Chapter 415: Chapter 376
Ozpin POV
"James, I'm telling you that It's not possible." I rubbed the bridge of my nose.
"Just...consider it, Ozpin."
"James, I will give it all the due consideration. But from my perspective, it's not a valid course of action. I won't dismiss it out of hand, but if you want to change my mind, bring me evidence to support your thoughts."
James, why did you insist on creating Robotic Grimm? What possible advantage could that bring?
The sound of my Elevator coming up saved me from continuing this conversation. I clicked the button on my desk to see the cameras inside.
"Glynda is coming up." I politely informed James. And it wasn't because I wanted out of this conversation.
"Ozpin, I – " She strutted out of the Elevator, stopping to notice James's face on the large screen. "James, I apologize for barging in."
"It's no problem, Glynda. We were just talking about something unimportant." He dropped the matter very quickly
Glynda looked at me, but as soon as our eyes met she looked away.
I resisted the urge to cover my face myself. I wasn't aware I could feel embarrassed like this at my age. I still didn't understand why Salem called me like she did, sparing Qrow even, but I'm sure it's part of some deeper plan.
She never did anything without a reason.
But that didn't help when dealing with Glynda after everything Salem said. And I had to reveal to everyone that Salem and I had been married at one point. The awkward conversation was made even more awkward due to Qrow's sense of humor.
"What do you have, Glynda?" I pushed back the awkward atmosphere as it wasn't going to change anytime soon.
"Y-yes." She adjusted her glasses. "I received a call from Miss Schnee, she requested three Guest Passes on short notice."
I sat up straighter. "Is her family coming?" This could be an important meeting if so.
"Jacques hasn't left Atlas and Winter is on an assignment in Mistral." James chimed in.
"No, it's not for that." Glynda shook her head. "She explained that she went along with teams RSPR and team RYNB to Vale as Miss Nikos was meeting an acquaintance. There was an incident and an argument ensued between Miss Schnee and one other individual. She requested the Guest Passes so they could....settle their argument in a spar."
"Oh." I blinked. "And what's the problem?"
"The friend that Miss Nikos wanted to meet was Wilhelm Schweinorg." Glynda responded.
".....oh."
There was a beat of silence and James slammed his fists on the table through the screen. "This is a perfect opportunity. I can get there in an hour, if you buy time –"
"James." I interrupted. "He's not wanted anymore in Vale. If you try to arrest him, he's legally allowed to defend himself and we would be forced to assist him."
"Are we going to let him just.....walk into Beacon and walk out?"
"Of course not, James. But please, allow me to handle the situation." I tried my best to calm him down as I turned to Glynda. "Weiss appears to be a very head strong and opinionated woman. I don't find it odd that she would argue with someone she perceives as a Criminal. I take it that she challenged him out of some sense of duty?"
"No, he would be a spectator. There were two young women with him at the time according to Miss Schnee. She wishes to fight one of them instead."
"Associates that we didn't know about?" James voiced, rubbing his chin. "Send me pictures, I'll start trying to find their identities and backgrounds."
I held a hand up. "First thing first, James. Glynda, is there a problem with the request?"
"You want to bring them here?" She questioned. "Around our students?"
"He hasn't shown a tendency to harm civilians, or anyone really. And his list of crimes is....debatable at best. At worst, he's a thief."
"Ignoring him, you want to let our students just invite people to fight?"
"Is there any established rule against it?" I countered. "And shouldn't we reward our students for seeking us out to settle their differences in a contained and monitored environment instead of just....brawling on the streets?"
"....I hate that I agree with you on this, Ozpin." Glynda huffed. "Fine, I'll authorize it for them. But I want everyone on standby in case things go south."
"I'll call Qrow. He should be in Vale right now."
"I guess that's better than nothing." She finally relented. "And this woman that Miss Schnee wants to fight....we know nothing about her. Are we just going to let her fight a huntress in training?"
"I see no problem if she is of sound mind and wishes to proceed." I leaned back in my chair. "However...it may be best to get a recording of her stating such." The last thing we needed was a lawsuit on our hands.
"Fine, Ozpin. I'll see it done."
Well, isn't this a wonderful turn of events? I don't know why Glynda is so against this, what's the worst that could happen?
[***]
Wilhelm POV
"Oh, this place is big." I admired the view as we departed the Bullhead that landed right outside the school.
"It is impressive." Artoria agreed. "If I did not know this was a place of education, I would not assume it was such."
"Apparently, it was built using the materials from the last king of Vale's Castle. When he stepped down from the throne, he donated everything to building Beacon, among other things." Pyrrha stated, walking beside us.
"A generous King he must have been." Artoria said simply.
"This is gonna be great! Any bets? Think Weisscream can win?" Yang hopped out behind us as the others followed.
"As if I'd lose to that brat." Rin scoffed.
"Not to sound.... demeaning. But Weiss is a Huntress in training, and she's been taught since a young age. Are you going to be okay?" Pyrrha asked, looking at Rin.
"Oh, ten pancakes on her winning!" Nora shouted.
"I'll take that bet!" Ruby shot back.
Rin snorted in disdain. "If I lose to that brat, I'll shave my head."
"Will you now?" I raised an eyebrow, looking at Rin, and for a split second, I considered helping Weiss cheat for the payoff.
"I'm watching you, Schweinorg." She narrowed her eyes at me.
"I'm kidding." I held my hands up in surrender. "There's your partner, red." I noticed the white-haired girl walking down the path with an older woman at her side.
Weiss and Rin basically gave each other death glares as they got close.
"Students and.....guests." The older woman looked us over. She had blonde hair, striking green eyes only a hair's breadth away from Artoria's own. A very nice boob window and some very elegant legs that went on for quite awhile. "I am Glynda Goodwitch, Deputy Headmistress for Beacon Academy. The Headmaster has authorized three Guest passes that will allow you access to the public facilities of Beacon. That does not include the student dorms unless you are related. If I find any of you in the vicinity you will be kicked out and barred from ever returning. Along with this...unorthodox request of a sparring match, I will be acting as the judge. Are there any questions?"
I raised my hand. "Why do you have a riding crop?"
She slapped it into her open palm. "If you break any rules, you will find out."
Don't threaten me with a good time.
I would have something else to say, but Artoria was pinching my arm.
"Be at ease, Deputy Headmistress. We will be gracious guests and adhere to your rules." Artoria answered for us.
"Yes..." She looked a little taken off guard. Artoria can sometimes have the effect on people, doubly so if they were expecting a completely different response. "I am pleased we understand each other." She narrowed her eyes at me for a brief moment before pivoting on her heels. "Come along, the arena has been reserved for the next two hours as per Miss Schnee's request. If you dally, you will miss your opportunity."
She walked with a purpose, a gesture of hers opening every door that we approached. I was guessing some form of Telekinesis as a Semblance off the top of my head. It looked like she had some fine control of it because there was no errant force that swept the surroundings during the use.
"I can show you around after." Pyrrha smiled towards me. "There's plenty of interesting things around Beacon and I think you'd enjoy seeing them."
"Oh, oh! Let's go to the workshop after! I wanna show my baby off, I added that metal you gave me! It was super hard, but I finally got it to melt and I turned it into a blade!" Ruby excitedly waved her arms around.
"That was you?!" Yang looked at me in shock. "She almost took uncle Qrow's head off with that thing."
"Oh, the glowing metal that she cut off that big Nevermore's head with?" Nora's eyes sparkled. "Do you have any more!?"
"What are they talking about, Schweinorg?" Rin asked.
"Oh, Ruby was helpful when I had a little accident. She was talking about her weapon and how she forged it, so I thought to give her an ingot of Orichalcum as thanks." I shrugged. "I didn't think it'd be such a big deal."
Now that I think about it, it was a fairly decent magical amplifier, did that also hold true for Aura? Would make sense with how she was able to cut Roman's steel cane in half if he wasn't prepared for it because even Orichalcum can't cut steel in half so easily without certain circumstances.
"Where did you find that!?" Weiss swung around, staring into my eyes. "That metal is something I've never seen before, even with all the mines that my family owns. I tried to buy it off that dolt, but she refused and my father has been breathing down my neck to get his hands on the source after I told him about it."
I raised an eyebrow. "And why should I tell you?"
"Name your price." She pursed her lips. "Schnee dust company will buy the source."
"No thanks."
"Excuse me?!"
"No, I'm not selling." I reiterated. "Frankly, I'm not fond of your attitude, so why would I sell to you?"
"W-we can buy it –"
"Let me be clear, I am very rich. Money doesn't really hold much sway over me. Really, the only thing of value that you have is Dust, and well, I recently acquired quite a bit of that."
Her eye twitched at the mention of her 'stolen dust'.
But I guess there were some issues about me giving Ruby what would amount to a 'super metal' from their perspective.
"He might not be selling, but I am." Rin chimed in, holding up her own ingot of Orichalcum in her hand.
"W-where did you get that!?" Weiss stuttered out.
"That's not important. What is important is how much are you going to pay me?" Rin replied with a very mischievous look.
"Y-you, I....." Weiss turned a faint pink and stomped her foot, walking ahead of us.
Oof, that was petty Rin.
And I can't say I wouldn't do the same in her situation.
"We're here." Miss Goodwitch declared, stopping in front of a door.
It opened up to a spacious open arena with various pieces of equipment thrown about. There were even some descending desks in the back for holding lectures with a large screen on the wall behind the arena.
"Miss Schnee, you may fetch your weapon. And Miss...." The teacher paused, looking at Rin.
"Rin Tohsaka."
"Miss Tohsaka, do you have a weapon or do you require one be lent to you?"
"It's fine." Rin shook her head, stretching her arms. "I won't need one."
"....very well."
The white-haired girl merely scoffed and exited the room, I presume to go get said weapon.
"Uh...Wil..." Pyrrha tugged on my sleeve, a little sheepishly. "I know Weiss can be, um..."
"Don't worry, Rin will hold back." I reassured Pyrrha.
"That's not what I meant. Are you sure Rin will be alright? Weiss can be a little difficult, but she's not bad at fighting."
"You need not worry." Artoria replied for me. "I have overseen Rin's training these past years myself. She will come to no harm."
"O-okay?" Pyrrha just blinked, still looking a little unsure.
Weiss rejoined us only a moment later, a rapier-like weapon in hand with some strange revolving cylinder not unlike a revolver's. It looked like it was full of dust as well.
"Where's your weapon?" Weiss demanded, pointing at Rin who walked to one end of the arena.
"Don't need one."
"How arrogant." The girl spat out. "Do you even have any proper training? Have you ever gone to a Huntsman academy or are you some kind of drop out? Not like I would expect better from some criminal associate."
"Fighters." The teacher interrupted and the screen behind them lit up. "Your Aura has synched up with the machine that measures your percentage. You will fight until one of you gives up, is unable to continue, or Aura reaches the red. If I tell you to stop, you will stop. Are there any questions?"
I was genuinely surprised again to remember that they had a method of measuring Aura capacity. I found out during the Tournament, but to see it again brought back those same thoughts.
"I will begin a count down if there are no questions." The Teacher held her hand up. "Three...."
"To answer your question." Rin took a stance. "I'm not trained to be a Huntsman."
"Two!"
"But I'm a first-degree Black Belt Martial Artist." The Aura around Rin shimmered.
"One!"
"Begin!"
The two of them moved, but Rin was significantly faster. She wasn't using any Magecraft, just her Aura and natural physical abilities, yet, she arrived in front of Weiss quick enough that the younger girl barely had time to summon up a snow-flake like emblem in the air in front of her.
Rin slammed into it with her palm, shattering the construct with a burst of Aura, sending Weiss sliding across the ground from the pressure.
Weiss ran a hand down her blade as it turned white and she stabbed it into the ground, creating a cascade of sharp ice crystals that shot upward.
Rin side stepped them with ease, dashing back and forth to avoid another burst of Dust manifested in the form of Fireballs.
A rotation of Weiss's weapon and another color enveloped the blade, more Ice shards manifested in the air behind her and with a thrust of her weapon, they shot off at Rin.
Rin simply gathered Aura into her hands and slammed her palms into them, destroying them without stopping.
One or two exchanges, and it was very obvious that Weiss was not very experienced in fighting actual opponents. Her steps were awkward, and Rin took advantage of it completely.
Lifting her leg up as she got close, Rin gathered her Aura and slammed it onto the ground, sending out a shockwave and forced the Huntress off balance along with the cracked ground beneath her.
She went then low, swiping the younger girl's legs out from under her. Following up, she grabbed the arm that held the sword and spun her body, forcing Weiss to follow along or risk breaking her arm. In the movement, she couldn't keep a grip and her weapon flew up. Rin, with expert precision, lashed out with her foot without disrupting her own moment and sent the sword flying out of the arena, impaling itself into the wall, the girl herself followed up soon after, hitting the wall rather hard and falling to the ground.
"I admit, it's been awhile since I've seen Rin fight. I hadn't realized how well she weaved her Aura into her Martial Arts."
"She mentioned to me when she first acquired her Aura that it felt as if it was meant to be an aspect of Martial Arts as it aligned so seamlessly." Artoria nodded, a little smile as she watched the fight. "I would even say that she has mastered the use of her Aura to a higher degree than you have."
"I....would not dispute that." I could admit defeat in this circumstance. The way I utilized my Aura was a bit different than Rin. Hers was present in each movement in a precise and meticulous way. I generally used mine as a defense or to concentrate attacks.
"That's enough. I will declare Miss Tohsaka the winner." The Teacher held her hand up, stopping the match.
The Aura meters on the back showed that Weiss was only about 75% the way down, but she was having trouble standing up.
Aura wasn't an inviolable energy even as a defensive measure. Getting slammed into the way she had been was going to hurt.
"Holy shit." Yang blurted out. "How long was that match? She just freakin took her apart. Her aura is barely down and that's from hitting her Dust attacks intentionally. Weisscream got creamed."
"Is she gonna be alright?" Rufus asked.
"Ooh, that looked like it hurt." Ruby winced. "But Weiss can handle something like that!....right?"
"She said she was a black belt, Yang. Her skills seem to match up with that." Ren replied.
"What's a black belt, Renny?" Nora asked.
"It's someone who's a master of their respective Martial Arts." He answered calmly.
"She certainly was good." Pyrrha mumbled.
There was a slight clapping coming from the entrance to the room. A man stood in the doorway, cane in hand, glasses and silver hair with a green scarf around his neck. "That was a wonderful fight. I'm saddened that you did not pursue the path of a Huntress, Miss Tohsaka. We would have happily accepted you within these halls."
"I'm going to take Miss Schnee to the infirmary, Ozpin." Miss Goodwitch informed the newcomer.
"Please do, Glynda." The man nodded to her as she held the stumbling and somewhat lidless Weiss out of the room. "Ah, where are my manners? I am the Headmaster Ozpin." His gaze swept over everyone and then landed on me. "And you must be Mister Schweinorg."
"..yes?" I tilted my head.
"You are a difficult man to track down. If you have a moment, I would love to have a chat with you."
[***]
A/N
Thought about it for a while, wondering if I should add more to the fight or not and frankly, it felt disingenuous for it to go on any longer. Rin is so far above Weiss at this point that she would just end it quickly and tidily.
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