Chương 16: The Gravity of a Father

The first month of the reconstruction was drawing to a close, and the skeletal remains of Beacon Academy were finally resembling a sanctuary once more. The air smelled less of scorched stone and more of fresh mortar and pine timber. High above the plaza, the clock face of the CCT tower had been hoisted back into position, its golden gears gleaming in the afternoon sun. Walking through the main gates, a tall, broad-shouldered man stepped onto the cobblestones.

Taiyang Xiao Long wore his standard brown cargo shorts and a patched leather vest over his dark shirt, his golden hair slightly disheveled from the airship ride from Patch. Nestled securely in the crook of his right arm was a small, round black-and-white corgi. Zwei's nose twitched frantically, sniffing the sharp scent of Atlas machinery and fresh concrete. Taiyang paused, his blue eyes sweeping over the courtyard. He had spent the last four weeks locked in a state of quiet, agonizing panic on his island home.

Even though the news reports had stated the situation was contained within hours, and even though Qrow's brief, clipped Scroll messages had confirmed the girls were breathing, a father's mind was a dangerous place. He had seen the early footage, the massive black dragon perched on the tower, the sky split open like a wound.

"Dad!" The sudden, high-pitched shriek cut through his thoughts. Before Taiyang could even turn, a blur of crimson roses slammed directly into his chest.

"Whoa, Ruby!" Taiyang laughed, his chest heaving as he wrapped his free arm tightly around his youngest daughter. Ruby buried her face into his vest, her hands gripping his shoulders with a fierce, desperate strength.

"Hey, don't leave me out of the squeeze," a lower voice smirked. Yang Xiao Long stepped into the circle, her left arm wrapping around her father's neck while her right remained securely bound in its white medical sling. Taiyang didn't say a word. He just closed his eyes, pulling both of his daughters against him, his large frame trembling slightly with a wave of profound, overwhelming relief.

Zwei let out a bright, sharp bark, squirming out of Taiyang's arm to enthusiastically lick Ruby's cheek and burrow into Yang's good side.

"Look at you two," Taiyang breathed, finally stepping back to look them over. His eyes immediately lingered on Yang's sling, his expression softening into a deep, parental ache.

"Yang... your arm..."

"It's fine, Dad," Yang said quickly, giving him a reassuring nudge with her good shoulder.

"The Atlas docs said the bone fracture is healing perfectly. I'll be back to cracking heads in another month. You should have seen the other guy."

"I saw the news, Yang. I saw everything," Taiyang said, his voice dropping into a serious, heavy register. He rubbed his face with his hand.

"When the network cut out... I almost took a rowboat across the channel myself. What happened up on that tower? The reports were completely chaotic. One minute Vale is falling, and the next, the central Grimm is just... gone?"

"Dad, it was crazy!" Ruby burst out, her hands gesturing wildly in the air as her silver eyes lit up.

"The White Fang had us cornered, and this bad lady Cinder was about to kill Pyrrha, and the giant dragon was melting the roof, and then, BAM! This guy just fell out of the sky!"

"A guy?" Taiyang frowned, looking between his daughters.

"What kind of Huntsman? Ironwood's specialist?"

"No, that's the thing," Yang interjected, her posture shifting as she leaned against a nearby crate.

"He's not a Huntsman. He doesn't even know what a Huntsman is. He's a hero from another world, Dad. He calls himself Saitama. He took out the giant Grimm with a single backhand. No Aura, no weapon. Just... a punch." Taiyang's brow furrowed, his tactical mind rejecting the phrase another world entirely.

"Kids, look, I know the battle was traumatic, but extra-dimensional--""They aren't exaggerating, Tai." Qrow Branwen strolled out from the shadow of the nearby administrative corridor, his tattered grey cape dragging slightly behind him. He had his hands buried deep in his pockets, a wooden toothpick resting in the corner of his smirk.

"Qrow," Taiyang said, straightening up as his old teammate approached.

"Hey, Tai," Qrow said, giving a small nod.

"Glad you made it over. The local airspace is still a mess with Ironwood's perimeter checks."

"What is this nonsense about a bald man from another dimension?" Taiyang asked, crossing his arms, his body language turning stern.

"I've been hearing rumors across the Vale underground for weeks, but I assumed it was just wartime folklore to keep morale up." The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

"It's real," Qrow said, his face turning completely serious as he leaned against the stone railing.

"The guy is an absolute anomaly. He doesn't exist in any archive on Remnant. I watched the biometric data myself, Tai. He vaporized an apex-level Grimm using nothing but the air pressure of his fist. Right now, Glynda's got him on the payroll as a 'security consultant' just to keep him from wandering off and breaking something else." Taiyang stared at his brother-in-law, looking for any sign of a joke. Finding none, a chill ran down his spine.

"And he's just... walking around the school?"

"Oh, look! There he is!" Yang said excitedly, pointing with her clipboard. A few yards away, Saitama was walking down the newly repaired path. He was wearing his green Beacon jumpsuit, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, and he was staring intently at a small, silver tin can in his hands. He was trying to peel the metal tab back with his thumb.

"Hey! Mr. Saitama!" Ruby called out, waving her red-lined cape over her head. Saitama paused, his simple, dot-eyed face tilting toward the group.

"Ah, the red girl and the blonde girl," he mumbled, letting out a small sigh as he trundled over.

"I hope they aren't gonna ask me to help move more rocks."

"Hey," Saitama said as he stopped three paces away, finally snapping the tab off his can of local fruit juice.

"What's up? We got a monster raid or something?"

"No, no monsters!" Ruby beamed, stepping forward and gesturing to her father.

"We wanted you to meet our dad! He just came over from Patch!" Taiyang stepped into Saitama's line of sight, his tall, athletic frame drawing up to its full height. He looked down at the bald man, his blue eyes scanning the loose green fabric, the lack of any visible armor, and the total absence of a weapon or an energetic Aura presence. He looks like a grocery clerk. Taiyang thought in sheer bewilderment. This is the god that saved my daughters?

"I'm Taiyang," he said, extending a large, calloused hand.

"I'm the father of these two. I... I wanted to properly thank you for what you did on the tower. If you hadn't been there--""Oh, yeah, no problem," Saitama interrupted, giving Taiyang's hand a brief, incredibly limp shake before pulling his red glove back into his pocket. His dot-eyes remained perfectly round and vacant.

"The red girl was yelling a lot, and that fire lady was being really loud. Honestly, I was just trying to find a supermarket. By the way, do you know if the city down there has those weekend meat sales? The white-haired girl told me everything's closed because of the 'crisis,' but I'm getting really tired of cafeteria rice." Taiyang's hand remained frozen in the air for a second.

He blinked, his jaw dropping slightly as his mind completely failed to reconcile the legendary warrior from Qrow's description with the man currently complaining about meat sales.

"Uh... the markets in the commercial district are mostly supplying rations right now, I think..."

"Man, figures," Saitama grumbled, taking a slow sip from his juice can.

"Every time I go to a new place, the economy is totally ruined." Before Taiyang could ask another question, a wet, cold nose suddenly nudged against Saitama's red rubber boot. Saitama looked down. Zwei was standing on his hind legs, his tiny black-and-white body leaning against the rubber, his tail wagging so fast it was a complete blur. The little corgi let out a soft, happy boof and began to enthusiastically sniff Saitama's shin.

"Huh? What's this?" Saitama said, his face drawing into a slightly curious, blocky expression. He dropped to a squat, his knees making a loud pop as he looked at the dog.

"Hey. You're a little round, aren't you? You look like a loaf of bread with legs." Zwei instantly dropped back to all fours, panted happily, and trotted right between Saitama's legs, resting his head against the man's green knee.

"Whoa, look at that," Yang laughed, her eyes widening.

"Zwei usually barks at strangers, especially the Atlas soldiers. He likes you."

"Yeah? Well, dogs are okay," Saitama said, reaching out a red glove to lazily scratch behind Zwei's ears.

"Back home, I also have a black dog. He has six eyes, used to live in the ruins near my old apartment before I adopted him. It kept trying to bite my head off until I gave it a little pat. You're way better than that one. You don't drool acid." Taiyang's left eyebrow twitched violently. A six-eyed dog that drools acid? He thought, his protective fatherly instincts screaming in absolute confusion. He looked at Qrow, who simply shrugged and shook his head, as if to say, ' Just don't think about it, Tai'.

Saitama stood up, brushing a stray white dog hair off his green jumpsuit.

"Anyway, I gotta go find the lady with the crop. She said she was gonna show me where they keep the spare pillows. The one in my room is hard as a rock."

"Right. See ya around, Saitama," Qrow said, waving a hand as the bald man began to trundle away, casually sipping his juice while Zwei watched him go with a tiny whimpering whine. Taiyang watched Saitama's back until the green jumpsuit vanished around the corner of the dining hall. The silence hung over the family for a long moment before Taiyang finally let out a long, heavy breath, the tight knot of anxiety that had gripped his chest for a month finally dissolving into a soft, emotional chuckle.

"He's... certainly something else," Taiyang murmured, turning back to his daughters. He reached out, pulling Ruby and Yang into a brief, warm side-hug.

"But... I don't care if he's from another world or another universe. He kept my girls safe." He looked up at Qrow, his blue eyes filled with a deep, silent gratitude between old friends.

"Thank you for looking out for them, Qrow. And... tell Glynda I'm glad she's holding the fort."

"Yeah, yeah. Go do your rounds, Tai," Qrow said, a small, genuine smile touching his lips.

"Peter and Bartholomew are down at the lower barracks trying to organize the remaining student rosters. They've been complaining about the lack of proper tea for days. Go save them."

"I'll do that," Taiyang smiled, scooping Zwei back into his arms. He gave Ruby's hair a gentle tussle and kissed the top of Yang's head.

"Be good, you two. Don't go breaking any more orbit records with that broom."

"No promises, Dad!" Ruby giggled, waving as Taiyang began to walk down the path toward the faculty lodgings, his heart lighter than it had been in weeks.