I do not own RWBY

"Do you even know how to drive?"

"Of course."

"Why don't I believe you?"

"Are you calling me a liar?"

"Of course not."

Eyeing each other they waited for the other to blink he was the first to back down. Sighing Oscar ignored the voice in his head in favor of turning away from the girl who took his actions as admitting defeat. He'd rather stay out here where nothing could attack him, but it wasn't like he had much choice. It was either following the reaper or joining Raven's tribe of killers. Taking up Ozpin's vendetta wasn't even an option. At least Ruby was less likely to make him put in effort; if he survived the trip to the city. The only good thing was that if he died Ozpin would have to hunt down a new body. Anything to torment that ghost.

"Don't worry, if we run into trouble I'll take care of it," she promised causing him to nod instantly. It wasn't like he wanted to fight.

He never wanted to fight, if he did then that'd mean admitting defeat to Ozpin. He'd rather die than let the ghost control his body again. It was his body, it was his life. Flinching when her hand landed on his shoulder, he blinked when she offered him a helmet. It was black with red trim; at least she was giving him one. Putting on the helmet, he hated how stuffy it was. Letting the reaper pull him toward her bike, he ignored the way Ozpin whispered what a terrible idea this was. Given Raven and Tai had gone to prepare the tribe for something and Qrow had flown the coop to scout ahead there was no one to save him anyway.

Sitting down behind her, it became apparent what the next issue was. He had to hold onto her. Would Adam kill him for touching the reaper? Gently touching her waist he hated the way his face heated up. Ruby wasn't someone to care about him so there was no reason to become attached to her, so why did he notice how warm she was.

"You're going to have to hold on tighter."

Or she could leave him to walk, that was always an option. Steeling his nerves he wrapped his arms around her hoping that Adam never found out about this. He didn't need to be on the receiving end of that man's anger. Apparently, that was the signal that the reaper needed. Tightening his grip instantly when the bike roared to life, he cursed Ozpin in his head. Swallowing back the words that wanted to leave his mouth when she laughed he trembled. This was why he didn't want to be a hunter, they were all insane.

It would take them a week to get to Mistral. This week was going to be torture. Closing his eyes he pressed his head against her back. If he was already cursed, then trusting her wasn't the worst choice he could make. Jolting he almost stopped breathing when she grabbed his hand. Was he holding on too tight? No, it wasn't possible for him to hurt her through her aura. Was she trying to comfort him, if so she was doing a terrible job. Someone like her had no idea what it meant to be weak or how it felt to be used by someone else. It was hypocritical for her to try and understand him much less try to comfort him. She was strong while he was someone to be used and thrown away.

"You're wrong."

"Liar, she's a Huntress there's no way she'd be used by anyone much less let herself lose someone."

"Everyone is used by someone. Everyone loses people."

What was that supposed to mean? Gritting his teeth as Ozpin retreated to the back of his mind he wanted to scream. Of course, the moment he wanted to talk to the ghost was the second he decided to be quiet. He didn't want to be wrong about Ruby. He didn't want to be wrong about Qrow or Ozpin. He knew being a Hunter wasn't some fairy tale, but they were strong enough not to be hurt. They didn't have to sit back and watch their families die or have their lives turned upside down. After all, unlike him, they were able to fight for themselves and those they loved.

Ignoring the ache in his chest he was almost grateful when Ruby slowed to a stop. Peaking over her shoulder he frowned at the group of people standing in front of them. They looked like something out of a bad adventure story. Ruby's shoulders shook for a second before she was turning off the bike and taking off her helmet. A smirk flashed across her face reminding him of the devil then she was patting his hands. Releasing her immediately he took a closer look at the people in front of them.

Were those bandits? Flinching at the way one of them stepped forward with a smirk he wanted to hide. It was the sigh from the girl in front of him to reminded him where he was. Taking off her helmet, Ruby passed it to him with a frown. Holding it tightly, he eyed her closely as her expression changed. Narrowed silver eyes relaxed as she surveyed the fools in bandits standing in front of them. Tightening his grip on her helmet, he didn't know why seeing her like this made his hands stop shaking. Ozpin was muttering about instincts, but he would rather the ghost stop talking.

"Stay here."

Sliding off the bike, she crossed her arms giving him the sense that she wasn't even slightly afraid. Not that she had a reason to be, a woman like her wouldn't know fear if it hit her in the face. Tilting her head she observed them for a moment then relaxed completely. Stretching she ignored the whistle from one of the bandits.

"Are you from the Branwen tribe," she asked with a polite tone that caused a few of them to growl.

"You're one of Raven's paws aren't' you?!"

It was the leader that screamed the words. Eyeing the brown-eyed man, she raised an eyebrow. From the hate, in his tone, as he talked about her aunt, he wasn't on the woman's side. Glancing at the woman who'd whistled at her earlier, she winked. At least she would get to have some fun.

"Perfect."

"Oscar, I'd look away."

He didn't see her move. One moment the brown-haired man was ranting about Raven, the next moment he was clutching his throat as blood ran down from the clean line on his neck. Humans bled. It wasn't that he didn't know that fact, but this was the first time he'd seen something like this. Watching the man fall to the ground Oscar couldn't breathe as his killer was revealed. Standing behind him, Ruby didn't look like a Huntress as she gazed down at the man with cold eyes. If anything, she looked like the devil. Flicking the blood off her dagger she grinned before sheathing it as the bandits tried to rush at her.

Ruby was two years older than him, so why did looking at her make it hard to breathe. In a single move, she unfolded her scythe cutting the fastest one of them in half. Was this the same girl who'd smiled at him earlier? How could it be possible for her to do this when they weren't grimm? As a Huntress, she was supposed to only kill grimm. Clutching her helmet, he wanted to look away yet he couldn't. It was almost like watching a disaster happen; a dull sense of fascination kept his gaze firmly on the reaper.

"Oscar?"

Was this why Ozpin feared her? Sliding to a stop, she laughed sending chills down his spine. He could never become her enemy; if he did she'd kill him. Flinching when one of the bandits charged in his direction, he barely noticed the reaper move before her weapon was flying through the air. Cutting through the man's neck it landed less than a foot from the bike letting him see the blood that ran down the blade. They had no chance yet none of them ran. Was it due to their pride or had they realized the same thing he had?

"Even if they run, she'll chase them. This woman is a Rose, no matter how kind she might seem this is her true nature. They were dead the instant they threatened her."

For once he agreed with the ghost. Eyeing the easy way she finished off the remaining bandits he knew she was strong. If she could do this then was Adam stronger than her? He'd seen them spar a couple of times but she'd never had the same feeling as she did now. Flipping to land beside her scythe, the reaper didn't even glance at him before picking it up. There wasn't a single speck of blood on her clothing yet it was all over the ground. It was like watching a wolf tear apart sheep. Swiping her weapon through the air to get rid of the blood she didn't seem to mind that she'd just caused a massacre. Or was it an extermination?

"Damn it!"

Blinking as she pouted at the blood clinging to her weapon he shifted. The oppressive feeling that had hung around her was gone as if it had never existed, but he knew what he'd felt. This woman was a predator, and he couldn't compare. In a single second, she'd be able to tear him to pieces with a flick of her finger. Was it really okay for him to trust someone like her?

"I just cleaned her," she mumbled eyeing the bloody weapon.

So what if she was dangerous? She was still his best shot at living a lazy life. Laying their helmets on the seat he didn't really know if he'd made the right choice. Right now it was too late to turn back. Pulling a rag from one of the saddlebags, he slid off the bike.

"Don't make a mess then," he complained catching her attention. Handing her the rag, he sighed at the beaming grin she offered him. Ruby was two years older than him, a murderer, and a Huntress. Also, a Rose apparently although he had no idea what Ozpin was talking about. Not that it mattered much. Shifting on his heels as she rubbed at the metal he said, "we passed a river earlier, we can make camp there."

"Right," she said with a bright tone. Tossing away the bloody rag, she sheathed her weapon before lunging at him. Flinching when the reaper hugged him tightly, he didn't have time to complain since she pulled away just as quickly. Almost dancing away from him it was the smile on her face that reminded him of a fire; dangerous and beautiful.

(Blake)

Afternoon sunshine poured through the layered palms giving the area an almost otherworldly appearance as tropical forest melted away into the dark unforgiving desert. Menageries desert wasn't exactly the place to take a vacation given how inhospitable it was; however, this desert was exactly where they needed to be. While her father prepared for the trip to Mistral she was training until even the air in her chest wanted to kill her. Getting stronger was the only way she'd be able to make up for almost letting Ruby die. It was also the only way to confront Adam and the White Fang.

The guilt over Ruby getting hurt hadn't faded yet she wasn't going to just wallow in that guilt. What was the point in suffering when she could be making herself better? She'd been born to lead the faunus of Menagerie however she wasn't ready. Sometimes she doubted she'd ever be ready, however, the only way to change that was to stand on her own two feet; something she'd never really done. It had taken fighting grimm out here to learn that she'd never been on her own. Her entire life she'd been surrounded by people that supported and loved her; even now she had Sun and Ilia. How was she supposed to lead if she didn't have her own strength?

So here she was hunting down grimm hoping to grow enough to be worthy of living. Ilia and Sun were following her, but neither would interfere unless she was about to die. This was the only way.

Gripping the hilt of her weapon she eyed the snake-like grimm in front of her knowing that this species was severely poisonous. It was about the size of a Beowolf except twice as fast; this species was only found here on the island. Without drawing her blade, she waited for an opening that would no doubt come. It was the blur of movement that warned her to dodge seconds before the tail lashed through the air where her head had been seconds ago. The damn thing had been trying to take off her head. Lunging forward she didn't hesitate to slash at its eyes only for her blade to bounce off the hardened scales when it turned its head. Hissing a curse, she winced as she was forced away by its tail.

She hated fighting snakes, especially in the desert. Landing on her feet, she wiped away the sweat from her forehead with a scowl. This was the fifth snake today; it was bad enough the third one tried to body slam her into the sand. It wasn't like she could throw dirt in it's eyes either. Bristling the instant it began to stir up sand with it's tail she wanted to scream. Closing her eyes – she'd learned her lesson the first time – she held Gamble Shroud tightly. Ears twitching she side-stepped allowing the creature to dart by as her blade snapped out scratching the scales.

Falling into an easy dance she scratched away at the hardened scales almost wishing it was possible to harvest them. With armor made from these scales, she wouldn't ever get hurt. At the moment she could hear everything including the way Sun was holding back Ilia. It wasn't normal. Ilia was too clingy for her feelings to be fake yet something about it made her feel on edge. Especially when the other girl decided to follow her to the oasis when she took a bath. That was stalking and at this point, she was having Sun guard her when she needed to bathe. There was either something wrong with Ilia or she might be a spy.

Part of her hoped it was the second option.

Eyes snapping open, she stabbed forward tearing through the snake's soft underbelly when it lunged at her throat. Sighing as it faded, she wanted nothing more than to go rest. Sheathing her weapons, she waved over Sun and Ilia only to wince when the other woman slammed into her with the force of a small elephant. She wanted the woman around so that she might gain an insight into the plots of the White Fang not to encourage whatever fantasies the chameleon had created. Still having her clingy was better than her running off to wherever Adam's supporters had fled. Patting Ilia's back, she glanced over at Sun.

Gone was the open shirt and jeans instead was a pair of tanned pants and a grey sleeveless top. She missed seeing his abs. Flushing at the thought she refused to look him in the eye; that would only make it worse. His hair gel had run out a day into their training trip allowing his hair to fall in a scruffy wave that she loved. Pushing away Ilia gently as he walked over, she was all too aware of how his smile made her heart soar. Shifting closer to him, it was hard to handle how hot her face felt when he reached out to push a fallen strand of hair behind her ear.

"We might have to cut your hair," he said in the tone that caused her toes to curl.

"I'll start braiding it," she stated gaining a bright smile in return. Every time he smiled at her it stole away her heart all over again.

"Good idea, I love your hair."

She was defiantly not cutting her hair ever. Letting a small smile appear on her face, she didn't notice Ilia moving until the other woman was shoving them apart. Standing in front of her the brunet began to scold Sun for touching her. Clenching her fists she longed to show Ilia exactly what she thought of her actions; it was only for the sake of their plan that she kept calm. Still, she had to wonder if the brunet was an idiot. After all, the woman had done so much to hurt those she cared about how could she ever think she had a chance?

Ilia had: attacked her home, tried to hurt her parents, hurt her leader, assaulted her, stalked her, threatened Sun, and actually hurt Sun. There was no way she'd ever entertain the thought of loving her. Threating and hurting the people she loved didn't show that Ilia was in love with her it showed she was obsessed. Orders or not nothing gave her the right to pretend to be innocent. She couldn't say that nor could she throw away the woman. Not when she was the only link they had to Adam's group. At the moment, however, she hated Ilia far more than she hated Adam.

"That's enough," she stated before they could start to fight.

Pouting at her Sun tilted his head with a little amusement. It was an act, he might be cheerful, but he hated Ilia just as much as he did. Ignoring the way Ilia stared at her with adoring eyes, she gave the order to head back to camp. She was done for today. Relaxing as Sun shrugged and slung his arm over her shoulders, she would never admit that she shifted closer to him. Letting him lead the way back to camp she didn't complain when Ilia held her hand; now wasn't the time to complain. One day she'd make sure Ilia paid for everything she'd done but today wasn't that day.

(Ruby)

She knew Oscar didn't like her, she didn't really blame him. There was little doubt that Ozpin had told him everything about her. No way was she going to live up to the expectations of someone like Ozpin. Besides Oscar was cute, adorable really. In a way he reminded her of a rabbit; it'd be easy to snap his neck. If he'd given her the same feeling as Ozpin there was no way he'd still be alive. She wasn't Cardin but she still knew how to read people. Oscar was in pain, she wanted to protect him the same way she'd wanted to protect Jaune. Even if it ended the same way, she wasn't about to abandon the boy.

She'd been a bit afraid that killing those bandits in front of him might make him afraid but he hadn't said anything about it. Then again anyone that had Ozpin whispering in their head had to have more issues than watching her commit casual murder. Humming a tune that resonated with the river beside their small campfire, she stared up at the stars. One thing she loved about this world was the sky after all in her past life she'd never seen such a clear view of the stars. Even the broken moon was beautiful in a haunting sort of way.

"You have your mom's habit of leaving messes."

Glancing over at her dad, she raised an eyebrow as he moved to sit beside her. The way Oscar stiffened was enough to show he hadn't known Qrow was going to be joining them. Leaning against him, she relaxed completely. As always there was the scent of whiskey clinging to him in a way that was uniquely home. He always made her feel at home no matter where they were. Almost purring when he ran his hand through her hair, she curled up beside him deciding to disregard Oscar who she knew was eyeing her closely. No matter what he thought of her it wasn't going to make her stop considering him the cute rabbit unlucky enough to walk into a wolf den.

"They were a threat."

"They were weak," he stated with a chuckle. This was a side of him that usually wasn't seen by others. People forgot her dad was a bandit before he became a Huntsmen, they thought he was simply the drunk guy of the group. She didn't just get her cruelty from her mother.

"How can you talk about murder so casually?"

Glancing at Oscar who looked more curious than disgusted she shrugged. It wasn't like they'd been innocent. Not only had they threatened her and even Oscar himself, but she'd also wanted to kill them. While it hadn't been personal, she simply desired their deaths for no other reason than they were in her way. Maybe one day their friends or family might seek revenge but even then she wasn't afraid; she was tired of worrying about who might be upset by her actions. When she took Mistral there wouldn't be any room to hesitate.

Sighing she sat up making sure to meet the boy's eyes. Oscar wasn't like her, even with Ozpin in his head he was only a kid. That was something she didn't want to change about him; his innocence was something worth protecting. Offering him a small smile she wondered if he'd choose to stay with her. After all, while she might want to keep the boy it had to be his choice; she wasn't going to force him to do anything he didn't want to do. If he did choose to be her's then there was no way she'd ever let him go. He was too cute for anything else.

"We're not good people, or rather the idea of good people is flawed," she admitted. Eyeing the way he tensed she wondered if it might be better to pretend to be a 'good person' for him then disregarded the idea. Lying to him would cause more problems than it solved besides she'd never claimed to be a hero or even innocent.

"There are good people in the world," he stated although his conviction wavered. Looking away from her the boy turned his attention to the fire. Looking at him now it was easy to see he was still a child in a way she wasn't. Their ages might be similar but he was still so innocent.

"There are," she said softly. Jaune was one of those people so was Yang. Most of her friends were good people or at least they were morally grey. She didn't even want to think of how far into the grey range Cardin was or about her more criminal associates. Putting aside the questionable morality of her friends, she asked, "what do you think makes a person good?"

It was a loaded question, one that most people would answer without thinking. In the minds of most people, a good person was someone who didn't hurt others or helped the world in some way; however, that was too broad an answer. For example, a huntsman helped saved a village because that was their job not simply because they wanted to help. Of course, there were those that genuinely wanted to save people, she knew those people existed. Sometimes people even wanted to be heroes like those in fairy tales but those same tales were simply one side of the story. Good people existed, that was a fact she wholeheartedly believed in, yet no one was completely good. To her, a good person was someone who wanted to do good no matter their past or how bloody their hands were. They were also those that helped her or that she loved.

"Ozzy is screaming that's a trap," Oscar said with a frown. Wincing a little, he took a moment to prod at the fish cooking over their campfire.

She didn't know how he handled Ozpin screaming in his head all the time. The man had been interesting while alive, she'd honestly liked him a little; that was before he'd hurt Pyrrha. Still, once her partner woke up, Ozpin was Pyrrha's to deal with. Any grudges she had with him started and stopped with the redhead. Not that she was going to tell him that; having him weary of her was amusing. Seriously he was a millennia-old warrior but afraid of a sixteen-year-old huntress.

"I used to think good people were those that wanted to help others and save the world, like Huntsmen and Huntresses," he admitted. Glancing up at her made it easy to see the suspicious gleam in his eyes. It was obvious the boy didn't trust her; something she'd never blame him for. Not trusting her was typically a good idea. Hugging his knees, he said, "now… I think a good person is someone who tries to be good."

The uncertainty in his tone brought a smile to her face. She'd been right that Oscar was adorable, even now he was quite cute. Now all she needed to do was adopt him into the family. Glancing up at her dad, she pouted.

"I want a brother."

Freezing for a moment, Qrow processed her words before following her glance to Oscar. Why did she want the possessed child as a sibling? Sure he'd been hoping the newest incarnation was cute so that he could stay alive longer than a few minutes but he hadn't intended to adopt a kid. For one thing, he didn't want to have Ozpin take control and mock him about the change in their relationship that would just be creepy. For another, he'd never planned on having any other kids beyond Ruby. Now if only she would stop pouting at him.

"That's a bit different than a new pet," he said trying to buy himself more time. Noting the confused boy he decided the best thing to do was to push the choice over to someone else; literally anyone else. Maybe Raven wanted a son, too bad his sister wasn't around at the moment.

"But he's adorable," she stated as if it was the only explanation he needed.

"Then you adopt him."

Brightening at the hurried words, Ruby immediately turned to Oscar who shifted away from her a little. Clapping her hands she ignored the wary expression on his face, she could ignore anything if she tried hard enough. By this point he'd figured out exactly what they were talking about; she just didn't know if he was against the idea or if Ozpin was making a fuss again. Flickering his eyes between her and her dad, Oscar winced a bit before rubbing his head.

"How do you feel about being my brother?"

"With how against it Ozpin is…I think it's a great idea," he said with a vindictive edge to his voice.

They were going to get along great. Grinning at the boy she shifted to let her dad check on the roasting fish. Ozpin aside this was the best decision she'd made today. Now they just had to do the paperwork then he was going to legally be her brother. Was that something Ciel could take care of or would she need to do it? She hated paperwork of any kind. It was tedious and annoying not to mention boring. She'd much rather be out fighting or spending time with her friends. Wait, she'd have to do paperwork after taking over Mistral, wouldn't she? Wincing internally at the idea she decided that someone other than her was going to be doing all the paperwork.

Hi guys, we're finally starting the Mistral Arc. I have so much planned it's going to be chaotic and amazing. I'm looking forward to this Arc so much even more than when Ruby's going to meet Salem. Anyway, it's going to be a bit before seeing the other characters again but Roman and Neo are scheduled to show up soon. Adam's group is also going to be in the Kingdom too but Ruby's not going to find him right away.

Moving on who wants a side story collection for Shadowed Rose? I mean things ranging from M-rated to cute little moments like Raven's first attempt at parenting.

Also, what do you guys think Ruby would be like as a parent? I just imagine the chaos.

Stay safe and Have a great day

- Shyla