"If a single bomber reaches the Ruhr, my name is not Göring. You may call me Meyer."

-Hermann Meyer

"So Percy, Qrow mentioned something about you becoming a huntsman yourself. Have you given much thought to where you want to go next year?"

Percy cleared his throat awkwardly. A couple hours later they were all sitting around their dining table, eating some noodles Tai had cooked. "Uhh, actually, I wasn't planning on going to an academy. I'm… mostly self taught."

Qrow snorted into his pasta. "Oz offered him a position at Beacon. Punk turned it down."

Percy was about to rebut when he was interrupted. "You don't want to go to Beacon? Why would you ever say no to something like that?"

Percy looked across the table to where the red girl was, staring at him.

"Everyone has their own path in life, Ruby. Some people don't need to attend academies like Beacon." Tai looked at him, "I do have to say though, I am rather intrigued. I haven't heard of a huntsman who forsook the academies in years. Is there a reason specifically you decided not to attend one?"

Percy shrugged, twirling some spaghetti around his fork. "I've been roughing it out since I was twelve, I don't need a teacher to tell me how to fight."

Tai furrowed his eyebrows, setting down his silverware. "There's always value in experience. I'm sure you could learn a lot from Glynda and the others."

Percy swallowed his mouthful. "Just because you've been alive a long time does not mean you have experience, and just because I'm eighteen doesn't mean I don't have experience. No offense, but they've been sitting in offices for however many years, how long has it been since they've actually fought?" Percy waved a fork through the air. "You're a huntsman, right? Don't get me wrong, I'm sure I could learn a lot from you. And Learning from Qrow was… an experience. But a pencil pusher?" Percy shook his head. "I think I'm past that."

Tai sighed. "Qrow, you tell him, maybe he'll listen to you."

Qrow looked up from his bowl and blinked. "What do you want me to tell him? The kid's right."

Percy relaxed. Qrow had never really fought him on his decision not to go to Beacon, but nonetheless hearing him say outright that he agreed with Percy felt good.

Tai shook his head. "Well, if you're both certain then I suppose you're certainly a special case. Now I'm curious to see how you fight."

Ruby perked up. "Ooh! Can you and uncle Qrow fight!? That'd be the coolest."

The yellow one — Yin? — nodded excitedly. "Yeah, can we watch dad?"

Tai looked to Percy and Qrow. Percy shrugged.

"I'm sure it'll be fine if they watch the punk get put in the ground."

Percy rolled his eyes, setting down his fork on a clean plate. "Yeah right, you haven't beaten me since you unlocked my aura." he glanced at Taiyang, "This was great, by the way."

Tai smiled and nodded.

"You can beat uncle Qrow? No way, not even dad can do that. Does that mean we get to watch?" Ruby was bouncing up and down in her chair, practically vibrating at the thought.

Tai sighed. "Yes, you can watch. But only if you eat your vegetables."

Ruby made a face, glancing down at her cauliflower. She pouted and looked back up to Tai. "But daaad, do I haaaave to?"

It was a good thing Percy wasn't her father, cause he just about melted on the spot from the sheer adorable-ness.

"Yes, you do. The sooner you finish, the sooner you can watch them fight."

Percy didn't know if that would work for most pre-adolescent girls, but it certainly seemed to work to motivate Ruby. She dug into her vegetables, wincing at the taste but not ceasing her unfathomably quick pace.

The yellow one began teasing her sister, but Percy tuned it out, leaning towards Qrow.

"You know, I can throw if you want me to. I get your nieces probably look at you like you're the next coming."

Qrow raised an eyebrow. "Next coming?"

Percy hid a wince and waved it off, forgetting for the umpteenth time a lot of phrases from earth wouldn't work here. "Forget it, but the point is I can throw if you want."

Qrow rolled his eyes. "Yeah, whatever kid. Don't hurt my pride any more by actually having to throw for me. Besides, it might be better if Tai knows what a freak of nature you are."

Percy shrugged. "Alright, if you say so."

"Yang! Let me go! I want to see the fight!"

Percy nodded internally. So Yang was the other one's name. He should try to remember that.

Tai stood up. "You can all leave the dishes, I'll deal with them later. For now I think we all have some after dinner entertainment to enjoy."

Percy shrugged, standing up from his chair and stretching. Qrow's plans of immediately fighting and then hitting a bar had quickly been dismantled upon Tai learning he was here, so they were getting our exercise in far later than anticipated.

"Ready old man?"

Qrow scoffed and walked past him, while Ruby giggled from her side of the table. Percy followed him out of the house, lackadaisically stretching. He noticed the older one, Yang, eyeing his torso where his shirt rode up a bit. Percy quickly glanced away. He did not want to think of the connotations of that one.

When Percy reached their backyard, Qrow already had his sword out, resting on his shoulders. Percy pulled Riptide out of his pocket, twirling it in his own fingers. He walked until he was opposite Qrow and stood at ease. It was a little uncomfortable, fighting with an audience like this. It was strangely reminiscent of his stint against Antaeus in the labyrinth, but less uncomfortable. He was alright being entertainment for the night, if it was just for Qrow's family. Besides, it's not like he was fighting for his life this time.

Tai walked out shortly after the girls, settling them down and then sitting down himself in one of the patio chairs. Percy looked across the yard and locked eyes with Qrow.

And then he was gone.

Percy extended Riptide, meeting Qrow's blade in mid-air and stopping it cold in its tracks. Qrow was giving it his all in this spar, it seemed.

Percy withdrew his blade and slashed directly at Qrow's side. Before Percy could pull any of the fancy tricks he'd planned, Qrow's sword turned into a scythe and stopped Riptide dead in its tracks.

From there it was a flurry of movement, slashing and dashing. Percy let his body go on autopilot, for once actually challenged by the old man. He was sure Qrow hadn't been holding back all this time, at least not quite. He just hadn't had the motivation to try his hardest. His nieces and brother watching must have done that for him.

Qrow pulled out a few tricks he hadn't seen fit to teach Percy, but at the end of the day the differences between the two were too apparent.

Qrow attempted to bob and weave between his slashes, but every now and then he'd be caught by one. He tried to get a hit in on Percy, but more often than not he'd find his strike rebuffed and countered.

Percy grunted, weathering an overhead strike from Qrow's sword, before letting it slide to his right and checking Qrow into the ground. For as long as the fight had been going on, it didn't seem Qrow had quite the amount of energy he needed to dodge. He went tumbling onto the ground.

Rather than attempt to follow up in a calm matter where he knew Qrow would escape, Percy scrambled after him, letting his body fall on top of Qrow's, almost like he was tackling him.

Percy pulled up Riptide between the two — something he could do on virtue of it being so short compared to something like Qrow's blade — and rested it on Qrow's throat. With how much aura he had left, they both knew it would be a killing blow, if it were an actual fight.

Percy climbed off of Qrow, offering a hand to help him stand up.

Qrow grasped his hand, and with a heave he was back on his feet.

Percy smiled as he stood there catching his breath. "Congrats, you actually made me try."

Qrow snorted and slugged him on the shoulder. "Yeah, yeah. Shut up. I'm gonna go take a shower, and then you owe me a drink."

Percy rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Whatever." He figured as large as his bank account was (Which was something he still couldn't quite grasp) he could afford to buy a drink for a friend.

The little one, Ruby, leaped out of her chair. "That was awesome! Can we see it again!?"

Tai stood and rubbed her head. "I'm sure they're both very tired." he said, glancing at them both. He hid it well, but Percy could see the coating of shock on his face. "Maybe we can see some more tomorrow, but you have some homework to catch up on right now."

Ruby pouted, and the other one — Yang — joined in on the conversation. "Come on dad, we can always do homework later. But it's not every day we get to meet someone who can beat uncle Qrow."

"Well, this week it is. He'll be here tomorrow, I'm sure." Tai sent him a glance to make sure he wasn't lying to his kids, and Percy nodded. Satisfied, Tai turned back to his girls. "Now, run inside you two. We don't want those grades slipping."

Ruby just about melted into a puddle, while Yang just sighed. "Alright dad, fine. But you're helping me with that dust project tonight."

Tai just smiled indulgently. "Yes, I will. I'll be right inside." Yang nodded, satisfied, and Ruby walked in behind her, slumped over.

Tai turned to them both expectantly. "Now, the girls may not know different, but I know that wasn't normal. Who exactly are you?"

Qrow came up behind Percy and rested an arm on his shoulder. "I already told you, the kid's a freak of nature." he said, as if that explained everything away instead of doing the opposite. "Now, I'm gonna go get a shower. Play nice, you two."

Percy let out a long suffering sigh as Qrow walked into the house.

"So, do you want to tell me exactly why you're so strong?"

Percy shrugged. "I've just been fighting since I was twelve — not training, but fighting for my life. And my family is… special. Maybe it was a semblance, but everyone else in my village was a lot stronger than pretty much everyone I've faced outside it."

Tai raised an eyebrow. "Where did you say you're from again?"

"Mistral. A village, just west of Windpath — or at least, it was."

Tai's face fell. "I see, my apologies. I didn't mean to bring up memories, I know how those can be. Tell me… do you believe in the nature gods? Those of Mistral."

Percy scratched his head. How did he answer that? He didn't necessarily believe in the gods of Mistral, but from what he could gather they were pretty clearly based off of some weird amalgamation of the Greek, Roman, Norse, Egyptian, Shinto, Chinese, and so on gods. Just a collective pantheon of blurry nature deities. But he wasn't quite sure they existed in this world.

"Yeah… yeah, I do." he said, finally. "With the stuff I've seen, it's very hard not to." he decided to be honest for once. He was hoping Tai wouldn't call him on it so he wouldn't have to make up some 'miracles', but for some reason Tai seemed… trustworthy. Like he would listen.

Tai hummed. "I see. Well, come on in while you wait for Qrow."

Percy shrugged, and followed the man inside. Percy could tell he hadn't bought his barely-excuses, but he wasn't calling him on it. He could be thankful for that, at least.

"Keep it a bit further back. If you keep overextending like that, I can do this." Percy hooked Riptide around the other side of the scythe and yanked it out of her grasp, neatly dodging to the side and catching the hilt of the weapon.

Ruby pouted. "But uncle Qrow always said to use its length to keep the opponent away."

Percy shrugged, tossing the weapon back. She caught it clumsily in her hands. "He's right, but he also isn't used to fighting against scythes. I can give you some insight he can't. What he meant was use the length of your scythe to your advantage, but also don't overextend."

Ruby pouted, but held her scythe in front of her again and got ready.

And as such, it repeated.

Percy really didn't expect the kid to be able to put up much of a fight — Hades, he was surprised her dad was letting her fight in the first place. She was fighting in a style that was not dissimilar to Qrow. She didn't have quite as fancy a weapon — just a retracting scythe — but she was learning nonetheless. For an eleven year old, she was doing pretty great. He'd learned that over the last few days.

"Come on~! It's my turn!"

Percy glanced to the side to see Yang staring at him with her arms crossed. Qrow was hunched over next to her, mentally defeated. Tai stood chuckling to the side, covering his mouth with one hand.

Percy casually parried one of Ruby's slashes as he listened in on the conversation.

"Come on, pipsqueak. It's not like you can beat me either."

Yang rolled her eyes. "Yeah, but he can beat you. You always said it's better to learn from the best, right? Well, that's all I'm doing."

If his expression was any clue, Qrow was having a conniption. Percy didn't bother holding in his own laugh.

Percy batted away Ruby's scythe but didn't feel comfortable resting his very sharp sword against her neck like he might against someone with aura.

"You'll get better, kiddo. All you need now is age." he glanced over at Qrow. "And practice."

Yang danced towards him without prompt, raising her arms. On her wrists was some weird gauntlet-shotgun combo. She already had a custom weapon, it seemed. He shouldn't be too surprised, considering Pyrrha also had one. It was important they learn to use their weapon early on, after all.

While Ruby had obviously been greatly inspired by Qrow's style, it seemed Yang took inspiration from somewhere else — Tai, he had to imagine.

After he gave the nod to signal he was ready, Yang shot forward in a burst of motion, levelling a fist at his head.

Percy didn't bother raising Riptide. He sidestepped and stuck his leg out, letting her tumble over it. Ruby laughed in the background, which was quickly admonished by her father. Percy paid none of that mind.

"You hustle — it's a great quality for someone your age. But if anything you're over eager. Try holding back a bit."

It seemed as though this wasn't the first time she'd heard something similar to his advice, because she just grit her teeth and charged back at him.

Percy sighed, once again stepping to the side. This time she adjusted, hooking her fist to meet his jaw.

Percy leaned back a little bit, let her body force her to stumble past him, and then stuck a leg out, tripping her onto the dirt.

He shook his head. "We're not gonna get anywhere with that aggression. I'm sure I'm not the first one to tell you to cool it, right?"

Yang grit her teeth, forcing herself back up and charging back at him.

But this time… she was a little more cautious. Slightly more withdrawn. Percy nodded. "Good, better. But you still." He paused to roll out of the way of her headlong charge and kicked her in the butt, sending her sprawling. "Need to learn to wait for an opening."

Yang got back up, her hair almost literally seeming to turn into flames in the summer sun. A cool illusion, if nothing else.

Before she could — literally — take another swing at him, his scroll rang.

He didn't have it on him, but he recognized the ringtone and glanced over to the side where their 'audience' sat. Qrow glanced at where Percy's scroll sat next to him, picked it up, and tossed it to him.

"Tell him hi for me, will ya'?"

Percy snatched the scroll out of mid air, glanced at the caller ID and nodded at Qrow. "Sorry, Yang. I have to take this. I'm sure your uncle could teach you the same things, though. Listen to him more, he knows what he's talking about."

Percy tapped the scroll and held it to his ear. "Hey Shiro, what's up?"

Percy saw Tai give Qrow a surprised glance out of the corner of his eye, but paid it no mind, walking toward the woodline to get some privacy.

"Well, I have some good news, I suppose."

Percy raised an eyebrow, sheathing Riptide. "Oh, and what's that?"

"The Schnee's wanted to arrange a meeting with the CEO of J&W, I got word and now the meeting's being arranged with you."

Percy blinked. "J&W?"

Shiro sighed over the line. "Johnson and Wesserschmit."

Percy scratched his head. "I'm gonna need a bit more context than that, Shiro."

"Johnson and Wesserschmit. You know, the arms manufacturer that you purchased for millions and millions of lien?"

"Ohhh, them. Yeah, okay. Are you sure you can't take this meeting?"

Shiro remained silent for a few moments.

"Okay, okay, I get it. Fine, I can go to the meeting. Is there anything else I need to know?"

"It's black tie. The Schnee's are… very formal. Think your meeting with Ozpin, but about ten times more important and haughty."

Percy blinked. "Well, that doesn't sound pleasant. Are you sure they're that important? I get they're crazy rich, but surely they're not more influential than Ozpin."

"Maybe they're not more influential, but they're certainly more powerful. Sure, if push comes to shove then Ozpin has connections in every kingdom and the will to use them. He could turn anyone's world upside down and then spit them out and nobody would say a word. But that's in an extreme scenario — it's not real life. But here on Remnant, where us mortals live, Schnee's have more power. They'll destroy your business and then look away like it never happened, and they do every day. That's the difference between the Schnee's and Ozpin. Sure, when the chips are down all of the Schnee's wealth won't mean jack to Ozpin and his influence. But day to day, Ozpin and all his connections won't do a damn thing."

Percy leaned up against a tree and pondered that for a moment. "Alright, alright. I get it. So impress the Schnee's and I'll be set for life. Are you sure it's a good idea to get this close to them, with all we're doing behind their back?"

"With what you told me of your plan… hopefully it won't come to that any time soon. If it does, we're screwed whether you're in their manor or in the deserts of Vacuo. But if your plan progresses far enough…"

"Then we might be able to survive if they suddenly discover who's behind the MTC."

Percy could imagine Shiro nodding. "Yeah. I'm sorry to cut your vacation short, but if you're going to meet the Schnee family, there's quite a bit of preparation you're gonna need to do."

Percy rolled his eyes. "Don't tell me I'm gonna have to learn the difference in forks and all that."

"Huh? No. That'll take ten minutes. What I'm worried about is our negotiating position. I'll schedule the meeting as far out as we can risk without angering them. In that time, you might wanna help the white fang get a move-on in creating more problems for the SDC. Depending on how many issues they're having when you meet determines how good of a contract you get. It determines how desperate they are to get some hands on some rifles. Every train you rob today is another thousand rifles they'll need tomorrow."

"Alright, I can get behind that. I'll call up Adam, tell him I'll be working with him for a bit. I'm sure it won't go over very well, but I should be able to explain it away well enough."

"Yeah, you do that. For the time being, we need you back in Mistral."

Percy glanced back at the field behind him. Tai was sparring Yang while Qrow sat on the sidelines with Ruby on his lap. Well, duty calls. Or rather, money calls in this case.

"Alright, I'll head back today. Do me a favor and set up a meeting with Adam, I need to convince him not to get rubbed the wrong way by me tagging along."

"I'll get on it. See ya back here."

"Oh, and before I go. Qrow says hi."

"Tell the bird I said up yours."

Percy rolled his eyes. "I'm not telling him that in front of his family. Goodbye Shiro." Percy pulled the scroll away from his ear and tapped it, ending the call.

He walked back towards the clearing, standing a bit behind Qrow.

"I have to go. Work."

Qrow glanced back at him. "Ah, alright. I get it. Take care, man." he extended a hand backwards, and Percy awkwardly shook it.

Ruby suddenly turned back towards them. "Awww, is Mr. Percy leaving?"

Percy scratched his head, blushing slightly at the suddenly formal address. "Yeah, I'm sorry Ruby. I have to go. Keep practicing, you'll be a great huntress some day."

Percy grunted as she suddenly launched herself into his torso. He rubbed her head awkwardly while glancing at Qrow, a helpless look on his face.

Qrow just laughed, and Percy would bet a rather large sum of lien that if he'd had a scroll on him, he'd have taken a picture. Percy wasn't exactly used to how… comfortable children could get with you after only a week or so. At least Pyrrha had been all cold and distant to begin with. Ruby was… clingy.

Percy pried the girl off of him, holding her at arm's length. "I'll miss you too, Ruby. Be nice to your dad, alright?"

Ruby blinked up at him. "But what about uncle Qrow?"

Percy grinned at her. "You can be as mean to him as you like."

Ruby began cheering, and Qrow shot him a dirty look. Percy just chuckled, only turning away when he saw Tai and Yang approaching from the field.

"Heading home so early? Qrow told me you planned to stay for another day or two."

Percy shrugged. "Work. It sucks to cut this short, but it was fun while I was here. Thank you for having me over so often."

Tai patted him on the shoulder. "It was no problem. Feel free to come by anytime you feel like a hot meal and some company."

Percy smiled and nodded at him. "Thanks, I appreciate that."

Tai glanced down at Yang. "Now Yang, be a good host and say goodbye."

Yang glanced away. "Bye."

Percy just chuckled. "Goodbye, Yang. Keep it up, but keep working on that temper of yours."

"Here, let me walk you out front." Tai volunteered. Percy nodded gratefully and followed the man towards the front of the house. They walked in a comfortable silence for some time, neither speaking. The only noises were those of the wildlife in the trees.

"I know, by the way."

Percy blinked, glancing at Tai, who had suddenly come to a stop.

"I didn't know what to think when you turned up at my door, but I figured if Qrow trusted you near the girls you were trustworthy. Thank you, for not breaking that trust."

Percy cleared his throat. "Yeah, yeah. Of course. I owe Qrow a lot, I'd never do anything to endanger his family."

Tai continued walking, seemingly satisfied. Percy just blinked and continued after him, slightly mystified. Some people, Percy would just never get

Sorry for the short-ish chapter. Finals and all that. Next chapter will be in a month and a half. Check out my profile for a discord or pat reon.

Just wanted to address something a couple people have been saying for some time — Yes, with the position Percy is in currently he could turn the financial world of Remnant upside down. Anyone that knows a decent amount about the stock market in modern America knows that, and because of that so do I. The only problem, is that Percy doesn't know how to do that. He's not a trader or anything like that. So no, Percy will not be pulling out some advanced modern day financial tricks to make infinite money.

Take care.

Next Chapter June 1