The Rose of Nakajima

"Either you need to learn Valian, or I need to learn Belkan." Qrow told Haruka as the two walked through the Beacon Academy grounds toward the Airdock.

Haruka had been, as she'd apparently told Ozpin, waiting on the ground floor for Qrow, though at some point she'd somehow managed to remove sections of her armor, and Qrow had no idea where they'd went. The only remaining plates were her breastplate, gauntlets, and armored metal boots. The rest was simply black and red cloth, arranged in a pattern that combined a robe and a dress. She'd also donned gloves as well, somehow.

How did you do that?

"My learning Valian would be more advantageous in the long run." Haruka responded, apparently having reactivated her translator. "I would be able to understand significantly more during my stay here."

"Yeah, I get that. You don't really count here as home, do you." Qrow didn't have to ask, simply stating it. It was, to him, obvious. She'd not been on Remnant since she was three years old, it stood to reason that she didn't count a world she'd never really known of as home, especially given the way she'd been acting.

Qrow now truly accepted that she had arrived from space. Ozpin had vouched for it, after all, and he trusted the man implicitly. If Ozpin said it was true, it was true. "So, where'll you be going back to, once you can?"

"Midchilda, the TSAB's capital world." Was the immediate response. "The Grand Cathedral to be specific, to check in again and see my family, then... Wherever Cinque wants to go."

"Your family? I did notice that you've introduced yourself as Haruka Nakajima." Qrow was, admittedly, genuinely curious about the life his niece had lived. "Is that the name of the family that adopted you?" Haruka chuffed in amusement, like a large dog.

"No. I was raised in an orphanage attached to the Grand Cathedral of the Saint Church of Belka, or in the halls where the Knights trained, as I was becoming one myself. I have two families, but the one I'm talking about having to go see is, to be honest, the entirety of the Church. The Knight Corps and younger clergy are my brothers and sisters, our commanders and the older clerics are my mothers and fathers. The TSAB personnel who work with us are my aunts, uncles and cousins, and the highest ranks of the church are my grandparents. As for the Nakajimas, well… I wouldn't even make it planetside before everyone showed up, no need to go looking. If anything, they'll probably come find me first, before I find my way home." She smiled as she spoke, seeming to be fondly reminiscing about her 'families'.

The two continued in silence for a moment, Haruka apparently about the topic just spoken of, and Qrow about what she'd said.

Wait, who's Cinque?

***

"We're here." Qrow spoke up a few minutes later, the two having reached the Airdock. A single Bullhead VTOL waited on a landing pad off to the left, the pilot leaning against the side of his craft helmet under his arm. He threw up an arm as Qrow and Haruka approached, to which Qrow waved back at his friend, though Haruka just nodded.

"Hey, Flavius. One more trip for today, we're headin' home to Patch." Qrow told the blonde man, who nodded, husky ears twitching a bit as he did so.

"Alright, jus' so long as th're's no sudden lightshow this time." The man chuckled. "Load up yer stuff." Haruka nodded at him, and climbed into the tiltjet. "So, you ever goin' to tell me what the hell that was about?" Flavius asked Qrow.

"I wish I could. But this is so friggin' secret not even Glynda can know. Hell, Ironwood's not getting told anything he can't get himself. And, Flav?"

"Yeah?"

"She doesn't exist." Qrow told one of his closest friends in the world, one of a handful of people who knew nearly every secret he had. Hell, this was the guy who'd flown Amber to Beacon after That Bitch had taken half her soul. This was the guy who'd brought over from Atlas all the pieces of Ironwood's Aura Transfer machine. This was a man who had been brought into a conspiracy numbering barely under a dozen people across Remnant. And he still wasn't allowed to know.

"Sorry, who's this 'she' yer talkin' about?" Flavius asked, grinning. Qrow clapped him on the shoulder, glad he understood.

"Thanks, man."

"Any time, Qrow. Any time." Flavius clapped him on the shoulder in return, and slipped his helmet on. "Now, get in. I've been ready fer takeoff since we got here, 'cause I thought I might have to take you guys somewhere. Get in back an' we'll be off, and I'll drop you off in yer backyard."

"Alright, thanks again, Flav." Qrow did as Flavius told him to, pulling out his scroll at the same time. "Have to make a call." He explained as Haruka, sitting in the corner and staring at the holographic screens above her scroll-equivalent, tilted her head to the side.

"Ah." She nodded, and returned her attention to her odd device, tapping a few things on the holographic screens. She then glanced up and spoke again.

"Kannst du mich noch verstehen?"

Qrow gazed down at her blankly, and she nodded, seemingly satisfied, before returning again to the odd scroll-equivalent. He shook his head, and took out his own scroll as he felt the engines start up. Alright, then.

Qrow flipped through his scroll's screens to his speed dial, and called the second number on the list.

Taiyang Xiao Long answered on the first ring.

"Qrow. What's up, you usually don't call this early at night." Taiyang said. "I'm kinda currently looking after a busload of kids at Signal, waiting for parents to come pick them up, can I call you back?"

"No, you can't, this is kinda urgent. Do we still have that spare guest room set up?"

"Qrow, that sort of thing isn't very urgent. Besides, my class can hear you, and now they're all giggling. Except Yang, she's laughing." Taiyang's voice was very disapproving.

"Wer ist er? Wen rufst du an?" Haruka asked from where she sat in the corner of the Bullhead. The blood red holograms in front of her face gave her a bit of a sinister air, Qrow had to admit.

"Who's that? Qrow?" Now Taiyang sounded confused. "She sounds familiar, but what's she saying?"

"She damn well should be familiar, but I have no idea what she's saying." Qrow told him. "That said, take your scroll off speaker, Tai. This is important enough I haven't had a drink since it all started." There was a click on the other end of the line.

"Alright, I have, and I even walked around the corner of the building. Now, what the hell's going on, Qrow?"

"Er kling wütend, Wätcherbeist. Was hast du gesagt, um ihn so kuzer Zeit zu verärgern?" Haruka added to her previous statement.

"Well, I'll give you a friggn' hint, Tai. I found her in a wrecked ship, and she's her mother's spitting image."

There was a pause if a few seconds before the man on the other end spoke again.

"You're not… You're fucking joking. You're just fucking with me, aren't you." Now Taiyang was pissed off, and it really showed in his voice. "Aren't you?"

"Not a chance in hell, Tai. I'll send you a fuckin' picture if you don't believe me." Qrow turned, flipped his scroll up, and took a photograph as Haruka looked at him in vague confusion, the metal cross set onto the floor, one hand on her opposite shoulder, the other poised at the edge of a holographic screen. The photo was sent immediately, and just seconds later, there was a sharp intake of breath on the other end of the line.

"You weren't. You weren't fucking kidding. My god, you were right. It is her." There was muffled speaking on the other end of the line for several seconds, then Taiyang came back. "Yang and I are on the way home, we'll meet you there. And yeah, there is still a guest bedroom set up. She can… She can have it, permanently if she wants." Taiyang sounded like he was having a hard time not bursting into tears of joy.

"I'll tell her. We're not that far out from Patch, we might beat you home. After all, we're on a Bullhead, coming in from Beacon. I'll tell you everything when we get there."

"I'll be waiting on the porch for the both of you." Taiyang confirmed. "Goddamn, she's finally home."