HAHAHAHahahaha...I need a job.

COPYRIGHTS: Everything belongs to their respectful owners...


"Whoa, you look terrible. Are you okay? Do you need a doctor?" Ruby asked me when I saw her the next morning.

"Ruby, I'm tired, not sick." I took my seat next to her and noticed her ear buds on the floor. I gave her a questioning look. "They were deemed unworthy." "Uh-huh. And a pair that turns into a gun would?" She beamed at me. I practically saw her tail wag. "No, that's not a thing. I have no idea why you would think that." She rested her chin on the table.

"Well someone should make it a thing. I should make it a thing." She said, smacking her hands on the table. "Ruby, if you made that a thing then no one would be safe. Although that would be an interesting weapon idea." "Well, can't I have both?" "You know the rules, one personal weapon per person." She tapped her finger on the table. "It'd be a fun back up." "Ruby, please just stick to one weapon." "But why must I be restricted?" Ruby made a little 'ick' sound when her dad hit her lightly on the head with a clip board. "So that you don't get confused on which weapon is which." He said.

"Well I wouldn't get confused." She said, puffing her chest. "Big talk for someone that doesn't have a weapon." He said walking off.

I quickly covered my mouth, stifling my laughter. Ruby's dad always made me laugh. "There, there." I said, patting her head as two blue rivers ran down her face. "It's not my fault that I was born late!" She shouted at him, standing up.

"Oh, believe me, we would've had you a lot sooner if we had it my way."

The word 'ew' went around the class.

Ruby dropped into her seat, put her elbows on the table and rubbed her temples. "I did not need to know that."

"And on that note," he put the clip board on his desk, "No boys are allowed to date my little Ruby until they prove their worth!" I scrunched up my lips and widened my eyes as Ruby stood up, leaned on her hands and said, "DAD! STOP!"

He held a hand up. "Ruby, you're around that age when you'll start to take an interest in—" "I'm interested in Grimm and weapons, not boys!" She shouted, interrupting him. He put a hand on his heart and wiped a tear from his eyes. "That's my girl." Ruby groaned back down into her seat. I raised my hand.

"Yes Bhu?" "Um, don't you have a class to start?"

"Indeed I do Miss Psychelette. Alright everyone! Enough chit-chat!"


"Remember Ruby, be home before dark." Ruby's dad shouted to her as we walked out of his class. She waved her hand in response.

"Hey so do you know what the big deal is with your uncle's class?" I asked her. "No, has there been talk?" She asked. I shrugged. "I don't know, just overheard some stuff." "Well then let's just ask someone. Look, there's Nathan. Hi Nathan!" We walked to where he stood next to the window.

I saw him blush a little as Ruby came up to him. "Hi Ruby, uh, Bhu." I squinted. Rude. Just because of suspicious rumors he had to hesitate when saying my name? "Yup, so do you know what we're doing in Qrow's class?" Ruby asked him.

"Well, I think he has some sort of surprise set up for us." "Ooooo, a surprise. You know what it is?" Uh-oh, she's batting her lashes. I took a look at Nathan and saw that his eyes were darting every-which-way. "I, uh, don't really know…" I looked at him with pity. He was the kind of guy that would stay in the friend zone unless he manned up.

"Oh, really? Dang. I guess we'll just have to find out. Okay, well, see you in class Nathan!" "Oh, but, um." It was too late, she was out of ear-shot. He sighed, then realized I was behind him. He tried to say something to me, but I stopped him with two pats on the shoulder. He looked at me with confusion. I looked at him, sighed, shook my head, patted his shoulder three more times and walked away.

That poor, poor boy. Unless he saves her life or something, I just can't see it. It wasn't a joke when she said that she was only interested Grimm and weapons. I walked into one of the court yards where Qrow's class always was. I saw Yang standing next to Ruby. I walked over to them saying, "Yang, are you skipping class?"

She greeted me with a big smile.

"If I was, you wouldn't know it." I smirked while Ruby gave her a disapproving look.

"That's why your grades are bad..." She mumbled.

"So what are you doing?" I asked Yang. The bell rang and she slapped her hand between my shoulder blades, making me clench my fists. "Looks like you'll have your answer!" and she bounded off to stand by Qrow. I gave Ruby a questioning look, but she just shrugged saying, "I dunno." We moved to the back and sat down on the steps with the rest of the class. I looked down at my shoe and saw a spider near it. Oh, ha ha. Very funny life. I smashed the spider under my foot.

"Oh my gosh, Bhu. That's Xerxes."

My head snapped up.

And there he was, standing on the other side of Qrow. He finished talking to the boy next to him and winked at me as soon as we made eye contact. I looked away, defending against Ruby's unrelenting elbows. Qrow coughed into his hand, gaining everyone's attention.

"Class, today I brought four top students to show how to successfully combine your semblance and weapon. I'll first have everyone introduce themselves. Starting with Phire." I made sure to pay attention to everyone besides Xerxes.

The boy standing next to Xerxes took a step forward. Half of his longish orange hair was shaved. He wore baggy tanned jeans that cut off halfway at his shins with green flat shoes. His shirt was long, open sleeved and tanned colored with a 'v' at the collar line."My name is Phire Cent. My semblance is invisibility and my weapon is an ax." Phire took a step back and a smaller girl on the other side of Yang stepped forward.

Her light brown hair was in a bun. She wore a slimming green t-shirt with white pants and black high-heels. "I'm Carnatelle. Carnatelle Mortison. My weapon is a whip and my semblance is water."

I felt my face heat up a little bit as Xerxes stepped up and looked directly at me.

"Hey, I'm Xerxes Erosmyth. I have twin knives and my semblance," he suddenly appeared next to me and whispered in my ear, "teleportation."

I quickly covered his mouth with my hand and shoved his face away from mine. "Maybe you should teleport yourself out of my bubble." I said to him. My hand slapped the pavement once he disappeared.

"Don't do that." Qrow said.

"Well, I'm Yang Xiao Long! I have these neat gun-gauntlets and my semblance is being hit on." The whole class laughed while Qrow pinched the bridge of his nose and hit Yang from upside the head.

"Will you two," he looked towards Xerxes and Yang, "stop your playing? You're here as examples, act like it."

Like you should be talking.

Ruby's uncle had to be one of the biggest flirts I knew. What was worse was that it usually worked. Of course he always took his work seriously.

After setting up the robot, he programmed it to transform into an Ursa. It was programmed to behave exactly the Grimm. Its eyes were the same fire yellow-red that all Grimm had. Sometimes it freaks me out how we could do this sort of thing. Robot transformation and stuff. Not to mention the accuracy. The Ursa gave off an unsettling aura. Its fur was disorderly and its teeth seemed unnaturally sharp.

Wait, is it…looking at me?

It look a step forward and I gripped the edge of the steps.

This doesn't make sense.

The only thing I heard was the pounding of my heart. It seemed as though the world was gone and it was only the Grimm and I.

It should be focused on its designated target.

The Ursa looked at me with just as much perplexity as I did. I felt sweat drip down the side of my face. It took a step forward, its claws making marks as it dragged its foot.

It's hot.

My breath became shallow and my knees became weak. It snarled, letting drool slop on the ground.

This can't be happening.

My eyes widened as it suddenly leaned onto its hind legs and launched itself at me. I pulled my arms up and fell back, squeezing my eyes shut.

When I suddenly felt chills go down my spine I opened my eyes.

Yang was covering Ruby, Phire and Carnatelle were by the other students while Qrow stood by a decapitated robot on the steps.

"What happened?" Yang yelled.

"Is everyone all right?" Qrow asked.

I saw that I wasn't where I was sitting. I was sitting a good four feet away. I noticed an arm was around my waist while another was in front of me, holding a black knife. "Xerxes?" I looked up and sure enough, it was him. "I have to say Bhu, that was a bit too close for comfort." I nodded, looking down at my shaking hands. "Oh hey, your hands—" I quickly grabbed my arms but the shaking spread through my body.

I need to calm down.

I felt both of his arms wrap around me as he embraced me. "You're okay." He said, putting a hand on my head. I sank into him, feeling exhausted. "Yah, thanks."

"Bhu, are you hurt?" Ruby said, running to my side. I smiled and gave her a thumbs up. Oh, I stopped shaking. "That was a nice move you made there Erosmyth." Phire said, a hand on his hip. Xerxes took his hand off my head and moved it to my shoulder while he rested his head on top mine.

"I wasn't going to let some hairy beast touch her face before I did."

I heard soft 'aws', 'oooo's' and chuckles from the class. Qrow walked to us and crouched in front of us. "Are you okay?" He asked me.

"Yeah, no physical injuries." He squinted his eyes a little bit. "Do you know how this could've happened?"

I sighed. "Your guess is as good as mine." He ruffled his hair. "I don't see how it could've gone haywire like that."

"Soooooo, does that mean class is over?" Yang asked.

Qrow dropped his head before getting up and clapping his hands. "Class dismissed."

Ruby held a hand out to me. "Are you sure you're okay?" I gratefully took her hand and stood up. "Yeah, I'm good."

"We couldn't have stayed like that a little longer?" We looked down and saw a pouty Xerxes.

I held my hand out to him. "Thanks, for what you did." He took my hand and used it to help himself up. "You know what would be a great thank you present?" He asked. "A handmade card saying 'thank you for saving me from a rogue robot'? You're right. I should make one and give it to Qrow as soon as I can." He flicked my head. "Not funny." I rubbed the spot he flicked.

"How about a date? This Saturday?" I squinted my eyes.

"I almost died, and you ask me out?"

"She says yes!" Ruby said, putting an arm around my neck. "Wait, Ruby?"

"Great, how about lunch then a movie? Around 11 at the fountain in the park."

"That sounds good! She'll be there!"

"Do I get a say in this?"

"No." They both answered.

"I'll see you later then." He said walking off. As soon as he was out of sight I punched Ruby in the ribs. "Ow, that hurt!" She said, rubbing her side. "Ruby!" "What?" "Why would you do that?" "Well, he seems nice, and you seemed interested so I thought to myself, 'Ruby, what would Yang do?' and so, I did it. I did the thing." "You…did the thing." "…Yeah."

I rubbed my eyelids. "You are going to go though, right?" I opened my eyes to see Ruby looking at me. Damn, she's batting her eyes. "Well, um." Stay strong Bhu. "I don't—" She clasped her hands together. "Pleeeeeeeeaaaaase?"

I hate myself.

"I don't have anything to wear." I mumbled. "D'aw, don't worry about that. Yang!" She turned around and waved towards her sister.

"Hey kiddos, what's happening?"

"Bhu has a date!" Ruby exclaimed, her hands in the air.

"BHU HAS A DATE?!"

"BHU HAS A DATE!"

"Shut up you two! Geez, how embarrassing." I said, looking at the people who were staring at us.

"Wow…" Yang breathed out, wide eyed. "Yup, so we need to go shopping with her after school." "You got it. Don't worry Bhu," she punched my arm, "we'll make you look good. So good, that you'll make the guy drool."

I started feeling really self-conscious. "You guys…don't have to…go all out." I said, looking at my feet. Sometimes it just felt so weird when people were nice. "Well, of course we do. We're friends after all." I looked up and saw Yang and Ruby smiling brightly at me.

The jaws of despair bit into me when I realized that they were shining too bright. They each were walking down a path that I couldn't see.

Friends, are sort of a painful thing.

"Waaaaaah! Don't cry! Why are you crying? Did I say something bad?"

"Wow. Have you ever thought that she doesn't want to be friends?"

"Who doesn't want to be friends with me though?"

"Ruby…how many friends do you have?"

"ARE YOU TRYING TO TELL ME SOMETHING YANG."

I smiled at them. How much time do I have until they leave me?

"Hey guys?" I asked. "Bhu! You wanna be my friend right!?" I looked at her, shocked for a second.

Shouldn't I be the one asking you that? I put one hand on my heart and the other behind my back. I bowed a little as I said, "If you'll have me."

"Derpboodchta!" She shouted out, dancing on her feet before giving me a hug. "Let me give you guys a bear hug." Yang said, picking us up. "Need…oxygen…" "Bhu…promise me…we'll be friends…in the next life!" "Oh don't be so dramatic." Yang said dropping us. I loosened my shoulders saying, "You know, that was a terrible joke considering I almost got killed by one."

"Aw, that was in the past!" "It was less than thirty minutes ago!" "Huh, was it?" She said, finger tapping her chin. "Who are you going out with anyways?"

"That guy Xerxes." Ruby answered for me. "Ooooh?" Yang put an arm around my shoulders.

"You know. I hear that boy is a good kisser." I felt my face heat up. I looked down, hoping my hair would cover my face. "D'aw, look at you. You don't have to blush that much."

Ruby popped up between us. "Are you talking about that time Bhu mistook a lemon for an orange?" I hid my face behind my hand.

"Ha! I remember that!"

I looked at them angrily. "I wasn't looking! Who the hell even puts lemons into the same bowl as oranges!?" "Oh, it's okay Bhu. No one noticed."

"Yeah, don't be so sour."

I was not amused. "Anyways Yang, do you know where we should be going after school?" Ruby said. Yang grinned. I didn't like that grin. "Just meet me at the front of the school when classes are over."


"Hey, did you guys wait long?" Yang said, walking up to us.

"Nope. Let's go!" Ruby turned on her heel and marched away. Yang and I followed after her. "So when did you two meet Xerxes?" Yang asked.

"Well, after I left you and Qrow, I walked into the park and saw that Ruby had knocked into some guy and dirtied his shirt. So I gave him a twenty to buy a new one. Xerxes was there telling the guy not to take the money. He took the money. Xerxes tried to pay me back but I said no. Then he tried to have Ruby accept it and she said no. We settled with him giving me a ten and that was that."

"Hold up!" Ruby slowed down and came between Yang and I. "She skipped the part when he said that her name was cute and that he kissed her hand."

Yang smirked my way.

I shoved my hands in my pockets and looked ahead. "Where are we going anyways?" I asked. We were in the middle of town now and had stopped at a corner. "Follow me my little ducklings. I will lead you to style!" She crossed the road as soon as the walking sign turned green. After sharing a look with Ruby we followed after her.

As we kept walking the town got a little less nice until Yang held open a door for us with a big smile. I walked in first, glancing here and there. It was a normalish store.

More or less.

The lighting could be better. It was like an empty hospital at night. "Hey Colors! Are you here? I brought you money!" A guy with long hair, fox ears and piercings came from the door behind the cash register. "I've had enough of your shenanigans Violence." He said, rubbing the back of his neck. He looked up, looked at us, looked at Yang, then turned around to go back through the door. Yang ran past us and stopped the guy before he could open the door.

I looked at Ruby. "Did he just call your sister Violence?" She put a hand on her chin, "Well…it's pretty accurate."

"And how does your sister know him?" She crossed her arms. "I've learned to not question it and to take advantage of it instead." Yang waved at us. "Hey guys, we can follow Colors to the back." We followed her through the door. There was fabric practically everywhere in every color. There were mannequins jumbled in a corner and one in the middle of the room. This one had seats and various fabrics surrounding it along with a stool. There were some clothes hanging on a couple of racks against the wall behind it next to what seemed like a dressing room.

"Okay, bring her over here." Colors said, moving aside the center mannequin. Yang smacked the center of my back causing me to stumble forward over fabric. After throwing a look at Yang I looked at Colors and saw that he was holding a hand out for me. I took it and managed to get across to the spot where the mannequin was. I watched him as he went to the wall on my right to dim the lights. He flipped a switch and suddenly I had a spotlight. He walked to the outer edge of the spotlight. "Stand normal." He said. I positioned my feet a little and let my hands fall to my side.

I hope I'm doing this right. I looked at him, hoping for some sign of approval but his hand was covering his mouth while his eyes were already on me. I knew he probably did this for his job, but fully knowing that he was looking at every part of me made me more self-conscious than usual. I sank into my scarf with warm cheeks, saying "Are you done yet?" He blew out a puff of air with a smirk. He walked up to me and ruffled my hair a little before returning the lights to normal.

"Well my clever friend, is there any hope?" Yang asked him. She and Ruby were sitting on the seats. "Yeah, I think I have something." He said, rubbing his head while going to the back. "Okay, I give in, Yang, how do you know him?" Ruby asked her.

"Oh, let's just say that I crashed into him one day." "What's that supposed to mean?" I asked her.

"It means she came crashing into my store." Colors said, putting a bag in my hands.

"Everything got fixed!" She argued.

"At the expense of my newly designed spring line!" "Shouldn't I try this on?" I asked him, lifting the bag a little. "Believe it or not I have a good eye for this stuff." He said wiggling his ears. He glared at Yang while passing her.

"I said I was sorry! Just let it go!"

"I have." He said opening the door. "I just get pissed every time I think about it." He flicked her forehead on her way through the door.

I stopped in front of the cash register and took out 200. I put the money on the counter. "This should be enough right?"

His eyes furrowed a bit. "Don't you think it's a bad idea to have that much money in your wallet at this age?" He leaned on his hand while waving the money around in his other hand. "I do this only when I expect to spend money. Besides, it's just paper."

His eyes widened a bit before sinking into a small smile. "Well short-stuff, if you're single in five years, feel free to contact me." He said with a wink. I blinked.

"Pervert alert!" Yang yelled from the front door.

"Jealous that you're not my type?" He yelled back.

Yang flicked her hair back. "I am way out of your league."

"More like a wrecking ball if anythhing."

"LET IT GO." She yelled before closing the door behind her and Ruby.

"Anyways, thanks for the clothes." I told him while we walked towards the front. He held the door open for me as I stepped out. "Anytime kid. Hope the date goes well." I blushed, bringing up my scarf and nodding. I walked towards Ruby and Yang. I turned around and said, "Have a nice evening." He smiled and waved, "You too," he said.

I turned back around and trotted towards the two sisters. "I kind of wanted to see what kind of clothes he chose for you." Ruby said to me. "Well, whatever he chose, I'm sure it'll look great." Yang said.

"Hey Bhu, let me come over before your date. I wanna help in every way possible." I smiled at Ruby. "Yeah, that'd help a lot. Thanks Ruby."

"Should I interrogate Xerxes beforehand? You know, on the proper way to treat a lady?" Yang asked. Ruby waved her hands. "No way! Don't you think that's a little much?" I tuned out the conversation as we passed by a window. I stopped to take a closer look.

They were the latest headphones. And one of the colors came in a crimson red. She was complaining about her earphones today. Maybe instead of a cake, I could give her these. "Bhu? What're you looking at?" Ruby asked me, half of her body turned. I dismissed her question with a wave of my hand. "Nothing interesting. What were you two talking about?"

"Oh, well I managed to keep Yang out of it." Yang crossed her arms. "I don't see why." "There's a reason why that man called you Violence." Ruby said in a flat tone. "He just doesn't know how to handle business." We slowed to a stop as we reached to the corner where I had to turn. "I don't think that's how you normally handle business." I said. Yang grinned. "You haven't seen my business."

"Err, I don't think I want to know." I said. "You know, we should've gone out to eat since we were in town." Ruby said, before a small growl came from her stomach. It was only six and all ready the sun was going down. "Yeah, we'll do it next time." I said to her. "You two should get going before your dad gets on your guys' case." Yang and Ruby groaned. "You're right. We should be going. Well, later then Bhu." Yang said already walking away.

"Yup! I'll see you tomorrow. Good night Bhu!" Ruby said, walking behind her sister. "Yeah, later." I said to them.

I walked at a brisk pace until I was in my building. Those headphones costed 250. I pressed my room floor. I have a good 500 in my bank. So that'll leave me with 250. I could live off of that until Aunty comes home. The elevator stopped and I got out. I opened my door and headed to the kitchen. After putting something in the microwave I turned on the TV.

I continued to watch TV until I decided it was time to go to bed. As I got ready for bed, I couldn't help but feel a little uneasy. Maybe I should play some music. I slowly got into my bed, putting my phone on my bedside table. It was already playing some music, all I had to do was fall asleep. I took a deep breath and laid down. I recalled today's events.

Why did that robot attack me? Was it really a malfunction? Could someone have messed with it? But why? It's not like I did anything to make someone hate me enough to kill me.

I snuggled into my pillow.

You just need to fall asleep. Just go to sleep. It'll be better tomorrow.

Just go to sleep.


"I don't think you should become a Huntress Bhu." My mom said to me as she drove me to school. "Why not? You and Dad are." I said as the car slowly came to a stop. "Just because we are doesn't mean that you have to." "I know mom. But I want to. Besides, I like it when people smile." She sighed. She pulled my ear a little bit before I got out of the car.

"Ow." I said rubbing my ear. "Have a nice day honey." She said, smiling at me. "Yup! You too Mom!" I said, waving her goodbye. I watched the car drive off.

"Hi Bhu!" I turned around and saw Dawn running towards me, her brown eyes were bright as her twin tails swished from side to side. "Hi Dawn! Anything new?" She smiled at me brightly as we walked through the front doors of the school. "We just might get a cat!" "Aw that's so cool! Do you know what kind of cat you want?" I asked, holding the classroom door open for her.

"I want a fluffy gray one. That way I can name her Shadow." We were putting our backpacks in our cubbies when I said, "Isn't that name kind of plain?" She puffed her cheeks out. "How about Étoile? It's supposed to mean star or something." She looked at me. "And how do you know that?" "My mom said that's what she wanted to call me when I was born."

"Hmm. Well it sounds pretty." She admitted, taking her seat right next to mine. "I still like Shadow though." I shrugged and sat down. "Well, it's your cat." When the school bell rang, Dawn pulled me to the side and whispered, "Do you want to go to the pet store?" I looked at her, shocked. "You know our moms don't want us to go anywhere after school." "It's not that far of a walk, please Bhu?" I sighed. "Okay, but it has to be really fast." "You got it." She grabbed my hand and we ran toward the direction of the pet store.

As we ran, I grew less and less sure that Dawn knew where she was going. We eventually came to a stop, panting.

"Dawn, do you even know—"

I felt sudden pain explode at the back of my head.

When I woke up, I couldn't open my eyes and my head felt fuzzy. I tried to lift my arms but I couldn't. They were tied behind me. I tried moving my legs but those were also tied.

"Oh, it looks like the other one is awake." I heard a man say.

He took off my blindfold in a rough manner. My head was still spinning but I tried to focus on my surroundings. Although my eye sight was blurry, I managed to make out Dawn, who was looking at me with swollen red eyes on a chair across from me. I moved my head a bit and saw that we seemed to be in some kind of wear-house. I heard multiple cries and snorts coming from behind Dawn. I strained my eyes and to my dismay there were more children. They were all huddled against the wall, some of them looked barely seven.

I felt someone grab the back of my shirt. I tried to struggle but he easily lifted me up. Another man grabbed my face with one hand and pinched my face while he seemed to be…examining me? I knew I couldn't physically do anything at this point but I could glare at him so he could know exactly how much I hated him.

He smiled.

"It looks like this is a feisty one." He suddenly back handed me so hard that I was knocked out of the other man's hand.

It hurts.

I had bit into the gag as I tried to keep the pain in. He kicked me to turn me over on my back. Then he stomped on my chest, making me heave. "She has golden eyes, and isn't a Faunus. This has been my year. Put her next to the other one." He said tossing me across the floor to a different man. The 'other one' was an older girl with black hair that faded into a lighter gray.

She glared at the man when he threw me into her. She changed positions with me so that she was the one on the outside and I was squeezed against the other children. "Now for you sweetheart."

No. No no no no no. I shook my head as he neared Dawn.

The girl with amber eyes put her shoulder in front of me and stared at me with unwavering eyes. I felt my tears slip out as she looked at me and slowly shook her head. "Mmm!" My eyes shot back to Dawn as I saw that same man pinch her face.

I tried to get to Dawn but the amber eyed girl shoved me with her shoulder and violently shook her head.

"This one's a little plain don't you think?" the man said, taking a step back. "Then what do you want to do? Kill her?"

I moved forward but that same girl stood in my way. I tried to plead with her with my eyes but I only got the same response.

I took a deep breath and shoved my way past her. I screamed at them, gaining their attention. The other children scooted away from where I laid.

"Oh? It looks like our golden egg doesn't like that." He came over to me and squatted down. "Got something to say ducky?" He removed my gag. "L-let…" my voice didn't sound like my own, "let…her go."

"Why should I ducky? I see potential in her."

Please, let her go. I don't want her to get hurt.

"Just…let her go." I felt something cold against my head. My breath stopped as I looked up and saw that his finger was on a trigger.

"But you know…" he pointed the gun towards Dawn, "not a lot of it."

Everything seemed to slow down. He pulled the trigger. Kids started screaming. My ears started ringing. Dawn's body was slowly falling to the ground. I couldn't think. I couldn't speak. I couldn't hear. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't cry. Until Dawn's body hit the floor.

Everything came rushing into me and I felt like a cup over flowing with water.

The children sounded like banshees.

The ringing was like an air horn against my ear.

The pool of blood surrounding Dawn's body was like a tidal wave.

"You…"

"Hmm? You say something ducky?"

I looked at him, not knowing the kind of expression I made when I said, "Really deserve to die."

Instinctively I reached my hand out and sank into his shadow.

I felt as if I had completely merged with his shade. I turned my head wildly just as he did. I moved my mouth just as he did. I didn't have to wait long until I seized the perfect moment. I emerged from his shadow and snatched the gun from his hand. "What the—" He was saying, turning towards me.

Before he had the chance to finish his sentence I shot him.

Blood sprayed from where I shot him, splattering on my clothes.

"She shot him!"

"Stop her!"

"Kill her!"

"Secure the merchandise!"

Aaahh, they should all just die.

I pointed the gun upwards and shot one of the lights. I fell back and let the shadows envelop me. I felt the men scattering like marbles dropping on concrete. Random shots were fired as they tried to pin point where I was. My heart was throbbing in my ears. My breath came slowly, like a carnivore hunting down its prey. One by one I shot them. My heart rate spiking every time I pulled the trigger. The recoil from the gun vibrated up my arms with each shot. I heard a car starting up as I shot another man. I looked and saw the amber eyed girl along with some others get loaded into a van.

Stop. I tried to dive back into the shadows but I couldn't travel faster than I could run. So I stepped out and ran after the van, the back door was still open. The men frantically grabbed at the doors, trying to get them shut. I didn't want to shoot for fear that I might hit one of the kids. I ran, so desperately, after that truck. The amber eyed girl looked at me with so much sadness and hope it crushed me.

I saw one of the men grab a door with one hand and point a gun at me with the other. Before I had the chance to move out of the way he pulled the trigger. I heard a scream as I skidded across the ground. I clenched my shoulder and grit my teeth as I saw with blurry eyes the amber eyed girl struggling against the man who shot me

. She was so desperate for the freedom that I could've given her. To see her only web of hope get cut was heart shattering. "I'm sorry." Was all I could offer her.

I took a deep a breath and looked at her tear stained face.

"I'm sorry!" I sobbed out.

Her eyes widened as more tears fell.

She screamed out at me as I laid there, knowing I couldn't do anything to help her. Her scream was cut off as the men slammed the doors.

The van screeched out of the warehouse, leaving skid marks in its dust.

I hit my head against the floor, letting out pitiful sobs as I saw the amber eyed girl's face when she realized that for her, there was no such thing as freedom.

I felt two pair of hands touch me.

I turned around quickly, thinking that I somehow missed my targets. Instead, the pairs of hands belonged to a boy and a girl.

"She's bleeding." The boy rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I can see that. Prop her up. We need to stop the bleeding." The girl tried to grab hold of me but I flinched away from her.

"Don't touch me!" I yelled.

"We need to get the bullet out and stop the bleeding." The boy tried reasoning with me.

"And what about Dawn!?" I yelled at him.

He was surprised at my sudden outburst towards him but his expression changed to a kind of scowl. "If by Dawn, you mean that other little girl that came in with you, she's fine." "Really!?"

I immediately got to my feet, but I couldn't even take a step in. I landed on the ground with a thud, my head spinning. "Hard to believe she did all of that." The girl said. The boy clicked his tongue. "Yeah, well, believing it or not, we owe her."

"Hey, are you okay?" The girl asked me.

My shoulder was pulsating and my head throbbing.

My eye lids felt really heavy.

I think it's okay to stop.

I thought to myself as I let the shadows cloud my brain.


I opened my eyes and was blinded by how bright it was. "Oh my God, Bhu! You're awake!" I flinched a little at the sound of my mom's voice. I looked at her confused. I looked around and noticed I wasn't in my room. I was in a hospital.

But why… my memories came flooding back so suddenly I had to take in a sharp breath. My dad walked in the room, happy as could be to see me. But I looked at him, tears falling. "Dad…I…I…-!" My mom pulled me into her arms as I started sobbing. My dad came next to her and hugged us both. After I had calmed down a doctor came in to make sure that everything was okay.

I asked him about my shoulder.

He said that because of my aura it would heal normally but there would be a scar. I looked at him, not quite understanding. He rubbed the back of his head and stepped out for a second. I looked at my mom and dad. "What exactly is aura?" I asked them.

"Well honey," my dad started, "it's our life force so to say. Our spirit. You seemed to have somehow unlocked it when you were gone." I frowned, not really understanding. The doctor came back in with a police officer. I looked at my parents, feeling as if I had just been kicked into a bottomless abyss. My mom smiled and rubbed my head saying, "He only wants to ask some questions."

"But mom, I. I killed people." As soon as I said it, I felt my stomach do flips.

"Yeah, but you also saved people." Everyone looked towards the doorway.

It was the boy and girl.

They looked so much more normal. Like actual kids."

Also, who could blame you for killing all of those involved with human trafficking? If you ask me, you did way more than the police could've done." The boy said, giving a look towards the officer. The girl came up to me and held my hand. "You reunited us with our families. Everyone is grateful towards you. You gave us our lives back." I looked at the officer.

"Did you guys get the van? The one with the amber eyed girl?" He shook his head. "We have all of the cameras and men we could spare, but we can't seem to find them." I looked at him, so angry that the police were useless. You're lying to yourself.

You're the useless one.

"She…wanted to be free. So bad. But I couldn't. Her eyes were so sad. So tired. And I couldn't do anything." I squeezed the girl's hand.

"You can't save everyone." She said quietly.

"I'm only ten!" I shouted, feeling the pressure of what I had done, and what I couldn't do.

"I know honey," my dad said, taking my other hand, "and that's a lesson that you never should've learned until you were older."

"But she looked at me as if I was her last chance! Like I could free her from that hell! Like I! I!" I let go of their hands and pulled at my hair. I felt the pain in my shoulder as I sank into the pillow behind me.

I felt a soft hand on my shoulder. "You're really a nice person. You didn't even know her and yet here you are crying about her." She offered me some tissue which I accepted. "So you don't know this, but she really is a strong person. She'd always comfort and tried to protect the younger ones. Whenever someone was going to get it, she always intervened. She always came back bruised and bleeding with a smile in her eyes. I'm sure that after seeing that her chance was lost she'll just be stronger. After all, you can only be broken so many times before there's nothing left to break."

I looked at her, horrified by what she said. She looked at me with dead eyes and an emotionless smile.

"That's not being strong. That's being empty." I told her. She squeezed my shoulder lightly. "When you have nothing, there's nothing to stop you." But then there'll be nothing left. I looked at the boy who was sitting at the end of my bed. He was looking at the ground with the same dead eyes. I felt a hand on my head and looked at my parents.

"Sometimes, people need to be stopped before they fall over the edge." My mom said, giving me a kiss on the head. I looked back at the officer. "Can we get this questioning thing over with? I'm getting hungry." He first told me to describe what had happened that night. As I got deeper into the story I saw my parents gradually get sadder and the doctor horrified. By the time I was done, I felt everyone's eyes on me. The boy and girl were looking at me with sympathy, my parents looked like they were about to go hunting, the doctor was looking at me with wide eyes and the cop looked at me with confusion.

"You said that your appendages were tied up correct?" I squinted. "I mean your arms and legs."

"Oh. Then yeah." "Well then how were you able to slide your hand to touch his shadow?"

"I, uh, don't really know."

"There must be something you're missing." My dad said softly. I shook my head. "No. There isn't."

"You don't know?" the boy asked me. I shook my head. "Know what?" I asked.

"Your shadow. It cut the ropes." I looked at the girl and she nodded.

"But how did I?" The girl shrugged. "That was the moment you snapped right? Must've been that."

I looked at my mom and dad wondering what this meant. My dad rubbed my back. "A bit ironic that we named you Bhu isn't it?" My mom elbowed him in the stomach. "This just means that you have an amazing aura Bhu. And with some training I'm sure that you'll be able to save everyone the next time something happens."

"Sir, ma'am, I'm going to need you two to step out with me for a bit." The officer told my parents. My mom patted me on the head as she and my dad left the room with the officer.

"Hey doctor? Is Dawn here? Is she going to be okay?" I asked him. He nodded. "She's down the hall. Room 205. She was also shot in the shoulder. She lost a lot of blood but she is conscious of her surroundings." "Meaning?" He smiled at me. "She'll be fine." I sighed in relief.

"Hey, where did those other guys go?" "Hmm, they must've after your parents." "Hey Doc?" "Yes?" "I'm good to walk around and stuff right?" I said, sliding out of bed. "Just don't push it." "Okay!" I said, running out of the room. "Bhu, what are you doing?" My dad asked. "Not now, need to find people." I said, looking to my right. I looked behind them and found the two.

"Hey wait up!" I yelled at them. The stopped and watched me run towards them. "What? Do you want us to swear our loyalty to you?" The boy asked with a smirk on his face. "No, it's just, I don't know your names." They looked at me with eyes wide then looked at each other and smiled.

The girl grabbed hold of my hand, smiled and said, "I'm Hathor. Thank you for saving me." The boy extended his fist. "And I'm Arthur. And on behalf of the other children there, thanks." I bumped his fist with mine. "I'm Bhu. I hope that we could be friends when everything goes back to normal."

"Normal huh?" Arthur smiled at the thought. "It'd be nice to have that again don't you think?" Hathor said, elbowing his arm. "Yeah, it would. So you're ten Bhu? I wouldn't be surprised if they put you in combat school because of everything."

I shook my head. "I don't think that'll happen. I barely know how to do math." They laughed. "Well, if you do go to a combat school, you should apply to Signal. That's where we're going to be." Hathor said with a soft smile.

"How old are you guys?"

"We're both 13. And we're both going to become Hunters." Arthur said with a bit of pride. "That is, if our parents let us." Hathor stated. "Speaking of parents, we need to go back to them. We promised to be back before lunch." "Well, I don't want to get you guys in trouble." "Actually, you should meet them sometime. I'm sure that they'll be delighted to meet the person who saved their kids." I blushed for a second before thinking about the amber eyed girl.

I shook my head. "I'm nothing special." Arthur dug his knuckle into my head. "Nothing special? You unlocked your aura at ten years old without someone doing it for you, saved more than ten lives, and kicked ass! You're plenty special. I'm actually a bit jealous." I looked at the both of smiling at me. "Take care Bhu. Don't hesitate to contact us if you're in trouble." Hathor said, rubbing my head. "Yeah, thanks!" I said waving goodbye to them.

As I walked back to my room, I reconsidered visiting Dawn. She's probably tired from everything. I should leave her alone until we get back to school.

I guess I did do something good. Over the past two weeks my parents and I got a lot of attention. The news people kept wanting to interview my parents and I. I didn't really care, but my parents were determined to keep me off camera. I was able to stay in my grade but only if I took special lessons after school. I also wasn't charged with murder because I was claimed 'a hero.' By the time I was able to go to school, everyone in the building recognized me. The more I was told 'good job' or 'you did great' the more everything felt unreal. I didn't do a good job, nor did I do great. I just didn't want Dawn or me to die.

I wonder if Dawn is here. I thought as I pushed the door open. I looked at where our seats were at and there she was, balancing a pencil between her nose and upper lip.

"Dawn! Hi!" I said waving at her. Her pencil dropped as she stared at me with wide eyes.

Maybe she's just shocked to see me after so long?

I walked towards her saying, "I'm sorry that I didn't—"

She got up so suddenly that her chair fell back.

The entire classroom fell into silence as Dawn and I stood there, staring at each other.

"H-hey, c'mon. What wro—"

"STAY BACK." She yelled.

I stopped moving.

My breath started to come quickly.

I reached out a hand, "D-Dawn…"

"MONSTER! STAY BACK!"

That first word seemed to echo.

Monster. She called me, a monster. I didn't want to die. I didn't want her to die. Did that make me a monster?

The teacher tried to calm her down. "Dawn, please calm down. Bhu saved—" "Saved?! She murdered full grown men!"

There was pounding in my ears again

. The sound of the teacher's voice faded.

I suddenly felt strangely conscious of everyone.

I felt their whispers.

I heard their stares.

I started to feel like I was being dragged under water.

I need to breathe.

I felt my feet become heavy like stone slabs.

I need air!

"SHE'S A MONSTER!"

That sentence cut through the water like a guillotine, cutting me in half.