A/n: Fun times, right? Once more, I've updated, and I must say I didn't think this story would gain such traction with one singular chapter. Cause of that, I'll probably focus more on this story; despite my thoughts on how this story is doing better than my other one. Sigh, not much can be done, anyway. Enjoy. Peace.
…
"Young man, what is your favorite fairy tale?" Spoke the old man with a small grin on his knowing face…? What…?
Like before, another memory that was similar yet not, had been forced into our transporter's mind.
'"Young man, what is your favorite fairy tale?" He spoke with a tense tone, this time around, our transporter met Ozpin in a forest. He followed Summer around and posed as a student, ignoring the earlier call from Ozpin…? What…?'
The pain was less than before, but combined with his headache, it was terrible. His hand went to his head, uselessly trying to stop the pain. It was the second time, and while he wished to know why, now was not the time. Ozpin just waited patiently, with a smidge of concern on his face, before our transporter responded.
"Ugh… sorry about that, heavy head pain. The second time it spiked, ugh… My name's… my name…?" Memories of another life flashed once more, but it didn't hurt this time. "My name's Shirou Emiya and to answer your earlier question. The story of the Four Maidens is what you can consider as my favorite."
A small noticeable change to Ozpin's expression occurred which Shirou noticed. A few later seconds passed before Ozpin spoke. "Before we continue, I forgot to introduce myself, forgive me. I am Professor Ozpin, now, Headmaster Ozpin. It was a recent change, I'll elaborate further later, as to your favorite fairy tale, why is it?"
"It's a nice story, as the old wizard was able to learn from the Four Maidens. Their kindness sparked him to grant them powers in return. Not only just that, but the Four Maidens also returned yearly to visit the old wizard." Shirou continued to say what he liked about the story, and Ozpin grew a noticeable nostalgic look.
It was during this when Ozpin cut him off in the middle. As he wished to return to the main topic, "We may have gotten off-topic, but I enjoyed your thoughts nonetheless. However, the real reasons I called out to you are something we must discuss." The real conversation Shirou expected had arrived and despite the pain, he was ready.
…
While the conversation between Shirou and Ozpin occurred, Summer was just finishing her tour. Her excitement levels were off the charts as she felt it was great. It was a bummer, however, she wasn't able to stay at the school as it should've been. The tradition at Beacon was a memorable one but recent events put a stop to that.
People wishing to get into Beacon would've gathered today in the auditorium. Before getting a speech from the Headmaster then led into a space to spend the night. You could either rest or explore the school before the huge entrance test tomorrow. That's how it should've gone and Summer would've loved it, but that's not how it went.
A week ago before today, a message was sent out, that the Beacon tradition would not happen. The reason was that the Headmaster had just recently died. Due to that, many of the Professors had to pick up the work of the deceased Headmaster. It was already hard on them beforehand, but this put more strain on them.
Not considering the fact they had to get a new Headmaster, which brought more work on them. The saving grace for them was that they had a candidate already, one of the Professors, but it also brought more problems. A new teacher would be needed and as the new school term came around, the time constraints were heavy.
Despite the difficulties, Beacon still wished for the applicants to see the school. They opened the doors to any of them to tour the campus as long as they could confirm they were applicants. That was what many did following the announcement, some were early to do it, and some were doing it the day before, like Summer and a few certain people.
Summer exited Beacon and noted she didn't feel her would-be-stalker. It was to her relief, as the security of Beacon did their job. Not knowing that the person who followed her did so at Beacon as well. Her attention was brought to a certain someone at the gate. She overheard them saying their name, it was Tai Xiao Long.
…
He arrived at the gate of the prestigious academy that was Beacon Academy. Sure, it was the day before the entrance test, but could you blame him? It was a long way from where he lived, not considering he learned about some recent news. The tradition at Beacon, the one where they stayed overnight, wasn't going to happen.
It derailed his plans as he didn't have accommodation for the night. He still wished to tour the school, but that wasn't the point. The point was that he needed to find a place to stay, fast, like, it was a few hours before it became dark. While complaining about his situation, Tai spotted someone exiting the gate.
She was cute, pretty even, and had black-to-red hair along with a white cloak that covered her entire body. The hood was down and exposed her face, her silver eyes glinting as they met eye-to-eye. It was an awkward moment as they stared before the girl faced away, both having embarrassed expressions. The overworked security guard just sighed.
"Uh, ahem, hello, my name's Tai Xiao Long. I know it's a mouthful, my friends just call me Tai, nice to meet you…?" With the awkward moment still in his head, his voice was less than normal confident. "Oh, um, I'm Summer Rose. You can just call me Summer, nice to meet you too." Just like that, the conversation died and was filled with awkwardness.
It was a few seconds before Summer, pretty name Tai thought, spoke again. "I, uh, heard you don't have anywhere to stay at… also, you're going to Beacon too, I mean! Wellitsobvioussinceyou'rehereandall!" Summer had gone fast enough that Tai couldn't understand her until she stopped herself, noticing that she talked fast in that instant.
Tai chuckled as Summer got a faint redness on her face, still, she got a small smile. She had a habit of speaking very fast, the two then started talking about Beacon, and Tai's situation. When brought up, Summer offered to house him for the night, he was ecstatic. As long as he didn't cause any trouble and her grandfather allowed it.
…
Raven Branwen was in awe you could say, first time to the City of Vale. The same was true with her twin brother, Qrow Branwen, who stood next to her. They had just arrived in the city and were taken by the sight. Being bandits, both of them were used to a much lower standard, as the place they lived in was dirty, filled with crappy tents and clothes.
While Raven was awestruck, she didn't like the people in the city, they were weak and ignorant. The reason she and her brother came was to get stronger, by going to Beacon Academy. During one of their many bandit raids, a Huntress had stopped Raven from killing a villager. Raven was defeated, badly and was a sore topic.
Then she sprouted out some nonsense about how she could be redeemed, Brother Gods did she hate the look on that Huntress. Pitying, and sadness, made her sick, as the idea came to the tribe. Send people to an Academy and return with their ideas and make it help the tribe, that's why her brother and she were here.
They fit the bill needed to attend, either 17 or 18, and strong enough to make it in. She spotted two people walking from the direction of Beacon Academy, a male and a female. Both looked weak to Raven, as she believed herself to be the strongest. The two were talking about the man's accommodations before Raven froze.
"Shit, Qrow, where are we spending the night? We didn't bring any lien and I doubt anyone would be willing to help." Qrow, who was looking around, froze as well when Raven brought up their concerns. "Well, fuck… seems we have to camp outside the city. We did bring our tents, so it isn't terrible but I hoped we'd be staying in a good place for once."
As they lamented their situation, they didn't notice the people Raven called weak earlier. The woman heard them and spoke, "Uh, I can help, that is if you don't mind or cause trouble. You're in the same boat as Tai here, it wouldn't be an issue." And so, all four stared at each other, not knowing their futures had changed forever.
…
Qrow didn't know what to make of this girl, Summer Rose, he learned later. She wore her heart on her sleeve, radiating nervousness and seemingly shy. He didn't particularly like her, but she was nice enough. The man, Tai Xiao Long, a bothersome name, was more confident than Summer. While that was true, he was wary of them, Raven and himself.
He liked that, they didn't look like nice people and that was the image they wanted. They were strong and the strong were feared for a reason. What Qrow didn't know at the time, was that he was just being incredibly edgy. Despite future concerns, and there were many concerns, all four of them hit it off surprisingly well.
Both Qrow and Raven were surprised at how nice Summer was to them, it was strange. Qrow never had gotten anything similar in the tribe, neither did Raven. It was a weird feeling, one that wasn't necessarily bad, but he wasn't the one in charge. That was held by his sister due to his insecurities. Things that happened during their childhood in the tribe.
He didn't want to recount what happened all those years as they all walked toward a bullhead. A rather rudimentary one, as compared to the future, yet it still does the job. They were headed to Patch, where Summer lived, and where they'd be staying the night. Tai and Summer explained the tradition that was supposed to happen to him and Raven.
Along with that, since it was getting late, they explained Beacon's campus to them. All the buildings during the tour, although Summer was the only one to do it. It was obvious at this point that all of them were going to Beacon. As they entered the bullhead, Summer suggested that they formally introduce themselves.
Both Raven and him weren't fond of it but relented to Summer. Qrow decided to go first, be done with it, he thought. "Okay, so I'm Qrow Branwen, twins with my sister here. We come from a tribe far away from Vale, hm, I guess I can say this as well. My weapon's called Harbinger." The weapon in question was pulled out before all four of them.
…
"I'll go next then, my name's Tai Xiao Long. I know, a real mouthful, just call me Tai, I come from Mistal. My weapon isn't something that could be considered as such and no name either. A pair of heavy-duty hand-knuckle brackets." He pulled them out, fitting his hands perfectly. They were covered like gloves but of a heavier material and golden-ish color.
…
"Okay, um, guess I'll go next, ahem. My name's Summer Rose and well, I live in Patch, here in Vale. We should be there soon, my weapon's called Sundered Rose, my masterpiece you could say. I spent a lot of time designing and making the weapon." She pulled it out in its compact form before expanding it to its full size.
…
"As my twin brother said earlier, we're from a tribe far away. The name's Raven Branwen and obviously the strongest one here. I know I can take anyone here, I'll prove it, just wait, you'll see. Since you guys will need any help you can get, I guess I can reveal my weapon. Its name is Omen, sister blade to Harbinger." She revealed it in all of its glory.
…
As all four finished their (un)formal introductions, the bullhead landed. They exited as Summer led them to where she resided. Tai once again expressed his gratitude as did Qrow, for him and his sister. Raven scoffed lightly as she just followed quietly next to Qrow. The sun was just about to set when they reached Summer's home.
As the future Team STRQ settled together for the first time, our transporter was in a room. The room was at Beacon, specifically in the wing for Professors. He was sitting on the bed, thinking about the conversation earlier with Ozpin. The request he was asked, 'As you now know the problem, would you be willing to be the Combat Instructor?'
OMAKE
Green forests spread all over the land, but all of it was cube-shaped. A certain type of portal could be seen before a person came out, a familiar one. It was none other than our transporter, he stared out before. "This did not just happen to me… why the fuck am I in Minecraft!? Specifically, the movie version!"