A/N: Alright! Next chapter is up and ready, and so far, everything is awesome! I hope you all enjoy, and please, if you have anything to say, good or bad, I'd love to hear your voices in the reviews! Don't forget to Favorite, Follow and Review, and I'll see Y'all next chapter!
Ozpin was sitting in his office. Finally, the results of Jin's psychological evaluation came for him, and as he rifled through the report's papers, reading them thoroughly, he couldn't help but become even more fascinated at the giant called Jin.
At the end of the report laid a neatly made summary for him, made by Topaz himself. A severe case of Prosopagnosia, on top of aura sight, granted to her from birth thanks to her infusion, lead to Jin being completely reliant on her aura sight to recognize the people around her. She couldn't even remember names, as to her level, no two auras looked the same. To top it all off, her life in the forests of Menagerie rendered the girl semi feral, at least to a degree, making formal teaching even more difficult for her.
As he kept reading, seeing the mangled shards of her memory that Topaz managed to pilfer, he heard the elevator door open. Glynda stepped in, looking at Ozpin with her usual tone of strictness exemplified by the headmistress of Beacon, before sitting down one of the chairs, sighing, and taking a sip of water to calm her nerves.
"So..." She asked him, Ozpin raising his head to meet her own after a few seconds, taking a sip of his own mug of coffee. "I see you have the report on Jin."
"Indeed." He showed it to her, and Glynda went straight for the summary, eyes widening in shock as she read the list of conditions Jin suffered from. "Then is it really safe to keep her here? What do we even teach her here, if she cannot learn?"
"Saying she cannot learn here is a rather decisive claim, Glynda." He explained his thoughts on her for the moment. "Jin has the potential for great things, given the proper guidance. It is our duty here, at Beacon, to help her reach her fullest potential."
"Then what do you propose? So far, she never listens in any lesson, given she cannot learn in the traditional sense, and her combat lessons ended up being a free roaming time, though I assume she fights grimm when she sees them, considering the amount of ichor on her at times..." She pondered out loud, looking at Ozpin for any sort of idea he might have.
"Hmm..." He closed his eyes, thinking slowly. "I believe that she would need some personal tutoring if she is ever to elevate from her child-like mind."
"So, should I tutor her on utilizing her already innate instinct and develop it from there." Assuming the would be obvious, Glynda asked him to confirm, though Ozpin merely waved his head.
"That too, in time. For now, I believe Jin needs some more... Understanding, of the modern-day world. When she left my office the other day, she didn't even know how to use an elevator."
Glynda nodded in agreement. "I will get Doctor Oobleck on the case then. I believe he could teach her greatly. Regardless, Jin cannot be left to fend for herself. As she is now... I am afraid of what people will do to her out there."
"Agreed." Ozpin nodded, and Glynda got up, walking out of his office, and back to her usual business as the headmistress of Beacon. Ozpin leaned back in his recliner chair, trying to relax a bit, before the holodeck in his office rung up, the council of Vale appearing on screen...
The day began for Jin, like usual, with one of her friends trying to wake her up, though, by the force of it, she could already know who it was, as the peach colored aura grunted in anger at her again.
"Oh, come on!... How does the Nun fucking do this..."? She muttered to herself, shaking Jin even faster, as the giant finally opened her eyes. She looked as her friend groaned audibly again.
"Great. FINALLY, you wake up." She grunted, and Jin, seeing the anger radiate from her, lunged at the girl, giving her a morning hug.
"Moooorning!" Jin cheered, and Perci finally had enough, using whatever strength she could muster to get away from the massive girl, coming to fix her suit again, though realizing she was wearing the school uniform.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, alright shut up and listen." Perci addressed her, and Jin turned her head, paying full attention, or at least what Perci assumed was full attention, as guessing those things with Jin was virtually impossible. "Three of us, going to class. You stay here and DON'T move. Got it?"
"Yeah!" Jin cheered, coming to hug her again, though this time Perci quickly moved out of her way. After the combat session fiasco, adding to that the psychological analysis, Jin's leave from combat class was upgraded to a general leave from lessons, at least for the short period where Ozpin was to arrange a proper course for her.
"Good. Now, you two, I'm out." Perci went past the door, where a chore wheel was placed, with various tasks to do for each of the three fully functioning teammates, from taking out the trash, to cleaning the floor, to looking after Jin.
After Perci left the room, Leila and Hue, already dressed up and ready to go, each passed by Jin, Leila greeting her with a bow.
"Alright, we will be back in an hour, alright?" Leila asked her, and seeing Jin nod happily gave her all the confidence she needed, leaving and closing the door behind her. There was only one major flaw.
She forgot to lock the door.
It didn't take Jin, who saw auras pass by the door all the time, too long to only push it open and get out. Wearing her torn up school uniform, she started walking around the school, students usually keeping their distance from her, and soon enough, Jin was at the gates of Beacon, staring at the bright sun, and feeling the warmth hit her skin. She smiled widely, walking about and getting off the stone steps, to the grass. As her bare feet felt the soft touch of the fauna against her skin, she couldn't help but yawn, the day being as perfect as could be, laying down and beginning to feel drowsy. Before she could fall asleep, however, her eyes laid on a small, slimy friend with a shell, paving its way through the grass right in front of her.
Instantly, her feline ears perked up, and she kneeled before the snail, watching the small aura of the creature move about. Without anything to distract her, she gazed at it, eyes transfixed on it as it passed through Beacon's glass slowly. The moment it moved long enough for her to be out of her sights, she moved again, staying as close to it as she could, her curiosity piqued. After watching it for a few minutes, she heard something speed by above her and raised her head to see a flock of birds fly, heading in Vale's general direction. From there, Jin moved from animal to animal, enjoying each aura she saw, the translucent energies melding on touch, creating a grand dance that could only be described as the beauty of life itself.
She got up, walking after the birds now, having to run to match up their flying speed. Soon enough, she reached the cliff of Beacon, her instincts kicking in as she stopped right before falling down. She gazed forward, watching the city of Vale a good distance away. There, upon looking closer, she saw even more auras! So many of them, walking as one, the entire city brimming with life and energy to her, making Jin as excited to get down there as she could ever be.
She searched for a while, finally finding a way to get down from the cliff, a narrow path leading her to where her heart yearned to go. Every new step outside was exciting for her, seeing the wildlife, enjoying the cold morning air hit her face, her hair, long as it was, waving about in the wind, causing her to grab it with her hands until the breeze was weak enough.
Finally getting down below the cliff, Jin took a deep breath, having gotten closer to all the pretty auras she saw earlier. She searched about, the path down giving way to a clearing, as well as a road, which Jin began to walk, singing to herself and having an incredible time. She had no scroll, no way to communicate back, though at the time none of it bothered her. She was just happy to be free, like the birds in the sky, walking down to the main city of the kingdom of Vale, to say hello to every potential friend that she could meet.
When the rest of team JPLL came back to their dorm, only to see it empty, Leila straight up went into a full panic.
"Jin?! Jin, where are you?!" She searched the small dorm room, bathroom, shower, and weapon maintenance corner included, though no signs of their team leader were in sight, or at all. The door was open, the windows locked, and Jin was not there.
"She's gone, apparently." Perci shrugged, jumping onto her bed. Leila went up to her, trying to suppress her screaming.
"And where do you think she could have gone. Perci?! Who knows what she might have gotten herself into while out there!"
"And? Not exactly my deal now, is it?" Perci turned in bed, though Hue coughing and pointing to the chore wheel hinted otherwise, as Perci's name was straight where Jin duty was.
"I believe it actually is your responsibility, Perci." She commented, Perci gruffing. "Now, it is time for us to go and find her." She turned back out of the dorm, Leila following suit, and Perci, taking another minute, finally rolled her eyes and got up.
"Fine, fine! Whatever!" She ran after them, as the group started to search Beacon's every nook and cranny for Jin. About an hour later, they ran into Melody, who couldn't help but get curious at the looks on Leila's face.
"D-Did anything happen?" She asked the trio, Perci being the only one with the relaxed attitude for these sorts of situations to answer her proper.
"Yup. Giant dust girl gon' missin'. Guess we have to comb Beacon 'cause SOMEONE forgot to lock the door." She called at Leila's direction, the nun shaking her head.
"And we can worry about that AFTER we find her!" Leila ran up to Melody, panting a bit. "Melody, could I please ask for your help? Any extra pair of eyes looking is a blessing at this point."
Melody nodded once, pulling out her scroll, and after a few taps returned her attention to the team. "Yeah, just told Ash and the rest of my team. They all agreed to help you look."
"Excellent." Hue finally muttered, pointing at a trail of dirty footprints scattered across the floor. "Because we will need them if my assumptions are correct."
It took them a few minutes to get outside, and realize just how much of trouble they are in. Jin's footsteps, as one would guess, vanished after getting off the stone steps, as her location now was just as a mystery as it could get, though one could infer where she was headed, considering her particular way of seeing the world.
"So, where do you think she went?" Undine asked the combined group, Ash pointing to the central city.
"She sees auras, right? Wouldn't it make sense if she went to where the auras ARE?" The rest of the group looked at her, slightly in shock, Perci waving her head.
"Welp, good luck guys, and happy hunting!" She came to turn back and walk into the school, only to be stopped by Leila's hand on her shoulder.
"And just where do you think YOU'RE going?" She asked, and Perci bent down, raising the sleeve of her pants and showing the group her tracker device, keeping her bound to Beacon.
"Now THERE if I wanna stay out of that shithole the VPD call solitary." She quickly concluded, showing no real hint of caring. "Now, if you'll excuse me~" She grinned, walking towards the entrance, though Ozpin and Glynda showing up soon after put quite the damper on her plans. "Aw come on..." She rolled her eyes in disappointment.
"Hmm... I believe Jin has gone missing. Correct?" Glynda explained. "She saw her while reviewing the security cameras."
The rest of the group nodded, and all Glynda could do is sigh. "...She went towards Vale, didn't she?"
"Would seem so." Ash nodded back, Glynda pinching the bridge of her nose.
"Alright, we'll send a small team to help look for her. You children should get back to class." She came to dismiss them, though Hue coughed her throat at the last moment.
"With all due respect, Ms, Goodwitch... I believe we should be on the lookout for her, just as much." She offered. "Jin already knows us, and would be more likely to follow our auras, should she see them in her line of sight. Beyond that, she is our team leader, and as members of team JPLL, it is our duty to look after her."
Both Glynda and Ozpin exchanged looks. Ozpin nodded, and Glynda returned her attention to the group.
"...Very well. Please, head out as soon as you can. I will call a bullhead to take you directly to Vale." She ordered, and the two teams braced themselves.
"...And that would be great and all, but you know..." Perci cleared her throat, pointing to her ankle. "...That."
"Do not worry about that. Ms. Valiére." Ozpin intervened, pulling out his scroll and making a few taps on it, as the device latched around Perci's leg made a beeping noise. "I've temporarily extended the range you can be from Beacon to include the city itself. Do be careful, though, not to wander too far off." He debriefed her, Perci sighing in response.
"Ah man... Fine. Let's just get this over with..." Perci couldn't help but slump over a bit, the group walking towards the landing pad, where a small bullhead was already waiting for them to head out. Each climbed in, as the bullhead took off, raising into the air and heading to Vale's main city, where Jin presumably was.
They exchanged looks inside of it, some with concern, some with worry, though the general feel was that Jin needed their help. Most of the other students seemed to stay away from her somewhat, only making her situation, despite her obliviousness to it, all the more problematic.
"Do you think she's still okay..." Undine asked, Ash giving her a silent nod.
"Aye. Don't worry about it Undine. I'm sure we'll find her in once piece. Hell, knowing Jin she'll try and hug all of us like nothing happened." She then turned her head to Perci, her expression growing an aura of seriousness to it. "How much do you know Vale's streets?"
Perci shrugged. "Good enough to survive in them on a day to day basis."
"Alright then."Ash looked out the window, seeing as they were already landing. "Cause we'll need it..."
"Jiiiin!" Leila called out, still on the lookout for her team leader. They've been searching for her for about thirty minutes at this point, with still not as much as a clue as to her whereabouts. So far, at least, they could confirm she wasn't in the residential district, and the archeological, upper class and commercial districts were being scoured by all seven of them.
Here and there, they heard someone speak about a giant girl walking about, adding some rather rude or offensive remarks about her infused state, especially when it came to the elderly that they asked. At the very least, Jin was unique enough to stick out like a sore thumb, meaning asking for a giant, dust infused girl in a torn Beacon outfit was enough.
Leila's scroll rung again. She pulled it out, failing to swipe her own password, and after fiddling with it a bit, she finally managed to answer, a group call with the rest of them, split into three groups, popped up on the screen.
"So, anything new from the commercial district?" Ash, who currently led the investigation, asked her.
"I am afraid not..." Leila turned her head to Perci, who was standing about three meters away from her.
"We ain't got shit!" She confirmed, Ash frowning upon the bad news.
"And from the archeological district?" She asked Undine and Copper, who both shook their head.
"Negative. Jin was never here." Copper spoke, clearing another place in Ash's mind to look in.
"And the upper-class district showed no signs of her either. Which means..." She came to conclude, though Hue cut in before she could finish her sentence, standing by Leila.
"She must be in the industrial district then." She concluded, Ash nodding.
"Alright. Undine, Copper, you join JPLL in the industrial district as soon as you are able. Melody and I will make our way there too."
"Affirmative." Copper nodded.
"We'll see you there!" Undine called after her, the two of them hanging up and walking towards their last destination.
"Likewise," Leila tried to hang up, and it took Hue pointing to her where the end call button was to release the conversation. "Shall we?"
"We shall." Hue nodded and started to walk. "We could count on you, right Perci?"
"Yeah... I mean I DID grow up there, for the most part. If there's any place I know like the back of my hand... it's there."
"Great," Leila spoke as the three of them made their way. "I hope the Lord protects her from what lays in there..."
Fifteen minutes later, the group finally got the entrance to the district, joined by Copper and Undine, coming from another direction. Banding together, they started to search, Perci's knowledge of the area proving quite fruitful. Soon enough, they started hearing that the girl passed here, muttering something about auras and the ocean, the team swiftly realizing where Jin was headed, making haste towards the industrial district's border with the ocean.
On their way, the closer they got to the waterfront, the shadier the characters around them became. It was no surprise that the industrial district held within it several notorious individuals, and usually normal citizens wouldn't get near it. The menacing or lecherous glares from the people around them only made Leila and Undine shudder, though so far, none of them seemed to dare get any closer to the group, Perci taking the lead.
"Ah, the good ol' industrial district," Perci muttered to herself. "Man, good to know even after being arrested, people still remember me."
"Remember you for... What?" Leila, slightly hesitating, asked her regardless.
"Well..." Perci looked at her, smirking. "Let's just say I had a certain reputation around here. I don't think you wanna know the details, Nun." She cackled, Leila nervously nodding and looking away, trying to look for their team leader.
"Found anything?" They heard a voice come from around one of the storage units they passed, Ash and Melody finally catching up with them. "Sorry we took so long, we had some, uh..." She pointed to the back, where a few drunken men were laying on the floor, passed out. "Issues to deal with."
"Nothing, unfortunately." Leila sighed. "In the name of the Lord, where could she possibly be?" She uttered out loud, the rest giving an audible, collective sigh.
"Well, she has to be close. Those "fine" gentlemen back there were kind enough to tell me they saw someone matching her description walking by here earlier." The small bit of good news managed to put hope on Leila's face, walking further into the district.
"Oi... Get back here, you, dumb bitch!" They heard a gruff, masculine voice call out, with Jin running towards them, tears in her eyes. The man held a shiv in hand and was chasing her, though now that the seven of them were in her line if sight, Jin made a direct B-line to her friends, getting behind them, shaking in place.
"P-Please... F-Fighting is bad..." She muttered over and over, Cleary in shock from what seemed like attempted mugging. Before he could get any further, the scoundrel was stopped dead in his tracks by the rest of them, Perci walking up to him with a meandering glare. The moment he recognized her, despite the outfit, he stepped back.
"T-The Kingpin!" He uttered. "W-What the hell are YOU doing here?! I thought you were-"
"In jail? Yeah, I was... But that doesn't matter NOW, does it?" Perci got closer, completely disregarding the knife in his possession. "No... I think we both know what matters now." Her lips curled, a mad grin forming, exposing slightly yellow teeth. "Now. I believe you had some... Business, in that warehouse over there, right?" Though asking, it was clear she wasn't really inquiring on his schedule.
"Y-Yes! You're right! Hahaha!" He faked a nervous laugh, running off to do whatever in the warehouse she pointed at. Perci turned to the rest of them, seeing Jin safe and sound, and Leila looking at her with a hint of admiration.
"Perci... Thank you..." Leila spoke honestly, gratitude clear in her voice. Perci merely shrugged.
"...Whatever, alright? It was just more convenient so that Ozpin won't get suspicious of me or something!" Despite her words, none of them expressed any belief in what she said. "D-Don't fuck with me! Bah, let's just get back to Beacon..." She couldn't help but snarl at them, though at this point the two teams just regarded her threats with a nod.
"Indeed. Just let me report to Ozpin Glynda first." Leila pulled out her scroll, trying to find where the contacts were. "Blasted..." She tried her best, but clearly, the complexity of modern day appliances was just too much for the poor nun to grasp, and it took Copper coming over to assist her to get the rescue mission done with.
"Allow me, please." She cooed, taking the scroll from Leila's hands, and quickly inputting the correct number inside, tapping the call button and taking the call.
"...Yes. Copper. Jin is with us. Alright." She concluded the call shortly after, handing Leila's scroll back to her. "Glynda expects us to return right away. Let us not waste any time."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah... No need to tell ME twice." Perci was already walking towards Beacon, the rest of the team following her shortly after. Though she tried to hide it as best she can, it was clear on her face Perci had some thinking to do. In truth, she could have just as easily beaten him, or get someone to break the tracker and earn her freedom back. But, despite the option standing right in front of her face, something else stuck in her mind just as much.
The people around her.
She thought about it for a minute. It was beyond just Melody or anything of the sort. Yes, sometimes, she couldn't stand the nun's bullshit, and she WISHED for the day she could get out of that school. But other days... She actually found herself enjoying her time.
Regardless, what was done was done. Right now, they needed to head back, though all the way there, Perci couldn't help but look at Jin, walking with them, and feel a hint of care for the gentle giant she was supposed to look after.
Glynda, just as she told them, was waiting for the team to return, standing at the courtyard of Beacon. All the way there, Jin was walking behind them this time Leila holding her hand to make sure she wouldn't get away, or wander off on her own like the last time. If there was one thing she and the rest of the team realized, is that Jin can't be left alone like that for too long.
"Ah, you've returned. Good job on the small mission." Glynda congratulated them, making Perci smirk a bit.
"it this was a mission... How much do-"
"No. You do not get paid for helping your teammates find your team leader." Glynda shot her down, Perci rolling her eyes and crossing her arms.
"Yeah... Figured as such. Welp, guess I'll take a shower or some shit. See y'all cucks later." She waltzed off, heading inside, while Ash and her party dismissed as well, each heading to do her own thing.
After that, Hue and Leila remained with Glynda a bit more, explaining to her what had transpired in Vale with Jin.
"I see." Glynda summarized to herself, looking at the two students. "Thank you for the report. I will pass it on to Ozpin, and we will try and help Jin learn better about the Vale and the people here. I cannot tell you much, but suffice to say she didn't grow around other people."
"Very well then." Leila bowed to her. "May the Lord bless the rest of your day, Ms. Goodwitch." Hue nodded after that, and the two of them heading back to the dorm, taking Jin with them.
When they got back, the noticed something in the room layout changed a bit. Perci cleared out most of her stuff from what was meant to be Jin's bed, stashing them away in a few of the drawers on her nightstand. After seeing them back, she gave Leila and Hue a stern look.
"Not. A fucking. Word. I just wanted to clean up a bit." She muttered, rolling in her bed and covering herself in her blanket. All Leila could do was smile gently, as she prepared herself for another peaceful night in Beacon.