With the Power of Dust and Friendship by My Side

Alban is standing beside Glynda Goodwitch, looking down at the stadium together. "Was this really necessary, Miss Goodwitch?" he asked.

But before the blonde professor could answer, a calm voice appeared beside them. "Quite a show you got here," the old wizard said, carrying his usual mug.

"I just did this to make sure Miss Ruby Rose gets out of her shell," she cooly replied to both Ozpin and Alban.

"You are aware of Ruby's nature, right?" she asked, making the former Specialist tilt his head.

As for Ozpin, he sipped his hot choco and replied, "And what of it?"

Only now did Alban look closer at his adoptive sister, who was quivering in fear. "Wait… she has a fear of crowds," he nodded.

"En," Glynda nodded, and she was just trying to do what she thought was best for the girl.

Noticing Ruby's silver eyes turned toward him, Alban did what he must do as an older brother… telling her to beat the shit out of her opponent, his student or not. "Do your best, Ruby!" he yelled. He turned his head toward Glynda, not noticing Ruby's heartbroken look.

"Yes, Miss Goodwitch?" he asked.

"Sigh, nevermind," she shook her head.

Looking at Weiss cheering for Ruby, Alban smiled. "She has a good partner," he said.

"That, she does," Ozpin nodded.

"Professor Ozpin, if I may?" Looking at the old wizard, Alban is bewildered.

"Yes, Mister Cygnus?"

"Is the hot choco inside infinite? You have been sipping the hot choco nonestop for 15 minutes and it doesn't show any sign of being empty," he asked.

"That, Mister Cygnus, is what we called magic," Ozpin smirked, earning a harsh glare from Glynda.

"Alright," Alban deadpanned at the old wizard.

"Oh…," Ozpin muttered. "Her eyes changed," he said.

Glynda and Alban watched toward the arena, where they saw Ruby start her counterattack.

"Glynda, I believe, Miss Rose had found her determination again," the white-haired wizard smirked.

Alban smiled at the sight of Ruby using her Semblance and attacking Cardin without letting the mace-wielding man a single chance to counter.

With the final X-shaped slash from Ruby, Cardin Winchester falls down, resulting in Ruby's victory.

"The winner is Ruby Rose!" Alban stands up and announces the winner. He smiles at his sister's polite bow toward her friends.

Alban heard Weiss Schnee yelling something before Ruby changed into a determined person and started her counterattack. "She has a good partner," the Specialist muttered.

"We have a lot of promising students this year," the old wizard mused.

"It will be better if they follow the school rules," Glynda added. As for Alban, he scratched his cheek awkwardly.

Ozpin, followed by Glynda, walked down from the viewing area while Alban was standing there to look around the students.

"Students," Ozpin started. "As you know, Beacon Academy is one of the 4 Huntsmen Academy in the Remnant. This is where Humans and Faunus alike geather to receive training to become Huntsmen and Huntresses tasked with slaying the creature of Grimm," he continued.

"Much remains unknown about the origin of Grimm and whether they are even alive is yet to be confirmed," the old wizard put both of his hands on the Long Memory.

"We, Huntsmen and Huntresses, use our Aura in a way that no ordinary humans cannot. It allows us to show a variety of techniques to fight against the Grimm which are resistant to ordinary military weapons," he pushes up the glasses with his fingers.

"But, it is not just the strength of your Aura, master of techniques… or even resolve or strength of mind that makes a strong huntsmen or huntresses," looking around the students sitting in the viewing area, he huffed. "It is up to you to find out the answer to it," after saying that, he walked away without looking back.

"Now students, please go back to your class," Glynda announced before following Ozpin.

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Alban bought 2 sports drinks and walked toward the waiting room. "Good job, Ruby," he handed her a drink.

"I finally found the reason why I wanted to become a Huntress," she started, looking down at the drinking bottle in her hand.

"I noticed," Alban nodded, a smile formed on his face. "And I am proud of you." And he meant it. Ruby, before this fight, was like a little girl who had lost her way. And now? She is looking a lot better with a hint of maturity in her.

"Thank you, bro," she smiled.

"Don't mention it. Oh and your teammates are waiting for you outside," he said, pointing at the door with his thumb.

"Iwillbegoingnow.Thankyouforthedrink!" (I will be going now. Thank you for the drink!) She rushed outside using her Semblance.

"And here I thought she had matured," Alban smiled fondly. Shaking his head, he walked towards the other side of the waiting room.

There, Alban found Cardin Winchester sitting on a chair, hanging his head in shame. He got his ass kicked in front of many students by someone younger than him by 2 years to boot.

"You did well back there," Alban quietly arrived behind him, making the blonde-haired boy jump.

"I did well back there? I was utterly humiliated!" he shouted back at the whitehead.

"Come here," Alban sat on the bench and patted the empty space beside him. Cardin, although glaring at his new teacher, sat there nonetheless.

"Cardin… Can I call you Cardin?" Alban asked.

"Call whatever you want," the blonde bully huffed.

"Well, Cardin, today is my first day teaching at school so obviously I am not good with comforting someone. I am usually at the receiving end," Alban laughed a little.

"Just get on with it, teach," Cardin is in no bullshit mode and glares at the whitehead.

"Okay, okay," the Herrscher sighed. "Do you know why you lost to Ruby?" he asked.

"That was just a fluke," Cardin gritted his teeth.

"You were treating the battle at the stadium as some sort of game aren't you?" Alban asked. "Somewhere you have to be flashy to make yourself look more important, make yourself look stronger," he added.

A hint of anger flashed through Cardin's eyes, but he didn't retort, silently listening to what Alban was saying.

"You shouldn't hold yourself back in case you want to look more flashy, Cardin," Alban continued. "You should give it your all if not, you won't know what hit you," he smiled.

"Yeah, right," Cardin grumbled. "Like Jaunny boy?" he laughed.

Alban sighed a little. "Do you know Cardin? I've watched almost all the duels from the combat class of the first year," he stated. And that is true. He had watched the duels given to him by Glynda Goodwitch yesterday while waiting for his teacher to get sober.

"And yes, Mister Arc has less than satisfactory scores in the combat class," Alban agreed.

"Then!" Cardin tried to say something but was met with a chop on his head by Alban.

"But! As you know, the Beacon Academy doesn't only look at the combat ability when accepting the students."

"Oh, tell me. What makes Jaunny boy qualified to be a student here?"

Alban sighed. "I'm not sure I'm supposed to show you this but here, look at this," taking out his scroll, Alban showed how Jaune and his team did against the Death Stalker in the initiation.

"As you can see, Mr. Arc led a team full of strangers to take down the Death Stalker. I wonder if you can do the same?"

Cardin didn't want to admit it, but he couldn't. He tried to tell the teacher in front of him that the video was fake, but he didn't have the strength to say that. His pride as a fighter and a team leader was broken apart by the very two he had been looking down to.

The look on Cardin's face did not escape Alban. Ruffling the blonde's hair, the Herrscher gave him a warm smile. "There, there, don't be upset. Everyone has their strong point and you have yours too! You just need to fix something."

"Huh?"

"You are already strong, Cardin. But you thought you were already stronger than your peers and stopped improving yourself. If you can fix that, you'll be better in no time!"

"Is that so?" Cardin muttered. What the teacher in front of him said was somewhat true.

He, Cardin Winchester, came to this Academy with the dream of climbing to the top as he was one of the best back in primary school. However, the reality is harsh. His ego took a massive blow in the face of monstrous talents like Pyrrha, Yang, Weiss, and others. That's why he was bullying Jaune, the leader of the same team of which the strongest student in their year is a member of. He was trying to make himself look bigger and heal his ego, even if a little.

"Do you… Do you believe if I try hard enough, I can become better?"

"You already have talents, Cardin. Just do your best," Alban smiled.

"Thank you, Teach," Cardin nodded.

"But it will be hard for you to take revenge against Ruby, though. She was taught by my teacher's brother," Alban warned. "Qrow Xiao Long… what a weird name," he muttered. It has been years since he knew the name, but it still feels weird for him.

"Then I'll just need to break my limit," Taking the drink Alban gave him, he walked out of the room with a renewed look. No one knows what he is thinking, but he'll be a better person starting this moment.

"You did well, handling the issue," Glynda Goodwitch walks toward Alban.

"You were listening?"

"I came here to check on you. You were taking too long," Glynda answered. "You handled and educated Cardin Winchester without being harsh on him. You did well," and this time, it is Alban's turn to get head pats.

"They have bright futures awaiting him, Miss Goodwitch," Alban smiles. "And as a teacher, I need to make sure their futures stay bright."

A satisfied smile appeared on Glynda Goodwitch's face, making more head pats rain down on Alban's head.

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It is already 5 in the evening, and the sun is starting to set. Alban is sitting in his office, preparing for the lesson tomorrow.

*Knock!* *Knock!* *Knock!*

"Come in!" the whitehead answered.

Opening the door, Jaune walked into the room with his head hanging down.

"Good evening, Mr. Arc," Alban smiled at the sight of the leader of the team JNPR.

"Good evening, Professor Cygnus," the boy replied.

Raising his eyebrow, Alban asked, "You looked down. Did something happen?" He quickly put the papers on the table into the drawer.

"It…," Jaune draws out what he was going to say, but it looks like he has another thought about it. "It's nothing, Professor Cygnus," he replied.

Looking at the depressed Jaune, Alban was lost in thought. "Now, please follow me, Mister Arc," The Herrscher walked out of the room, followed by Jaune Arc.

"Here it is! I found this place yesterday," Alban took Jaune to the rooftop facing the Cliffside. "Come here, sit beside me," patting a place beside him, Alban called Jaune. And the blonde sat there without saying anything.

"Jaune… can I call you Jaune?"

"Ah… please," the blonde student nodded.

"So, Jaune… Do you know why I volunteered to take care of your detention?"

"I don't know, sir."

"Live up a little, will ya? I just want to talk with you, that's all," Alban smiled.

"Hahaha," came a dry laugh from the student's mouth.

"So, to address the elephant in the room," Alban's voice draws out, making Jaune swallow his saliva.

"Why didn't you tell the truth to your team?" Alban asked, making Jaune a little pale. "I meant about Cardin's bullying," the whitehead continued, making Jaune sigh in relief.

"I… I can't. I am the team leader and I cannot burden them with my problems," Jaune replied.

"Being a team leader does not mean you have to be perfect, Jaune. And I can clearly see your teammates care for you."

Silence… Jaune did not say anything.

"Jaune… you have a strong sense of integrity and I admire that. But that does not mean disregarding your physical and mental health for your teammates' well being is a good thing to do," Alban sighed.

"Jaune… being a team leader does not mean you get to shoulder all the responsibilities. Sooner or later, you will break down," the whitehead continued.

"But… they are important to me," came a small voice from Jaune.

"I know. And you are important to them too. Just think about how they will feel when you collapse because you burdened yourself for their sake?"

"I…"

"How about your partner? Being a partner means having each other's back," Alban said, looking at the sun going under the sea.

"I trust Pyrrha! I really do," Jaune exclaimed. "But…"

"But you are frustrated that she easily accepted you as the leader," Alban continued the sentence. "You felt that you didn't deserve to be one after knowing her achievements."

"Ye… yes," Jaune nodded.

"You… got a really good partner there, Jaune… reminding me of myself back in the day," Alban smiles. But this time, there is some sadness in it.

"Anyway! You cannot always do things alone, Jaune. Have you ever heard about 'With the power of Dust and friendship by my side, I can never lose'?" Alban asked.

"I am sorry, what?"

"Yeah, believe it or not, that is true for the most part. That was the time when I was doing a mission and I had to fight against White Fang. Those two… kids? A feline and a bull faunus… They always get power ups whenever they think about each other while fighting against me," Alban nodded, thinking back to his fun times.

"Did they…?"

"Ah… no, they are still alive… I think? I never kill my enemy unless I have to. A chop of thunder chop each on their neck did the deal," Alban laughed. And he let them escape many times. They were just children, and he didn't want them to spend their youth in prison.

"We got sidetracked. What I want to say is, rely on your partner, and your teammates. A hero does not move alone and it always ends badly when a hero tries to burden everything on themselves," Alban smiles as he thinks about a certain Tuna.

"A hero also needs to rely on others?"

"Yes, nobody can become stronger alone," Alban nodded.

"I… I'll try. I'll try to rely more on my teammates," with a determined look, Jaune looks at Alban.

"There you go. It wasn't that hard, wasn't it?" Alban smiles as he ruffles Jaune's hair. "You can go now."

(Illustration by Soko_Arts)

"I'll be going now, Mister Cygnus! Thank you for your advice!"

Hearing the sound of a door opening, Alban dropped a bomb on Jaune. "And don't worry about the transcripts! We all knew about it!"

"AHHH!!!" And came the sound of something falling down the stairs.

"Ah… the sun is beautiful," without moving from a spot, Alban stares at the sun setting into the sea.

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Jaune is staring at the team JNPR's dorm room. Heaving out a sigh, he knocks on the door.

"Yes?" Opened the red-haired girl.

"Hey, Pyrrha," Jaune scratched his head as he laughed awkwardly.

"Yes, Jaune?" Pyrrha tilts her head.

"Can you… can you help me train?"

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It is already night, and Alban is still sitting on the rooftop without moving an inch.

"The moon… no matter where, it always looks beautiful," he started. Taking his eyes away from the moon, he glanced to the side.

"You agree with me right, my Queen?" Appeared before him was a teenage girl with purple hair and yellow eyes. Floating in the air, she looks majestic.

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Author's Note;

Hey there! It has been a while! First, I was very busy these days, so I am sorry about that.

And secondly, although it is already late, today is my birthday. YAY!!!

Finally, it was hard to write both Cardin and Jaune's scenes. So, I am very sorry if something is wrong with the scene.

Yes, I intended to add the Queen from the start.

Please help me think of a better fanfic title for this... please?