"Mom! Dad will be home today!" Ash yelled running through the door.
Akairo placed his backpack on the chair in the kitchen.
"You have been counting down the days on the calendar a lot lately. You want to tell me why?"
"I turn eight in a few days and he will be here for the first time in two years!"
Akairo smiled.
"Are you asking for a party?"
He shook his head, "As long as Dad is here I have nothing else I would want."
"Such a shame," she said.
He stopped in his tracks, "Why did you say it like that?"
Akairo shook her head, "No reason."
Ash made a face and headed into the living room to see Red sitting there watching TV.
"DAD!"
He jumped onto his lap and hugged Red's neck.
"Hey there son. I missed you. How was school?"
"Who cares about school! Tell me about your adventures! I know you went with Uncle Yuri this time!"
"You aren't wrong. He broke his arm this time."
Ash looked shocked, "Is he ok!?"
"Yea. He went to hit a Grimm and moved out of the way."
"Was he mad again?"
Red grinned, "Do I really have to answer that?"
Ash shook his head.
"Dad, I missed you. I haven't asked in a while and I know it upsets you but... Have you heard anything about Mom?"
Akairo stood in the doorway from the kitchen.
"I have people on the look out who owe me favors. There has been more sightings on the guy she went with."
"She never had to leave! You and Mom make lots of money now."
Red pursed his lips then forced a smile, "Sometimes adults do things without thinking."
"Ok..."
"I will let you know about anything I hear."
"Good or bad," Ash said seriously, "Right?"
Red nodded.
"I wouldn't lie to you."
"Alright."
Ash got up.
"I have a present for you."
Red looked at Akairo then back to the small boy.
"Really? You got me something... You have no money. You always spend your allowance on video games."
Ash gave his dad an annoyed look.
"We have to go outside."
Red frowned and looked at Akairo.
"Mom! You have the hose right?!" Ash called.
"Give me a minute before you get started."
Red stood on the porch watching Akairo turned the water hose on.
"I'm ready, Ash!"
"Ok Mom!"
The yellow eyed boy turned to Red with a big grin on his face.
"Watch."
Ash took his shirt off and threw it to his dad to hold.
Ash took a deep breath and started blowing out. A stream of yellow fire came out melting rocks, grass and trees in front of him. Akairo started hosing off the lit area that was engulfed flames. Ash next blew small fire balls into his hands and juggled them. Red's eyes were wide and he looked at Akairo like he couldn't believe it.
"Watch!"
Ash closed his left fist, extinguishing the fire. In his right hand was a ball of fire about the size of a baseball. All Ash did was look at it and it grew twenty times the size it was originally. The whole area was bright like the sun was a few miles from the planet. All the boy did was close his hand and it was gone in a flash.
"What do you think?"
Red was in complete shock.
"He's been practicing everyday. He accidentally burned the new wooden porch swing I had. I promised to keep it secret so he could surprise you."
"Mom said that Mom could use heat and fire but she wasn't good at controlling it. I didn't wanna set things on fire by accident. I want to make sure I can be the best I can be."
"You know it's a big responsibility," Red said crossing his arms.
"I know. That's why I have a second present for you."
Akairo went into the house and brought out a yellow envelope. Ash took it from his mom and pulled out the letter.
Ash started reading out loud:
"Dear Ash Fall,
You are glad to send this letter to say you have been accepted to Signal Academy! We have decided despite your age, you have great potential and we would love for you to join us in another three weeks. We have already transferred your records from your old school to this one.
We hope to see you there!"
Red stood there in shock.
"I didn't even go until I was thirteen!"
"Yea but you went to Beacon at fifteen! I hope to reach Beacon at that time too!"
Red looked at Akairo, "Are you ok with this?"
"I am. Yuri and Blake are going to be teaching there."
"Yuri didn't tell me that."
"Onyx called and told me. Yuri didn't know either. He should find out today."
Ash went into the house leaving Akairo and Red alone.
"Is... Is this the right decision?" Red asked, "Scarlet never said what she wanted for him."
Akairo crossed her arms, "This is his choice... No one told you no when you decided to be a huntsman. He has been working really hard lately and you don't need to be shutting him down."
"Akairo-
"One day... Bad things happen. They will happen and he needs to be able to defend himself. I won't tell him no. I think this is best for him. I never sugar coated the world for him. He knows everything like he should. He knows about me. He knows about the pain I inflicted on everyone. He knows about Scarlet and you. He knows."
"He's a kid! He shouldn't know those things!"
"You're right but he's not any normal kid. His parents are gone. His father was a criminal who had a slight feeling of justice towards innocent people. He wasn't born into some normal family. This is reality."
Red sighed and walked around to the front of the house.
One day Red... You will have to realize even small children have to learn what kind of world we live in. Some of us were just thrown in without someone explaining it to us.
Akairo went back into the house to get dinner started.
X
X
Scarlet brushed the dirt off of her black jacket and looked around. The vents she just crawled through were disgusting like no one had cleaned them in years but the building was abandoned. Not... completely abandoned. Blanche didn't give her all the details like usual but she figured them out on her own.
She made her way through searching the floors and walls for a trap door. She knew there was a second floor in the building but the door was well hidden from prying eyes. She sighed and pushed a few crates around. Nothing. She sat down and looked around hoping to see something.
She only had a few hours of night left. The whole mission made her nervous. Scarlet scanned the building's walls for any crack that might be a door. She got back up and ran her hands over the metal walls until she heard something click.
Scarlet jumped as the dirt floor shifted slightly.
Damnit. This was a lot harder than I thought. Who knows who would've caught me going through all this. At least this is Haven and I don't have to worry about running into anyone out here.
Scarlet walked down the stairs slowly. She made no sounds as she made her way down. Within minutes she could hear talking and laughing. The sound wasn't heard above and it made her wonder if they had some sound proof walls in the rooms they were in.
She passed a few hallways making her way to the sound of laughter. Scarlet pulled out her gun as she got closer. It was only a tranquilizer gun but it could be deadly on the wrong person. She had told Blanche she refused to use a real gun. It made her uncomfortable.
Scarlet took a deep breath and kicked down the door. It slammed into the ground. She heard all kinds of cussing and hissing. She was slightly surprised that it was a White Fang hide out. The members jumped up with their weapons but they were too slow to react.
She shot all of them or so she thought. Scarlet felt ice hit her back but it instantly melted. She had gained more control over her semblance in the time she had been away from Vale. She whipped around to fire another shot but she dropped her gun surprise.
"You fucking bitch!" Blake screamed as he lunged at her.
"Shit!" she screamed trying to get away from him.
He was the last person she had ever wanted to see.
Fuck this isn't good! She thought as he wrapped his fingers around her neck.
I had no intentions of leaving it where Scarlet left. It is going to be a faster pace once I get this half going. I'll update next weekend!