"There comes a time in a man's life, when he must move on from the past. There comes a time, where his reflection will be that of a ghost, haunting him. There will come a time when past sins and mistakes will be brought to light, only for that very same light to vanquish them in it's brilliance."

"At'll be 4.50." The world snapped back into clarity with a suddenness that bordered on unnerving, a steaming mug of fresh coffee having been deposited next to the cold brown dregs he had lost himself in. The waitress was of age with him, a woman who had lived through more wars than she'd care to remember, her face a nest of criss crossing wrinkles and blotchy skin. Her face was stern and cold, dismissing his burdens with a polite disinterest that came with any professional, he was hardly the first sad old man to spend his free time alone at the diner; but he was damn sure the first to spend six hundred lien on coffee in under a week.

He simply handed her the silver card, barely even glancing to the side. She took it and wordlessly swiped it on her miniature scroll, the minor surprise of his veteran card and academy logo wore of many visits ago. He sipped the hot coffee, it's terrible taste grounding him in the diner for a while.

The Curo played host to a menagerie of customers. Toddlers with pigtails clung to their mothers as they waited to be seated, couples snuggled close to each other in young bliss and one of his ex students was busily repairing the jukebox with tools that had once smithed firearms, his frown became less pronounced and his forehead wrinkles receded as he saw Marine singing to herself in the kitchen - her once brown hair was silver now and she looked more at home cooking than she did fighting. She hadn't recognized him, but he never forgot a face; or a huntress who had fallen under his command.

Emerald eyes dimmed, as if he were breaking through the enemy's lines again. He could practically feel the bear faunus wrestling him to the ground, leaving him helpless as poor sweet marine ate a grenade full in the face… He clenched the mug ever tighter, the scalding hot liquid cold compared to the burning shame the memory brought back.

It was hard these days, with his school becoming another example of Atlesian arrogance. Every decision he made had to go through Ironwood and every decision James made these days seemed to bolster his forces' presence tenfold. Every student was accompanied by a knight when travelling off grounds, every atlesian soldier had the right to overrule faculty in matters of security, Ironwood had veto over any decision regarding the Vytal festival. His inability to act reopened old wounds, forced him into his past more and more.

Yet here he was hiding from one of his former classmates; he became strong so he would be able to protect people, save lives, ensure no child would -

"Good afternoon professor." A voice sang to him. He once agains snapped back to the present, his shameful frustration retreating before his customary mask of composed calculation.

He studied the redhead before him, confused as to what she was doing out of class, especially without her Atlesian protector. She had already made herself right at home in the booth; sitting opposite him with absolutely zero self doubt. "Miss Valkyrie, why aren't you in class?"

She beamed at him, "Well, I was going to go to class but then I got hungry and I can't study on an empty stomach because then I get distracted and start craving sugar so then I'd just have to pretend to be sick and I didn't want to lie to Professor Peach because she's so nice to me so instead I went to get lunch here." she looked around for a waitress, as if ditching class with her headmaster was the most natural thing in the world. Her joy was infectious and he found himself relaxing, the bubbly first year had been a cause of many headaches for him over the past two semesters - but he was hardly in the habit of punishing his students for enjoying their first year.

"Where is your knight escort?" He asked, trying his absolute best to ignore Nora as she now leaned her entire upper body out into the packed diner, she was doing what could only be described as 'flailing' to attract the attention of the waitress. A man in a business suit rolled his eyes and pointedly glared at Ozpin, the look was a very clear appeal for him to control his companion. The headmaster was absolutely not going to intervene, but the man's imminent temper tantrum was averted when the waitress from before planted herself next to the table.

"Afternoon doll, you kept your old man waiting here - what can I get yous?" She slurred, leaving Nora looking sufficiently admonished.

"I'll just get anot-"

"Give me a PLG with ice and pancakes that are swimming in maple syrup. Also some powdered sugar please, because my sweet tooth is here to play." The waitress tried to match Nora's smile, only to reveal a clutch of yellowing teeth, she turned to Ozpin looking would be rude for him to refuse now but he hadn't even begun to look at the- "Could you get him a BLT please?"

"No problem, that'll be 6.38." Nora went to produce her purse only for Ozpin to present his ever present card.

"Now where is your knight?" He pressed, suddenly deeply concerned that when he returned to Beacon their would be a full scale search party looking for Nora. After all if a Knight had lost its student it would have immediately let James know.

"Oh you mean D4n?" Nora asked innocently, tapping a spoon against the table seemingly at random. It was strange, but it almost seemed like the beginning to a song.

"D4n?" Ozpin parroted, an idea of the answer already forming in his mind. He chuckled prematurely as he made it halfway through his coffee. Nora looked at him as if this were the most serious subject in the world, such steely innocence belied her youth - bringing the first genuine smile to his lips in a long time.

"I asked him what I should call him, he kept saying," She adopted a robotic voice and even operated her arms like a knight "My designation is D-4-N-8-6-G-6-9-4-A-1" She returned her new voice as smoothly as the rising sun, "And I was all; I'll call you D4n! An Ren was all, he won't answer you - and I did it anyway and that's why he's called D4n." She finished.

"Yes but where is the Knight Nora?" He said, the look on her face reminded him briefly of the first Grimm he ever faced; an Ursa that found it's way into a dust shop through a basement -

"I smashed him to pieces." She answered, rather blaise, she opened her PLG with a satisfying pop and downed half the can.

"You smashed one of the garis- security forces?" He asked incredulous.

"He was a pervert who followed me into the bathroom, he broke in so I broke him." She smiled, her childlike glee lit up the booth as their food arrived. The duo began eating with gusto, the small girl packing away food at a rate which he would not believe had he not witnessed another first year demolish a plate of cookies in under ten seconds six months before, but he found himself eating the sandwich put before him in a way he hadn't since before the Atlesian takeover.

She looked at him, concern suddenly blooming across her features - "Why aren't you at school?" She asked.

"I just needed some time out of the office." He lifted his coffee draining the rapidly cooling concoction in one gulp, "I'm glad you joined me for lunch Miss Valkyrie, but I think we should get going now."

"Yeah, I guess so." They stood in unison, Nora barely above the headmaster's waist but she almost bounced towards the exit, "Just like her." He muttered.

"We should do this again sometime! We can be secret lunch buddies!" She practically shrieked in excitement as she gave the idea life by speaking it aloud. Any other day Ozpin would have shot this idea down in flames, strike it down with a professional disapproval; but there was something about Nora Valkyrie that made him reconsider.

They set a date, a month to the day.