"I see. So you're unfamiliar about Semblances, then?"
"I'd say so."
"And Aura is new, as well?"
"Yup."
"Hmm… I apologize. I can understand an isolationist culture maybe not having seen a Faunus before and staying away from Grimm, but I've never heard of anyone unaware of Aura. I apologize for not informing you of these; I assumed they were universal."
"A fair assumption, honestly. If everyone you ever met knew, it's weird I don't."
"Yes, but I should have inquired further. In all my years teaching, I should have probed a bit more and found out everything you didn't know. Well, now you know."
Oz takes a sip of his hot chocolate, slightly annoyed with himself. You had just finished telling him about your injuries and your run-in with the gang of racists, and he had just answered your questions about how a guy made a bubble shield. You now know about Aura and Semblances, stuff that you guess is more than common knowledge.
"Would you mind standing? I'd like to test something."
You stand. Ozpin gets up from his chair and places his hand on your shoulder. You feel a strange sort of warmth coming from his body, flowing into you; you remember a similar feeling from when you first woke up in the crater.
"Hmm… Your Aura hasn't been unlocked, but it's still been acting to protect and heal you. I've seen this before on rare occasions; your body acted automatically to keep you alive, focusing your Aura on healing your entire body rather than a specific point. If I had to guess, whatever caused you to be in that crater nearly killed you, so your body did its best to keep you breathing until you woke up." Ozpin closes his eyes and whispers something before the warmth radiating from his hand grows more potent; the force spreads through your body, and you suddenly feel far… better. Your injuries weren't healing, but your body felt even lighter and stronger than before, but the feeling fades and turns inwards. Opening his eyes to address you, Oz adds, "I've unlocked your Aura permanently. However, judging from your injuries, it's still being focused on something other than your recent injuries. Unfortunately, until it heals whatever it is attempting to heal, your more superficial injuries will heal at a normal rate, and you won't be able to properly harness Aura to summer weapons and your body."
With your head spinning quite a bit, you ask, "Can you put that in simpler terms?"
"My apologies. Essentially, you very nearly died. Though you're alive and well, you must have drained any Aura reserves you had, and the last remaining amounts are busy healing deeper injuries automatically. Until those deep wounds heal, you can't willingly use Aura." Ozpin returns to his chair.
"So, wait, am I in danger?"
"No. The fact that you feel alright and are able to move around means that you have nothing to worry about, despite your hidden injuries. Still, any wounds you sustain in the near future will take a normal amount of time to heal; unfortunately, I believe your black eye will last into the semester."
"Well, at least I'm alive…" It's… not exactly comforting to know that you very nearly died in whatever caused that crash. It is nice to know that, once you heal up, you'll be able to help from injuries and protect yourself better with your Aura. "And what about a Semblance? Do I have one?"
Ozpin chuckles. "No, not yet, but that's no issue. Most Hunters and Huntresses don't develop one until well into training, and some never develop one. It isn't necessary to fight if you're skilled enough. I like to think of Semblances as the reflection of your soul that awakens when you need it; from what you described, I imagine the boy with the Aura shield needed to put a wall between himself and the world, leading to a defensive Semblance."
"I'll keep that in mind." You start thinking of what your Semblance could be. You don't know the rules, though, so it might depend on whatever; maybe if you fell off a cliff, you'd learn to fly, or maybe slow down? Something to think about, but not something to try. After all, it's not as if you're going be thrown off a cliff any time soon. That'd be crazy so early on in your Hunter life!
"I will say that most develop their Semblance during an extreme situation. I pray that you find a safe way to evolve it at your own pace." Ozpin looks at you fantasizing about potential superpowers and smiles. "With all that out of the way, you said you wish to attend combat classes after all?"
"Yes, sir." At first, you weren't sure. Fighting monsters seemed like an impossible dream, but the changes you've experienced tell you that it's possible; you're stronger, faster, and quicker to react than you remember, you (will) have an Aura shield, and your first experience outside involved a hate crime. You need to learn how to protect yourself more than anything, plus the idea of gaining a Semblance intrigues you, as does the idea of being a sort of hero. Above all, you kind of owe it to Ozpin; he was being so kind to you, so you might as well try to make him proud, or at least try. It's not like you had other plans, anyway.
"That's good to hear. You'll fit in with the rest of our students, and be able to work alongside them soon! However, since you're starting out from zero, and you can't use Aura for the time being, I'll hold off on assigning you to a team. Once you feel ready, I'll have you act as a rotating team member."
"That sounds perfect!" Though you figure you can get used to combat relatively easily, you realize you're lacking something. "So… I also visited a weapon shop when I went out."
Ozpin perks up. "Ah, yes. At Beacon, we train students to use their weapons effectively as part of the curriculum. However, most usually come from previous education and are already familiar with their weapon of choice."
"So I'm behind."
"In as many words. Students will be coming in with weapons that, in many cases, they have designed themselves and have been using for years. I recently met someone that is two years younger than you, but wields her weapon better than some of my senior students! You'll be behind, but I have faith you'll catch up in no time."
"I don't have a weapon, so that's going to be pretty hard right now. I don't suppose people can fight with their fists?"
"It's not unheard of, and I've taught a few students that decided that nothing more than Dust-enhanced knuckledusters suit them best, though I wouldn't recommend no weapon at all."
"How much are they?"
"Assuming you don't have the expertise to build one yourself, too much to invest. I apologize, but I won't be able to lend you enough money to purchase a weapon if you aren't certain that you wish to be a Huntsman. They can be rather pricey, and I am just a humble headmaster."
"No, that's fair. You've given me plenty already. I suppose I can work and eventually get one…"
"You may not have to, actually." Oz stands and begins walking out of his office. "Follow me, if you would." You get up and begin following him. He leads you down the elevator and into a what appears to be some sort of workshop, almost like the one where you got your hoodie emblazoned, though with a lot more machines. "This is our weapon workshop. Students come here to do maintenance and tinker with their weapons. Though, if you look over there," Oz says, pointing over to a wall. "We've seen many good hunters pass through this school, and some have decided in their age to hang up their weapons." You look over and see a few old and somewhat battered looking weapons hung proudly on stands behind glass. "These were donated by hunters who retired and didn't see the need to hold on to their past. As they don't see much use otherwise, I'm certain that nobody would have an issue with you using one; you can decide on whether or not you need a more personal weapon in the future, but I'm sure one will suit your immediate tastes."
Still unable to comprehend the gratitude you have towards Ozpin, you scan the line of old hunter weapons. Each were held up by pegs like in a museum, and while they showed their age, they all still carried an air of nobility and honor; you can tell that each were wielded by strong warriors who couldn't continue to fight like they used to. With a strange sort of reverence, you draw and hand across the glass pane and begin looking at all the weapons.
Immediately, you notice that the weapons before you were… well, not archaic, but they clearly weren't like the ones you saw in the weapon shop earlier. None of them looked like they had crazy transformations or guns, and a lot of them lacked that sleek futuristic look, appearing more like weapons you remember with a little extra flair. There's what looks like a hammer with a furnace built into it, an ax with a folding handle to make it longer, a rapier with a pistol built in, and a few more of the sort of proto-futuristic weapons. If you're being honest… you don't think they'd work with you; you don't know much about fighting, and you know less about the fancy tricks in these sorts of weapons. You don't want to be fighting and somehow jam your spear.
What catches your eye, in the end, is what looks like a relatively average, if a bit large, longsword, along with its sheath. The wide blade was a brilliant red color, as was the blunted spike-shaped pommel. The crossguard was an ornate golden depiction of what looked like… maybe wings? It was a semicircle with points coming off of it at measured intervals, including one down the blade. Maybe… oh, maybe a sun? Yeah, the gold coloring definitely made it resemble a sun, and the points must be sunbeams that also let you catch blades in a clash. Anyway, frayed black leather straps lined the longer-than-average handle, giving a good place to grip. In all, it was about five feet long, and the only thing you notice otherwise was that it had a trigger under a sunbeam point.
"Ah, does this one catch your eye?" Ozpin asks. You look at him and nod. "Simple, but effective and easy to handle. It ought to make an excellent weapon for someone without much experience." He begins unlocking the glass case and withdrawing the red sword. "Now if memory serves… there we are," he pulls it off and hands it to you. "This belonged to… well, his name escapes me, but he was an excellent Huntsman who put the sword down because of his family. If you pull that trigger, it will activate the Fire Dust in the blade and ignite. Go on, try it out."
You give your new sword a few practice swings. It's surprisingly light, or maybe you're just strong; Oz activating your Aura made you feel stronger before it faded to heal your deep wounds, so you deftly move the sword light as a feather. Hesitating a bit because of the clear violations of safety, you pull the trigger and jump back as the hammer ignites a spark, coating the blade in a fire. You let go and it fades out almost immediately.
"Well, that's awesome."
"I'm glad to hear you think that. I'm sure our previous owner would be happy to know his weapon is seeing more use. It's a fine blade indeed, and I'm sure you'll learn about how to maintain it soon."
You swing your sword a few more times, growing accustomed to the weight and balance. "Yeah, definitely. I'll be sure to take good care of it!" You retrieve the sheath from the display and put away your weapon.
"Excellent! That should about cover things for today unless you have any questions. I'll design your special curriculum later, but I would recommend taking it easy for the next few days. You aren't in any danger, but you should rest your body and assist your Aura. Maybe spend the evening looking more into Aura and Semblances. I'll be sure to try and think of more things that I may not have considered you not knowing, and start thinking about what tasks I will need to be completed by an assistant."
Experimenting on where to put your sheath on your body, you say, "Yes, sir! I'll keep doing my homework and see if there's anything else I don't understand."
"Good. In that case, dismissed."
You decide to play around with your sword a bit more. You find the training area in Beacon and start practicing swings. You're going to be behind, so might as well spend time catching up.
