Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY, all rights go to their respective owners.


"Nugh," a groan came from the black-haired boy lying down on a bed. As the sun rained down on him from an open window he raised a hand in a futile attempt to block out the sun. "Ugh," he groaned again seeing his attempts fail.

Sitting up in the bed, he looked around the room. Blinking, he couldn't remember where he was for a second.

"That's right," he thought pressing a hand to his forehead. "I'm at the orphanage." For a second he thought he was still back at the hospital. Taking a look around the room a second time revealed that he was the only one still in bed.

"Where'd… Oh no," the boy grimaced as he realized what he had just done. Ms. Greenhorn was going to kill him!

Scrambling out of bed he quickly got changed and brushed his teeth. Rushing out of the boys' dorm he ran towards the cafeteria.

"Oh hello there Kuro," Ms. Holden said from behind the counter. "I see you're waking up as late as ever." In front of Ms. Holden was a tray with a slice of cheese on toast.

"Arigatō!" Kuro shouted as he picked up the toast without showing down in one of the few rare occasions where he actually raised his voice.

"Take care!" Kuro heard Ms. Holden call from behind him.

Shoving the toast into his mouth, he devoured the slice in just a few bites. It wasn't as filling as what breakfast would've actually have been but it'll do.

As he rounded the corner leading to the classes he had today he froze. He could hear the sound of Ms. Greenhorn's voice calling out names.

The orphanage that Kuro in was better than most others. But that was to be expected since the Valean Council has sponsored the construction of this orphanage in light of the recent increase in Grimm attacks. Those Grimm attacks often left many orphans in their wake and they were sent to the new orphanages to await either adoption or they were old enough to take care of themselves.

The classes the orphanage had were made in an attempt to keep the orphans who were going to be staying here for a while educated on their level. This way the orphanage wouldn't be releasing a bunch of delinquents out on the streets.

Of course, Kuro was just ten years old, he had no idea about all of this. Bracing himself, he pushed open the door to a resounding silence. All eyes were on him now.

Sweat was dripping down his back. Ms. Greenhorn didn't look much happier either.

"Mr. Haerth," she ground out. Uh oh, she usually only called you by your last name if she was angry. "I see your attendance is once again lacking. Tell me, what could possibly be more important than my lessons in English? You need proper language skills if you want to go far after leaving the orphanage."

"Yes ma'am," Kuro said quietly. Kuro wasn't usually a very outspoken person but his voice could be loud if he wanted it to.

Kuro quietly made his way to his seat as the rest of the class began whispering to each other.

"No surprise the Silent Berserker showed up late."

"You think he was beating someone up last night? Is that why he's late?"

"Watch out, he'll beat you until you're sent to the hospital just like what he did to Flamos."

"Scary."

Kuro was used to these sorts of rumors, it didn't bother him any bit. They could say what they wanted, all Kuro cared about was opening the eyes of the public to the lies that the governments of Remnant were spewing. No one who lived in the cities understood what it meant to be attacked by monsters and demons. The worst Grimm attacks they've suffered were minimized due to the Huntsmen.

"Woah he looks ticked."

"Shut up shut up shut up."

"Uh oh, quick change the topic!"

"Quiet!" Ms. Greenhorn shouted. Silence soon ruled over the room. "Now then…"

Kuro drowned Ms. Greenhorn's lecture out as his mind wandered. He could still remember the chilling screams he heard while he was both hidden and trapped underneath some rubble. He couldn't even feel the pipe that was stabbed through his abdomen at that point. It wasn't until that Huntsman pulled it out did he realize it had been there. Kuro's black eyes hardened as he remembered that scene that happened a mere three months ago.


At lunch, Kuro took his tray to the table he usually sat at. The Faunus girl was already there. The two didn't speak to each other. They merely just ate their lunches in quiet while all around them the canteen was in a ruckus.

The Faunus girl had black hair and green eyes with green horns sticking out from her hair. Kuro didn't understand why she was sitting all alone when he first came here and he never asked. It wasn't his business anyway.

"Well well well, I see the two of you are still sitting together," a voice came from behind Kuro. He didn't even turn around, there was only one person in the orphanage who would speak in that condescending tone. Gloria Fulthem, the social butterfly, the complete opposite of Kuro. Gloria practically radiated kindness, well… to other humans that is, when it came to Faunus she usually either ignore them entirely or has them act as her slaves.

Not only was Gloria's personality the polar opposite of Kuro's, but her appearance was also the complete opposite as well. She had bright blond hair and blue eyes although her left eye was covered with an eyepatch. If Kuro hadn't gone through what he had back in his town, he'd probably have fallen for Gloria at first sight.

Kuro mentally sighed, "Well, there goes any hope of a quiet lunch."

Gloria was unaware of Kuro's internal exasperation as she continued to taunt the Faunus girl. "What's wrong? Don't tell me your species doesn't develop claws until they become an adult."

Kuro's sharp eyes saw that the Faunus girl's grip on her fork began to tighten. This can't be good. Before anything could happen, Kuro quietly said, "Are you not hungry Gloria? I'm sure that lunch is ending soon. You wouldn't want to miss out on a meal, would you? Unless… you're trying to lose weight…"

"I-I Tha-That has nothing to do with this!" Gloria stammered.

"Are you sure? I'm pretty sure you look more… rounded than yesterday…" Kuro drawled in his quiet voice. Gloria's face turned red, whether, from embarrassment or rage, Kuro couldn't figure out.

"Kien!" Gloria called out to her companion. "The Silent Berserker is wrong, right?" Gloria asked desperately. Kuro was mildly amused that Gloria even considered what he said was true.

Kien Waherz was an odd one to Kuro. He was quiet like Kuro and the Faunus girl but Kuro sensed that Kien wasn't quiet for the same reason as him nor the Faunus girl. He seemed to be dragged around by Gloria a lot though. She seemed to treat Kien as a servant or a pet or something along those lines.

"Uh No!" Kien yelped before he lowered his voice. "I mean, no, uh… I think he's just messing with you…"

Kuro just tried to ignore the two of them as he focused on his lunch. Honestly, how was a boy supposed to eat in peace around here?


The orphanage had a backyard with multiple different activities. They were meant to see what the orphans had an interest in. For Kuro, it was sword fighting. There were a few training dummies set up for the kids to either shoot or slash. Kuro had found himself a frequent visitor here and that was how he found himself earning the nickname, "Silent Berserker".

Kuro had made his practice blade himself… well maybe not himself there was adult supervision, but he did all the hard work. The result was a simple one-handed long sword. It wasn't too elaborate in its design, just a hilt, guard, and blade.

Gripping his wooden blade, Kuro remembered what he had sworn to himself when he had first regained consciousness. "I won't let another person go through what I did. If those heroes can't do it then I'll do it by myself if I have to!"

This is why Kuro spent so much time getting used to swinging his practice blade. If he could get used to swinging around a weapon, then when he actually got one himself, he wouldn't be a complete novice.

Settling himself into his preferred stance, blade held diagonally in his right hand with his free hand just beneath the guard in a claw-like pose. His right foot was placed in front of his left. His knees were bent just slightly.

Then he rushed towards the dummies, rearing his sword back he delivered a diagonal slash at the first dummy. Then quickly swapping hands at the end of the swing, he brought his blade in a horizontal sweep. At the end of that swing, his sword switched back to his right, he spun before swinging up vertically while jumping. In the air, Kuro flipped the way he held the sword so now the blade was pointing downward. He moved his other hand and with two hands on the hilt, he drove the blade down on the dummy. This time, the bag that was the dummy's head spilled open, straw pouring out.

Kuro tried to catch his breath after going through those motions. That was one of the many sword combinations he's been practicing for the past few weeks. Today, he had finally done it, albeit it wasn't perfect, Kuro still went through the motions he had mapped out for it so that was at least one achievement.

A whistle drew his attention. Standing at the edge of the training area was Flamos. He was the most famous of the orphans in the orphanage because his heritage were all Huntsmen. Flamos planned to go down the same path as his parents so he often came to the training area too.

Apparently, he was the fighter at the orphanage before Kuro came. After Kuro came into the orphanage, Flamos grew more and more irritated with how well Kuro seemed to be doing. In the end, Flamos challenged Kuro to a duel in which Flamos lost.

But it was that duel which earned Kuro the title of "Silent Berserker". Flamos throughout the duel had tried to taunt Kuro, make Kuro slip up. It wasn't until he said that being a Huntsman was the highest of honor that Kuro's rage finally revealed itself.

Honestly, Kuro couldn't remember what he did, all he saw was the scene of that day. The smell of blood, the sounds of screams, the ever-growing fear. Even though that day was long past, Kuro still vividly remembered each and every detail of it. According to what he could overhear, during the duel, Kuro had gone on the relentless attack, abandoning all notion of defense.

He had broken through Flamos' defenses and proceeded to continue hitting Flamos even after Flamos had lost consciousness. The police even had to get involved in order to even get Kuro off of Flamos. They had to sedate Kuro in the end but even then Kuro was still whaling on Flamos for a good minute before Kuro finally fell unconscious.

"I see you've still been trying your hardest to catch up to me eh Silent Berserker," Flamos taunted.

"You want another broken rib?" Kuro growled.

"Ooooh, scary," Flamos mocked. "Too bad they had to get a Huntsman to unlock my Aura because of what you did. I doubt if you fought me again you'd win."

"Really? Is that why you're here? A rematch?" Kuro asked. "Fine. I'm ready anytime."

"That's what I like to hear," Flamos chuckled. "But I'm afraid if you were to even touch me you'd be thrown in jail faster than how a Boarbatusk spins."

Kuro just growled at Flamos. This arrogant son of a Grimm really deserved what Kuro did to him during that duel.

"So you hear that Probie? You can't do anything anymore unless you want to become Grimm-food out there," Flamos smirked.

"If you think yourself untouchable, then fine. Continuing living your pathetic dream," Kuro said.

"What's that? Speak up. Come on!"

Kuro just turned away from Flamos. Ignoring Flamos' attempts at trying to get Kuro angry, Kuro just left the backyard.

Prohibition eh? Jeez, what a mess. As he walked towards the back entrance however, a cry of pain caused him to turn around.


Jade didn't know what to make of the boy that sat at her lunch table. At first, she didn't pay him any mind except for the curious glance she shot his way the first time.

Usually, no one sits at her table except her herself. So when a new face came and sat down at her table—granted he was at the other end—it was a whole new experience for her.

However unknowingly, Jade had managed to somewhat befriend the black-haired boy. Although they probably never shared a word with each other, except for the odd apology, Jade couldn't help but feel as though the two of them had spent weeks talking instead. Perhaps it was because they both liked silence? The boy did seem to get annoyed whenever the diva appeared to taunt Jade.

Today Jade decided to walk through the small patch of woods that the orphanage had. She said woods but really it was just a few trees that the orphanage planted close to each other. It was Jade's place of comfort, no one went into the woods but Jade so she had the whole area to herself.

As she left the woods, she spotted him. Jade still didn't quite catch the boy's name just yet. All she heard when he was referred to was that nickname, "Silent Berserker". Jade knew what it was like being labeled so she made sure not to call him that if she ever were to talk to him.

Usually, Jade would just acknowledge his presence and move on. But this time, she noticed something that was different. Another boy with red hair was charging towards the black-haired boy. The red-haired boy had a wooden sword out and was preparing to attack the black-haired boy whose back was turned!

Reacting quickly, Jade picked up a nearby rock and threw it at the red-haired boy. Her eyes were sharper than that of a human's—probably having something to do with her being a Faunus—so the shot was easy to make.

With a cry, the red-haired boy dropped his wooden sword. His face seemed shocked, as though he never expected to receive an injury. The black-haired boy turned around, attracted by the cry. Seeing the other boy grasping his injured hand, the black-haired boy scanned the area. Finally, he locked eyes with Jade. Although he didn't speak, he gave Jade a brief nod of appreciation then it looked like the black-haired boy said something to the other one before walking away. Whatever the boy said to the red-haired one, it made him angry. The red-haired boy stalked off back to the training area with his sword gripped tightly in his uninjured hand

Later that night, during dinner, Jade sat at her usual table. The black-haired boy soon joined her. He showed no sign of acknowledging what had happened earlier today, but that was fine with Jade.

"Hey," came a voice. Was that… his voice? Blinking Jade looked at the boy. "Thanks for earlier."

"No problem," Jade said simply. "I'm… Jade… what's your name?"

"Why would you want to know my name?" the boy asked. "Why don't you just call me Silerker or whatever they're calling me now?"

"Well… it just seemed kinda rude to me… I mean, I know what it's like to be labeled as someone too," Jade said awkwardly.

The boy thought about it for a moment before responding, "Kuro."

"Kuro?" Jade said uncertainly.

"Yes, that is my name," Kuro said.

"Well, nice to officially meet you Kuro," Jade said trying to sound friendly. Kuro just hummed in agreement.

From an outsider's perspective, it must've looked pretty awkward. Here were two of the quietest orphans in the orphanage trying to hold a conversation with each other for the first time.

The rest of dinner was uneventful. The diva as Jade called her in her mind didn't bother her this time. As Jade left the dining hall, she told Kuro good night to which he responded with, "Oyasuminasai."

"Huh?" Jade didn't understand what Kuro had just said. Kuro on the most part looked embarrassed as he was blushing.

"Er… sorry, that means 'good night' in the language my town spoke. Must've said it on impulse," Kuro said looking towards the ground.

"Oi-ya-u-min-a-sigh?" Jade tried to sound it out.

"You left out the s," Kuro said. "It's Oi-ya-su-min-a-sigh."

"Oi-ya-su-min-a-sigh," Jade tried again.

Kuro gave a small smile, "Correct. Well Oyasuminasai, Jade."

"Oi-ya-su-min-a-sigh, Kuro," Jade responded with a slight smile of her own. With a small wave, the Jade left for her own dorm all the while practicing the new word that Kuro had just taught her under her breath.


As night fell upon Remnant, the wheels of Fate begin to turn once more. This time, a new game was afoot. The cogs were spinning the other way. What will happen in the next few years, is unknown even to Fate itself for this is the first time this has ever happened.

As the wheels turn, all eyes are drawn to the centerpiece, four small, almost insignificant cogs, who were the only ones turning the right way. This should be very interesting.

A very interesting fate for Remnant indeed. Perhaps, it's time to check up on Destiny's chessboard and see how the pieces will fall in place.


A/N: Okay here we are, a new story. Now as you can already probably tell, this story will be full of OCs. The focus shifts away from the main cast of RWBY to see Remnant through the eyes of the powerless.

Anyway, I have to finish tying up the first arc of this story so yeah see you later!

Kuro: Shouldn't you just say Ja ne since you've already used Japanese in this chapter?

A/N: Welp too late now.