Chapter 4
The Grimmian
Meanwhile again
In a part of the forest, the fighter and the archer were walking through the forest, chatting and laughing with each other, talking about stories of their time working together to fight Grimm.
"Man, you were awesome back there, Sameko," Berde smiled as he imitated a bow position, "You were all like 'fwoosh', then the arrow just flew like a massive bullet toward that Grimm!"
Sameko giggled and blushed from her acknowledged feat.
"Well, remember that time you just did that wrestling move to that Beowulf?" Sameko said, "You just grabbed its legs and made it bend way up while carrying it on your shoulders and then jumping up and 'BLAM!', you tore off its legs!"
Berde chuckled, remembering some of his Signal Academy days.
"I learned that in hand-to-hand combat class back at Signal," he said, "Despite my short size, I still became the strongest wrestler in the school."
"Wow, I've learned martial arts, but I know I can't lift something like that with my bare hands."
"So, Sameko, how's life like back from... um... whichever school you came from?"
Though miffed from his forgetfulness, she answered nonetheless with grace.
"Well, I'm pretty much the biggest smartie there," Sameko said proudly, "Though, of course, I've got friends to help me get to where I am."
"Friends?"
"Of course! I've had a lot of friends that helped me," Sameko said with a smile, "Did you have friends back at Signal?"
Berde sighed, remembering how it was like for him as a student back at Signal. It was extremely tough.
"I... I had a few friends," Berde smiled back, weakly, "I'm not one for a large circle of friends."
Sameko giggled.
"Well, me too," Sameko said, "While we helped each other, I had a few friends I trusted deeply."
"Deep Trust?" Berde said, "I... only experienced that with like two people. I find it hard to develop that trust all by myself."
They both sat down by a tree with Sameko putting her hand on his shoulder, concerned about his difficulty to develop trust.
"How come?" she asked.
Berde shook his head.
"..." he was silent, making Sameko mad.
"Come on...I-!"
Berde sighed sadly and looked at his axe. Sameko had a skeptical look as to why he did that. She wondered if she's pushing a bit too far.
"Sorry, but... can I ask you something?"
Sameko nodded.
"Anything?"
"... Did you... not want me as your partner?" he asked, surprising the Shark Girl. She nervously stuttered.
"I... um... I don't mind you as a partner but... b-but..."
"But what?"
"W-why are you asking me this? We're already partners anyway!"
"I'm a complete stranger, and you said your friends helped you get to here!" Berde shouted, "Were you hoping for your friend to be here?! Were you hoping that she'd be your partner?!"
Sameko backed away, startled by his aggression.
"D-do you not want me to be your partner?"
"... N-No, I was just wondering if t-this wasn't your intended-"
All of a sudden, a large tree suddenly dropped in front of Berde, separating the two. Sameko sheathed her sword and scoffed.
"Fine, if you're gonna be that stupid and too insistent on dwelling in the past, go ahead and survive on your own."
Berde sighed, punching his fist into the ground in anger.
"Me and my big mouth..."
He sat down and pondered on whether or not he should follow Sameko. One part of him said that he could survive the Emerald Forest if he wanted to, but the other part wanted him to go to Sameko in order to find a way to the Relics. While he's not crappy at direction, he didn't know any methods of getting any leads or clues to where the Relics are. Berde looked at his axe and wiped off the dirt and saw an unclear reflection of himself.
He'd always been alone in his journey here. He's used to not having friends despite him not wishing to harm others. Heck, he believes that people are safer or better off without him. While he remembered good things in Signal, all his mistakes stuck with him like a scar, similar to the ones he has. He saw a sad look on himself through this makeshift mirror and sat on the tree.
In the meantime, Sameko sighed angrily, still ticked from Berde's talk of the past. She actually DID want her friend to be her partner... but, a certain event caused her to fall out from her chances. She felt like she used her for leverage, causing her great shame. She wanted her as her partner in Beacon, but alas, the world is no fairy tale. Sameko wondered how her friend felt when she got into Beacon. She didn't see her when she got accepted, and didn't bother wanting to see her as she entered the airship.
"Hmm... Koi Ame..." she mumbled, remembering her closest friend. When they officially announced it, she playfully called her Koi Bito or Koibito Ai.
She reached into her sode and pulled out white teru teru bozu that Koi gave to her while they were secretly dating. She sighed, sad that she's alone now. All of a sudden, she heard a quake as well as the trees rustling. She quickly drew her swords and looked around. A rock was tossed to her side, which she quickly sliced with a sword swing. Another rock was tossed behind her, which she also cut. She sighed and spun her blades and formed her bow. She grabbed four arrows, placing them between her fingers and fired upward. The arrows floated in the air after they got up to the height of the smallest tree. She split up her bow back into her blades and looked around.
"Who's throwing rocks?!"
If I use my Semblance to throw the rocks back, there's no guarantee of tracking down whoever's doing this mischief. Plus, I don't have as much Aura to handle all these rocks; I'm going to focus my Semblance when I find the Grimm. Problem is...
She heard the rustle again to the front, then to the left.
This Grimm is both strong and fast... as well as precise...
The Grimm suddenly landed behind Sameko. Before she could react, the Grimm swiped its arm at her blades, knocking them out of her hands. She whimpered from being unarmed, but she put up her arms in a defensive position. The Grimm's fist flew fast, but Sameko used her Semblance to redirect the vector of the punch to the ground. She hopped on the Grimm's arm and threw a dropkick that pushed her back. Her eyes shone a deep blue as an arrow spiralled into the Grimm's head. The Grimm somehow did a rolling backflip, tucking its body into a ball form. The arrow missed. Sameko was utterly dumbfounded.
"This Grimm is acrobatic?!" she exclaimed.
She went to her swords and fused them into a bow again. She grabbed a small metal rod with a clamp on the end and put it on the handle of her upper sword. The end of the rod had a circular clamp, functioning to hold something. Sameko took out a bottle of Ice Blue Dust and put it on the circular clamp. She took aim at the Grimm, but it was gone. Sameko took note of the rustling. She heard the Grimm roar somewhere between her back and left and aimed, seeing the Grimm. She shot an arrow at it, freezing it in place. She sheathed her blades and threw a palm strike at the iced Grimm. The ice block was massively pushed into the tree and shattered, leaving the Grimm in a downed position. She commanded two arrows into its arms, pinning it to the ground. With a smile, she ejected the Ice Dust bottle and tossed it into the Grimm, exploding in a blast of ice.
I'm starting to feel sick... Sameko thought, I have to launch these soon!
The Grimm broke out of the icy prison, surprising the archer.
"What?!"
The Grimm grabbed her legs and flipped her over. It then mounted its fist into the ground and spun around, kicking the small girl with its two smaller feet.
As Sameko flew, she started to feel a lot more sick due to having to keep her Semblance up. Before she could hit the tree, a fast force saved her in time. The man skidded his feet into the ground, slowing his inertia. When he stopped, he set her on the ground and she stood up albeit weakly. She shook her head and looked at her saviour.
"B-Berde?"
He smiled at her.
"I shouldn't dwell in the past too much," he said, "Right now, the only thing that matters is the present, and present me is telling me to help my partner."
"P-Partner?" she questioned then finally smiled.
He had a disapproving look on his face.
"Look, we can be REALLY great friends as partners; we don't have to be romantically involved," Berde said before smiling at his partner, "You make a great little sister though."
Sameko groaned.
"I hate little sisters," she muttered angrily before smiling warmly, "But I wouldn't mind a big bro."
He smiled and approached the Grimmian. Berde absorbed the full view of the Grimmian. Its heavily armoured, similar to larger Ursa. Spikes mostly protruded out of its arms and back with a mask covering its face. It has large arms and small legs; despite the latter, he noted it moved at an incredibly fast rate. Sameko looked at it too, and according to her calculations, the Grimmian could stand over 16 feet when it stands.
"Come on, you butt-monkey, you think your race will end the world first?!" he shouted, "Let me tell you something! The world won't end through you. It will end through our own dirty hands, and when that happens, we'll end every single one of you before our stupidity destroys us!"
Somewhere far. Minutes later.
"Why aren't you fighting?!" Naraka asked as she pointed her lance at Indigo, who's head was near the cliff. Indigo kept his head cool despite his life being threatened over the dumb question of leaving her alone.
"I don't want to... This isn't some sort of survival-of-the-fittest test," he said, "Did you expect to be alone in Beacon? Have you read the freaking brochure?!"
"I don't give a shit about it!" she exclaimed, "All I care about is learning how to become a Huntress and fight... and that's it!"
The Grimmian came out of the trees and leapt at Naraka's back. She threw a stab to her back, but was surprised the Grimmian grabbed it, he tossed her aside.
"Naraka!" Indigo shouted, concerned for his partner.
He glared at the Grimmian and it suddenly stopped moving as if its blood froze. From behind, Berde threw a dropkick that sent the Grimmian falling off the cliff. Sameko followed after, panting from running far.
"That Grimmian must have been attracted to a concentrated hate," Sameko theorized.
Indigo looked at Naraka, who was slowly getting up. He was worried, wondering if she's a misanthrope. His train of thought was interrupted as soon as Berde offered a hand to help him up.
"So, if that theory is correct, someone must really hate your guts... or you hate someone's guts."
"You may hate Grimm, but someone around here showed a lot of hate here," Sameko said, "But none of that matters, I know where the relics are."
Sameko hopped on Berde's shoulders and pointed to where the relics were.
"Wait, guys!" Indigo shouted, "Let me carry Sameko."
"What, why?!" she asked.
He pointed at Naraka.
"We can't leave her alone," Indigo said, "Hateful or not, I don't want anyone dying on my watch."
Berde grinned in approval to his resolve. His Aura shone green and illuminated like a fire.
"I've gotcha!"
Relic area
While Indigo and Sameko panted (she got off at a certain distance when her legs felt refreshed), Berde barely panted, even with Naraka attempting to get out. Throughout the whole journey, Naraka blabbered and struggled to get out, but Berde's natural strength disallowed her to get out. He grabbed her weapon just in case.
"Judging by why you want to be a Huntress, you're VERY Kantian," Berde said.
She replied with "Tch" as he dropped her. He went to the Relics and grabbed the Black Knight piece. He also noticed the White Bishops missing, as if someone came here earlier. Indigo went up to him and he also grabbed the black Knight piece. They look at each other and smile.
"We may not be partners, but I think you're a cool person," Indigo said.
"I hope you make a great leader," Berde said, "A cool head like you would make a great one."
"I don't know, but if Sameko is truly the smartass here, then she'd be the leader," Indigo said, "Naraka is too hot-headed, while you're pretty stupid."
Berde sighed, and Naraka grumbled in the distance.
"So... how do we get back?" Naraka asked as she rejoined them, "In fact, Sameko, how'd you find the Relic area?"
Berde grabbed Sameko and tossed her up high into the air. She took out an arrow as soon as gravity decided she had enough ascension. She used her Semblance to keep it in place and stood on top of it. She looked around and finally saw the high cliff that they came from. The worst part was a black spot hopping over the forest. She groaned, wondering if it's the Grimmian. Nonetheless, it looked like it was approaching the Relic area.
She dove back down and slowed her fall through her Semblance as soon as she was close. She slouched, having used her Semblance for a while.
"Guys, the Grimmian is still alive. It's coming toward us," she said.
"We need to get to a clearing!" Berde said, "Sameko and I have seen what it can do in the forest."
He looked at Sameko.
"Sameko, we need to head to an open area," he said, "Do you know where one is?"
"There's an abandoned tower by the cliffs," she said, "The Bridge is broken due to one of the teams fighting there, but it has plenty of open space."
She pointed to the hill.
"Okay," Berde said, "Follow me. Since Sameko and I have fought this before you guys, Sameko and I will call the shots."
While they were running, Indigo looked at Berde. Naraka sighed. Not wishing to die like this, her only choice was to follow Berde and his clique.
To him, while he saw someone who's not too smart, he saw a man with great conviction, determination, and power. He also saw a man with charisma that could rival a prince; something that can inspire his allies to fight with all of their ability. He also saw a man with a vision behind pure strength through teamwork and leadership.
Who is Berde Bazahka?
As soon as they reached the abandoned tower, the Grimmian blocked their way and roared at them. Berde looked at the bridge, and looked at the area they were in. Two wide temples on each side.
The Grimmian could barely hide, but he could use the pillars as thrown projectiles. The Grimmian is also fast as he is strong, but also durable despite his agility. It could still use its hands Sameko's "meteor" arrows pierced through them. Indigo has the ability to freeze... or possibly to stagnate objects. I could barely feel move due to the ice on my limbs. I don't know about Naraka though...
Naraka charged recklessly, dodging the Grimmian's initial fist with a ducking dash. She threw an upward slash with her lance and shot a burst of fire from her gun compartment. She continued to swing at it while the Grimm kept backing away. Berde dashed toward the Grimm as soon as it was about to punch one of her blind spots. He threw an axe swing that knocked away the fist; its skin was a lot tougher than he thought. Naraka threw a stab at its mouth, but it used its other arm to swat it away. Naraka still held on to her lance despite it piercing its mouth. Berde fought with the gorilla, throwing axe swings which it blocked with its arms. It threw a powerful overhead, but Berde guarded it with his axes. The ground beneath him crumbled, and Berde slowly pushed it back by using his Aura to empower himself. With a roar, he swatted off the beast's arms and attempted his own overhead, only for the Grimmian to do a rolling back flip then a leaping cartwheel into the right temple.
"Indie, freeze em! Sameko, fire at my order!"
"Got it!" they both said.
Sameko prepared an arrow.
Indie fired a stream of Dust with his sword, shooting it towards the roof of the temple. When it hit, a large ice wall formed, making the Grimmian back away. Berde shot toward him and threw a double axe spike at him, knocking it down.
"Now!"
Sameko focused her Semblance into the arrow, firing a powerful arrow that caused the Grimmian to fall off the cliff.
"It will eventually leap out," Berde said, "Indie, do you think your eye can pierce him?"
"I'll see if it can," Indie replied.
As predicted, the Grimmian leapt out of the chasm. Naraka combusted the air behind the gorilla, making it explode. Indie stabbed the ground, freezing the ice into a giant lance. The gorilla attempted to punch it, but it looked into Indie's icy glare, making it immobile, causing it to fall.
"Naraka, cut one of its legs off! They're weaker than its arms"
"All right!"
With a clean swoop, the leg easily cut off, rendering the monkey technically immobile. Berde threw a great slice with an axe, tearing its le like butter. Indigo suddenly felt cold, so he had to cancel out his Semblance. The gorilla used its hand to stand up and tried to punch Indigo. Naraka hopped in and used her lance to swat it away. The Grimmian grabbed the ground with his other hand and used both of his hands to hop forward, going for the stationary Sameko. It tried to attack with a double-handed overhead, but Berde, who was caught up with the beast, cleanly hit the Grimm's mask with a turning swing, causing it to be knocked away. Indie created an ice wall that encased the Grimmian then started breathing fast as the cold started to overcome him. Naraka came up beside him and used her Semblance to heat him up.
"Sameko, make a larger bow by placing the swords by the pillars!" Berde said.
She nodded and planted one her swords on the inner side of the pillar on the right side temple. She passed her sword to Naraka, who placed it on a similar position. A deep blue string formed and Berde started hopping from pillar to pillar to build up speed until he reached the bowstring. Berde was stopped in place by Sameko's Semblance as he perched on the string.
"You're about to do something crazy aren't you?" Sameko asked.
"Crazy? I'm just doing something ANY normal Huntsman would do."
Berde glared at the struggling Grimm as his eyes shone brighter.
"Now!"
Berde shot himself forward, feeling the sharp air tear through his skin as he flew. As his skin tore from the intense speed, his power amplified. He grabbed the Grimmian with his hands mid-flight. As soon as he was about to reach the cliff "wall", he leapt off of it, then off a pillar nearby, rising into the air and above the cliffs. He tossed the heavy Grimmian down on the edge of the cliff; its body bounced as it hit the ground. Berde aimed his axes upward, firing two heavy bullets that rocketed him downward, leaving a trail of black and green aura. He did a front flip raised his axes up high while roaring and dropped them down on the Grimmian's head, decapitating it and causing the edge of the cliff to shatter, creating an avalanche of rocks and dirt.
The other three watched the destruction caused by Berde's attack. His black and green aura formed a faint image of what looked like a roaring bear throwing a finishing swipe onto the cliff.
Berde fell along with the corpse of the Grimmian.
"Berde!" Sameko shouted.
The large makeshift bow was still there, giving Sameko an idea. She told the other two go on the bowstring with her. She used her Semblance to propel all of them toward the cliff as well as bringing her swords back to her. When they got close to the falling debris, Sameko used her Semblance to halt the fall of the rocks, making it as if she stopped time. Berde managed to land on one of the rocks with his feet and saw the other 3 hopping from rock to rock, continuously going up. He saw Sameko's tired jumping and awaited her to reach his level. As soon as she did, she grabbed her and continued to jump up. Sameko started to feel lightheaded from sustaining her Semblance, but smiled weakly as she saw Berde carrying her to safety.
All four of them landed on the cliff and watched as the debris tore down the abandoned tower. The four of them stood up, looking into the horizon. Berde's tasset, Indigo's cape, Sameko's haori and hair, and Naraka's hair and "tails" all fluttered in the air heroically. The bear, the wolf, the shark, and the tiger smiled victoriously as they all headed back to the academy.
Ampitheater
"Nadeshiko Yamato, Draconum Tepes, Subasa Garuda, and Blue Wyrmtongue. Your team retrieved the White Bishop relics. From this day forward, you will work together as Team BNDS (Brandeis)."
Subasa sighed, not being part of Indie's team. Nadeshiko patted her back roughly, earning a weak smile from her. Draco and Blue high-fived each other.
"Led by: Blue Wyrmtongue."
Nadeshiko nodded in agreement, acknowledging his great insight and strategic approach. As they left the stage, Berde, Sameko, Indie, and Naraka approached the stage.
"Berde Bazahka, Indigo Sangre, Sameko Shintai, and Naraka Krohda. The four of you have retrieved the Black Knight relics. From this day forward, you will work together as Team BISN (Brimstone)."
Naraka sighed then smiled coolly. Sameko embraced Berde while the latter spun around while hugging her. Indigo chuckled from the sight of their affection.
"Led by: Berde Bazahka."
Naraka was surprised and raised her brow as to wonder how he became the leader. Sameko sighed, but smiled nonetheless, proud of him being appointed leader. Indie beat Berde's chest with a fist.
"Whoa... nice one!"
And to this day, Berde's team had officially formed. In his team, is Berde, the not-too-bright, but brave and headstrong leader. Indigo, the flexible royal whose skill in the blade is greatly advanced. Sameko, the bespectacled sniper and tactician. Finally, Naraka, the hot-blooded woman whose swiftness in battle is uncontested.
While Berde smiled at his appointment as leader, the lingering thought of why remained in his head.
Outside of the Dorms
Berde left the dorm and walked across the hallway.
A thought clouded his head: why was he appointed leader? Indigo's cool head would have been a better asset; he can get extremely excited in battle. Sameko is a much smarter person than he is; he approaches every problem pragmatically. He's anti-social, and has poor people skills, making him lack charisma. What made him a leader?
He heard a door open, causing him to react instantly. It was the door from across, revealing Blue, wearing blue pajamas.
"Oh, you're Berde Bazahka, right?" he said in admiration.
"Hey, Blue," Berde said calmly as he walked up to him and patted him on the shoulder.
"Where are you going?" he asked the berserker.
Berde sighed and looked away.
"... Somewhere... er... I mean, I'm going to see Ozpin."
Blue raised his brow.
"Isn't he not available at a time like this?" Blue asked.
"It's only 10pm, don't worry," Berde said.
Blue shrugged.
"If you say so..."
Blue closed the door. Berde walked toward Ozpin's office, only to meet Ozpin himself, holding his usual cup of coffee.
"Berde, what are you doing? You're supposed to wake up early tomorrow."
"Ozpin... why did you make me the leader of my team?" he asked the tall headmaster.
"Why not?"
"I-I'm not that smart. I'm very inconsistent, plus, Indie has a cool head, while Sameko had a lot of awards that showcase her intelligence."
Ozpin took out his scroll and showed him a video of them fighting the Grimmian. He also showed other clips of him getting hit by the Grimmian, getting back up, and managing to learn from the attacks.
"What do you believe makes a great leader, Professor Ozpin?" Berde asked.
He smiled and showed him the videos from his scroll.
"I've shown you enough, and surely, you are one to understand this struggle, right?"
He nodded, remembering his childhood.
"You have survived, and you've survived doing your absolute best at everything. This is only day one, Berde. While you lack the things that others have that could make them great leaders, your determination and your will is what inspires people to go to you. With your talents and experience being used on the battlefield, you tell them of a tale of woe and struggle that you went through to make it this far."
Berde sighed and looked away.
"I... I don't get it."
"Be patient. You are still quite young, Berde. Are you not a student? Students come to school to learn, and your role as a leader is one of them."
Ozpin had a parental smile on his face, while Berde's smile was more of relief and gratefulness. Ozpin felt like a sort of distant father in his own opinion, though, he forgot how that felt like.
"Thank you, Professor Ozpin."
As the berserker came back to his room, Ozpin looked at his documents.
"Bazahka..."
He looked at the relatives list sternly.
"Your true name..."
Author's Notes
By the time you've read this, I already finished this chapter days ago, though, yesterday (from the day I posted this), I put a few modifications and additions. Also, I shifted this to have romance in it due to some of the story involving relationship and character development.
Man, Season 3 Episode 1 was pretty sick, though, I'm kinda saddened that ABRN didn't put up a good enough fight (My Reese :[ ). Also, in case some people thought I copied Nadeshiko off of Nadir's name, I actually thought up of Nade's character prior to me finding out about Nadir. My friends and I put a careful amount of planning on our OCs (though, most of them are created by me).
But yeah, I hope you loved this chapter. Favourite and/or follow if you like this story. See you next time.