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(Rosé PoV)

I was panicking a little. To be completely honest. Cloud looked really damn good in his suit when he picked me up from my dorm. Peach peeked her head around to see him standing there with his hair done up and with his small piercings matching his sapphire blue eyes. I hyperventilated a little bit when I saw him and he just took me in in my blue maxi dress which slowly became a darker and more true blue as you reached the bottom.

"Ladies," he greeted casually. He checked his right sleeve with his left hand and made sure the cuffs were just so. He didn't need to. He looked better than fine.

"Hello," Yuma waved nervously.

"Hi," Pine supplied.

"'Sup?"

"Oh you know," he inflected to Peach. "Not a damn thing."

"We were wondering…" Yuma trailed off.

"Shoot," he suggested.

"Well, just where you ranked among hunters. To give us a sense of scale and something to shoot for."

"Oh?" He asked with a velvety voice. He seemed rather surprised by the question. His eyes flickered from me to Yuma. "Um, I've… I don't make a habit of saying this, a bit of a bad policy and it probably makes me come across as arrogant… Plus I don't like it very much."

"No," I protested.

"Shoot," Peach smirked at him.

"By the numbers... I'm," he hesitated. He ran a hand through his hair. "I'm probably the most powerful man alive," he said it softly like he was just now realizing it. "I mean, you could make the case for General Ironwood since he has two council seats in Atlas, he's got an army behind him, and he's competent in a fight. There's also this kid in Atlas who's got a lot of potential. Back before Ozpin died it would have been a better question. But it's probably me," he confessed. "There's these four girls in Atlas who hit like trucks. As a team I think they're pretty unstoppable. They could probably floor me. But I also hit different. And Aceops. They might be able to take me with help."

"You rate that strongly among other huntsmen?" Pine asked.

"I'm a hunter hunter. And I'm the best at it," he was still speaking quietly. "It's… it scares me. I'm more terrified than I am proud. It puts me on quite a few people's radars and it's only a matter of time until some Valean council member gets a hold of my numbers and I'll have to start accepting real missions again."

He breezed his hand through his hair and rubbed his eyes with his hands. He didn't look like the most powerful man in the world. He looked tired.

"What do you mean?" Yuma asked.

"Well, I can handle missions no one else can," he explained. "I can take down more dangerous rogue aura-users and hunt bigger game. Sooner or later someone's going to ask if I should really be collecting dust teaching or should I really be only teaching when I could also be out hunting. And I'm going to have a hard time saying 'no' when they come for me. Because if I say 'no' they'll ask someone weaker than I am. And they could die or get hurt. So it's on me to answer the call when they finally come to collect."

"Because you feel responsible. Because of how strong you are," Pine interpreted.

"Right. And maybe that's on me. You know what I mean? I could always decline if I was a stronger person."

"I don't think you're weak, as a person. Just because you want to do as much as you can," Peach disagreed with him.

"It's heroic," Yuma piled on.

"Anything else pressing? You're unlikely to run into anything more dangerous than me if I scared you at all in our training. You shouldn't be worried. You girls will do well."

"Yeah… but, I don't know… Are you really that strong?" I asked.

"Probably. I haven't had an opponent who really pushed me to my maximum in some time. Some other crazy kid could always come out of the woodwork. That's pretty much what I did. Just came out of nowhere with crazy talent, hard work, and a little extra kick to me. But I doubt it. If hunters like me were commonplace… well, we'd certainly know about it by now to say the least."

We were quiet and he moved hands from his face and looked around at us.

"There's no need to be glum," he tried to recover and sound upbeat. He failed and I think he knew that he failed. "This is just how things panned out. Ready?" He asked me in that smooth, rich voice.

"Um, right. Of course," I wasn't ready. Cloud could rock a suit. He wasn't wearing a tie and he had the top button undone revealing a bit of chest. He had a blue handkerchief in his pocket which matched his shirt and also matched his eyes and certain shades of my dress. It all led down to a pair of black rounded shoes which looked much more comfortable than my heels. I bet he could fight and run in those if he had to. He didn't have his sword with him. But he did have a folder at his belt that was decently sized. A large Atlas army knife. He was probably lethal enough with that to handle pretty much anything I could think of.

Peach whistled slowly. "You go, sister." She was a good sport.

"Best of luck…" Yuma added with a shy wave.

We marched down the school corridors together and I tried to focus on my feet and getting the sashay of my hips right. He comfortably swaggered beside me with a slow gait that matched my walk speed without any problems.

"So anything I should be on the lookout for?" He asked. "I don't have much experience with balls and galas."

"Um… not that I can think of. We'll have to dance after my parents do. It's tradition. I used to have to ask the odd nobleman's son. Or be asked, rather. I've never been escorted before. Dinner should be straightforward and I can't imagine you'd talk during the play but don't talk during the play. Pretty much just good manners but taken to an insufferable extreme."

"And you dragged me into this?" He asked. He gave me a wink to let me know he was just kidding.

"Right. Well, it's not a snake pit," I said.

"Why did you emphasize 'snake?'"

"Well, it's still a pit. It's just full of people," I defended.

"People scare me more than snakes do," he confessed.

I giggled. "Well thank you anyways. Like I said I'm a touch too old to be unescorted now. And maybe with you it will be fun."

"Right. Fun. I make no promises," he hedged. "Your parents will be there? Anybody else I would know?"

"I don't know if my brother will be going. He's too old to not have a date himself and I don't know if he found one."

"What would happen if you didn't have an escort? I'm not bailing on you. I'm just curious."

"It would be embarrassing. Like 'look at the princess, she's seventeen and she didn't have anybody to bring. Isn't that sad?'" I did an imitation of a rude gossip by lowering my voice and making it a touch more nasal. "That's all. I wouldn't be hurt or anything. Just the other noble daughters would chatter behind my back and I'd have to ask some nobleman's son at the event. So I'd lose some face."

"Do you gain face by showing up with me?"

Yeah. You're a catch. Dumbass. I mean, come on.

"A little," I went with a better answer. "You're an accomplished huntsman with a promising career and prospects ahead and behind you. I mean, you've already served in the Atlas Special Forces. You're the youngest professor in Beacon's history, and I just learned this actually, but you're the most powerful man on the planet. So… there's that?"

He snorted. "Big if true. And it's not like I can introduce myself that way. Imagine the arrogance? 'Hello, yes. I'm Cloud Strife and by the way I could wreck you.'" I laughed. "So I can't do that. Ozpin didn't introduce himself that way. I can't either. It sets a bad precedent and I shouldn't advertise the fact I'm so strong on basic principle."

"What happened to Ozpin?"

"Burned to death, probably. Was murdered in short."

"What happened to his killer?"

"I killed her," he admitted. "Cinder Fall. She killed my partner too and gods only know how many other people. Her sword-bow combination is in my office."

"Oh. That's that one? And you're worried why?"

"Ozpin had a long career but there's no reason to think that I will. The reward for good work for hunters is even more dangerous work. Anyways, it's hard to look in my rear-view mirror and see prospects. So there's also that. I also went AWOL from the Atlas Special Forces. I doubt they'll send anyone after me though."

"Yeah, what are they gonna do? Find that guy who can stop you?" I asked facetiously.

"Well I'd be a lot more comfortable in my skin if they could. You know? Grab somebody who could stop me if I flew off the handlebars. I mean… it's less of an 'oh, I'm the strongest man alive' and more of an 'oh shit, I'm the strongest man alive.'"

"Is it really such a bad thing? Is it really so scary?"

"For me it is. I have real power. I want to use it sometimes. I like using it at times. That's a real problem when nobody can stop you. You've seen me. If I was pure of heart and whatnot it wouldn't be a big deal. But I'm not. I have some pretty serious flaws. I'm a little fucked up in the head. You know that. I have PTSD. I'm a few rungs under schizophrenic and if I snapped nobody could realistically get in my way fast enough. That's a part of why I took this job. Goodwitch could hold me off for a while. I don't know if she could actually stop me. But she could make me hesitate. It's a good thing. I need for there to be balances on my power to keep me in check."

"You're really that afraid of yourself?" I wondered.

"Well, yeah. And haven't I provided a bit of motivation for that? I feel like my reasons why I'm scared are pretty valid."

"Well… maybe… but it can't be easy to live that way. Can it?"

"Perhaps not. But I was never promised an easy life. A better life cannot mean another life. That would be unjust and untrue. And I'm not sure that I'd want one."

"I get that, I think. I could have just stayed as a princess but I wanted to lead as a hunter. But why would you?"

"I like pushing myself and I like fighting more and more dangerous opponents. I like it. It gives me a chemical hit in my brain to do it. I'm perhaps even addicted to it or obsessed with it. I can't really help myself. And yeah I suppose there are big problems I'm avoiding dealing with at the moment."

"Merlot," I interpreted.

"Right. Well I don't plan on leaving that alone forever. At some point I'll have to deal with him and face my family."

I watched him run a hand through his hair as he walked and thought deeply.

"You're not doing 'nothing' here a Beacon," I informed him.

"Yeah but I could probably also be doing even more if I pushed myself a little harder. And there's big game out there waiting for me but I suppose if they've waited this long they can wait a little longer. It all depends. On what I'm willing to do and give up."

"What about settling down and having a family?"

"Not really my dream… but I could get onboard with the right person. Or people."

"My brother and I both sort of have to. Or at least that's been strongly implied all our lives. My brother in particular."

"My advice is to not live for your parents. Let them hang. Though I might be a bit biased," he murmured.

"Yeah I can't really do that. I… they're my family. Do you understand?"

"Not really but that's not your fault."

We boarded the airship to get across to Vale. He securely grabbed the railing and held on fairly tight.

I brushed my hand over my dress. I stared at him with his free arm hanging down. I went for it. I grabbed his hand and pulled close to me so I wrapped around his arm a little and held his hand by the wrist. He stared down at me and I looked away. He didn't say anything. This close it was impossible not to feel his aura like an amazing current running through me. He tasted the way a thunderbolt smelt and like sugar that's been crystalized by an open flame. It was impossible to not feel it and I let it rock me and my danger sense. My sixth sense pulsed in a low warning throb like I was about to be struck by lightning. I could feel how dangerous he was and it felt so exotic and delicious going down. I knew at this range he would be able to feel my own smaller aura and I could only hope he enjoyed the texture. He glanced away and out one of the windows on the airship. He didn't tell me off or act like he enjoyed the proximity either. He just… sort of accepted it. But he'd been close to Neapolitan as well. It would take more than aura from the opposite sex to get him to really notice anything.

I realized I was holding my breath and let it go with a shuddering exhale. I couldn't let him set me ablaze. Especially not this early into the night. There was a lot of evening left and I didn't want to ruin myself or set myself on edge too soon. I mean, we'll see where the night goes. If he made a move at the end of the evening I suppose I'd go quite far. But it was way too soon to think like that as the ship came to a lurching stop.

Cloud groaned when it did and I looked up at him. He was a shade green.

"Do you get airsick?" I asked.

"Motion sick," he confessed. "Not when I'm flying on my own but it sneaks up on me from time to time. I'll be fine. Come on, my bike is this way."

He led me by both hands off the plane and to a garage under the terminal. His bike was big and gun metal grey. It was sleek with all smooth edges and most have been costly. I mounted behind him and wrapped my hands around his waist and pulled my body tight to his so he could feel me. He didn't say anything about it. He revved the engine and we took off with a lurch and a lean with a good jerk of acceleration. I'd never been on a motorcycle before. Let alone one this big, but it felt like it had a lot of horsepower as he swerved and bobbed into traffic.

He craned along and just swept past most people in what was probably a slightly dangerous fashion. I clung to him even more tightly and I heard him grunt slightly as I squeezed him. We couldn't really talk over the wind so I let him ride me around in silence.

He knew the way to my family's castle and it was swarming with limousines pulling in and pulling out of the titanic, arcing, gravel driveway. People were crossing the outer wall to get into the keep in beautiful dresses and suits. Fireworks were going off above the castle walls in bright red, blue, and green sparks. Cloud pulled forward and made to park. A man in a vest came up to him.

"Please, allow me to valet for you," the man requested.

Cloud distinctly didn't look happy about it but he handed over the keys and dismounted. I sat back on the bike and Cloud waltzed over to me and offered me his hand to help me off his bike. We both knew I didn't need it but it was the thought that counted. I took his arm again and we began to walk up the wide gravel road to the keep.

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-WG