So. Kingdom Hearts 3. Feels like the end of an era.

On a different note, the votes are in from the idea mentioned in the previous chapter.
Result: I continue on as normal with my own ideas.

Thank you to all that voted!

. . .


. . .

A vein threatened to pop up on Robin's forehead. Despite standing far away from the surrounding crowd, he could hear their voices - their whispers; their uncertainty of a mere cafe owner standing in front of them.

He heard all of this, but it wasn't the cause for his annoyance. That reason went to someone else.

"You owe me for this one, Glynda," Robin growled as he unfolded his arms. "Not only did I have to shut down my shop for a day just because you decided to get sick, you're making me take your teaching spot at Beacon. I didn't even think you could even get sick." He could practically see Ozpin's smug look in his head. "Might as well get this song and dance over with."

The moment he took a single step forward, the whispers died down as every eye landed on him. He took out his scroll from his pocket and opened up a file from Glynda before looking back at the students. With a simple cast of stationary Windcraft, he kept his scroll afloat in midair.

"So!" Robin brought his hands together and looked around. "It is to my knowledge that it is during their third year that Beacon students begin venturing out on official Grimm hunts, despite having a few during the latter half of the second years. I was given a report on a few details on all of your missions, and after reading them over, I must say…" A few of the students leaned forward, eager to hear his next words. "All of you are stupid! Is there something wrong with all of your heads?"

Over half of the students flinched from his unexpected criticisms. Not caring about their reactions, Robin put up a quick review of one of the student teams hunts on the large screen that would usually display the fighters' Aura levels.

"For example, Team GLCR! Just last month, your team fought a Goliath up the Vera Mountain Range, yes? Everyone knows that they are slow, heavy, and extremely powerful, so the fact that the single village that was there was already evacuated is an admirable feat. I applaud you on keeping the casualty count at zero."

The four students proudly smiled under Robin's praise. That smile vanished the next second.

"However, what were you thinking during that time?" Robin continued, bringing up a topographic map of the Vera Mountains. "Had your team led the Goliath west instead of east, there would have been no need to evacuate the village at all! Furthermore, Goliaths are known to have difficulty while traversing downward slopes, slopes that are abundant in the range west of the village! A single, well-placed attack on their legs would have downed them easily on the slopes!

"And Team SCLT, why in the world would you fight a nest of Deathstalkers in the only desert-like area of the Tycross Territory? They're scorpions! They can burrow into the sand and hit your blindsides! You could've moved two klicks south to the riverlands and had a much easier time!"

Robin continued criticizing multiple third-year teams on their recent performances while also pointing out things that they could fix or improve upon. Twenty minutes later, a devious grin formed on his face as he called out the last team.

"Team SKVS!" Robin bellowed, causing the four of them to stiffen in their seats. "Specifically, Shiro! While I will not shoot down the prospect of keeping the mood light during missions by playing a game, there is a time and place for everything! Holding a game to see how many more Grimm you can kill than the other while escorting injured to the nearest medical personnel is a terrible example! What's worse is that you didn't even win your game! You lost to Kiragi by over a dozen scores!"

Multiple snickers could be heard throughout the combat arena, causing Shiro's ears to go red.

"However, all of that is neither here nor there. All of that was simply me advising all of you on tactics, but in the end, this is a combat class. With that said…" Robin turned the screen off. "I'm sure that all of you are well aware that the Grimm are not the only threat out there in the world. There are criminals, bandits, and rogue huntsmen that will not listen to reason. There is no doubt that you will come across them in the future, so today, I will be testing you. All of you."

More murmurs filled the air as Robin pulled a sword out of his dimensional storage. It was very simple in make, being a Chon'sin variant with its single-edged blade. The scabbard and handle were of a 'shirasaya' make, completely made of wood with no finish to it, and had no guard, or 'tsuka'. It was a sword that was more or less meant to be a decorative weapon and hung up on display - one that would usually never see combat. Usually.

"Now then, Shiro." Robin drew the blade from its sheath, causing the beautifully crafted metal to gleam in the arena floor lighting. "Seeing how you still owe me a table for breaking mine a month ago, why not bring your team down here? Beat me and I'll forget the table. Lose? Well… I'll decide your punishment later. Let's see how you fare against an experienced fighter."

Robin didn't know it due to him being unable to see his own face, but he was sporting a terrifying grin on his lips. It was at that moment that all the third-year teams in the arena realized that, sometimes, a human being could be the most terrifying monster in the world.

. . .

The entire cafeteria was buzzing with excitement. Not even the tables that seated teams JNPR and RWBY were exempt from this as Yang dropped down onto the table.

"Did you hear?"

"Hear what?" Jaune asked.

"Professor Goodwitch has fallen ill, so we'll be having a substitute combat teacher for the unforeseeable future," Weiss answered.

"Oh. That's…neat."

"I know, right!?" Yang grinned. "I hear he's a damn good fighter, recruited by Headmaster Ozpin himself! The third-year teams that weren't on any missions fought him earlier this morning, and they were all beaten!"

A slight frown marred Pyrrha's face. "That sounds a little worrisome if I'm to be honest. Beacon's third and fourth years are all experienced huntsmen and have been taking field missions from the latter half of their second years. They may just be students, but they are more than capable of handling themselves in a fight."

"That's why I'm so excited! Aside from our teachers, how many people do we know can handle a huntsmen team on their own?"

For a brief moment, Jaune was reminded of a certain cafe owner that single-handedly beat his team a month ago. He shook his head. There was no way that their substitute teacher and Robin would be one and the same.

Never before in his life had he been more wrong.

That very man was standing in the center of the arena floor with a holographic tablet in his hand. Judging from the extensive swiping motions he was making, he was most likely scrolling through a list of sorts. After a few more seconds of scrolling, his brow furrowed at the screen as he mumbled something to himself.

"Team C-R-D-L…the hell kind of color would be comprised of those letters?"

The members of the aforementioned team froze in their seats. They, just as everyone else, definitely heard the rumors of the third-year teams' resounding losses.

"Hmm…the only word that comes into mind right now is "cradle", but that's not a color. Where's Sumia when I need her? She's the expert on colors, not me." Robin exasperatedly shook his head. "Ozpin, you senile, four-eyed, assface… What the shit. At least put the actual name of the team in here somewhere!"

There were a few gasps from the students as they heard the cafe owner openly curse their headmaster.

"Screw it. Team C-R-D-L, get your barely-passing-combat-class asses down here! And Team…what the - What kind of color can you get from the letters 'P', 'H', 'L', 'X'? Phalanx? What kind of color would that be? Is that a reference to the ancient Spartans? If so, what color would that be? Bronze or red? Did they even exist in this world?"

That last line was muttered under his breath so that none of the students heard him. Not even the multiple faunus caught it with their enhanced hearing.

"I-It's phlox," one student from Jaune's right quietly said. "It's a pinkish-purple color."

Robin didn't hear the student's comment, evident by his next line. "Team P-H-L-X! You get your strangely named team down here as well!"

A few minutes later, the barely-passing-combat-class team and the strangely named team were standing single-file in front of Robin. After a quick glance at all of them, he walked to the center of the arena floor and pulled out a wooden sword out of nowhere. It was plain in design, had a slightly curved 'blade', and didn't have a guard. It looked more like a smooth, curved stick than anything else.

"Question for all of you in this place." Robin placed the tip of his sword on the ground and began tracing a circle around him. "What is the biggest advantage you have at your disposal in your teams? Your biggest strength?" He looked up after tracing the circle, which was now brilliantly glowing. "It's teamwork. Didn't expect that, did you?

"As cliche as this may sound, there is no "I" in "team". You either stand together and win, or fall alone. If you coordinate with each other, you can tackle challenges that would normally be too big for you to take down alone. Up until now, Professor Goodwitch had all of you fight each other in pairs or in a one-on-one scenario. Today, I'm going to see how efficiently your teams can work together. Or how inefficiently, perhaps."

"Hmph, a cafe owner wants to teach Huntsmen how to fight?" Cardin of barely-passing-combat-class scoffed. "This'll be good."

A few students in the stands nervously laughed with the other three members of CRDL, not wanting to draw the ire of the lone man who handled their senior classmen. Teams RWBY and JNPR, on the other hand, shook their heads. One team learned of Robin's past feats and the other experienced his skills firsthand.

"Why, Mister Winchester! I was going to have Team P-H-L-X go first, but you've convinced me to change my mind!" Robin icily smiled at the arrogant student. "Thank you for volunteering your team to be the example for today! Your assignment is to get me to take a single step out of this circle. Do that and you pass. Simple, right?"

Cardin pushed his way forward with a smug grin on his face. "Hmph. This should be easy." He then rushed towards Robin with his mace in hand, leaving the rest of his teammates behind.

As Cardin continued to run at Robin, the substitute teacher stood still with a shocked look on his face. Thinking that the look was due to surprise at his actions, Cardin's grin grew wider and he reared his weapon back in preparation for a wide swing.

Robin still wasn't moving.

"What is he doing?!" Weiss hissed.

And then a vein of anger and annoyance comically popped up on Robin's forehead.

"You impertinent fool!"

In a smooth motion, Robin stepped in, avoiding the "head" of Cardin's mace, and grabbed the shaft of the large weapon. Using the momentum to his advantage, he effortlessly tossed Cardin behind him like a ragdoll.

"Naive! Simpleton! You thick-headed buffoon!" Robin roared from inside his circle while shaking his sword in Cardin's direction. "Did you not hear a single word I said about teamwork?!"

Cardin growled and stood to his feet. With his cheeks red from either anger or embarrassment, he charged Robin again. He didn't even get a chance to swing his weapon as Robin's wooden sword smacked his forehead in a flash.

"Foolish child!" *Whap* "Halfwit!" *Whap* "Do you not - " *Whap* "- know - " *Whap* "- how - " *Whap* "- to - " *Whap* "- listen?!" *Whap*

Every time Robin's sword struck a different part of Cardin's body, every other student in the arena couldn't help but wince a little.

"Argh!" Cardin staggered backward. "Stop hitting me!"

"Stop being an impatient child and utilize that mass of muscle inside your skull, no matter how small it is! Even a young Beowolf has more sense than you!" Robin then turned to the other three members of Team CRDL, causing them to tense up on the spot, despite being far away from the instructor. "And you three! Why were you simply standing there when my back was turned to you? Flanking maneuvers and exploiting your opponent's blind spots is Combat 101!

"Now, come!" Robin raised his wooden sword at the other students in the ring. At the sudden movement of the weapon, all seven of them flinched, looking at the sword with abject terror. "If you have already forgotten such basics, I will drill them back into you! If your fear is staying your feet, then your assignment of getting me to step out of this circle will be postponed as I beat the fear out of you!"

In a few video games that Jaune played, specifically the more turn-based strategy ones, the bosses for each level was usually a unit to be cautious of. On higher difficulties, bosses were units that he was fearful of due to their higher stats that bordered on being broken. The silver lining was that these boss characters were usually stationary, not moving from a certain spot on their map.

Keyword: usually.

Jaune still remembered the surprise and terror that he felt when a boss in one of the levels moved. Ever since that fateful day of getting his characters annihilated by a moving boss and having to replay that level over a few dozen times, that ever-present fear of a 'what if' lingered in his mind.

So, when he saw the remaining members of Cardin's team blindly rush forward at Robin, who was still inside his little circle, he understood their fear. It was one thing to fight against a boss-like person who was stationary, but it was something else entirely to fight said boss-like person who was mobile.

"Damn." Yang whistled and crossed her arms. "Never thought I'd see the day that Robin the Shepherd become Robin the Demonic Drill Instructor."

"'Shepherd'?" Ruby curiously asked, her eyes not leaving the one-sided beatdown in the arena.

"Yeah, cause he owns A Shepherd's Rest," Yang replied.

"Oh. Makes sense."

Jaune watched as chunks of Team CRDL's Aura meters dropped with each blow they received. Russel, Sky, and Dove's Auras were already in the yellow, and Cardin, who had an impressive amount of Aura, was nearing the red area.

"Who knew that a wooden sword could be so deadly," he muttered.

And then the blood-chilling thought of having the same happen to him hit Jaune like a truck.

. . .

Jaune's muscles groaned in protest as he changed into his uniform. His body was sore all over and every movement hurt, which was a feeling shared by everyone else in the locker room. What's worse was that, for all the pain that he and his team suffered, they hadn't even come close to getting Robin out of his circle.

The impromptu cafe owner was like a wall, both solid and gaseous at the same time. Most attacks with weapons would easily be parried by his stick of pain and destruction, and heavier blows would be rendered useless like Cardin's initial blow.

Bullets were equally as useless as well. Jaune's first idea was to distract him with bullets so that Nora could smash him out of the circle with a single blow. Upon execution, however, they found out that the glowing circle would deflect any and all bullets that entered it. The result was Nora being thrown across the arena floor.

Jaune tried a few more ideas after that, ranging from logical and sound to absolutely ridiculous. His last-ditch effort was for him to be a human cannonball, despite everyone's better judgment. Nora would throw him with her herculean strength and Pyrrha would use her Polarity to accelerate him even further while Ren kept Robin distracted.

With a sigh, Jaune rubbed the top of his head. He could feel a lump that wasn't there before the cannonball attempt. At least the idea surprised Robin, even if it was just for a fraction of a second. Unfortunately, that didn't help any as he bent his body backward to avoid the Jaune-ball. Robin said that he almost got hit by the Jaune-ball, and that it was the closest that any team got to getting him out of the circle, but the thought didn't really help with the growing welt on Jaune's head.

The only other team that got close to getting Robin out of the circle was RWBY, and they had a better strategy with their attempt. Weiss' glyphs weren't affected by Robin's circle like how bullets were, and she was able to encase him in ice while Blake blocked his vision with her clones. Before he was able to break free, she created a gravity glyph above him to loosen his footing on the ground while Yang and Ruby would land a solid strike on the instructor.

It almost worked. A shattered ice block and broken gravity glyph later, Weiss received a wooden sword thrown to her face, Blake's real body took a kick to the chest, and Yang's fist was redirected into Ruby's scythe. No other attempt got even close to the first one, and they were unable to move Robin within the time limit.

Someone tapped his shoulder, bringing him out of his reverie. "Jaune?"

"Huh?" Jaune looked up and saw Ren standing next to him.

"Are you alright?" Ren asked. "You've been sitting here for a while."

Jaune looked around and noticed that he and Ren were the only ones left in the locker room.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Jaune stood up and straightened his shirt. "Just thinking about a few things."

"You're thinking about Robin's assignment, aren't you?"

He chuckled as they left the locker room. "That easy?"

"You shouldn't feel bad about the results. Given how badly we were outmatched when we first met Robin, I would've thought him to be taking it easy on us if we managed to get him out of that circle today, and that's not including the fact that he used a wooden sword, not the one he originally fought us with."

"Yeah…I know…" Jaune defeatedly sighed. "I just thought that we would've gotten stronger, you know? It's been a month since then."

"It's only been a month, Jaune. No first-year can beat a fully trained huntsman, especially one that's more skilled than most. Not even the third-years managed to beat him." He gently patted Jaune on the back. "We were one of the two teams that almost got him out of that circle, and that was with your strategies. You should be proud."

Jaune smiled, having his spirits lifted from his friend's words. "Thanks, Ren."

Ren gave a small smile back in return. "Come on. Nora and Pyrrha are most likely waiting for us in the cafeteria."

With a quick nod, the two of them began walking down the hall, neither of them wanting to make Nora wait for her food.

That girl could be very terrifying when hungry.

. . .

There were very few things in the multiverse that Robin disliked. There were even fewer things that he hated. In fact, he could count the number of things that he hated on a single hand, and one such item was sitting on top of his desk. Well, there were two things on his desk, one of which being his cup of coffee, but that wasn't the thing he hated.

If looks could kill (which was actually possible since Death could actually kill people with a glare), Robin was more than sure that the hated…thing on his desk would have died a hundred times over. Instead, the thing idly sat there, unflinching and uncaring about the utter contempt and hatred that was rolling off of Robin in waves.

In complete contrast to what Robin was feeling, there were two other people in his room were taking much more pleasure in his discomfort than a normal person would. Then again, all three members in the room were far from normal.

"Stare at it all you want, it's not going to go away," Death said, not even bothering to hide the smirk on her face.

"Maybe not by my stares, no…" Robin grunted and raised an arm. A brilliant flame burst to life in his hands. "…but I'm pretty sure I can disintegrate it into nothing."

Death snapped her fingers, snuffing out Robin's flame with ease. Had anyone else tried to force shutdown Robin's mana in such a way, the backlash from his mental wards would have directly attacked their minds. Depending on their own mental strength and will, they would've either suffered from a throbbing headache or have their mind broken.

Or die. It's happened once. Or twice. Or…maybe a dozen times. It wasn't his fault that people from different worlds tried to do so, despite his constant warnings.

"Robin, no," Death said with a roll of her eyes.

"Robin, yes!" The flame in Robin's hand was relit and was once again extinguished.

As the Shepherd and death-incarnate got into a spat over what the former could - rather, should and shouldn't do, Snow's laughter had degraded from normal sounding laughs into wheezes. She sounded like a broken woodwind instrument.

"Fine." Robin crossed his arms and stopped conjuring his flames. "I swear Ozpin is doing this on purpose, waiting for me to take up a position in his school just so that he can dump all this…" His eyes flared at the monstrosity on his desk. "…on me. I'm not even an official teacher here!"

"It's just paperwork," Death said.

"'Just paperwork'."Robin shook his head. "Paperwork can go fu-"

There was an audible crack as a fracture suddenly appeared on Robin's cup. It didn't shatter, thank the small miracles for that, but it was still enough for the coffee to slowly seep through the cup and onto the wooden desk.

"Well then…" Robin pointed a finger at the cup and cast Henry's repairing hex. The cracks on the cup fixed themselves and coffee that spilled onto the table vanished with a flick of his wrist. "I'll be leaving now."

"What happened?" Snow asked. She finally managed to control her laughter and donned a slightly more serious face.

"A stray cat has entered my house unannounced," Robin said, standing to his feet. "I'm going to go see what she wants."

With a single step, he cast a Warp spell and vanished from his temporary office in Beacon Academy.

. . .

"Hey, Death?"

"Whatever you're thinking of, yes. Let's do it."

"Hehehe. I can't wait to see his reaction."

"Likewise. Let me just reverse the gravity and then flip everything."

"I'll add the "special effects"!"

"Go right ahead."

. . .

Blake couldn't help but think of how similar of a situation she was in compared to Weiss a month and a half ago. The only difference was that the Schnee had run off in a fit of anger while Blake… Simply put, it was not the same reason. What was the same was the fact that Blake had nowhere to go, just like Weiss. Sure, there were hotels here and there, but Blake had no wish to enter one.

And so, here she was, precariously hanging off the side of a building as she picked open one of the building's windows. At first, she had felt some sort of invisible resistance, but it vanished almost immediately, making her think that she just imagined it. The window's lock was broken a few seconds later, giving her free access into the building.

And she nearly threw up the moment she set foot into the building. The second she entered, she was hit by a heavy sense of vertigo, one so abrupt and dizzying that Blake lost all strength in her legs. She fell to one knee as the world seemed to spin around her as did her stomach, twisting and churning as cold sweat rolled down the sides of her head.

Much to her relief, the dizzy spell passed soon enough, but not before having sapped most of her strength. She stood on shaky legs and -

Eyes.

Blake was being watched. She felt a gaze on her, one so intense that she felt like whoever was watching her was seeing into the depths of her mind. Her eyes darted around, looking for the source of the one watching her, but she was alone in the room. She didn't see any cameras either, so she doubted those were the source of the feeling. Unless, of course, the cameras were hidden, but that didn't seem likely.

Then the feeling vanished just as quickly as it came. Blake felt as if a huge weight was lifted off her shoulders, and she felt much lighter on her feet.

For her to feel a physical weight on her body from just a single gaze… Blake did not want to meet who or what was responsible for it.

Now that she was free from both the strange sense of vertigo and no longer felt like she was being watched, Blake took the time to look around the room. It looked and felt…familiar somehow: silver-grey walls, a couch made from Quies leather, which was one of the best, if not the best, quality leathers in the world, and a table made of glass. There was a set of stairs leading to a floor below, which made sense since Blake entered through a second-story window.

Just as she was about to move, something caught her eye. It was a giant painting that filled up one entire wall by itself, and she wondered how she didn't even notice it until now. It was vividly painted, so much so that Blake was able to tell that a lot of care went into it, despite not being very talented in art herself. The painting was of a group of around forty people, all dressed in a variety of clothing. They were out in a wide field, and there seemed to be a little story going on with every person in the painting.

There was one woman in pink clothing fixing the hair of a man with a stick of candy in his mouth.
There was a child with a hat with an excessively wide brim reading some sort of green book to a lime-haired girl with pointed ears.
A bald giant with one eye was boisterously laughing alongside a woman, both of them holding a tankard of ale in their hands.
There was a muscular man with wild, blonde hair getting chased by an angry horse.
A gentle-looking man with a bedhead was talking with a boy who had a bronze cooking pot on his head.

And then she saw Robin. He was sitting alongside ten others:

A man with navy-colored hair and a strange mark on his shoulder seated beside a woman with flowing red hair.
A woman with silver hair who looked to be Robin twin sister sitting next to a stern-looking man with dark hair.
A girl with long, navy-colored hair and a girl with red hair fashioned into two twintails. The red-haired girl was keeping a black mask out of the reach of a dark-haired youth.
A pair of twins, a boy and a girl, both wearing the same robe that Robin and his twin sister were wearing.

And a beautiful woman with pink hair who was leaning on Robin's shoulder.

Blake found herself taking a step forward. The eleven of them were sitting in a rough circle in pairs, and just from them alone, they gave off a feeling of warmth and joy. The entire painting was amazing, but it was these eleven that completed the photo.

Then she realized with a start that one, she had broken into Robin's house, and two, she was looking at his past. And since this painting wasn't in the lobby but was instead on the second floor of his house, this was most likely something that he held dear to him. Something that was private.

"This painting is of my friends, my family, who I used to travel with before coming here."

Blake did not jump into the air. She was startled, yes, but she did not jump. She didn't let out a yelp of surprise either. She turned her head and saw Robin standing next to her with his hands in his pockets. How long had he been standing there? She didn't even hear him walk up.

She opened her mouth to speak but stopped upon noticing the wistful look in his eyes as he stared at the painting. He took a hand out of his pocket and pointed at the boy with the pot on his head.

"That's Donnel. Raised on a farm before he started traveling with us. Bright kid, learned quickly, was never seen without his pot helmet." He then pointed at a teal-haired man who was sitting beside a pink-haired woman. "That's Virion and Olivia, master archer and the enchanting dancer respectively, and both of them being the best of what they do. Just from her dance alone, Olivia would rejuvenate one's spirit, and I've never seen Virion miss a target unless he did it on purpose."

Blake nodded and remained silent. She had a feeling that she was the only one that Robin ever showed his past to, and she felt…some sort of way. It wasn't unpleasant, but it was…odd. Like a bubbly feeling in her stomach.

"That's Brady," Robin continued, pointing at a rough-looking teen. "Always had that look on his face, making him look like a common thug, but he has the softest and biggest heart in the world. That scar on his face was from a violin string that snapped when he was younger. Wouldn't stop crying for hours. And then there's Yarne and Panne." His finger moved towards two people sitting by a tree. "Quite possibly the most timid person I've met and quite possibly the sternest mother I've seen respectively. And they're faunus, just like you, Blake."

It took a second for his words to register in her ears. When they did, her eyes widened to the size of dinner plates and she took more than a few wary steps back.

"…How did you know?" she asked. She tried to sound angry and cold, but her voice came out as only curious.

Robin didn't say anything for a while. His eyes were still on the painting. More specifically, he was staring at the group that the Robin in the painting was sitting with. He then took in a deep breath and gave her a soft smile.

"Would you like a seat?" he asked her, gesturing at the couch. "It would seem that there's quite a lot to talk about, such as the reason why you're here and how I knew you were a faunus."

It was Blake's turn to stay silent again. He wasn't wrong in saying that since she did have…more than a few questions that she wanted answers for.

"…Fine."

"Marvelous!" Robin snapped his fingers and a chair popped into existence by the table. And not just any chair: it was his favorite chair. The very one that Weiss sat in the other time. "Now then, as I'm sure you have many questions while I only have a few, you may start. Ask away."

Blake slowly took a seat on the couch as Robin idly spun side to side on his chair. After a couple of seconds, she repeated the question from before.

"How did you know?"

"That you were a faunus?"

She nodded. In return, he simply gestured at the top of his head and began to make circle motions with his finger.

"Your bow twitches on its own every now and then, especially when something catches your interest," he replied with a small smile. "Not only that, you move with a grace that only faunus can move with."

Blake raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"I mean exactly that. I'd like to think that I have very good observational skills. I've always been able to see and notice things most people do not, even if I point it out for them. This is one such example, and it is something that I've noticed after working alongside humans and faunus for many years. Perhaps it is due to their inherent traits and abilities, but every faunus I've seen moves with more fluidity than a human.

"I was also with Ozpin when he was going over all the student applications; gave in my two cents on who should and shouldn't enter Beacon." He adopted a sour expression. "Friggin' Four-Eyes wouldn't stop asking me why I thought someone should or shouldn't enter the school."

A small bit of fear ran through Blake's heart. No, it wasn't fear. Worry? Panic? …Trepidation?

"…Did you…?"

"Did I come across your application? Yes. Did I know that it wasn't entirely true? Yes. Does Ozpin also know? Yes."

Blake's mouth suddenly felt very, very dry. "…You knew that they're - "

"Fake? Forged? Basically a lie to cover up your history?"

"Then why?!" Blake nearly shouted.

She didn't understand. Robin knew who she was - what she did in the past. He knew that she was, or once was, affiliated with the White Fang. And given that he said that he and Ozpin personally went over each application, what point was there in accepting an ex-White Fang member into school? In fact, why would they even want an ex-White Fang member in -

"You should really work on your poker face, Miss Belladonna. You'd make for a terrible player at this rate."

Blake was momentarily taken aback by his comment. "What?"

"To answer your question - rather, questions… Would you believe me if I said that it was on a whim?"

"No," she immediately replied.

Robin exhaled a little more sharply than normal. It was like an amused scoff or a snort. "Figured as much. Very well. The reason why I passed my vote to enroll you was because you reminded me of an old friend of mine. Not you exactly, but your situation."

"I can't imagine many people to have been in my situation," Blake frowned.

"You'd be surprised. There are quite a few people that left an organization or group because they either did not want to be a part of it in the first place or because the organization lost sight of what it once was. It happens all the time, whether it be a company, a movement, or simply a circle of friends."

"But how many of them are - were part of an organization that started to kill innocents?"

"Plenty. My friend that I mentioned earlier was part of one such group. It was very much like the White Fang: started out peaceful and stood for the underappreciated and the "lesser" of people. Then something happens that causes them to change, and while their end goal is the same, the means to it are not.

"As for my friend…well, he's a friend to me but I'm pretty sure that I'm merely an acquaintance to him, but I digress. He was originally part of an organization that my friends and I were on…not-so-friendly terms with. Then one day, he decided to leave. Even joined us in fighting the group he literally just left. You could imagine the amount of suspicion and distrust that my friends had of him. In the end, he turned out to be a damn good fighter and a really fun guy.

"And like I said before, the group he left was no longer the group that he joined in the beginning. It was originally a group that took from the corrupt nobles and helped the poor, but then there was a…change in leadership that caused the organization to become a group that sought death and ruin."

Blake frowned as she listened to him. The group he was talking about really did sound like the White Fang with the only difference being their purpose. The White Fang wanted equality, and what started out as a peaceful protest turned into a group that was seen as a terrorist organization.

However, she never heard of a group like the one that Robin was talking about.

"What were they called?" she asked, taking a sip of her tea. She didn't even know when Robin managed to prepare it for her, but she wasn't complaining.

"A topic for another time," Robin replied. "Now, may I ask you a question of my own?"

" …Sure."

"Do your teammates, specifically Miss Schnee, know the truth?"

Blake grimaced and averted her gaze. "…Yes."

"Judging from your reaction, they either did not take it too well or they found out from a third party before you told them. And given how you are here instead of with them, am I safe in assuming that you, for a lack of a better term, ran?"

'I didn't run!' is what Blake wanted to say, but the words wouldn't leave her mouth.

"I ask you this, Miss Belladonna: do you really think so little of your team that they wouldn't accept who you are?" The look of disappointment on Robin's face cut deeper into Blake than she expected. "None of them are so petty to abandon you just because you are a faunus. And while Miss Schnee would be discomforted and shocked, she would be more than understanding if the situation was properly explained."

"It's not that simple! I'm part - was part of the White Fang! Weiss told me that she saw the White Fang murder people that she knew right in front of her eyes!" Blake countered. "She said it herself; she hates them!"

"And as you said, you are no longer part of the White Fang," Robin calmly replied.

"You think something like that will matter?"

"Yes."

His immediate answer caught her off guard, causing her next word to get caught in her throat. Robin capitalized on that moment to continue speaking.

"I will admit that, at first, Miss Schnee will not listen to reason," he said. "But she has a brilliant mind, and I have no doubt that once she has taken the time to think things over, she will understand. If she was so petty, then I highly doubt that she would have followed Miss Rose as her leader for this long."

He said it with so much confidence and certainty that Blake wanted to believe it. "Wanted" being the keyword.

"…How can you say… How can you be so sure?" Blake asked.

"Because I was put in a similar situation as yours, albeit a little different."

"You seem to have a lot of similar experiences," she scoffed, but there was no malice in it.

Robin gave her a nonchalant shrug. "I'm a bit older than I look, Miss Belladonna, and as such, I've had quite a few experiences. And if one were to look at them from a certain angle, they can very well be taken as life lessons and they can be applied to many things in everyday occurrences."

Blake recalled Thana's words. "Robin is older than he looks… has to do with his…genetics."

"How old are you?" Blake blurted out before she could stop herself.

"Miss Belladonna, don't you know that it is quite rude to ask someone about their age? It is quite the delicate topic," Robin replied with a smirk.

"That rule tends to apply to women, not men," Blake said, rolling her eyes.

There was a brief pause before Robin burst into laughter. "Fair enough, Miss Belladonna. Fair enough." He leaned back in his chair. "Now, setting aside Miss Schnee's potential reaction to your return, what will you do now?"

"What do you mean?" Blake asked. She noticed that he never properly answered her question about his age.

"Well, I'm guessing that this fallout between you and your team started with the Dust shop that was attacked earlier today," Robin said, taking out his scroll. Raising his scroll to eye level, he tapped a few buttons on the screen and began to read, "'Another shop left in dust, possibly White Fang?' Not the top story, but it is still on the first page of articles on the web."

Blake's hands slowly curled into fists. "…That was what started it, I'm pretty sure."

"And so I ask you: what do you plan on doing to clear the White Fang's name in this situation?" Robin asked. "Surely you don't expect anything to be solved by simply avoiding your team. In fact, the longer you dally, the more…emotional your reunion will be."

"I'm going to find the ones that are actually responsible for these raids and prove that it isn't the White Fang!" Blake adamantly answered.

"Mhm. I see." Robin nodded as he tapped away on his scroll with one hand. "And how do you plan on doing that? How will you know when and where the next raid will be if there is to be another? Do you plan on just waiting around for however long it'll take?"

"I…I don't know…" she reluctantly admitted.

Robin nodded again and tapped his scroll a few more times. "'When caught in a situation that you seem to be unable to get out of, always take the time to step back and review the situation. You'll often find that the answer to your problem has been sitting in front of you the entire time.'"

"'…sitting in front of you…'" Blake quietly repeated.

She recognized that line from Alius' tactics book. From Robin's tactics book. She made a mental note to ask him a few things about his novels later. Her eyes moved up and she stared at the author in front of her, who was still idly playing on his scroll. Then her eyes widened in realization.

"Wait! You mean…!"

An impish grin appeared on Robin's face as Blake caught onto the literal answer. With his eyes still on his scroll, he said, "It just so happens that a little birdie has informed all of the professors of Beacon about a Dust transport, one belonging to the SDC, that has been raided not too long ago. The professors were told to keep this information private, but I am not a professor at Beacon. At least, not officially.

"Which is why I am not the one telling you that a certain western dock will be receiving quite a large import of high-quality Dust that so happens to be the same amount missing from a certain enterprise. Said shipment is estimated to arrive within four hours."

Blake's mind was soaking in everything he said like a sponge. "…Why are you telling me this?"

"Hm? Whatever are you talking about? I didn't tell you anything," Robin mischievously grinned.

"I… You…" Blake shook her head. Then a small smile rose to her face and she stood up from her seat. "…Thank you, Robin."

Robin simply nodded and she began to leave. She opened the window that she broke - entered from and grabbed the sides to boost herself up onto the windowsill.

"Oh, and Miss Belladonna?"

She turned around and saw Robin twirling around a set of keys in his hands.

"If you ever wish to enter my house, all you need to do is ask," he playfully smirked.

It took her half a second for his words to register in her head. When they did, heat rushed to her cheeks and she jumped out the window to avoid further embarrassment. She immediately regretted that decision as she was hit by another terrible sense of vertigo and she fell towards the ground.

Thank the tuna gods for Aura.

. . .

"Huh… And here I thought cats always landed on their feet," Robin mused. "Maybe I should duplicate the wards at cafe's entrance to the windows - on second thought, naaahh. If they get affected by the warped space, that's on them for breaking into my house."

From the street below his window, Blake slowly stood up and hobbled away. By the time she was halfway down the block, she seemed to have gotten over her dizziness as she gracefully leapt away. Once she was out of sight, Robin took out his scroll and dialed a number. It only rang twice before the person on the other end picked up.

"Hello," the man said in a happy-go-lucky tone.

"Hey, it's me. I'm calling in one of those favors."

"Uhh…come again?"

"Those bets that you lost?"

"Mm…doesn't ring a bell."

"…You know I have the other two on speed-dial. I can tell them that you've been sneaking off into the city and playing hooky on your job. And there's still the matter of the ship that you "lost"."

"O-OH! Y-Yeah, those bets, yeah! I remember now!" the man nervously laughed. "Please don't tell them. Please, please please please please please! I'll treat you to that spicy ramen shop that I've been telling you about!"

"Just get this job for me done and I won't tell them. How's that sound?"

The man sighed. "Alright. What do you want me to do?"

"Don't sound so bummed out. You get to get out of that tower of yours and get some fresh air with an actual excuse this time."

There was a split-second pause on the line. "You had my curiosity but now you have my attention. What's the job?"

"Nothing too troubling. I just need you to keep an eye on a few individuals for a few hours. Make sure that they don't get themselves in too sticky of a situation. Might get yourself some target practice."

"Ugh. Of all the things to do, you want me to babysit?"

"As I said, you get to get out of the tower for a bit. Unless, of course, you want to take my workload from Beacon and do more paperwork."

"When and where do you need me?"

A triumphant smirk appeared on Robin's face. "I'll send you the details in a few. Have fun."

"Sure thing. Oh, and after this, wanna get some ramen?"

"Maybe."

"Let me know!"

Once he ended the call, Robin opened up the private documents that the Beacon professors received. With a few taps on the screen, he forwarded them over to the person he just talked with along with a few more details.

"And with that, I'll keep Miss Belladonna and her friends safe," Robin said to himself. Then his easy expression contorted into one of disgust as he channeled mana in the space in front of him. "And now, more paperwork at Beacon…"

Before he finished his cast, he glanced over at the large painting on the wall. His eyes lingered on the scene of him sitting with his family before he took in a deep breath. Then he finished his cast and stepped forward, reappearing in his temporary office in Beacon immediately…only everything was…flipped.

"…What the…"

Robin was definitely in his office, but he wasn't standing on the floor. Instead, he was standing on the ceiling of his office. The floor was above his head along with his desk and chairs. The paperwork was somehow clinging onto the desk, stubborn and insufferable things as they were, and his cup of coffee was still there. It was as if someone got the entire room and flipped it on its head. Even the windows were upside down.

"…Who the fuck…?" Robin let out a rare curse as he stared at his flipped office.

"Language, Robin."

"To whom the fucketh?"

Something whapped him on top of the head.

"No! That's not any better!"

Robin inhaled as slowly as he could and counted to ten. Then he exhaled just as slowly through his mouth before turning around to see Death and Snow standing in front of him. Both of them had the same shit-eating grins on their faces.

"Like what we did with your room?" Snow asked.

"…Why."

"I must say, it was a little more difficult than you'd think," Death said. There was a hint of pride in her voice. "I had to ask Space for the more intricate parts of the remodel."

"…Why."

"Think of it this way, Robin. It's now like that one scene from the pirate movie!" Snow brightly grinned. "The part where they flip the boat upside down!"

"…No."

Snow's grin turned into a pout.

"How am I supposed to work with my room like this?" he asked.

"That sounds like a 'you' problem," Death smirked. "Toodle-doo~"

And then Death and Snow were gone before Robin could do anything. As the shadows from Death's gates receded into corners of the room, Robin took out his scroll and redialed the number from earlier.

"Change your mind about your "maybe"?"

"Change the ramen to a drink and we'll be good."

"What happened - you know what, I don't even want to know what happened in the span of a few minutes."

"Smart."

"So…how's we make that ramen and a drink? Would that work?"

"That works too."

"Woo! Spicy ramen shop, here I come! Still got your coupons!"

Then the call ended, leaving Robin alone with the predicament of a flipped office that he had absolutely no idea how to fix.

"'When caught in a situation that you seem to be unable to get out of, always take the time to step back and review the situation. You'll often find that the answer to your problem has been sitting in front of you the entire time,' huh?" he dryly repeated. "Just my luck that I'm always getting the situations that aren't 'often'. What kind of irony is this: writing a tactics and guide book that can't even apply to the guy that wrote it?"

. . .


. . .

This really should've come out sooner, but thanks to an amazing friend, I finally got a PC for games. Now I get to regrind all my past thousands of hours of games! Like Monster Hunter: World and Warframe! (I'm really, really not looking forward to that since I had a ton of stuff on my Xbox account. All my Primes and mods that I spent countless hours grinding and farming for…all locked behind that wall known as "Different Platforms".)

And then when I finally got to a not-really-but-sort-of-comfortable spot of grinding, Kingdom Hearts 3 comes out. And oh my goodness, the music in the game beautiful.

But hey, at least A Shepherd's Rest is finally having some ties to canonical events in RWBY! Blake's little runaway happens a bit differently and I completely omitted the harbor scene, but I'm pretty sure that most of you already know what happened and possibly read more than enough RWBY fics to know what happens.

Robin's skills with Support conversations from Awakening is making small changes in characters, but even the smallest drops make ripples.

Easter eggs. Not that many this time. Just a few Support conversation scenes from Awakening and some exposition from FE7. How does Robin know about the events of a game that he wasn't even a part of? In due time.

Oh, and then there's the person that Robin called. Put a few hints in as to who he is, and I'm sure some of you already know his identity. I'll reveal him…next chapter? Dunno. Maybe.

. . .

And what in the world…? You remember how back in Chapter 5, I called you people crazy? Yeah, lemme up that to 'Insane'.

500+ follows, 350+ favorites, and 100+ reviews. I can't imagine the RWBYxFE fandom to be very big, and I'm not saying that due to the small number of stories in this crossover.

Where are you all coming from? Rather, how did you stumble across this? (Rhetorical questions. No need to answer them.)

In any case, many, MANY thanks to all of you for the follows, favorites, and/or reviews. Never thought that a story that I started just on a whim would get this popular, especially since everything I'm writing in here is just me faffing about.

See you all in the next chapter, you insanes. (I know that's not a word, but I'm calling you that now. Deal with it.)