Ozpin POV:
After my reunion with Reed I return back to Beacon. It's the middle of the day so school is still in session. I head back into my office and see that Glynda did in fact take my place while I was gone.
Ozpin: "I found him."
Glynda. An older blonde woman with quite a body and an attitude that would make some people see her as either a dream woman or a nightmare.
Me? I don't think I could care less. I'm not that type of person.
Glynda: "Where was he? You told me just seemingly disappeared off the planet. There's no way you found him in public."
Ozpin: "Oddly enough, it was. Leaving a grocery story he frequently goes to. But that isn't the main part. I managed to get him into going with us tomorrow to see the new batch of Faunus."
Glynda puts her papers down and stands back up, crossing her arms with a confused and stern look on her face.
Glynda: "You seem oddly giddy about this. What's your motive? What do you gain from Reed going to one of these with us?"
Ozpin: "Why must you assume I have a grand plan behind everything? Perhaps I wish to take him under my wing and teach him how this world works. He's a sheltered boy after all."
Her look of confusion and suspicion grows and I can't blame her for that. But I did mean what I said. This isn't something I need for a big step in a plan. Perhaps I do actually want to become a mentor to him.
Glynda: "Right...what time tomorrow? I'll have to have a substitute for class depending on how long this is."
Ozpin: "8 am. Taking a bullhead to the cabin and going straight there. He was nice enough to tell us where it was."
She scratches the top of her head for a couple of seconds, thinking of her schedule for tomorrow.
Glynda: "I can make that work. Just promise not to grope the Faunus this time? At least not while I'm looking. I know there's no rule saying you can't but you know my own thoughts on these unfortunate creatures."
She grabs her work and scroll from the desk and heads to the elevator. The door closes and I'm left alone in silence.
Finally. Peace and quiet.
I sit back in my desk and pull up a few folders full of names and information, some as part of the school and some being so far from legal that it's humorous.
I open a folder with the third year students in them and pull out two specific ID's.
Ruby Rose- 3rd Year.
Yang Xiao Long- 3rd Year.I move Yang's to the side and pull out ID's of graduates from all the different classes over the years. One specific ID is all I need.
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...
There it is.
Summer Rose- Graduated.
Now the illegal part.
I open a personal folder of potential clients I've gathered over the years. One of them being our friend Reed. I pull out a picture of him that I had an acquaintance take and put it alongside the other two.
Reed Rose(?) - Potential Missing Rose.
The similarities are uncanny. Even when seeing his silver eyes I could tell something was up, but with this? Heh. You'd need to be an idiot to not be able to tell.
Looks like Tai will be receiving some good news for once. If Reed somehow isn't them and this is just a major coincidence then I need to give up this search.
8 years of constant calls and pleas to find him. At some point they'll need to call it quits. I grab my scroll and call one of the members of STRQ, Tai Xiao Long.
After a single set of rings, I hear a voice.
Tai: "Ozpin! You don't normally call first! Do you have anything? Please tell me so."
Ozpin: "A son named Reed, twin brother of Ruby Rose, correct? With silvers eyes? That was the description you gave me."
Tai: "Yes yes yes, all the features of his mother and twin sister. Why...?" He asks with curiosity. Perhaps he knows where this is going. I don't know, he's an oaf.
I clear my throat and clearly speak.
Ozpin: "Then we may be in luck. This kid has been spotted in plazas and stores in Vale. He lives out in a cabin by himself in the outskirts of Patch. He's quite a tough kid. At first I thought it wasn't him due to his green eyes...but I was mistaken. I saw his real eyes today. A bright shiny silver just like Ruby and Summer. His hair is even quite similar. He has it in a bun but that hasn't stopped me from catching hints of red. Perhaps I could set up some form of meeting to truly confirm if this is him. But Tai. I think this will be the final time we speak of this matter. If somehow this isn't your son, you need to give up. I don't know the reason as to why he ran but he wouldn't run away for no reason. A child who gets lost would eventually be found and come back home. If this is YOUR Reed, I'll get my answers."
Tai was silent for what felt like a lifetime, until I heard him choke up a sob.
Tai: "...thank you so much Ozpin. This means so much to me and my family. You may not have noticed but my daughters miss him so much. Summer hasn't been the same since he left either. She's been the most hurt out of all of us. I'll tell her and Qrow later. I won't tell the girls yet because I don't want to get their hopes up. But again...thank you so much Ozpin. I'll talk to you soon I hope."
He hangs up and I take a sip from my mug, leaning back in my chair and looking towards the ceiling.
Ozpin: "This is going to be an interesting week."
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Reed POV:
After cooking myself a homemade pizza in the oven, I bring it into the living room and turn the TV on, getting myself comfortable for the night.
I've had to steal some things to make my life a bit better here but, well, it all worked out in the end. I barely had entertainment when I first started living here but I have a full TV and cable box set up. It could be more ideal but at least I have something now.
The Trade.
Why did I agree to that? I could have just said no and be done with it...
...fuck it. I'm too curious now.
I grab my laptop from next to my seat and set it on my lap. I go into a search browser and decide to do my own bits of research on how these work.
...
...
I could barely get through the first couple paragraphs on this website before getting bored and putting my laptop away.
Seems it'll be a thing that's more interesting in person. But I did learn some things from the bit I did read.
The treatment of the Faunus during this new period isn't universal. Some people with Faunus slaves keep them as literal pets, some treat them as a maid, some treat them as door mats...
If I had one...what would I do?
I don't have any hard feelings against them. So I guess if they didn't hate me and I don't hate them...I could make their life not as hellish.
The idea of just buying someone though isn't super exciting. All my hard earned money from very legal sources going into an animal human hybrid? Just seems off to me.
Heh. I can't judge the world. I shouldn't have even happened. I'm not connected to this world either. I live in a cabin in the middle of the forest and I didn't even know this conflict happened.
What say do I have in this? Nothing.
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Next Chapter: Glimmer of Hope.