Author's note: The response so far to this story has been absolutely amazing. Thank you all so much, for your support, and to those of you who pointed out errors in my writing and made suggestions for improvements. That being said, I'll take this chance to answer a few questions that have been asked.
1. There are readers here who aren't familiar with Kenshiro (Jaune's master). Who exactly is he?
Kenshiro is the main character of the manga and anime series called Fist of the North Star. It's an amazing series and I'm a big fan of its lore and characters. I don't recommend it to younger viewers, or those who can't deal with depictions of intense violence. But if you aren't in either of these categories, I highly suggest checking it out. Although as an older series, it's parodied a lot, the sheer quality of the story and characters is undeniable.
2. When is Jaune going to drop the 'Omae wa mou Shindeiru'?
Be patient, ye all. When it comes, I want it to be super epic. For those who don't know what this line means and signifies, don't worry. It'll be more than clear when I write it in. Or if you're impatient, Google it, I guess. It's incredibly famous, after all.
3. Is there going to be romance? And if so, between who?
Honestly, I haven't yet decided. MANY of the RWBY girls are awesome characters, to the point where I wouldn't mind writing any of them in more detail. Therefore, why don't YOU comment in the reviews, and tell me which ship you'd want to see!
And that's about it, for now!
Let's get this show on the road.
Chapter 3: Unstoppable
Yang Xiao Long wiped a bit of sweat off her face. That had been a good warmup. The bodies of the fallen Grimm had dissipated already, as they always did. There was no point hanging around here. She decided to proceed north.
I heard gunshots coming from elsewhere. I guess I wasn't the only one who had to deal with some company.
She didn't encounter any more Grimm, at least for the moment. Soon enough, she found the thick forest floor start to change, grass and plants giving way to bare soil which eventually met stone. In front of her, pillars stood in a ring at the edge of a circular platform. Arranged along its circumference were pedestals. While some were empty, others carried… large chess pieces.
Hmm. That wasn't so hard.
As she was about to proceed towards one of the pieces to claim it for herself, a figure emerged into the clearing from a different part of the tree cover. Yang recognized the girl clad in black and white as the one her sister had attempted to approach the previous night. The reader.
The two girls made eye contact. Yang realized what that meant.
Ah well. Could have been worse. She seems OK.
"We aren't the first ones here," she said aloud, making an attempt at opening the conversation. The raven-haired girl nodded as she too made her way onto the platform.
"Those who managed to avoid Grimm would have covered the distance faster," she said. She examined a Knight piece in front of her, and Yang picked up another.
"How about a cute little pony?" she said, grinning.
Her new partner found herself actually cracking a smile at the obvious attempt to be funny.
"Sure."
No sooner had she picked up her own Knight piece than the sound of gunfire rang out from the forest once more, along with a loud high pitched shriek which both Huntresses recognized.
That was a Nevermore's cry.
Yang also recognized the distinct single, hammer like report of Crescent Rose' gun mode.
"Ruby…" she muttered, moving towards where the sounds had come from. She stopped when her new partner laid a hand on her arm.
"Wait."
"Let go," she said, glaring at her.
Amber eyes met her own as Blake shook her head.
"Listen carefully."
Frowning, Yang strained her ears, and was able to make out the sounds of quick footfalls, approaching them. In moments, her sister dashed out in the clearing, accompanied by the stuck-up snow princess from the previous day. Both of them panted as they tried to catch their breath.
"That was close," Ruby muttered.
The girl in white, Weiss, shot her a dirty look.
"Nice going. Engage whatever enemy you come across, of course. Right from the front, to make sure they know you're coming. Solid planning, partner."
Ruby opened her mouth to protest, but before she could do so, loud roaring filled her ears, along with the sound of heavy feet stomping the ground, and cracking branches. Seconds later, a massive Ursa emerged, tongue hanging out, dripping drool.
All four Huntresses drew their weapons, prepared to kill it, but they didn't need to. The beast simply toppled over, revealing that there was another figure on top of it. Sitting on its head, grasping handfuls of its fur as if they were handlebars, was a short, rather buxom girl with orange hair.
"Aww, it's broken."
She got off the Ursa, and as it dissipated, she dusted herself off.
"NORA!"
She grinned sheepishly as a panting boy came into view, sweating and leaning against his knees as he attempted to recover his stamina.
"Never… do… that… again…" he said between breaths.
Uh… is that everyone? Yang had a feeling there would be a few more arrivals right about now. And indeed there were. But to understand the exact context of those arrivals, we must go back a few minutes, to a different part of the forest, and follow two other individuals.
Moments ago, elsewhere.
"Interesting," Jaune muttered.
"What is?" Pyrrha asked.
The two of them were proceeding through the forest silently, so as to avoid unwanted attention.
"Well," replied Jaune, "We're being followed."
Pyrrha shot him a sharp glance.
"Don't react suddenly," said Jaune. "It doesn't know we're aware yet. I want to keep it that way for a while."
"When you say 'it'," asked Pyrrha with growing dread, "What exactly are you referring to?"
"A Deathstalker," said the martial artist calmly.
Pyrrha's eyes widened, but she managed to keep her emotions in check and forced herself to take a breath.
Deathstalkers were heavily armoured, and also not very common on routine runs in forest areas. Because of their tough, armoured exoskeleton, all their vitals were protected, and ordinary ammunition was incapable of doing any damage to them. The same could be said of melee weapons, barring the very heaviest, which only Hunters with exceptional physical strength could use. Pyrrha herself was a balanced type, possessing a good combination of speed and power, but incapable of physically dealing out strikes that could kill such an opponent. Of course, she could easily do it with her Semblance. But they were in the woods: there were no large metal bodies in sight that she could hit it with.
If she had been by herself, her strategy would have been to run. The only way to kill it would have been some kind of environmental trap, but she couldn't spot any readily available factors she could use to set one. Her priority would have been escape, and combat would have been a last resort.
But she wasn't alone.
She looked once more at Jaune.
Earlier, she had seen a glimpse of his skills. The very first attack he had used had caused a Beowulf's body to explode. She wasn't sure how exactly he had done it. He hadn't killed only one of them either. He'd taken out no fewer than four, without any considerable effort by the looks of it. She knew that some Hunters could consciously channel their Aura to increase their physical strength or the power of their blows. And she had heard tales of cornered, disarmed warriors killing Beowulves barehanded. Thus, his feat, while impressive, was not unheard of.
It was obvious he was more than capable of fighting and surviving on the field. But considering the fact that he was carrying no ranged weaponry or tools… it was unlikely he had a way to penetrate the Deathstalker's armour, capable of repelling even heavy gunfire.
Maybe he could do it with his Semblance?
Pyrrha had no idea what his Semblance was, though. Depending on a power which she had no idea would be sufficient or not… was not a good idea.
"We should run," said Pyrrha, looking him in the eye. "Deathstalkers generally take at least a full team to bring down, and that's assuming they came prepared."
Jaune nodded.
"That is very much what I suggest as well, at least for the time being. Still, this is unusual."
"The presence of a Deathstalker here?"
"No." He shook his head. "The fact that it managed to evade my notice for so long. At the moment, it is two hundred metres from us."
Mentally, Jaune noted that this was the first time he had encountered a Grimm with this particular ability.
Jaune was able to sense Grimm using their Ki. Ki, or life energy, spiked with exertion or changes in physical state, as well as emotion. He had no idea if Grimm had emotions. But they did have hunger. And the only reason Jaune had sensed the Deathstalker was because it was consumed enough by the thought of eating them… that it had been unable to hide its Ki.
Hide its Ki.
This was a Grimm that knew how to hide its energy.
It was a rare skill.
How did a Grimm learn an ability like that? Is it simply a special individual? Smarter than others? Or was it something else that caused it to learn something new?
He was curious. If Grimm were indeed capable of learning and growing… then the implications for his quest were massive.
Patience. For now, retrieve the relic and get to Beacon.
"It is called a Deathstalker for a reason, you know", Pyrrha said. "It's method of hunting revolves around sneaking up on prey and stinging them."
Jaune shook his head.
"That's the problem. I'm not prey."
Pyrrha rolled her eyes.
"Of course you're not."
The two of them continued to walk normally, giving no sign that they were aware of the gigantic Grimm stalking them.
"There is a clearing up ahead, around a hundred metres or so. And there are other students there," said Jaune. "That thing knows this. It's about to strike."
Pyrrha nodded, understanding what he was saying.
"Now?"
"Now."
The two of them broke into sprints, and Pyrrha heard the sound of cracking branches as the ground shook. The Deathstalker was giving chase.
However, the Shinken and Spartan were both quick on their feet, and they managed to make it to the ruins, where they ran, of course, into the rest of our heroes.
"Jaune!" shouted Ruby and Weiss at the same time.
"Nora!" shouted Nora, unwilling to be left behind.
"Uhh…" Yang wasn't sure whether to be angry or not.
"No time. We have to move," said Pyrrha. She spotted the chess pieces, and realized they must be the relics Ozpin had spoken about. Moving forward, she grabbed hold of a Rook, while Jaune did the same. No sooner had they done this than with a loud report, the Deathstalker crashed through the foliage, actually knocking over several trees as it emerged.
"Yeah, I believe that's our cue," said Blake.
No one argued with her.
All eight of them ran for it. Up ahead was a rock face offering very little in terms of hand or foot holds.
"We have to get up there," said Ruby, taking the initiative. Once again, no one argued. They knew it had to be done.
The Hunters-in-training glanced at each other. Together, this climb was possible.
Ruby grabbed hold of Yang's arm, and activated her Semblance, her speed allowing her to run up the nearly flat surface. Even as they neared the top, Weiss jumped, summoning a series of Glyphs under her feet to repeatedly propel herself upwards. Meanwhile, Blake shot Gambol Shroud's blade, and it embedded itself high on the rock. Retracting the cable, she was pulled upwards. As she neared the end of its length, she summoned a clone who grabbed her arm and threw her, helping her clear the rest of the distance. Ren also started with a jump, hooking one of Stormflower's twin blades into the rock and hanging on. As Nora jumped, he grabbed her arm and threw her up, giving her an assist, while also throwing her the other blade. Chaining assists together, they managed to get to the top; a viable alternative to using Magnhild's grenades as a jump booster. That left Pyrrha and Jaune. The Spartan looked at her partner hesitantly. While he was no doubt capable, he didn't appear to be carrying anything that would help him ascend the rock face.
As if sensing her thoughts, he spoke.
"Need some help?"
"I was going to ask you that," said Pyrrha.
"Nah, I'm good."
She grinned slightly. If he said he was OK, she was going to trust him. Without wasting a moment, she unhooked her shield, and controlling it with her Semblance, used it as a platform to rise. She looked down to see how the young fighter would make the climb, and saw, to her immense surprise, that he was effortlessly keeping pace with her… by running up the wall.
It was different from Ruby's Semblance, which she had just seen. Unlike how she was using supernatural speed to negate the difficulty of finding grip, Jaune was running at a relatively easy pace. It was as if he was running on the ground. As if somehow, gravity had forgotten him.
"How are you…" Pyrrha began to ask, stunned.
She thought she saw him wink at her.
"Secret," he answered.
In truth, he was channelling Ki to his feet, using the energy to hold on to the surface without needing to physically grip it with toes or fingers. To a Hokuto practitioner, it didn't matter if the direction to go was forward or upwards.
Within moments, they had made it to the top, Jaune launching himself upwards and flipping forward to land on the ground. More than one pair of eyes looked at him curiously. None of them had seen the method he had employed, and there was no way to tell by looking at him exactly how he might have done it.
But there was no time to ask him either. The ground began to shake, and what sounded like sledgehammer blows were heard. The group came to the edge and looked down, and saw, to their horror, that the Deathstalker was ascending the wall as well. Its sharp legs dug into the rock as it climbed up.
"So much for getting away," muttered Yang.
No sooner had she said that than a hail of razor-sharp feathers came flying right at them all, forcing them to jump backwards and evade them.
"Shit," said the gold dragon. "We're going to be flanked."
"If one cannot run… one must fight."
They turned to look at Jaune, whose face was resolute, and instantly, they knew what they had to do. They were Hunters. Not prey.
Immediately, everyone burst into action, moving quickly and in different directions. Getting herded together and barraged by feathers was a bad idea.
Ruby dashed around the field using her Semblance. Moving at incredible speed, she was a hard target to hit. And all the while, she kept stopping to fire at the Nevermore using Crescent Rose' sniper mode. To her immense surprise, however, none of the bullets found their mark. Not because she was missing.
It was because the Nevermore was shooting her projectiles out of the air using its own feathery ones.
"But that's impossible…" muttered Ruby.
"What the hell?" said Yang.
Others wore similar looks of dismay. Never before had they seen a Grimm use techniques like that, or react with that sort of speed or precision. This wasn't just natural hunting instinct. It was a special method. An anti-Hunter defence. This was a learned behaviour.
Jaune noted this.
A Deathstalker that can hide its Ki. And a Nevermore that can counter guns.
The implications for his research were massive, and he could barely contain his excitement. But he stayed in control. Right now, it was crucial these new tactics not throw them off their game.
A good fighter doesn't come in counting on one plan. A good fighter adapts.
"Stay sharp," he said loudly. "No creature under the sun is invincible. If one approach fails, try another, one that works."
They all stared at him in surprise. Even now, faced with these powerful foes who were displaying behaviours their Combat schools had not taught them were possible… he was calm. And that calm reminded them. They were Hunters. They had to find a way.
"Okay," said Ruby. "So you can block gunfire…"
"...But can it block a sword to the throat?" Weiss completed the thought.
The two partners shot each other a glance. And despite their differences, at that moment, they were on the same page. They would have only one chance at this.
Fortunately, Yang and Blake were already working on creating that chance.
The Nevermore, observing that while its ranged assault was scattering its prey, it was failing to actually wound them. So, it swooped into a dive, deciding the up-close approach was called for. The target it had chosen was Blake. Out of all of them, she appeared to be the most docile and least dangerous.
How wrong it was.
As its claws clenched, the flesh they closed on gave way with ease, crumbling away like dust. It had been a clone. Having come close to the ground, it would now take the flying Grimm time to ascend again, and that window provided an opportunity…
An opportunity for Yang to dash in with a leaping straight punch that connected with its beak, knocking it sideways through the air… where Blake was waiting, coming down with a slash that left a wound right above its shoulder.
Taking an attack that close to its wing alarmed the Nevermore, and it immediately started flapping furiously, gaining altitude, desperate for the safety of the skies.
It was so focused on avoiding the ground that it forgot… attacks could come in the air too.
All this time, Ruby had been running up the wall of the ruins, and now, she was level with the Nevermore. Seeing her chance, she jumped off the surface.
Weiss summoned Glyph after Glyph behind her feet, launching her forward faster and faster. Finally, firing Crescent Rose with the barrel facing behind her, she used the recoil to gain even greater velocity, heading towards the unsuspecting Grimm like a thrown blade.
As she shot right past, she held out her scythe, and felt the tiny bit of resistance that told her that she had successfully beheaded the beast.
Before her momentum threw her off the cliff, another Glyph appeared in front of her, allowing her to kick of it, and redirect herself. More Glyphs flashed into existence, creating almost a sort of jump-based ladder, a safe path down to where the others were waiting for her.
That was one Grimm down.
Meanwhile, the other four faced the Deathstalker.
Ren kept moving, dancing just out of range of its swinging tail as he peppered it with submachine gun fire. But the shots didn't slow it down. It kept advancing quickly. However, his intention was never to damage it, but rather, distract it.
With the giant scorpion-like Grimm busy trying to smash him, Pyrrha was able to angle to its side and jump onto its back.
Its armour is tough… but the base of the neck is a weak point internally.
Grasping Milo in its spear form with both hands, she jammed it downwards, using her Semblance on both her bracers as well as the weapon itself to increase the force of the stab manifold.
Although the Grimm's armour had no gap at the spot, the sheer power of the attack was enough to make it stop for a moment from pain due to blunt force. But it had not been enough.
Pyrrha noted with horror that even this blow to a weak spot hadn't even been able to force the Deathstalker down to its belly. It was still standing. Instincts honed from years of fighting warned Pyrrha of an incoming attack, and she jumped off its back, avoiding getting skewered by its sharp tail.
She landed next to Jaune, who hadn't moved.
"It's no use," she said. "I couldn't do a thing."
Jaune shook his head.
"That's not true. You revealed its weakness."
Pyrrha stared at him.
"What are you talking about?"
In answer, Jaune spoke loudly to all 3 of his companions.
"Keep its claws and tail busy."
The tone he said it in was one of certainty, and all three of them knew that he had a plan.
Nora wasn't used to being a distraction, but that didn't mean she couldn't pull it off. She went in from the right, while Pyrrha took the left. And in the meantime, Jaune began to walk towards it, approaching it head on, right from the front.
Seeing two of them attempt to flank it, it struck out with one claw at each of them. Even as it did this Ren came in from behind, shooting at it, forcing it to try and stab him with its tail. The green-clad warrior dodged, having successfully baited it into embedding its tail in the ground.
This was the moment. With its three primary weapons unavailable for use, Jaune had a clear path of approach, a straight line forward between the Deathstalker and himself.
He would only have a second, but it was more than enough.
He slid one foot forward as he went into a lower stance, extending one fist and closing his eyes as he took a deep breath, summoning his Ki, his Aura to his stomach.
Futae no Kiwami.
His Ki exploded, driven into his legs, allowing him to launch himself at the beast with the sort of force cannonballs can only dream of.
When he was within reach of it, he planted his feet on the ground, anchoring himself with firm footing, while transferring the momentum through his body, turning at the hips as he drove his left hand forward. As he did this, he channelled his Ki upwards.
The single extended second knuckle of his middle finger struck the Deathstalker's armoured forehead, and at the moment of impact, Jaune focused his Ki at the point of contact.
The transferred energy shook the Grimm's plates right down to the molecular level, nearly breaking the bonds.
But the attack was not done.
Before its body could have the micro seconds needed to recover from the shockwave, he folded his middle finger while pushing his fist forward with his entire body.
The second impact connected with the large knuckle, and the resulting blast of force nearly knocked all three of his teammates off their feet.
This was the Futae no Kiwami, the Two-fold Extremity, a technique that struck with two consecutive hits so quickly, they appeared as one. The entire move had taken less than a second to execute from the preparation and step-in to the two blows.
The Deathstalker's armour had caved in, a crack expanding outwards from where Jaune had struck, and the massive Grimm's legs gave way from the brain trauma.
Ren, Nora and Pyrrha stared in awe.
What kind of power…
"Rest in peace, warrior," said Jaune. He struck it with a second Futae no Kiwami, utterly shattering its entire body, causing it to dissipate into the air even before it could entirely collapse to the ground.
All three of his companions felt a cold chill run down their spines.
Ren, being skilled in channelling Aura himself, noted that Jaune was consciously using his Aura to increase his strength and speed at specific moments, as well as to increase the destructive power of his strikes. But in addition, his movements were performed in a way that harnessed the body's natural potential to the fullest. It was striking technique at its finest… but there was more to it. Elements that were unknown to him.
"What style is that?" he asked "I've never seen anything like it."
Jaune looked at him.
He would have answered anyway, but he also owed much to these three. If it had not been for them, he would not have gotten the opening to use the crucial technique. He now considered them his allies. So he answered with the truth, proudly.
"An art honed for assassination. This is the Divine Fist of the North Star, Hokuto Shinken."
Ren's eyes widened. He had not heard of this martial art before. It was obviously a well-guarded secret. But in Jaune, he recognized a legend… a figure spoken of only in myths and stories back where he came from.
"To think I would encounter a living Godfist at Beacon…"
Jaune shook his head.
"You overestimate me. I would not have been able to strike the finishing blow if you had all not created the opening."
"And what a finisher it was!" exclaimed Nora, getting right up in his face. "That. Was. AWESOME! How'd you do that? Was that your Semblance? Or, or, or, did you just eat a lot of spinach? Or-"
"Nora, I don't think that's how it-", began Ren.
"-Works?" finished Pyrrha.
She looked at Jaune, once more having changed her opinion of him. Twice already he had exceeded her expectations. And this was just their first day of fighting together. Things that she would not have considered possible, he did, and naturally at that.
Who are you?
She resolved to ask him that later, in private. For the moment though…
"We should keep moving before more come", she said.
"Good idea," agreed Ren.
Jaune nodded.
"Onwards!" said Nora.
The four of them, who were already unofficially a unit, began to move towards the other four, who had also similarly been bonded by battle.
As they walked, Jaune's mind was occupied by the two Grimm.
Both of them showed specific skills. Complex ones at that. They couldn't have developed them without a certain level of intelligence. More proof that the Grimm are alive… far more alive than people think. These are not the actions of mindless unlife. They're capable of learning… I need to study them.
What else are they capable of? And above all…
What is their origin?
Surveillance Room, Beacon
Glynda Goodwitch glared at the screen. A mixture of feelings ran through her. Amazement? Yes. Frustration? Definitely. Confusion? Absolutely. And trepidation. Moments ago, she had seen on screen the live footage from the drones monitoring Forever Fall and the ruins.
A boy that could kill Beowulves barehanded with ease. Rare, but not a cause for concern. One that could crack a Deathstalker's armour with a single blow? That was unheard of. She doubted there was a single Hunter in history who had performed such a feat. Those movements suggested that he was trained… trained in some art, some method of fighting that was foreign to Beacon. And judging by what she had seen, it was a powerful art.
The boy's fighting skills alone put him far above the level of a Huntsman-in-training. But combined with his navigation, situational awareness, decision-making and level-headedness…
"He's no child," she murmured. "Who are you, Jaune Arc?"
Ozpin took a sip of coffee.
"Someone worth keeping an eye on. I sense his intentions are different from most students'."
Glynda looked at him in alarm.
"We will allow him to stay for now. He is more than capable, as we saw. And there is no proof that he has foul motives. So for the moment, we will watch him. He may turn out to be far more valuable even than we could expect from an Arc."
"And what if his motives are foul?"
Ozpin did not need to answer that question aloud.