- Location
- USA
[X] Meet the kids
Lessons Learned (Fate/RWBY)
- Thread starter IKnowNothing
- Start date
- Location
- Virginia
[X] Meet the kids
MaHaL
Conductor of the Choir of Death
- Location
- Canada
[X] Try and meet with another one of your peers.
-[X] Karna. Make the terrible sacrifice of enduring his company as you try to keep him away from the kids, so that he doesn't forever ruin their first impression of beacon.
Sacrifices have to be made for the greater good.
-[X] Karna. Make the terrible sacrifice of enduring his company as you try to keep him away from the kids, so that he doesn't forever ruin their first impression of beacon.
Sacrifices have to be made for the greater good.
- Location
- Canadia
[X] Try and meet with another one of your peers.
-[X] Karna. Make the terrible sacrifice of enduring his company as you try to keep him away from the kids, so that he doesn't forever ruin their first impression of beacon.
-[X] Karna. Make the terrible sacrifice of enduring his company as you try to keep him away from the kids, so that he doesn't forever ruin their first impression of beacon.
NuclearConsensus
Herald of the Thorned One
- Location
- the Philippines
[X] Meet the kids
- Location
- USA
[x] Meet the kids.
Emiya meeting Weiss is bound to be hilariously awkward. And Cu sounds like he and Qrow would be best buds, bar hopping across Vale.
Emiya meeting Weiss is bound to be hilariously awkward. And Cu sounds like he and Qrow would be best buds, bar hopping across Vale.
TheNamelessHero
I am wrath, I am steel, I am the mercy of angels.
[X] Meet the kids
Chapter 7: Those Who Will Carry The Torch
IKnowNothing
....What?
- Location
- I got lost so.....Where are we?
You know what? What the hell? You haven't seen these kids since they were just little things. Who knows how much trouble they are going to cause? Considering their parents, probably a lot but that's not what's important. What is, is that you could either say hi or you have to sit back and watch as Karna gets to them.
… note to self: Encourage group therapy between classmates.
You nearly kick down the door in impatience, but you manage to restrain yourself just enough to avoid breaking anything. You quickly make your way through the halls, opting to exit the castle through the main entrance. And lo and behold, there were bright, smiling faces ready to meet you. They were probably second or third years, but you stepped to the side and bowed respectfully.
"Welcome back to Beacon."
They smile and wave in response, but pay you no mind. A few of them do give you insightful looks, probably those who have done their history of the past ten years. But you make your way away before they have a chance to think on it.
As you make your way down the main runway, the first big batch of airships dock at the harbor and deposit their students. Dozens upon dozens of students pour out of the ships and onto the grounds of Beacon. Most of them have their weapons strapped to their person, and before you can stop yourself, you're analyzing and tracing every single one of them. Most of them you're never going to use, their designs flawed in one way or another that would leave you open in a real fight. But they made your collection grow ever larger in the long run. You have to force yourself to tear your eyes away from the weapons to look through the group of students.
At this point, a good chunk of the crowd has noticed you. They speak to their friends in quiet, curious tones for those that don't know. And for those that do, their eyes literally sparkle with excitement. You give each of them a kind smile and gesture to the great building behind you. They seem to get the message and leave you be, allowing you to look through the crowd for some familiar faces.
The first is a young man with pure white skin and piercing gold eyes. His top hat seems a little out of place considering his company, but he bows respectfully to everyone. Keeping himself poised and proper, he walks with the confidence of a man ready for anything. When he sees you, he bows. You blink, and he's suddenly right next to you.
"Greetings Mr. Emiya." he says with a polite bow.
It seems Vlad has been teaching him how to manipulate the family semblance it seems. But while Vlad was cloaked in shadow, it was clear that Edmond had taken after his mother. His semblance no doubt had something to do with the light. Because it couldn't have anything to do with shadow. He didn't even cast one. Creepy, but you've seen weirder.
"Edmond, you've grown well." You say.
He tips down his top hat and smiles.
"It tend to happen when your father is working."
You narrow your eyes "You're not resenting your father for what he does?"
Edmond shakes his head "Not at all. His work is a benefit to all of humanity. There isn't a single professor of Grimm Studies that is his equal. It is a privilege and an honor to be his son."
"But you don't like the amount of time he takes on his work?"
Edmond shifts on the balls of his feet "I won't lie and say that it doesn't effect me in some way, but I know full well the effects of his semblance. I don't fault my father for fearing the effects of his soul. Even through his fear he tutors me and makes sure that I am ok every once and awhile. I have more books than I could ever hope to read and despite the reputation of my father, I grew up without a care in the world as you well know. There was a chance that he would simply ignore me, but this is the far better alternative."
You nod, seems like Vlad knows how to raise his kids correctly. But there's always a catch for things like this.
"He gave you a Grimm for a puppy." You say.
Edmond looks at you, mouth open in shock "Frankenstein is a fantastic companion."
"I wasn't saying that. I'm sure the shard of darkness is a fine addition into your family." You say.
Edmond holds back a chuckle "And you, the mercenary for hire is a horrid addition into the Tepes legacy?"
"I'm not part of the legacy, I'm just here to teach the one man that is." You say.
Edmond's eyes widen "You're a professor?"
You nod, a smile slowly growing on your face "Weapon forging and development. You still have that little thing that I made for you when I you went into Signal?"
Edmond smirks as he reaches into his cloak and pulls out a small dagger. It's a little bulky for an ordinary dagger, but that was to hold all off the goodies inside. It was curved, meant to be held in a off-handed grip in conjunction with another weapon, a sword preferably. Knowing his father, you wouldn't have been surprised that Edmond added in a spear with the knife. Other than the simple designs along the edge, the dagger had no special markings. But when it shifted into its other form, that of a hand gun, it was brimming with details. Most of them on types of Grimm, with miniature dots indicating weak points of the respective creatures.
He spins the knife across the palm of his hand before offering the handle to you. You take the weapon and look it over. With it in your hand, your aura went to work discovering everything there is to know about the weapon. Everything that made it work, down to the elements that it was made of.
You hand it back and Edmond slips the knife back into his cloak.
"You haven't added anything to it."
Edmond shrugs "Why would I need to? It serves me well by itself."
"I figured your father would have given you a spear to replace it."
Edmond shook his head "He didn't need to, your work was more than enough."
"I threw it together in a week." You say.
"And it's better than anything coming out of the Pendragon stores for a similar design." Edmond says.
"Given that I made half of those weapons, you'd figure out why pretty quick."
"Are you saying you made an exception for me?"
"I made an exception for all of you. If you kids wanted to be huntsmen, I was at least going to give you tools good enough to start you out."
Edmond smiles "Well then, this starting tool has become invaluable. I look forward to your class."
Then, he's gone. It's not teleporting, you've gotten used to that. It's just so fast it might as well be teleporting. Great, now you have to watch out for a kid that can go faster than thought. Better get the weakness out of Vlad before Edmond becomes a bigger nuisances than anyone can handle. Without wanting to punch the poor man for pissing them off.
Speaking of punching, you hear that sound ring through the clearing. Actually, you assume it's a punch. Not many combinations of metal hitting metal have the similar sounding crash and clang that punching metal has. Given the average aura value, most don't bother punching to try and get through metal unless they really know how to punch. So clearly, this person was doing it for stress relief, or someone deserved it.
But when you look across the clearing and notice the Pendragon Twins, you know what it's for. Mordred Pendragon would have looked like a carbon copy of her mother if she had chosen to fashion her armor in the same color. She went with red instead of the traditional blue. But with the cloth armor, came choices that told you everything you needed to know.
She is clearly in that rebellious stage of her relationship with her parents.
Part of you wants to point out that she is showing way to much to be school appropriate, but another part of you wants to see Lancelot's face.
Oh the burdens you bear.
Next to her, her brother is trying to get by under his sister's glare. The last time you saw him, you thought he was going to turn into a copy of his father, like all boys seem to be. However, he looks more like his mother than his father. His blond hair is matted down and his armor is blue and silver, the traditional Pendragon design. The biggest difference between him and the norm, is that instead of a sword at his hip, there's a greatshield on his back. The colossal thing sticks out like a sore thumb. Four pronged designed, longer than he is tall. He has to walk with it at an angle just to keep from having it drag along the ground.
Oh Galahad, why did you have to do this to your parents?
You walk up to him, and despite yourself, you laugh at the clear beating that Mordred was giving her poor brother.
"You know, you're making me look back at my lonely, single child childhood with a smile right now. And you don't want me to smile, do you Mordred?"
Mordred ceased her senseless punching of her brother to spare you a glance. Her brother, in turn, looks up to you like you were the messiah descended from heaven. Going to have to give him extra homework, can't have him thinking like that. The only daughter to the Pendragon name held back the mountain of comments she probably could have thrown at you. Instead, she settled with crossing her arms and scowling.
"You're already smiling."
"Really? I didn't notice. I might need a mirror. You've been keeping Clarent in top condition?"
Mordred puts on a cocky smile that she definitely didn't get from her parents.
"It's the best weapon in the world, so of course I take good care of it."
Galahad raises a hand "I'm the one that does the majority of the cleaning. Mordred does most of the fighting."
Mordred doesn't even look at Galahad as she plants her fist firmly on his breast plate. The resounding clunk hurts your ears slightly, but that's all it really does. It makes Galahad stumble a bit, but beyond that nothing.
"Only because you don't bother fighting! If you got off your ass, then you could make something of yourself."
"There's more to being a hunter than killing things." Galahad mumbles.
"Please, enlighten me."
Galahad opens his mouth, but opts to look to the floor instead.
"That's what I thought." Mordred says with a scowl.
You glance at Galahad, and then Mordred. If you weren't there for the conception, you'd think the two of them were from different parents. One is willing to punch anything that moved just to get a fight, the other was probably a pacifist. So it's only a matter of time before Galahad is made leader of his team. You're going to put money on that, Merlin wouldn't pass up the chance to play that joke on Mordred. Or Arturia for that matter.
Speaking of the blonde…
"How has your mother been doing?" You ask "I haven't heard from her in years. Still trying not to tear her hair out while running the company?"
Mordred nearly loses it right there and then while Galahad rubs the back of his head.
"Mother has been… stressed out recently. But that's mostly due to visits from Uncle Merlin."
You blink "Oh my god what has that crazy bastard done now?"
Mordred gestures with a finger and you lean down so she can whisper into your ear. With each word, you feel a smile slowly growing across your features. At the end of it all, you don't bother holding back a smile.
"He did that?"
Mordred nods "Yep."
"Dear Lord it's a miracle he's hasn't been shot yet."
"I know right!?"
You share a laugh with Mordred, and soon enough, Galahad is starting to crack a smile. Eventually, he's laughing too.
"You kids are going to be fine here. You're exactly like Siegfried and I when we showed up."
Galahad blinks "One of you is responsible and the other is going to cause far too much trouble without even realizing it?"
Mordred shoots her brother a glare and you hold back a laugh.
"Yeah pretty much." You say.
You walk up behind them and give them a quick little push to help them along. Because god knows that if you keep talking to them something is going to come out of your mouth and Lancelot is going to be ordered to seal it.
"Now go, the speech is going to start soon and if you're late you're not going to hear the sound of your confidence shattering like glass."
"Sounds fun." Mordred says with a smile.
"Now I know why father is scared of this place." Galahad mutters.
The two sibling make their way down the walkway and you find yourself chuckling as you watch them leave.
"They have a lot on their shoulders."
You look behind you to the new voice and look straight at… some kid who needs a haircut. His red hair went all the way down to his waist, but to his credit he did make it work somewhat. His features were like a knight's: Stern, classically handsome, confident and proper. He had pendragon style armor over his shoulder, but the rest of his set was comprised of black leather and silver strips. On his back, a greatbow was strapped and ready.
"They're up to it. It's in their blood to succeed and be ready for the trials ahead."
"And if they aren't?" he asks.
Well who the hell is this little guy? You cross your arms and look down at the younger man.
"It's my job to make sure that they are."
The boy laughs, mostly to himself "From what I know of you, your teachings are less than ideal Mr. Emiya."
He glares at you, and you match the glare with your own. He shifts under your gaze, and the darker part of you smiles. Just a little bit.
"I'm sorry, I didn't get your name." You say.
He doesn't say anything, opting to try and wait you out. You aren't going to give him one.
"I've stared down armies kid, make it easier on the both of us and just cough it up. I'm going to know eventually."
You can see him grit his teeth in frustration. But eventually, he concedes.
"Tristan."
"You from Mistral?" You ask.
Tristen nods, once. Curt, royal, trained. He's going to be a pain in the ass if he doesn't lighten up.
"Any relation to the king?"
"No." Tristen admits "Just his former general and tactician."
You almost laugh right then and there, but that would be doing a disservice to the dead. Even if the dead didn't deserve that kind of kindness.
"I did what was necessary. And the world is better for it." You say.
"You left a daughter an orphan."
"Better than learning from those psychopaths."
Tristan's eyes flare and he reaches for his bow. But you're faster than he ever thought anyone had the right to be. In the time it takes him to blink, you're behind him. You grab his hand out of the air, halting his action and causing him to rethink his entire life in the same instant.
"Do you even know what she was doing? What she was trying to do? What I stopped her from doing?"
"You stopped her from doing her duty to her king." Tristen growls.
"If the king ordered her to take the orphaned children of Vale and turn them into empty husks slowly draining their life force until the point that the only action they have left to do is beg for death? If he asked her to do that, then clearly there's another noble that needed to die that day."
You feel Tristan's arm go slack and you let go of his hand. He might have tried something else, but someone else puts a hand on his shoulder. She was a pretty little thing, purple hair and dark skin with a suit that left little to the imagination. It was probably for some tactic, but Glynda's still going to make her cover up. Her hair was braided back with a hairband and attached to her hip were several blue flowers. She smiles at Tristan, and the noble's entire form visibly relaxes. She looks up at you and bows her head.
"He will not harm you Master Emiya, you have my word."
You raise a questioning eyebrow "I'm a teacher, not a master. Professor or Mr is more than enough."
The girl shakes her head "I was referring to your birthright, not your current position."
That got your attention.
"I'm sorry, but I don't remember being a noble." You say "If I am, than someone had better pay up for what is owed."
"I am simply greeting you how my father ordered that I greet you." She says, her monotone not elevating in the slightest.
"What's your father's name?" You ask.
The girl looks at you, her face utterly devoid of emotion "I don't know."
"You don't know?" You ask "I doubt that."
"I was unworthy of hearing it."
Unworthy? What kind of tribe did this one come from? You rack your brain of the different Vacuo tribes, but none of them worked on a hierarchy system that you knew of. So that leaves you with zero leads.
"Then what's your name?" You ask.
She bows her head "I was given the name of Serenity. It will be an honor to learn from you Master Emiya."
Serenity tugs on Tristan's arm and he reluctantly followers her down the walkway. As they walk, a few of the students began to approach Serenity. One of the boys seemingly tells a joke, causing Serenity to giggle, but even from here you can see that she's just acting. That being said, she's a really good actor.
You glance around again, and notice something is off. One student had a literal circle around him. No one wanted to get close enough to him to so much as breathe his air. As he got closer, you feel the temperature raise ever so slightly. The sight of him nearly makes your jaw drop. Who in their right mind wanted to have kids with that guy?
Well, whoever made the mistake, the product is walking towards you. Red hair, handsome features and a look that seemed to judge everything within its sight with an eye-color that reminds you more of a sunset than fire. He wore red and gold armor with white hilights over his chest legs and arms, but left his face bare. When he saw you, his left eye twitches upward, threatening to show some modicum of emotion.
"I didn't think Karna had it in him to be a father." You say.
The boy looks you over, analyzing every part of you and silently forming an opinion of you. At the end of it all, his gaze didn't change at all. Either you were what he was expecting, or you were less than you made him out to be.
"You are the Counter Guardian of Camlann?" He asks.
It almost sounds like he's trying to force himself to believe it.
You smile down at him "That's what the survivors called me, the few that were left."
"It is what my father said your title was. So it is the title I shall use for you."
You cross your arms "Your father uses that title because we shared a battlefield together."
The boy nods "Indeed, the two of you walked out of Camlann, unlike so many others. From that fact alone, you are the exception to the average hunter in the world. But upon first observations, I wonder what my father saw in you to gain his interest."
"Maybe he remembered my cooking and thought fondly of me." You say.
"Doubtful, no food would be able to hold even his passing interest." He says.
"Clearly you haven't tried my cooking."
"As this is the first time we have met, I have not tried you cooking." he says.
… yep, he's Karna's kid. No sense of humor and completely literal.
"So then, what do I get to call the son of the walking firestorm?" You ask.
The boy remains completely stoic, he needs to try smiling every once and awhile.
"Rama." He says.
With that, he walks straight past you without even so much as a passing glance. At that point, there are two questions going through your head. First, who the hell is his mother? Second, what was she on when she agreed to have kids with Karna? These are the questions we must ask ourselves.
Looking around, the last of the students were starting to head into the auditorium. There were barely any left, but out of the few stragglers, you did notice a pair of students that catch your eye. Two girls who, to the normal eye, you'd think were sisters. Both had snow white hair and pale skin, like their homeland. They had similar swords at their sides, rapiers, perfectly forged with dust canisters built into the hilt for rapid casting. Schnee design. And they both pulled behind them trolleys filled to the brim with suitcases. The one to your left had her hair curled into a ponytail, with crystal blue eyes and a skirt that looked to serve more as a fashion statement than actual combat attire. She seems to be featuring her 'sister' but she just laughs anything she has to say off.
She… well, if it weren't for the white hair, she'd be the spitting image of her mother. Sovereign purple eyes, kind smile, and an aura that seems to make everything in the world seem better somehow. Her attire was far more suited to actual combat than her sister. But it was still a skirt. At least Siegfried made her take from her mother's design more than his sister's.
You can't stop yourself from smiling as you approach the two of them. As you walk, you type a quick message into your scroll.
'Come out here Boss.'
The second she notices you, she lets go of her suitcase and rushes towards you.
"Uncle Shirou!" She calls.
The girl with the ponytail is left to fumble with the suitcases while the other comes to a stop in front of you. You take a second to look her over, and right under her neck was something that you recognized well.
"I can't believe that thing still shines." You say.
The girl looks down, fingering the small necklace at her neck. It was made of pure ice dust, the most refined chunk in the entire world if you had to guess. It costs more than you would ever make in your life. It was Siegfried's gift to his daughter when she was born.
"It's good to see you kiddo." You say.
With a huff, the two of you turn to see the other girl walk towards you. She had her hands on her hips and looked incredulously at her quote un quote sister.
"Signy, what did you leave me with the luggage?"
Signy giggled, albit a little nervously "Sorry, I saw uncle Shirou and I couldn't help myself."
Wiess rolls her eyes and glances up at you. Her angry demeanor and high class posture vanished instantly. She curisys respectfully.
"Shirou."
You throw your hands into the air in mock exasperation.
"Just Shirou from you two? Just Uncle Shirou? What happened to uncle red cape? Or sword freak? Don't tell me you two have actually grown up since I last saw you?"
Wiess' smile vanished and Signy holds laughter.
"Now I remember why I didn't like you visiting us at home." Wiess mutters.
"That and I can cook better than anything your cooks could even dream of making." You say, smugness layer your every word.
"You're also an ass." Signy chimes in.
"That too." Wiess agrees.
"Oh boy you two can actually snark off! This proves it, I'm a better teacher than most realize."
You clap your hands together "Speaking of that, I hope you two enjoy having me around. Because I'm going to be teaching Weapon Forging here at Beacon. That makes you two my students. And it means I can crash your GPA whenever I want. "
The girls reactions are instant, but varied. Signy looks like a child the day of her birthday, surrounded by presents and everything she could wish for. Weiss, looked like you'd just said that she had cancer, she's losing everything she owns and her puppy died. All in the same second.
It's times like this where you wish you carried a camera.
"You're a teacher? Who was stupid enough to do that?" Weiss asks.
"The two oldest and most influential hunters in all of Remnant." You say, in a tone that was without a care in the world.
Weiss' face falls and Signy looks to you "I remember father saying that one of them was your teacher."
You nod "Merlin took me under my wing when I… kind of got kicked out of my aura studies class."
"What happened?"
You purse your lips "I might of had a disagreement with the teacher that lead to a few walls being broken."
You smile as both of their eyes widen in shock "Just kidding, I got kicked out because I advanced a few years and Merlin wanted a challenge. So all you have to do is impress the teacher and you'll get Merlin's attention as well."
You lean in close to whisper "Word to the wise, he likes people who can snark with the best of them."
You lean back to see Signy's smiling face. Weiss gently taps her on the shoulder and shakes her head. Signy looks a little crestfallen, but her smile returns a second later.
"Has everything been going well with you two?" You ask.
The two Schnee's share a look and you whistle "That bad?"
Signy shuffles slightly "Father has been…"
Her voice falters off and she looks down to the ground.
"My brother has had his hands full for quite some time." Weiss says, coming to the save at the last second.
"Father has been pushing for Siegfried to admit something."
"Admit to what?" You say "Siegfried hasn't done a single illegal thing in his life."
You glance at Signy "Well, except for sleeping with a woman before they're married but I don't think there's a single graduate who follows that law."
Signy's face flashes beat red and she shakes her head "Please no, I don't want to hear about that!"
"What? You're all grown up now, so it should-"
"SAY ANOTHER WORD SWORD FREAK OR I'M POSTING ALL OF YOUR NICKNAMES ON THE INTERNET!" Signy screams.
You blink and your jaw nearly drops. She is a literal carbon copy of her mother. Creepy. You hold your hands in surrender "Ok ok, I bow before the might of the angry niece."
Signy's anger evaporates instantly. Part of you just wants to put a picture next to her, just to help you wrap your mind around the similarities. But hey, like daughter like mother and all that. You glance around to the crowd, who at this point had either turned away or started starring.
But at least they aren't staring at you.
Coming through the remaining crowd, as nicely as he could as he lumbers with his armor is the boss himself. As always, cameras are flashing and scrolls are being spoken into as his fans surround him. He gently pushes away anyone that comes too close. So it was your time to step in. You flood aura into the palms of your hands and clap, once. The action sends a shockwave of sound over the entire area, silencing the growing crowd.
"Students, as excited as you are to have a improptu meet and greet with the dragonslayer, everyone of you needs to head to the auditorium for the mandatory announcement. Everyone move along, before my first act as teacher becomes putting each of you in detention.
Needless to say, the students did their best to get to the main hall as quickly as possible. Siegfried shoots you a thankful glance before his entire attention is taken by an infinitely more important source.
You've seen Siegfried fight back a literal army of Grimm. You were there when he took down Fafnir. But whenever he's in front of his family, he couldn't be any more human. He just stared at the two of them, and they in turn, just looked to him. You… feel really out of place all things considered.
You nudge Siegfried on the shoulder "This is the part where you give them a hug." you whisper.
You step away as Siegfried looks down at Signy and Weiss. He tries to say something, but no sound comes out. But that was fine. Signy jumps into his arms, and holds her father as tight as she could. Slowly, his arms come around to return the hug.
"I'm… sorry." He whispers
Signy buries her head into Siegfried's shoulder but you can still barely hear her.
"Thanks to you, mother's home." She cries.
Siegfried looks back at you, but you just turn around and wave at the dragonslayer. If you stayed their any longer, you would ruin a perfectly good family reunion. As you keep walking, a bird lands on your shoulder. You hold up a finger to flick the poor thing off, but then you notice it's eye color.
"Is a bird really the best disguise you could think of?"
"It was either this or a mouse, but the last time I tried that I got the desire to eat cheese and that ended badly for anyone unfortunate enough to need to use the bathroom for the next few hours." Says the bird.
Normally, seeing a man talk to a bird would be kind of creepy. But when the bird talks back, most either wonder what they took in the last few hours or if they were dreaming. You? You just enjoy the fact that your teacher is using an animal that didn't crush you under it's weight.
"Still hiding from Glynda?" You ask.
The bird tilts its head and you get the feeling that if it had lips, it would be smiling.
"Shirou, you really think that I would go so far as to hide on your shoulder to avoid Gly-."
"Hey there she is now." You say, pointing at the interior of the auditorium.
The bird all but dives into the folds of your collar, hiding itself from view. When nothing happened, it pokes it head out of the folds and walks back to your shoulder.
"Ha ha you're hilarious." The bird deadpans.
"You had it coming," You say "Now, what do you want to talk to me about?"
The bird shakes its head "It's not me you have to talk to. I sent a message and you should be getting a call soon."
Speak of the call, your scroll begins to ring.
"That is my cue to leave." Says the bird.
It flaps it's wings and flies into the halls of Beacon. You watch it go for a second until you reach into your pocket and look at the name on the collar ID.
And you almost break down right then and there at the sight of it.
'Sakura.'
[] Take the Call
[] Leave it for Later
… note to self: Encourage group therapy between classmates.
You nearly kick down the door in impatience, but you manage to restrain yourself just enough to avoid breaking anything. You quickly make your way through the halls, opting to exit the castle through the main entrance. And lo and behold, there were bright, smiling faces ready to meet you. They were probably second or third years, but you stepped to the side and bowed respectfully.
"Welcome back to Beacon."
They smile and wave in response, but pay you no mind. A few of them do give you insightful looks, probably those who have done their history of the past ten years. But you make your way away before they have a chance to think on it.
As you make your way down the main runway, the first big batch of airships dock at the harbor and deposit their students. Dozens upon dozens of students pour out of the ships and onto the grounds of Beacon. Most of them have their weapons strapped to their person, and before you can stop yourself, you're analyzing and tracing every single one of them. Most of them you're never going to use, their designs flawed in one way or another that would leave you open in a real fight. But they made your collection grow ever larger in the long run. You have to force yourself to tear your eyes away from the weapons to look through the group of students.
At this point, a good chunk of the crowd has noticed you. They speak to their friends in quiet, curious tones for those that don't know. And for those that do, their eyes literally sparkle with excitement. You give each of them a kind smile and gesture to the great building behind you. They seem to get the message and leave you be, allowing you to look through the crowd for some familiar faces.
The first is a young man with pure white skin and piercing gold eyes. His top hat seems a little out of place considering his company, but he bows respectfully to everyone. Keeping himself poised and proper, he walks with the confidence of a man ready for anything. When he sees you, he bows. You blink, and he's suddenly right next to you.
"Greetings Mr. Emiya." he says with a polite bow.
It seems Vlad has been teaching him how to manipulate the family semblance it seems. But while Vlad was cloaked in shadow, it was clear that Edmond had taken after his mother. His semblance no doubt had something to do with the light. Because it couldn't have anything to do with shadow. He didn't even cast one. Creepy, but you've seen weirder.
"Edmond, you've grown well." You say.
He tips down his top hat and smiles.
"It tend to happen when your father is working."
You narrow your eyes "You're not resenting your father for what he does?"
Edmond shakes his head "Not at all. His work is a benefit to all of humanity. There isn't a single professor of Grimm Studies that is his equal. It is a privilege and an honor to be his son."
"But you don't like the amount of time he takes on his work?"
Edmond shifts on the balls of his feet "I won't lie and say that it doesn't effect me in some way, but I know full well the effects of his semblance. I don't fault my father for fearing the effects of his soul. Even through his fear he tutors me and makes sure that I am ok every once and awhile. I have more books than I could ever hope to read and despite the reputation of my father, I grew up without a care in the world as you well know. There was a chance that he would simply ignore me, but this is the far better alternative."
You nod, seems like Vlad knows how to raise his kids correctly. But there's always a catch for things like this.
"He gave you a Grimm for a puppy." You say.
Edmond looks at you, mouth open in shock "Frankenstein is a fantastic companion."
"I wasn't saying that. I'm sure the shard of darkness is a fine addition into your family." You say.
Edmond holds back a chuckle "And you, the mercenary for hire is a horrid addition into the Tepes legacy?"
"I'm not part of the legacy, I'm just here to teach the one man that is." You say.
Edmond's eyes widen "You're a professor?"
You nod, a smile slowly growing on your face "Weapon forging and development. You still have that little thing that I made for you when I you went into Signal?"
Edmond smirks as he reaches into his cloak and pulls out a small dagger. It's a little bulky for an ordinary dagger, but that was to hold all off the goodies inside. It was curved, meant to be held in a off-handed grip in conjunction with another weapon, a sword preferably. Knowing his father, you wouldn't have been surprised that Edmond added in a spear with the knife. Other than the simple designs along the edge, the dagger had no special markings. But when it shifted into its other form, that of a hand gun, it was brimming with details. Most of them on types of Grimm, with miniature dots indicating weak points of the respective creatures.
He spins the knife across the palm of his hand before offering the handle to you. You take the weapon and look it over. With it in your hand, your aura went to work discovering everything there is to know about the weapon. Everything that made it work, down to the elements that it was made of.
You hand it back and Edmond slips the knife back into his cloak.
"You haven't added anything to it."
Edmond shrugs "Why would I need to? It serves me well by itself."
"I figured your father would have given you a spear to replace it."
Edmond shook his head "He didn't need to, your work was more than enough."
"I threw it together in a week." You say.
"And it's better than anything coming out of the Pendragon stores for a similar design." Edmond says.
"Given that I made half of those weapons, you'd figure out why pretty quick."
"Are you saying you made an exception for me?"
"I made an exception for all of you. If you kids wanted to be huntsmen, I was at least going to give you tools good enough to start you out."
Edmond smiles "Well then, this starting tool has become invaluable. I look forward to your class."
Then, he's gone. It's not teleporting, you've gotten used to that. It's just so fast it might as well be teleporting. Great, now you have to watch out for a kid that can go faster than thought. Better get the weakness out of Vlad before Edmond becomes a bigger nuisances than anyone can handle. Without wanting to punch the poor man for pissing them off.
Speaking of punching, you hear that sound ring through the clearing. Actually, you assume it's a punch. Not many combinations of metal hitting metal have the similar sounding crash and clang that punching metal has. Given the average aura value, most don't bother punching to try and get through metal unless they really know how to punch. So clearly, this person was doing it for stress relief, or someone deserved it.
But when you look across the clearing and notice the Pendragon Twins, you know what it's for. Mordred Pendragon would have looked like a carbon copy of her mother if she had chosen to fashion her armor in the same color. She went with red instead of the traditional blue. But with the cloth armor, came choices that told you everything you needed to know.
She is clearly in that rebellious stage of her relationship with her parents.
Part of you wants to point out that she is showing way to much to be school appropriate, but another part of you wants to see Lancelot's face.
Oh the burdens you bear.
Next to her, her brother is trying to get by under his sister's glare. The last time you saw him, you thought he was going to turn into a copy of his father, like all boys seem to be. However, he looks more like his mother than his father. His blond hair is matted down and his armor is blue and silver, the traditional Pendragon design. The biggest difference between him and the norm, is that instead of a sword at his hip, there's a greatshield on his back. The colossal thing sticks out like a sore thumb. Four pronged designed, longer than he is tall. He has to walk with it at an angle just to keep from having it drag along the ground.
Oh Galahad, why did you have to do this to your parents?
You walk up to him, and despite yourself, you laugh at the clear beating that Mordred was giving her poor brother.
"You know, you're making me look back at my lonely, single child childhood with a smile right now. And you don't want me to smile, do you Mordred?"
Mordred ceased her senseless punching of her brother to spare you a glance. Her brother, in turn, looks up to you like you were the messiah descended from heaven. Going to have to give him extra homework, can't have him thinking like that. The only daughter to the Pendragon name held back the mountain of comments she probably could have thrown at you. Instead, she settled with crossing her arms and scowling.
"You're already smiling."
"Really? I didn't notice. I might need a mirror. You've been keeping Clarent in top condition?"
Mordred puts on a cocky smile that she definitely didn't get from her parents.
"It's the best weapon in the world, so of course I take good care of it."
Galahad raises a hand "I'm the one that does the majority of the cleaning. Mordred does most of the fighting."
Mordred doesn't even look at Galahad as she plants her fist firmly on his breast plate. The resounding clunk hurts your ears slightly, but that's all it really does. It makes Galahad stumble a bit, but beyond that nothing.
"Only because you don't bother fighting! If you got off your ass, then you could make something of yourself."
"There's more to being a hunter than killing things." Galahad mumbles.
"Please, enlighten me."
Galahad opens his mouth, but opts to look to the floor instead.
"That's what I thought." Mordred says with a scowl.
You glance at Galahad, and then Mordred. If you weren't there for the conception, you'd think the two of them were from different parents. One is willing to punch anything that moved just to get a fight, the other was probably a pacifist. So it's only a matter of time before Galahad is made leader of his team. You're going to put money on that, Merlin wouldn't pass up the chance to play that joke on Mordred. Or Arturia for that matter.
Speaking of the blonde…
"How has your mother been doing?" You ask "I haven't heard from her in years. Still trying not to tear her hair out while running the company?"
Mordred nearly loses it right there and then while Galahad rubs the back of his head.
"Mother has been… stressed out recently. But that's mostly due to visits from Uncle Merlin."
You blink "Oh my god what has that crazy bastard done now?"
Mordred gestures with a finger and you lean down so she can whisper into your ear. With each word, you feel a smile slowly growing across your features. At the end of it all, you don't bother holding back a smile.
"He did that?"
Mordred nods "Yep."
"Dear Lord it's a miracle he's hasn't been shot yet."
"I know right!?"
You share a laugh with Mordred, and soon enough, Galahad is starting to crack a smile. Eventually, he's laughing too.
"You kids are going to be fine here. You're exactly like Siegfried and I when we showed up."
Galahad blinks "One of you is responsible and the other is going to cause far too much trouble without even realizing it?"
Mordred shoots her brother a glare and you hold back a laugh.
"Yeah pretty much." You say.
You walk up behind them and give them a quick little push to help them along. Because god knows that if you keep talking to them something is going to come out of your mouth and Lancelot is going to be ordered to seal it.
"Now go, the speech is going to start soon and if you're late you're not going to hear the sound of your confidence shattering like glass."
"Sounds fun." Mordred says with a smile.
"Now I know why father is scared of this place." Galahad mutters.
The two sibling make their way down the walkway and you find yourself chuckling as you watch them leave.
"They have a lot on their shoulders."
You look behind you to the new voice and look straight at… some kid who needs a haircut. His red hair went all the way down to his waist, but to his credit he did make it work somewhat. His features were like a knight's: Stern, classically handsome, confident and proper. He had pendragon style armor over his shoulder, but the rest of his set was comprised of black leather and silver strips. On his back, a greatbow was strapped and ready.
"They're up to it. It's in their blood to succeed and be ready for the trials ahead."
"And if they aren't?" he asks.
Well who the hell is this little guy? You cross your arms and look down at the younger man.
"It's my job to make sure that they are."
The boy laughs, mostly to himself "From what I know of you, your teachings are less than ideal Mr. Emiya."
He glares at you, and you match the glare with your own. He shifts under your gaze, and the darker part of you smiles. Just a little bit.
"I'm sorry, I didn't get your name." You say.
He doesn't say anything, opting to try and wait you out. You aren't going to give him one.
"I've stared down armies kid, make it easier on the both of us and just cough it up. I'm going to know eventually."
You can see him grit his teeth in frustration. But eventually, he concedes.
"Tristan."
"You from Mistral?" You ask.
Tristen nods, once. Curt, royal, trained. He's going to be a pain in the ass if he doesn't lighten up.
"Any relation to the king?"
"No." Tristen admits "Just his former general and tactician."
You almost laugh right then and there, but that would be doing a disservice to the dead. Even if the dead didn't deserve that kind of kindness.
"I did what was necessary. And the world is better for it." You say.
"You left a daughter an orphan."
"Better than learning from those psychopaths."
Tristan's eyes flare and he reaches for his bow. But you're faster than he ever thought anyone had the right to be. In the time it takes him to blink, you're behind him. You grab his hand out of the air, halting his action and causing him to rethink his entire life in the same instant.
"Do you even know what she was doing? What she was trying to do? What I stopped her from doing?"
"You stopped her from doing her duty to her king." Tristen growls.
"If the king ordered her to take the orphaned children of Vale and turn them into empty husks slowly draining their life force until the point that the only action they have left to do is beg for death? If he asked her to do that, then clearly there's another noble that needed to die that day."
You feel Tristan's arm go slack and you let go of his hand. He might have tried something else, but someone else puts a hand on his shoulder. She was a pretty little thing, purple hair and dark skin with a suit that left little to the imagination. It was probably for some tactic, but Glynda's still going to make her cover up. Her hair was braided back with a hairband and attached to her hip were several blue flowers. She smiles at Tristan, and the noble's entire form visibly relaxes. She looks up at you and bows her head.
"He will not harm you Master Emiya, you have my word."
You raise a questioning eyebrow "I'm a teacher, not a master. Professor or Mr is more than enough."
The girl shakes her head "I was referring to your birthright, not your current position."
That got your attention.
"I'm sorry, but I don't remember being a noble." You say "If I am, than someone had better pay up for what is owed."
"I am simply greeting you how my father ordered that I greet you." She says, her monotone not elevating in the slightest.
"What's your father's name?" You ask.
The girl looks at you, her face utterly devoid of emotion "I don't know."
"You don't know?" You ask "I doubt that."
"I was unworthy of hearing it."
Unworthy? What kind of tribe did this one come from? You rack your brain of the different Vacuo tribes, but none of them worked on a hierarchy system that you knew of. So that leaves you with zero leads.
"Then what's your name?" You ask.
She bows her head "I was given the name of Serenity. It will be an honor to learn from you Master Emiya."
Serenity tugs on Tristan's arm and he reluctantly followers her down the walkway. As they walk, a few of the students began to approach Serenity. One of the boys seemingly tells a joke, causing Serenity to giggle, but even from here you can see that she's just acting. That being said, she's a really good actor.
You glance around again, and notice something is off. One student had a literal circle around him. No one wanted to get close enough to him to so much as breathe his air. As he got closer, you feel the temperature raise ever so slightly. The sight of him nearly makes your jaw drop. Who in their right mind wanted to have kids with that guy?
Well, whoever made the mistake, the product is walking towards you. Red hair, handsome features and a look that seemed to judge everything within its sight with an eye-color that reminds you more of a sunset than fire. He wore red and gold armor with white hilights over his chest legs and arms, but left his face bare. When he saw you, his left eye twitches upward, threatening to show some modicum of emotion.
"I didn't think Karna had it in him to be a father." You say.
The boy looks you over, analyzing every part of you and silently forming an opinion of you. At the end of it all, his gaze didn't change at all. Either you were what he was expecting, or you were less than you made him out to be.
"You are the Counter Guardian of Camlann?" He asks.
It almost sounds like he's trying to force himself to believe it.
You smile down at him "That's what the survivors called me, the few that were left."
"It is what my father said your title was. So it is the title I shall use for you."
You cross your arms "Your father uses that title because we shared a battlefield together."
The boy nods "Indeed, the two of you walked out of Camlann, unlike so many others. From that fact alone, you are the exception to the average hunter in the world. But upon first observations, I wonder what my father saw in you to gain his interest."
"Maybe he remembered my cooking and thought fondly of me." You say.
"Doubtful, no food would be able to hold even his passing interest." He says.
"Clearly you haven't tried my cooking."
"As this is the first time we have met, I have not tried you cooking." he says.
… yep, he's Karna's kid. No sense of humor and completely literal.
"So then, what do I get to call the son of the walking firestorm?" You ask.
The boy remains completely stoic, he needs to try smiling every once and awhile.
"Rama." He says.
With that, he walks straight past you without even so much as a passing glance. At that point, there are two questions going through your head. First, who the hell is his mother? Second, what was she on when she agreed to have kids with Karna? These are the questions we must ask ourselves.
Looking around, the last of the students were starting to head into the auditorium. There were barely any left, but out of the few stragglers, you did notice a pair of students that catch your eye. Two girls who, to the normal eye, you'd think were sisters. Both had snow white hair and pale skin, like their homeland. They had similar swords at their sides, rapiers, perfectly forged with dust canisters built into the hilt for rapid casting. Schnee design. And they both pulled behind them trolleys filled to the brim with suitcases. The one to your left had her hair curled into a ponytail, with crystal blue eyes and a skirt that looked to serve more as a fashion statement than actual combat attire. She seems to be featuring her 'sister' but she just laughs anything she has to say off.
She… well, if it weren't for the white hair, she'd be the spitting image of her mother. Sovereign purple eyes, kind smile, and an aura that seems to make everything in the world seem better somehow. Her attire was far more suited to actual combat than her sister. But it was still a skirt. At least Siegfried made her take from her mother's design more than his sister's.
You can't stop yourself from smiling as you approach the two of them. As you walk, you type a quick message into your scroll.
'Come out here Boss.'
The second she notices you, she lets go of her suitcase and rushes towards you.
"Uncle Shirou!" She calls.
The girl with the ponytail is left to fumble with the suitcases while the other comes to a stop in front of you. You take a second to look her over, and right under her neck was something that you recognized well.
"I can't believe that thing still shines." You say.
The girl looks down, fingering the small necklace at her neck. It was made of pure ice dust, the most refined chunk in the entire world if you had to guess. It costs more than you would ever make in your life. It was Siegfried's gift to his daughter when she was born.
"It's good to see you kiddo." You say.
With a huff, the two of you turn to see the other girl walk towards you. She had her hands on her hips and looked incredulously at her quote un quote sister.
"Signy, what did you leave me with the luggage?"
Signy giggled, albit a little nervously "Sorry, I saw uncle Shirou and I couldn't help myself."
Wiess rolls her eyes and glances up at you. Her angry demeanor and high class posture vanished instantly. She curisys respectfully.
"Shirou."
You throw your hands into the air in mock exasperation.
"Just Shirou from you two? Just Uncle Shirou? What happened to uncle red cape? Or sword freak? Don't tell me you two have actually grown up since I last saw you?"
Wiess' smile vanished and Signy holds laughter.
"Now I remember why I didn't like you visiting us at home." Wiess mutters.
"That and I can cook better than anything your cooks could even dream of making." You say, smugness layer your every word.
"You're also an ass." Signy chimes in.
"That too." Wiess agrees.
"Oh boy you two can actually snark off! This proves it, I'm a better teacher than most realize."
You clap your hands together "Speaking of that, I hope you two enjoy having me around. Because I'm going to be teaching Weapon Forging here at Beacon. That makes you two my students. And it means I can crash your GPA whenever I want. "
The girls reactions are instant, but varied. Signy looks like a child the day of her birthday, surrounded by presents and everything she could wish for. Weiss, looked like you'd just said that she had cancer, she's losing everything she owns and her puppy died. All in the same second.
It's times like this where you wish you carried a camera.
"You're a teacher? Who was stupid enough to do that?" Weiss asks.
"The two oldest and most influential hunters in all of Remnant." You say, in a tone that was without a care in the world.
Weiss' face falls and Signy looks to you "I remember father saying that one of them was your teacher."
You nod "Merlin took me under my wing when I… kind of got kicked out of my aura studies class."
"What happened?"
You purse your lips "I might of had a disagreement with the teacher that lead to a few walls being broken."
You smile as both of their eyes widen in shock "Just kidding, I got kicked out because I advanced a few years and Merlin wanted a challenge. So all you have to do is impress the teacher and you'll get Merlin's attention as well."
You lean in close to whisper "Word to the wise, he likes people who can snark with the best of them."
You lean back to see Signy's smiling face. Weiss gently taps her on the shoulder and shakes her head. Signy looks a little crestfallen, but her smile returns a second later.
"Has everything been going well with you two?" You ask.
The two Schnee's share a look and you whistle "That bad?"
Signy shuffles slightly "Father has been…"
Her voice falters off and she looks down to the ground.
"My brother has had his hands full for quite some time." Weiss says, coming to the save at the last second.
"Father has been pushing for Siegfried to admit something."
"Admit to what?" You say "Siegfried hasn't done a single illegal thing in his life."
You glance at Signy "Well, except for sleeping with a woman before they're married but I don't think there's a single graduate who follows that law."
Signy's face flashes beat red and she shakes her head "Please no, I don't want to hear about that!"
"What? You're all grown up now, so it should-"
"SAY ANOTHER WORD SWORD FREAK OR I'M POSTING ALL OF YOUR NICKNAMES ON THE INTERNET!" Signy screams.
You blink and your jaw nearly drops. She is a literal carbon copy of her mother. Creepy. You hold your hands in surrender "Ok ok, I bow before the might of the angry niece."
Signy's anger evaporates instantly. Part of you just wants to put a picture next to her, just to help you wrap your mind around the similarities. But hey, like daughter like mother and all that. You glance around to the crowd, who at this point had either turned away or started starring.
But at least they aren't staring at you.
Coming through the remaining crowd, as nicely as he could as he lumbers with his armor is the boss himself. As always, cameras are flashing and scrolls are being spoken into as his fans surround him. He gently pushes away anyone that comes too close. So it was your time to step in. You flood aura into the palms of your hands and clap, once. The action sends a shockwave of sound over the entire area, silencing the growing crowd.
"Students, as excited as you are to have a improptu meet and greet with the dragonslayer, everyone of you needs to head to the auditorium for the mandatory announcement. Everyone move along, before my first act as teacher becomes putting each of you in detention.
Needless to say, the students did their best to get to the main hall as quickly as possible. Siegfried shoots you a thankful glance before his entire attention is taken by an infinitely more important source.
You've seen Siegfried fight back a literal army of Grimm. You were there when he took down Fafnir. But whenever he's in front of his family, he couldn't be any more human. He just stared at the two of them, and they in turn, just looked to him. You… feel really out of place all things considered.
You nudge Siegfried on the shoulder "This is the part where you give them a hug." you whisper.
You step away as Siegfried looks down at Signy and Weiss. He tries to say something, but no sound comes out. But that was fine. Signy jumps into his arms, and holds her father as tight as she could. Slowly, his arms come around to return the hug.
"I'm… sorry." He whispers
Signy buries her head into Siegfried's shoulder but you can still barely hear her.
"Thanks to you, mother's home." She cries.
Siegfried looks back at you, but you just turn around and wave at the dragonslayer. If you stayed their any longer, you would ruin a perfectly good family reunion. As you keep walking, a bird lands on your shoulder. You hold up a finger to flick the poor thing off, but then you notice it's eye color.
"Is a bird really the best disguise you could think of?"
"It was either this or a mouse, but the last time I tried that I got the desire to eat cheese and that ended badly for anyone unfortunate enough to need to use the bathroom for the next few hours." Says the bird.
Normally, seeing a man talk to a bird would be kind of creepy. But when the bird talks back, most either wonder what they took in the last few hours or if they were dreaming. You? You just enjoy the fact that your teacher is using an animal that didn't crush you under it's weight.
"Still hiding from Glynda?" You ask.
The bird tilts its head and you get the feeling that if it had lips, it would be smiling.
"Shirou, you really think that I would go so far as to hide on your shoulder to avoid Gly-."
"Hey there she is now." You say, pointing at the interior of the auditorium.
The bird all but dives into the folds of your collar, hiding itself from view. When nothing happened, it pokes it head out of the folds and walks back to your shoulder.
"Ha ha you're hilarious." The bird deadpans.
"You had it coming," You say "Now, what do you want to talk to me about?"
The bird shakes its head "It's not me you have to talk to. I sent a message and you should be getting a call soon."
Speak of the call, your scroll begins to ring.
"That is my cue to leave." Says the bird.
It flaps it's wings and flies into the halls of Beacon. You watch it go for a second until you reach into your pocket and look at the name on the collar ID.
And you almost break down right then and there at the sight of it.
'Sakura.'
[] Take the Call
[] Leave it for Later
- Location
- Manila, Philippines
Last edited:
Takoe
Dad
- Location
- Xehafort
Wouldn't you like to know?
- Location
- Germany
Adopted by blood. Duh. Karna adopted the child while it was bathing in blood and decided it was neat enough as a child.
[X] Take the Call