XXIX - Mulch
~~~(XXIX)~~~
Bright lights were the first thing he was aware of. His retinas burned as he tried to shield them from the source. He tried to move his arm to block the light, but for some reason, he couldn't get it to respond.
Panicked by that revelation, he opened his eyes and forced them to adjust. Once he was able to see properly, he realized he was in the Beacon medical wing. With great struggle, home used his left elbow to prop himself into a sitting position.
Damn I'm sore, I feel like I got run over by more than a few cords.
He was alone for the moment, his last time in this room had been less than pleasant. That doctor had given him a treatment almost as bad as his injury from Cardin.
He absentmindedly rubbed his shoulder, hoping to bring back feeling to it. That was a mistake. Oxon let out a choked gasp as pain flared from the joint.
What the hell!? Why am I in the infirmary? He tried to think of the reason for him to be in this state. Last thing I remember is talking to Weiss, then, there was a Grimm.
The memory of the boarbatusk was slightly blurry, he vaguely remembered being hit, but that was it. As he was trying to remember, the chief medical officer for the school entered the room. He saw the faunus in charge of Beacon's medical center had a clipboard in her hand and was looking over it when they made eye contact.
"Ah, you're finally awake Mr. Adhmad." She quickly appeared in front of him, and began examining him. "Hmmmmm, no dilated pupils, so I don't think you have a concussion."
"Huh?"
"You will need to rest your shoulder for a few days as your aura repairs the damage." She gave him a small bottle of pills. "These are for the pain. Your body is focused on recovery, not pain reduction."
"Ah, ok…" Oxon didn't know what to say to the woman. She was more professional with him now compared to last time. Yeah, he had learned that her treatment was overkill, he wouldn't fall for it again.
"I don't usually enjoy prescribing sense dullers, but you're going to need them."
"Oh, thanks. So, is that all?" That wasn't the right thing to say. The woman was suddenly in his face, her brown eyes narrowed and mouth set in a snarl.
""Is that all?"" She brought out several x-ray images and other documents from her clipboard. "Son, your aura shattered when you had been speared through your scapula and had your clavicle fractured in three places! The fact that the boarbatusk somehow missed your subclavian artery is one in a million! Without Miss Schnee and professor Goodwitch, you would have bled out where you fell!"
The sheet she gave him listed many more injuries. Torn shoulder ligaments, cracked ribs and bruised spinal vertebrae, and even internal bleeding. He really had almost died. That realization put him in a state of shock.
I almost died… I, I can't believe it. I must have been burning through my aura the whole fight. Holy shit…
"Well it's good to see you understand the gravity of this now. Currently, your aura is working hard to fix you. While that is happening, the energy that is coming back is immediately used to fix you. You'll be without aura until you are back in perfect shape."
No aura? Well that was concerning, hopefully he wouldn't need it any time soon.
"I recommend using this wheelchair for the next few days, to reduce the strain and energy consumption of your body. The injuries you sustained are similar to a civilian being hit by a car, with the addition to being stabbed. Your upper body needs to remain as still as possible for the next week or so." She tapped on her scroll a bit before continuing. "Considering the lack of aura, you were basically nothing more than a civilian in heavy armor. Normally I'd call your team to pick you up, but someone has been hounding me about you constantly about your condition."
"Huh?"
"Yes, she has spent more time here over the last few days than anyone from your team. They stopped by once to ask about your condition, then they left and I haven't seen them since." She seemed disappointed and disapproving of their actions. He of course wasn't surprised, they were allies in the loosest sense.
"Sounds 'bout right." He looked at the wheelchair that was waiting beside his bed. "So I just have to wheel myself around until I get a clean bill of health?"
"Oh no, you won't be "wheeling yourself" anywhere. Did you forget that your injuries are centered around your shoulder?" She coughed loudly into her hand. "Miss Schnee, I assume that you've been listening in?"
He turned his head to see a guilty looking Weiss poke her head through the door. The girl clearly had not been sleeping well, the dark rings under her eyes reminded him of Blake a week ago. The chief doctor also seemed exasperated.
"Girl, I told you to stop hovering around here two days ago." Wait, two days? "I thought I made it clear that Mr. Adhmad was not in any more danger."
"I'm sorry…"
"Oh, Weiss." Oxon was glad to see his efforts shielding her had been successful. He gave a little wave with his left arm. "How are you doing?"
She seemed to flinch at his question and Tsune sighed and shook her head. "No delicacy." The girl he tried to talk to remained silent though, which was odd.
"Miss Schnee, you will make sure he does not leave this chair for anything except him using the restroom. I have his arm in a sling to discourage its use, but I need you to make sure he doesn't try anything, not even lifting a sheet of paper." The medical professional continued to list out things he couldn't do, and he had to admit it was quite frustrating to be treated like he was made of paper mache. Hopefully Weiss would allow him some freedom once he was out of the doctor's sight.
"Understood, I'll make sure to keep him from making anything worse." Or not…
His insistence that he could get himself into the wheelchair went ignored. He felt like an infirm cripple when the two ladies put him in the chair. He did feel a bit of pain from his back and chest when he was put down, the jolt vibrating a few injuries. At Tsune's recommendation, their first stop was the cafeteria, lunch was luckily about to be served, and he was starving.
Once he was seated, he was rolled out of the room and into the main hall of Beacon. There was an awkward silence between the two of them. It didn't help that since she was pushing him, he couldn't see her face. He didn't know what to say, the few times he tried, he was met with silence.
Shit, did I do something wrong? Maybe one of the others can fill me in?
"Sooo… did I miss anything while I was out? My memory is a bit fuzzy."
"The White Fang, along with Roman Torchwick launched a terrorist attack on Vale last Tuesday. They loaded up a train in Mountain Glenn with explosives that allowed Grimm to surge into the city." Torchwick did that? Oxon was surprised the thief agreed to that, he liked to be dramatic sure, but he didn't seem the destructive type. "The students and faculty of Beacon, along with the Atlesian military, managed to subjugate all the Grimm and Faunus. Your team, Emerald and Mercury specifically, were the ones who arrested Torchwick."
Well, that was a surprise, did Cinder turn on Roman once his use was up? That wasn't a very comforting thought. If only he could have talked to the thief one last time, he was moderately normal compared to the others. But if not, then that was one less tool that Cinder had at her disposal.
"Well good for us, huh? Go team CMOS, catching baddies and all that." He hoped that the news that the thief was finally behind bars would cheer her up. But he just couldn't get through to the girl.
The heavy mood just couldn't be alleviated for whatever reason. He was pretty sure he blocked her from the blow. Ugh, this is what he gets for never truly learning how to socialize. Once they reached the cafeteria, Weiss wheeled him to the table occupied by her team as well as JNPR. He noticed a lot of other students giving him looks, and not ones he was used to receiving. She then left to get the both of them some food. Oxon was left at the end of the table, like some kind of important figure at a feast.
"Ah, hello everyone."
"Ox! You're up!" Ruby seemed to be in a similar state as Weiss, though instead of strange detachment, the young leader looked ready to cry. "We were so worried about you!"
"Seriously man, we heard about what happened." Yang at least gave him a grin, so that was one person moderately normal.
"Unlocking a person's aura drains the one who performed it greatly." The green ninja looked, well, the same. Flat expression, voice and posture. "To do that in an active combat zone was a bold decision."
"Wait wait, hold on a second." They knew? "I never told anyone. I didn't get much of a chance to, so how do you all know?"
Instead of an answer, Yang slid a newspaper across the table towards him. Looking at the text told him nothing.
"Local hospital sets up emergency operations in The Mall of Vale to help people who were injured in The Breach."
"Ahhhh, wrong page." Ruby flipped the paper over to show the cover. The main image was Roman Torchwick's smug mugshot under the text "Thief Turned Terrorist Arrested!" There was an article about how team RWBY encountered the plot while on their mission and worked to stop him. While they were unable to stop the train, many students and Atlesian soldiers quelled the threat. It mentioned his teammates arresting Torchwick near the bottom.
What caught his eye, and was no doubt what they were talking about was an entire section dedicated to himself. There was a photo of a happy crying family with a familiar child in the center, and the other was a photo of him in combat class. It wasn't a bad pic, he was mid swing against some unseen other student.
"Hero Huntsman Risks Life Saving Child!" Reading the article out loud made it even more surreal. Raising his eyebrows disbelievingly at that, he read the rest. "According to first hand accounts, a trainee huntsman of Haven Academy, Oxon Adhmad (pictured above left courtesy of Beacon Academy), came to the rescue of a group of children who took shelter in Gaea's Gifts Flower Shop. Once the young man eliminated the Grimm threat, he used a significant portion of his aura to unlock the aura of Clementine Goretti (pictured above left center courtesy of Dymphna Aurelia)."
That was the kid from the shop. So she'd survived, thank the brothers for that. The article seemed to go on further on the next page. "According to Beacon scroll records, this caused the young hero's aura pool to drop from nearly thirty percent to just six. Not soon after that, Oxon Adhmad returned to the battle where he was seen by security footage slaying multiple Grimm along with one Weiss Schnee. At some point later, Mr. Adhmad placed himself in the way of a charging Boarbatusk in order to protect the Schnee Heiress from harm. At this point, his aura was depleted, causing the brave student to receive a nearly fatal wound for his bravery."
Yeah, that really fucking hurt too. I'm surprised the unlocking took that much out of me, yeah I got pretty winded, but twenty four percent!?
The article ended with the fact that he was put into intensive care and was currently unconscious. Well that wasn't true anymore was it? The article also has a few quotes from people talking about him. One council member called him "a shining example of the huntsman spirit." While another person called him reckless in his actions. He had to agree with the second guy. The most embarrassing part was they had photos of him and Weiss dancing from the school ball, which was creating a load of wild rumors.
"Wow, this article makes me out to be some kind of saint." Using his good arm, he tossed it back down the table. "What a load of sensationalized bullshit. I wasted my aura the whole fight, it's only because I'm a huge moron that I got hurt."
"You are not a moron." He jumped slightly, and painfully, at the sudden voice behind him. Weiss Schnee had a guilty look on her face as she set a tray down in front of him.
"But I wasted too much of my aura on myself, if I'd been more reserved, then I-" he didn't get any further before the girl slammed her hands down on the table. It was then he noticed the red tinge to her eyes. "Weiss, are you ok-"
"I'm not the one who almost died!" It seemed like the emotions that she had been suppressing had broken free. "You selfless idiot! You almost died back there! I almost got you killed!" The rest of the cafeteria was eerily silent, the conversations and sounds of eating had disappeared so people could listen to what was going on.
"You didn't do anything wro-"
"Don't tell me that, I know with absolute clarity that I am responsible! I let myself get distracted, and look at what happened!" Oxon was unable to get a word in, desperately he looked to the others for support. But nobody met his eyes. Weiss collapsed into the seat closest to him, her face was hidden by her hair, but he could see the falling tears. "If I'd lost you…"
"Look, I don't know what you want to hear. But Weiss," the now crying girl looked back up at him with a heartbreaking look. "the actions I took led to that situation. I wasn't thinking about anything when that stupid pig came out of the shop. It was pure instinct that moved my body."
"But you could have died!"
"I'm aware of that now, and trust me, I'm in no hurry to cross that bridge. I am in zero hurry to die, but in that moment? I can't explain it, but it was like my self preservation instincts just shut off." It was really odd, after a year of building himself up so he could survive anything, he didn't even try to defend himself. He'd need to think about that later.
It seemed that her depressive emotions were beginning to crack. Her voice was weak from yelling, unlike the proud tone he was used to. "Why aren't you upset, why aren't you furious? You should want to hit-"
Reaching over to put a hand on hers hurt a bit, but he needed to. Her reddened eyes stared into his, trying to find answers to unthinkable questions. "Weiss, I don't know what kind of person you think I am, but I don't think I could ever do something you are suggesting. I'm not angry and I'm not going to do what you are suggesting the person I worked so hard to keep out of harm."
"You should at least-"
"Stop that. Besides, a wonderful girl once told me something important: "I'm pretty sure I can make my own decisions." That got her to stop beating herself up for a second, now he has to find a way to fix this. "I did what I did because for me, there was no other option. So I need you to accept that it was my decision in the end. What happened is not something I regret in the slightest and that it's something I'd do again, though hopefully with more than six percent of my aura. So can you stop torturing yourself?"
Her face was still tear stained, but at least the flow had stopped. The girl nodded numbly at his request, and began to poke at her food. It seemed like she would be ok, and hopefully everyone would move on and forget all about him soon. It was an almost peaceful atmosphere when it was ruined by an obnoxious exhibitionist coming into the room.
"OX! I saw the newspaper! You're incredible! Tanking a tusk to the chest had to have hurt! Do you think you're going to get a cool scar?"
Oxon and the rest of the table gave the idiot a medley of stares and glares. He was really mad that the newspaper that wrote the damn article.
"Read the room, dumbass…"
~~~(XXIX)~~~
Due to the events of the breach, the students who had acted in the defense of Vale were given the option to have theirs rescheduled. In Oxon's case, he couldn't even if he wanted to. He was annoyingly confined to his chair and nobody seemed willing to let him stretch his legs.
Team RWBY seemed to switch off with each other every now and then. Weiss and Ruby would be polite and help him with his tasks, whether he wanted them to or not. Blake would allow him a bit more freedom, but not enough for his restlessness. Yang, though, was someone who understood him.
"So you're really going to do this?" The two were at the top of a hill on campus, Oxon was leaning up against a tree and watched Yang try to find her balance on the wheelchair.
"Oh yeah, I've wanted to try something like this forever." Apparently the girl had this urge to ride the thing down the hill like it was a skateboard. She'd attempted it back home with shopping carts before, though she was usually stopped by her father.
For better, or more likely worse, there was no reasonable chaperone with the two at the moment. "If you break it, I'm going to let you explain to Tsune how it happened."
"Yeah, yeah sure thing pal." After a few minutes of testing her balance, she approached the edge of the hill. Thankfully it had a stone path so the stunt was a little more doable.
When it seemed like she was about to actually do the stunt, he gave a bit of encouragement. "Have fun, don't die."
"Bold statement coming from mister pincushion." Moving her body weight forward, allowing the blonde to ride the makeshift skateboard down the hill. It was going well for a few meters until a wheel got caught in a crack in the pavement. It was quite amusing watching the girl tumble down and immediately get run over by said chair. He felt compelled to give a polite clap.
"Oh shut it you." Getting out from under the poorly chosen ride, the girl walked back up the hill and looked ready to try again.
"I didn't say anything." He had a raised eyebrow and a ghost of a smile on his face. And he fought hard to keep the laughter out of his voice, thankfully he did a good job.
"Oh but I know sarcastic clapping when I hear it."
He watched as she once again balanced herself on the hill's edge. He accepted her idea for this series of stunts for a specific reason. He needed advice. And out of everyone he knew at this school, the blonde thrill seeker seemed like the most reliable. He didn't know how he was supposed to continue, stay the course, or break free.
"Have fun, don't die." A single finger was all he received from her before she set off down the steep path. She made it about halfway before she lost it and tumbled face down in the grass. This time he was unable to contain his laughter.
"Yeah yeah, laugh away." Yang's had leaves in her hair as well as dirt and grass stains on her clothes. It seemed gravity was a force that didn't like being tested, and the earth dealt the punishment.
"As much as I love watching "miss cool" eat grass, I have some questions to ask you." He hoped he could ask what he wanted without revealing too much. He'd gotten better at lying, much to his regret, and needed to use everything he had to walk a fine line of confession and secrecy.
"This about Weiss?" She plopped down in his chair and wheeled herself in front of him. It was an amusing sight that didn't fit the strong girl.
"No, yes, partially." Not where he wanted to start, but he couldn't avoid that topic forever. "I know she feels responsible about my injury, but I've been trying to convince her otherwise. She seems like she's doing anything she can to try and make it up to me, but I don't need her to."
"I understand where you're coming from, but you weren't here to see her after it happened, for obvious reasons." Yeah, his mini coma had been a shock, being asleep for over fifty hours was longer than he'd expected. "It was scary, Oxon."
"I appreciate the worry, but I came out fine."
"First of all, you nearly didn't, second, I meant Weiss. She nearly shut down completely. When we found her, it was after professor Goodwitch took you away, she was kneeling next to a pool of blood. Yours, and holding onto one of your guns."
She ran a hand through her hair, removing a few leaves and bits of grass. "That wasn't even the worst of it. Once we all got back to Beacon, the teachers wouldn't tell us anything about your condition. We're not your teammates or family, so we had no right unless one of those groups consented. So as far as we knew, you could have died before you got to a hospital."
He was unused to this kind of treatment. His family had looked out for him for sure, but he'd only known these people for a few months. How come they were so invested in him? "But now that you know I'm going to be fine, she should be able to move on."
"Your family all died, am I right?" Well that came out of nowhere! What the hell was she bringing that up for!? "After they died, how did you feel?"
Numb. That was the harsh truth. He had yet to cry over them, he never had time to grieve them after he ran. Even now he refuses to think about their fates as much as possible. Even if he did pray for their souls to find rest, with all he's done, he doubted that they would acknowledge him.
Without an answer, Yang assumed his feelings lined up with her line of logic. "Exactly. She was devastated. She rarely ate, she hardly slept and the few hours she did weren't peaceful. And how else was she supposed to feel!? You put yourself in danger to keep her out of it."
He didn't have anything to say, she knew his reasons from that lunch a few days ago. And really, what else was there for him to say?
"I won't lie, I'm glad you did, if we'd lost her that day, I don't think we could have recovered. But watching you nearly die was traumatizing, nobody can prepare or train themselves for that."
"I want to help her. I don't know how I can reassure her that I'm fine, but I know I need to." It was so different from the Weiss he knew. She wasn't proud, snarky, and kind. She was constantly walking on eggshells around him and not letting him do anything himself.
The blonde's expression softened a little. "The only thing I can think of is show, don't tell. Stop bringing up that day and just act like you do normally and she should realize that nothing happened that can't be fixed. Once her mind is off of it for long enough, she should hopefully return to normal. That, and make sure it doesn't happen again, it hurt watching her spiral like she has, but it also hurt to think you wouldn't come back."
The advice about not repeating the event was a simple thing to work on, but the other?"That's it? Just ignore the whole catalyst?"
"Maybe not completely, but focus on the future instead." The girl looked out towards the city in the distance, it was much more protected now that the Atlesian military guarded it. "The tournament is coming up, just enjoy it."
"I guess you're right… But once the festival is over, I'll be leaving the school." And back to his nice, calm bar. Hopefully.
"So? It's not like you have to forget any of us when you go to Haven, I know I'll be pretty pissed if you ghost us. Besides, you'll have Sun and his team."
"Right, Haven…" If by some off chance this whole thing kept going there, then maybe. But his gut told him that scenario was unlikely.
"Also, I know how it feels to lose someone. If you need someone to talk to about it, then you don't need to even ask." Someone she knew died?
"Who were they?"
"My mom." Oh.
"I'm sorry for that, I shouldn't have asked."
Great going ox…
"It's ok. I've had a lot of time to come to terms with it. It still hurts now and then, but I've been able to move past it."
"How?" Oxon was barely able to think of the happier times from before. The stings of pain and sorrow were almost too much for him most nights. "How can you move on? There's a void where they once were, and I can't fill it."
"You need to let your feelings flow, no holding them back, and no shutting away the memories. Once you do, it should be easier to come to terms with what happened. Don't shit down, I've seen how that affects people. And remember, you're not alone." The words were wise, and he knew she was coming from experience. What she told him about Weiss and about his own issues, he knew she had the right idea.
These Valeans sure are good at helping me figure shit out. That thought brought a chuckle to his throat as he got back into the chair. Yang thankfully let him do that himself and the pair got ready to return to campus proper.
"First Jaune, and now you. What is it with Beacon's blondes giving great advice?"
"I don't know, I think we're just superior in every way?" He let out a low chuckle at that. He let her wheel her back to campus with a different emotional state then when he'd arrived. He never got to ask about what he intended, but for now, he was content.
~~~(XXIX)~~~
Hope this dialogue worked. Just cause I enjoy this kinda stuff, it doesn't mean I know how to write it. I also don't have much experience in topics like this, so I can only imagine how the scenario might play out.
With volume two over, it's time for everyone to prepare for the tournament. It's a decent time skip, so I'll have some fun making some new events between now and then.
Also, check out my new story! Successional: Branches. It's going to pair with the main fic but shows stuff that I can't figure out how to put in this story. It will also have chapters that are "what if" scenarios. Check it out for more Ox and his chaotic life.