Ch.21

"Come on Cardin, hit me!"

The man roared in an insufferable rage, his mace swinging wide and powerful, not powerful enough. The strike was easily blocked, followed by another, the man leaving almost a total of five seconds of entry for me to attack. But I never did so, I allowed him to see that I could crush him, he needs to know. He never learns, never adapts, he will learn, learn through pain.

"Cardin are you trying to hit me or poke me, at this rate do you even deserve to be here?"

"Shut up!"

He came again, this time harder, faster, he was using his rage, good. With the first hit, it actually threw my block away, almost allowing him entry if I didn't roll with the blow, landing on my feet and readying my stance once more. The man came quicker than what I had expected, attacking with rage and power. His strikes powerful and demolishing, they actually registered some pretty hefty damage across my arms, some dents and broken chips, nothing I couldn't fix. But before I let it continue on any longer, I decided it was my turn to advance, see if he could be taught.

He bashed his weapon into my arm, again and again, looking to break it. A look of pure anger across his face, he wanted me to break before him. Denying his request, I ducked under the fourth blow he sent my way, sending a heavy jab towards his midsection, causing the man to stagger back slightly, what a mistake. Following the advance, I delivered two more blows to his stomach before he reacted, the mace coming down upon me circling in an arc, the crystal in the center of the weapon glowing as it made its descent. The man never even bothering to look infront of him as I slammed my head into his face, a look of pain and surprise growing as his head flew back along with the rest of his body, guess the man couldn't learn. "Use your body, your mace isn't your only weapon. You are the walking tank of your group, learn to take hits, learn to feel pain. If your weapon can't do the job, use your limbs, your body is a weapon Cardin, make use of it. Again!"

"Dove, you aren't trying to impress, kill me or I will kill you."

Dove sneered, readying his blade once more, a crimson river running down his lips, but undaunted the man continued. I allowed them to quit whenever they wanted to, he was the first to bleed, wouldn't be the last, but I was surprised at how he wasn't done yet, guess I am teaching them something.

Holding his blade out towards me, he seemingly waited for a momentary weakness, a lapse in judgement, he wouldn't find one. Attack or I will lead the assault. Apparently he found his opening and attacked, slashing in close and precise motions, trying to remove my arms from blocking my midsection and stabbing it. He was fighting efficiently, but he needs to learn that some enemies won't be that easy to kill. I am not an ordinary evil.

Launching out of my defensive stance, I took a quick slash to my chest before launching my assault against the man…and missing. Dove suddenly leaped back at my attack, pointing his gun towards me and firing repeatedly. Activating the bubble-shield, I continued the advance, bull-rushing and almost tackling the man before he rolled out of the way, my own form quickly following.

Dove leapt back up into a ready stance, going purely defensive at my assault, his sword powerful and with his movements, this defense was almost flawless. He was attacking at my hands, at the right angle to divert the attack elsewhere before focusing on the other, firing shots in between each motion at me, I had to actually take a few to continue the fight, my armor more than capable. This continued on and on, my body trying again and again to hit the man, he has proved a more capable fighter than the rest, but he still needs work. He is running out of ammo, he needs to make a move soon.

But finally, like all great walls, his defense came crashing down. At deflecting another blow, the man saw my right fist moving for his face, and pressed the trigger to redirect the blade. An unbelievable horror now in realization to him as a simple click resounded from the blade, he had ran out of shots. Realizing this way too late, the blow landed upon the man's face, Dove flying back and landing hard, struggling to lift himself back upon his feet as I spoke. "Good work, you need to mind your own capabilities though. Don't think you are invincible, even when you are winning. Now get up, let's try that again."

Russel launched into the battle with no hesitation, rolling and building up speed before launching a kick downwards, much like the last time we fought, breaking my guard. But the man not only stopped there, quickly using his semblance once more and turning back around, sending a kick to my lower jaw, the blow connecting and sending me back a few feet. Russel landing and smirking slightly at his small victory.

The smile gone however as I quickly recovered, launching a vicious assault against the man. The nimble warrior dodging most of my attacks but taking one hard hit to the stomach, sending the man back a few feet before I quickly closed the distance once more. But the man held more agility than I predicted, ducking under one of my wide arcs, he leapt up and over me, leapfrogging behind me in one fluid motion, smart, disorienting me like this.

Hearing then a whirl of Russel's weapon activating, I quickly activated my shield before the barrage of dust hit me. Both fire and ice clashing against the yellow armor, threatening to break the wall down but never actually succeeding. I waited, I waited for the storm to settle, the furious onslaught of the elements clashing at my door, threatening to enter. But all at once, the storm settled, and that's when I made my attack.

Bursting through the dust, a punch aimed straight for Russel, the man seemed surprised at my attack. But still as quick as ever, the man had enough time to leap out of my crushing attack, back-flipping away, but not however out of my reach. Quickly closing the gap, I launched another assault against the man, all missing as each punch was quickly avoided. However, that was when he started to get cocky. A small smile upon his face, the man started to slip, my fists inching ever closer before he would move, it was time I put him in his place.

The man was full in his glory now, he was surly untouchable he thought as he launched again into the air above my head, hoping to leapfrog behind me once more. However his thoughts turned against him rather quickly as a sudden clasp was now on his right foot, the clasp attached to an armored white arm, and the motion of going forward of his opponent was suddenly turned around, and heading towards the ground at a rather fast rate.

Smacking the ground with a resounding shockwave, the man groaned in pain at my releasing of his foot. Curling up and holding his chest. Probably broke a rip, but he can still fight, this is a school for warriors, if they didn't expect to feel pain during their time here, they are idiots to be sure. "Get up, you're fast but don't think your fast enough to dodge all of my attacks. Let's go Russel!"

Sky came at me fast and with determination, out of all of them I considered Sky the worst fighter, and for very specific purposes that I was about to show him. He was arguably smarter than them in nearly aspect with enough time, but on the fly, the man was a horrible thinker. But it was high time that his limits be stretched, to learn through example.

The man accepted that he couldn't beat me in a close distance match, and decided to keep me away, slashing at me with wide arcs and twirls, all designed to keep me away enough to try and cause some damage. But the man was misguided, he thought I had nothing at long range, but did he seriously forget about my Brute Shot, time to figure it out.

Dodging each wide arc by only moving my body slightly in different directions, I taunted the man by feinting an entry, causing him to stumble back before resuming his attack. It was rather funny actually, but me must learn to overcome fear, or he will be suffering for it.

Dodging another wide arc, I drew my Brute Shot, deflecting a few slashes with the blade, not even bothering to charge with the wide opportunities he gave me. The man's face become a mix of fear and struggle at each deflected blow, he knew he couldn't beat me, and it was just starting to settle in his mind.

But what I didn't expect was for him to sigh, dropping his weapon and bowing his head. What the fuck was this? Was he giving up? "I surrender."

This fuck. He wasn't even trying, what did he expect to do while he was here, never to fight? Blazing up within a second, I was now standing infront of the man, my glowing yellow visor directly infront of his eyes, tears in the brims of them. My knife directly at his throat, cutting some skin and allowing a few drops of blood to run through it. He knew he couldn't beat me, but what, did he think he was going to get skill through some miracle of god? Sky needed to practice, even against impossible odds. "Never surrender. Do you think a Grimm or any other opponent you face will give you that curtesy."

"I cannot win against you."

"So what? You will fight against impossible odds, and if what I read about being a hunter is true, then you will be doing that every day. You will not be any stronger just by sitting there. You will be beaten, you will be thrown down and scoffed at, but you will grow stronger."

"How do you know?"

"Experienced it first hand, now suck it up, pick up your weapon, and let's fight."

"Well, good work today team."

"Good work!"

I turned to them once more, each one of them bloodied and beaten, cut and bruised, like true warriors. Lying upon the hard wooden benches of the locker room, each looked as if they were in their own state of pain, ranging from excruciating, to more frustration than anything. There were a few students within these halls, but quickly left at our approaching, guess we do have a stigma about us. But like it could be avoided, they have already made a name for themselves as the school bullies, while I'm known as the unbeatable freak, what a team we make.

They each fought bravely, and each learned something, but they were all too blind to accept the lesson they had been dealt. They only thought I was dealing them pain, not truth, they could not see for themselves. And in this Cardin called out once more, his face bruised in some areas, a blood trail running from his lower lip where he bit it in pain. "All we did is get tossed around, this isn't doing us any good!"

"No, not yet. But it will settle in, in time. Some of you are already growing, including you Cardin, much faster than I predicted. Can you not already tell when I'm about to strike, when I'm about to draw my own weapon or when my next counter-attack will come?"

"Yes but how do you expect us to feel this much pain without even feeling like we haven't accomplished shit!"

I let the silence hang there, I watched as Cardin's eyes grew with aggravation and hatred, I watched as the rest of the team waited for the answer soon to come. Fine, if they wanted to see, let them see. Without speaking a word, I reached upwards towards my neck, unclasping two of the locks to my chestplate. Pressing a hand against it then, I lifted upwards, removing the chestplate, holding it by my right hand, showing them the work of war across only a portion of my body. They have seen my scars before, but I doubt that any of them actual looked at the mural of war across my body, but when they did, each of them were astounded by the vast majority of them upon my body, a masterpiece to behold.

I pointed towards an indented part of my skin with my left hand, a wound that have longs since healed. "Sniper round, almost hit my heart. Got this cut while training for a mission, almost spilled my intestines. Stabbed in the chest by my former best friend, stabbed by a cocky soldier with a laser sword. There…that was four shotgun shells at point-blank range, can still feel the shrapnel sometimes. And there was when I got hit by a literal truck. This pain I have suffered to become stronger, each time I came back stronger and more resilient than ever. This pain has made me become stronger than anyone could dream. And in time, it will do the same for you."

Attaching the chestplate back where it was, the group was left in a state of shock, none of them really able to form words for a while. I could understand, sometimes even I wondered at how I could survive. But I knew that it was how I gained this power, this strength, so I wasn't to question it just yet, just let it happen I guess. Returning to the group, I began to form my words once more, careful not to completely push them down. "Do you understand now?"

Each of them muttered a small yes to my question, and in so I responded in kind. "Then there is no excuse! This is how you learn from me, if you don't think this is worth any of your time then leave."

I challenged them, I challenged them all. They all knew of the fruits of this labor, but the pain that came with it was the hill for them to climb. I expected a few to move towards the door, or even leave altogether if they couldn't take this, Sky was my first choice to leave. But surprising , none moved, even Sky looked like he wasn't going to budge, maybe I was teaching them something after all. "Alright, first, Cardin, what did you learn today?"

"I need to go to the gym more I guess…"

"And?"

"I don't know, ask for tougher opponents."

"Good, maybe beating on someone besides Jaune will give you more experience. And I would go to the forge, look into a helmet, helps. Dove?"

"Research, I need different fighting techniques."

"True, but look into dust ammo, look at Russel, it helps him greatly. How do you feel about shields?"

Dove sneered, shaking his head. "No, they are…unsavory for me."

"Can we settle on a buckler?"

"I…could, I guess."

"It's effective, and you need defensive opportunities, doesn't matter if you like shields or not. Russel?"

"Yea yea, not to cocky I got it. As long as everyone else is getting upgrades. Can I get something for my shoes?"

"Your shoes?"

"I have a few blueprints if you wanna see them later."

Sky scoffed slightly, turning to him. "You gonna make rocket boots or something?"

"Not really…"

I…wait, that might actually be good. "That might actually be useful."

"Wait, really?"

"With your semblance if we work it right, it might be more efficient than your daggers in some situations."

"Cool!"

"Ok, Sky."

He looked down slightly, an answer unable to come to him. The man was still stricken from our previous battle, no surprise I hurt his ego, but maybe this once I could help him. "Listen, we can work on your skill as of the moment. But it will take time and dedication, you give me that, and I will give you results, ok?"

"Alright."

"We can also focus upon your weapon; give it more of an offense capability."

Russel took a look around before returning to me, as if he were thinking about the conversations beforehand before speaking. "Soooo, team day at the forge?"

"Yes Russel, 'team day at the forge'."

"Booyah!"

It was about mid-day when we started our journey, the training only really taking half the day. I didn't want to put them through so much already. Only a few laps around the school, since now they know to wake up when I tell them to, some weight lifting, then onto combat training for the rest of the time. Each of these were soon to increase as time went on in toughness, but I had no doubt they could power through it if they wanted to, they just lacked the will right now. But that was soon to change, they were growing, as fighters and people. I knew Cardin was still bothering people behind my back, Jaune still included, I could never catch the man and the rest wouldn't rat him out for their lives. But I noticed that Dove's name was mentioned less and less in these incidents, along with Sky's, maybe they are growing spines after all. Russel, the kid is just a follower; if I convert Cardin the man will be easy.

But that was the thing, I needed to convert Cardin. The man was raised to be this way, no question. So it would be difficult to try and stop him from these activities. At the very least, I have stopped him from picking on Velvet, although he still didn't like her. The rest of his transformation…it would take time. I know how stubborn minds work, I have one. I just hope it doesn't escalate into anything he or I would regret. Let's just focus on what I'm doing now, I can focus on Cardin another time.

We walked in relative silence to the forge…well I did at least. Now changed into our school uniforms and my scarf, I stood in the back of the group, following the team to the workshop, all hoping to obtain some new accessory to their arsenal. As i figured out earlier though, there is a limit on what you can make. Repairs are almost always free, but to make a new set of armor or weapon. Students are limited to a small number per year, that way Beacon doesn't run out of materials. But that sole fact meant that I probably owed Ruby something, if she used her one build for me, why didn't she tell me? Another time for that thought.

I looked ahead of me, watching as Sky and Russel laughed at some horrible joke I was to be sure, Dove shaking his head adds more evidence to this. They were just kids, but the lessons I am teaching them should be showed now, rather than later, at the worst time. Better to get it out of the way than hitting them when they are lowest, in a way I am doing them a favor. They will learn that soon enough, and come to thank me for it.

Finding the forge was rather easy, the sounds of metallic objects ringing through the air, accompanied with the smell of smoke and fire. Upon seeing the building, both Sky and Russel took off in a rush towards the building, entering it rather quickly, followed by a rather frustrated Dove. Following the men, we were about to step inside when Cardin stopped, looking at me slightly with hard eyes. What was he doing? "I don't trust you."

Well that was obvious enough. "I know."

"Why are you training us, you know one day I'm going to beat you and be the rightful leader of this team."

"Cardin, if we ever fought, truly. I would kill you…"

I let the silence hang for a moment, allowing my words to dive into Cardin's thick skull, allowing the haunting words to process before I began once more. "But I am training you because I don't want to be held back. If you are going to be my teammates then I want you to be good ones, not just bullies and wannabe fighters. I want you to actually back me up in a fight and not just watch. That and that only is the reason I am training you.-"

"But as for being leader, do you really think you are in any position to lead right now? You are a stubborn boy who is not getting his way; you're honestly just like the Schnee. Grow up, and maybe you'll have a chance at becoming a leader. But I have a goal, and if being leader of this team means reaching it, then you will not be the reason I step down. Let's go in."

"One last thing, why all the sudden are you talking now?"

"…I grew up."

Pushing the man aside, I entered the forge, glancing back only a second to watch the man's angered reaction following my form. He thinks he is angry at me? He has no idea of rage. And I hope for his sake he never has to see it. But…now that that's out of the way, where is…?

…No, Russel put the blade down damn it!

…Sky why are you burning leather!

….This is going to be tougher than I thought.