RWBY: Moon Reflection

When Qrow and Crimson were looking at Winter, they noticed General Ironwood approaching from behind her with a girl. Crimson turned to Qrow and threw the sword back to him. As for Winter, she stood there, her glare moving between Qrow and Crimson, wishing she could rip the two of them apart.

"Schnee!" General Ironwood's voice rang out, steady and authoritative.

Winter widened her eyes before turning around and snapping into a military stance. "General Ironwood, Sir!"

The general took a moment to take in her disheveled and beaten appearance, noting the dust and scratches on her uniform.

"What in the world do you think you are doing?" the general asked, his hands clasped behind his back.

"They started the altercation, sir," she answered with a straight face.

Qrow put his hand behind his head, tilting his body slightly. "That's actually not true. She attacked first. Crimson here"—he pointed at Crimson, who stood to the side as if he had nothing to do with the situation—"tried to de-escalate and asked her to stop more than once, but she was relentless."

General Ironwood could see the gloating look on Qrow's face. He was confident Qrow wasn't lying. The general then turned to Winter and asked for confirmation. "Is that true?"

Winter looked guilty, lowering her head to the side in acknowledgment of the truth. The girl behind General Ironwood seemed shocked by this revelation. The general, however, showed no visible reaction. Instead, he scanned the gathering crowd, many of whom wore stressed or fearful expressions.

The general took a deep breath before walking closer to Qrow and speaking in a lower volume. "And you, what are you doing here?"

"I could be asking you the same thing," Qrow replied with a smirk.

"I..." The general began, but his response was interrupted by Professor Ozpin, who had just arrived with Glynda.

"Now, now, everyone," Ozpin said, holding his ever-present mug. "There's a sanctioned fight happening just around the corner of the colosseum, and I can assure you it has better seats and popcorn."

Glynda stood beside him, arms folded across her chest, her expression stern. As if on cue, she immediately took charge once Ozpin had finished speaking.

"Break it up, everyone," she commanded, waving her hand to disperse the crowd.

She then glared at Qrow and said, "We will take care of this mess."

The general adjusted his tie and addressed Winter and the rest of his soldiers. "Let's go."

He walked away, and the others followed him. The girl with him turned once toward Ruby and waved. Ruby waved back, both girls smiling.

Once the soldiers were a few meters away, Ruby jumped and hugged Qrow, exclaiming, "Uncle Qrow! So good to see you! Did you see how Crimson won?"

Qrow looked at her and blinked a few times before smiling and patting her head.

"Qrow! A word, please?" Ozpin called out, his tone more serious. Behind him, Glynda was already fixing the cracks and damage caused by the earlier fight.

Hearing Ozpin, Qrow bowed slightly and whispered to Ruby, covering his mouth with his hand, "I think I'm in trouble."

"You did kinda instigate a fight that damaged the courtyard," Ruby answered with a shrug.

Qrow winked at her. "Yeah, I did. Catch you later, kid." He bumped fists with her before turning to Crimson, who had been watching the entire exchange with an unimpressed expression.

"Glad to see you're as unbeatable as ever. You kept my head held high," Qrow said with a wink and a smile.

As Qrow walked away to follow Ozpin and Glynda, Weiss approached, saying to Ruby, "And suddenly, your recklessness makes sense." She folded her arms and turned to Crimson with an angry glare. "And you!! You attacked my sister! You could have surrendered to calm the situation."

"No, she attacked and I asked her to stop, and the only reason your sister still can walk on her own is because you're my sister's teammate," Crimson said with a shrug.

"Let's go meet with the others," Ruby said happily, breaking the tension.

________________________

A while later, in Ozpin's office, the general and Winter were standing, waiting for Ozpin and the rest to arrive. Winter was pacing back and forth when the elevator doors opened, and Ozpin, Qrow, and Glynda stepped out.

Winter stopped pacing, turned to look at them angrily—specifically at Qrow—and said, "What were you thinking?"

"If you were one of my men, I would have had you shot!" the general added.

"If I were one of your men, I would've shot myself," Qrow replied casually while pulling out his flask.

"Well, I wouldn't condone his behavior," Glynda spoke next, walking forward. When she was by Winter and Ironwood's side, she turned to look at them and continued, "But retaliating by attacking a civilian like you did certainly did not help the situation!"

"He was drunk! And that certainly was no civilian!" Winter replied angrily.

"Yes, he was. Crimson Rose, despite his combat ability, is a civilian and a minor," Glynda replied sharply.

Glynda then turned to look at Qrow and stopped speaking. The rest of the group followed her gaze and saw the man drinking from his flask without a care. When Qrow noticed them, he stopped drinking and shrugged.

Glynda quickly collected herself and continued, "Ignoring how bad the impact of you instigating a fight with an Atlasian specialist in front of so many people was, what if something had gone wrong and your own nephew was hurt?"

Qrow laughed loudly. "Crimson? Get hurt? By who? The boy is ridiculously strong, and look at the specialist here. She was defeated—and miserably at that. The funny part is Crimson was trying to talk her out of it, and she insisted on getting thrashed."

Winter clenched her fists. Everything he said was true, and she couldn't deny it, which only added to her anger and frustration. The others, hearing him, frowned, growing increasingly annoyed by his behavior.

"Qrow, this is not a laughing matter. Your actions induced unnecessary panic. Let's end the topic here, and I don't want to see something like this happening ever again. Now, tell me why you are here," Ozpin said, not wanting to dwell on the issue and instead focusing on the important matter.

"You sent me to gather intel about our enemies, and I'm telling you—the enemy is here!" Qrow replied.

The group began their discussion about the hidden enemy.

________________________

The roar of the crowd echoed through the colosseum as the next round of matches began. The screen displayed the names of the combatants: Coco Adel and Yatsuhashi Daichi vs. Mercury Black and Emerald Sustrai. JNPR, RWBY, and the rest of Team CFVY sat together in the stands, cheering for Coco and Yatsuhashi.

The group watched as Emerald went into hiding while Mercury confronted both of his opponents at the same time without losing. Before long, a chain came out of nowhere and pulled Coco into the nearby trees, separating her from her teammate.

"This is a bad matchup. It's almost a guaranteed win for Mercury and Emerald," Crimson said casually as he sat next to Ruby.

"Why do you think so? Coco and Yatsuhashi are powerhouses," Ruby asked curiously.

"Both of them hit hard but are too slow. Coco is waving that gatling gun around, and there's no need to talk about the big guy. On the other hand, their opponents are fast and agile. Even if the match selection was rigged, it couldn't get worse than this for them," Crimson said with a shrug.

True to his prediction, the battle didn't last long. Mercury and Emerald achieved an overwhelming victory. The teams from Beacon looked dejected at the result, while Crimson raised an eyebrow slightly.

"There's something off about Coco's behavior. It was like she saw or heard something that threw her off. First, she looked behind her and relaxed, then she was on edge again," Crimson said thoughtfully. He then looked at Ruby and continued, "Ruby, do you know what Emerald's semblance is?"

Ruby blinked at him, surprised. "No. Semblances aren't shared in the tournament to keep it fair. What are you thinking?"

Crimson glanced back at the arena but shook his head. "Never mind. Just a hunch."

The group stood, deciding to grab some food before the next match. As they made their way down the steps, none of them noticed the figure sitting in the row behind them.

Cinder Fall was sitting there with narrowed eyes. She had overheard everything, and Crimson's pointed observation left her uneasy.

"This one is sharp," she muttered under her breath, frowning slightly. Without looking in their direction—she still remembered how Crimson had noticed her previously—she considered her options. Crimson's attention to detail and his suspicion of Emerald's semblance could pose a threat if left unchecked.

For a moment, she considered eliminating him. But no—it was too risky, especially with Ozpin and Ironwood watching so closely. For now, she would let it slide.

But Emerald? Her recklessness needed to be addressed.

Cinder stood and moved toward the exit. There was a reprimand waiting for Emerald, and she intended to deliver it.