The first part of this chapter will start off a little differently, serving to providing somewhat of an exposition or narration about the past of Hans, and it will also elaborate more upon the relationship that he has with Ruby and Yang.

When they were children, Ruby, Yang, and Hans had grown up together in the same village on the island of Patch, and were very close throughout their childhoods. Hans had no siblings of his own, and so Ruby and Yang had been like sisters to him, becoming his unofficial siblings. Hans lived in Patch with only his mother Mira Quicksilver, and his father had died many years before, and as such his situation was somewhat similar to Ruby's, although reversed, as she had a father but her mother was deceased. Hans' mother Mira and Ruby's father Taiyang were also close friends who had known each other for many years, and the two of them often supported each other emotionally. Ruby, Yang, and Hans had often wondered if something more would eventually form between Taiyang and Mira, and the three of them tried many times to see if they could get their single parents together romantically, thereby making the three of them actual siblings, though to no avail.

Even though the two seemed like they would be a perfect match for each other, Taiyang had completely shut himself off emotionally and was afraid to love again after the two great heartbreaks of his life. The first was when his first love Raven had abandoned him and left his daughter Yang as baby on his doorstep one day, and the second was when his next love Summer Rose had died during a mission. Taiyang didn't want to try to love anymore because he was afraid of being hurt again, and so the feelings between Taiyang and Mira remained unresolved.

Nevertheless, Ruby, Yang, and Hans continued to grow closer as they grew up, and they often played together, acting out their fantasies. As the three grew up, they began to dream of becoming Hunters, and so the three of them began to attend Signal Academy on Patch and started to train together to hone their skills so that they could achieve their dream. As the three grew more skilled, they eventually made their own weapons, having helped each other in the process of building them. Even though all the students at Signal were required to eventually create their own weapons, Hans however did not create a weapon of his own and instead used his mother's sword that she had passed down him. This substitute for a self-created weapon that Hans used was a rather strange looking sword named as Kusanagi, also known by some as the Steel Serpent. It was somewhat like the weapon Crocea Mors belonging to Jaune Arc, in that it was just a seemingly ordinary looking melee weapon without any type of gun modifications. What wasn't immediately obvious to most was that Kusanagi had a strange and peculiar ability, one in which the length of the blade could change and become flexible so that it could be moved around, almost as if it had a will of its own, hence it's nickname of the Steel Serpent.

Due to this ability, Kusanagi could move and position itself at certain angles, which would allow it to maneuver around obstacles towards its targets, and even sometimes strike around opponents who attempted to block it with a weapon or shield by attacking them from the side. The blade itself could also sometimes be coated with a mild poison that the weapon was somehow able to produce on its own, making it seem even more like a living serpent, which made its nickname all the more fitting. When it was not in use, the sword took on the shape of a normal sword with a thin katana-like blade, but it could also become flexible and be wrapped around its wielder's body for easier carrying. Finally, Kusanagi also had a last resort defensive mechanism in which the blade could widen itself into a thin metal-like sheet that would wrap itself around the wielder's torso area, in an effort to minimize, but not completely eliminate, any damage that would occur to that area of the body. With these strange abilities, it was very obvious to most that Kusanagi was no ordinary weapon, though where Hans' mother Mira had found such a weapon in the first place was a mystery in and of itself.

The time of their childhood came to an end for Ruby, Yang, and Hans when they decided that they would all go to Beacon Academy together, as they neared the end of their days at Signal Academy. However, they wouldn't all be able to go at the same time, as they were not all the same age. Yang was the oldest, and as such was the first who would be eligible to go, being at the normal age for entry into Beacon Academy. Hans and Ruby however were a different case. Yang would be 16 years old upon entering Beacon, while Hans would be 15, and Ruby would only be 14. Ruby and Hans, due to being very gifted and having excelled at Signal Academy, and also both of their parents being teachers there, had often been moved ahead in the curriculum, and as a result they were ahead of the other students by a few years. Hans had been moved ahead by one year, while Ruby had been moved ahead by two years. It was a virtual guarantee that Yang would be able to go to Beacon, and there was a high possibility that Hans would be able to go as well, as it was not uncommon for some students to be able to enter into Beacon a year early, but a student entering into Beacon two years early like Ruby would was almost unheard of. Ruby's dream of being able to go to Beacon Academy together with Yang and Hans and become a Huntress with them seemed almost impossible now, but that was until the day that by luck she had met the headmaster of Beacon, Ozpin, who then gave her an invitation to apply anyway, despite her age.

Ruby was finally able to attend Beacon like she had dreamed of, and once there she was assigned to her own team, Team RWBY. During his time at Beacon, Hans had also been assigned to his own team, known as Team HURT, and they were often sent out on missions away from the school. Ruby and Yang were not able to see Hans as much after they entered Beacon together with him. The two often had different classes and schedules than he did, and they were also often sent out on separate missions. Despite all of this, the three of them still kept in close contact with each other. Hans became almost like a secret pen pal to Ruby and Yang that they didn't tell their teammates about, and they would often send letters to each other through the mail as well as talk to each other on their Scrolls whenever they had the time. The three had finally achieved their goal, and from here on out the story that most are all familiar with began.

Ruby, Jaune, Ren, and Nora had just now finished recounting to Hans the events that had occurred at Beacon on the day it fell to the Grimm, and in return Hans had told them everything he knew and had heard through the grapevine while he had been out on his various missions to push back the Grimm throughout Vale after the Grimm invasion of Beacon. Afterwards Jaune, Ren, and Nora formally introduced themselves to Hans, and they each got to know him better, sharing in common that they were fellow students of Beacon like he was.

"So these are the friends that you've told me so much about Ruby?" said Hans. "I've actually met Ren before once or twice, though very briefly, through my teammate Ursula, but this is my first time actually meeting Jaune and Nora. I'm glad to have gotten to know you three better."

"Pleased to meet you too." said Nora, gripping Hans' hand tightly and proceeding violently shake it a few times.

"I also look forward to meeting your other teammates too Ruby." said Hans. "It's too bad what happened to Yang, but I'm wondering what that princess girl Weiss is like, or who that fox girl Faunus Blake is."

"She's a cat Faunus." said Ruby, correcting him.

"Ah yes, my bad." said Hans. Suddenly, Hans' face began to light up, as if he suddenly remembered something. "Wait a minute, she's a cat Faunus you say?"

"Yeah." said Ruby. "What of it?"

"I just remembered something." said Hans. "I think I actually might have met her once before when I was out on a scouting mission to the ruins of Beacon. She has long black hair and cat ears on her head, and she also has a sword with cord attached to the handle right?"

"What!?" exclaimed Ruby. "That's her! Where did you see her!?"

"It was a few months ago." said Hans. "I've actually come across her more than once while out on my Grimm extermination missions. She also seems to be trying to push back the Grimm like we were, though she appears to be trying to go at it alone. I offered her an opportunity to join us and help out in our missions, but she refused. The way she carries herself, she seems as though she's carrying some sort of heavy burden on her shoulders, as if she feels that this is something that she has to do by herself."

"It must be because she feels guilty about what happened to Yang." said Ruby, sadly.

"I guess that makes sense." said Hans. "In the few conversations I've had with her, I got the feeling that there was either something or someone that she was running away from and couldn't face. She told me that because of her, a close friend of hers had gotten hurt, and she felt as though she was to blame for it. She didn't want her friends to get dragged into any of her problems anymore and get hurt because of it, so that's why she ran off to try and fix things on her own. The last thing I remember her telling me was that she's looking for some group of Faunus extremists known as the White Fang led by a guy named Adam Taurus. She wants to settle things with him personally without any of her friends getting involved, and only then will she finally be able to return to her friends and face them without feeling ashamed."

"So that's how it is." said Ruby, sounding somewhat relived. "I'm kind of glad to hear that. Now I know that Blake didn't just abandon us. She left for a good reason, and she feels as if this is a problem that she has to solve on her own. She didn't do this out of selfishness, she did it because she wants to protect us from being hurt again because of something she believes shouldn't involve her friends She just doesn't understand though that this isn't just her fight. It involves all of us because of what happened and how it has affected us."

"I want to help you guys out." said Hans, thinking for a moment and then finally speaking. "What happened at Beacon has had ripple effects that have affected all of us here. As a fellow Beacon student, I feel as though I should be doing something to help fix things like you are, by helping you to search for the root of the problem in Mistral. I feel as though I've accomplished almost nothing in these past few months that I've been trying to clear out all of the Grimm from infested areas, only to have them come back soon afterwards. That day at Beacon has also left its scars on me as well. I want to help make things right too. I owe it to my team members that aren't here anymore to at least do that much."

"Welcome aboard then Hans." said Ruby, smiling. "We're glad to have you helping us out. This should make things easier for us now that it's five of us."

"You know what they say, the more the merrier." said Nora. "But now we can't call ourselves the Fearsome Four anymore. We'll have to think of something else now. Maybe something like... the Fearsome Five! Yeah, that's it!"

"Nora, all you did was change one word in the name." said Ren, with a face palm.

"You know, I feel much better about this whole journey now that we've got a fifth party member to help us out." said Jaune. "Especially if they're one of the more experienced students from Beacon."

"Alright everyone, onward to Mistral!" said Nora, holding up her hammer and pointing it in the direction of the road leading to Mistral.

"To Mistral it is then." said Hans, smiling and also drawing his sword and pointing in the direction of their destination, humoring Nora by doing so.

"Hans, you're still using that old thing?" said Ruby, pointing out Hans' sword, which up until now she had not really focused much on, as her mind had been preoccupied during her earlier battle with Hans. "I thought that by now you would have made your own weapon."

"What can I say?" said Hans shrugging. "I've become rather attached to this sword. I really like it."

"That thing is an antique." said Ruby. "The modern weapons of today will work much better for you in a battle than a relic like that."

"Maybe that's the reason I like it so much." said Hans. "It has a nice charm to it with how old and mysterious it is. There's just something about hand me downs like this that appeals to me. I guess I'm just old fashioned like that."

"There's nothing to be ashamed of about hand me downs." said Jaune. "My sword Crocea Mors has been handed down throughout my family for generations. My great-great grandfather fought with it in the Great War."

"That's interesting to hear." said Hans. "As for this weapon, my mom told me that she found this sword stuck into the side of really big Grimm she had killed one day while out on a mission. She took it back home with her as a trophy and has kept it ever since then, until she gave it to me. Who knows how it got stuck in that Grimm in the first place? Maybe the Grimm killed the previous wielder, or maybe the Grimm just ran off with the sword still stuck in it after it was attacked by whoever had it before. I did some digging around through some old texts and documents to try and trace the sword's line of ownership, but all I was really able to find out was that this sword's name is Kusanagi."

Jaune then also drew his sword out like Hans, and proudly showed it to everyone, feeling confident now that he has found a kindred spirit in Hans, who views his weapon in the same way that he views his. Hans took a closer look at Crocea Mors and noticed something peculiar. On the guard of the sword was engraved a small black, skull-like crest.

"Hey Jaune, what's that?" asked Hans, pointing out the black skull-like crest on the guard of Jaune's sword.

"Oh that?" said Jaune. "That's always been there."

"It seems our weapons do have something in common after all." said Hans, pulling out his sword Kusanagi and pointing out the same small black, skull-like crest engraved onto the guard of his sword as well.

"Whoa, that's so weird." said Ruby. "What could this mean? Is this a sign or an omen?"

"It means our weapons were forged by the same person." said Hans. "This is so strange. I never thought I'd ever come across another one. I thought they were all just rumors and stories..."

"What rumors and stories?" asked Jaune.

"Well, to put it simply Jaune, there are quite possibly several other weapons like ours out there in the world." said Hans. "During my research into Kusanagi's origins, I came across some pretty interesting tidbits of information about where this weapon supposedly originated from."

"Oh, a mystery?" said Ruby, her eyes lighting up. "Tell us what you found Hans. This sounds like it could be exciting."

"Well, legend has it that many centuries ago, there was a famous and very renowned blacksmith and Huntress who forged twelve legendary weapons in her lifetime." said Hans. "They were said to be the greatest and most magnificent creations she had ever forged. These twelve weapons were all created and designed for the sole purpose of being able to kill Grimm. On each of these legendary weapons that she forged, she left her mark of craftsmanship, which is this small black skull shaped crest that you see here on the guard. Supposedly it's one of the ways you can tell them apart from just plain, old regular weapons to know if they're the real deal or not. I didn't think they actually still existed though. I thought Kusanagi, also known by its nickname of The Steel Serpent, was the only one left in Remnant. For a long time, I wasn't even sure if they even were real at all, and I thought they were all just a story some merchants had made up to help boost the sales of their weapons."

"So my sword is special somehow?" asked Jaune. "That's pretty neat."

"It's not just that." said Hans. "Do you know just what it is that apparently makes them all so special and so good at killing the Grimm in the first place?"

"No. What is it?" asked Jaune, now intrigued.

"Supposedly, all twelve of these weapons were forged from the pieces of twelve unusual and extraordinarily powerful Grimm, which were taken from these Grimm while they were still alive." said Hans. "I'm not really sure how true that part of the story is, or if it's just a rumor, but I sometimes wonder myself, since my sword seems to almost have a mind of its own sometimes."

"That's just crazy!" exclaimed Ruby. "But also really creepy and disturbing."

"Why go that far to do something like that though?" asked Jaune.

"I'll show you." said Hans. Hans took his sword Kusanagi and held it next to Crocea Mors, and as the two weapons came within inches of each other, they began to shake and glow with a faint hazy red aura.

"So they are alive after all!" shouted Ruby, now shocked.

"In a way, yes they are alive." said Hans. "The residual energy of the Grimm they were made from is what's causing them to resonate with each other like this. Their former malice must still be buried somewhere deep within the weapons, and when they come within close proximity like this, they can somewhat recognize each other's presence. They say the power of the Grimm that they were made from imbues the weapons with special qualities and powers. It's also said that if you have a really strong aura and train it well that you can unlock the hidden powers and potential of each weapon. I've trained my aura a lot because of this, and have started to unlock some of Kusanagi's powers, but so far all it seems to be able to do is just stretch and move around like a snake. I guess not all the weapons have the same powers. Some are probably much cooler than others."

"I wonder what mine can do?" asked Jaune, now sounding excited. "I've already got a strong aura, so maybe I can unlock my sword's true power if I train it hard enough? My great-great grandfather was said to be able to do some crazy things with this weapon in the Great War. Most of my family never really believed in any of the war stories about him though, seeing as how Crocea Mors looks like it couldn't hurt a fly."

"You've got a good weapon with you Jaune." said Hans. "If you train yourself to control that immense aura of yours properly, who knows what you will be able to do. You'll be an unstoppable force in battle. Believe in your sword, and it will protect you."

Jaune sheathed his sword and held it close to him, now having a new found respect and appreciation for the weapon he had once seen as weak and insignificant. The group of Ruby, Jaune, Ren, Nora, and Hans then once again continued on their way down the road, resuming their journey to Mistral.

Well, there you have it. The past of Ruby and Hans has been revealed. I wonder if Hans could eventually end up being a potential love interest for Ruby. They both sort of have that whole childhood friends thing going on that you often see with many characters in a lot of cartoons, anime, and manga.