Chapter Eleven: I'll Be Fine

"Did he age backwards?"

"He's possessed!"

"Or reincarnated..."

"Isn't it weird?"

The young hunters were clustered around Oscar, staring at him with a mixture of suspicion and amazement.

Oscar shrank back in his seat.

"It is very weird, yes." He looked down, curling his hands in his lap.

"Okay, okay!" Qrow walked slowly into the room, holding a mug in one hand. "Let's all just take a second and remember that this is very overwhelming for everyone." He smiled kindly at Oscar, who shot him a relieved glance. The young hunters hastily jumped back a few steps, muttering apologies.

"Thanks." Oscar said, smiling softly at Qrow.

Ruby sat down and made eye contact with Oscar. She giggled nervously. Oscar smiled, then looked away quickly.

"Sorry." He leaned forwards, hunching his shoulders. "It's just... I've never really met huntsmen and huntresses before."

"Well, we've never met a person with two souls, so first times all around." Ruby shrugged a little. Oscar smiled.

Qrow cleared his throat. "Not to break up the whole getting to know you game, but we need to have a talk."

Oscar turned to face him.

"Mind showing us your little parlour trick, kid?" Qrow asked.

Oscar groaned quietly. "Yeah, okay." He looked up. "Just so you know, I'll still be here."

Jaune and Ren shared a confused glance.

Oscar took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Go on Oz, he thought, they're waiting for you.

"This may feel strange."

Light flashed around Oscar, a blanket of green that resembled the northern lights on a dark, cold night. Then it was gone, and Oscar's eyes opened.

"It is so very good to see you again, students." Oscar's voice held an unearthly echo, oddly deep. He smiled, sitting up straight and placing his hands on the chair's armrests.

The young hunters looked at each other in shock.

"Wait, what just happened?" Jaune asked, stepping forwards.

"Professor Ozpin?" Ren asked hesitantly.

"Correct, and although I may be the one speaking, Oscar is still present mentally. He's merely handed over the controls, so to speak."

"Just don't make us do anything embarrassing." Oscar pleaded. He felt his own voice echo in his head, but his mouth didn't move.

"I'm afraid this must be very perplexing." Ozpin leaned forward.

"And alarming, and bizarre, and just really kind of hard to believe overall!" Nora gestured wildly.

Ozpin laughed. "It's good to see you children still have your sense of humour." His face fell slowly. "I know you've all been through tremendous hardship already. I'm sorry." Momentarily, his voice took on that unearthly echo again. He looked down at the floor.

"I mean, it's not your fault." Ruby looked him in the eyes.

"It's all my fault." Ozpin's head was bowed. Qrow stood up, and walked away. "I told you once that I made more mistakes than any man, woman and child on this planet - and I wasn't exaggerating." He lifted his hands, studying them sadly. "I'm cursed. For thousands of years I have walked the surface of Remnant, living, dying and reincarnating in the body of a like-minded soul." He looked up briefly. "The Professor Ozpin you all met was not my first form, and clearly wasn't my last. It's an extraordinarily strenuous process, on everyone involved."

"So who... What are you?" Jaune narrowed his eyes.

"I am the combination of countless men who have spent their lives trying to protect the people of Remnant."

Qrow re-entered the room, holding a steaming mug carefully in one hand. He passed it to Ozpin, who took it with a grateful nod.

"With every rebirth, my soul is eventually merged with another, and I am changed. But my memories stay with me." He looked down into the mug. Studying his reflection, Oscar gazed at his eyes. A faint yellow light seemed to shine from them, turning them from hazel-green to gold.

"This curse was bestowed upon me by the gods, because I failed to stop Salem in the past." Ozpin looked up, determination set in his voice. "But we must stop her now."

"How do we do that?" Ruby asked.

Ozpin sat back in his chair, crossing his legs. "We start by ensuring the safety of the relic of knowledge."

"This is perfect!" Exclaimed Nora, staring at Ozpin with boundless enthusiasm. "We were stuck at a dead end, but now we can just take little cute boy Ozpin to Lionheart and have him set things straight!"

"Please don't call me that." Ozpin glanced reproachfully at Nora.

"We're not sure that's the best idea." Qrow leaned back on his chair.

Nora groaned and stomped to the sofa, slumping down in it with her arms crossed.

"But I thought the headmasters all took their orders from you?" Ren tilted his head, looking at Ozpin.

"That was the intention. Four lieutenants I can trust, especially during times of reincarnation. But Qrow told me about your meeting with Leonardo." Ozpin stood, and began to pace. "He isn't just behaving irrationally; he's disobeying specific instructions I left him." He frowned. "Something's wrong. I don't want to jump to conclusions, but I don't want to rule out any possibilities either. No one outside of this room knows that I have paired with Oscar, and I think it may be best to keep it that way."

"Play things close to the chest until we get a better hand." Qrow leaned forward.

"Precisely." Ozpin turned to face the group. "Now, we have two steps ahead of us. The first is enlisting the aid of more huntsmen."

Ren stood up. "But the Mistral Council-"

"Doesn't own every huntsman in the kingdom," interjected Qrow, "and I've been here enough times to know where we can find some more."

"So long as they're trustworthy." Ozpin narrowed his eyes at Qrow.

Qrow smirked. "You can trust them to put up a good fight. I'll throw together a list tonight." He leaned back and placed his feet on the table. The wood splintered and, with a brittle crack, it broke. He groaned.

"Good luck with that," quipped Nora.

Scowling, Qrow bent down to clear up the mess.

"After that, we can move on to step two." Ozpin paced across the room again.

"What's step two?" Nora asked, standing up.

Ozpin drew his cane. "Getting you four into fighting shape."

Ruby shared a nervous glance with her team. "But we already know how to fight."

Ozpin pointed his cane at her face, and she flinched away from it. "You can only fight so long as you have Crescent Rose, but you're still lacking in hand-to-hand combat."

Her face fell slightly. "Well, uh... yeah..."

"Mr Arc." Ozpin turned his cane on Jaune. "I'm glad to hear you have improved, but sorry to say you have yet to unlock your semblance."

Jaune looked away, eyes narrowed.

"All of you still have a way to go before you're ready to pose any real threat against Salem and her forces," Ozpin said, slowly pointing the cane at each of them in turn. "And though Oscar can give me temporary control, he'll need to strengthen this body and his aura."

Wait, what? Oscar thought.

"He'll inherit my muscle memory in time, but practice will expedite the process." Ozpin leaned on the cane, smiling.

"But if Qrow's out looking for huntsmen then who's going to teach us?" Ruby wondered aloud.

Ozpin leapt into the air, gracefully curling backwards in a flip that would have put a professional gymnast to shame. He landed on his chair, one hand on his hip. "Well," he said, spinning his cane in his free hand, "I believe I was the headmaster of Beacon Academy."

Jaune's jaw dropped, as did Ren's. Ruby stared in amazement.

"We have approximately one month until classes resume at Haven," continued Ozpin, still spinning his cane. "If Salem were to plan an attack, it would make sense that it occurred prior to the students' return. It's not much time, but it's better than nothing." He stopped the cane's spin, holding it firmly in one hand. "Just don't expect me to go easy on you." He smirked.

Green light washed over Ozpin, and when he opened his eyes again the yellow glow was gone. Oscar gasped. Unbalanced, he fell backwards off the chair, dropping the cane.

"Ugh..." He groaned. "You've got to be kidding me."

"Oscar?" Ruby held out her hand. "You're back?"

"I'm back." He affirmed. "Oz, what on Remnant was that?"

"I told you I wouldn't go easy on you."

Rolling his eyes, Oscar reached out to grab Ruby's offered hand. She pulled him up.

"So, he's talking to you? In your head, I mean."

"Yeah." Oscar pushed the chair back upright. "I thought I was going crazy when I first heard him." He attempted a wry smile.

"Well, at least you know you're not insane, right?" Nora shrugged.

"Give me a minute to get over the fact that a thousand-year-old man reincarnated inside my head, and I reckon I'll be fine."

Ruby giggled, trying to muffle her laughter. Oscar smiled.

Oscar woke up early in the morning and was already on his second mug of hot cocoa when Qrow stumbled into the kitchen. Sitting at the table, Oscar stiffened.

"Morning kid." Qrow said, his voice hushed.

"Good morning," Oscar stared into his mug.

Qrow began rummaging through the cupboards. "You seen any food?" He asked.

"I'm sorry," Oscar stammered slightly, getting up, "I should have made you something. I can do it now, if you'd like."

Qrow raised his hands, both palms flat and facing towards Oscar. "Kid, chill. You've been here for a day, I don't expect you to start cooking all the meals."

"Oh, okay. Sorry." Oscar sat down again, watching Qrow out of the corner of his eye.

"You know," Qrow began, pulling some bread out of a cupboard, "you apologize a hell of a lot for a teenager. I should know, I used to teach them."

"It's nothing, just being polite."

"Bread?" Qrow asked, pointing to the loaf. "There's butter if you want it, too."

"Yes, please."

"You know, Qrow's a good person. Do you think I would have trusted him with my students if he wasn't?"

"I know, Oz." Oscar hissed quietly, curling his hands tighter around his mug.

Qrow glanced over. "You say something?"

"I was talking to Ozpin," Oscar said hesitantly, "he wanted to… remind me of something."

Handing Oscar a plate of bread, Qrow put the butter on the table. His foot caught on the table leg and he stumbled, grabbing the table next to Oscar's hand to stop himself from falling. Oscar flinched away, pulling his hands down into his lap.

"Sorry, I tripped." Qrow apologized, righting himself.

Oscar said nothing, gripping his wrist tightly. Qrow sat down a little heavily, and he flinched imperceptibly.

"You know," Qrow said with narrowed eyes, picking up a piece of bread, "I've been a huntsman for a long time, and I pride myself on being able to read people. You're nervous, but only awkward around the other teens. Around me, you won't stop flinching. Why? Oz hasn't said anything, has he?"

"Speak your mind Oscar. You can trust Qrow."

Oscar fiddled with his mug. "Ozpin says that I can trust you. But..." He trailed off, tucking his feet under his chair.

"You can trust me, Oscar." Qrow insisted.

"I don't have the best history with huntsmen and alcohol." Oscar mumbled, glancing up at him.

"Oh, kid..." Qrow's sceptical expression softened. "I'm sorry if I got a bit out of hand last night. I didn't break anything, did I?"

"No, you didn't." Voice small, Oscar fiddled with his gloves.

"I'm sober now, if that helps?" Qrow offered with an awkward smile.

"He was usually worse sober." Oscar's voice was barely audible.

"He?" Brow furrowed, Qrow leaned forward slightly.

"I shouldn't have said anything," Oscar backtracked frantically. "I'm sorry."

"Hey, don't apologize. Say what you want to me, I'm not like him."

"I don't know that."

"He's not going to hurt you."

"I don't know that!" Oscar curled his hands into fists.

"Kid?" Concerned, Qrow leaned forward.

"Ozpin keeps telling me that I can trust you," Oscar hissed through gritted teeth, "but I..." He hung his head. "I can feel how much he trusts you, and how annoyed he is at me. It's all too much..."

"I'm not annoyed with you." Ozpin insisted. Oscar ignored him.

"Hey, we can take this slow, if you want. I'll tell the team to go easy on you."

"No!" Oscar's eyes widened. Qrow sat back a little in surprise. "Please don't tell the others, I don't want them to know." Oscar sat up. "I came here for a fresh start. It's just going to take a while for me to settle in."

"If you insist," Qrow said, "but I'll try to make you feel a little more comfortable. I can't say I'll stop drinking, but I won't get blackout drunk while you're here, okay?"

"You don't need to..."

"I'm going to do it anyway." Qrow smiled. "We can't have the newest member of the team wincing every time I walk in the room."

"I told you he was trustworthy." Ozpin sounded smug.

"Thanks," Oscar said, the corner of his mouth curling up in a little, cautious smile, "I really appreciate it."


Notes: Thank you for reading! Please review, all feedback is welcome :)

Oh look, the comfort part of hurt/comfort finally showed up! I'm 100 per cent here for Qrow and Oscar's awkward friendship, I love them.