Yang Xiao Long was grumbling quietly, as she trudged through the forest, kicking up loose branches and rocks in her anger. It had only been a few hours at most, yet she was already down to half her aura reserves. She always prided herself on having a large amount of the stuff. It kept her going for quite a long time in fights. It made it doubly helpful when she could dish out as much damage as she received. If there was one thing she could change about herself, it would be the speed at which her aura regenerated.
As much as she hated to admit it, that was her one true weakness. It would take her hours to reclaim her full levels. And a single professor had knocked out so much of it! All without giving her the ability to properly fight back. Not that she would have, knowing the stakes and what was riding on her passing Initiation. Well, may not have fought back.
Yang grumbled and kicked another rock, sending it flying into a tree stump. Alright, if the professor had been a little closer to her and didn't use a shotgun, she most likely would have tried to clobber him.
At least she could be satisfied that her professors would be talented and strong enough to teach the mighty Yang Xiao Long.
Yang was also quite annoyed that she had been out maneuvered by a little kid. The girl looked very young, probably no older than eight. No, she had to be older than that. What person would let an eight-year-old run through a forest filled with… huntsmen… and professors… and no Grimm… Okay, maybe the school had a little more sense than she expected. But the girl was still a child running alone through a massive forest. Yang should have captured her when she had the chance.
She could just imagine the conversation, "howdy partner! I already caught the civilian, so I guess we're done here!" Yang chuckled. That would have been a great way to introduce herself.
This forest must have been bigger than she thought. It had been quite some time since she last ran into somebody. Be they huntsman, professor or fellow student hopeful. Not that she minded much. She did wish she had found a partner already, seeing as that many others were starting to do the same. Soon it would change from a contest to find a partner, to a contest to be among the hundred accepted to the school. And that meant finding that girl again. At least she had the advantage of knowing what she was looking for.
And that was when she heard four distinct voices of laughter.
"Can you believe it Sky?"
"Ya, I know Russel. Those two were chumps."
"It's what I always said, boys. This school may be the best. But most people in Initiation are just fodder for the really strong."
"Glad we came into this with a plan. I better thank your brother after this, Cardin. All of us meeting up at the ruins was a solid plan."
"Ha! Don't I know it."
The four boys were fairly plan looking, except for the one with a massive mohawk. Yang struggled to hold back her laughter at the sight of it, but quickly crumbled. She could not believe people actually had those, unironically.
"Sorry, sorry," she finally let out, the group noticing her by her laughs and giggles. "Your hair is just so ridiculous!"
She descended into another fit of giggles, leaning on a tree for support.
"I think we've found our next victim," the one named Cardin said, smashing one fist into an open palm. "Yo Russel. Why don't you get first dibs at her. She did make fun of your hair."
"Don't mind if I do."
Finally a real fight, Yang smirked with an evil glint in her eye, cocking her wrist-bound weapons and dropping into her fighter's stance. "A one-on-one for little old me?" She asked in her sweetest voice. "What, you don't think I can take all of you at once?"
That seemed to get the boys going. All of them drew their weapons and proceeded towards her, stepping further from one another to try and surround her.
"Well…" She looked each of them in the eye. "See ya!"
With a blast to the ground below her, she sent dirt and debris in every direction, propelling her upwards and away from their tightly formed circle. Landing nearest to the mohawk guy, she spun her leg, a nice roundhouse kick to the face, followed by a punch to the gut. Not enough to take him out, but enough to reduce a healthy chunk of aura.
Cardin, who definitely treated himself like the leader of the little band dashed forward, yelling as he swung down his mace.
A neat sidestep and right hook. Yang laughed. These boys were really getting her blood pumping. Ducking low to sweep a leg. A three-punch combo to the chest followed by one to the nose, enjoying the delicate crunch that came with breaking it. As well as the peace of mind, knowing that his aura would repair the injury in a few minutes.
She did feel bad for the four of them. It wasn't like she wanted to knock them out of Initiation. Maybe if she tried very carefully, she could leave them with just enough aura to stay in the running. Or maybe just take one of them out? No, that was a little too cruel. They all looked to be friends. It would have to be all of them, or none of them. And then she saw a glint of gold deeper into the forest. Focusing some of her attention on the direction, she blocked a punch to her shoulder, locking the boy by the wrist and throwing him to the floor.
Another glint of the same colour. Whoever it was, was walking alone. This was it! This was her chance to find a partner! For a second she thought about leaving these boys to their lonesome and heading out to grab the person, but then thought better of it.
What better gift for her new partner than a few people to beat up? That would have been the perfect partner gift for her too, so she knew it was the perfect idea.
"Follow me boys!" She laughed out, jumping off in the person's direction, enjoying their shouts of "get her!" and "don't let her get away!"
She ran, firing a shot or two behind her so that Cardin and his cronies didn't lose track of her.
Yang broke out into a clearing, stopping with a shocked look on her face. Soon it broke out into a cool smile.
"Howdy partner."
And then there were two loud screams behind her.
So who do you think Yang's partner is? 10 points goes to the victor! Also this chapter is dedicated to Darknight2124 who wanted to see some CRDL beatdowns.
chinaluv - Thanks! and much more to come.
shiun shigure - I am so excited to get into the meat and potatoes of this story and spend some more time with those dorks of characters. Because everyone in this story is a dork.
Darknight2124 - Thanks for the support. I promise I won't fry my brain 'too' much. And just you wait. ;)
Zapper Frost - I think I did an April Fools Day chapter showing exactly that.
Zander2212 - Someone else's spear.
ItCanOnlyGetWorse - Neo could be a fun addition to this.. Hmm... maybe sometime in the future. And I wonder too! Who dares to catch our little red cinnamon roll!