4 Introduction

Jaune is having a bad day. Scratch that. He was having bad days since the first week of school, the same time when Cardin started picking on him. His teammates, Nora Valkyrie, Pyrrha Nikos, and Lie Ren are all worried about him. But he is the leader of the team, he doesn't want to trouble his teammates.

And from the look of it, the leader of their sister team, Ruby Rose, and her sister Yang Xiao Long seem to be under weather today as well. Ruby has puffy eyes, it seems like she had cried the whole night. As for the blonde bimbo, she looks strangely serious.

They are currently in the first period. And the school announced that they will be having a new teacher for a brand new subject named 'Outdoor Survival Skills'. Jaune didn't know if they actually needed that subject. But it was the newest subject implemented by Headmaster Ozpin, so the students don't have any say in it.

At nine o'clock sharp, Glynda Goodwitch walked inside the classroom. "Goodmorning, students," she started. "As you have heard before, we will be having a new subject together with a new teacher today," she added. Some of the students cheer as they will be having less time to listen to Professor Port's boring lectures and Professor Oobleck's lectures they can't keep up with.

"Please step inside Mister Cygnus," Glynda turned her head toward the door and welcomed the young man.

The students were surprised by the appearance of Alban. They thought it would be some middle-aged man or woman because Beacon Academy only accepts the best of the best, including teachers. Not someone who looks the same as their age.

Jaune glanced at his friends. Most of them are not showing expressions. Well... except for three, that is. Ruby has that serious expression on her face, Weiss looks excited and Yang's eyes had already turned red.

"That won't end well," Jaune muttered. It never ends well when Yang gets angry.

"Goodmorning, everyone. My name is Alban Cygnus. I will be teaching you Outdoor Survival Skills," he introduced himself while writing his name on the chalkboard.

"But before that," their new teacher put his bag on the table and started taking out many bags of cookies. "Here's one for you, one for you, here's for you, and… this one is for you," he started giving out cookies to everyone in the class.

"Mister Cygnus," Glynda sighs and stares at the new teacher.

"It won't be a problem, Miss Goodwitch. It is not breaking rules if I let them, right?" The teacher smiles brightly at his students.

Jaune has to say he likes this teacher. Not too boring like Professor Port, not too hyperactive like Professor Oobleck, not too strict like Professor Goodwitch, this new teacher seems to be nice. He puts a cookie inside his mouth. "And knows how to bake awesome cookies too," he added.

"Well, this is your class, so I have no say in it," Glynda backs down and smiles. She has an impression that Alban did this to warm up to his new students. So, she will let this time slide without saying anything.

The new teacher pulled off something Jaune had never thought of! He made the strictest teacher in the Beacon Academy let this off and actually smiles. Almost all of the students have never seen their teacher smile like that.

One of the students called out. "Wow, this is actually good," the student said.

"Thank you, I baked this batch just this morning," their new teacher grinned.

"Now, with that being said, do you have anything you want to ask me, students?" he asked.

Jaune watched as Weiss excitedly raised up her hand. Blake who is sitting beside Ruby raised her eyebrow.

"Yes, Miss Schnee," Alban chose her.

"How old are you, sir?" she asked and that made all the students raise their eyebrows. Is their resident Ice Queen trying to hit on their new teacher?

"I turned 20 four months ago, actually," Alban answered, shocking all the students sitting in the classroom.

"I can't accept—," just as Cardin was about to do his usual job, Weiss intercepted.

"You were assigned as a Specialist even when you just graduated this year? You must be the top student of your class!" Weiss exclaimed. She met the person who can tell her stories about her sister. Of course, she will be happy.

"Well… about that," she noticed their new teacher rubbing the back of his head embarrassingly. Weiss thought that she made a mistake and prepared to apologize. But before she could do that, Alban continued.

"I graduated from Atlas Academy when I was 17 years old," he sheepishly replied. Weiss and the other students' mouths hang open from that.

"As you have heard, students. Mister Cygnus here had graduated from Atlas Academy when he was 17 years old and marked as the youngest student in history to graduate from there," Glynda informed the students, making most of them who thought bad about Alban shut up. "Moreover, he started working as a Special Operatives Unit after he graduated. So, he has many experiences as a Specialist under his belt," she added.

Jaune widened his eyes. He didn't know that his new teacher graduated that early! Well, he doesn't know what a Specialist is but that sounds cool. He looked over to the girl who asked the question but he noticed that Weiss.exe stopped working. Mouth hangs open, eyes went wide, not exactly looking like the Ice Queen he has a crush on.

But what got his attention was her other teammates. Their expressions are varied. Yang looks exactly the same as before, still angry. Ruby looks serious while holding her sister's hand, stopping her rampage. And as for Blake, she looks terrified. Jaune had never seen the quiet one from team RWBY acting like that.

"Well, another question?" Alban asked again. This time, it was the invincible girl, Pyrrha Nikos who raised her hand.

"Yes, Miss…," Alban dragged on as he forgot her name.

"Nikos. Pyrrha Nikos, sir," she replied and Jaune could see a smile on her face.

"Yes, Miss Nikos. Do you have anything to ask me?"

"Correct, sir. I have heard that being a Specialist is a highly respectable job in Atlas. I would like to ask you why you took a job as a teacher instead of continuing to be a Specialist?" she asked.

At that question, Jaune noticed that their new teacher smiles. It looks as if he was thinking back to something pleasant.

"Well, you see? When I was young, I met this… awesome teacher of mine," Alban started. "No, no. She is not a teacher from Atlas. I met her when I went adventuring during school holidays," he added.

"She taught me how to fight properly," he has a reminiscing smile on his face. "And then one day, I met an Imp when my teacher was not there with me. And like you all guessed, he beat me up pretty bad. And it was when my teacher swooped into the fray and saved me from it," he continued.

"She stood proudly in front of me, protecting me from the Grimm," Alban tightened his fist as the students earnestly listened to him.

"I was at a loss. Many thoughts crossed my mind back then. Why would she save someone like me? Why would she stand proudly in front of a Grimm that would need at least a team of huntsmen to kill? What she said later made me want to walk my path as a teacher," he gave a bright smile to all of the students.

"'It is a teacher's job to protect their students. So, you are under my watch until you can stand on your own,' was what she said with the brightest smile I had ever seen. And that was the reason why I immediately accepted the offer when the Beacon Academy gave me the position to become a teacher," Alban answered Pyrrha's question.

"That…," Pyrrha was lost for words. The same can be said to all the students in the room. Then, a clap from Alban snapped them out from their thoughts.

"It is already 10, so let's wrap up with a final question for today's lesson. Let me ask this one," Alban is in his 'teacher' persona since he stepped into the classroom. Now, he has his normal persona, 'Specialist' persona, and 'Teacher' persona.

"Why do you fight?" This question caught some of the students off guard. "Why do you want to become a huntsman?" he added.

"You," Alban pointed to a neatly trimmed blonde-haired student.

"Me?" the student pointed at himself.

"Yes, you. Mister… Winchester, correct?" Alban answered while looking at the file to get the student's name right.

"Yes, sir," the student stood up. "For glory, sir," he added. "I fight for glory," he answered proudly.

"Glory, eh? Not a bad thing. You may sit down now, Mister Winchester," Alban nodded and let the student sit down.

"And you, Mister Arc," Jaune perked up as the new teacher called him by his family name. "Why do you want to become a huntsman?"

Jaune stood up and was lost in thought. Why did he want to become a huntsman in the first place? To become a hero? That was what he first thought. But he keeps thinking about it. Why did he want to become a hero? To become a hero like his father, grandfather, and his ancestors? Then he finally came to a conclusion.

"Recognition," he finally answered. "I wanted to become a huntsman because I want recognition from people around me," his eyes are filled with determination, unlike the time when he was bullied by Cardin.

His teammates looked surprised by his voice full of resolution. Lately, they noticed that their leader was being gloomy. But seeing their leader like this, they are now sure that their fearless leader is still here.

"Wanting to get recognized, eh? Not that I haven't felt about that before," Alban nodded his head and let Jaune sit down. "Didn't I tell you? Headmaster Ozpin won't make beginner's mistakes," he turned to Glynda and smiled.

He then turns his head toward the students again. "I asked you guys that question and it is time for me to answer it," he started, earning some attention from the students plus Glynda.

"Well, you can say that the reason why I became a huntsman is because of a borrowed ideal," he continued. Glynda Goodwitch raised her eyebrow at it.

"Borrowed ideal, sir?" Weiss asked in confusion.

"You see, there was that one time I felt jealous toward a girl. Well, mostly admiration but there was some jealousy in it," Alban walked slowly toward the table.

"And it was her conviction, the reason why she was fighting and one of the reasons why she never gave up that made me want to become a huntsman. It is not my ideal, but I am not ashamed to say that her reason had rubbed me off since that day," he continued slowly and his voice became a little louder.

Glynda feels resolution in his voice. It is not the voice he normally uses. That was the moment Glynda knew that the man she is looking at is not just a brother-like figure for her to protect. She is looking right at a Specialist who went through many difficulties and experienced many things.

"Let me tell you students why I became a huntsman," he paused while taking a deep breath. "It is to fight for all that is beautiful in the world," he said, looking totally different from the face he had when he came into this room.

Students were expecting something like revenge, honor, riches, to become a hero, or something like that. Just not… that. Some of their brains stopped working.

"Now you look at that. It's exactly 10:30. Okay, guys! Class is dismissed!" Alban said while clapping. His demeanor returned back to his normal one.

"How did I do, Miss Goodwitch?" he asked the teacher standing beside him.

"Well, you didn't teach anything today but… you did well," she ruffled his hair and smiled at him.

"Thank you," Alban replied while giving her a thumbs up.

"Sir, can we… talk with you for a little?" They heard someone calling Alban. He signaled Glynda to go ahead.

"Oh, Miss Rose and Miss Xiao Long. Do you need something?" Alban asked, changing back to his 'teacher' persona.

"We would like to ask you about that one content from the letter," Ruby said.

"Sure, by all means," Alban walks toward the seating area together with the two sisters.

"So… Should the two of us start calling you 'brother'?" Ruby asked with a serious look on her face.

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Author's Note;

Raven you guys read was Raven from Alban's perspective. He sees her as a cool, strong, kind, and brave teacher who is willing to save him even if fighting against an Imp Grimm. The truth might be different, who knows?

I don't know if this will become an AU but... this will become one, isn't it?

And I was thinking. I intended to write this story with a single love interest for Alban. Or... should I just make it a harem?