Hello readers!
Welcome to another installment to Professor Tohsaka at Beacon Academy!
ShirouKuroEmiya
EDIT: 19th August, 2022: I made a change in the last third of this chapter. It originally contained RWBY Ice Queendom content, but I thought I skipped to much of the original chapter the plot of Mystic Codes. So the Nightmare Grimm content will be moved for later.
Chapter Six "Mystic Code"
"I am so sorry!" I shouted while bowing my head onto the ground as I sat on my knees. "If it wasn't for me then…"
I stopped myself from talking more on the topic. The last thing I wanted was to remind Team RWBY about what happened. It was rude and everyone knew what I was referring to.
"Professor, please there is no need to apologize!" protested Ruby as she tried to help me up.
"No, I think it is only right that Professor Tohsaka apologizes!" remarked Weiss in a subtly delighted tone. "If it wasn't for her carelessness then the attack on Taiga Bathhouse wouldn't be on the frontpage news!"
"It wasn't the Professor fault that Taiga Bathhouse was attacked," growled Blake as she glared at Weiss.
"Yes, it was! If Professor Tohsaka employed security guards to protect the bath-"
"Weiss," Yang interrupted. "The attack on Taiga Bathhouse might have made front page news, but no one knows about our identity. All the news reported was that 'several Huntress at the scene during the attack resolved the matter, quickly and professionally.' So why are you so anger?"
"Tohsaka might have been able to stop our identities from being revealed but that doesn't stop any of the witnesses reporting our near-naked state while fighting Roman Torchwick's goons. It's the hottest topic in town right now!"
"Don't blame Professor Tohsaka for that. That fault lies with us. We made the careless decision to fight while only wearing a towel," refuted Blake.
"I hate to admit it, but Blake is right on this," said Yang while siding with Blake. "We could have avoided this whole mess after putting on some clothes."
"Yea! Sapphire and Taiga could have stopped Roman's goons without our help," added Ruby.
I smiled in appreciation as the girls argued against Weiss. The girls were right in many ways, but that didn't detract that Weiss's points were not without merit. If information about how much Dust was used by Taiga Bathhouse hadn't been leaked then the bathhouse wouldn't have been a target of a robbery in the first place.
"Miss Schnee is right," I spoke up in a loud voice, interrupting Team RWBY's argument. "I am partially responsible for what had happened. That is why I have mobilized the full power of my company to silencing the media from daring to report your identities."
Weiss suddenly shuddered as if she realized something horrible. If I could guess, it likely was the realization what COULD have happened if I hadn't intervened. Her change of expression from anger to more calm state only confirmed by hypothesis.
"I hate to admit it," huffed Weiss in annoyance, "but your company successful in keeping our identities a secret."
"The rumors will die out eventually, just like any gossip. So, I don't really care about that part." Yang brushed her hair. "But how did you stop any pictures or videos of us fighting only wearing a towel from being shared on the internet?"
"I mobilized every asset that Tohsaka Industries possessed and threw a lot of money at the right people." I replied ambiguously while smiling at Team RWBY. "No one will remember this incident. I will make sure of it. You have my word." Suddenly I thought that I needed to provide an apology gift. "How about this? I give you some private lessons to make up for my mistake."
"Oh, oh! Does that also extend to private tutoring from Mr Emiya!?" asked Ruby in an extremely excited tone.
"My husband would more than happy to give you some private one-on-one tutoring." I smiled to Ruby. "He loves to teach Huntsman."
"Yeaaaa!" cheered Ruby as she bounced around happily. "I am going to get some private lessons with Shirou Emiya!"
"We know that you're happy," chuckled Yang as she rubbed her younger half-sister's head affectionately, "but you need to take a deep breath."
"But Yang!" protested Ruby. "How can I calm down when I am going to be taught by one of the greatest Huntsman ever!?"
"It's simple. Just take deep breathes." Yang locked Ruby under her arm. "If you annoy our professor then she might retract her offer."
"No, way!" Ruby quickly looked to me. "Will you?" She asked with puppy eyes.
"Of course not!" I laughed to Ruby's relief. "You shouldn't tease you sister like that, Miss Xiao Long."
"I can't resist. It's fun to tease Ruby," chuckled Yang while pouting. "What do you want to learn from Emiya, Ruby?"
"I want to learn…"
I tuned out as the two sisters conversed with one another or how Weiss and Blake started quarreled with each other. Instead, I focused on how narrowly I had managed to prevent news of Team RWBY fighting wearing nothing but a towel from spreading. Just thinking about me still me made sigh in relief. If I had been even a minute late in suppressing news of the incident then Team RWBY's identity would have made its way onto the internet.
My body shuddered just imagining the impact of Team RWBY's identity being revealed would have on the girls. I couldn't imagine the psychological pressure of having their near-naked appearance on the internet would have had on Team RWBY or the other consequences that they would have suffered.
It was at times like these that I was grateful of my time at the Clock Tower, even if it had been a rather chaotic and depressing period of my life where I had to constantly stand on the knife's edge against showing the slightest weakness that could be used against me as blackmail material or when the few close calls with death I had after several failed assassination attempts. Without the skills and experience I had learned from that time then I likely wouldn't have been able to create Tohsaka Industries or the network of influences that would have prevented news of on revealing Team RWBY's identity.
I quickly thought about what to do next.
My team of Spirit Hackers that I had personally trained and Tohsaka Industries might have been able to prevent any real proof, be it a picture or video, of Team RWBY's towel-clad appearance while fighting Roman's goons, but I couldn't silence the people that had seen the incident.
Well, it wasn't impossible to completely suppress all news of the incident. I could resort to the centuries tried and tested method that the Mage's Association and Holy Church had honed to perfection but I couldn't. I shuddered just imagining the number of body bags and hypnotized individuals that would have been created from resorting to such methods.
So, the next best option available to me was to find or create more juicy and distracting news that would eventually drown out any news about a team of huntsman-in-training fighting criminals wearing nothing more than a towel. And I just so happened to have a lot of juicy and distracting news that my company could release.
I took out my phone, or Scroll as Remnant liked to call it, And I dialed the private communicate line that gave me direct access to the team of executives and board of directors of Tohsaka Industries.
"Connect me to CEO," I demanded to the AI managing the private communicate channel. "Forget about our previous plans. I want news of our products that were originally scheduled for next month to be released right now…"
- O -
"Oz!" shouted a very furious Qrow as he kicked open the door leading into Ozpin's office. "You better have a good reason why you didn't your influence to squash any rumors about my nieces-"
"Qrow," Ozpin interrupted in a very cold and serious tone. "I could have prevented even the very mentioning of 'a towel-clad girl fighting' from spreading but that would have meant rediverting resources devoted solely for combating the Grimm and Salem's machinations." Qrow felt the gaze of a very angry Ozpin fall upon him. "You are suggesting to me that your nieces' reputation and pride is much more important the lives that could be saved if my resources were left where they currently are."
"I know what you mean," growled Qrow as his fists balled up in anger, "but as an uncle I cannot just stand by and let Ruby's and Yang's reput-"
"You are not wrong about wanting to protect your nieces," said Ozpin as his expression softened. "I am not trying to pressure you, but I just wanted remind you where your priorities should lay." Ozpin took a sip of his coffee. "You don't have to worry about Team RWBY's embarrassing towel-clad fight becoming a blackmark on their records. Rin Tohsaka has used all her resources to crush any attempt to report their identity. She used both legal and questionable means to stop it."
"Something that I am extremely grateful for." Qrow sighed. "That reminds me. I have a report that you should read. It's related to new information I had found on Rin Tohsaka and her company."
Ozpin caught that large folder throw at him. He started to read through the brief summary attached with the report.
"Are you certain about this?" Ozpin blurted out in surprise.
"I made triple-checked my sources," responded Qrow. "Rin Tohsaka and her company, Tohsaka Industries, have much more power, wealth and influence then we had imagined. She and Tohsaka Industries far larger than even the Schnee Dust Company and fields a private army much larger than anyone underneath the Kingdoms' national militaries."
"How did we miss this?"
"Turn to Section D of the report."
Ozpin flipped to the said section and what he found shocked him.
"Yea… I thought the same…" grumbled Qrow as he recalled how he had reacted after learning the same information from his intelligence sources. "I have no concrete evidence that Rin Tohsaka or anyone else in the Tohsaka Industries are capable of the suggested 'feats' that I put in the report, but I have confirmed with multiple sources within Tohsaka Industries that they seem to have the ability to directly interface with electronics and manipulate them as if it was the extension of their body. This is without any special equipment, and these special abilities can be enhanced with custom gear that seemed to be called 'Spirit Hacker Mystic Codes.' Don't ask me how it works. You probably know better than anyone on Remnant."
Ozpin was left speechless and continued to read through the report, no matter how absurd it seemed. That was how strong his trust in Qrow was. And Qrow had done a meticulously job attaching evidence or source to every statement that Ozpin might question.
"I didn't think it was possible to incorporate magic to work on modern technology in this manner," muttered Ozpin.
"Same here," grumbled Qrow. "For some reason, I got the feeling that Rin Tohsaka had only started teaching magic at Beacon after several years of experimenting with magic and she had very good grasp over it."
"No, it's much deeper than that," replied Ozpin to Qrow's confusion. "Rin's proficiency in magic exceeds any magic user that I have taught in my immortal life. In fact, her arcane skill is so high that even if the magical civilization was still around then she would have been hailed as a master."
"Do you suspect that that Rin is part of a reclusive group of magic users that might have survived the destruction of the magical civilization?" asked Qrow in shock as he felt both hope and fear if such a group existed what it could mean for Remnant.
"It's possible." Ozpin nodded. "But my instincts tell me that is unlikely."
"So, what our plans going forward? Do you want me to resume aggressive information gathering on Rin Tohsaka, her husband, and her company?"
"No, I want to refrain from doing that. I have a good feeling that Rin Tohsaka is a likely ally."
Qrow nodded in agreement. "The fact that she never knew about Salem or hasn't show any hostile actions against the Kingdoms supports that idea."
"We should discuss this with our next meeting with everyone."
Suddenly, Glynda barged into the room.
"Ozpin, Qrow! You got to see this," shouted Glynda as she rushed towards the men with her Scroll. "Look at this video."
"Tohsaka Industries is proud to announce that we should be unveiling revolutionary products that will forever change Remnant. They are items specifically designed for Huntsman to be used against the Grimm. I swear as CEO of Tohsaka Industries that a new era is dawning upon us! An era where we push back the Grimm and reclaim our lost lands forever where the Grimm will be nothing more than…"
- O -
"Welcome to Vale News Network. I, Lisa Lavender, will be your host for today's news briefing. Not too long ago, Tohsaka Industries released breaking news. It claims to have created a product line up designed specifically for Huntsman that could forever change Remnant. Today, I have two experts with us: Maria Calavera, also known as The Grimm Reaper during her time as active Huntress, and Doctor Pietro Polendina, one of Atlas's greatest scientific minds and inventors. Welcome Maria and Dr Polendina to the show."
"It an honor to meet here," replied the two news guests.
"Maria, as a former huntress and one of the best in living memory, what is your opinion on Tohsaka Industries' claims."
"It's difficult to say. Tohsaka Industries at this point has been focused more on consumer goods and services. This would be the first time that they have attempted to enter the arms industry."
"While this may true, you cannot forget that Tohsaka Industries has access to one of Remnant's strongest active-duty Huntsman and capable custom weapon producer, Shirou Emiya," added Pietro. "He has the personal experience and connections to find what Huntsmen and Huntresses need and provide it. Mister Emiya offers Tohsaka Industries invaluable knowledge that it lacks."
"Dr Polendina, you are suggesting that Tohsaka Industries claims are true?" inquired Lisa.
"No," Pietro shook his head. "What I am saying is that we simply dismiss Tohsaka Industries claims even if they have no experience in producing goods for Huntsmen and the military. They have an exceptionally good track record in delivering on their promises of what their advertised products can do. So, it doesn't seem impossible that Tohsaka Industries COULD produce goods that could allow Huntsmen to forever change Remnant."
"I personally believe that Tohsaka Industries is capable of delivering on their promise," nodded Maria. "Look at me. I'm in my late seventies, but do I look my age? Even Dr Polendina is in the same boat as me. He looks like a forties. We don't look younger, but we are YOUNGER thanks to TI's anti-aging medication that has also limited age reversing properties."
"Yes, TI has an excellent history in making fabulous claims and delivering on them," conceded Lisa, "but the claims that Tohsaka Industries' CEO made this time seems to be a little too good for even them."
"I am personally willingly to give TI the benefit of the doubt. Rin Tohsaka and Shirou Emiya might have not been recorded giving their assurances in person, but their social media account show that they back the claims of TI's CEO. So that is saying something," remarked Pietro.
"Bah!" shouted Maria. "Who cares about the claims?! You just need to wait two weeks for the live demonstration that will show here in downtown Vale. There you can see for yourself if Tohsaka Industries can back up their claims."
"Of course," said Lisa with a smile. "So why do you think about naming TI's new product line?"
"If TI's claims of what their new products can do are verified then I can understand the 'Mystic' part of the name comes from if these new products live up to their advertised magical feats. What I don't understand is where did the 'Code' come from," replied Maria as she looked over to Pietro. "Do you know why?"
"I presume it is related to unique mechanism system used in Mystic Codes."
"As one of Atlas's greatest scientific minds and prolific inventors, Dr Polendina what is your take on one of the Mystic Codes 'proclaimed' selling points: their goods are just as good as many custom-made gears currently used by Huntsmen despite not being specifically tailored for its user. There is a reason Huntsmen use custom gear as each individual has a different Aura, Semblance and fighting style. It seems too good to be true for what has so far been convention wisdom, a gear designed for anyone's use cannot stand up to a custom-built" inquired Lisa.
"I'm not sure how true TI's claims on their new upcoming Mystic Codes are, but I do not think that they would be exaggerating too much." Pietro then took out his Scroll that had a picture of his daughter on the screen. "Look at my daughter, Penny Polendina, and the other human-like AIs that had been created from my joint research project with Rin Tohsaka. The founder of Tohsaka Industries has been decried as fraud in the past until she proved that AIs as intelligent and sophisticated as human beings can be created."
"You also have to remember that Tohsaka Industries has also made similar claims and shocked the Remnant. Their greatest product and service being cloning technology that is cheap, reliable and quick to produce cloned organs. Countless lives have saved and many conditions or diseases have been cured that wouldn't be treated before," added Maria.
"I am sorry, but we will have to cut out conversation short," apologized Lisa to her expert guests. "The CEO of Tohsaka Industries, Lina Autumns, is about to start another news conference as we speak…"
- O -
"Cinder…"
"Yes, ma'am!" shouted Cinder Fall in mix of fear and awe at the person on the other side of the video call.
"Have you been watching the news about Mystic Codes?" asked Salem, the legendary figure that commanded the Grimm.
"Yes, I have ma'am."
"My sources tell me that the Mystic Codes advertised by Tohsaka Industries is a great threat to our plans. We cannot allow the production and distribution of these Mystic Codes to go ahead. I want you to sneak into the apartment of Rin Tohsaka and Shirou Emiya. And retrieve any valuable information that we could use against them."
Cinder Fall shuddered as her master might as well have given her a death sentence. She was very confident in her abilities that even fully trained huntsmen would have difficulty fighting her, and this was without using her partial stolen Maiden powers. Her confidence dampened when Salem asked for her to potentially face against one of the most famous and powerful huntsmen in Remnant.
"Of course, I am not stupid enough to send you without some assistance," said Salem as if reading Cinder's mind. "Do you receive the package that I sent you?" Cinder nodded her head. "The package can only be opened when you use your Maiden powers and you chant the words, Kill the Brother Gods."
Cinder raised her brow as she wondered why the Brother Gods, figures that were likely never existed, had been chosen as part of the password, but she quickly dismissed those thoughts. She placed her hand on thick metal chest that had been delivered to her.
If it was before her infiltration of Beacon Academy then Cinder would have just used her instincts gifted to her after stealing some of the Fall Maiden's powers to guide her actions. Thanks to Rin's lessons about magic her mastery over her Maiden powers had skyrocketed to the point that Cinder's control over of them was quickly becoming just as second nature as she used her Aura and Semblance.
As Cinder performed the necessary actions and chanting of the password to unlock the locked chest, she couldn't help but feel a growing frustration that she had against Salem. She had done everything in her powers to execute Salem's plans, but she had never gotten the chance to learn about her mistress's secrets like magic.
Yet somehow a complete stranger, Rin Tohsaka, was teaching Cinder knowledge and skills that she was sure Salem would have never taught to her in fear that it would be used against Salem.
The locked chest started to unlock, and Cinder couldn't help but use some of the magical knowledge she had learned from Rin to analyze what was going on. It amazed her how complex and different the mechanisms at work were different from modern technology. Cinder could feel magical energy moving around the chest and how magic unlocked the chest.
"What is this?" asked Cinder as she retrieved what looked like a large cloak from the opened chest.
"That is called a Cloak of Invisibility. It hides the wearer from view and I have modified it so that it can also fool modern sensors," replied Salem. "Use that to sneak into Rin's and Shirou apartment to collect anything that could be used against them as blackmail material or would reveal their plans for the future."
"Ma'am are you sure this cloak would work against them? We are talking about sneaking into the homes of two magicians," inquired Cinder uncomfortably.
"I didn't give you just any magical item, Cinder. You should be honored. It is one of the best magical items I have in my possession. Whatever magic that Rin and Shirou might use the Cloak of Invisibility should allow you to sneak in undetected."
Cinder suddenly became aware that Salem was starting to grow frustration with her constant questioning so she quickly got onto her knees and bowed to the camera of her Scroll.
"Ma'am I will not fail the mission you have given me!" shouted Cinder.
"Failure is not an option, Cinder." Salem's eyes narrowed. "If you do then there are many more people waiting for the chance to take your place."
Cinder sighed in relief when the image of Salem disappeared and the video call ended.
She started to examine the cloak and found that one side looked just like any regular black cloak while the other side was completely transparent. Cinder wouldn't have known she was holding the cloak's transparent side if her hands didn't feel the wool that made the Invisibility Cloak.
"I hope this works," muttered Cinder with the Invisibility Cloak in her hands.
- O -
"More, Shirou!" I screamed in pleasure as my husband pounded me into the bed. "Hard…"
"What wrong, Rin?" asked my husband as he stopped moving when he saw me freeze up.
"Someone is trying to sneak into our apartment," I growled as I sensed the Bounded Field around our home being triggered.
"Is it another stalker?" chuckled Shirou.
I shook my head. Stalkers had become a common occurrence ever since my husband and I had become famous figures in Remnant. Often times the stalkers were our hardcore fans that had some unhealthy obsessions, but there were times it was someone out with bad intentions such as gathering information that could be used for blackmail or harm us such as kidnapping or even outright murder.
"It seems to be a mage," I replied as I pushed Shirou off me. "Or at least someone with magical item. I think it is a cloak of invisibility. Not a regular one if it was able to bypass several layers of our home's Bounded Field undetected."
"Do you know anything else?" asked Shirou as he got out of bed and prepared to face the intruder.
I shook my head. "The cloak is hiding the intruder very well. If my Bounded Field hadn't been specifically designed to deal with the Assassin Servant Class's Presence Concealment then our intruder likely would have been able to sneak in undetected."
"Wait here, and I will handle-"
I grabbed my husband and dragged him into the bed. "Let's see what the intruder is after."
"That isn't a good idea." Shirou frowned. "They might get away if we give them time."
"I say it is worth the risk. I want to know if they are after something inside our home or us."
"If that is what you want," said Shirou in displeasure as he went to a nearby closest and started changing into his combat attire. "Where is the intruder currently?"
"They just entered the living room." I replied while keeping my eyes closed to observe through my home's Bounded Field what the intruder was doing. "It seems they are looking for something."
"Well from their actions, we can rule out trying to kidnap or kill us then."
I nodded in agreement while paying close attention the intruder's actions. It was still unknown what the intruder was looking it was evident they were growing frustrated. The poor intruder had to choose the wrong target. Both Shirou and I hardly ever placed anything important to us in an unsecured location, even if it was our own home. It was a habit of ours born from the cut-throat politics of the Clock Tower where spying, blackmail and assassinations were common.
The intruder started to make way to my bedroom when they opened the door and found themselves staring a very furious Shirou.
My husband never gave the intruder time to respond. His eyes covered in a Mystic Code that took the shape of a pair of glasses was able to spot the outline of a human through the cloak of invisibility. He grabbed the intruder's throat and slammed them into the wall.
I snapped back to reality as I stopped seeing with my home's Bounded Field.
I got up but not before summoning some clothes. Without even thinking, I summoned the clothes that Ishtar had favored while I had acted as her host.
"Let's see who you are," I said as I walked up to wheezing intruder that my husband was holding by the throat. I pulled the cloak hiding the intruder's appearance and I was surprised by what I found. "Cinder Fall, what are you doing here?!"
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