Ruby POV.
2 weeks ago from today. Me and my team, along with other 2 guys, got involve in a...dangerous mission. A mission that...if i think about it, is a mission that went rather well, none of us suffer any injuries, and we managed to defeat the enemy and achieved our goal..to an extent. So..Go team RWBY! Yay!
...Anyway, that said, in that mission we still face problems that we weren't expect. But that's usually what happens in this kind of things huh. This mission involves the White Fang and a known criminal. And we were prepared for that. To face the White Fang, and to face a criminal that i have been running into more times than i would like. A criminal named Roman Torchwick.
We were prepared for that. But...things still got blown out of proportion. Enough for the police to come. We didn't expect that.
Which..now that i think about it, we should have really expected the police would come and be involve in all of this. So uh....oops.
But, luckily for us, a man came. A bloodied man from head to toe, wearing a straw hat. And if that's not enough for people to think 'whoa! A weird person just arrived!!'
This person also have a sword that you probably won't see anywhere, strapped on his back. It have thorn gripped and guard! It looks so cool !!...I wonder how he can fight with that. But sadly, i didn't find out.
Because, long story short, the man came, his hand exploded, bad guys got away, police came, the guy re-grow his arm, he introduced himself and told us that he'll handle everything.
To which he did....He just did it in a way that someone would say that it was a crime....No, scratch that, what he did was definitely a crime. That's not even up for debate.
Which makes things awkward, because now that i really think about it. What he did was unnecesarry. We would get in trouble, both from the police and from the school.
But...i got a feeling that because Proffesor Ozpin is...Professor Ozpin. He would have figure out a way to help us. And that we would only get away with a slap on the wrist. And so with that in mind, i don't think he needed to go that far, and make a story that Blake would describe as "Believable but forgettable".
He doesn't need to do that. But..he did. This is what i thought...at first. But i'll get into that later.
Anyway, his name is Y/n L/n. I have no idea who he is or where he came from. But, by the sound of it, he does knows me and Yang...from somewhere.
......
Anyway, after that day, after we read the story he make, and that the case have been closed shut. We were left to ponder who he is.
It feels like such a big mystery then. But that feeling was blown away not long after.
Because at the same day, a news start to spread out in Beacon. A news that said that there is a new teacher in Beacon.
When we heard that, for some reason, Mr.L/n's face popped up in our heads. We were curious and so we set out to see whether the news is true or not.
And a half hour after we set out, we were all proven correct!
We saw him clear as day, in the courtyard. He looks like he was searching for something.
Me and my team approached him.
"Uh...Mr.L/-" I said as me and my team approached him.
"Come on, you little shit..I know you're here somewhere....aha! Found you!!"
Suddenly from the nearby bushes comes out a dog, running away while carryng a baby by it's teeth.
"I'm gonna skin you alive with my bare hands!! Give me the damn baby!!" He said as he gives chase.
We remember standing there, not knowing how to react, and what to say. We can only see as Mr.L/n starts to dissapear from sight as he chase the dog.
The laughter of a baby rings in the distance.
....
In the end, the baby's fine. And apparently the baby was in fact, a second year that have been turned to a baby. We do not know why. We do not know how. But it happened.
We tried to reach out to him, when no one was around, but that was impossible. The guy just attracted attention.
Especially after all that baby event. So we thought that we just have to wait. When things die down, we can just confront him.
....But things didn't die down...more like it was merely resting. Until the the next 2 hour after the baby event, where a bathroom exploded.
BOOM!!!
You walk out the bathroom completely drenched.
"Wooee! You do not want to go in there!! Hahaha...oh..fuck everything...Where's the Janitor..? Jiminez? Jiminez!!"
And unlike the event that came before, we have no idea what happened. Mr.L/n didn't even explained himself to anyone. And we can only speculate.
After that the day goes on peacefully, nothing else blows up, and no student was babyfied. But Mr.L/n keeps moving around the school, and so it's hard to get ahold of him.
The only time when he stopped moving, was in the afternoon, when the sun is beginning to set. And Mr.L/n is smoking while sitting alone on a bench in the courtyard.
But seeing him, we didn't dare to approach him. Not because he seems particulary tired, or that he seems angry.
No...We left him alone, because he was literally on fire.
"*takes a deep breath*...*sighs like all of this is fine and normal*..."
Jiminéz the Janitor passed by, throwing a bucket of water at you. And putting out the fire and your ciggarete in the process.
"...Thanks, Jiménez"
"Si, Señor"
And so we all unimously and silently decided to left him alone.
.....And that was the end of day one.
We thought that the next day, would be more calm. Surely, the next day won't be as crazy.
...
We were wrong. Oh, so very wrong. The chaos, goes on and on. It feels like the norm got tossed to the wind, when Mr.L/n arrived at the scene.
Starting on day 4, whenever something blows up, or something chaotic happen, all of the student body will be like: 'Ah..Mr.L/n is there..'
Also, some started calling him 'Doctor' probably because of the nature of his job is almost like that of a therapist. Even though he's definitely not. So..that's kinda weird.
....Is doctor even the right term to call a therapist? Hm..I should look that up sometime..
There's also a student or two refer to him as 'Straw Hat Y/n'. Because sometimes, if Mr.L/n is on the outdoor, chances are he will be wearing his hat. And straw hats is kinda rare to see around these part. So that's probably the reason why some student call him that. And...it does kinda have a ring to it.
Soo...that's another thing about him.
....Why does he get such cool nicknames in such a short time?
Ugh...I can't help remember my first day here...Yikes, 'Crater Face'...What a mean name..
Anyway, on the 5th day, we finally managed to get ahold of him. And we can finally asked him about that day.
And the answer is...kinda confusing. Because to all of our surprise, Mr.L/n would play dumb.
"Oh i read about that in a newspaper! Yikes, that is some dangerous stuff. Vale have gotten so dangerous while i'm not around. You girls should try to be more careful when you're out there, okay?"
Was what he said.
For some reason, despite us asking him when no one is around, Mr.L/n refuses to just speak to us normally. He instead would talk about it in a roundabout way.
We quickly realised what he is doing, and so we follow suit.
It was...surprisingly, stressful and hard. He was playing and teasing us. Twisting our words. Despite him knowing what we want to ask, he would joke around.
..He's kinda mean....Smells kinda nice though..Hm..That's a creepy thing to thought...
Moving on!
Eventually, after he had his fill. He brought another topic. And that topic is my uncle.
"By the way, how is your uncle? Still drinking himself to a stupor? Oh, why do i even have to asked. Of course he is"
And that opening question, leads us to asked a new set of questions. Questions that he purposely lead us to an answer to our 2 main question. Which is 'why did he helped us' and 'who is he'.
And the two answers to that two questions can be summarised like this : 'I am a friend of your uncle, and i owe him a few favors'
My friend Blake find that answer to be...unsatisfying and kinda scary. And she got slightly riled up, but Mr.L/n, just scratch his head and said:
"Waa! What's with all the complaining?! I don't even have any idea what you're talking about...! You kids needs to relax. God, 90 percent of you Beacon kids are so freaking serious all the time!"
He seems so annoyed as he say that. He let out a sigh, and then, he said this to us:
"I mean come on now, you kids need to act more like kids. Enjoy your life a little! You're students! A 15 and 17 year old students. Act like one! Keep worrying...about whatever it is that black haired one talking about, and your youth will just flew on by. And before you know it, all of you will end up bald!"
"Hah!" Yang grabbed her head.
"Good reaction! Anyway, you don't want that, right? That would be a bit too sad, right?...Let us, adults worry about the messy stuff. You'll get your turn soon enough after all"
Hearing him say that, which is almost completely out of character, by the way. But putting that aside, i remember thinking: 'oh, was that the real main reason?'
And at that time i really started to think and when i do, i guess it is true that if we get caught by the police. We would get into a lot of trouble. Even if we only did get a slap on the wrist thanks to Professor Ozpin. I can see how we would then still be labeled as a 'problematic student' since news or rumors can travel fast. Even though we all would keep quiet about it. And the teachers would probably keep watch over us more.
So..I guess if we do get caught by the police, our school life would be a bit more..hectic. And we might lose a bit of our freedom.
And i'm sure that there is other things that will be a problem for us if we did get caught. Things that i just can't think of yet.
Was that what he wanted to avoid?
Hmm....In any case, after he said that he soon left to...do whatever it is, Mr.L/n have in mind at that time.
While me and my team never got the chance to talk to him in that day ever again.
I remember that that day, when we were back to our room, Blake would comment this about him: 'That man is completely insane'.
None of us said anything in respons to that. We all just...decided to put this all behind us, and move on. There is nothing we can do anyway. Even if we want to. We can't beat the story Mr.L/n have made. Not that we want to really.
This...is probably for the best.
.....
In any case, our life continues. Another day goes by, and then another, and then so on and so on.
And now, i am in the training room, thinking about all of this as i shoot an arrow with a bow.
My aim is quite good, and i always hit the mark.
Fwup!
Was the sound the arrow makes as it hits the target.
I let out a satisfied sigh.
This is not really my go to weapon. But i always find this weapon to be more... relaxing than my usual weapon. But of course, that said, Crescent Rose is still the best!
I picked up another arrow and as i am preparing myself to shoot. I find my eyes slowly wanders from the target and instead to the clock on the right side of the wall.
"Hm...I wonder if he'll come again today...." I mutter.
I sniff the air and exactly as i expected, i smell a very sweet, comforting smell. And following that smell, is the sound of the door swinging open.
"Yo!" A familiar male voice said.
I look over my shoulder and i see Mr.L/n, still wearing his usual jacket, but with same but different colored pants, and a pair of sandals. Minus the straw hat.
"Oh, hey, Mr.L/n...Came for another rematch?" I asked with a grin.
"Ooh, straight to the point! Love it..! And you are correct! A plus!...So do you got some time to spare?"
"Yup!"
"Awesome...!"
He walks to the weapon rack where there is another set of bows and arrows, provided kindly by Beacon.
"Now...I think you'll be surprised at how much i've improve...Because.."
He said as he picks up bows after bows, seemingly inspect it and to find the one that he thinks are good. He strung some of the strings of the bows. Eventually, using his own preference he picks one in bow in particular.
"...I've been practicing..!" He said.
"Oh, i see, too bad it won't do you any good...! Hehehe..!"
"Oh, that arrogance shall be your downfall, Ruby Rose..!"
"Bring it on..!"
He and i then engaged in a sporty archery match.
....
I won. It's not even a contest really.
"Khk!...T-this bow is also faulty! It's not my fault!" He said.
"Hmhmhm!" I puff my chess with pride.
I'm letting out a proud expression. Claiming my 4th victory over him.
"I thought you said you've been practicing~..? Hmmm..?" I teased.
He turns to look at me.
"S-stop it..!" He said.
"Whaaat?"
"Stop with that smug look on your face...I don't like it"
"Heehee~ speaking like a sore loser" I said.
"Hrr..!...I want another rematch... sometime..!"
"What? Another one?"
"Damn straight! We're gonna keep doing this until i win!"
"Oh, but that would take forever~!"
"W-what the- Nobody wins forever, kid!! That's a life lesson for ya!!"
"Ruby Rose does!...At least if my opponent is you. You..kinda suck at this"
"..!! Wanna change this ranged competition into a melee competition, kid? I'll kick your ass"
"Hehehehe! Nah, i think i'll stick to this for now. Thank you very much"
"Hrrm.."
"Anyway, since i won. Remember that the loser have to-"
"Yeah,yeah, collect all the arrows, bla-bla-bla" He said.
He takes a deep breath, and sigh. I saw as his eyes would dart towards the door.
I walk to the his line of sight towards the door.
"And no escaping this time..!" I said.
"..Tch!" He clicked his tongue.
He scratched his head. And he sigh.
"Hah...Whatever. I don't want to get strangled with a bow like last time anyway. You surprisingly strong, and violent child..! Who the hell do you take after..?"
"Hmph!" I puff my cheeks. And i didn't give him an answer.
Mr.L/n sighs. And he quietly collect all the arrows. And i stand there to make sure he did his end of the deal properly.
He doesn't look like he's enjoying this. Hehe, the face he's making reminds me how Yang would sulk when she lost a bet with me and she have to wash the dishes.
Hehehe...This all started 4 days ago. 2 days after we confront him.
Me and my team have just finished our class, and me and my team went here to train a bit.
After a while, they all left, while i want to just stay here for a bit longer and practice a little bit of archery and be left alone with my own thoughts.
Not long after they left, Mr.L/n came in. He said he was 'just wandering around the school'
And then...things just went on from there. And here we are.
And since i get to be alone with him and spend more time with him. I found out a lot about him.
And i have found that this person is...a very..calming..despite everything i've seen. And he is..what people would say...charismatic? I guess?
I found myself that it's all too easy to just speak to him about stuff. It surprises me. And i'm also surprised at how i would feel so calm everytime i'm near him.
...Dad warned me about people like that. Great criminals can exude an aura like that. And remembering that, i can't help but remember an antagonist of a show that i once watched.
That said, i truly feel that this person is not a 'bad person'. But...i will try to be careful anyway.
Anyway, he find out a few things about me. But i found a few thing about him too. Like, why is his sword look like that, and stuff. And i found that Mr.L/n is married....He was anyway. He is a widower....Just like my dad.
..And that makes me sad. And unlike dad, he doesn't have a children of his own. And he doesn't have any living relatives either.
...It must have been lonely. I can't imagine my life without Yang or dad.
Hmm...But one of the things that i wonder is, why doesn't have a ring on his finger?
I'm curious a bit. But, i don't think i should asked that.
Anyway, ever since that day, after we have our first archery competition that he lost. He said that he wanted a rematch.
I don't really mind that. A good, friendly competition is always nice, and he's quite the funny guy. So i don't really mind it too much.
Though...i hope he doesn't come all the time. Even i need my alone time.
But..i do wonder why he would keep challenging me. Seeing as how horrible he is at it. Guess, he just hates losing. He looks the type.
Ugh...and also he looks like he's the type to brag. And i think it's going to be annoying. I have to make sure i keep up my game!
Time passes, and Mr.L/n finished picking up all the arrows and he put it back to where it came.
"Hah..finally, all done. Stupid arrows. What a pain in the ass..." He said.
"Hehehe!" I giggled.
He raised an eyebrow at me. And then his lips curled to a slight smile.
"Heh.."
He let out a sigh while shaking his head lightly. And as he does that the expression of his face softens. But the expression he's wearing isn't really that of 'happiness'.
Ah..he is making that face again...
The expression he's wearing. I...just can't really describe it. But...he makes that face a lot. Mostly when no one's looking. But...as i walk around the school. And when i had the luck to see the after results of Mr.L/n's antics, and as the students are happy and amused, and Ms.Goodwitch is coming looking angry.
Sometimes in amidst that atmosphere of fun and chaos. He would make that face. His eyes would...look far to the distance. He is smiling, but..for some reason i feel like...he just looks kinda.. sad..It's something like that..
He makes that face too the first time i met him.
But..nobody ever noticed this. Since nobody confronts him about it. And that they all wouldn't comment on him or anything. I even asked my team about it. And they have no idea whay i'm talking about. Even though he would show such an expression more times than he probably wants to.
Hm..maybe i just have some talent in face reading.
In any case, for some reason, it makes my heart ache. I..almost just want to hug him.
I...really want to know what is going on in that head of his.
"..H-hey..." I said.
He turns to me, with a single eyebrow raised.
"Yeah?"
"I, umm..."
I rubbed my nape, the feeling of awkwardness is setting in.
"..N-nevermind. It's nothing.."
"Oh? It doesn't sound like nothing. What's wrong? You can tell me anything, you know? I am very good at keeping secrets..!"
"N-no i just..."
What can i say to relay these bad feelings in my chest, without making it sound too weird..?
"Um...I...I just hope that you're not pushing yourself too hard.."
He widen his eyes in surprised.
"O-oh..."
"Hm?"
Mr.L/n did not give out any respons. He seems to be at a lost for words.
Ah, that sounds like it came out of nowhere. I must've looked so weird..!
He's not saying anything..!
I avert his gaze. And then i hear him taking a deep breath.
"..Was that really what's on your mind?" He asked me.
"Y-yeah...i know it's weird. You know what, J-just forget i said anything!"
"...No.." He muttered.
"Huh?"
Suddenly he raised his hand and he put it over my head. I can feel the warmth of his hand spreading over my scalp. He ruffles my hair, the way i would ruffled my dog. His hand is blocking my view to his face.
"Heh. You're a few billion years too early before you can even start to think about worrying about me...! In fact, to tell you the truth, you being worried about me is just plain insulting. You absolute idjit"
I tried to push his hands away.
"That's not what i--!"
Suddenly, he pulls his hand away and he started to walk towards the door. My eyes follows him.
"...I'm gonna leave early, all right? Got some adult things to do. You go back to your friends, and do whatever you kids do these days. Buh-bye" He said before he left.
The door swings to a close. And just like that, i'm alone now...
"Oh..my hair's all messy now..."
I put my hand over my head. The warmth of his hand gives off, ever so slowly dissapears.
"Hmm..."