The sky was a dark one, darker than usual actually. Professor Ozpin looked out of his office window, noting how there seemed to be fewer stars in the sky as he sipped his coffee. It made him realize just how lonely he truly was.
Another year had passed at Beacon Academy without any major incident. The students had all gone their own ways for the summer. Underclassmen went home - for they would return to the school in a matter of months as upperclassman. The newly graduated seniors would spend their summer - as well as a good majority of their lives - acclimating to their new roles as full-fledged Huntsmen and Huntresses. Ozpin could only hope he taught them well enough to succeed in their duty.
Glynda Goodwitch was gone as well. Having finally left for home an hour prior at Ozpin's request. She meant well, but the young teacher's eagerness to please was starting to wear out the Headmaster. He wasn't getting any younger. He couldn't use much more excitement in his life.
Taking another sip from his mug, a loud boom echoed from outside his window. The rumbling that followed violently jostled Ozpin, forcing him to drop his mug on the ground.
"What is going on?!" he looked to the sky. The clouds were starting to swirl, blanketing the few stars and darkening the sky even further. Lightning crackled from the opening of the clouds; ear-shattering thunder soon following. A few seconds later there was a bright flash and something shot out from the distortion. A ball of red and gold fire rocketed to the earth like a comet, whizzing past Ozpin's office window. The sonic boom cracked the glass – even managing to break a couple of the windows.
Ozpin grabbed his cane and took off just as the object crashed in the middle of Emerald Forest.
The moonlight filtering thorough the canopy of the trees provided some light, but not enough for Ozpin to see clearly. Tapping the bottom of his cane on the ground, he created a small ball of light that floated behind him to illuminate his path. Moving through the forest this late at night was dangerous indeed. Grimm were lurking everywhere, and it wouldn't take much provoking for one of them to attack the Headmaster. He had to be wary
"I'm sure it landed around this area."
He reached the open field in the middle of the forest. When he came upon the altar ruins he saw smoke rising from a small crater in front of him. Ozpin's eyes widened in shock. At the bottom of the crater was a child. He was a young boy - no older than age six of seven. He had spiky pink hair, and a scaled white scarf wrapped around his neck – it almost looked bigger than his body.
Ozpin slid into the crater and pulled the boy into his arms. He then looked up to the sky. It had returned to normal as if nothing had happened. This boy came from that distortion? Thankfully the child was still breathing, but this only confused the headmaster even more. How did he survive a fall like that? When the crisp summer air hit his face, Ozpin thought it best to take his leave with the boy. There was no telling what manner of Grimm would appear.
When he stepped back up to the grass Ozpin found himself surrounded by a group of Beowolves. The Headmaster could tell from the beasts' expressions that they had come for the child in his arms. They must have been following the explosion as well. He clutched the unconscious boy tighter to his chest and watched the monster's charge. In one swift motion Ozpin held the boy with one arm while striking at the beasts with his cane. He moved so fast he created afterimages. The Beowolves fell dead in a matter of seconds.
Ozpin walked past their disintegrating bodies, not sparing the beasts a passing glance as he held the boy.
Ozpin brought the boy to the school's infirmary. Using the state of the art equipment provided by Atlas, Ozpin examined the mysterious child as he laid on the operating table. He had yet to move.
"This boy's biology...it's unlike anything I've ever encountered before."
From the diagrams shown on the screens overhead, the boy's internal organs and skeletal structure appeared human but there were certain things that concernedOzpin. The boy's internal temperature was well over 100 degrees, but his vitals remained normal and his body was warm to the touch like any normal person. His aura levels were also at zero, but that was to be expected given his current state. And despite literally falling from the sky, he had no internal injures. There wasn't even a scratch on his body.
Ozpin ran his fingers over the picture of the boy's nervous system. Right where his nerves connecting to muscles in his joints were white nodes of some kind. It looked like they served a purpose, but the scanners couldn't discern what exactly that purpose was. The more Ozpin looked at the charts, the more mysteries piled up. He wasn't a Grimm, or a faunus, but Ozpin felt that he wasn't entirely human either.
Just where did this boy come from?
Upon hearing the boy finally stir, Ozpin quickly closed the charts.
The boy's entire body was sore, but he managed to slowly sit up. "My head hurts." He groaned.
"That makes sense given your fall."
"I fell?" The boy looked to Ozpin. "Wait...who are you?"
"My name is Ozpin. I was the person that found you. Can you tell me your name?"
"Natsu." The boy answered. "Natsu Dragneel."
"Well, Natsu, are you hungry?"
Just as the boy answered his stomach started to growl. The headmaster smiled.
"I'll take that as a yes."
Ozpin watched in both interest and slight disgust as Natsu ravenously devoured the plates of food in front of him. Using what limited cooking skills he had, the Headmaster managed to make a few dishes for the boy to eat from what was left in the school's kitchen. The young boy started a new plate just as he finished an old one. He was like an industrial vacuum cleaner, inhaling all in his path.
"Heuy mifth der m i?"
"Please swallow before speaking." Ozpin advised.
Natsu finished chewing the meat in his mouth, swallowed, and repeated his question. "Where am I anyway?"
"Beacon Academy."
"Academy? Like a school?"
"That's right."
"So are you a teacher or something, old guy?"
"Headmaster, and I'm not that old."
Natsu titled his head. "Headmaster?"
"That means I'm in charge of the school."
"Whoa." Natsu gasped. He looked around the empty cafeteria. "Where is everyone? I thought school's were always full of people."
"It's summer vacation. Most of them have gone home until it's time to return."
"Oh." Natsu resumed eating.
Ozpin couldn't help but look at the boy with a bit of guilt. Even though his body was fine, his clothes were filthy and ripped. The only thing that seemed to survive the impact of his fall was the scarf around his neck and even it was dirtied a bit.
"Hey, mister?" Natsu asked - amazingly he had finished all of his food.
"Yes? What is it?"
"Just where in Earthland is this Beacon place?"
Ozpin was struck confused by the boy's question. "I'm sorry, my boy. Earthland?"
"Yeah. Earthland? The place where we live? I thought you were supposed to be smart."
"I'm afraid you are mistaken, Natsu. There is no place like that here."
The boy's eyes widened. "What?! What happened to Earthland?! Did it blow up?!"
"Calm down. Calm down."
"If I'm not in Earthland then where am I?!"
"I'm not sure where this 'Earthland' is, but right now you're in the country of Vale."
Natsu shot the Headmaster a quizzical look. "Vale...?"
Ozpin nodded. He pressed a button on his watch and a hologram map of the world appeared on the table. He pointed to the center of the map. "This is where we are. Vale. These other countries are Mistral, Vacuo, and Atlas." he pointed out the other countries to the boy. "Now, can you tell me where Earthland is located?"
Natsu looked over the map as closely as he could, after a few minutes he gave up. "...I don't know. None of that looks familiar at all."
Ozpin saw the distressed look in the boy's eyes and closed the map. He held out his hand. "Come. Let's get you some rest. We can try again tomorrow. Your home has to be somewhere in Remnant."
Natsu looked up to Ozpin, his eyes even wider than before.
"Rem...nant?"
New chapter! After a minor delay now we delve a bit into Natsu's life in Remant before he was left in the care of the Schnees. These chapters won't be too long, but they may be a tad longer than this one.
As always leave a comment/review letting me know what you think. Thanks for reading! :)