RWBY 1. Chapter 1

RWBY side story, the journeys of Lan

Chapter 1 Flickering Lights

Ansel was breathing hard, his back against a large oak tree. The Grimm were after him, and he knew he wouldn't elude them forever. Ansel was an old man with a long white beard and a bald head, he was rather muscular for his age, and was wearing black robes and had his head covered with its hood. It was a cold autumn night, deep in the wilds, far from any of the 4 kingdoms; he knew no one would come to help him. If he were alone he would have fought them to his dying breath with the weapon he had taken from the armory, a hybrid crossbow , that could split into twin pickaxes, but he couldn't afford to now, what he had with him was far more important than his insignificant life. The boy lay asleep tucked inside his coat, unaware of the approaching peril. He smiled as he gazed at the boy's face, the young lad couldn't have been more than 3 years old. How did things go wrong so fast?

They should have been safe back at headquarters with the advanced Dust shield surrounding it. How did the Grimm break through after all these years? He knew the answer, knew it but refused to believe it. There had been a Grimm that was different from the others, one that looked human. It had ripped through the barrier like it was tissue paper, and led an army of Grimm to attack them. The rest of his comrades had stayed behind to make sure that at least that beast was dead. They were the best of the best, ex-hunters and ex-members of various combat factions throughout Vytal, "They will for sure be able to kill it" he thought, but the sheer number of Grimm that had poured into their headquarters had simply been too much. Their deaths were inevitable, but they would not be in vain. He would get the boy to safety and alert the rest of mankind to this new threat.

His breathing had leveled now, and he felt able to run again. He once again took off through the dense undergrowth, sped along with the weight of his mission.

Suddenly an ear-splitting howl split the night; they still sounded like they were a little ways off, but they would soon close in on him. He had to hurry to the docks; hopefully its force field would still be operational, if so they would be safe long enough for him to prepare a small boat for the both of them. The noises behind were getting louder and more varied, he heard the howls of Beowolves, Cries of Nevermores, and the roars of giant Baskervilles. He doubled his pace, praying he would make it to the docks before they were upon him.

He dashed in to a clearing and stopped in his tracks. Standing before him was the king of the forest, a giant boarbatusk the size of a small house nicknamed "The Major, unlike normal boarbatusks the Major had protection on its stomach as well. It had its eyes on him, its mouth salivating in anticipation of its meal. Ansel cursed his fortune; he couldn't hope to defeat a beast that had ended the lives of many veteran hunters. But he had one option left; he had taken a small supply of dust bolts with him he had fled headquarters, which were linked with a detonator he carried. "They wouldn't be able to harm the Major" he thought, "but they may be able to disorient it for a few minutes." Just as this thought passed through his mind, Major charged at him full speed, determined to enjoy its meal as soon it could. Ansel dove to the side, making sure to cover the child with his arm, and quickly loaded the bolts into his crossbow. The force of the Major's charge made it very difficult to change its direction, but the beast quickly planted its feet and turned around to face his prey. But this split second gave Ansel the time he needed to quickly fire off all the bolts that were in the crossbow. The bolts were aimed at many of the gaps in the Major's armor and upon striking the hide, stuck to it. This seemed to confuse the major for a moment as it inspected the new protrusions sticking out of its body. Using this time, Ansel quickly stuck the boy into a more stable position in his robes. He had to get out of here quick, the rest of the Grimm were letting close, and if they caught up all would be lost.

With a thundering squeal the Major charged at him once again. This time Ansel was prepared. He leapt into the air then, using the trees as springboard, leapt onto the major's back. "I hear your hide is pretty tough" Ansel said, disconnecting his crossbow into the pickaxe form, "But smashing stuff like that is what these babies were made for", with that Ansel began striking the hard shell with the pickaxes, each blow infused with aura. The Major squealed as bits of its armor were chipped off, shaking and thrashing, trying to get Ansel off. The vibrations were so intense Ansel couldn't find the time to use his pickaxes any more, but he had done his job. There were now many small notches in the Major's armor, just large enough to fit a bolt. Using the momentum from the Major's thrashing, Ansel leapt from up onto a nearby tree branch, then fired off the rest of his bolts, each sticking in place to the holes he had made. The Major turned to look up at him and growled, preparing to smash through the tree trunk and bring Ansel to the ground. "To late piggy" Ansel said, triggering the detonator. Every bolt stuck on the Major exploded, filling the forest with multi-colored light. The Major squealed in pain and surprise as it's armor splintered, then it collapsed to the ground, dazed.

After quickly checking to make sure the Major truly was incapacitated, Ansel leapt from the tree and took off in the direction of the dock. "I'm getting too old for this" he thought while sighing, but feeling the boy's slow breathing, he doubled his pace determined to make it before the Grimm got to them. An ear-piercing squeal pierced the night, whipping has head back Ansel saw the major spinning towards him, its spines screaming bloody murder. Ansel leapt sideways, but not soon enough, he was struck in the shoulder set flying back towards a tree. Clutching the boy in his arms, Ansel took the full brunt of the collision with his back, there was a cracking noise and he screamed out in pain. He collapsed to the ground breathing hard; he had used up most of his aura cracking the Major's armors, and now had almost none left. Then the Major was upon him, quickly seizing Ansel's arm in its jaws, crushing bone and rending flesh. Ansel screamed in pain, frustration, and despair. He had failed and now both he and the boy would die. The world was slowly growing darker, his life's blood flowing out from the wound. Things started getting brighter then, "I must be approaching the afterlife" Ansel thought with despair, shame clawing at his mind at the knowledge of his failed mission. He opened his eyes a small crack expecting to see the great beyond, but to his surprise, the light was coming from inside his robe. The sudden light had surprised the Major and made it back off a few steps, it now eyed Ansel with a cautious eye, as if making sure nothing strange would happen. "The boy" Ansel whispered, "This must be his doing". Ansel quickly opened his coat, wanting to see what the boy was doing. The child was still fast asleep, but was emitting a strange blue glow. The Major grunted, now believing there was not present danger, and charged straight at the two, its tusks ready to impale the two onto the tree. Suddenly the light surrounding the boy intensified, and then burst forth in a brilliant flash. Ansel covered his eyes, temporary blinded. He heard a slamming sound and a squeal, and afterwards a constant scuffling noise. He slowly removed his hands from his face, and was stunned by what he saw. Standing before him was the simulacrum of a man, formed of pulsating blue energy. It had stopped the Major's fierce charge, which was capable of plowing down even the strongest of hunters, with one hand which was fastened firmly around one of the creatures tusks. The Major was squealing and struggling, trying in vain to pull its tusk free. The strange being turned its head and looked at Ansel, then nodded its head as if in thanks.

Turning back to the Major the being seized its head with his other hand, then with a squelching splattering sound, ripped the Major's tusk out of its head. Then with a deft motion, too fast for the untrained eye, the being plunged the tip of the tusk into the Major's right eye. The Major reeled back, squealing in pain, trying to get away from this new foe. The being stepped forward, the blue energy swirling in the palm of his hand. Seeing this with its one good eye the Major turned to run, but too late. The thrust out his palm and struck the Major in the side. The resulting explosion blasted the Major through the forest, smashing through tree after tree like they were nothing but weeds. Squealing, the Major flew off, far in the opposite direction, vanishing from sight, a few moments later there was a low boom, and a cloud of dust rose from the forest, miles away from their current position.

The being turned back to Ansel, then kneeled down, looking at the boy in Ansel's arms. It then reached out its hand and touched Ansel's wound, there was a flash of light, and Ansel cried out at the searing pain that soon followed, after the stinging had faded he looked down and was amazed to see his arm in perfect condition. The being nodded at him, then reached out its hand and touched the boy on the forehead, then like a mist being funneled into a vacuum; the being was sucked into the boy from the point of contact. The boy shifted uncomfortably in Ansel's arms, and then let out a long deep belch, smiled, and shifted into a more comfortable position.

Ansel was stunned, that light and that power, "This boy is more important than we could dreamed" he thought, hope swelling in his breast "I must get him to safety, somewhere he can reach his full potential". The hunter academies, those would be perfect. He would meet many people, and hone his skills with the best of the best. With his goal firmly in mind, he picked up the boy and began running in the direction of the docks once again.

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After running for what seemed an impossibly long period of time, he finally broke through the tree line. There before him were the docks, he breathed a sigh of relief and ran up to them. The dock consisted of a small two story wooden boathouse with no walls; there was a small storage of supplies on the first level in case of emergencies, as well as the boats which could be pushed down a ramp into the water, parallel to the pier. But first he had to activate the dust force field generator located on the second floor. He dashed up the stairs, and then found the generator, wrapped tightly under a water-proof cloth; it was a small cylindrical device with an opening on the left side to insert the dust crystals to power, and a simple on and off switch on the other side. He checked its systems and found them to be in perfect working order; he picked up a crate of dust crystals lying next to the generator, and dumped most of them into the generator's energy chamber. He then pulled down on the ignition switch, and the generator hummed to life. A small antenna extended out from the top, and fired a beam of light straight through the roof. After reaching a certain height, the energy began to spread out and curve downward, covering the dock in its protective embrace.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Ansel walked down the stairs, finally able to relax. He took the boy out of his robes, and then wrapped him a blanket he found in the supply cache, he then placed the boy in of their best boats, an advanced model with autopilot functions, outfitted with a small dust force field generator and a special sonic disruptor to keep aquatic Grimm away. He made sure all the functions of the boat were in perfect order, than began to pile supplies into it.

Suddenly, an ear-splitting screech filled the air, coming from the direction of the forest. Ansel whipped around and saw that the Grimm had caught up, a menagerie of different monstrosities leered out at him from the forest. Ansel wasn't worried though; he had charged the force field generator with enough dust to last the whole night if need be, and he only needed a few more minutes to get ready to leave. But to his surprise the beasts did not charge forward, instead they parted forming a narrow path between the two groups. The next scene froze Ansel's blood in his veins. The humanoid Grimm emerged from the groups and stood before him, its body splattered with blood. When it had first attacked he hadn't gotten a good look at it, but now he saw it in its full glory. It was about the average height of a man, its body was completely back with pieces of black armor jutting out all over its body at strange angles, and it had sharpened claws at the end of each digit. It seemed to have a spiky head of hair, but on closer inspection were small spikes adorning its cranium. But the most daunting sight was the 6 crystals protruding from its back, each pulsing with red and black light, with tendrils of shadow wrapping each of them in a twisted embrace. The same light from the crystals were also emanating from the creature's eyes and mouth, lighting up the path toward the dock.

There was no time to supply anymore, Ansel leapt into the boat and quickly started it, entering the coordinates for the nearest kingdom into the autopilot system and prepping its force field. He then got out and pushed the boat into the water. There was a sudden crashing sound, the humanoid Grimm was standing in from of the force field; the crystals on its back were pulsating and sending reddish-black tinges of energy all over the creature's body. It claws raked against the field, the energy reacting with the dust field. Cracks were beginning to form; it wouldn't be long before the creature got through. Ansel knew what he had to do; he had to keep that thing here for as long as he could, so that the boat could carry the boy to safety. The boat hummed to life in the water and began to move forward, following the preprogrammed course. Ansel reached inside his robes and pulled out his remaining dust crystals, fitting them all into dust-powered explosives he had taken from the supply cash. There was a smashing sound as the best broke through the barrier; an explosion rocked the floor as the force field generator exploded. Ansel pulled out his pickaxes and charged at the Grimm, channeling the last bits of his aura into the tips. It was over in an instant. With a lighting fast movement the Grimm dove forward and drove its hand right through Ansel's stomach. Ansel cried out in pain, blood bursting from his mouth. But then he smiled, grabbing the Grimm's arm with one hand, he then opened his coat with the other, revealing all the dust bombs he had prepared. "Got you now you bastard" he said with a smile, and triggered the detonator in his coat. The explosion blew the boathouse to pieces and sent the Grimm flying outside, crashing into a group of Beowolves and tearing them to pieces with its armor. In a few moments it was up again, seemingly unfazed by the blast. It walked slowly back to the smoking remains of the boathouse, searching for its quarry. Lying in the middle of the wreckage, his skin charred black by the blast was Ansel. "Too late monster" he said with a smile, "he's gone now". Looking towards the sea, they could both see the boat speeding away from the shore, faster than any of the Nevermores could fly. Ansel grinned, staring his executor in the face. He had completed his final mission and had no more regrets. The Grimm stared down at him; then smiled. A chill ran down Ansel's spine, the Grimm weren't supposed to have souls they couldn't respond like this to human words. Suddenly the crystals on the creatures back began pulsating, releasing tendrils of crackling energy that covered the creature's body. The Grimm opened its mouth and the energy began flowing towards the open orifice, fusing together into a quivering black ball of darkness. "Wait" Ansel spluttered "Sto-". It was too late. The ball burst forth from the creature's mouth towards the boat, speeding across the water like a shooting star. It collided with the force field, energy crackling against energy, the field trying in vain to hold it back, and then it detonated. The area where the boat had been was engulfed in the dark blast, the sea parting from the force of the explosion. In less than a minute it was over, and the sea was empty, no sign that the boat was ever there remained.

"No", Ansel choked, he had failed the boy was dead, and this creature free to walk the world unchecked. All he could hope for now would be a quick end to his suffering. The creature looked down at him, the grin still visible on its face. "Well hurry it up", Ansel breathed, "I don't have all night". The creature lifted up his hand, but instead of bringing it down and ending Ansel's life, it grabbed one of the crystals on its back and with a shattering noise tore it out. Then raising it above its head like a ritual dagger, it drove the crystal into Ansel's chest. Ansel cried out in pain as the gem pierced his heart, "At least it will be over soon" he sadly thought. But something was wrong; there was a sudden burning sensation where the crystal had pierced him. He glanced down and saw black tendrils spreading out from where he had been pierced. It spread quickly over his body, first covering his arms and legs. Ansel begin flailing with the little strength he had left, but his muscles wouldn't respond to him, his limbs were moving, but not by his will, they were no longer his. Ansel screamed as the umbral strands began creeping up his neck, eventually covering his head. In a few  
minutes the pain was gone, and Ansel looked out across the sea with eyes that were no longer his. The thing that was now in control of his body, and through its eyes Ansel saw what he had become. A monster, another humanoid Grimm. He screamed in frustration, but it was a sound that only he heard in the depths of his mind. His body now belonged to the Grimm, his soul bound inside it like a prisoner. Despair coursed through Ansel's soul, he would now have to watch as the creature that controlled his body ended the lives of countless innocents. The two Grimms raised their head and roared, elated with their success and the addition of a new comrade. But out of the corner of the creature's eye, Ansel saw something, a sight that the new owner of his body paid no attention to in its moment of triumph. A faint blue glow, far out at sea, that was slowly being carried farther and farther away by the waves.

I would appreciate any constructive criticism you have on this story. I really want to make a better story.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: A new beginning in a town of ends

It was a perfect day, the sky was clear and the ocean breeze was refreshing. Byakko Muteki walked down the beach with the ocean at his left and a forest at his right, enjoying the nice day after a successful hunt, having a deer; a boar; and a man-sized tuna slung over his back. Byakko was a tall, very muscular, wild looking old man with spiky white hair with black streaks in it and chin curtain beard. He was wearing casual martial arts clothing with the sleeves ripped off, and baggy black pants. His body was covered in many scars from the many battles he had fought in the past, the most noticeable being one that ran from his right eye to his chin. His most striking features however were a pair of white and black tiger ears and a long tail trailing out from a whole in his pants, marking him as a white tiger faunus. He was daydreaming now, drooling as he thought of the food the people back at the village could make with the animals he was bringing.

He stopped suddenly, craning his ears. He heard shallow breathing nearby; he didn't sense any bloodlust so it couldn't be a Grimm. Gazing around the beach he spotted a young boy wrapped in a brown cloth. He walked over to the child and picked him up with one hand. "Hey kid" he barked out "you still alive?" The child stirred, slowly opening his eyes and stared at the man in front of him. Examining the boy Byakko noted that he had messy black hair with azure highlights around the edge, and gray eyes. "Well kid you gonna say anything", he barked out. Both silently stared at each other, a serious look on both their faces. "Frrrrrrppp", both the young boy and the old man let loose a simultaneous flatulation, the young boys face instantly relaxing. A moment of silence passed, and then Byakko burst into a fit of laughter, his body shuddering with the force of it. "Bahahahahaha, kid that was perfect harmony right there" he said with a big grin on his face, "It must have been fate that we met here today, how else could we have achieved such perfect synchronization" he said with a mock serious voice "I've decided, be you abandoned by your parents or left alive while they were killed, I will raise you as my grandson. What do you say?" The boy looked up at the Byakko's exuberant face, giggling slightly. "Okay mister, but… do you mind telling me who I am?" said the boy in a calm voice. "Oh, amnesia huh?" Byakko said with a chuckle, "I have no idea who you are, except that you're my grandson now, but I guess you'll need a new name now. I'll call you…" Byakko paused, thinking, opening his mouth then closing it again "you know what I'll wait till I take you back to the village; I'm sure someone there can pop out a good name." With that Byakko slung the boy over his other shoulder and marched away toward the village. All the while talking about what was there and what would be the boy's new life.

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"You're going to love it there" Byakko said for the twentieth time "we've got great food, lots of stuff to do, and plenty of places for us to train". Byakko, obviously a combat specialist, wanted to train the boy to be a warrior just like him, and had already planned a grueling training regime. "What am I going to train to fight mister?" the boy said curiously. "Why the Grimm of course", Byakko boomed "along with any other scum we meet, and stop calling me mister. From now on you're supposed to call me grandpa." "Okay grandpa" the boy said giggling "When are we going to get to the town?" They had been walking (Lan still slung over Byakko's back) for around 15 minutes along the beach and had not yet reached the town. "It's just over that hill over there" Byakko, said pointing at a sharp incline around a mile away, "just a little bit longer". As they neared the hill, they began to hear the signs of crashing and roaring, along with the crackle of energy. "Grimm" Byakko said his smile widening "and a whole bunch of them too. You're in for a treat little buddy", he said cracking his knuckles "time for your grandpa to show his stuff." With that Byakko, bent his knees and dashed towards the hill. In a split second they were atop the hill, coming to a halt with a loud slamming noise. Before them was a settlement surrounded by a large dust-field, and at one side were a large group of Grimm, attacking the field and trying to break in. They consisted of 10 beowolves, 6 ursa, 8 boarbatusks, 3 king taijitu, and a large deathstalker. Upon seeing them Byakko's smile fell, "That's it?" he said with a huff "This won't even be a warm up." Sighing, he dropped the animals he had hunted and the boy onto the ground. "Sorry kid, it's not going to be much of a show." Suddenly a squeaking sound split the air from an intercom and an old man's voice, with an Irish accent, came on, "Byakko you lazy old cat, get rid of those Grimm already". "Alright, alright" Byakko yelled back, shaking his fist "Geez, be a little patient will ya?" Bringing his fingers to his lips Byakko whistled. The sound was has as louder and as high pitched as the intercom, forcing the boy to cover his ears. The Grimm near the barrier paused then turned to look at him. "Come on" Byakko said, beckoning them with his hand "get over here already so I can kick your asses". The creature roared and charged at their new quarry, the beowolves taking the lead, while Byakko calmly stood there, cleaning his ears and looking slightly bored. The first beowolf quickly got within striking distance and leapt at Byakko, its claws pointed at his throat. With movement faster than lightning, Byakko launched his fist and stuck the Beowolf square in the stomach. The force of the impact pulverized the beast's abdomen, leaving a gaping hole in its wake, but it didn't stop there. The force of the punch shot forward, the area of the blow widening, and crashed into the group of Grimm, the area where the punch sped through was completely obliterated. The Grimm at the center of the formation disappeared as the punch blasted through the formation and flew into the forest. Those that remained after taking the blow were missing limbs and other parts of their body; in fact all that was left of many of them _were_ just a few limbs. Far off in the forest an explosion erupted where the force of the punch finally stopped its advance, sending up a dust cloud a few miles high. All the boarbatsuks were now dead, the 3 remaining Ursa were fine, and each of the 2 remaining beowolves had a limb missing, the remaining king taijitu had a head missing, and the deathstalker was missing a pincer. The entire group of Grimm had been dazed by the attack the boy gaped at the destruction his new grandfather had wrought with a single blow, "How did he get so strong?" the boy wondered. "Whelp" Byakko said yawning "time to end this". In a split second he vanished from the place he was standing with a crunching sound, and was now standing right behind the king taiju's. Grabbing its tail, he lifted it up and began spinning it around like a flail. Then, flicking his wrist down in a nonchalant manner, threw it at one of the ursa. Still dazed from Byakko's previous attack, it never knew what hit it. The Taijitu slammed into the ursa face first, crushing both the ursa and the Taijitu's skull.

Once again moving at mind boggling speeds, Byakko appeared behind the last 2 ursa and dropped his hand across their backs, "Aw, do the little teddy bears need a hug" he said with a mischievous grin. Byakko stood at about the same height as the Ursa, the scene looking like 3 long-time friends. The Ursa looked back at him and then quickly turned, trying to catch him with their claws. Tightening his grip, Byakko slammed the two ursa together as soon as they faced each other, crushing them like eggs. "In that case you two can hug each other as much as you want" he boomed. He then turned and looked at the remaining Grimm. The two beowolves had recovered at this point and were charging at him. The deathstalker was also now scuttling in his direction. Laughing, Byakko dove forward and caught both the beowolves in a double lariat, then holding them both in a headlock, turned to look and the deathstalker. "Time for a little target practice" he said eyeing the deathstalker's stinger. Carefully taking aim, Byakko passed one of the beowolves from his armpit to his hand, the beast's struggling completely ineffectual, then threw the beast at the deathstalker, the Beowolf flew through the air like an arrow, then was impaled on the Deathstalker's stinger, the other Beowolf soon followed suit and found its place on top of its brethren. "I win" Byakko exclaimed "where's my prize?" The deathstalker hissed and charged at Byakko, trying to catch him in its one good pincer. "Shake" Byakko yelled, shooting out his hand and grabbing the pincer. The deathstalker struggled to pull it free, but wasn't able to budge it an inch. "Good boy" Byakko said with a grin. The death stalker's stinger shot down and struck Byakko in the chest, but Byakko just stood there smiling, completely unfazed by the attack. He then grabbed the stinger with his other hand. "Here's your treat" Byakko yelled, and smashed the stinger right through the deathstalker's head. With that all the Grimm were now dead.

"Wow grandpa" the boy said popping up "that was awesome!" "Not really" Byakko said, his nose pointed high in the air "I could have shown many more amazing things if there were more of the things. In fact I was hoping there would be an army of the things by the time a got back here, so I spent an extra-long time hunting." "You what?" the same old man's voice that had come from the intercom boomed from behind them. They whipped round and saw him standing at the town's gate, the force field now down. The man was a decrepit old geezer with short white hair and a clean shaven face. He was wearing a red sweater and brown pants, and was carrying a cane in his hands. "Do you know how much dust we had to use to keep those things out while waited for you" he wheezed, waiving his cane "and why didn't you just finish them quickly instead of doing all that nonsense?" "Well where's the fun in that?" Byakko exclaimed. "Everybody in here has their own flippin responsibilities, and you've got the simplest one." said the old man, fuming "Go out every once in a while to get fresh meat, and keep the village safe when your back. If you keep shirking your responsibilities then we're cutting your part of Anna's cooking!" "Yeah, Yeah" Byakko said waiving his hand "you've said that a million times, Gregory, and you know what? I've never had my ration taken because I'm the one of the most vital parts of this village. Where would you all be without these babies keeping the Grimm away?" he said, flexing his arms and posing. "Why I oughta-"Gregory paused, and then stared at the boy hiding behind one of Byakko's large legs. "Say, Byakko, who's the kid?" "Oh him" Byakko chuckled "He is my new grandson. I found him on the beach and now I plan on raising him!" "You can't just make a random kid you found your grandson!" Gregory yelled. "Well I just did!" Byakko said patting the boy on the head. "Come on kid, let's go get something to eat" with that he picked the boy up and dashed into the town. "Get back hear" they heard Gregory yelled in the distance "I haven't finished with you yet". They dashed through the town gate and the boy got his first good look at the town. There were many different small houses with a variety of designs that looked like they came from all over the world, and everywhere he looked there were old people standing around. As they passed under the town's sign the boy looked up at it and read "Welcome to Cunctantem Cinere, the town where journeys end".

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"So there are only old people in this town" the boy asked through a mouthful of Shepard's pie. "Yep" Byakko said finishing his 10th plate of venison. "This town has gathered old ladies and geezers from all over the world, who just want to live a quiet life now that their tale is coming to an end. None of them have any family or friends outside of this town and all of them are masters of some kind of skill, Anna for example" he said pointing at an elderly women, working in the kitchen "Is a master chef, with unrivaled skill". Byakko and the boy were currently eating in Anna's home, which was also one of the main restaurants in the village. Anna was a small old woman with gray hair wrapped into a bun, and was wearing a dark green dress and a messy apron. "Right after we finish eating, we will begin some training" Byakko said through a mouthful of spinach and tuna stir-fry "My grandson isn't going to be called a weakling, so we're gonna buckle down hard. I'm going to make sure every inch of you becomes strong, from the tip of your head to the bottom of your foot and even up the shaft of your—" with a clanging sound Anna hit Byakko over the head with a frying pan. "What vulgar language were you about to use in the presence of this young boy?" she said sternly. "Ow!" Byakko said rubbing the back of his bruised cranium "take it easy old lady. We're just discussing his training regime, and I really do mean to make sure he gets a big.." "Clang" the frying pan once again made contact with Byakko's skull. "Alright, Alright already" Byakko said holding up his hands to defend against the blows "I'll drop the subject". With that Anna nodded and turned to the young boy "How is the food dear?" she said smiling "It's really good, thank you grandma" the boy said still digging in "Do you think you could teach me to make food like this?" "Why not?" Anna said chuckling, "but, we'll have to do it when you're not training with your grandpa here". "Yeah" Byakko said after downing a large flagon of cider "You can learn from her at night after training, but to make up for the extra time" he said with a mischievous grin "I'll have to make the training a _little_ tougher". "Okay" the boy said pumping his fist in the air, not understanding the hidden meaning behind his Grandpa's voice, "let's do it". Suddenly the front door burst open and many old people streamed into the room. "There really is a little boy here" someone said through the din, "Aw what a cute little one". The boy looked around at all the old people that had streamed in; they were wearing many different types of clothing, most likely from many different cultures, and were all crowding around him asking him questions, many of which he answered with a simple "I don't know". "Say boy", said an old man in an engineer's getup "What's your name, mine's Rowan". "I don't know" the boy said with a shrug "Grandpa said he'd think of one when we got back to the village." "You haven't given him a name yet?" an old women from the crowd yelled "What kind of Grandpa are you". "Hey" Byakko said, starting his desert "I thought I'd give everyone a hand in picking the boy a name, seeing as we're all going to be raising him." "Why are you pushing the responsibility on us?" a man from the crowd cried. Byakko turned to him with a raised eyebrow "You really trust _me_ to properly bring up a kid all by myself?" the old man opened his mouth, closed it then thought for a second "You got a point there Byakko" he said submissively "Leave him with you and he'll probably be eaten within the week". "I'm going to have lots of grandparents?" the boy said with a huge smile "Yahoo" he cried jumping up onto the table. "Well" said an old man wearing a yukata "We'd better give him a name first, how about…" he paused and sniffed the air "Byakko!" he yelled "When was the last time you took a shower!". All the other people in the room began sniffing the air, many of them wrinkling their noses in disgust. "Why the heck are you saying I'm the source of the smell?" Byakko yelled. "Because you're the only one in the village who doesn't bathe every day, get to the bath houses and wash yourself off!" the man in the yukata yelled back. "That's cause I don't need to bath too often" Byakko said lifting his arm up and taking a big whiff of his pits "See, lemony fresh, what do you say to that Hiroshi?". All the towns people in the room were staring at something next to Byakko, Hiroshi had his arms folded and had a look of smug satisfaction on his face. Byakko turned and saw that the plant next to his pits, that was strong and healthy just a few seconds ago, had now wilted. "Fine" Byakko grumbled getting up, "I'll go take the damn bath." And with that he stomped out of the house, and headed up the road to the bathhouse. "Alright then" Hiroshi said clapping his hands together "back to business. What were we discussing again?" " I think we were going to discuss how to raise him" said a well-groomed man with a long mustache "The boy needs to be educated while he's living here, can't have him going out into the world without any knowledge." "I could teach him engineering" Rowan yelled, "and I could teach him musical skills" shouted another old man, "and there's also that library" an old women yelled out "he could learn a lot there!" All of the people in the room had lost the ones close to them a long time ago, and never had the chance to raise a child, and began discussing what they would teach the boy, all of them feeling a glimmer in their hearts. This discussion continued for several minutes, and at the end they compiled a long list of what they were going to teach the boy, and when. "Alright, everyone" Anna said smiling "it's time to discuss a name for the child. How about..." "Hold it right there" Byakko yelled out "I knew you were going to start that without me. It's a good thing my instincts told me to come back here." All the people in the room turned to look at Byakko, who stood there dripping water and wearing nothing but a bath towel wrapped around his waist. "Oh, put some pants on" a women yelled from the crowd. Ignoring the comment Byakko sat down on a chair "first of all he has to train everyday with me, right boy?" "Yeah!" the boy said with a big smile. "Hurry up and mark that down then" Byakko said waiving his hands. The changes were made to the schedule, although many grumbled about combat training not being too valuable. Many of them recognized the value of being able to protect yourself in a world full of Grimm though, so they acquiesced to Byakko's demands.

"Alright then" Byakko said smiling "time to discuss the name". Byakko opened his mouth, and then paused, staring at the clock. "Say, why don't we get the boy to bed? It's getting pretty late and I don't think he wants to be part of this crazy debate" "I'm not tired" the boy said jumping up "I want to be part of this too". Anna smiled then picked the child up in her arms, him struggling to be put back down "Now, now young one, it's not good to sleep too late. Come on I'll take you to your room and read you a bedtime story." The boy stopped struggling "What kind of story?" he inquired. "A wonderful fairy tale full of charm" Anna answered, and with that brought him out of her home and walked up the road towards Byakko's home. As she held him in her arms, she felt warmth spreading in her breast, the same warmth that everyone else in the town was feeling; it was glow of familial love. Just a few hours ago almost all of them were just living every day in a daze, slowly waiting for the flame of their lives to die, only living on to be helpful to one another. But now they had a new reason to continue living, a hope in the future manifested in the beating heart of this young boy. They would raise him to be a strong, kind, and intelligent young man, one who could accomplish things they had only dreamed of.

They had now arrived at Byakko's home at the center of the village, it was a worn down, yet cozy place that Byakko had slapped together when he had first arrived at the village. It was two stories tall, had a kitchen, a family room, and a storage room on the first floor, and 2 bathrooms, and 2 bedrooms on the second floor. Anna walked inside, and then headed up the stairs to the unoccupied bedroom. Inside there was a simple bed, a nightstand, and a chair. Tucking the boy into the bed, Anna pulled a book from inside her dress and lit a candle. The boy stared at her expectantly, wondering what kind of fable would be spun here tonight. The story was a special one, about a man and his dragon on a mission to save the world. Anna recounted the tale with great vigor, personifying each event with the perfect voice.

After half an hour, they boy was starting to nod off. Anna closed the book, then gave the boy a quick peck on the cheek, "Sweet dreams dear." She said with a smile. At that moment a booming sound came from downstairs as the door was opened, and within moments Byakko had entered the room. "We've finally decided on the name" he said with a smile. "Oh? Please tell me" Anna said her eyes gleaming. Byakko leaned in close and whispered it into her ear; she smiled then turned back to the boy. "What's my name?" the boy said sleepily. "Lan" Anna said warmly "your name is Lan", and that was the last thing Lan remembered before falling into a deep sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Ch 3 The Daily things

Lan lay asleep on the bed, his dreams filled with magic and adventure. It was early morning now, the sun beams trickling through the open window, and birdsong filling the room. His consciousness was just beginning to surface at this point, slowly being drawn out by the promise of a new day. Something was wrong though; there was something amiss in the room right now, but his consciousness wasn't alert enough to tell what it was. The strange feeling slowly roused his from his slumber, enough to awaken some of his senses. He suddenly became aware of a burning smell, along with swishing sound. Opening his eyes, he turned his head and stared towards the center of the room and sitting there was Byakko, who was fanning a large fish over a portable wood fire stove. "Good morning sleepy head" Byakko said with a smile "bout time you woke up, it's almost breakfast time. "Why are you roasting a fish in my room?" Lan inquired. "Because I felt like it" Byakko responded nonchalantly, "Hurry up and head to the bathroom and brush your teeth, we'll be having breakfast soon" he then paused and looked up at Lan curiously "You do remember how to brush teeth, right?". After taking a few moments to get over the strangeness of the situation, Lan began thinking a little bit and realized he did know how, "Looks like the amnesia isn't too bad" Lan thought while stretching. He then hopped out of bed and ran down the hall to the nearest restroom.

After finishing up in the bathroom (with a shower, toilet use, and then tooth brushing), Lan put on some new clothes Anna had left for him and then examined himself in the mirror, to see what he looked like, the amnesia had taken the memory of his appearance from his mind, and he hadn't encountered any reflective surfaces all day yesterday. He had messy black hair with blue highlights, black eyes, and was quite lean. He was currently wearing a loose fitting brown jacket with a white trim, a pair of black shorts, and was barefoot. After confirming his appearance he walked back to his bedroom to have breakfast. When he entered the room Byakko was sitting there waiting for him… holding the bones of the tuna fish. "Hey!" Lan said slightly miffed, "I thought you said we were going to have breakfast?" "Yep" Byakko said, munching down the fish bones "We'll be eating at Anna's, I was just having a little appetizer while I was waiting for you to get ready." With that he got up, walked out of the room, and headed for the front door, Lan following close behind him. "Ah, what a perfect day!" said Byakko once they were outside, and it truly was. The morning air was crisp and clear, the sun was shining with only a few clouds were passing by here and there. They walked down from the house, and headed towards Anna's restaurant, greeting anybody they happened to come across. Once they arrived at Anna's home, a small brick building with a restaurant sign hanging from the door, they found Anna was already waiting for them. "About time you two arrived" she said smiling, "I've prepared a buffet for the two of you". Inside, one of the tables was strewn with delicacies of all sorts. It included roasted meats, assorted eggs, a variety of different baked goods, and a menagerie of juices. Lan and Byakko plopped down on the table and began digging into the meal, Lan eating at the normal rate a young boy would and Byakko finishing multiple plates in a matter of seconds. While they were eating they began to discuss their schedule for today, and all the normal days in a year. "First thing in the morning" Byakko said through a mouthful of eggs "is training with me, we'll probably do around four hours worth of it, maybe more depending on the situation that day, and then you will go receive lessons from the other villagers. Who will be teaching you that day, and what exactly you'll be learning that day I have no idea. I'll be gone during that time to go hunting, someone's got to keep this village's meat supply properly stocked". "Aren't you the one that eats the most of it" Anna said, chuckling to herself. "Hey, I'm just taking my honest share" Byakko said with mock hurt. After a few more minutes Lan and Byakko had finished their meal and were getting ready to leave. "Alright Lan" Byakko said stretching "We'll be training outside the village in the forest, before you woke up this morning I went out and cleared out all the Grimm within a 100 mile radius, so you should be pretty safe." "What about the village?" Lan asked looking up "Don't you need to protect them?" "Don't worry" Byakko responded "they have one of the best dust force fields in existence, and if things become complicated they can fire one of the signal flares, which will send us running back to the village." Satisfied with the response Lan got up and headed for the door. "Wait one moment Lan" Anna yelled, she pulled out a small lunch box and handed it to him. "Here's a little something in case you get hungry, our little warrior must keep up his strength if he is going to train well" she said, pinching his cheeks. Lan thanked her, then followed Byakko out of her home, then they headed out of the village, and walked into the forest.

After walking for around 15 minutes they arrived at a clearing. "Alright boy" Byakko said folding his arms "We'll start with strengthening your body, then after you've built up a good foundation, I'll start teaching you fighting techniques." "I'm ready" Lan shouted with a determined look on his face. "Alright then" Byakko said with a smile "we'll start with something simple since it's your first day training. Let's see, what should I have you do? hmmmm." Byakko pondered for a few moments then his eyes lit up and he turned back to Lan "Give me 100 push-ups, 100 squats, and 100 sit-ups, after that we'll do some stretching exercises and a 10km run". "Okay" Lan shouted, not realizing the magnitude of his training regime. He then dropped down and began his pushups after completing 30 he paused to rest. "upupupup" Byakko tutted "I never said you could rest, between them, now get back too it before I double your regime!" A normal child would have begun complaining at this point, but Lan simply looked up, nodded, then continued. Byakko knew the child wasn't normal, in fact that's why he imposed a training regime that would normally be too much for a normal young boy, there was no way a normal child could have survived drifting through the sea and arriving on a beach shore without being eaten by the Grimm that roamed the waters. "Let's see how special this boy really is" Byakko thought. They continued then continued the training regime, Byakko reprimanding Lan with a kick the gut every time he paused to rest. After an hour or so, they finished the muscle training, and Lan began eating his lunch. "Alright Lan" Byakko said, stealing pieces of food from the lunch box, Lan protesting all the while "Since we're going to be running anyway, I may as well show you a few nice places, and introduce you to a few friends. After finishing the lunchbox, most of it winding up in Byakko's gut, the two of them got up and began running through the forest, Byakko leading and Lan struggling to keep up. They passed many beautiful places while they were running, crystal clear streams with animals drinking at the edge, breathtaking waterfalls falling into grottos beneath the earth, and wide open meadows bursting with wildflowers, just to name a few. Eventually they made their way to an enormous tree, far from the village, that must have been at least ten stories high. The area around the tree was mostly barren, with grass poking out here and there, there was a path leading up to a hole in the tree that looked like a cave opening, and strewn all over the area were bones of many different animals . Lan looked around nervously, wondering what his grandpa had brought him here to see. Suddenly a growling sound filled the area and glowing eyes lit up within the confines of the tree. "Grandpa must have brought me here to fight Grimm" Lan thought, clenching his fists "I won't betray his expectations. Slowly, the beasts began to exit their cave, and instead of the Grimm Lan had been expecting, what emerged from the cave was a pack of large blood red wolves. Lan, put up his fists ready for a brawl "Calm down, kid" Byakko said, chuckling "they're friends". With that Byakko brought his fingers to his lips and let out a loud whistle. The wolves stopped growling, looked in Byakko's direction, and then began wagging their tails apparently happy to see him. "Come on Lan" Byakko said confidently "Let's go meet the pack". The two of them began walking in the direction of the wolves, and at the same time other wolves began coming out of the cave, the families of the larger wolves. The wolves began growling again once they caught sight of Lan, but Byakko slammed his hands together in a thundering clap and fixed them with a criticizing eye. "He's a friend boys and girls, treat him well". The wolves, completely understanding Byakko, plodded over to Lan and began sniffing him, then after the whole group had gotten his sent, they began to lick him. "Hey!" Lan said laughing "that tickles." "Nice pack don't you think" Byakko said with a smile " I became friends with them a few years back when I saved them from a bunch of Grimm, and now they treat me like the Alpha wolf, and since your **my** pup, they'll be treating you well." Byakko whistled, and the older wolves dispatched themselves from the group to go meet him. Lan then felt a pull on the hem of his pants, and looked down to see a little pup chewing on his pants. "Pretty ironic that they like me so much huh kid" Byakko said patting one of the wolves on the head, "Why?" Lan responded, "You know" Byakko said "that thing with cats and dogs and how they…Oh never mind you'll get it eventually." Byakko then started conversing with the older wolves, who strangely seemed able to understand him "Well, have fun playing kids", Byakko said cracking his knuckles "Us adults are going to go on a little hunting trip to help the pack stock up." Byakko and most of the older wolves then dashed into the forest, and quickly disappeared from sight.

Lan picked up the little puppy that was chewing his pants and brought the little guy up to eye level. The pup yipped then licked Lan's nose. "You're my first animal friend" Lan said bringing the wolf pup into a hug "I think I'll give you a name". Lan thought for a few moments and quickly formulated a list of names, he then ran down the list in his mind and picked out a good one. "I'll name you Ignis, it's the name of one of the fire spirits from a book grandma Anna read to me last night". The puppy looked very much like all the others, but the hair on the sides of its body had strange flame shapes, which allowed Lan to distinguish it from the rest. The little dog yipped apparently pleased with the new name. After that Lan spent the next hour playing with the rest of the puppies in the pack, during which many of his clothes were removed and chewed up, and once Byakko returned with the other adult wolves Lan was chasing all the puppies in his underwear, trying to get his clothes back. "How the heck did that happen?" Byakko said dropping the fresh kill he and the wolves had made. "I don't know" Lan responded desperately "We started playing on the ground and before I knew it they'd taken my clothes off" Lan pointed to the puppies, who were beginning to shred the clothes. "Well show some dominance!" Byakko said slamming his fist into his palm "You've got to show them who's boss!" "I've been asking them nicely, but they don't listen!" Lan said, beginning to panick. Byakko sighed, he made a mental note to teach Lan how to be more assertive later, but for now he had to get those clothes back, Anna would be furious if they were damaged too much. Byakko took a deep breath, and then let out an ear-splitting roar. The puppies were startled dropped the clothes then turned to look in his direction. "Bring them here" Byakko said pointing at his feet. The puppies seeming to understand quickly picked up the clothes and brought them over Byakko's feet, not wanting to incite his wrath. They then brought the clothes to a nearby stream and washed them, once they were hung to dry they continued with training "Alright Lan" Byakko said "time for the technical part". Byakko then began teaching Lan basic martial arts movements, which included punches; kicks; and foot techniques from a variety of different styles. What he taught was very different from his own combat style, which was a formless brawling technique that he had developed many years ago. He did so because his fighting style relied heavily on his natural wildness and instincts, so it may not have been the best style to teach Lan. "Every one's got one fighting style their best" he thought, while fixing one of Lan's kicking positions "I'll just see where the kid's talents lie, then go from there". Byakko was using the most basic knowledge of the many martial arts he knew to try and figure out what style would be most suitable for Lan, after which he would research in it in depth and proceed to teach Lan. However, at Lan's current age, it may take a year or two before he could discern what it was, so what was important right now was to teach him the basics and build up Lan's physical foundation so he would be ready when it was time. There was also unlocking his aura to consider. However, that wouldn't be beneficial until the boy knew what his specialties were so that he could use the aura more effectively.

The basic training continued for another hour, after which it was then time for the two to return to the village. "Bye guys" Lan said waving at the wolves, sweat dripping down his face "I'll come see you guys again later". In response the wolves began howling in unison, a tribute to their new friend. Lan and Byakko then turned around and walked back along the path to the village.

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When they arrived back at the village, almost the entire village was waiting in the square, many of the denizens eager to teach their new young ward. "Well" Byakko said, patting Lan on the back, "it's their turn now. See you in a few hours." And with that Byakko dashed out of the village and back into the forest to get food for the village. After he left the force field generator was quickly switched on, and Lan was quickly ushered into a large meeting hall where he took a seat in the middle of a circle of chairs. The meeting hall was a modern looking building with a high ceiling and a screen and projector at one end of the hall. It was made from painted wood, and generally had the look of an old style town hall.

The people had gathered Lan there to give him an introduction to what he would be learning. Taking the lead was old man Hiroshi now wearing a large imperial looking robe. "Alright everyone please tell the boy what you will be teaching him". Everyone in the room began shouting out their topic, and the topics stated were very varied, From Math; English; and Science to Cooking; Engineering; and how to win in gambling matches. Hiroshi amazingly was able to record every single topic; he then entered them into his computer and projected a spread chart with every mentioned topic onto the screen. "Now I know we were supposed to finish the scheduling last night" he said with a frown, "But thanks to a certain someone sitting in the middle of the front row, I was knocked out with a shovel and we weren't able to get anything one!" A man wearing a gardener's clothing looked down, embarrassed. "Now then, when will you be able to teach him?" The group members began shouting out their available hours, Hiroshi quickly inputting them onto the digital spreadsheet. After a few more minutes, everything was set, Lan would be learning from 5 different people every day for different periods of time. They had also decided to aside two hours, the first with Lan staying in the library to read whatever he felt like (with the help of Librarian Donavan of course, a wiry old man with large spectacles), and the last for him to do whatever he wanted. Once they had everything set, the first person scheduled to teach Lan that day brought him to his home and began to teach him his trade. Lan went through each of his lessons with ease, enjoying learning about the new subjects, and soaking in all the information like a sponge. When he was sent to the library he headed to the fairy tale section and began reading a menagerie of books, enchanted by the magical worlds filled with adventure. He even spent his free time in there, loving every page of the wondrous tales. Once his last hour of free time was over, Donavan came to get him for supper at Anna's, Byakko already waiting there.

"So" Byakko said smiling "how was your first day of learning?" "It was great" Lan said, his eyes sparkling "I learned so much fun stuff, and read about lots of exciting stories". "Well your day is about to get even better" Byakko said reaching into his jacket, "Behold!" he said pulling out a strange looking mushroom. "Wow" Lan said, then quickly realizing he didn't know what it was asked "What is it?". "It is a rare nigrum truffle" Byakko said drooling "they are rare delicacies, and I found this baby while I was tackling a warthog this afternoon and I thought I'd share it with you". "Aww" Lan said genuinely touched "Is it really that good?" "Yeah!" Byakko said loudly "they absolutely explode with flavor! But if you don't prepare them correctly they'll make you explode with—-"he paused, and then looked up, noticing the frying pan inches from his head. "Right" Byakko said calmly "I guess I'll just leave it at that". Anna nodded then took the mushroom from Byakko's hand, and headed to the kitchen to prepare the meal. Lan and Byakko were now waiting for the food to be prepared, and taking that time Lan decided to think about things. "I don't really remember what happened before I got here" he thought sadly "but things are going great so far, I have a great family now, I'm learning so much about the world, and I'm going to get stronger every day." He turned towards Byakko and smiled, thinking about what amazing things he'll see and learn about in this town, "I'm going to grow up to be someone they can all be proud of, someone they won't be ashamed to call their grandson" Lan decided "I'm going to become just like one of the heroes in the stories I read, maybe even better." "What is there something on my face?" Byakko said, noticing Lan's stare. "No" Lan said still smiling "I was just spacing out while thinking of the future". Soon after, the food arrived and the two of them had their meal, and then the two of them headed back home. They then headed upstairs, where Byakko tucked Lan into bed, patted him on the head, and then gave reading a bed time story a shot. He chose an excellent story about an ancient story, but completely failed when it came to voicing the characters properly. After finishing it, he then went to his own bedroom and quickly fell asleep, his snores audible even through the thick walls.

Lan lay in bed, his mind buzzing with excitement, "I wonder what tomorrow will be like" he thought "There are so many things left to do, and so many things left to see", his active mind kept him awake for a period of time, but a boy as young as he was can't stay awake too long, and soon he was fast asleep. His dreams filled with visions of his exciting future, and the hope that tomorrow brings.


End file.
