7: (UN)LIKE CLOCKWORK - [A Requiem]
Throngs of colourful students were filing out of the hall, setting out for the rooms marked for their teams on the odd glass-backed phones they pulled from their pockets.
"So... you're staying, then? To meet the Headteacher?" Jaune nudged the older teenager to his side in the arm as he asked.
Ichigo blinked, as his attention refocused with his reply. "...Yeah. I'll see you 'round. If he does know a way back for me, I'll say bye before I go."
"Thanks, uh, hope it pans out. See you later, Ichigo." Jaune followed his team out the high, grey-painted arched doors of the amphitheatre. There were only a sparse few students left now in the hall, leaving Ichigo to ask where the Headmaster's office was, since Ozpin was the first to leave. He'd just strolled out the room, and his reiatsu had simply vanished. Teleportation? It seemed to be so.
He caught the attention of a staff member on the side of the hall, a clean-shaven man in a burgundy v-necked jumper. What especially stood out was the holstered gun at his hip. Different world, different rules, he mused. The white holograms to the sides of the stage shut off behind them as Ichigo slipped in to his sight.
"'S'cuse me, but do you know where I can find the Headteacher's office?"
"O' course, new student, right? It's at the top of the CCT tower."
"The CCT tower?" Ichigo inquired.
"You don't know where that is? It's the biggest tower in the academy. At this late, it should be lit up, too. Come on now, get it together. You're in Beacon." the man tutted.
"Tsk, alright, already. Can you blame me? I've only been here for like an hour." Ichigo grumbled as he walked off. Exiting the doors, he stepped out into the golden late afternoon air.
The courtyard still had plenty of students mulling about in their newly-minted teams, but they were mostly beginning to make their way to their assigned dorms. The sky was a darker blue, tinged with orange at the edges, after a long day. The glass of the gothic buildings caught the low sunlight, and the shadows grew longer, but it wasn't so late yet that the black streetlamps had been switched on. What was switched on, however, was the backlit clock face on the cylindrical tower Ichigo had first seen when flying in. It glowed a warm yellow against the contrasting black Roman numerals marking the circle concentrically. It wasn't as bright as the luminous blue orbs in the hollow section above it however; that had been bright enough to be easily visible in broad daylight. Right now, as evening drew in, it was a veritable beacon. That must've been on purpose, given the academy's namesake.
That must be the CCT. Focusing with his hollowfied left eye, Ichigo could make out shapes behind the vitric face of the clock tower. There was a room behind it- Ozpin's office probably, given what the jumper guy said. Ichigo looked around the courtyard, making sure that nobody was keeping too close an eye on his position. Then again, given how generally apathetic school students were in his experience, no one would probably think too much about it, anyway. They'd just write it off as a special ability, in all likelihood, given how nobody reacted all that much to Yang literally bursting into flames. He rocked back on the balls of his feet, then lunged into a shunpo.
- –—{}—– -
A black waraji touched down almost a mile away on the light-toned paving stones of another, similar courtyard also with four paths and trapezoid ponds between them. The area was devoid of anyone else to notice his arrival out of thin air.
Ichigo glanced over his right shoulder, back in the direction he'd just flash-stepped from. Looks like his sealed state was significantly slower than his shikai, seeing as how it still took him a good few seconds to reach here, compared to how he was capable of instantaneously crossing miles in a single step with Zangetsu's dual form. The space he was stood in was surrounded by tall, pruned trees and raised plantbeds off of the paths on all sides, except for in front of him.
Directly ahead, was the massive tower he'd set out to enter. It was absolutely colossal; the pale stonework stretched up above the clouds, and the diameter of the cylindrical-shaped core spire was easily as broad as any skyscraper, and far, far taller than even the likes of the Burj Khalifa at that. Ichigo marvelled at the four great, flying buttresses supporting the megastructure, each easily large enough to be their own lithic towers. It matched the sheer scale and magnitude of the Senzaikyū and the spiralling towers of Las Noches, and those could be seen from days' worth of travel away.
Ichigo walked towards the front entrance, as just as a woman left from one of the dark wooden doors that lined the base of the tower in sets of twos, under even columns of Georgian windows. They opened automatically for her, as she walked past Ichigo with a curious eye on the substitute shinigami. Ichigo paid her watchful gaze no mind as he strode into the open doorway she left behind. He found himself in a warmly lit wide space, with some staff languidly sitting at desks, waiting for the end of their shift. It was getting late now, and the lights in the high ceiling had been turned on inside the large open-planned room. They were reflected in the highly-polished marble floor. He strolled up to a man sitting tiredly at a desk, with a drowsy toddler in his lap. He was holding the little boy idly as he willed his son to sleep.
"Hey, I've got a meeting with the Headteacher, Mr Ozpin right now. Which way do I go? Those stairs over there?" Ichigo flicked his thumb back at one of the two sets of staircases in the corners of the otherwise-round room, which followed the signs labelled Vale CCTS terminal room.
"Take the stairs? All the way up to Ozpin's office?" the brunette man chuckled in a hushed voice, "You're joking, right? Just take the elevator over there, and press the top floor. You must be new." He rocked his son on his knee as he answered, pointing to the metal elevator flush with the wall in the centre of the far wall. It had a cog-motif just above its doors, where the green LED floor number display was.
"Thanks." Ichigo spoke in a quick whisper, eyeing the child in the man's arms.
He stepped into the silvery, cold-lighted elevator, and pressed his index finger against the highest numbered button. There were a lot of them, configured into a two-wide vertical column, except for the ground floor and the very top one, which were set in the centre at the top and bottom of the panel of buttons, making a very elongated diamond shape. They were backlit with the same golden-yellow light as behind the giant clock face from the outside. Ichigo leaned on the chrome railing as he felt past the mirror-lined walls of the ascending elevator, and out into the unseen with a pequisa.
He could still feel it now- the Headteacher's downright bizarre reiryoku, where it didn't feel quite like multiple souls in one, but more resembled that of an arrancar's, where one soul had absorbed tens of thousands of others. That is real freaking shady. Where would he even get those? Did he do it to his enemies? Or were the implications even more dire than that? This was distressingly grim, if he potentially had to take out one of his best leads for returning home. But then again, Summer had vouched for his integrity as an ally, just not one she trusted very much anymore. He'd made bad calls, but he hadn't actively killed her- just made the poor decisions that lead to her demise, in her own words.
Ichigo raised an brow over his closed eyes at the sensation of another spiritual pressure in the same office the lift was cresting towards. This one felt oddly similar to the reiatsu of Ozpin, but it lacked the same extent of the aggregate of folded souls underneath it. If Ozpin's soul count was equivalent to a fledgling Vasto Lorde's, then this one was firmly in the class of an Adjuchas. The flame of this second presence had the same shade of energy, but it had not absorbed quite as many souls into itself as the Headmaster's had. Not only that, but it just felt as though it was in a separate state altogether from anyone else's he had met that day. A shallow frown broke on Ichigo's face. Hold on, he recognised that type. This... might be a hassle.
The lift's thin metal doors slid open with a gentle ring to signal the arrival of his latest guest. Ozpin pivoted from his position surveilling the twilit skyline of Beacon and Vale at dusk to meet his charge.
The enigmatic individual Ichigo Kurosaki had first appeared on his radar with the message that a horned faunus was carrying an urgent message for him. He'd been intrigued from the start, but deigned not to reply to Taiyang seeing as how... delicate relations between the two of them were. Taiyang no doubt could tell he had seen it, dissected it, and read it many times over, and that was satisfactory enough for both parties. Then, not two days later, the young man himself arrived far earlier than expected, at his own initiation no less. He appeared to possess a type of semblance that cloaked his body, and whatever abilities this gave him were hidden from any conventional cameras. Even more curious, however, was that the abilities were hidden from his own magically inclined senses, too. He could still see them, of course, but he couldn't feel them go off at all. In fact, he couldn't discern the faunus's presence altogether. Ozpin was certain that if his hyper-attuned acuity could not even tell if the boy was standing a mere meter in front of him, then nobody else on Remnant would be able to. That was a most dangerous passive ability; extremely dangerous, in the wrong hands.
The risk of that was already there, concerningly enough. The aftermath of the horned teen's beam, a circular hole pierced straight through the target, was unsettlingly similar to another injury he had borne witness to quite recently, only just over a month or so before the start of the school term. The uncanny resemblance was most ominous, and yet, why would the boy flaunt such a power if he was the perpetrator? Over the course of one day, suspicions mounted, waned, and were reconsidered, left to internally debate and simmer beneath his calm, collected countenance. All would hopefully be settled tonight.
And here he was, Ichigo Kurosaki, standing before him. Ozpin's eyes scanned him up and down, affixing to every fine detail he could probe. From his jet-black sandles, to his dark, baggy smooth fabric trousers, to his sable-black Mistrailian-kimono worn over a cross-marked chest, his strangely black-marked hands, tensing and untensing in an odd fidget, the red ridged band slung across his torso, the massive, body-length bandaged cleaver on his back, his ridged black neck-guard, the twin ivory-coloured, sharply angular horns facing forward over his head, and finally his heterochromatic eyes, one amber-brown, and the other inky-black inset with an electric yellow iris. They blinked, over a taught expression as if the young man was trying not to react to something. What could have him so on edge? Ozpin's misgivings about the boy only grew more, hidden behind the mask of his welcoming halcyon demeanour.
Ichigo, meanwhile, was trying to keep his attention on the man he thought he was stepping into a meeting with. It turned out, however, that he had walked into something a touch more complicated.
The office of the Head of Beacon Academy was open. Very open in fact, the only things actually in there were his chairs, desk and the coffee mug on it. That, and some knick-knacks on the wall, such as a few decorative plates hung up and some pictures. The floors and ceiling themselves were actually glass, which exposed a profuse array of huge bronze cogs and gears ticking away to turn the hands of the clock tower. Sections of the walls between the pillars holding the roof up were glass too, exposing more of the churning complex mechanisms behind them. It was very impressive frankly, as if one found themself standing inside the case of a designer watch. Other than that, there wasn't actually any furniture in the circular room other than a brightly-lit cog-themed chandelier hanging in the centre, the very wide, mechanical-legged circumflex table, and the weirdest kind of chair Ichigo had ever seen. It looked more like a silver-cast scorpion than an office chair, actually.
And so, here they met; Ichigo, Ozpin, and the woman sitting on the table, spitting into his coffee mug.
Ichigo had realised there was going to be a spirit here in the lift before entering the room, but he hadn't really expected... this. The woman crawled up on all fours onto the table, and leaned herself over the turquoise porcelain I 'heart' Beacon mug, her bob-cut brown hair falling around her face as she harked up and spat a thick wad directly into the brown drink inside. "Ha, suck it, you old bastard!"
Ichigo really didn't know what to say here.
"Mr Kurosaki?" Oh, right. Ichigo switched his focus to the man standing behind his desk. The sun was almost behind the horizon now, deep purple dyeing the orange sky, studded with a modicum of glistening stars visible through the floor-to-ceiling windows and transparent clock face.
"Yeah, hi. Good to meet you." His eyes kept getting dragged back to the ghost of the girl, and as she turned to check the face of the late visitor, he got an eyeful of her chest. His contrasting orbs widened. There was a hanging chain of fate linked to her soul sleep. What? It dangled from her chest, clinking as she shifted and sat up properly, and led down, phasing through the floor of the office.
"Good Evening, Ichigo Kurosaki, please, take a seat, we have much to discuss." Ozpin intoned, gesturing to one of the freaky chairs. Ichigo walked, very slowly, and set Zangetsu on the glass floor as he sat down, just as Ozpin did.
" 'Evening." Ichigo absentmindedly repeated, shifting uncomfortably in his scorpion-chair.
"Can I offer you a drink? For myself, it's coffee, but I sometimes have a preference for cocoa." he gestured to his spat-in mug.
"I'm fine, thanks... people get reliant on caffeine, which dulls your senses without it," he glanced at Zangetsu on the transparent floor at his side, "It ends up being a crutch. My dad warned me about it. He's a doctor."
"Fair enough. So, how are you finding Beacon thus far? Is it to your liking, I hope?" Ozpin leaned on his desk with his elbows, hands together and reedy fingers interlaced below his chin. His dark spectacles caught the warm light from the chandelier.
"It's... nice. Really nice. Looks like Disneyland, but better." He really wasn't paying attention to the conversation, at all. What had caught his attention, was the presence of a chain on the ghost of the young woman, who was watching the meeting interestedly. How did she have a chain of fate? Why didn't Mrs Rose, have one, then? He'd have to get her attention somehow.
"Disneyland?" Ozpin inquired, slightly confused.
Ichigo realised his slip, and hastily patched his blunder as he leaned forward. "Oh, uh, it's... a fake castle I've been to once, with my family. Like a theme park. You know those, right? With the rides and stuff. This one's better, though. It's real."
The woman sidled closer at Ichigo's dismissive explanation, giving the shinigami a closer look at the spirit. She was young, though slightly older-looking than Ichigo, and had a tanned complexion, like a Middle-Easterner. Her earth-brown hair fell slightly longer than her chin, and her eyes were a vivid orange. She had a beauty spot just below the corner of her left eye. She wore a green cape-like cloak over both shoulders, covering her frilly off-white pleated blouse and brown leather vest, which had a gold lining to its collar. A pendant, a circular amber-orange jewel was fastened just above her collarbone to the left, with three red-green feathers sticking out from it. Her legs were covered by dark brown stockings and shorts, with golden metal sabatons over her feet, linking to the greaves over her shins. The golden armour matched the shining pauldron on her right arm, and the bracer strapped to her right forearm, which also had a bracelet around the wrist. She seemed to notice Ichigo looking her over, so she moved to the other side of the mechanical table. As Ichigo's bicoloured gaze followed her, her own amber eyes widened. "Fweh!?"
Ozpin gave a grandfatherly smile. "Yes, I give free tickets to the faculty for the Vale Boulevards in a raffle every term, myself. It is nice to hear that, one should treasure time spent with their family. So Mr Kurosaki, I presume you have a reason to enter my school?"
"Oh my gods! You know I'm here!?" the girl shrieked, palms to her mouth in shock.
"Yes." Ichigo nodded resolutely.
"Excellent, may I perchance know what that reason is?"
"How!? Can I touch you, too? Let me try!" She had jolted to her feet, her chain ringing and shaking as she jogged towards him, arms wide in a grasping hug.
"Hell no!" Ichigo yelled, almost leaping out of his chair.
Ozpin reeled back at the late teen's raised voice. "Really? That is... quite troubling. Especially as I need to know this. I do hope that this does not become... difficult." Ozpin slowly edged his hand under the desk closer to his cane, the Long Memory, as he sighed. Just in case.
Ichigo realised what he'd just sounded like to the man he was supposed to be asking for a favour right now, and awkwardly composed himself. He kept his left arm stuck out slightly, to ward off the ghost lady trying to feel someone else for the first time in over a month. Not right now. "No, wait, I'm, uh, looking for a favour actually. I'd like to know, if you could help me out."
Ozpin's hands relaxed back onto the desk as he gave a warm smile. "I don't see why a huntsman such as myself should refuse a young man in need." At least, not yet. He reached up and pushed the frame of his spectacles up the bridge of his nose.
"Don't trust him! He's a real shifty coot!" the woman made a swift cross with her arms. "He didn't even give me a lick of warning that there might be squads of assassins out to get me at any moment!"
Assassins? "Thanks... for the help. What should I call you?" Ichigo edged his eyes towards the spirit.
"Me?" She pointed to herself. "You can call me Amber."
"Ozpin is fine, though you may refer to me as Mister if you are so inclined." He sat up straighter than he was before. "I see that you've made your way into my school's initiation, despite not applying formally at all." the Headmaster remarked.
"Oh, yeah, about that. I just found myself there. Of course, I was already making my way to see you, anyway." Ichigo scratched at his cheek.
"Already on your way to see me? Well, I must say, you've made a most impressive showing, for such a late arrival. I don't believe I recall your presence on the first day." Ozpin replied lightly.
Yeah, right. Obviously this guy knew Ichigo wasn't here on the first day, if he somehow figured out his full name without him ever giving it to a single member of staff here, he must've had an outside contact. Probably Summer's husband, Taiyang. He did tell him that he was going to see Ozpin, and Mrs Rose did say she used to work for the guy. It made sense. That must've meant he'd already known he was on his way before he even showed up in the Emerald Forest.
"Oh, really?" Ichigo opined, with a raised lilt to the end.
"Yes, of course. You did, after all, manage to kill a Deathstalker in one blow. You also slew a Nevermore, although the cameras couldn't quite catch what you did." Ozpin praised warmly.
"W-what the hell? That's insane... but seriously, don't fall for his crap! He's trying to butter you up!" Amber called out.
"I know that, obviously." Ichigo rolled his eyes. Teachers, man. This guy was so clearly trying to wring him for information it wasn't even funny. Turns out it was a good thing that training with Urahara tuned him to become a lot more skeptical when it came to meeting people.
Ozpin shifted forward in his seat with a small, welcoming smile. "Well... since you're such a proficient warrior, might I ask you how you pulled off such a feat? I must admit I am rather curious." he baited again.
"Listen... I'm not gonna brag about whatever you want to grill outta me." Ichigo sighed, rubbing his face boredly. "Seriously, just ask it straight up, or drop it. I've met a lot of people who like to talk in roundabout ways over the years. I've ended up with quite a knack for dealing with them."
"Wha-!? Are you stupid, or something? I thought you wanted his help? I told you to be careful with him! Don't try and piss him off!" Amber exclaimed.
"I am being plenty careful!" Ichigo muttered.
"...I'm sure you are, Mr Kurosaki. If you'll allow me, I'll be frank." Ozpin laid his palm flat against the table. It seemed to activate a mechanism inside the desk, because a holographic monitor appeared in the air over it. The projection displayed a camera feed screenshot of the clean, smokeless hole in the centre of the Deathstalker, surrounded by the flabbergasted teams PJYB and RWRN gawking at it.
"Do you think you could explain how exactly you managed to shoot a such a beam straight through an entire elder grimm and off into the sky?"
Amber and Ozpin both watched on as Ichigo considered the photograph for a moment, a black-marked hand to his chin, before he responded.
"Do I think I can explain it? Sure." he sprouted a small, rueful smile, "But I don't wanna."
"You... don't want to?" Ozpin hazarded.
"Ahaha!" Amber burst into laughter at Ichigo's wry spurn.
"Yep. I can explain, but I just don't feel like it." Ichigo leaned back in his seat, slipping into his more delinquent-ish mannerisms. This really reminded him of the occasions when teachers would try to pull him up on anything they could. Ozpin was a headteacher himself, so that's probably why it felt like it fit.
"Hmm..." Ozpin brought a fist over his mouth, earthen eyes twinkling with the whirring gears of thought behind his lenses. He'd dealt with this type of student before, but it was never easy. This would be... quite troublesome.
"Do you not wish for my aid, Mr Kurosaki? How am I to provide help, if you cannot find it in yourself to trust me?" the white-haired man suggested.
"Oh yeah, I didn't forget. I do need your help." Ichigo admitted, before leaning forward and pointing his right index finger at the man's chest with a grin. "But you see, the thing is, you want me more than I need you."
"Damn, that was pretty cool! Hope you can back it up, though." Amber commented aloud. Ichigo's temple twitched slightly in annoyance. Way to kill the moment, lady.
Ozpin raised an eyebrow at Ichigo's bold proposal. "...And why, might I ask, are you suggesting that, Mr Kurosaki?"
"That's simple," Ichigo jerked a thumb at himself. "I'm pretty freakin' strong. As in, conceptual dimensions-apart in power. Heaven and Earth. You know those two giant grimm I slew today? According to the students I met in the forest today, those would have given entire teams of fully-fledged huntsmen trouble. To me? They weren't even worth breaking a sweat over."
Earth? Ozpin opened his mouth-"Once I stopped holding back, of course." Ichigo cut him off.
The Headteacher removed his glasses, and wiped them on the sleeves of his very dark-green blazer."I hope you are not offended if I take such a dubious claim with a grain of salt, Mr Kurosaki. The cameras, with their limited capabilities, could not actually record you at all once you 'stopped holding back', as you say." It could have pushed him to his limits to fire that, or it could have been as easy as drawing breath. It was up in the air, without any direct sources.
"That's not a problem. You can test me however you want." Ichigo crossed his arms as he sat up straight.
"In that case, I hope that you would not mind, if I gave you a hand-picked opponent? In a week's time, of course, once I have given the pupils and faculty a little time to settle in." Ozpin finished cleaning his lenses, and pushed his spectacles back onto his face. They were lower now, exposing the analytical gleam in his deep brown eyes.
"No problem." Ichigo agreed without a moment's hesitation. He was even looking forward to it a little, actually. Of course, a week's delay did damper his plans to get home, but maybe, with a bit more nudging, he could find out everything he needed tonight. "I'm guessing you want to hear more than just 'I'm strong', don't you?" Ichigo knew how these things worked; he'd been drafting his CV before the Blood War, and that was coming in pretty handy right about now. He knew that he really had to sell it.
Ozpin chirped up a bit at hearing that. "That is correct. Strength itself is not a virtue, and I am glad you've realised that, young man." He gingerly reached for his coffee mug, and Amber chuckled darkly whilst Ichigo winced a little as the teacher sipped at it.
Nah... Zangetsu would disagree on that. Strength felt pretty good. Without it, he couldn't lift his blade to protect his own, and fight for his other virtues. He had become all too aware of that, during the Xcution fiasco. Still, he wasn't here to argue with this guy... if he could help it.
"Yeah, I can't just say that I'm strong, and expect you to bend over backwards for me." Ozpin nodded his head, still drinking from his turquoise cup. "That's why I'm gonna blackmail you."
Ozpin spat his dark brew out all over the table, almost spraying Ichigo with it before the shinigami pulsed a very subtle wave of reiatsu held tightly to himself to vaporise the droplets. "E-excuse me?"
"Yeah. I know you're not human. Or at least not entirely human..." Ichigo declared firmly, narrowing his heterochromatic gaze at the frozen man.
"W-wha? How'd you know that he's the wizard!?" Amber blurted.
"Wizard?" Ichigo paused, then pointed goadingly, "Yeah, I know you're a wizard!"
" 'Tis a shame, truly, that it has come to this, boy. Send her my regards." Ozpin stated grimly as he stood to his full height, even taller than Ichigo, the Long Memory held tight in his left hand as unseen reiatsu began to channel into it. The lights in the room began flickering on and off, bathing the room in a flashing clash of shadows and light.
"Holy shi-!"Amber cut herself off as she dived behind the table, her chain clinking as it passed through the table. She'd never seen him actually use offensive magic herself, and she had no idea if it could still hurt her.
Ichigo just remained seated in his chair, unfazed. "Who's her? Your mental ex?" Ozpin paled rapidly. "Hey, hold on a second. Not everyone's out to get ya- chill out. Okay, I'll admit 'blackmail' is a bit of a stretch, it's not you I'm talking about here."
He could afford to be relaxed here, because he did not truly feel threatened all that much. What had dawned on Ichigo as he analysed the Headteacher's reiryoku was that, even though the man held more than enough reiatsu within himself that might even match the likes of a new Vasto Lorde, it was limited by his flesh-and-blood body. He was somewhat like Ichigo in that regard; in his corporeal state he was held back, but in a spiritual form the taps would open up. As such, whilst the Headmaster did seem to be kind of strong, maybe even on a high fullbringer's level right now, he wasn't anything too dangerous. That is, assuming he was locked to a real body, and couldn't free his own soul.
"Oh really now? Ozpin was a tad baffled by Ichigo's lax non-reaction at the prospect of facing off against his magical prowess, bidding him to elaborate.
"Yep, It's actually me. I'm the bargaining chip, here." Ichigo began, looking Ozpin in the eye as his grip on his staff loosened, and the flickering lighting in the office stabilised. "I'm an inter-dimensional traveller, who got lost here." He spoke firmly, with a straight face. He needed to make it clear he was completely serious.
"What the heck? Are you for real?" Amber cried, peeking over the top whilst still crouched behind the side of the desk. "He was about to kill you five seconds ago- there's no way he'll fall for that bullshi-!"
"Hmm... that, is quite a bold claim to make, Mr Kurosaki." Ozpin spoke over her voice, since he couldn't hear the spirit, after all.
"It's fine if you don't believe me, it'll become pretty clear over time. Look, watch this." Ichigo jumped out of his chair, and Ozpin tensed, only to find him standing on nothing but the thin air above his desk. "See?"
"Whoa!" Amber gasped.
Ozpin was floored. He wasn't truly sure what to think here, but he knew he couldn't be wowed and drawn in to the teen's fantastical story. The millennia had taught him to be shrewd like that. On Remnant, there were only four ways one could achieve personal flight; a semblance, as a winged faunus, magic, or the divine. Ruling out the second and fourth possibilities, because it was obvious he lacked wings, and why would an avatar of the Brothers return without the gathering of the relics and ever ask him for help... unless this was a test, but he absolutely could not afford to fall down that rabbit hole of paranoia.
No; this was either his unknown semblance, or magic- most likely the former. Maidens could levitate, and so could he. ...Though his power had been waning with each new incarnation of himself, he could at least still do that much. It had been growing more and more frustrating, as he knew his current self was an ant relative to the unfathomable might he originally wielded in antiquity.
"I would appreciate your apparent proof more, Mr Kurosaki, if I was made aware of what your semblance is." Ozpin emphasised.
"Semblance? I don't know what that is, but I probably don't have one of those." Ichigo smoothly landed back into his oddly-shaped seat. "'Told you, I'm from someplace else. Another plane of reality- honest." He held up his right palm placatingly.
"You actually don't know? Are you really from another dimension? A semblance is a special power that is, um, granted to each huntsman uniquely by their soul. Stuff like, laser eyes, or controlling water." Amber called to Ichigo, warily sitting back up on the table, her golden-plated feet dangling off the side. Hm, they sounded like fullbrings, or even schrifts. Maybe he did have one after all, only slightly different.
"I see." Ozpin uttered. Either he was telling the truth, or he was going all in on his outlandish story. "So, if you, as you say, are an extra-dimensional individual, what brings you here to Remnant?" Ozpin tersely sat down as he kept his eyes on Ichigo across the desk. He'd humour him, for now.
"There was a... war. I was thrown off course, right as we won, a few days ago." He could freely admit he was from another dimension, but he'd definitely be keeping the facts about the afterlife under wraps. This Ozpin guy was a schemer, and he knew their type. Not just a schemer, but a schoolteacher, too- and he'd never got on with those. Who knows what he'd want if Ichigo were to reveal the true extent of his capabilities. Of course, if he were to just give him a tease, and make himself look interesting enough, he'd be an irresistible piece in this guy's mental chessboard. And that, was his avenue to get what he wanted.
"A war?" Ozpin leaned in attentively.
"Yeah... it was complicated. I'd have to explain it another time." How about never.
"And why should you need my help? To return home, I presume?" Ozpin supposed.
"Yes. I was wondering, seeing as how you're a wizard in a highly advanced society and all, if you'd know anything about opening a portal. The usual gateways aren't working all that well. Trust me, I've tried. Actually, hold on a second. Check this out." Ichigo's right arm paled under his kosode's sleeve and took on an ethereal bone-white pallor as he reached out with it, and drew back reality itself.
A line was scored across space-time, perpendicular lines cracking above and below the rift, before the whole thing opened up like an accordion to reveal a jagged garganta edged with right angles, the size of an A3 sheet of paper. Internally, Ichigo was quite pleased with the descorrer. He'd managed to limit the hollowfication to only his sleeved arm this time, which was already bleeding back into the tone of living skin. Given how Summer had reacted to him, it wouldn't have been a good idea to fully hollowfy around the Headmaster of a huntsman academy, especially as he wanted his help.
What Ichigo did not realise, however, was that his precaution hadn't worked. The Headteacher was speechless, even though he'd concealed his hollowfication.
Because Ozpin recognised the garganta.
The boy was openly flaunting one of her abilities, in front of him no less. Should he attack? No, wait, he collected himself, that would leave the already precarious situation irreparable. How could this even be possible? What was he?
But... could he be telling the truth? Was... whatever this young man was, just normal for his other-dimensional species? Portals could just so happen to be uniform, across the disparate planes of realities. He could entertain the thought, even if it was far less likely. Either way, he had to keep an eye on this boy, no matter the cost.
Amber got up and walked around, pulling her slack chain with her to try and look through the portal. "Wow... you can see inside it and everything..."
Ichigo leaned back to let her see, as he continued his explanation to the both of them. "Yeah, that's meant to be able to take me home, but if I go inside, it just dumps me anywhere with a decent signature of spiritual energy."
"I somewhat understand... that must be quite the problem." Ozpin remained transfixed, even as the hole through space began encroaching in on itself. It would be sealed, shortly, so he scanned it as well as he could with his magical senses. It really did match hers... but he'd never had anything to compare it to, so could that just be the standard signature of intra-dimensional space? If he was to attempt to apprehend the boy, it might alert her that he'd caught on. Was he merely bait?
"Yeah, it is." Ichigo ran a hand through his horned hair. "So then, I was wondering, if you could help me out?" he let out an exaggerated false sigh. "If not, I could always try asking Haven... Shade... or Atlas, for help." He listed out every other academy Summer had mentioned to him on the cliffside, emphasising their names as he counted them off on his fingers absentmindedly.
Ozpin coughed and sat up immediately at the though of James getting his hands on the being in front of him. "Now now, let us not be too hasty." Whatever the outcome, that eventuality wouldn't be good. Not to mention, the young man knew far too much to take his eye off of him. Somehow, Ichigo knew that he was a magician, and that could not be let go. The question was, how much did he know?
Amber hissed, "Nice, you've got him right where you want 'im."
Ichigo smiled at getting his way. "That's great to hear. What're we going to do?"
Ozpin looked to the churning gears in the transparent ceiling as he thought aloud. "There is something which can most likely tell you exactly what procedures to carry out to return, but I will have to search for it. It will take some time. I myself am not capable of interdimensional magecraft, sorry to say."
"Don't buy it! He just wants to keep a beady eye on you whilst he pretends to look. He's talking about something called a relic, I've never seen one, but I'm sure he knows exactly where it is." Amber interjected.
A relic, huh. Ichigo could kind of tell about midway into the conversation that getting what he wanted was going to be pretty tricky given the cryptic type of geezer Ozpin was, but nevertheless, he was still disappointed. Especially as it dawned on him that this wasn't a matter of mere days, but more like weeks, or even months in Remnant he was looking at, here. He... didn't know what to think of that. It was seriously... tsk... Pushing the troubled thoughts to the back of his mind, he focused on the conversation now. He could worry about all that later.
"Thanks, thanks a lot." Ichigo nodded numbly.
"I am glad to hear you've accepted." Ozpin smiled genially.
"Seriously?" Amber murmured incredulously.
"Welcome, as a student of Beacon academy, young man." Excellent. Now he could keep a close watch over the strange boy. He set his hand out, across the table, for a firm, warm handshake.
Ichigo stared at the hand for a full five seconds, then reached across the table. His arm stretched out, drawing out from the black sleeve of his kosode, exposing the outlined crossed bands on his wrist. His hand pulled forth, then veered to the side of Ozpin's open hand and curled into a flick that sent the coffee mug on the table spilling over the sides. The warm black liquid gushed out, splattering down onto the vitric floor below. Ozpin looked down at the miniature river of java running down his desk, and rolled his gaze back to Ichigo. He reached up, and adjusted his glasses.
"You know, you could have just said no, Mr Kurosaki."
"Sorry about that, but I kinda made a promise to someone." Ichigo answered cryptically with a small frown. His mismatched eyes flicked towards Amber's maniacal giggling as he scratched at his ear, under his left horn. "Also, trust me, you didn't want to drink any more of that."
Ozpin let out a harsh breath as he brandished his cane tensely. "Mr Kurosaki. I hope you understand, that I cannot let you leave here, if you are going to be so... uncooperative."
Ichigo donned a toothy grin. As if. "Sure thing. That's why I'm gonna stay here, for now, anyway. You said yourself you'll be helping me out. That's why I'll be needing a room here. But I'm not gonna be a student." he huffed, "I just graduated. No way in hell are you about to shove me into a classroom for things I'm never gonna need. Screw that."
Ozpin's eyebrow ruffled, expressing his chagrin, but he suppressed it and steadied his expression. "I must insist, Mr Kurosaki. At least stay for the first lesson in each subject. I am sure that you'll find something to your liking. Even if you do appear to be slightly older, you can attend any class from the first to third-years. You would, after all be a third-year yourself." If he could get this boy to form interpersonal bonds of any sort here, he'd take it. It would be invaluable in steering his course in the future. And on the chance he was a spy, it was the first step to compromise him.
Ichigo tapped his foot under the table. "Just the first lesson? Fine then." Sure, he could keep pushing, but he was getting pretty far, and it was usually best not to push too far in one direction when you still wanted something else. He picked these tactics up on the fly from growing up with two sisters, and they sure were handy now. Of course, he held no intentions of going to any classes past the ones he'd agreed to. There was nothing for him to learn from them.
A wide smirk grew across Ichigo's face as he slapped both his palms on the wet table, standing up slightly. "Buuut... on one condition..." Ichigo peered directly into Ozpin's earth-brown eyes as he named his price. Literally.
"...You have to pay me." If there was one thing he learnt from working under Ms Unagiya, it was that time was money, but time was more valuable. "I don't have any money in your dimension, so I'd like a regular sum paid to me whilst I'm staying here." This situation almost reminded him of how he'd charge sports clubs for his time back at school. There wasn't a reason to think it wouldn't work now, seeing as how this guy wanted him far more than any of the clubs ever had.
Ozpin sweatdropped, "...I must admit that I am somewhat disappointed, Kurosaki. I would have hoped a self-proclaimed swordsman such as yourself would have a bit more of a sense of honour. To siphon from our educational budget is..."
Ichigo cut him off. "Nope, don't give me that crap, you crusty tax embezzler- you live in a freaking castle! I know you're in some sorta illuminati shadow society." Summer had informed him that Ozpin held connections with every kingdom. Whether she meant the governments, or other academies was up in the air, but Ichigo was banking on either the former, or both. It was probably both, hopefully.
"Are you really trying this? If you can actually pull it off, I'm dead." Amber commented. Ichigo blinked at her dryly.
"-Besides," the shinigami continued, closing his eyes and crossing his arms confidently, "I don't need a licence, or money to protect people. I do that whenever I want. What you want, is me, here, and I'm saying you can hire me. I might even run a few errands and odd jobs, if you want. I've got experience." Another thing he learnt from working for Ikumi was that the Odd Jobs sector was definitely not what he wanted to do as a career, but it seems he'd have to fall back on it now. It wasn't as if he was planning to become a teacher or anything, he would literally just be paid to not run off halfway across the planet quite yet. Sounds like a sweet deal, and he could tell this geezer had the cash to spare.
Ozpin considered silently for a few long seconds. The claim that Ichigo would protect people on a whim was... interesting. "A few hundred lien will be deposited in an account for you at the end of each week, Mr Kurosaki. I hope you do not take this lightly. It is an extension of my trust." The alternatives of him roaming free or being forced to imprison him were too problematic. As irritating as it was, it would be best to acquiesce to the boy's demands, seeing as how a mere few hundred lien was only a pittance to his own funds.
"Holy crap... you're literally getting paid to come to school." Amber muttered jealously.
Ichigo beamed smugly. "Nice! Thanks a lot. This is a way better deal than my old job." He still liked Ms Unagiya more, though.
Ozpin held a neutral expression as he tapped at the holographic monitor, a four-digit number appearing on the projection. "I'm sure. This will be your room number. You will find it in the Eastern wing, ask for a map at the counter on the ground floor. I'd hurry, though- they'll be closing up shortly. A uniform will be provided in the cupboard, if you so need it, though I would prefer you to wear one. You can go to that site now, using this." Ozpin drew a mirrored card from compartment within his desk, and held it to the table, avoiding the still-wet side. A green tick flashed across the display, and the Headmaster slid the reflective card across what was now revealed to be a fully computerised tabletop. Ichigo winced slightly, at the realisation that he'd spilled coffee all over it. It wouldn't be the first piece of school equipment he'd trashed, but it sure looked to be the most expensive. Though it seemed to be working just fine, even with the spill. Must've been waterproof.
"A keycard?" Ichigo caught it, and inspected it in his hands. It was a chrome smooth-edged rectangle, the size and thickness of a credit card, with a small hole in the corner to hook it to a keyring. The Beacon logo, four circles inside a larger circle, was engraved into its shiny middle.
"Correct. Just swipe it on the scanner near the door and it will unlock. Usually a student's scroll would be used for this, but I assume you are not in possession of one."
"A scroll? You mean like a paper roll? What, do you put a chip inside them?" Ichigo guessed.
"You're really an alien, aren't you? You know them, it's like, a glass rectangle thing that sends messages, and a pocket computer. You can play games on it, too!" Amber added. So like a phone? It sure sounded like one.
"Not to worry, you shall have one delivered to you shortly. It is a communication device, and I advise you to ask your peers for aid in operating it." Ozpin answered. It would have to be fast-tracked by his... more questionable contacts to get manufactured overnight. He would absolutely need it to be location-tracked. The precaution would be necessary in housing such an unknown number as the teen sitting opposite himself.
"Well alright, then." Ichigo made to stand, before Ozpin called out to him.
"Ah, Mr Kurosaki. I must inform you that your weapon cannot be allowed to be carried around the corridors, unless it is to a combat class. I am sorry, but it is academy policy." Ozpin informed, waiting for his reaction.
"That's fine. No problem, really." Ichigo leaned over and touched Zangetsu, as he quickly drew his combat pass out as he flashed into his corporeal body. Shoving his pass into his front jean's pocket hastily, Ichigo unwrapped his black hoodie from his waist and drew the sleeves over his arms, frowning at the array of tears in it. Looks like he would be wearing the uniform, after all. A burning pain in his right arm drew his eyes to under the shredded sleeve, where blut vene's brilliant azure circuitry had activated instantly to continue evacuating the Deathstalker's venom from hours prior.
"Your right horn? It just disappeared? And where'd your huge-ass sword go?" Amber wondered aloud.
"Oh, yeah. Do you have a first aid kit, anywhere? Hey, what I just showed you is more proof I am what I say I am, by the way." Considering this was a school, or more like a university, apparently, they definitely had the equivalent of CCTV. -So there wasn't really a point to hiding his physical body, which would show up on them.
Ozpin stared at him. "...Here." he slid across a small green box from a drawer underneath the tabletop. "You may use one of the bathrooms, only three floors down from here." Curiouser and curiouser. He had clearly tried to hide the pentagon he'd just used, by facing away and palming it so quickly before pocketing it. That artifact... his magical senses could tell that it forced in something. He couldn't gauge Ichigo, but he felt the energy in that shape's flash. Ichigo's body was now likely containing the unfelt power he possessed in his form before; -a form of sealing. Presumably, it could unseal power, as well. That possibility piqued his interest greatly. Would it work on himself?
"Right, thanks." Ichigo swivelled his brown eyes intently at Amber. "We should speak again soon. Real soon." He pointed upwards, to the top of the tower with his left index finger, before sliding his chair back and returning to the elevator. She tilted her head, confused, but levitated up, through the transparent cog-ridden ceiling nevertheless. Not as if she had anything better to do, so she may as well entertain their chance meeting. Her chain of fate was drawn upwards after her as she rose. She could fly? Well, he'd ask her about that in a bit, anyways.
He halted in the doorway, hand on its edge. "Can I just ask... why did you make Ruby Rose a leader? Isn't she going to be occupied with trying to catch up with two years worth of work?"
The Headteacher took a few seconds to reply. "You've spoken to her? It is because I believe she has the most room, and greatest need to grow."
"Grow, huh?" Ichigo stepped into the lift. It dinged as the silvery metal doors closed behind him.
Ozpin took a deep breath in through his nose and sighed, hard, removing his shaded spectacles. This... would require some thought. His plans for the year now required reconsideration, around an unknown piece. If the strange, apparently shapeshifting boy was a spy, then he was a terrible one. But the young man's own explanation was far more fantastical. To buy into it, could be just what the witch wanted. Reverse psychology was nothing new. Then again, he did aid his students in battle against threats they were almost certainly unprepared to face. That, and this compromise was magnitudes more amicable than whatever mess was going on with Raven Branwen. She was his yardstick when it came to measuring whether negotiations had failed or not.
Ozpin eyed his still-sideways coffee mug, left on his dripping desk. No, rather than a hot drink, perhaps it was best to turn in for the night, and mull the enigma of Ichigo Kurosaki over in his bedchamber. Of all the knowledge he'd gained tonight, the fact that someone outside of the inner circle knew what he was, who could open that accordion-like portal, and pierce a Deathstalker in the same way one of their most important allies had been, was very, very harrowing.
And yet, over the millennia, Ozpin had gained a sort of sixth sense, so to speak, about these kinds of things. Ichigo did not feel like an enemy, in his heart. It would not do to alert the entire inner circle, and bring down the gauntlet throwing the entire situation into chaos on such a presumption. Not to mention, he really did want to see that fascinating pentagonal artifact for himself...
Ichigo strode out of the wooden doors of the gargantuan CCT tower's front entrance, and stretched, pumping his arms out over his head. His right forearm was wrapped in a bandage, sterilised and washed out in a bathroom sink. You tended to learn a few things, growing up in a general clinic. Hopefully that noxious purple venom wouldn't mess up their plumbing.
'She has the most room, and greatest need to grow.'
Bullcrap. Ichigo curled and unfurled his right hand's digits, testing how it felt to flex it as he reflected. That didn't make any sense, why should a leader's position be given to someone who would fit it in the future, rather than right now? Lieutenants only succeeded their captains when they earned the rank, or upon their deaths. He knew this was a school, so it did fit the 'spirit of learning' or whatever, but they were still apparently going to get sent out on full-blown missions, even as first-years. It would be best to give the spot to someone who'd trained for their dues and could fully focus on leading. Or hell, couldn't they rotate the position every now and then? This was actually going to make things worse for Ruby, as well. None of this was her fault. She was Yuzu and Karin's age, and Ichigo couldn't help but feel a little protective of her, given Summer's wishes still ringing in his head. Looks like Ozpin really did only stick her in the spot to push her to get stronger, and develop whatever the heck her super-secret special ability was, apparently. Teachers, man. Even in another dimension, taught by an literal wizard, looks like this issue was a case of a favourite student.
Didn't they know they shouldn't have those?
Dusk had come and gone; it was fully night now, and the pinprick stars studded the inky sky above the glimmering lit-up skyline. The black-painted streetlamps were all switched on, casting their neutral light over the pathway. Ichigo glanced around, shoving the neatly-folded map into his hoodie's left pocket, and made certain that there wasn't anyone to see what he was about to do. He reached inside his pocket and flashed back into his spiritual form to avoid any cameras, and bent his knees.
Eyeing the shattered moon, suspended in the bed of stars just behind the tower, Ichigo jumped. He straightened his legs beneath him, pushing off of the paving stones, and rocketed upwards, reaching the top of the tower in one bound. Soaring hundreds of meters up, he'd purposefully avoided the luminescent clock face and Ozpin's windows. He stopped himself mid-air, kicking off of an unseen platform of reishi to halt his momentum, Ichigo touched down on the very top of Vale's CCT megastructure.
There were three spires, the one in the middle a fittingly-sized cone to top off the skyscraper-dwarfing tower. There were two more to either side, each smaller, still constructed out of pale stone, but almost antenna-like in their placement. The masonry ring around the very top was octagonal in shape, with a very small blue lights set into the middle of each side's edge. The light blue immaterial beams and lucent orbs floated up from the hollow section below, feeding into the conical pinnacles.
Sat in the stone archway underneath the main spire-point was Amber, who pivoted immediately at the sound of his footsteps, her brown hair whipping about her head. Her chain jangled as she got to her feet, rushing towards Ichigo.
"Um, hi. If you can see me, then can you touch me, too? And uh, were you actually serious back there?" she pointed down, towards Ozpin's office.
Ichigo gave a reassuring smile. It looked like she needed it. "Yes, and yes. I didn't really lie, I just didn't tell him everything. What he didn't need to know, is what exactly I am. You ever heard of a shinigami?"
"A shini-what?" Amber blinked blankly.
"Well, I guess that answers that." Ichigo puffed, looking out over the luminous skyline of Beacon and Vale beyond. It was a bedazzling sight, that stretched out across the nocturnal horizon. "Can I just ask, what's with your chest? Why's that hanging out?"
Amber blushed, "My what?" she sputtered.
"You know what I mean." Ichigo clarified flatly, pointing at it. "The chain of fate. How come that's there? I've met another ghost a couple days ago, and they didn't have one."
Amber raised an eyebrow. "Another ghost? How should I know? And you're calling me a ghost, too? I'm not dead! I just woke up in a dark chamber like a month ago, and floated up as far as I could go. I've tested it, and I can go anywhere in Beacon, actually, but the chain gets pulled taught if I try and go anywhere further..."
Her voice dwindled, and grew small. "...You're saying... that I'm dead? But my body is still alive... I've seen it... most of it is covered up by a lot of machines and bandages in a weird pod, but I can still see my face, even if it is pretty messed up. The heart monitors are still beeping."
An out of body projection? So, her soul must be chained to her comatose body... "It's alright. You might be in a coma, then. If you're kept in this school, do they have a hospital wing?" He'd seen it before, people in comas with ejected souls, after a really bad accident. It wasn't pretty, and way more complicated to deal with than a simple deceased spirit.
She chuckled bitterly. "A hospital wing? Yeah, they do. It's better than most actual full-on hospitals, to be honest." she shook her head, "But Ozpin didn't put me in there. I'm stuck in some huge dark creepy marble chamber, lit by freaking green flaming torches on the wall of all things. I have no idea what they're doing, and I can't exactly ask them anymore. What you walked in on, was the only way I can get back at him, really..." she ground out.
"Why the hell would they stick you in there?" Ichigo pressed, "Why would they single you out like that?"
"Probably the same reason a team of assassins showed up outta nowhere and shot a goddamn laser beam at me." Amber huffed, crossing her arms into a comforting hug over herself. "Or through me, maybe. I don't know, I'd passed out afterwards."
Ichigo raised an eyebrow. "A laser beam? You have those?"
NEXT: 8 - FIRST DAY AT PORT - [World #05]
Author notes:
*Ta-daa* Here it is, the actual big twist I mentioned weeks and weeks ago. I've had this in mind since the start- did you really think there would only be one ghost who shows up? Amber is a spirit, but she's chained to her half-alive, half-dead body, kept suspended for the sake of others around her. Her state kinda reminds me of the Soul King, now that I think about it, so maybe I'll use that comparison at some point.
Also, important: the song is A Requiem, NOT Requiem for the Lost Ones. Very big difference. Btw, I've been rewatching the TYBW's 1st cour now that the English dub is complete, and man, Quilge's voice is just *perfect*. When I write, I imagine the characters with their dub voices, if that matters. I'm also going back to some previous chapters and adding the official concept art I'm drawing on for inspiration every chapter, so here's this one's:
[64DOTmediaDOTtumblrDOTcom/d0cd228d56165382d6638a9b8107511b/tumblr_inline_p7hkqtfsMN1qfwdqu_500DOTpng]
(It's the top of the clock tower for the final scene, you can go back and check the other chapters, too).
The meeting was interesting to write, mainly because of all the directions I could take it. The unnamed woman who left the tower at the start was Goodwitch, actually. In the end, Ichigo and Ozpin sort of both get what they want, but also still have more they want out of each other. Ichigo knows there's something that can tell him how to get home, but he also knows Ozpin is going to drag things out. He's become aware that, rather than just a few days, he's on Remnant for a good while, but pushed the thought away. He's also wary of the nature of the man's soul, but Summer vouched for his integrity, so Ichigo's not gonna switch on him just yet. Speaking of Summer, looks like Ichigo kept his promise, too.
Ozpin has Ichigo in his academy, but he's not answering to him, and he has to pay him, and he has absolutely no clue what the heck he is. Ichigo is NOT a student, nor is he a teacher, he'll kind of just live there for a little bit whilst gathering info on what he should set out to do. After all, my grand plan is to not just limit this to Vale. The idea of him attending those first few lessons is just something I need to set up a plot point for the next chapter. He won't be going to any more classes afterwards- it's the holidays for him, technically (except maybe I'll have him visit a few combat ones, very infrequently, to hone his Quincy abilities and create a certain meeting with someone).
In addition, Ozpin, as shown here, isn't actually Vasto Lorde level right now, since he's limited by his human body. Nor is his soul made up of tens of thousands in one body- it's one soul, that's absorbed thousands of others. (Yeah, I know a Vasto Lorde's soul count should be the millions, not just tens of thousands but uh, to line it up with his number of lifetimes, here's my made up in-story explanation: Ozma's magic multiplies the reiatsu he gains by a factor of a hundred with each soul. There you go.) Otherwise, that would completely break the story of RWBY up to this point, powerscaling-wise. He'd probably have magic-nuked her castle from orbit, at that point. That might be why he's taken such a keen interest in Ichigo's combat pass... Oh, and he also recognises the garganta. Take that, as you will. He's ridiculously suspicious of Ichigo now, but he's not like Ironwood, so he's not going to put a heat 5 wanted level on him or anything, yet. That being said, don't expect him to be like 'Yo, can you do me a favour and kill my ex-wife please? Safe.' -He's half convinced Ichigo's a spy. A piss-poor spy, but a spy nonetheless. He finds him harder to believe than say, Summer or Amber, because he doesn't have the compounding evidence of being a ghost and only being seen by Ichigo. When he stood up, he only gripped his staff tightly, and the lights began flickering. He didn't explode with power or anything, the threat he made was mainly verbal, in case you think he calmed down too quick.
Concerning Ichigo's characterisation, here: He wouldn't bend under Ozpin's thumb, but he wouldn't do something like threaten his life or anything, either. Do you remember how the Fullbringer arc started? Ichigo literally charges people at his school to play for their clubs, and when Ikumi threatens to fire him, he calls her bluff. He's surprisingly savvy like that, and kinda delinquent-ish too. I'm sure that if someone clearly as rich as Ozpin wanted him to stay in his castle, he'd charge them to pay for his daily necessities. Not as if he needs to be trained, or given a licence to protect people. They have nothing to give him, besides information, and cash to live on. Sorry if you're a teacher lol, but Ichigo canonically has had trouble with them for most of his life. Not to mention, Ōetsu does remark how Urahara's made Ichigo become much more skeptical of other people when they meet. Still, I've written in little things he does to show his caring side (e.g. lowering his voice for the baby, reassuring Amber). Right now Ozpin cannot place Ichigo's strength accurately, but expect Ozpin to offer him more ridiculously extreme requests over time, in return for larger bonuses, whilst Ichigo stays in Vale for the time being. That is, so long as they remain on passable terms... this is only their first clash. Something vital to note, is that Ichigo seeking to return home will remain a core plot point to this story, which is what will drive his clashes and connections with the other characters. He'll get antsy-er the longer he goes without leads or distractions, etc.
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