《RWBY: Path of Blood》 -1 Basic Info / RWBY lore [Remnant] The world where the story takes place and RWBY''s world dominated by Hunters and Huntresses who fights for peace and life against the Grimm, creatures of darkness. [Huntsmen] Elite warriors of peace trained to slay grimm. To be a huntsman they must first undergo rigorous training in one of the four kingdoms ''Great Academies'', in which they are given a liscense that can be used as a badge. [Four Kingdoms] Vale - central kingdom which houses the Beacon academy. Vacuos - Western Kingdom which houses Shade Academy the kingdoms only Law. Atlas -Northern Kingdom of great technological advancement, also the base of The Schnee Dust Company and Atlas Academy. Mistral - Eastern Kingdom which houses the Haven Academy. [Land of Darkness] Former Domain of the God of Darkness, The pools of Grimm are located there. The home base of the big bad. [Races of Remnant] Humans - Humans are born with a power called semblance which matches their personality and their soul . Faunus - They resemble humans to a certain degree but they have a certain trait that makes them unique, they share traits with animals, which leads to the discrimination of their race. Grimm - Souless being with blackish fur that had their bones sticking out of their bodies. They don''t have Semblance or Aura, however they have vast amounts of darkness that they can emit. 1 Chapter 1: Grimm Fate Power and Money are the only things that make this rotten world revolve. I don''t know how many lives were sacrificed just to achieve this fake ass world peace. Hypocrites all of them, while us soldier go battlefield to battlefield killing people labeled as terrorists, but they''re just innocent people trying to defend their Homeland. Fucking pricks telling us it''s for a just cause, to make the world a better place... goddamn where''s that place now? it''s only getting worse... Forgive my pessimism but I have been a mercenary all my life, Now I won''t say I''m a good person... after all I''m only in this for the money, but fuck I''ve killed enough people to know nothing''s ever going to fucking change. The year''s 20XX everything''s fought with Mechs and Crazy tech from allied races from other planets, but there is one particular weapon sought after by every Empire or State. The ''Ars Magus'' capable of materializing any weapon/power imaginable. that weapon is also the reason why I''m running for my fucking life right now. "Wanted on every quadrant on this Galaxy... you''re quite a guy Kazama Haruki." said the guard as he kicked the bound prisoner. "How ''bout you tell us where the ''Ars Magus'' before we beat it out of you?" he raised the prisoner head and slapped him to wake him up. "huh?? *yawn* well you see Captain Oslo... I Have no idea..." Oslo''s mouth twitched and in anger he beat up Haruki again until he fainted. You see now? Humanity''s greed knows no bounds even rumors of great riches will get anyone to bite... This Thing that looked like a watch is stuck on my wrist... I look like B*n 10 w/out the alien transformations.... I swear this weapon is as useless as it can get...Ars Magus is not as the rumors say it''s more of a fashion statement than a weapon of death... As Haruki woke back up, he noticed he was back in his cell... after 12 years of mercenary service this is what I get... I only got 3 months of retirement damnit! If I only didn''t stumble upon this stupid thing. (Do you wish to escape?) Suddenly a voice reverberated inside is head. "huh? what the fuck? is it finally time to awaken my destiny? or some shit?" (awaken me... for I can grant you power s you can''t imagine.) "H-How do I do it oh great on- - Pahahahahahah fuck I can''t do this! I know you''re fucking with me Oslo , how bout you get lost!" I''m not falling for that dumb scheme of yours Oslo. Well whatever My mates are about to arrive anytime soon anyways... time to make the breakout of the century. (do you not want power? give me their blood and my power shall be yours to control.) "Blood? fuck you on about Oslo? you a vampire or something? " man this guys going all out just to find the ''Ars Magus''."True I wish for power but there are more important things to me than that... me wanting power is just so I can protect those that are important to me..." (But you lack power, that''s why you lost her is it not?) "Oslo... I''m warning you... you''re treading on thin ice... you better stop or I''ll make you stop. " Before Haruki can go over and scream at the camera... *Boom!!* the entire prison shook from the explosion. "Heh, finally here huh?" Three Armed guys stood in front of his cell as they yelled"No matter what we can''t let this prisoner to escape." *bang* A loud series of gunshot resounded followed by three bodies falling to the floor. "Scepter 3 hack open this cell" said the man with a gravely voice. "Samuel is that you?" Haruki asked. "Yes Boss, we''re here to pick you up" As the door opened what He saw were Samuel and Oslo standing side by side whilst pointing a gun at him. "What the fuck Samuel? what happened to our code?" Samuel grimly looked at Haruki and said "Code!? Do you not see Boss? There is Tragedy everywhere and even as mercenaries we can''t even stop 1% of those! we toil day and goddamn night doing what we believe is right! to make a difference... and yet look around boss nothing changed only the weight of the lives we''ve taken has gotten heavier!" Haruki looked down for he knew what Samuel said was right. Humans will never change no matter what. for as long as humans have existed they have clung to violence to survive. "That''s why I ratted you out! The bounty on you is too large..." Samuel said as he points the gun at Haruki "Wait, so everything was just a ruse?"I can''t say I''m surprised were mercenaries although we started with a great cause the futility of our efforts can make our will to waver... "Hehehehehe do you now see? Haruki even your so called mates were bought by money and others can easily be black mailed." I can''t blame any of them family comes first... I bet Samuel was baited by riches and a planet after the United Colonies get the Ars Magus... (I can help you escape... awaken me with their blood!!) (I can help you escape... awaken me with their blood!!) (I can help you escape... awaken me with their blood!!) As the voice inside his head gets louder, the desire for blood also gets stronger. "AAARRGGHH!!" Haruki screamed as he tore his bindings and dashed towards the nearest soldier. Took him by the neck and tore his entire jaw with his bare hands. They couldn''t react in time when the first one died. " kill him!! Tear him to shreds!" Oslo Bellowed. But Haruki has already leapt up in the air as he took the dead soldiers knife. He bounced from the ceiling towards two soldiers as he stabbed the one on the throat while he grabbed the muzzle on one of the guns and aimed at the soldiers. *bratatatata* Haruki continued to kill the soldiers efficiently, although it resulted in him recieving bullet wounds all over his body... *pant pant* "only.. t..he two ..of you...*pant* left*" Although Haruki is strong he has his limits. "Hahahahaha do you really think you can take us both on now do you? In that condition I''m surprised you are still alive." Haruki threw away his weapons and stood there glaring at Oslo "hehehehehe *cough cough* What you scared to fight me bare handed?" Oslo the ever prideful captain was angered. "you will be my 1000th kill!"Samuel just stared at the both of them silently thinking (Oslo your pride will be your undoing.) Oslo threw away all his weapons, even the hidden ones just to prove to haruki he doesn''t need anything to end a half dead man. "*pant pant* it seems you still have a shred of integrity... " Haruki readied his stance, Oslo charged towards him like a boar, which haruki nimbly dodges by rolling under him. "slimy rodent! see how I deal with you!" Oslo neared the distance with a lariat. Haruki then goes under to punch him in the liver. "urgh, stay damn still!" Haruki the proceeded to sweep his legs but Oslo jumps up and elbows haruki as he landed. *guhah* Haruki quickly recovers as he punched Oslo on the ribs and tripped him. He then mounted Oslo then proceeded to beat the shit out of Oslo. after a while oslo''s body went limp as the life drained out of him. "*pant pant* Now... *pant* Samuel... y..oure next..." As he staggers towards samuel. (You have fulfilled the requirements to activate Tier 1 of the Ars Magus) "Boss you''re as resilient as ever but sadly I''m not like Oslo it''s time to end this" he says as he pointed the gun at haruki, but before he could pull the trigger... (I can help you escape from here ... but I have to use the blood you have collected as payment) "whatever jus...t *cough * do it." (with pleasure, oh and here''s a parting gift for your friend.) *crack* a space crack opened and swallowed haruki inside. leaving only the present are magus left behind... a hydrogen bomb... "Fuck" *Boooom* as the mushroom cloud disappeared so did the remains of everyone and anything within 10 miles.... Thus begins the story of Kazama haruki getting transported to the RWBYverse because of the Arc Magus malfunctioning... 2 Chapter 2: I Scream Haruki woke up due to the pain. *rghh* ''where am I? what planet did the arc magus take me? '' haruki nervously looked around. Sadly all he found was trees and more trees. (I can answer your queries... you have been transported to an alternate reality. which almost drained all the blood you absorbed. in turn I have found you a place near and dear to your heart... WE ARE IN REMNANT.) Those words reverberated on Harukis mind. We''re in RWBY?! WTF!? Haruki then remembered how precious this show was to him... and his late fiance. They used to watch this on RoosterTeethTV all the time ... considering for the time the show was quite old but it still holds up. He momentarily set asidethe pain and anger he was feeling... as he reminisced about how he used to watch it on the weekends with Elsie. (I still have energy left to give you permanent powers or in this worlds case a semblance.) ''what!?a fucking semblance!?'' He was pumped to know that he can become even more powerful... (you can have 2 choices 1. Gravity I 2. Lightning Form 3. AbsoluteWeapon Mastery you may choose now or take them all, once you have enough blood absorbed...) ''Hahahahahahahah, the ultimate weapon indeed!!!'' Haruki laughs madly, unbeknownst to him he was slowly being surrounded by Beowolves, a kind of Grimm that are agile and covered in bone like spikes. (detecting multiple hostiles proceed with Ars Magus Guide? [Y/N]) Haruki was surprised by the convenience of the weapon. ''yes'' he said. (slowing down time for tutorial mode...) ''what the hell?! it can even do that?'' ( This tutorial aims to tell you the main functions of The ''Ars Magus'' Tier I Tier 1 focuses on materializing weapons that you desire, The more Tiers you unlock the more powerful weapons you can summon. Please summon a weapon...) ''uhh wow holy shit. I''m strong as hell! Summon Excalibur!!!'' haruki raised his hand in the air waiting for the sword to appear... but nothing happened... Dumbfounded he asked ''Uhh Ars? can I call you ars? also what the hell happened? (Affirmative you can call me that. Tier too low to summon Legendary Artifacts...) But I can summon them... instead of being disappointed he looked forward on unlocking the tiers so he could summon more powerful weapons... ''Ars suggest a weapon I can summon for now...'' he decided to leave it to ars for the time being. (I suggest Skoll & Hati claws. The power of ice and fire...) ''alright Summon weapon!!!'' it was not necessary to scream but he wanted to do it at least once. (materializing complete... tutorial over ,time will return to normal...Time to harvest their blood.) Haruki smirks as he charged towards the beowolf nearest to him. he punched it in the chest *boom* the wolf was sent back by 1 meter... *Awooooo* the wolf was enraged. it lunged towards him trying to bite his neck... ''why the fuck is this weapon so weak? (weapon skills locked, mastery of weapon 0%, requires usage or absolute weapon mastery skill. to achieve full potential increase tiers.) ''I see, I still have to grind huh... whatever you''re all mince meaaaat!!!! '' haruki clawed wildly toward the wolves like a mad man. He mounted the nearest Grimm and used the claws to explode its head. Jumping towards another he slashed downwards ripping apart the face of the Grimm angering it further. He clawed toward another grim using SKOLL burning it to cinders, he then joined his hands together creating steam. hiding in the smoke he proceeded to eliminate the beowolves, as quick and as efficient as possible. As he was about to deal the finishing blow to the last Grimm...*AOWUUUU* He heard an earthshaking howl. The Alpha Beowolf appeared. Glaring at Haruki for killing it''s minions... It jumped down clawing at haruki, he narrowly dodges by rolling backwards. he then slides below the alpha clawing madly at it''s chest. cauterizing or freezing the wounds the claws make. the alpha jumped towards the rock to get the high ground. as the alpha does that haruki creates fog once again. Hiding within it Haruki waits... the alpha slowly climbs down the rocks to sniff out haruki.... as it searches, haruki summoned a bottle of nitroglycerine and he threw it at the alpha. sensing it the alpha slashes towards it. haruki then ignites his flaming claws and threw it at the alpha. *booom!!!* the explosion was strong but not enough to kill the alpha... but haruki has another plan... since the Skoll claw is gone he had to use ice. The alpha limps towards haruki with a low growl. telling him it can still kill. He then summoned Ice spikes and threw it at the wolf the wolf used it''s mangled arms to block hindering it''s vision, as itwas about to dash madly at haruki he has already disappeared. When the alpha looked up it was already too late. Haruki summoned a Blood red katana with a golden handle. Life Reaping Blade. a katana that absorbs the aura of both the owner and the enemy.Slashing downwards It cuts off the head of the Alpha. *pant pant* ''Hahahaha, So this is the power of the ''Ars Magus'' Not bad, Not Bad at all....'' (Enough Blood essence collected for a semblance. Take them all? [Y/N] ) ''Yes'' (AcquiringGravity I , Lightning Form, Absolute Weapon Mastery. 20%...30%....50%...80%....100%) (Adjusting Body to suit newly acquired semblance.) "This shit is getting crazier by the minute. I wonder what do I look like?" He materialized a mirror. As he looked at it he saw a younger version of himself. Black Hair,Perfectly lined nose, Black pupils it''s like staring at the abyss, well chiseled muscles, a very handsome youth, and yet his scars and injuries still remain. 12 years old looking haruki, before he entered the mercenary buissness. He was a wandering vagrant on a desolate planet, decimated by countless wars. "heh, Is this your way of saying to start anew?" Fine Haruki thought , But I need to test my powers first. Haruki continuously slayed monsters activating his Lightning Form he zipped towards them with skoll and hati, since he already has Absolute weapon mastery the skills of skoll and hati were getting stronger. Slowly but steadily he is inching on unlocking the first two skills of the claws . ([Reflecting Moon] which counters the attack the reflects half of the damage then combines it with the counter. [Exploding Star] A straight punch which destroys the inner organs of the target burning him from the inside out. These skills can only be used Once per day once unlocked, can be shortened.) Without even noticing it he reached Vale.Since He reached the outskirts of Commercial District. Judging from that he probably came from the Forever Fall Forest. Covered in various wounds, and exhausted to the brink of fainting. He garnered stares from everyone. *pant pant* "Shit I overdid it a little... *cough* I still haven''t recovered yet..." covered in snow he slowly sits down leaning on an empty crate... while the snow slowly piles down on him. ''Am I going to freeze to death? fuck... hahahaha'' as he was about to faint he saw a shadow of a young girl with an umbrella trying to block the snow from him. As clarity comes to Haruki he stares at the young girl, with two differently colored eyes, her hair has 3 different shades, a very cute young lady. The girl just smiles at him. Haruki was startled for this was ''Neo''A twelve year old Neo... so he was sent to the past of RWBY. 5 years ago to be exact... the girl holds up a sign saying (where''d you get those wounds?) Haruki smiles at her and says "Grimm did these wounds... And a few Humans." Neo was shocked that a boy same as her age has also suffered this much... She then asks (where are your parents?) Haruki answers with "I haven''t seen them, they abandoned me when I was young... so I can only fend for myself." Neo empathized with him as she''s in the same situation but lucky for her Roman Torchwick Mentored her on how to steal and she was trained how to fight for herself. She considers Roman as a father figure, albeit Roman was a thief he was nice towards her at least. (That''s the same for me too... why don''t you come with me? I can take you to Roman.) Haruki smiles and says "I - ...m fi...ne" as he slides down towards the floor and faints. 3 Chapter 3: The Comfort of sHomes Home is where the heart is as they say, but what if that home is where society''s criminal youth of all shapes and size gather. Leading them was none other than Roman Torchwick. Regardless of all that Torchwick gathers all youths orphaned by Grimm or Humans. A week has passed since Neo brought Haruki here, and he still has not woken up. Neo took care of haruki''s bandages and nursed him until he recovers, much to Romans perplexion. "Now Neo... Darling I won''t see the youths value if he''s bedridden now would I? why save him? he was dying anyways..." Neo twirls her umbrella and raises a sign that says "I thought you needed the manpower for this new crime syndicate of yours." Roman laughed "hahahaha, Neo I wouldn''t need a brat that''s barely breathing. If he still does not wake up 3 days from now, he will be thrown out." as Roman walked away Neo looked at Haruki''s sleeping face. Wondering why she got curious and helped this handsome young boy. smiling she proceeds to clean his wounds and help bandage him. Running was the earliest memory I have, running away from the people who were chasing me. They threw rocks at me, beat me up, even spit on me as I lay dying on the ground. Over a piece of bread that I found in the trash. The place where I came from was a lawless wasteland, people would kill you if you looked at them the wrong way. They will eat you alive if you show just a single moment of weakness. Living here means constantly Living in fear... And I hated that. I remember crying that night for the hunger and pain keeps me awake. I haven''t eaten for days, and for God''s sake I was a child... those monsters just took my only way of survival... I always hated myself for being weak... That moment was where I decided to take back what they owe me... that was when I decided to take a life... for my own sake... So I wouldn''t be looked down upon. I went and picked up a broken glass wrapped it in cloth as I walked to the man''s house who beat me up. Standing behind him just meters away from his house clutching the bread he stole, gleefully. It angered me, I thought... what''s so fucking funny!? you stole my fucking food, so I charged at him clutching my makeshift blade stabbing him at the lungs. He quickly pulled out the knife... the man turns around and grabs Haruki lifting him up but haruki was nimble so he dodged and climbed at the man''s back and bit his ear off. the man screaming while gasping for air as his lungs slowly collapse. haruki then stabs the man in the neck twice, on both sides severing his arteries. Haruki slowly picks up his bread and his knife. As the man lay lifeless on the ground. Haruki looked at his reflection in the puddle of blood... she was shaking, afraid... *bleeech* puking his guts out...he immediately ran towards the man''s house peeking at their window to see if they witnessed what he had done. Sadly he overhears something much worse... "Mommy? where''s daddy? I''m starving we haven''t eaten for a week." The thin boy protested... "Jamie, father''s just looking for food right now, don''t worry I heard he''s bringing bread today." The mother softly caresses the young boys face looking at him filled with love and affection. "Yaaaay!!I love bread! it''s so fluffy and delicious..." the boy imagined eating the bread as he drools... Witnessing this Haruki staggered a few steps.Then he left the bread at the front door and knocked and ran as fast as he can. He arrived in the old abandoned building where he hangs around all the time... He laughed madly as tears streamed down his face. He felt guilt, Despair, and anger. He realized that the man was smiling for a different reason it was for his child not for mocking haruki, yet angered at the same time for how unfair this world could be... the man can be cold-blooded towards other children and steal from them... but towards his child he was prepared to be seen as evil by others so that he could make his child survive another day... The next thing he remembered was rain... he returned the next day to the man''s house only to see it emptied... the last line of defence of that house was that man and now that he''s gone the rest were treated as merchandise to be sold for more money... I always hated my self for being weak... because that day I killed three, instead of one... I felt nothing else... I just stood there feeling the weight of my sins... I gained nothing from my revenge...It haunts me till this day, the pain I''ve caused and the guilt I bear... But she took it all away... sadly my revenge also took her away from me... Remembering her last words breaks me a little more Everytime. "plea...se..for...*cough* get about revenge, just live for what you think is right...." those were her parting words as she lay there motionless in my arms... I then understood why that man can do what he did to me way back then... The comfort of... "Home"... *gasps* Haruki sits up, looking around he saw Neo looking at him worriedly. raising her sign it says "You''re covered in sweat! had a nightmare?" Haruki then smiles and says... "no it''s something I must remember to avoid losing myself..." not getting what Haruki said she just cutely tilts her head. Haruki then Pats her head while smiling. "it''s nothing... thank you for taking care of me while I''m wounded..." Neo pouts and raises a sign "don''t act like an adult! we''re the same age!" haruki then raises his hands and says "Sorry, force of habit... by the way I haven''t introduced myself... I''m Kazama Haruki, 12" Neo then responds in kind "Neopolitan, 12, you have a wierd name! are you from the Eastern kingdom?" Haruki then made a fake backstory on how he was running from his pursuers so he stowed away on a boat toward Vale but got discovered by the crew men and thrown out towards the Forever fall forest. He felt bad for lying to Neo but he had to, because the truth was far worse... A week has gone by, Roman was astounded towards the resilience of the boy. He thought he was weak but he''s actually pretty nimble. Roman thought it was worth training him. Roman approached Haruki "Hey boy, You owe me your life, so considering that, you have to work for me...don''t worry you will be fed,clothed and paid for your services..." Roman added... Haruki was reluctant at first but he accepted that he owes Neo his life so he might as well repay her and help her become a better person unlike Roman and himself... Haruki has grown closer with Neo in the past week, They were almost inseperable, and without noticing it Haruki was altering Neo''s view of humans... She thought that they were despicable and hateful thus, she doesn''t use her voice to talk to them... Little does she know Haruki was bringing her genuine smile back as they got closer... Haruki and Neo we''re sparring as they were Torchwick was observing them both, "hmm, Neo has more raw talent, while haruki has more experience..." Unbeknownst to him Haruki was holding back like a lot... so he could control his powers more fluidly... A month has passed by and without him noticing he has actually gotten closer to Roman, thinking that he''s an ass but he might not be so bad. While he and Neo were like siblings playing around... he was getting bored of acting like a kid. Although it was fun it was time to move on to more pressing matters... Salem... he should watch for that immortal monster... for she alone could erase him with one finger... He must prepare for that day where he meets Salem, Cinder, and company... His powers has progressed alot in the past month he can now shoot out electricity, making them think that it''s his semblance. Stepping out of the Training room he saw Roman smiling at him... "it''s finally time haruki my boy... we''re about to be in the big leagues." Neo standing behind Roman was wondering what he meant, But haruki knew... that it was Cinder recruiting him into the faction of darkness... 4 Chapter 4: 5 Years Later Time is fleeting so is youth... That''s why even if Haruki and Neo were going on missionsthey were touring around the places they go... Haruki does most of the dirty work, although he can''t avoid Neo spilling blood he could at least lessen her burden. Enjoying their youth to take a mind off things was a great form of stress relief. and as the years pass by what appeared to be two fledgeling thieves turned into beautiful and handsome youths. Haruki has spent most of his free time either dicking around with Roman and Mercury, or going on dates with Neo. Whilst Emerald and Cinder are hard to approach he was still quite close to the both of them albiet minimal. Salem on the other hand was a special case, the first time she saw Haruki she felt great danger from him but she also sensed a great darkness eating away at his soul. An opportunity to strike back at Ozpin the man she hates the most. So she tried to seal Haruki''s Semblance he could only unlock it with Salem''s permission. But the only thing Salem locked was Gravity I, she thought her seal weakened Haruki''s lightning... Haruki was biding his time acting subservient to Salem to make her trust him, until he finds a way to kill her. Tyrian on the other hand was full on observing Haruki saying he was the fire that will burn the world. Haruki thought to himself how psychotic Tyrian is... a mad man loyal only to his queen. If he wants the queen he needs to kill Tyrian first... That''s why he''s going to need Ruby Rose''s help. To kill Tyrian for good. Adam Taurus the embodiment of Justice or should I say spite... the only fucker I can''t let my guard down against. I have dueled with him countless of times and only won half of our matches... even with Absolute Weapon Mastery and The Life Reaping Katana... completely ruthless and sadistic who does not give a fuck about faunus and human equality but to make them suffer as he did. The only way he could pull off killing all of these evil fucks is with Neo, Her semblance was illusions so she could manipulate them, confuse them. Till I strike the killing blow. For this plan to work however I need Cinder and Emeralds complete Trust... As Haruki was silently formulating his plan Neo was sitting beside him twirling her umbrella... looking at him curiously why he was so pensive. She then pokes his cheek. (Haru you ok?) she whispered. Haruki was jolted back to reality. As he looked at Neo, "oh yeah. I was just nervous on our next mission infiltrating Beacon academy... it''s just a den filled with huntsmen..." Neo cutely leaned on his shoulder (oh it''s going to be fiiine, You have me) as she puffed up her chest, she smugly looked at Haruki. Pinching her cheeks he says "Getting cocky are we?" he then proceeds to tickle her in the stomach. Her beautiful laughter echoed through the town plaza... Haruki enjoyed hanging out with Neo, she was very special to him, but he''s afraid to take the next step, for Elsie''s shadow still lingers in his heart. He still has some guilt towards his late fiancee... Neo on the other hand is completely Head over Heels for Haruki. He is Neo''s First Love. She notices Haruki''s feelings towards her, but she also senses somethings off... So she will wait, no matter how long. For he pulled her away from the abyss, so she''s willing to do the same. They Idled around the town waiting till Roman arrives so they can steal the dust from a certain store. Which coincidentally is the store Ruby goes to browse Weapon Magazines. Night Came and they started the operation Roman entered the store weapon out. Taking the dust from the store. The fight between Romans goons and Ruby started. Haruki donning A white fang mask covering half his face while neo using her illusion to be invisible. Haruki then charges towards Ruby seeing that Romans goons were defeated. Ruby cocked her scythe aimed at the masked man charging at her, she pulls the trigger but the man infront was already gone. but it was only Neo''s illusion. something appeared beside her, it was haruki, he punched her scythe away and grabbed her. Sensing that she was about to be grabbed Ruby Rolls towards her scythe. "Impressive little Red... For you to dodge kaz''s punch is quite remarkable." Roman chimed as he walks away with the dust. Haruki taunting Ruby He then gestures to come at him. Ruby just Smirks and activates her semblanceand it was super speed... but what she aimed for was not haruki it was roman, but too bad for her Neo was there the whole time shielding Roman with her umbrella. Although it broke her invisibility. She smiles at Ruby and bows elegantly. But before Ruby could see her haruki already leapt towards her. Trying to kick her face. Ruby Fires at the opposite direction to dodge and glared at haruki, She yelled. "are you trying to ruin a beautiful maidens face!!" Haruki in response bows his head "Forgive me Miss Red I was too enamored by your beauty I got distracted." suddenly he felt a chill down his spine. But before he could explain, Their ride has already arrived. "Halt!" a mature Blonde lady appeared to help Ruby it was Glynda Goodwitch. She fired multiple magic missiles towards the aircraft but Cinder blocks it with her magic. "See you again little red, may luck be on your side to meet me again" Haruki''s parting words were a carbon copy of what Roman would say. Glynda , still angered fires another barrage of magic towards them. Sadly they were already too far for her range. So she reluctantly pulled Ruby away, to be interviewed by Ozpin to enter Beacon Academy in a month. The stage was set Haruki was preparing to train the heroes to beat Salem... and also to save Pyrrha. He must do what he can to stop Cinder. To give the heroes a fighting chance, he would try to train them into better warriors before they fight Adam and Tyrian. He would do his best at least to make this world a little better... At the base Haruki was sitting in seiza being scolded by Neo. Puffing her cheeks she was pinching haruki in the thighs. On the other hand Mercury was eating popcorn on the sofa while watching haruki get punished. "Hehehe, Pinch him more! Go Neo!" Suddenly Emerald appears and slaps Mercury in the head. "you''re so damn loud! what''s all the ruckus about?!" Mercury rubs his head and says "Owww! Haruki is being scolded for being a giggolo." emerald and Mercury Bursts into laughter as they watched Haruki getting punished. as they were dicking around they were called by Salem into her throne room. Inside the lustrous throne room of despair... Adam was leaning on a wall while tyrian was playing with his blades laughing maniacally. Emerald, Mercury , Neo , And some beat up meatball walked inside the room. Salem glances at Haruki, Shocked by his beat up State thinking it was that Ruby girl who did it. "was that girl that strong?" she asks Cinder. cinder replied "No, Master... I believe he was scolded by Neo." Glancing at Neo''s triumphant look Salem could only sigh... "No matter, We shall move on to more pressing matters. Neo and Haruki will be enrolling at beacon academy next month. followed by Mercury, Emerald, and Cinder before the tournament begins. You two shall infiltrate the school be discreet, and gain as much information as possible. And if ONLY IF you have the chance... kill Ozpin for me..." Shocked by her words Haruki went to the balcony... Thinking if he should move his plans forward a bit... but he''s still too powerless against Salem. So he gazed up at the beautiful night sky not noticing Neo beside him...as he sensed her he looked behind and saw a cute pouting Neo. So he asked her "you still mad?" Neo lifted a sign saying (Hmph.) "oh wow not even willing to talk to me?" He grabbed Neo''s hand and pulled her into an embrace. He then whispered to her ear "Neo, I''m sorry...Mercury made me do it." Neo quickly pinched his sides and said (still daring to lie even in a moment like this?) Haruki flinched from the pain and said... "Ow ow ow , I''m sorry. Now can you forgive me? I can''t stand my Neo being angry at me." Now shocked by his words buried her face deeper into his chest. (Hmph. Who''s yours you big dummy) Haruki then turned serious as he looked up in the sky... "Neo... Whatever may happen in Beacon... Please Trust me." Neo looks up at him and smiles (Un, No matter what. I will) As they both parted ways little do they know Cinder was observing it all... She then walked away from her hiding spot and returned to her room, thinking taking that boy might be fun after all... 5 Chapter 5 : Loose Ends part 1 "What do you think about the students enrolling this year?" Glynda asked Ozpin. "They are quite good seedlings although These Two Haruki and Neo they''re quite far from their Homeland Mistral... hmm... When they arrive please send them to my office. I am looking forward for this semester." As Glynda walked away Ozpin looked at Hazuki''s student data again and he decrypted his message hidden in his form... Queen is Making a move... Spies From Haven cometh... What worried Ozpin the most was how this young man knew about it... it might be a trap... There''s still 5 days before the semester starts so Haruki was killing Grimm for practice. In the 5 years Haruki has used Skoll and Hati it has evolved into a more powerful version Fenrir Fangs. A Demigod Tier Weapon, Able to summon shadow wolves to hold down an enemy. The claws itself was very poisonous. able to kill an Alpha Ursa With just a single slash. Haruki then proceeded to absorb the blood essence of the grimm... (New Tier unlockable unlock now?) he heard once more the sound he has been hearing the past 2 years... Devour was the 2nd tier of the Ars Magus it is capable of eating anything, be it skill or magic , after devouring it could replicate it with 75% accuracy. While using Devour it could corrupt the users original form turning it into something unrecognizable if used poorly. The good thing is though once he has aquired enough strength he could then remove the 3 seals on the 3 Modes of Tier 2 by using devour. Those were <> Berserk state with rapid regeneration. <> God Level Sword Intent. <> The aura that hunters use to block damage. he hasn''t attempted to unlock it because he wasn''t ready, but now After increasing his win rate against Adam and Tyrian he was prepared to devour their skills. To attain perfect copy of Adams swordplay he first dueled him for the last 5 years, and now he could devour his skills to gain the 75% he was lacking. So he Could combine it with Absolute weapon mastery... and incorporate his own sword style... the only thing missing is tyrians skill of unpredictability... that''s why before he goes to beacon he must first feast on their skills. Haruki walked towards Tyrian and tells him "Since I''m going to beacon why don''t we spar for a little bit. Consider it a prelude before I burn the world." Tyrian laughed "hahahahaha we finally see eye to eye Haruki! That''s my herald of destruction!" They proceeded towards the arena above the Grimm pool of darkness. ''Unlock Tier 2'' Haruki ordered the Ars Magus (affirmative, would you like to start the tutorial? ) ''yes'' Time slowed down, before tyrian could attack. (Devour only works when the opponent is gravely wounded or Exhausted. or else they would be able to dodge. ) ( you''re able to use devour if you manage to stop enemies on their track. although you have to devour twice... for you can only get half if they''re not tired. As long as their Aura is not depleted or in the red, devour might have a small chance to corrupt your body and soul if you use it.) (As a freebie for unlocking Tier 2 all side effects will be disabled on your first prey.) ''Devour'' a giant gaping maw appeared beneath Tyrians feet eating and replicating his skills and battle style. (35% of the skill gained, Tutorial complete) Time slowly resumed around Haruki. Tyrian Felt groggy but that''s about it... he did not notice his skills were copied. "Haruuuuu, Time to Plaaaaaaaaayyyy!!!! Hahahahaha" Tyrian madly zipped aroundthe arena trying to chip away at Haruki using his blades. Haruki covered himself in a thin layer of lightning appearing to be weak but it is compressed to the point that it could easily kill an alpha beowolf with just a touch. Haruki summoned Skoll and Hati, He downgraded it to not cause suspicion. he froze the arena grounds and summoned blades on his shoe as he zipped around the arena. Like a lesser version of Tyrians crazy slashes. seeing this Tyrian can''t help but feel happy "hahahahaha imitation is the greatest form of Flattery." As he blocks harukis attacks he''s only honing the style haruki stole. Haruki activated his lightning form for a second. to appear behind Tyrian, He used Skoll to cause internal bleeding to Tyrian. He didn''t want to use exploding star... yet. Tyrian flew outside the arena. Standing up he applauded Harukis performance. "Bravo!!Magnifique!!! You are truly the one who would be her Majesty''s Blade!!!, but know this haruki Betray my queen in anyway and I might go all out." he revealed a dense killing intent directed to to haruki, which haruki returned in kind. Hehehehehe hahahaha !!!! Tyrian laughed madly as he leapt back up in the arena. " Time for Round 2!! " Tyrian charges towards Haruki he spins madly in the air shooting his guns randomly and the brings out his scorpion tailStabbing wildly at Haruki. Hehehehe , This is truly funnn!!!! Haruki frantically blocks all of Tyrians attacks, creating wounds all over his body. Tyrian charges his most powerful attackhe leaps up and spins in the air like a drill towards haruki. Tyrian expecting for haruki to be Blown away... at that moment [Reflecting Moon] half of the damage was reflected towards tyrian. and then Haruki countered with [Exploding Star] *bamm* Tyrian was flung away but before he landed Haruki casted Devour. (35% of the skill gained.) *cough cough* Hehehehehe hahahahaha , Now this is what I call a fight!! Tyrian stood back up again preparing to charge at haruki one more time. "Enough! Don''t you boys have something better to do than kill each other?" Tyrian spits out the blood and says "Oh please! If I wanted to kill him, he''d be dead already." *scoffReally now... Cinder then says "whatever just don''t mess up the plan." But tyrian''s already gone from her sight. "Crazy Fuck..." Haruki says as he coversup his wounds. Cinder then caresses his face. "now now... You''re the one who challenged him.." haruki then glares at her and says "your new hobby?" Cinder then ignited her hands "Watch your words boy! or I''ll end you!" Haruki just smirks and activated lightning form as he summoned Fenrir Fangs and he appeared behind Cinder pointing his claws on her throat. "How bout you watch your mouth or I''ll tear you apart and feed you to my wolves" Haruki says as he summoned the jet black wolves. "i- it can''t be! ,you have two semblances!" Haruki then covers Cinders mouth with his fingers. "shh, If you want to live then shut the fuck up..." Haruki then summons Absolute Demise an overlord class weapon and the upgraded version of the Life Reaping katana. He slowly takes Cinders pale white hands then slashes her hand with it. Then he does the same to his hand , "now we''re bound on a contract... I''m your master now... not that freak Salem. " he kisses cinders cheeks, Cinder limped on the ground for she can''t move from the dense killing intent Haruki directed towards her. "If you serve me well I might reward you with power." Cinder twitched at the mention of power. She looked up at Haruki only to see a different man not the one she knew... "What are you? how can you have such dense killing intent? and how can you be so powerf-" haruki gripped absolute demise essentially muting her." You see I can''t let you blabbering your mouth and you kinda have been following me and Neo for awhile which is kinda annoying... you see absolute demise can control the body of the target just one slash and if the target is weaker...they would be controlled but if they are stronger... it only immobilzes the target for a little bit. Leading into their demise. Now Cinder darling, I know your loyalty is only to yourself... But how does it feel to be kicked off your pedestal sucks doesn''t it? " Cinder was shaken down to her core angered to the point of heating up the entire arena... She glares at Haruki but knowing she can''t fight back frustrated her that there''s blood coming out of her closed fist... She stands up and walks away...unknown to anyone what might she be feeling right now. "Oh and Cinder darling I expect great things from you." Now that Cinder is under his control Emerald and Mercury would be easy to manipulate. The only one left is Adam Taurus... 6 Chapter 6 : Loose ends part 2 Adam Taurus... The most powerful foe I''m about to face... I need his sword skills to defeat Salem.I need Moonslice to merge it with reflecting moon amplifying it''s damage. Cinder was walking down the hallway pissed. "I''ll fucking kill him!! I swear I''ll have my revenge!" Emerald overhears Cinder raging in he hallway. "umm, Cinder is everything okay?" Cinder looks at Emerald and smirks "Yes now I''m fine... I have already recovered" then it struck her, with Emeralds Semblance she could indirectly harm Haruki. Haruki was looking for Adam but failed to do so...But suddenly he felt a splitting headache... he looks infront of him but sees nothing but a puddle of blood. with corpses crawling towards him, He sees his first kill, followed by everyone else,both monster and man. *sigh Emerald I know you''re doing this... enough... but what appeared next wasn''t emerald but Elsie covered in blood asking him why... WHY?WHY?WHY?WHY?WHY?WHY?WHY?WHY?WHY?WHY?WHY?WHYWHY?WHY?WHY?WHY? multiple copies of her appeared around Haruki but he just says "Emerald I fucking warned you..." he dashed towards the figures hiding at the pillar. Mercury blocks harukis way. "Get Lost Mercury!" Mercury just stood there unable to move from Harukis killing intent freezing both him and emerald. He slaps emerald "Where''s the hallucination power You''ve been boasting for a while now" Haruki slaps her again. Pissed that he didn''t get an answer, he grabs her face and throws her to the wall. he then dashes to the fallen emerald and as he raised his fist. "Stop! Let her go!" Mercury dashed towards Haruki , but all he got was a backfist instead. Sending him flying across the edge of the hall, sticking in the wall. "Haruki! you bastard enough!" the person on the other room screamed. It was Cinder. Holding Neo who was a little wounded. Seeing that Haruki Summons the jet black wolves. to pin down mercury, emerald and cinder. And he summons absolute demise gripping it tightly... *ghaaaahh * Cinder screams in pain "Give me one goddamn reason to let you fucks live... or I swear for the life of me... this kind of pain you''re feeling is a mercy compared to what I''m about to do..." He grabs Cinder By the throat. "Cinder...What the fuck is wrong with you? are you that masochistic?" He slams her against the wall. "nggghhh* Haruki I''ll never forgive you!" Haruki then slaps Cinder. as he was about to stab her. Someone tugs at his shirt, when he looked it was Neo. Looking afraid of him. Haruki let go of cinder.*cough cough* He then used Absolute Demise on Mercury and Emerald. Glaring at Haruki all the way. Haruki then pulled Neo away, he would explain everything once they''re at beacon. At night Haruki was in his room... "Why did I have an outburst like that? I guess I''m still affected by her death huh." *knock knock*Haruki stood up and opened the door. Neo was fidgeting in front of the door, blushing madly. Haruki smiles."Well aren''t you a brave little lamb." Haruki leans in closer whispering. "Be careful or I might just devour you." He pulled Neo by the waist, All the adrenaline from earlier were pent up, he didn''t have enough time to release all his rage... So he can''t control his desires right now. Neo shivered when Haruki lifted her chin. He looked at her straight in the eyes. Sensing the nervousness he sealed her lips. While caressing her multicolored hair. He licked her lips, she opened it a little bit which gave Haruki the opening to stick his tongue inside, her mouth. "mmmph... " Neo was getting immersed in their kiss she starts to rub her thighs together. Haruki slowly Caresses Neo''s body all over as he takes of her clothes, pushes her against the wall and lifted her body. Kissing her madly... Neo was Clawing on Harukis back whispering. (Big Bad Wolf more..) by now both of them were on their underwear. Haruki pushed her down on his bed. He unhooks Neo''s bra revealing two snow bunnies. "Aww, little lamb I didn''t know you were keeping cute pets like these two" as he kisses them and sucks on them. "nmm..." (Is the bad wolf hungry? Go - Ahead -and -eat) Neo nibbles Haruki on the lips down to the neck. Neo bites her lips as she guides haruki down to her secret place. Haruki notices her hands shaking... he pats her on the head. "Relax Little lamb, I won''t bite." Haruki slowly inserts his hands inside her underwear caressing her opening. Sensing that it''s quite moist. "oh my little lamb..." Neo blushes hard then she reaches out her own hand towards Harukis Hard Rod. She strokes it clumsily not knowing how... but haruki slowly guides her as he tries to insert a finger inside her secret place "nhaaah~" Neo was surprised on what this new sensation was. As her eyes widen from the pleasure she has never felt before. Haruki the experienced man knows the ins and outs of this shindig. Easily spots her g-spot slowly rubs it inwardly. This went in for a few minutes, Neo screaming with pleasure "Ahhhn~" (I feel like something''s coming) Haruki l leans in closer biting her lips and whispering "Yeah, and it won''t be me..." "Hnaaaahh~" Neo arches her back, bending her knees slightly... she then convulses as pleasure takes over her senses...but suddenly something happened... Harukis Headache disappeared... When he looked at the girl in front of him it wasn''t Neo anymore it was Emerald the whole time! Haruki shocked "did Cinder made you do this?" being asked this Emeralds sits up wondering what he meant... but when she looked in the mirror she was shocked. She then closes her eyes thinking she might get hit again, But nothing came so she slowly opened her eyes only to see Haruki bowing to emerald... " Emerald, Awhile ago when I hit you I - I wasn''t myself I hope you can forgive me... I''m really sorry... I know Cinder made you do it... but I couldn''t control my anger..." After a moment of silence Emerald breaks down in tears for she was so afraid, true she owes Cinder everything, But she never expected that Cinder will make her do this just to control Haruki. He felt pity for the girl... After a moment of silence he hugs Emerald. Saying that she doesn''t owe cinder that much for her to make sacrifices like this. You deserve better. Those words alone made Emeralds heart feel a little lighter. She looks at haruki with a red face... thinking about the things they did. Haruki then smirks "Though don''t misunderstand, what happened between us is a different matter. You''re mine now so don''t think of ever escaping little lamb." He then seals her lips. Emerald shocked on what just happened... Her face immediately heated up. "Although I won''t eat you yet... because I want you to fall even harder, my cute little lamb." He sends back Emerald to Her room. Emerald wasn''t able to think straight confused on what the hell just happened. Cinder thinking her plan worked. Thinks that Emerald has made a crack on Haruki and Neo''s relationship. So she could use it to blackmail haruki. what happened earlier was out of her expectations, she didn''t think that Haruki was that strong... also she made emerald use a Hallucination of neo, for she was already on Vale with Roman to Steal some dust. Haruki was not faring well either... Thinking how should he tell neo about this fucking mess... He was low-key scared, cause Neo has quite the possessive personality. He might one day wake up to find little Haru nailed to a cross... "Fuck" as he swears under his breath. He went to get some shut eye to get his shit together the next morning. The Day to go to beacon has arrived. He was prepared to go rendezvous with Roman and Neo on Vale. He hasn''t seen Emerald the past few days thinking he might have scared her off. So He boarded the airship to Beacon. Spotting Emerald hiding behind a tree. He activates lightning form and appears in front of her. He held her in his arms, kissing her madly. "Don''t think about running away little lamb." He pats her on the buttocks and tells her "be good now" as he activated his lightning form again and boarded the ship heading to beacon. Emerald looked at the airship as it slowly becomes further and further. She then whispers under her breath... "Bad wolf, wait for me there." As Haruki was leaning on a window He spots Beacon academy getting closer and closer. Finally I''m here... I''m really excited to meet the cast. He then Heard a familiar voice in the crowd bumping into another student. It was Ruby. This signifies that he has truly arrived at beacon. 7 Chapter 7: Welcome to Beacon Valentines Special "Ugh! Do you you have any idea to the damage you caused?" Weiss screamed at Ruby. Seeing this Haruki can''t help but smile for Team RWBY has a special place in his heart. Haruki was thinking if he should approach them now but before he could take another step, someone tugs at his shirt. He starts to sweat... He looks back and smiles "Why if it isn''t my darling Neo" He pulls Neo into an embrace. Neo hugs him tight. (Hmph! if you were a day later I would''ve ignored you.) Haruki takes her hand and as they were going to beacon *Boom* something exploded. shocked, they both looked back and saw Weiss and Blake leaving Ruby behind Lying on the ground. Haruki thought to himself that the time is as good as any to make new friends. Haruki pulled Neo with him and Approached Ruby and Jaune... "Hey! You okay? that was quite the explosion." Neo just stands behind him and smiles. They look back and see a Handsome man along with a beautiful petite girl. "Oh, Totally! it''s just dust going into my nose and I sneezed." Ruby answered Haruki while scratching her head. "Oh yeah, where are my manners... I''m Haruki and this is Neo. We''re also freshmen like you guys." Neo smiles and waves at them. "O-oh! I''m Ruby and this is Jaune! " Ruby extends her hand for a handshake, Jaune does the same. Haruki and Neo responds in kind. They chatted happily while Neo just smiles and sometimes nod. Then they arrived at the ceremony hall. "Ruby over here!" Yang waved at ruby. "Oh gotta go!See you guys later!" Ruby then dashed away, Leaving haruki and co. behind. As the three of them go to another spot, Haruki spots Pyrrha staring at them so he smiles and winks at her. Seeing this Neo pinched his sides. Pyrrha was shocked for Haruki could sense her even if she just stared at them for a good few seconds. As she was mulling over this... Ozpin gave his speech. "It''s up to you to take the first step..." He says his parting lines and leaves the stage. but before he left he shot Haruki a glance and told him to come with him. Haruki understood from Ozpins glance that he decoded his message. So he nods towards Ozpin. He then told Neo to come with Him. Glynda approached the both of them telling them to come with her. When they arrived in front of Ozpins office Neo was told to come inside first. After a while she left the office signalling Haruki that the operation was still undetected... Unknown to her Haruki was planning otherwise. Entering the room Haruki noticed that Ozpin was staring at him testing if he really was Salem''s Pawn. "Young Man I believe that you know why I called you here?" Haruki nods at his question. "You''re doubting whether this is a trap. Trust me it''s not... I am working for Salem." When ozpin heard this he immediately dashed towards Haruki while pionting his cane to his throat. "Young man you saying that is equal to a death sentence... so I''m going to ask you... why did Salem send you? why now..." Haruki smiles "Woah, me coming here was indeed Salems plan... She wants me to kill you.." Ozpin narrows his eyes. "So you came into my office thinking that you can just do that? How brave..." Haruki then raises is hands "Wait I believe you''re misunderstood I went to you because I want her dead ... look I don''t know why she wants you dead, But you are my best bet on killing her. He gave Ozpin a bullshit backstory on how Salem found him as a child so she could raise him up to be a perfect killer. "I am tired of that life, I know Salem is immortal ,I want to live a peaceful life...and you''re my best bet on that" He looked straight at Ozpins eyes. Sensing he still doesn''t trust him... Haruki then struck a deal "look I know that you don''t trust me" ," Oh how very perceptive" Haruk then said "How about this, I know the Fall Maiden is injured and I know the person who injured her if I help you capture her will you believe me?" Shocked by this information Ozpin pondered for a bit... "Deal, but know this..., make any suspicious moves and I will personally deal with you... As everyone sets up their beds separately, Haruki and Neo we''re sleeping side by side. (Hey, Haru you still awake? ) Neo whispered "Yeah, why can''t sleep?" Neo shakes her head, (This feeling... it feels new, this place it feels great) Haruki can''t blame her, because this is the life they always dreamt of a peaceful school life. he strokes her hair and tells her "well since we''re here why don''t we enjoy it to the fullest?" He then kisses her in the forehead and bids her goodnight. "We have a big day tomorrow, better get some shut eye." Neo nods as she dozed off into Dreamland. Haruki looks at Team RWBY bickering with each other and smiles, well time to get some rest. Haruki opened his eyes... sensing that Neo was still asleep he pinches her cheeks "Hey Neo wake up... time to get ready" Neo raises a sign (5 more minutes)Haruki lifted her up "Stop using your semblance for that, and aren''t you a little too comfy?"Neo puffs up her cheeks (I can''t help it!, it''s too comfy here!) she protested while flailing her arms around. "Alright, Alright. Let''s just go" he says as he fixes Neo''s Bed hair. Arriving at the top of Emerald Forest. Ozpin Explained on how the teams worked. The first person you meet will be your partner and will need to take a relic whomever pair has the same relic they will be their official teammates."So any questions?" Jaune timidly raises his hands... But before Haruki could hear His platform already flung him to the air, Neo followed suit. Ozpin made sure the two of them be flung in a different direction. When they both landed they immediately saw each other, much to Neo''s joy, but Haruki knew this was on purpose. Haruki and Neo started searching for the relics. But they were soon surrounded by Grimm, A lot of Ursas were growling at them. They just smiled at each other and brought out their weapons. Neo is using Her staple Weapon while Haruki was using A Modified Guandao , kinda like Ruby''s weapon the crescent rose. On it''s blade form It has saws on the blade and it can turn into an anti material sniper rifle. He has been practicing this weapon for a year. Although he didn''t summon this weapon he still likes it''s practicality since he has Absolute Weapon Mastery, Is absolutely deadly, although it can''t compare to Ars Magus summoned weapons. It''s a viable alternative when doing assassination missions. Ozpin then watches Harukis Battle through the screen. "what do you think of these two?" Glynda asks Ozpin. "They are quite coordinated." Glynda nodded her head. Although something has been bothering them both, because from the looks of it Neo and Haruki were treating this as if it was a date... Haruki spins his guandao as he charges towards the monsters severing their heads while Neo is supporting him from behind dealing the finishing blow to the other Grimm. After Clearing the area, Neo Clung to harukis arms taking pictures in the forest. Smiling happily, this has been her hobby ever since they started their missions. To document her memories with her beloved. Neo told haruki that she brought lunch and concealed it with her illusion. Haruki leaned in close and told her "But what if I want to eat is my cute darling neo?" Neo beat on his chest (What are you even saying!) Blushing madly Neo ran towards a tree stump and laid out the food. (I made sandwiches Yesterday when you were still talking with Ozpin.) Haruki then lifted Neo up, and made her sit on his lap. Haruki has decided after the incident with Emerald... He would take the next step with Neo first. (Say Aahhh) Neo fed haruki the sandwiches and he did the same. After eating Neo Leaned on Harukis chest. Haruki then told Neo. "Neo, I love you..." as he says this he leaned in close to seal Neos lips. Neo elated from Harukis sudden confession she reaches her hand towards his face and kisses him back. (Hehehe, I''m so happy right now. I Love you too Haru.)Neo then stands up and did a cute little bow. (I hope you would take care of me from now on) she says as she smiles sweetly to Haruki. He pulls her close into an embrace and whispers "Always..." Neo Feeling content Kisses Haru again. After a few moments of cuddling they both stood up and headed to take the relics. 8 Chapter 8: The Grimm Reaper "The Last Teams Have formed.. Mr. Ren and Ms. Nora , poor boy I can''t possibly imagine those two getting along." Glynda said while looking at the screen. Ozpin on the other hand is still observing Haruki and Neo. Ozpin shuddered at the thought on how they kill grimm, their attacks are so precise as if they''ve done this a million times already. Arriving at the ruins... Neo And Haruki saw Blake and Yang taking the white knight piece. "Hey guys! Are these the relics professor Ozpin talked about?" Haruki put on an amicable smile and waved at the two of them. "Huh? O-Oh Yeah! Aren''t you two Ruby''s new friends?" Yang was shocked because she didn''t even sense them until they talked to her. "Ahh Yes, I''m Haruki and this is Neo" Neo smiles at them. "I''m Yang! and this is my partner Blake!" Blake was startled inwardly for Haruki''s gaze towards her as if he knew who she truly was... "Hi..." Blake said to cover up her nervousness as she looks around.Yang unable to hold it in anymore she asks Haruki. "You know the two of you have been together this whole time, Are you two like, Together Together?" Haruki Responded with a smile. While Neo on the other hand Hooks her arms on his while smiling. "Ooohh!" Yang was surprised on seeing such a couple on beacon, Her inner gossip powers were awakening. "Blaaaake! did you see her grab his arms like it''s nothing? Kyaaa! How sweet!" as Yang were enjoying the show Haruki proceeded grabbing the White King Piece. As Yang was Bombarding Haruki with questions, Blake was observing him. For His stature and way of talking seems familiar to her, Almost as if... they''ve worked together before. He doesn''t seem like a white fang member... But why do I feel like I have seen him and Adam go on missions before. "Blake! You kinda have been staring at Haruki for a while now." Yang woke Blake from her stupor. Blake was about to explain herself but suddenly... *Crash* A Deathstalker appeared from the forest chasing Pyrrha, then Ruby fell from the sky after riding on a Nevermore. Nora and Ren also arrived at the scene, every one in the main cast has arrived at the scene. "Heyya! We bought the cavalry!" Ruby said while scratching her head. "Everyone be on your guard, we must kill these monsters at all costs."Ren called out. Haruki felt elated as he saw everyone... the best part is... he''s standing right here! It''s like he''s part of the cast. Haruki then stared at the approaching Deathstalker about to sting Pyrrha, He then activated Lightning form, and used his guandao to deflect the tail. *clang* "Hey! Are you okay?" Pyrrha expecting to be flung away was shocked on the sudden appearance of the boy that winked at her on the opening ceremony. "This is no time to be in a daze girl!" Haruki then grabbed her by the waist and kick stepped on the Deathstalkers tail to gain momentum as it swing it. Landing in front of the others he let down Pyrrha who was still in a daze. "Woaaaah! Haruki, I didn''t know you were that strong!" Ruby chimed. Jaune after getting off the tree he was stuck in asked Pyrrha if she was okay. "Uhh Pyrrha are you okay?" Pyrrha looks at Jaune. "uh-oh yeah..." Pyrrhas mind was in a turmoil, for she has never been saved by anyone before. Usually it''s the opposite. Her heartbeat was getting faster by the minute, Looking at haruki it seems he knows her reputation as a top student. Though it seems haruki doesn''t even mind her status not one bit, it''s as if he sees her only as a normal girl. Pyrrha was tired of being seen as some kind of goddess of victory, she wants them to see who she really was, a young girl who wants to enjoy herself too. but she was brought back to reality by the approaching deathstalker. "It''s a nice moment and all, but can we all focus they are coming this way!" Ren Brought out his trademark Stormflower and fired at the deathstalker. Ruby used her semblance and charged towards it. Slashing at it''s face, but she was blocked by the pincers. Then suddenly the nevermore threw it''s feather blades towards the others. Haruki spun his guandao blocking the huge feather blades. Yang propelled herself using her gauntlets towards the Deathstalker and bashed it with her fist repeatedly, while Blake distracted it with her clones. Nora swung her hammer at it''s legs breaking one of it. Weiss then used her glyphs to freeze half of the monsters body. Neo appeared out of nowhere stabbing at it''s eyes. *Raaaaaaahhh* It screamed in pain after being blinded by Neo. It''s stabbed at her using it''s tail but Pyrrha and Jaune Blocked it, Essentially creating an opening For Ruby, Ren, and Haruki to Stab at it''s weak points. The Deathstalker broke the ice and roared towards them. The damage was nearly not enough to take it down. "What do we do now?" Jaune asked as he was shaking it was his first time fighting a Grimm this big. "We need to sever it''s tail first." Pyrrha suggested as she threw her spear towards the approaching Grimm. Haruki then threw his guandao on top of the approaching smaller Grimm, He then activated Lightning Form to go to it he then slams his blade downwards. Dancing madly between claws and fangs, He killed with efficiency with Neo beside him they were like dancing in the rain...but that rain was blood. As he cleared up a path he shouted towards them "Now the path is clear!!" The others charged towards the Deathstalker. Weiss Froze the ground beneath the large grimm, slipping down the Grimm used it''s tail to sweep at them. Jaune and Pyrrha blocked the tail once again. Nora then hammered the tail to the ground, Yang Punched it in the eyes to distract it. While Blake used the chains on her scythe to hold the tail in place. Ren Kept Shooting at it''s face,Slowly cracking it. Ruby then used Her semblance to gather momentum and her gun to propell her further, She then slashed towards the tail severing it. The Deathstalker screamed in pain as it was flailing it pincers wildly it didn''t notice Haruki and Neo beneath it as they stabbed below Wounding it. Weiss the summoned Ice Spikes Piercing the wound they made below. The Deathstalker was dead but thier worries weren''t over For the nevermore hovering above swooped down. Seeing this Haruki and Ren Fired at the huge Grimm to try and slow it down. Yang then jumped on one of Weiss glyphs along with Nora as the both swung at it. *crash* The huge Grimm fell towards the nearby Ruins. The Team chasing after the Grimm suddenly noticed an eerie presence. It was a nuckelavee, it sensed the fear from them... Screaming as it charged towards them. Haruki was startled inside. ''What the fuck is a nuckelavee doing here??'' "Everyone! Get the hell out of this place right now!!" Extending it''s arms it shot towards them. Haruki used lightning form to block it using his Guandao, but it sent him flying a dozen meters. As if woken up by the screaming of the Grimm everyone came back to their senses. They all ran towards the direction haruki was sent flying. Neo was the first to arrive. "Neo, you gotta go with them..." But Neo shakes her head (Im gonna stay with you!) Then the others arrived beside haruki. Pyrrha was about to ask haruki if he was okay but she sawNeo hugging Haruki, She felt a stinging pain in her chest, not really getting why... so she just lets ruby do the talking... "Haruki are you okay!?" Haruki nods his head. "We have to run, this one is a lot stronger than the rest we can''t handle it..." Jaune and Ren Helped Haruki up. The knuckelavee then charged towards them. "Shit! We''re too late! Everyone leave I''ll hold it back." Ruby protested "We can''t just leave you!" Haruki then screamed "Just shut up and go! Do you want everyone to die?!" Unable to talk back Ruby just Bites her lip. Pyrrha then tells everyone to go. She looks back at Haruki worriedly, "Please be safe..." she whispered... Taking everyone she fled towards Beacon to notify Ospin, and send reinforcements. Haruki then faces the knuckelavee alone... or so he thought but the Neo that was with the others suddenly vanished and appeared beside haruki. "Stubborn girl what are you doing here?" He says as he touches Neo''s face."Don''t worry Darling I''m very strong..." He says after kissing Neo in the forehead. He activated lightning form and summoned Fenrir Fangs along with absolute Demise. The Grimm shouts and extended it''s claws towards haruki. "Too slow... you''re far too slow!" He appeared on it''s hind legs but he under estimated the reflexes of the monster as it used it''s hooves to kick haruki sending him flying... But he managed to scratch it with the fangs. but the poison was far to little to take it down. So he told Neo to make an illusion to distract it. So he could summon the black wolves. Haruki made the wolves charge towards it but it spun it''s arms around making the hounds dissapear. Haruki used that opening to Slash towards one of it''s legs. The knuckelavee was stunned... Haruki used this opportunity to use Fenrir fangs to poison it.He repeated that process multiple times. It''s slowly weakens, but Neo was getting exhausted from using her semblance too much. So haruki summoned a huge barrel of Liquid Nitrogen. Poured it towards the Horse head and punched it, shattering the head. Essentially Crippling it. He used absolute demise to sever it''s limbs. The knuckelavee Screeched in pain as it opens it''s mouth to bite at Haruki. But Haruki Cut off it''s Head cleanly. *phew* Haruki finally breathed a sigh of relief... Showing that kind of power, He thought Neo would bombard him with questions but she just runs at him and hugs him for a while. The two basked in the moment... Arriving at Ozpins location they were about to tell what happened... But He was there just looking at his screen worriedly, but when he looked up he saw his students safe and sound except two were missing. He asked what happened, For the observer drones were killed by the Huge Grimm almost instantly. They explained what happened much to Ozpins surprise for he expected haruki to just leave them to their demise. As Ozpin and the students were about to return to beacon and call Hunters to hunt the Huge Grimm. Haruki and Neo appeared in the distance... Seeing that they''re safe and sound everyone breathed a sigh of relief. 9 Chapter 9 : White Lies They rushed towards Haruki as soon as they saw him. Pyrrha was the one to speak up. "I''m glad you are okay Haruki, But what you did was reckless of you." Haruki Smiled and thought even if she doesn''t know me so well she still cares for a stranger huh... She is Kindness incarnate. "Thanks for worrying over me Pyrrha." This time I won''t let you die... Pyrrha blushed from Harukis words. "I-its fine! you are the one who saved all of us after all" Everyone nodded in unison, they each thanked Haruki. Jaune then said "I admire your bravery brother, it''s just don''t ever do that again... we''re friends remember? so please rely on us more..." He then fist bumped with haruki... Neo was smiling sweetly, for her beloved was getting actual real praises. This is something new for her it''s actually heart warming... Eversince she and Haruki were twelve... they never thought about this kind of friendship. All they Had was Roman. They had to steal just to survive, Killing Grimm and people just to get more money... She thought this place might not be so bad after all. Ozpin went near Haruki and asked him with a grave face. "Where is the Grimm?" Ozpin then quickly added "Don''t get me wrong Mr. Haruki I''m glad that you are safe ,but knowing that there is a very dangerous Grimm in the Emerald Forest, puts me I''ll at ease..." Haruki then responded with an amicable smile. "Of course professor..." Ozpin then says "Very well then please follow me to the officeBoth you and miss Neo... Pyrrha the stood up and held Haruki back. "With all due respect Professor... Haruki is very injured." Haruki then held Pyrrhas hand making her face red like a tomato. "It''s fine Pyrrha, I need to tell the professor." Haruki and Neo then followed Ozpin back to his office. When they got to Ozpins office, Glynda took Neo for questioning while Haruki remained at the office calmly sipping coffee. "Now tell me, did you kill it?" Haruki shakes his head and says "It wasn''t me..." Ozpin narrowed his eyes, You are very strong Haruki but Lying in the face of the Headmaster like that? very dangerous..." Haruki then crosses his arms like it''s nobody''s business. "Like I said professor it wasn''t me... Although it is someone you are acquainted with..." Ozpin then said "I didn''t bring you here for your games Haruki..." Haruki then says "Well to be completely honest I''m not sure if it was her... but I think it''s one of the members of Team STRQ... I Think it was Raven." Ozpin was surprised inwardly for he even knows who Raven is. "Knowing Ravens nature, why in the hell would she do that?" Haruki shrugs "She owes me. I simply asked for help and she used me and Neo as an anchor to portal here." Ozpin then asks Haruki "Considering what you said is true... How in the hell is she able to beat it alone?" Haruki then puts his Tea cup down. and says "she didn''t... Me and someone else helped her." " Was it the one who hurt the fall maiden?" Haruki then shakes his head "it''s someone else..." Ozpin then slams on the table. Haruki was shocked on ozpins reaction, the normally calm ever cool guy... lost his temper..."Mr. Haruki you will tell me and you will tell me now!" Haruki then slid down a picture of a well built man. "I believe you know this guy?" He showed Ozpin a picture of Hazel Rainart. Ozpin stood up from his seat "Hazel?! what is he doing in here!" Haruki brought out a few documents he has been keeping for this plan... He showed another picture of him meeting Adam Taurus. "Hazel is the man tasked to meet the white fang to keep them inline, also I report to him... This is sensitive information I''m giving you, Professor Ozpin... I am risking my life just to give Neo a better life. I want her to live like a normal girl , a life that''s not covered in blood." Haruki sincerely looked at Ozpin and continued. "I don''t care if you trust me or not... as long as you help me, I will help you. That girl Neo... I would do everything for her.." Ozpin saw the sincerity in his words... He then pondered for a while. "Very well... you did risk your life on saving my students... helping you take Salem''s organization down is the least I can do, and besides we''re already doing it from the start... protecting this world, this kingdom from her..." Haruki then acted surprised and asked. "Is this the reason Salem hates you?" Ozpin shakes his head"It''s a bit complicated than that." He peeks at the blinders in his office... "Mr. Haruki if you want me to help you to live your ideal life, I have a certain condition... you will work for me and tell me all their plans so I could stop them, But you will still operate on missions with them to avoid arousing suspicion... in due time I would introduce you to my associates, they may have the same reaction as I did before... but I trust you can handle yourself?" Haruki was surprised on how trusting Ozpin is... it''s either he is trying to trust him or Faking it so he could take me down... "Of course professor Ozpin" Ozpin then gave a scroll to haruki. "This scroll will be our point of contact... you will periodically report to me about any movements of sales faction." Haruki thought to himself... Ozpin oh Ozpin!! are you this naive or you are a scheming bastard just like me..."Don''t misunderstand me Boy... I still don''t trust you baut you are my best bet on foiling whatever plan Salem has concocted." Truly a saviour of this world, a beacon of hope for the masses... you guys truly make me want to puke, but if you can further my own goals... I wouldn''t mind pretending to bow down to your little charade. Ozpin I was thinking of not letting you die, but now I''m leaning towards another option to devour your skills and watch you bleed to death... True you may be reborn to a body of a child but what could that do... After their talk Ozpin announced the Team compositions... "Due to certain circumstances Haruki and Neo would form a team but, they lack two members as those two would be transferring in soon... Team RWBY and Team JNPR went near Haruki and asked him a bunch of stuff... Ruby was the first one to talk. "How did you escape?" Haruki smiles and shrugs "Luck I guess, as I was about to get killed by the Grimm someone showed up... I don''t know who that was but he was holding a scythe..." Ruby looked at yang and said "It''s uncle Qrow!" yang then held Ruby down "Calm down lil sis we don''t know for sure yet that it''s him..." Glynda then told the students to get some sleep for classes will start two days later... "Hmhmhm~" Haruki was humming gleefully as they led him to his new room... When he opened his room he was surprised to see Neo sitting down on the bed. "Hello roomie, it''s nice to meet you I''m Haruki." he says this as he closes the door. (Hello! I''m Neo! Hope we get along.) Neo then pats her side of the bed. (Haruki I didn''t ask earlier because you were exhausted but can you at least tell me what''s going on?) Haruki sat down and wrapped his arms around Neo he leaned in and said "Of course... it started with an alien device did what it did...and stuck itself upon his wrist with secrets that it hid... now he''s got super powers he''s no Ordinary kid he''s b-" as he was singing he got hit in the head by a Neo with puffed up cheeks (I swear Haru, be serious or I won''t talk to you again...) "Yes yes my darling I will" He told her everything... from his past as a mercenary and told her "I wasn''t a good person before, now I''m not sure if I could call myself one... But all I know is I love you and I''m prepared to do anything for you..." Although the didn''t tell her about the show RWBY, he did talk about his past lover for a little bit. Knowing this Neo was shocked, but since Haruki wanted to be honest with her she will accept everything and help him in this... (Haru, I don''t care if you had a past lover or add future lovers like Emerald... But please Love me plenty.) She said as she leaned towards Haruki. Haruki hugged her to sleep and as they both dozed off into Dreamland they dreamnt about the same thing. A happy family living in a moderate house with 3 kids running about... a peaceful and fulfilling dream... 10 Chapter 10 : The Absence of Pain R-18 Happiness is just the absence of pain... that''s the best that I could hold for... what I felt after the events of yesterday made me feel what I haven''t felt in years, Contentment... God knows how long that''ll last. When was the last time it felt like I belonged to anywhere... to really belong. maybe this is who I am? A dead end plan, making enemies out of everyone? Lying just to gain an advantage over a ludicrous and hopeless battle? Is that what I really want? , but it isnt... I''m fine with having a moral compass if everyone had one, but it''s a cold cruel world... that''s why you can''t survive without family even if they''re cold ruthless killers or Sociopathic Liars. And I''d be no different from the common soldier, Hunter, or a politician. Killing is just a part of the profession...maybe I finally found a reason to live... a place surrounded by hope. Unlike that planet that''s surrounded by death... never knowing when the next meal will be, never knowing if you''re going to wake up the next day. Another bullet wound, another scar... Heh... Just another day at the office. Morality is just comfort food. It holds no meaning outside our minds. I had to sacrifice so many just to get this momentary lapse of peace... was it worth it? Does it matter? I wonder what kind of twisted reality I stumbled upon, but a murderer such as myself don''t deserve them... I don''t deserve her... A week has passed since the classes have started. Neo and Haruki spent most of their days peacefully, surprisingly all they did was study and and flirt around a little bit. Neo was taking the class very seriously only second to Weiss and Pyrrha. The class of Glynda was really popular, for it''s just sparring... a place to test your skill. A place where you can just duke it out with people... many enjoy this kind of simplistic brawl... all except for one... Jaune. As the match between Jaune and Cardin has ended Jaune never even bothered to stand up. Glynda then added "But before the class ends we still have one more duel, and I believe it''s one duel some of you are looking forward to, Ms. Pyrrha Nikos and Mr. Kazama Haruki." Pyrrha and Haruki both went up the stage. "Hey Pyrrha, I hope you won''t hold back." Haruki said Pyrrha then looks at Haruki with a deadpan expression. "Likewise..." The reason Pyrrha is acting so cold is that she found out about Neo and Haruki from Yang... A few days before... she was actually looking forward on going to class thinking Neo and Haruki were just good friends... Sadly reality can be often disappointing. So Pyrrha decided to vent on Haruki for being such a player... Pyrrha wanted to see if her feelings were real, and she wants to know if haruki sees the real her. Only then would she fight for her feelings. Glynda then sounded the bell to begin. Pyrrha immediately threw her shield towards haruki. "Oh shi-" Haruki used his guandao to Deflect it away, but pyrrha used her semblance ''polarity'' to make the shied hit haruki again, but sadly Haruki has lightning form so he just has to make an electric field to reverse the polarity, essentially making her semblance a little disadvantageous for her.So her shield went back to her faster than what she would expect. so she parried her own shield. She lunged forward stabbing in Harukis direction. Haruki crouched and tried to sweep her off her feet. But she rolled on harukis back. Sending a kick to his face but haruki just blocks it. Pyrrha felt excited... she forgot about her original goal, she was actually enjoying her fight... it''s like she finally met her match... So haruki spun his Guandao Covering it with electrical charge, threw it to Pyrrha. Pyrrha tried to control it but it did the opposite... so instead of sending it back, it went to her. She jumped over the spinning guandao and transformed her sword into a spear, spinning and stabbing at haruki with Grace and form. Haruki now weapon less can''t do anything but Dodge and block the occasional kicks. Pyrrha now on the offensive thought she had the upper hand but Haruki saw an opening in her attacks. Every 10 Strikes, her spear would lose momentum that''s why she has to send a kick to spin her spear behind her and resume attacking with it when she has enough momentum... so haruki grabbed her ankle and pulled her to him losing her balance and momentum she tried to kick haruki while falling which haruki blocks. He uses this window to recover his Guandao. Pyrrha was shocked no one has ever broken her combo before...and she didn''t even managed to get a hit in. She changed the form of there spear into a short sword again and clashed head on with haruki. Their blades creating Sparks... Pyrrha was shocked on how beautiful harukis swordplay was. it''s as if he''s one with the guandao... Haruki on the other hand was awed on how talented Pyrrha is... so young and yet her skills were almost good as his, on her sword and spear alone. "Your technique and form is as beautiful as you..." Haruki chimed... "What are you saying mid battle!" Pyrrha said... as the two gained distance from each other Pyrrha red from embarrassment shifted her spear and lunged at haruki again... But the bell rang signifying the end of battle... Pyrrha tried to stop her momentum but failing so she ends up tripping. Luckily Harukis reflexes were fast so he caught Pyrrha on his arms. "Hey you okay?" she pushes him back in an instant blushing hard... "yesh! I''m fine!" she stuttered. Glynda walked back up and told them "that was a fine match sadly we don''t have a definite winner but a fine match nonetheless." As they walked away from the class... Pyrrha was lost in thought... could she have won considering harukis skill they are probably well matched... well matched... Her face turned red instantly. That night, Neo was staring at Haruki while he is trying to figure out his newly summoned weapon. Echoing Fury... It was a huge axe with a skull engraved in the middle. Everytime he swings it a deafening scream followed. Each kill the scream gets louder. But he still does not understand how it works yet. So inside the room he was just looking at it while turning it around. Neo getting bored she takes Haruki''s hand and waves it around. (Haruuu... I''m booooreeeed) she says as she hugs him from behind. "Well what do you want to do?" Neo then smiles provocatively (What do you think?) Haruki then Carries Neo to the bed Kissing her passionately. (mph~ more...) Haruki looked her in the eyes. "Are you sure?" Neo nods nervously. (I''m sure) Haruki then gently kisses her forehead. He caressed her beautiful face illuminated by the moonlit night. Haruki took Neos nightgown leaving her in her black laced underwear. Haruki then squeezed her plump bottom as he play bit her ears. (Haru I love you!) mph* She sucked on harukis tongue. Haruki proceeded to unhook her bra. what Haruki saw was a goddess too precious for this world. He sucked on those milky white puddings. Kissing her on the neck occasionally as he fondles her breasts. "Nhaahh~ " Haruki then pulled down Neos last line of defense. He then rubs her secret Place...it was very wet... "Woah it seems my darling Neo can''t help it huh?" (ahhh~ Haruu Kiss me~...) Haruki nibbled on her cute tongue. As Neo was enjoying two different sensations all at once, Haruki then inserted one.of his fingers inside slowly rubbing it. *pant pant* (har..der...) Haru then increased his speed pushing neo into her peak... (Aaahhhh!!! I''m cumming!) Her juices overflowed as she convulsed in ecstasy... Her breasts heaving up and down ... Haru slowly kissed her garden, licking it. soon he found her clit, He bit it softly... Neo bit on their pillow to prevent her from screaming in pleasure. She arched her back and Came again. (AhhhhhH! Haruuu stop teasing me already~ make me yours!) Haru then brought out his Spear of Longinus. He then rubbed it on the entrance of her pussy. "What do you want me to do?" Haruki teased... (I can''t take it anymore! please put your big thing in~ ) Neo held his dick and slowly inserted it in her pussy. She bit her pillow as she winced in pain, But she smiled because she and her beloved were finally one. she pulled haruki close kissing him. "Well darling I''m gonna move now." He then slowly moved thrusting towards her G-spot... making neo scream in pleasure. (Ahhhh! Yess Yess! Haru Harder!) "It seems that my little darling likes it rough" Haruki chimed as he increased the intensity. Neo wrapped her legs and arms around Haruki clawing at his back. (Ahhhhh! I''m cumming again! Ahhhhhhhh!) She moaned in pleasure. Neos fluids be it blood or her own juices covered Harukis Dick... But he didn''t stop moving He maintained his pace as he pounded Neo hard. (Nhaaaah~ Haru wait I just came! please stoooop! nhaah! ) Haruki also reaching his limit, increased his pace and pulled out to come all over her Beautiful body. *haaah haaah* Neo Breathes Heavily for she came again for the nth time. Haruki then whispered "ohh is my little darling getting tired? we''re only getting started." He kissed Neos cheeks and began moving again. Drowning in their own Carnal desires. They went at it until dawn. Neo Laid comfortably on Harukis chest pinching his sides. (you went to hard you idiot! people would notice today!) "Hehehe, Sorry my little darling was so adorable I could help but eat her up." He teased as he spanked her. (Let''s go to sleep, we have classes in the afternoon...) She closed her eyes with a satisfied smile on her face. Haruki stared at the ceiling... I used to think happiness was just the absence of pain... after losing her... I thought that I would be nothing more than an empty shell. But when I met Neo... She made my days brighter... Sometimes I wonder... did I change her way of life? or did she pull me away from the bottom of the abyss. I guess in her point of view it''s the other way around. But I''m sure of one thing... Life''s about who you love and what you do for them, and I''m willing to do everything for her... 11 Chapter 11: Thats what Friends are for... It has been an uneventful couple of days, while they were spending with sparring and more sparring... For the Vytal Tournament was getting closer. Jaune heaved a sigh as he left the classroom "Umm, Jaune just tell me if you''re having a tough time with Cardin and I will really Break his legs." Jaune waves his arms around and says "it''s fine! it''s not really a big deal" As He walks away hurriedly. Pyrrha looking at Jaunes departing back, saddened her for she wants to help her teammate... Haruki approached Pyrrha "You look worried... is it about Jaune" Pyrrha was surprised by Harukis sudden appearance. "Y-Yeah... it''s just I want to do something about it." Haruki smiled at her "That''s admirable of you... although helping Jaune beat up the bully would temporarily stop them... it will only make Jaunes time here a little harder. For they will also pay him back as much, they would also be discreet on doing it. So you won''t find out..." Pyrrha knits her eyebrows and says "So you''re saying I should just stand back and watch!?" Pyrrha angrily screamed at Haruki. "Pyrrha you''re very kind but sometimes being overly kind can hurt people... and I know you just want to help, He''s my friend too... that''s why we have to put a little More thought into our actions." He said as he patted her head. "O-okay... but please can you stop patting me?" Pyrrha slowly removed Harukis hand. "Oh sorry force of Habit." Pyrrha instantly turned red from embarrassment for she was completely unprepared for that. "What do you suggest I do then?" Haruki jus smiles brightly at her. "Nothing, let me handle this." He then said goodbye to Pyrrha ant went into where Jaune went. Pyrrha stood still immersed in her own thoughts... '' you''re so unfair saying I''m the kind one, but you''re clearly helping both me and Jaune... If you keep doing this I can''t help but fall in love with you... '' Pyrrha was kind but she is quite stubborn so she still went to go and find Jaune. Jaune was in the rooftop of the dorms overlooking the entire school. Pyrrha appeared and tried to help Jaune but they end up fighting just like Haruki said. Cardin can''t help but overhear their conversation... So he talked with Jaune finding out his credentials were less than real... "So Jaune my ''Friend'' You would help us now won''t you... Jaune looks down... angered by this but he can''t help it, for Cardin holds all the cards. "Oh my... Cardin, blackmailing students are we?" Cardin looks behind the door and sees Haruki leaning on the wall. Jaune was startled as he asked Haruki "How much did you hear?" Haruki shrugs... "I heard enough to know..." Jaune then looks down and asks "So you look down on me too just like him!" he says as he points towards Cardin. Haruki then looks at Cardin. Cardin smirked "Haruki just tell me if you want in on this..." Hahahaha Haruki laughed and slammed his head against cardin, Cardin was unprepared for that so he didn''t activate his aura, making his forehead bleed... You''re Blackmailing my friend... bully other students How much more of a joke could you be?" Cardin angered by his provocation sent a fist towards him. He narrowly Dodged and sent an uppercut towards his jaw. "There''s nothing on this world that I hate more than bullies..." As he kicks Cardins stomach... "Haruki stop or you''ll get in trouble!" Jaune thought that Haruki looked down on him but he just helped him... feeling guilty about what happened with Pyrrha he could at least stop Haruki from doing something dangerous. "Now scram Cardin or I''ll show this video to the whole school." It was a video of Cardin meeting with Roman Torchwick to buy huge amounts of dust. Cardin started to seat and asks. "How did you know about this!!?" but Haruki just waves his fingers and says. "Ah ah ah! just like you Cardin I have my ways." Cardin stood up and ran towards the exit. Leaving Jaune and Haruki... "Look Haruki I''m sorry for lashing out on you like tha-" *BAM* Haruki nailed his fist towards Jaunes face, sending him flying towards the door. "You''re goddamn right you''re sorry." Jaune looks up and says. "What was that for" Haruki cracks his knuckles and says "That was for Pyrrha." Jaune was a little angered by this so he says "That''s none of your business what happened... I don''t need any help yours or hers! if I can''t protect myself ,then what''s the point!" He roared as he dashed madly at Haruki, fully expecting him to dodge Jaune didn''t hold back and sent a fist to his face... *BAM* Haruki then wipes the blood off his mouth... and he smirked... And taunted Jaune to come at him. "What do you know! you will never understand the feelings of the weak!" He sends another punch, but Haruki blocked it with his palm and headbutts him. "I am tired of being the weak one! my ancestors were all heroes! I want to be one too!" He hits Haruki in the stomach. Grimacing in pain Jaune shakily raises his fist "Don''t you Understand if I can''t do this on my own then what good am I!?" He continued "You''re strong so you wouldn''t understand the feelings of the weak." Haruki tackled him in the solar plexus. making him fall down. Haruki then asks "I don''t know the feelings of the weak? I don''t know the feeling of helplessness and despair? I''m probably the one who understands it the most!" He took of his shirt and showed numerous scars all over his body... "I was weak Jaune! I was a helpless kid who had no one to rely on... hell I didn''t even know who my parents were because I never met them." Haruki exchanged blows with Jaune for God knows how long. "You know what I had to do Jaune!? I had to steal for food! to go against people who were much bigger than I am!" Haruki shakily held his collar and continued. "you know how well that went? I was beat up... by adults that were much bigger than me... they all ganged up on me a child... So now I ask... how do you think I felt? I felt weak... So I decided to take a life... it still haunts me till this day..." He let go of Jaune and stared into the distance. "But you don''t have to suffer like I did, because you have Team JNPR, Team RWBY, Neo and me... your friends... Remember what you said to me?" Jaune looked at Haruki and sits beside him at the edge of the roof and says "we''re friends remember? so rely on us more..." Haruki and Jaune just looks at each other and laughed. their laughter echoed throughout the building. "Haruki I didn''t know you had that kind of past... I''m sorry if I made you remember a bad memory..." Haruki then pats him in the back "It''s fine it''s a small sacrifice to have a peaceful life like this now..." Jaune then asks Haruki. "you know I think we just had a bro moment... "Haruki laughed "We definitely did." Jaune was thankful for what Haruki did. "You know I think I''m gonna apologize to Pyrrha for what I did" Haruki then nods and says "You should... now go find her." Feeling refreshed Jaune ran towards the door. "I never knew Miss Nikos had a huge hobby of eavesdropping..." Pyrrha was shocked she hid her presence well, but he still found her... "Thanks for mending my friendship with Jaune..." When Pyrrha went back to the roof to go and say sorry, she overheard everything. She was about to stop their fight but she heard how harsh Harukis life was... she thought she had it rough but there was someone out there living a life worse than being caged by destiny... She felt her heart beating faster... Haruki never saw me as an Idol nor a person of worship... He wasn''t distant towards me he was nice and treated me like a normal friend would... But suddenly Haruki bonked her on the head. "You''re also an idiot... A stubborn idiot! I told you to let me handle it... yet you still went... making my work harder than it was..." thinking that Haruki was angry at he she was about to apologize when she saw harukis smiling face. "You''re very kind and selfless Pyrrha, but sometimes friendships don''t work by just apologizing... you have to point out bad things and confront each other from time to time... you have to be selfish on at least one thing..." Haruki said as he rubbed her head. Pyrrha then said with a red face. "Then will you allow me to be selfish?" Haruki then smiles and says "Of course!" Pyrrha then wrapped her arms around Haruki and kissed him. "Be careful on what you say Haruki or I''ll fall harder for you..." Haruki then pulled her back in an embrace, and whispered "Ohh great goddess are you challenging me?" He made her lean against the wall and kissed her madly. "You''re mine now don''t even think of running away..." Pyrrha was shocked, and she asks "What if Neo finds out?" Haruki reassured her by kissing her cheeks "Don''t worry she''s very open about this..." Pyrrha then raises her eyebrows and says "Ohh... is that so?You gigolo!" She kisses him again in the lips and stomps on his feet, only to run away. Haruki then looked at Pyrrhas departing back and says "I won''t let Ozpin risk your life..." 12 Q and A Corner ask your questions here and I''ll answer as much as I''m able to! Also if you have suggestions feel free to put them here... for I listen to everyone''s suggestions. 13 Chapter 12: Hello again, Little Red That Night Haruki was called by Roman for another Heist. Haruki Then told Neo that she needs to stay so Ozpin won''t get suspicious... Neo reluctantly agreed, while pouting on the bed. "Well it''s just a simple heist... Come on don''t be like that..." Sigh*Neo sat up and beckoned Haruki to come near her, She kissed him on the lips and told him. (Good Luck charm...) Haruki then hugs her tightly. "I''ll make it up to you later" He said as he fondled her butt. (Just go you perv...) Haruki then waves her goodbye. Arriving at the meeting point Haruki saw Roman casually out in the open. "What the hell Roman... don''t you know to that you''re a wanted criminal?" Roman tips his hat "I''m flattered really, but seeing how inept the people here are... I really can''t help but grace them with my presence." Roman then looks at Haruki from top to bottom. "I see you changed your look. Wearing a long black fur overcoat with white highlights and rolled up sleeves, Black jeans and White shoes. While wearing a White Fang mask. "You look dashing... You Adam Taurus copy cat..." Haruki then interjected "This is my own unique style!" Roman rolls his eyes. "Bahh... both you and Adam have no sense of class..." When they arrived in front of the dust store Roman ordered his men to steal the dust. As they were arguing who is more stylish... *Crash* one of Romans Henchmen was sent flying. When they looked at the perpetrator It was Ruby and surprisingly Blake... Haruki wondered what those two were doing together... "Kaz if you would..." Roman pointed at the two of them... "Well if it isn''t Red!!! Long time no see!, you even brought a friend...I am so honored." Ruby and Blake were just strolling at the town after watching a movie together, when they saw a familiar silhouette... Roman Torchwick... So they ran towards him to prevent more dust being stolen. Haruki then stood in front of Roman and Brought out Absolute Demise... A jet black blade with a white handle. "Hello Little Red... we can''t keep meeting like this, people will talk..." Roman roared at Haruki "Hey! That was supposed to be my line!" Blake then says "Are you two done?" Blake was pissed she saw Kaz, a member of the white fang now working for Roman Torchwick. Even if he changed his outfit... she has seen that blade countless of times and it has also saved her multiple times before. Not only was that blade a symbol of hope for Faunus, for they have also been saved by it before... It was also a source of pride... For it''s wielder was so powerful... He could stand side by side with their leader... Adam Taurus. Blake suddenly says "Ruby whatever happens please keep it a secret from everyone else..." Ruby then looks seriously at Blake and nods. "When you''re ready please tell it to everyone else too..." Blake thankfully looked at Ruby "Thanks I owe you one." Ruby smiles brightly at her. "We''re Friends remember?" Blake then looks at the familiar man in front of her... "Why the hell are working for this kind of scum!? He''s a Human! why the hell is the hero of the white fang doing here?!" Blake angrily roared at Kaz. Roman interjected "He has always worked for me... Him joining the white fang was more of a business collaboration than a tenure..."Blake was shocked. "Was it all fake!? When you saved all those faunus from that slave trader... was that just a job to you? I admired you! I admired your sword skills!" She threw her blade towards Haruki "When you saved me was it also just a job to you!?" Haruki blocked her blade. She was met with complete silence... further angering her... "Why aren''t you answering me!" Haruki slashed towards her, Ruby blocked Harukis blade. She pulls back Blake. "Calm down Blake! Whatever happened between you and him set it aside for now!" Haruki dashed towards them and leapt upwards kicking them both to the store. *crash* the glass window shattered, sending glass all over the place. Haruki went inside the store slowly...with his blade relaxed on it''s sheath. "What''s wrong Blake? This all you got?" Raaaah!! Blake roared as she clashed with Haruki. She used her clones to distract Haruki. She used the chain to wrap Haruki''s sword,and pulled it towards her. Ruby then charged with her scythe, she sliced across Haruki... Breaking the desks and glass... Sending debris everywhere. Haruki slid down held Ruby''s scythe and kicked her in the stomach sending her back. "Wow Red this is not bad..." Ruby screamed at him. "Give it baaack!!!" Ruby picked up his blade and slashed at him randomly... He spun his scythe and blocked her attacks, using her scythe more efficiently than she did. Blake was also attacking Haruki when he shows an opening but it was just futile. The range on Ruby''s scythe was large so it covers every angle. "Kaz... Why?" Blake was Heartbroken... "I can''t help Adam from becoming a monster, that''s why I left the white fang... but not you too..." Kaz then tossed Ruby''s scythe and took back his black blade whilst slamming Ruby in the wall. "You left because you were weak... you were afraid that, when you did what Adam and I did... you would lose yourself in the process. That''s why you fooled yourself into thinking that there''s a better alternative but there''s none!" Haruki blocked another flurry of attacks from Ruby and Blake. "Humans will always be selfish! They will never change, they will hate anything that''s remotely different from them." Ruby was angered "No we''re not! not everyone is evil, if you gave peace a try we could make the relationship between faunus and humans better!" Haruki then parried Ruby''s attack and swept her off her feet and kicked her in the stomach."Kaz! Please stop! you''re not like this." She blocked Haruki''s blade as it was about to stab Ruby. "The world today had fallen into disorder unlike the distant past!" Blake kicked his sword away and stabbed towards Haruki... He turned off his Aura and let the blade pierce through him. "Antagonism occurs because of race difference, and then this same antagonism causes them to fight one another, and they will seek an even greater power in order to win their war." Haruki grabbed her blade and pulled it out. "Those who were defeated will connect this sadness to their love ones. which leads to hatred... Which leads to despair, and the cycle resumes again." Blake was shocked as she saw His blood flowing down... He knelt down and Held Blake''s face... "That''s why you have to believe in the good instead of only looking at the bad... What the Faunus need is not a has been hero, what they need is a voice. Not a weapon but to show kindness and compassion."With tears in her face she looked at her former comrade. "To hold on to you belief even when all is lost, Even if you are close to death, even when you are full of wounds, even when your spirit is on the verge of breaking, even when you''re in front of Adam. You have to stand back up. Keep holding on to your weapon. You have to speak sharply. You cannot give up." Haruki then stood up and walked away, for Roman and the others were long gone. That''s why Haruki took this opportunity to train Blake and Ruby mentally and physically. He then lefthis parting words. "I hope you will be the one to end me someday Blake... for I can only be a curse after you achieve your peace. I cannot exist when the faunus and humans make peace for a dangerous weapon is not a show of trust, only a deterrent." Blake than tried to stand up to stop him, but she was too tired. "Kaz wait!, please! don''t do this!" But Haruki has already disappeared in the dead of night. Blake cried her heart out... Blake carried Ruby back to their dorm. When Yang and Weiss saw what happened, they were shocked. They asked Blake what happened but she was in a daze as her hands were covered in Harukis blood. She looked at it and cried again. seeing that Blake was not in a state to tell them what happened, they just comforted her and helper her sleep. Haruki returned to his room and he saw Neo and Pyrrha talking... He was about to say something, but he has lost too much blood. so he just sat down the floor. Pyrrha was shocked to see Harukis stomach covered in blood. Neo immediately took out her First aid kit and sew his wound shut. "Haruki what happened!?" Pyrrha worriedly asked. Haruki had no idea what to tell Pyrrha for he didn''t expect her to appear... Luckily Neo was prepared for an excuse. (We were sent here to eliminate a group of criminals, I didn''t expect them to be this strong...) as Neo was stitching his wounds she continued. (Ozpin along with the Headmaster of Haven agreed to send us to missions like these. You know the main trade of Mistral right?) Pyrrha was shocked about this information. (Pyrrha, I trust you could hide this information from others?) Pyrrha nods her head and helped carry Haruki to the bed. "Can I stay here for the night?" Pyrrha asked whilst fidgeting. Neo held up another sign. (Of course! we are after all, sisters now.) Neo giggled. They both hugged Harukis arms as they went to sleep... 14 Chapter 13: Gluttony Waking up extra early Pyrrha silently sneaked out of their bed, But her arm was held by Haruki."Baby... Going so soon?" Being called this Pyrrha blushed from ear to ear... "Yeah... my team is probably looking for me, a- and today is our first field trip with Professor Goodwitch." Haruki then remembered hearing this from Neo. He then stood up and woke Neo up... "Neo wake up it''s time to go." Kissing Pyrrha he said " See you later, gotta take care of this sleepy head first.Pyrrha bolted towards the door to go and wake her team too. Arriving at the entrance to the Forever Fall Forest. Haruki can''t help but feel nostalgic... '' it''s been five years since I arrived in this reality... I have come a long way... He was woken up by Ruby''s loud voice "Blake don''t worry next time we see that bastard well defeat him!" As she shook Blake''s shoulders. Weiss interrupted her and said "You two didn''t even stand a chance... how do you propose to beat him?" Ruby scratched her head and said "GUTS... WITH GUTS!!!" as she did a guts pose... Haruki and Neo we''re approached by team JNPR..." Haruki did you hear? Ruby and Blake were attacked by Roman Torchwick and some mysterious sword wielding man. " Jaune told Haruki what Ruby told him... The incomplete story that is... Pyrrha was not in the slightest paying attention to what is going on, for she was fidgeting at the side sneaking glances at Haruki. Noticing this Jaune asked Pyrrha what''s wrong. "N-nothing! there''s totally nothing wrong at all... everything is a-okay!" *sigh* Haruki sighed, for this very kind girl can''t even lie even for a little...As they were talking they approached team RWBY and asked for the details of what happened. Blake then lifelessly looked at Haruki and noticed something wrong, like his walking pace is not the same... as if he was injured. "What happened to you Haruki?" Yang asked for she also noticed. "I fell down the stairs... I wasn''t looking to where I was going." Blake felt even more suspicious towards Haruki. "Your reflexes are great. how come you fell just like that?" Haruki started to sweat and said. "I was really tired..." Blake came closer and asked him. "Why were you tired." Neo covered his mouth while blushing madly... seeing this act... Haruki tried to play along. He held Neos arms and said "Sorry sorry..." Yang then whistled *Hyuuu~ "not bad Blake! you got the most sought after info by everyone!" Most of the people there did not get it but Jaune, Yang, Blake and Nora immediately got it. Blake on the other hand still doesn''t buy it...Yang was endlessly teasing Haruki and Neo... Arriving at their destination Glynda then told the students to go gather sap... as they were doing this Neo was busy photographing everyone... Pyrrha approached Haruki and asked. "What is Neo doing?" Haruki smilingly replied "She''s saving these moments... for her album. she documents these little happy moments with her friends so she could look back on it whenever she feels Lonely." Hearing this... everyone went to Neo and took random and wacky pictures with her, She then sat down near Haruki exhausted but smiling happily. He patted her head as she leaned in close... He then beckoned Pyrrha to come Near as she sat beside Haruki. He pulled her close and took the final picture of this trip. Blake saw this and was surprised! For she has been observing Haruki the whole time... she can''t take off the feeling that he and Kaz were the same person.Well her impression of Haruki got lowered though, she thought that he was a Playboy of the highest degree... A strong gigolo. When they have gathered the saps the ground rumbled and multiple Ursa Grimm ran towards them. "Grimm!! everyone get ready!" Glynda shouted to her students. " But funnily enough... the Grimm ignored them and kept running... usually Grimms don''t attack other Grimms. It only meant one thing... A more powerful Grimm that is feared by even it''s own kind... The ursa Grimm behind the group was running but suddenly a huge maw appeared out of nowhere and ate the Grimm. Haruki was surprised, for he sense an extremely dense Dark aura around the Grimm. It was so pure it sends chills down his spine. "Everyone run!!" Glynda then beckoned her student to follow her while making walls out of the trees to block the grimm. *Roooooooaaaaarrr!!!* The Grimm glared at Haruki as if it wanted to devour him. It looked like a normal Ursa Grimm but it has multiple mouths protruding all around it''s body... and one gaping maw on it''s belly as if it''s connected to the abyss itself. "Haruki! What are you waiting for! Run!" Haruki then shakes his head and said... Professor Glynda it sees me as it''s prey... please take the others and run! I''ll do my best to hold it back..." Pyrrha the screamed at Haruki and said "No!! Please run! This is no time to be a hero!" Seeing Harukis resolution Glynda grabbed Pyrrha away and ran. Pyrrha was shouting at Haruki to run away. her voice getting further and further... He then told Neo to run too... Neo shakes her head but Haruki used Ars Magus and materialized her locker and sent the coordinates to Beacon academy. Neo banged on the locker door hard but it was extremely tough so she shouted."Haruu... Don''t do this... Don''t do this please..." she said as she leaned on the door crying. "It''s fine... I''ll comeback to you I promise. In the meantime Just wait for me." *Whoosh the locker flew towards the school. The Grimm was cautiously looking at Haruki while circling around him... *Grrr* The Grimm growled at him. (I sense an abnormality on that Grimm''s DNA... no wait it feels more pure that the Grimm''s I have devoured as if it''s an ancient fossil.) (Overriding System for this emergency... This grimm is Very powerful... A Grimm that has the aspect of gluttony.) (You can now summon warmonger Proceed? [Y/N]) Summon it Haruki said as he raises his arms. A Huge Greatsword appeared with skulls adorning it''s Handle and the blade itself was covered in black scales. (This weapon can only be awakened by the essence of Gluttony, the aspect of Never ending Hunger...) "How does this weapon work?" (You lack Gluttony''s essence... for now it is a Demigod class weapon... it has strength but you can''t use it''s features...) "Fuck me... I thought I got a fighting chance turns out I still need to kill this fucking thing first...." He then brought out Absolute Demise and Fenrir Fangs... He ran towards the forest for some cover. The Grimm chased after him... deeper into the heart of the forest. He hid on top of a tree waiting for the Grimm to come near. Then as the Gluttony Ursa approached he jumped down and stabbed it with absolute demise stunning it. While it was stunned Haruki climed on top of it''s back and Clawed at it while avoiding the multiple Fangs that approached him. It growled at Haruki, it was angered and hungry... It ran towards Haruki and tried to bite him... Haruki narrowly dodges it. As he rolled towards the ground. The Grimm attacked wildly but it can''t hit it''s target... It roared so loud as if it was throwing a tantrum. Haruki dumbfounded by this... asked Ars... "Uhhh what the fuck is it doing ars?" (I believe this Grimm is still in it''s infacy stage...) "Fuck! this thing is a baby?! It''s already this strong and resilient?! Ohh... I don''t want to imagine what it''s like when it grows up..." He then materialized Tear gas and threw it everywhere to blind the monster. He also summoned a gas mask. He then proceeded to stab at it using to the trees as footing he bounced from tree to tree. Slashing and clawing at the Grimm... The poisons effect was getting stronger as he noticed the Ursa getting slower. Haruki then brought out Warmonger and as he tried to stab it at the Ursa... the sword split into two and it grew teeth like a huge dragon Jaw it bit at the Ursas arm. (Devoured enough essence... Preparing to unlock Warmongers Skill...) Voracious Blade Dance - Each monster you devour gives back stamina you''ve lost and Heals wounds slowly. Killing Any monster and devouring it''s corpse can give you one of it''s special trait adding it to this blades skill. Adding to that Using this skill multiple times make you hunger for more blood. (The Grimm you just dismembered is a lesser descendant of a primordial being, that represents the aspect of Gluttony.) (Gained it''s special trait - Endless Hunger the more you Devourthe more you increase in strength... permanently) "Hahahahahahahaha.... It''s fucking time for a bloodbath baby!!!" The Grimm howled towards the forest and it summoned a lot of beowolves and Ursa. Instead of being scared Haruki just smiled like a mad man and said... "Come at me you ugly fucks... papas hungry!!!" He ran madly at the Grimm surrounding him, killing them left and right. This went on for three days... He was standing on a mountain of corpses covered in blood. Like a death god who has descended in the mortal plane... the Grimm corpses killed with the warmonger don''t disappear... they just lay there until they get devoured. So Haruki devoured every single one...Sensing people were arriving to his location he switched his weapon to his staple guandao... Qrow alone was Harukis search party... but when he saw Haruki sitting on a tree stump covered in blood... He has huge gashes every where but they were slowly healing. When Qrow saw this he was shocked. He begrudgingly agreed to go find this kid since Ozpin said so. Fully expecting to find a corpse all he saw, was a terrifying young man covered in blood. "How the fuck are you still alive?" Those were the last words he heard before fainting... He has lost too much blood and he was exhausted... even if warmonger could restore his stamina and heal wounds... his human body will hit it''s limit if the battle dragged on for two days... *Sigh Qrow pulled out a flask and drank from it. "Fuck me... I didn''t sign up for this shit." He said as he carried Haruki back to Beacon academy. 15 Chapter 14 : Falling ou It''s been three days since Haruki went missing and everybody has been so glum. They owe their lives to Haruki again. He has saved them twice without asking anything in return. Neo has just been staring at her window, she barely even eats... It was understandable he was Neos whole world. Pyrrha was also staying in the room so Neo wont do anything rash... She was also heartbroken but, she prioritized others before her. She was often caught staring into space... she can''t calm down that''s why, Neo was the one anchoring her to reality... Neo was also the same. She was thankful for Pyrrha''s kindness without her she would''ve rushed to forever fall forest just to look for Haruki. The others weren''t taking this too well either... Team JNPR we''re sad but Jaune was pissed on his own powerlessness... Haruki helped him, sometimes trained with him and Pyrrha. He never looked down on him... He was Jaunes closest Friend... he even treated me with respect... that''s why he swore to be more powerful, he won''t slack off... and at that moment Jaune had aura covering him. It was gentle yet fierce. It was then where he awakened his semblance. Team RWBY were also the same they were quite close to the kind Hearted Haruki... He was the class comedian along with Nora and Ruby... Ruby, although sad... she was more worried about Blake. Yang and Weiss took it better than the rest... Sure they were saddened about harukis situation but they have to move on... To prevent this from happening to more of their friends. Blake on the other Hand was just in her bed occasionally going out to eat... she was silent the whole time. Not even touching her books. She was torn if Haruki really was Kaz... I mean his full name was Kazama Haruki. But seeing him sacrifice himself trying to hold back the terrifying Grimm, was so reminiscent of how He protected Her from those slave traders... That broad back seemingly able to protect and give hope at the same time. Then if they are the same why did he say those words... and why was he with Adam Torchwick... what is the point in all this... as she was mulling over this, Yang approached her "Blake this has got to stop... we''ve been waiting for a good opportunity to ask but this time is as good as any. What happened that night? I Heard that mysterious man was part of the white fang..." Weiss then added. "I''m not surprised, those criminals all think the same." Blake then glared at Weiss. "The White Fang are not criminals they are just a bunch of misguided faunus." Weiss then raises her voice "Misguided? ,They wanted to wipe humanity off the face of the Earth!" Blake the stood up from her bed "That is just a radical idea of a man drunk with power! It wouldn''t even start if the humans treated the faunus as equals!" Weiss frowned for her father''s company was suffering while this whole war against faunus happened. "Then why are they stealing from us!? Do you know how it feels to never feel safe when going out as a child? To feel your life threatened because of rumors, the first time I was approached by a faunus I was almost kidnapped and killed!? Do you know how it feels? Those dirty riffraffs will never change!" Blake then pulled the ribbon from her bow revealing two cat ears. "Of course I know how it feels to live in fear... IM A FAUNUS! I have experienced first hand how it feels to be oppressed ever since I was a kid Weiss!!" Weiss was shocked and was about to speak but Blake continued. "I was also part of the white fang... the man I met last night was my former captain and right hand man of Adam Taurus..." Everyone listened to Blake without saying a word... He was a symbol of hope towards faunus... he was a hero. He freed almost all the slaves be it faunus or kidnapped humans... He was a man with compassion. He saved me a lot of times and even taught me how to fight. I was really surprised when I found out that we were the same age. He tried to persuade our leader for a more peaceful approach... but Adam said We will gain respect through fear... Weiss I know you have suffered from the hands of Other Faunus but not all faunus are evil and the same goes for humans... You know whose blood I was covered in a few days ago? It was his... He turned off his Aura and let me stab him. Telling me that use my voice as a weapon not through violence... But he was working for a criminal... I honestly don''t know who to believe. My whole life is crashing down on me... What am I supposed to do when everything I believed in was all for naught!! Weiss slowly sat down on Blake''s bed and told her "Blake Look I''m sorry for what I said... I''ll try to believe in other faunus. but don''t misunderstand whether you''re a faunus or not I''ll never treat you differently, because we''re friends..." Ruby then said "Aww! That''s so sweet of you Weiss!! GROUP HUUUUGG!" Ruby and Yang squeezed between Weiss and Blake, Hugging each other tight. --------------------------------------------------------- Qrow brought Haruki to Beacons Secret Lab where they were keeping the fall maiden. Ozpin saw Qrow carrying Haruki and told him to put him down... Ozpin then relayed to Qrow of Harukis importance to his plans... Qrow immediately disagreed, But as they were arguing Haruki woke up... "Shit... How long was I out..." Qrow pointed his sword at Haruki "Give me one goddamn reason not to end you right now..." Haruki then smirked because I know a lot of things you guys don''t about the Queen''s plans. I''ll do anything to escape from Salem''s clutches I want to give Neo a better life.... Qrow then laughed at Haruki... "Hahahahahah you are a kid, jeez you remind me of someone I know..." Qrow then told Haruki about their plans on getting Pyrrha to become the next fall maiden. He must make her agree. Haruki on the other hand relayed information about the white fangs next moves... essentially keeping Qrow away so he could concentrate here on vale with out Qrow''s semblance getting in the way... After changing his clothes and washing up he was about to head up but Ozpin, blocked his path... "Haruki... although I still don''t trust you, I appreciate what you did for my students. You are a Man worthy of respect." Haruki the nodded towards Ozpin. "This is all for Neo." "Oh and By the way, How did you kill that Grimm?" Haruki Just laughed. "That''s a trade secret Headmaster..." Ozpin sighed... "Whatever as long as you keep your promise. Haruki went back to his room... And when he entered two shadows leapt towards him and hugged him. Neo beat on his chest. (goddamn it, you''re so reckless!) She rubbed her head on Haruki chest while Pyrrha was pinching her cheeks while hugging Haruki. "I am not dreaming am I?" Haruki kissed them both. He apologized for being so late there were so many Grimm that surrounded him... He then retold the story of the Grimm he fought... Although he left out the part about Ars Magus... After he told them the story Pyrrha then fell asleep in his arms, she was exhausted for worrying too much. while Neo asked Haruki. (When are you going to tell her everything?) "When this is all over... I feel like Salem has plans for us..." (Sigh* Just promise me you won''t be that reckless again?) I promise... He kissed Neo goodbye and went outside to get some fresh air. Earlier that night word got out that Haruki was safe...they told them that he is just recuperating. Everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed... As Haruki was walking down the Garden near the fountain, He saw Blake looking idly at the Moon reflected by the water. He approached her and said "Hey Blake! what''s got you in a daze..." Blake long noticed Haruki approaching she just ignored him. "Aren''t you supposed to be resting?" Haruki then laughed "I''m just here to stroll around and get some fresh air. "Blake then said "Be honest with me Haruki are you really Kaz?" He just looks up at the Moon and says... "Honestly it doesn''t really matter... because the thing that was bothering you seems to be solved already..." He sat down near Blake. "You know when I said the things I said, I honestly meant it. I want to tell you one thing... When you run off on your own and abandon everything... all you end up with is a whole lot of bitter regret and pointless hatred..." Haruki continued "You thought yourself that you ran away... you didn''t... you were willing to find another way... that''s what''s important. Peace isn''t achieved by words alone it is accompanied by action, but peace can never be achieved with force and action... I realized it the hard way..." Blake then asked "Then why are you working for A Criminal?" Haruki looked up at the night sky... "It is something I must do to not let anyone die... I am prepared to carry the burden of being branded as a criminal... as long as I can keep the ones I love safe." Blake then bitterly looked at Haruki biting her lips she asked. "Are those people Neo and Pyrrha?" Haruki laughed "That includes all of you here... Blake do you trust me?" Blake nodded her head. "I know this may seem bad, but please trust me... in due time I''ll tell all of you... I promise." Haruki stood up and patted Blake''s head and says "Goodnight little Kitten, I hope that answers some of your questions." Blake then looked at Haruki''s departing back smiling happily. "Thank you Big Bro Kaz..." 16 Chapter 15: Did you miss me? Big Bad Wolf. It was a few days after Haruki came back... They all went Back to training for the Vytal festival. It was finally their day off... Haruki and co. we''re just wasting time inside their rooms... Haruki was exercising... and Pyrrha was doing it beside him. "I never thought that anyone can keep up with me..." Haruki was surprised that even though Pyrrha was covered in sweat she was still trying to pace herself with Haruki''s Tempo. He thought to himself ''As a former Mercenary this kind of exercise was mandatory... but seeing Pyrrha do this on her first day of training I''m honestly surprised.'' Haruki then said "after this 10km running." Neo was looking at the two and asked (Why are you doing this? Haruki I would understand if it''s just you but Pyrrha too?) Pyrrha answered "More training never hurt someone..." But sadly it actually did there was someone on the corner of the room panting madly... *Pant pant* "When I said training I didn''t expect this... I was expecting a spar." Haruki then told Jaune. "It''s for your own good... also the body is the foundation of your strength..." Jaune''s arms were feeling numb he fell over and said. *pant pant* "Ohh...I feel like I''m gonna puke... is it just me or is the ceiling moving..." Haruki then carried Jaune outside... "Alright Ten Kilometer Running... Don''t be slacking off!" The trio ran around the school, garnering stares from everyone... When Team RWBY saw this they were surprised... "What kind of training is that? Even uncle Qrow would definitely Faint in all his alcoholic Grace... from that harsh training." Ruby said, Weiss on the other hand was thinking of joining... Training with pyrrha would boost her athletic skills by two fold even without her glyphs. "I think it''s great! a chance to train with Pyrrha would be amazing... I''m surprised she''s willing to train the both of them... as they are falling behind." When Blake heard what she said she laughed... He used to train me like that too when we were kids..."Haruki is the one training them... He''s behind so he cold pace Jaune and he won''t fall behind." The three of them were surprised and Yang said... "You mean that Captain flirt actually trains?" Blake looked at her dubiously "How do you think he''s so strong? He''s a hard worker..." Yang smirked towards Blake''s answer and said. "Ohhh.... it seems Miss Blake is an admirer." Blake blushed from ear to ear "What I idolize is his skills and strength!" Ruby then laughed... "Blake has a crush on Ha-ru-ki~ " Blake chased Ruby around... Haruki approached the four of them..."Hey you guys wanna join?" Weiss and Blake spoke in unison "Sure..." Ruby was surprised "I understand why Blake would join... But even you Weiss?" Weiss then pointed at the running Pyrrha "If Haruki could train Pyrrha, I don''t see why not... " Yang sighed well if you two are gonna join... "Ruby and I are just gonna go..." but Haruki held both their shoulders. "Training together helps build the team." When they saw that smile all they saw was darkness incarnate... "Haahh, the fresh air of hope... how annoying..." Cinder said as she walked in the town of Vale..."Emerald I trust that you know what to do?" Emerald nodded her head and she went to the plaza to go and call Haruki. "Mercury go do down to Roman and ask whatthe time is for the Dust shipment will be." Mercury grunted... "We''ve only been her for an hour and you already want to go do work?" Cinder ignited her hands... "Are you ignoring my orders?" Mercury immediately bolted towards Roman''s base of operations. Cinder was looking at the direction of beacon academy... "Soon the Fall Maidens powers will be mine... and I will be escaping that bastards clutches..." Cinder hated Haruki''s control over her... her pride can''t handle it. She is used on being on control. That''s why she''s going to use emerald to tear Haruki apart from Neo, essentially controlling him. Little does she know... Haruki has already seduced Emerald... Creating a wedge between her and emerald. As Haruki were training Team RWBY and Team JNPR... He got a text from Neo... "Roman told me Cinder and co. are here... Emerald is probably here too, why don''t you go and meet her. since it''s been months since you two met." He was sweating hard when Neo told him that... but since she already told him to go he would. He then got another text to his scroll. "Hey Big Bad Wolf... Did you miss me?" Although Haruki kept contact with Emerald since that incident all they did was talk about random stuff and flirt from time to time. "Where are you right now little lamb?" Haruki told everyone the training is over today. "You guys did an okay job! now rest up we will continue this tommorow." Jaune whined "An okay job? I can''t even feel anything anymore! everything hurts..." Yang and Ruby were a little tired. "Haruki you monster how are you not tired... Even you Blake you look okay..." Blake thought to herself ''Well I have been doing this for years...'' While everyone was too tired to speak... Pyrrha was very eager to train. "I can still handle more..." Haruki bonked her on the head. "Pyrrha I thought you knew this... but rest is as equally important as training..." Jaune strongly agreed "Yes! rest is very important..." He said as he lied down on the ground. "Well you guys rest... because tomorrow we will be doing the same regimen but faster." Everyone booed Harukis tyranny. "I suggest a revolution, for we are human too! I protest equal rights!" Ruby said... so Haruki pinched her cheeks "Hoooh.... a brave soldier ready to sacrifice for their cause... Ruby tommorow you will be training a little earlier." Ruby protested in Harukis arms "I object! Down with the patriarchy!!" Everyone laughed as they rested... Haruki arrived at the coffee shop he and emerald were supposed to meet. He saw her sitting down tapping her fingers impatiently... Haruki sat down the chair opposite to her. "Sorry I''m late Em..." Before he could continue however Emerald then said "I really missed you..." So she stood up, pulled Haruki away behind an empty Alley, and started kissing him. "I missed you too, little lamb" he said as he nibbled on her lips. "Did you even think of me?" Haruki then cheekily smirked and said "of course... there''s not a day I don''t miss you Em..." Emerald wrapped her arms around Haruki and teased him playfully... "Mmmph... Are you sure you wanna keep going? There''s bound to be people around..." Haruki licked her in the earlobe and said. "Well it doesn''t matter... if my little lamb wants to then I''ll happily oblige." Emerald pinched him in his sides. "Hmph! Pervert!, Womanizer!" She leaned on his chest wondering what kind of man she fell for..."You and your glib tongue..." She then turned serious... "Haruki cinder really wants revenge... although I don''t want to betray her I also don''t want you getting hurt." Haruki then patted her head. "Relax it''s going to be okay... I got everything under control." Emerald then looked at Haruki with pleading eyes. "Haruki whatever happens please don''t hurt Cinder... Even if she did hurt me I still care for her." Haruki kissed her to reassure her. "It''s going to be fine... I won''t hurt her but I will teach her something..." Emerald then realized what he meant. "Ahhh you!! Pervert Womanizer!!" She said as she beat on his chest. Haruki then took emerald to a fancy restaurant, they ate and bid goodbye to each other... "Haruki I will be going to Beacon in a while I hope you and Neo will welcome me..." Haruki held emeralds hands and told her "It''s going to be fine...Alright let me send you home." Emerald then booped him on the nose "Don''t bother... Cinders there... So just wait for me patiently you Big Bad Wolf..." While Team RWBY we''re eating outside they saw Haruki walking outside with another woman... "Ohh look it''s Haruki! and he''s with another girl!! Do you think she''s his mistress?" Yang pointed outside screaming... "They even kissed I''m pretty sure she''s the mistress!!! O M G! it''s like watching those dramas Velvet watches!!" Weiss rolled her eyes "I don''t get why you guys obsess over him so much..." Blake then twirled her hair saying "Because he''s nice and reliable.." Yang then added. "Plus he''s Handsome and Very well built." Ruby then said. "He also saved us twice now... he''s like a cool hero." Weiss then said " But he''s a womanizer... I don''t see why you still view him as such..." Yang then said "but you agreed to train under his wing... " Weiss immediately denied. "Because Pyrrha was training with him... that is all..." Ruby teased Weiss "The Ice Queen finally melted!!!" Hahaha their laughter echoed throughout the restaurant. But as they were about to leave someone gave a letter to Blake. As Blake was reading the letter, her expressionimmediately turned grim. For it was Adam Taurus. Saying he was in Vale, just to look for her.... She then looked outside to see Adam outside waving at her. Yang then shook Blake back to reality. "Hey Blake you okay?" Blake then looked back outside but no one was there anymore... "I''m fine I just thought I saw someone I knew." Blake thought she saw an illusion... little did she know something big was about to happen... 17 Chapter 16: You really piss me off Part 1 A Man Gives his life to a cause. Years pass until, inevitably, one day towards the end... He wonders if it was the right thing, but he''s already given so much to it. To quit would erase all his sacrifice. So instead he stays the course. Too far down the road to turn back, he agrees to die compromised. He was exhausted by the ineffectual fight of terrorizing the pawns of Giants. Character is revealed through choice. Who would he blame for all the suffering he saw throughout his countless battles... A thief?, A murderer? or the World leader... This one decision reveals true motive. Ask yourself on that self serving dark ledge you stand upon... Who would you kill? Haruki looked at the pale moonlight... It was finally time to confront Team RWBY on that warehouse. So he sent a message to Blake, saying that they need to prevent Roman Torchwick from shipping the dust. She needs to go with her whole team. He said that he won''t let any of them get hurt. He also reported to Ozpin on what''s about to go down. He told him that let him handle this... that none of them would get hurt... that bad. Neo was worried about Roman but she knew Roman was too far gone the road... But she wanted him to be safe at least. so it''s better if he gets arrested instead. (Be safe Haru... and please don''t be reckless...) Haruki patted her in the head... "Don''t worry Neo you are needed elsewhere... and besides Romans not that weak, he can handle himself." Haruki arrived at the warehouse... Roman exasperatedly looked at Haruki. "Must be nice all you had to do is sit on your ass all night... while I do the heavy lifting..." Haruki shrugs his shoulders. "I got stabbed for fucks sake, while you and your boys ran, I staggered as I returned back to beacon." Roman then lights his cigar and says. "Suck it up princess... Put on your work face, this is the second to the last shipment of dust we had to send back to her..." Haruki leaned on a container looking at the roof he saw Team RWBY on the roof. Back at Beacon before they went to The warehouse... Blake told the others about the massive shipment Romans about to do. Yang asked her where she got the info... "An informant... don''t worry we can trust him." Weiss dubiously looked at Blake and said "Is he part of the white fang?" Blake shook her head. Weiss then stood up. "Let''s go... After all my father''s dust shipments is on the line... I will help you Blake." The four agreed to sneak out tonight and go investigate the warehouse. "Ruby , what are you looking so serious for?" Yang asked. "I think the guy who beat us will be there..." When they arrived they saw Haruki in his disguise leaning on a container. "Is he the guy?" Weiss asked as she observed Haruki. "He looks quite strong." Yang added "I really can''t wait to battle him." Yang jumped down. "Hey! I heard you did a number on my sister..." Still leaning on the container Haruki spoke. "Well me and Red have a complicated history..." Blake stopped Yang and whispered "What are you doing he''s the informant!" Yang then answered back. "I know I just want to test his skills." Weiss face palmed for they have now been discovered by Roman and co. "Great job Yang... Way to go blow our cover..." Weiss said, clearly exasperated. "Well if it isn''t red and friends! You young gals sure are hard to kill!" Roman appeared praising their bravery. "You girls clearly don''t know what your doing." He then looked at the white fang members. "Kill them..." Blake then removed her ribbon and shouted. "Wait! Brothers of the white fang, Why are you working for this kind of scum!?" Roman laughed "you again little missy... *Sigh Didn''t you get the memo? Me and the white fang are going in on a joint business..."Blake then pointed a sword at Roman. "Tell me where is Adam... or I''ll put an end into your little operation." Then someone from the top of the containers spoke... "I wouldn''t exactly call it little." The shadowy figure jumped down and revealed himself to be Adam Taurus. "How have you been, my love?" Blake was shocked for Adam was really here... she looked at Haruki for help, but he was just as shocked as she was. "What are you doing here!? Do you really think this is the way things are done?" Adam shrugs. "Well, I found out that working with these guys is the most beneficial to our cause..." Blake then said "Are you joking?" Adam unsheathed his blade and asked "Is it funny?" Blake angrily told him "When I signed up to the white fang, it was different... you were different... do you even remember those days?" Adam then slashed towards Blake but Ruby and Weiss both blocked him. "This is how it''s supposed to be Blake... Humans need to fear us! The revolution won''t be stopped!" Haruki then unsheathed his sword, Adam looked at him and said "Don''t join in... I can handle this myself." Haruki then ordered the white fang to attack them. As Team RWBY were fighting the white fang, Haruki then went near Adam and asked "What are you doing here? By showing up you''re only making this more complicated..." Adam then drew his blade and pointed at Haruki "I told you not to interfere..." Haruki then said "I don''t work for you..." Roman sensing that shit''s about to go down... "Uhh Haruki was just making this less complicated, so why don''t we all calm down and focus on the mission?" But he was ignored by Adam and Haruki. "You know Kaz... I always Hated your guts..." Haruki smirked "What a coincidence! I hate your self-righteous bullshit kind of belief too." Adam charged towards Haruki slashing towards him. He parried all of Adams attacks softly so he wouldn''t charge up wilt and blush. "What part of Humans are scum don''t you get Kaz? Always spewing bullshit that if you accept them they will accept us... " He was pissed at Haruki for being such a hypocrite. "Didn''t you kill your fair share of people?" Haruki sent a punch towards Adam hitting him square in the face. "There is a better way Adam!" They both jumped up at the containers. Fighting under the pale moonlight. Haruki then said. "you may delude yourself into a more Noble veneer, but you share one primary goal with humans... Survival." Adam kicked him in the stomach, and jumped up to slash downwards. "However, when in service to a greater cause, killing can be Noble!" Haruki instantly refuted "Do you even hear yourself!?" He Blocked another flurry of attacks and rolled towards Adam and tackled him. They both let go of their blades and started a fist fight. He landed a blow to Adams solar plexus, staggering him. Haruki then said... "It is a stark truth... Some people deserve to die... but when you take genocide into account, then what is the difference between you and the ones you are fighting against!?" Adam then slowly stood up as he spit out blood. "The world respects those who can protect themselves." This angered Haruki even more, He saw his past self in adam... when he was fueled with rage and hatred towards humans... he never thought revenge could cost him so dearly... that''s why he can''t stand someone walking the same path he did. It never ends well. it only ends in tragedy and despair. Hitting back, Adam told Haruki. "The only great thing about humans is their ability to know their own wretchedness..." The two slowly backed out of each other to pick up their weapons. "Though you might deny war... You cannot deny the benefits from it. HUMANS LOVE WAR!!!" Adam slammed down his blade cutting the huge container in half, Haruki then slashed everywhere cutting up debris, using the debris as his platform. Adam then did the same clashing their swords as they moved from platform to platform... "The greatest sin off all is that they don''t even realize it! As they sit atop on their glorified authority thinking it''s for the greater good... What the fuck about us!? do we just have to sit by? to get used like some common goods to fight for their meaningless wars!?" Haruki then used lightning form and kicked adam to send him flying towards the middle of the fight between the white fang and Team RWBY... 18 Chapter 17: You really piss me off part 2 In the face of absolute power there was no mercy nor sympathy, When I was younger I was a mess I must admit. I said and did a lot of stupid and selfish things. I never thought that it would last this long and neither did the others that''s why they''re all gone. When is time to give it up and how long is long enough?Years go by, souls diminish, the revolution loses its final spark.... how is there any other option besides Depression, Drug Addiction and suicide... Strength comes with a high price, you pay for it by cutting off everyone you love, for they will only get in your way. people had lost everything through war... and discrimination... There''s no reason for liking someone, but everything can be a reason for disliking someone. Haruki slowly approached Adam in the crater he made... Team Ruby was surprised on the sudden explosion. They were about to finish up, but suddenly Adam fell through the ground. Yang then suddenly said "Wow I never expected him to be this strong." Blake was even more surprised for she didn''t expect Haruki to have this much of an advantage towards Adam. *cough cough* Adam slowly stood up. "That euphoria from looking down from that high up place at the people and their misery." Adam sheathed his blade preparing to strike, he pulled the trigger propelling his blade towards Haruki. Haruki spun and dodged him while sending a back fist towards his face. Adam quickly regained his footing and punched Haruki in the guts. " Borders, Race, Ideology..... those problems that remained unchanged. There is no light of hope that those could be resolved. Prediction that the Humans and Faunus would get along is a pipe dream! Everyone knows that! That was Despair! That''s the goddamn reason why I can''t fall down now!!!" When everyone heard Adam they were shaken to their core, except for Haruki... He knew all of this and yet he can''t help but clash with Adams ideology it was already too late they were both too far gone this road. Adam was prepared to sacrifice everything for his cause. Haruki will sacrifice himself for the ones he cares about. Adam continued silencing everyone who was about to refute. "Humans didn''t correct the disparity between us Faunus, because of the fixation towards maintaining the status quo, They love the pedestal they were given... thinking of others as nothing more than a sub-species of their race!" He exchanged blades with Haruki while he spoke,Directing his anger to no one in particular. "I only care about the real objective. I couldn''t care less about the prestige." Haruki backed up, Headbutting Adam, he then spoke. "I get where your coming from Adam... and that''s why I have to stop you..." Team RWBY were awestruck... they didn''t even notice that Roman had already escaped long before the fight started. Weiss then screamed at Adam. "We humans are also trying... if you would listen for one minute!" Adam shot towards Weiss, But Haruki was fast enough to block it using Lightning form. "A brat like you is nothing more than an overly conscious to appear like a do-gooder. You can ignore the exploitation and violence and pretend like they don''t exist, because the giant "Social System" is the one doing all the work for you. It''s just a tiny little trick to fool their conscience...A developed and complicated kingdom like atlas is located at the farthest reaches from sympathy." Adam bellowed at Weiss... Haruki then looked at Weiss and said."Miss schnee, your words are appreciated but please don''t get it the way. I wouldn''t want you getting hurt." Weiss blushed at Haruki''s words. Adam then laughed hard... "You are always like this you hated meaningless violence and senseless killings... yet, you have always been decisive... you have more human kills than I have in my belt... I always thought you were the kind of person who knew more about reality than I did." Adam charged towards Haruki slashing at him with speed unseen by the naked eye. Haruki frantically blocked all his strikes except for one that was aimed towards Weiss if he moved... she''s dead. So he got wounded... a huge gash appeared on his chest. Blake screamed "Nooo!! Adam Stop! please stop!!" Adam then ignored Blake"but you had one fatal flaw Kaz... or should I say Haruki... you fell for a human, to Neo! that''s what made you weak! that''s what made you soft!" Hearing this Weiss can''t help but be shocked... "Are you... really Haruki?" But Haruki didn''t respond, but instead spoke in his normal voice. "Adam what would happen if I told you I was human and not a faunus?" Adam was shocked For the only person he has considered as his rival and friend was part of the race who has branded him and tortured his race... Surprisingly Adam was notangered. "I kinda suspected that was the case... When I look into your eyes and and just see cold indifference when you kill humans it was then I thought, ahh I see this person hates humans as much as I do." Blake was shocked on this revelation she always thought Haruki was a faunus because he was part of the white fang. It turns out that their Hero was human all along... the one that gave them hope... Blake found this shocking but she was inwardly glad that it was possible after all... The peace that she has always dreamed of... Adam then continued "We bear the same hatred towards humans. Your powers are necessary for my cause. That''s why I ignored all your pretentious bullshit where you rant about equality through peace... that kind of naive ideology... is never going to work... but when I look at you, everytime you say that... all I see is just forced ideals... Let me ask you this... Do you truly believe the bullshit you say?" Adam then accepted Haruki''s strike letting him get hit in the face... Spitting out blood, he stood up "Tell me Haruki if Neo wasn''t there to play nurse to your shattered ideas... Would you even give a damn about what you were fighting for?" Haruki then sheathed his sword and said "I have seen too many soldiers die for a cause they don''t believe in... But even without this pretentious bullshit we both spew... it boils down into one single thing..." Adam and Haruki both spoke in unison. ""You really just piss me off..."" Haruki summoned Fenrir Fangs... and held his blade ready to attack at any moment. Suddenly applause resounded all over the place... The mysterious figure suddenly spoke. "Truly a great spectacle Everytime I see it... The clash between two Hypocrites..." When the mysterious figure appeared out of the smoke and debris surrounding it... it was... "A talking Grimm!?" Weiss was the one to speak up... "I am not a Grimm young lady!!! I am their predecessor! One of the Seven Deadly Sins.... Gluttony!!!!" It''s form changed into a human... a youth that looked to be in his twenties... "Are you more comfortable with this form?" He bowed, and looked at Adam and Haruki... "Such strength... you people are the ones who lead me here... it makes me want to devour you!!!! Hehehehehhahahahahahaha!!!!!" As Gluttony was talking Haruki and Adam Charged at each other... "Harukiiiiii!!!" "Adaaaam!!!" They clashed their blades ignoring gluttony''s madness... "Don''t ignore me!!!!" Gluttony extended his hand and it turned into a huge gaping maw, Biting at Haruki and Adam, They both used one of their strongest attacks [Exploding star] [Moonslice] to block Gluttony''s attack... Haruki then spoke. "Tch... you''re slowing me down... I could''ve blocked it faster than you did..." Adam then spoke "That''s because I held back... if I used moonslice on it''s full power it would''ve killed you... ruining our duel..." Haruki then sliced at Adam "Oh yeah!? why don''t you use it again!" Adam blocked his attack and grinned. "Ohh, You can''t handle it." Gluttony was angered by this... He was part of the Seven Deadly Sins... He was akin to a God in this place, and yet a couple of brats are just ignoring his presence... He then madly charged at Haruki and Adam resulting in a free for all melee... "You Brats should know your place! I will eat you two and leave nothing behind!!" Adam crouched and slashed at his legs cutting it, Haruki Pierced through Gluttony''s Heart using Fenrir Fangs. He gripped his Heart and crushed it. Then they both gained distance from each other... Gluttony echoed a deafening roar... "You are really pissing me off you damn Brats!!!" Adam and Haruki both looked at him and said. ""Stop getting in the way!!!"" Gluttony summoned a huge maw in his stomach and tried to bite them both clean... [Moonslice] [Reflecting Moon] *Crash!!!!* Gluttony was sent flying, Haruki then summoned his black wolves and held gluttony in place... Adam appeared behind him and cut off his head. Haruki then looked at Adam and said "Meh... I could''ve done better all by myself..." Adam interjected "Hardly, I did all the work..." Then suddenly a laughter echoed throughout the place and a large figure of a Grimm appeared... It was gluttony''s true form... Finally they have reached the tipping point... 19 Chapter 18: Donst die until I kill you! The hulking Grimm stood tall above all of them with a large gaping maw... with spikes protruding all over his body. He looked like a smaller Leviathan. He was looking down on them with a smile... "I hope this form would help you on taking me seriously..." He said in a gravely voice. Haruki was stunned... "How the fuck are you still alive!?" Gluttony just laughed... "I never thought I would have to take out my real form... you humans and your fall maidens... You surprise me with your tenacity..." Team RWBY were jolted back to reality... they couldn''t believe what was happening... First they couldn''t speak throughout Adam and Harukis battle with gluttony... Yang spoke "Is this even real?? A Grimm that could talk?" Everyone was shaking from the pressure the monster was emitting... Weiss then shakily said... "This goes against all the things that we know about them..." Fear was the most basic instinct every creature has... Knowing that this monster is at the Apex of their world... Scares them...they are scared towards things they don''t understand... Suddenly the voice of Ars Magus resounded on Haruki''s Head. (The Primordial Aspect of Gluttony has been detected... Please consume to strengthen devour and complete ''Warmongers'' evolution...) Haruki looked at the monster and looked at Adam..."I hate you but we have to work together for now..." Adam picked up his blade "Although I can handle this myself... it would be great to have a meat shield..." Then they said it at the same time ... ""Don''t die until I kill you!"" They charged towards Gluttony... And he was laughing... "Slow and weak!" He says as he swung his arms towards Adam. Sending Adam flying over the distance. Haruki was surprised by gluttony''s speed and strength. He then summoned multiple Black wolves... Gluttony did the same, he called over multiple Grimm. Team RWBY tried to hold back the Grimm so Haruki could Concentrate on fighting Gluttony... Haruki summoned Warmonger and killed the other Grimm who passed by the Team RWBY barricade. "Ohh it seems you still have a few tricks up your sleeves" Gluttony mocked as he charged towards Haruki. Haruki struck Gluttony as he parried of his strikes... Gluttony was surprised... "It seems you were holding back when you were fighting that faunus..." He then made his body into Harukis size and pulled one of his protruding bones... "Let''s even the playing field boy..." He slashed towards Haruki but He made warmonger devour the bone... (Devoured a shard of the Aspect of gluttony... Warmonger upgraded...) Mid battle Warmonger Transformed and had dragon horns in it''s cross guard. And multiple dragon spikes appeared...it''s blade turned crimson... Gluttony was struck by fear... "How do you have that!!!" he pointed towards Haruki''s arm... "How is it here!?" He dashed towards Haruki and Clawed at him... Randomly biting from time to time... Haruki used Fenrirs Fangs to wound him in the shoulder... Haruki then used warmonger to bite off his wounded shoulder. (Primordial essence of the Aspect of Gluttony aquired... Warmonger skill updated...) Dimensional Bite - point at the direction of the you want to bite and imagine biting on that space... You then summon a Huge maw from the void to eat everything... Gula - You can summon Voracious Void Bats that devour essence in you wake... They are powered by your hunger for blood. "Hahahahahaha" Gluttony laughed madly... "Well it doesn''t matter where you got it! I will eat it all the same!!! Both you and that arrogant Faunus!!!" Gluttony and Haruki clashed. In a matter of seconds they have already traded over a hundred blows. *Bamm!!* Both Haruki and Gluttony were sent flying. Gluttony madly bit and chewed on the Grimm he called... Regenerating the damage he sustained... "It''s futile boy... you alone can''t beat me!!" As he was about to bite haruki... [Moonslice]!!! Adam slashed towards gluttony, wounding him on the chest... "What did I fucking tell you? Don''t die until I kill you..." Haruki slowly stood up. "Fuck... Give me a break... I had to solo this bitch, while you sat on your ass..." Adam retorted... "Well I didn''t feel compelled to help..." Haruki shrugged "Whatever... you look like you needed the break..." Gluttony was elated to see Adam back in action..."Good you''re not dead! I could take my time picking you two apart..." He swung his arms creating strong gusts of wind. Separating Adam and Haruki, He dashed at Adam and kicked him in the guts, Adam spun his sword while he jumped upwards. Haruki pointed warmonger towards Gluttony''s location and activated Dimensional Bite... But gluttony dodged... He looked at Haruki and said. "Do you really think that I''ll just let you bite me again!? I can sense the powers of your weapon grow as it eats my minions..." Gluttony extended both his arms stabbing them both in the shoulders... He grabbed Adam and slammed him in the ground... Haruki was flung towards Team RWBY''s direction. Team RWBY were trying to finish up the other Grimm... Ruby was however paying attention to Harukis Fight... surprised by his skill and powers... She thought to herself... ''Why was he training her in the first place...When Blake revealed him to be part of the white fang she was shocked... but he also was the one who she fought in the beginning of the semester...She remembered the days she spent with him joking around in class... and He also has saved her life multiple times... She thought of him as one of her close friends... even if he was Roman To henchmen she will wait until he explains the whole truth... So seeing him get beat up by Gluttony angered her... "Haruki!!! Are you okay!?" But as he was about to speak gluttony was already behind ruby, so he activated his lightning form and blocked gluttony''s attack. Causing him to get stabbed... Ruby was shocked "Haruki!!!!" She held Haruki in her arms... Gluttony noticed her eyes... "Ohhhh!!!! Of course!! silver eyes!!! How beautiful!! it just makes me want to devour you!! With those eyes I can finally kick pride in the face!!!!" Blake, Weiss and Yang tried to block Gluttony''s advance but it was futile they were thrown at the side with just one swing... Gluttony continued and crouched at the crying Ruby... "What is your name child? Before I kill you I''ll show some form of modesty at least..." He tore off Haruki from Ruby... throwing him away... Rubby spun her scythe slashing at Gluttony angrily..."No!!How dare you kill him!! I''ll make you pay!" Gluttony just used one finger to block her attacks... "*Yawn... although I love dramatic theatrics before I eat... this is getting boring so... save your tears child... you''ll be a part of me soon." As Gluttony reached for Ruby''s eyes... "Oi... Get your filthy fucking hands off of her."Haruki held Gluttony down in place... "Your opponent is me..." He punched gluttony square in the face... Sending him flying... Gluttony sat back up looking for the Grimm he has summoned, but Harukis Void Bats were Devouring every Grimm. Haruki was pissed... He was very pissed... Of all the people to hurt, he was going to hurt this bundle of sunshine.... Haruki used lightning form and summoned his Black Dire Wolves... His fenrir fangs have upgraded from devouring a lot of Grimm... Those Black Dire Wolves are very sturdy, even if Gluttony bit them they can still hold him down. He punched down gluttony''s face, smashing it into a pulp. "Get the fuck up filth..." He Dispelled the Black Dire Wolves... He picked him up and slammed him to the ground... He mounted gluttony and repeatedly struck him in the face Gluttony has never been this humiliated before... He jumped at Haruki trying to bite at him... But Haruki materialized C4 Laced with Nitroglycerin and tossed it in gluttony''s gaping maw...*boom!! Freezing gluttony, He sliced him in Half... But gluttony slowly regenerated... He stood back up and mockingly looked at Haruki. "Is this the extent of your mastery of Ars Magus? Pathetic..." They then proceeded to exchange blows... Gluttony was faster so he kicked Haruki in his wounds... sending him tumbling towards the ground. Gluttony summoned a Hammer and was about to bash harukis face in but... he suddenly felt weak... as if something''s flowing inside him that''s slowly killing him... Haruki was smirking... "When I crushed your heart earlier with Fenrir Fangs I laced it with it''s ultimate poison... [Tricksters Sting] now that I have upgraded This weapon... it has already gotten even stronger..." Haruki Brought out Warmonger and devoured Gluttony''s legs..."Well fucker... not so tough now are we?" He stomped on Gluttony''s face repeatedly... Gluttony laughed madly..."Hahahahahaha this is the best! You are the first to kill me... I wonder what it feels like!! I hunger for that feeling!" Haruki was wondering if he could even kill sin... "What you''re thinking boy is probably correct... you can''t kill sin, as long as chaos and the darkness inside everyone exist... we will never die!!!" Gluttony looked at the sky and said "We are the primordial Sins! when the first human sinned, we were also born... it is our sworn purpose to indulge in what we desire..." Haruki looked down and asked... "Did you also come from Salem''s pool of darkness?" Gluttony Laughed..."No, We do not serve that witch... So how bout it brat? Devour me and gain my powers and maybe the next time we meet, you and that punk faunus can put up a proper fight without this poison bullshit." Haruki smiled..."There won''t be any difference next time I''ll still kill you all the same." Haruki Used Devour using Warmonger, it opened it''s huge jaws and chewed on Gluttony... But before gluttony Died he said..."Pride and Wrath are much more stronger than I am... I hope you don''t die to them... until we have a rematch... until then, don''t let that silver eyed kid die! Hahahahhahaha!" Haruki looked at the beautiful sunrise... *sigh... it''s finally over... He looked at team RWBY and they have all fainted due to exhaustion... And Adam is already gone in the wind... Haruki then remembered he should''ve devoured Adams skills... "Fuck... what a wasted opportunity..." He then carried Team RWBY to a safe place, He laid them side by side... He sat down on one of the debris... "*Haaaah, I really wish I could smoke right now..." But if he did, Neo would kill him... That cute young gal is scary when angry...Looking at the fainted young gals near him, he smiled... "Thank God no one got hurt..." After a good while Haruki changed his outfit into his school uniform, Then the authorities arrived, he ''Reported'' what happened. By this time Haruki has recovered most of his wounds... So when he returned from the academy Neo was waiting for him, back from her mission... (Hey, I heard you and Adam had a fight last night?) He carried Neo to bed and Hugged her. "A fight would be an understatement he was raring for a death match!" Neo worriedly looked and Haruki and said (We''re you hurt anywhere?)Haruki then flexed his arm and said "Your husband is very strong." Neo hugged him tight and said (You better tell Pyrrha and Emerald everything...) Haruki smiled "Of course my darling princess... but that''ll have to wait for awhile..." Neo buried her face into his chest and asked (Why?) "Because I''m hungry!" He sealed Neos lips... and Morning turned to night... finally exhaustion got the best of them and they finally went to sleep... It truly is a funny thing how destiny works but, I guess watching this kid devour everything in his wake would be interesting! When Warmonger devoured gluttony he wasn''t able to resurrect for he was absorbed and became one with warmonger... He wasn''t planning on going back to being a sin anymore because it bored him, however... He wants to see how this kid could devour everything... The battle for the control over remnant has just begun... 20 Volume 1 Special/Omake 1 (Neo and Haruki''s Daily Life~~~) Haruki looked at the mirror seriously... He can''t remember how long he was staring at it... "Fuck... Why doesn''t it work!? It''s supposed to!" He has said this 4 times in the past hour... I must make it work... for my own sake... He looked back up... with newly found determination. He slowly breathed in and out... He raised his arms that held the Ars Magus, and yelled... "IT''S HERO TIME!!! GO HEATBLAAAAASST!!!!!" Haruki slammed his fist towards the sink... "God damnit why doesn''t it work!!!" He looked up and saw Neo staring at him... wondering what he was doing... "Uhhh... you see Neo... uhhh this was from a show back in my uhh... place I was just... y''know trying to imitate it...." Not being bothered by it, Neo asked him.. (Would you like some breakfast?) She then went back to the kitchen... Haruki knelt on the floor, for his determination was shattered.... "Darling... sometimes your kindness hurts..." He shed tears... for he can''t make the impossible... possible.... (Neo and Haruki''s Daily Life~~~ 2) She was looking at the mirror fixing her hair... As if she was preparing for something... Slowly she activated her semblance... she knew limits ,like fear...is often an illusion. she slowly changed into haruki''s staple white fang suit... His long Jet black fur overcoat with white highlights. She rolled up her sleeves and created an illusion of ''Absolute Demise'' She posed in front of the mirror... she added a few adornments... a white glove and a black glove on each hand with a dragon head sigil on top... (Hmph... Filth like you don''t deserve to live...) She then slashed towards the mirror... Satisfied by this Neo smiled Happily. She noticed Haruki staring at her... Neo waved her arms around... (Thi-This isn''t what you think it is) But Haruki didn''t make fun of her... He was nodding approvingly... They both posed at the mirror. "" Even without this pretentious bullshit we both spew... it boils down into one single thing..."" ""You really just piss me off..."" they pointed their blade at the mirror. *Ding! the microwave was finished heating up their food... Neo immediately dashed to get it... Haruki was left posing like an idiot in front of the mirror... "Hehehe!!! it is my fate to be betrayed!!!" He laughed madly... Not knowing that Neo has invited Pyrrha over to eat... Haruki looked at Pyrrha... slowly putting his sword down... "uh.... this.. uhh..." Haruki was thinking of what excuse to give... Pyrrha just smiles at him... and says "Time to eat baby!" Haruki knelt down ... for he has tasted defeat... once more... 21 Special: The Spiders Web 3 years ago... In the land of Darkness... Haruki was practicing on the arena... Neo was with Roman away from a mission. He was planning on laying the groundwork for his plans... He needed emerald to have a positive view of him. Mercury needs to view him as an ally. Cinder However.... well... he''ll cross that bridge when he gets there. Emerald was watching Haruki train... She was surprised by his sword skills... she never saw him display his swordsmanship this openly before... it was mostly just quick deaths for his enemies. He never really had a chance to show his skills. Emerald on the other hand thought of pranking Haruki. So she jumped down to the arena Drawing her dual pistols. She shot at Haruki, Haruki parried all her shots. He charged towards her and grabbed her arm performing an aikido throw... She fell on her back, and when she looked up Absolute Demise was already pointed at her throat. Haruki apologized "Sorry, I was too rough..."He grabbed her by the waist and helped her stand. "I was to immersed in training I didn''t notice..." Emerald smiled at him and asked "You''re really good... I could learn a thing or two on your swordsmanship... Haruki then noticed something was different. "You grew out you hair?" As he held her green hair... "It suits you." He smilingly said. Emerald dubiously looked at him and said "Are you always this flirty towards women?" Haruki held his hands up trying to defend himself. "Of course not! Only to the cuties such as yourself..." Emerald rolled her eyes at Haruki and said..."Oh please that kind of superficial BS won''t work on me." She then went outside to get some fresh air... inwardly she thought... ''Holy hell that was my first time talking to him that long! I always found him cute but Cinder is and always will be better!'' Haruki then proceeded to wipe his sweat and he went back to change... he thought to himself. ''I have successfully made Emerald Train with me... now we can spend more time together...'' I can learn more about her semblance... A Few weeks pass Haruki, Emerald and Neo have been training together... Increasing both their teamwork and bond... Little by little Haruki was slowly trying to woo emerald Trying to distance her to Cinder as much as possible... Neo noticed this so Haruki was getting beat up everyday. Per Salem''s orders, Haruki and Emerald were sent out on a joint mission with the white fang. "Em it''s our first time... Working together..." Emerald knocked on his head. "Haha, What''s with that long pause?" Haruki rubbed his head. "Dramatic effect." Emerald Let out her tongue. " Well whatever you gigolo..." She jumped off the airship and landed down the forest. Haruki followed after... Landing beside her He asked "what''s the rush??" Emerald then brought out a map of the place "Firstly I want to go home... A phrase I never thought I would say... Secondly we need to find shelter, I feel like it''s about to rain..." Haruki looked at the Data Adam sent them... "So our Target is Slave Trader A and Slave Trader B..." Emerald took the scroll from him... "They are Arman Gregor and Geoffani Rancid... they have been in this business for years..." Haruki interrupted Emerald... "Who cares about their names they''re nothing more than corpses, They probably have a fuck ton of cash stashed somewhere..." Emerald knocked on his shoulder. "Dibs on the jewelry!"Haruki replied "Wh- Hey! that''s not fair!" After walking for a while the rain started to pour. She and Haruki dashed towards the nearest cave. Night came and the rain still hasn''t let up. So Haruki went out to hunt. "Hey I brought food." Haruki said as he was carrying a dead Deer. Emerald can''t help but ask... "You know how to cook?" Haruki laughed... "Well Yeah... Me and Neo alternate on the cooking schedule, you really can''t rely on Roman to do it... He always says cooking was to crass and it might ruin his image." Emerald laughed. "Pfft... hahahahaha! I can imagine him saying that!" Haruki cooked the food with makeshift utensils... As he Barbequed the meat he told dumb stories to emerald, making her laughter resound all over the cave. Emerald thought to herself...''I wish we could just stay like this...forever... but sadly... the one in your eyes in not me... but someone else.'' Emerald was slowly falling for Haruki... After eating Haruki and Emerald sat close to each other... to fight the cold...Emerald then asked Haruki why he does this... "I honestly do not know, I''m just going with the flow you know... ever since I was young... my only thought was to survive and never starve again... I never had big goals, like making humanity suffer or conquering the world or what not ... I just wanted to enjoy life... but sadly reality made me realize that''s impossible... I''m already too far gone this road I can''t turn back..." Emerald while listening to his story leaned on his bread shoulders. "You know we have similar reasons for joining... I always hated having to sleep starving... So I resorted to stealing from people, when Cinder approached me I was but a petty thief... She turned me into what I am now. I am very grateful To her... She told me that I wouldn''t have to go hungry again... the reason I joined was to survive... But I stayed because I owe cinder everything I have..." Haruki smiled and pulled her close... "Yeah When Roman and Neo saved me from dying on that snowy day I vowed to help them on what ever path they may take...But don''t mistake blind devotion with gratitude..." He looked at emerald straight in the eyes... "You are still your own person... don''t let cinder dictate how you live your life..." Emerald sighed... "You don''t understand I owe her everything..." Haruki smiled and patted her head. "Don''t worry about it." When he looked back at Emerald but she has already fallen asleep, he held her tight so she won''t feel cold. Morning came and the Rain finally let up... Emerald woke up to the smell of meat being cooked. "Better eat up... We have a bigger Animal to hunt later." Haruki told her as he roasted the meat. They exited the cave and the blaring sunlight glared at them with is rays. Then they started the bloodbath. This Mission was the only time Emerald really opened up to someone... She fell for Haruki''s kindness, he was like a breath of fresh air in the midst of the corpses that surrounded them on the daily basis. The reason why she helped Cinder, On trying to manipulate Haruki although she doesn''t want to... was because Cinder wasn''t the only one watching Haruki Hug Neo that night, she also saw it... She felt Jealous. why can''t it be her!?... She was angered. She used her semblance on Haruki... But it backfired... she doesn''t know what Haruki saw but she was scared... of the killing intent directed towards her... scared that he would forever hate her... then she was woken up by a slap... Looking at Haruki with fear... He asked her something but she couldn''t hear it... She thought to herself whatever Haruki saw angered him to the point where he could even try and kill her... She felt guilty... that''s why she didn''t move... She could only accept it, She has hurt him. So if he ever decided to end her... she won''t budge and let it happen. But when Haruki was about to stab cinder She could only use Neo as a shield... When she came into Harukis room as per Cinders order... she wasn''t reluctant, but scared that if Haruki discovered that she''s not Neo... He would Hate her... she wasn''t prepared for that... But he actually apologized... He was sorry but she saw sorrow in his eyes... She thought what she did was unforgivable... That''s why she resolved herself whatever Haruki decided she would do it... However unexpectedly he accepted her... She was elated at the same time scared... What if this was only a dream... and Haruki has already ended her... what if she was just using her semblance on herself... To blur the line between reality.... But it didn''t matter to her anymore... Even if someday this illusion comes crashing down... As long as she could spend more time with him... nothing else really mattered... And thus one vibration in the spiders thread could send ripples throughout the entire web... Haruki had made Emerald turn on Cinder... Haruki knew about Emeralds feelings that''s why he felt guilty for hurting her... but if he could kill two birds with one stone... he wouldn''t mind using her... Perfection needs no council. It knows best, even when others disagree... Like I said I only care about the real objective I couldn''t care less about prestige... 22 Special: Fragile like Glass 5 Years ago When Cinder first saw Haruki beside Roman... it immediately pissed her off. "This is no place for a child! Do you think this is a Joke Roman!?" Haruki was cheekily looking at her... It reminded her of someone and it pissed her off. "Now... Now I assure you Miss. Cinder, this child is very powerful." Cinder screamed at Roman. "It doesn''t matter if he''s strong! He''s still a child!" "I gotta say Miss Cinder... For someone so ruthless I didn''t think you''d be this against Haruki working with us, I mean you didn''t react this strongly towards Neo..." Cinder flicked her hair back and said. "I just don''t want to anger ''Her''..." Cinder glared at Haruki but he was there ,still standing with a faint smile like it''s nobody''s business... Cinder walked away... telling Roman she will be back in a few weeks to evaluate Haruki... "You heard her... Although I am surprised by your tenacity boy... normally you would be afraid of Cinder for she is very powerful..." Haruki just shrugs "It''s just part of my charm..." Roman bonked him on the head "Make sure she doesn''t hear you say that, cheeky brat." A few weeks pass... and Haruki has Hunted countless Grimm... It was time for his evaluation... He was sent to Atlas to assassinate someone, Cinder being his observer... she wanted too see for herself if he could do it. "Can you do it boy?" She told him teasingly... Haruki while maintaining his life reaping katana told her... "Well yeah... He is a business man that has loads of dust in his mansion, he is also a drug trafficker... so it would be easy for me to end his life..." Cinder interjected "Now remember we don''t need the drugs just find his property documents and the huge stash of dust..." we don''t need anything else... kill everyone who sees you..." Haruki nodded as he stepped off the car. He walked into the snow covered forest, leading to the mansion on top of the icy mountain. Haruki thought to himself... "Fuck... after escaping that wretched place I still have to go back to killing people..." *Sigh... This is just fucking great... another corrupt businessman for a cause I don''t even fucking care about... but for Cinder to accept my allegiance... I have to once more take a life... another human life... I thought I promised her I''ll stay off of this lifestyle. Haaah* After sighing for the nth time he looked up at the falling snow... This is an insult to her memory... but this is the path I chose to take and it''s not like a have a choice... He breathed in a mouthful, As he dashed towards the direction of the base of the mountain. He jumped over the large fence and killed the two guards at the front... seeing this Cinder was shocked on how decisive he was... he knows the position of every guard and their patrol routes ... He was efficient it''s as if he has done this a million times. She then understood that Haruki was different from him... Even if Haruki reminded her of that person. They were vastly different... Haruki has slaughtered his way to the room of that man... When Haruki entered the man has just finished his call to his son... He was smiling... he was thinking of quitting this business... for it would only be detrimental to his child in the future. He was sick of this kind of life... he wanted to come clean to his wife so many times... But he was already too late, the white fang claimed her life in one of her field studies... His son was studying on Atlas academy .. and he would do anything to make him happy, for he was the only one left in their family... The door burst open... Sending the two Headless guards... towards the man... He was shocked to see a young kid covered in blood look at him with cold eyes. Haruki laughed... For this was the exact same situation, on his first kill. Haruki then said... "It seems I cannot escape my destiny, tell me old man has your past caught up to you yet?" The man asked what he meant. But Haruki ignored him. "Ahhh it''s really similar...how fucking ironic..." The man asked what he wanted.."is it money!?is it power!? I''ll give you anything, just let me live!" The man kneeled towards Haruki... he was in tears, not because he was scared... but because he was going to leave his son parentless... He was horrified by the thought of their only child bracing all this problems alone... He didn''t want that to happen... he wanted to give his son the best things in life... for he swore to his late wife that their son would grow up as an outstanding man... He was begging "Please just let me live!! I''ll give you everything just please don''t hurt me and my son..." Haruki gripped his blade and laughed.... "Hahahahahahhahaha!!!! What the fuck is wrong with you!? You were the one that started this! you Started the drug business and got involved with Cinder! You don''t escape from this!!! for someone much more powerful is backing her!" Haruki punched the man in the face. "I don''t have a choice either! we both have decisions to make and this is mine!!!!" Haruki stabbed the man in the heart... On his dying breath he said... "please let my son live at least..." Haruki turned his back and let the man bleed to death... but before the man died he has already called security... When Haruki exited the Mansion he was surrounded by the guards armed to the teeth... He just raised his blade and said. "I was the one who killed the man you work for... now this can only go two ways... either I kill you all and escape, or you put a bullet in my head..." Haruki has long stopped the feeling of guilt... Apathy was required in this line of business, show even a shred of humanity and it will cost you... But this job reminded him of his childhood... when he first killed, he remembered feeling so helpless, he hated that feeling... He cursed the world for being so cruel, And yet he understood that even if he spent all his life cursing everything nothing would fucking change... It was hopeless... so he decided to just laugh it off and enjoy the show... He stopped thinking about it, if he did it would only haunt him for the rest of his life... But he realized that running from it was the worst way, to cope up with guilt... So he decided that he would face the world alone even if the entire world turned against him... That was when she appeared... she was the one who changed his views towards humanity... She was the one who told him that life is too short to spend it in hating everything... so why not live a little , love a little.... Butthe same humans that she protected,were the ones that killed her... It was also like this moment... A snowy day... Surrounded by enemies on all sides... While she was choking on her own blood... She still chose to believe in them... She wanted to believe in the kindness that existed in everyone... Then she died... just like that... Haruki Charged towards everyone Killing them all... not even one Guard could wound him... When there was only one left Haruki slowly approached him... *Bang Bang* The man shakily shot at Haruki piercing his shoulder and making a hole in his abdomen. He could''ve dodged but he didn''t... he was too numb to feel the pain... He just looked at the Guard, he knew this kid was a newbie... He knew this kid had little to no Battle experience... So he stabbed him in the guts... hoping that he''d live through that, he slowly walked away staggeringly... When Haruki reached the base of the mountain... Cinder saw the boy covered in blood... She saw what happened at the mountain... Instead of being impressed she was scared on how terrifying this child could be... She thought when Roman said he was strong she thought he meant he was only so-so... She can''t help but be reminded of that kind little brother of hers in the past... although Haruki was far from being kind... she couldn''t help but compare... He was also talented like Haruki... They trained together hand in hand... He was strong, determined and Very cheeky. He Had beautiful Silver eyes... she always liked looking at him... his cheerful demeanor. She loved him very dearly but he was taken from her... By those wretched bandits from the other town. So she chased after them... but when she arrived at the hideout and killed everyone... She saw her brother sitting there, looking down... But when she approached her brother looked up... But the place where his beautiful silver eyes should be were replaced with Grimm Eyes... "Sister is that you? I''m sorry I couldn''t see... I''m sorry for running away..." Horrified by this Cinder knelt and hugged her brother... "I''m so sorry Caleb, I''m so sorry....."She shed tears until she couldn''t anymore. They returned to their village only to find embers... There was fire everywhere... people begging for their lives... The Bandits were everywhere... they were pillaging everything... So she ran along with Caleb they reached their home only to find their parents burnt corpses... She knelt powerlessly down to the ground... She hated being weak... She wanted power... She wanted to be feared... She slowly picked up her father''s bow... She charged towards those bandits... She kept on killing even if she was wounded all over she kept on killing and killing... Until she reached the last bandit alive, who was holding her brother hostage near a cliff threatening to drop him if she moves... Caleb told his sister "Sister please run away and be happy" He pushed the bandit with him towards the edge.... Cinder widened her eyes and screamed "Caleeeeeeeeeb!!!!!!! No! NoNONONNONONO!!!!!!!!" The last thing she remembered was fire... she immolated everything around her... it was at that moment she awakened her semblance... Glass... It is as sharp as it is fragile. Moments ago they were laughing and playing... Then everything went quiet. A sudden drop-off from the connection felt moments before. A punctuated ending followed by that involuntary reflection, that happens when life quickly changes from fast to slow... A small girl sitting on the edge of a cliff watching the sunset. Not knowing what to do next.... In her own twisted way she has already treated Haruki as a replacement for Caleb... She just didn''t show it... that was why when she saw him hugging Neo she was pissed! She didn''t like sharing what''s hers... Her arrogance and her pride got in her way... Her desire for power blurred any semblance of connection she once had with Haruki... Essentially turning him against her... She tried to control Haruki, Because in her own twisted way she didn''t want to lose anyone anymore... that''s why her desire for power was so strong... She was still that fragile girl acting like a sharp blade... She wanted strength... Even though she knows herself how weak she truly is.... A Mask of power hiding bitter misery... She was just a girl, afraid of breaking.... 23 Q and A Corner 2 @@ Ask away guys! suggestions are also welcome I''m thinking of making this weekly but... honestly people run out of questions eventually so i''ll just do this whenever i feel like it... P.S. I am very thankful for your positive reactions towards Volume 1, i look forward on making more chapters that you guys enjoy... I hope i don''t disappoint... orz@@ 24 Volume 1 Special/Omake 2 (Haruki and Pyrrha''s Date) Haruki was in his room, Thinking that he and Pyrrha were actually dating... but he has done nothing to take her out for a date or make her happy... So he decided to take her out on this lovely day... So he knocked on Team JNPR''s door and Nora was the one to open the door... She was smirking at Haruki because he was holding a bouquet of flowers... Haruki smiling awkwardly, over prepared because, He wanted Pyrrha to have such a great time... on their first date... "Pyrrhaaa!!! Haruki wants to tell you something..." Nora was laughing her ass off... "For someone so smooth.... bahahahahahahaha.... oh my God Haruki I never expected that you have moments like this.... O M G hahahahahahahah" Haruki flicked her on the forehead and said "Shut up, I want to give her the best time!" When Pyrrha saw Haruki holding a bouquet of flowers, she immediately blushed. Haruki then said... "M''lady would you want to go out and eat outside?"as he handed Pyrrha the flowers. "If you don''t mind I have a great evening planned for just the two of us" Nora and Jaune were laughing at the background... Pyrrha looked at Haruki with her eyebrow raised... "Yeah real smooth...hehehehe" Pyrrha put the flowers to the vase and went outside with Haruki. Jaune shouted at haruki in the hallway. "Have her home by Ten young man, And no funny business!! Hahahahahhahaha" Haruki sent Jaune the middle finger secretly. She sported a Brown Hoodie, and a white V-neck T-shirt underneath, a red layered skirt, Grey stockings and black leather boots. Haruki was blown away by pyrrhas cuteness... He Can''t help but hug her and kiss her. "Wow Pyrrha you look very beautiful today... This outfit suits you, kinda like the bright and nice Pyrrha I know..." Pyrrha hung her head down blushing... and she held Hooked her arms with him, and roamed around the town. They stopped in front of a plushie store... Pyrrha clearly attracted to the stuffed bear that has a jet black coat andand an eye patch... She looked at Haruki and laughed... you look like him... she said as she pointed at the bear... "What! How can you say that?" Pyrrha then went inside and picked up the stuffed bear... "Haruki look I can picture you wearing this kind of outfit... and saying stuff like... Hope is an illusion!" Haruki laughed " What I don''t say those kinda stuff..." He pinched her cheeks... Pyrrha laughed. "Hehehehe, it''s so cheeky this bear..." So Haruki took the bear and bought it for her. Pyrrha hugging the bear looked at Haruki "I''m going to name it lil Haru...The sword of the night..." giggling Pyrrha took Harukis Hand to the back of the alley... To a Tiny hidden restaurant... sitting down, they ordered food... While eating Pyrrha told Haruki "You know... I always go here whenever I feel sad, I used to feel so alienated towards my peers. They always treated me nicely but they were being nice to me at a distance. I always wanted to have friends that would treat me as an equal... and everyone from Team RWBY, JNPR, and Neo... treated me nicely. Although you were the first to see through it all..." Pyrrha took a sip from her drink and continued. "You were the one to know what I really feel... and I''m thankful for that... I hate being caged by the standards people apply to me... its just so heavy... the pressure... I have to maintain this persona of someone who''s undefeatable in battle. Sometimes I wanna live my life the way I want to... That''s why I''m very thankful to you... for at least making my dream come true..." Haruki pulled Pyrrha close... "Pyrrha let me tell you this, whenever you feel down and sad... I will always be here for you. No matter what." She leaned her head on Harukis shoulders... "Do you believe in destiny? I always believed that it wasn''t some kind of predetermined fate but an end goal you work towards..." Haruki then said... "I don''t believe in it... I make my own fate, if I want to do something I will give it my all just to achieve it." "That''s why you don''t have to shackle yourself to their standards, you just do what you want to do.it doesn''t matter what it is, always remember I will stand by you, no matter what." Pyrrha was thankful for Harukis kindness but she told him... "What if I don''t have a choice?" Haruki then kissed her on the lips and said. "Then I will take you away... like a demon king kidnapping the beautiful princess." Pyrrha Hugged him and buried her face on his chest. "Thanks... I love you..." Haruki then kissed her on the cheeks and told her. "I love you too" *Cough* the owner coughed and told them that they were making it awkward for the other customers. So they paid and went outside. At night Haruki took Pyrrha near the lake... When they arrived there there was a blanket laid down and a lot of roses... Some candles... all around the place. Pyrrha was shocked. "When did you have time for all of this?" Haruki scratched his cheeks... "The bois did it for me, but I have to treat them next time to a very expensive place...." Pyrrha giggled and took a picture of the place. Haruki then gracefully lead Pyrrha. "M''lady... please, sit down..." They both looked at the stars talking about nothing in particular... Pyrrha leaning on harukis chest giggling like a girl... "She told him... This is the best date ever, thanks baby." Haruki smiled and kissed her forehead, but inwardly he was scared for he must have the same quality of dates for Emerald and Neo. But for now it doesn''t matter, he''s just going to enjoy the moment with her... (Haruki the Master of Class...) This was a few hours before Pyrrha and Haruki went on a date. He was looking for date spots on the Net... he was murmuring to himself... Neo was just staring at Haruki... smirking while laying on the bed. She then said (Need any help?) Haruki looked at Neo and said "No my darling I could handle this myself..." Neo giggled (For suuuure. Are you always like this when we go on dates?) Haruki nodded his head " Yes, no matter how experienced I am I will always need help from the dating mastah... DJ O.Z. Pin!!!, He just gives solid advice!" Neo bonked him on the head (Do you not realize who that person is?) Haruki looked at her dubiously as he rubs his head"What do you mean?" Neo just sighed ( whatever... you want my advice? Just go down on her...) Haruki was slack jawed... He was just speechlessly staring at Neo for a whole minute. (What?) She tilted her head cutely... "You know what... I''m just gonna call the Bois and brainstorm... Don''t wait for me darling..." Neo shook her head... She said to herself (He''s a dum-dum... but he''s my dum-dum...) (Movie Night) Neo wanted to watch a movie about martial arts... So she asked Haruki to go get one... So Haruki not knowing what to get, he looked at the most popular one... Death Dragon 4 The fourth iteration of the very popular action/romance about a man named Death Dragon who kills Dragons with Martial arts... and Haruki wondered how this movie is popular... So he asked Ars "Hey uhh ars could you materialize... something else besides weapons?" Ars responded (Yes But I have never done it before... because all my previous owners were battle junkies... and it will also consume a little bit of essence you absorbed...) Haruki shrugged his shoulders and said "materialize these few movies for me..." Haruki went home and told Neo he found no good movies but he told her that he materialized a few of them... Neo looked at Haruki wierdly... (you better hope these are good or there are consequences of not getting Death Dragon 4) *Gulp "Relax darling I promise you they are going to be good" So she sat between Harukis legs and they started watching... A few Days pass... And Neo was completely addicted to the movies they watched... She was even quoting them at certain moments... like "Darling you said that we''ll be going to go buy some groceries... should we go now?" and she was just silently looking at him, suddenly she pointed her umbrella at Haruki. (I want you to go in that bag and find my wallet...) Haruki raised his eyebrows. He got what she was referencing so he responded. "Which one is it?" (It''s the one that says bad motherfucker...) Haruki looked in the bag and found the wallet Neo immediately used her semblance to change her wallet into the one she described... (That''s it, That''s my bad motherfucker... Open it up... take that money...) Haruki then took the money and reached it to neo. (Count the money... How much is there?) "About fifteen hundred?" (Alright put it in your pocket it''s yours... I''m giving you that money so you can go buy the groceries, so I don''t have to kill your ass...) They laughed together, Haruki worried that Neo might be influenced by these movies... Neo giggled (Hehehehe Haruki are we gonna watch more movies later?) she said as she hooked her arms with Haruki. Then they went to shop for groceries, while Neo quoted a lot of movies on the way... Haruki looked at Neo smilingly and thought "Well at least she''s happy... and that''s the only thing I need." [[Haruki''s Relationships and Interactions, and his thoughts towards them.]] Neo- His main girl... best o'' da best. Loves her very much... #Neo4Lyf Emerald - Manipulated her at first but liked her well enough to care... Cinder - Slave/ Weird pseudo brother Relationship. Salem - Weirded out by her... Also wants to kill her... Pyrrha - She''s a kind girl and she deserves all the good things, so Haruki loves her dearly... Blake - Thinks of her as a little sister, he also low key loves cat girls... Yang - low key thinks her puns are funny... Weiss - Manipulation Target, for a schnee as a backer is good. Ruby- Lil bundle of sunshine and rainbows... must protecc. Nora - Cute Lil girl... Velvet - *breathes Heavily.... Bunny Gorl must have...." Glynda - Mmmmmmmm.. clicks tongue* Noice. Winter - Ice Queen/ Target for manipulation... also he thinks she''s great in bed. Raven - What the fuck... fuck you! *Whispers* "bitch" Jaune / Ren / Sun / Neptune - The Boisss!!!! Roman - misunderstood dum-dum... but he a homeboi... Mercury - He would be a cool bro... but not enough screen time on this novel... Adam- Dumbass... Qrow - Cool Drunk uncle... Ozpin - Grumpy old man with relationship issues... Tai Yang - mehh... Summer - oh she ded as hecc 25 Harukis Powers And Weapons/Skill || Weapon Power Ranks Mechanical Guandao - A Guandao which is also an anti-material rifle. Ars Magus - Ancient Relic that''s stuck on his hand has multiple tiers. Can materialize weapons and Give Haruki Certain Skills, Consumes blood essence of any being to use as a currency to summon weapons and skills. Tier 1 Skills and Weapons summoned. [ Semblance ] Gravity 1 Lightning Form Absolute Weapon Mastery [ Weapons ] Any Military Grade Weapons from his previous Dimensions/ Chemicals [Skoll and Hati Claws] <>- previous form of Fenrir Fangs can only use fire and ice, its skills are... Reflecting Moon - Counters the attack and returning half the damage. Use large amounts of Blood essence. Exploding Star -A straight punch which destroys the inner organs of the target burning him from the inside out. [ Life Reaping Katana ] <>- Absorbs both the users and Enemies Aura... making them vulnerable. [Absolute Demise] <> -The upgraded version of life reaping katana. Can make a Slave pact to anyone as long as you are stronger than them, requires both the blood of the owner and the target to mix in the blood. It could also stun enemies that are stronger... It no longer absorbs the aura of the owner, but it still drains everyone of their aura. [Fenrir Fangs] <> - The upgraded version of Skoll and Hati... can still use its previous skills and double its output. Summon Black Wolves - Fairly weak but can be used to hold the enemies. Tricksters Poison - Strong poison that can kill an ursa with just a scratch Teir II Skills and Weapons Summoned [Semblance] Devour - Can Devour any skills of any human being cannot devour semblance that are unique to each individual. Can only succeed when the aura of the target is almost depleted. Tier 2 Has 3 Sealed Modes... the method for unlocking them are still yet to be known. <> - Berserk State with rapid regeneration. ??????????error???? <> - God level sword intent. ??????????error???? <> An upgraded Aura. ?????????error???? [Weapons] [Echoing Fury] <>-An axe that has skulls adorning it. Every swing a deafening scream follows... ??????error???? [Warmonger] -< > Unlocked when Confronted by a grimm that has the aspect of gluttony. A greatsword that looks like its blade is covered in jet black scales, when it devours it opens up like a dragons maw and devours everything in its wake Voracious Blade Dance - Each monster you devour gives back stamina you''ve lost and Heals wounds slowly. Killing Any monster and devouring it''s corpse can give you one of it''s special trait adding it to this blades skill. Adding to that Using this skill multiple times make you hunger for more blood. Dimensional Bite - point at the direction of the you want to bite and imagine biting on that space... You then summon a Huge maw from the void to eat everything... Gula - You can summon Voracious Void Bats that devour essence in you wake... They are powered by your hunger for blood. [Traits He got From Devouring Grimm] Aspect Of Gluttony - Endless Hunger the more you Devour the more you increase in strength... permanently. Beowolves/ Ursai - Durability/ Speed Ars Magus Weapon Classes Blessed/Unholy Legendary Overlord Demigod Divine Primordial 26 Chapter 19: Truth and Lies... Apathy is one hell of a drug... You lose yourself in the madness you start to get numb... Sometimes I wonder if the bullshit I say is even real or is it just a lie? I honestly don''t care anymore I just feel indifferent towards it all. I honestly want to come clean, it pains me to keep lying to them... I get so numb to my pain sometimes I look for a fight just so I could see if I''m alive or not... I lay at night beside the one I love, staring into empty space asking myself... Am I really doing this for Neo? or am I just trying to justify my actions so I could look for another thrill... I don''t know why... but after the fight with gluttony I dozed off for the first time in weeks... My mind telling me that you''re going to die if you keep this up... But honestly am I really alive? what if I''m still stuck on that jail cell? Hallucinating all this bullshit... None of this seem real... Even the momentary happiness scares me... Afraid that when it all comes crashing down, I wouldn''t be able to stop it. What if life decided to take it all away... Am I just doomed to repeat history all over again? When in your so much shit, you can''t avoid to drown in your gratifying self pity... Stuck in this neverending cycle of senseless killings.... I''m fucking sick and tired of this charade... That''s why I''ll pretend that everything is okay and I am in control... Eventually I''ll stop noticing the glaring issues... Or the fact that I''m pretending at all. The following day after the incident... Ozpin called Team RWBY to his office to ask about what happened... He also informed Haruki to go to his office earlier... When Team RWBY came back to beacon, no one spoke. For what happened at the warehouse was too shocking for all of them, when they came inside their room, they immediately fell asleep. After the fight with gluttony Haruki has discovered that Warmonger Has absorbed gluttony''s strength. He gained Gluttony''s Special Trait... the stronger version of Aspect of Gluttony Maiorem Gula - Everytime He devours, his strength doubles but it increases his hunger. basically complimenting warmonger... Fenrir Fangs has also upgraded... Dire wolf pack - A stronger form of the black wolves... they have now poison on their claws and fangs... Chains of Gleipnir - Can bind 6 opponents and the chains are unbreakable... can only be used twice a day for it requires blood essence to use. Tricksters Sting - Upgraded version of the normal poison... can take down a manticore with just a scratch. V¨¤nagandr - Can transform into a Jet black werewolf... Triples his strength, but he cannot use any weapons except Primordial Level ones. (A.N.: refer to the cover for the look of the werewolf.) Absolute Demise was promoted to another class... Mournful Vengeance is a Demigod class katana. It is a jet black blade with white streaks... Not only can it make absolute obedience pacts... If the opponent is stronger the Blade triples it''s damage output, and if the enemy is hit there is a 30% chance of stunning them. Vorpal Spikes - Mournful Vengeance''s only active skill. It could summon void spikes from the ground when the user stabs it to the ground. His powers have reached a new height... And adding the Grimm he has eaten with warmonger... his permanent increase in his strength could probably effortlessly punch a hole in a Goliath... Waking up... he saw Neo''s cute sleeping face so he gently moved her arms that were wrapped around him. He kissed her forehead and went to wash up. He got a message from Ozpin to go to his office. So he prepared himself to face Team RWBY, he''s pretty sure that they would be there. He thought to himself he probably would have to answer a lot of their questions... But that is fine too... So he woke up Neo telling her that he would be going to Ozpin''s office... She was going to go with him... but he told her he''d handle it. Haruki was walking in the hallway when he saw Pyrrha about to go do their morning training... "Hey babe... I gotta go to Ozpins office to report some things, so I can''t join you guys in training." Pyrrha was curious on what it''s about so she asked... "What is it about?" Haruki replied... "It''s about last night...I''ll tell you all about it later okay?" He kissed Pyrrha and went to Ozpins office. Arriving To his office Haruki saw Qrow and Glynda glaring at him... Qrow immediately gripped his collar "You almost risked the life of my nephews... I thought you said you can handle it!" Ozpin added "You risked the lives of my students... now I''m doubting if this partnership could work..." Haruki sighed and looked at Ozpin "I never expected that a monster like that would exist..." Qrow crossed his arms and asked "What do you mean by that?" Haruki slammed his hands on Ozpins desk... "It''s a talking Grimm that could turn into a human!!! A fucking Grimm!" Qrow drank from his flask and said "Stop fucking lying..." Ozpin raised his hand to stop Qrow... He beckoned Haruki to continue... Haruki then continued. "If it weren''t for me there would be thousands of casualties right now!" He sat down and narrated parts of the story... He retold how he and Adam had to team up to kill Gluttony... As Haruki continued Ozpins expression turned even more grave... " If this is true then what you did Mr. Haruki, deems great reward... don''t you agree Qrow?" Qrow scoffed and drank from his flask. "Whatever... I still don''t understand why you chose team RWBY to go there?" Haruki shrugged his shoulders. "Tsk... Cocky brat..." Glynda stopped them. "Alright enough you two... Team RWBY has arrived..." Before arriving at Ozpins office Everyone was silent... they were thinking if they should tell Ozpin about Haruki... Blake told them earlier not to... But in the end it is up to them. But upon entering they saw Haruki calmly sitting down, sipping his tea while smiling at team RWBY. Ozpin told the girls to come in. He immediately followed it by saying "I believe we have a common acquaintance..." Qrow immediately transformed into a crow, he doesn''t want them to know that he''s here yet. Blake was the first one to speak. "I want to know what the hell is happening..." Ozpin sat back down on his seat. "I believe that you already know of Mr.Haruki''s real identity... An associate of the white fang, and part of the gang of Roman Torchwick." Team RWBY sat down and looked at Haruki... Weiss was the first one to speak up. "I know that you have already saved us multiple times already, and I personally owe you, but I want to know the truth on why you are working for Roman Torchwick..." Haruki looked at Ozpin for confirmation if he could talk about Salem but Ozpin shook his head... For it wasn''t time yet. Haruki sighed... ''Fine I''ll tell them part of the truth... even if Ozpin is listening...'' Haruki retold on how Neo found him in the snow almost bleeding out 5 years ago, they were tasked to do the dirty work for someone more powerful... He said he doesn''t know who it is yet... He has worked for them along with the white fang... He said he has already gotten tired of that life... Ozpin then continued his story "Mr. Haruki has been working with me, for the past few months... You see we have been trying to thwart the evil in this world for so long... we are working in the shadows to stop those kind of things from happening again.... Although at first I didn''t trust Mr.Haruki but he has proven to be worthy of our trust" Ruby then asked Haruki "Then why is he still working with them?" Ozpin smiled "He gives me information about their movements and we opt to stop them." Haruki then added "I wanted redemption for all I have done... even I have to sacrifice my life, giving Neo a life away from all the bloodshed is all that I wish for..." Weiss then got near Haruki and slapped him. Shocking everyone... "What about the people you killed!? You think just by saying that you''re sick of that life makes it all better!?" "You think that playing they Martyr and risking your life, would erase all your sins!? You''re only running away!!!" "That''s why you have to live no matter what and repent for those lives lost! Stop risking your life for some foolish idea of redemption... It doesn''t work that way!" Haruki was woken up by Weiss'' scolding... "I honestly considered you as a kind friend... I trusted you... for you have saved us many times... but if those times you were just thinking of saving us, because you wanted to pay for the lives you''ve taken??!" Weiss beat on his chest while crying... "Do you honestly think Neo would be happy if she lost you!? THINK ABOUT EVERYONE YOU''RE LEAVING BEHIND!!!" She leaned her head on his chest tears flowing down from her eyes... and said in a low voice that only Haruki heard. "Think about what I will feel when you''re gone..." Haruki tried to hold Weiss'' shoulders but she shook his hand away... "don''t talk to me until you''ve figured this out yourself..." Ruby then comforted Weiss while Yang and Blake were just staring at Haruki... Yang then woke up from her stupor and asked Ozpin... "Honestly I always thought that Haruki carried great sadness with him, but..." Yang punched Haruki in the face... "I thought we were friends! if you told us this sooner none of this might''ve happened!! " Yang then continued while gripping his collar. "I know you could''ve dodged... But I forgive you for that and for hiding everything..." "when all is said and done... you did save our lives..." "You should thank Her ''Weiss Words'' For that!" Boooo!!! Team RWBY booed her joke but it did restore a cheery atmosphere... Blake then went near Haruki and asked... "The words you told me back at the fountain... was that true?" Haruki patted her head... "Of course... I honestly want your cause to succeed..." Blake then hugged him. "But not at the cost of your life!!!" Haruki smiled at her... "Yeah...she really helped me realize that there are people that care about me... those are some Weiss Words..." They booed Haruki, "that''s really lame Haruki! Stop copying my sister!" Ruby added... Yang said in the background "Someone Gets me!!!" Ozpin cleared his throat... "It''s a nice moment and all but I still have to ask you guys about something..." "Haruki has reported to me about the talking Grimm..." Everyone''s expressions darkened... Team RWBY nodded their heads... Weiss then said if Haruki didn''t kill that grimm the casualties would be huge... She then proceeded to say... "But it''s one thing he said that bothers me... He said he wasn''t a Grimm he was far more ancient..." Ozpin stood up and looked at the windows... "He wasn''t a Grimm but something more powerful... If that''s the case how did you kill it???" Haruki summoned Fenrir Fangs and showed it to everyone.... "My semblance is weapon summoning... it could only summon weapons with the corresponding element it represents..." Ozpin then narrowed his eyes... I seem to remember reading your form, and it said your semblance is Lightning... Haruki laughed and summoned his guandao... "this weapon represents lightning" as he channeled lightning to his weapon... Haruki then turned towards them and smiled... "Weiss is right I shouldn''t hide anything from you guys so you would trust me..." Ozpin smiled he thought that Haruki was changing for the better... Everyone has calmed down and Ozpin told them to take the day off... for they have been through so much last night... Haruki on the other hand was preparing to tell Pyrrha everything.... He has already resolved to tell her, even if she doesn''t agree with what I''ve done... I''m prepared to spend the rest of the days wooing her again... 27 Chapter 20: Despair and Hope R-18 Despair is a big fucked up monster. Everyone gets a turn... it''s a hard fight that fucks you from top to bottom, Drains you hollow... Each passing day it gets a little worse, trying so hard to stay sane. I try so hard to fight a losing battle, but I''m a stubborn piece of shit. I''d rather die swinging than give in... And when you''re finally rid of it... There''s something about having overcome it that robs you of compassion. Secretly in the dark pit of your self-centered subconscious, you''re just happy it''s not you anymore... You look at those self serving saints who say the world is a good place... THE FEELINGS OF WANTING TO SAVE ANOTHER IS NOTHING MORE THAN THE ARROGANCE OF THOSE WHO ARE BLESSED. because that same compassion was what got her killed... But what Weiss said woke me up from all this depressing thoughts... She pulled me away from all this madness... Maybe, just maybe there''s Hope for me after all... *sigh I''ll try to be a better person at least... I''ll start by telling Pyrrha everything. Arriving at their room He saw Neo and Pyrrha watching one of the shows he materialized... Pyrrha was so immersed in watching... *Gasp "He was his sister!? but they kissed!" Neo was nodding her head... (What a twist!) Haruki sat between them and hugged them both close. "You know this is my favorite movie series..." Pyrrha leaned her head towards Haruki and worriedly said "How was your meeting with Ozpin?" He buried his face to her neck and whispered... "It went better than expected... but I''m gonna tell you everything after this movie..." Pyrrha pouted..." why not now?" Haruki laughed "it''s the last movie in the trilogy it''s fine... the talk can wait..." They enjoyed the movie... Pyrrha then asked Haruki... "Where did you find this movie? it looks old but it has a good concept unseen here on Vale..." Haruki then turned serious... "That''s part of the talk we''re having today..." "Pyrrha whatever I''m about to tell you, it''s all real and please listen close..." He then proceeded to tell her about himself... "You see I''m not from here..." Pyrrha looked at him weirdly "you''re not from Vale? so am I..." Haruki shook his head "No... I''m not from remnant... in from some place far far away... I let you guys watch this movie to get an idea that I''m from a different reality... to make it simple im from a different planet..." Pyrrha was shocked. She couldn''t believe what she just heard... Haruki then continued his story, he told her everything... Everything he said to Neo, he also told Pyrrha. Pyrrha was shocked... for Haruki to have such tragic past... she was angered on herself, thinking that her own life was horrible... Haruki continued "You know if Neo hadn''t found me in that snowy day, I wouldn''t have minded dying..." "But I''m glad I met you guys... you know I always thought I''m the one saving you guys... But you guys pull me away from that sinking feeling every single time... That''s why I couldn''t blame you if you hate me right now... I have killed so many people, that even if I spent my entire life trying to save people it wouldn''t be enough..." Pyrrha shook her head and she just smiled at Haruki... She wrapped her hands on his neck and Pulled him to her chest... "Haru... Even though you have done somethings I don''t agree on... I won''t hate or blame you..." "Although you have worked for Salem... You have always planned against her, although you have taken lives, you have also saved some... those slave traders you killed freed those faunus..." "Although I don''t want to quantify the lives you''ve taken and saved... Haru... one man alone can''t change the world... you said this yourself, that''s why rely on us... rely on everyone..." "I believe together we can at least somehow... no matter how little could make this world a little better..." Haru said this while tears slowly slid down his face. "You guys made me realize... that even a broken man like me... could still cling onto hope and keep on fighting..." "Thank you... for loving a man like me... thank you....For believing in me..." Neo then came closer and hugged both of them... She then said... (Like I said haru, a relationship is not a one way street, it goes both ways... we both have to rely on each other...) Pyrrha then kissed haru and told him... "Your memory of your late fiance cherish it... we will respect her place in your heart, but don''t let her death haunt you... or anyone else''s... You''re an outstanding man... you''re the man that I fell in love with... so please keep your head up... Look outside... see those students smiling? by killing gluttony you have saved their smiles... and they can keep living like students." Haruki can''t help but tear up, he showed them his vulnerability, instead of Pyrrha berating him... She accepted his flaws and sins... Just like that she pulled me from the darkness that has been eating away from me for so long... Weiss also helped wake him up... He looked up he saw the two of them smiling at him... ""We love you... it doesn''t matter what you''ve done before, you''re still the man we fell in love with..."" He hugged both of them tightly... He was thankful for getting the chance, of meeting both of them... No on meeting everyone here, be it good or bad, they have helped him change in one way or another... it was at this moment he stopped letting himself be chained by the past... He looked at Pyrrha... this girl truly is kind... How do you save someone carrying so much? How do you save someone without being pulled in yourself? The answer honestly doesn''t matter... you won''t know if you''re going to get saved or save someone else... it''s a leap of faith... you have to take a risk, and risk is what these girls have been doing so far...for me... and it''s time I do the same. "You''re not a good man but you''re not bad either... Your path, your journey everything will be just fine... you still have a choice... You want to know why? because you''re the man I fell in love with...and that''s the best thing a man could hope for..." That was what she said when I proposed to her back then... looking back I honestly think she''s right... the best thing a man could hope for is to be loved... Haruki heartily laughed he kissed both Pyrrha and Neo madly... Neo then said (Haruki I''m gonna go buy some groceries... you two have fun...) Haruki smiled at her, "Thanks darling..." (Hmph! I''m only doing this for Pyrrha!) "Uhh... Haruki what does Neo mean???" Haruki held her face and said "Pyrrha, I love you... and I would... uhh want to uhh... ma-" Pyrrha pounced on Haruki not letting him speak any further... Haruki was surprised on how proactive Pyrrha was... He caressed Pyrrhas head... pushed her down the bed... He slowly moved his hands along her body... caressing every part of her. From the moment their lips touched, Pyrrha opened her mouth... She was grinder her lips against Haruki. demanding more and more. *mmph *Haah haah* "Sorry I couldn''t hold back anymore..." When Haruki heard her say this.. He removed her clothes and left her in her underwear. "Ohh my cute little goddess I never expected you to be this feisty..." Pyrrha smiled smugly and told him. "what? we''re you expecting me to be a scared little rabbit?" She caressed his chest and unhooked her bra... throwing it to harukis face. When he removed the thing that was blocking his face... what he saw was beauty given form... He kissed Pyrrha on her nape... and slowly moving down on her breasts sucking on it. "Ahnnn~~~ Baby... suck on them harder..." He held harukis face, towards her chest... She kissed him on the neck, "Wow Pyrrha, I never expected you to be so..." Pyrrha smiled "What? ...wild? baby I have been like a caged bird all my life... you shouldn''t be surprised that I''m like this in bed" She said as she bit her lips and winked at Haruki. Pyrrha then reversed the roles she pushed Haruki down and pulled his boxers down... Revealing Harukis own weapon that he didn''t summon with ars magus... it is also his most prized and powerful weapon. "Wow I never expected it to be like this... it''s so big... it kinda smells weird." She licked the tip trying to get the taste of it. And then she slowly put the tip in her mouth... "Nchu.... nnn....chu" she slowly moved her head, up and down. "owowowow.... don''t use your teeth baby, it hurts" Pyrrha nodded her head, She crawled her tongue from the base to the backside of the shaft. She opted to move her hand too, lubricated by pyrrhas saliva... her hand moved clumsily, bit she slowly got the hang of it. Pyrrha looks at Haruki with upturned eyes and she moved faster... Haruki felt the magma rising so he... Gripped her hair and he plunged his dick in deeper... Releasing his load towards her throat. *cough cough... *gulp just like that she swallowed her first load... she licked her lips and smiled, "Mmm, ready for more baby?" she says as she licked her fingers... Haruki can''t take it anymore he took off Pyrrhas Underwear... and licked her opening making her scream out loud. "Aaaahhhnn, I never thought it would feel this good!" She held harukis head and moved her hips. He licked her most sensitive place, and he stuck his fingers inside... rubbing her walls... Just like what she did, Haruki slowly increased his pace, giving Pyrrha no room to breath... "Aaahhhhh!!!~~ I''m gonna cummm!! Aahhh faster!!!!" She spread her juices all over harukis hands... Haruki licked his hands slowly and smirked at Pyrrha "I''ll take this as a compliment." He held Pyrrha close and told her "I''m putting it in okay?" Pyrrha responded with a kiss... Haruki then slowly plunged his dick into her... Pyrrha grimaced in pain, but it was only for a moment... it was replaced by screams of pleasure soon after... "Ahnnnn~~~~ Harder!! Harder!!!" Pyrrha clawed at Harukis back, she shook her hips matching Harukis rythmn... Haruki bit her ears and whispered. "it seems that my princess learns really quickly..." He increased his pace while turning pyrrha over. "Nnngghhh, Baby I''m about to cumm~~~ " Haruki moved even faster for he is also reaching his limits... "mnnnnn~~~" Pyrrha covered her mouth to block the sound of pleasure...*pant pant Her body shook and convulsed.... Haruki held her close... "Haruki~ I love you..." "I love you too.." "Can we stay like this for a few minutes more?" She said as she leaned on harukis chest. Haruki kissed her on the forehead. "Heyy, so Miss Pyrrha Nikos likes it rough and wild huh??"Haruki teased. "Well... do you want to find out, on how I like it more???" She said as she licked his lips... They went at it like rabbits, until Neo couldn''t take it anymore and told them to stop... but Haruki pulled her into it too... Not letting them both rest.... They both slept in his arms... He caressed both their faces... He looked at the Moon and said to nobody in particular... "I''m glad I met you two... I love you..." The exhaustion finally caught up to Haruki, he finally dozed off... Dreaming about nothing in particular, but a smile plastered to his face. 28 Chapter 21: New Enemies Somewhere in Vacuo.... A man was standing on top of a mountain of corpses... He was carrying two great swords... He was wearing red as red as the blood that was flowing in his blades.... He looked like a young man in his twenties... He had Green Hair, his face was covered with a mask of an oni.... He approached the dying man, slowly crawling away from him... "Hehehehehe.... look at you, trying so hard to run away... Now since you''re the only one left alive... we''re gonna do this one last time... Who killed gluttony? I know it''s probably one of your ''Faceless''." The dying man answered " it wasn''t us, it''s someone powerful... I don''t know who but it''s probably one of you ''Sinners''" The green haired young man punched the guy in the face... "Huh!? why the fuck would we kill our masters?! Gluttony''s Sinner is looking for his killer right now!" He grabbed the collar of the dying man... "Hehehe... I''m going to look for your faceless and kill them myself... I believe he''s was last sighted in Vale??" The dying man slowly brought out his dagger slowly... "I will not let you kill the ''faceless''!!" He dashed towards the green haired man. He swung his great swords slicing the man in half... "Hehehehe I still don''t get why you tried to attack me, you know I''m stronger... hehehe." He burned the corpses and the temples... As he was walking away he tapped the woman who was just sitting down watching all this happen. A blonde haired woman with a longsword on her back... A really beautiful lady, She was wearing a white shirt and grey overcoat... she was untainted by the blood all over the place. Her beauty was divine, yet not holy... for she was covered in dense dark aura... "Well? did you gain any leads towards, Lord Gluttony''s killer??" He looked at the woman and said.. "No... but I''m going to go after the ''Faceless'' in Vale..." The woman agreed towards his suggestion... "Considering that Lord Gluttony was last sighted at Vale... yes... we should go there... but you go first... I''ll follow afterwards, when I have reported to Lord Pride..." "Alright, I''ll go on ahead and enjoy the fun... Don''t be late or there''ll be none left!!" The woman scoffed at him... "Oh please... you would probably go on a rampage again..." She shook her head and told the green haired man. "I bet you can''t even control yourself there..." He looked at her and snickered "Why would I? I''m going on a vacation!! I heard Vale has such nice places... Hehehehehe I can''t wait!!!" The two parted ways... The green haired man went to the place where beacon was located... He was laughing joyfully... For the fun had just begun... Back in beacon... Haruki had just woken up... looking at Pyrrha and Neos sleeping faces he can''t help but smile... So he just laid there enjoying the moment... hugging them both close... Pyrrha was the next to wake up... She opened her eyes and saw Haruki looking at her gently... She buried her face into his chest, and hugged him tight. "We''re gonna be late you know..." Neo grunted when she heard the word late... (Five more minutes...) "Cmon c''mon let''s go wash up now..." He dragged them both to the sink, and they washed their faces... Walking at the Hallway they met team RWBY. "Oh hey!!" Ruby waved at them. Haruki smiled at them. "Hey! late morning too?" He said. Blake rolled her eyes at Yang. "Yeah she really slept in..." Yang waved her arms around saying that it wasn''t her fault, she got really immersed in the game. Weiss on the other hand was hiding behind Ruby... She looked at Haruki while fidgeting. Neo noticed this and asked. (Weiss what''s wrong?) Weiss explained herself while her eyes were darting around the place. Pyrrha laughed. "it''s fine Haru isn''t angry..." Weiss then looked at Haruki for confirmation, and he just smiles at her. "Weiss it''s okay, if it weren''t for you...I still wouldn''t have woken up." She breathed a sigh of relief and said. "Well, that''s fine as long as you get my point..." She crossed her arms and said arrogantly "Although I wouldn''t mind taking credit." They laughed heartily as they went inside the class of professor port. When they entered the room they saw new faces... It was both Cinder and Emerald... Smiling at both Neo and Haruki... Pyrrhas expression darkened for Haruki told her about Cinder... But Haruki wasn''t worried for he has become more powerful. So he winked towards the both of them. Ruby asked Haruki... "Do you know who they are Haruki?" Neo then says (They''re our friends from Haven) When Team RWBY heard Friends from Haven they immediately assumed they were part of Romans gang... But Haruki shook his head, they immediately understood that those two don''t work for Roman... But the truth is the other way around... They introduced themselves... "Hey I''m emerald... I transferred in from Haven." Yang thought to her self she looked a little familiar... "I''m Cinder, Haru''s Big sister..." She said while smiling... (Nice to see you again... "OLDER sis"...) Yang on the background said "Oooooohhhh, Haruki you womanizer!!" Cinder''s smile twitched... She glared at Haruki, while Haruki just smiled. Blake on the other hand was pouting... she thought to herself ''Big Bro Kaz has too many women in his life... Team RWBY made a lot of noise annoying Cinder but, since she was undercover she maintained a modicum of control... much to Harukis enjoyment. Cinder thought to herself she would teach Haruki a lesson once this class is over... Professor port then entered the room, saying that there were a few new faces... He introduced them one by one and even told one of his stories about him bonding with his buddies back then when he was just a student. They were then informed that they will be having field assignments in 3 days. they would be sent near the border of Vacuo, to explore and document the wild life. Haruki and Neo were paired with Cinder and Emerald... Haruki got glares from every dude for hogging the new cute girls... They thought ''He already has Neo! why the hell does he get to team up with those cuties!?'' Little do they know that Haruki was doing them a favor... After Class Haruki was dragged away by Emerald and Cinder. Pyrrha was about to chase after Cinder. Neo sighed and told Pyrrha to relax... She said Haruki just need to report, and probably catch up with emerald. Getting inside Cinder and Emeralds room. Cinder immediately asked about what happened to the pier. Haruki told them about a huge Grimm that could call other grimm and could talk... "No not that... Salem told me about that already... about Adam... why did you to start a fight? Now, hurry up and explain..." Cinder sat down on the bed... and she looked at Haruki for explanation. *Sigh... He summoned mournful vengeance. He gripped the handle. "You seems to be forgetting who is in control,Cinder darling... now that we''re here in beacon, you can''t run off to Salem for help..." "So stop acting so arrogant... or I won''t hesitate to end you... " He caressed Cinders face... he lifted up her chin and blew air to her ears. Cinder looked at Emerald and said."what would happen if Neo were to find out about you and emerald?" Haruki''s face turned grave... Cinder then pulled him towards her with his tie. She made him sit down the bed and she sat on his lap. "Well Haruki... it seems that I got you... well if you follow me like an obedient dog, I wouldn''t mind keeping this a secret..." Haruki laughed madly "Hahahahahaha!!!" He gripped Mournful Vengeance, Silencing Cinder... "Do you really think you can say it in this state?" Cinder was gripping her mouth... unable to speak... Emerald on the other hand was worried that Haruki might hurt Cinder, but she just looked away afraid that Haruki might hate her if she spoke up. "Let''s lay down a few ground rules... Until this is over you''re a dog on a leash. I say bark, you bark And if I have to kick you, you''d better not bare your teeth." He held Cinder by the waist and pulled her close, their faces almost touching. "Understand? or should I teach you to play dead?" Emerald held Haruki back and said. "Haru please stop..." Haruki let go of Cinder, She was glaring at him... she hated not having control... She wanted to humiliate Haruki so bad, she was willing to do anything... but she suddenly had an idea... if Haruki wanted to silence her this badly... then he must not want Neo to find out about emerald. Satisfied by her plans, she will wait until the right time and reveal her cards... Or so she thought... Haruki has planned for this to happen for her to think that he''s afraid of cinders blackmail... The illusion of choice... the misconception of free will... Haruki exited their room dragging emerald outside, grinning. True technique will know how to maintain the illusion of liberty, of choice. But this has all been carefully calculated so that they will be integrated into reality... even for as meager as for appearances sake... Emerald worriedly looked at Haruki thinking that he was pissed... He took her into a secluded area... Kissing her. Much to emeralds surprise. "mmph... I thought you were angry?" She said meekly. Haruki caressed her hair and said... "Of course not little lamb, it''s all an act to piss cinder off..." He and Emerald sat down on a nearby bench... "For my plan to work I have to do this... but honestly a fool proof plan is impossible... I still might fail and get killed..." Emerald leaned her head on his shoulders and said. "I don''t want anything to happen to you two, I care about you both..." Haruki laughed and said... "Relax...like I said, I have no plans on hurting her..." As Emerald and Haruki we''re catching up team RWBY were passing by at the building behind the bench... Yang suddenly remembered who emerald was... "Guys! I now know why emerald looked so familiar she was the one kissing Haruki that night before!!" Team RWBY then simultaneously said "Ah... that womanizer!!!" Weiss was a little pissed... the only Smart and Strong guy she has a positive opinion of is such a womanizer... First Pyrrha and Now this!? Haruki you bastard! don''t let me catch you alone or I''ll lecture you for degrading the morals of our school!!! Blake on the other hand was just surprised but not shocked... She wanted Haruki to be with them having fun and that''s all that matters... for now. A really fulfilling school life... it''s what Haruki has been wishing for... but, Little does he know... the shadows that have been looming around are inching ever so closer... The prelude to a grander machinations have just begun.... 29 Chapter 22: Field Assignmen 3 Days pass and it''s finally time for the special field assignment for their class... Haruki spent most of those 3 days training with friends, flirting with his girls... and sometimes annoying Cinder with Ruby and Nora. They were meeting at the airship to travel to the border. Professor Port was assigning roles to each squad, Team RWBY were assigned to go and survey the town. Team JNPR got the Forest... While Haruki and co. got the Ruins... "Mr. Haruki I believe you are qualified to go to the ruins... although we do not know what ruins it is... it is theorized to be the ruins of the dark God, So I suggest you be careful... Oh and what ever happens never enter the ruins, just explore and survey the area if it is safe....and free of Grimm." Haruki nodded his head, saying that he wouldkeep away from the ruins... They went back to their friends while Cinder stayed away from them, choosing to sit down in her seat, for she has been traumatized by Nora and Ruby''s ''certain qualities''... Haruki then Talked with Jaune to pass the time... "Haruki... I need a master''s advise, how do you get girls?" Haruki was surprised he thought Jaune was gonna ask Weiss out... He needs her for his plans... but Jaune said. "I want to ask someone out... she is older than us... but it''s only a year older..." Haruki breathed a sigh of relief and asked who it was... "It''s... CoCo... the one with the Gatling Gun? part of Velvets Team?" Haruki remembered who it was... "Ohh the stylish girl!! Huh... She''s a toughie..." Jaune nodded his head "Yeah I''ve tried everything but, your advice... I was also going to ask for Rens advice but he can''t even notice Nora... so it all boils down to you..." Jaune continued "Do you know what people call you in campus? The Big Bad Wolf... For you have devoured 3 cute girls already, and they''re all beautiful!" Haruki''s smile twitched. "What the fuck!? people call me that? on my defense, I am honest about all of them." Jaune smacked him in the head. "You know how much I wanna kill you right now? I feel like you have indirectly dissed me... but be serious... I really need your advice..." Haruki listed up what he has thought of... "Think of how you will approach her...And sensing that you already have the confidence to pull that off, all you need to have is a witty pick up line, make it a little cheesy that she laughs." Jaune Nodded seriously as he was listing down what Haruki said. "When you have successfully made her laugh, make sure the conversation you make is not boring... and seeing that she''s a stylish girl, you really need to match her type." Haruki quickly made a quick call to Neo... His resident stylist... Neo Arrived and asked what Coco looks like... Haruki pointed at Coco. Nodding Her head she looked at Jaune from top to bottom. She slowly shook her head. "Captain what''s wrong?" Haruki asked. (This is a lot of work... I don''t think I could do it...) "Captain! I''m willing to buy you ice cream for a whole week!" Neo shook her head. (I want a nice Dinner at the Silver Spoon, and Stargazing... like what you did for Pyrrha...) Haruki Nodded his head and booked a reservation, Jaune on the other hand thanked Neo. "Neo I appreciate your help... but somehow listening to you two makes me want to punch Haruki in the face." (Alright I''mma do this and this, so when we''re going to return to beacon, you two go buy this...) Jaune was taking this very seriously... so Haruki then taught Jaune on how to have a confident posture, so he would have successful rapport. "Jaune you need to practice this... and don''t be too confident, just enough..." Jaune looked at him weirdly... "What does that even mean?" Neo was observing Haruki and smirking (hehehehe Yeah sure get dating advice from Haruki...you know he gets this stuff from the net right?) Jaune patted Harukis shoulders "I know, but what Haruki said was good advice..." They were both nodding Thier heads... Neo rolled her eyes at the both of them... She pulled Haruki away and told Jaune good luck... Jaune decided that he would ask Coco out... After the Field assignment... Haruki Held Neos Hand as they strolled around the airship, They found Pyrrha being approached by the new male transfer students. "Hey Miss Nikos I''m a huge fan!! also if you don''t mind signing this?" "Miss Nikos would you like to go on a date wit-" As the student was trying to speak a man suddenly blocked them all from approaching Pyrrha... "Hey! what''s the big idea??" One of them said. Haruki then smiled and directed his killing intent towards them. "In case you didn''t get the memo... She''s taken, and if any of you fuck knuckles approach my women ever again... You''ll end up in a fate worse than death..." "W-who the hell are you to tell us what to do?" the guy said... "She''s a celebrity! you''re not allowed to date her! she''s way out of your league!" Haruki just laughed. He pulled Pyrrha close and kissed her right in front of everyone... "I will seriously fuck you all up if you don''t get out of my sight" He said as he brought out warmonger... Pyrrha held Harukis arms worriedly. "Relax I''m just joking..." He pulled Pyrrha away from those thugs and he glared at them, He ran his fingers on his throat... threatening them behind Pyrrhas back... Pyrrha was happy yet angry at the same time... "You could''ve handled that better you know..." Haruki scratched his head... "Yeah I''m sorry Baby, those thugs really piss me off..." Pyrrha then sighed... "Geez... C''mon let''s go to the cafeteria..." Neo being silent the whole time, said (Okay, That was cool and all but I wanna go eat!!!) She dragged them both and ordered food. As they were looking for seats, they saw emerald talking with team RWBY. Emerald was smiling wryly towards their questions... Haruki went near them... Neo was the first one to ask. (What are you guys talking about?) Ruby waved her arms around. "Uhh...uhh...we were just talking about you guys, like how were you like in Haven..." Emerald breathed a sigh of relief...from being released from their questions. Neo smiled and continued chatting with team RWBY along with Pyrrha. Haruki sat down beside emerald. "It''s surprising to see you getting along with them..." Emerald rolled her eyes. "Wow... that''s rude. sometimes I do want to make friends you know..." Haruki raised his arms. "Alright... Alright, calm down, I was just joking." They passed the time, talking about nothing in particular... Then the voice of Professor Port resounded in the airship. "Students! we are nearing the borders of Vacuo, please go back to your stations and look for your teammates, you and your team will be dropped off on your designated areas." They each went to their drop off point... Haruki and Co. we''re dropped down near the ruins... Haruki surveyed the area, while Cinder sat down on a Chair made of glass, looking like a queen. While emerald was just curiously looking around, Neo on the other hand was looking at the ruins excitedly. (Haru!! look look the temple looks so like the Temple of D*om! I feel like Indiana j*nes!! you could be Short R*und!) Haruki was shocked "Heyyy! that''s not fair!" She giggled (Hehehe too late!) Cinder and Emerald were wondering what the hell they were talking about... Cinder thought to herself... ''This ruins are created by the God of Darkness?? There might be some use for this ruins after all...'' ''I might find something here that I could use against Haruki'' As they were looking around Haruki sensed someone approaching... They all looked around restlessly. *Clap clap clap* "I never knew I would take a detour but you fucks... found the temple of gluttony, You see I would have to kill you all... I was supposed to find his killer but good thing I took this path, I wanted to see if his ''Sinner'' was here but imagine my surprise... I found his killer!!! Hehehehehhehe" The mysterious man laughed at Haruki and pointed his fingers at him. "You smell like Death!!! even worse than these three, you have the densest black aura I have ever seen... and you are probably the only one who could kill gluttony.... No hard feelings okay? CAUSE YOU''LL HARDLY FEEL ANYTHING AT ALL!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA!!!! The man revealed himself, it was the green haired man with two great swords,covered in crimson armor... He was the ''Sinner'' of Greed... 30 Chapter 23: The sinners Of Greed Greed is a bottomless pit which exhausts the person in an endless effort to satisfy the need without ever reaching satisfaction. Humanity has always been anchored upon benefits; it was a wonder how many lives the single word called ''Greed'' had destroyed... Such is this man standing before Haruki... The ''Sinner'' of Greed... Haruki asked who he was... The green Haired man smiled and bowed... He removed his mask revealing a handsome face riddled with scars... "I am the ''Sinner'' of Greed, Corvus! The previous King of the Fallen Kingdom of Isidore!" Cinder was shocked... "What??!!! that was 6000 years ago!" Her expression darkened, but she continued. "The Kingdom that fell overnight..." Corvus laughed "Hahahahahaha indeed, a kingdom that was covered in gold... the place I once called home... Now in ruins..." Cinder then realized who he was... "The Raven King!!! One of the most powerful and Smartest kings of History..." "You were also called the Mad King Corvus, you were so greedy that you took the nearby kingdoms gold and supplies... But they banded together and destroyed your kingdom..." Corvus frowned and slowly drew his blade... "Not all you hear or read in books are true... but.... whatever that''s close enough..." Haruki also summoned mournful Vengeance and Fenrir Fangs. Corvus smiled as he walked slowly he looked at the weapons Haruki was holding... "Hohhh... interesting what are your weapons made up off? I really want to take those weapons for myself..." Haruki ignored him and asked "You said you were a sinner? what the fuck does that mean?" Corvus shrugged, and he dashed towards Haruki... "Does it matter?? I honestly just want to cut you open and see the mystery behind your powers!! Tell me! Tell me! Tell me where did your powers come from!?" "You are the next best thing after the Sins!!!" Neo attacked Corvus and they Teamed up against him. Cinder and Emerald were firing arrows and bullets, trying to make an opening for Haruki. He swung his two Great swords flinging Neo back... "Neo!! Shit! everyone stay back!" Cinder Summoned a circle of flames below Corvus... "Woah!!! it seems we have a fall maiden in the midst!! Hahahahahaha this is so fun!!!" He threw his great sword towards Cinder, while blocking Harukis slash. Haruki activated lightning form, and appeared infront of Cinder to parry the blade. Cinder was shocked she expected Haruki to ignore her plight. As Haruki Parried the thrown blade upwards, Corvus appeared below Haruki slashing upwards. "Where are you looking at?? hahahahahah!!!" But Jet black Dire wolves clung all over Corvus immobilizing him. Haruki Held Cinders waist and fled towards the distance. "You''re just full of surprises aren''t ya!!!??" He tore off the jaw of one of the dire wolves that was biting him. He then killed all of the dire wolves biting him. "C''mon boy!? don''t tell me this is all you got??" Haruki continued to clash blades with him. Cinder has already created arrows and fired it towards Corvus. Corvus summoned a pocket space crack and brought out another weapon of his... A Jet Black longsword it''s cross guard is adorned by a Raven head... He used it to block Cinders arrows. When he brought out that sword it slowly healed his bite wounds. "Hehehe this is getting fun!!" He kicked his fallen great sword towards Emerald. The great sword went through emerald... cutting her in half... "Hahahaha whoops!!!" Corvus laughed... While he was distracted by emeralds semblance Haruki used lightning form and slashed towards Corvus'' chest. "Ohh I see, I see, I see!!!! I like your semblance!!" He summoned another space crack and summoned a dagger, he tried to stab it towards emerald... Haruki used The dire wolves to block his dagger. *Pshhhh* the dire wolves slowly faded, and Haruki was already in front of Corvus, Haruki nailed his fist towards Corvus'' face. *Crash!!* Corvus flew towards the trees creating a huge path between them. *Cough cough* "*KehHeheheheHahahahahahahhaha!!!!!" Corvus slowly stood up and he snapped back his dislocated shoulder... Laughing madly He spit out the blood and said. "Hehehehehe!!! You know I probably would have enjoyed this fight more if you weren''t protecting this weaklings!" Corvus created a black magic circle underneath him, and he was covered in jet black armor that looks like a crow... "What!? You could use magic!?" Cinder screamed... she wanted this kind of power, she yearned for it... Corvus raised his eyebrows and asked..."You can''t use it? miss fall maiden!? Hahahahaha!!! Fucking of course I can use it, I''m from the age of Magic!!" Harukis expression Darkened... ''Magic huh fuck I have to take this guy more seriously...'' He charged towards Corvus using Lightning Form, He broke Salem''s seal and used Gravity I, he tried to slow him down... And added a little weight towards his sword... Noticing this Corvus created a red magic circle in his hand and fired off a fire beam towards Haruki. Haruki immediately used [Reflecting Moon]. He slashed towards Corvus, but his armor was tougher than expected... But Haruki suddenly heard a ding* He successfully stunned Corvus using Mournful Vengeance... He then used Vorpal strike. He stabbed his sword towards the ground creating multiple blades... He heard another ding* tripling the damage output, but it only broke Corvus'' shoulder armor... "Hehehehehe this is a fight!!!! You remind me of an old friend of mine... He was a good fighter just like you..." "I bet you know who he is! it''s fucking Ozma!!! that bastard!! Hahahahahahah!!!" Everyone wondered what he meant, but Haruki knew who it was... Dread crept up all over Haruki, this old man is as powerful as Ozpin on his peak... Corvus created a black magic circle around both of them... a sound isolation barrier... "I never beat him you know... after he fell ill I was struck with shock... even the most powerful man I knew died..." He charged at Haruki crossing blades with him. "Just a single sickness... could cause one of the strongest man fall down to his knees, I hated him for that..." "I didn''t join Salem''s mad quest for immortality... Because I knew, she was just doing it to revive Ozma..." "And thus came the wave of destruction the god of darkness made... I don''t know why... but after it was done I didn''t die..." "But I was all alone in my kingdom... the kingdom I worked so hard to create!!! the kingdom where my family resided!!" "I hated the Gods for what they''ve done... so I tried to kill myself..." "But reality disappointed me, I still didn''t die... I wondered if I was being punished by the Gods too... but I was a good ruler!! I ruled in peace!!" He received the triple damage output of Mournful Vengeance head on as Haruki slashed towards him... But it had no effect... Corvus removed his armor and showed the mark on his arm... The mark of Greed... Corvus then continued. "I don''t know when this appeared, but the sins were unnoticed by the Gods, so I thought to myself... What if they were here before them??... that they were laying dormant...." "So I searched the world... then I found the Temple of Greed... I... Found Him... it was greed himself!!" "He told me, I was chosen to become his representative for this realm! I could have all the treasures in this world if I served him..." "I never gave a fuck about those... I just wanted them back!!!! So I rebuilt my empire from the ground!! So I scoured the land for treasures, amassing a fortune and treasures that could rival the age of magic!!! I pretended to serve the Sins... because I wanted the treasure that could bring them back...." He laughed..."Salem costed me everything... but I couldn''t blame her, I hated her at the beginning, but soon I understood she was only trying to bring ozma back!!!" They punched each other in the face sending them both back... "But then Ozma really came back!!! But he tried to stop me from getting more treasure! He destroyed my empire along with Salem!! those two claimed to be Gods!!!" Corvus created a 3 layered magic Circle and Punched it towards Harukis stomach... Haruki used [Exploding Star] to nullify it. I will never forget the day he betrayed me!!! I will destroy them both along with the Gods, by then I will have revived my dead family... my empire!!!!" "So I became a sinner!! Servant of the sins!! I am GREED!! I will take everything!!!" "Join me boy!!! together we could rule the world!!! Fuck the rest! with your power we could use the other sinners and kill the sins!!!" "Like a great sword I will raise you up, and our enemies will shatter against us! The spoils of a thousand victories, nay a million would be yours!!!" "I offer you this choice would you serve justice... or rule above all of creation!!! Don''t be like Ozma!! Foolishly he chose duty above all..." Haruki after listening to Greed''s story yawned... "Holy fuck Corvus you talk too fucking much... But my choice is... to kill you and get done with it..." Haruki Summoned Warmonger and Transformed into a Jet-black werewolf. "You see old man, I don''t care about you, Salem''s, or Ozpins plans... I have mine so, fuck you, and your grand bullshit ''foolproof'' plan and shove it up your asshole!" Haruki roared at Corvus not Holding back he slashed, scratched and clawed at him, taking advantage of his armorless state. He punched corvus in the face, And casted Devour on Corvus... (Successful... You have received 75% of Corvus'' weapon skills) Haruki was smiling, "Well now that the playing field is even... time to play!!!" But then as he was charging at him, Corvus created multiple Magic circles surrounding Haruki. "Hehehehehe taste my Tempest Hammer!!!" He slammed his hands towards the ground and the magic circles barraged Haruki, covering the entire area with smoke... As the smoke cleared Haruki was standing there unharmed surrounded by the void bats... "Hehehehehe, Thanks for the fuel Corvus!!!" He activated lightning form and appeared beside corvus, slashing at him. Sending Corvus flying towards the forest... 31 Chapter 24: The Fallen Kingdom There was once a great kingdom in the desert lands.... Before the four Kindoms... Before the day the world was wiped of humans... A time where magic was prevalent. The Age of Gods and Magic... There was once a kind and wise King named Corvus who ruled the Kingdom of Isidore. It was a time of peace and serenity, he made alliances with other kingdoms using peace as his weapon. Although the king talks of peace, he is not weak, for he himself knows how to handle himself in battle. This got him the attention of Ozma the Great warrior of Justice... They bonded together, fought together, they became like brothers... *Cough "Ozma your skills are ever so impressive!! I am awed by your swordplay." Ozma reached his hands towards Corvus. "Hahaha, Fret not friend for your skills are also as good! I only won because of luck!" Corvus tallied the score... it was 50 to 51... Corvus asked Ozma "It seems you have a goal in mind,old friend... do you wish to challenge the tower?" Ozma laughed "Yes! I want to rescue her, because I can''t stand people who carry out injustice..." Corvus slapped him in the back while laughing loudly. "Hahahahaha!!! you never change, do you?" Ozma smiled back, He bid his farewells... And a long time passed He came back to corvus'' kingdom with a beautiful bride in tow... It was Salem... They all rejoiced for Corvus was already married and had his own family... They partied until dawn... The years went by like leaves in the fall... Ozma fell ill, Corvus noticed that he was visiting less and less the past few years... So he travelled towards Ozmas Home, only to find his friends grieving wife... He kneeled on the floor lifelessly... Saddened by his friends death... He wanted to stay longer... but seeing Ozmas death made him realize that he had a family of his own... He offered Salem Solace in his kingdom, but Salem had plans of her own... That was the last time he met her, Then the Cataclysmic Event that wiped humanity happened... Leaving him left alive, grieving for his dead family... He wanted revenge, but he was too powerless to do so... that was when he noticed the mark on his arm... He wondered what it was... He tried to understand why he was still alive, but it only drove him mad... He tried to end his suffering to no avail... He slowly stood up with his battered body, staggering on his steps he heard a voice... It was calling to him, it was faint... but it called to him... He walked towards that direction not caring for his body''s state... For Months or years even he walked... And he finally found an eerie cave, he entered it. Only to find a skeleton adorned with kingly clothes... As he was about to go near, it spoke... "Finally arrived I see... It took you long enough... And... Hehhehehe by the way, Hahahahaha you look like shit!" Corvus seemingly unaffected by the skeletons taunts asked... "Why did you call for me?? Why am I still alive!?!?" The skeleton raised his hand silencing Corvus. "I am Greed, The aspect of... well Greed, I chose you to be my representative of this realm... You see when ''we'' first came here I didn''t expect this place to be occupied... so... we hid our presence and bid our time... and when they finally left, we could finally show ourselves! We wanted to escape from that dreary realm... we were bored of that life... so we wanted a new toy!! this world you now call remnant... It was decided that we would each find a ''Sinner'' our Magnum Opus... we wanted to create a sin given form!!! A human that could rival that of a sin... but what I want is this planet... so I want you to become stronger!!" Corvus shouted towards Greed "What makes you think I want that!? You think I walked all the way here, so I could be your lap dog!?" He went near Greed and screamed "I want them back!!!" He knelt down... he said in a weak voice... "I want... them... back..." Greed leaned in closer and whispered to him... "When the good of darkness broke the moon... the shattered pieces rained down here... those pieces became treasures... Who knows maybe one of those treasures could bring them back..." And just like that... Corvus rebuilt the Kingdom of Isidore, but not as the once wise and kind ruler... But as the Raven King, The Mad king of greed... Ozma and Salem got wind of this... Salem opted to destroy the kingdom... So she took her false religion and gathered all the kingdoms surrounding Isidore.... She destroyed his kingdom, She told Corvus as he was lying in his own pool of blood... "Ozma sends his regards..." Corvus was angered by their betrayal, and yet he can''t let himself be distracted... He needed his treasures... So he stood back up and watched his kingdom be burned into cinders... He walked away, collecting weapons from warriors... He scoured the land alone amassing a vast arsenal of weapons... But none of those could revive his dead family... Sometimes remembering a moment in your life can physically hurt you... As you relive everything that mattered to you then, and realize how far gone it is now. Focusing on every good memory you could harvest. It used to make him cry, and he liked it. it made him feel like he was still human. But that''s gone now, he twisted himself into too many knots. No time to cry over the past. What''s left is a hollow monster, left with a fucked up desire for power that''s not even real... A revenant filled with Hatred deluding itself with dreams of grandeur... He knows that himself... but he can''t fall down now... He found another thing that could bring his family back, his twisted desire slowly manifested... He wanted that boys weapons... Corvus slowly stood up from the rubble... He laughed madly.... "What is your name boy? You are the first human apart from Salem and Ozma to drive me into a corner like this!" Haruki replied... "Not that it matters for you''ll soon die... but it''s Haruki... Kazama Haruki." Corvus smiled... "What an odd name! But a worthy opponent!!" They clashed their blades not letting the other gain an advantage... "Hehehehhe you can even copy my skills!? Hebehehehehe I like you more and more boy!!!" Haruki tried to bite Corvus with his fangs but he stepped back quickly.. "Thanks, I''m very flattered but I don''t swing that way!" Corvus laughed "Haruki I could promise you all the treasure in the world!!! why not join me!?" Haruki used Dimensional bite towards Corvus wounding his shoulder... (Essence of Greed''s ''Sinner'' obtained...) Haruki smiled "I got all the treasure that I need..." "Hehehehehhehe Boy... you and I are truly alike..." He sighed as he summoned multiple magic circles around all of Harukis Teammates... "I really don''t want to do this... but I want to ask you... these weaklings fates are in your hands... they will all die if you don''t join me!!!" But Haruki just smiled, He used lighting form and appeared above Corvus slamming down warmonger. Corvus was surprised but when he activated the bombardment of magic, Haruki''s companions shattered like glass... Neo has already used her semblance a long time ago... Cinder created a huge ballista made of glass exhausting her... Emerald used Her semblance to distract Corvus... Neo fired the ballista at corvus piercing his chest, Cinder then immolated the glass arrow on his chest burning him alive... Haruki on the other hand was vigilant... "Everyone get back!!" The charred corvus laughed madly as he was holding his Raven Blade... He slowly regenerated and dashed towards Haruki. "Hehehehehehehhe!!! I wasn''t expecting that, I honestly thought you''re the only one I''m fighting... But it doesn''t matter I won''t forget about it next time!!!" He summoned a bangle that increased his speed... He appeared behind Haruki but Haruki was still in his Vanagandr form so he was still a little faster than corvus... They punched each other in the guts. Corvus smiled He summoned another necklace that could increase his strength. they both unsummoned their blades... They were just glaring at each other... "Coooorvuuuussss!!!!" "Haaarrruuuukiiiiii!!!!!" They both charged at each other, punching each other... They exchanged blows, they weren''t dodging... For every Dodge... is a moment wasted on dishing out damage. They both threw strategy out of the window... Just a full blown fist fight... "Hehehehe you''re not quite bad old man..." "I admire your tenacity brat!!" Hitting each other in the face, they both stepped back... they both were grinning from ear to ear... """Haaaaaa!!!!"" They charged at each other again slamming their fist to each other''s guts, but Haruki was a little faster, He slammed his fist on corvus back and kneed him in the stomach. *pant pant* "Had enough old man!?" *cough cough* "Don''t get cocky kid!" Corvus slowly stood up he summoned a blade that could slow an enemy down... "playtime''s over...." Haruki activated His lightning form and summoned warmonger. Corvus slowed Haruki down and dashed towards Cinder, he grabbed her and went inside the opening of the temple. Emerald screamed as she tried to dash towards the entrance. "Cinder!!!!! Haruki please save her!" Haruki dashed towards the entrance and chased after Corvus... He told Neo and Emerald to stay put. He was chasing Corvus inside the Entrance slowly caved in... trapping all three of them inside... "CORVUS!!! you slimy bastard show yourself!!! I will end you!" Haruki arrived at a large room with Corvus pointing his blade towards Cinders neck. "Ah ah ah~~ you can''t get closer or she dies...." Cinder then spoke"Don''t bother he doesn''t care about me or you... so how about you do me a favor and just let me go..." Corvus stabbed Cinder in her stomach to silence her. "Shut up wench!" "Aaarrgghhh!!!" Haruki madly dashed at Corvus... "Cinder!!! ,Corvus you fuck!!!!" He used chains of Gleipnir on Corvus immobilizing him. He slammed corvus'' face in the wall stabbing him multiple times with his claws... *Rumble the room was about to collapse from the tremors... Haruki grabbed cinder and fled deeper inside the temple... Leaving Corvus to be crushed by the debris... "Hahahahahahha we will meet again Haruki!!!" 32 Chapter 25: Temple of Gula It''s been hours since they both have been stuck inside the temple... Haruki laid Cinder down on a stone bed, applying first aid to her wound... "Hey... How are you feeling?" Haruki asked as he wiped Cinders wound... "I''ve been through worse... but do tell me why you''re feeling so charitable..." Haruki sighed and didn''t speak further... He materialized everything cinder needed, he sew the wound shut, and asked Ars on what to do next. *cough cough* "What is this fake charity!? Haruki! Do you think I''m stupid!?" Cinder slowly sat back up, Haruki supported her. She grabbed Harukis collar and said "Answer me! *cough* I don''t need your help!!" Haruki didn''t speak he gently held cinders hand and he gently laid her down... Much to Cinders surprise... She glared at Haruki but, if she wanted to survive... She just laid there to recuperate... Haruki asked Ars if he could materialize food... which to his surprise Ars responded with a menu... free of charge. He made food for the both of them. Haruki put the plate near Cinder. "Eat..." Cinder just scoffed and turned her back at Haruki. Haruki held her by the waist and made her lean towards his chest... "Cinder... you''re going to die if you keep this up..." He tried to feed her, Cinder was so surprised. "What the hell is all this? I thought you wanted to kill me? I thought I''m just a pawn to you? why the hell are you being so nice to me!?" Haruki stopped speaking, He just fed Cinder silently... Cinder had no choice but to eat... letting Haruki spoon feed her... She soon dozed off, because of the medicine Haruki gave her... Haruki laid her back down and covered her with a blanket... He sat back down on a stone... He started a fire to keep them both warm... He thought to himself... ''What the fuck an I doing??... What Corvus did to her suddenly angered me...'' ''I felt guilty for letting her get hurt...'' '' it''s probably because I don''t want what''s mine to be hurt...'' ''even if this woman is evil....'' Suddenly he heard a voice inside his head... a very familiar voice. [Is she though?? is she truly evil? that she doesn''t deserve a second chance like you?] ''What the fuck!? Gluttony! How are you inside my head!?'' [Hehehehe relax kid, I can''t do nothing to you in this state... you devoured me... when you did, you didn''t just absorb my powers... my consciousness was merged with warmonger...] [Yes, you may have prevented my revival, but you also prevented me from dying...] ''Fuck... *sigh* whatever...well this is your temple right? Tell me how to get out... [Ehh... When you Chased after Corvus the entrance collapsed... So we need to go through the exit] Haruki looked at cinder... ''Ill go after she wakes up...'' [You like her don''t you? Her spunk reminds you of someone?? Hahahahaha, you fucking suck...little pansy...] ''Tsk, buzz off and do you know how to shut up?'' [Sigh... You know when I merged with Warmonger I saw your memories... I gotta say you''re a real piece of work...] Haruki ignored Gluttony and he shut his eyes to get some rest... A few hours pass, Cinder finally woke up. She slowly sat up, looking at Haruki, wondering what the hell is up with him... Why did he help her? Why?? after all she has done... she wondered herself if she deserved all this... She was shocked and Happy at the same time, when Haruki got really angry...When she got stabbed by corvus. She felt weird, she wondered what that feeling was... it was different from the hatred she felt, whenever he''s around she was pissed but not to the point that she''d hate him... Haruki slowly opened his eyes... Cinder immediately looked away. She wondered why she did that, normally she could glare at anyone without flinching... Haruki went near her... She could feel her heart beating faster... Her face heating up... She thought to herself... ''Am I... no it can''t be...'' ''Do... I... have a fever!? it''s probably that yes...'' He put his hand towards her forehead. "You''re hot...why don''t you lie down?" Cinder was speechless... ''How shameless could this kid be!? She''s injured for fucks sake...'' [Hahahahahah, look at her! she''s weirded out by your words!!!] Haruki continued to ignore Gluttony. "Do you have a fever? why don''t you take a rest first and eat, then we try and go to the exit..." Cinder thought to her self... ''Ohh, that''s what he meant...'' Haruki opened his scroll to try and contact Neo, and he was surprised that there is signal here, but it''s faint... ''What!? remnants signal towers are very advanced compared to ours...'' Should''ve contacted her earlier... He told Neo they were okay and they would be moving towards the exit once cinder feels better. Neo asked him about corvus and he told her he was buried under the rubble. Haruki then went near cinder to find out that she has finished eating and was staring at Haruki. Cinder asked him... "Are you ready to talk now? What are you?" Haruki was silent thinking what to tell cinder... She suddenly spoke... "I wasn''t talking about your origins I want to ask about how you can transform into a wolf... and your semblance... how???" Haruki then said... "It''s like corvus'' weapons... I could summon them and they have their own powers, while corvus collected treasures... I on the other hand could materialize my own..." Cinder was doubting what Haruki told her, but it''s better than nothing at Least. "Tell me Haruki, why did you join us? you could''ve ran with Neo 5 years ago and Roman would''ve let you..." "Me and Neo were young, we can''t do shit in the real world, we need backing..." Cinder laughed... "You''re powerful enough! What''s the difference if you ran away!? you could have started a new with her!" Haruki furrowed his brows. "Power is different from money! What shit would it do? other than make others want it!?" "And what!? Return as vagrants on the streets!?, begging!? I am sick and fucking tired of begging!" "I have lived a path of blood it''s no use regretting what might have been...I chose this path because I didn''t have any other choice! Neo would still choose to work for Roman, She owes him that much... He was like a father to her... He helped her when no one else would... And that''s what she means to me too." Cinder looked down and said... "Why then!?... if you''re just reluctantly working with Salem... why!? why bother saving me!!!? if you just left me for dead... you could''ve easily killed corvus!" Haruki couldn''t speak further, he looked away... then he slowly spoke. "You... you remind me of someone..." Cinder laughed Hysterically. "Hahahahahahahaha!!! you expect me to believe that kind of melodramatic bullshit!? Do you think I''m that stupid!? what I remind you of your dead sister!? your dead lover!? Fuck!! Don''t give me that crap!!!" Haruki looked down... ''You remind me of myself...'' Cinder didn''t expect to react this strongly... because deep down she knows that''s what she''s doing... and she hated it... it reminds her of a time of powerlessness, a time where she was still whole... Before she shattered and became sharp shards that could hurt anyone that came near. A bitter memory she kept bottled up all those years... A silent yearning of a better time. Haruki was just looking solemn, he looked at her and said. "You remind me of someone, so hungry for power, so consumed with revenge even unaffected people get hurt in the process... you don''t care about the means... you only care about the end result." Haruki sighed and continued. "Fueled by the hatred, Fueled by the yearning of your past... It''s a never ending cycle of suffering... it always ends the same!! Enemies on all sides, you try to fight back but each time you fight back... your guilt pulls you back, giving them the chance to keep hitting you until you''re down. and you finally snap, killing everyone, even the people that try to stop you... then you stop feeling guilty, you just keep killing!! And then eventually you stop feeling... Just waiting for the death you deserve, like a demon king sitting on his throne waiting for the hero to come and slay him..." He looked straight at Cinder. "I don''t believe in the innate goodness in people... it''s just for appearance sake, they hide their true motives, while they sing you praises... I never trust them until I see the real them. But revenge? it fucks you hard, you get so detached and apathetic, at the end of it all, after standing at the mountain of corpses. You ask yourself... was it worth it? was it worth doing all this crap, was it worth it losing everything!? Just to satisfy your fucking vengeance!? was it worth it!? You try to justify your actions but no words would come out... they''re already gone!!! So what is the fucking point of it all!!?? Even if you wanted to cry no tears would come out!! you''ve been hollowed... an empty husk filled with pointless hatred and bitter regret." Cinder was silent... she couldn''t refute what Haruki just said... She looked at him, wondering how, how can this young man experience so much, then it came to her... She was the same... A fragile girl trying to push everyone away. Trying so hard to appear powerful so she wouldn''t get hurt again. Cinder sighed as she laid back down, thinking of what Haruki said to her. [Bravo!!! Magnificent!! Outstanding performance by Mr.Haruki!! Hahahahahaha!! I guess you couldn''t stand seeing someone else going that road!! If I could just eat popcorn right now!!] ''Shut the fuck up gluttony...'' [Aww, don''t be a buzz kill, I really enjoyed watching that... REVENGE!! a tale as old as time... hahahahahaha, it never gets old! it still manages to crack me up! Hahahahahah!] ''Good god... just thinking I''d be stuck with you, gives me a headache.'' [Don''t be like that kid! we could be buddies! and I can tell you how to defeat each sin! how bout I prove myself to you... I get you out of this temple? you try and trust me a little bit, Okay??] *Sigh ''Whatever...'' Haruki then sat down looking at cinders back... He thought to himself, ''hehe what the fuck did I just do? giving advice to her???'' [Got affected by what I said?? Be honest with me kid... you like her don''t you, but your pride always gets in the way... You know deep down she could change. So why not take this chance and live a little?] Haruki ignored Gluttony at just continued sitting down. it''s been a whole day since they were stuck inside the temple... Cinder was feeling a little better, so Haruki opted that they move, He helped her walk... Lending his shoulders to her. They went deeper into the heart of the temple. 33 Chapter 26: Hidden Desires While they were walking inside the Temple, Haruki and Cinder saw some very graphic drawings in the walls... Haruki spoke to gluttony. ''What the hell, all of this is so damn disgusting...'' [These were carved by those devout weirdos, you know religion could be messy sometimes...] ''Wow, they sure are...''quite unique'' [Unique is an understatement, they''re a bunch of fucking devout weirdos...] I''m surprised that you have your own followers...; [Well, kid it goes way deeper than you could imagine, it''s not a religion it''s more of an army of meat bags ready to devour anything in it''s wake... even at the cost of their own lives. I only wanted to understand humans... that''s why I created this... I wanted to observe them. It''s grand don''t you think? Almost Divine!! and yet it''s currently nothing more than a shrine for misguided idiots... I got curious, what drives these things? Their instinct to survive? Love? Family? Religion? War? The more I observed, the more charmed I am by their complexity... I seek to learn all facets of Humanity! Some desired Love! Others Family! Only then did I realize an absolute and unbiased truth... The core of humanity is conflict!! They fight. Steal. kill!! This is humanity, and even if countless millennia pass, that fact won''t change... I strived to attain nothing less than the essence of humans and faunus... Yet, the more I eat the less I understand... but one thing did not change... their love for war.] ''That is true... Conflict exist as long as we exist...'' Gluttony then continued. [Most of the humans I''ve eaten has faith in some form or another... Faith or at least the idea of it, is perhaps the helping hand in the evolution of human consciousness. Once they realize how small and relatively helpless they are compared to those hulking Grimm that walk among them... The world becomes a big, complicated scary place... They''re scared of what they don''t understand, that''s why they created stories and explanations, to make this world more bearable... That''s what faith is... In a world abandoned by God, because of humanity''s folly... They wanted to create meaning for their pitiful existence...] ''Did I just listen to a sin preach about faith? Hahahaha how fucking ironic...'' [Hehehehe, I have my moments kid] Haruki looked at the room they were approaching. He asked gluttony if they were near the exit. Gluttony was silent, he was thinking whether this was the right place. Cinder on the other hand was just pondering about what Haruki told her... As she was distracted She and Haruki entered a large Hallway. But as they stepped inside a blinding light swallowed them both. "What the- -" Gluttony told Haruki before they disappeared. [This is the place where we sins look at what you desire the most. this is where we determine your place in our army... But since no sin is controlling this you''d have to get out yourself... Don''t lose yourself inside now!! It would be a shame for me to lose an observation target. Hahahahahahaha] They both lost consciousness. ...¡­ Cinder woke up, she stared at the ceiling for a good long while... "Ugh... where am I?" All she saw was a wooden ceiling... She sat up looking around, she discovered that she was in a cabin in the middle of nowhere, with snow pouring all over the place... "What how long was I asleep!? where is this place?" She immediately stood up and went down the stairs. When she got down, she saw a young boy, playing with a toy Grimm. The boy looked up, he looked exactly like her Younger brother... "What!? that''s impossible!" She dashed towards the boy, hugging him close. "Caleb is it you!? is it really you!? Hahahaha this must be some kind of hallucination... Haruki must have triggered some trap!" Then a man who has been sitting in the sofa, watching this all happen was staring weirdly at Cinder the whole time. He then finally spoke. "Uhh... sister? I''m over here... Did you have a bad dream? or do you still have a fever?" Cinder looked up and saw a grown up version of Caleb. "What!? Two Calebs? What''s going on!?" she stared at they young boy she was hugging... The boy looked like Caleb but he was slightly different... His expression looks extremely familiar, to someone she knows... Caleb then spoke... "Sister, are you okay? Does your head still hurt? Why are you looking at Caleb Jr. like that?" Cinder''s eyes widened and she dashed towards Caleb. "What is going on!? what do you mean?" Caleb just stepped back... "Sis how about you lay down for awhile? I think brother in law is arriving with Alice in a while..." Cinder looked at the child, He ran towards Cinder. Clutching her Pants... He looked up and said... "Mama~ Carry! Carry!" Cinder was shocked, she slowly picked up the boy... She was staring at him... She thought to herself. ''This... is my child...'' She felt emotional... Memories that she wasn''t sure if it was real, flowed inside her head... She hugged the boy while smiling from ear to ear. It was probably the first time she has genuinely smiled, in a long while... She threw her doubts to the back of her head. Caleb sighed a breath of relief... "Sister for a second there I thought you lost it." Cinder smiled at him and said. "Sorry, it must have been the fever... but insulting your elder sister like that? grants you a punishment..." Caleb was sweating hard... Cinder tried to ignite her hands but no flames would come out... she tried to use her semblance but no glass would come out... She was shocked... "what!? where are my powers?" Caleb was looking at him weirdly and said. "what are you doing sis?, is that my punishment?" She wondered what she was trying to do? Cinder laughed and said. "What was I doing? Hahahaha sorry Caleb I''m just joking with you..." Cinder was confused on what was happening, she had no powers, but that''s fine as long as her family is here. As she was saying this the door opened Haruki entered the Cabin while clutching a young girl. "Cinder... Honey! you''re okay! That''s good!" He dashed towards Cinder and Hugged all of them. Cinder looked at the young girl holding Haruki... The young girl looked exactly like her... The young girl looked back and beamed a smile, while saying. "Mama!!! hehehehe Hug! Hug~~!!" She hugged Cinder tight. Cinder Felt her tears slowly fall down as she was surrounded by her family. She wondered what she did to deserve all this... But memories continued to surge... They slowly resurfaced, creating ripples,distorting her own reality. Haruki immediately asked what''s wrong. "Honey... why are you crying? what''s wrong?" Cinder buried her face on his chest. "Nothing... Nothing is wrong..." Haruki kissed Cinder on the lips, their kids also opted for a kiss... Everyone laughed Heartily... For her, being surrounded by them, felt reassuring... She felt safe in ''His'' arms. Caleb interrupted them. "Uhhh guys... I hate to interrupt the warm family scene, but mom and dad are coming in three days...and we still don''t have food prepared for tonight." Haruki raised his head, He dashed towards the kitchen... "Honey I''ll start preparing! Alice, Caleb Jr. you go play with your uncle Caleb." Cinder patted the two''s head and she also headed to the kitchen to help Haruki. As she was heading to the kitchen, she felt that she forgot something... it''s like something is amiss... She stared at Haruki chopping the meat, She smiled sweetly as she hugged him from behind. "Thanks for taking care of me when I was sick..." Haruki turned around and returned her embrace... "Cinder Darling... you don''t have to thank me, but... How about this... since it''s already the time for The annual Nondescript Winter Holiday... Do you... maybe want to dress as sexy Nondescript Winter Holiday Mascot again?? you can come by after Alice and Caleb fall asleep?" Cinder blushed and Hammered Haruki''s chest softly and kissed him in the cheeks and whispered. "Maybe? if you have been a good boy..." Crash* A glass of water shattered on the ground. Caleb was standing there shocked... *Cough Cough* "please... just cook guys..." Caleb Cleaned the shattered glass... Haruki and Cinder both blushed... and continued cooking... Cinder stared at the shattered glass... she can''t help but feel weird. Slowly but surely she was finally sure something was wrong... They finally finished preparing... Cinder went back to the Sofa, sitting down Her Kids ran to her. "Mama! Lets go watch!" They snuggled to Cinder. Cinder Thought that this was bliss, but there was a creeping doubt thinking that all of this seem fake... A few Days pass, she spent time with her kids, her brother, and Haruki... They were waiting for the food to be cooked while they were sitting down at the couch watching TV. It was finally time to Celebrate the Nondescript Winter Holiday... In this few days she was a bit doubtful... But now She was Finally sure. Cinder held her head... "Nnnggghhh, my head hurts!" Haruki worriedly held Cinder, "What''s wrong!? is it your fever?" Cinder shook her head... Clarity finally came to her. As her headache disappeared... her memories slowly resurfaced. "Hehehehehehe.... HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! it seems I have been having such a sappy dream..." She slowly stood up Stared at her Family slowly scanned them one by one... She was sad that she had to part with her brother again, but she has something more important to do now. She looked at Caleb First... "Caleb I know this is not real... but I always wanted to tell you this... I love you, and I''m sorry for letting our parents die and I''m sorry for letting you save me with your life..." Caleb smiled... "It''s fine sister... you remember what I told you before? Be Happy... you still haven''t lost that chance..." He said as he stared at Haruki. Cinder then looked at her Children... She softly smiled... She hugged the two close... The two looked at Cinder with eyes that look like they were about to cry any moment... "Mama? will... will we see each other again?" Alice asked... "Mama... will you play with us again?" Caleb Jr. asked... Cinder could no longer hold her tears back... even if this is not real... she still considers them as her own. Even if the memories she had with them maybe fake... She doesn''t give a damn, They both were her blood and flesh... With tears in her eyes... she told them... "Yes.... Mama will do her best... mama will play with you two again..." The two cried in her arms... She knows that she might not get this chance... but she doesn''t care, she has already decided to do what she can... She then kissed them both in the cheeks. "You two be good okay? Mama loves you very much... We''ll play again when the time comes okay?" The two slowly nodded their heads...as they buried their face into cinders chest. As she held her children she looked at Haruki... angrily shouting... "You better do your best you bastard!!" Haruki smiled wryly... "don''t yell it at me, tell it to the real one..." Cinder looked away... "Hmph! I know that! Take care of our children..." Haruki went near the two holding them close... "Of course..." She stood up looking at their doorway. She saw her parents standing at the door step. She then said... "Goodbye Mom... Dad... I have always been angry for letting you two die... and failing you as a daughter..." Her parents shook their heads... "Right... you probably can''t speak, because I barely remember what you sound and look like... But always know this... I love you..." The two standing at the door step smiled at her... as if telling her, to move on and find her own happiness, that they love her and Caleb dearly... Cinder stared at everyone one last time... engraving them into her memory... "Good...bye... everyone..." Her expression returned into it''s Arrogant and proud state... She grinned... She was covered in Crimson flames... "I guess its time to wake up..." She was covered in blinding light... She returned back to her somber reality, with new found Determination. 34 Chapter 27 : Hey, Ism Home. In stories, there''s a fine line between good and evil. but in reality there are many circumstances to consider. Maybe it''s just a misunderstanding on someone''s part. I honestly don''t know... Good guys get killed all the time, bad guys don''t get caught. We try to figure out the truth,based on the news and gossips... but honestly almost all of it is bullshit anyways. Even the things we see with our own eyes are warped and twisted for our own self gratification. In the middle of the lies and deceit, we live by choosing the ''Truth'' that is most convenient for us. For this is an awful world full of lies and schemes. Be it sin, or sincerity, with thinly veiled intent to betray, wins the trust of the rest. Because the true nature of this world is not the search of truth, but deception... You see others as ''evil'' While you cover up your own sin. In the end Desire comes out on top, no matter the consequences... ........... Haruki woke up in a grassy plain... He quickly stood up, he remembered what gluttony told him. You see what you desire the most huh... He looked around and he saw a beautiful house in a distance... An old English mansion, that looks worn but it feels more homey that way... It brought a smile to his face... For this is a place very dear to him. "Back here huh... Hehehehehe, I can''t fucking believe you gluttony..." He has traversed this path countless times... He thought when he buried her, it would be the last time he came Home... He slowly walked in the grassy plains, towards the lone house on top of a hillside. He arrived at the door, thinking if he should open the door... Haruki softly pressed the doorbell. He could hear beyond the door, someone was running towards it. The door slowly opened. "Hey, welcome home!" A beautiful woman peeked her head through the door while smiling sweetly... She looked as beautiful since the last time he saw her. Shoulder length brown hair, Unrivaled beauty... Her eyes as perfect as the moon, skin as white as pearl... Haruki would never get tired of looking at her... Wind blew her hair into a mess. Yet she was still smiling cheekily staring at his stunned face. Haruki slowly spoke with a shaky voice... "Hey, I''m home..." A phrase he thought he won''t be saying to her anymore... She pulled him inside, she led him into the living room. They both sat down at the sofa... She leaned in close. She asked how was work... Haruki responded with a wry smile. "It was fine..." She pouted, and said... "What do you mean fine? you didn''t go to the university today! One of your students saw you sleeping beside the hill!" Haruki wondered what the hell she meant... ''A University Professor!? Hahahahahaha do I want to be a professor!? Hahahaha oh my Professor Port and Professor Oobleck must''ve influenced that idea...'' Haruki finally understood... Gluttony''s illusion is showing him what could''ve been... An alternate reality, where he finally found peace... He thought to himself, ''ehh it wouldn''t hurt to stay for a while...'' Elsie poked him in the face... "Hey you big dumb idiot!! are you even listening?" Haruki nodded his head as she pulled her close... She sighed... Elsie then stood up, and she fixed her work in the table, "Hey Hubby, would you mind grabbing the food? I''m going to clean the table up after this..." Haruki went to the kitchen, what he saw was her favorite food, ready to serve. It was Mapo Tofu, it had a little more sauce than Tofu or the minced pork... Just as she liked it... Haruki, with a smile on his face took the Food. And placed it on the table... Elsie dashed and took her plate, carried it to the living room, she turned on the TV. Haruki sighed, "For the last time Honey... don''t eat at the sofa, you''re gonna stain it again." "But Brrrkln Nn ish on." she said with her mouth full with food. "Hahaha I''m sorry what?" Elsie looked up. "Hm?" "I got none of that..." Elsie quickly chewed her food, and said... "Oh, sorry... Br*oklyn99 is on... sooo wanna watch it together?" Haruki sighed and took his plate, sat down beside Her. They both passed the time doing nothing in particular... Haruki spent days with her just having fun. He was content with this kind of life, he actually enjoyed being a professor... But amidst all that He knows it''s not real... what seemed like months were merely minutes... He knew it was time to say goodbye... He sat up from the couch and cooked her favorite meal one last time, he remembered to add a little more sauce. When she arrived she saw Haruki sitting down at the dinner table, solemnly looking at her. He smiled and told her to sit down... They both ate silently... Elsie was the first one to speak up... "You already know don''t you? you''ve known since the first time you came here... it didn''t even affect you..." Haruki laughed as he stared at her... "I know this was all Gluttony''s Room of desire or whatever... but, seeing you and holding you in my arms... felt very real... it even allowed me to fulfill my promise to you... a quiet life in the countryside... a life where we don''t have to keep on running... the life we always wanted." Haruki sat beside her, and embraced her real tight. "But living here made me realize, there are people waiting for me outside... people that also care for me, just like you did. So I can''t sit idly by as they wait... it was fun seeing you again..." He kissed her in the forehead, he looked at her straight in the eyes. "You know... I Never really told you how I have been doing..." He retold his story to her... From the moment he came to remnant. From the moment he met Neo When He saw the whole cast... Until the moment before he came here... Elsie smiled at him... "You know there''s no point in telling me any of this right?" Haruki laughed heartily. "Of course! I just wanted to relay it to her... tell her about how I''ve been... Can you do me a favor and change the scenery?" Elsie smiled and nodded. The House disappeared and it was replaced by a grave on top of a hill... He was Holding Flowers... Pink Camellias... He slowly put down the flowers beside the gravestone... "You know... when all is said and done, I still love you..." He said as he looked at her standing beside the tree... "When I lost you... I was broken, a wandering vagrant finding a reason to live... I was not well adjusted... more often than not I''m barely keeping it together. I''m constantly distracting myself... just a grown man who can''t even look at his subordinates straight in the eyes for too long, because they''ll see how broken I am... When I arrived at remnant I had nobody... But they still helped piece back the shards... When I lost you... I found myself... Back then the people who are always able to walk on the path they decided on... people like that? I''m truly envious of... But then I met them... I met her... Thank you for being there for me... but I have to go, it''s my turn to be there for them... It''s my turn to walk the path I chose... Be it a path of blood, you may disagree... But if it''s for them... I am willing to do anything." He placed their two rings on her gravestone... He walked towards Elsie and he hugged her tight, kissing her in the lips. "Thank you for listening to my selfish request, and for being there for me one last time." Elsie gave Haruki the most beautiful smile she could give him... "You finally let go of that hatred... be quick now! they''re waiting for you..." She said as tears flowed down her eyes. They stayed with each other for a good long while, what felt like an eternity was mere seconds... They have to part again... But such is life... He slowly let go of Her, he walked down the hill. He summoned Fenrir Fangs. He gathered flames on his claws and punched the illusion. He looked back at her one last time etching her eternal beauty to his mind, He smiled and turned around... Never looking back... He was slowly swallowed by the blinding light... Returning him back to the temple of gluttony... .............. Cinder stood up and saw Haruki was still not here... But suddenly a blinding light followed her confusion, returning Haruki back... She still was emotional from what she saw in Gluttony''s Room... She tackled Haruki and Cried in his arms for a good long while. Haruki was anchored back to reality when Cinder tackled him. He was surprised, but he let her have it, what she saw inside could have changed her... He hugged her back, He was finally released from the emotional shackles of his past... He was smiling brightly. ''Thanks gluttony...'' [Keh, you''re no fun kid I was expecting you to cry and weep like a little bitch, but whatever...] ''I may not have the answer for your question about faith or Humanity''s goal... but what I can tell you is, in order to truly understand humanity, you need to not see via your boundless strength or your collection of memories... you need the terrifying endless unknown, Both the good and the Bad... to have faith in yourself.'' [Gluttony sighed, Bah! damn your self reflection! ] Cinder finally let go of Haruki, she was blushing from ear to ear. She looked at Haruki with her moist eyes... "I''m sorry I lost myself for a moment there..." Haruki was surprised... ''She actually said fucking sorry!?'' Woah... this place is good for therapy... [Uhh... boy need I remind you, the Hall of Desire is not your personal fucking shrink!! It is a place to expand my understanding of humans and adding them to my army!] Haruki ignored Gluttony and told Cinder... "it''s uhh... fine, what we saw on that place probably shook us to the core..." Cinder slowly backed away from Haruki... Haruki thought to himself... ''Ahh fuck it, it''s like gluttony said... why don''t I love a little more... live a little...'' Seeing this Haruki showed her a cheeky grin, He held her in the waist and brought his face close. Her face was red as a tomato. She closed her eyes and puckered her lips... Their lips were about to touch but suddenly a voice resounded all over the place. "I hate to interrupt but... you and I have a score to settle..." It was corvus, he was body was tattered and beaten, but he was still standing there grinning like a mad man... Haruki ignored the battered corvus as he was leaning on the wall... Haruki kissed Cinder on the lips. Enjoying the moment their lips slowly parted. they stared at each other''s eyes... Basking in the after glow, And he looked at Corvus, he slowly spoke... "Why don''t we settle this outside the temple? And for fucks sake don''t touch my women..." Corvus laughed madly and he said. "Of course!! the winner has the rights to make the rules!!" Corvus then summoned his Raven blade slowly healing him... He followed Haruki outside... ... When they finally arrived outside. Haruki told Cinder to go find the rest... She was a bit reluctant to do so, but she went away... glaring at Corvus the whole time... Corvus Finally spoke. "Enough with the theatrics boy! Let''s finish this!" Haruki transformed into a Jet black werewolf, and he summoned the entire pack of jet black wolves... He held warmonger in his hands ready to charge at corvus anytime. "Hehehehe, old man, only one of us would be walking away today! and it''ll be me!" [Keh, you''re talking like your hot shit now kid? you''re as annoying as ever.. but... what you said wasn''t wrong. I can''t stand that bastard either... LETS GIVE HIM A BIG ONE!!] Haruki and Corvus Laughed madly as they charged against one another. 35 Chapter 28: Isll put your punk ass in the ground! In the Forest Border of Vacuo, Two people were clashing blades. They Have fought for who knows how long... Both covered in wounds that were slowly healing. *Clang* "Tch, why won''t you just die old man!?" Haruki bellowed. Corvus Laughed. "Hehehehe, Haruki... I haven''t felt like this in thousands of years." Haruki charged towards Corvus, casting <>, Corvus did the same he covered his arms with a thick layer of magic circles. Punching each other sent ripples throughout the area, creating powerful shockwaves. The two stood at the center of the crater. They continued to hit each other relentlessly, not giving each other time to breath. Corvus noticed his swordplay was being used by Haruki. "Hehehehehe, not bad kid... But let me ask you this, why do you even fight?" Haruki stepped back and grinned... "Well, it''s to protect the people important to me... and you stabbed my girl, that''s enough reason for me to kill you..." Corvus furrowed his brows... "You know at first I thought I was doing this for my family... Time slowly passed and my reason for fighting is slowly getting more and more jaded, as the fight went on... I thought to myself... I''m so tired... I''m so fucking tired of the climb, I can''t even enjoy the view... Impossible to enjoy a quiet moment. The bad trouble follows me, Waiting for the next fucked up thing to happen." Haruki sighed and he used dimensional bite, pointing it at Corvus. A red magic circle appeared below Corvus, it hardened his body. He held the giant maw that appeared out of nowhere. "Nice try kid... *Nrrghhh*" Corvus created a magic circle that slowed down time around him and he stabbed the maw with a blade. The maw screeched a deafening shout, making corvus cover his ears. Haruki took this chance, He used lightning form stabbing Corvus with his claws. His hands went through Corvus, But Corvus held Harukis arms and He Hammered his head on Harukis skull. "I have seen countless empires rise and fall due to their own decadence... it was doomed the moment it met desire!!! Deep down I already know that what I''m doing is pointless, I let Greed talk me into this because, I wanted a reason. A reason to spread my hate, A sole man''s rebellion that is already over before it even began. But in the end it doesn''t matter... I am a shadow of my former self who has lost everything." Haruki pulled his arm back, Glaring at Corvus. "If you''re tired why not just stop? Just help me kill greed! we don''t have to let the damage define us!" Corvus sighed... "Sigh*kid, you and I are more similar than you think...but a man needs to have a code, we may have the same motivations... But we travel different paths, and no, this isn''t about doing what''s right... We both don''t have a better alternative, we couldn''t find a reason to be better. that''s why... even after Suffering defeat after defeat, even if our own body is reaching it''s limits, to the point of breaking down... we suck it up, stand back up and keep fighting. you tell yourself... ''I couldn''t die yet. I still had a job that must be done...'' That''s why I could do only one thing... with my soul broken, and my flesh torn asunder. I separated my humanity from my self, creating a monster that only seeks strength. And eventually, I became the monster I struggled to fight in the beginning..." Corvus laughed and he continued. "I am aware of the sins I have committed, I wouldn''t be calling myself a sinner if I wasn''t.. I see the end of my path, no family in sight... I tried to hold together my crumbling soul with what little humanity I had left. but... I''ve long approached my limit. I''ve realized how important everything was... everything I''ve lost... In my pursuit of power... I took a look back at the halfway point... Hehehehe, I was foolish to look back.... Then I saw you, I thought maybe you could change... no maybe even fix what I have lost... Maybe right my wrong. Tell me was this Monster before you right?" Haruki was about to answer but Corvus raised his hand to stop him. "It doesn''t matter anymore... I know damn well, before you entered the Room of desire, you really wanted to kill me... But after leaving it you became a man... I wish I could be the same back then. The Raven King is the product of Pain. I did not decide to become what I am. it was imposed upon me." Haruki scoffed. "Bullshit you made your choice, once you decided to work with greed that''s when you lost yourself." Corvus asked Haruki immediately. "Ever wondered what happened to your life? How you end up here?" Haruki furrowed his brows but he sighed. "A couple of bad choices... but I''ve learned to live with it..." Corvus chuckled. "We choose, and we don''t, like the two of us. I didn''t make a choice, because the old God''s made one for me! The moment they were taken from me I decided that it could only end with me together with them, or the other way around." Haruki Silently drew his blade, He was staring at Corvus emotionlessly... They both are aware they''re at the tipping point. No one made any careless moves, Haruki spoke as he steadied his stance. "If that''s what you want, Then... I''ll put your punk ass in the ground!!" Corvus fearlessly grinned. He opened multiple space cracks... A thousand of treasures, blades, any weapon created by the people of remnant... Appeared from it. He grabbed one and leapt towards Haruki. Haruki removed his Vanagandr transformation.. Haruki then used ars magus to materialize weapons from his old world. It became a free for all Melee. Haruki picked up a random weapon, it didn''t matter if it was Corvus'' or his... They clashed, the gunfire and blades clashing echoed throughout the forest... He swung the axe trying to decapitate Corvus. Corvus rolled on the ground, picking up a pistol, he shot towards Haruki. Haruki Used Gula, an army of void bats blocked the bullets. Corvus Created a magic circle beneath his feet, and he was covered in his Raven King Armor... "Time to end this kid!" Corvus fired countless Elemental attacks at Haruki, Haruki used Gula to devour the magic power of Corvus... Haruki heard a ringing in his ear, it was ars magus. <> "Hehehehehe Yes!!!" <> <> Haruki and Corvus was enveloped by a grey Globe of around 500 meters in diameter. Corvus looked around he smiled, "interesting!! interesting!!! show me more Haruki!!" Corvus was about to charge at Haruki, but suddenly his armor disappeared. Haruki snapped his fingers, removing all of Corvus Magic abilities... Corvus picked up his blade charging recklessly at Haruki. "Kahahahahaha boy! this is truly interesting!" Corvus slashed towards Haruki, Haruki gripped his blade and broke it, He immediately transformed into his Vanagandr form. He punched a hole through Corvus, gripping his heart, he crushed it... 6... 5... He could hear the countdown getting closer... 3... Corvus was dying... Haruki prevented the Mark of Greed from resurrecting him. 2... A long sword immediately flew towards Haruki. But he Dodged it and used Warmonger to devour the mark of greed on Corvus arm. 0... Corvus was staring at Haruki with a smile on his face... *Cough Cough...* Sorry kid... but that''s not the mark... He slowly stood up badly battered, and a hole on his chest. Haruki was the same after using ''Absolute Domain, he was extremely exhausted... He saw Corvus'' Heart beating on the ground slowly regenerating... it went back to his heart. Then he saw a mark, on his Heart... With his Raven blade broken... he could only rely on his body''s regeneration speed. They were both panting in exhaustion... They slammed their fist on each other''s face... They fell, they stood back up, they threw a punch again. Rinse and repeat. Staggering on his steps, Corvus spit out blood. "*Cough cough* Can''t kill me this way kid... you''re only wasting your time..." They were both covered in each other''s blood. "*Spits*, figured it won''t be fair..."*Pant pant* Haruki tried to lift Warmonger with what little strength he has left. Corvus made a magic circle with little aura he has left... It numbed the pain and boosted his strength... Haruki Used warmonger to bite of a little bit of Corvus skin. He gained a little stamina from it... They charged at each other. Corvus Jumped up, he created a red magic circle on his arm covering it with fire. Haruki lifted warmonger and swing towards Corvus, But they both didn''t notice the one who threw the longsword a while ago was right beside them now. She blocked Harukis blade and Kicked Corvus on the stomach. Haruki was surprised by the sudden interruption, but when he looked at the one who stopped his blade. A beautiful blonde woman, untainted by the Carnage surrounding her... Her beauty was divine... and yet he can''t help but feel melancholy, for when he stared at her eyes it was... Desolate... Lonely... Like the endless abyss awaiting all of man... And yet it was beauty all the same. "Eris, God fucking damnit don''t interfere!!!" Corvus'' shout anchored Haruki back to reality from his stupor. The lady was silent... but she slowly put down her blade, she stepped back... Corvus staggeringly walked towards Haruki. He fell down multiple times, but Haruki waited patiently... The Lady finally spoke, her voice was as melodious as her beauty. "Corvus, you might die you know... Our Lords don''t like that." Corvus then scoffed. "They could easily find a replacement!" Eris spoke no more, she just stood there at the sidelines, waiting... Corvus finally reached Haruki, but his body was badly tattered... He gripped Harukis Collar... "Go on kid! Finish what you started!" Haruki stabbed corvus in the Chest and Devoured his Heart. Haruki furrowed his brows but he slowly laid Corvus down to the ground... Corvus smiled and tried to speak with little strength he has left clinging to life just a little more... *Cough cough...* "He..heh... It''s finally over... I''ve finally found... the power that could bring my...*Cough cough* family back... Death... Listen to me kid... no Haruki... You really did me a favor... like I said we all made our choices, this... was mine... I''m coming home...*cough cough*" His grip on Harukis collar slowly loosened and his hands fell on the ground... He finally found peace... Eris slowly approached Corvus'' body... "His body may still have it''s use... give it to me..." Haruki was silent, but he pointed his blade towards her... "Don''t... you dare!!! Your Lords have already taken so much from him!" Eris laughed... and her eyes narrowed. "Why do you care? you took his life..." She kicked harukis blade away and stabbed him in the stomach... "Gaaaahhah!! Shit! " He tried to stand back up, but Eris kicked him in the face. Eris dragged the corpse of Corvus into the forest... Leaving her parting words... "You''re weak... even if you still had the strength you still couldn''t beat me...you couldn''t even save yourself? how can you help corvus?" Her words resounded on his ears. Haruki was powerless to do anything... Haruki laid in the ground looking up at the dark sky... Rain slowly poured down. He ignored the words of Ars Magus, when he devoured Corvus'' heart. He was drenched, As he stared at the pouring rain, he thought to himself... What''s the difference between good and evil?? I feel like they''re just sides of the same coin, the only thing separating them is circumstances... it''s ironic really the broken people that need help the most, end up being treated as the bad guys. I wonder if things will ever get better... but thinking about the future is a luxury for people who have it good... While I just try to get through the day. Secrets got me into this kind of rut... Holding on to the feeling of revenge and hatred... not being honest, not trusting anyone. All this Drama bullshit and back-biting shit talk. They''re the ones who saved me from that abyss, Corvus and gluttony made me realize that. He also made me realize one fact. "I can''t lose you" Haruki said it out loud as he saw Neo running at the distance... How do you save someone buried under so much? How do you save someone without being pulled in yourself?? I guess I gotta start learning from the best. From Her... 36 Chapter 29: Returning to Beacon. A man once told me, That everyone carries ''a part they can''t fix'' inside of them... It doesn''t matter if they''re good people or bad, or how hard they try. You could have all the help and support in the world... And you still wouldn''t be able to correct or remedy it... And that ''Part'' you can''t fix, is the very part you could call a person''s ''Nature''... When I became the leader of a mercenary organization, that part of me came into action. The people that joined me, were people that had that ''something'' just like me... Even if the circumstances were different, We were all the same in the battlefield... Equals... In the sense that we could all die at any moment. That''s why we keep on killing just to survive, no time to mourn the fallen... We threw reason out the window, Until now I''ve livedmy life without ever thinking about anything too much. "I don''t need a reason to fight." I always believed when I''m at the battlefield it''s kill or be killed... if I stop to worry about the people I kill, I won''t be able to stop them. Machiavelli said it best. It is better to be feared than loved, Men judge generally by the eye than by the hand,for everyone can see and few can feel. Everyone sees what you appear to be, few know who you really are. maybe that''s why Samuel betrayed me... People will more readily fuck over someone they love... than someone they fear. ....... When Neo found Haruki lying on the ground, he was barely even conscious. His last word before he fainted was, "I can''t lose you" Professor Port arrived with a private ship to carry off Haruki while he recuperates, along with his team. They were on their way to beacon, Cinder was awfully silent she was just staring at Haruki, Emerald was no better she was leaning her head on Cinders shoulders... Neo on the other hand was just silently staring at harukis sleeping face. Haruki regained consciousness and he slowly opened his eyes. He sat up, grimacing from the pain, but he wanted to apologize to them... Neo stared at her hand, and she slapped Haruki in the face. She was pissed... (How can you be so reckless!? You never consider the people around you... What if you lost to Corvus? Have you ever thought about the feelings of the people who worry about you?) She was crying... it has been a long time since he saw her cry like this, then again it was the same reason back then. I apologized, but she was still angry... Revenge doesn''t bring back what you''ve lost... Revenge just brings about more revenge... it will never bring happiness. that''s why it''s more important to forgive. Haruki replied to her. "maybe so... But I couldn''t just ignore the threat of the existence of sin..." Neo screamed at him. (You''re not a fucking hero! for fucks sake please just stop risking your life like this...) She hugged him in the chest. (You don''t owe this world anything!! it owes you! so please just stay by our side...) Haruki smiled and hugged her back. This is how it always goes... we''ll gladly hurt each other just to protect our worthless pride... and I''m completely fed up... with how lame I am... and... What''s also the case, is that you never realize what''s important to you... until after you''ve lost it... That''s why it''s more important to forgive that to seek revenge... But when push comes to shove, pretty words like that? Are all fucking bullshit. If forgiveness came to me that easily? I wouldn''t be alive right now... He stabbed Cinder, She''s my woman... when an important person to me gets hurt I start to lose it. I would do anything just to protect them... Neo looked at Haruki, she told him to go rest... She also told him, that he''s not forgiven yet... (Take me somewhere nice! then we''re even...) He kissed her in the forehead. Neo smiled, and she went back to co-pilot the ship. Cinder and Emerald watched the whole thing happen. They both didn''t say a word. Haruki laid back down, he smiled at the two. But Cinder was exhausted and emerald wanted to help cinder heal... Haruki looked back on his fight against Corvus. He thought about how Corvus was able to do that stuff... It''s because he wanted his family back... And yet he was tired at the same time. Not a single bone in my body felt like I won... let alone gotten payback for what he did to Cinder... But what I did feel was FEAR. fear that I could easily have become like him... A monster... But a sense of relief, that I hadn''t... Corvus'' actions were based on a single thing... His greed for power. And yet he showed me the difference between his qualities as a man and my own.. and I feel like I''d lost... I was bitter about it... How we live is so different... He maybe in general... A fickle and greedy son of a bitch. But he was true to his word... He never backed down, that''s why I can''t help but fight... When I stared in to his eyes, unlike what I saw on that strong woman Eris... His eyes were filled with resolve, a burning desire to meet his family again... I admire that kind of man... Even if he has thrown his morals, Humanity, and soul... He still hasn''t lost the will to fight... [Hehehehe, this whole experience is a fucking roller coaster man! Killing Corvus, and you fought Eris and lived! Now that''s something that you can brag about in class!] Haruki was surprised by Gluttony''s sudden interruption. ''Oh God... he''s awake...'' [I wasn''t asleep, I was just letting you reflect, I wanted to observe your thoughts. you people truly are fascinating! What we sins don''t understand is the humans ability to love... like what the fuck? I get lust''s obsession with it but it doesn''t make any fucking sense... She spent her whole time here trying to understand it...] Haruki chuckled inwardly. ''Hehehehe, it''s one of the driving forces of humans... But it''s also the cause of the downfall of many... fuck this may sound cheesy as fuck, but... you don''t get to understand love... When you start thinking about all different kinds of feelings too much... it becomes harder to act freely... That must be why... everyone''s always struggling... Because they don''t know what to do...'' Gluttony laughed his ass off. [Bahahahahahaha!!! what the fuck? Haruki are you serious right now!?] Haruki embarrassingly retorted. ''Zip it! it''s DJ O.Z. pin''s wise words!!'' [Ahahahahahahah, you know for someone who''s usually very cunning... when it comes to this you''re very stupid...] ''What about you!? you''re gluttony! how are you any better!?'' [Heh... I had a normal family once... Nothing bad happened... I wanted to understand humanity better that''s why I started one... But the blood of gluttony was too much... My wife died after 70 years, my child while being Half Sin, still died while she was 40 or so... I enjoyed my time with them, but... Even after all that I''ll never understand... I didn''t feel anything... maybe it''s because I''m a sin.] ''Are you serious!? dang! this is very surprising...'' [Keh! enough with this bullshit! I hate Sappy crap like this!] They both laughed inwardly... But Haruki wanted to ask about Eris... ''Who is that woman?'' [Who? Eris? kahahahahahahaha!!! that''s a tale for another time! but if I have to tell you one thing, she is the Sinner of Pride...] Haruki was surprised he remembered gluttony telling him Wrath and Pride were stronger... So he was worried. If he was given a choice He wouldn''t want to fight anyone of the Sinners or Sins again... He sighed. But When he sat back up He looked out of the window, they were near beacon. A sigh of relief and the feeling of freedom... The only place where he could be himself and relax... Cinder went near him... Emerald fell asleep, after worrying about the two of them... She staggered towards Haruki, but Haruki slowly supported her. They were both injured so they fell back to the bed hugging. Cinders face was red, yet she gathered enough courage to tell Haruki something. "I know what I''ve done before was... unforgivable, I was a mess I must admit. My Complacency seems to get the best of me. I was arrogant and a terrible person, I even hurt one of the fall maidens, I have done countless terrible things. I wander aimlessly back to everything I left behind, a new face, a different story, the same mess of me. And I never learned my lesson... But what you did, how you have helped me multiple times before, even when I threatened you, you got pissed but you never really intended to hurt me. Even that night when you were about to stab me... you were only waiting for someone to stop you... All of the things I''ve done, Everytime you threatened me, I felt like it was all an act. Why? Why are you willing to accept someone like me!?" Haruki spoke no longer, because times like this it''s better to show, than tell. He grabbed her by the waist, And kissed her passionately. He caressed her beautiful face and stared at her. "Hey... I''m not the one to judge, I''ve done more bad than good, but you see we''ve all done something we regret at some point... What''s important is what you do... After you''ve done something you regret..." Cinder was silent she looked down. But she gained enough courage to tell Haruki about what she saw on Gluttony''s temple. She was Blushing Hard, but she finished her story... Haruki laughed. "Well if that''s what you want... How bout we get to it..." Haruki neared his face towards Cinder, but Neo stopped Him... (*cough cough* Haru~~ What are you doing??...) He saw a smile more terrifying than anything in the world. Then everything went black... When they arrived at beacon they were met By Ozpin and Glynda. He wanted to ask them what happened, but when he looked around all he saw was... Cinder, Emerald, and Neo dragging what appears to be a human shaped Meatloaf... 37 Chapter 30: Risk equals Reward When they arrived at Beacon, Ozpin immediately told them to go straight to the office. Neo stopped Ozpin. (With all due respect, headmaster... they''re injured.) Ozpin was surprised by Neo''s sudden outburst. "Very well then, let''s go to the nurse''s office." He led them to the Nurse''s Office. He sealed the doors and the only people left besides Haruki were Ozpin, Neo, Cinder and Emerald. He sped up Haruki''s recovery by creating a magic circle below Haruki. Haruki was the only one who felt this. Gluttony laughed, [Hahahahahaha, the great Ozma himself... The man responsible for Humanity''s downfall. But is it just me or his magic is dwindling... unlike Salem, her powers just gets stronger each day...] Haruki confirmed, ''Yeah, it''s probably because of multiple reincarnations and he uses the magic less and less...'' Haruki opened his eyes, he looked at Ozpin. Ozpin nodded. "Mr. Haruki you have done well once again, but I am amazed at your semblance... the power to attract trouble... you''re just like a non-alcoholic Qrow... Do tell who were those people you fought." Haruki looked at the window as he spoke. "They call themselves ''Sinners'' they are the ''Sins'' representative on this world... they are strong and almost immortal..." Ozpin narrowed his eyes. "Did they tell you any names?" Haruki nodded. "The girl was named Eris that''s the only thing I know about her. The other one, well he told me a lot... He calls himself Corvus, The Raven King. Oh and he could use magic..." Ozpin widened his eyes. He thought to himself. ''Could it be?? Could it be the corvus I know? but I thought he died, and the Raven king Corvus was a greedy monster, that''s why Salem had to destroy his empire... But what if they''re the same person?'' Ozpin spiraled in his own thoughts. Haruki just stared at Ozpin... Ozpin regaining his bearings, he asked Haruki, "How? How did you defeat him?" Haruki told him about the Mark of Sin, he also told him how to destroy it. but gluttony interrupted Haruki. [Haruki... you are probably the only one who could kill a sinner... no one else, because the power of warmonger is not just simply eating your enemy... it''s more than that. I''ll tell you more once you''re strong enough to face pride.] Ozpin was silent, he stared at his cane. He then created a magic circle, he showed images of him and Qrow fighting the Followers of sin. "As you can see, we''ve dealt with and fought with these people for a long time... at first I thought it was Salem''s doing. But as we clashed, I noticed something... something different with their aura, it wasn''t black, it was blood red... and before those followers died a magic circle would appear turning them into Grimm." Gluttony then spoke explaining what it was. [Ahh those... right, that is the doing of Sloth and His ''sinner'' Aergia, both of them are extraordinarily smart... they maybe the weakest, but they''re cunning.] Haruki turned serious, "If that was the case then how do you propose we fight then?" Ozpin chuckled. "Fight? we let them come to us... it''s easier that way." Harukis expression changed... "you''re going to risk the lives of your students!?" Ozpin sighed. "Don''t misunderstand Mr. Haruki, I''m not willing to let any of my students get hurt. Including you..." Haruki looked away, and asked what Ozpin was planning. Ozpin just smiled. "I''ll tell you when the time comes." Ozpin continued... "Although the fight with the sins is still not over, we still have a lot to talk about. you have done this school a great service by defeating gluttony and Killing the sinner of Greed. I have been thinking, I''m sending you and 4 more companions to a beach resort, consider it a down payment for your services so far..." Ozpin smiled at Haruki and winked at him. Haruki thought to himself... ''This bastard knows! How!? Keh, he''s good... no matter, I feel like he''s just keeping me away, so he could lure out the problems... I''m not your fucking pawn Ozpin, but I''ll play along. I still owe Eris that beating she gave me...'' As Haruki was lost in his own thoughts Ozpin stood up, leaving the words. "Rest up, and in a few days you can go to the beach, with your... ''Friends'' Mr. Casanova..." He chuckled and went out of the door... Leaving Haruki with his women. Neo finally spoke... (Haru... I believe we have talked about this, what were you about to do?? with cinder at that...) Haruki was sweating bullets... "Hehehehehe, about that Neo... you see..." Neo immediately raised her hands. (That''s not what I meant, you were going to sleep with her, weren''t you? without telling them the truth...) Haruki finally got why she got angry, He scratched his head. He looked at both Cinder and Emerald, they both don''t know what''s happening. Cinder then spoke, "What does she mean by that? do you still have something you haven''t told us?" Haruki sighed... "Yes, a lot actually... but first let''s get to our room... They followed Haruki, silently... looking at his back Cinder thought to herself... ''What is he still hiding? Is it something grave?'' Emerald on the other hand has been silent the whole time... never speaking a word. She looked down... she didn''t care about what Haruki was hiding, she only cared about Haruki paying attention to her. She just wants love, nothing else mattered to her. She didn''t Care if Haruki was just using her... she just wanted to make Haruki happy, and in turn love her back. She stared at Cinder. She was worried about her, but when she saw her kissing Haruki, as if a huge burden was lifted from her shoulders, she could finally openly show affection for him. No more sneaking around...she finally smiled. They reached the room, Haruki sat down on the bed. He thought to himself. ''Shit this is becoming a routine... whatever...'' He prompted Cinder and Emerald to sit down. "*Sigh...* This is gonna be awhile, so get comfy." Before Haruki could even start Cinder stopped him. She was angry at him, "For someone so cunning, I can''t believe you could just let this pass..." She showed them the mark on her arm, it was the parasitic Grimm that absorbed the fall maidens powers. Haruki face palmed, "Of course!" Cinder put out the parasitic Grimm and Haruki used warmonger to devour it. <> Haruki was surprised. ''I got the trait on my first try!?'' Cinder thought it would be painful but when Haruki Devoured the Grimm, it severed it''s connection to her. Removing any complications in the future. Her arm was free of salems Contract. He couldn''t help but hug Cinder. Cinder then continued while being hugged by Haruki. "Although I want to hear about your origins... how about we postpone that, and focus on Salem. She probably felt that the parasitic Grimm died, and she will Advance her plans. Attacking Beacon earlier than expected..." Haruki smiled, "You don''t have to worry about that." Haruki stood up and looked outside. "Over these past few years... I have built a mercenary group, to stand against Salem''s forces when the time comes. The knights of the round table... It''s not that big of a team as of now, but I believe you''d see a few familiar faces... This is a contingency plan I Have prepared, in case unforseen circumstances, such as the sins and sinners invade the place. They''d be here stopping other Grimm while I face the sins. or Salem." Cinder interrupted him, "But that''s nearly not enough! who are these people!? How do I know that they''re strong enough?" Haruki used his scroll to show the first few members including himself. "My codename is ''Arthur'' and the others, Neo as Lancelot... Winter Schnee as Percival... Mercury as Gawain... And finally Raven Branwen as Mordred." Cinder was surprised but before she could speak, Emerald interrupted her... "But before you left base we fought you along with Mercury!" Haruki smiled at her and continued... "Of course it was all an act... to deceive your enemies you must first deceive your friends... We were working together all along, While me and Mercury Had no idea of your plans back then, he informed me that you two were sneaking about. But it doesn''t matter now, how we became allies is for another time..." Cinder was unsatisfied, she thought she had Mercury''s trust, but all along He and Haruki were in cahoots. But what she doesn''t understand the most is how in the hell would Raven work for Haruki. She asked him multiple times but he just smiled. Not answering her questions. Cinder was frustrated, but she let this go... "What about Salem''s observation? how did you escape that?" Haruki laughed, that''s easier... He pointed at Neo. Everytime that we were on missions together, she would be posing as me, while I did my business. Neo waved at the and winked. (But fooling Salem was a tough job... we needed to pretend that we don''t know she was observing Haruki.) Cinder was shaking, not from anger but from sheer amusement. "Pffft... Hahahahahahaha! I can''t believe that Immortal witch couldn''t even predict this!" Cinder Hated working for Salem, but if she wanted power she would have to bow down... but now, she can throw that away... she no longer has to work for that monster. She''s free... but she realized something She and Haruki were still hugging... she looked at Neo... But Neo was just smiling,(Don''t worry Cinder... I know everything even about your plans with Em...) Haruki laughed, "Don''t be angry though... it''s just we had to play along so you won''t tell Salem anything...we knew you had to do it yourself, or you won''t be able to sleep at night. Cinder was shocked... She slowly spoke. "So you... used my own arrogance against me?" she looked up at Haruki. Haruki was apologetic but before he could say sorry Cinder just laughed... "It''s.... fine... I''m actually not... angry? You know... I was afraid to let go of that hatred... because once I did what would be left? an empty husk... what the hell am I going to do next.... that''s why I didn''t stop even though I knew it was wrong, I killed my emotions in pursuit of power. But what you told me, what I''ve seen... What corvus turned out... he was so consumed by that hatred... he spent years but at the end the result was nothing... nothing at all..." Tears slowly slide down her face... She clung to Haruki. "I was afraid... I was so afraid... I didn''t know what to do, I was so afraid that when I died in pursuit of vengeance, Caleb would be dissatisfied with the results... I was so afraid to meet him... or would I even meet him at all." Haruki caressed her hair, He wiped her tears. Cinder continued. "Tell me Haruki, how did you come when you let go of that Hatred? At first I felt free, free from the heavy feelings...but burdened by the fact of not knowing what to do next..." Haruki laughed and answered her. "Hehehe, not well, at first it was all sunshine and rainbows, but after that, I was back on my old routine..." "But thank God I was sent here..." Cinder looked up and asked what he meant. He told them both everything about himself. without hiding anything... It was already dusk. Cinder and Emerald couldn''t believe what they heard... But in the end Haruki showed them his Vulnerability, they also did the same. Hiding nothing from each other... They grew a little bit closer, and felt a little bit better. Carrying a burden for so long, you''d think it gets easier the longer you hide it... But that''s not true, it just gets harder to say the truth... But after telling everything to someone who could share their burden too, you''d feel free... A feeling that is very liberating, and at the same time it makes you wonder... ''why did I hide it in the first place?'' Haruki stared at them, smiling... He pulled them close and hugged all of them. At one point Pyrrha entered the room and joined in on the fun. He thought to himself, this is what''s been waiting for me... He looked at the moon, he asked, are you watching? I''ve worked so hard to see these smiles. Thank you... Freedom is the release from ones current restraints... But when someone finally gains the freedom they desire... A new quest for freedom inevitably begins. to escape from the danger and pain contained within... that is why people kept choosing the most bearable freedom. But the freedom people in the world find most unbearable... is not danger or pain... But rather loneliness, fear of being free, but no one to share that experience with... That''s why I''ll be there for Cinder, no... for everyone, I''ll be there to support them all. 38 Chapter 31: A girls secret is sacred Eris arrived at the Temple of Pride Carrying the Corpse of Corvus on her Nevermore pet... She knelt in front of the man in the throne... A masked man, wearing a white Roman Toga. But beneath the mask you could feel he was Beautiful beyond belief... Beneath his clothes you could sense his power pulsating... lying dormant waiting to explode... He was Pride. He was the leader of all Sins... He stared at Eris first, then he looked at the corpse of Corvus. Pride pointed at the Corpse of Corvus. Eris looked up, she explained what happened, or what she saw at least. She started telling Pride about Haruki... "Although he may have killed Gluttony and Corvus, I am more than enough to kill him my Lord..." Pride waved his arms signaling Eris to stop, "Yes... you may be stronger than him, but so was Gluttony or Corvus... it wouldn''t hurt to take extra precaution, you wouldn''t want to disappoint me now do you?" He asked with a grave tone. Eris shuddered not because of prides anger, but fear of disappointing him. Pride then told her to Bring Corvus to Sloths Laboratory. "He might still be of some use... go bring him to Aergia, she would probably be delighted." Pride motioned his arms towards the door, "Take them with you..." As he spoke a shadowy figure of four appeared... Eris stared at Pride, "But my Lord I''m more than- -" Pride raised his hands. "Enough! you will do what I tell you to child!" Eris shrank back, afraid to fight back. Biting her lips she turned around,.and walked away... Before she went away the four spoke... simultaneously. ""Mistress... we are happy to serve..."" They followed Eris towards her destination... They were headed to Vale... ..... Back at beacon Haruki was interrogating... Light was flickering in the room. He was sitting across the alleged Suspect. He leaned in close, He told the perpetrator "I''m not the enemy... Not all authority will disappoint you. Not all parents leave. But be very clear, this is your last chance... Your next words will define your future." The perpetrator just stared at him, not speaking a word. He slammed the table, "Damnit Zwei! Did you or did you not eat my chicken..." Haruki was Held back by Ruby, "Hey! Hey! calm down..." Haruki turned around he let Ruby handle it. She sat beside Zwei, "I''m not your enemy, but you see my partner over there... he''s a loose cannon. So if you''re as smart as me, you''d better confess." *Arf Arf* Ruby put on her shades, "There you go chief! the suspect said he was guilty." Haruki glared at zwei, And as he was about to read zwei his Miranda rights, Blake entered the room. "What are you two doing? Why are the lights so dim?" Ruby responded while tipping her imaginary hat. "You''re alright doll, but... this ain''t no place for a pretty face like you to be snoopin'' around..." Blake looked at Haruki for help, Haruki shrugged his shoulders and just played along with Ruby. He sat at the table and said, "This place is very dangerous Missy, a lot of hardened criminals roamin'' about..." Blake rolled her eyes at the two of them. "Why don''t you just tell me what''s going on!?" Ruby laughed, "We were reenacting a scene from a movie we saw at the cinema, awhile ago." She moved her arms like an arc of a rainbow as if showing the title to Blake. "The Wrong Person" Blake sighed and asked them, "I didn''t know you two hung out." Ruby puffed her cheeks, "Hey! that''s rude! Haruki is one of my first friends here in beacon! and yes we hang out sometimes!" Blake chuckled, "Geez, relax... I thought you''d be busier Haruki especially with the whole Neo,Pyrrha, Emerald, Cinder situation..." Blake said sarcastically... Haruki scratched his head, "They all went out without me... apparently it''s a girl''s day out." "He had nowhere else to go, so I dragged him along for a movie! I asked Weiss first and she said no, so I''m stuck with him." Blake opened a book and sat down on the bed, "Alright, you two have fun, I''m going to read here..." Ruby tilted her head, and asked Blake, "Are you sure? we might be a little noisy, you might get distracted while reading." Blake looked at Haruki and her face turned red. "No it''s fine, and besides someone has to keep an eye on you two so you don''t go too far." Ruby protested. "This is injustice! I demand the passage of maximum hijinks!!" Haruki nodded his head at the background. Ruby put on a fake moustache, "Captain... I find Blake guilty of being quite the buzzkill." Haruki turned serious, "alright bring her here..." Ruby dragged Blake into the interrogation chair. "Wha- - Hey!!" She tried to escape Ruby But she used her semblance to catch Blake. She sat across Haruki, And Haruki stared straight into her eyes. He leaned in close... Blake closed her eyes and she also leaned in... She waited for it, but when she opened her eyes she saw Ruby staring at her weirdly. "Uhh, Blake? what are you doing?" Blake looked around and She saw Haruki inspecting her book. She was blushing hard, Ruby then realized why Blake was so fidgety. "Ahh!! Could it be-" Before she could finish Blake covered her mouth, but Ruby struggled and she signaled Haruki, waving her arms around randomly. Haruki responded with a signal of his own, confusing Ruby... She then escaped the clutches of Blake, she ran towards the back of Haruki and told him. "Don''t read that!! that''s filth! Blake is reading something filthy!" She took the book away from Harukis Hand. "Huh!? Wait a minute this is not Ninjas of Love? Then why are you so fidgety?" Blake covered her face from embarrassment. As they were causing a ruckus, Weiss entered the room. She saw Ruby and Haruki laughing, while Blake was covering her face in embarrassment. Weiss wondered what happened, She tried to ask Blake but she was too embarrassed to answer... Sighing she sat down on her desk, and opened her books while Haruki and Ruby were teasing Blake. As she looked at her textbook, and found a problem that was confusing her... she thought about asking Blake, but she was distracted... so she looked at Haruki to ask about the problem. "Uhh, Haruki can I ask you something?" Haruki stopped on whatever shenanigans he and Ruby were doing. Haruki nodded and pointed at her book. "is it about that book?" Weiss smiled and said... "Yes, I don''t understand this particular part of the problem." Haruki approached her desk, He leaned in close behind Weiss, Making her blush. "Oh, this one yeah... I get why this is confusing." He said as he got closer to her face, almost whispering. Weiss looked at Haruki''s well featured face. Smiling she asked even more questions even though she wasn''t having trouble on it, noticing this Blake also asked Haruki about what books he could recommend to her, trying to interrupt Weiss at all cost. Ruby being ignored on the side used her semblance to pull Haruki. "I was supposed to hang out with him today! both of you back off!!" She said while puffing her cheeks. Weiss and Blake said at the same time, "We''re just asking about something!" Ruby retorted, "You to have been fighting over him for an hour already!" She put on her fake moustache and dragged Haruki outside to another set of her crazy hijinks. Blake and Weiss were surprised on how long they hogged Haruki. Weiss was the first one to break the silence, she said in a voice that is almost like a whisper... "...I won''t lose next time..." Blake scoffed at her, "Same..." The two sat back reading and asking about the problems in their textbooks, but they were preparing for the deciding battle... Ruby and Haruki met up with Jaune, to do more crazy things... they spiked professor Ooblecks coffee with Adrenaline... Causing a major incident in the school, which got them a major scolding from Ozpin... He returned back to his room to find his women back and giggling... "Ohh, hey you guys are back! How was your day?" They looked at each other and laughed, much to Haruki''s confusion. They all said at the same time. ""That''s a Secret!"" Haruki unsatisfied by their answers Grabbed all of them one by one and tickled them. The first one He grabbed was Pyrrha, she was the most honest so she was the obvious choice, but she just laughed while clinging to Haruki. He then Grabbed Emerald, but she used her Hallucination to escape, So Haruki used lightning form to catch her. "Hehehe, little lamb, won''t you tell me what happened?" She just smiled smugly and pulled Haruki in for an embrace, she then kissed him on the cheeks. "Bad wolf, don''t you know, that is a sacred secret between women?" Haruki sighed so he looked at Cinder... He dashed towards her, New to this kind of feeling, Cinder didn''t know how to act...She searched her memories on what to do, then she suddenly realized she could base it on her alternate reality self... She acted like a housewife, She pinched Harukis side, and coquettishly smiled at him. She pulled him into an embrace, "I''ll tell you if... you have been a ~go~od b~oy~" Haruki was surprised on Cinders sudden change, he almost pounced on her...This new Cinder is bad for the heart. The Last Boss is required to be the Hardest... it is the battle where your accumulated skills are put to use. Neo teasingly smiled at Haruki, She provoked Haruki with her finger, prompting him to come at her. She opened her umbrella and jumped off the building. Haruki gave chase, it turned out to be an illusion, when he climbed back up Neo has already hidden in the campus. Cinder saw all these Happen, She was genuinely smiling on what they were doing, she enjoyed being with him... she enjoyed roaming around with her friends... Emerald Approached her, smiling as she looked outside, watching Haruki chase Neo around. Pyrrha then spoke to the both of them. "At first I was curious what kind of strength he possessed... He had physical abilities, and a mentality that didn''t stop him from using those abilities in a fight. Someone who is strong, A Natural... A natural born leader... He faced everyone who came his way... Head on... Without running away... As I continued to observe him I was drawn more and more..." The two didn''t speak but they silently agreed as they nodded their heads. Pyrrha then continued... "All life forms are inevitably Drawn to things that hold large amounts of energy. And the fact That Kazama Haruki was able to draw this many people to him... proves that his energy far exceeded that... Of any ordinary man..." They all simultaneously thought, ''And that''s why I love him...'' They jumped down from the window to Join in the fun. 39 Chapter 32: My Reason for Existing What is bad? What is good? What should one love and what should one hate? What does one live for? And... What am I? What is life? and what is death? What power governs all? I for one now understand my sole reason for existing... It''s to record an absolute and unbiased truth... That... CUTENESS IS JUSTICE! Beach Banzai!!!!! This place is the best! Goddamn! My entire existence has been worth it!!! ... Many people were bustling around the place... Naturally, there were a lot of young males and females in that place. Amidst those young people, there was the figure of Haruki.... What seemed to be different from him compared to other people, was that he was only sitting there observing the people as if waiting for someone... Yet regardless of this slackening atmosphere, there was a vague presence from him as though his back was standing straight, the feeling of danger and excitement exuded from him. From his Handsome face, to his well toned body, and some scars here and there, and yet somehow those scars don''t look ugly at all, in fact it increased his manliness... Wearing a black swimming trunks and an open black hoodie... The attention of the surroundings was naturally drawn towards him. Due to that, perhaps it is also the reason girls kept glancing at him. There were also girls whispering to each other with slightly reddened cheeks. And this man as if he wasn''t being observed, ignored all of this... only thinking of one single thing... MIZUGI!!! MIZUGI! MIZUGI!!!! he was hyping himself up... Incase you are wondering how he got in this situation. How about we move back a few Hours in time. .... Back in beacon... Haruki was in Ozpin''s office, "Here you go Mr.Haruki" He handed the tickets to Haruki, and as Haruki was reaching for the tickets. Ozpin pulled it back, "And I do hope, The prank you did a few days ago... would be the last time..." Haruki was sweating buckets. "Yes professor" He said while smiling wryly. Ozpin looked at Harukis departing back. "Hehe, that boy has definitely changed... I sure hope that this peace would last longer..." He looked at the picture of Salem on his pocket watch. "Before you come and ruin it..." He closed it and Continued drinking his tea... .... Haruki returned to their room, Carrying the tickets. He opened the door and found that the girls were already prepared to go. He was the only one who hasn''t packed yet... (Haru~ hurry! we have to go, while it''s still early!) Neo pulled Haruki and ushered him to pack quick. Cinder asked... "How long are we staying on the resort, Ozpin recommended?" Emerald took the tickets from Haruki and read it. "We''ll be there for a week, well... being away from class for a week is a reward on it''s own." Cinder brushed her hair backwards. "Oh, Emerald... if you''re going to get something, at least make sure you benefit a lot from it..." Haruki and Neo were nodding in the background. Pyrrha was the only one who disagreed... "Uhh, guys education is fun! the teachers do their best to prepare us to fight Grimm!" Emerald smiled at Pyrrha''s sentence. "Pyrrha trust me, in this room you''re the only one who thinks that..." She looked around the room for allies but no one except Neo were looking at her. She pointed at Neo and said, "Neo agrees with me!" Cinder laughed. "She only likes it because, she and Haruki could flirt around..." Neo puffed up her cheeks. (Yes... because I''m enjoying my ''YOUTH'') Cinders smile twitched. "Keep telling yourself that... ''LITTLE GIRL''" Sensing that the atmosphere has gone a little awry. Pyrrha changed the subject. "Umm... guys?" Everyone looked at her. "Last one to the train stop gets to carry all the luggage!" She dashed outside. "Ahh~ that''s cheating!" Emerald said as she jumped down from the window... The two were followed suit by Neo and Cinder. Leaving Haruki dumbfounded, as he was packing his shit... "Son of a.... *Sigh...*" [Hahahahahahahaha!! One of the strongest man in remnant toyed around like a little kid! Hahahahaha! Tell me kid how does it feel losing to girls all the time? You lost to Eris, you lost to Cinders charm... and two days ago you lost to Neo... and now you lost again! Hahahahahaha!] Haruki shrugged... ''Eh, doesn''t matter as long as they''re happy, Eris on the other hand... I''ll pay her back twofold!'' Haruki finished packing, and he looked around the room. He saw their baggages neatly stacked together. "Fuck... this was pre-planned..." He Carried the luggage and jumped down using lightning form, He reached the station before any of them. When the girls arrived at the station they saw Haruki sitting down Cozily, Holding refreshments for them. "Heya~ what took you guys so long?" He said as he reached them refreshments... Thinking that they might be pissed Haruki was smiling smugly. And yet, Pyrrha just laughed... "Thanks bell boy~, here''s your reward..." Cinder said, As she held Haruki''s face and kissed him on the cheeks. [Hahahahahaha! you were played like a goddamn fiddle!] ''Tsk, shut the fuck up gluttony...this was probably part of Cinders plan.'' [Hey at least she''s not trying to kill you anymore...] ''Is she trying to get back at me? wow... reaaal mature...'' [Cut her some slack kid, it''s not like you were role model of the year either...] ''Woah... is what I hear real? YOU? Defending Cinder?'' [Keh! shut the fuck up... I like her spunk, also I gotta admit, when it comes to manipulation... she''s one step ahead...] ''Whatever...'' They rode inside the Train, they sat side by side... chatting about the scenery or their plans for the whole week. Cinder was just sitting down like a queen though, letting them do the hard work. Haruki on the other hand was immersed with his thoughts. Even if they talked to him he would only respond with... ''Un...'' ''Yeah'' ''Neat'' ''Hahahaha'' Those were the only response they got. Wondering what was wrong, Pyrrha tried to peek at his face, but Haruki was just so immersed in his thoughts. Pyrrha Gave up and shrugged her shoulders. She leaned her head on his shoulders and slept. Neo was arguing with Cinder and Emerald was the mediator. Haruki clenched his fist as he saw the beach from a distance. He could hear his thoughts getting stronger and stronger.... "Mizugiiiii!!!" Not knowing that he said it out loud. Everyone on the train stared at him. *Cough Cough* "I thought I saw someone I know... sorry..." Pyrrha was woken up by Harukis sudden shout, But she shrugged her shoulders once more and resumed her nap. They finally arrived at the stop of the train, they walked to the resort... They got into their room and they put their baggage down. But before they changed they told Haruki to go and wait outside. Haruki protested, He wanted to be the first one to see them in their swimsuits. "Be a good boy now~ we''re almost ready, and plus it''s not like they could do anything to us..." Cinder said as she whispered into Harukis ears. Hearing this Haruki steeled himself... He dashed outside and went into the lockers to change. They followed suit and went inside the female locker room. .... And Here we are all caught up... Haruki was standing a few meters away from the women''s locker room, Garnering the stares of many. Seemingly waiting for someone... He looked up at the blazing sun smiling. ''Have you ever asked yourself... Why was I born? Why are we still here? Just to suffer? You ask yourself this existential questions... But those are all the wrong questions... The right questions are... What would they be wearing... What Color? WHAT SIZE? NOICE.... Because you see, our purpose is not to romanticize our journey through life... Because, ERO IS A MAN''S ROMANCE!! .... Emerald was the first one to go out the locker, she slowly walked towards Haruki, smiling at him seductively. She garnered the stares of many... And Haruki gained the hostility of most... She was fashioning a Black and White Criss Cross Strap One-piece, that has black floral design. With a Green scrunchie on her arm. Her hair was styled in to a bun with thin tails flowing down from the bun. Creating a stylish energetic kind of feel. Haruki couldn''t Help but pump his fist towards the sky. Emerald then asked Haruki. "So? How do I look?" She spun around showing him the whole thing. Haruki Hugged her tight, "Azasu!!!!" He screamed, He bowed towards emerald and then bowed towards the sea. He thought to himself that he would be nicer to Ozpin once they go back... "You look very beautiful... enchanting even." He caressed her face, and kissed her. The surrounding people, clicked their tongue in unison. Emerald brought out her scroll and sent a message to the others. The surrounding people were green with envy, but little do they know they were about to get their mids blown. Satisfied by Harukis reaction she slowly stepped back behind him, and motioned him to look in front. The next person that came out the locker room was Pyrrha. People recognized her face, well she is a celebrity after all... But she ignored the peoples stares, she slowly focused on Harukis reaction. She was wearing a White Bikini With red stripes, and a red mesh swim skirt. She had golden Bangles on her arm and leg. And her hair was fixed into a Three strand Braid, with her bangs covering one eye. Her style made her feel like a goddess in human form... A lot of people wanted to take their chances at the beach, even if she was a celebrity, taking a dive wouldn''t hurt... Everyone''s eyes followed the directions she was walking, and everyone thought, ''It can''t be... '' But sadly reality is often cruel, Pyrrha approached Haruki, she spun and showed off her swimwear. ''That fucking bastard!!!'' Every male glared at Haruki wanting to tear him into shreds... they couldn''t accept that their goddess of victory is already taken, by a playboy at that... Every male on the beach cried tears of blood... But Pyrrha ignored all their silent protest, she was solely focused on her man''s reaction. Haruki Elegantly bowed, "M''lady" He held up pyrrhas chin, "You look beautiful, Like a goddess of victory herself..." "Heheh, Whatever that''s close enough..." Pyrrha satisfied by his answer, pulled him close for a kiss herself. Every Male that was in the area knelt in defeat, they could only bear witness to the most dreaded existence in the beach... The Harem King... Many girls were surprised, and many were a little angry, saying that he was only toying with them. But deep down they were just salty that no one is paying attention to them... But as the crowd was getting noisy, Everyone was silenced by the next one who came out... She was beauty... She was Grace... And more importantly she was thicc! It was Cinder, She looked very mature from her Red Triangle Bikini top with golden strings, And a Red String Bottom with golden Flames embroidered on it. She was wearing tinted sunglasses,And Black bead bracelets. She just let her hair flow normally, because she doesn''t need to style it. She arrogantly walked between the crowd, they immediately made way. Everyone looked down, they couldn''t say a word, they felt that if they stared too long their souls will burn into nothing but ashes... She stood in front of Haruki, Haruki couldn''t even react... but before he could speak she blocked his mouth with her finger. She grinned, pushing down her sunglasses, She said. "I know..." She winked at Haruki, she then went close and caressed his chest, and whispered. "Be careful now~ I bite...." Haruki almost jumped her then and there... All the men in the surroundings couldn''t even hate Haruki right now, they were too busy calming down, and most of them couldn''t even stand up straight... some even fainted. She closed in on Harukis Lips and bit his lips after kissing it. Haruki summoned Fenrir fangs and punched himself in the face, because if he didn''t, he would''ve committed a grave mistake then and there... The other people in the beach couldn''t even react. They''re just stunned. When they thought it was all over,A girl with a parasol came out of the Locker room, It was Neo''s Turn to show off... She was wearing a pure black side string bikini, With a pink open hoodie. She was also sporting a black matte sunglasses. Her hair was tied into a side ponytail, She blew a pink bubble with her bubblegum... She walked towards Haruki with one hand on her hoodie pocket, and the other holding her favorite parasol. She stood in front of Haruki and popped her bubble gum. No one spoke... they were all stunned, no one could utter a noise. But it didn''t matter anyway they were both stuck in their own little world. She gripped Haruki''s black hoodie and pulled him close, whispering. (I got 31 flavors to make you a believer, baby I can serve that shit fucking cold... Want it? no... you need it...) She smiled cheekily, and kissed him, Haruki wrapped his arms around her. If Pyrrha didn''t stop them they would''ve kept at it. After they each showed off the Five decided to finally go to the beach to frolic... Leaving the people who watched the entire things slackjawed... That day was the birth of a legend... no... it was the birth of the most feared man in history... The Demon King, He was more than a Simple Harem king... He was a demon... He sits at a throne, a special throne... People idolize him... but most of all people feared him... for his strength is unfathomable... 40 Chapter 33: The power to overcome any obstacles In the land of Darkness... Salem was gripping her magic Orb, her communication with Cinder was suddenly cut off... So it''s either Cinder betrayed her, or something far stronger than her attacked her. Salem thought about Harukis last report, about the monster he fought at the warehouse in Vale... And his recent fight with Corvus. "Sins... huh... I never thought I would be seeing them again so soon... No matter, if they want this world... they would have to take it from me.... Hahahahahahahahahaha!!!!" Salem stood up from her seat and threw away her crystal ball. It''s no use to her now... Ozpin is probably using his magic to disrupt her magic eye... So that means he knows there is a traitor among them but don''t know who... or Haruki has betrayed me... She made her plans, with or without her pawns in Vale.... ... Back at the beach... Haruki was barely even swimming, He has his scroll out, taking pictures of his women at every chance he gets. "Nice! Yes turn around a little, Perfect!" He was taking Pyrrha''s picture at the moment, although Pyrrha is used to it, She wasn''t used to this kind of Haruki. Neo bonked him on the head, (How about just have fun and play?) "I AM ENJOYING!" Haruki said with a serious face. *Sigh(Haru... just put your scroll down and play~~) Neo took Haruki''s scroll and put it away, She then told them to smash some watermelon. Haruki was the first one to go. Neo spun Him around, he was surrounded by the girls, the melon was hidden Faraway... They were giving Haruki different information, but to Haruki, finding the water melon is easy... He materialized a wooden sword, and swung it around like a total swordmaster. He sheathed it in his imaginary scabbard. He doesn''t need sight to sense it, So he ignored all the voices, he pretend to fumble around... Eventually He stopped near where Cinder was standing, Cinder said... "You just passed it a few steps ago" She tried to misdirect Haruki. But that was not his motive, Then suddenly he jumped towards Cinder screaming... "MELON GA MITSUKETANDA!!!!" He buried his face on Cinders melons, He wrapped his arms around her... Surprised by this Cinder could only utter a Yelp. "Kyaa~" Haruki spoke while his face is still plastered into cinders chest. "Fufufu... how naive of you to think I couldn''t hear where you guys stand? My power is limitless when it comes to this!! I can feel the melon!!!" Screaming like a pervert, Haruki removed his blind fold. Cinders smile was twitching, "Do you know? the acronym TPO?" Haruki was sweating hard, he tried to appease Cinder. All he got was a fireball. He dodged and dashed towards the direction of Emerald, He tried to pick her up... But emerald used her semblance, when Haruki thought he caught emerald. He was doing a princess carry, but the Hallucination was removed... What he saw was a Muscular Man blushing in his arms... He immediately let go, dropping the man. He slowly backed away, and did a full Sprint away from him. "Nooo~!! my prince~!" The muscular man bellowed. Haruki covered his ears an Ran towards his women. *Pant pant* "W-why em? why do something so evil!?" Emerald just laughed. "That''ll teach you to control yourself." Neo and Pyrrha were laughing, while carrying the food. They prepared to eat at the beach, Haruki laid down the blanket. Haruki prepared everything while the girls relaxed, Neo and Cinder were arguing who Haruki should serve first, while Pyrrha and Emerald were Having a contest on who swims faster. While Haruki was preparing He and gluttony were arguing on how to cook. [That''s not how you do a calamari you scrub!] ''What do you know! you''re fucking gluttony! you eat everything!!'' [Let me tell you about class kid!] Haruki finally finished grilling and cooking, So he laid the food on the blanket. Haruki called Emerald and Pyrrha, He rushed to call them to eat before Cinder and Neo Duke it out. Neo sat Next to Haruki Emerald on his other side, Cinder sat across Haruki, Pyrrha on the other hand got nowhere to sit down... Having a dilemma she had an idea, she sat on harukis lap. Satisfied by this she filled her plate which food. "Fufun~ I''ll be taking the victory today!" She leaned her back on Haruki''s chest and ate. Cinder opted Haruki to feed her, Neo intercepted, Everytime Cinder approached she would immediately put the spoon in her mouth. (Hehehe, Naive Cinder, I''m the only one Haruki needs to spoon feed.) Cinders Anger surged, "That''s because you''re quite the baby... Good thing Haruki has a thing for mature ladies..." (Ahn!? The fuck you said, you relic!?) She grinded her head towards Cinder like a delinquent. "Exactly as I said little girl..." Cinder Crossed her arms, while the were arguing Haruki was feeding emerald. She leaned her head on Harukis shoulders. Emerald was reprimanding Haruki and Pyrrha, "You two should have a balanced diet, here Pyrrha have some more carrots." Pyrrha dodged the spoon like lightning, "Ugh, I hate carrots..." She hid behind Haruki. "Now now Pyrrha, Come eat it..." She gave in and ate carrots. Emerald was giving a lecture on how precious food is, Haruki nodded along, even though he wasn''t eating enough veggies, he leaned more on eating meat. Emerald noticed this she pinched Haruki in the ear... Cinder and Neo on the other Hand noticed that the two were flirting with Haruki, so they proposed a truce. After eating they flirted around a little more, And swam, They played until the sunset. Enjoying this, everyone returned to their room. Neo told them that there was a Hot springs in the resort, she told the girls to just wash at the Hot springs. Haruki was lying on the bed while Neo said this, He naturally went along with them... He was walking beside them casually blending along, teasing Everyone occasionally... When they reached the womens bath entrance, Neo stopped Him on his tracks. (Woah, buster where do you think your going?) Haruki as if it''s no one''s business answered. "With you guys. you can''t expect me to go to the men''s bath right? I don''t want to see muscly dudes..." Cinder smiled and teased Haruki, "Shame, I would''ve let~you~in~" Hearing this Haruki can''t help but feel his blood boil. Pyrrha was pouting a little bit. "Haruki... we should at least adhere to the rules..." Emerald just winked at him and blew him a kiss. Then they all entered the changing room. (Why the hell are you still following us you bastard!!) "Fuhahahahahah Great job on finding me, you are a master of illusions inde- - *Gofuuh*" Neo nailed her fist into Haruki''s stomach, sending him flying into the hallway. Haruki stared at the women''s bathroom entrance... He laughed.... "Hahahahahahahaha!!! do you think a mere entrance could stop me!? I am the best mercenary!!" As Haruki was laughing, a little girl along with her mother pointed at him. "Mama~ why is that big brother laughing?" The mother immediately replied to her child. "Don''t look at him Chie! you might get infected by his stupidity!" Haruki slowly stood up, He dashed outside the resort. He surveyed the area of the Hotsprings, it is situated Behind a Mountain, The resort was built at the valley between two mountains, near the beach. So to get to the hotsprings he must trek the mountains. He grinned fearlessly, Never underestimate me Neo my darling... When he entered the foot of the mountain, He saw a group of boys, Circling around... looking nervous. He was hiding behind a bush, He listened in on their conversation... they were talking about peeking on the women''s bath. He counted them, there were about 15 boys, nervously looking around. One of them asked the others... "H-hey... should we really do this? I don''t think I could go through with this..." A few of them nodded, Haruki thought to himself... ''Well whaddya know the perfect soldiers for a cause'' Haruki stood up from the bush, Surprising them. They were immediately put on their guard, some even pleaded that they were innocent. But Haruki just crossed his arms. "I heard you boys are peeking on the women''s bath?" They gulped simultaneously...They thought they were in deep shit. But Haruki ignored their nervousness... "Relax... you''re not in trouble..." They sighed in relief, then one of them asked Haruki, "If you''re not one of the guards then what are you doing here? it can''t be!?" Haruki laughed... "Hahahahaha It is exactly so! we could join forces..." Everyone was a little doubtful... "But the hotsprings are tightly guarded by atlas bots..." Haruki grinned. "Sure, it may be difficult, it may be Harsh, it may even be impossible... A lot may stand in our way, blocking us from our goal... But what awaits us at the end of our struggles are worth it!!! Do you know what separates a man from a mere boy!? It''s the power and resolve to overcome any obstacles!!! Now let me ask you this!!! What are you!?" All of them looked at each other and nodded gaining new found resolve... they answered in unison... "WE''RE MEN CAPTAIN!!!!" deep down they have already considered Haruki their leader... they introduced each other to Haruki, and he did the same... "Alright then boys... Nay... MEN! What awaits us beyond this mountain is paradise! If you''re born as a man... this is something you MUST do. Even if it costs your very life. Are you with me MEN!?" everyone responded... "Alright!!! Let''s go SEE SOME TIDDAYS!!!!!" they grinned and charged towards the great unknown. When they were about 500 m on the Hotsprings a lot of Atlas Bots surrounded them. But they weren''t deterred they marched forward with gusto... When they were about 100 m from the hotsprings the atlas bots were swarming them. A lot of soldiers sacrificed themselves for the cause now only Haruki and Mark were left... It was a hard fought battle, but they were almost at their goal, they can''t stop now. They were at the base of the bath, the only thing standing between them and paradise was this wall... Mark was caught by the bots,Boom* one of the bots detonated, causing Mark to be injured. "Shit! Mark!! C''mon get up!!" *Cough cough* it''s alright captain... I.. *cough cough* know the limits of my body... Go on..." "Mark!!!" Mark Gripped Harukis collar. "Captain why are you still Hanging around here for? Hurry!" "But Mark..." "Just go captain!! Don''t let our deaths be for nothing!! if you don''t move it I''ll lose all the respect I have for you... Now go!! Go and burn the image of those girls in your mind! Pass it on to the next generation! Tell them the tale of the victory we earned here!! Go on! Go! You call yourself a man Kazama!?" Haruki screamed from the top of his lungs and he scaled that wall... "Oraaaaaaaaahhhhhhh" Mark smiled... "Hehehe that''s right captain... run! you go get them..." with those words Mark finally fainted. Haruki was close, but the bots were slowly catching up to him. He summoned fenrir fangs and used exploding star, giving him a boost. He reached his hands on the final fence and he scaled it. He made it, he never looked back, for their sacrifice will only be for naught... He jumped down while screaming. "WHAT I AIM FOR IS THE PLACE WHERE MEN''S HOPES AND DREAMS RESIDE!!!!!" And He finally saw paradise... All of his women were wearing towels though... because Neo predicted this... (Yep... I knew it...) but Haruki has gone this far... it''s too late to back down... He activated lightning form and took their towels one by one. He raised his hand that were holding the towels into the sky. He etched their bodies into his mind... ''Hehehehe, I might die today... but know this men... your captain did it!!!!'' The girls tried to cover their bodies and they beat up Haruki black and blue. (Goddamn this idiot...) They carried Haruki away and apologized to the other guests for the inconvenience... But this night he created a legend... He gained newfound respect from all the men in that resort... The man who overcame that wall.... Do you know what a man''s path is all about? IT MUST HAVE MOUNTAINS, VALLEYS, AND ADVENTURE!!! And even after many years pass, it became a tradition, a rite of passage to the path of a true man. And that Man... right now was currently sleeping outside as punishment. Shivering from the cold he begged them to let him in. Neo responded... (How bout you reflect on your actions today!? you''ve gone too far...) Haruki once more knelt in defeat... on the other side of the door Neo sighed, (Fine, you can come in...) Haruki was elated, when he entered Neo dragged him on her bed, (I''ll be guarding you tonight! so no funny business!) Haruki earnestly nodded his head, Neo hugged him to sleep... They all got some shut eye... Because Haruki will be taking them one by one, out on a date. For the duration of four days. 41 Chapter 34: Emerald Sustrai It felt like an eternity of calm, a serene dream of peace that lasted long enough to offer them a brief respite from all the pain. Away from the violence, Away from reality, A bleak foreshadowing of what''s to come... Yet knowing all that... They didn''t care, for a moment of peace is hard to come by these days, so why not take full advantage of it. Who knows how long it''ll last, until it all falls apart... And fades to black... Morning finally came, The rays of sunshine assaulted Haruki''s face, followed by a voice and a gentle shake. "Hey, Wake up it''s morning already..." Haruki slowly opened his eyes, Looking around he saw Emerald Using his arm as a pillow and shaking him to wake up. Her fingertips brushed his hair affectionately, combing his bed hair. She smiled at him. "Morning sleepy head" God knows when emerald switched with Neo last night, He was sleeping so deeply he didn''t sense it. He pinched her nose, "Hey, Little lamb... did you have a great sleep last night?" Emerald laughed, "God, you''re so terrible at this..." He laughed, "Who''s good at pillow talk?" She slapped his stomach, "Then get better..." He kissed her forehead, "But... I know something I''m good at..." He nibbled on her ear, Emerald uttered a Yelp. "Kya~ bad wolf! hurry up and change we still have a date!" Emerald and the girls decided, the order between their dates, Emerald won first pick. She was very eager to go on the date, it was her first proper date with him. It was actually their first date, She thought to herself... Why is this idiot so relaxed? She stood up from the bed and Prepared, Haruki looked around, He saw no one around, it was only emerald and him in the room. "Where are the others?" Emerald smiled, "They went out, they''re also going to enjoy themselves you know... you can''t expect them just to sit around while waiting for their turn now do you?" Haruki raised his hands, "Hey! Chill I was just asking..." He stood up and freshened up, Emerald took a shower. Haruki had a great idea, ''This is a chance!'' But emerald predicted this, so she said beyond the door... "Bad wolf! if you''re thinking of entering right now, I will use my semblance so all you see is a muscled man!" Sweating bullets Haruki slowly let go of the door handle. "Alright little lamb, calm down..." Emerald finished washing up, Haruki entered the shower room. Emerald wore a plain dark green shirt, A beige coat on top, a pink scarf, plaid miniskirt, and brown boots with thigh high black stockings. When Haruki exited the shower, he saw emerald tying her hair like she did on the beach. A bun with two thin tails extending from behind. He was enamored by her beauty, He changed into his Casual wear, A white shirt,and a black sport coat on top, and darker shade jeans. After changing He hugged Emerald from behind. "You look very nice, little lamb." He kissed her on the cheeks. She smiled from his praise, she twirled and showed off her outfit. Haruki burned the image of her cuteness into his eyes. "Well bad wolf? got you drooling didn''t I?" Haruki laughed and pinched her in the butt, "Ohh... my someone''s getting a little cocky... but you do deserve the praise little lamb." Emerald rolled her eyes, Haruki did a bow and extended his arms towards Emerald. "Shall we go Madame?" Emerald elegantly hooked her arms with Haruki, "Indeed, let us go." "Hahahaha, that accent is so bad~" Emerald pinched his sides, "Hehehe, shut up... it''s not like you''re any better! Haruki brushed back his hair and said. "Oh my, whatever do you mean..." They teased each other as they went outside and walked to their destination. They stopped in front of a music store, Emerald saw something that she liked, it was a keyboard... Haruki asked her, "What are you looking at?" Emerald didn''t speak as she went inside it, Haruki followed her along wondering what got her attention so much. She stared at the keyboard, and played a few notes. She then spoke, "Hehehe, you know I always practiced playing the keyboard when I''m not doing missions, it''s one of my favorite past times..." She played a proper song, it was desolate, yet beautiful It was Heart wrenching yet behind it was vague hope, it perfectly captured How she was saved by cinder, from that harsh life... Only to return to that life after being saved... she had to steal bigger, and even kill... Her hands were so stained with blood, she often asks herself was it worth doing all this just to put food on the table... Emerald Played faster, the note changed... She was in a dilemma, she put all her doubts to the back of her head... She thought to herself, she owed Cinder this life so it doesn''t matter... But then everything changed, Haruki appeared... He changed her life, from a desolate one into something slightly more bearable... A ray of sunshine across the ruined city... She was thankful for his help... She finished her song. At the end of it, The song was beautiful, a song of a girl trying her best at redemption... She wanted Haruki to hear it, She wanted to play it for him... A sonata, of her life... of their fateful encounter... Haruki was silent, Her message was clear to him... When he looked at her, she was smiling. The owner of the store can''t help but praise Her talent. He was also affected by Emeralds music so he offered to give the keyboard for free. Emerald just grinned, She was already satisfied. "It''s fine mister... we''ll come back another day." But before they could go, Haruki was stopped by the owner, his face looking grave. "Boy, I''m pretty sure you know this already... but cherish that girl, if not I will hunt you down..." Haruki grinned fearlessly "Of course! even if she runs away, I won''t let her go..." The owner smiled, "Make sure you keep your word, and I hope you two return and go buy stuff!! Hehehehe." They waved goodbye to the owner, They moved to the place they were originally going. That unexpected stop, made Haruki understand Emeralds true feelings. He hugged her tight, and spun her around. Gathering the stares of onlookers. But the two didn''t care, at that day... it was only the two of them, and that''s all that matters. They stopped in front of a Huge Fancy restaurant... It was called The Vale Table. But before they could enter, Emerald stopped Haruki. She held his hands and pulled him away from the place. "Why? what''s the matter em?" Haruki asked. Emerald shrugged her shoulders, "I don''t like that kind of fancy place..." Haruki affectionately caressed her hair, and called the restaurant, to cancel their reservation. He asked her where she wants to eat, she dragged him near the beach, They approached a small stall selling skewers, and other food on a stick delicacies. This was the store she saw yesterday, a nice stall, she likes the food, she''s more used to this, than the fancy place Haruki booked. She asked, "Haru~ which one do you like?" Haruki smiled "You''re treat?" She laughed, and nodded. Haruki picked a lot of food, that was on the meaty side, while emerald picked the kebab with veggies on it, so Haruki would eat some veggies. "I keep telling you to eat more of these veggies, you stubborn wolf!" "Mffft ish lyff" Haruki retorted while his mouth was full with food. Emerald laughed, "That''s so gross~" She said as she wiped the oil from his mouth. Haruki stopped eating, and stared at her, while she ate. "You look like a cute hamster... hehehehe" Emerald smiled as her mouth were filled with food. Haruki kept laughing, so emerald pinched him on the side. They paid for the food, and as Emerald was reaching for the money, Haruki noticed what she was holding, it was his wallet. Emerald laughed and jumped towards the concrete railings behind the stall, She did a pose and said. "How naive of you to let your guard down." Haruki laughed and chased her. She ran towards the beach, she jumped up on the rocks. Haruki followed suit. She found a rock with a flat surface, and stopped... Haruki caught up to her. She tossed His wallet towards him and sat down. She gazed into the open sea, Haruki sat down beside her... He placed his arms over her shoulders and pulled her close. She leaned her head towards his chest, Her expression turned from Happy to Solemn. Gazing back at the distant sea she spoke, "Once upon a time there was a young girl, she was living happily content even though she had no one to rely on... not knowing that she held tremendous powers. She spent Her young life so ignorant of how the world worked, She went along with people stealing for food, she and their band of thieves enjoyed their simple life, But one day the girl woke up with newfound powers. She was ecstatic, she was so drunk with her own power she used it on everyone who tried to stop her... Eventually Her powers and skills grew too much of a threat to ignore, Their leader tried to use her, He tried to control her..." Emerald was shaking from remembering all this but she continued. "He tried to **** her... but the girl escaped by killing the man she respected the most, she told her friends yet no one believed her... In that place words hold no meaning... only food and your own survival does..." Tears slowly slide down her face, she continued, while Haruki hugged her tightly. "She ran away from the only place she could call home, a little bit broken... She spent her long days hurting everyone around her... She tried to change her way of life... But despite her efforts, things never seemed to turn out. She tried to return, but they told her she was unwanted, a monster in a sheep''s clothing... They abandoned her in the deep, unforgiving and dark ocean... And from the bottom of the abyss she cried out... Mother... Mother.. mo...ther.... Someone please look at me... Someone please love me... But her voice never reached anyone. She lost so many parts of her self creating an illusion for everyone to see. Sometimes she''s a different person altogether. She knew she could lose her self in the process, but she kept going... But one day she stumbled upon a witch, she knew she was evil, but she still followed her... The witch of flames told the girl, she could change her life, but the girl didn''t care for that... She only wanted affection... Not a moment passed where she didn''t strive for her affection, but she still won''t look her way..." Emerald hugged her knees, and buried her face in it. Her tears continued to flow, but she still told her story. "Then one day as if a brush of destiny, A prince came to the witch''s castle. He was a nice prince, Yet his eyes won''t look upon her alone... For He already has a princess in his story... Yet he was a kind prince... So she vied for his affection albeit subtly. Do these clothes make me cute? Does he like the way I styled my hair? She thought to herself. The girl still doesn''t understand what it means to love someone... But she did what ever it took to capture his heart... And yet he still won''t look her way. She even practiced how to play a song .. Songs can make someone understand their feelings for you... So she practiced everyday. But he still won''t look at her. She cannot win the prince''s love.... She asked herself... Why have I done this to myself? She gazed Into the broken mirror, In it''s reflection, she only sees her broken self, So she screamed... A voiceless cry for help, PLEASE... LOOK... AT... ME... And like a strange twist of fate, she did the only thing left, she hurt the prince... But Shockingly the prince didn''t hate her. He finally noticed her, but it was already too late she thought... Her original self is so buried under the meaningless rubble she added to herself to Garner his affection. Then like a hero, the prince pulled her out of the rubble... But she noticed something was off, it wasn''t the prince... in fact he wasn''t a prince at all... He was also like her... A thief who ran away from home. She understood now, She was under the illusion that he was her prince... She removed the illusion, and her powers gone she was anchored back to reality. But she didn''t feel sad, she felt content for she saw who the prince really was... A commoner just like her... He wasn''t out of reach at all, you just have to see the truth" She rested her head in Haruki chest, finishing her story. "The Thief girl and The False prince finally got together." Haruki caressed her beautiful face, and kissed her forehead. "Did it end when they got together?" Emerald shook her head as she stared at the setting sun. "It won''t end... I don''t like endings, I prefer living in the moment." She said as she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him deeply. Then they just stared at the beautiful sunset, not a single word spoken... And yet it felt comfortable, It was what the thief girl always wanted. The sky grew dark so they both opted to go home, passing by the stall, they ate once more. Haruki made sure he still had his wallet. As they were walking home, emerald slowly hummed her song, but it wasn''t desolate this time... It was vibrant and full of joy, a deep sense of satisfaction welled up inside both of them. She opened the door to their room with a beaming smile on her face. 42 Chapter 35: Cinder Fall He had a dream, A surprising one really... He was sitting on the porch, of a Snow Covered cabin... Two energetic kids playing in the snow, He had no idea what was happening, but he knew it was a dream. He was drinking Hot coco, as he watched the kids loiter, It brought a smile to his face and he doesn''t know why, he had a feeling of accomplishment and pride as he stared at the two kids. Then the door opened, he looked behind him and saw a beautiful lady covered in her winter outfit. The lady went near the kids, wiping the snot from their faces, softly reprimanding them. Laughing, the kids ran at him... they were grinning from ear to ear as they approached him, it must be something his wife said. He knew it was his wife, Because even without words he understood what she told their kids... The boy Climbed on his lap the girl climbed on his shoulder. They called out ''Daddy~ hehehehe, mommy said we''re going to beacon!'' He laughed as he rubbed both of their heads... Of course he agreed to take them there, His wife added, "That''s where your father and I got together you know..." The kids giggled. ''We know mom~ you''ve told us this so many times already~ hehehehe.'' He knew this was bliss, But he also knew this was just a dream... This is what it felt like to be content, The comfort of home, a different kind of comfort... He remembered the man from his childhood, his first kill. This must be why he felt so happy, why he was compelled to do those horrible things... And yet I Took it from him... What he has done is evil... But what I did was worse... Evil is evil, lesser, greater, or middling, it makes no goddamn difference... The degree is arbitrary, the definition''s blurred. But as he stared at his two kids he understood one thing, his worries would be blown away as long as he could see those smiles. So fuck choosing on what''s the lesser or greater evil... For these two I would do anything... The image of the two kids slowly blurred he knew he was about to wake up, so he held his family close... Waking up, Haruki felt something soft on the back of his head. His hair slowly being brushed aside. He opened his eyes He saw Cinder staring at him affectionately. She was using her lap as his pillow. Haruki enjoyed the sight and thought to himself. ''Just seeing this smile makes everything feel like it''s worth it. I never thought she''d change like this, but it''s all for the better.'' He held her face, She held his hand on her face, her fingertips slightly shaking. Haruki noticed this, but he thought she''s probably just nervous for their date... Haruki smiled and brought her face close, he kissed her lips. As their lips parted, Haruki spoke... "I had a great dream you know..." Cinder asked him as she caressed his hair, "What was it about?" He grinned, "It was a nice place, a cozy one. There were two kids running about in the snow covered yard. Their face dripping with snot, as you softly reprimanded them. But they just giggled and ran towards me." Cinder was surprised then she gave Haruki a motherly smile, She pressed her forehead on his forehead. They stayed like that for a couple of minutes. She gently moved Haruki''s head, "C''mon let''s get a move on."She said as she stood up and took his towel and threw it in his face. Haruki jumped from the bed, and went inside to take a shower. Cinnder on the other hand changed into a more casual wear. She wore a thin black shirt, underneath her red Coat, and black skirt with white Flowers embroidered on it. And black heels. She fashioned a red chocker and a black scarf with gold embroidery. She brushed her hair, and let it down like she always does. Haruki came out of the shower, He was slack jawed by Cinders style. She looked behind her and saw Haruki dumbly staring at her. She smugly walked towards him and lifted his chin. "You like what you see?" She said softly with her melodious voice. He said. "I ''Love'' what I see" He said as he stared straight. She kissed him on the cheeks, "That''s so cheesy" She said as she immediately looked away, blushing. Haruki then changed his clothes, Into something similar he wore last time, he just Changed up the colors a little bit. When they were both ready, They walked out of the room hand in hand. They went straight towards the fancy Restaurant The Vale Table, She donned her normal arrogant attitude, not a single trace of that sweet Cinder a few minutes ago. Haruki approached the receptionist, "Reservation for Two, under the name of Kazama?" The receptionist was surprised inwardly, she tried to maintain her calm, She kept staring at Haruki and Cinder, She thought to herself, They''re both so dashing and beautiful... "It''s like staring at a painting...How nice..." Unknowingly she has said it out loud. But no one in the vicinity reprimanded her, for they were all thinking the same thing about the two of them. The receptionist found the reservation, and remembered the man''s name... she kept repeating it on her mind, She was woken up from her stupor by Haruki, He smiled at her causing her to blush slightly. "Umm, about the reservation?" The receptionist immediately told them to go inside right away, stuttering in her words. "Y-yesh right this w-way Mr.Kazama." Haruki thanked her while Cinder wasn''t amused by the girls attitude. Their seats were positioned at the top overlooking, the entire night view of the beach. While they were waiting, Cinder was drinking her wine. He was having dinner face-to-face with a beautiful mature lady, That alone was enough to earn jealous looks from everyone around him. And yet that mature lady''s hand was shaking a little, She said "Shame you can''t drink... Physically you''re still not 21." Haruki laughed, "I''ve had my fill with alcohol" He said as he picked up the bottle and poured himself a drink. "Although a little once In a while ain''t bad." Dissatisfied by the wine, he wanted to order something, a drink that has a little kick to it. (A.N. : Better make this clear right now, I don''t promote underage drinking.) Cinder stopped sipping on her glass, she asked Haruki, "Come to think of it. we haven''t had a proper talk like this until now..." She said as she twirled the wine in her glass, But before Haruki could utter any words, The waiter arrived bringing appetizer that cinder ordered. It was Almond Jelly, She ate a whole spoonful of almond jelly. "Mm. I love this food so much" Haruki smiled and asked,"why do you like it?" Cinder smiled, "I often had it as a snack ever since I was little. So I guess that''s why I came to like it." Haruki continued to ask her so many questions all about her, Cinder forgot her nervousness as she answered his questions. They finished eating at that fancy restaurant. Haruki and Cinder were strolling around the bustling night time of Vale''s most famous resort. Cinder found a bench and sat down, Haruki sat next to her, She stretched her arms upwards. Cinder stared at the myriads of people that passed by, some were family, some were with their significant others, and some were alone... just like she used to... She showed Haruki a weak and lonely smile full of self mockery. She finally spoke... "You know Haruki... I never expected we''d end up together, not that I don''t like it, but there''s just this inkling feeling. Whenever I get so close, I feel so nervous, even when you just touched my face earlier. I was so afraid that this will all be an illusion, just like that time in gluttony''s temple. I lost people that were important to me once... I don''t want it to happen again. I''m afraid that if I lose you once more, I would go back to that cold and dark lonely place..." She leaned her head on Haruki''s shoulders. "I keep telling myself that I can''t keep runningaround in circles, I just can''t figure it out! I keep my mind away from all my doubts, So I don''t drown in my own fucking desperation! I didn''t want to think about it, but Everytime you come close, what if the feelings I have for you now, was just all fabrication! What if... This kind of feeling, this kind of sensation... The way my heart beats... What if it all disappears one day!? I don''t want it to be fake! Haruki please tell me... I can''t keep on going on like this." Haruki gently smiled at her as he caressed her beautiful face and kissed her. He said, "Tell me what did you feel in that kiss?" Cinder couldn''t answer as her face was a little red. Haruki continued, "If you''re afraid to lose that feeling, then hold on to it until you realize what that means." She looked at Haruki wondered what he meant. He flicked her on the forehead. "It only means one thing, if you''re afraid of losing that feeling, then it means you''re already considering it as real." She immediately replied, "But that''s not enough! you can''t quantify your feeling by fear!" Haruki laughed, "Honestly babe, who can quantify love?" Haruki continued, "Do you know why you''re so afraid? Hehe, we both dove into this relationship head first, not knowing what to do... you clung to the motivation of wanting to see Alice and Caleb Jr. once again... But that''s not a bad thing, it''s just you''re doubting yourself whether that''s enough to say that you love someone... you''re just quite new to this, Hell, no one is actually prepared for any of this. Diving head first into the unknown scares most people, but it''s not that scary it''s just life..." Haruki affectionately ruffled her hair, And told her, "Stop thinking too much, and just enjoy! we''ll get to that point eventually." Cinder shook away Harukis hand, She sighed and smiled, "You''re right... c''mon the let''s go have some fun!" She stood up with the most beautiful smile She ran towards the shore, so he ran towards her direction. She removed her heels, and ran at the sides of the beach, and waded her feet at the shore. She splashed Haruki with water, "Hehehe, there!" Haruki dodged her attempt to splash him with water. "Hehehe, No fair! you''re not allowed to dodge!" She tackled Haruki towards the water, They both fell down and got wet. She stared at Haruki and kissed him deeply. She no longer had doubts, She thought to herself... ''Hell, you''re never going to know what''s going to happen next, you''re never gonna know if he''s the one, it''s a leap of faith.'' She giggled like a kid, for the first time in a long time. They played in the shore underneath the beautiful moonlit night. They both didn''t notice the time, they were in their own little world. Haruki materialized Towels to dry themselves. Cinder, laid down on the Sandy Beach, Haruki laid beside her... "Do I... do I deserve all of this? after all that I''ve done? am I allowed to be this happy?" Haruki answered her question, "We carry the burden of the lives we have taken, it''s our duty to carry that weight, it''s not like I''m undermining what I''ve done but, I will do my best to get my fair share of happiness. For me and for them. And honestly I ask myself that question a lot, but then when I woke up earlier and saw you, I thought to myself everything was worth it." She was laughing, She stared affectionately at Haruki. Haruki sat up staring at the stars, "Let''s just go at it on our own pace, Alice and Caleb Jr. will soon follow after." She hugged him tight, "You have been saying so many cheesy lines tonight. how about shutting up and kissing me." She pulled him close, and nibbled on his lips. They didn''t care if they were in the sand. Cinder giggled again, God knows how many times she has laughed today... Haruki stood up and materialized some fireworks for the night. The first things he brought out we''re Huge ass fireworks, He made a show for Cinder and Cinder alone, But after awhile the place was slowly crowded by onlookers. Then the fireworks display ended, Haruki and Cinder looked around and slowly saw a lot of people... So reluctantly he made a huge bonfire, and everyone danced around. He held out his hands towards her, "Would you care to dance my darling cinder?" She extended her hands and followed Haruki, and they danced along with the crowd. He danced with Cinder, They joined hands with strangers, and yet oddly they had a fun night. It was almost Dawn, so they left... After the bonfire, they slowly went back to their place... Cinder was strolling with Haruki whilst hugging his arms. "Hehehehe, this is one of the best days of my life!" Haruki gently smiled at her, "Hehehe, yeah me too." He caressed her face and kissed her. ""I love you..."" They said at the same time. Everything went quiet. A punctuated ending followed by that involuntary reflection, that happens when life quickly changes from fast to slow... Back then when she first felt this was when she was young and she just lost everyone she cared for... But her thoughts this time were of, contentment and hope for the future. It was not the same girl who was sitting at the edge of the cliff watching the sunset not knowing what to do... Well, she still doesn''t know what''s to come, but she no longer was the weak girl that she used to be... She grinned fearlessly towards the great unknown, and thought to herself ''Wait for me... Alice... And Caleb Jr , Mommy''s gonna come and get you...'' She whispered on Haruki''s ear, "So... when are you going to give me Alice and Caleb?" She then ran away as she said that leaving Haruki dumbfounded... Haruki chased her as she returned to their room. Her beautiful laughter echoed throughout the night. 43 Chapter 36: Pyrrha Nikos Haruki woke up later than usual. He and Cinder were having fun till Dawn, much to Pyrrha''s dissatisfaction, Because she wanted to hug him to sleep. But When they came back and saw their smiles, she can''t help but be infected with their smiles. When Haruki opened his eyes, He saw Pyrrha in his arms staring at him, Blankly staring at him. Pyrrha snuggled into his arms. "I made lunch, c''mon let''s go eat..." Haruki nodded his head, but as he was going to stand up, Pyrrha mounted him. She smiled,"Where''s my morning kiss?" She said smugly as she buried her face into his neck and licking it. Haruki laughed, Her face went near his face, She kissed him deeply,Their tongues intertwined. He said to her as she was busy nibbling on his ear. "Do you really want to spend our day inside?" Pyrrha pouted, "Both you and Cinder came home late! My arm pillow time was cut short!" She crossed her arms, she was still mounting Haruki though. Haruki sat up and Hugged Pyrrha. "Sorry..." Since Haruki just woke up, Pyrrha was bound to feel something beneath, "Is it your scroll? or are you just happy to see me..." Haruki licked her lips, "Well do you want to try guessing my dear goddess?" Pyrrha giggled, "I would love to find out, but foods getting cold." Haruki smiled, "Bah! you tease..." They ate at the table, side by side. Pyrrha spoon fed Haruki and Haruki did the same. "Hehehe, the date already started!" She said while feeding Haruki. Haruki nodded while chewing his food. She then said, "I just wanna have fun around the place, but I''ve been strolling around for the past few days..." "But you haven''t strolled with me." He said while grinning. She bonked him on the head and prompted him to go to the shower. They went inside together, Pyrrha scolded Haruki for touching her in inappropriate places. "We''re just saving time by taking a bath together, so no funny business!" She said as she leaned her back towards him. Haruki ran his fingers across her beautiful and soft skin, and gently kissed her shoulders. Pyrrha sighed as she turned around and kissed him, She washed Haruki''s chest. But as he thought they were about to do it, She splashed his head with water, and shampooed his hair. "We''re you expecting something? you naughty perv~" Haruki raised both his arms, "Hey! I was just trying to save time!" Pyrrha giggled as she prompted Haruki to wash her hair too. Haruki complied, but he threw away his worldly thoughts. Because if he didn''t, they wouldn''t have the time to roam around and enjoy their date... Pyrrha and Haruki went out of the bath, and dried themselves. They both changed into their usual outfits, Haruki was a tad bit slower on changing though, as he was observing Pyrrha''s perfect body. She looked at him weirdly, "You''ve seen this a lot of times!" He went near her and whispered, "Yeah, and I''ll never... get tired of looking at your beauty." Pyrrha rolled her eyes, "Blarggh* that''s so cheesy!!" Haruki laughed, and continued changing. They went outside, for a stroll... they still had plenty of time before their reservation at the fancy hotel restaurant ends. When they were roaming around to find a good story to window shop, they felt a slight discomfort as if someone was observing them. Haruki and Pyrrha were walking down the streets, then Pyrrha saw a Child on the side of the streets, The young girl''s clothes were ragged and she was sitting on the ground. The child was shivering from the cold, and judging by her looks, she was hungry too. Pyrrha felt pity, She went near the child... Haruki tried to stop her, But he thought to himself she''s too kind... ''Oh well guess I''ll have to play along.'' She tried to give the child her Jacket and asked the kid if she wanted to eat together with them. The young girl stared at her with lifeless eyes, She was scared for those eyes were like the endless abyss... Haruki tapped her on her shoulders Waking her up from her stupor. She looked towards the girl and asked again, But the girl ignored her and continued to sit at the same spot. Pyrrha looked towards Haruki for help, Haruki materialized food. The girl smelled this so she looked towards the direction of the smell. The girl saw a handsome big brother holding out food in front of her. Pyrrha gave the kid her jacket, but as she was getting near... The kid dashed towards her with a knife trying to stab her, but Haruki was fast enough. He gripped the blade and crushed it. As they thought it was all over, a couple of arrows flew towards Pyrrha''s direction. She immediately brought out her shield and blocked it. Haruki on the other hand made the young girl faint. Haruki looked at the direction of where the arrows came from... "That''s some bad taste you got... Using a child." Pyrrha was angered, she never thought that there were people who could resort to this kind of cowardice. Haruki on the other hand knew that the young girl was planning, he could sense the faint smell of blood from her, she must''ve done this a couple times... He was angered, ''Even here... People would still resort to this kind of lowly tactics...'' He summoned a Tac-50 rifle so he could snipe those fuckers, they deserve death... But they were quickly retreating to the mountains. He was pissed but he didn''t want to ruin his date with Pyrrha, but as he looked beside him... She saw Pyrrha tending to the fainted child. He sighed and patted her head, ''She''s far too kind... This probably saddened her. She was so selfless she doesn''t care about herself but she cares too deeply for those around her. She would immediately help those that are in need. The girl slowly woke up, Glaring at both Pyrrha and Haruki. She slowly stepped back as Pyrrha approached her, The girl then ran away towards the base of the mountain. Pyrrha tried to give chase, but when Haruki tried to stop her, she looked at Haruki with pleading eyes. He smiled at her and they both gave chase... Reaching the base of the mountains they were surrounded by Grimm, Haruki thought ''There were no Grimm here before... Could it be?'' After laying dormant for a while gluttony answered him. [Yes, these were the ones that fired arrows at you. It''s probably Aergia''s doing...] Haruki clenched his fist... Then from the shadows A girl in her 20''s appeared. She was One of the Four that was tasked to accompany Eris. Haruki summoned warmonger, Pyrrha also summoned her Weapon. She was glaring at the sudden appearance of a woman, her instincts tell her that this woman is one of the superiors of the young girl earlier. She dashed towards the girl, The Grimm tried to stop her but Haruki used his bare hands to hold Back the Ursai... He gripped their skulls and crushed them, he was pissed. He wanted to vent, so he stopped using warmonger and he holstered it at his back. He gave Pyrrha enough space so she could charge towards the woman. Pyrrha threw her javelin towards the woman, The woman smiled and she Dodged it. But as it approached it spun very quickly, surprising the woman. She tried to parry it, knocking her sword towards the air. Taking advantage of this she threw her shield, hitting the woman in her stomach. "Tch, You''re quite good..." The woman said to her as she picked up her sword. "I am Two... the second homunculi that Mistress Aergia made." Pyrrha''s face was covered by her bangs so nobody could see the expression she was making... "Why!? She''s just a child! How can you do that kind of cruel thing!!" Two looked at her with a deadpan expression and cold eyes as if it could freeze your very soul. "Because you humans are governed by your emotions... It makes you weak... It makes you vulnerable... It makes you easier to break..." After two finished speaking, she dashed towards Pyrrha and they clashed blades. Pyrrha threw her shield towards the ground, And she glared towards Two. "I don''t need a shield towards a monster like you!" She turned her sword into a gun, and shot towards two. Two tilted her head, "Monster? indeed I am..." Pyrrha slid down and slashed towards Two''s legs. So Two Jumped and stabbed he sword towards Pyrrha, she used Her semblance to move the blade away from her. She spun her legs sending a kick towards Two''s face. *Bam* She hit her right in her cheek, sending her flying towards a large boulder. Pyrrha stood up, but then a sword came flying towards her at ridiculous speeds. She tilted her head and the blade embedded itself on a nearby tree. Two slowly stood up, Her shoulder was dislocated, She tilted her head as she stared at her broken arm. She moved back her arm. She felt pain, but it didn''t show on her face. She ignored it and put her arm back in place. She was staring at Pyrrha, a little bloodlust leaked out. "Why do you keep fighting against us? you are surrounded... there are only two of you... Our Target was that man, but we can''t kill him yet... so we decided to hurt you, to hurt him..." Two looked around, and she saw the humans she transformed into Grimms. Then she saw a pile of corpses, and a lone man was sitting on top of it. He was like a death God. "Do you still think we''re surrounded?" Haruki asked the girl. Two''s face looked grim she glared at haruki, but as she was about to speak she heard Pyrrha speak. "Are you sure you want to be looking away?" Pyrrha sent her a roundhouse kick in the face. *Bam* Two spun and fell to the ground. She spat out blood, and she slowly stood up. Pyrrha stood in front of two, "Stand up..." Two rolled on the ground and said, "I am at a disadvantage... I will return..." She said as she stared at the two of them coldly. Pyrrha wanted to give chase but more Grimm came out from the woods, Surrounding them. She glared at the direction where two Ran to. Haruki wiped the place of all the Grimm and devoured all their corpses. Pyrrha was just standing there feeling helpless... Haruki walked towards her, She was frustrated for not being able to save the young girl. Feeling helpless, She clutched Haruki''s sleeves. And buried her face towards Haruki''s chest. They both walked back and saw that they were way past their schedule on the restaurant. But they both didn''t care. Pyrrha apologized at Haruki, "I''m sorry, I ruined our date..." Haruki caressed her head, "It''s not your fault Pyrrha... it''s nobody but those monster''s fault." They reached their room, but Pyrrha was a little bit down. So Haruki told her to wait outside for a few mins. She complied Wondering what Haruki was planning. "Alright babe, come on in!" She opened the door and she saw a candle lit dinner, and Rose petals all over the place. "Baby, I''m really not in the mood..." Haruki hugged her from behind,."C''mon let''s at least go eat..." Pyrrha nodded her head, Haruki pulled the seats for her, and served her food. "The menu today is your favorite madam... Lasagna A la Haruki" Pyrrha''s mood brightened a little bit, she knew Haruki did all this to cheer her up, but on the back of her mind, she kept seeing the child''s lifeless eyes. Haruki kissed her on the cheeks and sat across the table. Pyrrha was apologetic towards Haruki, He was trying this hard and yet she was still down in the dumps. Haruki sighed, She thought Haruki got.tired of cheering her up but... "Well, if you were given a chance once more, to go back in time would you have done differently?" Haruki suddenly asked her, so she was caught off guard. But she shook her head, And stared straight into Haruki''s eyes. "I would''ve still saved that kid, I would''ve still lent her my jacket." Haruki smiled and nodded his head. "Yup that''s why you don''t have to get so down." Pyrrha shook her head. "But I couldn''t save her..." Haruki smiled. "Pyrrha what you did was Noble and selfless. Even if she tried to hurt you you still saved her. So one way or another you changed that girls way of thinking... It may not be instantaneous but gradually she''ll start trying to trust in the kindness of humans too." Pyrrha knew Haruki was only saying this to cheer her up, but hearing the words she wanted to hear most right now put a smile on her face... "Haruki... thank you..." She hugged Haruki and kissed him deeply. "Don''t ever lose that kindness, Look whenever you fall down we will always be here for you. That same kindness saved me too, so don''t think too much... if I could be saved why can''t you save her? You''re Pyrrha Nikos! one of the most amazing woman I''ve met... And the girl I love! Trust me baby, your kindness helped no matter how small..." Pyrrha Let Haruki spoil her tonight, She let Haruki serve her like a princess, and little by little she slowly felt better. She hugged Haruki close "I love you so much!" They were lying on the bed, "You know when I first met you, I was surprised that you saw me staring at you guys, I was curious about a new rival... Then you came and saved me like a prince, and it felt like you knew me, but didn''t treat me differently... A Friend that treated me equally, and slowly as the days pass I slowly fell in love with you, with your kindness. Even though you''re such a womanizer... I couldn''t care less about that now! That''s why, when you told me who you really were, I wasn''t angered, I have already accepted you for who you are... And I love you more than anything..." Haruki kissed her forehead, "And I you." She laid in Haruki''s arms and underneath the moonlit night they slowly became one... 44 Chapter 37: Neo Politan R-18 Two Retreated towards their base, She found Eris sitting down, watching the sunrise... Forgive me mistress... I have failed in hurting the woman... Eris smiled, "It is fine... Don''t worry you have succeeded in your task...But..." She walked towards two. She held Two''s face, "Disgracing yourself like that... should not happen again" She released overwhelming pressure felt by everyone at the base. She sat back down and released her pressure, She asked everything Two knows about Haruki. She retold Eris everything they have observed for the last 4 days. Eris satisfied by this looked beyond the Horizon, She said, "It''s finally time..." She gripped the Handle on her seat hard, destroying it. Someone appeared in the shadows, a silhouette wearing a labcoat, messy hair and thick frame glasses, The Sinner of Sloth... Aergia. She was smiling like a madwoman, "Hehehehe, the tests were successful... and it is prepared!" Eris smiled, "And it won''t go berserk or anything right?" Aergia pushed her glasses upwards, "Who the fuck!? Do you think I am Eris!? I am the greatest scientist in the world!! I AM THE REVOLUTION!!! I AM PROGRESS!! These bumbling idiots Don''t even amount to my genius! While they are too busy comparing the sizes of their dicks! I am furthering technology!!" Eris sighed, ''This woman is so crass... and do I really have to listen to her fucking rants!? goddamn...'' The Dark clouds were here, and the rain called madness was about to fall... ------------------------------ Back at their resort room. When Haruki tried to move around on is sleep, He felt Neo Clinging to him. When He opened his eyes Neo was in deep sleep, he wondered when Pyrrha got out of the bed, but when he turned his head to his other side he saw Pyrrha sleeping peacefully. He thought to him self, ''Ah! She''s probably too tired after last night.'' Neo opened her eyes pouting, (You bastard! womanizer! pervert!) She pinched him on the sides, while she buried her head on his bare chest. Haruki laughed and said "Oww! You have been abusing me ever since we got here..." (Because, you dolt! you have so many women! I barely can have my alone time with you!! and if I may add, I got the last day! that''s not fair I was sooo lonely!!) Haruki felt a little guilty for being so fickle, He caressed her hair gently, and kissed her. He hugged her tightly. "How am I supposed to make my little darling Neo happy?" She kissed Haruki on the neck repeatedly, (Let''s roll around the bed for a while...) Haruki said, "But Pyrrha might wake up..." Pyrrha leaned her head on Haruki and said, "I''m already awake..." She was very exhausted, she didn''t get any break, she was only saved when Haruki detected Neo and the others approached the room. Neo then pulled Haruki into a different bed to make out. (Sorry Pyrrha we''ll try to not disturb you...) Pyrrha sighed and covered her face with a pillow. Haruki and Neo kissed each other like there''s no tomorrow, Haruki tied Neo''s Hands together with a towel, and he pulled her shirt up. revealing her big snowy breasts. "Oh my... darling you weren''t wearing underneath?" Neo blushed and looked away. Haruki buried his face on her breasts. (Ahn~ Haru! Don''t bite me there~) Haruki play bit her nipples, He moved up and licked her neck... He lifted her waist towards his lap, his face went near her ears and whispered as he licked her earlobe. "We''re you expecting this to happen? you naughty girl..." Neo smiled smugly as she wrapped her legs on Haruki''s back and she felt his hard thing pressing against her secret garden. (Why don''t you want it?) She said as she pressed her breasts together as her hands were tied with a towel. Haruki mounted her and he showed her a grin, as if a wolf eyeing it''s prey. She tried to pull down Haruki''s boxers revealing his very own Excalibur. She guided his dick between her bountiful snowy breasts... Haruki slowly moved back and forth, (Mmph* it''s too big...) She said as she licked the tip as it went near her. He then pinched and played with her nipples softly, making her feel good too. "Neo I''m about to..." (Go ahead Haru~ release it...) Haruki pumped his load towards neos breasts. (It''s so hot~) she said as she scooped it up and drank a few... *Schllp* She licked and sucked on her fingers... She smiled seductively towards Haruki. Haruki grinned and pulled down her underwear, He crumpled it and inserted it into her mouth. (*Mmph!?) Neo was surprised by this, but she can''t do anything since she is tied up... Haruki buried his face on her beautiful pink pussy. He licked her entrance, soon he inserted his fingers as he nibbled on her clit. (Mmpphhh~ Mmmph~) Neo was trying to push Haruki''s head away, As she convulsed multiple times. Her back arched as she came. (Mmmph~) She looked at him like a meek kitten, as if signalling for him to go and eat her up. Neo was breathing heavily, Her breasts heaved up and down... Neo winked at him... He carried her and made her sit on his lap, Facing away from him, her hands in front of her. He slowly inserted his blade into her scabbard. (A.N. : Lol gintama reference.) He plunged it deep, not giving Neo time to breath, Then her underwear slowly fell from her mouth. (~Ahn!!! Haru, more!!) She turned her head around and kissed him, their tongues intertwined. Haruki moved even faster, making Neo''s eyes go up from pleasure. (Haruuu!! I''m about to cumm!~) Haruki plunged in deep as they came at the same time, burying his seed inside her... She convulsed multiple times as she rested on Harukis chest, her bindings slowly came undone. She caressed his face, (Haru~~ kiss me... mmph* Chu) Haruki buried his face on her neck and said, "Want more?" Pyrrha couldn''t even sleep... she was awake the whole time watching the two go at it like rabbits. Haruki finally noticed Pyrrha watching and playing with herself, he gave her a good show then pulled her into his embrace, and they went at it until the evening. The three of them went to shower and cleaned up the room, they made a lot of mess... After that Pyrrha immediately went back to sleep, Haruki depleted her energy reserves once again... Haruki and Neo proceeded to go and change, because they would be dining outside. But before they went Haruki cooked Pyrrha some lasagna, so she could eat something when she wakes up. Walking outside Neo Garnered the stares of many, Because she was fashioning a black and white dress with pink laces. Her Hair was tied into a ponytail, exuding a more mature aura than normal. She was beautiful today, Almost every male in the vicinity were drooling at the sight... Haruki glared at each and every one of them, and ran his thumb across his neck veeery slowly as he grinned like a mad man. Her arms were hooked together with Haruki, as she was smiling sweetly. Everyone who saw it were envious of the two, Haruki looked very dashing. He was wearing a very formal attire. They arrived at the Vale table once again... Neo looked at Haruki exasperated, (Haru... are you serious? you''re going to take me here? the same place you took the other 3!? Are you out of your damn mind!?) Haruki was sweating bullets, He had reserved this place with a little special flair for Neo when they arrived here... "It was the only place with a beautiful ambiance!" Neo pinched him in the ear. (No excuses!!) Haruki pleaded that they eat there... but he can''t tell Neo the reason. She sighed as she let Him drag her inside to eat. When they arrived inside the restaurant Neo was pouting, Haruki tried to appease her... But her mood only got worse. (You know... I heard everyone had a nice date! they said they a~~~ll went on an emotional journey... while I get this!?) Haruki thought to himself... ''This is bad... this is fucking bad...'' but when they arrived at the top Neo saw a vacant rooftop and a single table, the surrounding was covered in pink rose petals. Their table had a single vase that has a bouquet of red and white Camellias. They even had a band that was playing violin, they played her favorite song... A beautiful orchestral rendition of Vague Hope. (A.N. : Nier Automata Ost in case you were wondering.) She was stupefied, she can''t utter a word, not even a single one. She covered her mouth, Tears were slowly welling up in her eyes. She looked towards Haruki, and hugged him. He escorted Neo towards her seat, "M''lady, please relax yourself..." Neo wondered where the waiter was, But Haruki interrupted her... "I shall be the one serving you madam..." There was a portable kitchen near the edge of the roof. He rolled up his sleeves as he chopped the ingredients. He cooked her favorite meal ever since they were young, Haruki has made this for her during her birthdays and on special occasions or basically Everytime she wants it. Burst Tomato Napolitan Pasta... She always loved how Haruki made the sauce, and how the pasta was named after her... She rested her head on her palms watching Haruki work, she always loved watching him make it. It made her feel like they were newlyweds, it brought a smile towards her face. As she was observing him Haruki popped open Champagne and put a finger on his lips, as he filled Neo''s glass. (A.N. again I don''t promote underage drinking!) Haruki offered a toast as he waited for the pasta to be cooked. *Clink!* They both took a sip from their glass. (Huh? I thought it was gonna be bitter... But it actually is like soda...) Haruki laughed, "I won''t offer you strong drinks yet! it''s far too early..." Neo laughed, (Shut up~ just because you''re older doesn''t mean you could act so smug! you alcoholic you!!) Haruki heard the pasta boiling, He immediately served them both a plate of beautiful Napolitan pasta. They both ate the pasta, She thought that Haruki was just planning on eating outside then strolling at the night sky... She never expected this kind of romantic night. Haruki told Neo that he just has to go get something from below... He used lightning form, and after a few minutes Haruki returned. He was holding a bowl of Neopolitan ice cream... With two spoons, "My little darling Neo, sorry for the wait." He sat beside Neo, they both fed each other ice cream. (Aahhnn* Haru it''s your turn~) She fed Haruki as she leaned her head on his shoulders. They stayed like that for a while, immersed in the moment. Haruki stood up and materialized a bouquet of flowers. He gave them to Neo, and As Neo was looking at the flowers and smelling them, Haruki knelt down. Neo opened her eyes wide, (Haru... ar- -) Before she could finish her words Haruki interrupted her. His voice a little shaky, "Back then... when I first met you, when you found me dying... covered in snow... You don''t know but I was really thankful for that, you saved me a million times over, at first I thought of you as a quirky little sister... who loves to play pranks and take care of the two idiotic big brothers you have... But as I spent more time with you I slowly fell for that smug smile you always make, that weird sound you make Everytime that you''re scared of cockroaches that appeared,How you played along with my stupid shenanigans, How patient you are no matter what stupid thing I do... you''re always there, behind my back... always smiling, ready to forgive." Neo covered her mouth, her tears flowed down... as she laughed at Haruki''s speech. "In one way or another you have changed me for the better, you pulled me away from that void that was slowly consuming me... The shadows of my past shackled me, always haunting me... but you inched your way through all that. You showed me the hope I never thought I had... Neo Politan... Will you marry me?" As he said those words He showed her a beautiful ring with 3 different shades, and a diamond stone embedded on it. Fire works appeared from a distance. Spelling it out, [Will you marry me?] Neo was already in tears as she hugged Haruki... "Yes! a million times yes!!" It was the first time she spoke that loudly. Haruki put the ring on her beautiful and soft fingers. "Even though I''m such a womanizer are you still willing to accept me?" She gave him an exasperated sigh. "I don''t care about that... I already know that you''re the type that won''t be tied down...but know... I will always be the first wife." He kissed her and said, "You know a few weeks ago, When I woke up one day... and I saw you smiling at me, it dawned on me. ''Ah! she''s the one...'' I thought. That''s why I have been finding the perfect opportunity to propose." Neo was smiling, and Harukis chest were wet with tears. "I love you Haruki..." She said as she wrapped her arms around him. Haruki then said, "But we''ll have the wedding once we graduate... it feels better that way." She nodded her head, she didn''t care when... as long as she could spend the rest of her life with the man she loves, She''s fine with anything. Neo looked up at Haruki giggling like a kid, (So when are you planning on proposing to the others?) Haruki was sweating bullets, for he hasn''t thought that far. "Baby steps Honey... baby steps." She sighed, (Well you better think of a plan, or you''ll never going to hear the end of it from them.) As they were enjoying the moment a series of claps resounded in the area. *Clap clap clap* "Congratulations on your engagement, Although I hate to interrupt this beautiful moment... I just have to bring you bad news... Your other women, I have them surrounded." This was a familiar voice, he looked at the direction where the voice came from. It was Eris... Beside her was a woman in a lab coat, Grinning like a lunatic. "Is he the guy who killed gluttony and corvus, Eris?" Eris nodded towards her question. " Hehehehehehehahahahahaha!!! interesting! I can''t wait to cut you open and see your secrets!!!" Haruki thought to himself, ''Holy shit! a genuine psycho...'' Eris thinking that Haruki was scared... but he was just there grinning fearlessly. "Didn''t you hear me? they''re going to die if you don''t come with us!" Haruki roared in laughter. "Hahahahaha do you think my women are so weak, that you could threaten them by surrounding them!?" Eris dashed towards where Haruki was standing and stabbed him. But his image slowly shattered and he appeared at the edge of the roof smiling at them. Neo has already used her semblance and they retreated far back. "Although you interrupted my moment with my wife... you have given me the chance to end this with a bang." As he was about to jump down, he sent a middle finger towards them. He bid them farewell as he carried Neo like a princess and jumped down. Aergia laughed and dashed to see below the building, and she saw Haruki running at the wall in his wolf form. "Wait... what did he mean by bang?" Aergia looked behind them, and she saw a fuck ton of C4 surrounding them. The only words she could utter were, "Fuck" *Booooooooom!!* The whole roof was decimated, luckily no civilian was loitering around the area. Laughter emanated from the burning rubble, "Interesting Haruki!!! Hahahahahahaha!!!" It was both Aergia and Eris, appearing unscathed. Haruki looked up at the two from a distance, "Eh, figured it won''t kill them, but it did slow them down." A girl appeared from behind the building they were hiding, and pointed her scythe towards the two of them. Neo stepped forward and summoned her umbrella using her locker. Haruki stepped back and let Neo handle this. "I am One... the First Homunculus mistress Aergia created." The curtains of madness slowly descended as each of them faced their own enemies... 45 Chapter 38: Battle on three fronts Cinder and Emerald were strolling at night talking about How Haruki hasn''t slept with them yet... "I just don''t get it, why would he say ''I won''t eat you yet little lamb'' like what is he waiting for?" Cinder amused by Emeralds rants said, "I honestly don''t know what he''s thinking. But whatever it is I hope he does it fast..." As cinder was saying those words, countless spears flew towards their direction. Piercing their bodies multiple times... "Hey! Three I thought you said they''re pretty strong!? they''re kinda dead right now..." Three inspected the bodies, she thought to herself. It doesn''t seem fake... "Are they really this weak?" The Bodies of the two slowly turned into ashes... and dissipated. Revealing both Emerald and Cinder aiming at the both of them. "Who are you two?" Cinder said as she ignited the three arrows that were aiming at them. "Hehehehehe, I am Four, and this is Three! we are the last batches of Homunculus Mistress Aergia made! Rejoice for we grace you with our presence!" Four opened her hands wide, as she gushed praises towards Aergia. Three nodded her head along. Emerald then spoke, "that''s not what we were asking..." Three tapped her head then spoke, "Oh of course!! we''re here to kill you, under mistress Eris'' orders. We already have hold of your man, it''s best to give up now, or we might have to get a little rough..." Emerald and Cinder looked at each other and laughed, "Hahahahaha! you can''t expect us to be that stupid now could you? You!? Capture Haruki!? Don''t make me laugh..." Cinder''s expression darkened, "You''re one hundred years too early, to even reach his level..." Emerald continued, "you''re probably threatening him, saying the same bullshit." Four laughed madly, "HAHAHAHAHAHA! Mistress Aergia and Mistress Eris are together! do you really think that he stands a chance against them both!?" Three continued, "They''re both sinners, they''re immortal... who the hell in remnant could be strong enough to beat them both?" Cinder gave them a cocky smirk. "Oh you pitiful child... you have no idea who you''re messing with." Cinder fired her arrows towards Three, Emerald appeared behind them and shot them in the back. Four summoned Her sword and Hammer to block Emeralds bullets, and Three spun her spear around to block and deflect Cinders arrows. Four shouted, "You two are ranged!! what do you expect to accomplish fighting me??" Cinder whispered behind her as she fired her flame magic towards four, "it would be best not to underestimate us." *Boom!* Four was sent flying across the distance. Three was surprised by the sudden appearance of Cinder, but as she was about to stab her... Emerald slashed towards her multiple times. So Three had no choice but to separate with Four and block Emerald with her spear. Four slowly stood up from the rubble, Cracking her knuckles, "Not bad... Not bad at all..." Cinder was glaring at Four, "I held back... it won''t be fun if you two couldn''t even put up a fight... Haruki would scold me for bullying brats..." Emerald appeared beside Cinder, "So tell me why they sent cannon fodder for us to fight?" Three''s eyebrows twitched from emeralds taunting. Then suddenly a loud explosion resounded from the distance, Signifying that their fight has truly began. Four stretched her muscles and leaned on all fours like a cheetah eyeing it''s prey... "Let''s begin!!!" ---------------------------------- Pyrrha was eating the food Haruki cooked for her, She was planning on taking a walk to cool her head, and take her mind off of what happened to the kid. She has been mulling over it for a day now... As she was getting a glass of water. *Crash!!* The whole place was riddled with bullets. Good thing her shield was just Near her, so she could block all the bullets that came her way. As she Jumped through the window, A few dozen atlas bots surrounded her. "What!? Why is atlas attacking me!?" Then the Robots gave way towards the woman she fought yesterday, looking down at Pyrrha. "I came back, and I made sure that this time... you will suffer." Two said emotionlessly. Pyrrha glared at her. "Why do you have this militarized robots from atlas!?" Two raised her eyebrows. "Does it matter? all you need to know is that you''re about to die..." Pyrrha steadied her stance, "Why do you do this? what is the point of all this!?" Two just tilted her head, "These are the Orders of My creator... I cannot disobey. I only exist as a puppet so My Mistress could further her goals..." Pyrrha gripped the handle of her blade, "Why do you need to go that far!? You don''t need to follow her just because she said so!!" Two shrugged her shoulders, "My Mistress Aergia, is the Sinner of Sloth... She was only chosen By Lord Sloth, because she was intelligent... Lord Sloth didn''t care if she didn''t represent Sloth itself. When she made me, she looked at me as if I was her own daughter, but she told me I was a homunculus... Then a few months pass, she noticed that I don''t feel emotions... Her experiment failed. and yet she didn''t call me a failure, she said it was only a set back... She has accepted for who I am... So I don''t care what she tells me to do... It is my destiny to serve her... And I cannot escape that fate of a failure. So I willingly stain my hands with blood for her!" She said as she remembered her mistress praising her." Pyrrha looked at Two conflicted, "That still doesn''t give you the right to use a child for your own gains!" Two narrowed her eyes, "In the face of absolute power there is no mercy or sympathy... In order to survive one has to pay enough price." Pyrrha was angered she threw her shield towards Two. She blocked her shield with her longsword. "Do you really think that child could have survived on her own if we didn''t take her in? Do you really believe that someone will be kind enough to give a damn and adopt her? Don''t be fucking naive! Look around you this is the world we live in, morality is subjective... only the sins and desire matter!" Pyrrha looked down as she used her semblance to retrieve her shield. She was glaring at Two, they were both irreconcilable. They hated each other''s guts, Pyrrha finally spoke. "You have done so many unforgivable things ever since I met you... You used an innocent child for your own gains... You ruined my date... And most importantly you ruined the food Haruki cooked for me!! if I don''t break your legs right now I want be calling myself Pyrrha Nikos!!!" *Booom* A thunderous explosion appeared from a distance... Pyrrha smirked, "Two let''s finish this!" Two leaked large amounts of bloodlust towards Pyrrha''s Direction, ready to attack at any moment. ---------------------- The source of the explosion was Haruki''s Carefully planted C4. When he heard Eris speak, Neo immediately casted her semblance so he could plant his bombs. Looking up He saw Aergia and Eris unscathed from the explosions. Neo on the other hand Confronted One. She was like a Valkyrie, Her beauty was astounding, it doesn''t feel artificial at all. She was like a warrior goddess. Neo on the other hand was still wearing her black dress, But Good thing Haruki has Ars Magus... She told him to materialize her clothes, and slowly changed into her natural suit. She laid her umbrella on her shoulder, tapping it repeatedly. (I''ll make sure to at least keep a few of your limbs intact...) One smiled, "Interesting... I thought only that man could stand against us... And yet you have the guts to challenge me!? I am the first of Mistress''s creation! I am the Alpha! I am the strongest!!" Neo smiled smugly as if she disregarded the entire existence of One. She twirled her umbrella and leaned towards One, (I hope you don''t let me down then... for I am your end... miss alpha...) One was angered by Neo''s arrogance, she charged towards her and slammed towards her using her Halberd. She was fast, as she immediately appeared above Neo. The pressure she emitted was immense, Like a bull charging madly at it''s target. But as she thought She got Neo, Her image shattered. She appeared behind one and kicked her in the butt. One stumbled on the ground, she glared at her. She was angered further by her complete lack of tension. Neo Bowed towards her elegantly, One immediately stood up and stabbed at her countless times, forming countless after images of her weapon. Yet Neo calmly dodged all her strikes as if she was just playing dodgeball, Neo parried The last strike of her strikes. One expecting a counter upfront, she used her halberd to block her face, But she was struck hard at her liver. Sending her tumbling on the ground. Neo used her semblance as soon as she parried off her strike to appear below her right side. *cough cough!!* One felt breathless as she staggeringly retreated. (Where is the alpha you speak of? I can''t see her anywhere.) One slowly stood up, and brushed away the dust from her outfit. She was grinning, "I figured it wasn''t going to be interesting if you didn''t get a few hits in..." Neo rolled her eyes at One, (Riiiiggghht, you didn''t make it so obvious so I held back my strikes...) They both taunted each other, saying mean things at each other. While Haruki stood on the sidelines as he watched the entire thing unfold. ''Holy shit a real cat fight!! they''re just insulting each other...'' He sensed some movement from the exploded building... ''They''re finally making a move huh?'' He immediately contacted back up... Both Aergia and Eris jumped down from the building. As they landed... Behind them were countless of the fanatics below slowly turned into Horrifying amalgamation of man and Grimm. Eris was coldly staring at Haruki... She dashed towards Haruki without saying a word, He immediately summoned Mournful Vengeance. He blocked her downwards slash, and kicked the ground to gain some distance. "What? No evil speeches or Monologues?" Haruki asked. Aergia was about to speak, but Eris raised her hand to stop Aergia from speaking. "What!? I want to tell him how much of a genius I am!" Eris raised her eyebrow at her words and looked behind her. Aergia shook her shoulders, "Hehehehehehe, Fine!! But I want that man intact! it doesn''t matter if he''s alive or dead!! Heheheheheh..." Eris looked straight at Haruki, She slashed towards him. He parried it once more, "Just getting straight to the point then... okay!" He evaded her slash and leaned backwards. Her speed was fast, and the strength of her swings were extremely powerful. They exchanged swords for a whole entire minute, Neither of them backing down nor giving the other the advantage. Haruki noticed that Her swordsmanship was beautiful, it''s like a dance, she has perfected her sword style unlike Corvus''s reliance on brute strength and His by the book style. Her blade was her own, and she was one with her blade. Their entire surrounding was destroyed from the shockwaves from their blades alone. Eris stopped her attacks and moved back. "You''re blade is all over the place... How did you beat corvus, by just relying on your disgusting amalgamation of different sword styles?" Eris ran her fingers on her blade, and pointed her blade towards Haruki. "I will show you the true sword of a master..." She prepared to dash, She held her blade steady above her right shoulder. She stepped forward, Then went into a full Sprint. Smoke and a crater appeared on the place where she previously stood. He looked around she suddenly disappeared, But as he turned around Eris appeared above him, Slamming her blade towards his head. "Oh shi- " He rolled on the ground trying to dodge her blade. But as soon as her strike landed on the ground she immediately disappeared again. She appeared beside Haruki, and sent a slash. Haruki tried to parry but her strike was faster, it created a small gash on his side. She disappeared once more and appeared at the distance. She was smirking. "Your blade has substance, You don''t, neither do you have any form or style... it''s a jumbled style of skill you stole... not even practicing it..." She shook the blood on her blade and continued, "That''s why you''re sword is weak, that''s why you... can never beat me..." The flames of battle raged all over the town... The maddening chaos, slowly descended... And caused ruin to the peace. The bad trouble finally caught up, Haruki glared at Eris... He slowly stood up and charged at her one more time... 46 Chapter 39: Strongest Mother and Daughter Combo Part 1 An explosion resounded from a distance, Signifying that their fight Has truly began. Four stretched her muscles and went on all fours like a cheetah eyeing it''s prey... "Let''s begin!!!" She shouted as she leapt upwards, She lifted her enormous shield and tried to bash Cinder with it. Cinder Levitated away from the danger, Four crashed down... Creating a large crater on the ground. She looked towards Cinder, "You can levitate!?" Cinder gave her a smirk and formed multiple arrows Firing at Her. She blocked the arrows, as the arrows hit her shield they were ground into dust. She taunted Cinder, "Is this all you can do!?" Cinder created balls of flame and fired it towards Three and Four. Three was sent flying towards Four''s shield. *Crash* "Uurrk! *Spits* You wench!! you''ll pay for that!" Three shouted as she slowly stood up. But Cinder ignored them and created more glass arrows aiming at them both, Emerald used her semblance to confuse them on which side the arrows were coming from. They were barraged by arrows both imaginary and real, Four''s Roar echoed and shattered the real glass arrows. The arrows were turned into dust, They fell like tiny shard ashes. Four mocked the power of Cinder. "Hahahahahaha!! I''m gonna tear you into shreds!!!" But Cinder has completed her objective, she pulled emerald towards her, and created a magic barrier. She then made those tiny little shards explode. *Boooom!!!!!* The entire place was decimated. In the middle of all the smoke and rubble, Three and Four were standing there, wounded in many places, but not enough to take them down... "Three! Don''t get in my way! I will take them both down!!" Her sword and shield transformed into two Heavy gauntlets covered in spikes. She jumped up and tried to punch Cinders magic bubble. *Bam! The bubble cracked from the pressure of her attack. Emerald and Cinder we''re surprised from the tenacity of the two. "Not bad for a cannon fodder... But if that''s the extent of your skills... then I don''t even have to try..." Cinder said as they descended and she undid her magic bubble. Four grinned, and she charged towards Cinder. She sent multiple punches towards Cinder, But Cinder dodged them one by one. She smirked as she calmly evaded her strikes. After every evade cinder did she would summon arrows, and she held those arrows and stabbed it towards the wounds of Four. But Fours muscles we''re extremely tough, The glass shattered upon contact. Cinder panicked as Four''s unrelenting attacks were getting more and more ferocious. The wind from her strikes alone were strong enough to blow her away, If it wasn''t for her abundant amounts of aura. She would have long been sent flying. Four knows the life or death factor in this battle, It was distance... If she gets even a hit in, Cinder would topple down to the ground and she could crush her like paste. Cinder gained some distance from Four as she turned the ground into slippery ice using her magic. She fired her arrows towards Four, But the wind from her fists allowed her to interfere with Cinders arrows. But as she redirected the arrows Cinder would detonate it almost immediately. They were both suppressing each other''s combat ability is what four thought. But Cinder is stronger in close quarters combat... Four then again tried to shorten their distance, She increased her speed, moving like an actual cheetah... Cinder tried to predict where she would move next so she tried to fire her arrows in advance, detonating them upon impact. Four increased her speed once more entirely focusing on dodging and decreasing the distance between the two of them. Little does she know Cinder has been directing her where she wants four to go. Four was only a meter away from her Target so she leaped the distance between Her and Cinders. She Jabbed towards Cinders Direction, Cinder expecting this Jumped and stepped on Fours arm. Emerald used her semblance to confuse Four, making her think that her target is still there. Cinder Encased her arms with glass. Four noticed that The cinder she attacked was an illusion, and as she woke up from her stupor her hands were already encased in glass. She tried to pull away but Cinder made spikes inside that dug through her skin, piercing it slowly. "Shit! Let me go!! you coward!!" Cinder laughed, "I think you''re misunderstanding something here... this was never an one-on-one... this has always been a team fight." Three tried to jump in, but emerald suddenly appeared beneath her and sent a kick towards her chin. Sending her flying backwards. Countless red magic Circles appeared and surrounded Four. Cinder clenched her fist and she detonated her magic and the glass shards all over the place. *Boom Boom Boooom!!!! *Roaaaaaaaar!!!!* a deafening roar echoed it was Four Half of her body was burning and some of her skin were torn to shreds. Cinder spoke as she smirked towards Four. "I can''t believe you fell for that again..." Four ignored her taunts as she laughed madly. "Hehehehehe, you really did a number on us... ain''t I right three!" Three pushed away the rubble, "Yeah... I never expected that a maiden was part of that fuckers Harem..." Four laughed madly, *Whistles* "We''re really at a disadvantage... we even don''t have a semblance... what part of this is fair!?" But despite all those words, and despite all of Fours injuries. They were both calm and serene... As if they were still holding back something. Four''s appearance slowly changed... she turned into a bipedal cheetah, She kinda looks like Haruki''s V¨¤nagandr form, except that only her front body was human, Her limbs, head and Back were all covered in Cheetah fur. Cinder wondered how this was even possible... "I thought you two don''t have semblances?" Four just laughed, "We don''t it''s as simple as that..." Cinder shrugged her shoulders, "I haven''t seen a faunus transform like that before..." Three raised her eyebrows, "Like we said earlier, were homunculus not a fucking human, Were genetically engineered for Combat. Mistress Aergia created us from scratch, then grew us like babies! Then she combined strands of DNA that fit together the missing blocks... But this was a hard process, a lot of tests were conducted and a lot died just by being exposed to the Grimm or Faunus DNA." Cinder was surprised, "Grimm? You combined with a Grimm? How?" Three was overjoyed to talk about their mistress. "Think of it like this, the parasitic Grimm... you can seal it to any part of your body and then absorb the life force of your target. Mistress Aergia used it''s trait to bond with other Grimm genes, successfully creating Us! but!! Only four of us were made... She said only four of us were needed! She could have made an army! but she didn''t... She doesn''t give a damn about world conquest, she only gives a damn about knowledge! and the attainments she could make! That''s what makes her great!!! She is the greatest amongst all the sinners! She''s basically God to us!!!!" Four nodded her head as three endlessly praised Aergia. Cinder and Emerald were weirded out by this, they both thought, ''Is this what they call blind devotion? these crazy lunatics...'' Four grinned, Her face looking like an Apex predator about to pounce on an unsuspecting gazelle. "Three for real this time, don''t interrupt!" Three sighed and shrugged her shoulders. She went on all fours ready to dash anytime... Cinder knew that Four was seriously aiming for their deaths. She instantly summoned fiery- red Katanas, similar to Haruki''s absolute demise. Four immediately came attacking over the instant Cinder summoned her weapons. Four wasn''t crafty in her attacks, but her extraordinary speed resulted in greater impact behind her gauntlets. Cinder noticed something different from her weapon. Her whole arms were now covered in Golden Armor extending to her elbow, the weird thing about her weapons where they had tubes that emit wind. Cinder was blown backwards, Four immediately gave chase. Both parties fought at extremely high speeds. Their silhouettes clashed all over the place. One appeared like a predator chasing it''s prey. The other looked like a flame that burned everything it touched. Cinder Copied How Haruki fought with absolute demise. She wanted to show Four that Her speed is nothing compared to true skill, so instead of dodging she parried her extremely fast attacks. Then as she parried off the last of Fours barrage, She noticed that she was staggering as she retreated. She felt dizzy as if something was assaulting her senses. She tried to ignore her light-headedness, She steadied her stance. Four was smiling, "Finally took effect eh? it took longer than expected, you''re a tougher fighter than you look." Cinder tried to speak as violent nausea assaulted her senses. "What was that attack!?" Four shrugged her shoulders, "That was just basic science... My attacks varied from strong and fast to just fast, creating different kinds of wind pressure... Causing to make you a little dizzy or to rupture your ear drums!!! hahahahahaha! Mistress Aergia is such a genius! even us with out semblances could achieve this kind of power." Cinder charged towards Four, Slashing towards her, She spun her blades trying to counteract her techniques. Four just sent an unnatural punch that was extremely fast. Cinder blocked this but she was sent backwards a few meters. Her nose was slowly bleeding, "Huh? How!? I still have plenty more aura!" Four laughed, "Aura? the fucks your aura going to do!? that''s not considered an attack so you won''t notice until it''s too late! When it has assaulted your senses it''s all over for you miss maiden!!" Cinder clicked her tongue, "Tsk, That''s an annoying weapon." Four ushered Cinder to come at her. Cinder Slashed towards Fours gauntlets, Four dodged the attacks instead of parrying them, for Cinder might detonate her swords once more. Four''s dodges slowly turned into a routine, turning into a pattern. Four noticed this, Cinders attacks had a pattern towards it, Yet she continued the same dodging pattern because she might be leading her into a trap if she followed with a counter. Clearly, this fight was of an extremely low standard, though not so on combat skills. both parties were pretty good fighters, although they were just doing the same thing over and over again. Three wondered if they both were waiting for something. The weaving killing intent emanating from the two suddenly disappeared, being replaced by silence. A Dazzling Red flash suddenly shone out from the Void, Before Four toppled down to the ground, Having wounds that didn''t exist before. There was not the slightest bit of flashiness, nor there was any trace of killing Intent. It was the purest, most focused and simplest of moves. Three was shocked, ''How did that happen!? How was that possible!!! She was doing the same moves over and over again!!! how can she get wounded all over the place!?'' She thought to herself. Cinder wiped the blood from her nose, and shook her head to erase the dizziness she was feeling. "Hehehehehe... Surprised? Well it''s simple really... from beginning till now I''ve never fought alone..." Emerald waved her hands. "Emerald used her semblance to assault your senses and made you think you''re dodging my strikes... in actuality, I am adjusting my strikes minutely, giving them the right angle to wound you..." Cinder clapped her Hands as if she remembered something. "Oh yeah before I forget... There are tiny little shards inside the wounds of your fellow Homuncu-whatever... better remove it quickly before it blows up." Three opened her eyes wide and dashed madly towards her direction, "You bi-" Cinder interrupted her, "Whoops too late." She snapped her fingers and within an instant Four was covered in red magic circles. *Boooooom!!!!!! Cinder covered herself and emerald with a magic barrier... Two shadows emanated from the explosion... She was shakily crawling from the rubble. Four''s body was mangled into shreds... Yet she was still standing, Grinning from ear to well whats left of her face... She slowly transformed into a Grimm/Faunus Hybrid, leaving no trace of her humanity. She looked like an alpha Beowulf... Spikes protruding out of every corner of her body, and her fur turned hard as steel, Her eyes glowed red... She finally spoke... "What''s your names ladies? you are the first two to push me this far and transform..." Their fight was about to come to an end... Cinder and Emerald Looked at each other, smirking at what each other was thinking, because they were about to say the same thing. "Cinder Kazama!!" "Emerald Kazama!!" 47 Chapter 40: Strongest Mother and Daughter Combo Part 2 They were supposed to be the perfection of Aergia''s research. Aergia wanted to test the Genetic limits of creatures, if she could make a Hybrid, The perfect being taking the best parts of every race... And yet, She still failed in the end, she did so many tests, until she was left with only four Homunculus left... One was more Grimm than faunus, an amalgamation of power, yet Everytime she transform... she loses a part of herself... Yet another failure.... Two was more human than anything but her emotions don''t show as if a broken puppet destined to obey what she''s told... Another failure... Three was almost complete, But She could only manifest The exoskeletons of the Grimm... Another failure... But Four... Four was different, She has reached the perfect balance, She can freely turn into the more feral parts of each... And yet Aergia still wasn''t satisfied... She continued to ask herself, is this the limits of her research? Then it dawned on her... She noticed the one thing her creations lack... no matter how much she changed them, or upgraded them... They still won''t have it. Artificial will still be a poor imitation in the end... What they lack, Was soul... So she threw away all her Hard work... So she could research the essence of soul... ------------------------ Four and three were standing side-by-side, glaring at both Cinder and Emerald. Four Has already transformed into Her feral and amalgamated form, Three''s body suddenly was covered in bone like armor... It looked eerily like Grimm... Three Held Her spear up high, She roared... *Roaaaaaaaarrr!!!!* Her normal melodious voice was gone it was replaced by a more feral tone... Her eyes glowed red, She threw away the last bits of her humanity, she knew her enemies this time are not easily beat. So this time both of them would go against the two with full force... Emerald and Cinder Dashed away from each other, Three went after emerald. Akin to a wolf chasing a lamb. Four Stomped on the ground creating craters as she chased after Cinder. Emerald stopped at a fair distance from three. Suddenly A dozen Emerald were surrounding three, As she aimed her Twin pistols at Three. Three didn''t know which was real, Her feral nature kept telling her to just attack them all... So she did, But as she attacks them one by one... The real emerald kept switching places with the fakes. It was as if infinite bullets shot at her, raining down on her from every angle. She gave no room or leeway for Three to dodge, She was able to unleash high-speed firing capabilities to her absolute limits. Emerald danced around like an unfettered goddess, as her figure drifted about appearing here and there. Her bullets continued to pour like a flood... Even Though Three''s armor is slowly cracking, She still didn''t relent from attacking with her spear savagely. Then suddenly everything went quiet, The downpour of bullets stopped. Thinking that this was her chance she immediately threw her spear towards her direction. Swish* emeralds image slowly blurred as she appeared behind Three. She used her dual Kamas to wound her at the back. Three had a gash on her back, The spikes on her back were broken and she was wounded. She quickly turned around to claw at emerald. Emerald quickly slid down and wrapped the chains of Threes left arm. She ran up to the rooftops of the broken buildings. as she dragged three. Three pulled back on the chains, so emerald Dashed towards Threes direction as she spun her dual Kamas severing her arm. "Gaaaarrrghhhh!!!! You bitch!!!" She held her Arm as blood slowly poured down from her severed limb. Three was at a disadvantage she thought emerald was weak at close range, So she jumped Back down towards her Spear. She slowly picked it up, "Don''t think you''ve won just because you cut my fucking arm off!!" She roared at Emerald. Emerald covered her ears, "Ugh! I would literally pay you to shut up!!" She stood on the roof slowly spinning her dual kamas around, waiting for Three to come and attack. Three slowly breathed, trying to calm her feral nature... She killed her emotions, The only thing left on her mind was Her prey and she is the huntress... She went to a Sprinting position, she leaned forward. *Dash!!* She ran up towards the wall, jumping from platform to platform, she finally reached emerald. She sent a kick towards her, Emerald immediately deflect her kick. Her arms went numb from the brute strength of three''s attacks. But as she was sent backwards, a Spear went stabbing towards her. She moved her head aside to dodge the incoming attack. She rolled backwards and jumped towards another roof to gain some distance. She saw Three confidently smirking towards her direction. She was calm her former agitation was gone... Emerald relied on three''s feral rage to predict her attacks... But now it''s gone, and her aura is almost depleted from using her semblance too much. The longer she keeps this up the faster she will lose. Three cracked her fingers as she slowly walked towards the edge of the roof... "*Whew...* you two are quite the duo... but what are you gonna do when you''re not together?" Emerald just sent her tongue out taunting Three. ------------------------- Four and Cinder were exchanging blows, Cinder wielded her two blades as she blocked and struck towards Four... Four was increasing the intensity of her blows. Four was grinning, "No illusions this time... just you and me..." Cinder was nauseous, but she kept the pressure on Four. ''Shit, She''s faster than she usually is...this fucking monster!'' Cinder thought to herself. Four removed her gauntlets it turned into the sword and shield again. She looked like a Grimm that was holding weapons. "Let me give you the honor of dying by my hands!!" Four shouted towards her, But Cinder just laughed.... "Tell me four... are your fur as hard as steel?" Four tilted her head towards her question. "Huh? they''re not only as hard as steel they are steel..." Cinder smirked, "I see...well then it''s time to end this!!" She dashed towards Four, clutching her blades preparing to strike. Four readied her stance, waiting for cinder to land her strikes. But she moved past Four much to her surprise, Cinder ran towards emeralds direction. Four was pissed and gave chase, as she was chasing her, Cinder detonated some glass shards in the area. She tried to slow Four down. ----------------------- Back to emerald, She was parrying most of three''s attacks. Three was calm and relentless, Her moves were random and had no style, but it was giving emerald a harder time. It makes her unpredictable that''s why emerald couldn''t counter attack. Three suddenly disappeared in front of emerald and appeared above her, Smashing her foot down. Emerald dodged towards the side, but the impact and shockwave of the kick was quite powerful. So she was sent flying towards Cinders Direction. She Used that moment to run towards Cinder, She propelled her self, She tumbled on to the roof, she kept rolling until she got her footing and ran. Three gave chase, She moved on all fours. At the distance she saw Cinder running towards her direction, While four chased her. She smirked, and she raised her hand for a high five. *Slap* After the high five Emerald used her semblance, So she could confuse both Three and Four. Four was chasing Cinder, As she clawed towards Cinder Her silhouette suddenly disappeared and Was replaced by Three. She attacked Three and Crashed towards her. *Crash!!* "Ow! Watch where you''re fucking going you muscle head!" As Four was about to rebuke her, A red magic circle appeared beneath the two of them. They covered themselves thinking that it would be exploding. But, It wasn''t... It was Cinders and Haruki''s Original magic, She modeled it while being inspired by Corvus''s magic. If a maiden could use dust freely, then She could use dust as a medium. She was already using the maidens power like that. So she practiced with Haruki, using his <> She Used red dust to create a Magic circle to form her unique magic. Blazing Torrent Prison... Countless Magic pillars made of glass appeared beneath Three and Four''s feet. Four and three were cautiously looking around, not making any careless moves. "Shit! what is this!?" Four roared. But Before three could speak, Emerald Shot at them. A dazzling radiance suddenly erupted from the magic pillars, countless bullets of emerald converged towards it. Her bullets were covered in flames as they bounced back and forth, Ricocheting on every surface. The bullets ignited as they pierced through Three and Four, a lot of holes formed on their mangled flesh. Emeralds eyes widened at the sight, She was surprised that Cinders Magic was that strong. She looked at Cinders Direction, She just winked at her. Emerald wasn''t aware of the firepower... The radiance of the pillars slowly dimmed as Cinders Aura was slowly draining. Then she ended it with a giant flame explosion. *Booooom!!!!* beyond the smoke and embers of the explosion, Four stood there, on her last legs glaring at Cinder. Her body had countless holes yet she was still standing. Her flesh torn and burnt, yet she was there. "You fucking bitch!!! I will kill you all!!!" Cinder laughed, "Alright since you survived my onslaught... I will give you a freebie... Which of these three Flame tornadoes are real?" She snapped her fingers and three flame tornadoes appeared. Four opened her eyes wide and laughed madly, "I see... so this is the power of a maiden huh? Hahahahahahahha!!! not bad... not bad at all!!" But it was all a bluff, cinder has no more strength left, so Emerald used the last of her Aura to use a hallucination on Four... Emerald used her speed to sever Fours head. "Trick question... none of them are..." The two dropped to the ground, they barely could stand anymore. They have exhausted their auras... "Whew, They''re quite strong..." Cinder said as she leaned towards emeralds back. Emerald closed her eyes, and nodded along. Suddenly a voice from the rubble emanated... *Cough cough* "I hope you two haven''t forgotten me..." They both looked towards the source of the voice, It was three... lying down, her body battered and broken. She was looking up at the sky, with a smile... "I never realized how beautiful the sky could be... You know... I always wanted to be human, all of us did... But she told us, we don''t have a soul... We were only puppets to achieve her goals, I overheard her say those. She only created us so she could experiment on merging humans, Grimm and faunus... I only wanted to be like a human... Was that too much to ask!!! Who the fuck do you think you are!! Just because we''re artificial doesn''t make our desires any less real than any of you!!!" Tears slowly formed on Three''s eyes. "We tried so hard to act like a perfect doll for her amusement... And yet we''re still treated like dirt!" *Cough cough!!* Blood frothed on Three''s mouth... she slammed her hands towards the ground, it''s as if she''s throwing a childish tantrum. "Then I realized why mistress didn''t want us to be fully human... The Desire, the lust for power, the corruption... Humans are very flawed. Fragile... She didn''t want a flawed creation. She strives for perfection, We never expected to be treated as equals, we just wanted recognition... From her!! Everytime we would fail, we were beaten by our mistress... Afterwards she would always cry and apologize... Ironically the only time we could feel at ease was when our mistress was apologizing to us... Because we instinctively understood to reject our mother would be to reject ourselves..." She looked towards Cinder and Emerald silently listening to her story. "Could you..*cough cough* Give me the honor of dying by your hands?" Cinder moved towards her staggeringly, She looked at Three, choking on her own blood... She plunged her blades towards Three''s heart. Three smiled, She was relieved not because she was free from the endless pain... But because she couldn''t disappoint Aergia anymore. What she was sad about... Was that in the end... She couldn''t gain the love she wanted from her mother... *Cough!!* "To want to be loved... is it such an unforgivable thing??" She grinned as her life drained away from her... as she tried to self destruct her Core that Aergia installed in their heart. "But that doesn''t mean I have given up!!! Hahahahaha I will take you with me!!!" Cinder opened her eyes wide as Three glowed, as if she was going to explode. *Boom!!!!!!!* A large pillar of fire soared through the skies. Cinder and emerald opened their eyes, As they were encased in an Ice barrier. Cinder was taken by a silhouette. When she looked behind her she saw Raven looking down on her. "This all you got? And here I thought you''re the next fall maiden..." Raven spoke to her. Cinder was surprised, But sadly her surprise came to an end as a lot of Grimm surrounded them. Then another two silhouettes appeared kicking the grim around, and the other slicing them. "Merc!! and the old dude from Beacon!!" Emerald screamed. "I''m not that old!" Qrow replied. "How are you here?" Cinder asked Raven. "I am temporarily collaborating with him, for we share a common goal." She said as she sliced all the Grimm in the area. Qrow overheard as he looked at Ravens direction. ''I see, that brat truly is working with her...'' Cinder and Emerald then we''re escorted somewhere safe, by Mercury and Qrow. Raven opened a portal, "Tell him that he owes me." She disappeared as quickly as she arrived. 48 Chapter 41: Apathy V.S. Empathy part 1 Emerald and Cinder was resting, Mercury and Qrow sat at the airship where they came from. "So? are you ready to answer now? How are you here Merc? I thought you were at Vacuo?" Mercury shrugged his shoulders, "Raven took me to this guy." He said as he pointed at Qrow. Cinder was shocked, "I''m surprised Raven took you with her and helped us." Mercury crossed his arms together, "I''m sure by now... Haruki has told you two about our group?" Qrow listened In and said, "What group?" He was suspicious, if it was a hostile group... he seriously doubted if their collaboration with Haruki was beneficial. "Well tell me..." Qrow said. Mercury sighed and looked him in the eye. "The anti-salem group." Qrow narrowed his eyes, and looked away. "That better be..." He leaned on the plane as they waited for it to escort other civilians that were stuck in the large town/resort. Emerald looked at the terrified citizens as they ran towards the other airships. "I wonder how many casualties were there when we fought with those two..." Cinder patted her head, "Relax... surprisingly no one was there in our battle, it''s as if it was pre-planned and the people were not there." Qrow looked at the Carnage from the other places, ''Damn... Salem was never this open when she attacks...'' He sighed as he walked outside to intercept the approaching Grimm. Emerald leaned her head towards Cinders shoulders, Cinder did the same... she was also very tired. They both got some shut eye, worriedly thinking about the others if they were safe. ---------------------------------------- *Bang Bang Bang!!!* Pyrrha blocked the bullets coming her way, Dodging left and right. "Two! why don''t you come here and fight fair!!" Two emotionlessly raised her hands, and the Atlas Boots stopped moving. "Why? I thought you were miss Pyrrha Nikos... the goddess of victory..." Pyrrha glared at Two, She activated her semblance. The Atlas Robots shook, their heads were slowly twisting, Two looked behind her, she was surprised by pyrrhas semblance. As she was about to attack Pyrrha the atlas boots suddenly exploded one by one. "Interesting... You are quite the monster miss Nikos." Pyrrha then said, "Yeah...keep telling yourself that..." She threw her shield towards Two, She tried to deflect it, But Pyrrha kept the pressure by slashing towards her multiple times. She recalled her shield to trip two with her shield. Two back flipped backwards, as she dodged the shield that was coming towards her back. Two can''t help but be interested in Pyrrha, it was as if she could feel some omen from her that was different from most people. She never expected Pyrrha to have the same opinion of her, Pyrrha viewed her as an equal. She was the perfect opponent for two, perhaps she was the opportunity that she has been waiting for all along... It has been a long time since anyone has looked at her like that. A look from Hunter to prey, from opponent to opponent, This feeling... The feeling of Fighting intent brushing towards her skin... Although they were just starting at each other, the battle has already begun... The strength of your mental fortitude is tantamount in this kind of moment. The two were in a position, where at any given moment they could attack. While their gazes, as serene as lake, crossed each other. When both of their fighting intent reached the same level, the took action at the same instant. With Both at them charging at each other at astonishing speeds. Not using any fancy moves, the most simplistic of techniques were used. Their blades clashed, Pyrrha''s shield was buried in the ground. She only used the blade. Without dancing or circling around they collided with each other... Pyrrha was quite confident with her own strength, However Two''s strength bore down on her like a mountain. *Crash!!* She was sent flying towards the ruined room. Pyrrha was surprised for that tall and lanky frame was carrying so much strength. Two''s eyes were glowing red, looking down on Pyrrha, as if saying... ''Is this all you got?'' Pyrrha responded with a smile and clenched her fist. Utilizing a different style, she changed her sword into a spear, she charged towards Two. Two stood still waiting for her approach, then suddenly she stepped back to avoid the stab of her spear. Then a golden arc flew towards pyrrha''s direction. Pyrrha immediately backflipped to avoid the incoming slash. However, in an instant Two was already in the air, preparing to skewer her into the ground. Pyrrha parried her strike and sent a kick towards her stomach. A dull thud rang out. Two was struck, she staggered backwards. Pyrrha took this chance and threw her spear towards her direction. Two Tried to deflect it, but once again it spun at ridiculous speeds. So she parried it but her arms were numb from the impact. The spear embedded on the ground. As two gained her footing back, Pyrrha was already charging at her. She nailed her fist into Two''s face, Two was slammed towards the spear. Pyrrha continued to barrage Two with her punches. Then did a roundhouse kick to send her flying away. She jumped at her spear to propel her towards Two, She retrieved her shield as she jumped. Two crossed her arms to guard from the impact, but Pyrrha used her semblance to stop her. Two suddenly came to a halt in the air, It was her sword and her armor... Pyrrha used it as a medium to stop two. But before Two could process this Pyrrha was already in front of her. She bashed her shield towards Two. *Crash!!!* Two was embedded deep into the ground, in the middle of the crater where she was slammed. Two stood up, She cracked her knuckles and stretched her back. She wiped the blood that was dripping from her nose. She stared at the blood, Surprisingly, Suddenly she felt something... She smiled, but it was an awkward one, Her eyes were cold, and yet her mouth was tilted slightly upwards. Her eyes turned crimson, Although she was stronger... She was toyed around like a punching bag. *Bang!* In an instant Two appeared in front of Pyrrha, She sent a dozen or more kicks at Pyrrha, her speed was insane. Yet, Pyrrha could see all of this... it''s as if her kicks we''re moving out of her way. She stepped back to get some distance, but once more she stopped from her tracks. Pyrrhas fist was already in front of her before she could even notice. *Bam!!* A loud thud echoed as Two fell to the ground once more. She couldn''t explain what she was feeling. Or why she felt anything at all. Was she happy? Sad? Angry? What is she feeling, it endlessly frustrated her... And yet she doesn''t even realize her own frustration. She was glaring at Pyrrha. Pyrrha ushered her to come at her. Two picked up her weapon, And charged towards Pyrrha once more. Pyrrha asked once more, "Where is that child?" Two shrugged her shoulders, "Who knows, it was a one-time thing..." Pyrrha frowned, "What do you mean!?" She kicked two in the stomach, two tumbled on the ground. It slowly became a one-sided fight. Two spoke as she was struggling to get up. "That kid... after we gave her the money... She went away... I don''t know what happened next, we only knew about her as one of our informants told us about a young assassin. But she wasn''t that strong, she just used her childish looks to gain sympathy from her prey, and then she moved to strike." Pyrrha''s expression darkened, "There''s no way a child could do that! you people probably hypnotized her!!" Two gripped her blade as she spoke, "And there it is!! there''s that condescending attitude... ''There''s no way anyone could do that! I believe in the goodness in people except from bad guys like you!!'' or such... Those are the words of someone who has only lived a life full of happiness!! Pyrrha screamed, "Why then!? why still use her!? That''s just wrong!!" Two increased the strength from her strikes, "This is why I hate peace mongering people like you... You fucks make me sick... Self satisfied people like you look down on others and speak erroneously..." Pyrrha parried her strikes, "In what way am I wrong?!" Two finally found an opening and struck Pyrrha square in the face, staggering her backwards. Then she spoke in a very flat tone. "That you''re under the impression that what she''s doing is evil... Is it wrong to try and survive!? You look down on her, but looking back... the man named KAZAMA HARUKI is also a criminal, A killer!! What the fuck is the difference between them!? You''re love for him!? Then you''re kindness is only at a superficial level then!? She tries so hard to survive, and yet you look down on her!? How fucking ironic..." Pyrrha was looking down, and gripped her sword and shield. Two continued, "You think this world is so fucking soft that everyone can live equally? Happily? what kind of place do you live in!? She''s a child with nobody to rely on... if you think that everyone that passed by would simply show sympathy... extend a helping hand... Then you''re dumber than a bag of bricks... That''s why she has to stain her hands with blood... TO FUCKING SURVIVE THIS COLD AND CRUEL WORLD!!!!" Pyrrha was silent, she couldn''t refute what Two said. Two didn''t understand why she was so agitated... It''s probably their difference in ideals... She would never understand the concept of morality. She tilted her head, Why was morality so important to humans. Why is she so irked when Pyrrha spoke those flowery lines. It was Hate... Two continued, "Holding to such Petty ideals will just end in you suffering for it... Fighting to protect someone, Fighting for what''s right... It''s a nice and lofty ideal, it''s got a nice ring to it... But it does feel cruel when that "Something" is one''s own survival..." Two slowly walked towards Pyrrha, both of them clashed once more. They exchanged blades, without speaking a word. Two was relentless and cold with her strikes. Pyrrha was methodical and Vigorous with hers. They were completely the opposite of one another... And that is an irreconcilable fact. Two broke the stalemate by putting distance between Pyrrha and herself. Then Two''s eyes glowed once more, then as if a shadow of A Goliath Grimm appeared behind her. Pyrrha was shocked, "W-what are you??" Two tilted her head, "A homunculus, a living puppet, which sole exists for my lady Aergia... Well Homunculi like us will never gain recognition from our own creator... To her were just pond scum... We can put up a nice facade and work hard, but the truth is we''ll never be like ordinary people. Because from the moment we were created, we were vastly different from humans. But if we put our life on the line and do more dangerous missions, we could get her praises... Even though it''s all lies... With each passing day, we abandon our pride and self worth... Just to get some fucking praise from our God!!" Two screamed towards the sky but not for herself but for all of her homunculi sisters, "All we want is a place in this oppressive world... A livable place at the edge of the nightmares, even for people like us." Two rammed Pyrrha, and as Pyrrha blocked her she was flung away. Her aura took a lot of damage from that unexpected strike. Pyrrha pushed herself to stand up, she wanted to stand up. Because if she fell now, all she fought for, everything she has ever believed in will be for naught. This wasn''t just a battle of skill and technique, it''s a battle where they both bet their beliefs on the line. Neither one side giving in... They have staked their entire existence in this fight. One represented empathy, the other Complete Apathy. Both wanted a peaceful life, and acceptance... Yet neither will yeild their own ideals. Pyrrha Inhaled deeply, And then exhaled.... "I won''t deny or refute your ideals... But with my fists, with my shield and sword! I will show you that my will is stronger!!" Two Showed a once in a lifetime grin, it was a grin so wide, that for the first time in her life she was excited, A battle that was worthy to put her life on the line. "Then come at me! I will show you the difference between us!!" The charged at each other, Gripping their blades... Their battle was about to be concluded. 49 Chapter 42: Apathy V.S. Empathy Part 2 Once upon a time there was a little girl, She had Four dolls... And she treated them as her own. The dolls were her treasures... Each treasure had a different shape. She treated her treasures with great care... One treasure symbolizes family... Another symbolized ignorance... Another symbolized the strength of the group... But one treasure symbolized something quite unique above all else... HATE. The girl loved her dolls, That''s why she deeply missed them when they had to run from the Grimm. The girl had only her dolls in mind... For her dolls didn''t judge her or ostracize her... The people that surrounded her didn''t get her... They told her she''s a freak, a monster... She asked herself, was she so different? She doesn''t look different... She only wanted to speak the truth, She only wanted them to know more. Spreading knowledge is fun, she told herself... She tried teaching people...about the joy of learning, to advance society... But the people didn''t listen, she was called a witch, a demon... They kept saying she was possessed. They beat her, threw rocks at her, they spot Everytime she passed by... But her dolls were there so she tightly held on, they were the only ones who could understand her... So when the Grimm came knocking at the village, everyone blamed the cursed child... Why is it my fault!? she said... Why do you blame it on me!? she said Weren''t you the one''s who cut the forest too much and drove the Grimm here!? she said WHY!? She screamed into the void as she was pushed away by everyone she knew, left there to be cannon fodder... She watched their house burn as her parents were tied to a post, to be slaughtered by the Grimm. Helpless and Broken, she tried to fight back... But, she was a mere little girl unable to fight back. She was stabbed by their enormous claws. Her body was thrown aside, surprisingly the Grimm ignored her... She laughed, for not even the Grimm wanted her... Not even death gave a damn... She looked up at the sky, And gazed at the absurd chaos of the world. Isolation has become her best defense, but it proves a paltry shield against life''s brute enmity... They circled around her, As if they were waiting for someone''s orders. Perhaps she''s going insane, perhaps none of this is real. A very long nightmare that went on for days... when she wakes up her dolls will be by her side once more. As she laid on her own pool of blood,Death Circling her... The girl let out her feelings for the first time... Even if it was only little, even just a tiny bit, she wanted to clear away that sadness, that painful loneliness. The young girl let out her tears like a dam, the tears she could not shed before... The scream of sorrow that she was unable to let out before, She screamed towards the heavens. For what reason did this helpless looking girl have to be forced to receive such unhappiness? Without ever being given something everyone had, having to suffer, Having to build up only painful feelings like a tall pile of curses... I don''t want to die!!! The girl bellowed, but the God she believed in didn''t answer. Rain was falling... As if pierced by the raindrops, her battered body was soaked with an indescribable loneliness. Why was this world made to be relentless against the weak? Why was the world like this? Those who let out their tears in sorrow, only ever had sorrow. Those who held anger with nowhere to let it out, could only fall into a never ending despair. She stared at the ashes of her village, No one left in sight, the whole village was burnt to crisp. She had nothing left, but she asked herself... Did she have anything to begin with? Yes.... Her dolls... They were the only thing that mattered... Nothing else does... Her dolls were the best, for they wouldn''t disobey her. They would love her, and only her... Then as she was about to breath her last,.a voice spoke to her... "Come with me... I can grant you what you wish for the most." That was sloth... That was How Aergia came into being. The ''Sinner'' of Sloth. This was why their Mistress created them... "This is why we were born... remember that" One told Two back when they were just created... Two Held The Symbol of Hate... *Clash!!* Two was brought back from her stupor by Pyrrha''s relentless strikes. Two was on the defensive, unlike Pyrrha she doesn''t have any aura, so her super human strength was based on the Grimm Genes inside her. She couldn''t form a physical manifestation though... She could only stimulate the genes to activate, akin to a demonic possession. Because Hatred isn''t shown outwards you hide it on the inside... She doesn''t know if this was on purpose or not. But she knows her mistress doesn''t commit any mistakes. "Pyrrha Nikos... you are a worthy opponent, never have I met a match in this life besides my siblings... In my 8 years of being alive... I truly enjoyed battling with you... In another life, if I was a human, and if I had a soul... if I was given a chance to be born once more... I would have loved to be friends with you, but I have my orders, and I cannot disobey... So my only choice is a battle, so I''ll etch into your mind... Which is superior and which is inferior." Pyrrha frowned and replied, "No we could try hard! we could strive and forge anew! Haruki did that, that means you could do the same!! Equals!! we''ll treat you like equals!!" Two laughed for the first time in her life, "Equality is only an illusion, human beings are partial creatures. I believe that if we do away with all of the pretentious facade in the world, we would find a dark area hidden inside humans that likes death and discrimination." Pyrrha refuted, "That can''t be the only way!" Two shook her head, "Pyrrha Nikos, the true meaning of life is hatred!" You''re wrong!!! pyrrha refuted... "The more you try to hide it, the more that darkness grows..." You''re wrong!! Two was amused by Pyrrhas poor attempt to convince her. Two regained enough stamina as once more she leapt up charging at Pyrrha. But facing Pyrrha head on was quite tricky her skills were superb, so instead of charging in like a Goliath, Two chose to activate a different Gene. One that is nimble and swift. Wielding her sword, two started her lightning fast advance. Appearing like a golden bolt of lightning, She contested with Pyrrha head on. They clashed at absurd speeds. In a flash Two''s sword had pierced through the wind and came stabbing at her. But Pyrrha clashed with her blades head on! Bang!!!! They were both sent flying... In what seemed like an instant, as soon as the two of them landed, once more they came charging towards each other. *Clang Clang Clang!!!* Under the support of her aura, Their blades clashed with unrelenting force... Sending shockwaves to their surroundings. They two once more was sent flying back, but Pyrrha lowered her center of gravity slightly. She threw her shield at the center of the field, Two was wary, but she didn''t understand what Pyrrha was doing. She imitated the way Haruki sheathed his blade to strike at an opportune time. He called this Iaido.... she lengthened her blade a little, Her form was similar to a samurai about to draw her sword... She steadied her breathing and observed Her opponent closely. Two was jittery, bit she didn''t try to attack carelessly... Because as of now Pyrrha had only one opening and it was in front, it felt like a trap... Like a snake eyeing it''s next meal... Two''s agitation got the better of her as she charged towards her opponent. She leapt upwards as she sent pyrrha downwards slash, Two activated her Goliath Gene to slam down on Pyrrha. As her blade was about to reach, Pyrrha moved slightly to the left, just enough to not get hit. Then a dazzling red flash passed through her... A beautiful red arc, a silhouette of Pyrrhas blade, cut Two''s blade in pieces... Pyrrha then punched Two one last time in her face. They were both exhausted, so they lied down on the ground. *Pant pant...* "How''s that for my resolution you bastard?!!" Pyrrha said as she tried to catch her breath... Two laughed, *Pant pant*Not bad... This is my loss... I now finally understand the difference between, wishes and dreams... It''s the resolution..." Her dream of being free unfettered under the beautiful blue sky... But sadly as she and Pyrrha were battling, She felt two of her sisters die... She no longer has the wish of freedom, she just wants to join her sisters... Two slowly stood up, with her last strength she picked up Pyrrha''s blade... "What!? you want more!?" Pyrrha screamed. Two smiled, "Hehehehe, I now understand why that man fell for you... Also I''m sorry... that I have to do this... but in the end I couldn''t escape my fate as a puppet for her... because I still love her, with all my heart... I don''t deserve to symbolize Hate, it''s not the only emotion I have... I did my best to hide it. But in the end I''m still flawed in her eyes, because I''m more human than any doll... I hope you can forgive me... For what I''m about to do..." Two pointed her blade towards her own heart. Pyrrha tried to stop her, but she was so exhausted... She can''t move a muscle. "Don''t do this!! there has to be another way!! please don''t!!! Don''t do this...." Her protests remain unheard. Two gave Pyrrha the most beautiful yet lonely smile she could... Then... Two plunged Pyrrha''s blade straight through her heart. Her blood slowly flowed towards the ground, as she lay beneath the pool of her own blood. Two said, *Kahaaakk!!! You''re lucky... without hurting anyone, and without being hurt yourself.... *Cough cough* Always... Being able to walk the path you''ve decided on... Hehehehe, I''m truly.... truly envious of..." Humans are creatures that display their emotions like fools. In both joy and anger, they''ll equally move about. Humans are simple creatures that are like fools. While sinking in the depths of despair, thinking that there might be someone that might save them, they die with an imaginary hope in their hearts. So this is death... So scary so... Dark... So cold... Two lay there motionlessly, as if her strings were suddenly cut... Pyrrha mourned silently, She couldn''t even utter a single word. She looked up at the sky, With tears in her eyes... To try to live... was it such an inhuman thing!? The people she has stumbled upon, in one way or another has done evil deeds... But they were only trying to survive. There wasn''t a single strand of Pyrrhas being that felt she has won... She felt empty, they both fought for their ideals, both were prepared to sacrifice for their beliefs.... From one minute to the next, she can''t stop the tears... Who knew that she had so many tears... Suddenly as she was crying, Two''s body suddenly glowed... A dazzling radiance, she probably wanted to tell everyone that she would go out in a bang... Pyrrha tried to summon her shield, to block the explosion but it was too powerful. She closed her eyes expecting the worst but then, a huge block of ice appeared in front of her. And a white glyph appeared beneath her pulling her towards the caster. *Booooom!!!!!!* Pyrrha looked up to discern the one who saved her, but she was unfamiliar with her savior. She looked like Weiss but older... "Hello, my name is Winter Schnee... it''s a pleasure to meet a genius like yourself Miss Pyrrha Nikos..." She extended her hand, and Pyrrha did the same... Suddenly a large group of Grimm appeared from a distance, "Hang tight Miss Nikos... I''ll come back soon." Winter dashed towards the Grimm. Pyrrha watched everything in a daze, She was still processing what has happened. Winter looked at the crater of the explosion. and thought to herself, ''Well she''s probably affected by what happened huh?'' Sigh... Haruki you bastard! Womanizer!! Now we''re even!! She cursed Haruki as she escorted Pyrrha away from the vicinity. She looked towards where Haruki and Neo were battling... Be safe you bastard, if you die... I''ll go there and kill you!!! The final curtains was about to fall... 50 Q and A 3 @@ Questions? Go ahead and ask guys. I figured it has been quite a while since I posted one of these. Also a question for you guys, Do you think the tone is getting a little.... Grimm? eh? eh? see what I did there? Honestly though do you think it''s getting a little too dark or edgy? do you want me to tone it down or just go at it the same?@@ 51 Chapter 43: Alpha and Omega Part 1 *Clang clang clang!!!* Weapons clashed and hits echoing around the area. One and Neo were exchanging blows, Focusing only on each other, not caring about the Grimm that we''re circling them both. It was as if the Grimm around the two of them served as the arena bounds. But when the two inched closer to the Grimm, The Grimm would step back... Seemingly afraid of the both of them. Because the shockwaves that emanated from their weapons clashing, Cut anything in it''s path, Essentially killing anything alive it touches. The clash of Neo''s Aura and One''s Brute strength and their skills were Earth shattering. One found an opening, so she stabbed Neo with her halberd. But before Neo could be damaged her umbrella opened. Blocking the strike, One struck multiple times... Yet Neo Parried all of them to the side as she countered her attacks. Neo swept her feet from below, and kicked her in the stomach. Bam!!* One was sent flying, Crashing straight to a wall creating a hole. One stood up, brushed off the rubble on her body, before walking out of the hole. It seemed that One was uninjured. She spun her halberd as she dashed towards Neo. Neo has already memorized the pattern on Ones attack, she was methodical and quick. Fast and strong... Muscle memory was undoubtedly a great method to counter this kind of opponent. However this would require quite the sturdy body to resist the attacks in the first place. One was especially strong, her strikes were filled with vigour... Without any doubt if she was struck directly by her Halberd, her aura would be greatly reduced. Sure she could use her semblance to trick One, but it can only do so much, for her illusions would shatter from a single touch. After a minute of exchanging blows, One grinned towards Neo. Not one of them getting a hit in towards the other... "No one has ever lasted this long in front of my halberd... You''re the first." Neo shrugged her shoulders. (I''ve seen people fight at ridiculous speeds, Strength that rival even a big Grimm... I have fought strong people and creatures in my time... But you are the second to make me excited in a fight...) One tilted her head, "Second?" Neo pointed at the direction where Haruki and Eris were fighting each other. One gave an understanding nod... For she also felt the same, The sinners and that man we''re on a whole another plane altogether... Not even mentioning the sins. Based on their powers alone, let alone their skills... One smiled at Neo, "But... you and I are both hiding something aren''t we? you hide that strength, and shackle yourself... limiting on what you can do! I can smell it! my instincts are telling me that you are strong!! They have never failed me before." Neo''s expression darkened... she was surprised that One noticed the fluctuation on her aura... One dashed towards Neo, and in the blink of an eye... She appeared before Neo, Her halberd was sent straight to Neo''s Right side, sweeping ferociously towards her waist. Neo Twisted her body away, and with a swing of her umbrella, the Halberd was directly parried away to the side, and a fist was sent towards One''s Guts... Bam!!!* A muffled grunt came out from Ones mouth as she was sent crashing towards the ground, creating a small crater. It took a few good seconds for One to regain her footing. Questions flooded her mind... What the hell happened? What was that? In the next moment, she was charging ferociously towards Neo. She repeatedly thrust towards Neo''s direction. Neo just simply opened her umbrella blocking all of Ones attacks. Neo smiled smugly, (This all you got miss alpha? That can''t be right? after all you did boast about your strength...) One gripped Her Weapon, glaring at Neo. "Heh, you fucking bitch... We''ll see... we''ll see... I''ll break that cocky smile of yours." She leapt up in the air, Gripping the halberd tight. Lightning condensed from her weapon, then it raged around her spear. She hurled her weapon towards Neo. A roar of thunder bellowed in the area, making the Grimm around them gain distance, their instincts telling them that they would die if they got hit. But before it could reach Neo, Lightning disappeared from her weapon, removing it''s might. Neo deflected her weapon, As One was shocked... Neo already intercepted the point where one would land, she dashed towards One. She sent a palm towards Ones chest, before stepping forward. She smashed into One like a train. One came into a violent halt, Then she knelt down coughing blood. *Kahaak! "What the fuck was that!?" Neo gave her a confident smile. (That''s a trade secret!) Neo said as she winked towards One. It was a series of techniques that she and Haruki practiced while they were still young. At first when they started practicing it, she wondered what it was. He only told her it was a form of martial art in his town. And when Haruki told her the truth, He also told her that it was, Senjutsu also known as Sage Arts. (A.N. : This is different from the one in Naruto. So don''t get your hopes up for some Rikudou Senjutsu.) It uses the Aura of a person, If you can use your aura to defend, you can also use it to attack. You minimize the defense of your aura, and focus it all in one point then strike. Sending ripples towards your opponent, causing a rebound inside. Although it mostly works on Grimm, for they have the opposite of the aura. But if the person doesn''t have any aura left, then it could damage the target greatly. Originally this technique used inner ki, or your battle spirit. But Haruki figured that using aura is easier, so he slightly modified it to suit his requirements. Although Neo was still a fledgling when it comes to senjutsu compared to Haruki, when it comes to her peers she is unbeatable in it. One Stood up once more charging at Neo, But she kept getting struck. Her inner organs are probably ruptured, She was bleeding from her eyes, nose, and ears. She spat out the blood as she smiled, "Not bad!! But you''re still hiding something!! This is not the extent of your powers!!" One cracked her neck and hands. Then cracking sounds came out of her body. Her armor was slowly removed, It revealed multiple scars. And wounds that were sewn shut after opening. Then Those scars reopened, with it came out multiple legs that looked like a Spiders, Hands that could extend like a Nuckelavee. Her arms were covered in spikes, Then Her face was covered by a bone face of an apathy. She looked horrifying... "Hehehehehe!!! I am the strongest of My mistress'' creations!! What now? still think that you can fight me while still holding back?" Expecting Neo to be horrified she stared at Neo with Her blood red eyes. *Click!* Neo took a picture of her... Neo''s eyes were glowing, (You look like the Creature from the old horror movie Haru showed me!!) "What!? you think this is a fucking joke!?" Neo tilted her head cutely. (How did you do that then?) One puffed He chest that had a gaping maw between it. As she explained towards Neo the genius of her Mistress. "You see, I''m not fully homunculus... I was a human. Although when mistress found me I was already dead... I was one of many to be used as a test for her homunculus project... She used artificial organs, then mixed it with Grimm parts that she could salvage, the way she did it is beyond me... But as she continued her tests I was the only one to survive. The burden of cramming Grimm parts on a dead body was immense so the others slowly broke down and disappeared. Then I don''t know how... but I opened my eyes to be surprised that I was alive... No memory of my past life... The first thing I saw was her, looking at me affectionately. I was The first doll she has successfully recreated... The pillar of the group, then slowly Our family grew and became big... There were now 3 more sisters. But since I was the first, I had to be the strongest. Even if four had been perfected, I had to be the strongest... For I am the pillar... The only protection they have against this cruel world. And yet as time passed by I noticed, something was wrong... Everytime we fail, She would look at us as if we were failures... What she wanted we''re perfect dolls, not People with emotions... For dolls cannot betray her. For dolls cannot ostracize her. For dolls cannot disobey her. FOR DOLLS COULD LOVE HER AND ONLY HER. That sick obsession lead her to change us even more, to replace more parts of me that made me human and turned it into Grimm... At first I thought she was only furthering her research, Well that was true... But her insanity was soon revealed, the perversion of her original goal, twisted because of her own past...." One looked at the broken glass beneath her feet, and all she saw was an unfamiliar monster... She laughed... "You see the only thing that''s left from my original body is my heart... I''ve repaired and replaced parts of myself a hundred times over, I swapped in parts of Grimm in and out so many times I can''t even remember to keep track... But my heart? this heart? it''s never been touched. So if I go and replace that with a Grimm''s, what happens? what then? Would I still be myself? or a fully fledged Grimm Homunculus... Can I confidently say that I''m still One? The pillar of our family or would it just be someone else wearing my skin!? Hahahahahahahahaha!!!! How ironic isn''t it? I''ve broken myself into so many pieces and replaced parts of me she didn''t like, so I could make her happy and protect my siblings.... But what if... eventually I''ve replaced everything, would I still be the one protecting them? would I still be the one making them happy!?" Neo was silent she was listening to One''s story... One smiled, "I''m surprised you didn''t take this chance to attack me..." Neo smiled, (Exposition purposes...) One wondered what she meant but she just brushed it off and continued. "You''re quite the weird one but... you''re not a bad person. You''re the first to treat me as an equal beside my siblings. You know besides the fact that were just dolls to her... We tried to justify our existence by telling ourselves and turning away from the truth, that our purpose is to serve... That''s probably why she thinks we''re flawed... Because of our own thoughts... Our own feelings caged by a predetermined symbol our master wanted us to represent... We''re more than that God fucking damnit! Why make us sentient in the first place if you wanted dolls!! I guess she could only curse her own genius for that... Well after she made us, she wanted to research about the essence of humans the soul... She thinks it''s the missing key point on her quest to make the perfect dolls. But she''s just making us more human like!! That''s fucking insane!! But at the end of it all, I will never defy her... Because she holds my sisters hostage. I may not be fully Homunculus... but my feelings for my sisters aren''t fake... We''re as real as it gets." One finished her monologue thinking that Neo didn''t bother to listen, but she was there waiting for her to finish... Listening from start to end... "Hehehehehehe, such a shame... if we weren''t standing on opposite sides I would have loved to fight along side you..." Neo nodded her head, she agreed on One''s sentiment. But deep down they both knew that it was only a pipe dream, An opponent is an opponent... They must not feel for the enemy, for it will only lead in death... When you stand on opposite sides it is inevitable... Between two groups of people, who have inconsistent kinds of worlds, there is no remedy but force... They know they didn''t have to fight... But it was necessary, for the people around them... (Shame... but we have our own job to do...) Neo said as she steadied her stance. One nodded her head. She roared towards the sky... Then... They charged towards one another, trying to end their meaningless battle. 52 Emergency announcemen @@ Sorry if there''s no chapter today... I just found out this morning that one of my close friends got into an accident, I''ll be visiting there for awhile. Sorry for the Inconvenience, there will be no chapter for a few days, but I will be back probably on Sunday or Monday. Thank you for your understanding! Sorry again.@@ 53 Chapter 44: Alpha and Omega part 2 A slightly chilly expression appeared in Aergia''s eyes as she observed the battle all around her. Three of her Homunculus has already died, the device she implanted on Two and Three''s Heart exploded... while Four''s heartbeat has stopped. She gripped her other arm, her nails dug into it until it bled. She thought to herself, ''Am I going to lose everything again!? How!? I''m not the weak little girl I used to be anymore!!! How the fuck is this possible!'' She glared at Haruki, Then she looked at one as She has already transformed and clashing with Neo. ''Goddamnit!! I need to end this quickly or sloth will take away my immortality... I think it''s about time I summon him... He''s not quite tuned for battle but whatever... as long as this mission isn''t considered a failure.'' One was glaring at Neo. One asked Neo... So... you want to hear a story huh? One abouttreasure hunters, One about A band of thieves that want to pull off the greatest Heist recorded in history!? Haha! Have I got a story for you... In Fortune City, Built on top of a Farr off planet beyond our galaxy. Called Phase-6. Fortune is a first generation "Floating City", built by libertarian political activists. The ship generally resides in the international Waters of the planet. To avoid unwarranted government regulations and only docks to "old cities" so they could interact with the locals. To make the image of Fortune holy or something... Law enforcement in Fortune has been outsourced to mercenaries. These corporate agents are highly corrupt and only loyal to their paycheck. Who knows who''s back would be stabbed Next. These corporate scum only want one thing, money and power. That''s why honest people like us get branded as criminals, calling us an illegal terrorist group stealing the data from the Companies and selling them to others. At first It was all nice and easy because everyone wanted to screw over each other so they could get the upper hand. Until the biggest company of them all noticed us, The biggest corporation that owns Four Planets including this one, PARADOX... They seek to uncover the hidden secrets this planet has that''s why they want us to steal the idol of Atum''Kha from the ethnics. To unlock the vast treasures hidden deep within. But we will steal it for ourselves... Some desired power, some desired Fame, some desired fortune. But us? we want Thrill!! We wanted to perform the greatest heist in human history! Fame and fortune would soon follow after. We call ourselves ''BULLET TIME'' and to be honest there''s only four of us. They were standing on top of of an airship owned by paradox. "Let''s blow shit up!!" She said as she took a swig of alcohol from her flask and brought out her favorite Hand cannon ''Ros¨¦''. She aimed at cockpit of the pilot and unloaded all 6 of her explosive bullets. *Boom!!!* "Damnit Carmilla! You alcoholic dumbass!! How are we supposed to land!?" She screamed towards the woman holding the hand cannon, as she dashed towards the next airship and slashed it in half with her giant laser sword. "You''re goddamn no different Adelaide! why the fuck are you destroying shit too!?" The silver haired petite girl reprimanded the strict looking lady. She hacked one of the airships and brought it closer to the airship carmilla destroyed. "Rookie! don''t be like these two muscle heads! Jump towards the cockpit and insert this. That would give us the data of their back up and drop off location." The rookie nodded as her brown and curly air got swept by the wind. "Roger that Edelweiss... I''ll hijack that ship." She jumped towards the plane. *crash!* She punched a hole to the window and tore of the roof of the cock pit. She tried to find the USB port but, there were so many buttons she jammed her fist through the Entire control panel. "Alter!! Why the hell are you doing it too!?" Edelweiss screamed as she face palmed over the incompetence of her team. Alter just scratched her head as she lowered her head. *Whistles* Edelweiss called her robot dog, Cerberus... The dog gave out three parachutes. She threw one to each of her team. Carmilla tilted her head. "What about you?" Edelweiss just grins and Cerberus became an exo-suit for her. She jumped down towards the paradox mining base, and activated her jetpacks. "You bast- -" but before carmilla could finish, alter and Adelaide has already jumped down after them. "Hahaha you dumbass! last one to the LZ buys lunch!" Adelaide screamed as she was dropping down. "See you later!" Alter said, as she followed suit. "Fine!! I just have to go right!? fuck!! I don''t have insurance for this!!!!!" Carmilla dropped down. As they gathered on the LZ, Equipment was waiting for them at the point. Adelaide asked, "So? what''s the plan?" But before Edelweiss could tell them her genius plan, Carmilla was already at the gate. "Fucking... You know what!? we''re going in guns blazing!!" She said as she loaded up her mounted missiles and fired at the gate. Carmilla took advantage of the confusion and entered the fray putting bullets in the heads of those corporate sleazebags. One soldier noticed the intruders and fell on his ass. "T-t-thats! that''s carmilla the one-eyed wolf of Carnage!! What the fuck is an SSS-list mercenary doing here!?" Another spotted edelweiss. "Huh!? Is that Edelweiss!? She was the hacker who dropped a satellite on the United Alliance military base!!" The soldier right next to him wondered if this was real. "What the fuck are you talking abo- -" He was interrupted as his head slid down away from his body. "Adelaide!? The sword of despair!!! I thought you were dismissed for betrayal!?" The soldier slowly stepped away from Adelaide. *Bump* He slowly looked behind, and he saw a girl with a scary expression staring at him. "W-who are you?" Alter just grinned, "Alter... The fist of destruction!!" *Bam!!* She punched the skull of the soldier as it exploded. They gathered together and shouted. ""And together were <> So leave your items and belongings behind! this is a motherfucking stick-up!!!"" *Booom* Explosions were heard from the distance. *Clap clap clap* "I''m impressed... I guess you do indeed live up to your name." A man suddenly appeared from the shadows as he applauded their entrance. He was wearing all black, except for a blank white mask. "Who the fuck are you!?" Carmilla screamed as she pointed her giant hand cannon towards his direction. "Don''t you remember me? my darling?" He said as he took of his mask, Revealed a long scar across his face. "It can''t be... Silent!?" But before carmilla could ask how he was alive, Alter dashed towards him. She sent a punch towards his direction. He smirked as he caught her fist. "Not quite there yet! little girl!!" Alter growled at him, "You bastard! you killed my friends!!" He grinned and kicked her in the stomach. "Although I applaud your bravery... you''re surrounded..." They looked around and laser pointers were aimed at every part of their body. "One wrong move and you''re dead..." Carmilla''s expression darkened as she asked. "Why!? I thought you were dead!?" Silent laughed madly, "FufufufufufufufufuHahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!! But of course it''s for one reason only!! APRIL FOOLS!!! Hehehehe hope you enjoyed this dumb prank, the real chapter will be uploaded later. 54 Chapter 44: Alpha and Omega part 2 A Slightly chilly expression appeared in Aergia''s eyes as she observed the battle all around her. Three of her Homunculus has already died, the device she implanted on Two and Three''s Heart exploded... while Four''s heartbeat has stopped. She gripped her other arm, her nails dug into it until it bled. She thought to herself, ''Am I going to lose everything again!? How!? I''m not the weak little girl I used to be anymore!!! How the fuck is this possible!'' She glared at Haruki, Then she looked at one as She has already transformed and clashing with Neo. ''Goddamnit!! I need to end this quickly or sloth will take away my immortality... I think it''s about time I summon him... He''s not quite tuned for battle but whatever... as long as this mission isn''t considered a failure.'' Aergia felt nothing when her dolls died, surprisingly even after all that, After all the care and love she gave towards her dolls. In the end she felt nothing? She lauded herself... ''How in the hell am I so cold?'' She asked herself, All those troubles I went through... just to make a homunculus... The feeling of pride as I saw my experiment succeed. The joy as I first saw my creations come to life. And yet when they''re gone she doesn''t even know what to feel. She doesn''t understand the feeling she has right now. But it oddly feels familiar, all those years ago a nostalgic feeling, She kept hidden deep inside her heart, The feeling of desperation, loneliness, and regret. She has long forgotten those emotions, because for her the only thing she required was the pursuit of power... Yet she doesn''t understand why she kept wanting to hear the praises of someone or something, even when they''re just dolls... She always wanted approval from someone... So she just stared at the battlefield, staring beyond the abyss... No one knew what she''s really thinking. The two clashed at great speeds, The ferocity of their battle was reaching it''s peak... But the both of them seemed to be still holding back. Yet One was enjoying their battle... She used her spider claws to barrage Neo with a flurry of attacks. Neo skillfully parried and traded blows with one. But the Nuckelavee hands that were coming out of Ones back, prevented her to make a blow hard enough to defeat One. "Hehehehehe, What is your name?" Neo gave an elegant bow, (Neo Politan, about to be Neo Kazama...) One furrowed her brows, "I feel like I see why you hide your strength now... You rely too much on that man, Your life revolves around to only that man... You think he''s some kind of savior god sent you? a helping hand away from..." One spread her hands around pointing at different Grimm. "Away from all this madness, You put him in an immortalized pedestal, thinking that he''s unbeatable... But you get so scared once danger looms above him, thinking that when he disappeared... what then? The meaning of your life gone, like an instant... is that it?" One asked Neo, but she got no answer from her, just absolute silence as she gripped her weapon. One felt Her sisters die one by one, She gripped her halberd, She was glaring at the direction of Aergia. Then she calmly looked at Neo, She bellowed at Neo. All her bottled up anger... "Give me a fucking break!! I''ve seen first hand what it does to you!! Blind devotion is not Love!! " Deep down she projected the faith and love of her sisters towards Aergia, on Neo''s love for Haruki. "That''s fucking unsightly... Do you really think his world revolves only around you? He has so many women around him, do you really think he gives a damn about every one of you? that he doesn''t play favorites? How can you say that love you have for him is real and not just dependency? You''ve made him a part of your life far too long, now the thought of separating with him scares you... Do you really think he feels the same way?? Ate you that stupid or are you blinded by your own complacency?" Neo still silent as she dashed towards One, She spun her umbrella around like a ballerina, She was one with her weapon. One used all of her limbs to even prevent Neo to get a strike in. Neo was quick on her feet, One could barely follow her, Everytime that she strikes on which she thinks is Neo''s opening... Her image shattered like glass. "Yes!! That''s it!! A far cry from the person I fought before... Did I strike a chord in your mind that I shouldn''t have??" She stepped back because the pressure on Neo''s attacks were getting stronger. Faint lightning could be seen surrounding her strikes. One grinned and taunted Neo even more. "The inability to even make your own choices, without the reassurance of your lover... Intense fear of abandonment, Like you can''t live without him... Pessimism, making the other believe that you are unable to care for yourself... Willingly accepting and tolerating abuse from them, just so they would reciprocate their love for you!? What kind of Fantasy are you fucking living in!?" One combined the Grimm limbs that were protruding from her back into one large Stinger that she could willingly control. She swooped her stinger towards Neo, Neo immediately vaulted over the large thing. As she touched the surface a hand suddenly came out. It grabbed her arm, One immediately took this chance to stab towards Neo. As she came closer towards her Neo discharged electricity everywhere. *Bzzzt!!! Bzzzzt!* One was immobilized as Neo slammed her weapon covered in lightning. One was flung away towards the Grimm. The Grimm immediately charged towards Neo, but then the moon was suddenly covered by the dark clouds below it. *Boom!* A booming thunder suddenly struck down, towards Neo''s immediate area. The Grimm were decimated, Her eyes exuded lightning, Her hands were covered in electricity as she was floating above the Carnage she created. Sparks flew out, The Grimm surrounding her were all burnt into a crisp. Helpless against the power she just demonstrated. One slowly stood up, as her Grimm limbs impaled the Grimm surrounding her. "Hahahahahaha!!, I must''ve affected you a great deal to hit me with your Maiden powers..." Now was smiling this time... She was confident, she showed that her anger a while ago was just acting... (I only pretended to be affected by your ramblings... I''ve long overcome this obstacle. But having been through this crap... I noticed something, it takes one to know one am I right?) One laughed, "Hahahahahahha although I admit I did compare you to my sisters devotion towards our mistress... that was why I was so pissed." Neo shook her head as she landed on the floor. (That''s not what I meant, You cling to your sisters to justify your own reason to live. Your dependency towards them has made you a self-satisfied arrogant idiot, that failed to see your own hypocrisy.) One scoffed as she readied her stance. "That''s the pot calling the kettle black!!" Neo then walked towards One slowly, (Don''t get me wrong, it''s not that I''m not a hypocrite myself, I''ve been there before... But the thing is, we must deal with it alone. The best we can hope for... The only silver lining in all of this... is when we breakthrough, we find a few familiar faces waiting on the other side.) One laughed madly as she crossed blades with Neo, Neo created a sword made of flames that had electricity surrounding it. They clashed, One spun her halberd and used her Spike to propell her upwards as she stabbed the ground, as she was in the air the large spike split into countless knuckelavee hands extending towards Neo. Neo spun her blades as she created a barrier made of lightning. The hands were electrified One was sent toppling down. As One dropped back down, she kicked the ground to charge towards Neo, She used the hands as distractions. Neo saw through this as she just dodged the hands, and went straight to One. They clashed blades once more, Now had a barrier of lightning while One used her Grimm limbs to Stave off damage from herself. "Why can''t you see it!? When you come right down to it, at it''s core, beneath all this flowery words. You still rely on that man!!" She said as she pushed Neo away. Neo flew up in the air and stuck bolts of lightning towards her. (Sure! I rely on him, But that doesn''t mean it is just reliance, it''s just a shoulder to lean on whenever I feel tired. besides I know my love for him is as real as it gets! I''ve spent most of my life with him!) One tilted her head as she growled towards Neo. "How do you know that it''s real?? Time!? Time doesn''t quantify anything! it just let''s you know you''re one more fucking minute closer towards death!! how do we know that there''s meaning in all of this!? that were not just making the best of what comes at us, and that''s it? Trying constantly to choose between two shitty options? Like what food to eat, what to drink... It''s all part of the same fucking blur!! Right!? Just out of focus enough to distract you from the mundanity of everyday life!?" She said as she staved off Neo''s lightning strikes. "A duty was shoved into me the minute I was reborn!! I wasn''t allowed to say no, a predetermined set of choices was laid upon me by monste- - , no... by beings of even greater power... and for what? their own fucking amusement!? There is no grander plan thrust upon me by my creator, just be obedient and survive!!" Neo was feeling the anger of one, She was forced to step back for one made a giant fist from the Grimm parts, and sent a punch towards her direction. One continued, "This is the world we live in... People relying on each other''s mistakes to manipulate one another, use one another, even relate to one another. A warm messy circle... That''s fucked up don''t you think?" Neo shook her head, (Being able to rely on someone is great... although I can''t deny that most use this to manipulate others... even finding the right person is equally taxing. But when you do you jump right in and you don''t look back.) One smiled, "Easy for you to say, when you''re standing in my position right now... I wonder what you would feel?" Neo spoke, "I did... I was there before, so jaded from the world, I was disillusioned from humanity''s own wretchedness. Even the people who were supposed to care and make me feel safe abandoned me... Everyday I had to steal for food, it''s like I''m living in a fucking fishbowl Half of my life as far as I can remember I have been stealing, even when Roman took me in, I still had to steal... I look around. same shit, different day. The buildings, the people, even the sound. Always the same. I''m on a loop. And it won''t stop unless my life does. I was exhausted with this world. Until He came along and made me believe... to feel more human than any monster in existence... He knew about my innate power and he still chose to believe in me...He never once feared me. He even showed me a way to control that power, to make use of it or my benefit... He''s that kind of man... He''s the man I fell in love with, so even if you tell me that this is just reliance towards him? So fucking be it! I''m marrying that man and I have plenty of fucking time to figure out and understand how a relationship works!" Neo puffed her chest as she said it proudly. She dispelled all the lightning that was surrounding her. One took this opportunity to attack Neo. "And that was makes you weak! Your confidence towards that man can prove your folly, and shows your vulnerability!!" Neo smirked towards her, She steadied her stance. She used the very first move Haruki taught her, Gentle Fist. It was the basis of senjutsu, gathering all the aura or energy around the world to a single point, then send out a devastating punch. Since Neo was a maiden her dust and aura manipulation is second to none... It was a move Haruki thought fitted her, Her smile was as gentle as her, but hidden deep within was unrivaled power. One threw away her halberd as she tried to grab Neo with her arms and Kill herself along with her. Neo swiftly dodged towards the side and gathered her aura towards one point. She struck One on her chest area. They crossed one another, One looked behind her with her eyes Open. "I don''t use my maiden powers, not because of fear of people being afraid of me, it''s because I found something better..." One coughed out blood as she knelt down, forcing herself to stand back up, but Neo''s gentle fist devastated the organs inside her, it also disrupted the Grimm negative aura inside her, as Neo injected her with vast amount of aura. *Cough!!! "Don''t tell me that power is the fucking power of love or some shit..." As One looked behind her she just saw Neo smiling. *Splat* Her blood flowed from her mouth an Nose, dripping down to the ground... *Cough!! "Damnit I really hate that smug smile of yours... Heh... Good talk... Good talk..." She said as she fell to the ground, her last vestiges of life was snuffed out. Neo looked towards Haruki''s Direction... "Beat em up! Dum dum..." The others arrived at Neo''s Location after a quick rest, Pyrrha was still looking glum but as she saw everyone safe she felt a little bit better. Neo was sitting down on the rubble as she twirled her umbrella, seemingly uninjured. Cinder thought to herself, This couple is truly a monster duo... Ozpin was overlooking the battle as he appeared behind Qrow. He was frowning as he saw the Carnage the sinners made... They all observed his battle... Hoping that he could end this madness. 52 Chapter 44: Alpha and Omega part 2 A Slightly chilly expression appeared in Aergia''s eyes as she observed the battle all around her. Three of her Homunculus has already died, the device she implanted on Two and Three''s Heart exploded... while Four''s heartbeat has stopped. She gripped her other arm, her nails dug into it until it bled. She thought to herself, ''Am I going to lose everything again!? How!? I''m not the weak little girl I used to be anymore!!! How the fuck is this possible!'' She glared at Haruki, Then she looked at one as She has already transformed and clashing with Neo. ''Goddamnit!! I need to end this quickly or sloth will take away my immortality... I think it''s about time I summon him... He''s not quite tuned for battle but whatever... as long as this mission isn''t considered a failure.'' Aergia felt nothing when her dolls died, surprisingly even after all that, After all the care and love she gave towards her dolls. In the end she felt nothing? She lauded herself... ''How in the hell am I so cold?'' She asked herself, All those troubles I went through... just to make a homunculus... The feeling of pride as I saw my experiment succeed. The joy as I first saw my creations come to life. And yet when they''re gone she doesn''t even know what to feel. She doesn''t understand the feeling she has right now. But it oddly feels familiar, all those years ago a nostalgic feeling, She kept hidden deep inside her heart, The feeling of desperation, loneliness, and regret. She has long forgotten those emotions, because for her the only thing she required was the pursuit of power... Yet she doesn''t understand why she kept wanting to hear the praises of someone or something, even when they''re just dolls... She always wanted approval from someone... So she just stared at the battlefield, staring beyond the abyss... No one knew what she''s really thinking. The two clashed at great speeds, The ferocity of their battle was reaching it''s peak... But the both of them seemed to be still holding back. Yet One was enjoying their battle... She used her spider claws to barrage Neo with a flurry of attacks. Neo skillfully parried and traded blows with one. But the Nuckelavee hands that were coming out of Ones back, prevented her to make a blow hard enough to defeat One. "Hehehehehe, What is your name?" Neo gave an elegant bow, (Neo Politan, about to be Neo Kazama...) One furrowed her brows, "I feel like I see why you hide your strength now... You rely too much on that man, Your life revolves around to only that man... You think he''s some kind of savior god sent you? a helping hand away from..." One spread her hands around pointing at different Grimm. "Away from all this madness, You put him in an immortalized pedestal, thinking that he''s unbeatable... But you get so scared once danger looms above him, thinking that when he disappeared... what then? The meaning of your life gone, like an instant... is that it?" One asked Neo, but she got no answer from her, just absolute silence as she gripped her weapon. One felt Her sisters die one by one, She gripped her halberd, She was glaring at the direction of Aergia. Then she calmly looked at Neo, She bellowed at Neo. All her bottled up anger... "Give me a fucking break!! I''ve seen first hand what it does to you!! Blind devotion is not Love!! " Deep down she projected the faith and love of her sisters towards Aergia, on Neo''s love for Haruki. "That''s fucking unsightly... Do you really think his world revolves only around you? He has so many women around him, do you really think he gives a damn about every one of you? that he doesn''t play favorites? How can you say that love you have for him is real and not just dependency? You''ve made him a part of your life far too long, now the thought of separating with him scares you... Do you really think he feels the same way?? Ate you that stupid or are you blinded by your own complacency?" Neo still silent as she dashed towards One, She spun her umbrella around like a ballerina, She was one with her weapon. One used all of her limbs to even prevent Neo to get a strike in. Neo was quick on her feet, One could barely follow her, Everytime that she strikes on which she thinks is Neo''s opening... Her image shattered like glass. "Yes!! That''s it!! A far cry from the person I fought before... Did I strike a chord in your mind that I shouldn''t have??" She stepped back because the pressure on Neo''s attacks were getting stronger. Faint lightning could be seen surrounding her strikes. One grinned and taunted Neo even more. "The inability to even make your own choices, without the reassurance of your lover... Intense fear of abandonment, Like you can''t live without him... Pessimism, making the other believe that you are unable to care for yourself... Willingly accepting and tolerating abuse from them, just so they would reciprocate their love for you!? What kind of Fantasy are you fucking living in!?" One combined the Grimm limbs that were protruding from her back into one large Stinger that she could willingly control. She swooped her stinger towards Neo, Neo immediately vaulted over the large thing. As she touched the surface a hand suddenly came out. It grabbed her arm, One immediately took this chance to stab towards Neo. As she came closer towards her Neo discharged electricity everywhere. *Bzzzt!!! Bzzzzt!* One was immobilized as Neo slammed her weapon covered in lightning. One was flung away towards the Grimm. The Grimm immediately charged towards Neo, but then the moon was suddenly covered by the dark clouds below it. *Boom!* A booming thunder suddenly struck down, towards Neo''s immediate area. The Grimm were decimated, Her eyes exuded lightning, Her hands were covered in electricity as she was floating above the Carnage she created. Sparks flew out, The Grimm surrounding her were all burnt into a crisp. Helpless against the power she just demonstrated. One slowly stood up, as her Grimm limbs impaled the Grimm surrounding her. "Hahahahahaha!!, I must''ve affected you a great deal to hit me with your Maiden powers..." Now was smiling this time... She was confident, she showed that her anger a while ago was just acting... (I only pretended to be affected by your ramblings... I''ve long overcome this obstacle. But having been through this crap... I noticed something, it takes one to know one am I right?) One laughed, "Hahahahahahha although I admit I did compare you to my sisters devotion towards our mistress... that was why I was so pissed." Neo shook her head as she landed on the floor. (That''s not what I meant, You cling to your sisters to justify your own reason to live. Your dependency towards them has made you a self-satisfied arrogant idiot, that failed to see your own hypocrisy.) One scoffed as she readied her stance. "That''s the pot calling the kettle black!!" Neo then walked towards One slowly, (Don''t get me wrong, it''s not that I''m not a hypocrite myself, I''ve been there before... But the thing is, we must deal with it alone. The best we can hope for... The only silver lining in all of this... is when we breakthrough, we find a few familiar faces waiting on the other side.) One laughed madly as she crossed blades with Neo, Neo created a sword made of flames that had electricity surrounding it. They clashed, One spun her halberd and used her Spike to propell her upwards as she stabbed the ground, as she was in the air the large spike split into countless knuckelavee hands extending towards Neo. Neo spun her blades as she created a barrier made of lightning. The hands were electrified One was sent toppling down. As One dropped back down, she kicked the ground to charge towards Neo, She used the hands as distractions. Neo saw through this as she just dodged the hands, and went straight to One. They clashed blades once more, Now had a barrier of lightning while One used her Grimm limbs to Stave off damage from herself. "Why can''t you see it!? When you come right down to it, at it''s core, beneath all this flowery words. You still rely on that man!!" She said as she pushed Neo away. Neo flew up in the air and stuck bolts of lightning towards her. (Sure! I rely on him, But that doesn''t mean it is just reliance, it''s just a shoulder to lean on whenever I feel tired. besides I know my love for him is as real as it gets! I''ve spent most of my life with him!) One tilted her head as she growled towards Neo. "How do you know that it''s real?? Time!? Time doesn''t quantify anything! it just let''s you know you''re one more fucking minute closer towards death!! how do we know that there''s meaning in all of this!? that were not just making the best of what comes at us, and that''s it? Trying constantly to choose between two shitty options? Like what food to eat, what to drink... It''s all part of the same fucking blur!! Right!? Just out of focus enough to distract you from the mundanity of everyday life!?" She said as she staved off Neo''s lightning strikes. "A duty was shoved into me the minute I was reborn!! I wasn''t allowed to say no, a predetermined set of choices was laid upon me by monste- - , no... by beings of even greater power... and for what? their own fucking amusement!? There is no grander plan thrust upon me by my creator, just be obedient and survive!!" Neo was feeling the anger of one, She was forced to step back for one made a giant fist from the Grimm parts, and sent a punch towards her direction. One continued, "This is the world we live in... People relying on each other''s mistakes to manipulate one another, use one another, even relate to one another. A warm messy circle... That''s fucked up don''t you think?" Neo shook her head, (Being able to rely on someone is great... although I can''t deny that most use this to manipulate others... even finding the right person is equally taxing. But when you do you jump right in and you don''t look back.) One smiled, "Easy for you to say, when you''re standing in my position right now... I wonder what you would feel?" Neo spoke, "I did... I was there before, so jaded from the world, I was disillusioned from humanity''s own wretchedness. Even the people who were supposed to care and make me feel safe abandoned me... Everyday I had to steal for food, it''s like I''m living in a fucking fishbowl Half of my life as far as I can remember I have been stealing, even when Roman took me in, I still had to steal... I look around. same shit, different day. The buildings, the people, even the sound. Always the same. I''m on a loop. And it won''t stop unless my life does. I was exhausted with this world. Until He came along and made me believe... to feel more human than any monster in existence... He knew about my innate power and he still chose to believe in me...He never once feared me. He even showed me a way to control that power, to make use of it or my benefit... He''s that kind of man... He''s the man I fell in love with, so even if you tell me that this is just reliance towards him? So fucking be it! I''m marrying that man and I have plenty of fucking time to figure out and understand how a relationship works!" Neo puffed her chest as she said it proudly. She dispelled all the lightning that was surrounding her. One took this opportunity to attack Neo. "And that was makes you weak! Your confidence towards that man can prove your folly, and shows your vulnerability!!" Neo smirked towards her, She steadied her stance. She used the very first move Haruki taught her, Gentle Fist. It was the basis of senjutsu, gathering all the aura or energy around the world to a single point, then send out a devastating punch. Since Neo was a maiden her dust and aura manipulation is second to none... It was a move Haruki thought fitted her, Her smile was as gentle as her, but hidden deep within was unrivaled power. One threw away her halberd as she tried to grab Neo with her arms and Kill herself along with her. Neo swiftly dodged towards the side and gathered her aura towards one point. She struck One on her chest area. They crossed one another, One looked behind her with her eyes Open. "I don''t use my maiden powers, not because of fear of people being afraid of me, it''s because I found something better..." One coughed out blood as she knelt down, forcing herself to stand back up, but Neo''s gentle fist devastated the organs inside her, it also disrupted the Grimm negative aura inside her, as Neo injected her with vast amount of aura. *Cough!!! "Don''t tell me that power is the fucking power of love or some shit..." As One looked behind her she just saw Neo smiling. *Splat* Her blood flowed from her mouth an Nose, dripping down to the ground... *Cough!! "Damnit I really hate that smug smile of yours... Heh... Good talk... Good talk..." She said as she fell to the ground, her last vestiges of life was snuffed out. Neo looked towards Haruki''s Direction... "Beat em up! Dum dum..." The others arrived at Neo''s Location after a quick rest, Pyrrha was still looking glum but as she saw everyone safe she felt a little bit better. Neo was sitting down on the rubble as she twirled her umbrella, seemingly uninjured. Cinder thought to herself, This couple is truly a monster duo... Ozpin was overlooking the battle as he appeared behind Qrow. He was frowning as he saw the Carnage the sinners made... They all observed his battle... Hoping that he could end this madness. 53 Chapter 45: Path of the Shura Part 1 Haruki and Eris were surrounded by Amalgamated Grimm. The Grimm were standing still. The part of them that was still human is telling them to stay put. The part of them that was Grimm was instinctively trying to run and survive. The clash between the two was unworldly, Haruki uses brute strength to put pressure on the other. While Eris uses her skill honed from countless of battles to fend off his attacks. They both tried to make some distance away from each other. Eris gave Haruki a mocking stare, she raised her eyebrows. "Lord Pride thought it''s important to take measurements against you... our sole enemy who could even threaten us, and yet I find you... lacking." Haruki smirked, He raised his blade and pointed it towards Eris. "I''ve dealt with your kind before, and I''ve put him in the ground. Soon you''ll be joining them." He spun his blade, he held it in an reverse grip. He charged towards Eris, As he neared He spun his blade. Eris parried, Haruki was relentless on his strikes. Eris noticed something, He was using a different style each time he strikes, mixing it up to confuse her. He kept the pressure on, His mournful vengeance tripled his damage output every fourth strike. But Eris parried all of it, she felt the weight on his attacks. But she just shrugged it off, she just redirected the force from his blade to their surroundings. "What''s this? You rely too much on brute strength behind your strikes, I''m quite disappointed... if you could beat corvus into that state I was expecting you to put up a fight..." Haruki just shrugged his shoulders, "I kinda expected that you''re strong... after all you are Pride''s Sinner... But that arrogance is exactly why... it''ll cost you..." He attacked once more, Faster this time. Eris was surprised, He was using his mixed style efficiently, it was like he has been using this for years. "What''s wrong Eris? That was only a warm-up..." Eris scoffed, She closed her eyes... Silence dominated the battlefield, The Grimm that stood behind her, as if they were disappearing. His senses telling him to ignore everything else, Just focus on the opponent right in front of you. She was strength. She was Power. She was skill itself. She was just standing there and yet the battle aura that she exudes was far greater than any that he has seen. Haruki''s expression turned glum. His hairs stood on end. His instincts telling him to run. But he was frozen stiff, paralyzed. like a frog eyed by a predator. Everything in his surrounding disappeared, he solely focused his attention towards Eris. Eris opened her eyes, She immediately disappeared. Her stab reached the limits of speed and surprise, There was basically no leeway for Haruki to dodge. However, in what appeared to be the same instant, Haruki swerved his upper body into an arc, Evading the incoming stab. But In the next instant the second stab was already underway, then the third, it took Eris twenty stabs to finally injure Haruki. He got stabbed in his shoulders, Grimacing from the pain. He summoned his void bats to consume the other Grimm to heal him. Eris stood still and watched in amusement. "Don''t you have other weapons? why don''t you use them? and what about your semblance?" Eris stabbed her sword towards the ground, "The power that''s hiding inside you could bring peace to remnant... Only you could brave the horrors of the Sins, stand up to their power. Which is why you gotta die..." Haruki slowly healed his injuries, and it seems as if Eris was waiting for him to finish healing and gaining strength. Eris uprooted her sword from the ground, she waved it to remove the dirt. "I will use other weapons if... and only if you use your own. Be it magic or a semblance I don''t give a fuck. As long as you don''t use other weapons or tricks, I won''t be using mine." Haruki said as he charged at Eris. Eris received his blade, "You''re going to battle me on pride!? You!? The proud man always wants to do the right thing is that it!?But you want to do it with your own strength? You''re not fighting me then!! you''re fighting with yourself!" She kicked Haruki on the stomach as his strikes were countered. Eris continued, "Pride is my domain!! Behind every argument lies someone''s ignorance!" Haruki laughed, "It''s not pride it''s Honor..." Eris laughed, "Look around you!! You stand among the ashes of a trillion dead souls, and ask the ghosts if honor mattered... Their silence is your answer." Haruki stood up, Eris''s expression darkened... "You still try and fight!? You''ve already lost! you are no match from me! Unless you throw away that meaningless pride of yours! you won''t be able to fight me!" Haruki Gripped his blade, "Are you really telling me to let go of pride to fight you? a sinner of pride lecturing me about being humble!? How ironic is that?" Eris waved her arms around, "Pride is a personal commitment. It is an attitude which separates excellence from mediocrity." Haruki activated his lightning form, And tried to strike Eris from behind. At this moment , Eris''s body suddenly turned dim as she did a backflip. His strike missed the target once more, And Eris stabbed her blade towards the ground to do a backflip once more, trying to increase the distance between them. Haruki immediately gave chase, He used his lightning form once more, They traded blades. Haruki was using his fastest speed to strike but it was met by Eris''s blade each time. Haruki bellowed,"Well where''s that semblance or any trace of magic? it''s only fair if you show yours..." Eris laughed, "Semblance? Magic? Special weapons? I don''t have none of those... Ever since I was young I had none of those... I wasn''t blessed by magic, nor was I blessed with a semblance... An unlucky star... I was caged by my family! My only talent was the sword... I never really anything to take pride in but my swordplay... and yet my father ignored all of this... He wanted me to be just an eye candy...I was shackled and caged. I was forbidden to interact with anyone, but my sister... No one was to touch me except her... She was just like me, but she could roam outside freely her beauty was equal to her power..." Eris was retelling her story as they clashed blades. Haruki thought he could use this chance to distract and attack her but it was useless, her skill was unparalleled. Eris continued, "She was my lucky star... and yet when the kingdom fell... I was stuck down there...The kingdom was burned to the ground by Salem''s followers. I had to watch my sister get used and killed right in front of me as she tried to free me. But my cage was special... It was an ancient relic from the age of magic." Eris''s strikes we''re getting more erratic. As her emotions slowly resurfaced. "I was helpless!! I couldn''t even save the only thing that kept me alive... So those bastards showed me... Everything they did... What they did to her... WAS UNFORGIVABLE!!! She was like the sun on my dark days, but honestly every day was a dark day... being caged and all that. Those monsters figured that they can''t open it anyway... So I lay there motionlessly as I watch my sister plead and beg, only to be silenced by her own blood choking her..." The feeling of helplessness... She has begun to feel non-existent. She had no strength to retaliate, as she lost the very reason that kept her alive all this time. She gripped her sword Her strikes we''re getting more and more ferocious. Haruki was being backed into a corner. "I couldn''t even she''d any tears... maybe I cried for days, weeks... years... I don''t know how long... it was probably a thousand or more... This accursed mark made me watch my sister become nothing but bones, forever stuck there to stare at her cold corpse... I asked for help until my throat dried up... yet no one could hear me buried by the ashes of days gone by,That was who I was... That was what I am... I was nothing... to anyone. to everyone. Then the cage finally couldn''t stand the test of time... I was set loose, my hatred for the world was set loose, as I stared at the remains of my sister... the reminder of my pain. I realized those that killed her were long dead. I had no purpose, so why was I even set lose? what was the point? I was... I am disgusted by the selfish brutality of the world." As she was talking Haruki managed to get a hit in. Eris was wounded on her cheek, blood slowly trickled down. She held her face, anger surfaced from her expression. She stared at Haruki as she stared at the blood she wiped from her face. The structure of the human body possessed many restrictions, even if one excelled in skills and techniques, anyone would be at wits end when facing something much stronger... But Eris wasn''t like this, Even beneath her anger and hatred, She was smiling madly. It was the first time someone has lasted this long In a battle against her... Even against terrifying monsters she never backed down, she wanted to experience the thrill of being so close to death, She enjoyed the feeling of death. Her longing for it, amplified by her longing for her sister... Then suddenly as the two were clashing blades. *Crack!* Her blade was smashed, broken into pieces... this wasn''t her first blade, but every time it breaks she would choose a traditional long sword, no extra gimmicks just a normal blade. Eris looked at Aergia, She sighed as she tossed another Long sword towards Eris. Eris caught the blade and vanished into thin air once more. *Clang clang clang* Haruki had to use lightning form to even keep up. "Everytime that I fight I''m always giving it my all!! That is my pride! My trait! So if you''re still holding back you better go all out! For not even once did I hold back." Haruki was silent, he realized that Eris wasn''t holding back at all, He was only insulting her pride by holding back. He Turned into a jet black werewolf, he summoned warmonger as his mournful vengeance slowly disappeared. He immediately sent a punch towards Eris, she ducked and sent a kick to his stomach. Haruki stepped back to soften the damage but she was already dashing towards him. They traded blows but even after all this Haruki was still forced to be on the defensive. Haruki was thrown backwards. He slowly stood up as he spat out blood. "Sigh... even after all this I''m still no match for your sword play..." He undid his transformation, and stretched his muscles. "Are you giving up?" Eris narrowed her eyes, seemingly dissatisfied by the outcome. Haruki shook his head, "No... it''s something that I am really reluctant to use... it''s sealed inside of me... deep down. Caged along with my past filled with bloodshed. It was a style taught to me, power of destruction. Murdering everyone for the sole sake of getting more power... It exists only because it is fueled by conflict itself..." Neo and the others went closer to observe their battle after clearing the Grimm blocking the way. What they saw was a different Haruki all together. It was his past self that was drowned in blood and despair, it was as if a switch was flipped. His atmosphere, his entire being went cold. "Old man... it seems I have to use this again." He exhaled and opened his eyes. Eris shuddered, it was like she was fighting a different person all together. Haruki slowly stepped forward, and yet every step he took shook the atmosphere. It was heavy it was as if they were drowning in blood, hatred, and killing intent. Haruki clenched his fist, and sent a punch towards Her. Boom!* The air shook, Eris dodged but she was sent flying backwards. She was shocked, His strike was different. It was a technique Haruki has used for the longest time. The Path of Blood. The Path of Carnage. The Path of Shura. 54 Chapter 46: Path of the Shura Part 2 Do you want power? Yes I said to him... Do you want to get out of this God forsaken planet? Yes! I screamed. Do you want to bring down those who oppressed you!? Give back all the pain you have suffered!? YES!! I kept saying yes towards him, I treated him like a savior, a ticket out of this wretched place. That was the first thing the man told Haruki, He gave him an ideal, a cause, a purpose instead of just simply trying to survive... To give back the pain... It took a tragedy for humans to speak up, he has always thought it was childish... Bound hands crushed under the weight of the world''s feet. He sold me a broken dream, With lies stained with blood. I believed him for the longest time unable to see the madness beneath his eyes. All along he was leading me to a path no one could come back from. Good thing I met ''her'' , She showed me there''s more to life than hatred and anger. But that man didn''t want that... in the path of shura, attachments were unneeded, He tried to control me... I don''t want to be controlled, So I killed him... The man who saved me... After an arduous battle, both of us covered in each other''s blood. I walked towards him as he lay on his own pool of blood. I strangled him to death just with my hands, it felt like he let me... It was a strange sensation. Something so tremendous done by something so simple... The first ten seconds were uncomfortable, a feeling of limbo, then you tense up, He struggles for a bit, but it all disappeared in the background along with everything else... That moment stayed with me, I thought I''d feel guilty killing the man who saved me, but oddly enough I don''t. What I felt was disappointment, the strongest man I knew died just like that. I came to a realization that in the end people are just people. When it comes down to it, Everyone was just as vulnerable as I was... It felt like he wanted to tell me that, No one is exempt from death. The only thing that was different was the way people handled those vulnerabilities. I sealed that part of me deep along with that deep seated hatred within my psyche. I thought I would never have to show it again... My vulnerability, I called it a mask, Tried to make myself believe that it''s not me... But how to I take off a mask when it stops being a mask, When it''sas much as a part of me as I am? Haruki slowly brushed his hair backwards. *Fuuuu* He breathed, As he glared at Eris... His killing intent was like a flood, drowning all those that surrounded him. Everyone felt it brush past their skin. Eris frowned, clearly this was like a different opponent for her, Her entire being was being bore down by the immense pressure. She was grinning, For the first time in years she felt what it was like... to feel fear, to feel like the edge of the blade was pointed in her direction. Haruki laughed as he spoke, "I always thought that this part of me was going to be cured as long as I let go of my Hatred... But I was wrong... I''m just as much of a battle junkie just like he was... In the end I can''t throw away the part of me that was the most human of all... My desire for power and conflict." Eris laughed, "Hahahahaha, I get it now... this was what corvus must''ve felt... He was excited to meet a battle junkie just like him." She dashed towards Haruki and clashed blades with him. "You warmongers really think the same!" Haruki met her with his mournful vengeance, He was using his own style. Not the skills he devoured. Haruki grinned at Eris''s remark, "Then why are you grinning from ear to ear then?" Eris stepped back, she held her mouth, and felt that it was tilted upwards into a full blown smile. Haruki thought that Even her crazy grin was beautiful, "Shame that I have to ruin that pretty face of yours..." Eris locked blades with him once more, the speed of their blades surpassed the speed before it. "I am more than a pretty face!!" She screamed towards him as she slashed towards his face. Haruki caught the blade between his palms. Eris was surprised, it was her fastest speed and yet he saw through it. Aergia on the background was getting impatient, She had her dolls killed for nothing... She thought to herself, ''This bitch Eris could''ve killed him earlier, why the fuck is she dragging this on?'' Aergia bellowed towards the both of them, "Why do you fight so hard to defend the humans!? Human history is written in a litany of bloodshed over government and afterlife!!" Haruki spoke as he defended from Eris''s strikes, "It''s not about saving them, it''s about what I''m going to lose if I back down." Aergia scoffed, as she was once like that... but when she lost her creations all she felt was cold indifference. He steadied his stance He sheathed his blade, It was an iaido stance, but something was different. The Aura he exuded disappeared as soon as he sheathed his blade. But the pressure remained. Eris ignored the alarm bells ringing inside her head to run, as she dashed towards Haruki. <> Countless slashes covered the entire area, a dazzling radiance emanated from his strikes, As if the space itself twisted, it was like cutting space. Eris Blocked multiple strikes, but She had tiny cuts all over her body. "Wow... color me impressed Miss Eris... you managed to block your vitals..." Eris smirked, "Hehehehehehe, this is the first time I have been wounded like this!" She excitedly dashed towards Haruki once more. He blocked her flurry of attacks. Haruki grinned, "Oh! Don''t worry baby... I''ll be taking more of your firsts later..." Eris tilted her head, but she ignored it and steadied her stance. "It seems this time were equally matched.." Eris noticed that Haruki was different this time... He was like a different person. "Indeed a perfect match..." Haruki said as he jumped upwards, and sent a downward thrust towards Eris, "Hmph! But not quite there yet!" Aergia was pissed as she observed the two, "Are you two trying to kill each other or not!? for fucks sake!!" Eris glared at Aergia for interrupting her, "Stop interfering! This is between me and him!" Haruki immediately attacked Eris while she was distracted, "Hey! Don''t you think you''re ignoring your date a little too much?" Eris raised her hands to block, causing her body to sink down. Using the force of his attack, Eris pushed high into the air before smashing her elbow directly onto Haruki stomach like a clap of thunder. *Bang!* But Haruki didn''t step back not one bit, He was even grinning. Although his body sank as his center of gravity was forced to it''s lowest critical point. Meanwhile, Eris landed down on the ground. She distanced herself slightly, then took advantage of Haruki''s shifted center of gravity. Bang... Her spinning kick landed directly onto Haruki''s chest. He flew over ten meters over the booming impact. This caused him to stagger a few steps. "What? can''t bear to part with me?" Haruki smilingly said. Eris tilted her head as she wondered what he meant. "You could''ve taken that chance to kill me..." Eris''s smile widened, grinning from ear to ear as if she finally met her match. "It would be a shame to end it early..." She dashed once more towards his direction. Haruki steadied his stance and sheathed his blade once more, *Fuuuhh* He took a deep breath once more to calm him down. If he didn''t he wouldn''t be able to control himself right now. He opened his eyes and struck at the approach of Eris towards him. <> Eris slashed overhead, But her strike was met, Then 8 strikes from every direction came at her continuously. *Clang clang clang!!!* She parried off all his strikes, Every time she blocks an attack, it gets heavier. It was like another attack was stacked on one another. Eris parried off the final strike, surprisingly she felt like she knows this fighting style. "The way you fight... I must admit it is beautiful... and somehow it feels nostalgic. No wasted movement, just the Pinnacle of skill and experience... unlike those Orthodox skills you copied from others, They were all predictable. But this? This is something new... It makes my spine shiver, It feels like if I make one wrong move and I''m dead..." Eris said as she pointed her blade towards him. Haruki laughed, "Then why are you smiling?" Eris held her face once more, "hehe... hehehehe.... Hahahahahahahahahaha!!!!! Not relying on external factors such as semblance or magic... just simple and unadorned oppression through skill and techniques." A weird smile appeared on her face, She suddenly charged towards Haruki. A firm and ferocious fist was blocked by Haruki with a single hand. Shockwave emanated from the clash. Creating a dust cloud, They both took advantage of this as they clashed their blades to one another. The entire exchange only lasted for a few seconds, but everyone who was watching... were stunned. They finally understood the meaning of ''Disparity''. This was the power of the sinners, and of the man named Kazama Haruki. Ozpin narrowed his eyes, he thought to himself. ''So this is his true skill...Not bad'' Qrow and Winter were slack jawed, Winter thought that she has trained enough, so this time she won''t give him trouble but the gap was widened once more. She didn''t want to be a burden, The same went for the others... His women especially, They wanted to see through this battle and observe. They wanted to get some ideas, so when the next sinners come knocking they won''t be giving him extra worries... but extra confidence. Haruki was Smiling like a lunatic, He yearned for this! No unnecessary theatrics, no magic, no semblance... The sinners truly are on a whole new Level... This feeling was the best! This was the kind of battle he thirsted for! Eris remembered her past battles, She had always used the minimum amount of skill to kill them, This was the first time she had to give everything. To be able to unleash the same kind of attack after every clash, it showed that her opponent really took her seriously. A fight where they both showed their fighting capabilities without holding anything back. She advanced, Haruki met her with the same speed. The atmosphere suddenly turned calm. Not knowing what the two of them were thinking. The only that mattered right now was the opponent in front of them. "Such a shame... Let me ask you this Kazama Haruki... if you don''t care about world domination... why do you still fight?" She asked him, Haruki shrugged his shoulders. "I don''t give a fuck about saving the world or joining hands to become part of your clown posse... but I do have a code... First of all, gluttony attacked Ruby, then that fucker Corvus stabbed my Cinder..." Then he pointed his fingers towards Eris then at Aergia that was standing on the corner. "Then you and that crazy woman ruined my dinner date with Neo... An eye for an eye, and a life for you fuckers constantly ruining my dates...." Aergia was amused, She has never met a man like this before. "You amuse me! At first you know I thought you were going to talk about world Peace and how nice it is to just love one another!!!" Haruki laughed along with her, "Hahahahaha!! I have seen and experienced so many things... And I know damn well none of this crap is going to work... I have heard so many monologues from People be it, Evil, Good, or somewhere in between... They all say the same crap just on two opposite extremes." Aergia smiled, "Are you saying that you know where to stand to change the world?" Haruki sighed and shook his head, "Everyday we change the world... Be it good or evil. But to change the world in a way that means anything? Hahahahaha fucking hell, It never happens all at once, It''s slow, Methodical, Exhausting. No one has the stomach for it..." Aergia''s laughter echoed throughout the battlefield, "Is submission not preferable to extinction?" Haruki shook his head, "Extinction is never an option for me... But let me loop back the question towards you... Why do you fight? What''s the point?" Eris was silent, But she won''t tell him the motivation behind her actions at least not yet, They glared at each other as they continued to clash once more. Aergia took this chance to speak up, "Our reason? That question probably would have a dozen different answers, The sins and sinners would give you a different one each time... But mine? sure... I''ll tell you what''s mine, I have been fascinated by genetics all my life... Even if I had to experiment on humans, I didn''t care... Genetic modification is a project great in scope. Scientifically brilliant but morally wrong. Although I''m not saying that I feel guilty from my actions... responsible sure, but it''s hard to see the bigger picture behind the tall pile of corpses behind my past... But I''m willing to shoulder that burden, To make that sacrifice... You see Humanity has become stagnant, complacent by their own attainments. But my goal is different, I want to create something beyond humanity!! No more race difference, No more borders, You won''t be ostracized because you''re a little different... You won''t feel pain!! No more conflict, No more disease! I can create paradise!! And I''m more than willing to eliminate all of Remnants current occupants for it..." Haruki shook his head and said, "I''ve heard enough crazy talk to know that''s what a super villain sounds like..." Aergia laughed madly, "Me? A villain? Sure!! Whatever! I don''t care if you see me as a villain now, but you will be thanking me in the long run!! I will create a Utopia!!!" Haruki smirked, "Then let me tell you why I fight for peace! I haven''t slept with all of my women yet!! So I won''t die now!!" Then suddenly a rumble echoed from a distance. Aergia looked at Eris, "Hahahahahaha You truly amuse me!!! But sadly... it''s time to part. Eris it''s time! Let''s go!" Eris was a little reluctant to go, but they have better things to do... "See you around, don''t die on me now..." She said as she jumped on top of a building. "Wha- - Hey! Come back here!!!" Haruki tried to chase after Aergia and Eris. He activated lightning form, but Aergia''s trap was activated a huge electric death wall stood between them. Then He was blocked by A tall dark shadow. As he looked up he saw Corvus, well his zombie form at least. Aergia said from a distance, "Hahahahahaha!! if you manage to survive this I wouldn''t mind giving you a reward!! You truly touch my mind, fumbling in ignorance, incapable of understanding. There is a realm of existence so far beyond our own you can''t even imagine it! I am beyond your understanding!! Sinner!? A label created by you people to quantify our crimes... Your lives are meaningless, measured in decades and years, you wither and die. We are eternal, the Pinnacle of existence. Before us you are nothing! Your extinction is inevitable... You killed corvus!? Hmph! Confidence built from ignorance!! We shall meet Again Kazama Haruki! Make sure you''re a little stronger then..." Aergia and Eris disappeared into the shadows leaving Haruki and A Corvus that was sewn together with Grimm. Hulking and Menacing Glaring towards him. And Behind him were a legion of Grimm. 55 Chapter 47: Old Friends Haruki stared at the giant monstrosity right in front of him. A zombie of two meters tall... With Grimm parts protruding out of his body. Nobody knew if he was still conscious or just a puppet for Aergia. He was the final masterpiece of Aergia, she has finally reanimated a human, she could probably do it normally but she tried to fuse both body and Grimm consciousness together. He was Holding a Huge Great sword, And The mask he was wearing before was replaced by a Grimm eyemask. Covered in Heavy metal armour, but the chest piece was missing, The place where his heart should be has a hole in it. Reminding Haruki of his ''Sin''... He smirked and brought out warmonger, "So uhh... did you get a haircut?" *Rrraaaaarrrggghhh!!! Corvus slammed down his weapon towards Haruki, He caught the blade with one hand. *Crack!!* A huge crater appeared where Haruki was standing. He was still standing in the middle, uninjured by the brute Force that came pummeling towards him. "You were stronger alive!" Haruki said as he punched him on the stomach, sending corvus flying towards the rubble. When corvus stood up his neck was twisted in an awkward manner. *Snap!* He snapped back his neck in place, and roared towards Haruki. But when Haruki was about to charge towards Corvus, Someone Held his shoulders. It was Ozpin, His face looked solemn... It was his old friend, well his corpse at least, His intuition was right it was indeed the Original Corvus, One of his greatest friends from his first incarnation. "Mr. Haruki, I know you can handle him yourself... but... would you... no... please... let me put him to rest." Haruki nodded and let Ozpin handle it. "I won''t let them stain your dignity more than this, And sorry old friend... I thought you died back then... Let me... Let me make it up to you..." He gave a hollow laugh, As he stared at his friend. "Just like old times..." He slowly walked towards him, Gripping his cane. Corvus sensed the approaching life from, it then spoke with a dehydrated and gravely voice, "O...Oz..m-ma... O-Old... Fri..end..." It''s upper torso twisted bad it faced Ozpin''s direction. Ozpin frowned, He tried to calm his emotions, but his anger still surfaced. They blasphemed his friend''s rest... If he doesn''t avenge him, how could he call himself a friend of Corvus. He would be here for him this time... As Haruki went to the direction of Neo and his women, He was looking at the battle of Ozpin and Corvus. Neo and The others ran towards him and hugged him, "Hey! Hey! there''s room for everyone... calm down." He said while grinning. Neo looked up and immediately said, ( *Sigh* I''m glad you''re safe...) He patted her head and said, *Sigh* "I should be the one saying this to all of you, I''m glad you''re all okay." Cinder giggled and pinched him in the sides, "Don''t think we''re just damsels in distress..." Emerald nodded from the side, "Yes... We kinda made an amazing combo..." Pyrrha was silent, Two''s suicide was still haunting her. Haruki noticed this, and asked what''s wrong. Pyrrha shook her head and just silently buried her head into his chest, He let her do it... he''ll just ask when the time is right. Because at times like this you just have to be there for her and let her sort out her thoughts... Winter and Mercury finally found the opportunity to go near Haruki. He looked towards them, "Thanks... if it wasn''t for you guys I- -" Mercury raised his hands up, "Don''t even mention it... if it wasn''t for you I would''ve died anyways, and plus were getting paid for this right?" Haruki laughed at Mercury''s remark. Winter on the other hand coughed so she could speak. *Cough!* "Although I don''t care about the money... I owe you a favor so I''m just returning it, and besides at least no civilians got hurt that badly, only... only the ones that turned into Grimm were... exterminated." Qrow approached all of them, He had so many questions he wanted to ask put his priority was Keeping Ozpin safe, so he asked Haruki. "Hey kid... do you think he can take on that monster?" Haruki brought his focus back on the battle, "Yeah... They are after all... friends." Qrow nodded his head and stared at the battle, the others didn''t know what they meant, only Haruki and Qrow knew about the truth... Winter kept stealing glances at Haruki, Neo noticed this and she was staring at Haruki''s face demanding an explanation, He pretended not to notice Neo''s stare... But deep down he was sweating bullets. Cinder sighed at the side, ''This idiot is truly a damn womanizer! He wasn''t like this in his past life, So why now!?'' As cinder wondered why, Winter on the other hand was frustrated... ''How in the hell does he have so many!? The information I got was he was just dating that Neo Girl... Did they miss any info regarding these three? Weiss... dear sister be careful of this wolf...'' Emerald noticed the rings on both Haruki and Neo, but when she was about to scream out the rings, Haruki winked at her. She sighed and gave an understanding nod. But she still pouted, her understanding didn''t mean she was super okay with it... Haruki sighed inwardly, ''Ahh... I''m such a sinner... I guess my popular era has come...'' Mercury kicked him in the back of his knee, "Sorry... I just got a sudden urge to kick you..." Haruki scratched his head. And focused on the battle of Ozpin. Ozpin dodged the strikes of the hulking corvus, Frowning he created a magic circle below to freeze him in place. Corvus was stuck in a pose where he was about to strike. Ozpin pointed his cane at Corvus and fired a Red beam. *Bam!!!* Corvus was sent flying, Ozpin appeared behind him. He struck at Corvus multiple times. Corvus was buried under the debris and rocksthat Ozpin threw at him. Ozpin was still frowning, "The past you would have easily countered that... what have they done to you..." Corvus picked up the rocks using his Grimm arms and tossed it towards Ozpins direction. Rrraaaarrghh!! Ozpin created a magic circle beneath his feet, the rubble that got inside the range of the magic circle were frozen in place, He waved his hand... then the debris turned into Spikes. The rock spikes surrounded Corvus, and he aimed his arms at him, He closed his palms and created a fist. The spikes stabbed towards corvus. "Explode." The Debris Exploded, Corvus screeched a deafening inhuman roar... The roar of the Manticore Grimm. "Oz...Ozz...ma... Kill...Me..." Corvos tried to speak as his mouth was mangled into pieces, It was slowly replaced by a Grimm part. Tentacles flew out from his back and Grabbed a Few Grimm that were surrounding them. He absorbed the Negative aura that was fueling their existence, Slowly healing the damage Ozpin has dealt him. Ozpin frowned, He charged the magic circle on his cane. Corvus Jumped up and he tried to slam down to flatten Ozpin. *Crash!!!* Ozpin held up his cane and a green magic barrier Protected him from the damage. A huge crater was created beneath his feet. Corvus kept hammering the barrier along with his Grimm arms. *Bam Bam Bam!!* Finally a tiny crack appeared on his Barrier, Ozpin has already created two rock pillars that came out from the ground and slammed towards the sides of Corvus. He was held in place But Ozpin still has no idea how to deal with him. He kept firingmagic Towards corvus But His resilience was on a whole new realm, Corvus finally broke free he dashed towards his blade. Ozpin Used the rubble as weapons, turned the rocks into sharp blades, And fired them towards Corvus. Corvus howled into the night, And he kept slashing and slashing towards the rocks to shatter them, each second he gets faster and faster. Until only a few rock blades were stuck in his body. Corvus''s mask slid down, and his glowing blood red eyes were revealed, He cracked his neck and revealed a monstrous grin. Tentacles suddenly sprouted from his back, with spikes at the tip. He fired them towards the direction of Ozpin. He then spoke towards Ozpin with his unearthly and gravely voice, "My turn..." He brought down his arms and the spikes came crashing into Ozpin. Ozpin created a huge magic circle beneath his feet. Freezing the spikes in place. He attacked each spikes individually and then removed the magic circle. It all came hurling back towards Corvus. Corvus jumped in the middle of the barrage spikes as he attacked the spikes that would hit him. *Boooom* A cloud of smoke were created between them, They both slowly walked away from the smoke... Both were unscathed. They charged at one another, Clashing with both of their weapons. Then he heard a sound, A robotic voice coming from corvus. [Calibration complete... Memory Unit: Green All systems green. Combat preparations complete..._] Corvus smiled, [It''s nice to see you again brother... I hate the fact that you had to see me this way... Aergia probably brought me back... ] He looked up at the sky, He gripped his blade and stabbed it towards the ground. He opened and closed his fist, he wanted to make sure that this wasn''t limbo. He put his palms on his chest... He noticed that there was a hole in it. He laughed madly, [Hahahahahahahaha!!! Fuck... that bitch...] He glared towards the direction Aergia and Eris fled to. Ozpin held out his hands, "Cor... Corvus... is- is that really you?" He was shaken he thought that he would have to only fight the corpse... Sadly Corvus shook his head, [No... Ozma... this isn''t the Corvus you once knew, That man was long gone... what I am... what I''ve become... I am but a copy of his memories. Injected into one of Aergia''s twisted machines... Would you do me a favor one last time my good friend? Destroy this body of mine... Make sure they can''t bring me back this time...] Ozpin nodded his head, "I never expected to meet this way, there can''t be any worse reunions out there..." Corvus laughed merrily, [Hahahaha! I couldn''t agree more! Say how about a duel for old times sake, but this time this''ll be my last.] He looked towards Haruki and laughed, [It looks like you lived boy!] Haruki replied with a forced smile, it was as if he was trying to hold something back. "And you just won''t die Corvus..." He heartily laughed, [This old bag of bones still has some life left in him apparently...] Haruki laughed as he gripped his other arm, his fingers dug into his flesh, He was suppressing the rebound of The path of shura. His fight with Eris got cut short, The path of shura won''t disappear unless the bloodlust was satisfied... Neo Noticed that something was wrong but Haruki just shook his head and stared head on, he didn''t want to interrupt Ozpin''s fight. Ozpin looked towards Haruki''s direction and subtly nodded, He knew that when Haruki went into that state, he must''ve paid a huge price... He has seen enough people do the same. Haruki nodded back, He stared towards his women, they knew something was wrong... He looked towards them and gave them a gentle smile. (Haru? What''s happening?) Neo said worriedly, Haruki just kissed them all in the forehead without saying a word. And He jumped towards the Grimm. He was smiling like a maniac as Killing Intent overflowed from his body, Corvus automatically dashed towards him. [Sorry kid, I can''t control my body...] Haruki just grins and kicks corvus away. *Booom* He was sent flying and Buried into the ground, He was embedded deep. [HAHAHAHAHAHA!! Not bad!!!] He rose up from the ground, and when he climbed back up Ozpin was already there to intercept him. He picked up his blade from the ground, He was grinning at Ozpin... To begin with, Victory or defeat was not significant between the two of them. The fight itself was the goal. Their fighting spirits were mutually raised, and they gazed upon their opponents. Ozpin matched the powers Corvus emanated, Even though this will be bad for him in the long run when he meets Salem again. This was kind of a ceremony to send off his precious friend. It was meaningful for the both of them. That''s why they had to fight equally. Ozpin knew what Corvus wanted, To receive the death he would be most satisfied with... And Then *Fuuuuuhhh* They inhaled in a deep way, "Orrrraaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!" That was the signal for their final duel. Ozpin condensed aura into his hands, while corvus covered his entire arm with Grimm tentacles. Bang!!!* The charged energies were scattered into different directions, it transformed into shockwaves, and spread out the destruction out to the surroundings. They vanished into thin air, Against the blow coming from Corvus''s fist towards Ozpins head, He answered by thrusting his cane straight. Heavy impact blows were produced as the two clashed. With a high pitched metallic sound, The ground cracked once more. [Hahahahahahahaha!! as formidable as always!!] "Hehe, not bad for someone who''s one foot into the grave." With a grinding sound as their weapons met, The grin that appeared on their faces could be called fierce. The weapons were repelled and they took distance from each other once more. Corvus took a stance with his great sword, and waited for Ozpin. That cane, if only it was a little sharper... Ozpin, who has prepared multiple magic circles on his cane. He bent his leg, as if preparing for a Sprint, He was calm gathering his magic. Silence, Time flowed slightly. And the moment when the huge wall from the broken building fell between the two people, their figures vanished. Subsequently, consecutive strikes and sounds of clashing resounded in the area. Sparks scattered about midair and the ground. Ozpin bent his body backwards as he dodged the slash coming towards him on his upper right, He approached it as he flicked it towards the side. The wind pressure when it was deflected, created a wind of destruction destroying everything in its path within a hundred meters. Corvus jumped upwards, after bending down as he drew back his fists. Corvus then fired out his fist consecutively, He covered his hands with negative aura reinforcing it further as he dished out colossal damage. A fist the naked eye couldn''t follow. But Ozpin, who was a master of battle, and close quarters combat, was not so normal he could not receive it either. Ozpin was pouring Magic power on his cane as he dodged and blocked Corvus''s skills. Whenever Ozpin''s cane resisted the fists of Corvus, each charge of his cane counterbalanced the opposing forces before discharging at the surroundings. Small explosions of Magic and Negative Aura sounded around the two people as they exchanged blows. For a lengthy long rally, they clashed and separated once more. Without missing a beat they began to move. Even with the exchange of blows there, the way of fighting changed. Ozpin fired magic spikes at corvus aiming at his vitals as they both ran around the area, Corvus repelled everything with his fists, while ozpin had to fend of a tempest of weapons that came from above, Still not a single attack was hitting each other''s bodies. [Even until now... i still couldn''t get through...] "Have you finished warming up?" [Keh, You really know how to put on airs...] "Did you think i was serious?" [Don''t say that... I have a sword style i specifically created just for you...] Sparks were scattered with the blade and Cane, but the two were just joking around while running inside and towards the buildings. For the both of them, their attacks were certainly powerful, They understood each other... There were still much to their fight, They haven''t gone serious and gone all out yet... It had been 20 minutes since the duel has started. The Battle between the two has just Begun... 56 Chapter 48: Rebound Whenever Ozpin and Corvus would clash, a portion of the place would vanish as craters were created and buildings were blown away, exposing the devastation. "So this is Ozpin when he''s serious..." Qrow expressed his amazement. "Wow" Winter said. (Not bad...) Pyrrha was still just silently watched, She looked at Haruki going berserk from a distance. All of Haruki''s women were observing him, they couldn''t help him again... Sure they were strong, but what''s the point if their strength can''t be a pillar for the man they love. ------------------------------- Haruki on the other hand were killing Grimm with his bare hands, with only the void bats devouring the corpses. He was grinning like a mad man, But deep in his psyche was trying to suppress the madness. A hulking Goliath Grimm stood in front of him, Glaring down on him, as if saying that he was irrelevant. He jumped upwards and grabbed the trunk of the Goliath Grimm, "Looking down on me!? I''ll tell you who''s superior!!!" He lifted the Grimm and slammed it towards the hundreds of Grimm that were approaching. He slammed his fist crushing the Goliath''s head and turning it into pulp. The impact of the fall caused the ground to shake. As the cloud of dust cleared, what appeared before the Grimm was a person holding a Huge Great Sword, adorned with a dragon''s head, and lustrous black scales. It reflected the beauty of the moon, while emphasizing the brutality of the wielder as he Carried the blade with a twisted grin. The more one stared at him, the more they would feel the disparity between them. Even the Grimm could perceive the danger that man represented. The giant sword rested on the man''s shoulders as he walked calmly towards the battlefield. The people who were observing Haruki were entranced by the elegance and danger he exuded. Yet no one could utter a word. Exposed to the overwhelming power emitted from Haruki, Their own Bodies won''t listen to them. Even though that person''s back was turned, They felt the pressure of the overpowering intimidation they received from the approaching Grimm that numbered over thousands fading. When Haruki looked at the Grimm the sins created, as he stood directly opposite and facing each other, Their movements have stopped. Their eyes glowing red, even though they were soulless beings, they clearly showed hints of fear and submission. ''For even the Grimm would show hints of fear...'' Winter thought to herself as she was awed by the presence of the young man who stood in front of an army of monsters... All alone... How much power was needed to do that!? Among all the people she has met, there was none with a presence like that of the young man before her very eyes. Then suddenly a Huge manticore swooped down from above, Winter thought to herself ''Shit! He didn''t notice that one!'' But before she could utter a world, Haruki just casually swung his sword at the direction of the approaching grim, splitting it in half from between with just the wind gust from his swing... "Hm? Was I this strong? or are these things just weak?" A casual remark and yet the people around it took it as a form of declaration, That he alone could achieve the power to stand on top... The Apex, where all the warriors yearned for... For the Residents of this world, The Grimm were an unstoppable Force pushing humanity towards the brink. The Grimm charged towards Haruki, and yet not a hint of fear surfaced from his face, He was still smiling as if he welcomed them, To him these Grimm were all the same... They invited their own destruction. But the price behind this fervor was immense he couldn''t stop himself once he starts... *Zzzziiiiip* A tearing sound came from the battlefield. <> Countless of slashes that cut through space itself assaulted the Grimm that approached him, He swung his massive great sword around with extreme speed. He hasn''t even used lightning form yet. In an instant, the wall of hulking Grimm was demolished. Though they were far away from the clash, they couldn''t help but feel that as if the attack itself was near them. The Carnage didn''t stop and the area where the Grimm should be, had only but the constantly flying limbs and Remains of the Grimm that flew to the sky. Dying screams echoed, Haruki who was barely visible, hadn''t stepped forward from his former position. He bathed in the blood of those Grimm he killed, And yet the luster of his blade hadn''t lost its shine. In fact it seemed to grow even stronger as it cut through the enemies. Countless void bats Devoured the corpses littering the place. Just how many Grimm faced Haruki? Who was only just one person? Numbers were power. No matter how strong one was, They would get crushed by the endless waves of monsters sooner or later. But before that young man''s power, The Grimms strength, Type, or even physique were insignificant. Just who was the true monster here? He didn''t seem to care about the Grimm that surrounded him, He only cared about satiating his thirst. This was the Path of Shura, This was the path of Blood. To him who was like a raging tempest of tumultuous calamity of death, Things like numbers were not a problem at all. The others could barely discern the change but it was noticable if they focused, they could see that the blade was chewing. A mouth appeared in the blade. ''It''s eating the Grimm!?'' Winter and Qrow thought. While the destruction spread in what could only be described as a massacre, a form of Grimm cruelty... He wasn''t just swinging the sword with brute Force alone... His swings were matched by faultless technique. Every single slash was powerful and had vigour... After killing one without a single delay, he would connect his attacks towards another. It felt like a dance, in the middle of those menacing Grimm, he alone stood at his stage performing... matching the rhythm with the Grimm falling to the ground. Slowly He was clearing the Grimm, but He hasn''t had enough yet... He still thirsted for battle... He looked towards Ozpin and Corvus fighting. His feet wouldn''t listen to him as he charged towards the two clashing after clearing out the remaining Grimm. He left the other Grimm to be dealt with by his friends. He was being pulled towards the more exciting battle. ---------------------------- The intense sounds stopped... [Let me say this now Ozma... I''ll be going all out, my system demands me to finish this quickly...So come at me with your full power.] Ozpin nodded at his statement. It was time to go all out from here. Corvus released all of his power. The negative aura that covered Corvus''s body expanded. The air shook violently, as his body slowly transformed. He turned into a two meter tall Leviathan Grimm that had Manticore wings. In direct contrast with Corvus, Ozpin invoked multiple magic circles around his body and weapon. "Come... I''ll end this once and for all..." Both He and Corvus grinned at each other. "[ Here I come!!"] Both disappeared. It was high speed movement without any prior stances, Their reaction speed was top tier. Both sent a fist towards each other- - *Crash!!!!* Haruki used his lightning form and grabbed both of their fists with each hand, and flung them on opposite directions. *Bam!!* The two didn''t notice Haruki when he approached, As they solely put their attention on each other. They were slammed to the ground rolling multiple times. Qrow was about to charge in but Ozpin immediately raised his hand to stop him. as soon as he regained his footing. "Mr. Haruki... it seems that you couldn''t control it anymore..." Haruki shrugged his shoulders, "Hehehe, sorry about that professor... your battle was so enticing I couldn''t help myself..." Corvus roared in laughter as he brushed aside the rocks on his Grimm body, [Hahahaha!! This wasn''t what I expected but this is a welcome addition! Two of the strongest people I know... Hahahahaha what a way to go!!] Haruki smirked as he looked at Ozpin, "Don''t die on me old man! I don''t want to apologize to a corpse later..." Ozpin scoffed, "Interesting... I do want to test you limits." He unleashed one of his magic skills, A green thunder approached both Haruki and Corvus, "[It won''t hit!!"] They both said as they dodged and moved closer to each other. They sent punches towards each other, a three way fist fight. [I see so you''ve improved huh!?] Corvus said to Haruki, He was in a fired-up mood. They closed the distance to each other once more while feeling the heat from Ozpin''s fire balls. They all grinned, They all have gone from battlefield to battlefield, polishing their own skills and techniques, they all found the style that exceeded the limits of humans... How far could each of them go? To what extent could their skills take them? To what height? [Hahahahaha!! I have been waiting for a moment like this, This time Ozma! my blade shall reach you!!] He accelerated, He was faster as he avoided Ozpins Powerful barrage of Magic, It bypassed even Ozpin''s reflexes. His whole body screamed with the intention of at least wounding Ozpin, as he charged towards the target before his very eyes. [Oraaaahhhhhh!!!!!!] He drew back his blade, as he maintained top speed, with a power that was not even comparable to a few moments ago... "Don''t get cocky you puuuunnkkk!!!!" Ozpin steadied his stance into a riposte stance, A hundred magic Circles appeared from his cane. Corvus knew he was at the boundary of the summit where his friend was standing, And finally he caught a glimpse of what the top feels like. However, Ozpin was already there. He was not so naive to think that this amount of attack could beat him... [I won''t fucking back down!!!!] Bang!* The two clashed their weapons, not giving each other the advantage until suddenly, Haruki appeared at the air, slamming Warmonger down. *Crash!!* The two gained some distance from one another, They both glared at Haruki for interrupting them. He shrugged his shoulders, "I don''t know if this comes with age, but you people really tend to forget things huh?" Corvus attempted a second assault, If he didn''t close the distance he would have no chance of taking a glimpse of that summit again. Haruki on the other hand was elated, This is what The path of Shura was chasing after... The Pinnacle of Skill, If he can''t beat these two with his skills alone... then what is the point. Even if he Had colossal strength it is meaningless in front of true skill, just as Eris showed him. These two Giants stood in front of him to block the summit, If he manages to at least wound Ozpin and Corvus on his peak state... He could finally see the top. Where his Master stood... He could finally understand why he had that lonely look on his eyes Everytime he fights. Using the Path of Shura once more Reignited the spark, the feeling of wanting to stand at the Apex of all creation... Fuuuuuhhh* They all breathed a cold mouthful of air... All three of them Met at the middle of the battlefield, Against the fist that was approaching Ozpin''s face he put up his cane. The attacks didn''t always come from behind. Before the countless Sparks went away, Their figures vanished once more, They were running around as they clashed blades. Even on one''s blindspots were attacked, they would only get minor injuries. They were all trying to exceed their own limits, The one wanted to maintain his seat at the top, The other wanted to Catch a glimpse of that glory, while the young upstart wanted to uproot the old trees and plant a new legend. is he going to use magic? Or will it turn in to a fist for all! melee? Haruki asked himself as he stepped back. Their Viewers However were shocked, To Qrow he thought that Haruki was still leagues apart from those two old monsters but on his skill alone he was about to reach their levels of skill, without even mentioning his physical prowess. How far away was the existence that spoke to her all those years ago? How far has he gone in the span of five years? The back that she has chased and yearned for all those years... He was still... Oh so far away. She was likely unable to see through the depths of that man, She wanted to unravel the mystery of the man called Kazama Haruki. That was the reason why Winter strived for excellence, if she hadn''t met that man she would''ve already died from her own complacency. While hearing the clashing blades from far away, they etched this battle in their memory, they will see through it until the end. While striking Corvus who didn''t move, Ozpin thought on how to deal a single blow with all his might. In his judgement, Corvus who was taking advantage of his Grimm form used this to move from place to place, It was troublesome. Supposedly if Haruki was not distracted by his own mantra, He could help Ozpin to pin Corvus down. Not only was Corvus strengthened, His Negative aura served as a shield from aura attacks of haruki. Ozpin Thought that he could amplify his attacks by sapping away at his life force, at worst he could always reincarnate. Corvus Movements exceeded his limits, and yet Haruki kept up with his lightning form, [Hahahahahaha! Take this!!!] He sent multiple tentacle spikes towards haruki. Haruki fended them off, but he needed to stop and that gave corvus the chance to gain some distance from the both of them. All three of them stood still, They all knew they couldn''t maintain their present state or too long. They all spoke in unison. "[I guess we don''t have much time!! Shall we go out with a bang!?!?''"] When the fight had become drawn-out, Only Haruki would have the advantage. Such a thing, was not the fight they all hoped for. Reserve power for the biggest gain!? Fuck that!! Such thoughts were discarded as they glared at one another, Ozpin Charged his mana he gave every last bit of his strength to this attack. Corvus Transformed back to his Zombie form as he condensed his negative aura on his hands. Haruki summoned Fenrir Fangs as he stood there patiently. They began to run at each other, With a shout all three of them collided. Nobody avoided. They each answered each others resolve. It was the most simplistic of blows. There was no need to put much thought into their attacks. As their Fists collided mutually. Haruki Used Lightning Form and absorbed all of the damage using [Reflecting Moon] And he redirected all of the damage he has accumulated towards Corvus and he used [Exploding Star] at the same time. *Booom!!!* A huge explosion that decimated the entire area, The only ones left were the three of them laughing, even if They were all wounded and tired, they kept hitting. Corvus''s mangled Body, stood as if not wanting to fall down yet, He was pushing his limits, he knew his immortality was gone. He couldn''t be reckless like before. He wanted one more second just one more, he wanted to see if he could surpassed him or would he be surpassed by the boy. "HAHAHAHAHAHHAHA!!!!" [HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!] "KUHAHAHAHAHAHAHA" They were at the last vestiges of their strength, the only thing that''s making them stand was sheer will power... Haruki has decided to send off Corvus, a proper send off this time... Haruki Summoned Mournful Vengeance, He dual wielded both Warmonger and Mournful Vengeance. He also activated <> to amplify the damage he could dish out. <>x 10,000 A dazzling flash, of White light it was as if he cut through the dimensions itself. Tearing through everything, Telling everyone that The path of Shura is absolute. Then as if a beautiful silhouette of a flower was created as He struck Corvus with it. Painting the ground blood red, as Corvus''s blood spattered on the ground, and flew out like falling snow. The strongest strike, Hidden within the two blades invaded Corvus''s body, Then silence... A Serene and Calm Sword, unlike the Path of Shura represented... This was the Final Form of The Path of shura, After the torrent of unrelenting anger what followed after was the unsettling calm. His blood splattered making a mess, The moon reflected the beauty of his final strike, this also showed Haruki''s respect towards the two of them, two great warriors forgotten by time. Ozpin was clutching his cane as he wobbly walked towards Corvus. "Farewell old friend..." "See you around Old Man, the rematch was fun." *Cough Cough* [Kehehehehahahahaha!!! In the end i''m still a stepping stone for the next generation... not bad kid... not bad at all you managed to beat me, and this time with out using your fancy tricks...but still not enough to beat him.] Haruki tilted his head not understanding what Corvus meant. Corvus slowly closed his eyes, Ozpin gathered on what remaining magic power he has left. He showed corvus images of his family one last time. Haruki used Warmonger to devour his corpse to prevent him from being resurrected once more... [Get to the Top kid... I will be watching from down there...] Haruki smirked as he reassured Corvus one last time. The long Silence finally ended as they saw the sun rising from the horizon. He looked towards the direction of his friends and women, they all had mixed expressions but they still went near the two of them. Haruki breathed a sigh of relief, but as he looked towards the direction of where Aergia fled to, he knew that this was only the start... Soon they would have to confront the sinners again, but at that time he will be prepared. 57 Chapter 49: Aftermath On a dim room with just a single bulb illuminating the figures that were gathered. Though their faces were barely discernable, and remained unseen, These were the gathering of the sinners. "Tch... Aergia, Corvus died again..." Said the Old man as he twirled his white mustache. Helooked like a traditional business man, And on his rapier was the traditional insignia of the Schnee family. He was the ''Sinner'' of Envy. "It''s not my fault! Ozma was there! I miscalculated his remaining powers. He''s quite crafty for a weakened Old Man." Aergia argued back as she glared towards the Old Man''s Direction, She was still pissed that her creations were easily shattered by Haruki''s women. "It''s all part of Lord prides plan... I wouldn''t question his grand scheme." Eris chimed as she calmly drank her tea. "Where''s The Other two?" The Burly Old Man who was wearing a blindfold on his eyes chimed in, He was wearing a traditional Eastern Dougi. His muscles were nearly bursting out from it. It exuded Power. There was a tattoo on his shoulder saying, "Thousand Blades" On Mistral''s ancient language. He was the ''Sinner'' Of Wrath. Eris sighed towards the Man''s Question, She doesn''t know where the two other sinners went to but, "I could guess where they are... They are probably flirting around like usual." "Might as well start without them... So, That boy you fought, was he really that strong to fight equally with you?" The man in the suit asked. Eris Nodded Her head and smiled affectionately as she reminisced, "Yes, as a matter of fact... That was the best match I''ve had in my life... It was a new experience." Aergia scoffed, "If you didn''t take your precious time we would have gone back earlier, our objective has been achieved before he went and powered-up! Touma! Show it please..." Eris shrugged her shoulders, She couldn''t help it, She wanted to see the extent Of His Path of The Shura. The Burly Old man brought out the Relic Of Knowledge and showed it towards all of them, "I replaced it with a replica, I doubt that they would even notice..." Eris nodded, The mayhem they caused in Vale was just to mask Touma stealing the Relic of Choice. "Hehehehehe Ozpin is such an idiot to hurriedly go to the carnage, Leaving the Vault unguarded... I guess all those hard work undercover payed it''s toll huh Touma?" The man in the suit teased him. Touma stretched his muscles and yawned, "Yeah, it''s pretty limiting... I''m the sinner of wrath you know! I was extremely bored!" Eris chuckled, "Well I suppose you deserve your well earned break... You''re coming with us next time..." Touma smirked, "Oh! That''s going to be fun... I can''t wait to meet Him..." Eris looked at the Man on the suit, "And as for you Nicholas? You''re going back to atlas next, with your disguise of course. You can''t be strutting around with that appearance you''d get noticed... Aergia Needs the data from those new Atlas Mechs they''re going to showcase at the Vytal Festival in a few months. Eris then Put down Three dossiers on the table, "These Three kids... Their semblances would aid Aergia on her research on expanding our Army, and making them more powerful." The pictures showed Jaune, Nora, and Sun... Touma and Nicholas slowly read the files, "But Two of these semblances are pretty weak..." Touma said disappointingly. Aergia laughed and a crazed expression emerged from her face, "Just because they''re weak doesn''t mean they''re not useful! You just don''t see the bigger picture..." Eris then clapped her hands, "Alright now that we''re all caught up, Let''s go... we have some planning to do." They all Nodded at each other, Then the lights went out, Every figure in the room disappeared. It was as if no one as there in the first place. ------------------------------------ A few days After the Battle In Vale. Haruki finally woke up, He slowly opened his eyes. He saw a familiar ceiling. He thought to himself... ''Oh yeah... it''s finally over'', He touched his fore head with his right arm. He massaged His temple. He tried to move his left arm but it won''t budge, He noticed Emerald was laying there and His left arm was wrapped around her waist. Emerald was busy playing her game on Her scroll, So she didn''t notice that Haruki has already woken up. He pulled her close and embraced her. Emerald uttered a Yelp. "Hey little lamb, How long was I out?" He asked. Emerald Smiled and said "Haru! you''re finally awake! you were asleep for three days." He neared his face and opted for a kiss and said, "Huh, that must be the reason why I missed you so much." Emerald rolled her eyes and blocked his mouth with her other hand as she continued playing her game. "Your breath stinks~ Go brush and freshen up!" She said as she pushed his face away. Haruki pulled her close and tickled her, so she would let her guard down. "Ahh!! I died!! That was my last life! You cheeky bastard~" She poked Haruki''s abdomen. She tried to find his ticklish side. "I tried so hard to get to the boss and you just ruined it... I have to start over!!" Haruki laughed as he tried to stop Emerald, His muscles were still sore after all, he used Path of the Shura and Absolute Domain together. "Ow ow ow!! You shouldn''t bully an injured man like this you know..." Emerald smirked, " Injured? we scanned and found no abnormalities. Just some sore muscles. Here and Here." She poked the spots were it hurt the most. Haruki raised his arms in submission, "Ow! I give up little lamb, cut me some slack..." She wrapped her arms around Haruki and kissed him on the cheeks, She giggled. "Hehe, Bad wolf that''s the only thing you''re getting for now. So Hurry and freshen up. Who knows you might get to know me better..." She winked at Haruki and Buried her face onto his chest, She snuggled up close. Closing her eyes, as she felt very comfy. She let go, and continued playing her game, Haruki was left in the air waiting for something to happen. He looked towards her direction, she just smiled. Haruki thought to himself, ''Huh? NANI!? Where''s the action? Where''s the puff puff action!?'' He tried to kiss Emerald again but she just turned her head away as she continued to play. ''Huuuuuuhhhh!? What is going on?'' Haruki thought... Emerald sighed and said, "Freshen up stud..." As if he was given a boost in strength, He gained a massive burst of energy! He was prepared to swim the ocean for this. But sadly humans have limits, even if he had massive amounts of energy, muscle sore is still muscle soreness... So he laid back down his arms spread as he looked towards emerald and groaned. She was laughing her ass off, "Hahahahahahahaha!! Haru, are you an idiot?" Haruki gave her a smile filled with self mockery, He looked towards the window and saw the clear blue sky, The clouds slowly drifting towards him. ''Oh, Woe is me! Woe is me! I wanted to see and explore the Galaxy... But human limitations prevented me from flying towards my sweet senorita...'' ( A.N.: This is a reference to the song Junkie Love by Slowdough. This scenejust Reminded me of that song Haha. Even though it''s extremely unrelated.) Cinder came out from the kitchen holding food and she saw Emerald laughing at Haruki, She overheard their talk as she was cooking. She wanted to join in but, if she did the food would be burnt. So she could only giggle at Emeralds own mischievousness. She gently placed the food on the small table beside Haruki''s bed. She sat on the side of the bed and hugged Haruki. "I''m glad you''re okay..." She then continued to lay lunch on the table, Emerald helped as she paused her game. "I bet you''re quite hungry... I made some food, I hope you like them." Haruki then saw the bandages on Cinders hands. Clearly she wasn''t used to this, but her efforts were transmitted to Haruki. He felt warm inside, He pulled Cinder close. He buried his face onto her neck. "Thanks babe..." Cinder wrapped her arms around his back and kissed him on the side of his head. "C''mon let''s eat." When they looked towards emerald she was already stuffing her mouth with food. Haruki and Cinder laughed. Emerald tilted Her head, "What? you guys were taking your sweet time! I''m starving!" Haruki picked up the food and ate. As he chewed, Unexpectedly Cinder had talent on cooking. "Wow, It''s good!" He said as he put more food on his plate. Emerald giggled, "Ain''t that nice Cinder! Practice finally paid off!" Cinder embarrassedly brushed her hair aside. Emerald then told Haruki all about Cinders efforts, She also told him about Cinders failed dishes. She showed him the images of those on her scroll. Cinder tried her best to stop emerald, but she was on the other side and by the time she got there it was too late. They all laughed, But Haruki wanted to know where Neo and Pyrrha were. Cinder said that they were called to his office to talk about something. Haruki''s expression darkened. He looked towards Cinder and asked what happened after he fainted. Cinder told him that Qrow and Merc carried him off to the airship. The attack of the sinners were all over the news it won''t be weird if Salem got a whiff of the news. They would probably be called to action. Cinder then continued, "After they laid you in the Medic bay, Ozpin told us to tell no one about the real reason for the attack, Ozpin told them that a huge legion of Grimm came and attacked the Place. Right now the security in Vale and Beacon is extremely tight so Mercury was reluctantly sent back to Roman''s headquarters, The two would be hiding from the authorities. We on the other hand are in lockdown, no beacon student is allowed to even go past The industrial district. Even after the semester finishes, He would have us remain here. Extra precaution he said... Also the atlas Army is here, a little earlier than predicted. As of Now The Four Kingdoms are in lockdown only a select few probably know of this incident." Then Cinders expression turned grave, "Also, Haruki especially you, are not allowed to go anywhere unless sanctioned by Ozpin. He said that you are the only one who could probably protect these students in case the worst happens..." Haruki Frowned, This was the opposite of what he wanted. He thought to himself, ''I would probably be stuck here until this is over.'' He looked at the two and said, "If Salem knew that Ozpin himself took part in the battle on Vale. She would take this chance to take down beacon... Hell, probably take down Vale itself..." The two nodded, "So Haru... what do we do now?" Emerald asked worriedly. Haruki couldn''t shake the feeling from his head, Aergia said something about a reward... "For now we wait, If Salem gives us orders we will have to report it to Ozpin. Also Cinder Darling does Ozpin know you have half of the fall maidens powers?" Haruki asked. Cinder clenched her fist and Shook her head, "Not yet, I told no one... also I don''t think Qrow recognized us, or is he merely pretending?" Haruki breathed a sigh of relief and formulated a plan, If he wanted cinder to be safe, He needs to convince Ozpin to let her be the next fall maiden, not Pyrrha. But if that fails... He is prepared to do the ugly stuff, the kind no one should know... Then he remembered to ask about Winter, "By the way, where''s winter?" Cinder and Emerald looked at him weirdly. "So you two are on a first name basis huh?" Emerald said as she narrowed her eyes. Haruki gulped, it was at that moment he knew... He fucked up. "W-well you see... I''m just wondering how she was doing you know... She was after all part of our team." He said as he wiped the sweat on his forehead. "Mhmm, Quote unquote ''Part of our team''." Cinder added as she raised her eyebrow. "If you''re worried about her, don''t worry you two will be seeing each other much sooner. For now she went back to Atlas, She wanted us to tell you to Take-Care-Of-Yourself..." Emerald said emphasizing on the last part. "She would return with Headmaster Ironwood, Along with his military posse." Emerald continued. *Creaaak* the door opened and Neo and Pyrrha walked inside. Neo immediately dashed towards Haruki''s location. Pyrrha on the other hand wobbly walked towards his location. They hugged him tight. (Sigh, finally you''re awake! So many things happened while you were sleeping!) Haruki nodded his head, "Yeah, Cinder and Emerald already briefed me on the matter. You two just cane back from Ozpin''s office?" Neo nodded, (He also wanted us to relay to you some information.) She looked at Pyrrha who still buried her headon haruki''s chest. Pyrrha looked up, Haruki noticed that she was exhausted. Her eye bags were barely covered by the foundation she applied. Haruki brushed her head gently, there''s probably a lot that was bothering her. He could already guess the other, Ozpin probably asked her to become the next fall maiden. Haruki sighed, He gripped his blanket. Firstly he decided to listen first. and after that if he still doesn''t like what he heard... He would storm into Ozpins office, injured or not. 58 Chapter 50: A Maidens Destiny Pyrrha retold her meeting with Ozpin to Haruki. The others stayed back and just let the two converse. Neo on the other hand sat beside Pyrrha, because she was in this as much as Pyrrha was. -------------------- Ozpin was facing the windows of his office as he moved. Neo and Pyrrha were sitting side-by-side as they observed Ozpin pacing back and forth, Thinking about something. Qrow stood at the back, silently leaning on the pillar. Ozpin then stops, He looked at the two of them, "The two of you have fought well, the matter of The Homunculus had been staved of because of your efforts, although I do commend Emerald and Cinder by performing equally well... That is not the reason why you two are here... Ms. Neo I Never expected you to be a maiden..." Neo frowned and shrugged her shoulders, (I wouldn''t have revealed it if the matter wasn''t so pressing.) Pyrrha on the other hand flinched when she heard the mention of the homunculi. But she looked up when she heard the word ''Maiden'' Pyrrha wanted to know what Ozpin and Neo meant. "Professor why did you call us here?" Ozpin calmly sipped his tea, "What is your favorite fairytale?" Pyrrha raised her eyebrows, "I''m sorry?" Ozpin crossed his hands and spoke, "You know, fairy tales. stories from your childhood..." Pyrrha recounted the stories that she liked when she was younger. Ozpin leaned forward and said, "What about the story of seasons?" Pyrrha nodded her head, "Of course!" She retold the story of the Four Maidens. She added, "My mother loves that story." Ozpin smiled, "Would you believe me if I told you that story is true?" Pyrrha then seriously looks at Ozpin and nodded, "Professor with what I''ve seen, I wouldn''t be surprised if that was true." Ozpin then looks outside his office, "There were four Maidens existing in this world that could wield tremendous power without dust... Like magic...if you will Ms. Neo..." Neo created an ice sculpture of herself, out of thin air. Pyrrha was shocked, but after seeing the craziness of the sins, she was immediately convinced. "Then tell me professor why are you telling me all this?" Ozpin looked at Qrow, They nodded at each other, seemingly confirming that they have come to a decision. "We''re telling you Pyrrha Nikos because we believe that you are next in line to receive the fall maiden''s powers." He said towards Pyrrha. Then suddenly the elevator opened, "Sorry we''re late." Pyrrha looked behind her and saw, Both Glynda Goodwitch and James Ironwood. Neo calmly prepared herself on what''s to come. Pyrrha shook her head and asked, "What is all this? Who are these people?" Glynda spoke towards Pyrrha gently, "You know who we are... we''re still the same teachers and headmasters you met when you arrived at beacon." Qrow straightened his posture as he spoke, "''Cept we got a little part time job." Ironwood then said, "We are the protectors of this world." "And we need your help... both of you..." Ozpin said as he looked at the both of them straight in the eye as earnest as possible. Then they proceeded to guide both Pyrrha and Neo towards the elevator. As they were going downwards, Pyrrha couldn''t help but ask. "Professor? where are we going?" "To the vault, under the school..." *Click* The elevator door slowly opened and they all slowly walked towards the direction of the current fall maiden. "I still don''t understand how am I supposed to receive the maiden''s power? What do you mean by that?" Glynda calmly explained to Pyrrha the origins of the maidens, Neo listened in for she too wanted to know the origins of her powers. Pyrrha asked, "Why tell me this now? why not wait until I''m ready?" Qrow sighed, "Honestly, we''ve run out of time. I don''t know if you''ve noticed but thing are getting a lot scarier out in the world, not even counting the sinners we found a few days back. The tensions are high, and it''s not gonna be much longer before this peace we''ve all been enjoying so much goes out the window." Qrow then drones on why he can''t tell her more details, She needed to agree to be on their side. And one of the maidens we''re attacked. The one thing he didn''t say was who attacked the maiden. Pyrrha scoffed, Haruki told her this before... that He worked for the big bad herself, She was honestly just playing dumb. She wanted to see if Ozpin was just using her. They arrived in front of the fall maiden. Ozpin sighed, "She''s the current fall maiden. Amber..." Pyrrha gasped, "she''s still alive!" "For now..." Ozpin said, Ironwood continued. "We''re using state of the art Atlas technology to keep her stable. Bit there is a lot about this situation which is... Unprecedented. We don''t know what will happen if she passes." Pyrrha then said, "Won''t her power transfer to the next Host." They all nodded. They told her that the power of the fall maiden was only half of what it used to be. That if would probably seek it''s other half. "And that would not bode well for any of us..." She went near the Vat, "Why keep it all a secret then? Why not just tell everyone!?" "We founded this group to protect both mankind and Maidens... But if we reveal this to the world, we would only be painting a huge Target on our backs, and theirs. Especially for the maidens. And we can''t reveal that we''re on the brink of war... it would only cause panic and paranoia." Qrow said as he looked towards Ironwood. Ironwood sighed, and he did his best to ignore Qrow''s judging stare. "Are you talking about Salem?" Everyone''s expression darkened. "Who told you that? was it Haruki?" Qrow said. Pyrrha nodded, "He told me about her..." Ozpin then nodded his head, "That''s why the maiden''s have to be a secret... If she knew she would come clawing at our walls at a moment''s notice." Ozpin then continued to tell her about the conditions on becoming the next fall maiden, the way that Ozpin devised. Pyrrha was in a dilemma, But she said "Can I have a little more time to think about it?" Ozpin nodded, "Think it over... Although we are pressed for time, You can give us your answer a before the vytal festival." "Although it''s still a long time away, I hope that you could give us your answer soon..." Ozpin then looked at Neo hoping he could convince her too, "You too Ms. Neo." Neo nodded her head and they both walked away, Ozpin knew deep down that if Haruki knew of this he would be storming in his office. ---------------------------- Pyrrha finished her story and Haruki''s expression was Grimm. The sky was already dark after Pyrrha finished, Pyrrha laid down next to Haruki as she slept, Drained from the things she has gone through for the past three days. Haruki then told the others to go get some rest. They all got some shut eye. A few days have passed and Haruki has already long recovered. Pyrrha on the other hand wasn''t herself for the past few days, clearly she has been bothered by everything that has transpired. Even her teammates noticed this and asked Haruki on what happened, He just told them to give her a little space, that she needed to sort out some stuff on her own. Haruki Then walked into Ozpins Office. Inside his office, Everyone of Ozpin''s people were there. Winter stood beside Ironwood. "You''re here... I expected that you would be here sooner." Haruki shrugged, "Why her?" He got straight to the point, "She was the most qualified... and in case you didn''t notice, Salem is preparing her forces as we speak, the amount of White fang attacks have been getting more and more frequent. Also the sins are getting more and more involved. I had no choice..." Ozpin replied. Haruki slammed the table, "Bullshit! There still another way!" "What other way!? Her forces grow stronger as we speak! We can''t just sit idly by as we wait for her to make her move!!" Qrow said as he screamed back towards Haruki. "I have a way... just give me time... I have a way... I probably have a way to cure the current fall maiden..." Haruki said. "That''s exactly what we don''t have! we only gave her that kind of time frame so she won''t get pressured... But we will slowly coerce her to become the next in line..." Haruki clicked his tongue, "Ozpin... this will be that last time I ask, I just need time will you trust me or not?" Qrow said towards Haruki, "Watch your tone kid..." Ozpin raised his hands to stop Qrow, "I''m sorry Mr. Haruki, but that I couldn''t do, especially when the sinners and Salem are right out at our doorstep. You and I both know, that You and I couldn''t stop her... We need to protect the people, that''s why we need the maidens." Haruki was silent, He thought to himself. ''Was it my fault that the sins are here? why did this turn this way? This is too soon...'' "I can''t risk their safety, Not even to fight Salem... I won''t let you do it..." He said as he glared towards Ozpin. Ozpin then glared back and said, "Does that mean our partnership ends here?" "It depends..." Suddenly the sound of glass breaking resounded all over the room. Neo undid her semblance revealing everyone on Haruki''s side. Mercury, Raven, Emerald, Cinder. They slowly surrounded them. "Raven!? have you forgotten what we owe towards Ozpin!?" Qrow shouted at his sister... Raven shrugged her shoulders. And proceeded to ignore him. Ozpin was shocked and he narrowed his eyes, "What does this mean?" Haruki smirked, "Take it anyway you want, this is my team... I wanted time so I could heal the Fall maiden but you won''t let me..." Cinder ignited her hands, revealing that she was the one who attacked Amber. Ozpin frowned, "Are you declaring war?" Haruki shook his head, "No... but if I can''t convince you... it''s war you''ll get." Ironwood was about to speak but winter pointed her sword towards him. Making the others move against each other. They were all on a stand still. Ozpin raised his hands to stop his team, "Winter... you''re in this too?" She gripped her blade, and looked away. Ozpin sighed, "Fine Mr.Haruki... You win this time. But know this, This will not happen again..." He pointed at the ticking clock on his clocktower. "And remember this... time is running out..." He said as killing intent flowed, He wanted to avoid a confrontation, against Haruki, both He and his team are essential on defending beacon. Haruki answered back with a smirk, "Of course..." His killing intent was more dense than Ozpin as it flooded the entire room. They glared at each other, as they put down their weapons. Raven on the other hand immediately opened a portal, She nodded at Haruki and gave him a paper letter and said, "That makes two..." Haruki smiled wryly and thought to himself, ''Can''t this woman be charitable atleast...'' She looked at her brother, "See you around Qrow..." The tension finally left the room, As Haruki''s team walked out, Ironwood spoke to Winter. "Winter! Are you sure about this? What you''re doing is insubordination..." Winter gripped her blade tightly, "Please trust Haruki sir... He has a way..." Ironwood''s expression darkened but he let winter walk away. He would let Ozpin handle the boy for now... After a long moment of silence. Qrow looked at Ozpin seemingly helpless, "What now?" Ozpin looked below as he watched Haruki walk away from the tower. "For now we try and get the things back to normal, then... we wait and see." Haruki sighed this was the opposite of what he aimed for, but He has a trump card he could play without killing Amber. That was the ideal scenario... but if things went South, he would have to get his hands a little dirty... Neo asked Haruki what now, (Our relationship with Ozpin is a little shaky right now... what are we going to do now?) He smiled and patted his wife''s head, "we show them that they need us..." On the other hand winter was thinking if what she did was right... Haruki thought about Pyrrha, He sighed... This is going to be a little tough... He thought to himself, ''I don''t aim to maintain the status quo...I aim to change it, and if I manage to convince Ozpin, the rest will follow suit. I don''t intend to build an army... Just enough Fire Power to end all of this madness...'' "I hope that you guys just act normally, Ozpin let us off for now... but I''m going to bet that he''s going to keep a close eye on us." Emerald raised her eyebrows, "are you suggesting that we just pretend nothing happened?" Haruki nodded his head. They all agreed to just live as is, as they walked away side by side. 59 Chapter 51: Come at me all at once. Haruki and friends were taking the classes normally, The professors and instructors on the other hand were paying extra attention towards Haruki''s team. On combat classes, they were barely called. The instructors would push Pyrrha to show off her skills and shine. They were told by Ozpin to give her extra attention. This nevertheless bored Haruki, They were observed all day until the classes finish and even if they''re planning on going out they would need Ozpins permission. The others noticed this and asked them. "So, Haruki... I feel like they teachers are paying close attention towards you guys. Did something happen?" Ruby asked. Haruki smiled, "Yeah... a little something happened when we were in vacation." Blake frowned as she had heard rumors about what really happened on Vale, The one Grimm that Adam and Haruki fought came into her mind. "Is it one of those talking Grimm again?" Weiss whispered, Haruki shakes his head as his expression darkened. Pyrrha on the other hand wasn''t paying attention. She went straight back into her room. Everyone stared at Haruki, andHe scratched his head. He wanted to clarify the things that are going on but, He stopped himself not yet... They needed to get stronger first. "I''m sorry guys, Pyrrha really needs to be alone right now, it''s just there''s a lot of things had happened these few days." Everyone nodded, Weiss spoke up as she patted his shoulder. "Well, if something''s bothering you we''ll be here to help." "We''re a Pyrrha good pals after all!" Everyone slowly turned around and looked at Yang. Blake covered her face as she shook her head. She was grinning, Haruki on the other hand was forcing himself to not laugh. Making him look kind of stupid. "What I can''t help it! It was laid out foamy!" "Urgh!! Yang stoop!!" Ruby dragged her sister to the cafeteria. They merrily ate They combined a few tables so all of them would fit, (Haru, Salem just sent us instructions to transport a batch of weapons towards the underground base of the white fang in two weeks. What are we going to do? Should we report to Ozpin?) Haruki pondered, If he could take this chance to train Team RWBY. ''Fuck, the security is tight as hell right now, I don''t think if this would be successful... Is she using this chance to test my loyalty? Damnit... Everything is happening too fast.'' He contacted Hazel for confirmation, all he got was to delay the security until Roman and Mercury to deliver the cargo. After what happened a few days ago Haruki thought that Ozpin might not cooperate... He wanted to train team RWBY to be strong enough to deal with this kind of missions. After class, Haruki promptly reported to Ozpin, "They''re moving a bunch of cargo in two weeks, If you''re ever planning on stopping this I couldn''t help you, since I''m stuck here on lockdown." Ozpin narrowed his eyes, "Child... is this a threat?" He shrugged his shoulders, "I told you everything I know, Since I can''t be the one stopping the cargo, you need to send some other squad." Ozpin pondered, "Are you required to be there?" "Yes, the queen herself required my presence." "Fine... Just make sure nobody gets hurt, I can''t send out Hunters right now... We''re stretched thin as is... We need some form of defense." Haruki nodded as he brought out a map, "Here is the place where we will be loading the train, we would be using the Vale underground subway to transport weapons." He pointed towards the stops they''re going to make to hide some of the weapons to be picked up by a courier later. "This is the most important thing" he pointed at the cargo. "If they detect at least one intruder they would immediately detonate the bombs." Ozpin processed the information Haruki gave him, He now understood why those white fang were raiding factories. If the detonate those bombs it could attract Grimm, and enter vale through the closed subway entrances... "Is this information accurate?" He asked Haruki, he can''t really trust him right now... He has 1 and a half maiden on his side. He didn''t expect that he has been preparing for this. He smiled, not bad kid. He told Haruki to return and Keep him posted on the plans. No matter what they need to maintain a partnership, they both need each other for the same end goal... He was thinking, Haruki bid his farewells and left Ozpin to his own devices as he pondered the information he received. He was observing Haruki as he went near the place where team RWBY were training. This Young man is more formidable than I expected. He felt that Haruki was sending him hints on what to do... ''Hehehe, what a cocky brat.'' Haruki was stretching His muscles as he entered the training room, He was observing the formations of Team RWBY. ''There''s still a few things that they need to improve, but they''re quite good...'' The four stopped as they looked at the person who just entered, "Huh? what are you doing here? I thought you''re going to flirt with your team?" Weiss said sarcastically... Haruki smiled, "Hey, That''s rude... I do train from time to time..." Blake sighed, "Yes we know, the Spartan training only stopped when you were on vacation and when you''re injured..." Ruby then realized something as she covered her mouth. "Oh no! Are you planning on dragging us for more Running!?" Haruki laughed but he shook his head, "No little red... I came here to spar." Yang Grinned, "Oh yeah? I''ve been meaning to fight... so? pick your poison! Although it would be better if you picked me." Haruki went towards the middle, he was surrounded by team RWBY. They were thinking that he would take them on. One by one. But contrary to popular belief he just stood there, he closed his eyes. Haruki, for the past few days has been trying to Talk to Both Gluttony and His Ars Magus, but they were giving no response. They stopped speaking ever since the fight with the sinners... He couldn''t use Absolute domain or summon warmonger and Fenrir Fangs. The only thing he could summon was basic weapons and Mournful Vengeance. He was at an extreme disadvantage towards the sins, so what he needs the most is time right now, and people that could stand up to the sins. Haruki breathed, and smirked as he summoned Mournful Vengeance. "All of you... Come at me all at once." Yang raised her eyebrows and grinned, As she glowed yellow and her eyes turned red. "Wow someone''s very cocky..." Weiss on the other hand was pissed, She wanted a proper duel. If Haruki is not going to take them seriously. Then that would be a huge insult towards their pride. Blake was also wondering why He was doing this, "is this a joke? are you that confident!?" Ruby on the other hand was silent. She nodded towards Haruki, she remembered how he fought that hulking Grimm, she knew she''s no match for him alone, but if she wanted to show him her progress... She needs to do it as a leader, and as a team. She wants to tell him she could fight together with him and not be protected, that she''s not a burden, that she''s a friend he could leave his back to. She then told her team, "Guys please... Haruki is serious... We need to calm down and fight as a team." Haruki then nodded as he looked at them one by one and gave them a taunting smile. Yang was the first one to move, She used her gauntlets to propel her towards him. She sent a punch towards him. She used her momentum to send a strong impact towards Haruki. Bang!* Haruki used the handle on his blade to stop Yang''s strike. "Cool your head off Goldilocks..." He gripped her hand and tossed Yang towards the approaching Blake. "Oh cra- - " Yang passed through the Blake that was running towards Haruki and disappeared. She was already in the air. She wrapped her gambol shroud towards Ruby''s scythe as they pulled each other close together. Weiss created a Glyph to catch Yang and create a footing for her. So she could jump back into the fray. Ruby engaged Haruki, she was spinning her scythe around methodically, Her body was completely focused, without the slightest strain. Haruki only dodged her strikes without even intercepting them, He was studying her strikes. Blake tied his hand and pulled him to create an opening for Ruby. Yang went charging once again, using wiess''s glyphs to gain momentum. Haruki smirked as he closed in on Ruby, He pulled down her hood and jumped upwards. Yang couldn''t stop her speed as she barreled towards Ruby sending them crashing towards the edge of the arena. Blake used her Doppelganger to dodge Yang''s tackle. She Exchanged blades with Haruki. Blake whose speed was boosted by the glyphs was still being led by Haruki''s pace. "Just like old times right?" He smiled towards Blake. But Blake ignored that remark as she concentrated real hard just to get at least one hit in. She wanted to show him how far she''s grown after he left. She kept using her semblance to distract Haruki, Weiss appeared behind Haruki. Weiss aimed for his legs, and sent multiple stabs. His body slid naturally, without opposing the force of her strike. Weiss stepped forward aiming for his chest this time. Both Weiss and Blake pressured Haruki. But then Haruki finally drew his blade, so far he has only been using the scabbard to parry. "Alright, you guys deserve an applause not ba- -" Crash*!!! Yang landed on the middle creating a crater. Weiss and Blake stepped back, But Haruki took on the full brunt of Yang''s attack. He was unscathed, but the ground beneath was cracked. His one hand caught Yang''s strike, while the other was touching the ground. "Tch, Not bad... I guess I now know why you''re so confident..." She said as she stepped back and readied to attack once more. *Swish!* Haruki bent his body as he dodged Ruby''s hook strike. He backflipped towards Weiss direction, "Don''t underestimate me!" She created multiple white glyphs that surrounded Haruki, She dashed towards them and used those as stepping pads to launch her as she barraged Haruki with her attacks. Haruki blocked her strikes and redirecting them away from him, On her final strike he caught her rapier and pulled myrtenaster away from her. He tossed Mournful vengeance towards her, and just as she was about to catch the blade panicking. Haruki was already dashing towards her stabbing towards her. Blake pulled Weiss away from his attack, Yang appeared in front of Haruki as she sent a punch. Haruki stopped just enough to not her hit by the blast. Yang didn''t stop, she kept hitting him aiming for his vitals, Ruby swooped using her semblance to keep slashing towards him. Weis awkwardly wielded his katana, she has experience in the sword but not that good. Haruki showed all of them how to weild the myrtenaster. He riposted all of their strikes, like an elegant warrior, He left after images as he sent thrusts towards all of the directions. A crimson Arc is drawn in the air as the silver light was repelled by Ruby. She was smirking, She finally read his attacks. But Haruki didn''t panic, He dashed towards Ruby. He leapt up and Ruby chased him while using her semblance. But As she did Haruki tossed the myrtenaster towards her direction. She blocked, sending it flying and fired below to propel her forwards and reach Haruki. He held her Crimson Rose and Yanked it away from her. He kicked her towards the ground. He landed near Blake, She used her semblance and distracted Haruki she wrapped the scythe with her chains. He pulled her towards the range of the scythe. Bam!* She was sent flying. He collided with Yang as she sent strikes towards Haruki, "Lesson number one: Don''t let anyone take your weapons..." He kicked Yang away. He picked Blake''s weapon from the ground ashe spun crimson rose and tossed it towards Yang. He wrapped her arms with the chains and took Yang''s gauntlets. "Don''t ever do that!!"Yang screamed as she recklessly charged towards Haruki. He tossed Blake''s Gambol shroud, and wore her gauntlets. Yang''s fiery aura rose further as she dashed towards Haruki. She sent a punch towards his direction. He parried all of her strikes and struck her on the vitals. She staggered a few steps but her power rose further. Haruki picked up all their weapons as he used lightning form. "Catch!" He tossed all their weapons in the air." Weiss came up behind him to slash at him, but he dodged sideways and sent a palm towards her abdomen. Bam!* She was sent flying once more. Haruki''s mournful vengeance spun in the air. The other three dashed towards their weapons, Haruki caught his blade and the four of them dashed towards his direction. He sheathed his blade, They charged towards him. He closed his eyes, as they were just about a meter away from him. It was the same move Pyrrha used against two but more polished. *Swish!* A jet black flash passed through all of them, He stood in front of them his back facing them. His blade was already sheathed. "Lesson Two: If your weapon is taken, make sure you have a back up plan." Their aura flickered telling them that they have already lost. Yang was stubborn though, she still charged towards Haruki, "Lesson three: Always be calm and read your opponents." He blocked Yang''s strike with one hand. He slammed her down on the ground after grabbing her hand. "We already know all of these!!" Yang screamed. ''Fuck, I forgot about her semblance...'' She charged up all the damage she has received and channeled it on to her fist. She stood up and charged towards Haruki. *Bam!!!* Haruki held her fist, He stood still but the ground behind him cracked, and blew dust everywhere. "Alright this was quite fun... I hope you all learned something. So same time tomorrow?" Yang stood up, "Wait! you can''t just walk away after all that! and say same time tomorrow!! And besides I can still fight!" Haruki sighed, "Yeah... but your teammates can''t keep up... be mindful of your team, although I''m pretty sure you guys already know this. But Yang you let your anger get the better of you. We could still continue tommorow you know..." He helped all of them stand back up, "Calm down, you guys can take me on tomorrow, for like two weeks." They all wondered what this is for, but they don''t hate this kind of training. With those words he walked away, as they looked towards his departing back. With complex feelings. They were beaten without having the chance to even retaliate, he even used their weapons better than them. They all each had their own agenda for proving themselves to him, but most importantly... what they want is revenge... The next time he would be beaten black and blue... 60 Chapter 52: Back to normal... The sound of the birds chirping, and the slightly warm breeze woke him up, he slowly opened his eyes... only to be assaulted by the bright shine of the sun. It was as if telling him to wake up. He tried to move his body but he noticed that there were two people clinging on to him. He sighed, how spoiled could these cuties be? He thought to himself as he chuckled. But when he looked down... his eyeballs almost popped open, and sweat started pouring from his head and his back. He immediately closed his eyes. After a few seconds he opened them again, but his fears were proven true... He thought to himself as he quoted a famous philosopher, to distract him from his impending doom. Life... cannot be calculated. That''s the big mistake our civilization has made, We never accepted that randomness is not a mistake in the equation it -- IS PART OF THE EQUATION... But So much of life, it seems to me, is determined by pure randomness. *Fuuuuhh* He breathed deeply to calm himself down. He peeked below and slightly opened the blanket once more as he stared at the woman laying next to him on his right side. The girl was buck naked, She had silver white hair, her hair flowed down like snow falling from the sky. It was picturesque, it was like a beautiful painting of the winter season. Her beautiful sleeping face, was as elegant as she was awake. Her body was beautiful Haruki couldn''t help but stare, but he can''t enjoy the view for the woman sleeping on his left was Neo. He can''t make any sudden moves, for when Neo wakes up, he''s pretty sure he''s dead. He pondered calmly... '' Who''s fucking calm dammit!! How the fuck is winter here!?'' He was pretty sure he didn''t drink last night. And he''s pretty fucking sure Neo was the only one who laid next to him on bed because it was her turn... As much as he wanted to smoke for this unexpected victory he can''t... He looked down again, ''Shit she''s still there!! I thought third time''s the charm!? work with me here world!!'' His mind went into overdrive as he recalled the events of last night. ''It was dinner... after eating they told me to go buy ingredients... I could''ve materialized it all, but for some reason they were all smug about it and so I reluctantly went. I was thinking of materializing it outside but they wanted me to bring a receipt... I went back and after restocking, we watched and slept like usual.... SO HOW... IN THE FUCK IS WINTER SCHNEE HERE ON MY FUCKING BED SLEEPING WITH ME AND MY SOON TO BE WIFE!?'' Haruki''s smile was shaking, he was almost in tears... ''So where is the window there for me to make such a grand mistake like this?'' He checked his clothes and he was only on his underwear... Help me out here gods!! Oh wait... goddamn it Salem!!! you made another reason for me to hate you!!! Author-saaan!! retcon puriiizzuuu!!!! Oh Sartre!!! In this case...the existence of my little brother precedes essence!! He was clutching on straws as he pleaded. He was on full panic mode. ''Amitabha Buddha!!! Oh my lawd Jezus! any body!!!!'' He screamed into the void, but no one responded... *Nnnggh* The sleeping girl couldn''t take it anymore, she stopped feigning sleep, as she giggled at Haruki. "Hehehehehe, Bad wolf... did you enjoy the view?" The naked Winter slowly faded into a hazy blur as she was replaced by a fully clothed emerald. Smirking like a child who has succeeded on her prank. "Hehehehehe, you should''ve seen your face it was priceless." Haruki on the other hand looked like his soul has already left him, He looked like he lost some of his life span because of this mischievous little lamb. *Click* She took a picture of his shocked face with her scroll. Emerald giggled as she wrapped her arms on Haruki and gave him a peck on the lips. "Wakey wakey you sleepy heads. Breakfast is being cooked as we speak." Emerald slowly stood up, giving another wink and sending her tongue out towards Haruki. Sigh...This girl is getting naughty by the minute, she needs to be ''Punished'' He grinned savagely, when he looked towards the other sleepy head, she was already awake. She has been observing Haruki for the past few minutes. Neo smiled cutely, (You know ever since emerald got here, she''s been smiling more and more. That just shows how much of an impact you''ve made towards our lives.) She said as she clung towards him like a koala. "Well all of you did the same, you made my days brighter... and probably the days after today and till the end" He said as he caressed Neo''s face. "Good morning my cute wifey, you look beautiful again today." Neo turned red, she was used flirting around but being called wifey sent butterflies to her stomach. She liked hearing it. "Hehehe, you too my dear husband." She said as she cutely buried her head on his neck. "Alright let''s go eat." He slowly stood up, while Neo was still clinging on to him. He smelled the faint aroma of bacon and eggs and pancakes. It stimulated his appetite. Nothing beats good ol'' American breakfast. He made way towards the bathroom as they both freshened up. As he arrived at the dinner table, Pyrrha and Emerald were already gorging themselves. Pyrrha was preparing for her morning practice, while emerald was preparing for her gaming marathon. Cinder had her back turned towards them as she hummed while cooking their share of the food. Since there were no classes today, the girls were planning on doing whatever. Neo climbed down from Haruki and sat on her seat. Emerald looked at him and winked at him cutely as she continued to browse The Net. Pyrrha greeted Haruki with a weak smile, "Good morning baby." It seems that she still needed a bit more time to ponder. But that doesn''t mean he can''t make his baby girl feel a little better. He picked her up and made her sit on his lap, She uttered a Yelp."Did I hear about my princess wanting to be spoiled?" He hugged Pyrrha from behind, she immediately turned red as everyone was staring at the two of them. "Uhm, everyone''s watching..." She said as she lowered her head, embarrassed. ''Oh this cute girl!!!'' He hugged Pyrrha tighter and whispered on her ears, "Nope... not letting you go my cute little princess." He picked up a piece of bacon and he put it in his mouth, urging Pyrrha to come and eat it. Pyrrha opened her eyes wide, Everyone on the other hand had expectant eyes. Emerald banged he hand on the table repeatedly and chanted, "Eat it! Eat it! Eat it!" Everyone followed suit. Pyrrha flared up in embarrassment. Haruki laughed as he went closer. "C''mon! we''ve done more embarrassing stuff than this." He chuckled, Pyrrha pinched him on his legs as she embarrassedly ate the bacon from his mouth. "Yaay!!" everyone cheered and looked towards Haruki with sparkling expectant eyes, He started to sweat hard, ''Oh my...'' It was a merry breakfast, after being spoon-fed by Haruki Pyrrha immediately went out to train. Mainly to hide her embarrassment but to also think. Training gave her the focus to think and the isolation towards otherworldly thoughts calmed her down. It was her form of meditation. Haruki looked towards her departing back. Neo was looking at him, (So when are you two going to have a proper talk?) Haruki sighed, "She needs a little more time to herself, what Ozpin said probably didn''t bother her that much. It was what That homunculus girl two probably said... She has to come to terms with this herself or else, she won''t be able to improve her skills. Not every enemy would be Grimm, not every enemy would be captured willingly, not every enemy has a choice to go and start a new. Not every enemy... could walk away from a fight, She needs to come to terms with the fact that, Human opponents no matter how weak, are the hardest and trickiest opponents there is." Everyone sighed, Each of them understood what He meant, they have all taken a life one way or another. Nobody could comfort her, because all their lives they''ve been conditioned to kill. But it''s okay now, at least they''re trying they''re best to live normally. They were given another chance by this man. Haruki sat by the TV as he was contemplating on what to watch, like an old man living off his pension money... that was controlled by his wife... He lazily sat back as he switched from channel to channel, "Damn, does remnant not have any good shows?" Emerald and Neo on the other hand we''re changing, Haruki stared at the two and wondered where these two would be going. "Huh? where are you two going?" Emerald looked at him as if she was staring at trash, "Gaming... Team RWBY invited us for some game tournament." Haruki tilted his head, "How come I''m not invited?" Neo smiled at him and responded, (Girls only...) Haruki sighed and looked at Cinder, "So you''re going too?" She shook her head, "No... I have never even tried to play a game before, I''ll only embarrass myself there." Emerald wanted to teach Cinder how to play, Neo on the other hand was quite smug about it. Cinder ignored Neo''s smugness as she sighed towards emerald, "Go have fun you two." Emerald nodded as she worriedly looked at Cinder, She gestured ''it''s going to be fine so go~'' The two exited the room excitedly, it seemed that the game they were planning on playing was a new one. "Are you really sure you don''t want to join them?" Haruki asked her. "Why are you planning on inviting a girl while we''re out?" Haruki laughed in monotone... "Ha ha ha... no... calm down." He said calmly. Cinder laughed, "Kidding! I''ll only get in the way of those kids having fun, I don''t want to be someone who constantly asks how to do things, or what does this button do?" Haruki nodded his head, but he was pinched by Cinder. "You''re supposed to refute that!" Haruki held her hands as he grimaced in pain. "Owowow! Yes I give!" Cinder finally let go as she leaned her head on his shoulder. She told Haruki that she wanted to watch that show about the Doctor. The two were immersed in the series, seeing as how he cures his patients and how cynical he was, gave cinder a laugh or two. His shoulders wrapped around cinder, as she was hugging him and leaning on his chest as they snacked on popcorn. "Remnant really needs these kind of shows..." She said as she nibbled on the snack. Haruki laughed, "Well, not all the shows on my realm was good... but those bad movies or shows were watched so many times just watching to make fun of it is an entertainment on itself." Cinder was skeptical, "Hah? how does that even work?" Haruki smiled and just pulled her close, and whispered on her ears. "Nevermind that! You know... it''s just the two of us right now..." he said as he stared into her beautiful pair of eyes. She smiled and brought his face closer and kissed him deeply. She bit him on the ear playfully and whispered, "You wanna play doctor?" She said seductively. Haruki gulped and nodded his head. "You wanna join me and explore the human B-O-D-Y?" He ran her fingers on his chest, she lifted up his chin and blew air on his face. Haruki smirked as she pulled her by the waist, "Oh doctor... it seems I have some kind of ailment only you could solve..." Cinder raised her eyebrows as she smiled, "Really now? what a naughty boy you are then..." Cinder went near Haruki''s face and He did the same thing, he puckered up his lips. Trying to intercept those beautiful lips. *Smack* What he kissed was a book... He stepped back as he tried to ascertain what just happened. Cinder was giggling, She brought out a lot of books, she lifted them up using her dust manipulation. She smirked at Haruki. "You naughty boy... what were you thinking was gonna happen?" Haruki went straight to the point, "Netf*ix and Chill... I thought I booked two tickets straight to pound town..." He got smacked in the head with a book. "Hahahahaha, Not yet... How bout just helping me study?" Haruki opened his eyes wide, "Huh? what do you mean?" Cinder pointed at the books, they were all medical related, and some were other books about the fundamentals of science. Haruki was utterly speechless. "What came over you so suddenly, that made you want to do this?" Cinder gave Haruki a melancholic smile, "For so long I have yearned for power... I have chased for it for so long I have hurt so many people in the process, alienate the ones who showed affection towards me. Now I want to repent for everything that I have done, my sins are heavy I know... But I wanted to know how to help... no... heal people of their wounds. Look I know this won''t decrease my sins or bring back everyone I have killed, but I wanted to help, like how you helped me. How you gave me a second chance... That''s why I kept reading and reading even when everyone is asleep. I wanted to give myself a second chance, to save instead of kill... To-...to... Pursue knowledge instead of power. At that temple I now understood what it felt like to care once more. When those tiny little hands held on to me... I felt bliss. They... they felt safe on my arms... What I felt when I had to say goodbye to them once more. The way that they looked at me... they didn''t even blame me! they just wanted me to live a better life! and this time I''m going to do it... Not just out of respect for those who have fallen, but to pave a road for those who are about to follow." She smiled gently and continued. "I want to be the light to others even when everything is so dark, just like what you are to me. My bright star..." She caressed Haruki''s face. Her tears were already flowing like a dam. She wanted to change for the better, she wanted a normal life. She knows she can''t have that until she knows how to be normal, how to empathize with other people... and understanding... how they feel. She gave him a weak laugh. "Hehehe, I wanted to become someone worthy to stand by your side... That''s why I wanted to know how to heal... how to help people... I want to be a combat medic. Even if we move from battlefield to battlefield I would help anyone in need..." She gave Haruki a self deprecating smile and continued. "Hehehe, it''s very childish Don''t you think so Haru?" She looked towards her lover, she wanted to see what his reaction was. Haruki thought to himself, ''When did this girl become so cute?'' He hugged her close and kissed her in the forehead. He gave her a really gentle smile. "Small minds can''t comprehend big spirits. To be great you have to be willing to be mocked, hated and misunderstood. Stay strong... what you''re doing is admirable... Always remember when you get tired you cannot give up, even if you trip multiple times, I will always be there for you whenever you fall down, so Never give up... I never once thought of your dreams as childish, you''re a great woman...Hell, I keep thanking the heavens how I managed to snag a woman like you. I''m here... no... we''re all here to support you all the way...So keep your head up, because you''re one step closer to that goal." Tears welled up in Cinders eyes as she hugged Haruki tight, "Haru~~ I love you!!!" He hugged her back gently, "And I You..." Haruki wiped the tears from her eyes, and he continued to help her study until nightfall. Everyone arrived at the Room, and they were about to dash towards Haruki, he gestured them to be silent. He Lifted Cinder up and Laid her on the bed, Covered her with a blanket and kissed her on the forehead As she dozed off into Dreamland, With a dazzling smile. He ushered the girls to go to the dining table to ask how their day has been. 61 Chapter 53: Dating Mastah It was early Morning and Jaune has been pacing Left and Right on his room. He thought to himself that he couldn''t go on like this... He needed a master''s advise. So he sent a message on his scroll to Haruki. "Need Help, about asking someone out." that was the content of his message. Haruki woke up and wondered why this idiot woke up early for this. He brushed Cinders hair to the side and he stood up to freshen up. He did this silently as everyone was still asleep. He immediately went out of the room only to find Jaune pacing back and forth. "Well? What''s the matter?" "Finally! I have been here for an hour, I really need help! come quick." Jaune dragged Haruki into the courtyard, "This better be worth skipping out on training for Jaune..." "Uh....yes?" He said as he stepped back a little. Haruki narrowed his eyes, and sighed. "Fine... hit me..." Jaune nodded, "So here''s the situation...I approached Coco normally, did everything you said... but I was ignored... She just looked at me from top to bottom and just nodded. Then she went away like nothing happened. I have been waiting to get your advice ever since you got back from that temple, but one thing led to another then... Poof... I couldn''t wait any longer and asked her out... Then I got rejected..." He slumped his shoulders down, and he looked at Haruki with pleading eyes. "On the bright side, she hasn''t really rejected you... She just ignored you." Jaune tried to punch Haruki, but he just dodges. "Bright side?! What part of she just nodded and walked away don''t you get?" "Frankly that could be interpreted in many different ways you know, She might''ve agreed and just waited for you to go and tell her that details." Jaune gave Haruki a blank stare, "You really think so? No that''s not it!! you jackass!! C''mon man... you know the inner workings of girls, help a brother out." Haruki raised his eyebrows, "What? no I don''t... most of the time I just wing it." Jaune sighed, "That''s exactly it! I need you to talk to the girls, I shall observe from a distance." "Wait... you want me to pickup girls? are you crazy!? do you want me to die?" Jaune shook his head, "Well not exactly picking them up, I just wanted to see how the conversation goes. Just like you told me always observe your opponent." "In combat!! what you''re doing is just stalking!" Haruki finally noticed the person sleeping on the bench, It was Ren. Poor guy he probably got dragged by Jaune earlier but he wasn''t of any help. He went Near Ren and shook him, to wake him up. "Uhh, Ren? you okay?" Ren rubbed his eyes, He stood up and went back to their room. "Sigh* Jaune... what came over you that you want to ask Coco out?" Jaune sighed... "I came to beacon so I could train to become a great Hunter, So that I could make my family proud and do our family justice." He looked at Haruki seriously, "And also enjoy my youth..." Pfft* "Hahahahahahaha!!!" Jaune charged towards Haruki, "You''re the main culprit you bastard!! Always flirting around like it''s nobody''s business!" He stomped on the ground, "I wanna go on dates too damnit!! I want to understand girls too!!" Haruki was holding his stomach from laughter, "Honestly the more time I spend on picking up girls the less I understand... Enough to question what I thought girls were." He said as he tried to kick Haruki. Ren returned to the meeting place seemingly refreshed. "So what are we talking about again?" Jaune clicked his tongue as he pointed at Ren, "This guy is also an example, He''s enjoying his youth a bit too much..." Ren tilted his head, "I''m not enjoying my youth. FYI" Jaune grinded his forehead against Ren''s. "Huuuhh!? Nora''s all over you all the time!" Ren shrugged his shoulders, "All I''m doing is going to the same school as her..." Jaune sighed, "Just what are girls? I really don''t understand..." Haruki then asked Jaune, "Are you sure? relationships come with a lot of troubles you know?" Jaune looked at Ren and screamed, "Mom! Bring the salt here!!" Ren nodded, "Sprinkle it! Dump it all over!" They chased Haruki around. Ren and Jaune asked Haruki, "Back to the topic at hand... Is it really that troublesome!?" Jaune went silent, "No... The real truth is that Haruki simply doesn''t know... How to enjoy his time with a cute girl..." Haruki''s expression darkened, "How dare you...What would a virgin like you know..." Jaune looked up at the sky with his hair covering his eyes. "Yes, I wouldn''t know... But you lost something along with your virginity... The sensation of having everything you see, everything you hear... ...Be a source of erotic pleasure..." Jaune stared directly into Haruki''s eyes. "And to have that feeling spread to every cell in your body!!" Haruki was taken aback, "Every cell!?" Jaune tapped the side of his head, "Yeah... Just think about it. Okay, So being in a relationship can be taxing... However- You obviously can''t say the same when you have a super-sadistic Onee-san glaring at you as you fumble around awkwardly..." Haruki responded, "Shit!! That''s a given!!" "And suppose you had a cute girl who''s extremely shy, but she tries her best to communicate, and even though you''re socially inept she still treats you nice!!" Both Haruki and Ren knelt down feeling defeated, "We''d die of cuteness!!" Jaune then continued, "The feeling of having your hands brush past each other for the first time! the feeling of embarrassment! the innocence of youth!!" Haruki slowly stood up, "I get what you''re saying jaune... what''s important is the sentiment behind the actions..." Jaune held up his hands, "Let me finish, Even so... even all the troubles that come along with it... Just having a girl I like, and those things happen to me... ... would be enough... And if anything... Cute Girlfriends themselves are worth dreaming about." He said as the sun gleamed over him. Haruki and Ren thought, ''I don''t really get it, but he looks so cool'' "Well as great as that sounds, it''s still virgin nonsense." "Shut up stupid!!" Jaune retorted back. Haruki scoffed, "Heh, I''ll tell you this! you''ll be saying the same thing when you lose your virginity!" Jaune angrily snapped back, "I won''t! I won''t even be able to contain my happiness!!" He ran into the side angrily, not noticing CoCo approaching as she jogged. She was wearing a white tank top and black jogging pants. Even exercising she still wore her shades. *Crash!* He slowly opened his eyes, All he saw was white. He felt something soft press onto his face. "Sorry! Are you okay?" Coco immediately stood up and helped Jaune off the ground. "Are you sure you didn''t hit your head? I''m sorry I have to go." She looked at both Haruki and Ren. "Take care of him for me!" She jogged away, while all three of them stared at her departing back. "Ju-Just now..." "It looks like it" The two of them stared at jaune who was still on the ground. "Ho-How was it?" Haruki asked. Jaune raised his arms high in the sky, as the sun''s rays shined on him, "Thank you... So very much." They all raised their hands in triumph. The most important thing is Having a heart that takes pleasure in all things. 62 Chapter 54: The Talk The most selfish choice is always the most available... For so long... she has believed that she was destined to be one of the greatest hunters and huntresses, It has always been her final goal. Something the has worked towards her entire life. Pyrrha has been absentmindedly staring at the distance, She kept on sighing even at classes, usually she was the most attentive no matter the subject. She has always kept up the pace. But most of the instructors ignored all this and left her alone, they were all told by Ozpin to just ignore this. Except for Doctor Oobleck and Professor Port, they were worried about they''re students.. Oobleck finally found the chance to talk to her after class, "Uh.. Miss Nikos, If I may..." Pyrrha looked towards his direction, "Yes doctor?" "It seems that there is something troubling you, if it''s not too much to ask would you mind telling it to this old man, perhaps I may ease your mind even a little bit?" Pyrrha smiled, she can''t just shrug off his sincere help. She asked him, "Doctor... What are you... you going to do if you''re about to make a big decision that could possibly affect everything around you?" "Miss Nikos... Everyone has asked themselves that question all the time. Like was this worth it? or What would change if I did this... But they''re ignoring the most fundamental thing, The people around you... The most important thing is to ask their opinion on the matter. But most of the time, they would be behind every decision you make." "But what if the cost is sacrificing who you were... Your whole identity?" Oobleck was silent, he slowly uttered these words, "When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves. Everyone wants the idea of playing hero, the thought of it alone could change how you view things, But they forget the sacrifice those heroes made made to get to that point. In the acceptance to suffer bravely, their lives had meaning until the last moment, and it has retained this meaning until the end. Miss Nikos I could only leave this words to you, I hope that you think of these words before you make that decision..." Oobleck went out of the door and as he opened the door he saw Haruki leaning on the wall, waiting for Pyrrha. Oobleck smiled at Haruki and walked towards the faculty room. Pyrrha walked out of the room and saw Haruki, She furrowed her brows and tried to walk away. Haruki held her hand, "Where are you going?" Pyrrha shook her head, "Please Haru... I want to be left alone for now." Haruki looked towards Her departing back and he sighed. He silently walked besides her, She glared at Haruki. She ran forward she didn''t want to see him right now. She feared that her decision would waver the longer she stayed beside him. "Stop following me!!" "Then stop running away!" He screamed back to her. "I don''t want to see you right now!! Everytime that I look at you, I waver..." She said as her entire body shook. Haruki held her shoulders, "Please... talk to me... Rely on me... We''re in this together." Pyrrha stared straight into Haruki''s sincere eyes. He held her hand and dragged her someplace private where they could talk. They walked outside of beacon, and went into the Commercial District. They sat on a nearby park, Pyrrha sat on the bench waiting for Haruki as he bought the beverages. "Hey I got you your favorite drink, hope it cheers you up even a little." He handed her a Can of Ol'' King Cold Soda. He popped it open and sipped on it, "Well?" Pyrrha smiled, "Thanks..." She took a sip, the fizz just gets it right on her throat, she shivered from the sheer delight of her drink. She stretched her arms, She breathed deeply. She took another sip, and finally gained the courage to speak out her thoughts. "Ever since I was small, I have always wanted to save people as much as I could... because I have witnessed myself the repercussions of the Grimm''s Carnage. Once I awakened my semblance and showed that I was talented in this particular aspect, it felt like a huge responsibility was thrust upon me. " She leaned her head towards Haruki''s shoulders. "I always thought that... carrying out my duties as a huntress would make it difficult, or even impossible, to even make a decision for myself... I fear that I would be letting down those who believe in me... I Donned a mask called the Goddess of Victory... Inwardly I always thought that I could never lose, because I have always been aware on what it would cost once I did." Pyrrha looked at the kids playing in the park, she continued. "So I became a symbol of hope, that I represent the good in people. I became what everyone wanted to be, what everyone wanted to see. But this, this talk about being chosen to be the next maiden, is just too much!! I could probably fullfil my destiny to be a great huntress... In one fell swoop, but at what cost!? my personality? my memories? my... my love for you!? How can I accept something so cruel!? I don''t want to wake up one day, look at your face and feel nothing at all!! But I can''t just turn my back against humanity! I have a destiny to fulfill... I could sacrifice anything else, just not you... I just can''t..." She gripped the Hem of her skirt, "Anyone could be under the mask of the Goddess of Victory persona, but they chose me..." Haruki tightened his grip on her soft hand. He thought to himself, ''She knows that she''s not the real goddess of victory, just a kid playing super hero. That... it''s all an act, it''s a teenage girls idea of what a proper huntress should be. It''s everything Pyrrha wishes she was. It was basically teen angst channelled into her own interpretation of duty and justice.'' She tried to stop the tears falling from her eyes, but like life... they flowed in droves. "I had no Noble aspirations, I have always believed that my only purpose was to be a huntress and hunt Grimm... I have to constantly remind myself, why I should fight... When I fought two... it was the first time I fought someone so complex, unlike Grimm they also had something they fought for. I always knew deep down, Grimm won''t be the only things standing in my way.That one day I would have to take someone else''s life... Even when they have staked their entire existence on that sole purpose or reason. I would ask myself would I waver? It was answered when I faced her. I choked when I was supposed to deal the finishing blow. She had to do it for me..." "And when the doubt settled in, it crushed me. That moment reminded me that I''m just Pyrrha Nikos, not some kind of goddess of victory... That no one should aspire to be me, because I myself aspire to be like greater hunters. I''m right down there just like any regular people." She looked towards Haruki with tears in her eyes, "So why me!? isn''t there people out there much more suited? Than someone like me who is flawed, who makes wrong decisions from time to time?" Haruki hugged her tight, "If you don''t want to be a maiden you can just tell Ozpin that you don''t want to be one..." She shook her head, "It''s not that simple! They make it seem that I don''t have any better alternatives, our enemies are stronger that any Grimm that has existed... I want to be able to stand by your side and not be a burden... But if I had to sacrifice everything just to attain that kind of power, then what''s the point!?" Haruki Called out to Ars, ''Hey Ars, can I talk to you? I really need you right now...'' But no response... He wanted to give Pyrrha a new weapon, a better alternative than becoming a maiden. But sadly Ars still hasn''t responded on his calls. He could only comfort the woman he loves in his arms. "Pyrrha... I Honestly don''t want you to become the next fall maiden, I really don''t... I would stand in your way if I had to... But if it''s what you really want to, then I would step aside. I won''t get in the way of what you want to do..." No matter how much we call out to the Gods for a justification on our current situation, The universe still stays silent. It is we ourselves who must answer the questions that life asks of is, and to these questions we can respond only by being responsible for our own existence... In conclusion, Fuck it I''ll do it myself... Pyrrha buried her face into his chest, she didn''t want to let go, she didn''t want to lose the feeling of comfort, of safety... Because every time that she is on his arms, she isn''t anyone else just Pyrrha and that''s it. She doesn''t have to try and put up a facade. She could just be herself... nothing more than a normal girl, who yearns for dreams of grandeur and a prince who would treat her well. But the constant reminder of her failure, the reason why she fights... Her destiny, even if doubt settled in and crushes her. She had to return out of guilt. What is a hero to themselves? to them they''re just someone that believes they''re doing the right thing. A hero is only a hero because people are unable to do what they do, so they uphold them to a higher status such as a hero... "I had to combine the memories of the fall maiden with myself... So would that still be me in the end? It scares me, but I don''t want to look away from reality... I have a duty... A destiny to fulfill. I won''t stand back as our opponents grow stronger each day... Who''s to say when everything is going to fall apart. I want to be able to fight back to become strong enough so that I won''t be a burden... but an ally and a lover you could rely on..." She looked straight into Haruki''s eyes. Haruki spoke, "I do agree on your sentiments of wanting to be stronger...but the sinners they''re mine to take on..." Pyrrha shouted, "So you expect me to just stand back!? Haru! you could barely stand your ground against Eris and corvus alone! why do you always carry the burden yourself!? we''re here for you! so stop making decisions on your own! I thought were partners? a team? together through everything that stand in our way? you don''t have to these alone!!" As she fired of those words she looked at Haruki only to see him smirking towards her. He caressed her head affectionately. "It''s really hard to make you understand you stubborn girl... you have to say it yourself so you''d get it..." Pyrrha was stunned. She looked towards Haruki, "Pyrrha... back in my world. I have always believed these words, even after all the terrible shit that I have done. These words has always stuck with me... He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how... You don''t have to carry this burden yourself. We''re here for a reason, and it''s just not to support every decision you make... It''s also to knock some sense into you when you''re about to make a terrible decision." He flicked her forehead as he smirked towards her, "You''re one of the kindest girls that I have met... But you can be so stubborn sometimes. You forget that there are people you can rely on... Me, Neo, Cinder, Emerald, Your team, Team RWBY... there are a lot of people around who would gladly share that burden. Being a maiden is not the only thing that could make you stronger, It''s by having a reason to fight for... You can have the strength to stand back up, to charge once more into the fray..." Pyrrha gripped the hands that were wrapped around her, "But... what if an opponent comes, where I have no choice but to take a life?" Haruki sighed, "Pyrrha, I''m pretty sure you already know this but, to save a life... sometimes you have to take a life. A necessary evil. But... Necessary it may be evil is still evil, no matter how big or small... it still falls into the same category. That''s why I admire you for not being able to kill. Always keep that fear, it separates you from those who do evil. It''s a line no one should cross. I admire that sentiment. I have taken so many, that I don''t know if I''m even allowed to have you guys. I know that I''m never going to be forgiven. But I have to find happiness for their sake and mine..." Pyrrha nodded her head, she finally gave Haruki a smile. A decision was made at that moment. A resolve... that would probably change her own destiny. she thought to herself, if destiny won''t cooperate then she would change it her self. She would go against it, no matter how hopeless the situation may be, as long as she has him, and her friends. She would be able to weather this tide. She kissed Haruki on the lips, and stood up. She stared at The Setting sun, "I have finally decided... thanks Haru. I want to walk home alone, I need to do it myself..." Haruki smiled and nodded at her, he breathed a sigh of relief and watched her departing back. He lit up a stick, He slowly breathed in and blew out the smoke. He looked at a tree positioned behind him, "So Miss Eris... Is listening in on other people''s conversation your hobby?" A shadow slowly appeared from behind the tree, revealing a beautiful woman, Wearing a Leather Jacket and a white shirt underneath, blue jeans and black boots. Her beautiful blonde hair tied into a pony tail. It was the sinner of Pride... 63 Quick update... @@ Fuck this town seriously... Reminds me of the reason why I moved out in the first place. There''s been a 10-hour power interruption for three straight days. Fuck, I really hate this town. Sorry that I can''t update. My motivation is gone just like my hope for this town. I kinda regret going home for the holidays...@@ 64 Chapter 55: We meet again. Eris slowly appeared behind the tree, She smiled towards Haruki. She raised her hands up. "I''m not here for a fight..." Haruki shrugged his shoulders and continued to smoke, he can''t fight her here anyways. There''s too many people. "I know, you could''ve attacked anytime, and I don''t detect any bloodlust from you, so what brings you here in this quaint city of Vale?" She Sat beside him and crossed her legs. She put her head on her palms as she stared at the kids in the park. "Vacation... There''s still time before we come and fight again, so I figured why not go roam around. I never expected to meet you two here...." Haruki narrowed his eyes, He knew sooner or later they would be back. "A vacation huh? I Never expected being a sinner was a tenured job. And the fact that you guys take a vacation at all... I always expected that you guys run all over remnant to kill or pillage or add people to your cult or some other shit." Eris laughed, which garnered the stares of everyone. They saw a beautiful girl besides the man who was chatting with the celebrity Pyrrha Nikos awhile ago. How lucky could this guy get!? they thought. But little do they know that he''s now sitting beside a ticking time bomb that is thousands of years old. "We do indeed do that, but I let the others do the heavy lifting... I''m to bored to bother with that kind of stuff. And besides not much I can do, my only talent is the sword. I can''t be bothered with the logistics and research Aergia does..." Haruki leaned back as he listened, He was awfully relaxed. As if he wasn''t even on guard against her. This surprised Eris, She was expecting some form of resistance, but Haruki was just there smoking as he listened to her. "Hmm, I''m was expecting a more resistant response. But then again it''s you..." Haruki just shrugged his shoulders. "Well? the story''s not going to tell itself..." Eris looked at the people in the park, "Whether you believe me or not I''m only here to kill time. I got nothing better to do." Haruki just grinned at her, "That''s a terrible excuse for a second date. I didn''t know you missed me that much." Eris ignored Haruki''s attempt at flirting with her and she stared at the direction Pyrrha went. "Well I never expected her to be the next maiden..." Haruki narrowed his eyes and a faint trace of killing intent surfaced and hit Eris''s senses. "Hmm why do you ask miss Eris?" Eris scoffed, "Relax, the maidens powers are useless to us, besides being random and unpredictable. It''s also weak and limited, So even if we gain their powers once we supposedly die, the time between resurrecting could transfer it to someone else." Haruki nodded his head, from Eris''s words he could deduce that the sins might go after the more useful semblances. "Hmm, so everyone else is susceptible, and even the faintest signs of a useful semblance surfaces, they''re sure to get nabbed is that it?" Eris gave him a faint smile, "Maybe... maybe not who knows. Anyways back to the maiden topic. I''m quite curious about how Ozpin could choose the next maiden..." Haruki lit up a new stick as he answered, "Well it''s more the machines than his, But the consciousness would be transferred along with the maiden powers." Eris tilted her head cutely, "Huh... so you''re allowing one of your lovers to risk that kind of thing." Haruki smirked, "You think I give a damn about Ozpins plans?" He summoned absolute demise and showed her the lustre of his blade and released massive amounts of bloodlust. "I''m going to kill the maiden without anyone knowing, Pyrrha doesn''t have to worry... I''ll kill her in front of cinder." He said as he grinned. "She would be the last thoughts of the maiden, and she would gain the powers in full. Unlike Pyrrha, Cinder is decisive... She knows when it''s time to kill. Firepower is only useful to me when it could actually kill..." Eris laughed once more as she listened in on Haruki, "I never expected you to be this cruel...She has probably decided to take on the powers and you would take that from her!? Hahahahahahaha!! You should be part of us not them. But by telling me this, don''t you think I would use this kind of information against you? This could put a damper to your plan?" "Hah? You''re the fucking sinner of pride... I honestly don''t think you''d do that, and besides if I wanted to kill someone... I would succeed most of the time." Haruki lit up another stick as he continued, "You might think of me as cruel, But all of this is necessary, Even if others may think of me as evil. I''m using all of this to stop the greater evil. You guys, and that bitch Salem." Eris spread her arms around as she smiled, "Evil? Us? Hahahahahaha!! The fuck Kazama Haruki! Don''t put me on the same place as Aergia or Any of the other sins and sinners, my motivations are mine and mine alone. Joining the Sins is just necessary... Those words seem familiar?" Haruki giggled, "Hahahahaha, Miss Eris I am liking this date more and more." "Hehehehe, well to me There is no such thing as value or the weight of life. Just as water flows around the world so too does life simply revolve. That also goes for you and me, it''s meaningless and valueless. And that''s why it''s fine to do anything. Unless they''re not directly in my way I won''t go out of my way to kill them. Like pebbles on the ground I won''t go around kicking every pebble I see on the road." Haruki stared at the distance as Eris continued, "Although, I''m not a slave to the ideal indifference, there''s no need for consistency in your attitude towards life. If you hate them, kill them just as you eat when you''re hungry. That''s why I''m pretty sure I''ll be able to use any underhanded means as long as it is necessary for my cause." Haruki shrugged, "Well when in comes down to it it''s just a battle to the death." Eris smiled, "See that''s what I like about you..." Haruki perked up his ears, "Oh? Am I finally making a dent on your cold and cruel heart? with all of my warm and heartfelt words?" Eris shook her head, "Well, anyways since you and I have a score to settle... you need to know about someone of particular... well... let''s just say. an interruption on your part." Haruki sighed, "Of course there''s a catch. So who is it this time? Another corvus type dude? a new sinner? That bitch Aergia?" Eris put her finger on her chin, and looked quite cute. "No it''s someone else, well I guess in your case he''s new, but to everyone here on remnant he was a legend. The man of a thousand blades. The sinner of wrath." Haruki pondered, "Funny story actually, That name is quite similar to a monster that I once knew..." Eris tilted her head, "That can''t be, that old man has existed for thousands of years..." Haruki just shrugs, "Well the man I know is dead, I killed him with my own hands. And besides I have also heard tales about a swordmaster in Mistral. The undefeated Ten thousand Sword master. I saw one of his statues on site, back when I was still working as a lapdog for Salem. And they don''t look alike..." Eris nodded, "Well I myself don''t knowanything much about him... But He is one crazy monster. They say he''s even stronger than wrath himself. Everytime that they would fight it would last for 7 days and 7 nights. And Wrath would always get killed. And That old monster would just walk away like it''s nothing." Haruki listened in on intently, "Well miss Eris why would you tell me such sensitive information, do you really want to have a secret tryst with me so badly?" Eris scoffed, "Well it would be a shame if you died... Before our fated rematch. And besides if you want to get to me... you might want to kill him first. So we won''t get interrupted." As she says this someone shouted at themfrom a distance. It was team RWBY, They ran towards Haruki. 65 Chapter 56: I like your eyes. Team RWBY were walking around, since it is after class and Haruki didn''t show up for training. They were strolling around town until they stumbled upon Haruki talking with a mysterious woman. "Uhh, Weiss? I don''t think the new strategy would work against Haruki. He''s a total monster. We need to think bigger, like giant robots bigger." "How are we going to get giant robots Ruby?" Weiss said as she glared at Ruby. "Well I don''t know, you''re the heiress here so you figure it out. You could buy us each giant robots. Oooh and!! and!! we could combine them!!" Ruby said cheerfully. "I admire your enthusiasm little sis but I don''t think Haruki would have a hard time destroying a mech. I''m not even sure if the guy''s human." Blake rolled her eyes at Yang, "I don''t know about that Yang... I don''t think he''s that ridiculously strong." "If we train harder we''ll have a chance on fighting him! we haven''t even wounded him once not once! I propose a different strategy." Ruby and Yang raised their hands and Weiss said, "Excluding the plans with giant robots please?" They both put down their hands slowly. Weiss looked at Blake, "Well Blake as the only rational teammate left what do you think we should do to kick Haruki in the butt?" Blake was silent, she was staring at the two people laughing at the park. They looked like a beautiful couple. She tried to silence her teammates, "Ssh, Look there... see who it is." They looked at where Blake was pointing at, "Oh my! She''s so pretty!!" "Yeah... but look beside her Ruby." *Gasp* "Haruki!? Why is he here!? Ohh my are they going to do the nasty!?" The three looked at Ruby shocked, Weiss shouted at her, "Ruby! that''s filthy! where''d you learn that line?" Yang crossed her arms as she smirked towards Ruby, "Well little sis? tell us don''t worry I won''t get angry." Ruby dashed towards Blake and held her shoulders as she spoke, "It was Blake! her books hooked me in!! Oh and it''s not like I don''t notice Weiss sneakily reading the book too!" Blake looked down embarrassed, While Yang was amused. When Ruby and Weiss finished giving excuses about why they read the book. Eris laughed out loud garnering their attention so they tried to focus their attention towards their conversation but they were too far away. Yang suggested that the go towards the two, Blake and Weiss shook their heads saying thatthey would get scolded by Haruki. "So I guess my plan is not Weiss? eh eh?" Blake facepalmed as she looked towards Haruki and Eris, "Well... they look like they''re having fun. I wonder what they''re talking about?" Yang was about to say something inappropriate but she noticed Ruby was missing, "Uhh, guys where''s ruby?" Weiss looked beside her, "She''s over he- - Oh no..." They could hear Ruby from the distance, "Ha~~~Ruuukiiiii!!! What''s up!!" They chased after her but it was too late she has already been spotted by Haruki. "I can''t believe she used her semblance for this... I never took Ruby for the gossipy type..." Yang tilted her head as she also pondered Blake''s question. Weiss on the other hand was completely focused on who the girl Haruki was with. The girl looked familiar... but she couldn''t pinpoint where she has seen her. Haruki on the other hand Immediately threw away the cigarette, and stomped on it and aired out his shirt. Eris looked at him quizzically, "If you didn''t want to be seen smoking why smoke in public?" "It calms me down and plus I thought no one would see me, I guess I was too immersed in talking with you I forgot." He said as he winked at Eris, which got him an eyeroll. Ruby finally got near the two, "Heya! I guess this is the reason why you didn''t show up for our thing today huh?"She was smirking but there was clearly thorns in her words. The other three finally reached Ruby, "Hey you dolt you can''t run out like that! We''re supposed to be incognito!" Blake nodded at Weiss. Yang on the other hand instantly asked who the girl was to Haruki. He tried to hook his arms on Eris''s shoulders but she nimbly dodged him. "We were about to go steady." "We''re just aquaintances." They said alternatively, Team RWBY looked at the two of them, "So which is it?" Ruby asked impatiently. "We''re really close." "We barely know each other, he''s practically a stranger." Haruki looked at Eris exasperated, "C''mon at least play along... Geez." Eris furrowed her brows, but shockingly she doesn''t hate Haruki''s poor attempts on her. Normally she won''t have any second thoughts about beheading someone. Team RWBY nodded in the background. "So basically Haruki is attempting to take you home?" Ruby said innocently. Pfft* Haruki almost burst out laughing. "No no no, I just know her from somewhere and we''re just catching up." "Ah!! I remember now! I met you at my father''s parties! I believe you are the owner of Discordia. One of the best and renowned Jewelry Company In remnant. Miss Eris I''m very honored to meet a talented lady such as yourself." Eris smiled towards her, "Not at all Miss Schnee, It is a pleasure for me too." "No way you know this rich lady Haruki!? I never thought of you as a person to hangout or go after rich ladies..." "Hey!" Weiss retorted. "Well I got the pleasure of knowing her a while back..." He said as he scratched his head. Eris smiled towards Haruki, "Well it''s been fun but I have to go, See you later Haruki, Everyone..." As they exchanged goodbyes, Ruby immediately asked why Haruki didn''t train them today. Eris perked up her ears and she turned around. "Haruki... You never told me you trained these kids..." Ruby nodded her head, "We''re like his apprentices..." "Well not exactly but we''ll stick with that for lack of a better word..." Weiss said as she crossed her arms proudly. Eris looked at Haruki smugly, Haruki had sweat pouring all over his back as he sensed what she was planning. "Eris you''re not planning on- -" She looked towards each of them one by one and picked up a stick on the ground. She drew a circle on it. She stood at the circle whilst holding the thin stick. "Well since I and your so called "Teacher" have something of a rivalry, Why don''t you girls and I have a... friendly duel... perse." Everyone looked at each other, "Huh? Are you sure? I mean we''re not underestimating you but we''re pretty strong..." Eris smiled towards Yang, "Trust me girl, The only person alive that could make me bring out my sword and duel me into a draw can be counted with my fingers alone, and one of them is Haruki..." All of them were surprised as they looked towards Haruki, ''This woman fought Haruki into a draw!?'' They all thought. "Well I didn''t expect that, But I accept the challenge!" Weiss said, The rest nodded. They wanted to show Haruki how much they have improved. "Well then to keep this brief and simple, If you girls manage to make me step out of this circle you win... I''ll only use this stick. You''re free to attack any way you want, And if five minutes pass and I still haven''t moved out of the circle it''s my win." isn''t that a little too arrogant of her? the four thought. Haruki as if he understood what the four were thinking said to them, "Believe me... That''s more than enough for you guys to Handle." Yang smirked and thought that this would be an easy win. "Alright don''t regret it now!" As the girls were preparing and formulating a plan Haruki went Near Eris, "Hey, what are you planning?" "Nothing really, like I said I''m just killing time..." Haruki narrowed his eyes, "If I sense any trace of killing intent, I won''t hesitate to kill you. I would immediately put a stop to your little charade." Eris smiled, "Well if it comes to that, I can''t call myself the sinner of pride now can we?" Haruki stepped back but there was not a trace of his aloofness awhile ago. He was just focusing on Eris. Team RWBY stood at a distance from Eris. "Begin!" Weiss propelled Ruby using her glyphs towards Eris. As soon as Eris was in the distance of Ruby''s Scythe range, she swung her weapon sidewards. Eris parried off the strike and stepped on her scythe. She held Ruby in the face and peered into her eyes. "I like your eyes, Silver... Beautiful." She held Ruby by the collar and threw Ruby away without stepping out of the tiny circle. She gestured towards them to come at her one more time. 66 Chapter 57: Short end of the stick Eris smirked towards Team RWBY, When she threw Ruby away they all stood still not making a move, She thought maybe they were frozen stiff and didn''t expect this to happen. Ruby landed on her feet, and steadied her stance. Their plan was to probe her skills with Ruby on the Frontline and she would use her semblance to escape. but Eris easily took care of Ruby, throwing the rest off rhythmn. Weiss charged in, She formed multiple Glyphs surrounding Eris. She wanted to show Haruki her progress, that next time he shouldn''t underestimate her. She called this move <> She used the glyphs as stepping platforms as she thrusted myrtenaster towards Eris. Hundreds of thrusts assaulted Eris as if Weiss was playing the piano, Her moves had rhythm and grace. Which made Eris see through all this. She evaded every thrust without even moving a step. Eris waited For Weiss''s unrelenting strikes, Until she saw an opening, Eris held her rapier by the tip with just two fingers. She sent a kick towards Weiss''s stomach sending her toppling towards Ruby''s general direction. Ruby used her semblance to catch Weiss. "Are you okay Weiss?" She nodded her head as she glared towards Eris. "She was more skillful than I thought..." Haruki on the other hand worriedly watched the battle from the sidelines. He was bluffing with Eris earlier. He doesn''t have his full strength yet, and Ars and Gluttony won''t even Respond. So he can''t summon anything besides absolute demise, and using Path of Shura here would be the worst possible thing he could do. His hands were tied, but if push comes to shove he would use lightning form to make Team RWBY escape and face Eris alone... Yang cracked her knuckles as she dashed towards Eris. Fiery aura burst forth and covered her in a thin layer of yellow flames. Her eyes glowed red as she sent multiple punches towards Eris. Eris put one arm behind her as she stood still. When Yang approached she deflected all her stiles to the side with the brittle stick she was holding. Eight streaks of flaming might were raining down on Eris and yet she was unmoving like a mountain. She parried of Yang like it was nothing. Thwap!* Yang was hit multiple times with the stick, she wasn''t hurt badly but getting hit by a stick still stung. Eris was calmly smiling as she parried and struck Yang, Her anger flared up as she increased the intensity of her punches. At the same time Blake attacked Eris on her side, She swept Yang''s legs and sent a punch towards her stomach. She caught Blake''s weapons and she wrapped the weapons ribbon on her free arm. Thwip!* Blake kept getting hit by Eris''s strikes until Yang came from above and slammed down on Eris. Bam!* A huge cloud of dust formed on where Yang slammed. Blake was the first to escape the dust cloud. When the dust cleared, Eris was shown holding back the brunt of Yang''s attack. She was gripping her fist not letting go. She hasn''t stepped out of the circle. She threw Yang away towards the direction Blake fled to. Eris tilted her head, "Well? is this it? this can''t be all he taught you now... C''mon show me what you got." Yang dusted off her clothes and she stood up, This fight garnered the attention of many. Haruki used his lightning form to disrupt their scrolls so that no one would be recording this. He won''t hear the end of this once Ozpin hears of this. Eris looked at the direction of Yang''s Gauntlets, "It''s been a long time since I felt a burning punch such as yours... How nostalgic..." Yang was confused her semblance was hers and hers alone, So she charged once more. Yang''s will power and anger was transmitted through her semblance and straight to her fists. Her strikes grew sharper as each blow passed. Eris continued to party of Yang''s strikes, "Hehehe, I like your spunk kid... but that''s not enough!" She threw her stick upwards and struck towards Yang head on, Exchanging blows. Intercepting Yang''s fist with her own. Yang''s flared up even more as her strikes grew even faster. Giving no chance for her teammates to intervene. Although Yang was relentless on her attacks her movements were riddled with unnecessary motions when she''s enraged. Haruki wanted to eliminate these faults. The sound of impact with their fists grew progressively louder, the pause between the clash shorter... (An uppercut from the right, then left hook... no, stop halfway and straight jab.) Eris was reading Yang like an open book. She dodged, parried, blocked her fists. "Fuuh!" Yang pushed forward by pressing her weight on her strike, but after a brief moment suddenly retreated. Her rapid movement gave the illusion of the floor under Yang had slipped away. The distance she had retreated was the exact distance for her fist to reach Eris. She gave Eris a right hook, her arm arced, aiming at Eris''s right side. "Not so fast kid!" Eris didn''t Dodge or parry, but stepped closer to Yang before her blow could land. She charged forward not stepping out of the circle. With the intent of shoving her away. "Guh!!" Yang was thrown away as Eris''s palm hit her shoulder. Weiss and Ruby saw this opportunity and charged towards Eris on opposite sides, Fwoosh!* Eris twisted her torso and parried both their strikes. She Flipped Ruby towards Weiss and kicked towards them. Weiss used her glyph to redirect her kick away from them. Eris regained her balance and picked up her stick that was a few inches away from them. She confronted The scythe and the rapier with just her stick. The three''s silhouette blurred, the arcs drawn by their weapons in mid-air clashed against each other. They almost scraped the shoulder of Eris but their weapons were flung away from their hands. Their weapons couldn''t reach her at all... Because of her youth and feisty personality, Weiss showed both frustration and peace of mind at the result. She was expecting that she has improved in this past few days. She was no longer her arrogant self. She now understood that there are Titans that stand tall among others. Their strength and skill unrivalled. And she was once more forced to face the reality of the situation, Ruby on the other hand didn''t consider the difference in experience and ability of her opponent. That''s why she was seen and appeared childish before Eris. The clashing of their auras and blades were stinging the spectators skin. For them it was like a show of skills. A performance. They were in awe by the sheer skills the girls were showing. Blake joined in on the fun, The three of them pressed Eris to give Yang some breathing room. Eris parried off their strikes, And countered with a strike from her stick. "To be so skilled at such a young age... I''m looking forward to your future..." The three nodded at her words, but they were still uncomfortable to be unable to manage to get even a single strike in. Eris Sword arm was fast, it''s patterns difficult to read. Weiss tried to match this however this wasn''t enough... She might have been able to defeat a normal soldier or an elite Hunter with that skill... but not Eris. Eris did not miss the small gap in their attacks from their own impatience, she barraged them with strikes of her own. Her strikes blew past Ruby and Weiss, They spun in midair finally landing on the ground with a thud. Eris turned to face Blake, She released a little bit of pressure towards the young gal, but Blake faced it head on unflinching. Haruki engraved it on her when they were young to not falter in front of immense pressure. She was probably the longest ''student'' of Haruki. Her style was a little similar to his, with just minor alterations. That''s why Eris found her strikes a little familiar and couldn''t help but grin. The intent on Blake''s weapon grew sharper and sharper, Different from all of her teammates. The two didn''t move an inch, they both stared at each other, their bodies moving ever so slightly, searching for something in their opponent. They each prepared to counter the other by just looking at their movements. Eris stick was slightly lowered, and Blake took half a step backwards. Swish!* Eris stepped in, close to Blake. Her movement was extremely fast, Blake took a swing towards Eris''s direction. However, it didn''t have enough momentum to stop Eris, she simply moved aside. Swish!* The stick was aimed towards Blake''s neck. It was instantaneous, probably Haruki would be the only one there, who could counter that. Yang once more jumped into the fray, And sent a punch towards Eris. Eris was smiling as she intercepted her strike. Yang received enough damage to seriously wound Eris, but Eris parried it off like it''s nothing. Eris used the tip of her stick to stop Yang''s second punch. *Crack!* The stick broke but Yang was sent flying back once more. Blake on the other hand tried to strike again. Eris foresaw this and brought out her weapon, it drew an arc towards Blake''s Head. She closed her eyes, thinking that she would get Hurt. *Clang!!* Haruki blocked the blade with absolute demise. Blake slowly opened her eyes, and what she saw was a familiar back. The one that saved her all those years ago. Her big brother Kaz... 67 Chapter 58: Bottom Line Haruki''s eyes were cold, like a frozen ocean. One look could sink you down on an endless abyss. His killing intent surged as he blocked Eris''s strike. His jet black blade glimmered reflecting his anger towards Eris. Eris on the Other hand was still smiling, She wasn''t able to stop her excitement from the battle earlier, although they were weak they still had room for improvement. She wanted to see how far she could take it without breaking them. But eventually she lost control of her actions and she almost fucked their plan up if it wasn''t for Haruki blocking her strike. She was told to keep a low profile, but she ended up doing the opposite. In the end it was her true nature that won. She has always believed that nothing matters so why not? This man in front of her was their enemy, But to her he was more than that... A rival? perhaps... But it''s probably more twisted than that, She gave Haruki a crazed smile. Far more terrifying than the last. "What the fuck Eris? Are you insane!?" "This is just became the best date yet haruki~" Haruki frowned, "I thought I told you no one would get hurt?" "No one would if they''re dead" She said as she grinned madly. She put more pressure into her blade, trying to push him back. But she noticed something was wrong she felt that Haruki wasn''t the same as the last time they fought. Haruki pushed back even without warmonger he could still use all the strength he has absorbed, The only things he can''t use were his ''buffs''. Eris shook her head and put her blade down. She looked at Haruki and he was still glaring at her, "I couldn''t help it, and besides I knew you were going to jump in so I continued." Haruki''s eyes were freezing, and yet Eris didn''t back down, killing intent flowed out of his body. It brushed past everyone, towards Team RWBY, even the random passerbys. No one could breath under this kind of pressure, especially civilians that hasn''t even trained. Some were hunters and huntresses even they struggled. Haruki noticed this so he pulled back his hostility, "You couldn''t help it? Do you not notice the people that are surrounding us?" Eris shrugged her shoulders, "How is it relevant? I can kill them all the same... It doesn''t matter so why worry?" When the atmosphere turned bad the observers and passerbys slowly dispersed and clearly they didn''t want any part of this they''ll let the authorities handle this. Haruki furrowed his brows, Meanwhile Blake noticed something wrong, she thought that Eris was one of Haruki''s women or something along those lines, but judging from his attitude he was extremely hostile towards her. Is he just worried about her safety, or he just doesn''t want to see someone die and escalate it into a major incident. She deeply wished it was the former. Weiss was more clear-headed than the rest she noticed that Haruki was treating her as if she was an enemy. This puzzled her, what made his attitude to turn into a quick 180? Could he be worried about their safety, or was it she is an enemy and Haruki was just spying on her. If it is so, it is worse than she has imagined. By them running towards her, and ruining their talk could make his work all for nothing. Weiss was overthinking things but she hasn''t far from the truth. Yang once more charged into the enemy''s direction when she saw Blake almost get hurt she panicked. She was thankful towards Haruki but letting this bitch go with just a warning... that''s just not her style she needs payback for Everything. Fwoosh* A red flash passed through Eris, She instantaneously moved aside and threw Yang over her shoulder and kicked her in the stomach. He immediately caught Yang, and reprimanded her, "She''s not your match, back down..." Yang once more flared up in anger, she was so pissed who was Haruki to tell her what to do, when she was about to rebuke him she saw the look in his eyes. It scared her... It was different from the normal him, his eyes were a little sad but confident, yet gentle. He always wore this faint smile as he joked around like a carefree clown. His Normal demeanor was gone and replaced by this cold eyes, and deadpan expression. was his previous expression his Normal demeanor or was this the normal for him. She silently sat there as she watched him walk slowly towards Eris. She was grinning, "Oh? are we going to have our rematch here?" Excitement reflected from her eyes, She was scratching the handle of her blade but she controlled her self. She sheathed her blade, "But not now...Not yet..." She started to walk away as soon as she turned her back against him. "I feel like you''re not at your best. Kill your way to all the sins and sinners before pride until you get to me... Then you''ll have the right to tell me what to do." Haruki breathed a sigh of relief and glared at her direction. He wouldn''t be able to fight Eris toe to toe right now. He gripped his blade and he unsummoned it. "Fuck..." He muttered under his breath, it was a shit show from start to finish. He looked behind him and saw the girls looking at him as if demanding answers from him. He looked at Weiss as she helped Blake, she was apologetic towards them. If she didn''t immediately accepted Eris''s taunts the situation wouldn''t have escalated to this. He went near them and helped the girls, "Are you girls okay? is anyone injured?" They all shook their heads and Ruby spoke up, "No we''re fine it''s just who was she? don''t give us vague answers this time!" "We''ll talk on the way..." Haruki sighed and he joined them back to beacon as he answered their questions. "Who is she? How is she that strong when she''s the owner of Discordia? Doesn''t she have like bodyguards for this kind of stuff?" Ruby asked almost immediately, She fired off these questions like a machine gun. Haruki scratched his cheeks as he answered Ruby, "Well her identity is kind of sensitive right now..." Yang frowned, "Someone who could go toe to toe with you can''t be someone ordinary." Haruki looked at Yang, "Well she''s a little stronger than me as of now." "What!?" The four of them spoke in unison. Weiss interjected, "If that''s true, then could she be the enemy?" She looked at Haruki with a serious expression. Haruki sighed, "I honestly don''t want you girls getting involved in this, she''s very dangerous... The only reason I introduced you guys to her like that is so she won''t get hostile to you but to me. I couldn''t risk people that are close to me be in danger... To tell you the truth Eris is one of the Big Bad you guys are training to fight. From the looks of it you can''t handle her yet, but your biggest advantage right now is she is under estimating you. So I''m telling you this now girls be careful with Eris, if you see her you run, and you don''t look back... She''s more than you can handle." "You''ve fought her before?" Ruby asked meekly, she was feeling guilty about the whole thing, because if it weren''t for her the whole thing wouldn''t have escalated. "I fought her twice, the first one almost got me killed good thing she let me go. The second time I fought her into a stand still... but she escaped." The four gasped in amazement. "So Haruki... I heard her say that you''re not at your best right now is that true?" Blake looked embarrassed as she asked Haruki. When he appeared in front of her she felt nostalgic. It was a back that has always protected her, she has always felt safe Everytime she sees his broad back. Haruki sighed, "I over exerted myself fighting them. I''m not my best right now. I can barely use my semblance. Everytime I do I feel like I''m getting weaker, and my whole body aches as if it''s draining my energy." Of course it was all a lie, but he needed them to have something that motivates them. The four opened their eyes wide, "What!? but you''ve been using your semblance against us the whole time when you''re training us!" Weiss panicked ash she asked Haruki while shaking him. "Well... I need someone to take my place when I''m gone right, and besides Neo and the others are very strong so I don''t really need to train them hard. But you girls on the other hand have barely any coordination." He looked straight at Yang, "Especially you, if the opponent is stronger than all of you combined don''t attack them. I know you want to tank the damage for your team, but don''t do it so recklessly... you might end up losing an arm." Yang furrowed her brows, "Huh? but that''s my semblance! it''s one of the strongest!" Haruki flicked her in the forehead, "I know, but if you don''t watch yourself you''re only worrying the others more." Yang held her forehead as she looked at Haruki. "Does it include you?" He smiled gently towards her, "Of course." Yang smiled sweetly as she nodded, but deep down what Haruki told them was haunting them. They were all thinking the same thing, ''He is weakening day by day? Looking for us to take his place?'' They wanted to get stronger, not because strong enemies are slowly appearing, but for Haruki. He helped them at the cost of his own life... They were touched and angry at the same time, They were angry at themselves. This wouldn''t be a worry if they were strong enough. They swore that they would get stronger so to not be a burden for Haruki, so that they wouldn''t be a burden to him. He wouldn''t have to sacrifice himself if they had the strength to face Eris. Haruki sent them back to beacon as he escorted the four back to their rooms they were pondering what he has told them. 68 Chapter 59: Reminiscing Haruki stood outside the gates of beacon, He was just looking into space as if He was dazed. After sending back team RWBY back, He went outside the gates, not knowing why or any idea where to go. He wasn''t planning on going back to their room yet. He suddenly had an idea to go drink his worries away. But first he needed to find a good bar, if there''s any here anyways. He walked towards the commercial district. He was looking for a good place to unwind, forget all the upcoming trouble at least for just one night. but as he turned around He saw a familiar back as She was just strolling around. He used lightning form and appeared behind her, "You''re too young to be a teacher, but too happy to be a Huntress... Alright take me to where your car broke down." Neo was jolted back to reality as she was planning on returning after she takes a picture of the place, because she liked how it looked. Haruki suddenly appeared behind her. She looked back and Hugged him, (Hey baby!Have you had your talk with Pyrrha?) Haruki gently smiled and caressed her hair, She narrowed her eyes as she buried her face into his chest. "Yeah, we did." Neo nodded her head, (Do you think that Salem would come?) Haruki nodded his head, "Well The first step finished without a hitch, and Salem probably noticed that Ozpin is blocking her observer Grimm so we can only contact her through Hazel or Watts. So it''s either she moved up the schedule or she''s delaying it until the Vytal Festival... Either way they''re coming and the sins probably would make a move soon too. I''m just not sure when." Neo puffed up her chest, (Relax! The greatest Heroine of all time is here! If they ever appear, I''m going to bitch slap the ever living shit out of Salem. She ain''t got nothing on me! Even If the Sins or sinners appear! They''re nothing but Cannon fodder against the might of Neo The most OP Maiden!!) She said as she flexed her arms. Haruki smiled as he put her arms around her shoulders and grinded her head softly, "Oh yeah? Prove it squirt." Neo pinched him on the sides, (Huh!? Who''s a squirt you bastard!?) He was pinching her cheeks and she fought back. Their laughter echoed through out the place. But as she was hugging Haruki she noticed something, a peculiar smell... But it is also a familiar one, Roman also had that smell Everytime they come back from missions. The smell of tobacco. Neo frowned as she smelled it, But she let it go. She knows when Haruki smoked it was probably because he wanted to relax. Something agitated him or worried him that he can''t help but smoke. When she looked straight into Haruki''s eyes, he evaded her gaze... But that doesn''t mean she won''t scold him later. (Haru, are you planning on going somewhere?) Haruki sighed, "I''m... uhh... planning on grabbing a few drinks?" He closed his eyes thinking that Neo would be pulling his ears by now, but nothing happened. He slowly opened his eyes and saw Neo sighing, (Fine, Just go home early and tell Cinder and Emerald where you''re going.) Haruki nodded his head as he kissed Neo goodbye, "Be back in a few baby!" Neo narrowed her eyes, She Had already determined his punishment once He gets back. Haruki sent a message to Cinder and Emerald''s scroll, telling them where he''s going. [Okay, but you gotta sneak some in! I want some!] Emerald said, Haruki sighed at Emeralds mischievousness. [Alright, just make sure you don''t flirt around or I''ll shove a burning stake when the sun doesn''t shine...] He wiped his sweat as he read Cinder''s message, He firmly swore that he won''t. He wandered aimlessly looking for the right place to Have a drink, He looked at some but none matched his criteria for quiet and peaceful. Then He Arrived in front of a Flashy Bar, It was a Two story building, With two Bars and a stair leading up to the Club up top. He went to the left Called Brief Respite. As he was walking towards the door He was stopped by the guard, "How old are you kid?" Haruki suddenly remembered that he probably looked a little young. Although he can''t bring out powerful weapons with Ars Magus. He could summon the basic ones or even anything below demigod class weapon. He brought out an I.D. He showed it to the bouncer. The bouncer was doubting if this kid really was 21. He looked very Young. But before he was about to reprimand Haruki he saw a Couple Hundred lien being slid by Haruki towards his direction. He then gave Haruki a beaming smile, "Welcome to Brief Respite Sir! Please enjoy yourself to the fullest. We only serve the finest of drinks!" Haruki smiled towards the guy, Bidding him farewell. When he entered the place He immediately looked around. There were no loud music, just calming and popular ones. The ambiance on this place certainly suited his tastes. He looked for an empty seat, "Heh, I guess even for remnant, 9 is the busiest time for a bar..." On the other side of the counter, A lone girl who looked like a cross between a rich girl and a soldier was drinking. But Her looks were clearly cut above the rest. By the looks of it she was drinking to drown out her sorrows and worries. She appeared to be cursing someone under her breath. The others who wanted to strike a conversation towards this stunning lady stepped back from the aura she exuded. She was just probably waiting for an unlucky fool to annoy her and give her a reason to vent out her frustrations. They probably won''t survive the beating. Also Judging from the way she carries herself she''s probably a veteran soldier. And you don''t want to mess with that. Haruki was finally found a vacant seat, and when he saw who he would be sitting beside. It brought a smile towards his face. "Now I know why this place was well hidden and quiet, It actually serves celebrities." Winter was grumbling towards Haruki, She was angry when she found out that he was actually together with so many girls, He was even extremely close with her little sister that she cherished dearly. She met him first Before Team RWBY, Although she respected Neo''s place in his heart. She also wanted to be a part of that. Why did he add Pyrrha first before her? she thought to herself. She knew Haruki first, Plus she has done so many things for him, For his cause and what does she get? A simple thanks!? It wasn''t fair. She''s only human. And she''s more than a stiff rule following soldier. She was a woman to dammit! She has feelings too! While she was looking forward to their reunion, All he gave her was a thank you. She wanted more she has needs too! While he strutted around flirting with every woman he sees, she was waiting for a gift or some show of appreciation. As she was thinking of ways to beat Haruki up, she was anchored back to reality when she heard his voice. She thought that she had heard wrong and it was someone else. When she looked behind She saw the man she was angry at, So she replied sarcastically. "So you''re telling me that you''re a celebrity too?" Haruki scratched his cheeks, Winter sounded a little hostile towards him, but he still replied with a smile. "Yeah! don''t you remember me? I was the child actor for Barry''s chicken salad. It had a really great jingle, it went like... Welcome to Barry''s Chicken Pa~lace~" He sang it to winter but winter just narrowed her eyes, "C''mon you really don''t recognize me? Figures... back on my acting days I was really arrogant and haughty towards my peers so they lay me off after starring on that commercial..." Winter laughed, "Hahahaha, Fine fine you win..." Haruki sat down beside her, "Give me two shots of what she''s having." The bartender swiftly moved his hands and Gave him tow shots. Winter looked at Haruki shocked, "Huh? aren''t you a- -" Haruki put his finger on his lips, "Relax I''m old enough." He quickly downed the two shots, "Boss give me two glasses of one of your top shelf drinks. A whiskey on the rocks with a Cola back." Winter was expecting Haruki to give her one but he just drank both of it in one go. While Haruki pointed at the direction of the Cold King Whiskey. The bartender gave him a pitcher of cola, and Two empty glasses and two glasses of whiskey. He gave one to Winter, "Here, this one''s for you. I owe you far too much. I haven''t really done anything for you after all these years. I honestly appreciate all your help and if I could do anything for you, as long as I could do it, I would." Winter drank from her glass as she stared at Haruki with eyes wide open, She thought to herself. ''It''s my chance! But if I do that I''d feel like I somehow lost... I want to win him the fair way... not some kind of back end deal.'' So she smiled and asked, "Anything?" Haruki nodded his head. But before Winter told him what she wanted, she asked him another question. "Do you remember when we first met?" Haruki laughed, "Yeah, it wasn''t the best first meetings but I look back at that memory fondly." Winter rolled her eyes at him, "Yeah right... it was one of the worst first impressions you could give a lady!" Haruki scratched his cheeks, "Well you''re right. But it was also your first mission and I couldn''t help but tease the rookie for her blunders." Winter downed the whiskey as she blushed, not wanting to show him that she was extremely embarrassed. "Shut up! I can''t help it!" Haruki smirked, "Yeah nice try, I wonder if I should tell Weiss a story. One that involves her big sister that she looks up to." She hit him in the shoulders, "Don''t! you''re going to ruin my image! That''s slander!" She laughed as they reminisced how they first met and talked with each other. Winter cherished those memories, those memories were almost as important to her like her sister. Haruki sighed, although Winter was fond of those memories, Haruki wasn''t... Because he intentionally didn''t show her the ugly truth behind it all. 69 Chapter 60: In the mouth of Madness part 1 The past is such a mess, It could be viewed in so many ways. Remembered by different people. The truth buried under the rubble of the things we call nostalgia. Blurred by our own definition of truth. A subjective truth that blinds us from what truly is. That prevents us from seeing the subtle things we chose to ignore. It''s such a treacherous place, But we can never replace them... What''s done is done. A putrid place where you try to bury your mistakes, but it won''t die! It never will, it will haunt you forever... You only have to choices, You go crazy and off yourself... Or you live with it and you ignore the screaming, the deafening echoes of the souls you have taken. The hands that pull you down with them. The eyes that watch you on your sleep. Ignore everything and lock them in that damp and ambiguous place filled with things you''d rather forget. And shut them away... FOREVER... ... 4 Years Ago... Rain poured down relentlessly on a mountain beneath the floating Metropolis of Atlas. A village situated behind it''s city walls. Unseen and covered by the mist from the pouring rain. A lone man was dropped off from an airship on stealth. It was probably the only Airship undetectable by the current technology of this time. Even on atlas standards, This kind of tech was far off in the future. But a single scientist working for Salem did it, He was Doctor Arthur Watts. One of the most brilliant Scientist in remnant. His thirst for knowledge and intellectual capacity is only second to Aergia the sinner of Sloth... He was given the idea of a stealth Airship by Haruki, He was just casually chatting with him as they discussed about his new weapon the Guandao, but then Haruki asked about the stealth capabilities of the airship. This piqued the interest of Dr.Watts he asked Haruki how he thought that this would be possible. Haruki answered his quandaries he couldn''t give the specifics but he at least gave Watts some ideas on how. Thus he developed the first Airship capable of stealth, So to test it out Haruki was sent on a mission deep into atlas territory, Where Faunus slavery rings were being conducted. He was instructed to steal the dust and recruit the slaves into the white fang or Salem''s personal army. Haruki agreed with Watts being his supervisor for this mission, Before Haruki jumped down on the drop off point Watts told Haruki, "Oh and Haruki... I don''t accept failure." Haruki nodded his head, He opened the Hatch. The fierce wind and countless droplets of rain assaulted him. He donned his white fang mask, and prepared to jumped down. "Please tell me if you have any questions or problems with your new weapon. Test it out for me." Those words were like a death sentence for those who would stand opposite to Haruki. Haruki nodded as He jumped down. Without anything his jacket fluttering in the air as the rain obstructed his vision. But he already knows where he should land, He used lightning form and landed on the ground. To others it was just lightning striking the ground, but to Haruki''s targets... It was more of an preemptive warning. That their deaths were imminent. He slowly walked out of the crater, his expression cold as ice. Suddenly his Scroll rang it was Watts. He briefed Haruki on his target, "Your target this time is a Priest, He praises the Faceless God. Well it''s more of a cult than anything. But we feel it''s only a front, He uses that religious front to kidnap faunus children for experiments and selling them for a large amount of Lien. The priest''s name Is Aaron Inferus, one of the High priests of the Faceless Church. Find out what''s happening. What he''s doing on those children and only bring back relevant data. Look this isn''t charity we''re here not for the kids but for the Data and The Lien he has stashed somewhere. Destroy his operation and use whatever means necessary to get the data. The Others well they''re inconsequential, if they want to join let them but if no... Leave no one alive." Haruki nodded his head, "What data am I looking for exactly?" Watts shrugged his shoulders, "My informant says that it''s probably some kind of Hallucinogenic Drug, it makes you see things that doesn''t exist. Also the slaves he has kidnapped are probably the test subjects." Haruki summoned the Life reaping Katana, He gripped the handle. This kind of missions is what he hates the most. Staring at those lifeless eyes devoid of hope... Children robbed of their future because some psychopath thought it was fun to do some experiments. Even if he helps them take revenge, what then? they''ve already lost everything... So the only option left for them is either death or submission. He slowly made his way to the small village behind the mountains, just beyond the city walls of the most advanced kingdom. -------------------- On the small village of Dutchwick, An entire squad from Altas''s Military was stationed here. They were sent to protect a VIP of Atlas that was living here. A Priest that makes sizable donations towards their kingdom Once every half a year. Half of this Squad was composed of a bunch of rookies straight from different academies. Many took this job to get a boost and get a higher rank in the military later on. Thinking that this was an easy job, most of them were fairly relaxed. Except for one, She was a Graduate from Beacon Academy. She graduated top of her class. Even in the military she was a cut above the rest. Everytime that people would see her there would be murmurs. ''As expected from a Schnee.'' , ''A rich girl really is a different pedigree compared to ours.'' But the thing is she achieved all of this alone and without help. She did it all with her hard work alone. If she was successful on this mission her career from this point on will only have one direction... up. Inside a small hut beside a watch tower of the village, Winter was sitting down overlooking the map. The was looking for ambush points, as she was conversing with her CO. "Well Winter, I feel like this is unnecessary. All this preparation is unneeded. We''re just escorting a priest do a procession around the mountain. I feel like only thieves with nothing better to do would try to rob the Offering. I mean I don''t have anything against his church. But this is just weird. I mean a Faceless God?" The soldier leaning on a chair, with a book covering his face spoke. "With all due respect sir. This has been weird since the beginning we came here. Something is not right, The priest even has this smile that creeps me out. I feel like the one we should watch out for is the priest himself not the bandits." The two laughed, while winter was seriously looking at the map. She hasn''t spoken a word the entire time. She had the same feeling as Jack he was the lucky star of the group He would always get the entire squad into safety, or it''s what she has heard from the others. That something is not right from the moment the stepped into this village. She hasn''t even heard anything about the Church of the Faceless. "Well don''t keep yourself up rookie, This is your first mission after all. It''s gonna be bad if you''re too tense." Their CO stood up and left the all hut, Jack on the other hand sighed towards Winter. "Relax rookie everything is going to be fine." He smiled to reassure her but deep down, He knows why she was sent on this mission. They weren''t really escorting the priest, they were escorting her. The higher ups sent the phantom squad to this relatively easy mission so that they would babysit Miss Schnee. Away from all the danger, Because if they lost this girl in a dangerous firefight they would also probably lose the support of the Schnee dust company. And Atlas doesn''t want that... Winter saluted her superiors and she went outside the Hut to relieve the watcher. Jack observed Winter as she went outside the hut and sighed, "She would''ve made a good soldier, sorry rookie... after this you probably would be promoted instantly into a high rank away from all the danger.And the phantom squad doesn''t have any rookies just you..." Winter sighed as she went outside, she wasn''t expecting that her first mission would be a political move by the higher ups. Sometimes she just wished she was just a normal girl for once. At the very least no one bending over backwards just to please her... It''s suffocating to be surrounded by fake smiles and all this crappy socializing to other rich kid marriage prospects. That''s why she entered the military, to get away from all the crap her father wants to push on her, but after joining she thought everything would end. But her little sister was the one who took the brunt of her father''s wrath. That''s why she strived to be Weiss''s role model. She was nice to her out of guilt, from running away from her responsibilities. As she was pondering, Haruki on the other hand has successfully scouted the entire area. He has gathered sufficient data of the surroundings. He recognized a few faces on the place, Mostly everyone from the phantom squad that always gets in the way of their missions. He has also seen winter but he chose to ignore her. He sent the Data to Watts to await further instructions, They expected resistance but not from the phantom squad. Watts got the information Haruki sent him, he was surprised that the atlas military would send the phantom squad to guard a mere rich priest. "Hmm, They might be hiding something more..." He thought, he told Haruki to wait until they finish escorting the priest. "Just wait and see on what happens or on what they do..." Haruki nodded his head as he hid on a small cave he found. He would wait until sunrise to make his move. 70 Chapter 61: In the Mouth of Madness part 2 Woken up by the incessant droplets of the rain, Winter slowly stood up she had no idea what time it was so she opted to check the time. She checked the clock on the wall. It said 7:00 an Hour before they move out towards the heart of the mountain. "It''s still pouring pretty hard, Is it safe to trek at this kind of time?" She asked Her CO that was looking at the window. He shook his head, "No but... we have no choice. It might be a little dangerous but finishing our mission is our top priority." He checked the map once more, He needed to minutely adjust their trail so winter would be safe. He didn''t give a damn about the priest or his goal. The most important thing was to keep their VIP safe. Jack put down his book as he stared at his CO, "Captain Carson... something''s not right, I just feel it. My instincts never failed me before and especially not now.. " Carson looked at Jack, "What do you suggest?" Jack stared at the map, "How about we rearrange our positions. Winter goes to the back with Me and you and we would spread the others around. But we''ll have to make sure she doesn''t notice that something''s off..." Carson nodded his head, "Alright call the others, I''ll brief them on the changes to our plans." They all gathered at the hut. Carson quickly discussed the changes. Winter on the other hand didn''t say anything. She more or less agreed. She sighed thinking to herself, '' What even is the point of this ''Fake'' escort mission if you make it so obvious...'' She resigned to her fate, If it''s going to be like this she would just do her best in every mission she was sent to even if it''s all relatively easy. "It''s not that I''m weak... I''ve trained hard all my life, it''s not like I can''t handle a few mountain bandits." She murmured to herself. Carson noticed that winter was sulking, he sighed at the lonely back of the girl. He couldn''t just acknowledge the fact that she''s the real VIP even if she noticed. "Politics is such a bitch and a half..." Jack nodded his head Beside Carson. *Dong Dong!!!* The bells of the church rang Signalling them to get ready to move. When they arrived at the meeting point. There was a large carriage. Nobody knew what was inside the huge black box. But if they had to guess it was probably lien. To be offered to the temple on top of the mountain. The priest called Aaron rushed towards Carson. "Many thanks Captain... without you perhaps we would have failed to please the Faceless God, although his benevolence reaches infinity... So is his wrath." "It''s still raining... uhh...Sir?" "Please call me Aaron, Captain Carson..." Carson nodded his head towards the pot bellied old man, "Well then Aaron, I don''t think it would be that ideal to follow the path I planned earlier in this kind of weather, So I adjusted it a bit I hope you don''t mind." Aaron looked at the path Carson made and he furrowed his brows but then his expression returned to normal as he gave his consent with a beaming smile. Although his expression change was subtle it didn''t escape the experienced captain. He stared at the departing back of the priest as the priest hurriedly made calls. He narrowed his eyes, and told his men to keep their weapons hot and expect the unexpected. He thought to himself that this mission won''t be as easy as it seemed. Aaron on the other hand kept dialing on his scroll, But no one would answer. He tried calling over and over, His expression turned ugly but he didn''t show it. Something must have happened if they wouldn''t answer him. But he couldn''t delay it any further he must make a move soon. So he went back to Carson to tell him that they would be starting. "Captain please tell your men that we would be moving soon." Carson nodded his head, "Move out men! package is on the move!!" The carriage was surrounded by Men in Black hoods, they were wearing all black. Their face covered only by a white blank mask. They stood beside the carriage on each side. Carson''s men were stationed upfront and two on each side of the carriage, and finally Him and Jack were behind while winter was walking behind them. Aaron stayed behind, he sent out another preist in black clothing with a white hood, and a white mask. They soon started moving once the bells started ringing once more. Although the rain was still pouring and their path was covered in mist, they have thermal sensors if ever some bandits do approach. Winter followed behind, she sensed that the lax atmosphere of her squadmates were gone, and they were all wary of everything, their weapons stand at the ready. She thought to herself that this mission was not so bad after all, a place to prove herself... that she''s more than just a spoiled princess. That she could fight too. As she was thinking this, they slowly moved towards the heart of the mountain. ------------------ Two hours before winter and the phantom squad moved into the heart of the mountain Haruki was already perched on top of a cliff. He has already taken a look at the map, and the path that they were taking. As he was checking the area He noticed that there were people lying in wait hiding in a crevasse on the mountain side. He slowly crept besides the entrance and listened on what they were doing there. He leaned on the flat part of the cliff, behind a huge rock to obstruct their vision of him. But he heard nothing. Only breathing, as if they were sleeping. But when he took a peek he saw that they were combat ready and fully awake. They were covered in a white garb with a black mask covering their faces. This surprised him, He expected them to be chatty since the target was still ways off. They were like assassins. Something felt off and he knows it, Should he just let these assassins kill the entire phantom squad? But then he remembered someone. Winter Schnee... If I''m going to build an army I need a schnee as a backer, fine I''ll help her like a knight in shining armor. So he decided to kill of these assassins. He slowly walked out of his hiding spot, "Hey guys! do you have news about our Target yet?" But what answered his was silence, The man nearest to him slashed downwards with his blade ring. *Swish!!* He parried it off to the side with his life reaping Katana. He was grinning, "Hey I''m with you guys!" They were still silent, and it was eerie. It creeped him out it''s like he was just fighting some puppets. Soon two charged towards him, But after several seconds the ground beneath their feet had cold air rising from it. And countless cracking sounds resounded in that tiny cave. The ground and their feet were frozen but before they could smash the ice beneath their feet, their head flew up apart from their body. The others opened their eyes wide but they soon charged towards him with the same fervor as those two who died. Haruki then used exploding star as he jumped out of the cave and used lightning form to climb up. *Boom!* A huge explosion resounded in the mountains, when he peeked down below, a blade ring flew up almost slicing his face off. "Woah! That was fucking close! I thought they''d be buried under all that rubble!" He dodged back avoiding the attack, The ones who climbed up from the cliff were the same guys he fought, although their bodies were mangled they would still attack him as if they weren''t injured at all. He summoned ice spikes from the ground using Skoll and Hati claws. He materialized a Magnum Revolver loaded with incendiary bullets. It was weird he didn''t want to go near those bodies. When he was cutting them it was a strange sensation, it was like cutting jelly. When the assassins died their bodies slowly melted and turned into a blackish goo, Haruki stared at the puddle. "What the fuck!? Are these even human!? What are these things!?" His expression darkened, he needs to see that data soon. He went ahead and checked the other places. He was met with heavy resistance, He held his Life reaping with a reverse grip style, he charged in slashing everyone on his way. He made his way through the first wave, and when he turned around he threw a couple of fireballs compressed but their firepower was immense. It slowly grew smaller and shot at speeds invisible from the naked eye. Countless of burning corpses littered the path, but he heard no screaming. It felt weird, do they not feel pain at all? He asked himself as he stared at the corpses that slowly melted into disgusting goo. Then from the bushes two shadows emerged and slashed at him with their glaives. He threw the life reaping katana upwards.and caught the blades with the Skill and Hati claws, he crushed the weapons into powder. the two shadows stepped back but he used lightning form to go behind the enemy on his left. He punched a hole on the assassins back through his chest. A weird feeling came over him as he pulled out his arms quickly. He appeared in front of the other one and used his lightning form to channel electricity towards the enemy''s head. "What are you?" Haruki asked but he got no answer. The assassin knew that he was no match to Haruki so instead of getting tortured and answering questions, he chose to kill himself. As he killed the last group of assassins, He looked behind him and saw a man with his arms crossed overlooking him at the top of a cliff, he had the same outfit as the others but he had glowing blue horn ornaments on his mask. He was probably the strongest out of all of them. He just stood there looking down on Haruki. This irked Haruki, "Well? I''ve killed all your friends? Aren''t you going to come down and avenge these creepy fucks?" He covered his mouth and acted surprised, although his face was covered by a white fang mask his Expression was still conveyed. "Don''t tell me... You''re not scared are you?" The masked man cracked his knuckles, expressing his displeasure. He jumped down from the top of a cliff. He brought out two Ring Blades with a handle on the middle. The blades spun on high speeds, he threw one towards Haruki. Haruki parried it off the side as his eyes widened, "Ohh... that''s quite a powerful weapon." Let me show you mine as well, He brought out his mechanical guandao. "I guess it''s time to test this one out, I was planning on testing this on the phantom squad... but, since you''re here... I''m going to play with you first" He grinned and charged towards the masked man once more. 71 Chapter 62: In the Mouth of Madness Part 3 They were trekking through the mountains, guns in hand. They were observing the masked men besides them, they attempted to strike a conversation but all they got was a nod. This creeped them out. Some kind of eerie feeling that they couldn''t explain. Jack was walking behind the carriage a few meters away, He was observing the movement of those masked men. They were moving in unison, it''s as if they were as disciplined as a soldier. There was a rhythm on the way they walked, "I don''t like this..." Carson narrowed his eyes, "What do you see? Are they making a move?" As the best marksman of the squad Jack has sharp eyes, but he only shook his head. "That''s the thing Sir... They''re not making any other movements. It''s like I''m staring at a bunch of lifeless robots." Carson sighed, "Well if it''s nothing then we can''t make a move either..." "But we could make a move we could catch them off guard." Jack said as he slowly undid the safety of his rifle. "Just give me the signal sir and I''m going to light this whole parade up." Carson blocked his gun with his arm, "Don''t... This might be what they want that we would be moving first." Jack nodded his head as he continued staring at the masked men. Winter on the other hand was bored out her mind, but she kept her vigilance up. She might appear lax but she could sense that everyone was observing the masked men. But she did the opposite she observed her superiors, on how would they react on certain situations such as this. True she had combat experience, but it''s only against Grimm, and a simple spar on the vytal festival. But a life and death situation was a first for her. She wasn''t even sure that she could do it, but if push comes to shove she has no choice but to do it... As she was focusing on her superiors, the white hooded priest, raised his hands and rang the bell on his hands. The carriage stopped. The masked men all knelt, They were silent but they looked like they were praying. The hooded priest approached the carriage, He touched it caressed it slowly as he brought out his dagger and cut his palms open. He poured his blood around the edges of the carriage. Jack looked around and furrowed the rain got stronger, and to be honest they were on a disadvantageous position. this wasn''t an ideal place to stop. He kept his finger on the trigger ready to fire at any moment. Then suddenly the carriage shook, it kept shaking and as time passes the shaking grew more fervent. One of the soldiers upfront asked the priest what was going on but he was ignored. The priest didn''t cover his wound as he wiped his blood towards the soldier who went near him. Then the shaking stopped, The soldier who got wiped with blood stepped back and let the rain wash away the blood. Then the black box opened from the lid on top. What happened next was what they didn''t expect the most. ------------------- On top of a cliff near the top of the mountain, Two figures stood opposite of each other on the fierce rain, "Well? the fights not going to resume itself you know..." Haruki said, at his waist hung his katana tempered by the blood of his enemies, The Life Reaping Katana. Both the sheath and the blade we''re crimson red. It lacked any decorations, when sheathed it looked like a wooden sword painted red. Unfortunately It was an Unholy class weapon. On his hands was the guandao Doctor Watts made, He was taunting the masked man with blue horns. The man just stared at him, "So it''s just going to be a one man show huh?" He slowly walked towards his opponent, "Alright blue horns... I''ll just call you blue horns, if there''s no difference for you. I won''t bother to know your name seeing that you''d be dead soon anyways." Then as he was saying that blue horns moved, His right hand that was holding the blade ring was covered in a dark miasma, drawing closer to his head. The thickness of the dark miasma was hard to see, since the rain was in the way. Haruki spun his guandao and blocked his strike, but the miasma shot through his weapon and directly hit him in the chest. He stepped a few meters back, what hit him damaged his aura greatly, he furrowed his brows, "What the fuck, that''s a nice semblance you got the- -" Before he could finish speaking another blade ring covered in dark miasma flew towards him once more. He rolled forwards to avoid and threw his guandao towards the enemy. The weapon hissed through air, following the arc drawn by the spinning slash. The masked man blocked the strike using his blade ring. But Haruki has already used his lightning form to appear behind him and caught the parried off blade. They exchanged blows, Haruki''s strikes were getting faster and sharper as his body gets used with the new weapon. *Clang clang* Blue horns was getting pushed back, and he went near where he threw his other blade ring, so after blocking Haruki''s downward slash he flipped backwards and took the blade. "Hoohh, not bad for a dead man..." Haruki said as he dashed towards his enemy. Blue horns accurately blocked Haruki''s slash aimed at his right arm. But Haruki used Gravity I on his blade and on his opponent, He put pressure on their clash. With a sharp sound and sparks flying about, His guandao sank on the enemy''s shoulder. Before Haruki could push his blade downwards, Blue Horns expelled black miasma from his whole body. The blade stopped before it cut all the way through. And pushed Haruki away a few meters away. He channeled the lightning on his Lightning form andcharged towards to his enemy once again. Blue horns threw his blades towards Haruki bit he used the life reaping katana sheathed on his waist to parry of the blades. Blue horns covered his arms with dark miasma and tried to block Haruki''s lightning imbued blade. Sparks flew as their semblance clashed, but Haruki''s lightning was a lot stronger it was only a few seconds until the blade went through the black miasma and through his arms. Haruki spun his guandao cutting off Blue Horn''s arms whole. "Well blue horns? feeling a little chatty?" But blue horns didn''t speak as he stared at Haruki. Haruki put his hands on the mask and pulled it away. "What the fuck!" His face grimaced as he looked at the mangled face in front of him. His face was riddled with burn marks, scars, and his eyes were empty, As if he was staring into the abyss. The mouth was also sewn shut. It was as if his enemy was just using his instincts to fight him. Haruki grimaced and cut off his head, "Poor bastard... That''s the best I could do for you." He gazed towards the mountain pass, He thought to himself they should be arriving now but there was no soul in sight. Just the black puddles of his kills... He rushed towards the mountain pass using his lightning form searching for their whereabouts. ------------------ When the black box opened, what came out were faunus and humans that had a lot of scars and missing limbs. But their eyes were filled with bloodlust and a creepy smile was plastered on their face permanently. They crawled out from the black box and charged towards The phantom squad. "What the fuck?! Fire!! Open fire on everyone!!" Carson shouted towards his whole squad. One was caught off guard and got his throat bit out by a faunus woman. "Shit!! Rick!!" The other beside the guy fired at the faunus woman riddling her with holes. Everything went into shit as they phantom squad was fighting off the frenzied people that were stuck inside the black box and the masked men at the same time. Jack fired at them but the masked men had aura protecting them, so his rifle turned into a spear and he charged into the fray, Carson also noticed that his bullets were ineffective so his dual wielded machine guns turned into two massive axes. "Cut them down!!" But every masked men he killed slowly turned into black goo, he was weirded out but he kept cutting them down, as he stood in front of Winter protecting her. Winter on the other hand was shaken, the rabid Man who came from her flank tried to bite her. So she flipped and cut off the man''s legs. The rabid man crawled towards her, roaring as if eyeing it''s prey. She closed her eyes and cut off the man''s head. It felt weird, she kept herself from puking. She killed off her emotions as she cut down everyone who came at them. She summoned all the past Grimm she has killed to add some fire power to her squad. But the masked men were more powerful than expected, Jack tried to stop all the masked men charging towards Carson and Winter, but he was only human. He did his best stabbing multiple enemies with his spear, He spun his spear and stabbed through the throat of the white hooded priest who tried to sneak past him. But once his aura was depleted the hits he was tanking passed through him. He was cut down... Carson looked at Winter and sighed, He felt sorry for this girl, she has killed so many on her first mission, this would probably haunt her... "Miss Schnee please run to the base of this mountain, don''t go back to that village. Please call for back up once you have successfully ran away from these monsters, I''ll hold back as many as I can." Winter screamed towards her CO, "But sir!! I''m helping! look at my summons!" He shook his head, "That wouldn''t hold them for long... please, and please tell Commander that the phantom squad did their best. I hope that I could protect you at least..." He pushed winter away,He looked towards the nearing enemies. His body grew bigger and his muscles contracted. He weilded his two massive axes towards the charging enemies. One swing took three lives almost immediately, He roared towards the heavens echoing his last stand along with his brothers and sisters who died or about to die in battle. They took their final stand on that mountain. But they didn''t last that long, Winter kept running while puking on the way, she maybe not affected a while ago, but her actions finally sunk in. She killed people... They might even have families, those might be the missing people that the atlas military were looking for. Some were even children, She thought that her actions were unforgivable as she puked out her breakfast. Her hands were shaking, she has tripped multiple times, the wet ground surely didn''t help her case. She found a small opening beneath a fallen tree, as she hid inside it. She was shaking. She hugged her knees, For the first time in her life she was afraid. She laughed at herself thinking that she might escape her father''s grasp once she joined the Atlas military. This was far worse, the look they gave her as she took their lives, they were terrified and Happy at the same time. For the first time in her life how deeply she wished that should have just accepted her fate instead of defying her father''s wishes. She remembered her family, Her mother and Her little sister Weiss how deeply she missed them badly, She laughed at her self as tears poured down. "Hehehe how ironic...The life I thought would give me freedom the most would be the one that kills me..." She was shaken down to her core, as she silently sobbed beneath the Tree, "Weiss... I''m sorry... big sister won''t be seeing you grow up... *Hics* Mom... I''m sorry I couldn''t be the daughter you wanted me to be..." Then a rustling sounds came from somewhere, she held her dual sword tightly as she prepared her self. Then countless footsteps were marching towards her direction. She covered her mouth she was really afraid as she stopped herself from sobbing, but tears kept falling. Then the sounds stopped. She looked up and there was a masked man standing in front of her, she wanted to raise her sword but she couldn''t muster up the strength. Thinking that this might be the end for her she accepted her fate. She probably was surrounded. But... She won''t go down without a fight, She''s a schnee! She will Never back down. She gripped her blade, But before she could strike the masked man in front of her. A red streak flashed, followed by a beautiful red arc. The man was split in two. "Whew! that''s the last one! Are you okay princess?" Winter was surprised she looked at the man with a white fang mask in front of her, and relief finally overcame her body. She fainted, but she was smiling. But before she fainted she uttered the words, "My prince..." 72 Chapter 63: In the Mouth of Madness Part 4 On the mountain path there was lightning zipping through and across the entire place, Haruki was searching every nook and cranny for winter. "Shit Ars Can you detect any human life signals around?" [Negative, there not a soul in the immediate area. But there are a few Grimm in the area.] Haruki sighed as he continued to March forward. He Killed off a few Grimm on the way. He stood on top of a tall tree and saw a black carriage near the cliff side. He immediately dashed towards that direction. As he was approaching the Carriage, He could hear the sounds of fighting and struggling. He used lightning form and slammed towards the ground. The remaining Phantom squad were struggling against the Masked men, No matter how much the shot them, unless it''s the head, they would keep coming. Not even mentioning the Freed frenzied slaves, They were outnumbered as is. Their superior officer was laying in his own pool of blood, as his flesh was being gnawed by those frenzied slaves. It was a hopeless battle, but they knew they needed to buy as much time as possible for winter to get to safety at least. The enemies were closing in from all sides, they were out of dust bullets and their aura is almost depleted. Their weapons covered in blood and so we''re they. They could barely carry themselves, "It was an honor to serve alongside all of you, UNTIL THE END!!!" one of them charged once more straight to the front. Soon their morale was back to its peak, They chanted together. The mantra of the phantom squad. Once more into battle... Into the last good fight that I''ll ever know. Live and die to this day. Live and die to this day. Carve a path through the darkness. Live and die to this day. It was hopeless but they still raised their arms against the enemies, The clash resumed blood and black goo mixed on the ground as it was littered by corpses. Haruki was observing the battle on top of a tall tree branch, "Hmm... Winter''s not here, these guys are probably buying her enough time to escape." Haruki slammed once more into the ground but his trajectory was the middle of the fight. *Crash!!!!* A huge dust could covered the vision of both parties. Then as the dust slowly settled back into the ground. A lone man stood at the middle of the Crater. He was shorter than a man, so was that a child? they all thought the same. But the power and aura he was giving off was unrivalled. He looked towards the phantom squad, "Where''s Winter?" They all furrowed their brows, thinking this guy might be a bad guy. Not getting an answer Haruki decided to make them answer by showing his power. At first the phantom squad decided not to answer anything, But they put that idea towards the back of their mind as soon as they saw him kill the masked men easily and quickly. After a few minutes A lot of bodies has already dropped towards the ground. He slashed towards the empty air to get rid of the blood on his guandao. "I''ll ask again nicely... Where is Winter?" They pointed at the general direction where she ran, "Please save her... we can handle ourse- -" But before he could finish Haruki was already gone, but he left a surprise for them. All their enemies were frozen. Now all they had to do was deal the finishing blow. Then they saw a note, "You fuckers owe me one..." They killed the remainders of the enemies, Then they buried all their fallen comrades. Winter is probably going to be safe since that masked boy was coming to save her. They all sighed and mourned their losses, they lost a lot of good men today. They looked towards the top of the hill, they would charge in once again. Once they get resupplied, they will kill all of those bastards. But when they turned around there were two Masked men with glowing blue horns that were standing on top of a tall tree branch, with arms crossed the two masked men dropped down. Bringing out two blade rings each. The Story of the Phantom Squad ended here... In the shadows where they belong. ------------ Haruki saw a few figures rushing downhill, he followed them it was probably where winter was so he dashed towards their direction. Killing all of those he caught up to, He spun his guandao and channeled lighting onto it. Then he threw it towards the enemies in an arc. And it cleared almost all of them, the survivors would be cut down by his red blade. He then saw a lone masked man standing near an opening on a fallen tree, About to strike. He used his lightning form and zipped through, He drew a beautiful red arc with his blade, splitting the enemy in half. "Whew! That''s the last one! Are you okay princess?" He finally saw Winter, and in the worst state possible. She was scared out of her wits, and when she finally knew that she was safe she fainted. He sighed, "Shit... well I guess I''ll have to carry her back." He checked his scroll for the nearest town or village but the nearest one was the village where the priest was hiding. He sighed he can''t use lightning form to carry somebody because that would be lethal. He carried her on his back, essentially giving her a piggyback ride. He was gently running to not disturb the fainted princess, And after running around he finally saw a small cave. He sat her up on the wall, as he set up a few blankets, "Huh? why does it feel like I''m about to do something bad?" He shook his head and laid Winter on the blanket. Haruki tilted his head, "Fuck she''s drenched by the rain... *Cough...* It would be a disservice to all the gentlemen in the world if I don''t help her now... But on doing so I would have to explain a lot of crap once she wakes up..." He was pacing back and forth as he was contemplating, but unbeknownst to him winter has already regained consciousness, she was observing Haruki from top to bottom. ''Huh... it seems he''s the one that saved me, And come to think of it he''s a child! He''s probably the same age as my sister...'' Her eyes narrowed as she stared towards Haruki, She checked her clothes and as Haruki has said, her clothes were wet from the rain. ''Isn''t he just a little pervert trying to take advantage of me?'' She thought once more as she pretended to be asleep. Haruki slowly approached her. "As a man... no as a righteous man... it is my duty to help a lady in need, that''s right she need my help..." He nodded as he convinced himself. Winter raised her eyebrows, ''What is this brute thinking!'' As Haruki''s hands were about to to reach for her clothes, her hand shot out to grab it. She opened her eyes and glared towards Haruki. "What do you think you''re doing?" Haruki was woken up from his own perverted tho- - Ahem Uhh... Righteous thoughts. "Um, trying to be a nice citizen?" He said, although winter couldn''t see his expression that was hiding behind his mask she could sense that this little pervert was thinking of something naughty. "Hmph, don''t touch me... don''t you recognize me? I''m the enemy of your organization. White Fang Boy..." Winter said, Her sister was almost kidnapped by the white fang once, although this guy saved her. That doesn''t mean that the enmity she has for the white fang was gone. "Well calm down Ice Queen, it''s not like I''m going attack you. Plus not all White Fang members are out to get you Miss Schnee." "So you do recognize me...Well what is your goal in saving me? planning on black mailing the schnee family? planning on getting a nifty reward? What is your goal." Haruki shrugged his shoulders, "Are all faunus in your eyes evil? Do you think that my goal is to further our cause? Do you think that every faunus in the world are greedy? Do you think only the faunus can be wrong? Are they the only enemies in your eyes? If that''s the case wow! How have you been living till now?" Winter gripped her sheets as the words were stuck in her throat, and before she could retort Haruki threw clothes at her. "Change or you''ll catch a cold." He slowly walked out of the cave. Winter stared towards his departing back, She furrowed her brows, "It''s still raining outside... Where is he going?" But her questions were left unanswered, she stared at the clothes he tossed at her, She wondered where the hell did he pull it out from, But it looked nice. She like the design of the shirt it was a White Rabbit running. After a while Haruki came back holding a few branches and logs tied with a rope, surprisingly it wasn''t wet. Winter thought how this was possible, but she wasn''t in the mood to ask questions right now. And she finally noticed a sling bag behind him covered in blood, She couldn''t contain her curiosity so she asked him. "What''s in the bag?" He answered simply, "Food." He stabbed the meat with the stick and He put the meat to be roasted. Winter was staring at Haruki. This kid is pretty resourceful, Then she remembered her words towards him earlier. She was pretty harsh with her words. She wanted to apologize to him, "Sor....ry" She said as she lowered her head, blushing hard. She hasn''t apologized towards someone younger than her before. Haruki looked up and smirked inwardly, ''Well what do you know, this girl can be cute sometimes.'' "I''m sorry what? what did you say? I couldn''t hear you earlier." Winter mustered up the courage to apologize again. "I said... That I apologize for my behavior earlier." Haruki shrugged his shoulders, "Here... Food." He reached food towards her, she reached for the food and elegantly bit onto the meat. "Better than My CO''s BBQ." Haruki smiled, "Of course! I might say my cooking skills are unparalleled!" Winter giggled, "Well I didn''t say it was the best..." "Yeah, but you will soon... I am a master at this." Winter rolled her eyes towards him. She stared at the entrance of the cave and she could see rain and lightning striking the ground. After eating Haruki and Winter decided to sleep, and move out once the rain stops. Winter Laid next to the fire, while Haruki sat down near it hugging his life reaping Katana. Winter stared at Haruki''s sleeping figure and she remembered what she said before she fainted earlier. ''My Prince...'' She could feel her face heat up, ''What am I thinking!'' As she was thinking this she finally felt a little sleepy as the exhaustion caught up to her.She slowly fell asleep staring at the one who saved her. 73 About the slow updates Sorry, content is lost, You are reading Novel on Novelhall.COM, we will fix it as soon as possible, thank you 74 Chapter 65: In the Mouth of Madness Part 6 When Haruki caught up to winter she was justcrouched down on a nearby tree. Hugging her knees. She wasn''t crying anymore but she was silent. Her eyes were hollow. He tried calling her, but she won''t respond. When he reached his arms towards her, she immediately jolted and crawled backwards. The way she looked at his hand was full of fear. She looked terrified, Because deep down when she thought that when she took that hand there was no going back. But then She realized that it was Haruki who reached his hands towards her. She meekly took his hand and felt the warmth emanating from it. Her breathing grew steady, She stared at the boy who reached his hands towards her. He was wearing his signature faint and cocky smile. She steadily regained clarity and she finally calmed down. It was weird, even though the rain and the sound of thunder was deafening. She could sound out his voice. "Hey, Why don''t we go back to the cave? It''s warm there and... I made soup." Those words alone brought tears to her eyes. She gave him a weak nod, after puking her guts out. She was evidently hungry. She could even hear her own stomach growling. The simplest of gestures can send ripples through out someone''s psyche. This tiny thing that Haruki did. Finding her amidst the storm. Even though they were supposed to be enemies. Comforted her weak Heart at the moment. They went back inside the cave, Even though the place was damp. And the surface was Rocky. To winter this was slightly comforting. Haruki tossed clothes towards Winters direction. "I''ll wait outside... Just call me when you''re done." Winter once more stared at his departing back. But a faint smile surfaced. After changing she called Haruki back. They both sat down in front of each other, She stared at the soup he handed to her. She scooped a mouthful. It was warm... Tears slowly slid down on her face, "How? How could you live with the fact that you killed someone? Doesn''t it haunt you? Like... Like a recurring nightmare that never ends?" Haruki continued to down his soup, after several big gulps. He wiped his mouth and stood up. Winter thinking that she might have asked something insensitive quickly closed her mouth. She wiped her tears and sighed. He came back with a huge bag, It clanked as he walked. Like the sound of bottles hitting each other. Winter wondered where he gets these things. Haruki stole the stash of alcohol from the soldiers. In the Hut there was a tiny little cupboard filled with bottles of Beer and Vodka. So he snuck in and stole a few... no he stole all of it. "Here... Drink up, it''s going to be a long talk..." She took the bottle of beer and sipped from it. It was bitter, and a little sour. She creased her brows as she tasted it. She only drank socially. And she only drank the finest wine atlas could offer. She wasn''t used to the taste but it was bearable. Haruki smirked at her, "It''s an acquired taste Missy." She furrowed her brows at Haruki, "Aren''t you a little young to be drinking?" Haruki slapped his forehead as he remembered, "Oh... Rules don''t apply to me." "I am a soldier remember?" He shrugged his shoulders, "Well slacken up a bit. You won''t get a boyfriend that way Ice Queen." Winter sighed, "Fine just this time!" Haruki smirked, "Oh... So there will be a next time huh? Looking forward to it." Winter rolled her eyes, and after a few breaths she looked at Haruki. "What did you feel when you ended someone else''s life?" Haruki gave a hollow laugh as he to a swig straight from the bottle, "I remember feeling guilty, I felt Despair... and most importantly anger... I thought that those feelings would last an entire lifetime but after a few hours when I went back and checked. All I felt was emptiness. The pain I Have caused would stay with me for an entire lifetime." Winter silently listened to him, She was shaking beneath the blankets, but she did her best not to show it. "And because of that kill, unhappiness turned into anger and spread throughout my entire being. Then I stepped into the mercenary business. Then into the battlefield... It was a living hell, to see people die... Deserving or innocent. It was horrifying all the same... The air was choked with the stench of dead men, allies or otherwise. The smell of gunpowder, and the land soaked with blood. The burning smell of charred remains. The tears shed by the innocent. You could easily go crazy..." Winter covered her mouth as she listened in. But she had to ask, "Why? Why did I have to kill those people? When I... Killed those people... They were on a trance, they were mad, as if they ignored their own injuries and just kept killing. When I saw the Carnage my mind went blank and just kept... Killing. I have been waging a war within myself, In black and white. The wrong and right. But why? please tell me..." She looked at her own shaking hands, "Please tell me... If soldiers are supposed to protect the people. Why am I killing them instead? I thought I trained to bring people hope. To fight against Grimm. Why is it being used for murder?" Haruki sympathetically looked towards winter and sighed. "Because that''s what soldiers do..." Winter furrowed her brows as she shouted towards Haruki. "I didn''t enlist for this kind of cruel and horrible scene!" "I know what you''re thinking. [I''m doing this against my will.] Those were your thoughts as you struck down your enemies." Haruki crossed his arms together, "Can you say for certain there hasn''t been a time where you didn''t feel good about your own skill as you struck down your enemy?" Winter widened her eyes in fear, her thoughts raced and remembered that moment in her dream where she repeatedly struck her enemies. That horrifying smile. She looked down and hugged her shoulders. Haruki ignored her trembling as he continued. He needs her to face the reality of the situation. "A battlefield is a place for murder, Did you put on that uniform without being prepared to kill?" "Yes! But I was expecting to kill Grimm and protect people." "Those are Hunters! you''re a soldier! There''s a huge difference between them! To show mercy to your enemies is to be cruel to yourself. If you don''t take advantage of the window to eliminate all your enemies then you will surely incur the bitter consequences of your own weakness." Winter clenched her fists, "Then what about you!? why do you fight!? Why do you kill? why did you save me then if it''s all the same to you!?" "Easy... Because I don''t want to die, Reasons are always simple. I do what I do because someone more powerful than me could kill me anytime." Winter held his hands gently, "Then why? you have enough strength to change this world!" Haruki smirked towards his remark, He removed his mask. Revealing a well featured face, and eyes as dark as the abyss. "A single human can only do so much... even with tremendous power. Believe me I''ve seen that first hand..." Winter widened her eyes, "I thought you were a faunus? Why were you wearing that mask?" Haruki didn''t answer her, So she asked him once again. "Tell me then, why am I tasked on killing the people of my own kingdom?" Haruki looked outside the cave, towards the rain. "You were given orders it was that simple." Winter scoffed she stood up and grabbed Haruki by the collar, "Those weren''t orders! They sent me here to protect me and shelter me from the danger! Look where it got me!! I''ve dyed my hands red with blood!! How can I face my sister... My mother!? My own fucking family when I''m like this!?" Haruki leaned his head towards the wall and stared at winter straight in the eye. "Return home...and swallow every horrible thing I''ve done here. And smile when I''m with them, That''s what I would do. And Swear on my life I would make them happy..." She loosened Her grip towards him and stepped back, the bottles were knocked down spilling the beer and vodka. Staring at the floor she weakly sat down. She gave a hollow laugh. She looked towards Haruki as he sat down near beside her. He brought out a picture of a girl from his jacket and stared at it. He was standing beside a girl with three shades of color on her hair. Winter saw the picture and asked if she was his sister. "Heh, something like that. But it''s also more than that. This is also what keeps me alive. This picture of us smiling, let''s me dream of a tomorrow. In this battle that may never end. This helps me get a strong grip on reality. Since you have a sister yourself don''t you feel the same. Doing our best, even though we don''t know when the battle may end. We suffer, conquer, and then what''s left? Nothing but empty land, devoid of both hope and people. That''s why... No matter how many times I have to do this, I must protect that smile, even if they''re just a handful of people... I would do my best to protect the ones most important to me." He stood up slowly and went outside leaving those words for winter to ponder alone. The rain finally stopped. The night was completely silent, and yet Haruki stood outside drinking a glass, to everyone he''s killed. And for everyone that died in his arms. After a few Hours Morning finally came, and the long awaited sun, shone brightly towards them. Winter changed back into her military clothes, picked up her weapon and stood behind Haruki. "So you decided to take this path, even after what happened in that mountain?" Winter nodded, "Yes..." Haruki stretched his limbs, "Alright, We''ve got work to do..." Winter was hesitant but she finally gained the courage to ask. "I''ve... I have never gotten your name..." Haruki scratched his nose, "Kazama Haruki... That''s my real name. But on the white fang They call me Kaz. You might have heard of me?" Winter shook her head, "No..." Haruki raised his eyebrows, "Really? I''m pretty sure Im quite notorious..." Winter giggled towards his remark, "Well if you were well known just your outfit alone would be remembered." Haruki nodded, "I see... that makes perfect sense. You''re a genius Winter!" "Well enough talk let''s go, we''ve got a bad guy to catch." But when she looked behind her Haruki was posing in front of a puddle, He was testing out if his current outfit stood out. He was nodding his head, "I see... This may seem like I''m permanently stuck in eighth grade... I''m going to ask Neo to sew me a new one." Winter opened her eyes wide, "Hehehe, What are you doing?" "Increasing my charm!" He said as he flexed In his own reflection. She sighed, "Can we go?" Haruki removed his mask and smiled towards winter, "Well do I look good?" Winter smirked, "Pahahaha, I never knew that you''re quite conscious of your appearance." "Impact milady, That''s how you get known!" She dubiously raised her eyebrows and made a glyph freezing the puddle. "Oh thanks, it was really hard to se- -" But before he could finish Winter stepped on the ice and broke it. "Can we go?" She said with a beautiful smile, but deep down Haruki knows if he stalled one more time he might die. Haruki shrugged his shoulders, "Alrighty then... Let''s get moving." Winters face turned serious as she gripped her blade, Her hands was still shaking a little. Haruki noticed this so he grabbed her hand. He smiled toward Her, "It''s okay I''m here..." She nodded towards him, "Thanks, Perhaps if it wasn''t for you I would''ve died a hundred times over." He shrugged his shoulders, "Well it''s my honor..." Winter crossed her shoulders, "Come to think of it why are you here?" "I''ll tell you on the way..." He stared at the mountain shrine where the faceless set their destination as. They would investigate there first. They both agreed to tread the mountains instead of the beaten path. It was Time to put an end to this madness. 72 Chapter 64: In the Mouth of Madness Part 5 It was Red... The very same color that I always hated to see, But it was also the very same color that flowed running down my hands. I look at my Hands in horror, It was so dark. I could barely see anything. I tried to look in every direction but all I see was Red. And yet the very same color that I hated was so beautiful. It was alluring it tried to pull me in with it''s beauty. I try to remember the stimulation of that kind of feeling. The feeling of power... The feeling of looking down on your enemy, and watch the life drain out of them. Then it dawned on me. The very thing that was flowing on my hands. Blood. BLOOD!! It was blood! My head felt dizzy, and my eyesight blurred as tears slowly fell down from my face. I was already lying on the ground. I hadn''t realized when my legs gave out. I was just laying there covered in blood. But it''s not mine... Countless footsteps close in on me as I lay there, I look towards the direction of that specific sound. But I realized that It came from everywhere, I was surrounded by that eerie footsteps. As if it was closing in on me. I sat up, Then I could finally see faint figures approach. They looked like human figures. But the way they walked doesn''t sit right with me. It''s like they were shambling towards me. I tried to get close to them perhaps they can tell me why I''m covered in blood. But I can''t muster up the strength to stand or walk even. I crawled awkwardly towards them. But before I reached them, it seemed as if it has started to rain. I look towards my hands it''s still covered in blood. It won''t get washed away! IT WON''T GET WASHED AWAY! Then as if the footsteps got louder, but this time it came from behind me. But I don''t see anyone. I look down I see mud smeared all over me. But I can''t control my body as I crawled into a certain direction. I won''t stop, The footsteps behind me stopped. Then it resumed, but it was louder this time. It was as if they were running. Towards my direction. My body started to move faster too as I increased the pace of my crawling. Then I finally understood where I was, it was the battlefield. Where we fought those masked monsters. And those... people. Anger took over my senses as I clawed the ground wanting to kill everything in my path. I look up to see myself. Standing there looking towards my direction. Huh? What''s going on. She''s running towards my direction, Why are you raising your blade!? it''s me! I''m you! Stop!! Her blade came down swiftly and stabbed me in the chest. Why is she looking at me like that? With disgust and fear? Why does she look like she wants to stop but can''t control her urges to kill? But rather why? I tried to pull away the Cutlass that was embedded on my chest, but it disappeared. The only thing left was a hole in my chest. Blood flowed out of it. As that happened, I started to lose consciousness. I don''t feel any pain, but I wasn''t angered when she struck me down. I felt gratitude? Why? She killed me! Am I not supposed to be angry!? Then as I was thinking these my vision changed, I''m running this time. But towards the same direction. I know how this was going to end so I tried stopping myself, But I couldn''t. It was as if I wasn''t running towards myself, but towards the lethal blade that kills me Everytime I see it. I understand now... The one''s running towards the blade isn''t me, but rather the people I''ve killed. YES... IT ISN''T MY BLOOD... I stared once more at my hands and all I see was red. I look at the blade I was holding, and it was already replaced by a red hue. It''s previous silver lustre was replaced by their blood. I tried to scream but there''s no voice that came out. It felt like numerous things within me are disappearing. Then the rain stopped, I looked around everything stopped. But I could hear their screams. As they lay in their own pool of blood. Their lifeless eyes stared at me. It sent shivers down my spine. I threw my blade away and ran. But it felt like I wasn''t moving at all. I was still in that same place. I crouched down and closed my eyes and covered my ears. But I could still hear them scream as they choked on their own blood. I can''t escape it!! The guilt kills me. It scares me, I''ve killed. I have ended their lives at the cost of my life alone. Many have died just for me! And for what!? Nothing! But then suddenly a light from above came, the light felt warm. I immediately grabbed the hand that reached out towards me.It felt like a saving grace. I smiled towards the hand that reached out to me. It pulled me out of the mountain of corpses beneath me. I slowly crawled out of that hole. Then I looked up to see who saved me was, but it was on a shade of black I couldn''t see through it. The face was covered with a white fang mask. Then the mask slowly fell down revealing the face I wanted to see. but then I saw what''s beneath, my smile froze. It was me? How? But as I look at myself warmly smiling, I felt a sense of dread. She went near me and held my face. "Not what you were expecting huh?" I shook my head, but it doesn''t matter I was saved. I wanted to ask what she is to have the same look as I do. And as if she could read my mind she answered me. "Well... I''m you. But a different you at the same time. Or should I say I''m the you from the future, I''m the Hell that is your future!!" She held my face as she peered directly into my soul. She was grinning madly, As she was covered by that red color I hated. She bathed in it, reveled in it. The faint smell of iron repulsed my being from it''s very core. From when I was young till now I always hated seeing that color. "I will incinerate your past, Tear apart the past! I will create a new one... A better one! One that is perfect, one that is without pain." I looked towards her and gulped, I was afraid of asking what it was. For the answer might be the one I dread to do. But since she is me she probably knows what I was thinking. "Kill... It''s that simple, Kill off the heart that feels mercy." I widened my eyes. "No I don''t want to!" I screamed. She furrowed her brows as she hit me in the face, warm liquid flowed out of my nose. She was smirking, "We might share a body, but by now you should know... I will always be your better half. I might be the demon on your shoulder... But I am the mirror image of perfection. Have you not seen the legacy I''ve carved into these weaklings!? No matter where you run, no matter where you hide... I''ll always be there hiding in your own shadow. Waiting to take control of you..." Then she disappeared like a black mist swirling into the darkness. I slowly stood up looking around and all I see were corpses. They slowly stood up surrounding me, I kept hearing their voices. It won''t stop. Why!? WHY?WHY? WHY!??? "No! Get away!!!!" Then it all Faded to Black. --------------------- *Gasps* Winter slowly sat up, she was covered in sweat. Yet she was shivering. She stared at the person next to her. He was calmly cooking food for the two of them. She hugged her knees weakly, Haruki stared at her as he reached out a meat skewer towards her. "That bad huh? Here... this might cheer you up." Winter stared at the food Haruki gave her, and she felt faint, Nauseous even. She ran outside dropping the meat on the ground. Once more she emptied her stomach, on a nearby tree. She was once more drenched by the falling rain. Just like yesterday and just like the one in her dreams. She bawled her heart out, but her screaming was drowned out by the storm. No one could hear her plight. She bellowed towards the sky for help, but not even a single sign appeared. She silently wept, Falling apart in the pouring rain. 73 Chapter 65: In the Mouth of Madness Part 6 When Haruki caught up to winter she was justcrouched down on a nearby tree. Hugging her knees. She wasn''t crying anymore but she was silent. Her eyes were hollow. He tried calling her, but she won''t respond. When he reached his arms towards her, she immediately jolted and crawled backwards. The way she looked at his hand was full of fear. She looked terrified, Because deep down when she thought that when she took that hand there was no going back. But then She realized that it was Haruki who reached his hands towards her. She meekly took his hand and felt the warmth emanating from it. Her breathing grew steady, She stared at the boy who reached his hands towards her. He was wearing his signature faint and cocky smile. She steadily regained clarity and she finally calmed down. It was weird, even though the rain and the sound of thunder was deafening. She could sound out his voice. "Hey, Why don''t we go back to the cave? It''s warm there and... I made soup." Those words alone brought tears to her eyes. She gave him a weak nod, after puking her guts out. She was evidently hungry. She could even hear her own stomach growling. The simplest of gestures can send ripples through out someone''s psyche. This tiny thing that Haruki did. Finding her amidst the storm. Even though they were supposed to be enemies. Comforted her weak Heart at the moment. They went back inside the cave, Even though the place was damp. And the surface was Rocky. To winter this was slightly comforting. Haruki tossed clothes towards Winters direction. "I''ll wait outside... Just call me when you''re done." Winter once more stared at his departing back. But a faint smile surfaced. After changing she called Haruki back. They both sat down in front of each other, She stared at the soup he handed to her. She scooped a mouthful. It was warm... Tears slowly slid down on her face, "How? How could you live with the fact that you killed someone? Doesn''t it haunt you? Like... Like a recurring nightmare that never ends?" Haruki continued to down his soup, after several big gulps. He wiped his mouth and stood up. Winter thinking that she might have asked something insensitive quickly closed her mouth. She wiped her tears and sighed. He came back with a huge bag, It clanked as he walked. Like the sound of bottles hitting each other. Winter wondered where he gets these things. Haruki stole the stash of alcohol from the soldiers. In the Hut there was a tiny little cupboard filled with bottles of Beer and Vodka. So he snuck in and stole a few... no he stole all of it. "Here... Drink up, it''s going to be a long talk..." She took the bottle of beer and sipped from it. It was bitter, and a little sour. She creased her brows as she tasted it. She only drank socially. And she only drank the finest wine atlas could offer. She wasn''t used to the taste but it was bearable. Haruki smirked at her, "It''s an acquired taste Missy." She furrowed her brows at Haruki, "Aren''t you a little young to be drinking?" Haruki slapped his forehead as he remembered, "Oh... Rules don''t apply to me." "I am a soldier remember?" He shrugged his shoulders, "Well slacken up a bit. You won''t get a boyfriend that way Ice Queen." Winter sighed, "Fine just this time!" Haruki smirked, "Oh... So there will be a next time huh? Looking forward to it." Winter rolled her eyes, and after a few breaths she looked at Haruki. "What did you feel when you ended someone else''s life?" Haruki gave a hollow laugh as he to a swig straight from the bottle, "I remember feeling guilty, I felt Despair... and most importantly anger... I thought that those feelings would last an entire lifetime but after a few hours when I went back and checked. All I felt was emptiness. The pain I Have caused would stay with me for an entire lifetime." Winter silently listened to him, She was shaking beneath the blankets, but she did her best not to show it. "And because of that kill, unhappiness turned into anger and spread throughout my entire being. Then I stepped into the mercenary business. Then into the battlefield... It was a living hell, to see people die... Deserving or innocent. It was horrifying all the same... The air was choked with the stench of dead men, allies or otherwise. The smell of gunpowder, and the land soaked with blood. The burning smell of charred remains. The tears shed by the innocent. You could easily go crazy..." Winter covered her mouth as she listened in. But she had to ask, "Why? Why did I have to kill those people? When I... Killed those people... They were on a trance, they were mad, as if they ignored their own injuries and just kept killing. When I saw the Carnage my mind went blank and just kept... Killing. I have been waging a war within myself, In black and white. The wrong and right. But why? please tell me..." She looked at her own shaking hands, "Please tell me... If soldiers are supposed to protect the people. Why am I killing them instead? I thought I trained to bring people hope. To fight against Grimm. Why is it being used for murder?" Haruki sympathetically looked towards winter and sighed. "Because that''s what soldiers do..." Winter furrowed her brows as she shouted towards Haruki. "I didn''t enlist for this kind of cruel and horrible scene!" "I know what you''re thinking. [I''m doing this against my will.] Those were your thoughts as you struck down your enemies." Haruki crossed his arms together, "Can you say for certain there hasn''t been a time where you didn''t feel good about your own skill as you struck down your enemy?" Winter widened her eyes in fear, her thoughts raced and remembered that moment in her dream where she repeatedly struck her enemies. That horrifying smile. She looked down and hugged her shoulders. Haruki ignored her trembling as he continued. He needs her to face the reality of the situation. "A battlefield is a place for murder, Did you put on that uniform without being prepared to kill?" "Yes! But I was expecting to kill Grimm and protect people." "Those are Hunters! you''re a soldier! There''s a huge difference between them! To show mercy to your enemies is to be cruel to yourself. If you don''t take advantage of the window to eliminate all your enemies then you will surely incur the bitter consequences of your own weakness." Winter clenched her fists, "Then what about you!? why do you fight!? Why do you kill? why did you save me then if it''s all the same to you!?" "Easy... Because I don''t want to die, Reasons are always simple. I do what I do because someone more powerful than me could kill me anytime." Winter held his hands gently, "Then why? you have enough strength to change this world!" Haruki smirked towards his remark, He removed his mask. Revealing a well featured face, and eyes as dark as the abyss. "A single human can only do so much... even with tremendous power. Believe me I''ve seen that first hand..." Winter widened her eyes, "I thought you were a faunus? Why were you wearing that mask?" Haruki didn''t answer her, So she asked him once again. "Tell me then, why am I tasked on killing the people of my own kingdom?" Haruki looked outside the cave, towards the rain. "You were given orders it was that simple." Winter scoffed she stood up and grabbed Haruki by the collar, "Those weren''t orders! They sent me here to protect me and shelter me from the danger! Look where it got me!! I''ve dyed my hands red with blood!! How can I face my sister... My mother!? My own fucking family when I''m like this!?" Haruki leaned his head towards the wall and stared at winter straight in the eye. "Return home...and swallow every horrible thing I''ve done here. And smile when I''m with them, That''s what I would do. And Swear on my life I would make them happy..." She loosened Her grip towards him and stepped back, the bottles were knocked down spilling the beer and vodka. Staring at the floor she weakly sat down. She gave a hollow laugh. She looked towards Haruki as he sat down near beside her. He brought out a picture of a girl from his jacket and stared at it. He was standing beside a girl with three shades of color on her hair. Winter saw the picture and asked if she was his sister. "Heh, something like that. But it''s also more than that. This is also what keeps me alive. This picture of us smiling, let''s me dream of a tomorrow. In this battle that may never end. This helps me get a strong grip on reality. Since you have a sister yourself don''t you feel the same. Doing our best, even though we don''t know when the battle may end. We suffer, conquer, and then what''s left? Nothing but empty land, devoid of both hope and people. That''s why... No matter how many times I have to do this, I must protect that smile, even if they''re just a handful of people... I would do my best to protect the ones most important to me." He stood up slowly and went outside leaving those words for winter to ponder alone. The rain finally stopped. The night was completely silent, and yet Haruki stood outside drinking a glass, to everyone he''s killed. And for everyone that died in his arms. After a few Hours Morning finally came, and the long awaited sun, shone brightly towards them. Winter changed back into her military clothes, picked up her weapon and stood behind Haruki. "So you decided to take this path, even after what happened in that mountain?" Winter nodded, "Yes..." Haruki stretched his limbs, "Alright, We''ve got work to do..." Winter was hesitant but she finally gained the courage to ask. "I''ve... I have never gotten your name..." Haruki scratched his nose, "Kazama Haruki... That''s my real name. But on the white fang They call me Kaz. You might have heard of me?" Winter shook her head, "No..." Haruki raised his eyebrows, "Really? I''m pretty sure Im quite notorious..." Winter giggled towards his remark, "Well if you were well known just your outfit alone would be remembered." Haruki nodded, "I see... that makes perfect sense. You''re a genius Winter!" "Well enough talk let''s go, we''ve got a bad guy to catch." But when she looked behind her Haruki was posing in front of a puddle, He was testing out if his current outfit stood out. He was nodding his head, "I see... This may seem like I''m permanently stuck in eighth grade... I''m going to ask Neo to sew me a new one." Winter opened her eyes wide, "Hehehe, What are you doing?" "Increasing my charm!" He said as he flexed In his own reflection. She sighed, "Can we go?" Haruki removed his mask and smiled towards winter, "Well do I look good?" Winter smirked, "Pahahaha, I never knew that you''re quite conscious of your appearance." "Impact milady, That''s how you get known!" She dubiously raised her eyebrows and made a glyph freezing the puddle. "Oh thanks, it was really hard to se- -" But before he could finish Winter stepped on the ice and broke it. "Can we go?" She said with a beautiful smile, but deep down Haruki knows if he stalled one more time he might die. Haruki shrugged his shoulders, "Alrighty then... Let''s get moving." Winters face turned serious as she gripped her blade, Her hands was still shaking a little. Haruki noticed this so he grabbed her hand. He smiled toward Her, "It''s okay I''m here..." She nodded towards him, "Thanks, Perhaps if it wasn''t for you I would''ve died a hundred times over." He shrugged his shoulders, "Well it''s my honor..." Winter crossed her shoulders, "Come to think of it why are you here?" "I''ll tell you on the way..." He stared at the mountain shrine where the faceless set their destination as. They would investigate there first. They both agreed to tread the mountains instead of the beaten path. It was Time to put an end to this madness. 74 Chapter 66: In the Mouth of Madness Part 7 Two shadows were rushing in the Misty forest, One was a woman holding a Cutlass and a short sword. The Other was Holding A Guandao zipping from tree to rock, Moving over every obstacle that stand In their way. "Wow, I''m impressed Miss Schnee... You''re quite good to keep up with me." Winter scoffed at Haruki as she stepped on the glyphs she made in the air to step on it. Initially she was going to suggest that they both travel on her glyph, but when she saw how acrobatic Haruki was she just shut her mouth and did her best to catch up to him. He''s so young and yet he''s already this skilled, she wondered how strong he would get once he grows up. "Well since we''re almost there, mind telling me why you''re here? And depending on your answer I might arrest you." They both stopped on a nearby Rock as they talked about their plans. It was overlooking the entire shrine. The Temple in the middle was locked and the only way in was that huge door. As they were observing this, Haruki then gave Winter some info. "Well Winter, If I would be answering your questions I need some answers myself. I believe we already have established some form of trust from one another no matter how little. So let''s put it like this, I answer a question of yours... then when it''s my turn I ask you out on a date. Depending on your answer I might show you the best time of your life." Winter was speechless, This shameless boy even asks stupid things even at a time like this. "How is this relevant right now?" She raised her eyebrows as she drew her blade halfway and showing the gleam towards Haruki. "Hey chill down, You''re supposed to be the Ice Queen. Fine!!! I shall compromise if I answer three of your questions you give me your three sizes... There happ- -yy!!!" He was interrupted by Winters slash towards him. He quickly evaded the slash and considering winter was seriously trying to cut him down, He smirked towards her. He thought that she has the same temper as her sister. "You''re going to give away our position! What the hell kind of soldier are you!?" But winter wasn''t listening, Her face was colored in a deep shade of red. She thought to herself, ''This shameless child! I have been tolerating his frivolousness, he needs to know when to stop.'' "You shameless kid!" Haruki dodged her slashes. The Rocks behind him we''re cut in pieces. "Woah calm down we would be discovered at this rate!" "Hey I said calm down!" But then he noticed footsteps from behind them. He flipped towards where the sounds came from. He immediately saw two masked men so he used lightning form and slammed the two on the ground. Knocking them out instantly. Winter finally stopped her attacks when she saw Haruki knock out two patrolling men. She was once more surprised by his semblance. It was a very fitting skill for an assassin. ''Is He an assassin?'' She asked herself. But immediately put it in the back of her head as she wondered why Haruki knocked them out instead of killing them. "Why did you knock them out? There''s no point in interrogation, you Know they don''t speak right?" "I have an idea..." He said as he took of their masks. But the masked men he knocked out looked normal. There were no scars nor fresh wounds. Winter then watched Haruki take off their cult outfit. Her face paled, she instantly understood what he was planning. "Nononono.... No! I am not wearing that! That''s just disgusting!And don''t you think they won''t notice!? This is the stupidest idea I''ve seen in my life!" Haruki looked straight at Winter seriously, "Or... It might be stupid enough to work..." Winter sighed, "Fine... But I''m not wearing those." Haruki shrugged his shoulders, "Fine, but you will be the prisoner." Winter rolled her eyes, as Haruki bound her hands with a handcuff. It wasn''t locked and Winter could instantly break those with her glyphs anyway. But what she didn''t know was that those handcuffs could mess with the wearers senses, and confused them. They can''t tell what''s right from left. Courtesy of Cassius 56-B the prison planet. He pulled the two unconscious cultists behind a nearby large rock, "Don''t peek!" Winter ignored Haruki as she examined the handcuffs, "Tell me What are these things? Do they block aura or something? This is very advanced compared to the atlas issued ones." "I don''t know they just gave it to me..." Haruki lied straight to her face. Winter then thought that if he has handcuffs then this would mean that he''s not an assassin. Haruki was already in disguise as Winter was fiddling with the handcuffs, "Alright prisoner let''s go..." "What about the other two?" "They''ll wake up from the cold probably." Haruki said as he led winter straight through the entrance of the temple. Once they gained enough distance, The two unconscious bodies slowly turned into black goo. Haruki used a silenced pistol in dealing with them so Winter wouldn''t hear anything. They arrived in the huge locked door, In front of the door there were two masked men beside it guarding the opening. The two raised their blade rings as they saw a bound winter walking towards them... Then from behind her Haruki nodded at the two. The two nodded back as they opened the large door, When they opened it they saw a bunch of High tech equipment. This wasn''t a temple nor shrine, It was a full blown research facility. It''s what winter thought as they walked in the large hallway. Then one man in a lab coat saw them walk in, He was surprised. "Well if it isn''t Miss Schnee! Good job on capturing her, continue this work and perhaps in the long run you might be promoted into an oni, Then into a faceless! If you''re lucky... that is." Haruki just nodded, He was escorting winter into an elevator where the man in the lab coat escorted them to. Winter was glaring at the man but he just ignored her. Winter stared at Haruki and Haruki just nodded. He knocked out the scientist as they entered the elevator.She sighed, "This is not gonna work..." Haruki tilted his head, "Well you should''ve said so!" "I did say so, and I said this idea was stupid!" *Ding!* They arrived at their destination, It was a larger lab below the temple. They examined the elevator it only had two buttons up and down. When the doors opened they were welcomed by Masked men along with a few scientists that were holding experimental weapons. They were doing their own thing but when the doors opened they all looked towards it. "I told you..." Winter whispered. Haruki raised his arms, "I''m here to transfer the prisoner to cellblock 1138?" Another tall Man with a lanky build who looked like he was in charge asked Haruki, "How come I haven''t heard of this?" Haruki just pointed at who the prisoner was then the guys smile brightened. "Ahhh! Of course! well done! Bring Miss Schnee over here, I honestly thought that you died in the woods somewhere. It would honestly be a shame... Good thing this....well thing... found you, Now I can broadcast your death... Hurry now! We have a civil war to start!!!" He clapped to his subordinates as they prepared the things he needed. He looked at winter and slapped his forehead. "Of course where are my manners! I am Tyrus Kingsley. Head Researcher of the Faceless! I''m researching on unlocking the next Gene of the humans! With the guidance of our God! The Faceless God!!!" Kingsley said as he raised his arms wide. He smiled towards Haruki, "It seems you''re due for a promotion... well done. After this I will personally turn you into an Oni of my own design." Winter was glaring at Kingsley, "What do you need me for then!?" Kingsley laughed, "What do I need you for!? I don''t need you! You''re worthless, It''s the name I''m after. If JaquesSchnee sees that His eldest daughter gets shot in the head. What do you think he would do? Wage war? If the ones who killed you were dressed in Atlas military uniforms... What would your father do? Wage war? The Atlas Military losing half of their power because their primary source of income and dust supply disappears? Then what if a Civil War? Then the other kingdoms won''t be able to interfere! It''s Atlas''s problems so they won''t be able to lay a hand, hell even cross the border! For fear that their kingdom would be blamed." The cameras were set up as he was talking, He was giddy as He couldn''t wait, He looked at winter with a crazed smile. "Put on your pleading face Princess, Show''s about to start!" "If you''re expecting me to beg then you would be disappointed. And if you''re expecting my father to care... well you''d also be disappointed." She said as she looked down on the floor. But then loud laughter echoed throughout the room as Kingsley laughed. "I don''t expect him to care, but if this was broadcasted live, he wouldn''t have a choice. He needs the public opinion, for when he wages war he would need those extra pair of bodies to catch a few dozen bullets or so..." Winter furrowed her brows as she screamed towards Kingsley, "You''re Mad!! What do you expect to gain from all that bloodshed!?" He scoffed towards winter, "That is for me to know, And you... to ponder in the afterlife." Winter scowled at Kingsley, this monster doesn''t give a damn about the people living in atlas, If she doesn''t kill this man right now many would die. And If he succeeds it would be on the Schnee family directly or indirectly. She looked towards Haruki, He nodded and brought out his folded Guandao. He materialized an EMP and kicked it towards the middle of the room. "Well it''s show time!!!!" When Kingsley shouted The Fake Atlas Soldiers went behind Winter aiming their guns at her. "Use the aura dampening ones, and remove that ugly thing on her hands. Where did you get that?" He said as he looked towards Haruki. But, When Kingsley turned around Haruki was sitting down on a chair as his weapon was stabbed into the ground. And his life reaping katana leaning on the chair. He sat like a king looking down on everyone in the room. He has already changed into his white fang outfit. And wearing his signature cocky smile. "Well doctor consider your license... revoked. Let''s see... The reason? Well let''s just say unprofessional conduct." Kingsley furrowed his brows, "Who are you and how did you get in here!? Someone kill this boy!" Haruki smiled, He brought out a faceless mask and held it near his face, "How? Well Lazy writing..." Kingsley''s eyes widened and he immediately looked towards Winter. But she''s already gone... A dazzling white flash appeared and destroyed all the cameras. Haruki activated his lightning form to appear in front of the scientists and cut them down one by one. They couldn''t fight back for Haruki was just too powerful. The masked men swarmed Haruki but they were frozen in place. Winter used her glyphs to smash the frozen bodies. Winter jumped up on a glyph platform she created, "Haruki grab my hand!" She said, Haruki quickly followed and grabbed her hands. She threw him at the ceiling. She created a glyph that would boost his speed. She created glyphs surrounding the entire room, and sped up the time for Haruki and Hers. They dispatched the masked men as quickly as they started. Dazzling flashes and sparks of blades illuminated the room... And after a while countless bodies dropped down on the ground. Haruki slowly approached Kingsley, "Well doctor? Willing to tell us the entire reason for this crusade of yours?" He grinned towards the two and aimed a gun on his temple, "You won''t be hearing it from me..." But before he could pull the trigger on the gun Haruki used lightning form. He took away the gun Kingsley was holding and froze his entire body except his head. "Damnit! Let me go!!" Haruki shrugged his shoulders, "I would if you did cooperate! Jeez! How come every time you bad guys rant we listen, but if it''s our turn to speak it''s like talking to a brick fucking wall..." Kingsley bit down his tongue, as he choked on his own blood he kept laughing. As he stared towards the two. "Fuck..." Haruki muttered, Then as the EMP''s effects slowly faded a large screen in the middle of the room turned on. Aaron Inferus Appeared he saw the state of the room and frowned. "Well, I certainly didn''t expect this. I was wondering why Kingsley hasn''t started the broadcast yet. It turns out that you two have already ruined it... No matter I''ll kill you myself. I cannot fail the Faceless God." Then the place shook, Then screaming from a small door at the edge of the room were heard. It sounded like Hundreds of lives were running towards direction. Releasing Extreme Bloodlust. Haruki furrowed His brows, He made winter Ride the elevator. "Winter get in now! You need to get to Aaron and End His life for me!" Winter Opened her eyes wide, "No! You''ll die for sure!" Haruki scowled, "Damnit Listen to me! If you want to save this kingdom then you have to do what you have to do!" Winter bit her lip and ran towards the Elevator, She stared at His back. Once more she has to run away to save herself. She punched the button that says up. She swore to Herself that she would kill Aaron. 75 Chapter 67: In the Mouth of Madness Finale The elevator was silent, Winter was glaring at the elevator doors. She was gripping her bloodstained weapons. Only one thought was racing in her mind was to kill. To kill that bastard Aaron Inferus. It felt like an eternity waiting for the elevator to arrive back at the top. Although she was worried, she has seen Haruki''s skill first hand. Even though she''s clinging onto false hope. Deep down Haruki has already became someone so irreplaceable, someone who won''t die that easily. He helped her even though she thought it was hopeless. He made her see the truth, Even though it''s a harsh reality. He made me realize there''s more to it than that. Now she could only do the only thing soldiers were supposed to do. What she wanted to do, To defend her kingdom by killing that bastard. She hoped the he would be safe, She turned her focus and glared into empty space. She created Glyphs below her feet. It was strengthening and speed buffs. She felt that she was near, She sensed that once the elevator opens she would be killing people once more. Her hands started to shake, her hands didn''t falter awhile ago because, He was there... But then something fell from her jacket, It was the picture of her sister and her mother. She remembered Haruki''s words. She grinned, A fearless smile. She slowly breathed in and out. She steadied her stance... *Ding!* She immediately dashed out of the elevator, She spun and kicked The two guards waiting at the doorstep. They were instantly thrown aside. *Crash!!* Masked men with blade rings surrounded her, She won''t make the same mistake she made before. She instantly summoned A Huge Armored Soldier. Along with A large variety Grimm that she has eliminated. The masked men slowly stepped back, She pointed her blade towards them and gave them a confident smile. *Swish* A dazzling silver flash appeared infront of them, It was the huge armor that swung it''s massive sword. The three masked men that were in front were thrown into the side. Then The summoned Grimm moved towards the enemies clawing at them from every side. She was breathing heavily, *Haaah* "I used too much of my aura..." Suddenly a Blade Ring flew towards her, She dodged on the side by rolling. She threw her short sword towards the enemy. Impaling him right in the heart. She created a few glyphs on the feet of the enemy. They were slowed down, giving her ample time to cut them down. She used the pillars as platforms to jump to and fro. She leaned on a pillar to catch her breath, Then from the shadows three masked men jumped out. They threw their blade rings, She rolled sideways and the blades were embedded on the pillar. The huge armor swept them with it''s massive blade. Splattering them into the wall, painting it black with their gooey remains. She slashed towards the empty air, ridding her blade of their blood. She sat down on a chair, She stabbed her blade into the ground. She leaned in her blade, Her two hands interlocking each other as they leaned in on the bottom of the hilt. Waiting for that bastard Aaron. She slowly rested recovering her aura. After a few minutes of rest, She finally heard faint footsteps. It was Aaron along with his masked Army. It was more than what she faced, it''s also probably more she could handle. But She''s not afraid, No... Not anymore. A strange sensation came over her, a strange calm. It was serenity, Because she finally has a reason to fight. Was it just? Was it Okay? She threw those questions away, she ignored the morality in the equation. ''I don''t want to die... That''s it... That''s all the reason I need.'' She thought to herself. She just glared at the approaching men in front of her. They stopped their march right in front of the massive door. They instantly saw winter when they approached, She was sitting down near the entrance. Although her image was covered by the shade of darkness they could see her eyes gleam through the dark. They all stood still not making any moves nor making any sound, The chirping and the sounds of the night were the only thing that anchored them to reality. Winter slowly stood up and walked outside, Whilst glaring towards the fat bellied priest. The priest smiled back, greedily staring at winter not even bothering to hide his intentions to her anymore. The tall man behind the priest whispered something to his ear, Winter thought to herself that he was the only one didn''t dress up like those cultists. The tall man bowed and stepped back..The priest then once more stared at winter, he was shaking, he couldn''t stop his excitement. "Give up Miss Schnee, and perhaps I won''t parade your corpse throughout Atlas." The priest said as he showed her the most disgusting expression. She silently drew a line right at the door, "Anyone who crosses this line will die, if you turn back now... well perhaps you might still have time to run away from... ''Him''..." She went back inside the dark room. The pot bellied priest was angered, "You arrogant bitch! You think that you could stop us? Well you fools what are you doing? Quickly get her!!!" Winter smirked towards the man, "You''re going to die you know..." "Oh yeah? You and what army?" Then from the darkness countless silhouettes emerged. They all stood behind winter, They growled towards her enemies. Winter just stretched her arms sideways. Then the masked men charged towards her, not even fearing what may come. The first few were instantly crushed by the huge armor. Then the other Grimm charged towards the enemies. She danced between the enemies as they were busy fighting the summons. She dealt quick and efficient blow. With every cultists she passed by they would instantly die. She stopped near the door, back to the line she has drawn. She sheathed her blade. Pointed at the remaining cultists and signalled them to come at her. The pot bellied priest widened his eyes, "I didn''t sign up for this!! I thought that she''d be weak enough to kill! I''m done!!" He shouted to the tall man in glasses behind him. "But milord... The orders." "I don''t care! Aren''t you just an assistant!? Just get me out of here and away fro- -" *Bang!* Before the pot bellied priest could finish his screaming it was abruptly ended by the tall man in a suit. His hair was slicked back. He was wearing a cold expression unlike the subservient attitude he was showing earlier. "Apologies Ms.Schnee This pig ruined our first meeting. My name is Aaron Inferus, One of the Faceless..." He bowed towards Winter. "What!? I thought that..." Aaron smiled towards Winter''s misunderstanding, "Well I could understand the confusion, He''s just an actor who got too immersed in his role. We wanted to show the people a more... Uh... Priest looking person." *Bang Bang Bang!* Aaron unloaded more rounds towards the corpse of the pot bellied man. "He really just pisses me off so much, I get goosebumps Everytime he says my name. I just needed to vent." Winter glared coldly at Aaron, It seems that her opponent was more dangerous than she expected. But Only a few masked men Remained, And Two Guys with glowing Blue Horns sticking out of their faceless masks. She still had aura to spare, She had ample time to rest earlier to regain her stamina. Although she doubted that it would be enough. She still needed to try. Aaron brought out two pistols, then it slowly turned into two long swords, "As much as I''d love to play around..." He looked at his henchmen and aimed his blades towards winter. "Kill her." They dashed towards winter but they were blocked by the Grimm she has summoned. She used her summons to distract The masked men and dashed straight towards Aaron along with the huge armor. It stabbed towards Aaron while Winter snuck up to Aaron''s back to stab him. The masked men got in the way of her stab to protect Aaron. *Stab* The masked man with two glowing blue horns who blocked the strike slowly fell down lifelessly as if it''s strings were cut. The one who stood in front of the huge blade were impaled but it stopped the huge blade from reaching Aaron. He sighed, "Well... it seems although the experiments were successful it still has a few problems. I could''ve dodged it but these idiots went and died..." Winter furrowed her brows, "They died for you!!" "Yes... That''s why they''re worthless, if they do that every time I would quickly run out of soldiers." Winter spoke no further and she just attacked, Since there were no more need for her summons for Aaron was the only one left standing. They exchanged blows, their blades clashed creating Sparks. Winter held her short blade into a reverse grip, She ducked towards the floor and tried to sweep him off his feet. But Aaron flipped into the air. Winter created glyphs to give chase towards him, He spun midair to dodge her slash and kicked her in the stomach. She was sent flying back inside the temple, back into the dark corridor. Aaron slowly approached her. "Miss Schnee... Although I appreciate your skills. It''s time to put an end to this." Winter stood up, she stabbed her Cutlass towards the ground to help her stand up. She was exhausted and her aura is probably in the red now. But she can''t fall down, Not yet... Aaron slowly walked inside, "Hehehehe, you barely have enough strength to fight back and yet... you still stand. How stubborn, or perhaps you''re buying time for your little friend to come here and rescue you?" Winter leapt up and twirled her blade, They clashed for a few seconds. Winter had a few small cuts While Aaron only had his aura damaged a little bit. She slashed downwards, Aaron stepped back he sent a kick towards her solar plexus sending her flying. "Hahahahahahaha! Don''t you see? the revolution is here! Why can''t you cooperate and just!! Fucking!! Die!!!" He ran towards her he raised his two blades up in the air and slashed downwards. Winter was quite far from they guy but she felt danger from his attack, so she rolled on the ground avoiding the invisible attacks. Cut marks appeared where she lay earlier, she scowled towards Aaron. He was just smiling madly. Winter threw her short sword towards Aaron, but he calmly parried off her strike. "The last struggles of a person about to die? Don''t worry I would have a long talk with your father... and I''m sure your family would mourn their loss." Winter shouted towards the man, "Why? Why are you doing this!?" Aaron showed her a disgusted face, "I''m pretty sure I laid all the clues out pretty cleanly, if you still haven''t figured then we''ll..." He sighed and brought out a remote. he aimed it towards A screen on the side of the wall. Even though blood and black goo we''re splattered on the side it was still functional. "If you die...And by Atlas militants at that then the public would lose trust of the military." Winter scoffed, "You can''t expect my life is worth that much." Aaron nodded his head, "Of Course not... But, we have been sowing the seeds ever since. We were slowly creating discord amongst the people, then the military. You will be the final spark that triggers the war. I''m pretty sure they''re just waiting for a nice enough reason to bite each others throat. Once you die, they''ll start offing each other while we sit and wait. Wait until they''ve used up their resources, it could be years, months or perhaps just days. The point is we''ll swoop in and kill the remaining resistance." Winter was still exhausted so she struggled to ask Aaron, "What... is the point of all that!?" *Breathing heavily* "A kingdom full of believers, sacrifices and more! We could do anything since it will soon belong to all of us! We will act as the hope of the people! We will save them from the tragedy of being human!! So many will be turned into the faceless God''s masterpiece! Then when we have enough we could finally call him down here. As the eternal ruler!!!" He raised his arms in the air like a crazed fanatic. Winter glared towards Aaron but she was too exhausted to fight. Good thing he was distracted on telling her his "Grand Plan", She wanted to know if Haruki was safe so she keeps looking at the entrance of the elevator. This didn''t go unnoticed to Aaron however so he looked towards the open screen that showed data on the experiments. He smiled madly and aimed the remote at it once more. The screen showed Haruki fighting off the kidnapped people of remnant. It ranged from young to old. ---------------------------- Haruki glared at the entrance where the screaming came from. He brought out both The Life Reaping Katana, and Skoll and Hati claws. He gripped his blade silently as he glared into empty space. He was prepared to fight no matter what, The screaming got closer so he took the initiative to attack. He threw a dozen grenades towards The entrance. *Boom!!* Countless body parts flew on different directions. The screaming stopped as if woken up by the explosions they became more cautious. When the dust settles down he finally saw what his enemies were. Some were children in ragged outfits, Some were teenagers, then adults, finally even old people were there. They were all wearing the same expressions. Both fear and blind rage. They were in a trance but it felt like they were aware of what they''re doing. Haruki''s eyes widened and his pupils shrunk. His hands shook and he looked at them with both sympathy and regret. He laughed inwardly, '' I''ve done this a million time before I''m supposed to be used to this... It''s supposed to get easier. But how come it gets harder every single time...'' He gripped his white fang mask, It slowly cracked from the strength of his grip. It soon was crushed. He threw away the mask and showed his face towards them. He sighed, "I am Kazama Haruki... the one who would end your misery. Now why don''t all of you come at me all at once!!" He dashed towards the nearest, He turned off his senses as he cut down those that are in front of him. All the sounds he heard were filtered off into Oblivion. He gripped his katana in a reverse grip and spun around the place severing them from their misery. But then as the black goo were sufficient enough that the entire floor was bathed in it. Something weird happened captives slowly have tentacles sprouting out of their backs. Multiple eyes appeared in their body, they slowly turned into something incomprehensible. They crawled towards him, but this time those things spoke, "It hurts... please... big... brother...end the pain quick..." *Swish!* What followed was a fountain of blood. Haruki screamed towards the heavens, "Goddamnit!!! Fuuuckk!!!! I swear I''ll do my best..." He charged once more into the fray, He freezed the black goo on the ground to prevent the others from transforming. He slammed his fist onto one of the horrifying amalgamation. He used exploding star and he imploded it from the inside out. scattering it every where. But he was expecting it to turn into black goo but it didn''t. He wiped the red from his face. His hands shook, and he frowned. As he was about to charge into his enemies once more, He heard the Voice of Ars Magus. [Unknown strand of DNA, this blood essence is rich with energy and you could temporarily unlock the evolved versions of the Life reaping Katana and Skoll and Hati claws.] He unlocked new powers but he wasn''t satisfied. Not this way, he didn''t want to gain power this way. But The Ars Magus''s mechanical voice rang once more. [Additionally, You would unlock the higher forms of two your semblances. Gravity I would turn to <> , and Lightning form Would turn into <>.] [Proceed with force unlock?] [Y/N?] "Yes..." Haruki agreed, but His expression can''t be seen because the darkness was blocking it. His power surged, It felt like electricity flowing in his veins. His blade turned into Absolute Demise, then his claws reshaped into Fenrir Fangs. Electricity sparked throughout his body, His entire body turned into a bright white light that emitted sparks. He stood there like an emperor. His Expression was cold, as he stared at his foes. He opened his palms and quickly closed it and turning it into a closed fist. A massive gravitational force pulled them into a single point slowly crushing them. The sheer force that was pressing them into the ground and pulling them towards it was enough to crush them. Haruki then raised his hand, he changed his stance into a throwing position. Then suddenly as if matter formed inside his hands, a Huge lightning spear appeared. He threw it directly towards the pulled enemies. *Booom!!* A thundering sound boomed across the room. But he couldn''t eliminate everything there were some left. So he zipped across the room and used Absolute Demise to cut them down. He stared straight into their eyes as he cut them down. He was covered in blood, and his expression was cold. He stared at the ceiling, hoping that winter didn''t see what happened. But sadly winter witnessed everything. But instead of looking away in horror she watched the entire thing unfold. --------------------- Aaron stared at Winter smirking, "Well? Beautiful isn''t it? That is the culmination of the research of Dr. Kingsley!! The genes of the spawn of our great God mixed with a little Grimm DNA could do that! Such perfection!!" Winter blocked off Aaron as she observed Haruki. She remembered his words, The very same words that helped her cope with everything she has done so far. ''But why? Why does your hands shake everytime you cut them down? Why are syou showing that kind of expression? Why do you look like you''re about to cry?'' She thought to herself. Winter clenched her fists, '' Can you really bury it deep down, and swallow everything you''ve done? If so... Why are you showing that expression!? Did you push me away hoping that I wouldn''t see it? You truly are an idiot. Trying to preach to me, even though you''re suffering yourself...'' Aaron''s eyes widened as he saw Haruki clear the army he tried so hard to perfect. "What is that boy!? He must die now! He would only get in the way of my plans..." He looked towards winter with a frown, "And you... you must die now..." He dashed towards winter, But she summoned a glyph beneath her feet, and stepped back. A huge arm made of metal suddenly popped out holding a massive blade swinging towards Aaron. "Dammit!!" He transformed his blades into dual pistols. He aimed towards winter but before he could fire a huge lightning spear stabbed him in the stomach. *Crash!!* He was impaled to the wall. The lightning coursed through his entire being, boiling his blood and burning his tattered body as he endured millions of volts. The lightning disappeared and he slid down from the wall with a trail of blood. Haruki appeared from the elevator. After clearing the area he copied the data but, when he saw the research... It wasn''t a hallucinogenic Drug... it was a mixture of Grimm and something else. They injected it to their captives, with different doses and formulas. Turning them into those horrifying monsters. Then a grueling laugh echoed. "You can''t kill me!! I have perfected the formula! This could easily heal me!!" He injected a vial onto his arm. His injuries slowly disappeared. He slowly stood up with a crazy smile plastered onto his face. "I''ll show you why I will always be superior than the things you call humans!!" "Aren''t you human yourself!?" Winter bellowed towards his direction. But Aaron just scoffed towards her. "I''ve long thrown it away... Even if you struggle, the difference between you and me is so great that I don''t exactly give a damn whether or not you know of my plans. That''s how weak you are. That in the end everything you''ve ever valued or struggled for is meaningless." Haruki who was silent the whole time finally spoke, "Weak huh... HehehehehheehheHAHAHAHAHAHA..." He glared towards the direction of Aaron, "Fine...I''ll show you the difference between you and me..." He tossed his weapons aside and deactivated his semblances. He cracked his knuckles as he went into the direction of Aaron. Winter thought that he was throwing his life away, but then she saw his eyes. It was cold, It was different from his normal and cocky self. Something far sinister. "What would you achieve by tossing your weapons away? Have you finally accepted fate, but can''t take it lying down!? you still have to struggle even at the end?" Haruki disappeared from his line of sight, And he felt a slight discomfort on his left hand. When he looked towards it Haruki has already torn it away. *Bam!* He was kicked away, He quickly stood up but he was slapped by his own severed arm. He crashed onto multiple pillars. Haruki used the severed arm to stab Aaron in the stomach. He pulled it out and kept hitting Aaron with it. He kicked Aaron away once more, "Seriously... Fucking villains like you are unbelievable. You start to think that you''re at the top of the food chain as soon as you gain even a little bit of power. You don''t even know where it came from..." Aaron brought out multiple vials and he injected himself with it. His body bulged and He laughed madly, "Hahahahaha, I do admit I underestimated you a little. But this charade ends now!" Before Aaron could even attack, Haruki has already grabbed both of his huge arms. Then a resounding crack echoed throughout the rooms. He grabbed Aaron''s head and slammed it repeatedly on the ground. He kicked him in the face sending him flying towards the air. He used the gravitational force and slammed him towards the ground once more. He then manipulated the mass of his fists, from heavy to light. Rinse and repeat, He covered himself with lightning as he mounted him and repeatedly struck his face. "I don''t even need the path of shura against the likes of you fucks." Aaron still gave Haruki a smile, "Even so! But you can''t kill me like that!! Got it now!? You can''t beat me. So it''s smarter to make a trade. Join us and perhaps even the benevolent faceless good could make you his right hand." Haruki spat at the side and gave Aaron a displeased expression. "Fuck if I care!! Fuck your God! I could do this all day if I wanted to!" Bam!* Haruki slammed Aaron on a wall, Holding his neck his grip tightened. Aaron tried to break free but The small child in front of him won''t budge. It felt like his body is holding so much mass. "Urrghh... you''re one of those people aren''t you? You don''t care if your life is on the line. But once you see innocent people you get so angry, you lose your cool. Losing information in the process. How... foolish...Uuuggrrhhh." Haruki tightened his grip, "Unlike you I have already gathered enough data. You''re regeneration ability is not endless, right? Then I''ll keep hitting you until you die." Winter felt that her body was on it''s limits, but she still observed the entire battle. She has to see to it until the end. Haruki jumped back and Aaron slowly regenerated the parts of his body that was missing. Then he howled onto the night. Countless tentacles sprouted from his back. Spikes grew on his arms. His whole face disappeared replaced by countless eyes. His entire form was twisted into something unrecognizable. "Is this the form you''re God wanted you to take? Heh, Who''s foolish now."He scoffed towards Aaron. No perhaps it''s not Aaron anymore it''s something else. Haruki created multiple lightning Spears and rotated them in ridiculous speeds. He threw them towards Aaron. Stabbing him on multiple parts of his body. "It still is not enough!!!" He pulled them out and waved his tentacles around. Countless wind blades flew towards Haruki''s direction. But Haruki used Absolute Demise to destroy the wind blades coming at his direction, "Easy peasy jackass!!" "Even in this form you still underestimate me mortal!!!!???" He charged madly towards Haruki, he summoned fenrir fangs and transformed into a wolf. He also summoned jet-black dire wolves to Bite him down in place. Haruki leapt towards him and tore him piece by piece, He used his Lightning emperor to strike Fiercely and Hastily. He jumped off and kicked Aaron in the face. Aaron wanted to scream, but when he looked at his body it wouldn''t regenerate anymore. He stared Haruki and gave him a questioning look. Haruki smirked towards him, "What''s the matter you priest fuck? Cat got your tongue?" Haruki slowly walked towards him, To Aaron he looked like a death God Holding a scythe on his neck, waiting for the signal to reap away his life. Aaron stopped regenerating once an optimum amount of poison has entered his body. He bloated instantly, When the regenerative cells were losing they increased their numbers, increasing his mass. Removing his ability to move, "Who...who are you!??" Shouting was the only thing Aaron could do. Haruki looked coldly at the bloated horror in front of him, "Me? I''m the one with the gun..." He pointed a .500 S&W Magnum Revolver at Aaron''s forehead, or where his forehead was supposed to be. "Wait! You co- -" *Bang!* But before he could finish speaking Haruki pulled the trigger. Putting and end to this madness. He looked towards Winter, She gave him a weak smile. He approached her and picked her up. They silently sat outside the shrine on a stone stairway leading towards the bottom of the mountain. They looked towards the starry sky, It was awfully quiet. A far cry from the battle earlier... It''s like it never happened in the first place. Haruki crossed his fingers and leaned on them. He was shaking, then he couldn''t take it anymore he quickly ran to the side puking his guts out. *Retch**Cough!! Cough!!!* Winter stared at Haruki with pity, "Haruki... we could have handled those together. Why do you have to shoulder the burden of killing those innocent people...alone?" Haruki shook his head as he continued to puke his guts out. "I can''t let you... I can''t make you do such a horrible thing. Only a monster like me could do that." Winter frowned, "You''re not a monster!!" "That is exactly what I am!!" He shouted back. "Well not to me!! ...not to me." She said weakly, Even though he helped her so much, in the end all she could do was soothe his tortured mid at this moment. "They wanted me to kill them winter... They ran towards my blade... Hehehe. The look in their eyes, I''ve seen them countless times and dealt with them at the same time. It gets harder Everytime you do it! I can''t do that to you!!" He gripped his pants and he looked towards the ground. "I thought that this place could give me a second chance, instead of protecting the people I care about... I''m ruining something else''s. I wanted to believe so badly that I could, But deep down I also know it''s a lie. A grand deception I''ve been telling myself. Look what I put you through, if I had arrived earlier then you wouldn''t have to suffer like this. Look what happens to anyone who cares care about me..." "This isn''t about me Haruki! I''m okay! I haven''t crumbled into a million pieces because of you. I''m still here alive and breathing because you...and I''m fine. This isn''t about me, it''s about you... You have to stop taking responsibility for things you can''t control. You need to forgive yourself." She pulled Haruki into an embrace, "It''s okay... Let it all out..." Haruki hugged her back, "Hey, I... I don''t have to act tough anymore right?" Winter nodded silently. Haruki let all his feelings out. He cried his heart out. Everything that he has bottled inside him. For the first time he let it out. He cried his heart out. She silently wept along with this boy. Although they have only known each other for a few days. They both have formed an irreplaceable bond. As if the sun sensed that the both of them have calmed down, It showed itself over the horizon. "I need more power, so that I would be able to protect everyone that I care about... That''s why I have to walk this path. I know it''s treacherous, Even then... I won''t stop." Haruki stared at his hands, "But... can I really change it? Could I even change reality!?" He said as he breathed really heavily. Then a pair of soft Hands touched his. "We can... we''ll be able to change, together. I''m sure of it. True, we''re weak creatures but that''s why we could strive to become stronger. Even if you feel it''s useless, each step we take leads to something great. That should be possible even for us right? Seeing people die in front of me... I''m sick of it. That''s why I wont let anyone die anymore. That''s why I''m sure we''ll be able to change. Because we''re weak... and because death is inevitable... We can try our best to live and end up becoming stronger." Then Haruki saw a familiar silhouette in a distance hiding behind a tree. He gave a faint smile. He thought to himself, '' Even you had to come back from the grave to scold me huh?'' He stared at her former fiance, She mouthed off words. He heard the words she was trying to say Loud and clear. The sun shone brightly towards Haruki and Winter, Leaves and flower petals flew everywhere blown away by the slightly warm breeze. He gave them a wry laugh. "Heh, You''re right..." He slowly stood up, Winter looked up towards him wondering why he suddenly stood up. "Winter... Thanks for everything." He started walking away, "See you around ice queen." "Wait!! I''m coming with you! I want to join your cause! I thought that we would make this a better place?" He smiled gently towards her, "We will... but it''s not the time yet. I''ll come and find you after two years." Winter swallowed down the words she was about to say and she shakingly said, "Even if we part and meet again. I want to meet at this place at the same spot." Haruki held her face gently, "Alright you win princess... I guess I''ll see you around." *Boom!* Haruki detonated the bombs he planted on the temple. He made sure that no one would be able to continue the research Kingsley has made. Winter stared at his departing back, she smiled and stood up herself and walked on the opposite side. ------------------------- 2 Years Later... A lone woman stood in front of a temple ruins, staring into space with lonely eyes. She silently thought to herself, "I can''t find warmth on my own, even though my family was there for me. Your warmth was different. By meeting you, I realized How much strength love could give me. I can''t sleep by myself, because I can''t dream with out you. That''s why I always sleep with my little sister. She''s grown up now too. I wonder what you look like now?" Then as she was thinking this a familiar yet different voice called out to her. "It''s a path even I''m not sure is the right one... Even then are you still willing to join me?" "Yes..." "It''s a path covered in blood, and I can''t promise you that Innocent people wouldn''t be involved..." "I am prepared..." As long as I''m with you... She looked behind her with a smile, and she saw him. Still wearing the same outfit, the same cocky smile. But different, his handsome face was more toned. He''s also grown taller. He''s almost as tall as her now. His new white fang mask hung below his waist. "Alright Princess... Let''s change the world. I''m appointing you as my assistant. I want you to protect my back. Do you understand? If I''m leaving you in charge of protecting my back, it means you can shoot me or stab me anytime. If I ever stray away from my path, kill me right away with those hands. You have that right. Knowing that are you still willing to follow me?" Winter seriously nodded her head, "I am." I will follow you to the depths of hell... She looked towards his departing back, but this time she would be joining him on his crusade. To make this world a better place. Take me to a place where uncertainty can''t reach us. So long as you''re with me, I can go to the world''s end. Even if I lose myself, I''ll continue to walk... Walk by your side. That''s the only thing I''d like to Never change. 76 Chapter 68: Culmination of Effor Two shadows were walking on the dark streets. The only thing that were illuminating their path were the street lights and the shattered moon. Seemingly spanning onto the horizon. It''s not really but they were too drunk to notice. They tried to walk at a straight pace but they would both wobble from time to time. They were walking side-by-side and shoulder to shoulder. From time to time they would giggle. Then the other would puke on the sidewalk. Luckily at this time of the night people were sleeping. Except for the people who live for the night, Partying until dawn. The female of the duo quickly paced herself leaning onto a mailbox, puking at the nearby bush. Her companion rushed towards her side patting the mailbox, "Winter You drank too much. Your little sister''s going to scold you, you know?" He said as he took a big swig from the beer bottle he was holding. Winter could hear gulping sounds and made her nauseous once more. "Stop drinking! *Retch* Damnit Haruki! Also that''s not me! That''s My friend!" "Huh? yer frends with yerself? That''s sad..." Haruki said as he kept patting the mailbox. Winter then tried to strike Haruki. Haruki moved to the side, to dodge the strike. But he didn''t need to, for she struck the opposite direction. "Watch out! You''re gonna hit Winter, you crazy person!!" He shouted towards the mailbox. The two drunk idiots bickered until they found a nearby bench to sit down on. "Ughhh... I think I drank too much." Winter said as she held her head. Haruki looked towards winter who was sitting beside him and laughed. "Hahahaha, This would probably give me a killer headache." She held his arm, "Stop laughing, and stop trying to drink!!" She swatted away the bottle of beer he was holding. The bottle broke scattering the shards all over the place. Winter sighed and used her glyph to repair the broken bottle. When she was about to apologize towards Haruki he was already holding a new bottle of alcohol unfamiliar to her. She held her face, "You know... you''re really like my superior. He''s a good guy but he''s an idiot. He''s a stubborn oaf but he tries his best. Good thing I''m his assistant because when I can''t take it anymore I can stab him in his sleep." Haruki laughed, "Hahahaha, Ironwood''s about to get his ass handed to him!" Winter shrugged her shoulders and sighed, "What''s more? I''m working two jobs at once! A year Ago... I resolved myself to follow him, wherever it may lead to. Do you know what I got? He took me out drinking! He didn''t even think of what I feel! Two years!! I''ve waited for him for two years! What do I get? A pat on the back and A good job!?" She took the bottle from Haruki and drank more. Haruki was already sweating bullets. What Winter said sobered him up a little bit, "Uhh, maybe you should take it easy on the alcohol there... Because this guy is sounding less and less like ironwood..." Winter frowned and continued, "I resolved myself to follow him for the rest of my life. I did so many missions, unsanctioned ones. even the military doesn''t know about it. Just so I could get his praise. That bastard works me to the bone! And it''s not like I''m not making it obvious but I keep showing him hints. I''m not really sure if he noticed or he is ignoring them, but damnit you''d have to be the densest man in the world to not know it. It''s not like my feelings were hidden deep down! I have needs too, for fucks sake!" Haruki tried to pacify the almost Berserk Winter. But it seems that Haruki''s words held no meaning for Winter let out all her gripes all at once. "I try so hard... Even the time I spent with my little sister grew less and less. Because I was so busy doing odd jobs. And when I got back here, I found out he was cozying up with other women!? With former enemies at that! He''s even quite close to my little sister, And her teammates! I swear! If I see that bastard once more I will castrate him!!" Haruki gave a laugh with deep hints of nervousness, "Hehehe... T-that ironwood guy is a real piece of work huh..." Winter narrowed her eyes, "Huh!? I''m talking about that other guy! You know the other guy! The man that I love! The dumb bastard who has a permanent cocky grin pasted on his face... That idiot who takes care of other people, but can''t even function well if no one''s around. The stupid lovable idiot who can''t even help himself but helps others like it''s his responsibility." She showed a smile full of affection. She patted the back of Haruki, "You''re a nice listener Mister Mailbox." Haruki was still sweating bullets. He answered in a high pitched voice, "Yeah, it''s my charm point. So ready to go home?" She narrowed her eyes and Gave him a wide smile, "No! Tonight we''re going to have fun! I''m gonna let out all my frustrations and all my stress! We''re gonna party till the sun shows up!!" She stood up wobbly. She pulled Haruki up, "C''mon! We''re gonna... we-we''re gonna pull some pranks." She giggled as they both rushed towards Beacon Academy Dormitories. As they were nearing the dorms, Winter was singing her heart out. Haruki was just getting dragged along. He was already fully sober, but the alcohol is still in his body so he was still staggering even a little bit. He just played along, He acted the part of Mister Mailbox perfectly. Well I mean he just doesn''t want to lose little Haruki. Their first victim were Team CFVY, The knocked on the door, "Room service!" Winter giggled, It was her first time pulling a prank. But after observing Haruki, She has slowly improved her skills. What opened the door was a Brown haired girl, with two rabbit ears flopped on her hair. She was rubbing her eyes. Trying to see who the hell was knocking on their door on this ungodly hour, "Room service? Beacon has it now?" She looked up and saw Haruki, She opened his eyes wide. She wasn''t expecting this visitor. Then she saw a woman beside him giggling, she raised her eyebrow, but then she caught a whiff of a particular smell from the two of them. Alcohol... She groaned, "What do you two want?" Haruki was standing there motionlessly. His eyes were open wide, who knows what he was thinking. But he was staring hard at Velvet. Winter realized her mistake, "Oh Wait! This is the part where we were supposed to run." She dragged Haruki towards the large hallway. Velvet tried to stop them but they have already ran away. She wondered what the hell that was, but whatever She was too tired to even think about what happened. She grumpily closed the door and went back to Dreamland. Haruki and Winter on the other hand, We''re running in the hallways. Winter was laughing her ass off. They stopped in front of the room of Team JNPR. Haruki knocked on the door, but no one answered. He tilted his head, "Where could they be at this time?" He shrugged his shoulders and looked towards winter, "I guess no one''s here." She pouted and pulled Haruki across and knocked on the door. "Room service!" What opened the door was a girl dressed in red, With gold embroidery on her night gown. She was smirking towards Haruki, "Heya Handsome, Had a fun night?" Haruki gave her a wry smile. "You smell like alcohol...*Sigh*Thanks for bringing him b- -" But before Cinder could finish talking, Winter dragged Haruki away in a huff. Cinder looked towards Haruki, and he wore an apologetic expression. She shrugged her shoulders and went to sleep. Winter was displeased, but it quickly went away when she looked towards Haruki, He was playing the part of Mister Mailbox. She gave him a grin as she dragged him away from the dorms. Weiss was Disturbed by the noise, for she was studying. She wanted to reprimand the people who were causing the commotion. When she opened the door. She saw Winter and Haruki trying to suppress their laughter as they ran away from the dorms. This spiked Her curiosity, she secretly followed them. She raised her eyebrows, "They sound like they''re drunk." She covered her mouth. It''s time to reprimand Haruki. He must''ve coaxed her sister, She thought. She''s going to scold him for drinking and for getting her sister drunk. She tracked them down and finally, Hid on a nearby bush. They were sitting on the stairway towards the library. She frowned, "Do they know each other? They''re awfully close." She went closer toward the two, to get ahold of what they''re talking about. The two of them gazed towards the stars, "It feels like that night, don''t you think so?" Winter was the first to speak as she looked towards Haruki. He just smiles towards her. "So much had happened in between, and I''m honestly more confused. But each time that I feel lost I look back to those memories fondly. And I remember the reason why I fight." Haruki sighed, He stretched his arms upwards. "Well those moments... I''m not really particularly fond of." Winter raised her eyebrows, "Oh? And why is that?" Her words containing thorns. If Haruki wanted to survive this night. He better Have a certificate in Public Speaking. He looked away in embarrassment and mumbled, "Well because, I kinda cried like a wimp. It ruins my image..." "Pfft* Ahahahahahah!" Her beautiful laughter echoed through the silent night. "You''re still the same as ever. By the way, Do you even still have an image to protect?" She said as she held her stomach for laughing so much. "Hey! That''s rude!" Winter kept on laughing as she held his arms, while slapping her thighs. Weiss on the other hand was surprised. "They indeed know each other..." An uncomfortable feeling welled up in her, But she continued to observe. Winter turned serious, and her fingers crossed together. "Hey, We''re doing the right thing right?" Haruki sighed, "I...I don''t know. But I''m not gonna stop. The sinners, Salem, Ozpin. All of them... they''re the ones pulling the strings. I want to know the truth, My place in this world... and my purpose." He looked towards Winter. "Sorry to put you through so much trouble." She smiled towards him, "Perhaps I chose the wrong person to follow?" "If I ever stray away from my path, kill me right away. That was the deal." She held his hands, "Well, it''s still within acceptable range." Haruki smiled, "You''re far too kind...I don''t know where this path may lead t- -" Winter silenced him by putting her lips to his. "I''ve already confessed to you! Don''t brush the topic into something so unsavory." She said. He raised his hands in protest, "I honestly thought you were drunk a while ago. I thought that you might want to do it sober." She lightly hit him in the stomach, "So if I didn''t make a move you won''t do anything and just wait?" Winter looked towards the broken moon. "I''ve got no choice but to try. I muttered those words to myself. The odds may not be on my side, but running away would be gutless. Even if I can''t see the future, I''ll just have to pull through with courage." Her beautiful face was illuminated by the moon. Her smile was ethereal as she looked towards Haruki. He held her face softly, "You''re right..." He leaned his head forwards and Winter did the same. She kissed him on the lips one more time. "So long as you''re with me, I can go to world''s end. Even if it''s a path I can''t walk on my own, If you''re by my side, I can walk it while singing." Weiss returned to her room in a daze, not knowing what to think. To say that she was surprised was undercutting it a little bit. She laid on her bed with a multitude of thoughts racing across her mind. Eventually she fell asleep. Haruki and Winter on the other hand were still sitting on the stairway. Watching the night sky. They were basking on each other''s warmth. They leaned on each other waiting for the sun to rise. 77 Chapter 69: What they do in The Shadows 2 Days Later... There were Two people conversing in the middle of the town. In a restaurant nearby Beacon. One was a woman wearing a lab coat, Her messy Raven hair caught the attention of people. Her eyes were completely apathetic, but she wore a crazed expression. In front of him was a Burly Man, wearing sunglasses. His Huge muscles could barely be hidden by his civilian clothes. And if you look closely at his right shoulder, There is a tattoo. Thousand Blades... Yes, the two of them were both the sinners of Wrath and Sloth. Aergia clicked her tongue, "Tch! Whats taking Eris so long!?" Touma laughed, "Patience, young child. She''s already nearby. Why don''t you go and eat food first it''ll help you grow." "Ahn!? The fuck did you just say old man!? You calling me small!?" She said as she glared at Touma. Touma Laughed louder. He looked behind him and saw Eris, Wearing her staple Bad Girl Look. Aergia looked at her direction, "You''re late..." She said clearly displeased. Eris was still silent, She sat down at their table. She clearly didn''t give a damn about Aergia. This pissed off Aergia even more. But she ignored it and let it go. Touma smiled, "So if you''re back, then I suppose it''s ready?" Eris smiled back and she finally spoke, "Yes, He''s going away for a mission. Based on my observations he''s going to be doing a job for Salem." Touma nodded his head, "Then I shall follow him. No one should stop me." Eris shrugged her shoulders, "If he can''t handle you, then he''s not my fated rival then..." Touma laughed, "Oh to be young! That''s how it''s supposed to be! Hahahahahha!" Aergia then ignored the two of them, "I''m going to the land of darkness. I need to see the pool where those Grimm come from. And if I''m lucky we could bargain a deal with that old witch. One last test then we could start. Eris you can go on taking the students. I couldn''t be bothered with their pleading." Eris nodded her head, "Sure, I don''t think I could reach an agreement with that old witch. I would probably just fight her." Aergia raised her eyebrows, "Yeah, that''s why I got you do the easiest one... but also the most troublesome one." Touma nodded his head, "If you do this, It would paint a Target on us, and the world will probably know who we are. Ozma is probably just waiting for that opportunity. Your Company could take a big hit..." Eris shrugged her shoulders, "I don''t care..." They all stood up, "Alright, Let''s move..." Touma said, And they all disappeared as if they weren''t there in the first place. The Shadows Hidden Deep within started to move once Again. Unknown to the residents of Remnant, The Flames of Destruction would rain upon them once more. Eris was Lazily walking down the road and sheHas already spotted her Target. It was a blond Faunus, with a monkey tail protruding from his backside. They were hanging out in the streets near the docks. Many people Pass by because it''s also the fastest way to the commercial District. Sun Wukong, He was sitting on an empty crate lazily staring at the Moon. Beside him is a Blue Haired Youth. Trying to pick up girls that passed them by. The two of them were quite successful, well the blue haired one at least. They recently Arrived in beacon to train and compete in the Vytal Festival Tournament. Eris smiled and Approached the two of them. The blue haired youth named Neptune looked towards the Beautiful Blonde Woman that was nearing them. His eyes opened wide, for she is probably the most beautiful woman he has ever seen in his life. Sun was the same, he was slack jawed too stunned to even detect the tiniest sliver of Bloodlust she was emitting towards him. As they were appreciating her beauty she suddenly disappeared, The two rubbed their eyes. Thinking that they just saw a ghost, a very beautiful ghost. *Bam!* Neptune was suddenly hit on his side, Flinging him towards a nearby wall. Eris held back a lot, she wanted to have fun first. Sun opened his eyes He was brought back to reality when Eris attacked, Neptune was replaced by Eris in an instant. He immediately brought out His signature weapons. Ryuji Bang And Jingu Bang. He spun his staff, And charged towards the Barehanded Eris. He kept trying to hitting her vital parts. She just smirked at him and parried those off with just her palms. Then a Trident suddenly flew towards their direction. Eris flipped to dodge the weapon, But Neptune immediately followed up with a kick. Eris grabbed his leg and threw him into another wall. Sun grabbed Neptune''s Trident and threw it across Eris to Neptune. Eris just moved her body away. Neptune then grabbed the weapon and Transformed it into a gun. He kept firing at Eris. Sun did the same, his staff changed into nunchucks. The flipped and spun his weapons towards Eris. His weapon sliced the air, with every strike the hits go faster and faster. But to Eris this was slow, Very Slow. She gave them a very disappointed expression as she dodged their attacks fully. She disappeared once more and grabbed Neptune in the head. She lifted him up, and kept hammering his stomach with her fists. "I don''t need you, but I want you to send a message." When Neptune heard what she said, it sent shivers down his spine. He took on the full brunt of her bloodlust. Sun attacked once more, She threw Neptune towards a wall. Sun stuck towards her, But before he could do anything. Eris Took away his weapons. She checked the two nunchucks and spun them around her body. Everytime Sun approached he would be hit randomly, He found Eris smirking at him. "Weak... This is disappointing, I thought that this hunt would go differently. *Sigh* I want to switch places with Touma..." She chopped Sun on the Back of His head, and left the bloodied Neptune on the side. "As for you blue hair... You go tell them that Eris sends her regards..." She calmly walked away carrying Sun by the scruff. She headed to the Park where She and Haruki sat down on. ------------------ The same Night... Team JNPR have just finished Training at the empty park. Jaune tiringly asked Pyrrha, "Uhm, Pyrrha? we''ve done this for the past 2 days. What''s this for?" Pyrrha looked towards them, "Well, so we could win the Vytal festival?" She said as her eyes darted around the place. Jaune tilted his head, "Huh? Is that it? We''re already training for it in the morning. I think more training could only hurt us." Ren nodded his head, "Yes Pyrrha, Extensive training could only hurt us." Pyrrha sighed, "I''m sorry guys. It''s just that I have a lot in mind lately. I wanted to clear my head with more training. I''m sorry for dragging you guys along." Jaune smiled towards her, "Well... As the leader of this team I declare we shall train with you. Because you''re our teammate and our friend." Nora chimed in, "I personally don''t mind, as long as I COULD EAT PANCAKES!!!" They all laughed together, not noticing the person sitting down on a nearby bench. It was Eris. She has already taken Sun, and sent her men to carry him back to Aergia''s Laboratory. She was observing Team JNPR, as she was about to call out to them, for two of her targets were with Her. A bony Hand Clutched her shoulders. "Eris..." She quickly kneeled, "Yes, Lord Greed. What brings you here?" He stretched out his bony hands, "It''s way to boring inside. Being cooped up in that cave for so long can be... Boring. So I decided to go out and breath the fresh air of Despair! HeheheheHahahahahhaaha!!!" In front of Her was a Man who was covered in Ragged Black Cloth. With Gold Chains and accessories adorning his body. His body was composed of skeletons And Red outlines Racing across his skin, pulsating... The Skeleton Laughed Heartily, "Hehehehehahahahahaha!! I am pleased with your efforts so far, Eris." She was still kneeling, "I don''t deserve your praise Lord Greed." Greed''s eyes gleamed, He looked towards Team JNPR''S direction. "Those kids, that Red Haired Girl in particular... She''s quite the character. I Like her, Her Hunger for more power. Resonates with me... Her Greed." Eris looked up, "My Lord, Are you- -" Before she could finish, Greed peered directly to her soul. "Do not question me! Hehehehehe! I don''t know yet, but in time... we''ll see." He turned into mist, Leaving a dumbfounded Eris. She stared at the Direction of Team JNPR, one last time before walking away into the shadows of the night. Greed appeared on top of a Building, Overlooking them as they went towards Beacon Academy. "King of a country, Huh? That''s way too small Corvus. Pride you''re also an idiot... If you''re going to destroy the world... Why don''t you just strive to become ruler of all!?" He grasped towards the Moon. A Goblet Filled with Blood appeared in his hand. His crazed Laughter Echoed throughout Vale. But when the people checked where the sound came from. There was only a dark miasma left, And Not a Trace of Greed. 78 Chapter 70: Mission of Utmost Secrecy The Day Where Haruki as to go on a Mission For Salem had finally come. Yet, that very same Man was Fast asleep. Well, He''s not Late... But it is extremely surprising for him to not wake up at 6:00. It is already 8:00, By Now He should be shouting at the people he''s training. But today He wasn''t, but his so called apprentices were training outside. Clearly ignoring the fact that their superior''s absence. No scratch that, they were reveling the fact that he''s fast asleep. Their pace today was a little slower compared when he''s present. Threatening to bite Their throats. Well at least he has some company. Another Lazybones herself Neo... Since Haruki wasn''t present, Winter took on the mantle of training his so called apprentices. The good thing for them was she was more lenient than Haruki. She wasn''t as scary, she''s just quite strict. ----------- *Swish* Someone removed the curtains blocking the sunlight, And opened the windows to let the fall breeze inside the room. Haruki attempted to block the sunlight from his face, but it was all for naught. His body felt Heavy, it''s like he barely could even exert any strength. Haruki rubbed His eyes, and slowly sat up. His hair was a mess, and it felt like it got longer. He brushed his hair backwards. Neo felt Movements from her pillow so she was forced to wake up. She rubbed her eyes, and started her day with a frown. They both stared at the person who opened the windows, It was Winter. "Wake up you two, and Don''t you have something to do? I swear you only know how to laze around." Haruki lazily smiled towards her, "I love you too, Honey." Winter sighed, "Get up idiot you''re going to be late." Haruki scratched his head, "Wait is the Mission Salem gave me supposed to be today!? Oh shi- -" Neo was completely silent, because she was back in Dreamland. Not giving a damn on what''s happening. Haruki on the other Hand was so quick, he almost used lightning form to freshen up. But as he was looking at the mirror, he saw something''s different. He raised his eyebrows, "Did I get taller? *Gasp* I THINK I HIT PUBERTY!" Neo was about to wash her face when she heard him, Clearly she was still displeased when winter woke her up again. She smacked him on the head, (Stop wasting time and Go!) But Haruki can''t hear anything because he was staring at his eyes. Instead of pure black, there was a few Red lines surrounding his irises.Forming a Red Ring outline. "Gaahh!! Even my eyes are slightly Red!" Neo sighed exasperatedly, (Did you peep again? Because that''s how you get pink eye.) Haruki''s eyes twitched and he looked at Neo straight in the eyes. Neo''s eyes opened wide, (They''re beautiful Haru, Where''d you get it? Peeping so many times you unlock a hidden Tier of Ars Magus?) He pinched both of her cheeks. "No, and if I did you''d kill me. So no...? I think... Oh God, I hope not..." *Cough!* Winter coughed and stood at the entrance of the bathroom. Her eyebrow raised, arms crossed as if waiting to scold someone for being so slow. Haruki used lightning form to immediately change, He put the questions to the back of his mind later. Because his life is more important that those meager questions. He can''t ask those if he''s dead now can he? -------- Haruki was rushing towards Ozpin''s office, He quickly knocked towards the door. When he opened it, He saw Team RWBY already briefed and Ready to go on their secret mission. They all looked at the latecomer, He gave a wry smile as Ozpin glared at him. "You''re late..." Haruki smiled, "A wise man once said, Time is relative. so I like to consider that you guys are just early." Yang smirked towards his remark. Ozpin sighed, clearly tired of his antics. Haruki sat down Next to Weiss, She tensed her shoulders for a bit. But she quickly greeted Haruki, with a pained smile. "Hey, Haruki..." A few days has passed ever since she saw him and her sister kiss. Although she was still affected, she has decided to focus on her mission for now. She wanted to hear it from her sister herself. Besides, they''re sisters so they share with each other. She told her self, trying to console her wounded heart. "Hey, You look pale Weiss. You sure you''re okay?" Haruki worriedly asked her. She just shrugged and smiled. Haruki looked around, "So? What did I miss?" Blake stared at him, "Everything... You missed everything." Ruby jumped up from her seat and swung her arms around. "We''re going on a super secret mission of utmost secrecy!" Haruki opened his eyes wide, "Like one of those spy films we watched!?" She nodded her head furiously. "Exactly! from now on I shall not be referred to as Ruby, But Agent 255." She said as she covered part of her face with her hand. Ozpin covered his face even more, The stress he has accumulated this past few months... Well let''s just say that his hair couldn''t get any whiter. "You would be departing later. Now proceed with caution, Even though Haruki is there. As proper soon to be huntresses you should still be wary of everything." Ozpin said as he drank from his tea. Team RWBY went back to their rooms to prepare, While Ozpin kept staring towards Haruki, "I believe we don''t need anymore words?" He nodded his head, "I know..." He stood up and walked away. Ozpin still kept staring at team RWBY, "Why does he keep choosing them?" He wondered, as he drank from his tea. He also noticed the changes in Haruki, but chose to ignore it. He thought the same thing when Haruki first saw the changes. ''Puberty'' Haruki watched Team RWBY, as they departed through an airship. He also departed through another airship. Courtesy of Roman. ''How the hell does he keep stealing this stuff'' He thought to himself. He got comfy on his seat and stared at the sky, waiting for it to depart. His thoughts raced about the things that happened. How could he change that drastically? And in one night even. [Well, Kid... I got answers for you, and It sure as hell ain''t puberty...] Haruki opened his eyes wide, ''Gluttony!? How the hell did you guys disappear!?'' [We didn''t kid... You have absorbed too much essence in the span of a few weeks. So I think the Ars Magus went and dealt with it. Since I''m a part of warmonger now, I can''t go through unless The Ars Magus Allows it. I was dragged into the depths of this weapon. I found out things... The truth about this weapon.] Haruki turned serious, ''Is that so? What is is exactly?'' [It''s not exactly a weapon it''s more like a part of a key. This thing shouldn''t exist, but I can''t say it right now. It''s restricting me from telling you. But This thing is only one part of The Six. The others exist beyond other realms, I don''t know where but it''s spread across everywhere.] (A/N: I feel like I should clarify this now, it''s not the fucking infinity stones okay? It''s older than that. It''s originally 5 Books but I added the Ars Magus into the equation. There that''s the only clue I could give you. Also the other 5 won''t ever appear in this fan-fic. Because I''m planning on using it on my other books.) ''So even if I unlock all the tiers, It still isn''t the full extent of the Ars Magus?'' He thought to himself. [Yeah... Although it''s powerful, The other weapons are equally as powerful. What''s more if it gets on the wrong hands at the right moment... heheheHAHAHAHA!! I could only imagine the damages it could cause! Wielding that much power... Oh it sends chills down my spine!] If gluttony had a mouth, he would be drooling right now. His thirst For this kind of entertainment Fueled his hunger even more. Haruki was squeezing the bridge of his nose, "Damnit... So there''s more than one huh..." [Anyways kid, Those 5 are unreachable to us so forget about them. It doesn''t matter! Because you know why? You gained new Weapons and Powers!!! Take it away Ars!] <> <> "Yes.." 79 Chapter 71: When in Doub Roman Torchwick was checking his watch, "What''s taking that boy so long?" Roman kept tapping his foot while leaning on a nearby Train Cart. He was watching the Cargo be loaded with weapons. He sighed and shrugged his shoulders, "Do I have to do all the work in here!? Faster you fools! We don''t have Time!" All the white fang members looked at him thinking, ''You barely did any yourself!'' Roman Toiled away his men. He was long tired of waiting for Haruki so he just killed time by ordering his men around. Meanwhile, Team RWBY was enjoying their time. Ruby... I mean Agent 255 was extremely into her role. Blake was trying to control the stupidity of her actions. And Yang, well she''s enjoying the show. Weiss on the other hand was the least enthusiastic on joining their shenanigans. She was staring out on the window, seemingly thinking of something. Yang noticed this, "Weiss, You have not been yourself this past few days. You got to tell us what''s wrong." When she looked at Yang, She noticed that Ruby and Blake were also sitting besides them. "We''re here for you BFF!" Ruby shouted energetically. Weiss sighed, "Well... It''s just that, I saw Haruki kiss my Sister..." Blake opened her eyes Wide, Yang sighed while Ruby screamed at Weiss, "You have a Sister?" Yang pacified Ruby, and they all listened intently to their friend tell her story. Weiss continued ignoring Ruby''s comment, "You see I''m really close with my sister, and I can see that she cares for me a lot too. She has sacrificed so much for our family and I know she joined the Military to escape the forced marriage interviews. But I can see that she really wants to help people. Me being heiress means that I have to take on those crappy political marriages. But I don''t blame my sister one bit. I know she is amassing her influence to rid of this crap. Together we could conquer The Schnee dust company. She always put her family first before herself. I have always admired her for that. When I saw her kiss him, it felt like something inside me broke. I... I''m not sure what it really is. But when my Sister took him away, I didn''t know what to feel. All my life I have looked up to her. I won''t get angry if she put herself first this time. Even if it meant being together with the man, I sort of get along with. But I did get angry, I was in a daze. I was disgusted by myself for thinking that. What right do I have to get angry? Then I spiraled into more wicked thoughts about my sister. Why does she get to choose the person she marries? While I get stuck with prearranged marriage interviews that would expand my fathers company? Why does she get to choose him? Why does she have all the talent, Both in swordsmanship and Her Semblance? How come she gets all the good stuff in life? while I''m stuck here getting complacent over my own achievements...I Hated myself for thinking those things...For the first time in my life I wanted to get angry towards my own sister. To find a reason to be angry. So... So that I could scream out loud that my anger is justified..." Weiss was frowning and she gripped both her arms as she hugged herself. She quietly looked away trying hard to keep the tears from flowing. Her teammates were silent. They couldn''t even utter a single word, They wanted to go and give advice. But as they were about to speak up Weiss started to speak again. Her eyes were a little blurry and a self deprecating smile was plastered on her face. "When I first got here in beacon I knew nobody. I''m very thankful that I met friends such as you guys. I honestly thought that I would be stuck up and overly serious. Always thinking about learning, and teaching my teammates how to do their job properly. But every time that we hung out, I was the one who was taught. Even if you pestered me a lot Ruby. You guys taught me how to have fun. Not only you guys, But Team JNPR, and Team CFVY, especially Haruki''s team. Well specifically Haruki himself. He was the first man that I met that I didn''t hate after a few moments of interactions. Surprisingly I didn''t come to hate him, although he was goofing off in class, it''s not like he''s failing. He''s actually doing pretty great not on the level of Pyrrha, Neo, and Me of course. All the people that my father told me to get along with, They were spoiled, rude, and fake. They only knew how to suck up to my family name. Their intent is clearly obvious from the way that they talked to me. That''s why ever since I was young. I always expect that everyone has an ulterior motive. They hide behind that smiling mask. To shield their underlying intent. All of them felt fake, It''s like I never really knew anyone genuinely. And that scared me. But when I got here on Beacon, I met him... He was like a breath of fresh air. When I first saw him he tried to flirt with me. I thought that he was an idiot. But his smile felt genuine. I got to admit he has the looks, but who hits on a fellow student at the third day?" The other three nodded their heads. "Yes, He''s an idiot... A hopeless idiot." Weiss smiled, "But, everything he did felt genuine. Like He actually cared about me. Not just me but to every single one of the people that surrounded him. That''s why I felt curious. But when I overheard how conversation from my sister... That they were working together all along. What if he''s only nice to me because I''m Winter Schnee''s little sister? Just like that he turned out to just like everyone else. If he could lie about knowing my sister. What else could he be hiding? How can I trust him again after he lied to our faces? Is Eris being the enemy real? Or is he the bad guy all along!? How do I know that what he says is real!? How do I know that he genuinely cares about us, when he''s hiding so much?" Tears slowly slid down her face, She was sobbing. "He saved us multiple times Weiss, He never asked us anything in return. He just cares for his friends. You know that too don''t you? If he was lying to us then he would''ve let that monster who called itself gluttony, kill us then and there." Blake tried to console the poor girl. Weiss shook her head, "I want to believe Blake... Believe me I do... But he''s hiding so much from us. I''m sorry I don''t think I can trust him again until he proves it otherwise. I have been wondering if everything that I want is worth chasing.But every time I see him I just feel my heart aching. I look up to him, you know... The way he faces adversity with a smile. He always had that over confident grin on his face. I have always admired that aspect of him. That''s why I will get the truth from him. I want to be strong enough, to be trusted with his secrets." Ruby quietly hugged Weiss, Their entire team was silent. Yang then suddenly spoke up. "I have an idea how to take your mind off things Weiss." They all looked towards Yang in unison. "We kick his ass, I''m sure as hell Haruki would be there. It''s Roman Torchwick and His Gang right? Then That means he would be there. I suggest that you vent your frustrations towards him, after all hid did train us for like two weeks. We got to show him how much we''ve grown. And also kick him in the butt." Everyone nodded their heads, even Weiss gave them a rare chuckle. "You''re right Yang, I have to stop wallowing in this rut. I just have to Yang it." Yang raised her eyebrows, "I''m sorry what now?" Ruby grinned, "It means to beat up anything until you get answers." Blake chimed in, "Thus the phrase, When in doubt, Yang it." Yang flared up,"Ohh... And do tell, who was the one who came up with this?" They all merrily laughed, Weiss had finally calmed down. Everyone looked away whistling. Yang opened her eyes wide. Her eyes glowed red, Her anger surged to the max. She probably guessed who coined it. He''s about to get his ass kicked, is what they all thought inwardly. As they were about to near their destination, The Man of the hour was silently sitting down on an airship. With a wide grin on his face. Haruki on the other hand was being told By The Ars Magus all His new powers and weapons. 80 Chapter 72: Its Very Cool <> <> "Yes... So, care to tell me my new Power?" The Ars Magus''s mechanical voice resounded in his head. <> Haruki opened His eyes wide, This was a massive power increase. Perhaps if he fought Eris once more, He could probably take some of her swordsmanship and implement it on his own. This could Help him train the others Well. The thought of seeing his own flaws with the sword could make his attacks more formidable. He clenched his fists tightly, he couldn''t wait to test out this new power. A wide Grin surfaced from his face. "So it''s like the Sharingan?" [The what? No it''s not! Did ice cream girl hit you in the head that hard?] "Damn..." <> Haruki nodded his head, His excitement went back to it''s peak. Good thing He''s already in costume. Half of his face was covered with the mask, So to other White Fang members he only looks like an idiot only half as much. <> Haruki smiled wryly, "Motherf*cker... stop reminding me of my sins you fuck." [Gahahahahha! How fucking ironic! Why don''t you just listen to their screams like a symphony? You humans have no class...] "Because I''m not a fucking monster..." [Gahahahaha!!! Keep telling yourself that brat.] Haruki continued to argue with gluttony on his mind. He clicked his tongue, Glaring at the sky. "Whatever, Ars please continue..." <> Haruki''s pupils shrunk, "This sword was lost in WWIII... Is it the blade itself?" <> [Think of it like this kid, The Ars Magus is a large Library of weapons recorded in history. It has amassed countless weapons from every mythology. Every Legendary Artifact in recorded history. But like a Library, Those weapons are just copies of the original from their Peak state. So even if they''re just copies it''s still a perfect copy down to the finest details. But the Ars Magus could Absorb the essence of the original weapon. But once it gets absorbed, it will cease to exist in every reality. Then the original would be the one recorded in The Ars Magus. Confusing ain''t it? Gahahahaha! I''m probably the worst person to explain it! Gahahahaha!!] Haruki slumped his shoulders, He thought he could role-play as Yamato Takeru. But sadly his dreams were instantly shattered when Gluttony explained to him the truth. "That''s fine... A legendary sword is still a legendary sword!!" He raised his fist up in the air garnering the stares of the white fang members on the airship. *Cough...* "Alright Ars, What''s next on the menu?" <> "Are they cute?" He accidentally said it out loud. [Gahahahahahaha!! That''s the spirit kid! You''re asking the right questions!] Then as both Gluttony and Haruki were thinking about the looks of Both Yin and Yang Someone spoke beside him. "Ugh, Our master is a pervert. Just great... I really want to die RN..." The girl said as she was chewing gum. Haruki opened his eyes wide, The girl Was the same height as Cinder, and her hair was Short, fashioned into a bob cut. Her hair was black and had blue highlights, and her long bangs were covering one eye. She was wearing black lipstick, and pure black eye liner. She looked like a goth doll, gloomy... but cute nonetheless. She was wearing a Black short biker jacket, with zippers, like a lot of zippers. Below it is a white tank top. A black checkered skirt with white frills at the end, and a fishnet stockings that covered her long legs. Her black high heels showed when she raised her feet to rest on the table as she sat beside Haruki. Haruki was stunned. He thought to himself, ''Isn''t this kid just a rebellious teenager? why the hell does she have her own scroll?'' Then a laugh escaped the person in front of Haruki, that seemingly appeared out of thin air. "Hahahahaha! Ain''t that fine Yang? We finally got summoned! We weren''t used at all in the span of all of history! We''re just gathering dust in the Ars Magus''s library!" The loud girl named Yin said energetically. Yang rolled her eyes to the girl. Haruki stared at the girl who appeared from across the table. The girl had medium length Black Hair, It was tied into a messy ponytail. She was wearing a red Sports zipper Jacket That has a black stripe in the middle. Underneath it was a black shirt. She was wearing a black sports skirt and black leggings beneath. She was wearing white running shoes. Haruki gave her an exasperated sigh, It looks like she has seen the gate of truth and sacrificed her girl power, in exchange for power... She''s still cute, but she''s dressed like her next kendo match is today. You can really get a feel that she was a girl that lives in the moment. "How come you guys are here? I don''t remember summoning you though?" Haruki questioningly looked at the two of them. "Ugh... Have you forgotten that this is a world once governed by the two Gods of both light and darkness, Master? The thought of you as my master is extremely depressing..." Yang Said as she fiddled with her phone. Haruki''s mouth twitched as he looked at Yin to give him additional explanation. "Well you see master, this whole world is made up of light and darkness so we could exist indefinitely until the world ends. So we could pop in and out as long as the pendant is outside. Anyways Master~~ Forget about that boring explanation stuff~ and just fight!" Haruki nodded his head, he was slightly convinced that these two are just bratty teenagers. He rubbed his temples, Thinking that these two brats would probably constantly annoy him to no end. "Ars Please continue with the explanation... Or else I''m gonna lose it..." Yang rolled her eyes towards him, "uhm... Master? you see... We need new names... don''t you have a girl named Yang too? I don''t like overlapping with others so like give me a new name. Yang is such a basic and lazy name. Ugh." Yang said as she twirled her hair with her fingers. Yin agreed with what Yang said, "Yes! I agree! Yin doesn''t fit my personality! I wanna cool name! Like Blazing Thunderstorm! Please name us Master!" She said as she raised her arms like a student. Haruki covered his mouth with both hands and breathed in deeply, "How about just annoying 1 and 2?" Yang rolled her eyes, "please just kill me RN, That''s totes lame..." "Keh! If you weren''t our master I would''ve cleaved you in half!" You said as she threateningly raised her massive blade. "Fine! Yin, You Would be Ryuketsu Kurenai! Yang you would be Tsukikage Yushu! Happy now?" Haruki said, just dealing with this two sisters exhausted him. The two nodded, "Are our names on your language Master?" Yushu asked. Haruki nodded. "But why are our last names different?" Kurenai asked. "Your names Have certain meaning to it. Just like in magic words Have power, and I think those names fit you two perfectly." The two gave Haruki a bright smile for the first time, "Now that you have given us names, The contract is sealed and you''re not allowed to throw us away at all cost!" Kurenai said as she crossed her arms confidently. "Whatever, It''s not like we like to be ordered around anyways." Yushu said apathetically, but she can''t contain the smile on her face. Ignoring the two, Haruki asked the Ars Magus once more. "Ars do I still have some weapons that I unlocked?" <> "Yes." <> Haruki was slackjawed, "Fuck me... That''s a little too powerful..." <> Haruki raised his eyebrows but ignored it, he told Ars to go to the next weapon. <> "Uhm... Ars? is...is that it?" Haruki asked worriedly. [Hahahahah! What the fuck kind of weapon is that?] <> "Motherf*cker! Is this weapon a joke or something?" Haruki summoned the sword out. It looked like it''s straight out of the depths of the Freezing abyss. It looked like a normal blade but it''s blade had inscriptions inscribed in it. Yushu nodded her head, "It''s very cool indeed." Kurenai took the sword from Haruki, "Yeah, It''s really cool..." Haruki quickly un summoned the weapon. He sighed, looking out the window he finally saw the drop point. He ran straight towards it. He peered from the top of the open hatch as his jet black coat fluttered in the wind. He faced the two twins behind him, "Stay Frosty!" He said towards the two twins, He jumped backwards and saluted them both. He fell down without wearing a parachute. The two looked towards their first master, "I think he''s alright." Yushu said as she jumped to follow Haruki. "I think he''s gonna be great!!" Kurenai also Jumped, following her sister to the ground. 81 Chapter 73: Kick Names and Take Butts Haruki landed on the ground, creating a large Crater that looked like a spider''s web. Cracks formed in the ground. Signifying his huge boost in strength, after The Ars Magus changes his body structure, along with it the capability to wield the immense power he has obtained by devouring His enemies. He tried punching towards the air, He went all out without using his aura. Even then the air still shook. Shockwaves emerged blowing away everything in sight, within 800 meters with just his punch alone. He looked towards his fist, "Damn..." Gluttony suddenly chimed in. [Hooh, You''re probably stronger than my sinner in her peak state.] Haruki raised his eyebrows, "When we fought, answer me truthfully... Did you let me kill you?" [Hahahahaha, I was honestly planning on killing all of you when I detected that you killed one of the Grimm I spawned. The one Grimm I injected with my essence. Turns out it didn''t evolve that much... You see, I had a fallout with both Pride and Greed 500 years ago or something, We three had different plans for Humanity. So I fought them and I lost miserably. I was weakened to the point that even if I regained my former strength I would still lose to them. After all those years of roaming Remnant I just ate and ate. I didn''t care what as long as I could satisfy my hunger, be it power, semblance, unique constitutions... Even knowledge, I have amassed a great deal of knowledge. Then I saw you the Wielder of the Ars Magus, One of the 6 Keys, I was surprised to see it in this dimension. I was curious how it got here, so I wanted to test you, I never expected to be absorbed by the damn thing though... Gahahahahaha!!! I did fight you with everything I had. Whatever''s left of it anyways. But then I saw your memories, it all made sense... Being sent to this reality, That maybe me being stuck and absorbed into the Ars Magus, was the will of that man himself...] Haruki tilted his head, "That man?" [Forget it kid, We''re both not strong enough to say his name, or even know his name...The more I explain the more it gets complicated, so for now... Focus on your mission or whatever.] Then as Haruki pondered what Gluttony told him, That means he lacks strength to even face the sins... But he put it at the back of his mind, if he can''t even beat Eris what''s the point in facing the sins. *Thump* The two twins landed besides Haruki, Both of them didn''t create a large crater or anything, They were light as a feather. Haruki was surprised, It must mean that the two had perfect control over their strength. He smiled, at least he got additional strength in his army. He looked towards Kurenai, "Master, you do know creating a huge commotion like this would get us discovered right?" "Huh? Why bother? It''s not like anyone''s here..." Haruki said as he looked around the forest. Yushu face palmed, "Ugh, Why am I stuck with this idiot? I seriously want to die..." Kurenai laughed, "Hehehe I agree with Master! We could take them all on, so why bother!?" Yushu clicked her tongue and proceeded to walk on the opposite direction. Haruki called out to her, "Hey Yushu! Wrong way!" Kurenai laughed at her sister and followed Haruki towards the sealed subway on the ruined city. At the Entrance of The Ruined City Haruki detected multiple Grimm in the area. He looked towards the twins, "How about you two show me what you got?" Kurenai grinned towards Haruki, "Yess!!!! Finally! Some action!" She immediately dashed towards the Grimm and swung her massive blade. A Red Arc swiped through the Grimm. She was still a few meters away from the swarm of Grimm when she swung her blade, but They were instantly bisected. *Fwoosh* The Grimm didn''t disappear, but remained as corpses. Haruki pondered, ''So if they have the same effects with Warmonger... Then I could probably increase my strength at a much faster pace...'' Haruki summoned his void bats to go and devour the carcasses of their enemies. He looked towards the unmotivated Yushu, "Uhh, Yushu? Why aren''t you doing anything?" Yushu sighed, "What a pain... do I really have to?" Haruki nodded his head and smiled wryly. ''If you don''t move I can''t see your strength now can I?'' Yushu disappeared, she appeared next to the group of unsuspecting Grimm. Her scythe suddenly enlarged covering the Group. Then she pulled it towards her. The Grimm were cut in half instantly, She had a reluctant face when she looked towards the dead enemies. "Ugh, disgusting... Why can''t they just turn into nothing when they die..." She snapped her fingers and pale blue flames covered their corpses, and they quickly disappeared. Before Haruki could tell her not to burn them, she has already appeared to another batch of Grimm. "Fuck... This girl is more of a pain than expected..." Kurenai approached him while smiling. "My sister hates seeing corpses. So she immediately disposes of them." Haruki shrugged, after they cleared out the place he quickly made way to the sealed subway. But before he opened the secret entrance, he handed two White fang masks towards the two. He also Gave them two jet black jackets, the very same jacket he was wearing. The two looked at him dubiously, "You can''t expect us to wear this now can you?" Kurenai said, Haruki wordlessly pushed the jackets towards them.Now the two girls look almost like him except for their skirts, shirt and Hairstyle. He looked at the two and nodded his head, "Nice..." Yushu was secretly appreciating her Masters aesthetic. Although she liked her original jacket, wearing this long jacket once in a while is not so bad. He opened the door and gleefully jumped down towards where Roman was screaming towards his subordinates. *Thump* He landed without a sound, learning from what Yushu just said. Yushu nodded pleased by her masters wit. "Hey, Kept you waiting huh?" Roman looked towards the direction of the voice. "What took you so long? Do you have any idea what it feels to be cooped up in this shithole? Hold on! I''ll answer that for you, Fucking terrible!" Haruki shrugged his shoulders, "I kinda overslept, you know... Puberty and stuff..." Roman was slackjawed by his co-worker''s answer. "You what?" Then he noticed two shadows behind Haruki. He smirked knowingly, "Oh, Does Neo know about your new posse?" Haruki flinched on Roman''s snide remark, "Uhh... No? Well they''re a new hire so..." Roman gave him a shrug not caring about his excuses. "Anyways we got to deliver these things pronto! Since you''re here I''m going to show myself out. Whenever you''re here plans tend to get a little... let''s just say... messy." He started to usher the others to start up the train. ------------------- Team RWBY was roaming around their immediate mission area. Ruby was trying to sneak about. She was crouched at the ground, occasionally peeking through covers while moving from point to point using her semblance. Weiss was exasperatedly looking towards Ruby. She face palmed, "Uhh Ruby, you know you''re leaving red petals when you use your semblance right?" Yang was just silently laughing along as she was thinking about beating Haruki up as soon as she meets him. Blake on the other hand was just looking around. Taking in the sights of the strange beauty of the ruined city. It was covered in overgrowth. It was lifeless yet filled with life at the same time. Although one thing is bothering her, How come there''s no Grimm in the area? They have been looking around for almost an hour, but there was not a Grimm in sight. Weiss read the mission documents once more, "It seems there''s an entrance near the subway." They walked towards the subway and found an open door. Yang raised her eyebrows, "It can''t be that easy now can it? What do you think Ruby?" Yang looked around and but her little sister was already gone, leaving a trail of petals on her Wake. The three groaned and immediately rushed towards her direction. "Ruby wait for us!" Ruby on the other Hand finally saw Roman Torchwick so she jumped from platform to platform and landed behind Him and Haruki. "Halt! Evildoers, you shall be captured by me, The great Agent 255!!" She posed confidently. "Ohh... for the love of..." Roman looked towards Haruki putting the blame on him, "This is clearly your fault Kaz! Damnit all! I should''ve went out earlier." Haruki crossed his arms, "Well, if it isn''t Little Red. What''s a nice girl like you doing in a place like this?" Ruby was about to speak whena Yang and Co. suddenly descended from the top of the subway entrance. Yang was clearly displeased with Haruki as she cracked her knuckles. Ruby Smirked, "We''re here to Kick Names ant Take Butts! And we''re all out of bubblegum!" Haruki face palmed, ''Ugh, she messed up her line...C''mon Ruby! We rehearsed this remember?'' He thought to himself as he looked towards the girl who messed up such perfect opportunity. Roman on the other hand was looking at them while his smile was twitching. "The strings of bad luck just won''t end!! I''m out of here!" "Where do you think you''re going to, mister?" Team RWBY readied their weapons, "Bad Guys will pay!" Ruby Shouted. She only got a chuckle from Roman. "Well whatever Red, you see we''re just trying to do our jobs. Just transport our weapons and bomb the City in the process." Weiss opened her eyes wide, "What about the innocent people?" Haruki shrugged his shoulders, "What about them?" "That''s Murder!! How low has the White Fang fallen to even consider harming innocent people!?" Blake screamed while looking at the White Fang Members "For the love of the Two Gods... Grow up you lot. You''re not Kids anymore. There is no such things as good guys or bad guys, there''s just people going about their lives. That in the end it''s the powerful who gets to decide the fate of the many..." Roman said as he twirled his cane. The four Looked solemn. Ruby then answered seriously, "Then we''ll show you how powerful we could get!" 82 Chapter 74: Trainwreck Weiss charged straight towards Haruki. But before she could reach him, a shadow blocked her strike and kicked her back towards her teammates. They finally noticed the two shadows that was hiding behind Haruki. Then as they were going to charge once more, they felt a towering presence behind them. They felt choked from the sheer pressure she was emitting. They slowly turned around and saw a Girl wearing a White Fang mask, with a great sword strapped behind her back. They could see the grin plastered on her face as she stood behind them imposingly. "Oi Oi, You can''t just attack the boss right away now can you?" Kurenai said as she released her bloodlust towards the Four of them. Team RWBY could barely stand from the sheer pressure. They stood readily waiting for the next attack to come. But before Kurenai could even do anything an even more stronger bloodlust dominated the area. "Kurenai get back here..." Not a single one of them could utter a word except the twins. "Yes, Master..." Kurenai instantly appeared beside Haruki and so did Yushu. Weiss frowned even further. She thought to herself, ''What more is he hiding? Who are these two?'' The white fang members stood in front of Haruki, He and Roman boarded the train since it has started moving. Kurenai and Yushu followed suit. Leaving the grunts to deal with Team RWBY. "If you can''t even deal with this small fry don''t even think on getting to our master!" Kurenai bellowed as she taunted them. This irritated Yang even Further. She wanted to charge towards Kurenai and "gently" ask some questions. Blake stopped Yang on her tracks and as Yang looked towards Blake, she shook her head. "Yang, don''t... She''s right we''ll catch up to them eventually." Weiss on the other hand started clearing out the White Fang small fry. She created glyphs surrounding the White Fang Goons. She dashed from one enemy to another. Slashing them till they faint. Yang opened her eyes wide, Weiss is clearly pissed. In a span of few seconds the White Fang goons, have already fallen down to the ground. Weiss created glyphs as a platform to step on to catch up with the train. She looked behind her, "Are you guys coming or not?" They woke up from being in a daze and quickly caught up to Weiss. "Uhh Weiss? Are you okay?" Weiss nodded Her head, "I''m perfectly fine..." She sounded calm but the deep rage she held deep within could be felt by her teammates. They finally caught up to the train. They jumped on the platform on the furthest end of the train. ------------ Roman looked towards Haruki, "This is the part where I bail kid. See you around!" He bowed towards the direction of Haruki, then he jumped off immediately. Yushu looked towards Haruki, "Are you sure you want to just let him escape?" Haruki nodded towards her question. "It doesn''t matter, what matters is that those four stop the train from being delivered." Yushu started walking towards the furthest cart of the train. Kurenai followed after her sister. "Hope they don''t disappoint us! They are, after all your apprentices of sorts." She looked back towards her master. Haruki smiled towards her question, "Learn to hold back now you two." "Bahh, Master~ You''re no fun~~" Kurenai walked away while putting both her hands behind her head. Yushu on the other hand rolled her eyes, "Ugh, what a pain...It makes me want to die..." Haruki climbed up the top of the train. He wanted to take his time and look around the train without being spotted. He would switch the bombs with duds so the Grimm don''t swarm Vale. He used lightning form and zipped across the entire train. Checking the insides of the carts thoroughly. ------------- Team RWBY charged through the carts quickly, defeating all the White Fang Goons that stood in their way. Weiss created a large glyph under the carriage that they were in. Freezing it. They quickly jumped over the next one and severed the carriage. "Weiss! You''re using too much of your aura." Blake immediately told off Weiss and held her shoulder. Weiss gripped her blade and breathed slowly. "You''re right Blake. I need to calm down." As they were about to move on to the next, Ruby furrowed her brose and spoke. "Hmm, There''s no more White Fang Members around. This could only mean one thing... I''m aweso- -" Suddenly Yang pulled Ruby back, away from the door in front of them. A few seconds later multiple blue arcs slashed towards their direction. The Train Doors were cut into pieces, revealing two beautiful yet intimidating girls in front of them. One was holding a blue scythe, while the other was holding a massive red Great sword over her shoulders. "I didn''t get a clear look earlier, but you four are our masters apprentices right? Hmm... I guess you guys would do..." Kurenai said as she scrutinized the four of them. Weiss furrowed her brows, "What do you mean by your master? How long have you guys been trained by him?" Yushu stopped Kurenai from telling the truth by raising her hand. "We were only trained by him for only a few days. It''s seriously a pain..." She said dejectedly as she swung her scythe once more severing the cart that Team RWBY was on. "Hey! Wait!" Weiss immediately chased after the two and her teammates followed suit. As they landed on the open carriage. Explosions resounded behind them. They all looked back at the carts they were previously on and it was on fire. They all thought who detonated the bombs? But then they saw the white fang members they supposedly defeated running towards a door that was hidden behind a huge rubble. A few Grimm emerged from the holes created by the blasts. The white Fang goons were nowhere to be seen, So the Grimm targeted the moving train. They chased after it like a pack of rabid dogs. On top of the Train was Haruki and he narrowed his eyes, "Tch, I was too late to stop those huh?" He Turned into his Lightning Emperor form and created hundreds of lightning Spears. Below the carriage Haruki was standing on was Team RWBY and The Twins. That''s why he immediately eliminated the Grimm that were following them. Hundreds of lightning Spears illuminated the darks tunnel. Following it were the dying screams of Grimm being electrocuted and burning to death. Followed by the sound of bats eating away at the fallen Grimm. Weiss noticed that Haruki was probably on top of the train, she wanted to climb up but the two twins in front of her were strong enough to crush them without even trying. Yushu them spoke towards their direction, "Master has started already, How about we start the fight too? I still have to play my games. Ugh! What a pain..." Kurenai giggled beside her sister as she swung her massive blade. The entire carriage was cleaved in half. Team RWBY instantly ducked as they sensed the danger from her swing. Haruki had no choice but to flip onto the next roof. The roof of the carriage he was standing on before flew towards the Grimm. *Boom!* Another explosion resounded. Before the roof exploded he saw a bomb stuck on it. When Kurenai cleaved it, it was probably because she saw it. Haruki was wrong. She swung her blade to show them her strength. Yushu on the other hand Knows what Kurenai did and just shrugged her shoulders. Yang immediately charged towards Kurenai after the explosion, "You can''t swing that massive blade if you don''t have enough time!" Kurenai only smirked towards her, and blocked her strikes with one hand only. She was parrying off Yang''s strikes like it''s nothing. Yang kicked towards her face, But Kurenai took the blow while grinning. She struck Yang in the stomach with the handle of her blade. Sending Her back towards her teammates. Blake followed suit as she dashed towards Kurenai, Kurenai immediately swung her blade and struck Blake. But the one she struck crumbled into rocks as the real Blake tried to kick her in the back of the head. Yushu immediately stepped in and punched towards Blake''s incoming kick. The two collided and they both stepped back. Ruby quickly charged towards Kurenai swinging her scythe diagonally. Kurenai flipped and left her sword stabbed on the trains floor platform. She cracked her knuckles, "Fine, Hand to Hand combat it is then. I can''t swing my blade anyways so you guys just have to get beat the old fashioned way." Kurenai and Yang moved at the same time, sending a punch towards each other. They exchange blows, each strike gets faster and stronger each time. Dodge then strike, rinse and repeat. Kurenai felt something was amiss every time Kurenai hits Yang, her strikes gets even more stronger. "Hooh, So that is your power huh? Not bad... Not bad at all..." She grinned like a madman. She kept on Striking Yang even Faster this time. To make her even stronger. They were immersed in their own battle. Not noticing the other three sneak by towards Yushu. Yushu on the other Hand was focusing solely on the three that snuck by, "Your friend... she''s not bad, to be able to make Kurenai smile like that... Her power is something else entirely. Too bad your opponent is me. I don''t like enjoying fights and I want to finish this instantly." She drew a line between them and Herself. She raised her hand and urged them to come at her. 83 Chapter 75: Red V.S. Blue Yushu looked towards Ruby, "A scythe user huh? Interesting. Finally a positive in this dreary world." She spun her scythe intimidatingly towards Ruby. She was smirking. Weiss created a glyph beneath Ruby''s feet. She shot straight towards Yushu, "That''s a cool scythe! It''s also blue! What''s it''s name? Mine is crimson rose!! How about yours?" She kept talking as she struck towards Yushu. Yushu''s expression slowly turned into a frown as Ruby fired questions like a machine gun. She clicked her tongue and spun her scythe. But before she could strike back, Blake and Weiss we''re already behind her. Weiss slowed down Yushu and Blake used her chains to wrap her in place. "You''re wasting your time..." Yushu disappeared and appeared on top of the roof of the next carriage where Haruki was shooting at the Grimm. The three opened their eyes. "Petty tricks...Come on up. I''ll show you what despair really means..." The three jumped on the roof of the moving train. Ruby stepped forward, "Guys can you let me Handle this?" She looked at Both Weiss and Blake. Her Will was clearly transmitted towards the two of her friends. The two nodded and went straight towards Haruki. Yushu tried to stop them but Ruby has used her semblance to stop her advance. Yushu opened her eyes wide and smirked. "Finally Little Red... You''re finally showing some guts." Weiss and Blake looked towards Haruki and charged onwards. Ruby smiled cutely, "Well, as a fellow scythe user I wanted to see if I could fight you. Plus you''re with Haruki so you can''t be that bad." Yushu raised her eyebrows, "Are you sure about that Little Red? What if I''m just using him?" Ruby shrugged her shoulders, "I can sense that you''re stronger than me, so of you wished me harm I''d be dead already. I feel like this is another test from Haruki." Yushu sighed, "Sigh*, Yes... You''re pretty sharp Ruby. But that doesn''t mean I would go easy on you." Yushu spun her scythe and pointed it towards Ruby. She smiled and mirrored the movements of Yushu, "You''re the perfect opponent for me to test the skills Haruki taught me " She leapt towards Yushu with incredible speed leaving a trail of roses in her wake. ------------- Weiss and Blake stared at Haruki eliminating the Grimm from the explosions calmly. "Are you two just going to stand there?" He said as he continued his onslaught towards the Grimm. "Why?" Weiss said in a weak voice. The hand that was holding her Myrtenaster was slightly trembling. "What else are you hiding from us." Blake stood beside Weiss. She was silent, but she was demanding the same thing as Weiss. "Clarity"... Haruki stopped. He summoned Echoing Fury, He raised it up and The screams echoed throughout the tunnels. He looked towards both Blake and Weiss. "You want to know the truth? Fine...beat it out from me then." Countless Revenants were released inside the weapon and charged towards the Grimm. He faced the two and summoned Mourning Vengeance. Weiss stepped forward and Raised Her blade. "I will... " She steadied her stance and charged towards Haruki. Haruki traced Weiss''s movements and found her footwork familiar. "You''re going to use my movements against me?" He said inquisitively. "Heh, Alright..." He moved towards Weiss matching her speed and struck towards her. Weiss spun her weapon and created a glyph on her hand and slammed it towards Haruki''s direction. A huge spike of ice sped through his direction. He moved his head away, and blocked the stab that targeted his mask, by parrying her strike. "Don''t you think you''re forgetting someone?" Blake said as she wrapped Haruki''s free hand with her weapon. Haruki tugged at her chains but this time she was in place. Because Weiss summoned a glyph beneath her feet to hold her down. Weiss summoned multiple White glyphs and a Time dilation glyph to slow Haruki down. She sped through it multiple times striking towards Haruki. He blocked it all with a hand tied behind his back, without even drawing his blade. Except for one, His mask broke. Weiss specifically targeted that one area occasionally as she zipped in the air. Weiss flipped in the air as Haruki''s mask fell down on the ground. She put some distance between the two of them. Blake appeared next to Weiss. "Look us in the eye when fighting us. Get that stupid mask out of the way..." Weiss said with a frown. ----------------- Ruby and Yushu, were crossing blades intensely. Not one of them is giving the other enough time to breathe or its what it seemed.Although deep down Ruby is aware that Yushu is holding back. Yushu is clearly just matching her own pace. "Well, little red? Can you go faster?" Yushu suddenly sped up her strikes towards Ruby. In an instant a dozen blue arcs grazed towards Ruby''s direction. She instantly used her semblance to move away from Yushu''s strikes. Her trail of red petals were minced into tiny bits. Yushu spun her scythe and positioned it behind her. She looked ephemeral as she stood there, while red petals brushed past her. Ruby changed her weapon into a rifle as the blade of her scythe stabbed the roof. She fired a few times towards Yushu. She just tilted her body towards the incoming projectiles as she calmly advanced slowly towards the stationary Ruby. Ruby frowned as she pulled out her scythe, "You''re better at wielding a scythe than my uncle Qrow. At first I thought you two were equals, but the longer our blades cross... The more I notice the discrepancy between the two of your styles. It''s like that scythe is for humanoid enemies. Am I right?" Yushu shrugged her shoulders, "Well kid, This weapon isn''t really for the Grimm. It''s more efficient on killing people." Yushu was gone from Ruby''s vision and she appeared behind her. "Although I''m good at killing people, I hate seeing blood...It''s such a drag..." She whispered behind Ruby. Ruby instantly turned into roses and flew a few meters away from Yushu. She opened her eyes wide. There was no tell on using her semblance, it was as if she just appeared out of thin air. Yushu then created a blue magic circle on her own shadow."What a pain... But I have to put effort into it, or I''ll never hear the end of it from master. Such a drag." Six copies of her eeriely crawled out from her own shadow. Contrasting to them Ruby was observing them icily. The six clones were shambling towards Ruby. Gradually enclosing Ruby, Nudging her with their jet black scythes. Unlike Yushu''s Beautiful Yu¨¦ Liang. Those black scythes looked like they came from the abyss themselves. At that instant Dread crept onto Ruby''s skin as she stared at the shambling clones that stood in front of her. A dazzling red flash struck the shadows. In a single second, three of the clones fell down. Yushu approvingly nodded, Ruby on the other hand felt her hands shake. It''s like cutting a person she thought. "Don''t worry they''re just shadows, no harm done little red." Ruby nodded but she was still clearly shaken from the previous scene. Yushu sent he clones towards Ruby once more, But this time the shadows were moving like her. Cutting through the air, but she flipped backwards as she kicked the clone in the head. "There''s no need for conviction in striking these shadows down, but you still need to know the weight of it." Yushu told Ruby as she stood behind her clones. Even so, Ruby was not so optimistic as to think that. In the end she was still that bright and cheerful gal that couldn''t do bad things. She slowly regained her thought process, She kept convincing herself that this is just practice. Her Serious expression tightened, and the atmosphere changed from afraid to sharp. "I don''t want to be in this kind of situation, but if I want to be a huntress. I must resolve myself to do this. That''s what my uncle Qrow taught me." Ruby said, her silver eyes gleamed and her string will was transmitted towards Yushu. Yushu smiled, "I can see why my master is fond of you, This is honestly such a drag... But you however little red, amuse me to no end." "Should I start?" Ruby asked Yushu, and in turn gave her a rare smile. Ruby readied her scythe and waited for the right timing. And the moment the 3 remaining clones charged at her, she took her stance and used her semblance to appear behind them. As soon as their backs faced Ruby, she sliced towards their defenseless backs. However, her expectations betrayed her. They quickly turned around and slashed towards her. She ran past them not losing any momentum, and escaped the quick counter of the clones. The flowing defense and counter of the remaining three clones with their scythe were astounding. It was as if Yushu was telling her something. Moreover the clones didn''t break it''s posture after that counter. As she was thinking she was slowly surrounded by the clones. They crossed blades, and in the middle of the blade dance. It was as if Ruby finally understood. Her scythe has a long range, but it doesn''t necessarily mean that she could instantly reach her enemies with it. It''s better to counter them at the most optimum distance. A red flash was seen on the clone''s ankle. Even though the clone tried defending that part. Ruby was just too fast. "Even though that lesson was hard earned. I''m still going to use my scythe as an offensive one instead of a counter weapon." Ruby said enthusiastically. "Time to show you what I''ve learned!" Ruby instantly turned into a bundle of red roses that charged towards the clones. A scythe suddenly popped out of the roses. Spinning madly like a drill. Cutting apart anything on it''s path. Aura was channeled into her blade for it to not turn into roses. The clones were quickly dealt with. Even though they could defend a few times. But the sheer onslaught of her blades and speed were unmatchable. So they could only be cut apart. The same cannot be said for Yushu however. She was defending each strike perfectly. With a smirk to top it all off. Ruby appeared below Yushu and a red flash stuck her upwards. She blocked this but she was launched in the air. Ruby instantly followed up by shooting on the ground to propel her into the air. Yushu smirked, "Strong, but not quite there yet." She sent a kick towards Ruby''s solar plexus. She was sent crashing down straight down. Creating a hole in the ground. When Yushu landed inside the carriage it was littered with red roses, and without a Ruby in sight. She looked around suddenly a group of rose petals condensed and struck towards her abdomen. Yushu was caught off guard and she thought she accidentally killed Ruby, So she was a little late on noticing her strike. When Ruby''s attack connected however a blue Magic circle blocked her strike. "Nice try kid. But I gotta admit that''s not bad." Ruby was panting clearly exhausted, "Come to think of it. I never got your name..." Yushu smiled towards her opponent. "It''s Yushu... Tsukikage Yushu." She said as she smiled delicately. Ruby smirked as she fell on the ground clearly exhausted. "Heh, I''m really tired... Haruki needs to treat me to an all you can eat cookies galore..." She said before she slept soundly. Yushu stared at the red hooded girl and sighed, "I still have to take care of this little girl huh... What a pain..." She clicked her tongue as she carried Ruby towards a safe place. Yushu''s silhouette disappeared as she went further inside the train. 84 Chapter 76: Ignite Fire was blazing as they were exchanging blows with one another. Kurenai was giddy. She was enjoying their fight. Yang was also the same. She was furious that she wasn''t able to fight Haruki but, She enjoyed fighting with Kurenai. Although they were both strangers to each other, their fists did the talking. With every passing second their blows get stronger. Yet strangely enough they slowly understood each other. Yang wasn''t like her sister who relies more on technique and her speed. So she liked this kind of fight. She was also not that good when it comes to enemies that uses their legs far too much. She wasn''t that great on the technical side. She liked thinking with her fists. Throwing strategy out of the window, and just answering with your fists. Kurenai on the other hand was hyped that her opponent could last longer, the only problem was the longer they bout the more flawed and more crude her strikes were getting. This disappointed Kurenai. Sure, she uses her fist do the talking most of the time, but she never threw away the elegance of technique in battle. The beauty in battle is the clash of techniques and the clash of wills. Kurenai suddenly kicked away Yang stopping her punching spree. She was forced to move back a few steps. Yang clicked her tongue, "You''re gonna regret that!" Kurenai frowned and sighed. "You''re the strongest out of the four of them and yet you''re also the most flawed." Yang raised Her eyebrow, "What the hell does that even mean?" *Click* Her gauntlets made a sound, as if it''s ready to fire any moment. She dashed once more towards Kurenai. This time however, She was using boxing techniques Haruki taught her. Hours of gruelling footwork training is finally paying off. She moved like a shadow, and yet unlike a shadow she moved from point to point with dazzling radiance leaving a fiery trail of afterimages. Shooting punches and firing her gauntlets even if they don''t connect. The sound still serves as distraction for Kurenai. Kurenai was unscathed and calmly diverted her sloppy strikes. Her fiery temper rose as she stared at Kurenai. "This kind of temper fits your name. Unlike my name before. I used to be called Yin. But now, I go by the moniker Ryuuketsu Kurenai. A fitting name given to me by my master. Your name is a principle of the universe, but it doesn''t necessarily mean that it should be fire or heat for that matter. It also represents Light, brightness, passion and growth." She straightened her back, She breathed deeply. Her stance steady, "That''s why if you just keep doing the same thing. You''d quickly grow stale and cold. You''ll never grow stronger." Yang''s red eyes grew even brighter, flames were flickering on her hair. She was furious, and yet she hasn''t screamed back. She just stared at her enemy. "You''re going to regret this fight, you don''t want to mess with me. You''ll watch yourself suffer. You''ll watch me ignite. You''ll regret underestimating me!" She said as she struck towards Kurenai. Kurenai sensed the change in attitude from Yang, "Hohh, Your aura shot forth... Interesting." She blocked Yang''s strike with one hand. She smirked towards her, and shook her head. She lowered her center of gravity, "This is how you hit!" She held Yang in place and kept hitting her. *Bam!!* Yang was forced to step back, she was breathing heavily. "Heh, You just *Pant* Made it more difficult for yourself." Kurenai smiled slightly towards the clearly exhausted Yang. "Scathing eyes ask that we be symmetrical, one sided and easily processed. Yet every misshapen Spark''s unseen beauty is greater than it''s would be judgement." Kurenai said, as she waited for Yang to strike. Yang wondered what the hell Kurenai just said, and dashed forward. "You disappoint me Yang Xiao Long..." Kurenai said as she stepped forward, grabbing the arm of Yang and flipping her down to the ground. Yang stood up once more with vigor, She jabbed towards Kurenai''s direction. But she was only met with a counter each time. One thought was racing inside Yang''s Mind. That Kurenai''s strikes were beautiful. She''s outmatched, but she''s not gonna go down without even managing to land a hit. She thought to herself, even if Haruki wasn''t her opponent she still had to use her newfound strength. at least to a worthy opponent. She brushed her hair backwards clearly picking up Haruki''s training habits. She lowered her stance, Readying herself for her incoming barrage. She copied Haruki''s boxing style but she added her own brute style in it. Her father''s style was also blended in the mix. Creating a fiery hot jab. Her arms were covered in burning flames. "This is my technique that I created, The one that I created with him!"Yang bellowed as she struck towards her opponent. Her aura flames condensed into her fists and shot towards Kurenai. Kurenai grinned widely as she received Yang''s strike. She held Yang''s burning fists and Head-butted her. She pulled her arm over her shoulder and flipped her on the ground hard. She kicked the fallen Yang away. "This flames...are unlike any flames I''ve seen, It''s different from mine even." Kurenai said as she ignited her own hand.She was smiling, "Beautiful!! Hahahahaha! Absolutely Beautiful!" Yang stood up once more even though the lights in her blood red eyes were dim. "Heh, Let''s go you punk!!" She bellowed towards Her opponent. Even though she''s on her last vestiges of strength she still chose to stand up. Gaining the admiration of Kurenai. Although Yang was weaker and the difference between them was like a huge cliff, Her will was as strong as Kurenai. She is by no means evil, she respected all of her opponents. "To be able to be your opponent, To be able to have a good fight such as this... This is why I can''t give up on Battles! The sheer clash of will! The pumping adrenaline! It sends shivers down my spine!! Come forward Yang! Show me what you got!!" The two shot forth hitting and hitting back, neither was dodging the strikes any more. They both were having fun. They have forgotten the very reason of their fight. At this point on they''re just fighting because it''s fun. This is probably the happiest moment for Kurenai in her time in remnant. They slammed their heads to one another, creating a shockwave almost destroying the train, the only thing left was the train floor. Everything else was blown away. They were both engulfed in flames, striking each other. The intensity of their battle could be felt by the others. But they ignored it for they are fighting their own battles. Their flames intertwined and soared through the ceiling of the tunnel illuminating it. *Thud* Yang slowly fell down, She has fainted from overexertion. Leaving the smiling Kurenai standing and looking over her. "Someday, Let''s battle together." As she was about to pick up Yang. A swirling red vortex opened behind her and a woman wearing a Grimm mask appeared from inside it. The mysterious woman slashed towards Kurenai. She flipped towards her great sword embedded on the Train. "Ohh, What brings you here Miss Raven?" Kurenai smirked towards the person who attacked her. Behind the mask Raven frowned, "You know me but I don''t know you... Are you working for him?" Kurenai smirked, "What if I don''t want to tell you?" Raven shrugged as she silently drew her blade. "Alright, death it is then." She dashed towards Kurenai creating after images after every strike. She was far superior as an opponent to Kurenai. This made her blood boil. She blocked all of Raven''s strikes masterfully. "Are you that angry I beat you daughter?" Kurenai said as she countered with a powerful blow. Raven was forced to step back a few steps. She twirled her blade and sheathed it once more. "I will only save her once, After this she''s on her own." Kurenai pretended to shiver, "Oohh, How cold. I thought the best kind of warmth was a mother''s embrace. I guess the only warmth she''s getting is her name." She smirked towards Raven. But She remained unflinching towards the taunts of Kurenai. She sliced towards the air and appeared next to Yang. From there she dashed towards Kurenai. But Kurenai jumped in the air and slammed her sword down towards Raven. A huge shockwave was created destroying the entire carriage. Kurenai was forced to rescue Yang immediately. She put Yang inside the next carriage after the one their standing on was destroyed. Raven stood in front of the open door, staring at Kurenai. "So you do work for him. What the hell is the point of this farce then?" Kurenai shrugged her shoulders, "Your guess is as good as mine. I''m a new hire so... I don''t really have an idea on what''s going on. More like I really don''t care." Raven nodded and turned her back against Kurenai, "Perhaps next time we''ll have a proper fight. I don''t take draws. so you better prepare." Kurenai laughed, "Hahahahaha! Even better, Well see you around momma bird." She could hear Raven clicking her tongue. She instantly opened a portal towards her base and jumped in. Kurenai turned around and Picked up the unconscious Yang and transported her to a safer place. 85 Chapter 77: Its My Turn Weiss was glaring at Haruki, Even after all that the only thing she has managed to hit was Haruki''s mask. She gripped her signature weapon Myrtenaster. She clenched her teeth, she positioned her foot behind her. Her whole stance changed, even the aura she was exuding differed from the norm. "Hohh, Interesting..." Haruki said as he finally drew his blade from it''s sheath. He chuckled inwardly, ''I really sound like a fucking bad guy right now. Might as well stick to the script.'' He waved his blade in the air as his jet black jacket fluttered in the air. He readied his stance to face the two girls in front of him. Blake was still observing Haruki''s movements and she was slightly angered. ''He''s still not taking us seriously...'', She thought to herself. Blake wanted to prove herself in front of the big brother she looks up to. She doesn''t just want "Clarity" She also wants his "Approval". She doesn''t want to be the same girl who ran away. This time she''s going to face it head on. They stared straight into Haruki''s eyes, "This time... we''re going to beat the answers out of you!" They simultaneously ran towards his direction. Weiss Used her time dilation glyph to slow Haruki''s reaction down. They flanked him from both sides, Weiss targeted his torso while Blake slashed towards his legs. Four Blades clashed onto one another. Haruki instantly summoned Kusanagi to block Weiss''s attacks while he used Mournful Vengeance to counter Blake''s slash. He held Mournful Vengeance in a reversed grip, and pulled Blake towards him. "Alright I''ll take you two seriously this time." He said as he kicked Blake in the stomach flinging her a quick distance away. When Weiss saw Haruki attack Blake she used a glyph to cushion her teammate. She twirled and exchanged blades with Haruki. Haruki only used the Kusanagi to Parry her attacks, and ever so often his blade would ignite surprising her. Weiss used her glyphs to create ice spikes from the ground. Her Myrtenaster''s barrel clicked and the color changed to blue. A huge ice spike came from the ground aiming at Haruki''s crotch. "Woah!!! Don''t aim for little Haruki! Leave him out of this!" He said as he broke his so called "Character". Suddenly a chain wrapped the ice spike and Blake spun on it and used the momentum to slash towards Haruki. This time he used Mournful Vengeance to counter. Everytime that Blake attacks she felt like Haruki''s parries increased in strength, it felt like it tripled. It''s like she was striking a rock. He only needs to tilt his blade and the passive of mournful vengeance would do it''s work. Weiss was surprised that he could take them both on without even taking a step. She used her white glyphs to use as a platform for her and Blake. Slashing at Haruki, While he on the other hand was just spinning his blades blocking every strike. Blake used her chains to try and wrap Haruki''s foot and trip him. He just raised his leg and stomped on her chains. It felt like she was trying to pull a huge Boulder. Even with her enhanced strength with aura, she couldn''t even make Haruki flinch. Weiss readied her blade once more, *Click* The barrel of her weapon turned, and Her blade was covered in a blue aura once more. She waved her blade towards Blake''s direction. A huge Ice wave was speeding towards her direction. Haruki immediately raised his legs to let go of Blake''s chains. Blake flipped and was blocked by the huge ice wall. "I''m sorry Blake, I know you have a lot of questions too. But please let me have this one." Blake heard Weiss''s voice over the large wall behind her. She sighed and just sat down behind the wall. "Fine...But we''re friends, you could rely on us when it comes to things like this." Although Blake could not see over the huge wall, she could sense that Weiss felt touched by her words. Weiss stared straight towards Haruki, "How much are you hiding from us?" She kept pestering him to tell her the truth. Haruki remained silent, just staring back into her eyes. "Answer me!! In the end are you just like him!!? Do you just see us as pawns!? In your grand chess game!? What even is real? It feels like I don''t even know you anymore!" She shouted all her anger towards him. Weiss not getting an answer was angered even further. She was confused, and slowly losing herself in the storm of her own feelings. Being pushed, being pulled she''s slowly unraveling. "Do you only see me as your puppet? You...You pretend and...and...lie only to reach your ends is that it? Is this all just a big fucking chess game to you!? Who are you even really allied with? You jump from place to place so quickly. Please answer me Haruki, Please don''t be like him... It feels like everything is breaking apart. I can''t even look at you anymore! Even that signature over confident smile of yours scares me. That if I look at you all I see is him giving me a condescending smile. Undermining all of my efforts. Treating me like I''m some kind of toy. Are all of you the same!? Why are you still treating me like a fool!?" Weiss bare the feelings she''s been holding back. Haruki was silent he was gripping his blade. He would''ve preferred to cross blades instead of dealing with this kind of pain. He''d rather deal with injuries than permanent scars. At first he was trying to manipulate all of them. To make them go towards the path he wants, To further his own plans. The path that he thought was the right one. But He quickly realized how foolish that was. So he just trained them All he wanted was for them to get strong. He was blinded by his own ambition. Weiss made him realize how much of a dick he''s been towards his friends. He lowered his blade, "I''m sorry...I never planned on hiding anything from you guys. It''s just I don''t want you to see the bad parts of me. The parts I don''t want to lay bare. The things that I like to keep people in the dark. The ugly truth behind it all. I don''t want you to feel disgusted by the things I''ve done." He looked away as he gripped his blade. Then he stared at Weiss, and gave her the most sincere look he could, "But believe me when I say I''m your friend." Weiss on the other hand just stared towards Haruki, she gave him a pitying look. "Is that so? You hate your own past it''s so sorrowful it hurts!?" She gave Haruki a scornful laugh, "I looked up to you. I thought that even without a background one could get that powerful. When I was younger I used to believe that anything can be attained because I''m a Schnee. But that comes with a large price. To be a puppet of that manipulative bastard... But then I met you, oh so confident. Oh so strong! I respected your strength. But then I found out you were part of the white fang. I will admit that I was afraid of you for a while... No I was scared to the point I can''t look you in the eye. But you kept approaching me with that warm smile, I kept wondering how you could smile like that. The best I could achieve was a fake smile. But you knew that didn''t you? Because it takes one to know one... It turns out you''re as broken as everyone else..." Weiss heaved a large sigh as tears slowly slid down her eyes. "I have spent and wasted years never knowing, I was used, I was Kept as a pawn. I spent my life degraded, insulted.He would say anything just to crush my soul. Anything so he could feel even a sliver of control. I''m tired of being treated like a pawn." She wiped the tears from her eyes. Replaced by eyes that were piercing cold yet radiating with warmth all the same. "But deep down I know, that I''m still that same scared little girl, but nothing would change if I keep getting chained by the past. I can''t get strong that way. I won''t be that scared little girl anymore, the one that''s confused and easily controlled.Easily believing that I''m nothing on my own." She raised her weapon and pointed it towards Haruki, "It''s my turn. So raise your sword and fight me! I''ll prove to you that I''m strong enough to share your burdens as well... Because that''s what friends are for." She dashed towards her opponent and slashed at him resuming their battle once more. "You were the one who showed me the way, Even if you don''t realize it. You showed me that I''m more than what my father shaped me to be." Her strikes grew more ferocious with each passing moment. She used her white and black glyphs to move back and forth in extreme speeds to attack Haruki in every direction. Every strike was accompanied by a quick clicking sound, as her weapon changed elements. Haruki was unfazed as he kept blocking her stiles with two of his swords. "You are more than your past! You have to trust yourself more. You are more that that! Isn''t that what you taught me!?" Weiss screamed as she tried to knock some sense into her friend. Haruki just smiled gently towards Weiss, "I appreciate your concerns. Believe me I really do. Even though you kinda said the same things as your sister. I''m really thankful for you two..." As he was talking he sensed killing intent from the mile away. "But we have to cut this date short." He immediately followed it up. He broke the ice wall Weiss made. He used lightning emperor and carried Blake in her arms. He wrapped Weiss in her waist and leapt of the train. Weiss was going to ask what the hell he was doing bit suddenly the train got bisected in half. A few distance away in front of the cleaved train a Burly Old man stood with a blindfold in the middle of the tracks. He was holding a single katana. Even behind the suit his muscles were bulging out. He was wearing a jet black tuxedo, as if he just came from a formal party. He wore a red tie, it was the only color on him besides black. His hair was almost ashen with only a few black strands. But it only made him look more experienced in combat. He wore a normal expression, even with the blindfold on it felt like he could see through all their weaknesses. Behind him was a boy the same age as Haruki and his company. A seventeen year old boy accompanying the old man whose face can''t be seen because it was obscured by the mask of an Oni. Haruki put down both Weiss and Blake, the two were clearly surprised with the sudden development. Yushu and Kurenai also put down both Yang and Ruby. They stood next to their master. The blindfolded old man finally spoke, "I hope I didn''t kill anyone of you just now..." Haruki spat on the ground, "Oh you didn''t Old Man. But do remind me who the fuck are you?" The Old Man smiled, "Me? Oh yeah! I forgot to introduce myself. I''m Touma." He said as he released his aura. It felt like a heavy mountain descended on their shoulders, but it didn''t make them feel faint. But it scared them. Haruki on the other hand was glaring at the Man behind Touma, "And who the fuck is that behind you? Another sinner?" Touma just smiled, "I''ll tell you if you managed to beat me." Haruki clicked his tongue and cracked his knuckles. Yushu and Kurenai we''re about to charge in but he stopped both of them in their tracks. Telling them that Touma is his prey. "You''re on." 86 Chapter 78: The Sinner of sWraths "You''re on..." Haruki said as he slowly walked towards Touma''s direction. He summoned Both his Kusanagi and Mournful Vengeance. He wore Fenrir Fangs on his hands. Jet-black Wolves stepped out of his shadow and walked behind him. He stood a few distance away from his opponent, His wolves growled and ached to pounce at their target. Touma on the other hand just stood there still holding the katana on his hand. He was about to charge when the Masked youth held him back by the shoulders. "Let me." The youth said. Touma gave the youth a nod, "Alright kid. Show him what you got." Haruki clicked his tongue, "I thought you were going to fight old man not your apprentice?" "It doesn''t matter who you fight kid. A fights a fight." Touma said. Suddenly Gluttony''s voice resounded in Haruki''s Head. [Careful kid, if he could tag along with that old man then it means that he could be also formidable.] Haruki nodded his head. He steadied his stance and prepared to strike His opponent. He released his Bloodlust not controlling nor containing it any longer. The Two were too stunned to even react on what''s happening. Weiss wanted to scold and beat Haruki into a pulp but suddenly a formidable enemy showed itself. Blake on the other hand didn''t even get to prepare for what''s even going on so she just stood there in a daze not knowing what to do. Yang and Ruby finally woke up and saw that Weiss and Blake we''re okay they asked what''s going on but they were only met with silence. They looked at both Yushu and Kurenai who were standing in front of them for answers. They pointed at Haruki''s direction. As they were about to speak, two towering bloodlust clashed in the air almost suffocating them if it weren''t for Yushu and Kurenai. The Bloodlust of the two fought, Neither giving the other the advantage. It was dense, So dense infact that you could see traces of red aura swirling outside their bodies as they stared at one another. Although the youth in front of him wore a mask, he could sense that he was smiling. He was too infact. It gave him goosebumps. He gripped his blade tighter. "Where''s your weapon?" Haruki asked. The youth just stared at Touma. Touma just sighed and tossed his blade towards the youth. He slashed the air a few times and nodded. "This would do." The youth said. "So if I beat him you''ll answer my questions?" Haruki looked at Touma, and in turn he just shrugged his shoulders. "Sure... Whatever." The masked youth was silent, it felt like he was scanning Haruki''s Friends. He then shook his head he stared straight at Haruki and spoke in a low voice, "Attachments are unneeded." Haruki raised his eyebrows, "Huh? The fuck did you just say?" The youth steadied his stance holding the blade with both hands. Haruki did the same as he faced the youth. He sheathed his blades and lowered his center of gravity. The youth looked around and saw the jet-black wolves surrounding the two of them. The wolves formed a large circle around the two. Their red eyes glowed as they glared towards the youth. "Tell me what are these... things for? I''m not going to run away." The youth said. Haruki shrugged his shoulders, "Unnecessary theatrics." The youth nodded his head and the two of them continued to stare at each other. After a few seconds the two disappeared. Yushu and Kurenai were keenly observing their battle. Dozens of Shockwaves assaulted their direction in an instant. Team RWBY on the other hand were just dumbly staring at the two who were clashing their weapons. "Did he get his strength back?" Yang asked Kurenai. She looked towards the blond haired girl, "Yeah... He got it back today of all days. Good thing too. If he didn''t he would''ve died in the earlier clash." The four once more was surprised, they clenched their fists. They couldn''t get satisfied with their strength now. They vowed to get even stronger, but for now they would make him treat each one of them. All the gruelling training and The losses they ate at every spar, will be paid in full once they return to Beacon. Now at This moment, The two who were dueling were pouring every nerve into their arms. With every strike an unrelenting force followed. The two could not be more different, They were using their own style. Haruki Was like dancing in their small arena. His strike were quick and accurate. No wasted Movements, Everytime that The youth would parry his strikes it felt like space was getting cut or the power behind it triples. The masked youth was using a regular katana, but it could only stand the onslaught of Haruki''s strikes because he reinforced it with his aura. Now Haruki could completely grasp his own physical abilities. The arms that wielded the katana swung, and the foot that cracked the ground, moved as Haruki had intended. He sharpened his attacks unconsciously. Was it because his opponent was strong? If he brought out warmonger right now would he be able to control his overwhelming strength? However using these two swords were like breathing. His attacks were as natural as they come. The youth however on contrary to the blades that assaulted him on every direction, was pouring aura into his katana. It''s edge was sharpened, along with it''s speed. *Clang clang clang* The sounds of unrelenting blades clashed din the air. The two were inhumanly fast, They could only see the wreckage of their battle as they moved from place to place. Whenever Haruki resisted the blades of his opponent. Small explosions of shockwaves sounded around the two people. While it was going nowhere, even with the exchange of blows there, the way of fighting changed. Contrary to before Haruki used His claws to use their skills. Firing out Ice and Flames, Since he couldn''t touch his opponent with the claws he''s resorted to long range attacks. Now they dashed while leaving a trail of destruction. The tunnel shook with every blow they fired off. Light was robbed from all of them, the only thing illuminating the tunnel was the occasional clash of blades and the flaming debris of the train. Though the figure of the opponent disappeared from sight, the two of them won''t make such a blunder as to lose sight of their enemy in the dark. Let alone their five senses, their intuition was also as sharp. They sensed each other''s bloodlust, repeatedly clashing into one another. The blade aimed at the youth''s blindspots was quickly repelled by his blade. Attacks coming from one another and at every direction, whether from above, front, left, right, behind, and below when they clashed in the air. Still, Not a single blow was hitting each other. From an observers perspective, Both Yushu and Kurenai furrowed their brows. They knew the ability of Haruki since they''re his weapons. But looking at the masked youth they could feel a sense of incongruity. It was weird as if those two have a huge wall blocking each other''s strikes. Both of them gained a few distance from each other. Haruki was the first one to break the silence, He clicked his tongue. "Argh, I can''t get through. Is this the limits of these blades?" The youth sheathed his blade, "Are you done warming up? I think it''s time to show it. I felt like something was off a while back." Haruki smiled, "You found out huh? And Here I am trying so hard to conceal it." "Do you think I''m not gonna find out about it even after we exchanged blows?" The youth steadied his stance once more. Gripping his blade. "Don''t say that, this power is just new. Let me test it out a little then." Haruki''s whole body turned into lightning his eyes turned blood red as Sparks emitted from them. With a thunderous boom he appeared next to the youth and punched him in the gut. He was still wearing Fenrir Fangs so the attack was further enhanced. The youth rolled on the ground, His mask cracked a little. It broke off a part that was concealing one of his eyes. It revealed it''s color. It was silver, It''s beauty glowed in the dark tunnel. Haruki was surprised, but he quickly appeared next to him once more. Punching towards his direction. The youth blocked the strike by parrying it towards the side. Haruki stood at a distance from his opponent, "So? Up for round 2?" The Youth smiled behind his mask and picked up his blade from the ground. "Come at me." They dashed into the direction of one another, resuming their fight. 87 Chapter 79: Rules of Nature "Come at Me." They once more dashed towards one another, resuming their fight. Their fists collided shaking the air. They continued clashing blades. Haruki could see and predict the attacks of the youth. He could foresee them but his opponent had no flaws on his strikes. It was beautiful and lethal. They both struck at each other with the intent of killing one another. The youth was slowly getting used to Haruki''s speed. He could already predict where Haruki would strike next. Their attacks reverberated through out the tunnels. They were predicting and countering one another. One wrong move and they could die. Even if they still had full aura. The two could sense each other''s strength, and for better or for worse they we''re almost equals in terms of skill. But that small gap could either make it or break it. Haruki''s image vanished and appeared on top of The youth. He came barreling down while Holding Warmonger and Kusanagi. He spun both his blades Horizontally. The youth blocked with just his reinforced blade. He was forced a few steps back. Haruki immediately summoned Mournful Vengeance, he kicked it''s handle and it went straight towards the youth. The blade was blocked and it spun in the air. The youth looked behind him thinking that Haruki would aim at his blind spot, But when he looked back a jet-black wolf gripping Kusanagi on it''s mouth tried to slash him with it. He dodged towards the side, then he sensed something. He looked upwards to see Haruki barrelling down on him with Warmonger and Mournful Vengeance. He took the blow head on with his blade. *Crash!!* His blade broke into pieces and he was sent tumbling once more. He had no time to rest however, Multiple lightning Spears assaulted his direction. He covered his fist in strong Fiery Red aura as he punched the Spears aside. He had burns all over his body but he wasn''t hit directly. He focused the aura on his fists alone so he could swat away the Spears at the cost of little damage. Haruki was surprised, He never thought that blocking those Spears was possible. He picked up Kusanagi and Mournful Vengeance. He walkedtowards the youth Gripping the handle of the two blades. Haruki stood in front of him looking down on his opponent, "I have a belief that all fights should be equal. That all fights should be fair however, I''m kinda not in the mood today." He said as he lifted both his blades and slashed towards his opponent. The youth once more covered his hands with aura. They exchanged countless of blows once more. Violent winds assaulted Both Yushu and Kurenai, They Used their magic to block it. Touma on the other hand was just silent at the side. Much to the surprise of Gluttony. Gluttony''s voice resounded in Haruki''s mind. [I can''t believe that Touma is just watching silently. I thought that he lived for this kind of thrills? He''s not even responding to your skill kid, or the fact that you''re kicking his apprentice''s ass.] Haruki however, ignored Gluttony''s remark, he was concentrating on his opponent. He can''t be lenient on the pressure he''s giving his enemy. One wrong move and he would be the one on the defensive. Then suddenly the sounds stopped. The atmosphere and the vibrations grew silent as the two stared at each other from a good distance. In the tunnels, in the space that was born from their clash. An empty space, the only thing there was them. They both universally understood that a battle of endurance is not their style. It''s time to go all out. Haruki transformed into a Jet-black Werewolf. His red eyes glowed and Sparks came out. His claws were emitting lightning, as He held warmonger with both Hands. The Silver eyes of the youth Narrowed, "Hooh, a fitting look for a monster like you." Haruki smiled and showed his blood red fangs. "And you''re nothing more than a wolf in sheep''s clothing." The youth chuckled and the aura on his hands slowly turned into claws. His Entire arm was covered in fiery red aura. Under his mask he was slightly smiling. He put his left foot back and Lowered his upper body. He spread his arms wide Like a Predator Eyeing his prey. Like the Apex Predator. The one who stands on top of the mountain. On contrast to What the youth was doing Haruki traced the blade of warmonger. He slowly ran his fingers across the blade. He put his right foot forward and raised his arm that was holding warmonger. Hot wind was blowing on their cheeks, the two stood there unmoving. Like a towering mountain they too stood tall and still. The last of the embers from the trains explosion was almost snuffed out. Once the light coming from the fire was snuffed out, so did the two start to move. Even with Haruki''s collosal strength, The youth just dodged or parried his heavy strikes. It was very natural. Not even a trace of hesitation, if he was shaken at this point, beating Haruki would be harder. "Here I come..." With just those words the youth disappeared. No, It was... Instantaneous movement without any prior motion. Even for Haruki it was a little unexpected. However, It was not possible to fool the Eyes of Takemikazutchi. Even if Haruki was surprised, his perception was on another level right now. Thus, he continued to grasp the movements of the youth. He could faintly see Red aura beneath the youth''s feet. Haruki struck towards the youth, "It won''t hit!" Haruki opened his eyes wide. For the youth avoided getting stuck by his lightning. "I''ve been waiting for this time!" The youth said in the fired-up mood, He closed the distance while feeling the electricity course through his aura covered arms. He appeared below Haruki''s torso and struck towards it. But since Haruki has Eyes Of Takemikazutchi, He has already readied his strike and positioned his palm towards the chest of the youth, while Warmonger Blocked the strike. Haruki then said as his palm laid on his opponents chest, <> *Boom!* The two were thrown away from each other. Behind the strike that struck warmonger was like a boulder smashing through him, if warmonger wasn''t there his organs would be ruptured instantly. Haruki spat little amounts of blood, While the youth has blood dripping behind his mask. He was breathing heavily. *Pant...Pant* "As expected this body is really weak..." He pushed back his dislocated shoulder and held his stomach. As he continues to spit out blood. Haruki stood there just staring at the Youth. The Youth Firmly stood on the ground as he cracked his knuckles and stretched his neck. He jumped a few times and shook his hands around. He shook his head to remove the dizziness and spat blood on the side. With a Howl Haruki charged towards the Youth once more, no matter the gap between their strength. The youth stood there unflinching their skills are matched but their constitution were vastly different. The youth figured that there was no chance in winning if the distance increased so he waited for Haruki to get close. He didn''t have a lot of time either his aura reserves are getting really low. Therefore, whether or not he could finish his counter in this fight. His chances would depend on that fact. The ground the two were standing in burst and scattered as their figures once more vanished. *Swish* Against the Fist that was approaching from his left, Haruki put up his blade. The attacks came from behind him and In front. Multiple Sparks were created. Before the Sparks went out, The youth''s figure vanished once more. He was running around Haruki with Maximum speed yet Haruki just stood there imposingly. Waiting For The Youth to Strike. If he moved poorly and the distance increased, it wouldn''t just be time running out for him, So he dashed in and out of Haruki''s range. He couldn''t behave as he did earlier. "Let''s end this!" With a few words, Haruki kicked off. A Hundred flashes of light, With all his might. The Blade Dance that he mastered assaulted the youth. They exchanged blows The youth was almost Blown away but he held his ground. After Haruki''s hundred blades the youth Flipped himself and landed on all fours.Even though he was covered in minor wounds, He thrust His fist Towards Haruki''s Jaw. Haruki on the other Hand Swung his blade downwards. The pressure and strength behind their attack were enormous. ""Get Blown Away!!!!"" The voice of the two people and the sound of arms clashing overlapped in succession. And the surrounding debris flew from the shock. Even the jet black wolves got blown away. When Haruki entered the youth''s range of attack, The youths body moved unconsciously. Because he knew the nature of the fight from one another, His reaction was precise. Haruki was also the same He tilted his head slightly to avoid the blow. What Haruki didn''t know was the fist approaching him with the youth''s free hand. His Eyes however noticed it but his body won''t move. The fist that aimed for his jaw earlier held his shoulder in place. So he planned to take on the blow, and slash the youth with his blade. The Two Hit each other and was blown away on the edges of their so called "arena". The two stood up, "I guess we don''t have much time. I''m Going to finish you off!" Haruki bellowed towards the youth. A huge Gash was present on the Chest of the youth, while haruki was concussed. He took the blow on his jaw after all. His vision was blurry and he couldn''t use the Eyes of Takemikazutchi well. With that thought however the two put all their strength to their fists and dashed towards one another once more. As their fist were about to collide, Touma Jumped in and stopped both their blows. Dispersing the attack with his aura alone and releasing it towards the surrounding. Haruki swung warmonger towards Touma and slashed on his face. But he quickly disappeared holding the youth on his arms. "I think its a good time to stop here don''t you think so?" Touma helped the youth stand up, The youth removed his mask and smiled towards Haruki. Finally revealing the face behind the Mask only for a fraction of a second. He was a handsome youth that had silver eyes and black hair. He put the mask in front of his face once more. He stared at his opponent with his cracked mask. His silver eye was visible through the crack Haruki made earlier. Haruki shook his head and he stared at his opponent, his concussion made his eyes blurry and even if the youth revealed his face he couldn''t see it well anyways. "You''re quite strong now. But that is not enough, I will show it to you soon enough. Until Then... Grow Even More Powerful so I can Break you down. Till we meet again..." The youth said. His silhouette disappeared along with Touma. Haruki opened his eyes wide, His body surged with lightning. He was about to charge towards Touma''s Direction. But He was stopped by Blake''s shout. "Haruki! Professor Ozpin said that Beacon is under siege by Grimm!" Haruki gripped his blade and reluctantly went back to Vale. But Before he moved He looked back into the place where his opponents disappeared one last time. "Tsk... Arrogant fucking bastard..." Soon after, His shadow disappeared to rush back towards their allies. 88 Chapter 80: One after another Back in Vale... Alarms were blaring one after another. They were alerted to the presence of the Grimm coming from the old subways. Haruki thought that only one train was being delivered. Little did he know that Salem Has planned this in advance and used the subways and tunnels and bombed them all. Making the Grimm enter through those small tunnels. Ozpin was calm yet beneath he was angered. Although he can''t blame Haruki, He knows deep down that Salem has foreseen Haruki''s change of teams. Luckily Ozpin was prepared, all of the hunters that was stationed in Vale and all of Ironwood''s Atlas Robots defended The entirety of Vale. Teams of Hunters in training were spread all throughout Beacon. They all had one task, to protect the civilians. Although they could Handle the waves after waves of Grimm on thing kept bothering Ozpin. It was the reported missing student case, Reported to him by another student who was on the scene, Neptune Vasilias. The young boy was confined in the hospital, He had three broken ribs. A few centimeters more then it would have ruptured his organs. He remembered Neptune''s words, "Eris sends her regards." He feared the thought of the sinners and Salem working together. If they were, then they better prepare for the worst. He has already sent out a search party for The missing Boy Sun Wukong, Yet there is still little to no results. It''s like he vanished into thin air. "There''s so much work, although I would love if you could stay Qrow... But your search for the boy should be priority. Me and the boy would handle the invading Grimm." He said as he stared at Qrow through the screen. Qrow nodded his head, "If I''m lucky... I would find him in a day''s time. But we all know that I''m not. If he''s still in vale I would probably find out where he is." He turned in to a bird and flew away. Ozpin Closed the screen and stood up, he rushed out of his office to join in on the fray. Scanning the skies would be Qrow''s top priority, if he spots a sinner he would follow them. Although he only knows both Aergia and Eris by their looks, He could easily see them even when their disguised. Not that they would bother doing that. He was counting on their arrogance so that he could spot them. Although Deep down he knows his semblance is just going to get in the way. He flapped his black wings and roamed the city. Team JNPR on the other hand have their hands full as Grimm assaulted them from all sides. "Hahahahahaha!!! I am the God of Thunder and pancakes!!" Nora screamed as she swatted the Beowolves and Ursai Grimm like flies. She spun her hammer and shot the ground to propel herself towards the enemies. Ren Shot the Grimm that was approaching her from behind, "Nora watch out!" Jaune held his blade into a reverse grip imitating Haruki and his shield turned into a sheath. He sheathed his blade as he jumped into the fray. He threw the sheath into the face of another Grimm and slashed towards the other. His sheath turned into a shield and Pyrrha used her semblance to use it as a boomerang to bisect the remaining Grimm in half. "Oh yeah... This is definitely getting in my montage." Jaune nodded his head as he appreciated his newfound glory. Nora tilted her head, "You''re making a montage?" Ren held her in the shoulders, "Stop, Don''t ask him." Jaune raised his blade as he cockily smirked towards his team. "Too late Ren! I''m making an auto biography for when me and Haruki become heroes! I got this idea from one of the weird shows Haruki makes us watch from time to time. My Glorious self and Haruki''s Heroics shall be displayed towards the masses and enlighten them on what a hero should be!" He nodded as he fixed the G*Pro attached on his shoulder. Nora laughed her ass off, Ren on the other hand was face palming, "Are you seriously recording right now?" Jaune shrugged his shoulders as he flexed, "Remember this words young Padawan... Always be recording." Pyrrha sighed, "I''m honestly doubting Haruki''s influence towards you guys." Nora was rolling on the floor laughing. "Hahahahaha!!" Jaune however, was unfazed by all the insults flying towards him, "Heh, you''re just jealous! I have so many viewers in the Net I''m probably famous now." Ren coughed, "Uhh guys... The Grimm? We''re under attack remember?" Pyrrha looked towards Jaune, "Well? Fearless leader... Go get them." Jaune scratched his cheeks, "Uhm, but Pyrrha there''s like a hundred of them." She shrugged her shoulders and just pointed towards the Grimm. Jaune stretched his shouldersand dashed towards the maws of the Grimm. After a few seconds he was running back, "Aaaaahhhh!!! Beringels!!!" Nora was laughing,"Hahahhaha!! I hope that video is in 4k. It will get sooo many clicks, I''m practically rich at this point." She said as she planned on taking the G*Pro for herself later. Jaune threw his shield towards the legs of the Beringels. Pyrrha used her semblance to speed it up and trip the enemies. Jaune charged up his aura, "Alright this is not a test anymore... I can do this. I can do this!!!" He transferred his massive aura that he charged up towards Pyrrha. She got a massive power increase. The surrounding metals all bent towards her will. The ground quaked, and all the metals twisted and turned and slowly formed countless spikes. It almost covered the sky. She sent her hand down. Then all the metal spike came crashing down towards the Grimm. Not a sight of Grimm was left, They all turned to dust. The entire area was silent as it could be. The only sound that could be heard was Team JNPR celebrating, "Hahahahahah!! I''m amazing!" Jaune said as he jumped in the air, "You guys saw what I did? It was awesome!" Ren and Nora stared at Jaune exasperated, "Uh... Hate to break it ya bud. You barely did anything. Infact Pyrrha should be the one celebrating." Pyrrha smiled, "Not really, Without Jaune''s semblance I wouldn''t have done it." Nora sighed towards Jaune''s direction. "I hope you captured this moment." "Pyrrha understands my greatness." Jaune said as he put down the camera. He swore to himself that he would edit out him running for his life. "But that was awesome! I wonder how you would affect Haruki''s semblance?" Nora said as she thought of their combo. "Combined with his lightning form and my semblance, We could probably erase a lot of enemies. You two are like walking batteries to me!" Jaune slumped his shoulders as he stared towards the ground. Ren patted his back to console him. Suddenly behind the rubble the could hear foot steps. They gazed towards the direction of the sound and they saw A beautiful blonde lady. Both Jaune and Ren were stunned, Nora whistled. Pyrrha on the other hand readied her blade. She was glaring towards the blond woman. Jaune scratched his head and shakily spoke, "Oh my God! It''s Eris from Discordia! She''s the owner of discordia! My Lady... It''s not safe here Grimm are prowling about." He said in the most gentlemanly voice he could muster. Nora raised her eyebrows, "I''m surprised you know someone from a Jewelry company Jaune." Jaune puffed out his chest, "Seven sisters remember? My eldest sister loves her work." Eris narrowed her eyes and giggled as she covered her mouth, "I''m very flattered that you know me." Jaune was stunned, "Uhh...Y-Yes! Although I''m not a fan of Jewelry myself, but I find your work extremely beautiful. Perfect to uh...uh...say the least." Nora scoffed, "Real smooth there cowboy." Suddenly Pyrrha''s shouts woke them from their stupor. "Don''t listen to her! She''s the enemy!" Everyone looked towards their frantic teammate. "What are you talking about? She''s The CEO of a Jewelry Company. She''s completely Harmless." Jaune said as he raised his eyebrows. "On the contrary Mr. Arc, I could handle myself perfectly well. Trying times like these requires even the tiniest training to survive." Eris said as she smiled. "Oh..uh..You know me?" Jaune said as he pointed towards himself. "Of course I do. I''m the one who killed your dear old Grand Dad. Hero of the Great War as they say. Too bad he was pitifully weak. Just. Like. You..." Eris said as she brought out her blade. Everyone opened their eyes wide, Jaune shakily asked. "But that was a long time ago. Miss Eris I think you should stop joking. Did my sisters put you up to this?" "Hahahahaha, You would wish that was the case won''t you? Sadly I''m the one who stabbed him right in the heart with that very sword. Crocea Mors was it? I thought he was someone great so I went in the battlefield to check it out. I was met with disappointment. He was laughably weak, his legend was exaggerated through the course of time. Don''t get me wrong Mr. Arc, he is still leagues apart from your from your current strength. It''s just that in my eyes, You''re all weak... There''s only one man who was able to... Quench this thirst." Pyrrha frowned, Jaune''s expression was covered by his long bangs. Nora and Ren we''re looking at their friend worriedly. Pyrrha gathered her resolve and finally spoke. "What are you doing here Eris? What do you want! Haruki is not here." She stated. Eris shrugged her shoulders, "You jealous that I''m Haruki''s Match and you''re not? ... Relax I''m not here for him or for you. My target are these two." She said as she raised Her Blade, "And we both know that no one... could stop me from taking them." She smirked and dashed towards her targets. 89 Chapter 81: Deus Ex Machina They were speeding through the tunnels, Haruki was running as he was thinking. Team RWBY followed closely behind him. Yushu and Kurenai were guarding their Six. Blake was staring at his broad back, "I''m still chasing your back even after all these years. I couldn''t even show you how much I''ve improved." She gripped her weapon tight. Yang, on the other hand, was frowning. She shouted towards Haruki, "At this pace, we won''t have any Beacon to save! Don''t you have any method to make us go faster?" Haruki pondered silently, ''I hope that there''s an airship waiting for us at the end of this tunnel...'' Suddenly Gluttony''s voice resounded in his head. [Hey, Dumbass! Have you forgotten the Deus ex Machina strapped in your arm?] ''What''re you talking about? I thought that Ars Mag- - Fuck me sideways. Me and my idiot brain.'' [Why oh Why were you even chosen to wield it?] Haruki shrugged his shoulders, "Beats me..." He looked at the people following him from behind. "I have an airship waiting I''m going on ahead to start the engines." He told the others. They nodded as they also increased their pace. Haruki turned into lightning and disappeared into the edge of the tunnel. Haruki asked Ars if He is able to create it. Which in turn, Ars Gave him a list of possible vehicles he could materialize. Haruki went ahead and summoned a Lockheed SR-90 "Black Phoenix" Stealth Bomber. (A.N: Go search SR-71 Blackbird. It looks just like that. Except it''s also has a little bit of a cargo plane look in the mix.) He was nodding his head, "Ahhh yes it''s beautiful...But this costs a lot what the hell Ars!" Ars Magus''s mechanical voice resounded in his head. <> [Kahahaha, You got nice taste kid. But do you still even know how to drive this thing?] Haruki nodded, "Of course you''re looking at the Best Pilot in the Galaxy! I just Have to press autopilot then boosh! We''re done!" He said as he motioned a moving plane with his hands. [Fuck...I honestly thought that you would be a Mary Sue...] Was the only thing gluttony could utter. "Don''t be stupid. I''m at my best on the battlefield, nowhere else. Don''t expect me to be some kind of magical genius that popped out of another dimension that could do anything. I''m proficient in killing and that''s it." He said as he climbed aboard the jet. He started the engine and waited for team RWBY to catch up. Meanwhile, on Team RWBY. they were staring at the two new faces in their group. "How long have you known Haruki?" Yang was the first one to ask. Kurenai stared straight at her and smiled, "I''ve basically known him all my life, The same goes for my sister. We know everything about him and about you girls too." They all furrowed their brows, "What do you mean? Are you part of his group? I Heard Haruki say that you two were new hires?" Blake said as she put a hand on her hip. They all stopped in their tracks. "Tell us what your relationship with him is." "He''s our master. We were born to serve him, well something along those lines. without him, we wouldn''t even be born." Kurenai said. Yushu, on the other hand, was staring at her nails. Ignoring what is happening around her. Weiss furrowed her brows, "Born to serve him? what is he? some kind of noble?" Yushu scoffed at her remark, "Him? a noble? please... The world would turn upside down before even the slightest of noble demeanor gets ingrained in him." Weiss still not convinced about what they told her asked another but she opted that the keep moving forward. "Let''s move, but before we get to him could you answer one last question for me?" The two looked at each other and told Weiss, "As much as we''re allowed to..." Weiss took this as a yes and asked, "Do you trust him?" Kurenai laughed, "Hahahahaha! Like I said I wouldn''t be here without him. I''ve seen the truth about that man. I do trust him." Yushu rolled her eyes, "He may be an idiot, but he''s reliable nonetheless. I couldn''t ask for a better master." Kurenai smirked at her sister''s words. "Oohh!! I''m going to tell master about this!" Yushu spat at her direction, "Shut the fuck up! ugh... it''ll get in his head." Blake looked at Weiss''s direction, "You see now? He probably has a good reason for why he''s hiding things from us." They finally reached the vehicle Haruki has materialized. Yang couldn''t help but whistle. "Wow! This is a thing of beauty! What is this? It looks like something straight out of a fairy tale!" She ran around the plane with stars on her eyes. Ruby was the same but she was checking out the weapons. "Wow! What kind of weapons does this baby have!! Oh my!" Weiss, on the other hand, doesn''t recognize the model of this ship. "What kind of vehicle is this?" Haruki opened the Hatch behind the plane, "It''s The Lockheed SR-90 "Black Phoenix" Stealth Bomber. An unsanctioned military vehicle that is unknown to all kingdoms. Not even Atlas. It''s top secret 90 Chapter 82: Ballad of Fallen Angels Haruki sat down on the copilot seat, he leaned on his open palm and stared at the vast damp sky. He felt numb as he remembered the masked youth''s words. "Attachments are unneeded." It unnerved him, shook him to the core. He heaved a heavy sigh as he gripped his pants. Kurenai wanted to ask him, But she sensed movement behind the metal door. As Haruki was lost in his own sea of thought. Yang was about to barge inside. But Blake heard talking inside the cockpit, she stopped Yang on her tracks and motioned towards the door. They leaned in to listen to their conversation. Kurenai looked towards Haruki. He just raised his hand. "It''s fine." Kurenai shrugged her shoulders. "Tell me, Master... Why bother answering their questions if you''re just going to pass it on towards Ozpin? Won''t it confuse them even more? Why not just tell them directly?" "The truth is scary... Sometimes when you''re confronted with it you''d shut your ears, close your eyes and crouch down. Too afraid to see the ugliness. But that''s not why... To me, I hate my past. As much as possible I don''t want to look back. It''s scary... Honestly though it feels like I''m stuck in it. But you know that too don''t you?" Both Yushu and Kurenai nodded their heads, They could see his past after all. The only thing they weren''t able to see or know were his thoughts or feelings on the matter. Behind the door Team RWBY were listening in. They were silent, eagerly waiting to find out what''s next. They just leaned in hoping that they won''t be discovered. He materialized a glass of Whiskey. "To calm the nerves." He said making an excuse to nobody. No one''s going to stop him from drinking anyways and yet he still says it. "Back then... When I got home from missions, She always waited for me, With that beaming smile, it would blow all my worries away. That was all I needed honestly. " He drank the glass in one big gulp, He refilled the glass as he materialized the entire bottle. He sighed but he continued talking. "But on that day... That accursed day.On that cold and snowy day. I clutched her cold body as the life drained out of her. For some reason, I didn''t feel sad. It just lacked reality. And I gradually felt something inside me go numb... Frantically searching for a reason as to why. Like watching a bad dream I''ll never wake up from. Then I scoured the Galaxy for this." He said as he raised his hand where the Ars Magus was strapped. "Thinking that this would bring her back... Thinking that this weapon could actually make a difference. That even if she couldn''t come back I would make that place a better one. But before I could even manage to do anything I was sent here. I tried to bring her back, believe me... I tried. The rest? well that''s just me trying to live my life. Carrying on thinking that someday this might heal." He took another big swig from the bottle directly. His face scrunched up. "Gaaahh!! Fuck that burns!!" He shook his head. And Gave both Yushu and Kurenai a self deprecating laugh. Behind the Metal Door Team RWBY was silent. It felt like words were stuck in their throats. No one could utter a single sound. Each one of them had a different thought on the matter. Haruki leaned back on his chair, wearing an apathetic expression. "It felt like time stopped right at that very moment. Right... That exact moment where I sent her off with a pained smile. From that point on it''s like I''m watching a distant memory. Going about my life like water. Just going with the flow..." With a heavy sigh he continued, "When I got transported into Gluttony''s Room of Desire... I told her That it''s time I walked my own path, that they''re waiting for me. That I have already let go of that Hatred. Those were just the words that I wanted to hear. I knew what I said was fake. All of it was. I''m so detached from reality that I wanted to believe, what I told her was the truth. My deepest desire... But deep down I knew that it was all meaningless. But...I did...Let go of that Hatred. But what was left was nothing. Literally nothing. Good thing when I got out of that illusion Cinder was there. If she wasn''t I probably would''ve broken down. I needed comfort after what I''ve seen. That''s why I can''t make a move to her. I can''t hurt her like that. I took advantage of her feelings. I took advantage of her in her moment of weakness. I was disgusted with myself. Especially someone who''s still has a chance for redemption like her. Heh...But if I say this in front of her face, she''d probably slap me and scream. What about Neo? Pyrrha? The same goes for them... The answer will always be the same. That in the end I''m an irredeemable piece of shit." He let out his feelings out in one breath, No sound followed. Nobody could, they don''t know what to say. Even if they did, they doubt that it would be useful. Haruki stared at the empty bottle in his hand. He slowly let it down and materialized another one. He didn''t drink from it he just stared at it. He then spoke. "You really want to know About my life? Well, let me indulge you. Hard Life, Hard Luck, Ghosts chasing you, bad choices and worse decisions. The regret and the pain. The Lost Happiness out of Blindness and Pride. Keep on running and running, Knowing someday they''ll catch up. To sum it all up, I was Younger back then... I wasn''t afraid of anything, I didn''t think about dying for a second. I thought I was invincible. Then I met some girl. I wanted to live, I started to think like that, for the first time in my life I was afraid of death. I had never felt like that before. Then it all came crashing down." Haruki materialized his mask back, but before he put it back on he stared towards at the Metal door and said, "Thanks for listening on the ramblings of a drunken loser." Both Yushu and Kurenai shrugged their shoulders, "We''re approaching Vale Master." Haruki nodded his head, "Alright I''ll go tell them." He stood up from his seat, He wobbled his steps for a few seconds. But after awhile he regained his footing and walked out of the cockpit. Team RWBY scrambled onto their own places in the ship, So Haruki wouldn''t suspect that they heard him. They didn''t have time to let his words sink in. It felt like they listened in on something they shouldn''t have. When the door opened, They all looked away. Weiss tried her best to look him in the eye and ask, "H-Haruki, are we there yet?" Haruki in turn just smiled towards them, "Yeah, so put your game face on. It''s time to get to work." The Hatch in front of him opened. He gripped the handle near the hatch. He looked behind him, straight to the four of them. He said out loud for everyone to hear. "We''re all running from the world and Our past while trying to live in it, A way that is often times the only way for people like me." The four just looked at him silently, waiting for his next words. He put on his mask and stared at the vast horizon before speaking once more, " She was a piece of me that I had lost. She is my other half that I had longed for. I hope this answers some of your questions. No matter how small it cleared up things. Hell, it probably raised more... I can''t blame you." With those words he jumped off and turned into lightning to come crashing down in the middle of the City. The four rushed towards the open hatch and stared at his figure that grew smaller each moment that passed by. No one knows what thoughts were racing in each of their minds. ----------- ''This world is full of people whose livesgo wrong, through reasons that are out of their control sometimes or being in the wrong place at the right time. The tragedy is that by Making peace between oneself and the world, would risk making that world a more hostile place for others...'' Haruki thought to himself as he was falling. Lightning slowly crawled throughout his body until he became lightning itself and came barreling down towards the ground. He crashed straight into a pack of beowolves, He brought out Mournful Vengeance and spun his blade, within a fraction of a second the Beowolves were bisected in half. He jumped up in the air once more leaving only a trail of void bats in his wake. He spoke out loud even though there was not a soul in sight, "But I''ve learned how to carry on with my life." Once in the air he brought out Kusanagi. He closed his eyes and muttered in a low voice, <<1st Form - Bladestorm>> It felt like the entire town was cut into pieces, The space around them distorted, It looked like the entire town was jagged like a broken mirror. Haruki used the Shura style without actually activating the path of the Shura. Although it''s not as strong as when path of Shura is active, it''s still deadly considering the Grimm he has devoured. The Grimm in the immediate area we''re cut into pieces. Haruki landed on the ground, He glared towards the next wave of Grimm that was approaching from a distance. He brought out both Fenrir Fangs and Echoing Fury. Countless Revenants and Jet-black Dire Wolves came out from his shadow. "I just want to not feel anything, That''s why I''ve stopped remembering. Foolishly I believed that running away from it and going straight into comfort was the best option. Fuck... I hate self reflection... That in the end I''m just using them so that I don''t get depressed. What a fucking joke..." He shook his head, it felt like he was just making more excuses. He summoned Nidhogg, a huge cannon appeared on his shoulder. He gripped the handle and hovered his finger on the trigger. He fired towards the approaching Grimm. He smirked, "Que Sera Sera." 91 Chapter 83: A Blades purpose Eris made her move, and dashed towards the stunned Jaune. He watched the blade swing at him in slow motion. He was only awoken from being in a daze, when Ren Pulled him from his scruff. Eris deliberately missed on purpose, Team JNPR all gained distance from their opponent. Jaune was silent, Was he feeling Anger? Fear? But right now it doesn''t matter. If he gets affected by his emotions right now it won''t end well for all of them. "Ren... Could you use your semblance on me?" He said in a low voice. Ren nodded his head and approached his teammate, He put his hand on his shoulder. Calming all of Jaune''s turbulent emotions. He breathed slowly to steady his emotions. Eris on the other hand was watching all of this transpire. Like it doesn''t affect her. She was silent with a slight frown showing on her face. Pyrrha approached Jaune, "Jaune... I know it''s hard bu- -" Jaune looked towards Pyrrha and smiled, "It''s fine, I can''t call myself leader if I got affected by everything our enemies said." Nora grinned, "That''s right fearless leader, It''s time for payback." Eris raised her eyebrows, "Hooohh... Alright come at me all at once." She motioned with her fingers. Aura surged from all four of them. Nora was the first one to jump in the fray. She spun her hammer and fired at the ground. Once she was in the air she turned her hammer into a grenade launcher, Firing multiple shots towards Eris. Explosions rang throughout the place and covered the entire area in smoke. Eris couldn''t attack the grenades for it would detonate from impact, so she could only get out of the radius of the explosions. From the smoke gunshots rang and bullets rained down on her direction. She spun her blade and deflected the bullets in quick succession. Suddenly a swords swung towards her waist. She spun and dodged the strike, while delivering a roundhouse kick towards her assailant. Jaune blocked with his shield but the impact caused him to stagger a few steps. Then out of nowhere a shield came spinning towards her direction. She naturally blocked the strike, but without giving her chance to breathe a hammer came smashing down on where she stood. She flipped and landed on the handle of the hammer. She kicked Nora away, leaving her hammer in place. She sheathed her blade, and when the smoke cleared she was Holding Nora''s Hammer. Pyrrha frowned. Their opponent was extremely skilled, she had hoped to stall her long enough for the back-up to arrive. But it proved to be moot for their opponent was leagues above their own. Eris charged in the middle and swung the hammer, Pyrrha''s instincts kicked in and instantly used her semblance to divert the trajectory of Eris''s strike. After her strike missed, Ren and Jaune immediately followed up with a kick on both sides. She blocked the strikes but she was forced to step back a few times since Pyrrha used her semblance on the hammer to push her. Jaune Transferred vast amounts of aura towards Pyrrha, but it left him drained. The white aura that surrounded him flickered. He opted to stay behind, occasionally backing his team up at certain moments. Eris tossed the hammer aside and used her bare fists to attack them. Ren and Nora fought her head on, Their strikes were easily parried. But that''s it. She didn''t counterattack. She wore a gleeful smile like she enjoyed toying with them. From behind their clash Pyrrha was amassing a lot of metals bars. She raised them in the air, Once Eris struck Ren and Nora aside. She stared at the metal beams that were speeding towards her direction. She brought out her blade. Facing the onslaught with just her blade. The first beam was embedded on the ground, which Eris used as a platform to jump in the air. She sliced off the metal beams that came at her direction. If they weren''t in front of her, she would use those as footing to get to Pyrrha. Jaune has his eyes open wide, "Umm... Ren? I''m not dreaming am I? she''s rushing into those metals right?" Ren could only respond with a yes. They were both awestruck from the two''s blatant show of power. Nora on the other hand was already running towards Eris. "Girls are scary..." Jaune said. Ren could only nod his head. Eris sliced off the last of the Metal Beams Pyrrha threw at her, she flipped and landed right in front of her. She smirked and kicked Pyrrha in the stomach. It sent her flying, rolling on the ground until her back slammed into a wall. It made a huge crack that looked like a spider web. Pyrrha was embedded in the middle of the said crater. Nora swung her hammer and spun it around towards Eris. Eris slightly moved her body to dodge her wide strikes. "Well at least you tried." She said before she sweeped Nora off her feet flipping her in the air and kicking her in the chest. Eris didn''t like flashy moves and skills. Large movements are done if necessary, as a pretence of high-handedness, but ultimately, to kill a person showing him the difference between them. But if it was used against her, and the attacks don''t even reach her? It amused her to no end. "Well?" She looked at Both Ren and Jaune. The two gulped but steadied their stance waiting for her to strike. But before the two could prepare their strikes they were doing into opposite directions. Ren was stuck in the ribs sending him flying towards Nora. His aura flickered while he was in the air. While Jaune didn''t fare better. He probably had his insides ruptured. He coughed out blood as he struggled to stand up. Eris casually strolled towards his direction. As she approached he felt something he hadn''t felt in a long time, ever since He trained with Haruki. Fear. He was genuinely scared, someone much much stronger than he is was approaching him. Her eyes gleamed, like a predator eyeing it''s prey. Her smile was so beautiful, Yet to Jaune it looked like death was staring at him. Waiting for his soul to leave his body. She used her feet to kick Jaune, He was flipped upwards to face the damp sky. Eris didn''t do anything she just stared at Jaune. "Look at the vast sky, That''s the difference between you and dear old Great Great Grandfather. You gotta pick up the pace little Arc." Jaune just weakly stared towards the sky. A multitude of thoughts racing across his mind. But even if Fear was taking over his body, He grit his teeth and punched himself in the face. He weakly stood up. He struggled at first, but he pushed himself up to stand. "I...I won''t believe that all that damn training is for nothing... I''ll make sure to wipe that grin off of your arrogant face." Jaune said. Eris was amused by his antics. "Hoh... At least you''re showing some balls." Jaune snickered and replied weakly, "Heh... Phrasing." He was swaying, he could barely stand up. Blood was clouding his vision. He hit his head once more to ward off the dizziness. "You barely have any aura left what are you going to do? Bore me to death?" Eris crossed her arms and stood in place, While her eyebrows raised. "If I don''t have any aura... Then I''m just going to convert everything... INTO MINE!!!" Jaune screamed as the Natural energy gathered onto his hands. He slammed his palms on his chest. *Boom* His aura skyrocketed, His Blue eyes gleamed with power. His muscles bulged. He was grinning. He thought to himself, ''Hahahaha! Holy shit it worked!! Talk about a fucking power-up!'' Eris had her eyes opened wide she didn''t expect this kind of semblance. ''Now I see why Aergia was gunning for him. And as for Miss Valkyrie over there... She probably has the same purpose but different implementations. I can''t wait to see it done.'' "But without a lid... Your body would just keep absorbing aura until you burst, Like a grape." She said as she stared at Jaune. But he just grinned at her and kept on gathering aura. The aura he was exuding has probably surpassed veteran hunters at this point. Eris just shrugged, "Oh well, You were an important specimen. But I guess will make do with just your remains..." Suddenly the massive Aura that was gathering in Jaunes Body disappeared. Like it didn''t exist in the first place. Eris frowned and her expression turned serious. She thought, ''Its either the Aura disappeared or His aura has surpassed even my own comprehension.'' When she saw Jaune move her vigilance shot up, as if she were observing a dangerous opponent. Much to Jaune''s satisfaction. He suddenly raised his arm into the air. He formed a fist slowly. He tapped his foot multiple times. Suddenly his hips shook from side to side. His face turned serious which in turn made Eris put up her guard. "~~~Oooohhhh There''s a place I know that''s tucked away; A place where you and I could stay Where we could go to laugh and play And Have adventures everyday! I know it sounds hard to believe Camp Campbell is the place for me and you!" He was stepping front and backwards. This earned him the ire of Eris. "What are you doing?" "Dance off sistah! You and me! We''ll swim through lakes and Climb up trees; Catch fish, bugs, bears and Honeybees! There''s endless possibilities And No that''s not Hyperbole Our motto''s CAMPE DIEM And that means I''m telling you~~!!! GOT FUCKING PUNK''D MOTHERFUCKER! Pyrrha BOOOST!!!!" The massive aura he has gathered reappeared once more, but before anything could register into Eris''s mind. Jaune has already transferred aura towards Pyrrha. Jaune fainted on the spot. Eris on the other hand had her mouth twitching. She got fooled by a kid. Considering her ag- -...*Cough!* I mean considering her seniority she''s supposed to be a veteran. Pyrrha slashed towards Eris, "Round Two, you damn Thieving Bitch!" Eris moved her head away from her opponent. She smirked towards Pyrrha''s remark. "You''re one of his women yes? How pathetic." Eris crossed blades with Pyrrha, Even if Pyrrha used her semblance to redirect Eris''s strikes she would be barraged with kicks and punches. Pyrrha brought out metal spikes from the ground, she didn''t care how much it''s going to take to fix the whole place. She just wantonly threw everything she got to Eris. Sparks flew from their blades, But in their exchange Eris was frowning in direct contrast towards her frenzied grin in battles. "I see now... I now know the reason why... that something about you was amiss. You have never drawn blood before have you? You''re denying your sword it''s purpose. You''re wasting that talent. That skill. All your hard work will be for naught if you can''t even use the damn thing properly." Eris said, This stopped Pyrrha dead on her tracks. She was visibly shaken. "The sword is an extension of ourselves, in turn a part of us. The part of us that takes. Life." Eris said. "My weapon is a tool of Justice." Pyrrha said. Eris just shook her head, She dashed towards Pyrrha slashing at her at every direction. Pyrrha frantically blocked all of Eris''s strikes. "It yearns to bathe in the blood of your enemies but you hold it back!" Pyrrha flipped backwards her sword turned into a spear. She threw her shield towards Eris. After she parried off the shield, Pyrrha came charging forth with her spear and stabbed towards Eris direction. Suddenly, she slid down and her spear changed into a rifle. *Bang!!* A dust bullet grazed Eris in the Cheeks. "I don''t deny my sword it''s purpose, because it''s not a sword. It''s also a gun." Pyrrha said confidently as she kicked Eris away and flipped to gain some distance once more. Eris wiped the blood off of her cheeks, "All that for a drop of blood?" She grinned and suddenly appeared behind Pyrrha. *BAM!* She kicked her away, "You have my respect Miss Nikos. I hope they all remember you..." She raised her blade aiming at Pyrrha''s chest. But before she could bring down the blade, multiple dimensional sword slashes assaulted her. She immediately blocked the strikes, but she got cut in multiple places. She could feel her spine tingle, "You''re finally here!!! And you''re strength is back! Haruki!!!" Her smile grew larger as moments passed. She was about to charge into the heart of the town, But suddenly stopped on her tracks. She looked behind her and smiled. "It''s seems luck is on your side." She picked up both Jaune and Nora and she went to Aergia''s Direction. "Wait! I said Wait damnit!!" Pyrrha''s screams turned to deaf ears. Eris casually walked as she carried of the two by their scruff. Suddenly she felt some fluctuations. A massive energy burst unknown to her assaulted her senses. She looked towards the direction whence it came. She only saw a massive pillar of flames extending towards the sky. She grinned, "You got even stronger!! I can''t wait!" She moved with glee skipping on her steps as they furthered the plans of their Master. 92 Lol Bad luck Sorry, content is lost, You ¡¯re reading Novel on Novelhall.COM, we will fix it as soon as possible, thank you 93 Chapter 84: Most Unlikely Duo The skies were bleak, Grey clouds covered the bright rays of the sun. Countless Grimm was rushing towards two figures in the middle of town and yet not a single one could even get near them. It wouldn''t be surprising The first one was a full blown winter maiden, while the other was a step away from being a full one. Neo and Cinder stood side by side as they fended off the endless waves of Grimm that assaulted the city. "I don''t like this one bit..." Cinder said. (And you think I do?) Neo replied bitterly. Cinder sighed, "Of all the people to be stuck with it had to be you..." Neo shrugged her shoulders, (Cheer up old timer, you could go and side at the side I probably could do this myself.) Cinder clicked her tongue as she ignored Neo''s reply and looked towards the incoming threat. Cinder closed her fists tightly as she suppressed the enemies, Her mind drifted inside her own thoughts. ''Tsk* It''s worse than I expected. I thought that Salem would hold off the attack for a little while. But it seems that this facade is over. Well it was fun while it lasted. I was just supposed to ask him to go shopping with me so that I could cook him something for dinner, now it ended up with me and this brat fending of Grimm for our supposed assassination target... Sigh* How the mighty have fallen.'' Neo on the other hand was observing Cinder, Her expression changed from worried, to pissed, to lovestruck... (''*Pffft* She''s too old for that...'') She thought. Then finally Cinder''s expression went back to pissed. "How many Grimm are there!? It''s like scooping out a glass of water in the middle of the ocean!" Cinder bellowed. (You know you''re not supposed to drink from saltwater right? It''s like common sense...) Neo replied worriedly looking towards her companion. Cinder''s lips twitched as she glared towards Neo. Gritting her teeth she replied, "I know... It''s a metaphor!!"Neo couldn''t hold her laughter. It seems that Neo held a grudge from Cinder ordering her around. Since now her status is a little bit higher as of now, she can''t help but tease her. As the two were Arguing Loud Flapping noises passed through their ears. From a distance they could see a flock of massive nevermores swooped down on their direction, The two split up and ran on two different directions. Neo ran straight upwards towards the huge building. She covered herself in a blue barrier that crackled with electricity. To shield her from the steel like feathers of the nevermore Grimm. With footholds made of ice she climbed towards the top very quickly. She created multiple ice Spears that had lightning revolve around it. She waved her arms around and the ice Spears shot straight towards the Nevermore Grimm on her side. After clearing the hostiles from the skies she jumped down from the building. She opened her umbrella to slow down her descent. She quickly landed below an unsuspecting Ursai Grimm. She folded her weapon and Drew the needle blade she hid on the handle. She stabbed the Grimm on its skull, quickly turning it into dust. Grimm surrounded her from every side. She just smirked towards them and put her palms on the ground. Suddenly electricity shot forth from the ground. Her eyes were emanating blue flames. The surrounding area''s temperature dropped. The lightning wrapped the Grimm like slithering snakes. Slowly tightening crushing their insides. The Grimm were either burned to death or squeezed to their demise, it doesn''t matter. They were slowly disappearing, what remained was a lone girl in the middle of the Carnage. Carelessly twirling her umbrella. Neo strutted towards Cinder''s direction. (Time to help the old hag.) She whispered. Cinder on the other hand was rushing towards the flying Grimm. She jumped in the air and created Two Blades made of glass. She slashed towards the head of the first nevermore of the flock. She kicked it''s corpse towards unsuspecting Grimm below, crushing them. She cut through the grimm in the air, trying to mince them into pieces. And as she was falling she created a bow made of glass. She aimed towards the nevermores she just cut down. She fired multiple arrows aimed toward their heads. She flipped in the air and landed on her feet. The flock of nevermore Grimm landed near a wave of beowolves. She just snapped her fingers and the arrows detonated creating a huge pillar fire on each arrow. Burning the Grimm alive. She walked towards Neo''s direction not even looking back, with flames and explosions sounded behind her. Neo saw Cinder from a distance, She was smirking towards her. (I defeated Grimm on my side 0.14 second faster.) She said as she put her arms on her waist confidently. Cinder just scoffed towards her, "What are you talking about little girl? Did they not teach you how to read time? I was 0.014 second faster than you were." Then suddenly a third voice was heard on the two''s brief exchange. "Nahh...I think I''m faster." A Blue blade that glowed suddenly struck the two shattering them. The sound of glass breaking was heard. The assailant raised her eyebrows wondering where opponent went. Yet retaining that crazy smile. She tilted her head and looked towards the two standing at a distance safe and sound. Neo and Cinder were vigilant towards their new intruder, Once their attacker turned around they saw their opponents face. It was The Sinner of ''Sloth'' Aergia. "Hello! Maidens! It''s me, The savior of mankind!" She said as she spread her arms wide. The blue blade she used slowly morphed and turned into a ball. It hovered into her side. Neo raised eyebrows towards Aergia''s fashion sense. She was wearing a Black punk shirt. And Her short skirt was a checkered gothic one with white frills. Covered by a long white lab coat. "Long time no see, you crazy woman." Aergia just laughed and ignored her remark, "I still haven''t repaid you two from wrecking my favorite toys." She raised her arm until it reached to her chest level. She opened her palms and spoke, "You two would suffer greatly, I''m not as soft as those useless dolls." The Blue Hovering ball slowly wrapped her arms and turned into a gauntlet. A huge metal one at that. "Behold! My magic! My creation! A living weapon! Solitas, let''s welcome these wenches!" She disappeared from the place where she stood. Suddenly a fist slammed towards Neo''s Blue barrier. It broke her shield instantly and sent her flying. Neo flipped in the air and landed safely, but she was still surprised from the sheer power that blow Aergia threw at her. Then the weapon once more shifted into a blade. She crossed blades with Cinder. Aergia''s strikes were clumsy, random, and had a lot of openings. It showed that she wasn''t much of a swordsman. Cinder easily cut Aergia in multiple places, In just a brief exchange of blows Aergia was on the defensive. "Solitas! Take the reigns!" She bellowed. Then they heard a mechanical voice. "Affirmative." Then as if Aergia''s pathetic display of swordsmanship didn''t exist. She quickly turned from a child flailing a sword around into a master. "Pull from Record 3: Eris." Aergia said. "Affirmative." The weapon morphed once more into the shape of Eris''s longsword. Aergia wasn''t as fast nor as strong as Eris so she could only imitate her technique. Neo quickly supported Cinder from afar. She was firing off icicles covered in lightning and spinning them like a drill to add power to it. Aergia just ignored it all and tanked through most of the damages. Her aura blocked most of the damage. Magic suddenly surged from her free arm. A large purple magic circle appeared beneath Neo''s Feet. Purple flames emerged from it, Neo quickly sprang on her feet to get away from the magic circle. Aergia kicked Cinder on the chest, while cinder successfully stabbed Aergia in the chest. They all gained distance from each other. Aergia pulled out the blade that was lodged in her chest. "What is it with you people. Who the fuck do you think you are to get in the way of progress!?" Neo furrowed her brows, (Mass Murder is progress? How?) Aergia shook her head, "Unenlightened fools." "Starting from now I''ll show you why I''m called the Sinner of Sloth." ======================= Sorry to end on a cliffhanger, but my battery is almost dead so... Here ya go. 92 Chapter 84: Most Unlikely Duo The skies were bleak, Grey clouds covered the bright rays of the sun. Countless Grimm was rushing towards two figures in the middle of town and yet not a single one could even get near them. It wouldn''t be surprising The first one was a full blown winter maiden, while the other was a step away from being a full one. Neo and Cinder stood side by side as they fended off the endless waves of Grimm that assaulted the city. "I don''t like this one bit..." Cinder said. (And you think I do?) Neo replied bitterly. Cinder sighed, "Of all the people to be stuck with it had to be you..." Neo shrugged her shoulders, (Cheer up old timer, you could go and side at the side I probably could do this myself.) Cinder clicked her tongue as she ignored Neo''s reply and looked towards the incoming threat. Cinder closed her fists tightly as she suppressed the enemies, Her mind drifted inside her own thoughts. ''Tsk* It''s worse than I expected. I thought that Salem would hold off the attack for a little while. But it seems that this facade is over. Well it was fun while it lasted. I was just supposed to ask him to go shopping with me so that I could cook him something for dinner, now it ended up with me and this brat fending of Grimm for our supposed assassination target... Sigh* How the mighty have fallen.'' Neo on the other hand was observing Cinder, Her expression changed from worried, to pissed, to lovestruck... (''*Pffft* She''s too old for that...'') She thought. Then finally Cinder''s expression went back to pissed. "How many Grimm are there!? It''s like scooping out a glass of water in the middle of the ocean!" Cinder bellowed. (You know you''re not supposed to drink from saltwater right? It''s like common sense...) Neo replied worriedly looking towards her companion. Cinder''s lips twitched as she glared towards Neo. Gritting her teeth she replied, "I know... It''s a metaphor!!"Neo couldn''t hold her laughter. It seems that Neo held a grudge from Cinder ordering her around. Since now her status is a little bit higher as of now, she can''t help but tease her. As the two were Arguing Loud Flapping noises passed through their ears. From a distance they could see a flock of massive nevermores swooped down on their direction, The two split up and ran on two different directions. Neo ran straight upwards towards the huge building. She covered herself in a blue barrier that crackled with electricity. To shield her from the steel like feathers of the nevermore Grimm. With footholds made of ice she climbed towards the top very quickly. She created multiple ice Spears that had lightning revolve around it. She waved her arms around and the ice Spears shot straight towards the Nevermore Grimm on her side. After clearing the hostiles from the skies she jumped down from the building. She opened her umbrella to slow down her descent. She quickly landed below an unsuspecting Ursai Grimm. She folded her weapon and Drew the needle blade she hid on the handle. She stabbed the Grimm on its skull, quickly turning it into dust. Grimm surrounded her from every side. She just smirked towards them and put her palms on the ground. Suddenly electricity shot forth from the ground. Her eyes were emanating blue flames. The surrounding area''s temperature dropped. The lightning wrapped the Grimm like slithering snakes. Slowly tightening crushing their insides. The Grimm were either burned to death or squeezed to their demise, it doesn''t matter. They were slowly disappearing, what remained was a lone girl in the middle of the Carnage. Carelessly twirling her umbrella. Neo strutted towards Cinder''s direction. (Time to help the old hag.) She whispered. Cinder on the other hand was rushing towards the flying Grimm. She jumped in the air and created Two Blades made of glass. She slashed towards the head of the first nevermore of the flock. She kicked it''s corpse towards unsuspecting Grimm below, crushing them. She cut through the grimm in the air, trying to mince them into pieces. And as she was falling she created a bow made of glass. She aimed towards the nevermores she just cut down. She fired multiple arrows aimed toward their heads. She flipped in the air and landed on her feet. The flock of nevermore Grimm landed near a wave of beowolves. She just snapped her fingers and the arrows detonated creating a huge pillar fire on each arrow. Burning the Grimm alive. She walked towards Neo''s direction not even looking back, with flames and explosions sounded behind her. Neo saw Cinder from a distance, She was smirking towards her. (I defeated Grimm on my side 0.14 second faster.) She said as she put her arms on her waist confidently. Cinder just scoffed towards her, "What are you talking about little girl? Did they not teach you how to read time? I was 0.014 second faster than you were." Then suddenly a third voice was heard on the two''s brief exchange. "Nahh...I think I''m faster." A Blue blade that glowed suddenly struck the two shattering them. The sound of glass breaking was heard. The assailant raised her eyebrows wondering where opponent went. Yet retaining that crazy smile. She tilted her head and looked towards the two standing at a distance safe and sound. Neo and Cinder were vigilant towards their new intruder, Once their attacker turned around they saw their opponents face. It was The Sinner of ''Sloth'' Aergia. "Hello! Maidens! It''s me, The savior of mankind!" She said as she spread her arms wide. The blue blade she used slowly morphed and turned into a ball. It hovered into her side. Neo raised eyebrows towards Aergia''s fashion sense. She was wearing a Black punk shirt. And Her short skirt was a checkered gothic one with white frills. Covered by a long white lab coat. "Long time no see, you crazy woman." Aergia just laughed and ignored her remark, "I still haven''t repaid you two from wrecking my favorite toys." She raised her arm until it reached to her chest level. She opened her palms and spoke, "You two would suffer greatly, I''m not as soft as those useless dolls." The Blue Hovering ball slowly wrapped her arms and turned into a gauntlet. A huge metal one at that. "Behold! My magic! My creation! A living weapon! Solitas, let''s welcome these wenches!" She disappeared from the place where she stood. Suddenly a fist slammed towards Neo''s Blue barrier. It broke her shield instantly and sent her flying. Neo flipped in the air and landed safely, but she was still surprised from the sheer power that blow Aergia threw at her. Then the weapon once more shifted into a blade. She crossed blades with Cinder. Aergia''s strikes were clumsy, random, and had a lot of openings. It showed that she wasn''t much of a swordsman. Cinder easily cut Aergia in multiple places, In just a brief exchange of blows Aergia was on the defensive. "Solitas! Take the reigns!" She bellowed. Then they heard a mechanical voice. "Affirmative." Then as if Aergia''s pathetic display of swordsmanship didn''t exist. She quickly turned from a child flailing a sword around into a master. "Pull from Record 3: Eris." Aergia said. "Affirmative." The weapon morphed once more into the shape of Eris''s longsword. Aergia wasn''t as fast nor as strong as Eris so she could only imitate her technique. Neo quickly supported Cinder from afar. She was firing off icicles covered in lightning and spinning them like a drill to add power to it. Aergia just ignored it all and tanked through most of the damages. Her aura blocked most of the damage. Magic suddenly surged from her free arm. A large purple magic circle appeared beneath Neo''s Feet. Purple flames emerged from it, Neo quickly sprang on her feet to get away from the magic circle. Aergia kicked Cinder on the chest, while cinder successfully stabbed Aergia in the chest. They all gained distance from each other. Aergia pulled out the blade that was lodged in her chest. "What is it with you people. Who the fuck do you think you are to get in the way of progress!?" Neo furrowed her brows, (Mass Murder is progress? How?) Aergia shook her head, "Unenlightened fools." "Starting from now I''ll show you why I''m called the Sinner of Sloth." ======================= Sorry to end on a cliffhanger, but my battery is almost dead so... Here ya go. 93 Chapter 85: The Sinner of sloths (A/N: Before you read the chapter I need to let you guys know that my power is still out, so I''m currently staying at a friend''s house. The schedule of the release will change from 10 a.m. GMT +8 to 5 p.m. GMT +8 For a little while. All that aside enjoy the chap.) ================= She was all alone from birth... Not even her parents would look at her filled with love. She was stared at with fear, Her intelligence and sharp wit was unlike any kid in the village. So she was shunned. All she had as a young girl was hate and the will to survive. She wanted to share her knowledge, to share the joy of truth... And yet no on ever loved her... She screamed towards anyone to look at her. Begging to be loved, She wanted to belong. To fit in with her family. She deeply wished that she was the same as them, ignorant towards the truth. She thought that she could, but she was very wrong. When the Grimm attacked, she was shoved towards the gaping maw of despair. They looked at her as if they don''t know her. One thought raced across that girls mind, ''Hate''. ''I HATE THEM ALL'' ''I HATE THEM ALL! I WANT TO KILL THEM!I HATE THEM ALL! I WANT TO KILL THEM!I HATE THEM ALL! I WANT TO KILL THEM!I HATE THEM ALL! I WANT TO KILL THEM!I HATE THEM ALL! I WANT TO KILL THEM!I HATE THEM ALL! I WANT TO KILL THEM!I HATE THEM ALL! I WANT TO KILL THEM!I HATE THEM ALL! I WANT TO KILL THEM!I HATE THEM ALL! I WANT TO KILL THEM!I HATE THEM ALL! I WANT TO KILL THEM!I HATE THEM ALL! I WANT TO KILL THEM!I HATE THEM ALL! I WANT TO KILL THEM!I HATE THEM ALL! I WANT TO KILL THEM!I HATE THEM ALL! I WANT TO KILL THEM!I HATE THEM ALL! I WANT TO KILL THEM!I HATE THEM ALL! I WANT TO KILL THEM!'' As she stared at her parents lifeless corpses, she could only see blame in their eyes. Not an ounce of love. Not a single drop. Did she love them? She thought to herself. "I don''t know... But in the end they were still the ones who gave me life. This miserable and accursed life." As life slowly drained out of her, she heard a voice. A calling... A purpose. "Come with me... I can grant you what you wish for the most." She responded to that voice, weirdly enough it wasn''t drowned out by the seemingly endless rain. -------------- Aergia looked towards the two Maidens. The both of them raised their arms, as if telling her to come at them. "Have you ever experienced that feeling... that welled up inside your heart and filled you with indescribable pain?" The two stared straight at her. They both responded in unison. "Yes, I have." Aergia sighed and looked down on the ground, "Maybe I was looking to be saved. To find a purpose for all this madness. But it did make me want to go on living. For the first time, I had clarity. I had purpose. I... had a goal. A feeling I''d never had before." She laughed softly, "It''s weird... You two were the first people I could talk to like this. It feels like we share similar souls. That''s why I need to destroy you. A fearsome reminder of what might''ve been if I was saved..." She looked towards the gray skies and smiled, "To prove to the world that I''m not weak. That I don''t need any kind of saving at all." Neo was the first to make a move, A small step turning into a full Sprint. She pulled out the needle sword from her umbrella and slashed towards Aergia. "That''s right! Fight me! I am for the two of you, a scary reminder of what you to could''ve been. If he wasn''t there. If you were all alone, stuck inside the prison of your own mind!" Solitas morphed and turned into a shield, To block Neo''s Strike. Cinder immediately followed up, Multiple Balls of Flame assaulted Aergia in every angle. In an instant Aergia morphed her weapon into a katana. "Pull from Record 8: Kazama Haruki." She parried off the attacks of the two, and she smirked towards their direction. "Let''s make this a little interesting shall we?" She said as she adopted Haruki''s stance. Neo and Cinder opened their eyes wide, But soon followed by a glare. "Let''s see if you two could handle fighting your Lil ol'' hubub. Hahahahahahaha!!" She charged towards their direction. A swift stab in Neo''s direction, followed by a spinning strike, and a leg sweep. Aergia pulled off those moves in quick succession. Although it lacks the normal vigor when Haruki strikes. Her movements were a close second to his. Neo blocked the strikes perfectly. She jumped upwards and flipped in the air, kicking Aergia in the shin. (You may execute his moves flawlessly, but in the end an imitation is still a flawed copy at best.) Cinder stood besides Neo as she covered the area with glass shards. "And besides, I have always wanted to pay that bastard back. And you''re just the perfect punching bag." She snapped her fingers and the entire area exploded. Neo followed by freezing the entire area, as the smoke receeded Aergia was still standing. Although she had Burns and her clothes were a little tattered she was still smiling jovially. Neo narrowed her eyes and Electrified the ground. Aergia jumped and morphed her weapon to a spear, "Pull from Records 11: Pyrrha Nikos." She threw the spear towards the two''s direction. She created a bunch of magic circles around the two and summoned rock spikes. The spikes shot forth trying to fill the two with holes. She speed through the debris and picked up her weapon which turned into Gauntlets. "Record 15: Yang Xiao Long." She barraged Neo with punches, But she narrowly dodged all of them, without a fraction of mistake or misstep. She spun around Aergia like an agile ballerina, She hooked her leg on Aergia''s neck and flipped her body, slamming it to the ground. She then put her palms into Aergia''s face and channeled lightning. Fierce electric currents coursed through Aergia''s body. Her body convulsed, and yet she gripped Neo''s hand and fiercely slammed her forehead into hers. She kicked Neo in the stomach, She quickly stood up, blood covering her face, Yet the same crazed grin was plastered in her face. "I''m not one for fights, But this does bring a smile to my face." Aergia said as she morphed her gauntlets into a sword. "Pull From Record 3: Eris." She charged towards cinder''s direction. She sent a kick towards her jaw, Cinder tilted her head to the side and Slammed her fist on Aergia''s stomach. It made her step back a few meters. She slashed downwards, she was met by Cinder''s Glass blades. Every exchange would break her sword that was made of glass. She held Aergia''s hand and flipped her from behind. After slamming her opponent down she moved back and snapped her fingers to detonate the glass shards. *Boom!!* Multiple explosions rang across the area. This time however there was a barrier shielding Aergia. She was smirking, "Don''t you think by now I don''t know how you do things?" "Pull from Record 10: Cinder Fall." She said asher weapon morphed into a bow, and a sword on the other hand. With a taunting smile she closed the distance between them. She threw the bow towards cinder''s face. She ducked, but before she could counter a blade slashed towards her upwards. She could only take it and use her aura to defend. She rolled on the ground, when she regained her footing Aergia was already on her next barrage of attacks. The tried to party the strikes, but Aergia swatted her fists away and kept hammering cinder with her blade. She jumped and gave cinder a roundhouse kick in the face. She tumbled across the ground. Aergia was looking down on her opponent, "How does it feel?" She said as she stabbed Cinder in the shoulder. "Aaarrrghhh!!" Cinder howled in pain. Aergia kicked her in the stomach once more, But as she was about to strike her down. A blade light out of nowhere stabbed through her heart. Aergia looked towards her assailant and grinned. "Pull From Record 9: Neo Politan." She held the blade and banged her head on Neo once more. She held Neo in place and kept assaulting her with her fists. Neo''s aura flickered. Aergia took this chance to punch her in the guts. She was thrown and slammed towards a nearby building. This caused her to puke blood. It almost knocked her out too. It felt like Aergia was just toying with the two of them. Aergia just stood still, a good distance from the two maidens. "Is this all the Maidens could offer? I fucking expected more of a fight. Well since all of us are now on listening terms, I want to ask you weaklings. Why do you struggle to fight change?" She brushed her hair backwards and continued, "Why can''t you see that we''re purifying this broken world? To Rid all of this pesky squabbles. A Paradise, where everything is equal! A Brand New World under our reign, there will be no more conflict. Mankind will finally be able to call down the gods. So we could take their powers for our own, And Take more world''s like this! Imperfect and Flawed! And what would be left is a grateful world, filled with life." She held Neo''s face close and spoke, "Don''t you see? We''re the heroes! All your doing is delaying the inevitable! But don''t worry I won''t kill you two, Were quite similar after all, you and I." Neo held her ground and spat blood on Aergia''s face. Aergia frowned and kicked her in the face. She wiped the bloodstain off of her face, "I will break down everything you stand for. Starting with everything you care about." Cinder was clutching her shoulders, "Frankly dear, I don''t give a damn." She winced from the pain and yet she mustered up the strength to Make one final pillar of flame, catching Aergia off guard, Burning her alive. Cinder fell down on the ground panting Heavily. Yet the fire in her eyes hasn''t been exhausted. She glared at the tall pillar of flames. Neo was the same. Laughter echoed from the flames, and once the flames disappeared Aergia stood there slowly regenerating the fatal damage. "Don''t you see? It''s futile! Haven''t I proved it to you awhile ago?" Aergia looked at the two of them, but all she got was silence. "Stop looking at me with those eyes! I don''t need your sympathy! Why do you still keep fighting!? What do you get out of this!? Isn''t this just an excuse to pretend that you''re good!? Why do you keep fighting for that man!? What has he brought you? Aren''t you still suffering from the pain? Has your life gotten better since then? Fucking answer me and stop looking at me with those eyes!!!" She screamed towards the two. Panting in exhaustion not from the fight. Neo struggled to sit up, she leaned on a nearby debris and spoke, "He was always alone, always by himself. Never anyone to share the burden of his thoughts and actions. It was as if he was living in a different world. He was that kind of man. I could see it in his eyes, struggling to see reality for what it really is. But not even for a second did he stop caring for others." Aergia raised her eyebrows, "And that makes it better?" Neo shook her head, "My point is, He tries to fix everything. Even though the one that needs fixing the most is himself." Aergia could only laugh and cover her face with her palms. She morphed her weapon into her blade. "Solitas, Clear all the cache." Her weapon turned into a hovering blue ball near her shoulder. Magic circles appeared beneath the two. "The words that we can''t say... It hurts doesn''t it? Like fools on a circus. A purpose? Stop kidding yourself, you''re just filling that endless empty hole with ideas you barely give a damn about." Cinder said, But Aergia scoffed. She snapped her fingers and the Circle disappeared. "We''re not done here. The next time we meet, Will be the last you hear of the kingdom of Vale." She looked behind her as she started walking away. "If you survive this, find me. I will keep telling you two the same thing. I am your worst enemy, yet I''m the one who understands you the most. Because you And I are cut from the same cloth. No matter where you run I will always catch up. The two laid on the ground stared at her departing back. It looked so lonely and desolate. Like their past. Before he came for them... When there was no light could be found, where bitterness and anger, were the only thing they know to fill that gaping void. 94 Chapter 86: Ism here... Before you start reading the chapter, I just want to apologize for disappearing on you guys again so suddenly. It''s just life hasn''t been cooperating with me lately. It''s honestly been a struggle just to write this chapter. I don''t know I kinda have not been in the mood to write lately and I understand that the update stability hasn''t been really okay this past two months. I want to apologize for that. To those who dropped this, I can''t say I blame you. I would drop this too if the update was really slow and unsteady. To those who stuck around, First of all I''m sorry and thank you for waiting. Thank you for your understanding and enjoy the chapter. ========================== Haruki was clearing out the Grimm in an astronomical pace. He was moving from point to point. Devouring every Grimm in sight. Together with both Yushu and Kurenai, They made their way into the middle of town. As they were cutting through the Grimm, Haruki felt that everything feels so familiar somehow. Deep on his own subconscious, he heard a familiar voice. At first, he was ignoring it, but it grew louder and louder as they went closer in the heart of the battle. He furrowed his brows, ''There can''t be three voices in my head now, can it? Ars wasn''t talking, and gluttony was also silent. If it''s not them, then who could it be?'' As he was contemplating who it was, the voice was slowly getting louder. He couldn''t ignore it with his subconscious. It was like a whisper, yet he could hear it louder than anything in the area. Even the words Yushu and Kurenai were sending his way turned to deaf ears. ''Hey! I know you can hear me... A familiar sight isn''t it? The things that are assaulting your senses right now were the same as back then.'' Haruki tried to ignore it, As he looked around the entire area. But every time his sight falls towards the debris and the struggling huntsmen and huntresses, it reminded him of a place. A place he once called home. The Battlefield. ''The faint aroma of smoke...'' ''Lingering scent of gunpowder. Well... in this case dust powder. Hahahahahaha!'' ''The looming feeling of death...'' ''Such a familiar sight don''t you think so? No matter where you go, it will always be there... Catching up to you.'' Haruki gripped his blade, he finally saw two familiar figures in the distance. He ran as fast as he could towards their direction. Yushu and Kurenai were surprised by the sudden burst of speed but they chose to just run after him instead of materializing beside him. "Hey, Do you think our master is going to be alright?" Yushu looked towards her frowning sister. "He has to be Because I don''t know what else to do with this life. Besides, he has survived many battles such as this, We''ve seen how he always stood back up even though it''s hopeless." Kurenai answered her sister as she cleaved the Grimm in half, that was running towards them. "I just don''t want our first master who could ever wield us to die... I don''t want this kind of life to end... Heh, Look at me talking about not wanting to disappear. I''m barely a day old and I''m already like this." Yushu stared at her own hands as she ran. Kurenai smirked towards her sister''s remark, "Hahahaha! You? Going soft?" Yushu just shrugged and approached their master. Haruki, on the other hand, zipped through the Grimm that was blocking the way, He used Kusanagi to slice the Grimm in half, followed by Void Bats who devoured every Grimm in its wake. As he approached the two figures he noticed that the Grimm couldn''t even get near them. They were surrounded by White specters of Dead Grimm, that fought back against the Grimm. "Hey, Em! Winter! Are you two alright?" He stared at the two of them, they were exhausted but there weren''t any injuries. The two looked towards the direction of the voice that called out to them. ""Haru!"" They both dashed towards his direction. They both wrapped their arms around him. Emerald was the first to speak, "You''re okay! I''m glad." She said in an exhausted tone. Haruki brushed her hair with his left hand, "Sorry I''m a little late." She shook her head and just smiled. Winter, on the other hand, wore a serious expression, "This can''t be the work of Salem alone." Haruki nodded his head, "She had help, And I bet you already know who they are." Emeralds expression darkened, "But it''s too early! I thought she would begin her attack on the date of the festival?" Haruki shook his head, "I believe her plans haven''t changed. She wants to prove to Ozpin that she''s more powerful than he is. This is more of an appetizer before she begins her assault. She wants to show Ozpin that she could tear down the city walls whenever she wanted." Winter scowled, "At the cost of many innocent lives! How many have died already!? Hunters that fought this meaningless battle? Just because she wants to prove a point!? That''s insane!!" The two broke off their hug and looked at him straight in the eyes, "We have to stop this! Go now! We''ll take care of this place!" Winter said, but she noticed two figures standing behind him. She raised her eyebrows but ignored it, there were more pressing issues at the moment. Haruki then summoned echoing fury, He brought back an army of Grimm and soldiers that added to winter''s summoned army. "Stay safe you two!" He said as he darted into another direction. Emerald sighed, "What a worrywart..." ''Heh, Pretend all you want nothing won''t change.'' ''It''ll only be a matter of time before it''s their turn.'' Haruki furrowed his brows, trying his best to ignore the voice. He moved towards a new place, searching for his women. He neared an area where it looked like a battle took place. The first thing he noticed was the metal beams that stabbed the ground all over the place, The metal spikes littered and spread across the area. And Beyond those things was a crater, in the middle of it was Pyrrha. A few Grimm were surrounding her but Ren fended them off blowing them to bits. He was exhausted himself, But Pyrrha wasn''t that faring greatly either. Their battle with Eris exhausted the two of them. The two breathed heavily as Grimm was slowly cutting off their escape route. Ren glared at the approaching enemies, "I''m not going to fall down now, not until I rescue my friends!" He looked towards Pyrrha, "Let''s do this!" Pyrrha gave Ren a brave smile, "Heh, come to think of it Ren, this is the first time to see you so energetic!" He smiled in return, "I can''t help it, my friends are in danger. And the only thing stopping these Grimm from making it through the innocent people''s homes are us hunters." "Well said!" The surrounding Grimm was held down by Jet Black wolves and set ablaze by Haruki. He landed besides Pyrrha. "Are you two okay? What happened here? Where''s Jaune and Nora?"Haruki fired questions one after another. The two gripped their weapons and looked down on the ground as they answered his questions. Their expression was that of pain. "It was Eris... She took the two of them, saying that she needs the two for something. We''re okay, it''s Jaune and Nora who needs saving." Ren answered. Pyrrha, on the other hand, was silent, she was frustrated. Is this going to repeat again? Where someone else has to do it for her? She looked towards her beloved, biting her lips and tears were forming at the corner of her eyes. "Please save them..." Haruki nodded no further words were required. She swallowed her pride to ask of him something she couldn''t do. ''Nostalgic isn''t it? Someone begging you for help but you only made it worse.'' ''Drill this into your mind, you can''t save anyone...'' He hugged Pyrrha before he went and kissed her forehead, "I''ll take care of it I promise." Pyrrha nodded her head and leaned on his chest for a little while. "Yushu, could you stay and help them?" He looked towards the girl who was checking her nails in the middle of battle. She nodded her head, "Don''t be reckless out there master..." And in a low voice she said, thinking that no one might hear her, "Please..." Haruki smiled towards her, "Relax, take care of them for me will you? Emerald and Winter are both fighting off the Grimm in that direction, If you guys finish clearing this area go to that direction." They all nodded at his statement, he gave Pyrrha one last look before he went. He dashed towards another direction along with Kurenai. He arrived near a place where the entire area was decimated. It looks like multiple explosion happened her. And Beyond the Rubble Two figures leaned on a nearby rock. Haruki''s pupils shrunk, he immediately went besides the two. He checked their condition, they both weren''t in a critical condition. But if this went on they would be soon enough. He looked towards Neo, She was barely conscious and she stared at her beloved and said, "Hey you..." In a very weak voice before fainting. Cinder on the other hand closed the wound on her shoulder with her flames, It was extremely painful. Yet she held on. The reason why they both weren''t swarmed by the waves of Grimm was because of her. If she fainted now they both would be gone. Haruki on the other hand was battling the voice in his head, ''A familiar sight isn''t it? wasn''t this also the very same line when you spoke to her covered in blood? What do you think this is just some cosmic coincidence? or a joke? No... This is what happens Haruki... This is what happens when you act like you''re in control. Who''s to blame for all this mess? Ha! No one but you... You don''t belong with them. Someone that brings upon pain and despair doesn''t deserve them.'' Haruki gripped his head in pain, "Ars! Is there anyway to cure them?" <> Haruki bellowed towards the Ars Magus to drown out the other voice in his head, "I don''t care! Just do it!" Haruki instantly cast absolute domain, "Reject!!" In the very same instant. Horrible pain assaulted his senses. He couldn''t explain the feeling, but it did silence the voice in his head. In that mere Thirty seconds felt like an eternity to him. His eyes went bloodshot, He gritted his teeth. It felt like his pores were widening and blood was slowly seeping out of it. His shoulder felt unbearable pain as if it was being seared by a flaming knife. Yet he withstood the pain, for them. For the fear of losing someone important to him once again. He only had one thought in this ordeal. It was, ''Im not losing anyone to anything again!!!'' It was his only reason to cling on, bearing the hellish pain. After thirty seconds of endless pain invading his body Haruki finally sighed in relief. Panting in exhaustion he looked at the two of them. The two of them were breathing steady. Cinder has observed what happened the whole time, Gradually the pain subsided and she instantly felt better. She furrowed her eyebrows and held her lover''s face. She worriedly and wordlessly stared at him. In turn he just gave her a confident smile. "It''s fine darling, this is nothing." He said to her. She was still worried but she put it all behind her head and pulled him close. She held his face between her chest. The sheer warmth of it made Haruki feel a little better. "We''ll be fine here... Go! Don''t you have something else to do? But please don''t be reckless like that again." She asked Haruki as she let go. He nodded and cradled Neo on his arms. He stared at her beautiful face. He gave her a gentle smile. He looked towards Kurenai. "I''ll leave this place to you." He kissed both Neo and Cinder in the forehead. ''No matter how hard you try... nothing would change a thing. Now that we''re all alone. Nothing could distract you anymore... From you own thoughts!'' Haruki stopped in his tracks, His eyes opened wide. Only the void bats that were devouring Grimm and healing him we''re the ones in motion. ''What? Do you think I''m someone else? I''m you! you stupid fuck!'' ''Why do you think I know all about you!?'' ''Why do you think I know that you would fail!? I know that your efforts are all in vain, because it''s inevitable! You can''t alter the course of history! you''ve only made it worse!!'' "Shut the fuck up!!" He gripped his head tight as the voices got louder, he screamed at the empty space. [Get your shit together kid!!!] "Gluttony? is that you?" [Finally! I got through you. Don''t listen to that voice, or as much as possible ignore the negative aura here.] "What is Happening? It felt like my thoughts were the only thing I could hear." [It only means one thing... They''re here, the closer the sins are with each other the stronger the negative aura surrounds the place. The Desires and Doubts, the despair and agony. All of it coalesce into a one big pool of negative aura drowning the people and driving them mad.] "Do you mean!? That all seven of you are here!?" He asked gluttony shocked by this revelation. [No kid... If it was, then the effects would be far more worse. It is just probably the Two of them.] Haruki raised his eyebrows, "Which ones?" [The Worst of them, Greed and Pride.] Haruki widened his eyes and gripped his blade, "What are they doing here? Could you tell their general direction?" [Beats me kid, all I know is that they''re here to gloat or that they have another agenda. It could also be both. And as much as I want to tell you to run on the opposite direction, you''re a stubborn idiot, so I''ll tell you where the most negative aura is surging.] Gluttony paused, thinking to himself why he''s helping the kid, and advising him to be careful. But in the end he told him where the two sins were located. [To the middle of the City, I can feel their presence swirling on that direction.] Haruki nodded and ran straight towards the eye of the storm. Gluttony Guided him to move where the exact place it was. As he neared he felt that the voices once more resurfaced. This time however he ignored all of it. He was glaring at the Sins direction. "That''s where Team RWBY landed! I hope they''re safe." When he reached his destination he saw All three of the known sinners. Eris, Aergia, and Touma along with the mysterious youth he just fought earlier. Team RWBY were behind Glynda, and Ozpin was at the forefront blocking all the attacks that came their way. He created a big spherical barrier that covered all of them. "What is your purpose in coming here!?" He shouted towards the sinners while resisting their torrent of attacks. Eris just smiled towards Ozpin and she looked towards Touma who in turn, lifted up both Jaune and Nora. "These two, well Aergia is done scanning them and taken enough blood so you can have these back." She said as she motioned Touma to toss the two kidnapped kids towards Ozpin. "Oh and This too..." Eris vanished from when she stood, and when she reappeared she was holding an unconscious Sun Wukong. She also tossed the unconscious boy towards Ozpin''s direction. "Now that''s all settled, let''s move on to the next order of business. We a- -" Before she could finish Haruki came smashing down with warmonger, using lightning emperor and the element of surprise, He sent a slash that cleaved the ground creating a massive fissure in the middle. The sinners moved away when they sensed Haruki. All except for Aergia, Touma had to carry her around so she could avoid the incoming attack. Eris on the other hand was smiling gleefully, "Hahahahah! I was wondering when you''ll turn up." She looked at Haruki from top to bottom. She gave him a knowing smile, "You got even stronger..." She kept clutching her blade, spinning it around. She was eyeing her prey, she couldn''t wait to attack him. Luckily for Haruki, Pride is nearby, Eris wouldn''t defy his orders. She breathed deeply, steadying her stance, "Before I was so rudely interrupted, I was explaining what we''re doing here. But it seems that time is up." They could all hear a faint sound of flapping wings, but what accompanied it was a terrifying aura. It feels heavy and light at the same time, it was an unexplainable sensation. But their instincts were telling them to run. It was fear. A deep seated fear inherent in all being when they see a being far more stronger than them. What descended from the sky was a White Winged Man. He was wearing a mask, yet they could feel the holiness behind it. He wore an ancient white Robe, But beneath it were chiseled muscles that were pulsating with pure power. His piercing golden eyes that observed the surrounding area felt as if they were being stared down by the greatest monster known to man. They were so enamored staring at the mysterious man, they didn''t notice the person he was holding by the neck. It was Qrow, He was bleeding everywhere. He has injuries everywhere. He threw Qrow towards Ozpin''s direction. Then his eyes moved towards Haruki''s direction. "I see, So you''re the new wielder..." He appeared in front of Haruki in an instant. Haruki couldn''t even react. It felt like he was frozen in place. Then, at the next second he was already sent tumbling towards Ozpin and the other''s direction. He couldn''t even see what happened. The next thing he knew he was rolling on the ground and feelingterrible pain in his stomach. He coughed out blood and glared at the winged man. The winged man just shrugged his shoulders and He stared at Ozpin''s group. "I know what it''s like to lose, To feel so desperately that you''re right yet to fail nonetheless. It''s frightening, turns the legs to jelly. I ask you to what end, Dread it. Run from it. Destiny arrives all the same. And now it''s here... Or should I say, I am..." =========================== You''re probably thinking, ''That''s Thanos''s monologue! You ripped it off!'' Well it felt fitting considering he''s pride. And a little clue on who he is. He''s not Thanos btw that''s just stupid. Hope you enjoyed the 2 in 1 chapter. 95 Chapter 87: Pride cometh Before the Fall Pride stood in front of them imposingly. He didn''t care who stood against him. He couldn''t take them seriously. For him they were all the Same. Ants beneath his feet. "I''m sorry I only intended to demonstrate my power a little bit, I didn''t mean to send you flying." He said apologetically, while smirking towards Haruki. "I mean you really shouldn''t blame me, you guys are really fragile. Don''t pin this on me it''s all on you guys for being so weak..." He pointed towards the downed Haruki. He looked towards Ozpin and his Expression turned serious. "I''m not here to destroy your home, I''m here to rule it. I can cha- -" Before he could finish talking Haruki used lightning form and came smashing towards Pride. He went all out, he put all of his strength with that strike. Pride stretched out his lean arm and flicked his wrist. Haruki''s strike was swatted away like a fly. He flipped midair and sent a punch with fenrir fangs. Pride waved his hand and caught the punch easily. Haruki instantly pulled away, he stood a good distance away from pride. Pride was frowning, "Seriously? Do you get off on interrupting people? Not that I care but there''s a proper time and place for that..." He said as he raised his eyebrows towards Haruki''s direction. Haruki was silent he was just glaring towards Pride''s direction. His form suddenly morphed, into a jet black werewolf. His glowing red eyes peered directly into his enemy. Sparks of electricity were emitted on the corner of his eyes. His blood red fangs thirsts for his flesh. The flame like veins on his claws pulsate with pure power. His Claws that radiate both Heat and Cold couldn''t wait to tear his opponents flesh asunder. On his left arm he held a massive jet black blade covered in scales of a dragon. The blade had a mouth, that opened and closed, as if it hungers for fresh meat. His entire body cackled electric fury, roaming his flesh generating power in every turn. He disappeared from sight and when he reappeared was below pride''s line of sight. He swung his blade upwards. Pride however blocked his strike with ease. But this time Pride was smiling. "It seems I underestimated you..." He eyes Haruki as he blocked the multitude of attacks from him. This time pride was parrying his strikes to divert the power to the side. Each time he does, the ground shook and the surrounding buildings cracked. The sheer power the two were emitting far surpassed everyone from Beacon''s side. They all had their eyes opened wide, "I thought we saw the extent of his powers. I can''t believe we''re dead wrong." Yang said as she protected her sister close from the waves of aura that were assaulting their hiding spot. Ozpin and Glynda were both silent. Ozpin felt that Haruki got even stronger, but he could see his aura. Pride however had no aura emitting from him. But the power he felt from him was suffocating. It terrified him, he probably could confidently say that Pride was more powerful than Him and Salem combined. He was furrowing his brows. Trying to quickly form a plan to save all of the people int he immediate area. For this is a battle that they couldn''t win. A for more powerful than anything he has seen. Second only to the gods of both light and dark but not that far behind. He was sweating profusely thinking of a way to escape this predicament. He stared towards the bleeding Qrow, "If only I was stronger..." He clenched his fists. Yang and Ruby were steadily nearing their uncle who was injured, Helping him up. Everyone tended to the injured while Pride and Haruki exchanged blows. Eris on the other hand had her eyes open wide in excitement. Her smile almost reached her ears as she watched the battle. Aergia raised her eyebrows as she stared towards Eris, "This is probably the first time I have seen you this excited, Normally in a fight you''d always have this bored expression. What changed? is it that guy?" She pointed towards Haruki. Eris tilted her head, "I don''t know? I just feel like we''re one in the same. A kindred soul you may say." Aergia shrugged her shoulders, he stared towards the masked youth, "What happened to you?" The youth just shrugged, "I kinda overexerted myself." Aergia sighed, "What the hell do you think your semblance is for? You stupid fuck." She insulted his stupidity. The masked youth just shrugged his shoulders and laughed it off. She turned towards the battle of Haruki and Pride, She observed their battle closely while secretly recording the two off them. Haruki felt that his attacks weren''t working, Pride on the other hand yawned, "I can''t do this all day you know, I have a busy schedule. I can''t extend play time for like..." He taunted Haruki by staring at his free wrist that doesn''t even have a watch. "An hour or so." Haruki clicked his tongue and stepped back, he reverted to his human form and Sent jet-black dire wolves towards Pride. Thousands of Revenants of Both Human and Grimm emerged from the ground as Haruki brought out Echoing Fury. "What are these gonna do?" He stared at Haruki skeptically. He motioned Eris to clear out the Rabble that Haruki has summoned. Eris immediately dashed in the middle of the enemies. She hacked them apart easily, she did it quickly and efficiently. While Pride was observing Eris, Haruki appeared behind him holding both Mournful Vengeance and Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi. He weaved the two blades around slashing madly at Pride. Pride''s wings blocked some of the attacks, but the attacks that went through were blocked by his fingers directly, "I''ll give you points for the effort at least." He pushed back with his own strikes matching Haruki''s own speed. Haruki was forced to back away a few steps, "I''m not done yet, let me show you a forgotten technique. Developed by one of the strongest people I know..." Pride''s interest was piqued, "Hoh... Come then, let''s see how far that technique could take you!" He summoned a third Blade, <> The blade fell and stabbed the ground freezing it. Pride scoffed towards Haruki, "How the hell is that going to make anything better? You don''t have a third hand now do you? That would be creepy as hell." Haruki smirked, he smiled and bit down on the handle of Kusanagi, He held both Mournful Vengeance and FrostBite on each hand. He steadied his stance while Pride stood there amused, "Hahahahaha!!! What in the hell are you doing?" ''Well this is only in Theory, but I hope I could pull it off...'' He thought to himself. [This isn''t the time to be trying out new things kid!] Gluttony chimed in. ''Relax this was inspired by a certain pirate/swordsman that''s really strong and absolute weapon mastery plus path of shura can''t go wrong with that.'' Haruki dashed and charged his weapons with electricity, His eyes of takemikazutchi crackled electricity as he neared Pride. He activated absolute domain. Power surged from beneath. Pride smiled wide and anticipated the attack that was coming through him. "Alright come at me!!" Haruki''s aura swirled and when he was a few steps away from Pride, "< > x100,000" It looked like he had three heads that bit down on three blades each and Six arms that held multiple blades. Is it a mirage? An illusion? Pride didn''t know for sure, but he was going to take it head on. He is intending to break it in front of Haruki''s eyes. They clashed head on colliding with one another, and when they passed by each other. Sounds of clashes went on at impossible speeds. Their eyes couldn''t even follow only a select few could see through the attacks and we''re surprised by the sheer power and technique it held within. It was a pure clash of power, a resounding boom echoed across the area and Haruki was sent flying towards a nearby building, creating multiple holes. Pride on the other hand was still standing without even a single bruise. He was about to gloat towards Haruki but suddenly his masked cracked and a few bits fell off. Revealing a perfectly lined jaw and thin lips. His confusion turned into shock, then his Expression broke into a smile. "I was wondering why you kept aiming at my face, So this is why..." Haruki leapt out of the rubble in his V¨¤nagandr form. Holding Nidhogg over his shoulder. He climbed the building he crashed on and jumped in the air. "Chains of Gleipnir! Nidding!!" Thick Roots that contained the weight of the world and ribbon like chains wrapped pride and coiled around him like snakes. He fired Nidhogg towards Pride''s direction, "Bruni!!! x100,000!!" He took advantage of Absolute Domain before it timed out. Intense heat came out of the Cannon''s barrel. It felt like heat from the sun that concentrated into one point. A pillar of flames shot straight towards Pride''s direction. Pride Tried to break the bindings but he was met with intense resistance, Everytime the he would more the roots would tighten and get heavier. While the ribbon like chains made it even harder to move. He could only stretch out his hands and take the brunt of the attack. *Boom!!!* Everyone guarded from the heat that radiated from the tall pillar. When the flames died down and the smoke cleared. Pride was still standing holding out one hand that had small burns. However it was quickly regenerating. "Interesting... You managed to wound me." He said as if the whole thing didn''t even happen. "It seems I have been surprised once more." Haruki was breathing heavily he has pulled out everything from his arsenal that could even manage to wound pride, but it was all in vain. The best he could do was a small burn on his arm. But he wasn''t nearly done, he still had one last attack. "World Eater!!" He threw Nidhogg in the air and it turned into a massive serpent like dragon. It saw Pride wrapped up with the roots of Yggdrasil. It gave a deafening roar towards the heavens and opened it''s massive jaw to bite down on him. "Alright, playtime''s over. I''m getting bored." He exerted his powers to break the chains and roots that bound him. As he raised his arms the chains slowly broke. The roots snapped. A huge shockwave hit all off them making them all fall back from the sheer pressure he was exuding. Pride held the Mouth of The Serpent like Dragon with both of his hands. He was being pushed back a little but he lifted NidHogg up and slammed it on the ground. He then put power on his hands to rip it in half. Creating a rain of blood, drenching the streets red. Weirdly enough he wasn''t even drenched in red, it was as if blood was avoiding him. He looked as ethereal as he did when he first landed on the ground. He heaved a sigh and appeared in front of Haruki. He grabbed his face and slammed him on the ground. His body bounced like a ragdoll. After bouncing in the ground for multiple times Pride punched him right in the guts. Creating a huge crater while Haruki was stuck in the middle. He scanned everyone of Haruki''s allies staring at them one by one, "You pride yourselves on your power. Your Kingdom of a million Hunters. But heed my words for we Have roamed this Universe much longer than you. We are the Sins! I bring you change, and usher in a new era!" He stepped on Haruki''s chest to prevent him from standing up. The Sinners lined up behind him, and Greed appeared Beside him. Cackling like a madman. "You humans are imperfect, riddled with flaws. Yet you Delude yourselves in dreams of grandeur and try to strive for peace. I have seen with my own eyes how you work. The oldest and most enduring of Human practices. War. It''s always war... Your desire for power far outweighed the blessings the world has given you. Even Without the Grimm threatening your survival, it won''t be long before you turn this world into shit." Everyone of Haruki''s women have arrived on scene and a few of their allies. They saw Haruki being trampled Beneath Pride''s feet. "You separate and segregate yourselves making it more difficult to unite, yet you call these diplomatic bullshit a United front? Who are you kidding. Small steps corrupt... It is imprinted on every human brain and will eventually be your downfall." Pride''s relaxed expression quickly turned into one of anger, his brows furrowed and his Expression twisted into rage. "YOU DESERVE NOTHING!! What the world has given you, I will take back! I don''t know how you could contain such wickedness and corruption in that tiny frame of yours. All of you are weak, yet so arrogant! What makes you think that you are superior than anything else!? when everything could be used as a threat to your primacy!?" He picked up Haruki by the neck, "Look at your so called "hero". He couldn''t even manage to beat me. It tells you one thing, I am not the enemy of humanity. I am it''s savior. You want to know why? Because I have the power to fix it. Fix you." Haruki tried to struggle, but he had barely any strength left so he could only squirm on pride''s arm. Pride scoffed and threw him at Ozpin''s feet rolling. Neo ran towards him, as she was supported by Kurenai. "I would erase your legacy, your history, your will. I would erase the things that made you human. I will rebuild you using my own form. Better in every way. I will take away the first thing that made you imperfect. Free Will... Then after that I will take away your desires. Nothing but an empty shell. I will guide you to perfection. Soon none shall be left but order." Ozpin gathered enough courage to try and refute Pride''s words. "You''re crazy! Are you telling me, that you have the capability of erasing every single person in this world?" Greed cackled. His empty eye sockets that emitted a faint glow of red stared at Ozpinand replied to his question, "Not everyone. Just enough, a handful of people. They will have the strength to stand back up and rebuild." Neo helped Haruki sit up. He glared at Pride, "And when they can''t?" He asked weakly. Pride gave him a knowing smile, "Ask Noah." Haruki''s eyes opened wide. He clenched his fists. He doubted the power of Ars Magus. He thought that this was one of the most powerful weapon in history. But what use is it if he can''t even use it to stop this world from getting destroyed. Touma stepped in front of Haruki. Neo instantly went on guard glaring at the sinner, "I have seen with my own eyes many long and terrible wars. I have met brave warriors and good people whose deaths have weighed heavily in my soul. On Mistral I have witnessed the conquest of Corrupt officials. They burned villages turning them to ruins. I have watched the kingdoms of tyrants fall into dark ruin after so many years of slaughter. Even then I was not glad, for too many had fallen who were needed elsewhere instead of fighting wars. Too many lives extinguished, yet it only fueled humanity''s Desire. A sea of blood that seemed to stretch over the horizon without end. But with it we have killed the last tyrant to ever plague remnant. We have emerged victorious. But it dawned on me... Victory? What use is victory without anyone to celebrate it with? Give me a battle of annihilation. With it we could start anew. A fresh start. Free from corruption." He left those words and turned his back and stood behind pride once more. Pride once more neared Ozpin and the group. "Do you see my point? Perhaps not, I cannot consider the fate of a single man, nor ten, not a thousand. Billions must die, our actions will topple the scales and bring forth a new age. Where everything is perfect. That is why we do not have the luxury to count the cost of our actions. I am the Sin Of Pride itself. I am willing to bear the burden of hundreds of billions of lives. Because it is my duty. I am willing to play the part of the world''s greatest villain to make everything right. You are but callow infants, but with my guidance, It will be paradise." He spread out his white wings, it looked very angelic and holy. But it slowly turned black, with glowing violet veins spreading from his back. Black horns covered in scales sprouted from his forehead. "I will pave a way for humans to thrive. Let this day serve as a warning. That we could arrive at anytime. Savour your victory here, if you could even call it that." He snapped his fingers and all of the Grimm in the area exploded into tiny chunks one by one. "Because it will be cold comfort when your time comes." He turned his back against them, Then a swirling purple vortex appeared in front of him. He entered the portal without even looking back. The sinners followed on by one. Eris stared at Haruki, "Get even stronger, the way you are now is not nearly enough to beat Touma." But before she entered the portal she stared at Haruki and blew a kiss towards his direction, "I look forward to our next date~" Aergia just scoffed, she didn''t even bother to look at them. She entered the portal immediately. The masked youth stood in front of the portal. He removed his mask and looked towards Haruki, "You disappoint me Wolfgang... Make sure that the next time we meet you''re a little stronger." The masked youth held Touma''s shoulder and Touma''s body glowed and turned into a rectangular strip of paper with engravings and a star drawing that entered the youth''s pocket. Revealing that the masked youth was the real Touma all along. Haruki''s eyes opened wide, he now has a clear view of The Youth''s face. It was a face he was very familiar with, although he looked younger, he could discern the similarities. The youth smiled towards Neo and the other''s direction. "Take care of my son for me." Haruki''s expression turned furious and growled towards his direction, "Touma!!! I will make sure the next time we meet, I''ll kill you for good!!" Touma just laughed and entered the portal. Greed was the only one remaining his eyes stared straight at Pyrrha. He extended his hand and red electricity flowed towards her direction. Everyone was too weak to anticipate the sudden turn of events. It wrapped Pyrrha''s body and she convulsed on the ground. Immense pain assaulted her senses. Greed cackled, "Hahahahaha!!! Get stronger girl! That is my gift to you. Perhaps, if I''m pleased with the results, it would be one of many!" "What did you do to her!!!" Haruki with the remaining strength he has left used Kusanagi to slash towards greed''s direction. Greed scoffed and flicked his skeleton hand. But before he entered the portal he said, "You know what it is... And say hi to gluttony for me! Kahahahahahaha!!!" The swirling purple vortex disappeared, what replaced it was dead silence. No one could utter a single word. But they felt the same thing. Dread. It felt like this was a wake up call for all of them, but they had no time to wallow in despair. They had to fight back. Even though it''s moot, they won''t go down without a fight. Even if they''re beaten down, they will keep standing back up. Because that''s what humans are. We spit in the face of desperation. =========================== Aaaaaaannnnnddddd!!!!! That concludes Volume 2!! It''s been a long ride from the first one. I honestly expected that this would end sooner but life got in the way. Thanks for sticking around! I can''t apologize enough for the long absence. But after this is just specials and Omake! Just pure LuLs this would go on for a while. I need time to prepare for Volume 3: The Fall. I want it to be great so hang on. I''ll do my best to write a great draft. Thanks for reading my work I truly appreciate all of you. 96 Volume 2 Omake/Specials 1 Warriors training~~~ ===================== What is a warrior anyway? You''re probably going to say what they fight in wars? You''re probably correct. But what makes a warrior? His gruelling training? The hardships he has went through to climb at the top and stand on it to see the vast horizon? His multiple character arcs that break him down and build him back up more stronger than before? Maybe, But how do you become a warrior? Sheer will? Tenacity? The mindset of never giving up? To stand back up in the face of adversity? To get your uncle gunned down on the street? To get your rich parents robbed and gunned down in an alley? To escape from your dying planet and land on a farm where you are told to be good to people? Or get a magic ring and lamp? There''s so much more to mention but it would take 3 days to list multiple origin stories. To learn what makes a warrior and in turn learn what it is to become a hero. We must observe a man, who''s already so strong yet he keeps on training. It is ingrained in him, drilled into his psyche to never stop trying to improve. That man is Kazama Haruki. Let us observe what he does, so we could understand how to become one of the strongest warriors in history. The very same man was doing a strict training regimen. It was... 100 push-ups 100 sit-ups 100 squats And 10km Running He Does it... EVERY SINGLE DAY! without missing a beat. he does it religiously, perhaps if we make it into a habit we might understand how to take our first step into the path of the warrior. After that quick warm-up he would wipe the sweat in his body and He would drink p*kari. I for one prefer ya*ult, but I guess p*kari would do the trick. After that part 2 of the very harsh training he would move on to the most important part of the day. Now let me relay his words, "It is crucial that you DO NOT forget to do this." He would first sit down in a lotus position, he would channel his aura or his chi into a single point. It was near his chest. After that he would instantly stand up, His aura or his chi would spread around his body. He would put his right foot backwards, he would position his torso to receive any attack at any moment. He would put both his hands on the right side of his body as if he was holding a ball, and defending it from getting stolen. His muscles tensed up suddenly. He would gather chi or aura once more into that point, Then he said it was the most important part of this phase. It is to scream from the top of your lungs. The breathing techniques are as follows: "KaaaaaaaaaaaaaMeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!! HaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaMeeeeeeeeee!!!!!" Then before you shout the final breathing technique. You must thrust both your hands upwards or forwards, but he said it was preferable if you aim upwards. It would be dangerous if you got someone he said. Such an upstanding citizen I say! Now for the final breathing technique: "HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" He put his soul into shouting it... All of his training, Day by day he toiled just for this moment. He did his best... And yet, nothing happened. He just shouted into the air like an idiot. What is he doing!? I''m going to check. Oh! Wait! If you look closely he''s crying! WTF!? why is he crying!? Let''s get closer to hear what he''s saying. "Fuck!! It didn''t work again! Just what am I doing wrong!? How long will I keep up this futile struggle..." "No...Naruto never gave up.... Maybe just maybe... Someday I might be able to do it!! Alright! I''m so pumped I''m going to go grab a bite!" It seems ladies and gentlemen, the search for the path of the warrior would continue... Oh wait... Someone just approached him. (It''s so early in the goddamn morning and you keep doing this dumb shit! We have neighbors now! You can''t keep shouting from the top of you fucking lungs each day! What are you!? Razor Ramon?! Some people are sleeping!) "But it''s already noon..." (You fucking talking back to me!? Wipe your sweat and come eat lunch!) Oh shit! She just hit him in the head! One of the strongest hunters in remnant is whipped!? Perhaps the path to be a warrior is harder than I thought. Now I understand first we must scale the wall called becoming a riajuu... then maybe... just maybe we could become stronger... ================================= Emerald and Cinder''s cooking show~~~ ================================= "Hello Everyone! I''m emerald!" Said the green haired girl as she waved in front of the camera. "And I''m Cinder!" Said the black haired girl dressed in red as she smiled seductively. "And this is EC cooking!!" Said the two at the same time. *cough!* "Before we start the show we would like to introduce our guest for today, and I may say that he holds a special place in our hearts." Emerald said as she held her cheeks and waved around like an idiot. "Please Welcome Kazama Haruki!!" Cinder said as she pointed towards Haruki sitting on the table waiting. "Ah! Hello! it''s a pleasure to be here. Hehehe" He said shyly as he scratched the back of his head. Pyrrha on the other hand was observing the three, "What the hell are you guys doing? where''s Neo?" Haruki smiled towards Pyrrha, "Neo is with Winter doing some shopping or something. As for us, well as you can see we''re doing a cooking show." Pyrrha''s eyebrows twitched as she stared at Haruki. "Hah? There is no set! I would know because I''ve done a commercial before!" Haruki shrugged his shoulders, "It''s the vlog thingy that''s getting a little popular lately, I heard it''s all the rage these days." Pyrrha face palmed, "Okay, I guess I''ll play along. Who suggested this idea? Are you guys that bored?" Emerald shyly raised her arm, "I wanted to create vlogs because I''m bored... And I want to be a RemnantTuber! A popular vlogger." "And I have always wanted to know what it''s like to be on camera." Haruki shyly crossed his fingers together. Pyrrha ignored Haruki and stared at Cinder, "What about you Cinder? how did these two idiots rope you in this?" Cinder looked down on the floor, too embarrassed to look at Pyrrha in the eyes. "It was your idea wasn''t it? this whole cooking show thing?" Pyrrha narrowed her eyes as she stared at Cinder. "Moving on it seems we have another surprise guest! None other than Miss Pyrrha Nikos!! The Goddess of Victory!" Cinder ignored Pyrrha''s remark and proceeded with the show. "It''s time to create our dish for today! First thing on the Menu is Cinder''s favorite dessert!" "Almond Jelly!" Emerald showed a picture of what the finished product would look like. "Oooohhh!!" Haruki played a clip of people cheering, a stock sfx he found on the net. Pyrrha was silent observing the entire shitstorm that these idiots were doing. "Why would you do a dessert first!?" Pyrrha retorted. "Firstly you combine 1 cup of water and 1 cup of milk in a sauce pan. Add 1 pack of unflavored jelly powder and mix until dissolved." Emerald said as she read the entire process in monotone. Like a robot. "You''re just going to ignore me huh?" As Cinder did what emerald instructed, She scooped up a spoonful and tried to feed Haruki with it. "Aaahn~" She said as the spoon neared his mouth. Haruki backed away slowly, "Uhm cinder... that''s boiling unflavored jelly water you know..." Cinder just giggled, "Steve~ Steve~ I know no flirting on set. hehehe." "Who the hell is Steve!?" Pyrrha retorted as she clutched her head thinking that this entire crap is a pain. "Aaand were done!" Emerald said. "Huuuhhh!!!??? What the hell happened to the cooking process!?" "I opened a pack of almond jelly. it''s a pain to follow the instructions word for word..." Emerald scratched her head. "Hey! I was saving that for tonight!" Cinder dashed towards emeralds direction. "Oi! What about the show!" "Fuck that! No book is going to tell me what to do!" Emerald screamed as she ran away from cinder. Haruki on the other hand was clutching his burning mouth. you could see tears at the corner of his eyes. Cinder on the other hand chased emerald with her maiden powers. The entire set was on chaos, so Pyrrha had no choice but to face the camera. "We''ll return after these short messages!" She waved at the camera. =================================================== For some reason Webnovel wont let me publish this chapter awhile ago. Was that a bug? Sorry this was late. 97 Special: Jaune Arc VS The World The Springtime of youth, the most wondrous and tumultuous time for a young teen. A mix of emotions confusing yet satisfying. A time for new flowers to blossom, where everything is bright and new. Each day brings new things to pursue in life. Such as love... Such is the young man named Jaune Arc, A dashing youth full of vigor in pursuit of the woman of his dreams. It has been a long time coming, a much needed character development you may say. It is Jaune''s Arc... Thus we find ourselves watching the young man try to woo the girl he wants. With the help of his friends, they would either help him lose it or he would lose her... It was one fine Monday Morning, they would normally go and eat lunch at this hour, but they opted to just have a strategy meeting. They were hungry but they were bribed with good food as long as they help Jaune with his troubles. "I want something that rhymes with Prime Rib." Before Jaune even started talking about anything, Haruki immediately stated his demands. "But nothing rhymes with prime ri- - oh... You greedy fuck! I don''t even know if your advice is gonna work!!" He screamed at Haruki, enraged by his high demand. "I guess Just do the dishes when it''s my turn for a month or something..." Ren shrugged his shoulders as he stated his demands towards Jaune. "Oh! Oh! Hey, Neptune! what was that fancy looking restaurant we saw on the way two weeks ago?" Sun tilted his head towards his friend. "You mean Beryl Botanica? yeah... but I feel like they only serve salads. We should get Meat! I like Haruki''s suggestion better." Neptune said as he leaned on a nearby table. Haruki nodded approvingly, but sun was frowning, "C''mon guys! This new vegan diet sound pretty spry if you ask me. It''s all over the net!" *Cough!* "You guys? Don''t you think that you''re robbing me already before I even land a date? Where the hell do I take her when I got no money!?" Jaune said enraged because the whole crew ignored him. "Take her fishing." Sun said. "Make her pay." Neptune said like a total goof. "Create something from the leftovers in the fridge. A nice and simple date." Ren said. "Netflix and chill my dude." Haruki said without even thinking. "First of all... Sun, that was a pretty great idea, but I feel like it would be extremely boring if all we did all day was fish and talk sitting down under the glaring sun. Heh... Neptune, I''m going to be honest with you buddy... your idea sucks ass. You let women pay?" Jaune said as he squinted his eyes glaring at Neptune. Neptune just shrugged it off and gave Jaune a confident smile, "Dude this day and age it''s equal opportunity for everyone! Don''t be so old school." "Ren, Buddy, Nora ate all the leftover food." He said as he patted the shoulders of his friend. Jaune exasperatedly looked towards Haruki, "And you? Is that supposed to be a euphemism for something? What the hell... You know what! I''ll just do this myself! There''s a party later and I''ll just ask her out later. The question is... Am I really ready? No I''m going to do my best!" He said as he hyped himself up for this massive task. "You''re best? Losers always whine about their best. Winners go home and fuck the prom queen." Haruki held Jaune''s shoulders as he gave him advice. "Coco was the former prom queen..." Jaune did his research as he answered Haruki. "Now... Are you ready?" He asked Jaune once more. "Let''s do this!!" He ran off into the distance to prepare. Neptune and Sun were staring at Haruki, "Uhm was that an obscure reference to something? What the hell was that kind of advice?" Haruki just smiled, "Trust me it works." The Very same Night... Beacon held an after exams party before the end of semester. To make the students relax and unwind before they go back for the semestral break. Most of the students went home already, It was mostly the freshmen who stayed and a few sophomores to mingle. A lot of them went and partied there were a few rebels who tried to sneak in alcohol, but glynda found out about it so she made Team CRDL stand outside and watch the party from a distance while standing strapped to a nearby pole. Haruki incited those fools so that they wouldn''t ruin the fun. As he was celebrating his victory Jaune on the other hand was searching for Coco. "Would she even be here?" Jaune looked around worriedly. "I don''t know only a few sophomores are here." Ren said as he followed Jaune closely from behind. "Gaah! since when were you behind me?" He asked Ren. "Since the start? You dragged me here..." Ren narrowed his eyes. "Uhm...I thought Nora would have dragged you away by now..." Jaune said, but when he looked behind Ren was gone. "Oh my God... It''s true..." He covered his mouth. So he asked around and found Fox Alistair, he was dancing along with Yatsuhashi Daichi. Jaune approached them both, as they were Part of team CFVY. "Hey guys! Have you seen Coco? Did she say anything about coming to this party?" He asked them disrupting them from their dance. "Yeah She''s over there!" Fox pointed at the stands where the punch was served. Jaune was about to thank fox but then he realized, wasn''t fox blind? When he looked at him he found fox smirking at him. "Chill Arc, it''s just a joke. Why are you looking for her? Oh! Planning on asking her out?" He crossed his arms as he and Daichi were amused by the whole situation. Jaune scratched his head embarrassedly, "Yeah, so is she around?" Daichi nodded his head, "Yeah she''s over there by the stage I think? Are you sure you''re up for this? She''s pretty hardcore." Fox was about to mess with Jaune but he has already sprinted in to Coco''s direction. The two prayed for the brave young man''s soul. Jaune was looking around and he finally saw a lone girl drinking punch as she leaned on a nearby wall. ''This one girl...'' He thought to himself. She was wearing her staple Coco outfit. Fashionable and fits her to a tee. He was enamored by her confidence and coolness. He leaned at the wall clutching his drink, "Hey! What''s up?" He quickly scooted over to stand beside her. Coco stared at him and sighed, "Nothing..." Jaune smiled awkwardly, "Hey, you know Pac-Man?" Coco took a sip of her drink, "I know of him. It''s one of those games Haruki introduced to velvet right?" "Well, Pac-Man was originally called Puck-man." He said then paused awkwardly, "They changed it because... Not because Pac-Man looks like a hockey puck. Paku-paku means flap your mouth, and that they were afraid people would change... Scratch out the P and turn it into an F, like... Hehehe...*Sigh*" He explained awkwardly. Coco on the other hand breathed exasperatedly, "Yeah, that''s amazing." She replied sarcastically. *Cough* "Umm... Am I dreaming?" He asked after a fake cough. Coco furrowed her brows as she stared at Jaune. "I''ll leave you forever now..." He looked away and moved along. "Thanks." Coco tilted down her shades as she thanked him. And then He stalked her until she left the party. He dashed towards Fox and Daichi who were talking to some girls, "Hey you two! What do you guys know about Coco?" The two smiled towards Jaune, "Not bad Arc After all that you still want to pursue her?" "What!? you two were watching?" Jaune said, his eyes opened wide. Fox chuckled, "Yeah, I saw the whole thing." Jaune narrowed his eyes towards him, "Really dude?" "I heard you were asking around for Coco?" A voice came from behind Jaune, it was velvet. She was smiling kindly towards Jaune. "Yeah! If there''s any info you could share about Coco I''m willing to ask for advice oh wise velvet." Jaune begged Coco''s close female friend. "Well, she kicks all kinds of ass." She said as her eyes sparkled. Daichi coughed, "Velvet... Language." She covered her mouth, "She''s on another level! She has men dying at her feet!" She said energetically. "She''s got some battle scars, dude. I''ve seen a few myself." Fox said to Jaune. Which in turn he got slapped in the head by daichi. "Inappropriate!" Fox glared towards daichi''s location and pointed at his eyes. Daichi''s face burned from embarrassment as fox laughed his ass off. Jaune sighed, "well this was helpful." Velvet held his shoulder, "Relax, Jaune it''s okay. Just be genuine in your approach." she advised him gently. Jaune nodded his head and slowly walked away, on his way he bumped into Haruki loitering with his women and Team RWBY. "How''s it going Jaune?" Haruki approached the down trodden young man. "How come Team CFVY is closer to you than with me? we''ve hung out the same amount of times..." He said dejectedly. "Are you talking about the time I lent that game to velvet? Did the Pac-Man line work?" Jaune shook his head, "It failed miserably, and how come she remembers you and she can''t even remember me? Also in what scenario would that stupid Pac-Man line work?" Haruki smiled, "It works all the time! It worked with velvet, she found it funny." As he said that he felt a strong force grasp his shoulders, and he could sense a very menacing aura. "Oh? really?" Neo said menacingly. *Gulp* Haruki gulped loudly, but before Neo could do anything Weiss interjected, "Haruki, if your life had a face I would punch it." "Yeah... wait, what?" He stared at Weiss inquisitively. "I mean are you really that friendly or are you really evil?" She said as she narrowed her eyes. He looked around and stared at her with his eyebrow raised, "Like, do I have ulterior motives or something? I''m offended Weiss." She scoffed, "Wounded, even?" "Hurt, Weiss." Yang smirked, "You? Hurt?" Haruki looked at Jaune as he sweated profusely, "Jaune you were saying how enamored you are with her?" Jaune smiled like a fool In love, "Yeah, she seems awesome." After talking with his friends he went outside to get a breath of fresh air. When he stepped outside he found Coco staring at the Moon. She was beautiful, yet her expression seemed so desolate. Filled with worries. She noticed Jaune struck by her as he stood there motionless as he stared at her. Adel saw his expression and found it funny, "Hey! I''m not some kind of goddess you know? Plus if you keep staring I''m gonna start charging for fees." She giggled and waved her hands in front of his face. Jaune was snapped back to reality as he scratched the back of his head, while laughing awkwardly. "Sorry, the moon tonight just looks so beautiful." Coco smirked, "Hehehe, Fine you win Arc. I''ll let you entertain me tonight." Her words didn''t immediately register in Jaune''s head, he was stunned even, "Por favor que?" Coco laughed, "What? what the hell does that even mean? Whatever... so Arc are you up for the task? Are we gonna hangout or not?" "uuhh...Yes! leave it up to me! I''m great at getting lost." He puffed up his chest confidently. She smirked, "I like the confidence Arc." "Please, call me Jaune." He motioned to Coco like a gentleman. She put her finger on his nose and booped it, "Not yet Arc." She winked at him and walked ahead. They were walking on a long strip of the concrete bride that extends towards the bay. Where the Private Airships usually lands. "So how''d you end up attending here on beacon?" He asked her as they strolled under the silent and beautiful moon. "Just needed to escape I guess... The pressure to always meet expectations is soul crushing." "I heard that beacon was one of the finest Hunter schools, so I just went along with the flow and just went here. Who knew that even here I still have to meet expectations and maintain a certain image." She showed Jaune a lonely smile. Jaune listened to her quietly, "It''s just that being a leader of a team plus keeping the image of the confident and sassy big sister for them, can be a little jarring." "I agree with that, although I can''t say the same for me, my friends help me alot. Leading them has been quite a tantamount task but since they''re so good and strong all I have to do as formulate a strategy and they''d soon follow it easily. Sometimes I doubt that they even need me you know." He said towards Coco who was staring at him. ""Like I ask myself, am I really doing a good job as a leader? I''m not pushing the wrong buttons am I?"" They said at the same time. Coco giggled, "Yeah exactly! Sometimes I get really tired and just want some space. Something or someone to lean on, but I can''t. Since I''m Coco Adel...The fashionista, the strong independent type. I''m only human you know... I get tired too. I''m not some kind of superhuman. It''s strange, we never really hung out like this and yet I feel comfortable telling you all of these things." She said as they sat down near the edge of the bridge overlooking the beautiful reflection of the moon in the bay. She hugged her knees, "You know it''s really liberating to talk about these things. From a fellow leader to another." She stared at Jaune, "So? how about you? How''d you end up here?" "Well, where I come from is a long story filled with sighs." He said as he stared at the dark skies. "I know plenty of those." She said. "Is that why you went here?" He asked her. "Pretty much, it was just time to move somewhere more relaxed. But boy was I dead wrong." She gave him a self deprecating laugh. "Isn''t that fine? If you didn''t go here. I wouldn''t have this chance to talk to this amazing girl." She furrowed her brows, "You know of all the guys I have met, too many of them actually, think I''m just a concept or I complete them, or I''m gonna make them alive..." She stared at the distance, and showed him a lonely look, "I''m just a fucked up girl who''s looking for a peace of mind. Don''t assign me yours..." Jaune folded his hands behind his back and laid on the concrete, "No, I''m not, I still think you''re an amazing leader. In turn an amazing woman. The fact that you could say that to my face makes you better than most really..." Coco smiled at Jaune''s remark, "You know most people assume that I have a lot of experience in dealing with men. Truth is I haven''t even dated anyone. I have never even kissed a guy." She said as she stared into Jaune''s blue eyes. Jaune Slowly held her thin shoulders, grasping it softly, because it seemed that it would break on how fragile they looked. He stared straight back into her beautiful dark brown eyes. "Hey, Me, neither." He said to her with a straight face. They both burst into laughter as they walked back. This time they both took it slow, matching with each other''s pace. Suddenly small droplets of rain fell on the ground around the two, pulling them back to reality. "Hey we should move faster!" Coco said as she held his hand to pull him to the dorms faster. "This is ridiculous, isn''t this like the first week of July?" Coco said as they sprinted towards cover. "I know right? I could barely see you. This whole thing is an unmitigated disaster." He said as he slowly caught up to Coco''s pace. "I think act of God is a pretty decent excuse for a lousy date." She said as she giggled. Jaune stopped in his tracks, "So this is a date?" Coco slowed down and looked behind, "Did I say date?" Jaune nodded smiling. Coco went a little red, "Slip of the tongue... Anyway nights not over yet just a little more we could get to our room." When the two reached the room, they immediately went and dried off their clothes. Separately of course. Coco called Fox to let jaune borrow some clothes, which fox teased her for it. In the end though he gave the okay, they''re buddies anyways." After Jaune finished changing his clothes they both sat on the bed and laughed. They talked about their childhood, how much of a naughty kid Coco was. Jaune shared the reason he got into beacon, which earned the respect of Coco. They spent the night getting closer with each other. When The rest of Coco''s team got back, Jaune was already sent back to his room. All that''s left is a smiling Coco. When Fox saw this he was smirking, "Looks like someone had a fun night." Coco kicked him in the but, but she couldn''t hide the small tinge of red on her cheeks, "We just hung out. And talked about stuff..." Velvet on the other hand, started sniffing around like a bunny trying to find some food. "Uhm velvet what are you doing?" Daichi asked her. "Neo said when I get home I should search for a unfamiliar scent permeating in the room. I don''t know what she means though." When velvet said this Fox rolled on the floor laughing and Daichi looked away embarrassed. Coco on the other hand decided that if she and Neo ever meet in the practice grounds she''s dead... Jaune skipped merrily straight to his room, He found his teammates fast asleep, he snuck inside and went to bed satisfied. The Next Day... He was surrounded by his friends asking how it went, "Dare I say, Great. It was the best night of my life! Plus I get a second date tonight! We''re gonna hangout in the room later, so if you guys could do me a favor and skedaddle... that would be great." The others shrugged their shoulders, "It''s okay it''s game night anyways, since there''s no classes were gonna play games all night! So you could do whatever you want." Nora energetically said. Jaune then pulled Haruki on the side to ask some advice, "Dude, it''s a make it or break it situation I need your advice." Haruki nodded, "If you want something bad, you have to fight for it. Step up your game, Jaune. Break out the L-word." Jaune raised his eyebrows, "Lesbian?" Haruki shook his head, "The other L-word." He tilted his head, "Lesbians?" "It''s "love" Jaune I wasn''t trying to trick you. Hey, Bro, look, if she really is the girl of your dreams, you have to let her know how serious you are." Haruki held his shoulder and said, "Just make sure to clean up afterwards." He leaned in closer, "Use protection." He handed him a box of you know what. Jaune was frozen in place when he heard Haruki say it and kneed him in the stomach. He threw the box in the trash can. Neo patted Haruki''s shoulders, (This one''s kinda on you.) Jaune went straight to their room and spruced up the place, he cleaned and rearranged the furniture. To make it a little more fashionable. Coco Arrived at Team JNPR''s room. Jaune immediately welcomed her and made her sit down. "So how''s dinner coming along?" She asked him. "Yeah, good, good, good." 12 minutes later... They were sitting on the carpet floor eating garlic bread that Jaune baked. "This is actually a really good garlic bread. Garlic bread is my favorite food. I could honestly eat it for every meal. Or just eat it all the time without even stopping." He chuckled. "You''d get fat." Coco addressed his insane remark smilingly. "No, why would I get fat?" He said, not believing a word she said. "Bread makes you fat..." "Bread makes you fat!?" He said as his eyes opened wide. The two had fun, Jaune played a song on a guitar he borrowed from Neptune. He had no idea how to play so he begged Neptune how. They had lessons for two weeks so that Jaune could play the guitar for this very moment. The two got cozy enough to sit side by side as they talked, shoulders touching and pulling away, like an awkward game of tug of war. Then when Jaune saw an opportunity he stared straight into Coco''s eyes to ask for confirmation. She closed her eyes, and when their lips almost touched, Coco suddenly pushed Jaune away and ran outside. When he saw her face it looked afraid and frustrated at the same time. Jaune baffled by what happened could only sit there stunned, but he quickly got his shit together and Ran after her. He saw Coco sitting on a bench where they first went on a walk. The long concrete bridge. He slowly made his way towards Coco, he stood in front of her panicking, "Look... about what happened I''m sorry I didn''t mean to- -" Coco interrupted him and shook her head, "No, it''s my fault. It''s just I got scared... that''s all." She wiped the tears out of her eyes and Stared at him, "I don''t know what happened it''s just that when I closed my eyes, suddenly the walls were closing in you know. Remember when I told you about my claustrophobia? It was just like that moment. It just seems like we''re rushing into things. You see my father left my mother when I was really young. I was just afraid that it would happen again... I know you''re not that kind of guy. You seem dorky at first glance but the truth is you''re a really sweet guy. I''m frustrated at myself for being afraid for no reason." Jaune smiled at her, "I know... I''m sorry I acted on impulse and I''m very sorry for that. I know you play Sassy and aloof because you want to avoid getting hurt. I know you have your reasons to be afraid. I want you to know I don''t care about any of that stuff, because... I''m in lesbians with you." Coco raised her head quizzically, "What?" "I really really mean it." He said. Coco just laughed, "Hahahaha, what?" "Oh shoot! I fumbled my line...*Cough* I really love you okay? I mean it." Coco just smiled, She stood up and pulled him close, "I came here to get a new life. Even after all this I honestly just want a fresh start away from it all. Thank you for being the nicest guy I almost dated..." Jaune just stood there, "That''s kinda sad." Coco smiled, "So bye and stuff..." Jaune smiled, "Yeah, bye and stuff..." Coco silently walked away, Jaune stared at her departing back before giving chase. "Hey." "Mind if I tag along?" Coco stopped on her tracks and looked behind her. Smiling, "You want to come along with me?" Jaune shrugged his shoulders, "Yeah... I thought that maybe, we could try again. A fresh start." "Are you really sure? I''m a girl that has a lot of problems and stuff. I''m not really the confident and fashionable girl you like you know?" She said. Jaune shrugs his shoulders, "That''s what makes you... you. Your beauty, Your cute smile. And all your insecurities. I love them all the same." Coco couldn''t help but give him a loving smile. She extended her hand, "Very well then. Coco Adel, aspiring huntress." Jaune gave her a wide grin, "Jaune Arc aspiring Hero!" He took her hand and shook them. He grasped her hand tightly as if he was afraid to let go. "Friends?" "Don''t tempt me Jaune." She said as she winked at him. "Hey! You finally called me by my name!" Their laughter echoed throughout the night. The two held hands and walked straight down the path they took once more. Together this time. Two lonely shadows, but they slowly blended into one. Under the beautiful moonlit sky. 98 Crossover Special: The Lesser Keys Path of Blood X The Art of Magic The world of Remnants for the moment, was at peace. It was a few weeks after the sins came knocking on Vale''s doors. The forest of Forever fall was silent only the constant noises of the Animals and Grimm roaming about echoed. The red leaves of this beautiful forest swayed as the winds blew past them. Haruki was training in this place, eliminating the Grimm. He was training even harder than before to prepare for the upcoming war. He was brandishing his blade Kusanagi, Slicing off the Grimm he finds, as he sparred with both Yushu and Kurenai. On the far side of the forest, away from Haruki''s training. A Purple vortex suddenly appeared out of nowhere. A woman with black hair and purple highlights, and was wearing a white jean jacket, with dark purple highlights and a Grey shirt with a Gold Dragon insignia underneath. Along with black Jeans and black sneakers to complete her aesthetic. She had metal armor strapped on her shoulder and knees. (AN: A fair Bit of color swapping and imagination would do the trick but her outfit looks a little like this. https://www.desktophut.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Vs95kfP6kKJ7zszZe9Kc.jpg) She looked straight out of a cyberpunk novel. Her entire bearing and aura felt like she didn''t belong here. The mysterious beauty scratched her head as she looked around. She felt around her jacket and brought out sunglasses as if to protect her from the glaring Ray''s of the sun that peaked over the leaves of the forest trees. She kept looking around as if mesmerized by the sheer beauty of the forest. After looking around she finally spoke. "You know, If I didn''t know better I would honestly make this world my vacation home." She breathed deeply as she appreciated the sight she was seeing right now. Suddenly an eel-like shadow, it had black scales seemingly from the dark pools of the abyss itself. Sharp teeth that could tear through anything and Glaring Orange eyes that could Pierce the soul of anything it sees, came out of the tattoo on her left arm. It swirled around her body and spoke to her, [[I wouldn''t do that Nex, it feels like powerful beings from other dimensions are here. If I were you I''d quickly get out of here before I get discovered. Hahahahahaha! Although, duking it out with those godlike beings wouldn''t be such a bad idea!!]] Nex glared at her companion and clicked her tongue, "Fuck you Nova! You''re the one who adjusted the magic formula and sent us here! And don''t even start by saying this is training, I swear I will grill you and hand you over to the locals!" The eel-like shadow named Nova laughed out loud with an eerie and gravely voice. [[Hahahahahaha!! Don''t be such a stuck-up, I made some last minute adjustments. I felt something familiar in this dimension. It felt like it was calling to me.]] Nova kept pacing back and forth, looking around as if searching for something. Nex on the other hand was smirking, "It can''t be an ex-girlfriend now can it?" [[Hahahaha! You know I''d never cheat on you Nex!]] Nova said as he picked up the direction of where the familiar feeling was coming from. Nex followed her companion as she spat on the ground, "Keh, Don''t get ahead of yourself punk. You''re a hundred years early to take me out for dinner." Nova on the other hand was becoming more and more silent. As they inched closer, Nova moved faster, Nex could only reluctantly follow her companion. After a few minutes of sprinting both Nex and Nova came to a grinding halt. The two otherworlders stopped in their tracks as they saw three figures fight in the air. It was two women against a masked man. Their clash released minimum amounts of aura, but Both Nex and Nova felt it. Nex couldn''t help but get excited, She wanted to know if the three were at the Apex of this world. Nova on the other hand was laughing jovially. [[Hahahahahahahaha!!! I have finally found you!!!]] Haruki on the other hand was busy clashing with both Yushu and Kurenai as he killed any Grimm that he sees. Suddenly the robotic voice of Ars Magus resounded on Haruki''s mind. [ Hold on. I sense a familiar aura around us.] Haruki halted and signalled both Yushu and Kurenai to stop and stand behind him. He landed on the ground and saw a figure standing a good distance from them. He widened his eyes at the familiar sight. His heart pumped, thinking that this was merely an illusion. But, if Ars Magus could sense this... Then that means, She''s real, or just a cosplayer. Her outfit looked eeriely similar to his original universe. His steps were steady, They couldn''t see his Expression, but in the eye sockets of the mask you could faintly see hope and worry in his eyes. Haruki was about to speak, suddenly Nex moved from her original position and stood on top of a large pile of rocks, she sat cross legged as she sniffed the air. After doing it, she showed Haruki a crazy smile. "You smell like me... Do you also live in the battlefield?" She asked him innocently like a child asking for candy. Haruki was taken aback, but he quickly regained his composure as he stared at the mysterious woman in front of him. He breathed deeply, "I''ve long thrown that life away." She tilted her her head and smiled widely, "Thrown? Hahahahahaha! What kind of fucking joke is that?" She quickly stood up and dusted her pants. "Where are my manners! I''m Nex by the way." Haruki removed his mask, "Where are you from?" He asked her, but suddenly an eel-like shadow came out of her tattoo. [[ I''m Nova! I see... so you''re the other wielder.]] Haruki furrowed his brows, but before he could ask Nova what he meant. Nex interrupted them again, "Hey! You look very familiar! Have we met before?" Nova laughed, [[How would that be possible? This is an another dimension you know?]] Haruki gripped the handle of Kusanagi in his hand. He introduced himself, "I''m Kazama Haruki..." Nex''s eyes opened wide and she laughed heartily, "Hahahahahahahaha!! Of course! I remember now! The Butcher of Ganymede! The Wolf himself!! The New Leader of Ragnar?k... One of the greatest Mercenaries in 35 systems! Wanted by every quadrant in the Galaxy! I thought you were dead? After the stunt you pulled in Tartarus prison, you were declared as the Universe''s Greatest criminal. You have a nice bounty in your head. Even after 6 years, The higher ups still think you''re alive. People didn''t believe them, but I guess even those old fogies still have some good bones in them." She grinned widely as she created a purple magic circle on an empty space beside her, then a violet vortex appeared and suddenly a Purple Katana came out of it. It had a black handle, and red inscriptions in the blade. "But I''m not here for that..." Haruki on the other hand was now sure of who this woman was. He appeared calm on the outside but inside he was panicking, "I see...I remember now, You''re a part of project A.L.I.C.E aren''t you? What happened to Proxima-9 for you to become a Bounty Hunter..." Nex furrowed her brows, "Do You know about the inhuman things they did to us? Your group delivered us straight into the devil''s den! I had to put an end to their madness... Now I''m a free pretty girl! Bounty Hunter Supreme! I''m actually in-between jobs right now. From Jack of all trades to assassin." Haruki looked down, Another one of his past mistakes showed up in his doorstep. The biggest question was how did she get here? Wait if he went back a little, he remembered the Eel-like creature beside her say something along the lines of, ''I see... You''re the other wielder.'' He stared straight into the orange eyes of the shadow creature, "How in the hell did you get here?" Nova laughed out loud, [[What? you angry we interrupted your dream? Relax kid. I''m only here to say Hi.]] Haruki raised his eyebrow, "What?" He was puzzled, who else was here except for him. Suddenly The Ars Magus glowed and it broadcasted it''s mechanical voice. [What are you doing here Notoria?] Ars Magus asked. Which earned him a chuckle from Nova. [I don''t know, were supposed to just do a quick dimension hop to get to our destination quickly, but I sensed a familiar presence so I dropped by to say hello. C''mon! can''t I check on my little brother?] Haruki and Nex both had their eyes wide open. It seems that they weren''t the only ones that were acquaintances. "Ars... He''s your brother? that scaly and slimy boi?" [Unfortunately Yes...] [[Hey! Don''t be Rude Magus! *Ahem* Let me introduce myself properly this time. I am one of the most powerful weapons in Existence! One of The Six! The Great Ars Nova! Or Mostly known as The Grimoire Ars Notoria!!! Well? Mortals!? Kneel!]] Haruki just scratched his cheeks as he watched Nova spin around in the air. Honestly it creeped him out. Nex on the other hand grabbed the eel-like creepy smol boi and slammed him on the ground. "Shut the fuck up! What the hell are you? An eighth grader!? you''re embarrassing me here! I finally get to see my idol and you go and ruin it by making an ass of yourself." She kept stomping on Nova until he turned in to smoke and reformed his body a good distance away from Nex. *Cough* Nex straightened her jacket and smiled towards Haruki. Nova on the other hand Swirled on Nex''s arm. Then Ars Magus Glowed once more as it spoke, [[I suppose it''s only fair to introduce myself as well. I am One of The Six. One of the most powerfulweapon. Also known as the Great Library. Ars Magus.]] Nex furrowed her brows, "Huh? I thought that there were only 5 Lesser Keys?" She scratched her head as she stared at the watch strapped to Haruki''s arm. [[Well technically Magus is not a Grimoire nor a lesser key. He''s more of a lock, and once the five keys have gathered, He shall be called upon to unlock and open the gate of Truth. By "His" Name. For it has always been six and forever remain as is. Maintaining the Balance in the universe, Good nor Evil, doesn''t matter.]] Haruki was frowning, "I never knew that there was more than what you told me..." Gluttony''s laughter echoed in the watch, [Hahahaha! Sorry kid! Ars won''t let me say anything. I figured he would tell you soon, but a lot of crap happened one after another. We never really found the chance to tell you.] He sighed, "I remember you telling me there were six keys, how come there''s only 5 and one lock?" [Bah! Potato, Tomato... It''s the same fucking thing. I wasn''t the one who made these weapons. How the fuck would I understand how they work?] Haruki shrugged his shoulders and looked towards Nova, but he was slack jawed. [[Y-Y-yyyou!! You devoured the essence of sin!? Hahahahahahahaha!!! It seems that this trip will be worth it after all Nex!]] Nova bellowed, but when he looked towards Nex she was twiddling with her phone, waving it around like an idiot. "Ughh... There''s no fucking signal." She checked the reception on her phone. [[Nex! What the fuck! Of course there wouldn''t be any signal, have you seen a cell tower around!?]] Haruki facepalmed, "That''s why you''re angry?" Nex stood up swinging her blade in the air, "I know, I know... Geez. The Great Wolfgang, May I interest you with a friendly bout? As fellow wielders?" Haruki stared at her and pondered her offer, ''I really need to fight someone strong. Perhaps someone that wields the Ars Notoria could put up a fight.'' "I agree." He grinned madly. He brought out Mournful Vengeance and Kusanagi and wielded them with both Hands. He signalled the twins to stay back and not interfere. Nex returned a nasty grin as she steadied her stance, "Finally! Let''s see what you''re made of Wolf!" She sent a slash on Haruki''s direction, and several blade lights instantly appeared in front of him. He blocked it all with Mournful Vengeance and countered with Kusanagi. Sword slashes clashed in the air, creating massive shockwaves that uprooted the trees around them. The two created a Massive circle devoid of life. Where nothing but the two of them stood apart from each other. Yushu and Kurenai were standing in the sidelines, observing the battle. Kurenai was frowning, "How come I don''t get to fight?" Yushu stared at her sister as if she was an idiot, "Because you''d be dead in three seconds?" Kurenai shrugged her shoulders, "Well whatever, but her swordsmanship seems clumsy. I feel like it was self taught with a mix of Our Masters previous worlds military swordstyle." Suddenly Nova spoke besides them, [[That''s cause she''s not a swordsman. She''s a mage.]] Yushu winced at the sight of Nova, she moved away a few steps, she was creeped out by Nova''s appearance. Kurenai on the other hand got her interest peaked. "Really? Then why does she have that sword for?" She observed the purple katana with red runes inscribed in it. [[Because it''s also a wand.]] Kurenai''s eyes turned into dots, "I''m sorry what?" Nova laughed heartily as he put his focus back on their fight. Haruki spun his two blades, "This is going nowhere. Are you even taking this seriously? Your moves are like a child struggling to walk." Nex smiled happily, "Well I''m not a swordswoman... I''m a mage." She said confidently. Haruki opened his eyes wide. He then laughed, "Of course! But there''s no Mana in this world. How would you survive?" She laughed, "Nova, never needed Mana in the first place. We use something a little different." Haruki tilted his head, "What does she mean Ars? Ars?" He tried calling out to him twice but he didn''t respond. But as he was about to charge in Ars spoke. [Nova uses life force. It''s different from blood essence. As long as life exist, she will have infinite amount of resources.] He opened his eyes wide and looked around, "Shit!" The plants have all withered and the animals were weakening. Nex created a magic circle below her. ::Physical Enhancement:: A mechanical voice resounded in the area. Her entire body was covered in slightly red aura. She cracked her knuckles, "Well? Can you fight a fine damsel such as myself?" Haruki stretched and cracked his neck, "I believe in equal opportunity for everyone." Nex extended her hands and multiple Violet magic circles appeared on the ground. Suddenly spikes came out and shot forth towards Haruki. He instantly used eyes of Takemikazutchi and Observed the trajectories of the spikes. He parried the ones that were aimed at his vitals while he dodged the others. Suddenly a purple vortex appeared behind him, A Hand shot forth and held his arm in place. He saw Nex smiling as one of her hand was inside a portal. He smirked and activated lightning form to dodge the incoming attacks. This sent electric currents towards her, electrifying her entire body. "Kahahahahahaha!!!! This is it!" She channeled the lightning and turned it into a large snake and it shot forth towards Haruki. Haruki brought out warmonger and devoured it. As he was floating in the air he saw that the vorpal blades that Nex summoned were tracing him. Wherever he went, even if he used his lightning form it would always track him. He then brandished warmonger to devour all of the spikes that were coming for him. Both He and Nex were smiling like madmen. He slammed down with Fenrir Fangs swiping at her. She was dodging his attacks like she could predict where the attacks were coming from. Suddenly Jet-black Dire wolves shot forth towards Nex and tried to bite her down. Nova rushed to her direction, then suddenly, She was covered in a purple sphere with lots of magic circle layers and runes. She stopped the wolves from advancing as she chanted. "From nowhere I cometh. Across the unforgiving cosmos, dyed red with blood. Violent winds I bring. The Power of the seemingly endless void, I Am Destruction and Creation combined. I am the uncertainty... Regina Enim Vacui!" Blinding purple light covered the sky, She was slowly covered in Black armor, that glowed purple on it''s spaces. A purple ponytail extended from her metallic helmet. ( A.N. :This is what she would look like, this was from overhit. I based the look on her armor on that mobile game. https://preview.redd.it/8kozfjjwcc131.jpg?width=1024&auto=webp&s=a6903631f217e0602b5251199db66f924d004593) Nex stood in front of him, wielding two swords made of pure energy. "Well? Awesome right?" She said in a slightly metallic voice. Haruki smiled, "Well, you''re not really the only one who could transform you know." He said as he transformed into a jet-black werewolf who stood imposingly in front of her. "Hehehehehe! It fits you, Wolf!!" She lifted her swords and directly clashed with Haruki''s warmonger. They clashed at unmatched speeds, but Haruki''s strength was more than what Next has anticipated sho she tripled her Enhancements. Creating cracks on the ground as their powers surged. "Hahahahahaha!!! This is it! Well? how is it?" She asked him. But Haruki was silent as they clashed. "Does this entertain you wolf? Does this make you proud?" She kept pestering him as they both clashed. He then asked her as they exchanged blows, "Don''t you hate me? I sent you to that facility to be experimented on." "Hah? What are you talking about? If you didn''t, I wouldn''t have this chance!" She said as she created multiple magic circles around her two blades, covering them in void fire. Warmonger Devoured the Voidfire, After a few clashes Warmonger was covered in the flames that was pulled from the recesses of the abyss itself. "I knew what I was doing! I know what Project A.L.I.C.E stood for! Don''t you resent me?" He asked her. She smiled, "Trust me, me and those orphans were much better of living inside the facility rather than the streets atleast we would sleep with our bellies full. Shame that a lot of us died in the process." She said in a melancholic tone. "Why? is your guilt eating you up!? Fuck! Since when did you get so soft!? You''re the goddamn Wolf! Has this world dulled your fangs? Where''s the Shura? The man who would erase an entire continent just because he''s fucking pissed." She stepped on warmonger as she jumped up in the air. Beneath her armor her expression twisted, to one of anger. She slashed towards Haruki multiple times, "Is this what happens to a general when he loses his army? Fucking pathetic." The two monstrous beings clashed and butted heads. She kicked him in the stomach, but she was hit in the face as well, even if she had her armor she was still sent flying. While Haruki stood his ground. "I manage because I have to, Because I have no other way out. This is the life I chose. I could''ve ran away back then. I didn''t, It''s as simple as that. Because I know that I would die if I chose to run. I never blamed anyone for being able to survive, I have put my past behind me, but I don''t cross them out of my life not my memory. It is a large part of me. But I''m sure as hell I won''t let it chain me any longer..." Haruki was silent as he watched Nex struggling to stand. He was gripping warmonger as it was covered in Voidfire. A purple magic circle appeared beneath her feet. She dashed towards Haruki with increased speed, but Haruki was still faster. He intercepted her blades as they both clashed. "Enough talk... I''d rather fight." She said as she twirled her blades. She hopped all over the place slashing towards Haruki, he parried everything and held her hand as he slammed her on the ground. She rolled on the side to regain her footing, Her blade glowed a shade of purple and she leapt up in the air and raised her blade towards the sky. Her purple sword grew larger and larger, until finally it turned into a colossal blade that came barrelling towards Haruki''s direction. Haruki opened his eyes wide as he used warmonger to block the attack. He channeled his aura into his arms and feet. *Crash!* A huge crater formed where Haruki stood. In the middle of it all was him taking the blade head on. His muscles bulged as he took on the entire weight of the attack and the blade. He grit his teeth, lightning surged all over his body. He freed his other arm and gripped the side of the blade. Little by little, he managed to lift the massive blade, finally tossing it towards the air. He lowered his center of gravity and did a throw. He leapt upwards Multiple lightning Spears formed behind him that shot towards Nex who was thrown with the massive blade. She laughed as Haruki neared her, "Hahahahahahaha!!! This is it! This is what I have been looking for!" She let go of the large sword. The both stepped on it as it flew in the air. Nex controlled the sword for it to hover in the air. She grinned like a madwoman. She created a massive barrier that absorbed the lightning Spears that came at her. She used the energy she has absorbed to create two massive lightning whips. She waved it around trying to hit Haruki. But he just stood there, unflinching. She then covered the whips with void fire but Haruki just used Warmonger to devour anything. Nex touched the surface of the massive blade, from it she created a spear that emitted Voidfire. The two clashed Sparks and void fire swallowed their immediate area. They danced around the massive blade, eventually destroying their footing. It was minced into pieces until it turned back into it''s original state. It sheathed itself in Nex''s side. She twirled her spear and pointed at Haruki''s throat. They exchanged blows in the air, Haruki noticed that her movements were getting a little better each time they clashed. This surprised him, it felt like he''s fighting a weaker version of himself. However it slowly improved. Nex excitedly charged at him, with all her newfound techniques. She weaved her blade dance in the air as they were falling. In the middle of their exchange, Nex caught him in the arm and flipped him towards the ground when they landed. "That''s payback." She said as she rested her spear on her shoulders. Haruki quickly stood from the rubble. He smiled towards Nex, "You''re quite strong, this magic of yours... It''s different fromt he one I''m used to." Nova chuckled, [[Of course, unlike the magic here, what she''s using is True Magic. This is nothing more than a cheap imitation of the Art.]] Haruki stared at Nova as he spoke, "True Magic? What''s the difference?" [[ What''s the differe- -, Oh my goodness! There is a huge difference! This world''s magic is like a Child''s scribble. While True Magic is Like a Renaissance painting. Not everyone gets it.]] Haruki nodded his head, "So What this is, is this True Magic as well?" He manipulated lightning emperor to make lightning swirl around his body. [[ Well, in a sense yeah. Me and Magus are not just weapons, nor magic formulas jumbled together We are more than that. We hold the key to Truth itself. Perhaps when you two reach a certain threshold, I might indulge you kids with the truth.]] Nex clicked her tongue because she felt like Nova would once more drone on about the boring stuff, "Tch, Fight now, talk later!" Haruki refocused and stared at Nex, "Alright, He covered his fist with lightning, and the intensity of it increased with each passing second." Nex made her hands glow in a deep shade of purple as she channeled the power of the abyss. The two battled it out once more, but as time passed instead of a battle of skill and wit it was slowly turning into a battle of attrition. When the battle had no end in sight, Haruki was observing her the whole time. She has improved her sword skills by a lot. His expression however remained Grimm. Nex felt that he was distracted, "Are you really this weak? That you freeze up when you''re confronted with the past?" She said to him in scathing anger. She managed to get a hit in as he was distracted, creating a gash from his shoulder towards his stomach. "I idolized you, not because of the power you''ve demonstrated back home. But what you have accomplished with it. Are you seriously going to flinch Everytime you see the consequence of your actions?" Haruki lowered his head, "It''s not that, if I wasn''t so consumed by revenge none of this would have happened...you could''ve lived a better life." Nex covered her face and laughed maniacally, "Hahahahahahahaha!! A better life? Who the fuck do you think you are! You don''t get to sum my life in to just one fucking phrase. I know what I signed up for, deep down I always knew it wasn''t just some military training BS. Yes, it was Harsh but, I fucking struggled so I could have a better life. You don''t get to fucking wallow in self pity and expect that everything would get better. I''m fine with what I am. I answer to my own life!" She bellowed at him finally screaming out the words she kept inside her. "Do you remember what you said to me back then? I bet you don''t... Some are born great, some achieve greatness, some have greatness thrust upon them. Those words stuck to me as a child, Even if you didn''t believe in it, I Did. That''s why I fought. Even if I felt that my body would fall apart at any moment... I kept Fighting. Now I realize how childish that was. How fake your words were, because they''re not even yours... But I still survived! I''m fucking here now! I now know my purpose of being here. I feel like it''s my duty to return the favor you did me as a child. But you can''t save someone who doesn''t even know that they''re lost." She gathered massive amounts of life energy towards Her hands, "Even if that belief was built upon a lie. I still chose to uphold it. It''s a brittle bridge I know, but I''d still gladly cross it." Haruki laughed, a genuine laugh this time. He hadn''t even smiled genuinely since he took that loss from pride. "Hehehehehe...Hahahahahahahaha!!" After laughing heartily he punched himself in the face. "Thank you, Nex. I now know what I must do. I can''t keep running away forever." He gripped his blade, a multitude of thoughts races inside his mind. Nex on the other hand waited, Patiently she could feel Haruki''s dense aura turn into something sharper. "But, before I go on a tangent and finish my character arc. How about we finish this fight first?" Nex grinned, "Finally, we''re speaking the same language!" In a single instant they moved from their previous position into the air and resumed their clash. He crossed Blades with Nex, As he avoided the Vorpal Spikes that came through his way. Haruki twirled his blade around. Nex observed his movements like a hawk. She was slowly integrating Haruki''s style with hers. Supplementing her own, Haruki on the other hand was observing her magic. If he used absolute domain he could probably use these spells as well. Haruki smiled inwardly, ''We all must atone for our sins, we cannot pass them to the next generation. I''ll just teach her all I know, then after all this I will face them. As a different man... Not the old me. I''ll try to change this time for real.'' They kept on exchanging blows, not letting the other gain an advantage. Nex created a massive fist created from Void Mana, It was covered in multiple magic circles and she aimed it at Haruki. Haruki Went all out and used absolute Domain. He intercepted it with his own fist. *Booom!!!!!* A massive shockwave assaulted the forest, The epicenter of it were the two who stood there, smiling as they battled. The battle went on for hours, The two lay sprawled on the ground exhausted. Staring at the sky. Nova undid Nex''s armor and hovered in the air, [[ I haven''t seen a battle like that in ages! What a great day! Well, sadly this is where we part ways with you guys! We still have a job to do. Get up Nex.]] Nex slowly sat up from the ground. She stared straight at Haruki, "Haha! That was a great battle wolf!" Haruki smiled, "Pleasure''s all mine." [ It was nice to see you again Nova. And thank you.] Ars Magus suddenly broadcasted his mechanical voice towards everyone. Nova''s jaw dropped as he stared at the watch strapped on Haruki''s wrist. [Did Magus... Just... Nex hit me!] He couldn''t believe what just happened so he asked his partner to hit him. She grabbed Nova and slammed him on the ground. [Ow! Jeez!] "Thank you." Haruki said as he stared at Nex''s departing back. "No, Thank you wolf. We both have great troubles to face after this. You also helped me affirm something." She said as she created a magic Circle. She gave him a beautiful smile. She wore her staple sunglasses and entered the portal. Just like that their noisy fight was slowly replaced by a strange calm. Haruki stood up, stared at the direction of the setting sun. With a warm smile plastered on his face. Yushu and Kurenai appeared beside him, "Master? You... Okay?" Haruki changed back into his Beacon Uniform and nodded towards them, "Yeah. I''m still not sure how, but I''m going to get there..." He said as he made his way back to beacon. No, to make his way back ''Home''. -------------------------------- Hey guys, It''s me again... I have failed you guysonce more, after attending RTX at Austin and just vacationing in general. I have decided to take a creative break from this book. Don''t worry I''m not dropping this, I just want the Next Volume to be of a certain quality. For me, I want to be satisfied with how the entire volume plays out. It will probably be a month or less, until I''ve made a draft I''m satisfied with. Also As you might have seen, I''m also writing a new book. Called The Art of Magic. It''s set in Haruki''s previous dimension, but with a different cast. And is set 3 years after Haruki''s disappearance. But the Protag On this crossover is from 2 years later from the beginning of The Art of Magic. Kinda like a glimpse on what she could do and some extra lore tid bit. I want to focus on this book first before I go back to Path of Blood. So that this Novel would have a stable foothold, before I juggle the two books. It''s also a book I have planned on writing since the beginning of Volume 2. I hope you guys would check it out, drop a review on your thoughts. Thank you, and stay awesome. 99 Announcement: Im back Bois and Gals!!! First things first... You all deserve an apology. I''m very sorry for being gone for like a year. Anyways I''m back and more driven than ever. Wow I said it like it''s nothing. No... I''m sorry, I really am. Real life honestly got in the way. So much so that I took on more overtime after overtime. So I stopped writing for awhile. After changing jobs I was so exhausted that I slowed my pace of releases until I eventually stopped writing. Losing motivation each day was really painful especially because this was a passion project. I wanted to turn this book more than a generic harem boy into a deconstruction of the genre. Don''t worry I won''t shirk back on that. Now since it''s quarantine season and I still have a few days of paid/sick leaves left I''m quite ready to start again. Like I''ve played/watched/read through most of my backlogs so I got nothing else to do. I-I meant I''ve thought through of what to do next. I want to start volume 3 soon but here''s the thing. I''m extremely unsatisfied on how volume 1 and some of the chapters on Volume 2 played out. My gripes with the book is written on my review of this book. So first thing in the agenda is to revamp the whole goddamn book. I''ll be re-editing/ re writing chapters. So expect a bunch a whole new content. The road map I have planned for this book is massive. Here''s a sneak peek on what''s in store. Revamped Volume 1& 2. More diverse action. Creative fights and immersive dialogue. Additional Lore on Haruki''s background and previous world. (Extended Universe n what not.) A separate short story book, perhaps 20-40 chaps long(or longer) expanding Ragnar?k lore and his past. It''s going to be depressing af. Path of Blood: Loveless will be the title. It''ll be a weekly release alongside volume 3 once I''m done editing the previous volumes. Enough of that jazz let''s get back on the good stuff. Volume 3 will be rife with content. -New Sinners and Sins would be making an appearance. -New Weapons!!!!!!!! -Politics? Yay? Fuck... maybe just a little. -R-R-ROMANCE!? -depressing stuff...(obviously) -References? Of fucking course boi! It ain''t ever going to disappear! -The Vytal fucking festival yo!!! It''s gonna be a fucking smack down. Y''all won''t be expecting how it''s going to play out. People be bodying some fools to the ground. -Touma V.S. Haruki Final showdown. I''m pretty sure everyone was expecting this but not in the way that you''d expect. -This volume all hell will break loose. Like a full scale war would be the MIDPOINT of the story. -New Game + -DLC CHARACTERS -Seasonal Ranking rewards (GOLDEN FREIZA) -A fucking season pass! If you buy now you would have 20 free levels unlocking a fuck ton of cool new skins and shit. (Featuring. Ultra Instinct V¨¤nagandr.) -A Goddamn Funko Pop of Haruki+co. and the Revealed Sins and Sinners. (Disclaimer: Yushu and Kurenai sold separately.) -Behind the scenes of the Coca Cola commercial featuring fan favorite character Giorno Giovanna. -Daily L O O T B O X E S! Filled with chapter shards collect ten to complete a random chapter. -A White shirt that says \"Begone Simp.\" -I''ve had too much caffeine.... But whatever I need the energy if I wanna announce my return. -Also I''m planning on starting a ******* page. although I''m not sure yet. Also I think I''ll also make a discord server, or something. To shitpost and book updates. You might be thinking this is too many all at once. Yeah well it''ll be gradual until I reach the goals. While you wait as I fix Path of Blood why don''t you pay a visit on my new book. Art of Magic. As of Writing this, it has 15 chapters that are 3k-4k words each chapter. it''ll also undergo some changes as well but I''ll promise steady updates on both books as I alternate. The leads a female and as you''ve read the crossover special. She''s the second wielder to ever appear. Perhaps all the wielders will get their own book? Anyways Art of Magic will be featuring The universe where Haruki came from. Expanding the Six Weapons and Lore. Perhaps he would even be part of the supporting cast in that book? or even play a big role? It''ll be grand if you show some support for that book as well. It''ll be written parallel to this book. Anyways thank you for reading this lengthy announcement that I am really dragging on... Thank you for not erasing this book from your mind holes. I hope to make this book a better one and entertain you in this trying times.