The roar of the crowd, the clanging of steel were familiar sounds of the Vytal Festival Tournament.

Asher's mind began to wonder away from the fight before him as his eyes darted to the stands. He saw familiar faces. His classmates, teachers and friends. He saw the familiar mane of golden hair belonging to his mother, the short yellow hair of sister, and an empty seat. His father wasn't there to watch him represent all of Vale.

A boot came across his face, sending him back staggering across the arena. His opponent, the person causing him to fight with everything he had, wasn't someone who wanted to be ignored.

" What's wrong," his opponent said smugly, " I thought you had more fight to you than that."

Asher shook his head, clearing his mind and fell back into a defensive stance. He could sense his aura struggling. He wasn't gifted with an immense volume of aura like his sister was, but he was a fighter more so than she was.

" Keep it up Monkey Brain," Asher said with annoyance.

The son of Blake Belladonna and Sun Wukong, Kin Wukong, was more skilled than Asher had been led to believe. His Semblance allowed him to create flawless clones in any amount he desired. Such skill had gained him the the title of the Golden Trickster. He looked the spitting image of his parents, with Sun's personality and physique coupled with Blake's keen mind. Both made him a force on the battlefield that many would avoid.

He needed no weapons, he was already skilled without them, but decided to carry his father's weapons, Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang.

Kin began to spin the staff with flawless precision deflecting every knife that Asher threw at him. " That all you got?"

Taking the bait, Asher angrily charged forward, picking two black throwing knives along the way and flinging them at Kin. With ease, Kin avoided the flawed attack and flipped through the air, bring his staff down on Asher's shoulder and followed up by striking him in the chest. Again Asher was sent staggering back as several copies of Kin appeared, all taunting him to attack.

" Come on, Hothead! Show us what you got, Toaster!"

Each taunt began to infuriate Asher more and more, but he kept his ground and tried to focus. He saw that he was reaching critical levels of aura and needed to end the fight quickly. Despite everything, he couldnt' get the image of the empty seat out of his mind. He knew he shouldn't have been surprised, but I still bothered him. His father said he would watch his fights, but he hadn't even been there for the opening ceremonies. He sighed to himself and prepared to face his defeat.

From the stands, Cecelia and Yang watched Asher be the subject of a near one-sided beatdown. Asher was a talented fighter in his own right, but Kin was just better in nearly every aspect. Finally the alarm signalling Kin's victory went off. He ceased his assault and threw his arms up in victory.

" Mom," Cecelia began, " How come Dad didn't show up? He said he was going to."

Yang sighed as she wrapped an arm around her daughter. " Your father's been a bit... occupied with work. I wanted to tell Asher, but by then it was too late. Come on, let's go get your brother and go back to your dorm, you know how he gets when your father is involved, or isn't for that matter."

" HE'S NEVER HERE! IT'S ALL EMPTY PROMISES, THAT'S ALL HE IS!" Asher yelled, tears streaming down his face as Cecelia and Yang tried to calm him.

" Bro, calm down," Cecelia began, " No point in getting yourself worked up."

" NO I WILL NOT CALM DOWN! WHY DOESN'T HE CARE?! HE'S ALWAYS BEEN THERE FOR YOU, SIS, BUT HE'S NEVER HERE WHEN I NEED HIM!"

" Asher, your father loves you." Yang said calmly, being patient with her son. " He loves you both equally and you know that."

" Mom's right, Asher. Remember when we first got to Beacon and Dad shadowed us through our initiation 'cause he thought Professor Arc would have had it out for us? He made sure we got paired up and he's always done the best he could. Dad loves us, Little Brother. If this is your way of coping with losing to Kin then there's-"

" STOP IT! THIS IS NOT ALRIGHT! I CAN'T EVEN USE MY SEMBLANCE! I'M TIRED OF LIVING UNDER EVERYONE'S SHADOW!"

" Asher, where is this coming from?" Yang asked.

" Where?! I-"

A knock at the door stopped Asher's words in his tracks. The knob of the door slowly opened to reveal Orion, his clothing tattered, his face weathered and he himself a little worse for ware. Immediately, Cecelia rang to hug her father, burying her face in his tattered cloths.

" DAD?! What happened to you?!"

Orion smiled as he hugged his daughter. " Nothing much, Princess. Just got a little held up at work. Can you two give me and Asher a second?"

Cecelia and Yang shared a glance before leaving father and son alone.

" What happened to you?" Asher asked, his voice caught between concern and anger. Orion looked at the rags he was wearing and shrugged lightly.

" Nothing major, just work. Come here, sit and lets talk."

Orion took a seat on a bed across from Asher who refused to sit down. Orion sighed and rubbed his forehead lightly.

" So I suppose you have nothing to say to your old man? I get it, you're really upset with me. I know I promised that I'd be there to see your fight in person and I didn't show up. I did see your fight though. Kin is Sun's kid so it doesn't matter that you lost."

Asher kept his lips sealed, refusing to make eye contact with Orion. Orion sighed in defeat, realizing he was getting nowhere.

" You're just like your mother when you get mad, refusing to speak to me for I don't even know how long. Kin's a skilled fighter, probably more than Sun was when we were around that age. You have to talk to me eventually, Asher."

" Why should I? You'll just vanish again. The last time you disappeared you vanished for months on end without a word. You're nothing, but empty promises! I actually remember when I was younger how I'd stay up at night, waiting to see if dear old dad would come home. I wanted to become a Huntsman just be able to find you when you disappeared, but now all I want is to able to get out of shadow! All anyone every think when they see me IS YOU! Orion's son this, the Flamesong's son, I'M TIRED OF IT! PEOPLE LOOK DOWN ON ME BECAUSE I'M YOUR SON AND I CAN'T EVEN USE MY SEMBLANCE!"

" So that' what this is about," Orion said thoughtfully as scratched his chin. " So that's why you took your mother's maiden name. Though 'Asher Xiao Long' does sound a lot better than 'Asher Flamesong' in my humble opinion."

Asher's eye twitched as he looked at his father. " Did you even here a word I said," he yelled angrily. Orion got to his feet and placed a hand on Asher's head, much to his anger.

" Not being able to use your Semblance is one thing I can help you with, but your self loathing is different. You're right, I haven't been the most attentive father in all of Remnant, that's a given. I've tried my best, and not a day goes by when I don't think about you, your sister or your mother."

Asher eye's began to well up with tears as Orion pulled his son into a tight hug. " You three are the most important things in the world to me. So don't EVER think I want nothing to do with you 'cause you couldn't be further from the truth. Whether you think your in my shadow or not, I'll always be keeping an eye on my only son."

Asher was finally letting the waterworks flow, tears flowing like a broken damn. Orion held onto his son for as long as his tears flowed, happily waiting until Asher had regained composure of himself.

While everyone enjoyed the festivities of the Vytal Festival, Asher waited in the Forest of Forever Fall. He looked around, but could scarcely see through the darkness. He saw a faint light begin to take shape, and began to move towards it. His mind went into overdrive as he realized what it truly was as he rolled to the side. The fireball destroyed alcove of trees behind him and he saw more heading his way.

" DAD?! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

Asher didn't get a response, aside from the hail of fireballs that flew through the air and landed near him. He swore under his breath as he avoided the flames. The fires stopped and Asher took a breath of relief, only to struck by a red blur. He was sent tumbling across the ground from the force of the blow as his eyes adjusted. He coughed in pain as he Ruby stood before him.

" Aunt Ruby?! What the fu-"

Asher barely had time to throw up his arms in defense as Ruby's boots knocked him across the ground. He got to his feet, more confused than enraged.

" WHAT IS GOING ON?!"

" See, Son," a familiar voice said from above, " Your semblance is apart of you. You didn't inherit my Nova Fire like your sister, nor did inherit my mother's semblance. So in order to draw out what power you posses, I recruited your Aunt Ruby to see what we could do. You see, there's no better teacher than experience, and battlefield experience is the best kind."

Ruby activated Crescent Rose, twirled the scythe with grace and planted it into the ground before her. " Asher," she said. " Your my only nephew and I love you, but for once your father is right. A Huntsman that can't use their semblance is guaranteed to not last long."

" When I said I wanted to you be around more, Dad, this isn't what I had in mind," Asher said as he took several steps away from Ruby.

" Your father isn't very good at being a father, Asher. While I didn't agree to this initially, he made a few good points. Plus, it's better we learn it now before you get sent to shadow a trained Huntsman."

Ruby disappeared into a dance of rose petals. Asher instinctively ducked, avoided Ruby scythe and began to run as fast as his legs would carry him. He knew couldn't outrun Ruby, but he was determined to put some distance between he and her so he could think.

THINK, Asher, THINK! Dad has mastery over fire and Aunt Ruby has speed! What can I do here?! What is my semblance!

His thoughts ceased as Muramasa landed in front of him, Orion leaning on the sword casually. Asher slid to a stop and looked at his father who stared back at him, eye calm and focused.

" You have to eliminate the weakness inside of you, Son. Kin outclassed not just because of skill, but because he had a semblance that you couldn't fight against with just pure skill. So look past yourself, and dig deep."

Asher looked down, he himself deep in thought at his father's words.

" How do I look past myself," he thought to himself. His thoughts were halted as Orion's fist connected with his face. Asher staggered back, clutching his forehead in pain as he ran away.

For a moment, he had forgotten one of the few things his father had taught him about combat. Asher made the mistake of not having his head in the fight. He dived forward, narrowly avoided Ruby as she cleaved a tree in two, a strike initially aimed for him.

So this is what full-fledged Huntsmen and Huntresses are like...

He kicked up, taking note of everything around him. He didn't account for a steel chain smacking him across his and knocking him across the ground. He could feel his aura draining with every strike he endured, envying Cecelia's large stores aura.

" FOCUS, ASHER!" Orion yelled from the shadows, as the chain came back around, felling several trees in its route towards Asher. He narrowly avoided the strike as he Ruby darted past him in a red haze

" We're doing this because WE WANT YOU TO SURVIVE," Ruby yelled as Crescent Rose knocked Asher aside, " TO BECOME THE HUNTSMAN WE KNOW YOU CAN BE!"

At those words, Asher's mind wandered as he began to remember. He had always been second best of he and his sister. Where he had to train, she was a natural prodigy. Cecelia was calm where was emotional, gifted where he struggled. She learned of her semblance at the tender age of 10, her hands catching fire during a cold winter day.

She had a monstrous reservoir of aura, where his was average at best. She was a tried and true goddess of combat where as he had to pick his battles with care. Their entire family always said that he was like his sister, but he didn't believe it. He knew he wasn't like her. She had inherited the best of their father and the best of their mother, but Asher felt as if he was blindsided, ignored.

Useless.

He came to a quick stop, his boots digging deep into the soil as he threw his right arm out. Drawing on every he had left, he took his father's and aunt's words to heart. He let his soul run free, feeling himself course with power and let go.

Cecelia sat reading a magazine, having Yang comb her hair. They stopped what they were doing as they felt something disturb them. Everyone on the festival grounds felt it.

Everyone looked towards the source. They saw a magnificent sight off in the distance, as if someone had captured the beauty of the cosmos and managed to restrain it in the form of a snow globe. The sight vanished as quickly as it arrived, leaving everyone in awe.

Yang and Cecelia looked at each other, both feeling the cry of a soul only those that shared the same blood could feel. When the spectacle of beauty vanished, everyone applauded, assuming that it was part of the festival. Yang and Cecelia had both decided to wait it out, seeing if either Orion or Asher would explain what happened.

Standing in the center of the crater he had created, Asher took several forced breaths. He squinted, sweat profusely dripping down his brow and obstructing his vision. Through the smoke and sweat, Asher saw his father, arms up in defense, but several articles of clothing blown away into the wind.

Rotating his body so his right arm faced his father and his left faced away from himself, Asher drew unknowingly called upon his new-found. Energy resembling the starry heavens began to gather around him, and Orion smiled as he gripped Muramasa with two hands.

The starry energy around Shura extended to Orion as well, forming an arena for the two of them. Suddenly, Asher no longer felt a deep sense of fatigue, that feeling disappearing as he focused on the area around him. He immediately felt the connection with the area.

The man-made stars of the area began to shine rapidly as Asher crossed his arms, power radiating in the force of the heavens. Orion smiled, his pride in his son at its peak as swung Muramasa with precision.

Asher felt his influx of power cease all-together as he fell forward onto his knees. He gripped his chest, feeling a deep searing pain pierce him through.

" What... was that," he managed through choked breaths. " What the hell was that?!"

Orion took several steps forward and placed a hand on his son's shoulder before helping him onto his feet. Asher, too weak to protest, allowed himself to be placed on his father's back like a small child.

" I never held you much when you were little, Asher," Orion said as he began the long trek towards Beacon. " I do remember when you and your sister were born. Your mother was so happy, to have you both. She even stopped being a Huntress for a time, just be with you both. I gotta admit, having two kids was something I didn't expect. I remember when your mother told me when she was pregnant."

" This...should be interesting," Asher said weakly. " Go ahead, Old Man."

" I'll save that story for another time, Asher. Let me just say I'm sorry for everything. I should have been there for you, but I'm here now and that's all that matters."