I wasn't so sure how long I'd been waiting for the train, but all I knew was that Ozpin had been quiet for some time now and the skies were already turning dark. I could only wonder where that damn train was. It's not because I was afraid of the dark or anything but it's difficult to see, that's all, I suppose that fear has been rendered moot because I'm now a fox Faunus and have night vision.
Helpful stuff indeed.
Though I guess I won't have to wait any further longer as the sound of something chugging and chuffing in the distance as well as an eye searing light could be seen. I can never get used to the fact that having night vision could screw me over if there's a sudden bright light shined directly into my face.
I proceeded to stand up while carrying my bag and walked closer to the rails, all while watching as the train began to slow down before it came to a stop. A part of me could only narrow my eyes, not out of concern or anything but the idea of being discriminated against was a major issue to me since due to the fact that, from where I was from. I didn't suffer any problems related to racial discrimination, since it was a big no no and a taboo in the country I was from. Yet, this is my life now, if this discrimination shit starts happening to me all because I have a fluffy tail.
I ain't got time to deal with their nonsense. They can shove it for all I care.
I watched as the train door then opened up to show a professional woman in a navy-blue uniform, with a blue white striped tie, black long pants as well as polished black shoes. She was also wearing white gloves, as well as an attendant cap that was slanted slightly to the right. Her distinct features were that she's tanned and had brownish hair alongside dark blue eyes and a gentle smile on her face.
I then boarded the train before passing her my ticket as she took it with both hands and gave a glance at it.
"Going to Mistral I see, have a. nice... trip…" Her words seemed to drone out at the end as she gave a glance at me and noticed my fox tail. That wasn't the only thing that had changed, her expression had become more stained, I have no doubt now that she dislikes Faunuses and is only keeping up that look only for basic courtesy. Just my luck.
No matter. Seeing that she at least gave me some courtesy as she stamps my ticket before passing it back to me, I then gave her a bow and thanked her. "Thank you. I won't take any more of your time." And with that, I walked into the coach, as I could feel her staring at me with distaste. Not a pleasant feeling to say the least.
But as I continued walking, that feeling got even worse as I could see some passengers on board giving me the same looks when they noticed my rather obvious tail. It doesn't help that due to my enhanced hearing, I could hear them muttering derogatory insults and I think I'd heard some remarks about an animal being on board.
Rubbing off that feeling, I walked onwards and had a good look at the interior of the coach. I'm getting some serious Déjà vu over here, it looked pretty basic but sort of reminded me of coach Oscar on, you know? But instead of the red chairs, it had grey. I also noticed some cameras at the corners of the coach itself, but other than that, it looked the same as the show besides the crowd there. Seeing the looks people were giving me, I moved with haste onwards before finding an empty seat that had my number on the ticket. Conveniently enough, it was also away from prying eyes because it was in the corner.
As I sat down and rested my bag under the table, with my tail resting on my lap, I could only watch as the stares from the passengers returned to whatever they were doing before I entered the coach. Wished there's an easier way to go to Mistral without attracting attention, but I suppose Faunuses were always getting the sharper end of the stick.
I could then look out the window as the train began moving once again towards Mistral, all while I began to wonder to myself. "Ok, now that I got a ride to Mistral, I have a day to travel to Mistral before finding Qrow once I've reached there. Oz? Are you there?" I mentally called out to Ozpin only to be met with silence. I suppose he's resting now since we're both heading to Mistral.
I wasn't sure how long I'd been staring out at night, but all I knew next was that it was time for dinner, as attendants could be seen pushing trolleys filled with dishes. I had to wait quite a while for food until finally, one attendant came to me who was different from the others who straight up ignored me and walked off. In fact, compared to most of the people here, she doesn't seem to mind that I was a Faunus. That's good to know.
"May I know what you wish to have for dinner?" The attendant asked me as I rubbed my chin. It's been a while since I had chicken, and I had a craving for them for some reason. Is it due to my fox traits that made me hunger for chicken? It would be rude to keep her waiting as it made my decision.
"I'd like to have chicken with rice and salad." I answered back as she nodded respectfully as she could be seen attending to my order, though I could see people behind her frowning at her for serving me. The idea of them getting angry at her all because she decided to treat me with respect irritates me, but I prefer not to get into a fight.
Still, they're jerks if you were to ask me.
Soon, she then placed what I ordered on the table as I thanked her before she left. The dish smelled amazing! It was grilled chicken with lemon butter sauce, and it reminded me of home in a way. The orphanage couldn't afford anything more expensive since they were reliant on the town's support as well as donations. So, for that reason, we tend not to have lavished meals and most of the time, everyone just had rice, some vegetables and, once in a while, fish or meat. Kind of depressing now that I think of it, and I've been having it for years during my stay there!
But while I was salivating at the opportunity to have some tasty chicken, that moment was ruined when I failed to pay attention to my environment as four men, all of them looking like they're in their twenties in civilian clothing, were whispering to each other before they decided to stand from their seats and walked up to me.
"Well, well… if you look at that, who let this animal on board, huh?" This got my attention as I was about to take a bite of my chicken. I could only look at them before I realised that they were surrounding me in the corner. That's not good. Oz if you're listening to me, I could use a hand or something!
"Uhh… hi?" I could only give a nervous grin. "I did pay for my ticket to get on board."
"Right. And how do we know you didn't steal it?" Another guy spoke up almost mockingly as I placed my fork down.
"Are we seriously having this conversion right now?" I could only question their thought process. "Why would I steal someone else's ticket? It makes no sense. Besides, I haven't had such meals in a while. So, can you kindly return to your seats? I think you're attracting unwanted attention to us all." Damn! I was nervous as hell! It's still impressive that I could say that with a straight face. Getting some serious and painful memories back when I was schooling with bullies and shit. And what's with that smile they're giving me?
"Oh, I don't think so." Asshole number one shook his head. "Animals like you don't belong to where people go to. You're going to leave this train at the next stop, or accidents are going to happen to you. Big, bloody, 'accidents'." He says his obvious threat as he leans over me like some kind of hawk staring at prey. Why does this seem familiar to me again?
The fact that this is in clear view of everyone and that no one is intervening, tells me a hell lot of people's tendencies to not do anything sometimes.
I continued giving them a deadpan stare at them as one of his buddies whispered into his ear, his malicious smile got bigger than before. "Oh, and hand over everything you have, especially that pretty sword you have on your back." He's talking about Oathkeeper on my back! Oh, you did not just tell me to give my father's sword away!
That got a scowl out of me as now I was less inclined to go diplomatically after they so brazenly demanded me to hand over everything, including my father's sword. "Asking me to leave is one thing." I pointed out as I stood up. "Demanding everything I'd had, and my sword that used to belong to someone precious to me, is another. Do me a favour, will you?" I glared at their leader.
"Piss off." I wasn't sure whether that was a good idea or not, but, let's just say he didn't like that and sent one hell of a punch to my gut. However, much to my and their surprise, a violet aura glowed around the area he punched. Even more surprising for me was that I still felt his fist going into my gut, it still hurt, but the pain I felt was muffled, it's like only 10 percent of the pain I would have felt from a punch without aura.
Now that I think about it, I thought I need to practice on my aura for it to work unconsciously. Was Ozpin behind it? If he wasn't sleeping but instead watching me getting my ass beaten, I swear to God, if he's actually doing that, I'm going to flip my shit!
"Drat! The animal's got an aura!" The asshole leader yelled out as I was still in the process of hacking my lungs out. "Stop standing there and help me!" He yelled out before grabbing me by the shirt and pulling me away from my chair, all as every other passenger watched or just ignored what's happening.
Also, I think I heard someone calling the police for help…
"Ozpin! You better not be enjoying this, you old man!" I sarcastically grumble in my head before another punch comes and hits me right in the face, which sends me staggering back, but like before, my aura activates to soak most of the hit. I didn't have enough time to recover before another hit came from behind directly to my kidneys, followed by two of them grabbing my arms as I struggled to break free.
"Let me go!" I demanded only to get kneed in the stomach followed by another punch to the face. It got worse when one of the assholes decided to pull my tail and I tell ya, it hurts like hell! That got a yelp out of me as I heard laughter from those guys before I finally got the opportunity to throw those two who were holding my arms off me. I ended up just stomping one of them on the feet, which worked surprisingly quite well, as it got him to release my arm. With one of my arms freed, I shove the other fella off his feet with a light punch to the face.
As I began to recover from the beat down I've got earlier, I sensed someone behind me about to throw a punch again, and so I somehow instinctively ducked before sending a rather sloppy elbow strike to one of the people to the gut, before doing a roundabout kick that I had no way I should have known how to do to another jackass directly to the nose with an audible crack.
Wait, how the bloody hell did I do that manoeuvre without hurting myself? You know what, I'll worry about that later.
Nevertheless, this started to scare my harassers as in fact, the leader of them took a step back or two as I turned and faced him as I glanced back to keep an eye on the other asshole still standing and not on the floor. But it appears that I won't have to kick their asses with what I guessed is Ozpin's skills flowing into me, as two people who I guess are police officers walked into the coach. Someone must have contacted the on-board police, hopefully I won't get arrested or this would be indeed awkward.
"Alright! Everyone calm down now, there's been enough fighting over here!" One of the police ordered everyone to calm down as I too, calmed down for there's been enough fighting. Being the bastard that little fucker was after trying to rob me, he immediately ran up to the police officer for help. No doubt he's trying to pin the blame that I was the initiator of all this violence.
"Officer! You have to arrest him!" The bastard told the police as he 'fearfully' pointed at me as I glared at him. My tail was noticeably fluffed up and stood straight up like a flagpole. Feel free to make your dick jokes ladies and gents, cos if I get my hands on him, I'm going to kick him in the crotch so hard that his balls would become his new pair of eyes! "That animal attacked us for no reason!" He cried out like a pansy.
"He's wrong, officer," I countered as I stepped forward. "I was minding my own business and was about to have my dinner, when he and his buddies came to me and began harassing me." I pointed at my table, which still had my meal there untouched. It's still amazing that my dinner was unscathed from the earlier fights.
Might have some dust on it, though… Eh, whatever. Can't be picky at it.
"Is that so?" The officer raised his eyebrow, though his expression shown one of doubt as he glanced at the craven fool kneeling before him. Okay, guess I need more evidence to convince him on my side. I then glanced around at the other passengers but none of them looked like they wanted to get involved, that's just great, but all is not lost yet for me. I then looked back to the police office looking directly at me as an idea popped into my head.
"Have you looked at the cameras in this coach?" I pointed out as I glanced at the cameras and then back at him. "I'm sure they were recording during the time of the fight, and it should have the evidence you need to see who's at fault here." I watched as the police duo looked at each other and one nodded. The thug's eyes lit up in horror as he looked directly at the cameras and back at me, as he pieced together what I had just said.
"He has a point, I'll go check the cameras, can you watch them until I get the evidence?" He asked his buddy as he nodded back while keeping his eyes on me as well as the thugs that tried to bully me into submission. At the same time, some personnel entered the room that looked like medics, then began to walk into the coach and check on our medical status. Despite my aura, I apparently suffered some bruises all over my body, but my condition is minor compared to how the others were doing.
After the paramedics checked on me, I could only hear my stomach growling in protest as I was reminded that I still hadn't touched my food on the table. "Can I… have my dinner now?" I asked the remaining officer in the coach, my fluffed-up tail calmed down and drooped back to where it was originally. "I'm feeling quite famished right now. Especially after that beating they tried to give to me."
I wasn't sure how long he stared directly at me before he sighs and relents. "Very well then. But no funny business, got it?" He made his demands rather clear as I nodded at him.
"Deal."
And so, I returned to my seat as that bastard watched me with hatred as I began to enjoy my food and damn, despite it being train food, it tasted pretty good! Either that, or years of eating plain rice with vegetables and the occasional meat, made me appreciate food more often. Perhaps when I get the chance, I should try to cook up something. Something simple like fried rice or something along those lines. Or perhaps baking cookies. Now that I think about it, Ruby would most likely devour it all if she got her hands on it.
I'll worry about that when I meet them tomorrow.
As I was happily munching on my dinner, the other officer then came back and passed his buddy his scroll as he watched the replay. As expected, to no one who had a brain cell here, I wasn't the instigator of the fight, just performing self-defence. I wasn't sure what happened next, but all I knew was that, asshole and his cohorts were taken somewhere. I think they were moved to a different coach, or maybe they were kicked out at the next station. Whatever happens to them, I'm only glad that I won't have to deal with their nonsense.
It also turns out that after that incident, I'd noticed that those who were previously glaring at me earlier seemed to have stopped doing that, either they learned not to mess with me since I would fight back as well as possessing aura, or they now know that if they were to try and harass me, they would get into trouble with the authorities. Which I'm totally cool with by the way, as now the journey to Mistral would be peaceful. Well… mostly unless there's a sudden Grimm attack or something. But let's not jinxed it to happen, that would be stupid if it did.
But as dinner passed on, much to my surprise, we were taken away from our seats and brought into our own separate rooms. Why they didn't bring us here from the start would be a mystery to me. Then again, it must be only for us to sleep here, since it's literally just a bed that is of much shitter quality to the one I've slept back at the orphanage. Well, at least we have a private bathroom so that's a plus, I guess?
Though, having a look into it just proves that this entire room was just renovated to the bare minimum. It was literally just a sink, toilet bowl and well a separate shower. Then again, I'd doubt that most people would be on the train for more than a day, so I'll let it pass. The room also has a window, so at least this entire room won't be stuffy, which is a plus.
And so, as I lay my back on the bed and stare into the ceiling, Ozpin finally decides to grant me his presence as he called for me.
"Mr Arakan?" Ozpin called for my attention, but it startled me instead and made me fall off the bed with an audible thud, with my face kissing the floor.
"Ow…" I groaned as I got off the floor while also dusting myself off.
"If I may ask, what happened earlier while I was away?" Ozpin continues asking while entirely ignoring that I just kissed the ground, questioned me as I sat on the bed. Is that really what he wants to ask? Can't he read my memories like he has done already? Never mind that, my guess is that he wants me to say it.
"Long story short Headmaster, we got onto the train, got into a fight with some people who tried to rob me of everything I had, and had dinner before we were assigned to this rather empty room to sleep in." I explained it briefly as I could hear Ozpin humming to himself.
"I see… That explains why certain parts of your body seemed to be bruised." You can tell huh Oz? As he hummed about it, I unconsciously touched my cheek, in which that jerk punched me in the face.
"I must say, well done in fending them off without causing extensive injuries to them. Students tend to forget that most people do not have aura and if they're not careful, they could unintentionally cause severe injuries to those with no aura. Your fighting style could definitely use some work but, once we meet up with our friend, we can work on it. Though the roundabout kick to the nose might have been a bit excessive." Ozpin complimented me before making his observations. No doubt now that he's reviewing what had happened hours ago in my head.
"It was? Oh dear, I was, uh, going with the flow. Yea, let's go with that. But I wasn't even sure how to enhance myself with aura in combat, yet I somehow managed to passively cloak my aura? Do you have any idea as to how that happened?" I rubbed the back of my head as it was my turn to ask him.
"Normally, it takes time and practice to cloak your aura subconsciously," Ozpin theory just proves that I somehow managed to subconsciously cloak myself with my aura. Is it because of my knowledge of aura that allowed me to use it without training? "But I believe it is due to my knowledge of aura flowing into you ever since we first bonded over a month ago." Or that I suppose could be the reason. I began to scratch my chin as I thought through what Ozpin had theorised.
"Mr Arakan. If I may, while you're packing your bag earlier this morning, I can't help but notice a button within the bag itself." Wait, there was one? How did I miss it then? You know what? I'm not going to question it then.
"Besides Oathkeeper inside it?" I just had to confirm with Ozpin as I swore he nodded in my head.
"Yes, that is correct. I believe your father had hidden more items that could help us in our journeys, besides Oathkeeper." He does have a point, Ozpin had my curiosity, but now he has my attention. Now I want to know what else was hidden in this bag.
"I see. I guess there's no harm in it."
And so, I stood up from the bed before walking over to my bag and opening it up as Ozpin guides me to find the secret button within the bag itself. And we found it. There was a hidden right under the bag itself, and pressing it reveals a secret zipper on the side of the bag. Zipping it open reveals a secret compartment that contains something I never thought I would have guessed as I pulled out from the bag.
"Wow…" I could only utter awed by it.
"Indeed." Ozpin seemed to agree with me on it.
Inside the secret compartment of the bag, was a black leather jacket that is long enough to extend down just above my butt if I were to wear it, that came with a white hood. It has, from what I could guess, hardened white leather shoulder pads on it. All over the jacket were white lines that seemed to react when I touched the jacket, in fact, it glowed exactly the same colour as my violet-coloured aura. I wonder how they do that…
"Why was this in the bag the whole time? Why haven't I seen it before?" I could only voice out my wonder as Ozpin was silent, this earned my concern as I called him out.
"Oz? Is something wrong?" I called him as I continued observing it in detail. It looks brand new, like it was made recently, despite me seeing it for the first time.
"I believe you should check the compartment again; I believe we can find the answers as to why it was in there." Huh, Ozpin brought up a good point, better check it now before we go and sleep. I proceeded to rest the jacket on the bed before digging through it as I felt another thing inside it, pulling it out reveals a belt alongside several straps? Interesting?
I proceed to rest it on the bed before resuming digging through it before pulling out a black pants that seem to be made with some sort of fibre that enhances its durability. Or at least, that's according to Ozpin, who was wondering as to why an entire outfit was in there to begin with.
How deep does it go? Well, turns out that was the end of it when I pulled out a folded note? I think this contains the answer as to why there's an entire outfit in there. "I think this is it." I state with confidence that it would bring the answers we seek.
I then sat on the bed beside the clothing I'd had earlier taken out before unfolding the note, but much to my surprise, I was expecting an entire paragraph of words to read through, but it only contains five words alone that was enough to cause my breath to waver.
Our final gift to you.
Love,
your dear parents, Zack.
"Their… final… gift?" My eyes widened as I turned my gaze onto the set of clothing next to me, tears slowly began to drip down my cheeks as I struggled to maintain my composure. After everything that has happened so far. They're still looking out for me even in death. My hands slowly reached out and grabbed the last gift before bringing it as close as I could closer to me, all as more tears began to pour from my eyes as I choked on it.
I couldn't hold it any more as I clenched my eyes in sorrow. Even more tears began to stream down my cheeks, and it was followed by my body crashing against the bed with a poof. My whole-body quakes as my own will waver and cracked.
They planned for this… even if it seems absurd, they prepared just in case something was to happen to them and every single bit of it hurts.
"Meiyo… Leth… Thank you… for everything." I could only mew quietly in tears as Ozpin remained silent. I suppose he knows from my emotions how this is a lot for me. I wanted to act brave in front of Ozpin, yet here I am, sobbing like a child who had to endure the tragedy that had befallen him.
Ozpin finally said something in my head. I'm honestly not so sure whether this is his attempt to calm me down, but I appreciate it nonetheless. Even if I would never admit to him as of now. "Let it all out, Zack. Let it all out."
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I wasn't sure what had happened after that, but all I knew was that I ended up crying myself to sleep, or that's from what Ozpin had said to me after I woke up with dried tears on my cheeks and aching eyes, plus the fact that I was still clinging onto my final gift from my parents rather tightly.
"How long have I been crying for?" My cheeks flushed red in embarrassment at the thought of Ozpin watching me cry for God knows how long. While at the same time, I got off the rather shabby bed I've been sleeping/crying on.
"You've been crying for hours, Zack. I hope you're feeling much better now." Ozpin answered my question rather calmly.
"Oh…" That was my only response as I picked up the note on the floor before placing it where I found it in the bag before glancing at the window. "And how long was I out for?" From the outside, it doesn't look like morning. How long was I out?
"It's now near midday." MIDDAY!? That's near lunch already! Was I out for the entire morning?! My expression of shock must be obvious, as I swore that I could feel Ozpin shaking his head.
"I was out for that long?!"
"Yes, you were." Ozpin deadpanned. I think he's getting annoyed at me. I shouldn't waste any more of his and my time just fucking around, I guess.
"Besides that," I say as I regain control of my expression. As I turned my head directly at my gifted clothes on the bed. "Should I wear it? I do like giving a good impression of your friend when we finally meet him." I asked, as Ozpin gave me the silent treatment for a couple of seconds.
"I see no harm in it." Ozpin agreed as I grabbed said outfit and went off to change in it. But first, I got to use the toilet first and brush my teeth. I'm not ignoring basic health needs anytime soon.
Long story short, it was slightly bigger than my size but the inclusion of straps and a belt does help with it, though it feels a bit ridiculous with the number of straps I had on me located on my legs alone, I still had two of them on my arms as well. I remember clearly that in RWBY, there are uniforms that had an absurd number of items that seem so unnecessary. Like vol 7 Atlas, Blake had a stupid amount of zippers on her legs for God knows why. Then again, this is a world in which we have people like Weiss fighting in a dress while on heels, so I shouldn't judge much, I suppose…
But with this jacket, I had on me, I could hide my tail and pass off as a human. Which sounds nice on paper until I noticed that I needed to constantly keep my tail up or else it would drop down. One problem at a time, Zack. Another thing I had to contend with is how I need to get used to the additional weight, but that can be managed given time. A part of me hates it that all the clothing I'm wearing seems excessive, but it made me look cool, so I guess that's fine? Even more, I had glowing lines of violet all over the jacket that pulses occasionally.
Like those kinds of stuff you see in Cyber punkish settings.
"So, what do you think?" I asked for Ozpin's thoughts on the matter since he's technically part of me now, plus it would be rude to not get him on the matter.
"I think that your parents have made you a stunning outfit that fits you well." Wow. Ozpin complementing Meiyo and Leth? I couldn't help but blush at it before a theory popped into my head that I wanted to test.
"Hey Ozpin, can you temporarily take over for a second?" I asked him as Ozpin was clearly confused as to the need of it.
"Is there a reason why I need to do that Mr Arakan?"
"Well headmaster, I'd had a suspicion that if any of these glowing lines on my jacket was due to my aura, what would happen if I were to relinquish control of my body to you?" I pointed out as Ozpin seemingly agreed with that idea.
"I see no problem with that." And with that, Ozpin temporarily took control of my body and much to our surprise, the once violet parts of my jacket seemed to fade before it glowed again. Only this time, it glowed green instead of violet.
"Interesting…" Ozpin muttered out in my body with interest. And this just proves a point, those lines are linked to our aura, or more accurately, who's in charge of the body. But it boggles me, why would there be such a feature on it? Unless there's some hidden mechanic within the jacket that I don't realise yet.
Ozpin must have sensed my rambling thoughts as I could feel a frown appearing on my… uh… I mean his face. I guess he too was also curious as to why it had that feature. Ozpin then passed my body back to me as I gasped slightly from it. I can never get used to the feeling.
As both of us were processing everything that had happened a while ago, my stomach began to grumble. Much to my embarrassment. Right, I never had breakfast at all. "I believe we spent enough time here. Let us leave this room and have a meal." I nodded in agreement as I moved to take everything I had.
"I agree. I'm starving…"
Time passed rather quickly on the train to Mistral. Well… besides the fact that people were giving me looks due to my new outfit that I just so happened to be wearing. Not that I could blame them or anything, the glowing bits of my jacket don't scream discretion in the slightest at all. But the hood does help out, and I tend to use it to hide my face for onlookers. I have also taken advantage of the jacket's length to hide my tail from everyone else.
But it was also that time in which Ozpin had also gone quiet again, I could only wonder what's going on in his head and that's driving me nuts. What if he discovers my true identity before the time is right? Even if we were to work together, can we beat Salem? My memories of that conversation might be a bit buried now but, the brothers had mentioned that everyone lost to Salem many times and only recently that they were close to beating her.
"Can I actually beat her?" I could only wonder in my head. I shook my head to erase those doubts. "No, I can beat her, I just need the relic to help me achieve it." But I then had to wonder.
And then what? Let's say I managed to fully defeat Salem, then what happens? Would I still lose myself to Oz? The thought itself is existentially terrifying.
No. Enough of that thinking of that, it's pointless and way too early right now.
We soon arrived at Mistral, and it's quite the sight as I left the train directly into the Central Station, it's huge! There's everything that was shown in the show itself. It has ticket booths, a food court, gift shop and mailboxes. It was also multi-storied, and in the middle of the entire station was a rather large stylized King Taijitu statue.
Seeing it video wise was very different compared to being there personally. It feels… alive. Plus, it's all made real and much detailed. Heck, the King Taijitu statue was way more detailed to the core as if expert artisans worked on it for months!
Ozpin must have let me admire the beauty of the station itself before he immediately brought me back to reality, after what, I think, was at least thirty minutes of walking around and admiring the scenery. "Mr Arakan, while I don't wish to disturb you from admiring the scenery, we have a friend to meet up with."
"Aww… can we look around a bit longer?" I internally pouted in response as I swore Ozpin sighed against my protest.
"It will get dark soon, and I prefer we find who we're supposed to find before it gets dark, Mistral is a dangerous place to be in at night." Drat, he has a point. I could only let out a sigh before I internally grumbled back.
"Killjoy…" Ozpin must have chosen to ignore my discontent as I gave a slight frown before leaving the station and into Mistral itself while bringing the hood down on my head as well. And man, the place is big and tall as hell. Reminds me of Ba Sing Se from Avatar the Last Air bender. Now how am I supposed to find Qrow again?
"This place is huge. How are we supposed to find our target?" I asked Ozpin since I clearly have no idea where to look.
"Leave that to me." Ozpin just assured me before what looked like a bar appeared in my head. It's almost the same bar in the show, but it still doesn't show much as to where it was, until another memory pops up in my head, this one showed me exactly where it was. And judging its distance from our location, I think it might take at least half an hour to reach there.
"Ok. As much as I want to complain about having memories that were not my own inserted directly into my head often, it's quite helpful. Then again, I'm talking to what could be summarised as an ancient man whose soul is bound to me, and also supposed to be protecting the world from the Grimm queen." I began to ramble onwards as I walked off towards where Qrow was.
"Please do not phrase it that way Mr Arakan."
"But that's technically a rundown of how it is, right?" I swore Ozpin mentally facepalmed in my head. At this point, I'm pretty sure that I was doing all this purposefully to piss Ozpin off whenever I got the chance.
Some time had passed as I finally reached the bar in which Qrow was supposed to be in. This was proven true as when I pushed the door open, I could see a rugged man sitting alone in an empty bar as I frowned slightly. For a bar, there's a distinct lack of people inside it. I thought it was due to animation budgeting or something, but clearly this bar was barren. Or abandoned.
Or closed and Qrow just broke into it for a drink.
As I slowly approached Qrow who was still unaware of my presence, Ozpin then made a request to me in my head. "Mr Arakan. I need you to say, 'I'd like my cane back.' to him"
"Got it." I silently agreed before nodding as I decided to make my presence known to Qrow by coughing into my hand. That worked as Qrow turned around to look at me.
"Hi there." I just smiled at Qrow with a wave. I got to remember to treat them like real people and not objects or pawns. Qrow however, just arched his eyebrow at me before he spoke out.
"You know, I don't think they allow kids in here, kiddio." Huh? He didn't notice that I was a Faunus? Oh, right… I don't have my tail out at all. Ehh… You know what, I'm feeling mischievous today, I won't tell him or anyone else that I'm a Faunus just yet. I guess me becoming younger or being shoved into a new body made me mischievous again.
"Ask him for my cane." Ozpin whispered into my head. Geez, for someone who's old as hell. You sure are impatient, Oz.
"Yea yea. Leave it to me, Headmaster." I addressed Ozpin in my head before returning my attention to Qrow.
"Since I have your attention, I'd like my cane back." As soon as I said that, Qrow's eyes lit up for a second or two before a smile appeared on his face.
Qrow then reached into one of his pockets as he pulled out Ozpin's cane. "It's good to see you again, Oz." Qrow smiled as he tossed Ozpin's cane as I caught it with one hand. What was its name again? Ah, right.
Long Memory. Or was it The Long Memory. Why is there a 'the' there anyway? Just call it Long Memory, way easier if they were to ask me.
Besides that, I instinctively squeezed the handle of it which caused the cane to extend right before resting my hands on it. It felt as if I've known this cane throughout my entire life. Or that I missed it much despite only seeing it for real in just a couple of seconds. Ozpin's memories and feelings must be already bleeding into me.
"This is disturbing as hell. It's like I'd known this cane throughout my life…" Could only mutter to myself as Qrow seemed satisfied while Oz addressed me.
"It's understandable Zack, as I'd said before, you will get more of my skills and reflexes, as well as my memories as more time passes. This would explain why my cane felt familiar to you despite only seeing it for the first time."
"Right… Thanks for the pep talk."
"Well kid, dunno about that, but you might need to wait awhile before we head off cos, I'm going to get myself drunk. So, before that happens, I need ya to come and have a seat with me, we got some stuff to talk about."
I could only nod as the stench of alcohol entered my nostrils and began to burn up my nose. Gods! It stings! I'm starting to suspect that I have enhanced smell as well if the smell of alcohol is affecting me this much. I remembered drinking alcohol back on Earth and it wasn't this strong. What the hell is Qrow drinking?
Pure ethanol?
I then retracted Ozpin's cane and kept it in my back pocket as I walked over to Qrow and sat on the seat next to him, all while he took another sip of his drink. "You know, if you're old enough to have two souls, you must be old enough to drink eh?" Qrow asked with a smirk on his face while holding a cup up. I wasn't even sure whether Qrow's joking or not about offering me a cup. Besides, I don't even want any of that stuff just yet since, you know, I'm underage and stuff.
Ozpin immediately pleaded with me, and his tone was worried about me taking that cup. And I have to agree with him. "Zack, you're underage. Please do not take that cup."
"I have no intention of taking that cup, headmaster." I assured Ozpin in my head before replying to Qrow.
"I'll pass." I waved Qrow off. I know that Qrow was an alcoholic before we reached to Altas? Was it? But I seriously wonder how he still functions while drunk. Then again, he's one of Ozpin's best allies, so I guess I'll cut him some slack.
"Suit yourself." Qrow took a sip from his cup. "Besides, what's your name, kid? I don't think I caught it." Qrow then asked.
"My name is Zack Arakan. Nice to meet you, Qrow. Ozpin has uh, told me much of you" I responded back as Qrow just gave me a raised eyebrow as he observed me in detail. Please stop looking at me Qrow, you're making me nervous.
Seconds passed before Qrow finally said something. "Zack, huh? You a huntsman in training or something?" He then asked, no doubt it's because of my outfit and Oathkeeper on my back.
"More like trying to uphold a legacy of someone I cared dearly." I deadpanned as Qrow stared at me with his red eyes before he chuckled a bit before speaking.
"Heh. Then again, I've seen people with worse reasons as to why they become a huntsman."
"Yea…" I slowly nodded.
There was a period of awkward silence in the bar except for Qrow taking a sip of his drink. Minutes later, Qrow finally said something that was important.
"Well kid, before we do anything else, I'm going to give you this information. These are the people you'll need to be acquainted with." Qrow explained as he took out his scroll before transferring some data to my scroll. Mostly involving the apartment number in which everyone else is staying at, as well as his scroll number. Oh, and it also contained the names of RNJR and their scroll numbers. Once Qrow was done with that, he continued one.
"When we get there. Just ask for Ruby Rose and I'll help you out, kid." Qrow explained as he proceeded to down another cup of whatever the hell he was drinking. Seriously. I pity his liver at the rate he's drinking. Then again, he's been doing it for what I could guess years.
"Sure…" I muttered before my eyes turned back from Qrow to face the table. A part of me was excited at the prospect of seeing Ruby and the gang yet, I was nervous as hell about seeing them. What would have happened if I were to tell them everything? Or how would my presence change the story? Ozpin must have sensed my nervousness as he spoke in an attempt to comfort me.
"Zack, whatever is making you nervous, know that it will be fine when we get there. Trust me." Trust him, huh? Ironic that it's coming from him, but he has a point. If we were to make it through this, I need his trust. And he needs my trust.
"Also, you never mentioned to Qrow that you're a Faunus. What are you playing here, Zack?" Ozpin then changed topic rather quickly, as his tone rings of curiosity and intent.
"I thought it would be funny to suddenly reveal that I'm a Faunus later on." Ozpin sighed in my head. "Then again, it's much better to reveal it when everyone is together, yea?" Ozpin was silent for a while before relenting.
"Very well then. Do well to get comfortable. This may take a while." Ozpin explained as I glanced at Qrow only to see him chugging a whole bottle! Like those large ass alcohol bottles that hold at least a litre of it! What the fuck… My eyes could only widen with shock before I let out a sigh as I looked away from him.
"He's going to be piss drunk, is he?" I muttered only to get it confirmed by Ozpin and Qrow continued chugging on his bottle. I mean, I saw it in the show that he was piss drunk and stuff, but seeing it in person is another story altogether.
"Yes, he is."
Long story short, Qrow continued to talk to me and Oz about some stuff until it reached a point that he became a giggling mess, Ozpin and I eventually agreed that he had enough as I rested one of his arms over me before taking him with me. The dude's much taller than me by what, I think, is 15 cm. Thanks for making me feel short. (5.9 inches for my American audience!)
As I dragged Qrow's drunk ass back to their apartment. We ended up getting a lot of attention on the both of us, all because Qrow was a giggling mess and wouldn't shut it on how he 'found him'. Nevertheless, I pressed onwards until I reached the apartment quite high up before I proceeded to lay Qrow on the wall near the left side of the door, right before I took a breath.
"Okay Zack, calm yourself. You can do this… Everything will be fine…" If I wasn't nervous earlier, I was now. In fact, I could feel my heart pounding in my chest as I slowly raised a fist out towards the door. I can do this. I can do this… Just act normally and all will be fine. And with that, I made my move and knocked on the door. Qrow must have noticed that I knocked on the door despite being drunk, as he suddenly went silent, all with a drunk ass grin on his face.
I could hear footsteps slowly approaching the door before it opened up to reveal everyone's favourite blond noodle boy, Jaune. I also could see Ren and Nora on the sofa right at the back. It feels so strange to see them in real life indeed. I watched as Jaune looked back at the other two on the sofa as Nora shrugs.
Jaune turned back to me and asked. "Can I... help you?" Holy hell, he's tall compared to me!
I had to look up at Jaune before I greeted them. "Hello. It's nice to meet you, but I'm here to see Ruby Rose. Is she here?" This instantly got a reaction out of everyone in the room, as both Nora and Ren tensely stood up.
Nora then proceeded to darkly ask me as I tried to calm my nerves. In fact, my tail was back up straight, but because it is underneath the jacket, no one noticed it. "Why?"
I glanced left at the drunk Qrow. "Well, you see, I-" Whatever I was about to say was interrupted when Qrow drunkenly lunged at me and grabbed me by the shoulder. This, in fact, made me very uncomfortable indeed.
"This is not how I want my introduction to be like." I grumbled as I watched as Qrow snorted into his hand. I should have seen it coming, but this suck.
"I found him!" He laughed as he stumbled into the house.
"You'll get used to it." That was all Ozpin said as everyone watched Qrow stumble into the house.
"Yea… I was carrying him all the way here." I muttered as I took a step into the house as Qrow continued his drunken gibbering as he fell on the couch before saying that he found Oz again. I then could hear some angry grumbling from somewhere, right before a voice which I immediately identified as Ruby yells out.
"What is going on out there?!" Ruby then angrily stomps into the living room. "Can't a girl read her comics in peace?" She then asked only for Qrow to let out a belch before chuckling.
I watched as Ruby looked directly at me before looking back at her uncle with a sigh as well as hand to her forehead. It still feels so surreal that this is my life now. "Qrow, did you get drunk again?" She exasperatedly asked her uncle.
She looks cute…
"Maaaybe." Qrow responded as he lifted his arm only to let it fall back over the edge of the couch. I could only close my eyes and pinch my nose in response.
"Yes, he did, I saw him drink several cups of alcohol as well as a whole litre bottle of that stuff. And many others that I'm probably forgetting."
"Traitor…" Qrow let out a mutter followed by a hic which I ignored.
"Tell her that she has silver eyes." Ozpin suddenly spoke out in my head.
"No, that sounds creepy as hell, headmaster. We are not doing that." I instantly denied his request as I narrowed my eyes and glanced at my shoulder. I'm not going to sound like a creep by saying that. I'll leave that to him. I watched as everyone in the room looked at each other as Nora shrugs again. Then everyone turned their attention back to me.
"Who... are you?" Ruby then asked as I just nodded my head in response as Qrow could be heard chuckling to himself.
"Right. I believe an introduction is in order. My name is Zack Arakan." I gave a formal bow to everyone as Qrow was still giggling while occasionally muttering about him telling them to wait for it.
"But… I believe you all know me better as my previous incarnate. Professor Ozpin." I said with my lips pulled up slightly while folding my arms. This also got a reaction out of everyone, as team RNJR all gasped at the shocking news and now looked confused. Jaune also took a step back away from me.
Getting Déjà vu here.
Qrow started chuckling as he then raised his fists into the air as he cheered. "I did it! HA! HA! HA!" Before he flopped off the sofa while I facepalmed as Nora let out a gasp. This is why I avoid getting drunk back on Earth, so I can avoid this kind of embarrassing incident in front of everyone.
"Oh for the love of… Someone get Qrow sobered up or something. Then we'll talk in more detail later." I shook my head before I walked off the living room as pretty much everyone stared at Qrow before going back to me, walking off and back at Qrow.
"Where are you going?" Ozpin asked, as I ended up using my enhanced sensors to find the bathroom.
"Need to find the bathroom so that I can wash myself up a bit, and give Qrow some time to sober up. I'm not the one who's gonna do it." I muttered internally to Ozpin, who I guess nodded in agreement since we're sharing the same body.
"Fair enough."
"Welcome to Haven ladies and gents." I couldn't help but let out a smirk. This is kind of fun; despite everything I've been through so far.
"What do you mean by that?" Ozpin curiously asked as the smirk I had on my face grew wider.