Chapter 7

Natalie's eyes fluttered open slowly as she wondered what the hell was happening. She heard loud grunting as she looked up to see Sam using both his fists to restrain the giant snake's mouth from consuming them both.

"SAM!" Natalie screamed.

"Get...out...of here!" I grunted painfully as I held the jaws open with all my strength. Blood falling from the hands that had been pierced from the rows of teeth in the creatures mouth.

"I'm not leaving you!"

"GO DAMN IT!" I yelled as I threw the creatures mouth down hard and fast before dragging her along with me. The Snake quickly recovered as I laid Natalie down by the tree before facing the creature. My fists bleeding heavily, I gripped them tighter. "Now that I got you covered, I got this ass to deal with." I said chuckling as my eyes changed from the green color they were to a blood red. I slammed my right fist into my left palm as a loud clap echoed throughout the forest.

What the hell?

Natalie thought as she saw Sam walking towards the creature confidently and some could say cocky.

I saw the dual heads now facing me their new opponent. The white head attacked first as I slammed my fist into it as a sound wave cracked and the head slammed into the ground before his brother began his assault at me as I slammed the other one down into the ground. Raising both of my fists, I brought them down into the snake heads and crushed their skulls in continuously until they stopped moving. I breathed in heavily from the exhaustion as I collapsed to my knees. My eyes changed back as I sighed.

"S-Sam?" Natalie asked hesitantly as I turned around to face the blue haired girl who's back was against the tree holding a bloodied arm.

"I'm fine, what about you? That arm isn't looking so hot." I pointed to her arm which was still bleeding, blood falling from the fingertips.

"I just caught off guard by that damn Grimm. Got some venom in my arm so my aura is ineffective right now. Considering it hurts like hell." She said hissing as she dropped her uninjured hand, now covered in the blood from her arm.

"Let me help you then." I said kneeling down to the injured girl.

"Unless you got some antivenom to stop the bleeding, what you do isn't going to do much." She said painfully removing her jacket to the sleeveless white undershirt she wore. The deep cut now clear enough to see that the Grimm had gotten her pretty good. I removed both of my gloves and placed them over her wound.

"What are you..AHHH!" She yelled as the wounded area began to glow with white energy. The pain was brief yet immense as the cut had stopped bleeding.

"What the hell did you do?" She asked me. I started to wrap the cut in a bandage from my pouch.

"Used my aura to stop the bleeding. The venom got into your system pretty good. So the most I could do was stop the bleeding. You are going to need formal treatment when you get back. You still in good shape to fight?" I asked as she laughed putting on her jacket before grabbing a rectangular black object with a large silver blade on the side.

"Am I good? Hell I am ready." She said cocking the weapon. "Let's have some fun shall we?" She finished before patting on the shoulder running off. Chuckling to myself, I have to give her some credit. At least she isn't a wuss when it comes to being injured. I began to follow her as I noticed a figure in the woods off in the distance hiding among the trees. The were hidden in the shadows. But just a brief glance got the figures appearance. Long black hair, a dark weathered coat that had seen many environments, A black mask covering who they truly were, and a strangely shaped blade with a revolver for a handle. As soon as I stopped, they disappeared.

"What the hell?" I said softly as the figure disappeared entirely from sight.

"LETS GO SAM! I can't leave you behind!" Natalie yelled from the forest.

"RIGHT! COMING NOW!" I responded as I stopped only briefly to see if the figure had returned. They were gone though. "Who are you?" I asked before running to catch up with Natalie.

"Saw something?" She asked me as I pondered to what to tell her.

"Someone is watching us, I don't know who or rather what it is. So I'd be careful is all." I said as we headed deeper in the woods.

"Maybe an evaluator? Or a Grimm hunting us?" She asked me.

"Neither, they have camera's strategically placed to keep an eye on us and judge, and no Grimm I have ever meet has done stalking like that. So it makes me think." I said.

"Thinks what?" She asked me.

"Who is watching us? And the better question is, why?" I spoke.

"That is true, but for now, we need to find Tara. She is one tough cookie, would be great to have on the team." Natalie said as the sound of combat echoed nearby. "And it sounds like someone is having fun without me!" Natalie exclaimed as we changed our course of direction to a tiny clearing as a purple mass flew out of the bushes into a tree. We both stopped as he laughed getting himself up adjusting his purple shades and drawing his swords.

"Well now, look who showed up eh?" Murasaki said as he started walking back to the bushes with swords drawn.

"Where are you going?" I asked.

"Give me a moment, I gotta deal with this fucker." He said disappearing back into the woods as the sounds of swords pierced the brief silence and the groans of death echoed as a Giant Ursa flew out of the woods as it raised its claw towards me before it was cut off entirely.

"AND FUCK YOU TOO!" Murasaki yelled out before re-sheathing his weapons and dusting off his coat.

"You okay there?" Natalie asked him.

"Oh yea totally, this Ursa thought it be funny to try and jump me. So I gave him a lesson in whoop ass. DOESN'T FEELSO NICE NOW DOES IT ASSHOLE?!" Murasaki yelled at the now dead Ursa. "In which case, we haven't formally met. Murasaki." He said offering his hand to Natalie who shook it happily.

"Natalie Moon, a pleasure." She said as Murasaki noticed her arm.

"You okay there kiddo? Looks like you got a little something." He motioned with his hands to the arm.

"I'm fine thank you very much. Sam actually saved my ass. And healed up this wound." She said as Murasaki laughed.

"I see you two are already getting close I see!" Murasaki said as Natalie blushed angrily.

"It isn't like that you asshole!" She growled at him.

"That's what they all say. Don't worry, you'll see." He said as I restrained Natalie before she started to try to kill the man.

"Relax! BOTH OF YOU! We still need to find Natalie's friend Tara. And your constant joking isn't helping!" I yelled as I let her go before the two calmed themselves naturally.

"Where would we even begin to look for her though?" Murasaki asked as the death throes of Grimm not too far away echoed through the woods. "And speak of the devil. Shall we?" Murasaki stated as he ran off towards the noise as me and Natalie stood there just dumbfounded at his behavior.

"You know I didn't think he could be this much of an ass. I apologize." I said. Natalie play punched me in the arm.

"You have to warn me next time you become friends with guys like that. Let's go have some fun though!" She exclaimed as she ran off after him. I chuckled to myself thinking what I had gotten into.

Still it made me thought...

Who was watching me?