Something something beginning author's note because I honestly can't think of anything witty to put here. Uhh…I can't think of a chapter name so it'll be the stock 'Chapter 9' for now? Until I can think of a suitable chapter name? Yeah, I'll get back to that when my brain decides to cooperate.

Honestly, thinking of names is the hardest thing to do for me. I spend more times on making my character name in RPG games than anything else, save for a few select bosses.

Speaking of games, Sekiro. Absolutely love that game.

Anywhey, here's story. Enjoy.

. . .


. . .

Pride.

It could be many things, both good and bad.

If one has too much of it, then they would very easily be seen as arrogant and boastful. They would most likely push away anyone who could potentially be a genuine friend to them and be alone in the world, despite their so-called "friends". The people that they become surrounded by would most often be individuals who are shallow and would very easily turn their backs on their "leader".

However, too little pride can also be a bad thing. Without pride, they wouldn't be able to stand up for themselves, and as a result, would get walked over by others. They would become a mere shell of their former self.

Pride was a fickle thing. It could very easily be taken a mental type of cancer. There was a very fine balance between having too much of it and too little - the line between arrogance and meekness, and Robin liked to think he walked on that line. Then again, that was merely his opinion and his alone. But at this very moment, he was starting to think his pride was leaning a little more in the "arrogant" direction.

The same could be said for his opponent, refusing to back down. His eyes were filled with an iron will and an unwavering focus. No amount of determination nor display of strength from Robin would cause him to avert his gaze to give Robin the victory. This was something that they both knew.

"You are dangerous," Robin said, slowly unfolding his arms. "Left unchecked, you could very easily sway everyone to your will. They would do your bidding without question and without hesitation, and that is something that I cannot allow."

There was no response from the being in front of him, no change in expression.

"I did not wish to do this, but you leave me with no choice."

Reaching into the depths of his spacial storage, Robin pulled something that he never thought he'd take out. At least, not this soon. The moment the item appeared in his hands, it happened. It was so brief, lasting only for less than a tenth of a second, but Robin had seen changes that were swifter and more minute than the flicker of his opponent's eyes.

He held back a grin. With this, his victory was assured -

*BANG*

The door to his temporary office suddenly burst open and a young girl clad in black and red stumbled inside. Her eyes frantically danced around the room before settling on Robin and his opponent.

"Zwei!"

"Woof!"

Robin's opponent jumped off the counter and leapt into Ruby's arms just as Yang entered the room.

"Finally found you! I was so worried!" Ruby cried before looking at Robin with grateful eyes. "Thank you for finding him!"

"I did nothing that is worth being thanked for, Miss Rose," Robin laughed. "Your dog, Zwei, was it? He walked in here on his own and hopped onto my desk. He refused to budge from that spot as if he knew you would eventually come. He is a very intelligent dog."

"Hehe, he is, isn't he?" Ruby beamed.

Yang walked over and pointed at the item in his hand. "Why?"

"Ah, this?" Robin twirled the dog treat between his fingers. "He looked like he could use a treat. I figured that I'd give him one now rather than later so that he would not wander off in search of more. Just saying, I won the staring contest between the two of us."

Ruby pouted and rubbed Zwei's head. "Zweiii, I told you not to go to other people for treats!"

"Woof!"

*BANG*

"Hey, birdface!"

Robin raised an eyebrow at the newcomer. "Would you like to be the pot or the kettle in this situation?"

Instead of answering, Qrow stormed up and shoved his scroll into Robin's face. "How did Glynda get this photo!?"

"Photo?" Robin leaned his head back a little to see what Qrow was angry about. And then a devious grin formed on his face. "Ah, that. You should ask Ozpin for that answer. He was the one that took the photo, not me."

"I already asked him that and he led me to you," Qrow growled. "Now talk before I make you, shit-for-brains!"

There was a soft gasp. "Uncle Qrow! Language! Bad!"

Qrow looked down in confusion at the small hand that hit his arm. "Ruby?"

"Sup, Uncle Qrow," Yang smiled.

. . .

There was a light, clattering noise as Robin set down a tray of drinks on the table. Handing the drinks out to their respective drinkers, he said, "So…this is your uncle…"

"Yup!" Ruby beamed at Robin as Yang took a seat next to her. "He's the one that taught me how to wield a scythe!"

"Glad that's the only thing you picked up from him," Robin said.

"Got something you wanna tell me?" Qrow glared.

"Yeah. How are you the uncle of this precious little child here?" Robin smirked, placing a hand on Ruby's shoulder.

"Hey! Hands off my niece!"

"Hands off that flask," Robin countered, eyeing the metal container in Qrow's hand. "You're a bad influence on the younger generation. And did you not learn from the previous time you were knocked out?"

Clicking his tongue, Qrow put his flask away while muttering under his breath. Knowing him, it was most likely profanities and curses aimed at Robin.

"You two know each other?" Yang asked, unable to keep her surprise out of her voice.

"We've met a few times," Qrow reluctantly grumbled as Robin sat in his chair.

"Bit of an understatement. He's been coming to my store almost every night for the past couple of weeks. Only stopped temporarily since I'm stuck here at Beacon," Robin added and looked at the two girls with a mischievous grin. "Did you know he tried to kill me within the first ten minutes of knowing each other?"

"You what?!" "Uncle Qrow!" "Woof!"

Qrow looked at Robin with a look of horror and slight betrayal. "I was drunk!"

"You're always drunk. It's just a matter of how drunk."

"You were nowhere close to dying."

"I'm pretty sure getting hit on the back of the head by a pointy glass bottle hurled by a huntsman can kill someone. Especially if they're caught off-guard."

"You easily dodged it."

"Out of sheer luck that I bent my body ever so slightly to take out my wallet at that very moment."

Ruby pouted at her uncle. "You said you would stop drinking so much."

"Yeah, Qrow," Robin smugly smirked. "I thought you told her that you'd stop drinking so much."

"That's a cheap shot, using my own niece against me," Qrow glowered. He took a sip of his coffee and recoiled at the taste. "How in the world do you drink this sh- " He glanced at Ruby's pouting face and corrected himself at the last second. " - swindle?"

"Like how you drink anything else. You drink with your mouth," Robin snarked.

"Piss off."

"You're the one that asked the question. I simply answered. It may not have been an answer that you wanted, but it was an answer nonetheless. You have no right to complain."

"I have every right to complain!"

"You sound like a child."

"Well…" Yang rested her elbow on the table. "You're the one that said that you can be a child once but immature forever, right?"

Robin folded his arms and proudly smiled. "Well said, Miss Xiao Long."

"And now you're teaching them life lessons. Fan-freaking-tastic." Qrow rolled his eyes and leaned back in his seat. "What's next, taking up a teaching position at Beacon? You already covered for Glynda once. Still are, I should add."

"Yeah, let me get right over there and start teaching the students how to brew a perfect cup of coffee," Robin sarcastically replied. "Everyone knows that you can win over the Grimm with a cup of bean water, bringing peace to the entire world."

"Don't knock it 'til you try it."

"Is that what you tell yourself whenever a woman's figure draws your eye? How'd that girl from four nights ago work out for you?"

With an irritated click of his tongue, Qrow took a sip of his coffee. "Just because you don't like to go out as often as I do. You should try it sometime, venture out and see who catches your fancy. Unless…" Then his eyes slowly widened in mock horror. "…You're not a eunuch, are you?

"Sorry to tell you this, but I already have a woman in my life," Robin said, rolling his eyes at Qrow's last statement.

"Do you now?"

"Oh! Is it Thana?" Ruby suddenly asked.

"Thana?" Robin and Qrow both asked, the former in confusion and the latter in curiosity.

"Yeah, Thana. The woman who was working here the other day," Yang said with a grin. "Guess you like women with bigger assets, huh?"

Qrow adopted a shit-eating grin. "Oh, so that's what you look for in women?" He then turned to Yang. "What's she look like?"

"She looks like she's way out of your league, Uncle Qrow," Yang smirked in response.

"Hey!"

"Ouch. Being told that by your own niece has got to do wonders for your self-confidence," Robin laughed. "But, in all seriousness, who's Thana?"

"The really pretty lady who took over for you the other day when you were on a Grimm hunt!" Ruby answered.

A few seconds passed before Robin finally understood who the two girls were talking about. "Oh. Her." A sour look then appeared on his face. "No, I'm not seeing her."

"You… You actually forgot about a bombshell like her?" Yang incredulously asked.

"In my defense, it's been a while since she used that name," Robin said with a shrug of his shoulders. "And Yang's right: she's way out of your league, Qrow."

"I'm going to hurt you," Qrow vowed.

"You can try," Robin said in a challenging tone.

"Ooooooh, that looks like it'd be fun to watch," Yang said. "Uncle Qrow versus Robin?"

Qrow scoffed as he set down his cup. "Please. He wouldn't stand a chance. Ain't that right, Ruby?" When the little Rose didn't reply, Qrow's confidence faltered slightly. "Ruby?"

"…I don't know about that," Yang said, answering for her younger sister, who nodded in silent agreement. "I mean, we haven't seen Robin fight seriously, but he's still pretty good. At least, from what we've seen in combat class."

The older Huntsman's eyes narrowed slightly, and despite his laid-back attitude, a spark of a challenge appeared in his eyes. "That so?"

"You mean you've never seen Robin fight?" Yang asked.

"Nope."

"Not even a Grimm?"

"Nope."

"Speaking of fighting Grimm…" Yang turned her attention to Robin. "What did you fight on the day that Thana ran Shepherd?"

Something akin to a grimace appeared on Robin's face. "An annoyance. Stubborn bugger wouldn't stay down despite having its wings clipped."

"Wings? Oh, then you fought a Nevermore?" Ruby asked.

"…Sure," was Robin's skeptical reply.

"What do you mean, "sure"?" Yang huffed. "You make it sound like you didn't fight a Nevermore! They're the most common winged Grimm, the only others being…the Manticore and Sphinx… No way…"

Robin didn't verbally reply. Instead, he merely gave them a grin that neither confirmed nor denied Yang's statement, and just as it seemed like he was going to answer, there was a knock at the door.

"Enter," Robin said.

The door opened and a certain headmaster walked in with the other half of team RWBY behind him. Silence settled upon the room for a few seconds that felt a lot longer than it actually was.

"Robin. Qrow."

"Oz."

"Four-Eyes.

The three adults curtly greeted one another as the students looked around with confusion evident on their faces.

"What's going on?" Yang slowly asked. "Weiss, Blake, why are you two here?"

"That is what I wish to know as well," Weiss said. "Blake and I were in the library when Headmaster Ozpin asked us to follow him."

"That I did, and now that all of you are here, I can now say why," Ozpin said with a nod. He approached Robin's side table, which was just recently placed for brewing coffee, and asked the cafe owner, "May I?"

Robin offhandedly waved his hand. "Go right ahead."

"My thanks." As Ozpin poured himself a cup, he glanced around the room. "Did some cleaning last night? The room looks to be quite free of dust."

A strange expression settled on Robin's face, one that the others couldn't place. "Something like that. Had to do some impromptu remodeling."

Ozpin raised an eyebrow. "The layout seems to be the same as the day you came in for Glynda."

"The room was flipped on its head."

There was a moment of silence after that. Every pair of eyes was on Robin, figuring that he was simply exaggerating, and while it was most likely an exaggeration, his tone made it seem like the room was actually flipped on itself. But then again, Robin was still quite a mystery to everyone in the room.

"So why are you here?" Robin asked Ozpin, either unaware or not caring about the little dilemma that he caused. "If it's for something stupid, I'm going to force-feed you a second cup of stale coffee down your throat alongside the first, which I have yet to give you, by the way."

The color drained from Ozpin's face as and he cleared his throat with a fist over his mouth. "Yes, back to why I brought along Miss Belladonna and Miss Schnee."

"Pfft. A Schnee," Qrow snickered.

"Is something the matter?" Weiss hotly asked.

"Pay the brute no heed, Miss Schnee. Consider what he says to be nothing more than a drunk man's ramble," Robin quipped.

"Care to repeat that?" Qrow challenged.

"Quiet, you drunk brute," Robin immediately replied with a smirk. "Let the headmaster speak."

Qrow opened his mouth to make a retort when Ozpin cleared his throat again, causing him to close his open mouth. However, that didn't stop him from glaring at Robin.

"As I was saying, the reason why I brought these two here is because of their team's actions from last night," Ozpin said. "I believe the school rules are quite clear on acts of vigilantism, despite the circumstances. In this case, a first-year team fought the White Fang and the infamous criminal, Roman Torchwick, all on their own. They even dragged a visiting student from Haven and Atlas."

"But we didn't even talk to him! That blondie just jumped into the fight on his own! Out of nowhere!" Yang protested. "And that Penny girl just followed us!"

"Nonetheless, the fact remains that you went against the school rules," the headmaster calmly replied. "As such, I shall delegate the current combat professor to deal the proper punishment for breaking the rules."

Robin narrowed his eyes at Ozpin. "You…are an absolute - you know what? Make that three cups of coffee for - "

"Qrow, if you would come with me," Ozpin said, cutting Robin off. There was a smug glint in his eyes, but if one paid close enough attention, a hint of fear could be seen in there as well. "There is a matter that I wish to discuss with you."

"Is it how that photo you took got around?" Qrow asked, and Ozpin shook his head. "Tch, fine. I'm coming."

Not a single word was said as Ozpin and Qrow left the office. The moment the door closed behind them, Robin let out a lengthy groan.

"I'm going to hurt him. I don't know when, I don't know how, but one day, I'm going to hurt him," Robin grumbled to himself, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Maybe I'll just dump out a gallon of fresh coffee into a sink while he's bound to a chair while I force feed him stale coffee. Make him cry."

The four students in the room plus one dog stared at each other in mild confusion, although Blake visible flinched when she met eyes with Zwei. Her shoulders stiffened and she retreated to the opposite of the room from the little dog in Ruby's arms.

"So, professor, how are you going to punish us?" Yang provocatively grinned, her voice turning more sultry with each word. "Us four…innocent…girls?"

The faces of Ruby, Weiss, and Blake turned varying degrees of red as Yang leaned forward onto Robin's desk. Robin, on the other hand, while still pinching the bridge of his nose, simply looked down to the corner of his desk, right where Yang's hands were placed. Then his eyes flicked up and met Yang's.

"You? Innocent? Forgive me if I find that hard to believe, Miss Xiao Long," Robin calmly replied. He removed his hand from his face and brought up his holographic desk keyboard. His fingers danced across the buttons and a few screens popped up above his desk. "I've more than a few reports from the city from your little…adventures. Most of them involve some form of property destruction and fights with civilians, such as this one."

He brought up another screen that displayed the front of a restaurant-bar. At least, what remained of the front. The restaurant's name was broken, the doors were blown off its hinges, and a few windows were shattered. Worst of all, every member of Team RWBY recognized the place.

"Looks familiar, does it not?" Robin continued. "It almost looks like that restaurant that a certain first-year team went to visit for a late lunch and was promptly kicked out of around almost two months ago."

"Y-Yeah…about that…" At least Yang had the decency to look ashamed. "Technically, it wasn't our fault since the people there tried to touch Ruby."

"And whose brilliant idea was it to bring along two seventeen-year-olds and a fifteen-year-old to a restaurant bar while she herself is underage?" Robin countered and Yang averted her gaze. He then sighed and dismissively waved his hand across the multiple screens above his desk, almost as if he was shoo-ing them away. "But that is neither here nor there. Before that, however…" He turned his attention to Blake and Weiss. "So?"

It took the two girls a moment to realize what Robin meant by that one word. They looked at each other for a few seconds before nodding simultaneously, almost as if they had some sort of silent conversation through their eyes alone.

"Yes," Weiss answered.

"That is good to hear." Robin nodded. "Now as for you breaking the rules… How's I give you a figurative slap on the wrist and you can run along."

Yang and Ruby immediately perked up. "Okay!"

Weiss, on the other hand…

"What?! No!"

…clearly did not share the same sentiment as the two sisters.

"Rules are rules for a reason, and they must be followed! If broken, there must be proper repercussions for the felon!"

Three disheartened groans immediately followed Weiss' declaration, the three being from Yang, Ruby, and Robin.

"Can I not?" Robin whined.

Weiss huffed and crossed her arms. "You are a professor at Beacon Academy - "

"Correction: I'm a temporary and an unofficial professor at Beacon," Robin said, cutting her off. "And I don't even have a degree of sorts to even be qualified to be a professor of any sort. The only reason why I'm here is because I now have leverage over Glynda. An 'IOU', in layman's terms."

The Schnee Heiress raised an unamused eyebrow and crossed her arms in a dignified manner that only a Schnee could pull off. "Really?"

"You'd be surprised at how far a single favor can take you," Robin sagely said. "An eye for an eye, a debt for a debt, lien for lien, and so on and so forth. It's all a matter of who you do the favor for and when you call in that favor. For example, last night, when the four of you and the two visiting students were fighting Roman Torchwick and the White Fang."

"Last night?" Ruby tilted her head in confusion. A second later, her eyes lit up. "Oh! You mean that guy with the really cool gun that came in to help at the last second? He was all like - "

. . .

" - "RAUR!" It was like an ugly contest where everyone was a winner! 'Cept me, of course.

"Anyhoo, I shot this one guy, pew! Then I shot this other one, pew! Shot a couple extra guys just to be safe, pew doosh doosh!" He paused in the middle of his story and picked up his glass, putting away his finger gun for the time being. "I did…I did a lotta shooting, if I'm being totally honest."

Robin said nothing as he simply took a sip of his own drink. If he was being totally honest, he was only paying half-attention to the story. After all, one of his favorite life quotes that he lived by was, 'There's a very fine line between not listening and not caring. I like to think I walk that line every day of my life.' And while yes, he didn't do that every day like a certain man that was certainly not an AI, the first part of the quote came in very handy more times than Robin was willing to count. Which was not that high.

...The willingness part, that is. Not the counting part.

Robin would like to take this time to affirm the fact that he could very well, in fact, count very, very high.

"Then PEKEEEWWW! One of them shoots a rocket and they destroy my favorite store - second favorite, there's that spicy ramen shop we just went to - I'm getting sidetracked. Look, long story short, I get busy, and I'm thinking, 'I got this', y'know? When you're in that 'I-got-this' moment, but man…" He shook his head and placed a fist onto the table. "…I so…did not…have it."

"…I'm sure, Cayde," Robin deadpanned, taking another sip.

"Hey, it's not my fault that one of those Bullheads that I shot decided to land on me!" Cayde tried to reason. When Robin continued to give him the same look, he let out a deep sigh. "Guess you had to be there."

"Indeed."

. . .

Robin shook his head as he remembered his outing with the 'guy-with-the-really-cool-gun', or so Ruby put it, after finding out a way to restore his office.

"Who was he anyway?" Yang curiously asked. "The last time I saw him was after the Bullhead crashed into him. I thought he'd be seriously injured from that, but he just walked it off like it was nothing after digging himself out! I mean, who does that?!"

"He is a prime example of having people owe you favors," Robin said. "I called in one of the favors that he owes me to watch over you girls so that you would've run into any sticky situations. In this case, he was there to prevent the White Fang reinforcements from inside Vale from overrunning the entire dock."

"We could've taken them," Yang confidently said, crossing her arms.

Robin's eyes narrowed almost immediately. "Do not underestimate the power of numbers, Miss Xiao Long. Even ants are capable of taking down a lion." His eyes moved from one member of the team to the other. "While I have no doubts about your fighting capabilities, everyone has their limits. You'd do well to learn them as soon as you can."

"Isn't there some saying about limits being broken?" Ruby asked.

"Indeed, however, that in itself is a double-edged sword, Miss Rose," Robin answered. "While yes, limits are indeed meant to be broken for one cannot grow without doing so. However, if you chase after your limits recklessly and without abandon, then it will bring you more harm than good. There is a time and place for everything. Like how there's a time that I should be giving you some sort of punishment for breaking the rules but now is not it since I'm not exactly guilt-free in this situation."

"What do you mean?" Weiss narrowed her eyes a little.

"Oh, nothing really. After all…" His eyes slowly moved and landed on Blake. "…I never really said anything in the first place, did I?"

It took her a second but Blake's eyes widened slightly as she remembered his words from the previous night. A knowing smile appeared on her lips as she gave him a curt nod in response while Ruby, Weiss, and Yang furrowed their brows in confusion.

"Now, I believe the four of you have things to do, such as studying for exams or training for the upcoming Vytal Festival," Robin continued, waving a dismissive hand. "I'd advise working as a whole, then in two-on-twos, then one-on-ones."

"What about the punishment?" Weiss asked as a reminder, much to the displeasure of everyone else in the room. "You didn't give us one."

Robin groaned into his hands. "Weiss…" he began, his voice slightly muffled from behind his hands. "…I can either let the four of you off without having to take any extra lessons, or I can leave your punishment behind for Professor Goodwitch to take care of and oversee. Which would you prefer?"

At the mention of the original combat instructor's name, all four students paled. Just as Weiss opened her mouth to speak again, Yang leapt forward and covered the Schnee's mouth.

"I think we'll take the first option," Blake hastily said as Yang held back a kicking and muffled-screaming Weiss. "Thank you for your time, Robin."

Robin gave her a small nod. "Have a good day, Blake. And to the rest of you."

The four students left the office not ten seconds later. The moment the door closed behind them, Weiss broke free of Yang's grasp and glared at her.

"Hey hey hey, relax a bit, Snow Queen," Yang said, raising her hands in a placating gesture. "We got off scot-free after breaking the rules, rules that the headmaster enforced. Shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth, right?"

Weiss looked like as if she was about to say something. Then she closed her mouth, opened it, then closed it again. "…Fine. I still don't think that we should've just been let off, but I'll agree with it this one time only. No more freebies after this, got it? No matter how small the slight."

"Got it, got it," Yang laughed. A sly grin then formed on her face. "By the way… Blake, Weiss?"

"Yes?" "Mm?"

The grin on Yang's face grew wider. "When did the two of you get so close with the Shepherd that he's on a first name basis with you?"

Specks of red appeared on both Weiss and Blake's cheeks, but while Weiss struggled to form an answer on her tongue, Blake simply smirked and walked ahead.

"Maybe he just likes us better than you and Ruby," Blake evenly said over her shoulder.

No one would ever know about her higher blood pressure and the fact that her heart was beating faster than normal.

. . .

Jaune's foot repeatedly tapped on the hall floor as he stood in front of the door. Seconds trickled by and that nervous feeling in his gut grew with each foot tap, and he was beginning to think that the door in front of him would never open.

"Maybe he's not in his office right now," Jaune muttered to himself. "I mean, he does have his own shop to run and all even if he is teaching here. And I'm pretty sure that teachers get a lot of paperwork that they have to get done. I'll just come back later…yeah…."

Just as he was about to leave, however, the door opened with a click.

"How do you do, Mister Arc? What brings you here to my office?"

Jaune had mentally prepared himself for this. He ran through many potential conversation starters in his head for this sort of situation, but for some odd reason, his mind went blank at that very moment. As such, the only thing that came out his mouth was…

"Uhh…hi…?"

'Very smart, Jaune,' he mentally chastised himself.

With an amused look on his face, Robin opened his door wider and stepped to the side. The faint aroma of coffee seeped into the hallway from the office. "Would you like to come in? Unless, of course, you're fine with standing out here."

"No no, I mean - yes!"

"Yes, you'd like to stand in the hallway?" Robin asked with a raised brow.

"No!" Jaune quickly replied.

Lightly laughing to himself, Robin fully opened the door and gave Jaune ample room to enter the office.

It was just about the same size as the student rooms, maybe a bit bigger, so while not being the largest room that he'd seen, it was still quite large for a single occupant. There was scarcely anything that looked to be like Robin's personal effects, though Jaune figured that it was due to the fact that he was not a permanent teacher but a short-term one. The only things that decorated the room was a clock, a desk, a few chairs, and, not to his surprise, a coffee maker.

"So, Mister Arc." Robin sat down behind his desk while motioning for him to sit. "What can I do for you?"

Jaune took a seat on one of the two seats on his side of the desk. The orange glow from the setting sun landed directly onto his seat, causing him to avert his gaze as he sat down. Robin must've noticed that the sun was in Jaune's eyes, evident by the fact that he pressed a button to heavily tint the windows. Sunlight still seeped through the glass, just not as glaring.

He opened his mouth to speak, only to just realize that he didn't know how to properly address the man in front of him. Most of the professors in Beacon, plus one doctor, were referred to by their surnames, and Jaune had no idea what Robin's surname was.

It also just hit him how much of a presence that Robin exuded. It was a complete contrast to how he felt in front of Robin at A Shepherd's Rest. Jaune couldn't really explain it, but when he was at Shepherd, he felt a sense of warmth when standing in front of Robin. Almost as if he was home. Like Robin was truly the friendly and charismatic man that he showed himself off to be.

Here, on the other hand, Robin didn't seem like that at all. While yes, the cafe owner still had that smile of his that all of his regulars were familiar with, the aura that he had was completely different. And Jaune wasn't talking about Aura, but aura. It wasn't necessarily hostile, but it wasn't exactly friendly either. Actually, no - it was still friendly, but it was a different sort of friendly. It was sort of like the feeling he got when Professor Goodwitch would stare at him with those terrifying, appraising eyes of hers, only the feeling that he got from Robin wasn't as -

"While I'm not completely against someone staring at me, I'm afraid that I'm already taken. As are you, even if you do not realize it yet," Robin said with a grin.

Heat rose to Jaune's face from Robin's first sentence while confusion settled upon hearing the second.

"Wha - Huh?" he sputtered.

Robin burst into laughter. "Think nothing of it, Mister Arc. For now, at least."

"…Ooookay?"

"In any case, what is it that you wished to ask of me?"

Taking in a deep breath, and swallowing a bit of saliva that had accumulated in his mouth, he began to speak.

. . .

Some time later, Robin leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Strength, invincible, powerful… Do you know what they are, Mister Arc?"

Jaune took a moment to think about those three words, and aside from their literal and obvious meanings, he couldn't think of anything else. As such, he shook his head in response.

"They are merely words. Nothing more, nothing less. It is up to each and every individual to decide what they mean for themselves."

"But - "

"Earlier, you asked me how I got to be as 'strong' as I am now, on what I did to achieve this 'strength'." Robin pursed his lips. "I will not lie in saying that years of live combat was the main reason. Live combat is by far the best teacher out there, but at the same time, it is also the cruelest and the most unfair of teachers."

"Oh, that's right. You used to be a huntsman, didn't you?"

A small grin formed on Robin's lips. "Of sorts. I was many things in life, but my fondest memories are of those when I was working with an old militia group."

"…What were they like?" Jaune asked. When he received a raised eyebrow in response, he quickly added, "I-I mean, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to or anything, but it's just - "

To his surprise, Robin started to laugh. "It is quite alright. I was merely surprised that you'd be curious about my past. I would have expected such a question from Miss Belladonna or Miss Schnee as both of them are inquisitive souls."

"U-Umm…sorry?"

"Nothing to apologize for," Robin said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "Now, I say that I traveled with a militia, and on paper, it was. But in all honesty, we were nothing more than a rag-tag group of misfits. Every one of us had a quirk that defined us, something that separated us from the usual crowd. For instance, there was one guy who could communicate with crows, another who managed to be perfectly average at anything he did, another who had an entire library and plus stored in her brain, and a woman who said she was at least a hundred times our age yet looked the same age as us."

"And you? What was your thing?"

"Me? Well, that's for me to know and you to figure out. That is, if you're up to the task."

Jaune was silent for a few seconds as he reviewed what he knew about Robin. And then he once again came to the realization that he knew very little of the man.

"You're uh…too relaxed?"

"Good try, but no. In any case, live combat would be my answer to your question. Partially."

"What do you mean?"

"…" Robin didn't say anything, opting to stare at Jaune. If he was being honest, the gaze he was under was unnerving. "…Tell me, Mister Arc, why do you fight? This is not me asking why you want to become a huntsman; you have already explained that bit during your entire spiel earlier. This is me asking you why you fight."

Jaune lowered his gaze and thought on the question. For the first couple of seconds, he thought of his family's history and how they fought in the War, and how he wanted to uphold that reputation. He was about to say that as his answer but there was something in the back of his mind telling him that it was not the answer. It was definitely a reason, yes, but it wasn't the answer.

And then the faces of his team popped into his head. Nora, the hyper-energetic girl whose physical strength did not match her body's stature. Ren, always calm and composed, and always willing to lend a hand or ear.

Then there was Pyrrha.

A small smile rose to his face the moment she came to mind for some odd reason. He honestly didn't know what he did to deserve such a friend like her. She was kind, caring, down to earth, and was always willing to stick by his side. It didn't matter to her that he wasn't good at fighting, nor did it matter that he faked his way into Beacon. Even when he was being pressured by Cardin and pushed her away for his own foolish and selfish reasons, she stuck by him and was even willing to help train him.

There was also the fact that her eyes seemed to sparkle when she smiled at him and how he was always happier when with her, but that was neither here nor there. In fact, Jaune didn't know what that was in the first place, so he figured that it wasn't really anything of importance.

And it wasn't just her that stayed by his side throughout all of this. Ren and Nora were also worried for him and offered him their help even though he didn't ask for it nor did he deserve it. Ruby's team was also worried for him.

Slowly, his answer to Robin's question became so simple.

"I… My friends…" Jaune took in a deep breath as his hands curled into fists. "…I don't want to let them down. They've always been willing to help me out even though I pushed them away, and then I yelled at them, at her, and hurt her. But, even though I was a terrible friend, partner, and team leader…even though I really shouldn't have been let off so easily, they forgave me after a single apology. More than that, they're still willing to help me and stick by my side.

"So that's why I want to get stronger. Why I want to become a huntsman." Jaune steeled his gaze and looked at Robin. "They did so much for me, so I want to get strong. So that I won't let them down again, and so that I can be someone that deserves to stand by their side, not only as their team leader, but as their friend."

For a few seconds, Robin said nothing. Then he sucked in his bottom lip ever so slightly. Then he pursed his lips. And then a strange sound came from his throat. It wasn't until he covered his mouth with a hand that Jaune realized that the impromptu professor was trying to hold back his laughter. The moment the realization hit Jaune, Robin actually did burst into laughter.

And he continued to laugh for a full minute.

"I must admit: it's been a long time since I've heard something like that," Robin finally said as his laughter began to die down. The grin on his face didn't follow the laughter, unfortunately. "That is, without a doubt, one of the cheesiest responses that one can give, Mister Arc."

"S-Sorry…"

"There is nothing to be sorry about, Mister Arc," Robin said. "As naive as your reasons are, they are what will carry you far. If it is for the sake of others, you'll find that you won't be giving up as easily."

"What do you mean?"

Robin gave him a slight chuckle. "It is much simpler than you think, Mister Arc. What I mean is exactly that. You being here is already a prime example, is it not? You said it yourself that you wish to become a better leader and become stronger for the sake of your teammates and your friends. Can you tell me with complete honesty that you'd be sitting here, in my office, were it not for that very reason?"

Jaune really couldn't refute that statement and managed to give him a nod in response.

"And while I said that your reasoning is naive, it is not necessarily a bad thing," Robin continued. There was a faraway look in his eyes that Jaune was unable to catch. "It's the ones with that sort of mentality that make the heroes in novels and the like, after all."

"I…don't think the rules of a novel and story can apply to real life," Jaune grumbled. Then realizing that he might have come off a bit rude, he quickly added, "N-No offense."

"No offense taken, Mister Arc," Robin said with a small smile. "And besides, who's to say that your life will not be a story some day? I highly doubt that that the legendary figures of Remnant began their journey knowing that they'd be recorded in history. And every single one of them fought for the sake of others."

"Of course, this is not me telling you that, just because you have a self-sacrificing and slightly altruistic motive, you will become a hero-like figure in the future. Just because one has the potential does not mean that one will. You could very well be the main character of one story, your story, but you could also very easily be a side character, or even a background character, in another's."

Jaune took a few seconds to let those words sink in. Then a dry smile appeared on his face. "I guess the others were right."

"Mm?"

"Pyrrha, Blake, and Weiss… They were talking about how you spoke to them like some sort of mentor the other day. They said that, even though every one of their situations and problems were different, you were able to give them sound advice to help them out in one way or another." Jaune reached up and sheepishly scratched the back of his head. "I was just thinking that the three of them were right."

"I'm glad to have been able to help," Robin replied. "In any case, I do believe that you've found your answer?"

"I…think so," Jaune said with a slow nod. "Basically, you're saying that strength can come in different forms. It's up to each individual on its interpretation, but the truest form on strength is when you pursue it for the sake of others and not yourself. Right?"

Instead of giving him a clear response, Robin smirked, saying, "I will neither confirm nor deny that. You said it yourself, did you not? That strength is defined by each individual?"

It took all of Jaune's willpower to not sputter in indignation. In hindsight, he should have expected an answer like that. He may not know much about the enigmatic shopkeeper, but the one thing that Jaune was able to gather about him was the fact that he tended to ask open-ended questions, like when talking about his Semblance. To this day, Jaune and his team still didn't know what it was.

A knock suddenly came from the office door, throwing Jaune out of his reverie.

"Yes?" Robin called.

The door opened with a click and Professor Goodwitch stepped inside.

"Evening, Professor," Robin cordially said. "It is good to see you up and about again."

"Robin." Professor Goodwitch returned the greeting with a nod. "And it is good to be no longer bedridden." She then turned her head to look at Jaune. "Mister Arc."

"H-Hello, Professor. Are…you feeling better?" Jaune hesitantly asked. The woman was terrifying even when she was just looking at him.

"I am quite well, thank you for asking," she replied. Jaune might have imagined it, but there was the slightest tug on her lips for a fraction of a second. "If I might ask, what brings you here?"

"Mister Arc here simply had a question that he needed to ask me," Robin answered in his stead. "We were just about done when you came in, which, I'm assuming, means that my time here at Beacon is done?"

Professor Goodwitch's gaze lingered on Jaune for a second longer before turning to Robin with a glint in her eyes.

"If you wish to leave, then you may. However, from what I've seen and heard, I've found that you are quite the phenomenal instructor in combat class, and you also seem to have the time to talk to your students one-on-one. I would like to offer you an extension of your stay here as an instructor here at - "

"Nope!" Robin immediately cut her off. "Two days was more than enough. I'd be more than happy to relinquish this job back to you and get back to running my shop."

An amused look appeared on Professor Goodwitch's face. "Pity. Very well. If that is your wish, then I shall respect it."

"Thank you for understanding. Now, if you don't mind, I'll be taking my leave now." Robin stood up and looked at Jaune. "Mister Arc, if, by chance, you have more questions, you'll know where to find me."

With that, he took a single step before vanishing into thin air.

. . .

Glynda fought the urge to shake her head in exasperation. She never thought that she'd meet someone that was more of an enigma than Ozpin, yet Robin was just that.

"U-Umm…" Jaune slowly rose from his seat as his eyes danced around the room. "I think I'll be leaving now."

She gave him a nod. "Farewell, Mister Arc. I shall see you in class later this week."

The student all but scampered out of the room, leaving her alone in her office that now held the faint aroma of coffee. As she took a look around, she noticed Robin really didn't change much, leaving almost everything untouched. The only thing that wasn't there before she fell ill was the small table to the side of the room that had a coffee brewer sitting on it.

Then, just as she was making her way around the office table to sit, she noticed something. It wasn't anything big or anything - rather, it was quite literally a tiny matter.

"Perhaps the man is more of a clean freak than I expected," Glynda muttered to herself. "There isn't a single speck of dust anywhere."

No matter where she looked in the room, it was true. Even the cabinets in the back of the office were clean, and if her memory served, she last remembered them having a thin layer of dust on top of them. She was going to clean them in the future, but then she caught that cold, throwing her cleaning plans out the window.

"I must thank Robin for having cleaned the room in my absence. I wonder if he'd share his cleaning techniques with me. If he managed to get the office to be this free of dust in just two days, then I'd love to learn how to do so as well."

. . .


. . .

Oh, Glynda, I'm pretty sure you don't want to know how the room got that clean in the first place.

And for a fic about a man running a coffee shop, this chapter and the previous haven't really been about the coffee shop, has it? If the ending of this chapter is anything to go by, then things should be centered around the cafe.

…Maybe. We'll see where my brain takes me for ideas since I don't really have a storyline for 'Shepherd'. I'm just flinging ideas at a wall to see what sticks when writing this. And when writing out 'Plegia's Strategist'. There is no roadmap for either story. Wtf is wrong with me.

. . .

On a completely different note (mostly), I've been thinking of doing a Fire Emblem x My Hero Academy crossover fic since there isn't a single crossover in that fandom yet. I have three ideas for it, the three being:
- Robin as a student at Yuuei.
- Robin as a teacher at Yuuei.
- Robin as a vagabond in the MHA universe and being the guy who's always at the wrong place and at the wrong time, somehow getting caught up in the canonical events of MHA.

I'm leaning more towards the last once since I'd have the most freedom in it while writing.

But then again, that'd require a good amount of time investment and it'd be another story that I'd have to keep my mind on. I'm barely managing to work on the ones I'm working on now (failing at it, if I'm being totally honest), and that's with me just thinking of crap to write on the spot for both 'Plegia's Strategist' and 'Shepherd' (I'm basically half-assing these two stories). Unless, of course, I do the same thing with the FExMHA fic and just not take it seriously.

I'm also thinking of adopting the story 'Half-Hot Half-Cold' from user ICanRememberThis, but once again, the same problem of time investment comes up.

Decisions decisions…