Guess what. This chapter is uploaded from some 30,000ft/9144meters in the air. Bet no one's done that before.

Jk. I'm sure people have already.

. . .


. . .

Pointing fingers at people was considered to be rude in many areas of the world. It was something that Pyrrha's parents told her ever since she was a young girl. Even as she would be the focus of stares and finger points as she won consecutive tournaments as the years went on, she made sure that she herself would not be the one to do such actions.

Said action was something that she nearly did just now, and was something that she would have done were it not for the iron discipline that she had. Sadly, her partner and teammate were not as disciplined.

"Y-Y-Y-Y-You!" Jaune stuttered in utter surprise, pointing his finger into the face of the man standing in front of them.

"Me."

"You-You're that guy!" Nora yelled.

The man raised an amused eyebrow. "As much as I would like to go along with what you're saying, I cannot due to your incredibly vague description."

"You're him!"

"You are not helping your case at all." The man shook his head and looked at Pyrrha and Ren. "Your teammates' words seemed to have failed them. Perhaps the two of you could shed some light on what it is that they are trying to say?"

Pyrrha couldn't help but laugh as she and her team took seats by the bar. The man on the other side of the bar most likely knew what Jaune and Nora were trying to say but was feigning ignorance for humor's sake.

"I believe they're talking about how you were the one that we sparred with the other day," Pyrrha said.

"Ah yes, that did happen, didn't it?" The man nodded. "I must thank you for going through with my selfish request on such a short notice. It has been a while since I last got some practice and I feared that I might have gotten rusty, a fear that happened to be true, unfortunately."

"No no, we should be the ones thanking you!" Pyrrha quickly said. "Your insight on our teamwork was invaluable. I didn't even realize half of the things you pointed out and how easy it was to exploit our team formations."

"Wait wait wait wait!" Jaune frantically waved his hands. "You said you were rusty?!"

"That is indeed what I said. Is something the matter?" Robin asked nonchalantly as if defeating the Invincible Girl, Pyrrha Nikos, while she had the backup of her team was nothing at all.

Jaune's jaw dropped to the floor. "…You not being rusty…that's a terrifying thought…"

"You give me too much credit." He gave a light bow before handing them a menu each. "I am nothing more than a civilian who happens to love coffee."

"A civilian that handled one of Beacon's student teams without trouble?" Ren skeptically asked.

Nora furiously nodded her head. "Yeah! We're even one of the top first-year teams in Beacon! No way you could have just beaten us like that, you magician!"

"Magician?"

The man's brow furrowed and Ren let out a tired sigh. "Forgive my partner. After what a few of our friends said, Nora firmly believes that you're a practitioner of witchcraft."

"Do you mean team RWBY, by any chance - "

"AAAHH!"

Jaune suddenly screamed and pointed at the man once more, startling everyone in the room.

"What's wrong, Jaune?" Pyrrha worriedly asked.

"I just realized something!" Jaune looked like he had an epiphany. "This guy is Robin! The same guy that Ruby and her team were talking about!"

Seconds of complete silence passed as all eyes were on the boy.

"Jaune…" Pyrrha slowly started. "Everyone knew that already."

"Whaaaat!? How come nobody told me that!"

Ren placed his hand on Jaune's shoulder. Whether or not it was out of pity, Pyrrha didn't know. Before she could try and comfort her partner, the door's chime rang as two huntsmen entered the store.

"Shiro, Kiragi!" Robin looked over Pyrrha's shoulder as he greeted the two with a wide smile. "I missed you last week! What happened?"

"Eh, nothing much. Just some Grimm extermination that took longer than expected," Shiro huffed, roughly shaking Robin's hand from across the counter. "Was fed some bad info."

"Somehow, I doubt that's the full story," Robin playfully smirked. "Your grip's feeling a lot weaker than usual. Is there something that you're not telling me?"

Pyrrha's eyes widened slightly as she saw Shiro flex his hand, no doubt with the intent of crushing Robin's fingers. His already large arm enlarged as his muscles rippled, and his knuckles turned white. She could've sworn that she saw a flicker of an electric blue Aura surround Shiro, but the light vanished as quickly as it appeared.

"My grip's feeling weaker, you say?" Shiro flashed a toothy grin at Robin. "How's this for being weak - ow ow ow owowowow!" Shiro quickly pulled back his arm as he flicked his wrist multiple times. "What was that?"

"You have your Aura, I have my own tricks," Robin answered with a shrug. He curled his fingers back and forth. "Maybe next time."

"Tch, cryptic as always," Shiro grumbled, combing his brown hair with his fingers. He then turned his attention to Pyrrha and her team while jerking his thumb at Robin. "Not sure if you four know this, but this guy's a real asshole."

"Is he?" Jaune warily asked.

"Naaahh, Shiro's just mad because he hasn't beaten Robin in arm wrestling yet," Kiragi grinned. "And because I scored more Grimm than he did in our last job."

"That's cause Robin's cheating!" Shiro whined, grabbing onto Robin's arm. "Have you seen this guy? He's like a twig! No way he can beat me in a normal arm wrestle!"

"Right?! He's a cheating, sneaky magician that sneakily uses sneaky magic to get sneaky sneaks!" Nora pointedly said.

"You have a very skewed definition of 'twig'," Jaune mumbled into his menu.

Pyrrha silently agreed with her partner. Robin wasn't close to being a twig at all. While she would never admit it, and while she did have a slight crush on Jaune, she couldn't help but notice the contours in Robin's shirt as he moved around.

"Hey, Seera!" Nora suddenly leaned forward and looked at Shiro.

"It's Shiro."

"Wanna arm wrestle?"

A confident smile formed on Shiro's face.

"I like you already, missy! You're on!"

The two scurried off to an empty table with ecstatic grins plastered on their lips.

"Don't break my table," Robin sternly said as the Shiro and Nora locked hands.

"Ahaha, don't worry so much about that," Kiragi said. "I haven't seen Shiro break anything in two days, which is the longest yet. If he does break a table, he has enough funds to pay it in full."

Veins popped up on the arm wrestling duo's arms as they tried to force the other into submission.

"Doesn't change the fact that he'd be breaking one of my tables. Ebony wood is difficult to come by, and I'd rather not go through the hassle of exporting one from Menagerie because he uses too much strength. Speaking of his strength…" Robin turned to the remaining members of team Juniper and Kiragi. "In a contest of pure strength between Shiro and me, he would win ten times out of ten. I have no doubt that he's physically stronger than me by miles. It's just that he always uses Aura to try and beat me in a flash."

"But wouldn't that make him the victor if he's already stronger than you?" Jaune asked as Kiragi took Nora's empty seat next to Ren. "If he's enhancing his strength with Aura, then…"

"Does it have to do with the "tricks" that you mentioned before?" Ren asked.

"Correct! Very perceptive," Robin praised. "By the way, are you getting the usual?" he asked Kiragi.

"Heh, Shiro isn't going to like that," Kiragi laughed. "And yeah, I'll take the usual. Same for Shiro, when he's done with his contest."

"What he doesn't know won't hurt him," Robin reasoned.

"What's the trick?" Pyrrha curiously asked. The way Robin worded it made it obvious that it wasn't anything to do with Aura, so there was a chance that she could learn it herself. "If you don't mind me asking, that is."

Robin held out his hand. "If you would hand me the menu, I'd be happy to show you."

Having decided what she wanted to order, Pyrrha eagerly handed him her menu. The moment Robin took the menu from Pyrrha's hand, there was a brief discoloration on the dark purple and gold sheet, and it was given back to Pyrrha only a second later. Noticing her look of confusion, Robin pointed at the menu.

"Try folding it in half," he said.

While a little hesitant, Pyrrha folded the menu. At least, she tried to. No matter how much pressure she applied, the laminated menu would only bend slightly and not go past a ninety-degree angle.

"Are you trying?" Jaune asked her.

"Yes, I'm trying as hard as I can! I'm even using Aura!" Pyrrha said. "How is this possible?"

"Put simply, I reinforced the durability of the menu's structure. It's the same menu, just stronger," Robin said.

Pyrrha's eyes widened in shock and awe.

"That's amazing! This could revolutionize how we can defend ourselves against the Grimm!" she exclaimed, and while Jaune, Ren, and Kiragi nodded in agreement, Robin shook his head. "It can't?"

"The reinforcement only lasts as long as I'm constantly strengthening it by my hand. Without a constant influx of ma-Aura, the reinforcement will vanish after a short time," Robin said.

As if to prove his point, the reinforcement on the menu vanished at that very moment while Pyrrha was still applying pressure, and the menu crumpled in her hand.

"That same reinforcement is what I do to myself whenever Shiro decides to use Aura during our arm wrestling matches," Robin explained as he handed Kiragi a cup of fragrant tea. "He's not the best at Aura Manipulation while I am quite experienced in things of that nature, so I hold the advantage over him in that regard."

"Hehe, you're not wrong about that! Shiro is really bad at Aura Manipulation! Like, really bad," Kiragi agreed, placing a few Lien on the table. "But, that's why I'm his partner, right? He's the immovable wall with his sword, and I'm his eyes with my Fujin Yumi!" He tapped the stringless bow on his back to emphasize his point.

"You work in a team of two and not four?" Pyrrha asked.

Kiragi waved his hand in a "no" gesture as he drank some of his tea.

"Our teammates, Velouria and Selkie, are doing their own thing in the city. The four of us make Team Skies, with the name to letter coordination going from Shiro, me, Velouria, and then Selkie," Kiragi counted off on his fingers as he placed his cup onto the table. "We're third-year students at Beacon, by the way. It's nice to meet you!"

"Pyrrha Nikos of Team Juniper, spelled J-N-P-R," Pyrrha politely introduced herself. "These are my teammates - "

*C-C-CRACK*

There was the sound of splintering wood and the dull thud of bodies hitting the floor. Pyrrha didn't even have to turn around to figure out what happened, especially when she saw Robin cross his arms, close his eyes, and inhale deeply through his nose. He reminded Pyrrha of a disappointed father.

"What did I say about breaking my table?"

. . .

It was two hours until midnight when Robin closed the door to A Shepherd's Rest. It was at this time that the cafe would close every night, and tonight was no different.

Turning the lock on the door, Robin also applied three wards onto it. The first was a simple vicinity alert spell, which would alert him should anyone stand right outside his door. The second delved into Spacialcraft, and would divert any harsh impact away from both the door and windows of the store. The last was a simple spell to prevent people from picking his lock. That one he was confident in. Gaius was the test dummy for it, after all.

"Right then." Robin twirled a finger in the air, generating a ball of wind. "Time to start cleaning up the store."

The ball of wind gradually grew and started to fill the room. It was strong enough to pick up any loose pieces of garbage, torn bits of napkins, scrap papers, and any accumulated dust throughout the store, but weak enough that nothing of importance would get knocked over. There was even a Beacon Student ID that was mixed in along the swept up garbage. He'd have to send that to Ozpin tomorrow morning.

Robin held out his hand in front of him and the wind's area of control started to shrink. It grew smaller and smaller until it was roughly the size of his palm, containing all the picked up trash in it, and Robin dropped it into a garbage bin.

Once that was done, Robin weaved mana in his fingers again. When he was finished, he cast his spell - rather, the hex across the store, and any scratches or smears that once marred the store earlier in the day started to vanish.

"Thanks again, Henry," Robin said to himself.

The spell he just cast was a simple hex that Henry once used to temporarily reverse time for a stack of plates that were broken by a stumbling Sumia. With their time reversed, the plates were usable, even if was only for a single day.

What Robin found out, however, was that if the same hex was used once again near the end of the time of the first hex, you would push the time back by another twenty-four hours. And since Robin cast his spell the day before his shop opened and continued to cast the hex every night, the store would always be in near perfect condition.

Perfectly clean store after a full day of work? Took less than five minutes.

He was about to turn off the light when the first ward he set up at the door went off, sending a pulse of weak electricity in his head. There was a light knock on the door not even a moment later.

"Who could it at this time?"

. . .

Weiss was not having a good day. Not one bit.

For starters, she woke up late for class again. Why did she wake up late? Because her clay-brained partner and her sister decided to stay up until four in the morning playing that new Grimm Hunter game that they got, shouting and screaming the entire time.

Every time Weiss thought she got used to their…excitement, they'd somehow manage to yell even louder than before. Every time that Weiss thought they were done playing, they managed to start up another "quest", or "mission", or "hunt", or whatever the terminology was called. She must've heard the words, "Just one more," nearly two dozen times in the span of a couple hours.

When the sisters finally fell asleep, it was only because they literally could not keep their eyes open and slumped forward with the controllers still in their hands. As much as Weiss and Blake wanted to leave Ruby and Yang where they were, they ended up shutting off the game console (after Blake saved their data) and carried the sisters to their respective beds.

After arriving over half an hour late to class, Weiss and her team all given detention after their standard lessons. Yang and Blake had to follow Professor Goodwitch around and help her with some papers, Ruby had to assist Doctor Oobleck in whatever it was that the doctor was doing, and Weiss was given the punishment of sitting through an entire lesson from Professor Port, which was basically her listening to the large man's boasts for three hours.

Three. Ungodly. Hours.

Weiss liked to think that she was patient. Her upbringing in the Schnee family caused her to go through countless public appearances; appearances where she had to put on that sickening fake smile and repeat the same answers time and time again to reporters and the like.

None of that compared to Professor Port when he rambled on about his past Grimm hunts. Of how many times he was called a hero. Of how many times he slew an Elder Grimm all by his lonesome. Of how many times he made a "dashing appearance" just in time to save a town or village. Or how many duels he won against other huntsmen with his "manliness" and "brawn".

Once her team was done with their respective punishments, they headed to the combat arenas to practice their teamwork and coordination. Weiss had no qualms with this idea. Practicing together would only help their team in the future, and huntsmen teams were known to stay together even long after graduation. If Weiss was going to be with Ruby, Yang, and Blake for the next four years at Beacon and an untold amount of time after, then it was never too early to start working together.

However, what was supposed to be a training and practice session quickly became a playground. Despite being the one to bring up the idea, Ruby had not been focused for a single second the entire time. She insisted on coming up with attack names and flashy moves without bothering to work on her own skills and Semblance. Whenever Weiss would try to get her leader to focus, Yang would butt in, saying how they should have fun.

That was another two hours of being completely unproductive.

When that was finally all over, the cafeteria had already closed for the day to clean and prepare for tomorrow's meals. Since she and the rest of her team were more than hungry, Yang offered to take them all out to a restaurant in Vale. What Yang didn't tell them was that it was a fusion of both a restaurant and a bar. The blonde's reasoning for bringing them there was because she knew the owner and because she would get a discount.

Weiss decided to give Yang the benefit of the doubt, despite all that occurred previously in the day. She even did her best to ignore all the catcalls and suggestive looks that she received from the brutes in the bar.

Things were going quite well until one of the men in the bar tried to inappropriately touch her and Weiss batted the man's hand aside. The man then moved onto Ruby, which sent Yang into a flying rage. One thing led to another until they were kicked out of the restaurant, and then Yang had the audacity to place the blame on Weiss for knocking the man's hand away in the first place.

That was when Weiss decided that enough was enough and stormed off. She didn't realize how far and long she walked, but by the time she managed to cool off, the sun had long set. She pulled out her Scroll to check the time.

"Oh no."

Weiss gasped upon seeing the numbers "21:54" on her screen. The last Bullhead from Vale to Beacon was in six minutes, and the terminals were at least a twenty-minute walk away from where she was. There's no way that she'd be able to make it to the Bullheads in time, even if she used her Glyphs.

So now, she was stranded in Vale with nothing but her Scroll that had over a dozen messages and missed calls from her team, asking for her whereabouts. A few of the streetlamps were out of order, while another few were consistently flickering. Shadows seemed to jump out at her from the corners of her eyes and a chilly breeze blew through the street.

Was she scared? Of course not. Weiss Schnee, heiress to the powerful Schnee Dust Company, scared of nighttime and the darkness that accompanied it? Laughable.

Weiss was only unnerved. Yes, that was it. Merely unnerved for being in an unknown, albeit familiar, area and situation.

Hugging her body to retain as much heat as possible, Weiss continued to walk through Vale. Her wallet was back in her dorms but she still had her Scroll. She could simply find a hotel and rent a room for the night. A Schnee would not spend the night out in the open.

And then her Scroll's battery died.

Weiss let out a string of colorful words that were unbecoming of a Schnee. Perhaps Yang was influencing her more than she thought.

Was she scared now? Don't be absurd. If she was only unnerved before, now she was just disheartened. Nothing more than that. In fact, being disheartened was absolutely silly. Even without a proper form of identification, the hotel staff could simply call the SDC for her credentials and she could pay for her room in that manner. There was no need to lose heart over such a tiny drawback.

The shadows started to move again and this time, Weiss was not imagining the large shapes of humans stalking her. Nor was she imagining their gruff voices that seemed to whisper in her ear.

Perhaps there was a time and place for fear after all.

Hastening her steps in her definitely-not-panicked state, Weiss made her way over to a store across the street that still had its lights on. There was a person moving back and forth, so with luck, Weiss could convince the person inside to shelter her for a short while. She knocked on the door twice while looking up and down the street. The people that seemed to be following her was nowhere in sight, but as the saying goes, better safe than sorry. She was about to knock once more when the door opened.

"My apologies for bothering you at this hour, but might I ask a favor of - " Weiss' words got caught in her throat when she saw who opened the door. She looked up at the sign above the door, saw the familiar font and words, looked back at the man in front of her, and practically yelled, "It's you!"

"Twice in one day? Don't you know that it's quite rude to point at someone, Miss Schnee? And if I may be so brash, your hanging mouth does not suit you."

Weiss promptly closed her mouth that she didn't she had open and quickly brought her arm down. She felt her cheeks heat up and Robin let out a light-hearted chuckle.

"Would you like to come inside? I fear that you may catch a cold at this rate, especially since you are dressed quite lightly," Robin offered as he stepped to the side, giving her enough room to enter A Shepherd's Rest.

Not wanting to turn down the offer that she was originally planning on asking for, Weiss stepped into the store.

"While normally, I'd tell you to take a seat anywhere you'd like, but I'm afraid that is not the case this time around," Robin said, closing the door behind her. "The last time I had the store's lights on late into the night, Vale's night patrol came by, wondering if I was having any…difficulties. It took nearly an hour for them to finally understand that I was merely taking my time in cleaning up the store and was not under any threat."

Weiss gave him a deadpan stare. "...You're kidding, right?"

Robin merely returned a smile that neither confirmed nor denied her question, making her further wonder whether or not the man was being serious about the VPD holding up after hours.

"You seem to have closed rather quickly tonight," she finally said, changing the subject.

'Not to mention he did an amazing job at that. This place is spotless,' Weiss thought to herself. 'He closes at ten yet he managed to clean this place up so neatly within minutes. How did he do it?'

"I have my ways," Robin said with a shrug as if he read her mind.

Weiss raised a skeptic eyebrow when he held out his palm. That skepticism was turned into surprise and wonder when he created a flame in his hand. The flame then froze into a mesmerizing ice sculpture, which proceeded to shatter into countless crystalline shards. The shards then started to float momentarily in the air before dancing around Robin's hands before finally dispersing into motes of light.

Weiss was no fool. As fascinating Robin's display was, she knew that he was telling her how he managed to clean the store so easily. The flame was a representation of the customers and the ice shards were a representation of the mess left behind. The only thing that Weiss didn't understand was how exactly he managed to create, freeze, and then shatter the flame. Perhaps her original assumption of his Semblance being along the lines of Imagery Projection was wrong?

"What exactly is my Semblance? How did I manipulate the elements? How does my control of the elements tie in with my other ability?"

Weiss nodded. "Indeed, how did you… Wait, what?"

"Your face reveals quite a lot, Miss Schnee, and I would like to think that I'm quite observant," Robin playfully smirked. "Come. We can talk about whatever it is that you wished to speak with me about further inside."

Robin led her through the door that was behind the counter. She walked through the door into a hallway that had an open fridge and freezer on one side that was partially full of milk, cream, ice cream, and a few other necessities in a coffee shop. The other side of the wall was a shelf that was packed with a myriad of coffee beans.

At the end of the hall was a door that Robin walked through. When Weiss entered, her eyes widened as she entered a spacious lounge.

"Welcome to my humble abode," Robin said with a smile as he opened another door near one of the room's corners. "Feel free to take a seat on the couch. I'll brew a pot of tea."

Weiss continued to look around the room after the door closed behind Robin. Rows upon rows of books adorned the silvery-grey walls, putting Blake's collection in the dorm to shame. A grand piano sat at the far end of the room by the windows, which had a perfect view of Beacon, which was strange. When entering A Shepherd's Rest, Beacon was to her left. The door to the store and the hallway that led to the lounge ran parallel to each other, so for Beacon to be in view of the windows was impossible.

In fact, it was impossible for the interior of A Shepherd's Rest to be this large to hold the store, hallway, lounge, and another room all into one small building! Nothing added up!

Her train of thought was derailed when Robin entered the room with a kettle and two cups in hand.

"Do you not wish to sit?" Robin asked.

"R-Right…"

Weiss took a seat on the leather couch near the center of the room, surprised at how pleasant it felt. Robin sat down on a strange, spherical shaped chair across from her and set the tea down on a wooden table between them.

"Is something the matter?" Robin raised a curious eyebrow as he poured the tea into the cups. "You keep looking around the room."

"N-No, nothing's wrong. It's just that I wasn't expecting the inside of A Shepherd's Rest to be so…spacious," she admitted.

"The shop does seem quite small from the outside, does it not?" Robin nodded in understanding as he handed her one of the cups. "In all honesty, it really shouldn't be this big. I simply did some remodeling to suit my personal needs and tastes."

Although his answer didn't really explain much, Weiss decided to drop the subject. She knew when someone was avoiding a topic all too well. She had years of experience, after all.

"Now then." Robin placed his cup onto the table after taking a sip. "How did you end up in Vale so late into the night? I find it hard to believe that you would be the type to just take a random stroll at this hour."

Weiss took in a deep breath. She already talked to Professor Port and Headmaster Ozpin about this, so she was a little hesitant to explain this a third time, especially after both teachers gave her the same advice.

Taking another moment to steel her nerves, she began to speak. She told him about her opinion of Ruby being appointed leader, of how she has experience in leadership, of how childish and unprofessional her teammates were, and how frustrated she felt at Beacon.

The longer the talked, the easier she found it to tell Robin her problems. She didn't know why that was. She barely knew the man outside of him being a polite shop owner, yet here she was, telling him her frustrations and annoyances, using him as an outlet. She jumped from topic to topic, backtracking half a dozen times, and lost track of how much time passed by.

Throughout all this, Robin didn't say a single word. He just sat there as he listened to her, and it wasn't until after she took in a deep breath after her spiel that he asked her a simple question.

"Tell me, what is your definition of…scratch that. What qualities do you think a leader should have?"

"Level-headedness, the ability to make solid decisions in difficult situations, and confidence," Weiss immediately answered.

Robin nodded. "While you are not wrong with those answers, you are not completely correct either, for there is no true answer. It is an open-ended question with open-ended answers."

"Then what do you think are the qualities of a leader?" Weiss inquired. The man seemed knowledgeable enough, so unless this was all some ruse or bluff, surely he'd have a better insight into his own question than her.

Instead of answering, Robin laced his fingers together in what she assumed to be deep thought.

"…May I tell you a short story from my past?"

Weiss was slightly taken aback. That was not the reply she was expecting, and she shuddered as she recalled her detention from earlier in the day.

"I assure you, I am nothing like Professor Port," he added, once again making it seem like he read her mind.

Weiss gave him the 'go-ahead' almost instantly.

"In the past, long before A Shepherd's Rest came to be, I was part of a militia group." Robin leaned back in his chair as Weiss took a sip of her tea, letting the herbs soothe her nerves. She didn't miss the faraway look in his eyes as he spoke. "Now, in this militia was a certain man; had a heart of gold, but he was also impulsive, childish, never thinking about his next step, and always getting neck deep into trouble.

"I, on the other hand, was essentially the opposite. I would always think ahead, keeping my cool no matter the situation, and had multiple backup plans for when my original plans would go awry. And they would almost always go awry. Whenever something unexpected would happen, such as an enemy ambush, I would devise a plan within moments for our best chances of survival."

"You were the brain while he was the brawn," Weiss surmised.

"In layman's terms, yes," Robin nodded. "I was the tactician of the militia, but not their leader. That position went to my friend that I spoke of just now."

Weiss nearly spat out her tea in shock.

"What?!"

"Curious, is it not? Why would an impulsive and childish man be given the role of the militia's leader instead of one that was always calm and calculated?"

That very question was the sole thought in Weiss' mind. It was foolish, giving the position of leadership to a man like that. It was the same thing that happened with her and Ruby. The young girl was inexperienced, foolhardy, and a child in every definition. Her teammates and professors told her to give her a chance, and she did - multiple times, in fact - but her patience was wearing dangerously thin with her partner.

And now she found someone who was once in her shoes, someone who understood her dilemma.

"To be completely honest…"

Weiss leaned forward with interest, more than eager to know what Robin did in her situation.

"…I didn't care."

She fell out of her seat, much to Robin's confusion and amusement.

"I beg your pardon?" she choked out.

"I didn't care," Robin repeated. "In fact, no one in the militia seemed to care about him being the leader and me simply being the tactician. The reason why was because he had something that I didn't, something that made him a natural leader that people would follow. Do you know what it was?"

Weiss shook her head at his possibly rhetorical question.

"It was charisma," Robin said. "He was the kind of person that would naturally draw followers and friends to his side. He had the heart to accept people as they were, no matter their upbringing or nature, and for that, people would follow him. Despite his upbringing and position, he would always listen to and take the words of his comrades into consideration. In fact, I was made his second-in-command, despite the fact that he found me in the middle of the field with nothing to my name while wearing the garbs of a faction that wanted his family dead. Later down the line, he became my best friend and I his."

"Why are you telling me this?" Weiss asked. "I don't see what this has to do with me."

"You're missing the picture here, Miss Sch- "

"Weiss," she interrupted. "Just call me Weiss. None of this "Miss" business."

A small smile rose on Robin's face. "Very well, Weiss. My point is that what I said has almost everything to do with you. You are to Miss Rose as I was to my friend. Our partner and leader respectively were not cut out to be leaders. On paper, at least. In actuality, both make great leaders - made a fantastic leader." He paused for a second. "Tell me, Weiss, why do you follow Miss Rose? Aside from the fact that she was appointed as the leader and you weren't, of course."

"I… Well…"

"Allow me to rephrase that; why do you think that your teammates, Miss Xiao Long and Miss Blake, follow Miss Rose as their leader? On paper, the two of them have the skills and talent to become great leaders themselves, yet your headmaster made the youngest and the most inexperienced member of your team as the leader. Same with Team Juniper. Why do you think they follow Mister Jaune Arc when there's a talented individual such as Miss Pyrrha Nikos in the same team?"

"I…I don't know…" Weiss was at a complete loss. "I never thought about it from that angle. Why did you follow your friend?"

"Now you're asking the right questions," Robin smiled. "Unfortunately, the reason why I followed him will not be the same reason as to why Miss Xiao Long and Miss Blake follow Miss Rose, nor will it be the reason why the members of Team Juniper follow Mister Arc."

"So, you won't tell me your reason?" Weiss guessed.

"I never said that, Weiss. Though, I will give you credit for thinking ahead and predicting what I might have said. You've a tactician's mind, which brings me to my next point." Robin flicked his hand and a leather book appeared in his hand. "As I've said, my friend was not the most level-headed person. Due to this, I was the one that would plan things out for him, not only as his tactician, but as his friend. Alone, we were simply two men, but together, we were a nigh unstoppable force. And with someone like you as the leading mind in your team, I have no doubt that you can do the same."

Robin gently placed his book onto the table and pushed it towards Weiss. She picked up the book and read the title that was written by hand.

"'A Shepherd's Guide to Basic Strategies'?" Weiss read aloud. "I already have a copy of this at home along with the next two editions detailing intermediate and advanced strategies respectively. I've memorized every single battle formation that could be used against the Grimm."

"Have you now?" Robin gave Weiss a brilliant smile. "I'm glad to know that I have such a loyal follower."

"Of course! The tactics used in your books are - " Weiss suddenly froze mid-sentence. Her eyes then started to widen ever so slowly as Robin's words started to register in her head. "W-W-Wait… Y-You mean to tell me…that you're him? You're Reflet Alius?"

"That would be my pen name, yes," Robin replied.

"Reflet Alius… As in the author that published Remnant's best selling series of strategy guides?"

"I published a second series that I'm still working on, but yes." Robin pointed at the book in her hand. "That's the same book that I carried with me during my travels, by the way."

Her eyes widened further as she held the old leather book in her hands with near reverence. "So, this is…" Her voice trailed off as her words died in her throat.

"The original version of the tactics guide in which the first editions were based off of," Robin calmly replied. "It's a little messy since I was constantly making additional notes and scratching off my previous ideas that either didn't work or were improved upon. Since you already have copies at home, you need not keep my version if you - "

"No!"

Weiss clutched the book close to her chest. A second later, heat rose to her cheeks as she thought about what she just did.

"I-I mean…that is to say…"

She felt her cheeks redden even further when Robin laughed. It was embarrassing, yes, but also soothing and comforting. His laugh was full of warmth and joviality that she couldn't help but laugh a little herself.

"You may keep that if you wish," Robin said as the laughter faded away. "I've no use for it anymore aside from sentimental value, and I'm sure that it'll be better used in your hands than collecting dust on my shelf."

"Thank you." Weiss gratefully lowered her head. "You have no idea how much this means to me. To be able to simply meet the Reflet was something of my dreams. I never thought I'd get a chance to get your autograph, much less be gifted one of your original works. It's more than I ever could have…"

Weiss bit her tongue as she realized she was doing something that she thought she'd never do. Fangirl. She felt disgusted with herself.

There was a light-hearted chuckle from Robin. "Never did I ever think that I would have such an impact on someone. Truly." Robin picked up the tea set and stood to his feet. "Feel free to look through the book if you wish. I'm going to put this away and will return shortly."

Weiss didn't need to be told twice. The moment Robin left the room, she flipped over to the first page and was surprised at the number of lines that were crossed out. Even the revisions had lines running through them as well. She quickly realized that only the final revisions were the ones that made it into the published versions of the book in her hands.

"A Shepherd's Rest, 'A Shepherd's Guide...'" Weiss shook her head. "It should've been so obvious."

A yawn managed to escape. She flipped the page.

She heard the water run. She flipped the page.

A few clinks were heard as Robin washed the tea set. She flipped the page and yawned.

The water turned off. She flipped the page.

There were another few clinks from the kitchen, most likely from Robin putting the set away. She let out a yawn.

. . .

Weiss slowly woke up and saw the familiar underside of a hanging bed. There was the rustling of bed sheets as Yang pushed herself out of her bed with a contagious yawn. The bed above her swayed a little as a petite figure ungraciously dropped down in front of her.

A shock suddenly coursed through Weiss' body and she bolted upright in her bed. She immediately regretted her movement as she smashed her forehead against the bottom of Ruby's bed, leaving her sputtering in pain under her breath.

"Oh hey, it's Weiss!" Yang half-yawned, half-said. "When'd you get back?"

"Rather, how did you get back?" Blake questioned. "The Bullheads stop running at ten and we were up until midnight waiting for you."

Both of those questions were what Weiss wanted to know. The last thing she remembered was talking with Robin late into the night, finding out that he and Reflet Alius were one and the same, and that she was reading through the first few pages of his tactics book. A book that was currently still in her hands.

'So that wasn't a dream…' Weiss thought to herself.

A piece of paper slipped out beneath the cover of the book.

'Strange. It wasn't there last night when I was reading through it. There's no way I would've missed something right beneath the cover.'

Weiss picked up the paper and unfolded it. Written on the paper, in the same penmanship as the the writing in the tactics book, was a small message that read…

"'You'll find the answer to last night's question - my reason, in this book. You're a bright, young woman, Weiss. I know you will.'" Yang read over Weiss' shoulder. "Oooohhh, what were you doing out so late last night, Weissy~? You hiding something from us?"

"N-Nothing of the sort that you're implying, you brute!"

Her fervent denial only made Yang grin wider. A chill ran down Weiss's spine as she saw a malicious glint in her teammate's eyes. She wondered why she didn't just say that she was talking with Robin for a while and unfortunately for her, she never got the chance to figure it out as Yang literally pounced on her, despite her dislike of being touched.

. . .

"Here are your drinks, Angeal, Genesis. Is there anything else that you would like?"

A man with sleek, spiked black hair shook his head. "That will be all. Thank you again, Robin."

Robin picked up his tray and walked back behind the counter. With no more orders to make at the moment, he picked up a wet cloth and started to wipe down his countertop when his Scroll vibrated in his pocket. He took it out and and opened the message he received. What appeared on his screen was two video recordings, both of which had blank thumbnails.

"I swear, Ozpin, if this is something stupid, I am going to force feed you stale coffee," Robin vowed as he played the videos.

The recording was of a first year team at Beacon training in a combat arena. He recognized them as Team JNPR, and he also recognized the robed figure that dropped down to help them with their spar. The recording ended after the him in the video defeated every member of the team.

The second was him carrying a white haired girl through Beacon's halls at the dead of night. The video-Robin suddenly vanished in front of one of the dorm rooms before reappearing a few seconds later. Video-Robin started to walk down the empty halls before vanishing once more.

His Scroll vibrated again as he received a new message from the headmaster.

"You seem like the type that would excel as a professor and a tutor. Are you sure you don't want to take up a teaching position at Beacon? You're already doing some of the work."

Robin merely sent back a two-lettered reply before putting his Scroll away.

"What kind of headmaster stalks their students?" Robin murmured. "Creepy bastard."

. . .


. . .

Deviating from canon a bit here, but hey, there really isn't a sense of time in RWBY. I'm pretty sure that a bunch of things would've happened in between some of the episodes of the first couple of seasons. For example, Ren says, "She's been having this recurring dream for nearly a month now." That's one month within the span of a few episodes. Unless Nora's been having that very dream since before initiation.

And no, the tactics book that Robin gave to Weiss is not the same one as he gives Morgan in Awakening. One is about killing Grimm, the other is about killing humans during wars/skirmishes.

The two main reasons why I wrote this chapter was because I find it hard to believe that Weiss would just suddenly decide to give Ruby a chance, even if she talked to Port. Changes like that in a person don't happen overnight; it takes time.
The second reason was because the idea popped into my head almost right after finishing the previous chapter. Who knows, maybe every member of Team RWBY (and maybe JNPR) will have their one-on-one talk with Robin. Given his character, he could relate to a lot of them.

Btw, "Alius" is "another" in Latin.