Chapter 4: The Dune Ranger
{Dusty Shores}, the capital city of {Vacuo} is considered one of the most dangerous cities in all of Remnant and it's not the people themselves that are the problem but the elements themselves from surprise sandstorms to Grimm that can easily burrow under the sand like fish in the water. Thankfully with the help of Atlas, they were able to gain the technology and weaponry/defenses to be able to combat those threats better and have surprisingly thrived to turn into an oasis-like utopia that's also one of the biggest gambling hotspots in all four kingdoms. But the hero of our story is sadly not living there but in a small trailer trash town known as {Dunehog} about ten miles away from the south entrance gate. Full of drunk war heroes festering about in ignorance, and among them were the Dune Five. War heroes that the residents of Dunehog treated like kings...which meant turning blind eyes to their faults no matter how stupid or messed up they are.
Megumi Saisei was the daughter of the Dune Fives leader which should have been an 'honor', but it was not. She was seen as the black sheep for no real reason other than her father playing the narcissist to further his control. It was easy for him since Megumi was an awkward child...unlike her older brother who hung off his father's every word. The youngest child, Sora, had been taken in by another of the Dune Five, the only one that was a decent person, to be raised elsewhere to foster his genius properly.
Thankfully as Megumi got older she was able to grow out of her awkward stage and started to train herself vigorously so that she could be a heroic Huntress like her idol, Summer Rose. Meeting her in person when she and her team visited Dusty Shore by mere chance had gotten Megumi to adopt her ideals...which led to her great loathing towards her family.
Now the day has come when she has finally turned eighteen and could go to a Huntsmen Academy to work her way towards her dream. She would have gone a year earlier but she didn't want to risk her family coming and dragging her away with whatever influence her father may have. This is why she decided to apply at Haven Academy in Comforton City as it was far away from Dunhog and with the reputation the Headmaster has over there, there's no way her family would be stupid enough to piss him off...hopefully.
"Okay I think I have everything I need," Megumi mused while zipping up her hot pink suitcase and then sighing roughly. "No going back now."
She then goes to look herself over in her cracked full-body mirror and straighten out her outfit. Megumi has a slightly tan complexion with red eyes, wild spiky dark brown hair dip-dyed pink, and an average build at five foot three. She also has a birthmark in the shape of a four-pointed star on the right side of her belly button.
Her attire was a dark pink sleeveless turtleneck shirt, navy blue cargo pants with a brown utility belt with two small quivers one on each side full of arrows, and brown knee-high lace-up boots with the ends of her pants tucked inside. She also wore black gloves, a bandanna the same color as her shirt wrapped around her head, and a green hooded cloak that covers her entire body which is fastened at her throat by a large pin in the shape of her emblem, a white skull with a pink slash going across the right eye and a pink bow on the opposite side. She also wears a pair of oval-wired glasses on her face while having a forest green camo knapsack on her back.
"Heh, looking good Megumi, looking good," Megumi giggled to herself before grabbing her suitcase and walking out of her room.
The only problem she had now was getting through the front door as she had been biding her time waiting and stewing for the right moment. She was just tempted to take her bag and leap through the window…and honestly, that wasn't a bad idea.
"Screw it, I'm out of here," Megumi muttered before tossing her stuff out the window and jumping out after it right as her father began yelling at her to bring him a beer.
She ignored him and quickly made her way out of the town and to the outskirts where an old shed awaited her. Megumi used this as a clubhouse of sorts with her as the sole member to get away from her family and the people of Dunehog. Upon entering the double doors, she took in the inside one last time feeling a bit nostalgic for the memories she made here with a sad smile.
"I'm gonna miss this place but it's time for me to move on to greener pastures…literally since I'm going to Mistral," Megumi chuckled before walking in.
The center of the shed had a tarp covering something and when removing it, revealed an old dirt bike designed to trek through sand easily with a desert camo paint job named [Coyote] while a sidecar was on the right side and a small cart was attached to the back. She made this thing from scrap with what parts she could find and found she was a rather skilled mechanic so she did her best to study more of it in her free time as it may come in handy down the line. She places her bags in the back cart before she suddenly feels something like scaley barbs rubbing against her leg making her chuckle.
"Hey there Spleet, are you excited to go to Mistral?" Megumi asks, looking down at her pet.
A happy gurgle is her response as at her feet is a large tan-colored lizard known as a Greater Horn Lizard rubbing against her leg, tail wagging happily. Unlike their smaller Desert Horned counterparts, the Greater Horn is about the size of a Corgi dog and acted as such when domesticated. A red collar hung snuggly around his neck with his name on it.
"I'm glad Haven allows pets, I can't leave you all by yourself, much less leave you in my idiot Dad's care," She smiled, crouching down and stroking her pet's back being mindful of his barbs.
Spleet gave a light hiss at the mention of his owner's father clearly having a dislike for the man. Megumi giggled at her pet's protectiveness before setting him in the bike's sidecar and giving him his favorite Beowolf squeaky toy which he gnawed on happily.
The girl then walks over to the shed's workbench and picked up her weapons. The first was her primary weapon, [Zealous Drawback] a dark oak-colored longbow being an average 6ft 6in in length with a revolver-like function at the bottom end of the bow. The six revolver slots were filled with Dust of Fire, Electricity, Ice, Wind, Earth, and Gravity.
Megumi drawback the string before letting it go to hear an audible *TWANG!* sound making her nod in satisfaction.
"Now for the second form…"
She grabs the end of the bow where the revolver function is and when one looks closer it has a handle. Megumi swings it to one side, the bowstring disconnecting, as the bow extends with a repeated clunking as it elongates into a 9ft segmented whip. With a series of cracks, Megumi expertly uses it to nail the hanging tin can targets in quick succession before curling the whip up to hang on the left side of her belt…along with the quiver holding her arrows on her back.
"Works perfectly as usual," Megumi muses before picking up the last item on the workbench.
Her second weapon, which is her backup weapon, was a miniature Uzi/SMG called [Shank N' Spray] that had a desert camo paint job to it, and with a press of a button, it shifted into a rather long kukri knife. She gave a few practice swings before nodding in satisfaction before sheathing it into its sheath and strapping it to her belt while stashing away the extra ammo magazines as well.
"Can't wait until Sora sends in my new weapon…I should probably give him a call once I get to Dusty Shores," Megumi mused.
She continued to pack all her gear and supplies for the trip since she doesn't plan on coming back anytime soon. Once everything was secured she sat in [Coyote's] seat and turned on the engine, before a thought came to her.
"You know since I'm not coming back here anymore and they'll probably destroy it out of spite to me, I may as well send this old shed off with a bang," Megumi thought with a grin while pulling out something from her pack.
Outside the shed, one Griffin Saisei is marching up to the doors to get his daughter out and back inside the house. Right as he comes up to the door, an engine revved loudly before Megumi came flying out, running over her father and making him scream in shock and pain, not that she cared as she laughed at his plight.
"See ya never fatass!" The girl cackled.
"You little bitch! Get back here an-!"
Suddenly a sharp boom went off within the shed as it suddenly burst into flames via a [Fire Dust Grenade]…before the burning wood immediately toppled over right on top of a screaming Griffin. It didn't kill him but he was in a lot of pain and had burning splinters everywhere and a bit ahead, Megumi stopped briefly to watch what happened and couldn't help but snort out laughter.
"I wasn't even trying to do that but I'll take it!" The ranger laughed with Spleet hissing in amusement.
Revving up the engine once more, the pair book it to Dusty Shores while Griffin tries to pull himself out of the burning wreckage cursing up a storm.
KHGM
After about an hour of riding, Megumi arrived at Dusty Shores, checking in with the gate guards as she did so. Once everything was checked out, she drove in and made her way to the airport to have her bike and stuff ready to load up in the next airship that comes in, which is in another hour. With time to kill, Megumi decides to walk around the city to do a little bit of shopping and maybe get something to eat, Spleet held comfortably in her arms.
"Ok, buddy, where should we go first?" Megumi asked her lizard, who merely snuggled more into her arms. "Silly goose."
She made a check off her to-do list and getting tea shade glasses and getting a sword were high up. Megumi sauntered into the blacksmith's place to inquire about a sword only to see a woman with a long wild mane of black hair there nursing a can of basic beer already there. The woman looked at Megumi for a moment before speaking.
"If you're waiting for the guy running this place, he'll be back in a second. He just had to gift wrap my order," She drawled before taking a swig of beer.
"Oh cool, I'm just gonna browse to look for a sword…also you look really familiar to me, have we met before?" Megumi asks, squinting a bit at the woman.
"Can't say I have, I've traveled all over the place and met lots of people in my life so you never know," The woman shrugs, taking another swig.
At the movement, the blacksmith, a rather burly-looking man came back in with a large weapon case wrapped in a purple bow.
"Here ya go Miss Branwen, nice and gift-wrapped for ya," The blacksmith said, handing it over to the woman who took it gratefully.
Hearing the name suddenly clicked for Megumi and she was starry-eyed.
"You're Raven of Team STRQ!" Megumi said excitedly. "I'm a huge fan, Summer's my idol!"
"You should never meet your idol kid, they tend to disappoint more often than not," Raven said wistfully. "You look like a good kid, so let me give you some advice. You can't live up to your idols, you have to forge your own path in life. You'd do Summer proud that way."
"I'd still want to meet her," Megumi said a bit defiantly.
"That's not gonna happen anytime soon though," The veteran huntress replied.
At Megumi's confused looks she elaborated a bit. "It's a bit of a long story and I'll tell you later. Didn't you say you came in here for a sword? You shouldn't waste this gentleman's time, meet me at the cute little cafe across the street when you're done."
With that, Raven walks out the door leaving Megumi more confused than ever. She decides to worry about that later and focus on the now.
"Um hi, sir. Would you happen to have a sword that could fit someone like me?" The ranger asks.
"That depends, what's your primary fighting style and what's your semblance?" The blacksmith asks.
"Well I'm mostly a ranged attacker since I use a bow and arrow and the closest I have to a sword is [Shank N' Spray] here," The ranger said while showing off her backup weapon a bit. "As for my semblance…I haven't discovered it yet, sorry."
"Whatever. Not a big deal if you know how to fight at least." The smith shrugged. "If you need a sword, a basic straight sword would be a good start. Follow me to the back and we'll pick you out something that fits your fancy."
Megumi did so and she was in awe of the much broader selection of weapons from axes to spears, even nunchucks. However, her focus was on the sword section and there was a lot to choose from in their designs and shapes like katanas, broadswords, rapiers, cleavers, etc.
"Alright kid, try testing out some of the straight swords and see which one you think fits you," The smith said.
Megumi began to browse through the swords, testing each and every one of them out but so far none of them seemed to fit her. It wasn't until testing out about half of the straight swords section did her eyes land on a particular one that caught her eye.
"Hello, what do we have here?" Megumi mused while picking up the blade and pulling it out of its sheath.
It was a long sword of about 44in length, the guard and pommel were of solid metal with a satin finish and the handle was wrapped in black leather, with a metal ring with a small green gem at the center. For some reason it felt warm to the touch as it seemed to hum in her hands, it felt…right.
"I think I'll take this sword sir," Megumi said.
"Really? Are you sure?" The smith asks. "You still have some more swords to test out if you want.
"I'm sure, how much will it be?"
KHGM
At the cafe across the street, Raven was nursing a cup of coffee while sitting at one of the outside tables. She was about to take a sip when a shadow loomed over her, looking up she saw it was Megumi, Spleet back in her arms and her new sword strapped to her back.
"Well then, looks like you picked yourself out a good blade, have a seat, and join me," Raven said while Megumi did so.
"Thank you, Miss Branwen. So…what did you mean that Summer isn't around anymore?" Megumi asks hesitantly. "Is she…dead?"
"No, she's just part of a new research team with two close friends of mine back in my Beacon days. I'm not sure what kind of work they're doing but whatever it is it's forced them to be on-site with them at all times," Raven said.
Megumi looked deflated.
"But that's life, you never know what kind of work you'll get into as a huntress," Raven said. "I'd just say work hard and be a huntress long enough to retire and maybe start a family. What huntress shits out a child and doesn't focus on raising it?"
Raven was self-aware of the hypocrisy she spoke about. She wanted to be in her child's life more frequently, but Summer was an obstacle in the way. While she respected Summer, she would not forgive Summer for taking advantage of her postpartum depression to get Tai and squeeze her out, especially when Ruby was born. Granted, she never could blame the child, her being an innocent victim and she knew Summer took advantage of Tai in his depressive state. Raven was still mad at him, but she could mull the idea of forgiving him. Her brother on the other hand was on her permanent shit list given he sided with Summer to kiss up to her.
But at least she was cared about with her extended family in all but blood so that was a win for her.
"Just don't make the same mistakes as her or like me, kid," Raven said looking pensive. "Trust me when I say your life will be better off if you didn't."
Megumi was somber at the veteran's words but at the same time, she felt a bit refreshed to hear them. As she was about to speak, however…
"There you are, Meg!"
"...fuck my life," Megumi snarled under her breath as Spleet growled in aggression. 'Of course, I can't simply leave without someone from my family trying to screw me over!'
Stomping over to the pair was Megumi's mother, Paris Saisei, a woman who reeks of entitlement and haughtiness.
"Do you have any idea how much damage you did to the shed? It's in shambles and your father is-!" Paris ranted but was cut off.
"Don't care," Megumi said bluntly. "And I told you to never call me Meg."
"Wait, this chick is your mother?" Raven asks, making Megumi nod. "Oh, you poor girl."
"Oh please, it's a miracle she looks half as decent as she does," Paris said, fluffing her own hair. "If I didn't see you come out of me, I assume you weren't mine."
Megumi was fuming on the inside as her Aura started to simmer around her agitatedly.
"That's uncalled for," Raven snarled before a look of recognition came across her. "Hang on, I remember you now! You tried to molest my god nephew's father years ago!"
Megumi looked horrified and disgusted at that information while Paris just looked confused.
"Who are you talking about again?"
"Takumi Xandrite, a tall and buff Komodo Dragon Faunus with eyes like a hawk," Raven clarified dryly. "He earned a moniker that literally means Hawk-Eyed Dragon."
"Oh him…so? It was years ago, it wasn't a big deal," Paris scoffed.
"It was on the day of his wedding, you fucking nymphomaniac," Raven growled.
"What the fuck, Mom?!" Megumi exclaimed, disgust across her face.
"Ok so…maybe I was a bit too drunk," Paris said sheepishly.
"You know I wonder if Megumi's father really is Griffin with the number of affairs you had." Raven taunted.
"Big talk coming from someone who lets another woman raise her kid." Paris shot back, getting under Raven's skin. "But I'm not here for you Raven, I'm here for my daughter. Meg! Get off your fatass and let's go home, now! You have a lot of work to do considering the mess you made."
[Cue BGM: One Piece OST - Difficult]
A vein on Megumi's head was throbbing and Paris suddenly felt something in the air. Something in her head was telling her…that she should run. Spleet whimpered before jumping from his owner's arms and into Raven's as Megumi gritted her teeth as her body pulsed pink. Megumi's body throbbed as veins were more visible and throbbing. She started to grow and Raven was quick to realize what was happening.
She took a few steps back, Spleet whimpering in her arms as Megumi rose and grew to a towering 20ft tall with bulging muscles, glowing red eyes, and her clothes were tearing apart a bit due to her new size.
Semblance Name: Max Macrofying | Class: Augmenter | Info: Allows Megumi to increase either a single part of her body or her entire body in size and mass, granting increased strength and defense to the body part(s) that were increased.
Paris could only stare up in horror as her daughter glared down at her hatefully, snorting like a bull while passersby stopped to look from a safe distance.
[Cues: Samurai X (Rurouni Kenshin): Trust & Betrayal OST - The Will]
"Oh, fu-ACK!"
Paris was grabbed by her throat by a meaty hand and lifted to the eye level of her enraged daughter, her feet dangling helplessly. The woman would have tried to say something to save her skin but Megumi wasn't giving her a chance.
"Come on…say some type of bullshit, I dare you!" Megumi demanded darkly as her grip tightened.
Paris would have triggered her semblance, but Megumi knew Paris needed to breathe to use it so she couldn't breathe fire if she was choking for breath. Despite taking joy in strangling her, a part of Megumi was sad it came to this. Megumi let her go, causing Paris to fall on her hands and knees before Megumi stepped on her back and began adding pressure to it.
"Megumi, you're not a killer! Please don't do this!" Paris wheezed out pathetically.
"Why not?" Megumi coldly asks. "You and the rest of my so-called family treat me like the plague and you expect me to come out well-adjusted with good morals? Especially towards people like you? Fat chance."
"I mean, she got you there. I might not be much of a parent, but at least I know my kid makes good decisions." Raven said smugly. "Not so smug now, huh bitch?"
"Someone help me!" Paris squealed before Megumi just roared and went off on pummeling her.
Years of pent-up anger dished out and Megumi wanted to ensure by the end of this, Paris would whimper in fear at the sight of her. Then her Aura broke and Raven decided to step in and stop this before it went too far.
When Megumi was about to throw another punch at her mother's head, Raven intervened and grabbed her muscled wrist in a gentle yet iron-like grip.
"I think you've made it clear to her. Honestly, I wouldn't care if you killed the bitch, but you're in the public eye." Raven spoke gently as hot tears streamed down Megumi's face. "Besides, you don't wanna ruin your chance to become a Huntress, do you? Don't put murder on your record until after you're a Huntress."
"I swear to Oum above, Paris…be grateful I let you live today. Don't make me regret doing that." Megumi said in a heated whisper to her "mother" before walking away.
[BGM End]
Paris was forcing herself up but it was clear one of her legs was broken along with an arm. There were some bystanders who were merciful and decided to help the woman to the hospital at the very least.
After venting years of built-up frustration, Megumi breathed out as her body started to shrink back down to normal. Raven noticed that instead of returning to her normal height the girl had a bit of a growth spurt, now standing seven inches taller and her body had slimmed down a tad from before while retaining a good amount of muscle. Her clothes were still a ripped mess sadly save for her boots, hat, and cloak.
"Well at least my other sets of clothes were a little big on me, to begin with," Megumi commented as Spleet jumped back into her arms and licked her face.
"Yeah, but you're going to need new clothes," Raven said, sighing. "Come on, my treat."
The two began to walk down the road before a thought came to Megumi.
"Are you considering seeing your daughter?" Megumi asked.
"Honestly, seeing what you did to Paris has made me realize I've been away too long. For all my issues with Summer, I let that keep me away. I should have confronted her, but I was too busy feeling sorry for myself. But you know what…I need to give it another chance. Life's too short for that kind of shit," Raven said before hefting her gift box. "Before I do though, I need to deliver this to my adorable nephew. It's a pretty late birthday gift considering the materials needed for it but I think it'll work for him."
"What kind of weapon did you get him?" The ranger asked.
"Something he needs," Raven said cryptically with a smirk.
Megumi's response was to blow raspberries at her, making the older woman laugh.
It didn't take long for Megumi to get herself cleaned up before heading to the airport to finally board her flight. Raven had offered to get her there faster with her semblance but Megumi politely declined, citing she wanted to take the scenic route and think on a few things.
"Well this is it, I hope to see you again Miss Branwen," Megumi said politely.
"Same to you kid and just call me Raven alright?" The huntress with a small smile. "Take care of yourself and don't worry about your shitty family anymore, you're starting over for yourself so just think of the things to come in the future."
With that said, Raven turned on her heel and walked off giving a lazy wave goodbye before slicing open a red portal with her semblance and walking through it. Megumi then boarded the airship when the last call sounded and got to her seat, Spleet sitting happily in the seat next to her.
"Well, this is it, boy. We're on our way to literally greener pastures," Megumi softly said, scratching her lizard's head and making him purr at the touch. "I just hope that if I'm on a team they'll be ones that won't give a shit about the family I come from."
Spleet gave a barking hiss before settling down in his seat as the airship took off into the sky. Megumi then put on her new gray-tinted tea shade sunglasses before leaning her chair back to get some rest, determined and eager to begin her new life.
'Goodbye Dunehog, no matter if I succeed or fail I won't be coming back…not unless it's on my terms,' Megumi vowed before drifting off to sleep.
KHGM
On the other side of the world in Comforton City, we find Konner walking out of the bathroom of his motel room, decked out in a fluffy bathrobe while drying his hair with a towel. This was the second to last day he had left to relax before going to Haven Academy to take initiation. He honestly wishes time would move faster as he was excited to take it.
"Man, that felt good, nothing like a nice shower after a long day of training," The hybrid sighed happily.
Betty Swoops was napping on the bed so Konner was mindful to keep quiet for her until a familiar red portal spawned in the room that made him smile wide before he jumped into her arms for a tight hug before she was fully out of the portal.
"Aunty Raven! It's so good to see you!" Konner cheered, nuzzling his God aunt's chest as his tails wagged like crazy.
Raven chuckled at his antics before hugging him back and giving him a loving kiss on the forehead.
"Good to see you too kiddo, how have you been?"
"I've been fine, just taking it easy until initiation starts up," Konner answers. "Not that I'm not happy to see you Aunty but what are you doing all the way out here? The last time we talked you were in Vacuo."
"I actually just left from there, speaking of which...happy belated birthday Konner," Raven said while handing the hybrid the large case. "Sorry I'm giving it to you so late, it took a lot longer than I anticipated to get the materials needed to make it despite you giving me all the money needed to have it made."
"Wait a minute…Aunty is this what I think it is?" Konner asked tentatively.
"It is indeed kiddo, go on and open it up," Raven said.
Konner quickly does so...and his face breaks out into a very happy look as he pulls out the contents inside.
"Aunty Raven, it's…amazing, thank you so much!" Konner breathed out, wrapping his aunt in another tight hug. "I knew it was gonna be hard to do but I didn't think you could make it happen."
"You're welcome kiddo, I'm glad you like it. Just so you know the problem wasn't the money, it was finding the right materials that could handle your way of fighting and luckily the guy at Dusty Shoes was a master of this sort of craft," Raven laughed before they broke the hug. "Now I need your help with something important, Konner. I…I want to try and spend time with my daughter but I don't know how I should go about doing it. You've always been able to think outside the box in situations like this so do you have any advice for this old bird?"
"First off I'm glad you're doing this, I've been trying to push you back to Yang for years now. Second, you are not old, you are a very beautiful woman and Uncle Tai doesn't know what he's missing, his loss, and someone else's gain when they come to try to woo you," Konner said honestly, making the female Branwen snort. "Thirdly…I'm not sure going to try and spend time with Yang right now is the best time considering she is going to take Beacon's initiation soon so you showing up will more than likely throw her off a bit considering…well, everything really."
Raven began to sulk at that because she knew her nephew was right but Konner quickly pulled her out of her funk.
"Buuuuut there may be a way for you to spend more time with her when she's at Beacon without trying to squeeze into her life at the last minute," Konner says, making Raven perk up instantly. "All you need to do is get a job at Beacon and if it hasn't been filled yet, Aunty Goodwitch is still looking for a teacher assistant, and since you are a very skilled veteran Huntress…"
Konner didn't need to finish as Raven caught on instantly, a wide grin on her face as she was the one to pull Kon in a tight hug this time.
"Kon you little genius." She states making the young boy chuckle and returning the hug.
"I was just giving you the simplest solution Aunty," Konner said warmly while holding his new weapon. "Now I need your wisdom, what the heck can I do with this bad boy? I wanna know how to use them properly, dang it!"
Raven laughed at his antics, but before answering she asked him what he will name his new weapon, and after staring at it a bit, Konner gave his answer.
"I'll call it…[Ether Assault].
TO BE CONTINUED…
Author's Note: Alright, now all of Team KHGM have been revealed! I'm not gonna lie, Megumi's was the hardest to do but it was mostly because I kept on trying to figure out what kind of weapons I wanted to give her, thankfully I finally found the ones I'm happy with. Now I'm currently working on chapter 9 and when I get that done I'll release two more chapters before repeating the process until this season is done. I'm pretty sure this season alone will have 12 maybe 13 chapters so be patient with me. That's all from me now so leave a review and I'll see you all later!