For the tenth time in the past thirty minutes, Taiyang Xiao Long muttered under his breath while staring out the bullhead window, "I shouldn't have let her go alone."
"Taiyang, you can't blame yourself for this,"Glynda Goodwitch said, frowning sympathetically as she looked up from her scroll.
"She is correct." Glynda and Taiyang both focused on Ozpin, the Beacon Academy's current Headmaster. He sat as he frequently did, with his legs crossed and a mug of coffee—or maybe cocoa—firmly in his hands. He also frequently held his cane across his lap. "You are not to blame for this," he said. "But if you must assign blame, kindly assign it to me."
He sighed. "You know well, I can't do that."
The Headmaster's amber eyes softened somewhat as she replied, "You can absolutely. I was the one who gave Summer the project. She is now in this state because of my stupidity. I was the one who let her leave by herself."
Taiyang squeezed his hands together and said, "No." "This...no one person is at fault. Yes, you need to have done a better job. But Summer ought to have held off, or I, or Qrow, ought to have accompanied her. The fault is shared," he said, shaking his head. Then he snorted, "Cept for the guy, at least, who saved her life."
"Yes," Ozpin hummed, turning his sharp gaze towards Glynda, "What do we know about this man again? Mr...Toji?"
Glynda looked down on her scroll, having to see the information that they could receive from the man. "That man that saved Summer.....named Toji."
"A uncommon name. Does he hail from Mistral?" Asked Ozpin.
"I-I don't know. We simply anymore information about him. there's nothing in any database about this man. No graduating Academy, no hometown. Birth certificate, family history," she frowned irritably, "nothing."
Then they ceased speaking altogether. watching as the bullhead flew into Vale General Hospital over the night sky. Taiyang continued to twitch, bite his lower lip, and squeeze his eyes tight while undoubtedly giving thanks to the gods that Summer was still alive. Ozpin simply sipped his beverage while gazing forward at nothing. Glynda sought to continue reflecting on the scant information they had gathered about Toji.
They eventually arrived at the hospital and were led inside after exiting the bullhead. They then encountered Glade, Summer's retrieval's point person. The bald man cocked his head in the direction of Glynda and Ozpin before scowling pitifully at Taiyang.
"Summer is no longer in surgery, but she is still unconscious," he remarked, causing the blonde to heave a breath of relief. "She should still be receiving care from one of the doctors." As luck would have it, Summer's room was on the same floor as the Bullhead landing zone when he started directing them there.
After a little period of silence, Taiyang said, "To be honest, I could use a couple hours rest myself."
Glade murmured into the collar of his shirt, "We all could."
"What about the man, Toji?" Ozpin enquired.
Glade twitched, "He's outside....smoking while this stuff blows over."
"Well, I guess the guy earns it to some degree." Said Taiyang. Suddenly, Summer's chamber door started to open. The doctor asked, "Can I assume that one of you is Mrs. Rose's husband?"
"That's me," Taiyang responded, turning his attention to the other person. He entered the space and struck up a brief chat with the physician.
It leaves Ozpin and Glynda one option left in their mind.
"Well, Miss Goodwitch. Let's meet our hero of the night, shall we?"