After Volume 3 ended and left everyone in shambles from seeing shit hit the fan, the one thing I kept thinking over and over was "Xiao Long is it gonna take for Taiyang to choke a Taurus?" Puns aside, I kept thinking about Papa Xiao Long avenging his daughter as the details explained, he is really overprotective of his daughters. That soon evolved into theorizing his fighting style and Semblance and then it became a full blown hypothetical situation that became a nice action packed chapter in my head. I did my best to keep this thing as close to the logic and limitations of RWBY and I paid so much damn attention to Adam's fighting and abilities that I found out his limits. But I shan't bore you with those details, enjoy the oneshot.
Disclaimer: RWBY is in good hands as it is. Even then, I like to think Monty is still pulling the strings along somehow even after his passing.
Looking down at his glass, the blond man felt his nerves shake. He had never expected to have brought himself to this point, vengeance was never on his list of things to do. And yet here he was in a destroyed bar, drowning himself in whatever liquor he could find while he waited patiently for his awful brother-in-law. Taking a swig from his glass, Taiyang felt his nerves begin to calm down as the beverage gave a soothing burn on its way down his throat. Slamming the glass on the table a bit too hard, the shattering of glass filled the emptiness of the area. The blond man exhaled deeply as he scooted away from the spill and broken glass, a gloved hand reached up to rub his face, the fingers free of the glove traced over a small amount of stubble.
"I see someone couldn't wait to get hammered," Taiyang swore under his breath as the familiar slurring reached his ears. He didn't bother to turn around knowing full well by the sounds that Qrow was approaching. Taking a seat beside the buzzed man the raven-haired man reached for an open bottle on the table and happily took a sip straight from it, knowing full well that the blond wouldn't want anymore. After gulping down nearly half of the bottle, Qrow stared off in Taiyang's direction, finding that his old teammate held his head in his hands. "You sure you wanna go through with this?"
"Just give me the details, I don't have all day." Taiyang spat out rather harshly, he nearly hated having to ask for his brother for help, yet there was no other possible person capable of giving him the information he needed. He still refused to look over at Qrow, yet the sound of the bottle tipping indicated that the man was paying more attention to the alcohol.
"Emerald Forest, he's got a small camp set up there," The raven-haired man revealed between swigs, after finishing the bottle and wiping his face the Hunter frowned slightly as it appeared to be the only bottle that Taiyang managed to salvage. "There a few pawns in the way but they go out to fend off Grimm almost hourly, should give you enough time to deal with your target."
Taiyang could feel his confidence surge, one step closer to being able to get even and help end his nightmares. Nearly every night since the incident the blond-haired man would be plagued with anxious thoughts of losing his already crippled daughter. Nights staring at the ceiling fearing that they would come back and finish the job.
"Thanks, Qrow... I have one more favor to ask of you," Said raven-haired man arched an eyebrow as he watched his brother-in-law get up from his seat. Sighing deeply, Qrow felt he might need a little bit more 'incentive' to deal with whatever additional favor Tai would have for him. Before he could reach for his personal flask, he felt the other man stop him. "I want to borrow exactly what you're reaching for."
The two made eye contact for the first time, the blond-haired man's eyes would have fire lit behind them, but were glazed over from slight intoxication. Nevertheless, Qrow could tell that he was absolutely serious about this matter. However, he wasn't going to just give away his supply that easily.
"No deal, there ain't anything as strong as this in all of Vale right now-" The raven-haired man pulled the flask from his coat pocket and kept it securely in his hands. He always made sure he had the strongest stuff on him at all times incase the bars didn't have anything that could compare.
"God dammit, Qrow!" Tai shouted as he slammed his fist on the table, causing the entire thing to collapse as well as cause a small tremor in the destroyed bar. After the effects of Taiyang's outburst settled, Qrow sighed to himself as he continued his sentence as he sat himself at another table that was not nearly as destroyed as the others.
"If you would let me finish, I'll make an exception as long as you can pay me back," Tossing the flask at his brother, the raven-haired man grinned to himself. Though he doubted that Tai would understand it at the moment, his condition implied that failure was not an option. Both for the sake of getting paid back, and that he didn't want to be the one to go home and tell his children their father had passed. Catching the flask in his hands, the blond-haired man nodded at his brother, silently agreeing to his terms. After storing the flask into one of his pockets, Taiyang began to make his way out of the bar. "By the way, how is that daughter of yours?"
"She's starting to take after her mother." The blonde bluntly replied, earning a hard gaze from the raven-haired man. Though the jab was well earned, Qrow couldn't help but give a friendly, sarcastic clap as the blond-haired man left.
Trekking through the Emerald Forest, the blond-haired man felt the hairs on his chin bristle in anticipation. He didn't doubt that he was getting closer to his target, in fact, it felt as if his target was well aware of his presence. The area was eerily quiet, no sign of Grimm, not even hints or clues as to the White Fang being around. Just dead silence that seemed even more ominous than if a Nevermore were to screech in the distance. Preparing for the fight he so desperately searched for, Taiyang pulled the flask from his pocket and chugged down its contents. His eyes watered slightly from the intense burn it gave, Qrow really wasn't kidding when he said nothing else was stronger in Vale. Taking in a large gulp of air afterwards, the blond exhaled slowly, his breath carried a heavy scent of alcohol.
Slapping himself to keep from being entirely ditzy and buzzed, Taiyang focused on his goal. Marching on towards the White Fang's current base, the buzzing in his head clouding his doubt and giving him an artificial sense of confidence. As he continued on his way, the sound of crunching twigs caught his attention, in a matter of seconds, many trees surrounding him began to cave in. Surveying the trajectory, Taiyang was seeing no gaps in the falling trees. Widening his stance, the blonde pulled back his fist as he prepared to knock the closest falling tree away. As the tree came into range, Taiyang exhaled slowly as he brought his fist up to meet the bark. Splinters of wood rained down on him as the nothing but bits and pieces remained of the tree, giving him one small opening to escape being crushed.
Leaping out of danger, the blonde was met with the sight of a Faunus clad in black clothing. Basing the description his daughter had given him, Tai felt his blood boil as he stared at a near match to his intended target. The Grimm Mask glaring at him as if he was just a useless piece of trash that had gotten lucky. No words were exchanged at the moment, but the glares given to each other were charged and dangerous. As the blond dusted bark off his vest, he could see his target tighten his grip on his weapon in anticipation.
"I have a question for you," The blonde stated bluntly, breaking the silence and earning an unsheathed blade ready to be swung. In a matter of seconds, the White Fang leader managed to close the distance. A sigh escaped his lips as he did his best to evade the oncoming flurry from the Faunus. Each slice sought to be a fatal strike, aiming for vitals and even as far as to decapitate the blond. Keeping that in mind, the Huntsman did his best to duck under most strikes, at best only having to throw out a punch or two to block the blade from landing a direct blow. He was unsure what the sword itself was capable of, as far as he knew it had the strength to cut through his Aura like a hot knife through butter. Having had enough of the nonstop onslaught, Taiyang waited patiently for his opening. As he watched the next strike aimed to split him in half, the blonde man brought both hands together to clasp the blade between his palms. "This would usually be the part where I say I don't want to fight, but that would be a complete lie, so the least you can do is hear me out before we resume."
"I don't have to listen to anything a filthy Huntsman like you has to say." The White Fang leader snarled, disgusted by the heavy scent of alcohol that reached his nose. If anything, he believed Taiyang to be a pathetic and unstable human, just someone that would get himself killed eventually with false bravado. Said man shook his head as he glared down at the redheaded Faunus, despite their current stalemate, Taiyang had a nagging feeling that the Faunus was allowing him a moment to understand the current situation. There was pressure being put onto the blade, but he knew full well that there were plenty of ways for the Faunus to get out of this situation. As if on cue, from the corner of his eyes, Taiyang could see the sheath of the blade brought up to his face. Confusion filled the blond-haired man's head from the action, then horror filled his eyes as he stared down at a barrel of a rifle designed to be the sword's sheath. The blast from the rifle was enough to send the Huntsman reeling back in pain, letting go of the blade in the process.
Struggling to gain his balance back, the blond focused his other senses in anticipation for a follow up from his enemy. Hearing the distinct sound of the blade grinding against the sheath, Taiyang braced himself for the next strike, crossing his forearms into an X to guard better against the blade. Yet the blade did not strike where had anticipated. Feeling as if a Beowolf was clawing at his back, the Huntsman growled in pain as he fell to his knees. As much as he knew that he had yet to actually be cut, the sheer feeling of the slashes were enough to stun him momentarily. Before he could jump back to his feet, the sound of crunching bark reached his ears, the shadow of another falling tree loomed over him. Thinking quickly, Taiyang spun his body on the palm of his hands, using the momentum to knock the oncoming tree away with his heel as well as perform a flip to get back on feet.
Quickly scanning the area, the Huntsman locked his eyes on the White Fang leader, the way he held himself was incredibly unsettling. Just the way he casually stood before him with his weapon sitting idly in the palm of his hands struck a small nail in the blond's mind. It was as if he really was up against someone that cared little for sport and morals. If anything, he was ruthless enough to earn wearing a Grimm mask, clearly he thrived on felling countless lives by his blade. Dashing towards the Faunus, he prepared for yet another type of quick preemptive strike. But the redheaded Faunus just stood patiently, waiting for Taiyang to take a shot at him.
The Huntsman's temper began to flare, the overall mood he was projecting made it seem he was just going to be a another nameless stain on his blade. Once the blond was close enough, he prepared to pull back his fist for a hard punch. Even without a weapon, his sheer power alone would be enough to deal a decent amount of damage. Expecting for Adam to evade, the blonde was rather shock when his fist met with the blade. For a moment, the blade itself, including the red markings on the Faunus's clothing, mask, and even hair began to glow bright red. Fearing for what could happen next, Taiyang jumped back and kept a careful eye on any subtle movements his foe had.
The glow faded away as the Faunus fully sheathed his blade and slowly made his way towards the Huntsman. The faintest smile made itself apparent on his face, almost as if he had already won just from blocking that one punch. In a matter of seconds, the sound of the rifle being fired rang out, followed by the hilt of the blade colliding with his face. It had caught him off guard that his opponent was able to fire the blade from the sheath. Despite that, Taiyang kept a track of the Faunus' movements, he could make out that said opponent was closing the distance rather quickly, red attire glowing yet again. Whatever the Faunus had up his sleeve, it would surely be the end of his life if he allowed for any type of opening. Seeing that his opponent was getting closer to retrieving his blade, the blonde felt it was best to use this opportunity to prolong the retrieval of his sword. Taking the blade in his own hand, Taiyang flung the sword in the opposite direction away from Adam. The blade embedding itself deeply into the trunk of tree.
Despite having the mask obscure most of his facial expressions, it was easy to tell that the Faunus was annoyed. Still charging towards the Huntsman, Adam did his best to use his rifle to add more flare to the strength his hand to hand combat lacked. Although he was less of a threat without his sword, Taiyang still couldn't quite get an advantage over the White Fang leader, he was far too quick for his close quarters combat to be effective. Then there was still the problem of the rifle, no matter how close he was to catching the Bull by the horns to start out a full blown assault, the rifle would effortlessly be brought around to send him back a bit. The blonde's temper flared a bit more, it was frustrating to go up against someone he could barely touch, and yet he couldn't allow himself to succumb to his anger. Despite the bare bones of his reason to even be fighting the White Fang leader being incredibly personal, he knew that vengeance alone could easily get him killed. He needed to keep a more level head and find a way to defeat his foe.
Placing his palm down to the ground to keep himself from getting pushed further from the blow he had endured, the blond felt it was time to go all out. Taiyang planted his feet firmly on the ground in a defensive stance, giving the Faunus enough time to do whatever he liked. Taking the chance to retrieve his blade, Adam leaped to the tree and effortlessly pulled it free, immediately returning it back to the sheath where it rightfully belonged. Leaping off the tree to hurl himself in the Huntsman's direction, the Faunus's hand held onto the grip of his blade firmly, markings glowing red yet again.
The blond-haired man exhaled deeply as he estimated the time it would take for Adam to reach him. Although, he had no idea what type of attack that would come his way, he was sure he could find a way to either avoid or block it. Feeling the familiar feeling of his muscles burning, the Huntsman let his doubt slip away as he found a small amount of surprise on the Faunus's face. Said Faunus was rather confused as to why the man before him remained in his stance unflinching, even as ethereal flames enveloped his body, though he couldn't help but feel it was rather familiar. Whatever it was, it mattered little to him as the next strike was all he'll needed to win. As the distance began to shrink between them, the Huntsman let out a roar as he threw out a punch that was way out of range. What he hadn't expected was for a large phantasmal fist to strike him, sending him barreling away. Before he could even comprehend what had happened, the blond closed in on him and delivered another phantasmal punch to send him skyward.
Anticipating a follow up in the air, the Faunus decided to use the opportunity to get the one strike he needed. The sky seemed to fade to red as he unsheathed his weapon and slashed as the Huntsman got close. In preparation for such a strike, Taiyang had crossed his arms in X again, only getting a second layer of protection from his phantasmal limbs. As the two fell back to the forest floor, both leaped back to put distance between each other to assess their damage. Taiyang stared in astonishment as he watched his blood stain his hands, opposite to him, Adam couldn't believe that his enemy was even still alive at this point. Looking to the sky for a moment, the Huntsman noticed a few petals in the air wilting away in the wind, fading from existence. From what he could tell, this was the same attack that crippled his own daughter.
Allowing himself a controlled amount of anger, Taiyang charged at the Faunus with a flurry of strikes both from himself and his spectral limbs. Even though a few of the strikes were absorbed, the Huntsman made sure to always guard against his possible retaliations. Despite gaining a few wounds, he knew that at some point the White Fang leader would not be able to endure any more from his barrage. Shielding himself from the blasts from the rifle, Taiyang could see that Adam was growing desperate in his attempts to slay him. A small smile spread across his face as his advances were beginning to push the Faunus back further into the forest.
As the area around them seem to bloody into a deep red again, the blonde decided to try packing all his strength to meet against Adam's. Despite the world around them being reduced to the simple colors of a killer, Taiyang felt as if he shone brightly amidst all the terror. The phantasmal punch grinded against Adam's for a while before reducing the fist to nothing but dying petals. However, the blond yelled as the strike itself barely nicked his cheek, giving him the clear opening to grab ahold of the White Fang leader by the throat and bring him down to the ground like a falling tower. The momentum and force behind it causing a small tremor around them, powerful enough to cause the Faunus to lose a grip on his weapons.
Taiyang kept a hard grip around Adam's throat, keeping his foe pinned to the ground and essentially being the victor of this fight. The flames continued to burn around the Huntsman's body, given the close proximity, the Faunus growled in pain as the flames appeared to be real.
"Now that I have your attention, let me share the question I wanted to ask earlier," Even with the Grimm mask in the way, Taiyang could feel all the hate and resentment the White Fang leader was focusing on him. The flames on Taiyang's arms did their best to cauterize his wounds, hoping to stop the bleeding and help his Aura heal the wounds for later, yet it didn't stop from causing major discomfort for Adam and a small bit of pain to Taiyang himself. "What do you have to say for yourself after all the death and destruction you have caused for the world?"
Adam's nose scrunched up in repulsion as he could still catch the scent of heavy drinking on every word the Huntsman uttered.
"My path was the right one, I don't deserve any of this." Rage consumed the blonde's eyes as he couldn't believe how twisted the man before him truly was. To think such a monster had gone unpunished for so long was baffling, maddening even. Taking a moment to think of a proper response and best course of action, Taiyang decided to lay a little wisdom he regretfully learned from family.
"Well, sometimes bad things just happen." With his spare hand, the fire consumed his fist entirely as he formed a ring with his fingers and blew into it. Flames erupted from his breath and covered the pinned Faunus. Despite the struggles and shouts from Adam, Tai remained firm and calm, making sure that there was no way out for the White Fang leader. For all his crimes, not only the damage he had done to his family personally, he deserved no other sentence than death's release. He had done the world a favor for getting rid of Adam, yet he would be lying if he said that it was entirely for the sake of the world of Remnant. With the deed done, he could at least sleep at night knowing that the Faunus would never return to finish the job. He could go back to being the cheerful father he once was and still stay stalwart to protect his children.
After making sure the White Fang leader was dead, the blonde man did his best to shrug off his sore muscles. No doubt he would have to rest for quiet a bit when he returned home, but it would be his best night of sleep yet. Running a hand through his blond locks, the Huntsman sighed in relief as he stared at the bright sky through the canopy of the trees. Noticing a crow flying in the distance, a small smile spread across his face followed by disappointment remembering that he had to repay his brother.
"Well, better go searching..."
And thus ends my entire hypothetical situation. I have nothing else to say other than a lot of thought went into balancing out Tai and finding details to mark Adam's limits because I know the guy seems like one of the strongest characters in the entire series, he's really not. Deadly does not equal strong. With that, I hope you enjoyed the oneshot. And in some way, I hope this version of Taiyang is somehow Canon.