I have a story idea for RWBY. Title: „Descent of the Shitenno, new dawn of Hope“. Or in Japanese: 四天王降臨、希望の新しき夜明け (Shitennō Kōrin, Kibō no Atarashiki Yoake).
Synopsis: The story picks up after Summer's death. It is stated in her will that if Summer were to die on her mission, Taiyang would have to bring Ruby and Yang to an old Mistralian temple named Hakuren-ji (White Lotus Temple) in which Summer trained as a child. Because if Summer dies, Salem and her allies may target them next.
Yang is eight at this point in time and Ruby is six. Taiyang at first struggles to honour Summer's wishes. He loves his daughters and nearly refuses to do what the will states, but in the end he realises that the temple can protect them better than he can alone. The final goodbye between him and his daughters feels like a stake through his heart and Ruby's and Yang's as well. While Taiyang won't appear very much in person anymore in the story aside from flashbacks, he won't be gone for good. Letters sent over the years to and from the temple will keep the contact between him and his daughters intact and inform him of the accomplishments his daughters have achieved.
Around three months after Yang and Ruby have been brought to the temple, an eight year old Blake stumbles upon the temple while fleeing from a radical faction of the White Fang centered around Adam. He killed Blake's parents Ghira and Kali Belladonna and overthrew the White Fang's leadership by critically injuring Sienna Khan, rebranding himself and his followers into the violent "Red Fang". Blake gets taken in by Hakuren-ji and becomes the next ward. And only a week after Blake's arrival, an eight year old Weiss arrives at the temple as well. She hides in a wagon full of supplies for the temple as she runs from Jacques's influence at Atlas. The one who sent her away from Atlas was her elder sister Winter, though neither Winter nor Weiss would know where she would end up, only that she would be outside of the influence of Jacques.
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Over the years, the four get instructed and raised in the ways of the Miko: studying kagura dances, prayers and rituals, as well as the teachings of Shintoism and Buddhism, which result in the girls being fluent in Japanese and English. Those teachings also let Ruby discover the nature of her Silver Eyes, which are seen as a sacred sign by the temple instead of a weapon to destroy Grimm, way earlier than in canon. Like in canon, her family is one of many bloodlines who possessed this trait. Salem's purge of these families (like Maria Calavera) has left her as the last active Silver Eyed warrior today. The years of being raised alongside each other binds the four girls into a sworn sisterhood, a so-called Gimai (義妹), sealed with a Gimai no Sakazuki (義妹の盃). During the ritual, the girls swear an oath to always stand with each other no matter who or what tries to go against them and to never betray one another. They also re-enact the ritual every year on its anniversary to reinforce their bond. In the bond Ruby is the youngest sister, followed by Weiss, then Blake, and finally Yang as the 'oldest' of the four. The girls call each other 'Imouto' (younger sister) and 'Aneue' (older sister) respectively.
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The girls' Gimai bond is especially precious for Weiss, as she decides to discard her family name "Schnee" and given name "Weiss" at the second anniversary of her arrival in a rebirth ritual and rename herself into „Shiroitori Kiku“. Kiku is her new given name and Shiroitori her new family name. "Kiku" (菊) translates to "Chrysanthemum", but in this case refers to the white chrysanthemum (Shiragiku). The white Chrysanthemum symbolises death, grief and mourning (Kiku shedding her old identity as Weiss Schnee) but also longevity and renewal (Her rebirth ritual and new name). Shiroitori (白い鳥) means "white bird", but specifically refers to the Red-crowned Crane (Tancho or Tanchōzuru) to symbolise that she escaped the cage that was Atlas, Jacques and the Schnee Family name. During this rebirth ritual, Weiss cuts her long hair very short and eventually lets it grow out again into white shoulder-length loose curls with black tips, referencing the crane motif. The ritual 'reincarnates' Kiku, as her soul undergoes a deep spiritual transformation that alters her Schnee Glyphs Semblance, replacing the Schnee Family crest within the Glyphs with the Kanji 自由, which stand for "freedom", to symbolise her severance from the Schnee name. The only reason the Glyphs remain at all is the fact that she still wants to feel connected with Winter, even though it's unlikely that they will meet again. When cast, the Glyphs only appear behind her back like the halo found behind the head of the Buddha. Kiku also gains a pair of white crane wings with black tips that grow from her back and allow her to utilise verticality in her fighting style.
In a show of solidarity, the other girls also choose monikers for themselves: Ruby names herself "Tsutsuji" (躑躅) after the Red Azalea to symbolise the passionate love she holds for her sisters and life, but also the temperance her "Sakura Fubuki-do" requires.
Blake calls herself "Yōbō" (陽忘), which uses the Kanji 陽 (Sun/Peace from Hydrangea) and 忘 (Remembrance from Forget-me-not flowers) and translates to Sunlit Remembrance to symbolise that Blake carries the light of the peace found at the temple and among her sisters, while never forgetting the past.
Yang calls herself "Icho" (銀杏) after the Ginkgo tree to symbolise resilience in the face of danger, the peace she wants to bring to the people, and her hope to become a worthy protector of the defenseless.
Except for Kiku, the other girls switch freely between their real names and their monikers when talking amongst themselves/with others and refer to Kiku only by her new name.
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The girls get trained in the way of the Sohei, the warrior monks. Ruby, Blake and Yang master the Naginata and all four master the Hankyu (Japanese half bow) as their shared main weapons. They get taught as well in Karate, Judo and Aikido as unarmed Martial Arts. All four also train in sidearm weapons personal to themselves and connected to their Martial Paths
Ruby masters the Shichishitō (Seven-Branched Sword) combined with a Wakizashi. She gets instructed in the Martial Path called "Sakura Fubuki-do" (Cherry Blossom Snowstorm Path), a fighting style unique to and only fully usable by Silver Eyed warriors like Ruby or Summer.
Yang trains with a pair of sturdy wooden Tonfa with retractable blades. Her Martial Path is the "Yae Hikagami-do" (Eightfold Sunlight Mirror Path).
Blake trains with a Masakari and utilises the "Ishiwarizakura-do" (Stone-Breaking Cherry Tree Path).
Kiku trains with a Shikomi-Shakujō (Japanese Monk staff/Khakkhara where the head can be taken off to reveal it as a hilt of a chokutō blade hidden within the staff) and settles on the "Tenjō hikō-do" (Flight Above the Heavens Path). She uses her Shikomi-Shakujō in place of the Naginata her sisters share.
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When it comes to armour, the girls wear a mix of traditional miko robes and samurai armour. The cuirass is hidden beneath the white kimono top, while the arm guards can be seen peeking from beneath the sleeves. Shoulder guards have been affixed visibly on the shoulders of the kimono. Greaves can be seen peeking out from the seam of the hakama. Lastly they wear geta (wooden clogs) and white tabi socks.
The kimono tops all share the same white colours, but the armour and hakama are of a unique colour chosen by each of the four. Ruby wears a scarlet (Kurenai-iro) hakama and her shoulder guards are red and black with a silver rose emblem on each of them to honour Summer. Yang's hakama is a golden-yellow (Yamabuki-iro), her shoulder guards are yellow and black, and she has a set of prayer beads wrapped around her right gauntlet. Blake wears a purple (Murasaki-iro) hakama and her shoulder guards are green and black. The symbol of the formerly peaceful White Fang, a white wolf head over three vertical stripes, is painted on her shoulder guards as a symbol of honouring her parents and the White Fang they represented before their murder. Kiku wears a light blue (Asagi-iro) hakama, her shoulder guards are black and white. She wears a red komainu mask with a black mane, brow and horns, golden teeth and white eyes to conceal her identity at Beacon from anyone hailing from Atlas. Kiku only takes off the mask if she is in their shared dorm room, as this is the only place in Beacon she feels safe. Consequently, her sisters are at first the only people at Beacon to see her uncovered face. The canon friendship with Team JNPR will also eventually have Kiku reveal herself to Jaune, Pyrrha, Nora and Ren as the former Weiss Schnee once enough trust has been built between them.
Aside from their weapons, each of the girls also carry small wooden tablets that prove their identities as Miko of Hakuren-ji, kaginawa (grappling hooks), and seven white cloth bags resembling oversized prayer beads worn like a bandolier around the upper body filled with Onmyo magic talismans. These talismans have been provided to them by one of their teachers, an avatar of the Onmyo mage Abe no Seimei, who instructed them in the Seven Departments (Fire, Water, Earth, Sky, Wood, Metal and Healing) of Onmyodō magic. The talismans aren‘t an endless resource but can get refreshed by painting a Department's corresponding Kanji and Kuji-Kiri symbols onto talisman paper.
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During their years of staying at Hakuren-ji, the girls notice that a particular man visits the temple every so often. This man ultimately turns out to be Professor Ozpin, who has good relations with the temple as he gets invited by the Head Monk once the girls have been deemed ready for the outside world. At this point in time Ruby is sixteen while Kiku, Blake and Yang are eighteen. They are tasked to attend Beacon Academy so that they may help people on a larger scale than they could as simple temple warriors at Hakuren-ji and receive a more thorough education about the world of Remnant than the temple can give them. But even though they will be at Beacon, Hakuren-ji still has the right to call the girls back to the temple anytime, without Ozpin being able to deny this action. This was one of the conditions set by the Head Monk before he allowed the girls to attend Beacon. For this purpose, each girl carries a special wind chime that is anchored to the temple's location and allows them and someone they touch to be transported to Hakuren-ji instantly. The chimes can be activated only once and break upon having done their purpose.
To partake in daily rituals, the girls have placed a small shrine, a self-running chōzubachi and a Jizo statue inside their dorm room. The floors have been covered with Tatami mats and the beds have been replaced with Futon.
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Hakuren-ji is one of many temples of its kind scattered throughout Remnant. Examples of other notable temples are Kōshō-ji (Crimson Bell Temple) in Vacuo, Kokusan-ji (Black Mountain Temple) in Vale which was stationed near Mountain Glenn and got destroyed alongside it, and finally Sōju-ji (Blue Pearl Temple) in Mantle.
