RWBY: The Redeemer
Here you go! This story is still alive!
Beta-read by Starlight's Poet
Chapter 27: Second Term (I)
Ruby Rose was breathless as she lay on her back on the grassy landscape. Her silver eyes were staring at the morning sky where the sun gradually got higher as the time went. The black tank-top she wore, stuck on her sweat-layered skin. Her beloved Crescent Rose was propped up on the ground next to her.
It began on that morning - it was the final day of team RWBY's stay on Patch before they would return to Beacon the next day to prepare themselves for the second semester, where Claude Rose decided to join their morning exercise, saying that he wanted to see their progress.
At first, Ruby was eager to show her young uncle her team's new moves and looked forward to the praise and compliments from his lips. The session began nice and easy, with Claude had them warming up, briefed them about the rules...
And then destroyed her.
Metaphorically and quite literally, unbelievable as it sounded - the strikes he dealt would have been lethal in a real combat situation, he efficiently disarmed her, and without giving her a chance to recover or retaliate, defeated her five times in a span of fifteen minutes.
The experience had been frustrating; Speed Semblance? Claude's reaction time was simply inhuman whenever she closed in to strike. High-caliber rounds from her Crescent Rose? Claude easily dodged and blocked them without batting an eye. Melee? That was the point where Claude disarmed her and defeated her helpless self, to the point it was not even funny.
Outclassed - Ruby Rose might have been outclassed by a full-fledged huntsman, but it was strange to know that the said huntsman had also bawled his eyes out on her shoulder last night.
From her position, Ruby turned her head enough to see the rest of her teammates engaging her uncle. Apparently, Weiss and Blake were already down for the count, leaving only Yang - the toughest one, to deal with Claude.
Yang growled at the sight of Claude putting his sword away, as if mocking her by challenging her to a hand-to-hand. In response, she came in and threw a couple of punches, which Claude easily dodged before he countered with a couple of high-kicks at the side of her head, followed with a roundhouse that hit her square on her chest.
After stumbling back from the kick, Yang roared and became more ferocious in her attacks as she fired some rounds from her Ember Celica. However, Claude did not seem perturbed as his footwork allowed him to lead Yang by the noose.
"Come on, sweetheart! Don't just rely on your eyes!" Claude half-taunted, half-lecturing, as he decided to launch his counter attacks.
Yang jerked to the left to dodge a sudden jab, and barely dodged another one that followed, which proved to be a feint, as her face was caught by another punch that followed suit. Claude then proceeded to give his honorary niece some combos of quick hand-strikes and kicks which hit her square on the ribs, forcing her to cough out a mouthful. The beatdown ended with Claude delivering a palm straight on Yang's chin, knocking her on her back.
Finding that all members of team RWBY were no longer able to fight, Claude allowed himself to relax; watching the girls gradually waking up into sitting positions with audible groans and moans, while glaring at him as well.
"Welp, now for the verdict…" Claude said with a soft breath; he was smiling and barely winded, much to the girls' chagrin. "...You girls aren't total shite!"
"Yay…" Yang weakly cheered while rolling her eyes, the others also shared her sentiment.
"Hey, come on, now…" Claude's expressions softened. "Getting your ass beaten six ways to Sunday sucks, I know; I've been there."
His words at least managed to get the girls to look at him again. "If you can't win against a veteran huntsman, so what? You girls are only first-years, you just began not too long since Beacon started. In fact, while you still have four years to spend at Beacon, I'd say make mistakes and learn while you still can. My job is to make sure you girls can make it by graduation."
Claude knew that he could have come up with better words, but apparently his words just now managed to get the girls' expressions to ease up as they regarded and nodded at each other.
"He has a point, you know."
Everyone turned to see Taiyang approaching with some drinks and Zwei balancing some towels on its small frame. Qrow was hanging by the door, seemingly nursing a light hang-over with a cup of coffee.
"If you girls want to improve so great that you girls can go up against a full-fledged huntsman, on Claude's calibre to add, a week training isn't going to cut it. Still, you girls did a lot better than lazing around during the holidays." Tai smiled as he and Zwei passed the towels and drinks to the team RWBY - with Blake kept glaring mildly at the corgi.
"Tai." Claude nodded in greeting at his brother-in-law.
"Claude." Tai returned. "It's still early in the morning and you already ran my girls ragged." He said with a mild joking tone.
"Considering the Vytal Festival approaching and me stuck teaching them for the next four years, I can't exactly coddle them, can I?" Claude replied with a knowing smirk.
"Fair point, coming from the champion of the 30th Vytal Festival." Tai grinned.
"...Wait, what?"
At Yang's voice, Tai immediately bit his lower lip at his slip-up, although the tug of the corner of his lips did not show any of his remorse. Claude glared flatly before he shouted, "Nothing!"
Apparently, Ruby had heard it as well, as her eyes widened after she had connected the dots. "That photograph… Of course, you attended the 30th Vytal Festival with my mom!" She stood up with a new-found energy. "...And you won?!"
Claude glanced at Tai, who was still smiling while hiding his mirth. He then turned to Qrow, who only shrugged as he took a sip from his mug. He turned to the girls again, who were looking at him expectantly. Eventually, he sighed in defeat.
"...Yes, I did attend that 30th Vytal Festival at Vacuo, and…. Yeah, I guess I did win."
Claude was fortunate that the girls were too tired after the spar to show too much reaction, while Ruby collapsed back to the ground, though her eyes were starry. "Weiss, my uncle is a world-champion…!" She loudly whispered to her partner with an ecstatic tone. The said partner only regarded her and the said world-champion with wide eyes.
"World-champion over twenty years ago, Ruby. I'm just an ancient relic as far as everyone is concerned." Claude retorted before clapping his hand. "Right, I guess we've had enough for the morning, let's get cleaned up and have breakfast, shall we?"
The girls gave a collective sighed at the mention of breakfast. When everyone was about to go inside the house, however…
"...Actually, Claude. Would you mind for a quick spar with me? For old time's sake." Tai asked with a challenging smirk.
Claude and the girls blinked at the request, but after a few seconds of contemplation later, the former smirked back. "...Sure thing. Qrow, do you want to join too?" He asked the other huntsman.
"Yeaa….Nah, I'm good." Qrow replied with a lazy wave.
oXo
Soon, the girls, Zwei and Qrow were watching the match between Claude Rose and Taiyang Xiao Long from the house's terrace. The two combatants were circling and measuring each other.
Claude, being himself, chose to forgo his weapon and face Taiyang unarmed. "This really takes us back, huh?" He remarked with a knowing smile.
"Yeah, I still remember you made me eat dirt whenever we trained." Tai returned with his own smile. "...Today will be different, though."
"Why?"
"Because I've actually grown for the past twenty years."
Claude blinked at the reply before his smirk grew wider. "...Let's see about that, shall we?"
Claude then took the initiative by jumping forward and performed a spinning kick at Tai, who easily ducked out of the way.
Claude then immediately followed with a swing of his right arm, his knuckle grazed Tai's face, and he proceeded to throw several hand strikes at the older man, who still managed to evade and parry every single one of them without much difficulty.
Soon, Tai managed to find an opening after blocking another strike from Claude - he then countered with a combo towards Claude's rib, jaw and finished by digging his fist deep into Claude's gut, forcing the younger man to cough out a few spittles of drool as he got the wind knocked out of him.
Claude coughed some more as he stumbled back in daze, with Tai chasing after him. But Claude managed to recover and catch Tai off-guard with a nasty palm-strike square on Tai's jaw, knocking him a few steps back. Claude then followed with another jump kick, which Tai barely dodged while still in mid-daze; the younger man then pushed forward with more strikes towards Tai, who weathered all of them as best as he could, but the older man could not intercept another kick aimed at his face, knocking him back further.
However, just when Claude closed in to keep the heat on, Tai immediately retaliated by swinging both of his arms and slammed his palms on Claude's ears, disorienting him in the process.
"Gah!" Claude cried out as his ears rang, causing him to lose momentum.
Tai then began to push back, keeping Claude on his toes with his own multitude of strikes, followed with a body-shot, forcing Claude to stumble too much and finally fall to the ground.
The young spectators from the side-line barely blinked their eyes ever since the fight began, taking the sight of two huntsmen duking it out into memory. For team RWBY, it was not every day to see someone capable of fighting Claude Rose on equal ground. Ruby and Yang in particular - while they knew that their father was strong, but they did not expect to see their father fighting their uncle this hard. Ruby herself turned to Qrow with an amazed expression, which Qrow only replied with a knowing look.
Back to the fight, Claude stood up as Tai slowly approached him. "...Wow, I'll be damned. You did become stronger."
"Thanks." Tai grinned in reply. "...Just to let you know, though; I think Qrow is still stronger than me."
In return, Claude only chuckled before he and Tai began again. The two exchanged more blows, with Tai still holding the upper hand. However, Claude slowly grasped and accustomed to Tai's movements, and managed to throw several counter attacks in.
However, when Claude threw a straight, Tai caught the offending limb, pulled Claude over and threw him to the ground. Normally, Tai would have let the opponent getting back up, but considering his opponent, Tai had to fight a little dirty and proceeded to throw a kick while Claude was still down.
Unfortunately, Claude suddenly caught the offending leg and pushed Tai away. While Tai was still stumbling on his steps, Claude caught up and landed several punches and kicks, which he followed with more kicks to the face; which ended with a straight kick on Tai's torso, pushing him back further, and with Tai's balance was still off, Claude performed a swipe to completely destroy Tai's footing and Claude delivered a roundhouse kick on Tai's jaw; eliciting a pained grunt from the Xiao Long patriarch.
When Claude was still going with the offensive, Tai managed to manoeuvre around and catch Claude in a choke-hold from behind. Before Tai could have secured his hold, Claude used one hand to keep Tai's arm from completely constricting his neck, and with a little space he had, used his other elbow to hit Tai's ribs, forcing the older man to slacken his hold for Claude to force himself away from captive.
Claude and Tai were separated again, with the former taking deep breaths and Tai was also exhausted. Soon, the two managed to level their breathing back, and proceeded to circle around each other - silently conveying that they would finish the match soon.
The girls on the side-lines found themselves holding their breath, as if they were watching two gunmen on a quick-draw duel, waiting for either of them to make the shot.
Soon, Claude was the first to make the move as he blitzed straight towards Taiyang, and the two caught themselves even in a more heated exchange; only this time, Claude was able to slowly gain the upper-hand as ha managed to intercept most of Taiyang's attacks and deal more of his own.
The final blow was Claude's spinning kick that hit Taiyang square on his temple, sending the older man reeling to the ground. Claude also ceased his onslaught when he saw his brother-in-law groaning on the ground, not showing any signs of getting up any time soon.
"...I guess that's the match."
Qrow's rough voice announced the end of the battle, and Claude proceeded to relax before offering his helping hand at the downed Tai.
"Seriously, nearly 20 years of growing up and I still can't beat you." Taiyang grumbled while sipping his cup of coffee, as well as holding a pack of ice on his head.
"If it makes you any better, you had me on ropes there, Tai. Back in the day, I would've wiped the ground with you." Claude remarked while munching a piece of fried potato.
"Hm, as expected from Lightning Emperor." Yang quipped with a grin while holding a toast, her comments prompted a small blush on Claude's face.
"Yang, don't go there, please."
Everyone was currently having a hearty breakfast, courtesy of Tai. Yang's remark about Claude's title from 30th Vytal Festival invited more similar comments from the others.
"Yep, no way old timers like us can win against the Lightning Emperor." Qrow snickered while mixing his coffee with another liquor.
"Qrow…" Claude growled with his blush intensified.
"Hm, the Lightning Emperor moniker actually suits you, Mr. Rose." Weiss quipped while sipping her cup of tea.
"Et tu, Weiss...?"
"We've been training with the Lightning Emperor, I think this is a privilege." Blake also quipped while reading a book, although she used the book to cover her amused smirk.
"You guys are just salty from the sparring earlier." Claude retorted with a pout.
"Lightning Emperor, yay!" Ruby cheered - she simply wanted to add more oil into the fire.
"Ruby, not you too?!" Claude's horrified voice was accompanied with his face as red as his niece's cloak.
The table laughed at Claude's expense, albeit the victim found himself smiling wryly. He then heard a bark, and found Zwei was sitting by his foot. "...I know I can always count on you, buddy." He smiled as he patted the dog's head, before grinning at the girls. "Rather, if you girls have the time to laugh at me, how about using that time to improve what you're lacking?"
That actually made the table quieted down, as Claude began his review session. "We'll start with the team's overall performance." Claude took a sip of his coffee and pointed his fork at the girls. "Your teamwork is not too shabby for first-years, but the only thing you lack are your skills and experience. Keep up the good work, grow up individually and you'll grow up as a team."
The girls seemed to be pleased at the comment as they smiled and nodded to each other.
"...Now, let's start with the team leader." Claude's voice caught their attention again as the man pointed his fork at Ruby. "Tell me, Ruby. How long have you been wielding Crescent Rose?"
Ruby hummed for a second before answering. "...Two years, give or take."
Claude hummed while nodding in return. Then, he turned to address the adults. "Tai, Qrow, tell me something; you taught Ruby for some time in Signal. How good was she in hand-to-hand?"
"Abysmal, sadly speaking."
"She'd probably lose to a toddler."
Ruby gasped in indignation at her father and uncle's comments, but she could not say anything more because she was bad at fighting without a weapon.
Claude nodded and returned to his niece. "...And that will be your next aim in Beacon. You'll have to cover at least the basics by the Vytal Festival."
"But- I-!" Ruby ended up stammering, looking for an excuse to avoid the horrible prospect of fighting without her beloved Crescent Rose. "Aren't we going to use our weapons for the festival anyway? Shouldn't we perfect our weapon-wielding instead?"
"You're not wrong, Ruby. But at the moment, we're focusing on you." Claude retorted without missing a beat. "Honestly, I think you are already good enough to the point you're being too dependent on your weapon. It's time to cover other aspects of battle."
"So… I have to part with Crescent Rose?" Ruby asked with a reluctant tone.
"That's a given. But if it's any consolation, it's not like you're parting with your weapon for good." Claude replied with a small shrug.
"But…. Crescent Rose is like a part of me! Can we skip the hand-to-hand at least until after the Vytal Festival? Please?" Ruby then used her signature 'weapon' - the puppy dog eyes she used whenever she wanted to curry favors with Yang, Tai and Qrow.
Too bad for her, Claude was not affected as he scoffed softly - if he were to speak honestly, Summer was still cuter than that. "Sorry, Rubes. But you're not getting away from this. Besides, you said that your weapon is a part of you, but being a part of you doesn't equal as being a crutch, does it?"
Claude's question at the end caused Ruby to pause as her expression went contemplative. Seeing his niece had begun to look at the right direction, Claude smiled and ruffled his niece's crown, much to her chagrin.
Once Claude was done with Ruby, who was now pouting at him, Claude then proceeded to his next student. "Next, Weiss." His silver eyes met the blue ones. "I gotta say, you're quite adept in utilizing Dust as a part of your arsenals. I'm actually impressed, even if just a little."
In response, Weiss sat a little straighter as she fought the urge to smile smugly.
"Your combat style, however…" Claude trailed as he clasped his hands together to rest his chin on. "Who are you trying to impress while fighting me?"
"I beg your pardon?" Weiss asked with a small frown.
"I mean, when I engaged you in a melee, you were sort of too focused on repositioning yourself, like you had to be in a correct posture, right footing, instead of focusing on intercepting me. Correct me if I'm wrong, but it feels like you're a little too focused on showing off or something."
"With all due respect, Mr. Rose, I was certainly not 'showing off'. I was doing my best back there." Weiss said in defiance.
"Look, I'm sorry if it came out wrong." Claude held up a hand in peace. "But perhaps my point is more like…. Remember the previous combat classes? Your combat style is still too rigid; it revolves too much on proper footing and posture. Enemies won't give you any luxury to pull them off."
Weiss looked down, her expression said that she did not like the assessment so far.
"There's also an issue about your endurance. I've said this after your first match with Ruby; you need to learn how to take hits. It's good to avoid being hit in the first place, but what are the odds of you not ever running into an opponent that can catch you? You need to work out more, seriously."
Weiss looked like she was sucking a lemon, but she could not really refute Claude's words. In the end, she settled with a subtle nod.
"Blake." Claude then turned to the Faunus in the room. "I haven't said this, but I can tell you're probably the most experienced one on the team. Since, y'know, what you used to do before Beacon."
Despite his slightly awkward exposition, Blake simply shrugged and nodded in understanding without taking any offense.
"I have nothing much to criticize your performance, but if it's anything, then…. I can only say you might need to try…. More proactive approach when dealing with an opponent. You already got your speed and agility just fine, so I don't see any harm in you building up more strength and constitution."
The girl in question simply nodded without saying anything.
"Now…." Claude's eyes then turned to Yang, who was having a small, challenging smirk. "To the arguably, strongest of the team."
The blonde girl raised her eyebrows as she did not expect the small compliment.
"You seem to have fought bare-handed ever since you learned combat in the first place, don't you?" Claude asked as he leaned his chin on his palm. "...Because your punches packed quite some power back there."
"Thanks. I worked out a lot." Yang grinned.
"Your combat style, however…. Isn't healthy at all." Claude then criticized, ignoring the smile falling off Yang's face. "Lots of openings, easy to predict, and you tend to get carried away by your emotions."
Yang's eyes were neutral, but her lips showed that she was scowling.
"...And again, correct me if I'm wrong, but did you intentionally let yourself take my hits instead of defending or blocking them?"
"What else? I was trying to use my Semblance on you." Yang retorted with her face scowling.
"Your Semblance?" Claude quirked an eyebrow.
Tai then took it upon himself to explain. "Yang's Semblance is to convert the damage she tanks with her body into energy, and boost her strength for a short period of time."
Claude then returned to stare at Yang. "...Is that why you let me hit you? Rather, how long have you been doing this kind of fighting style?"
"What's the big deal? It's not anything different from other people using their Semblance." Yang defended.
Understanding that his niece had always been fighting like she had implied in her comment, Claude sighed in return. "Look, I admit your Semblance is a powerful one, but this is exactly what I mean about unhealthy - no, dangerous fighting style of yours." Claude then looked at Yang straight in the eye. "In a sense, your case is similar to Ruby, but instead of weapons, you're relying too much on your Semblance to win your fights. That kind of Semblance should be a trump card, not a crutch. If your opponent were able to learn about your Semblance beforehand… Believe me, there are ways to render your Semblance useless."
"Oh, really?" Yang raised her eyebrows, as if she did not believe him.
"Catching you in a grapple or a head-lock, run around until your Semblance expires, or simply overpower and knock you out before your Semblance could activate; albeit the last one is a long-shot."
Qrow shrugged while Tai nodded in agreement, the rest of team RWBY also appeared to learn something new. Yang, on the other hand, simply scoffed, "Yeah, I'd love to see you try those." She grumbled.
"Careful, Yang. Those are sometimes famous last words." Claude replied. "In any case, you girls have potential and show promise, but you are still young and only finished your first semester in Beacon. You have to be prepared for the next three years, assuming you girls can survive the later parts of your first."
Claude's tone caused the girls to glance at each other. Noticing the girls' worries, Tai spoke up, "Claude might sound like he's scaring you, but he's serious - we're serious." He said while maintaining his expression casual.
Qrow also decided to chip in. "Y'all are training to be huntresses - defenders of the world; you'll be bound to run into something that can kill you if you mess up. That's why we pros will make sure that you're ready for the world out there."
The girls were still feeling slightly anxious, but they had more determined looks on their faces.
Claude smiled and nodded - satisfied for the time being. "Well, just give it some thoughts when you're free. For now, though, you should relax and get ready for the upcoming second term while you still can. There will be even more work for you when you return to Beacon."
It was around afternoon where Ruby, Yang and Claude would enjoy their last day on Patch before they returned to Beacon the day after.
Normally, Weiss and Blake would have joined - but being studious as she was, Weiss opted to stay in the house to review and prepare her notes for future lessons, while Blake wanted to read the books she had bought the other day.
Tai had to prepare for the next semester in Signal, while Qrow… simply went off somewhere right after breakfast.
Currently, the two girls and their 'uncle' were having lunch at a diner of the sisters' recommendation. All of them had finished their meal and were relaxing, as well as waiting for Ruby to finish her dessert - a chocolate ice cream with cookies topping.
"So, what do you girls plan when you're back to Beacon?" Claude asked.
Yang and Ruby shared knowing glances and wore a matching grin. "Isn't it obvious? Kick ass and take names." The former proudly replied. "Rather, what will you do about your identity when you go back to Beacon? You have to tell team JNPR as well, y'know."
"That has been covered after I met Ozpin. We have some cover stories about my identity… Although we might have to call in a few favours from old friends and all." Claude shrugged in the end.
"Say, I've been a bit curious…" Ruby asked between her scoops of ice cream. "Since you've been… y'know, living and around twenty years ago, any of our teachers that actually know you?"
"Well…." Claude considered his answer. "The older teachers do know about me, but the younger ones like Ann and Harold don't."
"Really?" Both Ruby and Yang blinked with interest in their eyes.
"Yep. Oh, and Professor Peach was actually my homeroom teacher during my days in the combat school before she got promoted into a teaching position at Beacon, and Glynda was originally an exchange student from Atlas."
"Huh… I'm not surprised about Professor Glynda being from Atlas, but I didn't expect the one about Professor Peach." Yang noted.
"Yeah, this is only between us, but Peach was quite a badass back in the day." Claude commented while leaning forward, causing the girls to lean forward as well, as if they were discussing a secret. "So… Try not to piss her off too much. She's mellowed out a lot, but she can totally make a hell out of your life if you set her off."
Claude's face actually went slightly pale and his voice shook slightly when he told them; causing Ruby and Yang to re-think their opinion about Thumbelina Peach.
"Okay…. And what about the missions? Any cool stories about your younger days that you can tell us?" Yang asked next.
Claude hummed as he leaned back and gazed at the ceiling in nostalgia. However, before Claude could have said anything, someone shouted.
"Hey! Where's my latte!? It's already past 10 minutes!"
Everyone - including Claude, Yang and Ruby turned towards the source of the commotion. An overweight middle-aged man with a slightly slovenly appearance was sitting on the bar where the staff was busy milling around serving other customers.
"I-I'm sorry, sir. I'll get your order right away." the waitress behind the desk apologized.
The overweight man scoffed, "Seriously, I asked you to make me a drink, not a rocket jet!" His loud voice and attitude clearly bothered the other customers nearby.
"Sheesh, what a prick…" Yang remarked, not at all impressed by the man's behaviour.
"Meh, he'll leave as soon as he gets what he wants." Claude shrugged before taking another glance at the overweight man, particularly at the sight of his clothes being too small to contain his body mass. "...Y'know what, I bet 20 lien I can throw a cookie right into his butt-crack." He pointed at the man's pants, which was stretched by his fat to the point it partially exposed his bottom.
Ruby and Yang giggled at Claude's claim before the former gained a mischievous glint in her silver orbs. "...Can I give it a shot?" Ruby asked as she took one cookie from her ice cream.
Yang and Claude shared a glance, the former silently asked if it was really alright for Ruby to do the deed. Looking between her two nieces, Claude shrugged.
"Just don't tell your father about this."
Ruby grinned, "Deal." She then took a small swing, tossing the small cookie to the air, which landed exactly in-between the man's large butt-cheeks.
The family of three then descended into mad snickers as Ruby shared high-fives with Claude and Yang. However, there were obvious consequences for their actions.
"Hey, hey! Who did that!?" The oversized man scrambled up from his seat, grabbing a walking stick that was leaning against the stool next to him. He turned around, revealing a gruff face wearing sun-glasses in a broad daylight, and the trio learned that the man was blind.
"Oh, you've gotta be kidding me…" Claude remarked with wide eyes.
Ruby's face paled while Yang covered her mouth with her hand. They just made fun of a blind person.
"I can hear you! I swear to the gods that I'll kick your ass!" The blind man yelled around while balancing himself with his guiding stick. No wonder he was grumpy in the first place.
"Oh, man, we're certified jerks…" Yang put in her two-cents.
Seeing his nieces' conflicted looks, Claude decided to handle the damage control. "Oh, dear, I'm so sorry, sir. Please forgive my four year-old daughter." He spoke in a heavy voice like an older man, while gesturing at Yang.
Fortunately, the blonde quickly caught on and played along. She pitched her own voice and spoke in a baby-like manner. "I'm sowwy, cookie cwisp in the bum-bum! I'm sowwy!" She even added the crying effect as well.
Amazingly, the blind man actually relaxed, albeit was still not amused. "Just… watch your girl." He growled and returned back to his seat.
Ruby and Yang slumped on their seats as they sighed in small relief. "I think we've become even bigger jerks..."
"If it's worth anything, nobody got hurt here. I say this is a win-win." Claude commented before looking to Yang. "...Thanks for the follow-up, by the way."
"Meh, it was fun while it lasted." Yang waved off with a lop-sided smile.
Soon one of the waitresses approached their table. "You guys causing any trouble here?" She asked with a cordial tone.
"No, we're just minding our business here." Claude replied with an apologetic smile.
"Alright." The waitress nodded, satisfied with the reply before she turned to Yang. "Please keep your boyfriend in check."
Ruby actually snorted while Yang blinked at the insinuation before a faint pink tinge appeared on her cheeks.
"Nope, no, nuh-uh." Yang quickly denied, she inwardly cursed herself for sounding nervous for a second. "He's not my boyfriend."
"Oh… Okay, then." The waitress' smile became wider at Yang's reply and she glanced at Claude with a faint blush on her face.
Claude simply smiled in amusement, "Can we have our check, please?"
"Right, of course." The waitress seemed to snap out of it and walked away in a small fit of giggles.
Claude stared at the waitress' retreating form for a moment before returning his attention to his nieces, who was giving him odd looks. "...What?"
"Are you popular when you were at Beacon?" Yang asked with curious looks, which were shared with her sister.
"I… won't say I was." Claude blinked, not sure where the question came from. "But if you're asking about popularity, your mother's team STRQ was pretty popular back in the day."
"Really?" Ruby leaned forward in interest, half-unexpecting the information.
"Yeah. Though…." Claude's expression went contemplative for a second before he spoke with a small smile. "This is just a hunch, but… I'd say Qrow had a crush on Summer for some time."
Ruby and Yang's eyes widened in amusement at the revelation. "That… That's actually something I can see happening." the latter mused while her younger sister hummed in agreement.
"Speaking of…" Yang's lilac eyes then turned to Claude again. "How was… you know, Raven? My dad only told me bits about her, and it's after…. She dumped you, sort of." She ended up sounding awkward and a little guilty at the end.
Claude simply smiled and snorted, as if he was not bothered, "To be fair, I kind of dumped her when I chose to hold the line and disappeared for twenty years, so it's kind of mutual dumping… But I digress. Raven was…." Claude narrowed his eyes slightly in contemplation. "...Kind of like you, and strangely enough, Blake combined - proud, confident, didn't smile at just anyone, and didn't take any bullshit from anyone."
"And you dated her…?" Ruby followed suit.
Thanking the waitress who came over to give the bill, Claude shrugged with a lop-sided smile on his face. "What can I say, I was young and kind of stupid."
"'Kind of'?" Both Yang and Ruby quirked their eyebrows.
"You know what I mean." Claude pressed on. "My point is, Raven just left me enough impression that made me couldn't take my mind off her. I mean, not even the second day she's already picking a fight with me."
"...That's also something I can see happening too." Ruby remarked this time.
"Yep, every time whenever we were free. Boy, wasn't she stubborn…" Claude took a deep breath as he stretched a bit on his seat while his eyes were having nostalgic glints.
"...Did she ever win?" Yang dared herself asking.
"Yes, she actually did, though the funny thing was, she didn't believe so. I'd say she beat me fair and square, but Raven was way too prideful for her own good to accept that." Claude giggled as he placed several liens on the table next to the bill receipt.
"How did that even work?" Ruby asked this time.
"I honestly had no idea." Claude spoke with a tired tone, before he could have gone further into the memory lane, however, he stood up from his seat. "...Anyway, I think we've spent enough time here, kids. Let's go back before Tai freaks out of his two daughters coming home late."
Ruby and Yang were not satisfied at the abrupt end of the conversation, but one shared glance later, they stood up and followed their uncle out.
Qrow scowled as he stood in front of a sizable tent, surrounded by hostile faces. He could hear whispers and murmurs from the crowd with the word 'traitor' mixed, but he couldn't care less about their opinion about him, he was here on his own volition, there was something he had to take care of without wasting too much time in the shithole he used to call home.
He narrowed his eyes when someone came out from the tent before him. A woman with similar red eyes and black hair like his, donned in gears and armor she always wore ever since she picked up her arms in the first place. She was around his age, but the only sign was the subtle hints of exhaustion on her pale face.
"Good to see you back, Qrow. Although that'd be a lie." the woman - Raven Branwen, spoke with a condescending expression.
"Don't bother. I don't intend to stay long." Qrow cryptically replied as he remained on his spot, unbothered by people's sneers and hateful glares around him.
"That's unfortunate. Despite what I said, I do not mind sharing a glass or two with you." the woman returned with a snort. "So, what's the occasion this time? I assume you are here on Ozpin's behalf again, but I have a feeling that's not the case."
"You're right. I'm not here to ask you to come back, you're already a lost cause on that part." Qrow scoffed, ignoring a narrowed glare from Raven. "I'm here just to let you in on something important."
Raven raised her eyebrows in a mild curiosity. "Oh, is that so? Do tell."
"Claude's back."
Raven blinked and she found herself holding the hilt of her sword tightly. "I have no time for any of your jokes, brother." She spoke with a low growl, her blood-red orbs glaring at the man before her.
"If you think I'm messing around, suit yourself. I know you can find out whether I'm lying or not. You can look through your Semblance." Unperturbed by the increasing tension, Qrow replied as he turned on his heels to take his leave. "I've said I wanted to say. See you around, sis."
The crowd - Branwen Tribe, only watched Qrow leave with disdainful looks while Raven simply returned into her tent, leaving her lieutenants to resume order on the tribe.
Inside her quarters, Raven's head was filled with a mixture of confusion, anger, and multitude of questions. Claude's back - Ridiculous, what was Qrow playing at? Was this Ozpin's order, some part of a psychological tactic to sway her?
Unfortunately, Raven knew Qrow enough not to pull such a lie, unless he was utterly dead drunk. Hell, she even knew that Ozpin would have come up with a better one to trick her.
A minute later, Raven finally dared herself to activate her Semblance to see if her brother was misleading her or not.
It was not her Semblance, per say, more like a special feature - a part that made her entire Semblance. Considering what her Semblance was capable of doing, Raven could establish some form of telepathic link with certain individuals that had been 'marked' for her Semblance to use on.
Nothing like a long-ranged communication kind of telepathic link, but only enough for Raven to track, locate and 'sense' the condition of her target.
She focused - her mind looking for a particular 'mark' of a certain man…. Until her eyes snapped open when she found that the mark actually existed, and was currently at the Island of Patch.
Impossible - she had been looking for him for years, years! She had finally moved on with her life, and he just suddenly returned?
However, a part of her stubbornly believed that there must be some kind of mistake; a trick that was intended to mislead her into something she did not want to be a part of.
Then again, the other part of her wanted to know if what she learned so far was indeed true…
She finally came to a decision, went out of her quarters with her eyes set towards the shattered moon above.
Special
Thumbelina Peach was leaning back on her seat with her consciousness gradually escaped her.
Truth to be told, Peach just wanted to get this over with and enjoy her well-deserved break. When she chose to accept Claude into her office when he said that he needed her help in something, she never expected that his issue would go for hours - to the point where her office ran out of coffee, the only reprieve Peach could hold on.
Even as the aged woman was struggling to keep herself awake, Claude did not stop speaking as he lied on the recliner across her desk.
"...I just want you to know how much I appreciate this, Peach - Professor." Claude spoke as he kept his eyes closed in tranquility. "About this whole thing of getting off my chest, coming clean to my nieces, reconnecting with them… Thank you so much for your advice and ears, you're really the best teacher one could possibly ask. Even now you are still helping me, listening to me sharing my innermost thoughts and feelings..."
Peach was wobbling on her seat as seconds went by, until she nearly fell off her chair that she woke herself up and re-balance herself. In her attempt to save herself, however, her chair let out an audible creak.
"Just like when we're still in Patch-" Claude paused when he heard the creaking sound. He opened his eyes and turned to see his old teacher rubbing the sleepiness off her eyes while looking around, as if she was lost in thoughts.
"Peach?" Claude's voice garnered the aged teacher to turn back to him, drowsiness plastered on her face. "...Are you okay?"
"Err, yes, yes, I was…" Peach ran her hand down her face to wake herself up. "We were at…?"
Claude sighed softly as he caught on, judging on Peach's behaviour. "Have you been napping on me?"
"No, no, of course not." Peach denied a tad too quickly. "I was… drifted."
Claude was looking skeptical at the reply. "Where did I lose you?"
Peach's eyes wandered around in thought for a second before answering, "...Summer's 17th birthday party?"
Claude's expression deflated, "So you heard none of it?"
Peach sighed as she leaned on her desk while massaging her temple. "Look, Claude, dear. This kind of thing is more of Barty's field expertise; Glynda, or perhaps Ozpin. I…" She paused for a second to form more of her reasoning. "I only have a medical license, I'm not a therapist. I don't have the training or the-"
"Time?" Claude asked, before another came to his mind. "Wait, I thought Barty's phD is on history and archeology?"
"...Temperament." Peach corrected, feeling a tad guilty from the looks on Claude's expression. "As for Barty, he also phD for psychology."
"I see…"Claude only stared at Peach for a couple of seconds before something else clicked in his mind. "Ah, speaking of temperament." Claude ran his hand through his locks as he leaned back on his seat, his eyes gazing on the ceiling in another fit of nostalgia. "Remember my team's first in-fighting? Man, I sometimes still feel bad for what I did to Barty. Then again, it was kind of Roman's fault to begin with..."
When Claude began his sharing session anew, Peach groaned as her head hit the table.
As usual, please review! (^_^)