AN: This a prequel fic, everything in this happens before the main series begins.
I don't know how long it's been since I've eaten.
Three days?
Four?
I think the only reason I haven't starved to death is because my aura's holding me together. Shame I can't turn it off.
But it doesn't matter. I just have to sit here for another few days and maybe I'll just wither away. Oum knows no one'd mind.
I blew a strand of pitch black hair out of my eyes, their green orbs blankly scanning my surroundings. I was sitting in a damp back alley, right next to a dumpster, trying as much as possible to remain invisible. I mean, homeless wanderers like myself don't normally attract attention, but here, in the city of Vale, it isn't as easy to hide as it is in Mistral.
My tattered brown cloak hid my more noticable traits like my hair, eyes and… the other thing, as well as kept my weapon out of sight from prying eyes. After everyone left me, my weapon, Samaritan was the only thing I had left. It was a solid black and grey revolver the size of my forearm. It has a six shot, removable cylinder, dust round compatible of course and has enough firepower to punch a hole through a Boarbatusk's head. It also can shift from a revolver into a knife form if I pushed the trigger forward instead of pulled it back. The only problem is that Samaritan has about the same weight as a mule and kicks like one too, but those are small issues.
I know Samaritan isn't the fanciest weapon, but it's all I've got, and compared to my alternative arsenal, the more preferrable.
"Dammit." I said, memories buzzing through my head of my past. When they didn't stop, I started banging my head against the wall at my back till I was too delirous to remember even my own name.
After my self imposed concussion, I pulled my knees closer to my body, dropping my head on them and letting out a deep breath.
"Dammit."
I don't know how much longer I sat there. It could've been minutes or hours, but I didn't care. I was just waiting for starvation to kill me or some random Grimm to eat me alive, which was unlikely in the middle of the city.
It wasn't until a few moments later that I'd meet someone who'd change my life forever.
As I sat in my own self pity, I perked up at the sound of footsteps coming down the alley. I looked up, wondering in the back of my mind who'd be roaming around a back alley like this. To my complete surprise, it wasn't anyone I expected: a small child.
It was a little girl, maybe four or five looking absolutely terrified and clinging onto a stuffed bear for dear life. Not trying to sound creepy, but she looked like a small angel with her long white hair, slate blue eyes and flawless skin. I wasn't sure if she was real or a hunger-induced hallucination until she bumped a garbage bag, its disgusting contents spilling out onto the ground. She kept treading down the alley, her head darting back and forth as if a Beowolf was gonna break through the wall. However, her fears would be well justified soon enough.
She walked past the dumpster I was beside, not even noticing me until I was right beside her. She jumped back, her eyes wide with fright and I looked back at her with a blank gaze. She took two shaky steps back before breaking off into a run out the other side of the alley. I sighed in desolation and I fell back into my previous position.
However, instead of being left to my devices, I heard another sound from the other side of the alley, this time they were heavier and more numerous.
"She went this way, I'm sure of it." Spoke a gruff voice, to which another responded:
"Alright, c'mon boys, we gotta catch her fore' she finds a cop or somethin'." I braved a glance to see a group of six men, all large and imposing in their own right stalking the alley. They all wore different casual clothes, but judging from the way they carried themselves and the concealed weapons they carried, I assumed they weren't regular civilians.
I stiffened, wondering if they were after me, if they were sent by someone who still had a grudge with me and wanted to finish me off.
Paranoid I know, but when you're me, things tend to end up that way. Thankfully they passed by me without so much as a glance, continuing their conversation as they walked.
"Stupid kid, how'd she get away?" asked one thug. My instincts immediately told me that these guys were bad news. Not my problem though.
"Sorry man." Another replied, "It's just, her hands are so small! I didn't think she'd be able to wiggle out."
"Idiot!" spoke the first thug. "We need to find her before she talks to anyone, c'mon, I think she went this way."
All the thugs turned the same way as the girl from earlier. After they were all gone, I sat there in the company of silence and sadness as I returned to wallowing in my own self pity. But as hard as I tried, my mind always drifted back to that little girl and those thugs.
What did those men want with her?
Where was that girl's parents?
Why was she alone?
Was she in danger?
Those thoughts plagued me more than my own memories as I held my head in my hands and began muttering.
"No, no, no, no. Not my problem. Not my problem. Let it go." But I couldn't. I couldn't just let it go. I couldn't let another person be hurt because of me.
I shouted, slamming my fist on the dumpster before standing up. Fatigue and starvation hit me harder than a jackhammer, but despite that I pressed on, making my way towards the direction the girl went. I removed Samaritan from its holster, checking all the ammo I had left as well.
Six regular bullets, two fire rounds, one wind round, and one lightning round. I thought. That's not a lot. Gonna have to be careful.
Mmy right arm began to ache, a desperate pounding that seemed to smash against my nerves.
"Hrgh…" I grabbed my forearm and squezed as tight as I could. Dammit, it's getting worse. I shook it off as I finally caught up to the thugs who had turned into another alley a block ahead. It was brief, but I noted something struggling against one of the thugs.
"No." I hurried my pace, cocking back Samaritan's hammerbefore standing at the alley entrance.
I furrowed my brows as I caught sight of one of the thugs struggling to keep the small girl in check whilst the others looked on in annoyance.
"What're you doin'?" scolded one thug. "Keep 'er still!"
"I'm trying! She just won't stop moving!" Exclaimed the thug holding the girl.
"Let me go!" she squealed.
"Hey!" I shouted. I held Samaritan behind my back, keeping the thugs off guard.
"Beat it kid, nothin' to see here." Said the one thug and I glared at him.
"Oh really? Then what are you doing with that girl?"
All the thugs glowered menacingly, but I held my ground. The girl looked at me with wide, fearful eyes, holding a hand out towards me.
"Help me! He-mph!" The thug holding her clasped a hand over her mouth, silencing her.
"Last warnin'," All the thugs reached behind their backs and pulled out various melee weapons like batons and swords. "Beat it."
"How about I beat you instead." With that, I whipped Samaritan out from behind me and fired a shot, the bullet blasting right through thug number one's shoulder. A spray of blood and an alarmed shout later, he was collapsed on the ground crying in pain. The bandages over my right arm rustled in the wind, but they didn't look like they'd come off so I wasn't worried.
The other thugs were too shocked to react; I used that to my advantage, switching Samaritan into knife form and charging the thugs. They all had their weapons out – which consisted of mostly melee items – but that didn't stop me from putting my knife in a backhand grip and slashing upwards. I got one thug across the chest and he went down without a fight.
I blocked a strike from another thug from slashing me with a small sword, grabbing his wrist and flipping him. I saw a thug trying to come at me from behind, so I defended myself with a backwards spin kick to his head. The force of the hit sent him flying to the side wall, his weapon – another baton – flying off to the side. I didn't hesitate to toss Samaritan at one of the remaining thugs.
The knife stuck him right in the shoulder, and without aura to protect him, he screamed as blood began seeping from the wound. While he did that, I took care of the second to the last thug: he held his baton overhead, intent on smashing my skull in. Clearly he didn't see what I did to his friend. I effortlessly dodged the swing and as he was thrown off balance, I pulled him down and kneed him in the stomach. As the air forced itself out of his lungs, I grabbed him by the shoulders and threw him against the wall, knocking him out cold.
I returned my attention to the thug with my knife in his shoulder, who by the way was still screaming in pain. I yanked my knife out and punched him in the face, a satisfying crunch and his loss of conciousness soon followed.
I whipped my head around, my gaze going for the last thug to find him holding a knife at the small girl's throat.
"D-Don't you move now!" He said, panicked. "I-I'll kill her, I swear! Don't-Don't come any closer!"
I tightened my grip on Samaritan and took an experimental step forward. The motion caused the thug to press the knife harder onto the girl's throat, and she cried out in panic and pain as blood began dripping from her neck.
"H-Help me. I don't wanna die." She whimpered. Anger boiled in my gut as I tried to formulate a plan of attack.
"Put the knife down. You don't need to do this." I said, but the thug didn't budge.
"Oh no. You're gonna let me walk out of here. You make a move, and I'll kill her!" Okay, reasoning isn't working, let's try threats now.
"Last chance. Let. Her. Go."
"Y-You're crazy!" I sighed in frustration. Okay, so words wouldn't work, I needed a new plan. I frantically scanned my surroundings, looking for a way before my eyes settled on something a few feet behind the thug. It was the baton of one of the thugs I knocked out, resting directly behind the last thug.
I cleared my mind and focused on the baton, taking in its location for a few seconds before flaring my aura and activating my Semblance. As soon as the thug blinked, I dissapeared from his line of sight. He panicked, scanning the area in front of him, trying to locate me when his eyes fell on something on the floor in front of him: one of his compatriot's baton that definitely wasn't there before.
He was confused for a moment, but his confusion turned into horror as the barrel of Samaritan pressed against the back of his head.
"H-How?"
"My Semblance: I can switch places with anything in my line of sight. People, objects, it doesn't matter, as long as they're either lighter than me or aren't planted in the ground (i.e. trees/plants)." I felt dumb explaining this to a thug, but he deserved to know how he got beat.
"Semblance? S-Shit, you-you're a Hunter?!" If he wasn't scared before, he certainly was now, but his assumption was a mistake: I'm not a hunter, or, not anymore.
"No, I'm not a Hunter. Now, I'll say it again: let her go, or I blow your brains out." I cocked the hammer back and pressed it harder against his head. The thug whimpered and slowly put his hands up. As soon as she was free, the girl bolted towards the end of the alley, dissapearing around the corner.
I watched her leave and turned my attention back to the thug.
"P-Please! J-Just let me g-go." He pleaded.
"Shut up." I growled before smashing the butt of my gun against his head. He crumpled to the ground, softly groaning before going silent.
I looked around at all the knocked out and wounded thugs before taking a deep breath.
Inhale.
Exhale.
Inhale.
Exhale.
I pushed back the hammer and spun Samaritan in my finger before shoving it into my holster. I gave a small smile at the action before adjusting my cloak and moving to leave. However, my eyes caught on something at the end of the alley: the small child was there, looking right at me, not with fear like before, but a timid expression.
"Hey." I said, smiling. The girl jumped further back behind the corner, but not far enough to be obscured from view.
"Hey, it's alright. I'm a friend." I said, crouching down and holding my left hand out for her. She peered in closer, slowly coming out from behind the corner and ever so slowly creeping closer to me. She gingerly reached out and touched my hand, recoiling as if I was about to grab her. When I didn't make a move, she reached out again, this time gently holding my hand.
She looked up into my green eyes, which I kept as least mournful as possible, before running at me and eveloping me in an embrace. I was shocked at the sudden contact, but I went with it, returning the hug and patting her on the back.
"Thank you." She sobbed. "Thank you."
"Don't worry about it." I said, pushing her away and holding her by the shoulders. "Are you okay? What happened?"
"I *sniff, I wanted an ice cream." She started, pointing to the thug that was holding her hostage. "He grabbed me when I came out. My guards tried to stop him but-but they-they…"
Fresh tears began welling in her eyes and I hugged her again.
"Hey, hey, hey, it's alright. You're safe." I tried to push her off, but she wouldn't let go. Oh great. I sighed as, without letting go, I carried her into the air, walking out of the alley.
"Say kid, what's your name?" I asked, trying to change the subject and the child stopped crying for a moment and said:
"Winter. My name is Winter."
"Winter huh? What a pretty name." I smiled. Winter, still holding me, sniffled and rubbed her eye.
"Than-Thanks Mr."
"Pariah. My name is Pariah." Winter pulled, back, looking me in the eyes but still holding tight.
"P-Pariah? You sound like a prince."
"Heh, yeah, I guess I do. And you know, Winter is the name of a princess."
"No, I'm not a princess, I'm a queen!" She said, cheering up slightly and I chuckled.
"Alright Queen Winter, let's go find your parents." I lifted Winter in my arms and carried her as I treaded out of the alley. I glance back at the the thugs in lying on the ground before making my way to the nearest police station to find anyone to help me.
AN: What do you think? Review and tell me how you feel.