Some more Team SNOW coming at you! Last time some of our team got into some trouble.

We haven't even made it to Beacon yet and they are already causing a fuss!

-0-

If the Shoe Fits

Naomi soaked her face with more water, making sure to avoid her sensitive ears. As much as she wished the water was warm, the cold sending shivers through her tail, the cold water soothed her worries.

It was supposed to be a simple job. As a test run, pilot the bullhead that would pick up the master thief after his robbery. Naomi had done worse before, so she thought nothing of the clean robbery.

When you live on the streets for long enough, your hands were bound to get dirty.

Naomi knew she was going to be dealing with a huntsman, but she was not expecting direct confrontation. At least not this soon. She could fight. She could hold her own. Against a huntsman though? A trained warrior, especially one that could apparently control the world around her with her mind.

A shiver made all her hair stand up. She wiped her face off on a towel before walking back into the main section of the warehouse. She was so glad this warehouse had a bathroom in it. It was an odd feature but it made her thankful.

"-Didn't know you could be so useless!" Emerald growled at the resident thief who was relaxing on an old gray couch with several tears in it.

The thief shook his head, "Look, I filled my end. I got in, robbed the place, and got out. Its not my fault that a huntress showed up too much at the end. Plus I didn't see you there at all, so what do you know"

Emerald crossed her arms over her chest, but smirked. "I know enough not to get defeated by children"

Roman jumped up, "Now listen here! I was not defeated, little red just got lucky is all. If I had better men then I-"

"Children" A soft but powerful voice broke through the yelling. Cinder walked through the backdoor into the large room. "I leave you for two minutes and you're at each other's throats."

"I'm just making sure this petty thief knows his place, Cinder," Emerald smirked, trying to suck up to Cinder.

"The pot calling the kettle black" the resident thief remarked, turning Emerald's smirk into a scowl.

Cinder looked annoyed at the interplay, but didn't comment on it. She glared at Naomi standing there with a blank stare on her face, and smiled.

Naomi was thinking. Did the thief actually fulfill his duty? I mean sure he did rob the shop, but in the end nothing was actually taken. Some was used, but none of the products actually got back to the hideout.

Back in the streets of Mistral there were thefts everyday. Naomi herself knew that when you were starving and had no money, you stole. If you were caught, you ate as much as you could before they beat you senseless, if not killed you….on that she was lucky.

In her thoughts Naomi didn't realize Cinder had swayed over to her. "You should have more sense, like Naomi over here" Cinder spoke slowly shutting Emerald up. "While you two bicker she has been over here, analyzing the situation. You do not think, you obey. She...does both."

Wait, she was what? That was news to her.

Emerald was glaring daggers at Naomi. She was probably jealous of the praise Cinder had willingly given out. Naomi was no fool, she knew that Emerald had feelings for her fiery leader. Roman just shrugged it off, content with his lot in life.

Cinder pushed past Naomi, brushing her shoulder with a small amount of her heat, "You all could learn something from her". She walked towards the far side of the warehouse a visible smile on her face, "Now, we have work to do"

Emerald quickly caught up to Cinder. Naomi saw the boy, Mercury on the other side of the warehouse door waiting for his master.

"Well then" Roman threw himself back onto the old couch. "Guess that means we're in business." Naomi saw a small girl appear out of thin air and give Roman a large cigar. Roman took it and lit it, flicking the end at Naomi, who was still standing there. "Well, what are you waiting for, golden child?"

….. "You both are thieves and I don't have a plan" Naomi said.

"Got that right" Roman quipped, taking a long drag on the cigar.

Naomi looked at the time. It was late, and she still needed to prepare. Now that she had proved her worth, it was time to get to work. Initiation was not far away.

-0-

"Are you sure that I can't get my one phone call? This is a police station."

Ozpin stopped for a second before opening the door the rest of the way and walking into the room. "Hello Shiro, it's been a log time hasn't it?"

The boy was leaning back in his chair, with his legs over the table. Trying to look calm? Maybe.

"I knew that you'd probably come Ozy, since I am already a registered Beacon initiate. Doesn't hurt that my father works for you."

Ozpin took a sip of his coffee. "You are the last one here. The other two have already been released, though Miss Rose seems to be waiting for you outside of the building." That got a reaction. "Maybe you would like to talk, so you can accompany her home?"

The boy seemed to straighten up. He took his legs off the table, almost falling over in the process, but kept his poise as he swung his legs underneath the table. He looked businesslike. "What do you want from me?"

Ozpin sat down, took another sip on his coffee, and replied slowly. "I simply want the truth. I've seen many people with power go rouge over the years. Go from good to bad to something else entirely, but never from one in your position."

Shiro frowned, "That's because I haven't done anything wrong, unless saving a shopkeeper is now a crime"

Ozpin pulled out a piece of paper, "On the contrary, according to Miss Arc you were… 'harassing an old man after knocking out his well dressed compatriots' as well as 'making the old man cry'. What is the truth in that?"

Shiro rolled his eyes, "The suited men were the bad guys and the shopkeeper was crying because his shop was broken into. What she saw was me helping the old man back onto his feet.

"Well from her perspective she would like nothing more than to see you in chains" Ozpin said before taking a sip.

He'd get Ozpin for that, "And I told her that was kinky, you don't see me complaining" Shiro said with a smirk.

Instead of being surprised and spitting out his coffee like Shiro wanted, Ozpin stopped drinking. "Why do you antagonize her so? She was trying to save someone she believed was in danger"

"Well she failed. She attacked the wrong guy, terrified the shopkeeper again", the boy rolled his eyes and said it slowly, annoyance clear in his voice. "And because of her, the men that were already down were able to get away!"

Ozpin sighed. The haste and arrogance of youth. Yes, young Miss Arc was in the wrong for attacking. She needed to think before advancing, but could this boy see he was no different? Antagonizing someone who was trying to help an innocent only left bitter feelings in the mind. This was what he should have expected from Qrow's son he supposed. The apple did not fall far from the tree.

"To blame it all on one person is not the best course to take. You fought back, you antagonized. She may have seen you in a different light if you had just talked to her." Ironic as it was in his memories. Ozpin had made mistakes in the past, but he had learned from them, or a least he thought he did. There were other ways of fighting. Not all battles waged had to be done with swords or guns, those done with diplomacy were harder, but all the more necessary for the survival of the human race.

Shiro put on an expression that resembled his father when something foolish happened. "I didn't need her. I work better alone anyway. It's how I was taught, its how I was trained, its how I am."

Now he sounded like his father. Ever since Summer's….disappearance, Qrow had been insistent on being his only spy. More information needed more people, that is one thing that became abundantly clear in his multiple lifetimes. Shiro wouldn't understand that though, or care even if he did.

"That may be so, but if that is the case then why do you want to go to my school? At my school you will work in teams of four, as is tradition. You will learn the value of teamwork and responsibility to the people. If you can't understand that, Mr. Branwen, then you're better off not becoming a huntsman at all."

Ozpin thought that would snap Shiro out of the funk he was in, but it didn't. Shiro rolled his eyes, "As long as they don't get in my way, then I guess they're fine. I mean I have fought with Yang plenty. Someone like her, well, I can get along with them."

"Yes, your cousin Miss Xio Long is also going through initiation, isn't she? But what are the odds that you two will be together? There are plenty of applicants after all."

Shiro leaned forward and squinted his eyes. "Did you just tell me you will purposely keep me apart from someone I already work well with just to spite me?"

Ozpin hid a small smile. "Certainly not. The process is all random I assure you. I am just pointing out that you cannot rely on the small group you already know. You will find new people, some you may like and other who you may not. Either way you must learn to work with both parties if you wish to become a huntsman."

"Right, right, sure….Can I leave now? You said Ruby was waiting for me"

Ozpin nodded, and as soon as he did the teenager was up and walking towards the door. Ozpin waited until he was opening the door, because advice at the right time always held more value. "A word to the wise Mr. Branwen" The teen didn't turn around, but he did stop. "You will be younger than most of our applicants so you might not know yet, but destiny is a funny thing. Do you believe in destiny?"

A pause was noticeable before the boy pushed his head down. "No, I don't"

He shut the door, leaving Ozpin alone in the room. It was sad, but understandable. To feel so young and invincible. That would be taken out of him soon enough...it always was. Ozpin could try to tell the people of this new generation, but nobody ever listened. He went to take another drink of coffee. Another miracle had happened, a great and terrible one.

He ran out of coffee.

-0-

"I don't know what to do Qrow! Its my little girl! I'm not ready to give her up yet...even if she is ready."

"Uh huh, yea" A very tired Qrow was heard over the scroll

"And what if she gets hurt! As a father I'm supposed to protect her when she can't protect herself."

"Right Tai, sure. I'll finish it in the morning..." A loud yawn could be heard from the other side of the scroll.

"You aren't even paying attention are you?" All Tai heard in response is some murmuring. "Qrow!"

"Wha!" The sudden yell seemed to have worked better than Tai expected. It sounded like Qrow fell off something. "Ugh, what's happening?"

"Qrow, can you hear me?"

"And now the wall is talking to me. Hello wall, why do you sound so much like Tai?"

Tai turned on the video on his scroll to see a very confused Qrow staring at something, what Tai assumed was the wall. "Ha ha Qrow, now pick your scroll back up, I'm trying to rant here."

Qrow actually jumped and grabbed towards his scythe when Tai spoke again, but upon seeing him on the scroll relaxed and picked up the scroll. "Sorry, I'm used to talking to the walls, but I'm not used to them responding to me..." Tai just gave him a look. "Anyway, what did you call for?"

Tai could feel his anger burning. The anger that was focused at Ozpin and the...situation that he put Tai in was now redirecting. "I've been talking to you for at least fifteen minutes!"

Qrow scratched his head and yawned, "No I would remember that, I'm sure. Have to have a good memory to be a spy after all"

"No, you need a good memory to be a good spy. Nobody ever accused you of that."

"Well at least you got that right." Qrow took his flask out of his shirt and took a long swig, stopping when the flask ran out halfway through the drink. "Man, out of juice"

"We both know that wasn't juice, and what are you doing drinking at one in the morning!? Can we get back to the real issue here?"

Qrow seemed to ignore him, "One in the morning? Damn, I slept in"

"I should have never called you in the first place!" Tai was going to shut his scroll when Qrow spoke again.

"Listen Tai, we've already had this conversation. Ruby is ready, even if he is young. Just be glad that Yang and Shiro will be there to help her. Okay, gotta go."

Tai saw Qrow click the scroll before he disappeared into a black screen. "That….complete and utter….he was listening to me the whole time!" It was bad enough when he got a call that his daughter had been in an incident. It was even worse when instead of coming straight home, he got a call from Ozpin talking about Ruby and Shiro being detained at a police station.

When they finally came back he quickly tried to get the story out of Ruby, but she was bouncing off the walls. Shiro looked like he had turned into a ghost, even his hair seemed whiter than usual. The story came out, then it was time to worry.

His little girl on her own so soon? Even if she is as strong as her mother. Summer left and never came back. He would not have Ruby do the same! Ruby would go, if he didn't let her then she would disappear and reappear at Beacon without his say so.

Yang would help, but wouldn't be enough by herself.

-0-

A small blade clashed off of a larger one. A small blonde haired girl was thrown off the larger sword. The smaller girl flipped in the air, jumping back towards her opponent, using her smaller size as an advantage to slip underneath her opponent's guard. She took her dagger in her right hand, pushing the back of it with her left one. To win it only took one strike. Only one strike!

"Sir we have not been able to find him in the mansion" A man dressed as on of the groundskeepers said running into the room.

There was a gust of wind around her, and suddenly her opponent, her father, was gone. She felt a pressure behind her. Could she dodge it? No, it was too fast she can't….

A pressure pushed on her back, sending her crashing into the floor harder than she'd ever expected from him. She felt the air push out of her lungs. She felt the aura around her shatter when she touched the floor, and the pain as her joints popped against its surface.

"Did you check everywhere in the mansion?" Her father's tone was normal, but it had a darkened tone to it she'd never heard.

"Sir, we have checked and double checked. We've even checked the old catacombs underneath the house. If he is anywhere, he is not in the mansion, but-"

"But he could still be on the mansion grounds? Have you not checked that?"

She tried to move, but her body felt slack. She wasn't in any pain anymore, but as she moved she could feel some of her joints pop back into place. She fought through the pain, like dad had taught her. She knew a moan slipped out of her mouth.

"Sir the teams haven't gotten back to me yet, so he could be, but its highly unlikely that he stayed here. He has never been gone this long. Is there anywhere else he could have gone?" The guard questioned.

She could feel her father's anger, even if he acted levelheaded, she could tell he was furious.

"Find him, whatever it takes! He may be my only son, but no son of mine steals from the family!" Her father said calmly but with power radiating through his voice.

"Sir!" The man shouted and snapped his feet together while putting a fist on his chest. He ran out the door a determined look on his face.

"Were you talking about brother?" She managed to get up onto her hands and knees. It made sense. Jaune had been….distant, since Westlyn left for Beacon. More depressed, but also with a steel in his eyes that she had never seen. He was still his goofy self, if a little more depressed, but his eyes, those eyes.

They reminded her of father.

"Crystal, I am sorry, I forgot you were here." He dropped his hand for her to grab.

She took it as she got up. She was tired, her aura was broken, and she had defiantly lost the bout. "So was that about brother?"

"That is none of your concern. What is your concern is your footing. You did well with reacting to my attacks, and I can see your perception is getting better, but you have a long way to go."

While she knew that he was deliberately changing the subject, she still couldn't help but preen at the praise her father gave her. "I may have lost today, but someday I'll be the strongest one in the family, and I'll even defeat you father! You have my word, and an Arc never goes back on her word!"

Her father smiled and she swore she heard a small chuckle, "You will my daughter, if you keep growing as you are. And someday when you are older, I will look to you for protection. You and your sisters."

"Is that true?"

"It is what I foresaw with my semblance. When I crossed my blades with you, I saw you protecting your mother. That tells me much about your future. I am proud to call you my daughter."

He patted her head. Most people would see it as demeaning or childish, but not her. Her father had strong hands, rough from the training he went through and the missions he took in the field. Even with aura, your body adapted to your environment. Somehow though, his hands were always warm. Like a large heating pad want put onto her head.

"Now run along. I have other matters of which to attend"

She smiled, "Sir!" She said imitating the groundskeeper before she turned around and ran off giggling.

It was fun, just another day in the manor. She wanted to play but she knew she would feel better after a good shower and her aura came back. She passed the open door to her father's office. There were two people in the office looking at the empty case above the desk. Did father take down the family sword for cleaning? Bah, boring! All she wanted to do was wash up as fast as possible and then play! It would be funny if she found Jaune in the mansion before the groundskeepers could.

Her life was great, and nothing could change that.

Everything was great!

-0-

A/N: "Don't worry next chapter will come out on Thursday" -Early July

….I may be a little late XD