Today was the first official day of their year at Beacon. Ruby was the first to wake, and she wanted to get her team ready.
"Good morning Team RWBY!" Ruby shouted as she woke up her team with her her whistle.
"Ruby! Shut it. Let us sleep in." Yang groaned.
"Come on, first order of business, renovation."Ruby exclaimed gleefully.
"No, first order of business, bathroom."" Weiss grumbled as she walked into the bathroom.
"Oh right!" Ruby mumbled to herself, reprimanding herself for forgetting.
As soon as her team was ready, Ruby got their attention to set them off for today.
"Ok, now we need to unpack. So, let's go girls." Ruby exclaimed as she ran off in a flurry of rose petals to unpack her things.
As everyone started to decorate their room, they moved stuff around to make room for all their things. When they finished, they looked at their handiwork.
"Nice," Yang stated. "Now,... how're we going to get our beds in place?"
"Bunk beds?" Ruby suggested.
"Great idea sis!" Yang agreed.
"No its a dreadful idea!" Weiss retorted.
"It's the only way without getting rid of our stuff." Blake replied.
Sighing to herself, Weiss agreed.
Mark was walking through the dorms, making sure all the students were going to their classes.
He arrived at Team RWBY's dorm. He heard sounds of construction coming from their dorm. What in the world are they still doing here? He thought to himself. Marked knocked on the dorm to announce his arrival. Weiss opened the door to see who it was.
"Mark, what are you doing here?" questioned Weiss.
"I could ask you guys the same thing. You have to be in class in five minutes you know." Mark replied.
Weiss' eyes grew wide as she stormed off to get to class.
"What's her problem?" Ruby asked.
"She doesn't want to be late." Mark repeated.
"I forgot!" Ruby shrieked. "Team RWBY, onwards to class." stated Ruby as she hurried off followed by her peers.
Mark laughing to himself, continued his rounds to make sure everyone in the dorms went to class.
Team RWBY sat down to rest during lunch. They decided to sit by Team JNPR.
"Hey you guys!" waved Nora excitedly.
"What happened? I saw you guys rushing into class." asked Pyrrha.
"Our fearless team leader forgot to remind us of our class. We were almost late." Weiss accused with an icy glare in her eyes, directed to Ruby.
"Eh-heh-heh..." was all Ruby said as she tried to avert her gaze from Weiss' cold stare.
"Anyway what class do you guys have next?" asked Yang.
"We have weapon maintenance with Professor Peach." answered Ren. "What about you guys?"
"We have advanced sparring with Mark next." explained Blake. "I heard it was a tough class. Did you guys ha-"
All of Team RWBY looked worriedly at Team JNPR, who's faces had turned pale.
"What's wrong you guys?" Weiss asked them worriedly.
"We just had that class. It's not for the faint of heart. Mark does not care if you get injured. He may be the one doing it himself. Are you sure that he was as caring as you said?" Nora asked to Weiss.
"Yeah, Mark used to train me when he worked with my family back home." Weiss answered. "He may have been a little strict, but he was never cruel in the training, and he always stopped training if I got hurt." Weiss continued.
"Well he was way less lenient with our class." Ren stated. "We had Team CRDL in it with us, and they ended up in the infirmary because they got a little cocky when sparring with him."
The bell rang, signaling for the students to move to their next class.
"Well, we'll see soon enough." Ruby said. "Thanks for the heads up though. See you guys later." Ruby called back to them.
Mark was waiting in the sparring room he was given to hold class in. He was never one for "socializing" for fun, so he stayed in the room, taking a break from some exercises he was doing. He didn't hear the bell nor the door opening to signal his next class had arrived because he was listening to some music on his scroll.
"Mark!" Weiss shouted to get his attention.
"Oh sorry!" Mark apologized as he turned off his music. "What are you guys doing here? Shouldn't you be at lunch right now."
"We were, but the bell rang, so we came here. For our next class." Yang explained.
"Ah, must've lost track of time. Sit down, please." motioned Mark to some bleachers on the side of the room.
"Now then, we should get to know each other before we spar. Now, is there anything you would like to know about me?" Mark asked.
"Oh me, pick me!" Ruby squealed as she raised her hand like a chid.
"Ruby."
"What's your full name?"
"Mark Xur" Mark replied. "Yang?"
"How old are you?"
"25"
"Wow you're an old geezer."
"If I'm an old geezer, does that mean your father is ancient history?" Mark chuckled. Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at him with a quizzical look. That came out wrong. He thought to himself.
"How do you know my father?" Yang asked.
"I used to work with him." Mark answered, not wanting to go into details. "Blake, anything to ask?"
"Where did you learn to fight?" she asked, wanting to gain knowledge from the mysterious man.
Anyone who walked into that room could practically feel the tension that came between Mark and Team RWBY as he thought as to how he would answer that question.
"To learn how I learned to fight, you must learn about my life before fighting, before the Faunus War." Mark said grimly.
All eyes were now focused on him, listening intently, as if Mark became the most interesting thing in the whole world.
"I was never in good standings with either groups. I was homeless and poor in the kingdoms, so they kicked me out. When I sought sanctuary with the Faunus living outside the kingdom, they shunned me just because I was human. No one could help me." Mark paused. "I forced myself to learn how to fight, to be able to defend myself from Grimm and Man alike. After a while, I grew detached from my actions. I didn't feel when I killed, I still don't feel now. After a while, I became able to support myself by hunting off the local game. But that didn't last. The Faunus War came, and the world was plunged into turmoil. I was discovered living in a house I built overlooking the cliffs in a forest by faunus who took me to the faunus side of the war. I was taken prisoner. They "interrogated" me, to find out what I knew about the humans. Once they believed I knew nothing, they started to "experiment" on me. They started trying to use me as a punching bag for their grunts, but once they learned that I was more experienced, they moved to a more " extreme experiment". They started to infuse my body with the four basic types of dust, fire, ice, lightning, and wind. It took a toll on my body, and they deemed it a failed experiment, and threw me out of their compound to die. I was forced to do whatever I could to survive. I ate the Grimm I killed for nutrition, due to the lack of wild game by both sides of the war, which explains to you why I look as I do now." Mark stated solemnly, motioning to his eyes. "I had to live by myself for almost a year after being infused with dust. I fought in different battles against both sides because I joined neither. They never trusted me. As the war passed, I grew infamous on both sides as The Huntsman. A killer who didn't differentiate between who he killed. After the war ended, I moved on and became a bounty hunter, taking the name I became known for." Mark explained as he watched for any reactions of the girls.
Weiss was the first to speak up. "Wait, you're 25 right now correct?"
Mark nodded.
"You were with my family for four years, that means you became employed under my father at twenty-one, correct?"
"Yes."
"And you told me how you were a bounty hunter and had already been fighting by the time you were seventeen." Ruby started." The Faunus War was twelve years ago, so that means that you had to have been at least thirteen when it happened. How old were you when you had to learn to fend for yourself?"
"I was ten when I started to learn how to fight, and was thirteen when the war happened." Mark answered grimly. "The war ended when I was sixteen, then I took a year taking jobs as a bounty hunter."
"Wait, what happened during the four year gap between when you were seventeen and twenty-one?" Yang questioned.
"That was a personal time for me, I'd rather not talk about it." Mark said sadly, chancing a glance at Ruby, while hoping it no one noticed. Weiss seemed to be the only one to notice though.
Yang opened her mouth to ask another question, but Weiss interrupted her. "Wait, so you killed people by the time you were thirteen?" Weiss asked, wanting to get the topic of discussion away from Mark's missing years, that she would question Ruby and him about later.
"Twelve, actually. No one bothered me when I was ten, but they started to at eleven. I also made these-" showing off his weapons."- when I was thirteen."
"Does it have a name?" Ruby said innocently.
"Yeah, I call it Madax Furashada..."
"Ooh," Ruby exclaimed, looking at it excitedly." Does that mean anything special?"
"Yeah, would you like to see them?" Mark asked.
Ruby, nodding vigorously, held the weapons in her hands. "Its a regular longsword and a guardless katana with a barrel at the end to fire something, but I see no trigger... also what is the blade and handle made of? I don't seem to recall the material."
Motioning for his weapons back, Mark stated, "The blade and handle is made of the bones of Grimm I have slain. The sheathes are made out of the hide of Grimm."
"And the wrappings?" Yang asked.
"Cloth that someone I held dear wore."
"Oh."
"Wait, how does your weapon not break?" asked Blake.
"I infused the bones with my aura when I created my weapons, so now they are as strong as steel." Mark explained before stabbing the katana through the concrete floor, leaving a clean cut. "Speaking of which, I still need to hold class. Now then get up and ready yourself for battle."
"Wait why?" Blake questioned.
"I want to get a feel on what each of your strengths and weaknesses are." Mark answered carelessly.
"Uh, I'm not too sure we should." Ruby started.
"Why?" Mark asked.
"We heard that you put Team CRDL in the infirmary." Weiss answered.
"Oh don't worry about that. I was just teaching a lesson to them about obeying their superiors, ESPECIALLY superiors who can break them whenever they want." Mark chuckled evilly. "No need to worry yourselves about that. I promise I won't rough you up."
Team RWBY exhaled in relief.
"Too much..." Mark added in, which only seemed to agitate the young girls even more.
"Now then, I will be waiting here in the center. Each one of you will face me one at a time so I can gauge how well you are in fighting." Mark announced. "It's your choice who goes first."
Team RWBY huddled up to decide what they would do.
"So, who wants to go to first?" Weiss asked.
"Thanks for volunteering Ice Queen!" Yang exclaimed.
"Wait, what?" was what escaped Weiss as she was pushed to go first, with Ruby mouthing a I'm sorry at her.
"Fine, let's get this over with..." Weiss grumbled.
"Excellent, my next victim-cough cough- I mean student." Mark stated sarcastically. "Let's see how far you've progressed these last few weeks. Shall we?"
With that, Weiss darted towards Mark with as much speed as she could muster, hoping to get a hit on her old mentor. Mark however stood there patiently, without drawing his weapons. As Weiss reached him, she gave a quick thrust with her rapier, which was evaded by Mark. This continued until Mark got a good feel where Weiss advanced, and where she needed improvement. Mark stepped inside Weiss' slash, performing a crescent kick, knocking the blade away with his foot while pushing her back, knocking the sword from her hand, and Weiss to the ground.
"Very good. You've improved on you speed and precision, but still lack the strength to deflect a blow should you need to." Mark stated. He helped Weiss off the ground and gave her her sword back. "Next!" He called.
"Your turn Blake." Yang said nervously.
"Fine."
"Ah Blake Belladonna. Let's see what you bring to the table. Begin!"
Blake took off towards Mark, Gambol Shroud drawn, and took a few quick swipes at him, but couldn't seem to land a hit. She then took off the sheathe to expose a second blade underneath, and used both blades to doubled her attack prowess to land a hit. Mark kicked her back to give each other some breathing room before taking the offensive. Mark ducked under one of her swipes and pushed her back with his shoulder. Mark noticed Blake's black blade coming towards his face, at an angle she shouldn't be able to attack from where she had been previously, and leaned back to dodge it while swinging his feet, tripping the attacker. He flipped back and looked on as Blake was trying to catch her breath from her crash with the floor, with an apparition disappearing where she once was when he had shoved her. So that's her semblance. Mark thought to himself. She got up and switched her weapon into its gun form. Mark stood still to see what Blake's next move was. Taking advantage of the pause, Blake took a few potshots at Mark, only to find them deflected with Mark's, still sheathed, katana. Blake then threw her weapon at Mark, which seemed odd, until he noticed the black ribbon tied to her arm and the handle. He rolled to the side as the blade came back to her like a whip. Noticing the ribbon, gave Mark the advantage he sought after to end the sparring session. As Blake drew her arm back again to attack with her weapon again, Mark stood his ground and waited. As her weapon left her are and sailed past Mark's head, he latched onto the ribbon and pulled, pulling Blake off balance and stumbling to the floor.
"Hmm, interesting semblance, I could see that it is still not yet fully developed. Interesting weapon as well, It took me for surprise at first, but once you see its weakness, it becomes easy to exploit." Mark lectured as he helped Blake off the ground and returning her weapon to her.
"Now for the sisters!" Mark announced. Looking back at the two who were trying their best to look confident, failing miserably.
"Ruby, I think he means you're up." Yang started.
"Nuh-uh, I'm leader, and leader says you go." Ruby pouted.
"What, sis you little bac-"
"Yang, time to show everyone what you're made of." Mark called out.
Yang grumbled something under her breath that was too low for anyone to hear before readying Ember Celica.
"Ready when you are." Yang called out. "Or are you to-oof!" Yang said as she felt a pain in her gut as she saw Mark dash in front of her striking her gut with the palm of his hand, sending her flying. Yang took this opportunity to launch a series of shots at Mark, hoping to gain some breathing room. She landed back to the ground and decided to taunt Mark.
"Had enough yet?" She yelled.
"Taunting is so unbecoming of a young lady, especially when you have nothing to brag about." Mark retorted as he walked through the smoke, completely unharmed.
Cautious of what had just transpired, Yang decide to do what she does best, go on the offensive. She rushed Mark, before stopping to evade a downward vertical kick that cracked the floor where his foot landed. Mark ducked down to dodge a left hook from Yang as he did a sweeping kick to knock her off balance. Taking advantage, Mark jumped up from the floor and delivered a powerful axe-kick that made Yang skip across the floor and into the wall. Yang shook off the damage and looked at Mark with blood red eyes before charging forward with pure malice in her eyes. Mark, noticing this swift change went on the defensive, dodging and deflecting all the blows that Yang threw. As the dance continued, Yang felt her body grow tired from the use of energy she had spent trying to land a hit on Mark. With one last attempt, she stumbled past Mark and clutched her knees, gasping for air.
Hoping to strike a nerve, Mark repeated what Yang had taunted minutes before. "Had enough yet?" He said sarcastically.
Hoping to give her own clever retort, Yang probed her brain for anything, but nothing came up. Tired and defeated, she mumbled a shut up to Mark before returning to her seat to rest.
"Happy to help. Anyway, you are a very aggressive fighter, which is evident by your fighting style, but when someone is able to dodge and evade all your attacks, what will you do then Yang?" Mark advised.
"Last but not least-" Mark started before glancing at the clock. "-ah shit, no time to spar Ruby. Class is dismissed, you four may go shower. This is your last class, so rest easy." Mark called back as he jotted down some notes in a notebook before packing his bag.
"Wait, Mark, Ruby!" Weiss called out as she tried to catch up to them.
"What's up Weiss?" Ruby asked as she hugged the heiress, which made her face flush the color of her partner's cloak.
"You promised me an explanation about how you two know each other. So..." Weiss left off.
"Oh, well- you see- umm-" Ruby stuttered out.
"What Ruby is trying to say is that she may not feel comfortable telling you yet Weiss." Mark said.
"No it's not that Mark, its just that I feel a little shy talking to Weiss." Ruby mumbled quieter and quieter.
"Well that's because of your crush on her!" Mark stated.
"Wh-what non that's not it!" Ruby said flustered.
"Y-yeah, I mean we're just friends right Ruby?" Weis joked before looking at Ruby, who had the biggest smile ever.
"Y-yeah, sure thing FRIEND!" Ruby exclaimed as she pulled Weiss a bear hug that would've gave Yang's a run for its lien.
"R-Ruby, You're not exactly helping our case here." Weiss whispered.
"Oh y-yeah." Ruby said sheepily. "Well, we could tell you at Mark's room."
"Sure, but why're we going there?" Weiss questioned.
"Mark is going to help me study since you always seem to have you hands full when dealing with me."
"You dunce, I don't mind, Just ask next time. Ok?"
"Sure thing, Weiss." Ruby beamed.
"Alright you two lovebirds, lets' get going." Mark said, ignoring the death glare he was getting from Weiss and a flustered look from Ruby.