The Master Huntsman Chapter 21: Out Of The Bag, a rwby fanfic

Greetings everyone,

Welcome to the 21st chapter of everyone's favorite Jaune-centric, ex-mercenary story, "The Master Huntsman."

The chapter marks the end of the Beacon Arc as this story will be placed on a temporary hiatus as to lessen the stress of working on multiple stories at once and in order to make space for my other story "The Knight and the Wizard" which chronicles the journey of Jaune as the new host for the eternal wizard we all know as Ozpin. It is set to be release a week, or so, after the release of Volume 6 for RWBY, which is set to release on October 27th, so be sure to check the story out and get caught up. And unfortunately, I'm not entirely sure when the volume will end, so this story might be left on the shelf for a while but don't fret, I don't plan on ending it Evangelion-style.

In other news, one of the authors I check on constantly, jauneforever, is writing a Jaune-centric story in which Jaune is depicted as a servant class from the Fate series. The first chapter is on the berserker class and it is epic. But the awesome part is that the Jaune from "The Knight and the Wizard" will be in the story, which is ten times more epic. Be sure to check them out and show them some love.

The month of September will see the re-release of "The Arcful Dodger" "Don't Mess With An Arc", both of which I recommend you all check out when they're re-released. And don't forget to check back next Sunday for the next chapter of "Operation: Jaune's Ex-Girlfriend."

Next Scheduled Release Date:

To be announced at a later juncture...yeah, juncture.

Make sure to Favorite, Follow, and leave a Review.

Till next time!

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Chapter Twenty-One

It was one thing to fight against a horde of Grimm, it's another to fight against an army of "misguided" racially-charged Faunus, who had an intense desire to run you through with a spear, as evident by Ruby as she dodged said spear before hooking it with her scythe and rotating at an accelerated speed, flinging the attacking Black Hounds member into his fellow brethren. With Grimm, you didn't need to worry about "going easy" but with the Black Hounds, she and her friends had to pull back their punches, except for Yang, who was going berserk in the miniature army, shooting up concussive flares from her gauntlets with reckless abandon. Ruby watched as her friends fought against the seemingly, endless waves of Black Hounds while the friend they had came to save was fighting against the master criminal of Vale...And was losing.

That observation had Ruby on edge and filled with anxiety. She had never once believed that Jaune would ever be beaten by anyone. He was the strongest person she knew but here he was getting beaten by Roman of all people, a guy that they had previously beaten into retreating. So then how was Roman beating Jaune now? Not to mention Jaune's freak out over this Sayuri-person's name drop? It all continued to build up questions in her little head that she had a feeling that they would go unanswered.

Unfortunately, Ruby would just have to put her thoughts on the back burner and hope that they all make it out of this with little injury. But as she witnessed Jaune being kicked by Roman into one of the nearby warehouses, a cloud of dust and smoke rising into the air as Roman nonchalantly walked to where he had kicked Jaune, Ruby had a feeling that their night was not going to go as they'd hoped.

Meanwhile, Jaune was struggling to pick himself back up, coughing as a light brown cloud of dust and debris slowly began to fade away as Roman's silhouette continued towards him. Rage and curiosity consumed his mind as he watched the slow-moving shadow draw closer. His fingers curled around his rifle's grip, itching to pepper Roman's body with bullets but he held himself back, knowing that it would have little effect.

"I don't get it." he thought to himself as he rose to his feet, with rifle in hand as Roman's form exited through the cloud of dust and the two of them stared down at one another. "Just months ago, Roman was about as skilled as an A-rank maybe even low-tier S-Rank. But now, it's almost as if he jumped straight into master rank." thought Jaune as Roman twirled his cane before planting it's end on the concrete ground with a devilish smirk.

"I've got to say, you are exactly like she said you were." said Roman, still smirking like the asshole he was while Jaune gritted his teeth. "Though, truth be told, I always thought you'd be taller." said Roman, putting emphasis on the last word and just barely triggering Jaune's berserker button. Even in this new life, Jaune hated anything that had do with his size. And for once he was thankful that he wouldn't have to go years of being mistaken for a brat course it didn't mean that Jaune didn't still absolutely hate being a child, just ask Yang what happens when someone calls him a shrimp.

"Where is Sayuri, Roman." he demanded once more, causing Roman to release a sigh as he slowly shook his head.

"Sayuri. Sayuri. Christ, it's like you have a one-track mind when it comes to that woman." said Roman, tilting his head just in time to avoid a bullet fired from Jaune's rifle.

"I WON'T ASK AGAIN, ROMAN!" he shouted, glaring through his red eyes as the red markings slightered around his body before peeling off and forming into bladed tentacles that floated around his body while Roman watched on with indifference. "Where - is - Sayuri?" he asked, putting emphasis on each word as Roman sighed and looked to the broken moon that shined above through the warehouse's glass panels.

"Sayuri is everywhere." said Roman, spewing the same "Sayuri is amazing" shit that Jaune had come to expect from those that are too idiotic or misguided to ignore. Sayuri always did have a knack for enlisting the most broken to her philosophical views. And it was looking like Roman was another one of those mindless drones that were too stupid to think for themselves.

"Great, another one of her lunatic followers..." he mumbled to himself as Roman went on a tangent embellishing every deed Sayuri had ever done for him.

"She opened my eyes to the truth." said Roman as several marks on his body began to glow bright blue as he raised his right arm, a bright cyan crystal slowly exiting his palm through a slit as he glared at Jaune with rage-filled eyes. "She changed my life just as she had done for you, Morito." said Roman, launching the crystal at Jaune, who jumped way as the crystal embedded itself into the concrete floor that was now frozen with massive spike of ice jutting out of the ground. Jaune stood with a shocked expression while Roman twirled his cane with one hand while the other was priming to fire another crystal at Jaune's current location and all with a shit-eating grin on his face and furious anger in his eyes. "I spent most of my life listening to stories of you. How Sayuri saved you from living a life of hell. How she turned you into a man she could be proud of. I spent every waking moment living in your shadow!" shouted Roman, firing another crystal at Jaune, who dodged the attack as the crystal created another ice spike. "I turned myself into a living Dust crystal just to beat you! I may have lost last time but this time, I'll prove to her that I'm the one who deserves her attention!" he shouted once more, chucking his cane to the side as the marks on his body glowed brighter as several blue crystals began jutting from his body and his green eyes shifted into pure icy-blue. "I'm beat you down to a frozen pulp, old man!"

And for the first moment since he was reborn into the life of Jaune Arc, son of Orville and Iris Arc, younger brother to seven multi-colored older sisters, Morito felt that there was something missing from his life. The knowledge that Sayuri was reborn into this new world reignited this feeling within him and now here he stood before against a fellow master rank with unnatural superhuman abilities. Adrenaline pumped through his veins and a maniac smile graced his lips as he, too, chucked his rifle to the side and fully activated his semblance. His blonde hair became as white as snow. His cerulean blue eyes became flooded was red. And his white skin tone darkened into a burnt umber as the red marks on his body shifted into two arm blades and a set of bloody red wings.

It was time that Jaune let loose and showed this arrogant, attention-seeking brat what happens when you mess with Morito Hayama.

Meanwhile, outside the warehouse where the two super-powered master ranks were just about to begin their fight, Teams RNBW and JYPR continued to fight against the swarming numbers of the Black Hounds. Suddenly, several bullheads came soaring overheard, creating a harsh gust of wind the very nearly created a domino effect on the men and women down below. The bullhead's spotlights bloomed to life as the scanned the swarm of Black Hounds. Catching the tail of one of the bullheads, Blake watched as she saw the White Fang's symbol on the bullhead's sides and the VPD symbol on the other.

"Attention all Black Hounds members!" said the announcer, who held a megaphone outside the bullhead's sliding door, her form left silhouetted in the moonlight. "As of this moment, you are all under arrest. If you comply with our requests and offer no confrontation then know that you will receive a fair treatment and a just trial." said the announcer as the bullhead hovered in midair. "However, if you choose to retaliate then know that we will be forced to use aggressive actions." said the announcer, her words already having an effect on the Black Hounds members as they began to shout and howl at the flying machine above them.

Suddenly, the ceiling, and subsequent roof, of the nearby warehouse exploded into a mesh of dust and debris as Jaune soared into the sky just as massive spike of ice rose into the sky, very nearly damaging the flying bullhead, that pulled away at the last second to dodge the sudden ice spike. This caused an uproar as the remaining Black Hounds all began to scramble in retreat. In retaliation, the bullheads opened to reveal several armed White Fang and SWAT officers the repelled down into the crazed crowd. Roman created another spike of ice the rose to the sky with his standing atop it like a crazed god as Jaune landed on the spike. One of the bullheads soared over their heads, it's spotlight landing upon them. Roman smiled, extending his arms outward like a the criminal showman he pretended to be.

"Looks like we have quite the audience, eh Morito?" asked Roman, smiling through the pain as more crystals jutted from his body, some even beginning to form over his body as red liquid seeped between the crystals, giving them a red outline.

Jaune watched as Roman's physical form was slowly taken over by the crystallized Dust bit by bit. He'd seen a similar effect with the crazed mad man from his early days. The man was obsessed with attaining perfect through the use of mechanical enhancements to the point that he was more machine than man and it all it did was dwindle his humanity while extending his lifespan. Until, in the end, he was nothing but the shell of a former man.

Plus he was into little girls and Jaune absolutely despised that.

Now, it was looking to be that Roman was going to go down that same route through the use of Dust. And all to gain the favor of his former master, a woman who held no interest for anyone or anything other than her own twisted philosophy and goals. It mattered not, who or what she used to further her own goals. Only that she attained them no matter the cost. Even if it meant the lives of those who followed her. And the worst part of it was that her followers would gladly give their lives, their humanity, their very being if it meant gaining her favor.

"She won't care about you, Roman!" Jaune shouted back over the deafening roar of the Bullhead's thrusters and the screams of the Black Hounds down below. "Sayuri is incapable of affection! She's a sociopath and she'll do anything to get what she wants! Even if it means hundreds, if not thousands, of people die for it! You have a chance to put her tyranny to an end! You can be free of her control over you!" he continued to shout, feeling urges to save the surely confused Roman from his former master's hypnotic-like control.

"You're wrong!" Roman shouted back, swinging his right arm off to the side and indirectly creating another ice spike from the side of the ice spire. "She cares about me! I know it! Without her I'd be dead in some gutter!" he continued to shout, denying the truth that Jaune was saying to him. "She said that once she acquired her goal that we'd change the world together! That I'd have a part in it's wrecking and it's rebirth! I will NOT go back to being poor and alone on the streets! NEVER!" he shouted, thrusting his arm forward as his right arm was covered by blue crystallized Dust. "It's time I showed her that I'm the one who deserves her attention, Morito!" he shouted, leaping at Jaune as the crystals on his right arm formed into a ice-like arm-blade.

The two of the clashed against one another, shards of crystals and droplets of blood flew into the night sky as the bullheads continued their assaults and the Black Hounds attempted retreat. Roman's other hand came rising up in an attempt to uppercut Jaune's jaw but the former mercenary was prepared as he leaned back, the fist soaring upward and leaving Roman open for a counter. Jaune thrusted his other arm forward, creating a set of bloody-red claws the clashed against the makeshift armored Dust, creating more shards that crashed to the ground. The shards glowed and Jaune was forced to back away as several spikes of ice instantly appeared where the shards had dropped.

Roman's form was nearly taken over by the Dust crystals, his only visible portions where his head, his left arm, and his right leg. But the crystals only continued to slowly rise from Roman's skin, causing him more pain that was undoubtedly drowned out by his adrenaline. The horrifying scene was bringing up dark memories of when he and the other master ranks found the Child Room HQ. The sight of children, broken, beaten, and torn to pieces, all with dark markings of various failed Dead Languages was enough to make him vomit. He often asked himself as to how the woman he had thought to be family, and the woman he loved as if she was his mother, could be such a monster. To use the orphaned children of war like this...As if they were merely playthings in her toy box or pawns in her little chess game. She had done to Roman what she had done to Iria and what she had attempted to do with himself when he was younger. She warped their psyche and turned them into seemingly mindless drones, who would do anything to gain her favor. It sickened him to think that his master would became such wasteful human pond scum and it only furthered his desire to see her brought to justice.

Jaune leaped forward, creating tendrils with his bloody-red marks that whiplashed at Roman's form. He had attempted to cover himself with his makeshift Dust armor but Jaune was ready for such a move as he wrapped the tendrils over his limbs and with a mighty pull, tossed Roman's form into the air. His blue crystallized body soared above the crowd and bullheads before Jaune appeared, flying towards him with his wings. Roman quickly fired off more shards from his exposed hand but Jaune had dodged each one as he flew closer and closer towards his intended target.

The two of them clashed against each other with Jaune turning their axis in midair and nosediving towards the ground. Roman attempted to break free by summoning more ice spikes from his body but Jaune's semblance countered each one by slicing at them with multiple sharpened tendrils. And with a sound breaking boom and a mushroom cloud of dust and debris, the two found themselves in a crater in the middle of the waterfront. Jaune struggled as he checked his vitals and Aura level with his HUD.

"22%" he said to himself as his appearance changed back to normal and his marking receded back into his skin, invisible until they were called upon again. "Used too much power in that last move." he said, struggling to get up when the edges of the crater was taken over by VPD, White Fang agents, and his friends.

"Jaune!" shouted Ruby, holding her red scythe in her hand. "Are you okay!?"

"I'm fine, Ruby!" he replied, holding his side with a grimace.

Suddenly, silence fell upon them as they all turned their attention back to Roman. His form was nearly taken over by the still slowly growing patches of crystallized Dust. His face remained visible to all as he glared at Jaune's form with a burning fury. Jaune slowly approached his form with an expression of pity and remorse. Roman was yet another soul that was damaged by his former master's actions. Iria, who used her own little sister as a suicide bomber to win a war. Salim, who had been raised from the dead by her wicked experiments. Cardin, who's future was ripped from him due the promise of power. And now, Roman, who had been "saved" by the very same woman who had "saved" him from a dark past and made him into the respectable, kind man he was today. He felt a sort of kinship with Roman as he stood before him.

Roman laughed at his expression of pity and remorse, resigning himself to his fate, frozen in a crystallized statue of Dust. "What's the matter, old man?" he mockingly asked. "Never seen a human turn into a living Dust crystal before?" asked Roman, laughing into the velvety night sky, the starry lights blinking in the darkness as the broken moon hovered overhead. "We both knew that this was bound to happen sooner or later."

"I'm sorry, Roman." said Jaune, gritting his teeth and curling his fists in anger.

"Stop with the pity, you senile old man." Roman demanded with a smirk. "I'm the villain, remember?" he asked, mockingly. "And the villain always loses to the good guys." he said before looking up at Ruby's face, her silver eyes filled with remorse as his expression shifted into guilt. "This won't be the last time, Morito." said Roman. "Sayuri is planning something big. Something that involves merging Dust crystals with mortal bodies." said Roman, smirking as the Dust crystals slowly began to cover his face. "This is just the beginning, Morito. Sayuri will get what she wants, even if it means taking away everything you know and love." said Roman, laughing as the crystals over took his face, silencing his laughter and leaving Jaune to stare into the empty-void of Roman's eyes through a layer of crystallized Ice-Dust.

Suddenly, his form began to glow at rapid pace as tiny shards fell off of Roman's crystallized body and onto the ground, creating multiple ice spikes. Jaune took a step back as an ice spike exploded out of Roman's back, causing Jaune to take another step back. Another spike exploded out of his right shoulder and Jaune turned to face his allies and run just as a massive ice spike rose from the ground beneath his previous location. He ran towards his allies as more and more ice spikes rose from the ground, breaking away at the concrete, creating cracks. Everybody, move!" he commanded as a massive ice spike rose where Roman stood, consuming the crater's whole and just narrowly hitting Jaune. The massive ice spike rose into the night sky with several more spikes of ice exploding from it's sides until, in Roman's place, stood a massive collection of ice spikes. The group stared up at the marvelous sight just as the sun began to rise from the ocean's horizon, signalling a brand new day and the end of their adventurous Saturday night.

Several VPD police cars pulled into the waterfront, with many of them stopping and getting out of their squad cars to gaze upon the amazing sight, when Yang rushed to Jaune's side, hugging him in a vice-like grip. Soon, his form with overtaken by his friends, who all joined him at his side. When he rose to his feet, he soon found that Blake was standing before him with her eyes cast downward and her feline ears folded. Her hands locked together in front of her as she avoided his gaze.

But before she could utter a single word, she felt a familiar warmth on her head. Her head raised and she found herself staring into the warm smile and cerulean blue eyes of the boy she had fallen for. Without a word, she wrapped her arms around his form, digging her head into his shoulder as tears of joy streamed down her cheeks.

In the background, several White Fang and VPD were making their arrests on the Black Hounds they'd managed to capture when another car pulled into the waterfront and out of the vehicle stepped out the headmaster of Beacon Academy and his ward, Ozpin and Glynda. The two of the rushed to the children with haste, ignoring the many officers that had attempted to taken their attention away.

The group of children stood motionless beneath their professor's harsh glare while Ozpin gazed up at the massive spikes of ice that rose from the crater before his eyes landed upon Jaune's own. Now words escaped their mouths but they both nodded in silent agreement as Glynda continued to berate her students before sighing and smiling sweetly.

"I'm just glad that you're all alright." said Glynda before straightening her glasses and using her trademark Goodwitch-Glare on them. "But be that as it may, you will all be serving a month of detention that moment you all return from your break, am I understood?" she asked, though her tone meant it as a command as her students all nodded her head. Nodding in silence, she walked to where Jaune and her employer stood, still watching the massive ice spike in silence while the children stood back in silent contemplation. "So, this is what has become of Roman?" she asked, thankful that Jaune had sent a live video feed of the incident to their scrolls.

"No. He's still alive. In the ice." said Jaune, looking up at the tips the shined in the sun's early glow before putting his hand against it's freezing side. "His Aura is till active...Almost as if this ice is just an extension of his body."

"Are you saying that this Ice is alive?" she asked, finding herself amazed and horrified over the implications.

"I believe the correct statement would be that the Dust within Roman's body was energized by his Aura but the resulting effect proved to be unstable and this was the aftermath." said Ozpin as Jaune pulled his hand away, clenching his teeth together. Ozpin placed his hand on his shoulder in solidarity. "I must apologize for what you've gone through, Mr. Arc."

"Sayuri did this...She's been experimenting on people, trying to merge them with Dust and turn them into her own private monsters." said Jaune, clenching his fists in anger.

"This shouldn't be possible." said Professor Goodwitch. "I know that it is possible to use the energy of Dust crystals to gain an increase in power and abilities but it should never be something of this scale."

"I think we're way beyond the realm of impossibilities." said Jaune, closing his eyes in an attempt to calm his rising anger. "I've known Sayuri for years and she'd never do something like unless it benefited her in some way. I also know that for all of her intelligence, this is beyond her realm of expertise."

"Then it's safe to assume that she's acquired an ally with access to technology capable of such feats." said Ozpin, sighing as Professor Goodwitch was pulled away by a VPD officer and a White Fang agent, leaving the two of them alone to stare at the ice spike.

The two of them stood in silence when the clacking of shoes brought their attention to Ruby Rose, who stood before them in front of the other students was silver eyes filled in curiosity. Jaune stepped forward, prepare to welcome her with open arms when her mouth split open and her next words stopped him dead in his tracks.

"Jaune, why did Roman call you Morito? And who is Sayuri?" she asked, causing Jaune to stare open eyed with mouth agape as his other friends joined at her sides.

And as he turned to face Ozpin's face, the slow nod of approval from the elderly man, he released a sigh and turned back to face his friends. "Do you kids have some time to listen to an old man ramble about his glory days?" he asked, smiling as they all stared at him with mixed feelings varying expressions. And as Yang would annoyingly say, it was looking to be that the cat was out of the proverbial bag.

And there we have it! The last chapter of the Beacon Arc! And yes, this was the plan all along. I was always planning to have Jaune reveal his past to his friends just as I had always planned to have Roman be turned into a living Dust crystal through Sayuri's experimentation.

But that only begs the question; What is Sayuri planning? Why is she turning people into living Dust crystals? And what will Jaune's friends think when they hear his story?

Well, you'll have to come back on the last Sunday of September to find out when we start the next Arc.

Coming soon...The Vacation Arc!

Till next time!