A/N Alright! Before we begin a special thanks to Imalloutoflove for the semblance ideas, and the team placement idea. The pairing poll is still on my profile, and if there isn't a pairing on it right now that you want to throw into the vote just PM me or leave a review asking about it.
So, without further ado, here's the story.
Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY or the Destiny elements in this story.
A still chuckling Shade followed the four Huntresses-in-Training to the top of the cliff. Seeing Ozpin landing by the landing pads, he breaks off and makes his way to the aged headmaster. Glynda Goodwitch arrived at the same time as him, and Shade gestured for her to go first. The woman nods before addressing Ozpin.
"All students have returned safe and sound, with only a few injuries here and there." She says. Ozpin nods and notices Shade standing not that far off.
"Ah! Excellent!" Ozpin says. "Glynda, I'd like to introduce you to Iron Lord Shade Kurogane, our newest student." Shade nods to the woman, and she returns in kind. "Shade, this is Glynda Goodwitch, my deputy-headmistress."
"Glad to see that you got pulled out, although I must say you look rather young for an Iron Lord." The blonde woman says. Shade shrugs.
"Technically I'm just a cadet, but since I'm the only one alive with any sort of training and was basically done with training." He says with another shrug, "Well. Yeah. I'm an Iron Lord, just wasn't able to make it official." She nods with slight understanding. Shade shrugs before turning to Ozpin. "S what are we gonna do boss? If I read correctly students are placed in teams of four, since I'm an odd man out how's that gonna work?"
"Well, given your experience in the field by yourself I believe that it's safe to assume that you can handle yourself on your own." Ozpin chuckles, "Perhaps you're a solo, an extra member for already established teams and you're basically the backup." Shade nods.
"Makes sense." He says, "Scouts generally like to work on their own. " Ozpin nods. "Now that is out of the way, I need new gear."
"Pardon?" Glynda asks.
"I need a new firearm." The Scout says. "The auto-rifle Specialist Schnee gave me is good but not my cup of tea per-se. I'd prefer something of a bit more range and higher caliber. My mentor had a sniper rifle she called Devil's Dawn. I'm looking for something like that." Ozpin nods.
"Well, I'm sure we can let you go out and get some new weapons." The headmaster says. Shade chuckles.
"I don't have any money." He says, "I was just planning on finding one and then working to get some money to get it." Ozpin chuckles before handing the teen a card.
"Use that." He says. "It's a student trust account for students who need to order repair parts for their weapons, so don't buy anything but the rifle. We can get you ammo here." Shade nods, takes the card, and takes the airship nearby heading towards the city. "Now Glynda, shall we go assign teams?" The blonde nods before following the headmaster into the school.
Downtown Vale.
Shade lazily glances through the weapon shops littering the small shopping area he found himself in.
"Geez, all I've seen is mechashift weapons." The Iron Lord mutters, tugging on his new cloak, an all-black cape with the triple arrow symbol of the Scouts. He picked it up from an old Iron Lord armorsmith that owed his mentor some money. The old man was happy to consider the debt paid if Shade got a new cloak and stayed on order for any new armor Shade may need. The man happily agreed, having remembered him from the last time Luna stopped by five years ago, which was to gear up Shade the first time around. "It makes sense the Iron Forges are not around anymore because the Iron Lords are not around to run them but come on! There at least needs to be someone who sells regular firearms!" His voice grew to a frustrated growl.
"You.. Kid." An old shopkeeper says, eying him with a critical eye. "You do know what that symbol on your cape represents, right?" Shade nods.
"Iron Lord Scout, I know." He mutters.
"Then you would know that only Iron Lords could wear that cloak." The shopkeeper says. Shade sighs before pulling out his official license, due for a renewal but still able to confirm is identity.
"As you can see old man." The Iron Lord says. "I am an Iron Lord, my license needs to be renewed but once one get the original license one is officially an Iron Lord for life." The shopkeeper blinks in surprise. "Yes, the world believes the Iron Lords are dead, I know. Sorry to disappoint, but I've fought for five years just to keep them alive."
"Not even the dead are truly gone." The old man mutters. Shade nods to him. "Kid, I overheard you wanting a regular firearm, might I ask what type you want?" Shade shrugs, popping out his pistol.
"Well, the pistol is fine." The Scout says, "I just need to do some maintenance on it. I'm really looking for a nice sniper rifle." The old man grins.
"I may have just the thing, come here." He says, and Shade does so as the man ruffles around through his stall. "Ah here it is." Placed on the counter was an odd-looking rifle. It obviously was a sniper rifle, but it looked like it was spliced together from multiple different rifles. It sported an extremely long scope and a worn wooded foregrip. Attached to the foregrip was what seemed to be a spearhead. "This was made for an Iron Lord named Luna Starlight, but she found another rifle called Devil's Dawn. This one's called, But Not Forgotten." Shade blinks.
"Even the dead aren't truly gone." The Scout repeats the man's words. The old man nods. "It's fitting, because Luna was my mentor. I'm her apprentice." The man looks shocked, before an aged grin appears on his face.
"Well then, I guess it's fate that I was the one who recognized that symbol then." He says. Shade nods.
"How much?" The Iron Lord asks, taking out the credit card. The old man shakes his head.
"For you, nothing." The old man says. "The appearance alone drives people away, and it was made for an Iron Lord, I'm just giving it to the right person." Shade nods, picking up the rifle. Looking down the scope, he's surprised at how balanced the rifle is.
"Perfect balance." The Scout mutters, knowing that many Iron Lords searched far and wide for a weapon that had this quality. "Which means an extremely low recoil." Popping out the clip, he sees that it's made for armor-piercing rounds. "I'm going to assume this is hammer forged as well." The old man nods. Shade slings the rifle across his back, turning to the shopkeeper. "Thank you, sir." The man waves his hand.
"Think nothing of it." He says. "I've seen many Iron Lords in my many years, but none quite struck me like you." The man's critical eye seems to stare into Shade's soul. "I believe we can expect great things from you." Shade grins.
"Well, I hope I don't disappoint then." The Scout replies. The old man nods.
"See to it kid." He quips. Shade nods and with a parting word, leaves the area, heading back towards the airship to Beacon. The flight itself was uneventful, however, he kept getting looks from adults, and generally those old enough to remember the Iron Lords, but Shade paid them no mind as he disembarked the airship and made his way towards the main doors to the amphitheater. He entered just as the last team was called, the four girls from earlier that day teamed up as team RWBY. Ozpin notices him and motioned for the Scout to come forward. Shade does so, walking up onto the stage before standing at parade rest.
"And lastly." Ozpin says. "Shade Kurogane, you weren't originally signed up but I believe an exception could be made in your situation." The Iron Lord shrugs. "Now before you parents out there start complaining about favoritism, Mr. Kurogane is the sole surviving Iron Lord." A dull roar echoes throughout the area. "Now, before everyone starts, Mr. Kurogane was then trapped inside the Dead Zone for five years, working on getting a distress signal operating again." Shade takes a step forwards.
"Now before you start asking why I just didn't make my way to the wall, well." He starts. "I tried to, but there was a large enough army of Grimm that even Ironwood would be hesitant to send his forces to face. There was no chance of me escaping on foot, and without a working transponder, I couldn't call for a ride." The room is filled with murmurs again. "If you don't believe me that's fine, I don't care. I'm here to carry on the name of my fallen friends, brothers, and sisters, I'm not here for you." Nodding to Ozpin, the headmaster clears his throat.
"Since Shade is an odd-man-out." Ozpin says. "And since he has five years of experience in the field, it's been decided that Shade will be in a single person unit, assisting established teams as a fifth member." Shade nods. "You're dismissed." Shade turns on his heel and makes his way down towards the back of the room. Ozpin makes a few more announcements before the students make their way to their dorms. Shade stays behind, and Glynda makes her way over to him after most of the students leave.
"Your dorm room is 1-113." She says, handing him a scroll. "Since you didn't have a scroll we got you one, keep it on you at all times. It is your room key, and also your aura gauge, you'll need it for combat classes and competitions." Shade nods, a serious look on his face as he takes the device
"With all due respect, professor." The Scout says. "I'm going to be dueling or sparring." Goodwitch raises an eyebrow. "I'm not here for that. I'm going to fight. The real world has no regulated rules in combat, the fight doesn't end once your aura enters the red, if you run out of aura, you die. You of all people should know that." Glynda moves to speak. "And don't think that because I'm a student I shouldn't worry about situations like that. I lived in that situation for five years, if I'm going to spar with someone, I want them to know that I'll be going about it like it's a real fight." The blonde sighs and nods.
"Very well, but please try to adhere to the rules in class." She says. "Ozpin left a message for you on the scroll." With a raised eyebrow, the Scout opens the device and reads the message. He grins as he closes the scroll before turning and exiting the room, running straight into team RWBY, who were apparently waiting for him.
"Oh," Shade says, blinking in surprise. "Hello, how are ya doing?"
"We're doing well, thank you." Weiss Schnee says sharply. Shade raises an eyebrow, before judging the four before him briefly. The youngest and team leader was a Ruby Rose, she was short and carried an innocent aura that made one just adore the girl, but Shade knew better than to underestimate the girl. He saw the giant death-dealer that passed for a scythe, and he knew that she was much stronger than she seemed.
Next was the heiress, Weiss Schnee. She carried herself much like her sister, from the brief moments Shade spent in the elder sister's presence. The white-haired girl had a curious scar over her left eye. Shade quickly noticed her behavior towards her leader. The Schnee barely looked in Ruby's direction and seemed to ignore the young girl. The Iron Lord made a mental note about that.
Next up was Blake Belladonna. Shade could instantly tell this girl was secretive and an avid book reader. The fellow ravenette would quickly glance around her surroundings like she was looking for an enemy, and didn't exactly meet Shade's eye. He was about to move on when a slight twitch of the Belladonna's bow caught his eye. Although it was dark out, he could clearly see the twitch.
"She's hiding something." The Scout thinks, before moving onto the last member.
Last but certainly not least was Yang Xiao-Long. The girl was leaning against a nearby streetlamp with a carefree air around her, but Shade could see that the explosive blonde was watching him intensely, as if she was trying to gauge whether he was a threat or not.
"So," Shade begins, growing tired of the silent standoff. "Is this the part where I get beat up for my lunch money? Because I'd hate to say it ladies but I have no money." Yang barks out a muffled chuckle, Weiss's left eye twitches, Blake rolls her eyes with a small, amused grin, while Ruby gives a hearty giggle.
"No." Yang says, pushing off the wall. "We just wanted to confirm some things." Ruby then jumps forwards.
"I'll go first!" The red reaper exclaims, launching her hand up with childlike innocence, before blushing in embarrassment at Shade's amused grin. "Well, I'd like to thank you for saving us from that Nevermore earlier today." Shade waves it off.
"Don't think about it. I just was put off because ticking off big Grimm is usually my job." He says, a small chuckle escaping him. "Just doing my job."
"Speaking of jobs." Weiss cuts in, a small glare directed towards Ruby and him. "Are you really an Iron Lord? Because I thought they all died five years ago." Shade mutters something along the lines of, 'I'm getting tired of pulling this thing out' before he grabs his ID.
"It's out of date, but once someone gets an official Iron Lord ID they're one for life." He says, handing it over for the Schnee to inspect. Once she was satisfied it was real, the ID was handed back over.
"How did you survive?" Blake asks, "You must have been stuck in the Dead Zone for five years without aura."
"I'm good at making impossible things possible." Shade shrugs. "Roughly because as a Scout we generally are stubborn pieces of crap and don't know how to die when we don't want to. I made do." Blake nods.
"So you're basically saying that you're a good fighter?" Yang asks, a cocky smirk on her face. Shade shrugs again.
"I guess." He says. "One problem I've always seen was that people liked to hide behind their aura and semblance. The Dead Zone stops that. I can rely on my own combat skills now, so I'd say I could put up a decent fight." The blonde nods and acceptance.
"Last question." Ruby says. "I don't remember much about the Iron Lords, but I do know that the cadets are generally pulled out of combat school for individual training, so why are you here?" Shade grins, remembering the message that was on his scroll.
"Why, for your very team." He says. "I'm here to make you four Iron Lords."
A/N: That's a wrap! Again, I didn't really know where to end the chapters because I want to keep writing.
So update on status, Shade's team placement stuff has been decided. There's a good Semblance idea in the works. As for the pairing, the poll is still up on my profile, if there is a pairing you wish to throw into the mix, just PM or review with it and I'll make sure to add it to the list.