The two visitors stopped outside the private room. It wasn't one of the lush suites made available for patients who were willing to pay for extra privacy and/or comfort. The room wasn't any better provided for than any of the other wards - it could be said that it was worse off since it lacked its own window.

It couldn't even really claim to offer privacy. The door had a large window and there were mirrors placed that anyone at the door could see the corners of the room without entering.

The man crooked his finger and his companion didn't bat an eyelid at using the window and mirrors to evaluate the occupant. Her nod was almost imperceptible and he waved his scroll against the door, unlocking it and then pushing it open and holding it for the woman with him.

The patient looked up from the bed but didn't say anything as the visitors studied the display at the foot of the bed. Her vitals scrolled across it, along with her identity.

"Nyanza. That's a pretty name."

"They picked it at random." The patient didn't try to hide the fact she was studying her guests as much as they were examining her. "But you know that."

Without asking, he took a seat next to the bed and his companion stood like a guard behind his shoulder. "It's recorded that before the Great War, all of the unidentified were called John Doe or Jane Doe, depending on their gender. There's a little more individuality to this."

"Perhaps you're right." She inclined her head. "Thank you for the history lesson."

The man sipped from the mug he held in one hand. "You're welcome. I'm told you have no recollection of how you came to be here?"

There was a sniff from the woman behind him, but the woman in the bed nodded ruefully. "It's hard to believe? I suppose it is. It's really hard for me to prove the absence of memories. I can guess that it's important. You're both huntsmen, after all."

"It shows?"

"Something about the way you move…" She shook her head. "I can't put my finger on why, but I'm sure."

"Not everyone with those sorts of skills is a huntsman… but you're right. My name is Ozpin and my companion is Professor Goodwitch."

Amber eyes narrowed. "Ozpin. It's familiar, somehow." She looked at the woman. "I'm sorry, I can't say the same for your name, Professor."

"Ironically, we've met before."

The patient's breath quickened almost imperceptibly. "I see."

"Professor Goodwitch brought you here," Ozpin advised her. "Two nights ago, after an altercation on the rooftops of Vale."

"An… altercation? Somehow that sounds as if I was in trouble. I mean… it's obvious I'm in trouble now. Or that I am trouble." The amber-eyed woman gestured dismissively. "Or all of the above?"

"There was an armed robbery," Goodwitch replied tersely. "A man named Torchwick and several associates were driven out of the shop they'd attacked by a trainee-huntress. She gave chase and I was able to come to her assistance before she bit off more than she could chew."

"I'd imagine that if I was the trainee my identity wouldn't be in doubt. So I'm an associate? I can't say that that speaks well of me."

Glynda nodded in confirmation. "You weren't a participant in the robbery. Torchwick escaped in a bullhead and you'd been aboard it. When I arrived, you held me off and he left you behind."

"So much for loyalty. I'm impressed though. Holding my own against a huntress." A little smile danced across her lips. "My, my."

Ozpin lowered his mug. "Yes. It's quite rare for someone the Huntsman Guild has no record to be able to hold off someone as accomplished as Professor Goodwitch, particularly with the support of quite a talented young woman."

"And I suppose that you're here to take me off to my lawful detention… since I'm evidently a dangerous criminal." She pushed the bedsheets down. "If you'd called ahead then I'd have dressed for the occasion."

"I believe," Ozpin said seriously, "That someone with your talents belongs in a certain institution. Somewhere that you can be supervised, yes. But also somewhere your potential can receive the opportunities you deserve. The fact you're not registered with the Huntsman's Guild suggests that you've been overlooked and I find that disappointing."

She gave him a thoughtful look and then shrugged. "I'm not quite following your meaning. You can't mean…"

The man nodded. "How would you like to attend Beacon Academy?"

"You can't be serious."

"Unfortunately, he is."

The patient looked at Goodwitch. "You just told me I'm a criminal."

"Strictly," the professor said with evident reluctance, "You're an accessory. A prison sentence would mean two, perhaps three years at most. And then you'd be on the streets with a criminal record logged in all four kingdoms, with nowhere to go except back into a life of crime. The headmaster feels that that would be a waste of your potential."

"Headmaster?"

Ozpin nodded.

"You're in charge of a school?"

He saluted with his mug and sipped again at the contents. "Well? Are you interested?"

"It sounds… better than most of my alternatives, right now."

"Ruby!" Taiyang called from the porch. "Your scroll's ringing!"

His youngest daughter looked up from where she was playing with her dog. "My scroll?" She checked her pockets and came up empty.

With a sigh, Taiyang held out the device. "You left it on the side."

"Oh. Oh yeah!" she scrambled up and blurred to the porch. "I didn't want to drop it when I was playing with Zwei."

Her father turned away as she opened the device but he paused, ears pricking up as she opened it and he heard a familiar voice.

"Ruby Rose."

"Professor!" Ruby exclaimed. "I'm sorry."

There was a pause and Taiyang could picture the face of Glynda Goodwitch staring out of the scroll over her spectacles. "And what are you sorry for, Miss Rose?"

"Uh, keeping you waiting?"

"It'll be important to keep your scroll on you at all times at Beacon," the Beacon's combat instructor observed with only a mild note of chiding.

"Yes ma'am"

"It seemed best to inform you that you may see a familiar face when you arrive at Beacon." There was a sigh. "You'll remember the young woman I… we… captured during your little adventure a few days ago."

"The one who was throwing fire at us?"

Taiyang's eyebrows jerked upwards. 'Fire?' he mouthed to Ruby. She'd said something about defeating some robbers and drawing the attention of Ozpin. He didn't particularly doubt her ability to handle a few minor mobsters but this sounded a little more serious.

"Yes. She will also be enrolled at Beacon this year."

"But she's a criminal!"

"She claims to have no recollection of her identity. That being the case, the Headmaster decided to give her a second chance."

Ruby stared down at the scroll. "Do you want me to keep an eye on her?"

"No," the teacher said sharply "That is the responsibility of the staff. I'm informing you simply to avoid any pre-emptive action on your part on seeing Miss Doe - such as attacking her or advising your fellow students of her past. Either of which could force her out of Beacon and possibly back into crime."

"In light of her declared amnesia she should not remember you. If you do see any sign that she is not, as she claims, bereft of her memory - and you are not to go looking for that - then you should inform me. Do not, under any circumstances, take action personally."

"Oh."

Goodwitch made a satisfied noise. "I look forward to seeing you at your initiation, Miss Rose." The call cut off abruptly.

"Fire?" Taiyang said, a little louder than before. "Ruby, have you been keeping secrets?"

She giggled nervously and scratched the back of her head. "Er… I might have forgotten to mention a couple of details."

"Oh really?" He stared down at her. "Memory problems sound like they're going around. Maybe you shouldn't go back to Vale without adult supervision until it's time to go to Beacon." One hand rose. "And no, Yang doesn't count for that."

"Sorry…"

"I worry about you," he pointed out. "I know you're up to dealing with minor things. The odd Beowulf is one thing but it sounds as if you were fighting another aura-user."

"Well, there was only her and that Torchwick guy that were anything much."

"Torchwick? That would be Roman Torchwick, the wanted criminal?"

Ruby made a confused noise and gave him a helpless look that made him want to wrap her in a blanket and keep her home for the next ten years or two. Her father fought the urge down with the aid of long practise. "Yang!"

"Whatever it is," his elder daughter called down from her bedroom, "I didn't do it!"

"Does that include your chores?"

"I'm good! I've done everything." In a quieter voice she added, "I think…"

Taiyang shook his head. "Come out here."

"Allez-"

"And don't jump down the stairs."

"Awwww." She descended the stairs without causing more damage to the floor at the bottom. "What's up, sis?"

Ruby developed a sudden interest in the floor.

"It seems Ruby's little scuffle in Vale last week was a bit more exciting than she let on. You haven't been fighting any famous criminals without telling me, have you Yang?"

"Who, me?" Yang grabbed her sister in a headlock. "Keeping back the good stuff, sis? Nauuughty!"

Taiyang folded his arms and waited. When Goodwitch said she hoped my kids were just like me, she wasn't wishing me well, he thought to himself.