Strong like a Rose (Ozpin’s Little Rose) ON AN INDEFINITE HIATUS

by Plutoplutonium

Summary:

What if Qrow the real father of Ruby Rose and Taiyang agrees to play the role of the girl’s father to keep her safe? What if Ozpin was Summer Rose's father making him the grandfather of Ruby Rose? What if he chose to stay away from Ruby after Summer's death to keep her off of Salem’s radar? What if after all this time, Ozpin finally gets to see his granddaughter again?

Story adopted from sakuralovelight on FanFiction.net

Chapters 1-24 are co-written with them.

Notes:

• Inspired by Ozpin’s Little Rose by Sakuralovelight

This is not my original story. I adopted it from l sakuralovelight on FanFiction.net. The original story was titled “Ozpin’s Little Rose.”

Chapters 1-24 are co-written with them.

Chapter 1: A Reunion

Ozpin was in his office when he got the call from Glynda. He picked up the phone.

"Yes Glynda what is it?" the old man asked.

It took a moment before she responded. "Yes, sorry to bug you this late, but do you remember the dust robbery you sent me out to stop today?"

He thought back through his day for a moment trying to recall the facts. "Yes, I do recall. Why? Did Torchwick get away from you?"

Glynda sighed. "Something like that, you see when the criminals attempted to rob the store there was a young girl in the shop. They tried to rob her as well, and well, she fought back."

Upon hearing this Ozpin began to worry, he still didn't know how Roman had managed to get away. His attention then turned to the girl Glynda had mentioned. Was the girl injured? Was she receiving medical attention?

"The girl, is she alright?" Ozpin asked, concern riddling his aged face.

"She’s fine, she’s actually at the police station right now. The police think she was in the wrong for fighting back. I’ll admit I don’t necessarily disagree. However, we must take into consideration that she was only trying to defend herself. At least this was the case until she decided it was a good idea to pursue Torchwick."

"Oh really now?" Ozpin asked. His Curiosity was evident in his voice.

He took a sip from his coffee, he had a feeling he was going to need it for this conversation.

"Yes really, and that's not even the strangest part of it. Oz, she fights just like Qrow. Her weapon is a scythe mixed with a rifle. Sound familiar?"

Oz spat out his coffee, causing himself to choke in the process.

Glynda handed him a glass of water.

“It can't be.” He thought to himself. There was no way it could be her.

"Glynda, did you manage to catch do you know the name of this girl?"

"I did. Her name is Ruby Rose."

Ozpin felt his heart stop upon hearing the name. Ozpin knew the girl well once upon a time. Many of his summers were spent visiting the girl.

Unfortunately, after the girl’s mother, Summer went missing, he stopped visiting altogether. If he had continued he feared his presence would have only put Ruby in danger.

Salem was out for revenge against Ozpin and his organization. Ozpin knew she would go to any length to make him pay.
Especially when she had gone as far as to murder Summer. Ozpin knew she wouldn’t stop there. He knew that if she had been after Summer that she would be after her daughter as well.

Because of this Oz chose to distance himself from the young Rose, his presence would’ve only put a bigger target on the girl’s back.

This decision led him and one of his closest associates to keep their distance.

Specifically, a dusty old crow.
While he visited the girl frequently, Ruby's biological father had found it best to choose a similar path. This means the girl wouldn’t know he was her father but instead, as her uncle that visits from time to time

Ozpin thought about Qrow. He knew that limited contact with his daughter and niece was taking a toll on the man.

Unfortunately, that remained the case until Ruby and Yang were old enough to attend Signal Academy. When that day did arrive it appeared that the second the girl stepped into his classroom, Qrow had taken it upon himself to train the small Rose

At that, Ozpin remembered Glynda’s mention of Ruby’s weapon. So Ruby used a scythe/rifle hybrid?

This didn’t surprise him in the slightest. He had no doubt in his mind that Qrow had been teaching Ruby how to use a scythe.

Ozpin's thoughts slowly moved away from Salem. She didn't matter at the moment. His main concern was to make sure Ruby was alright.

“Glynda I'm on my way over. Please, make sure the police aren't bothering the girl."

Glynda was not at all surprised that this was Ozpin's choice. This was the whole reason why she called him in the first place.
Ozpin had a habit of recruiting young fighters who had found themselves in similar situations as Miss Rose. He liked to talk to young fighters to see if they would be a good fit at Beacon Academy. If this was the case he would then invite them to join Beacon Academy as students.

"I understand. I'll speak to her personally."

"Good. I'll be there soon."

Before leaving, Ozpin opened his desk drawer and pulled out a small box. He left his office with the box in hand and headed to his car. The box contained the cookies he would bring Ruby when he used to visit.
“I hope that she still likes them.”

The cookies were chocolate chip. The girl’s favorite as of the last time he saw her. However, these were not normal chocolate chips in the cookies. They chips were chocolate truffles. They were definitely more expensive than the average chocolate chip cookie but the extra money was worth the smile that would appear on the girl’s face when she received them.

Ozpin had loved to spoil Ruby when she was younger and would visit her and Summer.

Despite his physical absence in her life he still found ways to spoil the young girl. He did so by mailing her birthday and Christmas presents on their respective dates. To keep his identity secret, Oz just never put his name on any of the gifts after his daughter Summer died.

The old man didn't want Ruby to know that they were in fact, related and that Oz had been a large part of the girl’s early years.

Despite not being able to see her, Ozpin would still buy the girl’s favorite cookies and eat them. Even though the man hated chocolate chip cookies he just couldn't help it. The cookies brought back memories of his granddaughter that were just so enthralling.

Ozpin half regrets never sending the girl a box. However, it was best for the girl’s own safety that she didn't remember him. He hoped that by this point she would have had no memory of him at all.

He honestly didn’t even know why he brought the cookies with him. Maybe it was because the girl was much younger than the students he normally interacts with, and he thought the cookies would calm her down.
...

Ozpin texted Glynda he had arrived the moment he reached the police station.
As he walked in he could immediately make out Glynda’s voice lecturing the young Rose.

"What you did today put you and others in grave danger!” Glynda told the 15-year-old sternly.

"They started it!" Came out a squeaky voice.

"If it were up to me I would send you home with a pat on the back."

Ruby sighed. She was going to be okay. They weren’t going to send her to jail!

Glynda gave her a deadly look. "And a slap on the wrist."

"Ah!" At that moment Glynda slapped her crop on the table which caused Ruby to squeak.

Goodwitch noted that Ozpin was at the door waiting for her to let him in. “However, that won’t be the case this time Miss Rose. There is someone here who wants to see you.”

“Please be Yang or Uncle Qrow! Anyone but Dad.” She whispered to herself. She couldn’t stand to see her dad’s face when he found out how much trouble she had gotten into.

 

The woman stepped aside to allow Ozpin into the room. To the woman’s surprise. Ozpin was carrying a plate of chocolate chip cookies. Something the man notoriously despised. As far as Glynda knew. Ozpin never gave prospective students sugary foods. The whole situation felt off to her.

The headmaster took a seat and looked at the girl who looked so much like his late daughter. His eyes widened.

"Ruby Rose, you have silver eyes." He didn’t understand why he was shocked by that. It was truly a dumb thing to say.

“Why did I ask her that? She’s always had silver eyes!” He thought, as he internally brought his palm to his face.

Ruby wasn’t sure what to think about Professor Ozpin, the headmaster of Beacon Academy. That moment didn’t help.

“So where did you learn to do this?" He asked, turning the screen of Glynda’s tablet to face the girl.

The tablet showed the video of Ruby's fight against Torchwick.

"S-Signal Academy" was Ruby's timid reply

"They taught you to use one of the most dangerous weapons ever designed?"

"Well, one teacher in particular."

Ozpin set the plate of cookies down on the table. "I see" was Ozpin's thoughtful reply.

It took Ruby less than a second after tasting the sugary treat to grab another.

The cookie tasted familiar, not necessarily in flavor but the texture. It brought back old memories from when she was a small child. Memories of her mother and her grandfather.

After that Ruby began stuffing her face with cookies.

"It's just I've only seen one other scythe-wielder of that skill before, a dusty old crow."

With her mouth still full of cookies Ruby talked spoke up. "Mmmm, Thash Muh unkul! (That's my uncle!)”

At seeing Ruby talking with her mouth full Ozpin raised his eyebrows. “What kind of manners has Taiyang been teaching her?” He wondered.

As soon as Ruby heard her garbled words she wiped her face and tried again. "Sorry, that's my Uncle Qrow! He’s a teacher at Signal. I was complete garbage before he took me under his wing, and now I'm all like Hooowaaah! Witchaaa!"

Ruby was moving her arms about and it reminded Oz of when Ruby and Yang were younger and would play fight with each other. Poor Ruby always struggled to keep up with Yang. Yang would often get carried away and go too far which would require Qrow or Oz to step in. As soon as Ruby was done moving comically Oz spoke again.

"So I've noticed."

He then sat down in front of her. "And what is an adorable girl such as yourself doing at a school designed to train warriors?"

"Well," Ruby whispered before pausing for a second.

"I want to be a huntress."

"You want to slay monsters?"

"Yeah, I only have two more years of training at Signal, and then I'm going to apply to Beacon."

"You see, my sister's starting there this year, and she's trying to become a huntress, and I'm trying to become a huntress 'cause I want to help people, my parents always taught us to help others, so I thought, 'Hey I might as well make a career out of it'"

She let out a little giggle before accelerating her speech again,

Watching the girl ramble about being a huntress reminded him of Summer.

When Ruby appeared to have finished, Ozpin continued with his questions. "Do you know who I am?" He asked

"You’re Professor Ozpin. you're the headmaster of Beacon."

"Hello"

"Nice to meet you."

"So you want to come to my school?"

"More than anything."

“She’s just like her mother alright.” Ozpin thought. He looked towards Glynda who just rolls her eyes.

Ignoring his colleague's opinion he turned to Ruby.

"Well okay."

Ruby began to smile a wide smile and was about to jump for joy. But Ozpin interrupted her before she could start.
"Now Miss Rose, I'm sure your family is worried about you. So why don't you go home and tell them the good news?
Oh! And give your father this letter for me. You'll leave with your sister to go to Beacon the day after tomorrow.”

"Oh, right I almost forgot what time it is. Thank you, Professor Ozpin." With that Ruby took the letter and ran off to go home.

"I still don't understand why you do this, Ozpin." His colleague spoke.

"Glynda, we may be at a time of peace but you know that Salem could make a move at any moment. With Miss Rose having silver eyes they are going to hunt her down."

"Besides, Qrow taught her himself. She already fights at a high level. Especially for her young age. Based on that video she is more than ready for Beacon.

I would rather have her start at Beacon early rather than be held back. After all, you know that the last thing I wish to see in any student is wasted potential."

Glynda nodded toward Ozpin in agreement.

As Ozpin began to make his way towards the door he was stopped with one final question. "Professor Ozpin. Wait, why did you bring her those cookies? You’ve never done that with students in the past.”

Ozpin stopped for a second considering his answer.

"I just happened to have them in my office and thought they'd calm her down. You know, just a small treat for all the stress you and the police must have put the poor girl through."

"But you hate chocolate chip cookies why would you even have them in your office?"

At hearing this Ozpin stopped and looked at her. "Those types of chocolate chip I make an exception to.” Please don’t ask why. He thought to himself.

Glynda nodded her head and with that, the two made their way back to Beacon.

Chapter 2: What do you mean you didn't tell Qrow!?

Summary:

Ruby is getting to leave for Beacon. Someone neglected to tell Qrow his daughter was going to be attending school early. A decision that manages to blow up in Ozpin's face

Later that night, Ozpin was in his room getting ready for bed when his scroll began ringing.
The old man had a funny feeling that it was one of two people calling him about Ruby. He just wasn’t sure which one.

Ozpin Picked up his scroll and looked at the caller ID. It was Taiyang.
“Hello, Tai.”

"Oz, are you sure about this?"

Ozpin let out a sigh. He should’ve expected this.
"You mean letting Ruby come to my school two years early? Yes, I am positive.
I saw the video of her fighting Roman Torchwick. I even sent a copy to Ironwood and he agrees with me that she is ready. I promise I’m not playing favorites, Tai. She needs to be ready for a not-so-forgiving world.
Salem is starting to make her move. If I wait two more years the chances of Salem would finding her will be even higher. She could have her killed before I or anyone else could do a thing about it.
At least if Salem does find her sooner than I think then I can at least keep an eye on Ruby here at Beacon, trust me, her safety here is more assured than if she were to stay at Signal." Ozpin paused to let Taiyang share his opinion.

"What about Qrow?" was the younger man's question, Ozpin thought it over for a second before answering.

"As soon as Qrow comes back from his mission I can start to work on transferring him, from teaching at Signal to teaching here at Beacon." He sighed.

“That’s not what I meant and you know that.”

"This is for the best. I already lost Summer and Lunar to Salem. I'm not going to let her take my only granddaughter.

Tai sighed. "If you think that it is for the best then I'm with you on this. Speaking about the silver-eyed warriors, are you going to give her the watch?"

Ozpin looked down at the watch Taiyang was talking about. It was a silver pocket watch that had his family emblem on it, a single cog that he personally imprinted on the watch's face. when he first made it. Below his symbol, on the opposite side was his wife's emblem. Lunar Rose. Summer had adopted the mark as her own, much like her daughter had. The rose.

He added the mark after he married Lunar. At first glance, it was a normal pocket watch. However, if you pushed the little button, the watch would open up and you would see a perfectly normal watch face. But few people knew that if you push the button again it would open again from behind the clock. Behind the mechanisms were two gems one green and one red.

The green gem has recordings and memories of each person that has ever owned the watch even if they were no longer in possession of the watch. The red gem had recordings of Lunar teaching Summer the ways of the 'Silver-Eyed Warrior'. He added the red gem as a contingency plan in case Summer ever had children of her own and if something were to happen to her or Lunar they were able to teach their offspring through the watch. It was unfortunate that this was the case for Ruby.

The plan was for Qrow to teach Ruby how to fight like him when she got into Signal, which Qrow has done to a commendable level. Then when Ruby came to Beacon Oz would introduce her to his order.

The other Headmasters within the order had agreed to this, but they were all under the impression that Ozpin would wait until the girl was 17 before admitting her into Beacon.

"I don't know," Ozpin thought "I might wait until she is settled in before telling her"

That would have to be for the best. He thought before deciding to turn in for the night

"Alright, Tai it was nice talking to you." He said.

"Oh before I go, how did Qrow take the news about Ruby going to Beacon this year?"

Ozpin paused. He should’ve seen this coming.

"He doesn't know yet… He has been on a secret mission and has not called me yet. I'll let him know as soon as he makes contact."

Ozpin could feel Taiyang rolling his eyes through the phone.

"Are you sure you don't want to call him now and give him the news? You know how he gets when he is left in the dark. And you and I both know that It will be worse when he finds out it is about Ruby."

Oz thought about it for a moment. "Yes, I'm sure. The mission he is on is way too dangerous for me to call out of the blue. Either he calls me when he is in a safe place or he finishes the mission and comes home. When that’s the case, I'll tell him."

 

"Alright if you are sure about this, I'll get going then. Good night Ozpin."

"Night Tai."

Ozpin grab the pocket watch and clicked the button two times then he tapped the green gem and a memory popped up. It was the day Ruby Rose was born. Summer was holding Ruby in the hospital bed with a smile on her face. "Look Ruby it's your grandpa say hi to Grandpa."

At that moment Ruby opened her eyes looked at Ozpin and started to reach out to him wanting to be held by him. Oz did eventually pick her up, which caused her to giggle. Both the Ozpin of the past and present smiled. Ozpin of the present thought about Salem and how Ruby was now a student of his school.

"I promise you, Summer, the fate you suffered, will not be inflicted upon your daughter."

And with that Ozpin closed the pocket watch and went off to bed.

...

The next day Ruby was running around their house getting ready to go to Beacon when Yang grabbed her. "Yang what are you doing." The younger girl squealed.

"Trying to calm you down. Ruby, we are not leaving until tomorrow. You have plenty of time to pack up what you need and want to bring to Beacon."

"Yeah, you're right I'll slow down."

And with that Ruby started to pack at a much slower pace. When remembered the cookies that Ozpin had given her.

"Hey Yang, do you remember Grandpa from Mom's side? He would give me boxes of cookies."

"Oh, you mean granduncle?"

"No, I mean Grandpa. He was the one who gave me the cookies, not a granduncle." Replied Ruby.

"No, I remember the guy who always gave you those chocolate chip cookies. Dad always had me call him granduncle something. I can’t remember his name but I know I struggled with it as a child so I would just call him Granduncle. I've been calling him that ever since l was like three years old."

"That can't be true, I’ve been calling him Grandpa ever since I could talk. Dad never told me to call him anything else."

"Well, that is odd. I wonder why? Anyways why do you ask?"

"Well Professor Ozpin gave me a plate of chocolate chip cookies and they tasted exactly like those cookies."

Yang paused for a second, confusion gracing her face.

"Wait, I thought those cookies had been discontinued Dad never got them for you. Not even when you asked for them for your birthday."

"I know" Ruby replied "But Professor Ozpin had them or something that tasted like them."

"Okay. That is a little weird Ruby."

Just then Ruby's scroll began to ring so she picked it up. "Hello."

"Hey, kiddo how's it hanging?"

"Uncle Qrow!"

Silence accompanied the scroll for a second.

"Okay Ruby, I missed you too but you don't need to yell in the scroll."

"Sorry, but guess what!?”

"What is it kiddo?"

Qrow took a swig from his flask. "Yesterday I got to meet Professor Ozpin and he is letting me to go Beacon this year!"

At that moment Qrow spat out his drink in a way very similar to the way Ozpin had the night before. "Okay, I think I need to stop drinking. Because I thought I just heard you say you are going to Beacon this year?"

"Nope, Uncle Qrow! Ruby really is going to Beacon with me this year." Yang replied.

Qrow was not happy, sure he looked happy, but he only kept a smile for Ruby and Yang. "Oh, really now? That’s great kiddo. I'm sure you'll have a great time."

"I hope so. I'm a little worried that some of the other students might treat me differently though." Ruby said in a more meek voice.

"Just do your best, and kid?"

"Yes, Uncle Qrow?"

"I'm sure you'll be fine."

At hearing this Ruby smiled and nodded her head. "I will do my best."

"Look, I need to get going, see you soon"

"Okay bye, Uncle Qrow."

"See you later Qrow."

"See ya..."

With that, Qrow hung up and dialed Ozpin's number.

Ozpin was in his office when he saw Qrow’s name flash on his phone. He picked up his scroll. "Well hello Qrow so nice of you to call."

"Don't act as if everything is alright! Why did you let Ruby into Beacon a whole two years early?!" Qrow yelled into the scroll microphone. Like father, like daughter.

On hearing that Oz began to wish that he had called Qrow last night, instead of having to deal with his angry son-in-law.
“Did Tai call and tell you? I told him that you were not to be distracted."

"No, I called Ruby just before calling you. She told me that she met you last night and you gave her 'the okay' to go to Beacon early." Qrow paused for a second
"How could you do this without calling me first and asking if I was okay with it? I don't care if I'm on a mission or not. I have the right to know what happens in Ruby's life!"

"Qrow," Ozpin said quietly.

"No Oz!" was his response. "You are not putting her in any danger. She is my daughter, even if she doesn't know it she's still my little girl. I'm not going to lose her like I lost Summer!"

"I don't want her to end up like Summer either Qrow," Ozpin said with a stern and intimidating voice, "She is safer at Beacon, you know this."

At that moment Qrow froze remembering that Ozpin was Summer's father. That Ozpin was still hurting from Summer's death just like he was still hurting from it.

"Oz look I'm sorry. I, I just don't want Ruby to get hurt."

"I know Qrow, but please hear me out."

The line was silent until Qrow spoke up. "Fine, tell me everything."

"First of all did Ruby tell you how she and I met yesterday?"

"No, she was just so hyped up about going to Beacon."

"Well, yesterday she was in a dust shop looking at a magazine about weapons when the store got robbed by Roman Torchwick."

"Oh great" Qrow interrupted, "I think I know where this is going. She fought him didn't she?"

"She did, although Roman did get away."

At hearing that Qrow smiled. "So how much butt did she kick?"

"She knocked out all the thugs that Roman had with him."

"That's my girl," Qrow whispered with pride.

"Yes, well I see that. After all, you did teach her your fighting style."

"Of course I did, she’s my little girl, this was always the plan. But I thought I would get to teach her for two more years. You know, before she goes to Beacon." Qrow said with sarcasm dripping from his tone.

"Yes well from what I saw you taught her well, well enough that she is ready for Beacon, which is what I wanted to talk with you about".

The line went silent once again.

"Qrow, I want you to work here at Beacon" Upon saying the words Ozpin heard the sounds of coughing and wheezing, he smiled, knowing that he had just made Qrow inhale his drink.

"What!?" Qrow managed to say before continuing to push the burning liquid from his lungs.

"I want you to work at Beacon. To teach students how to better themselves, and to be a supporting person towards Ruby, she will need all the help she can get."

Silence met the air.

"And if Beacon were to be attacked, then you could assist in its defense" Ozpin concluded.

"Fine. You win, she can go to Beacon. By the way, does she know who you are to her and does she have the watch yet?"

Ozpin sighed, "Why do you and Tai keep asking about the watch? And no, Ruby doesn't know anything about me except that I'm the headmaster of Beacon. And I plan to keep it that way for the time being. I’m waiting until she is settled in at Beacon before I hand over the watch as is a very large responsibility."

"Alright fine, I need to get going Oz, see you around."

"Yes. Good day Qrow."

And with that, the two ended the call.

Chapter 3: The Locket

Summary:

Ruby and Yang talk to their father to clear up the confusion regarding Ruby's grandfather.
Ruby realizes something.

Ruby and Yang stood in their room picking up the last of the things they needed to pack for Beacon.

"So, what were we talking about before Uncle Qrow called?" Asked Yang, she rubbed the top of her head and looked out the window, the sun had come up about an hour prior, but the clouds meant that room was dark.

"We were talking about how the cookies that Professor Ozpin gave me tasted like the cookies Grandpa use to get me," Ruby said.

"You mean Granduncle," Yang replied.

Ruby pouted. "Yang! Are we really going through with this again?"

"Well, we could go to Dad and ask him who is right?" Was Yang's reply.

"Alright fine let's go ask him!" Ruby said as she and Yang made for the door.

The two went downstairs where Taiyang was making breakfast, the light was obscured by the clouds and made the place seem a little disturbing, the cold biting their skin didn’t help to ease their discomfort.

"Dad we need to ask you something," Ruby asked as she approached the man.

"Sure girls what is it?" Taiyang replied with a smile on his face.

"Well, do you remember Grandpa? He used to give me cookies when I was around 3, remember?" Ruby asked in her meek little voice.

At that moment Tai's smile faded, and his expression portrayed a mix of fear and caution.

Oz you didn't! He thought. Panic flooded his brain. Why would you give her those cookies? Ruby never forgets the taste of any sweets! What do I tell her? Why can’t Qrow be the one to deal with this? He was always better than lying than me.
Tai was lost in thought for a sizable amount of time, trying his best to come up with an excuse.

"Um, Dad are you okay?" Yang asked, concern riddling her face.

"Oh, what? Yeah, I'm fine Yang. And yes, Ruby. I remember him and the cookies. Why do you ask, do you want me to try and get them again?"

"Well no, that's not it. You see, we were wondering who he was to us?"

Tai was at a loss for what Ruby meant. "I'm sorry?" He asked, seeking some sort of clarification.

"Well, you see I remember him as Grandpa," Ruby said.

"But I always called him Granduncle. So we were wondering who is right on this?"

Tai let out a sigh of relief that this was their question. This he could work with.

"Okay, you both know that you two have different moms by blood right?" Tai asked. They both nodded.

"Well, Ruby's Grandpa was like an Uncle to me so before you were born I would have Yang call him Granduncle as he was Summer’s father and Summer and I weren’t together at the time. I guess by the time Ruby came around, I had just gotten used to telling you to call him that.

He then rubbed the back of his head, "When Ruby was born, Summer would just refer to him as 'Grandpa' whenever Ruby was around" Tai said as he gestured to his younger daughter. “I never thought about correcting Yang on the matter.”

Both girls nodded at that.

"Great, now then let's have some breakfast shall we?"

Eager for their breakfast, both girls made a mad dash to the kitchen table.

…

Later that night Ruby was in her room, Yang had finished her shower and had turned in for the night, leaving Ruby in her room.

She thought about what her father had told her and Yang. If she was being entirely honest, her dad’s response only gave her more questions than answers. She didn't 100% believe his story,

Wouldn't her father think about correcting Yang after he married Summer? Surely it would have been easier to have both siblings call her Grandfather 'Grandpa'.

Especially considering that her parents never intended on telling them that they weren't full siblings. No, they had to find that out for themselves.

In a way, it made the two siblings paranoid when they grew up, if their parents lied to them previously about the two sister's parentage, then who’s to say they were lying about other things?

It certainly didn't help that that wasn't the first time Ruby had realized she was being lied to.

Ruby looked down at her Locket. It was a silver locket shaped like a rose. She had it since birth, It was her first gift from her grandfather and her only tangible memory of the man. He had made her the locket himself. What made the locket special was that instead of having a picture inside of it, it had a green gem shaped like a cog. In the center of the cog was a small ruby. When she would touch the ruby gem, an angel with silver wings would appear. She wore a lovely starlet red dress and had long black hair with a rose braid on the right side of her head along with bright silver eyes.

A song would begin to play and would play a recording of her mother singing a lullaby. This Lullaby was one of Ruby’s favorites. Dad says that Ruby’s Grandmother would sing it to her mother, Summer when she was an infant. The angel would start to dance around as an array of rose petals fell around her, similar to a snow globe.

After Summer passed, Tai would use the locket to put Ruby to sleep.

This was where Ruby's paranoia began. Ruby had discovered something unique about the green gem inside the cog. When she pressed the top half of the cog it would click allowing you to control who was singing the song. It would show the name of who was singing each version of the song. When you pressed the right side of the gem the name would say, Mom, Then it would say Dad, then Grandma, and after that Grandpa. Then it would just repeat as it cycled through different lullabies.

The last song that was put in was from her Grandpa, it was all four of them singing the original lullaby as a group. Each time the same angel would dance to the song.

And that was what caused Ruby's original paranoia. When she would select her father’s version of the song it didn't sound like Taiyang. The voice was more gravelly and deeper than his normal voice.

When Ruby realized this, she went to her dad and asked him to sing her mother’s lullaby. He told her he couldn't remember the song, that he would just open the locket, sit it next to her then leave the room for it to play.

It was a poorly executed falsehood, to say the least. She knew that her father rarely forgot anything like that, especially if it had significance to Summer.

Ruby said it was okay and that she would be fine if he sang a different song. She came to regret that though, her father didn't sound like anything like the man who sang in the locket. In fact, she was pretty sure a Grimm could sing better than Taiyang.

That was the start of her confusion. It had crossed Ruby's mind that Tai may not be her real father, she loved him, truly, but she occasionally felt disconnected from him, especially when he was obviously lying.

She never told Tai or Yang about her theory. She kept that to herself, afraid that she might hurt her father or her sister, in one way or another.

Luckily, Ruby was unlike Yang when it came to her mom. Ruby wasn't planning to go looking for her dad or her Grandpa. When she first realized that she might not be Tai's daughter, she wondered why her real dad would leave her with him. She also wondered if this was related to her Grandpa's sudden absence from her life. Ruby never did get her answer to that, still, she didn't want to pursue it any further.

Yang said in the doorway. Clearly, she hadn’t gone to sleep as Ruby had thought.

"Oh! you're playing Mom's song."
"Yeah, I have a lot on my mind right now so I thought hearing her voice would help me sleep," Ruby replied. "Wait, I thought you were asleep, you took a shower half an hour ago?" She asked

"I was just thinking" Yang replied, letting out a large yawn.

"Good night Ruby."

"Good night Yang."

...

Ozpin was about to lock up his office for the night when his watch fell out of his pocket. He grabbed it before it hit the ground. He checked it for damage before opening it up and touching the green gem. It played a memory that he had been thinking about for some time.

It was the day he, his wife, Summer, and Qrow were all singing Summer's old lullaby.

It was for the locket that going to be given to Ruby.

Everyone but Qrow was having fun with it. Qrow was a very good singer and had he not been determined to become a huntsman, he could have definitely made a very successful career out of it, but he never did have that same motivation for singing.
Ozpin watched as Qrow put his hand gently on Summer's stomach. At that, he began to pour his heart into the song. Ozpin closed the pocket watch and locked up his office.
"I wonder if she still has that locket." he thought as the elevator door closed behind him.

Notes:

Hey, thank you for all the love on this story so far. As previously stated, this is not my original story. I adopted it from Sakuralovelight on Fanfiction.net. My goal is to get at least one of the original chapters uploaded here per day. The chapters are almost exactly the same as those in the original, I just tweaked a few things which is why I said the first 24 chapters are co-written with the original authors.

Thank you again for all of the support :)

Chapter 4: Welcome to Beacon Academy

Summary:

Ruby arrives at Beacon. What new friends (or foes...) await her?

The night had passed quietly, The next morning, Ruby and Yang boarded an airship to take them to Beacon Academy. Ruby was currently being crushed in a giant hug from Yang. She attempted to wiggle herself out of her sister’s arms but Yang wouldn’t budge.

“Yaaang” she squeaked. “Let me go!”

Yang released her. "I’m sorry Rubes! I just can't believe my little sister is coming to Beacon with me! I thought we would only get two years together! Hearing that we get four instead is so exciting! This is the best day ever!"

“Yang, please stop.” Ruby barely managed to say.

"Oh, what's wrong with you? You get to go to Beacon a whole 2 years early! You are going to be like a super-girl!"
"I don't want to be Supergirl or any of that. I want to be a normal huntress girl going to school."

"What's wrong with you I thought you'd be happy about this?"

Ruby paused, taking a moment to consider her response, "I am, it's just, I don't want others to see me as anything special or treat me any differently."
"But you are special Ruby," Yang said as she pulled her sister into a side hug.
“Yang! No more hugging!’

The two girls stayed silent for a while, watching the news on the monitor. It showed a mug shot of Roman Torchwick, as well as clips of Ruby fighting the thugs that Roman had with him.

It made Ruby uncomfortable. However, that feeling soon changed when Professor Goodwitch appeared on a hologram welcoming the new students.

…

To say Ozpin was unhappy would be an understatement. When he saw the news, he had to fight himself not to do anything rash. As proud as he was of Ruby and her heroic actions, he was also horrified. No child should ever have to face something that dangerous. With said child being his granddaughter he was extra protective.
The last thing the girl needed is her face all over the news. She’s much too young to have to be dealing with that.

Truthfully, Glynda didn't understand why the headmaster was so upset. He had to have known that this was inevitable, after all, if news was happening, then the press would almost certainly get their hands on it.

"Professor, is something bothering you?" Goodwitch asked.

Ozpin sighed, "I didn't want Ruby to wound up all over the news."

Glynda thought for a moment before replying, "I don't understand why you would be bothered about something like that?"

"There are many reasons why I don't want Ruby presented on television. The girl is so young Glynda. We both know how much potential she holds. This will only bring more unwanted attention to the girl. I’m sure it will be hard enough for her already being the youngest at the school".

"Is this because of her eyes, or is there something else you are not telling me? You don’t normally show this much concern for random students." She asked concern lacing her features.

While it was common for Ozpin to keep secrets, even from her, that didn’t mean she appreciated it.

"It’s a touchy subject, not exactly something I’m comfortable discussing at the moment.”

She looked at him with a gaze that could kill a Beowolf,

He sighed, "If you must know then you can ask Ironwood."

Glynda nodded, making a mental note to ask James about it later.

…

Ruby and Yang stepped off the airship taking a moment to soak in the sight of the academy. Ruby, however, was much more interested in all of the new weapons.

"Oh Yang look at all these weapons!" Exclaimed Ruby

"Ruby calm down, they're just weapons." The blonde sighed.

"Just weapons,” Ruby huffed. “Yang, they're an extension of ourselves, a part of us!"

"Okay, okay! I get it, but aren't you happy with yours?"

At that, there was a sound of shifting gears. Yang turned around to see Ruby hugging her scythe close to her chest. At least as close as she could hug a weapon twice her size.

"Of course, I love Crescent Rose! I just like seeing new ones. It’s like meeting new people, only better." Ruby said, mumbling the last part.

"Ruby" Yang sighed, pulling her sister’s hood over her face. "You need to meet other people."

"Why would I need other people when I could hang out with when I have you." She asked meekly.

"Well," Yang said, drawing out the word, "Oh, look! My friends are here, we want to catch up. See yeah Ruby!"

And with that, Yang was gone.

"Hey wait!” Ruby called out.
“Don't we need to go find our dorm rooms? Where are our rooms? Do we even have dorms?"

Ruby sat down, curling into herself. "I don't know what I'm doing." She whimpered.

Before she could do anything else, Ruby was knocked to the ground, falling .on someone's luggage.

"What do you think you are doing?!"

Ruby looked up to see a woman clad in a white knee-length skirt, and pale jacket, she also wore a small white tiara that matched her hair and pale skin.

"What are you doing!" yelled the girl, if there was one way to describe her voice it would be 'prissy'.

"Be Careful with that! It’s dust!"

Ruby, still on the ground meekly replied, "Sorry".

"Sorry?" the girl replied, almost mockingly, "Do you have any idea of the damage you could have caused!?".

The next minute passed painfully slowly for Ruby as she was berated by the girl in white. The yelling stopped when she felt something tickle her nose, she looked up, then sneezed.

BOOM!

…

"If I had to guess I would say Ruby Rose just meet Miss. Schnee." Ozpin said as he looked out the window.

"Ozpin, how would you possibly know that?"

"Because that's exactly what happened when Qrow first met Winter."

Glynda smiled, making a plan to ask Qrow all about that encounter.

…

"You complete dolt! You could have gotten us killed! What are you even doing here?! Aren't you a little young to be here?! We're here to fight monsters! You need to watch where you are going!"

"I said I was sorry Princess!"

A new voice cut in. "It's heiress actually."

A girl clad in black walked over to the two. "Weiss Schnee second heiress to the Schnee dust company."

"Thank you! Finally, I get some recognition."

"The same company known for controversial working conditions and shady business partners."

Weiss' words got stuck in her throat. "How dare you!" she shouted before storming off.

At that moment Ruby thought of something that would have made Yang proud.
"Doesn't Schnee sound a lot like sneeze?"

Both Weiss and Blake looked at her. Ruby began to feel a bit uncomfortable, the sound of crickets chirping could be heard as an awkward silence consumed the three of them.

"Um sorry! It just popped into my head I didn't mean anything by it!"

Blake started to giggle. Weiss scrunched her face in embarrassment at what she just heard. She hadn't even thought about it before Ruby said it.

Weiss stormed off in anger as Blake's giggling soon suppressed itself.

Ruby looked back at Blake but she was already leaving. Ruby lay on the ground hoping it would swallow her whole.

After a moment a tall boy approached her. "Need a hand."

Ruby took the boy's hand and he pulled her up.

"Thanks"

"No problem, I'm Jaune by the way."

"Ruby." She replied,

...
The two ended up walking together casually chatting.

"So why did you help me back there?" Asked Jaune.

"Well, my Mom always said that a stranger is just a friend you haven't met yet."

She was met with silence.

"So," she said dragging out the word, "I've got this thing"

Ruby pulled out Crescent Rose.

Jaune jumped backwards in surprise, "Wow is that a scythe?"

"It is also a high-impact sniper rifle"

"A what?"

"It's also a gun."

"Oh."

"So what do you have," Ruby asked.

"Well, I got this sword," Jaune said while pulling his weapon from its sheath.

"Oh"

"And this shield too, when I get tired I can shrink it and put it away."

"Won't it...?"

"Yes, I know," Jaune said knowing exactly what she was going to say.

"Well, I'm a bit of a dork when it comes to weapons, I guess I went a little overboard when making Crescent Rose" Ruby said as she proudly displayed the scythe.

"Wait you made that?" Asked Jaune in surprise,

"Of course! Everyone at Signal makes their own weapons. Didn't you make yours?"

"No, my great, great grandfather used it during the war." He said while sighing.

"Sounds more like an antique. But hey, there’s nothing wrong with appreciating the classics."

"Yeah. classic." He mumbled.

"So do you know where we are?" Asked Ruby.

"No, I was following you. Do you think there is a map somewhere?"

Ruby giggled, completely oblivious that the two were being watched.

...

Ozpin saw Ruby and Jaune going the wrong way on his camera feed.
"Glynda you go on ahead I forgot to take care of something that just can't be put off any longer"

"And what might that be?" she said, not believing him for a second.

"Oh, something in my private quarters. I can take care of it, but you should go on ahead. And make sure Miss Rose gets to the auditorium, after all, Ruby is Taiyang’s daughter. I’m certain you remember him from when you were a student here.”

As soon as Glynda heard him say his name, memories flooded back to her. Tai's pranks, Qrow’s constant picking fights, and Raven's short temper. Oh, That short temper of Raven's could set a building on fire.

Certain memories of Qrow and Raven made her blood freeze, the two had gotten into a lot of trouble that she had to clean up, quite literally in some cases.

...

As soon as his colleague left Ozpin followed Ruby and Jaune to make sure the young girl was safe. He took a picture of Jaune and put a side note saying to keep an eye on him. Ozpin may not be Ruby's dad but he was her Grandfather and he was not going to let any boy take advantage of her.

Some would call his actions paranoia, Ozpin however called it being prepared.

Soon after he heard them say that they were lost... It’’s about time they noticed.” He thought.

Ozpin approached them carefully. "Perhaps I can help."

"Professor Ozpin what are you doing here?" Asked the young girl.
"Well I had some business to attend to, however, I was just heading to the auditorium when I saw the two of you."

"Oh okay," Ruby said, she felt a tinge of disappointment from not getting a proper answer

"Alright then follow me."

"Right," Jaune said awkwardly.

And with that, the three of them made their way to the main hall.

...

As the three walked Ruby got bored. "So, Professor Ozpin, how do you know my Uncle Qrow?

Ozpin thought carefully for a moment before replying. "Well for starters I was here even before he was a Student at Beacon"

"Really?"

"Yes, he and his team were good friends with my daughter."

The three of them chatted for a while until they reached the building that housed the auditorium.
Ozpin turned to look at the building in front of him.

"Good, well here we are. Why don't you two join the rest of the new students? I need to go find Professor Goodwitch."

And with that, they parted ways.

...
"Hey Ruby I saved you a spot!" Yang called out to Ruby.
Ruby turned to Jaune with an apologetic look. "Oh! That’s my sister I got to go, see you later Jaune ."

"Hey wait! Ah, man now where am I going to meet another cute, quirky girl to talk to?"

Ruby made her way to Yang. "So how's your first day so far?

"You mean since you left me and I exploded!"

"Yeesh, meltdown already?" Yang asked

"No I literally exploded in front of the school, there was fire and I think some ice."

"Are you being sarcastic?" Yang replied.

"I wish there was this girl yelling at me and I really, really just wanted her to stop!"

At that moment Weiss came out of nowhere. "You!"

"Oh no! it's happening again!" Ruby screamed as she jumped into her sister's arms

"Your lucky we didn't explode off the school!" Yelled Weiss.

"Oh my gods, you really did explode!."

"It was an accident. It was an accident!" Ruby said while glancing at a brochure in the Heiress's hands "What’s this?"

Weiss ignored the pamphlet and started talking in a fast high pitched tone.

"Um?" was Ruby's only reply

"You want to make it up to me?" Weiss asked.

"Yes?" was Ruby's reply.

"Then read this and never speak to me again."

At that moment Yang decided to step in. "Look you two just got off on the wrong foot. Why not start over?"

"Great idea sis." Said Ruby.

"Hi, my name is Ruby do you want to hang out sometime?"

"Yeah, and we can paint our nails and go shopping for school supplies and talk about clothes and cute boys like tall blond and straggly over there." Weiss mocked, pointing at Jaune.

"Really?" Ruby asked hopefully.

No… Weiss deadpanned.

Ozpin was looking for Glynda. He found himself in a rather good mood after his brief chat with his granddaughter.

He soon found Glynda and proceeded to address the students.

"I'll make this brief" he started before he cycled through the speech he did every year.

Notes:

Hi!! I am so sorry! I had every intention of uploading this weeks ago but I'm a full-time college student and unfortunately with finals coming up this had to take the backseat on my priorities list. This is definitely the longest chapter so far but I thought it would be a good birthday present to myself to get this uploaded now!

You can follow me on Tumblr at plutos-fics. I'll be posting updates on there from now on.

Chapter 5: Landing Strategy

Night had soon come and the freshmen students were getting ready for some rest. Ruby was writing letters to her friends back at Signal Academy, which unfortunately for her, garnered the attention of her sister.

 

"Hey sis, what're you doing?" Yang asked

 

"Just writing about my first day here at Beacon, I promised the gang back at Signal that I would write"

 

"Ah, that's so cuuuuuute!" Yang replied before getting a pillow to the face.

 

"Shut up! Hey I didn't get to bring my friends with me, it's weird not knowing anybody"

 

Ruby was upset that things didn't go well on her first day. Today's only good things were becoming friends with Jaune and her conversation with Ozpin. Everything else was a big mess.

 

"Hey, you made one friend. That Jaune guy right?"

 

"Yeah but then there's the whole Weiss thing," Ruby grumbled.

 

Ruby's silver eyes lifted from the letter she was staring at earlier and went toward the other students, many of whom were flexing their muscles. Her eyes however didn't focus too much on them and found their way towards a young girl clad in black.

 "Know her Ruby?" Yang asked while also looking at Blake.

"Well, kind of? She was there when I exploded." She replied.

 

"Well then let's go talk to her," Yang said as she was grabbing Ruby's arm.

 

"Yang wait!" Ruby shouted as she was trying to break free from Yang's grip.

 

"Hello! I believe you two have met."

 

"Aren't you that girl that exploded in front of the school?"

 

"Yeah, that was me, my name's Ruby."

 

"You also pointed out that Weiss Schnee last name sounds like sneeze." Blake replied with a small smile on her face.

 

At hearing that Yang held pride in her eyes. "Schnee, sneeze! Oh man I love it, good one sis!"

 

"I didn't mean to say it out loud! It  just popped into my head is all!" Ruby said as her cheeks began to turn pink.

 

"Hey, what is with all the noise?!" Just then Weiss walked up to them. 

"Keep it down will you some of us are trying to...!"

 

"Oh no not you again!" Both Yang and Weiss said at the same time.

 

"Guys she's right people are trying to get some sleep," Ruby said, trying to keep the peace.

 

"Oh, so you're now on my side?!"

 

"I've been trying to be nice to you since we met today!"

 

"Yeah!” Yang butted in.

“What do you have against my sister?!"

 

"She's an endangerment to my health!" Weiss replied.

 

Blake blew out the candles, refusing to allow the conversation to escalate any further by extinguishing the only light source in the room.

 

...

 

The next day Nora Valkyrie stood face to face with her long-time best friend, they had been together for quite some time, but in the words of Nora, not together, together. 

 

"Wakey, wakey sleepy head! It's morning, it's morning, it's morning! "

 

As Nora kept on talking Ren was getting ready for the initiation. "Let's go, Nora."

Yang looked at the two. "I wonder what is going on with those two?"

 

"I don't know. But what I do know is today I won't be needing to do any talking. Because Crescent Rose will do it for me." Ruby said while hugging Crescent Rose.

 

"Well, remember, you're not the only one going through initiation. If you want to be a huntress, you're gonna have to meet new people and learn to work together."

 

Ruby groaned at this, "Ahhhh, you sound like Dad! I don't need other people to help me grow up, I drink milk."

 

Just out of earshot, a certain heiress was talking to a well-known champion.

 

"So, Pyrrha, have you given any thought to whose team you'd like to be on? I'm sure everyone must be eager to unite with such a strong, well-known individual such as yourself" Said Weiss

 

...

 

All freshmen students waited patiently for initiation to begin at Beacon Cliffs.

 

"For years, you have trained to become warriors, and today, your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest," Ozpin said before Professor Goodwitch stepped forward

 

"Now, I'm sure many of you have heard rumors about the assignment of "teams." Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates... today."

 

"What? oh," Ruby whimpered.

 

"These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon. So it is in your best interest to be paired with someone with whom you can work well." Ozpin said.

 

Ruby whimpered like a lost puppy.

 

"That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years," Said Ozpin.

 

"What!?" Ruby yelled as the faint sound of glass cracking could be heard.

 

"After you've partnered up, make your way to the northern end of the forest. You will meet opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path... or you will die."

 

"You will be monitored and graded through the duration of your initiation, but our instructors will not intervene. You will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path containing several relics. Each pair must choose one and return to the top of the cliff. You will guard that item, as well as your standing, and grade you appropriately. Are there any questions?"

 

Jaune raised his hand, "Yeah, um, sir-?

 

Ozpin smiled, "Good! Now, take your positions."

 

Everyone with the exception of the blond knight took a stance on their launch plates.

 

The first plate launched the first student, much to Jaune’s horror

 

"Uh, sir? I've got, um... a question," he said with a look of horror and fear.

 

"So, this landing... strategy thing... Uh, wha-what is it? You're, like, dropping us off or something?"

 

"No. You will be falling." Ozpin replied.

 

"Oh, uh, I see... So, like, did you hand out parachutes for us?" Jaune asked.

 

"No. You will be using your own landing strategy." was his only reply

 

"Oh okay, so, what exactly is a landing strategYYY!..."

 

Ozpin smirked as he took a sip from his coffee.

Notes:

This is definitely a shorter chapter. But don't worry! The next one is currently taking up 30 pages in my google docs.
Now that I'm finally done with college for the summer I should hopefully be able to update more consistently.

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