Chapter 0- Friend or Foe?

The summer night sky was clear, the skies over Vytal were perfect, the night sky dotted with small specks of light and the shattered moon hung overhead, a single Beowolf soon fell breaking the silence, standing on it's back was a single, bloodied young man, his long chin length hair covering his eyes and his mouth open as he struggled to catch his breath, his weapon, a black and white long sword was stabbed into Grimm's back, it's head lobbed off a few meters in front of him.

He soon caught his breath than finally looked up, his hair parting to the right, revealing a sharp onyx eye, "Tch…" He clicked his tongue soon ripping his blade from the Beowolf's spine and watching as their numbers only increased, more Beowolves, all of accompanied by Creepers, a Geist that took possession of a broken down Atlesian Paladin Prototype,

"Right…attracted to hatred…" The young man cursed bitterly, he swung his blade to the side and stepped forward, his steps becoming quicker until he broke into a full run, he slid underneath the first Beowolf before jumping up the moment he was underneath it, he went into a spinning motion his blade's edge catching the Beowolf's abdomen cutting clean through it, his eye quickly snapping to the side watching a second lunge at him, he back stepped and unleashed a swift two hit strike, the first strike amputating it's arms and the final a stab to the side of it's head.

He once again ripped the blade up, this time agitating the Fire Dust loaded in, with a swift, vertical strike he sent a wave of fire forward catching a single Beowolf while the others broke their formation. The young man got into a low stance only to hear a metallic click coming from behind, his eye widen soon glancing over to find the Geist taking aim and shooting out a black mass. The young man cursed out loud using his weapon to block the Bullet, only to be launched back his blade soon breaking in half.

"Nrgh!" He grunted upon impact, soon flipping over and dodging the claws of a hungry Beowolf, this continued on until he found himself cornered by the pack, it's Alpha soon making itself visible, giving one final howl as it ordered the first to pounce, The young man watched as the black beast lunged forward, something inside of him soon agitated, his hair rose slightly soon revealing both eyes and the scaring underneath and above his right, his eyes soon flashed crimson and with a feral roar he thrusted his right hand forward, the black gauntlet glowing with bits of crimson and deep purple, and as the Beowolf came close a pair of Claws pierced through and with a single uppercut, the young man rose, his hand the very claw that tore through the beast, he soon landed swiping at a second, than a third, a fourth, A Fifth! He tore through the Grimm with a gleam of crimson killer intent in his eyes, he soon spotted his shattered sword, soon taking it's remains with his right, which at the same time, caused his claws to retract to its gauntlet,

"Round two then…" He hummed at the Alpha and Geist, his eyes continued with their crimson glow, as a surge of energy ran down his weapon returning it to life, he raced forward this time throwing his weapon at the Alpha, the beast unable to dodge in time, the sword stabbed into its mouth and the moment the young man stepped forward he roared and once again called his claws, balling them up before slamming it into the handle of his sword, shooting it forward like a projectile, a projectile that pierced the heavy, rusted armor, and finally tore the Geist of out it's only form of protection, the young man watched as the Geist was pinned against the ground, and as he stepped forward he readied his claws once more, with his left he tore the blade out and finally brought his claws into the Geist's Abdomen. The Grimm, like the rest, being reduced to nothing but ash.

The young man staggered back, his claws reacting once again, his eyes returning to their usual onyx glow, his breath rough and labored, soon about to fall forward, only to use his blade to catch himself, once again struggling to catch his breath. "Damn….Damn it…" He growled shaking his head trying to force himself to focus.

"Well, isn't this interesting?" A man's voice called out to him, the young man jolted, his eyes sharpening to deadly edges before he recovered enough to stand on his own, he brought his blade out of the ground, soon shifting over to find two men behind him.

'Huntsmen….Fan-Freaking-tastic….' He groaned internally, he readied his blade, his body shaking from exhaustion,

"Put the sword down kid, we aren't trying to fight ya, and we ain't trying to hurt ya…" The first said calmly, his hair short and black, most of it slicked back with bangs falling over his forehead, he was dressed in a grey dress shirt, black slacks, and a black and red cape, the other a man with grey hair and calm brown eyes hidden behind round glassed, this man was dressed in a green coat and black suit, his left hand holding a cane with his right a….coffee mug? Must be a way to distract him…

"Yeah…wonder…how…many time's…I've heard that…" The young man said between breaths, he switched his sword over to his left and soon agitated his claws, his eyes once again gaining their crimson glow, he then aimed his sword at the two men, "I…Don't…give a damn…I won't go back…I…Refuse…to go back…if…You want me….Yer gonna have'ta kill me…I…Won't go down without a fight…I'll…kill more…of you bastards if need be…" He growled. The first man than stepped before his companion,

"Ozpin, stand back." The first man said, reaching for the sword on his lower back, only for the other to shake his head, he gave his companion his cane and coffee mug.

"Stay here Qrow," Was all that needed to be said as the man known as Ozpin stepped forward, The young man was exhausted, malnourished, no older than the students coming to his school, a young man with battle senses sharpen to the level an adult, of a graduate of his Academy, his crimson eyes spoke his story, a young man forced into something he didn't want, forced to fight both humans and Grimm, having taken the lives of man Human and Faunus, no friends, never knowing emotions outside of hatred and killing intent, never knowing the love of a family, nor the joy of friends, the fear of death long since extinguished…no light in his eyes, nothing but cold voids of crimson.

Ozpin stepped forward, the young man clicked his tongue quickly raising his sword…only to feel a pulse run down his body, the crimson glow from his eyes fading away, his claws retracting for a final time, his grip on his sword failing and his body falling forward, his vision growing hazy, becoming darker, only to feel someone catch him. "Qrow, we're leaving now! We're returning to the Academy now! Pick up his weapon and let's go now!" Ozpin exclaimed.

"D-damn…it…I…won't…let you…." The young man growled, his glare on wavering, he rose his right hand weakly and tried to fight back, a single, weak punch was all he could muster, no actual impact, not against him, the older man didn't have to use his aura to protect him, his strength had finally left his body, his vision soon followed, and as his consciousness followed, the final words he heard, we're….reassuring…

"Don't worry, we've got you now, you'll be safe where we are taking you."

…Maybe…a Nap wouldn't kill him

It was sudden, his eyes snapped open as the young man quickly sat up, his onyx eyes quickly scanning the room he had been sleeping in…nothing like the prisoner cell like room he had grown accustomed to, he had slept in a soft bed, with an equally soft pillow, his body covered in warm, and soft blankets, the cleanest linen, a first from the tattered, dirty sheets he were allow back at the 'Prison', his dirty, tattered, blood soaked clothes replaced by black and navy blue pajamas, folded on the chair next to his bed a clean set of clothes with a note.

'For when you wake up, some fresh clean clothes, I had my friend pick them out for you, your room has a shower, I'll check in every two hours in case you wake up and I'm not there

Ozpin'

The young man said nothing, soon getting out of his bed and walking over to the clothes which he took into his hands before walking to the only other door in the room, he stripped down soon taking note of the white bandages around his chest, arms and legs, soon realizing that he couldn't see out of his left eye, he walked over to the mirror moving his long hair and revealing the bandages around his eye, the young man sighed, soon removing the bandages and tossing them away, soon searching the cabinet for a new set. An easy find, he placed them down and jumped into the shower, soon enjoying his first warm shower in, who knows how long at this point, he allowed himself a small smile with a content sigh soon escaping his throat, but once he opened his eyes, once he realized the situation, his smile faded away, his eyes sharpening once again, he shook his head before stepping out of the shower, he took the towel from the rack and dried himself off before wrapping his wounds with fresh, new bandages, he took the clothes set out for him and threw them on, a simple black t-shirt with a dark grey button down, which he left the top two buttons open, he then threw on the black and navy blue, hooded jacket up and over his tops, his legs were soon held in dark navy blue, almost black, boot cut jeans, he slipped on the soft black socks and his new black leather boots, fixing the straps tight enough that it was comfortable.

He stepped back out and onto his bed, His eyes closing with his hands behind his head. A few moments of silence passed on before someone knocked on the door.

"…It's open," he called out, the door soon opened and in came the same grey haired man from yesterday, alongside him, a woman with bright blond hair and sharp emerald eyes. Eyes that soften up upon seeing the way he sat, eyes that were filled with…pity? His eyes only sharpen at the two.

The man soon brought out a long silver case and placed it on the bed. "Your sword, your Gauntlet we allowed you to keep, a sign of trust," The man smiled

"Then you would've let me keep my sword…" the young man shot back. The woman could see what Ozpin meant, he knew nothing but enemies, no allies, a young man who had been through more battles than any soldiers alive, even as they spoke, his sharp, onyx eyes scanned the room, taking note of every little detail in the room, every possible exit, the window, the door, and if need be, his weapon, one of the many possibly way he could cut them both down.

Ozpin soon broke the tension with a light laugh. The young man's eyes narrowed and his brows furrowed. "I missed the joke…the hell's funny?" He growled,

"Nothing, I just wanted to break the tension, you see, I took your sword and took it to a good friend for some repairs and upgrades, reinforcing the blade, making it stronger soon on and so forth."

The young man's glare soon fell, as did his glare. "H-Huh!? Are you an idiot or something!? Don't you have any form of common sense!? Why would you give your Enemy, a stronger, reinforced weapon!?" He growled,

"Because we aren't your enemy," The man said and took a seat next to the young man's bed, he nodded to the woman, who in turn moved away from the door, and to Ozpin's side, the young man simply perceived this as a threat, he opened the box soon taking his sword and drawing it from its scabbard. The woman jolted soon reaching for a…Riding Crop? Ozpin, on the other hand, simply rose his hand,

"Once you leave the room you simply take a left down the hall and there's an elevator to the first floor, the rest is a clear way out, there's an Airship dock down the path, you can leave and make it back to Vale within the hour."

The young man rose a brow, the man on the other hand smile. "A way out, no need to cause unnecessary damages that need to be paid for, so, if you feel like leaving, than your free to do so, but, I can reassure you this, we won't be able to help you."

"Help me?" The young man questioned, now lowering his blade, the woman nodded. "The Headmaster has explained your situation to me, and Qrow has dug up some information, well what we could find."

"Oh?"

Ozpin nodded. "Yes, you're an escapee from a Lab deep within Atlas' lab, a private owned company working outside of Atlas' military, while we couldn't find what type of experiments they've done to you, we can say, that they will stop at nothing to get you back, D.E.M.'s number 1 Assassin, the sole survivor of Project Revenant, Code named Eclipse." Ozpin hummed,

The young man's eyes narrowed at the use of that code name, he cursed bitterly than moved his blade, the woman stood ready, only to watch him sheath the blade, which he then hooked to his belt

"Don't call me by that damned name…" He growled, he than plopped back down on the bed, he let out a small sigh. "Alright, you got my attention, Ozpin." He spoke, his eye shifting over to the man, who than gave a small, reassuring smile. "Good than, We know that D.E.M will stop at nothing when it comes to getting you back, so, say you were to join my academy, become a student, that gives your four years for us to figure out a plan, four years of freedom, four years to experience a somewhat normal life,"

"A normal life?" The young man questioned. Ozpin nodded. "Yes, you'll have the chance to create bonds, to make friends, a chance to redeem yourself, to experience the joys of life, All you need to do, is come to my Academy, away from Atlas, away from D.E.M," Ozpin said soon reaching into his jacket pocket, the young man moved for his sword, only to find him bring out a letter, carefully, and cautiously, he took the letter and opened it.

"Beacon…Academy? A school for Hunters?" He questioned, his eyes keeping their edge as he looked over at the two, Ozpin nodded, "Allow me to formally introduce myself, I am Professor Ozpin, Headmaster of Beacon Academy, and this is my colleague, Professor Glynda Goodwitch, Young man, we formally invite you to Beacon Academy," Ozpin said,

The young man closed his eyes. "…This life…I won't have to kill others…I won't be forced to kill? Will…Will I really be given my own freedoms?" The Revenant questioned, opening his cold, emotionless onyx eyes,

"We swear that you won't have to kill for a mission, you won't be forced to kill another person, Human or Faunus, and we can guarantee your freedoms. The choice is ultimately yours." Ozpin said,

The young man was silent, he folded the letter, the two instructors looked at each other, worried for his coming answer. "…Yusaku…" He suddenly said, the two jolted looking at the young man, who opened his eyes and looked at them before closing them once again. "My name, you can't exactly fill out a form without a name, my name is Yusaku Kurogane…"