Wild Hunt

by Author Nicholas Drew

Sometimes, all that is needed to change history is a single moment. When an unexpected arrival ruins Cinder's plans to destroy Beacon, history is changed and Team RWBY finds themselves together instead of divided. However, they also discover that the darkness of Remnant goes beyond the one named Salem.

6. Chapter 6: Kindness

Chapter 6: Kindness

Hansel Kobalt quietly walked through the hallways of Beacon Academy, enjoying the silence, as all the other students were in different classes. Silence, he thought to himself, moments like these are when I'm truly at peace. Not a single voice ringing in my ears. No frightened whispers among those who recognize the Blue Demon. No death and despair. Only peace from silence.

I'm alone, I always have been, no matter how much people want to insist otherwise. Better to recognize that than try to live a lie. Peace of any kind never came from lying.

"Hansel!" Hansel froze, hearing a familiar voice call out to him.

Hansel looked over his shoulder to see Glynda Goodwitch gazing at him with a look of concern on his face. "What is it, Glynda?" He asked.

"What is with the rumor I'm hearing about you putting one of your students in the infirmary?" Glynda asked him. There was no judgement or anger in her voice. She just wanted to know if he was okay. "And there are other rumors that it's Ms. Rose."

Hansel sighed. "It's not a rumor at all," he admitted, "it's true."

Glynda gazed at him in shock. "It's okay though, Glynda." Hansel continued. "I'm…going to try to make things right."

"Hansel…are you alright?" Glynda asked in concern. She had never heard Hansel sound so…defeated before.

Hansel just chuckled humorlessly. "When have I ever been?" He asked grimly.

And with those single words, Hansel continued his path to the infirmary, leaving Glynda to watch him go, helpless and unable to offer anything in support.

Hansel heaved a sigh, knowing he had probably hurt Glynda's feelings with that statement.

"She's done so much for me, as has Professor Ozpin." Hansel noted to himself. "It's…not as if I'm feeling ungrateful for it all, but it just doesn't change a damn thing that in the end…" Hansel trailed off, unable to bring himself to finish that sentence.

"Still though," He changed the subject of this one-way conversation, "that doesn't mean I should shy away from apologizing to some girl for screwing up big time. I'm not a good person, but I'm also definitely not a bastard."

And with that declaration, Hansel fully resolved himself to properly apologize to Ruby Rose…

Meanwhile, inside of Beacon Academy's infirmary, Ruby Rose slowly stirred awake, whining and groaning in pain. When her eyes opened, she found herself surrounded by her relieved teammates. "Ruby!" Yang Xiao Long almost happily embraced her sister, only to be held back by a concerned Blake Belladonna.

"How are you feeling?" Weiss Schnee asked.

"Like I got hit by a truck…that was also on fire." Ruby tiredly replied before asking a question of her own. "Did I win?"

"No, you lost, Ruby." Blake said bluntly. "And, while that move you pulled out towards the end was pretty impressive…you still lost pretty badly."

"Move? Oh, you mean what I did with splitting myself up and all?" Ruby grinned weakly, remembering that part of the match.

Blake let a small smile curl at Ruby's statement. "Yeah, Ruby," she told her.

"So, after all that, I lost, huh?" Ruby lamented. "But you know, I pulled that off on the fly, you guys. I'm getting stronger. I think…next time, I can do even better."

Yang's eyes turned red. "Next time?!" She yelled. "Ruby, you cannot be serious! Are you telling me that after all of that, you just want to march right back down there and keep taking classes with that psycho?"

"Well…yeah," Ruby looked at Yang in confusion, "I know things didn't really turn out well today, but that's why we've just gotta go back in there and keep trying, right?"

"No, no, no, Ruby that is a terrible idea." Weiss told her. "You—and none of us, for that matter—should attend that class until that man is no longer our teacher."

Ruby seemed to regain her strength back upon hearing this. She sat up to properly converse with her teammates. "Huh? Guys, what's this all about?" She asked.

"What's this all about?" Yang repeated in disbelief. "Ruby, did he give you a concussion? You can't seriously think any of that was okay! What he did to you was straight-up abuse!"

Ruby nodded. "I know," she said, "it's not like I'm stupid, Yang."

"The fact that you still want to attend that damn class makes me question that." Yang admitted. "Ruby, listen to me, I know you're the leader, but we are not attending that class until that guy is fired and replaced with someone who isn't psychotic."

Ruby looked at Yang in shock, then at Weiss and Blake, as though trying to get them to confirm or deny that. They both nodded in confirmation. "We can't though." Ruby said, immediately balking at the idea. "Look at what's happening around us, guys! People are dying! The world is on the brink of some kind of war thanks to that Cinder woman! And you're actually saying we don't attend classes that are meant to make us stronger?"

"Yes, we are, because that is the safe thing to do." Weiss said. "Ruby, you cannot constantly put yourself in situations where someone is able to hurt you the way he did today."

I probably know that better than anyone. Weiss added sadly.

"Weiss is right," Blake added, "Ruby, that behavior of his was frightening. It wasn't that of a teacher's. It was the way of…"

Blake trailed off, unable to say it. Yang narrowed her eyes, knowing what Blake was talking about, and nodded. "Blake's got a pretty accurate comparison, actually." She admitted. "Professor Jackass, was not acting like a professor, he was acting like a psycho abusive boyfriend."

Blake winced at how blunt Yang was being. However, she could not argue with that comparison. She came up with it, after all. Ruby frowned. Yang groaned. "What is with you?" She demanded. "Are you telling me you don't have a problem with all of this."

"I do," Ruby said, surprisingly calm even though she had a look of betrayal on her face, "I am concerned that a professor at academy this acted the way he did."

"Then why do you look like you disagree with us?" Weiss asked. "Everyone in our class thinks the same way, even Team CRDL does. Team CRDL, Ruby! I was right, that man is not cut out to be a teacher!"

Yang snorted. "Well, maybe we shouldn't go that far. He did teach us one thing."

Everyone looked at Yang, who still had a furious look in her eyes. "Remember how he mentioned that people were the real monsters in Remnant, whether they were human or faunus? Yeah, I think I can agree with it after seeing how he acted today."

Ruby looked at Yang in shock, realizing what she was implying. Then, Yang outright said it. "That guy IS a monster."

Ruby's mouth dropped open in disbelief while Weiss and Blake both nodded in agreement. However, little did they know, they weren't the only people privy to this opinion Yang had about their professor.

Outside the infirmary, Hansel Kobalt lowered his head, managing to look surprisingly calm even though on the inside, he was feeling himself break. His hand slowly lowered itself from the doorknob. He had been moments away from entering to apologize to Ruby.

However, he managed to keep a straight face through it all. Yeah, he agreed completely with Yang's assessment, I'm a monster.

Why did I think this would go well? He wondered. Why did I think I would be forgiven? This is why I'm better off alone.

This is my punishment. Hansel realized. This is my punishment for taking my wrath out on a girl who doesn't even know what the world really is outside of the academies. I never should've forgotten, no matter how much I hate the nickname, it doesn't change the fact that it's accurate.

I am the Blue Demon, and demons don't get to do human things like apologize…demons don't get to be happy.

Yeah…I'm a monster.

Then, before Hansel could turn and walk away from the infirmary, planning to resign from his post to make the students happy, a single voice stopped him; the voice of a smaller, more honest soul.

"Yang, take that back."

Yang's mouth dropped open, unable to believe what she had just heard. "Ruby, what do you mean take it back?" She asked.

"You know what I mean," Ruby said, sounding surprisingly angry now, "take back what you called him. Professor Kobalt…he is not a monster!"

Hansel's eyes widened. How long had it been since someone had said that about him?

"Glynda, am I a monster?" A ten year-old Hansel had asked Glynda Goodwitch.

Glynda had just smiled. "Of course not, sweetie, you're a perfectly normal little boy, just like every other little boy out there."

But you knew that was a lie when you told me that, Glynda. Hansel thought sadly. You knew everything about me…why I was at Beacon back then. You knew it was a lie because you also knew about me. But you also never saw me at my worst.

"Not a monster?" Yang shook her head. "No way, after everything he did?"

"Yes," Ruby glared at her sister, making Yang step back in surprise, "Cinder Fall is a monster! Adam Taurus is a monster! Professor Kobalt is not! I can't believe you all would even think that, let alone say it! We saw the worst that the world had to offer the night the Vytal Festival was attacked! We saw the monsters that Professor Kobalt warned us about! And he's not one of them!"

"And how is he any different from Cinder or Adam?" Yang demanded.

Hansel was admittedly interested in that as well. This girl, who had seen him at arguably his worst. This girl, who had suffered from him being at his worst. What was it about him that made her so convinced that he was not a monster? He had to know.

"I saw it," Ruby revealed, "at the very last moment…during our fight, when he was about to hit me with his katana. He realized what he was doing at the last moment, and turned it around so that he'd hit me with the blunt end, lessening my injuries."

Blake's eyes widened in disbelief. He…he actually did… she realized.

No way, she saw that? Hansel was stunned. I was moving so fast though…

"And not only that, but just before he hit me, I got a look in his eyes." Ruby admitted. "And for the briefest moment…I saw sadness…and regret…like he knew that he was doing something wrong, but just couldn't stop himself. A monster wouldn't have those kinds of feelings."

Yang, Blake and Weiss fell silent at this. Ruby took a deep breath, realizing she had been on such a role, she had not been breathing. "Don't get the wrong idea," she said, "I'm not excusing the things he did. What he did was wrong, and I hate the fact it happened to me. But a monster? I just can't think of him like that!"

Hansel found himself shaking in disbelief as emotions he thought he had effectively repressed for so long were starting to rush back to him. "I know he's harsh, I know he's rude, I know he made a lot of mistakes today." Ruby admitted. "I know all of that, I'm not some naive kid."

Hansel's eyes widened at Ruby's next sentence. "But I know there's good in him!"

Hansel felt time slow down around him. She thinks…I'm good. That girl…she experienced my worst and she still thinks that I'm good?

Hansel found himself unable to comprehend those words. You idiot…why would you think that? I'm a monster…I'm a demon…I'm not good…I'm not…

"You…can't be serious." Weiss spoke up after a brief period of silence.

"I am," Ruby nodded, "who says we've got to be perfect, huh?"

She then turned her attention to Yang. "Yang, don't you remember all those stories you read to me where the hero messed up big time? That didn't make the hero any less good, right?"

"Ruby…" Yang tried to disprove the comparison, but could not.

"People don't have to be perfect…at least, I don't think they do." Ruby admitted. "What matters is what they are deep down, and I know that deep down, there's good in Professor Kobalt."

Hansel's face contorted into a look of grief and regret. He was visibly trying to stop himself from breaking down into tears at this point. "I don't know why he's so angry on the outside, I don't know why he seems so sad, too." Ruby admitted. "But…on the inside, I know he's good."

"And what are you going to do with this theory of yours?" Weiss inquired.

"I don't know," Ruby admitted sheepishly, "I haven't gotten that far yet, but I would like to know why he's so angry and sad. And if that means sticking with his class, then so be it."

"And then what?" Blake asked.

"Then maybe…I can try to help him." Ruby gave everyone a pure but determined smile.

Hansel could not take it anymore. He could not take it. Take it. Take it. Take it. TAKE IT! He just could not take another minute of that girl trying to reassure everyone that he was a good person, that she wanted to help him.

He just could no longer take the shame, the guilt. He had to leave this place…

As Hansel Kobalt fled the scene, seeking refugee in the only place he truly felt comfortable, the rest of Team RWBY looked at their leader in disbelief. Blake's ears meanwhile, twitched. Hold on…was there someone here? Someone outside?

"Ruby…you're serious about this?" Weiss asked, cutting Blake out of her thoughts

Ruby nodded, resolutely. Weiss thought it over. He is a strange man…he went out of his way to make sure I remained at Beacon when he could've just went on his way. And there's the fact he saved Blake and Yang from that Adam Taurus. But still…

"Ruby, I'm going to be honest, I still think you're being a bit too optimistic, but I won't stop you from trying." Weiss admitted.

"Same," Blake nodded, "you can make your own decisions, Ruby. And if you think that's the best call, then do your best. Just know that I also think you're being a bit too optimistic as well."

Ruby looked at Yang, who was visibly conflicted by Ruby's decision. She then heaved a sigh. "Is there no way I can talk you out of this?" She asked, almost pleading.

Ruby shook her head. Yang sighed. "You are growing up." She mused. "Okay, little sis, I'll let you do things your way."

Ruby smiled. "Thanks, Yang." She said, grateful to her big sister for trusting her.

"Now rest up," Yang told her sister, "if you really plan to stick with this, you've got a big day tomorrow."

"We all do," Ruby reminded her sister, "you guys go and attend the rest of your classes and rest up, alright? Leader's orders."

Weiss nodded. "We'll bring you all the information you need." She promised as the three other members of Team RWBY exited the infirmary, leaving their leader to rest.

It was the evening when Ruby Rose was released from the infirmary. She had planned to go straight back to her dorm room, but was stopped by a message in her Scroll. It was from a number she did not recognize.

"Come to my office on the top floor, we need to talk—Professor Kobalt."

Ruby's eyes widened in surprise. Professor Kobalt wanted to speak with her? What could it possibly be about? Did he plan on criticizing her performance that day more? No, she could not think like that. She said there was good in him with all the conviction she could muster. There was no way she was going to back down from that statement.

So, Ruby made her way to the top floor in an elevator. The floor where the faculty offices were. For all of her hyperactive tendencies, Ruby had never once had to go to any of these offices. "Now, which one of these is Professor Kobalt's office?" Ruby wondered, gazing at the plaques.

The young Huntress briefly stopped when she saw a certain plaque, not because it was the right one, but because of the office's utterly baffling name: Fort Port.

"Geez, Professor Port…" Ruby muttered, shaking her head at the man's nature.

Then, at the end of the long hallways, she came across a single room with a plaque on it. "Professor Hansel Kobalt, this is his office." Ruby realized.

Without hesitation, Ruby knocked on his door. "It's unlocked." Came the familiar voice.

Ruby opened the door and walked inside to a surprise. The office she had entered did not look like an office. In fact, it looked like a dorm room.

There was no desk, just two chairs facing each other. There was a bed in the corner, right next to the one window. There was a closet, filled with what Ruby could only assume were clothes. And, sitting right in one of those chairs was Hansel Kobalt, who had an unreadable expression on his face.

"Thanks for coming on such short notice, please have a seat." Hansel told her, gesturing to the other open chair.

Ruby nodded and did as told. "This…isn't what I expected your office to look like." Ruby admitted.

"Oh? Yeah, I guess it doesn't really fit the mold." Hansel noted, gazing at the room, feeling all of the memories come back to him. "This was my old room, back when I lived at Beacon. Glynda seems to have left it exactly how I did."

"Lived?" Ruby looked at Hansel in surprise. "You mean, you went to Beacon?"

"That implies I was a student, kid." Hansel said to her. "No…I just lived at Beacon. I guess you could say I was Professor Ozpin, as well as Glynda's ward."

"Their ward? But…didn't you have a family?"

Hansel heaved a sigh. "It is like your friend, the Schnee girl, said, kid. My family is gone." He said. "The Kobalts were a family of powerful Huntsmen and brilliant scientists, those statements were true. And yet they couldn't conquer the hellish world we live in either."

"So I guess you're not really one for heroism, huh?" At that moment, Ruby began to realize why her beliefs so deeply upset Hansel.

Hansel shrugged. "I'm more of a realist." He admitted.

Ruby almost found herself apologizing for upsetting Hansel so much with her beliefs, but remembered that mistake did not excuse the way he acted, even if she now had a better understanding of him. Hansel then decided to get on track, asking a question that made Ruby's eyes widen. "So…you think there's good in me, huh?"

Ruby immediately realized what he was saying, and then realized what that meant. "Oh no, you heard all of that?" She asked.

Hansel nodded. "I am so sorry," Ruby said immediately, surprising Hansel, "I am so sorry my sister called you a monster."

Hansel was completely taken aback by Ruby's frantic apology, so much so that he could not respond, allowing her to continue. "Professor, listen, I promise, I don't think you're a monster. And I'm sure Yang and the others don't really think it either, they were just angry."

Hansel managed to regain his composure. "Calm down, kid." He said. "I don't care about that."

"I'm more focused on the fact that you think I'm good." Hansel said. "Most people wouldn't have that opinion of someone after that person put them in the infirmary. And yet here we are."

"Not only that, but you're the one apologizing to me." Hansel shook his head. "This isn't how I wanted things to go. You're not supposed to be the one apologizing."

Ruby looked at Hansel in surprise. Hansel ran his hands through his hair. "I'm not good at this." He admitted. "Look, I'm…"

As Ruby watched Hansel stress over this situation the two of them were in, she could not help but note how human he seemed, a far cry from the seemingly uncaring man in class.

Hansel took a deep breath, managing to get the words out. "I'm sorry, kid." He said. "I've got no right to make excuses about what happened, but I've been going through a lot of stress for the past few days over becoming a teacher, and I took all of my anger and frustrations out on you. I had no right to do that to you, and you certainly didn't deserve it."

"So…I'm sorry." Hansel said.

Ruby smiled. "Apology accepted, Professor."

"Just like that, huh?" Hansel raised an eyebrow.

"You apologized," Ruby told him, "and you meant it, I can tell. I don't really see a reason not to accept it."

"…I see." Hansel said.

The two sat in awkward silence for a brief moment before Hansel spoke up again. "You think I'm good though…why?" Hansel asked.

"Well, for starters, you went out of your way to apologize." Ruby pointed out with a smile. "That's gotta count for something, right?"

"People apologize for things all the time, kid." Hansel pointed out to her. "Don't you think that at some point the concept just loses its meaning?"

Ruby shrugged. "I don't know about that." She admitted. "But, I used to get picked on a lot as a kid. And my dad, he used to tell me that if someone was truly repentant, they couldn't possibly be that bad. It was his way of telling me to forgive them if they ever said sorry."

"But, if you were listening to that conversation, then you know that I know you hit me with the blunt end of your sword at the last second, and that you regretted what had happened, like you knew at that very moment what you were doing was wrong, but just couldn't stop yourself." Ruby pointed out. "A bad person wouldn't hesitate and feel that kind of shame."

Hansel fell silent at that statement before countering with a statement of his own. "A good person wouldn't have done what I did to you in the first place." He said. "With all due respect, I've heard it all before."

"You're a perfectly normal little boy."

"You have a kind heart."

"You're not a monster."

Ruby just smiled. "You're not talking about a good person though, you're talking about a perfect person."

Hansel's eyes widened, remembering that part of Ruby's defense of him to her teammates. "Even good people make mistakes sometimes, and you definitely made one today." Ruby told him. "You messed up, but doing something everyone else does, doesn't make you a bad person."

Ruby smiled. "So yeah, even though you messed up, I still think you're a good person, Professor." She said resolutely.

In spite of my flaws, in spite of my mistakes, I'm still a good person? Hansel thought to himself.

After a few moments of silence, Hansel heaved a sigh, and without even realizing it, he let a small smile curl. "Well, shit," he said to himself, "how else am I supposed to respond to that, huh?"

Ruby could not help but let out a light gasp at the man's smile. It looked so sweet.

"Okay, kid, you win." Hansel told her. "I'll accept your reasoning."

Ruby nodded and smiled. "Thank you, Professor." She said. "I'm glad we had this chat."

"And you know what else," Ruby told him with determination, "even if today turned out bad, I got stronger. I evolved my Semblance when I needed to, and I got stronger. And I'm going to keep getting stronger."

Hansel looked at Ruby in surprise. "You watch, Professor," Ruby said to him, "I'm going to be the best student you ever saw. And then, I'm going to become the best Huntress."

Hansel shook his head in disbelief. That optimism of yours knows no bounds, Kid.He mused inwardly. Optimism aside…it looks like I owe this girl a shot at least.

"Honestly, you shouldn't be the one making promises to me." Hansel told her. "I'm the one who screwed up today, remember?"

And if I'm going to give her a shot, then I need to be better…

"So let me just say," Hansel's perpetually stern gaze transformed into a much softer one, "I'm going to do better at my new job. I'm going to become a professor you can look up to."

Ruby nodded. "I think you'll be great." She said without hesitation. "Now, if there's anything else you'd like to say, I should get back to my dorm. I think my teammates are getting worried about me."

Hansel nodded. "Dismissed, kid." He told her.

Ruby smiled, got up and began to walk away, only to be stopped by Hansel, who had a few more words. "And by the way," he said, "you're right. That move you pulled at the end of our match? It was pretty impressive."

Ruby smiled and nodded, grateful for Hansel's compliment. With that, Ruby left his office to return to her dorm. Hansel shook his head, still in utter disbelief at the behavior of that girl.

"The only question now is, how am I going to properly apologize to everyone else?" He wondered. "It's not like I can go back in time and stop myself from treating them so badly."

An idea then came to Hansel. "But I can get mistreated now." He noted before sending a message to a certain someone over his scroll.

"Now, how do I motivate them to push themselves after we get this apology out of the way?" Hansel wondered.

Hansel heaved a sigh. "Damn," he cursed, "this is actually the hard part. I never was an actual Beacon student; I don't know how to connect with these kids."

Hansel continued to think. "Wait…students." An idea suddenly came to him. "Professor Ozpin would talk about his students all the time when I was training under him…and he always talked about one student in particular…"

Hansel smirked as he began formulating his new lesson plan. "Yes, yes, this will work perfectly." He said, surprisingly excited as he began jotting down notes on his scroll.

As Hansel wrote down his lesson plan, he immediately found himself thinking about Ruby once more. Ozpin's words regarding her then came to his mind. "A smaller, more honest soul," he remembered, "a simple soul. One that will lead the world into the light."

"Kid, I still can't say I'm convinced any of that is possible." Hansel admitted to himself. "But still, I have to admit, you really caught me off guard there. I didn't think someone could be that kind…"

And then it occurred to Hansel that there was another person he needed to apologize to.

Browsing through his own call history, Hansel clicked on a familiar number on his Scroll.

"Hey, Glynda, you've got time to talk?" asked Hansel.

"Of course, Hansel," warmly replied Glynda Goodwitch, "I'm always happy to make time for you. We should make it quick though; we both have classes to teach early in the morning."

Hansel took a deep breath. "I just wanted to say thanks."

There was a pause on the other end. Hansel could tell he had stunned Glynda into silence. "For what, exactly?"

"For everything." Hansel continued. "Both you and Professor Ozpin have been good and gracious towards me. The things you've done have meant a lot to me, and I'm sorry for not saying that enough. And I'm sorry for worrying you all the time."

One the other end. Glynda was a little caught off guard by Hansel's uncharacteristic openness, and then smiled in response.

But before she could voice her reply, Hansel continued, "And remember what I said about making things right? I'm doing that, I've managed to make peace with Ruby and have gotten to know her a little better; but as for the rest of the students, I've got something special planned for them."

"Special as in?" inquired Glynda.

"As in being good and gracious to the students in my own special way," clarified Hansel, "Plus, I'd like to test how much I've learned from your example."

"Hansel," Glynda said to him, "let me give you a piece of advice before I hang up. Something I didn't get a chance to do before."

Hansel fell silent. "Don't think you need to completely copy my example." Glynda told him. "You are your own man and teacher, and you need to find a system that works for you, but also balance that with an ability to command the respect of your students and understand each of them and their feelings."

"Peter and Bartholomew both have vastly different methods, and yet they are successful for that reason. To balance ones beliefs and methods with a respect and understanding of your students. That is what it means to be a teacher."

"Balance, huh?" Hansel thought that over.

"Just keep that in mind, Hansel." Glynda told him. "Now go to sleep."

Hansel frowned. "Well, um, you know, I kinda wanted to unwind with some gaming." He admitted.

"I don't think so, young man." Glynda scolded. "You can play your video games over the weekend when you're not grading."

Hansel sighed. "Yes, Ma'am." He said obediently.

Glynda laughed. "Goodnight, Hansel." She said kindly.

Hansel let a small smile curl. "Goodnight, Glynda."

Hansel then sent one last message on his Scroll. When he got the response, he nodded curtly before preparing for bed. Tomorrow, his apology would begin.

The next day, the class that saw the worst of Hansel Kobalt walked to their next class with their new Combat Professor as though they were all walking towards an execution, everyone except Ruby Rose, who was noticeably chipper.

Her teammates were confused by her mood, and also how secretive she was after returning from what they learned to be a meeting with Hansel.

When everyone entered the classroom/arena, they were surprised to see Hansel was not alone. Professor Ozpin was also with him. "Did you get canned already?" Coco Adel taunted, wondering if that was the reason for Ozpin's presence.

Hansel instinctively rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I deserve that." He muttered.

Hansel then took a deep breath. "Look, I get that a lot of you don't really wanna be here right now, and I also get that it's my fault that's the case." Hansel told his students.

The class remained silent, wondering what he was getting at and wondering if Hansel was being forced to apologize. "And I also know that just saying sorry ain't gonna cut it with you lot." Hansel continued. "And that is why I brought Professor Ozpin here to help me prove a point."

Ozpin nodded and silently began swinging his cane around to prepare. Hansel narrowed his eyes at the older man and drew Wolf Fang, much to the surprise of everyone present. "Whoa, is he going to go up against Professor Ozpin?" Velvet Scarlatina said in disbelief.

What is he trying to prove? Pyrrha Nikos wondered, remembering Ozpin's fight with Cinder Fall. He can't win against Professor Ozpin.

Ozpin could not help but smile. "It's been awhile since our last spar." He noted. "As I recall, you still haven't landed a single blow on me."

Hansel frowned. "Yeah, yeah, yeah," he muttered, "to be fair, we've been sparring since I was ten. What ten-year-old is capable of landing a hit on you?"

"Well, what student would be capable of doing the same to you?" Ozpin inquired.

"Touché, and to answer your question, none, except for one, apparently." Hansel admitted.

Ruby smiled. Darn right! She thought proudly.

"Just remember, Hansel," Ozpin said, "don't blink."

Hansel's eyes widened slightly. "Oh shit." He muttered, knowing what was coming.

1 second…

Ozpin suddenly vanished from sight, leaving behind a shining green silhouette of himself. "Whoa!" Yang yelled in shock.

Ruby watched in utter disbelief. Professor Ozpin's even faster than me! She realized.

Hansel frantically tried to block Ozpin's first strike, however, his Wolf Fang was suddenly hooked by Ozpin's cane and wrenched from his grip.

2 seconds…

Suddenly Hansel had ten blows landed on him in the span of a second, sending him flying backwards.

3 seconds…

Ozpin appeared behind the flying Hansel and swung his cane into Hansel's back without even looking, knocking the young man flat on his face. "…Ow…" Hansel could only mutter in pain, unable to move.

Meanwhile, Hansel's students looked at the scene in front of them in disbelief. In the span of 3 seconds, Hansel Kobalt had been utterly decimated by their headmaster. 3 seconds! Ozpin then walked right over to Hansel and smiled down at him. "Are you okay, my boy?" He inquired.

"I almost hit you." Hansel claimed, groaning.

"No, you didn't." Ozpin was quick to deny.

Yang was doing her best impression of a fish before regaining her composure. "So…is it just me or was that cathartic as hell?"

"Professor Kobalt!" Ruby yelled in worry, running down to the arena.

Ozpin looked in surprise to see Ruby running towards them. "Professor, should we get him to the infirmary?" Ruby asked, worriedly.

Ozpin could not help but smile at Ruby's concern for his apprentice. It appears they really did patch things up. He mused.

"Don't worry, Ms. Rose," he said, "Hansel has sparred with me so many times over the years, he's gotten used to it, he'll be back up before you know it."

Hansel then groaned, getting to his feet. "Yeah, but I'm going to be sore for the rest of the day." He complained. "Exactly, what I was hoping for."

Hansel then regained his composure and turned his attention to his students. "Okay, you're probably asking yourselves now, why did I do that?"

"I'm not." Yang admitted. "I just really liked watching you get your ass kicked."

"…Yesterday, I would've done the same to even it out, but today, I'm trying to make a point here." Hansel said, surprisingly calm.

Ozpin nodded. "I've got a meeting with Vale's council. You can take it from here."

With that, Ozpin took his leave as Hansel began his speech. "I'm not going to sugarcoat it. I got my ass kicked. Me, a full-fledged Huntsmen, got his ass-kicked by someone clearly better. Why?"

"It helps that Professor Ozpin is arguably one of the greatest Huntsmen of all time." Weiss noted.

"It goes a bit further than that," Hansel pointed out, "the fact of the matter is, there's always going to be someone better than you."

"Even after I completed all my training at Beacon, I'm still technically studying. I'm still getting stronger." Hansel pointed out. "And that's not just reserved for me. You're all going to continue improving as well, as long as you keep to your training."

Everyone was still somewhat taken aback by Hansel's method of apologizing, but they were listening intently. "I get that you're all hesitant to accept me as your teacher, and if you still don't want me after today, I'll resign. However, at least let me leave you with this. You will only get stronger if you put in the effort to improve. I continue to improve because I continue to train."

That made sense to the students, at least. "My point is," Hansel said, "that even though my fight with Rose endedone way yesterday, one day it could very well end differently as long as she keeps training. If you don't want to be at the mercy of someone who's existence you can't stand, you need to get stronger."

Ruby did not want Hansel to leave, she had faith he could end up a great teacher, especially with a lesson like this. She looked around to see that his words were at least resonating with some of her classmates.

Hansel then gestured for everyone to follow him. "Now, come with me," he said, "there's another point I'd like to make."

Ruby followed Hansel without hesitation. One by one, the rest of her classmates did the same. When Hansel took them outside of the building, they were admittedly confused, wondering what he was planning. Then, when he took them to the outskirts of the Emerald Forest, some of the more cynical ones of the bunch actually thought he was going to take them out and kill them and dump their corpses in the forest, like a snuff film.

Then, Hansel revealed a large statue of a beautiful woman but warrior-like woman with a bastard sword pointed towards the ground. The sixteen students all gaped at the fact that a mere statue radiated so much power. "Who is she?" Ruby wondered out loud.

"This, everyone, is Ashley Hollow. Tell me at least one of you knows who this woman is?"

Everyone remained silent. Hansel sighed. "I suppose doing your homework on students who have long past through this academy would be too much to ask." He noted. "Okay, kiddos, time for a quick history lesson."

Hansel pointed to the statue. "Ashley Hollow was a student here at Beacon, much like you all are." He explained. "However, she wasn't just a mere student. She was the greatest student to ever come through these walls. Professor Ozpin himself has revered her as Beacon's greatest student."

Ruby gazed at the statue of Ashley Hollow with amazement and reverence. A student like that had achieved such recognition from the man who was arguably the world's strongest Huntsman. What kind of mighty warrior was this woman?

Hansel then sighed. "And she died," he revealed grimly, "died at the hands of one of the most dangerous individuals that walks our kingdom. Not the Grimm, a person, like all of you."

Everyone gasped at this. Someone was strong enough to kill Beacon's greatest student. Just what kind of monster was this person?

"Professor Ozpin had this memorial of her created as a recognition of all she gave in service to humanity, and her accomplishments at Beacon." Hansel explained before turning to his class. "Let that sink in, the greatest student in Beacon's history could not defeat the horrors this world has to offer."

Everyone's eyes widened. What exactly was he trying to tell them with this depressing, grim tale? "And yet you all are here because for whatever reason, you want to succeed where she failed." Hansel pointed out. "Do you know what that means? That means that you all need to surpass Beacon's greatest student."

Hansel gazed at them all, completely serious. "If you want to achieve your goals, you need to push yourselves even further than you did before."

"Let me explain something to all of you, people want one thing from their Huntsmen: results." Hansel told them. "And in order to achieve those results, you need to be strong. Whatever your ideals are, you need that strength to realize them as well."

"No matter how you slice it," Hansel continued, "you need strength in order to achieve your goals. In order to achieve anything. It's not fair, but that's just how it is."

"If you want to be Huntsmen, you need to become stronger. You can't afford to rely on things like luck anymore. " Hansel told them. "And you certainly need to become stronger if there's a goal you hold deep to your heart, one that you want to complete."

Hansel paused to let those words sink in. He was satisfied to see that his words were at least resonating with his students. "And that's where I come in." Hansel said. "As your teacher, it is my responsibility to do my best to help you all reach your potential, and I'm sorry I could not realize that. I'm sorry that I left you all with such a bad impression of me."

"But know this," Hansel said, "I don't believe we can really make a difference in this world beyond helping people live to another day. But, that doesn't matter to me. What matters to me is making sure enough of you get strong enough to at least achieve that much."

"And for that reason, I'm going to do my best as a teacher to help you all achieve, but you all need to help me as well. I need you all to help me by promising you'll give it your best."

Everyone gasped at how sincere Hansel sounded. "I'm still not going to sugarcoat any of this. It's going to be very hard." Hansel said. "I'm going to push you all, hard, in order to help you achieve."

"However," Hansel added gently, "I'm also going to do my best to try and understand each and every one of you better, so that I may better help you achieve that potential you all have, and so that we don't have a repeat of that disastrous first day. Just you wait, I'm going to become the best damn professor you guys have ever had, come hell or high water."

"So I ask you, will you allow me to continue teaching you?" Hansel inquired of them, completely serious.

Everyone fell silent for a moment. Ruby almost said something to try and encourage everyone to give Hansel another chance, but she found the words unable to come out of her mouth. Then, Yang heaved a sigh. "Sheesh," she said, "you know, you could've at least had this revelation yesterday. It would've saved us a lot of trouble."

Weiss nodded. "If you really are serious about trying to do better, than I suppose we as students owe it to you to give it our best as well." Weiss told him. "And, I can't just let someone walk away when they're trying that hard to apologize and make things better."

Blake looked at Hansel in amazement. Now I see the difference between him and Adam. Adam…he's incapable of regret. A man who feels completely justified in what he does. But Professor Kobalt…he may be harsh…and rude…but in a strange way, he has his own sense of right and wrong, making him capable of admitting when he's failed.

Blake's eyes widened in realization. My gods, Ruby was right, he's not a bad person…he's not a monster.

Ruby finally found the words. She smiled at her teacher. "I think I speak for the rest of us when I say we hear you, Professor. We'll do everything we can to be the best students you can ask for, as long as you do your best to become a great teacher. I definitely want to see you become our favorite professor."

Ruby gave Hansel a thumbs up. "Let's all get better together, Sir."

One by one, everyone, even Team CRDL, nodded, sincerely touched by Hansel's repentance and vow to do better. Hansel was surprised at everyone's decision for a moment, before he heaved a satisfied sigh. "Well," he said, "now that's what I'm talking about."

"Okay," Hansel gave everyone a grin, "since we're all in agreement, let's get started!"

Meanwhile, on the elevator ride back to his office, Ozpin briefly sighed in a moment of private frustration. Vale was saved (for the time being), but the headmaster still wasn't sure if the same could be said for his career. The "serious discussion" that he was warned about had finally arrived.

Sinking down into his chair and turning on his monitor, he inquired, "Is everyone present?"

Five Vale emblems were present on the monitor, with each emblem representing a council member in attendance. "All council members are present, Professor Ozpin." said the middle emblem (which Ozpin recognized as belonging to the council head), "We're certainly curious to hear your side of the story."

"Good," nodded Ozpin, "then let us proceed."

A.N: And thus, the Introduction Arc comes to an end. Next, the first major arc in the stories. But how about that beautiful moment of reconciliation between Red and Blue. But holy shit, that was a heavily emotional chapter. This is why I love writing for Hansel, this guy has so many layers to him, he's like an effing onion (ba dum tiss). See you next time, everyone.