11

 Chapter 11: Volume 1 Omake Collection

Omake 1

The Next Mission

During V1C1

Shirou and Ozpin sat in the former's apartment in silence, sipping tea as the wall clock ticked on. Shirou had only been back in Vale for an hour before Ozpin had shown up as planned.

"I want you to join my academy," Ozpin finally said after finishing his tea.

"Any reason why?" Shirou asked as he refilled Ozpin's cup.

"A number of them, actually. You have been in Remnant for a few months now and while you have been studiously studying our world ever since you awoke, we feel that you'll be better served by studying in a more scholastic setting."

"You sound like Glynda," Shirou observed cooly before taking a sip of his tea.

"Yes, she was rather insistent upon that matter. Moving on, if you manage to graduate from Beacon, your degree and official Huntsman license will no doubt make your life easier in the future. Your time there might also let you form connections."

"You mentioned something about having my next mission lined up. What is it?"

Ozpin smiled as he sat down his teacup and pulled out his Scroll. "I want you to enroll in Beacon in order to watch over someone of importance," he said as he sent Shirou some files. "You remember the story of the Silver Eyed Warriors, do you not?"

Shirou opened the files on his Scroll and began reading through them. "Yes. An ancient race of people who possessed the power to kill Grimm just by looking at them. I take it this Ruby Rose is one of them?"

"The last one of them, as far as we know. I want you to watch over her and help her in any way you can."

"She's only 15. What's she doing in Beacon?"

"Her physical capabilities far exceed her contemporaries and are on par with the others taking the entrance exam this year. Her scholastic abilities are also exemplary."

"I don't think dragging her away from all of her friends will do her any favors."

"Her older half-sister, Yang Xiao Long, will also be attending this year and there are a few other hopefuls that I'm certain she'll get along with."

"Does this have anything to do with that robbery she thwarted a few days ago?"

"Partially. I had been heavily considering extending an invitation for some time now and that incident simply solidified matters and presented a golden opportunity to ask."

Shirou hummed as he closed the files and locked his Scroll. "You think Salem will make a move against her while she's at Beacon?"

"I don't think Salem knows of her existence and I would like to keep it that way as long as possible. However, given her personality and knack for finding trouble, I doubt she'll remain an unknown for much longer.

"That's where you come in. She will become a target for Salem eventually and you can do your best to prepare her for that. The teachers at Beacon will give her the best education they can but they can't play favorites without raising too many questions and garnering too much scrutiny. You, however, can. You are in a very unique position and have an equally unique skill set. It is my belief that you can prepare her for her future."

Shirou sighed deeply as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I don't like the idea of going back to school but I can't deny what you're saying. Very well. I'll do it."

"Excellent. The initiation ceremony is one week from now. The airship for new students will leave the port at 10:30. Your Huntsman attire will be appropriate and make sure to bring your equipment. Everything else will be provided for you.

"One last thing," Ozpin said as he stood and made his way over to the door before smiling mischievously at Shirou over his shoulder. "Welcome to Beacon."

Omake 2

A Dark Shadow

During V1C4

Deep in Vale's warehouse district, in the office of the most out-of-the-way warehouse he could find, sat Roman Torchwick. Being Vale's self-proclaimed greatest crime boss, Roman made sure to always be dressed to the nines and to carrying himself with impeccable style and power. With his red-lined white suit jacket; black pants, shoes, and gloves; small, gray scarf; and red-banded, black bowler hat (his personal favorite), he looked like a man who lived high on the finer things of life. His bright orange hair, the bangs of which were almost always swept over one of his green eyes, used to be a point of contention in his younger days but now his distinctive hair and dress just served to inspire fear and respect.

As Roman kicked his feet up onto his desk and lit a fine cigar with a custom-made lighter, he reflected on just how perfectly everything had been going lately. Sure, that Cinder bitch had been really bossy and working with the White Fang wasn't really a highlight of his career (he honestly didn't give two shits about the Faunus but working with people who looked down on him grinded his gears) but his profit margin was through the roof and he stood to gain even more soon enough. He might even have enough to forego using abandoned warehouses as a base and instead purchase a business to use as a front or even start bribing politicians to make his life a bit easier.

Of course, not all was sunshine and roses. That girl that had thwarted one of his robberies a bit over a week back had been all kinds of annoying and the phone call he just had with his contact in the White Fang could have gone better but it'd all work out. He just had to play his cards right, keep an eye on things, and he'd come out on top no problem.

Right on time, a White Fang courier came into his office with a trolley carrying a large crate. With practiced ease, Roman reached into a drawer of his desk and pulled out a stack of Lien before tossing it onto his desk.

"Open it," Roman commanded after the courier took the cash. The courier pulled out a crowbar and popped open the lid of the crate revealing a large cache of Dust crystals of all colors. Roman got up and casually walked around his desk before withdrawing a blue crystal and examining it. As the dim light from the overhead lamp reflected off of the crystal's flawless surface, Roman couldn't help the wicked smile that came to his lips. As he turned to face the map of Vale on the wall and his eyes fell to the large circle marking Beacon Academy, he had but one thing to say:

"We're gonna need more men…"

Omake 3

What's in a Name

After V1C5

"Hey, Shirou, do you have a moment?" Ruby Rose asked one day as everyone was on their way to lunch.

"Sure. What do you need?"

"Well, I was just thinking about everyone's weapons and I realized that you never told me the name of yours."

"That's because it doesn't have one."

Ruby looked at Shirou like he had just spouted off one of Nora's insane theories. "What do you mean it doesn't have a name?"

"It just doesn't have one."

"You mean you didn't name it when you were designing it?"

"I didn't design it. It was a gift given to me and its design was based on my abilities."

"Well, did the person who made it give it a name?"

"If they did, they didn't tell me. I honestly couldn't even tell you who made it."

"How could your weapon not have a name?"

"I honestly don't see why this is such a big deal."

To that, Ruby actually scoffed and looked taken aback. "It's the biggest deal! Your weapon reflects who you are! Its name is just as important as your own!"

Ruby's words brought Noble Phantasms to Shirou's mind and how they were an integral part to the identity of a Heroic Spirit. "Maybe," Shirou allowed, "but I still don't see a point in it for me. Crescent Rose being named as it is may be important to you but my bow-sword being nameless suits me just fine."

Ruby looked deeply concerned as she chewed on her bottom lip but continued on before Shirou could say anything else. "Well, what about your Soul Surge? You have a name for that, right? Mine's called Fairy Law."

It was clear that Ruby was almost desperately searching for something but Shirou had no idea what so he plowed onward. "I honestly haven't given that whole concept much thought since I learned about it. I certainly don't have a name for it."

Ruby stared into Shirou's eyes for a long moment, clearly deeply concerned. Feeling uncomfortable, Shirou was about to speak up when Ruby once again beat him to it. "Well, we should go eat. Thanks for telling me, Shirou."

"It's no problem."

Omake 4

The Way to the Heart

Before V1C7

"Oh! Ren! Good morning. What are you doing up so early?" Shirou asked as he entered the third-floor kitchen to start breakfast.

"There's something I wanted to ask you. A favor, actually," Ren answered, his body language unusually nervous.

"Anything."

"Do you think… you could… teach me how to cook?" Ren asked, only meeting Shirou's eyes with brief glances.

Shirou was torn between being amused and concerned. Ren was usually so calm and controlled, very rarely showing any emotion outside of amused exasperation at Nora's antics. To see him not only nervous but also blatantly showing it was more than a little odd, to say the least."Sure. What made you interested to learn, if you don't mind my asking."

"Oh, it's… nothing really. I've always been a bit of a decent cook but recently I just… This is honestly rather embarrassing."

"You don't have to tell me."

"No, if I'm going to be inconveniencing you then you deserve to know why. You see, Nora and I have known each other since we were children and we've had only each other to rely on for most of our lives. I used to do all of the cooking, especially breakfast, and she always loved it but since you started cooking, well… She's said that your cooking is the best she's ever had and I just wanted to improve my own cooking skills so that she can enjoy my cooking again."

With his explanation finished, Ren and Shirou stood silently for a moment before the most surprising thing happened:

Shirou laughed.

It wasn't a small chuckle like he had done before but a genuine, full laugh. Ren felt like he should have been insulted but the simple fact that, to his knowledge, Shirou had never laughed before in the time that he's known him despite having heard his team and Team RWBY laugh numerous times gave him pause.

When Shirou's laughter finally calmed down, he smiled brightly at Ren. "Sorry about that. Your situation just brought back some memories. I'm more than happy to help you."

"Thanks, Shirou," Ren said as he stepped up to the counter as Shirou started pulling out ingredients and utensils.

"It's no problem, Ren."