I apologize for taking so long to update! It's been really hectic around here and I haven't had much time to just sit down and write, and when I did I had really bad writers block. I hope this chapter makes up for it! ^_^;

Chapter 3: Stepping up

Lightning struck the ground just a few yards away as I ran through the mud and rain. Dozens of tree branches reaching out in front as if to grab hold of me as I passed by. I heard the voices behind me, the voices were relentless in their attempts to catch me as I fled into the night. My heartbeat pounded in my chest harder than I ever thought was possible. Another flash and the forest was on fire, my chances for escape slowly burning up along with it. I looked over my shoulder at my pursuers but only saw the glow of their flashlights in the distance. I would not be able to run forever, I was already beginning to slow down as I crashed through the tree line into a clearing. There was another explosion, much closer than the last ones. It sent a numbing feeling up my arm as I brought it up to protect my eyes from light. Fear crept over me, there was no where to hide and I would not be able to run forever. There was nothing left but for me to accept my fate.

I awoke in a cold sweat, my heavy breathing was matched only by the pounding in my head. I sat up on the bed as I tried to calm down. The room was in the same state as it had been last night, and by the looks of it the sun had already risen outside. I stretched and shook my head, put the thought of whatever nightmare I just had behind me, and hopped out of bed on to the smooth wooden floors. I walked over to the dresser in the corner of the room and opened it, revealing a neat stack of my clothes for the day, minus the pants of course which I had slept in. I proceeded to get dressed and once I made sure I had everything, walked over to the nearby window on the wall opposite the dresser and opened it, letting in a cool breeze and the slight smell of coffee which I'm sure was coming from downstairs. I stood there letting the breeze brush across my face for a minute before finally closing the window and leaving the room. I was lucky that Professor Ozpin knew Jack and was able to convince him to allow me to stay in the spare room of his home, which was just one floor up from the cafe. I made my way down the hall and went downstairs into the back of the cafe.

"Ah, look who's awake." I looked over at Jack, hard at work preparing different orders from the half a dozen or so customers that I could see in the dining area. "Sleep well?"

"Well enough." I said, taking a seat at the bar counter. "Busy morning?"

"What, this?" He gestured to the dining area, "This is nothing. I can handle twice this many people without any trouble. I tilted my head off to one side.

"Really? Saturdays must be pretty busy then." Jack placed a small plate of bacon and eggs in front of me along with a glass of water. I felt a low growl emerge from what I could only assume was my stomach. I guess losing your memory doesn't make you any less hungry. I grabbed the nearby fork and took a large bite of the meal in front of me. And then another. And another. It was so good!

"I take it you like my cooking?" Jack let out a small chuckle as i gave a nod, my moth full of deliciousness. Soon the plate was empty and I was satisfied. I finished up by downing the glass of water before returning it to the table with a sigh.

"Thank you for the breakfast Jack. I didn't know I was that hungry." Jack smiled back at me.

"Hungry? Kid that was half a serving of food. If that was you being hungry, then you must have the stomach the size of my thumb!" He let out a laugh as I scratched the back of my head in embarrassment. Jack then collected the cup and plate and put them in the sink to be washed as I stood up from my seat. "Heading out?" I nodded.

"Yeah, I think some fresh air will do me some good. Plus I kinda want to see what's around here." I started to head for the door.

"Well the shop closes at ten o'clock tonight, so be back before then." He cocked a smile, "Otherwise you'll be locked out all night." I smiled and gave the man a thumbs up.

"Don't worry, I'll be back before then." I turned and left the building, breathing in the cool morning air as I did so.

There was a slight smell of freshly baked bread and other different foods as I walked along the street. I decided not to wander too far at first, choosing to stay within a few blocks of the cafe, which, to my amusement, I found was named 'The Dusty Spoon'. Most of the buildings around the area seemed to be mainly small shops and restaurants, with the occasional dust or weapon shop here and there. I eventually found a small city park a few blocks away that was a great change in atmosphere from the tall buildings and busy streets that I had seen so far. I decided to lay beneath one of the larger trees and enjoy the peace and quiet with a bit of a nap.

"If it weren't for my lack of memory- *Yawn* -this place wouldn't be too bad..." Other park-goers were enjoying their time out in the sun around me as I slowly began to let sleep take over. I took a deep breath as I awaited my slumber, as I was drifting off, however, I began to hear some commotion coming from nearby in the park.

"Hey man, just leave us alone..." "Why are you being such a jerk?" Something was going on. Something that I didn't like the sound of. I sat up and looked around for the source of the sound. It didn't take long for me to find out where it was coming from. Not far from where I was resting, was a couple that were sitting on a bench surrounded by a small group of what appeared to be bullies that were harassing them. The thing that really struck me as odd, however, was that one of the couple seemed to have a set of what I can only describe as mouse ears protruding from her head. She seemed to be holding on tight to the boy next to her out of what was obviously fear. The young man didn't look much better, but held her in his arms to protect her from the men that surrounded them.

"It's only natural that a science geek would fall in love with a lab rat," One of the bullies chimed, " I guess this must be a field experiment, eh?"

"I hope you don't mind if we add a few more variables to their test now, would you?" The larger of the group grabbed the couple and pulled them apart easily, despite their attempts to hold onto one another. The four of them took the boy, leaving the girl on the bench, and began to push him around in a circle between him. Laughing as they did so.

"Please don't hurt him! Somebody stop them!" There were tears in the mouse girls eyes as she cried out. Nearby onlookers merely watched the spectacle unfold, most of them to afraid to do anything that would defy the gangs actions. I was on my feet as well now, watching the events in front of me, unsure of what to do. My hands were shaking, and I could feel a bead sweat drip down my neck. I had to do something. The girls screams rang in my ears as time slowed down in front of me. At first, I thought I was just imagining things, but when I blinked, I realized that literally, time had slowed down. Everything was moving at a slightly slower pace, including myself, but I actually saw it al from a normal perspective. Before I could question it further, time seemed to correct itself and I realized that I was breathing rather hard. I looked at my hands, clenched tightly together and shaking. Was I really going to do this? It only took one more cry from the girl for me to make my decision. I walked forward.

"Hey!" I must be crazy. The second they heard me the entire gang, no... The entire park was looking at me, the crazy idiot that pretty much just signed his own death sentence.

"What do you want freak?!" The big guy called out. They seemed just as shocked as everyone else was. I looked over at the bench,I almost wish I hadn't. The mouse girl was looking at me with hope in her eyes. I could just feel the pressure and anticipation emanating from her and the crowd. I looked back to the bullies, doing my best to hide all traces of fear from my own eyes.

"There are a lot of things going on here, that I really don't like." I took another step forward, crossing my arms, "Leave the kid alone before things get any worse here." Good. Bluff it out. Bluffing is good... Right?

"Are you trying to threaten us pipsqueak?" The big guy walked closer to where I stood, almost confused that someone would be standing up to them. Honestly, I was about as confused as he was. He nodded his head to the boy and his three friends pulled him over to the bench, keeping them captive and away from where I was. He shook his head with a small laugh, "You really don't know your place here, do you?" Quick... Need a witty response...

"And you really don't know how to shower now, do you?" SHIT. TOO WITTY. I saw a scowl appear on his face as he cracked his fists in front of himself.

"You wanna try that one again, PAL?"

"Oh I'm sorry, did I say 'shower'? I meant to say 'speak.'" Dammit Hiro stop being a smart-ass! One of the three bullies by the bench decided to speak his mind.

"Kick his ass Cardin!" ...Cardin? that name seemed familiar... It made me even more scared and even more angry, but I couldn't get anything else from that word that I knew wouldn't lead me to a headache. And now is really not the time for one of those.

"Time to teach you some manners." He was right in front of me now, and he looked a lot bigger up close. I saw his left arm reel back and knew what was coming, I dodged under his swing and circled around behind him. Before I could recover though, he spun around and struck me in the side with the back of his right fist. I flew a few yards before hitting the ground and somehow managed to flip back onto my feet. He was like an animal! He had a grin on his face as he stood upright and began to walk towards me yet again to finish the 'lesson'. If I knew how to fight before, I certainly don't remember now.

I brought my hands up hoping to at least look like I knew what I was doing. No sooner did I do that did the brute charge at me, full speed. I brought my arms up just in time to block the punch that was aimed directly at my face. The force sent me sliding backwards, feet unable to keep traction on the soft grass, and I slammed my back into a tree. I released a small cry in pain as I fell down to one knee, trying to force myself to stay on my feet. Using the tree as an aide, I stood up once again. Cardin was already closing in on me, I took a swing and he easily caught it in his own paw of a hand. "I told you, you just don't know your place here, do you?" He had a twisted smile as he said those words. He slowly began to crush my right hand in his own.

The pain started to bring me back to my knees as I gritted my teeth. There was no way I could win against this monster. My actions have done nothing but make me get involved in something that I had no business with, and my mouth only seemed to make it worse. I took another swing with my free arm, but it too was caught. I was running out of options, I would lose both hands if I didn't get out of this soon. So I did the only thing I could do. The only thing that would get me out of this was the emergency, code-red attack that always worked against people like Cardin. I forced myself one again to my feet, which in itself was a struggle. Cardin seemed to be toying with me, so sure of his victory. I then brought my foot as far back as I could manage, and then proceeded to swing it forward as hard as I could, straight in front of me.

"Place this!" Impact. I saw lights go off in Cardin's head as he let my hands go with a scream. He fell to his knees as I stepped aside, I couldn't stop there. I spun and roundhouse kicked him in the back of the head, sending him face first into the tree. I lost balance myself on the soft grass and fell on my butt. I could almost see the stars spinning around his head as I stood back up, my adrenaline helping me block out the pain. I looked back to the bench, the other bullies looked flabbergasted at what they saw. Big-guy Cardin was flat on his face due to some nobody punk in the park. I started to walk towards them but was cut short by a certain meat-heads grumblings coming from behind me. I looked back at Cardin and realized that he was getting back up.

"You're gonna get it now you little BRAT!" There was fire in his eyes as he looked over at me. I couldn't help it as I felt more cockiness escape my lips.

"Bring it tiny." Why can't I shut my mouth. I prepared for another onslaught of Cardin's attacks when I heard the sound of sirens in the distance.

"Cardin! We have to go!" The group shoved their way past me to their leader, almost knocking me to the ground yet again. Apparently someone had called the police during our scuffle, which would explain why I wasn't being beaten to a pulp right now. Cardin just glared at me before turning and walking out of the park, his gang not far behind. I let out a sigh as I fell to my knees, I was exhausted. my side hurt, my head hurt, my hand felt numb. I felt like I could pass out right then and there. I looked around, the crowd was starting to disperse, returning to their previous activities. What was I doing before this? Oh right. Sleep. That sounds good right about now. I was about to fall forward onto the grass in front of me when I realized I was not alone. I looked up in front of me and saw the girl from earlier. She had long brown hair and wore glasses on her face. Her eyes were shade of green and you could tell just by looking at them that she had been crying. Before I could say anything she dropped down and gave me a tight hug. I just sat there a few seconds before returning the gesture, letting a soft smile onto my face.

"Thank you." She whispered. She held me a little tighter before finally letting go and returning to her feet. The boy had now walked over and quickly gave her a hug as well, relieved that she was okay. He then looked down at me and extended a hand. I took it gratefully and stood up.

"Thank you for what you did for us." He said. "The both of us really appreciate what you did." He put his arm around her and they held each other close.

"I just did what I thought was right. I couldn't just let them do that to you two." I started scratching the back of my head as I said this, trying to play it off like it was nothing. Before I could think of anything else, the girl grabbed my hand and stuffed something into it before speaking.

"It's not much... But I hope it's enough to repay you for your kindness..." She closed my hand and pushed it to my chest. The couple then waved goodbye and walked off back into the park, leaving me standing there speechless. I opened my fist and found a small handful of what appeared to be paper money. Lien was it? I wasn't exactly sure how much I had been given but it didn't matter. I shoved it into my pocket and walked back over to the original tree to lay down and take a much needed nap. I might be sore, but I felt happy knowing that I had helped someone today. I was only laying down for a few seconds before I had finally drifted off to sleep.

It was late in the afternoon by the time I finally opened my eyes. I almost didn't want to move knowing full well how much pain I would be in, but I couldn't lay in the park forever. After some internal debating, I slowly got back to my feet. The numbness in my hand was gone, and I had a few aches and pains here and there, but it all seemed bearable for now. I cracked my neck and did my best to stretch out and relieve some of the stress before finally beginning my walk back into the city.

Halfway back to Jack's cafe I happened to pass by what appeared to be a secondhand weapons shop. I stopped and peered through the window at the assorted swords, knives, and firearms. I felt I should at least look around and see if I can find something I could use for self defense. Just in case I ran into Cardin and his 'Posse' again. I walked through the door and was immediately spotted by an elderly woman behind the counter who I could only assume was the shopkeeper here. She smiled as I walked in.

"Why hello there young man, can I help you find anything today?" She had a kind tone in her voice that made me feel welcome. I smiled back at her.

"Not at the moment, really. I'm just looking around is all." She nodded at me.

"Well let me know if you have any questions." She then returned to a nearby seat and sat down, pushing her glasses back up to her face before returning to the book she seemed to be reading. I took the opportunity to look around at everything the shop had to offer. Most of the equipment looked quite old or worn, but each and every one of them appeared to have been very clean and well taken care of. Another thing I noticed is that almost all of it seemed VERY expensive. I only had the fistful of Lien that the mouse girl had given me, and I wasn't even sure how currency worked here yet! I started to feel a little nervous but continued to look around a bit more before heading back to the counter.

"Did you find anything deary?" The lady had looked up from her book to speak to me. I scratched the back of my head.

"Actually I don't think anything here is in my price range yet. I'll have to come back another time." She smiled.

"Well let's see what you have to work with and maybe we can find you something that might be a bit more affordable." She stood from her chair and walked over to the counter while I pulled out the Lien from before. I placed it on the counter and she began to count it before I saw a small frown appear on her face. Oh well, it was worth a shot anyways. I was about to say something when I saw that the shopkeeper actually had a look of deep thought in her face. After a moment or two, she went below the counter and began rummaging around for something. When she reappeared she had a small, rectangular box in front of her. She opened it and revealed a long knife, the blade being about 10 inches long. Not exactly a short sword, but it would do. "The handle has a small chamber for dust that can be used to infuse the blade with power. It only holds about one charge's worth, so use it sparingly." I gave a nod as she handed it to me.

"Thank you so much, do I really have enough for this?"

"You have just enough dear. I'll even throw in a sheath for it."

"Thank you so much!" I examined the knife in my hands, easily finding the mechanism in the black handle that controlled the dust, and where it was loaded. The edge of the blade itself was sharp and there was an intricate design along the sides that shaped the image of a shield and cross-swords in the silver metal. I slid the knife into its sheath and attached it sideways on the back of my belt to allow for an easy, behind-the-back equip for my right hand. The lower part of my jacket was able to cover it up to help avoid any strange looks it might attract, which was a plus. The shopkeeper had already finished putting the Lien away in the register by the time I had finished adjusting my new weapon. "How do I look?" I turned to the side, showing her the hidden blade. She smiled.

"I think it suits you rather well young man." Satisfied with my purchase, I said my goodbyes to the kind lady and returned to the streets to begin my journey back to 'The Dusty Spoon' . I had ended today with the same amount of Lien I had started with, and a few more bruises than I would have liked, but I'd say today was well worth it.

*Growwwwwl*

Oh right... Food. I decided to get back to the cafe as quick as possible, hoping that Jack would have something that I could eat tonight.

I had a lot of fun making this chapter. It felt a lot easier making the fight scene between Hiro and Cardin than the rest of the the chapter because It doesn't require too much dialogue, which is one of my harder points in my opinion.

Vangour: I'm doing my best to tell Hiro's story without just making him like a "Mary Sue" or someone who just knows everything. Thank you for your support, I'll keep doing my best to make the story interesting! :)

SakuraNights01: I did my best to keep everything as similar to the world of Remnant as I could, given my limited information about some of the character's personalities and such. I'm glad you enjoy the story so far! ^^

I'll try and keep writing this story where I can, I don't plan on leaving this story unfinished, and with the new volume of RWBY coming out, I have even more drive to keep writing this FF. I'll see you guys next chapter! Stay Gold~