A/N: So this here is the last chapter of what I would like to call the Prologue Arc. In celebration for actually getting this all posted. I would like to request my readers to send in their suggestions for Chapter titles. Honestly, I have always envied people who can come up with such things. I cannot, so I am going to cheat and ask you guys, or leave them as they are. Simple numerical values.
Also, seriously thank you to everyone who has reviewed till today. Nearly fifty reviews. That is almost the same amount of favorites that this story has, and you have no idea how much it means to me that so many people took the time to write something for me and my story. This of course includes the few who sent me a PM instead of reviewing.
To those few who used guest accounts, thank you as well for leaving such detailed reviews (Seriously, some of the longest reviews were done on guest accounts. XD), thankfully there weren't any real questions aside from MsInsanity's review, but nonetheless, thank you all for the reviews.
Also, a special shout out to UnknownSoul, TykkiMikk, SatelliteApocrypha, and askasknot for all your multiple detailed reviews.
That said, this chapter continues and finishes Initiation day. The next arc will start off with everyone heading to the ever dreaded first class. With our very own and dear, PROFESSOR PORT! MUAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Till then. Enjoy the finale of the Prologue Arc!
EDIT: Made a few alterations to the pace, wording, and fixed up some walls of texts that were present.
Beacon - Auditorium
April 2nd, 2014 - Early Evening
He was confused, curious as well, sure, mostly confused though. After he and Winter made it to the temple, secured the Black Queen piece, which he thought was inappropriate for her. He argued that she should get the White one for a second, but who was he to deny his savior? If it wasn't for her, Dove Bronzewing would have just been another name that their Headmaster called out before assigning teams. Another added to the innumerable list of fallen against the blight that was the Grimm.
No, Dove Bronzewing was not going to argue with his angel again.
That was not to say he couldn't question himself. Questions such as why didn't he push for her choosing the White Queen piece a bit more? Those hipsters didn't look nearly as dangerous as the two tiny women besides them on the stage. Why had he decided to come to Beacon after all? Why had he gone and trained and studied to become a Hunter in the first place all those years ago? Why didn't he do what his mother wanted and become a painter?
...
... ...That was right. It was because she wasn't there to push his dreams on anymore. No she wasn't. The Grimm saw to that.
Dove steadied himself again.
He was here to become a Hunter to get back at the Grimm. He was here to prevent whatever massacres he could. And to do that, he didn't need to enjoy his time here. He didn't need to be safe. He had tossed that aside when the Grimm reminded him that there was no such thing as safe. No, he should be happy. Beside him stood his partner, Winter Snow. A powerful woman with the ability to shape ice to her will. And to his other side were something scarier than any Grimm he faced out in that forest today.
Dove had always had something of a six sense when it came to people. It let him know if someone was trustworthy, if someone was dangerous, if someone could help him with his current goal. It wasn't his semblance, that was a simple ability to heal others. He had awoken to it nearly half a decade ago on that fateful day. He wanted nothing more than to close those wounds. Oum responded and gave him the power to do so.
It hadn't been enough to save his mother.
It would be enough to protect his team.
Not that his team needed it. No, Dove was severely outmatched in this team. Which was saying something that he admitted it so easily, because he had been quite confident in himself.
Winter's physical condition was on par with his own, never once having gotten tired out there in the forest, or on the way out. Even with her creating a staircase of ice for them to leisurely climb the side of the cliff instead of scale it, she never produced so much as a single drop of sweat. She also clearly had experience fighting the Grimm. Dove had panicked out there when he was being swarmed. He had the skill, he had the strength. He didn't have the composure to face his nightmares as prey.
She did. No, that was incorrect. To her they weren't even prey. They were merely an obstacle to her goal. Something to be swept aside to a grander place.
Then came the other two on his team. Neopolitan made Dove shiver if he tried to get too close of a sense on her. It was as if she were chaos incarnate. Everything about her was distorted. Dove had met a couple bipolar people, even a schizophrenic once. They were cute by comparison to this girl. Truly, she embodied the team name.
None of that mattered compared to his new leader.
Dove's eyes hovered over the last member of his new team. The leader of Team Madness. The sole team of the eleven forged this day, not named after a color or something that could be immediately related with color. Dove was a full head taller than her. Winter even more than that.
Yet Dove felt like a child by her side.
In every sense of the word.
Dove wondered just how dangerous, just how powerful their new leader was. Just who they had gotten themselves involved with.
When the only person who made him feel the same way, was the man in dark green walking towards them, preparing to give them their new dorm room.
Mato looked up from her conversation with Neo and Winter as Ozpin made his way towards her. They had all been talking with Ruby and Jaune's teams, until Glynda announced their dorm room numbers and they were forced to separate. She pouted a bit at the fact that it seemed like Melanie was avoiding them like the plague.
Dove, her new teammate hadn't spoken a word since their team was announced and they started calling out everyone's dorm rooms.
Well, everyone's except their own. Probably why Ozpin was heading towards them as she thought this all through in her mi-
"Team MDNS. I wish to congratulate you all."
The team all just looked at him, waiting for him to continue. Even Neo didn't 'say' anything.
"It is very rare for us to gift a team with such a unique name. It is normally only granted to those who have performed far above and beyond the call in their initiation." He turned to Winter and Dove. "You two, after securing you own relic piece, then spent a fair portion of the time limit scouring for and helping other initiates. Saving a few lives in the process, and being one of three pairs to face and take down an Elder Grimm. Afterward you lead them all out of the forest, and created a staircase to make it easy for all of them to retire. Which you then proceeded to guard till the end of the initiation in case others came out requiring its use. That took a level of selflessness and dedication, not to mention strength, both of character and applicable, that is not seen often enough in our young hopefuls."
He then turned to Mato, with Neo now riding on Mato's shoulders. Their combined efforts were just enough for Neo to see eye to eye with Ozpin. "You two where the first pair to partner up. The first pair to reach and select a relic. And the last pair to leave the forest alive and under your own power. You both had reached the goal in under five minutes since the launching began. You two would have broken the record for fastest completion of the initiation by a solid three hours. You would probably have held the record for the rest of this institute's existence. Instead, you two decided to find a clearing a fair distance East of the temple, and start drawing all the Grimm to you. So that, and I am quoting the cameras that caught your conversation, 'We may save them what we can, by bringing the heat away from them'. I am here to tell you, that based on the movements caught by our surveillance system, your actions did indeed make it much easier, and possibly saved a combined total of twenty-nine participants, who crossed areas that had been abandoned by the Grimm in their charge towards you two. Not only that, but you now also hold the record for the highest amount of Grimm killed in an initiation, standing at seven hundred and thirty-eight. The previous record was four hundred and eleven."
Neo seemed quite proud at those figures, if her sticking out her nearly non-existent chest out, alongside her nose being held high in the air meant anything. Mato and Winter just rolled their eyes at her antics. Dove… Well… Dove's eyes looked like they were permanently shut or squinting… 'Is he even awake? Has he been awake at all throughout this entire time? Seeing as how he hasn't spoken yet…-'
"The actions of both of you would have been nothing less than suicide and complete madness… should you not have succeeded as brilliantly as you did. Even taking down an Elder Giant Nevermore in the process. Now, we don't normally pay anyone for their Grimm kills during initiation, but we don't normally see anyone face and defeat Elder Grimm during initiation either. So we have given you both half the bounty normally associated with such a task. We have also, aside from the special team name, granted you all the special dorm room given to the best of each year group. Normally that is decided after the first semester for first years, but I believe that you four deserve it, and would have earned it eventually anyway."
The four of them looked at their headmaster with equal expressions of confusion.
"Come now, your luggage has already been delivered, let me show you to your new home for the next four years."
Beacon - First Year Dorm Rooms
April 2nd, 2014 - Evening
Ozpin hadn't been kidding when he said this room was special.
They had been lead to the first years dorm rooms, where they were then lead to a small room, with barely enough room to house the four beds and shelves meant for each of them. Mato was worried about it, she and Neo had nearly nothing, but even if it was only clothing and a couple of sentimental things per person, it didn't look like the room had the space. Then Ozpin surprised them by asking them to pick up their luggage and follow them to their new room.
It was funny to note than Dove had the most luggage of the team. Neo made a few select comments pointing that out of the only male member on their team.
Not that anyone but Mato or Ozpin truly and fully understood her. Or even understood she was making any such comments. Dove mostly looked confused and terrified.
They were lead back to the first floor. Then behind the stairwell, to a door leading to the basement. The Team name tagged on the door, right below First Year Representatives.
Neo cheered and started zipping around at their new 'room'. Even Dove seemed impressed. Which Mato was having a hard time not drawing parallels to her old partner again, seeing his lack of emotions or conversation.
"This room is granted to those who will represent the First Years to the other years, as well as to other schools and the world. This is normally only done after months of getting to know all the teams, but as I stated earlier. We all came to a consensus based on your initiations that you deserved this. Thankfully, you will not need to partake in the responsibilities such a positions requires of all of you just yet, so merely enjoy the extra amenities for now. As you have noticed, the room where you will all rest is larger than your previous one. There are two bathrooms instead of one, both linked to personal training room located deeper in."
Ozpin interrupted his detailed reveal of their new room with a quick sip of his coffee. "Please take note that although it is a personal training room, it does have restrictions. Unlike those that you anyone can reserve in our training halls, this one does not have as much room and is located underneath the first year dorms. As such, please keep weapons of mass destruction out. It is perfectly soundproofed though, so no need to worry about bothering your neighbors. Also, whenever it is in use, it will record everything, one copy will remain in the rec room located on the opposite end of your rest area, one will be sent to our own archives. So do please keep things… appropriate while in their." That one earned a few different replies. What with Dove blushing, Winter guffawing, Neo looking completely and utterly insane… although I don't think that had anything to do with his comment, and more her being lost in her own thoughts again. Finally, Mato just raised a brow at her new headmaster in one of Neo's infamous gestures, one that pretty much stated 'Are you interested in joining me in doing things that no sane human should find pleasure in.'
... She felt it was appropriate at the moment, not so much in hindsight.
"As stated, there is a rec room with a good entertainment system, which, while tied with your training rooms cameras, also has a good selection of other entertainment sources. In the rec room, there is a door leading to the study room, where you will find computers with the same access and restrictions as those of the school library. Finally, the kitchen is through the door down there next to the Training Rooms door. It is fully stocked with most cooking utensils and equipment. Although if anything is missing, you can put a request to our Requisition and Supply store. There is no food stocked though, that you must purchase yourself." He took another sip of his apparently eternally heated coffee, if the steam that never seemed to fade was anything to go by. "Any questions?"
Winter brought up one that everyone probably had at this point. "Why are the other dorm room so tiny?"
"To force the new teams to get used to each other and accept each other quickly." Winter and Dove nodded their heads at this, but Neo and Mato just stared at him with deadpan expressions, knowing that the person before them was a like-minded individual, and would never have such a good reason for something so horrible. Ozpin deigned to answer them in true Neo fashion, a small smirk barely hidden by his mug, a twinkle in his eye, and partially raised brow gave them the true answer. 'I thought it would be funny to see the drama that four teenagers forced into such tight confinements would cause.'
"This is going to be a very interesting and wonderful relationship headmaster." stated the oldest member in the room. Neo nodded in full agreement with the statement.
"As the Team Leader of the First years representative team, we will have weekly meetings effectively starting two months from now, so I believe we will have plenty of time to work together. My door is always open though, for any of my students. Your uniforms and schedules have been placed in each of your individual beds, Mato, as a team leader you will partake in the extra classes that every leader is required to attend. You can take one team member with you as your second in command, it is completely up to you to decide who that would be though, and them to accept." Ozpin turned serious for a second. "Neo is not a possible choice."
Mato and Neo both nodded completely serious and in perfect understanding. Dove and Winter were a bit more confused, Winter understood that Neo could not talk, and was partially insane, but still shocked at how Ozpin just locked her from the position. Poor girl, thinking so positively of Neo. Dove on the other hand, while confused by his headmaster's outright ban, was also IMMENSELY glad that the creeping chaos before him would not be put in charge of him, ever. He was afraid of Mato, yes, but that was just because of the mysterious and overbearing strength he sensed from her. And just like the headmaster, he respected her for it. He had a teammate that was probably as strong as one of the most well respected and heralded hunters in the world. Terrifying, sure, but also a great boon, and he felt nothing but good intentions and straightforwardness from her. In that regard, the headmaster had a more dubious aura, but nonetheless a good one.
Neo's was strong, but was almost sickening to look too deeply into. Not for the first time, he wondered why she had been accepted, how many people she had killed, what horrible things had she gleefully partaken in, and what was stopping her from killing them and acting on her nature. Dove needed to be careful around her, he also needed to get MUCH stronger if he wanted to survive his school years. Less in fear of the Grimm now, and more of his own teammate.
"I would like to speak with and get to know my other two teammates before making any decision headmaster." Mato replied.
"Of course, your first leadership class won't be until the fourth of this month, so you have all of tomorrow and tonight to decide. On that note, you don't have to bring anyone with you, or both of your choices could decline, in which case it wouldn't matter anyway." Then he looked more closely at Mato, "Also, please call me Ozpin, or professor at the very least. Headmaster feels too stuffy, especially with ones such as you four.. Well then, I have taken enough of your time, classes are start at nine sharp tomorrow morning, so do get some adequate rest."
With that, Ozpin walked out of their room, climbing the stair that would lead to the first floor.
The four of them quickly split up to investigate their massive new dwelling, Neo's silent cheers somehow being perfectly translated to all three of them, despite none of them being near her. Then they started checking their schedules to find they all shared the same schedules for the first week thankfully.
"Okay gang, time for us to get to know each other. Dove, Winter, Neo, join me in the kitchen table. All discussions must be held at the dining room or kitchen table."
Dove, Mato, and Winter strove towards the kitchen table, finding Neo already sitting there. Dove actually frowned and did a double take, as she had been arranging her stuff in the bathroom designated for herself and Mato when Mato summoned them. Nonetheless, kept the question to himself as he saw the other two seat themselves.
"Ok, since we are going to be together for the next four years, I want a bit of information from everyone. The most important things will of course be each's abilities in combat, but we also want to know each other as people, not just warriors. I will go first." Mato paused to gather herself, "My name as you all know is Kuroi Mato, Mato being my first name, and Kuroi my family name. I am actually related by law to both Ruby Rose and Yang Xiaolong of team RWPY. I am also lucky enough to be the permanent contract holder of Neo here, so long as I remain entertaining enough, and provide her with a home. I will get to her and that in a moment though. I have many years of experience as a warrior," 'Way tp downplay the truth.' "and have faced a fair share of Grimm even before today. Neo and I also are also technically Legal Detectives as well as independent Police Enforcers for the City of Vale, and have become rather infamous in the world's underground, so please carry your weapons on you at all times while in the city, in case you two are ever linked to us." That one actually got Dove to scrunch his face a bit in confusion. Admirable that it was the only emotion he portrayed.
"In regards to weapons and the like. My aura has no offensive, defensive, or supportive effects. None at all, which means whether I have it active or not, a weapon will cut me just as effectively. Thankfully though, it instead has such an over the top healing factor, that I am unlikely to die from anything short of my heart being ripped out or my head being cut off- Neo don't interrupt me with all the other possible ways that someone may kill me." Neo just pouted in that adorably cute way that chipmunks and squirrels do. Or Ruby. Either is comparable. "So if you guys see me get injured, don't freak out. Now my Semblance allows me to store my personal armory and call it out at any time that I want. Said armory consists of a large cannon. A single edged, guard-less black blade. A semi automatic large caliber pistol. A tri-barreled gatling gun. A serrated shamsir like sword. A giant bladed lance with several integrated automatic machine guns. Oh! And a large guard-less broadsword. I also have several pieces of metal armor stored in their, but I don't use them much as my current gear is quite effective as is. I have some special effects with my Aura that also allows me to summon something that looks like a colored flame over my left eye. That usually only happens in very specific situations, and unless it is red, don't worry about it."
Dove interrupted at that point, probably the first words he spoke to her actually, "What happens if it red?"
Mato sighed, "Then it is likely that someone I care about is dead or has been hurt VERY VERY badly. It will only appear when I have been completely lost to rage, and trust me, that is something we ALL want to avoid. Just do your best to run away from me when that happens, forget the other consequences and just get yourselves and other innocents away." Both Dove and Winter cringed at that.
"Depressing things aside. Let me present Neopolitan, no last name yet, although I am working to get her adopted under me with my family name." At this Neo bounced up and waved at the two merrily, as if she was seeing someone off on super special cruise ship… while less than four feet from either of them. "As you two have surely been able to tell, she is mute. That being said, she is still good at 'communicating' with others. Myself, Pyrrha Nikos, and Ozpin are able to understand her perfectly, whether she wants us to or not. Yang is the second closest to understanding her, but I do believe it is because they are communicating at some kind of subconscious or telepathic level." Neo interrupted that one with a giggle, although it was clear that Winter was suppressing her own. Yang really just sorta 'assumed' whatever it was that Neo was 'saying'... and managed to get it mostly right, one-hundred percent of the time. It was cause for concern on Mato's end for a bit, in regards to Yang's possible state of mind... or lack thereof.
"Aside from that, Neo has nonverbal communication down quite well, so it should not be a problem for everyone else to understand her, for the most part. I give it a few months before everyone is at a decent level with her." Mato once again pauses, this time meeting the eyes of her other two teammates quite seriously. "Aside from the possibility of issues with criminals attacking you for being associated with us. I am afraid I have another bombshell to drop on you two. Normally I wouldn't bring in such personal details of either of our lives into such a conversation, but since both of these things can effectively harm you, I will." Dove and Winter sat up just a bit straighter and looked more serious at that.
"Effective the moment you were made part of this team, you have joined me in taking care of Neo. When I mentioned having her contracted to me, I did mean it literally. Neo was a contract mercenary before I ran into her. She has many, many skeleton and some still slightly fresh bodies in her closet." At the widening of the other pair's eyes, Mato was forced to sigh, "Understand this, she has had a very… difficult childhood and upbringing. I won't go into details, but let me just explain that for reasons out of her control, until I met her, things like morality, common sense, and the like, didn't exist. For all intents and purposes, I am a leashing a very dangerous monster, and you two are now responsible for assisting me. I have taught her enough to not go and kill anyone who looks at her wrong, but I have only had a couple months with her, and she is nearing eighteen years of age. Aside from that, thanks to said… upbringing, she has multiple personalities. I need you to memorize this." Mato leaned over, picking Neo up and placing her on her lap, cupping her face to show the other two.
"When her eyes are pink" Neo obliged by making both eyes pink. "Her personality is that of a child, when they are brown, she is technically her age, as well as rather intelligent. Neo don't do both of them, but, when they are white, she is at her most unshackled. I call it the Sadistic Sociopath mode, and it really is that, and more. Much more, and much worse. If you see her in this state, please try to calm her down, logic is best, emotions don't really get to her in this state, AND FOR OUM'S SAKE, NEVER EVER INITIATE COMBAT OR ANY KIND OF VIOLENT ACTION AROUND HER OR SPECIFICALLY TOWARDS HER WHILE SHE IS IN THIS STATE." She held the pairs eyes for a few moments to get the seriousness of that point across. Satisfied she let go of Neo, who promptly appeared back in her chair.
"That aside, she mostly sticks with me, so I will be able to take care of most problems, should they arise. She has been good recently though, and hope to keep it that way. Her eyes can mix and match, and that respectively changes her personality as well, so she has more than three. On that note, thanks to this… 'condition' of hers. She has three semblances. She can create illusions, teleport so long as she has a strong mental image of where she wants to go, and it is within a set range, and we shall never talk about the third one. The illusion is tied to her child persona. The teleportation to her chocolate persona. The last one tied to her S mode. So you can imagine that you guys don't want to know about it." Mato's shiver lent credence to her comment. Although even Winter was starting to wonder how she never realized just how insane and dangerous one of her few friends really was. "Her only weapon is her parasol. It has a hidden blade, and it is treated to withstand more punishment than some metal shield on the market. It is especially effective against dust effects and blunt damage. Her combat style as such, is completely reliant on close combat. And she is VERY good at it." Mato then looked at the two across the table again. "Well then, who wants to go next?"
Dove and Winter were quire for a few seconds, that honestly felt like minutes, until Dove spoke. "My name is Dove Bronzewing. I have trained for awhile, but have no formal schooling. I lost my family at a young age, and rationed my inheritance so that I could live by myself and arm myself. I entered Beacon through their walk-in examinations, and today is only the second time I have faced Grimm. The first time as a combatant. I recognize I am the weakest and least experienced one here. So… So despite everything, I am thankful that all of you are stronger and more skilled than me. I am honestly scared shitless by both of you, but a lot of that is because of the power you two radiate. So I ask you to please lead me well, because I need it." Despite his eyes being perpetually shut, his voice carried his conviction clearly. Mato was impressed, and she could feel that Neo was too.
Well, more like interested, which is pretty much the same thing for Neo. "My Aura is nothing special, but my semblance lets me heal others. It acts like a localized regeneration boost, it is not a miracle worker. Scars will be left behind, fatal injuries will most likely remain fatal, unless I get to it in time, and it isn't beyond recovery. I can also use it to cheat at therapeutic massages, seeing as how it speeds the recovery speed of muscles and the like to get rid of fatigue and pains. My weapon and armor was bought off the shelf with some of my leftover funds that didn't go towards paying my tuition. The weapon is a simple one handed double bladed sword with a fixed gun attachment, parallel to the blade. I plan to create something custom for myself while here, but I have trained with it for a long time, so the style should remain similar."
Mato nodded, "You are an admirable man Dove. After I train with you all in one on one, to get an idea of your styles and levels, I will take you to my niece Ruby, she is a professional when it comes to weapon designs and creation. We will get you something that will aid you to survive and thrive here. I will talk with her, see if we can't get some plans down for two weeks from now." Dove raised a questioning eyebrow. "The faster we get you your real weapon, the faster you will master it. And don't worry about the costs, you will work it off while hunting Grimm and criminals in Neo and I's normal hunts. I want to make sure that you CAN though. So better to work off a small debt, than try to save the same amount with a lesser chance of survival. Wasting time with something that will eventually be replaced as well." Mato kept her tone relatively civil. Her eyes showed that there was no argument.
Dove had the grace to merely nod his acceptance.
"We will set up a training schedule after we get everyone's styles down." She turned to the final and tallest member at their table. "Now I do believe it is your turn Winter."
Winter sat straighter in her chair… which should have been impossible, considering she was Weiss's sister, and had the same upbringing. "My name is Winter Snow. My aura is above average at everything, thanks mostly to training. It has always had an edge in its defensive capabilities though. My semblance allows me to control the temperature of my immediate area, instantly freezing something, or setting it ablaze. I have fine enough control to encase myself in ice and feel like I am at the beach on a sunny day, without melting the ice. I use it to armor and arm myself, as my precision allows me to create blades of ice as well. That being said, I carry a pair of large caliber revolvers as well as a couple of simple but solid short swords. One can't rely on just their semblance after all. I am adept at the use of most melee weapons, ranging from an epee, to claws, to flaming fists and legs. I am proficient with my firearms, both in their use as well as their reloading, with and without speed loaders. I am also looking forward to both of you teaching me, as I can tell that I am not at your levels either, so I am in your hands."
Mato clapped once, "Excellent! I feel a bit bad that we seemed to have mostly deviated to combat abilities, but we have over a thousand days together, and I will make sure we make it through them, so there is plenty of time to learn more details about each other. Like what we like to eat and the like. For now though, Ozpin was correct, it is nearly ten pm, and we have classes tomorrow at nine. So let us all get a quick shower, Neo and Winter can be the first ones, while Dove and I go get a couple things from the School store for tomorrow's breakfast. We will be waking up every day at five am from now on, except on Wednesdays and one Weekend per week. We can make exception due to special events in the future, but for now that will be the first thing in our schedule." Mato grinned in a very Neo way, "Get ready you two. You have asked me to lead and train you. I gladly accept, but I will grind you until you horribly regret the decision you both made today." Neither of them even so much as shivered. "Good. Now come Dove, since we will be waking up much earlier than the cafeteria opens, we are going to need to have our kitchen stocked for our morning meals."
A/N: And with that, THE PROLOGUE IS DONE!
So yeah, what do you all think about my version of Dove?
My work with Ozpin?
The fact that they live in a special room with a lot of amenities (Which isn't all a good thing later on thanks to the 'responsibilities' that Ozpin mentioned.)?
Yes, Dove kept his 'special ability' a secret, and why wouldn't he?
We get a bit more info on Neo! Anyone who guesses at what her backstory is correctly will get a cookie. Or rather, whomever guesses the closest to what happened to her between birth to the age of about ten. I will also give them priority thoughts in regards to Neo's third semblance.
That is right, I am officially going to allow you all to possibly give Neo her third semblance. If you all fail, or have boring ideas, then I will just go with the one I planned originally. So no pressure.
Also, for those interested in Neo or Mato getting some kind of pairing… I am really not seeing it happening… They are just too extreme, as well as being in ridiculous circumstances. No one with even a hint of sanity would end up in a romantic relationship with Neo in the four years that she will be in Beacon. Maybe when she is in her late twenties and has had most of her 'kinks' worked out. Mato is restricted by having to work on said 'kinks', as well as keeping Neo on a short leash. Plus… despite being in a teenager looking body… she is nearing her 98th birthday, and the body was originally BRS's, merely altered so that it can age, and bleed red, with a few minor tweaks. ...This means that Mato doesn't really have to deal with teenage hormones… BRS didn't have those in her body, and didn't think of adding them when she adjusted it…
It is still possible for them to have pairings! Just not probable. Not even to each other, since Mato feels more like a parent or caretaker (Mato is adopting Neo into her family… as her child… yeah. As of this point, Ruby and Yang are Mato's nieces [Technically Ruby is not… but that is besides the point], Qrow is her brother, and Neo will be her daughter. Fun family, no?
Well then, see you all next week!
P.S. I also need a new name for the next arc...