To say I didn't sleep well was an understatement, as Ozpin, like yesterday, woke me up at 3 in the morning. It sucked even more as my whole body was aching from yesterday's training. The kind of aching that you do not want to move at all. Yea. That kind of ache, and I tell ya.
It sucks.
Nevertheless, with some 'encouragement' from Ozpin. I got off my bed only to notice a bunch of papers, pencils and several other drawing materials on the floor next to my bed. Needless to say, that earned Oz's curiosity as I remembered why those were on the floor. I guess he was asleep the night before and wasn't awake while I was scribbling down some ideas on the floor.
"What is that, Zack?" I heard Ozpin speaking in my head while it was still dark in the room, with Qrow snoring on the other side of it. I respond by picking it up to show my somewhat decent project. I'm not great in the drawing department, but it's a draft that I made, so I shouldn't expect much from it.
"A sketch idea of mine I drew the night before when I was unable to sleep." I mentally answered Ozpin truthfully as I let out a soft groan as I opened the shelf before placing my draft inside and closing it.
"Is there any particular reason why you sketch it?" With curiosity in his tone about why I drew it, Ozpin asked. "Because, from the looks of it, you have a purpose in mind for it."
"I'm not denying." I gave a sheepish grin. "I was unable to sleep last night, and I ended up drafting the ideas in my head onto a piece of paper. And based on the memories you showed me, Ruby is enthusiastic about anything that got to do with weaponry, and I had it in my mind to… enlist her help in making it." I explained myself. I mean, yea. Ruby has shown to be a dork with weapons, and while what I plan to make isn't a weapon, her skills would be helpful.
"I see…" Ozpin just hummed to himself. "I suppose we could ask her for help in refining your design. We can use the facilities in Haven. Though, we have to be subtle about it. If Lionheart caught us with Ruby, it might arouse suspicion in him." Oh, so we can use Haven's facilities?
That's… oddly convenient. Not that I'm going to complain about it. "Sure. After morning's training, I'll talk to her about it, okay?" I just nodded my head as what Ozpin said next made me groan.
"Of course. Now let us start today's training."
"Can you go easy for today? My body still hurts…" I whined, as Oz just shut me down instantly.
"No."
"Drat." I let out a pained sigh as I walked out of the room and out of the house.
Hours later…
After hours of gruelling physical training, even though Ozpin promised to make it easier yesterday. I was back in the house, and man, do I want to die. Not literally, but figuratively as I fell face-first onto the sofa as both Ren and Nora watched me on another couch without saying a word.
"I assume it's Ruby and Jaune's turn to make breakfast?" I asked both of them as I turned my head to face them by the sofa.
"Yes." Ren answered, as Nora just shrugged at him before getting off the sofa and kneed next to me. She then proceeded to poke me in the arm.
"You okay there?" Nora then asked as my tail just flopped off the side of the sofa while she continued poking me.
"No. I'm exhausted, and I want to rest." That was my response as Ren chose to speak his mind, while I couldn't care less about Nora poking me.
"I recommend you take a quick shower. Breakfast should be ready as soon as you get out of it." I just nod my head.
"Yea… I should get up to take a shower, but I'm so tired…" I moaned out as I forced myself off the sofa and walked off. Also, I smell bacon and eggs in the kitchen. I wonder what their bacon tastes like…
I got my answer as soon as I showered and returned to the dining room, where everyone was kindly waiting for me. It feels so strange to me. I had never had anyone waiting for me to join them for a meal in a long time. The only time I had something like this was back in my youth on Earth.
Yet despite it being, like, only two days? Team RNJR has fully accepted me and bothered to wait for me to join them for breakfast like yesterday. Well… except Nora, who looks ready to devour her food any second now. I also took the time to quickly grab the draft and keep them in my jacket before meeting up with them at the dining table.
"Sorry, I took a while and made you guys wait! Went to grab something in my room." I briskly walk my way toward everyone else while waving.
"It's okay, ." Jaune just smiled at me as he waved it off. Nora, however, was curious about what I meant by grabbing something in my room. And she expressed it in her special way.
"You went to grab something? Did you have a magical doll you wanted to share with us?"
…
"What?" Those were my thoughts for a split second, as pretty much everyone just looked at Nora with confusion. Even Ren was confused.
"What?" Nora just asked in response to everyone staring at her, as I shook my head.
"Not exactly. While I don't have a magic doll. I do have a request to make for Ruby after breakfast." I explained as I sat down, while Ruby just tilted her head.
"You have a request for me? What is it?" She then asked, while I nodded as the smell of bacon and eggs entered my nostrils. And also cause my tail to begin wagging at the desire to eat it.
"Yea. But I think we can do that after breakfast." I say as everyone just smiles back at me and each other.
"Someone's excited at the prospect of breakfast." Jaune smirked as he raised a finger and pointed it directly at my tail, which was still wagging rather fast. This earned chuckles or giggles as I responded wittily.
"Heyy… It's not every day I get to eat bacon and eggs! So let me be excited about it for once, okay?" I folded my arms as I gave a pout, and everyone began to laugh, before I soon joined them in it.
"We should eat now." I soothe the smile on my face. "Nora looks like she's going to go nuts if we delay it any longer."
"Yea!" Nora agreed with me as she picked up her utensils. "I'm starving!" And with that, all five of us began dining on our breakfast while happily sharing jokes or whatnot. I swear, I can feel Ozpin smiling at what he saw through my eyes.
Time passes rather quickly when you are having fun. And soon, we all had our breakfast before Ren volunteered to clear up everything. Nora and Jaune joined him, leaving me and Ruby on the table alone since I needed her assistance with a project of mine.
"Right." I said as I looked down to pull the draft out of my jacket and unfold it, much to my surprise; however, when I looked back up, Ruby wasn't there in her seat. Instead, she was suddenly standing next to me! How the hell did she get beside me so suddenly!?
"GAH! Ruby! Wheredidyoucomefrom?!" I let out a yelp as I jumped slightly from Ruby, surprising me by suddenly being beside me. And that unintentionally banged my knees against the table before letting out a shrill hiss of pain. Even though it was muffled, thanks to the aura I had. I then hit the floor and ended up lying on it as Ruby just looked at me while letting out a nervous chuckle. I could then hear both Jaune and Nora run towards us as he asked.
"Did something happen? We heard a bang followed by hissing." Jaune asked as I slowly pushed myself off the floor while groaning as I began to massage my knees.
"Yea. Ruby surprised me, and I banged my knees against the table." I explained as Ruby looked regretful for accidentally causing me to hurt myself.
"I didn't mean to. I was just curious as to what you need my help with." Damn it. I made Ruby sad. I gotta change that.
"It's ok, Ruby. you just caught me off, guard. I wasn't expecting to see you beside me suddenly." I explained as I noticed some rose petals on the floor. Did she seriously just use her semblance to get close to me out of curiosity? Huh. She must really want to see what I drafted.
"Really?" Ruby's face immediately brightened up as I just nodded at her. Seeing that the situation had resolved itself, Jaune walked back to the kitchen to assist Ren. As for Nora, she's now curious and picked up the paper that flew out of my hand when Ruby startled me.
"Oh… what's this, Zacky?" Nora asked as she scratched her head. "Looks like a gauntlet?" She raised an eyebrow as Ruby scooted beside her and observed the draft. As for me, I quickly got back onto my feet and proceeded to dust myself off since I had been lying on the ground earlier.
"Whoa… a mini shield enhanced with ice Dust that covers the arm and hand, a grapple hook attachment, or a grenade launcher? Zack, is this what you want to show me?" Ruby made her survey of my draft as she turned her head to me with curiosity.
'Well, yea…" I admitted as I walked up to them and rubbed my head as my tail swayed slowly.
"While I do have Oathkeeper with me, it used to belong to someone else. And… I wanted to make something that I could call my own, since I'm technically becoming a huntsman. I also learned from Ozpin and from yesterday that anything related to weapons was kind of your thing. And I want your help in making it." I slowly explained as Nora just gave an enthusiastic look at me while Ruby looked interested.
"Sure thing Zack! I can help you with it!" Ruby offered me a bright smile, as I gave a small one in return.
"How about in the afternoon we work on it?" I added as I glanced to the side.
"Is it okay with you, Headmaster? That I use that time working on it instead of training?" I asked Ozpin as he responded to me after being silent for quite a while.
"I see no problem with that, Zack. Besides, we can work on that at a later date."
"Great! Thanks!" My smile grew bigger as I looked back at Ruby.
"I've checked with Ozpin, and he says that we can do that."
"Yes!" Ruby then cheered as Ozpin had to ruin the moment when my eyes flashed green as he took control of my body. Seriously, I just told him yesterday to inform me when he will do it.
"Oh for the love of… Why now Ozpin? You know how much I hate it when you do it without telling me about it." I voiced my annoyance at the sudden body-snatching as both Ruby and Nora now know that Ozpin's now in control since he pulled out his cane, as well as the fact that the lines on my jacket began glowing green instead of violet.
"While I appreciate the interaction going on between you and Miss Rose, I still have to train the rest of them. Do not worry, I won't send you against anyone for today, Zack. You can just watch and learn." Ozpin explained to me.
That got a sigh out of me. It was strange that I could do that in my own head but whatever. "Very well then. Do what you need to do, headmaster." A smile then appeared on Ozpin's face as he addressed his students.
"Now then, Miss Rose and Valkyrie, let us help your friend finish the washing, and then we can move on to your training. Then you can help Zack with his draft." Oz explained as he got nods in return.
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A week went by rather quickly ever since I joined RNJR. It still feels weird seeing them so realistic, but I've also grown much more comfortable around them. We had fun together and trained together, and I honestly feel like I'm a part of them now. Throughout the entire week, more training was done on RNJR and on myself. With the occasional spars against them now that I have a rough idea of how to use Oathkeeper effectively.
But I still get my butt absolutely whooped by all of them except Jaune, who I barely beat that one time. And that was when I learned that I tend to panic hard once the situation isn't going my way. One example was my spar against Nora. To say the least, I didn't stand a chance, and Nora proceeded to play golf. With me as the ball and every hit she landed on me sent me flying across the rear patio. And me screaming my head off in a panic.
That wasn't the only thing I did during that one week besides training.
I also spent some time working with Ruby on my creation, and occasionally the others came in to assist. We even went to Haven itself, and man, the sight over there was breathtaking! While it was foggy almost all the time, you could see as far as the eyes could see! I honestly felt like a tourist at times in Mistral. Nevertheless, we did find their forge and much to my surprise; anyone could just walk in there and use it without supervision.
First of all, that sounds like a bad idea that anyone can just walk in. Then again, both Ruby and I look like Huntsman and Huntress in training, and thus, we can just walk in. Also, no one could be seen around thanks to it in-between semesters in the Academy. I was extremely cautious about the plan of walking in right that over the fear of accidentally running across Lionheart, but Ruby assured me otherwise.
Even so, making the gauntlet turned out to be a hassle as we had to take measurements of my arm as well as gather the materials as well. Thankfully, the academies provide most of the materials, except for the more exotic ones that you would have to get yourself.
We proceeded to create several prototypes at first to see which module would be the best, between the grappling hook or the grenade launcher that will go alongside the mini shield. Because of that, we didn't need many materials for it, since we just started on it and the result was… well… interesting, to say the least.
Related to the grappling hook idea, it mainly consisted of an additional two circle-like structures that are attached to the back of my left arm and shoulder via reinforced leather straps painted black to match my jacket. They were there to help hold the rope used by the grappling system in the gauntlet I had thought of. Of course, they were a bit bulky for their size, and I needed to find a solution to streamline the design.
As for the grappling hook idea itself, it worked well. Too well. As in, I had to recalibrate it because the first time, I tried to use it while everyone else watched me. It shoots out like a gun, and as soon as it connects with the target, in this case, a tree. It yanked me off the ground, and I went face-first into the tree, all while everyone else winced from the impact of my face against the hard bark. Thankfully, with my aura active, I didn't get hurt too badly.
Still, didn't feel great having a face full of tree.
The next idea I began to test was the grenade launcher idea which was next, and it gave much better results. Somewhat. Mostly because I sort of based its designs similar to Yang's gauntlet with help from Ruby. It's just that it fires a single-shot grenade instead of a belt of shotguns, though I need to work on my aim with it, and one time, it even blew up on my arm due to a miscalculation on my part.
Thankfully, no serious damage was brought to my arm thanks to aura again, but that alone made everyone skittish about me doing even more testing with it out of fear of me accidentally blowing my arm up. All of them, including Ozpin, wanted me to move on. And so, I did.
As for the shield, when unfolding, it would look like a mini oval shield that covers most of my left arm as well as long enough so that it covers my hand for additional protection. Pressing a button located on the bottom of the gauntlet itself would activate the Ice Dust stored within it and would result in ice crystals covering the shield, including white wisps dissipating into the surrounding air. I could probably bash someone's face in with its design now that I thought about it now.
An even more interesting result happened accidentally when it blocked any attack, as Jaune discovered as a test dummy. Yea… Kinda had him help out. Anyway when my shield blocked Crocea Mors, it instantly activated the Ice Dust within it, and Jaune ate an icy explosion to the face as it coated his sword and body in ice. Interestingly enough, due to how it was made and positioned, I wasn't that affected by it at all, which was a plus.
And all that was processed within a week. Not bad in terms of progress, do I say so myself. Also, the training I have been doing for the entire week has already begun to show results. My body has shown signs of significant muscle growth. However, while it is not obvious right now, it's progress.
I wonder how long it takes for me to have a more developed look.
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But with everything, time moved on, and so I was back in the training room in the evening with Oathkeeper sending slashes as well as kicks. I also began wielding the gauntlet and performing some 'interesting' moves with it. With creativity and perhaps insanity involved, I went for a combination of the shield module and the grappling hook. They both gave some interesting side effects that could be helpful.
One such example was that if I were to have Electric dust added inside it, I could use the grappling hook function like an electric whip or a taser by firing it at someone or a Grimm and activating the Dust inside it, however, that brought up some problems, like if someone were to grab it and pull it. I need to find a way to fix that flaw when I get the chance.
As I continued swinging Oathkeeper while panting in exhaustion, I heard someone walking down the stairs, and judging from the footsteps. It must be Ruby. She is always the one who would come down and check on me most of the time.
I could just close my eyes as I began to think. Despite all the progress I've made in just one week, I feel so unprepared. And I'm genuinely terrified of the future. I mean, everything that will happen in the future after Haven, the train, the conflict in Atlas and its fall? Am I truly ready to fight a war I had no part in?
I mean.
I got dragged into this mess. I shouldn't be here…
My breath could only waver as my eyes slowly opened. "Are you alright?" I heard Ruby calling me out from behind. Turning my body to face Ruby as I sheath Oathkeeper, I greeted her.
"Mmm… I'm good. Just… thinking of something." I admitted to her. I should trust them more. It has been a week already. Yet… I can't help but be afraid of the future. Everyone I know right now is going to suffer. Sometimes I feel that possessing the knowledge of a future is both a blessing and a curse. And I know this scene playing before me, I might as well stick close to it.
"Well, you sure are improving." Ruby offered me a soft smile. "You hungry? Ren's making supper for all of us." Ruby continued as Ozpin had been quiet in my head for the whole evening for some reason. I'll check on him later.
"Supper? Sure, I won't mind having it." I just nodded and walked towards the opened door that led to the patio. Before staring out into the night sky as the cold night winds blew against my face.
"Uhh… Zack, have you ever fought before?" I heard Ruby nervously ask me as she walked beside me as I continued staring into the night sky.
"No. I have never been into a fight before. Not against other people nor Grimm." I admitted.
"Wow." I heard Ruby let out a small giggle. "You look like a natural." She observed as she, too, joined me in staring out into the night skies as stars could be seen.
"Thanks… That means a lot to someone who has no combat experience before. Though a part of me believes that it's all Ozpin's work." I admitted. After all, I had no combat experience before, and now in one week, I could at least challenge Jaune to a fight and barely win. Though still struggling with the others who are obviously more skilled than me.
Ruby just gave an understanding nod as I took a breath in.
"I wonder something, Ruby. Do you believe in fate?" I asked as I swore I saw Ruby tilting her head confused about my sudden question.
"Not really, Zack. I believe that we all get to choose who we want to be and not be controlled by fate." Despite her earlier confusion as to my question, Ruby answered truly.
"I see… by that logic, was it by chance that Ozpin ended up in me? Was it because of chance that I lost everything I loved? My home? My parents?" I couldn't help but wonder. Why did I end up here? Why did I have to bear the burden of consciously being aware that I was slowly losing myself to Ozma? Why? Why?! My fists could only clench up as the pent-up frustration within me at the lack of answers began to boil.
"You lost everyone you loved? I'm so sorry, Zack." Ruby was first surprised before having a saddened look on her face. I could only close my eyes as a wavered breath exited my mouth.
"I… How do you handle it? I learned much from talking to Ozpin, and I'm very aware of what happened at Beacon. I'm amazed you're still able to move on and maintain that smile of yours. I'm… sure you lost a couple of your friends during the fall and have to deal with people that want you dead on your journey to Mistral. I just… I just..." I sighed as I paused for a second to gather my thoughts.
"How did you handle all this stress placed on you? I went through something similar to you, and yet, I still feel broken inside after everything that has happened."
My voice was quiet as I asked Ruby. Honestly, I wonder how she can stand for so long without snapping? And… I want to let it out. Bottling up my feelings is a good way to suffer a mental breakdown later. And I can't afford it. Besides… I believe it is time I tell them something about myself. Or at least this body's origins.
Or is it the other way around? I honestly don't know...
Ruby lets out a sigh. "I wonder the same thing sometimes. How do I do this? Why do I do this? Pyrrha Nikos and Penny Polendina are some of the nicest people I've met. But that didn't save them. Pyrrha thought that if there was even the smallest chance of helping someone, then it was a chance worth taking. And because of that, she died fighting a battle she knew she couldn't win. And Penny... was killed... just to make a statement." Ruby sadly revealed as I closed my eyes and gave a small bow. Despite knowing about this already I can't help but offer my empathy to her. I know what it was like.
"Damn. I remember that… I'm so sorry I brought up those memories. I didn't mean to." Technically, there's no need for me to repeat this scene from the show, but I just felt that it was necessary and out of respect.
"I am scared too, but not just for me. What happened at Beacon shows that Salem doesn't care if you're standing against her or not. She'll kill anybody, and that scares me most of all. Pyrrha... Penny... I'd be lying if I said that it didn't hurt, that I didn't think about them every day since I lost them, and that I didn't wish I had spent more time with them. If it had been me instead, I know they would have kept fighting, too, no matter how dangerous it was. So that's what I choose to do - to keep moving forward." Ruby finished as tears began to pour from her eyes, right before wiping them off with her arm.
"As for me. It took me months to get back on my feet. Even then, I wonder if I can move on. Yet… despite everything. I remembered one thing my mum used to tell me when I was just but a little boy." I looked back on my past and remembered a special quote that came from Leth.
My mother.
A small smile appeared on my face as I wiped a tear from my eye. "Life is a circle of happiness, sadness, hard times and good times. If you are going through hard times, have faith that good times are on the way."
"Sounds like you have an amazing mum."
"She was… I dearly missed her…" That's all I said as a sigh left my mouth.
"I missed mine too…" Ruby muttered.
…
Ruby then rests her hand on my shoulder as we face each other with small smiles on our faces. "C'mon, let's stop being sad and get back before Nora eats everything again. It wouldn't be the first time."
"Sure. Wouldn't want her to eat everything again like last time I was late, eh?" I joked as Ruby began snickering as she grabbed my arm and pulled me up from the training room.
"It seems that you finally decided to open up upon it, Zack." Ozpin remarked in my head.
"Yea. Also, have you just been there watching me all this time? I thought you were sleeping a while back." I began to question Ozpin, who answered back.
"For a while, yes." That's all Ozpin said as I just shook my head with slight amusement.
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It was soon the next day, and Ozpin believed it was time we moved on to life Grimm training, and yes, that meant I was back in the forest in the afternoon. Not to train but to hunt Grimm, which requires me to head deeper into the forest. Of course, we informed the rest of RNJR of my departure after lunch, and if I failed to return about two hours from now, they would need to go out and find me. Just in case I got into a messy situation.
"So, Oz, what should I be aware of when fighting Grimm?" I asked while walking through the forest and adjusting the gauntlet on my left arm. Though still a prototype, I need to see it in action to determine if it could work outside a controlled environment. If it's a success, then I'll give it a name and paint it.
"While I'm sure you are aware, you must watch your emotions when fighting them. If you were to panic or lose your patience amid a fight against them, you could end up attracting more than you can handle. Do note that I won't directly interfere unless absolutely necessary, Zack, for I wish to see how you fare against them." Ozpin explained in my head as I gazed around for any signs of movement.
"Understood, headmaster."
Pulling out Oathkeeper from its sheath, I continued walking forward while keeping both my eyes and ears open. After all, this will be the first time I will be fighting against Grimm. While I have seen them before in the show itself, seeing them face to face will be much different. I can only hope that things will go well. After what was a couple of minutes of walking alone in the forest, I could hear footsteps not too far away from my current location thanks to my hearing.
Sneaking towards a nearby tree, I proceed to peek at the corner of the tree to see a pack of six Beowolves. All docile and minding their own business. One of them was clearly bigger and more menacing-looking than the others, and I have to guess that that was the alpha of the group.
"Will this pack suffice for now?" I questioned Ozpin hummed.
"Yes. They will do just fine. Let's see what you can do, Zack." That was all Ozpin said as I thought of a plan.
I could just charge in there, but I have no experience on how to fight while outnumbered besides watching Ozpin train RNJR by himself. There's a high chance of a disaster happening if I were to do it without a plan. Looking around, I then bent down and picked up a rock the size of my palm from the ground while keeping an eye on the pack. Taking a step back, I hurled the rock directly into the alpha's face as I quickly went into cover.
That was rapidly followed by a pissed-off roar that came from the alpha as I could hear them rapidly approaching my location. Covering my mouth, I kept myself calm as I could see them run past me. It was then that I made my move.
Showtime.
Aiming my arm at one of the younger Beowolves, I fired my grapple hook at it. I did make some additional adjustments during all that time tinkering with it. Now if required, its head can be more like an arrow instead of, well… a grappling hook. As quickly as it was fired, it pierced the hide of the Beowolf as it let out a howl right before I yanked it towards me and right into a slash to the head with Oathkeeper. Killing it instantly.
With the rest of the pack now aware of my presence, I recalled the hook before unfolding the mini shield on my arm and getting into my stance. As expected from them, they let out a roar before charging directly at me without regard for their lives. Bending down slowly, I countercharge them as I send a slice upwards and bisect one of the Beowolves before sending Oathkeeper down on another. Killing another instantly.
What I didn't expect was for the Beowolves to start throwing large rocks at me, and I had to dodge to the side to not get smacked by then. After dodging a bunch of rocks, I went on the offensive and dashed close to one of them and sent a slash, only for one of the Beowolves to parry my attack with its claws as another tried to attack me from my exposed flank.
Growling slightly at how this won't be an easy fight, I bashed the Beowolf that parried my attack right in the belly with my shield, and I dislodged myself from the parry to dodge another oncoming attack aimed at me. Seeing an opportunity to strike back, I shoved Oathkeeper right through the offending Beowolf's head before putting it out and taking a step back to recover.
Pressing the button on my gauntlet, the small shield was quickly encased in ice as I changed Oathkeeper into its polearm mode. And with a cheeky smirk on my face, I proceeded to taunt them. "Come at me. You know you want to."
I got my wish as another Beowolf let out a roar at me before charging. I respond in kind by slashing the Beowolf in the arm, and while using the momentum, I twist my body so I can slam the end of Oathkeeper against its chest, which knocks it back for a final thrust of it directly into its eyes as the Beowolf lets out a dying howl.
And now all that was left was the alpha that stood by as its younger pack members got themselves killed by me. No doubt it took the time to study me in detail at the cost of its pack members. It let out a snarl at me as I breathed heavily. Man is the adrenaline kicking in my system, and I'm still getting tired from all this fighting. I need to end this quickly before exhaustion gets to me.
Reaching to the back of my pocket, I pulled out Ozpin's cane before unfolding it while slamming Oathkeeper against the grass.
I then pointed the end of Long Memory at the alpha Beowolf, and it snarled even louder before lunging at me. I did the same and yelled back at it as both I and the alpha charged at each other and sent an attack which clashed in the middle. Using Long Memory to cover my flanks, I sent slashes and thrust against the alpha that dodged or blocked my attack as it lashed out at me and got a perfect hit around my guard, and its claw made it into my chest.
First of all, fuck! That hit hurts like hell, despite my aura dampening the pain! Secondly, things were about to get even worse for me, as I soon crashed against the grassy floor and attempted to roll back on my feet while the alpha pounced on me while I was down.
"Use your legs. You have them for a reason." I heard Ozpin deadpan in my head with what I could guess was annoyance. Yea. I should use my legs more often.
I could only just roll my eyes before bending my knees to my chest and enhancing it with aura. I sent them forward like a spring, and they collided right into the alpha's face. The alpha was sent flying back from the sheer velocity of my kick and crashed into a tree not too far away.
I might have used too much force in that kick…
Oh, well. At least it saved me.
With haste, I pushed myself back onto my feet and took in a deep breath and switched Oathkeeper back into its sword mode. And charged. The alpha growled at my attempt to counterattack as it proceeded to rip the branch off the bloody tree it crashed into and swung it full force directly at my face!
I didn't have the chance to react and get out of the way as the entire tree branch shattered into tiny pieces upon contact with my face. "Oh, what the fuck! What is this nonsense?!" I cursed inside as I stumbled back and blocked one of its claws aimed at me with my shield. When that happens, the Ice Dust within my gauntlet shield activates and covers parts of it in ice.
"Language," Ozpin interjected.
"Not now, old man!" I let out a growl as I thrust Long Memory aimed directly into its red eyes, and got a howl of pain in return. While the alpha was recoiling from me jamming Long Memory into its eye, I sent a kick to its chest to force it back before sending Oathkeeper straight for its neck and decapitating the alpha in one swing.
"Damn, that thing was smart…" I panted out as I sat down on the grass and leaned against the tree as the alpha's body began to dissolve before my very eyes. That whole fight got me exhausted as sweat poured down my forehead while I was also gasping for breath.
"Take this as a lesson, Zack, do not underestimate your opponents. Especially Grimm. Overconfidence is a slow and insidious killer." Ozpin began his lecture in my head as I kept his cane before rubbing my cheek. Also, did he seriously just quote Darkest Dungeon unknowingly?
"Will take note of that, Oz. So, anything to say after my first fight against them?" I proceed to ask as I sheath Oathkeeper and pull a canteen from my jacket to drink.
"I've noticed you keep changing your fighting style. Is there a particular reason for that?" Ozpin asked me as I opened the canteen and drank all the water down.
I let out a groan of satisfaction after having the feeling of water going down my dry throat. "Yea. I want to figure out what kind of fighting style I wish to have. Either that or I'm going for a versatile kind of deal so I can change my strategies on the fly if needed. Though lacking in the range department." I admitted as I stared into the sky.
"I see…" Ozpin hummed. "Though I must say it's interesting to see you using my cane alongside Oathkeeper in its polearm mode. Though it seemed unwieldy to me, at least."
"Yep. It was quite hard to hold on to Oathkeeper in that mode, Ozpin. I won't deny that. It might be useful against much larger Grimm, but smaller and faster ones will be a problem for it. Then again, I have your cane. Or my fists if needed." I say as I can feel the cold winds blowing throughout the forest.
"I haven't seen Qrow in a while, ever since you gave him that task, Ozpin. Only at night when he comes back to sleep. Want to go find him later in Mistral after we take a short break?" I suggested Ozpin, who in turn was in thought for a couple of seconds before agreeing.
"I don't see a problem with that, Zack."
"Well then, let's head back first. Perhaps I can use that time to get the hang of using the grappling hook installed. Perhaps even practise some parkouring now that my stamina improved compared to last week." I stood up and made my way back to Mistral with no complaints from Ozpin.
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What quickly followed was me running on the hip-and-gable roofs of Mistral with my hood up and using the grappling hook whenever I could as I scaled buildings and cliffs. It was both fun and absolutely terrifying to just use my grappling hook to help me swing across ledges at full speed. Yet, it's the first time in a long time that I ever felt so liberated and free.
The absolute choice to go wherever I please. Though there were cases where I did slip and nearly fell to the ground from a high height, But I usually managed to regain my footing, and if it were really necessary, I would use my grappling hook to grapple onto the building to pull me back up.
And followed by Ozpin chastising me for my clumsiness.
Every. Single. Time. I kid you not.
While running on the rooftops, I could see Qrow walking through the streets with his canteen of alcohol in hand. He also had a look of both frustration and confusion. The Huntsman and Huntresses going MIA must have puzzled Qrow as to where they'd gone.
"Hey Oz, care if we follow after Qrow? I'm curious as to where he's going right now." I made the request as I jumped down from the roofs and peaked Qrow from the corner of a building.
"While I don't approve of the idea of you stalking one of my followers, I'll allow it just this time." Ozpin reluctantly accepted it, and I nodded and slowly followed Qrow through the crowds.
As I continued to follow Qrow, he soon ended up at the park while I watched him stare at a board full of bounty missions. Oh, I remember this part. Wasn't this when Yang and Weiss joined us later? Nevertheless, I watched as Qrow looked at the signboard before crossing out their names on his scroll. Qrow then sighs as he sits on a nearby bench and begins to think through everything.
As for me, I walk over to the board and observe it.
"This is bad." I heard Ozpin muttering to himself.
"Don't want to come to conclusions yet, Oz, but it looks like something is definitely not right here." I just stare at the board as I turn my head to Qrow.
"I agree. I need to talk to Qrow at a later date about this."
With nothing else to do, and my desire to talk to Qrow, I walked up to him and gave a small wave to him. "Hey, Qrow." I called him.
"Zack? What're you doing here?" Qrow asked, clearly surprised that I was here.
I just sat on the bench next to him while also bringing down my hood. "Just did my training against some Beowolves in the forest earlier on, followed by doing a bit of parkouring around Mistral with the help of my grapple hook." I showed my gauntlet to Qrow as it activated to show the tip of the hook sticking out of it.
"Huh… I don't remember seeing you with it. Recently made?" Qrow wondered as he took a drink from his canteen.
"Yea," I answered honestly. "it's still a prototype, but it works well enough. Though I need to streamline the design with Ruby's help." I shouldn't have said that, as now Qrow's got a suspicious look on his face.
"She's helping you with it?"
"Well… yea? I'd come to her for help with it, and she said yes. We've been working on it for about a week now." I gave a nervous smile as Qrow let out a sigh.
"I get you, kid."
…
"I should get back with the gang. I'll see ya later then?" I asked as Qrow just nodded at me as I brought my hood up.
"Yeah. See ya kid." Qrow just responded back with a nod as I raised my arm and fired my grapple hook onto one of the nearby roofs as it took me away right before I began making my way back to everyone else. I also heard Qrow let out an amused mutter while shaking his head as I was in the air.
"Show off…"
That wasn't my intention but sure. Okay, then, Qrow.
By the time I returned, it was already sunset, and everyone could be seen in the kitchen about to start cooking. "Hey, guys." I called out as I walked across the living room
"Hey Zack, wanna help us make dinner?" Ruby asked as I just nodded.
"Sure. Just let me quickly wash up, and I'll join right in."
"Okay! Do you want to handle the stove later?" I heard Ruby calling me up as I was about to go up the stairs.
"Sure! I'll be quick about it!"
It only took about ten minutes in the bathroom before I was back in the kitchen and began cooking dinner together with RNJR. Turns out, we were cooking a big batch of Ramen. Exactly the same as the show. Yet, I didn't have the heart to tell them that only Yang and Weiss would appear. Not like that's a bad thing.
I almost forgot to mention this earlier, but after I had shown that I was able to cook, I ended up helping them with preparing meals most of the time. I also, at one point, made them a simple dish of fried rice from my old world, and they all loved it for how simple and tasty it was. Nora especially loved it, though she did pour syrup on hers, much to my utter horror.
You do not add syrup to fried rice unless the recipe asks for it, Nora! Oh, God!!
Besides that, perhaps I should try my chance to make Chicken rice, I'm sure they will like it.
…
What?
We Singaporeans talk about food, okay? It's just that I don't have the chance to do it with all the training. (Not sure about other Singaporeans, but at least for my family, we would occasionally discuss what to have for dinner. In the morning. Either that or my family is weird.)
That also earned a bit of suspicion from Ozpin, but I managed to talk him out of it for now.
Anyway, all five of us were busy preparing dinner. And somewhat like the show, Ren was cooking at the stove, Jaune was setting up the table, and Nora was cutting carrots, occasionally eating slices, much to my annoyance at her doing that. As for me, I was busy handing the stove most of the time, since I proved quite capable of not letting things burn. Due to me taking Ruby's place, she spent most of the time helping everyone else. Mostly with Jaune in setting up the table.
"Alright, the first batch is just about done." Ren spoke up, as I agreed with him.
"Yup. The second batch will also be ready in about a couple of minutes."
"Awesome!" Ruby cheered. "Now we just need Qrow, and we'll be all set." As well for Yang and Weiss, Ruby?
"Do you really think he's gonna bring that many people? This is a lot of food." Nora asked as he popped another carrot in her mouth. At this point, I kind of gave up on telling her to stop eating the carrots.
"If there are not many people, that means more for us. And I am not complaining." I answered truthfully. Ah, me and my gluttonous ass.
"Well, that, and we would no doubt burn all those calories very quickly, judging from our training regime." I thought to myself as Ruby was unsure.
"Uh, I don't know, but it sounds like we could use all the help we can get." She said as I heard 3 different footsteps outside followed by the door opening.
"I'm back!" Qrow called out as I continued watching the gyoza like a hawk and ensuring that they didn't burn. As for Ruby, she answered.
"Be right there!" Ruby then grabbed the tea tray beside me, which had two tea cups and a teapot, and walked off to the living room. Knowing what was going to happen, I just grabbed a towel from the cabinets below and placed it beside me.
I continued cooking as Ruby could be heard in the background. "So, we didn't know how many people were coming, so we just cooked all of it." That was later followed by the sound of the teapot and cups shattering against the floor. Ren looked at me as I passed him the towel. Knowing what I mean, both of us turned off the fires.
"Yang, I... I'm so sorry! I- I should've stayed, and I should've talked to you more! I'd- I just... I wasn't sure if you wanted me around and–" I turned around just to see Yang Interrupting Ruby with a hug. Also, I could see her yellow prosthetic arm.
"Wanna go see them? This is the first time I'm meeting the two of them." I say as Jaune asks me with a curious glance.
"You knew they were coming?"
"Uh, yes?" I pointed at my ears. "Faunus hearing. Heard footsteps outside the house just now. And I recognized Qrow's."
"Oh." That was all Jaune said as he, Nora and Ren walked toward them while I watched them from behind.
I then heard the sisters speaking to each other with tears in their eyes as I gave a soft smile.
"I love you."
"I love you too."
Jaune, Ren and Nora entered the living room first, followed by me arriving and leaning on the column with my arms folded, my hood down, and my tail hidden in my jacket. While I know that Weiss is not her father, I'm not sure how she would react to the presence of another Faunus here, so I'm just playing safe at the moment.
Sound's stupid and unnecessarily paranoid, I know. Just let me be, okay?
We all enjoyed the heart-warming silence of Yang and Ruby having a hug, yet. It reminds me how I missed my colleagues and friends back on Earth. While I was the only son in the family, I still had parents to care about. But now? I can't go back. Not any more, at least. And don't get me started on this body's memories, which are now mine.
I closed my eyes and let out a silent sigh before opening them up to see Weiss having a smile on her face as she wiped a tear from her eye. I watched as Weiss's expression turned to a frown as she looked down.
I ended up silently mumbling to myself in mandarin. "我知道你的感受, Weiss.感觉被排除在外很糟糕吧?" (Translation: I know how you feel, Weiss. Feeling left out sucks, huh?)
"Did you just say something, Zack?" Ozpin asked as I ignored him as Ruby called her partner.
"Weiss." Ruby says as she and Yang open their arms up for her. Seeing this, Weiss smiles in return and eagerly joins them in their hug. While everyone else just smiled at them.
"This is nice to see. A team 'almost' united."
"Yes, it is Zack. Hopefully, Miss Belladonna will come back to them."
"We shall see, headmaster. We shall see…"
Seconds passed before the currently present members of team RWBY broke from their hugs as Yang's eyes landed on me with curiosity. "Who's the new guy with the hood on acting all gloomy the corner?" She asked with her arm resting on her hips while everyone turned and looked at me.
"This is going to be one hell of an interesting conversation. Care to join us for dinner? We can talk there." I spoke out as I stopped leaning on the wall and walked to the dining table as RNJR and Qrow noticed that I hid my tail again.
"I'll let you do all the explanations to those two when we get there, Oz."
"Of course, Zack."
"And you owe me an explanation for earlier."
"I have no idea what you're talking about." I denied back as Ozpin let out a sigh.