"So he'll be alright?"
Ruby asks her uncle as they observe her father lying on a hospital bed hooked up to a heart monitor. She and her uncle sat on chairs next to him, watching and waiting for him to regain consciousness.
"That's what the docs said at least." Qrow says as he takes a swig from his flask, "Not a single bruise on him. Care to explain how?"
"I…" Ruby hesitates to answer as she glanced back to see the Hunter looking around the room with curiosity written all over his face, not appearing to be paying attention to the conversation occurring.
Her uncle followed her gaze, "Him? Speaking of which, care to introduce me to your friend? Don't think I've ever seen him around Signal Academy before."
"W-well…" Ruby tries to suppress a panic realising she never did ask for a name. She glanced at him hoping he may help her out but he appeared to be looking to her for help as well. The longer it took for her to answer the more suspicious it would be for her uncle so she spouted out the first name that came to mind.
"Hunter! His name is Hunter." she said a bit louder than intended and her uncle looked at her weirdly before back at Hunter who just shrugged as if to say; 'Why not?'
"Hunter…alright then." Qrow says, accepting her answer for now before turning to the boy in black, "So Hunter, what brings you to Patch then? You're not local, that much I can tell, otherwise I'm sure I'd have heard of you already."
Hunter shrugs before approaching a lamp, looking at it curiously before pulling its switch and turning it off, surprising him before he pulls it again and switches it back on, doing so repeatedly.
As he does this repeatedly, Qrow looks to Ruby, "Is he…alright up there?"
Ruby walks up and taps him on the shoulder, "Hunter, come on stop that, you act like you've never seen a lamp before."
"Not like this. Only ones that run on oil and fire." Hunter signs with one hand as he continues pulling at it repeatedly before Ruby awkwardly turns back to Qrow,
"W-well, he's…from Mistral! One of those villages outside the Kingdoms." Ruby frantically came up with, knowing that Mistral was one of the few places left on Remnant besides Vacuo to have villages outside of kingdom jurisdiction and walls meaning they'd have no problem explaining his lack of record. She'd go with Vacuo but Hunter was too pale to pass off as someone from the desert.
"I guess they didn't have much electric dust then?" Qrow asks annoyed before putting a hand on Hunter's, "Stop that will ya?"
Hunter relents, letting go of the lamp's string switch, as Qrow continued.
"So if you're from Mistral, what's someone like you doing here?" Qrow asks, crossing his arms, "Who taught you how to fight? You killed someone I've been tracking for quite a while, someone who's fought professional Huntsmen before and murdered them. How on Remnant did a punk like you take him down?"
The Hunter smirks almost pridefully before signing, "I was taught by my mentor Gerhman, the strongest and greatest Hunter that ever was. Anything after him is easy prey."
"He said he was taught by his mentor. Gerhman?" Ruby translates, finding it odd how familiar it sounded, feeling the Burial Blade that was strapped behind her somehow resonate at the mention of that name.
"Not someone I've heard of before." Qrow admits, "And I know a lot of Huntsmen. He must've been one tough son of a gun if what he taught you allowed you to kill Tyrian."
"...Uncle Qrow, you said they killed Huntsmen." Ruby says after a moment's pause, grabbing her own arm nervously, "Did they…kill my mom?"
Qrow's pause was deafening before he continued trying to sound as calm as possible, "Ruby, where is this coming from?"
"You said they killed Huntsmen, mom was one. And we never found out how she died." Ruby explains, trying not to let her voice crack, "Did they-?"
Before Ruby could finish her question, the door opens and everyone turn to face the new figure that opened the door.
"You-?" Qrow's eyes widened in surprise before he was cut off.
"I think I can handle this from here, Mr Branwen." a man with grey hair and round spectacles walks in with a cane, "I'm sure you have a lot of questions Ms Rose, and your young friend as well. I believe I have the answers for them."
"Go ahead, I'm sure you're hungry." the man says as he places a plate full of cookies before the two teenagers in an empty room in the hospital.
"Sorry, I'm not that hungry." Ruby apologises, but after the long night and what she saw, she just didn't have the appetite for the cookies no matter how delicious they were.
Hunter, on the other hand, reaches for a cookie, sniffing it before taking a small bite. His eyes then widened in surprise before he began scarfing down the entire plate hungrily like a wolf.
"...It appears your friend thinks differently. Hunter, was it?" he asks and the boy nods, "I'm sure you two already know who I am?"
Ruby nods carefully, "Yeah, you're Professor Ozpin. You're the Headmaster of Beacon Academy."
Ozpin smiles and nods, "Hello."
"It's a real honour, I always dreamed of going to Beacon, but why are you here?" Ruby asks confused, "Did you know my dad?"
"Yes, I did." he nods, "When I received the message he was under attack I came as quick as I could to assist him, and feared I was too late, until I received a message from a dusty old crow that he was saved by you and your friend."
Ruby nods, "Yeah, I'd be dead as well if it wasn't for Hunter."
Hunter shrugs as he finishes off the last cookie, wiping his mouth with his sleeve.
"Yes, the one who killed Tyrian." Ozpin says, resting his chin on both his hands as he stares into Hunter's eyes, "Quite a feat if I may say so myself. I've seen the results of your handiwork."
Ruby's face almost turns green at the memory of Tyiran's body as the mute boy next to her just shrugs again appearing uninterested, which reminded Ruby why she was here.
"If you don't mind, you said you had answers." Ruby says after swallowing down rising bile, "Who were those two?"
"Did they perhaps mention a reason why they attacked?" Ozpin asks as both teenagers shook their heads, "I see. Well, first I must explain who they are. Tyrian Callows and Hazel Rainart. The two of them are killers, I'm sure you could tell that much, with a grudge against Huntsmen. Hazel Rainart blames them for the death of his sister, Tyrian is just after blood for blood's sake. Your father and his team faced them years ago, and it looks like they came back to finish the score."
Hunter hisses at that, the first audible noise he made since they met which surprises both Ruby and Ozpin. Seeing this, he signs and explains,
"We are born of the blood, made men by the blood, undone by the blood." he signs.
"But what does that mean?" Ruby asks, confused as he clarified.
"This Tyrian, he lost himself in thirst of blood, Hunters must always make sure never to let the Hunt overtake them. It's what I was taught by Gerhman and another master of mine, Eileen." the Hunter explains looking disdainfully, "He should've been put down years ago."
Ruby gulps before relaying the last part to Ozpin who nods,
"Yes, and I apologise it took this long before someone did so." Ozpin apologises to Ruby, "If he was taken care of, then you wouldn't have experienced this night Ms Rose."
"It's not your fault." Ruby quickly assures before sighing, "So they just wanted revenge against Dad? He never told me about all this."
"He wouldn't have wanted to make you worried over what he assumed must be nothing," Ozpin explains.
"What about that Hazel guy?" Ruby asks, "Why does he blame Huntsmen for what happened to his sister?"
Ozpin sighs, looking suddenly tired, "Her sister was once a student at Beacon Academy. During a training exercise with live Grimm, she found herself cut off from her team and teacher. By the time we found her, there was nothing left to bury."
Ruby's hand move to her mouth in shock and Hunter just stared ahead without change in emotions as Ozpin continued,
"After that Hazel blamed us Huntsmen for failing his sister, and I agree with him. It was our fault that Gretchen Rainart died that night, but what he has done in her name is unforgivable. Now knowing this, what are your thoughts on Beacon now? You mentioned you always wanted to study there."
Ruby pauses in thought, thinking about this. She doesn't pretend she knows what it's like to lose a sister, and she never wishes to, but she knows what it's like to lose a member of your family. It doesn't excuse what he's done to both her and her father.
"...I asked my dad once if my mom was scared to fight the Grimm." Ruby says looking up and into Ozpin's eyes, "They sounded so frightening from the stories I heard. I wanted him to tell me she wasn't so I'd be less afraid somehow, like if she was somehow not scared then I could be too. But he doesn't, he just stared at me for a long while before telling me yes she was scared all the time she left home to fight the Grimm. But she was more scared about what would happen if she doesn't, about the people that'll be hurt if she doesn't stand up to the Grimm for them."
She says looking determined with every word, "I think I understand that now. Tonight I felt more scared than I ever was in my entire life and that was just against two people like us. How do people feel when they see a horde of Grimm? How scared must you be? If being a Huntress means I can spare people from feeling that, then I'll do it in a heartbeat."
"You have your mother's eyes, Ruby Rose. In more ways than one." Ozpin says with a smile sounding respectful, "If you would have me, it would be my honour to offer you a place within the halls of Beacon Academy."
"Wait, what?!" Ruby exclaims in shock.
"It's not common to hear of Combat Academy students facing veteran fighters on Huntsmen level and managing to win. You have talent Ruby Rose, and you as well Hunter, a talent I wish to foster under my academy."
He hands the two of them paper forms and a pen, "If you apply, I can guarantee a spot in the upcoming initiation. Tuition paid for in full, it's the least I can do after a close call tonight that never should have happened."
"This is… I can't believe it!" Ruby says excitedly before hesitating upon reaching for the forms, remembering the contract she signed. The contract she signed with the Hunter.
"Well…what do you think?" she asks Hunter, not knowing whether or not his contract would apply to this. She promised to take him hunting for the biggest, nastiest Grimm there was on Remnant after all.
The Hunter thinks for a while, picking up the contract and skimming through it as he signs, "Days, months, years, what's the difference? As long as we will hunt, I have no quarrel with what you do with your new lease of life."
"That's great!" she says with relief before thinking, "Hey, you should join as well! You could learn a lot about hunting Grimm in Beacon! It's one of the only four academies that train Huntsmen after all."
"Ah, like the Hunters Workshops?"
"Is that where you trained?" Ruby asks and he nods,
"Like the building, you saw in the Dream, the Workshop is a place for Hunters to repair their weapons, teach and share their knowledge, and hone their talent and skills. I'd like to see what passes as a Hunter's Workshop in this world."
"That's great! Maybe we can even be on the same team?" Ruby says excitedly.
"So Huntsmen hunt in teams?" The Hunter rubs his chin, "I'm no stranger to cooperation, but it was only occasionally. And mother has been pestering me to make new friends."
"It's gonna be awesome! Just you, me, my sister and some other stranger!" Ruby says, slinging an arm over Hunter, "We'd be the most awesome team ever!"
"Of course, but just one question." the Hunter signs as he points to the application form, "What exactly do these letters say?"
Ozpin looks at the forms as he watches the two leave the room, one of them was filled out more messily than the other, but it was legible at the least.
Hunter…No last name, no ID, no guardian contact information, apparently from an outskirt village in Mistral. Nothing about him at all besides his name, and what he filled out in the reasons for applying.
A Hunter must hunt.
A strange boy. Very strange indeed.
As he muses on his thoughts, the door slams open revealing a frustrated-looking Qrow.
"They shouldn't have been able to find them. You promised." Qrow says, his voice dangerously low, "So what the hell happened?!"
"We'll figure this out Qrow." Ozpin assures as he puts down the forms, "So-"
"And what's more you're bringing them to the academy? Planning to recruit them to our cause? I don't care what you do with that other kid, but you promised to keep Ruby and Yang out of this!" Qrow shouts as Ozpin stares back at him calmly.
"I am simply moving her to a more defensible location." Ozpin says, "We both know why we chose to hide them in the academy because it will be surrounded at all times by Huntsmen in training and their instructors. There is no safer place from her than Beacon."
"...So she doesn't know? You didn't tell her?" Qrow asks, taking a breath.
"Everything? No. Just enough to satisfy her curiosity." Ozpin answers as Qrow sighs.
"Gods damn this war." Qrow mutters before glancing at him, "And what about that other kid? Hunter. What did you learn about him?"
Ozpin shows him the boy's form, "Nothing at all. I do not buy the story of him from Mistral, but I'll have contacts reach out to multiple settlements and see if any recognise him."
"He mentioned someone that taught him." Qrow remembers, "A man named Gerhman."
"I've known many Huntsmen but I have never heard of any individual named that." Ozpin admits, "A false name perhaps?"
"What do you think his play is?" Qrow asks concerned, "Another pawn of the Queen? Sacrifice Tyrian so she can send another to infiltrate Beacon?"
"I wouldn't put it past her. It won't be the first time." Ozpin sighs, "But on the other hand, surely she'd come up with a better cover story than what we got. Keep your friends close, and enemies closer. Until we decipher his intentions we keep him in Beacon and observe him."
"I hope you know what you're doing Ozpin," Qrow says.
"As do I Qrow."
Ruby looks at herself in the mirror after changing into her pyjamas. It was barely noticeable but she could tell her skin looked a bit paler than usual, almost like that of a corpse, almost like how the Hunter's skin looked.
She wonders if it was a side effect of her close call with death, or maybe the blood transfusion she received. She just hopes that it wouldn't kick up much fuss with her family, she doesn't want them to worry any more than they already have.
She hears a noise from her room's entrance and turns to find Zwei at the door and sighs in relief at the sight of him. She had been worried when she found him missing but he was found barking around the town, her dad must've sent him away to go get help before fighting those two would-be killers.
"Hey boy, I'm glad you're alright." she smiles as she leans forward to pet him, only to be confused as he growls before barking at her like she was an intruder.
"Zwei?" she mutters sounding hurt and confused, "What's wrong? It's me."
She kneels and offers him a hand to sniff, which he does so before whimpering at her in confusion, circling her and sniffing.
"Hey buddy, what's the matter?" she asks as she gently picks him up.
He stares at her looking confused before turning his head, smelling something. Just as he does, the Hunter passes through the hall as Zwei barks at him.
"Ah, I thought I heard something. I was looking for your uncle, to give him thanks for allowing me to spend the night here." he signs as Zwei continues barking at him.
"Hey, Hunter!" Ruby calls out before speaking to Zwei, "Come on Zwei, calm down. Hunter's a friend."
Hunter kneels down looking at Zwei confused, "Is that a dog? It looks…small."
"Yeah, his name's Zwei." Ruby nods as she pets him hoping it would calm him down like it usually does. Sure enough, instead of barking, he was now growling at Hunter.
"The more things change the more they stay the same." the Hunter signs as he pokes the dog on the nose, "Dogs don't seem to like me. I always figured it must've been the plague polluting their minds, but I think it's the blood in us that they sense."
"The blood in us?" Ruby mutters remembering the blood transfusion, how the blood in her body seemed to boil her alive. As she was distracted by her thoughts, Zwei suddenly bit down on the Hunter's finger.
"Zwei! What are you doing?!" she shouts as she pulls him away from the Hunter, "I'm so sorry, he's never done that before!"
The Hunter shrugs it off as the wound on his finger began healing, and so did the leather gloves he wore,
"It's fine. Not the worst dog I've met the worst ones tear my throat off as they pull my limb from limb." the Hunter signs with an amused smile as Ruby looks at him horrified, "Yes it was surprising the first time, but honestly it gets old after a while."
Ruby closes her mouth in thought. It just occurred to her that despite how human he looked and acted, there was still something…inhuman about him. No human could have done what he did. It was all magical, for lack of a better term. The thing with the Hunter's Dream, bringing her back, healing her dad with his blood…It wasn't all just one strange Semblance. It was more than that.
"Is something wrong?" the Hunter signs in concern.
"Hunter…what are you?" she asks before realising how rude that must have sounded before correcting herself, "I mean! Not that I'm freaked out about you or anything, or that I think something's wrong! It's just…no human could do all those things you did. So…"
She leaves her question unsaid, hoping they didn't cross a boundary or anything as the Hunter stares at her blankly and quietly.
"I didn't mean to-" she starts but he signs and interrupts her.
"I am a Hunter, Ruby Rose." he responds, "All I am. All I ever will be."
Ruby just nods, knowing she probably wasn't going to get a better answer than that for now. It was a simple and vague answer that just leaves her with questions, but she'll let it go for now.
"It is getting late. You should rest now, it has been a long night for you." he signs and stands up to leave.
"Not sure how I'm going to sleep after tonight," Ruby mutters as the Hunter looks at her oddly.
"...You just lie on the bed and close your eyes, correct?" the Hunter signs confusedly.
Ruby sighs, "It's just…don't you get nightmares, Hunter? I'm scared that when I close my eyes I'll start seeing them again. I'm scared that I'll see myself and my dad dying again."
The Hunter pauses in thought as he registers this, "Then maybe we visit the Dream."
"The Dream?" Ruby asks as she remembers the Workshop with the fields of white flowers and gravestones, "I can do that?"
The Hunter nods, "As I told you, as a Hunter you have limitless access to the Hunter's Dream whenever you wish. Close your eyes, and think about waking up in the Hunter's Dream, and you will find yourself there. In my domain, no nightmare will trouble you, and whenever you think you are ready to face the waking world you can do so at your leisure with the gravestone like you did tonight."
"...That sounds nice." Ruby admits the thought of not having nightmares sounds like a pleasant thought, "I guess I could use some time to work out being a Hunter like you. It feels like I'm stronger, faster, like nothing can touch me."
He wags his finger, "Be careful. Overconfidence is a Hunters' most lethal opponent. In the Dream, I'll help you train if you'll have me. Prepare you the next time you face killers like tonight."
"Yeah, I'd like that." she nods determined, "I want to be stronger, so I can protect my dad and the rest of my family. I don't want tonight to ever happen again."
"Then meet me in the Dream, and I shall do my best to help you with that." the Hunter nods as he takes his leave.
Ruby inhales as her eyes open to find herself back in the Hunter's Dream. It looked exactly like how it did when she entered it, this time however she wasn't surprised by the tall woman.
"Hi there, miss." she greets with a smile.
The woman smiles back and bows slightly, "Welcome home, Huntress Ruby. The Good Hunter has informed me of the latest hunt. I am glad that your father is well."
"Yeah, he's still asleep at the hospital but the doctors say it's because of Aura exhaustion and stress." Ruby says with a sigh of relief, "He should be back up and running by tomorrow."
"That is good to hear." the woman smiles before gesturing down the path, "The Good Hunter awaits you at the foot of the Great Tree. You remember the path."
"I do." Ruby nods and begins to leave before stopping, "Er, I just realise. I didn't ask for your name did I? I'm sorry but what do I call you?"
The woman smiles, "I am simply a Doll, young Huntress. No name has been given to me."
"A Doll?" Ruby asks, confused. She should be more surprised, however at this point with magic blood, and this Dream place, she was only a bit surprised that she was talking to a giant sentient doll.
The Doll nods, "You mean you're literally a giant doll? Did the Hunter make you?"
The Doll shook her head, "No, no, I was made by the first Hunter, his mentor Gehrman."
"Gehrman? He mentioned that name." Ruby mutters, "Who was he?"
The Doll looks at her with a tired smile, "A man whose story is too long to tell in a short period. Perhaps another time, child. You do not wish to keep the Good Hunter waiting, do you?"
"Ah, right! I almost forgot!" Ruby smacks herself on the head before rushing down the path, "I'll talk with you later, Miss Doll!"
She passes by the pair of iron gates into the field of white flowers and the giant tree where the Hunter was waiting.
"Hunter!" she waves at him, "I'm here."
He nods to her, smiling as he pulls up the mask that covers the lower half of his face before signing,
"Good, we can begin training then. Whenever you're ready."
"Alright." Ruby nods before glancing around, "So how are we training? Obstacle course? Sparring match?"
The Hunter, however, pulls a deadly-looking scimitar out of nowhere before splitting it into two kukri-like blades, signing with a blade in hand, manifesting the silver letters in front of him,
"Live combat."