Nero Canaan (Complete)

Before Birth:

Nero was born with one large distinguishable traits: a gargantuan amount of black hair, and, as subsequent, but obvious accompaniment, black wolf ears, thus establishing his race of Faunus. With Nero's hair, it continued to grow exponentially, and no matter how much his parents tried to groom and cut it, Nero's hair would continue to grow back again and again. Other than a small grooming issue, for most of his life, Nero grew up without having to face discrimination. For all he knew, Humans and Faunus lived in perfect harmony without any altercations between the two. This was obviously caused by his parents; both of them wanted him to grow up without any altercations. Even the neighbors of the family were especially kind to Nero. They had no qualms with another Faunus living with them, and so, they wanted Nero to live a better life than what Remnant had to offer. For the boy, he grew up with a happy life in peace. There was never a huge problem, until small discussion began about his future life.

Hotaru and Kouki began discussing, around the time when Nero was eight years old, that he should start pursuing a career as a Hunter. The past few years, the two were spending time with Nero to teach him about the essentials of life: mathematics, history, language, and other academics. They were all crucial to life in any way possible, but for a true career, they didn't exactly know what they could provide for their child. They truly wanted a peaceful life for Nero, but, in the end, the only thing they knew for sure was how to fight. Nero, at the time, didn't understand what they meant by all of this Hunter stuff: training, fighting, etc., but he did know that this would be a crucial part of his life.

When Nero turned nine years old, his parents started teaching him about Hunters and their importance to Remnant. At this point in time, Nero had matured a bit more, yet he continued to live in a world where there was no pain and hatred. There was no war or fighting going on in his head: only happiness and joy. So, when the sudden news came to him, he was slightly shocked, but he went along with it, so his parents could be happy. He didn't want to upset them, after all, they were too kind. So from that year until Nero was thirteen, his parents taught him about what it meant to be a Hunter, to be a warrior, to fight.

Nero, having been born from parents that understood combat extremely well, learned fairly quickly about basic combat techniques, evasion, movement, Dust usage, and a little about Aura. To him, it was generally a fun experience. Fighting felt natural, as if it was in his genes. Despite the parents initial hesitations about the situation, they started to feel elated that their son was going to grow up to be a fine Hunter. Every week, Nero was ecstatic to learn from them and he would always try to delve in deeper into the lessons each week. The concept of Aura amazed him, about how everyone had some kind of power deep inside of them; Dust was an object that amazed him, and learning about how every day life utilized the material intrigued him, but what truly caught Nero's eye were the lessons about fighting.

Nero was always excited to learn about combat. Combat techniques were something that he caught onto easily, learning how to dodge and block incoming attacks was a thrill. Using one's own feet to their maximum potential was just an immense lesson that, soon enough, Nero found himself trying out new tactics of confronting his target, even though it was just his mom and dad helping him. Fighting was simply fun to him. He couldn't tell why, but he believed that he was just born to do just that. Nero wanted to pursue becoming a Hunter, and his parents supported him along the way.

When Nero finally turned thirteen, Kouki had already made arrangements for him to take classes at the academy he went to. If Nero successfully graduated from there, then he could even head to Syne, the closest academy where the family resided. However, before heading off for this new start, Nero still didn't understand what it meant to truly be a Hunter, but his father simply told him this: “Hunters protect those that cannot protect themselves.” Without a doubt in his heart, Nero believed in his father's words, hoping they would hold true until the end.

Leaving his family for this new academy was difficult at first. While Nero did gain plenty of knowledge about the fighting world, he was mostly antisocial; most of his life was spent with his parents. Having fun with others his age was rare, so going to a new place where he had no idea who he was going to meet was strange. Although his physical appearance helped him stand out a bit more: his long, wild black hair, and his black ears that twitched every so often in their forest. At this point, his hair ended up developing a long strand of hair that extended to the mid-section of his spine. It was obvious when other students stared, although Nero still tended to stay an outcast amongst his peers.

Nero's first year at the academy was plain and rather boring to him. That year was pretty much just to teach everyone about the basics about fighting: weaponry, fighting basics, usage of Dust, and also a small introduction to Aura, although barely anything happened. Every night, Nero wanted to relive his memories with his family, training with his parents and learning under their arms rather than being there at that academy. Plus, with the amount of feedback Nero gave to his classmates, most were uninterested in him. Most of this had to deal with the fact that discrimination still existed even at that age. The classes he attended were filled by Humans, each and every one of them. For the first time in Nero's life, he, in a way, understood what discrimination meant.

Eventually, it was more apparent to Nero that his first year was more depressing than plain and boring; however, to lighten his days for the remaining three years, Hotaru and Kouki both pitched in and gave Nero a gift. They had given him a pet sparrow. It had brown and white feathers as well as a fair few black streaks running across its wings; it was only about half a year old. It was still just a baby, but it was already adapting to its owners. For Nero, it was a lovely gift and even though the bird didn't help his goal to becoming a Huntsman, he cherished it dearly. With that, the second year came along with happier times for Nero and his pet bird, Angeal.

That year was much more exciting and interesting than his freshman year at the academy. This time, more training was focused on, teaching more and more about combat rather than anything else. Obviously, Nero enjoyed that year better than the last. He was able to succeed in most of his lessons with the training he had done with his parents. It was this year that opinions about Nero had started to change: most of them were positive, while others were still south. A lot of the students started to mature and they found Nero to be just another student like them. Nero was maturing himself, and he was starting to think more and more about his future, and why he truly wanted to become a Hunter. “Is it to protect those that cannot protect themselves? Or is it because I just like fighting?” His mind was unclear, but those thoughts he kept to himself. No matter what, he still had to keep focused on his classes as well as taking care of his growing and loving bird.

That year ended on an interesting, yet also enlightening note. That year introduced the concept of racism to the Faunus boy, something he never understood before. He tried asking his parents about it, but they reassured him that no matter what, he shouldn't let issues of race get to him. His mother, this time, gave him the following advice on the difficult subject: “No matter what, appearance doesn't decide who you are in life. It's your heart that decides that.” Her words were, unfortunately, almost nothing to Nero; however, as he went day to day knowing the realism of the world, he took those words to heart, never wanting to forget them.

With half of the academy's years done, Nero was fifteen in his Junior year. That year was more of a follow-up on all the training done in the previous year; however, what was different that year was that it involved more on the utilization of Dust. As always, Nero found the concept amazing. The first half of the year focused mainly on every applicant of Dust and the history of it, while the second half involved its usage in weaponry. It was this year that every Junior was suggested to think about creating a weapon. Every student was encouraged to be creative and even create their weapon that they would use for the rest of their life if they were to become Hunters. Nero was one of the many that was excited to work on this project as well. Some nights, he would even stay up until the brink of dawn, only to work on the design of his Dust-equipped weapon. He drew upon every resource he could think of: guns, spears, axes, artillery, swords, anything at all; however, two months before the end of this year, Nero started exchanging letters between his parents about weapon design. His father was the one to answer, deciding to take this message on personally.

Kouki had created a simple blueprint of a katana with a Dust mechanism stored inside the hilt that would activate via a switch on the guard. That would then transfer the Dust crystal located in the hilt into the blade which could then be utilized for an attack. As for Nero, he spent an entire day reading the design through and through, trying to figure out the gimmicks and mechanics; Angeal was resting in Nero's hair as she always did so many times. By the last month of the year, Nero, along with aid from some of the professors, students, and his own parents, was able to create his own weapon: a katana of severe length, considered to be an ōdachi, with an ornate guard shaped like three fangs that would spread the flow of the Dust located in the hilt into the blade. To Nero, it was a beautiful masterpiece, but for others, many considered it crazy that Nero had created such a weapon with such immense length that it seemed unusable. Although for Nero and his parents, they believed that it was a weapon that he could wield and utilize with enough practice.

In Nero's fourth and final year, everyone from their first year to their last had grown in size and physique, or in the very least personality. Everyone had good times in the academy, and most people had created their own weapons and regularly carried them around. As for Nero, he carried his sword on his back, always keeping it close. Weaponry was encouraged in the senior year by each and every professor as it was going to be the first, for many, experience with combating Grimm. Almost everyone in the class had never faced Grimm before, but they were ready for the experience ahead of them, especially Nero. His parents had told him about the Grimm before, about the different types: Ursai, Beowolves, Nevermores, and the rest. To him, he found a small thrill in waiting to fight them. He preferred a challenge, but he knew that it would be no laughing matter. One wrong move and anyone could end up dead.

However, before the hunt for Grimm could begin, the biggest lesson of the student's life began: the lesson about Aura. Aura was immediately established as the manifestation of the soul of a person. It allowed anyone to utilize the hidden power that everyone had stored away inside of them: Semblance. For some people in the class, they had already manifested their Aura in the previous years, but for Nero, he was one who had not been able to control his Aura. It appeared at random times, but he didn't know if he'd actually succeed in controlling it; all he knew was that his Aura manifested a dark color. This problem extended all the way across the last year, and even as Nero seeked help from his parents, they simply told him that they couldn't help. It was a saddened fact for Nero, but he couldn't feel sorry for himself. Instead of crying and complaining about how he couldn't manifest his Aura or Semblance, he decided to focus on his training instead, mastering his swordsmanship to contemplate for his weakness.

It was the second to last month that the Senior year was treated to their fight with Grimm. It was to all take place in the academy's gymnasium, utilizing the large space for the battles. Nero could feel the excitement, and also fear, in his heart as the classes took places in the spectator zone. Everyone would be going up one by one to face a Grimm, and from what the Sable could understand, all of his classmates had the potential to succeed. Good lucks and smiles were thrown out to one another, and it was with the first win against an Ursa Major from one of the top students in the class that made everyone inspired and motivated to succeed.

With successes running rapid after the first Grimm experience, everyone's spirits were high, especially Nero's. He had done alright, considering he hadn't used his Aura, but everyone else was extremely elated. With combat being a major focus for the last two months, duels happened under the careful watch of the professors there. Nero was one who excelled well in this section, surprisingly. However, there was one small thing that the Faunus forgot in the midst of all the excitement. Racism was something he always faced throughout his four years at the school, and in his last year, it was extremely high. People continued to bully Nero about how he had no Aura to counter the fact he was so skilled in his swordsmanship, but Nero tried his best to ignore this and continue on with life with his friends. However, there was one thing that changed his life completely.

Angeal, Nero's pet bird that was almost four years old, was always free, loving, and caring. She was Nero's best friend, and throughout everything, she was always there for the wolf boy. Nero cared for her dearly and treated her with utmost care and love, but it was too apparent that that small animal was Nero's life. In just one short day, in what seemed like an accident that was done on purpose for the sake of destroying his entire life, the small, lovable, caring, kind, and sweet sparrow died. Her lifeless body was found outside of Nero's room. No words could describe his sadness, but he didn't focus on sadness, no. What the boy, who spent the past three years with his faithful companion in happiness, felt was anger, hatred, abhorrence, anything in the world that could be describe as pure and utter disgust. He knew that people in that school caused her death, and he found out eventually. Nobody had to know what happened to them after that year was over; that was just for the lone wolf to know. This new path that Nero took guided him towards a darker place in life, and well, he felt some kind of righteousness in it.

From that day on, having discovered his Aura and Semblance in rage and anger, he learned of the true cruelty of the world. He felt furious at everyone that had ever called discriminated against the Faunus race. He was the same as everyone else. No person should've been judged by their appearance, only by their heart.

At the end of the year, Nero came home to his parents, telling them about everything that happened, and those two were the only souls that knew the true story behind those boys at the academy. They, although shocked, assured him everything was going to be okay in the end, and in doing so, Nero was given a small history lesson about his family tree, mostly his mother's side. He learned how they stuck together to stop any at all discrimination from tearing apart their family, and they always stuck together. For a second, a mere second, it seemed like paradise for Nero, but his mother stated that if it wasn't for  his father's aid to show her that there was still good in everyone, all three of them wouldn't be there together. The boy felt conflicted at heart, to say the least. There were Humans that hated Faunus, but there were still Humans that cared about them too; however, the one major thing he took from that that he still does today, was that he took that lecture from his mother. His mother's family, the Canaan family, were both a people who stood together through thick and thin, but also the family that brought his mother to him. No matter how much he hated Humans, no matter how much he loathed each and every one of them from that point on, he couldn't forget that there were also a few kind ones there and there. And from that moment on, Nero discovered his own definition of what being a Hunter really was: to be someone that will protect those that need it, to be someone that will eliminate the pain and suffering of the people of Remnant. With his past life on his back, with all his pain and suffering that drove him to this life, with his parents' words acting as a guiding light, Nero was ready to take the step closer to achieving his goal in life. With his sword on his back and his goal decided, Nero left to Syne in hopes of not only becoming a Huntsman, but also to become see the day where no pain and no suffering was present across all of Remnant.

Walking into the class that day in his common attire, Nero was ready as always to study more about the weaponry of today. Even though he believed that he already knew quite a lot about weaponry, Nero was wrong ever since he entered that class. Everything just felt like a true learning experience. He was simply ecstatic for the class, even though he didn't show it facially or any other body expression. He just felt it.

Unfortunately, once the entire class was seated, with Nero himself situated somewhere in the middle of the class, he prepared himself for the class ahead: taking out his notebook for the class, readying his pen for writing, and generally looking over his notes from previous lessons to get himself attuned for the class ahead. Surprising to most people at first glance, this was Nero's preparation for most of his classes. He took his classes seriously and found them to be very informational, even if some notes that were given were things he already knew. All of his application to education was for success in life. Learning the absolutes in classes was important, but taking those absolutes into the field with one's own experience was the epitome of success for Nero. So, the simple answer was to just pay attention.