A Nascent Kaleidoscope.

Chapter 416: Chapter 377

When walking into the school, I didn't realize that the big clock tower on top of Beacon was actually the headmaster's office.

I left Artoria and Rin to be entertained by Pyrrha because this Headmaster asked me to talk. Normally, I would've probably ignored him or given a vague response about doing it later, but.....I was kind of in his school as a guest.

I felt a semblance of decorum would be proper. Not like I had anything much to lose and he'd probably just wanted to ask me questions about the incident or whatever.

Well, that and he gave me a very strange feeling.

I couldn't quite put my finger on it. I almost wanted to call him out for not being human – or faunus in this circumstance, but that wasn't quite it either.

Why did he remind me of Cinder when she was flaunting her Magical energy?

I couldn't sense an iota of Magical Energy from this man, so I assumed there was another reason. I guess it's possible he was hiding that from me, but I found that unlikely.

And we weren't alone.

There was that teacher from before at his left.

She was giving me a very stern look and I don't think she realized it was doing the opposite of what she was trying to do.

And on the other side was also someone somewhat familiar. "Hey Qrow, haven't seen you in forever. How's Tai doing?"

The black haired man was busy taking a drink from a small flask before he paused and capped it. "Tai? He's doing alright."

"Mmm, I heard that Ruby almost made you headless? Yang mentioned something about that"

He snorted out a bark of laughter. "You met the little firecracker, eh? Yang wasn't entirely accurate on that. Tai gave her a very abridged version of events."

"Yeah?"

"Wrong head." He chuckled, tapping his noggin.

I winced slightly. "I'm sorry?" I offered.

"All's good." He waved it off, uncapping his flask again.

"That's one of the reasons I wished to speak with you, Mister Schweinorg." The Headmaster spoke up, holding a mug of what smelled like hot chocolate.

"You invited me up to talk about Qrow's dangly bits?" I blinked. "I don't know how much help I would be there."

"Woah, is that why I'm here? Something you wanna tell me, Oz?" Qrow joined in.

"Qrow, stop fooling around." The Deputy Headmistress snapped back. "You know why we're here."

"I have a question, if you don't mind me asking." I interjected

"Please." Ozpin gestured for me to continue.

"There don't seem to be many students here? I would think you'd be training up as many hands as possible. Pyrrha told me there were tests to weed out people, I can understand those that are utterly incompetent, but you're just taking the best? Wouldn't you want as many experienced Huntsman as possible even if they're not the top of the pyramid, so to speak?"

"An unexpected question." Ozpin hummed for a moment. "To answer, well, it'd take a few hours to go into the logistics of the matter. If I had to sum it up, simply we don't have enough resources and manpower to handle all of them."

"Resources are actually a problem for you guys?" I was honestly surprised at that. "Aren't you funded by the government?"

"Yes."

"....and?"

"It's the government." Qrow chimed in.

"That.....makes an awful lot of sense actually." I kind of deflated at the reason as it grated on me. How stupid and short sighted of these people. "So you just look for the cream of the crop then?"

"We try our best to attract the greatest of each generation. Most of our students come from Vale and the surrounding settlements, but we do get a good amount from other Kingdoms." Ozpin nodded.

"Huh, is the competition fierce with the other Schools?"

"In a friendly manner. We have a very good relationship with the other Huntsman Academies. We're more than happy to facilitate transfers between Kingdoms if a certain school isn't a good fit with a student. Some years we end up on the 'winning side' so to speak with the enrollment, but I believe Atlas generally has the crown for that."

"You could always just advertise Miss Goodwitch here. Throw her on a poster and distribute them and give her the title of 'Disciplinary Head' or something else." I offered my own two cents.

"That's a good idea." Qrow's eyes widened. "Oz, write this down."

Ozpin coughed into his fist. "As beneficial as it may be to have an influx of what would predominantly be a male population for beacon initiates, I don't think it would be appropriate to flaunt Glynda in such a way."

"Glynda's a prude anyways. You should see how she used to get when she saw kids just kissing in the hallways." Qrow grunted.

"That's because this is a school, not a place to 'hook up'." Glynda pushed up her glasses with a huff. "Besides I am more than aware of the image I project, and I assure you, it is intentional." She gripped her riding crop, staring at Qrow.

"Damn, no wonder Jimmy keeps trying to run back to you like a lost puppy ever since you broke up. What did you do to him?"

"That is none of your business." She said evenly.

"Excuse me." I raised my hand, grabbing their attention. "I would like to take you up on your earlier offer. I would very much like to find out why you use a riding crop."

"Ahem." Ozpin cleared his throat again. "I believe we've gotten a bit off topic. Tell me, Mr. Schweinorg, what's your favorite fairy tale?"

"My favorite Fairy Tale?" That was an odd question, but I would oblige. "Probably Puss in Boots."

"....Puss in Boots?" Ozpin repeated, looking confused. "I'm sorry, I don't believe I've heard that one."

"Oh, it's about a Cat."

"....in boots?"

"Yup."

"...and?"

"That's pretty much it. He has a sword and cool hat too." Wait, was that the actual fairy tail or just something Disney made up? I'm fairly sure all their works were plagiarized from old stories, so I was just assuming.

"Interesting, I was not aware there were still Fairy Tales I haven't heard about." Ozpin shifted topics. "Have you heard the tale of the Four Maidens?"

"That depends on if we're talking about the same thing."

"Are there other variations?" He asked, looking rather intrigued. "Tell me what you know, if you would be so inclined."

"Something about a wizard, and him giving his 'magic power' to four 'maidens'." I vaguely recalled the specifics from the random book I read when first coming to this world.

"Yes, that's the gist of it." Ozpin nodded. "And what do you think about the story?"

"Honestly? Sounds pretty sketchy. Most Fairy Tales are derived from darker stories that were meant to teach harsh lessons or something along those lines. I wouldn't be surprised if it changed over the years and the wizard's 'Magic power' wasn't so wholesome, if you get what I mean. Especially since the story seems to specify 'maidens' which opens up lots of connotations."

From some reason Qrow began laughing.

Ozpin twitched slightly. "You believe....that the wizard from the story used dubious means to....facilitate 'relations'?"

I shrugged.

"You gotta admit, Oz, it sounds pretty sketchy like he said." Qrow pointed out, wiping a tear from his eye.

"Quite." He said dryly.

"Any reason we're having a debate about the intricacies of a tale that's probably centuries old?" I decided to cut to the chase as this bush beating was getting annoying.

He set his mug down, looking right at me. "Mister Schweinorg, I bring it up because it's not simply a tale, as you probably are aware."

"No, this is the first time someone's ever brought up the subject to me." I deadpanned.

"Let me clarify. I am aware you possess Magic, Mister Schweinorg." He said bluntly.

"Oh, and what makes you think that?" I leaned back, crossing my legs in the chair opposite of him.

"Come now, you don't need to hide it, you're among friends." He replied with a friendly smile. "But if you wish to know how we found out, it's not difficult after your recent escapades. I know it may be hard to trust –"

"Yeah, you're right."

" – us." He finished, coming to an abrupt stop. "Pardon?"

"I said yeah, you're right. I do have Magic, what about it?"

"....I admit I did not expect you to be so forward. I had anticipated a long drawn out discussion where I convince you that we mean no harm."

"That wouldn't be necessary."

"Oh, you trust us so quickly?" Ozpin looked surprised.

"No, I'm saying you wouldn't have to convince me that you mean no harm. The premise is flawed as in you would have to be able to harm me." I clarified. "But please, continue."

They all shared silent looks, but Ozpin didn't outwardly react too much as he continued. "Magic has all but gone extinct over the years. There are very few left with the capabilities, I'm afraid. The reason I brought up the story is because I am the Wizard from the tale."

"Okay."

"....as I was saying. I'm the Wizard from the tale. For certain reasons, I am cursed, for lack of a better term. Returning to life every time I die, that is why I'm appearing before you now after many years."

"Neat."

"Yes, quite." He furrowed his brow. "Now, besides me, there is only one other True Magic User left in the world."

Was he talking about Salem?

Wait, he said his name was Ozpin? Didn't Salem mention her EX was named Ozma?

.....Definitely not a coincidence.

Am...I talking to Salem's Ex right now?

....Awkward.

"And this ties into the story how, exactly?" I shifted in my seat.

"I passed on a significant portion of my powers to four young women I met in one of my earlier lives. The Four Maidens each wielded powerful Magic and I had hoped they would help against the tide of Grimm. I had thought that the Magic would return to me after their deaths and I would consider the process again after seeing the benefits. However – "

"Your Magic was intertwined with your Curse." I finished for him.

"Yes?" He blinked. "How did you know?"

"Are you an idiot?"

"Pardon?" He furrowed his brow again.

"Where do you think someone's Magic comes from? It's the soul, any two bit magic user could tell you that. And if you were cursed to continuously revive or reincarnate, or whatever bullshit, then obviously it's also tied to your Soul. Did you really not check to see if there would be side effects?" I couldn't help but rub the bridge of my nose.

"You are.....very knowledgeable it seems." Ozpin said quietly.

"Are there four zombie 'Maiden's wielding magic running around that I should be worried about?" I let out a sigh.

"Not so, thankfully. It seems that the Magic that I passed on would reappear in another host based on certain criteria." He explained.

"You got very lucky. It could have easily ended in disaster, like if the girls got contaminated by the curse and began reviving, and the Magic passed on to a new host who also got cursed in return, repeating the process."

"Believe me, Mister Schweinorg, I've had a very long time to contemplate my many mistakes. I have not repeated such an action." Ozpin's voice lowered as he stared into his mug. "But my mistakes are not the topic of discussion. Magic has disappeared from Remnant except for myself and the other person who wields it. Due to my actions, there will always be four Maidens possessing Magic of terrifying power."

"Would you please get to the point? You've been trying to weave a tale since I've been here." I was really beginning to get exhausted.

"The powers of a Maiden can only be passed to a woman, Mister Schweinorg." He stated, looking right at me. "I do not want to presume or bring up awful memories. And I understand that gender is a delicate subject to those in your situation..."

"....what are you getting that?" I looked at him in confusion.

"I understand that medical science has advanced very far in recent years." He continued on.

"Are you..."

"And I am trying to be as polite as possible. I hope you aren't insulted by my bluntness."

"Wait, wait, wait." I held up my hand to stop him. "Are you....are you implying that I'm a woman? Or rather, that I used to be one?"

"....it is a theory that admittedly has certain credence due to the evidence. I confess that I don't entirely believe it, but the fact that Magic simply won't exist outside of these constraints is...well, telling."

"What about the other person with Magic? What if they did the same thing you did?" I questioned. I was curious what he had to say about Salem.

For the first time, his face turned into a frown. "The only other Magic User in the world is a woman by the name of Salem. A terrifying and vile woman whose only goal is the utter destruction of every living person on the planet."

"How can you be so sure?" I questioned.

"She controls the Grimm." He added.

"Then why hasn't she won?" I asked. I was actually curious about it from their perspective.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean....why hasn't she wiped everyone out yet? There are plenty of big nasty Grimm in the world to overrun every Kingdom simultaneously, so why hasn't she?"

"I...can't claim to understand how her mind works. Perhaps she finds it amusing to watch us suffer, or perhaps she is wary that I have hidden cards of my own to stop her."

Right.....

"Then back to why you think I'm a woman." I shifted the conversation back. "I am not, nor have I ever been a woman."

Oh god....Rin can never find out.

Shit, Jinn probably already knows.

"Mister Schweinorg, I can promise you that we don't have an ill will towards you and we certainly don't have any negative feelings towards your preferred gender." Miss Goodwitch stepped up.

"I will pull my pants down to prove it." I looked her dead in the eye. "In fact, you can call up my Girlfriend to ask her. She can verify that I have all the working parts down here." With how much I filled her stomach, that shouldn't be difficult to dispute.

There was a beat of silence as if they were expecting me to relent and admit to the assumption on their end.

They all shared a look again. "It was a stupid idea anyways, Oz." Qrow chimed in. "A long shot at best."

"You were the one who put forth the idea, Qrow." Glynda huffed.

"Yeah, to mess with Jimmy. I didn't think he'd take it seriously." He shrugged, taking a swig of his flask, while eyeing me. "For the record, I said it as a joke."

"Noted. And who's 'Jimmy'?" I asked.

"James Ironwood, Atlasian General and head of Atlas Academy." Ozpin replied.

"And he seriously believed that?"

"He started investigating all the doctors or physicians who could pull it off or whatever. Spent a ton of money and manpower looking into it." Qrow chuckled.

"Wait, isn't that the guy who wants my head over in Atlas? I think I remember seeing some press release with him calling for my arrest after I became innocent in Vale."

"Yup, that's ol Jimmy." Qrow nodded.

"You're forgiven."

Respect for the trolling.

"Mister Schweinorg." Ozpin interjected. "You claim you aren't a Maiden, but if that's the case, how do you possess Magic?" He looked at me.

"Maybe it's because I ate a lot of crayons when I was a kid. Another kid told me that I would get super powers if I ate an entire box. I ate two."

[That makes so much sense that I don't think I'll ever question why you do anything anymore.]

Ozpin let out a tired sight, but Qrow perked up. "Oz, Oz, maybe the kid is on to something. You said that Ruby has Magic eyes, and she also ate crayons as a kid."

"Qrow....you just revealed Ruby's eyes to a stranger." Glynda rubbed her temples.

"...woops."

"Oh, I already noticed that she had some kind of Mystic Eyes." I replied.

I didn't really care much, didn't seem like my place to bring it up previously.

"...Mystic Eyes?' Ozpin blinked. "I've never heard the term."

"It's a catch all term for special Eyes that can interfere with the outer world through sight alone." I hummed.

Ozpin's eyes narrowed. "You seem much more knowledgeable about Magical Means than I anticipated. Mister Schweinorg, who are you, exactly? You claim to not be a maiden, when all available evidence contradicts that, especially since you possess one of the Relics that only a Maiden's Magic can access."

"Relic?" I looked at him.

I of course knew what It was, but I was feigning ignorance.

"Items of significant power. There are four of them, and you are in possession of one of them from what I saw after you defeated that Sea Feilong." He turned around, clicking a few buttons on his tablet-like device and then an image appeared showing me wielding my sword. "The Sword of Destruction. If you are not a Maiden, how could you possibly have attained it as well as Magic?"

"Oh that? It's a family Heirloom." I hummed in response.

"A family Heirloom?" He raised a questioning eyebrow. "I sealed that sword away myself. I locked it behind a Magic Vault that required the Magic of a specific Maiden to unseal."

"How long ago did you check on it?" I asked.

"....centuries?" He frowned. "Many years ago."

"Then how do you know that one of your Maidens didn't go down into the cavern, go into the pocket dimension and take it out from under Shade Academy?"

"That is a fair point." He acknowledged. "But how do you know about the particulars of its resting place, Mister Schweinorg?"

"Oh, that's because I took it." I replied honestly. "I just didn't like that you were assuming."

".....so much for being a Heirloom." Qrow snorted.

"I never said it's been in my family for long. I'll probably pass it down to my own children, so I wasn't lying." I countered.

"You're being intentionally difficult, Mister Schweinorg" Ozpin said flatly. "And you've not yet answered my question.

I just realized why I couldn't sense any Magical Energy from him. And I also realized how Cinder now had Magic of her own, but that was a whole separate issue. He said he gave it away through some means, and if the quantity of Cinder's power was anything to go by, I'm guessing he didn't have much left. It's not that he has none, it's that the current amount he has is so pitiful that I can't sense it from this distance. Perhaps if I had actual skin contact I could look into it, but from the outside like this, he appeared wholly mundane. A combination with enough experience to keep it contained, and here we are.

Funny.

But I was annoyed by the things he said about Salem and the fact that he intentionally hid several pieces of very important information from me in his explanations. Not to mention his attitude slightly grated on me as if he was owed answers from me, expected them, even.

I was only here out of politeness and most likely would ignore him in the future.

"My Magic? I learned it from my Grandpa who works at the Mage's Association." I said simply as if it wasn't a big deal.

He set his mug down, eyes widening. "....what?"

[***]

Rin Tohsaka POV

"Have you come here to gloat?"

I stepped into the infirmary area with the only patient lying on a bed.

"I came to finish the job." I deadpanned.

She rolled her eyes, but didn't say anything else.

"Just say what you want and get it over with. Or will you demand an apology from me?" She said almost lifelessly.

"God, you're such a bitch."

"Excuse me!?" She sat up, scowling.

"Oh boohoo, you lost a fight. How old are you, Seventeen?" I looked her up and down.

"I'm almost Eighteen." She scoffed.

"Good for you, I'm almost twenty. That means I got two years on you, brat. Stop acting like the world is coming to the end because someone more experienced gave you a beat down."

"I'm not supposed to lose!" She huffed. "I'm Weiss Schnee, I've trained since I was a child in swordsmanship and my Semblance for years. But you.....you defeated me so easily! In front of my partner and the others! How am I supposed to show my face after that?"

....felt a little bad after hearing her rant like that.

"Your first attack wasn't bad. Filling the area with those Ice Spikes? It forced me to react while also blocking my vision of you. But you just sat there and watched."

"...what?" She looked at me confused.

"Then you panicked when it did nothing, and you couldn't properly react when I got close. Then it was just a matter of keeping you off guard. You probably don't have much experience fighting other people, maybe a little bit fighting against Grimm because they're mostly mindless beasts, but that's about it. Your movements were stiff the entire time, you need to work on your physical fitness some more."

"What are you doing?" She narrowed her eyes.

I sat down on her bed. "Telling you what you did wrong, idiot." I looked at her like she was stupid. "I only needed to see your use of dust one or two times to predict how you'd use it. It's too straight forward."

"And who are you to tell me what I'm doing wrong!?" She immediately got defensive.

"Someone who kicked your ass without even trying. Or do you want a repeat?" I rolled my eyes at her antics. "And that's what I'm talking about, the bitchiness."

"H-how dare you." She balled her fists.

"But, I should apologize."

"As you should!"

"Not for calling you a bitch though, I'm sticking by that. I shouldn't have egged you on like that. I was meant just to tag along with Schweinorg and meet a friend of his. He didn't say anything, but I'm pretty sure he didn't like how things turned out." And Saber gave me that 'I won't say anything, but I wish you handled this better' look. "So, I'm sorry for intentionally starting things with you. Honestly, I think you just reminded me of another bitch I hate, so I kind of took my annoyance out on you."

"That is the worst apology I've ever received." The girl huffed, but the tension in her shoulders lessened. "I...suppose I am not without blame in this matter. I apologize for being so confrontational. I stand by my statement about consorting with criminals, but...I made assumptions without evidence towards you that were not verified."

"Right, that's probably a worse apology than mine."

"It's the only one you are receiving and you should be lucky to even hear it." She harrumphed. "And who is this person I remind you of? I have several names in my head, but I am displeased if I am to be compared to them."

"Oh, her name is Luvia, old money kind of family. Thinks she better than anyone who can't trace their family back over a thousand years. And she laughs like this – " I cleared my throat. "Hohohohoho." I even mimicked her gestures.

Weiss's lips curled up and she barely held back a laugh by covering her face.

Huh...she's kind of cute when she smiles.

"Anyways, just wanted to apologize, make things less awkward. Schweinorg cares about his friends a lot, I don't think he'd want a rift formed between you and your partner because of what happened."

"I don't think he has to worry about that. For a rift to form, it would require that we have a semblance of a relationship to shatter." The girl muttered.

And I sensed something was wrong. "Alright snowflake, what's the matter?"

"Why does everyone insist on giving me snow or ice related nicknames?!" The girl huffed in annoyance.

"If the shoe fits." I shrugged. "But what's wrong?"

"Why do you care?" She glared.

"Can't say I do, but I'm trying to be nice. And think about it this way, I don't care, so what do you have to lose by telling me?"

She was quiet for a second before opening her mouth again. "Pyrrha Nikos is barely willing to spend a second of her time on me. I've tried everything!"

"Ah, Schweinorg told me about her, let me take a couple guesses. Did you fawn all over her, try to build her up based on her popularity or something? He said she hates being put on a pedestal. Apparently, she didn't have any friends before Schweinorg because they all cared about her popularity."

"....are you sure?" She looked skeptical.

"If I'm wrong, what harm could it do? Stop treating her like her public persona. Don't fawn over her fame or image or whatever. And maybe, drop the whole 'Schnee' thing. Most of the kids here probably don't give a crap about your family other than you're exorbitantly rich."

I did look up her name a little while ago. Filthy rich probably wasn't a good enough term to explain how much money they actually have. I guess it's not weird that she has such a snooty personality if that's the kind of family she's had.

"....thank you." She whispered.

"What?"

"I said thank you." She replied, this time with a scowl.

"One more time?"

Seeing her getting annoyed again was fun. "Alright, I'm just kidding. You're mostly good now, right? How about we walk back together, it should make things less awkward. I told the others that I was using the restroom, I don't want them to think anything weird if I wait any longer."

"Very well." She relented, getting up from the bed.

"One quick question."

"What?" She responded.

"Why did you wear a dress during our fight?"

"What do you mean? It's my combat gear."

".....okay then." I was honestly confused on how to respond to that. There were so many things wrong with what she was wearing when fighting, I didn't even know how to begin. "I thought you were trying to distract me."

And it's not like Saber with her 'battle dress' that goes down to her ankles. Like, I can nearly see her ass in what she's wearing.

"Distract you? How would I possibly be distracting you?"

"It's a valid strategy to seduce your opponent." I've seen Schweinorg do it enough times to acknowledge that much.

"S-seduce!?" She squeaked, turning a bright red. "I'm not some – some harlot that would lift up their skirt to earn an advantage!"

Should I tell her that she didn't need to lift it up with how much her legs were showing?

I think Schweinorg was rubbing off on me too much, because I think I was enjoying the view way more than I should be.

[***]

A/N

If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

The thing is, I don't hate Ozpin. I genuinely think he's trying his best but has made mistakes along the way. He's a sympathetic character, that is fighting a losing battle and watching the world burn down piece by piece and keeps trying. Wilhelm on hte other hand, doesn't know all the details. All he sees is Ozpin – Salem's Ex who she doesn't have anything good to say about – trying to lure him in with half truths and very important pieces of information left out. So, Wilhelm seeing that Ozpin is trying to manipulate him, which isn't malicious in nature, sort of returns the favor by being vague.