Ozpin was sitting behind his desk, looking cautiously at the worried headmistress in front of him.
"You worry too much Glynda" he said calmly.
"And you don't worry enough" Goodwitch replied.
The principal sighed as he ran his hands through his hair and adjusted his glasses. "I understand you find it odd that we hired him so quickly but desperate times call for desperate measures. I couldn't even get a hold of Oobleck. Plus all his credentials pan out, he's young but very gifted. So that's why I gave him that permission."
Glynda placed both her hands on Ozpin's desk, directly facing him. "That you hired him in a time of need is not my issue Ozpin. My issue is the strange circumstances that seem to happen around him. He goes through a forest filled with Grimm with only that odd little man with him that clearly cannot handle a fight, and one of the students that causes an uproar in his class has suddenly become catatonic."
"Ah the curious case of Cardin Winchester. Is there any news on that?" Ozpin asked.
Goodwitch shook her head "nothing. Physically he is stable and fine, but he's not there, it's like he's trapped in his own mind or something, he doesn't respond to any outside stimuli."
Ozpin pondered that question. Suddenly becoming catatonic was remarkable and terrifying. A case that only happens after an extreme trauma.
"I understand your concerns Glynda. But do understand that this is circumstantial evidence at best. None of this implies that Mr. Carlisle is responsible" he said.
"Maybe," she turned and took a few steps away from the principal's desk "but I still like if we keep an eye on him, at least until Oobleck returns. After that we must see what must be done about him."
Ozpin nodded in agreement "very well. Just don't make unnecessary accusations. That won't help anyone. I trust you know what to do Glynda."
In the halls:
Jaune was walking through the halls as he spotted Weiss talking to the new professor and a strange short man that was standing next to him.
As Weiss walked back, almost giggling from happiness Jaune hid behind a pillar and observed the pair. As Weiss slowly got out of sight, Jaune saw the two men walk around the corner and decided to try and follow them.
The young huntsmen in training had made no secret of his obvious infatuation with the heiress. Always watching from afar and then be disappointed by the inevitable reaction but a guy can dream.
The "Hot New Young Professor" had taken the attention of most female students even though he had only been there for a week. Jaune and most other guys, with the exception of Ren who probably couldn't care less where jealous of the fact that the new professor had taken all the attention. Even though the professor himself didn't seem to pay the attention much mind, mostly absorbed into his own work.
As he saw the two men leave around the corner, Jaune decided to follow them silently, curious to what they were up too. He came from his hiding spot and ran as silently as he could across the long hallway. Stopping at the corner to look around.
They were still there walking side by side, the shorter man looking down in submission as the professor held his left hand.
Jaune didn't want to take the risk of following them now as they would notice the moment they turned around so he waited until they had to pass another corner.
But they just stood there silently. He could see the professor yelling at the small man but he couldn't make out any words. The small man just took it and stepped forward, taking the lead as they finally turned the corner.
Jaune immediately proceeded to move among the hallway only for the professor to turn back the corner and appearing right in front as Jaune halted to a stop, knocking himself over in the process.
"Mr. Arc," the professor said ever so politely "I saw you coming around the corner walking behind me, is there anything I can do for you?"
Jaune looked up. The professor despite being only a few years older looked quite imposing, not in a physical sense but more that he had a dominating presence.
"Uhm…Yeah professor I had a question about the subject you where teaching today" Jaune said as he stood up, wiping the dust off of him.
"And you could not ask this question while in class because?" Carlisle asked
Jaune's inner thoughts went quickly from oh shit! to Oh NOOOO!.
"Uhm well…..I wasn't exactly paying attention" he stammered out, causing the professor to raise an eyebrow at him. "Aha, then pay better attention next time. Unfortunately I'm in kind of a hurry at the moment so how about we proceed with this some other time."
"Yes of course, sorry for bothering you prof" Jaune quickly said as he ran away from the scene.
Vadim appeared next to his boss and asked "is he going to be a problem I need to take care of boss?" causing Carlisle to grin "not necessary. That kid is an idiot he won't cause much damage."
At the cafeteria:
When Weiss returned to them, Blake was expecting a storm of anger from her, or at the very least quite annoyed. But instead she returned bright and happy.
As she sat down she told enthusiastically "he gave me his number."
Blake felt a pit in her stomach at hearing that. Why did he give that to her? Blake thought, the options and possibilities running amok on her mind. She thought she was the only one with his number.
"I bet I'm the only girl here with his number" she bolstered.
"So what now?" Ruby asked curious and exciting.
"I hope you're not planning to ask him out" Yang added.
Weiss looked at Yang in disbelief, but before she could say a word the blonde bombshell added "he is a teacher. Young but still a teacher so him going out with a student wouldn't really look good."
"Well…" Weiss said before losing track of thought and forgetting what to say. Yang just stood there arms crossed waiting for an answer.
"Well, it doesn't matter. I can always date him when his tenure as a substitute is done, then he won't be a teacher anymore."
"She makes a point. He is only a substitute until professor Oobleck returns" Ruby said.
Blake listened to the conversation but didn't add anything. She hadn't told the team about her "meeting" with Professor Carlisle yesterday or the fact she had his number. And she wanted to keep it that way.
"Well I should send him a message" Weiss said as she took out her scroll and started messaging him like a crazed fangirl.
Yang sighed "just don't send him anything you and him could get in trouble for" she said, but Weiss was oblivious to this while Blake inwardly reeled back at that, remembering what she had done earlier this morning.
At Carlisle's home:
Carlisle grunted in pain as Vadim slathered burn ointment on his hand.
Today was going quite smoothly until the altercation with Weiss and Jaune. The young professor knew Jaune was following him, for what reason he did not know. He didn't imagine the young huntsmen was made of much so he didn't consider it a problem. Weiss coming after him was a happy accident considering what Vadim had told him earlier.
The pinging sound of a message echoed through the room.
"Vadim?," Carlisle asked irritated as his manservant looked up "are you sure that the Schnee family has access to that device."
"A 100% sure boss, I checked it multiple times, they have it."
Carlisle grinned angrily as he used his remaining hand to grab his scroll from his pocket "I hope so because Miss Weiss Schnee has send me 7 messages in the span of 10 minutes. This better be worth it" he said aggravated.
As Vadim continued treating his boss' hand he noted "perhaps she fancies you, boss."
"Ugh," Carlisle grunted in annoyance "yes because of course I somehow catch the attention of this spoiled brat!" he said angrily.
"Still sir," Vadim spoke quietly "she is the only way we know to get to that device, it is the best lead we've had in a long time and we've been searching for weeks. And not to insult you, boss but…we are running out of time and she might not make…."
Carlisle angrily slammed his fist on the table upon hearing that, causing Vadim to quiet down in an instant.
For once that imbecile is right. If it's the only option then what needs to be done, needs to be done.
"So what do you suggest I do then Vadim?" he asked his manservant.
Vadim looked up with big eyes as if this was the first time that Carlisle had asked him on his opinion, because it was the first time he had asked.
"Woo her a bit, give her attention, make her feel special until she reveals what she knows about the Elpihas code" he told his boss.
Carlisle grunted in response. But after a few minutes of silence he did reach for his scroll and looked at the last message he received. Are you alright professor?
And he typed: My apologies miss Weiss, I just happened to injure my hand so I was not capable of messaging you back.
And almost immediately he received a next text: oh no! anything I can do to help you with that.
In his mind Carlisle couldn't believe he was even entertaining the idea of this. Flirting with this rich heiress girl that somehow got the hots for him. It was like a cruel plan of fate, not that fate hadn't already ensnared him in this mess but this felt like salt in the wound.
But if he had any hope of finding what he lost, sometimes barriers need to be broken and sacrifices must be made.
That is more than alright miss Weiss, I will manage. But if you so wish you could join me tomorrow after class for a walk to discuss some projects you wish to help me with.
He put down the scroll and sighed, feeling the pain in his hand grow numb as Vadim stood up to watch the ointment from his own hands.
Soon another ping sound followed.
A grunting Carlisle took hold of his scroll to see an instant message of: Yes I would love to! And he face palmed himself in disbelief.
"Why am I doing this?" he wondered out loud.
Vadim looked at him and said "remember boss, woo her" only for Carlisle to almost growl in response.
Wonderful, I'll text you the time as soon as I'm off. And if you like put on that outfit from earlier during out first talk, it looks good on you Miss Weiss.
Not a minute later she had send him a photo of herself wearing the outfit with a caption of This one ;)
Carlisle couldn't believe he had to resort to this. That the only way out of this desperate search laid in the hands of a rich heiress who fancied him. But there wasn't much option or time left.
To find her, is worth everything, even my own standards Carlisle thought to himself.
The Dorms (at night):
Weiss was ecstatic as she dropped down onto her bed. She had spent most of the afternoon messaging the professor, to a point where Yang gave up trying to warn her about anything.
She glanced over at Blake, who was silently reading on her bed. Weiss hadn't said much to her nor asked further about what had occurred when the professor called her. She also never asked the professor about it, she just wanted him all to herself.
She couldn't wait for tomorrow.