Chapter 0: Prologue
Remnant.
A dangerous place. Particularly for man.
For as long as man has roamed the surface of Remnant, so have the creatures of Grimm. A ravenous, destructive force that covers the majority of Remnant. These wicked beasts, serve as mankind's greatest foe. While not much is known about the creatures of Grimm, some key factors have been observed in the wild. The most important thing, is that the Grimm exclusively attack humans, and their creations. While Grimm do not need to feed, especially on humans…
They choose to, regardless.
Another, unsettling, thing about Grimm, is the basis of their attraction. Grimm seem to be drawn in, by negative emotions.
There are rare instances, where nomad villages are able to defend themselves from a wave of Grimm. However, that does not mean their survival, is guaranteed. The wide spread panic, will ultimately only lead to more Grimm attacking the village.
Unfortunately, not much else is known about Grimm.
Keeping them captive, has proven quite a difficult task. The captive Grimm, will either die shortly after it's capture, or most commonly, it will kill those who caught it in the first place. Playing with fire at it's finest...
Further complicating study, is the fact that the corpse of Grimm, will only remain for a brief period of time, before evaporating into nothing.
Most upsetting, for those who hunt Grimm for sports...Playing with fire again I see….But it's not a complete lost cause. Cheap, taxidermic recreations work just fine, for keeping the ego intact.
That and...bombastic, storytelling… How that man never runs out of air is beyond me….
Ahem.
To some, the creatures of Grimm appear to be mindless beasts, their primal instinct being the source of their obsession with destroying mankind. However, studies have shown that, while younger Grimm seem to be more reckless and prone to attack, older Grimm, who have survived their encounter with capable humans, have learned from their mistakes. They will be more cautious in the future, thus turning them into an even deadlier force.
.
.
.
However.
While Grimm, have been and will continue to be, mankind's greatest foe, the past shows that, for a time…
Humanity itself was it's own worstenemy.
Throughout the course of history, countless civilizations rose to power, and fell from grace just as quickly. Inner skirmishes, being their ultimate demise.
However, of those civilizations, four have managed to withstand the test of time.
Vale.
Vacuo.
Mistral.
And Atlas, formerly know as 'Mantle'.
These four kingdoms, with the help of natural barriers and human intervention, have proven that they have the will to survive.
Where there's a will, there's a way. That's what they say, isn't it?
It would be just fine, if everyone had but one will, right? Unfortunately, that's not the case.
Where there is a will, there is also, an ideal. But, as it's with most things, different ideals are bound to clash. And when ideals clash, it's only a matter of time…
Before conflict breaks out.
Relations between Kingdoms had been strained for centuries. However, it didn't mean they were at each others throat the entire time.
With some help from Mantle, the emperor of Mistral had managed to conquer almost everything the continent of Anima had to offer. Thus, an alliance between Mistral and Mantle had been formed. Mistral would supply Mantle with resources that weren't available in Mantle's snowy tundra, and Mantle would help Mistral with technological advances. However...
Due to an unknown event in Mantle, an unusual decree was placed.
The abolishment of self-expression. People of Mantle thought that they would be much more safe from Grimm, if they kept the emotions of the masses in check. Remember what I said about wills and different ideals?
Many assumed that Mistral, having a strong, artistic culture, would end the alliance with Mantle. They were wrong.
The emperor of Mistral, complied. However, the decree was only put in function through the outer territories of Mistral, while the central territory could live as it pleased. A bunch of jackasses in those times…
Nevertheless, it seemed Vale thought along the same lines...Then again, Vale had a lot of problems with what Mistral and Mantle had been up to.
It wasn't long, before Mistral decided to place a settlement on the continent of Sanus. A continent Vale and Vacuo shared. Yet again, ideals clashed, as Vale sought to occupy the same land as Mistral. Tensions rose, and while the king of Vale thought they could solve the problem without bloodshed, his people thought otherwise.
It's unknown as to who struck first, but it sparked the first battle, of what would come to be known, as the Great War.
Long story short, it was Mistral and Mantle, vs Vale and Vacuo. Vacuo had originally stayed out of the conflict, but due to pressuring from Mistral and Mantle, who had settled the continent years prior, Vacuo decided to join Vale and drive Mantle and Mistral out of the Kingdom. The reason being, that if Vale fell, there would be nothing to keep Mantle and Mistral from conquering Vacuo. A smart decision.
After ten years of war, the King of Vale himself joined the battle, and singlehandedly laid waste to the enemy forces. That would be the final, bloodiest battle of the war. After the war, the leaders of the Kingdoms were ready to bow to the King of Vale. The king refused, however, and allowed them to return to governing their Kingdoms, on the condition that they do not start conflict with each other ever again. This rule, was set in place on the island of Vytal. Now, every two years, Huntsman and Huntresses from every Kingdom gather on the island of Vytal, for the Vytal Festival, to share their culture and test their own strength with each other.
.
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Oh yeah. I forgot…
After the Great War, the King of Vale built four academies in each Kingdom. Their purpose was to train young warriors into becoming Huntsmen and Huntresses, whose sole purpose was to fight Grimm, and protect those who can't protect themselves.
Haven was founded in Mistral,
Shade was founded in Vacuo,
Atlas was founded in the now defunct Kingdom of Mantle,
And finally, Beacon was founded in Vale.
The academies accept graduates from primary combat schools, to prepare them further for combating Grimm, and protect their fellow humans. Within the academy, students are placed in a four man team. This serves to strengthen and improve communication, empathy, and teamwork. All the necessary skills, needed to become a Huntsman.
The four academies, serve as beacons of hope for Humanity. The ultimate stand, against the creatures of Grimm. But…
As I have learned over the years, nothing will last forever. Teams will eventually grow apart, or be killed off. Huntsmen may stray from their purpose, and selfishly follow their own goals. Academies may become corrupt... It is only a matter of time, until one of these beacons falls…
And it's anyone's guess, as to how severe of a blow it will be, to mankind…
So? Did that little history lesson, put you up to speed? If yes, then let's get on with the actual story, shall we?
Our story, begins in the city of Vale…
It was during a late night.
The full moon was high in the night sky, providing a decent amount of light through the dimly lit alleys of the city.
*tap* *tap*
In the dead silence, footsteps could be heard. It wasn't loud, but they were certainly there.
A tall young man was currently making his way through the back alleys. Not much was visible about him, as he wore a maroon colored cloak that covered his body and a hood that covered the majority of his face.
However enough could be seen to confirm that the person was indeed a male.
He was currently making his way through the alleys of Vale, walking at a leisurely peace and occasionally glancing around him. It was as if he was searching for something.
But it didn't take long for the man to stop in front of a shady looking building.
The building didn't look too different than the rest, however something about it seemed off.
Curiously, the man walked over to the large wooden door, and gave it a light push.
*click*
Surprisingly, the door opened with a sharp click, allowing him to take a peak inside.
The hallway in front of him was barren. However, the giant red doors at the end of the hallway, coupled with the muffled music coming from behind them, made a light smirk form on the young man's face.
As he walked forward, the music became louder and more clear.
Once in front of the red doors, he gave a strong push and was immediately greeted by loud music and bright flashing lights, causing the man to avert his eyes and take a moment to adjust to the new surroundings.
Once he did, he raised his head and glanced down at the dancefloor below him. He saw quite a number of people getting their groove on, as well a number of imposing looking bodyguards situated around the room.
He then glanced to the side, where he saw a small bar situated a little distance away from the dance floor.
There, was a rather tall man with short black hair and a beard, wearing a suit, talking to someone wearing a white coat and a black bowler hat. Behind the tall man were two attractive young girls, one with long black hair wearing a white dress, and the second with short black hair wearing a red dress.
However, the chat between the two men seemed rather short lived, as the one with the bowler hat left the room with a few of the bodyguards, while the man behind the bar began cleaning some of the glasses left on the bar.
Seeing this, the cloaked man began walking down the stairs to his left, heading toward the bar.
As he did, the two girls noticed him approaching and glanced at him cautiously. After all, someone hiding themselves behind a large coat isn't the most reassuring sight.
In a few moments, the young man had reached the bar and sat down on one of the chairs without saying anything. His hood still covered most of his face, so the two girls were still eyeing him cautiously.
"Hmm?"
The man behind the counter saw this and glanced up, raising an eyebrow at the new figure sat in front of him.
"Can I help you...sir?" he asked, confusion and a little bit of uncertainty apparent in his voice.
The young man remained silent for a moment, before glancing up and revealing a gleaming crimson eye. His right eye remained hidden under his long black hair, however his left eye was in full view now.
"I'd be pleased if you can." the man spoke, his voice deep and smooth. The two girls opened their eyes in mild surprise at the young man's voice, but didn't show anything else. "Are you the one called 'Junior'?"
The man seemed surprised for a moment, but gave a short nod.
"That's my nickname, yeah. Why?"
"Ah, great! I have a few things I'd like to ask you Junior. Would you mind indulging me over a little drink?"
The young man showed a slight smile and spoke in a laid back tone, but Junior glanced at him with a calculating look.
It was clear he was suspicious, but in the end, he released a short sigh and grabbed a nearby chair.
"Alright. Anything I can get you?"
At Junior's question, the man waved his hand dismissively, showing a brown glove with leather straps going all the way to his elbow.
"Surprise me."
At the simple answer, junior raised an eyebrow. But he didn't question it, as he saw this as a good opportunity to see what this man really wanted. And what better way then to get him drunk and talking.
Thus, Junior swiftly grabbed a bottle from the drink rack behind him, as well as two glasses and placed them on the table. He then poured the liquid from the bottle into the glasses and slid one of them over to the man.
He raised an eyebrow upon seeing the drink, glancing up at Junior with a tiny smirk.
"Martini huh? Haven't had this in a while." the man gave a short nod before grabbing the glas and taking a sip.
Grabbing his own glass, Junior took a proper swig of the drink, almost downing the entire thing, before setting his sights on the man in front of him.
"Alright then. What do you want to talk about?"
"I hear rumors about you. Saying that you are quite knowledgeable, about the...shadier business going down in Vale. Is that true?" the man asked, observing his drink as he moved his glass in circular motions.
Junior looked at him for a second, before replying.
"Maybe I do. Maybe I don't. Depends on who is asking..." Junior's eyes narrowed slightly toward the end, causing the young man to chuckle.
"Fufu, cautious now are we? I understand. I don't like being asked such questions either. However...this is quite the serious matter. I'd appreciate it if would cooperate, and answer my questions truthfully.
Although the man said that in a completely laid back tone, Junior could feel a certain intensity behind those words. It was as if there was a dark presence behind him, gripping his whole body. And something about the man's smile was also unsettling.
Junior's gut was telling him it would be wise to follow the given instructions, and Junior listened to it.
"...I...Yeah, I know about some of the things going on behind the scenes. But don't think I'm some sort of computer. I don't know everything, and what I do know is gonna cost you."
"Heh. I expected as much." the man released a short chuckle. "Then, I need your help in finding someone."
"Who are you looking for? I'll tell you if I have info on them or not."
At Junior's prompt, the young man took out a photo and slid it unto the counter.
Glancing at it, Junior saw the same man with the bowler hat from before. And surprise showed on his face for a slip second, before reverting back to his usual stoic expression.
"Roman Torchwick."
"...Sorry, I don't know anything about the guy."
Junior lied, and he knew it full well. However, he simply could not divulge info on this man, as that would put his own safety at risk.
Looking at his cup, the man's voice turned to disappointment.
"I thought I told you it was in your best interest to be honest Junior. Lying won't get you anywhere..."
"I'm not lying" Junior said blankly. "I don't know anything about the guy."
The man grabbed his drink, and took another sip. Then, releasing a heavy sigh, he mumbled to himself.
"Looks like we're doing this the old fashioned way..."
Although it was nothing more than a passive mumble, Junior and the two girls caught it and got ready for a confrontation.
They then watched as the man placed his glass back on the counter and grasped his hood, which had been on the entire time.
Then, his pulled it back slightly, revealing his face fully, before opening his left eye fully.
[-!] As he did, Junior and the girls saw that his eye was glowing red and now had black circle split into three parts.
And they made the mistake of looking directly into it.
Within a second, the whole world turned negative with shades of red. Junior could still feel the world around him, but couldn't move his body at all. He was stuck staring at the man's eye. And he could feel him staring all the way into his soul.
Junior soon began feeling his mind going blank, feeling as if someone was looking right inside his head. And as soon as everything happened, the world returned to normal.
Stumbling back slightly, the three managed to catch themselves from dropping to the ground, releasing slight pants.
As they got their bearings together, they heard the man speak again.
"Looks like you weren't telling the truth after all Junior. You do know some things about Torchwick."
Looking back up, Junior saw the man take another sip of his drink, as if nothing had happened. Still in slight shock, he spoke.
"W-Wha...What was that?"
"..." the man didn't answer at first, staring into his red colored drink.
*ccrack!*
Then, a crack suddenly appeared in the glass, surprising Junior and the girls.
"You see, I can be very persuasive when I want to, Junior. What you just experienced was one of the small tricks I have, in order to get people to comply with my requests. But don't worry, you're perfectly fine. Maybe a little lightheaded, but that should be the extent of it."
*open-!*
At the exact moment the man finished his sentence, the entrance doors opened, causing him to glance back at the newcomer.
There, he saw a beautiful young girl with long wild blonde hair and lilac eyes, making her way toward the bar.
"Another one..." the man heard Junior sigh, igniting an inaudible chuckle.
Within a few moments, the girl reached the bar and sat herself down next to the man.
"A Strawberry Sunrise please. With no ice. And with the little umbrella~" she ordered, as Junior cocked an eyebrow.
"Aren't you a little young to be in a club, Blondie?"
"Aren't you a little old to be called 'Junior'?"
"Heh. She got you there~" the man chuckled at the exchange, causing Junior to grumble while starting to make the girl's drink, while the girl herself glanced at the young man next to her curiously.
"Why hello there~ You are?" there was little sensual undertone in her voice, something that amused the man.
"Just a guy out on a little night walk."
"In a club?" she raised a knowing eyebrow.
"I've been in worse places. But what about you? What brings a young girl like you in these parts?"
The girl gave a brief pause, before answering.
"I'm..looking for someone."
"Does that someone happen to have long black hair, a kimono and goes by the name of Raven?"
"-! How do you-?!"
At the man's answer, shock appeared on the girl's face.
"If you're looking for her, you're wasting your time. You won't find her unless she wants you to. It's always been like that."
Finishing his sentence, the man also finished his drink and took out some Lien, which he placed on the counter.
"Thanks for the help and the drink. Later."
"Hey wait a second-!"
As he turned to leave, the blonde stood up and tried to stop him, but was momentarily distracted when Junior all but slammed her drink on the table, causing her to take her eyes off the man for a brief moment.
"-!" however, in that brief moment, the man disappeared entirely from the room.
While the blonde stared dumbfounded at where the man used to stand, the two girls behind the counter began whispering to each other.
"Did you see that Miltia?" the one in the white dress asked.
"I did Melanie. He just, burst into feathers and vanished." the girl in red clothes answered, a certain degree of amazement in her voice.
"Damn...looks like the rumors may be true after all. That guy..."
Hearing Junior's voice snapped the blonde girl out of her staring, and she turned back to him.
"Do you know that guy?"
"No. But if he's what the rumors are talking about, then I'm glad he left."
"Rumors?" Melanie asked from the sidelines.
"There are rumors I heard on and off from criminals. Stories about something targeting evil doers. Apparently, if you see black feathers around, it means that that something is heading your way. I never believed in those stories. Always thought it was just thugs making up stories to keep others from stealing their stuff, but...that couldn't have been a coincidence..."
Hearing this, the young girl's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Does this 'something' have a name?"
Junior shook his head.
"None that I know of. It only has a floating nickname, given by criminals who supposedly encountered it and lived to tell the tale."
"And that nickname is…?"
"Apparently, people refer to it as...a Grim Reaper."
"And you think that guy was this 'Grim Reaper'?"
"I dunno. But I've never seen him before, and the vibe he gave off wasn't exactly pleasant either. If there's anything close to the Grim Reaper, it may very well be that guy."
With that, the blonde seemed to fall deep in thought.
'That guy...He might know where my mother is. So far, he's given me a clue not even my family could. I need to find him again!"
Walking along the streets of Vale, yet again, was our cloaked man. His eye had now returned to it's crimson red color and the black ring disappeared.
'So Roman is planning a Dust heist tonight, eh?' the man thought, remembering what he got out of Junior. 'Looks like I have to hurry...'
And without any other delay, the man's body once again burst into a bunch of black feathers, from which a medium sized Jackdaw appeared. The bird then took to the sky, heading into the direction of the shopping center.
And that's it for the prologue!
I tried making it like the 'Trailer' episodes, to keep the tradition.
So, hello~! Welcome to my new story!
I've had this idea in mind head for quite a while. I was just looking for a way to start things off. And this is the best I came up with...Please bear with me on this journey.
As the name suggests, this was only a prologue. Gave a bit of a backstory for the series, and introduced my character. ...Introduced, not presented. That will be next chapter.
Right off the bat, things will eventually take a rather AU-ish turn. It will still stay pretty true to the original material, however. Also, note that this story will include elements from other anime series. The most obvious presented in this chapter, was Naruto. You all most likely knew right off the bat. There will also be elements from One Piece (again, shown briefly in this chapter) and Bleach. Reason for that, is because I feel these series, sort of resonate with each other. The concept of 'Aura' can be applied to all three. So yeah. Those are the main three series, whose concepts will be appearing in this story.
Edit: 31/01/19
And here is where the new part of the Author's note comes in~
As you can see, I'm bringing this story back with new stuff. I feel like I've gotten better at writing ever since I first started this story originally, and since I'm in a RWBY phase again, I decided to rewrite the original chapters on this story and possibly continue it.
I can't make any promises, but I will try to bring this story further than just the original three chapters, minus this prologue.
And yeah, as you can see, this chapter is a little different than before. Fixed some dialogue, along with some other writing related stuff and changed the encounters up a bit.
Unlike originally, Yang actually showed up and with that, her quest to find our mysterious cloaked protagonist in order to learn about Raven has commenced!
This is primarily so we can have some one on one with Yang and the protagonist in the future~
Some of you may be familiar with this story. Originally named RWBY: Remnant's Reaper, I deleted it because of some personal things, but I've decided to bring it back. The other 3 chapters will be posted in the upcoming days, once I've sorted them out a bit. After that, I'll try to update this whenever I can.
But please don't expect weekly updates. Every two weeks would be the best case scenario, but it could even take more than that. Please bear with me.
And before I go, this was originally a Harem story, and it will remain like that but I've decided to shorten the 20+(?) girl harem and limit it to five girls.
Those girls are Glynda (the Cougar love interest) Winter (the same age love interest) Blake and Velvet (the young love) and another final spot for your choosing. Yang, Ruby and/or Raven are not available. You'll know why in future chapters.
You can vote, you can leave it up to me, which ever you want.
And that was enough from me. Hope you enjoyed this new version of the prologue, tell me what you thought of it, and I'll see y'all in the next chapters.
Seeya~