Author's Notes:

Errgh… Animal Crossing…

Would you believe me if I wrote this a whole month ago? Yeah… I've been putting off proof-reading it because of the whole pandemic sweeping the globe, Doom Eternal coming out, Animal Crossing coming out the new FF7 remake and RE3 remake coming out in like a week. There's a whole bunch of video games just consuming my entire life now that there's not much else to put my mind to.

There's also my art too, so my writing's really been taking the back-burner. Just got into a couple of webtoon shits too, never thought I would have but here we are. Oh, and the new anime season's coming out with season 3 of Oregairu-

You see what I mean?

In any case, we're here now and if you're here I can only assume you have nothing better to do than read some fanfic. Who am I to deny you? Last time, Jaune feared the worst as Yang announced a game of Truth or Dare while Nicholas has a run in with a familiar(?) face.

Enjoy the chapter.

"It's been a while – hasn't it, Nicholas?"

Nicholas' mouth peeled upwards into something reminiscent of a snarl and stabbed the blade of his sword into the dirt. "Raven…" he basically spat the word out.

Raven's hand reached for her face before an audible click echoed throughout the forest they stood on. Midnight gloves grasped the white decoration, bringing it under her arm as the faintest grin came to the woman's face. "It's nice to see that you're as cold as ever." Slowly, her sight drifted among many of the bodies that lay unconscious along the grass. "And as sharp as ever. I would have thought getting shacked up might have dulled you a little. How is Juniper, by the way?"

"Don't act like you care about her; what do you want, Raven?" There was a low growl under his words and – while his overall demeanour was quite calm – there was no denying that this unexpected surprise was not a pleasant one.

"My, my," she cooed, leaning forward at the hip. Her voice was almost condescending and it brought up a bubbling feeling in Nicholas' gut, like when water boiled. Replace that water with acid the sentiment was defined fully. "I'll have you know I quite liked the woman when I first met her. She knew what she wanted. Feisty." Raven's eyebrow quirked, a light lit in her crimson orbs. "Strong."

If his dislike of the woman standing opposite to him, it was most definitely showing now as Nicholas' teeth flashed ivory.

Normally, Nicholas was a man of a reserved nature. Even if, once upon a time, he was once a boy filled with pride, courage and diligence – of which some elements faded as the years passed and he met certain people – he never did wear his emotions on his sleeves. For all his life, very little actually managed to get under his skin and make him respond in such a way.

But this woman – no, this indignant virago – seemed to be one of the only things to provoke him in such a way.

Perhaps, to put it in perspective, if Juniper brought the best out of the man – Raven Branwen seemed to know how to bring out the worst. It had been like that since Beacon. And despite it being years since their last face-to-face meeting, it was quite evident that she had not lost that ability.

However, people adapt. People change. People learn to combat the adversities that life mercilessly throw at them. Nicholas was one of those people. Face twitching, realising the shape it took, the ragged man folded his arms and regained himself – leaving his sword in the ground.

"You didn't answer my question," he reaffirmed. "What do you want, Raven?"

The dark-haired woman dropped her smirk, appealingly disappointed, before standing back up straight and putting her free hand to her black-skirted hip. "Hmph. Can't a woman visit an old friend?"

Old friend was laying it on thick. Thick like the amount of blankets his second-youngest daughter Lavender would wear during a cold winter day. But here, Nicholas saw his opportunity to strike; a phantom of a satisfied grin pulled at his lips. "She can. But only after she visits the family she abandoned first."

People adapted and changed. While Raven was able to get under his own skin, it wasn't soon after that Nicholas developed the very same skill to bite back. They bickered like wild dogs at Beacon and the sentiment was retained to the present day, it seemed. Quite ironic that she thought that talk about family would affect him the most.

Quite ironic indeed.

Any semblance of playfulness in her tone vanished, a venomous snarl of her own melting onto Raven's face as she spat in retaliation, "You don't know anything."

Crimson and cerulean met like clashing waves of the ocean. Nicholas pushed further, "I know enough. Taiyang was quite descriptive in how you abandoned both him and your new-born daughter." He scoffed; a bitter and dry sound. "But I'm sure it was all well and fine for your never-ending crusade for strength, isn't it?"

Raven's throat let loose a growl akin to a lioness. "He told you? That soft idiot. Didn't think he'd come crying to you of all people for comfort."

Quite honestly, Nicholas was surprised himself at the time. It was a normal day, he was back home from a mission that he had recently completed and was with his wife at the time. Back then, it was only Sapphire, Saffron and Coral – the latter two trying to walk around the cabin but failing miserably while Juniper held them by their hands. His personal scroll started to ring and, sure enough, the caller tag was one he hadn't seen for years.

A voice, hoarse and tired came from the other end – just wanting to talk. And like he said, his old comrade in arms told him everything. In excruciating detail. In ways, it made Nicholas feel as though he was going through it himself. That was part of the reason why his hatred for Raven rose to levels past simply a high school grudge.

Raven abandoned her family. To an Arc, family meant everything; it had always been that way for generations. Even if he took it in a different direction to his parents and their parents before them – Nicholas' family was worth his own life several folds over to him. The only way that he was ever going to abandon them was if he was dead. Though, he wished good luck to anyone getting that far.

But if family meant everything to an Arc, why did his own son choose to leave them behind without a word?

In any case, an agreement was made between the two to meet back up in Vale, to talk some more 'like good old times', he said. Of course, his loving wife gave him the go ahead, promising to look after the children like the amazing woman she was as he reunited with the man he would have called a brother, if only they had spent more time together.

Upon arrival, he later found out that Summer had put the man to action – encouraging him to express his feelings to more people to make him feel better. Nicholas did find it quite fascinating how the woman didn't immediately take her chance to bag the man he was so interested in at the time. It truly was a testament to her honest nature as a person.

Their little 'talk' became a bar outing, to which both Summer and Qrow were waiting with a table ready. It was a night of laughs, shots, catching up and more shots. Of course, Summer was instantly out of it but the more she drank the more violently excited she became. So much so that Taiyang offered to walk her home for the night.

The remaining two at the bar gave each other a knowing look at the time. What a night it was for him.

Nicholas' relation with Raven's brother was more complicated. While the man was essentially the complete and utter antithesis to him in all aspects of his character at the time, they shared a single trait that united them closely.

Their complete and utter hatred of Raven.

One due familial relation, the other due to pure dislike of the subject's demeanour. And while their bond wasn't as tight as, say, Nicholas and Taiyang – they knew how to share a drink and a laugh despite their occasional quarrels. Speaking of…

"Sorry, I didn't know it was such a sore spot for you," Nicholas said scornfully, sounding anything but apologetic as he brought himself back to the present. "How are the others, though?"

For a second, Raven's scowl lifted before she averted her crimson gaze and came back with one even fiercer.

Tilting his head forward slightly, Nicholas spoke again, "I meant Summer and your brother."

"I know-!" Her head snapped back to him, eyes wide and filled with a fury that quickly faded away as she took a breath – canines still on display. "I know who you mean." Raven sighed, as if still coming to terms with the information she was relaying. "Guess he didn't tell you that, huh? Summer's dead. Qrow is… Qrow's still blinded by his own moronic volition."

Wait. Nicholas paused, arms tightening in their cross under his chest. He felt his face twist in confusion. "Summer is… dead?"

"That's what I said. I tried to tell her, the absolute fool but… and now she's tainted my own brother's… ugh." Raven pinched the bridge of her nose, feeling an obvious annoyance at the topic at hand. The very topic she brought up in the first place. "Why am I even telling you this…? She whispered underneath her breath.

Summer was dead? That was news to him. Tragic news. Heart-breaking news. Nicholas' head tilted further forward, uncrossing his arms and feeling the sensation of his brows hardening. The woman that had once been so full of life and hope, no matter how naïve it may have seemed, was dead? Her infectious smile invaded the man's head before being washed away like sand in high tide.

Taiyang would have been absolutely miserable then, now with a lack of anybody to push him in the right direction. No wonder he didn't get the message and was only just now hearing of it. Qrow probably felt as though it wasn't his place to tell but feeling just as bad Taiyang – if not, worse. The poor man probably never even got to…

"Shit."

"Yeah, thanks," Raven noted dryly, overcoming the headache that had suddenly appeared. Her hand returned to her hip as a sour expression replaced the one of rage earlier. "You just want to tell me what you're doing out in these parts?"

She sighed yet again, and only then did Nicholas realise the faint stench of fine Mistrali wine in the air. Her hair was more of a mess than he remembered it and the bags under her eyes screamed for sleep. Nicholas came to a conclusion that made his eyelids rise ever so slightly.

Raven was a much more broken woman than she let on. It wasn't exactly clear, but perhaps it was because they had spent so much time together at Beacon and the few years after. She was tired and now her entire 'strength' thing seeming much more like a coping mechanism than the strict code of behaviour that the woman once adhered to so vehemently. Nicholas almost felt bad for her.

Almost.

While the sentiment of sympathy was present, his dislike for her past decisions shone darker than the light of the goodness within him. Raven didn't deserve sympathy, but it would only seem wrong to deny her the answer to her question – even to the cold and distant Nicholas who hated the woman with a passion.

Pulling Avalon from the grass with a slick sound of metal, another sound as steel met steel reverberated repeatedly as the azure blade was sheathed. "I plan to head for the West Mistrali Port to catch a boat, inbound for Vale."

A small quirk of the eyebrow for a tired, crimson set of eyes. Raven sustained the look for half a second before shrugging, content with his sudden cooperation. The smirk on her face returned, not as prominent as before but still present. "I hear that Beacon's just started a new year, you know."

"Is that so? That's interesting." Nicholas said, turning around and getting ready to make his way to where he needed to be. She got what she wanted, albeit in a very eccentric fashion, so there was no reason for her to peruse him any longer. "The boat is due for sundown. Meeting you once again certainly was riveting. Goodbye, Raven."

At least that's what he thought.

"Don't play dumb with me, Arc, I know what you're doing," the woman behind him scoffed, rolling her eyes. He ignored it, of course, calling it out as a bluff until she pushed. "Or rather, I know who you're missing."

The muscles under his eye jolted with electricity, causing them to twitch. Pivoting on his leather boot's heel slowly, Nicholas stared down the woman who held a more satisfied look despite his tone.

"What do you know?"

"I know enough," Raven quipped cockily, echoing his words from earlier. "I know that he's been missing for at least half a year. I know that he wants to be a huntsman. I know that he's probably at a certain school being run by a certain man that we're both acquainted with."

An urge to put a hand on the hilt of Avalon was repressed, desperate to draw out the dark-haired vixen's words further. Instead, Nicholas settled for a calm storm washing over his features, asking, "What do you want?"

"Straight to the point. If anything, I always liked that about you. Too bad it's also one of your worst qualities too." Her expression softened as she waved a hand. "Relax, I don't want anything from you." At his very skeptical eyebrow, Raven reinforced, "Really. In fact, I'm here to make an offer."

This definitely didn't sound very promising. However, to an Arc, family meant everything. He couldn't look for Jaune for the past year due to worrying about the safety of the girls and Juniper. Nicholas only left at this time because he knew Beacon started soon and because his son would be stupid enough to try get in – if only to prove a point.

But here an opportunity was. To get closer to saving the boy who had ran from them. His own and only son.

In the form of Raven Branwen…

"An offer? You? Doesn't sound likely."

Letting out a dry laugh from the chest, Raven clutched the mask under her arm just a little tighter. "Yeah, you aren't wrong," she agreed. "But I'm serious. I could just use my Semblance to get you there."

"Is Qrow in Vale?"

Her hair swayed back and forth as the woman shook her head. "It isn't to him." Nicholas' mouth opened to say something but was unfortunately interrupted sternly, "And it's not to Tai, either." Raven narrowed her eyes. "I can take you straight to him if you want."

A second of silence as the forest took the air of the conversation for that brief moment.

"I thought you're Semblance could only link to people you formed a bond with."

Obviously, Nicholas knew about her Semblance. Vice versa was true too, of course. It was only natural after spending so much time with each other's team. Granted it took quite a lot of prying but Qrow getting beat up for relaying the information was a worthwhile trade back then.

Narrowing her eyes, Raven sneered, flicking her head away. "I once trusted him with everything, you know." The volume of her voice dropped, but the poison failed to fall with it. "Biggest mistake of my life."

Nicholas mirrored her actions to a lesser extent. "Yeah. I know."

"Anyway, I know that you know that I know what's going on. And I also know you know that I wouldn't mind causing the old man some trouble." Looking him up and down, Raven gave a playful grin. "Even if it comes in a package that looks like you. So? How's about it?"

It was… tempting, to say the least. Raven didn't seem disingenuous about her offer, despite all of his scepticism. He could confront the man who seemed to know everything in the next minute if he so wished. All he had to do was say-

"No."

"Alright then," Raven said, putting her mask back on and reaching for her sword before pausing halfway through the action. "Wait. What?"

"No thanks, Raven." Reaffirming his decision, Nicholas turned his back on the red and black-clad woman to head towards the port on foot. "If Ozpin felt you use your Semblance and I came through it, he'd probably start trying to get me to talk you into joining him again." At his explanation, Raven paused, having seemingly not thought about it. "And I doubt you want to open up a portal to Taiyang or your own daughter to get me there either."

The two were in similar positions after all. While he didn't hold the exact same sentiment towards the man that Raven did – they had both done a certain thing similar that would no doubt have the gears in his head turning if he thought the two were somehow connected.

Nicholas wasn't willing to risk planting that seed into his mind.

Initial shock at his denial wore off and Raven yelled with a straight back and serious register. "You sure about this?"

"Of course I am." An invisible force pulled at a side of his lips, unseen to the woman behind him but calling over his shoulder anyway. "I'd rather die than accept help from you anyway."

"Tch," Raven scoffed, a mixture of bemusement and annoyance dancing on her features as she clicked on her mask and drew her sword to conjure a portal for herself. "Then, I guess it's your funeral."

We'll just have to wait and see, Nicholas thought. Because Nicholas Arc had many answers and one son to find.

And he knew exactly where to find them.

/-/

A sour taste was left in her mouth after that conversation. Nicholas was still a real piece of work. The years didn't dull his edge quite as much as she would have thought. And it really didn't help that he had a solid point that made her agree with his decision to basically reject her rare showing of generosity.

Having Ozpin suspicious of you didn't sound like a good deal, especially when his reputation with the old man wasn't as fragmented as her own.

Her crimson blade was pulled from the assortment stored within the mechanical sheathe at her hip, ripping open a tunnel between two segments of reality. Ash was at camp, so he would make the link possible. As soon as the portal opened, Raven knew he would feel a jolt within his very essence – taking into account that she had to figuratively grab hold the string, or bond, that connected them to make a connection.

When you put it like that, it wasn't hard to see why that stubborn, straight-laced blond that she despised all throughout Beacon didn't want her to make one to Ozpin. Gah. The very thought made her feel so stupid.

"Errgh…"

"Oh?" Raven paused midway through her descent into the portal, taking a look over her shoulder to view the form of Vernal slowly coming back to the world of the living. "Finally decided to wake up, did you? About time. Come on, we're leaving."

She didn't offer a hand. She knew Vernal wasn't expecting a hand. With her own strength, Vernal pushed herself up from her prone position with various groans and moans that Raven rolled her eyes to. Nicholas had knocked her unconscious but he wasn't the type to use excessive force where unnecessary so her struggle appeared to be babyish complaining to the woman.

With an eye closed half-way and one of her weapons clutched weakly while the other clutched her abdomen where she was undoubtedly struck, the girl spoke weakly, "…What about the others?"

"The others will make it back if they deserve to."

"But me?"

"Do you want a free ride back or not?" Raven snapped, a cheeky grin appearing on the short-haired girl's face in spite of her condition. She was even lucky the offer was being made, much like it was to the man she was thrashed around by earlier.

Vernal knew where the line was and took what she could get, evident by her response, "Yes, ma'am."

"That's more like it." One leg was put through the portal and soon, the rest of her body came through as well – swiftly followed by a limping Vernal who strained at the very motion of merely walking.

Reality shifted and morphed, an incomprehensible process as the two appeared out of the red and black gateway back to the tribe campsite. Open greenery was replaced with the hustle and bustle of non-unconscious goons, lackeys and thugs – every which one under the command of Raven – that were completing various tasks and jobs around the area.

A black heel appeared from the portal, stepping onto familiar soil and attracting the attention of a black and white-haired individual, dust covering his face and attire. "Oh? You back already, boss? How'd it go?"

"Shut it, Ash." Raven retorted to her underling's question, storming off into her tent and letting the flap open with a fierce swing of her arm.

"That badly, then?" Ash said to the other girl who managed to make her way through the rift in space their leader had created. It closed with an otherworldly sound, restoring reality to the way the gods had ordered it to be.

Vernal almost tripped over a large pebble as she stumbled her way in the direction of Raven and shot the camp's engineer a dirty look. "What do you think, idiot?" Tossing her weapons towards the apron-wearing man, he caught the bladed edge with his hands just before they sliced open his jugular as a flash of black and white shone on his thick gloves. "My weapons need a tune up, too."

Voice tinged with sarcasm, Ash placed the two boomerang disc-blades onto his workbench along the random assortment of various other metals while idly speaking, "Yes, ma'am."

Scoffing, Vernal stood back up and attempted to make her way to Raven's tent – vainly ignoring the various jeers and insults sent her way for getting her ass beat.

"Ma'am?" The girl asked, brushing away the tent opening and silently asking permission to enter.

It was granted with a dismissive wave as Raven removed her mask and placed it to the side, collapsing onto the floor cushion at the other side of a low-down table. "Sit," she ordered.

The other very much did, collapsing to a much larger extent than her boss – wincing. Her eyes widened at the sight and scent of fresh tea being scraping along the wooden surface and residing within an oriental-looking cup.

Raven poured one for herself afterwards, letting the hot liquid steam up as it splashed softly into the container below. As the liquid settled, she raised her head to see Vernal doing her best to take advantage of her rare hospitality and attempting to take small sips from the tea that she had given her.

One hand scooped the underside of the cup and the other held it stead as Raven took a sip of her own before locking eyes with her subordinate; silence overcoming the two.

"Ma'am." The one to break the silence was the more scuffed of the two, her tone forcing itself to be polite, even while in pain. "Could you explain why you sent us after that guy now?"

An eyebrow quirked upwards as Raven sneered, "You think you're in a position to ask for information after getting your ass handed to you back there?"

"But you said-"

Cutting her underling off before she could finish her point, the dark-haired woman placed her teacup onto the table and leant backwards, cocking a knee up and placing her arm upon it. "I know what I said," she confirmed strongly. Even stronger, Raven reiterated, "You didn't answer my question, Vernal."

Vernal looked away, somewhat shamefully and somewhat angrily – the memory of getting thrown around by Nicholas obviously not a pleasant one. "No, ma'am."

Her sneer became one of misguided satisfaction. Raven's shoulders twitched upwards as she chuckled, a sound that went unheard by anyone but her. "That's what I thought. Now, what do you want to know?"

Teal orbs made their way back to her own crimson pupils as an undeniable air of suspicion made its way into the interior of the decorated tent, her cup carefully placing itself down. As Raven's smirk dimmed, Vernal grew the courage to finally ask the questions that were plaguing her mind ever since she was assigned to the job. "Who was that guy?"

Eye contact was kept as Raven began to list off facts. "His name's Nicholas Arc. Same age as me, give or take. Got a family and lives somewhere in the middle of nowhere on the Mistrali frontier. I don't know if he still takes jobs but he graduated Beacon and was one of the best swordsmen of our year." Of course, not better than her – but a hell of a lot more skilled with the blade than Qrow. If it was a strict contest between technique, Nicholas would have – and did on multiple occasions – mopped the floor with her younger brother.

He never did get over the fact, even if that topic was never the topic of discussion whenever he decided to… 'visit'.

Without any thought, Vernal rubbed a freehand across her gut, "Felt like he knew exactly where to get me…"

"Yeah, well," Raven rose a palm upwards and shrugged, "He's had practise, you could say. Anything else?"

"Why did you even give us this job then?" While the girl's voice grew somewhat accusatory, Raven's gaze remained flat – even apathetic – as Vernal continued, "If you knew he was going to fuck our shit up, why even try let us capture him?"

Her tongue clicked against her teeth. "I just wanted to see if he dulled any over the years. Though, judging by the results…"

"I think it's safe to say the answer's no, ma'am," Vernal spat, the venom not really directed towards her but the offshoots of it landing in her area.

"If he got his shit handed to him, I would have just made fun of him and kicked his ass back out into the forest," the older woman admitted. "After all, if he got beat by you lot – he didn't deserve what I was going to offer him."

"Alright," Vernal conceded but very much not sounding happy with the explanation; sourness leaking from her words, "Why did you want him?"

Her own dark-red pupils hid themselves from view behind her eyelids – Raven's lips hardening into a thin line as she thought about how to answer the girl's question.

"Ma'am?"

They snapped open, content with the resolution they found. "That man's son has been missing for a year – give or take."

It took a second but Vernal shook her head in disbelief, a confused pull of the cheek making one eye smaller. "Why would you care? Aren't you supposed to be a…" Raven's look essentially dared the injured girl to say it.

She did.

"A bitch?"

This time, an audible chuckle left her mouth. "At least getting completely pulverized didn't weaken your spirit any." Raven did like that about the short-haired girl. She liked that about most people. A strong spirit was worth a lot; she would argue more so than a strong body. Though, having one without the other was completely worthless in her eyes. Crimson orbs found themselves onto her teacup, watching the steam rise into the air as she spoke, "It's because my brother… my brother's responsible for his disappearance."

"You mean the one who keeps coming over to the site so he can bug you about 'coming back', or whatever?"

Rolling her eyes, Raven settled the query, "Yes, Vernal, that one." Her look became more serious, as if reflecting. "My idiot brother with his stupid ideals and brainless, misplaced loyalty…" A soft sigh left her lips. "His son's disappearance is because of my brother and, in a way, it made me feel responsible."

Her feeling responsibility? She knew how ironic that was, how deeply ironic indeed. But just her brother being the source of another's worry and suffering? Raven couldn't stand it. Perhaps it was them having to grow up in such a horrid way that made her feel so attached but Raven couldn't throw away the actions of her brother and not try make them right.

She was ruthless warrior but what was a warrior without honour?

Nicholas didn't know the whereabouts of his kid thanks to dim-witted brother and his idiotic philosophy, creating trouble for someone he would have called his friend and not even letting him know. And while Raven could very well just open up a portal and teach Qrow a lesson, she didn't want to get too involved; she instead settled for allowing Nicholas do the work himself faster, as it was the most she was willing to offer.

In any case, the two owed each other much more than they cared to admit. Being such tight-knit teams back in Beacon held unforgettable experiences between the both of them.

But Vernal wasn't content. "What did he do to the kid?"

And Raven wasn't in the mood anymore. "Finish your tea and get out. Go… rest or something, I don't know; just stop asking these stupid questions." She had used the word quite a lot but it was the general sentiment towards the subject at hand. Stupid. Completely and utterly stupid.

Narrowing her eyebrows for a moment, the girl nodded and drained the liquid from the cup in a single chug - not daring to push her boss any further than she was willing to be pushed. She stood from the cushion and exited the tent with the sound of fluttering fabric, leaving Raven with her own thoughts.

It's not like she thought the kid was weak, or even dead – even if it was at the mercy of her brother's horrid track record of incidents. He was alright but Raven would be hard pressed to admit that he was all right. What that entailed was much more complicated of a concept, resulting in Raven pinching the bridge of her nose in annoyance.

Those cloudy blue eyes of the young boy resurfaced in her distant memory.

Her mouth twisted into an ugly growl. Damn it, Qrow… what were you thinking back then?

/-/

Spinning round and round and round…

Man, Jaune really didn't want to be here right now.

The bottle in the middle of the room was a hypnotising green spiral that prophesised the unbecoming of the poor teen. It reminded him of simpler times. Of simply traumatising times involving things such as pony tails, dresses and various other womanly items of clothing and/or usage. His sisters never did take a break when it came to the game of darkness incarnate: Truth or Dare.

Spinning round and round and round… the green glass bottle landed on its first victim.

"Ren…" Yang slammed a hand onto the carpet, the words coming out slowly - drawing them out for the devilish incantation they were, "Truth or dare?"

Sure enough, the glass finger pointed itself towards the boy with vibrant pink eyes sat literally right next to him. "Truth," he said softly. A single word that could end your entire life, Jaune thought. Ren's bollocks truly were made of Remnant's hardest of materials.

"Are you and Nora… a thing? Like, for real, a thing?" The blonde asked accusingly, lilac orbs switching between the two.

"Yang…" Pyrrha said lightly, as if annoyed that her partner would intrude on such a topic in front of others.

"Pyrrha…" She retorted with the same intonation, rolling her eyes. "This is Truth or Dare; we can ask whatever we want. It's like you never played it before."

At her justification, Pyrrha seemed to draw her emerald gaze away for a moment before renouncing her reprimand, "Well, if they're alright with it, I guess it's fine…"

"We're together," he started – inclining his head forward with a good-natured smile.

"But not… together, together, you know?" Nora finished, seeming bashful about the topic.

A long groan came from Yang, "You guys keep saying that but what does it even mean?"

"I'm sorry. Yang, but I don't believe it's your turn anymore, Ren said with a hidden smirk adorning his features. A wave of silence washed over the two teams before they all erupted in jeers and cheers in his favour. Even Blake attempted to cover her laughter behind the cover of her book.

"Ooo, sis, you just got Ren'ed!" The smaller girl next to Yang said, nudging her older sister in her ribs before her hand was pushed away angrily.

Nora was in a similar vocal mind-set, yelling at the blonde, "Yeah, get some! That's what you get for asking things that are none. Of. Your. Business!" The ginger straightened herself before quickly adding, "Not like there's anything to hide, or anything anyway, so…"

Giving the teen next to him a solid pat on the back for his rare usage of words, Jaune smiled. Maybe this won't be as bad as I thought. Weiss seemed impressed at Ren's, admittedly, pretty sick burn – nodding her head appreciatively at the boy's pure slaughter of the intrusive blonde while Pyrrha attempted to console her partner to little effect.

Yeah, these guys weren't going to be ruthless in the sense that his sisters were. Nor would he be the odd one out or the focus. Tonight wasn't going to be that bad, right?

Taking in all the praise with a calm demeanour, Ren waited for the volume to die down to a chatter before spinning the bottle to decide its next victim. It went around once and twice before landing on Weiss, who was wide-eyed and seemed to not really know what to expect next.

"Truth or dare, Weiss?" asked the dark-haired boy.

Giving it deliberation, the snow-haired girl seemed to think hard about the choice. A little bit too hard. To the point where Yang had to complain audibly to everyone, "Weiss, there's – like – two answers. Just pick one already."

"Don't rush me!" Weiss snapped back before folding her arms and deciding with her eyes closed. "But if you're going to pressure me, then I guess I pick dare."

"Someone's trying to look brave…" Yang whispered behind her mouth, volume more akin to a loud hiss from the throat – earning the laughs of everyone present.

"Am not!"

"Then, I dare you to let your hair down for the entirety of tomorrow," stated Ren seriously.

"That's a good one," Ruby admitted, squeezing the dog pillow in her arms slightly tighter before taking a glance at her partner.

"Hmph," Weiss scoffed, a proud look appearing on her face. "That will be easy. Though, it makes me wonder how one can fight with their hair down like that." She brought her hair around her shoulders, running her hands through it slowly. "Would it not get in the way?"

Three girls – black, red and yellow in hair colour – met eyes in sync. "You get used to it," they all said in unison.

Weiss' fingers wrapped itself around the green object before letting it rip in rotations around and around. Her eyes flattened at the sight of who it landed it on. "Yang…"

"Hit me with your best shot, Ice Queen," the taller girl said confidently. "Gimmie a dare."

"Who's trying to look tough now…?" Weiss muttered under her breath whilst trying to think of a punishment to match the crime of her previous humiliation.

Looking to sister, Yang nudged her side with an elbow, "Difference is, I don't have to try."

Ruby started to giggling freely; the snickering between the entire group spread until Weiss' raised finger silenced them all. Coming back down and to the side, the end of it looking down onto the pillow-hugging girl who was staring down the finger – crossing her silver eyes to do so.

"Eh?"

"Yang," Weiss said, not directly looking at the girl she was speaking to but instead her dark-haired sister. "I dare you to tell all of us an embarrassing story about Ruby."

Yang began a low laugh, "Ohohoh… it'd be my pleasure…"

"Wait, what? How is this fair? Why me?"

Her questions and queries went answered by Weiss who looked at her partner with an offended tone to her voice. "You deserve it for unjustly making fun of me."

"What?!" Leaning forward, Ruby's face came closer to her partner as she complained. "That was Yang's fault! And everyone laughed!"

With a childish grin, the yellow-maned girl next to Ruby started, "There was this one time back on Patch, where we came from, when Ruby went to school – forgetting that she was wearing anything but her cloak." Ignoring the "Yaaang…" being hissed by her side, she continued, "Dad was out on a job so Ruby thought she could stay up all night to show how much of a big girl she was. We were just walking when suddenly, at the gate of our school, a particularly strong gust of wind blew past and…" Lilac eyes danced across the circle. "Well, you can guess."

"Yang, please…" Ruby moaned to the side, attempting to shield herself from the many looks of complete and utter looks of incredulity from everyone present.

"Oh, really?" Jaune picked up the story, a familiar feeling rising in his conscience as Ruby buried her crimson face in the stomach of the soft pillow she held between her arms. "I don't think I can, Yang. What did happen next?"

A toothy smirk came back in full force, an understanding between two older siblings despite one not knowing about the other's family. "Woosh!" To emphasise, Yang threw her arms up into the air, "There it was, for the entire school to see! Her cute, little Beowolf undies that she loves, oh so much. Keep it a secret between you and me – this was, like, ten years ago but she still has them to this day."

"Oh my gosh, Yang, why?!" At full force, Ruby launched her pillow into the face of her sister – a direct hit that had the older girl flat on her back with an 'oof' and adding to the resounding laughter between everyone. She next extended her arm wildly towards Jaune, to which he rose his arms in defence as she shouted, "And you! What was that for?"

"Maybe you'll think twice before laughing at the expense of others next time," Jaune answered back with a smile, enjoying the moment for what it was. Of course, the irony wasn't lost, earning the smile of Blake who once again tried to hide her amusement behind her book.

"Stupid Yang, stupid Weiss, stupid Jaune…" The youngest girl in the room mumbled.

Jaune himself knew that Ruby was actually two years the junior of everyone else at Beacon, she kind of just blurted it out when they first met and walked around mindlessly before Ozpin's speech. Though, it wasn't really a secret due to her smaller stature (excluding Weiss) and overall mannerisms being quite different to the rest of the team. Not in a bad way, either. It was just that there was a big difference between being seventeen and being fifteen – so much so that one could tell the two apart if they were put to the task.

Ruby came forward on her knees and reached for the bottle. "Just for that, you aren't having a turn anymore. How does that make you feel?"

"Go for it, Rubes," her sister encouraged, chucking the pillow lightly in Ruby's general direction. "All yours."

Grumbling quietly, she spun the bottle – the open end landing towards him.

"Truth." At his answer, the silence followed made tension build up in his stomach. "Have mercy…" Jaune begged sarcastically earning a few chuckles from around the circle. While he said it sarcastically, the boy really did not want to have to do something embarrassing for helping Yang achieve her goal of making Ruby as red as her cloak.

Much to his relief, Ruby folded her arms in a very Weiss-y manner (yes, Jaune considered that to be a way of describing an action now) before harrumphing, "Puh-lease. I'm not that petty. Hm… what about that?"

"Huh?" She pointed towards his ear, the dangling metal accessory reflecting what little light the room had to offer. "You mean this?" Both hands were brought to his years, fiddling with the earring to get it off. Two fingers held it so that the crooked cross was upright – the steel of the surface meeting Ruby's metallic orbs.

"Yeah…" Ruby squinted a little, trying to get a better look at it. "Where did you get it? It looks kinda familiar…"

"Now that you mention it…" Recovered from the dog-shaped projectile that was thrown at her earlier, Yang put her hand under her chin and examined the earring much like Ruby was.

"It's just a gift from someone important to me," Jaune confirmed – putting it back on and not enjoying the sensation. "I wouldn't be the person I am today without him, so…"

"So he's a complete ass?" Yang quipped, making Pyrrha push her playfully in a soft way of telling her off while the rest of the room tittered quietly.

Strangely enough, Jaune was the one who was laughing the loudest. "Don't worry; he is. The biggest ass you could ever imagine." Earning a few more chuckles, it was Jaune's turn to spin the glass bottle of doom and destruction – noting to himself that this was quite a bit less destructive than he was thinking it was going to be.

As the bottle span around, the blond might have guessed it was because they were more respectful of each other's boundaries, at least to an extent. When you had contenders like Coral thrown into the mix, you dreaded who would land on the other end of the spin. She was always the most twisted and screwed-up of the bunch, and she would happily admit that. It certainly was mirrored in her literature, that was for sure. Hazel and Jade weren't much better either.

At least Amber's were always really sweet or easy. Her truths were questions like 'how much do you love me?' (to which everyone reminded her that wasn't how Truth or Dare worked) and her dares were always 'give me a hug'. Jaune missed the honey-like adorableness of his youngest sister.

In any case, the bottle neck craned towards Nora, who looked at it excitedly with a wide smile. "Ugh, finally," she groaned. "Dare! C'mon, Jauney!"

"Well, Nora seems very… invested." Eyebrow raised in intrigue, Weiss noted idly to the rest of the group.

"Nora has a strong-willed and competitive spirit," Pyrrha went on to explain on behalf of her teammate. "Is that not right, Ren?" As the boy nodded, the crimson-haired girl inclined her head to the side freely, "See?"

Weiss still didn't seem very convinced that it was simply such, and neither did Jaune, but he had the willingness to find out just how strong-willed Nora was. Gathering cans of soda around him, Jaune tossed one to Ren, Pyrrha, Yang and Ruby – each one catching the object with a variety of expressions.

With a purple-labelled can in hand, a smile crept up onto his face as he cracked it open with a sharp hiss. "You think you can down five soda streams at the same time?"

Her teal eyes widened. "Can I?! More like can you aim them? Because if the answer is yes, bring it!"

Muscles tensing to push himself up, Jaune heard Pyrrha speak worriedly as she did the same. "Are you sure that this is safe?"

She yelped slightly as Yang punched her arm slightly, her fist coming into contact with the bare skin on the literal redhead's shoulder while she walked past. "Safe? Yeah. Tidy?" Over her shoulder, she gave a shrug. "Nope."

"This doesn't sound like a good idea…" Pyrrha lamented once again, the feeling of social pressure pushing her towards the small pentagon surrounding the standing Nora, gob open wide – standing a few heads below everyone else, making the entire process seem quite easy (much to her obvious concern).

"You were the one who complimented her will, you know," Jaune pointed out – preparing the grape soda can at arm's length above the awaiting ginger.

Through some unknown force, Pyrrha's own arm was matching Jaune's in height, slowly followed by the other's as Ruby stood on her tiptoes while using the dog pillow from earlier as something of a footstool. Even like that, she appeared to struggle immensely.

"Yes," Pyrrha admitted somewhat bashfully, "but I would feel awfully bad if any if the drink got onto her- oh my gods, it's already happening!" True enough, they had started without her express awareness; five streams of multi-coloured, fizzy liquid flowing from sky-high into Nora's mouth.

And, fair play to her, she was downing all of it like a damn champ.

Yang began to chant a drinking song that Jaune had heard once or twice before, prompting him to join in the lyrics. However, the melody was simple and recognisable that others were content with just clapping along or humming to the shanty as the small girl continued to down litres of fizzy pop.

As the last note was hung onto, the remaining drops of soda fell into her mouth and – with a final gulp – Nora released the beast within: a mighty, forceful, absolutely horrific burp from the depths of her soul. It ripped apart the very air, to the point where a fruity-smelling wave had Jaune covering his face with his elbow to mask it out.

The culprit froze for a second, before shrugging her shoulders and chuckled unapologetically. "…Whoops?"

Breaking the disbelief in the room of the pure animalistic energy within the tiny girl, Yang just nodded her head in appreciation of the fact. "Nice."

Disbelief shattered, laughter soon broke afterwards.

Intense relief in her face and arms, Ruby panted heavily as she dropped her can weakly, "That was awesome, Nora! Hold on, lemme get my breath…" The reason for her exhaustion was leaning towards the fact that she had to constantly stretch herself to match the height of the others rather than due to laughter, seemingly.

Even so, Jaune was halfway curious, halfway still in a teasing mood. "Too high, Ruby?"

"No!" She defended instantly, prepping her arm back to throw the pillow that was still under her feet. Realising this, she reached under her to remove it and regretted doing so as it removed what few inches in height it had to offer. "It was not. If anything, you're all too way too tall…"

"Don't let Weiss hear you say that," the blond boy added before heading back to his place in the circle.

The gods of comedic timing must have been smiling upon them as Weiss shot her head up. "Hm?"

A hand was waved dismissively as Jaune quelled her concern, "Don't worry about it, Weiss. Don't worry about it."

"Why are you looking at me like some… miserable creature?"

His mouth pulled back into a smile, eyes closed and all. This actually wasn't half bad, Jaune convinced himself. Everyone seemed at ease, taking in the atmosphere and just enjoying the moment. There was no worrying about the future. No worrying about what Fate or Destiny could have in store for you. Simply just fun. The purest kind.

All this in mind, all Jaune could say to the confused girl was: "Don't worry about it."

/-/

The rest of the night went off without a hitch.

Dares and truths got more intense as time passed but nothing that surpassed the displeasure of the orders and instructions of his sisters. The worst he probably got was when Ren dared him to quote-unquote: "Confess your undying love to Yang".

Now, it was no secret at this point that the two had a pretty shaky start and things weren't exactly smooth-sailing between them but in the heat of the moment and the adrenaline of the dare was enough to set Jaune off on a crusade. On his hands and knees he started to list things that may or may not have been true about the blonde girl and how much he wanted to go out with her.

Jaune wasn't the smoothest of operator, at least when it came to girls, though it was all a game, and everyone knew it, so it wasn't the hardest thing in the world. He started to renounce all of the things that his sisters loved to hear – her flowing hair, captivating lilac orbs, her outgoing and get-going attitude. Again, it was all just Truth or Dare.

That's what he thought, anyway.

It actually proved to be quite effective when he looked back up to the girl, her face in an embarrassed flush – red adorning her cheeks, staring at Jaune with her mouth open wide. Ruby rolled around on the carpet, tittering like an out-of-breath fairy and Pyrrha – who was sitting on the other side of Yang – covered her mouth with her hand in surprise.

Bringing his gaze around the room, people were either in shock or losing it at Jaune's very well-put together confession. Weird how the person who seemingly had the most experience in the romance department was so easy affected by praise and adoration.

The entire ordeal concluded with Yang, concisely express her disinterest in an aggravated manner – still seeming a little hot under the collar, giving him a very similar effect. It was a game, damn it! Blake teased Yang, seeming very satisfied doing so, if any repressed urges and resurfaced due to his words – making Jaune shoot his partner a "oh, for the love of everything light and dark, please stop" look.

Thankfully, the blonde folded her arms in a huff and reinforced that Jaune was still an idiot.

Fair enough, Jaune would say.

A close second was when Nora dared him to admit who he thought was the most attractive. That one was hard. Not because he didn't know who to say but more along the lines of he didn't really know how to say it. In the end, a mixture of truth and basic survival instinct came out with his answer.

"Pyrrha," he said at the time, not really meeting anyone's gaze due to his fear of looking like an even bigger of a dork than he already appeared.

Pyrrha was undeniably one of the most gorgeous girls he had met in his life. If he had a gun to his head, Jaune would have admitted Weiss – seeing as though she was more his taste – but the boy had just had something resembling a heart to heart with her; it would be weird just to come out and say that afterwards.

Then again, this was Beacon. Every single female you saw walking down the corridors was like an eight out of ten at worst – and that was no exaggeration.

Reactions were, again, quite varied. Understandably, Pyrrha started to glow brightly, hiding herself while her partner and Nora began to tease and poke at her. For whatever reason, Ruby began to clutch at something in front of her, air it seemed, as she looked back and forth between herself and the older girl. Weiss did much the same, much to his confusion.

Blake was uninterested, continuing her book while Ren held a mysterious smile on his face – admiring the scene unfolding in front of him. Strange.

"Hey, Jaune, it's your turn; spin it already." Yang reminded him. "Huh?" Her gaze darted to his hands, only just noticing him reading something on his scroll. "Who you texting? Family?"

Bluish-eyes reflected the light of the device before it was put away, a sad essence clouding his pupils. "Yeah," said quietly. "Something like that, I guess."

"Well, whatever. Spin it to win it, baby!"

"You got it…" For what felt like the umpteenth time of the night, Jaune let the bottle rip. Every set of eyes followed the bottle, the end landing on the exception to that statement. Now every set of eyes tracked the next victim.

The girl right next to him.

Her luminescent amber orbs peeked over the top of her book. "What?"

Putting a finger to her chin, Ruby noted to the side, "I feel like Blake has somehow avoided being picked for Truth or Dare for, like, the entire night…"

"It certainly seems that way," added Pyrrha.

Quite helpfully, Nora decided to whisper very loudly, "Kinda like she's invisible."

"Okay…" Turning his head back to Blake, Jaune thought carefully for his move in response to either option the raven-haired girl would choose. "Truth or dare, Blake?"

Blake folded the edge of the page before closing her book with a heavy slap of the hardback. It fell onto the carpet with a softer sound as Blake leaned on a hand with her bare legs saddled to the side. "Truth," she said – directly to the point.

Somewhere across from him, Yang faux-whispered "boring…" but Jaune took a breath, sure that she would be singing a different tune in a second.

"Have you ever killed someone before?"

…

"…What?" Weiss was the one to speak out – arms folded and eyes bewildered.

"Yeah…" Yang was next, shifting slightly and scratching her shoulder. "Gotta admit, that came out of nowhere."

"Jaune?" Metallic orbs widened and meeting his own. They wanted to know what exactly was going on.

Perhaps it wasn't the best course of action but, being this deep into the hold he dug, there was no point in backing out now. The words came out easy, like a river. "Hey, it's a game, you know? It's not like the answer's going to be yes, right?"

Mouth coming down in a slight frown, Ruby tilted her head cautiously, "That's true, but…" Her head fluttered wearily to her dark-haired companion. "Blake?"

Blake gave a quick look to Ruby, her shining silver eyes basically pleading her for an answer, before meeting his own gaze and replying, "No. Of course I haven't."

Letting out an awkward laugh, Jaune scratched the back of his head – letting the stiff tension in the air ease with his own dismissal of the subject. "Right? You know, in my head, this was a whole lot funnier…"

Ren patted his back in a pitiful and playful manner, a soft smile on his features as Yang deadpanned, "Yeah. Because death is absolutely hilarious. Nice one, man." Flickering her lilac pupils to Blake, she added, "Spin it, girl. Your first truth or dare of the night, get a little excited."

A complicated mixture of emotions flashed across her face as she leant forward for the bottle. "Depends on who it lands on," Blake said – twirling the green bottle along the carpet once more.

The conversations continued as the bottle landed on… someone. Jaune wasn't paying attention. He was trying to prevent the sweat on his brow from hitting the floor; trying to keep up the mask – the forced smile. To the majority of the group, he was certain that his sudden question went forgotten as the game continued. To the majority.

Even if he could feel the unease of a dark air around the room, feeling for his face and body. The soul of another wondering. Questioning. Racing.

Blake was lying.

/-/

"Rumour has it you and me are getting transferred."

"For real? Where to?"

One masked individual turned to the other, placing down a crate of goods into an organised pile before answering, "Vale, I hear. Something about working with new forces."

The one who was sat reclined back, legs spread forward with their arms back. He appeared to stare into the forest canopy, laying eyes on the sky where it would let him. "Boss' been a little different lately, don't you think?" He hummed.

From their standing position, the other figure sat down – back against the crates he had laid down prior and replied, "You think so?"

"Mhm. After the Belladonna daughter disappeared. Asked him about it."

Somewhat interested, the one by the grey, industrial looking crates looked more intently as he pushed, "And?"

Snorting, the answer came out somewhat distasteful, "Told me she wanted to spend time back home in Menagerie with her folks, after giving me the sharpest of daggers first. Hell, thought I was about to actually get stabbed myself."

"Yikes, dude. Adam's a great leader 'n all but you do not want to get on his bad side."

"Don't have to remind me; I won't be forgetting anytime soon," he laughed lightly before coming forward and crossing his legs. "He seemed to really like her – the Belladonna girl, I mean."

"Good riddance, I say. Her parents abandoned the cause. The apple doesn't fall too far from the tree."

"Seems like it," the other agreed before lowering his voice to just above a whisper. "Just don't let the boss catch you saying that."

Rolling his eyes behind the porcelain ornament, the other drew a finger down one of the eyes. "Did you see his mask? It down the left slit for some reason. He probably repaired it, but you can see a faint outline."

"Huh? No, I haven't. Maybe it was after he broke up with the Belladonna girl."

They shared a laugh. A laugh that lasted all but two seconds before a loud ringing began to chime across the wooden walls of the forest. It came from atop the branches, a figure crouched low and staring at his trouser pockets in calculated disbelief. A cacophony of hard drum beats and shredding guitar runs.

It ended with an annoyed beep. "You've got to be fucking kidding me…"

"Hey!" One of the masked men shouted, pointing upwards into the under canopy while his companion reached for his weapon in a scurry. "Who the hell are you?"

"I swear, if it's Ozpin I'm going to actually kill him."

A blur of tattered red and silver patterns flashed down under a rain of viridian petals from the branch it had once perched itself on.

/-/

"I'm going to kill you."

"Come now, Qrow," the voice over the line soothed, "we both know that isn't possible."

"Might not be but I can still damn well try."

Ozpin chuckled softly, the tone not any less wise or comforting over the device within the huntsman's hands. "Well, I won't stop you, though I do have a final request."

Because of course he does. Because of course he would ask something else of the poor, poor man while he was still on an information gathering mission from the very same person that was now trying to giving him another task.

Standing over the bodies of two unconscious White Fang members, Qrow rolled his eyes and focused on what Ozpin had to say while surveying the small campsite. "Go on then, Oz, hit me."

"As you know, the new academic year to Beacon has started." Qrow hummed in response, squatting down and rummaging through the contents of the crates with his scroll tucked in his shoulder. "And there is a certain student that you seemed to personally recommend who has started along with it."

The huntsman pulled out a case, seeming filled with vials for the sole purpose of dust extraction – looking at it with intent and then decided to throw it over his shoulder. Qrow stood up straight, taking the scroll in hand and answering, "Did I? I just said he'd be at Initiation." Pulling a face to no-one in particular, he added almost worriedly, "He did make it to Initiation right?"

"Yes, Qrow, he did. Passed, in addition to the fact."

"Phew," Qrow sarcastically wiped the imaginary sweat off his brow. "Scared that all of my work had been for nothing for a sec."

"See, that is where my request lies," tone growing more prominent in the only way a man like Ozpin could make it.

"I'm not going to like this, am I?"

Chuckling, Qrow could tell how the man over the scroll leaned forward into his chair with his fingers interlinked as the other reassured. "Maybe you will, friend. Maybe you will."

/-/

As it turns out, the reassurance was for naught. The greying man pressed the quick-dial contact under the name: "Bozzpin" (pretty clever, he thought) and tapped the edge of his shoe on the ground expectantly. In the time he had to mull over the decision brought onto him, Qrow was able to dispose of the two Fang members and wrangle up the evidence that Ozpin probably wanted to see – all of it laid out for the pictures he had taken.

He was relieved to hear Ozpin's voice on the other end for a change, glad to know that he wasn't ghosting him like he was ordered to do to James. "I take it you've come to a decision, then?"

"Yup," Qrow agreed, popping the 'p'. "For the record, I don't like the idea – but what's the harm, I guess. Long as you're under control-"

"Qrow, when am I ever not under control?" A brew of an offended register and a playful one made its way over the scroll.

"Guess you got a point. I'll leave it to you, Oz. Oh, and I'm going to be sending over some evidence over the secure line – make sure to take a look at it."

The voice on the other end hummed in acknowledgement. "I will, thank you, Qrow. They say roosting season is on the horizon, by the way."

"God damn it…" Stupid Ozpin and his dumb code language. Did he have to link it to birds, for fuck's sake? "I get it…" Qrow sounded defeated in tone, even if he was internally somewhat glad.

"Ta-ta."

Like that, the conversation was cut with a short and sweet click. Qrow sighed, taking the scroll from his ears and changing the application over to the messenger one and tapped away to send the pictures of the dust-extraction gear. There were tons of it. Like, literal tons, really. A pretty large scale operation, it seemed. And in Vale?

Ozpin was sure to be interested.

Finished with that, Qrow backed out of the secure line and browsed over his contacts lightly – specifically one just below the top one, the most recent one, under the name "Kid3" and just above two contacts, both named "Kid1". His finger dragged across the screen before tapping once.

"Yo. Little birdie told me that there's something going on in school. Would appreciate you doing a little work for me. I spy with my little eye, something gathering from shadows. Might not be available. Free to go to head. –Crow"

He tapped out as quick as he tapped to read the message he sent. Without out any doubt, it would be read loud and clear and understood just as well.

But, despite that, Qrow just wanted to know what the hell Ozpin was thinking.

Ending Notes:

Just what exactly is he thinking, Qrow? You and me both.

Our first appearance of Qrow in the present timeline! Hold your applause, one of you might somehow combust into flames due to the kinetic energy. Only before getting struck by lightning, of course. Yes, the unluckiest-luckiest man in the world is working for Ozpin (woaah) and is still in Mistral (woaah). Ozpin and his unnecessarily cryptic ways of relaying messages, too.

Wonder where Jaune's question suddenly came from. They were enjoying a nice game of Truth or Dare, for goodness sake. People these days. I actually quite enjoyed writing that fun little segment in the middle. Writing inter-team antics is a real treat, honestly. Fun and cements relations. Or getting them closer to breaking. Either or, really.

On the topic of Raven (because I think some people may not agree with her chain of reasoning); she is an older sister. A mother too, but focus on the former for now. While she can rant on about how she cut the ties of her past for strength, that just isn't the case, is it?

Her Semblance remains active, meaning that the ties that hold them together remain. She can never truly sever them. Whether it's a technicality of her Semblance, where once you make a bond its permanent, or a technicality of her mentality – the point remains that the relations remain. Hence, she may still feel responsible for the actions of her idiot little brother. I imagine them to have grown up in quite a rough background, making the two think that the only ones they could rely on were themselves and each other. Is it a headcanon? Undoubtedly. But it is a headcanon I like.

I could delve deeper but I don't want to pad out these ending notes. Instead, I'll leave you with the reminder that STRQ and Nicholas' team (name not revealed) were, in fact, sister teams. Ask yourself what that means.

With the entire pandemic sweeping the globe, I do urge you to keep yourself safe. Keep yourself healthy, too. Wash your hands, etc. – you've heard it all before, just make sure you actually adhere to professional advice.

As always…

Thank you for reading this chapter!