No! Chapter 1, a rwby fanfic

Disclaimer. I do not own anything regarding the product RWBY or any tie-in material. I only own the rights to the OC and the story that I create.

Chapter 1.

"I have a little offer for you if you'll indulge me."

Well...what can I say to this? (What offer?)

I died at the ripe old age of eighty three and the first thing I see is a man in a grey bathrobe sitting behind a desk covered in paper, looking every bit like an accountant baring the bathrobe. Wait, is he naked beneath the bathrobe? Cause if he is then I am not interested in this offer. The guy suddenly glares at me.

"The offer to which I speak of is a simple one; I want you to kill a few individuals for me as they have cheated me." He said, rather bluntly I might add.

(You want me to kill your ex girlfriends? Boyfriends? Just how many people or creatures have cheated on you? Well, I have heard of the phrase 'hell hath no fury' but I didn't think that it applied to male accountants. I'm in hell aren't I?) I say completely dejected. After all, it does explain the presence of the accountant, everyone knows accountants go to hell...or is that lawyers?

"No you are not in hell, rather you at the point where your fate is to be decided, and the offer I am giving you is but one fate available to you." He replied calmly putting my fears to rest.

(Right, so, can you tell me who you are and then what this offer is about in full?)I ask.

"Fair enough. I am Death you see and-"

(Death? As in The Death!?) I exclaim in shock.

"I am he yes, is that so hard to believe?" He asks a little unhappily.

(Can you blame me? You look like the poster child for your everyday average Joe and you're wearing a bathrobe of all things, and yet, here you are telling me that you are Death? This is either supposed to be some sort of joke or I am only dreaming and not actually dead; and that may just make my night.)

"If I may continue." He said unamused.

(Sorry.)

"It's ok, now again, I am Death and you are currently dead; you with me so far?"

(Yep.)

"Good, now there are ten individuals who made a deal with me so that they could make a better life for themselves but at the cost of a shorter life span; when their contracts almost ran out, they pulled from their end of the deal and are still alive rather than dead." He says with an annoyed tone. I can only look confused.

(How the hell did they cheat their way out of a contract with Death though? I mean aren't you supposed to be the ever patient, unstoppable being? Just how exactly did they stop you from getting their souls? Seriously, how the hell does anyone escape from Death of all beings?) I say, thinking on this matter.

"They cheated by pulling a very stupid stunt, whereby ending the contract one day before the due date and that, sadly, allowed them to break from the contract. And here is me thinking that it would be business as usual. Heh, more fool me really and these ten individuals have caused me a great deal of embarrassment, something to which I will not stand for; but thanks to some convoluted rules that prevent me from taking their souls myself, I am forced by necessity to pick an...'Enforcer/Mercenary' if you will, to do this task in my stead." He says, anger seeping into his voice. Something which scares me a great deal.

"If there is one thing I will take from this, it's that I should be far more careful when writing out any other type of contract in the future, which includes yours now that I think about it, thanks for reminding me about that by the way." He says off handedly.

(I didn't say anything, but your welcome.) I reply slowly.

"No problem, but let us focus on the important details of what I am offering here; the fact that I am forced to grab a soul to be my enforcer/mercenary to collect the souls of the twelve individuals who cheated me from my due, to wit, their souls. This is where you come in. I have had a plethora of souls come my way and none of them agreed to listen to my offer, seeking only to pass on to the afterlife, something I can understand as it is something that I would do were our roles reversed."

"The identity of said individuals will not be disclosed unless you agree to become my enforcer/mercenary, so...what say you?" He asks with a certain finality and yet I have to ask.

(Might I at least know of the location of these individuals or is that something you can't disclose unless I agree?) I ask, trying to get at least some information that may help me decide. He just looks at me for a time before giving his answer.

"That...is something I can tell you but I also don't want to tell you as it may make you decide to pass on my offer, but I can see how some souls would be more willing to accept it based on that; so I will say that these twelve individuals reside in the world of 'Remnant'. Does that hel-"

(Why the hell didn't you say so from the start! I accept being your enforcer/mercenary if it means that I can go to that world, no matter what point in time it is!)Oh my god! I cannot believe that I am being given an opportunity to go to Remnant of all worlds, absolutely love that world and I'll find a way to deal with the Grimm and their mistress, Salem and whatever the hell it is I will be dealing with at the time!

"Huh...I honestly didn't think anyone would agree to it so quickly nor with such enthusiasm, still, I thank you for accepting. I don't have to tell you of this but treat it as a refresher. The world of Remnant is filled with the creatures of Grimm, beasts created by darkness with only one drive; to kill off everything that is not Grimm. Oversimplified? Maybe, but that is the gist of it. Then you have the two sentient humanoid lifeforms on this world; the Humans and the Faunus. You obviously know what a human is, but a Faunus is basically the same but add some animal features and traits that boost their natural abilities."

(I know what a Faunus is. I also know a fair deal about the world of Remnant as well, due to it being one of my favourite childhood internet shows.) I reply.

"Really? Well that helps a great deal and that also means that I can give you a bit more of what it is that I plan for you. Ready?" I nod and he continues.

"Now that you have agreed to be my enforcer/mercenary, I will also give you four 'Gifts' to help you complete the task I have given you whilst you're in Remnant; these Gifts will come from the best database available to you right now, your own memories. For example: you may have watched a T.V. show where you saw a martial art being performed and the name of it being mentioned as well as demonstrated, this will then be cataloged within your memory banks and this can be a potential Gift you take with you to Remnant."

"Also, as I want to make sure that you don't fall victim to certain...cliches (well more than what you're going to endure anyway) like not remembering the task I gave you due to your mind being wiped clean or some such nonsense; so I will ensure that you remember everything from your previous life including these current events. This way is convenient for the both of us as one, I won't run the risks of you losing your memories and having to kill you off because of negligence, and two, you will have all the knowledge of your previous life and all the benefits that come with it."

(Wow...that actually doesn't sound like a bad idea. I mean I won't have to waste one of my Gifts on maintaining all of my memories and can focus on making choices that will help me complete my mission. Oh, I just realised something. Uh, would this make me a sort of...'Gamer' type existence?) I ask a little curious.

"...Pretty much. If you want to take that route?" He asks.

(Hmm. No. No, I won't be The Gamer. There would be just too much information to remember and all those skills and abilities that I would have to remember...Christ just thinking about it is giving me a headache somehow.) I say this will absolute honesty, I mean I have seen it work well in some cases, but that would be too much for me to handle I feel.

"Fair enough. Now do you want to choose your four Gifts?" Death says.

(I am, but how do I choose my gifts? Is there some sort of list I can browse through?) I say

"Simple, just look at the screen I am going to show you and just give it a good going over to see which Gifts would be most beneficial to you in regards to my mission and just in general." He replies.

At my nod a screen appears before me, but before I begin I remind myself that I must not take a Gift that may be made redundant because of my having knowledge in that field or even a redundant one if a single Gift can be found within another, like say a Gift regarding cooking or something stupid along those lines. Needless to say, but these Gifts will have a heavy combat focus and maybe a medical one or a toughening one? I am uncertain as to what type of combat Gifts to choose though as I was pretty proficient in some martial arts from my original life, and the fact that I will be able to keep the memories from my previous life means that as soon as I am able to, then I can start practicing them again.

The first one I learnt was Taekwondo; a Korean martial art whose primary focus lies in its wide variety of kicking techniques as well as the surprising level of power one could put into them, if done right. But this martial art didn't neglect bare handed techniques either as they were still powerful and fast in their own right, add onto the fact that I spent seventy three years of my life learning and reworking this martial art to suit my style of combat.

Secondly was Muay Thai; this Thailand discipline is considered to be one of the most visceral and physical martial arts in my world, for this discipline shows how the whole body can be a lethal weapon when trained right. And good god did it hurt when I started training over in Thailand proper; the people who practice it use trees in order to strengthen and condition their shins and forearms which are designed as armor protection against blows, meanwhile strong kicks and knee strike are used to disable the opponent. Leaving them open for hand and elbow strikes as well as grapple which take down the opponent for the count, sometimes with fatal consequences. It was only five years after I started learning Taekwondo that a friend of mine introduced me to Muay Thai, and from there I got interested and eventually spent about sixty years training in this discipline.

I even spent half of that time learning another Thai martial art known as Krabi Krabong, the weapon based martial art from Thailand. This originally came from the Siamese military and was used by warriors on the battlefield often alongside another martial art called Muay Boran which was a more visceral combat style than Muay Thai (if that is even possible), these same warriors fought for survival and thus, the combat techniques employed at the time were especially deadly utilising swords, spears, knives and arrows. But the main weapons used are literally in the name - the curved sword (krabi), and the staff (Krabong). Even unarmed the practitioner would be a deadly force as it teaches unarmed techniques such as strikes, locks, holds, kicks and throws as well, and this works well with the fourth martial art that I learnt.

And lastly was Krav Maga; this style of martial art was as brutal as it was effective; thanks to my friend taking me to Israel so that I could see it in action from people who use it almost on a daily basis. Now this martial art was derived from a combination of techniques sourced from Boxing, Wrestling, Aikido, Judo and Karate along with realistic fight training. The big reason I took up this martial art is because it forgoes any and all forms of ritual and pomp in favour of realistic reactionary movements, as this system was designed to be used in real life situations. All the above mentioned martial arts are utilized in Krav Maga to counteract and nullify a lethal threat with brutal force. All practitioners are encouraged to avoid conflict whenever possible but to efficiently eliminate any threat with swift action to the most vulnerable parts, including the eyes, throat and groin. Now this one I spent around forty years training in, and I still remember the pain I went through during that time frame. An actual shudder passes through me, it is that bad.

Alright, with four Gifts to choose, I have to make sure that I make them count or my job in Remnant will be an absolute pain in the ass. Alright let's have a little show of the list, uh...no...no...no...no..? Wait, what?

[Gift - Ansatsuken: the ability to use the iconic martial art from the Street Fighter game franchise]

No. No no nononono. That-that, that can't be right! I must be seeing things! I shake my eyes from side to side and...no, I am not dreaming. The Ansatsuken Martial Art is a real Gift,, but how?

(Holy mother of God! That isn't even a real life skill, that is just a made up martial art for a video game! Wait, what about-?) I start searching for a specific skill in the list and low and behold:

[Gift - One Piece - Haki: the ability to use this power from One Piece, whether or not you are a 'Chosen One' is not something you can control]

(Ok, I must be missing something here, because I thought that only real life skills would be used from my memories and not just make believe stuff like from Japanese anime and manga! And what about western comics and cartoons as well!? And don't get me started on stuff from books and movies, cause a lot of that stuff is broken in every which way imaginable.) As much as I love the fact that anime and manga stuff is being incorporated I do feel as though I will be too overpowered for this world, especially once I pick the 'Haki' skill of all things; just because it would allow me to strike at the person themselves and not any defences they may have i.e. the 'Aura' shield for those who have unlocked it.

"I believe I told you that your memory is where all the skills would be coming from and I told you that anything you saw in your life would be stored within your memory banks, and this includes stuff that doesn't even exist in your worlds physical reality, take magic for example. But also understand that just by speaking with me is not what anyone from your world would consider normal, yet here you are and you are about to step foot into a world where people fight monsters with impossible weapons and superhuman powers." He replies.

Ok...so if I do this right, then my mission will be an absolute cake walk. Hmm, what if...?

(Sorry but I have another question for you.) At his nod I continue. (Will I be taking some sort of penalty or debuff or whatever you want to call it for all of this?) Don't get me wrong here, I want to choose my Gifts right now but I need to know about this beforehand as some unforeseen problem may occur if I just advance without thinking things through first. As I look at Death, his face changes a fair deal, showing surprise.

"Huh. You are one of the few individuals to ever use some form of common sense when it comes to this situation, even those who are transfered or reborn into other worlds fall prey to a loss of 'common sense' so they almost always get screwed over. So for using common sense continuously, I'll allow you to choose a fifth Gift after you have killed all of them before anyone or anything else has a chance at doing so." His generosity stun me.

I kill off all twelve individuals and I get a fifth Gift! That makes things that much more interesting as it gives me far greater incentive to complete the task as it will open up further options when it comes to survival, and from what I remember, I could even have the ability to use magic while in Remnant; that alone gives me many avenues to explore in terms of combat longevity as well as ability. There is so much for me to take in right now, as I am now feeling that I have to take some time to properly think things through or I may screw myself over just because I want to take something on a whim or out of a sense of nostalgia. Before I do that though...

(You didn't say anything about any possible consequences to my taking these Gifts.) I say once I realised he failed to mention what would happen to me once I chose my Gifts.

"Perceptive. But yes, I did fail to mention that and so I shall be blunt; in exchange for the gifts, you will not be able to have your Aura unlocked and as such you cannot have the passive defense and regenerative ability, nor would you have your own unique semblance that would have come with it." He said. And...I'm actually fine with that. I really am. I mean sure it would be nice to have it but I don't want that false sense of security the majority of Huntsmen and Huntresses have but even more so than any other gripes I may have with it, I just don't feel comfortable putting my own soul in danger just to protect my own skin. Yeah, it means that you can take hits in a fight and keep on going sure but once your aura is down, you are pretty much a sitting duck. Which brings me onto another memory of my youth regarding an anime called 'Chivalry of a Failed Knight' where the Knights in question have magic and summon a weapon from their very soul, and once that weapon is destroyed...yeah, and here's me thinking that I could have used that as one of my Gifts.

(Fair enough. Now what about something like the Hyperbolic Time Chamber from Dragon Ball Z? I would like some time to train myself in utilising the Gifts that I'll be taking to Remnant.) While taking the Time Chamber itself would be useful as I could squeeze a full two years of training into just two days or three if I use the one from Dragon Ball Super, but I would not be able to enter it again in that lifetime. The added bonuses of having nothing to interrupt my training, plus the increased gravity and atmosphere and environmental changes would put my concentration and conditioning on another level when compared to the denizens of Remnant; then again the downside is that I would be limited to three years max of training time.

"Hmm. You would have to find out if it is in your list first." He said, looking a little intrigued. Finally, a different facial expression!

But enough of that noise, if I can actually find that in this list then I will be able to train all of my Gifts uninterrupted at a faster rate in a more stable manner. Right, let's go down the list and see if it is there...no...no...no...no...no, not much luck so far but then again I am looking for something specific...I wonder? I look at this screen and look for a search engine and...yep there it is. Now uh...how do I put this? Uh? Um...? Er...? Got it.

{Search: Time Manipulation.}

...

{Search complete. Loading results}

...

...Wow. That was interesting yet also very helpful as I know see a small list of Time Manipulation Gifts before me, all I just need to do now is make sure that I get the right one or I may as well not have bothered. I admit, I do find some of these Gifts to be interesting but I kind of want to see more details about them-oh? What's this now?

[Gift - Everyone Else is a Returnee - One Thousand Years Adaptation Period: spend one thousand years gaining greater strength (Negotiable)]

...Hehehe, this is more like it! The other Gifts are alright but they come with additional effects that cost me something in return like with the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, as I would only be able to train in it continuously for three years at most and I would never be able to use it again. That would be such a kick in the nuts that I just could not accept it, even if it does give me some other benefits, it would still restrict me too greatly and will most likely interfere in my mission. Ok enough piss-arsing about, I know two of the four gifts but the other two will take a bit of thinking on.

First off will be 'Haki', as this skill would in all likelihood be one of the most broken abilities to take into Remnant as it is something that every living being possesses and could exist in Remnant, and were it not for Aura then it might have allowed the people of remnant to drive the Grimm into extinction. Now broadly speaking, there are two types of Haki available to everyone given the proper training; however, there is a third type only a certain group of 'chosen ones' are said to possess. In simple terms, Haki is the ability to sense spiritual energy (Kenbunshoku or Observation Haki), use life force (Busoshoku or Armament Haki) and overpower enemies (Haoshoku or Conqueror's Haki).

Observation Haki, if trained well enough, could enable me to see where an invisible enemy is by reading their own aura, how many there are and what there next move will be a few seconds into the future, and considering the powers of some individuals in Remnant this could prove invaluable. Armament haki on the other hand is akin to having invisible armour (kinda like the Aura that the people of Remnant have but better) it also has another use; the ability to strike your opponent with greater force. Obviously there is more to it than just this, as Armament Haki allows the user to harden a part of their body to prevent injury or to deal more powerful blows and if hardened enough, it can turn a part of the body black or in the case of weapon users like swordsmen, their swords. This can increase the weapons destructive capabilities if worked on enough. It can even work on ranged weapons like arrows for bows and quite likely, guns.

And the last one is Conqueror's Haki is a rare form of Haki as it cannot be attained through training alone. Only one in several million will ever have this ability as it allows the Haki user to exert their own willpower over other people as well as animals. The Haki user could use it to knock out weak willed opponents as shown in the One Piece manga on various occasions used by Luffy and others Like Shanks and Whitebeard; such an ability would be useful for avoiding pointless fights and prevent collateral damage. Well...this would be useful if I was one of those Chosen Ones, but alas, I severely doubt that as it is said that whoever possesses this type of Haki has the qualities of a King.

Secondly will be the 'Thousand year Adaptation Period' from the light novel 'Everyone Else is a Returnee'. From what I can remember the main character, Yu Ilhan by name, was left behind by the God of his world by accident after all others were sent to other worlds once theirs reached a certain level of evolution. Due to this, God sent an Angel to train him physically so as to prepare him for the evolution of his world when magic becomes a reality; this adaptation period should have lasted ten years maximum, but again, due to a mistake this ended up being a one thousand year long adaptation period for the MC. This would really help me greatly as I would have a whole millenium with which to learn how to use all of my Gifts, yet the downside is that the animals and the Grimm could be caught in the time frame; the same happened in the light novel and the resulting fuck up almost wiped out the planet that they all resided on. Best ask about the 'negotiable' part.

(Sorry, another question. Uh, what is with this 'negotiable' part on this Gift here?) A tilt of his head and a swipe of his hands and he has a screen before him. He looks it over and nods to himself, he the turns his gaze back to me.

"I would have thought it to be self explanatory, yet I will explain it to you in a clearer fashion. This has the 'Negotiable' option because of my presence, basically this allows me to work on the minor details involved in this Gift so that they work properly. This Gift as you seem to remember, was the cause of negligence caused by the God of that world. The negotiable part means that we can work out a few things here before it gets set in stone and cannot be unchanged, just know that you are only allowed one such Gift to take with you." ...Awesome. That really makes my day. I'll leave the details of that gift for later and should move onto my third Gift. But what should it be though?

I think I'll take the ability to use magic into Remnant, I mean who wouldn't want to take magic into a fantasy world if given the chance...though I would prefer a history of the world if possible and how it feels about magic in general to be safe. But I digress; what magic system would be useful while I'm in Remnant? There are many out there with their own set of rules and regulations to be observed as well a varied magic set available to the caster; and this leaves me at a bit of a loss as I have seen many magic systems from books, games, cartoons, anime, manga, films and more. I doubt anyone would find this choice to be an easy one especially when the world I lived on didn't really have magic in a natural sense. What's more is that if I chose to just have the ability to use magic in general, then I might not be able to utilise it in a more stable and fundamental manner especially when I don't have any sort of clue as to how to use it in general.

Umm...uhh...ok, this is getting ridiculous. Let's go for a system of magic that I am more familiar with and have a basic understanding of, rather than one I know of only in passing. I'm looking at you Doctor Strange. And rightly so, the magic systems I'm more familiar with belong to various games all of whom I have put at least four hundred hours into, Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Dragon Age: Origins and it's sequels and Divinity: Original Sin Two to name the ones I spent most of my time with, with each one clocking over a thousand hours of gameplay each.

This may actually be harder than I thought. Of the three I mentioned, the Dragon Age magic system and the Elder Scrolls magic system are ones I have the most experience and knowledge about in some regard, yet the Divinity magic system seems to be more adaptable than the other two. And yet I'll probably go for the magic system belonging to Dragon age Two. Why? The spells here seem a little more focused and on point and has my all time favourite specialisation: the Force Mage.

All mage specializations in Dragon Age manipulate energy, but a Force Mage revels in it. They focus only on the raw application of magic in all its glory, such as maelstroms that draw opponents in, ethereal weight that crush and slow, or great waves that throw enemies about like ragdolls. Even targets thought not to be toyed with are simply slammed into the ground, as though pummeled by a giant fist. As an added bonus, they themselves are all but immune to such attacks, an ability that hints at the true discipline they must posses. After all, unsubtle doesn't mean unsophisticated; the specialisation requires uncommon precision to keep such overwhelming power under control. Not just that but there is also the Spirit Healer specialisation and the Blood Magic one as well, the former allowing me to better heal myself and any allies I may make, even revive them...though I don't think that will be the same thing as resurrecting them from the dead.

The later one...will be a monstrous ability to take. In more than one sense. For anyone who doesn't know about the basics of Blood Magic; the energy that blood carries is the fuel of a Blood mages spells whether it is their own, an allies or an enemies, or even random animals. They can even use these abilities to strengthen their other magic spells or to cause damage within their targets; even taking control of them in order to carry out some scheme or to even the odds in a fight. There is quite likely more to it that needs to be investigated and learnt through trial and error, but I feel up to the challenge.

Finally will be a Martial art and I am left stuck for choice here; just-just look at all of these martial arts on display! Real life ones, manga ones, game ones...oh...oh that one is just perfect.

[Gift - Fist of the North Star - Nanto SeiKen: the ability to use an assassination martial art from Fist Of The North Star]

Hahahaha!

This is deliciously evil! Do you know what this martial art is about!? Do you really know?! If not, then allow me to educate you.

Nanto Seiken is a martial arts style from the Hokuto no Ken anime/manga series. It is the opposite (the Yang to Hokuto Shinkens Yin) assassination art to Hokuto Shinken, as their names serve to reflect their contrasting natures, Hokuto being the North Dipper whereas Nanto is the South. The combat abilities share this sentiment as while Hokuto Shinken targets vital points to destroy targets from within, Nanto Seiken teaches how to kill from the outside. This style not only incorporates weaponry but the more advanced schools allow fighters to kill with their bare hands, with attacks ranging from hand-to-hand stabbing techniques as employed by the practitioner Shin, to slicing opponents apart by utilising air pressure as shown with the practitioner known as Rei.

After stumbling across the anime and manga where this martial art came from, I felt an absolute love for it; even if it is not considered better than the main one Hokuto Shinken, I stilled loved it, even now I still do. And while I do love Hokuto Shinken, the practical side of things would mean that any Hokuto practitioners would be all but ineffective against the Grimm as they would more specialised to kill Humans and Faunus, as I doubt that the Grimm will have pressure points to exploit. Nanto kills from without, ie. stabbing and slicing using air pressure, couple this with Haki, and I will be nigh unstoppable...unless I become exhausted.

Though I am curious as to why so many of these Gifts appear to be Greyed out.

(Sorry, I have yet another question regarding the list of potential Gifts. Do you know why some of them appear to be greyed out?) I say, giving him my full attention.

"I would think that the answer would be rather obvious but I shall indulge you; some Gifts are greyed out due to you not meeting the requirements, like for example 'Lightsaber': the one that allows you to wield said weapon; this Gift would require you to have the Gift 'Force User'. These Gifts are closely associated with one another and while you have knowledge of non Force Users being able to wield Lightsabers, the compatibility between these two Gifts would make it far more easy for you to wield said weapons. Although having the Gift Lightsaber wouldn't actually give you one." He said with a lecturing tone. I didn't think I would hear that again.

(Right, thanks for clearing that up. So...why isn't the Gift 'Healing Magic Aptitude' greyed out? ) I ask him.

"Hmm, again, the answer is rather obvious but the answer is that it is only an Aptitude Gift. Basically having this Gift means that you would have a more natural ability for the Gift in question, while the downside is that it is harder for you to use other things related to said aptitude; in this instance any other form of Magic like Elemental or Arcane." I nod after he finishes speaking.

Gotta love common sense. Now I could swap a gift to give me limitless stamina or some such nonsense, but the downside to that would be less than optimal (being unable to sleep to be more precise). Ok, enough stalling. The Gifts I'll be taking are:

1. [Gift - One Piece - Haki: the ability to use this power from One Piece, whether or not you are a 'Chosen One' is not something you can control]

2. [Gift - Fist Of The North Star - Nanto SeiKen: the ability to use an assassination martial art from Fist Of The North Star]

3. [Gift - Dragon Age 2 - Magic: the ability to use magic from Dragon Age 2; the limits that mages from this universe have don't apply to you]

4. [Gift - Everyone Else is a Returnee - One Thousand Years Adaptation Period: spend one thousand years gaining greater strength (Negotiable)]

The first three are fine but now is the time to 'negotiate'.

(Can we do some negotiations with regards to the last Gift I want to take?) I ask.

"Very well, let me hear your side of the deal, then I will see if it is workable, then I'll give you my side." I nod at this and speak my piece.

(Ok then, uh. From what I remember of the web novel, the MC is left behind on earth and spends a thousand years training, waiting for time to start once everyone comes back from the various other worlds they went to. Now the problem here is that during that time frame, the monsters that began to appear were far stronger than they should have been, and only the MC's training allowed the earth to survive. I don't want that. The uh, people going off somewhere and allowing the Grimm to have a thousand years of uninterrupted growth that is. Well, you know that the older a Grimm gets, the stronger and smarter they get right?) At his confirmation I continue.

(What I am getting at here is simple; I want this Gift to function just like the Hyperbolic Time Chamber which condenses up to three years into a three days or rather a thousand years into ten years but I'll also need someone to help train me to use the other Gifts that I have. Is it possible to have something like that?) His expression doesn't change at all but I feel as though He will have a counter for this.

"I could do that, but you would have to lose two of your Gifts in the process." Ouch. That's harsh. But it could work, as all I would need to do is take just the Haki Gift alone, yet that would leave me with only a few options for when it comes time for me to kill the twelve individuals that Death has marked.

(Ok...how about instead of the full thousand years, but nine hundred?) I offer a counter to his counter to see how far I would have to go for this.

"Two Gifts."

(Eight hundred years?)

"Two Gifts."

(Seven hundred?)

"One Gift of my choosing." Geh! He would probably take Haki from me. But getting better

(Five hundred?)

"One Gift of my choosing."

(Four hundred?)

"One Gift of my choosing."

(Three hundred?)

"One Gift."

(...One hundred?)

"How about this? I'll train you for three hundred years in another world, but in the eyes of the world of Remnant, you will have disappeared for ten years?" Ok, that's a better offer and one that works well enough for me but...

(What's the catch?) I ask wearily. Just as he can't be to careful, I can't be to careful.

"I want you, upon your death, to become my agent." Eh?

(What are you...?)

"Your duties will be the same as they are now. If someone, somewhere tries to back out of a deal with me, then I want you to kill them." An immediate response.

(That's pretty straight forward. Hmm. Three hundred years condensed to ten; in which I spend it training in another world under your tutelage. And in return I continue as your mercenary until the end of time? Let's see how it looks firt, and after I've seen it I'll make my final decision) It's not much better than anything else I can think of, but it is a win-win situation for the both of us so it does work out well enough.

"Alright, the appropriate changes have been made, check your list again and confirm or we can try to work out another deal." He replies while making some getsure at the screen that appears before him. After it disappears and appears before me I glance at the four Gifts I'll be taking with me.

1. [Gift - One Piece - Haki: the ability to use this power from One Piece, whether or not you are a 'Chosen One' is not something you can control]

2. [Gift - Fist Of The North Star - Nanto SeiKen: the ability to use an assassination martial art from Fist Of The North Star]

3. [Gift - Dragon Age 2 - Magic: the ability to use magic from Dragon Age 2; the limits that mages from this universe have don't apply to you]

4. [Gift - Everyone Else is a Returnee - Three Hundred Years Adaptation Period: spend three hundred years gaining greater strength in another world under Death's tutelage, under a time manipulation Gift that condenses three hundred years into ten (Negotiable)]

Ok, it all looks good. Haki to break through the aura of the people of Remnant, a deadly assassination martial art that works in tandem with Haki to make sure of the kill, magic to surprise my opponents and a training period to help me use all three of the above Gifts and to solidify my original combative might. That could work but only now that I look at the fourth Gift do I realise that I left something out.

(How do I use the last Gift?)

"For that you just have to shed some of your blood and call for me to begin your training. Simple really, but don't forget that you will disappear from the world of Remnant. To them you will have either died, run off or have been kidnapped."

(Thanks for the confirmation.)

Right. This is it I suppose, now how do I...

[Are you certain? There is no turning back beyond this point.]

[YES/NO]

Ok, this is it I suppose. I look over my Gifts again to make doubly sure that this is what I want to take with me, taking care to make sure that I run through my memories in case I have some sort of natural ability that would make any Gift I take redundant. Now I admit that there are some people out there that would look at the task Death gave me and go for a full assassin build and take Gifts related to stealth, noise reduction and insta-kill type Gifts, yet that won't work for me as I was a natural when it comes to stealth and had many skills that made me out to be, as what some called me, a Grey Man.

A Grey Man has many different meanings to many different people from many different backgrounds, so it is hard to pinpoint a true enough way to describe what one truly is, but the gist of it is that a Grey Man is all about keeping a low profile. That includes how you act, talk, dress and train. These are the absolute basics on what a Grey Man is about, there is far more to it than that, but I'll save such thoughts for once I have gotten old enough to do something about it. I push the 'yes' portion of the button and look Death dead in the eye.

(Well, looks like this is it...is there any last minute information that I should know before I jump into Remnant) I ask Death as he is...writing up my contract.

"Other than the world you are going into will not be an exact replica of the RWBY universe that you are aware of, not really no. I will not ask for a signature as you will be born anew in Remnant, but I will have your 'soul signature' instead as it will allow me to see whether or not you are following through with your end of the deal. So if nothing else?" I shake my head and he just gives a half arsed gesture indicating behind me.

Upon looking behind me, I see a simple wooden door again colored white (really original guy) and understand what I am to do now. So I just move towards it and open the door, and what do I see? A kaleidoscope of color shifting this way and that that leaves me very, very nauseous; I didn't know one could feel like vomiting once you have become a spirit but, here it is. Ah the hell with it! I step out into the...thing and remember one last little detail.

(What do you mean by rebo-!) As I try to speak, I a sent careening through this mess of color that only makes my nausea even worse and I try to stop myself from being sick...with whatever it is a spirit pukes. The last thing I hear before consciousness leaves me is death saying:

"Enjoy."

Asshole.

*Some Time Later*

Why...

Why..is it...so..

Hard..to..

Breathe..?

I-I-I can't...

Air, I need air...

I try moving my arms, but they barely seem to work. Same with my legs, but the thing that I focus on the most is the ever increasing desire for air so following that line of thought I focus on moving my arms to my neck to see if there is anything wrong with it; and to my horror my hands feel some wet...rag of sorts around my neck stopping me from breathing. I gotta get this off of me! I start to claw at it with my hands but it is not coming loose not matter how much I try, all the while my energy levels drip closer to empty and if that happens...then I...will die.

No. No, no, nonononono! I will not die now of all times! C'mon you bastard fingers of mine, Just find some purchase on this fucking rag and I'll be happy!

I scrabble desperately at the rag around my neck, putting all of my focus on getting it loose enough to breathe that is all-there! My fingers somehow get a grip on the rag and I start to try and get some air into my lungs. Wait, did the rag become looser or am I...no, it did become looser! Focus on that and...just a little bit more...!

Gathering all the strength I had left I pull it hard enough from my neck, creating a gap that allows me to draw a deep breathe; my very first one here in Remnant. But my God, is that one hell of a wakeup call! The difficulty setting here is insane! And yet...I cannot see anything around me. Now what do I do? No Prompts? No clues? Nothing? I should have guessed really but eh, lets see what we have here. Thinking so, I try moving my arms and legs again and find that I have a hard time making them move exactly as I want them and that I can't really move most of my body very well either, which doesn't paint a very good picture for the near future.

Ok, let's try to gain control of my limbs first until I can figure out what is going here, and the best thing to start with is that rag that is still bound around my neck, right, there it is. Now, let's see how well my hands can 'see' shall we?...Yep, it is wet, slimy and..actually rather thick which means that it could be rope of some sort; I wonder how long it is? Keeping a grip on the rope, or whatever it is, and start to follow its length eventually finding the...end...oh no. Oh no! OH NO! This is-is-is a...fucking UMBILICAL CORD!

I can only scream, and the noise that comes from my mouth...it is so high pitched, squeaky and loud! Louder than any baby I had ever heard, (but that could just be me have a hell of a pair of lungs) and I flail my arms and legs in tandem with my screaming at how completely messed up my situation is! Hell, death even said that he would sort things out, that I wouldn't fall into any kind of cliches like what I'm in right now! My life literally hangs in the balance; and don't get me started on the sheer impossibility of the mission that Death himself gave me, seriously guy, couldn't you have been nice enough to have me be born in an hospital at least!?

It is during my fit of rage and despair that luck throws me a lifeline in the form of voices coming closer to me from wherever it is I am, and by the time that I realise that there are voices close to me, I find that my vision is in fact alright. I can see a small crack of light from where I am lying and it only gets bigger, but that won't stop me from crying out, mainly in fear of whoever it is may leave me behind and I really don't want to deal with that sort of cliche as well as what I already have.

And once the lid of the dumpster...I am in a goddamn dumpster...oh come on...can't you be even little a bit more original? I can only cry at yet another cliche I have to deal with as shadows block out the light, and with them comes sounds of horror and great concern, but not from adults but rather what sounds like children; who then climb into the dumpster to pick me up and take me out of it. I love them already, but again, they sound like children and most likely their parents will have me sent to an orphanage or something after admonishing them.

But as for the kids themselves...I can't understand them at all. I had hoped that the world of RWBY had the same common language as Earth as was in the show but, it seems that my luck doesn't always give you what you want now does it? But this language that they are speaking?...I don't even know how to put it into words. It...sort of sounds like the unholy offspring of the English, Polish, French, Russian and Italian language with a side order of Japanese if that makes any sense. Christ! Is this really the language that I'll be speaking in?

Whatever, a thought for another time after I have sorted out my current situation; which is me being moved around by a pair of kids and being taken away to parts as yet unknown; I can only hope that I am being taken to a hospital then to an orphanage after that, but, ehh, we'll see. For now, I'll try to make sure that I make some sort of noise while I'm being transported to wherever it is I am going.

I don't know how long I have been in their hands but from the frequency of the bouncing I have had to endure, they have been running for a long time now with quite of lot of alarmed people calling out at me being in their arms, some of whom sound like they are following us. No doubt out of concern for the baby in their arms...or if I think pessimistically, think that these kids stole me from a hospital and are now in the process of trying to arrest them and rescue me. Christ almighty, this is surely going to end well.

Once the running stops I try to gather myself in order to understand what is going on right now, yet as I cannot speak this language something like that is a little beyond me-oh, I can see now...sort of. Mainly shadows with some sort of color in there but who am I to complain? Ok the noise around me is only getting louder and that kinda hurts my ears so let's show how unappreciative I am of that by crying a little, or a lot it matters not only serving to shut them up a bit which kinda works. Wow! That worked better than I expected! Whoa! Who the hell has me now!? Whoever it is sounds male and sounds concerned and the two kids are talking to him and he to them; an authority figure obviously so he could be a police officer or a Huntsman or some sort of official...

I am only looking for some sort of sign that helps me understand whether or not I will be fine, bah, whatever, just please take me to a hospital as I feel as though I need some professional medical attention...aaaaand...I am starting to fall asleep. Lovely. Aah, fuck it, lets see what happens after I wake up.

...

Uungh.

That...was a nice nap. Wonder how long I have been out? I cough a little and open my eyes to have a look at wherever it is that I am at right now; a ceiling, a brown wooden ceiling...? Uh, that isn't part of a normal hospital now is it? A sigh escapes me at that discovery and accompanying it is the sound of a door opening up and two individuals entering the room I am in, and sadly I still cannot see them properly; still it is nice to know that I am currently somewhere safe for the time being.

"*************" One of the people says. Nope. Still can't understand it.

"*************" Another person says from the doorway. Again, I cannot understand this language. It'll be fun learning it.

"*********" The first one speaks again, though I can tell this time around that they are female, can I have some way to understand this language please?

"*********Arc***" The second voice says sounding more masculine now...did he say Arc? I think I just heard the name Arc in there. I gurgle a little and one of the two hovers over me with the second shadow coming over shortly after and they continue to converse all the while, with the name Arc coming into play every now and then and to my absolute shock I realise that I am currently the subject of interest for the Arc family in Remnant, yet I don't know what it is they plan at this poi-hey! One of the shadows picks me up and cradles me gently, the female unless I am mistaken. And she and the male speak to each other again seemingly coming to a decision.

"Welcome to the family, Lucien Arc." The female says.

Hey, I could understand that! Awesome! Looks like things are...what did she say? Did she just say that I am a part of the Arc family!?

Oh boy...this will take a while.

A/N. Alright, I have gone and rewrote the first chapter for this story, and my reasons for this are very simple.

I spoke to someone regarding a story like this and we got to talking about it being a common Gamer type setting and so we brainstormed to try and make it work. But upon my writing the second chapter... I just couldn't gather the will to keep writing. While I do enjoy Gamer type stories and the like, there are sadly not something I have confidence in writing. Maybe I could have done something in a similar vein as the anime 'Overlord' where 'I' become one with a MMO Game character went over to another world where everything is 'real', but that didn't occur to me whilst I was writing this.

Another thing is that it honestly didn't feel like something that I would write ya know? If you look at the other two stories that I wrote then maybe you can understand some of what I say, as the other two stories that I am writing feel more like me. I love them both and I feel comfortable enough with them that I could write so many chapters for them with plots in mind. This one was written due to me being in a slump and in need of getting the creative juices moving again, and now that they are, I'll be doing taking more care when writing new chapters, and for when I go about editing them in the future.

Updates will have no particular schedule so please be ready for periods of nothing. Review how you like but leave some constructive criticisms whenever possible.