Ozpin took all of us out to the rear patio, and it looked pretty much like how the show was. A field that had plenty of space for us to train, as well as fences at the edge of it. The rear patio also had a pretty nice view of the mountains, which could be seen as far as the eyes could see. Ozpin, who was in control of my body, then turned to face RNJR as he spoke to Ruby specifically. Oh, I think I have an idea as to Ozpin's plan. Isn't this the part in which Oscar fought against Ruby in that scene?
"Now Miss Rose, as I said yesterday, you're lacking in hand-to-hand combat, and since sparring against me may not be a good way to teach you. There is someone else who can be a good sparring partner for you. Someone who just happens to be as new to this type of combat as you." Ozpin explained as a smirk appeared on the edge of his face as I predicted what Ozpin had planned.
"It's me, isn't it?"
"Yes, it is, Arakan. Let's see what you can do against an actual opponent."
"Shouldn't I start my training by fighting against Grimm first? Then go up against actual opponents?" I just had to question Ozpin as it made sense to me at least. Work on my attacks, then move on to some actual Grimm, and then finally real opponents.
"Yes. That would normally be the case, but we're short on time and only have a month to train. So, we're skipping the first two steps."
"Great… just great..."
I internally let out an annoyed groan as Ruby wondered. "Really? Who?" She tilted her head cutely as Ozpin just passed the controls back to me as I let out a small gasp, right before I spoke to Ruby.
"Ozpin wants you to spar against me, since both of us have little to no experience in hand-to-hand combat." I huffed as Jaune, Ren and Nora nodded before walking away from us and standing aside as I stretched my back. Damn, I'm still sore as hell from earlier on. This definitely would affect how I fight.
"Right. Let's see what you can do, Zack!" Ruby then gave a confident smirk as she got into her fighting stance. As for me, I realised something.
"Wait." I chose to ask Ozpin. "Is she allowed to use her semblance?"
"Yes." Ozpin just bluntly answered my question. I just did a double-take.
Hold up! You did not just say that!
"Please tell me you're joking…" I softly mumbled to myself to not look like an absolute weirdo for talking to myself.
"No, I'm not Zack, use this time to practise fighting against others who possess Semblances. And also work on your hand-to-hand combat."
I just internally sigh as I got into my own fighting stance I did earlier on in the morning. "Just for the record, I'm probably going to be sloppy in this fight, Ruby." I deadpanned as Ruby just assured me.
"Yea, but I suck at it too. But I wanna see where I stand against you, Zack." Ruby gave her assurance as she then gave a competitive smile as if it was well… a competition.
"Well then, let us begin." I spoke loud enough so that Ruby could hear me as we began circling around each other. During that few seconds, I began to think to myself. "Based on Ruby's combat style, she prefers to hit hard and fast. Perhaps I could catch her off guard with counterattacks if I could predict her…"
We continued circling around each other for another five seconds or so before we both charged directly at each other with a yell. Ruby and I then threw a punch at each other as both our first connected with each other, while our auras activated upon the impact of our fists. As fast as it began, Ruby recovered from the punch faster than me as she threw another punch which I narrowly dodged backwards.
I'm pretty sure during the beginning of our fight, my adrenaline spiked as my heightened senses were enhanced further, as well as increased strength and performance. But I'm not sure whether that's for me or Ozpin's muscle memory passing over to me…
Nevertheless, Ruby followed it up quickly with another punch which I blocked with my arm right as I threw a punch at Ruby's face. She then ducked and, at the same time, used her leg to trip me onto the floor as I let out a squeak. My face kissed the dirt floor and forced myself to roll to the side to avoid a punch, right before I returned the favour and tripped Ruby back by sweeping her back foot.
"Waah!" Ruby let out a yelp as she fell flat on the ground, while I got back onto my feet with a smirk on my face as I readied myself.
"I think I'm getting the hang of this." I thought confidently to myself as Ozpin interjected.
"Pay attention." That was all Oz said as I had a split second to block Ruby's kick with my arm that was aimed at my face. And without time to spare, Ruby then dashed behind me and got a couple of potshots on my back as I thought of something that might work.
I send a quick jab to her belly with my elbow before winding up a punch and sending it swerving toward Ruby. It worked as Ruby took a step back to dodge it only for me to feint it into a grab with my other hand which was free. My hand quickly reached out and grabbed her by the collar before doing an overhead throw with the assistance of aura to help me out. That throw sent Ruby flying quite a distance back with a panicked scream coming out of her.
With Ruby flying a distance away, I quickly straightened my body posture as I took a deep breath to regain my breath. It also allowed me to focus as Ruby managed to flip back onto her feet, much to my genuine surprise, and it was clear that I had angered Ruby as she was now giving me the angry look.
"No hard feelings about that throw? …Right?" I asked as I got back into my stance now afraid of what Ruby would do. Turns out Ruby chose to use her semblance, which I had no time to react to, and she sent several powerful punches which landed on me before a kick to the gut, which so happened to send me flying quite a distance back as I tumbled to the ground with a pained groan. The only reason it wasn't so bad was because of my active aura, but it still hurts like hell!
"Ow…" I groaned out softly as I got back onto my feet slowly as Ruby was giving me a confident smirk. I could only respond by pulling off the band that held my hair in a ponytail and dropping it onto the ground as my hair got loose. Time to take it more seriously this time!
"Uhh… Zack? You good?" Ruby began to worry about my reaction as a scowl appeared on my face.
"Yea. I'm good. And this fight has just begun!" I growled before yelling as I felt my aura reinvigorating me. That was quickly followed by me charging directly at Ruby before sending various punches and kicks. They were clearly sloppy, but it forced her on the defensive as she blocked my attacks. With Ruby worrying about my frontal assault, she decided to dodge one of my attacks and respond in kind with her kicks and punches.
But I took a step back as Ruby's attack missed me and as soon as she sent a kick directly at me, I grabbed her leg while turning my head away because she was wearing a combat skirt. And like hell I'm going to look like a pervert for looking underneath her skirt!
Seriously! I never understand why Huntresses like Ruby and Weiss wear 'combat skirts' in combat, it's as if they're begging for people to look at what's underneath it! Then again, this was fine since it was a show, but this is real life and the more appropriate attire I've seen so far is Yang's and Blake's choice of pants.
I can't believe I'm having a rant about their choice of clothing in my head while fighting. Ozpin must have had an idea of what I was thinking and agreed with me as I heard his voice.
"Focus Zack."
I ended up throwing Ruby across the patio with some help with aura before charging at her again and sending a punch which was blocked somewhat. In short, we continued trading hits and blocks for a couple of minutes. Both of us were clearly taking it seriously right now as the rest of RNJR watched on the sidelines as the fight progressed.
Though all things must come to an end, such as this fight as I launched a forward dash kick directly into Ruby's face like a certain hammy centurion know who screams every time he attacks with his gladius as well as punches and kicks.
That worked well enough as Ruby didn't have enough time to recover, only for my foot to hit her directly in the face as the impact forced air out of her lungs. Ruby flew back from my final hit, which was quickly followed by a crash and then a groan from her. And I think I just saw the rest of RNJR wincing when my foot connected with her face.
At this point, I could only collapse onto my knees while gasping for breath.
Damn, I never knew fighting's exhausting.
"Owieee…" I heard Ruby whining as I tried my best to not collapse onto the floor. At the same time, I heard Jaune, Ren and Nora running towards me as Ruby slowly got back onto her feet.
"I really need to work on my stamina." Those were my internal thoughts, which Ozpin agreed with.
"Yes, you do, Zack. Though, well done for your first spar. You need to work on controlling your aura usage. While you were focused for most of the fight, there are times in which you get distracted, and that's a death sentence if it happens in a real fight. One more thing, I've noticed that in some of your moves earlier in your fight against Miss Rose, you overexert yourself to perform it. It is best that we practise how much force you use in your kicks and punches. They are all inconsistent in terms of how much strength you put into them. Though, I can tell that some are light attacks and others are heavier."
Ozpin explained his observations in my head as I mumbled out softly while still gasping for breath. "Clearly…"
"Zack! Are you okay?" I heard Ren call out to me as Ozpin took control of my body and stood up. At this point, I was too tired to complain, so I just let Ozpin have it for now.
Ozpin then spoke to Ren. "He is fine, Lie Ren. Zack just needs some time to get used to fighting." Ozpin took a pause before continuing.
"And now that both Mr Arakan and Miss Rose have worked on their hand-to-hand combat for today, let's work on the rest of you. One on one." Ozpin just smiled as he deployed his cane. Jaune looked nervous, Ren looked intrigued, Nora was clearly excited and Ruby gave an unsure look as she sat aside and watched.
What followed quickly was Ozpin beating the ever-living shit out of pretty much RNJR, minus Ruby, in one-to-one combat as none of them could land a hit on the old man. Oz then began to explain how each of them could improve in the future, right before passing the controls back to me. Only for me to fall face-first onto the floor while gasping for breath and water.
"Uh, Zack?" I heard Jaune calling me.
"Water. Please." I gasped like a fish out of water as Ruby ran over with a water bottle and passed it to me, while I got off the floor and sat cross-legged.
"Thanks…" I could only softly mutter as I began to chug all the water down, as the others just sat down with me.
"If I may ask." Ren chose to ask me, as I nodded at him to continue. "Do you have any experience fighting at all?" That question? Understandable, I suppose. Ruby's moves were easily telegraphed in a way, but I don't really have any experience fighting.
"Nope." I just shook my head as Ren raised an eyebrow. Ruby, however, does not believe it was the case.
"But Zack," Ruby countered. "While we both suck at it, I think you're getting the idea from it! You even managed to fool me with that grab you did earlier!"
"Oh oh! Don't forget about that kick Zacky did when he threw you, Ruby! I wanna copy it!" Nora so helpfully joined in as Ruby's cheeks turned red from embarrassment as she began to sputter in protest.
"To be fair on Ruby's part, I had Ozpin's help in a way. His muscle memory is already bleeding into me and well… I watched a ton of action shows during my youth, and I was winging it throughout the spar." I swore Ozpin gave me a raised eyebrow in my head at my excuse.
"Wing it or not, Zack, it's clear that you're picking it up fast." Jaune just smiled at me as I gave one in return.
"By the way, Arakan." I heard Ozpin whispering in my head. "In the afternoon, we can start working on your personal training with Oathkeeper until evening."
"Sure." That was my response as I tried to get up from the floor by myself, only to fall flat on my face again as I heard gasps of concern from everyone else.
"Zack! Don't push yourself. Your body is not used to this kind of training." Ruby was the first to rush to my side as she, along with everyone else, picked me up from the floor and put me back to how I was sitting before.
"Thanks. I can't feel my limbs and don't think I can walk for a while." My cheeks turned slightly red due to the embarrassment of falling flat on my face in front of everyone. But Ren just shook his head with a small smile.
"Then let us help you then." Ren smiled as he and Jaune picked me up by the arms and carried me back inside.
As soon as everyone returned to the house, we all decided to rest up for a bit before preparing lunch. In this case, Ren decided to explain to me about Aura and Semblances which I was already aware of. Thanks to my somewhat reliable knowledge as well as Oz, who was currently resting right now.
"Yea. I'm aware of what aura and semblances are, Ren. Ozpin took the time to explain both to me before I met up with you guys." I explained to Ren.
"I see…" Ren hummed as I suddenly yawned. I must be still exhausted from earlier on.
"Zack, I think it's best that you rest on the sofa for now," Ruby suggested as she spoke again. "It's almost lunch in about an hour or two. How about you have a nap, and we'll call you once it's ready?"
A small smile then crept onto my face as I agreed with that idea. "Sure, I'll go take a short sponge, and I'll be on the sofa." I stood up with a stretch, and everyone just smiled and nodded at me.
"See you guys later." I said as everyone waved at me while I waved back at them before walking off.
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An hour or so later…
I've forgotten how effective quick cold showers were at reducing muscle soreness after training, and it feels great! Though this was because Ozpin reminded me of it and that it's regular for Huntsman and Huntresses to take cold showers every day. Though, back on Earth, I tend to enjoy warm showers and not cold showers. So, the first few minutes in the bathroom were basically me trying my best to get used to showering in the cold and not freak out.
Not my greatest moment, as I literally let out a rather girlish yelp in the bathroom when I felt cold water flowing down my back for the first time. I also swore I heard a sigh coming from Ozpin. Or someone else in the house letting loose an audible giggle.
Besides that, I returned back to the couch in my casual clothing as Ruby could be seen humming to herself about something while Ren, Nora and Jaune could be seen in the kitchen.
"Hey, Ruby." I called her out as she turned her head at me and smiled.
"Hey, Zack!" She waved at me, "Jaune said that the food will be ready in an hour."
"That sounds great." I just smiled at her as I sat down on the couch. As soon as I sat down, an awkward silence permeated the living room for a while. It was then that Ruby glanced at me as she spoke.
"Uh. Zack?" She called me out.
"Yea?"
"Do you have any plans for this afternoon?" She wondered as I gave her a quizzed look. What plans does she have, I wonder…?
"Not exactly. Ozpin wanted me to work on Oathkeeper for the rest of the afternoon until evening. Is there a training room here somewhere? Or do I have to go back to the rear patio to train again?" I know that there's a scene with Ruby and Oscar in a training room, but I wasn't so sure where it is exactly in this building.
"There is a training room downstairs. I'm sure you can use that space to train yourself with Oathkeeper." Ah, so that's where it is. Good to know.
"Thanks. I'll be sure to check it out with Oz later." I gave a generous smile to Ruby. It feels nice to have friends.
Time passed very quickly as both I and Ruby began to have our own conversation about various topics, though I was still reluctant to reveal some hints of my past. It soon happened that Nora accidentally burned something while cooking, and my nose picked up on it as both Ruby and I ran to the kitchen. Only to see Nora panicking while the pan on the stove was on fire, as both Ren and Jaune were also freaking out. Not as much as Nora was, though.
Knowing what needs to be done, I dashed in there before grabbing the nearest lid and covering the pan that was on fire, while also turning off the stove it was on.
"Thanks, Zacky boy!" Nora pulled me into another bear hug, but this time, she didn't crush me like this morning. Thank God. Jaune just wiped the sweat off his forehead as it was clear that he was also unsure as to what to do in a fire case.
"No problem." I waved off Nora as I turned my attention to Ren as she let me go.
"What happened over here?" I asked as Ren explained.
"Nora accidentally set the fire too high, and the pan caught on fire." Ren's words caught me off guard as I muttered.
"I'm surprised Oz didn't teach you guys exactly what to do in case of a fire breaking out." I just have to express my thoughts. I know that Beacon was a fighting school, but accidents like this shouldn't be well… happening.
"He did." Ruby steps into the conversation. "But it was mostly on the do and don't kind of stuff."
"No, what to do in case of a fire? Is there even a fire evacuation order back at Beacon?" I asked again while getting more bewildered by the second.
"Nope." Nora popped in behind me as both Ruby and Ren shook their heads.
This got a ludicrous expression on me, and I just shook my head. "Okay then. I'll talk to your headmaster later. This is unacceptable. Even for me." Because fire safety is important as hell to not burn down the house, we all stay in. Come to think of it, I don't see any fire extinguishers anywhere in this place.
Must be in a cabinet somewhere.
"Zack, are you going to go back to the couch?" Jaune walked in as I took the pan off the stove and left it near the sink to cool off.
"Well… No. I figure I might as well help out with making lunch. Since Nora burned a pan and stuff." I explained as Nora was pouting beside me, which I noticed.
"You can still help cut things up, Nora. Just let me assist in the cooking." I nod my head as Jaune wonders.
"You can cook?" Well, technically, I can cook a meal for myself back on Earth, but I also occasionally assist in the preparation of meals back in the orphanage. So yes, I can cook Jaune.
"Yes." I just nod as I bend down and open the shelves to see what types of utensils we have. "Back where I was from, I had a part in making meals. While simple, they still taste great to me, at least."
Unknown to me, the others were looking at each other, clearly noticing that I was once again being evasive about my past. But they just shrug it off, as they can tell that I was still uncomfortable about sharing where I came from.
Nevertheless, we resumed what we were doing halfway and continued making lunch, which was ramen with some additional toppings. Now that I think again, did Nora really just burn some gyoza by setting the heat too high? But we soon had some tasty ramen to eat, and man. It's been like what? Months since I last had ramen back on Earth?
And now I just made myself sad and there's a sudden ache in my chest. I must be getting homesick.
I just want to go home and away from all this nonsense.
"Zack, are you alright?" I heard Ruby call out to me as everyone else had a look of concern on their faces.
"Was I that obvious?" That was my question, as all of them just nodded in response. Guess I'm not as good at hiding my emotions any more as I was before.
"I'm fine. Just… thinking about something personal. I prefer it if you guys don't interfere with it. Yet." That didn't seem to assure them at all, but they obliged, we resumed eating our meals, but the mood was noticeably different from before.
"So… how was it like to have Ozpin in there?" Ruby then asked in an attempt to uplift the mood, which I don't mind talking about. Ozpin was asleep as usual.
"Well besides the fact that I lost my own privacy in my own head, and I can't think of anything without Ozpin knowing it," I deadpanned as small chuckles could be heard before a small one appeared on my face. "He's a good man and good company sometimes. Though in a way, our relationship is… complex." I let out a huff through my nose before continuing on.
"Still can't get used to him just taking control of my body. It's still a surreal experience for me." I just pinched my nose as Nora slurps her entire bowl before slamming it on the table and adding to the conversation.
"Yeah! The two souls thing gets confusing sometimes! But I think we can tell you from Ozzy by your glowing line thingies on your jacket!" Nora proceeds to enthusiastically point out.
"Yea… Then there's the fact that I'm getting his memories. It's… strange to remember things that I should not be having. Or having familiarity with things I should not have seen before." I admitted. I wasn't kidding. Ever since Ozpin has been bonded to me, I've been getting fragments of Ozpin's life in Beacon. At first, it was Déjà vu because I'd seen it in the show but. It's more real. I've seen him talking to Glynda in his office, having a debate with Ironwood, and other stuff like that.
I pulled out Long Memory from my back pocket and stared at the gears on it while at the same time, memories of it activating appeared in my head. "For example, when Qrow passed me Ozpin's cane, I had a sense of attachment to it, despite me seeing it for the first time. It feels comforting and strange at the same time."
Everyone was silent for a while, I continued staring at Long Memory. That changed quickly when I kept it and finished my bowl of ramen. I got training to do, even though I want to procrastinate. Ozpin would be there to kindly remind me to do it. And by kindly, I mean giving me bloody headaches until I do it.
Yea… can't lay it off compared to my time back on Earth.
"Well, thanks for the meal and all, but I think it's time I take my leave and work on my training," I said as I stood up and let out a sigh. "Ozpin would give me a headache if I try to avoid it."
Speaking of Ozpin, he finally made his appearance as I heard him in my head. "Did you just say something, Zack?"
"Oh look, Ozpin's here, I bet he's here to tell me to get started on my training." I deadpanned as the overall mood was lighter than before as Ruby giggled.
"Then I think we shouldn't hold you any longer, Zack. Or Ozpin will give you headaches."
This earned a soft chuckle from me. "Fair enough." That was all I said as I left the dining table and placed my empty bowl in the sink, before walking off to pick up Oathkeeper from my shared room with Qrow.
But as I reached there, there was a snow-white fox cub on my bed!
"What are you doing here, little buddy?" I slowly approached the fox cub as Ozpin said something that didn't make any sense to me in the slightest.
"Who are you talking to, Zack?" He can't see the fox on our bed? What the hell is going on?
"Headmaster, you can't see the white fox on our bed?" I had a ludicrous expression on my face as I asked him. Why can't he see it? Isn't he part of me now? Why can't he see a fox on our bed?
Ozpin then answered me truthfully and I can tell. Ozpin doesn't lie, he mostly tells half-truths instead. "No, I don't see this white fox on our bed, Mr Arakan. Can you describe its appearance?" Ozpin then asked, as the fox cub on our bed just tilted its head adorably.
"It looks like a recently born white fox with yellow eyes. And it's staring at both of us." I explained to Ozpin who hummed as I projected what the fox cub looks like to him.
"I believe that something is not right. I don't remember any of my other incarnations seeing differently from me."
"Yea. I concur. Something is definitely not right. Or I must be going insane, which is extremely unlikely." I mumbled as I slowly approached the fox cub to not scare it. The cub just continued to stare at me. As if it's trying to study me.
The fox cub then suddenly leapt towards one of the windows which was wide open, as it then turned its head towards me for the final time before leaving through it. "It left through the windows." I mumbled. This is getting stranger by the second.
"Is that so? That fox could be a hallucination, but that doesn't explain why I can't see it. Because I should be able to see what you're seeing." Ozpin wondered in my head as I approached my bed to see white fur on it as my eyes widened.
"Oz, I don't think it's a hallucination." I mumbled as I took a strand of white fur that was obvious on the red blanket.
"Yes… that appears to be the case." So, he can see the fur but not the cub itself? What's going on?
"What now?" I asked Ozpin as he went silent. What was the fox cub doing here anyway? But why can't Ozpin see it?
"I believe it's best that we attend to it later. There's not enough information to come to a conclusion. But this proves that that fox you speak of is real, yet I am unable to see it for some reason."
"Very well then." That was all I had to say as I placed the fur on the cabinet next to my bed and then grabbed Oathkeeper and headed straight for the training room which was in the basement.
It was then I got into a casual talk between me and Ozpin over how to deal with a fire and such. Though now that I think about it, it's less of a casual talk and more of me complaining to him about how he failed to teach his students about fire safety, and offering suggestions as to how to teach them if we began teaching again.
Or along those lines. It was a strange conversation to be having with the headmaster of Beacon at this time.
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I soon arrived at the training room in about a minute or so and damn, it had decent space as well as a weapons rack against the wall. Unsheathing Oathkeeper into my hand and having a look around, I began to wonder why the fuck does this place have a training ground? The place literally has spare weapons in here!
Unless this house, we're staying in was for Huntsmans, then I supposed to make sense. But the idea itself is retarded, if you were to ask me. A ton of potential accidents can occur here. Nevertheless, I then heard Ozpin speaking.
"Now, Zack, here's what I'm going to ask you to do. Foremost, I need to see your stance with Oathkeeper, similar to what we did this morning." Ozpin told me what to do as I nodded my head silently.
"Okay." That was all I said as I adjusted my body so that the left side of my body was forward with my feet shoulder apart. Both my hands were gripping onto the Oathkeeper decently tight as I shifted so that the blade was facing forward, and my hands crossed each other.
I heard a hum coming from Oz as he gave me his next instruction. "So far so good, now swing forward."
Twisting the katana slightly, I then send a slash forward with a yell, hitting nothing but air.
Good. Now keep doing it, we need to practise your slashing techniques."
"Sure. But my muscles still ache after what we did in the morning." I internally grumble as Ozpin just pushed aside my worry.
"Do not complain about it, Zack, we need to do it if you are to survive any future confrontation. It's best we strengthen your body and aura as soon as we can. Just tolerate it for at least a week, and then we can cut it down. Besides, I'm sure team RNJR will have some activities to share with you in the coming days." Ozpin explained as I continued slashing the air with Oathkeeper in hand.
"Fair enough I suppose…" With begrudging acceptance, I continue swinging Oathkeeper before an idea strikes my head. What if I were to change Oathkeeper into its pole arm form while in the process of swinging? Could I do some sort of combo attack?
Well, there's only one way to find out. After doing a double slash in quick succession, I then twirled my body around as I pressed the small button at the guard of my sword, Oathkeeper then changed into its pole arm configuration as I then thrust it forward to complete the 'combo'. It worked decently well on paper, but how would it work in practice?
As I was thinking through what I had done, it earned Ozpin's attention.
"What did you just do?" Ozpin asked as his voice was laced with interest.
"Something that popped up in my mind, Oz. What if I were to chain my attacks between Oathkeeper's forms? It does seem to work but. It's only on paper, I need to see if my theory works in practice." I explained my idea and he then asked me.
"And where did you learn this from?" Uh… shit… How do I explain to him that the idea came from Earth and not from Remnant?
"Some games I played when I was younger. Or with the orphans occasionally." I ended up half-assing it, but it somehow worked. I'm not sure if he actually bought it, but he moved on nevertheless.
'I see… Let's see if you can do another one." Pretty sure, Ozpin was now intrigued.
I just shrug in response as I get into my stance again. I then send multiple stabs before sending a 'kick' while changing Oathkeeper back into its sword configuration. That was quickly followed by me sending a quick slash or two, and then a backflip which I shouldn't know how to do, but I did it anyway.
"Impressive." I heard Ozpin complimenting me as I was breathing heavily after my act. Doesn't help the fact that my body is still weak and aching from earlier activities.
"Thanks… But I don't think I can keep going..." I gasped for breath while leaning against Oathkeeper.
"Do not fret about that, Zack. The more you perform all these strenuous activities, the more your body adapts to it. You'll soon see that in the future, you will be able to do what we did today without a sweat." That got a nod from me as I resumed my personal training.
"Yea…"
As I was practising my swings and kicks, Ozpin was busy offering advice to me as to how to use Oathkeeper better as well as other encouraging advice which I took the time to try out.
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His next incarnate proved to be an interesting boy. It's clear as day that his body wasn't suitable for this kind of strenuous training, yet he's relatively able to keep going. Most likely because he uses his aura to reinforce and enhance his body, in addition to using them to speed up his recovery from muscle aches from earlier. There's also the fact that Zack was clearly more creative than he lets himself be. Judging from his first time practising with Oathkeeper and utilising both modes of it at once in his attacks.
He seemed to be catching up rather quickly. Much quicker than what Ozpin expected, but it's to their advantage. The faster they can strengthen his body, the better. However, Ozpin noticed one thing, Zack places too much strength with every swing and thus, that would tire him faster compared to the others, as what happened with his spar against Ruby earlier this morning.
If one could describe Zack's energy expenditure, it would be like a fire dust crystal. Burns brightly when activated, but it fizzles out rapidly too.
Ozpin could only note it down for Zack to improve on, as his next incarnate could be seen panting as well as sweat pouring down all over his body.
How long has it been since he's been practising? Ah, hours it must be. Zack looks like he's going to collapse any second. No doubt he's been pushing himself the entire day. Though reluctantly, in disguise of preparedness. Or was it to appease him?
"I believe that's enough training for today, Zack, you look like you're going to pass out any second now if you continue." His host genuinely looked surprised. Had he been so focused on it that he forgot about the passage of time?
"Wait… what…? How long have I been doing this?" Zack asked, clearly out of breath.
"Hours at this point, Zack. You were so focused on it that I didn't want to distract you from your progress."
"Damn. But I think I got the hang of it?" Zack could only mentally mutter as he fell onto the floor on his butt.
"We made good progress today, I believe that we can make your training more lenient for tomorrow." Ozpin took a pause as Zack, with the assistance of Oathkeeper, pushed himself back onto his feet.
"I recommend you wash up and get some rest. No doubt it's close to dinner time and the others will be wondering how you are doing."
"No arguments there. I think after dinner, I would prefer to immediately go to sleep." Zack grunted as he began going up the stairs. Only to see Ruby going down it.
"Oh, hey Zack!" Ruby paused as she waved at him.
"Hey Ruby, I assume it's almost dinner time?" Zack asked, as Ruby nodded to Zack's query.
"Yea, it will be ready soon." Ruby gave a pause as she stood beside him. "Soo… how was your training?" Ruby then asked.
"Well, Ozpin asked me to practise swinging Oathkeeper around for a while, it's still the start of it, so nothing interesting is happening yet to be honest. Besides me trying to get creative with it." Zack explained as both of them began to walk up the stairs.
"Oh yeah! I want to ask you something, Zack. Later, Nora, Jaune, Ren and I are going to watch a movie later after dinner. Care to join us?" Ruby made an offer to Zack, who paused for a second with his hand on his chin.
"A movie after dinner? I was originally thinking of going to sleep immediately, but I suppose I can join you later. Zack just gave a calm smile, but it was clear that he was excited at the prospect, as his tail was obviously wagging.
"Great! I'll go tell the others! See you at the table!" Ruby cheerfully says as she suddenly disappears in a flash of roses. Leaving Zack behind all confused.
"Did she actually use her semblance to tell them?" Zack wondered out loud, as Ozpin could only confirm it.
"That appears to be the case, Mr Arakan, you should go and get a quick shower. I'm sure they all would be excited to have you join their planned movie for the night." Ozpin spoke to Zack, who just nodded his head in agreement.
"Yup. I could just take a cold shower. Again."
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After a quick shower and dinner, everyone had to help grab a decently large TV from the storage room, with me helping out as well. Much to my confusion as to why there's a TV in there in the first place. And not in the most appropriate place for it.
Like the living room.
According to Ruby, the place we were staying in did have the TV, but the previous occupants didn't want it so it was kept in the storage room and away from sight, much to my bewilderment. Nevertheless, we soon had it set up as all of us were getting ready for it as Nora was using her scroll to interface with the TV.
"What are we watching?" I asked out as I sat down on the couch. I wonder how different the entertainment industry is on Remnant compared to Earth… Their games are backward somewhat since it's mostly racing games with the occasional board games that are uncannily similar to Earth's.
"We are watching a scary movie, Zacky!" Nora, with enthusiasm, spoke up as I watched as everyone joined in on the couch with a large bowl full of popcorn. Where did they get that from? Did they make it a while ago?
Nora then hit her scroll as the movie began playing. And to say the least, it was terrifying for everyone, except me. As I was more confused than scared. I mean, who just stands there when there's danger approaching you? The most common thing most people should do is to get the fuck out of there or look for a way to get rid of it. But I guess the standards of horror must be different on Remnant.
Which is quite ironic to me since they had literal monsters of darkness threatening them.
I could only turn my eyes on RNJR, and they were clearly scared. Nora was basically hugging Ren for comfort, Ren on the other hand, looked fine, but I believed he activated his semblance to keep himself calm, Jaune was clear as day afraid as his face was pale and eyes dilated, while Ruby had her knees up to the chest while hugging it while muttering something about it's just a movie.
And then there's me, stuffing my face full of popcorn and hoping for it to be good. I've seen some really good horror films and fics back on Earth. Heck, the Aliens franchise was one of the best takes on the horror genre ever, and I loved the hell out of it! Then there are others like the Thing or World War Z. What I've seen so far in Remnant's horror movie industry is just one boring session with a few good points. And a tone of jump scares quickly wears off from me.
The entire movie lasted for about an hour and a half and everyone was clearly recovering from seeing that movie, while I just looked plain bored with it. It had some good parts but… I got to be honest, it sucks. According to everyone, including Ozpin, who was awake at the time, this movie came from one of the best movie producers in Remnant. And it was a massive let-down for me.
"It wasn't that bad, Zack." Ozpin told me as I stood up and stretched.
"It has some good points, headmaster, but who stands still and does not run when you have something that wants to kill you approaching you fast? It didn't make any sense to me, and it ruined the movie for me." I explained my reason to Ozpin as to why I find it mediocre at best.
…
"I supposed that is true, but did you at least enjoy it?" Ozpin then spoke again after a pregnant pause.
"Some parts of it." I admitted as I pulled out my scroll to check the time.
"It's late at night guys, it's time for us to go to bed. Thanks for inviting me and I will see you guys tomorrow." I gave a bow and was about to leave when Ruby called out to me.
"Zack, how are you so calm after seeing that movie?" Ruby asked me as everyone else just nodded in agreement in the background. I suppose it's understandable from their perspective.
"Well… certain parts ruined the movie for me, mainly how our dear protagonist reacted to the monster. And the constant use of jump scares works well, but… after a while, it gets boring to me. I'm not saying that it's bad, of course, there are parts of it that I really enjoyed. Though the number of times I've seen people in the movie grasping the idiot ball really irritates me." I explained as I shook my head in annoyance with a hand resting on my forehead.
"Idiot ball?" Jaune scratched the back of his head, confused, as I then awkwardly explained to everyone. Even Ozpin who was listening by.
"Well… It is an expression used where a normally competent character in a story suddenly becomes incompetent knowingly or otherwise to fuel an episode or story, or any number of smaller threads. In short. It is basically someone doing so idiotic so that it makes some sort of story."
Especially some of the shit you guys got yourselves into that resulted in unnecessary casualties as well as drama… Seriously, especially you Oz.
"Where did you come up with that?" Ruby then asked next, as I glanced to the side before speaking.
"Well… I found this expression online on the CCTs before it came down years back."
"Oh…"
…
After a period of silence, I chose to speak up. "We should get some rest now. Ozpin still got more training for us to do. And I'm…" I had to quickly cover my mouth as a yawn came by. "Exhausted after today."
I got nods of agreement as we all dispersed back to our respective rooms to sleep for the night. After all, we still have a month to prepare for the battle for Haven, and it has only been a day since I joined up with RNJR, and I have done much with them and myself in just one day.
Yet, I can't help but wonder, how much time do I have before I have to tell my secret? I think the best time is after the battle for Haven, since team RWBY will be reunited and stuff. But I do not know whether I even have that time to tell before Ozpin figures out who I am. It might be too early to think about it, but as more time passes, eventually Ozpin will know the truth.
Then there's my plan to seek out Neo and hopefully convince her to join us at best, or at least. Convince her to not intervene in the conflict and not join Cinder. If she agrees, we won't have to worry about her in the future.
"What a long day…" Those were my thoughts as I fell onto my bed to sleep. Unfortunately for me, I can't sleep for some reason. Definitely wasn't because of that horror movie earlier, but I just had something in my mind, and I ended up tossing and turning in my bed for a while as everyone slept. Including Qrow who came back and passed out on the bed drunk again.
I ended up just getting out of my bed and began to scribble down the ideas that were bothering me to no end in my head on a piece of paper in the dark. What came out was something that I wanted to make with Ruby's assistance if I get the chance.
The idea of it is that it attaches directly over my left arm and back, which serves two purposes. One is to act as additional armour for me so that if required, I could use it to block or parry attacks. The other function would be a wrist-mounted grappling hook. Why? Because it would allow me to manoeuvre or reposition myself, since I possess a pure melee weapon.
Now… I wonder if there are any cords in Remnant that are flexible, tough and resistant enough… If I can't make that work out, I could just turn it into a grenade launcher or something along those lines. I wonder…
Tonight's going to be a busy night for me, and I won't be sleeping anytime soon for a while.