Empty In Remnant
Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, RWBY, or any other works associated with them.
In this chapter, Vanitas and Ozpin talk to each other. For those who are wondering, here are some clarification for this story, Vanitas is currently age thirteen. And for the purpose of this story, Vanitas is going to be short.
By that, I mean- he's currently KH1 Sora's height, which is pretty short. When he reaches fifteen, he's going to be KH2 Sora's height, which is probably around five foot two inches. Maybe a couple inches taller. Either way, he's going to be short in comparison to the other characters. Except maybe Ruby.
More commentary in the author's notes below.
Chapter 4: A compelling offer.
Inside the Orphanage of Vale, there was a room. The room, which had a round table, was typically used by the staff for various discussions. What they talked about, Vanitas didn't know nor cared enough to ask. However, when it wasn't in use by the staff, it was typically treated like a normal room so other people could use it as they see fit.
Like right now for instance. Vanitas looked at the man sitting across from him. Currently, the man, Ozpin, wasn't saying a word at all. Instead, the bespectacled man was drinking from a cup of coffee that he received from the female caretaker when he asked for something hot to drink. He was taking his damn time too. The man would periodically take a sip and spend fifteen seconds each time apparently savoring the taste of it.
Meanwhile Vanitas waited in silent tension. The man came to him and had asked to speak with him alone. When someone does something like that, they were usually the ones to speak first. So Vanitas waited for the man to speak before he would respond sarcastically in turn.
However, the periodic noise that was made whenever Ozpin drank his coffee, such as swishing and gulping, and the relative silence in the room, which only served to contrast the noise created by the man, was figuratively driving Vanitas up the wall.
'Argh, is this guy for real?!' Vanitas, highly annoyed, thought. Vanitas's relatively thin patience was quickly exhausted and thus, he spoke first.
"Why are you here?" Vanitas asked, repeating his question that he had asked before at the front door.
Ozpin, hearing this, put down his cup of coffee and answered his question bluntly.
"I'm here for you."
"...What?"
"You heard me," Ozpin said. "I'm here for you. Or, to be more precise, I'm here because of what you were doing."
Vanitas eyes widened slightly at the implications of his words.
'Oh crap,' he thought. 'He knows.'
If his guess of what the man was implying accurate, the man most likely knows of his affiliation with the UFC. If that was true, then given the way the man, Ozpin, approached him, he was most likely going to try to use that information against him.
However, that was still a guess. A guess that was most likely accurate, but a guess nonetheless. So Vanitas did what any other miscreant would do in his position. Deny any accusations levied against him despite the accuracy of the accusation.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," he said.
Ozpin was disappointed in Vanitas. Indeed he had expected the young boy before him to deny the implications of what he had just said. It was just disappointing to hear the young boy deny it in person.
"Now I'll ask again," the spiky black haired boy said aggressively. "Why are you here?"
Why was he here? After spending his time working tirelessly day after day, he finally had some free time to spend. What did he do with this free time? He had decided to check up on the boy that he had left on the doorsteps of the orphanage nearly a decade ago. So the day before he had finally met the boy, he visited the orphanage to see if the boy had been adopted.
Now imagine his surprise when the caretakers told him that he was still registered within the system as an orphan. When he had asked where the boy was, he was told that they didn't know where he was. The boy tended to go missing after school was over, he was told by the blond caretaker. Where he goes no one knows, and the boy refused to specified where he went after school. Intrigued by this, he decided to investigate.
Hours before
On the last day of the school that Vanitas attended, Ozpin hid himself near the entrance and waited for the young man to get out and make his way to wherever it is he goes to after school. Already something was remiss. The small boy, despite the fact that the normal time of dismissal was at the time of three, ran out the school entrance approximately three hours early.
Ozpin followed the boy to the one of the poorer district within the city, a place that was located in the southeast area of the city. Hardly any normal people stay in this area due to its close proximity to forests and caves which the creatures of Grimm inhabited. Though the area was fenced off and there was no current risk of an invasion as a result, hardly anyone wanted to be in an area so close to the Grimm. The only type of people that would come to this area are the downtrodden and those who engage in criminal activities.
Hopefully, Vanitas wasn't the latter.
He continued following the boy in this downtrodden area until the boy finally arrived at his destination. The boy stopped at an old derelict building and began to enter. He tailed Vanitas from behind as he went inside. From the inside, the old building looked just as derelict as it does from the outside. It was old, dusty, and full of old junk. There wasn't any signs of use so why the boy was here, he still didn't know.
The boy continued moving, using the stairs to that led straight to the basement descend himself to the lower floors. Ozpin stopped. The stairs were made of metal. It was aged, considering the way it creaked every time the black haired boy took a step downward. If he were to walk down, no matter how slowly or stealthily, while the boy was within earshot, he would be detected within moments. So for now, he waited.
He waited until the noise created by the boy was no longer audible. After a few more extra minutes of waiting, Ozpin began walking the down the stairs. When he made it all the way down, he found himself in the basement area of the building. How did he know? There were crates and boxes everywhere as far as the eye can see. The only thing that he didn't see was the young boy that he was following.
'Hmm...' he thought. 'How curious.'
He had seen this situation many times before. A person takes a path that could only lead him or her to one destination, i.e Vanitas. Another person is following, i.e him. The first person arrives at his destination and the second follows him only to lose him once he enters the room. In this specific situation, there was usually a hidden door or a passageway. Occasionally, there would be a switch that would reveal these hidden entrances.
He began to wander and looked around the room. After a quick inspection of the room, there didn't seem to be a switch located anywhere and he couldn't detect any possible hidden entrances from the walls. He looked at the floor beneath him.
Perhaps the answer lies under him.
He began reinspecting the room, this time moving the metal crates and wooden boxes around. After doing this, he eventually found one that would not budge. He noticed that the top of the crate was opened ever so slightly. Taking that as a clue of some sort, he removed the top of the crate and found a small mechanical button on the side near the top.
'Found it.'
He clicked the button.
SWISH
The floor panels beneath the crate began to move. It went upwards before moving backwards, revealing a hidden stairway underneath the floor.
'How very suspicious,' he thought. 'It appears I may have stumbled upon something.' Ozpin proceeded downwards onto the dark stairway and made his way underneath the building and into the underground area. He continue onward until eventually he found his way to what appears to be the other end of figurative tunnel. He approached the second door and, seeing that it was unlocked, entered.
When Ozpin entered, there were three things that he noticed. One, the place appeared to be in use. He could easily make such a claim because of the lighting. A place that wasn't in use would not have electricity powering the lighting system. Secondly, there was a lot of people currently in the area. He could tell because of the loud cheering noise emanating from further onward. Thirdly, the place appeared to be a facility of some kind. But of what, he could not determine.
Ozpin looked around. In front of him, he saw a lady across the room standing behind what appears to be another room separated by a protective glass panel. She is a red-headed woman with eyes that happened to match. She was handling what seemed to a computer. Perhaps she was a receptionist of some sort. In any case, it didn't look like she was paying him any attention seeing as she was busily typing away on her device.
He looked to the left. He saw a hallway and a large sign that displayed where it led to. The sign said 'Audience.' He looked to the right and saw a hallway as well as another sign. This time it read 'Participants.'
Given the clues so far, he wagered that the place was some sort of theater or an area. Of course, that was just a nice way of putting it. Given the effort that went into making sure that the place was hidden away from the eyes of the public, the contents of the area may perhaps be less than pleasant. Of course, he couldn't say for sure.
Still, that wasn't why he was here in the first place. He was here for Vanitas. Where was he?
Seeing as standing around wasn't going to get him anywhere, he decided to approach the red-headed lady across the room. He approached her and tapped on the glass that separated her from the rest of the entrance room. The lady was surprised by this and flinched backwards as a result. She quickly composed herself and began talking to him.
"Hello, welcome to the Underground Fighting Circuit," she quickly said. "Would you like to make a bet? Or are you here to participate?"
'Bet? The Underground Fighting Circuit?' Ozpin thought. 'So...this is 'that' sort of place.' After realizing where his current location is, his goal was completed. He now know what the young spiky black haired boy was up to. Now he had a different one in mind. Getting him out of this life.
"Neither, I'm afraid," was his answer to the receptionist's question. "But I am here for something else. Tell me young lady, do you know who Vanitas is?"
"Umm...Black spiky hair, wears red and black, has golden yellow eyes, right?" the lady asked for clarification. Ozpin nodded. "He's a regular here in the UFC. He comes in here basically everyday. Why do you ask?"
He kept the answer vague.
"I need to see him," he said. "It's a very important matter."
"Sorry," the red-headed lady responded. "Participants aren't allowed to see other people while getting ready for a match. I know, dumb rule. But seeing as there are some people who hope to *ahem* influence the matches outcome in their favor, it's to keep the matches as fair as possible so people don't feel ripped off when they lose a bet. I hope you understand."
That put a cog in things.
"I understand," he said. "Then tell me, when would the young boy be available?"
"Um...let's see..." she began typing away on her computer. A few moments later, she stopped. "Ah, he has a match coming up in an hour. Depending on how quickly he finishes the match, he should be available in approximately one hour and five to ten minutes."
"I see...thank you for the assistance."
"No problem."
Stepping back for a bit, Ozpin began deliberating what to do. He could step back now and alert the local authorities. After they arrested everyone, he'll do an intervention and relieve the police of their custody of Vanitas. As Headmaster of Beacon Academy, he had connections to a lot of powerful figures. Relieving them of the young boy and returning him to the orphanage would be as easy as counting to three.
Or...
He looked at the left hallway, the one that marked with a sign that said 'Audience.' Perhaps he could go witness the boy in action and see what he is made of. If he was strong, he could make a good huntsman. If he was not, then he would just simply move on with the first plan. Yes, that sounded like a good course of action.
He began making his way to the audience area.
Present
"Young man," I'll give it to you straight. I know what you've been up to." He reached inside his right pocket and took out his scroll. He quickly went to picture folder that contained evidence of Vanitas's fighting in the match that was clearly sponsored by the UFC. He opened it and showed it to Vanitas while making sure to keep a firm grip on it. "Recognize this, young man?"
The young boy opened his mouth in shock at the contents of the phone.
"H-how did you-?!"
"You don't need to know. What you do need to know is that I've already alerted the authorities," he said calmly. "Pretty soon, they'll invade the UFC and put it down for good. Not only that, they'll seize any data they can from the place to hunt down anyone who was involved and put them behind bars. After all, an organization that promotes senseless unregulated violence and exploits the downtrodden to do so is very frowned upon in today's society."
He looked at the boy. Vanitas had a shocked expression on his face. Apparently, he was so shocked that he didn't make a single noise. However, this didn't matter to him. For the future he has planned for the boy, he needed to press the assault.
"Even if they don't happen to find anything on you, with what I have on you, I can just give the evidence of your misdeeds myself."
The boy quickly recovered from his state of stupor.
"Oh yeah?" he said rebelliously. "Won't the cops find it suspicious that you somehow have evidence on me inside the UFC?"
"Young boy, I'm the headmaster of one of the most prestigious combat school in all of Remnant. But before that, I am first and foremost a huntsman. Though my primary duty is to protect the world from the creatures of Grimm, one of the many other duties that comes with being a huntsman is to uphold the peace. Do you know what that means?"
The boy opened his mouth to respond but was prevented from talking by Ozpin who quickly cut him off before he could say anything.
"What that means, young man, is that no one would bat an eye when it is eventually revealed that a huntsman was the one that took down that organization that exploited the poor and downtrodden for entertainment. Right now, I am the one with the evidence that could put you inside juvenile detention center for a long time. As such, Vanitas, right now- I'm the only one that can help you."
"Tch." It appeared the boy was at a lost for words. It wasn't long for the reality of his situation began to sink in either. Eventually the boy, after glaring a stare that could possibly kill a person at him, asked a question.
"How can you help me?"
"In the best case scenario," he responded. "Not only do I not turn you in to the local authorities, there will hopefully be no salvageable data located within the UFC that relates to you. In the worst case scenario, they find information on you and you'll be arrested. But do not worry, I have connections in many places, young man. Getting the police to release you will not be hard task to accomplish. However, you will likely obtain a criminal record as a result which could cause future complications in your life.
"And what do you want for this help?"
Ozpin smiled.
"Vanitas, what I want from you is a plethora of things."
"It's not like I have much of a choice."
"Good. You understand your situation. I'll keep it simple then. Though there are many things I want from you, they are all simple."
"Simple, huh? Like what?" Vanitas asked.
"Well, for one thing- I want you to stop doing stuff like this ever again."
"Come again?" the boy asked in confusion.
"You heard me, young man. No one more looking for fights out in the bad part of town ever again." The boy stood up from his seat.
"What?!"
"You heard me. No more fighting. At least...not in a unregulated setting. It wouldn't do if you were to end up dead as a result of fighting the wrong person."
"No way! Why would I ever-!" Ozpin flashed his scroll at Vanitas, reminding him of the evidence that the man held against him.
The boy growled aggressively at him before shutting up and sitting down.
"Now then, onto the second item." He cleared his throat. "I want you let the caretakers at the orphanage know what you're up to at any given time. I know that you may not like them-"
"That's an understatement," the boy quickly said under his breath.
"And that they may not like you. But you're a minor and an orphan, Vanitas. Like it or not, they're the ones that are responsible for you. They're the ones that feed you, clothe you, and most importantly, the ones that provide a roof over your head whenever you sleep. The very least you can give them is a little respect."
The boy was looking away from him now. Was he ashamed? If so, then good. A little humility is never bad.
"The very last thing I want from you, Vanitas, is a little more complex. It will requires years of work to accomplish this. I do not mind if you were to fail this last task so long as you give it your very best. However, if you were to fail as a result of not giving it your very best on this last task, and trust me- I will know, then you will most certainly end up in the detention center. Do you understand me?"
"Tch. Yeah, yeah, fine. What is it?" he said, still glaring at the man.
Ozpin stared right back at Vanitas, meeting his eyes.
"What I want, young man, is for you to become a Huntsman."
Man. Ozpin is getting to be such a major character in this. Which is really something since I don't really know his character all that well. So if Ozpin in this fic seem a little...off, then that's the reason.
I'm not really in the whole romance genre. I mean I don't mind reading it. But writing it? That's a whole other cup of tea for me. So if any of you readers were hoping for some romance in this story, abandon all hope for it.
Lastly, there's gonna be some more chapters for the prologue of this story. About three, hopefully just two chapters, before we get to the Beacon. So if all goes well, there will be two more chapters to go. After that, we'll get to see how Vanitas 'interacts', and I use that term loosely, with the other RWBY characters. It won't be pleasant for them, I assure you. *Laughs evilly*
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Thanks for reading Empty in Remnant. PEACE!