Happy Birthday to Jesus Christ! Merry Christmas! Feliz Navidad! Happy Hanukkah! Happy Kwanza! And all of the other wonderful holidays at this time of year! I hope everyone had a good one, whether or not anyone couldn't have a get together!

So, here is my gift for my followers who have the patience of Job and stuck with me in my crossover's hiatus!

Also! In case anyone didn't notice, I revamped Vol 1 a bit! Go back to that story before this one!

Disclaimer: Bleach belongs to Tite Kubo while RWBY belongs to Monty Oum and Rooster Teeth

Chapter 11: Once Upon a Time

(Scene) All black first

(Ozpin Voiceover): With each legend, comes a story.

(Scene; imagine the art styles of the World of Remnant videos) Slashing sounds are heard and we now see Ichigo (in amber orange color; wearing a long black coat) getting ready to fight, his larger sword resting comfortably on his shoulder, black butterflies flying around him

(Scene) Uryuu (in ultramarine blue; wearing his white mantle) in midair, his bow ready to fight, surrounded by feathers, the sprang of a bowstring is heard

(Kisuke Voiceover): How these stories are forged differ from person to person. Some start out from humble beginnings, while others began with tragedy. However, it is not the beginning of the story that matters; rather it is what the rest of the story entails.

(Scene) Renji (in rufous red) is smiling as his skeletal puppets emerge from the sands making bony rattling sounds

(Scene) Rukia (in regalia purple) stood in the middle of a frozen lake as snowflakes fall and the ribbon of her sword swirled around her with sounds of crackling ice

(Ozpin Voiceover): Indeed, it is all up to the individual to choose what path to take on the journey to salvation. To be able to overcome the obstacles that gets in the way of their goals and become something greater.

(Scene) The scenes repeat themselves before the screen turns black

(Ozpin Voiceover) However…

(Scene) Ichigo and Uryuu are arguing about something while Rukia and Renji backs are at each other, both looking dejected

(Ozpin Voiceover) On their journey, they will meet those who have separate paths to follow, conflicted with opposing minds and actions that the other does not wish to take.

(Kisuke Voiceover) Perhaps. Although…

(Scene) Ichigo, Uryuu, Rukia, and Renji standing side by side in that order, hands and arms poised to look like their hands are linking together

(Kisuke Voiceover) if they can learn from one other another, hear the stories they will need to tell for a better understanding, then the path is clear.

(Scene) lights began to glow from the fours' chests. The glow steadily became brighter and brighter

(McCormick Voiceover) Yes. And all it will take is one single action.

(Scene) the scene turns white

.

.

.

.

.

Silver eyes glittered like stars as Ruby could hardly contain herself, even as she plays Ninja Battle Royale with Ichigo, Yang, and Renji. "I'm so excited!"

"Ruby, you do realize that we're talking about team IURR's graduation mission, right?" Yang asked.

"I know! I'm just so happy!" Ruby exclaimed. "You guys are gonna be official Huntsmen soon!"

Ichigo chuckled a little. "That is unless we pass."

"Pfft. Of course, you guys are gonna pass," Ruby said with confidence. "And after that, you guys are gonna go on real missions and—" Ruby stopped when something dawned on her. "…And…you guys won't be here next year…" Her eyes cast down to the floor, sadden at the revelation.

She then felt a callous hand ruffling through her hair. Ruby looks up to see Ichigo smile at her and handed her one of her strawberry popsicles. "What's with the long face? We'll check on you guys every now again," Ichigo said. "Besides, who else is gonna keep tabs on your hand-to-hand?" Ruby starts to giggle as Ichigo continued to ruffle her hair.

"Aren't you gonna join the Atlesian Military after graduating, Renji?" Yang asked.

"Yep. Sure am."

Weiss looked thoughtful. "I just can't picture you in pristine uniform," She said. Renji shrugged.

"Eh, I get that a lot."

"Do you have everything you need?" Jugram asked Uryū.

"Yes."

"Dust ammunition?"

"Yes."

"An extra set of clothes?"

"Yes."

"A replacement pair of glasses?"

"Yes! Jugo, I'm prepared."

"Your iron supplements?"

Uryū can almost feel his face turning red. "Yes, Jugo. It's not like we're leaving at this moment. We're going to have to wait for Prof. Ozpin to find a suitable mission for us."

"And do you have plenty of cleansing antipens? I can go retrieve more if you don't."

"…You've heard?"

"I've heard from Bazz-B who heard it from Mr. Abarai," Jugram told him. Uryū sneaked a glare at Renji's direction. When Jugram puts a hand on his shoulder, Uryū looks back to face him. "You don't have to hide anything from me. Or Bazz-B."

"…I…just didn't want you to worry."

Jugram eyes softened. "Not telling us will only worry us more. We're family."

Rukia smiles at the scene, knowing full well how rocky their relationship was two years ago.

"Hey, there's something I've been wondering," Yang said.

"Like what?" Renji asked.

"What was your 1st year like?"

"Did you forget about our fight with Grand Fisher?" Renji asked.

"Of course not. What I meant was, like, when you guys came to Beacon and how did you guys team up and all that shebang," Yang said.

"I would like to know too," Weiss said.

"Tellustellustellustellus!" Ruby rambled.

"Okay, okay. We will. Heel, Ruby, heel," Ichigo joked. "Where should we start?"

"I guess when you guys arrived at Beacon," Yang said. "Were you guys riding the same airship?"

"Well, no. I was in an airship coming from Mistral with Tatsuki and her team." Ichigo said. "Rukia arrived from Atlas, Renji from Vacuo, and Ishida was already in Vale."

"Oh, yeah," Yang remembered.

"But we did meet at the courtyard…"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Guardians of Remnant ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

~Two years ago~

Ichigo stares in awe at the sight of Beacon Academy. He wears a dark orange, unzipped sleeveless hoodie over a short-sleeved black shirt that has emblem of a swallowtail butterfly with a skull-like design in orange font. He also wears white skinny jeans with a black belt with a chain attached and black calf-high lace up boots. Lastly, he wears black fingerless gloves that reach to his mid-arms, a red/white/blue wristband on his left wrist, a pair of black aviator goggles with orange lenses around his neck.

"Whoaaaa" Keigo marveled. "It looks even cooler up close." The group had just got off the airship and is now basking at the amazing image before them. Before they left, they managed to grab their gear, from clothes and personal items to their weapons.

"Those videos Mizuiro showed us definitely did not do justice." Tatsuki commented, placing hands on her hips as she surveyed the area.

Orihime giggled as ran up a few feet away from friends before she spun around. She walked backwards to look at the courtyard in a different view. She also took in the appearances of the other newcomers and their unique weapons. One person catches her eye. Sitting with one leg over the other on the stone border around a fountain is a thin-looking young man of 17 with glasses, reading a worn-out thick book. He wore a white zip-up tailcoat with sleeves neatly folded up to his elbows and a blue sleeveless turtleneck that is neatly tucked in white trousers with a black double-belt containing a small satchel on both sides and white shoes and blue, long archery gloves. Orihime slowed down her backwards walking to continue her stare. There is something about this young man that intrigued her, but she couldn't place why. He does have an unusual Aura. That's when she noticed his ears, his pointed ears.

Is he a…Quincy?

Because she was so transfixed by this unknown person, Orihime accidentally bumped into someone small, causing them to fall over with an 'ooph'. Orihime spun around with a gasp. "Oh no." She said, looking worried. The person she ran into was a petite-looking young lady. She looks to be 4'08½" with short black hair in a cropped bob, fair skin, and purple eyes. She wears a white pleated, flower-patterned mini skirt, white boots and light lavender pantyhose; a light olive spaghetti-string camisole under a white sash that wraps around her neck and over her chest; and a light pink patterned obi with a chōchō musubi knot and a decorative pink obidome to clinch the cords. She wears a fingerless white tekkō, which extend above her elbows and two separate, white sleeves complete the outfit, leaving her shoulders bare. Attached to the cord is a brooch in the shaped of a blue pentagon with a white star, a morning glory, with two elongated ribbon veils. "I'm so sorry; I wasn't looking where I was going." Orihime held out a hand. "Here."

The girl gave her a polite smile. "Thank you." She said, reaching for Orihime's hand, lifting her back to her feet.

Orihime giggled awkwardly. "What a weird way to meet people." She commented. "I'm Orihime Inoue. What's your name? Is this your first year, too?"

"It's Rukia." The smaller woman answered. "And yes, it's my first year, too."

"Orihime!" Tatsuki exclaimed. Orihime and Rukia turned to see Tatsuki, Ichigo, Keigo, and Mizuiro running towards. "You okay?" Tatsuki asked as she stopped. She turned to Rukia. "Sorry about that." Rukia only continued to smile.

"There's no need to worry. I wasn't looking where I was going either." She said. "I was actually looking for a friend of mine."

"Really?" Orihime wondered. "Do you need any help?" Rukia opened her mouth to speak, but a different voice called out.

"Rukia!" Renji exclaimed, running over. He wears a torn-looking maroon headband around his forehead with tribal markings in black and appears to have some tribal tattoos on his neck, a black leather jacket with rosy brown fur around the hood over a beige muscle shirt that says 'HOWL' in black font, torn jeans with a black belt, black Cuban dress shoes, and a long light brown handkerchief tied to his belt on the left side.

"There you are, Renji," Rukia said. "Where were you? We were supposed to meet back in Atlas."

"Look. It wasn't my fault. I was dooped back in Atlas when I was trying to meet up," He growled. "Damn that human bastard."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Guardians of Remnant ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

~Present Day~

"Well, that was rude." Weiss said.

"Weiss…" Ruby chided.

The heiress rolled her eyes. "I'm talking about the guy who gave Renji the false information," Weiss told her.

"Oh."

"So, the gang is slowly coming together." Yang said.

"Yeah, almost…" Ichigo said.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Guardians of Remnant ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

An idea came to Orihime. "Oh." She clapped her hands together. "We should take a picture." She suggested. She reached for her fanny pack to get her scroll, which is pink in color. She looked over at Rukia and Renji. "You two can be in the picture too, if you want."

Rukia did a curtsy. "We would be delighted, thank you." Ichigo rose a brow at her curtsy, wondering why she's using such an outdated form of greeting. Renji only shrugged.

Orihime nodded before saying, "Okay. Let's use the building as a backdrop." As most of them moved closer to the school, Ichigo remained where he was.

"Sorry, but you can count me out." Ichigo said hesitantly. "I'm not big on getting my picture take-." His excuse was interrupted when someone bumped into his right side from behind.

"Hey, watch where you're going, dumbass." The person sniped. It was a young man, same age as everyone else, with slick back red hair and vivid green eyes.

Ichigo sneered. "Look, pal. I was just minding my own business and YOU were the one who bumped into me."

The redhead scoffed. He grabbed Ichigo's collar to get him closer. "Don't you know who I am, dandelion head? I'm Loqi Mistel of the Mistel Family."

"Yeah, so?" Ichigo growled narrowing his eyes.

Tatsuki groaned. "Oh, man…" She said facepalming.

"I'm guessing this happens a lot." Rukia said.

"*Sigh*, yeah." Tatsuki answered. Orihime, who is next to her friend, looked on with worry.

"Mistel?" Mizuiro questioned. "I think I've heard of them. They're a family of warriors, kind of like the Arc Family."

Loqi grinned smugly. "Heh, hear that? I'm special. Unlike you, bumpkin." An anger tic appeared on Ichigo's head.

"Oh no." Keigo muttered. Back over to the border where the young man sat, blue eyes behind rectangular glasses moved from the book and at the angry pair.

Ichigo grab Loqi's collar as well. "What did you call me?"

This is going to get dangerous, Orihime thought. She was about to move when someone strode pass her. To her surprise, it was the mystery man she saw from before, his weapons strapped to his back. When he reached to the two, he grasped his hands on their opposing wrists. "The Headmaster is about to start his speech." He started in a cool tone. "This is not the time or place to be quarreling like children over something so trivial. It is where we train to dedicate the rest of our lives for others." He looked at Loqi. "Status or fame has no meaning here." Loqi clicked his tongue and let go of Ichigo. Blue eyes turned to the honey orange-haired young man. Ichigo can see parts of his face. His blue eyes, his glasses, black chin-length hair that gradually changes to blue, fair skin, and a thin face. "You let go as well." Without a word he complied, allowing Loqi to leave. As he did so, he winked at the girls, only to receive glares from Tatsuki.

"Um." Orihime started. "Thank you for…" She stopped mid-sentence when the young Quincy coolly walked past her and didn't look back.

"Not much of a talker." Tatsuki commented heatedly, crossing her arms.

"What a weirdo." Keigo said. "Who'd use a weapon that is so outdated?"

Mizuiro waved a dismissive arm. "Never mind that. What the guy said is true. We gotta get going."

"Yeah, let's get going." Tatsuki said and started running, along with the rest.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Guardians of Remnant ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Who's Loqi?" Yang asked.

"A pompous asshole." Renji said.

"And another story for another day." Rukia said.

"Were you always such thick-headed vigilante?" Weiss asked Ichigo with a hint of mirth.

"Want the long story or short one?" Ichigo asked.

"Sounds like a certain someone always had poor social skills." Yang said, looking at Uryū. He adjusts his glasses.

"Uryū has always been antisocial. Even as a child." Jugram said. There is a slight tinge of pink on Uryū's cheeks.

"I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to agree." Weiss said. "I remember a time you would hide behind me when you get shy." Uryū turned redder.

"While that may have been true," Rukia said, "he'd wouldn't seat idly by when something 'unjust' happens in front of him…"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Guardians of Remnant ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Water from the faucet gathered in Orihime's hands before she splashed it on her face. She was in the girls' washroom not far from the ballroom. She is now dressed in light blue, frilled pajama tank-top and shorts. She stared at her reflection intently. However, she was unable to keep an excited giggle at bay.

"Well, someone looks thrilled." A familiar voice said, beside her. She looked to see Rukia, wearing a white tank-top with a poorly drawn bunny on it and mauve-colored nightpants.

"Kuchiki-san!" Orihime exclaimed before giving the girl a seemingly bone-crushing hug. Rukia only chuckled and returned the hug, but not with equal force. The two broke the hug and Rukia handed Orihime a towel to dry her face. The buxom young lady graciously took the towel to do so and placed it on the sink when she was done. "Oh, I love your pajamas, their so cute!"

"Thank you. So does yours."

"Where did you go? After dinner, you disappeared. Is everything okay?" Orihime asked worriedly.

"Yeah, I just needed to make a call to home." Rukia answered as they exited the washroom.

"Oh, you called your parents?" Orihime asked.

"N-no," Rukia answered, a little hesitant. "Not exactly, but-" Her sentence was cut short when two figures blocked their way. It was Loqi and he was looking at the two girls with an amorous gaze. Near him is a Faunus with dark gray wolf-like ears to match his unruly hair, dark skin, and dark eyes. He seems indifferent compared to his companion.

"Well, hello there, pretty things." The human greeted flirtatiously. "Remember me? Loqi Mistel. Of course, you did." He gestured to his Faunus companion. "And this is Fenris Wulf. We couldn't help but notice that you two are alone. Why don't you come over to our spot and chat for a bit?"

"Um…w-well…a-actually…" Orihime stuttered, not sure of what to do. Being in this sort of situation has always made her uneasy so she normally had Tatsuki deal with this sort of stuff.

"I'm sorry, but we do have some friends here with us." Rukia said, trying to be polite. "But thank you for the offer." Loqi's grin seems to only gotten bigger as he moved to be behind the two girls, placing an arm around Rukia's and Orihime's waists.

"Come on, I insisted." He urged. "Just for a little while and then you two can go whenever you desire."

"In case you didn't hear, we said we're fine, now let go." Rukia demanded. Meanwhile, Orihime seemed frozen, almost as if she was terrified. She was starting to feel even more uncomfortable. True, Keigo is just as much as a womanizer, but the guy would never do anything like this. Orihime whimpered, getting increasingly more uncomfortable.

Loqi only tightened his grip. "Where's the harm? I just want to show you two a good-OW! WHAT THE HELL?!" He shouted as his arms were forcibly wrenched to his back by a pair of slim but strong hands.

"I believe the young lady said to let go." A smooth voice advised dangerously. Loqi turned his head to meet a pair of sapphire eyes behind frameless glasses glaring fiercely at him. Orihime gasped.

"It's you." She said. Before them was the cloaked young man. Although this time, he wasn't wearing his cloak, revealing his thin, slender frame. He is now clad in a long-sleeve, wide-collared seemingly loose-fitting black shirt under a wide-sleeve blue cardigan coat and white night pants and black flats, his long bangs were fringing his face, curtaining his ears. Loqi manages pull himself out of the bespectacled boy's grasp and moved away from him.

"What the hell, man? Can't you see that I was just trying to make small talk?" He sneered.

"Oh really?" The pale teen inquired rhetorically, raising a brow and crossed his arms. "It looks more like you wanted to satisfy your raging hormones on innocent girls who wanted next to nothing from you." He placed his left hand around his chin and averted his gaze to the top corner of the ceiling, feigning deep thinking. "There's a word for people like you, but what is it?" He snapped his fingers. "Oh, right!" He glared at the redhead. "Lascivious." Rukia covered her mouth to stifle a laugh while Orihime look confused, not really sure what the term means.

"What?" Loqi said, staring daggers at the paler teen.

"Is that a too big a word for you to comprehend?" said teen quipped. "Then perhaps I should use words that people like you could understand. How about lecherous? Concupiscent? Vulgar?" Loqi's face burned red from anger with each word. "Are those not good enough? Then how about smutty? Erotic? Horny? I can get you a thesaurus for any other choices." Rukia couldn't hold it in anymore and burst into laughter, not just because of the words but also the mystery man's gentlemanly way of talking didn't change, while Orihime's face turned bright red like a tomato from each word.

Loqi gave him a heated glare. First, this dick prevented him from teaching some commoner a lesson and now, he dared to spoil his attempt to woe a couple of babes. That only that, but he also humiliated him in front of said babes. "Tch. Damn bastard." He cursed. He turned to his Faunus friend, who never made a sound or even moved since he appeared. "Let's go, Fenny." Fenris nodded and followed Loqi. The fair-skinned young man turned to the girls.

"Sorry you had to see that." He apologized.

Orihime blinked. "O-oh, no it's alright. Actually, we should be thanking you." She bowed. "So, thank you very much..." Orihime blinked. "Umm…"

The boy pushed up his glasses. "Uryū Katagiri. Just call me Uryū." Orihime smiled.

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Katagiri-kun. I'm Orihime Inoue."

"My name is Rukia." Rukia greeted with a curtesy. "And no need for the apology. The tongue-lashing you gave him was enough to drive him away."

Uryū pushed up his glasses at the bridge. "I see."

Rukia chuckled. "Well, in any case, we're grateful. Want to come with us to our area?" Rukia looked surprised when she realized what she said. "Not that we will anything indecent, I assure you." Uryū seems to have cracked a smile before he quickly turns his head away to push his glasses again before the two girls saw it.

"Thanks, but I have to decline. Have a good night." He bowed his head at the two girls and left.

"He doesn't seem that much of a bad guy." Orihime commented.

"Yeah." Rukia agreed. "Once you get past some frowns and glares." She said. "Come on, time to get some shut eye."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Guardians of Remnant ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Tears started to form from Yang laughing so hard. "Oh my God. I can't believe you said all that!"

"That was…very bold of you." Weiss said, her face flushed.

"…I kinda get it, but I kinda don't…" Ruby said, a little confused.

"Wait until you're older." Weiss said. Ruby looked at her, puzzled.

"You have no idea how much I wished I was there to watch it firsthand." Renji said.

"I've noticed that you were going by your mom's maiden name." Yang observed. "Why's that?"

"…It was a personal issue gone too far…" Uryū said. Weiss eyed him, knowing the circumstances. As did Jugram.

"So, how did the initiation went down?" Yang asked.

"It started off okay." Ichigo said. "Keigo was adamant about me not partnering up with Ishida."

"And look where you are now." Yang said.

"Yeah, I'm still on the fritz about it." Ichigo smirked at Uryū, who rolled his eyes.

"The feeling is mutual."

"What was your landing strategies?" Ruby asked.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Guardians of Remnant ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

~Ichigo~

Noticing that he was about to descend into the Emerald Forest at alarming speeds, he readied his black chains, twirling the equilateral cross before throwing it towards a tree branch, imbedding itself in the wood. Ichigo swings himself around the tree before landing.

~Uryū~

He flies through the tree lines, feathers trailing behind him from miniature light platforms underneath his feet, sometimes doing flips, as he is propelled across the greenery.

~Renji~

He used the spikes on his sword to slow his fall on tree before using the fire Dust in his shield to cushion his landing, doing a flip in the process.

~Rukia~

She uses Shakkaho to accelerate and softens her landing.

~Tatsuki~

She grabbed branch after branch, finishing with impressive gymnastics move before landing the grass.

~Keigo~

He flailed in the air before falling through a tree and getting saved, and tangled, by numerous vines. "Damn it." He groaned.

~Orihime~

She uses her Protective Shield to descend to the forest floor.

~Mizuiro~

He catches a vine to lower himself to the ground.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Guardians of Remnant ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Nothing special," Ichigo said.

"Sounds like you guys did a lot better than Vomit Boy, though," Yang said. Ruby snickered.

"So, how did you guys partner up?" Ruby asked. The partners of team IURR took one look at each other and grimaced.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Guardians of Remnant ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Rukia treaded through foliage. She ponders on who to find. That Orihime girl? Maybe. She seems nice. Ichigo? She's not sure. Renji?...It's probably not a good idea. From what a maid told her, it was hard enough for Byakuya to convince the family council to let a 'filthy' Faunus into the estate. It's probably for the best that she doesn't partner up with him, or be in a team for that matter.

She was brought out of her thoughts by a giant scorpion looking Grimm, a Death Stalker, plowing through the trees and to her. She pulled out her pure white sword. She leaped to the side to successively dodge. She lands on a tree branch and readies her sword.

She punctures the branch once, creating a large ice circle, similar to the first dance. She punctures the air in front of her four times in a semi-circle. As ice particles begin to flow up from the punctures she made in the ground, she takes a battle stance. The particles, building up at the tip of Sode no Shirayuki, are released as a large, powerful avalanche of cold air. The Death Stalker shrieked one last time before the wave incased it in ice. It's body starts to break apart.

She slid her sword back in her scabbard with a sigh. She heard a crack when she felt the branch she was standing on start breaking. She looks over at the end of the branch near the tree and gasped when she sees ice covering the wood, causing it to break. Not a second later, she falls. She closed her eyes, waiting for the painful landing. She gave a grunt upon landing, but instead of feeling grass and dirt, she feels a pair of arms. She opens her eyes and the first thing she sees is crimson hair in the style of a pineapple.

"Well, that's one way to make eye contact." Renji joked with a coy grin. Rukia returned it with a meek smile.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Guardians of Remnant ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Why didn't you want to partner with Renji?" Ruby asked Rukia.

At first, Rukia didn't want to answer, still feeling a little bit guilty, despite having to have been forgiven. "Forgot about these?" Renji asked, showing his teeth.

"…Oh." Ruby then looks back at Ichigo. "So, how did you and Uryū meet up?"

"Well…"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Guardians of Remnant ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Ichigo was pushed back in an effort to block a Beowulf's swipe, his bigger sword taking the brunt of the attack. He pants under his breath, taking in his surroundings. He's surrounded by a pack of Beowulfs, before him is much larger and fiercer than the rest; an Alpha Beowulf. The Alpha licks its lips as its golden glowing red eyes leered at its soon-to-be meal.

The Alpha snarled, it's pack charging at the vibrant-haired soon-to-be huntsman-in-training. Ichigo effortlessly dominated the Beowolves. He then used his large sword to shield himself from the Alpha's attack. He heard more growling and saw a Bewolf coming at him from behind. "Damn it." He cursed, gritting his teeth. The Beowolf leaped into the air, baring its teeth. In a swift motion, an arrow flew through the air and pierce right through its head. The Grimm heavily landed, already dead before it hit the ground. The remainder of the pack was killed and is now disintegrating.

Noticing its underlings have been killed, the Alpha ran off. Ichigo remained where he was in absolute shock as Uryū casually emerged from the trees and walked to the dead Beowulf. He pulled the arrow out of its head to examine it. "One of the benefits of the Grimm Creatures' unique decaying process." He said almost to himself, admiring the pristine condition of the item. "No need for cleaning." He put the arrow back in his quiver with the rest. Now noticing Ichigo, his expression changed to the same one he gave Ichigo all the times before: suspicion.

Ichigo let out a heavy sigh. "Keigo's not gonna like this."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Guardians of Remnant ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Animosity right from the start. I wonder why that sounds familiar." Yang said, looking at Ruby and Weiss. The two grinned sheepishly.

"Oh, don't me started on their way to the temple." Rukia said.

"What happened?" Ruby asked.

Rukia gives Ichigo a coy smirk. Ichigo mumbles grumpily.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Guardians of Remnant ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Yuzu had once strongly urged him to make friends at Beacon on the chance that he would team up with someone he doesn't know. "So," Ichigo started. "Uh, I guess introductions are in order…even though we've technically already met, but you know, for formality sake and…stuff." The slender male did not speak or even gave a hint that he was listening, only keeping his eyes forward. "I guess…I'll start then." He cleared his throat. "My name is Ichigo Kurosaki. Your name is…Ikki…Mack…no…Oh! Uryū! Uryū Katagiri, right?" Silence. "How I got your name was from Orihime, one of the girls you stood up for last night." More silence. Ichigo chuckled meekly. "Okay…um…I originally came from Mistral. A small town called Karakura, to be more accurate. What about you?" Again, more silence. Ichigo glowered at the lack of answers. He quickened his pace to be beside his bespectacled partner. "What the hell is wrong with you?" Ichigo asked, glaring heatedly at the smaller male. "You don't just go and ignore somebody who was just want to have a nice conversation with you." Uryū gave no indication that he was listening to Ichigo's complaint, azure eyes keeping forward. "Hey! You better not be ignoring me-AH!" As Ichigo continued his banter, Uryū pushed away a rather long tree branch that has a large spider web. Not bothering to tell Ichigo, he let go of the branch, covering the honey-haired huntsman-in-training with the web.

The shock caused him to slip and fall on his rear. The boy flailed his arms around to get rid of the offending substance. Ichigo sputtered in disgust to get any of the silk out of his mouth. He looked up to see Uryū yards away from him, still trekking through. Ichigo sneered at him, ripping off strands of web from his hair. He climbs to his feet and darted towards Uryū's direction. "You could have just warned me, you know. And yes, I'm fine. Thank you for asking." He said sarcastically.

With no words, Uryū stopped. Ichigo looked at him confused. He then noticed the paler teen's eyes moving around, looking for something. It was at that moment, Ichigo took in their new surroundings. They're still in the same webby forest, but the deeper they went, the thicker the silk strands have become. They now stood in the middle of a small, round clearing area, the webs spread around like beautiful veils. But, like all things beautiful, it is hiding something very dangerous.

Sensing danger coming, the two, as slow as possible, reached for their dominant weapons, Ichigo and his large sword and Uryū and his longbow. Ichigo narrowed his eyes as he rests his sword on his shoulder. On Uryū's white weapon, light blue scroll lining spread out to the ends and a string of light was produced in the place of a bowstring. Ichigo stared in awe, never seeing a technique like it. The pale teen fingered one of the arrows in his quiver. He closed his eyes, focusing on his other senses. He was the first to notice a shadow looming over them. He looked up and let out a gasp. He grabs Ichigo's arm and with a flash of light, the two were suddenly at the far end of the clearing.

It was odd for Ichigo. As soon as he felt Uryū grab his bicep, everything was in a rush through his eyes, as if he was moving at high speeds. The next thing he knew, he was flat on his back, very disoriented and a little nauseated from the sudden movement. He opened his eyes, at first seeing triples before it straightens itself out, to see Uryū looming over him, looking in a different direction. Ichigo follows to see a group of Grimm that bares resemblance to a spider, with multi- red eyes, the thorax white with red markings and bony spikes protruding from the sides. The difference is they are the same size as Ichigo and Uryū, if not any bigger. Ichigo moves to get up, barely aware of Uryū's assistance.

"A cluster. Albeit a small one." Uryū identified, his nose crinkled with disgust. "It seems we have stumbled upon a Weaver's nest." He eyed the multi- eyed and legged beasts advancing towards them. "Alright, here's what we'll do. We-huh?" An amber and black blur went past him as Ichigo starts barreling towards the Grimm with a war cry. "Wait a minute, Kurosaki! We need to come up with a plan!"

"I've got a plan!" Ichigo spat as he charged, slashing at one Weaver to the next. "It's plain and simple!" He readies to swing again at his next prey. "Kill them before they kill us." He slashed at the Weaver, only this time managing to graze and agitate it. The creature hissed and began to attack, but was stopped by a white birch arrow piercing into in one of its legs. Landing in front of the injured Grimm, Uryū shoots two of his arrows, one hitting one of its eyes and the other at its thorax. Not dead yet, the Weaver made a mad charge at the archer. As soon as it was a foot away, Uryū palm thrusts the arrow embedded in its eye, sending a light blue shockwave through the daemon spider's body. The thing collapse, black smoke pluming out of it.

He glanced over to Ichigo, who, in his mind, was acting like a complete maniac. The vibrant haired teen swung his sword back and forth as he kills the creatures. Uryū rolled his eyes and shook his head. Why did he have to be paired with such a brute? He turned in time to see another Weaver attacking him. His bow quickly changed to a staff and uses it to block the charge. Much to his confusion, he senses Ichigo's presence coming behind him. He turns to see the honey-haired warrior getting to swing at Uryū's opponent. Uryū ducks in time to avoid the hit and rolls out of the way as Ichigo kills the Grimm. "Watch where your swinging that thing." He chastises.

"Hey, I was just making sure that you wouldn't get killed!" Ichigo argues back.

"I had it under control!" Uryū said.

"Could have fooled me." Ichigo retorts. Uryū glare daggers at him and Ichigo glares back. The sound of hissing from the remaining Weavers broke their gazes at each other and turn to them. The number of remaining Weavers is three.

"To the trees." Uryū said. "Now!" In a single leap, he disappears among the branches and silk.

"'To the trees. Now.'" Ichigo mocked. Really? Uryū is taking refuge in the trees to find a way fight three Weavers? It would take Ichigo fifteen seconds to beat these Grimm. Reluctantly, Ichigo attempted to leap into the air to follow, but was brought back down when one of the Weavers spit out a slew of webs, entangling Ichigo's legs and bringing back to the ground. Ichigo struggled to break himself free of the thick substance. He heard the Weavers hissed as they come to him, claiming him as their meal.

An arrow zipped by Ichigo and pierced itself between two of the Weavers, the arrowhead a brown color. A flash of brown light illuminated from the arrow and wood began to sprout from the ground and wrap around the Weavers. Seeing this, Ichigo takes the chance to use his smaller blade to cut the silk off his legs post haste. The wooden trap coiled around the struggling Grimm as it began to suffocate them to death. With an audible snap, the two Grimm stopped moving as smoke permeated from their bodies, signifying their demise. The last Weaver tried to escape but, from above the trees and the vine-like threads, Uryū landed on it before killing it with his arrow. After the Grimm disintegrated, he strode towards Ichigo, his expression masked by the shine of his glasses.

Ichigo let out a sigh of relief. "Thanks, Uryū. If it hadn't been for that Dust arrow, I would have been a gon-"

POW!

Ichigo's head was forcibly shifted to the right. In shock, he placed a hand on his throbbing head and looked at Uryū. His blue eyes glared furiously; his left arm still positioned post-hit. It took Ichigo a few seconds to realize what happened. Uryū had hit him. "What the hell was that for?"

Uryū used his left hand to push up his glasses. "That's what you get for acting like a complete barbar."

Ichigo was utterly confused. Barbar? Is that supposed to be some sort of insult? "Come again?"

Uryū sighed inwardly. "My apologies, the common language you speak is not my mother tongue." He pushed his glasses again. "Allow me to rephrase that. The reason why I hit you was because you acted like a complete, moronic, barbaric neanderthal." His eyes narrowed at Ichigo.

"Excuse me?"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Guardians of Remnant ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Let me guess: Ichigo and Uryū winds up attracting more Grimm because of their arguing, right?" Weiss asked.

"Control, Alt, bingo." Renji said.

"Wow. When it happened to Weiss and me, all we got was a Giant Nevermore." Ruby said.

Uryū huffs. "It wouldn't have happened if Kurosaki had cooperated and listened to the plan." he said.

"And maybe I would've you weren't so condescending." Ichigo countered.

"Perhaps, if you weren't so pigheaded."

"Communication is key, pal! I can't read your mind!"

Jugram was quick to get to his feet and move in between the arguing duo. "All right, that's enough. You're both nearly adults and are eligible to graduate now. Please, keep your quarrels to a minimum." While disgruntled, Ichigo and Uryū complied.

"Well, that's enough storytelling for one day." Ichigo said.

"Awww, I wanna hear more." Ruby whined, disappointed. Zwei barks.

Rukia giggles. "Don't worry. We'll tell you more at another time."

"It's better than hearing it all in one go, right?" Renji asked.

"True. Very true." Ruby said. A clock chimes, indicating the hour.

"6 o'clock? I think Ren is almost done with dinner." Yang said. "We better get going before Nora hunts us down."

"She must really cherish Ren's cooking." Rukia mused.

"That and she doesn't like waiting. Toodles." Yang said.

"Have a great afternoon." Weiss said.

"See you guys later!" Ruby said. Zwei barks again. On her way out, she notices a photo on the bulletin board. It was a photo of team IURR, likely during their first year. There was an obvious tension surrounding them. Ichigo was glaring angrily at Uryū, who just had a look of cold indifference, Rukia's smile looked force, and Renji had his hand over his face, not wanting to get his picture taken. She looks back at the team now, seeing a team different from what is shown in the picture. A team that cares for each other and would do anything for one another.

"Coming, Ruby?" Yang asked.

"I'm coming!"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Guardians of Remnant ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"I can't wait to hear more about their first year here!" Yang said.

Ruby notices a familiar cat Faunus. "Hey, Blake! You missed out on listening to Ichigo's…" Blake disappears into the shadows, not sparing the others a glance. "…story…"

"Seriously, what is up with her lately?" Weiss wondered.

Yang grew silent, her eyes narrowed in deep thought.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Guardians of Remnant ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Jugram finds Uryū washing the dishes, scrubbing a plate roughly. Too roughly. The blonde Quincy calmly walks over and places a firm hand on his younger brother's shoulder.

"Easy, kleiner Bruder." He said gently. Uryū slows to a stop, the plate he was washing now has scratch marks. He lets the plate sink back into the soap water and puts his hand on his left upper arm, tightly. "…You don't have to tell them if you don't want to."

Uryū was apprehensive. There is a part of him that wants to tell team RWBY, but guilt keeps getting in the way. The light above him flickered.

"…I know…"

Next Chapter: Like a Moth to a Flame

Annnnnd that's it for now! I'll post the next one on my birthday, Jan 2! See ya'll there!