“Hello, old friend,” Yasuo greeted towards the weird-headgear wearing man. The man then turned his gaze towards Yasuo and smiled as he greeted back.

“We meet again, Yasuo,” the man put his hand in front, while Yasuo grabbed it and shook it. They both then separated as the man rubbed his goatee while he asked, “What brings you here to the outskirts of the Hirana Monastery?”

“It’s a long story,” Yasuo just shrugged while he glanced towards the monkey Vastayan, and then back to the man. “By the way Yi, the forest seems… different from the days I’ve been away.”

“You mean to tell me you were away from Ionia?” the man, also known as Yi, posed a question as he shifted his gaze towards the group of teens just at the shores. “I’ll explain that as we walk. For now, follow us to the monastery. Your group looks like they could use the rest.”

Yasuo then nodded and looked towards Shino for approval. Shino just agreed but still stayed cautious, while the group of innocent Huntsmen (some are not) heaved a sigh of relief. But somehow, one of the Huntsmen Faunus garnered the attention of the monkey Vastayan.

The monkey separated from his master and moved towards the group of teens as they readied themselves for a fight. The monkey just waved his hands to show that he didn’t want to fight and continued on, towards a certain Faunus Huntsmen.

“Are you a monkey Vastayan?” the monkey asked towards the teen who was busy consoling his still fear-stricken blue-haired buddy.

“Vastayan? What’s that?” the teen replied, an obvious confusion spreading within his mind. He then looked towards the monkey with a face that wanted to correct his assumption. “I’m a Faunus, and my name is Sun Wukong, what is yours?”

“Why do you have my name?” the monkey grew shocked as he looked towards the monkey Faunus, Sun, as he stared wide-eyed at the revelation. “Name’s Wukong, the Monkey King.”

When the group overheard their conversation, all of them had their jaws drop. What a coincidence, a monkey and a monkey Vastayan having the same name. But what happened next was even more mind boggling.

“Also, why do you have the same weapon as I have?” said Wukong as he brought out his Monkey King Bar (A/N: I’m calling it this to differentiate it from Sun’s Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang) and tapped it on the sand. Sun just stared at it with eyes the size of the moon. It also had the same design as his Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang when they are together!

Not losing out in the momentum, Sun brought out his staff to compare to Wukong’s. Then, the both of them, along with the entire group of Huntsmen, tried comparing the two. It had the exact same design, the same length, the same color scheme, hell everything is the same! The two were like two identical weapons as the stood side by side.

“Are you an impersonator?” Wukong asked with a grin towards Sun in an obvious mocking challenge. Not losing out, Sun grinned as well and transformed his staff into their nunchuck counterpart. Wukong stared at it with shock, then smiled before showing what his weapon could do.

The staff wiggled and grew longer! This had Ruby having her eyes out near her sockets, with stars in the center, not to mention, she had drool dripping down from her mouth.

“Care for a quick spar?” Wukong asked, excitement coursing through his veins. Sun glanced towards his superior, Shino, as well as his teammates for the go, and he got the go sign he wanted.

“Sure!” Sun said with glee. He was filled with excitement at the prospect of fighting someone who had the same style, same weapon – except for the transforming part – and the same animal characteristics. Although he was a bit tired from the swimming, he’s tiredness were all blown away from meeting a potential rival. The same could be said for the Huntsmen, Yasuo, and Yi who wanted to see the results of the fight.

The group cleared the area, except for Wukong and Sun as they readied their stances. Sun gripped his Ruyi and Jingu Bang in a stance similar to Shaolins, while Wukong climbed on the side of his MKB and balanced himself.

“No holding back!” Wukong shouted as he glared at Sun with a smile. Wukong just nodded back, a wild grin on his face.

“All right, since this has all already blown up high, I’ll be the judge,” Shino stepped forward, feeling responsible for not stopping them from sparring. “Remember that this is just a spar, so nobody is going to take it too far, alright?”

The two monkeys nodded in agreement as they continued their staredown.

“Good, we’ll stop the match once a clear victor has emerged, or when things take a drastic turn.” Shino supplemented as he glanced towards the two, hoping that they won’t take things too far. If it was just sparring, all was right, but not here in the wilderness where danger lurks in every corner. But since it would leave a bad aftertaste if they did not continue, Shino had no other choice but to regulate the match in hopes that they had energy left in case an enemy comes crashing at their door.

“Ready,” Shino raised his arm up, gathering the attention of the two monkeys, but still staring at each other with wild, feral grins. Blake looked a little bit worried towards Sun, but did not let it show on her face. Ruby and Yang, as well as Nora were excited for the coming match. The others just cheered them on and hoped not to go too far in their fight.

“BEGIN!”

Shino brought his arm down, and with his voice, sprung the two monkeys into action. Sun dashed towards Wukong, while Wukong just stayed still balancing himself on his MKB. Feeling a tug at his gut, but ignoring it for a little, Sun tried to smash his staff towards the defenseless monkey. Keyword, tried.

“You rely too much on your eyes,” a voice came from his side mid-swing, and saw another monkey with a staff coming for him overhead. Sun urged his body to dodge, but the monkey in front of him also moved and used the staff he was balancing on to bonk his head, albeit weaker than he thought. But that bonk was enough to stop him from dodging, as another blow struck his face, this time, knocking him off his feet and throwing him across the ground like a ragdoll.

Sun quickly recovered by controlling the motion in which his body was rolling, going back on his feet. This time, he dashed forward faster than ever, but more cautious than before.

“Yes! A good fight!” Wukong laughed as he dashed towards Sun to meet his strike with his own. Wukong’s staff moved and wiggled, and suddenly, the both of them had their staffs in a deadlock. They had the same strength, so it was hard to break out of it, but Sun lost in the bout of strength because of a simple technique. The damned staff extended and hit him square on the face with the strength of an ace Yankee batter’s peak swing! It knocked him back again, exposing a gap within his defense, a gap which Wukong did not miss.

Using his extended staff, Wukong swept the floor, hitting the feet of Sun, causing him to stumble on the ground. Wukong then retracted his staff and pointed it to the ground and had it extend, boosting his jump to the air. Wukong then used gravity as his weapon as he soared down towards Sun in a quick moment. Sun gathered his senses once again and tried to dodge. TRIED…

“I told you, you rely on your eyes to much,” he heard a voice coming from his side again as he noticed another monkey bringing down his staff towards his face. Sun crossed his arms in hopes of blocking the attack, but after a few seconds, there was no impact. When he brought his arms out of his vision, Sun saw Shino in front of him with his weapons wrapping around Wukong in a tight knot. Also, in the perspective of the teen Huntsmen, Shino kicked the clone monkey out of the way just before he could land the painful blow.

“All right, Sun, you lose,” Shino said in a matter of fact tone. “Wukong, you win, but please don’t injure one of my men right now.”

“Sure, just get these chains off of me!” Wukong snarled in protest as Shino unwrapped the chains from Wukong’s body.

This was the first time the Huntsmen saw a glimpse of their superior’s strength. The fast fluid motion, the silent, but deadly skillset, and most importantly, his stealth…

“I wonder if Zed would take him as a disciple,” Yi wondered as he recalled Zed’s Shadow Techniques that might and will complement the new face he saw.

[-][-][-][-][-][-][-][-][-][-]

After a few uproars about Wukong and Sun’s match, the group was now traversing through the forest, on their way towards Hirana Monastery.

“So, care to enlighten me on why the forest seems different?” Yasuo asked Yi as they walked ahead of the group of Huntsmen. For some reason, Wukong and Sun really hit it off together, although Sun was inferior in fighting techniques to Wukong.

“It’s Noxus,” Yi stated with a grim expression. “I never forgot the day where they killed my entire village, but I guess I was at fault as well.”

Yasuo nodded at the words of Yi. He could still vividly remember the scene where countless of corpses littered the battlefield, Ionian or Noxian, because of a chemical attack.

“So what, they’re trying to invade again?” Yasuo asked, a glint in his eyes. Once could not fathom the rage he held towards Noxians since that day. Although he had no purpose in life, his emotions still lived, and he could not forget the emotions he felt at that moment he saw the corpse-littered battlefield.

“Yes, they are invading once more,” Yi said with a frown. “Fortunately, Irelia is leading the defense in one of the villages. I want to help, but I want no part in it. I’m just looking for new disciples, such as my disciple, Wukong over there.”

Yi pointed towards Wukong who was mingling with the Huntsmen a few meters behind them. The star-gazed Ruby repeatedly asking about Wukong’s staff, Yang with all her horrible puns and jokes which earned groans from her fellow Huntsmen and Wukong alike, Weiss being with her usual ice-queen antics, Blake continuing reading her Ninjas of Love novel, Nora who was hyperactively asking about Wukong’s semblance (skill), Ren who was trying to calm the hyper Nora down, and Jaune and Pyrrha having a world of their own.

Neptune was already getting over his fear of water since water was nowhere in sight, while Scarlet was busy taking off the sand that still stayed stuck in his shoes, with Sage just listening to Neptune’s prattle about girls in one ear and out the other. Coco and Velvet on the other hand, were conversing about smut, with Velvet going a complete red. While they were at their smut conversation, Velvet was using her camera – which surprisingly stayed active even after getting wet – to take pictures of the fauna, as well as Wukong’s staff for her usage in the future.

Fox was using his semblance to communicate to Daichi in terms of considering their surroundings, in case something dangerous heads their way. All of them were doing their own things as they traversed the forest, but even if they doing so, all of them were remaining alert in case something gets the jump on them.

“Ugh, great,” Yasuo said and took his flask with a frown as he downed a swig. “Even though I’m a wanted man in Ionia, doesn’t mean I’m not going to help.”

He never really cared about Ionia, but he did care about his long dead brother, his legacy, and his hometown. If all it took was killing a bunch of Noxians to defend what his brother loved when he killed him, then he would do it willingly. He didn’t stare at the jaws of death countless of times just for nothing.

“You really are a good man, Yasuo,” Yi said with a smile. “Such a shame I can’t teach you about the Wuju style.”

“Keep your style out of my hands,” Yasuo scoffed as he downed another swig. “I’m too bloody for it.”

As they walked through the patches of green, they came across a clearing and in front of them laid a sight so beautiful it could melt your hears just by its beauty.

“We’re here,” said Yi as he looked back over to the awe-filled Huntsmen.

[-][-][-][-][-][-][-][-][-][-][-][-][-][-][-][-]

An entire army marched through the beaten path, all armed to the teeth. They were systematically in a rank-and-file, with heavy-armored troops at the front, infantry at the middle, and ranged marksmen and mages at the back. There were even cavalry situated just at the front of those ranged soldiers, and at the fore front of the huge army numbering a thousand, a man in huge black and red armor carrying a giant battleaxe was leading the battalion.

General Darius, the Hand of Noxus, was at front leading the entire army. Beside him were a huge fully-armored giant wielding a flail, and a woman past-slave now glorious soldier of Noxus. The three of them had stoic, but feral expressions knowing that in the next few minutes, Noxus will once again expand, albeit only little.

“General, what shall we do if they refuse to comply?” the female soldier asked Darius with a bloodthirsty gaze.

“As usual, kill until they surrender,” Darius stated with an expressionless gaze. “It’s been that way ever since Noxus was founded. Never give them a chance to fight, and once they surrender, grab them all as prisoners.”

“Yes, General,” the woman nodded in agreement. She was a slave before Noxus came by. She made the mistake of bringing the crown back to her ruler, only to be treated like dirt, along with the entire kingdom. She was then ordered to fight back until she dies, but she refused, and was about to be executed by the king himself, only to be saved by an axe thrown by Darius himself towards the king now deceased. And instead of being dragged as a prisoner of war, she was given the opportunity to stand by Noxus as one of their soldiers, and it was a decision she would cherish for the rest of her life.

While the two were talking, the fully-armored giant of a man was staying silent as they traversed the land of green, until they heard a rustle from a bush. The three of them, along with the battalion under Darius’ command, tensed up for a fight. Darius gripped his axe tight, the woman held her sword, and the huge man readied his flail. The three of them turned their sights towards the bush and slowly advanced after signaling the entire army to halt and prepare for battle.

They didn’t know the lay of the land, they didn’t know the fauna, they didn’t know the inhabitants, basically; they were going in blind to wage a war towards an opponent they did not know. This was a huge mistake on Swain’s part as a Grand General who oversees the entire army of Noxus, but this was all planned out the moment they set off. The reason being that Swain had information about the village they were about to raid.

With his demonic powers, seeing across the land was not that hard, and the information he gained from the land of Vacuo was immense, couple that off with the traveling time from Noxus to here, and Swain could’ve already picked up secrets that the executives of Vacuo wanted to hide. And now, Darius was and his battalion was the first ones to march into the unknown, fully knowing about the danger Swain had briefed them on before leaving the ships.

Darius noticed an unusual phenomenon in their surroundings. The land was quiet, too quiet. No insects, no animals, only the rustling of the bush and the swaying of the wind. It’s as if the entire area was devoid of living beings except for them and the soldiers behind them.

And then, the figure finally showed itself. It was black, huge, and had a white mask adorning its face. It had the shape of a bear, was on all fours, and was rushing towards them like a mad animal.

When Darius saw this, he was relieved. It was just a hostile creature, a creature in which Swain briefed them about. Since he couldn’t hear what the common populace was saying with his power, he didn’t know the name of this specific type of animal, but he said that they come in all shapes and sizes, some having a variety of powers such as flame breath and whatnot.

What Darius was seeing here was one of the creatures Swain had told them about. It was stronger than a bear as what Swain had observed, but was not that much of a threat against their numbers. Using this as an opportunity, Darius commanded the giant man to fight it head on. The giant nodded and rushed towards the black bear, flail flailing in his hands.

In under a few seconds, both of them were already 10 feet apart from each other. The bear grasped the distance and leaped off the ground, lunging towards the giant, armored man. This was grave mistake. The man was no ordinary man. He was a tempered soldier of Noxus, a man who partook in many wars and lived to tell the tale.

Bringing his flail as far back as he could, the man swung the flail with all of his might, causing it to smash against the face and the white mask of the bear. The white mask shattered, and its face caved in. With the inhuman strength of the armored man, the flail bashed the head of the bear and fell towards the ground in a loud thud. The ground cracked beneath the weight of the bear, as well as the strength of the man. And then, the bear dissipated into smoke and vanished from the ground, leaving a crater.

“Good work,” Darius approached the man and gave him a pat on the back. None of them were surprised since they were briefed by Swain earlier about how these black creatures died. “Let’s continue.”

Darius then told his soldiers to resume their march towards the village Swain pointed them to. It won’t be long now before they arrive and chaos envelops the area.

[][][][][][][][][][][][]

Amanda Newford, 28-year old, married Huntress, was just having her usual rounds around the village she was posted on. Her husband, Derrick Newford was busy on the other side of the village, the reason being that the two of them couldn’t stay professional during their jobs when they were next to each other.

“Another boring day…” Amanda muttered under her breath as she patrolled the perimeter around the village. “Ahh… how I want to be in Derrick’s arms right now, most likely in bed…”

Amanda drooled at the prospect of another hot night with her most beloved husband. They were lovers back in Coquira Oscuro Academy, dating back from their first years. They climbed the stairs to adulthood during their third year, and it was one of the most blissful nights for Amanda. Ever since then, the both of them were inseparable.

“Ahhh… I can’t wait for ton-” she was cut off by spotting a silhouette just across the tree lines. “What’s that?”

She inched closer while remaining hidden. When she saw them, she was relieved that they were human just like her, but that turned into shock, then fear once she saw an army through her enhanced eyesight due to her Aura.

“This is bad…” Amanda quickly hoofed it back to the village with only about 300 people residing within, with only about 50 with jobs related to combat. She quickly rushed into the village, nearly inciting panic because of her rush, and into the mayor’s house.

“Mayor! We got a problem!” Amanda screamed from the top of her lungs, alerting everybody within the confines of the house.

“What!? Grimm attack!?” the mayor, Kyne Hoodsman, rushed to the door away from his office full of paperwork. He held a woodcutter’s axe in his right hand, but it can transform into chainsaw, as well as a flamethrower if ever the need arises.

“Worse, humans,” Amanda said with a horrified expression garnering the curious attention of the inhabitants, as well as the mayor.

“Bandits?” the mayor made a wild guess. Oh how he thought they were just bandits.

“Worse, an army,” Amanda said with a grim face. “They numbered probably a thousand.”

When Amanda relayed what she saw, every person in the house paled. Rows of soldiers armed to the teeth with armor and weapons, horse-riding knights with a variety of weapons such as lances and swords, a brigade of heavy-armored infantry, numerous archers situated at the back, and some robed people who Amanda had no idea what they could do in a fight.

“This is a dire situation indeed,” the mayor said with a pale face and forced bravado. “Do we have any info if they come in peace?”

“Not sure,” Amanda said with a face that said that it was highly impossible. There were no armies like that in Remnant. In fact, armies in Remnant were all strapped with guns and bladed weapons in case of CQC. But armies all armed with cold weapons as well as metal armors depicted in medieval wars? Now that was not a normal thing here in the Remnant.

Just then, the bell tolled 5 times, signaling an approaching threat. Amanda, as well as the mayor, and any Huntsmen, Huntresses, and guards quickly rushed towards the direction where Amanda saw the army was coming from.

It didn’t take too long before they were met by a tall man covered in a black and red theme metal armor, brandishing a giant battleaxe on his shoulder.

“Surrender and become citizens of Noxus, or resist and face your imminent destruction!” the man’s voice boomed across the area, and Amanda, Derrick who was also there, Kyne, and others all had a pale face towards the threat.

[][][][][][][][][][][][][][]

“Wow…” this was the only word that left young Ruby’s lips as she beheld the scene before her. The same could be said for the others who first time, held their eyes on the wondrous architecture within their vision, but were too stunned to voice their inner thought.

A huge building, one with nature, and situated on cliffs and high elevation ground, stood before them in its dauntless presence. Trees surround the entire building as if safeguarding the structure from would-be assailants, and a huge walkway laid bare in front of them, leading towards its huge entrance.

“Welcome to Hirana Monastery, young Huntsmen and Huntresses, if I got that right,” Yi greeted as he turned his gaze – and weird headgear – towards the jaw-dropped young individuals and wide-eyed middle-aged man. “Please, come in and have some tea, we have some… dire issues, a part my disciple discussed with you young ones on the way here, I assume?”

This earned a few nervous and anxious nods from the young group of Huntsmen and Huntresses. Shino on the other hand, just stood there without it letting him affect him mentally and physically. Being in a war against the Grimm ever since he could remember, as well as their immortal queen, messes with your head until you get used to it. And this is one interesting situation Shino overheard from the discussion of the young group of Huntsmen, Huntresses, and monkey, had him thinking all the time on the way here.

“Yes, quite, we’re rather fatigued from the journey here,” Shino replied to Yi’s warm greeting and invitation, as he pointed behind his back with his thumb as he added, “And with the two lookalikes sparring earlier, they could really use the rest right now.”

“Fair point,” Yi nodded in agreement as he led the way, guiding the Yasuo, Shino, and the rest of the young Huntsmen and Huntresses inside the monastery. “Although, you’ll only be able to access the training grounds since the interiors are restricted to outsiders.”

“That’s alright. We’re the imposing ones, so it’s fine if you deny us access to your, private rooms, ain’t that right?” Shino called out towards silent Huntsmen who were busy scanning the area. Once they heard the voice of their superior, all of them replied with a huge, “Yes!” giving a smile on the face of Shino as he looked back on Yi. “As you can see, no problems here. By the way, can you spare us some supplies, all of our stocks have been obliterated by that dragon earlier.”

“Dragon? You mean that myth?” Yi pondered as he stroked his goatee as they continued inside. “If that’s true, then you’re lucky to have come out unscathed.”

“W-what do you mean by that?” Shino anxiously asked, earning anxious gazes from the rest of the young Huntsmen group.

“It is what I meant,” Yi said with a serious face as he glanced towards Shino. “Ao Shin, not much is known, but he is a protector of sorts to Ionia. Unlike Karma, who I assume is on the way towards Irelia, Ao Shin protects Ionia from invaders that uses high technology, like those who lives in Piltover. And, assuming that you rode something like an airship coming here, then it was no wonder why he’d shoot you down from the sky.”

“To be honest, I’m having more problems believing Ao Shin actually descended and is actually real,” Yi muttered under his breath so no one could hear, save for Shino, Velvet, Blake, and Sun with their extra-sensitive hearing, and Yasuo who was directly next to him.

The whole group descended into silence once more as they continued with their travel through the huge corridor. There were various sights to see here and there, such as some statues, wood carved figures, overgrown trees that took an unnatural, but mesmerizing shape, and some other things like puddles of water, sap, and a few monks here and there.

The monks glanced at the newcomers for a while, only to lose interest awhile after because of the person leading them; the man known as the one-man army to Noxians which forced their hand to destroy the Wuju village; the very last practitioner of the deadly Wuju style, Master Yi, and his current disciple, Wukong, the Vastayan Monkey King, though Monkey King is just a title. But instead, he is trickster who uses his strength, agility, and intelligence to confuse his enemies and gain the upper hand. So technically, he is a Monkey King in a sense.

A few moments of silent travelling and they now found themselves within a courtyard, with a monk battling a dozen or so monks, and beating them singlehandedly. He had a bald head save for the thick, long braided strand of hair could easily measure his body length. He wore wraps around his lower arms to serve as fingerless gloves, and further tightened by red rope. Black, baggy pants adorned his lower body, tucked in more wraps and tightened with red rope on his lower legs, with leather shoes worn at his feet. On his waist, a red sash hung, with golden rings the size of a saucer connected together with white rope along his sash. A few tattoos depicting a dragon were inscribed on his body, but the most iconic part of his appearance, was his red blindfold with a gem at the center covering his eyes, just above his nose and moustache and beard.

The monk dodged the incoming attacks effortlessly and with grace, before countering with a series of punches and kicks. He weaved himself through the gaps of barehanded strikes of the opponents with naught but his hearing and senses alone. Leaning backwards from an incoming high-kick, the monk fell to the ground, but the fall was no mistake, for the monk roll backwards to dodge a low-kick coming from the side and stood on his hands, before spinning once with his legs stretched outwards.

The monk’s leg met with the face of the enemy who tried to kick him while on the ground, and flung him towards the man who tried to land a high-kick on him. After that action, the monk pushed himself off the floor and twisted his body to land another kick at an oncoming opponent behind him. Said enemy had the honor of being a foot warmer for a second, before flying a few meters away and landing on the ground with a bleeding, broken nose.

The monk then landed on his feet and went on the offensive this time, weaving in attacks, punching the enemy on their vitals just enough to knock them out, kicking enemies away, knocking them to the floor and into dreamland, and sometimes sending out shockwaves to enemies, before dashing towards them and landing a powerful kick on their bodies, as well as striking the ground to create a ground shockwave, causing enemies to lose their balance and rolling on the floor in an instant.

“Wow… who is that?” Ruby blinked with her jaw dropping on the floor. The same could be said for the other young Huntsmen. Although with years of practice, they could do the same thing, what with their Aura and semblances. For the young minds to see this kind of fight something only seen in a martial arts movie, of course it would shock them.

“That, young Huntress, is Lee Sin, the Blind Monk,” Yi replied with a smile on his face. But when they heard that he was blind, all of them save for Shino and Yasuo, had their jaws drop even lower. It was one thing to fight like that with all senses intact, it was another thing to fight while completely blind and dominate the enemies without a scratch.

“Now then, there’s a place to rest over there,” Yi said as he pointed towards a few benches just a ways away from where Lee Sin was beating his opponents like air. “We’ll have to chat once I get back, about the Noxian Invasion.”

xXxXxXxXxXx

Date: xx-xx-xx

Location: Classified

Topic: Noxian Invasion

Everything has been fully prepared, our War Hero, Sion, has been itching for a fight these days, forgive my manners. The soldiers are well-fed, well-slept, and ready for combat coming in the following days. Now, all they need to do is march and quell the Ionian resistance.

Their weapons crave for the blood of the Ionians, and soon enough, they shall have it. The task you have given me, General, is one I will not waste once battle begins. I ensure you, I will complete this task, and return for the glory of Noxus.

~ Talon Du Couteau

The hand holding the pen stopped, a shadow situated just above the tree tops, and parchment lied on the branches. The silver sheen of the blade pierced through the parchment, and fell slowly to the ground.

“I guess writing is not my strong suit…” the man whispered to himself as he sunk into the shadows of the night. Soon, blood will be spilled, and Noxus will rise victorious.