Chapter 136 - My SI Stash #36 - Suspicious Minds by Cherico (RWBY) (2/2)
”Grim.”
You would think it would be easy to find children's clothing that fits in Remnant but that wasn't the case and my other stuff was still drying.
”And?”
”And if my aura didn't decide to activate I would be dead, instead of just badly dressed.”
The man shrugged.
”Well the good news is that you passed. You did incredibly well on the math and did well enough to pass the rest of it, we will just update your profile and that will be it.”
The general education test, with so many starting villages or isolated farmsteads... Well things go south and you end up with refugees and orphans, so Vale and other kingdoms have tests. If you pass them, great: less resources they have to waste on your education. For actual orphans and children the lack of care and sympathy is actually pretty horrific, but for me it's pretty much ideal.
”So what now?”
”Thinking about heading to Patch, they have a hunter school there and well... I really hate Grim.”
The man shrugs.
”Wish you luck with that.”
And leaves. I don't take it personally, it's only been a year while most people have lived here their entire lives, and other than being known as the tinker kid people are not to attached to me. That said I did what I set out to do: I got my information into the system, bought some tools, got some clothing, made a gun, and have money in the bank. I walked home and sat down and meditated. The book opened and I smiled.
”Bingo.”
I grasped the king. There was no undoing this, no going back.
”Spend it all.”
I smiled, eagerly expecting a surge of power. Instead I got nothing, I tapped the image and saw 13 slots. I looked at Minds.
”It's a start.”
I looked at my clothing and put it on and then packed my possessions into a backpack. I walked outside and old man Henderson looked at me.
”Leaving?”
”Got my accreditations and got money in the bank, it's time to be moving on.”
The old man shook his head.
”You could make a life here, folk are slowly warming up to ya and you're a smart kid, a good kid.”
”Want to kill grim, lots of em. Patch has a school that's pretty good at teaching people how to do that.”
”World needs more hunters, I guess.”
He nodded and I went to the city's bus stop. I paid my lien and watched as the heavily armored bus slowly made its way through the long road, hunters sat on the roof manning the guns and waiting for trouble. I leaned against the window and fell asleep.
Chapter 4
Qrow
”So how's the boy settling in?”
Madame Mallari sipped her tea.
”Stubborn, reminds me of my former husband god of light bless his soul.”
I nodded at her.
”Explain?”
”Best to show you, boy's out about town doing some repairs.”
She got up and walked I followed her and she led me to an old barn.
”So?”
”Boy wanted his independence and offered to pay me rent for it, 1000 lien a month.”
Not a lot of money, but for an old barn not a bad amount, she put a key into the door and opened it I looked around.
”So?”
”You've been gone for three months, Qrow. What do you see?”
”Concrete floor, a workshop in the corner, some kind of bathroom, lights, looks like a house. So what? Let me guess, husband used this place to tinker before he passed away?”
”None of this was here. The boy hired a crew for some of it, but he did a lot of work himself.”
”Any friends?”
”Keeps mostly to himself, does the occasional odd job around town, seems to make most of his money from his apps.”
”Hacker?”
”No, legit. Had the cops look into it, apparently he made a few games and put them online.”
”Anything else?”
”Worried about him?”
”Kid gives me a bad feeling?”
”He sneaks out into the forest to hunt grim.”
”And that's it?”
”As far as I know, yes. Look his story is common enough to be cliché: some yahoo moves into the wilderness, gets killed by grim but his kid escapes and wants to become a hunter. I've met at least 30 people here with the same background so what has this boy in your bad books.”
I sighed.
”Nothing, there's just something off about him and I don't trust it.”
”He's a smart kid who is way too stuborn and has issues, you're being paranoid.”
”I don't trust him.”
”Probably because he reminds you of yourself.”
I glared at her.
”You know its true you dusty crow, you were that stubborn malcontent yourself once.”
I sighed.
”Maybe that's true.”
Maybe I was just being paranoid, maybe he was just some kid raised by some crazy engineer father who went off his rocker, but I still didn't trust him.