A/N: As before, just a collection of all omake in Volume 2 for easy reference.
Omake 5
Team Responsibilities
Before V2C2
Emiya Shirou dismissed Kanshou and Bakuya as the klaxon blared, signaling the end of the match. He honestly didn't need them for this fight but, for the sake of the other person's pride, he decided to use his "Semblance."
"That was a good match," Shirou said to Weiss Schnee, who was getting to her feet as Shirou approached. The rest of Team RWBY also came onto the arena where they had been fighting.
"Hardly. I didn't land a single hit on you," Weis said somewhat bitterly. Ruby Rose gave her partner a sympathetic smile and pat on the shoulder.
"Maybe but your wide variety of options for both offense and defense kept me on my toes. You even nearly managed to trap me in your ice once or twice."
Weiss shook her head, "Even so, I'm disappointed in my performance. I could tell that you were holding back that entire time."
Shirou smiled bashfully as he rubbed at the back of his head, "You're right, I was, but don't let that get to you. I've been fighting on my own for basically my entire life and, even now, I don't have a team to back me up. You, however, are different. The large number of abilities that your Semblance grants you make you an incredible asset to any team. The number of combination attacks available to you are simply staggering."
"Shirou's right," Yang added as she patted Weiss on the back. "We wouldn't be half the team we are without you!"
Weiss looked at the smiling faces of her team before smiling ruefully and saying, "Even so, it would be nice if I was able to rely on my own strength every now and then."
"Don't be absurd," Shirou said sharply, much to everyone's surprise. "On our own, there's not a whole lot that we can do. It's only by working together and relying on our friends and allies that our goals can be accomplished. I honestly envy you. For all of the power and skill that I have, I simply don't work all that well with a team. The potential for my powers to be used in conjunction with another's is incredibly limited. You, however, are the exact opposite. Your greatest strength lies in working with your team."
Weiss looked thoughtful as the others voiced their agreement. The notion that Shirou was saying was completely at odds with what she had been taught all of her life. To stand on her own two feet and rely solely on her strength to overcome all adversity. That was the lesson that her father had drilled into her for as long as she could remember. And yet, despite that, her best performances so far had been when she was working alongside someone. While she was confident that she could have taken that pack of Beowolves that they encountered in the forest on her own with some difficulty, working alongside Ruby made it a breeze. Then there was the giant Nevermore. Even at her current level, she doubted that she could have handled it on her own.
Maybe that was something else that her father was wrong about.
Smiling up at the rest of her team, Weiss nodded. "You're right. It's my responsibility to take care of my team and they'll take care of me in return." Blake nodded at her words while Yang gave her a thumbs up. Ruby just hugged her outright. "In fact, I think I already have some ideas on how we can use my Semblance…" Weiss began as she pushed Ruby off of her.
"I'll leave you girls to it, then," Shirou said before walking off.
It had only been for an instant but why did Shirou look so sad when he was leaving?
Omake 6
Unlucky Situation
After V2C5
Qrow Branwen casually tossed his Scroll onto his desk after reading the report. Qrow was a man of many contradictions. His feather-like hair was a greying black and was spiked backward with his bangs framing his dull red eyes. Between his slightly angular facial features and the slight stubble running along his jaw, it was safe to say that he was a rather attractive man. This was further emphasized by his state of dress. He wore a gray dress shirt with a long tail, black dress pants, and black dress shoes that were capped off with a tattered red cloak. Combined with his numerous rings a crooked cross necklace, he looked like an important man with a lot of money.
The contradiction was in everything else about him. The atmosphere that Qrow gave off was lackadaisical at the best of times and downright buffoonish at worst. The fact that he tended to go through most days at varying levels of drunkenness didn't help matters. Worse still, the office he was currently in was the complete opposite of how he dressed. While it wasn't messy, it also wasn't even remotely organized and every single piece of furniture in it could charitably be referred to as "cheap."
The report that Qrow had just read was one that Ozpin had just sent him. Apparently, his darlings nieces and their team had decided it'd be a good idea to get in a tussle with the White Fang and their stolen Atlesian military hardware. They had managed to resolve the situation with relatively minor property damage and no major injuries. They had even managed to get information that both revealed the presence of a White Fang hideout outside the city (something that they had suspicions of but had lacked hard evidence for) and narrowed down where it could be located. Between this and the incident at the docks a few months ago, Team RWBY was really making a name for themselves.
Frankly, Qrow was impressed. His team hadn't started into this kind of trouble until their second year.
Still, this turn of events was somewhat worrying. While Qrow had full confidence in the capabilities of his nieces, he couldn't help but worry about them. It was a big, dangerous world out there and they were starting to tangle with forces that went way beyond what any of them knew.
Well, any of them except one . Emiya Shirou was a very curious individual. Despite only being seventeen, he had the same air about him as veteran Hunters who had seen all kinds of hell. The kid's fighting was also something else. He fought with the ferocity and precision of a soldier and his fighting style seemed to frequently change based on what weapon he was using. Fighting him hadn't been like fighting a single person but rather like fighting fifty people all rolled into one. Keeping up with him had been a pain and the less said about when he fought with that stupidly long katana, the better.
Then there was the matter of the kid's luck. The fact that Qrow happened to be nearby when that hole in the sky opened up was pretty lucky by itself but things got crazy when they fought. Whenever Qrow's Semblance, which brought misfortune to others, acted up against Shirou, it was almost a crapshoot as to whether the thing that happened to him was actually bad or only seemed bad at first but was a good thing in the long run.
And then he used that "Reality Marble" thing and it took everything Qrow had to not throw his hands up then and there and call bullshit.
All in all, Qrow found this kid from another world to be an absolute headache but there was no denying that he was a good kid. From the reports Ozpin sent him and the occasional messages he got from Ruby and Yang, Shirou was doing a lot to help out not only them but literally everyone else around him. The fact that someone so completely altruistic existed should have been laughable but Emiya Shirou's mere existence was undeniable. The kid didn't seem to have a selfish bone in his body. While he had warned him to not try anything funny with Ruby, he honestly wouldn't have any complaints if she developed a crush on him. Plenty of worries but no complaints.
Still, with things going as they were, perhaps it was time for him to make an appearance. With the Vytal Festival coming up, Qrow could probably get away with taking a few personal days off. Yeah, after he located the White Fang hideout for Ozpin, he'd do just that.
Omake 7
Acceptance
After V2C9
Emiya Shirou sighed deeply, his breath coming out in a white cloud as he shoved his hands into his jacket pockets. Even with a projected Aura, it was an incredibly cold night and the fact that the sun had already set didn't help at all. Still, there was something that simply couldn't be put off any longer and required some degree of privacy so that meant it had to happen on the dorm roof. It was honestly rather amusing how many important events seemed to happen here.
After a few minutes of waiting, Shirou turned around when he heard the door open to see Ruby Rose making her way over to him. She was wearing her school uniform, surprisingly enough, but the somewhat sloppy way she was wearing it indicated that she had just thrown it on.
"Hey, Shirou. What's up?" Ruby asked as she got near.
Shirou swallowed thickly before speaking. Every part of him was screaming at him to not do this but he had already made his decision. "It's about you're invitation," he began. Ruby looked confused for a moment before her face lit up in recognition. "First of all, I'm sorry about taking so long to get back to you. I had to talk with a few people first."
"No, it's okay!" Ruby quickly said. "I know it wasn't something you had really thought about or planned on going to so it's only natural that you'd need some time to think it over!"
Shirou shook his head but carried on. "Anyway, I'd like to give you my answer now," he said before bowing. "I'd be glad to go to the dance with you."
Ruby was silent for a long moment, Shirou's growing more anxious as the seconds ticked by, before she forced him to stand straight before throwing her arms around him. "Yesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyes! Thank you thank you thank you!" she practically shouted as she tried to choke the life out of him.
Shirou was grateful for both his past experience with Velvet hugging him and the talk with Jaune and Ren he just had. The last thing he needed right now was to have another breakdown as he awkwardly returned the hug.
Ruby broke the hug enough to look at Shirou. Her eyes were sparkling with excitement and there was a slight blush on her face. "So, I'll see you at the port at 7, right?" she asked.
Shirou nodded as he forced himself to smile, "I'll be there."
Ruby hugged him fiercely again before letting go. "Thanks again, Shirou! Goodnight!" she said as she hurried off to tell Yang.
"Any time, Ruby!" Shirou replied.
Once Ruby was gone, Shirou's entire body sagged as his expression fell. It was great that Ruby was so happy but why did he still feel so miserable?
Omake 8
Trust
During V2C12
General James Ironwood sighed deeply as he stared out at the City of Vale from Beacon's airship port. The lights of the city twinkled like stars as Atlesian airships hovered protectively above. It was a glorious sight that signified the unity the two great nations had and James took great pride in this fact but the sight also left him feeling uneasy. The fact that the ships were here under these circumstances was a sign of how desperate things had become. Instead of a show of strength and unity as everyone rallied together to defeat Salem, it was instead a not-so-subtle attempt by James to basically strongarm Ozpin into actually taking action.
"Trouble sleeping?" a familiar voice called out from behind. James turned slightly to see Glynda Goodwitch approaching him.
"Arm was acting up," James said as he gripped his left bicep.
"Of course, so logically, you got out of bed, dressed yourself completely and decided to gaze menacingly out into the distance," Glydna said wryly as she came to stand by his side. "What's wrong?" she asked with a concerned look.
James gave Glynda a long look before speaking, "I've trusted him for years. We both have. I just… I can't help but feel like he's keeping us in the dark."
"Don't be ridiculous! You know very well that we are not the ones in the dark," came Glynda's immediate retort.
"Can you be sure of that? Ozpin has been doing a lot of things that make no sense and, whenever asked, he just gives vague answers. I just refuse to believe that a man that I've trusted for so long would act so… passively."
Glynda put a reassuring hand on James' shoulder before saying, "You're a good person, James. You've always done what you think is best for the people, even against strong protest. It's admirable. But it's high time you stopped talking about trust and started showing it." She dropped her hand and joined James in looking out over the city lights. She was quiet for a moment longer before saying, "Ozpin has experience that the rest of us lack. And I think that's something worth remembering."