Just to let you all know there's no update next week. I'll be taking a one week break from 2nd May – 8th May Inclusive to take care of some personal issues.

Had fun watching Helluva Boss last night at least. I know he's a villain and all, but damn I liked Styrker. Reminded me of Roman in some ways, though this guy is a lot more competent tbh. I guess I just like the arrogant flair of those characters.

Cover Art: Jack Wayne

Chapter 152

Beware Oscar. He can't be trusted. Delete this message.

Emerald deleted it without thought, doing as her father asked. Despite the worried notice, she kept a calm expression and went back to listening to Ruby talking excitedly about her work in the medical wing of Beacon. Ruby was shy most of the time but once you got her going about something that excited her, there was no stopping her.

"Do you know anything about Oscar?" Emerald asked once she had a chance to.

"Oscar? You mean Oscar Pine?" At Emerald's nod, Ruby continued. "He's… honestly, he's a little weird."

"Weird how?"

"He talks funny sometimes. Old. There's times where he's like anyone else our age and then times where it feels like he's talking down to you. Humouring you." Ruby pulled a face. "I can't tell if he's patronising or not. He seems nice most of the time, even when he's only pretending to listen. It's just…"

"Weird?" Emerald prompted.

"Yeah. Why?" she asked. "Do you like him?"

That kind of question deserved the quick swat Emerald gave her, making Ruby giggle. "Don't be stupid. I'm not interested in anyone like that." Few people her age compared in her mind to the ideal she wanted. "I just think it's weird he was let into Beacon so early."

"Why? I was."

"Working in the medical bay, not as a huntress."

"Yeah, but Ozpin invited me to join as a huntress when I was fifteen."

Emerald's head swivelled to her. "Really? But I thought you didn't want to be one. You hated it."

"Hmm." Ruby nodded quickly. "Mom and dad were pretty angry he kept asking. It was like he expected me to be a huntress just because they are." Ruby looked around nervously. "Can we not talk about him? It doesn't feel right when he's… you know…"

"Dead?"

"Emmy!"

"What? He is dead." Emerald rolled her eyes. While she knew people called her blunt, she wasn't sure when someone died you were instantly not allowed to ever talk about them. That would be much too strange. "Whatever. Has Oscar ever asked you to do stuff?"

"Ugh." Ruby eyed her. "Did Yang put you up to this?"

"Answer the question."

"No, he hasn't tried to ask me out."

"Ruby. I meant anything weird. Not about dating…"

"Well how am I supposed to know what's weird or not!?" Ruby asked loudly. It was a sign of how close they were that Ruby could lose her temper with her at all. She was usually too shy otherwise. "I'm weird, Em. I talk about open wounds and surgery and putting people back together. Everyone says I'm weird for that."

"Learning how to put people together is no different than learning how to put a weapon together. We do that in Beacon so I'm not sure why people would say you're weird."

"Exactly!" Ruby enthused. "Wait, that reminds me, Oscar does talk about huntsman stuff a lot." She cupped her chin, tapping a finger on her cheek. "He's always asking if I don't want to spar or do a little training. I keep telling him I don't want to because I'm not going to be a huntress and he says how learning to defend myself would be valuable knowledge anyway."

Valuable knowledge? Emerald was beginning to understand why Ruby thought Oscar talked funny sometimes. Dad said the boy couldn't be trusted – and that meant he couldn't. Whatever her dad had decided was what she was going with. That was just that.

Why would this kid want Ruby to learn to fight so bad?

"Does he try and rope you into it often?"

"Almost every day," Ruby whined. "Or when he doesn't, he asks me to help with his homework and study weapons engineering together. Like I'd even know what to do! How much help would I be?"

"None. That's strange. He's not even taking lessons with us…"

"I asked about that," Ruby said proudly. "He says he's apprenticed under Miss Goodwitch and takes private lessons from her, so he doesn't need to go to class with everyone else." Her face shifted. "Then he said he could get me private lessons with her if I wanted."

Like a dog with a bone. Emerald scowled, feeling the familiar protectiveness creep up inside her. Ruby was her friend even before she and Yang became close, which meant Ruby belonged to her. Auntie Summer would have had something to say about that, but it worked both ways. Ruby belonged to her and she belonged to Ruby. Having some creepy and untrustworthy kid trying to force her into something she didn't want to do rubbed Emerald the wrong way.

"Did you say no?"

"Yep. I'm apprenticed under Tsune." Ruby shuddered. "S-She's weird too, but at least she's a good teacher. Heh heh. Tsune really likes putting people back together again. Usually to heal the damage she does."

That was nothing she hadn't heard before about Beacon's scary doctor. Tsune had a reputation, but at least Ruby was too gentle working under her to pick up the same tendencies.

Wait a minute, Ruby is working under Tsune in the infirmary. Why is Oscar there at all?

If he was apprenticing under Glynda then he should be spending his free time at either the training rings, the library or in his own rooms. No one went to the infirmary if they weren't in need of it, partly because that was the whole point of it but mostly because of Tsune's aforementioned reputation. It simply didn't make sense for him to be cornering Ruby there, or to be running into her at all.

"Have you told Yang about Oscar?"

"No. Yang would just overreact and corner him about it. Then Miss Goodwitch would tell her off." Ruby let out a quiet sigh. "It's fine. He's weird, but I don't think he's mean. I just have to keep telling him I'm not interested in being a huntress."

That was still bad.

Emerald left Ruby to think a little more on it, only to be cornered in a quiet hallway by her arch-nemesis and now sister. Emerald scowled as Vernal leaned on top of her head, resting an elbow in her green hair. Even if they didn't fight quite as much now that dad didn't want them to, Vernal still took every opportunity to lord her height, strength, chest or anything else she feasibly could over her.

"Yo shrimp. You get that message from d- fuckface?"

"Yes." Suspiciously, she asked. "You did delete it, didn't you? Dad said to."

"I don't follow anyone's orders."

Emerald stared.

"B-But yeah, I deleted it. Only cuz I wanted to, though. Weird message cluttering up my scroll and all. Anyway, what's with this Oscar kid?"

Emerald recounted the story for her elder sibling. Vernal knew Ruby even if they weren't close. The two weren't friends by any means, but Ruby was used to seeing her and didn't hate her, and weirdly enough Vernal was nice to her in return. Something about healers being respected and valued in her old tribe. By the end of it, Vernal wore a scowl and had crossed her arms.

"Fucking asshole needs to learn to leave enough alone. If she doesn't want to fight, she doesn't want to fight. I'd have sent him packing if I were her." She eyed Emerald shrewdly. "Want to corner him and dunk his head into a toilet until he tells us what he's after?"

Tempting. It would be bullying, sure, but Emerald felt it would be acceptable if it were working toward a goal. After all, bullies bullied because they liked it – so this would really be more of an interrogation. Plus, it would be to protect Ruby, so it was self-defence as well. If that were all it was, she'd have been more than up for it.

"We'd get in trouble."

"Tch. And?"

"And there might be a better way to find the truth out. Maybe we can help dad, too."

Vernal uncrossed her arms. "I'm listening…"

/-/

"Auntie Summer?"

Summer Rose looked up from her desk and felt a smile creep over her face. Only one person called her that and said person was peeking around the edge of the door to her office adorably, her fingers gripping the wood.

"Hello Emerald. Did you need help with our lesson today?"

"Nuh-uh." Emerald stepped in and closed the door behind her. "I got it the first time. I'm not Yang."

That was her daughter Em was insulting, yet Summer only laughed. Those two were like peas in a pod and loved to trade little digs. It was never serious, not with how close they were. "Hmm. Then is there something else you wanted to talk about? You're not missing your father, are you?"

"No. Dad goes on trips all the time."

"He really does." Summer sighed. "He should spend more time home with you and Vernal…"

"It's fine. Dad is busy."

Goodness. Emerald really was such a devoted and loving daughter. Given that she'd grown up with nothing, she appreciated Jaune in a way most children didn't with their parents. Still, she could afford to be a little more selfish at times. There was nothing wrong with wanting her father to spend more time with her.

"What's up, then?"

"It's about Ruby." Emerald took one of the seats across from her desk. "I think she's in trouble."

Summer's cheer winked out. "What do you mean?"

"There's this creepy guy who keeps spending lots of time around her."

Oh dear. Summer let herself relax, breathing out in a rush. For a second, she'd thought Ruby had been hurt or was in danger, but this-? She almost laughed. Of all the people she'd expected to get overprotective of Ruby around boys, she'd thought it would be Yang or Taiyang, not Emerald. "There's nothing wrong with boys wanting to get to know her."

"That's not it. He keeps trying to get her to do things she doesn't want to."

Aaand the frown was back. This sounded all too familiar to when she was young. "What kind of things?"

Smoking, drinking, drugs or sex were the first things to come to her mind. Those might have seemed extreme when talking about a fifteen year old girl, but it wasn't like it didn't happen in the schools Summer had gone to, and people were even more aware now thanks to TV and online culture. It wasn't like Yang hadn't snuck out to drink with friends more than once, and she'd always promised to have an open mind. Better her kids felt they could come to her for advice than them hiding these things away and potentially making huge mistakes.

"He keeps asking her to spar with him or train."

Talk about being pulled back and forth like a yo-yo. It was the way Emerald said things; she never thought of how something sounded, just going in bluntly for the killing blow. Asking a girl to spar with you had been a common, if unoriginal, way of flirting when she'd been back in Beacon.

The number of times Taiyang asked Raven to spar had been pure frustrating, especially since Raven always accepted and never realised Taiyang was trying it on with her. It kept giving him hope and had been the biggest roadblock to her getting a chance to win his attention.

"Is that such a big deal, Emerald? Maybe he wants to get to know her."

"It'd be fine if it was me or Yang," the young girl said. "But Ruby isn't a huntress. How is she meant to spar with one?"

That… That was a good point. Maybe Ruby's paramour was just defaulting to what worked or was shy, but Ruby could be badly hurt in a spar. "Hmm. You have a point there."

"And he keeps trying to get her to spar even when she says no," Emerald went on. "Ruby keeps saying no and that she doesn't want to, but he keeps trying to pressure her into it. He's even offered to train her himself."

"Really now?" Summer's eyes narrowed. "That's a little inappropriate, especially for a student. It's harder to train a newcomer to fight than you'd imagine. You say Ruby's been turning him down?"

"Every time," Emerald confirmed. "And he keeps coming back to ask. I don't like it, Auntie Summer. He's trying to make Ruby do things she doesn't want to, and you know how shy she is. What if she agrees just because he keeps asking? Ruby could get hurt or be forced into something she doesn't want."

What indeed. Summer was content to let her girls make their own choices in life, but she wasn't about to ignore something like this. Ruby decided she wanted to be a healer and not a huntress. Taiyang and I supported that. No one has the right to change her mind but her.

"I'll have a word with her." Summer promised. "And the guy trying to push her if he doesn't stop." Maybe he just wanted to get to know her like she thought, in which case her `word` with him would be a gentle suggestion he try a different approach. There was no need to be mean to a poor guy, but a little advice could well help him and make Ruby more comfortable. "What's this mystery boy's name? I'll see if I can have a word with him."

Emerald's answer twisted her stomach in knots. "Oscar Pine."

Oscar. Or Ozpin. Summer's prior amused mood evaporated in an instant, replaced with an uncomfortable sensation in her gut. Ozpin was an old man. Even not taking his thousands of years into account, he was so much older than Ruby. Not that she thought for a moment he was interested in her that way, but even the thought of him interacting with her daughter in a child's body was… well, it was like imagining an old man pretending to be a child online. Ozpin wanted her to learn huntress skills instead of anything else, but the way he was going about it still felt predatory.

He knows Ruby said no. I know he kept trying to convince us to change her mind, but I thought he was over it. Apparently, he wasn't. Damn it. It's the silver eyes again, isn't it? This doesn't make any sense. Salem has given up so he shouldn't care.

Unless he wanted to ensure Ruby's children became huntsmen or huntresses. As much as the career was open to everyone, it was undeniable that children born of huntsmen parents had advantages – often in the form of training with their parents outside of school. Ozpin might have wanted Ruby capable of combat so that her children would lean towards being huntsmen, too. After all, children interested in medicine would be such a waste if they had silver eyes.

"T-Thank you for bringing this to my attention," she said to Emerald. "I'll have a word with Oscar when I next see him and try to sort this out."

"Okay Auntie Summer." Emerald peered deep into her eyes. "I'm going to leave now," she said, which felt like an odd statement to make. "I'll see you later."

"Yeah. Sure…"

Emerald stood up and, without a sound, made her way to the door and outside. Summer slumped in her seat, a hand over her face. Talk about an unwelcome message. She'd have to tell Tai and Qrow about this later. They wouldn't appreciate Ruby being pressured any more than she did. Another knock on the door echoed before she could make up her mind on anything and Summer groaned. Was Emerald back with more unsettling news?

"Come in!" she called.

The person who entered was the last person she wanted to see. Oscar Pine – or Ozpin to those in the know – sauntered in with an almost cocky swagger. It wasn't like him and right now she didn't appreciate it one bit.

"Mrs Rose," he said in a childlike voice. "I heard you wanted to see me."

Had he? Since when-? Damn it, Emerald. She hadn't meant that she would have that word with him right away. She really need to be less literal. Still, she wasn't in the mood for beating around the bush.

"Drop the act, Ozpin. I am not in the mood."

Oscar flinched. "Mrs Rose…?"

"Since when do you call me that? Treat me normally, Ozpin. I'm not talking to Oscar here. We both know that."

A flicker of surprise stretched over Oscar's face before it was overtaken by calm. His voice evened out, becoming all but identical to how Ozpin's had been before his death. It was chilling to hear Oscar speak like that.

"Very well, Summer. To what do I owe your ire?"

"You damn well know what you've done!" she hissed. "I told you that Ruby had made her choice. She wants to be a healer, not a huntress. You said you'd respect that!"

"I have-"

"Don't give me that! Cornering her, pressuring her, asking her to spar. Do you think I'm an idiot? I don't care what your reasons are, and I don't care if you think the future generations will benefit. Ruby gets to live her life however the hell she wants to, silver eyes or no!"

"Summer-"

"No." Summer slammed her hands down on the desk and snarled at him. "That is my final answer, Ozpin. No. Ruby has no interest in the battle you want her to fight. Don't test me or you'll find that Jaune isn't the only person capable of giving you some pushback!"

Ozpin held up his hands before him in what Summer chose to believe was surrender. She'd keep an eye on him just in case because she knew from personal experience that when Ozpin gave up on one thing it only meant he was going to try something else.

"It appears I've upset you," he said slowly.

"Yes. You have. Stay away from my daughter, old man!"

"Very well. Very well." He backed toward the door and held it open. His uniform jacket swished suddenly, even though there was no breeze. "I'll leave you be, Summer. Good day."

The door slammed shut. Summer collapsed back into her seat. That had been too easy, much too easy for her liking. I'd best warn Qrow to expect a talking to, she thought as she reached for her scroll. I'm not going to put up with Ozpin playing his games with my family.

/-/

"You did it wrong!" Vernal hissed. "You made me look like an old, dead man."

"I didn't." Emerald argued. "Summer saw Oscar when she looked at you. I promise."

"Then why did she call me Ozpin?"

"That's the question, isn't it? I had you sound like Oscar when you started speaking, but when she told you to quit talking that way, I changed what she heard to make you sound like Ozpin. As best I could remember him talking, anyway."

"Wait, you mean I sounded like an old man?"

Emerald nodded.

"And she acted like that was normal?"

"Yes."

"Okay, that's suspicious as fuck. I guess your Semblance didn't muck up after all. Still, Oscar is Ozpin? And she mentioned Salem. That's the evil witch dad told us about, isn't it?"

Emerald wanted to point out Vernal had called him dad but decided to let it go this one time. This was much more important. "She accused him of wanting Ruby on his side, too. Something to do with her silver eyes."

"Raven always did say Ozpin couldn't be trusted…"

"But he's dead." Emerald said. "He was murdered by Lionheart."

"Not according to Summer Rose, he isn't," Vernal said, jerking her thumb back toward the office. "According to her, he's alive and well and currently looking like a young kid with an unnerving interest in the brat." She shuddered. "Fuck, that's creepy when I say it like that. You think this is why da- fuckface told us to beware of him?"

Possibly. If they could find this out then dad definitely could, and Auntie Summer had mentioned dad giving pushback to Ozpin. That sounded just like him. He'd never let some old bastard decide what to do with his children.

"What do we do with this?" Vernal asked. "We can't get him thrown out if Good-bitch and the rest of the teachers already know about this. It's something they're letting happen."

Emerald thought so as well. The apprenticeship under Goodwitch thing was obviously a cover story and helped explain why they'd never seen Oscar fighting or training with anyone. He obviously didn't need to. It also explained why he felt he could train Ruby up. If he really was Ozpin, then he absolutely did have the skills and experience to make Ruby an excellent huntress. If she wanted to be one, that was.

"We keep an eye on him," Emerald said. "But we wait for dad to come back and tell us the full story."

"Will he? He obviously knows already and hasn't told us."

"Then we corner him," Emerald said.

"And if he says no?"

"He won't. Not if we say we'll try and find out the truth ourselves if he doesn't tell us. We could get in all sorts of trouble if we did that."

"You want to blackmail him?" Vernal laughed suddenly. "Shit, that's glorious. Alright, count me in. Raven was always right about people before; if she says Ozpin isn't to be trusted, that's already a mark against him. Dad saying it as well seals the deal. Are you telling your team?"

Emerald shook her head. While she would have liked to tell Yang, she was afraid of what her friend might do if she knew Ruby was in danger. That'd also get back to Summer, who probably wouldn't like hearing how Emerald used her Semblance to trick her into revealing things.

Dad wouldn't approve either, but he'd definitely done – and would do – the same thing if he was in her shoes. Emerald wasn't about to fall for the `do as I say and not as I do` nonsense. As for Sun and Jaune, well, she wasn't sure what use they'd be. Plus, it would get them in trouble as well. This was her business, or her and Vernal's for now. It wasn't theirs.

"How confident are you in using that Semblance of yours?" Vernal asked suddenly.

"I'd need a rest and can only do one person without getting headaches, but I'm confident enough. Why?"

"Because Ozpin – or Oscar; whoever he is – is going to be pretty suspicious if Mrs Rose confronts him about this and he doesn't remember the first conversation. We could do this again but go right for the source this time, then act out the same conversation to cover our tracks. If she ever talks to him about it, he'll remember she did confront him."

Except that it wouldn't be Summer but them. It was a good idea, clever for Vernal anyway. The only risk was that they'd have to go to Oscar themselves, and dad had specifically warned them against going near him.

She's right, though. He or Summer are going to know something is up if she tells him about today and he knows she never told him off in her office. If we could fake it, they'd have no reason to get suspicious AND we can get more answers out of him.

"What if he catches us?" Emerald asked.

"I'm connected to Raven." Vernal said proudly. "And I'm not so much a pussy that I've used my one-time save. If shit goes south, it's not like he can lock us away or anything. She can open a portal right to us for dad to come save us."

"What if he tries to kill us…?"

"Then we tell Raven in advance what we're doing." Vernal sounded exasperated. "Come on. Are you that much of a coward? How do you expect fuckface to involve us in anything if we don't show we're ready to put our necks on the line?"

That, to Emerald, made perfect sense. "Okay. I'm in."

Reminder of no update next Saturday. Should return to normal after that.

Next Chapter: 15th May

P a treon . com (slash) Coeur