ACKS Chapter 1- Second Chance

Disclaimer- The following is a non-profit fanfiction. I do not own anything except the OCs.

Once a descendant of a feared family overcomes great sorrow, they shall be given the ultimate power. If they are deemed worthy, they shall possess the power of a god. That is the prophecy told on Remnant passed down from generation to generation.


"You can't escape," the man told the child trying to flee.

"Please! Just let me go!" the four-year-old child yelled. He held onto the loaf of bread he stole from the man and ran as fast as he could. But escape was impossible. The man was keeping up with him just by walking. The child was outclassed in speed.

"I refuse to let a thief go." The man ran in front of the child, blocking his path.

The boy gulped. "F-fine. I'll stop running. B-but I won't go down easily!" He took out a pocket knife and pointed it at the man.

The man raised a brow. "Do you intend to use that? How stupid. I bet you don't know how do use that weapon properly. And even if you did, you're shaking in fear. You don't have the courage to take my life away. Am I correct?"

"I'll... I'll do whatever I need to do to live..."

"Pathetic." He swatted the knife out of the kid's hand and kicked him into a wall. "Since you're a kid, I'll let you choose. Which limb do you want broken?"

"Leave me alone..."

"Whats wrong? Are you so scared that you can't even think properly?"

"Leave me alone..."

"Fine. Right arm it is. Feel lucky that I'm not killing you, boy."

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" Black flames surrounded the boy. The man jumped back. The flames began to die down, until there was nothing left but three small black flames in his hair. The kid curled up into a ball and began to cry.

'Those flames...' the man thought. 'Could this boy really be...' "Hey. Kid."

The boy looked up at him in fear.

"By any chance, is your father named Kage Honō?"

"W-what? How do you know my dad?"

"I was his student. He taught me everything I know about fighting. He is a man with a semblance like no other. The only other person who could ever have it, he told me, was his son. Kurai Honō."

Kurai blinked. The flames in his hair went out. "My last name is no longer Honō. After that jerk left us, mom changed her last name back to her maiden name. Me and my brother decided to change our last names too. We are now the Mirai family."

Blade nodded in response. "He knew that one day, me and you would meet. My name is Blade. Kurai, what is the thing you want most in life?"

"I grew up on the streets with my family. I became a thief so we could survive. I only steal what is necessary to live. All I want is for them to be safe."

"So all you want is the safety of your family?"

The boy nodded.

"Well kid, I'll make you an offer. I'll teach you how to fight. You can use your skills to become an assassin. They make a lot of cash nowadays. Do you accept?" Blade held his hand out to Kurai.

Kurai stared at his hand for a few moments, and then grabbed it. "I accept."


A red-haired male and a brown-haired child walked into a forest. The older of the two looked down at the kid. "Crimson," he said. "You want to be part of the White Fang, correct?"

"Yes, big brother," the child known as Crimson said.

"Well, this is your chance to prove you have the capability to be part of it. I will leave you here for ten days. If you're still alive by then, you can be a new member."

"Ten days? This will be easy."

"If you're so confident in your abilities, I'll just leave now." The red-haired male ran off.

"Ten days, huh? I can live through this. And when I join the White Fang..." A smirk formed on the boy's face. "I'll be its new leader."

TEN MINUTES LATER

The six-year-old kid walked through the forest, being very cautious of his surroundings. He stopped walking and looked to his right.

Three beowolfs emerged from the shadows. Crimson looked at them with a bored look on his face. "Are you three my first opponents?" he asked them.

One of the beowolfs rushed at him, intending on murdering the boy.

The boy simply jumped out-of-the-way. "I guess so," he said as he unsheathed two twin daggers. With one slash, he severed the grimm's right arm.

The creature growled, and used its remaining arm to attack.

The boy quickly dodged, and used his other dagger to cut the beowolf's head right off. All traces off the creature disintegrated into rose petals.

The other beowolfs howled and ran at the kid.

Crimson quickly combined the two daggers, somehow transforming them into a sword. He quickly used it to split one of them into two pieces, killing it.

With a mighty roar, the remaining beowolf swung its massive claws at the boy. Crimson quickly jumped behind the beast, and grabbed the back of the beast's head. "Sayonara." He charged high-voltage electricity into his hand. His semblance.

He electrocuted the creature until it fell to the ground and turned into rose petals.

"Pathetic. If that's what humans find strong, they're weaker than I thought. Or maybe I'm just too strong. I am Crimson Taurus, after all."

FIVE YEARS LATER

A lion faunus fell to the ground, with a dagger aimed at his neck. He sighed. "I give up."

Crimson smirked at his opponent. "Then I win again. That's ten wins in a row with zero losses. So who's next?"

An owl faunus ran into the room. "Everybody! Come quick! Adam Taurus is fighting a human!"

Crimson raised a brow. "A human? Why should I care?"

"It's the shadow flame assassin!"

"What!?" Everybody in the room rushed outside to see what the man was talking about. What they saw was a spectacular sight. A red-haired man was clashing swords with a boy with three black flames in his hair.

The assassin said nothing as he swung his sword rapidly, only for each of his strikes to be blocked by his opponent. He jumped back and threw several black fireballs at him, only for Adam to dodge every one.

"Black flames..." Adam said. "Are you a member of the Honō family?"

"What does it matter?" the boy responded. "This is a battle. That's the only thing that matters right now."

"Is it? You don't really want to fight do you?"

"What?"

"You're scared to fight. Or to be more precise, you're scared to die. I can see fear in your eyes and I can hear it in your voice. So tell me. Why do you continue to fight?"

Kurai sighed. "One week ago, I was employed by a man named Tarrow Pàntú. He was the one who gave me the assignment of killing you. He said to go in seven days. If I don't kill you, I don't get paid. And without that money, I can't help my family."

"Tarrow? Would he happen to be a faunus?"

"Yes. Why?"

"Tarrow was the name of a traitor to the White Fang. After going AWOL, he gave some of our plans away to the humans. Three days ago, he was found and executed. Your employer now has no way to pay you."

"Is that so?" Kurai put his sword away, and the flames in his hair went out. "Then I have no reason to continue this battle."

"You're giving up?"

"Yes. I may be an assassin, but I don't kill for pleasure. And even if I did, its obvious that I don't stand a chance against you. I can tell you've been holding back. If we continue, there's a high chance I will die. You're not worth the pay."

"You're a very strange kid. Fine. I'll let you go. Hopefully we will one day meet again on the battlefield, when you're much stronger."

"Perhaps. I have a feeling this will not be our last duel."

"Wait! Before you leave, tell me who you are. Its pretty obvious that the shadow flame assassin wouldn't be a child, but those black flames are proof that you're a member of the Honō family. Who are you?"

"Who am I? I'm his son. You can call me the dark flame assassin." He ran off.

Crimson then ran up to Adam. "Big Brother," he said. "Why didn't you kill him? You could easily have ripped him apart, limb by limb. He's only a human."

Adam sighed. "Some humans just aren't worth killing."

"What do you mean? They're humans. All of them are worthless scum that should just die."

"One day you'll understand, Crimson. One day you will."

SIX YEARS LATER

"Mom? Sonder?" Kurai said as he entered his family's new house. With the money he gained from assassination, he was able to buy this. "I'm home."

"Onii-chan!" a kid two years younger than Kurai exclaimed with joy as he ran over to greet him. This was Sonder Mirai, Kurai's younger brother. Unlike Kurai, he didn't inherit his father's semblance. "How was your job today?" Unlike his mother, Sonder had no idea what Kurai did for a living. Instead, Sonder was told that Kurai was a professional boxer.

"It was fine," Kurai said as he ruffled his brother's hair. "Wheres Mom?"

Sonder pointed down the hall, at the living room. "She requested to talk to you, without me listening."

"I see... Why don't you go back to your room? I'll tell you when you can come back out."

"Alright! I'll wait until your done talking!" He ran off to his room.

Kurai sighed and walked to the living room. "Hello, mother," he said when he got there and saw his mother, Hikari Mirai, sitting on the couch, with a cup of tea.

She looked at him. "Hello, Kurai," she said.

"You... Wanted to talk to me?" he said as he sat down on the other couch.

"Yes. Kurai. I want you to give up your career as an assassin."

Kurai frowned. "I can't. I need to be able to provide you and Sonder with everything necessary to live."

"Kurai, you've already given us all we need. You can finally stop. I have a job now too, you know."

"I'm well aware. But I can't stop. It's the only thing I know how to do. It was what I was trained to do."

"And what about your brother? He's eventually going to figure out what you really are! You can't keep lying to him about your job so he won't try to stop you!"

"Even so, I already said I can't stop. This is the only thing I know how to do. I need to do this!"

"No you don't! Only people like him murder for a living!" The room went silent. Kurai knew who she was referring to: his father. The same man who left his family when he was only three just to continue his career as an assassin. "Kurai..."

"No, I understand. If I continue this job, I'll most likely end up doing the same thing he did and completely abandon you both. But what else can I do?"

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about. Theres a place where you can use your training for good." She handed her son a pamphlet.

Kurai looked at it and raised an eyebrow. "Beacon Academy? That school where people go to become huntsmen and huntresses?"

Hikari nodded. "I've already talked to the headmaster to sign you up. Even though he doesn't normally allow people your age attend, he has agreed to let you join due to your experience and training. He knew Blade personally, and knows how torturous his training can be. He also says he let a girl your age join not too long ago. Theres a team there that still needs two more members. You will be on that team. You will be able to visit us during vacation."

Kurai was silent for a moment. Then he asked a question. "When do I leave?"

"In three days."

He sighed. "Alright, I'll go get my stuff packed." He walked down the hall and knocked on his brother's door. "Hey, Sonder? You can come out, now."

Sonder's door opened. "Onii-chan," he said. "I heard a lot of yelling. Is everything ok?"

"Yes, Sonder. Everything is fine." He embraced his brother in a hug. "Everything is just fine..."


"Big brother," Crimson said as he walked up to Adam. "You requested to speak with me?"

"Indeed I have," Adam responded. "The White Fang is sending you on a mission."

"Oh? At whose neck shall my sword be pointed at, this time?"

"A co-worker of mine, by the name of Cinder Fall, has infiltrated Beacon. She, along with two of her comrades, have joined it to gain their trust. When the time is right, they will betray that trust. However, right now they're only a three person team. As you are no doubt aware of, all teams at Beacon Academy are four person teams."

"Let me guess. You want me to join their team, don't you?"

"Precisely."

Crimson frowned. He hated when he had to team up with humans, even if it is only temporary. However, he knew he had no choice in the matter. He could not go against his brother. "When do I leave?"

"Three days."

"Hmph. At least that'll give me enough time to pack my belongings."

THREE DAYS LATER

"Hmm..." Crimson looked around. He was currently at Beacon. "So this is the school, huh? I must admit, this is very impressive. For humans at least."

"Uh," he heard a voice from behind him. "Excuse me, sir. I'm new here. Can you please tell me where Ozpin-sensei's office is?"

Crimson turned around and his eyes widened. He couldn't believe it. The one speaking was the same boy he saw fighting his brother six years ago. "You... I know you..."

TO BE CONTINUED...