NEXT CHAPTER! Also, read till the end cause I'm going to be commenting on some reviews.

"How much longer," Jaune asked as he, and the others, trekked along the long dirt road toward Kirkwall. They had left incredibly early in the morning, and now the harsh sun was high in the sky.

"If all goes well, we'll be there by this time tomorrow," Kratos said.

"What?! Why didn't we just take a Bulkhead," Dove asked.

"Stop dwelling on the length of the journey! One day you may have to walk further than this, so take this as part of your endurance training!" The group grew quiet as they continued to make their way down the dirt road. After a few more minutes of walking, they came upon a clearing to rest. "We will rest here." Kratos sat down and leaned against a tree as the rest of his students chose a spot and collapsed.

Yang walked up to her father and asked, "Are you sure this is wise, father? We still have a lot of ground to cover."

"Which is why we are resting. It will do us no good if everyone is too exhausted to defend themselves against a Grimm."

"You think we'll encounter Grimm on the way," Blake asked.

"It is not out of the realm of possibility. Regardless, keep your guard up and be ready for anything."

"I heard highwaymen have been robbing people going to Kirkwall," Weiss chimed in.

"If we encounter people, let me deal with them. None of you are to get involved."

The group nodded their heads in understanding before another blanket of silence laid on them. It lasted for a few minutes before Pyrrha asked, "So, Kratos, tell us something about yourself."

"For what purpose?"

"Well, you are our teacher."

"And?"

"And it would be beneficial for us to know who we are learning under."

Kratos looked at each of his students and saw interest etched on their faces, waiting to hear about their mysterious teacher. Even his daughters sat in eager curiosity as they had never really heard about their father's backstory. Kratos sighed and said, "Very well, ask your questions."

Pyrrha thought for a moment before asking, "Where are you from?"

"A land far from here."

"What's the land called?"

"Sparta. It's not a place you'd find on your maps."

Ruby chipped in with, "Why don't you ever use weapons?"

"I haven't wielded a weapon in a long time, Mikros."

"But why?"

"It's better that way."

Jaune raised his hand, as if he were in class, and asked, "What happened to Yang and Ruby's mom?"

Yang glared at Jaune, who gulped nervously and shrank into his armor. Kratos took a moment and said, "Enough questions. Save your energy." Kratos leaned his head against the tree and closed his eyes.

Yang and Ruby walked over to Jaune, who asked, "Did I do something wrong?"

"No, it wasn't you," Ruby answered. "Dad just doesn't like to talk about our moms."

"Why not," Nora asked.

"My mom left when I was about two or three years old and Ruby's mom, Summer passed away not long after Ruby was born," Yang explained. "Dad blames himself."

"Eh, I bet she ran off with someone less...ancient," Cardin remarked.

"What did you say, Cardin," Yang demanded as she angrily stomped up to him with burning red eyes.

"Hey, all I'm saying is..." Before he could finish his sentence, Yang's fist impacted against his face, sending him crashing to the ground. The rest of his team jumped to his defense but quickly found themselves outnumbered. Cardin rubbed his cheek and shouted, "What the hell, you crazy bitch!"

Yang pointed a trembling finger at him and growled, "Never speak of my mother like that. She is many things, a lot of which I don't like, but she would never do anything like that!" Yang then began to cough violently as her eyes reverted to their original, hazel brown color.

"That is enough, all of you," Kratos shouted. "Sit down, shut up, and rest!" The teams quickly did as they were told, not wanting to stir the wrath of their teacher. Kratos looked at Yang and said, "Come here." Yang walked to her father and sat down beside him. He placed a hand on her forehead and could feel her burning up. "You need to learn to quell your anger. It will one day be your undoing."

"But, Cardin said..."

"What Cardin says about Raven does not concern me. What does is your lack of self-control." There was a moment of silence between the two before Kratos said, "Go cool off and rest. We'll be moving on soon."

Yang angrily stood up and turned her back on Kratos. Before she walked away, however, she turned her head and said, "At least one of us has to act like we still care."

"Do you wish to repeat that, Yang?"

"No, sir!" Yang stomped away and sat down beside a tree, separating herself from everyone else.

Kratos gave a deep sigh and pulled out a necklace with a raven pendant along with a ring. He sat there and stared at the two items for what seemed like mere seconds until Ruby said, "Father, are we going to keep moving?"

"Hmm?" Kratos looked up to see everyone was rested and ready to go. Even Yang was cooled off and back to being her perky self. He looked at Ruby and nodded his head before standing up and pocketing the necklace. "Alright, let's keep moving. We'll be getting into Grimm territory, so be on your guard." The students grabbed their stuff and continued down the road. Kratos stopped Yang as she passed and asked, "How are you feeling?"

"I'm feeling fine, father," Yang said, a small hint of resentfulness on her tongue.

"I know you still feel bitter about her leaving. It may be hard to see it, but I too miss her."

"You have a funny way of showing it."

"You have your ways of dealing with your sorrow and anger. I have mine."

Yang walked away to catch up with the group, and as she did so, she turned on her heel and said, "Keeping it bottled up inside isn't a healthy alternative."

(Sometime later)

"Father," Ruby called out from the front of the group, having taken the lead to scout ahead.

"What is it?"

"People, up ahead at the crossroad to Kirkwall."

"Highway Men," Pyrrha asked.

"I'm not sure, but they're armed."

"We're in Grimm territory, so it would be foolish of them if they weren't. Nevertheless, I will handle them. You all keep quiet."

The students nodded as Kratos took the lead and walked up to the group of men. There were about ten of them, some were human and others Faunus and all had various arms and armor. One of the humans noticed them and waved them down. "Ho there, friends! What brings you 'ere on this fine evening?"

"We have business in Kirkwall. That is all you need to know."

The man tsked and said, "Ah, a bad shape that one's in. What with people getting dragged from their homes and the constant Grimm attacks. Unfortunately, the roads closed, so no one gets in."

"We're on a mission from Beacon. We're investigating the disappearances of the people there," Ruby spoke up.

"Ruby," Kratos said, hushing her instantly.

"Oh Huntsmen, are ya? Well, why didn't ya just say so, mate? Of course, you lot can pass. For a small price of ten thousand Lien."

"Ten thousand?! Are you insane," Yang shouted, getting right up to the man's face. "We're here to help, and you're trying to take advantage of us?"

"Whoa there, love. We're pricing everyone who's traveling both in and out of Kirkwall. Course, with you all being Huntsmen, you can afford a measly ten thousand."

"So, you're exploiting us being for Huntsmen," Blake asked. "That's low, even for Highwaymen."

"Ey, don't hate me for being smart. Besides, we all got families to feed too ya know."

Yang grabbed the man's throat and pulled her fist back. This action caused the other's around them to draw their weapons and aim them at the group. The man chuckled and said, "Easy there love. We don't want to be needing any bloodshed now, do we?"

"You're nothing more than a bunch of low-lives taking advantage of the weak!"

"Yang, enough!" Kratos grabbed his daughter's arm and yanked her back. "Have you forgotten so quickly what I said?"

"They're bandits. We should take care of them now and turn them over to the authorities!"

"What authorities?! We are hours from Vale and a whole day from Kirkwall!" Yang grows quiet. "Now, go! Collect yourself and hold your tongue until told otherwise."

Yang stormed off to the back of the group, where she angrily glared holes at the man. The bandit chuckled and said, "Gotta keep a short leash on that one, eh?"

Kratos glared at the man as he reached into his pouch and pulled out a bag of Lien. He tossed it into the man's chest and said, "You have your money, let us pass."

The man opened the small bag and checked the contents before smiling and saying, "Of course, mate. A deal's a deal after all." Kratos pushed passed the man and lead his group through the checkpoint, realizing that another five members were lying in wait in the trees and bushes. The man and his group eyed the students as they passed by with sinister grins.

As the group distanced themselves from the Highwaymen, Yang said, "We should've handled them instead of giving them all our money."

"If you think that I am foolish enough to only bring that amount of money with us, then you do not know me, child."

"I know we shouldn't have given in to their demands! We should've made it to where they can never prey on the weak again."

"Hold!" The group came to a stop as Kratos turned to them with anger etched on his face. "Let me make this abundantly clear to all of you! The next time I tell you to let me handle something, I expect you all to listen! Especially my daughters," He glared at Ruby and Yang. "We are not here on luxury! This is not a vacation or a field trip! We have a task at hand, a mission, that we have to see through if you are to become Huntsmen! Any little inconvenience can make things that much harder! So, either do as you are told, or I fail you right here, right now! Any questions or grievances with that?"

Ruby slowly raised her hand. "Dad...I'm sorry. I didn't know..."

"Do not be sorry. Be better. This is why you must think before acting. That goes for every one of you. If you are to survive as a Huntsman, you MUST think things through before acting. There are consequences for EVERYTHING that you do! So, think. Use your head." With that, Kratos turned around, and continued down the road with the group slowly following behind. No one said a word till they settled down for camp that night. "Get some rest, all of you."

"Where are you going," Weiss asked as Kratos turned and entered further into the woods.

"For a walk." Kratos walked through the trees, getting further and further away from the group. Then, as fast as lightning, he dashed toward some bushes and grabbed hold of something. He then yanked back and hauled out a masked man with a look of terror in his eyes. "Who are you, and why have you been following us?"

"H..how did you..."

"I've been aware of your presence for some time now." He grabbed the mask and yanked it off, revealing that it was the same bandit from earlier. "Why follow us? I gave you what you asked."

"Unfortunately for you, mate, Lien isn't what we were interested in."

"You were sent to the crossroads to cut us off. Why and by who?"

The snapping of a twig caught Kratos' attention, and he soon found himself surrounded by bandits. "You're surrounded, old man."

"You do not want this fight," Kratos growled.

"Oh, I'm betting that we do. Now, why don't we...AHH!" Using one hand, Kratos lifted the man over his head and threw him at the closest bandit.

"You bastard!" A bandit charged him and thrust his knife at Kartos' midsection. The old God caught the man's hand and snapped his wrist before punching him into a tree. Two more charged him, one with an ax and the other with a sword, both of which were expertly, and non-lethally, dispatched.

"Who the hell is this old man," one of the bandits shouted as he opened fire on Kratos, but was shocked to see the bullets ricochet off his skin. "Nothing works!" The man was quickly rendered unconscious by a swift punch to the jaw.

"Take this," a bandit shouted from behind as he plunged a dagger into Kratos' skin only to watch, in horror, as the blade snapped in half. A nose breaking elbow staggered him, and a kick to the chest sent him crashing through a tree. The final bandit hesitated as he looked around at his fallen comrades before charging in. A second later, and he was lifted into the air by the throat and slammed into the ground.

When all was said and done, Kratos was the only one left standing. He looked at the first bandit, who was just now getting to his feet and grabbed him by the throat. "Now tell me, who are you working for?"

"Bite me, ass...GAK!" Kratos tightened his grip on the man's throat, causing him to gasp and cough for air.

"Talk!"

"Father?!" Kratos turned his head and saw the group rushing to him with weapons drawn. Yang looked around and saw the pile of unconscious bandits. "Whoa, looks like we missed one helluva party."

"I told you all to get some rest!"

"Well yeah, but when we heard the gunshots, we got worried," Ruby said as she stepped over the bodies.

"Hmph, whatever. Now talk!"

"ACK! Alright, alright! Ease up on my throat there, will ya?" Kratos loosened his grip and waited. "I don't know who they were." Kratos tightened his grip again. "ACK, come on now I'm telling the truth! I don't know who they were!" Kratos loosened again. "They wore hooded cloaks! I couldn't see em! One was a real big fella, didn't say much. The other was short, a bit shorter than you. Gave me the creeps that one. They told us who you were and where you were going. They wanted us to follow you and kidnap the children. We've never been into kidnappings, especially children, but when I refused, the bastards killed half my men in an instant. We had no choice!" Kratos grows silent as he releases the man's throat. He rubs his sore neck and says, "Look, mate, I don't know who these blokes were, but they had a lot of information on you. Told us to look for a man with a tattoo exactly like yours. Said you'd be traveling from Beacon to Kirkwall with students." The bandit looked at his men and chuckled. "Failed to mention that you were one helluva brawler. Listen, mate, I've no beef with you. I was just doing what I had to do to protect the rest of my men."

"I can understand wanting to protect your own," Kratos said.

"Right, well, I think we've had our share of getting our asses handed to us. Hows about letting us go, and you'll never have trouble from us again."

"Not much we can do with a bunch of bandits out here in the middle of nowhere."

"Thanks, mate." The bandit and his men began to leave the area. "Oh, and a word of caution, yeah? I haven't been to Kirkwall for some time so, I don't know what the situation is like there. But, if my hunch is correct, and it usually is, I'm betting that men looking for you have something to do with it. There's something unnatural about them so, watch your back."

The group walked back to camp, and when they all settled down, Yang asked, "So, we're being hunted? What do we do now?"

"The mission stands. We go to Kirkwall and help out where we can."

"And the ones who are looking for us?"

"If we encounter them, I will deal with them. Is that understood?" The group nodded, and after a few minutes of silence, everyone was passed out, all except Kratos. 'Who is it that is looking for me? The bandit said they described me perfectly. Have they found me after all this time?' He looked at his daughters and thought, 'I have spent centuries without taking another soul. But, if it comes down to it, I will kill everyone and everything that threatens them. I will not fail again!' With that thought, Kratos closed his eyes and fell into a slumber.

And with that, we come to the end of this chapter. Sorry for the long wait, but I'm in the process of moving and have been a tad bit sick. Regardless, I hope you all enjoyed it and excited for the next one. And yes, for those of you wondering, Kirkwall IS a reference to Dragon Age. Now, as for the future of this story, I'm probably going to be doing longer chapters, but shorter Arcs. What that means is doing all of volume 2 in 1-3 chapters so after this little arc, I'll be finishing the rest of volume 1 in 1 (maybe 2) chapters. So, look forward to that and I'll see you all in the next one!