I'm gonna be honest. I did not think that what I originally thought out as a little side project/idea would be so well received. Many thanks to all of you.

. . .


. . .

There are many oddities in life. They're simply things that cannot be explained in any way, shape, or form. They're just strange occurrences that happen to some poor lucked individual at any random time. Or a very lucky individual, depending on the circumstance. Hence the name, oddity.

A prime example would be walking into a room and forgetting why you were there in the first place. Another would be knowing that you forgot something while being unable to remember what said thing was. A third would be waking up with a severe case of amnesia, befriending a prince and princess, fighting in wars as the head tactician of said wars against innumerable odds and winning with scarcely any casualties, fighting off and defeating a city-sized dragon that could destroy worlds, and suddenly arriving in an unknown world.

Granted, the last one was an exception, and should anyone be thrown into such a situation, they wouldn't have been able to come out of it unscathed, much less alive. Fortunately, Robin was no normal person. Sure, he had a few scars that marred his body, but that was expected of any veteran fighter.

Other than that, he was a survivor. One that faced the danger head-on, saw the death of millions, both by his hand and by the enemy's, and had countless close calls with Death. Capital 'D' Death, not the lower case. Turns out, Death was an actual being, and was someone - rather, something Robin never wanted to meet again. One encounter was more than enough for a hundred lifetimes, even if it was on a more…not-hostile/not-here-to-take-your-life sort of encounter. It is how he got to Remnant, after all.

As a survivor of multiple wars, he earned many titles. One such was a title that he earned on the battlefield through extensive use of his magic. And not magic as in mundane parlor tricks that entertained children and the like, but true magic. Spellcraft. It was a power that could call down devastating bolts of lightning from the heavens, cause geysers of molten rock and lava to erupt from the ground, and create powerful tornadoes that ripped apart the very earth. A power that could literally reshape the land itself and would bring nightmares to cartographers across the world.

And it was this very power that Robin was using to dry a small stack of plates and cups.

'How the mighty have fallen,' Robin thought to himself, allowing himself a small smile. 'I wonder how the kids would react if they saw me using Spellcraft like this. One would most likely join me - actually, scratch that. I'm pretty sure she'd line them all up and see how many she could dry with a single cast of an Arcfire or something, while the other would probably just give me a frown. Like always. From whom did that kid inherit the frowns from, I wonder? '

The shop's door suddenly burst open, killing his train of thought.

"Hey, mister! We're back!"

"Ruby, have some consideration for the others!"

"Eh heh heh, sorry!"

"Oh relax, Weissy. There's no one in here."

"Do not call me that!"

"There is someone here, Yang, and he's staring right at us."

"A-Ah…"

And indeed he was.

'Quite reminiscent of the kids that came from the future,' Robin thought to himself as he dried his hands. 'They'd get along well, should they ever meet.'

. . .

"A-Ah…uhh…" Yang raised her arm and sheepishly scratched the back of her head. "H-Hello, Robin."

"Good afternoon, Miss Xiao Long, Miss Rose, Miss Schnee, and Miss Blake," Robin kindly greeted with a smile. "How are you four doing today?"

"Not bad," Blake answered for her team as she took a look around the store. "Nice design."

The interior of A Shepherd's Rest was a drastic change from how it looked before it opened. The walls were a rich purple in color with streaks of gold running diagonally through in a criss-cross pattern. The floor made of polished ebony and the tables and chairs were of the same wood.

Despite the color palette being composed of darker colors, A Shepherd's Rest did not feel unwelcoming at all. In fact, there was almost a regal yet homey feel to it.

"Blake?"

Curiously enough, there were two distinct patterns of gold on the east and western walls. One was a simple rose with seven petals while the other was more…puzzling. It was a teardrop in the center of a slightly more rounded version of the letter 'U' with three outward protrusion on the ends and bottom.

Although Blake had no idea what either of the designs were, they must hold some significance to Robin if he placed the large designs on the widest walls of the store, especially since the two symbols were etched onto his shirt's pocket.

"Blaaaake."

"Huh?"

Blake blinked as she looked around. She was the only one standing in by the doorway while the rest of her team was already seated at the same table as last time. Yang and Ruby were staring at her, with the latter's brow furrowed in concern, while Weiss was chatting up a storm with Robin about the color scheme of the room.

"Finally out of your daze. You gonna sit down anytime soon?" Yang grinned as she lightly tapped her hand on the seat next to her.

With a curt nod, Blake glided over the table. She was slightly irritated at herself for having zoned out so much that she couldn't even hear Yang and Ruby when they called her. She was a cat faunus, for Oum's sake! Her hearing should be many times better than that of a human, yet she was unable to hear the voices of her team.

"Will you four like the same thing as last time, or would you like to try something else? My menu is not the same as it was pre-opening day," Robin said as Blake sat down.

"I'll have the same thing!" Ruby chirped, her eyes shining with anticipation. "Oh! And a hot chocolate, if you have it!"

"I would not dare call A Shepherd's Rest a cafe if I didn't have hot chocolate on the menu," Robin retorted, but there was no malice in his voice. "One Sweets Thief and one hot chocolate for Miss Rose, anything else?"

"I'll have the same thing as last time," Weiss said, strumming her fingers on the tabletop.

"Same here," Yang said, raising her hand.

"May I have a menu?" Blake asked, and Robin nodded.

"Of course."

Robin pulled out a menu out of thin air, catching all of them by surprise. There was nothing in his hands a second ago. His clothes, which consisted of a dark grey button up shirt and black pants, didn't seem to have any pockets large enough to hold a menu the size of her head.

"Wooooaaah, are you a magician?" Ruby asked, her eyes wide.

Robin merely gave the girl a smile, one that neither confirmed nor denied Ruby's question, and handed the menu over to Blake. The menu felt real enough, despite its mystical origin. Unlike the previous menu from their last visit, this menu had a lot more options with a matching color scheme to the store itself; a dark background with gold print. There were the standard drinks that you could find at any cafe, such as lattes, cappuccinos, and the like, but there were also quite a few with unique names that made no sense to Blake.

'There's more choices for tea than I thought,' Blake admitted to herself, reading a few of the names. 'This one here is called Azure Duke, Golden Belle, and one called…' She looked up at Robin with a curious eye. "…Unseen Ghost?"

The smile on Robin's face didn't leave as he simply motioned for her to keep reading. Blake looked back down at the menu. Right below the name of each tea was a short description of the items - a flavor text of sorts.

"Unseen Ghost is a tea made of crowberries," Robin explained as Blake's eyes skimmed the text. "By itself, crowberries aren't exactly something you want to eat due to their acrid taste, but I was able to work around that and make it into something that's pleasant to the tongue."

"Oh, I'm sure you would know what's pleasant to the tongue, handsome," Yang said with a sly grin.

"I think I'll try that," Blake replied, ignoring her perverted partner and how her team leader's face turned into the color of her namesake.

"Would you like a Sweets Thief with that? Contrary to the norm, I assure you that the Sweets Thief will not overpower the taste of the tea nor any other drink that I serve, as you may have noticed from last time," Robin said, and everyone but Ruby nodded in agreement. She didn't get a drink, after all. "And with that, I will start working on your orders."

"Actually, a question, if I may." Weiss suddenly leaned forward, peering intently at Robin.

"If it is within my ability to answer, then I shall gladly comply," Robin politely said.

"It's more of a curiosity, really. Why are you working in a coffee shop?"

Robin's brow furrowed in confusion. "Beg pardon?"

"Not very nice of you, Weissy," Yang whispered into the heiress' ear. "Kind of a cold question, if you ask me."

Weiss' eyes widened as she realized how thoughtless and brusque her words were, and she hastily raised her hands in a placating gesture. It was a drastic change as to how she first acted towards the shop owner during their first visit, and it was something that Blake noticed.

"I-I didn't mean it in a bad way!" Weiss hastily added. "It's just that - " She paused to take in a deep breath and collect herself, and the red on her cheeks died down a little. "As you already know, I'm the heiress to the SDC, and as such, comes the bearing of class." Her eyes darted up and down Robin's person. "You carry yourself in a way that, pardon the vanity in my words, rivals me in posture, speech, and mannerisms."

Robin closed his eyes and nodded in understanding. "And you believe me to be of a noble descent or a high-class citizen, I presume?"

"Correct. Are you to say that I am wrong?"

Another nod. "As sound as your reasonings are, I am afraid that I was not raised as a member of high class or society, nor do I have any ties with someone of such standing, barring you yourself, here in Remnant," he said.

For a moment, Blake saw a change in Robin's eyes. It was such a minute difference that it was nearly unnoticeable, but there was a deep longing and pain behind the pools of hazel. The look vanished as quickly as it appeared, reverting back to its usual charismatic and warm nature, but Blake definitely didn't imagine it.

"But you walk better than Weiss!" Ruby blurted, ignoring a huff of annoyance from the person of interest. "You even talk more Weissy than Weiss!"

"Hey!"

"And why do you always call us with our last names?" Yang also joined in. "You're always adding a "Miss" before saying our names. Why not call just us as Yang, Ruby, Blake, and Weiss?"

As much as Blake wanted to refute her team's questions, to say that she herself was not curious would be a lie.

"My my, such inquisitive souls. Curiosity killed the cat, or so the tale goes," a new voice suddenly said.

"P-Professor Ozpin!" Weiss attempted to stand up but only ended up smashing her kneecap onto the corner of the table, much to her embarrassment.

"Please, sit," Ozpin kindly smiled, and Weiss slowly sat back down, nursing her knee. "I am here on a personal trip and am currently not your headmaster."

"You know…" Robin crossed his arms and tossed the headmaster a playful smirk. "Curiosity did indeed kill the cat, but satisfaction brought it back. Most people tend to forget that part." He lightly punched Ozpin on the shoulder and the jaws of RWBY dropped instantly. "You're a headmaster and a professor. You should know better than to only teach half of the lesson, Oz."

"Of course, how could I forget," Ozpin chuckled.

"Speaking of forgetting things…" Robin put his hand out in front of him with the palm facing upwards. A second later, a cup appeared in his hand, just like how the menu did only minutes ago. "Best if I don't forget this."

Ozpin glanced over at a clock on the wall while taking the cup. "Halfway into the thirteenth hour. Right on time."

"I'm a man of my word, Ozpin," Robin grinned. "You said you'd be here at this time, I promised I'd have a fresh cup ready for you, and here we are." He then looked over at the girls and frowned upon noticing their flabbergasted expressions. "Is something troubling you four?"

"Y-Y-You just punched the headmaster!" Ruby stuttered, pointing a finger at Robin.

"Did I now?" Robin innocently looked at Ozpin. "Did I punch a headmaster? I don't think I did."

"Wha-!"

The light shaking of Ozpin's shoulders did not go unnoticed as he took a sip of his coffee. "No, I do believe you did not do anything of the sort."

"He did say that he wasn't a headmaster at the moment, so I don't see any headmaster in my store right now." Robin shrugged and then pointed at the cup in the not-headmaster's hand. "That's a new blend, by the way. Aside from me, you're the only one that's tasted it. The only person in Remnant who owns the blend, or even knows of it, would be yours truly."

"I'm honored."

"As you should be," Robin laughed, clapping his hand down onto Ozpin's shoulder.

'Who is this man?' Blake's eyes narrowed slightly as she stared at the two white-haired men in front of her. 'He's too casual with the headmaster to be a nobody, but I've never seen him before. A secret agent, perhaps? Couldn't be from the underground. The White Fang have connections everywhere, and I've never heard of a man with white hair outside of the Schnee family and Ozpin himself. So who in the world is he?'

"Your companions will be arriving soon, right? Take a seat anywhere and I'll come to take their orders soon enough. In the meantime, I have orders to prepare."

With that, Robin briskly turned on his heel and walked behind the counter. A second later, Ozpin left to take a seat on the opposite side of the store, leaving the girls behind with more questions than answers.

"Ah!" Ruby suddenly leapt out of her seat. "He never gave us an answer!"

"Ruby, it is rude to point," Weiss sighed, pulling the girl back down into her seat.

"Oh, come on. You're the one that asked him that question of his upbringing in the first place," Yang countered. "He didn't even give you a straight answer! He didn't even get to me and Rubes!"

"That would be due to Professor Ozpin's arrival," Weiss calmly said.

"Speaking of Ozpin, how do they know each other?" Blake asked. "Rather, who is Robin?"

"Oh?" Yang nudged Blake's side and wagged her eyebrows. "Interested in the mystery man, are we?"

Blake shook her head. "Not in the manner you're thinking of." That didn't stop a tiny bit of heat rising to her cheeks, however.

"It's not good to lie to yourself, Blake," Yang teased. "We're your team. You can be honest with us." Her gaze moved from Blake and onto Robin, who was moving back and forth behind the counter as he prepared over half a dozen items at once. "He isn't bad to look at. Reeeeeaaal easy on the eyes."

There was a scoff from across the table. "Oh please, you say that about almost half the boys you come across at Beacon."

"And none of those were lies, Weissy," Yang cheekily grinned. "Besides, did you see his arms and chest when he crossed his arms earlier? Gotta love those slim fit shirts!"

"Yaaaannggg," Ruby groaned, her cheeks noticeably red.

Ignoring her younger sister's embarrassment, Yang leaned forward and purred, "Momma likes."

"Truly, no tact at all," Weiss added, shaking her head.

"I'm not hearing you deny it~" the blonde sang, laughing to herself.

"He is curious, I will admit," Blake said, steering the conversation back on track. "Aside from the question of who he is, his ability to create things out of things out of thin air is unique. I've never seen anyone able to do anything like that before."

"You think it's his Semblance?" Weiss asked.

Blake nodded. "If it is his Semblance, then what would it be exactly?"

"Maybe his Semblance is like…I dunno, creating things from his mind?" Ruby guessed. "Like, he thinks of something in his head, like a menu, and then boom, it's in his hand!"

"Imagery projection?" Weiss laced her fingers together under her chin. "That does seem plausible. He was able to "project" the menu in Blake's hand and the ice cream from the other day."

"Oooohhh! What other things do you think he can make?!" There was an ecstatic grin on Ruby's face as bounced in her seat. "Do you think he can create weapons? Or Dust? Or even cookies?!"

"Maybe, maybe not. There must be some kind of limit on his projection abilities, if that even is his Semblance." Blade shook her head. "We've only seen him work with ice cream, a menu, and a cup of coffee. But, going by that alone, a cookie does seem like it would be within the realm of possibility."

A tray suddenly appeared in the center of their table, causing the four of them to jump from surprise. Four Sweets Thieves were placed on the tray, each one looking very inviting.

"If you are curious as to what my Semblance is, all you need to do is ask."

Robin approached the table with a smirk as he masterfully balanced a second tray on his fingers. As he placed the second tray down, Weiss decided to take him up on his offer.

"Very well. What is your Semblance?"

"Miss Schnee, a huntress-in-training should know better than to ask someone about their Semblance," Robin playfully scolded, much to the girl's chagrin.

"Then why would you even - !"

"I will, however, give you a hint," Robin continued, immediately stopping the girl's not-so-happy retort. "Why hand you the answer on a silver platter if you will not grow from it? By giving you a hint, you can figure it out on your lonesome and hopefully learn from it."

The tiny bell on the store's door rang as it opened. Three people stepped inside and Robin left to greet the newcomers.

"Who does he think he is, a professor?" Weiss let out an annoyed huff. "We come here as a getaway from Beacon and learning but then Robin gives us a quickie."

"Heyo," Yang grinned as she wagged her brow at the innuendo.

"YANG!"

Blake shook her head as she pinched the bridge of her nose. Leave it to her partner to always make a sexual joke whenever the opportunity presents itself. Admittedly, there was a tiny part of her that was impressed at how quick Yang's wit was, sexual or not, but that would be a truth that would never come to light.

"Wait wait wait!" Ruby pointed her finger at Robin's retreating figure. "He never gave us our hint!"

"Are you sure about that, Ruby?" Blake asked.

When the others raised a confused eyebrow at her, Blake sighed and pointed down at their tables. The drinks and Sweets Thieves were no longer on the trays. Instead, they each had their respective drinks in front of them along with a Sweets Thief.

And not once had anyone touched any of the cups or trays after Robin placed the trays onto the table.

Robin's hint didn't help them much at all.

. . .

"Done already? Want another, Ozpin?"

"That would be wonderful."

With a quick nod, Robin reached towards the cup of coffee that was behind the counter with his mind. He visualized his mana wrapping around the cup, bending the space between his hand and the cup, reached out, and grabbed the cup through the magically shortened distance. Once he had a firm grasp on the cup, he negated his active magic, returning the space to normal, while still keeping the cup in his hand.

To anyone else, it would've seemed like a cup of coffee magically appeared out of thin air into his hands. To Robin, however, it was the fruit of many trial and error practices on the use of Spacial attribute of Spellcraft.

"Normally, I'd say something along the lines of how too much coffee is bad for you and how one should not drink it excessively," Robin conversationally said as he placed the cup in front of Ozpin. With another flick of his wrist, he warped Ozpin's empty cup into the sink, much to the surprise of the headmaster's companions. "But, if I said that, it'd be a prime example of the pot calling the kettle black."

"Right you are," Ozpin agreed.

The two shared a short laugh while the others merely had varying degrees of confusion etched upon their faces.

"You never said you knew each other, Ozpin," Goodwitch glowered.

"You never asked," Ozpin said, taking a sip from his cup. "Truly delicious. You really should try this man's coffee," he commented.

Her eyes narrowed further from his answer. He wasn't entirely wrong in that the question of him knowing the shopkeeper never came up, but to say that it wasn't annoying would be a lie. The fact that he quickly maneuvered the topic away to his coffee in such a nonchalant manner was even more infuriating.

"You must be Professor Glydna Goodwitch," Robin said, grabbing her attention. "As you may have already deduced, my name is Robin, the owner of A Shepherd's Rest. It is a pleasure to meet a renowned huntress and professor such as yourself."

"Pleasure to meet you," Goodwitch politely replied, and Robin turned to look at the other two men seated at the table.

"Doctor Bartholomew Oobleck?"

"Yes, that would be me," Oobleck answered.

Robin reached out and grasped the professor's hand with his own, promptly shaking it. "Your progressive work in unraveling the history behind the world's truth is unparalleled, and your eye for tactics is absolutely superb."

"Ah, another soul who has an appreciation for strategy!" Oobleck exclaimed as he sprung up out of his seat to shake hands with Robin a second time. "How wonderful! I was afraid that we were of a dying race! Scarcely anyone such as we exist in the world nowadays!"

"A gentleman and a scholar!" the fourth man guffawed, clapping his palm down onto the table.

"Please, tactics was only something that I did when I had the time," Robin lightly laughed. "Professor Peter Port, I presume?"

"Just Peter, lad," the burly man chuckled. "Here, I am merely another customer, while you are the master of this fine establishment."

"As you wish, Peter," Robin smiled before a sharp glint appeared in his eyes. "I've heard tales of you killing an Elder Deathstalker with its own stinger after tearing it off with your bare hands. And now that I have seen you in person, I cannot help but think that those tales have been watered down."

"Oho, now that is a fight worth retelling in all of its glory!" Port said, reveling in his own memories.

"If you wish, we can share a few stories over a drink sometime. Perhaps after hours. Though I may not sell alcoholic drinks in my cafe, that over there…" Robin stepped aside and motioned over to the shelf behind the counter. The entire shelf was stacked with a myriad of alcohol in various sizes and bottles. "…is not merely for show."

Oobleck righted his glasses as he sat back down. "My word… What a collection…"

"Looks like a certain crow's dream," Goodwitch quipped.

"By Oum above, is - is that…?" Port stammered, pointing at a very distinct looking maroon bottle.

"The Hearthfire of Olympus?" Robin finished, and Port nodded. "No, it is not." Port's lips turned into a frown while Robin's curled upwards into a knowing grin. "It is something better."

Eyebrows were raised, and not only the from the professors. Yang, who was listening in on the adults' conversation, quite literally fell out of her seat when she heard Robin's words. She gave them a sheepish grin as she hastily sat back down into her seat.

"Before you ask, no, you will not be getting any of that, Miss Xiao Long," Robin sternly said. "If you even try to take anything off that shelf, I will know."

"I wasn't going to do anything like that," Yang said, much to everyone's disbelief.

"I'm sure," Robin deadpanned and turned his attention back to the four professors. "While I'm sure you are quite curious as to how something could be better than Olympian Hearthfire, the alcohol is for another time. Right now, I am serving non-alcoholic drinks. And on that note…" Robin brought out three menus and placed them in front of the teachers that had yet to order. "What can I get for the three of you, seeing how the headmaster already has his second cup of coffee?"

"A red eye, black, no sugar for me, please," Oobleck immediately said, not even looking at the menu.

After a second of quick decision making, Port gave in his order. "Cream and three sugars for me, if you would."

"Three sugars and cream," Robin repeated with a quick nod. "Is there any specific blend that you'd like? I have every type of blend that Remnant has to offer with only two exceptions: Atlissian Roast and Brett's Morainge. Those two are quite garbage, if you'll pardon my language, and I refuse to serve such a poor excuse for coffee to my customers."

"I will take Baroness' Nine, if you have," Port answered.

"And I, the same," Oobleck added, and Robin beamed.

"An excellent choice. And for you, Professor Goodwitch? Would you like a little more time, or have you decided on what to order?"

Goodwitch's eyes seemed to dance around the right side of the menu, the side where all the teas were located. Robin had to fight back a smile when he noticed her look of confusion upon the rather unique names that he gave to his menu items. He didn't really plan on it at first, but he wanted - rather, he needed something to remember them by. The only three that he wasn't able to create a name for a drink were…

"If I may ask, what is a 'Sakura no Hime'?" Goodwitch inquired. "It says here that it is matcha, but it is something that I have yet to hear of, and I am quite curious."

'Ah, the Lady of Chon'sin, princess of the cherry blossoms.'

Once upon a time, the princess of Chon'sin invited Robin and his wife over to her nation. It was a specific time of the year where the cherry blossoms would paint the world a vibrant shade of pink, and it was a sight so beautiful that it would be forever ingrained in Robin's mind. That very season was when she introduced Robin to matcha tea, and so the name for the drink was derived.

As to what matcha was…

"Matcha is a variant of green tea, Professor Goodwitch," Robin explained. "Unlike most teas, it is not a full leaf brew. Put simply, it is green tea leaves that is dried and then stone-ground into a fine, green powder. That powder is what we call matcha, and it is easily dissolved in water and milk. Most find the taste to be stronger and sweeter when compared to standard green tea."

"That sounds very interesting. I'd love to try it. You said that it could be dissolved in either water or milk?"

"That is correct. Do you have any preference?"

"I'll try it with water, if you would."

"As you wish," Robin said with a slight bow. "I will return shortly with your drinks."

. . .

"Where did you find him, Ozpin?" The moment Robin was behind the counter, Glydna shot the headmaster her question.

"I first met Robin on the southern outskirts of Vale," Ozpin replied. "He was lying in a field under a tree, taking a nap in the middle of nowhere." He took another sip from his cup as Glydna's brow furrowed in confusion. "At first, I thought he was unconscious, but when I approached, he said something that I found to be quite curious. His words were "There are better places to take a nap than on the ground, I know. But I find it rather comfortable.""

"Why would that be curious?"

"Because it was as if he was expecting someone!" Bartholomew exclaimed with a sudden realization. "Curious, indeed! Who could he have been waiting for if his response was so specific?"

"Who indeed," Ozpin nodded. "Unfortunately, that is a question in which I do not have an answer for. I never asked, he never talked of it."

"What do you know about the man?" Glydna asked. "He has the front of a very polite owner of a coffee shop, but there is something else about him. Something that signals him out from the average - no, even the above average person. Something…familiar. He isn't just a nobody, so don't try and give me that."

Ozpin calmly took another sip from his cup, which was already half gone. The speed at which the man consumed his coffee was worrisome.

"It's his eyes."

Instead of the headmaster, it was her fellow peer that answered in his stead.

"Pardon?"

"His eyes," Peter repeated, lacing his fingers together. "He has the eyes that even most veteran hunters cannot match." He turned his attention to Ozpin. "Forgive me if I'm overstepping my boundaries, but what do you know of him, Ozpin? He looks to not even be half my age, yet his eyes tell me that he has seen the death of countless, and what seems to be years of live combat experience under his belt."

"His ability to make things appear and disappear at will are quite fascinating as well," Bart said. "Never before have I seen such a thing."

There was another sip of coffee before the headmaster decided to give an answer.

"He has kept his past a secret, so I don't know much about him. He is, without a doubt, the most tight-lipped person I've ever met." Ozpin swirled his coffee in his hands as he donned a contemplative look. "I have tried on numerous occasions to ask him on his past, but he would steer the topic of conversation away very easily."

"And you let this man, a stranger who seems to have fought and seen the deaths of many, possibly was the cause of some of them, stay in Vale?" Glydna narrowed her eyes. "Ozpin, you know I trust you, and I'm sorry for this, but this is undoubtedly naive. Even for you."

"His past may be shrouded in mystery, but he is trustworthy nonetheless."

"Because of how good you are at judging a person's character?"

"That, and because he is the reason why our special guest is still alive, after all."

The entire table fell silent as Ozpin practically dropped a verbal bomb on the professors, but the headmaster continued as if he was simply talking about the weather.

"Our original caretaker was held back by a few minutes by someone, who I can only assume to be one of her pieces. Those precious minutes were enough to bring our guest under danger, a danger that was only thwarted by a certain shop owner. Due to this, our guest was unharmed, and is now safe and sound within Beacon with her gift. I never even mentioned our guest to him. It was by mere chance that Robin came across her at that time."

"This is not something that we should be openly discussing in such a public place, Ozpin," Glydna hissed.

"You need not worry about us being overheard. No one can hear us right now."

When Glynda raised an eyebrow, Ozpin merely motioned over her shoulder.

There was a clear, film-like substance surrounding the four teachers like a bubble. The film itself was less than a millimeter thin, yet it didn't tear when Bart curiously poked at it. Instead, the bubble's surface seemed to contort and wrap itself around the man's finger, which sparked his curiosity even more.

"I don't know what it is exactly, seeing how Robin only used it once before in the few years I've known him. What I do know is that this bubble is completely soundproof; no sound made inside this bubble will reach the outside," Ozpin said, answering the question that was in their heads.

Leaving Oobleck alone to prod and study the bubble, Peter and Glydna turned towards Ozpin.

"So why is he here in Vale when he could be elsewhere?"

"He wanted to open up a coffee shop."

One professor burst into boisterous laughter while the other narrowed her eyes.

"Forgive me if I find that to be a very unconvincing reason," Glynda glowered.

"You wound me, Professor Goodwitch. Opening up a coffee shop has been a dream of mine for a quite some time now."

The man in question suddenly appeared in front of their table with a tray balanced in one hand. Glydna was never one to be unaware of her surroundings, so how the man moved from his workspace behind the counter to one of the shop's window seats worried her. She hadn't even seen him move, and since Peter looked to be just as surprised as her, it was the same for him. Bart, on the other hand, was too immersed in studying their surrounding bubble to even take notice of Robin.

"Your headmaster is not lying," Robin continued, placing the tray onto the table. "After I did him a favor a while ago, he wanted to repay me in some way. We talked for a bit and here we are."

"A favor?"

"That is a topic that is not for me to share," Robin politely replied with a smile. "Disregarding all that, your drinks. A third cup for the headmaster - " Glydna rolled her eyes. " - cream and sugar for the man of legend - " Peter let out a hearty "Oho!" as he took his cup. " - the red eye for the wizened doctor - " Bart was a blur as he nearly snatched the cup out of Robin's hands and took his seat. " - and the matcha tea for the lovely professor."

Contrary to how those words were normally said, there wasn't an ounce of a flirtatious tone in Robin's voice. It was spoken in such a courteous and refined manner. So much so that for a second, Glynda thought she was in the presence of a Schnee, barring the one in Team RWBY sitting a few tables down from hers.

Gratefully taking the cup in Robin's hands, she took a look at her drink. She was expecting a variety of things from Robin's description of what the Sakura no Hime was, but she wasn't expecting a cloudy green liquid that could almost be passed off as a juice of sorts. In hindsight, it should've been obvious since he said that it was powdered leaves mixed in water or milk.

"Is there anything else that I can get you?" Robin asked, relieving a certain coffee addict of his second empty cup.

"Nothing for now," said coffee addict replied.

"At the rate in which you're drinking coffee, I don't think that'll last for long," Robin quipped with a slight smirk. "Nonetheless, I shall take my leave."

Glynda watched the retreating figure as she took a sip of her drink. Her eyebrows moved upwards ever so slightly from the pleasant taste.

She made a mental note in her head to come back here again.

. . .

Robin finished drying his last cup and shelved it with the others. Business was better than he expected, especially since it was only a week since the opening of A Shepherd's Rest. There were a few slow hours, such as when Team RWBY and Beacon's professors and headmaster dropped by, but other than that, there was a steady stream of customers that came into the shop, with the majority of them being civilians.

And throughout the entire week, no one asked him about the choice of interior design, which was to be expected. No one knew who he was here, which was something he was grateful for. Too often he'd walk around the streets of any city or town back in his world with people knowing who he was. Most would give him looks of reverence and praise, while the rest would look at him with hatred and spite. Not that he could blame those few; they were the families who were torn apart from his strategies.

He looked around at his shop once more. If Chrom or Lissa ever saw this place, Robin knew for a fact that they'd never let him hear the end of it, especially after he renounced his royal heritage. He never really understood why he chose the current color scheme. He had fully planned on it being white and blue, but made the last minute decision to make the interior purple and gold. Perhaps he was still clinging onto his past more than he thought.

"At least I didn't put the Mark of Grima on the walls. Creepy thing would probably scare people away."

Robin was fully aware that he was alone in the store and that he was talking to himself, but he didn't care. He looked at the golden rose and Brand of the Exalt on the walls and a sad smile tugged on the corners of his lips. If anything else, the two marks were signs of the people he called his family, regardless of his bloodline.

A family that he was forced to leave behind with his final sacrifice. He could only pray to whatever powers or gods that there were to keep his family safe.

Well, except for Death. Forget Death. That terrifying, scythe-wielding, insane, Tharja-bodied, black-robed demon of a woman could stay as far away from his family as possible for all he cared. Worlds apart, even.

"Stupid woman nearly killed me in the afterlife. Didn't think that was a thing until it did. Freaky woman."

With that final grumble under his breath, Robin shut off the lights of his store.

. . .


. . .

I've been toying around with different perspectives/point of views in this story. Hopefully, the transitions between each character was clear and aren't too jarring. Not sticking to a single person's perspective is something that I didn't do much of in the past, so hopefully, I'm doing decently here.

And to those of you that are followers of Another Awakening, this is not the same Robin from that story. Similar, but not the same. Think of it as an AU character of an already established AU character of sorts.

All the drink names are references to the characters in Awakening. They shouldn't be too difficult to match up, save for one (maybe). Quite a forgettable character.

The tea, 'Sakura no Hime', is a reference to Say'ri and Robin's support, just as I stated above. She mentions the cherry blossoms that decorate her land, and seeing how matcha is of eastern/Asian origin, well…it all fit together quite nicely. And the name 'Sakura no Hime' is not to be confused with 'Sakura-hime'. One means the Princess of Sakura while the other means Princess Sakura.

And no, Amber is not perfectly fine. She still got a portion of her Maiden powers stolen, but instead of Qrow coming in to help, it was Robin. Qrow only arrived a little later, which by then, Cinder would've finished taking all of Amber's powers had Robin not been there. It's a slight deviation from canon, but as they say, the ripple effect. Who knows what could happen.


Thank you for all the follows, favorites, and reviews. Speaking of reviews...

SunbroLQ84i, I've some choice words for you.

That was a good one.

That was good. Seriously. Made me laugh when I read it during the middle of work.