Hey, everyone! This fanfic takes place in a modern AU (No Dust, no Grimm etc.) and some of the characters in this story are OOC: Ryuko, Sanageyama, Gamagoori, and Blake to be specific.
I hope you all like it! :D

Smack! Smack! Boom!

Rock-hard fists slam into the stuffed leather cylinder, which hangs suspended in the air by a chain hooked to the ceiling. A barrage of tough, rhythmic punches force the black punching bag to recoil backwards, and as the bag sways forward again, a swift side kick makes it swing back and forth like a pendulum. The brawler steps back, breathing heavily. She brushes her dark sweat-drenched hair out of her face. Her shaggy black hair has but a single streak of crimson, something she was surprisingly born with.

"Hey, Ryuko," a deep voice calls from behind her. The brawler's head turns towards the direction of the sound. By the door stands a large, muscular man with short pale blond hair that's slicked back in a style that makes it look like it was wind-tunnel tested.

"Ira Gamagoori," Ryuko says with a half-smile, "what's up?"

"Ah, the usual. How's your training going? Did you win any fights this week?" Gamagoori asks, passing Ryuko a bottle of water.

"Well, I got my ass kicked on Friday, but Saturday was okay. I managed to win a couple fights," Ryuko replies, casually catching the water bottle in her left hand, which is covered by a red fingerless biker glove that has a black strip around the wrist.

"That's good to hear."

"Hopefully, next week I'll do better. I'm saving up for something nice, but I also need to buy myself some new clothes because, as you can tell, these are getting kind of worn out."

Gamagoori looks at Ryuko's outfit. A frayed black beater shirt. Tattered blue jean shorts that barely go halfway down her thighs. White sneakers that are shaded greyish-brown from dirt.

Yeah, the girl really needs some new attire, Gamagoori thinks to himself.

"So, where's Sanageyama?" Ryuko asks him curiously, opening the bottle and gulping it down.

"He's in back sleeping. The guy was training since he got up this morning. It's about time he crashed," Gamagoori tells her.

Gamagoori and Sanageyama are the co-owners of the gym. They also live here. In the back of the gym, there's a door that says, "AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY". That door opens to a short hallway, which leads to an office, but also a bedroom with two beds where Gamagoori and Sanageyama sleep.

"Ah, I was going to ask him to spar with me, but I guess he's out of commission, so…" Ryuko trails off with a short laugh.

Gamagoori snorts, crossing his arms over his chest as he scowls down at Ryuko, making their size difference more noticeable. "What, am I not good enough?"

Ryuko lets out a nervous laugh, saying, "No, no, not at all," holding her hands up for peace while straining her neck to look up at him. Ryuko may not be small; she's 5'6" and very well-built, but still, compared to the giant Gamagoori, she looks scrawny.

"If you say so, Matoi," Gamagoori scoffs half-jokingly, shrugging his shoulders and leaving the room. Ryuko gulps. She knows he's annoyed whenever he calls her by her last name.

Stupid, Ryuko thinks, mentally kicking herself.

She glances at the clock on the wall. 3:34 PM. She remembers walking in at 12:15 PM. Ryuko sighs and swallows another gulp of cool, refreshing water before heading over to the showers. On a Sunday afternoon, the gym is often filled with people running on treadmills, pumping iron, and pounding on punching bags, but today, the gym is almost deserted. Only a handful of regulars, including herself. She waves to them with a friendly smile as she walks to the back of the gym where the showers are.

When Ryuko is done with her shower, she puts on her workout clothes again. She would normally put on her everyday attire, but today is Sunday, so she goes to the Laundromat to wash her everyday clothes. She grabs her grey and black duffle bag out of her locker and slings it over her shoulder. She then takes out her skateboard and holds it under her arm as closes her locker and walks out of the gym.

Once on the sidewalk, Ryuko sets down her skateboard and steadily places a foot on the board, pushing off on her other foot and skating down the street. As she skates, her mind wanders, reflecting on her difficult past. She remembers her mother and the cruel way she treated her as a kid. She'd beat her if she didn't do what she was told. She would beat her excessively hard whenever she was drunk, which was very often. Nowadays, Ryuko thinks of it as good riddance when she was kicked out of the house, but back then, she was devastated.

"Mom, I… I have something I need to tell you," sixteen year old Ryuko said to her Mom nervously.

"What do you want?" her Mom sighed as she turned to face her daughter from her seat on the couch.

"Well, um, I…" Ryuko stammered nervously, unable to release the two simple words that were jammed in her throat. She looked away from her mother, trying to muster up the courage.

"Spit it out!"

Ryuko took a deep breath and put her fears aside, saying, "I'm gay."

"You're what?!" her Mom gasped in shock. Her next words were filled with anger and resentment. "You're a lesbian?!"

Ryuko flinched at her mother's aggressive tone. "Uh, yeah." Ryuko's deep blue eyes clearly showed her fear. Unfortunately, her worst fears became reality.

"I will not have a lesbian daughter! Get out of my house, you sick little bitch!" her mother hollered.

"Wait, please!" Ryuko begged, her heart sinking to her stomach.

Without another word,she grabbed Ryuko by her hair and dragged her to the door of the apartment. She threw her out the door and then shut it behind her, leaving a sobbing Ryuko sprawled out on the concrete.

She stayed by the door until morning, thinking that when her Mom came outside to get the paper, she'd apologize or if not, at least let her stay in the house. Instead of waking up to a mother full of pity, she woke up to a sharp pain in her side from a harsh kick by an ignorant and relentlessly abusive mother.

"What the hell are you still doing here? Beat it!" her mother barked, threatening another kick before Ryuko scrambled to her feet and ran away in terror.

Ryuko shudders as she recalls the agony she felt those first few months on the streets of Vale. She didn't have anything. Her Mom didn't exactly give her a minute to pack her stuff before shoving her out the door. She had to beg for money so that she could live. Life was hard for young Ryuko.

She first met Sanageyama outside the gym when she was being harassed by a pack of men. "Pack" is an appropriate word to describe them, because, well, the way they were treating the young defenseless girl, they were practically dogs. Sanageyama fought them off and, after they ran off, offered to teach Ryuko how to defend herself. He didn't offer her a home only because he could barely afford to live as it was. So, instead, he taught her how to fight. Mixed Martial Arts was something Ryuko had always been interested in, but never got to try out, so she was pretty excited. Sanageyama was a rough teacher, but nevertheless a great one. He molded Ryuko into a strong young woman. After about two months of training, he told Ryuko about this place called The Arena that organizes fights. He told her it could serve as a form of income, especially since they didn't give a damn who or what you were as long as you could fight and provide entertainment to the audience. Sanageyama took her there and entered her to fight. She went up against a man who looked like he was on steroids. Despite the differences in raw power, Ryuko beat him with her speed and agility, dodging his slow and sloppy attacks until he grew tired and then got knocked out from a single right hook. The cash prize was a small; we're talking, like, fifty bucks, but still, Ryuko gave Sanageyama half in thanks for everything he did for her. Sanageyama got the once scared, depressed, and fragile Ryuko to rise up and become a brave, fierce brawler and this was her way of repaying him. He told her she was welcome to come to the gym whenever she wanted, free of charge.

Ever since then, she's being hanging out at the gym every Wednesday and Sunday, honing her skills, and also taking advantage of the free showers.

Ryuko smiles, knowing that she wouldn't be here if it weren't for him. He helped her develop a rhythm and start rebuilding her life from the ground up… literally.

Once she reaches the Laundromat about two blocks away, she stops and holds her board under her arm again. She steps in and walks over one of the washing machines in the middle of the room. She then sets down her stuff, her skateboard leaning against the side of her duffle bag. She reaches into the bag and pulls out a clear plastic bag with about three handfuls of change. She digs out four quarters and puts them into the machine.

When Ryuko takes out her dirty, worn clothes and puts them in the washer, she gets the feeling of someone's eyes on her. Curious, she looks over her shoulder at a pale-skinned young woman, who looks to be around Ryuko's age, which would be twenty.

The girl wears a white shirt under a black vest, light grey shorts over black leggings that fade into a deep purple halfway down the calves, and high-heel shoes. She has hair as black as night that falls effortlessly in waves halfway down her slender but solid back. The girl's golden amber eyes flicker as she stares at Ryuko, intrigued.

Ryuko avoids her stare, convinced that the only reason she has her attention is because of the horrible condition her clothes are in. She's sure she can tell she's homeless. In an attempt to hide her embarrassment, Ryuko leans her back against one of the other washing machines and crosses her arms over her chest. She takes a quick look at the woman and gives her a casual nod.

The woman starts to feel the heat rise in her cheeks. She looks away for a minute, trying to regain her composure.

Ryuko doesn't notice her blushing and, thinking she turned away because she felt uncomfortable, which isn't entirely false, says in a snappy tone, "Yeah, I know. I look like crap. You would too if you lived on the streets for a long time."

The girl's eyebrows rise in surprise at the outburst. "Oh, I'm sorry."

Ryuko, realizing she was being rude to this girl for no good reason, sighs and says, "It's alright, it was rude of me to snap at you. You didn't do anything wrong."

The girl takes a second to really look at her. Her stocky build makes her look more like a teenage boy than a young woman; she could be mistaken for one if she had a flat chest and if her hair was a tad shorter. Her abs that can only be described as "washboard" showed clearly under the form-fitted beater.

Wow, she's attractive, Blake thinks, disregarding her messy clothes. She's impressed that someone without a roof over their head could maintain such a great shape.

"So, what's your name?" Ryuko asks, curious about her, but also just wanting the time to pass quicker as she waits for her laundry to be done.

"Blake. Blake Belladonna," she answers.

Blake. Huh, it's cool, but isn't that a masculine name? Ryuko thinks.

"That's a cool name," Ryuko says.

"Yeah, I guess it is."

They make small talk until a dryer buzzes, catching Blake's attention. She takes out a huge bunch of clothes and sets them down on a table to fold them. When she finishes, she puts the clothes in a large department store bag and starts to leave, but then she stops and turns to face Ryuko, saying, "It was nice meeting you… um…"

Ryuko, suddenly remembering that she never told Blake her name, chimes in and says, "Ryuko."

"Ryuko," Blake repeats with a slight smile, the first one she displayed since they met.

And with that, Blake leaves the shop and walks across the street, Ryuko watching from the glass windows with red cheeks.

Damn, the way she said my name… Ryuko thinks.

Later that night, Ryuko skates over to the park. The soft cool breeze flows through her hair as she skates over to her usual spot. She stands in a grassy area of the park with one large majestic tree that could probably support an epic tree house. She stuffs her skateboard into her duffle bag, zipping it closed.

She then backs up a bit, slinging the bag across her back. She takes a deep breath and then gets a running start, pressing her foot flat on the tree trunk and using her momentum to leap up to the thickest branch. She heaves herself up onto it, unzipping the bag and pulling out her sleeping bag and rope. She puts the bag up to another branch, this one barely within her reach and sits down with her legs in the sleeping bag. She leans her back against the trunk of the tree and stretches her legs comfortably along the length of the branch. She then wraps her rope around her legs and the branch to keep from falling out of the tree in her sleep.

Inhaling, she rests her hands in her lap and gazes up at the full moon, which lights up the night along with the thousands of stars in the dark sky.

The park has such a beautiful view of the sky, Ryuko thinks, admiring the scene.

The busy city of Vale usually has the sounds of car engines and horns filling the air, but here in the park, the world is quiet, tranquil. Everything around her is wrapped in blissful silence.

Ryuko lets a smile cross her face as she goes over the events of the day that is coming to an end. Everything about her day was normal, but one thing stood out to her. That Blake girl. Something about her is so intriguing.

"Ryuko." Blake's voice echoes. Ryuko's cheeks start to warm up.

Ryuko snaps out of it. Get her out of your head. It's not like you'll ever see her again.

She shakes her head and sighs. She closes her eyes and rests her head back against the rough bark.

Despite how uncomfortable it is, Ryuko always spends her nights in the trees, for one reason: it's safer than the ground. She learned that the hard way her first year. She once got robbed – of all people, robbing a homeless person… really?! – while she was asleep. She had five bucks worth of change, a few dollar bills and a cheap bag. All of it was gone when she woke up that morning. She also got jumped four weeks later. She had just started training with Sanageyama one week prior. Two guys grabbed her and pulled her into an ally and started wailing on her. Ryuko only managed to fend off a few of many blows. Just as Ryuko was shifting in and out of consciousness, she heard a deep voice scream at them and they took off. This deep voice belonged to Gamagoori. He was on a midnight stroll around town when he heard Ryuko's distressed cries. As soon as he rushed up to her and asked if she was okay, she passed out.

So, yeah, the trees it is.

Ryuko relaxes her muscles and slowly dozes off into a dreamless sleep.

The glare of sunlight rouses Ryuko from her slumber. She yawns and unties the rope around her legs, slipping them out of her sleeping bag, rolling it up and stuffing it and the rope in her duffle bag after taking her skateboard out. She places the old and worn board on her lap while she rubs her eyes and stretches out.

Ryuko looks up at the sky, which is now bright blue with the start of the day. She packs up her stuff and carefully leaps down from the tree, walking out of the park to the nearest coffee shop. She buys herself a coffee and a bagel before making her way over to the library, where she usually spends her Mondays. Nowadays, she can afford to buy stuff from the money she earns from fighting at The Arena. It's still not enough to rent an apartment, but it's enough to buy some things. Near the end of her first year on the streets, she saw an out-of-date MP3 player on sale for, like, eighty bucks, so she bought it, along with ear buds, all from her savings, or rather, a plastic bag full of dollar bills marked "Use for emergency". She had to live off of the dollar menu at the local fast food place for next two weeks, but it was more than worth it. Even though music wasn't a need, – let alone an emergency – it was something that preserved her sanity through the years. Listening to the radio also kept Ryuko up with what's new in music, so she never felt "out of the loop". Well, at least not completely.

Meanwhile, Blake is stirring. She slowly opens her eyes, the soft amber glow of her eyes filling the darkness of the room. She yawns and sits up, looking around her room. It isn't much. Just a twin bed, a nightstand, a dresser, and a small bookcase, all squished into a room just barely two times larger than a handicapped bathroom stall. Still, she appreciates it. She remembers how years ago, she'd been just like Ryuko. She'd been on the streets before. She was seventeen. All she had was a pocket full of change and a thin blanket. She spent her nights under the overpass at the edge of the city where the highways were. Those days were hell.

There's a knock at the door, startling Blake, followed by a voice that calls, "Hey, Blake, are you awake in there?"

Blake, momentarily puzzled, peers at the digital alarm clock blaring in red: 9:20 AM.

"Uh, yeah, I just forgot to set my alarm," Blake calls back, knowing who the voice belongs to.

"Seriously, I got up early to take you to the library and you just woke up? Jesus," the voice groans, somewhat annoyed.

"Just give me a ten minutes and I'll be right out, Yang," Blake says with a roll of her eyes.

Waking up early? Give me a break. You sleep all day, Blake thinks, stretching out before getting out of bed.

After washing up in the bathroom, she gets dressed in a dark purple V-neck tee and black leggings. She slips on her black high heel shoes and steps into the kitchen where Yang waits, drinking a cup of coffee at the table.

Yang glances up from her cup and looks at Blake. She gives her a nod hello and sips down some coffee.

Blake sits down across from her. There's a cup of coffee sitting in front of her in seconds.

"Thank you," Blake says, taking it and sipping down the hot liquid. Blake looks up from her cup at Yang.

She has wild golden blond hair that falls all the way down to the small of her back. She has a busty figure and a charming round face to match it. She has muscles, not nearly as much as Ryuko's, but she has enough to be recognized for it. But what really make her stand out are her naturally lilac purple eyes. The color is extremely rare, but undeniably beautiful. She wears a russet brown jean jacket unbuttoned over a yellow low-cut tee with a black fire emblem over the left breast, black shorts that don't even go halfway down her thighs, – one could almost say they were a size to small – and light brown two inch heel boots that crawl just about all the way up her calves.

Yang and Blake are good friends. They met a couple years ago when Blake was on the streets. She took her in and they've been roommates ever since.

As soon as Blake and Yang finish their coffee, they get ready to go. They aren't the only ones who live here. Yang's younger sister Ruby lives with them, along with their friend Weiss. They walk out of the apartment building and over to Yang's yellow and black motorcycle, which she appropriately named "Bumblebee."

They hop on and Yang rides off towards the library. When they arrive, they walk in. Yang, not really into reading books, sits down at one of the computers and starts watching internet videos.

As Blake is looking at books, she notices a girl with black hair and a streak of crimson sitting down at a table with her nose in a book.

Ryuko? Blake thinks, almost dropping the drama/romance novel she held in her hand. She turns away and tries to ignore her, walking over to another table and opening her book.

She steals a glance at Ryuko from afar. She is wearing a white t-shirt under an unzipped black leather street jacket, baggy dark wash blue jeans and her dirty white sneakers. Blake just notices the red fingerless glove on her left hand.

Wow, for a homeless girl, she really keeps up her appearances. Looks cool, like a badass biker from an action movie, Blake thinks to herself.

Blake starts to feel her cheeks turn red. She immediately snaps herself out of it, looking back down at her book. Unable to help it, she looks again. Blake thinks it over for a minute and then stands up, walking over to her.

Ryuko, who's lost in the book, doesn't notice Blake sit next to her until she speaks.

"Hey, are you stalking me?" Blake asks, half-jokingly. Ryuko looks up from her book, nearly jumping out of her skin when she sees who's talking to her.

Ryuko blushes and trips over her words, trying to keep it together. "Huh? No, no, no. This... this is where I usually spend my Mondays. T-That's all." Ryuko gives her a nervous smile.

Blake rolls her eyes, amused. "Okay."

"It's the truth," Ryuko tells her, her flush deepening.

"Anyway," Blake starts, trying to think of something to say, "how's the book?"

Ryuko peers down at her book. She smiles and says, "It's really good."

"What's it about?"

"Oh, um, it's about this heroine that has to save the world from demons."

"Cool."

Blake starts a conversation with her. Ryuko is happy to talk to someone new since the only friends she has are Sanageyama and Gamagoori. Also, something about the girl is so interesting; something about the way she looks at her with her shining amber eyes.

Blake thinks it over for a moment and realizes that she wants to get to know this girl more too.

"I was wondering…" Blake hesitates.

"Yeah?" Ryuko says, waiting patiently for Blake to finish her sentence.

Without another thought, Blake says, "Can you have your number?"

Ryuko gives her a puzzled yet amused gaze before replying, "I don't have a cell phone."

Blake's face turns beet red from embarrassment.

Why did I say that? Idiot! Blake thinks as she mentally face-palms.

There's a long awkward silence before Blake stammers, "R-Right. Sorry, I just…"

Ryuko laughs. "It's alright. When are you free?"

Blake gapes at Ryuko in shock. Quickly regaining her composure, she thinks about her schedule this week. She's all booked until Friday night.

"Friday night," Blake tells her.

Ryuko says, "Okay, then, I have a question."

Blake raises an eyebrow in anticipation.

"Do you like martial arts? Like, you know, watching it Live?" Ryuko asks.

Blake nods, thinking about how she used to take karate lessons as a little kid. She was gifted. She rose up the ranks quicker than anyone else in her class.

"Cool, then come to this address," Ryuko says, pulling out a pen and piece of paper from the outer pocket of her duffle bag. She jots down the address, labeling it The Arena and handing it to Blake.

"Okay. What time should I show up?" Blake asks.

"Um…" Ryuko starts, in deep thought.

Let's see, so I usually get there at around nine and I almost never fight right away. They always have me go somewhere in the middle, either that or last, so around ten should be good… well, maybe nine thirty just to be safe, Ryuko thinks.

"9:30 PM," Ryuko finally answers. "By the way, the guys that go to these kinds of places run more on alcohol than sense, so, I'm just letting you know, it's not the best place to go to alone," Ryuko adds.

Blake snorts. "I can take care of myself."

Ryuko holds her hands up in surrender. "I'm just warning you, that's all. I'm not saying anything like that, I swear."

"Alright," Blake says with a short laugh and a smile. Ryuko's cheeks flush.

"You have a nice smile," Ryuko blurts.

Blake, caught off guard by the sudden compliment, doesn't reply at first. Ryuko panics and covers her mouth and looks away, asking herself what possessed her to say that out loud.

"Thank you," Blake says at last.

Ryuko's face reddens. "Y-You're welcome."

"Well, I should get going. I'll see you on Friday, then."

"Yeah, see you there," Ryuko smiles as Blake stands up and walks away.

As Blake is walking away, she notices Yang crossing her arms over her chest and giving her a knowing look.

"Who was that?" Yang asks.

Blake's face flushes as she mumbles, "No one."

"Really?" Yang questions with a crooked smile, leaning in closer to her and whispering in her ear. "Blake, you're blushing."

Blake turns away from her. "Shut up."

Yang bursts out into laughter, getting half a dozen glares from other people reading. They all shush her. Yang bites her lip, fighting it back while Blake holds back the urge to punch her in the gut.