"Goodbye..." She spoke quietly like the stealth expert she was before drawing her blade and severing the link, leaving the cart her partner stood on. Her golden eyes holding loneliness and a dash of resolution, she will fulfill the role of the old White Fang alone...it was the only way.
The faunus shook the memory away as she continued to walk in the roads of Vale, the shattered moon gleaming in the dark sky. For reasons unknown, the young girl could not sleep in her room so she had decided to take the late night dust planes to Vale in an attempt to find something to occupy her time since her bookmark had already reached the last page of her book. The only options were some cafes and nightclubs, something that Blake never really got a feel for, so her decision came to 'think about your life'.
She started at her childhood. The discrimination that came with being born as a faunus was and is still very prominent to the point that some establishments downright refuses to service her kind. Being born into the White Fang, she joined in the protests as soon as she was able to walk. She grew up used to their protests but when the time that their leader was found dead, things took a turn for the worst. Their peaceful rallies turned into small skirmishes and she was taught how to fight. It took a while before she realized that they had strayed from the White Fang's original purpose so she left on that fateful day.
At first she had no idea what to do in order to do what she needed to do. A chance glimpse on a news article gave her the answer she needed. An article about a faunus hunter saving a group of campers from a Beowolf. The article described how the hunter was praised as a hero by humans, despite his race.
"I can become a huntress and act as a bridge between humans and faunus..."
A loud noise shook her out of her train of thought, a noise that she was very much familiar with.
"Gunshots!?"
Without a second thought, the huntress-in-training dashed to an alley before jumping up from wall to wall until reaching the roof. She immediately caught sight of the red and blue sirens of the authorities before dashing to the scene. Men in blue and Faunus in white armor fought against one another, baton to blade, gun to gun and it was easy to see that the White Fang was winning. Blake placed her hand on Gambol Shroud only to find that it isn't there. She became confused for a split second before remembering that she had left it back at Beacon with the thought of not needing it despite being told to always carry it.
She cursed silently before jumping in, and grabbing a discarded handgun from an unconscious policeman. Checking the magazine, she saw six bullets ready to be used plus another one in the chamber for a total of seven. She would have preferred the same caliber as her weapon but this would have to do. Using her semblance to get closer to the middle of the fight, she unloaded a bullet on a White Fang member who had pinned a policeman down before grabbing his baton for future uses.
Another made his move against the gold eyed faunus, swinging his blade towards her neck only to hit air and to receive a heel to the chest. The ear hidden in her bow twitched as she heard footsteps from behind her, prompting her to spin around and put a bullet against another one's chest before smacking him soundly with the baton. Hearing more approaching, Blake decided to conserve her ammo and meet up with them at close quarters. Switching the baton around her hand so it had more range, Blake blocked a blade before using her semblance to get behind and hit him right on the back of the neck for an instant knockout.
Her increased senses picked up on guns being pointed at her, allowing her to dash for cover with a trail of bullets on her tail. Spinning to the other side, Blake unloaded blindly with the hopes of hitting an enemy before throwing away the now empty handgun. The faunus might have been skilled but even she can't handle that many armed enemies without Gambol Shroud.
Stuck between a rock and a hard place, the faunus ran her mind for a way to turn the tides of this losing battle but a voice cut through her thoughts rather cleanly.
"Retreat! Hunters are coming!" The voice, that deep raspy voice she hoped to never hear ever again. The voice of her old partner in crime, Adam Taurus.
Meanwhile in the highways of Vale one would catch the sight of an orange and black motorcycle weaving through the cars. The rider donned an orange helmet, black pants and a deep orange twin tail coat that faded to a bright yellow the lower it went. Of course one wouldn't miss the sheath containing a pair of blades on the rider's back.
"Icary! Glynda and Gale are on the way. Are you sure you're not going to wait for them!?" A voice rang through the helmet's earpiece.
"Tell them to hurry up! I'll try to contain the situation while I am there!." Icary responded before hitting full throttle. Beacon Academy had just received a call depicting a White Fang skirmish somewhere in the square and since Icary and a handful of others were the only hunters active at the time he immediately got hold of a Dust ship and loaded his bike, Vulcan, in.
Nearing the warzone, Icary swerved to the side, loaded up his Aura gauntlets and blasted through the lightscreen that served as a wall for the highways before jumping off with his coat fluttering.
Blake continued to hide, her faunus senses helping her determine if the White Fang members were still present. They were retreating but some persistent ones continued to fight and her old partner had no choice but to convince them, whether it was by words or by his blade.
Among the voices of the White Fang a new sound arose.
An engine.
Peeking out of cover, Blake saw a man on a ride not unlike Yang's Bumblebee except in a black and orange color scheme. The man wore an orange twin tailed coat that faded to a yellow at the tail over a brown shirt, black pants and brown boots with white laces. The huntress in training didn't need to see the man's face to realize who he is.
"He really likes orange" The thought flashed through her mind but only for a split second as Icary casually got off of his motorcycle and removed his helmet revealing his orange hair slightly disheveled from wearing the protective gear. She could see Adam tense at the sight of the hunter, his hand gripping the hilt of his blade.
"White Fang! Lay down your weapons and surrender! Reinforcements from Beacon are arriving and I will not let you leave here!" Blake couldn't help but sweat drop a little from her instructors rather blunt warning. Glancing back to Adam, the cat faunus couldn't help but think of what could happen if these two fought.
Icary is considered a prodigy she knows but Adam is also a prodigy of his own right. His skills with his weapon, Wilt and Blush, is absolutely terrifying. If she were ever to fight the elite seriously, she knows that she would die. That is how terrifying the bull faunus is.
"Retreat to the dust ships." Adam's voice remained calm and Blake didn't miss that tsk from Icary.
"Fine, one would be enough." The hunter spoke as he drew his blades, the golden steel gleaming from the fire of the battlefield. Two coats fluttering in the night breeze, one black and one orange, a clash of red and golden blades. The scene in front of her oddly seemed like a scene in one of the books she read. A showdown...
Icary made the first move by running forward and not a second after, his opponent mirrored him. Steel met steel in a display of sparks but only for a millisecond as a second attack followed through from Icary but like the first attack it was parried. Using the momentum he gained from the parry, the hunter spun on his heel and attempted to bisect Adam. With Adam's blade on the other side it was going to be a sure hit
If it wasn't for the sheath on his other hand.
The red haired faunus blocked the blade with his sheath along with the business end of the gun pointed straight at Icary. The shotgun blast hit Icary straight to the chest, forcing him to stumble back with a grunt (And forcing Blake to stifle a gasp) before Adam followed up with a sword swipe to the orangette's head. It would have hit...if Icary didn't move faster than normal before jumping away.
"That was quite a surprise...A shotgun-sheath..." Icary remarked rather shakily not from fatigue but from the pain in his chest.
"And you can move faster...must be your semblance..." Adam audibly took note before sheathing his blade for one of his infamous draw strikes.
'This isn't good, Icary might already be low on Aura from that attack." Blake thought worriedly, remembering about the hunter's low Aura reserves. 'If Icary had a bigger Aura reserve then he would have a bigger chance at winning this fight. Adam's fighting prowess isn't the only scary thing about him, his semblance allows him to use an enemy's dust attack against them and this allowed him to take down enemies that specialize on dust usa-'
Blake's thought's were interrupted by, yet again, the sound of metal clashing.
This time it was Icary on the defensive as he struggled to hold the red blade off before he shifted it so the attack would flow over his head. The orange hunter struck with a golden gleam as Adam was forced to jump back, he had taken a hit.
"I won't let you!" The hunter shouted before leaping forward, keeping the assault up. Activating his semblance, Icary's blades turned into streams of golden light as the bull faunus raised his blade in an attempt to reduce the damage. The accelerated strikes proved too much for him to handle as he got hit on the shoulder, forcing the red head onto his knees but only for a second as he retaliated with his own swing. The orange hunter hopped away from the swing,
Only to hop back in almost immediately.
A golden cross gleamed as Adam got sent back to a wall with a grunt. Blake's eyes widened as she watched The Beast, rumored to have been the best in his ranks, get backed into a corner by her instructor. Blake couldn't fathom what was going on. Back in the fight with the Knight's Shadow, Icary's attacks were relentless like now but currently his attacks seemed less reckless. Had he learned something?
This is quite simple; unlike in the last fight, Icary is unfamiliar with his opponent. He isn't afraid of him like he was of the Shadow. No hesitation, no fear, 100% battle performance.
"Last chance, surrender or I force you to surrender?" The hunter spoke once more, his voice steeled by confidence. Adam made no audible reply but him standing up with his blade poised for another draw strike. Icary sighed, "Why do I always get the stubborn types."
Adam's mask glowed, causing dread to creep up Blake's back. That glow!
"PROFESSOR! DODGE IT!" Blake suddenly jumped into view, surprising Icary.
"Blake?" The hunter's gaze met the student's horrified one before a pulse caught his attention. That single moment was enough.
A pulse of sharpened energy, in a blink of an eye. Time slowed down for the cat faunus as she saw golden shards scatter mixed with drops of crimson liquid. Horror drove deeper into her heart as in the middle of it was her instructor.
Yeaaaaah...Sorry? Let's leave it at "I've been busy" (LoL). I hit a writer's block around the last scene, prolonging it by 2 weeks. Anyway! I think this is the first time I typed about blood in this specific story. And also I had 1,400 words in this chapter before POWER WENT OUT...and I didn't save sooo... that's also a factor D:.
This is the start of a new arc! "White Fang"
PS: I am in my senior year! 1 more year before College!