章 754: 97
Chapter 97:
With the threat of Cinder and her minions gone, the days slipped into a more comfortable pattern for Ruby and her friends. Now that the main instigator of the plot against Beacon had been dealt with, and the Fall Maiden was back on the mend, there was no looming, existential threat to distract them from their regular schoolwork, studies, and training. Sure, the overarching threat of Salem still loomed over everything. But her threat was a distant one, and one that Ruby and her friends resolved not to worry about until they saw new evidence of some other scheme.
There were a few differences. In the week since the battle, Emerald had regained consciousness, but remained in the infirmary, mostly unresponsive. She ate the food she was given, but rarely spoke, save to voice her needs. Attempts at interrogation yielded nothing of use to the investigators. She spent most of her time in a sullen silence, staring off into space.
Mercury was similarly uncooperative. His weaponized prosthetics had been removed in favor of the most basic, harmless models. Like Emerald, attempts at interrogation yielded little from him, though he was at least more animated than his counterpart, often teasing or taunting during attempts at questioning him, showing no signs of unease, be it Ironwood or Glynda who tried to convince him to give up information.
In the meantime, Ruby and her friends went back to training. Ruby's training mostly consisted of retreating to the Emerald Forest to continue practicing her ability to sense and harness the world's Aura, the preface to fully utilizing the Raikoken. She made progress, but it was slow, sometimes frustratingly slow. However, considering how long it had taken her to reach this point in her training, Ruby didn't begrudge the extra time taken. Besides, it wasn't as if she'd be able to utilize the Raikoken during the tournament anyway, so there was no need to rush.
All of this wasn't to say that the days weren't without their surprises. The first one came just a week after the fight against Cinder...
Ruby and Kyo were on their way back to Kyo's suite in the faculty quarters. While Ruby continued to work alone to harness the skills behind the Raikoken, Kyo had decided to amuse himself by essentially acting as a sort of supplementary combat teacher to any students who were interested, apparently having enjoyed his little "sparring session" with Team CFVY the previous Saturday. Ruby was starting to get used to coming back and finding her brother fighting/lecturing her teammates, RYNB, CPPR, and even Sun and Neptune. Kyo would be effortlessly dodging their attacks, batting them across the room, all while carefully dissecting the strengths and weaknesses of their fighting styles.
For their part, at least Ruby's friends appeared to think that the sessions benefitted them, for all that they considered it more than a little galling that Ruby's older brother was constantly talking down to them about how they fought. It didn't help that, amongst RASP and RYNB at least, there were still those who resented him personally for things he had done. Blake still hadn't quite let go of Kyo slaughtering the White Fang encamped in Mountain Glenn. Jaune, Weiss, and Yang all still felt varying degrees of resentment towards him for his barring them from intervening, while Ruby was fighting Cinder. The others were simply wary of Kyo in general.
At least it was productive.
In any case, Ruby decided to walk Kyo back after one of these sessions, mostly so that she could hang out with him in his quarters for a while. She'd gotten quite happy with the fact that she got to spend so much time with her brother. They passed through the main entrance to the faculty quarters, and reached the door to the stairs that led up to the floor Kyo was staying on. When they opened the door, a familiar person tumbled forward with a yelp, her stumbling collapse causing her to fall right into Kyo's arms.
"Amber!" exclaimed Ruby, shocked to see her new friend, the recovering Fall Maiden, up and about.
Amber's hospital gown had been replaced by a plain, cream-colored dress, its skirt running down just past her knees, its top featuring short sleeves that ended halfway down to her elbows. It didn't do much to compliment Amber's appearance, which wasn't exactly saying anything about it, as that was due more to the painfully thin state of Amber's arms and legs, rather any fault of the dress, which was simply quite...simple, probably meant to be something that she could put on and take off fairly easily.
Of course, none of that was really what needed to be questioned. Instead, Ruby asked, "What are you doing out of Professor Goodwitch's room?"
"I...I just needed to...get out," said Amber, leaning heavily against Kyo, gripping his outstretched arms as tight as she could. She took a few panting breaths, giving away just how much a struggle simply making her way down the hallway and stairs had been. "I wanted...to get some...fresh air...see the sun for a little while."
"Couldn't you have asked Professor Goodwitch for help with that?" asked Ruby.
"Glynda...has too much...to do...to just take me...for a walk," said Amber, still struggling to keep herself upright.
"Yeah, but you obviously can't make it that far on your own yet," said Ruby, noting that Amber was already on the verge of collapse.
Then she noticed something...odd. Kyo hadn't said a word. He and Ruby had been chatting quite animatedly only a moment before. But now he was completely silent. Curious, Ruby glanced up at her brother...only to see him staring at Amber with an awestruck expression, his face flushing a bright red that was threatening to put the crimson of his eyes to shame.
"Kyo-nii...?" Ruby blinked, momentarily shocked by the complete change her brother's personality had undergone...until she remembered a tidbit that Sasame had once shared with her, something she'd never actually seen for herself before.
According to Sasame, Kyo was actually very awkward around girls his own age...in certain circumstances. After he'd become popular, out in the settlements, for driving away the Grimm with his mere presence, it was not unheard of for local families to present their daughters to him, or even attractive young women to approach him of their own volition, in an attempt to coax him into staying...longer. And, according to Sasame, some of those girls had been quite forward in their solicitations.
For his part, Kyo was extremely unused to most kinds of feminine attention. In his homeland, his status as a pariah, because of his eyes, extended to the members of the opposite sex as well. So the notion that girls might actually find him attractive, much less take an interest in him, had been quite the novel one, the first time he'd experienced it. As such, his first such experiences with attractive young women flirting with him had resulted in Kyo turning into what Sasame had described as "a stuttering block of wood."
According to Sasame, Kyo did grow out of that phase eventually, not too long after the pair of them met Ruby for the first time. Kyo had grown adept at politely letting his potential suitors down, conveying his desire to continue traveling for the foreseeable future. However, Kyo's awkwardness would come back to the fore if he ever encountered a girl who actually caught his interest, though that rarely led to anything significant, as any girlfriend Kyo might take would either need to become accustomed to long periods of absence, when he was off visiting other settlements, or be willing to take to the road with him, something none of them had been willing to do yet.
This marked the first time that Ruby had seen that aspect of her brother for herself. Upon seeing his reddened face, and his posture suddenly going completely still, his body nervously rigid, she realized what had happened. Her brother, the legendary Demon Eyes Kyo...was crushing on Amber. It was all that Ruby could do to keep a sly grin from spreading across her face at the sight, one thought going through her mind. Just wait until Sasame-nee sees this.
For her part, Amber was beginning to realize that she was leaning against someone else, someone whose presence she had completely discounted, despite using him to remain upright. She finally looked up, taking in the sight of the person who'd saved her from falling flat on her face. "Uh...um..." Amber's voice suddenly failed her, and she too began to blush furiously. At the moment, Ruby couldn't tell if it was from embarrassment, or that, like Kyo, she too was suddenly very interested in the other person. All she knew was that the scene was all kinds of adorable, and she was fighting to hold back a giddy squeal.
Ruby would have liked to see how long it would take for either of them to say a complete word, much less a sentence, to one another. However, a fluttering of Amber's skirt drew Ruby's gaze downward, and she realized that Amber's legs were trembling from the effort of keeping herself upright. As sweet as this was, they needed to get Amber somewhere where she could sit down...and Ruby knew just the place.
"Kyo-nii, let's get Amber to your room," said Ruby.
"Ah! B-but..." The look Kyo gave her was so uncharacteristically deer-in-the-headlights that Ruby nearly burst out laughing.
Instead, she smirked. "Professor Goodwitch is still out, so we don't have a way into her room. But Amber needs a place to rest. So let's use your room."
"I...I...uh..." Seeing Kyo so tongue-tied was such a novelty.
Meanwhile, Amber looked back and forth between Kyo and Ruby, her cheeks still flushed, but more confused than anything else.
Ruby sighed. "Give me your sword, Kyo-nii."
Before Kyo could object, Ruby carefully pulled his sheathed sword free from where it rested, up against his left shoulder. "Now pick Amber up."
"I...um..." Seeing that this was actually happening, Kyo haltingly turned his face back to Amber, his blush continuing to intensify. "Y-you don't mind...d-do you?"
"I...I th-think it would be helpful," said Amber, averting her eyes.
Nervously, Kyo tilted over, hooking his right arm under Amber's legs, while putting his left around her shoulder. He hefted her up in his arms, doing his best to situate her. "C-comfortable?" he asked.
"Y-yes, thank you," said Amber.
Seeing Kyo's face looking as though it was about to burst into flame, Ruby decided to get this over with before she had to deal with a case of Spontaneous Human Combustion in the hallway. "Well, let's get to your room, Kyo-nii."
Thankfully, the trip up to his room was a short one. It wasn't long before they found themselves in the hallway before Kyo's door. There, Ruby had to root through his pocket to find his keycard. Having no scroll of his own, Kyo couldn't open his door the way Beacon students and faculty unlocked theirs. Instead, Ozpin and Glynda had produced a keycard that could open the electronic lock. Of course, with his arms presently occupied, it was up to Ruby to get the card out and use it.
Fortunately, she was able to find it in short order, opening the door, and ushering the pair into Kyo's room. Ruby had Kyo set Amber down in one of the easy chairs in the living room, while she went into the kitchen to start some tea for them. Kyo quickly retreated to the kitchen as well, only for Ruby to kick him right back out, with instructions to keep Amber company. From the heavy, and awkward, silence coming from the living room, Ruby could tell things were going swimmingly.
By the time the tea was ready, Ruby emerged from the kitchen to see that Kyo and Amber had at least made their first halting introductions to one another, though it seemed they hadn't gotten much further than that, neither of them having any idea of what to say to the other. Ruby hummed cheerfully, setting out cups and pouring tea for everyone, before seating herself on the couch, next to her brother.
"Well, I guess this is the first time you've met my brother, Amber," she said cheerfully.
"Um...Ah...Yes," said Amber, unsure of what to say. She tilted her head, regarding Kyo curiously, her curiosity only serving to make him seem all the more nervous. "He's...different from what I expected."
Ruby giggled. "Well, Kyo-nii gets that way around pretty girls," she said.
"R-really...?" Amber lowered her head, cheeks coloring once again. "Y-you think I'm...?"
"A-absolutely," blurted Kyo, before realizing what he'd just said, then ducking his head, face afire once more.
"E-even though I have...?" Amber's fingers went up to trace the weblike scar that marred the skin over the left side of her face.
To her surprise, Kyo abruptly leaned forward and gently pulled her fingers away. "Your scars don't detract from anything," he said, a soft confidence in his voice that had been completely absent earlier. "They add character to your beauty, I think. If they truly bother you, Sasame can easily remove them, when she gets here."
It took an extra three seconds for Kyo to realize what he was doing. He glanced down at the hand he was holding, then back up at Amber...and his face turned bright-red again. "I'm sorry!" he yelped, letting go of Amber's hand and sitting back in his seat, back straight and rigid.
Ruby couldn't help herself, she burst out laughing, pressing her hands over her lips to try and muffle the sound. She had little success. Both Amber and Kyo looked at her, before they realized the situation they were in. Amber began to giggle too, while Kyo sighed, slumping slightly.
"I'm no good at this," he grumbled.
Sasame-nee wasn't kidding about that, Ruby thought, pressing her fingers to her lips and puffing out her cheeks.
"It's very...nice to meet you," said Amber, unsure of what to do or say about the situation.
Admittedly, Ruby wasn't sure what to do either. Aside from introducing her brother to Amber, she hadn't considered what might come after that. Amber was still very weak, really not in a condition for going on dates, assuming Kyo's interest in her was reciprocated.
Then, to Ruby's surprise, Amber continued. "I...I've heard about you."
"Y-you have?" asked Kyo surprised.
Amber nodded. "I...well...before this..." She gestured to her atrophied body, and then the scar on her face. "...I used to travel around to, helping where I could. I wasn't an official Huntress, but I was able to go about and help people."
Her gaze went to Kyo's sword, where Ruby had set it, on its rack by the door. "When I went through certain settlements, people would talk about you sometimes. At first, I thought it was because they were afraid of you. Then I noticed that they always seemed happy you'd been there, that they were hoping you'd come back. I tried to find out why, but no one really seemed to want to say."
"Ah...yes...well..." Kyo shifted nervously. "They probably thought you wouldn't believe them."
"Kyo-nii scares off the Grimm," said Ruby simply.
Amber gasped, giving Kyo a surprised look, which only prompted him to avert his eyes again. "It's been that way for a while," he said.
"No wonder people looked forward to your visits while you were out there," said Amber softly.
They lapsed into an awkward silence again. Then Amber spoke some more, this time talking to Ruby.
"So...you traveled with him?"
"Sometimes," said Ruby. "After the first two trips, it was just me and Sasame-nee more often. Since Kyo-nii scares the Grimm away, that kinda made it hard for me to find any to train against."
"I can see that being a problem," said Amber with a giggle. "Although, it makes me curious about what your home is like."
"W-well, it's certainly different," said Kyo. "Though it's a nice place there, all told. Even if I'm not all that welcome."
"You're not?" asked Amber, shocked.
"It's...complicated...and really weird," said Ruby. "There's a sort of social stigma against Kyo's eyes over there, so, outside his family, the Mibu aren't all that welcoming of him."
"Which is natural and encouraged on some levels," said Kyo. "I would not be as strong as I am, had I not needed to fight for my life on multiple occasions throughout my younger years."
Amber canted her head, unsure of how to process that. What Kyo was talking about seemed like it should have been severely traumatic. Yet he spoke of such things with a casual ease that suggested that they'd barely made a mark on him, at least emotionally. She decided that questioning that was probably not the best thing right now.
"Are you going through therapy?" asked Ruby, eyeing Amber's weak limbs. Amber appeared to have little trouble managing her cup, but her state earlier indicated that her stamina was lacking, and that the simple task of standing was still something that required considerable effort on her part.
"I am," said Amber. "It's hard, learning to move and walk all over again. My Aura's helping though, so it's going faster than I originally thought it would."
"Yeah, Aura helps with that," said Ruby, thinking of Jaune, and how his Aura had enabled him to reap enormous gains from his workouts to rapidly build the strength and stamina that he'd been so lacking in before coming to Beacon.
Amber sighed. "The problem is that I go to therapy in the morning, then Glynda has to go to work; so I'm stuck alone, in her quarters, without much to do. I have books to read, or I can watch the network. But that gets old after a while. I just...I wanted to see the sun, spend some time outside. I figured that I could make it to the bench just outside the entrance. But I guess that's still too far for me."
Ruby frowned. "You could have fallen and hurt yourself, coming down the stairs," she pointed out. "That would have set your recovery back even more."
"I know," said Amber sullenly.
Ruby sighed. "Maybe we should check with Professor Goodwitch. There must be a way we could help you get out more. I mean, I'm free now. So I could help you, after classes."
"I don't want to interrupt your schedule," protested Amber. "I know you're working hard."
"Yeah, but you shouldn't have to just sit around in Goodwitch's room all day..." Ruby's eyes widened, something occurring to her.
Before she could state her idea, her scroll buzzed. Pulling it out, Ruby experienced a short burst of anxiety upon seeing that it was Professor Goodwitch calling her. As far as she knew, she hadn't been doing anything to get into trouble. However, it was always the first worry when Beacon's primary disciplinarian called. "Professor?" she said, putting the scroll up to her ear.
She heard a sigh of relief on the other end of the line. "Ms. Rose, thank goodness I reached you. There's an emergency."
"What is it?" asked Ruby, shooting to her feet.
"Amber is missing from my quarters," explained Glynda. "I've already contacted James and Ozpin. I need you to rally your friends so that we can find her-"
"Professor," interjected Ruby, cutting off Glynda. "Uh...about that...Amber's right here, with me."
"...What?"
At first, Amber had been anxious, when she'd seen Ruby's reaction to what Glynda had said, unable to hear the Glynda's side of the conversation. However, once it became clear that Glynda was worried about her location, Amber shrank back in her seat, almost like a child who'd just realized she'd done something against the rules.
"We're in Kyo-nii's room," said Ruby. "Amber's fine."
"...Oh..." Glynda clearly didn't know what to say. Ruby got the distinct impression that she was blushing, realizing that she'd just called Ozpin and Ironwood about an emergency that wasn't actually an emergency. Hopefully she wouldn't be too upset about that.
After another moment of silence, Glynda spoke again. "See to it that Amber does not go anywhere. I will have words for her, for worrying me like this."
"Professor, please try to calm down," pleaded Ruby. "You can just come down here. L-let's just talk this out. I've got some ideas that might keep this from becoming a problem again."
"I...I will try," said Glynda, her voice faltering as she was already beginning to take steadying breaths, probably as much to bring herself down from her earlier panic as it was to rein in her anger. "Please tell Amber to stay put. I will be there momentarily." She hung up without even a perfunctory goodbye.
"I'm in trouble, I guess," said Amber, a faint warble of whimpering in her voice as Ruby lowered the scroll. Even if Amber had never been a student of Beacon, it was clear that she was plenty aware that Glynda Goodwitch was not someone she wanted to cross lightly.
"A little," said Ruby. "You gave her a scare. Can you blame her, considering what you just came out of?"
"I...I guess not," said Amber, looking down.
Kyo hesitantly reached over to where Amber's hand rested, on the arm of her seat, brushing his fingers across her knuckles. "I think everything will be fine," he said, drawing Amber's attention to himself, his blush returning again. "Ruby-chan will help us to work something out."
"I think so," said Ruby. "I had an idea, but Professor Goodwitch called before I could tell you about it." She grinned. "It's just as well. I would've had to run it past her anyway. So we can take care of all this at once."
The minutes clicked by ominously. Granted, Ruby thought that was as much nerves as anything else. At the same time, it shouldn't have taken Glynda this long to come down the two flights of stairs to reach Kyo's quarters. She tried to restart the conversation from earlier, beginning by asking for some information about Amber's earlier life. They didn't get very far, Amber revealing that she was a cobbler's daughter, before there was a polite knock at the door.
That itself was interesting, as it wasn't the authoritative rap that would have normally heralded Glynda's presence at the door. The knocking was lighter, more even...politer, Ruby supposed the word would be. Outside, she could sense Glynda, and an additional presence...Ozpin's.
Getting up, Ruby went to open the door, letting Ozpin and Glynda in, before taking the teapot and cups back to the kitchen, and beginning the work of brewing a fresh batch, preparing additional cups while she was at it. She figured it was best to sit out the first phase of this conversation, and let Glynda get her fear and frustration out of her system, also not wanting to get caught up in the scolding that was clearly unfolding in the living room.
"You're extremely fortunate I even thought to call Ms. Rose," Glynda was admonishing her. "As it was, James was preparing to bring his forces in en-mass to carry out a full sweep of Beacon's grounds. Do you have any idea what kind of disruption that would have been for the students, not to mention how that would jeopardize your cover?"
"I'm sorry," said Amber, her voice a little bit higher than normal, Ruby getting a mental image of the poor girl literally shrinking in on herself with every word of chastisement Glynda threw at her.
"You are in an extremely vulnerable state," continued Glynda. "While Cinder might no longer be a threat, the fact remains that Salem does have other agents, and any one of them could come for you. We cannot afford to take this too lightly, especially when you are in no condition to defend yourself."
"Y-yes," whimpered Amber.
"On top of that, you could have aggravated your condition by overexerting yourself, or even injured yourself, on top of everything else, with a simple misstep. Your recovery is not something you can afford to rush."
"I understand..."
"Do you? I wonder..."
"Glynda..." Ozpin's soft, more moderate tone cut off Glynda's tirade, before it could gather steam again, carrying just enough authority to make Glynda cede the floor to him. "...You've made your point clear. I believe Ms. Akiyama understands how worried you were. Now let's try to calm down."
It was at this point that Ruby exited the kitchen with tea, making it a point to pour a cup for Glynda first, before anyone else. Glynda accepted it gratefully, her lips quirking in a tiny smile from her seat. After that, she provided a cup for Ozpin, who stood behind Glynda in the other easy chair. Only after that did Ruby serve Amber, Kyo, and herself.
Ozpin gave Ruby a look of subdued amusement. "You make an excellent hostess, Ms. Rose, though I wonder why it is you, and not your brother, doing the serving."
Ruby smirked. "Kyo-nii could try," she said. "But I'm guessing you'd like the building to still be standing when it's all over."
"Ruby-chan..." whined Kyo softly, his face flushing. Normally, he wasn't embarrassed about his lack of skill in the kitchen. But his sister was ribbing him in front of a pretty girl that he'd taken a greater than normal interest in...and one that he'd been actually getting along with fairly well, in the few minutes that had passed since they'd first met.
Amber, still looking contrite from Glynda's scolding, cracked a smile of her own, the sight enough to make Ruby feel that her mission was accomplished.
"Right now, we need to focus on the actual issue," pressed Glynda, wanting to get back to the point, as always.
"I believe you've made yourself clear," said Ozpin gently. "Now then...Ms. Akiyama, why did you leave Glynda's suite?"
"I...I just wanted to go outside for a little bit," said Amber, lowering her head. "It was such a nice day, and I was tired of being cooped up. I figured it wouldn't be so bad..."
"It would appear that you overestimated your strength and stamina," said Ozpin. "So you ran into Ms. Rose, and her brother, and they brought you back here."
Amber nodded wordlessly.
"Ms. Rose, thank you for taking care of her," said Ozpin.
"There's no problem," said Ruby. "In fact, I was wondering if it was possible for us to help Amber get out more."
"Ms. Rose, as well as you did against Cinder and her disciples, the fact remains that Salem's other agents present dangerous unknowns," said Glynda firmly. "The best way to keep Amber safe is to keep her out of sight as much as possible."
"But it's not good for her," said Ruby. "Aura is affected by emotions. Right now, Amber's getting depressed because she's stuck in one place all day. The only time she gets out is for her therapy sessions. That lowers her Aura's ability to help with her recovery. Letting her get out, get some fresh air and sunlight, that boosts her morale and helps with her recovery."
Glynda blinked, taken aback by Ruby's rebuttal, as much by the fact that Ruby had rebutted her at all as by anything Ruby had actually said.
Ozpin, however, smiled. "I assume this knowledge comes courtesy of your training in the Mibu."
Ruby nodded. "It's stuff Sasame-nee's shared with me. Getting Amber out more will lift her spirits and help her recover faster."
"Interesting..." mused Ozpin. "The correlation between mood and physical health has been well-documented by the medical community of the Kingdoms. But it would seem the Mibu have fully investigated the mechanism behind that link."
"Yep," said Ruby proudly.
"Even so, Amber's security takes top priority," insisted Glynda. "As skilled as you are, Ms. Rose, this is not a task we can entrust to just anyone."
"Well..." Ruby tapped her chin. "You need someone with a lot of free time, right?"
"Correct," said Glynda, "which is lacking, both amongst the student body and the faculty."
"You need somebody you can trust, who already knows about Amber's secret and everything that goes with it," added Ruby.
"Yes," replied Glynda.
Ruby smiled slyly. "And it would be best if this person were super-strong and able to take down anyone who might come after her, until Amber's well enough that she can fight for herself, right...?"
"That's correct," agreed Glynda. "Yet there is no one who presently fits all of those criteria..." Her voice trailed off, her eyes drifting to the other person in the room, who (rather unusually) had been mostly overlooked in the previous conversation.
"Um..." said Kyo, his face turning red as he grasped what Ruby was proposing.
"No," said Glynda flatly. "Absolutely not. I am not entrusting Amber's safety and security to the discretion of a known mass-murderer."
Amber's eyes widened, and she glanced at Kyo in shock. Kyo was still struggling to say much of anything in front of her, so he didn't say anything to contest or confirm Glynda's assertions.
"Kyo-nii's never killed innocent people," said Ruby firmly. "He's killed bandits and criminals...and the occasional corrupt Huntsman. But he's never killed or threatened ordinary people."
Amber relaxed a little at that revelation. But Glynda remained stubborn.
"He is not trustworthy," she asserted. "We are talking about a man who prevented us from rescuing his own sister from an ambush by three enemies, who would have killed her, given the chance."
"Kyo-nii wouldn't do that to Amber," said Ruby confidently.
"And what is your reasoning behind that?" asked Glynda skeptically.
"Because, even though he's my big brother, Kyo-nii is also one of my teachers," said Ruby. "He kept everyone from saving me, while I was fighting Cinder, because he felt there was something that I could and needed to learn from that fight. And he was right."
"That is hardly what I would call a valid approach to teaching," countered Glynda.
"I believe we have been over this particular argument before," interjected Ozpin calmly, his voice cutting through the tension once more. While Ruby and Glynda had been arguing, his gaze had been moving back and forth, between Kyo and Amber, taking in the subtle aspects of their behavior...and the less subtle ones, when it came to Kyo's uncharacteristic nervousness and heavily flushed complexion. In his mind, he was getting an idea of what Ruby was trying to do...and he found himself not disliking it.
So he continued. "And...I believe that there is a great deal of merit in Ms. Rose's suggestion."
"What?!" gasped Glynda. "Ozpin! You can't be serious."
"I am," replied Ozpin. "Your worries aside, Ms. Rose's assertions have been correct thus far. Her relationship with her brother is quite unique, so it is understandable that it has aspects that we do not find so easy to stomach. Yet it is also clear that she understands his capability better than we do, not merely in terms of his strength of arms, but also his strength of character."
He turned a fond smile on Ruby, who blushed slightly. "And, above all else, Ms. Rose's judgment has yet to lead us astray. If she believes this strongly that Kyo can be trusted with Ms. Akiyama's safety, then I think her words carry a great deal of weight behind them."
"Yes, but-" Glynda began, trying to find an argument against this idea.
"And, issues of Kyo's trustworthiness aside," continued Ozpin, "could you imagine a better bodyguard for Amber than Demon Eyes Kyo himself?"
Glynda was silent for a moment. "Well...no."
"So, it seems to me that Ms. Rose's idea is actually quite valid," said Ozpin.
"So then...we should allow Kyo to serve as Amber's escort, when she wishes to go out," said Glynda.
"That's right," said Ruby, nodding eagerly.
Kyo and Amber looked at each other. Kyo's face flushed red again, while Amber's cheeks colored a little.
"Hmm..." Ozpin hummed softly, mulling it over. "Ms. Akiyama, would you be willing to agree to this arrangement?"
"I would!" said Amber, whipping her head around to look at Ozpin, while Kyo's eyes went wide at the sight of her enthusiasm, conveying his surprise and, daresay, hope. "If I can just get out a little, I'd accept anyone."
Kyo let out the tiniest of disappointed whimpers, the sound being just loud enough for Amber to hear it. She quickly turned, her blush more prominent now. "I-I mean...that is...I'd be very grateful for your help, and I don't think you'd be bad company at all."
Geez, try not to look too desperate, Kyo-nii, thought Ruby wryly, noting that her brother was looking less and less like the infamous badass traveler, whose arrival was cause for entire communities to celebrate, and more like a lost puppy, desperate for attention and affection. It was adorable...but also rather off-putting.
"Well then...I think there is sufficient reason to give this a try," said Ozpin after another moment of thought.
Glynda frowned, clearly still not liking the idea, but also lacking much to specifically object about. In the end, she sighed, her head slumping slightly. "Very well," she said. "If that is the case, then I give my approval."
"Now then, how should we arrange this?" asked Ozpin.
"Seeing as Kyo does not have a scroll, it would probably be best to schedule these situations," said Glynda. "So...at some point in the afternoon, Kyo should come to my quarters to pick up Ms. Akiyama, and help her to move outside, perhaps with the assistance of a wheelchair. From there, he can accompany her wherever she wishes to go, and even assist in some additional exercise, should Amber feel up to it."
"And does that arrangement work for the both of you?" asked Ozpin, looking at Kyo and Amber.
"I believe it does," said Kyo.
"Yes," agreed Amber.
"Very well, then we shall work out the particulars soon, and we should be able to begin as early as tomorrow," said Ozpin.
"All right," said Amber eagerly.
Ozpin chuckled at her enthusiasm. "Now then, as for today, I believe it is time to take Ms. Akiyama back to Glynda's rooms. Kyo, if you would be so kind as to assist."
"O-Of course," said Kyo, getting to his feet, before turning to Amber, and holding out a hand to her. "Do you feel up to walking a little...or...w-would you rather I...?"
"I think I'd like to try walking," said Amber, taking Kyo's hand, and allowing him to help her to her feet.
From there, it was a slow walk down the hall to the elevator, which Ruby didn't even realize the faculty quarters had, with Amber holding on to Kyo's arm for support, while she took careful, halting steps. Kyo, for his part, was perfectly patient, if more than a little nervous that the pretty girl he'd befriended continued to hold onto him.
They made it to Glynda's room without incident, with Glynda taking over at the threshold, picking Amber up with her telekinesis and carrying her the rest of the way inside, while dismissing Kyo curtly and, to Ruby's mind, a little bit more rudely than necessary.
The door shutting, Ruby and Kyo were left in the hallway with Ozpin. "Well, that was an unexpectedly eventful evening," he said, "but a helpful one all the same. Kyo, I think you will be fine, but I do implore you, treat her as well as you are able."
"I will," promised Kyo.
"A good evening to you both then," said Ozpin, before turning and ambling away.
Left alone, Kyo slowly turned to regard his little sister. "Just what are you up to?" he asked.
"Oh, that shouldn't be too hard, Kyo-nii," said Ruby with a giggle. "You and Sasame-nee are doting on me all the time, so I thought it would be nice to dote on you for once."
"By setting me up with your new friend?" asked Kyo, raising an eyebrow.
"By setting you up with a girl around your age, whom you clearly have a thing for," teased Ruby, "if the way your face kept lighting up is any indicator, and who might be interested in you in return."
"Y-you think so?" asked Kyo nervously.
"I definitely think so," said Ruby, grinning. It was weird where she was in a position to literally claim to be actually more experienced in something than her older brother, but apparently she had more experience with a romantic relationship than he did by a mile. And the best approach for him was to draw upon her experience with her own boyfriend, who she once again found uncannily similar to her brother in several ways.
"Wha-what should I do?" asked Kyo.
"For starters, whatever she asks," said Ruby. "If she wants to go somewhere, you take her. If she wants to get up and walk for a little, help her. If she wants to try without help, let her, and just be there to catch her if she falls.
"Other than that, just be nice. Don't worry too much about trying to impress her or anything like that. Just talk to her, listen to her, and do what you can to make her smile."
"Is that what worked for you?" asked Kyo.
"Yep," said Ruby. "That's how Jaune won me over, though it wasn't that hard. I don't think you'd have a hard time with Amber either. I think the two of you even have a fair bit in common."
"We do?" wondered Kyo.
"Uh huh," agreed Ruby. "You both like to travel around. You could talk about all the places you've been, all the things you've seen, that sort of thing. Amber did a lot of traveling, before Cinder attacked her. And I think she'd like to keep doing that. You two could even do that together, assuming you get that far."
"Tha-that's..." stammered Kyo.
"Yeah, getting ahead of ourselves," said Ruby. "But you have a start. Don't worry too much about tripping over yourself or embarrassing yourself. Just take it easy, and be there for what she needs."
"I...I'll try," said Kyo, before looking at Ruby. "Thank you for this, Ruby-chan."
"You and Sasame-nee have always worked so hard to help me be happy," said Ruby, taking her brother's hand and giving it a squeeze. "I'm glad for the chance to do the same for you."
Kyo nodded, then pulled Ruby into a hug, which she gladly returned. Whatever else, she had a good feeling about this.
Ozpin was a bit surprised to see that he had a visitor, upon arriving back at his office. Blake stood before his desk, her scroll held in one hand, while she crossed her arms, her expression anxious.
"Ms. Belladonna," said Ozpin calmly, "to what do I owe the pleasure of your company this evening?"
"I have someone who wants to talk to you," said Blake, holding up her scroll.
"I see," said Ozpin.
"Should I link it to your desk?" asked Blake.
"No," said Ozpin quickly. "Go ahead and hand me your scroll, if you don't mind."
Blake seemed confused by his sudden caution, then her memory of his warnings about the virus caught up to her. She handed the scroll over to him without protest. Ozpin held it up to his ear. "This is Professor Ozpin."
"And this is Sienna Khan," a woman's voice replied cooly over the scroll.
Ozpin's eyebrows went up. He looked to Blake, who nodded gravely. "Well now, Ms. Khan, this is a surprise. I never imagined that you would be using Ms. Belladonna to contact me."
"At this point, I don't have any reason to beat around the bush, not with the mess Adam has left me to clean up," replied Sienna, a faint growl of anger entering her voice at the mention of Adam Taurus.
"I am uncertain of what you are talking about," said Ozpin, quite sincerely.
"I shall be frank then," replied Sienna. "The fact of the matter is that Adam Taurus has been acting on his own, severely radicalizing the Vale faction, and planning violence beyond the scope of what we, the White Fang, can condone. On that note, I have been seeking a means of establishing some form of peace."
"Interesting," said Ozpin. "You come to me, rather than the Council?"
"I think we both know that the Council would not accept anything less than the surrender and disbandment of the White Fang. That is unacceptable. However, I believe that you might be willing to be more flexible in your conditions."
"Perhaps," agreed Ozpin. "That depends on what we would be agreeing to, Ms. Khan. Like it or not, the White Fang are still considered a terrorist group, that is the official stance of Beacon, as well as the Kingdoms. If you wish to alter that designation, then a serious change of course is required, amongst other things."
"That much is clear," agreed Sienna. "Truth be told, what Adam has been doing has had me rethinking our organization's course as it is."
"You wish to return to non-violence?" asked Ozpin.
"That is not my full intention," said Sienna plainly. "I respect Ghira's desire in that respect. I even have a better understanding of his reasoning for it now. However, when we tried for non-violence in the past, the humans made it clear that they were not willing to listen until we took action to make them listen. However, I am going to take steps to ensure that future reprisals for the mistreatment of faunus are more measured. But make no mistake, we will not surrender to passivity."
"That is a shame," said Ozpin. "Please do not misconstrue true non-violence as passivity. However, we can discuss those nuances later. If you wish to continue this negotiation, I will be requiring certain conditions first."
"Name them."
"Firstly, I require the cancelation of any order to harm or kill Ashley Forrest and her family."
"Already done," said Sienna. "That was one of my first orders of business, after arriving in Vale, along with dealing with Adam's 'revised' recruitment rallies. That being said, I believe it is for the best if you continue to keep her in Beacon's custody for a while longer. Adam has engendered an attitude that borders on fanaticism amongst the Vale Branch. Reining them in is requiring more work than I would like."
"I understand," said Ozpin. "My second condition is the surrender of any and all remaining Dust and munitions stolen by the Vale Branch. We have a rough account of what has been taken, along with what has been recovered. Obviously, there is some discrepancy to account for usage, but there is still some Dust and weaponry that remains unaccounted for, in White Fang custody."
Sienna was silent for quite a while at that. Finally, after a few more minutes of silence, Ozpin heard a soft exhalation on the other end. "Done...I will contact you soon about the location and time where you might reclaim them."
"That is acceptable," said Ozpin. "My final condition is requiring an end to the theft of Dust in the future. You have made your stance about attacks on businesses for the purposes of reprisal clear. However, I will not accept the attacking of Dust merchants for the sake of arming your soldiers."
There was another long pause. Then, "So be it."
"Then we have a beginning," said Ozpin. "I look forward to further discussions with you, Ms. Khan. I will provide you with my scroll's contact information, so that you need not continue to force Ms. Belladonna to act as a go-between."
"Very well," replied Sienna.
Ozpin sent the information through Blake's scroll, before concluding things with Sienna, then hanging up. He handed the scroll back to Blake. "Thank you for your assistance, Ms. Belladonna. I imagine you are happy with this turn of affairs."
"I think it's better than what we were dealing with before," said Blake, before frowning. "Sienna said that the White Fang would still be retaliating. I'm surprised you accepted that."
"One needs to know when not to demand concessions that cannot be given," said Ozpin. "Even if Ms. Khan was fully on-board with the notion, swerving the White Fang all the way back into pure non-violence would be an almost impossible course of action for the immediate future. The backlash from even the less-radical members of the organization would potentially result in the loss of her authority. By endorsing calls to violence, she has inadvertently crafted a situation where the angriest and loudest voices, though not necessarily the majority, have the most say. Trying to silence them outright would risk triggering rebellion amongst her subordinates. So she must alter course to give the moderates more vocal representation, to compensate for the volume of the radicals."
Blake nodded. "Do you think they can do it?" she asked.
"It will not be easy," said Ozpin. "It will take a considerable amount of work on their part to convince the Council to reconsider their designation. Embracing a new standard of behavior does not simply make their previous crimes vanish. It would be better if Ms. Khan could surrender the perpetrators of the worst violence to Beacon and Vale's custody. But that is not a possibility at the moment."
Blake nodded. The members who had been actively preparing for the attack on Vale had been all but slaughtered by Kyo. The remaining survivors had been rounded up by Ironwood's forces. Only Ilia had escaped, and Sienna wouldn't be surrendering her anytime soon, or so Blake hoped. Ideally, if there was some way for Sienna to turn over Adam, that would be for the best. However, Adam remained missing, his whereabouts unknown, even by his own people.
"Don't worry overly much, Ms. Belladonna," said Ozpin. "You and your friends have already done plenty. Enjoy your time as a student as much as you can."
"I'll try," said Blake.
Recognizing the dismissal for what it was, Blake took her leave, Ozpin once again having his office to himself. Ozpin frowned down at his desk, and the direct uplink it had to the CCT. He would have to be careful in his interactions with Sienna. He had only just switched out his previous scroll for one that had not been used to interface directly with the CCT yet, which would allow him to utilize it without exposing it to Watts' virus. Penny's father was working on a means to remove it. Until that was done, however, Ozpin would have to partition his work carefully.
Seating himself at his desk, he tapped the interface, bringing up the next matter of business. It didn't matter as much whether or not the virus exposed this particular bit of information, as it had come through official channels.
It seemed that Roman Torchwick was finally ready to talk. And Ozpin had a wonderful idea in mind for him.
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