dozen Huntsmen nearly half as powerful as a Maiden they could train in a year. Having that kind of power at their disposal would be incredible. In a few years' time they could finally start pushing back against Grimm encroachment with real power. The threat of a massed Grimm attack would be nonexistent, if the Huntsmen were stationed inside the kingdoms. And if any of the Huntsmen could teach others Mato's techniques themselves…

Ozpin pulled them up in an out-of-the-way nook.

"James, what do you think you're doing?" Ozpin asked sternly. Was he glaring?

"What?" James asked, thoroughly confused. "What am I doing?"

"We were going to recruit him to be a replacement for Amber until things settled." Ozpin said, words cold enough to freeze the air. He was angry? Why? "No one said anything about giving him a teaching job."

"I admit the offer took me by surprise." James began, unclear how defend the idea simply because he didn't understand what the problem was. "But the merits should be obvious."

"As are the risks." Ozpin said firmly. "You cannot possibly believe it's a good idea to bring this wild, undisciplined boy into our schools and give him a position of authority."

James couldn't believe what he was hearing. "What? Just a half an hour ago you were singing his praises, reassuring me that he could be trusted. It was your idea to make him the guardian to begin with!"

"Yes, the guardian." Ozpin said, voice rising but still kept low enough they couldn't be overheard. "Not a teacher."

"Why not?" James couldn't see the sense it in. "It's not like he can't be both. He'd be spending most of his time waiting around Beacon until he's needed anyway. Giving him a teaching job gives him something productive to do and will keep him out of trouble. It's not like we can't trust him with our students, or we wouldn't want him as a guardian."

"And you see nothing wrong with disseminating incredible power and abilities?" Ozpin insisted. "Did you forget how much trouble we were in with just one super powered enemy?"

James's confusion had passed. Now he was starting to get quite angry himself. "That's our damn jobs. Huntsmen have always been stronger than anyone else and been held in check by other Huntsmen. If we made our students stronger, the same would apply." His eyes narrowed. "Are you saying we can't trust our students? Because if so, we might as well give up right now."

"The risks-" Ozpin began, but James's patience had run out.

"Are no greater than doing nothing. If the recent events with Cinder Fall have proven anything, it's that we're vulnerable. Your desire to sit on our hands instead of taking action nearly cost us dearly. It was only through blind luck that Mato got involved, and without him we likely still wouldn't know who had stolen Amber's power. We need more power at our disposal, not less. And who better to give that power to than our students, our successors?"

Ozpin said nothing, just glared and James matched him. He'd had enough of being talked into things against his better judgement. "If you won't have him as a teacher, then I'll take him with me back to Atlas. Which means you'd still be in need of guardian here, with your choices being between my troops or in all likelihood killing an innocent girl in every way that matters. Is that what you want?"

Ozpin said nothing.

Mato breathed deep of the fresh air as he leaned on the railing the surrounded the hospital's roof. He had come up here to do some thinking; he had a lot to chew over.

For starters, he now had gainful employment. After returning from their private chat, Professor Ozpin had formally extended an invitation to teach at Beacon Academy to Mato. He was to remain at the hospital until he had fully recuperated, then report to the school to be given his lodgings and the expectations for his classes. From what little Ozpin had mentioned, that included drafting up some lesson plans, among other things. That might be a tad complicated, given Mato couldn't read or write in a language anyone else on this planet could understand, but he'd make it work.

Mato had expressed an interest in going to Ironwood's school instead, but that had been shot down. It was a pity, Mato found himself liking the soldier. He was an uncomplicated sort and straightforward, an easy man to work with. Not like Ozpin, who had insisted the reasons Mato had to teach at Beacon needed to wait until he was out of the hospital. Oh well, it was what it was.

A less pleasant development was the confirmation that the Kais were indeed going to be coming after him. Mato had barely survived the battle with the eighth ranked Kai, mainly through having outside help. The knowledge that there were seven other Kais out there even stronger was not a happy thought at all. Still, the Kai had left of his own free will, not be driven off. That might be sign he'd be willing to leave Mato alone in the future.

The future. Not for the first time, Mato pondered where his life was going. It was no surprise he had found himself without a purpose, considering what drove him to this world. Now he had one, of a sort. Train powerful students. His legacy, as Ozpin put it, would be those students and their skills. It wasn't etching his name into his bloodline, but it was something. Not that he'd even have a bloodline, stranded here like this.

The wind shifted and Mato caught a familiar scent. "What do you want?" He asked brusquely without turning around.

The Kai tsked. "Considering I ought to be killing you right now, if I were you I'd be more respectful."

Mato nodded. That was true. But… "I've been helpless for quite a few hours. Hell, even now you could have ripped my heart out before I even knew you were here. If you wanted me dead, I'd be dead."

"People far better than yourself have vouched for you, so I have decided to let you live for the time being. I could revise that decision at any time. A wise man would not push his luck."

Mato smirked behind the safety of his turned head. "If I were a wise man, would I even be here? Though I am surprised to hear a noble Kai like yourself would murder a guy over a few barbed words."

"We do not commit murder." The Kai said, sounding indignant.

Finally, Mato turned to face him. "I'd call intentionally seeking out and trying to kill someone a murder. Maybe I just need your divine wisdom to understand it."

The Kai looked away from Mato's gaze for a moment. From where Mato had been standing it almost looked like he winced. When he looked back his expression was as stern as it had always been. Mato wasn't sure he hadn't imagined the look of guilt on his face. "You may go for now, but this is not a pardon. It is a stay of execution, nothing more. Try to kill anyone on this planet and you will die. And rest assured," Here his eyes bored into Mato's. "I will be watching."

He disappeared through that teleportation technique of his. Mato resumed leaning over the railing, offhandedly wondering how that technique worked. And if it could be copied.

Salem walked across the dusty ground of the Shadowlands, past the spawning pools that endlessly churned out Grimm. Currently they were producing minor Beowolves, after the destruction of the hordes she had prepared for the invasion of Beacon Salem thought is best to pad her numbers first and foremost. Soon, however, she would be turning the energies of the heart back to creating stronger Grimm again. And speaking of strong Grimm…

She reached her destination, the sunken clearing that served as a training ground for her human allies. And currently, one other. Hazel turned and acknowledged her with a nod when she joined him on the cliff overlooking the ad hoc arena.

"How is he?" Salem asked, looking down at the figure standing motionless in the center of the clearing. As if he sensed her gaze, the featureless mask swiveled up to stare at her.

"Hrm." Hazel was not a man who spoke often, conversations with him tended to require a bit of work on the other person's part. Not for Salem, though, the man knew his place. "He's getting stronger, sure, but not any faster than he already was."

"Indeed?" It was what Salem expected, though not what she had hoped for. "I heard there was an altercation earlier."

"Tyrian thought playing with him would be good sport. Didn't work out for him."

Salem was aware of that, and Tyrian's injuries were not a pleasant development, but that the Grimm was capable of that was encouraging. He was still 'looking' at her, though the intensity of his stare was diminished by him not having eyes. "Well, at least he's powerful."

"He's more dangerous than powerful." Hazel warned in his deep baritone.

Salem laughed. "They are the same thing."

"Begging your pardon ma'am, but that's not true." Hazel insisted. "Cinder was powerful, she got the job done for us. This one is dangerous. He's just as likely to attack us as not if we let him off the leash."

"Then perhaps it's time we did away with the leash entirely." Salem proposed. Hazel raised an eyebrow, the closest thing his body had to an alarmed reaction. Salem continued. "If he were awakened, that would settle the matter one way or another."

"That it would." Hazel said frowning, looking back to the humanoid Grimm below. It was still staring up at them.

AN: And that's the end of what I'd consider the first story arc. This chapter was a bitch and a half to write, mainly because I had to redo almost the whole thing.

I keep a running outline of how the plot will go several chapters in advance. One of the big points in the story was always going to be Mato ending up at Beacon as a teacher. And so this chapter was a pretty simple affair, Ozpin bails Mato out of his fight with the Kai then offers him a job. Ironwood wasn't even present. Just one problem, that I only realized after I had basically finished the whole thing.

Ozpin would never actually do that. His character is all about reducing the number of people involved, and concentrating power and responsibility into as few hands as possible. It's way out of character for him to advocate for handing out superpowers to everyone, because he's all about keeping people away from the conflict with Salem and the Grimm as much as possible. So I added a misunderstanding to get Mato on the idea and brought in Ironwood to tie his hands and force him into it. Not the most elegant of fixes, but it works.

Review Responses: ShadowRock21: I'm glad you like it so far. I'll admit that portraying Mato as powerful as a Saiyan ought to be without making it so he stomps everything without issue is one of the big challenges in writing this story. I think I'm striking a pretty good balance though. Mato's name is just that, Mato. "Matozaru" is just my shitty nickname for Mato while he's transformed into an Oozaru.

Kyugan: Planet Vegeta and the Saiyans are still around. "Eighth" Kai is a rank, not a prescriptive term. So you'd have the First Kai, or Supreme Kai, then the Second Kai who'd be like Kibito, and so on. Being Eighth means our Kai is pretty low on the hierarchy, which is why he's doing the grunt work here.

Raos: This is where the divergence from DBZ canon and my canon starts to emerge. The main difference is that Saiyan society is going to be a bit more developed past the one dimensional "we all just kill things for a living." Mato's father, for example, is a farmer.