Paint the world in your colors

by Riku SAN Million

Kaito had his shot at the Golden Fruit. He failed but then he finds himself stranded in a world full of Hunters and Huntresses. After a small incident Kaito finds himself attending Beacon Academy. Will he survive or will he go Bananas? (Partnering with Symbolic Joker. Chapter one rewrite.)

10. Chapter 10

I know by the time you guys read this X to X ep of Drive already came out and most of my greeting a bit late. So let's discuss about the recent movie war... . Anybody here knowns Japanese?

I mean like you guys I get my info from the net and certain videos and chats but does anyone know and can read the scans for the movie war? How Kaito's coming back? How the does the whole bringing-Ryoma-back-as-a-machine work anyway!? I mean with him back we can explain why there's an image of Ryugen fighting off a Kurokage Trooper but come on! Anyone here speak Japanese and know fully what going on? I mean I'm dying here watching the little bit they show to us in the Drive ep of the movie war!

Symbolic Joker: Considering my track record lately, I say by around episode 11 or 12 of Paint the World in Your Colors the subbed DrivexGaim Movie War will be out.

Oh and for those who are wondering about Orginal characters... ,

We MIGHT add some orginal elements but I don't really think I'll go in that deep. I have plans for this story yet RWBY Volume 2 only finish not so long ago and I don't wanna go to far ahead just in case I accidently created something that going to bite us in the ass in later days.

Symbolic Joker: Like Riku said at the very top, by the time you all read this a large amount of time had passed between the time of writing and the posting of this chapter. Yes, both me and Riku are fully aware that Monty Oum has passed and that RWBY has changed from whatever Monty had originally planned for it thanks to his passing. Riku has addressed Monty's passing in the next chapter's Author's Note.

Plus there's also going to time where we take long hiatus. Me and Joker don't have the same timeline and sometimes we wanna wait for more RWBY to come out before adding a bit more. Please understand as writers we trying our best to give enjoyable entertainment. Writers are human beings to you know?

Symbolic Joker: ... *Coughs*

Oh and how many Roidmudes left and what are their numbers? I mean we know there Heart, Brain , and Chase. But anyone number what their final plans are and there number?

Hope I don't dissapoint some of you guys here! Like always this is a team effort with me as the script writer and Joker as the editor.

Symbolic Joker: Looking back at previous chapters (Yes, I know there are a lot of spelling errors people. You have your own brains. Fix the errors yourselves within your own mind), I saw that I made a reference to Kamen Rider Ryuga's design in Chapter 9/Eighth Lock. But if the reviews are any indication nobody picked up on that. :(

---

Ninth Lock: Your Song I

*LOCK OPEN!*

A young Jaune looked at the outside world through one of the windows of his house, as he spotted his father coming back from a day of hunting Grimm. His father had gotten some blood on his cheeks, but he wiped it away as soon as he walked into the house.

And like the pure hearted, lovable son he was; Jaune ran up to his father and gave him a bright smile, shining as bright as the sun.

But then his sisters rushed out from their rooms and accidentally pushed young Jaune aside as they tried to chat with their father. To the Arc patriach, it was expected as he was often busy with the life of a Huntsman. Jaune mother came out the kitchen and shared a hug with her husband as Jaune tried his best to get his father's attention.

Jaune's old man had been a prodigy in his time as a Huntsman-in-Training, and often lived up to the Arc name as heroes and protectors of the innocent. Just like Jaune's grandfather, who had fought in countless battles with nothing more than a sword and a simple, collapsible shield. The old timer had rescued countless allies and civilians from the line of fire during the Great War.

Jaune's father himself was one of a kind, using unique techniques with his weapons that easily impresses a lot of older experienced Huntsman. Due being so skilled, he was often assigned with some very high ranked and appropriately difficult missions by some powerful peope in powerful seats. It was due to this that Jaune and his sisters often try their best to get the chance to chat with their busy dad, who often comes back from such missions after weeks or months.

And of course, he would tell them stories of what he had seen and did when he finally does comes back. It was to be expected, after all.

Jaune couldn't help but look at his father and grandfather as heroes and inspirations. He hoped that, one day, he could make a name for himself too, just like his old man. He was a man of the Arc house, and as such, he should do his best to try and live up to the legacy. He wanted to have the power to reach his hands out to those who need it, just like his dad and grandpa!

"So, how's my future Master Hunter doing?" Jaune's father asked, as the two sole men of the Arc household found themselves washing the dishes after dinner. The girls were having a moment with their mother, chatting about… girl stuff.

"I'm fine dad!" Jaune grinned at his father, cheery at having the chance to speak with his father. "I'm just trying to polish my fighting skills so I can be as badass as you and grandpa one day!" Jaune said, making a couple of sword slashing movements and noises.

The adorable scene understandably made his father laugh and rub his head affectionately.

Jaune didn't exactly realize it, but every time his father came back home from his missions, he was understandably stressed out. How could he not? Huntsmen of his skill level were often called to deal with the most dangerous, emotionally wrecking, heart-pounding missions that don't bode well for one's sanity. Jaune's father often had to keep his stories kid-friendly for the sake of his children.

He knew that if he gave his children the uncensored version, they would see him as a monster. Their young, impressionable minds would never be able to comprehend what he did, in the name of peace and sanity. One day, in the far future, perhaps he'll tell them the truth. On that day, his children should be mature enough to understand that he did what needed to be done.

The world wasn't as black and white as adults tell their children… . That the only threat to Humanity's light was the creatures of darkness; the Grimm. The brighter the light, the bigger the shadow.

And the people of Remnant had created a very large shadow, one that hid all sorts of monsters in Human and Faunus skin.

But, such thoughts were best left in private, with him and his wife. For now, he'll enjoy himself and bask in the soothing light that was his son, Jaune, who was giggling away like there was nothing wrong with the world.

"So, you want to be a hero, huh Jaune?" Jaune's father grinned at his son, though Jaune didn't notice that it was a bit strained. Jaune's father knew what Jaune meant by 'hero', and he wanted to use everything in his power to make sure that Jaune ended up nothing like him. Jaune deserved to be something better. Something more than what Jaune's father really was.

But he could never deny his son the chance to prove himself. As a father, as an adult, it was his job to guide the next generation to a better path then the path the current generation was taking. "The path to being a hero is never easy, you know?" Jaune's dad said, becoming a bit somber. "One often's have to find his own reason to keep on fighting, when things look hopeless and you find yourself in your darkest hour." Jaune tilted his head in confusion, understandable since the small child saw his father was happy a minute ago, and now he was suddenly sad.

"Without a reason to fight, one would often lose their way and be swallowed by the darkness… ." Jaune's dad finish, thinking back to all the people he had fought. Some were genuinely evil and needed to be put down for the sake of the innocent. Most were lost lambs who needed a steady hand to lead back onto the path. Unfortunately, they were too far gone to be saved, and it was best to put them down like the others.

Shaking his head, Jaune's father decided to ask him a question. "What would you fight for, Jaune?" He asked. "Until you can find a reason to swing your sword, then you would never become a true hero. Anybody can pick up a sword and fight, but heroes often have their own reasoning for their path. They might question it, and they might face obstacles… but a heroes always stay true to that path and reasoning, no matter what."

"So what do you fight for, Jaune?"

---

… .

Again… .

He had that dream again… .

No… , not a dream… a memory… .

Jaune awoken from within his dorm room early in the morning thanks to the sounds of explosions coming from the nearest outdoor training ground. Rubbing the sand out of his eyes, Jaune walked towards the sole window of his dorm room with the intention of opening it, idly noting that Pyrrha's and Nora's beds was empty while Ren was still fast asleep on his own bed.

He was always a bit creeped out at seeing Ren sleep. There was little to no indication of his fellow Huntsman-in-Training was breathing. Honestly, at times he and Pyrrha had trouble deducing whether Ren was actually sleeping or the Eastern-dressed boy had passed on while everybody else were in deep slumber.

Luckily, Nora was there to confirm that the boy was still alive. Their interactions gave off the vibe that the two had been friends since childhood, so the hyperactive orangette was probably used to see her friend looking like someone who had just passed away within their sleep. Hell, she was probably the only person on Remnant (discounting the parents Jaune and Pyrrha have yet to know of) who would immediately notice if there was anything wrong with Ren.

Opening the window, Jaune looked at the peaceful scenery before his train of thought paused at the sight of seeing an energy projection taking the shape of a giant banana rising from the distance. Jaune sweatdropped at that; no doubt that Kaito was in the middle of training.

Jaune distantly recalled a few days back that team RWBY had been chatting about something. Something about facing against Kaito in a 4v1 match. In fact, they tried having as soon as the thought came to their heads; unfortunately, bad weather and the trouble of getting a supervisor for the match had delayed it.

Now the thought was stuck in his head, Jaune wondered about how the girls could handle themselves against Kaito. Sure, the girls were tough, but compared to Kaito though... .

Yeah, even Jaune could tell they still had a long way to go before the man remotely considered them a threat.

The problem wasn't him doubting the skills of team RWBY, individually and teamwork wise (they surprisingly complimented each other... when they weren't getting in each others way). Jaune knew that each member was a force to be reckoned with.

The problem was that Kaito himself was far too experienced in battle.

And the fact the banana knight didn't seem to understand the concept of holding back in a fight.

Often Jaune found himself coming back to team JNPR's dorm room black and blue due to the training sessions he had with his fellow Armored Riders. Just thinking about it made Jaune wince. Mango Arms packed a serious punch... . If it weren't for his armor, Jaune was sure he would've have suffered a lot more than a few dislocated bones.

Still, Jaune admitted the asskicking was worth it. He had gotten to the point that he was sure he could handle an Ursa Major by himself without much problem. Kaito might not be much of a socialist but his training method was quite effective. For that, Jaune was extremely grateful to Kaito. Not once the man told him he couldn't do it, that he couldn't handle anything. Instead, the man always pushed him to try his best.

Whether Jaune liked it or not.

Seeing the energy bananas flying left and right, along with shots of fire and ice, Jaune concluded that Team RWBY finally had their chance of taking a shot at Kaito. Thinking about it, Jaune wondered how the battle would actually play out. "... I guess it wouldn't hurt to learn something from the fight." Jaune said to himself as he decided to see the battle for himself.

Sneaking out of his dorm room without waking up his teammates (with Jaune noting on the way out that Nora had somehow gotten into Ren's bed and was now using him as a body pillow), Jaune quickly jogged towards the area where he saw the attacks flying into the sky. Jaune knew the area well, as it was a location often used by students for training. Sometimes the teams stumbled upon Kaito using the training site by himself, training with a black sword that had golden decorative designs over it, with it's blade having a silver edge.

Somehow, Kaito could make the sword appear from and disappear into thin air, similar to how he could pull a few Lockseeds seemingly from a backpocket, when it reality Kaito couldn't possibly have such large pockets to hold so many Lockseeds. Ruby had been bugging the eldest of their group of misfits to teach her how he does it, though Kaito merely ignored her requests with an annoyed roll of his eyes.

By the time Jaune arrived at the training site, he saw Professor Ozpin silently supervising a spar between Yang and Kaito. Kaito had, expectedly, already transformed into Baron while Yang had transformed into her alter-ego that Kaito had declared to be Knuckle. Yang, unsurprisingly, complained at the lackluster name compared to "Gaim" and "Ryugen" though the banana knight would have none of it, saying that was the name the original user chose for it and Yang would just have to deal with the name.

Standing off to the side were Ruby and Weiss, both looking like they had seen better days. Their clothes were worn and torn, with Jaune catching a few glimpses of bruises forming on their bodies and faces too. Blake however, was looking nonchalant as always despite looking similar to Ruby and Weiss in her current state.

"Come on Banana Boy! I'm just getting started!" Yang roared as she tried to land a solid punch on Kaito, who swung his Banaspear though Yang managed to jump just in time to dodge it. She swung her fist at him again as Kaito dodged at the very last second, using his momentum to deliver quick blows at Yang before he distanced himself from the walnut-themed female Rider.

"Tch! It's Baron damn it! I'll make you remember it Xiao Long!" Kaito roared as the two of them pulled on the Cutting Blades of their respective Drivers before charging at one another.

COME ON!

KURUMI SPRAKLING!

BANANA SQUASH!

Yang tried to unleash her finisher at Kaito, which caused her fists to be encased in walnut-shaped energy however Kaito's charged Banaspear made contact with her fists, destroying the build up energy. And unlike Yang, who had fuelled both of her fists with all of the energy of her finisher, Kaito used a set amount to destroy her finisher, and had just enough juice to stab Yang in the stomach, releasing an energy spear shaped like a banana which had sent the sole female Armored Rider flying.

Yet to Jaune's complete surprise, she didn't fall from the attack.

She immediately got back up, and with a roar; charge right back at Kaito. In fact… it was like she was stronger than before! Now that Pyrrha had help unlock with his Aura and he had gotten his fair share of training with Kaito, he could sense that Yang's Aura was blazing like the sun right now. Almost as if she had gotten a boost from Kaito's finisher.

Did this have something to do with her Semblance?

Semblance; the manifestation of one's innate and personal power, thus making most Semblances unique to one individual. However, Pyrrha had told him some Semblances were somewhat hereditary, if not outright, as a child's Semblance could be similar to their parents.

Jaune was still trying to figure out his Semblance, but he figured that everyone else that he knew must've have some pretty amazing Semblances.

"Come on Kaito! Even my sister hits harder then that!" Yang taunted, flicking her wrists to show 'Bring-it-on!' gesture to Kaito, seeing that her fingers are occupied at the moment.

"Sis!" Ruby pouted a bit, with Yang being unable to resist a grin from inside her helmet.

Yang figured that Kaito was going to be a tough son of a bitch to take down, but Kaito's dodging skills and the fact that his weapon had a longer reach kept Yang at bay many times whenever she tried to land a blow on him. Out of all the enemies she had faced throughout her entire life, Yang had to admit that Kaito was the strongest one right now. His reaction time was just as, if not more so, good as hers and his experience allowed him to predict where she'll strike next.

Were it not for the fact that Kaito was a coldhearted guy who pushes everyone he meets most of the time, Yang just might actually be having fun fighting him right now.

Kaito however, was truly impressed with Yang, in terms of combat ability amongst the other members of Team RWBY.

Ruby Rose was already quick on her feet, with her natural speed being augmented by her Semblance. Combined with how fast she was with her scythe, and you got a surprisingly deadly 15 year old. But once Kaito disabled her of said scythe… she wasn't as much of a threat. All it took to defeat Ruby was a few quick and merciless blows.

Weiss Schnee was quick on her feet as well, and had landed more than a couple of good blows on Kaito thanks to her Semblance's ability to temporarily enhance her combat ability, such as speed and strength… yet her defense needs some work, her endurance as well. It only took Kaito a couple of well-timed strikes to defeat her.

Blake Belladonna was a bit more skilled fighter compared to her leader and said leader's partner, that much Kaito acknowledged as she almost had him a couple of times with her little trick with shadow clones. But thanks to Kaito's experience with fighting far tougher enemies like Rosyuo or Sengoku Ryoma, he was able to endure her attacks and managed to land a lucky shot that defeated her. It was a close match, one that caused Kaito to decide that in many ways, Blake Belladonna was just as skilled and adaptable as Minato Yoko was back when she was alive.

However, out of all the members of Team RWBY, it was Yang who had truly impressed Kaito. Every single time he hit her, he found that she hit him back faster and harder than she did before. If not for the fact he was no longer Human, but 100% Overlord, Kaito knew he would've lost the endurance match he and Yang found themselves in.

There was so much pain his Human body could take before it collapse, after all.

Honestly, it was almost like Yang's Semblance was to convert any damage she took and use it as her own power… . Actually, maybe that was her Semblance. From what Kaito knew, a Semblance was a manifestation of one's innate and personal power, making it unique to one individual. Certain Semblance were hereditary, Kaito heard, but most of the time they were completely different and it was easy to guess what a person's Semblance was.

Ruby had her speed, Weiss seemed to be the Glyphs that she uses as other fighters that focus on the use of Dust Kaito had seen around the school never seem to use any Glyphs of their own, while Blake had her shadow clones.

While he didn't exactly know what Yang's Semblance was, Kaito noticed the small transformations that Yang underwent as the spar continued, despite having already transformed into Armored Rider Knuckle. As the spar continued, the girl slowly glowed brighter and brighter. Hell, her fists even began to start burning in small flames. And as she went through this transformations, the force of blows slowly began to increase steadily.

Well, it wasn't like Kaito was a pushover like most of Team RWBY, and Team JNPR too for that matter. The damage he dealt, dealt right back at him… he could take it.

But Kaito had to admit, if he was on the right track, then Yang had a truly impressive Semblance.

Later on, he'll find a way to unlock his own Semblance… perhaps after he gotten his hands on the Golden Fruit. Sure, Kaito already has his impressive powers as an Overlord, but the universe was vast. Somewhere, out there, there might be someone who's strength rivalled those who had eaten the Golden Fruit, or maybe perhaps another devourer of a Golden Fruit Sagara had produced in the past.

Kaito needed all the power he could get so those people would never be able to abuse their power on the residents of other worlds.

"So be it!" Kaito said as he, once again, dodged Yang's one-two combo for the umpteenth time. Having seen enough, Kaito decided to end the match right now. He took out his Mango Lockseed, since Banana Arms wasn't doing the trick, it's time to up his game!

MANGO!

LOCK ON!

COME ON!

MANGO ARMS: FIGHT OF HAM~MER~!

A Crack of Helheim opened as Kaito's Banana Arms evaporated into thin air. The Mango Arms Armor Parts descended from the Crack, already slightly reforming itself due to the shape of the Armor Parts before dropping onto Kaito's armored head. The Arms finished reforming as the transformation chant finished, summoning it's Arms Weapon; the Mango Punisher which took the shape of a mace not unlike a certain leader of a team whose had a bird-motif going on when it comes to their names, except the Mango Punisher was obviously themed after a diced mango.

Blocking Yang's next hit with his hammer's hilt, Kaito took the chance to push up the Cutting Blade of his Sengoku Driver once and push Yang back with a kick so he could unleash his finisher. Yang, due to focusing too much on finishing Kaito with quick blows, was forced to take the finisher head on (and her arrogance that her Semblance would absorb the hit may be factor as well).

COME ON!

MANGO SQUASH!

Unknown to everybody else, Kaito had decided to give his finisher a boost by charging it with some of his own Overlord energy. With this extra energy, the Mango Punisher created a projection of it's face. Kaito began spinning in place before shooting out the projection right towards Yang, the finisher being so strong that it had sent her flying back along with knocking her out of her transformation!

Landing onto the ground unceremoniously, a groaning Yang tried to get up yet her legs failed her while Kaito canceled his transformation and walked towards his fallen opponent. And unexpectedly, he offered his hands out to her despite having his signature face of indifference.

"You're strong Xiao Long. I dare say even better then the last man who use that suit of armor. With some practice, maybe one day you can be even stronger." Kaito confessed as he waited for Yang to take his hand. Despite his words, Kaito believed that one day, Zack would grow to be just as strong as Yang, no matter what the difference their current strength level was.

Yang blinked at seeing Kaito offering his hand. She was honestly surprised that Kaito of all people could say something so nice.

Kaito could sense the confused stares he had gotten for doing this, but he did not care. He only spoke the truth, and said what needed to be said.

From the time he had spent fighting and learning about Team RWBY, the only members that he thought highly of was the bumblebee duo; Yang & Blake. Yang's personality from what Kaito had seen is that of someone who deeply cared for her precious people, had a bit of a temper and didn't gave up so easily. Plus, her strength wasn't something look down either. Kaito could feel the power behind her fists and he thought of Yang as a valuable asset for the upcoming Helheim invasion.

Blake on the other hand gave off a similar vibe that Yoko had given. A fighter that mostly relied on skill, speed, and quick thinking to adapt to the current situation. She also had this air of mystery to her that Yoko had also given off, so Kaito honestly couldn't tell what the girl was thinking sometimes.

Despite her confusion and pleasant surprise, Yang took his hand and was pulled up. "Well, thanks for the training Kaito." Yang grinned as she dusted herself off. "Say, just what kind of training did you do back in your own world anyway?" Yang prodded, but stopped when she spotted Jaune, who was standing afar as he observed the fight.

… Was it just her, or did Jaune seemed a lot… sharper since she first saw him amongst the crowd in the Bullhead?

… Maybe all that training he had gone through had caused Kaito to rubbed off him a bit?

"Oh, hey Jaune!" Yang greeted with a wave. Having been called to the spotlight, Jaune shrugged to himself and joined the group. Weiss and Blake greeted him with a nod, whereas Ruby acted like a puppy greeting her master.

That is to say, she cheered Jaune's name loudly before running over to give him a short hug.

"Sorry for coming by unannounced, but I know Kaito doesn't like it when he has uninvited guests in his training sessions… ." Jaune said, scratching the back of his head as he nervously stared at Kaito, who merely rolled his eyes at how timid the Arc boy was.

Seriously, would it kill the boy to show some more backbone? Geez… .

"Ah, it's okay." Yang waved it off, as a thought suddenly crossed her mind due to remembering how Jaune's and Kaito's last spar went. "You know, I never did see you or Kaito have a serious match with one another before." She noted. "I mean, sure you two train together but I'm pretty sure none of you were trying to win against the other." She elaborated. Ruby had personally told her about Jaune's and Kaito's first fight, and needless to say she winced out of sympathy and pity when she heard how badly Jaune loss.

But that was practically a lifetime ago! She wanted to see how far Jaune had gone since then! … Mostly so she could see if Kaito would use more of his strength and judge where she stood amongst her fellow Armored Riders.

Note-to-self; have Ren and Kaito fight each other later.

Plus, this is a good way to judge Kaito's character. Sure, he beaten Jaune to a bloody pulp, but that was when the two of them were strangers to one another. She wanted to see how Kaito reacted to fighting someone he had personally taught since the beginning of the semester!

"Wait what?!" Jaune backed away nervously as Ruby looked excited for some odd reason while Weiss looked at Jaune with high expectations as if she actually expected Jaune to defeat Kaito and avenge her. Blake, on the other hand, looked slightly amused as a grinning Yang sat down with the rest of her teammates on the bench.

And all of them were expecting Jaune to face Kaito.

Something that Jaune was, understandably, staring at them as if they spouted something completely crazy. So crazy that even Nora wouldn't say such a thing. (Although her opinion on said thing is up to debate...)

They did know how weak he is compared to Kaito, right!? Kaito, in terms of RPGs; would be the level 666 boss while Jaune is still in level 15! He wasn't sure he could get out of this match without a few scratches or bruises. Hell, the last time Kaito went all out; Jaune ended up in the school's hospital-wing!

'I'm looking at you Ruby!' Jaune thought to himself with crocodile tears in his eyes.

"ARC!" Jaune jolted a bit as he heard Kaito shout. He turned his head to see the Baron waiting for him with a scowl on his face and his Banana Lockseed already unlocked, along with the Banana Arms Armor Part floating above his head.

Aw man… seems like Yang had put him in a really tight spot, didn't she? Looks like Jaune had no choice but to steel himself and fight with his all so he doesn't end up in the hospital wing again.

Strapping on his Sengoku Driver, Jaune took out his Orange Lockseed and unlocked it.

ORANGE!

"Henshin!" The two cried out as they both inserted their respective Lockseeds into their Drivers. A Crack of Helheim opened on top of Jaune, with his Orange Arms descending from it. With a press of their Cutting Blades, the two transformed!

LOCK ON!

SOIYA!/COME ON!

ORANGE ARMS: HANAMICHI, ON STAGE!

BANANA ARMS: KNIGHT OF SPEAR!

Once their armors finished forming, Jaune wasted no time and charged at Kaito with both of his swords drawn. However, Kaito merely side-stepped and used his Banaspear to strike Jaune's behind. Seeing as charging didn't work, Jaune took a more cautious stance as the two circled around each other.

And then they go at it each other. Though unlike the first time they fought, Jaune was actually holding his own. Sure, his attacks were getting blocked yet he was able to block Kaito's as well, unlike the first time where Kaito was able to disarm Jaune by knocking out the Musou Saber and Daidaimaru through the sheer force of his strikes.

In Jaune's defense, those strikes hurt. A lot. To the point the only he can do was to let go of his weapons temporarily.

'Strong as ever… !' Jaune grunted to himself as he stepped back a bit. 'Plus, he almost never holds himself back… !" He added as an afterthought, dodging a few swings from Kaito. Despite his fear of the first fight repeating himself, Jaune felt more determined to win against Kaito then he ever felt before.

What was the point of training for so long if he didn't get stronger? Why would he ever endure those hellish training sessions if it wasn't to gain more power so he would actually feel like a man for once instead of a child in need of protection!?

Now was the perfect time to test it. How far has he gotten since the start of it all? How far does he still need to go?

"This can't be your best, can it!?" Kaito asked as he struck Jaune again. However, Jaune used the force of the blow to create some distance between him and Kaito, even jumping away a bit as the hit connected and allowing himself to roll onto the ground so the attack had less impact.

Now was his chance. Pressing the Cutting Blade of his Driver once, Jaune charged the power of the Orange Lockseed into his swords, prepared to slice Kaito the moment he felt the energy had gather completely.

SOIYA!

ORANGE SQUASH!

Time to make Kaito into orange juice!

Yet before Jaune charged at Kaito yet again, the Banana Knight smirked underneath his helmet as he too pressed down the Cutting Blade of his Sengoku Driver.

COME ON!

BANANA SQUASH!

The power of the Banana Lockseed began to gather into the blade of the Banaspear. Kaito would admit, Jaune's movement had gotten more fluid and less rigid since the start of the semester, but the boy still had a long way to go. He was nowhere near Kazuraba's level, which was weird considering that Kazuraba only had a year's worth of experience compared to Jaune who should have about a few years of experience under his belt.

Still, he was already different from the weakling he saw during their first battle. Yes, Arc still had a long way to go before he's considered a valuable comrade… but he was someone Kaito could trust to have his back.

He was currently a liability in battle and his only use right now was a Human meatshield… but it was the thought that counts.

Their finishers collided, and despite Kaito having the upper hand; Jaune actually stood his ground for a moment!

Gritting his teeth, Jaune knew he was only seconds way from Kaito breaking through his finisher and finishing him off. The outcome had always been so obvious and yet… something inside of him wasn't willing to give up. Maybe it was the time he had spent with Kaito… or maybe it was because of him finally having power that he could call his own. Whatever it was, it was telling Jaune, pushing him in fact, to keep going.

It was telling him that Kaito had to earn this victory.

"I'm not done yet!"

The second Kaito broke through, Jaune didn't know what came over him as he dashed towards Kaito, practically glowing orange and hell he became and orange blur as he did so, and had landed a good enough blow that Kaito had actually wobbled for a brief second. The girls' jaws actually dropped at the sight, whereas Kaito developed a smirk.

Ozpin, who had been silently standing off to the side and supervising the match without them realizing it, merely sipped his coffee; his eyes and face betraying none of his thoughts.

Kaito's didn't let go of his smirk just yet, as he turned around to look at Jaune, who had landed unceremoniously onto to the ground with his ass high up for everyone to see. Though Kaito didn't pay mind to that little fact, instead he focused on the blow the Arc had landed on him.

That hit had hurt. It had actually hurt. Even if it was only a tiny amount, Kaito was surprised that the little brat had landed a good hit on him.

That power… he had seen it before. The original White Devil had used it on him when he interfered with his and Bravo's battle during the Christmas Game.

"Some growth at last." He admitted as he walked towards Jaune, who was trying to recover from his shock of what happened. Unfortunately, Kaito merely grabbed him by the horns of his helmet and slammed his face back onto the ground in a split second, which was enough to knock Jaune out of his transformation.

"Ow… ." Jaune let out as he flipped onto his back and nursing his nose, which caused Kaito to smirk. The strength of an Overlord was not to be underestimated.

"Work on what you just experience back then and try to master that power. Your form might be sloppy and your power input needs work but… not bad Arc. I'm impress you managed to pull off something even I haven't master yet." Something Kaito was going to remedy as soon as possible. Seriously, one year of being an Armored Rider and he completely forgot about that tiny little power that he was pretty sure any Armored Rider could channel. If Jaune of all people could do it, then so could Kaito!

Jaune however, looked in Kaito in shock before he fully registered what Kaito had said.

Kaito… had complimented him. The Kumon had actually complimented him.

Yes.

Yes!

Jaune smiled with pride at that. If Kaito had complimented him, then he really was getting stronger! And combat training class was the first period today, right? Now was his chance to further impress everyone with his strength!

He just hoped he wasn't too sore from this fight that he'll lose to whoever his facing off against today.

But for the moment, he'll bask in this achievement. For a brief second, he channeled a new power to master later that Kaito himself couldn't do but knew about!

It almost felt like he surpassed Kaito… but that's practically blasphemy considering the result of their current match.

He still had a long way to go, huh? A very long way before he could ever truly surpass Kaito.

Man, just what did Kaito have that he doesn't?

"Ah whatever, I guess I'm done thinking about it." Jaune said to himself as he decided to relax for now.

---

Cardin Winchester was not used to being pushed around.

"Stop dodging damn you!" He roared as he swung his mallet at the annoying orange-armored blonde who managed to back flip and knee him right in the face the moment he tried for a second strike. Jaune Arc was supposed to be an easy target for Cardin to pick on. That was the impression Cardin got of the Arc boy when he first spotted the him puking on the aircraft.

And yet... , after the initiation the boy been doing pretty well in combat classes despite his other subjects being a bit behind.

This really pissed Cardin off when little shits like him thought they were better then anyone else. He didn't even pull out his weapons to fight him! Did he seriously looked down on him so much?

In reality though, Jaune Arc was merely trying to train himself better in the art of unarmed combat, seeing that his Sengoku Driver was to be used to slay the Grimm and the Inves, not for improper uses like showing off. And as much Jaune would love to do so (if only to attract the ladies), he got the feeling that when Kaito got wind of it; training time would be extra painful.

But does the boy know that he was insulting Cardin Winchester's pride by kicking his ass without even drawing his weapons? Nope, not really.

'Too many openings... .' Jaune concluded on his stance as he continued to dodge and counter. He was basing his current spar with previous spars against his fellow Armored Riders, especially with a certain red Baron. 'If it was Kaito, I would've already be in deep shit.' Jaune noted as he saw a clear chance to end the battle. 'There! Time to finish this!'

Jaune sidestepped as Cardin let out another swing, grabbing the bigger teen by the arms. Using the incredible physical strength bestowed to him by his Orange Arms transformation, he used Cardin's weight against him to flip him onto the ground. Before Cardin had the chance to get up, Jaune quickly used his own body to pin Cardin down, a fist inches away from the bigger teen's face.

And with a clap of her hands, Glynda signalled that the match was over.

And the winner is Jaune Arc.

"Congratulations Mr. Arc." Glynda said, with the rest of the class clapping for Jaune. "Despite your rather poor grades in your academics, it seems that your combat abilities are up to standard." She noted with a gleam in her eyes, causing Jaune to shiver a bit. She then turned her attentions to the rest of the class.

"Now students, please examine the Aura Gauges installed onto your Scrolls. Once the gauge reaches red like Mr. Winchester here, it would signal the end of a match in official tournament rules." Although she wouldn't admit it, Glynda was honestly impressed with Jaune's growth. When he first arrived at Beacon, Glynda had doubted the boy could even survive the first week, he just gave off the vibe that he was a complete rookie who didn't even knew the basics on what it means to be a Hunstman.

And yet, after some time with Kumon Kaito, the boy had went through a visible change. Not in his physical appearance, but in his mannerisms.

The boy may still be lacking in common Hunstman sense, but he was in the top 10 in terms of combat ability when compared to all of his classmates.

Jaune, to his credit, merely gave a small bow to both Glynda and Cardin. He canceled his transformation, completely unaware of the murderous daggers Cardin's eyes were throwing at his back.

Jaune Arc may have gained combat experience thanks to his training sessions with Kumon Kaito, but that didn't really do anything to help with his... denseness.

As Glynda gave a small talk about the upcoming Vytal Festival and the tournament it always holds, Cardin eyes turned towards a certain special course student's face. Cardin smirked when Kaito's eyes locked with his.

Kumon Kaito… just another piece of filth that he couldn't stand.

"I'll get my payback Jaunny boy." Cardin muttered as he gritted his teeth as the blonde in question head out of class with his friends next to him.

But unknown to everyone in the room, not even Kumon Kaito himself, a certain middle age man with a snake like scarf smiled as his hand held yet another Sengoku Driver with an acorn-themed Lockseed.

---

"We were surrounded by Ursa… ."

"They were Beowolves."

"There were HUNDREDS OF THEM!"

"Four. Actually, one of them was already wounded by one of the local traps set by other Hunters."

"BUT, they were no match as our AWESOME teamwork tore them apart and we earn a butt load of lien selling Beowolf skin!"

Ren sighed as he been hearing this talk from Nora the moment he woke up this morning as he used his Aura to heal up his bruise ribs. Lately, his reason for not getting a good night's sleep had became reasonsas he woke up every morning with pain all over his body. Before Beacon, the reason why he never could get enough sleep was because Nora was an early riser and quickly called his phone to wake him up, either to tell him any ludicrous dreams she had or to get him up and early so they could find more 'adventures'.

After Beacon and meeting Kaito? The reason above still applied with with the added 'bonus' of him waking up sore from training alongside his fellow Armored Riders. Ren was usually one of the top fighters in his class as he grew up. Kaito however was in a whole other league than everybody else and just showed them they still had a long way to go before they could be considered as full-fledge Huntsman.

A sword. (Well, technically it was a lance but the banana knight had constantly been using it like a sword instead)

That was all Kaito needed to take them all down, regardless of the fact Ren had guns.

Kaito didn't need to his free hand or feet. All he needed was his trusty Banaspear to block and counter everything his fellow Armored Riders threw at him.

But Ren took pleasure in the fact they could at least force the man to use both hands sometimes.

"Jaune, are you okay? You seem a bit down lately." A worried Pyrrha asked a tired Jaune who just gave a small laugh as his response. Between catching up a lot of the studies that he would've learned in a proper Hunter school and combat training with Kaito, the Arc felt like he's been overworking himself a bit too much lately.

Well, not like he'll get much help if he asked his training buddies in term of academics. Yang would more than likely reject his plea considering she was the type of person who went for action instead of boring her mind with studying.

Ren would definitely help. They were teammates and he seemed like the type who would help anybody should they ask for it, but Kaito would surely say something along the lines of "Only real combat experience matters in a fight!" and put a stop to any study sessions the two would try to make. And then the experienced Armored Rider would surely drag the two of them to the rooftops to 'make up for lost time'.

How the hell Kaito became one of the top students in the year in terms of academics despite his line of thinking was something Jaune would never understand. He seemed way too much of a power hungry meathead to bother himself by picking up a book. And then there was the fact Jaune wasn't sure on how Kaito would've reacted if he ever finds out that he didn't even know the basics of being a Huntsman.

He might approve. Or he might shake his head in disappointment. Or maybe he wouldn't care all that much and would just cram in some extra training so Jaune could keep up with the others.

... Kaito was surprisingly unpredictable like that.

"I'm fine really! Look at my face, this is the expression of someone who is completely fine!" Jaune said with a forced laugh, causing Ruby who sat across to him look worried as she twiddle with her fingers a bit.

"Is Cardin bullying you Jaune? There was that incident about shredding your report on Grimm evolution, the RPL incident and flushing your textbook in the restroom... ." The Rose girl inquired.

It merely caused Jaune to let out a nervous laugh as everyone knew that Cardin Winchester had quickly established himself to be a rather big jerk in the campus.

And yet, Jaune honestly didn't think Cardin was actually bullying him as he didn't try anything to truly harm him yet. Unlike the jocks at his old school. Compared to those guys, what Cardin was doing seemed like nothing more than friendly banter between guys.

... Right?

Besides, compared to the damage Kaito constantly dishes out during the nightly training sessions, Jaune wasn't all that worried about Cardin "bullying" him since he survive way worse in the hand of his mentor.

"What? Cardin treats everyone the same way. I mean, what makes you think Cardin is going out his way to "bully" me?" Jaune gave out a forced laugh to his friends as he got up from the table. "Sorry guys, but I have to go... ." Jaune was not running away from the conversation. He had a legitimate excuse for leaving.

He does!

... No, seriously, he does.

Somehow, someway, Jaune had managed to wear down Kaito's defense and managed to get the Banana Knight promise to take him on a trip to Helheim this evening (seeing that he was the only Armored Rider in campus who had Lockvehicles). Jaune was definitely not going to miss this chance to get some new gear.

"Jaune!" Pyrrha let out a worried frown, under the impression that her leader and friend was trying to run away from the conversation. "You know we can help if you let us right?" Pyrrha advised, not wanting the Arc to keep hurting himself emotionally. Physical wounds can heal in a short time. Emotional wounds took far longer.

"Oh!" Pyrrha's words had inspired Nora to give out a suggestion to help with Jaune's bullying problem. "We'll break his legs!" She declared with a triumphant plus utterly crazy grin.

Jaune merely gave out a small sight at that, because of everyone's (well, not everyone... but you get the point) insistence on helping out with his 'bully' problem and because of Nora's tendency of giving out questionable suggestions at times. Just before he could say something about Nora's suggestion (a flat 'No' should suffice), he spotted Cardin, who was sitting at a nearby table with his team, in the middle of messing with a Faunus students by pulling her bunny ears.

Despite the student's protesting (Was she even a first year like they are? Cause Jaune was pretty sure that a Rabbit Faunus wasn't amongst those who had been Initiated this year), Cardin continued with the ear pulling. Along with his team, he cruelly laughed at the Faunus girl's suffering, not at all empathizing with the pain the girl was going through because of him.

They were Huntsmen-in-Training. One day, they'll be Humanity's defenders against the creatures of darkness, the Grimm. Freelance workers who would, most of the time, work alone and only work in teams when they undergo the same mission together. As such, students of Huntsman Academies like Beacon were expected to handle their own problems in their own way instead of being like children by expecting an adult to handle the problem.

But that didn't mean they couldn't lend each other a helping hand. They were all comrades-in-arms, as far as Jaune was concerned. And comrades shouldn't be needlessly cruel like Cardin and his team were being to the Faunus girl.

Jaune was just about to tell them to stop, regardless if it meant that Cardin and his goons would pick on him in response, when something or someone's presence made him stop in his tracks.

Kumon Kaito, there in all of his black and red glory.

The 'Red Comet' was passing through and everyone couldn't help but stare at him, for he was known for as a troublesome student who somehow still manages to get the best grades in his classes. Even now, he was still wearing that indifferent expression he has set as his default expression as he passed through the cafeteria.

Kaito was seemingly picking up a lunch to eat (which consisted of a fruit salad along with a nice-looking slice of pie with purple filling. Blueberry, perhaps?) when Cardin accidentally sticked out his left leg out due to his amusement of mistreating the Faunus girl. Now, bear in mind that Cardin wasn't sitting properly, with both of his legs underneath the table, but instead he was sitting sideways with only his right leg being underneath his group's table.

Kaito himself, about to pass through the table, was a bit distracted by seeing the commotion Team CRDL was making, and so did not see that his foot made contact with Cardin's and ended up tripping as the result.

The cafeteria immediately went silent, due to a chain reaction from people noticing the fall. They either gasped or temporarily loss their voice as they saw the 'Red Comet' fell, grabbing the attention of those who didn't noticed.

The silence was broken due to laughter. Laughter from Team CRDL.

But the rest of the cafeteria didn't laugh. Those who knew Kaito, which pretty much only extended to Team RWBY and JNPR, along with the rest of his classmates, knew that the Banana Knight would not take this humiliation lying down. Those who knew of his reputation were curious to see if he would react like how the rumors had described him. And those who were about to laugh with CRDL were quickly silenced by those who knew of Kaito as they wanted to see what would happen next with no interruptions.

Jaune felt sorry for Cardin as he had the feeling that, as Kaito got up and cleaned his face off, the Banana Knight was scowling with the same expression he threw at Jaune when they first found out they both had Sengoku Drivers.

He then immediately gulped, as he can already see the asskicking Team CRDL were about to go through, thanking the stars above that it wasn't Jaune himself that was going to suffer from the beatdown.

Once was enough, thank you very much.

"Well well well if it isn't the infamous Kumon Kaito. What bought you to my joint of the cafeteria?" Jaune can see with each word coming out Cardin mouth Kaito expression starting to become more and more disgust by the sight of him.

Jaune could see with each word coming out of Cardin's mouth, Kaito's body language became more and more tense. And then, the Banana Knight finally replied. "I was going to eat my lunch in peace, until a couple of pathetic weaklings destroyed the lunch I was actually looking forward to having." Kaito replied to Cardin's question, hostility evident in his voice. Did Kaito baked a pie for himself? Should explain why he was missing for a while, since Jaune was sure the cafeteria didn't served pie for today. Should also explain why Kaito seemed to take this a bit more personally then he usually did.

Still, how did he convinced the kitchen staff to let him bake a pie?

"WHAT'D YOU SAY!?" And no less then 15 seconds, Kaito had managed to piss off every single member of Team CRDL. It was unavoidable really, for they were the type of garbage in this world that Kaito despised with a passion. In Kaito's opinion, the rabbit Faunus girl should've protected her standing in this academy.

But just like everybody else, she was not willing to fight at all. And so, it fell onto Kaito's hands to teach these stupid brats what it actually means to be strong.

Normally, Kaito would ignore situations like this for it was not his problem. However, he was really looking forward to that fruit salad and slice of pie that he made using the school's kitchen.

"Alright you cocky son of a bitch! I've had enough of your… !" Cardin didn't get to finish his threat, for he swung his fist at Kaito as he talked. Kaito however, merely dodged the incoming strike, before clutching onto Cardin's head and smashing it into his knee. The force of the blow was enough to daze Cardin, to the point that it knocked him down onto the ground.

Before the Winchester could get up, Kaito took the chance to pin him onto the ground by placing his foot onto Cardin's chest. Now, if a normal Human did this, it wasn't much because Cardin could easily just grabbed the offending leg and throw off the offender's balance. But Kaito wasn't a normal Human. He was an Overlord, whose natural strength far surpasses an average Human's.

Cardin tried. Oh, he tried. But he could throw Kaito's foot of his chest. He even tried punching the offending leg off, yet he only succeeded in hurting his own hands for attempting.

Kaito himself, was tempted to exert a bit more of his Overlord strength, just to show how strong he was compared to Cardin. However, that came with the risk of breaking Cardin's ribcage and piercing or crushing his lungs. Even Kaito knew that if he caused permanent damage to a student, Ozpin couldn't stop him from being expelled. Ozpin was a headmaster after all, and headmasters had to answer to somebody.

"Let me tell you this in a way that people like you would understand. You are one of the true weaklings that plague this planet, Cardin Winchester. You are a coward, being weak in both strength and mind as you only test your power against those who do not wish to fight back or are physically weaker then you. You seek pathetic satisfaction like everybody else of your kind, by causing misery to those who are currently weaker then you." And there Kaito went, with one of his Social Darwinist speeches that he was pretty much known for to those who knew him personally. Team RWBY and JNPR saw this speech coming from a mile away.

But still, they were a bit surprise at hearing how this speech was going. It would seem that Kaito's 'Might Makes Right' morality was a bit different then the common examples that they knew of.

"True weaklings like you have no true understanding of what real power is… . People like you have no honor, people like you would sacrifice the whole world if it meant your continued existence because people like you love no one else but yourself." Kaito growled as Cardin continued to struggle. Kaito knelt, so his face could come closer to Cardin's. "Next time you wish to test your steel against me, you better come at me with all of your power. I have no patience for scum like you." And with that, he finally let go of Cardin.

But Kaito wasn't done yet. No, he raised his voice a bit because he wanted everyone in the cafeteria to hear what he had to say. "The strong will always devour the weak! That is the rules of nature! Those without any kind of power will never be able to exist in this world!" Cardin was having none of it, however, and wanted to beat Kaito to a bloody pulp.

Instead he found himself on the floor again, having receiving a powerful blow to his face that resulted in him spitting out blood in a daze. "For weaklings like you, however? Whatever power you have will never be enough to support your existence!"

Kaito left a wounded Cardin as Team RWBY and JNPR continue to watch Kaito in silence. The rabbit fanus girl look toward Kaito fidgeting like she trying to say something. Kaito meet people like him back in high school before. Those of the weak who grateful for him for helping them out due to circumstance.

Kaito would have none of it.

"Next time… ," Kaito said to the girl, his face indifferent as always as he folded his arms. "… stand up for yourself if you don't like being treated like an animal. If you want them to stop, then take action. Show them that you won't stand for whatever abuse they put you through. I'm not some knight in shining armor who'll sweep in to save the day." Kaito declared, as he wanted everyone in the cafeteria to hear that. He was not Kazuraba. He was no hero. He didn't go butting in other people's business unless said business affected himself.

Besides, weren't these students being train to become warriors? Warriors should know how to fix their own damn problems.

Having said what he wanted to say, Kaito began to walk away. However, it would seem by then, the girl had gathered up her courage.

"M-M-My n-n-name is V-Velvet Scarlatina! T-T-Thank you for helping me out! I hope we can be friends!" The rabbit Faunus cried out, even bowing at Kaito. The Banana Knight said nothing, instead choosing to let out a small scoff as he walked away from her without saying anything.

"Heh, guess even Kaito can be nice at places you don't expect, huh Ice Queen?" Yang smirked as Weiss, who held a grumpy expression on her face. She would admit that, after fighting Kaito herself, that his attitude was somewhat justified and was backed up thanks to his brute power. His studies weren't bad as well, rivalling hers in fact, but his seriously needed to work on that attitude of his as he held no respect towards anyone who he had deemed to be weak.

One day, she'll have the strength to make him call her by name instead of 'Heiress' or 'Brat'. He might that weird gimmicky Rider power, but if Jaune's current combat ability was any indication, she only needed to train harder to defeat him.

"It's like he has a drive for more power… ." Ruby accidentally voiced out her thoughts, causing the others to stare at her. Stuttering at being put in the spotlight so suddenly, Ruby tried to explain herself. "I-I-I mean, doesn't it feel like Kaito has something we don't have, other than experience, sometimes?" To Ruby, it was almost like Kaito had an obsession to become the best like no one ever was.

Thinking about it, the others agreed with Ruby's thoughts. Just why was it Kaito was so determined to be the best of the best? Everyone at the table took the time to ponder on this question. They all knew that Kaito wasn't a native to Remnant, but their worlds seemed similar enough to one another that any differences they had weren't that culturally shocking.

So what happened during Kumon Kaito's childhood... that caused him to grow up to become the person he was today?

---

"Damn that Kumon Kaito... . Damn that Jaune Arc... ." Cardin growled as he left the cafeteria with his team, nursing his wounded face. "If only I have the power to crush those smug pricks... ." Cardin muttered to himself as his team members followed behind, chatting to themselves on what had happened.

But their chattering ceased when they and Cardin stumbled upon a man wearing an overly large scarf that was covering half of his face. He gave off a snake-like vibe, like if you made a deal with the man, it would be the equivalent to making a deal with the devil.

Before Cardin could ask who the hell the man was, what the man said... . His one sentence was completely enough to shut Cardin up.

"Do you wish for the same power Kumon Kaito and Jaune Arc have, Cardin Winchester?" The man smiled as he revealed a Sengoku Driver and a Donguri Lockseed.

---

"Pyrrha, I'm fine okay? If the Hunter life doesn't work, I can always go and be a bounty hunter... ."

"No! Jaune, that's not why I want to talk to you!"

Was what Kaito overheard as he headed up to the usual spot where he normally trains his fellow Armored Riders. With his enhance Overlord hearing, he could hear the Arc boy and the Nikos girl having a conversation despite the closed door and their soft voices.

He was tempted to just open the damn door and go on with the training as usual, ignoring whatever the Nikos girl had to say to the Arc boy. Yet, something in his guts told him to wait it out. That something unexpected might happen.

Kaito hated it when something unexpected happened. And he had learned to trust his instincts no matter where he was in life.

"I know you've been having trouble in class. You're a great fighter Jaune, you are." Pyrrha started her explanation gently so as to not accidentally destroy the self-confidence the Arc boy had slowly been building due to his training with Kaito. "But you're not so great in your studies... ," She continued, pausing a bit.

Kaito could easily picture that Jaune had given her his sadden puppy dog look at her words, with Pyrrha concluding she needed to get the point right now.

"... but I know you can do so much more if you know how to manage yourself between your studies and combat training!" She hastily said, more than likely to get rid of her sad puppy dog look. "I want to help you Jaune!"

"What?"

Kaito rolled his eyes at hearing Jaune's reaction. Again, he could easily imagine what was Jaune's facial expression at the moment; a dumbfounded look that he could also picture on Kazuraba's face.

Ugh, it was like they were twins. ... Now that was a horrifying thought.

But Kaito secretly agreed with Pyrrha on this. He wasn't blind to the fact that the first brat he was assigned to train completely sucked at his studies. He could see just fine that Jaune had the tendency of sleeping in his classes. On one hand, Kaito could storm into the Team JNPR dorm room and tie the boy up in a chair and force him to start studying.

On the other hand, the hand Kaito preferred, Kaito could just let the Arc boy pick himself up and dealt with his troubles his own way. That was what Kaito did when he was just a child, and it worked out just fine for him.

Only the weak would give up in the face of the challenges ahead of them.

But thinking back on his life had caused Kaito to remember Kazuraba. Kazuraba, who walked a path completely opposite of Kaito, yet similar at the same time. Kazuraba believed in others, that their bonds with one another provided him the inner strength needed to prevail in life. Even when Kazuraba was physically fighting alone, he still believed in those bonds, which gave him the strength to win his battles.

Kaito... had always been alone.

Perhaps... they were merely two sides of the same coin. Everything Kazuraba believed in, Kaito believed in the exact opposite despite their similar dreams. Despite striving for the same perfect world, Kazuraba believed in protecting everything, good and bad, and believed that people would learn to accept the bad parts in life will always come. But instead of letting the negatives consume them, they would instead let the negatives define them into becoming far better people then they were before.

Just like Mai.

And Kaito had the feeling that Jaune Arc will too, one day, walk the same path as them. That one day, Jaune Arc will too learn what it means to have true strength, regardless of whatever lackluster power he currently had.

Kaito was looking forward to that day.

"I can help you with your studies after class up here so you wouldn't be bother. I can even share some of my notes with you Jaune and help tutor you on the stuff you understand."

"You think I need help?"

"No, I don't mean it like that... ."

Kaito couldn't help but scoff at that, along with rolling his eyes. The fact that the Arc answered Oobleck's question today about the Faunus' hereditary advantage during the battle against General Lagune was a very clear sign the boy was so capable of handling himself.

Even Kazaruba wouldn't say something so stupid.

… Probably.

… On second thought, Kaito could totally see Kazuraba answering Oobleck with that same idiotic answer with the same idiotic, confused-as-hell expression plastered all over his face.

… Perhaps the two really were twins… .

"But you just said it… ."

"No. What I mean Jaune is that everyone needs a push from time to time." Pyrrha explained gently. "Not everyone can stand alone by themselves, let alone all the time. Having friends helping you out doesn't make you weak Jaune. I mean, you made it to Beacon, one of the top Huntsman schools in the whole world! That should speak volumes of what your capable of!"

"Y-You're wrong… . I don't belong here… ." Jaune, getting more and more depressed as the conversation continued, muttered to himself. However, he didn't count on Pyrrha having excellent hearing, credited to her intense training, so she heard what he said without any trouble.

"That's a terrible thing to say! Of course you do!" Pyrrha frowned at her leader's lack of self-confidence.

"No, I don't!" Jaune cried out, before sighing . "I wasn't really accepted into Beacon." He confessed.

Pyrrha's frown morphed into bewilderment. "Wh-What do you mean?" She inquired.

"I mean I didn't go to combat school, I didn't pass any tests; I didn't earn my spot at this Academy!" Jaune yelled, his voice going higher and higher as Pyrrha's expression shifted into horror, the two of them completely unaware of Kaito's growing scowl. "I lied! I got my hands on some fake transcripts and I lied! I didn't have any training until I met Kaito and I never earned my right here at Beacon!" Jaune continued with his confession.

Pyrrha was in shock, Kaito's anger was reaching it's boiling point while a third listener was grinning as he heard Jaune's confession.

Pyrrha was in complete shock because she honestly didn't know. Her leader had always been able to hold himself in combat to the point that she never thought that the Jaune in front of her had never even been to combat school. Which goes to show how much of an effective teacher Kaito was, but her mind was nowhere near this line of thought. Instead, it was along the lines of; 'Why would this angel in front of me do something so dishonourable?'

Kaito was angrier by the minute because he always suspected something was up with his first student. Now in light of this new information straight from the source, Kaito berated himself for not figuring out sooner. He should've known. During his first battle with Jaune, he should've known the Arc was a complete rookie because the kid had the balls to continue charging at him despite clearly being outclass in terms of skill, experience and most importantly; power.

Kaito was under the impression that Jaune merely had an inexperienced combat instructor who had taught him the wrong ways of battle and the boy merely needed some serious polishing to get by as a warrior.

He was wrong.

He should've known from the very beginning because Jaune had fought just like he and Kazuraba did when they first gain their Drivers.

Kazuraba… .

That boy… that coward was wearing Kazuraba's armor! He was sullying the name of Gaim by being a user of that armor! He lied to earn his spot in Beacon. He didn't earned it through blood, sweat and tears like everybody else! He lied!

There truly nothing in the entire universe that Kaito despised more than liars and those who are truly weak.

Jaune Arc just can't keep being the fake heros in front of friends who truly care about him anymore. He try to keep up his act of a dorkish hunter who a bit forgetful but the stress of having to catch up and the fact that Kaito and Prryha is placing their respect on a "fake" seriously is hurting Jaune in the inside.

'If they knew that I'm just a faker… would these people who I call friends even respect me anymore?' This kind of thought plague Jaune's minds as his days at Beacon gone by… . They continued to haunt so badly that he was fed up with it, and having reach his limit; he screamed it out to his partner, hoping that she'll accept him. Kaito he would reveal later, when he was a bit more stronger. But Pyrrha… sweet, lovable Pyrrha who any man would be lucky to have as their (life) partner?

"I just want to be a hero for once! My grandfather and dad where both famous war heros and hunters that was capble of helping others and make big names for their selfs! But me!? I wasn't good as dad or grandpa...i was never good enough. Every day i walk out the house all i can hear from my neighboors are "What a disappointment." "So unlike his father." "Seem like this be the one generation of Arc men that a wimp." What so wrong about the fact that I JUST WANT TO BE PROUD OF MY SELF FOR ONCE? What wrong with lying so i get my chance to be not COMPLETETLY garbage compare to my other sisters who all made a name for them selfs! I look at Kaito and i see a ideal of who i want to be yet i can't reach. I'm not cool or badass as Kaito and every morning i wake up i know i'm living a lie. I'm a lying fool who putting up a mask up so both the people he call friends and the two people he respect most in this school don't find out who he is." Jaune can't stop the tears as he rember the fact when he failed his first combat school exam how he felt when that everyone of his sister pass and left him behind in the dust while Jaune the "man" of the house so incompetent that he can't even complete the beganners training course. His dad try too comfort him after the match and yet Jaune always feel chain by these words.

"Better luck next time kiddo..."

So Jaune try and try and try yet he never make it. He was either to slow, not hitting hard enough or a few point off from his test to get into a proper combat school. Is he really going to fail again and again when he have the name of Arc? Was he really going to get left behind while everyone around him be amazing? Is he really going to fail his dad...?

So when he saw his chance to fake his transcript he took it. It was a highly illegal thing to do but Jaune at this point just want to savage some dignity and feel good about himself for once. He quickly learn how outclass he was yet when he saw Kaito he saw what his ideallize hero be like. Sure Kaito a jerk but he have the power that Jaune so DESPARTLY lack. the power to stand up for himself.

So Jaune try to work hard to catch up to the other students yet once again he failing... .

Kaito on the other hand, has heard enough. He emphasized with the fact that the boy did all of this because he desired more power to prove the worth of his existence, yet the fact that he lied and that a large part of him was just doing it for fame and glory had completely pissed Kaito off. Was the boy truly nothing more than a glory hound?

If so, then the Arc was a fool.

Fame and glory wasn't true power. It was something the truly weak strived for; empty promises that fulfilled nothing about their existence. Only the weakest of the truly weak could feel anything about it. The fact that this was all the Arc strived for…

… made him look like just another weak vermin Kaito had seen in the past.

Pathetic. Worthless.

Kazura Kouta would never have lied to cover his weaknesses, nor would he ever come with any excuses. If he was ever knocked down, he would only pick himself up again and get stronger for the rematch.

His rival might have been a idiot… but he always comes back and faced his problems like a man. A man who was truly strong.

"JAUNE ARC!" Kaito roared as slammed open the door.

"Kaito!?" Jaune and Pyrrha cried out of shock as they turned their heads to the door, much to their horror.

"HAND ME YOUR ORANGE LOCKSEED AND SENGOKU DRIVER! YOU DON'T DESERVE THE TITLE OF GAIM!"

Quickly shaking off his shock, Jaune quickly put on his Sengoku Driver and took out his Orange Lockseed. Jaune could see from Kaito's expression that Kaito was absolutely furious with him, and if he didn't defend himself now; he was going to lose his only chance for power.

Seeing Jaune about to use the items Kaito demanded to hand over, Pyrrha took a step back from her leader. Looking at Kaito, she saw that the Banana Knight as stopped his approached, and in response to Jaune's defiance; he took out his own Sengoku Driver and his Banana Lockseed. And much to Pyrrha's shock and worry, the two Rider's cried out their signature transformation catchphrase to show they were actually going to battle.

"Henshin!"

ORANGE!/BANANA!

LOCK ON!

SOIYA!/COME ON!

ORANGE ARMS: HANAMICHI, ON STAGE!

BANANA ARMS: KNIGHT OF SPEAR~!

Their signature Arms fell down from two Cracks of Helheim, instantly dropping onto their heads and reforming themselves into their Armor Modes as the base suits formed on their respective Armored Rider. The moment their transformations finished, their Arms' respective weapons summoned themselves into their respective wielders hands; the Banaspear in Kaito's, the Daidaimaru in Jaune's.

Jaune instantly drew the Musou Saber and got into a battle ready position with his two swords, whereas Kaito slowly resumed his march towards Jaune. And to add good measure to his intimidating march, the Banaspear wasn't extended to it's full length when Kaito finished transforming into Baron. It was only as Kaito got closer and closer to Jaune did it extend.

"Kaito, please wait!" Pyrrha called out to Kaito, who instead took it as his cue to start attacking Jaune. Kaito began running at Jaune, swinging the Banaspear for a strike that Jaune managed to block with his weapons. However, this left Jaune open for Kaito's leg which struck Jaune's defenseless sides.

The kick caused Jaune to stumble away from Kaito, who didn't pursue. Instead, he slowly turned to the direction Jaune stumbled to and slowly made his way to Jaune. Seeing his mentor so calm in this fight despite his expression of pure fury before he transformed was messing with Jaune's psyche. He simply couldn't comprehend as to why Kaito was fighting so calmly right now despite being so angry.

Jaune decided that he needed to control the flow of the battle if he wanted any shot at defeating Kaito, so he pulled the tab of his Musou Saber and spent all of his shots at Kaito. However, the Knight of Spear merely channeled energy into his Banaspear and blocked all of the shots by summoning an energy banana through swinging his Banaspear.

Once the shots were block, Kaito quickly rushed Jaune, with both of them repeating the same thing they did earlier. Except this time Kaito didn't let up with his assault and struck Jaune's back while he was stumbling again, the strike causing Jaune to turn back to Kaito, leaving him open for more strikes.

Jaune got frustrated as tried to get up from Kaito's onslaught. He couldn't afford to lose this battle yet he didn't have enough power to match Kumon Kaito when he was holding back, let alone when he's taking a fight somewhat seriously!

"Pathetic!" Kaito roared. "I knew you weren't anywhere near his level of strength, but I never thought you were actually this weak, Arc!" Kaito talked down on his former student. "There are two things that I despise most in existence; cowards and those who are truly weak!" Kaito declared as the two Riders stared each other down, while Pyrrha couldn't do anything but look on as she lacked her weapons.

She could try to use her Semblance, that might give her an edge despite her lack of weapons… but she honestly never tried her Semblance on the Rider equipment before and she was afraid it might have no effect on Kaito during a critical moment such as this!

"Tell me Arc! Was the only reason you picked up a weapon was just so you can acknowledged by others!?" Kaito questioned, but Jaune didn't answer. Instead he just turned his head away out of shame, much to Kaito's growing anger. "You truly are pathetic Arc! I misjudged you!"

Jaune couldn't find a retort for Kaito, as it was a cold hard fact that he forged his transcripts to Beacon just so he could make a name for himself. Something other than the lovable dork that couldn't protect anyone even if he tried! Yet… .

"Well what's wrong with wanting to be something other than weak for once!?" Jaune shouted at Kaito. "Every single day, every single time somebody talks to you; the only thing you talk about is 'strength this', 'power that'! Do you even have any idea what it's like being weak all the time!?"

"I DO!" Kaito roared, much to Pyrrha's and Jaune's shock. Kaito… Kumon Kaito… knew what it was like to be… weak? They couldn't picture it. When they think of Kumon Kaito, all they could picture is a man with the strength to continue his march on life even if the world branded him an enemy. Someone who would never give into the cruelty of the world. Someone who never surrendered.

Never in a million years could they ever imagine Kaito being… like Jaune, to put it bluntly.

"I know what it's like to be weak… to just stare at the sidelines, pathetic and helpless well someone else does the job for you… ." Kaito growled as his grip on the Banaspear tighten. "I despise this feeling! And I never want to feel it again as long as I live! But even now… I can feel it! This despicable feeling of weakness!" Kazuraba was the proof. That despite the power he had gained as an Overlord, there was someone out there who was stronger than him. Someone who would step up to the plate when Kaito found a strong opponent that he couldn't defeat himself.

He despised it. Whatever power he gained… it would never be enough. He would never be able to protect himself nor anyone else under his protection.

But this wasn't the time nor place to reminiscise about his weakness. No… right now, he had a coward to destroy. "But, at least I'm not a fool who can't even face the truth and hides behind his weakness." Kaito insulted Jaune. "Someone like that… can never become strong!" Kaito declared before he pressed down the Cutting Blade of his Driver once.

COME ON!

BANANA SQUASH!

Next thing Jaune knew, he was flying skyward as Kaito unleashed his Spear Victory finisher, the force of the blow being enough to knock Jaune out of his transformation in mid-air, making his unceremonious landing onto the ground being more painful then it should be. Writhing in pain, Jaune could only look in horror as the still transformed Kaito slowly walked towards Jaune, his Banaspear raised threateningly.

Luckily for Jaune, Pyrrha had decided to interfere. To her, the battle was over. There was a clear winner. There was no need for Jaune to get hurt any longer.

And so, she stepped in front of Kaito, her green eyes burning with determination as she prepared to face Kaito with hand-to-hand combat. She preferred to fight with Miló and Akoúo̱, but since she didn't brought her weapons, her hands and feet would have to do.

Surprised by her determination, Kaito actually canceled his transformation, to silently tell her that he acknowledged her decision to protect her weakling of a leader and that he was willing to hear what she had to say.

"Look, Kaito…" Pyrrha began as she still remained standing in-between the two Armored Riders, just in case. With still burning determined eyes, she looked at Kaito as she held her arms wide to show that she wished for the violence to cease. "I know Jaune might no be who he said he is… but I still think he deserves a chance!" Pyrrha stated her mind. "Please… , give him one more chance to prove that he can be strong, Kaito… ." Pyrrha's eyes soften as she said that.

Kaito wasn't blinded by his anger. He could clearly see that Pyrrha wasn't going to back down and now that he managed cool down a bit, he would admit he wasn't the type to deny a chance for people to redeem themselves. He wasn't the type to deny people a chance to show their worth, to show their strength, to show their will to grow stronger.

It was one of the reasons why he let Zack live, after all.

Kaito had decided. If Jaune could prove to him that he had even just 10% of what Kazuraba has, then Kaito just might consider giving back the Orange Lockseed.

Kaito knew that he couldn't deny Jaune the base Gaim-suit, seeing as it was locked to Jaune's DNA… but he can sure as hell deny Jaune the use of Kazuraba's signature Lockseed.

"Toss me the Orange Lockseed." Kaito ordered Pyrrha. "I'll give the weakling something to defend himself in exchange." He declared.

Knowing that Kaito would keep his word, Pyrrha gently took off the Orange Lockseed from Jaune's Driver. Walking up to Kaito, she hesitantly presented the Orange Lockseed. Kaito didn't even hesitate as he grabbed and pocketed the Orange Lockseed, before taking out another Lockseed with his other hand. It was the Matsubokkuri Lockseed, the physically weakest Lockseed out of the known Lockseeds that Kaito knew off.

Personally, he found it fitting for the pathetic excuse for an Armored Rider in front of him. Sure, Hase Ryoji wasn't all that strong, but the deceased Armored Rider was stubborn to the point that Kaito acknowledged his existence in a slightly more positive light then he did for most people.

Tossing the Matsubokkuri Lockseed onto Jaune's chest, where it bounced onto the ground almost pathetically yet comically, Kaito said only one word as he left.

"Weak."

As Kaito left, Prryha gave one last look to Jaune, an understandably saddened one, as he stayed down on the ground before she too turn her back on her leader and left.

Jaune barely noticed that he was alone now. Instead, he was thinking back to his experience in Beacon, and began to constantly curse himself for messing it all up.

"Work on what you just experience back then and try to master that power. Your form might be sloppy and your power input needs work but… not bad Arc. I'm impress you managed to pull off something even I haven't master yet." Jaune remembered one of the few rare times that Kaito actually compliment him, before continuing to curse himself for destroying whatever budding respect Kaito had for him.

And so, Jaune remained on the rooftop for God knows how long. It was only when he heard the sound of the door being opened again did he sat up.

And much to his horror, there was Cardin Winchester, laughing and pointing like there was no tomorrow. But adding to Jaune's horror was the fact that Cardin was wearing a Sengoku Driver himself!

"Oh-ho-ho! That was rich Jaunny boy!" Cardin laughed as he sat next to Jaune, who was paralyzed in fear. "So you faked your transcripts and entered the school illegally, huh?" Cardin rhetorically asked in a mocking way, putting an arm over Jaune's shoulders to ensure the Arc didn't try to escape. "From what I see, all those friends you hang out just up and left you because of that, right?"

Jaune said nothing, he couldn't say anything as he wondered where Cardin was going with this. With a shit-eating grin, Cardin spoke. "I can be your friend Jaunny boy. Friends keep secrets for each other right?" He continued to mock Jaune. "Ands friends help each other out with somethings, right? Say, I have this new toy that I wanna test out… ," Cardin said, using his free hand to mess with the Sengoku Driver around his waist.

"… and you would be doing me a solid if you could find me a punching bag."

---

Those Jaundice is cover with position for Gridon cover and a rift between Kaito and Jaune. How would this story end? Ya just got to wait and see. Originally I had plans to put Jaune character arc in one chapter but kinda gave it up... .

Symbolic Joker: And I bet there's some readers out there who're accusing me for you giving up to plans due to issues preventing me from working on editing the chapters.

Oh and Gaim Gaiden's gonna be out soon and for me that MATERIALS MATERIAL MATERIALS!

Symbolic Joker: It's probably out by the time I finish editing this chapter... .

Like always I'm open to opinions and please leave a review as this chapter deals with the struggle of Jaune Arc and my understanding of him. His struggle for some time being outshine by his sisters and wanna live up to the Arc name. Some say glory hound, I say it just make him more human like how Kouta was in the start.

Symbolic Joker: Everybody has skeletons in the closet. For all we know, Monty had plans for Ruby's and Yang's skeletons to come to light... .

AN Notes (15 Oct, 2015):

Symbolic Joker: I am SO sorry everybody for taking so long to edit all of this. To be fair, your genius Author over here is starting to put a helluva lot more stuff in each chapters than he did before... .