Meeting Haven Lion Headmaster
Qrow is seen walking in front of team RNJRK in a dark alleyway as the older Huntsman has made a fully recovery and they are ready to meet the Headmaster of Haven Academy, he see up ahead of the end of the alleyway.
"The City of Mistral." Qrow said.
"Ugh! It's about time!" Nora whined.
"Now Nora, a lady shouldn't be whining like that. It's bad manners." Kimi scolded.
"Whatever. Whose idea was it to walk again?" Nora asked.
"Well, we did face many obstacles. Broken airships, destroyed settlements..." Ren listed the things they faced during their travel.
"Oh, and, you know, all those people and monsters that tried to murder us." Jaune added.
"Pfft, we were fine. Only one of us almost died." Ruby smiled.
"Hey!" Qrow smiled back.
Nora smiles and wrap her arms around Ren's making him smile back, Jaune and Kimi did the same having their own love moment.
"So, how much farther to Haven Academy?" Jaune asked.
"Almost there. But I figured I'd take you kids on the scenic route." Qrow pointed ahead.
The group approaches the large double wooden door as Qrow opens it, filling the tunnel with sunlight as Ruby dashes out first going onto the massive platform and is also an elevator, her eyes widen of surprise and amazement.
"Wow!" Ruby smiled.
The others quickly join her, and they too became amazes of seeing the wonderful sight in front of them that is the Mistral City.
"This... is... awesome!" Ruby said.
"Did you come here before, Kimi?" Jaune asked.
"Yes, I believe it was when I was nine. My mother took me and my brother here for a little business trip and visiting an old friend of hers, the first time we saw this place was breathtaking and it looks like it still is today." Kimi explained looking at the scenery.
"It's certainly something." Qrow commented.
"Oh my gosh, look at all the weapons!" Ruby spotted a small shop selling weapons.
"Vendors here'll sell you just about anything... whether they should or not." Qrow explained.
"(In other words, black marketplaces are okay here.)" Ren thought.
"They really made the most out of these mountains." Jaune surprised.
"Every inch. Stay away from the lower levels. The higher up you go, the nicer it gets." Qrow explained some more.
"And we are going up!" Nora pointed up exciting.
"Hopefully, there won't be any trouble along the way." Jaune hoped.
"I don't think we have to worry about that, consider everything we've been through, we should be okay in the city." Kimi believed.
(One Elevator Lift Later)
Everyone is now walking onto the schoolground of Haven Academy as they admire the place with the traditional strong feeling from just being here.
"We made it." Ruby sighed in relief.
"It certainly took us quite a while to get here, but it was worth it." Kimi smiled proudly as Jaune nods.
The teams are now walking inside the hallway making their way to the Headmaster Office, but Qrow is seem to have notices something strange right now at this school and slowly the teen Hunters are noticing it too.
"Hello?" Ruby called out if there is anyone here, but there was no respond.
"Hello!" Ruby shouted out louder, but no respond again.
"Maybe try louder." Nora suggested.
"There doesn't seem to be anyone here." Ren stated, finding this weird.
"Well, I guess school isn't really in session right now. Maybe that's it." Jaune guessed.
"No, Haven Academy should still have a few workers here to prepare for the classes to start up again." Kimi informed with a serious look in her eyes.
"She's right, we got to check inside!" Qrow hurried on ahead.
"Wait for us!" Ruby said as she and the others follow Qrow.
Qrow and the team arrive at the door of the Headmaster Office as Qrow looks around getting a really bad feeling from this and took out his sword in a defense stance.
"Get ready. There could be trouble." Qrow warned.
The team followed his lead and took out their weapons to prepare themselves for whatever trouble there might be beyond that door, hopefully it won't be difficult to deal with like the time against Tyrian and that Nuckelavee Grimm. But one can't be too careful of the possibility of danger in every corner, but whatever is going to happen, they'll band together and face it head on with all their might or die trying though hopefully not the dying part.
Qrow glares at the door for a little moment and kick it open revealing a man standing in front, and became suddenly scared of surprise throwing his arms in the air and scream which also made Team RNJRK scream too except for Ren and Kimi just look at him in confusion. Qrow is surprise of this and lose his balance for standing on one foot as he fell on his back to the floor, then the man gasp before fainted on the floor.
"Uh, Professor Lionheart?" Ruby asked.
"Not exactly how I picture our first meet to the Headmaster of Haven Academy." Kimi disappointed.
The man now identify as Leonardo Lionheart is a middle-aged man with a mane of tan/gray hair and a beard. He has a tanned complexion with brown eyebrows and dark brown eyes. He wears a brown greatcoat with a matching mantle, which had cross emblems on each side. He also wears a white dress shirt under his coat, a western necktie and carried a pocket watch. Lionheart also wears dark brown slacks and dress shoes.
"Qrow! For crying out loud, you nearly scared me half to death!" Leonardo exclaimed.
"Me? Why weren't you waiting for us at the entrance?" Qrow asked as he stands up with a growl.
Leonardo look at Qrow with a confuse stare and took out a pocket watch from his coat, realizing what time it is now.
"Oh, right. Apologies. I guess time slipped away from me." Leonardo apologized.
"You're joking?" Qrow said, not finding this funny as Leonardo stands up.
"Where is everybody?" Nora asked about the students and staff of the school.
"Ah, you must be the students Qrow mentioned." Leonardo realized.
"Yes, sir. I'm Ruby Rose." Ruby introduced herself.
"Nora Valkyrie!" Nrao flexed her muscles with a smirk.
"Lie Ren." Ren greeted with a bow.
"Jaune Arc-Aoi." Jaune introduced himself.
"And his loving wife, Kimi Arc-Aoi." Kimi winked with a little sexy pose.
"My word, Qrow, you weren't kidding when you said two of the students are married. Was it drunken marriage?" Leonardo asked.
"Oh yeah, and they're sticking together too." Qrow answered.
"You don't see something like that happening every day." Leonardo surprised.
"Anyway, a leasure to meet you all. Leonardo Lionheart, at your service." Leonardo greeted with a chuckle.
"I'm afraid most of my staff is currently away until classes resume, but" Leonardo's sentence was cut off when Qrow got angry and approach him a little closer.
"What? Leo, you can't be serious. Who's guarding the Relic?" Qrow asked.
"Qrow, the children!" Leonardo whispered.
"Already know. I filled them in. What do you mean your staff is away?" Qrow asked.
"You... filled them in?" Leonardo shocked of Qrow told them the secret.
"So, is this not going at all like anyone thought it would?" Nora wondered as Ren rolls his eyes.
Leonardo lead everyone into his office as he closes the door and sat at his desk looking at the teens and Qrow with a worry and serious look on his face.
"I have to say, Qrow, this all seems very reckless, even for you." Leonardo stated.
"No, reckless is leaving one of the Relics completely unguarded. It's not checking in with Oz for ages!" Qrow pointed out.
"There was nothing to check in about before the fall of Beacon, but since that day, Mistral has been in chaos!" Leonardo informed, he stands up from his chair and clenched his fists.
"Vale wasn't the only Kingdom to suffer that night. Everyone was watching. Every house in every Kingdom saw that poor girl ripped to pieces, saw monsters crawling over the city, Atlesian Knights attacking citizens... and then nothing. You could feel the dread in the air. With all that negativity, you can imagine what it was like when the Grimm came for us. Mistral's territory is the widest reaching in the world, you know, and that makes it infinitely harder to protect. We lost so many great Huntsmen, teachers from this very institution. And it's only gotten worse." Leonardo explained as he looks out the window.
"What do you mean?" Ruby asked.
"It's probably the Grimm problem since some people have been scared since then." Kimi guessed.
"You are correct on that part. We may have dealt with the Grimm, but the Mistral council's still at odds with representatives from Atlas. First, it was the Dust embargo, now it's the closing of borders. I'm not sure what happened to James in Vale, but it seems to have only worsened some of his more unfortunate tendencies. And, on top of everything, we still don't know where the Spring Maiden is." Leonardo worried as he looks back at Qrow.
"All the more reason we need the Huntsmen and Huntresses here!" Qrow suggested impatiently.
"Okay! Okay. Things are bad; they're bad. But we can figure this out. Why is the Spring Maiden so important?" Ruby asked curious.
"I thought you filled them in." Leonardo confused.
"Mostly filled in. Look, there's a lot to cover, okay? I quit teaching for a reason." Qrow said as he took out his flask.
"Is it because you keep drinking too much and the students couldn't stand the alcohol breathe?" Kimi asked in a teasing tone.
"…Okay, one of the reasons why I quit teaching." Qrow admitted.
"The four Maidens each have the power to perform feats of magic, and they are the only ones capable of reaching the Relics." Leonardo revealed.
"For real?" Jaune shocked and Leonardo nods.
"The Relics are each locked inside a chamber that can only be opened by a specific Maiden. Winter for the gift of Creation, Summer for Destruction, Fall for Choice and Spring for Knowledge. Spring the problem." Qrow mentioned the last part as he drank his flask again.
"What happened to her?" Ren asked.
"She was determined, at first, when she inherited her powers, but the weight of responsibility proved to be too much for the child. She... ran. Abandoned her training, everyone. That was over a decade ago. There's no telling where she could be now." Leonardo explained sadly.
"I... know. At least... I have a pretty good idea." Qrow said.
"Are you seruous?" Leonardo asked shock.
"Does he look like a drunken fool?" Kimi asked sarcastically making her team laugh a little while Qrow just gave her a glare.
"It's not exactly good news." Qrow exclaimed.
"What are you talking about? This is incredible news!" Leonardo believed, walking up to Qrow and shaking him a little by the shoulder.
"After all these years! Where?!" Leonardo asked, and Qrow shoves him off.
"I did some digging around. Looks like, after Spring ran away, she was picked up by bandits, specifically the Branwen tribe." Qrow revealed.
"Raven." Leonardo feared.
Ruby gasps upon hearing that very name, the name she knew from her dad and Uncle a little, the one person who has a close connection to her older sister, Yang.
"Yang's mom?!" Jaune gasped.
"The very same bitch who ditched Yang on the day after her birth like a stupid cat with memory loss?" Kimi asked with some insulting words.
"That's very… hurtful." Leonardo commented surprise.
"That sounds about right." Qrow nodded.
(With Raven Branwen)
The woman known as Raven Branwen suddenly sneezes and confuse of why.
(Back in Haven Academy)
Qrow placed his Scroll on Leonardo's desk displaying a hologram map of Remnant, showing the Mistral Kingdom area and one red dot.
"That's about where they've set up their main camp. It's where they fall back to after raids and scouting missions. Raven's managed to gain a lot of followers since she returned to the tribe, and I'm sure when the Spring Maiden showed up, it only made things easier." Qrow informed about the Tribe's camp.
"Sounds like they're more of the outdoor kinds of people." Jaune commented.
"If you count attacking villages, hurting people, and taking whatever, they can find for their own." Ren pointed out.
"Glad Yang isn't part of that group." Nora nodded.
"Well, Qrow, I've got to hand it to you. With these coordinates, we can mount a retrieval force and head out in a few weeks." Leonardo said.
"A few weeks?!" Qrow gasped.
Leonardo tried to copy the file from Qrow's Scroll into his computer, but the screen displayed a pop-up that says "DISCONNECTED" which makes him realize that he hadn't connect this computer to the Scroll.
"Oh, right." Leonardo sighed.
"Leo, maybe you didn't hear me. My sister has the Spring Maiden, and I know where she is. We need to go, as soon possible!" Qrow slammed his fist on the desk.
"And perhaps you didn't hear me. This Kingdom is in shambles. "As soon as possible" does not mean tomorrow. It means, as soon as I can convince the council that I need Huntsmen more than they do. Unfortunately, bandit tribes aren't very high on their list of priorities when the threat of war is just on the horizon." Leonardo stated with an angry look.
"Then damn the council. We'll do it ourselves. You and I are trained Huntsmen and these kids aren't exactly pushovers." Qrow stated.
"Yeah!" Nora pumped her fist in the air.
"Perhaps there's a more peaceful way to approach this?" Ren suggested an idea.
"We need to get Spring as far away from here as possible. And Raven isn't going to give up her most prized possession without a fight." Qrow reminded him how stubborn Raven is.
"Unfortunately, you and your sister are evenly matched. And I'm not the fighter I used to be. No offense, but these students and I can't take on an entire bandit tribe and a Maiden that's no doubt had years to hone her skills. We need to be positive we can apprehend Spring, because if we fail Raven and her tribe will scatter. And we'll be lost. We get one shot at this. And it needs to be perfect." Leonardo said that they need to be careful.
"You know Oz wouldn't be happy with any of this if he were here." Qrow sighed.
"erhaps you're right. But he's not. I'm doing the very best I can." Leonardo sighed as well.
"There has to be something we can do." Ruby hoped.
"What about Cinder? She came with Emerald and Mercury from Haven. Do you have anything on them?" Jaune asked.
"We pulled their files after the Fall of Beacon. Nothing but lies and forgeries." Leonardo answered.
Jaune tighten his fists hearing that they got nothing on Cinder as he wanted to get payback on the woman for what she did to Beacon, to the Vale Kingdom, and what he did to Pyrrha as thinking about how she killed Pyrrha made his blood boil. Kimi took his hand on hers and snuggle her head against his to calm him down which it worked, Jaune soon took a deep breath to clear his mind and look at Kimi with a "thank you" look.
"Well, I can't say this has been a warm reunion, Leo." Qrow said.
"I'm sorry. I know you've all traveled a long way. But I will do everything I can to help." Leonardo promised.
"Sure. We'll stay in the city for the time being." Qrow took his Scroll back and wave it a little at Leonardo.
"Local comms are still up. Keep in touch. Come on, kids." Qrow said as he walked away, exiting the office as the team follows.
"It was nice meeting you, Professor." Ruby said.
"Likewise." Leonardo smiled a little.
After Ruby left, leaving Leonardo alone in his office. The man hung his head in shame and a small hologram screen with a "W" appeared.
"Oh, Leo. We have got to work on your improvisational skills." A man said.
(With Qrow and Team RNJRK)
"So, what now, Mister Black Bird?" Kimi asked.
"You four head back to the house. I need a drink." Qrow walked away making the teens look concern for the man.
"Hmm, I get the feeling Leo is hiding something from us." Kimi said.
"Like that?" Jaune asked.
"I don't know, but I believe we should keep our guard up just in case." Kimi advised and the team walk back to the house.
KO a new chapter is done and hope you all enjoy it!
The team and Qrow had a big talk with Headmaster Leonardo Lionheart, but it looks like he is doing something behind their backs and Kimi's feeling may be right as they will have to be careful around him. Next chapter will be the appearance of someone who may not look special at first but really is along with someone Kimi know from at Musashi.
KO comment, favorite, and follow through of how this story will go!