Ruby Rose was, well, an oddity to be sure.

She was an optimist, but no longer naive as she had once been. She had a family, but chose to continue working near danger. She had access to an honestly insane level of wealth, but still worked a demanding position. She also, apparently, carried around a set of coins which made stand-ins for tombstones.

"I mean, more or less tombstones, I won't bother you with the Patchian name. Each one is from someone who died, or given to me by their friends." some weren't strictly friends if Cinder read these names correctly. Her collection included several enemies as well. "Here, this one is Roman Torchwick. And this one is the original Penny Polendina." Ruby knew those two would be relevant to Cinder, she likely wouldn't know the names of those less involved in their years-long struggle.

"So, how does this answer my question? It's certainly a strange kind of impressive. A bit macabre too, being honest. But how does" Cinder gestured at the displayed collection " this explain how you manage to deal with everything and not have a bottle hidden in your desk."

"Because every one of these coins is a story that never got to see its happy ending. Some were Grimm, some were stupidity or just plain disease, some were you. These kids are still working on puberty, so as much as I hope I'll never have to carry their coins - and because I met them there's a chance I might - every lesson that sticks with them and saves their asses is one less weight on my belt."

"That's… Honestly I can't tell if it's selfish or noble."

"Mostly selfish. Guilt and loss led me to some strange places, making the first coin helped me find my way out. It became just another routine eventually, helped to remind me just who was behind me; who had given everything they could."

Cinder had a blank look on her face at that. She wasn't sure if she should be impressed at the apparent cynicism the ever optimistic woman apparently held, or annoyed that somehow she hadn't been the deciding factor in finally breaking the cheery outlook.

"I hate you, I've not made it any secret. You hate me too, I'm sure. So why do any of this? Why tell me you have a collection of mementos from dead comrades, some of which are dead because of me. Why offer me amnesty just to come here and torture you more than I already have? What possible reason could you have to still try and be remotely nice to me, after all this? I've asked your friends and family, they gave answers more informative about their own feelings. Which means you're either incredibly good at hiding your intention, or you don't know yourself." Cinder was practically panting from her tirade. She had stood from her desk and leaned over it like a predator about to pounce.

Cinder Fall. You haven't changed a bit. It's been decades, and you still refuse to believe that someone can be nice for niceness' sake. That damnable village wasn't a prison, it was your time-out corner. You were sent to bed without dinner. Because even now, you can't help but throw a tantrum when the world is confusing.

Ruby hadn't even leaned back during the rant. She had instead reached into her bag and removed what appeared to be a heated container for food. She leaned calmly at her desk as she waited for Cinder to calm down a bit.

"Well, before we get down to the meat of… that. My ever-loving family packed more than enough food for an entire team of students, let alone just me. Would you care to join me for some-" she opened the cooler and foil, looking inquisitively at their contents. "-Ohhh, Weiss made fajitas; chicken, and fish too! Man, you'd think they know me or something."

She chuckled a bit at her own joke, before turning her attention back to Cinder. "So, Want some? I always have extra in case a student or two wants to use the 'benches during the period. You're more than welcome to head over the cafeteria if you like. I won't be offended, just stuffed."

Infuriating. That was the word that encapsulated everything Ruby Rose was. She somehow took the most stressful, in-your-face moments and worked through them like she was… born… into… them.

Fuck.

Cinder was, more or less, the driving force behind her greatest enemy. Her actions had catalyzed the schoolgirl from naive freshmen, two years out of place; into the terror which haunted her dreams even over the literal immortal queen of the Grimm. Sure, maybe the desire to stop Cinder had come from another source, but her decisions and plans had been what Ruby had worked to stop.

Cinder's epiphany that she had created , and then utterly failed to destroy, her own worst enemy. It maybe broke something inside of her. Some small shred of resistance to this whole crazy situation was finally ripped away like a bandage improperly applied, and finally being checked over by a trained eye. Ruby Rose was Cinder's foil because she had been forced to be so, or die.

"Well. If I can read your face as well as I think, I owe a few people money. Have some of the fish, we have this amazing seasoning mix from Menagerie." Ruby slid a package of foil - cute - over.

"I'm going to guess you just figured through why I owe you a bit too. In a pretty loose sense of the word."

Owe me? For what, leading her down a road to war in the middle of puberty?

"You, Cinder Fall, are one of many reasons I am who I am today. You did some heinous things, killed several of my friends; usually right in front of me. Killed plenty more people I can't even count or pretend to name. Really it was mostly killing. There's some semblance of stealing in there too, but that's not exactly connected. I don't think you've raped, pillaged, or plundered per-se, but you did take out a warship or two." Ruby was calmly eating her food, almost playfully twisting in her chair as she listed off a seriously long list of crimes and acts that should have led Cinder to some kind of permanent end.

"But to answer your question. No. I don't hate you. I did once, but that was years ago. I was hormonal and stubborn and angry and scared. I definitely hated you, back then. But I also hated my mom for being dead, and classes for being on Mondays, and peanut butter cookies for being filthy liars. You've hated me for, what, Twenty years? Hows that working out for you? Jaune was the same way, trying to kill you for like, a year. Didn't lead him good places, just straight into self destruction. Multiply that and, I guess we end up right here. Point is, hatred is for teenagers and those who refuse to grow past it."

Cinder was not expecting this kind of roast if she was being honest. Ruby had never seemed the type to have a speech like this ready. She had readily shared her food before though, back at beacon.

It was a team-leader-only workshop in the woods, survival or team building or some other nonsense. Cinder had tried her hardest to get out of the pointless waste of time, but it had been mandatory for all team leaders; regardless of broken bones, sickness, or class. So naturally, she had failed to pack adequate food for the two day event, due to the last minute nature of her scramble. Ruby had shared a pitiful offering of Oatmeal and scavenged berries for breakfast, followed by a collective feast made from the remaining food from the rest of the attendees for the final lunch of the trip.

She had apparently never grown out of the habit. Cinder had also never grown out of the habit of needing food to survive. Terrible fate, really.

"Now, as for the rest of it. That's pretty easy" Ruby continued between bites of her own tortilla-wrapped fish. "None of this is about me. Or you. Not really anyway. We're just the best ones for the job." Bite, chew, swallow.

"Kids need training, you and me and the rest of the staff are the best of the best." Bite, chew, swallow. "Doesn't matter if we hated each other or been invited for the wedding, it's not about us anymore." Cinder finally worked up the nerve to eat the food offered. It was delightfully spicy, with a pleasant lemon zing, and a scattering of onions, mushrooms and peppers in separate containers, should she choose to add them. She might need to get the recipe. Her decorating skills may have been lacking, but cooking? That she could do.

"You and me. We're living our 'Happily Ever After.' Unfortunately, yours didn't sound very happy. These students though? The generation they represent? They haven't even reached 'Upon' yet. So it's our job to make sure they're ready once their stories really start. Also, for the record, it was partly Blake's idea. It's hard to forgive the things you've done, and I don't think I can ever forget that you did them. But holding onto that doesn't help me, or you, or the students." Ruby clearly believed that. She had likely made a similar speech to Mercury and Emerald. So, with her point seemingly made, she returned to the food in front of her with a gusto someone a third her age might devour ice cream.

Cinder then, was left in the lurch. Or ' left in the lunch '... Dear Salem, I'm becoming Xiao Long. The food was delicious and filling. Though problematically, she still felt a pit in her stomach after finishing what was more than enough for one sitting.

As the two spent time in food-induced silence. The door to the classroom opened, allowing in a pair of students. A hulking faunus with white fur and an equally small boy with pinkish-silver hair. "Oh. Wuz, Pat, what can we help you with?" Ruby didn't miss a beat, bringing a bit of food with her as she moved to greet the two.

"Oh. Professor Rose. Thank you, but uhh, we need Ms. Fall's help. Sorry."

"Not a problem at all. Why else do you think she's here? To eat all my study food? Well. Maybe a little. But can you blame her? CINDER! c'mon over, these two need some semblance-ing"

The students were actually seeking out her help? She supposed it shouldn't have been surprising, but it was only the second day of classes. She had thought there would be some gap at least. With nothing actually keeping her from doing so, Cinder left her desk and empty foil package behind. "What can I help you with… Wuz?"

"um, yeah, Wuz. Short for Wuzseir. You had my younger brother Fusson earlier. Most people call him Fuz. Behind me is my partner, Patrun; team Periwinkle. We're second-years. When we took this class, Mrs. Rose didn't have anyone who could help me out with my weapon, but I managed some improvements with the Catalog and watching recordings. But I heard there was someone this year and I could really use it. See, I've gotta grow my weapons from wood, and I can do that easy enough when I'm… " he continued on, leaving Cinder to think about both how to solve his problems and her own issues with the woman happily munching on some pastry back at her desk.

The revelation of how Ruby felt was… enlightening. The woman had clearly spent time and energy coming to terms with working with people she didn't see eye to eye with. She had made a decent argument too, the future of the population depended on these students being good enough to solve the problem of Grimm.

But left Cinder with a very important question still: Why would she even care about the next generation at all?

She held no stake in their wellbeing. Had no children, or friends with them. She didn't have a tie to the world after her death except in the form of a chunk of melted sand on another continent.

Cinder wasn't an idiot, she wasn't going to spend her days ruining the world for them- At least not anymore -But she had no real reason to help them. She was only here, in this classroom, because the other options the Deal offered were the 'death' equivalent in 'cake or death?'.

Maybe she could learn to care about the students, but that would take time. Until then, Cinder would be operating under the fear of getting sent back to her corner while she tried to do something she had never managed in her life. Even for herself, being honest.

Cinder Fall would have to love.

She was terrified . Also relaxingly well fed. Maybe a little cold; she would bring a jacket tomorrow.

But mostly terrified.