"Are you saying that they have met each other?" he asked, his face leaning against the glass window.

"Crow says they just crossed eyes, and the Ruri girl seemed a little… out of it to realize it. However, we can't be sure if your daughter noticed the resemblance," she answered.

Great, this was the last thing she needed, he thought as he looked at her still working with Yuya and Gongenzaka on giving much needed maintenance to the garden.

'I thought we had more time, that they had more time' Yuzu, all of them shouldn't be thrown into this so early.

Glynda was now standing behind him, having stood up from the couch to stare at the same sight as him: Yuya was now drenching the others with the hose after she complained about lingering dirt.

There was a long sigh heard before she continued, "Have you talked to her? Has she asked any …unusual questions?"

Right, what could qualify? Shuzo wondered. Maybe something like 'Hey Dad, do I have losttwin sistersor did Momcheaton you and had a bunch of daughters spread around in the kingdoms?' He almost wanted to snort at the thought.

The mind fills your head with the most outrageous thoughts when you feel like sinking into the ground.

"Shuzo?"

"Wh- Sorry, I was just thinking," he said. "No, and I feel like she only told me about their little adventure because you told me first."

"So she's secretive."

"She's loyal. Something more must have happened, Glynda, and she's just looking out for her friends," he corrected, quickly coming to his daughter's defense.

Besides, he was hardly someone to complain about secrets.

"Shuzo, this is not about silly school friendships. She barely avoided being taken away. If the news weren't feasting themselves with the Heartland news, her face could have been plastered on each stream-"

"You think I don't know that? You think I'm not afraid of coming home every day with the dreading thought of her just… vanishing?" he yelled, finally tearing his eyes from the window. "And don't talk about them as 'silly' school friends," he demanded.

That's how he and Yoko met, after all.

"My apologies…Weren't the bracelets supposed to prevent this situation?" asked Glynda.

"I was told that Ruri lost hers heavens knows how long ago," he answered,

"I see."

They both fell into silence then, but Shuzo couldn't help but wonder how Ozpin planned to have everything working out before Rin, Ruri or Yuzu eventually met during the Festival, they had been told not to worry by him, but telling Shuzo not worry after what happened what futile.

But given that Ozpin had his own share of secrets when it came to the girls as well, he could do nothing but trust him at the moment.

"So what news have you from Ozpin?" He wasn't going to believe for a second that Glynda was here for a social call. Glynda was not a bad or unpleasant person at all, but she was a little too…stiff in his perspective.

"Serena has been sighted." She spoke.

If he had been drinking something, he would have spat it out. If a Taurus Grimm was storming into his home, he would have paid no mind. And maybe if Yoko walked into the house, he would still be frozen trying to assimilate the news.

"It has been so long," he barely mustered.

"There is more," she said. Of course there was. "She was found …as a student in Atlas Academy. Ironwood informed us as soon as he came across her expedient."

"Since when is Ironwood informed of these matters?" he asked.

"Ozpin had given the other Headmasters a heads-up for her bracelet along with Ruri's, Ironwood was the lucky one and he pretty much demanded to know Ozpin's reasoning." she answered with a snort.

"And he agreed?"

"You know how unrelenting he can be. Either way, if Ozpin thinks of him as trustworthy enough, we have no say on the matter."

Shuzo took a moment to gather himself. He was not excited to work with Ironwood, but Glynda had a point

"How did they slip her under our radar? We scoured every possible nook in all the kingdoms," he asked finally.

"We don't know. Her paperwork makes the story untraceable. She's an orphan from a village outside the walls that was ravaged by Grimms. After being rescued she went from orphan basic school to… one of the LDS branches, some scholarship program they have, and was scouted for the Academy after winning some local tournaments and… Ironwood says she showed no signs of recognizing Ozpin." she said reading a file that she then passed to him.

He read everything, hoping that Glynda missed something, but she was right. Nothing about her life story was abnormal, not even the Grimm-ravaged village story was unusual.

And orphans were all too common in Remnant.

"There is something off with these documents," spoke Glynda after a while. "They all mention at some point Jean-Michel Roget."

"The Mistral Diplomat?" he asked, a little baffled. Shuzo had never met the man, but he was famous for having risen through the ranks of bureaucracy from scratch. "Isn't he too… important to meddle with such affairs?" After all, he was not known to be charitable or even a pleasant person to be around.

Unless you had something he wanted.

"I've checked his background. As it turns out, he does fund raising for a couple foster homes programs. He claims to be an orphan himself, and wanting to help people like him to have better opportunities," informed Glynda, with a click of her tongue making her disbelief clear.

"Then is it another dead-end?" he asked.

"Not quite," she replied, handing over an envelope, it was a purple and it had the official seal of the Vytal Festival.

"He… will be Mistral's representative at the Vytal Festival?!" he yelled right after he read its contents

"One can only wonder how much money he threw around for the position, but if he's here, we can monitor him."

"Leave it to me," he offered.

"Can't be done," she refused. "We already have someone keeping tabs on him. We need you on a much more important mission."

-oOo-

"Hey Dad! We finished with the garden, and- Hi Professor Glynda." She did a small double-take at seeing her seated in her house drinking tea with her Dad.

"Good evening, Miss Hiragi," she saluted.

"Um, hi. Nice seeing you around Professor," she said, aware of her robotic movements and expressions and her muddy clothes and face "How is, um, the school?"

"Quite well," she said, rising from her seat. "Shuzo, this has been a …lovely chat, but I need to head back to the guest house. I'll be taking the first airship to Beacon tomorrow morning," she said, and for the first time, Yuzu noticed the bags under her eyes.

"Oh Miss Glynda, you don't have too. We have a spare room for guests." After all, the guest house was all the way on the other side of the village, and Grimms roamed the forests at night.

"That is very generous of you, Miss Hiragi, but I do not wish to impose," she responded, slipping into a coat.

"It wouldn't be-" She stopped at the feel of a hand on her hair and Yuzu looked up to see the professor with a tiny smile on her lips.

Yuzu had a nostalgic feeling response at her expression.

"You are very kind," she said. "But unfortunately, I already paid for the night. Make sure not to sleep too late Miss Hiragi," she advised as she exited her home.

Yuzu stood frozen in place for a full minute touching her hair before she was brought back to the real world.

"Sorry about that, Yuzu. She had a message from Ozpin," said her Dad.

"Oh! Do tell," she said, hopping in excitement at him.

"Can't do it sweetie. Professionalism, remember?" he teased, winking at her. "So make sure to become a huntress so we can share work anecdotes while we drink," he said from the kitchen, probably checking the food.

"Sure thing Dad," she said, starting to set the plates for dinner while her Dad was bringing a steaming pot of meat and vegetables.

"Still…" he started and Yuzu was slightly taken aback when she noticed the… trembling on his eyes. "No need to hurry up, remember all good things…"

"Take time, yeah I remember." She said with a shrug but she felt her hand being grabbed and there was no more doubts of his earnestness.

"I mean it, Yuya and Gongenzaka and you still have time." He sated again. "No need to hurry up right?" he all but begged.

"Of course Dad, I won't forget." She said a little bewildered at the sudden turn of mood in the chat.

"Good, its promise." He said,

"Yes," she assured him "A promise." She repeated and only until she said so, he let go of her hand

And Yuzu could feel that this was about much more than a silly saying.

You know they say 13 is a bad luck number right? Mmmm. *Totally not hinting anything here*

Well and this is the conclusion for this extra series, I hope you guys enjoyed it, and that this chapter answered some questions (I can't have you knowing ALL the answers just yet can I? ) and also because Shuzo being a dad is a weakness of mine (or really any parent)

The writing of the Volume 2 is well and good, already have the Prologue done, but I need to write ahead some chapters or else my anxiety (and with it the writer's block) will get ahold of me.

See you soon!