I don't own any of the characters here with the exception of original characters, Characters from Rwby and Devil May cry Belongs to Rooster Teeth and Capcom.
Chapter 3: The Gunsmith And The Bully
A few days later after the initiation
Tony wakes up in his dormitory room, still feeling his back sore from the attack he received from the blade. He gets up and grabs his uniform and goes to take a shower, he was relieved that it had hot water, sadly it burnt like hell in his back.
After he took the shower he put his uniform on, he didn't bother to close the jacket and put the tie in, he won't admit it but he doesn't how to tie them; looking at the time he saw it was eight fifty so he got out of his dormitory to hear a lot of noise to the room on his right, it was the girl's room.
"Why so much noise so early in the morning?" Said Tony standing in the door while looking at what the girls did "What the hell is this?"
The girls made "bunk beds" by tieing one bed to the roof with ropes and the other one the put books below the legs of the bed, in Tony's mind…what a mess they made…
"Oh, morning Tony we made bunk beds!" Said Ruby cheerfully.
"I…sure you did, little red hood" He says sarcastically.
"It's effective for now" Said Blake finding the logic that Tony cannot find "I mean, we are four in this room unlike you"
"Point taken" Tony says in defeat.
"Although, if you want, I could move with you handsome" Yang finally flirts with Tony.
"No!" Both Ruby and Tony yell.
Tony shakes his head "Wouldn't it be better to buy actual bunk beds instead of…whatever this is?"
"Hate to agree with Tony but he's right you know" Weiss confirms.
"But we don't have money for that" Blake said while looking into her empty wallet.
"Fine, I know someone who could get them for you for a cheap price and I'll pay" Tony says "I fear that there might be an accident with that setup…"
"My my, what a gentleman" Says Weiss giggling.
"Whatever but you guys better move" Tony looks at the time "We have class at nine and it's eight fifty five"
"What?!" team RWBY exclaims.
Immediately Weiss pushes Tony and starts running while the rest of the team does the same, He then sees team JNPR that starts running behind them.
"So this is school life?" Tony chuckles as starting running behind them "I might like this after all"
After a while.
Tony was doing his best with the task at hand, it was a tough battle but it was a losing battle because the class of professor Port was so boring. Tony thought of using tape to keep his eyes open and not falling asleep, he was sure the rest of his classmates were in the same position…with the exception of Weiss who was actually paying attention.
"A true Huntsman must be honorable! A true Huntsman must be dependable! A true Huntsman must be strategic, well-educated, and wise!" Says Port with his posh accent "Who among you believe themselves to be embodiment of these traits!"
"I do sir" Weiss raises her hand.
"Well then, let's find out" Port makes a pause showing the cage with a Grimm inside "Step forward and face your opponent"
Tony didn't notice the cage at all, he was too focused on staying awake to notice it, he wanted to join the fight.
"Mind if I join teach?" Says Tony with a bored tone.
"No you won't" Weiss interrupts "You are still injured remember"
"It's nothing that I can't handle" Tony says, annoyed.
"I'm afraid I cannot let that happen Mr Redgrave, don't worry, you'll have your chance later" Port says with an authoritarian tone
"Fine, whatever" Tony gives up crossing his arms.
After a bit, Weiss is on the stage in her combat gear, ready for a fight with her team cheering her but she scolds Ruby and that caughts Tony's attention, why only annoyed at Ruby? but his thought is pushed aside when Port opens the cage revealing a Boarbatusk that charges immediately at Weiss.
With grace Weiss dodges the attack stepping to the left side and slashing the grimm in the process, a good move thought Tony. The grimm wasn't done and charges again, Weiss now tried to do a similar move to Tony's stinger but it gets caught in one of the grimm's tusks.
Ruby cheers Weiss but she looks at her leader annoyed. That small moment was crucial because in that small moment the Boarbatusk disarms Weiss and attacks her; Weiss rolls to the side, starts running, retrieving her weapon.
"Weiss, go for its belly there is no armor underneath…" Ruby starts giving helpful advice.
"Stop telling me what to do!" Weiss snaps yelling at Ruby, leaving her dejected and Tony angry.
Weiss blocks the attack of the beast with a glyph making the beast show its belly and Weiss goes for the killing blow finishing the fight. Tony felt really angry and annoyed by Weiss' attitude, Ruby was really dejected and after the class finished she followed Weiss.
"Maybe we should…" Starts speaking Blake.
"I'll talk with them" Tony cuts her off, Blake and Yang could hear the anger in his voice.
"Are you sure?" Yang asks, concerned.
"I'll just talk to them, I have an idea of what's happening" Tony says while walking off.
Tony walks fast trying to catch the two but he arrives when they start walking their separate ways but he quickly grabs the two of them by the collar of their uniforms.
"Oh no you won't" Says Tony pushing the two against a wall.
"Tony?!" Both say clearly, seeing his expression of anger.
"So, what's the damn problem? and don't bother trying to run" Tony gives them a stern look
"There is no problem…" Says Ruby looking away, still dejected.
"Right!" Tony says full of sarcasm "Don't bullshit me, you two clearly need a mediator, so, tell me, what's up?"
"Ruby shouldn't be the leader of our team" Weiss says.
"And who should be the leader then?" Tony knew it was about that "You?"
"Yes!" Weiss confirms, annoyed.
"¿Really?" Tony starts laughing "Don't make me laugh, you? Really?"
"Em…Tony?" Ruby says, trying to get away.
"No, you are not of the hook yet, actually, I can see why Weiss would be annoyed" Tony takes air "You are a bit childish in battle, yes, it is true, heading into battle alone like that, stupid move"
"See, I'm right!" Weiss looks with comptent.
"But you don't have any leadership skills" Tony raises his voice looking at Weiss "You might be good but from what We saw today, I clearly doubt you have any at all"
Both of them look at Tony who's clearly angry, He notices and takes a deep breath, thinking on what he should say.
"You are too proud Weiss and it clearly clouds your judgment and Ruby you are too reckless" Tony breathes again.
"Says the guy who goes to battle alone…" Ruby now seemed annoyed.
"On that we can agree" Weiss nods
"That's why I work alone, I know my limits, my own strength and if I fall, I won't have to worry about a team that I've left behind" Tony says annoyed "Ruby if you fall, the line of command falls and it would be chaos but I can see you were made leader, I saw the footage of your battle"
Tony remembers how smart she was with the strategy against the Nevermore.
"No leader is born great, work your flaws and get better" Tony smiles "And Weiss, you are very skilled but like i said, your judgment gets cloudy thanks to your ego, not everyone is born to be a leader but you are easily a second in command and that isn't bad. You two complement each other more than you think, you can keep Ruby on her place and Ruby has better judgment against thought enemies and can form strategies against them quicker"
Both of them stay silent reflecting on what Tony said. He was a bit harsh to be honest but he needed them to stop this nonsense.
"Look, i just don't want you to repeat my mistakes and live full of regrets" Tony tone changes to a somber one "You two don't know what is having the blood of your teammates on your hands because of your mistakes.
Tony lets go of the two girls, starting walking away from them with his hands in his pockets and his head lowered.
"Think of what I said, learn from each other, learn together and get better together "Tony turns his head to look at the two "Be the best with what you have, this way, I won't lose any more people"
The two of them stare at Tony, speechless, they don't know what to say then they look at each other, still not knowing what to say to each other either then they go their separate ways thinking on what Tony said. Tony hopes he did the right thing after all, he has made so many mistakes that he doesn't know now, he just doesn't want to lose Weiss and Ruby, not after Grue and Jessica, losing them was the second worst thing in his life.
It happened a couple years ago but He blames himself for Grue's death, if He only was with him instead of going away to eat pizza or to the club he would be alive and if He was fast enough to notice Jessica's state…He wouldn't have to killed Jessica, He would have killed the demon before it fused with her, His mistake rob two girls that He considered his sister their father and sister.
"Damn it all…" He says unders his breath.
Later in the night
Tony is studying or well, trying, he is doing some financing, something that he rarely does because most of the time He doesn't care but right now it's something he must do; he's sending money to Tiki and Nesty Grue's remaining daughters but they don't know that He is the one sending money to their bank account.
While doing the paperwork and eating pizza, he hears that someone is knocking on his door. Tony opens the door and sees Ruby and Weiss.
"What's up?" Says with his mouth full of pizza.
"Could you not speak with your mouth full?" Weiss scoffs.
"Whatever" He says while he swallows the pizza "Okay, happy? So, what do you two need?
"I'm sorry…" Says Ruby "You are right about what you said"
"Me too, I realize I was acting as a fool" Weiss lowers her head.
"I take you two worked on something" Tony smiles "That's good, that is really good news"
Tony is truly happy that those two worked on something together, maybe he made the right choice talking to them. He really was beyond himself, He really did something good that wasn't shooting or slashing demons for once.
"So, you two wanna eat some pizza?" Tony says inviting them in.
"Sure!" Ruby exclaims, happy and hungry.
"What is…pizza?" Asks Weiss a bit confused.
Tony's jaw falls in disbelief, how can she not know what pizza is?! Is the world ending?! He's going to fix that mistake right now.
"You don't know what pizza is?!" Tony asks still in disbelief
"No, not at all" Weiss seems surprised by Tony's expresion.
"Well, you are in for a treat!" Tony now was excited.
He gets two chairs for them to sit and a plate because he knows the princess would have a better time with a plate if He is right about her upbringing
"How do you eat…this?" Weiss asks.
"Like this" Tony picks a piece of the pizza and bites it.
"Wait, no knife, spoon or fork?!" Weiss was really surprised.
"Duh, I mean, it's only pizza" Ruby deadpans.
"Now Ruby, Weiss said she never had pizza before" Tony looks at Ruby then to Weiss "I'm pretty sure you never had hotdogs or hamburgers either right?
"Well…that is true…We never ate those at the mansion" Weiss sounded a bit embarrassed.
"I was right on the money" Tony sighs "You aren't used to what normal people are"
"That's pretty sad" Ruby sighs too.
"Is that a bad thing?" Weiss asks worried feeling disappointed in her friends.
"Of course! don't get me wrong, living fancy is cool and all but you are a fish out of the water when it comes to what the plebs do" Tony takes another bite "You would stick like a sore thumb thanks to your upbringing, a stealth mission would be a disaster in some cases"
Weiss can see the logic. She still has a lot to learn so He goes for a bite. At first it was awkward handling the pizza but She managed to eat it; to her surprise it was actually pretty good, just wished it was less greasy.
"Talking about upbringing" Ruby takes another bite of her pizza "How was yours Tony?"
Weiss almost drops her plate, that was a bad question and she looks at Tony immediately, He just shrugs it off.
"Don't worry Weiss" Tony says waving his hand "I don't know Ruby, I have amnesia and I'm an orphan"
"Oh…" Ruby lowered her tone, it was a bad question although she can understand part of it "...Sorry…"
"Don't sweat it" Tony shrugs then his scrolls start ringing and He answers "Yeah, what's up?"
"Mr Redgrave, it's Glynda Goodwitch '' He hears on the other line.
"Goodwitch?" He asks, the two girls look at him surprised "I'm guessing it's about that"
"Indeed, I have already sent the coordinates to your scroll although I don't know which enemy it is" Glynda said, a bit concerned.
"Sweet, I'll head up immediately and don't worry, I doubt it would be something big" Tony takes a pause "If it was, I would already felt it, I'll send the report when I'm done"
"Understood" Glynda says and hangs up.
"Love spending time with you my lovely ladies but business beckons, I gotta go" Tony says turning to his two guests while taking his sword "You can finish the pizza if you want"
"Hey!" Weiss exclaims "I'm coming with you, you are still injured"
"Yeah, three is better than one" Ruby says, concerned about Tony.
"Nope, don't worry about me, I fought with worse injuries, this will be a piece of cake" He starts walking out the door and stops "And don't try to follow me because I'll lose you with my bike"
With that, Tony ran to the garage and got on his bike, without a second thought he started driving while looking into the direction of where the demon activity was, noticing it was on the outskirts of the city. Tony kept looking behind him looking for Ruby and Weiss but He didn't see them meaning that they didn't follow him, good, they are not fit for fighting demons and if he was honest, they would die.
He quickly reached the outskirts and saw some farms but there wasn't a soul out there, he questions himself if it's because they are asleep or dead but he definitely could feel demonic energy. He gets off and starts following the demonic energy to a barn, Tony notices that the door is open so he pushes it to see the carnage; a farmer's body full with slashes and no head.
"Those two would faint if they saw that" He says drawing his sword.
He walks slowly to the body, examining it. Deep cuts, almost like stabs, injuries were made by a scythe meaning it was one of the hells; Tony takes out of the equation Lust, Greed, Glutony and Wrath knowing that Lust does rush cuts while the others don't have scythes.
Tony raises his head as he hears some moans behind him, he turns around and looks up to see three demons with scythes; they are tall, with a white cloak and covered in bandages, Sloth demons!
The Sloth demons scream and disappear leaving a trail of sand behind to appear in front of Tony already swinging their weapons. Tony immediately rolls away then stingers the one in the middle, while he is doing that the other two teleport away to a safe distance, how he wishes he had his handguns fixed.
Tony continues fighting the sloth demons but can barely get any hits on them because of their teleporting abilities, one hit and they are gone and they are sturdy as hell. The fight continues, both sides trying to get hits on the other and dodging their attacks; Tony knows that the only way to cut the distance is with a good stinger or throwing his sword but because He doesn't have handguns that would leave him unarmed; Tony didn't want to admit it but He was on the losing side for now.
Tony decides to better cut the distance with a stinger then avoid the attacks rolling or jumping away; quickly He does a stinger to one of them but He feels a lot of pain in his back while doing it so, the injury on his back started acting up messing the stinger leaving him open for one attack. One of the sloths teleports behind Tony trying to slash him, He finds himself not able to dodge on time so He decides to block it and boy oh boy did it hurt because the sloth demons are quite strong, probably the strongest of the hells leaving him pinned down.
Knowing that the other two would appear now that he is in a clash fight with one, he decided to use them to deal some damage. As soon as the other two Sloth demons appear he steps to the side letting the clash go, the other sloth demon moves ahead receiving the attacks of its brethren to then receive a powerful downwards slash from Tony destroying it.
Before the fallen Sloth turns to sand he grabs the scythe and throws it to one of the remaining two while he does a stinger to the other, quick slash combo before it could run away and another one is down
"Tow down, one to go" He says facing the last Sloth demon
Knowing the last one is going to be more careful now that it's alone Tony thinks of a plan, he rushes to the remaining Sloth and tries to slash it leaving himself open on purpose as a bait. The demon disappears before the slash connects, taking the bait, appearing behind Tony as he planned; Tony jumps trying to get behind the Sloth demon and avoiding the attack then does a Helm breaker making the demon fall.
While the demon is on the ground Tony stabs him pinning him then starts running, dragging the Sloth with him to finish him with a upward slash while still having the sword in the demon.
"What an ordeal" Tony says sitting on the ground "I gonna need my guns fixed and probably an extra for close combat quarters"
With the Job done he gets on his bike driving away towards Beacon, He needs to get some rest. While driving he calls Glynda.
"Is the job done?"
"Yeah" he says "Sloth demons, there is one body in the barn better send someone to clean up"
"Mind explaining what a Sloth demon is?"
"Sure" Tony says while stopping at a red light "Probably the strongest of the seven hells, they are tough as nails, powerful attacks but as they name says, they are lazy meaning they don't move their legs. Instead they teleport"
"Teleport?!" Glynda exclaims surprised "Meaning they use ambush tactics"
"Pretty much" Tony sees the light turn green and starts driving again "One of them is easy to deal with, easy to bait but there were three of them, if I wasn't injured and had my handguns it would have been easier but my actions were limited"
"I see, did you get injured again?" Glynda asks with concern.
"Nope, thought I had some close calls, hopefully next time will be in a couple of days" Tony says getting closer to Beacon "We'll talk later, I'll send my report in the morning"
"Understood, get some rest Redgrave" Glynda sighs and hangs up.
Tony could only hope he was right, he was stronger than most people and fought demons but at the end of the day He is still human after all. Tony parks his bike and goes to his room to get some sleep but to his surprise, Ruby and Weiss are still there.
"Thought you went to sleep" Tony greets them "It's past midnight"
"Oh Tony!" Ruby waves her hand.
"Well, We were worried about you" Weiss says with honesty.
"Heh" Tony chuckles "Thanks girls"
Tony sits on the chair taking his jacket off and stretching to flinching because of the pain on his back.
"Are you sure you are okay?" Ruby asks with a smirk.
"Fine, I might reopen the wound again" Tony sighs, defeated.
"I imagined that would have been the case" Weiss shakes her head.
Tony turns around for the two, they see that the shirt is bloodied on his back meaning that Tony, indeed reopened the wound.
"Yep, that's blood alright" Ruby says.
"You better take your shirt off to clean you and change those bandages" Weiss pats him on the back.
"Fine, whatever" He starts taking the shirt off " the bandages and cleaning tools are on the bathroom"
"I'll go get them" Weiss said.
While Weiss started getting the medic kit Ruby started getting the old bandages off and some water. Weiss came back with the medic kit and looked at Ruby who's already cleaning his back.
"You know, I can make this myself" Tony says annoyed.
"Oh, stop being such a child" Wiss answered, annoyed at his behavior.
"Fine, you win, sheesh" Tony chuckled.
"So, what were you upto before we arrived?" Ask Ruby.
"Honestly, I was doing financing" Tony thought about it before continuing "For a friend's daughters"
"Why?" Weiss asked skeptically.
"Well…" Tony's tone darkens "With him being dead, someone has to take care of them"
"I'm sorry…" Ruby says in a low voice.
"I'm the one who should be sorry" Tony sighs "It's my fault"
"What do you mean?" Weiss asks, noticing that he was talking about him when he was scolding them.
"He had a mission and invited me but I was too worried with partying to notice the signs" Tony lowers his head "If I went Grue maybe he would be still here and the girls would still have their father and probably their sister too"
Tony sounded angry, not at the girls, not at Grue but with himself. Ruby and Weiss noticed this but they didn't know what to say or what happened if only they knew the weight he carries thanks to his mistake.
"Anyway…" Ruby looks at Weiss telling her with her eyes that it was her turn next.
"It's not like we don't care, it's just, that we don't know what to say '' Weiss starts treating Tony's wounds.
"You don't have to say anything" He grunts while saying that feeling his wound burn "Be careful with that"
"Once again, don't be a child about it" Weiss says, annoyed again.
"Yep, just relax" Ruby adds with a smirk.
"Oh boy, i already feel sorry for your future boyfriends" He chuckles making both of the girls blush a bit.
"What do you mean?!" Both Yell.
"On one hand we would have one guy worried to death and on the other hand one guy fearful from getting scolded" Tony starts laughing at their reactions.
The two look at each other and laugh too, after a bit they finish treating Tony's wound and get on their way. Tony on the other hand finishes what he started and fills his report, after everything is done he gets to bed to get some sleep.
A few weeks later
Tony was in class but to his surprise, it wasn't boring at all because this class piqued his interest for the reason that it was a class about dueling. Sadly Tony couldn't get in because of his injury but still had fun watching the matches until the last match.
Jaune was fighting Cardin Winchester and boy oh boy, poor Jaune was getting his ass handled left and right. Tony noticed something and it was that Cardin enjoyed playing with Jaune to hurt his pride but to Tony's surprise and respect, Jaune never backed down, refusing to give up.
After the fight Glynda explains that in the Vytal Festival there will be a tournament for the schools Tony was sure he would win if He wanted. After class Team Rwby and JNPR are having lunch and talking about various topics.
"So…Hey, what do you guys think of Tony?" asks Blake, changing the topic.
"Aside from the mysterious student that didn't take the dueling class and handled a Death Stalker by himself…" Ren starts talking "I think he is cool"
"Indeed, he seems capable enough, when I watched him he seemed to have almost no openings" Pyrrha adds.
"And he is super funny, sometimes a bit crazy" Nora says while gaining the glares of everyone.
"I wonder what type of training he had?" Pyrrha wonders.
"He seems troubled" Blake adds remembering that night before the initiation
"He rarely talks about himself" Yangs joins then points at Weiss and Ruby "Except to these two"
Ruby and Weiss look at each other and both sigh, troubled is little from what they know; the others notice their reaction and wonder in curiosity.
"Come on, we are curious" Ren says with a smile.
"Yeah! tell us about him, what about his family?!" Nora asks excitedly.
"Yeah…family…" Ruby looks at Weiss worried.
"About that…I don't know if it's okay if we share this but…" Weiss makes a pause looking for Ruby's approval.
Weiss and Ruby explain what they know about Tony leaving some parts as he was a mercenary or what happened with Grue and his daughters, they kinda sugar coated it. Everybody's expression changed, noting that trouble was indeed too little to explain Tony's past, only if they knew who he really was.
"Hey guys!" everybody turns around to see Tony with a box of pizza "Why the long face?"
"Hey Tony…" Said Pyrrha looking down.
"Did you guys fail a test or what?" Tony sits down chuckling.
"Well, we kinda spelled the beans…sorry" Ruby said scratching her cheek.
"Oh, you told them about me?" Tony asks to which Ruby and Weiss nod.
"I knew we shouldn't but…" Weiss starts talking.
"Don't sweat it" Tony smiles and grabs a piece of his pizza.
"Pizza again?" Blake asks, surprised.
"Yup, nothing beats a good pizza" Tony smirks.
"Oh come on! you should eat something else right?" Yangs interrupt.
"This or strawberry sundae" Tony gets a bite on his pizza.
"That doesn't sound healthy you know?" Pyrrha interrupts, she was know to be the one who eats healthy of the group
"It has carried me so long. Why stop now?" Tony continues eating his pizza but notices that Jaune has barely eaten anything "Hey Jaune, you okay buddy?"
Now that Tony mentions it, Jaune has been silent most of the time and barely eaten. Jaune has a face of "Yeah, something is bothering me" written all over but hasn't said anything worrying Pyrrha.
"Jaune, are you okay?" Pyrrha asks.
"Uh?" He jumps a little surprised "oh yeah, why?"
"Is it just that you seem a little…" Ruby takes a second to find the right words "...not okay"
"Guys, I'm fine. Seriously, look!" Jaune gives them a thumbs up, an awkward one it is.
"Yeah I don't buy it at all" Tony deadpans "This has something to do with Cardin"
"Yeah, he's been picking on you since the first week of school"
"Who? Cardin Winchester? Nah He's just…" Jaune looks away
"Jaune, we aren't blind buddy" Tony says clearly worried.
"He's a bully" Ruby gives Jaune a stern look.
"Oh please, name one time he's bullied me" Jaune starts thinking of all the times he has done that.
Tony gives a big sigh and face palms, clearly disappointed in his friend because he has seen what Cardin has done, hell, He even went to pick up Jaune after the locker incident.
"Should I start numbering them?" Tony was clearly annoyed "Look Jaune, if you ever need help, we are here buddy"
"It's true, you just need to ask and we'll help" Pyrrha adds to Tony's comment.
"Oh we'll break his legs" Nora stands up with a psychotic smile.
"Guys it's fine, it's not like He's only a jerk to me, He's a jerk to everyone" Jaune stands up clearly done with the conversation.
"Oh that hurts!" someone said behind them making them turn.
They see a Cardin with his group bullying a Faunus girl. She had long brown hair and bunny ears, quite cute Tony thought but his blood boiled when He saw Cardin pulling her bunny ears. Tony slammed his pizza to the table and stood up, clearly angry.
"That's it!" He says with anger.
"He-hey Tony!" Weiss stutters knowing what he will do.
Tony walks over to the table where Cardin was without any sign he grabs Cardin's wrist and stares at him, beyond pissed.
"Let her go" He says with a serious Tone, unknown to many.
"Let who go?" Cardin smirks.
"You asked for it" Tony stomps Cardin's foot making him let go of the girl then He twists his arm with a lot of pressure.
"Hey, what the hell?!" Cardin loses his smirk and yells at Tony making the rest of his group surround Tony.
"Back off!" Tony yells putting more pressure on his grip twisting more Cardin's arm making him grunt in pain "You better stop this shit before you end with a broken arm and wrist"
"Mind your own business!" Cardin yells, making Tony twist the arm more and strengthen his grip making him grunt even harder in pain.
"Did. I. Stutter?" Tony's tone was getting darker and dangerous, this wasn't an empty threat.
"Sure, just let me go '' Cardin begged. Tony obliged.
Everybody noticed that the piece of armor that cardin had on his wrist was clearly dented by Tony's strength, they actually could see his hand on the dent. Cardin and his group left the place, Tony just kept staring at them until they were gone, not backing down then He turned to the girl.
"Hey, you okay babe?" He asks her with a soft tone.
"Y-yeah, thanks" She says blushing a bit "You didn't need to help me"
"You are right, I didn't" He chuckles "But what man would i be if i ignore a cute girl like you getting bullied"
"C-cute?!" The girl's face turns red.
"Anyway, name's Tony see ya around little bunny if he bothers you again…just call me okay?" He says while leaving back to his friends table.
Tony sits down and grabs another piece of pizza without saying anything. The group was looking in awe of his action.
"Well, my hero" Yang says, flirting again.
"Yang, not now" Tony deadpans "I'm still pissed"
"But it didn't stop you flirting with that girl didn't it?" Weiss says, annoyed for some reason.
"What? She's cute, it's true but I wasn't hitting on her" Tony deadpans again.
"You don't mind Faunus?" Blake asks with curiosity.
"Why should I? They are people after all, does it matter if they are part cat or bunny" Tony says, knowing why she asked, making her smile a little.
"That aside, you know Cardin holds a grudge don't you?" Ren changes the topic.
"Like i said, We should break his legs!" Nora adds with her psychotic face again
"In due time my dear firecracker, it's part of the plan" Tony said with a grin
"You…have a plan?" Ruby asks, surprised.
"Yup and you'll finally get to see me fight" Tony stands up and starts leaving but stops midway "Oh right before I forget. Girls, I'm going later today to get my guns repaired, mind coming with me?"
"Why do you want us to come?" Blake asks.
"Because…" Tony tries to find an excuse "Reasons?"
"That doesn't sound like a reason" Yang deadpans.
"Fine, I just want to meet my guardian and show her that I made friends" Tony says defeated, the girls chuckle and accept.
Some time later
Tony is sitting in his bedroom desk, full of papers and a map of the city with three markers in red, those markers where he fought demons. Tony was trying to make sense of what was happening because in his mind the pride demons can be quite common but the sloth and blade, now those were a different story and that was annoying him. In his mind it would have made sense if there was only sloth and pride would make sense, they weren't in places that a lot of people would visit, a farm and a warehouse.
The piece that was rattling his mind was the Blade in the Emerald forest, that demon waited until the moment he was alone and busy fighting; the blade could have attacked the girls instead but it went for him, he was the objective but Tony cannot confirm this, maybe he was just unlucky. The feeling of uneasiness in Tony grew, he started thinking that there was a higher demon somewhere pulling some strings making him get deeper and deeper in thought.
"Redgrave" He heard a voice of a woman behind him making him jump, it was Goodwitch.
"My god lady" He says turning around "Almost gave me a heart attack!"
"Good" Glynda says sarcastically "Maybe next time you won't leave your door unlocked"
"Fair enough" He says in defeat "What's up?"
"I came here because two reasons" Glynda takes a look at the map then looks back to Tony "The first one is about the issue on the cafeteria"
"Oh, that" Tony shrugs "To be honest, I couldn't stay still while that was happening"
"I can agree with you but it still created a scene" She gives tony a stern look.
"Wait, would it have been better if I had turned a blind eye?" He asks, a bit annoyed.
"No, i don't mean that" Glynda Sighs "It's just that you took the matter into your hands and not informed a faculty member"
"Look, I can see your point but I know Cardin's type, a slap on the wrist won't stop him. Hell even a suspension won't stop him, He'll just be more sneaky" Tony says putting the facts on the table.
There was a minute of silence in the room. Glynda could only rub her eyes, for some reason, dealing with Tony Redgrave sometimes gave her a headache; He was too rebellious and unruly.
"What do you suggest then?" Glynda asks.
"Next dueling class, say out loud that i'm joining too" Tony starts grinning "First duel will be Cardin and let him choose his opponent, He'll pick me, then I'll teach him a lesson in humility"
"Cunning, but your Aura hasn't been restored yet at all, I cannot let you participate" She says with a Matter of fact tone.
"It won't restore at all Goodwitch" Tony smirks "Because I don't have an Aura"
"Wait what?!" Glynda exclaims, her glasses almost fell from her face.
"You heard me I don't have an aura like you or the others" Tony crossed his arms.
"But…how? it's impossible, it must not be unlocked yet"
"They tried already, I just don't have one, I'm a rare case"
"If that is so…how can you fight demons and Grimm? How are you so strong?" Glynda wanted answers.
"I don't even know myself, it's just who I am" Tony shrugs it off, it never bothered him before "Just do me that favor okay?"
"Fine, I will do it" She started walking out of the room.
She couldn't believe that this child would be so powerful without an Aura, it would only mean two things: that the skills of this child are polished to the extreme so He can fight like does; would also mean that his reflexes are a trainer as well, making her wonder who trained him. Also in her mind there was the issue with his physical strength, it was inhumane but she believed that He doesn't even know why.
"What was the second thing by the way?" Tony breaks the silence and her train of thought.
"Oh, the second thing was to thank you for stepping up for the girl when no one did" She says as she leaves.
"So she does care" Tony smiles as she leaves.
Some time later in the city of Valen.
Tony was with the Rwby team, walking downtown, they were in their casual clothing. Tony for some reason, was on edge, mostly because the recent news of murders which he knew it wasn't normal murders. They continued walking but the girls noticed how on edge he was but didn't know what had him in that position except for Blake who was more perceptive than the others but decided to keep it for herself.
"How long until we arrive?" Ruby asked bored.
"Just a little more" Says Tony.
"Ugh, We have been walking for a while and you should have put something under your coat" Weiss says annoyed, even though part of her didn't mind.
"No, don't, momma likes what she sees" Yang said, she was appreciating Tony's abs and chest.
"Yang, gross" Blake deadpans.
"You don't get to say anything, I've seen what you read" Yang counters, making Blake flinch.
"Maybe I should put a shirt on…" Tony realizes that he might be in danger of a surprise attack from Yang then he stops walking in front of a building "Well, we arrived"
This is the place?" Blake crosses her arms, not impressed by the building, it was a four floor building.
".45 Caliber Art Warks?" Weiss asks, confused.
"WHAT?!" Ruby screams "Oh my gosh, oh my gosh!"
"You know it, little sister?"
"Who doesn't know? The gunsmith of this place is the Legend in making guns!" Ruby screams excitedly "The Legend with capital L, Tony can we visit the store?!"
"Well, that's where we are heading" Tony smiles, making Ruby almost faint of excitement.
They enter the building and to the girls surprise, it's an apartment complex so they follow Tony to the fourth floor where they see a small board that says .45 Caliber Art Warks. Ruby was so excited and her heart was beating faster than a car, she was going to knock on the door but noticed Tony had a key that used to open the door.
"Hey Nell, I'm hom…" Tony starts speaking but is cut off by a gun hitting his face.
"You damn Brat finally showed up!" They hear a woman yelling.
"Hey, what was that for?!" Tony enters annoyed, the girls follow him.
The girls can see an apartment, nothing fancy with the exception of gun parts everywhere and most importantly, the person that threw the gun at Tony; a blond woman in her mid forties with short hair, a stern look. She was wearing a white shirt, black pants, boots and a leather apron. her hands were blackened by oils they presume.
"You never called, sent a letter, visited or anything since you went to Beacon!" The woman yells, she clearly had a temper.
"I know, I've been…busy, working too" Tony says while crossing his arms.
"Working? Is it related to…" She starts talking when she notices the girls, then notices Tony's look that said they didn't know about demons "...That?"
"Yeah, about that" Tony confirms then steps aside "Well, presentations are in order. Girls, this is Neil Goldstein, owner of .45 Caliber Art Works and my guardian. Nell, these girls are Ruby, Yang, Blake and Weiss, they are my friends from the academy"
"Friends uh?" Nell smiles "It's a pleasure to meet you"
"Oh my god!" Ruby exclaims running and grabbing Nell's hand shaking it "The pleasure is all mine, I've always been a fan of your work you are a Legend A LEGEND!"
"Eh…thanks?" Nell felt a little embarrassed.
"Well, look at you" Tony smirks "You got yourself a little fan"
"Oh shush you brat" Nell smiles.
They sat down and started talking, mostly Tony and Nell bickering and telling stories. The girls noticed that the relationship that Tony and Nell had was close even though they threw insults left and right, it was kinda heartwarming.
"Don't you remember the last time you got drunk?" Nell tried to contain her laugher "The plant you flirted with is till on the kitchen"
"It was one time okay?!" Tony yelled embarrassed.
"Wait, you let an underaged guy get drunk?!" Weiss said, surprised.
"It was some friends that got him drunk" Nell shrugs.
"Still, doesn't sound like a good idea" Blake adds.
"Yeah but it was funny" Nell chuckles then turns to Tony again "So, I take this is more than a social visit"
"Part of it is" He says taking his handguns out "The other part is that I came for is to fix them"
"I should have know" Nell takes the guns with annoyance "You know that these are handguns and not machineguns"
"I know but get this" Tony pauses, excited "I got a new move, i called it Rainstorm!"
Tony started explaining the move to Nell like a kid telling their parents of their first day at school. Weiss found that somewhat cute, Yang could use it as blackmail later; Blake found it a bit cringey and Ruby was excited to hear about the combat move. All the girls agreed on something, this Tony in front of them was more lighthearted and actually seemed genuinely happy.
"And you brat keep getting stronger" Nell chuckles.
"So, can you fix it?" Tony asks.
"Of course I can, who do you take me for?" Nell says annoyed "But it will take some time, and talking about time, you staying for dinner with the girls?"
"Should we?" Tony turns to the girls, they nod "I guess we will"
"Good because knowing you, you still only eat pizza" Nell said, making Tony flinch.
"All day long" Weiss added, making Tony flinch again.
"He orders them even at night" Ruby continued, Tony only flinched harder.
"He sneaks them in class" Blake deadpanned.
"The other thing he eats is strawberry sundae" Yang smirks.
"I can allow the ice cream, He needs his sugar but come the hell on! there is other food than pizza!" Nells yells at Tony then throws some money at him "Now be a dear and buy some groceries"
"Fine mom" He says sarcastically while he stands "You girls wanna come?"
"No, they are staying, I wanna get to know your friends and I'm not your mother!"
"I feel like that's dangerous…" Tony felt a chill running his spine as he starts walking off "I'll come back later then mom"
"Once again, not your mother" Nell repeated again but less annoyed
"Yeah, but you are the closest that I have" He says leaving the apartment.
"Yeah, I know brat, I know" Nell said with a sad smile.
The room filled with silence after Tony left them, there was an air of uneasiness while Nell stared at the girls making them feel uncomfortable. Nell was judging them. She knew Tony for a longer than the girls and considered him her own son in a way even though He was a punk, but wanted the best for him but also knows the weight he carries. Nell's expression changed to a serious one, the girls noticed immediately and felt a chill in their spine.
"Did He have an episode?" Nell asks, still staring at the girls catching them off guard.
"On the first night he had a nightmare and gave us quite a scare" Weiss answers, almost shaking.
"Did…He hurt you…?" Nell asks carefully
"No, He didn't hurt anyone!" Ruby jumps defending his friend.
"But He had a gun with him" Blake adds, making Nell expresion sadden.
"He had it unloaded it i imagine, not the first time that happens" Nell rubs her eyes
"Wait, you say it as if it's a normal thing…" Yang seemed concerned.
"It is, aside from that one, has He had another?" Nell asks and the girls shake their heads "Good, sometimes they can get worse and sometimes…well it's like I'm speaking to a totally different person, someone who isn't Tony"
Nell stands up, looking at the window, she's experienced first hand Tony's episodes. She forced him to unload his guns when He goes to bed and when He is around the house, mostly for her safety and his.
"That kid hasn't had a good life and finding that he made some friends actually warms my heart. He's a lonely child who keeps most of the things to himself unless He is pushed to talk" She turns to the girls "Please don't give up on him, it's the last thing He needs, to be left alone again"
The girls didn't know what to say to Nell, it was clear as day that Tony was a troubled person but it seems that it runs deeper. Blake could understand it pretty well with her history, she felt pity for him.
"I won't leave him alone" Ruby says with determination, Weiss nods in agreement.
"Good" Nell looks at Blake and Yang "What about you two?"
"If my little sister is in, so am I" Yang grins.
"Well, he reads with me sometimes so i'll keep an eye on him" Blake gives a small smile
"Wait, he reads?!" Weiss asks dumbfounded.
"Yeah, but mostly poems and stage acting books"
"I'm guessing William Blake poems" Nells comments to which Blake confirms nodding "He doesn't like poems but He says He finds them nostalgic, like someone close to him used to read them"
Nell sits down again, feeling some weight has been off her shoulders knowing that Tony has found some good friends.
"So…" Nell expresion turns mischievous. "You girls are gunning for him?"
That question turned Weiss red as a tomato, Yang grinned, Blake scuffed and Ruby was wondering what she meant.
"What? no, of course not" Weiss looks away "Who would like that fool?"
"In my case, I'm trying. He hasn't bitten yet but He will" Yang keeps grinning.
"He is not partner material if I'm honest, not saying that He isn't handsome or anything" Blake deadpans.
"What do you mean?" Ruby was still confused, Yang whispers something in her ear "Oh, ew, no, he's just a friend"
"Okay then" Nell starts laughing "But has He actually hit on any girls?"
"He only called us babe to my annoyance," Weiss adds, her face wasn't red anymore.
"Not even once" Blake says.
"I thought so, He hasn't tried to get with someone since Jessica" Nell sighs.
Ruby and Weiss look at each other knowing a small part of the story but apparently it was more on it that what they know.
"What happened to her exactly?" Weiss asks.
"Without giving a lot of information…" Nell needed to plan her words without giving the existence of demons "Jessica and Tony dated, mostly because her father Grue told them to get on some dates, he actually liked her"
Ruby and Weiss felt a cold chill in their spines, they didn't know he was in a relationship with one of Grue's daughters. A cold sweat ran through their necks, they had a bad feeling and turned pale. Yang and Blake noticed that but they didn't know why.
"Long story short, the girl was forced to go crazy and was going to hurt and kill a lot of people" Nell lowers her head "He was forced to end her misery"
It felt like a bomb hitted the room as soon she said that, all of the girls went pale as the snow and to say that their blood freezed would be an understandment. Tony has lost so much and now they've been told that he was forced to kill the girl He dated, it wasn't fair in their minds.
"Oh tony…" Ruby muttered.
"How much does he need to suffer…" Weiss lowered her head.
"Damn…just damn…" Yang crossed her arms, clenching her fists
"And I thought I might have it though sometimes" "Blake starts wondering "How is he still this sane?"
"He has a positive outlook of life even though it's quite realistic, He hasn't lost hope" Nell shrugs.
"He's stronger than we think" Weiss comments.
They stayed in silence not knowing what more to say, only that they cannot leave Tony alone, Blake and Yang vowed to get to know him better while Ruby and Weiss decided to continue with him but feeling something in their chest. Nell, noticing the girls' resolve, started working on the guns, silence was the norm until Tony arrived with a few paper bags.
"Sorry if it took too long, I had some…inconvenients" Tony says hiding he fought some demons on his way.
"You showed the inconvenience who's boss right?" Nell stands up taking some of the paper bags.
"You need to ask?" Tony Smirks.
"Good, then now help me make dinner brat" Nell says while heading to the kitchen with a smile.
"Sure old hag" Tony smiles back
The rest of the evening went alright, the girls enjoyed their time, learning more about Tony and seeing a side of him that they would never see if they stayed in beacon. Tony laughed with the girls and Nell during dinner, it was the first time that dinner wasn't boring for him, he had friends, he had Nell; maybe school really wasn't such a bad idea after all he thought.
While letting the food go down and drinking some coffee, Nell standed up leaving the kids alone, in truth she went to Tony's room to get some stuff for him. Nell came back with a small backpack, a guitar case and a long case that she was dragging on the ground, Tony noticed and grabbed the case, lifting it like it was nothing.
"You went for these things?" Tony asked annoyed "You could have told me"
"You were busy with the girls" Nell grins "and you'll probably need this, the swords you've been using tend to break"
"Fine" He says putting the case on the ground and opening it, starting to get a headache.
"What is that?" Weiss asks, looking at the case noticing a big sword, a claymore with a rather simple look and wide blade.
"Oh! nice sword!" Ruby says excited.
"Is it special?" Blake asks.
"I remember having it tho i don't remember why" Tony rubs his eyes trying to get the headache away.
"It sure looks special being this big" Yang said with a grin "Hopefully is no the only big sword you have"
"Yang, stop, please" Weiss says, turning red again.
Nell just laughed while she went to get the guns for Tony, she already had them fixed, it was fast because she was used to fixing guns for him to her great annoyance but she couldn't say no to him.
"Here, good as new, try no to break them this time" Nell says, handing the guns to Tony.
"Can't promise that" He chuckles.
"Also, I have this for you" She says while giving him a sawed off shotgun "A customer left it here and never came back, there is some ammo in the backpack for it"
"Sweet!" Tony said, grabbing the shotgun.
He started playing around with the shotgun, it was a coyote model. After a while of playing with it he waved the girls to give him some space, he then started pulling the trigger as if he was shooting and with a quick movement he opened the shotgun using the momentum of the recoil he would get and closed it again. Tony started to understand the shotgun as he started spinning it around as a nunchaku, pulling the trigger every time he spun it to then finish with his version of a stinger using the shotgun. It was a good weapon, just what he needed.
"So, how much do I owe you?" He asks, putting the shotgun in one of his jacket's internal pockets.
"It's on the house" Nell smiles "I also put some clothing in the backpack and the picture that you had on the room"
"Thanks Nell"
"Oh right, you forgot this too" Nell takes from her pocket a red gem amulet encrusted in a silver jewlry and had a silver chain "The chain was broken so i fixed it"
"Thank god" He says taking the amulet and putting it around his neck "I thought i lost it during a fight, I searched like crazy"
"It was on the couch" Nell chuckles.
"Figures" Tony deadpans "Anyway, it was good to see you Nell, stay safe okay?"
"Could same to you brat" Nell turns to the girls "Take care of this punk for me, alright?
"You got it!" Ruby says, raising her fist excited.
The five leave the apartment, Tony felt happy that he was able to meet Nell again and show them his friends while Nell was happy to see how far He has come with overcoming his own demons, only wishing he keeps up the good work. The girls were also happy too, they also realized that Tony was moving forward and that they still have a lot to learn about him but only if they knew that learning about him is just the tip of the iceberg.
A few days later, dueling class
The students were in the arena, everybody armed and ready for the class including some second year students like a bunny girl; Tony included in the groups armed and ready too, the only difference was that he was wearing a black t-shirt under his jacket. Glynda was staring at everyone until her eyes met with Tony's, both of them nodded so they could start his plan even though she wasn't sure why she was going with it..
"Now that everyone is here, we are going to start the duels, everyone will fight, including Mr Redgrave who's finally healed" Glynda says raising her voice "Mr Winchester step forward"
"Sure thing teach" Cardin gets on the stage "Who am i fighting?"
"You can choose your opponent" Glynda continues with Tony's plan.
"Is that so?" Cardin grins "I want to fight Redgrave"
"Mr Redgrave, come to the stage" Glynda says.
"Little old me? I'm flattered" Tony smirks knowing that everything is going to plan.
Tony walks to the stage, he stares at Carding and laughs to then turn to Glynda who's waiting for him to get ready. Tony takes his jacket off and leaves his weapons with Glynda.
"Are you sure about this?" Glynda asks worriedly.
"Yeah, it would be a fair fight if i went with everything" Tony smirks again and gets in front of Cardin "Whenever you are ready honey"
"No weapons? your funeral" Cardin Grins "You gonna pay for what you did"
Cardin rushes to Tony swinging his hammer, Tony just sidesteps avoiding the attack. Cardin rushes again doing a thrust attack and then again, Tony just sidesteps again pushing him lightly with his hand making Cardin angry; a flurry of attacks commence against Tony, he simply dodges them or deflects them by pushing the shaft of the hammer. After a bit Tony finds an opening and pushes Cardin off his right palm.
"Will you stop running away and fight like a man?!" Cardin was starting to lose it.
"Wait, are we fighting?" Tony yawns "I thought we were doing a dance choreography"
"That 's it!" Cardin Rushes again.
Cardin throws an horizontal blow that Tony dodges cartwheeling backwards to then with his right hand signal Cardin to try again. They continue doing the same song and dance, Cardin tries to hit him, Tony dodges and taunts him for a while, there were some giggles in the background.
"Come on" Tony puts his hands on his hip "Do better you are boring me"
"You bastard!" Cardin just lost it rushing again, Tony dodges by crouching and doing a swept kick dropping Carding to the ground.
"You are cute when you fall for me" Tony says, stepping back, making everyone laugh "Come on, you can do better than that!"
Cardin stands again, now getting serious he starts attacking again but this time things changed, Tony was now on the offensive, every opening he saw there was a kick or a punch as a counter attack that dealt some damage even though they were pretty light.
"Come on boy!" Tony calls Cardin "make be break a sweat at least!"
Cardin launches another attack but Tony grabs his wrist stopping him with his left hand, without letting go Tony does an uppercut with his free hand pushing him backwards but doesn't let go of Cardin's wrist. Tony pulls him back, striking him on the face with an elbow blow to then throw Cardin away.
Cardin stands up a bit dizzy to find Tony rushing at him doing a strike of boxing of boxing jabs, a liver blow to finish him combo of kicks to the ribs pushing him even more backwards.
"Not so hot are we now?" Tony spreads his arms "Come on, let's finish this"
Tony dashes towards Cardin, grabbing him by the face with his left hand, raising him over the ground. Tony smiles as he smashes him to the ground, creating a small crater finishing the fight and also destroying Cardin's ego as his aura is completely depleted.
"Next time you bully anyone" Tony whispers to Cardin with a cold deadly tone, only for him to hear "I'll fight you for real dumbass"
Cardin at that moment knew He couldn't mess with Tony, He was scared of Tony's strength. Tony fought with only his fist and legs and didn't even fight seriously, he can only imagine if he had his weapons with him, this guy was a monster, a demon! He knew He had to follow Tony's advice for his health.
"The winner is Tony Redgrave" Says Glynda walking towards Tony. "Never underestimate your opponent even if they are disarmed, a hunter not only trains with his weapon, also their mind and body so they don't fall victim of taunts and keep a cool head"
"Right…" Tony smirks knowing that Glyda turned this to be a lesson.
"Did it work?" She whispers.
"It did" Tony winks as he grabs his equipment and goes off the stage.
AUTHOR NOTES
Another chapter is done, I feel like I'm on a roll. Actually I've been writing non-stop and I haven't had this much fun writing for a long while. Currently I'm having trouble with Blake's character, Yang's and a bit of Tony's too but I feel like I'm getting the idea.
Been playing DMC3 again but as virgil and holy fuck, combining combos are harder than i remember when i played in the ps2, I'm really rusty.
In Dark souls News, I'm thinking on starting a scythe build, I really like the moveset of the scythes in DS3 unlike in 1 and 2 (god the moveset in 2 SUCKS) sad thing is that i'll probably will go for Sister friede's Scythes and i need intelligence too, so kind of an hybrid? still wondering what i'll do
On music that I was listening to while writing I've been listening to Chillswitch Engage, a cover album of Killswitch Engage, one of my fav bands by the way. The Cover album is a piano cover of their songs made by Sean Towsend in Youtube and it's godly good my friends, I honestly recommend it.
As far as the story goes, I think I'm happy with how it's going. Still need to develop the relationship between Tony/Dante with Yang and Weiss, also planning on doing a couple chapters with team JNPR, hopefully I've been able to fix typos and some grammar mistakes and that I'm getting better
Now, On Tony's regen abilities, well, I think that Tony is not using his full biology mostly because he thinks He is still human, mind over matter, but when he remembers things are going to change for him, as a matter of personality Tony/Dante is going to be a bit different because He is not alone, his psyche on DMC is mostly broken IMO because he's lost so much, he keeps his distance and his friends are barely there. Now here on remnant Tony/Dante won't be alone letting him pick up the pieces, He is still going to be the wisecracker but toned down and not as a mask.
Also, If you guys have seen, I'm changing the Timeline a bit of DMC, some events are happening with more time in between for the sake of the story that i'm thinking, hopefully is the right idea in my mind and doesn't fuck everything up.
Anway, on with answering the Reviews.
DMC 5 Dead Weight: I think that the story from "The New Teacher" is fine, I do agree with Vergil development, I think it was too fast, I expected more of a slow burner now with Dante, I think it's the right call but it needed more time. We can agree to disagree. Glad you enjoyed the beginning so far and with Gilver…well, if i'm honest, he is not going to appear, i think and believe it's the right call (I might be wrong) specially with the retcon of the character and i think you can notice that i've changed the timeline a bit for it to make sense (big question mark there) (also explained in the autor notes) and i don't mind the rant, u good, Have a good day and life too buddy.
Shadowdispencer: Hey, you are for now the tie breaker as I'm writing this and publishing this chapter. Point for Weiss!
2 Weiss/ 1 Ruby
Anyway, stay safe everyone, these weeks are going to be a bit busy so it will take some time to continue writing chapters and I'm also getting a tattoo too so my right arm will be in paaaaain, Keep reading, Keep being awesome and place Review and help me get better!
No advances this time.