Chapter 23: Lessons Learned

The next day, Dante and Walker attended the first of the doubles round, featuring Coco Adel and Yatsuhashi Daichi of Team CFVY vs. Mercury Black and Emerald Sustrai of Team CMEN. By then, the rest of Team SHDW knew of Walker's now-not-so-secret relationship with Coco.

"So... how did you and Coco become a thing anyway?" Dante asked his partner.

"Well..." Walker replied, "We met the day before that Grimm invasion in the library. After the invasion, we saw each other more, and one thing led to another..."

"And next thing you know, you two are making out in our dorm room," Dante teased.

"You'll understand once you hook up with Hazel."

"Will you guys shut up about that?!"

"You make it too easy!"

They directed their attention back to the arena though, when the time came to begin the match. I want to say it started off well enough, but... not really. At first, it was Mercury vs. Coco and Yatsu (Emerald had disappeared somewhere), but then Emerald's weapon came out of the forest area, grabbing Coco and yanking her into the woods.

Next thing everyone knew, Yatsu was out of aura, and Coco soon joined him, getting kicked out of the forest. And the fight was over.

Walker and Velvet wasted no time on getting up and rushing out to go check on the two. Dante and Fox Alistair looked at each other, worried for their friends. Soon, they got up to join them.

XXX

"You'll never beat me, old man!"

"You're nothing but talk, kid!"

"You can do it, Ruby!"

"Yeah, kick his butt!"

Aaaaand Ruby lost the match in Kung Fu Ninja Ultimate Death Battle 2 to Qrow.

"Ouch," Skyler whispered.

"And by the way," Qrow told his niece, "Don't ever call me old."

Yang pushed her sibling out of her spot as she grabbed the spinning controller from the air, "My turn!"

Qrow sat up while the game began again with 'NEW CHALLENGER APPROACHES!', "Now, where was I?"

Ruby popped up from behind the two players excitedly, "You were telling us about your last mission!"

"I was on the edge of my seat!" Skyler said.

"Right, right..." Qrow got back to his story, "I'd come across a small village in the swamps west of Mistral. Right off the bat, I knew something wasn't right."

"What were you doing there?" Skyler asked.

"I needed information. Tired from battling Grimm along the way, I decided to start my search at the town's inn. The place was crawling with lowlifes and thugs, even a few Huntsmen that I could only assume had been hired by less-than reputable people for less-than respectable jobs. And that's when it happened."

"What happened?" Yang asked.

"I was defeated... by the mere sight..." Qrow suddenly grinned, "Of the innkeeper's skirt length!"

(A/N: TINY MINISKIRTS!!! Hey, it's relevant. Qrow's the Fullmetal Alchemist after all.)

And Qrow got a pillow thrown at him by Yang, mainly because that story distracted Yang long enough for her uncle to beat her.

"You're the worst!!" Yang exclaimed.

Qrow offered Yang's controller to Skyler, "You wanna go?"

"Yeah!" Ruby cheered, "Avenge your girlf-"

Ruby clapped her mouth shut as Qrow raised an eyebrow, "What?"

"Uh..." Skyler gulped, getting nervous.

"Uncle Qrow..." Yang messed with her hair a bit, "Me and Skyler are kinda... dating."

After a few seconds of awkward silence, Qrow snorted, "About time."

"What?" Skyler, Yang, and Ruby all said, shocked.

"I was wondering when the heck Skyler was gonna figure it out," Qrow said, "Freaking finally."

"So... you're not gonna kill me?" Skyler asked.

"It's not me you gotta worry about, kid. It's the father you gotta get nervous about."

"Oh..." Skyler scratched the back of his neck, "Right... Can't wait..."

Ruby quickly switched topics, for Skyler's sake, "So, Uncle Qrow, did you get in trouble with Ozpin?"

Qrow waved the question off, "Nah, me and Oz go way back. We're cool."

Yang scoffed, "Cool for an old guy."

Qrow glared at her, "Not funny."

"So, what are you doing here anyway?" Skyler asked, since that question had been nagging at him, "I thought Taiyang said that you would be on a mission, for like... ever."

"Well, a professional Huntsman like myself is expected to get results, as soon as possible."

"Yeeeeaaaah, I get that," Ruby laughed, "We're pretty much pros, too."

"Oh, really?" Qrow replied skeptically.

"Psch, yeah!" Yang smirked, "Read the news sometime. We totally saved Vale while you were gone."

"Funny, because I heard Vale suffered a Grimm attack after you almost managed to stop a train. But they don't give out medals for almost."

"They do, and it's called silver!" Ruby retorted.

"I'd love to agree with you Qrow," Skyler shrugged, "But Ruby's got a point there."

"Well, we helped take down Roman Torchwick!" Yang argued, "He's locked up in Ironwood's ship and crime's been down ever since! That's basically a bounty mission!"

"Sure, you may be acting like Hunter and Huntresses," Qrow stated, "But you're not thinking like one. You really think four girls and their friends could end all crime in a Kingdom?"

Ruby tapped her fingers together in embarrassment, "I mean, I did until you said that..."

"Pokémon trainers do it all the time and they're, like, ten," Skyler muttered.

"Violence hasn't dropped since Roman got nabbed; it's stopped, completely," Qrow said, now sounding more serious, "No White Fang activity around the city. You cut off the head of the King Taijitu, but now the second head 's calling the shots. That's what Ironwood can't get through that thick metal head of his."

Yang exchanged a look with Ruby and Skyler, "You... know the General?"

And Qrow was back to his usual joking demeanor, "Hey, I know everybody to some extent. Remember, you're talking to a member of the coolest team that graduated Beacon!"

Qrow reached behind him into one of his pockets and pulled out a photo, lined with stains and age, of four figures: himself, Raven Branwen, Taiyang Xiao Long, and Summer Rose. Yang's eyes widened and he sighed in remembrance.

"Hah, Team STRQ... That's where I met your parents. We were pretty well known back in the day."

"Well known for crummy fashion sense!" Ruby teased.

"Hey, we looked good! And I have a number of inappropriate stories to back that up!" Qrow wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, but noticed Yang continuing to stare at the picture and he put it away, "But, I'll save those for when you're older."

Ruby recoiled in disgust, "Oh, gross!"

"Hey, I'm older!" Skyler argued, "...Physically."

Qrow got up and began walking out, "Anyways, I'm too old to be hanging out with a bunch of kids. You're gonna cramp my style."

He paused at the doorway and sighed before addressing them again, "Look, just remember that you've still got a long way to go... And don't think for a second that graduating means you're done. Every day out there is worth a week in this place. You three, you're gonna go far. But only if you keep learning; if you never stop moving forward."

With these immortal words of wisdom, Qrow exited down the hall.

XXX

You know I'm really working when I manage to pump out three chapters in one day. But next up in Never Miss A Beat, and we get to see a fight between Skyler and Dante of my Team SHDW vs. Edward and Elizabeth of Team EBNE! Till next time guys!