How Did We Get Here?

Chapter 3 - The Encounter

This story now has a Discord! ( (slash) HTmGeTj) Thanks, FF, for not publishing the full link. That's just fantastic.

A/N at the end of chapter

Cinder Fall, hand to the dark queen Salem, was livid. The reason for her anger was not something that could be comprehended by mere mortals. It was not the orders of her mistress, nor any supernatural factor. It was, in fact, the squabbling of children. It was bad enough that her two subordinates had disobeyed her, and as though their near miss with being exposed wasn't enough, she was now going to be stuck acting for the fool of a headmaster at Beacon for the foreseeable future. Fantastic. If those two didn't shut up, she swore that she'd end up incinerating both of them. And while that might ease her constant headaches, she would then be bereft of two of her most useful tools.

Speaking of the devil(s), the two had just entered the safehouse she was basing out of. While the White Fang were a much-needed player in their game of destruction, gods above did they move slow. You would think their enhanced strength and superior night vision would be a boon when moving heavy boxes of dust at night. Evidently not.

" -telling you, there's no way that he isn't a huntsman!" came faintly through the door.

With a bang, it swung open, revealing the source of the majority of her headaches.

"And I'm telling you that if there was someone that strong in Vale, there's no way that we wouldn't have heard of them before!" Emerald spat out, evidently annoyed with her partner, Mercury.

"The real question is when is Emerald not annoyed by Mercury?" Cinder thought. The two would be so much more effective if they could just shut up for five minutes. But alas, there was no haven for her here. The two had been arguing about their fight (if one could even call that beatdown a fight) for the past day. She had just about had it. The same arguments over and over, all day. Cinder could already feel the start of a new headache when Mercury began reiterating the same point from two hours ago once again.

"End my misery," drifted through her mind as she tried her damndest to ignore them. Best get to work on her mistresses' commands. No point delaying, even with these two here.

Issho was on high alert. Ever since he detected those flying machines, he realized that he was in either an unexplored area of the world (which was very unlikely, simply because of the expanse of the World Government), or he was in a hidden nation. There were problems with both theories, however. While not unheard of, there were so few places that a nation could be hidden that he seriously doubted that was his case.

The flying machines were one point against the Hidden Nation theory; anything that advanced couldn't have been contained for long. Someone would have gone rogue and stolen one, or sold it for profit. A second point was the sheer scale of the place he found himself in. When he was conversing with Tukson shortly after he woke up, the man had mentioned a 'continent'. By his verification, a continent was massively larger than an island. Even Alabasta, the largest island in Paradise, was an ant compared to this so-called 'continent'. And the final, most damning piece of evidence, was the sheer amount of debris in space. While he couldn't reach more than a tenth of the way to the moon, the area he could reach was almost filled to the brim with pieces of debris. Some were dense, easier to grab, while some seemed… fabricated. Too light for a meteor or asteroid, but still heavy enough that he could sense them from so far away. It almost seemed to be solid metal.

Even above the Grand Line, with it's strange magnetic properties drawing in space junk, the space was a hundred times more dense. Bits and pieces floated through the nothingness, turning the empty void into a veritable mosh pit. Nowhere in his travels had he ever found a place with so much debris.

His mind awhirl with thoughts, Issho continued down the street, feeling civilians parting around him like a river around a rock. With one final pulse of his power, he noted the location of all the flying machines. Most were clustered near the large compound on the east edge of the city. With a start, he also realized that was where the strongest Haki signature in the city resided. It felt… aged. Like Dark King Rayleigh, or Former Fleet Admiral Sengoku. Impossibly, it felt even older than Vice-Admiral Tsuru's signature. And (not that he'd ever even entertain the thought of saying it aloud) Tsuru was ancient.

Surrounding the exceptionally powerful signature were approximately one hundred more, with five standing out above the rest. One, dark and black, seemingly swaying without anything happening around it. The owner must have been in quite the bad mood. The second, firm, hard, and unyielding. The third was almost… vibrating. Calm, but quietly excited. The fourth was large, but contained. Almost… suppressed. The fifth was almost soothing. It seemed to set the area around it at ease, but not without an incredible power backing it. Strangely, the fifth was subdued. Trapped behind a barrier that, even from here, Issho could tell was involuntary. The strangest part of the signature was that it did not move. There were no fluctuations, no trembles, no emotion.

Shaken, Issho shook his head, then forged onwards, moving deeper into the seedier parts of Vale. Within ten minutes, he stood before his target. Even from outside, the admiral could feel the ground trembling beneath him as music of some kind thumped from inside. With a few taps, he located the front step (there was only one, what was the point of that?), and placed his hand on the door to the entrance. Just as he began to push, the door was flung open from inside, and the tail end of a sentence could be heard, shouted backwards into the pounding music.

"-not the point! I pay you for men, not advice! See if I ever come back for more helpers!" the stranger shouted.

Just before Issho could lower his hand, the stranger strode forwards.

Directly into his outstretched hand.

"Thwap" echoed out, and Issho felt the round brim of a hat as he hurriedly lowered his arm.

"I'm very sorry about that," the gigantic man got out, just as the stranger took a step back. A very soft laugh could be heard, before the person replied.

"No problem! Not on either of us, eh? Just watch yourself up there, big guy," the stranger replied, before moving around Issho and striding away.

With a confused glance backwards (not that the glance did anything, per se, but hey, muscle memory and all that), Issho strode inside, closing the door behind him. With a deep breath, he moved around the very large dance floor and up to the bar. Claiming a soft topped bar seat, he shifted a bit, getting comfortable, before falling still and silent as he waited. Barely a minute later, the bartender had strode up, handed him what seemed to be a menu ("Really?"), and turned to stride away. With a slight cough, Fujitora reclaimed the bartender's attention, before handing the menu back.

"This won't be much use to me, if you catch my meaning," Issho said, waving his right hand in front of his face, left still gripping his cane.

"Ah shit, sorry about that. You wouldn't happen to know what you want already, would you?" The barkeep replied, reaching under the bar to store the menu.

"If you have any Rice Wine, that would be perfect. If not, whatever you recommend. Just keep it below five Lien, if possible," Issho returned, before shifting once more as the all-too-small bar stool cut into him.

"You got it, boss," the bartender returned, going off to check the stock for any Rice Wine.

Issho stretched his senses, 'seeing' the other members of the club. Posted at various intervals around the entire area were men with similar builds, all carrying firearms of some kind.

"Security, then," Issho thought, before observing the rest of the patrons. Near the back were two smaller figures, almost identical in build, weight, and even stance. Odd. The various clubbers were scattered around the dance floor, with only two patrons sharing the bar with him.

The bartender returned at this point in the purple giant's musings, handing him a frosty glass. When Issho drew it closer, he heard the clinking of ice, and the bartender spoke.

"We didn't have any rice wine, unfortunately, but I decided you might like a Mai Tai. The glass is a bit small, for you anyways, but I'll give the second one half off because of that. Don't underestimate its strength, either. It might taste like there's no alcohol in there, but that thing is mostly rum andcuraçao," the bartender spoke, his baritone rumbling in a clash with the music in the air.

"I appreciate it," the admiral responded.

With a quick nod, the man behind the counter began to move off, saying "Not a problem," when Issho cleared his throat.

"I was actually wondering if you could answer a quick question for me. I'm in need of a good casino, and with how centrally located you are, not to mention the quality of the establishment, I was hoping you could point me in the right direction," Issho spoke, catching the attention of the barkeep once more.

"Depends on what type of experience you're looking for. I only know of the more… down-to-earth establishments," he returned.

"That would be perfect," Issho replied, a feral grin spreading across his face as he read the other man's implication clearly.

"Then you'll probably want to head down to O'Flanagan's. It's only about five blocks away, but be careful- it's a little divey, you might want to wear a vest," the barkeep responded, a matching grin spreading on his own face. It was so rare to find someone that could handle themselves, and fresh off the street, no less.

"Vest? Would my current attire be out of place there?" Issho asked, confused.

With a dry look, the barman responded. "Bulletproof vest, not dress vest. And buddy, I hate to be the one to break the news to you, but that outfit wouldn't fit in anywhere. They're only going to open tomorrow though, they aren't open on Sundays. Down near the docks, by a few abandoned warehouses. Owner claims to be a man of the lord, if you can believe it."

Issho's confused expression cleared, before he responded. "I understand now. Is it really so outlandish? This outfit is rather normal where I come from. And thank you for the information," Issho replied, before sliding the barkeep a blue Lien card, stacked on top of another, more valuable pink Lien card. For fifteen Lien, he had obtained valuable information, "as well as a very delicious drink", he noted with slight surprise as he took a sip.

"Not a problem, boss. Hard to find people that understand how difficult it is for any valuable information to be found," the bartender responded, before a grin spread across his face once more as he saw the value of the… ahem… tip he had been left. He was liking this guy more and more by the second.

Issho quietly enjoyed his drink, then stood, and with one final nod at the bartender, strode out the door, walking towards Tukson's apartment, deep in thought.

Hei "Junior" Xiong, infamous information broker, watched the towering figure disappear out the door with slight fondness, despite having just met him. As the figure disappeared behind the closing doors, swallowed up by the inky blackness, he turned to the nearest henchman, waving him down.

"Get me everything you can on that guy," he snapped, all fondness evaporating from his face like a snowball rolling into hell.

"Why-" was all the henchman got out, before Junior reached over, grabbed the man's lapel, and nearly hauled him over the bar. The poor man had just enough time to notice the sweat dripping down the face of his boss, and the trembling of his hand, before he was almost hauled over the bartop.

"Because, you moron, that man could have flattened this place with a thought if he wanted," Hei Xiong ground out, thoroughly shaken by his experience.

"But boss, if he's that strong, how come we didn't know about him before?" The goon got out, gasping for air around his now too-tight collar and his employer's fist, lodged firmly in the base of his neck.

Junior stared at the man as though he was braindead.

"Why do you think I told you to get me everything you could on him," Vale's most knowledgeable man ground out, infuriated with his choice of employee. Seriously, was the total combined IQ of his grunts that of a cabbage? You would think that they would be capable of higher reasoning, but evidently not.

"Get… going," he spat, before releasing the poor grunt, turning to clear away the bar.

"Yes, boss," the goon gasped out, before scrambling to fulfill his employer's orders.

While Hei was storing (read: slamming) bottles of alcohol on the shelves, Miltia and Melanie Malachite sashayed up, before planting their right elbows on the bar in unison, propping their left arms up on their hands, crossing their right leg to rest toe-first on the ground in front of their left. Scarily in sync, they both tilted their heads, before asking a question.

"How'd you know that guy was that strong?" they asked, their voices overlapping like a melody.

"Cut it out," Junior glared back over his shoulder, thoroughly unimpressed with their bit. "If you must know, I felt something similar when I accidentally pissed off a full-fledged huntsman. Think his name was a bird of some kind. The man nearly killed me. Worst part is, the aura that this guy," he gestured to the door, "gave off was the same as that first huntsman. Tell me, what kind of monster is he that he can give off that level of energy constantly, without even being aware of it?!" Junior was slightly hysteric by the end of his tirade, gasping as his body caught up with the events of the past ten minutes.

"You okay, Junior?" Melanie asked, her red opposite nodding along, concern flitting across their faces.

"I will be. Not now, not tomorrow. But eventually," Junior replied, steadying his hands as he finished storing bottles. "When the grunt gets back, send all the info he collects to me. Direct, to my scroll. I'm going to go home for the night. You all close up shop," The broker said, before coming around the bar and passing a ring of keys to Melanie. The white twin glanced at it, before tossing it to Miltia, the red twin catching it without looking and pocketing it. Both pairs of green eyes bored into their employer, before they dropped their intensity from "skewering" to only "mildly tortuous".

"You got it, boss," They both said, voices overlapping.

"Thanks. And keep everything in one piece, if you please," Junior returned, before striding to the door and, without hesitating, moving into the inky blackness of the night.

The Next Day

Yang Xiao-Long was bored. This, of course, spelt disaster for everyone nearby, as well as the sanity of anyone that was within screaming distance. Therefore, she decided, she was going to go pester her team! Nothing better than annoying her partner, her little sister, and the Ice Queen herself.

Her first target was, of course, her partner. The only problem was tracking her down. The sneaky cat was almost always tucked into a corner somewhere, nose buried in a book. Not that Yang minded, see. Tracking her down was part of the fun. A plus side was that the blonde brawler had tracked her down so many times that she was running out of places to hide.

And within minutes, her theory proved to hold water. Tucked inside the back corner of the garden, Blake was fully occupied by the book in her hands. Yang walked around, out of view of her partner, to behind the tree Blake was leaning against, and leaned out, before grabbing both shoulders and barking out at her partner.

"What'cha doing?"

Blake yelped out "Eep!" before slamming her book shut and rounding on her partner.

"What are you doing?!" She yelled, face flushed.

"Awh, what's the matter, Blake? Have something embarrassing here?" Yang replied, reaching for the book. She quickly rethought this decision, however, when her hand was nearly skewered by Gambol Shroud's blade burying itself in the tree next to her hand.

"Keep your hands off," Blake hissed out, tucking the book into her bag and wrenching Gambol Shroud out of the tree, sheathing it in one fluid movement.

"Okay, okay, kitty has claws, duly noted!" Yang yelped, before returning to her original objective. "So, Blake, what are you doing? I need something to do, and it seems to me that you just volunteered yourself," she grinned, stretching her arms above her head and popping her back.

"I think not," Blake replied, giving the 'Y' of RWBY a dry stare. "I was reading, and I will continue to read, as soon as you find someone else to pester. What about Weiss? She's sure to give you a better reaction," she stated, before turning to ignore her partner in favour of finding a new reading spot.

"Laaaame!" Yang booed after her, complete with a downturned thumb, before turning towards the library, intent on finding the Ice Queen. The day was still young, barely nine in the morning, so she had plenty of time for fun before classes started in the afternoon.

Sure enough, the frosty whitehead was in the library, gaze fixed intently on the absolutely enormous essay in front of her. Just as Yang spotted her, however, the Schnee's head snapped up, catching her eyes in a glare as the blonde walked over.

"What do you want?" The rapier-wielder demanded, gesturing to her essay as she spoke. "As you can see, I'm rather busy, so unless someone is dying or my family is calling, leave me in peace."

"Geez, so harsh! Is it too much to believe that I just wanted to hang out with you?" The brawler asked, feigning offense as she placed a hand over her heart, gasping in shock.

The glyph-user fixed her with a deadpan stare, responding in a single word.

"Yes."

"Well, you'd be right! Since you aren't doing anything interesting, I'll see you at lunch," Yang said, before huffing in mock disbelief as Weiss turned her head back to her essay, waving her away as she did. Mind made up, the tallest member of team RWBY turned back, striding out of the library as she went to find her little sister.

Two minutes later, she stood outside the Weapons Workshop, kicking the door open as she levelled her right pointer finger inwards, left hand clenching into a fist in front of her chest.

"Ruby Rose! Prepare yourself for awesomeness!" She declared, focusing on her little sister, hunched over one of the many workbenches.

"Hmm? Oh, hi Yang," the diminutive reaper responded, without even a glance over her shoulder.

The blonde's expression fell, dropping her hands to her hips as she spoke.

"Ruby? What are you doing?"

Yang strode forwards, weaving between the tables as she approached her sister, before she saw her sister's scythe, Crescent Rose, dismantled on the bench in front of her. That explained a lot. When she was working on her weapon, her sister was almost impossible to distract. Getting a conversation out of her was like wringing water out of a boulder. Perfect. All three teammates she could possibly have fun with (read: bother) were all busy.

"Weelllll, it's only 9:30, and Lunch isn't till 11:45… I still have time to head into Vale for a little bit. Bullhead ride is only twenty minutes each way. Should be able to search for a bit of info while I'm there, see if anyone has seen Raven."

Pulling out her scroll, she sent her team a message telling them that she was going to run into Vale. Only Weiss responded, (forming a word comprised of 'O' and 'K') but the other two were… busy. If one could call it that.

Five minutes later, Yang was sitting in the backseat of a bullhead, earbuds in as she listened to music and searched for new bars and dives to ask around (interrogate) at.

Twenty minutes later, the Bullhead settled with a bump and Yang Xiao-Long stepped off the aircraft, hair sparkling and swaying under the sun. Reaching into her breast pocket, she pulled out a pair of shades, snapped them open, and put them on. During the ride into Vale, she had found two new locations for searching, within reasonable distance. One of them, a hole-in-the-wall called "The Crow Bar," was only five minutes away. The second, the one she thought might hold real information, was a seedy place called "O'Flanagan's," set right in the middle of the worst part of Vale.

If either place had information she wanted, it was going to be O'Flanagan's. First, though, was The Crow Bar. After just a few minutes of strolling down the sunlit sidewalks of downtown Vale, she stood before a literal hole in the wall, the name "Crow Bar" stylized over top, with a pair of crossed crowbars in between the words. The bartender, a man with a very impressive moustache, looked over at her as she approached.

"Hiya! You make any Strawberry Sunrises?" Yang chirped, mood bright. The day was beautiful, and her mood was just as vibrant.

"Absolutely, miss. You have an ID on you?" The barkeep replied, setting down the glass he was polishing.

"Here ya go," Yang replied, tossing her Student ID onto the bartop. Thank god that even hunstmen-in-training could get alcohol. The drinking age was, of course, only sixteen if one was enrolled in a combat academy. Beacon, obviously, qualified.

After a short wait while he studied the ID, he said "Thank you," handing the plastic card back. "A Strawberry Sunrise, was it?"

"You bet!" The brawler replied, pocketing the ID once more. "Say, you wouldn't happen to have seen-" she pulled out her scroll and pulled up a picture of her mother, Raven Branwen, "this lady around, ever, would you?"

The mustachioed man took her scroll, focusing on the woman pictured. After a few seconds, he handed it back, shrugging his shoulders.

"Sorry, miss. Never seen her before in my life," he apologized.

With a sigh, Yang pocketed her scroll, replied "Thanks anyways," and waited for her drink. While she waited, she watched the TV mounted at the left end of the bar. Scrolling across the bottom of the screen was the headline "Break-in and attempted murder", while a brunette news reporter spoke, her voice ringing out as different pictures of a broken store front, scattered books, craters, and blood spatters revealed themselves in quick succession.

"Here you are," the bartender spoke, setting her cocktail on the bar in front of her. Thank god she could get one with alcohol in it, now that Ruby wasn't with her. No point in setting a bad example for her baby sister.

Ten minutes of enjoying the sun, breeze, and her drink later, she tossed a blue Lien card onto the bar, next to her emptied glass, and with a final comment and nod to the bartender ("Keep the change"), the blonde started walking towards O'Flanagan's. Now, normally, she wouldn't go to a casino, but she was running out of bars to ask around at. It was time to broaden her horizons, especially with Junior being useless in the information department. What's the point in being an information broker if you can't give information? With a quick glance at her scroll, noting the time (10:23 am), she began striding towards O'Flanagan's. If she hurried, she could get there, ask around, and get back in time to catch the 11:30 Bullhead back to Beacon. An hour to do all that was manageable, especially if she was efficient.

Eight minutes of walking later, she stood outside the… casino. If it could even be called that. To be honest, she expected at least glass in the windows. From somewhere in the back, she heard soft jazz floating out, and from one of the boarded-up doorways, the clinking of chips as someone tossed them into a pile. Decrepit boards, worn away by time and insects, hung limply from the front of the establishment. As she watched, one swung down, falling to the ground, clattering as it connected with the (mostly) concrete sidewalk.

Steeling herself, she double checked her gauntlets, Ember Celica, pocketed her sunglasses, and strode forwards, pushing open the door, tense as could be. Immediately, her trained senses registered the location of the closest people, as well as the layout of the room. Directly in front of her was a desk, a man in a suit with shades sitting behind it, counting Lien cards. Behind him was a security "officer." In all actuality, it was an average Joe with a standard fire-dust pistol holstered at his hip. Behind him, through the decaying wall, Yang could see the main room. Three tables arranged in a 'V' on the left, the point of the 'V' towards the center of the room. A single roulette table in the middle. On the right was a single Craps table, and along the right wall was a line of Slot machines. In total there were five patrons, eight employees, and four firearms.

The man behind the counter paused in his counting, before stashing the cards out of view, beneath the desk. He brought his hand back up, laced his fingers in front of him, and inclined his head slightly towards her in askance.

"You gonna stand there all day, girly? Or are you going to actually buy some chips?" He asked, dry as the most sought-after martini.

"I'll take 20," Yang replied, eyeing the guards. One behind the desk, one near the cards tables, one in the far back, and one watching the Craps and Slots.

The man behind the desk snorted, before unlatching a case in one of the drawers. Pulling out five white and three red, he held out a hand, waiting for the Lien to be deposited.

Pulling out the required amount, she tossed over the two pink Lien cards, pausing when the man behind the counter laughed.

"Blondie, if you want twenty chips, you gotta fork over fourty Lien. Operating costs, see? Plus a… tip, for the generous soul helping you obtain your chips," he chortled, the guard behind him grinning as well.

Yang's mood instantly dropped, her anger threatening to show itself.

"That's highway robbery. I'll give you thirty, but not a single Lien more," she growled out. The nerve of this guy! Charging her double for chips.

The man pulled down his shades, staring at her incredulously. "Look, brat, I don't know what you think it takes to run this fine of an establishment," Yang snorted derisively, and the guard snickered as well, "but that's far too low! I'll take thirty-eight, and no less!"

"Thirty-two."

"My kids could offer more, and they don't even fucking exist! Thirty-seven."

"Thirty-four, final offer. Or, I'll just turn my pretty self back around and find a casino that doesn't try to rip its customers off."

The man gave it some thought, before grinning and, with a nod, extended his arm for a handshake.

Yang eyed it distrustfully, before shaking her head and giving the man a few pumps up and down. She made sure to grip it extra tight, too, just to give the man an idea of who he was dealing with.

The man kept a straight face, up until he heard several very important somethings in his hand make violent popping noises. With a strangled gasp, he wrenched his hand out of hers.

"Pleasure doing business with you," Yang grinned evilly at the man, before sweeping her chips off the desk, and striding towards one of two occupied areas. One, a lady, sat at the cards tables. At closer inspection, two tables were for Blackjack, and one was for Poker. Looked like Atlas-Hold-'Em. The woman was seated at the poker table, while the only other patron sat at the Roulette table.

The woman wore a blue strapless dress, shiny heels glinting in the fluorescent lights. Flawless makeup greeted her as she strode over, taking the seat two to her right. While she waited for the round to finish, she took in the man sitting at the Roulette table. And, dust, was he huge. At least seven feet tall. Clad in a purple robe, white jacket sitting firmly on his shoulders, sleeves empty, the man stared sightlessly ahead, one hand clutching a cane, while the other sat protectively over his chips. Yang nearly did a double-take when she saw the amount sitting in front of him. He had at least at least three black, two green, and a pile of red and white. That was nearly four hundred Lien, just sitting there!

The man behind the roulette wheel was obviously distressed, constantly glancing at the ever-growing pile of chips as the man won yet another round. If this kept up he would be out of a job!

With a nervous gulp, he asked the man for his bet, to which the giant replied "Thirty on Red twenty-seven," and then spun the wheel. After a second, he rolled the ball against the rotation, allowing it to bounce and spin.

Yang watched with interest, but just as the tender rolled the ball, the dealer at her table asked for her to ante up. Wrenching her attention away from the roulette table, she began betting and playing. Her first time gambling couldn't end in failure! Uncle Qrow would never let her hear the end of it.

Ten minutes and four hands later (and ten chips lighter!), she heard a commotion as a guard approached the roulette table.

"Hey, Bege, didn't the guy call Red Seven?" The guard asked the staff member.

"He did," the man (Now named Bege) replied, frantically making chopping motions across his neck.

"And ain't that ball in Red Seven?" The guard asked Begeagain.

"Check again, man!" Bege laughed, nervous. "The ball is in Black Twenty-Seven."

With a strange look, the guard opened his mouth once more, before Bege placed a finger over his lips, making a "shush"-ing gesture with his other.

With a strange look, the man acquiesced. This wouldn't be the first time Bege had scammed someone, but it was the first time he had done it to someone with a disability. Something about it felt wrong, in a sense. With one final pitying glance at the blind man, the guard turned and returned to his post, folding his arms as he leaned against the decrepit wall.

Yang watched with mounting anger, before forcing herself to stay calm. Getting into a fight on a weekend was one thing. Getting into a fight with classes in less than two hours, however, was an entirely different beast.

This scenario played out several times over the next few minutes, with the man winning most of his guesses, and the guard telling him he lost every time. The blind man's face became more and more distressed as the pile of chips in front of him began to shrink.

Trying to calm down, Yang reached into her pocket, pulling up the picture of Raven on her scroll. Turning back to her dealer, she showed him the scroll, asking him if he had seen the woman anywhere before.

When the man shook his head, her mood only worsened. So much time and Lien wasted, trying to find a woman who apparently didn't fucking exist.

Yang was furious, and her mood was only incensed when she heard the staff member swindling the blind man again. That was the straw that broke the camel's back.

Yang approached the Roulette table, and by proxy, the giant in purple, clenching her fists as she got close. "What the hell is this about? This guy clearly won, give him the winnings!"

With a nervous glance, the tender laughed, then tried to bluff his way out. A poor idea, to say the least.

"Girly, why don't you get your eyes checked? He called Red 23, and the ball is in Black 8."

The poor man never even saw the haymaker coming.

With that single punch, all hell broke loose. The guard leaning against the wall snapped his hand to his waist, about to draw his pistol, but froze when Yang racked a new shell into the chamber of her now-expanded Ember Celica, aiming unerringly at the man's head.

"I would advise that you not move," she growled out, eyes flashing from violet to red as she heard the men behind them begin to move to surround them. "That goes for you too!" she yelled over her shoulder, but was ignored. A firearm barked its respite, sending a round into her shoulder. Her aura flared, deflecting the bullet away, over her shoulder, and into the leg of the guard in front of her. He crumpled to the ground, clutching at his knee, where the projectile had landed.

Growling, she turned, allowing her other gauntlet to expand, and leapt at the three guards behind her. She froze in midair, when the giant clamped one enormous hand onto her shoulder.

"Please, there is no need for violence," the man's baritone rumbled out. The statement was clearly directed at both her and the guards, however the guards didn't seem to take much notice.

"Hey, let go of me!" Yang yelled, trying to free herself so she could kick the crap out of these guys, or, at least, you know, dodge the bullets about to be sent her way.

The three guards in front of her levelled their pistols, before firing almost simultaneously. Before she (or the guards) could process what was happening, the giant had dropped her, drawn a sword from his cane, and blocked all three bullets with the flat of the blade. Yang recovered quickly enough, staggering to her feet, as the guards simply stared.

"Perhaps you did not hear me," the giant spoke, voice lashing like thunder, sounding like an adult scolding misbehaving children. "I said, there is no need for violence."

All the guards recovered as he spoke, blood draining from their faces, and they began firing as many bullets as they could. When their firearms clicked empty, however, they were horrified to see that both the giant and the violent blonde were still standing. More than that, neither were even injured. The man in purple had either deflected or cut all the bullets out of the air.

With a breathy sigh, the towering figure strode forwards, two-toothed Geta clicking against the ground as he began to slowly sheathe his sword.

"I tried, I really did. However, I do not think that you would allow me to cash in my winnings now, would you? I suppose I will have you all take a quick nap for me," he said, disappointed, before beginning to slide the last six inches of his sword into the sheathe. With every centimeter that disappeared, the men felt their bodies become heavier, the air harder to draw in to breathe, until they were kneeling.

"I do hope you can forget this unpleasantness ever happened," the giant said, sounding almost… sorrowful. With that statement, he slid the last inch of his sword into the cane, obscuring the steel from view. As he did, the ground around the three men caved, shrieking as boards rubbed against each other, forcefully bending inside the well of gravity pulling them to the ground. As the click of his cane snapping shut echoed, the men collapsed, unconscious. One's brain could only last for so long without blood.

The man then turned, addressing Yang, who was still trying to process what she was seeing. "Thank you for your assistance. While not entirely necessary, I appreciate the gesture nonetheless."

The man then turned, strode back to the Roulette table, swept his chips into his large hands, before striding to the front desk, tossing the chips down.

"I'd like to cash my winnings, if possible," he rumbled.

The man behind the desk squeaked, then stammered out "S-sure! Just a s-second, sir," rushing to pull out the appropriate amount of Lien.

Handing over the stack of Lien cards, the blind man took them, thanked him, then turned and strode out of the casino.

Yang started, then rushed to grab her chips, cashed in as well, and ran out the door, trying to spot the towering man. It seemed she was too late, however, and the man was already gone by the time she got outside.

She would remember the giant in purple, however. She would have to ask around campus to see if anyone knew him; the man was obviously a huntsman. You would think that someone that distinctive would stand out in stories, but evidently not.

Deep in thought, she began walking back towards the Bullhead pad. With a quick glance at the time (11:15), she resolved to actually do research in the coming days. When she boarded the Bullhead, however, all thoughts of research were quickly banished in favour of thoughts of lunch.

Issho strode down the street, searching for a scroll shop that he could purchase a personal device for himself from. He had walked away from O'Flanagan's 430 Lien richer, more than enough to buy himself a decent scroll. Tukson had told him that he could have an employee set it up so he could use it by simply speaking to it.

The technology in this place was simply mind-boggling. Vegapunk would have a field day, were he here. He would find out more about where he was. There would be no ifs, ands, or buts. He refused to remain ignorant for any longer than was strictly necessary. He stopped in front of the scroll store, before nudging the door open, and he strode in with the chime of the door. He would learn as much as possible, as fast as he could.

Professor Ozpin stared at his terminal's screen, disbelief flickering across his face as he registered what was happening.

On the screen, the source of his disbelief continued to move, striking down Grimm with lethal, precise strikes, his sword flashing at speeds almost too fast to see. The figure, clad in all black, face obscured, wound up for one final strike, slicing through the veritable army of Grimm in front of them, into and beyond the trees behind them. Into the distance, a swath of trees fell, toppled by the figure's mighty swing.

Glynda Goodwitch, his right-hand woman, stared in barely controlled shock over his shoulder as the figure sheathed his sword, then disappeared in a flicker of movement. Too fast for even the camera to capture for more than a few frames, the person disappeared from view, past all other cameras, Glynda struggling to keep up with its speed.

Within seconds, the figure had cleared the forest, darting into the city, where they could no longer track them.

A single thought raced through both their minds: "What the hell just happened?"

A/N: Hello all! To everyone new, welcome! To you returning readers, welcome back!

Thank you all SO much for your continued support of this story! We broke a hundred follows! And Jesus, that's way more than I thought I would ever get. To be honest, I only thought this would have twenty, maybe thirty if I was lucky. To know that this many people want to be updated regarding this story is mind-blowing. Thank you all so much!

Another note regarding Lien; for this story we will only deal with the Turquoise, Blue, Pink, and Yellow cards. They are worth (for this story) Ⱡ1, Ⱡ5, Ⱡ10, and Ⱡ25 respectively. Also, I realised I fucked up majorly. In my previous chapter (and this one as well), I stated that 1 Lien was 3.5 USD, however I then turned and made a phone 1400 Lien ($4900). I also made Issho earn $700 in 8 hours. That's ridiculous. I got the conversions wrong (multiplied instead of divided), and just realized after I finished writing both chapters. So, for the remainder of this story, I will be fixing it so Lien to USD is properly calculated. I've just finished (2:20am, 7/21/2020) fixing the story so that all currency is (I think) correct. Thank you all so much for understanding my stupidity.

In regards to the Haki Signatures that Issho felt, yes, that powerful and old one was Ozpin. However, I'd like to see if you all could guess who the others are! Also, does anyone have any ideas about who the stranger that Issho ran into outside the club was? I'm interested to hear your thoughts!

In regards to the casino O'Flanagan's, this is a reference to the bar by the same name, from the movie "The Heat", from 2013, starring Melissa McCarthy and Sandra Bullock. The line "It's a little divy, you might wanna wear a vest" makes a cameo in this story as well, a quote from Captain Woods.

Sidenote, if anyone has any ideas where I came up with the name "Lehnsherr Island" from the first two chapters, let me know! This is a little less obvious than some of my other references.

Second sidenote, I'm not a huge fan of Mai Tais. I prefer neat Whiskey, Rum, or Bourbon. Not one for mixed drinks. However, my brother makes a mean cocktail, and I usually end up being his Guinea Pig for any first tries at drinks. While not my cup of Manhattan, (heheheh, get it? Cup of tea?) his Mai Tais are very good. I only made Yang drink a Strawberry Sunrise as it's the only drink we've seen her order from a bar. At a later date I will eventually have her drink something more away from plot; I don't want to copy-paste from RoosterTeeth's story.

If anyone has any suggestions for the future of the story, please don't hesitate to contact me via PM or review. Any future conflicts, meetings, encounters, fight scenes, or references, let me know and if it's plausible and I feel it fits with the story I'll try and write it in.

Also, please let me know if there are any grammatical errors, continuity issues, or debased sentences anywhere in the story.

As always, if the story is to your liking, consider dropping a favourite or follow if you want to be updated when anything changes with the story. Thank you for reading! See you all next week!

Songs listened to while writing:

"Heat Waves" by Glass Animals

"Gooey" by Glass Animals

"The Other Side of Paradise" by Glass Animals

"Life Itself" by Glass Animals

"Your Love (Deja Vu)" by Glass Animals

"Tokyo Drifting" by Glass Animals ft. Denzel Curry

"Hazey" by Glass Animals

"Poplar Street" by Glass Animals

"Youth" by Glass Animals

"Toes" by Glass Animals

"Season 2, Episode 3" by Glass Animals

"Dreamland" by Glass Animals

"Black Mambo" by Glass Animals

"Pork Soda" by Glass Animals

"The Trip" by Glass Animals

"Agnes" by Glass Animals

"Pools" by Glass Animals

"Cane Shuga" by Glass Animals

"Take a Slice" by Glass Animals

"Cocoa Hooves" by Glass Animals

and FaceTiming my Co-Author

As you can tell, I'm in a Glass Animals kind of mood

Total Wordcount: 7341

Wordcount without A/N: 6591