A/N: Here is Chapter 2. Appreciate the reviews. I'll address some of them at the end of the chapter
It was about a week before the new semester for Beacon began, and Touma was in the process of finishing his move from his old apartment to his new dorm. The new accommodations were smaller than his old one, but he was satisfied with his new place. To celebrate the final stages of his move, he bought pudding for the night, not exactly the most expensive, but it was an occasion worth celebrating.
He was aware of the initiation he has yet to pass, but for some reason, he had a good feeling he would succeed. He even studied anything that could prepare him for the event in the days he had stayed at Beacon.
Touma passed through the industrial area to get to his apartment just like any other day, only to come across something or someone in an odd scenario. It was difficult to make out under the night's sky but as he approached that someone, he had a feeling something was wrong and quickly dashed. The person was collapsed in a curled up position on the cold concrete floor, and Touma heard the painful gasps from the person.
"Hey, you alright!?" Touma asked as he crouched down beside the person. Suddenly, he found himself facing a barrel of a gun.
"Don't… come closer…" The injured person ordered, however, Touma heard the pain behind the feminine voice.
"Look, I'm only here to help," Touma replied with his hands up. However, the girl didn't take kindly to the approach and kept her gunblade firmly aimed at him. Touma gulped, but he couldn't ignore the situation. "I'll call an ambulance, we'll get you to-"
"No... don't! They'll find me there." the person bit back, punctuated with pained breaths. Touma already had his scroll open, and the light illuminated the person before him. It was a young woman, dressed in black and white. He also realised something that made his blood run cold, across her chest was a gash, as if a sword had sliced her, and beneath her was a pool of blood, steadily getting larger.
Touma couldn't let the weapon intimidate him as he glared directly at her. "You're losing blood, you need to get to a hospital," Touma argued as he began to call the hospital only for a bloodied hand to grip his wrist with surprising strength. As he turned to the woman's face, he saw two golden orbs. There was pain etched on her own bloodied face, but there was also some inner-conflict as well.
"Please, don't."
Touma internally debated on what to do, but he knew time was short and whoever 'they' were was likely still looking for her. He nodded and gripped her arm, and the girl didn't resist, her face exhausted and resigned. He then shifted her to a bridal carry as she gasped slightly in pain and clutched her weapon even tighter. His apartment wasn't far, and he walked as fast as he could, careful not to bring her any more discomfort. He learned the basics of treating wounds if aura was diminished or too severe at combat school, but his hand was preventing her from naturally healing with aura.
"What's your name?" Touma asked. 'Keep them talking, don't let them fall unconscious' it was repeatedly drilled into his head during his time at combat school. He couldn't help but feel antsy as his shirt dampened from the girl's blood.
"Blake… Belladonna," the girl grunted.
"Alright, I'm Touma Kamijou. Just stay with me, Blake. I'll get you fixed up," he replied as he picked up the pace. He kept her talking, often with random questions to which, she responded with a mixture of grunts or nothing at all.
When they arrived at his apartment, Touma quickly set the injured girl on his bed and took her weapons to the side. He took out his scroll only for the blood to be smudged on the screen. If she doesn't want him to contact the hospital or emergency services, then he'll have to ask Ozpin. To his dismay, Ozpin did not pick up. He had a feeling the man was a busy person and cursed softly, now that he only had one choice left. He washed his hands and grabbed the first-aid kit from his bathroom and set it aside.
"Okay, Touma… let's do this." With that, he prised open Blake's vest and shirt revealing a severed black bra and of course, her exposed chest, which had Touma blushing a little. Blake barely responded, only shifting her head a little with a groan. Across the chest from her left shoulder to her right side of the torso, he could barely see the gash because of the blood. The boy shook his head, now wasn't the time to ogle her. He treated and dressed her wound as carefully as he could, and then washed his hands once again and covered her in a fresh set of blankets.
Touma sat at the side of the bed, exhausted, but relieved now that Blake seemed to not be in pain anymore. He wasn't too confident with his skills, but the training he received seemed to have had favourable results. He glanced at Blake and noticed something interesting on the top of her head. Her bow seemed to be strangely lopsided, so he decided to pull, and it revealed a pair of cat ears.
"She's a Faunus?" Touma muttered to himself in surprise, as he retracted his hand from the cat ears. He could only sigh at the revelation, it wasn't a big deal, and her being a Faunus was the least of his worries. She looked like she needed help, and he delivered, that's what mattered right?
He took out his bloodied scroll again and attempted to wipe it, before calling Ozpin, upon which said man failed to pick up once more. With a sigh, he looked at the ceiling, it was the third day of exhausting events within the past week, and now he has a Faunus who was injured for unexplained reasons. He was pretty sure the chances of that happening was nigh impossible, the only thing that could top that was a fallen hungry nun hanging off his balcony.
Suddenly, he heard the door buzzing. Touma frowned and grabbed his weapon. There was a chance it might be Blake's pursuer and knowing his luck, it probably was. He headed towards the door cautiously, only for the door to suddenly come flying off the hinges to him. He barely managed to raise his arms before he was blown back by the force of the breach.
"Thought I smelled her here," a gruff voice muttered. Touma looked up to see a lanky man in a white hooded coat. His entire face was covered by an all too familiar mask he had seen on the news every once in a while. Touma saw a furry tail flicking behind the man, and that pretty much confirmed that the assailant was a member of the White Fang. He was aware of what the White Fang was, and in some ways, he sympathised with their situation. However, their actions grew in violence, and that was something he could never condone.
"Too bad for you, you got yourself involved. I get you are just trying to help and all, but I got a job to do myself." the White Fang member said before he flicked his wrists revealing two combat knives and pointed one at Touma, "So just sit there and be pretty okay? I promise I'll be out of your hair soon."
Touma's blood chilled, he knew getting into Beacon without any unlucky repercussions was too good to be true. What's worse, was what he implied he would do to the person he just patched up.
"What the hell? She's injured and can't fight back." Touma stood up, he wasn't completely hurt, but the sudden attack had put him off-balance. He had an inkling of a feeling that this was the man that attacked Blake. He had his weapon at the ready, though now that he thought about it, he still hadn't named it like Ruby wanted him to.
The assailant only tilted his head back and sighed. "As I said, it's a job, someone wants her head, and I gotta do it. Nothing more, nothing less. Sorry, boy, nothing personal." he said mildly before sauntering towards Touma, his knives poised at the ready.
"What's with that screwed up reasoning? You're willing to kill her just because it's a job?" Touma asked. Anger had crept up in his voice, the way the White Fang member seemed to treat this as a 'job' just rubbed him the wrong way.
"Can't you get it in your head, that it is a job? What are you? A retard?"
"No! The fact that you're willing to kill a defenceless person, a Faunus, that you, the White Fang is supposed to support, is something I can't let slide!" Touma replied hotly, his fists were now clenched tightly in anger and disappointment. Even with everything he knew about the White Fang; it was just simply incredibly difficult to believe that they would kill a Faunus for any reason at all. "So, why are you doing this? Why are you willing to kill her for a 'job'?"
"Hmph, she crossed us, that's all that needs to be said. Let me tell you, boy. I'm gonna kill her here and there is nothing you can do about that." the assailant replied darkly as he shook the knife at Touma at almost every word.
"I see. I won't pretend to know what's going on with you White Fang guys, but I won't allow you killing people no matter what! If you won't stop, then I'll crush that screwed up logic of yours right here, right now!" Touma declared, his bracelet transforming into his gauntlet and in one smooth motion, fired a concussive round straight at the assailant. The White Fang member was blasted several metres back onto the street in surprise, smashing through a street sign. Touma also flew back from the impact. However, he quickly recovered and pursued the assailant while reloading his last concussive round.
"What the fuck was that!?" the assassin spat as he rubbed at his stomach, the fall from the second floor did considerable damage to his aura. Even if his aura shielded the damage, the impact still managed to daze him and knock him back like some super punch. He grabbed his cracked mask and flung it away, and revealed two piercing blue eyes and a tanned young face. He stood up shakily and somewhat excited as he watched his opponent descend from the apartment. The target barely put up a fight after being caught off-guard, and the boy looked like some random civilian who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. However, Touma fought back, and the White Fang assassin could only grin because he was actually getting entertained.
Touma didn't say anything and only planned to neutralise the threat. There's no way he could let the assailant get past him and harm Blake. He had a feeling that the assailant was also responsible for the injury the girl suffered as well. It sickened him to his core, and he was itching to punch the assailant in the face. As he saw the White Fang member cast aside the mask, Touma was surprised at how young the assassin looked, warped by a manic grin sported on the face.
"Alright, not bad, not bad at all! You might actually make my night!" With that, the assailant charged his knives raised, Touma charged as well. The White Fang member was faster, quickly striking with his knives like snakes and forced the luckless boy to back up into using his left arm to shield from the strike as much as he could. Whenever Touma struck back, the man effortlessly weaved through most of his, and sometimes he knocked them out of the way. Eventually, the White Fang managed to take the upper hand as Touma's right arm and shoulder suffered shallow cuts from the attack. The boy faltered, and the Faunus launched a sidekick, which knocked Touma back into a fetal position. He gasped in pain as he struggled to get up. The aura enhanced Faunus proved to be a difficult foe for Touma as each blow was more substantial than the last.
"Are you serious!? You get cut up like it's no big deal, where's ya aura?" The assailant asked, despite that, he grinned, clearly enjoying the fight. Touma winced in pain, but the cuts were superficial, he had suffered significantly worse before. He stood up again and raised his fists. He noticed that his opponent was pretty confident now that he more or less figured that Touma had no aura and that was the best chance he had.
The luckless boy charged, only getting an eye roll from his assailant before he responded in kind. Touma then raised his arm, causing his opponent to stop and brace himself for impact from another concussive round, only for Touma to slam his right fist into the gut of his opponent instead. The White Fang assailant stumbled and gasped in pain as he dropped his knives and cradled his stomach.
Touma didn't relent, and with a cry, he pounced at the shocked man, smashed his right fist straight into his face and the White Fang member finally crumpled. Touma simply glanced down at the man before he headed back to the apartment, and saw Blake struggling to sit up. Once again, her exposed chest was all for Touma to see. The girl, now more alert than ever, tried to cover herself in embarrassment as the two blushed.
"I-I was just checking to see you're okay and I've already seen your chest …. There's a shirt at the bedside, just… take it," Touma spluttered as he attempted to cover his eyes. Blake only glared at him with suspicion in her eyes before she swiped the said orange shirt and quickly wore it. If he was the only one besides her, there, she was sure he saw her exposed. As she tried to stand up only to stumble, Touma quickly rushed to help her.
"Oi! You already lost a lot of blood, be careful!" He fussed as he gripped on to her arm before letting her sit down. However, there wasn't time to burn; if that White Fang assailant was tracking her here, then there could be more still looking for her. He then grabbed her weapon and slung it over his back. "We need to get you out of here. They tracked you down here. I know a safe place we can get you to."
"Why are you helping me?" Blake asked softly, weak from the blood loss. She was grateful the guy was helping her, but she couldn't help but be a little bewildered and suspicious by his actions. She knew that he was aware of her status as a Faunus, yet the boy seemed to be unperturbed by that fact.
Suddenly, he grabbed onto her again with a grunt into a bridal carry. She felt her aura simply dissipate, but his sudden action completely overcame the shock of it. It felt like she was a child again with no power, and much to her ire, she had no strength to fight him off. Touma took a breath and answered, "Why do I need a reason to help someone?"
With that, he gave his final farewell to his apartment and headed off with Blake in his arms for Beacon. Only for him to realise that he had forgotten his pudding somewhere in some random alley.
If anyone told Blake that she'd end up at Beacon several days before she was supposed to, she wouldn't believe them, until now. She sat up, wincing a little even though the gash was healed thanks to her aura. She still remembered the time that knife sliced through her guard and unfortunately, that scar would remain there to remind her of her carelessness. She noticed she was still wearing that shirt belonging to the boy from last night.
As she looked around she spied several desks, beds and cabinets that reminded her of an infirmary.
She then saw the familiar face of a slumbering boy that came across her last night. If she recalled correctly, he was Touma Kamijou, and while it did embarrass her that he saw her exposed, she knew that she didn't give him much of a choice when it came to her wounds either.
Blake wasn't sure what to feel, but she was glad Touma saved her. When he first arrived, she completely expected him to distance himself. She didn't know who in the White Fang sent that assailant to kill her, but she knew it was one of the risks of leaving the organisation. She was aware that her identity as a Faunus was now exposed. What's worse, is that she was pretty sure that he was a student here if he brought her to Beacon. As she swung her legs off the bed, the bed creaked and Touma jerked awake in a daze.
"You're awake!" Touma jumped up with an awkward smile, "Ms Goodwitch said that you'd be alright, I just couldn't help but worry, though."
Blake's lips twitched upwards. It was kind of him to help her, even though he knew she was a Faunus. She was well aware that quite a lot of humans weren't hostile to Faunus and also sympathised with them, but at the same time, it was extremely rare for them to help them actively. When she and Touma left his apartment, she noticed a knocked out White Fang member and concluded it was the boy who had dealt with them.
"Now, you should be safe here, I gotta head off. But if you need anything, well, just ask." Touma then turned to leave.
"Wait!" Touma paused. Blake took a breath and asked, "You're a student here, right?"
He scratched his head, "I will be in a few days." Blake's face paled a little, she wanted to start with a clean slate, and the last thing she needed was people prejudging her for who she is.
As the silence hung between them, Touma approached Blake, who seemed to be focused towards the floor. "Are you alright? You look troubled."
"No, it's just…" Blake took a deep breath. She handled herself better than this, she stared right at Touma, "I'll also be a student here at Beacon and… I don't want anyone to know that I'm a Faunus."
Touma just stared blankly at her, despite only being at Beacon for a few days, he noticed some students that decided to stay for the holidays were Faunus and didn't particularly try to hide it. Then again, for some, it might be difficult to hide something as large as rabbit ears or horsetails. He also knew that Faunus were often treated horribly or avoided.
"Okay, I promise I won't tell anyone," Touma said.
Blake blinked, she didn't expect him to agree so easily. "Wait. What?"
"I won't tell anyone." he reiterated, "I don't know your reasons exactly, but if that's the way you want, then I won't tell anyone. Besides, I'm sure people will accept you for who you are."
Despite only knowing Touma for less than a day, Blake felt relieved in that she could trust those words. Perhaps it was because he helped her even though his life was potentially at risk. Either way, she couldn't help but smile a little. When the semester starts, she wouldn't mind teaming up with him.
Touma was well aware that it was the day before Beacon's starting semester, yet before him, he couldn't help but think that Glynda Goodwitch seemed not to be a fan of him. Granted, he carried an injured Faunus out of nowhere to the academy and all, but perhaps the situation made her think of him as a troublemaker of sorts. In his humble opinion, he just happened to be caught up in those troubles rather than being the cause of it.
In the days he spent at Beacon, Glynda Goodwitch seemed as attractive as she was strict and professional. Even though he wasn't an official student yet, She had scolded at him to 'dress properly' and act professionally. Despite that, she gave him a tour of the campus and even helped him with other miscellaneous things including the incident with Blake.
What he didn't expect was her, Ozpin and two unidentified people standing in the headmaster's office with him. The latter two were not part of the Academy faculty as he had never seen them around.
"Hmm? So this is Touma Kamijou? The mysterious auraless huntsman," the blonde man commented with wonder, as he adjusted his sunglasses with a grin. Unlike the rest of the other huntsman, Touma noticed that this guy, in particular, looked like a delinquent. He wore a green flower-patterned shirt buttoned only once at the mid-midsection, and his golden necklace seemed to glint at the natural lighting. He held out his left hand with a bright smile, "Motoharu Tsuchimikado, at your service! But, you can call me Moto or Haru, whatever floats your boat."
As Touma shook his hand, he couldn't help but feel a little apprehensive about it as he turned to the next one. Unlike Motoharu, she had a far more business-like presence, almost the complete opposite of him. She wore a white uniform and grey greaves with what looked like a sabre sheathed at the waist. Her stiff posture and cold gaze gave him the impression of someone who spent their life in the military. As she surveyed him, Touma felt his back stiffen and swallowed a lump in his throat.
"Winter Schnee. A pleasure to meet you Touma Kamijou," She said with a nod and as cold a voice as Touma expected.
"Ahh, don't be like that Ice Queen!" Motoharu responded teasingly. Touma could've sworn he saw the Schnee's eye twitch. "At this rate, you'll be single forever! C'mon, tell him about yourself, what you like, what you want to do in five years. Besides, you saw the videos. He carried himself pretty well!"
"What I saw was several missed opportunities and mistakes he made during his fight against the White Fang and Torchwick, and I do not fraternise with students." she retorted frostily, but that did little to deter the blonde man.
"Well, he isn't a fully fledged huntsmen like us, give him a bit of polish and juice, he'll be just as good as us." Motoharu replied with a shrug then he leaned in with an even wider grin, "Besides, Ironman approved of him, why can't you?"
Winter's eyes widened as she turned to Motoharu, "How did you-"
"So, Kami-yan~" Motoharu continued as if he never heard the Schnee, Touma simply blinked at his new 'nickname'. "What kind of woman do you like? Was it that damsel in distress you rescued a couple of days ago? Or maybe you like older women, right? I've seen you looking at Ice Queen over there and Ms Goodwitch."
"Wait! No, that's-" Touma spluttered took a step back, flustered as he could feel the freezing atmosphere from Winter who glared at the blonde. He was pretty sure that if looks could kill, Motoharu would be long dead. Glynda heavily sighed as she rubbed her brow at the oncoming migraine thanks to Motoharu's behaviour.
"That's enough, Motoharu. Touma, I'm glad you can make it. Glynda, if you would." Ozpin cut in. Out of the four huntsmen before Touma, Ozpin had to be the most mysterious of them all. Whenever he talked to the headmaster, he always felt welcoming and amiable, something that was admittedly a little foreign to Touma. He had rarely encountered friendly people that were his elder.
"Touma, as you are aware, due to your circumstances, the curriculum for your time at Beacon will be different from the rest of your cohorts." the blonde woman said as if Motoharu and Winter's conversation never took place. "The major difference, will be the missions that you need to complete to graduate. Since you will not be assigned a team, you will instead complete missions under a huntsman. Of course, your grades will be assessed by them accordingly. I will send you an outline of the changes to your scroll tonight." Glynda explained.
"And there you have it Kami-yan," Motoharu said as he adjusted his glasses, "You'll get your missions from us, but sometimes Ice Queen and I won't have the missions for you."
Glynda nodded and continued, "In that case, you'll be attached to another team from your year as a temporary member. Any questions?"
"Yeah. Why am I not being assigned to a team?" Touma asked. It was pretty strange to have him go solo. When he read the brochure about Beacon, the team structure had been integral to the whole education system.
"An excellent question, Touma Kamijou," Ozpin replied with a small smile, "Your lack of aura would be the prime factor into that decision. Along with your semblance which seems to be a contradiction to everything we know about aura. It is likely that you aren't subjected to the usual rules of aura as well."
"Rules of aura?" Touma was completely confused. The fact that he never really 'felt' his aura made it hard for him to grasp the topic.
"Essentially, you are a ghost. That makes you more ideal for specific tasks that even most huntsmen are incapable of. Here, Motoharu and Ms Schnee are some of the huntsmen chosen to oversee your progress. That is if you pass the initiation. Since you won't follow the usual fare, you'll instead partake in a mock mission with Moto and Winter. I wish you luck, Touma Kamijou," Ozpin finalised. Before Touma could respond, he felt Motoharu gripped him by the shoulder with a grin and pushed him towards the elevator with Winter marching behind.
"Are you sure Motoharu is the best choice for Touma?" Glynda asked. When it comes to making decisions, she had a strong faith in Ozpin's judgement even though it perplexed her at times. However, the fact that Motoharu was chosen above many other talented huntsmen was the most perplexing decision of all.
"Despite his behaviour, Glynda, Motoharu is an excellent huntsman and I believe there is much he can teach Touma throughout the next few years," Ozpin replied mildly.
"Alright, Kami-yan, it's a pretty simple task for this 'mock mission'," Motoharu announced as he held up what looked like chess pieces between his fingers. He placed them in a small leather pouch and handed it to Touma. "All you have to do is reach site Alpha, located in the northern part of the forest, place those chest pieces on the altar, then head back here within two hours."
The two of them and Winter had just arrived at the cliff of the Emerald Forest. Touma couldn't help but feel a little unnerved with the way Motoharu briefed him. He glanced at Motoharu's grinning face to Winter's stony one.
"Then, what are you guys doing?" Touma asked, a little weary of what's going to happen.
"He will be monitoring your progress." Winter answered. Touma felt a chill go down his spine, especially with the way the Schnee looked at him, "While I will be hunting you." she continued.
"Yup! If you get knocked out, whether by Grimm, by her, or from bad luck, you fail!" Motoharu said jovially before he slung his arm over Touma's shoulders. "Honestly, you'll have a hard time getting halfway through, so I got a little gift for you, Kami-yan~!"
Motoharu dropped three large red bullets, almost identical in shape to his concussive rounds. The blonde man grinned, "These babies here are smoke grenades, it might help you in a pinch."
With a slap on the back, Touma stumbled on to the grey launch pad as the blonde man asked, "So, Kami-yan, any questions?"
"Wait!" There were a lot of things he was not prepared for. For one, Winter, who looked like she could kill Touma the moment she set her sights on him or that he was going to be thrown into a forest filled with Grimm that would no doubt try to tear his guts out.
"Great! Just a bit of advice. Survival over victory, good luck!" Motoharu encouraged with a grin and before Touma could reply, he found himself in the air screaming as he flew towards the Emerald Forest. Motoharu watched with a grin. "I think he'll do alright."
Winter sighed at the frivolity at her fellow huntsman. She did not doubt that Touma Kamijou seemed like a decently capable person, if rough around the edges. However, she didn't see Touma as a huntsman material, even if he was capable of taking out a Deathstalker by himself. Despite that, General James Ironwood seemed to taken an interest in him after hearing Ozpin's request. Since he wanted her to oversee Touma and his unique circumstances, then she would do it as if she was training recruits or her sister.
"Hmmm~? Seems like a certain Ice Queen is getting fired up!" Motoharu's voice invaded her thoughts in a manner that made her narrow her eyes. As much as she was annoyed by Motoharu, she couldn't deny that his abilities were top notch.
"I have no idea what you are talking about," She replied evenly as she unsheathed her sabre. With a flash, a glyph blinked underneath her, and she rocketed towards the Emerald Forest.
As for Touma, he was already running through the forest. He already used a concussive charge for his ad-libbed landing, managing to escape with some bruises. To add to his misfortune, he landed right in the middle of a pack of Beowolves which were quickly eliminated since all he had to do was touch them with his Imagine Breaker. Despite that simplicity he suffered bruises and scratches while fighting them off. When he continued his journey, he encountered more Grimm and fought them the same way by solely relying on his Imagine Breaker, though it was far easier as each encounter only had one or two Grimm to deal with.
It didn't take him long to reach the temple ruins, or 'site Alpha'. However, despite how easy it was for Touma to reach the first target he remained cautious. He entered the ruins, carefully navigating his way through before he took out the chess pieces and deposited them on the altar. So far, no sign of Winter. With the first half of the task done, he left for the exit, determined to finish strong, only for all that to come crashing down.
"I suppose you getting to site Alpha in that amount of time was adequate." Winter called out as if she was reading off a report. Touma gulped, as he saw the Schnee stood outside the ruins with her sabre drawn. "Touma Kamijou, prepare yourself, I will not go easy on you."
Touma's spirit sank, as he felt the intense cold pressure coming from Winter as if she was freezing him in place with her piercing glare. It wasn't like the first time he faced a deathstalker, the criminal with the white coat or that White Fang assassin. He was facing a fully fledged huntsman that looked like she can take on an army. "...Such misfortune."
A/N: So obviously, there might be more Toaru characters that will be intro'd in the story. How? That is for me to know and for you to find out. I can guarantee though that this is a RWBY-verse fic, so naturally, Toaru characters will conform to that standard and will be different in some way. (I mean, Touma's got a weapon unlike his Canon counterpart).
