"You… if mom was your daughter does that make you my grandfather? And why do I look nothing like you, where have you been all this time and why did no one tell me about you!" Ruby said though it turned to yelling at the end of her rant.
"Calm down kiddo, I'll answer all of your questions. We do have time after all." Alea replied a tinge of amusement in his voice. "Now let's start with your first question, the reason Summer, your mom, looks nothing like me. To explain that I think we'll need to go back in time to about 35 years ago. That would make it the year 2517, right? Anyway story time, kid.
--35 years ago (2517)--
It was a hot summer day in the sand hellhole that went by the name Vacuo. A place known for getting sand in your shoes, a legal system about as functional as Atlesian anti-racism initiatives and extremely hot temperatures. Most citizens tended to stay inside on days like this one, heck you could fry an egg on the pavement if you wanted to. The only people that were visible in the city's streets were bandits and homeless. One man stood out among them. He had hair in the whitest of whites and if you paid close attention you would notice that he was one of the rare two traited faunus. He had both a tail and animal ears where a normal faunus would only have one trait. He moved through the streets with elegance, never rubbing shoulders with anyone and avoiding all unsavory people. Further down the road was his target, a bar called the Yellowflag Bar. It was no fancy establishment, it certainly fit the regulars there. A wide variety of scum from all around the criminal underworld.
When the faunus passed through the doors of the bar he was greeted with the stench of blood, cigarettes and alcohol. It didn't take him long to lay his eyes on her, she was a pretty special woman after all. Her mid-length brown hair was done in a ponytail, she had two handgun holsters on her torso and she had a tattoo with strange markings on her right arm. She was infamous for her use of two handguns. Two hands they called her, Reel two hands. Her name was in fact not Reel but Becky Lee, a name she tried to bury long ago but someone like Alea remembers. He walked up to her and sat down on a nearby bar stool.
"It's been a long time Becky, or is it Reel now? Can you excuse an old man for forgetting?" Alea said in a mocking tone.
"Fuck you!" The two handed gunman responded. "If it wasn't for our motherfucking contract I would've filled your foxy ass with lead. Anyway, I assume you wish to know where we put the package? He's currently pissing himself in the room upstairs, try to collect him as quickly as possible, wouldn't want the barkeeper to work extra cleaning."
"Well, thank you for that information Beck, I'll be sure to pick him up immediately. Oh, and before I forget, I herd you got yourself a child, Rebecca Lee was her name right? I just wanted to congratulate you on becoming a mother." With that he left for the second floor of the bar giving only a "later Beck" in terms of goodbye.
The second floor room was small. Only a couple of square feet larger than a broom closet. It was a very plain room with only a light bulb hanging from the roof and a chair pressed against the wall. On that chair sat his target. An old fat bastard that smelled strongly of urine. Alea couldn't help but pinch his nose at the smell. Even with most of the odor blocked out he still wanted to puke at the sight of the disgrace of a human being before him. He was a known slave trader, a man that had gotten himself rich by selling orphaned children and even kidnapping kids of families he considered indebted to him. The faunus spit in the man's face telling him that he should count himself lucky that he hadn't already been killed off. Alea dragged the man down the stairs and into the alley behind the bar. No one in the establishment batted an eye at the strange man dragging a screaming fat-ass through the back door. In the alley Alea leaned the man against a dumpster and started hitting him, he began with light kicks and punches but gradually got to work with his knife making well placed cuts in places he knew the man wouldn't bleed out from. He continued for hours only stopping to spit the man in the face or clean his knife, but he failed to notice two pairs of silver eyes behind a few bags of trash. When the assassin had finished job and slit the man's throat he saw them the two small children hiding in trash. One was blond the other had dark hair but both look malnourished. They were skin and bones. Alea couldn't help but feel compassion, he had been there once, living on the streets within an inch of his life surviving on scraps. It was what turned him into the monster he was. And in a split second decision he took a knee and gestured for the girls too come forward. When he could see them both clearly he spoke.
"What are you two doing digging around in the trash, shouldn't you bee with your respective parents?
"They're gone, they died a long time ago, sir." The dark haired one said in a meek tone. "We've been on the street since, sir." The girl continued not sure how to address the scary yet seemingly nice man in front of her.
"Hey now, no need for that sir crap, you kids make me feel old." He chuckled, the tension in the air disappeared instantly and he could see that the children's lips sported identical smirks. He took a few seconds to collect himself and spoke yet again. "Well how about you girls come with me, it won't be an easy life but it will be better than this."
"What do you mean, "won't be easy", does it have to do with the man you, uh, killed?" the blond one asked, clearly hesitant about his offer. To her surprise the man wasn't offended by her question he merely laughed once more and patted her on the head.
"To be honest, I'm not a good person, I am what you call an assassin. A person that kills the evil and wicked so that the good may live in peace. That girls is why I can't and guaranty an easy life for you, but, I can train you. Make you strong enough to stand on your own and maybe even protect others. So what do you say, interested?" He asked in a warm tone, he didn't wish to come off as manipulative because he truly had no ill intentions.
"Yes!" They both yelled in response. The blond one continued. "We would love to come with you, anything is better than this." The dark haired one nodded along to her friend.
"Well then, one more question then we'll leave this rotten place. What are your names?" Alea asked suddenly remembering that he'd never asked for their names.
"I'm Summer!" The red and black haired girl said, "And I'm Selene!" the other girl yelled. Alea found himself laughing yet again, these girls truly were precious. He hadn't been this happy in years, not since she died.
"So, Summer and Selene, have you ever been to Atlas?"
--Present time (year 2552)--
"So that is how you met mom then, and that blond girl?" Ruby asked, she was interested in just what kind of man her 'grandfather' was. Ale turned up his gaze and stared her straight in the eyes. At that moment he could only see Summer but it didn't take him long to see her father influence in the small rose. She had his skin and height, they even spoke in a similar way. Well that was before 'it' happened.
"That's how I met her, yes. If we have the opportunity I could tell you more about her, but that is only if you wish, of course." He said. It was hard for him to try and be as emotionally neutral as possible when the only thing he wanted to do was hug his grandchild.
"Bow why did uncle Qrow and Dad never speak of you? When I asked about my grandparents they would always just say that they'd tell me when I was older" Ruby looked unsure if she had just said something improper when she saw that Alea's mood had soured.
"Normally I would've just told you to ask your dad but since that clearly won't I guess I will have to tell you another story. This one takes place twelve years ago, a few days after Summer died
--12 years ago (2540)--
It was a late January night, a snowstorm hammered against the windows on the small logged cottage on the outskirts of the village Patch. Inside the tiny home were two young men and two children. The two men were sharing a drink when the herd a knock on the door. The wondered who could be crazy enough to be out in this weather. Only one person came to mind, an old fox. And that was the person the found when the opened the door.
Alea wasn't surprised when he saw their irritated expressions, they never liked him, thought he was a "toxic influence". He thanked them for letting him in and sat down on the living room couch. He asked if the children could leave so he could have an "adult conversation" with the other men. In a voice laced with sadness he began.
"Qrow, Tai, I don't know how to put this but summer is gone. She called me a few days ago and she said she was on the verge of dying. She… she told me that I should take care of little Ruby. She even named me her godfather." He had begun crying. "I… fuck, I can't believe she's really gone."
"Summer's… dead?" Tai said in chock. "And she told you to take care of Ruby? A fucking assassin taking care of a young child. No. No, no, no, you won't be coming near her."
"Tai I-" Alea tried but he was interrupted by the angry blond man yelling at him to shut up.
"You will leave right now and not show your face around Ruby until I let you, do I make myself clear?!" The enraged brawler yelled. And to those words Alea ran out the door like some fucking coward, leaving behind his responsibility and breaking a promise to one of the few he ever truly loved.
--Present time--
"You were supposed to raise me?" The young reaper said. "And dad never followed mom's final wish?" Alea sighed, he was not the only one that made mistakes that day. He just hoped he wasn't the only one to feel regret for his actions.
"Yeah, I as your godfather, and grandfather, was given the responsibility to take care of you. One of my biggest regrets in life might be not honoring the promise I made to your mother. Whilst I can't speak for your dad I truly, from the bottom of my heart regret never informing you of who your mother really was." You could see a few lonely tears run down the man's cheek. He sighed and uttered himself. "I hope you have it in your heart to forgive me and that you still consider the apprenticeship."
Ruby was shocked to see "The Eternal Assassin", possibly the most dangerous man on the face of Remnant reduced to tears over a promise he made and broke more than a decade ago. "I forgive you, even though I don't remember you I can see that you care fore me like you did with my mother and I would gladly accept the apprenticeship… Grandpa."
An apology chapter for the lateness of the last one.