Author's note: Consecutive uploads, because two punches are better than one! Two guest characters make their debuts in this chapter, and also, more family members make their appearances. The gang is gradually getting together.

With that, I'll also do a little poll here.

Would you prefer this story to take a darker path? Hokuto no Ken was plenty dark, and no victories were achieved without sacrifice.

Or alternatively, would you prefer an outcome where everything works out in the end?

Note: I'm not saying this poll will determine where the story goes. I'm simply curious to know what people think, and what sort of stories they enjoy.

Season 2 Chapter 3: One Hell of a Party

The Bullhead slowed down, thrusters changing position as it descended vertically onto the assigned landing spot for it. Scattering dust in every direction, the massive craft landed. Close to a hundred feet long, this was the Atlesian Juggernaut, a hybrid combat and transport Bullhead that could lead aerial attacks and be used to drop troops into conflict zones. The doors opened, and panels lowered onto the ground. In neat files, the soldiers deboarded the craft. Quickly, they formed two lines that framed the path leading outward from one of the open doors. Standing at attention, they held their weapons up.

From the door, a single figure emerged. Tall and slender, she was dressed in Atlas' white and pale blue, accentuated even further by her own icy eyes and silver hair. A curved blade was sheathed at her side. The soldiers stomped in unison as she walked down the line.

Winter Schnee: Specialist of Atlas.

The elder of the Schnee sisters surveyed the docks. All around, various other ships were either already docked, or in the process of doing so. Warriors, Hunters and civilians from all the kingdoms were arriving.

The Vytal Festival this year appeared to have drawn a massive crowd, and its spectacular popularity was in full display.

A miniscule shake of her head expressed her feelings on the matter.

With this many people, it would be even harder to maintain order and prevent the enemy's plans from succeeding.

"Well, well. It's been a while, hasn't it?"

A knight in full armour awaited at the end of the line, facing her, greatsword strapped to her back.

Winter walked up to her, and for a moment, the two stood head to head, until they both saluted at the same time.

"You know I hate these formalities, don't you?" Lily asked under her breath.

"You never change, do you?"

The armoured helm slid back, and the blonde knight grinned.

"Come on. Lemme show you around town."

Winter smiled slightly and nodded, and the two began to walk together.

"What's the situation like over her?" she asked.

"Well, I've located at least three hostiles. I'm fairly sure they're infiltrators. Heck, they've even been put up in the same guest building I'm in. Terminating them would be easy. But…"

"The General refused?"

Lily nodded.

"This is pointless! Letting them live serves no purpose, and increases the risk. At any time, they could put into operation whatever it is they're planning."

"You're monitoring them, aren't you?"

"Not when they're inside their dorm. You know Ozpin doesn't allow that."

Winter frowned. She was well aware of Ozpin's tendencies. Although she had never met the man in person, she had spoken to him several times over comm link, and heard much about him from Ironwood. He was… a difficult person, to say the least. While his practices emphasizing freedom and liberty were very much principles Winter agreed with, she did wish he was more prudent about ensuring security.

"Say, you get along with the General, don't you," said Lily, an evil smile making its way onto her face. "Maybe you could give him some incentive to give me the go-ahead…"

Winter blushed at what the other Specialist had just suggested, shaking her head wildly.

"A-absurd! Such lewdness, completely unbefitting of a knight…"

"Ey, it's natural. Nothing wrong with having a crush on an older man-"

"Silence!" said Winter, refusing to make eye contact.

As the Specialist pair bantered back and forth in this manner, another Bullhead had landed, and its passengers dismounted. Among the crowd waiting for those on that craft was a certain young warrior. Next to him was a silver haired girl.

"Jaune, while I don't mind accompanying you at all, who exactly are we here for?" asked Weiss.

The boy kept scanning the people getting off the Bullhead.

"Just wait. You'll see."

Mentally, he was filled with an excitement he hadn't felt in a while.

Come on, what's taking you two so long?

Finally, he spotted familiar silhouettes.

They were hard to miss even in the crowd, because of how much they stood out. Both of them were tall, standing above six feet.

One of them was lean and slender. Even in the summer heat, he was clothed in a red long coat and hat, with orange sunglasses covering his eyes. Neck length black hair framed his face. There was a sort of animalistic grace to his features, and he walked perfectly calm and unhurried, as if he wasn't in the middle of a crowd at all.

The one next to him was broad shouldered. His physique was every bit a match for Jaune's, with thick arms that strained his sleeves, and well defined pectorals and abs that were visible even against his vest. He wore a black unbuttoned jacket with a heavy gold chain through one collar, and a hat that shrouded his face in shadow.

Both of them spotted Jaune at the same time.

As their gazes turned towards them, Weiss felt an enormous pressure, similar to what she felt when Jaune himself got serious.

The pair walked towards them, and she instinctively prepared herself to fight or run.

"Jaune…"

As they approached, Jaune stood right in front of them, and a tense staredown ensued.

Until…

Jaune and the man in the black jacket both extended their fists at the same time, bumping them. Once from below, once from above, then ramming them into each other, in a ridiculously unnecessary and over-complicated handshake.

"So you made it here," said Jaune.

The man's face remained completely expressionless, which was at odds with the words he then spoke.

"Yeah. I wanted to see this place you spoke so much about."

Jotaro Kujo: Descendant of the Joestar Bloodline. Possesses a powerful guardian spirit named Star Platinum. Wielding his power, he can annihilate entire legions of foes.

Jaune turned his attention to the other man, who smiled widely. The two shook hands.

"You're looking good too. Things been fun recently?"

"Ah, some interesting things happened," replied the one in the red coat.

Alucard: True name- Vlad "The Impaler" Tepes. Species: True Vampire (demon). The first and most powerful of all vampires. The apex predator.


Weiss' eyes widened.

These two… are his friends?

To say she was shocked would be an understatement. Jaune had not spoken much of his past, and had never said anything about any friends he might have had.

Of course, they're ridiculously strong. Why am I even surprised?

Shaking her head, she stepped forward. If they were going to be here for a while, she would end up having to interact with them sooner or later.

Both of them directed their attention towards her now.

Jaune decided to introduce them all.

"Ah, Weiss. These guys are my friends. Through various circumstances, I ran into them during my travels."

He gestured towards the man in the black jacket.

"This is Jotaro Kujo. He's from Vacuo. As a matter of fact, he's officially a student of Shade Academy, but I don't think he attends-"

"It's a waste of time. They don't teach anything there," he grunted. Looking at Weiss, he nodded to her slightly, expression not changing.

Jaune sweat-dropped. Of course, most of Jotaro's knowledge and skills were self-obtained.

He turned to the man wearing the sunglasses.

"This is Alucard. Can't really say he's from any of the kingdoms. Not the ones that currently exist, anyway."

The one named Alucard took off his hat and bowed politely.

"Pleasure. The boy here did not tell me he had found a woman. This is… most intriguing…"

One eye glowed red from behind his shades momentarily, and Weiss felt a chill run down her spine.

Jaune elbowed him in the ribs.

"Oi, stop that. You're scaring her."

Immediately, the effect passed, and Alucard laughed lightly.

"Sorry about that. Force of habit."

Jaune looked at Weiss and smiled.

"This is Weiss Schnee. She's… a friend here at Beacon."

Not a "friend" for long, Weiss said mentally.

Her look of determination did not go unnoticed by either of the two new arrivals.

Jotaro gritted his teeth in annoyance. "Yare yare daze", he muttered.

Alucard smiled extra wide, revealing sharp canines. "These mating rituals never cease to amuse."

"Nice to meet you both," Weiss said, not quite sure yet how she felt about these newcomers. They both appeared incredibly shady. But, of course, Jaune himself could also appear that way to those who didn't know him. For the moment, she decided to trust his judgement on them. He wouldn't acknowledge them as friends unless they were trustworthy.

"Well, no point standing around! Let me show you guys around town!"

As the four of them embarked on their journey of exploration, a certain other person was also waiting for someone supposed to arrive on that very day.

Ruby Rose was waiting patiently, until she saw the one she was here to meet.

As ever, he walked with a slight slouch in his posture, and a bit of a stumble.

Drunk this early in the morning?

Ruby shook her head. It seemed some things never changed.

Regardless, she waved both hands and shouted loudly.

"Uncle Qrow! Over here!"

Spotting her, he waved back with a slight grin on his face as he made his way over to her.

"Hey. Been a while, kid. Have you gotten taller?"

"One full centimetre!" said Ruby proudly. "Are you going to stay this time around?"

"Eh… I'll be here for a little while, I guess."

And so, the three unsuspecting groups made their way into town, unaware that they were about to meet.

"... and so, he says, 'you lost because you pissed me off! Hahahahaha, that was pretty epic!"

"Yare yare daze."

"Are… are all your adventures like this?" asked Weiss.

Jaune had just recounted the tale of a battle between Jotaro and a vampire named Dio. Weiss had heard, with a mixture of curiosity and horror. Of course, it wasn't simply the others who had anecdotes of their past revealed. Some of Jaune's own exploits had been revealed as well, including a particularly memorable fight between him and some kind of otherworldly creature called a Yautja.

Weiss couldn't help but notice that most of the situations all three of them found themselves in were due to a blatant disregard for their own lives. It was like they lived for danger, and threw themselves into it.

He probably thinks this is the only way to live as the Successor. That he has to keep rushing into every fight, taking every burden onto himself. But… you can't solve every problem by punching it in the face.

As they walked, they caught sight of a pair approaching.

Weiss immediately recognized the one from her past.

"Sister!" she exclaimed excitedly.

"Sister," said Jaune, deeply unenthusiastically, having noticed Lily.

Weiss rushed forward to greet Winter.

So this is Weiss' elder sister, Winter Schnee.

Jaune noted that she was in military attire, and armed. In many ways, she appeared to be a more mature version of Weiss. Lower centre of gravity, more stability in her posture, more grounded overall. She was the more skilled of the two, tempered through countless battles, and it showed in her bearing.

"Winter! It is a pleasure to have you in our presence!"

Oddly formal greeting…

Winter did not immediately respond.

"Beacon. It's been a while," she said at last.

"Oh, you'll love it here! Beacon is different from Atlas… and so is Vale. The kingdom and school are separate! Can you believe that?"

"I'm quite familiar with how Vale handles its… bureaucracy." Winter said the last word with a hint of distaste.

Wow. Between her and Ironwood, I'm starting to understand why Ozpin's so frustrated.

"Oh, I see! What brings you here?" Weiss' enthusiasm could not be dampened.

"Classified."

Security for the tournament, Jaune answered mentally. Later on, he would tell Weiss the things Winter refused to. Her demeanour was starting to get on his nerves. Despite being the polar opposite of Lily, she was similar in so far as she was annoying and full of herself as well.

"How long will you be staying?"

"Classified."

"I see," said Weiss, not at all put off by this.

"More importantly, I will be observing your performance in the tournament. I do expect you've progressed since we last met, and will not be absolutely hopeless this time around."

Seriously?

Jaune looked at Lily, who grinned knowingly at him, as if she knew how annoyed he must be by this scene.

"I will do my best," said Weiss proudly.

I don't understand. Why look up to someone like this? I never even asked Weiss, did I, what her life was like before she came to Beacon?

Were things difficult for her too? What sort of history did she have with Winter? And why… why would she respect someone this disdainful of her?

"In any case," said Winter, lightening slightly, "How have you been?"

"I'm doing quite well. Classes are going well, and I'm in the top five of the sparring rankings-"

She was silenced by a slap to the top of the head.

Jaune restrained himself from intervening with some difficulty.

Lily leaned in to whisper in his ear.

"Careful with that bloodlust, brother. You might give someone a heart attack."

"Why am I not surprised you hang out with a complete bitch like this?"

"And yet, you're the one dating her sister," Lily replied. "Wonder how she'll take that news."

Jaune glared at her.

"I jest, I jest. By all means, I'm on your side. Go get laid. You might finally loosen up a little."

In the meantime, Winter continued.

"I wasn't asking about the rankings. I meant how you were doing. Are you eating and sleeping well? Have you taken up any hobbies? Gotten to know new people?"

"Well, I-"

She turned towards Jaune, and Winter's gaze followed hers.

It landed on a tall young man who was well built, muscled arms hanging at his sides. His gold hair was cropped short, and a single scar ran across his left eye vertically.

Posture, physique and gaze are that of an experienced warrior. And that pressure he's exerting with his presence… is he really a student here?

Winter also noted that Lily was standing quite close to him.

And… their features were incredibly similar.

It took only a second to make the connection.

Lily had often spoken fondly about a twin brother during training at Atlas Academy.

"You," said Winter slowly. "You're Jaune Arc."

The Shinken glared at Lily, who shook her head, indicating she had not given away the secret.

Now that she knew, there was no use hiding it.

"I was Jaune Arc," he corrected. "I am Jaune Souther."

"A false name and identity, under which you've entered a government affiliated institution. This is a criminal offense, Mr Arc."

Weiss looked on in dismay at what was happening. This was the worst case scenario. Within minutes of their meeting, her sister had already taken a dislike towards Jaune.

"Yeah? Well, sue me," replied Jaune.

And of course, he had developed a dislike towards her as well.

She was frozen in place, unable to step forward and intervene, between the force of two dominating personalities.

Winter turned towards Lily.

"You knew of this."

"Of course I did."

The icy Specialist frowned.

"Why have you done nothing about it?"

"He has Ozpin's approval," replied the Knight nonchalantly.

"That irresponsible man," muttered Winter.

"Nah, I don't think you're right," corrected Lily. "My brother's no joke. In terms of actual combat ability, he's top of the rankings."

"Beacon rankings mean nothing to me," said Winter.

"I didn't say anything about Beacon," said Lily, winking.

Winter was slightly startled, but recovered quickly.

"No matter how skilled he might be, a criminal is a criminal."

"Yare yare daze," said Jotaro. "Noisy women are incredibly annoying. I'm out of here."

He turned to leave, and Alucard followed.

"We'll be in town, Souther. Come find us later."

Great. She's ruined my plans of hanging out.

Of course, this was the precise moment a certain drunk one chose to make his entrance.

"Well, well. Look who we have. It's the Ice Queen herself."

They all turned to regard the new arrival. Even Jotaro and Alucard paused to see what was going on.

Qrow stumbled forwards.

"It's funny, because I'm the one drinking, but you Atlesian idiots are the ones who seem to be losing the brain cells."

"You insolent wretch," said Winter, restraining herself with difficulty.

"What the hell are you thinking, dragging your clanking bots and guns into a peaceful town? Have you lost your minds?"

Great, one more arrives, Jaune thought.

This man was thin, with a slightly hunched posture, creating an illusion of weakness that Jaune immediately saw past.

He's strong. Musculature is developed for performance, not size. He's fast, and has plenty of explosive movement power. Probably a swordsman or axe wielder whose style relies on a heavy weapon. And… he's sharper than he looks. He isn't drunk at all. It's a front to lure an enemy into underestimating him.

Behind him was Ruby, and Jaune noticed the resemblance between the two right away.

Wait… no way… is he her-?

He shook his head, dismissing the thought. It was idle speculation.

The man continued.

"You and Ironwood… both complete fools. Are you going to screw this one up too?"

This was the straw that broke the camel's back.

Winter closed her eyes for a second.

"That's it. Now you… pay!"

She unsheathed her sabre in one smooth move, while sliding forward to slash.

Her attack was intercepted by Qrow, who raised his sword and blocked with its handle using one arm.

Pushing her back, he slipped his backhanded grip higher up on his weapon as he gestured at her to bring it on.

Winter calmed down. Now that she was in a fight. She would allow her rational, analytical side to take over.

She got into a fencing stance, one side facing him, along with her blade.

By contrast, Qrow was still using his backhanded grip.

Winter advanced, stepping forward and testing his defences with a thrust. He batted it away with minimal movement, knocking the blade sideways with his own.

The Specialist stayed in the same range, and tried multiple thrusts, which he all deflected, followed by a downward slice, which he blocked, before pushing her back once more.

He flipped his sword into a forward grip now, and grinned cockily at her.

Frowning, she stepped in again. This time, she used her speed and agility to deliver a series of thrusts and slashes in rapid succession. Some came from the left, some the right, some from above or below, and some directly. And all the time, she dashed around laterally, trying to get to his side and hit him from a blind spot.

Through a combination of blocks and last moment dodges, Qrow negated the entire attack. There was something of a drunken stagger to each movement, making it almost look like luck. Almost.

Frustrated, Winter upped the intensity of her attack, delivering a Dust-infused slash that sent a wave towards him.
Qrow jumped out of the way, and the slash left a deep gouge in the ground. As he did so, he unfolded his sword into its scythe form. If she was starting to use her weapon's capabilities, there was no reason for him to hold back on his own.

The two rushed towards each other, and as they clashed, one of them stepped on a puddle of mud, sending a splash of it… right onto Jaune's leather jacket.

"Ah. It appears they've made a grave mistake," said Alucard.

Jaune's eyes were closed, and the vibe he was giving was worrying Weiss.

"What's going on?" asked Weiss.

"Well, you see," said Alucard. "That particular jacket is a gift from his Master, Kenshiro."

"How dare you…" said Jaune in a low voice. "Stain my precious. Leather. Jacket."

His Aura flared, rolling off his body like steam.

Lily looked like Christmas had come earlier. At last, she got to see him fight up close.

"Jaune, stop-" Weiss began, but he had already disappeared.

He became visible in the air again, right above Winter and Qrow. The two sensed him, and jumped backwards, just in time.

Jaune landed with a downward punch that cracked the concrete, creating an impact crater.

He stood up straight, and both Qrow and Winter eyed him cautiously now.

"You! Attacking when you're not involved… I should have expected no better", said Winter.

"Not involved, huh?" Jaune laughed darkly. "Say that when you're scrubbing my jacket clean!"

With blinding speed, he rushed at Winter, who prepared to dodge, only for Jaune to disappear entirely from her field of vision.

Impossible!

It was only her instinct that saved her. Experience had taught her that if an enemy could slip out of view, they would try to attack a vulnerable spot that lies on a path never covered by one's eyes. In other words, the back of the neck.

She ducked, and felt the air above her whistle. The force behind the blow had surpassed any kind of great axe or scythe.

Is he trying to kill me?!

She backed away, turning as she did so to face him.

Before Jaune could chase her down, however, multiple shotgun blasts bounced off him.

He turned a contemptous eye towards Qrow, who grinned.

"Hey. That's no way to treat a lady."

"You're a grade-A hypocrite," countered Jaune, referring to the obvious.

Qrow blinked.

"Fair enough."

He shifted Harbinger from its shotgun form back into a scythe, and got into a low stance.

"Haven't been in a 1 versus 1 versus 1 fight in a long time," he said.

Winter likewise took up a more offensive version of her fencing stance on Jaune's other side.

Jaune didn't even bother taking a stance.

"Quit yapping and come at me already. I'll have you clean this leather up till its sparkling, I tell you."

"Sigh. Sorry, kid. You're shit out of luck," said Qrow, referencing his Semblance.

He dashed in, scythe held low, while Winter followed a half second later, from the opposite direction.

The impromptu plan was for Qrow to sweep wide, causing Jaune to jump or dodge to avoid, at which point Winter would come at him right after he had done so, in the instant before he could recover.

It was a heat-of-battle decision by two veteran fighters who knew the only way to beat a more powerful opponent was by working together.

The problem was… they had no idea how much more powerful the opponent was.

As Qrow's blade closed in, Jaune blocked it with his foot, while pushing it down and jumping off of it. This caused Qrow to be pulled forward by the weight… until Jaune's ascending knee caught him in the chin.

It was not a hard hit. Qrow had been hit with more force before.

But he couldn't move at all.

All the strength was gone from his legs, and he felt every muscle in his body freeze up.

He felt his Aura start to fade, even as it desperately attempted to surge through his body to heal the damage, it was weak. Almost like a canal drying up when the stream has been blocked further up.

What sort of attack was that?!

Winter had committed to her charge, but instead of a dodge, Jaune had countered Qrow completely, surprising her. Regardless, she thrust her blade forward.

As her sword drew nearer, Jaune spread his arms wide, even as he used his Aura to create a kind of platform in the air, allowing him to actually double jump, as if it were a video game.

He flipped over backwards, avoiding the blade and soaring over her, even as his arms were still held out to the sides.

Winter looked up, and had a momentary vision of an eagle above.

What the hell…

Nanto Suicho Ken: Hisho Hakurei- A counter move used to leap above an enemy's attack while delivering death from the skies.

Only, this was Jaune's own modified version of it.

If Kenshiro had been the Hokuto Shin Ken purist, whose power lay in the perfection with which he had been able to use its techniques, then Jaune was a different kind of Successor.

In Hokuto Shin Ken's 1800 year history, never before had one seamlessly combined Hokuto techniques with those from Nanto to this level… until Jaune.

"Your own Hokuto Shin Ken, Jaune," Kenshiro had said. "This is your fist. Your own, built from all the things you've learned and experienced."

In the air, Jaune slashed, but instead of aiming to slice through flesh, the waves of Aura he emitted struck Winter's vital points with devastating accuracy.

Hokuto and Nanto Union: Holy Cross Paralysis- A mid-air counter that strikes a combination of points on the body to disable key nerves, immobilizing an opponent.


Winter crashed to the ground, unable to move.

Unhh… how can this be?

Jaune landed gracefully.

The crowd of onlookers who had assembled all had their jaws hanging open.

An Atlas operative and Hunter had been brought down… in moments, by a single man.

Ruby couldn't believe it. Qrow had actually been defeated. The one who had taught her how to fight… had been bested, right in front of her.

And moreover, it was the fact that Ruby couldn't understand how exactly it had happened. Unlike the incredible strength and power Jaune normally exhibited in a fight, the move he had used to finish Qrow had appeared gentle, almost like like a tap.

And then, the follow-up against Winter, whom he hadn't even touched.

Was that his Semblance? I don't understand… Who are you, Jaune? What other skills are you hiding?

But on no one was the impact more profound than on Weiss.

To say it was heartbreaking would not be an exaggeration.

The one she had looked up to, the one who had been her inspiration, something to strive for, something to live for. Against the one who had become her source of strength and companionship now.

The one she wanted to be like, against the one she wanted to be with.

The look of confusion and hurt on her face did not go unnoticed by Jaune.

Crouching, he hit the appropriate pressure points to reverse the effect of his attacks on both his opponents, allowing them to move normally again.

"They're not hurt," he said to Weiss. "I… I have changed, you know? I held back this time."

He had simply sealed off their movements rather than do harm to them.

He held out his hands and pulled them both to their feet.

"You're still both going to clean this up," he said, gesturing to his jacket.

Qrow groaned. "It was an accident, kid. Give us a break, will ya?"

Winter, however, did not protest.

"Fine. A winner's request must be respected. You defeated us both fairly. You don't fight like a coward or a criminal. With your skills, you could have done plenty of harm already if you had wanted."

Her expression became sterner.

"However, I am yet to determine what your relationship is with Weiss. I would like to know more about that. Now."

Weiss all but wailed in protest.

Oh, come on! Aren't things complicated enough already?