Unknown location
The hangar was empty, save for an airship, a stack of covered crates, and a boy. He hoisted one of the crates, peeked under the cover, and heaved it into the airship, where it fell onto its side with a loud clang. The boy looked over. No good, he thought to himself. He walked over and set it back upright. He turned his back to the box, pondered for a moment, and gave it a kick for good measure. Better.
"Gray!" A deep, measured voice rang out from across the room. The boy who was loading the airship with the covered boxes hastily turned around. A man with slicked-back black hair wearing a business suit strolled into the hangar.
"Yes..?" 'Gray' said, calmly. His voice was hushed, quiet, and calm, almost bored-sounding. A spiked chain hung at his hip like a lasso, clanking as he moved.
"How much more time do you need to pack the ship? We're supposed to be gone already! We don't have all day!" the first voice said. The man in the suit impatiently tapped his foot.
"With all due respect, Mister Angel, it took more time than expected to get everything you asked for squared away. 'Gray' retorted. He adjusted the smooth silver mask obscuring his face. "And I had to make double-sure that nobody was watching us… juu~st in case that big guy were to come stomping in again."
"Alright. But hurry it up. We're due in Vale at dawn." 'Mr. Angel' said, shaking his head.
"Right, right. I'll make sure your 'precious cargo' is packed safely and quickly. And I changed my clothes like you asked me to. Now if we run into Big Boy again, hopefully he won't recognize me." 'Gray' spun around, showing off a dark grey robe-coat that ended in clean, carefully-made points rather than a flat hem. Each point had a metal barb at the end, made in the same metal as the simple curved breastplate the masked boy wore. He popped a hood up from the robe, covering his short silver hair.
"Excellent. Now, I've kept you long enough. Finish up here and then we'll get going." 'Mr. Angel' turned and left the hangar, leaving 'Gray' to finish packing the ship.
'Gray' took off his mask, sighing. His lips were twisted in a sleepy yet frightening grin. He chuckled, the sound echoing through the hangar. He grabbed another covered cube and carried it towards the airship. As he set the crate down, he heard a faint sobbing. His ears perked up, his smile changing to a scowl. He pulled back the tarp covering the crate, revealing it to be a cage. Inside was a girl in her late teens, wearing clothes that suggested she was a huntress or huntress-in-training. She looked up at 'Gray,' who hastily recovered his face. He kicked the bars and shouted.
"Shut the hell up, you insect! Keep quiet and I'll let you go without a scratch after the Boss is done. If not, well, you'll have more than a few bumps and scrapes for mommy and daddy to patch up." His voice rang through the hangar. "That goes for every one of ya! Keep quiet, boys and girls. You're part of something bigger than yourselves!" He took his foot off the cage bars and draped the tarp back over it. "All the Boss needs from you…" He hoisted another covered cage. "Are your Semblances." He set it down in the airship's cargo bay. "That's the last of 'em. Sharkboy, spin 'em up!"
Beacon Academy, Kingdom of Vale
"Wren, why are we standing around the Beacon airfield instead of, you know, doing our schoolwork?" Taiga asked.
"Well, the Vytal Festival's coming up." Wren replied.
"We know. Answer the question." Niko said.
"What he's trying to say is that some'a the competitors are gonna show up today!" Kira shouted enthusiastically.
"Yeah! And we can scope 'em out as they arrive!" Wren pumped a fist into the air.
"Clever strat, bird-brain!" Sig chuckled as he walked up to the group.
"Shut it, Sig!" Wren laughed and high-fived the other boy.
"Remind me again how those two ever became friends?" Taiga deadpanned as a bead of sweat trickled down her forehead.
"They started hanging out after Wren beat him up in class!" Kira said.
"I was being sarcastic, Kira."
"Still, Sigurd's story is incredible. Who'd ever think a paraplegic kid could become a huntsman?" Niko said, folding his arms. "A Semblance that lets him move machines like they're his own body… and a mind to build the most outlandish technology…" He glanced over at Sig and Wren, who were enthusiastically chattering away. Sig, in the middle of what the group thought was a reenactment of a story, lost his balance and toppled over.
"He's a bit of a klutz, though." Taiga said.
"And don't forget the AI, either!" Kira chipped in.
"What AI?" Taiga and Niko asked.
"Oh, right… you haven't met Brynhild yet…" Kira glanced at the ground. "Well, he kinda made an artificial intelligence one day, and it sorta… developed a mind of its own, called itself Brynhild. It acts like a girl and considers itself some kinda 'maiden' or whatever. Long story short, after learning a bit about the world, she and Sig… fell in love, I guess?"
"...what…" Taiga was taken aback by Kira's story.
"Yeah, so now Sig's dead-set on making a human… no, an android body for her."
"That's… I can't even begin to understand this…"
"You kinda hafta see it for yourself to believe it." Kira shrugged.
"Right… I guess I'll ask later then…" Taiga shook her head. "Sig, is the rest of your team going to be joining us here?"
"Nah, just me. My head's in the same place as Wren's. I wanna get a look at the other academies' students. Faye was sleepy, Rai was working, and I couldn't get a hold of Lin. Literally. Her slime Semblance is weird. I wanted to try to get at least one of them here with me."
The five of them sat and talked for several minutes, and, as there was no sign of any foreign students showing up anytime soon, began walking back to the dorms. However, before they got to the door, they heard the loud roaring of an airship engine. They ran back to the airfield in time to run into a team of students descending the ramp from their ship.
"Hey there!" Wren yelled, waving.
"Ah, hello." One of the four, a boy with short, spiky silver hair and a languid grin replied. His voice was smooth and calm, almost unsettlingly so. His long coat, which tapered down to points at the bottom hem, swayed behind him. A chain hung at his side, rattling as he walked.
"Hi! Name's Wren. You here for the Vytal Tournament?"
"Yes. My name is Ferris. Ferris Gray. Pleasure to meet you. If you don't mind, could you point us to the dorms? I was planning to ask the instructors, but… here you are."
"Oh, yeah. Uhhmmm, visitor dorms are… That way, I think."
"Thank you. We'll be seeing you around." Ferris replied, nodding.
"See ya. Oh, and welcome to Beacon!"
A/N: Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed this chapter.
Shorter chapter this time. Things are gonna really get going at the Vytal Festival, so stick around! I have big plans for our characters…
Despite the shorter length, I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as the last few. If you like the story, please follow and/or favorite the work! It means a lot to me. I get so happy when I check my email and see that a new person is following my work.
I have some ideas for a Persona fanfic forming, so stay tuned for that too!
Thank you, and see you all next time!