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The sun had begun to set on the island of Patch. On a cliff at the end of a forest, there was a gravestone. On it were the words "Summer Rose. Thus kindly I scatter." All was quiet on the cliff, except for the footsteps of a man approaching the grave. He took a look at how the gravestone sat against the sunset and took a mental picture of the scene. He took out a flask and took a swig from it before approaching the grave.

"Hey, Summer. It's Qrow." The man, the great hunter known as Qrow Branwen took another swig from the flask. "So, Ruby's been accepted into Beacon Academy. She'll be starting really soon." Another swig. "It's just like us. She'll be with her sister, and there'll be so much for her to do, there'll be so much for her to learn." Qrow took a breath. For him, looking after Ruby was his way of being there when Summer couldn't be. And he found himself looking after Ruby more and more after Summer went on what would be her last mission. Soon, the only way Qrow found himself talking to Summer was through being at her grave. Coming to this grave was hard for him. It had been always been hard for Qrow to think of Summer, ever since that day…

Ten Years Ago

It was a normal day like any other. Except for the fact that Qrow had to come to the cabin of his former Team STRQ partner Taiyang Xiao Long to be the bearer of news that he hoped he never had to give. When he knocked on the door, he was greeted by a hearty voice asking, "Who is it?"

"It's Qrow." He answered with a smirk. The door opened and his partner greeted him. "Hey, Taiyang." He greeted the man. "Can I come in?"

"Sure. Taiyang answered. The two made their way to the living room, unaware that Taiyang's daughter Yang was watching them from the stairs.

"What's going on, Qrow? You don't really visit us that much. Something wrong?"

Qrow just sighed at Taiyang's comment. It seemed like something Summer would say. "Well," Qrow answered. "Ozpin came to me and he said that Summer had died out in the field." As the words came from his mouth, Qrow saw the life just drain from Taiyang's face and he saw his niece Yang run up the stairs. And all Qrow could think was "What the Hell?"

Qrow tried to reach Yang as she raced up the stairs, but by the time he reached her bedroom, the door was locked. He could only imagine what was going through Yang's mind as he walked back down the stairs.

"What's wrong, Yang? Why are you crying? He heard a voice ask. "It's nothing, Ruby." Yang answered. "Mom's just going to be gone a bit longer, that's all. And when she gets back, she's going to make the best batch of cookies she's ever made." Qrow could only think of how much it would hurt Ruby if she found out the truth. When he saw Taiyang again, he saw that he had poured out drinks for the two of them. Qrow only hoped that it was something strong as he took the drink as he made his way back to the couch.

"What happened to Summer?" Taiyang asked. "Summer was the best of all of us. It's just unreal to know that she's dead."

Qrow just finished his drink and signaled Taiyang to pour him another. "According to Ozpin, there was a town that was swarmed with Grimm. The Hunters and Huntresses there were overwhelmed, so Summer went out to help them." Qrow slammed down the drink he was given. He had lost count of how much he had drank. "And there was this giant Grimm that no one had ever seen before. Summer took it on. Ozpin said that she gave gave a Hell of a fight, but it wasn't enough. The Grimm was just too much for anyone to handle." As Qrow thought of what Ozpin had told him, he realized that the details were too much to share. Too gruesome and graphic. Too much for anyone to hear. "Apparantely, the only thing that they found of her was her hood. They gave it to Ozpin." Qrow finished his drink. "I just can't believe she's gone, Taiyang." When he looked up, he was shocked to find Ruby there. "Ruby? What are you doing here?" he asked. At that moment, he realized she must have heard everything he had said, because she looked like she was on the verge of bawling her eyes out nonstop for days.

"Mommy…Mommy's not coming back?" Ruby asked. And then the tears began. "But, but Yang said that she's going to come back and make the best batch of cookies ever." Ruby collapsed on the ground, and all she could think about was crying, in some attemot that somebody would hear her and bring back her mother. "I want Mommy to come home. Please bring her home, Uncle Qrow." Qrow got up and just put one foot in front of the other, passing a crying Ruby along the way, aware of how crass he was coming across as he walked out the door. He made it to out of the sight of Taiyang's cabin when he collapsed by a tree, feeling the tears fall down his face.

"I'm sorry, Ruby." Qrow said to himself, as if he was talking to his young niece. "I may be a great Hunter. I may be the greatest scythe user in all of Remnant, but there are some things even I can't do."

Two Years Ago

Signal Academy was renowned for being one of the many places where Hunters and Huntresses began their path. It taught them all the basics before they more finely honed their skills at academies all over Remnant. However, Signal was known for having one of the greatest hunters the world had ever seen as a teacher: Qrow Branwen. And one of the things that Qrow enjoyed about his position was having his niece Ruby as a student. One day after all his other students had left, he saw Ruby dead focused on what she was writing in her notebook.

"Class is over, Ruby." Qrow said. "You can go hang out with your friends, you can go home, but you can't stay here. I gotta lock up." But Ruby was still focused on her notebook, and as Qrow saw her, it seemed she wasn't coming back to reality anytime soon. So, Qrow walked to her desk. "Ruby, class is over. You can't stay here all day." He said as he grabbed Ruby's notebook. "Hey!" Ruby responded. Qrow took a look at what she had been focused on in her notebook: "A scythe?" Qrow asked. You want to have a scythe as her weapon?"

"Yeah." Ruby answered. "Just like what you have, but even better!" Qrow just looked at Ruby's designs and could only smile. "I thought of using a scythe since that time when you saved Yang and I from those Beowolves." Ruby explained. "If I want to be a great Huntress, I have to have a great weapon."

Qrow gave Ruby her notebook back. "And why do you want to be a Huntress, Ruby?" Qrow asked.

"Because," Ruby answered. "I want to be like the heroes in the books Yang read me when I was a kid. I want to be somebody who fights for those who can't fight for themselves. I want to fight for what's right." Ruby took a breath, and Qrow noticed Ruby's cheerful smile fade. "And I want to fight so nobody ever has to worry about growing up without the people that love them, like how I did."

"Look Ruby." Qrow replied. "I don't know how may books you read or had read to you, but being a Huntress ain't a fairy tale. It's gonna be a hard road and there are times where even the best weapon ever won't help you. And even if you kill all the Grimm in Remnant, it won't bring back your mom." Qrow took a breath. "But, if you're really committed to this, I'm here for ya. I'll even help you with how you use your scythe. Because believe me, using a scythe isn't easy in the slightest, no matter how I make it look." And the next thing Qrow knew, Ruby was giving him the biggest hug he could give.

"Thank you, Uncle Qrow!" Ruby said. "I'm going to become the greatest Huntress ever! Just you wait and see!" Ruby broke the hug and made her exit. Before she left, she turned to Qrow, and told him one last thing,

"The next time you see me, I'll be here after making the greatest scythe you've ever seen!"

"Okay." Qrow replied. "Just know I'll be here if you need any help with anything."And with that, Ruby left to make her weapon.

Present Day

"So, yeah. Ruby's been accepted to Beacon. Ozpin gave her the invite after she took out some of Roman Torchwick's goons robbing a Dust shop." Qrow felt some tears forming in his eyes, and even felt some running down his face. He brushed them away and finished his flask.

"You oughta see your little girl, Summer." He said to the grave. "You'd be so proud. You'd so proud of the girl Ruby's become. And you'd be even more proud of her when she becomes a great Huntress. One they even talk about in legends and fairy tales." Qrow turned around and left the grave, content that he had said everything he needed to say off his chest. As the wind blew on him, he turned around for a second. And then he turned around again. He could have sworn he had seen something. He shrugged and walked away. As he walked away, a woman stood in front of the grave, watching him leave Nobody saw her, nobody saw the tears flowing from her eyes, nobody saw the small smile on her face that was concealed under her white hood, and nobody heard the words that she uttered to Qrow.

"Tell Ruby that I'm proud of her. Tell her that I know she's going to become a great Huntress and she's going to do great things in her life. Tell her that I'm sorry that I never came home and baked her and Yang those cookies I promised. And finally, tell Ruby that I love her."

And after the last words left her mouth, the woman's spirit vanished in the wind.

THE END

Author's Notes: Well, this was a fun one to write. What happened to Summer, and how Ruby took the news, is probably one of the more interesting things about Ruby Rose and her backstory, so I wrote this. Also, I think one of the reasons I wrote this is because I knew that once Volume 4 rolls around, I feel like this'll be contradicted in the story, so I felt I HAD to get this written sooner rather than later. And if you were wondering where this falls into the story, I'd say either before the "Red" Trailer or before the first episode, whichever one works for you, dear reader. This is also the first time I had ever written a flashback in anything ever, so I hope I did that part rather well. Let me know what you think, and if you like what you just read, be sure to follow me on Twitter MartinWhite78, follow me on Tumblr at .com, and follow me on Instagarm martinthedragon. Thanks for reading, ladies and gentlemen, and I hope to all have a wonderful day.

-MartintheDragon

July 23rd, 2016