Chapter 5.
In the kitchen, Simo was sitting at the dinner table, which had seats for at least twelve. Kitchen in the next room, where Ruby could smell and hear that someone was cooking.
"So, Miss Rose, do you like your room?" Simo asked and sipped coffee.
"Yes sir, it's very nice ... but tell me, am I the only girl here?" Ruby asked. Simo nodded.
"Yes. It has been quite a while since I've had more than one female recruit. They usually are sent to specialize in other things, you see", Simo said and looked at Ruby, measuring her from head to toe. "According to Sir Ozpin, there is something special about you that requires a different approach," he said as Constantine entered the kitchen.
"Mr. Alders. I hope the room was to your liking?" Simo asked. Constantine nodded
"It's homely. Reminds me of my childhood when I had to share a room with my brothers", Constantine said, smiling, and sat at the table. Simo nodded.
"Your family is from Atlas, yes?" Simo asked, looking into the gray eyes of Constantine, who nodded.
"My grandpa was a general and father a sergeant in the military."
"Was it one of your relatives who introduced you to our organization?" Simo asked Constantine. Ruby looked at Constantine curiously.
"Yeah, you haven't told me about that, and I'd like to know, too", Ruby said. Constantine smiled and nodded.
"Well, there isn't much to tell. Some of the recruiters had kept an eye on me as I've been showing off some assassin qualities, and one recruiter thought I was silver-eye just like you, Ruby, and was introduced to the leaders on Atlas. I was invited to join after being tested and questioned about my beliefs. I've had some combat training since I've served in the military for one year. And, about a year later, I found you Ruby", Constantine said.
"Of course, there is more to tell, but now is not the time."
Simo nodded. Ruby felt disappointed. She had hoped for an epic story.
"And you, Miss Rose, what made you want to join?" Simo asked. Ruby was slightly surprised but nodded and thought about how to best answer it.
"Well…All my life, I have been feeling out of place, even back home, and more so in the Signal. I never felt like I belonged… and my interests in guns and soldiery stuff never made it any easier. And when I was told I was something special and held that stone tablet sir Ozpin let me hold, I knew I had to follow this path to find myself… and maybe there is a little bit of curiosity towards this mystic organization that fights for the freedom of mankind…and also because I think I can find my sister" Ruby explained. Simo looked her in the eyes and smiled while nodding.
"Very well then. I have no reason to doubt you. I can see in your eyes that you are both committed to our cause", Simo said and stood up.
"I shall go see if animals need anything. I suggest you two wait here since I believe Misty is soon done with the food," he said and headed to the hallway, leaving two youngsters alone in the dining room.
"What did he mean by girls being sent to specialists?" Ruby asked, not grasping the full context of their work. Constantine scratched his chin and thought how to say it best.
"Well… let's say that women have certain attributes useful in intel gathering. They can get into places where we men can't, but…It may not appear as honest work."
"Oh, do I not have these attributes? If Ozpin said I was special, I am confused about why I would be sent to basic training. This is cool and all! But… It kinda feels weird being the only girl here because all the other girls are doing specialist training." Ruby blurted out, her words trying to figure out what was going on without seeming ungrateful.
"Well… You are still a young woman. You will be able to get that training too. But Ozpin believes that you need to start with basics in order to be more efficient."
"Okay… so what does this training entail? I get we are… assassins, but I don't know what makes me special enough to do this sort of work." The word assassin still had a bitter taste on her tongue, but she pushed onward as she spoke.
"I understand that feeling. First to answer your question about this training though. After this, you will be able to fight yourself out of difficult situations. Take out targets. You still seemingly think killing is wrong, yes?
"Well, I understand evil exists… I guess it feels… dirty. Killing someone in a public place or in their own home, it doesn't feel right not giving them a chance like on a battlefield."
Constantine nodded with a sympathetic smile on his face.
"Some battles must be fought in secret. Have you heard of the shinobi, Ruby? They were assassins but also spies and warriors of honor. They killed with stealth, yes. But never without a purpose. Never without a cause. Shinobies are an eastern splinter group of the Assassins and follow a code of honor.
Nodding, Ruby understood the importance and that this wasn't needless slaughter; however, she didn't feel close to ready to take a life herself, whether they be innocent or guilty.
"Stay your blade from the flesh of an innocent. Hide in plain sight. Never compromise the brotherhood. That is our code."
"That makes sense, but how do we know if someone is guilty, or that killing them is equal to the crime, Or even if killing them isn't going to cause a cataclysm of bad events like a major war or something?" Ruby understood the code and honestly was grateful this wasn't a death cult of sorts, but as someone so young, her sense of clear lines that place what is and isn't worthy of being a target of an assassin was still fuzzy.
"We do not blindly run-in with a dagger and slash at those we think are evil. Our goal is to protect mankind's freedom of choice and thought. Allowing people to be their own guides in life, free to follow their chosen path. Our targets are studied, observed, and carefully judged by our leaders. We won't do political murders unless we see that someone is trying to impose tyranny over the people," Constantine said, taking out a pendant from his pocket. A red cross made from marble and decorated with gold.
"Do you recognize this?" Constantine asked and placed the pendant near Ruby
"No, what is it?" Reaching her hand out steadily, Ruby brushes her hand against it.
"This is a symbol of the Templar Order. Enemy us Assassins have fought for centuries. People who have often tried to impose their rules on others. Some of the most influential rulers of our history have been members of the order."
"Why are we fighting? Do they not want us free from tyranny?"
Constantine closed his eyes briefly, looking very serious as he measured his words.
"From what I have learned, our feud began in ancient times when our organizations clashed during the Crusades. There is something called the Apple of Eden; there is very little knowledge about what it actually is. As they do not want freedom, I have understood that, at least once, their goal was peace. And during that time, they chose that the only way to achieve that peace is through control."
Ruby didn't fully understand what this all meant. Still, she knew this could threaten Humanity if her history lessons about those in power were correct. For now, she kept this in the back of her mind, wanting to see these people firsthand before passing full judgment. "Okay, so what should I be learning? Where do I start?"
"We start with your physical training here. From what I understand about our mentor and based on what Ozpin told me, we will be out in the woods a lot. Of course, we will teach you about how we work and what to do in different situations. But that can wait. I see dinner will be served now", Constantine said, looking in the kitchen where Misty lifted a kettle off the stove and began carrying it to the dining room.
Ruby and Constantine ate the stew served and then went to their rooms for a night of sleep. The following day, Ruby woke up with a pile of clothes on the stool at the end of her bed and a note. She read the letter, saying she should wear these clothes for today's training. Ruby looked at the clothes. There was a white shirt, loose brown pants, and a brown waistcoat matching her gauntlets. She put the clothes on, and they fitted, although she needed to use a belt to keep her pants on. She then went downstairs to the dining room, where Constantine and two other young men were eating breakfast.
"Good morning, Ruby," Constantine said.
"Morning," Ruby responded, fixing her clothes.
"I see you got a new wardrobe for today," Constantine said, smiling.
"Yeah, Master Simo must have given them to me."
Constantine nodded.
"Oh, by the way, these are our colleagues," Constantine said while pointing at two boys. The first one had long silver hair and was tall with a strong-looking body, if not including his arms. For some reason, he had blue eyes that reminded Ruby of a horse. The second one had short white hair, with light gray dog ears and the tail of a beard of the same gray and white color. He had darker skin, but the most eye-catching characteristic was three scars on his forehead. He had light brown eyes. Both wore similar brown pants and white shirts. Both nodded to Ruby, a longhaired guy smiling while dog-faunus had a more serious face.
"It is nice to meet you. I'm Ruby Rose." Cheerful, she extended her hand, trying to make a few new friends to make this place feel much more like home.
The longhaired boy stood up and shook her hand with a warm smile.
"Pleasure to meet you, Ruby. My name is Thoora Silvermane, and our more serious friend here is Gin Spitz", he said. Gin nodded politely.
"He doesn't talk much," Thoora said, smiling, and sat down; Ruby then noticed that he had a silver horsetail.
Ruby smiled, finding his name ironic but also curious about his tail; having met a few Faunus, it was somewhat new to her to be making friends with one, especially in such an exciting situation.
"Nice to get to see new faces. You first new people after those siblings left three months ago", Thoora said. Gin nodded and sipped his tea.
"Where are you from?" Thoora asked curiously.
"Patch outside of Vale. How about you?"
"Vacuo. From a place called Pamba", Thoora said.
"Haven. From Ohu", Gin said.
"How about you, Cons'ine?" Thoora asked.
"Atlas". This answer seemed to disturb two boys, who looked at each other suspiciously.
"Well… that's nice. We have a whole set on our table. One from every major kingdom", Thoora said with a smirk on his face. Constantine sighed.
"I guess I can understand you guys being reserved towards me," Constantine said and ate his porridge. "But I assure you, Kaveri, that I have nothing against any honest faunus."
Thoora looked at Constantine and then to Gin, who shrugged.
"Well, I suppose there really isn't any need for harsh feelings since we haven't met before. So let's keep our minds open", Thoora said. Constantine nodded and then looked at Ruby.
"Simo should be back soon. He has been preparing your training area."
"What should I be expecting?"
"Acrobatics. Also known as jumping and running on different surfaces and heights", Thoora said.
"Yes. Simo will most likely first test your balance, speed, and agility", Constantine said, nodding. "Then, maybe some shooting. Maybe"
"Okay, let's get started!"
"Maybe eat at least something. Can't practice on an empty stomach", Thoora said, smirking. Constantine chuckled
"Oh… right… hehe." Ruby rubbed the back of her neck before sitting back down. There was porridge, bread, tea, and coffee on the table. And some vegetables.
"Don't expect Mr. Halayha to go easy on you just because you are a new recruit," Thoora said as he got up. "Now, please excuse me; work awaits," he said, leaving. Soon, Gin followed after bowing to Ruby and Constantine. Ruby ate her breakfast as Simo walked in.
"Once you are ready, come see me at the edge of the forest, Ms. Rose and Mr. Alders," he shouted and returned outside.
"Well, Ruby, are you excited?" Constantine asked.
"Yeah, I'm glad to learn from a professional marksman."
"Who knows, maybe with your potential, you will be able to match his skill one day," Constantine said and got up. "I will wait for you outside. I believe there should be a new pair of shoes for you waiting in the hallway", Constantine said and headed outside, leaving Ruby alone to finish eating. She then went after Constantine, finding a pair of boots waiting for her. They were a good enough fit, maybe one size too big, but Ruby walked outside. Sun was rising, and the valley was entirely in shadow.
"Let's go then," Constantine said, jumping from the terrace rail. Ruby nodded, and they walked towards the edge. Ruby felt a little nervous but excited to begin her training in earnest.
They come to the edge of the forest where Simo is waiting. Ruby looked around, seeing that many trees had partially fallen and leaning on other trees, forming a path in the forest. Simo also had a rifle leaning into a tree next to him. The old man looked into the woods and hummed something as Ruby and Constantine got to him.
"All right, . Ready to begin your training?" Simo asked and turned to face them.
"Yes, sir. What are we doing?" Ruby asked.
"Well, how good are you at climbing?" Simo asked. Ruby blinked, confused.
"Well…I used to climb trees back home when I was a child..but climbing wasn't possible in Signal, so…. I may be a little rusty", Ruby said. Simo nodded.
"We start with climbing since it's one of the most important skills of an assassin. It gives us better access to more roads and hiding spots". Ruby nodded as a sign of understanding the idea.
"But we also need to be able to move on difficult paths without being distracted," Simo said, picking up his rifle. Ruby's eyes shrank.
"A-are you going to…" Ruby said but was cut off by Simo.
"No. I will not shoot at you. Not with live ammo, at least", Simo said, taking ammo out of his pocket. Their heads were oddly shaped. Like they had been pressured from the head.
"These are blank ammo. They will make sounds but do not harm. I will shoot into the air once I think you have reached a certain level," Simo said, putting them back into his pocket.
"Oh…okay…",Ruby said and looked at the trees. "Where do I start?" she asked.
" , mind showing her how she gets used to it?" Simo asked Constantine, who nodded with a smile.
"Follow the leader Ruby. Since you have done this before, I bet you'll be jumping up there in no time", he said, taking Ruby to the root of one half-fallen tree and slowly walking up it. Ruby gulped and followed him, observing how he moved a little hunched, arm balancing on both sides. Ruby was a little nervous, but in no time, they had reached the end of the tree, where its most significant branches were tangled into the next tree.
"Good start, Ruby. Once you get used to walking on a smaller surface, you will not think of it at all and can go full speed", Constantine said and made his way to the next tree and, with a few quick steps, jumped onto a strong-looking branch and swung himself to the ground.
"Your turn, Ruby," Constantine said and turned to look at the girl. Ruby bit her teeth and rushed, making sure to not trip, and jumped, barely reaching the branch. She panted and swung herself next to Constantine, who nodded and headed towards the next tree. He climbed up, using short and broken branches as handles and steps to get himself to thicker branches.
"Just trust your instincts, Ruby. But be careful when choosing a branch. Some may look like they can hold your weight", Constantine said from up a tree. Ruby nodded and rushed after him, using the same ones she had seen Constantine use. She was nervous but also felt excited for the first time since childhood. Climbing was just as fun as she remembered. She saw Constantine jumping into a new tree and turning to look at her. Ruby nodded and climbed, and without hesitation, she jumped, only to realize she had miscalculated and wasn't going to the same branch as Constantine.
"Ruby!" Constantine shouted and reached to catch her arm by hanging from his branch. Ruby grabbed hold of it tightly.
"That looked like it would have had an ugly ending, eh Ruby?" Constantine said, smiling. Ruby nodded and looked down, realizing they were five meters in the air. She quickly looked back up to Constantine.
"Easy there. That was a good try. But let's get you to safety first," Constine said, looking around.
"I will swing you towards that branch over there. Be ready to let go of me and jump, okay?" he said, nodding to one tree next to them.
Ruby looked at the branch Constantine had nodded to and nodded. Her heart was racing, but she knew she could make the jump. Constantine began swinging her with his arm. One… Two... Three… Four… "JUMP!" Constantine shouted and let go. With the momentum from the swings, Ruby did so, too, and made it to the branch, grabbing it with both hands. She panted and pulled herself up on the stem. She took deep breaths to calm herself. She jumped a little as Constantine landed on upped branches. He swung himself onto Ruby's level.
"How are you feeling, Ruby?" he asked.
"Well..very well…" Ruby could say and grinned slightly. Constantine smiled and patted her shoulder.
"No need to feel bad. Guess I overestimated your abilities a little, but don't worry. Let's go back down and keep working on movement speed before jumping more", Constantine said, and Ruby nodded. They made their way back down to where Simo was waiting.
"I think I got a good enough understanding of your level, ms. Rose. Keep on practicing here while I will go see how horses are fairing. Do not touch my rifle", he said and headed for the stables. Ruby sighed, disappointed. Had she been that bad? Constantine patted her back and smiled at her.
"Hey, do not worry. This is just the beginning. Of course, there will be bumps and falls."
"Yeah…you are right", Ruby said, returning the smile. Constantine took her to the roots again, and they resumed their training. And as Ruby climbed and jumped more and more, she soon noticed that she could almost keep up with Constantine. As if her childhood climbing skills had come back in full and even enhanced.
After several hours of climbing trees, Simo called Ruby and Constantine more deeply into the woods. They walked to the root of a small cliff.
"You seem to have gotten the hang of your climbing skills rather quickly, ms. Rose. And I must admit, I am impressed", Simo said.
"Thank you", Ruby said.
"Now let's see if you can climb in more challenging surroundings. Your goal is to get up this wall to the top", Simo said, pointing up to the cliff's edge.
"Climbing on rocky surfaces requires different kinds of skill, speed, and strength of hands. , if you would?" Simo said, and Constantine nodded. He took a short sprint and began climbing, jumping, and leaping quickly, using every tiny crack and edge as a stepping stone on his way up. Ruby observed carefully as Constantine made his way to the top.
"Can you do the same?" Simo asked.
"I will try," Ruby said, forgetting that Simo was hiding his rifle from her eyes.
Simo fired his rifle into the air, Ruby yelping as she began to slip on the rocky cliff face. "Focus, if you do this on a mission, you will plummet to a rocky grave." Ruby steeled herself as she gripped the next rock on her climb. Another rifle shot echoed, causing Ruby to flinch, but she held on. Climb, Bang, Climb, Bang. This repeated for the first twenty feet of this fifty-foot wall until Ruby felt something ping next to her head.
Frozen, Ruby turned to see Simo pointing his rifle at her. It was clear what this was: he wouldn't hit her; Simo was far too capable of hitting his mark to miss a shot like that, which meant this was another part of her training.
Speeding up, more bullets pinged into the rockface, and without noticing, Ruby slipped, falling five feet before catching herself on the wall. "Fast and Dexterous, Miss Rose. Each step needs to be considered ten steps before."
Ruby continued onward as she held her breath, focusing on the task at hand while trying to blur out the noise.
As Ruby got closer to the final twenty feet, she grabbed the step above her, only for another bullet to be fired, hitting the stage next to her hand. Blood running cold, Ruby's new grip crumbled away, causing her to hang in mid-air as her entire body weight held on by a thread.
Knowing she would break something if she fell, Ruby panicked as she tried to grab another ledge. Simo gave her no break as for everyone she held onto, another she would lose.
Seeing a distant ledge far from her reach, Ruby jumped to it, keeping up her momentum as she jumped from ledge to ledge.
Suddenly, everything was quiet, and Ruby took a deep breath until she noticed a hand reach out to her. "Welcome to the top." Ruby had seen she was at the top along with Constantine.
"You did well, Miss Rose. For a beginner, at least."
Ruby wasn't sure how she had reached the top, but she felt relief knowing it was over.
"With more practice, you should take less than an hour next time." Ruby froze at Constantines' words, but Simo didn't give everyone enough time to think about it as they were rushed to the next training exercise.