Been a little while since I've updated this one, but here it is. Most of this AN note is a response to GJO1088, just a notice.
sarinman: Thanks for the support, it really means a lot when this story has so few readers. I appreciate it.
GJO1088: Shrioi's powers, though almost identical to Kimimaro's, is actually a powered-down version of my own favorite ability. It's the ability to manipulate one's own body completely. This would allow a person to strengthen their skeletal and muscular systems, change their appearance, enhance their metabolism, rapidly regenerate tissue, and so many other things that require complex scientific explanations. Essentially, strength and healing abilities far beyond human levels. I've applied that concept to just his bones because the expanded ability would be way too OP for the RWBYverse.
Now, as for your story idea: I think it could work quite well. Just remember a few things. Make sure you have a clear personality set up from all directions; leave no part of his character blank. Have a development arc in mind when writing, because nobody likes a completely static character. Even Kazuma, while remaining a smartass, becomes more human as the story goes on. Also, since you are using an entity from Bleach, will there be any other Bleach characters, Quincies, Hollows, etc? Either way is fine, just plan out the interaction. And, as with anything, proofread. I found that the last chapter of this story had quite a few typos, so I must have skipped that step lol. Overall, I think you should go for it. You have one reader right here, and once you have a few chapters up I'd be happy to do a little advertising for you. Good luck!
Shiroi flew through the air with a grace which contradicted his rough attitude. This was not the first time he'd fallen from the sky, and it would not likely be the last. He was about fifty feet above the treeline and falling fast. After just a few seconds he was level with the tops of the tallest trees, crashing through branches as he went.
After a moment he found a thicker, sturdier branch which could support his weight. Grabbing on to it in midair, he swung around and launched himself at another, similar branch. He repeated the process with this one and a third before dropping to the ground, now having virtually zero momentum. His hands stung from scraping against the bark, but it was a small price to pay compared to the bruising he could have gotten otherwise.
He had seen the temple from the air, so he began walking to its location to the northwest. It didn't take long for the first obstacle to appear in his path in the form of an Ursa Major. The creature was big, mean, and it was trained on Shiroi. As were most Grimm, actually, considering the negative emotions the young man put off. To this Ursa, he must look like a perfectly grilled filet mignon.
Shiroi, however, was not looking to become this creature's next kill. Despite knowing himself to be a Grimm, he had no respect for his fellows. They were mindless killing machines, not understanding that if they attacked humanity, they could be hunted until extinction. The only thing preventing that was the amazing rate at which new Grimm were created.
The Ursa swiped a claw directly at Shiroi's head. He ducked and moved in closer to the Ursa, within reach but still far enough away that he wouldn't be trapped. The beast came down on him with its entire body, going from the two-legged attacking position to all fours. He rolled to the side, right next to the creature's head. Shiroi thrust a palm into the creature's temple, a strike which would usually do little to deter the beast, even with a pulse of Aura. Strangely enough, however, the Ursa stopped moving. A few seconds later, it began to fade into dust as all Grimm would when killed.
Satisfied with the work he'd done, the boy continued walking into the dense forest, fully aware of the dozens of red, glowing eyes he attracted.
Meanwhile, a red blur was shooting through the forest, heading to Oum knows where. It couldn't be the temple, which was in quite a different direction, but the red-hooded girl had no way of knowing that. She was far more concerned with other matters.
'Okay, who can I work with? There's Yang, of course, but what if I don't find her? Oh, how about Blake? She's cool, mysterious, and she seems like a good fighter. But she's a bit anti-social. . . How about Jaune? He's nice, and funny. But I don't think he'd be very good in a fight. Let's see, there's Yang, Blake, Jaune. . . Weiss. Can I work with Weiss? She doesn't like me much, but I REALLY want to get along with her. Maybe if I prove myself in a fight, I can at least get some respect from her. Hmm, the only other person I know is. . .'
Her train of thought was stopped on the tracks when she saw something extremely eerie in the clearing ahead. There was a circle of Grimm, but not a single one had noticed her yet. They were all looking inward, about two dozen of them total. It wasn't uncommon for Grimm to circle their prey but the creature in the middle of the group didn't look even remotely human. From her vantage point on a nearby hill, she could see that it was somewhat grotesque, in fact.
It had a humanoid frame, but it was down on four legs. The thing's body was covered in bones. From each side of the sternum sprouted eight rib-like bones, which wrapped around the entire chest, crossed and descended down the back, and met again in front of the abdomen. On the outside of each arm were two beveled sheets of bone, one for each of the forearms and the upper arms. These plates had small spikes, curved backwards. They reminded Ruby of some sword-catching hilts present on older weapons.
His legs were similarly arrayed, but without the spikes. The hands were protected by thinner plates on the backs and the palms, as well as skeletal backings for each finger. At the end of the fingers were claws, about an inch and a half long, curved and with serrated edges. The feet were also protected, but had no claws. The shoulders and neck were heavily defended but used smaller, overlapping plates to retain mobility.
All of this was slightly disturbing in the same way a skeleton might be, but the head brought the figure into the realm of nightmares. Linked to the neck armor was a skull. It was vaguely human, and the creature's face, if it had one underneath the skull, was covered up. The jaws bore a row of vicious teeth, made for ripping. A pair of upward-curved horns sprouted from the temples, much like a bull's.
Worst of all were the eyes. They burned red, similar to those of the many Grimm around the figure, but they were much deeper in color. If the eyes of the Grimm were likened to blood, these were molten rubies. And unlike the Grimm's, these eyes held an emotion. Whatever this being was, it could feel, and what it felt was not hate or anger. It felt fear and pain.
From where she was standing, Ruby could tell that the thing in the middle was outmatched. It was wounded, with blood dripping down its side. A Beowolf tried to slash at it but failed to break the creature's guard when it raised its arm to block. The Beowolf lost a large portion of its head to the other beast's claws a moment later. The survivor rushed toward one of the other Beowolves and impaled it through the chest with its entire forearm, then ripped it back out.
An Ursa tried to take advantage of the opponent's momentary stillness but was punished with a kick to the head, proving that the unknown creature was humanoid and could move as such, stunning the bear Grimm and allowing the enemy to kill it with a slash across the chest.
That was the end of the humanoid being's luck when a King Taijitu's head bit down on one of its legs. It let out a scream of pain, muffled by the skull but still very much audible, before striking the snake's eye with a palm. The eye exploded outward, killing that head, but the other was coming at the wounded humanoid with jaws wide open.
The bleeding creature looked back, but was far too late. By the time it can react, the snake would eat it. The creature screamed again, this time in defiance as the jaws were about to close, a strangely human sound. But the jaws didn't pierce flesh. The creature didn't die. Instead, standing behind the dissolving head of the Taijitu was a girl of fifteen, wearing a red hood and holding a large, mechanical scythe.
"Don't worry!" she said to the creature. She had used her Speed Semblance to intercept the snake Grimm, cutting off the head and finally killing it. She wasn't quite sure what this bone-covered thing was, but it was fighting the Grimm and it obviously felt pain. She couldn't stand the agony in that voice when she heard it, and had come running over to help. There was no way Ruby would let anyone, human or not, die if she could help it.
The crowd of Grimm were surprised by the new fighter, but only for a moment. Seeing that their enemy was not yet dead, the whole pack descended upon the two. Ruby managed to cleave through about three of the Grimm by spinning her scythe in a circle as her strange ally torn apart another few. Barely two minutes later the duo had killed every Grimm in the clearing, as well as a few that had entered the battle later.
"Whew, that's the last of them. It's alright, you're safe now, friend," Ruby reassured. She didn't know if the being standing in front of her could understand the words, but either way she was cheerful. After all, not many people could brag about killing more than twenty Grimm alongside a mysterious beast.
". . . Thanks, I guess," said the creature.
Startled, Ruby looked at the being in awe. "You can talk?"
"Well, yeah. You should know that already."
"Huh?" the girl returned. The voice sounded somewhat familiar, but was still muffled by the skull helmet.
"Right, I sometimes forget that humans have a hard time recognizing me with my Semblance active."
At this statement, the bones covering the body of the creature began to be absorbed into its skin. The ribs separated and twisted back into the chest, the skin on the legs and arms was exposed, and the claws sank into the fingers. The last thing to disappear was the skull, revealing a familiar face and a shock of pitch black hair.
"Shiroi! How, what, why?" Ruby questioned.
"I'm Grimm, Ruby. My Semblance reflects what I truly am by giving me control over the bones in my body to use as armor and weapons, as well as letting me absorb any bone I come in contact with."
He hadn't wanted anyone to see this so soon, but it didn't matter. Soon he'd either be hunted again, now that there was proof of what he was, or turned into a weapon against Grimm like Ironwood had wanted. He was just waiting to see the girl's reaction to his transformation. If she attacked, he'd catch her by surprise with one of his favorite moves. It was a simple but effective technique: He thrust out his palm and, right before the impact, a spiral of bone erupted, drilling into the target. He could reinforce this with Aura if he so chose, which would follow the spiralling and do even further damage as it passed through whatever he hit.
Ruby's face was frozen for a moment in this. . . completely blank stare that creeped him out a bit. Then she smiled wide and jumped onto him.
"That is so cool! You were like 'Bring it on!' and the Grimm were like 'It's on!' and you destroyed those Beowolves, and that Ursa, and the King Taijitu's head practically exploded!"
Ok, now he was unnerved. He was not used to anyone being this happy-go-lucky after seeing that form. Usually people either ran away in fear or, if they were trained Huntsmen, attacked him. Instead, this crazy girl was jumping all over him as if she could still see his bones if she looked hard enough.
He grabbed Ruby and put her on the ground in front of him. "You think that my Semblance is cool?" he asked incredulously.
"Well, yeah. It's like you have built-in weapons! You could make anything out of bone, right? Like a spear, or a sword, oh! Can you make a gun?"
Shiroi was far too dazed from the girl's reaction to tell her off or make an insulting remark. "No, but I can make projectiles," he said as he pointed his index finger at a tree. A sharpened version of his fingertip shot out, embedding itself deep into the wood.
"Awesomeeee!" she shouted. "Can you make it spin like a bullet? It would increase the penetrating power and the accuracy several fold. Oh, and what about barbs? But the Grimm wouldn't try to take the spikes out, so that's kinda pointless. . ." Shiroi listened in shock as the weird, weapon savvy girl listed off modifications he could make to his projectiles so they would be even more lethal.
Once his brain caught up with the rest of him, he felt like doing something he hadn't even attempted in a long time. It started out as a low rumble in his chest, and soon grew to a violent shaking of his entire body, before a deep, bellowing laughter came from his throat. Ruby stopped her chatter once she heard it, a sound which just seemed to fit him. It wasn't a cruel laughter or one of amusement. He was relieved. This girl in front of him was treating him, a creature of Grimm, so differently than anyone ever had. It was refreshing. He didn't have to hide this time, or bloody his hands even more. He could just exist. She didn't deny him the privilege of life like everyone else had.
"What's so funny?" Ruby asked without a hint of annoyance. She was innocently curious as to what her new partner - she hadn't forgotten the rules of the test - was laughing at.
"Nothing, weapon freak. That was just far too strange. Come on, we're going to have to stick together now, so let's get going to the temple. I have an idea of where it is from here."
Ruby pouted at the jab but allowed her teammate to lead the way. A few seconds later, however, he began to sway and the hooded girl had to catch him.
"What's wrong?" she asked in alarm.
With the adrenaline fading and his mind back on track, he could finally feel the pain of his injuries again, and the blood loss was starting to make him a little dizzy. "Lost a little too much blood. Let's rest for a minute." Ruby nodded her assent and sat him down with his back against a tree. First she would patch him up, then after a small rest they would move forward.
So we see what happens when you are able to look past appearance and see that someone is really just a person. A delusional and mentally scarred person, but a person with a mind and a soul all the same. Well, there's that character development. Review if you liked it, and if you didn't oh well. Have a good day/afternoon/evening!