RWBY: The Redeemer


Whew, with the outbreak, staying at home and everything; it should have given me more time to write. But alas, I cannot ignore my workaholic mother who is also suffering diarrhea. Anyway, enjoy!


Beta-read by Starlight's Poet

Chapter 24: Semester Break (II)

"Hey, girls. I know this is hard to believe, but my name is Claude Rose. I am in truth, Summer's brother, your uncle who had been missing for 20 years. Tai and Qrow can vouch for my words being absolute truth. I'm sorry for lying to you this whole time." Claude muttered as he sat behind his desk with his attention directed to the pen and paper before him. A few seconds later, he sighed as he crumpled the paper. "...No, I sound like an asshole." He grumbled as he threw the crumpled paper behind, where the floor was littered with a lot of crumpled papers.

After a quick walk around the campus ground and learned that most students would be outside for vacation or perhaps missions, Claude decided to revise his script - what he was going to say by the time he had to reveal the truth to Ruby and Yang. So far, he had run into a wall; he had the idea, but he had absolutely no idea how to phrase the said point into something acceptable and believable.

Thus, here he was; slumping on his desk with numerous discarded scripts behind him. Clasping himself together on the desk, Claude heaved a sigh - why was he doing this again? A part of his mind began to think that Roman had a point; things were fine as they were. Both Yang and Ruby never knew about his existence to begin with, and considering the state of affairs, why bothered making things more complicated by telling them the truth? Claude had no problems as long as his family and friends were safe.

Then again, Summer Rose would be rolling in her grave, crawling back up to the mortal realm and kicking his ass, if she were to find out. Hence he prepared another paper from his notebook and grabbed his pen once again, he needed to see this through. A few seconds later, however, Claude sighed again before he stood up to walk around his room. He reached the shelf and took the capsule-box where he put his and Summer's personal belongings. Rummaging through its contents, Claude found a few photographs with him, Summer or team STRQ; perhaps bringing some of them could help him to convince those girls that he was not sprouting nonsense.

Then, he heard his Scroll ringing from his desk. Moving over, Claude grabbed the device and saw the caller ID - it was Jaune Arc. Claude raised his eyebrows in question before he answered the voice-call, "Hello, what is it, Jaune?"

A few minutes later, Claude blinked as an amused smile crept up his lips. "Tell him to meet me at Beacon. I'll send you my room number." He ended the call and typed a message of his room to the boy, then he proceeded to clean up the mess he made earlier; this kind of distraction was something he could use.

oXo

Earlier…

"Hello, Jaune."

Jaune Arc was not sure of what was happening and what he should have done; his father - Ashton Arc, was standing a few metres before him and the boy completely did not expect his day to go like this. Why was he visiting now? Multitude of other questions ran through his mind as Jaune could not help but fear for the worst.

"Jaune."

Fortunately, a hand placed gently on his shoulder snapped him out of his musing as he looked aside to see Pyrrha was regarding him with concern. "Are you okay?"

His partner's question seemed to put the gear in Jaune's head into work. "Yeah, yeah. I'm good." He then addressed his father again. "Hey, dad. What are you doing here?" He managed to greet with a smile on his face, but Ash did not miss the hint of uneasiness on his son's smile.

Nonetheless, Ash did not point it out. "Why, I'm here to check on you, of course. You never contacted us back, or answered our calls, ever since your last message when you first arrived at Vale. Everyone in Ansel is worried."

Jaune actually flinched and sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "Oh, right… Sorry about that. But I'm doing fine, see? I promise I'm going to call mom later today."

Ash regarded his son's reply for a few seconds before sighing, "...I guess that's good enough as any." Ash replied before he noticed the group behind his son. "So, um… You're going out with your friends here? Sorry that I intruded. Ashton Arc, a pleasure." He introduced himself.

Feeling that the atmosphere had lightened up, Jaune then followed suit with the introduction. "Right, dad. This is my team, JNPR - Nora Valkyrie, Lie Ren…" the aforementioned girl waved with a happy smile while the boy only nodded politely. "...And finally, my partner, Pyrrha Nikos."

"Nice to meet you, sir." Pyrrha greeted him with her signature friendly smile.

Ashton blinked at the name, before he bored his eyes into the girl in her get-up. The redhead lowered her glasses a bit to make her face more visible, then Ashton blinked and released a breath. "Well, I'll be damned. You are the Pyrrha Nikos..." His comment caused Pyrrha to giggle sheepishly, before he blinked again. "Wait a minute. You said that this is your team, as in, you being the leader?" Ashton pointed out. Jaune and the rest nodded and Ashton spoke pointed at Pyrrha. "...And you said this is your partner." Another nod from the children. "And when you said this is your team as… huntsmen in training?"

Only huntsmen academies that would put their students in teams of four. When the children met Ashton's gaze, the Arc patriarch's expression grew slightly pensive. "...So you are actually a student in Beacon?"

Jaune could not help but swallow a small lump at the question, but he nodded nonetheless. "...Yes, I am."

"Right…" Ashton regarded his son with an unreadable look for a second before he offered a polite smile to the rest. "Sorry, I do hate interrupting further, but can I borrow Jaune for a bit? I believe we need to talk." He threw a brief glance at the boy.

Jaune's expression hardened as he knew the moment would come sooner or later. He threw a quick smile to his friends, who were looking at him worriedly. "It's okay, guys. Go on without me. I'll catch up."

Pyrrha, Nora and Ren glanced at each other before they gave uneasy nods, and they watched as Jaune walked away with his father.


It was an awkward moment for Jaune to walk by his father's side without a word being exchanged for the first few minutes, at least until Ashton broke it. "So…. You're a first-year student of Beacon Academy, huh?" his question sounded more to confirm what he had learned prior.

"...Yes, yes, I am." Jaune replied.

Ashton then took a deep breath. "I'll go to the point, son. What have you done?" he gave Jaune a pointed glare that was almost accusing.

Much to Ash's mild surprise, Jaune - who used to act socially awkward and nervous, held his ground. "What have I done? I went to Beacon, attended the initiation, passed and was given a team. That's all."

Ashton narrowed his eyes suspiciously, because there was a pressing issue about his son being admitted to a huntsman academy. "While that sounds good and all… I'll be honest with you, Jaune. You're not supposed to be qualified to join the initiation in the first place. Who unlocked your Aura? Rather, how did you get into the initiation to begin with?"

"So you knew all along." Ash then suddenly found his son stopping on his tracks; Jaune was staring right into his father's eyes with a mix of hurt and confusion. "...Why didn't you tell me that I need my Aura unlocked?"

Ashton took in another breath to keep calm. "Jaune, answer my questions first, then I'll explain everything later."

"Does it matter how I got in? I have my ways." Jaune replied as if he tried to dodge the question. "...As for my Aura, Pyrrha unlocked mine."

Ashton stared at his son for a minute or two, before continuing, "That might answer my first question, but you didn't answer my second one."

"Like I said, does it matter now?" Jaune remained steadfast. "...In fact, a huntsman vouched for me. That's how I stay in Beacon."

"You got a huntsman vouching for you…?" Ashton was familiar with the sponsorship method when one applied for a huntsman academy, but it was an uncommon practice. To find that his son of all people managed to pull it off…

"Now it's your turn to answer my questions." Jaune spoke, interrupting Ash's musing. "Why did you never tell me that I need Aura to become a huntsman? Why did you not say anything at all and just let me go with a false hope? I would've died if it wasn't for Pyrrha!"

"The sensible course of action when you saw what the initiation entailed, was to withdraw, son." Ash cryptically retorted. "I take Ozpin launched you off the cliff, am I right?"

Jaune actually looked away in embarrassment rather than in shame. Ashton then used the chance to voice his argument. "You were already 16 when you told us that you wanted to become a huntsman. Even if I did unlock your Aura, that alone wouldn't be enough for you to attend Beacon. You needed the experience and skills which couldn't be learned in less than a year. With the way you were back then, even with Aura, you'd only get yourself killed."

Jaune's glare returned. "But we could have tried! At least I would have learned something! Anything! And yet you didn't even bother to make time to train me at all. What was I supposed to do?!"

The father and son only stared at each other without uttering a word; Jaune's outburst had garnered several attention from the passer-bys. With a soft sigh, Ash turned around his heels and beckoned his son to follow. "Walk with me, Jaune."

Seeing his father's calm visage, Jaune ended up following, although he kept his distance at an arm's length. "Let's see…." the Arcs walked to the direction of a nearby public park. "To begin with, I… never really want my children to be a huntsman or huntress."

Of all things, Ash's first line was the last thing that Jaune expected, as the boy slightly blanched and blinked at his father. "...What?"

Ashton shrugged, "I mean, if you just want to learn how to fight so you can defend yourself against Grimm or bandits, I'll be happy to teach you… but if you want to be a huntsman? I… I don't know."

Jaune was originally angry; his family never expected him to fail was bad enough, but this time, they knew that he would have failed before he could have even begun his initiation. However, hearing his father's first confession, the anger was quickly replaced with confusion. "What are you- I mean, you're a huntsman, even your dad and grandfather were huntsmen. So… why?"

"It is true that I'm a huntsman, that's a profession that I took and came to love and take pride in." Jaune did not miss the usage of past tense in Ashton's sentence. The older man then glanced at him with a knowing smile. "But do you know? The day when your mother had me carrying baby Saphron in my arms, it was the moment I came to learn how terrifying a huntsman's job is."

Jaune blinked; once again was caught off-guard by his father's words. By then they had arrived at a park bench and took a seat on it, with Jaune kept listening to Ashton.

"Everytime I took on a mission in order to provide for our family, thoughts after thoughts of the worst case scenario would wash over my head. What happens if I can't make it back? Who will look after everyone once I'm gone? Those kinds of thoughts." Ashton said with a faraway look, with Jaune kept staring at him without interfering.

"...By the time Amber was born, the fear had become eight fold." Ashton let out a humorless chuckle. "That's why I wasn't thrilled when you wanted to be a huntsman. I want you to live a normal life without bloodshed; grow up to find a safe job, find a nice girl, then settle down with a happy, normal family."

"If that is the case, then why did you tell me those stories about huntsmen in the first place? You could have just kept quiet, and I would have never thought of becoming a huntsman." Jaune asked.

Ashton snorted as he looked up to the sky. "The thing is, Ansel is a settlement outside the walls protecting Vale. There will always be danger and conflict looming around. The stories were meant to inspire you to do good, but I guess I couldn't help at how proud myself of my ancestors did." He then turned to Jaune again. "...Not to mention, your always supportive mother couldn't bring herself to dash on your dreams, especially when she saw your expression on that night. Thus she persuaded me to let you go to Vale, to visit Beacon, just to catch a glimpse of your dream. Who would've thought that you'd actually go through the initiation? Like I said before, normally people would have backed off."

Jaune looked down - not sure of how he should have responded. Ashton then exhaled as he placed his hand on Jaune's shoulder. "...I still have no idea how you manage to convince Ozpin to let you join the initiation. He might be older than he looks, but I never recalled him being a callous fool."

Jaune ended up feeling nervous about the whole fake transcript he had pulled, but after listening to what his father had said, he could not bring himself to hide it anymore. "Well, the truth is…"

Thus, Jaune confessed everything, and Ashton simply stared as his son explained everything; from his fake transcript, him being appointed as a team-leader, his struggle during the first semester when his friends and a teacher found out about his admission, until the offer of being the young huntsman's apprentice so he could remain in Beacon.

Ashton sighed heavily by the time Jaune had finished his story. "Good gods, Jaune… What's wrong with you?" He asked exasperatedly as he rubbed his forehead.

"...I'm sorry." Jaune replied. "I admit what I did was wrong, but I can't afford to go back at this point. I have friends who are counting on me, after all."

Ashton glanced at his son again. True, he did not agree with what Jaune did and would rather drag his son back to Ansel. But when he saw the conviction in those blue orbs, Ashton found himself unable to utter a word. "What do I do with you, son…" Ashton sighed yet again as he leaned back on his seat. "...Alright."

"What?"

"I said it's alright." Ashton replied to Jaune. "If Ozpin had found out and yet still let you stay in Beacon through a huntsman's sponsorship, it means he saw some potential in you. Not to mention, you are my and Aurel's son; even if I were to force you to go home, I don't think you'd come quietly." Jaune's silence was enough to speak his agreement.

"However, this huntsman who vouched for you… Sterling Cole, is it? Can I meet him? I'd like to have a word."

"...Can I ask why?"

"I'll be honest with you, son. While I did mean what I just said before, Ozpin can be too soft despite his experience. I never heard of this Sterling Cole before, and thinking that he vouched for you when you're barely qualified to enter Beacon…. I have no idea what he was thinking, and that worries me." Ash looked away for a second before he returned his gaze at his son. "...If I don't like the outcome of my talk with him, I will have you come home with me, son." Jaune was about to protest when Ash held up a hand. "Don't get me wrong. I will do everything in my power to help you become a huntsman, that I promise. But we'll do it properly." Ash emphasized the last word and Jaune seemed to calm down a bit. "...Push comes to shove, you'll attend the huntsman examination with a referral letter from me instead from Beacon."

Jaune was looking down, his expression was clearly uneasy with his father's request. Ashton seemed to notice his son's distress as he placed a hand on his shoulder. "Look, son. I know I'm asking a lot, but I need to be sure that you're in the right hands. If this Sterling person is as good as you implied, things will be okay, am I right?"

Jaune saw the clear concern plastered on his father's face, and that was what got to him; he wanted to stay in Beacon, but he could not fault his father's argument as well. After all, he also had close to zero idea about who Sterling was. Refusing and deflecting his father would only prolong the problem. "...Alright. " Jaune finally replied with a sigh. "I think he's still in Vale. I have his contact number, so I can give him a quick call to ask. One sec."

Ashton then watched Jaune stand up to walk a few steps away from the bench to make a phone-call. A few minutes later, Jaune returned with a message about the meeting time and venue.


After receiving a message from their team-leader; Pyrrha, Ren and Nora immediately returned to Beacon and found Jaune waiting in the courtyard. "Jaune!" Pyrrha was barely able to keep herself from leaping and pulling Jaune into a hug; truthfully the girl had been anxious about how the talk between Jaune and his father would turn out, and she could not help but fear for the worst - what if Jaune had to leave Beacon when his father found out about his fake transcript?

However, her worries were unfounded as Jaune was looking well, albeit a tad tired and nervous. "Hey, guys." the boy greeted.

"What happened? How did your talk with your father go?" Pyrrha asked.

"Well enough, all things considered. Dad is talking with Sterling right now." Jaune pointed at the building behind him. "Strange though, Sterling told me in his message to leave them alone and wait here."

Pyrrha then nodded. "I'm sure things will be fine. Sterling strikes me as someone who has a way with words."

"Yeah! And if all else fails, then Sterling can just break his legs!" Nora spoke with her usual quips.

Ren only smiled in amusement for a second before he put his hand on Jaune's shoulder and offered him a supportive nod, which Jaune returned in kind.

They waited for a while, and Jaune finally saw his father walking out from the building. However, for some reason, Ashton's expression was a mixture of a little shock, acceptance and resignation; and were his eyes kind of red there? "Dad...?" Jaune asked as soon as his father was within talking distance. "...Are you okay?"

Ashton stared at his son and his team for a moment before he smiled and put his hand to squeeze Jaune's shoulder gently. "Yes... Yes, I'm okay, son. I guess you'll do fine in Beacon."

"What?" Jaune blinked as his face as well as his team's, lit up with hope. "You mean, I can really stay?" Jaune asked and received a nod from his father. However, something else popped up in his mind. "Um, did something happen when you talked with Sterling? What did he say?"

"No, nothing. Nothing for you to worry about." Ashton replied somewhat too quickly. "We simply talked and I'm convinced. That's all." He then smiled as he regarded the rest of the team as well. "In fact, why don't you humor this old man by showing me how much you have learned in this semester? Is there any training room available?"

Jaune had a feeling that his father was trying to change the subject, but he ignored it in the end since things turned out to be as fine as he had hoped - he got to stay in Beacon. After sharing smiles and nods with his team, Jaune then replied to his father. "Sure, just follow us and let us grab our gears."

The four plus Ashton then prepared themselves in one of Beacon available training halls, with team JNPR equipped in their combat gear and Ashton settling with a practice sword. "I forgot to mention, son. Taking our family heirloom with you without consulting me was not a very kind thing to do." He smiled knowingly as his eyes were laid upon Jaune's sword and shield.

Jaune only gave a brief sheepish laugh as he hefted the shield. "Yeah, sorry about that. Do you, err... want to have it back?" he said with a small dread in his tone.

Ashton sighed and held his hand up. "Crocea Mors have served you so far. I see no reason to take it without endangering you." When Jaune's face relaxed, Ash's eyes hardened. "However, you'd better remain someone who's worthy of her."

Jaune stared at his father after the latter said them, and he nodded with a resolute face. Ashton smiled and nodded before he pointed his sword forward. "Okay, without further ado… Come at me, children."

Much to Ashton's pleasant surprise, Jaune actually showed a degree of good leadership as he nodded slowly at his teammates, as they carefully circled around him. A cautious approach, despite having Pyrrha Nikos on your side… Not a bad start, son - Ashton inwardly praised as he paid attention to four opponents simultaneously, although half of his mind was still recalling his previous talk with 'Sterling Cole'.

oXo

Ashton was standing in front of the door leading to his meeting with one Sterling Cole. He looked left and right briefly before creasing his eyebrows. Strange - judging from the building and the door, it looked more like an ordinary room rather than office. However, Ashton dispelled the thought soon enough. It did not matter as long as he could have an audience and see the person by his own eyes.

He knocked on the door and received a reply, "Yes, come in."

Ashton could not help but blink at the familiar voice - who he had heard it from? Nonetheless, Ashton took a deep breath and opened the door. He stepped in, closed the door, and froze as soon as he was face-to-face with the owner of the room.

Claude Rose was smiling at him as he combed his hair back with his fingers, revealing his face. "Hello, Ash. It's been a long time."

Ashton had no idea that his mouth was gaping like a fish out of water. Claude only chuckled briefly before he gestured at the table and a couple of chairs situated in the middle of the room. "Come on, Ash. Grab a seat."

Claude's voice seemed to snap Ashton out of his stupor, as the latter's eyes were still wide at Claude's visage. "I-I-I… I don't… I don- I don't understand." the older man managed to stutter out, as if in daze. "I heard you're dead."

Claude was only looking amused at Ashton's befuddled expression. "Well, it's clear that wherever you heard that from, it was wrong." Claude then spread his arms wide open. "...I'm glad to see you again, Ash."

Tears began to pool in Ashton's eyes as he slowly closed the distance. When he was close enough, his arms reached out to trail on Claude's torso. His outfit was different from the last time he saw him, but the height, the mass and the looks were still the same. Was he looking at some kind of hallucination? When his fingers brushed against his arms, Ashton felt it was too real to be an illusion. "It's… it's you." his lips began to tremble into a smile and tears began to leak out. "Oh my gods, Claude! You're back!"

Ashton and Claude then shared a quick hug before Ashton looked him over. "My gods, it's so good to see you! What happened? How are you still looking the same? It's been more than 20 years!"

"It's something that nobody, even I, still don't know how to make out of." Claude then patted Ashton's back. "Now, come on. Just sit and I'll grab some drinks. We have a lot of catching up to do, like how you'd been busy making eight children."

oXo

Ashton Arc was still smiling as he recalled his reunion with Claude Rose. In front of him, Jaune was gasping as he fell to his fours, with his team standing around him looking a bit winded. Nora was using her Magnhild to support herself, but overall she was still good to go. Ren's breathing was slightly laboured, and Pyrrha was still on top of her performance.

Still, Ashton Arc had proven himself to be a veteran huntsman. Despite having fought for 10 minutes in a four-against-one, Ashton's Aura was still around seventy-five percent, close to yellow but still in green, while Jaune, Nora and Ren were already around yellow. Pyrrha's Aura level was on par with Ashton, but Pyrrha had to admit that she had to go all out if she wanted to win against Ashton Arc. Then again, Pyrrha found herself reluctant in front of Jaune's father.

From Ashton's side, however, while he would be lying if he claimed that he was not having a hard time, he noticed that Pyrrha was holding back for some reason. Nevertheless, the exchange so far was enough for Ashton to tell that Pyrrha had rightfully earned the title of Invincible Girl…. Until she met Claude, that is. The other pair - Nora and Ren were not complete push-overs either, lacking experience but that could be easily rectified with a proper guidance. But most importantly…

"I have to say, son. You're doing better than expected. I'm impressed." Ashton praised. Jaune's moves and techniques were still green, but it was clear that he had covered the basic training well enough, judging from his stance and footwork. Not to mention, the fact that his team had been following his leads, was the part that impressed Ashton the most.

Jaune then took another breath and stood up. "Nora, Ren, flank his sides. Pyrrha, circle around and see if you can exploit any openings. I'll take point." He whispered to his team.

And of course, Arc's resilience. Ashton never got to unlock his son's Aura, but he found himself not surprised at the amount his son possessed. With a brandished movement, Ashton lifted up his sword again as he prepared to meet his son's team again.


The fight ended up longer than team JNPR had anticipated, as the sun had begun to set by the time they were done. At least, the time was not spent on sparring alone; some casual catching-up between Jaune and Ashton, as well as a small bonding and conversation between Ash and team JNPR, including tips and advice about their previous bout. Overall, it was a good day.

Currently, Jaune and his team were sending Asthon off on the Bullhead port leaving Vale.

"I did say I'll call them, but send my love to mom and others." Jaune said as he offered his hand.

"I will." Ashton shook his son's hand. "But… a word of advice. Regarding this Sterling Cole…" Ashton sighed, "I can only ask you to stay strong."

"Um… Okay?" Jaune could not help but feel something was off with his father's smile.

"I'll see you around. In fact, by the next vacation, you should bring your team to Ansel. I think Aurel would love to meet them…. Your partner in particular." Ashton invited, although his eyes trailed and met with Pyrrha, whom Ashton gave her a knowing smile with a wink, which elicited a small blush on her face.

Jaune blinked at the gesture, but he nodded nonetheless. "Sure, we'll definitely come to visit." He glanced at his team who smiled and nodded at him.

The team then watched Ashton entering the Bullhead which began to hover some time later.

"Well, I guess that was a thing." Pyrrha commented, which Ren only nodded in agreement.

Nora also spoke as she watched the aircraft flying away. "...Y'know, I'm kind of curious of what your old man and Sterling talked about."

"Me too, Nora. Me too…" Jaune nodded. "But let's grab some dinner first. I'm beat."

oXo

The night had fallen upon the Island of Patch as most of its citizens had gone to bed. Inside Rose-Xiao Long Residence, however, Blake was still awake as she walked to the kitchen, clad in her yukata sleepwear. Yang and Ruby were sleeping together in the latter's room, while she and Weiss took Yang's old one. It was her usual nighttime ritual before hitting the hay, but considering the estate was not that big, as well as not being familiar with the surrounding forest, Blake settled with reading her newly purchased book, at the house's porch.

The day had ended with Ruby and Yang taking Weiss and Blake a quick tour around Patch. It had become one of the few best places Blake could think of - fresh air, good places to eat, the bookstore was small but possessing a good collection, but the best part was the friendly people where faunus and humans seemed to mingle without prejudice. Perhaps because Patch was an island without fortification and defence like the Kingdoms, so the people knew better than inviting Grimm by inciting hostility; but Blake would enjoy what she could get.

Due to the lack of air and light pollution, the moonlight was quite bright that night. Added with her night vision, Blake could enjoy her night reading time without wasting much of the house's electricity. But first, she could use some drink to accompany her reading.

Taiyang Xiao Long had been a graceful host for allowing her and Weiss to freely use the refrigerator, and she thought a simple glass of cold barley tea would not hurt their supply. She poured the jar from the fridge into the glass she grabbed from the cupboard, but her cat-ears twitched as she heard someone was entering the kitchen.

"Oh, hi." Taiyang appeared and Blake's eyes widened as her hand unconsciously reached out to her exposed faunus traits. The man, however, only blinked at her feline ears before shrugging, "Huh, what do you know? You do look better without the ribbon."

Blake blinked at the lack of reaction. Then again, she felt stupid; this was Yang and Ruby's father she was talking about. Considering how the sisters react to her real heritage, why would their father be different?

"Oh… Thanks." Her cheeks blushed lightly at the embarrassment of herself rather than Tai's compliment. "I hope I didn't wake you up."

Tai only snorted, "Nah, you didn't. I take it you're not an early sleeper yourself?"

Blake sheepishly showed the book she just purchased during her tour to Patch. "Just a habit before bed."

Tai hummed in understanding before he poured a glass of murky brown liquid with some ice - presumably a drink that was off-limits to the girls. "Welp, I'll leave you alone, then. Have a good night, Blake."

However, just when Tai turned around his heels and was on the way out of the kitchen, Blake's mind suddenly thought of Claude. Ruby and Yang mentioned that they met him for the first time because their father invited him over for dinner. Could it mean…?

"Um, Mr. Tai?" Blake called out, Tai turned around to meet her eyes with his. "Can we… Actually talk for a bit?"

Tai only blinked at the girl's sudden request. Since he was a teacher who was used to dealing with adolescent teenagers, Tai saw no reason to refuse. However, his instinct implied that the conversation topic might not be a light one… Kind of.

"Sure, mind talking about it outside?" Tai cocked his head at the porch not far from the kitchen.

Blake nodded and the two were outside, exposed to the cool night breeze of Patch. "So, what do you want to talk about?" Tai began with a friendly tone.

"This... might sound silly…" Blake nervously began, only for Tai to nod patiently. "It's about Sterling." Tai blinked at the name. "I… Basically, I just want to know if by any chance you… know something about him?"

Tai pursed his lips slightly as his blue eyes regarded Blake's amber ones. " That actually… Depends on what you already know."

This time, it was Blake's turn to blink; sensing the direction their conversation was heading, Blake decided to open up a little more. "Well…. Sterling might or might not have another name that…. Starts with 'C'." she was actually barely able to come up with that one.

The two fell into an awkward silence as Tai raised his eyebrows at Blake's increasingly flustered face. But a few seconds later, the older man sighed. "...So you found out." Tai remarked.

"So you knew all along too." Blake blinked and concluded in return, inwardly relieved that she actually managed to hit the mark.

"Yes, I did." Tai admitted. "What are you gonna do, if you don't mind me asking?"

Blake closed her eyes and shook her head calmly. "I used to have a secret of my own, so I can sympathize… Sort of. Though, how long have you known Claude?"

"As long as I can remember…" Tai sighed wistfully as he took a sip from his glass. "Though seriously, I appreciate you staying quiet about this."

"It's fine. I owe him something myself." Blake smiled briefly. "...I heard from Claude himself that he's planning to tell Ruby and Yang the truth. Do you know anything about it?"

"I do." Tai said before he proceeded to walk back. "By the time he does, I can only ask you to give him a chance. It's getting late, you shouldn't stay out too long. Goodnight, Blake." Knowing that the conversation was over, Blake silently watched Tai walk inside the house.

The night was spent with more questions popping out in Blake's head until she fell asleep.


Extra

It was the night where Roman had left the prison earlier that day. After spending some time eluding the authorities, the master thief finally reached one of his hideouts in the more isolated district of Vale city - an old workshop where he had stashed some supplies for him to recover and start over.

He made sure to make a few rounds around the place to make sure that he was not followed, and once he confirmed that the coast was clear, he still carefully approached the hideout as he prepared his Melodic Cudgel - which for some undisclosed reason remained in his possession.

As soon as he opened the door, however, a blur immediately tackled him. Roman was about to retaliate until he saw a set of tricolour hair, which calmed him down. The owner of those features was a girl who was looking at him with a clear worry in her dichromatic eyes. The girl did not utter a word, but Roman understood enough as he sighed and relaxed his stance, before he placed a hand on the girl's lock, caressing her crown gently. "Sheesh, who do you take me for, Neo? Of course, I'm okay."

"Glad to find you are well, Roman."

Roman and the girl - Neo, broke off their contact and turned towards the source of the voice. From the darkness within the building, Cinder Fall stepped out with a smirk that never failed to infuriate Roman. "Well, hello, Cindy." the thief greeted using the nickname for his current 'employer'. "What do I owe the pleasure?" He also noticed a pair of shadows standing behind Cinder. "Kiddos, nice to meet you two again." Roman tilted his head with a smirk. The two shadows behind Cinder only shifted slightly showing that they were apathetic of Roman's gesture.

"Just want to check things up after I heard the story of your arrest." unfazed by Roman's name-calling, Cinder smiled as she strode towards Roman. "I have to admit, it's quite impressive for you to escape capture after the first night."

Roman flashed a cocky grin as he spread his arms wide. "What can I say? It's not like that was my first time going to prison." He ended with a shrug.

"Perhaps you have a point." Cinder nodded, her smile dimmed slightly as her eyes trailed to Roman's cane. "Not only have you escaped, you're also able to retrieve your weapon as well. Either you're that good, or the security was too lax. Perhaps because you used to be from Beacon as well?"

"Can we settle with a little bit of both?" Roman maintained his tone, but inwardly, he cursed at Cinder's attentiveness. "Do you actually need anything else from me? If not, I'd like to get some rest so I can continue the job tomorrow."

"Only one last thing, Roman. I assure you." Cinder's smile gained a slight edge. "One night of imprisonment is enough for Ozpin to attempt learning something from you. I trust that there is no complication to our plans?"

Roman almost scoffed at the word 'our' - keyword, 'almost', but he nodded in the end. "You have nothing to worry about. You should have known it would take more than one night to make me talk."

Cinder only hummed as her amber eyes never left Roman. A few moments later, she turned around towards the door. "I will leave you to continue your work for now. I need to do one last preparation for phase two." She then turned to send one more glance at Roman. "Do expect another member joining our cause. She will be our back-up to enact the next phase."

"'She'? Can you at least tell me if this 'back-up' is anyone I know?" Roman could not help but ask. He never liked being kept in the dark, after all.

"Oh, you certainly do." Much to Roman's small surprise, Cinder actually gave him an answer - her smile became even more infuriating to the point it impressed him. "...In fact, I believe you two were well-acquainted with each other in the past, back in your younger days. She will arrive from Mistral within a week at most."

As Roman and Neo watched Cinder and the other guests leave the building, the gears in the former's mind began to move, shortlisting every possible subject that he could consider as an 'acquaintance' from Mistral; that was actually quite a lot to consider.

Taking out a cigarette and placing it in his lips, Roman kept thinking as he reached for his lighter. A woman, obviously; considering that they had not wanted to be known yet, the ideal subject must be able to blend in. Since they still had to manage the White Fang, a faunus was possible in order to maintain cooperation. A high-ranking White Fang personnel? Unlikely for both accounts, most of Roman's contacts in Mistral were humans.

But that did not mean Roman had zero faunus acquaintance from Mistral. It was only a handful amount, so he could narrow it down. The only faunus, female, that Roman knew when he was young…. When he was still at Beacon….

Neo furrowed her eyebrows at the sight of Roman frozen, his hand holding a lighter did not move an inch as his eyes were wide; his cigar nearly fell off from his lips as well.

Well, fuck - if Roman's hunch about this 'back-up' was right, things would become more complicated than he anticipated.

"Neo." Roman whispered, finally managed to light up his cigar and took a drag, before puffing out a smoke. "...There's a change of plans."


Sorry for the lack of action here. Truthfully speaking, I'd like to focus on plot and character development for this arc.

While I believe you people have caught the implication within this extra section, but prepare for OCs in future arcs. Stay safe and healthy, people. Listen to your officials' instruction to contain the infection. Ahsoei, over and out.