KGHT Volume 1

Chapter 1: Mission Day

Travis rested under the shade of a tree, hiding from the blazing beams of the sun. He was waiting for his teammates to arrive however it was almost noon and he's been here since nine. He would have taken a nap and rested some more if it wasn't for the heat but a slight breeze would come and go to help cool him down. His attire was good for this type of weather, a pair of cargo shorts and a violet shirt to match. He also wore a black vest that had his emblem on it, a monster eating the moon.

Travis lived in Vacuo, one of the four kingdom of Remnant, and is currently attending Shade Academy to become a huntsman. One of the current steps he had to take to become one was the mission he was assigned with his team. They haven't been given any information on it yet but from the way they were told, it sounded important. The mission was going to start whenever they wanted today and all of them agreed to meet up seven but that wasn't not possible anymore.

"Where are they?" He said, letting the question linger in the air.

That's when a fair skinned person stood over Travis, looking at him with their hair dangling down.

"Hikaru!" Travis said smiling and got up.

Hikaru was a tomboy kind of girl. Her attire was a black jacket, black jeans, black boots and black fingerless gloves. The only splash of color on her was her shirt, which had a shattered star on it, and her hair that were oddly the same color, a light blue shade. One side of Hikaru's head was shaved with the other, a long side swept bangs hairstyle. Hikaru's expression was the same was always, a mix of anger and somehow an emotionless glare.

"Where have you been?" Travis asked still grinning.

Hikaru avoided his gaze and didn't say a word.

"Sorry," Travis apologized as soon as she looked away, "Forgot that you don't like me."

Hikaru quickly whipped her head back at Travis, wide eyed and shocked with the same glare she was known for.

"S-sorry?" He muttered, backing away slowly.

Just before Hikaru was about to say something a honk interrupted her, breaking the tension between the two. When they looked at the honked car both of the other teammates, Karina and Flamma, were in it. For some reason Karina was shouting at Flamma and was winding her arm back to punch him. Travis sighed in relief that they came here before Hikaru could chew him out and Hikaru looked at the ground, looking defeated.

"Hey guy!" Travis shouted waving at them and going towards them with Hikaru following.

"Hi Travis" Karina was the first to respond, getting out of the car with Flamma coming as well, "Sorry we're late, Flamma here had to...you know."

"Make sure I'm presentable for the mission," Flamma gave a thumbs up to the group, "Gotta look good for the ladies I'm about to meet."

Karina was the leader of the team and was more like an elder sister than a friend to them. The cream yellow dress she wore matched well with the black knee socks and red ribbon around her neck. Her dirty blond hair almost dragged on the floor as she approached the pair.

Flamma was close behind as he was fixing his leather belt that covered his stomach. On the belt was a rising sun, his family's proud emblem, that looked good with the light armor he wore on his limbs. Then he pulled out a comb to brush his "stellar" combed back flat top hair.

"You mean me and Hikaru," Karina replied.

"No no no" Flamma corrected himself, "You're like a sister to me and Hikaru is a guy. You know it's insulting to a man when you call them a girl."

Travis chuckled at the comment while Hikaru ignored it but Karina facepalms and was about to lecture Flamma before Travis intervened.

"Karina, you know he'll never get it."

"Get what?" Flamma asked confused.

"Nothing," Karina sighed, "Let's just get to the mission."

"But first look at my car!" Flamma announced abruptly and points at the car.

His car was a dark brown jeep with all terrain wheels that looked big enough to carry the four and more people if needed. Two hooks extended upward in the front and an extra wheel covered the back. It looked brand new, it was well polished and didn't have a smudge of anything on it.

"Not my first choice of color," Flamma bragged, "but my parents bought me this in celebration of my first mission without a huntsman."

"Our first mission," Travis coughed.

"Our first mission without a huntsman, thank you Travis." Flamma repeated and jumped onto the roof of the car, "I call it the Puma!"

Flamma was striking a pose when he said it which made the people around them stare at the group. His team was speechless for a second but this was usual, Flamma was very animated person. He's was always very showy to everyone around him and was one of the most prideful people they have ever known.

"It looks like a warthog," Travis said, breaking the silence.

"A what?" Flamma said looked down at him again confused.

"You know a warthog, a big pig. The hooks are it's tusks and its color is well like a warthog."

"What are you talking about," Flamma said surprised.

"Yeah I can see that more than a puma." Karina agreed.

"It's a Puma not a warthog," Flamma exclaimed, "Hikaru, what do you think my car looks like?"

Hikaru remained silent but she did point at Travis. Flamma's jaw drops as he couldn't believe Hikaru agreed with Travis. Travis was also surprised to see her reaction but was happy she did.

"Yay, Hikaru I guess you like me after all," Travis smiled again, holding his hand up, "High five?"

In response, Hikaru turned completely away from Travis crossing her arms.

"As expected," Travis sighed but still had his grin as he high-fived himself.

"Moving on," Karina clapped her hands together to catch her team's attention, she then pulls out a small notebook with a list and a couple of filled in check boxes on it, "I have all our food, water, and medicine for the trip in the car, courtesy of the school, check. I got the letter for the mission and the package that goes with it in my bag, check. Now is there anything else you guys want to do before we begin?"

"Nah," Flamma was the first to reply, "Let's just get started already!"

"Not until everyone is ready," Karina commented.

Hikaru shakes her head no.

"Travis, do you need to do anything?" She asked.

Travis thought about it for a moment but then looked at the weapon strapped to his waist and he remembered why he wanted to become a huntsman.

"Nope," He replied.

"Good, cause I skipped breakfast," Karina exclaimed.

Unlike the rest of her team, who were completely ready to go, Karina wanted to go get some lunch before reading the mission statement and would do it at the restaurant. It wasn't that far so they wanted to walk there however Flamma was persistent on take his car and refused to change his mind until Hikaru's glare made him reconsider. The girls walked behind the boys, hoping to gaining some distance between them before they can talk.

"You know he isn't listening to us," Karina spoke, "He's hasn't activated his semblance yet so stop worrying."

Hikaru still didn't reply, staring at Travis and his smile.

"Then I'll just tell him that you-"

"NO!" Hikaru finally spoke, whipping her head at Karina.

"At last she talks," Karina said, "Now tell me what happened with the two of you earlier."

Hikaru was silent for a moment, trying to fix her words together before she could speak.

"I...I was about talk to him..before you honked the car," Hikaru said.

"Sorry about that, Flamma's fault," Karina apologized, "How long were you guys waiting?"

"He's was there...before I was and I got there...at ten."

"And what else happened?" Karina asked, desperately wanting to know.

"I waited for you guys...to come before meeting up with him...And when I did you guys honked."

Karina looked at Hikaru, a little speechless from her answer.

"So you waited for us for a couple of hours so that you don't have to be alone with him."

Hikaru rapidly shook her head, her expression changing to a more embarrassing on. Karina sighed and looked at Hikaru, looking a little disappointed.

"He also said that...I hate him," Hikaru added on, "But I don't."

"I know you don't," Karina said wholeheartedly, "But you have to tell him how you truly feel about him."

Hikaru's face turned cherry red instantly after Karina's last words.

"You may not be ready to but you can," Karina said, reassuring Hikaru that she shouldn't give up, "I believe you can."

"Thanks," Hikaru said gratefully, this time she had a gentle smile on her face.

"Hey Travis," Flamma nudged, "You ready for today?"

"Yeah," Travis replied, "I was the first one here."

"Sorry about that," Flamma said, fixing his hair again, "But I already told you why I had to do this."

"No problem, I know you're really hyped for today."

"Why shouldn't I? The teachers and the principle are all putted their trust in me."

"Us," Travis corrected him again.

"Trust in us is what I meant to say."

"And you wanted to fight in the Vytal Tournament," Travis commented.

"I did, I did." Flamma admitted, "But to have the faith of the entire school for this mission is just...it's really pumping me up yea know."

"Yeah, I get it."

"Well are you pumped? Your family must be real proud of you."

Travis was silent for a moment, grasping his weapon.

"They sure would be," Travis answered smiling at his friend.

The restaurant they went to go to was a run of the mill noodle house called "A Simple Wok". It was owned by an old shopkeeper but he lived some other city and was probably at the festival. However their server wore the same outfit as his boss, a green colored shirt with a red apron and grey pants. They were the only ones in there except for a pair sitting at the table across the room from them. The pair were one masked guy and a cyan hair colored girl. Travis had an uneasy feeling about them but it seemed like they weren't a problem at the moment. Once they finished their meal of gigantic noodle bowls, Karina took out a square package and the letter from the principle out of her bag.

"This package came with the letter," She pointed out, "Are you ready? This is it."

Her teammates obviously agreed instantaneously, they couldn't wait for the anticipation.

"Hello," Karina read, "Your team is about to embark on a long and dangerous mission that we the staff believe you are prepared for-"

"The principal thinks we're ready," Flamma squealed with a wide grin but shut up once Hikaru looked at him.

"Remember," She continued, "this is just another stepping stone on your journey to become a huntsman, a protector of our world. Now your is mission is to deliver the package, that came with this letter, to the City Vale just east from Vacuo. You would have to travel by land because of the recent increase of robberies on the boats and planes. You also may take a vehicle with you on your journey. Team leader Karina Aube and her teammates Flamma Giorno, Hikaru Yosuzume, and Travis Gabi, you four make up team KGHT and we the staff, as huntsman, wish you all the best of luck."

"It's a road trip," Travis explained, "He said that we can take a vehicle, Flamma's car, and go to drive to Vale. It's a simple point A to point B assignment, a.k.a a road trip."

The smile on Flamma's face soon disappeared as he puts his hands over his face.

"You mean we're basically playing mailman," He cried, "I could have fought in the tournament instead of this. The whole world could have watched me fight."

"Don't worry Flamma," Karina reassured him, "I'm sure this mission is way more important than the festival. Just think of it as an escort mission where the escort is this small thing."

"I guess so," Flamma sniffled.

"Hey," Travis said, catching Flamma's attention, "If we're going to Vale then Pyrrha's going to be there fighting."

"Oh yeah!" Flamma yelled, "I can see Miss Nikos in battle!"

"Miss Nikos?" Hikaru whispered, confused about his reaction.

"Flamma's a huge fan of hers," Travis answered, "She's his dream girl I suppose."

Suddenly Flamma slams his hands on the table and stares at Travis.

"Miss Nikos is not my dream girl," He corrected his teammate, "I don't have a chance with her even if I tried. I'm sure her boyfriend is just a strong as she is and is totally amazing in battle. But I am her biggest fan at Shade! I'm bringing a couple of boxes of Pumpkin Pete's Marshmallow Flakes for the trip."

"That's nice," Karina replied as she gave an awkward smile.

Then Flamma started a speech on how he's Pyrrha's biggest fan and the many stuff she's accomplished as well as how great his idol is. Karina was forced listened to his words but Hikaru ignored the talk as much as she could and quietly took a sip of her water. That's when she almost spit out her drink as she noticed Travis looking her.

"It's good that you talked," Travis mentioned from earlier, "I thought you were going to be a mute for the whole trip."

Hikaru slowly puts back the water back on the table and takes a second to utter a word. The words were stuck in her throat as her heart beaten like a drum.

"I wasn't...going to be quiet," Hikaru responded nervously but there wasn't any emotions in her voice, "I was thinking about...the mission."

"Okay," Travis said and gave a faint smile, "What about earlier?"

"That...it was nothing," Hikaru responded. She wanted to say more to him but Flamma was still blabbing his mouth and at the corner of her eye, Hikaru saw Karina looking at her.

"Well," Travis tensely said, "I don't know why you have a problem with me but I hope we can patch things up on the mission."

Hikaru turned away from Travis, placing her hand on her head. She had a small smile on her face and was blushing a bit.

"Sure," She said monotoned.

"Great," Travis grinned.

Once Flamma concluded his speech, they were finally able to leave and on their way back to his car. Flamma left the restaurant with a new ambition for the mission while Karina regretted that she listened to him. She read mostly everything to team except for the last paragraph that was meant for her personally.

It was from her father, a former huntsman and is currently an officer of the Vytal police department. The message gave more information about the mission and why it was crucial for Remnant yet still didn't explain what it was inside except that they weren't suppose to open it. However one thing her father mentioned stuck out from the rest. He warned her that they might run into enemies that are more than Grimm, something even more dangerous. Her father wasn't a man who can be easily startle but the words he wrote concerned her. Karina could have only thought of one group that could frighten her father this much, the faunus traffickers.

The Vytal police and government have been searching for these criminals for months but still had no luck in discovering who they were. They have contained the trafficking in Vytal and kept a very good job with keeping it a secret but neither sides knew anything about criminals. The only data they have on them is when and where the shipments were going to happen, some that worked on herself. She didn't know why they would ever want to steal the package so she had to be extra cautious in this mission. She decided to tell her team about the the group when the time comes and if that danger would attack them, Karina knew that her teammates would help her up when it comes.

"Here we are, the Puma!" Flamma declared when they arrived at his car.

"Still looks like a warthog," Travis stated.

"Puma, it's called the Puma" Flamma corrected.

Suddenly Travis noticed a rather tall girl approaching them. She looked around seven feet tall, wearing ragged clothing that were faded in color and a black choker necklace with a strange jewel on it, an eye maybe. The girl didn't have any shoes on but her feet was covered with bandages as well as various parts of her body. Her cat ears stuck out from bob hair that was white with black stripes colored, indicating that she was some type of faunus. She directly walked up to Flamma, towering over him like he was a child.

"Are you strong?" She asked him.

Flamma looked at her in disbelief. Of course he was strong, his main strategy in battle was to overpower the enemy with his semblance.

"Yeah, I'm strong," Flamma boasted, "I'm the strongest on my team."

"He's not lying," Karina commented, she knew that it was just him talking about himself, "He is the strongest."

"Good," She replied calmly but then grabbed his crotch and squeezed tight, "Although this is too small for me."

Flamma's face said it all, he was in pure agony and would have screamed if the pain didn't shrivel up his words. Travis instantly stared at the scene in horror as he covers up. The girls were also shocked as they both jerked back.

"Please let go," Flamma whimpered.

"Fine," She said disappointed as Flamma falls to the ground but then looked at Travis, "How about you?"

Her eyes were stilted like a cat as she charged at him, aiming for his groin. Hikaru was the first to react as she throws the girl flat on the floor. Then when Hikaru was about to stomp on the girl's face, the faunus rolls away from the attack and standing up.

"Are you okay?" Hikaru asked extremely concerned although her voice was very stern, "She didn't hurt you did she?"

"Yeah, I'm fine but I could have handled her myself," Travis replied as he showed her the knife in his hand.

"You!" The faunus growled at Hikaru, "No one has ever thrown me down before!"

Hikaru immediately took out her folded weapon that was in her jacket sleeves, her naginata Oumagatoki. Travis also prepared for battle as he already had his knife out behind his comrade. Karina checked on Flamma who was still in tears.

"I...I don't think I can have kids anymore," Flamma sniffled.

"I think you'll be fine," Karina said and drags him to the side away from the battle.

Travis activated his semblance and Hikaru was ready to attack until the faunus squealed with joy and jumped up and down. The team was all stunned to her apparent joy that they let their guard down.

"My name is Amazon!" The faunus stated, "And you will make a fine husband for me."

"What?" Hikaru said confused.

"I am a transfer from Mistral, here to find a proper suitor," Amazon pounded her chest, "You are a very pretty man. With my strength and your looks our children will be glorious!"

Travis bursted into laughter and puts his knife away.

"Travis is she serious?" Karina questioned confused.

"Yeah," Travis chuckled, "She's completely serious."

"So she's...not attacking us?" Hikaru also asked.

"Nope but she might attack you."

Amazon then pounces at Hikaru who threw her on the floor again.

"Amazing you were able to do it again," Amazon spoke in awe, "You will be mine."

Hikaru didn't know what to say to the faunus but she did put her weapon away, trusting Travis that she won't be killed.

"Amazon!" A voice suddenly shouted, "Come back here!"

Amazon whipped her head at the area the voice of coming from and turns back to Hikaru with a smile.

"We will meet again beloved," Amazon blow a kiss at Hikaru and runs away from the voice.

"That was...surreal," Hikaru uttered.

"Yeah it was," Karina replied helping Flamma on to his feet.

"Are you alright dude?" Travis asked, "That looked like it really hurt, a lot."

"It did," Flamma answered, "But she better watch her back the next I see her-"

Flamma was then distracted by a dog relieving itself on his car. The dog was a small black pug with a dead right eye and seemed very happy that he was peeing on the vehicle.

"Hey!" Flamma yelled, "Get away from my car!"

The dog didn't react to Flamma's call and continued to pee until it was done.

"Stupid mutt," Flamma grumbled as he chased the dog away after it was done.

The pug ran into the crowd of people and Flamma was about to hunt down that dog until Travis stopped him.

"You know you can't catch that dog," Travis said, "and besides what are you going to when you get it?"

Flamma to a deep breath and calmed down.

"Can we please just leave," Flamma sighed in discomfort, "first the crazy faunus and then this. I just want to leave Vacuo now."

"I thought that dog was pretty cute," Karina commented, "But yeah we can leave since we're all ready."

Hikaru agreed and got inside the car with everyone else following her.