Izanagi: an ability that allowed the user to rewrite reality to avoid unfavorable circumstances such as a deathblow.
Izanami: an ability that allowed the user to trap a target in a theoretically infinite and self sustaining illusion that could only be broken by the target themselves coming to accept that it was their own faults that led to whatever circumstances caused them to fall victim to it.
Kamui: an ability that allowed the user access to a separate space and or dimension only they had access to, the method of transportation depending on the eye used.
All abilities that, in the right circumstances, could lead to a future where I single handedly dealt with Salem without bothering with those relics or the maidens scattered across Remnant.
But I was getting ahead of myself.
The only thing I was sure about? My semblance was indeed some variation or at the very least, an aura powered knock off of the Sharingan I remembered from Naruto.
"If you can, activate your semblance please."
With a thought a subtle tingle danced behind my eyes, red flickering to life for a moment. As the tingle faded, my eyes feeling no different than normal, a stable aura shield formed across the entirety of my body, the thing as easy to maintain as taking a breath.
"Lower your aura shield please." I did as the doctor ordered, red flickering once more. They brought a light close to my eyes, examining each one.
Without it active I could barely keep my shield active or keep up with any of Raven's attacks. Right now, my aura flowed easily, obeying my intentions before I could form a conscious thought. When it first activated, my heightened perception had been what made it seem like she'd slowed down.
Why did my semblance take the form of something from an entirely different show? I couldn't say. In universe, semblances were a mystery, not every huntsman developing one over the course of their life and no real pattern to what abilities people ended up with. The Schnee were a bit of an exception to that which only served to enhance the mystery surrounding the concept.
I supposed that the why didn't really matter.
I had it and would be using it, period. Assuming it followed the rules of the actual Sharingan from the show, as long as I didn't use certain forbidden techniques, also assuming I had access to such things in the first place, there was no risk of blindness to worry about just yet.
Hmmm, I'm going to be stuck making a lot of assumptions until I put it to the test.
"Good job." The doctor said in that tone most used when praising a child as he stepped back and turned to my parents. They'd both been seated in the corner of the small white room. Well, Raven was sitting, arms crossed and foot impatiently tapping away at the ground while Tai paced in front of the pair of cushioned chairs they'd been waiting in.
"Is there anything we should know? Side effects? Anything bad?" Tai quickly questioned, pacing stopped to face the doctor.
"Not at all Mister Xiao Long. As far as I can tell your son's semblance is perfectly safe." The doctor said, shifting the clipboard that'd been beneath his underarm into his hands. "In fact, the tests we've conducted have only yielded positives. Perfect vision, some degree of night vision, enhanced reflexes, improved pattern recognition, even aura manipulation on par with that of professional huntsmen. I daresay, based off semblance alone, Talon here will have no issue following in your footsteps."
I figured as much but nice to have all that confirmed by a professional.
A relieved sigh left Tai, but he continued his questioning, trying to understand every little thing they'd found out about my semblance. Raven, on the other hand, looked my way. She looked as cold as ever but with my semblance active I had no trouble picking up the near invisible twitches of her mouth.
She was fighting off a smile or maybe a smirk.
I couldn't help the smile spreading across my face, not really trying to return the gesture or anything but finding the whole thing amusing. Was it really so hard for her to do the normal thing and show the pride she felt about her own son?
"There is something I would like to talk to the both of you about, however." The doctor said, a not so subtle glance thrown my way.
"Go wait with your uncle." Raven ordered.
I hoped off the metal bed they had me on and headed for the door without question. I was looking forward to getting home as soon as possible. With Raven's help I was definitely going to be able to put this Sharingan through the paces. Who knows, maybe I'd-
"There's our little fighter." A pair of silver eyes ambushed me, hovering right across from my own. With a grin and all her usual cheeriness, Summer had kneeled in front of me before I could take more than a few steps into the long quiet hallway. "Sooo, what'd they say?"
"My semblance is safe."
"Hmmm." Summer tilted her head then suddenly reached forward, smushing my face around. "Come on, you've got a semblance at freaking four years old. This is awesome." While I did have my grievances about the excessively childish treatment, I did grin along with her, not faking it at all. Summer was one of those bubbly people with an optimistic disposition so infectious it was hard to be in a bad mood around her.
And she was right.
A god damn Sharingan? Even if it turned out to be some imitation that paled in comparison to the actual thing, this was like a hundred childhood dreams coming true all at once.
"Awww, there's that smile I love so much. You're so cuteeee." She pulled me into a tight hug, swaying the both of us side to side. Normally I'd be trying to push her off but today was a good day. Might as well let it be.
"Don't choke the kid." Qrow said, seated on one of the many chairs that lined the hallway, spread between the many different doorways.
This place wasn't exactly a hospital, but it wasn't a traditional clinic either. The building was a modest size between the two, acting as a dedicated clinic for huntsmen and all others who made use of aura, the equipment needed to do that demanding its size. I'd been in a few different rooms when they were testing my semblance.
"You must not realize who you're talking about." Summer stood, taking me with her, my hand landing on her cloaked shoulder while she balanced me on one arm. "The way you like to laze around I bet Tally can beat you easy."
Qrow chuckled, looking at me. "What do you think kid? Want to have a go?"
"I don't think I know anyone named Tally."
"Come on, it's a good nickname." Summer said as she took the seat beside Qrow, placing me in her lap. "It fits how cute you are."
"It's stupid."
"It's cute."
"Stupid."
"Cute."
"Going to have to agree with the kid on this one, Summer." Qrow pipped into the childish exchange.
Summer clicked her tongue. "Neither of you have any taste."
We settled down, Summer placing her chin on my head and humming as we waited on Raven and Tai. A wait that didn't take long, the across from us opening up soon enough.
"-told you we should've waited at least. People will get the wrong idea."
"I don't give a damn what some nobodies think. He's not like the children raised behind these walls. He can handle it."
"I-"
"Finally, come on you guys." Summer cut them off, standing up with me. "We got to head out and celebrate."
I could figure out what they were arguing about. It didn't take much to connect that tail end of their conversation with my bruises. I'd have been surprised if a doctor didn't take a moment to question it even if my parents were huntsmen. Young as future generations of huntsmen and huntresses were trained, I was still a bit of a rarity.
Behind kingdom walls at least.
I blinked, another subtle tingle signaling the deactivation of my Sharingan. I might not be a silver eyed warrior but a semblance like this would definitely make them a target for any enemies I made. For now, I don't think I needed to worry about it being included in any information about me.
We'd showed up with no appointment and somehow managed to get into a room with the head doctor here without a wait. Either my parents were owed a favor, that respected, or Ozpin's influence was at play.
Either way, I'd be sure to keep the details surrounding my Sharingan on the down low.
Ah, my Sharingan.
Summer was right, this day was all kinds of awesome.
XOXO
Summer hummed a faint tune, her hand slowly combing through my hair and gently undoing any tangles.
All around, being treated like a child wasn't something I enjoyed. That said, it wasn't all bad. I didn't know if it were her voice or just the tune but there was something soothing about having another watch over me as I fell asleep. It was something she took the time to do whenever she was visiting.
I had let my eyes fall close but I was fighting off actual sleep, far more interested in a little eavesdropping. It was hard to make out exact words over Summer's humming, but I could hear Tai, Raven, Qrow all talking and I'd bet money that I was the topic of conversation. Even if I was wrong, team STRQ was all gathered in one place.
Anything they talked about could very well involve Salem, Ozpin, and vital details that wouldn't have been in the show. I might not be able to do much now, but information was always a good thing to have.
Summer's humming slowed, her hand shifting my growing bangs aside as she planted a faint kiss to my forehead. "Sweet dreams, Tally." She whispered before, just as I hoped, quietly leaving the room, my door left ajar by the slightest amount.
I didn't risk getting up or moving around too much. I still wasn't sure how Raven's semblance worked and getting her attention might put a swift end to anything important being said.
"I hoped Tai was exaggerating but...I'm just saying, it might not be the best idea." It was a bit broken up but it sounded like Summer was finally addressing my state too. This was the first time we've seen each other since I started training with Raven, so she'd been taken by surprise when she saw my bruises even if she'd done a good job ignoring it around me.
There was more talking, voice raised here and there but it was difficult to make out anything specific.
"You know how Ozpin is." I strained my ears, inching closer to the edge of my bed at the mention of that name. "-of course that's not what I meant....at the very least he'll want to meet him."
"That old bastard can take what he wants and shove it up his ass." Raven's voice, raised, but not quite a shout, was easy to make out. A rare thing for her. Irritable as she could be, Raven rarely put so much energy into any sort of talking, even her arguments with Tai very rarely getting a rise out of her. "Talon's got nothing to do with him and I'm keeping it that way."
"You're the one who decided all on your own to unlock his aura." Tai remarked, his voice raised to match her. "I'd rather keep him at a distance too, but you saw the tests. His semblance is already strong and it's probably going to keep developing. If it turns into something we can't handle-"
"Talon can handle it." Raven insisted. "He hasn't skipped a day or even complained about our training. We're lucky all that babying you do didn't turn him into the sniveling brat you treat him as."
"He doesn't complain because he wants to spends time with you. Gods, why is that so hard for you to understand? What else is he supposed to do when you've barely bothered doing anything else with him before?"
And there they go again. Hopefully Qrow and Summer put an end to that argument before it snowballed into anything worse.
Ozpin.
Admittedly I hadn't been giving him as much thought as the obvious threat Salem represented but that didn't mean he wasn't one. Not just to me but all of Remnant. The man wasn't a total villain by any means, more than likely the main force behind the formation of all four kingdoms, but he was a wild card.
As a hypothetical, if my assumptions about my semblance were right and I did manage to use something like Izanagi or Kamui to subdue Salem, what would he do? Just kick back and relax in the endless cycle of reincarnation he'd been cursed to? Possible but there was the opposite end of the spectrum to consider. Would he unite humanity, who knew what that arbitrary ass goal truly required for humanity to be considered united, and use the relics to summon the twin gods so that their judgment could be passed?
The same twin gods who wiped out an entire planet in response to one woman's actions?
Yeah, fuck that.
He might not be the same destructive force Salem commanded but the threat Ozpin represented was far more insidious.
A small sigh slipped out as I closed my eyes, resigning myself to the exhaustion pulling at them.
It was just another hypothetical I was in no position to do anything about. All I could do was build my strength.
And a Sharingan would enhance that strength in more ways than one.
XOXO
(A/N: No idea what the update schedule is but I wanted to write this. Decided to try my hand at first person perspective but also decided to shake things up by throwing my hat in the ever popular reincarnation troupe. The childhood is just the opening and shouldn't go beyond more than 13 to 16 chapters then we get to the main story.
Used to writing in third person so that may creep in here and there but I've tried to edit it out. That possible issue aside, thoughts? I haven't quite formed an opinion on whether or not one style is better than the other, hence the existence of this story at all. Firsthand experience and all that.)