Team ARGT eventually boarded a bullhead and flew off.
Rio watched as it disappeared.
The goodbye was hardly so serious, since it would only be temporary. Grey had told him that they would be here to watch the rest of the festival, but their free time just wasn't so generous. Rio guessed that was just the life of an active Huntsman.
Of course, it went without saying that their lodgings for the night most likely resided in Vale. Rio imagined himself and the others would be doing the same come nighttime, flying back to Beacon. At the very least, he didn't think he heard anything about this super arena containing room and board.
He pulled out his scroll to check the time, something he was trying to get more in the habit of doing. He didn't use the device for much else. Ah, now that he thought of it... I suppose we should have just exchanged information...
There was still the separate promise he had made to Aqua, after all.
Although, Rio wasn't entirely sure what his responsibilities were supposed to look like regarding that. He was correct in thinking it would be a simple phone call apologizing to the woman's parents, right? That shouldn't be too hard. Of course, that was assuming she was still expecting that at all...
Aqua didn't look to be... all there when she left.
Teale and Grey had to practically drag her to the Bullhead.
It was quite worrying, but the two men had waved at him with cheer as they departed. Strangely, Rouge even gave what might have been a smirk.
In either case, Rio sighed, as if letting out the exhaustion.
Perhaps they would run into each other again soon.
"It looks like you made a good impression," a voice said, followed by the sound of heels clicking in his direction.
Before he even realized it, Rio found himself smiling a little.
"I honestly wonder about that."
Glynda regarded him with a raised eyebrow. "You don't seem very surprised to see me."
"I just happened to catch your figure from afar at one point. I am sorry for making you wait."
"It wasn't an inconvenience, so please don't worry about it. I came to get you at my own leisure after all. But... amongst that crowd, I was hardly within eyesight, Mr. Amakawa, I can't imagine you would have... well, I guess I shouldn't be surprised at this point. Your match definitely put a lot of things in perspective..."
Glynda was regarding him with something akin to exasperation.
"Frankly, I was in awe the entire time. My estimation of you keeps getting higher and higher."
Rio blinked, before looking a bit embarrassed.
"...Surely I don't deserve that much praise. Miss Glynda is a combat instructor. I'm certain there were aspects of that fight in need of correction."
"Correct. If this were class, and you fell into your opponent's traps, I would have brought to your attention the ways you could have escaped them, or better yet, avoided them entirely. You, Mr. Amakawa, don't need to be told something like that."
Glynda looked at him seriously, or with contemplation that approached it.
"Any mistake you happened to fall into, you made obsolete by finding a way to adapt. And by counterattacking ruthlessly immediately afterwards."
"No, calling it ruthless is a bit..."
Glynda ignored him with the slightest hint of a smile.
"Being cornered on all sides yet still managing to find a way to win. Or better yet, survive. That is what we're trying to teach our students, Mr. Amakawa. If you are already so proficient at that, can you understand why I feel I have little to offer in terms of critique? Anything I say would just be subjective nitpicking, after all."
Rio could only fall silent.
"...As I thought, winning an argument in the presence of Miss Glynda is difficult."
The woman didn't hide her satisfaction this time.
Though, the silence that stretched on afterwards made Rio realize he still didn't know why the professor was here. "I seemed to have derailed the conversation a bit. Do you require me for something, Professor?"
Glynda blinked in surprise.
Because contrary to Rio's words, it was her who had done the derailing. Which meant either the boy was too kind to say it, or genuinely seemed to think it was him who had done so. Now slightly flustered, but no less taciturn, she turned around briskly and walked off.
"T... That's right. Please come with me, Mr. Amakawa."
Rio was more than a little perplexed. Still, he followed after her.
...
...
...
Glynda... had abandoned him partway through.
That was the thought Rio amused himself with anyway.
The truth turned out to be a bit different. She had been needed elsewhere. That was what he could gather from the short scroll call she took right in front of him—and then the annoyed expression on her face thereafter.
Given the content of the conversation, however...
—"The press wants what?! An interview?! Unbelievable—! Hold on, I'm on my way. ...I apologize, Mr. Amakawa. I have to deal with this. Keep going straight. The door you want is at the end of the hall. Tsune will take a look at you. She's a bit... well, it should be fine. Oh, and afterwards, make sure you enjoy the festivities. Ah, and if you're with Team RWBY, please make sure they beha—yes, yes, I'm still here. I hear you, and I'm coming. Mr. Amakawa, again, I'm terribly sorry, I really must be going."
And then Glynda summarily stormed off in a different direction, leaving Rio by himself.
The press, huh?
There seemed to be something of a ruckus being caused by reporters or the like. That's what his memories from Japan told him, anyway. Still, for them to be causing a problem... he could only imagine the fight that had just been seen by the entire world was likely to blame.
It seemed the people of Vale were very excitable.
It's a good thing Aqua and the others left when they did.
Huntsmen must practically be celebrities to them, after all.
Oh, but he supposed a few of them might want to talk to him, too.
That was the silly thought Rio entertained himself with as he reached the door Glynda had pointed out.
It was pretty nondescript.
There was only a plate on the adjacent wall reading: MEDICAL.
Truthfully, Rio didn't think this was necessary, but he promised the blonde teacher that he would at least get a rudimentary checkup. After all, he exerted himself quite a bit. Not to mention, his aura had almost been completely drained.
That's the sight everyone saw, anyway.
There was just one thing Rio was worried about.
Having a professional looking at my body is...
All it would take was one medical device to determine he was without aura, after all.
Then again... since arriving in this world, he had, miraculously, been able to fool everyone, even their machines, a fact Rio still didn't understand at all.
This was a risk, but one he might have to take.
Besides, Rio had the feeling that if he was caught not having gone to the infirmary by Glynda, that would be an entirely different bad ending. Moreover, by not going, others might think he had something to hide.
Which he definitely did.
Quite a lot of things in fact.
"Hah..."
Suddenly feeling a lot more tired, Rio knocked on the door. He took a few polite steps back and waited for a response. And waited. And waited a bit more. Cocking his head a bit, he knocked again.
This person's name, it was...
"Um, Miss Tsune?" he called out tentatively.
No one answered back.
He could sense a presence, but... something was different.
A voice responded to him after that, but it wasn't Tsune's. 'Haruto. I sense them too. But... their presence is faint. Barely perceivable.'
That confirmed it.
It was rude of him to enter without permission, but he did so anyway, faced with the thought that something might actually be wrong. Aisha's observations were something to be trusted, more so than his, anyway.
More importantly, he had already been given the go ahead by Glynda, so not entering after all of this... he would have later regretted it if turned out there was actually an issue that he could have offered some modicum of assistance with.
So Rio opened the door, body tense and ready.
And was thusly met with a sight that contradicted all expectations.
'Aisha...'
'Yes, Haruto?'
'...You made it sound like she was in critical condition.'
'Oh.'
A pause.
'Haruto. She's only sleeping. Don't worry,' the spirit girl informed him way too late.
The sole person inside the white medical room did indeed have a faint presence, but that was only because they were not fully conscious. That of course referred to the older woman with pointy animal ears attached to her bright pink hair, eyes closed, cheek pressed against her forearm.
The woman, who Rio was forced to conclude was Tsune given the white-clad coat, had fallen asleep against her desk.
Everything left Rio at once.
First his worry, then his tension.
And after that his professionalism.
'Aisha... people normally don't like to be intruded on while sleeping,' he brought up as gently as he could.
A hum reverberated throughout his head. His faithful companion seemed to be thinking.
'...Is that true?'
'Yes, Aisha.'
'But... waking up to Haruto is the highlight of my day.'
"..."
Rio didn't know how to respond to that.
No, it actually left him incredibly embarrassed, to the point where he did not know what to do or say. Therefore, he coughed, directing his attention to something else, like the fact that he had just invaded the space of a sleeping woman for nothing... well actually, this turned out to be for the best.
He now had the perfect excuse to leave.
He would just tell Glynda that the Tsune in question was sleeping. On second thought, maybe he shouldn't tell her that. It was true he didn't know the woman slumbering away next to him, but he would feel bad throwing her under the bus like that. He'd just have to think of a proper excuse.
Pondering just that, Rio went to leave.
A remarkably cute sounding sneeze stopped him.
It wasn't the white-haired boy who had done so, nor was it Aisha in her spirit form. Thus, Rio's eyes found the sleeping woman. Ripples of slight discomfort flashed over her face, right before she tried to snuggle further into her arms. That seemed to be made difficult by the way her body was shivering, the cute animal appendages atop her head doing the same—that of a dog's, or maybe that of a wolf's?
It is rather cool in here...
Rio noted the air conditioning flowing into the room rather strongly.
There was a little hesitation, but it was gone after a sigh escaped his lips, and he already started moving.
He knew full well that what he was about to do was just for his own self-satisfaction.
They didn't even look alike.
They couldn't even be said to be in the same age group.
Not his sister, Latifa, the young fox-beast-folk, or even who she had been before, Suzune Endo, a human elementary school girl, who all that time ago would stare at college student Haruto on the bus. Any comparison he was seeing was purely his own delusion.
Still...
"Forgive me if this is a little selfish..." With a comforter that had been neatly folded on a nearby bed, he took it and draped it around the woman's shoulders.
Then Rio left without another word, closing the door behind him.
He didn't seem to pick up on the security camera in the far corner of the room.
...
...
...
Now, Rio, or Haruto as some knew him, was a very dependable person.
Of course, the boy probably would have something entirely different to say to that, but if left to others, such a statement would likely be unanimously agreed with.
That would remain the case even if one put aside his physical capabilities, which gave him the ability to repel disaster time and time again.
Rio was also wiser than his years, rarely acted on emotion, and never once made an important decision before consulting the people involved.
Of course, once again, if the white-haired boy heard any of this, he would most likely do his best to deny it with a troubled smile.
That all being said...
I... really, really, don't know how to use this thing...
Rio may or may not be having trouble.
The scroll he was holding didn't seem to care.
It continued to offer no help whatsoever.
In this situation, he was completely out of his element.
Don't get him wrong, though.
After living as Haruto in modern day Japan for twenty years, there was no way he could be considered technologically illiterate.
Still.
This and that were two very different things.
Not only did this world have a completely new substandard of electronics, the names of the applications and settings used therein were also just as different. It was like suddenly having his textbooks switched on him at the last moment, yet still expected to follow along.
So, Rio could only continue to stare at his chipperly chiming scroll like an idiot.
This means I'm getting messages of some kind, right?
He understood that.
But how was he supposed to open them?
Unlike Earth's devices, Remnant didn't seem to share in the concept of instantly visible notifications. Was it because opening and turning on the scroll instantly brought everything up with no need for a lock screen or the like? And concerning that, did everyone feel no need for security, or was everything biometric? Or even based on Aura?
None of that mattered, as he was still very much at a loss.
'Aisha, do you happen to...' he started to say.
'Yesh, Haruto?' A clear yawn reverberated through his mind. 'Oh, you're using your cellular device thingy? Something wrong?'
'...N-Never mind.'
While it was true Aisha was hardly ignorant in 'cellular device thingies', since she held all of his memories, including his Japan ones—having access to them AND being able to offer help with them, were too very different things.
The spirit once mentioned before that she could speak any language he could speak, but he wondered how much of that was her own talent, or how much of it was just her link to his memories.
Either way, it looked like he was on his own.
Rio squinted back at the screen.
I just need to find the messaging software, right?
Remnant might use the word call, like his old, OLD world did, but that did not hold true for the word phone. Thus, any images or icons associated with such a word would likely not be appearing at all. He couldn't even be sure an image of an envelope had notoriety either. He certainly didn't see anything like that on the blueish panel before him.
He looked around for a few more moments, and then kept coming back to a small little icon, a nondescript squiggly line going horizontally. Was that supposed to symbolize a line of text?
He clicked on it.
He instantly regretted it, despite it being exactly what he was looking for.
[ You have (200) unread messages ]
Rio stared at it blankly.
Impossibly, they all seemed to be coming from one conversation.
The only other thread was below, with just a very pleasing (1) unread message. It was from Glynda actually, from a day or so ago. From what he could see, it was a cursory message, informing him she would be stopping by his room, specifically RWBY's room, to drop off his essentials.
Ever the professional, that blonde teacher hadn't just showed up unannounced.
Rio finally allowed himself to look at the only other thread.
It was clearly labeled 'Team RWBY & JNPR', but with the words: 'and Rio!' sequestered in parentheses. He felt a slight quirk to his lips. Out of the girls, he could well imagine who had been the one to change it. Ruby's awkward yet at the same time contagious enthusiasm knew no bounds.
He read the most recent message.
RosePetals: Rioooooo, where'd u go?
He felt like chuckling.
Then he read the message next to it.
ExtraBombastic: Don't make us track u down.
"..."
He... actually couldn't tell if that was from Yang or Nora.
Both options were extremely concerning.
Rio scrolled down a bit more and saw many messages asking the same question. He was about to reply, but the scroll's interface changed completely. He was initially confused, but that lasted only until he processed what he was seeing.
Luckily, this was something his memories as Haruto did prepare him for.
The 'ACCEPT' or 'DECLINE' buttons made that rather obvious. He pressed accept, and the call connected.
"Miss Glynda?"
"Mr. Amakawa, thank you for picking up so fast. I wanted to—wait, where are you right now, why is it completely dark?"
Rio pulled the phone away from his ear, which he had done instinctively upon accepting the call. When he looked at the screen, he saw Glynda's confused face looking back at him.
"Oh, that's..."
He... really didn't have the heart to tell her he had not realized calling someone instantly turned on the camera.
"That was a slight mistake on my part. Haha. Anyway, what is the matter? Do you need assistance?"
Something like a smile appeared on her face before it turned sterner. "That's very kind, and more than a little tempting, but I'm fine. Besides, I called to help you. Before that, may I ask where you are? Did your checkup go alright?"
Rio's mind briefly blanked. "Oh, well I just left, right outside the door even, in a hallway... why, did something go wrong? Those press you mentioned?" Rio avoided the first question altogether, hoping she wouldn't call him out on it.
She didn't.
"Yes, those vult—... those reporters contacted their bosses and were allowed entry into Amity's school-personnel-only zones. They were very adamant about speaking with the competitors of the match."
"I see. In that case, I don't think there should be a problem. Miss Aqua and the others already left. They will likely not run into them," Rio said after pondering a bit, thinking the good news would put the matter to rest.
But his statement was met with silence.
Glynda was giving him a funny look.
"Rio..." He blinked at the use of his first name. "They aren't going through all this trouble to speak to the losers of the fight. They want to speak with the winner."
Now it was Rio's turn to pause.
"Even... though the others were famous Huntsmen?"
Glynda sighed. "An eye-catching student just beat said famous Huntsmen. If it were you, who would you be more interested in?"
Well, when she put it like that, Rio supposed he should have guessed this outcome.
Still, he asked what he thought was a natural question. "Will there be any consequences if I avoid them entirely?"
"That's..."
Glynda looked briefly taken aback.
Not at the words themselves, but the impassiveness the boy's face adopted to match them.
"...Well, it is your right as a student to speak freely in events such as these, so long as it is your choice. Of course, that includes not doing so as well."
"I see."
Glynda's brows furrowed a bit.
"...Mr. Amakawa, trust me when I say I also have my own thoughts on the demerits of fame in a huntsmen's life, but I can acknowledge good publicity has its merits too. If it's not too rude of me to ask, is there a reason that doesn't appeal to you?"
"It's nothing like that."
Rio shook his head, a small smile on his face.
"Rather, it's just my own indecisiveness. Saying the wrong thing just because I was a little hasty... if my actions ended up reflecting badly on the school, well, it would be a poor way to pay back the kindness I've been given in being allowed to stay here."
His smile suddenly turned a tad bit cynical.
"That's the polite answer, anyway. When it comes right down to it, I guess I just still don't want to stand out unnecessarily. Pretty immature of me, huh?"
There was no response from Glynda.
In fact, she seemed frozen.
Rio paused.
Did the call crash?
"Miss Glynda? Can you hear me?"
"...Yes, I'm here."
His smile waned even further. "That probably didn't make any sense, huh? I apologize for rambling."
"No, not at all, just..."
The woman trailed off.
The look on her face was hard to grasp, and Rio had no idea what she was thinking of as she gave him such a look.
But just like that the woman snapped out of it. "N-...Nothing. I'll end the call, so you can avoid the reporters at your leisure. And remember, no running in the halls. ...At least not too much," came out the taciturn reply, same as usual.
Rio nodded. "Of course, and thank you for checking in."
He was about to close the device entirely and pocket it, but Glynda spoke up one last time.
"Actually, there is one more thing."
"Hm? Ye—" When he found Glynda's eyes again, he was a little taken aback.
The look she gave him wasn't like her stoic attitude at all. In fact, he would even go as far as to say she looked several times younger. There was no other way to appropriate the pleasant little smile on her face, or the ways her already distracting olive-green eyes softened.
"It's just, you might see yourself as immature and the like, but I don't think that way at all. Because I know you place a lot of thought and consideration to others. I've seen it, so I wanted you to know that I respect you. Allow me to give you that compliment, one I hope you know I mean."
She might have said something else before the call ended, but Rio didn't hear it.
He just stood there, effectively rooted in place.
'...Does that surprise you, Haruto?'
There was silence for a time.
Minutes might have even gone by.
But.
'...Of course it does.'
'But does it make you happy?'
Rio sighed before smiling a small, difficult little smile.
'Of course it does.'
'Then...'
It felt like Aisha was smiling as well.
'Just focus on that feeling.'
Focus on it?
The words were incredibly vague and unsatisfying. They meant nothing. So why did Rio, in some small part of him, feel like they made the most sense? Why did he feel like they spoke to him so much?
He was... respected.
In a world not his own.
He didn't think he was worthy of such a thing. He really didn't. But Glynda seemed to think he was. Aisha seemed to think he was allowed to be. He guessed... that meant he had no choice. Even if it was like his usual, being the most ungodly of hypocrites, wanting to commit evil but unable to fully reject the good, he would need to...
"I definitely heard something over here...!"
A shout followed by footsteps tore him from his thoughts.
The sound appeared to still be a ways off, but it was enough for Rio to shake away his mental cobwebs.
He would make an educated guess and say those were the reporters.
He could trouble himself with his current line of thinking later.
For now, he needed to think about relocating.
Everything would be kind of pointless if he was spotted and they came up with their own narrative as to why he was openly fleeing from them.
Now, it would be easy to cloak himself with invisibility, but he wasn't sure he wanted to reveal such an ability.
Not yet anyway, especially when he was fairly certain Ozpin didn't know about it. The man wouldn't have been so blasé about his flying otherwise. Between levitating and becoming completely unseen to the naked eye... the headmaster would have made a greater deal out of the latter.
Back to the point, invisibility was out due to how sure Rio was about Amity Coliseum having a plethora of camera's surveying the facility's... entirety...
Wait.
Cam... eras?
A prick of sweat appeared on the boy's neck.
He had the strangest feeling he had already made a mistake. No matter. For now, he chose the simpler approach. As the footsteps beyond were getting closer, he deftly kicked off the wall, and then jumped upwards.
And stayed there.
Not five seconds later—
"T-This is ridiculous! What, did he take a swan dive off of Amity...?! Where the hell is he?!"
A displeased young woman came to a halt, panting. Two others—men—who had been running behind her performed the same action, looking just as disgruntled. The heavy-duty camera and other equipment that they were carrying jostled unevenly with their harsh breaths.
"I mean, seriously, how hard is it to find a boy with white hair?! As far as I'm concerned, he should be the only male with a look like that for miles, no, probably even the entirety of Vale! Ugh, and if another agency asks the golden question before we do...!"
The woman seemed genuinely distressed.
But as if it wasn't anything at all, her fighting spirit only grew brighter, proven by the order she tossed behind her. "Double time, you lot! We need to keep looking!"
"Yes..."
"Whatever you say ma'am. ...But please don't tell me we're going to straight up ask him if he's an illegitimate ch—"
"Onward!"
"Why do I even bother, Frank?"
"I stopped asking that question a while ago, Jeff."
Two tired replies followed after her.
Meanwhile, up in the darkness, standing atop a line of rafters, Rio had a strange smile on his face.
Illegitimate, huh?
Even though he couldn't have known, it seemed he really had made a mistake by arriving in this world with this hair color.
Weiss might have said certain things about it the last time, very kind things that he did not deserve, but he wondered if that still held true, even now. Talk of illegitimacy was quite serious, and Rio would never forgive himself if he caused strife amongst Weiss' family just to maintain an identity here.
Rio hopped down.
Nevertheless, I should move to a place easier to move around in. I highly doubt one reporter and her associates were big enough of a splash to cause Miss Glynda's speedy exit. There's sure to be more of them.
He was about to take off down the opposite hallway.
A door suddenly opening stopped him.
Rio was surprised.
Not nearly as surprised as the pink haired woman, however. "M-Mr. Amakawa... wait, you were really waiting this whole time?" A nervous tick enveloped her smile, and certain appendages atop her head went ramrod straight. "H... How shameful of me. Quick, come inside."
Rio couldn't even formulate a response.
The doctor named Tsune was already ushering him into her office.