A/N: Well, my first story of the new year is one that I wrote six months ago and sat on the whole time. Oops. If you want to support me in ways other than reviews and favorites, I made a Ko-Fi account so I can make a big of money off this if you're all feeling kind. Name's the same as this one, lightspeedbubba. Without further adieu, enjoy.

"What happened to all the talk about working together? I thought you believed in acting like a team?" Weiss shook her head, clenching her fist.

"Not a team led by you." Her hands came to her sides as frustration welled up in her voice. "I've studied and trained and quite frankly, I deserve better." She turned her back to her partner, crossing her arms. Ruby reached out with her hand, not knowing what she should say. She was trying! Wasn't that enough? Ruby didn't want to be named leader, it's not her fault. "Ozpin made a mistake." With that, Weiss walked off into the hall, taking all of Ruby's fight with her.

Ruby let her head hang low as she turned around and started off towards her dorm. I just want today to be over. Being so focused on what she needed to do next, she didn't hear the footsteps coming up behind her. Thankfully Headmaster Ozpin was paying attention and stopped just before the two could collide.

"Hmmm, now that didn't seem to go very well." Ruby's gaze found the floor as she wrung her hands.

"Is she right?" She looked up at him, feeling tears starting to form. Don't cry, please don't cry. You can't cry in front of the Headmaster! "Did you make a mistake?" The man gave a small chuckle before replying.

"I think that remains to be seen." Ruby felt her eyebrow tick upwards.

"What do you mean?" He took a sip from his mug before replying.

"I mean, it's only been one day. Ms. Rose, I've made more mistakes than any man, woman, and child on this planet. But at this moment, I would not consider your appointment as leader to be one of them." He leaned down, bringing himself to eye level with her. "Do you?"

Do I? Yes. No. Maybe? I haven't done anything right so far. But it has only been a day… I have no idea what I'm doing though! What if I don't have what it takes to be a leader? What if I don't have what it takes to be a Huntress at all? The headmaster had righted himself back to his full height before derailing her train of thought.

"Being a Team Leader isn't just a title you carry into battle, but a badge you wear constantly. If you are not always performing at your absolute best, then what reason do you give others to follow you?" That makes sense, I guess. He turned away from her, staring out the window at the fractured moon as he gestured back to her with his mug.

"You've been burdened with a daunting responsibility Ms. Rose. I advise you take some time to think about how you will uphold it." Ruby opened her mouth to reply but the Headmaster was already walking away. He stopped and turned on his heel. "Might I recommend the gardens around the corner?" Ruby raised an eyebrow again. Beacon has gardens? I guess it makes sense, not everyone is going to be training or in class all the time. "It's a place I've always found that has a way of… putting things into perspective."

Ruby shrugged but followed after the man. The walk was short and silent, but it let the silver-eyed reaper have a bit of time to think about the garden back at her home in Patch. Her mom used to love planting peonies and magnolias every year, she said they acted as a great de-stressor after being out hunting Grimm. Her dad asked once why they never planted roses, like her namesake. Summer laughed and said that roses were a bit too pretentious and pointy for her tastes. She'd spend hours out there every week, making sure that they all lined up just the way she wanted, that every one of them got the perfect amount of water and sunlight. They were always so colorful and fragrant, so full of life. Just like she was.

When she died, so too did her garden. Ruby was too young to do anything about it, Yang had to double her roles as big sister and house mom. Dad still had to work and when he was home, he wasn't concerned about plants. After the garden withered away, it was like Summer did too, making the pain of her loss all the worse. Every day, a petal would fall from the flowers, the stems would wilt just a tad more, and the soil would dry to near desert levels. One day though, several hours after a summer storm that left their yard a cluttered mess of broken sticks and muddy water, a single white peony sat in the middle of the garden, surrounded by rotting wood and decaying flowers.

It was like her mother had been reincarnated and was telling them that sometimes, good things come out of the bad. With every storm, there came a rainbow. From that day on, Ruby tried to pick up where her mom left off, with her dad's help. Yang pitched in when she could, but flowers were never something she took to all that well. Together they planted hundreds of flowers over the years. Magnolias to lilacs to jasmine to plumerias and everything in between. This year, she and her dad were set to plant sunflowers, but Headmaster Ozpin offered her a spot at Beacon with Yang and the flowers fell to the deep recesses of her mind.

Rounding the corner with Headmaster Ozpin, they came face to face with a large glass domed room. Moonlight streamed in from up above, casting the world in a soft blue glow. There was a red brick pathway they led to the center of the room where a small stone area was nearly encircled by plants, flowers, and even a full sized Mistralian Maple Tree. Underneath the weeping scarlet leaves, sat a massive man in a short sleeved pale green robe with a pair of dark brown pants. His hair was shaved nearly to the scalp and his skin was lightly tanned. His legs, easily the size of tree trunks, were folded under him and his eyes were closed. Hands big enough to encapsulate the world clasped together, attached to arms packed to the brim with thick cords of solid muscle. The headmaster seemed to recognize him.

"Ahh, Mr. Daichi. I didn't expect to find you here at this time of night." The man opened his eyes and Ruby saw that they were the color of brown sugar, something that complimented his smile quite well.

"Good evening Headmaster. I'm sorry if I'm intruding. I can be out of your way in a moment." He made a move to get up but Ozpin shook his head after taking a sip from his mug.

"You're doing nothing of the sort, please continue." The man, Mr. Daichi, inclined his head and lapsed back into his spot. Ozpin turned back to Ruby. "Do you see what I mean Ms. Rose? This is a truly peaceful place, perfect to collect one's thoughts." Ruby nodded as she looked around the room.

"This place is amazing." She was taking in as many of the flowers as possible. There was a patch of gorgeous red spider lilies to her right and soft purple hydrangeas across from them that looked stunning in the moonlight. Headmaster Ozpin hummed in agreement before gesturing to the man in the middle of the room.

"You can thank Mr. Daichi here for much of this." Mr. Daichi smiled softly again, his eyes still shut.

"Thank you, Headmaster." Ruby felt her eyes go wide. One person did all this!? This must've taken forever!

"You did all this by yourself?" The man in pale green shook his head, looking up to her.

"Not exactly." He chuckled, a sound like a stone rolling down a hill. "The groundskeeping crew does a wonderful job in their own right and my team helps me from time to time."

"Don't be modest Mr. Daichi, this room wasn't much before you started attending Beacon." Wait, what?

"Wait, he's a student here!?" The Headmaster smiled and nodded.

"Yes, he is."

"I'm a second year with Team CFVY. My name is Yatsuhashi Daichi, it is a pleasure to meet you." He pushed himself to his feet, striding towards the pair. If Ruby thought he was massive when he was sitting down, he was positively immense at his full height. He was easily the largest person she'd ever met. Taller than her dad or uncle Qrow, even taller than Headmaster Ozpin himself, and easily twice as broad. Ruby looked at the massive hand in front of her, trying to reboot her mind. Shaking her head, she placed her hand in his, squeezing gently.

"Ruby… uhh Rose. I'm Ruby Rose." He chuckled into his other hand.

"It's nice to meet you Ruby Rose." He pulled his hand back before looking to the Headmaster. "Is there anything I can do for you both tonight or may I go back to my meditation?" The white-haired man was silent for a second as he took another sip from his mug.

"Actually Mr. Daichi, there may be something you can do for us." He cocked an eyebrow. "You see, Ms. Rose here is having some trouble getting acclimated to being a Team Leader." His other eyebrow joined the first further up his head.

"Oh, she's a student here? I assumed, since she was so small, that she was your niece or maybe a potential student for next year." Ruby stomped her foot, her face twisting into an angry frown.

"I'm not that small! I'm just… still growing is all" Her mind harkened back to something her mother used to tell her about growing big and strong. "I drink milk." She straightened her back and pointed to herself. Headmaster Ozpin gave a small laugh before nodding.

"Yes, Ms. Rose here is indeed a student. Admitted two years early albeit, but a student nonetheless." The larger man inclined his head towards Ruby.

"I'm sorry then, I meant no offense. You must be very skilled to be accepted two years early." Ruby began to falter. This is exactly what she didn't want. She wasn't special, she had normal knees!

"What? No. I mean, I'm pretty good, I guess. But I'm just a normal girl with." She lifted the hem of her skirt a bit. "Normal knees. See?" As soon as she did, she turned a deep scarlet. No no no no no! Now they both think I'm weird… stupid stupid stupid! A deep chuckle dragged her from her self-loathing and she looked to see Yatsuhashi wiping a tear from his eye.

"Yes, I can see you have very normal knees." The Headmaster smiled and nodded.

"Indeed. Back to the matter at hand though. Maybe you can talk with her about how to be a good leader from the perspective of someone not in that position." The larger man nodded.

"I shall do my best." He turned to Ruby. "Please, come sit with me." He took her back to the place he was resting earlier as Headmaster Ozpin made his exit, claiming to have some paperwork to attend to. The massive student eased himself to the stone floor, gesturing for Ruby to sit across from him. He crossed his legs and Ruby did the same, her eyes travelling to the large tree that they sat under. It stood around fifteen feet high with a relatively thin trunk and drooping branches tipped with bright red leaves. He leaned back against the trunk with a soft sigh. "The Headmaster said you're having trouble in your new position." She nodded.

"It's just… I've never been a leader of, well, anything before. My partner hates me already, she might even try and get me removed from the spot, and I don't know if I think that's a bad idea." She shifted, tucking her knees under her chin, staring at the stone. "It's only been two days and I haven't done anything right. I don't know if I'm cut out for being a Leader."

"Ruby," He paused. "May I call you Ruby?" She nodded and he accepted the action. "When you decided to become a Huntress, were you as good then as you are now?" She shook her head. "As I suspected. What makes you think you'll be a great leader on your first day?" She shrugged. "Some people are naturally inclined to lead but others pick up things along the way and grow into the role. For example." He pulled out his Scroll, tapping the screen and bringing up a stream of pictures. He paused on one and showed it to her. "Do you see that girl in the beret? That's Coco Adel, my Team Leader." Ruby studied the girl. She looks so cool! She could feel the confidence the girl had, even from just a picture. It was in everything. The flashy outfit, the subtle look from over the top of her sunglasses, her pose, the way her arms were draped over a girl with bunny ears and a boy with white eyes and red hair. Coco commanded the attention of all in view.

"When Team CFVY was first formed, I found Coco to be…" His face contorted as he tried to find the words. "Insufferable." Ruby cocked her head to the side.

"What do you mean?" He slipped his Scroll back into the pocket it came from before folding his hands in his lap.

"She was brash, arrogant, and bossy. She wanted all of us to follow her orders without question, we were more like objects to her than people. We let this go on for nearly two weeks. We didn't want to be seen as a team that couldn't stand together, so we went along with Coco all the while loathing her. It wasn't until Velvet, the Faunus girl in the photo I showed you, put her foot down. She demanded input with what we did as a team and that we should all be treated with respect. Coco was stunned at first, she had thought she was doing all of that. But we sat her down and talked out our problems, we set boundaries and expressed our feelings. From that day on, things got exponentially better. We all came together as a proper team and now, I wouldn't trade any of them for anything." He smiled at the memory, eyes glancing over to Ruby.

"My point is, Coco was very much a bad leader in the beginning. She had to learn how to lead by getting input from her teammates, whether she wanted it or not." Ruby chewed on his words for a while as silence reigned in the gardens.

"So, you're saying I should just ask them what I should do?" He gave a noncommittal shrug that caused Ruby to narrow her gaze at him.

"I don't think it could hurt." Her eyebrows furrowed for a moment.

"How do I do ask them?" He smiled, head tilted to the side.

"I'm afraid I can't be of much help with that but I'm sure you'll think of something. Good luck, Ruby Rose." With that, his eyes closed, and his breathing became near imperceptible. Any other questions died on her lips and the silver-eyed reaper pushed herself to her feet, brushing her skirt off. She stuck out a hand in front of her, holding it there for a full seven seconds before realizing that his eyes were closed. She stuttered out an apology before scurrying to the door she entered through.

"Thanks, Natsu… Yansu-... Yatu-…?" She shook her head. "Thank you!" In her wake, a string of rose petals littered the floor as the large man sat there, a content smile on his face.

"Well, it's not the worst misnaming I've ever heard."

A/N: So, technically there is more to this story written already. This is really about gauging all of your interest in it and so on. Let me know in a review please. Until next time, may Fortune favor you all.