Ch 6: Reprimand or Interview? (3)

"So I see." Ray said, keeping his face carefully blank, he turned his attention towards Ozpin.

[That should have been from when I was hunting for Raven and her clan in Minstral. When I first started seriously laying the foundation for my plans and gathering allies.] The room fell into a deep, heavy silence as Ray and Ozpin just stared at each other, both thinking, both trying to read the other's thoughts and intentions.

[What else do you know, old man?] Ray wondered, concerned. There were many things he would like to keep hidden, and not just because some of the things he had done over the last five years weren't things he was particularly proud of. Salem and Ozpin had been playing this game for far too long. If Ozpin had figured out what Ray had planned, he might, inadvertently, make some movements that would alert Salem that there was a new player on the field. If that happened, all the preparations he had made in the last few years, all the traps he had placed, all the people he had recruited and carefully positioned, all the plans he had made might become worthless. As the saying went, "Don't fear a god-like opponent, fear a pig-headed teammate." He and Ozpin might be fighting for the same goal, but working together, at this point at least, would do more harm than good.

The silent standoff between the two game masters continued as the tension in Glynda's body, and the excitement in Ruby's continued to build. Until finally someone couldn't stand it any longer.

"Oh my god! What was that! That was Awesome!!" Ruby cried out. Unable to contain her excitement any longer, Ruby jumped at Ray, grabbed him by his shoulder, and shook him.

"How did you do that! That was your Aura Manifestation Susanoo there at the end! Wasn't it?! Squeeee!!! I had no idea it was so awesome! And cool! And powerful! And just wow! You killed that oversized Beowolf like it was nothing! You have got to teach me that! Please! Teach me! Teach me! Teach me! Pleeeaasssseeeee!" Ruby was so excited she was starting to babel. Ruby's innocent excitement utterly broke the tension in the room.

"HaHa." Ray laughed as he pinched his sister's nose, his face softening into a loving smile.

"You better focus more on training to control your Aura if you ever want to use a technique like Susanoo. Tell you what, once you master weaponizing your Aura, then I'll consider teaching you Susanoo." Ray turned back to face the adults and saw Glynda beginning to relax while the interest in Ozpin's eyes only seemed to grow.

"Ahem." Ozpin coughed. "Anyway, Mr. Rose. Why did you turn down the offer for immediate enrollment in Beacon Academy two years ago? You could have been the youngest and most powerful Huntsman to ever graduate from Beacon?"

Ozpin still remembered the shock he had experienced when he had read Ray's letter of rejection. Ray had just been 13 years old at the time. A young man with great power should have been eager to prove himself and earn his peers and elders' accolades. Yet, he had rejected the opportunity to step into Beacon Academy, one of if not the most prestigious huntsman academies in Remnant, four years earlier than anyone else. He would have set all kinds of new records and earned the envy and admiration of everyone. But instead, he had rejected the offer with a simple thanks, but no thanks. Ozpin had found it shocking and fascinating, wondering what kind of kid this young man was, even as he was disappointed. Ray's strength in that video was already at an almost unheard-of level. Even among some of the most accomplished Huntsmen. He possessed tremendous potential and would have been a great help in the upcoming calamity with the right training.

"EEEEEEEEEEHHHHHH!!!" Ruby shouted. "You were accepted into Beacon two years ago! And you turned it down! Why?! What were you thinking!? Why would you do something like that!?" Ruby just kept getting louder and more incomprehensible, her pitch rising with every sentence, as she became almost hysterical from the news.

Seeing that she wasn't going to calm down on her own anytime soon, Ray reached out and wrapped one of his arms around his sister's waist, tugging her down to sit on his lap. Holding her down with his left arm wrapped around her waist and covering her mouth with his right hand, Ray rested his chin on top of her head, locking her in place, as he turned his attention back to Ozpin. His abrupt actions caused Ruby to freeze as her brain short-circuited. She sat there in her twin brother's lap, her eyes spinning and her face crimson.

"The reason I turned down your offer to study at Beacon was simple," Ray said with a shrug. Ozpin and Glynda focused their attention on Ray, and Ruby started to push down her embarrassment so that she could make sure she heard his next words.

"I didn't want to leave Ruby." Ray's simple direct statement gave both Glynda and Ozpin pause, and any rationale that Ruby might have been able to scrape together disappeared as shock, joy, and embarrassment flooded through her at his words.

"We would have been just about to enter Signal Academy. There is no way I could have left my twin sister alone to start a new school all by herself, even if our older sister would have still been there. We have been together since the day we were born, and I don't want to leave her. I want all of us to always be together."

"Ray!" Ruby cried, wriggling around in his arms to hug him and bury her face in his chest.

"Besides." Ray's loving smile turned into a teasing smirk. "She is a socially awkward loner with zero ideas of how to communicate with people. If I left her alone, she would either become a recluse or let someone take advantage of her innocence and naivety."

"Hey!" Ruby slugged him in the arm for that comment and tried to stand back up with a pout, but Ray's arm still around her waist prevented her from escaping. Ray playfully ruffled her hair for that before both of them turned their attention to the adults still in the room.

"...Do either of you know who I am?" Ozpin asked, seeing them return their attention to the matter at hand.

"You're Professor Ozpin. You're the Headmaster at Beacon." Ruby answered.

"Hello," Ozpin said with a chuckle, having finally introduced himself.

"Nice to meet you."

"A pleasure."

Ruby and Ray responded.

"You want to come to my school?" Ozpin asked, focusing his attention on Ruby.

Ruby glanced up at her brother. "If it's because of my own capabilities?" Ruby pushed out, slightly worried. Ozpin nodded.

"More than anything." Ruby's voice was thick with desire.

Ozpin looked up at Glynda, who rolled her eyes with a hmmph, signaling her approval.

"Well, okay." Ozpin said with a smile.

Ruby's face lit up. Ozpin turned his attention to Ray.

"What do you say, Mr. Rose?"

"Ray, please," Ray said, glancing down at his sister, who was squirming around on his lap, looking up at him with excited puppy-dog eyes.

"Well, I suppose if Ruby is going, then I don't really have any reason to refuse. It would be an honor."

Ozpin smiled and nodded.

"Yahoo! We are going to Beacon, Ray! Together!" Ruby sprung to her feet, barely able to contain her excitement. After hopping around for a bit, Ruby turned her attention back to her brother with a forced pout.

"Don't think I've forgiven you for keeping such a secret from me and calling me socially inept. You're going to be making cookies for me for a week." Ruby declared as she turned around to walk out of the room in an apparent huff.

"As you command, my lady." Ray laughed as he rose to his feet and nodded at the Ozpin and Glynda.

"Thank you." he said simply before following after his sister.