Raven's Concern

The three of them are inside Alban's room, staring at each other. The two girls are staring at their supposed adoptive brother while Alban is staring at his adoptive mother's daughters.

"So… Can you tell us now?" Yang asked, folding her hands on her chest.

"Well… I met your mother back in Mantle, and things led to her adopting me on the spot," Alban explained.

"That's it?" Yang raised her eyebrow. As for Ruby, she didn't intercept the talk and kept listening.

"There were some stories behind it, but I am very sorry because I can't tell you about it right now," the whitehead apologized. There were many things that led to him meeting Summer Rose, but he is not comfortable disclosing it with the two even though they are his sisters, adopted or not.

"Then, how did you get this letter?" Ruby asked while taking out the letter he gave her yesterday.

Sighing a little, Alban replied, "She gave it to me before she took her last breath." Although he wanted to avert his eyes, he didn't.

But Ruby's mind was on another topic. "Wait, you know where Mom was buried?" she asked.

Tilting his head, Alban nodded. "Yes, I do, and I was the one who made a grave for her," he replied.

"Then, can you take us there?" Using her Semblance, the little red reaper appeared in front of Alban.

"I can," the man nodded. "Only when the school gives us holidays," he added. "It will take at least two days to get to Mantle, so I'll take you there when the school closes for at least 6 days," Alban informed the red riding hood.

Although that made the girl saddened a little, she immediately became her jolly self after a while. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" she grabbed Alban's hand and repeatedly shook it up and down.

Looking at the two, Yang sighed. Her baby sister is easy to get along with. But, she still couldn't trust the man in front of her. He somehow came into their lives suddenly, and she refused to believe it was without any scheme on the man's part.

"Then why do you wait for ten years to give us this letter?" Yang glared at the man.

"Firstly, I didn't have money when I was still a student," Acknowledging the fact that Yang is still untrustful toward him, Alban sighed. That was the truth. Even though General Ironwood had waived 50% of school fees for him, he had to work daily to pay for it with no one to support him. Only when Raven paid for part of the school fees did he able to take things easy.

"Second, until now, I was ordered by the council not to leave Atlas and Mantle. So, I cannot meet you until now," he explained.

"You could have just sent us with mail," Yang argued.

"That's the third and main point," Alban nodded. "I could have sent you the letter by mail. But I thought it would be rude of me to send something important by mail. And truth to be told, I wanted to give this letter to your father, but I gave it to you since I saw the two of you first," he added.

"Hmm…," Yang is still looking at him with the same distrustful eyes but heaved out a sigh later. Shaking her head, she finally smiles. The blonde-haired girl can't find any hole in his explanation. So, she walked toward the man and shook his hand.

"Listen here, I don't care if you are a Specialist or our supposed adopted brother. But if you make Ruby cry, you'll find my fist on your face," Yang whispered into his ears, pulling him toward her.

"I understand," Alban nodded, not minding her rude statement toward him. He can understand Yang's protectiveness toward her younger sister.

"Now that we have established our relationship, what are we gonna do now?" Ruby, the sweet, sweet child, asked.

"Now, you'll be going to your next class," Alban replied, smiling while patting on their shoulders and leading them toward the door.

But Ruby being Ruby, stopped when she saw the guns hanging on the wall.

"Woah! Is that your weapon?" she asked.

"Ah, yes. They are called Judgment of Shamash," Alban replied.

"Can I look at it, please?" And comes the puppy eyes.

Not seeing any problems, Alban agreed. "Okay, but no touching. Not that I'm being stingy, but because the guns are dangerous," he walked toward the guns and put them down.

He was not lying when he said that those guns were dangerous. He once saw someone get Honkai radiation because they touched his weapon without permission. The good thing is that someone happened to be a Grimm.

The soulless monster roared, but with Honkai radiation, it could not control its body and fell down. Alban turned left and right, searching if someone saw this scene. After making sure nobody was in the area, he shot the Grimm to death, turning it into dust.

He tried to sense the Honkai Energies in the air, but it disappeared. Only then could he sigh in relief. He doesn't want to add Honkai trouble into this world as they have enough on their plate.

That's why he made the Judgment of Shamash hot so that nobody could touch the gun without his permission. They'll get their hand burnt when they try to touch it without him knowing.

The only one who knew about his weapon was his Superior, aka General Ironwood. That was also why he could keep his guns without the hyenas known as the old men from the city councils grabbing them. And, of course, that also includes a certain Schnee.

"Yang! Look! Look! Look how beautiful these babies are!" Like a weapon enthusiast she is, Ruby jumped up and down like a bunny in front of the Judgment of Shamash.

"Yeah, yeah, Rubes, I can see them," Yang replied with a sigh.

"Did you make them yourself?" Ruby asked as she turned her head toward Alban.

Shaking his head, Alban replied, "No, it was a certain genius lady who created this weapon." He gently pats the Judgment of Shamash.

"With the heat radiating from it… did you use Fire Dust for it?" Ruby asked as she could feel the heat coming out from the weapon.

"It's a secret," Alban smiled lightly. He cannot tell Ruby that the fire comes from the core of some world-destroying entity.

"Awn…"

"Now, now, Ruby," Yang came beside her and patted her shoulder. "The next class is Miss Goodwitch's class. We must hurry," looking at her watch, she urged her sister to hurry up. Ruby's face turned pale when she heard that.

"Go on, I'll tell her why you guys are late," not wanting to let the sisters be scolded by his colleague. After all, it was also his fault for accepting the request to talk.

"Thank you! You are the best brother ever!" She quickly used her Semblance to rush toward Glynda Goodwitch's class.

"Wait, Ruby!" Yang followed her from behind.

"Did she just call me brother?" Alban tilts his head. He didn't think that Ruby would accept him just like that, and he thought there'll be more… dramas.

Taking out his scroll from the pocket, Alban dialed Glynda Goodwitch. "Hello, Miss Goodwitch? Yes, it is Alban. Yes, the two are coming to your class now. I am sorry for taking their time," he apologized. "Yes, thank you for your understanding, Miss Goodwitch. Thank you," with that, the call ended.

--------------------------------

Still, in his teacher persona, Alban decided to make something productive. That is standing in front of the mirror and practicing how to talk in front of many students. He didn't talk aside from his partner and teachers back at school.

"Why did I even accept this mission?" Alban laments. "Oh right, I wanted to be like Teacher," thinking back to that, he put his hands on his face, trying to do various expressions.

He had seen how the teachers from Atlas acted. All of them are… how to say, cold. Not Miss Goodwitch cold, cold, but for them, teaching students is their mission. And the students are supposed to obey them.

He doesn't want to be like them, and he wants to interact with the students more. Walking toward his bed, he curls up into a ball. Pulling out the mp3 player from his pocket, he played Nightglow. "How am I supposed to become a teacher as respectful as them?" he muttered. "Like Teacher Raven, like Himeko, who did their very best for their students. I am nothing compared to them," he added.

"Am I even qualified to become a teacher from the start?" His self-esteem is getting lower and lower as he keeps doubting himself.

"I am not even that strong. Take away my weapon, and I am nothing. I don't even know what my Semblance is." Until now, he told others that the Herrscher of Thunder's power is his Semblance. But that was not the case. He can feel it, and his Semblance is still inside, waiting for him to discover it.

"What was I even thinking back then," thinking back to when he made a request to Professor Ozpin, he became even more depressed. "Why did I even request to punish the students in the combat field! I am trying to be better. With this, doesn't that mean I am no different from them?"

He was so depressed that he didn't realize that a black and red circle had appeared in his room.

Walking out of her portal, Raven's eyes immediately zoned toward Alban. Seeing him in a state like that, the raven-haired woman sighed.

"Nightglow, this time? He must be depressed right now," Raven thought as she walked silently toward her student. After being with him for over 9 years, she gained the ability to tell what Alban is feeling by listening to the song he is playing.

"First day at work, and you are already like this? I did not raise you to become a weakling like this," She looks down on Alban while folding her hands. An arrogant attitude on her face is apparent to both of them.

Alban smiled a little when he saw his teacher. He didn't mind what his teacher said because his brain had automatically translated what the woman in front of him was trying to say. Interacting with his teacher for long also has its perks.

Translation: It is just the first day of work. Did something happen?

"Introduction went great. But… I'm not sure I'm a teacher material myself. The students gave me respectful looks when I introduced myself as a Specialist from Atlas," Alban started. "But what they didn't know was that these hands of mine are drenched in other people's blood, and I was going to teach them with these hands," he added.

What he said made Raven avert her eyes a little. If he was feeling with just this, what would that make her?

"Heh, you are worried because of this? Those White Fangs got killed because they are weak," Raven glared at her student.

Translation: Don't keep those things in your mind. I've already taught you how to control your energy output, not to accidentally kill them, haven't I?

"You are right, teacher. But… it would be great if my hands are only soaked with the blood of White Fangs and criminals," as soon as Alban started that, Raven stomped toward him, grabbing his head with both of her hands.

"Look at me, Alban," Raven shouted, staring straight into his eyes.

"Teacher, I…," When he tried to ignore what she said, Raven shouted again.

"I said, look at me, dammit!" She put pressure on her hands, making Alban's head hurt slightly. Only then did the man look at her.

"That was not your fault," she said slowly, staring intensely at the man in front of her.

Alban stared at the red-colored eyes in front of him, and his teacher's face was just a foot away. "I…," he tried to say something again, but Raven beat him to it.

"That was not your fault. You did nothing wrong. It was those two's faults for doing such kinds of things. It was never your fault," Raven repeated these sentences again and again into Alban's ears.

"It was not my fault? Then, can I still teach the students?" He asked.

"Yes, you can! Every huntsmen and huntress have blood on their hands. So, you don't need to worry about that," Raven tried to calm down the man in front of her. If things get worse, at least the building will get destroyed by him.

Although she can quickly escape, her student won't be able to forgive himself if he does that. Raven cares for the man in front of her as he basically grew up in front of her, and she doesn't want him to blame himself again.

The last time something like this happened, she had to use her Maiden power, and even then, it was just nearly enough to knock Alban out. Thunders ranged out from his body, and it destroyed the area nearby. Luckily, they were in the forest.

"I see… Thank you, teacher," Alban quickly gets up from his bed. "I will strive to become an amazing teacher just like you," he added with determination.

"Don't try to become like me, brat," Raven huffed. Seriously, she doesn't want the man in front of her to become like her.

But unknown to her, Alban's brain translated it into something else.

Translation: Don't try to be like me. Be better than me.

"I will!" Alban nodded. "Seriously, Teacher can make my mood brighten up instantly. As expected of my teacher. I will need to try harder instead of getting depressed," he thought.

"I'll be going now since you have stabilized yourself," Opening the portal, Raven walked out without looking back.

Just as Alban was about to prepare for the class, he heard a knock coming from his door. He was greeted by Ruby and Yang when he opened it.

"So… what are the two of you doing here?" he asked.

"We were about to ask if you want to eat together with us. But since we don't have your scroll number, here we are," Yang replied.

"Ah…" he looked at the time. It is almost time for lunch. "I see why not," Alban agreed. Eating together won't hurt him, and he can actually have their bonding session with them.

"Great! Let's go, gang!" Ruby pointed and marched forward, followed by her older siblings.

--------------------------------

Author's Note;

Yeah, I've been neglecting this fic for a long time and came back because of the new RWBY anime announcement. I mean, two of the staff working on it are my favorites.

And I have decided not to make this a harem fic. So, I am very sorry, harem lovers!

Thank you, kinorin69, for the portrait of Alban. He looks amazing.