Well, you all asked for it, so here it is: a second chapter, to be followed by many more. Part of the reason that this took so long is because I've been working out a plot for this story to follow. I think I've got a good one.


A pair of large, round shaded glasses stared up at the bound man. "Fascinating, simply fascinating!" Ozpin, standing off to the side, had brought Oobleck down into the vault beneath the school, to see if he knew anything of this odd man, if he had read anything from any sort of history book. "I must say, I've never seen anything like this before!" Oobleck indicated different parts of the man and his armor, "You see how he is dressed like a person from an Ancient Mistrali artwork? It is almost as though he stepped right out of a painting…"

"But do you know where he might have come from, Doctor?" Ozpin queried. Oobleck shook his head.

"I don't have any idea who he is. The only time I've ever seen anything even close to this was in storybooks and legends I read several years ago. For historical merit, of course," Oobleck answered. Ozpin nodded. After all, legends and storybooks weren't always wrong. Perhaps there was something in one of them that could explain where this man's incredible power came from, and perhaps even who he was.

Ozpin left Oobleck to his observations, heading up to his office to mull over the situation. It had been nearly three weeks, but the man hadn't shown any sign of stirring. Which made sense, of course. Ozpin was fearful of what the man could do if he awoke, and was thus giving him sedatives to keep him under. The machines had registered him as having no Aura or a locked Aura, but Ozpin dismissed that as a possibility. He had to have Aura, since he was human, and it had to be unlocked, given his incredible Semblance. The conclusion that he had come to was that the man had exhausted all of his Aura, and the machines couldn't read any because of that.

Regardless, Ozpin needed to decide what to do about him. He couldn't very well keep him permanently sedated in the vault under the school, but he didn't know what he would do if and when he got out. After all, he had seemingly effortlessly taken down that massive, armored fox, so who knew what he could do to Beacon or Vale? Let alone the people living there… they would have no chance. But, of course, there was the chance that he wouldn't be malicious, that he might be able to help Ozpin. There really was no telling.

Tomorrow, Ozpin decided, he would wake the man, or at the very least cease the sedatives. He wanted to at least talk to the man, to see what kind of person he was. He was confident that he wouldn't be able to break free from his bonds, not since they suppressed any Aura or Semblance. So at least there was that. Really, the man posed no threat as he was now. But to think that he wasn't the only person as strong as he was…

Ozpin had wanted to go back and find the other corpse, but he didn't for two reasons. The first was that there would have been no point. He was dead, end of story. The other was that he didn't want their battle to start up again if, by some divine intervention or something, the other man had lived. But of course, Ozpin was quite sure that he hadn't received any help from any god.

As he had decided, Ozpin went down to the vault the next day, cutting off the sedatives. To his alarm, almost immediately, the man's processes started to pick back up, like he was waking up, even with how sedated he must have still been. Ozpin readied himself to greet the man when he woke, holding his cane respectfully in front of him with both hands on top.

The man's brow furrowed, even though he was still unconscious. A moment later, his arms tensed, before finally his eyes shot open, furtively glancing around the vault, at least what he could see of it. Then his gaze settled on Ozpin, who immediately felt a wave of fear wash over him, just from the man's eyes alone. He calmed himself by reminding himself that the man couldn't possibly free himself from his bonds. "Hello, sir. My name is Professor Ozpin. Who are you?"

The man tilted his head to the side, as if confused. Ozpin raised an eyebrow, wondering what the issue could have been. And then the man spoke, "What were those noises you were making?"

Ozpin frowned. He was fluent in almost every language that he knew of, and yet he hadn't understood a single word that the man had just said. "Well, that could be an issue."

The man turned to his right, staring at his bound arm, "I would recommend you free me."

"Ah, yes… well, I can guess what you want now, but I'm afraid that without knowing what you intend to do, I can't very well let you go," Ozpin informed him. The man turned back to face him, and Ozpin frowned and shook his head, hoping the gist of what he said would get across.

"I just didn't want to break your property." Though Ozpin didn't know what the man said, something about the tone shift told him that the man was about to try something. Instinctively, he ducked, just as the man fell forward, apparently having broken the restraints with sheer force. The man landed on the ground, standing up at staring at Ozpin, who also stood back up.

"Ah… yes, well, I suppose that's an issue." He projected his usual calm exterior, but Ozpin was trying his damnedest not to run from the vault that instant. The man was apparently also remarkably physically strong, even without his Aura.

The man studied Ozpin for a few moments, before he pointed at himself, "Senju Hashirama."

Ozpin blinked. Apparently, the man was friendly, as well as remarkably understanding, seeing as how he wasn't seething over being tied up. He followed the man's example, pointing to himself, "Professor Ozpin." Old Mistrali, Oobleck had said. If that was the case… "Nice to meet you, Hashirama." He bowed, hoping that that would let the man named Hashirama know what he meant.

Hashirama Senju also bowed, "Hello, Ozpin."

"Come with me," Ozpin instructed, turning around and gesturing with his hand to follow. Body language was all they had to communicate, but it seemed to be working well enough. But it wouldn't be enough in the long term, and so Ozpin needed to find out where he was from.

The headmaster had a strange feeling, spawned from knowing that the man right behind him could most likely completely obliterate him with barely any effort at all. Not even the Maidens, one of the strongest forces that Ozpin knew of, could do that, not easily. Hell, the only one that he knew could actually realistically fight him evenly would be Salem, but she wouldn't dare try.

Ozpin pressed the elevator button, and since he was the only one who used this elevator, the door opened immediately. Hashirama took a step back, eying the lift cautiously. "How did that door open?" Ozpin gestured for him to board the elevator, and he did, but he kept looking around like he thought the walls would attack him. Ozpin stifled a laugh at this remarkable the man's paranoia at something so simple. The lift began to move, and Hashirama held himself against a wall, clearly wondering what the hell was happening. Now Ozpin was confused. It was like the man had never so much as heard of an elevator before. He frowned, though he couldn't exactly ask about it.

Eventually, the elevator gave adding, having reached the top of the tower, Ozpin's office. The headmaster sat down at his desk, indicating for Hashirama to sit on the other side. Instead, the man strode to the window, gazing out in amazement, "How are we so high? Where are we?" He turned to face Ozpin, who once again indicated the other seat, requesting that Hashirama sit down.

"Now, I believe that we should first determine where you're from, yes?" Ozpin mused, mostly to himself. He reached under his desk, pulling out a paper map of Remnant, one which he usually kept up here. Much easier to study it from paper than from a scroll. "Can you point to where you're from?"

The man stared at the map, a frown steadily growing across his face. He looked back up at Ozpin, "Where is this? For that matter, what is this?"

Ozpin's brow furrowed, and he leaned forward, "Do you not know where you're from?" Ozpin leaned back, sighing. He didn't know why he expected an answer from Hashirama, all things considered. He pulled out his scroll, calling up Oobleck's classroom. Oobleck knew far more about all the cultures throughout history than even Ozpin, and he would most likely know what language this man was speaking. He hadn't wanted to bring Oobleck into this yet, not after Hashirama woke. The doctor picked up on the other side, "Doctor Oobleck, I require your assistance. Please come to my office."

"Professor, I'm in the middle of teaching a class."

"This is important."

"Yes, of course." Just before the call ended, Ozpin heard Oobleck addressing his class, "One moment students."

Ozpin counted the seconds on his fingers. On the ninth second, the elevator door opened, revealing Oobleck calmly standing with his hands behind his back, hand in palm. He took one step out, then his gaze fixed on the man sitting across from Ozpin, "Oh. Yes, yes, this is far more important than even Faunus Civil Rights history."

Ozpin told him the situation, "He can't speak English, and he doesn't seem to know where he's from. Do you know what language he speaks?"

"I would obviously have to hear him speak first." Oobleck rushed over to the desk. "Go on, say something."

Hashirama looked from Ozpin to Oobleck, then back again. "Who is this strange person?"

Oobleck stood back up, rigid. Ozpin raised an eyebrow. Oobleck explained, "He's speaking a language that preceded even some of the most ancient Mistrali languages. However, his clothing and style suggests that he is from the most recent part of Mistrali history. Interesting."

"Do you know the language he's speaking?"

"Yes, yes. Though not as well as some others. It died out nearly four thousand years ago, around the time the Kingdoms began to form." Oobleck turned to the man, "My name is Oobleck. Good to meet you."

Hashirama's eyes widened in pleased surprise, "You know my language? That's terrific! Now, where am I?"

"You're in the Kingdom of Vale, on Sanus. Do you know where that is?"

"No. Where is it in relation to Konohagakure?"

"What?"

"Konohagakure. It's my village."

"The Village Hidden By Leaves?" Oobleck asked. The man nodded. "Where is it?"

"It's in the Land of Fire, in the Elemental Nations."

"I've never heard of them. Where are they on the map?" Oobleck pointed at the map on Ozpin's desk, asking Hashirama to point them out. Hashirama shook his head.

"They're not on it. I don't know any places like this map."

Oobleck frowned, turning back to Ozpin, "He says that his home isn't even on that map. He's from somewhere called the Land of Fire, in the Elemental Nations."

Ozpin frowned, "I've never heard of them."

"Neither have I. Perhaps it's just what his people called them?"

Ozpin turned to the man, "Who are you?"

Oobleck relayed his question, then told him the reply, "He says that he's Hashirama Senju, one of the founders of a place called the Village Hidden By Leaves, and its current… Fire Shadow, whatever that is. It seems to be their leader."

"Fire Shadow? Village Hidden By Leaves?"

"Well, he's saying Konohagakure and Hokage, but they translate along with the rest of it."

Ozpin furrowed his brow again, studying the man before him. He said that, or at least, Oobleck had assumed that he said that he was his village's leader. Given his strength, Ozpin could believe that with no issue, but there was still the matter of… "Who was the man you were fighting?"

Oobleck relayed the message once again, "He says that it was Madara Uchiha, the other founder of the village who attacked it. Hashirama was fighting to protect his village from destruction at the hands of… well, I'm not sure. These are words that I don't know, but he said Kyūbi and Kitsune. Kyū translates to Nine, but I don't know what the rest is."

"Is it a fox with nine tails?"

"He says yes, it is."

"What can you tell me about it? It seemed to be a magnificent Semblance."

Oobleck frowned as the man answered him, before telling Ozpin what he had been told, "He says that the fox wasn't a Semblance. In fact, he said he doesn't know what a Semblance is."

"Perhaps they called it something different, just like wherever he's from."

"Yes, but he said that the fox was one of the Bijū, another word I'm unfamiliar with. Bi seems to mean tails, based on Kyūbi meaning Nine Tails, but I don't know what jū could possibly mean. Animal, perhaps?"

Ozpin pieced together something he rather wished he hadn't, "So it wasn't a Semblance? Which means… that thing is still roaming?"


Well, hope you guys enjoy this being a story. Honestly, I only wrote that one shot because there were just no stories revolving around Hashirama. Maybe because he could decimate entire Kingdoms right before he completely rebuilt them. So, yeah, not really balanced in Remnant's favor.

And without any strong opposition, there is no narrative, and thus no plot. Which is why, despite how short this chapter is, it took this long for it to be put out. I had to work out how to have a reasonable antagonist.

Until Chapter 3!