AN: To the surprise of all, not much to say this time. No number starts with the letter A, the title is awful only because of this. Welcome to school fuckboys and girls, with... Uhh... Rag 'n Bone Grimm? I'm running out of these, don't worry. Releasing this early cause I'm spring cleaning tomorrow, don't want any distractions or I will milk them for hours of procrastinating. Next week will be back to Wednesday.

Question again. What is wrong with me? Yes. Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk. Your participation has been noted, and summarily forgotten. Enjoy the supplied refreshments of a single can of lukewarm Pepsi.

Am I sorry? You tell me.

Morning people were awful. A morning person who could likely bench press a Bullhead was worse. Said person was saved from retribution with but a single word. Watching Apathy snap from barely conscious to crouching on the end of his bed with wide eyes set off his teammates' fight responses, but he didn't break his stare, levelled on the giant hammer girl, Nora he thought her name was.

"They have... Breakfast... Pancakes..?" he rasped out at her, face splitting in a grin when she nodded to him, her grin matching his own. "Pancakes!" they crowed in unison, the gangly Grimm jumping to his feet. "Come on team, morning calls, etcetera etcetera!" he says looking around for a second before quickly shambling to the wardrobe on his and Pyrrha's side of the room.

"Um... Apathy..? Perhaps you should get changed in the..." his partner started to suggest, but paused when he, literally, ripped his sleeping clothes off and turned to face her holding his uniform on one arm.

"Huh? Oh, right. You have the whole reproductive organ thing. Almost forgot about that... Whatever, not my issue since, y'know, ain't got anything." he says gesturing to the flat plate of bone where a decidedly unflat 'bone' should have been. After nodding to his team, figuring that was the end of it, he tuned out to get dressed.

A few minutes and a conversation he had taken no part in layer, they stepped out into the hall, Apathy still muttering under his breath. His uniforms fit him as well as his combat suit, hanging off stick thin limbs but not looking out of place. He left his tie draped around his neck, claiming it was for style and the student handbook said slight modifications were fine, when in reality he couldn't tie it. Turns out razor sharp claws plus thin cloth strip equals using a clip on if you want to wear a tie. And he did, a suit isn't complete without one in his opinion, and not one of those shitty bow ties that all deserved to be burnt at the stake for crimes against neckwear.

He had strong opinions on very mundane things.

Keeping this internal rant internal, he and his team paused in the hallway, a cacophony of noise emanating from the dorm across from theirs. They stood in silence for a few moments before all turning to one another. Speaking for possibly the first time, Ren uttered what all of them were likely thinking. "I believe that is not our problem."

Succinct. Apathy could appreciate that. As one they turned and headed off down the halls. There were pancakes to be had. There was still one question in his mind as they left the dorms though.

"Who the fuck brings a power drill to a school?"

Apathy found himself surprised by the kinship he felt for the ginger across the table from him. They each had a plate stacked as high as possible with pancakes, drowning them in syrup and tearing into them with wild abandon. He never expected to feel so connected to someone over food. Nor did he expect a human to match him in eating like an animal.

It felt good.

Halfway through his pancake massacre, a familiar black with red tipped head of hair dropped into his peripheral vision, a cheerful greeting meeting his ears. "Oh gods... She's one of them..." he thought aghast at another morning person, then considering how Nora had changed his mind he decided to give Ruby the benefit of the doubt. For now, at least.

"Morning Ruby." he says between mouthfuls, flicking his eyes to her, "Quick question, which one of your team brought the drill?"

Ruby, holding a cookie by her mouth paused, blinking slowly a few times before she shrugged. "No idea. Helped us decorate though." she answered cheerily, resuming her first bite as her team joined them, reluctantly and across the table from Apathy.

He called them racists in his head, less from the seating and more from the glares levelled on him. "Wait we can decorate our rooms?" he muttered, his eyes going wider than they already were when Ruby bobbed her head a few times. "I need to get stuff..." he whispers to himself, resuming his pancake destruction so he could actually finish it.

There were conversations going on around him, but much like Nora, he was too busy ruining his diet to care. At least, he guessed it was ruining her diet. He doubted nothing but sugar and carbs would sustain a Hunter, then again his body just turned food into Grimm stuff so what did he know about a healthy diet?

He only realized his internal monologue had gone on too long when the bell rang. That had been happening a lot for the past few months. Maybe he was going crazy?

"No." he told himself, " No, if you were going crazy, you wouldn't consider it an option, so you can't be crazy. Perfect logic."

He was doing it again, but was at least on the move this time, following his teammates hoping they knew where to go. He also hoped the classes would be more interesting than they sounded.

"History and Grimm Studies... Easy passes for me..."

Grimm studies was their first class of the day, teams GRVN and RWBY making their way together. Thei teacher had his back turned to them, and seven of the students made their way to seats at the front of the lecture hall.

It took everyone sitting down to notice Apathy wasn't with them, and was frozen in the doorway with a strange expression, his eyes locked on the maroon jacket of their teacher. It wasn't until they saw his trembling hands they recognized the look on his face that didn't sit on a Grimm naturally.

He was afraid. Terrified, even. And it got worse when the teacher turned to face them. Grey hair parted down the middle, eyebrows so bushy they almost his his eyes, and an even larger moustache that did cover his mouth. The Grimm moved with surprising alacrity to take a seat at the back of the room, as far from the portly teacher as he could be.

The man started without any preamble. "Monsters! Demons! Prowlers of the night!" he boomed, and that was the only way to describe his voice, "Yes, the creatures of Grimm have many names. But I... Merely refer to them as prey. Ho ho!"

He was met with silence, his over the top mannerisms not having the desired effect on his students. "And you shall too, upon graduating from this prestigious academy." he continued undaunted by the lackluster energy of most of the students, "Now, as I was saying..."

The man kept going, having seemingly no end to the long, and obviously exaggerated, anecdote of his youth. The fear that Apathy had felt was quickly being replaced with another emotion. Aggravation. Thankfully he finally finished his story, and gave the class a single question. "Which of you thinks you have what it takes to be a true Hunter?"

"I do!"

Nasally voice, sense of entitlement, definitely the Ice Queen. Apathy blinked a few times, narrowing his eyes down at the semicircular area at the front of the class. "Where the fuck did that cage come from!?"

The following fight didn't take long after the Boarbatusk was revealed, thanks mostly to Ruby telling her the pig Grimm's weak spot. Even if the heiress whined about the 'distraction. Heh. Whines. He was totally calling her that from now. Probably annoy her, she definitely deserved it though.

Thankfully the single Grimm had taken up more time than it should have, and they weren't subjected to more of the professor before they were dismissed. Team GRVN walked calmly down the halls, going to the locker room so they could change and prepare for combat class.

"Hopefully we'll get a chance to fight today, I can't wait to break some legs!" Nora enthused, spinning her warhammer a few times before folding it up to clip on the back of her skirt.

Apathy grinned at his teammate, sliding Rest into it's holster before raising a fist to her, "On that, we agree." he says, regretting the fist bump when the claws on his hand spiderwebbed with cracks, reaching halfway up the forearm bones. "Hoo baby this is gonna be good!" he growls as he shakes his arm, trying to regain feeling in it.

Ren, ever the calming presence, placed a hand on the ginger's shoulder. "Remember Nora, it's only a spar. I believe breaking your opponent would not go over well."

Nora gave her leader a pleading look past her partner, her grin widening when she was given a miniscule nod. "Not to put a damper on this but... Without aura, will you be allowed to spar..?" Pyrrha interrupted gently, her weapons clipped onto her armour ready for use.

Apathy shrugged and smiled at her.

"Oh, they'll let me spar all right. Just watch."

The grin Apathy wore when he was one of the first students to be selected on the randomizer employed in combat class could only be described as shit eating. He was eager for a fight, and already halfway to his feet when his opponent was selected.

s the slab of meat in armour masquerading as a teenager walked into the ring, a mace hefted over one shoulder, the two students couldn't have seemed more different. Their scrolls were linked up to the aura meter display, Apathy's entirely empty to nobody's surprise.

"Due to Mr. Grimm's nature, this battle will have slightly altered rules." Professor Goodwitch declared, her voice filling the room without being raised, "When Mr. Grimm has suffered what would normally be a debilitating injury, the battle will cease immediately. If you continue past this point you will be punished severely."

The protective shield formed around the ring a moment after her final word, and rather than drawing his weapon Apathy took on a hand to hand stance. His left hand was extended forwards, slightly bent and his hands not quite fully closed into fists, his other arm crossing over his chest to his shoulder, the hand in an identical position. He swayed marginally, but was planted solidly in place.

His opponent, one Cardin Winchester, had a confident and slightly smug grin on his face. To him, and almost everyone else, it looked like the Grimm was drastically unprepared. The professor's voice again cut through the room, her call of "Begin!" spurring Cardin into action.

He crossed e distance deceptively quickly, bringing his mace down in a two handed, vertical strike directly towards Apathy. There was a crash, and a plume of smoke when it struck the ground where he had been stood a moment before. Those who had been paying attention had seen him sway to the side and stumble after his body, his hands staying raised and his eyes focussed as he dodged with alleged ease and no technique.

Cardin's grin changed somewhat, going from self assured to vengeful. He didn't give any opportunity for retaliation, pulling his mace from the ground in a diagonal swing, his opponent taking a staggering back step, dodging the swipe by a scant few inches. The mace returned with a horizontal back swing, and Apathy bent double at the waist, the back of his head almost touching the ground.

He took a staggering step forwards as he returned upright, his backfoot shooting forwards to steady him. When it hit the arena it cracked the floor, and his body jerked forwards slamming his shoulder into Cardin's chest.

The far larger boy was sent sliding back, a grunt of pain leaving him as he skid halfway across the ring before coming to a stop. The single hit had eaten almost five percent of his aura, causing gasps and shouts of surprise at the amount of force the lanky Grimm could bring to the fore.

A tiny smile had come to Ren's face, a glint of recognition in his pink eyes. "Impressive." he notes quietly, the eyes of his team and team RWBY going to him. He preempted their question by nodding to his leader. "He's using the drunken fist style. It uses staggering motions and mimicking inebriation to misdirect and confuse, then strike hard and fast. It's not usually seen outside of Southern Mistral." he informs them all, using as few words as he could as usual.

The fight had switched gears as he spoke, Apathy now on the offensive and executing a spinning heel kick as their attention returned. His strike was caught on the shaft of Cardin's weapon, but still sent him reeling with the force behind it.

Stomping his foot back down, Apathy listed forwards, then fell down, dodging a quick swipe of the mace as he dropped. Once his chest touched the ground his legs lashed forwards over his back, catching Cardin in the abdomen and launching him off his feet with a snapping sound.

Apathy rolled backwards to return to his feet, the bones on his legs covered in fractures, the left thigh almost snapped in half. A buzzer rang out as he was taking another step towards his rising opponent.

"Mr. Grimm wins via ring out." Goodwitch said, the barrier coming down as she strode into the ring. "While your style is unusual, it is unquestionably effective. However, you relied too heavily on waiting for an opening. You should aim to be the aggressor in future." she advised before turning her attention to the other student. "Mr. Winchester. While overwhelming force can be an effective strategy, when it fails you must adapt, not repeat the same failed method again and again."

The two nodded, one uninterested and the other with barely contained anger. Apathy strolled back to join his team in the stands, taking his seat with a sigh as he noticed all eyes on him. He was surprised when Ren asked, "Where did you learn that style?"

"Mistral. About... Hundred and fifty years ago?" he answered, four surprised gasps coming from their sister team. "Oh yeah, you weren't there. I'm very old." he says to RWBY as an explanation, going no further as another pair were being selected to fight, and he was interested in watching their styles, either not noticing or not caring about Cardin glaring at him.

Knowing him it was likely the latter.

The final class of the day was an easy one for Apathy. History being something he was well versed in made him think he could just space out for the class. Professor - sorry, doctor - Oobleck was a force of nature. The man darted around the room barely seeming to even move with the sheer speed he used, his speech matching or surpassing his footwork for haste. If he didn't already know the material he would have been lost.

Unfortunately, the material they were covering was starting to grate on his nerves. The Faunus Rights Revolution. It wasn't the topic itself that bothered him, but the way it was taught, with the human point of view being the only one widely available.

Apathy could barely concentrate, his claws carving furrows in the desk the longer the lecture went on, hostility radiating from him to an almost palpable degree. His team had subtly shifted away from the glaring monster he was devolving into, a sharp crack echoing when the doctor reffered to Fort Castle as a 'human loss' and not what it really was.

"Mister Grimm! Since you seem so disinterested, perhaps you can explain what led to General Langue's defeat at the hands of the faunus?" Oobleck's voice burst out, the green haired man staring at him with a small frown.

"Oh... I can explain alright..." Apathy's snarl was laced with enough venom to make everyone around him slide away, the creature of Grimm rising to his feet, "General Langue was an egotistical moron with his head so far up his ass he needed the night vision he forgot the faunus had to see a damn thing! That butcher deserved to die, the only thing that kept him alive was the faunus being better people than that bastard deserved to deal with! He thought trying to slaughter those faunus in the dead of night was a brilliant idea, didn't even stop to think how much of an ignorant bastard he was before calling for an attack! Fort Castle was a victory for the faunus! Calling it a 'defeat for the humans' is an insult to everyone who died for their right to be free!"

Even though it had been less than a day, seeing the normally relaxed Grimm show so much emotion had stunned the class into silence. The anger, no, the sheer vehement rage on display was a shock. The only one unaffected was the disheveled doctor, his lips quirked up into a smile as he removed his glasses, rubbing the lenses on his untucked shirt.

"While your language leaves much to be desired, it makes me happy to see someone so invested in history." Doctor Oobleck's voice stayed calm, but carried to every corner of the silent room. "Yes, the General attempted to assault the faunus at night, putting his troops at an insurmountable disadvantage allowing the faunus to win the day with minimal casualties. History should be written by the victor, but the Faunus Revolution is a key example of history being written by the loser. As a whole, the records of the revolution are tainted with bias against the faunus. Mister Grimm made an excellent observation. The battle of Fort Castle was not a human loss, but a decisive faunus victory. We can all learn something from this. History as it is written is rife with inaccuracies, and only those who delve deeper can separate the truth from the stories and hearsay."

Oobleck replaced his glasses and nodded to Apathy, who slowly retook his seat looking at their teacher with a small amount of respect. "Thank you, Mister Grimm. You were entirely correct with your answer. But please, do try to look like you're paying as much attention as you so clearly are."

A curt nod was shared between them before the doctor resumed his lecture. Apathy again wasn't paying attention, his mind wandering back to the war, the only war he had been on the winning side for.

"They deserve more than being a footnote in your history."

"That was... Certainly something..."

Apathy turned to the speaker, giving Pyrrha a small, sad smile. "I was there. Not at Fort Castle, but I was there. You'd be... Pretty mad too hearing that bullshit when you know the truth." he turned back around, returning his focus to the hallway. "I'll try not to explode next time, but that wasn't something I could just sit and listen to."

Pyrrha looked unsure, but a him of agreement from Ren stole her attention. "You certainly have a way with surprising us. It's quite pleasant knowing you're a good man beneath the surface."

"Yeah! I bet nobody had any idea you'd be so into history! I know I didn't!" Nora cheered with her usual exuberance, "You gotta tell us all about that! With you helping us we won't even need that class!"

Apathy couldn't help but chuckle at her joy, the idea of skipping a class being her main goal making unfamiliar emotions well up inside him. He guessed from the laugh that he felt Nora was funny, and liked that about her. It felt good.

He and his team paused when they rounded the final corner, the Grimm sighing before resuming his walk. "Was gonna happen sooner or later... Guess now's as good a time as any." he mused, pausing by the door to the hall and nodding to the figure who hadn't looked away from him since he reached the hall. "Headmaster." he drawls, feeling his team catching up.

Ozpin nodded to them all, giving them one of his grandfatherly smiles that set Apathy's nerves on edge. "Team Grapevine. I hate to intrude, but could I borrow Mister Grimm for a few minutes?" he asked, raising a hand to forestall any objections, "Rest assured, he is not in any trouble. I just wanted to check a few things."

Apathy groaned a little and tilted his head back. "Was looking forward to dinner... You guys go ahead, I'll catch up." he says to his team, his head tilting back further until it was upside down, facing the rest of GRVN and making two of them flinch. "Nora, you know what's good, grab me something?"

Shaking off the discomfort at his head being twisted unnaturally, Nora snapped out a salute to him. "You got it fearless leader!" she grinned and grabbed Ren's arm, pulling him along as she almost sang "Come on Renny!"

Pyrrha was more hesitant, inching towards the door when Apathy gave her a nod, his head leaning back to being where it should be. "I'll see you shortly." she finally says, smiling politely at Ozpin before she walked into the hall.

The headmaster and the Grimm walked off in silence, finding an empty classroom and walking down to the teacher's desk. Ozpin turned to his student, planting his cane on the ground with his hands rested atop it. "How has your first day been, Mister Grimm?"

"Passable. Your history books are shit, though." he replies with a shrug, folding his arms over his chest. "You can drop the pretense now. What do you really want?"

Ozpin chuckled lightly, his eyes locked onto Apathy's in a way few people could bring themselves to do. "Can't I check on an old friend?" he questions, giving him another of those damn smiles.

Apathy's jaw clenched and his passive look became a glare. "Fuck. You. You don't get to call me that. You lost the right an age ago Oz." he ground out almost cracking his teeth with how tightly they were clenched. "What. Do. You. Want?"

Ozpin sighed, his shoulders slumping fractionally. "I was being honest. I want to know how you are... It's the least I can do for him."

"Fuck off, that's how I'm doing you parasite." the Grimm hissed with utter disdain, turning away from the man, his entire body coiled with tension and ready to lash out. "That all, or will you insist on interrupting my meal longer?"

The headmaster sighed once more, his eyes closing behind the miniscule glasses he wore.

"That was all... My apologies."

Tensions

Spending time travelling had taught Hope less than it was hoping for, but the lessons it had learned were rather important to it. It had taken a few months, but the tribe had come to accept it as one of them, so far as to name it as one of them.

It was during a short stop at an oasis when it learned a more painful lesson. The lesson that life is never all good. The leader of the guards, a man Hope had learned was called Osyrus, had been behaving strange recently. He had been avoiding Hope frequently, and even when the Grimm searched for him, he would be found having muttered conversations with himself. When asked, at Hope's request, he told the others it was nothing.

Hope learned the man had been lying when one evening, after it had helped fill a few barrels of water, Osyrus had attacked it, screaming about it being a monster. Something was wrong though, as Osyrus was unnaturally sloppy with his spear, allowing Hope's jerky motions to let it escape several jabs and swipes. Other members of the guard had ran towards the commotion, and looked on in horror as their leader, almost frothing at the mouth, attacked the Grimm they had come to see as one of their own.

Hope had tried to avoid hurting Osyrus, considering the man to be a friend of sorts. But when the spear pierced it's shoulder, Hope lost it's grip and screamed at the man. Osyrus, and the other guards around them slowed and started to sag, the Grimm running to another guard it had spent a lot of time with. "Why... I... Thought... Friend..." it growled at the kneeling man.

"I... I don't know... Osyrus... He was patrolling, but ran off... We... If we knew we would have... Stopped him..." the man told Hope, struggling to form a full sentence but recovering now Hope had reigned in it's aura once more. Hope wasn't sure what to think, but it wanted to believe him. It turned to Osyrus, watching as he staggered to his feet, supported by his spear.

"Osyrus... Friend... Why..?" it rasped towards the man, who shook his head wide eyed with unreserved anger and hatred.

Before he could reply, their attention was stolen by a scream from the collection of caravans. Hope could feel the fear and could guess the source. It could also recognize the voice, it's eyes glowing brighter as it started running towards the new commotion. "Teacher!" it shouted, bounding over the dunes still jerking and spasming with it's steps.

All of the assembled guards were shaken from their shocked state at the Grimm's cry, turning away from Osyrus to join the protection of their people. Osyrus stayed still, watching as a Grimm led the humans into the fray, a group of Sandwyrms bursting forth to maul the unprotected members of the tribe.

Hope had moved as quickly as it could, but as it reached a small circle with an extinguished fire pit surrounded by benches and stools. There was blood staining the wooden seats, and a body slumped against one of the caravans forming the clearing. One of the subterranean Grimm was at the body's side, it's head buried into the woman's side. She had stabbed into the Sandwyrm's unprotected side with a small knife as her last act, locking it in place against her giving others time to flee.

Hope saw it's teacher, the woman who had made sure it could speak and understand them. Hope saw her glassy eyes, and then it saw red. A screech of rage spread across the sands, giving pause to everything that heard be they man or monster.

The sand was stained by the essence of Grimm, it's body falling away from the woman's side as it was decapitated. Hope's claws undulated and twitched, it's skull mask twisting towards the nearest Sandwyrm.

It was on the other side of the caravan, which Hope launched itself over, dropping on top of the other Grimm and lancing it's claws through the bone plated head with a sickening crunch. The guard it had been attacking staggered back at the display of ferocity from the slow and calm Hope.

The single strike had killed the Sandwyrm, but Hope didn't stay long enough to watch it die already bounding over the sands like a man possessed to the next Grimm, and the next. A fight that should have taken minutes was over in only seconds. It had been a slaughter, and when the screaming finally ended, the tribe gathered and found their saviour. Knelt by an extinguished fire pit, bloodstained and with a woman laying at the edge of the pit. She was already cold, her side ripped open giving view of her almost liquified organs.

Hope's head slowly rose, it's eyes locking on the man who wore Osyrus' face, twisting into a snarl. "Your... Fault..." it hissed at him. Nobody argued against it's declaration. The man who had once been Osyrus looked ashamed, and turned away to leave the tribe he didn't belong with to mourn.

For the first time in several lives, Ozma was given pause. The man he had replaced had done the impossible. A Grimm on the side of humanity. He heard a voice in the back of his head. The voice of Osyrus demanding his body be returned to him. Ozma stared down at the calloused hands of a warrior, and breathed out a sigh as his eyes closed.

Osyrus opened his eyes and turned back to his people.

Apathy was drawn out of his memory as he reached the dining hall. Nora had gotten him a tray of mostly desserts, and he couldn't help but smile at that. Immortal parasite watching their every move or not, he was going to enjoy this meal.

If for no reason other than to spite that silver haired bastard.

AN: You know, watching drunk style kung fu is actually really interesting. Making yourself look unsteady and uncoordinated when you're in total control is... Well, tthere's a good reason it's still actually practiced. Drunk style is cool, I reccomend looking it up.

Have some more history, I like the history. Much more challenging to work on, a good time had for all. Except for Osyrus. Poor guy. He was a good man, maybe. But here you see the first issue with several immortals in one place. If they've had bad experiences before, they'll never let it go.

You'll be seeing more of Osyrus, the desert funtime history still has a lot to work through, including what the Alpha equivalent of a Sandwyrm is. Also, because descriptions are hard, they're basically graboids from Tremors. Was watching that film when I wrote that section of the history chapter.

Thanks for coming around, and if you're seriously dehydrated have a coke, in the short term it hydrates you better than even water does.