Remnant's Twilight Rose

Five days later….

Life in the Xiao Long-Rose household was a bit of a routine, one that didn’t mind the addition of a faunus. Now that they made one successful breakfast themselves, Yang and Twilight asked Tai to teach them how to cook. The trio would wake up before Ruby and the adult would teach the two seven-year-olds how to make several receipts, like French toast, waffles and fruit salads.

Twilight took notes about what she was taught, while Yang relied mostly on memory, and taking glances at the faunus notes when she thought she wasn’t looking. Twilight knew though, but she didn’t mind the girl using her notes. Not that she’d ever say it, it was funny to see Yang trying to look at her notes.

After breakfast, the group would separate for a while to do some chores or play in Ruby’s case. Yang and Tai would do the laundry while Twilight would water the plants, then the family would get together to clean up the living room and relax until lunch.

Twilight was fully invested in the book she got from the store. It told the tale of a family that would visit a church every Sunday that was on the outskirts of their village. One day a huge horde of Grimm attacked the town and everyone was forced to take refuge in the church. Unfortunately, because of the concentration of negative emotions, the Grimm headed there almost immediately. The family that went there every week began to pray for a miracle, for a hero.

And that is exactly what they got. Just before the Grimm managed to break down the door, the crowd heard fighting and gunshots. Looking out the window, the youngest of the family saw a woman with a dark blue cloak, a skull mask wielding two scythes, tearing the Grimm to pieces.

The people knew who it was, a legend among the huntsman and huntresses. The Grimm Reaper. The family watched on and continued to pray for the woman’s safety, to give her strength. It seemed to work, as the horde was no match for the legend of a huntress. Once the whole horde was dealt with and the sun came up, the villagers began to go back to their homes and began to repair their village.

They didn’t all get out unscathed, a dozen lives were lost in the attack. The families were heartbroken. A week passed, and the village all went to the church to pray to the gods and hope their fallen friends and family would make it a better life.

Imagine their shock, when the Grimm Reaper herself arrived and joined the village in their prayer.

Twilight was moved by the efforts and spirit of the Grimm Reaper, of the strength of the family. It made her happy and made her wish she would get the chance to meet the Huntress one day. Then she thought about the family, their connection and strength, their faith, even in the face of calamity. She wondered if her family was like that.

There was a sudden knocking at the door, breaking Twilight out of her reading trance. Tai and Yang were in the kitchen making lunch while Ruby was playing upstairs, so it was up to her to get the door. Getting off the couch and heading to the door, Twilight opened it up to reveal a new human.

He had slick-backed black hair, a grey outfit with a short red cape and dark red eyes. He was clearly confused when he saw Twilight, a brow raised at her appearance.

“Who are you?” He asks bluntly, his voice slightly slurred.

“Twilight. Who are you?” She asked while she innocently tilts of her head. Before he can respond, a certain five-year-old walks around the corner and sees the man before smiling wide.

“Uncle Qrow!” Ruby runs up for a hug, Qrow lifting her up with a smile.

“Hey squirt, you’ve grown a bit since I saw you.” He says with a smile, rubbing her head. Twilight was surprised, Yang and Ruby had mentioned their uncle before, but she didn’t know what he looked like. She steps back to let the Huntsman in.

“Qrow! Perfect timing, we just made lunch.” Tai says, coming around the corner with some soup. Qrow smiles again and carries his niece into the kitchen with him, Twilight close behind.

“So that is the faunus you told me about a couple days ago? I can see why you like her.” The man says, leaning back in his seat.

“Very funny Qrow. Seriously though, thanks for stopping by today.” The other adult says, handing out bowls of tomato soup for everyone. They all begin to eat in relative silence, Tai and Qrow glancing to the three girls.

“So, you said you needed me to babysit them for a couple hours?” Qrow says suddenly, the three girls looking to the adults in surprise.

“Yeah, I have a few things I need to take care of at the school and Megan is busy. I hope you don’t mind.”

“Tai if I minded I would have told you over the scroll,” Qrow says with a chuckle. Tai smiles and grabs a suitcase from his room.

“Alright, I’ll be back around 8. Make sure they actually have a proper meal before they get ready for bed Qrow. And no getting drunk before I get home.” Tai says the last past as Qrow is about to take out his flask.

The Huntsman smiles as his brother-in-law leaves, before remembering he is now stuck with three little girls, one of who has never met him before. He smiles and takes the dishes to the sink to wash.

“Alright. Who wants to hear a story?”

Signal Academy

One hour later

Tai entered the academy with a sigh, heading towards his classroom. He hoped that the papers he asked for were there. It was difficult three days for him, convincing the orphanages and the court of his plan, but he was determined to go through with it.

Arriving at his office, he is surprised to see someone at his desk. Checking again, he sees it's his old friend, Dr. Bartholomew Oobleck.

“Bart? What are you doing here?” Tai sees his friend looking over a small stack of papers.

“Ah Tai, good to see you. I was coming over to tell you about my transfer to Beacon when I saw these sheets coming out of your fax machine. Are you serious?”

“Y-yeah, after I got all the sheets filled out with Megan, I decided she wasn’t going to the orphanage. I’ve heard about how faunus are treated there and I can’t stand the thought.” Tai grabs the forms from his friend, organizing them properly. Tai can hear his friend sigh at his response.

“Well, it’s not like I can stop you, but I hope you know what you are getting yourself into. Having two daughters is one thing, but adding a third might be too much, even for you.” The man sighs as he takes a seat in at his desk, looking over the adoption form.

“Well, at the very least she’ll have a family until she is old enough to go looking for her blood relatives. If I don’t find them first.” With that, Tai began to fill out the info in the adoption forms. It was going to be a long day for him.

As he was filling out the sheets, he couldn’t help but wonder more about this mysterious faunus Ruby found. She seemed like a completely normal girl, no grudges, no hatred, just purity, and curiosity. But what was it that lead to her appearing on Patch? What happened to her parents? And what kind of event could cause her so much emotional trauma for her to lose her memory?

That last one made Tai very worried. If Twilight was to regain her memory, she would undoubtedly remember the cause for her memory loss. Tai had met quite a few human and faunus that have gone through some serious events suffering from things like PTSD and depression. He didn’t want that for Twilight.

Despite this, however, he was determined to give that little girl a home, and if her memories do return, as a father he will be there with her every step of the way. He broke out of his mental rambling and saw that almost all of the info on the sheets have been filled out. All that was needed was Twilight’s signature in a few places and a witness signature.

Tai smiles and places the forms into his suitcase before looking into a filing cabinet and taking out some exam sheets and assignments he needed to grade for his students. He was a teacher after all.

3 hours later….

Tai released a large sigh as he finished grading the last of the exams and assignments. He regretted leaving them for the weekend, but he was able to finish them in the end. He was glad too, most of his students did really well on the tests, so he had to plan something for them on Monday.

He gets up from his chair and stretches his back and arms, glad he was able to finish all of his work early. Checking his scroll, he saw it was a little after four, so he still had time to run by the courthouse to set up a meeting with him and Twilight for later in the week then to some stores to get stuff for Twilight.

Walking out of his classroom and towards the exit, Tai began to think about how his current daughters would react to the decision for him to adopt Twilight. He could tell Yang and Ruby really liked her as a friend already, and Twilight seemed to like them as well, so he thinks they would go nuts if Twilight accepts and they all become sisters.

‘Summer, I wonder how you would react if you were here. Heh, you’d probably have told me to adopt her on day one.’ He smiles as he thinks of his deceased lover and Ruby’s mother. She was always the pure one, wanting to help anyone, anywhere.

Of course, his mind wanders to his first love, Raven. He frowns and thinks about how she would react to Twilight and her situation. Raven wasn’t cold, but she wasn’t all that empathetic at the same time.

He sighs again and focuses on the task at hand, arriving at the courthouse early. Just a few more things to do, and he can get home to his daughters, the three of them.

Xiao Long-Rose Household

Two hours later….

Qrow sighs as he finished making some spaghetti for himself, his nieces and their ‘friend’, the trio of girls playing a board game in the living room. He spent the first couple hours here telling them about some of his latest missions, leaving out some key details that weren’t entirely appropriate for kids. After his stories, and explaining some things about Huntsman to Twilight, he dug out a board game for the trio to play while he attempted to make dinner.

Unfortunately, his Semblance made it a little hard not to overcook the noodles or burn the sauce. Still, he managed, with some difficulty making the vegetarian substitute meatballs for Twilight. Apparently, Yang tried to give Twilight a ham and cheese sandwich a week ago and she spent the next hour sick in the washroom.

Once he finally finished making the sauce and noodles for the four of them and Tai, he carefully set up the table and walked to the living room where the girls were.

“Alright girls, dinner is ready. Twilight, I made some substitute meatballs for you, so you don’t need to worry about getting sick or something.” The trio smile and head to the washrooms to wash up before eating. Qrow chuckles at the manners Tai had instilled in his daughters and Twilight.

The Huntsman heads to the table and takes out his flask, pouring some of its contents into his cup of coffee. He closes his eyes and lets his mind wander, coming back to the reason he is really here.

A couple of days ago Tai called while Qrow was on his way back to report to Professor Ozpin and told him about Twilight and his plan to adopt her. At first, Qrow thought maybe he was in a drunk hallucination again, but after making sure he was sober, he was shocked that Tai was serious.

At first, Qrow didn’t think it was a good idea. Sure, Tai was legitimate dad of the year material, but it didn’t mean he hasn’t struggled with raising Yang and Ruby, especially after Summer died. Tai was adamant though and wanted Qrow’s support since Qrow would become Twilight’s uncle if she was adopted.

Qrow came over to babysit, so he could learn about Twilight and see if maybe she was faking or something. But it seemed he was just being paranoid. When she was asking her questions, there was only curiosity and a need to learn in her eyes, eyes that shined with determination and untapped potential.

In a way, Twilight reminded him of Yang. Both of them have lost a lot, more than any kid should, but the both of them wouldn’t let it rule them. Yang strived to be a great big sister and eldest daughter with hopes of one day finding her mother. Twilight wanted to learn all she could, do all she could, so she could one day find her blood family.

A smile wormed its way onto Qrow’s face as he thought about it. He sighs and opens his eyes as he hears the girls coming down the stairs and towards the kitchen. He saw how happy Ruby, Yang, and Twilight were around each other, even though they only met a couple weeks ago.

‘Yeah, that girl is a perfect addition to this family.’ With that thought, Qrow grabbed the girls plates and set them down for them to eat, making sure to grab some paper towels just in case they make a mess. He allows himself a little smile as the trio ate with satisfied smiles. Looks like he got lucky for once.

The four of them eat in relative silence, the trio of girls not taking a second to talk and just eating. Qrow was actually surprised how quiet they were being, considering how whenever he visited before, his nieces were a little loud and excitable. He began to worry a bit before Yang broke the silence.

“You sure you didn’t cheat?” She questions Twilight with a raised brow.

“For the last time Yang, I won that card match fair and square. Maybe someone should read the instructions to the game before jumping in.” The faunus counters, Ruby just looking back and forth between them.

“Sure, if you want to be an egghead about it,” Yang comments with a grin. Twilight just looks to her with a deadpan expression before flicking one of her meatballs at the blond, the food landing in her hair. Ruby and Qrow look to the duo in shock and slowly begin to scoot back as Yang’s eye begins to twitch.

“You….” Yang's eyes suddenly turn from purple to red as Twilight begins to get how bad she messed up.

“Uh oh.”

“TWILIGHT!” Yang rushes over the table and towards the faunus, the girl yelping and ducking under the table before running away, Yang in hot pursuit.

“Yang stop!” Qrow shouts, going to follow the two girls before falling over Twilight's chair. He looks up as Ruby is hiding behind the wall and Yang is chasing Twilight around the living room.

“GET BACK HERE TWILIGHT!” The enraged blond yells. The pony faunus screams and continues to run away from the girl. Yang jumps over the couch and catches the girl off guard, Twilight falling on her back.

“STOP!” Twilight screams, and suddenly her hand lights up with some kind of lavender aura, Yang being covered and stopping in mid-air. Everyone freezes in shock, Yang’s eyes going back to normal as she tries to move. Ruby and Qrow look to Twilight in shock, but for different reasons.

Twilight looks to her glowing hand in shock, then to Yang, who is equally shocked. Twilight raises her hand again, the aura seeming to move a bit as the meatball and sauce in Yang’s hair is picked out and placed in the trash. Yang is then gently placed on the couch, all three of the humans looking to Twilight in shock.

Twilight smiles before feeling a little tired, tipping to her side. Yang rushes forward again and catches the girl before she can hit the ground.

“Twilight! Are you ok? Twilight!” Yang says in worry for her friend. Qrow quickly rushes over to the two kids and checks the faunus pulse, finding her to be ok.

“It’s ok. I think she just passed out from using….I think that was her Semblance.” Qrow says, gently picking up Twilight and laying her on the couch. Tears begin to form in Yang’s eyes as she looks to her friend.

“Hey, relax firecracker. I am sure Twilight will be fine. But if you want, you can keep an eye on her while Ruby and I clean up in the kitchen.” Qrow says, patting in nieces head. Yang nods and grabs a small beanbag chair, sitting in front of the faunus. Qrow motions for Ruby to follow, the duo heading back into the kitchen to clean up from dinner.

The two humans work in silence for a while, Ruby drying the dishes as Qrow washes them. Qrow glances to his youngest niece a couple times, seeing her glance over to the living room to check on Yang and Twilight.

“Hey, squirt.” Ruby looks to her uncle. “How do you feel about Twilight?” Ruby pauses for a second, thinking.

“I dunno. I like her I think. She is really smart and nice like Yang. Hey uncle Qrow? Do you think dad will let Twilight stay here?” Ruby asks with puppy dog eyes. Qrow tries to resist, but relents and brings Ruby close.

“Ruby, I need you to promise you will stay quiet about what I am going to tell you,” Qrow says in seriousness. The young human nods and zips her lips. “Twilight is going to be staying here for a while….because your dad is planning to adopt her.”

Ruby goes wide-eyed and covers her mouth to stop herself from screaming. ‘Daddy is going to adopt her!? I am going to get another big sister?!?’

Qrow almost seems to hear Ruby’s thought as he smiles to her. “Yeah, your dad has really connected with that faunus. And honestly, I think she would make a great addition to this family. Just remember, it is Twilights choice in the end.” Qrow says. Ruby nods with a large smile as she gets back to drying the dishes. Qrow chuckles at his niece's smile.

‘Tai, you are lucky to have those two.’

The Next Day….

Twilight yawned loudly as she made her way down the stairs with Ruby and Yang behind her. After she woke up from her fainting spell yesterday, Yang wouldn’t stop apologizing. Twilight apologized as well for making her that mad in the first place and made a mental note to never mess with Yang’s hair. Tai made it home soon after and they were forced to tell him what happened. While he was disappointed that Yang lost her temper like that, he was proud of them both for apologizing to one another. He was silently proud as well when Qrow told him about Twilight’s Semblance.

After that the girls went to sleep while Tai and Qrow began to go over the adoption forms together, Qrow volunteering to be the witness for Twilight’s signature. Tai was surprised about how Qrow compared Twilight to Yang, but the more he thought about it, the more he agreed with him.

Right now Tai and Qrow were in the kitchen, Qrow reading the morning paper and Tai making some pancakes for all of them. The trio of girls were awoken by the sweet smell of their breakfast, so they quickly washed their hand and made their way to the kitchen.

“Morning girls. Sleep well?” Tai asks, finishing another pancake.

“Morning daddy/Tai.” The trio says, Twilight stopping herself as she almost calls him dad as well, unnoticed by all the girls, but not by the men. Qrow smiles behind his newspaper, glancing to Tai who is also smiling.

“So, who wants orange juice and who wants milk?” Tai asks, bringing over the small stacks for the girls. Twilight and Yang ask for the juice while Ruby gets milk. The five of them all eat in relative silence for a while before Tai breaks it.

“So girls. We all need to have a talk after breakfast, ok?” Yang and Twilight look to one another in worry and gulp while Ruby struggles not to smile and Qrow grins behind his mug of coffee.

“S-sure dad,” Yang says nervously, eating her breakfast at a slower rate. The others don’t mind and continue their silent meal. Once finished, Qrow takes all the dishes to the sink before returning a second later while Tai runs up to his office and grabs his suitcase.

The two seven-year-olds are worried, then confused when Tai returns with his suitcase in hand, placing it on the table. The two girls look to Qrow who is silently grinning, then to Ruby who is almost vibrating in her seat, clearly excited.

“Twilight.” The faunus snaps her attention to Tai as he takes out some sheets of paper. “I know we have talked about finding your family, but it has not been an easy feat. If your family is from one of the villages dotting the area outside the kingdom, it makes it difficult to find any who are related to you.”

The girl lowers her head and nods, understanding it was an impossible task. She feels as Tai places a hand on her shoulder.

“I know it is not something you wanted to hear, but I can’t just ask my friends to look for your blood family without any clues as to where to look. However,” Twilight looks to him as he offers a warm smile, “just because your parents are gone, and you don’t remember your blood family, doesn’t mean you can’t have a family.”

He gets up and brings the forms to Twilight, keeping their contents hidden from her. He places them on the table, along with a pen.

“You are still a child, and normally you would be placed into an orphanage in town, eventually being adopted. But I think we could skip the middle bit.” He finished with a grin, flipping over the papers and showing their contents.

Twilight grabbed the sheets from the table and read through them, her eyes widening with every sentence and checkbox. She reaches a blank spot at the bottom, one asking for the child’s signature. She looks to Tai with wide, teary eyes, Tai smiling warmly.

“Twilight the faunus, I would like to adopt you as my third daughter. All I need is a few signatures.” He says with a smile. Yang’s jaw drops to the table while Ruby squeals and hugs her uncle tightly.

Twilight looks back to the forms in her shaking hands, placing them on the table and looking to the pen, before speaking up.

“Rose.” The humans look to her with confusion, Ruby especially. “I-if I sign this, c-can my name b-be, Twilight Rose?”

The four humans are surprised at her request before Ruby lets go of her uncle and hugs Twilight tightly. Tai looks to her with another warm smile, merely holding out the pen for her and nodding. Twilight smiles wide and scoots closer to the table, before finding all the spots she needs to sign on the sheets, and signing ‘Twilight Rose’ with a smile.

“That’s it. Now I just need to send it to the courthouse, and it's done.” Tai says, taking all the forms and neatly placing them back in his suitcase. He looks to Twilight with another smile, seeing Ruby trying to hug the life out of her.

Yang smiles and hugs Twilight as well, letting the faunus cry her happy tears into her shoulder. The trio of girls separates after a minute, the three of them wiping their eyes. Tai walks up and kneels to Twilight, before bringing her in for a hug himself.

“Welcome home Twilight.”

“Thanks….dad.”