Red Roses, White Scales
If you battle monsters, you don't always become a monster. But you aren't entirely human anymore, either.
Jonathan Maberry
Chapter 16
A True Monster
Part 2
'Am I a monster?' This thought, came into Mikhail's mind several times, in the last days. Over the weeks he spent in Beacon he trained more than he was used to.
The syringes from Accord helped him, by strengthening and evolving his Semblance and Aura. Over the time, he relearned to use his dragon magic. While it wasn't as powerful as before, he could combine it with his Aura. Even though Mana and Aura were different kinds of energies, it wasn't impossible. Both of them are the energy from the soul. Since Mikhail's soul is ancient and powerful, his body changed more into….something between human and dragon. He could feel that he became stronger by each dose of the particles from Accord.
Yet he needed to be careful, since no one must see him using his magic and full Semblance. The more he transformed, the stronger became his magic and power.
The progress was steady and in a good pace, yet he wished that he could train more.
But the problem was, by having two different kinds of energies, meant also that, if one of them was depleted, his body would enter a state of exhaustion…..if both would …..be depleted…..there was a possibility that his body would give in and Mikhail could die.
The thrill of having power and even combining his magic with his aura was incredible. Power was the goal of every dragon, they thirsted for it and Mikhail was also even now, not an exception from it. But for him, it didn't matter, his goal to protect now possible….wouldn't he just explode every time when a spell and aura combination went wrong.
'It is so hard!' He groaned, while hammering his head on the table.
Team RRWBY and JNPR were now currently in the cafeteria, for lunch. They were eating, while Nora was telling a story about killing Grimm, Blake reading a book, Weiss grooming her nails and Ruby and Pyrrha looked with worry to Jaune who stabbed his food with a fork and looked like somebody, whose puppy was kicked.
"Weiss I told you before. Don't do this while eating." Mikhail scolded Weiss; she is always doing this in lunch. Who the hell his making the nails while the others, are eating!?
The heiress sighed and put her nail file away "Fine."
"So….." Nora began to tell another story….Her eyes were narrowed and she tried to make much tension as possible, which worked, since Yang put her hands on her chin and listened with eagerness in her face.
"There we were…..In the middle of the night…."
Ren rolled his eyes "It was day….."
"We were surrounded by Ursai."
Her childhood took a sip from his tea "They were Beowolves."
"DOZENS OF THEM!" She stood up and yelled.
He corrected her again with a tired voice "It was two of them."
"But they were no match! And in the end Ren and I took them down and made a boatload of Lien selling Ursa skin rugs."
"*Sigh*, she's been having this dream for nearly a month."
Meanwhile Pyrrha couldn't bear her leader's dolefulness "Jaune….." Pyrrha asked "Are you okay?"
The blonde was broken out of his thoughts "Eh, yeah. Why?"
Ruby and Mikhail sighed.
"It's just that you don't seem a little….." The older twin began….
"You look not so okay." And the younger twin ended the sentence.
Everybody looked at the Arc, who tried to shrug their worries off "Guys I'm fine…Look!" He made a thumps up while laughing nervously.
Both team suddenly heard laughing, but not in a good way and saw that Cardin and his team were harassing a female rabbit or bunny faunus.
"*GROOOOWL*" Mikhail let a beasty growl out and everybody looked at him, especially Blake…they already the racism against him….because he looked similar to a Faunus.
"Easy." Ruby patted his head, yet his red eye began to glow slightly, even when Yang took his hand and tried to calm him.
"This….is…." Mikhail growled….
Poor girl, being a Faunus she had two possibilities. She could defend herself, which would led, that people think she is either aggressive and possibly a member of the White Fang or doing this, what is happening right now….enduring it.
"Jaune, Cardin's been picking on you since the first week of school."
The Arc looked distressed "Who Pyrrha, Cardin Winchester?"
"Eh yes Jaune!?" The former dragon answered sarcastically. He knew that Jaune wasn't strong and he had the suspicion that the Arc had somehow cheated his way into Beacon."
"Nah," He waved it off "He just likes to mess around, you know? Practical jokes."
"He is a bully." Ruby said sternly.
"And a," He put his hands on Ruby's ears "Big asshole." Then he parted them and saw that Yang nodded and smiled.
"Oh please…..Name one time he has bullied me?"
"Well," Mikhail raised his hand "He knocked your books out of your hands, or the time when he extended your scabbard to its shield form that it get stuck in the door frame and don't forget when he sent you flying with your own rocket launcher."
Jaune cracked a smile "I….didn't land far from school."
Everybody looked, in a deadpanning manner, at him and then at Mikhail "Yeah, because I flew after you and brought you back…."
"Jaune, you know if you every need help you can just ask…"
The former dragon smiled, Pyrrha was really nice and kind….yet she didn't understand the male ego…..and in Jaune's case he had a really idiotic one.
"Ohhh!" Nora jumped up "We'll break his legs."
"Nora, stop putting so much syrup on your pancakes…." Mikhail raised a brow, even though he liked the idea of breaking Cardin's legs.
"NO! Never!" The hammer-wielding girl huffed and sat down, while she continued to munch another tower of pancakes.
Meanwhile Jaune sighed and stood up with his food "Guys…really I am okay. Besides, it's not like he is only a jerk to me. He is a jerk to everyone."
"O'ww that hurts!" Both teams looked back at Cardin, who began to jerk the girl's long ears "Please, stop."
Cardin laughed mockingly "I told you that they are real."
Russel laughed "What a freak."
Yang became angry, her eyes turned red; she looked at Mikhail and saw that he was angry, too. The memories of her bullied brother, when they were children, came up.
"He is not the only one," Blake scowled and looked at Weiss who tried to stay out of it "And you think nothing of it, do you?"
Weiss glared at her teammate "Of course I do." She crossed her arms "I may not trust Faunus," She looked at the angry Mikhail and then at Cardin "But I think what Cardin is doing is just cruel, baseless and unnecessary."
Blake's scowl vanished "I am sorry."
The heiress sighed "It is alright."
"MIKHAIL!" Everybody looked at Ruby who cried after her brother. He didn't care anymore, even if that means rumors about him would start. But the former dragon couldn't bear it and then…
He grabbed Cardin's arm and started to squeeze it
"Hey let me…!"
He tightened the grip, causing Carding to gasp in pain
Team RRWBY and JNPR looked even more worried when they saw, that Mikhail's hand, which grabbed Cardin, transformed. If Mikhail would want it, he could easily shatter his entire arm with his barbed claws.
"Hey!" Dove walked towards Mikhail and tried to grab him on his shoulder. But…
"*GRAH*" The rest of CRDL took a step back, when Mikhail answered them with a beastly snarl. They saw his slit irises and the veins that popped up on his entire body….
The three took a step back and gulped in fear, while Carding was already on his knees and tried desperately freeing himself.
"Now," He spoke to Cardin, who still struggled and tried to free himself
"This is a warning Cardin. If I ever see you bullying others then this here will be a soft massage when I will catch you again. It doesn't matter if it's a Human or a Faunus. Did you understand?"
Carding was quiet.
*Squeeze*
"Argh!"
"Did you understand!?"
"Yes!" He cried out.
"Yes, what!?"
"Yes…sir."
Mikhail smiled and nodded "Good boy." He let Cardin go.
Cardin groaned in pain while holding his arm and Mikhail snarled, he looked at the rest of the bully's team, causing them to wince and shriek like little girls "That counts for all of you, too."
They nodded and he walked through them, ramming them to the ground, because he wanted to talk with the Faunus, who was bullied. His Semblance already wore down and dissolved into petals.
"Are you okay?" He asked.
"I-I am fine, thanks." The girl thanked him, while caressing her ear.
"Your ears?"
"Yeah." She caressed them "They're fine…"
He smiled and nodded "What is your name?"
"Velvet, Velvet S-Scarlatina." Velvet was a small girl with long, brown hair and brown eyes.
"My name is…"
"M-Mikhail Rose, I know you from the Mistral Championships."
He snorted "Okay...so are you really alright?"
She nodded "It happens sometimes, when my team isn't around me…."
Mikhail scowled. How dumb is that, waiting for a girl for being alone, so that you can bully her, because she is a Faunus….talk about cowards?
The leader of Team RRWBY sighed "Velvet can I have your scroll, please?"
"Eh…sure." She put it out and gave it to him. Mikhail synchronized it, with his own scroll and gave it back.
"If you ever need help, or if somebody wants to bully you again, while your team isn't around, call me," He winked at her and smiled, causing the Faunus to blush "Okay?"
Velvet nodded shyly and suddenly shrieked when she saw who was behind him.
"Professor Goodwitch." He turned around and saw an angry blonde woman before him.
"Mr. Rose, please come with me." She demanded and Mikhail looked back at his friends who reacted with various reactions.
His sisters and Blake smiled, Weiss shook her head while facepalming, yet he could swear that he saw a slight smile on her face. Pyrrha looked shocked and put her hand on her mouth, while Jaune did the same. Ren sighed and shook his head with curved lips and Nora saluted to him, as he was like soldier who sacrificed himself for others.
"Lead the way." He scowled at the gazer, who looked away. They are not better. Thinking about themselves instead helping a comrade.
XXX
Ozpin's office.
Mikhail and Glynda Goodwitch walked out of the elevator and both of them saw a sitting Ozpin.
"Mr. Rose." He nodded.
Mikhail sighed "Professor Ozpin, we are over it…you can call me Mikhail. Like you always called my mother out with her forename.
Over the weeks, Mikhail and Ozpin had several conversations and discussions. They were about the past war, the cold state all kingdoms were….but also about lighter things, like tea, food and politics. They also played chess together, with Mikhail always losing. But sometimes they also talked about his mother and Team STRQ. Mikhail always wanted to meet with Ozpin, since Summer spoke with delight about him. Normally Ozpin shouldn't favorite someone, but for him, his mother was like a daughter. The same was with Mikhail; he already liked the boy like a son.
"As you wish Mikhail."
"So," He sat down, while Glynda still glared at him "You already know…."
"What you did in the cafeteria."
He nodded.
"As the headmaster of Beacon, I shouldn't abet and endorse violence…."
"But also racism?" He shrugged.
"Indeed my boy. And for that I thank you….that you restrained yourself."
"Professor Ozpin!" Glynda cried out "I don't think that crushing the arm of a student is restraining!?"
"Yeah, but also turning a blind eye, when someone is hostile against someone from another race, who happens also to be a senior in our school." Mikhail turned around and glared at Goodwitch.
"I had it…."
"Under control? Suuuure." He rolled his eyes and turned to Ozpin.
The female teacher scowled "Young man. I think…"
"Glynda." Ozpin interrupted her and faced his new favorite student "I know it must be hard…"
"You mean that people think that I am an animal or that my mother is called a bitch?"
Ozpin clenched his fist "Yes…..And I will certainly not turn a blind eye to it. The teachers of Beacon are already warned…yet you must understand that I can't do much more." He took a mug out from his drawer and poured Mikhail some tea.
"Professor Ozpin," He took a sip "I know, as the headmaster of Beacon you need to be as neutral as possible….but what happened can't be ignored anymore, especially with the White Fang….."
"You are right my boy," Ozpin finished his tea "And for your punishment, don't worry you will not receive any …but try to tell nobody from it."
"Sir!" The female blonde looked distressed "This is wrong."
"I don't know Glynda, isn't it the same for racism and bullying? Besides no one was hurt, well except Mr. Winchester's pride."
Glynda huffed. She had enough and left the room
Both student and headmaster nodded and took another sip."
"Professor Ozpin?"
"Yes?"
"May I ask you something?"
He nodded….
"Why are people like Team CRDL in Beacon? You must surely know what danger they could bring."
"Yes, indeed."
"Then why did you accept them, sir? Was it because of the Winchester family?"
"No, the Winchester family is well known I admit, but even their influence is not strong enough, that I would bend to their will."
"Sir, you need to throw Team CRDL out, they are a danger to the students of Beacon….and in the name of Remnant, to everyone, if they will ever graduate."
"I know. Investigations are already done….yet we can't say, that they are being expelled for being…..bullies…."
"Sir, Cardin and his goons are nothing but egoistical beings with extreme racism ideologies. If they would go on a mission were Faunus are present, or being protected they wouldn't move a finger and let them die. I bet they would do that even to humans to save their carcasses from dangers."
"Yes….unfortunately you are right."
"And if something happens and people are losing their lives, you and the entire school will be blamed, especially the faunus population."
The headmaster looked inside his mug "Then what would you suggest?"
He sighed and let his shoulders slump down "I try to find a way."
Hope you like it.
If there are questions, pm me.
Khan