"I hope that you realize that your actions tonight will not be taken lightly, young lady."
The blond huntress spoke sternly while pacing behind young Ruby Rose, who shrank into herself nervously.
The soon-to-be 15-year-old girl had been through quite the ordeal that night.
It was originally supposed to be just another stroll in the city. Go to that old shop called 'From Dust till Dawn', look for the latest weapons catalogue filled with news about the latest Atlas bleeding-edge breakthrough in weapons technology, and then go back home.
An easy, familiar trip. One that she had made countless times by this point.
Unfortunately, this derailed completely when one Roman Torchwick decided on that exact moment to rob the store, with her still in it.
Then, things escalated. A lot of fighting was had, and finally, she was brought to VPD by this Huntress, who practically saved Ruby's life in that fight. Because there was no way the young Signal student would have survived the encounter with that mysterious woman in the bullhead if it were not for the blond huntress called Glynda Goodwitch.
"You put yourself and others in great danger."
Ruby finally spoke up when Goodwitch said those words that made the little rose fume.
She was not raised to put people in danger!!
"They started it!"
Glynda ignored the little rose's outburst and continued working on her multipurpose Scroll, typing up things and completing paperwork while still pacing around the young girl.
"If it were up to me, you'd be sent home with a pat on the back-"
That made Ruby brighten up.
A pat on the back meant some kind of recognition for her efforts. Which meant she could finally show her older sister and brother that she, too, was badass just like them!
Then, the older woman glared at the young rose.
"-And a slap on the wrist."
To make her point, the Huntress slammed her Dust-enhanced riding crop on the table with a bang, very close to the girl's hands.
"Eek!"
The reaction was instant as the girl squeaked and pulled back into the chair even more, staring at the older woman with a scared look. The same one she reserved for her teachers at Signal when she forgot to do her homework, or blew something up again during Dust class or Weaponsmithing class.
Then, Glynda's eyes softened as she spoke in a calmer tone.
"But, there is someone here who would like to meet you."
"Huh?"
Glynda moved, revealing an older man with silver hair and brown eyes hidden behind dark glasses.
He smiled warmly while holding a plate of cookies in one hand.
"Ruby Rose."
Ruby instantly recognized who the man was. How could she not, when she always dreamed of becoming a legendary huntress after graduating from this man's academy?
The man, Ozpin Norman, the headmaster of Beacon Academy, leaned in a bit and stared at her eyes.
"You....have silver eyes."
The girl did not miss the faint surprise in the man's voice, but felt distinctly uncomfortable with the undivided attention the man was paying to her eyes.
"U-Um..."
He smoothly retreated back as if nothing had happened and motioned to the Scroll that Glynda held up, displaying the security camera footage that showed her fight against Torchwick.
"So, where did you learn to do this?"
Little Ruby grinned nervously, knowing that she was walking on thin ice if such a high-profile man was handling her case at this moment.
The many lectures from her older brother about dealing with such people came to mind, yet she failed to act on any of them. Because this man was one of her idols, and there was simply no way she could bring herself to act as her brother told her to act in such situations.
"Signal Academy...?"
She answered truthfully, making the man hum.
"They taught you to use one of the most dangerous weapons ever designed?"
'Most dangerous? If you want dangerous, you should look at Ignis's Stakeholder...oh! That's a good name! I wonder if he will let me name his gun that!?'
The girl shook her head to get rid of those distracting thoughts and answered the question.
"Well, one teacher in particular."
"...I see."
Ozpin smiled and pushed forward the plate of cookies her way, signaling her to eat.
Tentatively, the little rose took one cookie and devoured it in one bite.
Then, her eyes lit up in delight, making her start devouring the plate full of snacks with both hands, like a little squirrel stuffing its face full of nuts.
"It's just that I've only seen one other scythe wealder of that skill before. A dusty old crow."
"Hm? Twats mwy uwnwcle."
At Glynda's light glare and Ozpin's slightly confused look, Ruby felt embarrassed.
Gulping down the food, she giggled nervously.
"Sorry."
She composed herself a bit before speaking again.
"That's my uncle Qrow. He is a teacher at Signal. I was complete garbage before he took me under his wing. And now I am all like fwoosh! Ha! Yaah!"
She made ridiculous martial arts moves with her hands, imitating the sounds she had once seen in a movie, making the man chuckle with amusement.
"So I've noticed."
Then, he put down his mug full of hot chocolate and leaned forward with a bit of seriousness in his tone.
"And what is an adorable girl such as yourself doing at a school designed to train warriors?"
"Well, I want to be a Huntress."
"You want to slay monsters?"
"Yeah. I only have two more years of training left at Signal. Then, I am going to apply to Beacon."
"See, my sister and brother are starting there this year, and they are trying to become huntsmen, and I am trying to become a huntress cause I want to help people."
"My father always taught us to help others, so I thought I might as well make a career out of it. I mean, the police are alright, but huntsmen and huntresses are just so much more romantic and exciting and cool and aargh! You know!?"
The two adults were left in stunned silence as the little rose went on a whole spiel from that single question. But soon, they regained their composure as Ozpin chuckled a bit.
"Do you know who I am?"
Ruby nodded.
"You are Professor Ozpin. You are the Headmaster at Beacon."
"Hm. Hello."
"Nice to meet you."
"You want to come to my school?"
Ruby grinned happily, yet her eyes held a seriousness rarely seen on her.
"More than anything."
Ozpin gave Glynda a look, making her roll her eyes, which made Ozpin smile.
"Well, okay then."
Before the man could further elaborate on his words, however, the door to their room was pushed open, revealing a rather well-built man in civilian clothing with crimson hair and blue eyes.
For all intents and purposes, he looked like a fit civilian.
However, the sword on his hip would say otherwise, and so would the cold light in his gaze as he observed the two adults in the room.
Yet, the moment his gaze landed on Ruby, they became warm and filled with a mix of mirth and concern.
"Sorry, Rubes. Got caught up in traffic at the ferry point."
The teenager moved quickly and pushed Ruby to the side, much to her protest, and took up half her seat.
It would appear as nothing more than a normal sibling fight. However, the two adults were very clear on what the boy was doing.
He had subtly put himself front and center by pushing Ruby to the side, making sure that should a fight break out, he could toss the girl out of the window in the room while intercepting both of the adults at once. This was the reason why his hand never strayed far from his sword, ready to draw it at a moment's notice.
Ozpin and Glynda had no choice but to admit that his combat awareness was impressive for his age. Ozpin, in particular, felt pretty good about this year since there were many people of such remarkable skill who were joining his academy this year.
"Let me introduce myself. I am Ignis Ruben. Ruby's older brother and Chief Engineer at TCS. Taiyang was unavailable to take the call about her being taken in, so I came here instead. Hope it doesn't bother you."
"Wait, what happened to dad?"
Ignis had a complex look at Ruby's words before speaking up in an exasperated tone.
"Yand had some...complications on her side and needed his help."
"She alright-"
"Ruby? Not now."
That instantly shut the girl up, knowing that her brother was now in 'work mode' as her sister put it.
The teenager smiled politely at the adults.
"So, I hear from the police chief that you asked for a private meeting with my sister? Can I ask what you wanted with her?"
Ozpin smiled at the guarded look on the boy's face. Not taking any of the blatant caution in his tone to heart.
After all, he knew the boy's origins intimately thanks to a certain crow who asked his help to fabricate the boy's documents in the first place all those years ago.
To the old man, it was a truly heartening sight to see the person who should have grown up to become a ruthless mercenary if left to his own devices in Mistral, become such a protective brother to the girls and become such a good son to his old student.
Not to mention the explosive changes he made in the world of technology with his company. One that even attracted the attention of Ozpin's rigid old friend, Ironwood, if the new contract that Atlas Armed Forces made with TCS recently was anything to go by.
"It is nothing serious, Mr. Ruben. I was merely looking to see if Ms. Rose had the qualifications to enter Beacon early based on her performance tonight. And based on what I have seen so far, I think she will fit right in this year."
"...This year?"
Ignis's eyes instantly turned to chips of ice, sending chills down Ruby's spine.
"No offence, Professor Ozpin. But she is not even 15 yet. To promote a girl her age, without the important education received in the later years of Signal, such as coordinating with unknown Huntsmen on the field, advanced Law, Huntsmen code of conduct, large-scale battle tactics and formations, and so much more, would place a great burden on her. Not to mention the advanced material she will no doubt have to tackle in the form of Beacon's own syllabus."
The teenager stared into the man's eyes, clearly showing that he did not trust the old man and fully believed him to have an ulterior motive in recruiting Ruby. Which was not wrong, but not completely right either.
Ozpin simply smiled.
"I understand your concerns, Mr. Ruben. But I believe Ms. Rose can handle it. Besides, don't you think she should be given the chance to decide for herself if she wants to join this year or not?"
Ignis gritted his teeth, but held back, knowing that the man was right.
While the little knowledge he still remembered from his previous life and his understanding of his sister told him that Ruby would accept without hesitation, he still had no choice but to trust that his various lessons in the past might have changed the girl's mind and made her mature enough to know where her limits lay.
Truthfully, he could not care less about the 'story' of the world and what may or may not happen in the future.
To him, Ruby, Yang, Taiyang, and Qrow were the only ones he truly cared about. So, he would rather make sure that they remain safe and reach their full potential without taking any shortcuts instead of sticking to some nebulous concept like fate or canon.
Unfortunately, his hunch proved right when Ruby nodded vigorously.
"I accept! Definitely accept!"
Ozpin chuckled while Ignis slumped slightly.
"Well, then. I believe I will see you on August 26th for Orientation. Ms. Rose, Mr. Ruben. Have a good night."
With that, the man and his assistant left the station, leaving behind the siblings who drove back home.
One, completely over the moon about the life-altering choice given to her, only to abruptly be faced with the fact that her sister had been trashing a club and almost getting herself a criminal record while she was fighting a literal criminal.
The other was sulking at the stupid choice his sister made, while also coming up with ways to ease the burden of the extra studies Ruby would have to deal with, thanks to this sudden jump in her education.
All in all, it was a rather interesting day for this small family of five.