Disclaimer: I own nothing! My Hero Academia belongs to Horikoshi and RWBY belongs to Monty Oum and Roosterteeth.

Chapter 08: Leg Work

Two trainings from Hell officially began for Izuku and Ruby.

As Toshinori had Izuku clean up an entire beach for his training, Ruby tried to do the same training regimen as Jaune. Push-ups, sit-ups, cardio, and Mrs. Prism Arc's training diet. At first, Jaune seemed unsure, but since this is the first time Ruby had any sort of initiative involving training, he decided to let her participate. It went smoothly for a couple of days, the two friends enjoying each other's company – even quizzing each other – but on the third day, well…

Lucius Arc, a tall muscly blonde with a beard and moustache combo, watched from the sidelines, leaning against the wooden fence. Rosie and Beryl walked up towards their father.

"Hey, dad," the oldest Arc daughter greeted. Beryl sits up on the fence.

"Rosie, Beryl. You two off today?" Lucius asked.

"Yeah. Mom gave us the day off. Saph came by the restaurant."

"Oh? Is she staying the night?"

"Probably not. Terra's baby is due any day now. She just wanted to come by and check on us."

"She has enough time to go the restaurant, but not enough to come see her old man. I see how it is," Lucius said with the faintest of smiles.

"That's not true and you know it," Rosie smiled, knowing full well that her father was kidding.

"How's the training for Little Red?" Beryl, the tomboy in green, asked.

"Surprisingly good," Lucius replied. "All things considered."

Beryl looked skeptical. "You sure? She looks like she's gonna ralph." And was some truth to her words. Looking back at Jaune and Ruby, the latter was starting to look green as she walked briskly to keep up with her friend.

"Don't you think that this training isn't right for her?" Rosie asked her father. "You made this specifically for Jaune."

"I did tell her that, but she was adamant that she could take it," Lucius replied. "At least, she's finally taking training seriously."

"Oh, she stopped," Beryl said. Lucius and Rosie saw that Ruby had indeed stop with her hands on her knees. Jaune stopped too to check on her.

"I wonder w—" Lucius' question was quickly answered when Ruby abruptly vomited. Beryl couldn't help but snicker at the sight and, just as quickly, was silenced by a single disapproving look from her older sister.

"…I'll shut up."

Qrow walked along the side of the fence, making his way to the Arcs with his eyes on his niece. "What I missed?"

"Your niece upchucking," Beryl blurted out. Rosie smacked her arm. "Ow!"

"I guess this training wasn't truly suited for the rosebud," Lucius mused, rubbing his beard. He turned to Qrow. "Maybe you can come up with something for Rose. I may have over two decades of heroics under my belt, but my training is more appropriate for accumulation-type Quirks."

Qrow looks over at Ruby. "…Hmmm…"

….

"Ruby," Jaune started, rubbing his friend's back. "I don't think that this is the perfect training for you. It was made specifically for me with my physicality and Quirk in mind."

Ruby wipes her mouth from her regurgitation. "…meaning?"

"Meaning we're gonna have to find a more suitable training regimen for you."

"Oh, yeah? Like what?" She noticed Qrow walking up to them. "Uncle Qrow."

"Hey." The older man hands Ruby a water bottle. "Here."

Ruby takes it gratefully. "Thank you." She takes a long drink of it to wash away the taste of vomit. As she did, Qrow continues to stare as he thinks of how to train his niece. Like, what should the focus be? He looks down at the ground before focusing on Ruby's legs.

A metaphorical lightbulb blinks to life in Qrow's mind.

"You want to what?" Tai questioned his brother-in-law.

"Train Ruby for UA."

Tai sighs as he sat down on at the kitchen table. "If I'm being honest, I want Ruby to take it easy for a bit after what happened a couple of days ago and it's not like I don't think you can do it, but can you do it? You're a teacher at UA and an underground hero. As in night work. Do you think you're capable of juggling another responsibility to the mix?"

Qrow shrugs nonchalantly. "I don't see why not. Besides, I got an idea already, if you wanna hear it."

Tai was understandably hesitant but figured this may be the best course of action, as Qrow and Ruby both have transformation Quirks and Qrow knows the highs and lows of such types. He's proud that his youngest is finally getting her head 100% into the hero path, but as a father who have experienced loss twice, he worries for his girls. But, as a friend once told him, he can't keep protecting Ruby and Yang from the world.

"Fine. Let's hear it."

Coming Sunday, Ruby decides to go to Sentaku Park after doing her Sunday routines of breakfast, washing dishes, and whatever else her father wanted her to do before she goes out. She hoped to see Izuku again. Not only to give back his notebook, but also to apologize to him. And maybe take back what she said. Unfortunately, after waiting for a few hours – such minutes containing her studying, drawing, eating lunch she brought, and playing on her phone – Izuku never showed up.

Disheartened but not at all surprised, she decides to go home.

"I'm home!" She was met with silence. "Dad? Yang? Uncle Qrow?" No one responded back. It's likely that Tai and Qrow are at the agency and Yang may be with her friends. That's fine. Ruby had long grown accustomed to this. She knew how to cook, thanks to Prism, so Ruby could easily feed herself. As she put her things down, Zwei trots up to her. "Hey, Zwei." She knelt down to pet him. "Do you know where everyone is?"

Zwei runs to the closed sliding door and stood on his hind legs to lean his fore legs against the glass. Assuming the corgi wants to use the bathroom, Ruby goes to open the door.

"There you are, kiddo," Qrow said. He was in the large backyard, implanting a small flag in the ground. "I was wondering when you'd be home."

Ruby blinked at him as Zwei runs out, barking like a happy dog. After the moment of silence, she walks out and across the patio. "I thought I was the only one here besides Zwei." Ruby noticed the little flags going across their backyard, numbered from one to fifty meters. "What is this?"

"This is gonna be part of your new training."

"My new training? Wait. You're gonna train me for UA?"

Qrow smiled. "That's right." He takes a swig of alcohol from his flask.

"But, you're a UA teacher," Ruby pointed out. "Is that even allowed?"

"I didn't see anything in the teacher's handbook that said I can't. And don't worry about my hero work. I already took my nap and I already have the boring school stuff taken care of ahead of time. I'm pretty much following the lead of one of my colleagues."

"So, what exactly are we doing?" Ruby asked.

Qrow saunters over and lowered himself near Ruby. "We're gonna put some muscles," He pokes behind Ruby's knee, which nearly made her fall, "into those spindly legs of yours." Qrow stands back up. "But, first, we're gonna record your base speed. Get yourself ready and come back down here."

It took a few seconds for Ruby to realize what was happening and smiled. "K!" She races up to her room, without using her Quirk, to put on a red tank top and black shorts. She glances up at her mother's picture. "Wish me luck!" She dashes back down to the backyard. She nearly fell forward when she stopped herself. "I'm ready!"

"All right. Let's get started. First, your base speed." Ruby nodded before heading to the starting line and Qrow got the timer ready on his phone. "Ready." Ruby crouches forward. "Set. Go!" She kicked up dirt as she ran towards the finish line. By the time she did, she could feel her heart pumping heavily in her chest from the exertion.

"How…how did I do?" she asked breathlessly.

"9.26 seconds," Qrow said, showing her the numbers. "Not bad for someone who's diet consists of nothing but cookies."

Ruby giggled. "You know that's not true. I bet I can still run faster than you, old man."

Qrow smirked and arched his brow. "After you rest up, let's have a look at Petal Burst." After waiting for thirty minutes, Ruby returns to the starting line. "Ready." Ruby charges up her Quirk, her body 'scattering.' "Set. Go!" Ruby sprints forward. While in this state, she didn't need to take another step until she reaches a certain point. Her Quirk cancels at 5 meters and she skids to a halt.

"Aw, man."

"Don't look so down, kiddo. We're gonna work on that. The point of this is to increase your stamina. Stamina, like anyone else, is a basic need for Quirks. Some more so than others." Qrow raises an arm up. Black feathers started to sprout from his skin as the arm turned into a giant wing. "For people like us with Transformation Quirks, we use the stamina in our bodies to not only transform, but also use our transformations in creative way. Unlike many Emitters or Heteromorphics, we need a large stamina pool to make use of our transformations." Qrow turns his arm to normal.

"You can't be an effective hero if your Quirk barely lasts three seconds. So, starting tomorrow, your training officially begins. I've already spoke with Prism Arc about your diet and told me and Tai of what to give you. I've got more for you to do, but that can wait tomorrow. Now speaking of diet, your meal of baked potato, green beans, and plain whole grain pasta with a tall glass of water is waiting for you."

Ruby blanked out. "…What?"

Qrow grinned. "And for your pre-workout in the morning, a bowl of oats and bananas with coconut milk."

"Eh?" Qrow may be a grown man, but he felt absolutely proud of himself as he sees the look of confusion on Ruby's face.

"There is more. Buuuuut, I figured that could wait until later."

"…Is this because of the 'old man' comment from earlier?"

And so, Hell truly begins for Ruby.

Her first hurdle being the food. The diet she has to take consists of whole grains, fruits, vegetables, lean protein, and healthy fats. Predictably, she wasn't keen on the oats, though, having bananas in the mix helps with the blandness. The actual hurdle was the fact that Ruby was advised to not have any dairy, meaning no milk or butter (except peanut butter for some reason) and smoothies. At least until the training is over. Something about controlling the consumption. There was one dairy drink Ruby was allowed to drink. Probably the strangest thing she has eaten…or drank – drink-eat? – is the strawberry and broccoli smoothie to go with her runs. The very idea that a vegetable and a fruit could make a smoothie together was foreign to her. And it had no business to be as good as it was, especially when its low-fat. Another thing she's not allowed to eat while training are cookies – Ruby did cry – sodas (even diet sodas), and fried foods.

As much as Ruby wasn't a fan of her diet, if it helps with getting into the hero course, then she'll have to do it. In fact, her new favorite dish is now a pickle green salad sprinkled with cashews and shredded chicken. She was apprehensive, as it contained dill pickles, but having sliced strawberries in it helped.

As for her actual training, it goes like this:

Her mornings are simple. She wakes up at 6:00 am – she was not a fan for a while – to do some stretches, squats, push-ups (pathetically bad), and set-ups after breakfast. On her way to school, she takes the long way and jogs her way there and every evening after school, she will be given 'tasks' – the Lucky Phoenix Agency tends to get all kinds of requests from the Patchi community and, unfortunately, the smaller things get put back a lot due to the larger, more urgent needs. The smaller things were very simple. Community service in some fashion, so the heads of the Lucky Phoenix decided to give such tasks to Ruby, at least the ones they know she can handle so as long as a pro was nearby, said pro being Qrow. Picking up liter, taking out garbage, mowing lawns, washing cars, repairing fences, planting gardens, finding stray animals and take them to a shelter…

And that was the first two weeks.

On the second Sunday of Ruby's training and after Qrow's morning nap, she and Qrow are at the Xiao Long-Rose backyard, eating their lunch on the patio, enjoying the fine weather.

"Well, I can honestly say that your first couple of weeks was a success!" Qrow said. Ruby beamed a smile. "So, now, we're gonna up the ante a little."

"How so?" Ruby asked. She heard a different set of footsteps crunching on the dirt. She looks to see a tall man in his early thirties with brown hair and teal eyes. "Mr. Ebi?"

"Hey, squirt," Clover greeted. He hands Qrow a box he was holding. "I got what you ask for."

"Thanks."

Ruby looked curiously at the box. "What's that?" Qrow holds it out for her to open. Ruby does so and pulls out a pair of black leggings that gradients to red downwards. The fabric was soft and smooth, almost like polyester. "Leggings?"

"Weighted leggings," Qrow corrected. "Starting this week, you'll be wearing these along with these weights," He shows her some weights, "which we will increase every few weeks. We've got you two pairs, one for summer and one for winter, both made out of a nylon and spandex blend to prevent friction." Hearing this, Ruby was curious how Qrow even knows this.

"Um, how do you—?"

Qrow snorted. "Come on, you think with how snappy I dress, I wouldn't know how to look good and feel comfort at the same time. The leggings were your sister's idea, and her cat friend was able to get an order in from her family's company."

"Wait, aren't these like the leg weights from that one ninja anime?"

"I..guess? Though safer, in my opinion. Go ahead and try it on."

Ruby returns to her room to put on the leggings. The leggings have diagonal slots for the weights to slip into. It fitted her well. Her sister knew what she was doing.

"I still have a long way to go," she thought. "But this shows that I am heading towards the right direction. I need to keep my head in the game if I want to apply for the hero course. I will make every minute count." Not wanting to waste anymore time, she returns outside.

At first, ten months seemed like a long time for Izuku and Ruby, but at some point, during their training, they have lost track of time and, before they knew it, they were just one day away from attempting U.A.'s entrance exam. Along with their physical training, they also train their minds for the written exam. Izuku's brain was already like a sponge, so he had no trouble studying. Ruby, on the other hand, did. She was, by no means, lazy nor academically inept, but her attention span tends to wander. Thankfully, she had her sister and her sister's friends to help.

Even Qrow took a moment to realize how far his niece has gotten. Little by little, she improved as a person as she did her runs and tasks. Eventually, she started to help people whenever she was nearby even when they didn't submit a request. Many of Patchi's elderly have become appreciative of her willingness to help, including one old woman who Ruby helped across the street. The point of the tasks was for Ruby to know that there is more to heroes than fighting villains.

Qrow can't help but take a picture of Ruby after how much time has passed since. He sent some to Tai, Yang, and even Toshinori, who have gone MIA for a while. When asked what he has been up to, Toshinori said he was doing a project of some kind.

And Ruby wasn't the only one making progress. People who knew Qrow Branwen knows that he…loves alcohol. It's not usually an issue, the man somehow functioned okay when drunk, though it was still a cause for concern. However, ever since he's been helping Ruby train, he was drinking less, or at least he's being more responsible.

Not only was Qrow helping Ruby, but she's also been helping him.

Izuku's training continue on over at the Dakoba Municipal Beach Park. Toshinori stood at a fair distance away, watching Izuku.

A text message is here! A text message is here!

The pro pulled out his phone to see what it is. His curiosity peaked when he saw it was from Qrow. He opens his message to see three pictures of Ruby. The first was of her nearly ten months back. She looked exhausted, but she grinned, nonetheless. The second was during one of her tasks. She was helping moving some boxes onto the back of a truck. The third and last one was a close up of Ruby, giving the camera a flex of her bicep. A very Yang pose.

Below the photos was a text.

Look who's been working her ass off for UA.

Toshinori felt a swell of pride.

"She's grown so much," he thought. "She's looking more like her mother every day."

Izuku placed down a cabinet he noticed Toshinori on his phone. There was smile on his face. He looked…happy. About what? A thought came to Izuku. A thought he had never come across before. Does Toshinori – All Might – have a family? Has Izuku been keeping Toshinori away from his loved ones? True, Toshinori is probably doing other things while Izuku is at school, but its probably more hero work.

"Um, All Might?"

Toshinori looks up from his phone "Hm?"

"Do you…have spare time?"

"Is there something you wish to talk about?" Toshinori asked, putting his phone away.

"Yes. I mean…no? I mean—" Izuku shakes his head. "What I mean to ask is do you have someone waiting at home? Is training me taking up most of your time?"

"Oh, no, nooo nononono, Young Midoriya," Toshinori assured, waving his hands frantically. "On the contrary, ever since my injury, I've been getting too much time. As for your other question, no, I don't have a significant other or the like. It's just me."

Izuku couldn't help but think how sad that sounded. The Number One Hero is all alone?

"I noticed you were looking at your phone. You looked really happy about something." He paled at what he said. "Not that you can't be happy! You of all people deserve to be happy!"

An amused chuckle gurgled from Toshinori's throat. He remembers the boy's notes on Ruby in his notebook. He has been debating whether or not to tell Izuku his ties with Ruby. "Remember that autograph I gave you?"

"Yes!" Izuku blurted. "And I'll treasure it always!"

Toshinori smiled at that. This kid really is a fanboy…even after seeing what's left of him. "I was curious about what you have written when I read the title, so I looked through it. First of all, amazing analyses."

"Thank you, sir!"

"And second, what really caught my attention was the third last entry."

"Third last…? Oh, that's Rose. Ruby Rose."

"Why am I not surprised that you remember that? But, yes."

"What about her? Do you know her?" Izuku asked.

"Yeah, I do," Toshinori answered. "I'm close with her folks, so I've known her since she was born. I guess you could almost say we're family."

"Whoa, really? Does she know about…?"

Toshinori shakes his head. "No, she doesn't know about One for All or the villain who attacked me. Well, kind of. The story she was told was that it was an accident, that I was at the worst place at the worst time. Additionally, she doesn't know that I am All Might. To her, I'm Toshinori Yagi. Or Uncle Toshi."

"Uncle…?" Izuku gasped when he remembered what Ruby had said. "Wait! You're the uncle she mentioned who works for a hero. That's right. Toshinori Yagi was All Might's private secretary. He started working for Might Productions a few years ago!"

"You really know your stuff. It's almost creepy." Toshinori inwardly added, "Creepy that it reminds me of a certain someone."

Izuku blushed and started fidgeting. "I guess I do."

"Anyways, after my multiple surgeries and being reduced to…this," Izuku felt a ping of sympathy with how his idol referred to his weakened state. "I needed to make use of my civilian identity, hence my secondary job as my own secretary. Although, I've been Toshinori Yagi to Ruby and her sister since…"

"Wait, if your Rose's uncle, then do you have any siblings?" Izuku asked.

Toshinori shrugged. "None that I'm aware of."

"Then why…?"

Toshinori closed his brilliant, light blues before looking towards the sky. "I was close to her mother. She was like a sister to me."

"Was?" Why was Toshinori using past tense? "Was she a pro too?"

Toshinori smiled fondly. "Yes. A mighty fine one at that. And the source of Ruby's inspiration on becoming a hero."

Ever the thinker, Izuku's mind starts to connect the dots. Whoever this person was, she was a hero and close to All Might. From the way the hero spoke, she died some time ago. It finally dawned on Izuku. "Wait. Is…Was Rose's mother Silver Line?"

Toshinori lowered his head, his bangs hang forward, as though they grew heavy. "She was. She died honorably just about twelve years ago, leaving behind her husband and two daughters. And before you ask, no I don't know how she died or who was responsible. Her death, even her mission, was a mystery that died with her. Not even her sidekicks knew."

"That's…heartbreaking," Izuku said, his voice cracking from sadness. "I'm not sure if I can say that I understood that feeling. I'm not exactly close with my father and I hardly saw him growing up, but he's still alive and a phone call away. To lose your mom and such a young age…that's…" If he were to have lost his own mother…he would be missing a major part of himself.

"Despite growing up without her mother, Ruby often tries to stay optimistic, always trying to bring smiles to other peoples' faces, even during hard times." Toshinori can't help but wonder if Ruby has taken after him on the vein of putting on a brave face so others would feel at ease.

"I wonder how Rose is doing. I went back to our meeting spot a few times before coming here, but I never saw her there. Not since April. I hope I didn't make her feel bad about what happen…"

"Despite what happened between them, he still sees her as a friend," Toshinori thought. "In some bizarre way, it's hardly any different from what happened between me and Sir Nighteye. In a sense, Ruby betrayed Young Midoriya by taking back her word about him becoming a hero. Regardless of that, Young Midoriya seems to have already forgiven her. He's already a better person than me."

"I am confident to say that Ruby is the kind of person who doesn't hold grudges towards the people she likes," he reassured. "And, from what I'm told, she's been working hard to get into UA, like you. And she hopes to see you again there."

That seems to have lifted Izuku's spirits. "Then, I better get back to work if I plan on meeting her there!"

"That's the spirit, Young Midoriya!"

Ruby had just helped an older woman with groceries when Blake and Yang walk up to her.

"Hey, Ruby," Yang greeted. "Working hard I see."

"Hey, Yang and Blake." Ruby notices they are in their hero costume. "Or should I say Golden Hearth and Belle Noire? You two on patrol still?"

"Yeah, but we'll be done in a few hours," Yang replied.

"We just wanted to see you first before we head back out," Blake said.

"I hope for the best of luck for you two," Ruby said.

"Aw, thanks, sis!" Yang said and grabs her sister by the head as Ruby flailed her arms around. "But, why have luck when have these guns?" She flexes her right arm.

Blake giggles. "Yang, you might wanna put those 'guns' away before you get in trouble."

Yang let's go of Ruby. "Yeah, yeah. Later, sis! Oh, and don't go thinking that we'll forget about cheering you on at the entrance exam tomorrow."

Ruby smiled. "Thanks, Yang. See you later too, Blake." Yang and Blake leaves. Feeling more motivated to get more done before the day ends, Ruby sets out to continue her training. I was nearly blue hour when she soon finished with her final tasks. She was going to go straight home but decided to stop by at the Lucky Phoenix Agency building.

It was somewhat empty, as the daytime heroes are heading home for the night. The heroes currently in the building now are underground heroes. Many heroes of the Lucky Phoenix knew Ruby, so they greeted her when she entered the building, some thanking her for taking care of the small tasks, showing their gratitude.

She then spots her uncle talking to Clover. The older man sees Ruby walking towards them. "You done for the day? Give me a minute while I finish up."

"You're not going out on patrol tonight?" Ruby asked.

"Nah. I gotta be at the school for the entrance exams."

"It's so weird. It's nearly the end of February and entrance exams are starting tomorrow. I thought they're usually in January. What's up with that?" Ruby asked.

"U.A. is probably Japan's most unconventional school," Qrow replied. "You'll see once you get in." His phone goes off, indicating a call. After seeing who it is, he answers. "Yo, Tai what's—" His brows farroed and his eyes widen. "What? Wait a minute, Tai, slow down. What happened?" Ruby and Clover exchanged glances. "…Okay. Okay, we're on our way! Just take deep breaths, Tai. Deep breaths." He hangs up. "Follow me outside, Ruby!" Without waiting for a reply, Qrow rushes out of the building. Ruby and Clover followed behind.

"Uncle Qrow, what happened?" Ruby asked as she caught up to her uncle, who stopped just a few yards from the building.

"Grab onto my back! We're going to the hospital!"

Ruby felt her heart stop. "Why? What happened? Is Dad okay?"

"It's Yang and Blake. They got attack while on patrol." Qrow looks over at Clover. "Clover…"

"I'll keep an eye on things here," Clover said, understanding the situation. "You go."

"Thanks. Ruby!" Without another word, she hops onto his back. Qrow then transformed fully into a human-sized crow and flies off. Ruby held on tightly, with only one thing in her mind as memories of her and her older sister, from when they were kids to recent moments. Yang, her older sister, who was a shiny sun to her cloudy days, who would protect her from bullies, who…was almost like a mother to her…she's at the hospital, possibly gravely injured.

"…Yang…"

After flying for a while, they've arrived at the hospital. They practically burst into the emergency room, where Ruby sees Blake lying in one of the ER beds in a room, her parents sitting beside her.

Blake then sees her at the open door. "Ruby." Just hearing her name had Ruby hurry over to Blake. She gently hugs her head. Ruby lets go, taking a hold of her hand, to see that Blake had her upper wear taken off, revealing her in her black bra and gauze wrappings around her waist.

"How is she?" Ruby asked hoping they'll tell her.

"She was stabbed," Blake's father, Ghira, answered. He gently brushes his fingers through his daughter's hair, just under her cat ear. "Thankfully, nothing vital was hit."

Ruby's grip on Blake tightens firmly. "Thank goodness." She noticed that Blake was quiet. Well, more quiet than she usually is. She looked deep in thought. "Blake?"

"Ruby," Qrow said from the door. His phone in his hand. His expression was lightly grim. "Come on. We need to meet up with your dad." He would've left Ruby to her own devices, but…

As much as she wanted to keep Blake company, Ruby's sister was in the OR. "…Okay." She turns to the Belladonna's. "I have to go."

"We'll pray for you," Ghira said as the girl went to her uncle.

"We're here if you need us," Blake's mother, Kali, said, her feline ears arch down. Her motherly tone gave Ruby a sense of ease.

"…Thank you."

Tai sat one of the uncomfortable chairs in the waiting room, just outside of the operating room, where his daughter is. He leaned forward, his elbows on his knees as his head rest on his intertwined fingers. The white walls and sanitized air brought back awful memories for him. He dreads the moment a doctor would come out of that door to tell him that his oldest didn't make it.

Deep in his thoughts, he could barely hear the words of the hero in charge of Yang and Blake's work studies, Batholomew Oobleck, or Doc.

"Unfortunately, we still don't know of the whereabouts of Adam Taurus, but we're safe to assume that he has left Musutafu," the bespectacled, green-haired, hero informed. He turns around to face the concerned father. "Don't fret, Flame High. We've already sent out alerts about the criminal. We will find Taurus and bring him to justice."

Tai lets out a shuddered sigh. He stands up to his feet. "…Thanks, Doc." He and Oobleck shake hands and Tai pats Oobleck's shoulder. "Good luck with the media."

"An unfortunate part of this line of work," Oobleck said. "I can only hope that I would merely get my license suspended." He adjusts his large glasses. "Now, I must go to speak with the Belladonnas."

"Right. Have a safe journey home," Tai said with a woeful smile.

"And you be sure to take care of yourself. Your daughters are going to need you," Oobleck said.

"That's not the first time I've heard that," Tai said as he reminisced. "See you later."

"Likewise. Good night." With a turn of his heel, Oobleck exits the waiting room, leaving Tai with his thoughts. The blonde hero sits back down into the same position as before as he tries to keep himself together.

He was taken out of his thoughts when the exit doors burst open as Qrow and Ruby hurried in. Tai gets back on his feet. "You're here."

"Dad, can you tell us what happened? What happened to Yang?"

...

I'm an awful person, lol.