His mouth was agape. His son had told his tale, and it was just like he said. The story he was told sounded farfetched, something he wouldn't be able to believe.

And yet... He did believe it.

Taiyang watched his son take the wine bottle in front of him, pouring himself a glass. He wasn't sure if he should stop him or not, considering he was an adult in his previous life while he's a teenager in his current life. Once he finished pouring, the boy took a drink, only taking a few seconds to drink it all completely.

He then sighed. "They were right about one thing."

"A-About what?" Tai stuttered.

"That I'm a monster. A killer. They weren't wrong. I was damn good at it." He wryly chuckles as he stares off into the house. "I still remember when I first got that damn key. I was... A different person at that time."

"It was your... Teigu? That's what you guys called it?"

"Yeah. The Teigu were forty-eight super weapons created by the first emperor of the Empire in hopes of protecting his thousand year empire he had built. I just happened to be stuck with one of the most volatile ones. The Keeper of Souls, Harvester."

Taiyang simply frowned. From the story he was told, this Teigu, this super weapon had practically taken him over. Turned him into a demon as he was told. The blonde man watched as the boy went to pick up his cup again, his hand shaking. The boy soon used his other to grab his wrist, breathing heavily slightly to calm himself.

"I feel like that the only thing I'm good for is causing pain around others."

"Don't say that..."

"It's the truth, isn't it, father?" He wryly chuckles again, "Everywhere I turn to, left and right, those I love most are hurt. And with what happened to me in the other world, I can already tell I hurt her the most. I left her. Despite promising to always be with her. To cherish her, to stay by her side... To love her always."

"And you still love her, don't you?" He asked, leaning forward slightly.

He let out a saddened scoff. "Of course I do. God, I love her so much. Those mesmerizing red eyes of hers, her black hair that I've fallen in love for so many times... That beautiful voice of hers... I wish I will still by her side. But I made my choice."

The boy went into his pocket. Digging out the item, he tossed it onto the table, Tai getting a clear view of the ring. His eyes lit up at the dark blue gem that sat on top it, it's gold inlays that gave it decoration, and it's sleek black color. The blonde man picked it up to examine it before setting it down and giving it back.

"Why'd you do it?"

"Were you not listening to my story?"

Taiyang breathed a small sigh. "Right... Her name?"

"Hmm?"

"What was her name?"

"...Akame," he spoke with utter happiness. The boy smiled softly. "She was the most wonderful woman I had ever met. It's crazy to think that our first encounter was in a monster infested forest, but it's how it happened."

"You care about her a lot. Especially with what you've been through."

He nodded. "Yeah. We went through a lot together, fighting side by side, taking blows for her. I didn't care if I died or got hurt most of the time. All that mattered to me was that she was protected. No matter what."

Tai simply stayed quiet, staring at his son with sorrow. The boy let out a low chuckle as he took the ring and put it back into his pocket and stood up.

"That's my story, father. I was a simple, young child... One that grew up without knowing the love of his parents and turned into a weapon. Someone who knew how to do something so good, he was labeled as a demon, a monster for it. That's who your son is."

He received no answer. He sighed again, beginning to get up as he puts his cup on the countertop table nearby, turning in the direction of the hallway.

"I can understand if you feel unsafe around me, father... Or if you feel that your daughters are unsafe around me as well. If you think it's best for me to leave, I'll pack up right away and leave now."

Again, he heard nothing.

The boy couldn't help but think that his father must think of him differently now, now that he's told him of his true origins and of what he's done. But to him, that's what he was.

A monster. Nothing more, nothing less. A monster... A demon.

With a small sigh, he goes to head back down the hall, only for him to stop when he heard a chair behind him being moved, it's wooden legs squeaking and letting out a rough noise as it was dragged against the floorboards. When the boy turned around slightly, he was only met with a hug. He was surprised, shocked... Was the blonde man not afraid of him? Despite hearing what he had done? The murderer, the monster he is?

He had murdered innocents beforehand, during his youth and during his teenage years. Though his youth could be passed a little, that time, he was lied to. He was lied to, being told that each "traitor" he's killing is saving a life and bringing happiness to the people. But his atrocities from when he grew older certainly weren't excusable. He murdered innocents, whether they were children, women, elderly, didn't matter. He slaughtered those that stood in his way, not until the monster within his Teigu began giving orders as to who to kill once it gained a little more sentience as he devoured more souls. But even then, it seemed that Taiyang had chosen to ignore whatever his son had did in the past, what he did in his other life.

The blonde man then puts a hand on his shoulder. "What you did in that world doesn't matter here. What matters are the actions you do right now. And so what if people called you a monster? That just meant they weren't looking to see the real you."

"But..."

"Again, what you did doesn't matter here. Your actions and intentions are what define you as a person... And I don't think you have any intention to do any of that. Right?"

The boy shook his head. "No... I never did have any intention to go back to that life again. It's why I dislike fighting in the first place..."

"See? Just keep your head held up high, champ," Tai said with a smile. "You aren't the Ice Cold Reaper, anymore. You're Akira Xiao Long. Got that?"

Akira finally smiled himself, even if it was a small one. "Yeah... I do."

Tai ruffled his head. "Then there's nothing to worry about. Don't think like that again. You aren't that person anymore."

"...Perhaps you're right... Father."

When he said that word, Taiyang could feel a hint of appreciative and warmth from it. It was like he generally meant it, instead of the other times where he was curt and cold with it. Akira bowed his head in response, soon heading down the hallway and entering his own room.

Taiyang then sat back down at the table, covering a side of his face with his hand. With a small grunt, he grabbed the wine bottle nearby and took a drink out of it. He couldn't help but think and ponder back to the story his son had told him. The entire time he was retelling it, he held a saddened expression most of the time. But there were certain moments when Akira had instead held an almost horrified look, describing the sequences of his hallucinations. Hallucinations of his murdered victims in unjust ways.

He clenched the bottle even tighter. "Who the hell pits a child against that? Who in their right mind would do that..."

The blonde man now knows why the boy is rarely afraid of anything. But... The only thing he is afraid of is not the monsters out there, or the monsters that wear the skin of humans. But rather he is only afraid of his fear of losing those he loved.

It's why he didn't want to get close to anyone again. So he didn't experience that kind of pain again. A feeling he's felt his whole entire life as death and bloodshed was there at every corner.

He didn't want to experience the pain of losing his family again.

II | Professor Ozpin

About two years had went past, Akira finding himself at the age of nineteen now. Over time, he was able to tell his story to his uncle, who could only find very little words to even show his reaction to it. Needless to say, Qrow felt sorry for the boy. But it seemed like he had moved on from that event of his life.

Though the relationship between himself and the two sisters were a bit of a mixed bag. Akira always knew that Yang had held a bit of spite toward him, mostly because he was the one that spent longer with their mother, as she had never met her at all. For now, he's steered clear of her as she was almost nearly hostile toward him, always giving him angered remarks and such. Ruby was another story, however. She was bright, bubbly, and always cheerful and optimistic about most things. Almost like her, the faint memory of a young pink-haired girl that he had saved from a pointless death in the hopes of reincarnation. He had ended up being like her "sun" almost, filling in the role as her father.

Though there were times Akira found Ruby annoying, he had a better relationship with her than Yang. Heck, she was one of the few people that were able to get even the faintest of small smiles out of him. After all, Akira rarely smiles when around others, or in general for that matter. He always kept a neutral, stoic look. And he gave off the aura of not taking shit from any body.

As two years had passed, the Xiao Long family were particularly excited. Well, mostly the two girls, the father, and the uncle, but they were excited. Excited to hear the fact that Yang was accepted into Beacon Academy, one of the most prestigious academies in the world, where they train the next generations of Huntsmen and Huntresses. Akira saw this as nothing as an eyeroll, scoffing at the mention of these so-called schools. From what he's seen, many young children and people romanticize and idolize them, turning them into so-called heroes. For one, Akira knew that heroes aren't necessarily a real thing. Well, to him at least. But then again, this was due to the way he had grown up in the other world. There was no such things as heroes there, only the strong and the weak. And it was only natural for the strong to conquer the weak... Something his old teacher had constantly reminded him.

Though he couldn't deny, the Huntsmen and Huntresses can be quite useful in most cases. In fact, they are some of the people responsible of taking down the creatures of Grimm, the creatures of darkness that are all black. No one was sure where these creatures of Grimm come from, but Akira could say the same about the Danger Beasts back in his home world. Perhaps these creatures were indigenous to this land, so he thought little of it, only seeing them as a danger and a threat to humankind, to which they were. But aside from humans, there were also people that looked like humans, albeit having the features of an animal. They were called the Faunus. And not much to his surprise, they were belittled and discriminated because of their features. He couldn't help but think back to an old ally, who was discriminated herself for being apart of the western tribes of the Empire's territory.

Despite the discrimination, there were a group of Faunus that fought for equal rights, but at this point, have become a terrorist group. The White Fang. Akira was all for gaining equal rights, his instincts from when he fought with Night Raid to free the people bringing reminisce of it, but he didn't approve of their actions. If anything, it's just causing the people to treat them equally out of fear. Not respect. He could only conclude one reasoning as to why. There was corruption in the leadership, most likely.

Just the thought of it made his blood boil, his instincts from before kicking in. An unnatural sense of bloodlust, though natural to himself, to end the corruption welled within him. However, he soon shook his head, ridding himself of the thoughts as he exited his room.

By the time he arrived in the living room, which was connected to the kitchen of the house, he looked confused. Ruby was nowhere to be seen. Just as he was about to ask, Taiyang looked to him.

"Ah, there you are, champ. Mind looking for Ruby for me?"

"Where'd she go?" The blue-eyed teen asked.

"She said she was heading into Vale, but... That was an hour ago."

Yang piped in. "Why can't I look for her dad?"

"Because you and I haven't finished our talk about heading to that club. You know what I said," the blonde man said, looking at his elder daughter with a glare.

"But--"

"Not buts! And don't get me started on the damage that was done! Did you know how expensive that was?"

Yang simply scoffed and rolled her eyes, letting out a groan in the process. The father of the two girls and boy simply sighed. He turned his gaze to Akira, who had disappeared from his spot. Instead, all he heard was the sound of the front door being opened, quickly being closed behind him.

"...When did he...?"

---

"Tsk. I always hated big cities," Akira muttered to himself.

It was late at night, maybe about 10 PM or so. He walked the many streets of the city of Vale, having taken a boat instead of one of the flying machines called Bullheads. If there was one thing that hadn't change, it was his hate for riding things in the air or on land. His old enemy.

Motion sickness.

Just the mere thought of riding on the Bullhead made his face turn green, Akira bringing a hand up to cover his mouth. With a small gulp, he pushes back down the puke he was about to regurgitate. Though he sighed, taking in the sights of the city as some of the windows were lit up, people still up at this time. And aside from those lights, there were street lamps that lit the area. It was all so familiar.

Pleasantly familiar, in fact.

Heck, a smile couldn't help but crawl to his face as he remembered another fond memory. A fond memory of his family from back then. Before he left on that journey of his, he remembered him and his wife, along with his adopted child. They would often walk the nearly empty lit streets of the city known as the Capital. And on their way home, they'd stop at a nearby park, standing in the grass as they stared up at the night sky, watching the stars. In fact, when the memory ended, Akira found himself standing in a nearby park.

Blinking a few times, he sighed sadly. He brushes his fingers along the brick walls as he exited the park and began walking down the street again. If there was anything that was obvious, he missed them. He missed them so much, the family he had grown to love were his everything. No matter how much he cursed his circumstances, he knew he wouldn't be able to make it back to them. The moment he had put on that "thing," he accepted his fate. There was no turning back at that point. It was the only way he could win, at least, though he wished there was another way to win that battle of his.

Shaking his head of those memories again, he continued his search for his younger half sister, Ruby Rose.

Though he had an idea of where she had went, a Dust shop. From what he could gather here in this world, Dust took in the form of crystals or powder, was an energy source and a source of ammunition for Huntsmen and Huntresses' weapons. And he had seen Ruby's weapon before, a transforming scythe that can be configurated into a sniper rifle. With a weapon like that, it might make a certain pink-haired girl he knew, remembering that she was quite annoying, be happy about it. It was quite a heavy dealing package.

But now that he thought about it, he was glad Ruby never asked him for any tips on how to use a scythe. Then again, he kept his entire combat experience and expertise a secret, his father and uncle being the only ones who know his true skill. The only skill he's really only shown Yang and Ruby was his proficiency in using a simple weapon, a blade such as a katana. He wasn't fond of the configured weapons into firearms, especially because his experience with firearms in the past was a rocky one. He had this one weapon, Prometheus, that was a Shingu, which was basically a dumbed down version of what they called Teigu. Prometheus took in the form of a revolver, every time Akira fired a bullet, it allowed him to change his trajectory and curve his bullets at the cost of lowering his accuracy. It didn't help that his accuracy with firearms were bad enough that he could barely even shoot a pistol with two hands, let alone one. So firearms were out of the question for him.

In any case, Akira continued to walk around the city, looking for any open Dust shops. But unfortunately for him, most of the Dust shops that were around were closed. And strangely enough... Robbed. Not of the money, but of it's whole merchandise of Dust. That was a bit odd to him, strange, even. His skin itched, already getting the feeling that something was going to happen tonight. It wasn't long until he found an open Dust store named "From Dust Till Dawn." Quite the original name.

Just as he was about to enter the store to look for his younger half sister, a red blur, along with someone in a black suit, came crashing out of the front window. The boy facepalmed and sighed, knowing that the red blur was Ruby, knowing she got herself into a little situation. It seemed to be a common occurrence every time this happened.

Inside the store, three more men wearing black suits poke their head out of the shattered window. Standing atop the unconscious man was the aforementioned girl, her red cape flowing with the wind as her collapsible weapon began to expand. The blade shifts out, extending, the young girl holding it with one hand, as if the weight of the large blade was nothing. The man by the counter, a man with orange hair and a black bowler hat, simply narrowed his eyes. The girl with black hair and red tips then looked to them, smirking as she twirls her scythe a few times before stabbing the tip into the ground, then clicking her headphones off as the music receded.

"Okay..." The orange-haired man hummed, then looking to the rest of the henchmen. "Get her."

The three men run out. As Ruby was about to engage them, she feels a black blur run past her. Seeing his familiar icy blue eyes, he drop kicks one of them, the man falling onto the floor with an "oof." Akira quickly recovers, dodging a slash from one of the henchmen before he simply punches him in the face, knocking him unconscious.

He then lazily looks at Ruby, giving her an annoyed look as he nonchalantly dodges the attacks of the last henchman standing.

"Ah! Big brother!"

"Go home, Ruby."

"B-But I can help!" She protested.

Akira sighed. "Stop making this difficult and just go home."

The man Akira had dropkicked had got up, grunting to himself as he ran for Ruby. Akira clicked his tongue and temporarily froze the one he was fighting, freezing his foot specifically, running toward the girl.

With her scythe blade stabbed into the ground, Ruby grabs the handle with both hands. Using her momentum, she spun her herself around it a few times before using her feet to kick the henchman in the face, then leaping off the ground with her scythe. Once landing, she pressed the trigger on her weapon, which was also a sniper rifle, using the kinetic force to spin herself on the pavement. Hitting the henchman that was coming at her with the blunt end of where the blade would be, she turned around and pummels the one on the ground, making him cough as he was flung away. The other henchman that had recovered from Ruby's double foot kick stood up and raised his rifle, beginning to unleash a spray of bullets. The young reaper pressed down on the trigger again, using the sniper rifle function to boost herself away and dodge the bullet fire.

Coming in at high speed, she knocks the man into the air, kicking him off his feet before hitting him upward. Akira then leapt off of a nearby building, kicking the man in his face, launching him back down at the road as he lands at the feet of the orange-haired mob boss.

Once landing, Ruby looked at him with a proud look, which soon morphed into shock and pain as Akira had run over and put her in a headlock. He then begins to rub his knuckles into her head, knowing she was receiving a scolding from her older half brother.

"Why didn't you listen to what I say!?" He grunted.

"A-Ah, I'm... Sowwiee...!" She spoke, which was gibberish due to how hard he was giving her a noogie.

However, they soon stopped when the orange-haired man sighed. "You were worth every cent, truly you were. Well, Red, Ice King...?"

Akira grunts and looked annoyed at the nickname.

"I think we can all say it's been an eventful evening," he says whilst dropping his cigarette onto the floor, crushing the butt with his cane, "and as much as I'd love to stick around, I'm afraid... This is where we part ways."

He raised his cane up, the bottom of it propping up, revealing a crosshair. Akira deadpanned, muttering in his head that everything had to be a fucking gun. He questioned the world he was reincarnated in almost every time, and this was his number one complaint.

'Why does every weapon I come across have to be a gun,' he thought.

With a sigh, he pushes Ruby out of the way, who yelped, while he rolled out of the way. The man with bowler hat fired his cane gun, striking the spot they were just in as it exploded, creating a plume of smoke. The two quickly got up, soon finding the same man having ran across the street and began climbing up the ladder to get to the nearby roof.

Akira sighed and grumbled. "Of course. Ruby, let's go ho--"

"You okay if we go after him?" Ruby asks the shopkeeper, who nods and she rushes off.

"Wha--Ruby!? ...Son of a bitch."

"Language!" She quickly called out.

"...How did she even hear me...? Never mind," he said whilst shaking his head.

Running after her, he runs across the street and stopped at the base of the building. Already, Ruby had reached the top of the building in front of him, the boy sighing as he remembered one of the many things he's done and learned in his past life. 

Stomping his foot, a pillar of ice erupts under him. Propelling himself upward, he flips onto the roof, landing next to his younger sister.

"Hey!" Ruby calls out to the man.

"Persistent," the muttered in annoyance.

Before any of them could make any sudden moves, the sound of whirring blades and a engine was heard, along with rushing wind from below. Rising from the other side of the building was a Bullhead, the side doors opening up as the bowler hat man climbed in. He then faced them, pulling out a red Dust crystal.

"End of the line, Red! Ice boy, or whatever!" Akira rolls his eyes.

Tossing the item toward the two, it clatters onto the room, Ruby looking at it confusedly. Though the icy blue-eyed teen figured what he was going to do, a similar situation like this being remembered in his mind. He kicks the crystal away, grabbing Ruby and putting her behind him as he brings an ice wall up. But the man in the airship smirked, firing his cane gun thing as the round makes contact with the crystal, exploding.

A ball of flames occur, plumes of smoke appearing as the explosion blew the ice wall away into smaller shards. Akira expects himself to take the brunt of all the shards but felt nothing, the two opening their eyes as a blonde woman had appeared, holding a riding crop in her hand as a purple, translucent barrier was in front of her. The green-eyed woman looked at them sternly for a bit.

The man with a bowler hat simply laughed in triumph, thinking he won, only for him to stop to see the blonde witch standing there with her riding crop extended out to the ship. Ruby looked at the woman in awe, Akira only grinding his teeth as he scowled. Yeah, they were about to get an earful later.

Disregarding the two at the moment, the blonde woman pushed her glasses up and flicked her wrist, sending multiple magenta colored shots toward the Bullhead. They crash into the side, the orange-haired man grunting as he stumbles over to the cockpit, opening the door to notify the driver.

"We've got a Huntress!"

The driver was a woman in a red dress and black hair, getting up as she leaves the orange-haired man to take control of ship. Outside the Bullhead, the blonde Huntress then uses her riding crop and flicks her wrist again, casting storm clouds to appear over the Bullhead, thunder beginning to boom loudly. She then brought her hand down, commanding the storm cloud to hail ice spikes on them. The woman inside the ship then steps into view, the shadows keeping her face hidden, her amber eyes illuminating in the darkness. Upon spotting her, Akira narrowed his eyes, watching as the amber-eyed woman fires a ball of fire from her hand, only to be blocked by the blonde witch's barrier. But upon striking the barrier, specks of lava splatters onto the ground, the amber-eyed woman waving her hand up as a pillar of lava explodes from under her, the green-eyed woman jumping backward to avoid it.

Once she recovered, she used her power again, manipulating the rubble of the roof to form into a spire before converting it into a spear of sorts, sending it forward. Despite the amber-eyed woman firing multiple fireballs at it, it did nothing, the orange-haired man tilting the ship as the manipulated rubble grind it's roof. The woman then rearranges the rubble again, having it circle the ship, then attempting it to attack it simultaneously with it's smaller shards. However, the woman in the ship threw her arms to the side, expending a ring of flames from herself, turning the rubble into ash.

Feeling that she could help, Ruby retracts her large scythe blade and began to use only the sniper configuration, pulling back on the bolt every time she fired. But the amber-eyed woman blocked all of it with the palm of her hand, soon waving her hand to the right as the ground behind them glowed. Seeing this, Akira pushes his sister forward, soon rolls forward as he dodges the lava pillars that explode behind them, the blonde woman dodging it as well.

But this was just the opening they needed, the side of the Bullhead closing as it began to turn and fly away. Akira sighed, knowing he couldn't really do anything about it. Besides, even if he did make it onto the ship, motion sickness was still a thing that he suffers from.

However... He was about to suffer a different type of thing.

"You're a Huntress," Ruby spoke in pure awe. "Can I have your autograph!?"

Her eyes beamed with stars, hoping that the woman would grant her request. But Akira simply sighed and facepalmed, shaking his head as the woman looked at them with a stern glare.

---

He expected this, knowing that this was going to happen once that Huntress showed up. So there he and Ruby sat, both in an interrogation room. Ruby held a saddened expression while Akira looked bored and was uncaringly crossing his arms, leaning in his chair as he propped his feet onto the table in front of them.

The blonde woman paced around them. "I hope you realize that your actions tonight will not be taken lightly, both of you. You put yourselves and others in great danger."

"They started it!" Ruby tried to argue.

"If it were up to me, you would be sent home and--are you even listening young man? Take this seriously!"

Akira lazily looks her. "I am listening."

She scoffs. "As I was saying, if it were up to me, you two would be sent home... With a pat on the back..." Ruby looks at her with hope, Akira rolling his eyes. "And a slap on the wrist."

She continued, smacking the end of her riding crop onto the table. Ruby yelped, recoiling her hands back while Akira remained the same, still keeping his feet onto the table. The woman growled at his behavior, but soon sighed.

"But... There is someone here who like to meet you two."

Ruby's face then turns to that of curiosity, Akira simply raising an eyebrow. The blonde woman moved out of the way, out stepping in was a man with grey hair, a pair of glasses, and a cane, wearing a black suit, a green scarf around his neck. A few buttons were well decorated onto his clothing, giving off the indication that he was an important figure of sorts. He looked like a nobleman, even.

He had walked in holding a plate of cookies and a mug of hot cocoa in the other, looking at the two children in an almost unreadable gaze. Well, to Ruby at least. Akira knew that the man in front of them was gauging them, analyzing them even.

"Ruby Rose... Akira Xiao Long..." He began, leaning over at Ruby. "You have... Silver eyes."

He notices that Ruby was looking uncomfortable. Not to mention, feeling a cold, piercing glare being directed at him from the boy next to her. He grins a little, pulling his head back as he gestures to the tablet his associate was holding, displaying their fight.

"Where did you two learn to do this?"

"Si-Signal Academy..." Ruby stutters.

Akira was quiet for a moment. "...Self taught."

"They taught you to use one of those most dangerous weapons ever designed?" He questioned the girl, then turning to the boy. "And you claim to have taught those skills yourself?"

"Well, one teacher in particular..."

"Because I did," Akira responded, his tone cold and monotone.

The man smiled slightly, "I see."

Placing the plate of cookies onto the table, he slides it forward. Ruby, although hesitantly, reached for one of them but halted. She looks to her older half brother, gesturing her head to see if it was okay to. With a roll of his eyes and a slight, small smile, he nodded. So she continued, gingerly taking one and putting it in her mouth, eating instantly. Ruby then continued to grab more, stuffing them into her mouth, putting it down her hole like it was nothing.

Akira chuckled internally. The way Ruby was eating the cookies reminded him of his wife once more, along with his wife's younger sister. Though if it were them, those cookies would all disappear in a single second. Well... Not even a second.

"It's just that," the man says, looking up to ceiling as if he were recalling memories, "I've only seen one other scythe wielder of that skill before... A dusty old crow."

"Mmm! thash muh unkul!" Ruby spoke while she still had cookies in her mouth.

"Ruby, don't talk when your mouth is full," her brother chided.

She gulps them down, cleaning her lips with her sleeve. "Sorry, that's our uncle Qrow! He's a teacher at Signal." She began to ramble, "I was complete garbage before he took me under his wing. And now I'm all like, hoowaaahh! Witchaaa!"

The black-haired girl with red tips began to flail her arms around, doing fighting stance poses of sorts. However, she swung her arm too much that she slaps and hits Akira's shoulder, who only looked at her with an unimpressed, and annoyed, look. Ruby simply looks at him sheepishly.

"So I've noticed," he said with a smile. "And what is an adorable girl and young man such as yourselves doing at a school--"

"Never went to the academy," Akira quickly interjected.

"Okay... Then, what is an adorable girl such as yourself doing at a school designed to train warriors?" He asked the question again, specifically toward Ruby.

"Well... I want to be a Huntress," Ruby spoke truthfully.

The man rose an eye. "You want to slay monsters?"

"Yeah!" Ruby beamed a smile. "I only have two more years of training left at Signal! And then I'm going to apply at Beacon!" Her enthusiasm only began to grow, indicated by her speech being accelerated, "You see, my sister's starting this year, and she's trying to become a Huntress, and I'm trying to become a Huntress 'cause I want to help people. Our parents always taught us to help others, so I thought, 'Hey, might as well make a career out of it!' I mean, the police are alright, but Huntresses and Huntsmen are so romantic and exciting and cool and really, gosh, you know!"

Once finishing, she looks at them with a wide smile. The blonde woman simply stared at Ruby with her usual stern glare while the grey-haired man held a small smile. However, Ruby didn't notice her brother's frown, mostly because of her answer. Again, one of the many reasons why he dislikes Huntsmen and Huntresses is because most people, like Ruby, often romanticize it and are idolized as heroes.

There's one thing he'd learned from his father when it came to these schools, they're not exposed to the true horrors, the true details of what it means to be out there. He had only learned that they begin to show the true colors of battle and what the creatures of Grimm leave behind during the third year in academies like Beacon or Haven Academy in Haven. Then again, his sisters didn't grow up the way he did. He grew up knowing what the real world entails. 

Everything wasn't perfect, everything wasn't all sunshine and rainbows. If there's one thing he knew, kingdoms like Vale and Atlas and others were built on corpses, the blood of others. The world is a cruel place, where only the strong and the weak are killed off. And in the world like those... Heroes don't exist... Or rather, they're hard to come by. And with how he was... With how his group was... They weren't seen as heroes. No.

They were just seen as another band of murderers. Nothing more, nothing less.

The man grinned even more, clasping his hands together. "Do you know who I am?"

Ruby smiles. "You're Professor Ozpin. You're the headmaster at Beacon."

"Hello," Ozpin says, smiling at the girl.

"Nice to meet you."

"You want to come to my school?"

"More than anything," Ruby pleaded.

Ozpin looks to his associate, Glynda Goodwitch, who only rolled her eyes and groans in disapproval. But knowing her boss, she couldn't really deny what he wants to do, no matter how much she protests about it.

With a grin, he looks back to her. "Well, okay."

Ruby beams another smile in response. She felt happy, finally knowing that she was going to be able to attend her dream school. With her sister, no less. Ozpin then turned his eyes to look at the icy blue-eyed boy, who only kept his usual cold, emotionless look he's mostly held throughout the conversation.

"And you, young man?"

Akira looked away. "Not interested."

"Oh? And why is that?"

"Not interested in being a Huntsman. That's all," he simply replied.

"U-Um, big brother? Why don't you... Want to be a Huntsman?" His sister shyly asked as she tilted her head.

He looked to her, keeping his expression. "I just don't want to be one."

Ozpin quickly interjected. "Miss Rose, would you please step out for a moment? I would like to have a word with your brother."

"Um..."

"If you don't mind."

Ruby contemplated for a moment. "O-Okay. I'll wait for you at the entrance, big brother!"

"Just stay out of trouble," he scolds her one last time.

With a hesitant nod, Ruby hops off her chair and exits the door. Once the door was shut, Akira brought his feet back onto the floor, staring at the grey-haired man with narrowed eyes. Ozpin, however, still kept his grin.

"Akira Xiao Long..." Ozpin began. "Or should I say... Akira Makabe?"

The boy's eyes widen at that. And in one quick second, he darted up from his chair, Glynda seeing this as she began to point her riding crop at him. But the boy reacted quickly conjuring a few ice daggers and throwing it at the blonde woman. She yelped a little, the ice daggers catching her sleeves, which surprised her, and embeds them into the wall. And much to her surprise again, the ice daggers had quite a hold on her clothing as she couldn't just yank them off.

Afterward, Akira got closer, creating another dagger in his hand, landing on Ozpin's legs before pushing him onto the ground. He then points it to his neck, giving the man a cold glare.

"Professor Ozpin--"

"No need, Glynda. I'll be alright."

Akira inched the dagger closer. "Where the hell did you learn that?"

"Your uncle is quite the talker when's drunk," Ozpin replies, his grin never wavered at all.

"That damn drunkard," he muttered. He inches it closer again, "Tell me why I shouldn't slice your neck right here, right now?"

"You've been through a lot, haven't you?" Ozpin asked, disregarding the threat. "The way you grew up is the reason you dislike Huntsmen and Huntresses, correct?"

"Shut... Up."

"Mr. Makabe. Might you please get off me so we can talk instead?"

He growled. Though thinking on it, if his wife were here... If Akame were here, she wouldn't approve of his actions right now. She would most definitely not approve of them.

They both didn't like fighting, only fighting if they needed to. And right now, there weren't any reason to do so. There would be no gain. Gritting his teeth, he begrudgingly got off the grey-haired man and walked over to his chair, then sitting in it. But he still kept his ice cold glare, Ozpin remaining firm as he stood up and dusted himself off, taking back his mug. Surprisingly, nothing spilled out of it.

Akira leaned forward a bit. "So? What do you want then?"

Ozpin picked his chair back up and sat down. "Let me ask you again, Mr. Makabe. Would you like to come to my school?"