AN: Lord, I'm not going to lie to you guys, but this writing style I have is making it a pain when it comes to including two people of the same gender in one paragraph. So, whenever I have two males I would usually mention 'he' and 'him' but I would have to mention their name because, you know, two males. Or, more reasonably, use 'he' and 'him' with both. Not sure if that makes sense but you'll see.

Also, I'm going to end up switching to a first-person writing style. I really love to understand how multiple characters are feeling at one moment, but it gets difficult when you have characters of the same gender. I tried finding a way around this, but it makes me write in a way I don't enjoy.

Expect chapters to take more than two or three days to be finished, probably, I already have experience in first-person writing, but I'm probably rusty.

Also, there were a couple of previous chapters that had references but, either nobody noticed it, or nobody cared to mention it. Which is fine. It's fine. Not bothered by it. Not at all.

So, this time, I made a really obvious reference to JJK in this chapter. Hope someone notices it. I really mean it, it's really obvious, too obvious.

Anyway, hope you enjoy the chapter.

It had been a few weeks since Adam started living with Tai and his family, well, not really. But he found the change in setting pleasing. Yang recovered in the following weeks he started visiting them. Adam mostly spent his time sleeping in the nearby forest. It was the only thing he could do to calm his mind. Adam found it pleasing.

That, and he's able to take off my clothes whenever he's alone. It's not like Adam hated wearing clothes, he did find being entirely naked embarrassing. But he prefers the fig leaf covering his crotch than being fully clothed. It just feels right. Although, he still had, what Yang likes to call a, 'ridiculous outfit.' Adam didn't really understand why she found it ridiculous, he thought it was unique with all the colorful flowers.

Nevermind that.

There was one thing Adam didn't expect, Tai had offered to let him live with them, but that's because Tai had asked him if he had anywhere else to go. Adam already had a place to stay, it was the forest that surrounded the cabin. He told Tai that he would be going back to the forest, where he had been for years.

But Adam received a strained smile from Tai, like what he said was… sad?

Tai ended up asking Adam to visit whenever he could, preferably in the morning or afternoon.

Adam didn't mind spending time with them. Tai, Ruby, Yang, and even the drunken man named Qrow, were all his children, why wouldn't he visit?

Sometime after the talk, Adam started visiting them daily. But It made him wonder what he could offer as a gift. He knew they didn't mind him coming over, and they made sure to let him know he was welcome and he didn't have to give them anything in return.

Ultimately, he still ended up visiting with some flowers he had found growing in a field within the forest. There weren't many flowers around, only sunflowers. He hadn't been surprised to find sunflowers thriving, they were common.

So, he gave them a couple of sunflowers whenever he visited. Tai seemed grateful, but Tai had no idea what he would do with them. Then, at one point, something clicked for Tai. Tai had told Adam that he would be growing a small garden at the front of the cabin.

Adam was fond of the idea. It reminded him of the time when he lived in a garden, the garden of Eden, to be specific. He missed those times of a lavish life, but he wouldn't return, even if offered to him. Adam enjoyed and loved the time he spent with Eve more than he enjoyed his time in the Garden of Eden.

At times Adam would help Tai water some of the flowers in his garden. Adam made sure that Tai didn't overwater the plants since they had their own specific needs, they were all unique in their own way.

You need to love and care for them to prosper.

Adam enjoyed the time he spent teaching one of his children. He enjoyed spending his time with them and helping them learn. It reminded him of when Eve had to teach him everything he needed to know about gardening.

But, if he was going to be honest, he had forgotten all that was taught to him by Eve in the following two weeks. Eve had become very upset at this and decided that she'd be the one to take care of their personal garden, which was for the best because there were too many different species of flowers to count on both hands.

Adam protects and loves his children, and Eve cares and loves her children.

Every flower reminded him of Eve, so maybe he should take his time learning how to grow and care for plant life, and their specific needs, and how to care for them.

However, he would have to do that another time.

"Adam~" Ruby whined, "Come on, let's go play outside, I want to play tag."

Ruby tugged at Adam's shirt. Ruby tried asking her dad but he said that he needed to water his plants, something about his plants dying if he didn't take extra care of them. Of course, her dad said he'd play with her in about an hour, but she was impatient, she couldn't wait that long.

It felt like it could take a millennia.

"Ruby, you know we could just play tag with just the two of us, right?" Yang said as she crossed her arms.

Yang had followed behind Ruby. Yang had a bored look on her face, mostly because she had been waiting a couple of minutes for Ruby to start the game of tag, but Ruby wanted a third player, so she'd been 'patiently' waiting.

"Yea, but wouldn't it be more fun with three players?" Ruby said.

"Hm…" Yang pondered, "yeah, it would be, I guess."

"Adam," Ruby called his name again before taking on a horribly attempted serious tone, "You will be rewarded handsomely,"

Ruby then proceeded to slowly bring out a bag of cookies from her pocket, "With cookies!" She said with absolute joy and a bright smile.

"Rubes, I'm sure you're the only one to call cookies a 'handsome reward,'" Yang shook her head.

Adam stood in silence. Not because he didn't want to join them. He didn't mind at all. He was wondering why they thought he would say no, and maybe he was a little curious about what 'cookies' are.

"Sure. You don't need to bribe me," Adam's tone was soothing, "If it brings you joy, I won't ever turn you away." A small but caring smile appeared on Adam's face.

Ruby and Yang hadn't expected to see him smile. They both knew he could but it always caught them off-guard. It caused their heart to flutter in joy, they never understood why, but at the same time, they didn't mind feeling like sunshine and rainbows.

Though there were moments when Adam didn't seem like himself, it worried them, but Yang wouldn't admit that Adam made her worry about his well-being.

Whenever Adam was alone, he would have this look, like he was seeing something out of his reach, but it would disappear the moment you approached him.

Ruby shook the thought away, she didn't want to feel under the weather, so she decided it was time to start the game of tag and brought them outside.

"Adam…" A familiar voice called out.

"Adam…" She sobbed, calling out his name.

"Help me, Adam, please…" Eve cried out.

Adam's eyes shot open. He found himself lying naked on a patch of grass, staring at the broken moon looming over him. His heart was beating rapidly. He could hear every little chirp ranging from crickets to birds.

A feeling tugged at his heart. He needed to leave now.

The wind howled as Adam took large strides at incredible speeds. Animals of all races from birds, deer, bears, and squirrels looked at the direction Adam was heading towards. One moment he was in the most concentrated part of the forest, the next, he was free from the lush green foliage that surrounded him a moment ago.

Adam jumped out of a tree's crown, landing on the edge of a cliff that dropped a couple hundred feet.

The sound of the sea crashing against the cliff can be faintly heard standing from the peak while Adam stared beyond the horizon line out on the sea.

"Eve..?"

Drip, drip, drop.

Blood slid down his neck. It wasn't his.

He didn't know when it happened, it was too sudden. He was enjoying a small celebratory victory with his comrades, eating meat and enjoying alcohol they'd reaped from another poor village that faced their wrath.

All the food they could enjoy, all the alcohol they could ever drink, all the money they could ever bathe in, all the women they could ever enjoy, All sitting in the palms of their hands.

All of this could've been his a long time ago if it wasn't for what had happened way back then. Before he became a bandit, he was a street thug. But at the time, he felt powerless when he was just a street thug, nothing but stealing purses, mugs, burglaries, or casually robbing a store of all their money that sometimes ended with some of his friends in prison.

He considered himself lucky when it came to escaping law enforcement and not getting caught. He had always been nimble, be it running away or in street fights. His friends even nicknamed him 'hedgehog' which was weird considering hedgehogs were slow, but he ignored it.

But his city life ended one night when a dear friend of his had stolen half of his lien. It was his fault for trusting him with the lien.

He was just like any other street thug, he wanted to make a name for himself in the city. He wanted to be powerful and wealthy. He wanted to control his own army and kill whenever he felt like it. If he had an army, anyone who goes against him would be dead in a ditch or burnt to a crisp.

He didn't want to be the bottom trash, they're only good for getting money and selling to brainless zombies who can't go a day without a powdered substance going up their nose.

And he had a plan that would make him known. A heist that could make headlines. It was a great plan, all they needed to do was rob a bank, give out an alias, and he would be known across the City of Mistral.

He would buy the weapons and his friend would buy the equipment and find others who would have to bear important roles to play in the heist.

But that never happened since his friend took the money and scrambled to some alleyway or somewhere out of the city.

Fucked up thing is, his friend ratted him out to law enforcement, his house, name, age, date, hideout, everything. Just for a couple of thousand lien, even when his friend already had stolen half of his lien which was about fifty thousand. They would've been millionaires If his friend hadn't ratted him out. He and his friend- this other person could've gotten way more lien.

If they had successfully robbed the bank, they'd be set for life, they could've had everything.

All the people who thought of him as nothing more than a pesky street rat would be shitting their pants when they realized he had money and power sitting on his fingertips. They would be groveling on the ground for forgiveness.

He could just feel the joy imagining their faces with hopelessness and pure anguish as he tortured them relentlessly. He would've enjoyed every minute of it.

But that dream all crumbled because of his 'friend.' If he ever came across his friend out here in the desert, he would make sure he'd kill him slowly. Just his bare hands, bloody, and all the bones he could break without killing him. Keep him alive for a couple of months or years and let infection and disease slowly kill him from the inside.

But now here he was, living out in a desert, unable to go back home because of law enforcement. They have his information, they know where his home is located and they've possessed his hideout. He had nobody to turn to, no friends, no family, nothing, and his last and only friend betrayed him.

He had to leave his city life behind.

His new home, the Branwen Tribe… but he was nothing more than a foot soldier, or foot bandit, like the rest of his comrades who had the same sob stories as him.

He hated feeling lesser than someone, that's why he hated the government and law enforcement, thinking they were better than him. But now he didn't have to worry about them, except for his boss who had the strength to put him in his place, and he hated that, especially when it was a chick, but he couldn't ignore her battle prowess.

She could probably knock him out with nothing but a flick of her finger. Actually, she'd probably kill him on the spot if he ever challenged her, that's how cold she was. Well, he believed she was that cold.

He'd heard some stories about her having a family before she came back to the tribe, but nobody could verify if it was true or not. For now, it's just a rumor till someone comes along and speaks the truth.

Though he could honestly care less about her and her love life, he could care less for the tribe and his comrades, he'd personally watch them die in front of him if it meant he would gain power.

It didn't matter to him how he achieved it, he had planned to be renowned around the world, 'Deacon the Almighty' was supposed to be the strongest.

So, why was he, a bandit who was supposed to be enjoying the rewards of raiding a settlement, and all his friends, getting slaughtered by a single person?

The man, who had killed his comrades, was a giant. He was at least a couple of heads taller, he stood somewhere above 6ft, maybe taller. His hair was dark, not jet black like Deacon's boss. And a part of his hair was tied in a bun that had two golden antennae, he looked like some bug, a bug-looking person that was about to kill him and his comrades.

And the rest of his hair was loose, bushy, and reached down to his waist. But the most noticeable features about him were his large muscles and tattoos that wrapped around his torso and from his shoulders down to his forearms.

It looked like he had the scales of a dragon.

The man was as strong as he was intimidating. He was really intimidating. Deacon wouldn't say his comrades were half bad when it came to fighting against one or multiple people at a time. They were pretty good. But somehow that man managed to kill them, all nineteen of them without receiving a single scratch, he didn't even look tired.

And he's pretty sure that the man yawned halfway through slaughtering his entire camp. Now he was the only one left on the chopping block.

The man even freed the prisoners they took, he set the women and children free who took all their food, water, weapons, and money, and immediately left as soon as possible. I'm not the type to help people but I knew that when you helped someone you're supposed to say thanks, or thank you, but they never did say 'thank you' to the man that freed them.

Now it was just Deacon all by himself. He needed to report this to his boss, Raven. Fortunately, his camp was one of the couple dozens scattered across Anima that was decently close to the main camp.

All he needed to do was just make it back to the main camp, and inform his boss while hoping she didn't kill him for running away. It was only a couple miles away, maybe eight or nine, but he wasn't sure if he'd be able to make it.

But he tried anyway, better than waiting to die.

Deacon pushed himself off the ground, he was ready to book it as soon as the man approached. With adrenaline running through his body and his heart pumping rapidly, he felt like he could run a hundred meters within ten seconds, even without his aura unlocked.

But when he tried to flee, he didn't feel his feet touch the ground. The man, who killed his comrades, was now holding him by the throat and lifted Deacon off the ground.

Deacon would've been pissed if it wasn't for the fact that his life was literally in this man's hands.

"Take me to your boss." The man wasn't asking, he was demanding him.

Deacon would give his own life to see this man grovel to the ground, but at the same time, he didn't want to die, he still intended to be the strongest in Remnant.

Deacon was desperately tapping on the man's forearm, knowing full well that wouldn't do anything. This man was heartless, so what made him think that this man would have mercy?

"F-fine- I'll take you to her- just let me…- breath-" Deacon gurgled out as he was barely able to keep himself conscious.

Deacon fell to the ground, landing on his butt. He coughed a few times before being able to catch his breath again, it felt amazing. But the man didn't have mercy on Deacon, the man needed to find Deacon's boss, and Deacon knew where she was.

Deacon scrambled to his feet and saluted, "F-follow me, my boss is currently in a camp only a couple miles away."

He didn't know why he saluted the man, but if it allowed him to somehow survive the situation he found himself in, then he would do it as many times as he needed to.

But the man stood there, silently, saying nothing at all. All the man did was just stare daggers at Deacon, although the man's face was relaxed, his eyes were of a killer's. It was like he didn't see Deacon as a man or even a living being.

Deacon bit his own tongue, he was furious, yeah, but he couldn't win against the man, he knew that. If he was stronger then maybe he could, but he wasn't. So, if he was up against someone stronger, like his boss…

All Deacon needed to do was lead the man to the main camp and that's where the man would meet his end.

"Get a move on," The man said with a voice so cold you would think Remnant froze over.

"Y-yessir!" Deacon stuttered as he saluted before leading him in the direction of the main camp.

The man followed Deacon. He didn't think much of Deacon, he was weak. The other bandits he killed were also no match for him, not fast or strong and one punch would kill them. He didn't need to move much because they stood there in shock and took the hit. Even a fly would bother to dodge his fists.

Lu Bu already encountered grimm, he saw them as creatures that came crawling out from the abyss. The bigger grimm were more formidable than the animals he had encountered during the last time he was alive.

And those grimm proved more of a challenge than the bandit group he had just slaughtered, almost the entire group.

Lu bu decided to let Deacon live, not for anything special. He just needed one of the bandits to take him to their boss.

There is always some form of power controlling over bandits. He just needed to find them, and an easy way to do that was to get a rookie to lead him directly to their boss. Scare them a little bit, and they will do whatever you want.

After Lu Bu takes over the position of boss. He plans to allow the man who led him to their boss to receive the role of supervisor. The supervisor would maintain order in the camp and announce the news of a new leader, Lu Bu. If the bandits refuse to accept, they will receive death. But if the supervisor proves useless. Lu Bu would kill him and find someone else to take the role.

But that would be when they arrived at the place.

As much as he would love to think the bandit's boss was strong, he had other things on his mind.

Lu Bu couldn't figure out how he ended up here. He remembered getting his head blown off by his opponent, Thor. Lu Bu had felt his head sent flying and his body being left behind. It was disorientating. It was something he did plenty of times against warriors he fought.

Lu Bu was beheaded by Thor.

He played back the fight in his head. It always made him feel a rush of adrenaline and joy.

He felt his muscles tense up and his face muscles pulling, morphing his mouth into a wild smile. Throughout heaven and Earth, he alone was the honored one.

He could just imagine fighting strong opponents he had yet to encounter.

But when he was alive, it was not a battle to the death that killed him, but an execution. A fate he despised as a child. He always thought he would be killed by someone stronger than him. He never thought he would be so bored that he agreed to his execution.

It made him wonder. Who would be the one to give him the joy of battle that he craves? Or will he have the same fate as when he lived?

AN: Also, sorry about Lu Bu, I would've made this part a little cooler and badass for him if it wasn't for the fact there were two dudes, and the 'he' and 'him' things were confusing. Had to start calling Lu Bu 'that man' just for it to make sense.

The other dude, Deacon. He's an OC, wait, before you go 'ugh' I'm going to say this, I just made him on the spot. I do plan on using him later, he's not going to be a throwaway character, he's going to be a side character that will have their own character development and affect Lu Bu and characters from RWBY, not a lot of the characters though, only one or two. And no, it's not a love type of effect. It's hard to say, you'll see in the next chapter or two.