Hello my fellow readers and welcome back to another chapter of Ruby & The Beast! Like i said in the previous chapter, it'll take place during Shining Beacon even though it'll technically be a prologue! Anyways enjoy!
Prologue
In the sky, an airship flew over Vale as it was heading towards its destination, Beacon Academy, a school where both men and women train to become full-fledged Hunters and Huntresses in order to prepare to fight against the Grimm, which are a threat to humanity. As the airship landed, all the students walked out the exit, ready for their first day at Beacon Academy.
However, there was a certain outcast in the crowd. Rajah, a young man that stood around 6'5" tall with very well-developed muscles past his age, lacking a single ounce of fat. His spiky, shoulder-length hair was in a ragged pattern of fiery orange and black. He supports two jagged black stripes on his cheeks and numerous ragged black markings on his chiseled body that resembled tiger stripes. Then there were his eyes.
Piercing lime green gemstones that could make anyone cower in fear, even the most evil individuals. But the most unusual features were Tiger ears on top of his head and a long striped tail that waved lazily behind him. He also supported a near-permanent scowl and a burn scar on the left side of his face, to which his left eye appeared to be partially blinded and matched his rugged features.
His outfit consisted of a black hoodie, which is left unzipped, exposing his bare chest, a necklace made of dragon scales, grey baggy pants and a rusty orange bandana around his neck. On his feet were black combat boots, and had bandages wrapped around his hands. The young Tiger-Faunus trudged through the crowd with his hands in his pockets while being lost in thought.
"Damned geezer, I can't believe he talked me into this." Rajah thought with annoyance.
Flashback…
Ozpin sat in his office with coffee in his hand like he did every evening. Only this evening, he was waiting for Rajah, a young Bengal Tiger-Faunus with a dark past. He was very intrigued in his files. Beacon's headmaster was no stranger to individuals with traumatic childhoods, but Victor stood among the rest. At a young age, his species and family was murdered right before his very eyes by a group of racist Sorcerers who kill Faunus just for the fun of it. But what really impressed Ozpin was the fact that the Tiger managed to kill one of them at the age of 12. Even other Faunus feared and hated him and his kind greatly. Ozpin will stop at nothing to ease the boy's pain and suffering he went through for hundreds of years.
But Glynda Goodwitch, the blond woman who stood by the Headmaster, couldn't help but feel uneasy. While she wasn't against the idea of melting all the hatred in the boy's heart, she was troubled at the idea of him enrolling as a student at Beacon. There were 3 reasons: #1 was his semblance, his power could be described as "Satanic", an ability to control and manipulate cursed flames of hell that can incinerate anything it touches, even the strongest man-made material. #2 was the high kill count Rajah carried with him. Over 400 years, not a single fighter who engaged the Tiger walked out alive. He slaughtered them all with only his bare hands. His skill alone utterly outclassed every Hunter and Huntress alive. #3, he was the son of "Evil Tiger King Shere Khan", the oldest and most powerful Tiger-Faunus that ever existed. She thought he might be far too dangerous attending Beacon. The blond decided to break the silence.
"Are you certain letting thus boy attend Beacon is a good idea?" Glynda asked while adjusting her glasses.
"Glynda, I know you're worried about this new individual but at least give him a chance. That boy's life has been nothing but war and bloodshed. Plus he lost the only family he ever known." Ozpin stated.
"That may be true but what about the safety of the students? You know as well as I do that he hates humanity with a vengeance." Glynda pointed out.
"Another reason to let him enroll. The boy's family had been taken from him at a very young age. He needs this in order for him not to see the bad in every human that he comes across, let alone ease the pain and loneliness." Ozpin explained. Glynda lets out a sigh, she was worried about the safety of the students, but deep down, she wanted to free him from the darkness that he carried with him all those years.
"I suppose you're right professor." The blond woman sighed. "But I highly doubt that he will-"
Her sentence was cut off as the door swung open, revealing the young Bengal Tiger-Faunus that they've encountered the other day.
"I didn't think that you would arrive." Glynda commented.
"Shut it you blond bimbo." Rajah spat harshly, earning a death glare from the blond teacher.
"That's "Miss Goodwitch" to you young man. I also suggest that you watch your language." The blond woman said venomously while glaring daggers at the Bengal Tiger, who wasn't even fazed by the cold stare.
"Yeah, yeah whatever." The Tiger grunted as he took a seat in front of Ozpin's desk with his arms crossed. "So, why the hell you want me here?" He demanded with narrowed eyes as his tail twitched.
Ozpin calmly took a sip of his coffee before responding. "I have a proposition for you." This caused the Tiger to raise a brow.
"A proposition?"
The headmaster nods in response. "Yes, I would like to offer you a chance to leave this torturous life and enroll as a student of Beacon." Rajah merely scoffed at his proposal.
"Thanks but no thanks. I've already filled my purpose." The Tiger replied gruffly, making Glynda scowl at him.
"So you'd rather throw away your future and use your skills for pitiful revenge?" The blond teacher demanded. Suddenly, Rajah stood up and slammed his hands on Ozpin's desk, causing several cracks to form, as he adopted a more feral look. A torrent of fire exploded out of his body and reached well around the office in a glimmer of flames. Inanimate objects were being burned to ashes and the glass windows exploded due to the intense heat radiating from Victor.
"FUCK OFF YOU OLD BITCH! YOU HUMANS ARE THE ONES WHO TOOK EVERYTHING I HAD AWAY FROM ME! IF YOU'RE GONNA THROW ME SOME BULLSHIT LECTURE! THEN YOU CAN FORGET ABOUT YOUR GODDAMN PROPOSITION!" The Bengal Tiger-Faunus thundered savagely while baring his glistening white fangs at the blond woman. The female teacher flinched at his tone and took a few steps back. She noticed that his pupils turned into vertical slits and his irises glowed bright green. His ears were flattened against his head, his claws were unsheathed, and his tail lashed out wildly, giving out a warning that he was angry and ready to pounce.
She felt the temperature rise dramatically, but her body felt cold. Not as in temperature, like the eerie feeling that she was being stalked by a predator thanks to his suffocating killing-intent.
Rajah's flaming form lessened as the pillar of flames around him lessened to the point that fire flickered around his body, including the tip of his tail, with Ozpin's desk slightly melting around the bengal Tiger-Faunus' hands. A thundering growl rumbled from his throat, which seemed to be getting louder. Ozpin however, wasn't even slightly intimidated. He decided to ease the tension between the two.
"Then allow me to put it in a way that won't offend you."
Rajah's Tiger ears perked up as he heard him say that. He sat back down as his features returned normal and the flames died down, but the tip of his tail twitched, indicating that he's still holding his guard up. "I'm listening."
"Would you rather wallow in your own hatred and sorrow, or would you put your past behind you and become a Huntsman?" The headmaster questioned in a calm yet serious tone. Rajah lets out a grunt. This old geezer really knew how to persuade others. The Tiger thought about that question hard before asking a question.
"Will is still be able to hunt down the bastards that killed my family?" He asked, earning a nod from Ozpin. "Fine, I'll enroll at this damned school of yours."
The headmaster of Beacon seemed satisfied with his answer. "I'm happy to welcome you as a student Mr. Rajah."
The Tiger-Faunus lets out a grunt of acknowledgement as he stood up from his seat and heads straight towards the door to exit. However, Ozpin had one more thing to inform the young man.
"However, before you leave…"
Rajah stops in his tracks and looked over his shoulder. Ozpin tossed him a piece of paper like a Frisbee, which the Tiger easily caught in his hand. He noticed that it was a snapshot of a fifteen year old girl. She had red n' black hair, silver eyes, pale white skin, and a red cloak. He took his eyes off the photo to look at the headmaster.
"Who's this supposed to be?"
Ozpin adjusted his glasses before speaking. "That young lady is Ruby Rose, she's currently attending Beacon Academy."
Rajah's ears twitched slightly as he heard the last name "Rose." His eyes glued back onto the snapshot.
"So she's Summer's brat huh?" The Bengal Tiger thought to himself. He glanced back at Ozpin out the corner of his eye. "Why are you showing me this?"
"Simple. It's because I know you'll feel a kinship with this girl." Ozpin answered bluntly. Victor tossed Ozpin back the snapshot, which he also easily caught, before leaving the office. Ozpin continued to stare at the door.
"She'll also be the one to save you from the darkness." The headmaster spoke in his mind."
Flashback end…
"Tch, that old geezer really knows how to persuade people." Rajah said in his mind as he pulled his hood over his head, which hid the scar behind the shadows. Looks like his life really was gonna change forever. Ozpin better not complain if things don't work out the way he wanted them to. The Tiger-Faunus also couldn't help but keep thinking about a certain red-cloaked girl, he wondered why.
To be continued…
Well what do you guys think? I hope you enjoyed it, and don't forget to leave a comment! I'll have more chapters coming up so please be patient!