Chapter 2: Old Friend?
"I'm so happy that my little sis gets to attend Beacon with me!" Yang exclaimed as she bear hugged Ruby.
"She'll be attending the hospital if ya don't let her go." Robin joked, Yang let go of Ruby.
"I'm happy to be going with you to Yang." Ruby said between breaths.
"Robin, you were sixteen when you entered Beacon weren't you?" Yang asked.
"Yep, which means Ruby is now the youngest student to enter Beacon since she's fifteen."
"Yay, I'm better than you." Ruby squealed as Robin looked away, there was a silence before Robin spoke.
"You two have everything you need, right?" Robin asked.
"Yep." Ruby and Yang replied in unison.
"Good, you two should head to your designated carrier." Robin instructed.
"What about you?" Ruby asked.
"I still have today off, I won't be heading to Beacon till sometime after Oz's speech." Robin answered.
"Oh, well we'll see you later then." Ruby waved good bye as she and Yang headed to one of the carriers. Robin started to walk through the crowd, he wanted to find somewhere he could smoke.
"And you have all the necessary dust crystals?" A familiar voice asked. Robin headed in the direction of the voice, he saw a familiar woman and an unfamiliar teenage girl.
"Yes, I have prepared three cases of dust, each containing an even amount of every type of dust crystal." Replied an unfamiliar voice.
"Good, you'll be a fine huntress Weiss." The familiar voice commented.
"Thank you, Winter." Weiss responded as she stepped on the carrier. Winter started to walk off.
"So you have a younger sister." Robin stated as he caught up to Winter.
"Oh, you're here." Winter replied.
"Yep, I just saw my cousins off." Robin smirked, he knew his presence annoyed Winter. "You're not still mad that I won that duel against you right?" Robin asked.
"It was a draw." Winter deadpanned.
"That it was. Though if we take the Schnee family pride into account, that means that a draw is still a loss for you." Robin taunted.
"I'm not going to fight you." Winter said.
"Because you don't want to lose?"
"Shall we move on from this conversation?"
"Fine." Robin whined. As Robin and Winter approached the docks, Robin lit a cigarette and started to smoke. "So, how has everything been?" Robin asked seriously.
"Well, though my father was not amused when Weiss told him that she wanted to be a huntress." Winter admitted.
"Yeah, I'm guessing he made her go through some kind of trial."
"He did, though Weiss made quick work of it. That said, she left herself open too many times."
"As strict as ever, you could replace Ironwood and no one would be able to tell the difference." Robin joked.
"As funny as ever." Winter replied in a monotone voice.
"So how has the military been treating ya?"
"Everything has been going perfectly."
"And that's all I'm going to get, the rest is classified." Robin smiled. "We should talk more."
"Yes, because I have nothing better to do with my time." Winter said sarcastically.
"All right ice queen, it was just a suggestion." Robin chuckled, he could feel Winter's gaze piercing into him. 'It's too easy to get under your skin' Robin thought.
"How about you, how have you been?" Winter asked, Robin was caught off guard by the question.
"I'm fine." Robin answered. "My old man has been off doing jobs for Ozpin, he was happy to hear that my younger cousin got into Beacon." Robin explained.
"How old is she?"
"Fifteen, her sister is seventeen. The younger sister actually got in a year earlier than I did. The two of them will do great, I just know it."
"Your cousin got in two years early?" Winter questioned.
"Yep, Ozpin's personal invitation."
"She would still be no match for Weiss." Winter scoffed. As if on cue, Winter's scroll buzzed. "Apparently there's been an explosion in the courtyard." Winter said. "Some girl sneezed and it triggered the dust, Weiss was probably waving it about like a fool though."
"Ruby's probably the girl in question." Robin smiled nervously.
"Who?"
"My younger cousin, the one who got in two years early." Robin explained. "Glad to see she's making friends." He joked.
"I would be thankful if she did become friends with Weiss." Winter admitted.
"I'd be thankful if Ruby could make a friend, she's a bit socially awkward." Robin sighed. Robin and Winter continued to walk for a bit, they eventually stopped by a Bullhead.
"You didn't have to walk me here." Winter said.
"Consider it a thank you." Robin smiled.
"For what?"
"For being a good friend." Robin explained as he stubbed out his cigarette.
"Since when were we friends?" Winter questioned.
"Owch, that's cold." Robin joked. Winter got in the bullhead while Robin waved her goodbye. 'I should head to my reserved bullhead.' Robin thought.
The flight was longer than the one from Patch to Vale, Robin had fallen asleep and was woken up by the landing. Robin headed towards Ozpin's office.
"Hey there Oz, good to see you Glynda." Robin greeted as he stepped off the elevator, he was drinking from his flask.
"You're as bad as your father." Glynda scolded, she was referring to how Qrow was usually drunk.
"Not true. I... give me a second... okay, no, you're right." Robin responded.
"Perhaps we can discuss Robin's drinking habits later." Ozpin cut in. "For now, how about a game of chess."
"Alright" Robin sat down and looked over the chessboard. "You go first Oz."
"Very well." Ozpin moved one of his knights, Robin's response was to move one of his pawns. Ozpin moved the same knight again, Robin moved a different pawn. The game of chess continued for a while. "Checkmate." Ozpin said.
"Congrats, you beat me Oz." Robin congratulated. "Now what was the reason behind this?"
"As perceptive as ever. Look over the board." Ozpin instructed. Robin looked over the board and noticed he had more pieces, he had been aiming to lose as few pieces as possible.
"I have more pieces."
"Correct, you chose not to sacrifice any of your pieces. You tried to beat me while keeping all of your pieces." Ozpin stated.
"Yep. So even though I lost, it's only because of the rules of the game. If we consider this realistically, then the overall victory is mine. You lost more people, most of mine are still alive."
"Why do you think I challenged you to a game of chess?" Ozpin asked after taking a sip of his coffee.
"You wanted to test me. If I'm going to be a teacher here, I need to put the students first. If anything happens, the students are first priority... Is the immediate conclusion, but this is about Amber. You're reminding me that I'm part of a group that's responsible for protecting the Fall maiden, Amber needs to be protected." Robin explained.
"Exactly. When Qrow showed you the condition Amber is in, he showed you the truth. A truth which cannot be told to anyone else." Ozpin reminded.
"Right. Anyway, should we start talking about my job?" Robin asked.
"Yes. You will be assisting Glynda with the combat training classes, though you will be teaching while Glynda assesses your performance." Ozpin explained.
"Got it, are you okay with this Glynda?"
"It is fine with me."
"That is all, we have preparations to make for tomorrow. You can head to your room. And no, it is not the one from when you were a student here. I have sent for Professor Port to show to your room."
Robin followed Port to his new room.
"These are your new lodgings as a teacher here at Beacon." Port explained as he stopped outside of a room at the end of the hall."
"Isn't this in the student dorms though?" Robin questioned.
"Why yes it is, you have been assigned as the guardian for the dorms."
"Got it."
"I'll let you get settled in, see you later." Port said as he left. Robin entered the room and looked around.
"Well then, here's to the beginning." Robin smiled.