Ichigo's POV

Tomorrow's the first round of the Vytal Festival Tournament and it's Ichigo's job to make sure everyone's prepared. Glynda's arena wasn't big enough for a full-class spar to simulate a chaotic battlefield, so he moved the class to outside.

Ichigo: "Everyone needs to be combat ready..." he says as he watches his students spar, what he said making him think of something that happened earlier. "That girl was weird, and her Aura was too..."

Of course, he's referring to someone that Ruby had introduced him to earlier, a girl named Penny Polendina. She seems nice for the most part, but also somewhat weird. Not only does her Aura feel different than everyone else's, but her mannerisms are like a curious alien's who wants to learn everything there is about Earth culture. She says she's combat ready, but Ichigo couldn't tell how experienced in battle she was.

Ichigo: "And she's not even the weirdest part of this week."

That honor would go to the mystery woman he saved during his mission. According to that Qrow guy, her name's Summer Rose and she's Ruby's mom, as well as Yang's stepmom. He said that she disappeared years ago on a mission and that she was presumed dead. Looks like they made a mistake with that.

Flashback

Summer's Hospital Room

Due to the severity of her wounds and the drugs already present in her system, the hospital has given her a few things to speed up her recovery while also counteracting the drugs. Some of the drugs are making her agreeable, but she still can't remember what happened to her prior to not long before Ichigo found her.

Qrow: "So you don't remember anything?"

Summer: "No." she denies. "I don't remember anything."

Ozpin had sent the police earlier to ask her some questions. It's not every day that a missing person is found alive, but Ozpin's motives seem far from pure. Even if she's somewhat agreeable, anyone would be testy after being asked the same things over and over.

Qrow: "Right... you have amnesia." He drinks from his flask.

Ichigo: "She's been given the third-degree by everyone else today, let her rest."

That Qrow guy showed up almost randomly, asking both him and her questions. Something about being concerned for her and trying to get her to remember who she is. Ichigo thinks that's only partially true at most and that he's really spying for Ozpin.

Qrow: "Right, right. Sorry about that Summer."

Summer: "Summer... You keep saying that's my name, but I don't remember anything from before..." She cuts herself off. "...from before you found me, Ichigo, was it?"

Ichigo: "Yeah. I found you far to the south. I brought you here cause it looked like you were in trouble."

Summer: "Thank you, Ichigo."

There's something she's not telling either of them, possibly because she doesn't think she can trust them. Considering her wounds and the drugs combined with her attitude, she probably remembers the torture. Hell, it was likely the torture that caused her condition in the first place. She probably only survived her encounter with the Grimm up until he got there due to her body's reflexes from being a battle-hardened Huntress, at least, according to Qrow.

Ichigo: "Of course. You need your rest, but I'll be back tomorrow, okay?"

Summer: "I'd like that." she positively responds.

Ichigo gets up from his chair, with Qrow following his lead.

Qrow: "It's good to have you back." he tells her before exiting the room.

As soon as the door closes, Qrow puts his hand on Ichigo's shoulder, something that puts him on edge.

Ichigo: "What."

Qrow: "Kid, I haven't had the opportunity to thank you. Summer's like a sister to me. We all thought she was gone, but you brought her back. Thanks."

Even if he's annoyed Ichigo with all the questions about his fake past in Remnant, maybe he's not such a bad guy. Ichigo's met a lot of kinds of people in his life, but the way Qrow is being right now, he seems honest.

Ichigo: "...yeah."

Present

Since then, Ichigo's become a bit more tolerant of Qrow watching him and asking him questions. He's annoying like his dad is in some ways, but he's a lot more subtle about it. It's probably due to his position as Ozpin's birdie watching over everything, but even with that, he looks like he has some decency. Speaking of...

Ichigo: "Watch your footwork, Cardin!"

Cardin Winchester, the bully who's now under Ichigo's personal tutelage, only turns his eyes towards Ichigo, then back to his opponent. That's something that Ichigo taught him to do, to minimize distractions, but to also never ignore him.

Flashback

Vale Hospital

When Ichigo had finished his visit with Summer and Qrow went on his way, Ichigo stopped by the front desk to ask one of the nurses something. However, when he gets there, he hears someone calling his name.

???: "Mr. Kurosaki!"

From his right, he hears an excited, familiar voice. He turns and sees cute Mamako Winchester with her dumbass son, Cardin, in tow. He looks all healed up, which is a good thing.

Mamako: "Mr. Kurosaki! It's good to see you again!"

He greets the excited mother with a smile, as he is a professional.

Ichigo: "Likewise. What brings you here?"

Mamako: "Today's the day my son's being discharged. Thank you again so much for letting him stay! I already explained to him that you were his saving grace at not being expelled and he's grateful, aren't you?" she asks Cardin.

Cardin: "Yeah, real grateful." he responds sarcastically. "Especially after you were the one who put me in here in the first-"

She grabs him by the ear.

Mamako: "YOU'RE. GRATEFUL. YES?" she angrily smiles towards him.

Cardin: "OWW OWW OWW! YES FINE! I'M GRATEFUL, ICHIGO!"

She lets him go and he rubs his ear in pain.

Mamako: "Good!" She returns to her more pleasant demeanor. "Mr. Kurosaki, please take care of him for me. I know he can be a handful, but please be patient. His father died when he was younger, so he's probably acting out because of that. Please do your best." She boss to him.

Ichigo: "My training method is a bit... unorthodox. I'll make sure he learns." he tells her with an evil glint in his eye.

Mamako: "Thank you so much! I'll be dropping him off at Beacon later and checking up on him from time to time, so who knows? Maybe we'll see each other again soon?"

Ichigo: "Heh, yeah, maybe."

Cardin: "Mom, can we just go? I've spent enough time here already..." he says to probably get as far away from Ichigo as possible.

Mamako: "I can understand that, but it was your decisions that landed you here!" she turns back to Ichigo. "Mr. Kurosaki, you have my permission to put him in here again if he gets out of line again. I only ask that you not injure him too badly as that will get in the way of training, right?"

Ichigo: "I'll try, but no promises. Goodbye, you two." They start to leave, but there's one more thing Ichigo needs to say. "Oh, and Cardin?" His head hesitantly turns towards him. "Come see me later. I'll write up a 'training' schedule for you and your team."

Cardin gulps in fear at Ichigo's insistence on training, something Ichigo can hold over his head.

Present

And since then, Ichigo's been running Cardin and his team ragged like he has RWBY, JNPR, and CFVY due to the 'Panty Incident'. As a result, Cardin's team have come to resent him a bit for bringing down hell upon them, but on the plus side, at least Cardin's not complaining or a bully anymore.

Jaune: "Ah!"

He gets his weapon knocked out of his hand by Yang, who has the type of smile that only a person who loves fighting would have. Reminds Ichigo of Grimmjow and Kenpachi a bit.

Yang: "Come on, Vomit Boy! Surely you can do better than that!"

'Vomit Boy'? What's that about? Eh, probably not important. What is important is that Jaune's not getting his weapon and is mostly just standing there, giving up.

Ichigo: "EVERYONE, STOP!" he yells so that everyone can hear him.

The class immediately stops their sparring and looks at Ichigo, as does Glynda.

Glynda: "Professor Kurosaki, is there something wrong? We're not at the end of class quite yet."

Ichigo: "I know." he acknowledges with a stern expression. "But it was Jaune's actions just a minute ago that made me want to do this."

He looks at Jaune, who shrinks back at the mention of his name.

Glynda: "Very well. Proceed."

Ichigo's expression turns from stern to having a strange smile. It's not one of happiness exactly, but something else.

Ichigo: "Jaune, thank you for being an example for me."

Jaune: "An example? For wha-"

Ichigo: "You know, it never ceases to amaze me how brainless all of you can be." Ichigo expected Glynda to object, but when he turns his head, he sees her holding her tongue. "Jaune, you had just lost your weapon, so why were you just standing there?"

Jaune doesn't say anything. Instead, he just puts his hand on his sheathed sword.

Ichigo: "Alright class, pop quiz: What's the difference between a king and his horse?"

Weiss raises her hand.

Weiss: "Well obviously, it's because-"

Ichigo: "And I'm not talking about obvious stuff, like how one's an animal and one's a person, or one has two legs and the other has four." His smile grows slightly wider. "Form, Ability, and Power!" he shouts, startling both the class and Glynda. "If their form, ability, and power are exactly the same, why is it that one becomes the king and leads them into battle, while the other becomes the horse and carries the king? What's the characteristic that distinguishes these two beings!?"

The students look at each other unnerved at both Ichigo's attitude and not knowing the answer.

Ichigo: "There's only one answer... INSTINCT!" He draws his sword and stabs it into the ground. "In order for identical beings to get stronger and gain power, they need to develop a killer instinct, and that instinct is mostly forged in battle. They must develop an insatiable hunger to engage in battle. They must live to mercilessly crush, shred, and slice their enemies. This thirst for power is not an unnatural desire. In fact, it forms the very essence of our being. Deep within our body lies the honed instinct to dominate and our enemies!"

Ichigo senses something coming from behind him. He punches in the direction it came from as it feels like an attack. When he turns his head, it looks like there's snow falling around his hand. He Flash Steps away for a brief moment, coming back with someone in a white uniform over his shoulder.

Ichigo: "Like this."

3rd Person POV

With Ichigo's explanation of instinct and its importance in battle, the class is stunned. They're even more stunned that he destroyed what looked like a white Nevermore without even looking at it.

Weiss (thoughts): 'B-But why...?' she thinks to herself as she knows whose that was.

Ichigo disappears, but not even a second later, he reappears in the same spot, with Winter Schnee over his shoulder.

Ichigo: "Like this."

It takes a moment, but Winter realizes where she is and what situation she's in.

Winter: "U-Unhand me!" she heavily objects.

Ichigo: "Now, where was I? (Winter: "Let go!") Oh, now I remember. Out of all of you, there's nobody who has such an instinct. You all mostly rely on your training or sheer dumb luck. You try to use your brain to try and win a fight, defeat your enemies with reason and logic. (Winter: "Put me down!") You don't tap into those pure, base instincts that exist within your core, waiting to be released! Don't misunderstand, training isn't a bad thing. However (Winter: "I'm warning you!"), you skipped an important step, and that's first and foremost using your instincts. You must develop them to the point where if you had to, you could fight half-conscious. What you're doing now won't work forever. You're all weak because you don't use your instincts."

Winter stops her struggling against his iron grip while choosing to listen to what he's teaching. Some of the students visiting from Vacuo take offense to his teachings.

Nebula (from NDGO): "Oh yeah? What do you know? From what I've heard, you're younger than nearly all of us here!"

Ichigo: "I know a lot more than you." he retorts, which makes her even angrier.

Yoruichi (thoughts): 'How he's acting...'

Tier (thoughts): 'It's almost like he's saying...'

Rukia (thoughts): 'Ichigo...'

The three women have very similar thoughts regarding Ichigo's behavior, but also want to see where he goes with this.

Nebula: "YOU WANNA G-"

Glynda: "That's enough, Miss Violette. Let Professor Kurosaki finish."

Huh? Glynda's actually putting up with what he's saying? Does she know something the rest of them don't? Or does she actually just trust him?

Ichigo: "Listen. I won't put up with you being weak. Am I clear?" Now nearly the entire class seems in an uproar against him. "I don't know about your teachers so far, but I know you have the potential to be strong. You just aren't yet." They start to take back their angry thoughts and feelings, but some are still mad. "Weakness means , and I don't want any of you to die. Use your instincts in battle, become stronger, become your own king, and above all, don't die. Class dismissed."

He walks away from the field that the class was being held in, but not before tossing Winter down onto her butt. The students likewise disperse, with Weiss only briefly looking at Winter. Glynda approaches, snapping her riding crop across her hand.

Glynda: "Miss Schnee. I don't know what you think you were doing, but it seemed to me like you attacked Mr. Kurosaki. Do you deny this?"

Winter: "Oww..." She rubs her butt as she stands. "Professor Goodwitch. General Ironwood ordered me to-"

Glynda: "Honestly, I have no idea what you were thinking, especially considering what happened last time you challenged him." She adjusts her glass. "On another note, you and James are guests here." she interrupts. "When guests attack our teachers for no good reason-"

Winter: "But there is-"

Glynda: "NO good reason," she continues, "then there will be punishment. You're lucky he let you off with only a little embarrassment. I, however, am not so kind. I shall be reporting this to Headmaster Ozpin."

Glynda follows her assistant teacher's lead and exits the area, leaving Winter alone with her thoughts.

Winter (thoughts): 'What just... I need to report this to General Ironwood. Still...' she remembers the way Ichigo casually had her over his shoulder, not allowing her to get away. 'His grip was so strong...'

Holding his hand there so strongly for so long had caused a crease in her uniform near her butt. She rubs that area, an half-angry, half-happy smile starting to form.

Cinder's POV

Hiding in the shadows, Cinder's absolutely beaming at the speech Ichigo Kurosaki just gave. His resolve! His passion! His message! He is absolutely right! Those fools know nothing about using their instincts to fight! Cinder was right to observe him from afar, even during class. He's both strong and brilliant! He gets it!

Cinder: "I think I need to change..." she says to herself as she rubs her legs together.

Ichigo's POV

As Ichigo's walking back to his dorm, Yoruichi, Tier, and Rukia catch up with him. Still, this nagging feeling Ichigo has won't go away.

Rukia: "Ichigo? Are you alright? You didn't seem like yourself."

Yoruichi: "Ichigo, is it happening again? Are you...?"

Tier walks beside him, and he stops.

Tier: "Is your Inner Hollow trying to take over again?" He looks at her with tired eyes. "The way you were talking back there. It sounded like you were instructing the students to act like Hollows, who act on their instincts to fight. That's not to mention the spirit energy of your Hollow that I felt a couple days ago when you were out on your mission."

Ichigo: "Let's go back to the dorm. We'll talk there."

Ichigo's Dorm

When they walk in the dorm, Orihime and Mila Rose are also there.

Orihime: "Ichigo, welcome back!"

Mila: "Lady Harribel." She gets up and bows to her Espada before sitting back down.

Ichigo sits down at his bed, leaning over.

Ichigo: "Rukia. Can you put up a Kido barrier so nobody can hear us?"

She's confused at first as to why he'd ask her to do that, but she seems to realize that what he wants to talk about is important.

Rukia: "Bakudo #39, Enkosen! Bakudo #37, Tsuruboshi!"

With the first barrier Kido, an oval forms to block the sound over an area. With the second, the oval stretches across the room, sealing them in.

Rukia: "That should do it... Now Ichigo, what did you want to talk about?" she inquires.

Ichigo: "Earlier, Tier asked if my Inner Hollow was trying to take over again. I don't think that's the case. He did say something similar to me once, but I added some stuff of my own. Besides, I think the only reason I said it like I did was just because I was pissed off."

Flashback

After bringing Summer to the hospital and subsequently helping her through all the questioning, there was something Ichigo needed to do. Ozpin is too interested in this. According to Qrow, she's been missing for years. That's not too weird in itself. Huntsmen and Huntresses being killed or otherwise go missing in the field is in their job description. So why does Ozpin care enough to send Qrow to check up on them? Because Ichigo brought her here?

Ichigo goes up to Ozpin's office. However, when he enters, he sees an empty chair in front of the desk, as if Ozpin was expecting him.

Ozpin: "Ichigo, good of you to be here. How is your patient?"

Ichigo: "You know how she's doing. I bet you're getting live updates from the hospital."

Ozpin: "So, you figured that out, eh?" he smiles. "Mr. Kurosaki, I bet you're wondering about her."

Ichigo: "Qrow filled me in. He said that her name's Summer and she disappeared on a mission years ago. My question for you is why you care so much? I'm grateful that you ordered her care, but sending police to question her when she had only gotten out of surgery? Sending Qrow to check up on us? What's your angle?"

Ozpin puts his mug down and puts his hands down on the table, as if he's... regretful?

Ozpin: "...if you want the truth, I ordered the mission she was on when she disappeared. When I found out who she was, I wanted to know what happened on that mission. I had hoped that questioning her might jog her memory some, but as you know, that went nowhere. I had sent Qrow in the first place because not only was he around, but I wanted to make sure whom you brought back wasn't a potential threat."

He's not telling the entire truth and Ichigo knows it. It has to do with the mission she was on. Could he be curious as to what she found? Or something else?

Ichigo: "Qrow told me one other thing. She's Ruby and Yang's mother."