Hey, everyone. I just got back from marathoning entire arcs of a web-manga called One Punch Man. To those who have no idea what I'm talking about, look it up. They've also come out with an animated rendition that has been going around, so look into that too. And to those who may ask of my opinion on the series, I'll say the following:
1: The series says something about the concept of superheroes as a whole. Pointing at everything from the ideals of a superhero to how ridiculous things get with the glory and rankings.
2: The artist, Yusuke Murata, has also done Dangan Tenshi Fan Club, Dotō no Yūshatachi, Donten Prism Solar Car, and many others. Each with great skill.
3: The protagonist has the potential to beat Superman. I'm not even joking. He can fight monsters comparable to the Incredible Hulk, and beat them with one punch.
Well, enough with a series that's to catch on, which it has. This is where you'll get to know Krom a little more.
Chapter 12: The Arid Sandbox
It is the morning after Krom and Ruby's fight. While the rest of their teams are getting ready for their classes, Jaune and Yang are sitting next to a sleeping Ruby, who is resting in the school's infirmary. The nurse says that she is lucky that she suffered minimal damage. The worst being a broken wrist along with a bunch of bruises. A day's rest should get her back in fighting shape in no time, which is a relief to the two blondes in the room.
After the nurse leaves the room, Yang takes the opportunity to talk to her sister.
"How are you doing?" Yang asks.
Ruby groans as she wakes up from her 10 hour slumber. "Wh-what…"
"How are you doing, sis?"
"Okay, I guess."
"The nurse says that you took a blow to the wrist." Jaune says.
"Oh." the younger one replies, rubbing her right wrist. "Must've been from when I got disarmed."
Yang feels a bit of anger start to course as the thought of Krom hitting Ruby came to mind. Jaune feels her vibe and calms her down.
"Don't bother, Jaune." Yang growls.
"I know you're still mad at Krom, Yang." Jaune says back. "But I think we should look more into him."
"Yeah, but that one time-" Yang's eyes dilate from that moment. "That moment… he was about to kill her!"
"No, he wasn't." an outside voice says.
The three students all look toward the door to see Professor Ozpin walk in with his cane and coffee as usual.
"How can you tell?" Jaune asks.
"That murderous intent left when he had Ruby in her hand." the headmaster replies. "But you all must understand that he was also scared."
"Scared?" Ruby asks. "Scared of what?"
Ozpin then types in something on his scroll.
"That will be something for him to discover."
"Who, Krom?" Jaune asks.
Ozpin then looks at the boy in the room."No, you."
Then, Jaune receives a message on his scroll. But before he can check it, Ozpin talks again.
"Mr. Arc, while everyone was in their slumber, Krom slipped from Beacon Academy and has headed east."
"Why are you telling me this?"
That angry vibe returns to Yang at the thought of Krom, while a concerned feeling ensues from Ruby, as she is still worried about the boy soldier. Jaune is just confused at this, and Ozpin has himself and Jaune walk out of the room keep talking.
"Because I need you to find him." the headmaster replies. "You will be flown to his location by Bullhead and convince Krom to come back."
"Uh… okay." he says. "I have one more question."
"What is it?"
"Do I have to fly over there?"
"Yes."
"Ugh…"
The Bullhead Jaune's been sent to has a few soldiers who know Ozpin and promise to help the blonde retrieve the boy soldier. Jaune doesn't know what to expect when he gets to his destination, but he share the worry Ruby had for the guy. So he takes off in the Bullhead and travels east.
Thanks to the fruit chews he bought yesterday, Jaune is trying his best not to throw up on the Bullhead and hasn't. He steadies himself to look outside and sees a lot of forest in the area. A few patches of grass here and there, a dirt road, and the ocean in the distance making the view all the more serene. To Jaune, just looking at this sight made his stomach settle and his spirit at ease.
"So, where are we heading?" he asks one of his escorts.
"The Arid Sandbox." the other one says. "According to Krom's records, he was in that fight."
"You mean, Krom was a child soldier?" Jaune asks in shock.
"It sure seems like that. Officially, not a single one of the enlisted child soldiers still live. Then again, why else would he freak out when your lady friend talked to him about it?"
"Woah. Woah. Lady friend?" Jaune stammers and almost falls off the ship. "So you know, Ruby is my fellow leader, and was told to make Krom go crazy!"
"Riiiiight."
"This is going nowhere." Jaune thinks, as he hears gunfire coming what looks like a crater that's about 1,000 ft in diameter. Jaune gestures for the Bullhead to go in that direction and that's when the gunshots got louder.
"Okay." Jaune says to the other soldier. "Once we land there, I'll have to go in alone."
"Why?" the escort says back.
"I just think it'd be best if you guys stay and not make him nervous."
"We understand."
As the crew approach the crater, they can hear the sound of Grimm getting slaughtered with a mix of gunshots, sword swings, and hand-to-hand attacks. Everyone gets nervous as they find a landing zone, but it seems Ozpin trusts this kid. And as they spot some grass to land, the noise stops. The Bullhead lands a small distance from the crater, the soldiers all secure the area, while Jaune moves through the forest and comes to the base of the crater, which makes him think of a volcano. But before climbing up, he sees a duffel bag and a knapsack with survival essentials inside. Looking around more, Jaune also notices Krom's shield, Obdurator, packed away along with his sleeping bag. Then, he jumps to the sound of shooting and killing starting again, but this time, Jaune can hear someone yelling in there, to. Getting the hint, Jaune starts climbing the mound of dirt.
Of course, being one of the lesser fighters, Jaune struggles to get over and as soon as he gets over the edge, he starts tumbling down like a loose canister. He couldn't see what's inside, he can only hear a male voice screaming as he shoots and slashes away at Grimm ranging from Creepers and Ursa. He keeps rolling, then hits something soft, causing him to stop. The sound stops as an Uras yells in defeat, and Jaune opens his eyes. He looks at what he hit, to see a freshly cut Beowolf looking right at him. Jaune screams as he kicks the dead body away and looks around the site.
There are the the smashed remains of missiles, land vehicles, and a building that once stood here. Jaune then looks toward the center of the crater, and sees Krom on top of the bodies of Grimm that he had just decimated. In his hands were a longsword and an assault rifle that look pretty old and small for his size.
The two boys look at each other. Jaune is speechless, but as he looks into Krom's eyes, he notices that this isn't the epic fighter he met in Vale City. This guy looks a bit more bloodthirsty and seems like he could take that rifle and shoot him in the face if he wants to. Well, Krom gets as far as to aim the gun at Jaune's face, to which the blonde squeals in shock. But then he lowers his gun, and looks on with disapproval.
"What do you want, Jaune?" he plainly says.
Jaune scrambles onto his feet and brushes the dirt off his clothing.
"I, uh… want to know about you." he says.
Krom's expression shoots into a glare, that makes Jaune cower and look away.
"Know me?" he says, raising a gun away from the blonde. "Honestly, this would be the only place where I could explain myself, in the remains of a faunus base and a training ground for lost children."
"Then, is it true, Krom?"
"Is what true?"
"That you've fought here before?"
"Yeah, Jaune." Krom says, his eyes looking like they're relaxing. "This is where I first tasted war."
Krom then steps off the pile of bodies and stabs the ground with his sword.
"I remember that incident, because it is considered my childhood! A part of my life!"
"But was it a war?"
"Hell, no! It wasn't a war, it was an experiment!"
"An experiment!?" Jaune yells mentally. "What could this mean!?"
Just then, they hear the sound of low-level Grimm roaring and howling in the distance. Krom rearms his sword and rifle while Jaune readies his sword and shield.
But then, Jaune hears the most intimidating scream he's ever heard coming from a kid who is one year younger than himself. This almost distracts him, as he barely blocks the claw of a Beowolf. The two then fight mounds of Grimm that come into the center, with Jaune blocking and slashing away at the Grimm that come close and Krom slashing and blasting away at any Grimm he sees. Their aura levels stop at about 75% before the wave of Grimm supposedly stops, with dead bodies of black surrounding the pair.
"So, you lived. Miss Nikos must've taught you well."
Jaune looks exhausted as he looks surprised that Krom found out.
"How do you know I train with Pyrrha?"
"I assumed that because she's on your team."
Jaune sighs to that, realizing that Krom isn't a stalker or anything like that.
…
...or is he?
"So, if you want to get to know me, you'd might as well stay and fight."
Jaune gulps to that fact. He realizes that if he's going to convince Krom to come back, he's going to have to live through this. As soon as he finishes that thought, the screams of Grimm roar and they climb over the mounds and attack the two boys. As Blue and Gold begin to decimate any monster that comes at them, Krom starts to tell his story.
Flashback, Krom's POV…
12 years ago, Atlas wanted to test out a prototype drone on living targets. Grimm had no actual liveliness to them and animals didn't have the full capacity to react, or they said. Testing it on Faunus was out of the question as some who were about their ethics thought that is equal to murdering a human. So, they decided to make the project parallel another program that involved the use of a minority group. The minds behind training techniques and robotics for the army thought that this would solve economic and social problems in most of the kingdoms. So they kidnapped approximately 1,000 children from the streets and brought them out of orphanages and morphed them to become soldiers. Including me, when I was 6.
For one whole year, we were trained to become a child soldier unit. There was crying. There was suffering. We all were beaten and changed and turned into something else. There is no doubt about that.
The fighting stops as the wave has ended, leaving a panting Jaune and Krom standing in the middle of a pile of bodies. Then, Jauns shares his comments.
"So wait, where did you live before that?" he asks.
"I was a resident in an orphanage in Vale."
"Did you have any friends there."
"Only one, and we're still friends today, wherever he is. He has two swords, I have a shield. He's good in black, I'm good in blue."
"What's his name?"
"His name is Ki-"
Sorry. The Grimm are coming. Then, Krom returns to his story as he and Jaune fight again.
After a whole year of getting whipped into shape, we were tossed into a "sandbox", which is essentially all that remains of faunus bunker and a terajoule dust missile.
That's right, we are fighting in an ancient war zone, and a training ground meant for children. All 1,000 of us were thrown in.
And with us, there were simple weapons and guns, supplies, and the drone prototype that went on a "test run". I managed to rally some of the children and devise a plan to fight back against the thing that we've been sent to test, and I stated that we show them how flawed the machine is by taking the dust from our guns and making bombs out of them. The attack was a success, but 250 of us were killed. All who survived were taken into Project Young Arms. And seeing that I led these kids to beating their drone, he made me their leader.
The wave ends with some Grimm dying and Jaune and Krom having taken damage and becoming more fatigued. Their aura has reached 39%, and they realize that another wave is likely to end them.
"So." Jaune says. "What did that make you?"
"I'll tell you."
Name: Kontate Omuron
Nickname: Krom
Rank: Captain
Serial Number: 152168-1
Unit: 117 Young Arms
"Wait, '117'!?" Jaune says.
"The general has heard of the legendary huntsman. So he made a super soldier project based on his supposed origin."
"Okay. Then, what about the rest of your unit? If everyone of those kids is supposedly dead, what are you?"
The roars of Grimm yell again, and the two get ready for round 4.
After my "promotion", I was enhanced to peak human ability, for an 8-year old. Everyone else go some improvements, but are more stat-heavy than I, who had enhancements all around. We were given bunkers weapons, directions, and training, but no guidance towards living a normal life.
We have taken up many assignments for 4 years from then-on. Recon, assault, surveillance, search and destroy, search and rescue, you name it. I've seen it all, dealt with it all, and much more. We even, at one point, took part in the Faunus Rights Revolution. But that's when we started facing casualties. I've seen comrades get discharged, killed in action, abused, tortured, and even executed before my eyes. And on the same token, we've been forced to kill faunus soldiers, civilians, and even other humans who didn't side with their own kind. By the time the war ended, only 100 of us survived. And after that , the militant version of the White Fang came to power, and we were sent to fight them with 50 child soldiers.
Then one day, we were sent to attack a village that's located 80 miles west of Beacon Academy. The 117th was still in recovery, but the General ignored our opinion because in our group of 50, I was the only one who was in top condition. And on that note, the 117th was sent into battle.
Almost immediately, we were overwhelmed by the locals and were killed in combat, thus making me all that remains of an indecent soldier unit. I still… I just… I...
The fourth wave has passed, and the two drop to their knees from exhaustion catching on more. With their auras having finally left them, the two started getting wounds to their bodies. Jaune can feel the claw marks on his leg and shoulder, but Krom is taking blows to his emotions and is crying on his knees. Jaune looks toward the younger one, to see that his sword has lost its blade and his assault rifle is smashed apart. He moves closer to Krom, who scoots away before falling on his chest and dropping his weapons.
"Well, now you know me, Jaune." Krom sobs. "Are you going to leave me now?"
Jaune moves closer and lifts Krom back into a kneel before responding.
"Of course not." Jaune says. "If you can come back, maybe we can help you."
"Why? Didn't you hear what I told you!? I'm a man out of time, Jaune! I don't belong in Beacon! I shouldn't even be alive! I should be dead with my comrades in some pit with no stone! That name I told you about isn't even mine!" Krom shoves Jaune off. "Why should you help me in any way?"
"Because you agreed to this." Jaune says, getting back up on his feet. "You, me, Ruby, we all agreed to help each other."
"Since the crap when!?"
"Since about 3 days ago."
Krom was just about to take the remains of his sword and jab into Jaune's dense skull. But seeing that he would take things too far, he stops. Jaune lowers a hand to the veteran ,who quietly accepts the assist and stands back. With his head looking down, Krom asks,
"Any more questions?"
Jaune smiles. "Just one. What is-"
But the blonde gets interrupted as the roars of Grimm reach their ears for the fifth time, and he realizes that they both are out of shape to start fighting again. So Jaune pulls out his scroll and calls for backup. Krom is too caught in pain to wonder what Jaune is calling for. Then Grimm come forth, they climb over the mound, and then get shot by the squad of soldiers coming from where Jaune came from. Krom, having a dark history with Atlas, freaks out at the sight of the soldiers, but then one of the shouts,
"Don't worry, Cap! We've got you covered!"
At this point, Krom is now too confused to act. So Jaune has no choice but put Krom's arm over his shoulder and performs the walking assist to help him over the hill. While Jaune could only get halfway out of the put, two of the soldiers stop shooting to help the other boys get out of the sandbox and into the Bullhead, where everyone gets on and escapes.
As the two boys get some first aid and rehabilitation, Krom recalls something Jaune said a few minutes ago.
"So… what were you asking?" he asks.
And Jaune just smiles. "I was asking about your name, Krom. Your real name."
Krom just looks at him, trying his hardest not to look happy at all and sort of succeeding.
"Kon'iro. Just Kon'iro."
紺色 = Kon'iro = Deep Blue (literally)
And that is but half of Krom's full origin, so you guys know. But then again, I'd might as well explain how I even came up with this guy:
It all started with Captain America, then Dungeons and Dragons, then Sword Art Online, then Metal Gear Solid, then RWBY, then Halo, then my favorite color. While this may feel like copyrighting, I will quote Austin Kleon, author of "Steal Like an Artist", who says,
"What a good artist understands is that nothing comes from nowhere. All creative work builds on what came before. Nothing is completely original."
I.E. I am inspired by many sources, and I'm sure you readers are too.
And that's the concept history of Kon'iro. I have yet to explain his semblance and other origin later on.
But before I get started on chapter 12, I would like to ask you guys about my OC's name. Would you like it for him to be called "Kon'iro" from this point on? Or should I continue to call him "Krom"? I'm personally into his new name because it more accurately goes with Monty's rule of names with color. Send me a review or a PM if you would want to answer.
Until then, see you next time.