Chapter 21
Emerald Forest, Micheal's position
Micheal sat in a tree waiting for the supplies being sent for him, both of his hands firmly gripping the handgun. His wolf ears twitch at a distant sound as they turn to focus on the distinct sound. It sounds like rockets to the wolf faunus, multiple of them. The only thing he could think is that they were sending him supplies in the rocket-propelled lockers. Though it made him wonder how they were going to get his weapon, it was too large to fit in the locker and he doubted it would stay on if tied to the locker. He closed his eyes as he fully focuses on the sounds of the lockers. He could pick up the sound of at least ten jet lockers, their engines roaring through the sky, flying. Then the terrible roar of the Elder Scourge overpowered the sound of the jets and then the sound of metal crunching reverberates for a second. When the roar died out the sound of four of the jets sounded like they were getting father as one got closer to his position. Then another roar boomed followed by a different boom as the Elder Scourge attacks another one of the lockers. The sound of the jet locker heading to his position steadily got louder and louder by the second. After a minute, a loud boom erupted, like a bomb exploding, as the locker impacted the ground, the top stabbing into the ground. The wolf faunus swore he could hear screaming for a second, which confused him. Micheal walked over to the locker as the door popped open on its own. What he saw inside gave him pause as he quirks an amused eyebrow. Inside the locker were his team leader and partner. Ruby was lying on top of Hitomi, her face buried in the fox faunus's breasts. The fox faunus' tail was wrapped around her and Ruby with her arms and legs spread out in a probable attempt to brace herself or hold the various weapons in the locker in place, or both. Both girls look very dazed, as pained groans emit from both girls from the aftereffects of their ride and crash, not knowing where they were now. Unfortunately, for the younger of the duo, the impact and position she was in had lifted her skirt up, revealing to Micheal her red panties and, as his eyes focused on, toned rear. The wolf faunus blushes as he looks away in respect with an embarrassed smile, scratching his cheek. If it were not for the bizarre situation, he would have found this sight of the two girls' position slightly erotic at that moment. An admittedly welcomed sight that distracted him for a moment considering the situation. Though if Micheal was being honest with himself, he still did, and he had to fight the urge to not look. 'Anti-upskirt technology, or whatever it was called, my ass.'
"Have we landed?" A dazed Ruby asks muffled by her teammate' breasts.
"Yes, you have," Micheal answers.
"Ruby, let us never do that again," Hitomi chides weakly as she regains focus. She looks down and sees her junior's face in her breasts and the uplifted skirt. Her cheeks flush red at the sight and feeling. She saw her partner looking away with a blush on his face as well. "Ruby, please get off," Hitomi orders. The brunette lifts her head and looks around inspecting her environment. It was then she realized where her face was and saw her skirt then quickly pulls it down with a shriek, her face red as her namesakes. After a moment the duo had gotten untangled and out of the locker.
"Why were you two in the locker?" Micheal asks.
"Well, we wanted to help you that's all, you shouldn't be out here by yourself, so this that was the quickest way to get to you," Ruby explains as she rummages through the locker. She pulls out Hitomi's weapons and hands it to her, then her weapon.
"Well Ruby was going to come by herself and I couldn't let that happen," Hitomi explains her reason.
"So, she either convinced you to ride in the locker with her or you decided to," Micheal wonders out loud. The fox faunus rubs her boot in the dirt nervously as small embarrassed blush adorns her cheeks, her tail swinging wildly.
"I decided," Hitomi shyly admits as she straps her nodachi and rifle to her back. Ruby pulls out a large firearm from the locker and hands it to Micheal.
"This is for you, I decided you should use this while we were out here," she says. The firearm is about four feet in length with the barrel taking half of the total length. The barrel and frame of the weapon made of dull grey metal with a black wooden buttstock. A wooden handguard is attached to the barrel. The sights of the weapon were a rear leaf and front post, which appears to be adjustable. A bipod was attached to the end as well. A black leather strap is attached to the weapon. The magazine for the weapon is a drum magazine bigger than his open palm. Micheal grabs the weapon from the brunette and feels how heavy it is as he held it. The more he inspects it, the more it looks like a BAR to him. The magazine was different than what he remembered the firearm had or was even compatible with, but also, he notes the actual barrel was bigger as well than usual as well. The lack of the gas tube was noted as well. The overall shape reminds of the weapon though. He looks at Ruby incredulously at her choice of firearm.
"Ruby," Micheal starts as he stares between the weapon and his friend. "This is a Light Machine Gun; you knew that when selecting this right?"
"Of course, I knew," Ruby answers crossing her arms, sounding offended.
"I've never used or even held one!" Micheal yells as he held between them. "This is too much for me, couldn't have gotten me a shotgun, or an assault rifle, battle rifle, hell even a hunting rifle would have done, something smaller, something I know I can handle," he complains. Ruby flinches at his tone and then she looks away tapping the tips of her fingers together. "I know you were trying to help, but…," he tries to complain more.
"Micheal, enough!" Hitomi shouts at her partner. The wolf faunus turns his head towards her. "What is done is done, okay, the rest of the team did not truly agree with the weapon either, it was just the one we found most fit for you and the situation, but we cannot do anything about it now, so you are going to have to deal with it," the fox faunus angrily explains to him. Micheal gestured for her to take and was going to ask for her rifle. "Never used one either," Hitomi said. The wolf faunus gesture towards Ruby, only for her to shake her head as well.
"Damn," Micheal says as he looks at the weapon. He sighs as he holds the weapon in his right hand and rubs the back of his head with his left. "I guess I have no choice then, I'm sorry Ruby," Micheal apologizes.
"It's okay, maybe I should have grabbed something smaller, but I wouldn't have grabbed it if I didn't think you could handle it," Ruby says looking up again.
"I appreciate the vote of confidence, but I'm not that confident myself if I can," the wolf faunus admits. He glances at the weapon again still unsure. 'If it's comparable to a BAR then I guess it could be worse, they were meant to be wielded by single person without help, plus if Ruby has faith in me I should too, I guess I'll call it Faith, for now, to remind me of Ruby's trust in me," he muses. He sighs as throws the strap over his head and on his left shoulder. Then Ruby brings out Jaune's weapon. "Isn't that Jaune's sword?"
"Yes, he wanted you to have it," Hitomi says. Her partner looks at her confused.
"While smaller and without the axe mode, it is similar to what your weapon," Ruby says as Micheal took the weapon. "Plus, this is his way of saying he believes you will survive as we do." Her friend still looks at the sword unsure. He appreciates Jaune confidence in him and giving him his weapon as a sign of trust.
"I don't know what to say, I'm happy he puts his trust in me, but it doesn't feel right to use his weapon, but I guess…," he stops to breathe for a moment. "I'll have to thank him later." He straps the weapon to his waist. He quickly asks Ruby if she remembers how it works. It's been a while since he's seen it used and doesn't remember how to change to the sheath its shield mode. After the brunette shows him, he changes the form a few times familiarize himself with it. Then Ruby quickly runs through Faith's operation for her friend. Then the fox faunus pulls out a couple of backpacks, one black, and the other brown. Hitomi throws the black one on her back and hands the brown to her partner. As Micheal grab the pack, he notes the weight of it.
"Here, these are the supplies we were sending you," the fox faunus says. Her partner opens the pack to inspect the contents, all meticulously organized. He sees the medical supplies in the form of a couple of first aid kits. He sees various kinds of food, from dried fruit to energy bars. He then sees at least eight additional drum magazines. He then sees that each backpack has a good-sized water canteen attached to it. A look of displeasure forms as he notes the food.
"You couldn't have put something a bit more filling, I'm going to be starving," he complains.
"You are essentially hiking to the fox village, that means you must eat light," Hitomi remarks.
"Though I wish we could have put more for us, there is only enough for Micheal," Ruby says as she looks over Micheal's shoulder at the backpack.
"Well, since we did this so suddenly, we could not grab more, we will just have to ration it as best we can, the only thing we can do is find a river on the way and fill my canteen so we have plenty of water," the fox faunus chides her leader.
"How much did you put in here?" Micheal asks trying to gauge the amount of food in the pack.
"Enough for one day and night," Ruby answers.
"Just one," he says confused. "I thought he said he didn't know how long the Elder Scourge was going to be hanging around," he inquires.
"He did, but after you ended the call, he assured us that he would send out aircrafts to come to get you in the morning, regardless if the monster has left the area or not, though in a way it doesn't know," Hitomi says.
"That's good to know," Micheal says content knowing he wouldn't be out here any longer than necessary. Then his scroll starts to off. The wolf faunus pulls it out and sees Yang calling. As soon as he clicks answer on the screen and places it against his hear.
"Micheal, please tell me Ruby and Hitomi aren't with you!" the blonde yells into his ear.
"Fuck!" Micheal shouts as he pulls the phone away from his ear, the sudden yelling hurting his ear. "That's the second time you've shouted into my ear! It hurts you know!" he continues to shout as he hands the scroll to Ruby.
"Hi Yang," the brunette says meekly.
"Ruby, what the hell do you think you're doing!?" Yang shouts at her sister angry. The brunette pulls the phone away for a second wincing herself.
"I couldn't leave Micheal out here by himself," Ruby answers.
"Do you realize the position you are in?" Weiss asks equally angry.
"Of course, I know Weiss, but the three of us will do better than just Micheal by himself," Ruby says.
"So Hitomi is with you," Blake inquires.
"Yep," Ruby answer her teammate.
"Mrs. Rose, you realize you have just complicated thing even more," Ozpin cuts in. "It is already a terrible situation with just Mr. Law, but now that you and Mrs. Hunters are out there, both your hearts are in the right place, but you put yourselves in a truly dangerous position, the stakes are even higher now and it will be harder to safely get to your destination discreetly," the headmaster says.
"I know Ozpin sir, but we'll make it I promise," Ruby says confidently.
"I sure hope so," Ozpin comments.
"I wish you didn't do this Ruby, but you've made up your mind, please be safe," Yang pleads.
"I will Yang, I promise, I love you," Ruby says trying to assure her sister.
"I love you too," Yang says back. The reaper hands the scroll back to her faunus friend. Micheal grabs and sees the call is still going on. He puts against his ear.
"Hello," he says a little tentatively.
"Micheal, both you and Hitomi please look after Ruby," Yang requests, distress evident in her voice. "I know she can look after herself for the most part, but I'm worried she may be in over her head this time helping you."
"I promise Yang," Micheal assures her. He could hear her sigh heavily.
"Thank you, but please be careful yourself okay," the blonde pleads.
"Of course, I will I don't plan on dying okay," the wolf faunus says with a measure of confidence to assure his friend.
"Okay," Yang says, sounding content, but sadly as the call ends.
"We ready to go?" Hitomi asks as she hands Ruby some of her ammo cartridges.
"Good, we better get moving we have a few hours hike ahead of us," Hitomi says as she turns towards the mountains. She looks at them with a slightly solemn look. She felt her scroll vibrate as she pulls it out to see a message from Yang. 'I promise Yang, nothing will happen to Ruby,' she promises as replies to the message.
"We still heading for the same place?" Micheal asks slightly hopeful she has a different destination. The fox faunus takes a deep breath.
"Yes, we should get there as soon as possible," Hitomi says, slightly distracted, as she grabs her rifle. She then begins her trek towards her old home. Ruby and Micheal look at each other slightly worried about their teammate. Micheal grabs Faith as he proceeds to follow his partner. Ruby mimicking her teammate actions as she follows them towards the mountains. Micheal looks down at the firearm one again.
"Are you still mad?" Ruby asks.
"No, I wasn't mad, more surprised than anything about the choice, though I'm still a little unsure if I can truly handle this," Micheal answers.
"I meant what I said, I believe you can," Ruby says with a warm smile.
"Thanks," Micheal says returning the smile. He then let go of the gun with his left hand, letting the strap support the weight on his shoulder. He put his free hand on Ruby's shoulder and then lightly squeezes it. "Also, I wish you didn't come out here, but thank you for coming, I…, I don't…," he stops for to ponder the right words. He then felt a hand on his and squeezes his hand comfortingly.
"Your welcome, I would never abandon you, you're my teammate and my friend," the brunette says.
"That goes for you too Hitomi, thanks," Micheal says. The fox faunus looks over her shoulder with a smile. She notes Ruby squeezing the wolf faunus' hand. She quirks an amused eyebrow.
"You are welcome," she says and then returns her attention forward. "Now pick up the pace you lovebirds," she teases. She chuckles as she heard them annoyingly quip at her comment. Hitomi rolls her eyes in amusement. 'You are lucky Micheal,' she bitterly muses in her head. The trio's journey through the Emerald Forest was mostly smooth going for the most part. The Elder Scourge's appearance had driven away most of the other Grimm that inhabited the forest. Though that didn't mean the trio of friends let down their guard. They were still attentive to their surroundings, their eyes scanning the woods in case there were still Grimm in the area. Micheal notes as they slowly got closer to the mountains the rockier and more jagged the terrain became and the sparser the trees became. It started to contrast slightly to the forest as he knew it. He looks up in wonder as they pass under a natural stone arch. He had only known the parts he had been in near the Academy. The terrain also started to become hard to travel through, at least for him. The uneven ground either having small, but steep incline or little drop. The group had to slow down for the wolf faunus as he did his best to move through the uneven path. His teammates though were having no trouble with the terrain, moving easily through it.
"Come on," Hitomi says annoyed. "We can't keep slowing down like this," as she watches her partner cautiously drops from a ledge.
"Sorry, not use to this," he says as lands unsteadily. "I'm used to hills not this rocky place, hills, at least the ones I've been on, don't have these many drops, just slopes." The trio continues onwards a slowly quickening pace to make up for the time we lost.
"And," the fox faunus snaps. "It is only going to get worse as we get into the mountains," she chides with a huff.
"Was has you so snippy right now?" Micheal asks annoyed at her partner's attitude.
"I just want to get to the village quickly and you are slowing us down, this is the easiest part of the terrain, so you should not be having this much trouble," the fox faunus says annoyed herself. She quickens her pace even more than needed They soon found themselves in a rocky pass that slopes down to the bottom of the mountain in front of them. The jagged rock wall went up at least two stories. The orangish-brown stone wall that is pale in color from baking in the sun's ray. The pass itself was still wide, Micheal thinks a Goliath could comfortably stroll through here without scraping against the wall. Ruby slows down to walk next to Micheal.
"Ruby is it just me or is she extremely irritable right now," the wolf faunus inquires.
"Definitely, but you are slowing us down a bit," Ruby says to her friend.
"I know I deserve some of it, I'm trying not to, but this terrain is new to me, I'm not used to this," Micheal assures.
"I know, but please try to hurry up," Ruby says comfortingly. She received a nod in return. "But I think one or both us needs to talk to Hitomi, she's a little on edge right now and honestly is a little unpleasant to be around," she remarks. Her faunus friend even snapped at her a couple of minutes ago.
"Well, you're the leader, you decide when you or I get to talk to her, I like Hitomi, but she needs to calm down a bit," Micheal says.
"Yeah, we'll take a break every hour or so, traveling through this terrain is tiring and it's best we conserver our strength in case the Grimm attack, but we can't take too many breaks we need to get the fox village we have time to settle in," Ruby says. The duo continued to converse between themselves, while the fox faunus trails slightly ahead. She could hear them fine though and she knew she was a little too irritable right now. She wasn't this way on purpose, she was just both stressed and anxious for several reasons. Being out here in the Grimm-infested forest, lack of supplies for all three of them, and visiting her old home. She needs to apologize later, for her behavior. Then a groaning sound caught her attention. She turns her head toward the sound in time to see a large black human-like hand grab the side of a rocky wall. The hand is almost exactly like her hand except for much larger and lengthy bony fingers with bone plating on the knuckles. She immediately darts behind a nearby, her teammates right behind. "What is it?" Ruby asks.
"A large Grimm," Hitomi answers. The trio peer from behind the boulder, trying to remain hidden as best as possible. They see the Grimm come from behind the boulder. The Grimm is a large humanoid creature that stands at eight feet tall with slightly hunched shoulders. If it stood up straight, it would be a few feet taller. Micheal notes that the creature was kind of lanky looking, with its disproportionally long, thin arms and elongate upper torso. It has two long legs that end in long human-like feet. Its large head is oval-shaped with pointed ears, long nose, surprisingly small round eyes, and the usual bone mask of that adorned Grimm, covering the upper half of its face. Its skin seems to be covered in warts. It seems to yawn, showing off its ugly, sharp, mismatched teeth. It closes its mouth with two long tusks sticking out of the bottom of its mouth. It rubs the back of its short neck and looks around. Micheal notes its odd human gestures, finding it strange for a creature of darkness to perform such actions. He also notes the lack of bone plate on its body, the only place covered is its knuckles. 'Must be a young one,' the wolf faunus muses. The trio shrink behind the boulder as the Grimm turns their way.
"Is that a troll?" Micheal asks hushed. Now while the wolf faunus has been reading a book on Grimm, he hasn't read the entire book and can't remember all the different Grimm in there now.
"A Grimm version of one," Hitomi answers equally quiet.
"It's a Grendel, best we sneak around it, we can't waste time in fights we can avoid, we need to save our supplies," Ruby says. Micheal and Hitomi ears twitch at the sounds of rapid footfalls. The fox faunus grabs her leader's shirt collar roughly as she quickly leaps away. The wolf faunus dashes away from the boulder as a large crude axe-head made of stone smashes into the large stone they were hiding behind. The Grendel pulls the weapon out and emits a guttural growl at the trio. The trio gets a better look at the weapon in its hand. The axe-head was simply strapped onto an equally large tree branch with what looked like twine. The tree branch turned weapon shaft was about as long as the creature is tall and has little twigs coming out the sides. The axe-head was bigger than any of the trio and the axe blade was unevenly serrated, some points longer than others.
"Is that thing using a weapon!?" Micheal asks stunned.
"Yes, so watch out!" Hitomi answers.
"Looks like we are going to have to fight," Ruby comments. "Spread out and keep your distance, wait for an opening," Ruby orders as Hitomi lets her go. The Grendel grabs the end of the shaft with both hands and swings its weapon in a horizontal arc at the trio. Said friends hop back from the attack, feeling the tailwind of the attack. As soon as they land, they began to fight back. Ruby, with the help of semblance, speeding forward switch Crescent Rose to its scythe form and slashes the creature's right leg as the troll creature was reeling from its previous attack. The brunette's weapon cleaves through half the leg. The Grendel grunts in pain as it swings one of its hands at its attacker. Ruby just speeds away from the attack. Micheal notes the creature wasn't that bothered after having its leg nearly chopped off. His eyes widen as the wound heals instantly and completely as if nothing happened. The Grendel stomps its foot for a bit as if to judge if it was usable.
"I see why it was better to avoid it," Micheal comments loudly as he steadies Faith against his shoulder. He then proceeds to fire at the Grendel's head, partially to try it kill it quickly and partially to blind it at least. With the creature's head being bigger than the wolf faunus made it an easy target. Micheal at first fired a single shot to see how much kick the firearm gave him. While it has more kick than any gun before it, he felt he could handle it. He then proceeds to add round to each burst to judge the kick and if he could handle it then, which he found he could. It continued like than till he found he could only handle five-round bursts before he lost some control. He decided to do burst fire to both conserve ammo and he trust didn't himself to handle the weapon on full auto. He then settled on firing in bursts while circling the troll Grimm. The wounds the rounds made, while making large holes in the creature's head, were ineffectual as they healed up instantly as well. The Grendel barely gave any sound indicating the wounds hurt at all. Micheal hops back as the creature swipes it the large axe in his direction.
"Well yes, there's the healing factor, meaning wounding it won't slow it down much, making this take longer than needed, but also I wanted to avoid wasting the energy, ammo, and time we need for later!" Ruby shouts, then dashes away as the Grendel slams its weapon, headfirst, at her previous position. Little pebbles flew from the impact and flew harmlessly through the air. Hitomi rushes in at the creature's back and pulling her nodachi from its sheath. The odd purple blade gleaming in the light, giving the immediate area around the blade a purple glow. The fox faunus jumps and slashes up the creature's back. The blade cleanly slicing through the black troll 's back. The slash leaving a smoother wound than Ruby weapon and like previous attacks, the wound healed instantly. The troll Grimm, after adjusting its grip, tries to use the bottom of its weapon's shaft to smash the fox faunus. But the fox faunus quickly jumps away from the strike, flipping through the air. She lands on her hand first, still holding her weapon in her other hand, and then gently places her feet on the ground. Micheal still proceeded to fire at the Grendel's head circling the creature.
'The kick is still a bit much right now, it's throwing off my aim, but at least I have control of Faith, though see just shooting its head is doing nothing, the only thing I can hope for is that blinding it would do something,' the wolf faunus muses to himself. He backs up a bit to make sure he was out of the creature's range.
"We are not going to be making much progress this way! You have a plan, Ruby!?" Hitomi shouts. Then she notices one the firearm's round finally connects with one of the creature's eye. The monster finally stumbles back holding its face. Taking the chance, both Ruby and Hitomi dash forward raising their weapons. The wolf faunus stops fire for a moment to not to hit his friends, though he didn't lower Faith. Both girls slashing the creature with their respective weapons. Ruby cutting across the chest, leaving a gash, and Hitomi slicing through the legs, nearly cutting through the limbs. The combined strike knocks the creature off balance, and it fell over. The fox faunus taking this chance she jumps at the Grendel's head, her nodachi pointed down. The Grendel swings its arm at her, violently smacking her away. Hitomi flew at a nearby rock wall. The fox faunus quickly recovers from the strike and adjusts herself midair as best she could for her feet to hit the nearby rock wall, cracks forming were she impacted. Her legs straining a bit from the force of the impact. She jumps down and exhales as she relaxes her body. Her left side stung from the defensive attack, though she had suffered no real damage. She rolls her shoulders reading to continue the fight. The troll Grimm again recovers from the assault, though the trio notes that the wounds were healing slightly slower.
'So, even its healing has a limit, enough wounds will begin taxing its rejuvenation, though it's to slow for our liking,' Micheal notes. He looks at his leader. "Ruby, what's your plan?" he asks. He saw her thinking intently as the troll Grimm slowly got up.
"First, we need to break its weapon, decrease its range, plus it will make it easier for us to attack it up close, how much ammo do you have left in that magazine?" Ruby asks.
"I don't know how many shots are in here," he says confused. "You never told me; also, how does it get easier?"
"All the drum magazines carry sixty shots each," Ruby answers the first question.
'No wonder it's so heavy and why I haven't hit empty yet,' Micheal reason in his mind. "In that case, I would say I've used at least three-quarters of this magazine."
"Okay, it's easier because we won't need to wait for it to swing its weapon, it won't be safer, the Grendel still is very strong despite its looks, but its hands will be easier to deal with, I need you to shrink your volleys down to three rounds, slow down how much ammo your spending, but continue what you're doing, destroying its eyes are the only thing that staggers it, if you can do it again we can repeat our last attack," Ruby says.
"Right," Micheal says as he was about to begin firing again. The troll Grimm utters a furious gutter howl as it wildly and repeatedly swings its axe at the duo. The attacks were faster than before with both Micheal and Ruby spending most of their energy avoiding the attacks. It swung both horizontal and vertical, trying to cleave or crush the two teammates, moving to keep them in range of its attacks. It then felt a stinging pinch on its back and then a second later felt something roughly land on its left shoulder. It glances to see Hitomi with her rifle in hand. It tries to swing its left hand up to grab her, but the moment it turned its head, the fox faunus fires her firearm into its eye. The Grendel reels back from the attack, this time swinging it hand to smack the fox faunus. Hitomi jumps off the creature's shoulder towards her friends, fire two more shots at the creature's face. One of the shots hits it nose and the other round collides with the other eye, fully blinding it. The troll creature covers its face with its free hand, grunting in pain.
"Ruby, I'll deal with the weapon!" Hitomi yells as she shoulders her rifle. She draws her sword and runs toward the axe. Ruby then rushes towards the Grendel itself. The fox faunus slashes upwards at the weapon shaft, channeling her aura into the attack, cleaving the tree branch below the axe head. The brunette jumps and extends Crescent Rose's blade downwards. The blade of the scythe catches the troll's left shoulder, where the arm and shoulder connect. With a scream, the brunette cleaves through the limb. The arm flies away from the owner. The trio sees the troll's eyes reforming after the attacks stopped. Micheal notes that the arm didn't regrow like its eyes. The Grendel furiously howls at the trio for grievous they inflicted on it. Then Micheal again opens fire on the creature's face. The troll covers its face with its only arm, trying to prevent being shot in the eyes again. It glances over what is left of its weapon. It growls frustrated at the situation. It then quickly puts the end of the tree branch in its mouth and bites on it. It proceeds to pull it out, using its mismatched teeth to make a sharp point on the end. Then the Grendel jumps at Micheal, the sharpened point of the branch pointing at the wolf faunus. Micheal dashes away from the attack. The Grimm's weapon harmlessly stabs the ground. The Grendel then swings its weapon at the wolf faunus, leaving a groove in the ground. The troll decided it would try to get at least one of the members of the group after the wounds they inflicted to it. Micheal hops away as the sharp point of branch passes an inch in front of him. It adjusts its grip for its hand, ignoring the sharp pains on its back, to be in the middle of the branch. It then throws the branch like a javelin at Micheal, who again hops out of the way. The impromptu javelin impales the earth, digging into the earth a couple of feet. The wolf faunus lowers Faith's barrel and grabs Crocea Mors's handle. He channels his aura and swings the sword at the branch. With a loud crack, the branch snaps in two small parts. It might have been a useless action overall to Micheal as they would never allow it to pick it up again. Though he felt better if the creature had no weapon at all. The troll howls in anger and charges forward face covered with its remaining arm. The wolf faunus then decides to lower his firearm at the legs, planning on injuring its legs enough to trip it. He backs up, trying to keep his distance, and pulls the trigger. All he heard was a click, signaling his gun was empty. Though he didn't have to worry as Ruby immediately did his plan for him, her scythe tearing through the Grendel's legs. The monster fell over on its stomach and using its one arm, continues to crawl to Micheal. Hitomi then lands on the troll's head driving her nodachi through the top of the creature's head. The monster continues to shakily reach out to the wolf faunus. After a minute, Hitomi twists her blade and the Grendel went limp. The fox faunus pulls her weapon out the Grimm and jumps down onto the ground. She sheathes her sword as her partner changes Faith's magazine.
"Well, let's get moving before more show up, we still have a way to go," Hitomi says as she walks down the pass towards the mountain. Her teammates follow behind her. The trio, after ten minutes of walking, managed to come across a small clearing with a creek in it. The creek sat at the foot of the mountain. It was at least four feet wide and only knee-deep. They look up at the towering landform of stone, its imposing stature making them slightly nervous. The coloring of the land steadily flowing from pale orangish-brown to steel grey. Ruby decided now was a time to rest after their recent battle. Micheal volunteers to be watching over them while they rested. He leaned sat on a large rock near the entrance of the clearing they came through. Ruby sees the fox faunus bent over the stream filling her canteen, after making sure it was safe to drink. The brunette walks over and sits next to her friend. She opens her mouth to speak.
"I am sorry," Hitomi interrupts her. That stops her leader in her tracks. The fox faunus lifts her canteen and takes a quick drink from it. A small trickle of water runs down her chin and neck. She separates her lips from her water jug with a satisfied sigh. She wipes the excess water from her chin and neck. She offers the canteen to her junior. Ruby takes the container and gleefully drink from it herself. "I know I have been snappy, I just…," she stops with a sigh, not sure what to say. After finishing her drink, she lets out a satisfied breath herself.
"Well…, things are kind of stressful right now and we have lost some time, but there is no reason to be as mean as you have been," Ruby says turning her head to the tallest member of her team.
"I know," the fox faunus says sadly. She turns her head to looks her leader in the eyes. "As I also know my partner isn't slowing us down unintentionally," she mentions.
"You need to apologize to him as well," Ruby says.
"I know," Hitomi repeats.
"Hitomi…," the brunette says softly, gently grabbing the fox faunus' hand. "What's wrong? tell me," she asks worriedly. The fox faunus looks at her leader for a moment, wondering what she should say. How she should say it. Her faces shifting, reflecting her ruminations. They would shift from worried, shameful, to thoughtful. She sighs as she returns her attention forward. "Why did you want to visit your old village?"
"Partially, to see what it looks like, I know it's probably in ruins, but I want to see it, plus to see if it can jog any memories before the attack, I hate not remembering the place, plus…" Hitomi stops and looks down. She felt Ruby gently tighten her grip on her hand. The older girl smiles warmly at Ruby, said girl returns the smile. "I want to find something," her face dropping.
"What?" Ruby inquires.
"Hopefully a photo or some kind of picture of my old family," Hitomi answers.
"Do you honestly think one has survived after ten years?" Ruby asks curiously.
"No," the fox faunus admits solemnly shaking her head. "I know it is a longshot, but I want to hope there is one," she says as she unsheathes her sword with her free hand. She then holds in front of them. "This is all I have to remember them, my father's sword, this was all the rescue team could recover when they got me, and I want something more than this." Ruby looks at the blade in question. She always found the blade odd with its purple blade, not understanding why it's like that.
"I have always been curious as to why the blade is purple," Ruby wonders aloud.
"It is not always violet," the fox faunus says as she hands it to Ruby. The brunette, letting go of her friend's hand, grabs the handle of the nodachi with both hands. Then as the older girl lets go, the blade of the weapon steadily turns from purple to red. Ruby stares in awe and confusion at the sight. "Now place it on the ground," Hitomi gently urges. Her friend did as she was told and places it on the ground. Ruby again stares in surprise as the blade again changes color, this time from red to a dull grey.
"What?" Ruby wonders as she looks at her friend.
"I was as confused as you are when I first saw it after my aura was activated," Hitomi comments with an amused look on her face. She grabs the nodachi, the blade turning purple as her wrap around the handle. She then places it back in its sheath. "I took it to a Bleu weapon shop to get it examined, I was told they had experts that could help, so my father must have been some kind of dust alchemist, dust expert, or something…" Ruby curiously quirks an eyebrow. "Because they discovered in the handle and a thin tube inside the blade is some kind of mixture of dust that automatically absorbs and refines my aura for my weapon, plus I can add another layer of aura on it to increase its striking power," Hitomi says.
"Weird," Ruby comments. "How fast does it burn through the dust and your aura and do you have more?"
"Very slowly surprisingly, I don't even feel my aura draining and yes I have more dust," Hitomi says using a hand to open her jacket, revealing four dust vials. The dust in the vials is pure white, like snow, in color. "They took some of it to study how it is made for me, it took them six months before they sent me a letter with the exact formula for the mixture, I imagine they had to get several dust experts to study it."
"How did your dad make it exactly?" Ruby asks curiously, now slightly interested. She originally found her friend's weapons rather boring, now it was at least more intriguing than before. Hitomi just shrugs in response.
"I don't know, no notes on how it was made were recovered, I can only imagine my father made it before I was born because I do remember him showing me it sometime before the attack," Hitomi says.
"Does it have a name?" Ruby inquires curiously.
"I don't know what my father called it, but I call it Lone Aster," the fox faunus informs, sadly looking at the sword for a moment.
"Lone Aster huh, you're not alone though," Ruby comments.
"I feel like it at times," the fox faunus mutters quietly. Then Ruby grabs her hand again, giving it a firm squeeze. Hitomi gives her a warm smile, her tail slowly wagging. The brunette let go of her friend's hand and begins to stand up.
"Well, I think we've rested long enough, we need to get moving on," Ruby says.
"At least take one last drink before we move on, there will not be any way to refill our canteens in the mountains," Hitomi suggests. Ruby takes her up on her suggestion. Micheal did as well, taking a greedy swig from his canteen, downing half of it in one go. Hitomi took a drink from hers as well and then refills both jugs. The trio soon readied themselves for more hiking towards the destination. Micheal looks at the mountain. He didn't remember Hitomi saying if there was a path through the mountains. The thought of climbing up and through the mountains was unpleasant, for a lack of better words.
"Hey Hitomi, is there some kind of path we can take? I think that would be preferred over trying to climb," Micheal questions.
"Yes, we are going to have to follow the stream for a bit before we reach it," Hitomi says as she points downstream to a pass, significantly narrow than the last one. Along the creek is a narrow pathway of the land untouched by the water. The pathway was barely wide enough for one person with rock walls enclosing each side of the pass. The trio follows the path as they finally continuing their journey. They were walking in single file down the pass. Hitomi in the front leading the way, followed by Ruby and then Micheal in the rear. They glance around tentatively, never letting down their guard in case Grimm attack them. Once in a while, a sound would echo along the small ravine, making them look around even quicker trying to find the source but find nothing. This continued for at least half an hour before they came across what they were looking for. Hitomi spotted it and her friends inspect the path wondering how she knew it was there. The walkway was barely any bigger than the current one they were on, except it went up at an extremely steep angle and was covered in gravel. Hitomi explains that she saw it from the various photos from her studies on local geography and reasons with them that people needed a pathway into the mountains if they had to walk through them. Each member of the trio took a nervous breath as they step onto the path into the mountains. They figure out how treacherous their current route is as Micheal almost slips on his way up the steep pathway. Even the other two almost slip themselves on the unsteady ground. They ended up having to slow down to a crawl to make sure they all made it safely. Ruby and Hitomi heave Micheal up onto the ledge they found at the top. The ledge extends into a natural pathway around the mountain. The trio looks behind them and sees Beacon in the distance. They all stare sadly at the place they left. They all wish they were at Beacon instead of where they were. Hitomi looks down the scope of her rifle and spots the Elder Scourge, still flying above the Emerald Forest. She shakes her head to confirm them it is still there. After a minute of looking they decide to continue, following the route in front of them. The rocky path snaked through the mountain range, sloping up and down. Or the path narrowed at certain points to a point where they had to shimmy across a ledge barely bigger than their feet, their backs against the mountain. The one thing that surprised them was that the path never branched off in any way, it stayed a single path their entire hike. Despite the uneasy terrain, their trek through the mountains went smoothly for the most part. Hitomi would point out the landmarks she used to mark her path to the old fox village. Micheal and Ruby weren't sure what to expect when she mentioned by landmarks, but they saw some of them, like a mountain with two peaks or a mountain with a chunk of the side missing. They never encountered avian or another flying Grimm or other Grimm that live in the mountains. Eventually, the pathway widens enough for two of them to walk shoulder to shoulder. After an hour of trekking through the mountain, Ruby decided it is time to take a break. This time Ruby decided to keep watch, using her semblance every few minutes to switch each side of their resting spot. The faunus duo sat against the stone wall, their tails around their waists. Micheal pulls out his scroll to check the time, he sees that it was 11:30 am.
"Been almost three hours since we started this journey," Micheal comments.
"Yeah," Hitomi says quietly. She then wraps an arm around her partner and pulls him close. Micheal looks up at his partner. "I'm sorry, I know you are not slowing us down on purpose, it is just…," she says.
"I heard earlier, it's okay," Micheal interrupts, his ears twitching. The fox faunus chuckles and smiles warmly.
"Right, thanks," she says. She then rests her forehead on Micheal's and closes her eyes. "I know I do not say it a lot, but I do truly enjoy having you as my partner," she informs her partner.
"Thanks," he says blushing slightly at the closeness. "What brought this on? You're usually not this affectionate," Micheal wonders.
"Nothing, I just wanted to make sure you knew," she says. "You are the only one who is like me," she opens her eyes to see her partner's slightly confused face. "You know being the last of our kinds, my adopted family and the team do help alleviate some of the loneliness, but I still feel alone at times, but you are in the same position as me and it is nice having someone who can understand me."
"Oh right," the wolf faunus says. His eyes shift to look away as he ponders the words. 'I guess I understand, though not in the way she thinks, though how would she react if I said I wasn't a wolf faunus originally,' Micheal muses to himself.
"You realize how lucky you are, right?" Hitomi questions.
"Very," Micheal answers.
"Extremely," Hitomi comments. "You managed to get onto of team that is not only tolerant of your inexperience, but willing to help you become better, plus the team in question is a team of girls that have feelings for you," Hitomi says, slightly teasing at the end. Her eyes drifting to Ruby for a second. The brunette was too concentrated that she didn't her comment.
"I know," Micheal assures her, his blush darkening. He then wonders on the last part. "You included?" A hum comes from his partner as she seems to ponder the right words.
"I would not be against it, I will say at least I am a little interested in you," Hitomi informs, separating her forehead from his.
"Why not be with me then? If that's is what you're implying, I'm curious," Micheal inquires.
"Remember what Professor Ozpin said to you about a human-faunus relationship?" the fox faunus asks.
"About how a faunus may not be born, something like that," Micheal answers.
"Yes, well it either slipped his mind at the moment or he just assumed you knew, but it would be the same for us in a different sense," Hitomi says before taking a breath. She sees the curious quirked eyebrow. "Well, let us say you and Blake were to have a kid it is possible that you two can only produce cat faunus," lowering her voice. "Or if you and I were to have a kid there is the possibility that we could only produce either wolf or fox faunus," her voice returning to normal.
"So, you want us to have different lovers so to increase our chances to repopulate our races, even if slightly," Micheal comments. His partner nods in response.
"Pretty much, it may not be the best plan, but it is best to me," Hitomi confirms. "You know, if I can be honest without being judged, I wish I was born a boy, then I would pursue Yang in a heartbeat," the fox faunus says closing her eyes with a light blush and clenching her fist.
"Hitomi, are you?" Micheal starts.
"Bi, yes I am, is that problem?" The fox faunus asks with a slight glare.
"No, no, no, it just caught me off guard that's all, why Yang?" Micheal asks, backing up a little.
"Well, outside of the obvious physical reasons, I know she has been ogling me, even if she does not realize I do, so I know she sees me in that way," Hitomi informs as she pulls her partner closer.
"I think she has a thing for faunus," Micheal comments.
"I would not doubt it, I have seen her ogling Blake as well," lowering her voice again. "Though she does not realize the truth about Blake." Then she looks at her partner curiously. "Why haven't you pursued Yang yet? I know you have feelings for her as well," she asks.
"I just don't have the time too yet, you know between studying and training with you girls hasn't left me with time and energy to pursue a relationship, I want to devote time and energy into one, then," Micheal stops as he rolls his head back.
"Then?" Hitomi repeats questioningly. Micheal looks at Ruby and then back at his partner.
"Then there is wondering how to deal with the other girls' feelings, plus being honest I have feelings for all of you, date one and I hurt the others," Micheal says. "I'm not looking forward to that." His face becoming downcast at the image of each girl's hurt face.
"That is a fair statement, but you are going to have to deal with it at one point, I would recommend soon, no one is going to wait forever," Hitomi says giving him a reassuring hug. "While I honestly would urge you to pursue Yang, she is a good woman, I will support you no matter who you choose."
"Thanks, I will do the same in return, support anyone you choose to pursue," Micheal says smiling. His partner returning the gesture. "Give me at least another month, then I'll…," he takes a breath. "Start a relationship, with who I don't know, I do think it's time, it feels weird not to be in one," Micheal says.
"Well, do it in a way you are comfortable with," Hitomi says. Then the team leader walks over. The faunus duo gets to their feet.
"Alright, let's get moving, how much longer Hitomi?" Ruby asks. The tallest of the trio hums as she thinks as she looks at the nearby mountains.
"At least a little less than an hour, give or take," Hitomi answers. The trio returns to their journey after their rest. As before the fox faunus in the lead with the other two following. The journey, for the most part, went smoothly and without much trouble, till thirty minutes into their hike. The trio was on their stomach at the top of a slope, mostly hidden, looking down. At the bottom of a long slope stands two unpleasant looking men in front of a cave. They were wearing two different suits battle-worn armor, one leather, and the other chainmail. Each one had a weapon in hand, one holding a rifle and the other a two-handed axe. Hitomi was currently looking down the scope of her rifle at the men. "Bandits, more than likely," the fox faunus says.
"Bandits?" Micheal says questioningly. His eyes shifting to his partner for as second, who nods in response. His eyes return to the duo, a dark glare as he looks upon them.
"Unfortunately, scum, preying on other people," Hitomi comments.
"Can't be that successful if they are out here," Ruby comments herself.
"You would be surprised, but this also could be a temporary base as well," Hitomi remarks. Then looks at her leader. "Any ideas on how to get past them?"
"Just shoot them," Micheal says, venom in his voice. Ruby and Hitomi look at the wolf faunus surprised. They see him still glaring at the duo darkly. "We're trying to get to the village as fast as possible right?"
"Yes, but we can't just shoot them," Ruby says.
"Why?" Micheal asks taking his eyes off the duo. They soften when turns to his friends.
"Well…," the brunette stops trying to ponder the right words.
"We can't waste any more ammo, plus we don't know how many there are," Hitomi says.
"Well, we have no idea how long they will be there, if it's a temporary base, if not then we have no idea how long till they go on patrol or whatever they do, we are on a time limit," Micheal counters. "If it's a retaliation with a large number of people then that's not much of a problem, we have terrain advantage and this," he lifts Faith to emphasize his point.
"I know, but…," Hitomi says.
"But nothing," the wolf faunus interrupts. "If they're bandits who will miss them if we kill them, plus you think they will show us any mercy if they see us, they will kill me and rape you two, we'd be doing the world a favor by killing them, who knows how many people they've done that to already," he says angrily, not raising his voice so not to alert the bandits.
"I know, but…" Ruby says. Micheal eyes narrow in annoyance at the comment. The brunette timidly grips his jacket sleeve. The wolf faunus eyes soften as he could guess why. "I've never killed a person before," she says afraid. Micheal glances at his partner. He shakes her head nervously as well.
"That thug on the night we meet?" Micheal asks about the goon that Ruby slashed. The reaper shakes her head.
"No, I didn't slice deep enough to kill him, I just injured him," Ruby informs. The wolf faunus closes his eyes and nods. He holds his hand out to his partner.
"Give me your rifle Hitomi, I'll do it, you two cover your eyes and ears as best you can, after I'm done then I will lead you through the bodies, you won't have to bloody your hands or see them, I still don't see a way through this quickly and quietly without killing them," Micheal says. The fox faunus hands him her rifle.
"Can you do it?" she asks as she begins to lead Ruby away.
"Yes, believe in me," Micheal says. His partner nods in response as the duo walk around a bend a few feet away. The wolf faunus steadies the rifle as looks down at the scope. He sees the two men through the scope, both men had various scars of varied sizes on their faces and necks. Their armor has various marks signifying their previous battle, some from weapons and others were claw marks from Grimm. Even their weapons were both batten and chipped at different spots. The two men are unaware of their soon to be assailant peering down at them ready to kill them. Micheal takes deep breaths as he lines up his shot to the bandit with the rifle. He rather not be fired upon immediately once they retaliate. After a few seconds to calm himself, he pulls the trigger. A loud bang echoed through the canyon and for a second a loud whistle could be heard as the round flies towards its target. Through the rifle scope, he could see the bandits look around for a second. Then the top bandit with the rifle's head exploded in a flash of red like fruit exploding. It paints the rock wall in red, like someone throwing paint against it. The other bandit looks surprised for a second before shouting into the cave. Then twelve other bandits run out of the cave armed with various firearms and melee weapons. Micheal immediately slides behind the slope and places his partner's rifle to his side. He hears shots wiz above his head and shouts coming from the bandits. He listens intently to the men as they ran up the slope, waiting for his chance. After a minute, he hears firearm magazines being ejected and about to be reloaded. In that instant, he appears from behind the slope holding Faith. He had no idea if one of them had a loaded weapon, but he felt now was the time. Two of the bandits raise their firearms, an assault rifle, and shotgun respectively. As his eyes lock onto the lawless men in front of him, he pulls the trigger.
Around the bend, Ruby and Hitomi sat coving their ears. Hitomi had her fox ears flat to her head and hands on her human ears. They first heard Hitomi's rifle going off followed by the return shots. Then the sounds of shouting getting closer till guns shots stopped firing. The lack of firing for a moment made her and Ruby hope that the bandits were just going to back off. Then the roar of Micheal's firearm reverberates loudly throughout the canyon. After a minute of nothing but gunfire, it stops. Then for the next few moments, a couple more rounds of a different firearm were heard. One pair of footsteps unsteadily walk over to their position. "Come on you two," Micheal says slightly strained. He gently grabs their hands as begins to walk them past the bodies. "Watch your step and close your eyes if you don't want to see," the wolf faunus says. Ruby was the first to hit something solid. He instinctively opens her eyes to see what she hit, then she saw the corpses of the bandits. She gasps horrified at the sight. The bodies were riddled with multiple large holes like they had been turned into human swiss cheese. Some of the bodies were missing limbs or were almost detached from their bodies. Some of the heads were half-destroyed, giving a horrifying view into its inside. The blood flowing from the bodies down the slope off the mountain like a small river. Hitomi opens her eyes and sees the carnage in front of her as well. She swallows and takes a nervous breath. She could feel bile building up in her throat but did her best to keep it down. Then the duo looks up at Micheal and sees his new wounds. A shallow gash was on the side of his neck and a hole in his left shoulder, through the jacket and pauldron underneath, blood steadily flowing from his wounds. His armor also has small dents across his chest. "Two of them were smart enough to keep their firearms loaded," he comments painfully. He sighs painfully and then he felt his partner begin to push him, their leader following them. The fox faunus pushes him into the cave and against the wall. They notice the cave didn't go very deep and could see the back from the entrance. Lining the back wall was an assortment of at least ten boxes of diverse sizes. She quickly and steadily removes his jacket and armor, placing his backpack and the weapons on the ground next to them, one of them being Hitomi's rifle. The wolf faunus jerks slightly in pain as he grabs his partner's hand as she grips his shirt. The fox faunus notices small stains of blood on her partner's torso, excluding his shoulder.
"Easy and stay still mutt, let me work on this, I need the shirt off to see if there are more injuries," she scolds. After a minute, Micheal nods and help ease the shirt off There were a couple of little holes in his upper torso. Hitomi realizes some of those dents were holes instead. She then begins to work on his wounds. Her eyes gazing and studying them first. She looks away and opens her partner's backpack and rummages through grabbing the first aid kit. "Ruby," Hitomi says. The brunette jumps slightly, she was so transfixed on the sight in front of her being called upon made her jump in surprise.
"Yes?" Ruby says questioningly. The fox faunus opens the kit looking through the supplies.
"Would you mind seeing if the bandits have more medical supplies in those boxes," Hitomi requests. She stares into the cave for a second at the boxes, unable to guess which one contains medical supplies, or if they contain any.
"Sure," the brunette says as she walks off. After a minute the sound of boxes opening could be heard. Hitomi gently pushes her partner's head slightly to the left to grant easier access to the wound. Micheal sighs and closes his eyes as his partner starts to provide first aid. Ruby brings back everything that she thought was medical supplies. The tallest of the trio gazes at the assorted items her junior brought and only took a couple of large bottles and a roll of bandages. "Are you going to need that much?"
"More than likely not, but extra is nice if I need it," Hitomi informs. Ruby just hums in response. She watches in amazement at how expertly clean and stitches the wounds with practiced ease. The fox faunus' eyes completely zoned in on her current task. Only taking her eyes off to rummage through the first aid kit. Micheal grits his teeth and grunts in pain as his partner works with the needle. He felt Ruby grabs his hand, which results in him grabbing her hand a little too tightly. Ruby put on a genuine, but pained smile as she bares the pain of his grip. After ten minutes, she finishes wrapping the wounds and helps her partner put his clothes and armor back on. A sigh escapes Micheal's lips as he relaxes. He grits his teeth as Hitomi roughly grabs his wolf ear. "I would slap you, but I do not want to reopen those wounds," she growls. She grips his uninjured shoulder painfully. "What the hell were you thinking?"
"We needed to get past them, plus you keep trying to make us move as quickly as possible, so I choose to do what allowed to do that and I was the only who would do it," Micheal says.
"Yes, I have," the fox faunus says quietly.
"There weren't any other paths and trying to climb around would have slowed us down even more," Ruby says.
"And backtracking trying to hopefully find one is out of the question, even if we did, I'm not sure if I can find my way," Hitomi comments. She looks at her partner somberly. "I will not say this is entirely my fault, you choose to attack them before we could think of a plan, but I will admit I am a cause for this." She felt a hand on her shoulders. She looks at her partner and leader, both were smiling at her. She smiles back. "I think its best we rest a bit for Micheal at least, besides…," she says looking at the boxes.
"We can potentially restock our supplies," Ruby finishes. Hitomi nods in response.
"Micheal, just rest, we will take care of things right now," the fox faunus says. Her partner just nods in response. Hitomi stares out the cave at the group of corpses and the singular one by the entrance. She swallows as she felt sick at the sight. "I'm going to go look through them to see what they have." It took only a second for Ruby to realize what she meant.
"Okay," she says as she walks to the boxes to search. Hitomi then began to search through the bodies. A light splash of blood could be heard as she steps through the bodies. Now and then she had to take a break and breath as the sight of the carnage made her weak. The smell and state of the bodies made her want to throw up, but she pushed through it. She gathers all the firearms and spare cartridges the bandits had. As she walks back into the cave, she sees her leader leaning over and sorting what the boxes contained. Half of the boxes were open at this point.
"Find anything useful?" Hitomi asks as she looks in the current case.
"Well, some food," Ruby says as she pulls up some cans and snacks. "More ammo," as she points to one of the open boxes, over the edge she could barely make out firearms. "The medical supplies," she points to another open box. "So far though, for the most part, the rest of these contain nothing we can use."
"It is better than nothing," the fox faunus comments. Her leader hums in response. Then Hitomi joins her leader in rummaging through the containers just in case there is something else to use. But even with the extra help, the duo found nothing else to use. Ruby then grabs Faith from Micheal and the empty cartridges, which the other two found a little strange he kept and then began to refill the magazines with the compatible rounds she found. Hitomi stores as much food as she could and refill what medical supplies she could. The wolf faunus just watches them, studying them. His eyes more on Ruby than his partner. He was trying to memorize the rounds she was putting into the magazines. It was easier to understand than what Hitomi was doing. The wolf faunus though would unintentionally wander to Ruby's face. He found the sight of Ruby's serious and concentrated face difficult to tear his eyes from. He always found her cute and pretty, but the current sight made her physical features more pronounced. She went from pretty to beautiful. Ruby notices her friend staring and blushes slightly.
"What?" Ruby asks slightly flustered.
"Nothing sorry," Micheal answers as he looks away. Hitomi just shakes her head at the sight with a small smile. When the fox faunus finishes her preparations for the remainder of their journey, she wanders over and sits in front of her partner.
"Micheal, let me ask you something," Hitomi says.
"Shoot," her partner responds.
"Why…," she stops for a second for the right words. Her eyes shift to see Ruby was equally curious. "Why do you have such an easy time killing people?" Her partner looks at her, his face not revealing anything.
"Because I've done it before I met any of you," Micheal says looking at the ground. He then felt a hand on his shoulder, giving him a reassuring squeeze. He looks up to see Ruby giving him a warm smile.
"We're not judging you, we just want to know," Ruby assures. Micheal looks between both girls and sighs.
"I was twelve, I was alone in my house, my parents were out celebrating their twentieth anniversary, my sister was…," the wolf faunus stops for a moment. "Out with friends and so was my brother," Micheal says with some bitterness in his voice, something the girls notice. "Julie was out with her family as well." He looks down again. "It was fine for about an hour, until…," his hands clenching as his lips tighten. "I heard a crash coming from the living room, I remember freezing in terror for a second till I decided to look, I had hoped that a pot just fell over, but as I looked outside my room, I saw two men down the hall and they had guns, I knew what it was instantly," he stops to take deep breath.
"What happened after you saw then?" Hitomi asks gently grabbing her partner's hand.
"I panicked, I didn't shout or scream, I just immediately ran to my parent's room, making a lot of noise, one of them shot at me, grazing my head," Micheal instinctively reaches around and brushes a straight path along the back of his head. "I made it without being hit again, those they fired at least a few more shots, it was at that moment I realized I forgot my scroll in my room."
"Why your parent's room?" Ruby asks.
"I ran into my parent's room because my dad kept his guns in a locker in their closet, and I guess I thought I would be safer in there, my dad showed me how to open the locker sometime before because he trusted me not to do anything stupid, so I opened the locker as they men bust down the door to the room, and honestly…," he says looking between the two. "The next few moments were all a blur, all I can remember were the sound of gunshots and the next thing I knew I was on my knees, my shoulder and hip were shot and the two guys were on the ground bleeding to death," he stops for a moment to take a breath. "It didn't take me long to figure out what I just did, I felt sick and threw up, after my shock I called my parents and then an ambulance, I was kind of was in too much shock to answer the police at the time when they arrived and I was carried off to the hospital, I had terrible dreams for the next week, both for killing the men and the break-in itself, my father and Julie were the ones who comforted me the most during that time, that's is also why I'm not bothered by a corpse, because I've seen what a gun can do to a man," Micheal says.
"Well, you alive and that's what matters," Ruby says.
"Was one time enough to become comfortable with killing?" Hitomi asks curiously.
"Was for me, a few years later there was another break-in, this time three men, while I wasn't alone this time, my dad was with me and he killed two of them, the difference between a trained soldier and a gangster with firearm use, its staggering how fast how aimed and shot each one, I killed the last one, I clearly remember somewhat calmly aiming and pulling the trigger, I didn't even have terrible dreams afterward either," Micheal says. He looks out of the cave. "I don't' enjoy killing, but I have no issues doing it,". They sat there in silence for a few minutes. Then Ruby hugs him tightly.
"You did what you had to do, I don't judge you for it, you're still my friend," Ruby says comfortingly.
"You are still you, besides, in a way, we need someone like you, someone who is capable of doing things we are not comfortable with and you are still my partner," Hitomi says as she squeezes his hand comfortingly.
"Thanks," Micheal says with a smile.
"Well, let's get a move on," Ruby says as she hands Micheal his backpack. Hitomi helps him onto his feet. The trio left the cave to finish their journey to the old fox village.
Ozpin's Office
Ozpin sat in his office typing on his computer, alone. He had dismissed the staff and Team RWBY for the day. He wanted them to relax as best they could, while he began to formulate a plan to retrieve the trio and bring them back to Beacon safety. A beep emits from his computer. He saw he was receiving a call from Atlas, from Douglas. He answers it and his computer screen changes to a video of his old friend. He immediately notices beside Douglas was another man. This man is well dressed and clean-shaven. He wears a white overcoat, with a grey undercoat, black sweater, a red necktie and a white glove on his right hand. His suit pants share the same color as his overcoat and are tucked into silver boots accented in grey.
"James," Ozpin greets warmly.
"Hello Oz," Ironwood greets back.
"May I ask why you are with Douglas?" Ozpin asks.
"I was simply paying him a visit since he was in Atlas at the moment when Beacon was attacked," James answers truthfully. His face becomes solemn "Are you well Ozpin?"
"Yes, and we can say that we are fortunately casualties were extremely low, I was about to call you to see if you can spare any men to help defend Vale," Ozpin informs.
"I will see what I can do," James says firmly as he begins to think of what he can spare. Ozpin eyes then shift to Douglas.
"Yes Ozzy," Douglas says.
"I need you to help recover a trio of students," Ozpin says as he brings up the picture of Ruby, Micheal, and Hitomi. Before the duo can wonder why. The headmaster informs the general and legend of the situation.
"Brave kids," James comments.
"I'll leave as soon as I can, though I will need to hire help," Douglas says.
"Do what you need to," Ozpin says pleased that this meeting went smoothly and quickly. "Before we end this meeting, I want to show you something." He sees he's caught his friends' full attention. He then pulls up Micheal records and begins to explain detail about the wolf faunus. He then shows them footage he managed to recover on the night he appeared.
"How interesting," James comments.
"Yes, indeed," Douglas comments himself, scratching his chin.
"I can confirm that he is not a threat, but he is under house arrest, unable to leave Beacon…," Ozpin explains.
"And yet he has left Beacon," Douglas remarks.
"But at the same time…," the headmaster says, ignoring his old friend's comment. "He is under my protection, so I would like him recovered along with Mrs. Rose and Mrs. Hunters, I will send a group to help in recovering him as well," Ozpin says.
"I would like to meet him myself; I trust you Ozpin, but I want to make sure myself if he is trustworthy, it is not every day a faunus just appears out of nowhere," James informs. The trio of older men then began to discuss detail on how their plans would get underway.
The pass before the mountains
A pack of Beowolves accompanied by a small sounder of Boarbatusks. The pack contained only contains seven Beowolves, while the Boarbatusks only numbered three members. The group of monsters was traveling together into the mountains. They were among the ones who discovered the Elder Scourge had moved into their territory later than others of their kinds. Though they were among the lucky one to not be discovered. They managed to avoid becoming meals for the savage wyvern Grimm. They still wanted to get away from the creature they are supposed to be comrades with. The small group came across the body of the Grendel, still had not dissipated. They Grimm proceeded to walk by it without so much a worry for their fallen brethren. As they were with a few feet of the troll Grimm, the remaining arm lashes out and nabs one Beowolf and Boarbatusk. It then drags the squealing and yelping Grimm to its mouth and eats them with a crunch. It growls in pain as its body begins to function again. It twitches and spasms as its regenerative factor began to work again to repair its body. Once it recovered it would hunt the three that gravely injured it before.
A/N: As always, criticism is good
This chapter and the next mostly practice with describing terrain. I did look up a bit on hiking through the mountains and what to bring. It seems you do have to eat light; it mostly snacks foods like trail mixes, granola bar, dried foods, etc. Though I've never hiked before, so I don't know what the terrain is like. I imagine some mountains are harder than others to hike through. Oh well, I could do with some more studying.
I only named the gun because I found out early in the writing of this chapter that I got extremely tired of typing "The large firearm," constantly. So, I choose a name I thought was fitting. I choose a Light Machine Gun because I thought it was the most effective type of firearm considering the situation, and if a swarm of Grimm attacked, for a single person to use, for both power, ammo, and handling. I thought of both a shotgun and rifle, but both are kind of slow for a swarm without being a melee/gun hybrid. And an automatic shotgun, like an AA-12, is kind of too much to handle, I can't even imagine how handling the kick of that would be. I chose a Browning Automatic Rifle because I always liked that specific LMG quite a bit.
I couldn't decide on a name for the Grendel that fit it. I only choose the name in the end because I couldn't think of another. I went with the typical regenerative troll capabilities. It made it durable in a different sense, easy to wound but hard to kill. It can make and use simple weapons, like spears, axes, and clubs.