RWBY and the setting and characters thereof are the property of Roosterteeth.
Well, that took a while didn't it?
Honestly, I didn't expect it to take this long. Basically, I made a significant change as to the direction of this story and I wasn't sure how it would be taken. So, I procrastinated on this chapter for a while. But, now I'm committed. I'll see this story to the end come hell or high water.
Now, onto the reviews:
ReDestrobo: Yeah, Cardin is a tragically underutilized character and I thought I'd use the opportunity to give him some depth. I've got big plans for him, just you wait!
selfishgecko: Pairing Ruby and Shiro was one of the first things I thought of, and I tried a bunch of different team combinations. I decided I didn't want to mess with RWBY and JNPR. Plus, pairing Shiro with Cardin will allow for some significant character growth for the both of them. Still, Ruby and Shiro will get plenty of time together.
Xander1996: Thanks!
hc94436: Don't worry, I'm in this for the long haul.
Eeveeobsesser: The silver eyes are going to be a significant plot point, but not in the way I think a lot of people will expect. You're on the right track about the letter and I'm really excited to get to that point.
juanC997: Yeah, I figured that since you have to be invited to Beacon to even be there in the first place, everyone has to be at least somewhat competent. I'm glad I was able to get that across alright.
Jeff goldblum69: Thanks, and I love your username.
Yisuslol23: Your on the right track about his soul. I won't give to much away, because I want Shiro's backstory to be a mystery that will gradually be revealed as time goes on. Also, your ideas about his grimm abilities are really interesting and I'll definitely keep them in mind for the future.
As you might imagine, becoming the adopted son of a huntsman was quite a stroke of fortune. I was tasked with studying humanity's defenders, and was now in an ideal position to do so. Obviously, my father wouldn't take me on his patrols given my apparent age, but I of course asked him many questions. Unfortunately, I had not the capacity to understand some of his answers, as they usually involved concepts such as honor and duty which I was at this time wholly incapable of grasping.
At last, near the end of my first year with them, my father allowed me to accompany him on his rounds.
The day was mostly uneventful, at least by the standards of a huntsman. Though I was rather surprised by the number of roles he seemed to have in the village. Nearly every block had one or more people seeking his advice for various things ranging from the coordination of airships bringing us vital supplies to the staffing of watchtowers to defend the village.
The day's highlight came when we reached the training grounds where the able-bodied were prepared to defend the village's most vital positions. You see, the town was surrounded on three sides by a vast mountain range that was nearly impassable save for a few narrow paths. Our defense, therefore, was a simple matter of training a few aura capable spearmen to guard these natural choke points. Being a spear user himself, it was only natural that my father was frequently called upon to aid in their training. I watched as he moved among the rows of recruits and corrected their techniques. Each one obeyed him without the slightest question.
The deference these recruits, and the people of the village as a whole, paid to my father was something that fascinated me even then, as emotionally limited as I was. I had of course commanded the creatures of grimm before, but they had no minds or will of their own. Once my mind connected with them, commanding them was as simple as moving my arms or legs. Humans, however, each had their own minds, their own wills, their own souls. And yet, even through their limited means of communication, they were able to act as one for the good of their community.
At that time, I thought my father was a key piece that allowed this to happen and, in a way, I was both correct and incorrect. As interested as I was in the concept of leadership, it would take coming to Beacon and gaining a team of my own before I came to understand it fully.
You doubtlessly remember what a… rocky start my first experience with leadership got off to. Still, I learned from my mistakes and our team became a great one in the end. Perhaps I should address a letter to them as well. The gods only know how they're feeling now.
A whirlwind of emotions battered Shiro's mind as he beheld his 'partner,' anger, hatred, shock, and horror being chief among them. He would have to spend the next four years living and working with a brute who thought ruining the dream of one of his fellow students was acceptable behavior.
"Oh shit."
Said brute's pejorative pulled Shiro back into the present moment and, with a resigned sigh, he put his feelings aside.
"We must go," He said, keeping his voice as neutral as possible, "The relics are supposed to be to the North."
The ruffian's shocked expression gave way to anger, "I'm sorry, I missed the part where you got put in charge."
Feeling his own fury rise, Shiro shot back, "Do you wish to pass initiation or not?"
"I wish you wouldn't tell me what to do!"
"If we are to survive this forest, we'll need to work together!"
"And your idea of 'working together' is ordering me around?"
"If you have a better suggestion than 'move towards our objective,' I'm more than willing-"
Abruptly, sounds of battle from the South interrupted their discussion. Alarmingly, said sounds seemed to be getting closer to them. Immediately and wordlessly, the two huntsmen-in-training snapped into battle stances, ready to meet the approaching threat. They didn't have to wait long, as eventually a beowolf was sent flying through the trees in front of them having clearly been hit by something. The creature attempted to get up, but a boy sporting a sickly-green mohawk and raggedy green clothes jumped through the trees and decapitated it with two short curved swords. A moment later, another beowolf burst through, locked in a struggle with the same faunus boy that Shiro and Pyrrha had aided right before initiation. Said faunus used a buckler to deflect a swipe from the grimm while, at the same time, stabbing it through the eye with an ornate falchion.
Having dispatched his lupine opponent, the faunus made eye contact with Shiro and adopted a surprised and somewhat relieved expression. Without the urgency of their earlier meeting, Shiro was able to get a good look at him. What before seemed like a head of dark green hair was in actuality more of a greenish gray, a color shared by his floppy dog ears. The boy had somewhat pale skin indicative of a life spent mostly indoors and was clad in a white dress shirt and dark green tie underneath an expensive-looking brown vest. Looking at his weapons, Shiro noted that while the sword was intricately decorated but otherwise normal, the buckler sported small gun barrels encircling its convex center. This system was fed by an ammunition belt leading what appeared to be .44 magnum cartridges from a pouch attached to his lower back.
Shiro's partner scoffed at the sight of him, "So, you actually got out of there huh?"
As the faunus looked back and forth between the two of them, realization brought shock to his face.
"Oh my gods…" He said, only just loud enough that those around him could hear it.
"Hey!" The mohawked boy suddenly exclaimed, "You guys know where the relics are?"
This brought Shiro out of his own surprise, "According to the headmaster, we're to head North," He briefly glanced at the sky and pointed in a direction, "Which should be this way."
"Awesome!" The green-clad warrior turned to his dog-eared companion, "Hey Feldgrau, they know where to go!"
"Yes, Russel, I heard." Replied the now-named Feldgrau with a hint of exasperation.
"Well," Shiro began, glad to have some actually worthwhile company, "you're welcome to join us-"
"Are you kidding me?" The brute exclaimed, undermining Shiro's efforts to forget he was there.
"A larger group increases our odds of success." The albino replied dismissively.
"Oh yeah, an animal and a retard, very useful."
"They showed great prowess in battle not a minute ago; you're just too blinded by your prejudices to see it!"
"Look, it's bad enough I'm already stuck with you. If this ends up being my team for four years, I might actually explode!"
"Being a huntsman isn't about you or your personal 'experience.' Huntsmen are servants of the people! Their lives belong to the people!"
"Spare me your holier-than-thou bullshit! I've got my own reasons for being here, and I don't appreciate you acting like your better than me-"
As the two of them continued, Russel and Feldgrau watched from the sidelines unsure of how to react.
"Uh… Feldgrau? I don't know if we should go with these guys."
"We might not have a choice." The faunus replied, carefully weighing his options.
Finally, Feldgrau felt he could wait no longer as the emotions from this argument had a high chance of attracting the grimm. Therefore, he walked forward and attempted to get the attention of the two disagreeing boys.
"Uh… excuse me."
His attempt failed as they continued with their verbal slugfest.
"H-hello?"
Still no response.
Annoyed, Feldgrau began rotating the gun barrels in his buckler and fired a volley into the ground far off to the side.
"Would you shut up?!"
The two belligerents ceased their conflict and stared at him, somewhat alarmed.
Taking a deep breath, Feldgrau said his piece, "Look, we're going in the same direction anyway, so we're going to end up moving together regardless."
The big one opened his mouth to speak, but the faunus cut him off, "But… If it really bothers you that much, we'll do what we can to stay out of your hair. There'll probably be other groups going the same way that we can link up with later. But we need to get moving now, because at this rate, your dick measuring is going to attract the grimm and get us all killed."
Shiro's eyes turned to the ground, ashamed that he'd let his emotions get the better of him, "You're right, we've lingered here too long. Let's go, we have a test to complete."
With that, the samurai began walking north. The brute angrily opened his mouth multiple times before muttering "Fine…" and following him.
Thus the four finally began the trek towards the relics. The first tens of minutes were largely uneventful. A few scattered beowolves and a stray boarbatusk briefly interrupted their journey, but proved inconsequential when faced with four Beacon applicants. However, these threats were each dealt with by single individuals, usually whoever happened to be closest. This caused Shiro to wonder if they'd be able to adequately respond to a larger assault.
With that in mind, he turned to the brute, "Excuse me?"
"What?" He seemed annoyed, but also surprised at being deliberately addressed.
"My name is Shiro Kagetaka; what is yours?"
Staring incredulously for a moment, Shiro's partner responded, "What, are you trying to do the 'let's start over' thing?"
"Whether we like it or not, circumstances have bound us together. So, for the sake of our futures, let's at least attempt to make the best of it."
"Pfft, I know that wasn't supposed to sound gay-"
"I'm serious!" Shiro felt his anger rise again.
"Wow, learn to take a damn joke!"
The samurai only replied with a glare.
After a moment and a resigned sigh, the armored giant answered, "It's Cardin Winchester."
Slowly, Shiro expelled his emotions through his breath before nodding, "Alright."
Turning towards those behind him, he asked, "And what are your names?"
The mohawked boy grinned and answered first, "I'm Russel… Russel Thrush."
With an uncertain look, the faunus said tersely, "Feldgrau Haas."
"A pleasure." Shiro acknowledged before addressing the entire group, "We've been fortunate to only encounter a few grimm thus far, but that fortune may soon run out. Should we face a larger force, we must have a plan."
"Right, as long as it's your plan." Cardin muttered sarcastically with a roll of his eyes.
"We'll discuss it." Shiro replied curtly, determined to keep his feelings in check.
"First, we must know each other's capabilities." The samurai continued, "I'll start. I wield a shotgun spear which is currently chambered in 12 gauge. My aura is relatively strong, but I unfortunately don't know my semblance."
"You don't?" Cardin asked with no small amount of alarm in his voice, "How could you not know?"
"It must require specific circumstances to activate."
"Oh… great… That's great."
With another deep breath, Shiro asked, "What about you?"
"My semblance strengthens inanimate objects," Cardin replied as his mace was covered in a burnt orange glow, "I can only use it on one thing at a time, though. It works great with my mace; it's already strong to begin with. I can also use it on a piece of my armor I think is going to get hit."
Nodding, the albino asked, "Is that a burn crystal inside the mace?"
"Yeah, but it can take any kind of crystal and spread the effect over a wide area. It's not fancy, but it gets the job done."
"I'm sure it will." Shiro then turned to the two young men behind him, "And you two, what do you have to offer?"
Feldgrau raised his buckler slightly, "Well, you can already see my buckler; it fires .44 magnum. My sword's a high frequency blade, so it doesn't have any problem cutting through grimm…" The faunus paused, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck, "My semblance is invisibility."
After a moment of silence, Shiro asked, "Are the grimm still able to sense your emotions?"
"Yeah…" Feldgrau dragged the word out, while looking at the floor, "It got me good grades in sparring, though."
"So, it's basically worthless." Cardin chimed in with a sneer.
"Do not despair, your weapons and skills will be enough." Shiro firmly encouraged him, ignoring a scoff from his partner.
"I hope so…" The faunus muttered with a sigh.
"And what of you, Mr. Thrush?"
The mohawked boy seemed unsure of how to respond.
Feldgrau eventually bumped his shoulder and instructed him, "Tell him about your knives."
Russell's face lit up as he pulled out his weapons, "Oh yeah, I've got these knives. They cut things real good and they've got these things," He pointed one towards the dust cylinder of the other, "I put dust in them and then they shoot out like, phwa!" He finished with a dramatic gesture.
Despite the boy's unusual manner of speaking, Shiro simply nodded and said, "Excellent; what of your semblance?"
"I-it's… uh… I don't really know how to say it." Russell began thoughtfully, "I… feel everything. I know where everything is all the time."
Feldgrau spoke up again, "It's some kind of heightened spatial awareness. I've seen him jump through the trees without really looking at them and dodge grimm he shouldn't have been able to see coming."
"Yeah yeah! The old man told me that I'm the only one who can do that, that's why it's my semblance."
"The old man?" Shiro asked?
"Yeah, the old man in the school. I was living here in the forest and then the old man found me and he said I can live in the school if I do school stuff, so I gotta pass the test!"
After a moment in which the three other boys processed this information. Shiro spoke up again, "You're good at moving through the trees?"
Russell eagerly nodded his head, "Yeah!"
With a nod and a smile, Shiro said, "I need you to scou- erm, move ahead of us and tell us if there are any grimm, how many there are, and what kinds they are. Can you do that?"
"Yeah, I can!"
Before anyone knew what had happened, Russell had leapt into the trees and rushed north with an impressive display of agility.
Silence reigned for another moment before it was broken by Cardin, "So… he's not retarded; he's, like, feral?"
"I can believe it," Feldgrau chimed in, "When he first saw me, he asked me if my ears were real. I think I'm actually the first faunus he's ever seen in his life."
"Regardless," Shiro began, "Ozpin seems to believe he has potential."
"Yes, but isn't it concerning?" Asked Feldgrau, "He just found a feral child living in the woods and his first thought was to groom him into becoming a huntsman?'"
Shrugging his shoulders, Cardin commented, "Sounds like a good deal to me. He gets a free bed, free food, training for a high paying job-"
"A highly dangerous job," The faunus retorted, "Does he even know what he's getting into?"
"He seems like he can handle himself."
"That's not the issue-"
"Quiet yourselves!" A harsh whisper from Shiro sliced through their debate.
In the ensuing silence, the three could hear a rustling in the trees rapidly approaching. Suddenly, Russell burst through the trees with a frantic expression on his face.
"Guys, guys!" He exclaimed, pointing behind him, "There's lots of grimm!"
"How many?" Shiro asked with deadly seriousness.
"Lots!" The mohawked teen replied, his widespread arms emphasizing the point, "There's wolves and pigs and bears and a huge snake!"
"Shit…" Whispered Cardin with a mixture of anger and fear.
Feldgrau stiffened. His ammo belt rattled from imperceptible tremors in his hand.
"Where are they?" Inquired Shiro, determination his only visible emotion.
"At the place with the old buildings."
"Was there anything unusual there, something you haven't seen before?"
"Well, there were these things that looked like that game the old man likes to play, but like way bigger."
"A game?"
"Yeah, like, the one with the king and the horses and the castles?"
"Chess?" Asked Cardin, surprise evident on his face.
"Perhaps these are the 'relics' we're meant to gather?" Said Shiro.
"Great, so all we have to do is get through an army of grimm. Easy." The brute's voice was awash in sarcasm.
"It is the nature of our profession, Mr. Winchester. Our duty is to face these dangers and to triumph," With a resolute smile, Shiro declared, "And we will triumph."
"Now, as the strongest fighters, you and I are in front," The samurai continued, "Our goal is to carve a path through the grimm and make our way to an advantageous position."
"Wait, what?" Feldgrau asked suddenly.
"Mr. Haas, you have the rear," Shiro stated after turning to the faunus, "You'll provide covering fire and prevent us from being surrounded."
"You expect us to take on an army of grimm?" Feldgrau shouted incredulously.
"Of course, they stand between us and our objective."
"That's insane! It's– it's suicidal!"
"I'm open to suggestions, Mr. Haas."
"Right, well…" The dog-eared boy unconsciously shook his sword as he thought of his answer, "We could double back and find some other teams and take on the grimm with better numbers."
Shaking his head, Shiro replied, "The headmaster told us our performance will be monitored. I know not how we will be graded should we return with a greater host. But should we face this challenge ourselves and emerge victorious, our place at this academy will be all but guaranteed."
"Can't believe I'm saying this," Cardin spoke up, "but I actually agree with you, hero."
"What?!" Cried an extremely alarmed faunus.
With a scoff, the armored giant replied, "I knew you were a dog, didn't think you were a bitch."
"Excuse me, but I'd prefer not to be killed if at all possible!"
"That's enough," Shiro cut in, "Mr. Haas, risk is endemic to our profession. How can we call ourselves huntsmen if we shrink from the first sign of danger?"
"But we can't-"
"Yes, we can," The albino said with conviction, "We were all accepted to this academy, we have the skills to overcome this trial. Furthermore, I have a plan which, while not eliminating the risks altogether, should cut them down significantly."
"But-" After various meaningless hand gestures, Feldgrau finally asked, "What's your plan?"
Smiling and turning to Russell, Shiro explained, "I'll need Mr. Thrush's approval first, his task will be the most important of all of ours."
Feldrau could not believe what he was doing.
Not a second ago, he and the three lunatics that comprised his impromptu 'team' had broken through the clearing which housed the exam objective. The scene was just as Russell described it: an ancient ruin of unknown purpose and origin, surrounded a circle of podiums —each containing an oversized chess piece. The structure itself was unfortunately surrounded by a sea of black and white monstrosities that would like nothing more than to tear him limb from limb.
He did not, however, have even a moment to process the scene in front of him. Upon seeing him and his team, the grimm immediately charged the young men with the ferocious fixation that so typified their race.
"Clear them, Winchester!" Shouted the team's impromptu leader.
Roaring, the oaf in question swung his mace in a wide, horizontal arc. The burn crystal contained within it sent a wave of fire blasting away the monsters immediately in front of them.
"Forward, through the gap!" Commanded Shiro.
As the team charged forward, Feldgrau noticed a beowolf on their right flank and immediately put it down with a burst from his buckler. Then came one on the other side, which met the same fate.
Heedless of the fear in his heart, the faunus fulfilled his role and shot down grimm after grimm. Until, he at last noticed he was running uphill.
"Stop," Shiro called out, bringing him to a halt, "We make our stand here!"
Without thinking, Feldgrau whirled around and caught a glimpse of the black tide behind him. Shiro and Cardin were soon in front of him, forming an oddly reassuring human wall between him and the horrific end that awaited beyond.
"Come on!" Cardin bellowed defiantly at the dark horde advancing up the hill, trembling with anticipation as he did.
Shiro, by contrast, was almost completely still, the only sound that could be heard from him was a deep meditative breathing.
Finally, the grimm were upon them.
As if a switch had been flipped, Shiro became a whirlwind of destruction. Every swing of his spear removed the heads of multiple grimm at once. Cardin, meanwhile, pulped a beowolf's head with a single blow from his mace and kicked the dissipating body into the horde, knocking many of them over.
A moment after Feldgrau made these observations, the monsters began to attack the team's flanks, spurring him into action. For all his prior apprehension, the faunus's training took over his mind and he was killing grimm with much the same fervor as his peers.
An abrupt crash from behind the swarm drew their attention as the second part of Shiro's plan came to fruition.
Russel appeared; leaping atop the heads of the grimm in the back of the swarm. The king taijitu he'd mentioned was hot on his heels. The two-headed serpent barrelled towards its prey, incognizant of the smaller grimm being crushed underneath its weight. Soon, every one of the dark terrors they faced had either been killed by the three aspiring huntsmen or trampled by the oblivious taijitu. Finally, the behemoth was the all that was left, and each of the young men had their roles.
Cardin rushed to the left head and, as it lunged for him, used his immense strength to grab it by the fangs and hold it in place. Russel sprinted forward, leaping up to spring himself off of Cardin's armored shoulder piece. Airborne, he became a vortex of blades, slicing the creature's head off cleanly.
The other head, sensing the death of its counterpart, frantically flailed at Feldgrau, who jumped back and fired a burst of .44 magnum into its eyes, blinding it. Shiro then charged, taking advantage of its agonized cry by jamming his spear into its mouth. He then deployed the weapons' shotgun barrels and fired all four at once. The resulting explosion severed the head, which Shiro shook off his spear with a spin as he turned away from the dissipating corpse.
The battle was over.
The four stood around each other in a stunned silence, which was broken by Russel throwing his hands up in the air and cheering, "We won!"
Feldgrau felt his legs give way beneath him. On his knees, all he could do was laugh hysterically and repeatedly whisper to himself, "I'm alive."
"Excellent work, gentlemen," proclaimed Shiro with noticeable fatigue in his voice.
"I gotta admit, that was pretty badass," Cardin chimed in, lying on his back.
"I actually can't believe I did that." Feldgrau gasped.
"I told you you had the necessary skills," Shiro complimented him, "And, it seems, the courage as well."
"I didn't, though," The faunus brushed aside the praise, "I wanted to turn back."
"But you didn't." The samurai continued, "Still, our ordeal is not over. Let's do what we came here for."
In a moment, they found themselves in front of the podiums housing the chess pieces.
"Looks like we're the first to arrive." Feldgrau noted, as every podium still had a piece atop it.
"They're all in pairs," Observed Shiro with a serious tone, "This must be how the full teams are chosen."
Cardin looked to the faunus and feral child, then to his own partner, "Are we really gonna team up with them?"
"You still object?" Asked the albino, with a more inquisitive than judgemental tone this time.
"I mean," Cardin shrugged, "I guess they're not totally useless."
Shiro smiled before replying, "Well, it is not our decision to make," He then walked forward and took a black knight from its pedestal.
Feldgrau paused. He avoided making the decision himself and looked to his partner. And so, communicating wordlessly with each other, the two made their choice.