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Prologue V: Ruby

With a skip in her step and a glimmer in her eyes, a young girl was making her way through the streets of the city for the very first time. Brimming with excitement, she quickly shifted her gaze from side to side as she tried to take in as much of her surroundings as possible. The sheer magnitude of the buildings, the texture of the pavement, the ocean of color visible along the display of every store and stall… it was all incredibly new and fascinating, yet also somewhat alienating. A vague sense of dread gradually crept up the girl’s stomach as she felt more and more disconnected from the world opening up around her. Perhaps, there would have been no place for someone of her kind in a busy metropolis; one where all the people wore uniforms and seemed to be walking in a hurry toward some very important appointment.

Then, she saw it: a tiny, cute, precious, majestic, angelic, orange kitten grooming himself right there on the sidewalk. Immediately, the girl was drawn to its little paws and its shiny pink nose. After all, the sight of a stray cat was one of the most familiar and reassuring scenes she could have come across, and for her to do so right when she was starting to have doubts about moving into the city… it absolutely must have been a sign! Needing no further confirmation, the young lady approached the animal with no malicious intent, despite what her intense stare, unsettling movements and generally shady mannerisms might have suggested. Unsurprisingly, the kitty ran away; and, unsurprisingly, the girl instantly gave chase.

“Hey, wait up!”

The young lady didn’t really have a goal in mind as she ran behind the kitten; she was acting on impulse and childish conviction, as she often did. Before long, the girl was being guided down a maze of narrow corridors and alleyways and soon, she would lose the trail of the cat entirely. With her target gone, the gravity of her situation would dawn on the girl. Her figure shrank amidst the imposing shadows of the disheveled walls around her: she was lost. Before the anxiety had any time to settle in however, she began to hear some voices nearby.

“You better not be trying to rip us off, human, or else we’ll…”

“Gentlemen, gentlemen, there’s no need for those kinds of threats; not with me. You see, you’re half eagle and you’re half…uhh…deer, I believe. But me? I’m full street rat. The way I see it, there’s no difference between us; not in race, not in morals nor in goals.”

Approaching the source of the noise and peeking around a corner, the girl caught a glimpse of three silhouettes that seemed to be arguing amongst each other.

“In that case, as long as we’re all pals here, how about you give us a little extra for the effort? Hauling those containers of dust back to base was not exactly a cakewalk.”

“Man, give an eagle a rat and he’ll find his way to the whole colony, huh? You guys should learn to be less greedy. Isn’t this all for the sake of your noble cause?”

“The ‘cause’ is for us to live better. To live better, we could use the money.”

“Last I checked, you guys’cause was supposed to be equality. To me that reads as 50/50, which sounds pretty fair don’t you-”

“Hey, you guys!”

“Huh?”

As the two Faunus wearing white masks turned around, they were met by a young girl clad in a red hood. The two immediately prepared for combat; they understood that no child could be taken for a helpless bystander in the city that trained warriors. While pointing his weapon straight at the small figure, one of the men spoke up in an obviously agitated manner:

“Who the hell are you?”

But then, another voice was heard.

“Boys, Boys…”

A couple of hands clad in stylish gloves gripped both Faunus by the shoulder, making them step aside. From behind them emerged a man with red hair, a classy hat and a cane, sporting a confident smile. The faunus were clearly irritated by his nonchalant attitude:

“What do you think you’re doing? She could be a huntress sent to…”

“No, that’s impossible.”

The man spoke those words with an air of authority. He lightly pushed the faunus aside with his cane as he kept walking toward the girl.

“I’ve been in the game for a long time. I know the names and faces of all the soldiers who patrol these streets by heart and I would NEVER schedule a negotiation in a place where there could be any huntresses or huntsmen nearby. Plus, those freaks have a certain…presence, you know? They have this unsettling look in their eye; as if they were not afraid of dying. This girl doesn’t have any of that. She’s just lost.”

The man then kneeled down in front of the girl, using his cane for leverage.

“Aren’t you,little Red?”

The young lady remained quiet. Her posture was slightly slanted underneath her hood. While visibly shaking, one of her hands slowly reached toward her back and… pulled out a gigantic, intricately assembled, customized scythe… That was also a gun.

The man standing in front of her froze on the spot as he opened a mouth that was clearly trying to let out some sort of scream or yelp, yet somehow couldn’t.

With a wide grin, Ruby addressed him: “A huntress is never lost. She is always exactly where she is needed… and that’s where bad guys like you are!”

With ease, the girl swung her weapon, producing a small current of air and cutting cleanly through the two walls that comprised the narrow hallway they were standing in. The man landed on the ground several feet in front of her: he had only barely managed to dodge the strike, ducking below it and jumping back through sheer instinct. By the time he got back up, the two Faunus were already gone. Noticing this, the man frantically tapped around on the surface of his clothes, only to confirm his worse suspicions.

“Gaah, dammit!”

Ruby stepped forward, “It looks like your friends abandoned you. That’s exactly what you get for hanging around doing shady business! If you give up now, I won’t hurt you.”

The man let out a long, tired sigh.

“I’m afraid those were not my ‘friends’. Actually, right about now I’d say they were the exact opposite of that, since they just ran away with my product AND MY MONEY. But that’s alright. I’m used to the setbacks. It’s what you get when you’re in my line of business. The world of… ‘villains’, I guess you would call it.”

The man then lifted his cane and pointed it towards Ruby. “Unfortunately for you, little red, I’m the worst kind of scoundrel you could have run into today; the scum of the earth, really.”

As soon as Roman finished talking, a beam of light shot off the far side of his cane, directed toward Ruby. Brandishing her weapon with a powerful swing once again, the girl was able to deflect the attack. However, when Ruby lifted her gaze, she saw Roman was already running away.

“Hey! Get back here!”

For the second time, a chase took place, but this one quickly proved to be significantly more chaotic than just running after a cat. Each time Ruby managed to close the distance between her and Roman, she tried to swing at him with full strength; the man, on the other hand, blindly shot projectiles of dust backwards in an attempt to shake off his pursuer. Together, they created a disastrous cacophony of screams and attacks than ran a ruckus through corners and alleyways. Finally, both of them stopped when they reached an open space, which appeared to be some kind of old playground surrounded by tall, yet partially torn down buildings. The man and the girl were tired and gasping for air. After catching her breath a bit, Ruby addressed Roman once more:

“Have you finally decided…*huff*… to give yourself up to justice?”

Roman laughed through ragged breaths.

“Afraid not, Red. You should remember this well: nobody is more desperate to cling to life and freedom than a villainous rat. To be honest, I wasn’t ever running away from you. Shouldn’t a brave little warrior like you realize that following a bad guy is a terrible idea?”

From all sides, Faunus wearing white masks surrounded the area. Straightening his back, Roman talked with renewed swagger:

“I may not have a lot of friends, but I certainly have some reliable associates. I’m currently working in a little collaboration project you see, and I can’t be having wannabe heroes like you ruining my chances at a better life.”

Roman expected Ruby’s composure to waver. He expected the girl to understand the threat she was in and fall into a state of despair.

Instead, the girl’s stare only became all the more defiant.

Truthfully, the fact that Ruby had chased Roman around had not really been an accident, either. When the girl was younger, she had had to learn to slow down. One time, she had seen a little kitty cat outside her door and, when she had tried to catch it at full speed, she ended up hurting it. The guilt she felt at that moment had stuck with her and ever since she constantly tried to restrain and suppress herself anytime she moved. But, if she could somehow track down a bad guy, find his hideout and get herself in a pickle like that, then...

Red petals burst from Ruby’s whole body as the girl grinned confidently. “Then I could really let myself go.”

The girl’s figure became a crimson blur as she dashed and weaved her way through the men around her, slicing through them with precise strikes that knocked them all down. As she rushed through the battlefield, she left a trail of petals in her wake. In a flash, all the men that had been surrounding Ruby had been wiped out.

Meanwhile, Roman stood completely motionless, in the midst of it all.

As the girl approached him, she assumed a bit of a cocky attitude: “What’s wrong? Did my semblance leave you speechless? Are you amazed at my super-cool hyper-red-death-engine speed (name not final)?”

But Roman did not move at all; he did not blink; he did not even… breathe?

“Hey, wait a moment…”

The girl lightly tapped the man’s head with her weapon, causing it to give way and shatter like glass. For a split second, she panicked, thinking of the possible repercussions of her actions. Soon however, she would spot Roman’s figure in the distance, about to go out into the street. Though a bit frustrated, Ruby resumed the chase.

“Wait! When did you-?! You really didn’t see any of that?! Hey, come on, get back here!!!”

Emerging from the alley, the young lady quickly scanned the crowded area until she managed to single out a hat moving slightly above the heads of the other pedestrians. While repeatedly bumping into the people crammed on the sidewalk, the girl once again caught up with Roman, who, surprisingly, seemed to be walking away at a rather leisurely pace. Without hesitation, Ruby deployed her weapon, causing it to smack the passerby standing right beside her.

Then, jumping into the air, she got ready to brandish her scythe once more.

Roman had just enough time to turn around, notice the impending assault and dodge the impact. Ruby’s blade cut through a store’s glass display, shattering it and producing a terrible screech. As some onlookers were stunned into silence and others were brought to a panic, Roman screamed at her:

“Are you crazy?! Don’t you get it, Red? I already won!”

However, the girl couldn’t fathom the meaning behind the man’s words.

“A villain only wins when the hero gives up, and I’m not going to quit until I capture you!”

Having lost any faith in the girl’s common sense, the criminal ran sideways into the busy street. Determined to not let him get away, the young lady lunged towards him at incredible speed, sweeping many bystanders into the air in the process. With some effort, Ruby finally took hold of one of Roman’s arms, but her semblance made it difficult to control her momentum, meaning they were now both careening out of control in front of traffic. After forcing several vehicles to drift off, the girl managed to stop… right in front of a moving truck. Roman and Ruby screamed in roughly the same pitch before the young lady used her scythe one final time to slash the oncoming threat in half; saving them right in the nick of time.

With a satisfied grin adorning her face, Ruby turned to see the look of defeat in Roman’s eyes. But the villain’s gaze did not convey sadness or despair. In fact, his crystallized expression didn’t convey any emotion at all. Startled, Ruby pulled her hand back and tore off the limb of yet another glass sculpture.

Rapidly turning her head, Ruby caught sight of Roman running away on the rooftop of a nearby building, closely followed by someone carrying a pink umbrella. Though, before long, the girl began to hear another sound: the sirens of several police cars. A sense of relief spread through her chest as she withdrew her weapon and waited for their arrival. Three patrol cars arrived on the scene and an officer got off from one of them and walked toward Ruby with an air of urgency. The young lady pointed upwards and addressed the young man:

“Thank goodness you’re here. The bad guy went that way, he escaped on the rooftops and it seems he’s got a partner who can create glass-”

The girl was cut off as her hands were handcuffed, eliciting a loud cheer from some of the nearby onlookers. Ruby was completely bewildered.

“Huh?”

xx

Approximately an hour later, Ruby was sitting alone inside a confined space while fidgeting in a steel chair with her hands still handcuffed. When the door of the bleak room finally opened, the first thing that was visible from the other side was a fancy looking cane and a couple of bright green irises.

A man with white hair sat down in the chair opposite to Ruby across a small table and then stared at her in complete silence for a long moment. The young lady didn’t really know what to say and was a bit afraid of making any further mistakes, so she held her tongue. There was a part of her that was intrigued by the peculiar stranger. Usually, Ruby had complete confidence in her gut feeling: she could almost always tell whether someone could be trusted or not. But when looking at that man… it almost felt to Ruby as if she were looking into a lake of clear, still water; though it was beautiful, the only thing that she could glean from it was her own reflection.

“You have silver eyes.”

The sudden remark made Ruby flinch and blink her indeed very silver eyes a couple of times. She hadn’t known what to expect and she was nevertheless taken aback.

“Uhh, sure? Is that good?”

Suddenly, the man giggled to himself; then he chuckled; then he laughed in a gentle and somehow still unsettling tone. Ruby was questioning quite a lot of things about the whole situation at that point.

“Sir? Are you ok?”

Extending a hand and gesturing in an apologetic manner, the man tried to calm himself down before he replied, “I’m terribly sorry, I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. Your answer was just very appropriate, that’s all.”

Clearing his throat and regaining his composure, the man continued talking:

“Without further ado, let us discuss the serious matters at hand, shall we? You’ve been quite a menace to my city, you know that?”

Ruby instantly grew flustered: “I’m telling you, I’m not the threat! I was trying to chase a bad guy who was doing some evil business with some masked men and-”

*bang*

The man cut Ruby off by tapping his cane on the surface of the steel table. In a flash, his mannerisms completely shifted and he now appeared to be dead serious.

“The role of huntsmen and huntresses is to guarantee the safety and freedom of the innocent. Today, you’ve caused quite a bit of havoc and destruction and, worse of all, you’ve induced fear into the hearts of people.”

Standing up from his chair, the man began to pace around the room as he continued his speech, using his cane to punctuate each of his steps.

“Grimm feed off of fear; it increases their strength and numbers. A hero should be the person that fights against terror above everything else; a symbol of hope that lifts up the spirits of the people while at the same time deterring forces of crime and chaos through the noble light of their virtue. Do you understand how serious of a transgression it is to fight with no measure or restraint in front of innocent bystanders?”

Ruby felt her heart sink as she heard the man’s words. She had been sure she had acted according to everything she knew and admired about huntsmen, but, clearly, she had failed. Part of her felt a nostalgic sense of regret as she pictured a wounded cat cradled in her arms. She felt her eyes becoming cloudy with tears, so she averted her stare and, with great intensity, she…

*BONK*

Slammed her face against the table.

The sounds of the man’s steps came to a total halt. For a split second, he was legitimately concerned about the young lady’s wellbeing, but then he began to hear her voice.

“I’M VERY SORRY. I realize that I made a mistake and I promise to work hard to be better in the future! Please, if you’re going to punish me then make me help rebuild everything I destroyed! I don’t really know how to patch up buildings or cars… but I’m a fast learner!”

The man let out another light chuckle.

“You realize you’re being a bit conceited, don’t you? Many criminals are not afforded the opportunity to be ‘better’; they are just removed from society so they don’t cause further issues.”

Ruby responded without lifting her head, “I know I’m being shameless… but I have to be greedy, and selfish, and seize every opportunity if I ever hope to become a great huntress like her!”

The grin abandoned the man’s expression as soon as he heard those words. In a moment of tension and over-excitement, the girl had accidentally shared some personal information that would have been unintelligible for almost anyone else in the world. But Ozpin knew exactly who the person Ruby spoke of was.

He placed a reassuring hand on the girl’s back, “Lift your face. Luckily for you we are more than prepared for incidents like these. A huntress apprentice going rogue or trying to become some sort of vigilante is sadly something we must always account for, so I guarantee you that the people and the institutions here are prepared for far worse than that. None of the harm you’ve caused today is severe or permanent: no one was seriously injured and all the damaged property can be restored.”

Ruby then directed a couple of puppy-dog eyes upwards toward the man, “Really?”

Bringing his cane atop his shoulders, he answered with a reassuring smile:

“Yes, really.But still, if I’m going to grant you a scholarship and allow you to come to my school, I would much prefer it if you didn’t pick fights with dangerous criminals on the way in. Glynda is sure to give me a hard scolding now.”

“Eh?”

Ruby took a couple of seconds to process what shehad just heard. The moment she realized who the person standing in front of her was, she almost fell off her chair from the surprise and embarrassment.

“YOU’RE Professor Ozpin?!?!”

The man turned to leave and opened the door before responding: “The very same. Allow me to welcome you, small hero, to Beacon Academy.”

Description
ReRWBY is also on Archive of Our Own , Twitter and Fanfictiondotnet !

Previous Chapter ->
Next Chapter ->
Prologue V: Ruby

With a skip in her step and a glimmer in her eyes, a young girl was making her way through the streets of the city for the very first time. Brimming with excitement, she quickly shifted her gaze from side to side as she tried to take in as much of her surroundings as possible. The sheer magnitude of the buildings, the texture of the pavement, the ocean of color visible along the display of every store and stall… it was all incredibly new and fascinating, yet also somewhat alienating. A vague sense of dread gradually crept up the girl’s stomach as she felt more and more disconnected from the world opening up around her. Perhaps, there would have been no place for someone of her kind in a busy metropolis; one where all the people wore uniforms and seemed to be walking in a hurry toward some very important appointment.

Then, she saw it: a tiny, cute, precious, majestic, angelic, orange kitten grooming himself right there on the sidewalk. Immediately, the girl was drawn to its little paws and its shiny pink nose. After all, the sight of a stray cat was one of the most familiar and reassuring scenes she could have come across, and for her to do so right when she was starting to have doubts about moving into the city… it absolutely must have been a sign! Needing no further confirmation, the young lady approached the animal with no malicious intent, despite what her intense stare, unsettling movements and generally shady mannerisms might have suggested. Unsurprisingly, the kitty ran away; and, unsurprisingly, the girl instantly gave chase.

“Hey, wait up!”

The young lady didn’t really have a goal in mind as she ran behind the kitten; she was acting on impulse and childish conviction, as she often did. Before long, the girl was being guided down a maze of narrow corridors and alleyways and soon, she would lose the trail of the cat entirely. With her target gone, the gravity of her situation would dawn on the girl. Her figure shrank amidst the imposing shadows of the disheveled walls around her: she was lost. Before the anxiety had any time to settle in however, she began to hear some voices nearby.

“You better not be trying to rip us off, human, or else we’ll…”

“Gentlemen, gentlemen, there’s no need for those kinds of threats; not with me. You see, you’re half eagle and you’re half…uhh…deer, I believe. But me? I’m full street rat. The way I see it, there’s no difference between us; not in race, not in morals nor in goals.”

Approaching the source of the noise and peeking around a corner, the girl caught a glimpse of three silhouettes that seemed to be arguing amongst each other.

“In that case, as long as we’re all pals here, how about you give us a little extra for the effort? Hauling those containers of dust back to base was not exactly a cakewalk.”

“Man, give an eagle a rat and he’ll find his way to the whole colony, huh? You guys should learn to be less greedy. Isn’t this all for the sake of your noble cause?”

“The ‘cause’ is for us to live better. To live better, we could use the money.”

“Last I checked, you guys’cause was supposed to be equality. To me that reads as 50/50, which sounds pretty fair don’t you-”

“Hey, you guys!”

“Huh?”

As the two Faunus wearing white masks turned around, they were met by a young girl clad in a red hood. The two immediately prepared for combat; they understood that no child could be taken for a helpless bystander in the city that trained warriors. While pointing his weapon straight at the small figure, one of the men spoke up in an obviously agitated manner:

“Who the hell are you?”

But then, another voice was heard.

“Boys, Boys…”

A couple of hands clad in stylish gloves gripped both Faunus by the shoulder, making them step aside. From behind them emerged a man with red hair, a classy hat and a cane, sporting a confident smile. The faunus were clearly irritated by his nonchalant attitude:

“What do you think you’re doing? She could be a huntress sent to…”

“No, that’s impossible.”

The man spoke those words with an air of authority. He lightly pushed the faunus aside with his cane as he kept walking toward the girl.

“I’ve been in the game for a long time. I know the names and faces of all the soldiers who patrol these streets by heart and I would NEVER schedule a negotiation in a place where there could be any huntresses or huntsmen nearby. Plus, those freaks have a certain…presence, you know? They have this unsettling look in their eye; as if they were not afraid of dying. This girl doesn’t have any of that. She’s just lost.”

The man then kneeled down in front of the girl, using his cane for leverage.

“Aren’t you,little Red?”

The young lady remained quiet. Her posture was slightly slanted underneath her hood. While visibly shaking, one of her hands slowly reached toward her back and… pulled out a gigantic, intricately assembled, customized scythe… That was also a gun.

The man standing in front of her froze on the spot as he opened a mouth that was clearly trying to let out some sort of scream or yelp, yet somehow couldn’t.

With a wide grin, Ruby addressed him: “A huntress is never lost. She is always exactly where she is needed… and that’s where bad guys like you are!”

With ease, the girl swung her weapon, producing a small current of air and cutting cleanly through the two walls that comprised the narrow hallway they were standing in. The man landed on the ground several feet in front of her: he had only barely managed to dodge the strike, ducking below it and jumping back through sheer instinct. By the time he got back up, the two Faunus were already gone. Noticing this, the man frantically tapped around on the surface of his clothes, only to confirm his worse suspicions.

“Gaah, dammit!”

Ruby stepped forward, “It looks like your friends abandoned you. That’s exactly what you get for hanging around doing shady business! If you give up now, I won’t hurt you.”

The man let out a long, tired sigh.

“I’m afraid those were not my ‘friends’. Actually, right about now I’d say they were the exact opposite of that, since they just ran away with my product AND MY MONEY. But that’s alright. I’m used to the setbacks. It’s what you get when you’re in my line of business. The world of… ‘villains’, I guess you would call it.”

The man then lifted his cane and pointed it towards Ruby. “Unfortunately for you, little red, I’m the worst kind of scoundrel you could have run into today; the scum of the earth, really.”

As soon as Roman finished talking, a beam of light shot off the far side of his cane, directed toward Ruby. Brandishing her weapon with a powerful swing once again, the girl was able to deflect the attack. However, when Ruby lifted her gaze, she saw Roman was already running away.

“Hey! Get back here!”

For the second time, a chase took place, but this one quickly proved to be significantly more chaotic than just running after a cat. Each time Ruby managed to close the distance between her and Roman, she tried to swing at him with full strength; the man, on the other hand, blindly shot projectiles of dust backwards in an attempt to shake off his pursuer. Together, they created a disastrous cacophony of screams and attacks than ran a ruckus through corners and alleyways. Finally, both of them stopped when they reached an open space, which appeared to be some kind of old playground surrounded by tall, yet partially torn down buildings. The man and the girl were tired and gasping for air. After catching her breath a bit, Ruby addressed Roman once more:

“Have you finally decided…*huff*… to give yourself up to justice?”

Roman laughed through ragged breaths.

“Afraid not, Red. You should remember this well: nobody is more desperate to cling to life and freedom than a villainous rat. To be honest, I wasn’t ever running away from you. Shouldn’t a brave little warrior like you realize that following a bad guy is a terrible idea?”

From all sides, Faunus wearing white masks surrounded the area. Straightening his back, Roman talked with renewed swagger:

“I may not have a lot of friends, but I certainly have some reliable associates. I’m currently working in a little collaboration project you see, and I can’t be having wannabe heroes like you ruining my chances at a better life.”

Roman expected Ruby’s composure to waver. He expected the girl to understand the threat she was in and fall into a state of despair.

Instead, the girl’s stare only became all the more defiant.

Truthfully, the fact that Ruby had chased Roman around had not really been an accident, either. When the girl was younger, she had had to learn to slow down. One time, she had seen a little kitty cat outside her door and, when she had tried to catch it at full speed, she ended up hurting it. The guilt she felt at that moment had stuck with her and ever since she constantly tried to restrain and suppress herself anytime she moved. But, if she could somehow track down a bad guy, find his hideout and get herself in a pickle like that, then...

Red petals burst from Ruby’s whole body as the girl grinned confidently. “Then I could really let myself go.”

The girl’s figure became a crimson blur as she dashed and weaved her way through the men around her, slicing through them with precise strikes that knocked them all down. As she rushed through the battlefield, she left a trail of petals in her wake. In a flash, all the men that had been surrounding Ruby had been wiped out.

Meanwhile, Roman stood completely motionless, in the midst of it all.

As the girl approached him, she assumed a bit of a cocky attitude: “What’s wrong? Did my semblance leave you speechless? Are you amazed at my super-cool hyper-red-death-engine speed (name not final)?”

But Roman did not move at all; he did not blink; he did not even… breathe?

“Hey, wait a moment…”

The girl lightly tapped the man’s head with her weapon, causing it to give way and shatter like glass. For a split second, she panicked, thinking of the possible repercussions of her actions. Soon however, she would spot Roman’s figure in the distance, about to go out into the street. Though a bit frustrated, Ruby resumed the chase.

“Wait! When did you-?! You really didn’t see any of that?! Hey, come on, get back here!!!”

Emerging from the alley, the young lady quickly scanned the crowded area until she managed to single out a hat moving slightly above the heads of the other pedestrians. While repeatedly bumping into the people crammed on the sidewalk, the girl once again caught up with Roman, who, surprisingly, seemed to be walking away at a rather leisurely pace. Without hesitation, Ruby deployed her weapon, causing it to smack the passerby standing right beside her.

Then, jumping into the air, she got ready to brandish her scythe once more.

Roman had just enough time to turn around, notice the impending assault and dodge the impact. Ruby’s blade cut through a store’s glass display, shattering it and producing a terrible screech. As some onlookers were stunned into silence and others were brought to a panic, Roman screamed at her:

“Are you crazy?! Don’t you get it, Red? I already won!”

However, the girl couldn’t fathom the meaning behind the man’s words.

“A villain only wins when the hero gives up, and I’m not going to quit until I capture you!”

Having lost any faith in the girl’s common sense, the criminal ran sideways into the busy street. Determined to not let him get away, the young lady lunged towards him at incredible speed, sweeping many bystanders into the air in the process. With some effort, Ruby finally took hold of one of Roman’s arms, but her semblance made it difficult to control her momentum, meaning they were now both careening out of control in front of traffic. After forcing several vehicles to drift off, the girl managed to stop… right in front of a moving truck. Roman and Ruby screamed in roughly the same pitch before the young lady used her scythe one final time to slash the oncoming threat in half; saving them right in the nick of time.

With a satisfied grin adorning her face, Ruby turned to see the look of defeat in Roman’s eyes. But the villain’s gaze did not convey sadness or despair. In fact, his crystallized expression didn’t convey any emotion at all. Startled, Ruby pulled her hand back and tore off the limb of yet another glass sculpture.

Rapidly turning her head, Ruby caught sight of Roman running away on the rooftop of a nearby building, closely followed by someone carrying a pink umbrella. Though, before long, the girl began to hear another sound: the sirens of several police cars. A sense of relief spread through her chest as she withdrew her weapon and waited for their arrival. Three patrol cars arrived on the scene and an officer got off from one of them and walked toward Ruby with an air of urgency. The young lady pointed upwards and addressed the young man:

“Thank goodness you’re here. The bad guy went that way, he escaped on the rooftops and it seems he’s got a partner who can create glass-”

The girl was cut off as her hands were handcuffed, eliciting a loud cheer from some of the nearby onlookers. Ruby was completely bewildered.

“Huh?”

xx

Approximately an hour later, Ruby was sitting alone inside a confined space while fidgeting in a steel chair with her hands still handcuffed. When the door of the bleak room finally opened, the first thing that was visible from the other side was a fancy looking cane and a couple of bright green irises.

A man with white hair sat down in the chair opposite to Ruby across a small table and then stared at her in complete silence for a long moment. The young lady didn’t really know what to say and was a bit afraid of making any further mistakes, so she held her tongue. There was a part of her that was intrigued by the peculiar stranger. Usually, Ruby had complete confidence in her gut feeling: she could almost always tell whether someone could be trusted or not. But when looking at that man… it almost felt to Ruby as if she were looking into a lake of clear, still water; though it was beautiful, the only thing that she could glean from it was her own reflection.

“You have silver eyes.”

The sudden remark made Ruby flinch and blink her indeed very silver eyes a couple of times. She hadn’t known what to expect and she was nevertheless taken aback.

“Uhh, sure? Is that good?”

Suddenly, the man giggled to himself; then he chuckled; then he laughed in a gentle and somehow still unsettling tone. Ruby was questioning quite a lot of things about the whole situation at that point.

“Sir? Are you ok?”

Extending a hand and gesturing in an apologetic manner, the man tried to calm himself down before he replied, “I’m terribly sorry, I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. Your answer was just very appropriate, that’s all.”

Clearing his throat and regaining his composure, the man continued talking:

“Without further ado, let us discuss the serious matters at hand, shall we? You’ve been quite a menace to my city, you know that?”

Ruby instantly grew flustered: “I’m telling you, I’m not the threat! I was trying to chase a bad guy who was doing some evil business with some masked men and-”

*bang*

The man cut Ruby off by tapping his cane on the surface of the steel table. In a flash, his mannerisms completely shifted and he now appeared to be dead serious.

“The role of huntsmen and huntresses is to guarantee the safety and freedom of the innocent. Today, you’ve caused quite a bit of havoc and destruction and, worse of all, you’ve induced fear into the hearts of people.”

Standing up from his chair, the man began to pace around the room as he continued his speech, using his cane to punctuate each of his steps.

“Grimm feed off of fear; it increases their strength and numbers. A hero should be the person that fights against terror above everything else; a symbol of hope that lifts up the spirits of the people while at the same time deterring forces of crime and chaos through the noble light of their virtue. Do you understand how serious of a transgression it is to fight with no measure or restraint in front of innocent bystanders?”

Ruby felt her heart sink as she heard the man’s words. She had been sure she had acted according to everything she knew and admired about huntsmen, but, clearly, she had failed. Part of her felt a nostalgic sense of regret as she pictured a wounded cat cradled in her arms. She felt her eyes becoming cloudy with tears, so she averted her stare and, with great intensity, she…

*BONK*

Slammed her face against the table.

The sounds of the man’s steps came to a total halt. For a split second, he was legitimately concerned about the young lady’s wellbeing, but then he began to hear her voice.

“I’M VERY SORRY. I realize that I made a mistake and I promise to work hard to be better in the future! Please, if you’re going to punish me then make me help rebuild everything I destroyed! I don’t really know how to patch up buildings or cars… but I’m a fast learner!”

The man let out another light chuckle.

“You realize you’re being a bit conceited, don’t you? Many criminals are not afforded the opportunity to be ‘better’; they are just removed from society so they don’t cause further issues.”

Ruby responded without lifting her head, “I know I’m being shameless… but I have to be greedy, and selfish, and seize every opportunity if I ever hope to become a great huntress like her!”

The grin abandoned the man’s expression as soon as he heard those words. In a moment of tension and over-excitement, the girl had accidentally shared some personal information that would have been unintelligible for almost anyone else in the world. But Ozpin knew exactly who the person Ruby spoke of was.

He placed a reassuring hand on the girl’s back, “Lift your face. Luckily for you we are more than prepared for incidents like these. A huntress apprentice going rogue or trying to become some sort of vigilante is sadly something we must always account for, so I guarantee you that the people and the institutions here are prepared for far worse than that. None of the harm you’ve caused today is severe or permanent: no one was seriously injured and all the damaged property can be restored.”

Ruby then directed a couple of puppy-dog eyes upwards toward the man, “Really?”

Bringing his cane atop his shoulders, he answered with a reassuring smile:

“Yes, really.But still, if I’m going to grant you a scholarship and allow you to come to my school, I would much prefer it if you didn’t pick fights with dangerous criminals on the way in. Glynda is sure to give me a hard scolding now.”

“Eh?”

Ruby took a couple of seconds to process what shehad just heard. The moment she realized who the person standing in front of her was, she almost fell off her chair from the surprise and embarrassment.

“YOU’RE Professor Ozpin?!?!”

The man turned to leave and opened the door before responding: “The very same. Allow me to welcome you, small hero, to Beacon Academy.”