Symbolic Joker, to a reviewer named Mr. Wang: If memory serves correctly Kota was kinda of an egoistical maniac in the Inves Games until he realized that being a Kamen Rider was no game after Takatora beaten the living sh*t out of him. And so what if Jaune cheated his way into Beacon? It shows he's Human. We all have skeletons in the closet. Thus it makes a story more interesting when those skeletons come to light.
I don't own Kamen Rider Gaim which belong to Toei and RWBY which belong to Rooster Teeth. Please support the offical release! JUST LIVE MORE people!
Third Lock: A First Bite of Power! The Third Grape Rider is Here!
*Lock Open!*
With the whole commotion with a fruit knight and monsters coming from a giant zipper in the air, Beacon Academy was forced to postponed their opening ceremony so an investigation can occur. Well, that's what the students had been told anyway. And while there was some truth to that, but instead of wasting time and money having officials investigate the school grounds, Ozpin decided to call his most interesting student to his office.
But he supposed he should've told Glynda about everything he'd learned from meeting with Kaito.
Glynda Goodwitch was his most trusted advisor and one of his closest friends. Many of Beacon's staff turned to her whenever he was too busy with business, and many times he confided with Glynda on matters of the heart. Being a leader was taxing after all, and sometimes you just had to get things off your chest if a leader wanted to remain and his or her peak.
Which probably explained why she was nagging at him like a housewife.
"I don't care if you think he has unlimited potential like Miss Rose! Mr. Kumon should be expelled for assaulting a fellow student unprovoked, especially when it was it was so obvious he far outmatched his opponent!" Glynda continued to reprimand him for his lack of action. Glynda's words held some truth though. Kaito should be punished for assaulting Mr. Arc unprovoked. However, the question was how to punish Kaito so that he would learn not to attack his fellow students just on a whim?
"Then there is the fact that he doesn't even have a proper background yet you just stamped 'APPROVAL' on his documents, Ozpin! We are trying to train the next generation of Hunters and Huntresses, not running a circus!" He knew that the circus jab was because of the fact Kaito and Jaune used mechanical fruits as armor. One would admit it looked quite silly yet they also cannot deny the power those 'Lockseeds' gave to someone.
Poor Glynda had no idea that she was going to deal with one of the most troublesome day in her entire life when she reported for work today. First the Academy had to postponed the Opening Ceremony to welcome the students because a mysterious attack that occurred in school grounds. Luckily only two students were wounded, though there were eye witnesses pointed out that a boy Ozpin had just met a few days ago and enrolled to the Academy was the one responsible for wounding one of them.
And the most crazy part?
They said that he had donned a suit of armor that was themed after a banana when he did it. Seriously? How did he equipped the armor under a short amount of time? Reports from the eye witnesses said that a zipper of all things appeared in the sky which opened to another area where a giant mechanical banana fell from. Said mechanical banana fell onto his shoulders and formed the armor.
Glynda sent those eye witness to take a visit to Beacon's infirmary to see if they had hit their head a little bit too hard.
A banana suit of armor of all things… . Preposterous!
Ozpin heard the door of his office opening, and saw that it was Kaito walking in like owned the place. What a rude boy. You'd think his sense of style would show that he had some manners, but apparently not.
Glynda was obviously annoyed how Kaito just strolled in without warning. Ozpin would bet Kaito was already on Glynda's shit list, and had just put himself in the top 10.
"Kaito, take a seat." Ozpin gestured to the chair in front of his desk. Kaito was silent as he did what he was told. "So, it would seem a Crack from Helheim has opened up in my school and let loose an Inves. Is there anyway to contain it or know exactly when and where it'll appear, Kaito?" Ozpin discussed the situation with Kaito, much to the confusion of Glynda who never had heard those terms before.
While Kaito had explained to him all he could about Helheim, it had been quite something to hear it from his own students. If Kaito had been telling him the truth, then Rmenant was about to face an otherworldly enemy that was coming very soon. And unfortunately, Ozpin was currently the only one who could prepare the entire world for when it comes.
Releasing the news of a portal that can appear anywhere no matter what defenses was raised was not going to be pleasant. Then there's the fact said portal can allow the local fauna and flora to enter their own world. … . Yeah, it was going to take a miracle to stop the public from descending into panic, chaos and anarchy.
"I have gained the ability to sense and close a Crack… ," Kaito admitted, much to Ozpin's surprise. The boy thought it was a good idea to leave out the fact that he was the only one in Remnant that can put a dent in Helheim's plans to invade Remnant? Then again, he wouldn't blame the boy if he left out that little tidbit of information because of that fact. "… but I don't want any students or faculty member to get in my way when I do so. They'll only end up as added fertilizer to the forest." Of course there was a catch. When has there never been a catch? While Ozpin was tempted to say 'no' to that condition, he knew it was best that Kaito remained on their side.
He was probably the only one who could save Remnant, at the moment.
What Ozpin didn't know that as an Overlord, Kaito had the ability to open and close a Crack to Helheim at any given time or place. But of course, he didn't want it to become public knowledge that he was no longer a Human. Plus, the last thing he needed was some idiotic Hunter or Huntress to get lost in Helheim. Thus forcing Ozpin to give him the job of retrieving them. Given the track of how many idiots had fallen to the temptation of Helheim's fruits, he was more likely to bring back what was left of the Hunter. If there were any, that is.
Kaito seriously didn't need people slowing him down just because they had no idea how Helheim worked.
"What are you even talking about?" Glynda reminded the two men that she was still in the room and heard every single word of their conversation. "What is this forest? What are the Inves? Can anyone here explain just what is going on!?" Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. And Glynda was scorned.
Ozpin and Kaito, despite the impending there were going to have to face if they don't do something quick, exchanged a glance before Ozpin began to explain Glynda what he had learned from 'interrogating' Kaito. He told her all the world devouring forest named Helheim that had now targeted their world. He told her what he knew of the Sengoku Driver, belts that could convert Helheim's DNA-changing fruit to a safe food source and even transform the user into what was called an 'Armored Rider'. He even told her of Kaito's otherworldly origins, feeling that it was required as she would question why Kaito was the only one who knew of Helheim.
He had to assure Glynda that wasn't high on caffeine or someone hadn't spiked his coffee with Dust, however.
"That… that should be impossible… !" Glynda said, and Kaito noted that it was impressive that she wasn't using anything to support herself despite the fact she looked like she was going to faint from what she had heard. "This can't be true, right… ?" Glynda looked at Ozpin, who in turn looked grim. "Prove it… . Prove it!" Glynda said to Kaito, who merely scoffed at seeing the woman slowly panicking. "Prove to me that isn't some sick fairy tale you just made up!"
Kaito said nothing. Merely taking out a Lockseed themed after an acorn. He unlocked it, summoning an Elementary Inves from Helheim. However, Ozpin immediately noted that it was Human-sized compared to the ones summoned by the Vale Police Department when using the same type of Lockseed. Also, it was physically real instead of being a hologram. Kaito quickly dismissed the Inves, sending it back to it's home.
Glynda, however, was even more shaken than she already was.
"Do you see now, Glynda?" Ozpin said to his friend softly so he didn't shook her any further. "Despite Mr. Kumon here being a bit violent, having little-to-no respect for authority and having a rather insatiable lust for power… ," Ozpin did not miss the fact that Kaito's glare at him became a bit darker for each jab. "… is the only one in Remnant who has experience against the forest. He's the only one who has the information that we need to know if Remnant is to survive against this threat."
"An invasion of otherworldly origin is coming, Glynda. And we only have a small window of time to save ourselves. Everything Humanity had built up to this point will be lost if we throw away our only means of survival. The four kingdoms will fall. The light of the future will be snuff out before it even had the chance to shine. Until we learn enough about Helheim and have enough power to combat it, Kaito will be protected at all costs from anything or anyone that is a threat to him."
Glynda nodded, and Ozpin let out a sigh of relief at seeing Glynda understanding the importance of Kaito's role in Remnant's future.
"Good. Now, I would like you to spread the word that Kaito will be attending Beacon as a… special student to all Beacon staff and to the students. Inform the staff all about Helheim but make sure no student hears anything about it's existence. The last thing we need is the students and their families panicking over an invasion from a species they have no knowledge about."
Glynda obediently nodded as Ozpin sat back into his seat. He took his Scroll and open up the reports based on the events Ruby Rose and Weiss Schnee accounted. It would seem one of his new students, a Jaune Arc, had the same ability to transform into an orange-themed warrior. Just as Kaito had the ability to transform into a banana-themed knight. Curious, as Jaune's history in Remnant had been fully accounted for since birth.
So how exactly did the boy gotten his hands on technology from Kaito's world?
"Tell me Kaito… , do you know of a 'Jaune Arc'?" Ozpin questioned, hoping to shed some light in this mystery.
"He was the opponent that I tested his strength against my own." Kaito simply answered, closing his eyes for some reason.
Ozpin hummed at that, before continuing. "Well, eye witnesses said both you and him transformed using mechanical fruits to form your armor. And to quote what you just before you transformed; 'Tell me… . Tell me how you got that belt!'." Ozpin stared at Kaito, who was beginning to scowl. "Was Jaune's armor familiar to you Kaito? Had you encountered someone else who used that exact same armor? A previous owner, perhaps?"
Ozpin noted that Kaito had took out his deck of cards and began shuffling them, most likely a form of therapy to keep himself from unnecessarily lashing out at someone who was merely saying things that needed to be told. Kaito stopped shuffling, and took out a card. It was revealed to be a joker card. Kaito hummed at seeing the ever so familiar card. The wild card of the deck, like always.
"Yes. I have seen someone used that armor before." Kaito admitted, piquing Ozpin's curiosity further. "I have fought against and along side that man before. That man… who I consider as truly… strong." And now Ozpin could see why Kaito had lost his calm demeanor when he saw Jaune having a Sengoku Driver. Seeing a child fighting with the same tool that used to belong to someone you have fought with… . Someone that you respected… . That might anyone angry, since the child most likely knew nothing of the tool he was using.
"Jaune Arc knew nothing of the Sengoku Driver." Kaito noted, and Ozpin nodded showing that he understood what that meant. It meant he found the Driver or more likely someone had given him a Driver. "However… , when I fell onto Remnant; I noticed 14 other lights falling with me. It's unlikely, but… there is a chance those lights are actually Sengoku Drivers from my world." Reversed Ozpin's last thought. It's more likely that Jaune had stumbled onto one of the crash sites of a Sengoku Driver than someone finding and giving him the belt.
What Ozpin didn't know that Kaito was busy theorizing himself. If all those shooting stars were Sengoku Drivers, then why were 5 of them in a different color? He knew of Sengoku Ryoma's completed device; the Genesis Driver. He used one after all. The Genesis Driver was far superior than a Sengoku Driver, and can only be used with special artificial Lockseeds called Energy Lockseeds that were exclusively used to transform it's wielder into an Armored Rider.
Or if you wanted to get technical; a New Generation Rider.
He knew there were only 5 Genesis Drivers in existence. 5 blue stars. It makes sense. If his theory was correct, then that meant the other 9 lights were Sengoku Drivers. Kaito remembers that his own Genesis Driver was special, as it had his Pre-Arms Suit programed into it. The other New Generation Riders Pre-Arms Suit data were programed into their respective Energy Lockseed, meaning they can use each others' Genesis Drivers and still transform into the same Rider with the same Arms. It was how Minato Yokko was still able to transform into her usual pink Rider alter-ego despite using Sengoku Ryoma's Genesis Driver.
Kaito's Genesis Driver, however, having the Pre-Arms Suit data programed into the Driver itself; would override any other Pre-Arms Suit data in the Energy Lockseeds.
That meant if it has been found by now; there was another Armored Rider Baron in Lemon Energy Arms running around in Remnant.
… .
Oh. Hell. No.
There can only be one Armored Rider Baron and his name was Kumon Kaito! Kaito will reclaim his Genesis Driver and show the world that he's the one and only Armored Rider Baron!
Still, this theory was something he should tell Ozpin. The power output of a New Generation Rider dwarfs an inexperienced Armored Rider. He still remembered how Kureshima Takatora, who had replaced his Sengoku Driver with the recently completed Genesis Driver, had utterly defeated with ease. "Ozpin, I'm starting to think that the Sengoku Drivers aren't the only ones that were sent to Remnant."
"What do you mean?" Ozpin of course, wanted to know whatever Kaito wanted to tell him. And so, Kaito told him about the Genesis Driver and the Energy Lockseeds. He told them how their power dwarfs an inexperienced Armored Rider but for an Armored Rider who knew the limits of the Sengoku Driver, they can wisely use their power to go toe-to-toe a New Generation Driver. As far as he knew, the only living proof of that fact was himself and Kazuraba. Even perhaps Kureshima Takatora. He had heard how the melon Rider challenged his younger brother, and even though he lost, Kaito doubted the Kureshima didn't go down without a good fight.
"That is… disconcerting." Ozpin noted as he leaned back into his chair. "Though… , I supposed that you can handle one without a problem?" Kaito almost snorted at that. He could match Kazuraba's Kachidoki Arms blow for blow, though that was when both were mere Overlords. Kazuraba's Kachidoki Arms was a bit more powerful than a New Generation Rider when he was still Human. Now that he had the Golden Fruit… .
Hn. Kaito seriously doubted that anyone other than Mai could lay a hand on him now.
"I can defeat a New Generation Rider with ease." Kaito answered Ozpin. "Though… , if they teamed up against me… I might have some trouble." Enough trouble to be forced to use his Overlord powers a bit. Ultimately he would win, but at the cost of his secret.
Ozpin sighed, and rubbed his temple to calm the migraine he had gain from hearing information that Kaito chose to withdrew from him. Still, he could not blame the youth. He did not know why he was suddenly in a new World and certainly didn't expect the transformation devices of his world to appear with him. Kaito probably thought that anything concerning his world was on a need-to-know basis only. And while he would applaud the youth for being cautious with information compared to people his age, it was still frustrating to only now learn something that might endanger the safety of the public.
And then there's the fact Kaito was not invincible. When it came to matters of Helheim, Ozpin hoped that Kaito really was invincible due to his experience. But now there were 5 Riders within Remnant that could potentially defeat Kaito if they had decent enough teamwork with each other. That was not good. Not good at all.
"Since we could use all the help we can get from Sengoku Driver users, you wouldn't mind give Mr. Arc a hand in understanding his new power a bit more, right… Mr. Baron?" Ozpin asked, with Kaito rolling his eyes at the 'Baron' jab. At least he gotten the name right this time… . "It would seem though, that the boy has no weapons of his own… ." Now that caught Glynda's and Kaito's attention. A Hunter-in-Training with no weapon of his own? That shouldn't be right.
"Did he lost his weapon on the way to Beacon?" Glynda asked, with the answer to that question deciding Jaune's fate within Beacon.
Rule 229 when attending a Combat School: When a student is found without a weapon he or she will be expelled from the Academy. A Huntsman that can't remember the placement of his weapon is a careless Huntsman. And careless Huntsman was a dead Huntsman. Of course, there were exceptions to the rule, and sometimes students got a second chance to prove that they were taking their studies seriously. However, the last thing a Combat School needed was to have one of their students die on their watch due to lack of discipline.
"Rule 134 of being a Huntsman, Glynda: So long as a Hunter has something to defend the people and hunt the Grimm, no matter what it's shape and form; it is accepted as a weapon. I think a Sengoku Driver qualifies, no?" Ozpin immediately reassured Glynda that Jaune would be just fine. Besides, this would extend to Kaito as well; as his only 'weapon' at the moment was his own Sengoku Driver.
Glynda sighed while Kaito merely hummed.
"Fine, I'll teach the new Gaim a lesson on how to use his Driver properly once he wakes up. But whether he can keep up depends entirely on his will to gain more power." Kaito given in to Ozpin's request. He was all for the weak becoming stronger but through their own will. Not because someone sent them a teacher. Especially when that teacher is himself. He was no babysitter.
Besides, Kaito figured that his… partnership with Beacon Academy was similar to his partnership with Yggdrasill. Both were using the other, though in this case both were fully aware that they were using each other. They use him to prepare for Helheim's invasion, he gets to use their resources however he wish. Right now, Kaito wished to improve his skills, maybe even find the fool who stole his Lockseeds. Then thre was the added bonus where he wouldn't get dissected like a lab rat.
With that done, Kaito got up from his seat and left Ozpin office. Maybe he should take a trip to Helheim? Get some new Lockseeds and test them out like he did when Kazuraba had gained his Fresh Orange Lockseed. Hm… maybe he should get a Pine Lockseed? Kazuraba's Pine Lockseed turned Fresh when he managed to do a fresh smile after all.
Kaito inwardly groaned to himself when he realized he was now targeting one specific Lockseed. Just because he was an Overlord now didn't mean he had suddenly gained the ability to find that one damn Lockseed he wanted in a forest full of the fruit that can randomly convert into any Lockseed.
Now left to themselves, Glynda turned towards Ozpin. "Is it alright, allying ourselves with him? He's too much of an unstable wild card." Glynda noted. She was a pretty good judge of character, and she could tell Kaito was going to be a handful. … Scratch that, make it two handfuls. "Will he even work in a team?" Beacon was amongst the Combat Schools that gave Huntsman-in-Training their final education before they set out to find their place in the world. As such, they usually pair their students into teams as there was a high chance you get paired up with someone when going on a mission. And usually you don't get to decide who you partner with.
"Don't worry. I have a plan for our new knight." Ozpin revealed, taking out an a black knight chess piece from his table. He examined the chess piece for a moment as he said, "It's a role I find that it would fit him pretty well."
With that said, Ozpin stood up and began walking to the window behind him, revealing a full upward view of Beacon Academy. It was a beautiful sight, a sight he wanted to protect to his very last breath. And it would seem that his resolve to protect would soon be tested.
"It would seem that… change is coming."
It was a dream.
It had to be a dream, right?
Jaune found himself standing an unknown landscape, staring at what was soon to be a war between three factions. Surprisingly, all the soldiers of all three factions looked the same, except they were color-coded. These creatures looked like something you would think an alien would like, but they acting kinda like zombies. If Jaune had to use one word to describe their appearance, then he would used 'pupas'. Grey, zombie-like, mutated pupas that had arms and legs.
But the thing that shocked the most was the fact exactly who led these factions. On his right, he saw himself in his orange armor leading the army on a brown house outfitted with a symbol that matched the head crest of his helmet. On his left, Jaune saw Kumon Kaito in his banana armor riding on a rose-themed motorcycle. However, his army had the addition of watermelon-themed mechs hovering right above his ground army.
But Jaune saw two other armored people right in front of him with their own faction. This faction shared a green color-theme, though it's apparent leader had a white base suit. Their leader highly resembled his own armored form, though as mention before his base suit was white and the head crest resembled a perfect crescent moon. His armor was had a melon-green color, so Jaune guessed that his fruit armor was a melon.
On the white armored warrior's left, kneeling, was another warrior who base suit was green. His armor was purple, and Jaune couldn't really identify what kind of fruit this warrior used by if he had to guessed; it would be a grape. But Jaune noticed this warrior seemed hesitant while his leader just sat on a chair, seemingly unfazed. Their faction consisted of mutated pupas as well, though they also had watermelon-themed mechs. Though theirs seemed to be more fitted for ground use and didn't seem to have the ability to fly like Kaito's.
Jaune didn't know why, but he just knew why these three factions were going to war with each other. They were might warriors who were willing to go to war to achieve their dreams. All three sides were fighting for something. Something that would allow them to dye the world into their image.
And that amazed Jaune while also scaring him at the same time.
He then noticed that a girl walked up next to him. She highly resembled that blonde girl that appeared just before he transformed, however she was someone different entirely. She merely had the same shade of blonde as the other girl and wore something very similar. But there was also something else this girl had in common with the other girl.
She looked sad. She looked like her heart was going to break even further, if that was even possible.
A sudden burst of wind caused the flower ornament on her hair to fly off. Just as soon as it landed onto the ground, Jaune saw his other self drawing his blade up high, with a battle cry that sprung his faction into action. As soon as he saw his opponent charging, Kaito quickly revved his motorcycle and led his faction against Jaune. The third faction however, did nothing. The only thing their leader did was getting off his chair, with the other warrior getting onto his feet as they prepared themselves for the coming onslaught.
"No… . No… !" Jaune heard the girl next to him cried out. "I can't give up… . Not yet… . There has to be one timeline where I can stop this! Kouta… , Kaito… , Mitchy… . Wait for me… !" Jaune heard the girl declared, before everything turned white.
"He's awake!"
That was the first thing Jaune heard when he awoken. With a groan, he blinked his eyes until he finally adjusted to the light. Now that his vision was working properly, he saw the grinning face of Ruby who looked at him with relief in her eyes. Jaune noted that he was lying on a hospital belt, and on the small drawer Ruby sat next to was his belt and orange lock. That immediately reminded Jaune why he was in a hospital.
Kumon Kaito.
That was the name of the man who attacked him. But why? Why did he get so angry at seeing him having that belt? And why did he referred to himself as an 'Armored Rider'? Just what was this power and what did he gotten himself into?
"Are you alright? Ruby said you suffered quite the beating back in the forest, by a 'banana knight'… ?" Jaune heard another voice say. Looking to his other side, he saw a redheaded, green eyed beauty that had put a hand on his shoulder to stop him from straining himself. Huh… he swore he saw her face before can't exactly remember where.
Wait a minute.
Who was she and why was she taking care of him? He didn't die and went to Heaven did he? He couldn't have! Ruby was right next to him! … Unless Kaito killed her too… !? That bastard!
Despite his line of thought, Jaune said nothing to the redhead. She merely gave him a warm smile that once his brain committed to memory, made him blush like a tomato.
"Um… who are you?" Jaune finally asked.
"I'm Pyrrha Nikos. A teacher and I responded to the incident as soon as we heard about it. I helped Ruby bring you to infirmary under the teacher's orders. Are you alright, Jaune? Nothing broken?" The redhead introduced herself, and Jaune started stammering something he was pretty sure that would've made him look like an awkward nerd in her yes had he finished it if not for Ruby's untimely interference.
"You should've seen him Pyrrha! Jaune put on this belt and changed into this superhero with two swords and he was like 'pew pew pew', and then he sliced and diced that lion monster up like some kind of fruit ninja!" Ruby 'explained' to Pyrrha of the events that occurred in the forest, complete with childish poses. Pyrrha raised one of her eyebrows in amusement while Jaune began laughing awkwardly as he sheepishly scratched the back of his head.
Leave it to Ruby to ease any tension at the expense of her maturity.
"But then this mean banana man appeared out of nowhere with a cranky girl I bumped into earlier this morning and started yelling at us about why Jaune had this belt." Ruby huffed when she reached the part where Kaito appeared. "'Knight of Spear' my butt! Knights don't attack people for no reason and wear silly banana armor!"
"It's Baron." A familiar yet unwanted voice caused Ruby to squeak like a mouse and quickly leaped over Jaune's bed to stand beside Pyrrha. She drew Crescent Rose which quickly shifted to it's sniper mode. Pyrrha, seeing Ruby drawing her weapon, quickly drew her own as she prepared herself against a threat.
Standing at the doorway was Kumon Kaito himself, who was holding onto a vine with different kind of locks attached to it. He still looked pretty intimidating as ever, though that may have to do how utterly calm he was having a gun pointed at him and how he looked like he just went through fighting a whole pack of Beowolves yet not collapsing from exhaustion.
"You're not going to beat up Jaune up for no reason again, you bully!" Ruby declared as she looked like she was prepared to fight Kaito right then and there. Pyrrha herself looked like she was ready to cut Kaito down if the situation calls for it. Their potential opponent however, scoffed at seeing the two being prepared to start a fight.
Kaito walked towards Jaune, who looked apprehensive. You can't really blame the boy; he is staring at the man who just handed his ass with way more effort than necessary. Yet, Jaune wanted answers. Answers concerning his new power that can 'pierce the heavens'. And it looks like Kaito was the only one who had them (other than the big-scarfed man, but who knows where he was at the moment?). As much as he disliked and feared Kaito for attacking him, he needed to know just what he had gotten himself into.
"Hn. Relax." Kaito told the girls, who blinked in confusion as their response. "I don't like beating the weak when they're wounded." Again. He called Jaune 'weak', again. Jaune clenched his fists and bit his lips. But he guessed it was true, when one compared Kaito to himself. He really was weak, huh?
To everyone's surprise, Kaito plucked one of the locks from the vine he holding and tossed it to Jaune. "You are weak, but at least you aren't truly weak. There's hope for you yet. Ozpin asked me to be your tutor in mastering your power as an Armored Rider." Jaune can felt Kaito's distain at having to help him, but yet could see Kaito didn't really mind all that much. Inspecting his new lock, Jaune saw it was modeled after a pineapple this time and it had the code 'L.S. - 05' printed on it.
Just exactly how many of these fruit locks were there?
"That, is a Lockseed." Oh. So that's what they were really called. "With it, Armored Riders like us can further unlock our potential by accessing new weapons and increasing our strength at the cost of speed and vice versa. But understand that this is a one time thing. After this, you're getting your Lockseeds by yourself, through your own hands." Jaune was okay with that. He rather get strong through his own hard work then with other people's help anyway. It'll help prove that he can stand on his own two feet.
Kaito, seeing his job was done, decided to walk out of the room. Seeing as Kaito wasn't there to pick a fight and had left, the girls put their weapons away. Despite both having some experience under their belt, they were doubtful of Kaito's intentions. He was too different from them. Then most Hunters and Huntresses-in-Training actually. He had seen true conflict and proven that he wasn't the type to hold back in a fight, even when it's obvious he far outclassed his opponents.
"Jaune, you don't have to go… ." Ruby was concerned for her new friend. He was just beaten into a bloody pulp by mean man and now said man offered to be his teacher? There had to be a catch! And Ruby was worried that 'catch' might endanger Jaune's life. However, her opinion in this matter along with Pyrrha's was silenced when Jaune forced himself up.
He was still a bit sore, and he rather go back to blissful unconsciousness but this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to finally get enough power to prove his existence as someone worthy to bear the name of 'Arc'. He wasn't going to pass it up even if it meant he was going to get his ass kicked around a lot.
Jaune Arc had gotten a taste of true power and there's no way in hell he was going to give it up!
"Don't worry Ruby. I'll be fine." He knew those were famous last words. Jaune read the comic books. But he was pretty sure he was going to live through whatever Kaito planned for him. Picking up his belt and Lockseeds, Jaune fixed his clothes a bit before preparing to head out. "Thanks for helping me out, Pyrrha!" Jaune said before he ran out of the infirmary to find Kaito.
What's the worst Kaito can do to him anyway?
And Jaune was fully aware he had most likely jinxed himself.
"Are you prepared… ?" Kaito waited on top of what will be the first year dorm rooftop as Jaune arrived. It was late at night when Kaito dragged the boy out to train. Jaune had no idea what Kaito was going to teach or even how but judging from their original fight (if it could even be called that); it was going to be painful.
Most likely very painful.
Poor Jaune just can't catch a break, can he?
Figuring that he should know just what exactly he was getting himself into, Jaune decided to ask Kaito some questions while he still can. "So, what exactly is this belt? What was that lion monster? Who are you exactly? Why's your armor a bana-" Before Jaune could continue with his questions, Kaito revealed that he was holding onto three Lockseeds. All three of them reminded Jaune of a type of nut.
When Kaito unlocked all of them, the mutated pupas from his dream jumped out of three zippers that came out of thin air! "Wha… . What are those!?" Jaune shrieked as the pupas started making their way towards him. In his shock and fear, Jaune started taking a few steps back. A mistake as that seemed to annoy Kaito.
"Defend yourself, Arc!" Kaito barked at him. "No matter how many times you ask 'why', your opponent will never give you an answer that'll satisfy you! That's why, just defeat anything that stands in your way!" Kaito began his lesson, causing Jaune to curse under his breath before he took out his belt. If he didn't knew any better, he would think that Kaito was some sort of demonic overlord with powers from another world.
It would certainly explain why he knew all about these things and that anti-hero attitude of his.
It was just Jaune's luck that he gotten a teacher from hell, wasn't it?
ORANGE!
LOCK ON!
SOIYA!
ORANGE ARMS! HANAMICHI, ON STAGE!
Jaune quickly donned his armor, and immediately started slashing at the mutated pupas with both of his swords. Luckily for Jaune, the pupas zombie-like nature made them good practice dummies. They helped him get the feel of a real battle yet moved slowly enough for him not be in any danger so long as he didn't get careless.
Jaune pulled the yellow tab of his main-hand weapon, and shot at the pupas. "Alright, I can do this!" Jaune said to himself before charging at the pupas.
"The enemies you are fighting are called Inves from a forest that we named 'Helheim'. It is a sentient forest that devours entire worlds by covering them with it's plants. However, every time it sets it's sights on an unlucky world; it produces a Golden Fruit that gives anyone who consumes it the power to dye the world into their image." Kaito began monologuing the history of the Armored Riders by explaining what gave them their power in the first place.
Of course, hearing about a sentient forest that devours worlds was enough to make anyone stop what they were doing and say "Wait, WHAT!?"
Which was exactly what Jaune did after slashing at an Inves.
Kaito groaned at seeing Jaune get himself distracted so easily. "Idiot! What do you think you're doing!? Focus on the enemy until you defeated them, Arc!" Kaito barked, with Jaune wincing at how loud and forceful he sounded. "Press down the knife to use your finisher! Focus on your blades!" Kaito essentially taught Jaune how to finish off his enemies, and Jaune did as he was told.
SOIYA!
ORANGE SQUASH!
Jaune felt a surge of power built up within him, unaware that his armored body began releasing an orange aura which began extending to his blades. Once he felt his power built up to it's critical point, Jaune slashed at the three Inveses. His slashes left behind an image of a sliced orange, as the Inves exploded from the deathblow. Panting, Jaune closed the lid of his Orange Lockseed and dismissed his transformation.
Despite seeing Kaito as a jerk, Jaune acknowledged that he learned something about his belt. Something that helped him become just a little bit stronger than before.
"Now… the next thing you need to learn is when you're being watched." Kaito stated, with his words confusing Jaune. With a flick of his wrist, Kaito held one of the cards in the deck he kept with him at all times. With another flick, he threw the card into the darkness. Silence greeted the two until someone walked out of the shadows.
That someone was a young man with long black hair that was tied into a ponytail. For some reason, there was a magenta streak on the left side of his hair which matched the color of his eyes. His clothes reminded of Kaito of the armored form of someone he considers strong yet at the same time truly weak. Someone he had an immense dislike for.
"Do you always throw the first punch when you feel threatened?" The young man sarcastically asked before he threw the card back at Kaito, who caught it with ease.
"Why the hell are you here?" Kaito immediately began questioning the youth of his intentions.
"Relax. I came here to learn more about the strange belts, that's all." The boy said, before pulling out something from his back pocket. To both Jaune's and Kaito's surprised, it was another belt! "My name is Lie Ren. A couple days back I found this odd looking from a shooting star crash site. A friend of mine dragged me with her to investigate but when we arrived; we were attacked by a strange monster. Not a Grimm, I think it's one of those Inves you were talking about." The boy named Lie Ren explained his story.
"In the heat of battle, I had donned some kind of armor after putting the belt one. Along with inserting this into it." Ren then took out a Lockseed. It was obviously modeled after a grape, and had the code of 'L.S. - 09'. Kaito's eyes widened at seeing that Lockseed, and immediately realized exactly which Armored Rider Ren was able to transform into. "When I heard about a 'lion monster' appearing from a zipper and how a 'banana knight' mercilessly attacking a student, I connected the dots and realized there was another belt wielder in Beacon. I didn't expect that there were two, though." Ren continued to explain.
"Y… You're kidding, right… ?" Jaune asked, not believing that there was another belt wielder.
"You don't believe me?" Ren raised an eyebrow. "Fine. I'll prove it to you." Ren declared before he unlocked his Lockseed as he put on his belt.
BUDOU!
LOCK ON!
A giant mechanical fruit that barely looked anything like a grape (in Jaune's eyes) descended from a zipper that opened up in the sky. Quickly inserting the Lockseed onto the belt and locking it into place, a standby music unfamiliar to Jaune but very familiar to Kaito began playing from Ren's belt before he pushed down the knife.
HAI~!
BUDOU ARMS! RYU, HOU! HA-HA-HA!
The grape descended onto Ren, forming a green base bodysuit that looked very familiar to both Jaune and Kaito. When the fruit disassembled, only then did Jaune realized where he said seen Ren's armored form before. It was in his dream! Ren was amongst the green faction! But why? What did his dream mean? That someday both Kaito and Ren will be his enemy?
In Ren's hands was a gun themed after a grape, unlike Jaune who gotten a sword themed after an orange or Kaito who gotten a lance themed after a banana. Ren spun the gun around for a moment, before looking back at Jaune and Kaito. "So… , do you believe me now?" Ren asked before he dismissed the transformation. "You wouldn't mind if I joined in on your lessons, would you?" Ren asked Kaito, who for some reason gave Ren a death glare.
Ren had just transformed into Armored Rider Ryugen, who used to be the transformation of someone Kaito had the displeasure of meeting and fighting against. Someone who betrayed his dear friends just because he was a spoiled brat who didn't gotten his way. Someone who betrayed his own brother, who was willing to bear the sin of killing six-seventh of the Earth's population just so Humanity could have a future, just because he was in the way. Someone who betrayed Humanity by allowing the Overlords to enter from Helheim to Earth and wreck havoc. Someone who Kaito liked to consider as truly weak yet his physical strength said otherwise.
"Kureshima Mitsuzane… ."
And with that, Chapter Three comes to an end. Lie Ren is Kamen Rider Ryugen! Like always none of my work would have been any good with out Symbolic Joker to Beta it. Give his stories a vist would ya!?
Symbolic Joker: Lie Ren as Kamen Rider Ryugen… I bet a lot of people saw that one coming due to the similarities of their designs… . Heck, a Deviantartist made note of that fact and posted a picture of the two next to each other long before this story came to being. And do yourselves a favor by not reading my stories. I take forever to update them due to issues not concerning fanfiction. I have to thank you, Riku; for giving something to do. I was losing my mind for not writing anything down!
Inves in RWBYverse: I thought about it for a while and think Ozpin would have did what Takatora did and try to minimize the spread of the info while getting the students ready for the upcoming crisis. Since there were only five people who witness the Lion Inves attack it'd be easy to dismiss the monster as a hoax. Plus as an Overlord, Kaito would have the power to sense a Crack opening thus giving him a advantage in stoping the problem before it spreads like wildfire.
Kaito and Jaune: Jaune is both afraid of him and hate his guts. But he needs power and Kaito's the only one that can teach him how to use it. Kaito being Kaito is not going to be a kind and patient teacher as he learned most of his stuff in combat and expects his student to be the same. It's going to be a LONG time before they can fight side by side as equals. But we always love shows that show the hero growing into a grade A badass no?
3 down and twelve more to go. Can anyone guess who the rest of the Riders might be?