Ozpin had a regular schedule he always kept to. As the Headmaster of Beacon, he had many duties and responsibilities. Every day was almost always the same. Ge enjoyed the comfort of the familiar. He would wake up at six in the morning, make himself some cocoa or coffee and bring his favorite mug into his office atop Beacon. There, he would order some food from the cafeteria, usually brought up by Glynda. Then, he would parse through reports, deal with the Vale council, do his duties as Headmaster and finish off his work at five in the evening.
After five, Ozpin was either maintaining his relationships with his subordinates, students and friends, or enjoying the view outside.
"Hm.." Ozpin lowered his mug, he had been looking out his window overlooking the city of Vale when a chill ran up his spine.
It wasn't only that. His very office seemed to get colder as well.
He knew what it meant.
"..Death." Ozpin called out expectantly, turning his chair around to see the woman in question sitting in front of his desk.
"You're as sharp as always." Death seemed to compliment, but he knew better.
"Are you here for me?" Ozpin reached for his cane, resting beside him.
"Admirable. To still try and fight me when you've never once beaten me." Death commented, amusement evident in her voice.
Even still, he never gave up when she had come for him in the past. That wasn't to say he didn't fear her. He was doing his utmost to stay composed.
"Still, I must try." Ozpin prepared, hoping to keep the damage to a minimum.
"No. I'm not here to kill you a ninth time. I'm angry, yes. But you're still useful alive. I'm not going to subject some poor soul with an 'O' name to having you parasitize them again." Death languidly crossed her legs, easing Ozpin's tension.
"Summer Rose is dead." But her next worrds hit him like a dagger in the heart.
Seeing his wide eyes, Death knew he wasn't the one to order her to confront Salem. It would be incredibly foolish of him to do so, but she had to be sure.
"You're sure..? No.. of course you are. You sent her off yourself.." Ozpin pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling as if he aged twenty years all at once.
Whether he truly saw Summer as a valued friend or some sort of hope, Death didn't know. It may have been a mix of both. Ozpin composed himself and looked into her crimson eyes.
"What what she doing? Why did she go? She has a family on Patch to look after." Ozpin stated, and for a moment, Death remembered the kind of man he was. One her brothers placed their faith in.
If only he had stayed this way. Perhaps this would have happened sooner.
"You know who orchestrated her death. That's enough. Luckily, you weren't stupid enough to order her to travel to her territory. My opinion of you has slightly increased." Death lightly hummed, as if they were talking about the weather.
"Could you not.. kill Salem? I've asked you.. over and over again. Pleaded, begged even. You are Death.. Some curse placed upon her surely..." Ozpin stopped, seeing her irritated face.
"Of course I can. But the moment I do, my brothers will return. Do you think they'll like what became of Humanity? Besides, dying is her ultimate reward. I refuse to give that to her." Death nearly spat in contempt.
Ozpin slumped back in his chair. It seemed all he could do, was eternally defend.
"Idiot." He heard Death mock him. It wasn't the first time. But it usually came right before his death.
This time, it looked like she would finally elaborate. He never thought about why she'd always mock him. He had made many mistakes after all. But now, it seems there's a deeper reason for it.
"You're sharp in most cases. But you never change, do you Ozma?" Death placed her sharp nails on his desk, clicking them against the wood.
Ozpin stayed silent, waiting for her to elaborate.
"Very well. Enough foreplay.. You asked Jinn the wrong question." Death's words seemed to set off a bomb in his head.
The question he asked Jinn. 'How do I destroy Salem?' was what he asked. He stared at Death, feeling his pulse quicken.
"You understand now? Jinn will answer any question you have. All you have to do, is word it correctly. 'How can Salem be stopped?' or 'How can Salem be destroyed?' are far better questions to ask. To begin with, you could never destroy Salem because deep down, you still love her. As twisted as that love now is." Death stood up, delivering blow after blow to Ozpin's mind.
He dropped his cane and held his head in his hands.
"I.. I didn't realize.. How did I not realize..!?" Ozpin didn't know whether to laugh or cry, feeling a mix of intense regret and hope stir within his chest.
"What-" Ozpin tried to look back at Death, but she had already vanished.
He had no idea why she deemed now to tell him. Perhaps Summer's death angered her enough to finally take action against Salem. She never bothered with Salem before. Only killing her minions or dismembering Salem and scattering her limbs far enough to delay her regeneration for a while.
"It seems Salem truly angered her.." Ozpin muttered, with a twisted sense of satisfaction overcoming him for a moment.
Meanwhile, back in the city of Vale.
Death walked into the nightclub she left Cinder at. Being owned by a criminal named Senior Hei Xiong, it meant Huntsmen and police never usually come here. Perfect, given that she knew Ozpin would keep spies watching her. And she didn't want either immortal knowing about Cinder.
Death went upstairs, to the private booths. There was soundproof padding and no speakers upstairs. Which makes for an ideal spot for shady deals and meetings between criminals. Too loud downstairs for any listening devices, one can easily disappear in the dancing crowd and lights and all the employees are under strict orders to never talk to police.
Death walked over to the booth and sat down while pulling her hood down to free her wolf ears.
"Cinder. Anyone harass you?" Death asked, signaling an employee to bring drinks, seeing as how Cinder didn't order any.
"No. They're too pants-shittingly scared of you." Cinder replied with a small smirk.
"Mmhm." Death looked at Cinder, scrutunizing her.
"I told you, you can order drinks. I'm a cool Mom, no?" Cinder huffed in response to Death's query.
"First off, I'm fifteen. Valean law says you can't drink until you're nineteen." Cinder replied with a flat look as Death grabbed the drinking glass and bottle of tequila from the tray that the waitress was holding.
"Second, you're not my Mom. I hate parental figures. You mean way more to me than that." Cinder admitted, fighting down her embarrassment.
"Ah, be still my beating heart. My little girl is too cute." Death smiled, genuinely happy at Cinder's admission, even though it hadn't been the first time she heard it.
"Here, have the glass. Consider it a celebration for moving to Vale." Death slid the glass of tequila over to Cinder and took a long drink out of the bottle.
"Uh.. Yeah, okay? Are you gonna tell me what Ozpin said? What about our other plans? Like that Ruby Rose kid?" Cinder inquired while sipping from the glass with a tepid expression.
"Mmh. Old enough to kill, old enough to drink. We'll talk about that momentarily. Someone's feeling brave again." Death said while setting the bottle down.
"Hello there~ What kind of Faunus are you?" One of the suited men from the other booths had walked over to theirs and looked at Death with undisguised desire. He was clearly a bit drunk and his friends were signaling him to stop, but he was on a mission.
Cinder looked incredibly agitated. Like the man was trying to mug them instead.
Death ignored his eyes and chuckled at how angry Cinder was becoming.
"You look like you're about to kill him, you know?" Death stated.
Cinder huffed in annoyance. "It's because you like to show off. Your midriff is exposed and everyone can see your bra."
"Yes, I am indeed beautiful. Thank you." Shameless, Death thanked Cinder, who only seemed to get more annoyed.
"Ehh...? 'Scuse me?" The drunken man once more tried to get her attention.
"Go away. She's not having sex with you." Cinder bluntly stated with a sneer.
"...I wanna hear it from her." He pushed.
Death slapped the table and chuckled in amusement. "He's a bold one. But she's right. You'd do better trying to score downstairs."
The drunk was a little disappointed but shrugged and took her words to heart.
"Well.. s'worth a shot. Bye." He slurred his words and moved on downstairs.
"Huh.. I thought he'd become obstinate and pushy, forcing me to beat him up. Which would draw in his friends." Death almost seemed disappointed it didn't happen.
"You watch too many dramas. Anyway.. my question?" Cinder brought them back on topic.
"Ozpin's been sufficiently distracted. He realized his wish was idiotic. Likely, he'll spend some time trying to get the Maiden that will let him unlock the vault underneath Haven. While we'll be meeting with the Rose family soon. They deserve to know of Summer's death. After that, I need to see who's responsible for helping her confront Salem. She couldn't have done it alone, after all." Death said, before finishing off the bottle.
"So Ozpin'll be too busy to look into why you're making contact with the kid.." Cinder set her drink aside and folded her arms.
Death nodded and folded her hands behind her head.
"And you'll.. help her stop Salem?" Cinder asked, not quite sure what her motives regarding Ruby are.
"My niece can do whatever she wants. If she herself wants to kill Salem for the death of her Mother, I'll help her. If she wants to live a quiet life, I'll help her. My only true cares in this world are my niece and you, Cinder. If the world ends, it's you I will protect." Death stated.
"As much as I want to meet your brothers.. I'd rather the world lived on. Anyway, can we go? This music sucks and it smells like ass here." Cinder scoffed, waving the scent of cigarettes and booze away from her face.
Death contemplated her last words for a moment before standing up and placing her arm around Cinder's shoulder.
"Yes, let's get going. Patch is close by. We'll go by Bullhead. Just try not to get sick on your Mom again, yes?" Death teased, leading Cinder out of the club with a small grin.
"...Not my Mom.." Cinder rolled her eyes.
[AN: Surprised this got 2nd place. But then again.. The poll was on a RWBY fic so that's on me. Would've expected Medaka to be the 3rd, given how I made it well after this whole concept came to mind. Even gave her an authority you may say was inspired by this. Anyway, thanks for reading!]