Remnant really was different from the Elemental Nations on more levels than Sasuke could at first tell. Such changes were not limited to the general infrastructure of the society but as a whole. There were two sentient races, creatures of darkness plaguing the world, an incomplete type of Chakra, and above all, extraordinary technological development.
As a student of Orochimaru, he was always present in his technological and medical facilities, where inhuman experiments were constantly conducted. As such, he preferred to stay away from those places and focus on getting stronger so he could get rid of that repulsive serpent as soon as possible and continue his revenge without further interruptions. Still, it was inevitable to become familiar with such equipment and its functions to some level with Kabuto always praising them, saying how ahead of the rest of the world they were in this regard.
In this case, how far ahead was Remnant in comparison?
Decades, at least, Sasuke defined from inside a kind of lighted tube, something called magnetic resonance imaging, used to check someone's entire physical structure without the need for medical Ninjutsu. And to think that it was possible to recreate something like that through technology.
Obviously, there were many things possible with Chakra alone that were impossible to recreate... better say technically impossible, but it was still a relatively impressive feat.
Those light projections... or holograms are on another level. Sasuke had to restrain himself from letting his curiosity get the best of him and trying to touch that. It also had those electronic screens that were interactive at the mere touch, without the need for external objects. There is so much to learn about this world.
His stay would certainly be interesting, perhaps even revealing beyond expectation.
After completing a battery of tests, he sat on a stretcher waiting for the doctor's diagnosis, wondering what he would do if he was classified as an anomaly. On the outside he looked as human as possible, but what about on the inside? Who knows if they really were the same or not. If things took a turn for the worst, Sasuke would have to forget his worries about using Genjutsu from the Mangekyou or even the Rinnegan.
Even so, problems would be inevitable. Sasuke would have to drain the Aura of this doctor and Weiss before trying to put them in a Genjutsu and destroy the evidence of his presence. Except that it wouldn't be that simple. There are small electronic objects scattered around this room, most likely some of these are meant for local surveillance.
Even Orochimaru had cameras everywhere, so it wasn't surprising that the same would apply to this world, given how much more sophisticated the technological advancement was. Something that increased his current discomfort as he thought about the way he was dressed. If it weren't for the... hospital gown, he would be naked, which wasn't pleasant at all, even more so considering that Weiss was also in the room. The girl was there, but at the same time, she didn't seem to be. Her eyes were on the hand he kissed and every now and then she focused on him before blushing, shaking her head as if trying to get rid of some thoughts and returning to her silent contemplation.
She is starting to fall for me. Inevitable, Sasuke knew. Again, a bit arrogant of him, but it had always been like this and probably would continue to be so. At least she seems to be fighting it. Which was good, showing that she was different from the rest. If not, and she simply proved to be the same as those thirsty girls from before, he would present her with hell, but not before taking advantage of what she had to offer. Having her eating out of my hand would certainly make my stay in this world easier.
While Sasuke no longer wanted to be that hateful version of himself who used and discarded Karin like trash, he wouldn't hesitate to take advantage of a girl's feelings if she proved useful, especially after his realization about the impossibility and acceptance that no girl would ever be able to love him for who he was.
Apparently, Weiss really was the heiress to the most powerful family in Remnant, definitely fitting the requirements of someone useful.
Something to decide later. If all went accordingly, Sasuke would end up spending a lot of time with her in Beacon and could draw more accurate conclusions. One thing at a time, because the problem now is...
"So..." the doctor, an elderly man, finally began to speak after minutes of analysis in the preliminary examinations, gaining the attention of the two youths present. "Mr. Uchiha, you said that you were attacked by some Huntsman and when you were weakened, a woman hit you with a Semblance capable of using hair strands as needles, correct?"
"Hn," Sasuke nodded, confirming the lie told earlier. "Is there a problem?"
Hopefully, there wasn't one beyond expectation, so he wouldn't have to take drastic action.
"Well... yes." The doctor straightened his glasses, noticing the change in the previously indifferent expression of this abnormal young man, and went over the scans on the screen to make sure he wasn't seeing things. "Everything you said checks out. At least thirty needles, which are not made of any kind of metal, are lodged in your limbs." The boy seemed to have relaxed his posture, just nodding in response, as natural and unconcerned as possible, and that was what bothered him. As for Miss Schnee, she looked shocked, which was the natural reaction. "Also... there are countless bones dangerously close to being fractured, not to mention the countless ruptured muscle fibers all over your body."
"By the gods, Sasuke!" Weiss swore when she heard all this, moving out of her seat to approach the one who was making her experience a complicated mix of unfamiliar emotions. "Y-you're really hurt!"
"Obviously," Sasuke wasn't understanding the level of shock presented by these two, especially since he wasn't called a monster with the test results. "If I wasn't, I wouldn't have come here."
"Young man, that's not what she meant." The doctor sighed, never ceasing to be surprised at this line of work. "Objectively speaking, you shouldn't be able to move, much less walk." The boy merely considered what was said, beginning to realize where the problem lay. "The state you are in would make anyone cry in pain, almost agonize. That, coupled with the fact that you don't have any kind of sedative or substance capable of relieving the pain in your blood, makes you... inhuman, for lack of a better term."
Oh, so that's it. Sasuke should have noticed this earlier but was still glad that this was the reason for the shock presented, and not because he had too many or too few internal organs. "I feel the pain if that's what you're worried about, I've just been trained since childhood to never show it, or let it overwhelm me," his response didn't seem to have had the desired effect, quite the opposite, it just gained another touch of empathy or was that pity? Then he decided to add with a shallow smile, "Besides, screaming and agonizing would only make my condition worse, wouldn't it?"
"That..." Weiss found it hard to hear someone speak so casually about something so serious. "All right, you're really strong, I understand that, but why would you train from a young age to learn something as extreme as ignoring pain? Is that normal where you come from?"
"Outside the kingdoms, it's almost a different world from the one we know, Miss Schnee," the doctor had an idea of what things were like out there, taking the liberty of explaining. "I had seen cases of people who could ignore a fracture and keep fighting, my surprise lies only in the amount of damage you can take, young man."
"Hn." Sasuke had nothing to say, he just let the flow of convenience add details to his story. "Can you heal me? I need to be in good shape for my Beacon initiation the day after tomorrow."
Again, it was surprising, not to say frightening, how relaxed and objective this critically ill boy could be.
Is this what it means to be truly strong? Weiss felt weak and inferior for being in the hospital merely because of a small cut over her left eye when compared to what Sasuke went through. I'm so pathetic...
"Hu, hu. Truly, you are a young man like no other." The doctor smiled, more inclined to help someone so resilient. "Helping a future Huntsman is the same as helping countless people, so I will certainly do everything within my power to make you brand new!"
"That's good, I am grateful," Sasuke bowed slightly as a sign of respect, yet trying to hide his complicated expression based on what he had heard. Being helped to help... an almost forgotten concept.
The last time Sasuke reciprocated the help he received was when he did everything he could to get the Taka members out of the fight against the eight tails... only to discard each of them soon after.
"Even with my Semblance, this will take a few hours," the doctor warned, to which the young man didn't seem to have even a complaint about. "Therefore, Miss Schnee, should I treat your wound first?" The girl seemed to have come back from wherever her mind was, considering his offer. "Rest assured, I am more than capable of healing that cut on your face to the point of perfection as if it never existed!"
A tempting offer for any woman who prized her own beauty.
However, Weiss no longer thought that way, especially after the shocking things she learned about Sasuke.
"That won't be necessary." She touched her nearly healed wound and exchanged a momentary glance with this amazing boy, suddenly feeling she should be proud of this mark. "I will keep it as a trophy; a reminder of what I have accomplished and how close to failing I came."
A reminder of where she should never return to.
"If you wish." The doctor had no say in that decision.
As for Sasuke, he had hardly even noticed the small cut on her face, so natural that it seemed to be part of her.
"It suits you." He didn't know the story behind that wound and didn't even care, but he would offer words of encouragement for all she had done for him so far. Helping to be helped, right?
A thoughtless compliment that could melt the ice of a cold heart.
Weiss felt warmth rise through her body and smiled as never before, being even more sure that she had made the right decision, not only about keeping her scar but for helping and meeting this strange-eyed boy before her.
"I know!" she crossed her arms and raised her head in almost arrogant agreement, soon heading out of the room with her beating heart and smiling blush. Before closing the door, however, she waved excitedly at him, saying with a friendly tone, "See you later, Sasuke!"
To his surprise, Sasuke couldn't answer before the door was closed, slightly lost for the demonstration of a beautiful expression from this princess pure as snow and proud as ice.
Who would say? He smiled a little, amused that he had allowed himself to admire a girl's beauty when normally only the opposite should occur. She certainly is someone interesting.
While he was sure that Weiss could be his if he desired to get all the resources that came with her prominent position in this world, Sasuke would leave everything to chance in consideration for her providing him with this little unknown experience.
"Careful, young man." The doctor knew well the warmth in that gaze; the spark of young love never before seen in the young lady. "Since you are from outside the kingdoms, you may not know this, but the Schnee family is... extremely complicated."
It didn't take much to come to that conclusion, Sasuke knew.
"I'll keep that in mind." In the end, regardless of what happened, this was all Irrelevant, because he wouldn't be in Remnant for long. Only until I get the knowledge and power I need. After that, it's goodbye to everything and everyone.
The treatment with the old man's Semblance, the first unique ability that Sasuke has seen and could analyze, lasted two hours in all, with a few breaks here and there to rest and confirm his own well-being. It seemed that while this was a wearing ability for the doctor, the patient was even more affected, where Sasuke would admit to having become sleepy, perhaps out of boredom. Who could blame him? The time taken to accomplish the task was ridiculously long than Karin's healing speed, even disregarding the removal of Kaguya's strands of hair.
Better than nothing, I guess. Sasuke would make do with what he had, never imagining he would miss the sticky red-haired girl. A reminder of what matters most.
Saving the doomed world he called home.
Sasuke put on his clothes, which needed to be replaced as soon as possible, even if he had some in reserve in his storage seals, and picked up the strands of Kaguya's hair without the doctor's sees. He needed to destroy them later, just like he did with his blood samples in the blink of an eye without anyone noticing. The last thing Sasuke needed was someone further checking his and his attacker's genetic information and the possible repercussions of that. After a final thanks for the old man's work, he went to meet a good-humored Weiss who was waiting for him at the end of the hall.
"All solved, I suppose?" she asked a rhetorical question, aware that the man in that room was the best doctor in Vale.
"Hn." Sasuke showed his arms devoid of marks, the result of his successful healing. "As good as possible."
"Good to know," Weiss nodded, trying not to pay attention to his body and address the necessary issue. "Here," she handed him a Scroll. "I noticed you were without one, it was probably lost when they attacked you, so I took the liberty of getting a new one for you."
Holding the small rectangular object, Sasuke felt stupid for having no idea what the hell it was or what it was for.
"I even put my contact on it." Weiss tapped the device to show him and saw the confusion, assuming that maybe she had gone too far and felt self-conscious about it. "Hmm, I did that to let you know about your recommendation for Beacon, so don't get the wrong idea!"
"Right..." Sasuke had no idea of anything at the moment, still surprised by the screen that popped up from the device, showing a picture of the girl in front of him and the option to initiate some sort of remote communication. "More importantly," he repeated her action on the electronic device and managed to make the screen disappear to put it away, questioning something he wanted to know, "the price for that recommendation, you still haven't told me what it was."
"Oh, well remembered." Weiss relaxed, noticing that maybe she was overthinking. "It's not much, just that you become my partner."
The confession came much faster than expected, but Sasuke was just as quick to respond.
"Sorry, I'm not interested in getting into a relationship with anyone at the moment," he dismissed her in the same way that he had done countless times before with other girls, almost disappointed that he had created expectations about her being different from the others and soon regretted it when he remembered that he might lose his recommendation. "I mean..."
"T-that's not what I meant, you idiot!" Weiss was red, a mixture of anger and shame at having been completely misunderstood and, even worse, rejected! "At Beacon, there are mandatory teams, I want you to be part of mine!"
"Teams?" Sasuke was even more displeased with this new bit of information than with the fact that she just called him an idiot. "Why me?"
"Well..." Weiss almost hated the ease with which he pretended nothing happened and changed the subject. "There are not many reasons, to tell you the truth..." she looked away, playing with the ends of her long white hair. "Even though we just met today, you're the only person I know in Vale of my age who is also going to attend Beacon, so... you know."
No, he didn't know, but he preferred to stay silent and keep listening so as not to make the mistake of jumping to more conclusions.
"Besides, you are strong and inhumanly resilient! I definitely want to have someone like that on my team!" Weiss could see the displeasure and clear hesitation in him, which made no sense. What kind of boy wouldn't want to be on the same team as her?! Maybe one who just rejected her without even blinking... But that was irrelevant! She wouldn't let this opportunity slip out of her hands! "That's my condition on your recommendation, take it or leave it."
This girl had the courage to use that sharp tongue of hers to talk to him like that and even give him an ultimatum, Sasuke would admit. However, a team? Or rather, another team? Team seven was the biggest headache he ever had and still was, always hounding him and hindering his plans as if they were the damn voice of reason, trying to tell him what he should and shouldn't do as if he was some kind of an idiot and was wrong in everything he did.
While yes, there were some things wrong with his way of thinking and acting after finding out the truth about Itachi, mainly because of the madness provided by the awakening and overuse of the Mangekyou, Sasuke was getting rid of S rank criminals in the process, not to mention that trash Danzou, who would have surely brought the village to ruin and the world itself with his twisted way of thinking. So when he decided he was going to kill Naruto, it wouldn't be just because he needed and resented him, but because he also wanted to destroy Kakashi and Sakura's hearts, so they would have a real reason to talk all that nonsense; for them to understand what it was like to be consumed by the hatred of revenge.
As for Weiss' request, Sasuke would accept, but only because he knew that his stay in this world was short and that no one he would know could accomplish the feat of crossing the space-time continuum to pursue him.
"All right, I accept." For nothing but his own self-interest, of that Sasuke was sure.
"Excellent!" Weiss was almost euphoric, being sure that she just added the future most popular and strongest guy in school to her team! "Get ready while you can and get plenty of rest tonight because tomorrow we'll be boarding for Beacon in the afternoon!"
"Tomorrow? Isn't the initiation in two days?" Sasuke immediately assumed that the information given by that girl with the cat ears was wrong. And to think that I even seduced her...
Of course, that was a low act provided by the moment, but the point remained.
The next time he saw her, he would make her kneel for a different reason; with the demonstration of fear that his aura could really provide.
"Yes, but you must attend a day before," Weiss didn't mind explaining, considering that he shouldn't know everything because he was from outside the kingdoms. "Therefore, I need you to send me a copy of your documents later today, in order to have your recommendation finalized in time."
"I see." So the bookstore faunus girl had only forgotten a few details, Sasuke noted. More important than this was the fact that he had no documents at all at the moment. "I have other things to do today, so I will get what you need in a few hours."
"The sooner the better, I don't want to go to bed too late, so keep that in mind," Weiss said to which he nodded, cheering her up for getting a teammate, a possible friend, and maybe... W-what are you thinking, Weiss?!
Turning her back on the boy who was beginning to invade her mind and heart to avoid showing her current expression, she decided to lead the way to get him out of the hospital without causing another unnecessary commotion... and to prevent other girls from trying to get close to him, of that she was sure. I may need to alert the security team again...
Sasuke merely followed her, taking advantage of the silence provided by a Weiss whose mind was anywhere but where it should be and planning the order of what he needed to prepare, hoping that this city was more nightly than it appeared, for his night was sure to be long.
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