Chapter 2: Wayfaring Stranger

Disclaimer: Evangelion is owned by Hideaki Anno and Studio Khara. RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth. No monetary gain is intended from this work.

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Yang closed the front door and turned around. She let out a yawn as she walked back into the kitchen to grab a few cleaning supplies. With tools in hand, the young Huntress-in-training swiftly wiped down the kitchen table with some disinfectant. She then started to sweep up the flakes of that nasty substance that coated their unconscious guest's form.

The blonde brawler started sweeping in the kitchen and made her way outwards to the front door. She gathered the mess into the dustpan, deposited it into the garbage can, and put away her cleaning tools.

Yang walked back into the living room and stared at the boy passed out on the couch.

"Man, you sure know how to cause a ruckus, don't you?" She snarked at the lad with a hand on her hip.

"Yaaaang! It wasn't his fault his spaceship crashed!" Ruby's voice echoed from above.

She turned to see her little sister descending the stairs, freshly cleaned and dressed in her black pajamas. Clutched in her arms were her soiled clothes from earlier. Ruby reached the bottom before heading over to the small laundry room underneath the stairs and opened the door.

"Sis, I'm pretty sure he's human. I didn't see any tentacles or extra limbs when Dad and I stripped him down!" She wiggled her eyebrows at her sister.

"Yang, that's gross!" Ruby cried as she tossed her dirty clothes into the washing machine and turned it on.

"Oh, really? You didn't seem to think it was too gross when I saw you peeking around the corner when we were getting his suit off!" She grinned.

Ruby's face turned scarlet as she stammered a response. "I-I...uh...was just, uh, making sure he was okay!"

Yang barked a laugh at her sister's excuse. Ruby slugged her in the shoulder, and Yang just laughed even harder. Ruby's blush deepened, and she pouted.

'Darn it, I thought I was being sneaky!' Ruby thought while crossing her arms.

It was true what they said. Curiosity killed the cat, and Ruby had just lost all nine lives.

"Don't worry, Dad didn't notice. He was busy with Stitches over there!" Yang snorted while gesturing towards the couch.

Ruby's blush faded a bit.

"Though I guess you are that age now. Ahh, they grow up so fast! Looks like it's time for 'The Talk'. You see, when a man and a woman love each other very, ve-"

"I KNOW WHERE BABIES COME FROM! WE ALREADY HAD THIS CONVERSATION TWO YEARS AGO! PLEASE STOOOOP!" Ruby shrieked in embarrassment, her face scarlet once more.

"You make it too easy sometimes, Rubes!" Yang howled in laughter.

When her laughter finally died down, Yang turned to the boy. He still lay there breathing softly, completely undisturbed by the two sisters' bickering. The blonde teen gazed at him for a moment before turning away.

"Hey, I'm gonna make some coffee, you want some?" She asked as she walked to the kitchen.

"Yes, please!" Ruby replied, graciously. The image of Zwei standing frozen in place like he was some sort of gargoyle, staring directly at their sleeping guest made her pause for a moment.

"Hey, sis? What's Zwei doing?" Ruby asked as she resumed following her sister into the kitchen, pulling the door closed behind her.

"Dad told him to watch our patient. He's been posing like that for the last ten minutes." Yang snickered.

Ruby just let out a chuckle in response. She was very used to the family dog's silliness by this point. Zwei was a good boy.

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As the two sisters made their coffee, their injured guest finally began to stir. His fingers twitched slightly and his eyes shifted beneath closed lids. His face scrunched up in irritation before he awoke with a small gasp.

Shinji Ikari's cobalt eyes groggily stared skyward to behold what appeared to be a wooden ceiling above him.

"Najimi no nai tenjō." He whispered.

His vision shifted left and right. The wooden ceiling extended past his limited vision.

'Am I… dead?' He wondered.

The wave of exhaustion that plagued his body and a pounding headache quickly disproved that idea. Along with the headache, he now felt a stinging pain just above his right eyebrow. Shinji reached up to lightly touch the offending area, only to jerk his hand away when a fresh wave of pain erupted from the spot. Best to leave that alone until he could find a mirror to see what exactly was causing it.

'Where am I?' He thought as he lightly rubbed the drowsiness from his eyes.

Did NERV somehow rescue him from the Angel? If so, why wasn't he in the hospital like he usually was after sustaining an injury in battle? Had they placed him in a different room? The bed he lay in now was definitely more comfortable than the one he was used to.

With a bit of effort, Shinji's head turned to reveal he wasn't actually in a hospital bed at all. He was on a comfortable couch. Was he back home? He didn't remember Misato having a couch though.

He attempted to mentally retrace his steps.

'I remember the Eva going berserk and launching me outside. I hit my head… and then there was that girl…'

His frazzled brain managed to conjure up the memory of the girl from earlier that night. She was without a doubt one of the prettiest girls Shinji had ever seen, and he was surrounded by attractive women on a daily basis. There was something about her striking silver eyes and neck-length black hair that faded into red at the tips that'd made her seem otherworldly. So much so, that in his few moments of consciousness inside the plug, he'd thought the girl was a biblical Angel who'd come to spirit away his soul.

But if he was still among the land of the living, and he wasn't in the hospital or Misato's apartment, then where was he?

With some effort, he slowly sat up and took in his surroundings. Shinji looked around the room and saw that he was in a western-style house. It looked like a log cabin.

Directly in front of him, past the couch's left arm, was a small table with a lamp sitting on it. Next to the table was a plush-looking chair in the same color and style as the couch. On the far wall was a bookcase that contained an almost overflowing number of books. Another lamp sat towards its left edge.

Above the bookshelf was a large window with light green curtains that had been drawn shut.

To the left of the bookshelf and window was a corner staircase that ascended to a second level that he couldn't see from where he sat. A door underneath the stairs lay open, and he could see a washing machine silently cleaning a load of clothes.

Shinji tossed the blanket off his legs, pulled his feet onto the floor, and moved to sit on the couch properly. He then noticed that he was no longer wearing his plugsuit.

'What the heck?! Whose clothes are these?!'

A set of oversized PJ's adorned his skinny form. A quick check under the pajama pants revealed that he even had some underwear on! Whose freaking underwear was he wearing?!

He looked around once more, a bit frantically this time.

In front of him now was a wooden coffee table. Past it was another table, this one larger with three drawers inside it. A potted plant sat on its top next to a plastic device that was placed in the center where a TV might've been. A large green rug covered a big chunk of the living room floor.

Beyond the large table lay a closed doorway on the far wall. To its left was another bookcase that was much larger than the one near the stairs. It held quite a few books but wasn't as full to bursting as the other one was.

To Shinji's left was a glass sliding door close to the large bookcase. A tiny amount of moonlight streamed into the living room from it. He squinted at the door but it was too dark outside for Shinji to make out any details of what lay beyond the glass.

Closer to the Third Child was a large brick fireplace with several pictures adorning its mantle. He was in someone's home.

'Whose house am I in?'

That burning question prompted the young pilot to stand and get a closer look at the photos. He knew it was rude to look at other people's things without their permission, but he desperately wanted to know whose house this belonged to. Maybe it was someone from NERV's home?

With some effort, he stood up from the couch. Shinji's world spun for a moment as a wave of vertigo passed over him before dissipating. He stretched his sluggish body and began to walk over to see the photos. Before he reached the mantle, a sound stopped him in his tracks.

CLACK CLACK JINGLE JINGLE

He turned around and glanced about the room. He didn't see anything out of the ordinary. Nothing appeared to have moved. He idly took notice of two more windows that had their curtains drawn to a close the same way as the one near the stairs, a wooden barrel in the corner that had been converted into a chest of sorts, and a door that looked like it led outside.

A bit of red at his feet drew Shinji's attention downward. Underneath the couch's right arm was a small bed belonging to a pet.

'I didn't notice any anim-'

CLACK CLACK JINGLE JINGLE

The sound came from right behind him this time. Shinji turned swiftly and was shocked by what he saw. Standing in between him and the fireplace was a Welsh corgi clad in black, white, and grey fur. A red collar with a golden tag in the shape of a bone adorned its neck.

It stood in a strange pose with one of its front paws lifted into the air and its nose pointed directly at him. The dog stood motionless with unblinking brown eyes that stared into his blue ones.

Shinji wanted to be excited about seeing the small pooch, but it was kind of creeping him out with its staring.

The Third Child realized the clacking sound from earlier was the sound of the little dog's nails tapping against the hardwood floor and the tag on its collar jingling as it walked.

'How did it get behind me?' Shinji wondered.

Even if the pint-sized pup walked on the rug, he still should've heard it. The rug may have muffled its footsteps, but he still should've heard the tag around its neck jingle.

BUZZZZZ

The small canine narrowed its eyes at him.

'Uh oh...'

The boy didn't even get a chance to react before the corgi leapt towards him with almost supernatural speed. It planted its paws into his chest and knocked him back onto the couch with a girlish shriek.

As he fell, the tiny dog used Shinji's chest as a springboard and launched himself up several feet into the air. During his flight, Zwei snapped his jaws and finally caught that annoying fly.

Got you! All according to plan. That'd teach any pesky bugs to invade his turf!

He did a full backflip in mid-air before landing back on Shinji's chest and knocking the wind from his lungs. Zwei swallowed the fly and began vigorously licking the young lad's face. His stumpy tail was wagging so fast that Shinji swore it could break off and fly away.

Shinji regained his breath and laughed as he put his hands up to try and deter the small pup from trying to lick his face off, to no avail. He heard the closed door at the end of the room explode open.

"ZWEI, GET OFF HIM!" A feminine voice to his right yelled in English.

The corgi was suddenly snatched off his chest.

"Are you okay?! He didn't hurt you, did he?!" Another voice asked, this one higher-pitched than the first. Shinji wiped the saliva from his face with a sleeve and looked up.

Cobalt met silver for the second time.

It was the same girl from earlier, a look of concern plastered on her face. The girl was dressed in a set of comfortable-looking baggy pajamas and red socks. She stood slightly shorter than him with a petite figure. Her black and red hair was slightly damp, making a few strands of it stick to her face slightly.

Next to her, stood another girl with lilac-colored eyes and the most lustrous blonde hair he'd ever seen. She was dressed in an orange tank top, a pair of grey pajama pants, and black and yellow striped socks. She stood several inches taller than the red-haired girl and himself. And unlike the other girl, the blonde had a full figure that Shinji thought could give Misato a run for her money. And despite the girl's boxum figure, she also had quite a bit of muscle.

Clutched underneath the blonde's muscled arm was the corgi, staring at him while it wagged its tail excitedly.

The two had Caucasian features and slightly resembled each other. Shinji wondered if they were related somehow.

Both of the girls were achingly beautiful. Toji and Kensuke would probably be drooling over the blonde if their crush on Misato was any indication. Shinji had to admit that she was gorgeous, but there was just something about the redhead's eyes that enthralled him. Besides, purple was no longer a color he particularly cared for thanks to Unit-01.

Shinji realized he was staring and blushed before stammering out an answer.

"Chigau, watashi wa daijobuda." He replied as he shifted to sit on the couch properly.

He was met with silence and confused looks.

"…I mean, no! No, he didn't hurt me." He swapped to his second language.

Their faces melded to looks of comprehension and the air of confusion fell away. Looks like they didn't understand Japanese. The two girls gave each other a shrug at Shinji's verbiage.

"Well, that's good. Glad to see you're finally awake. You gave us quite the scare for a second." The blonde girl said.

The boy's face changed to a look of regret.

"I-I'm sorry." He stuttered.

The beefy blonde smiled and shrugged her shoulders.

"Don't sweat it, dude. No one plans on getting injured. Life throws all kinds of unknowns at us. Stuff you don't plan on, y'know? Like how I didn't plan on seeing you naked tonight!" She teased with a grin.

"HUH?!" The Third Child cried.

Shinji's face turned a shade of red that would make Unit-02 jealous. The silver-eyed girl's face joined his in turning crimson before she yelled at the blonde.

"Yang, can you not?! He just woke up!" The redhead hissed.

"What? I'm just cutting the tension, that's all." The blonde sassed.

The redhead turned back to him.

"Ignore her, she's dumb and has no filter!" The girl said.

The blonde peered at the smaller girl before proceeding to throw her to the wolves.

"Whatever, you saw too." The blonde smirked.

"YANG!" The girl's face turned as red as her hair.

Shinji felt mortified upon hearing that these girls had seen him naked. He hoped his body didn't undergo any "thermal expansion" while he was unconscious. His face turned the darkest shade of red it'd ever been.

Yang decided to ease up. She'd had her fun. It was time to be serious. Besides, she didn't want to accidentally kill their guest out of sheer embarrassment. She diffused the situation with a small fib.

"Easy, big guy, I'm just kidding! My Dad was the one who changed you into those. We didn't see anything." She assured him.

Shinji sighed in relief and the red slowly drained from his face. Yang turned to her sister and subtly mouthed 'just roll with it'. Ruby didn't approve of the lie but was thankful of her sister for providing an out.

"So, changing the subject. What's your name?" The blonde asked as she sat the corgi down. The canine charged toward Shinji and sat down at his feet.

"Shinji Ikari." The Third Child replied nervously. He made sure to introduce himself with his given name first, instead of the Japanese way of putting the surname before the given name.

"Nice to meet you, Shinji. I'm Yang. Yang Xiao Long." The blonde girl introduced herself with a cheery smile.

'Yang Xiao Long?' He wondered.

Yang Xiao Long sounded like a pretty Chinese name to him, but the girl before him didn't look Asian at all. He decided not to think about it too much after remembering Asuka's pedigree. The redheaded Second Child had a mostly Japanese name despite only being a quarter Japanese herself. Her features strongly resembled the other three-fourths of her heritage.

Yang gestured to the red-haired girl.

"And this is my little sister, Ruby. Oh, and the fuzzball there is Zwei." Yang continued.

His eyes shifted over to Ruby, and she gave the boy a nervous wave.

"I'm Ruby Rose… hi." She said, awkwardly.

"Rose? Not Xiao Long?" Shinji blurted.

"We're half-sisters." Yang explained.

It seemed the two were related, after all. Yang looked a bit uncomfortable at having to explain that particular detail, but her cheerful demeanor quickly returned.

"Well, now that introductions are out of the way, care to tell us what happened to you before my baby sis dragged you home?" Yang asked.

Shinji's gaze snapped back over to Ruby, and she flinched slightly. She wasn't very good with new people. Especially in odd situations like this one.

"You got me out of the entry plug?" He inquired.

'So that's what it's called…' Ruby thought as she nodded vigorously.

"Yeah! You were hurt and I didn't know how bad it was, so I brought you back here! Taking you to the hospital in Palinwood would've taken too long." She explained.

Shinji had never heard of a place called Palinwood before. It certainly didn't sound Japanese. Perhaps these two lived in a part of the city he'd not been to. He'd never encountered many foreigners when he lived in the countryside. It was only when Shinji arrived in Tokyo-3 did he see people from all corners of the world that had moved there to work for NERV. A majority of them were from America and the United Kingdom so English was quite prevalent in the city.

He'd ask about it later. Right now, he had something that needed to be done. It was the proper thing to do. With a small grunt of effort, he rose from the couch and bowed deeply toward the young lady.

"I'm so sorry for any trouble I may have caused. Thank you for saving me." Shinji said respectfully.

Ruby blushed scarlet and rubbed her arm. She looked horribly unsure of what to do.

"I-It's no big deal. It's what a Huntress does, after all." She divulged.

Shinji came back up from his bow. He didn't know what a 'Huntress' was, but it seemed to involve helping people in some fashion. All of a sudden, Shinji's stomach let out a loud growl.

"Why don't I make us all a snack while you tell us your story?" Yang asked.

Shinji didn't want to impose, but after not eating anything for almost a full day, he was more than willing to accept the girl's offer. He'd have to find a way to repay them after he got back home.

"If that's not too much trouble." He replied softly.

"It's no trouble. Besides, I'm kind of hungry too." Yang gave the boy a calming smile as she motioned for him to follow her into the kitchen.

Shinji, Ruby, and Zwei started after her and the red-haired girl spoke up.

"Um, Do you, uh... want some coffee?" Ruby inquired, a bit nervously.

"Yes, please. That would be nice." The Third Child replied.

The trio padded over to the coffee maker on the counter and Ruby grabbed some mugs from an overhead cupboard while Yang set about making everyone some simple turkey sandwiches. Ruby took the coffee pot and poured each of the teens a mugful.

"How do you like yours?" Ruby asked.

"Just black is fine." He replied.

The girl nodded and turned to pour the coffee into the mugs. Unseen by the other two, for a second her face molded into a mask of sheer disgust.

'Yuck! I'll never understand how anyone can drink coffee like that!' Ruby thought as she added unholy amounts of cream and sugar to her coffee.

"Okey dokey, sandwiches are done! Let's sit down, shall we?" Yang asked while carrying a plate of three turkey sandwiches over to the table.

The three teens then sat down at the kitchen table, with Ruby and Yang on one side and Shinji on the other. Zwei sat down on the floor next to Shinji and peered up at him with a dopey expression.

"Thanks for the food, Miss Xiao Long, Miss Rose." Shinji said with another small bow toward each of the girls.

Yang waved it off with a cheerful grin, and Ruby gave a bashful smile.

"No need to be so formal, buddy. We aren't royalty or anything!" Yang joked as she grabbed a sandwich from the plate. Ruby followed her lead and also grabbed a sandwich. He gave a small smile in return before closing his eyes and clapping his hands together in an almost prayer-like fashion.

"Itadakimasu."

Only after he finished speaking did Shinji open his eyes, grab the last sandwich from the plate, and scarf it down. Ruby and Yang gave each other another confused look at their guest's odd vocabulary. Maybe it was a religious thing?

They'd ask later. Right now, they needed to figure out how Shinji ended up at the cliffside.

"So what happened to you?" Yang questioned as she took a bite of her sandwich.

"I...uh…" Shinji opened his mouth to respond, but he stopped. What was he supposed to say? His identity as an Eva pilot was classified for his protection. His life was essential in protecting the human race, so he couldn't go around telling people all willy-nilly.

The last time he did, Misato wasn't happy with him. All the kids in his school and their families had to sign NDAs to not reveal his identity. Their online presences were also monitored by the MAGI. The trio of supercomputers made sure absolutely nothing about the pilots' identities were posted on the internet.

He watched as Ruby's eyes lit up and an excited look appeared on her face. The redhead practically vibrated in her chair. It was a big departure from the awkwardness from just minutes before.

"It's okay, we know you're an alien! We won't tell anybody! We won't let anyone dissect you!" Ruby whisper-screamed.

Yang slapped her palm against her forehead and groaned. A confused look made its way onto the boy's face, and an awkward silence descended on the room for a solid ten seconds before Shinji replied.

"...What?" He blurted

The silver-eyed girl's smile faltered and the mask of uncertainty returned.

"Y'know, an alien… like from outer space." She elaborated.

Shinji flickered his gaze toward Yang. The older girl was now flicking her eyes between them, trying desperately not to laugh at her little sister. Was this girl for real?

"I'm not an alien." He disclosed.

This time it was Ruby's turn to look confused. Yang lost the fight to not laugh and guffawed. A vein appeared on Ruby's forehead and she glared at her sister.

"Don't laugh at me! You weren't there, you didn't see the tube thing!" She growled.

Realization shot through Shinji's mind.

'That's right, she saw the entry plug! No wonder she thought I was an alien!' He thought.

The lad really was in between a rock and a hard place here. He owed them an explanation after all they'd done to help him. Plus, Ruby had already seen the entry plug and pulled him out of it. Couldn't exactly put that genie back in the bottle. These girls seemed trustworthy enough.

He cleared his throat to get the sisters' attention.

"I'm not an alien but… I am an Evangelion pilot." The Third Child explained.

Instead of shock and awe, he was met with more silence and confused looks.

"What's an Evangelion?" Yang asked the lad.

His eyes opened comedically wide.

'What?!' Shinji thought.

It was hard to imagine that the two didn't know what an Evangelion was. The Angel War was worldwide news. Footage of every battle constantly spread onto TV and social media like wildfire. At first, the NERV sought to try and censor footage of the fights as much as possible, but when that proved impossible, the MAGI shifted their priority to make sure the pilots' identities weren't leaked to the public.

He hadn't seen a TV or any phones in the house so it was possible the girls lived somewhere without any internet or TV access. But even still, word of mouth still should've carried the news of the Angel War far and wide. So why didn't these girls show any reaction to him being the pilot of one of the most talked about things on the planet?

"You know, the Evangelions. The robots that defend Tokyo-3 from the Angels." He elaborated.

Yang had a puzzled expression on her face, but Ruby zeroed in on his story and hung on every word.

"Why would a robot fight an angel? Angels are supposed to help and guide people." Yang probed.

"Well, they aren't those kinds of Angels. At least... I don't think they are. The important part is that they're monsters that are trying to wipe out humanity!" Shinji explained before taking a sip of coffee.

Yang raised an eyebrow. Did he mean Grimm? It was pretty hard to confuse those beasts of darkness for divine messengers.

"What kind of monsters?" Yang asked.

"Well, they come in all kinds of shapes and sizes. The first one I ever fought looked like a giant birdman with a skull mask." Shinji answered.

'Sounds like a Grimm to me.' The blonde brawler thought.

Yang had two possible theories about this boy. She wasn't sold on the idea that the lad was some kind of hotshot robot pilot, but he sounded so serious about it that it was hard not to believe him. And it didn't seem like just an overactive imagination or a prank, either. His face was a picture of seriousness. He truly believed what he was saying.

"Is it okay if I ask you something?" Shinji questioned the girls.

"Sure, what is it?" The buxom brawler inquired.

"Where exactly am I?" The boy inquired.

"You're just outside of Palinwood, on the Island of Patch." Ruby divulged their location.

Shinji just stared at her, shock written on his face. He'd never heard of this place before. Japan consisted of many islands, none of which were named Patch. Wherever he was, it wasn't his homeland.

'I'm outside of Japan! How the hell did I get here?!' Shinji wondered.

The girls noticed the Third Child's sudden distress.

"I'm going to go out on a limb here and assume you're not from Vale, right?" Yang questioned.

"Vale? Where's that?" Shinji inquired. This time it was the girls whose eyes widened in shock.

"Y'know, the Kingdom of Vale!" Yang explained.

"K-Kingdom? You mean like the United Kingdom?" Shinji stuttered.

"Huh? United Kingdom?" Ruby blurted, inquisitively.

He just stared at the two as if they'd grown another head.

The blonde teen stared back at Shinji for a moment before a lightbulb switched on inside her noggin. She leaned back in her chair with a smug grin and crossed her arms.

"I figured it out." She smirked.

"Figured what out, sis?" Ruby inquired, curiously.

"He must be from outside the Kingdoms! These Angel things must be what people from wherever Shinji's from call Grimm! And the robots he mentioned have to be some kind of anti-Grimm weaponry!" Yang exclaimed.

'Grimm?' Shinji had no idea what the blonde girl was talking about.

"I bet he's from somewhere up in Wyvos that the Kingdoms haven't discovered yet! It would explain why he has no idea what Vale is." She continued.

"I guess that's possible." Ruby replied, unsurely.

Shinji may have claimed not to have been from space, but something was off about his entire situation.

That also didn't explain how his 'entry plug' just appeared out of thin air. A settlement with the kind of technology to teleport the entry plug that hadn't previously gotten in touch with any of the four Kingdoms could theoretically exist. However, it wasn't very level of technology outside the Kingdoms' capitals tended to vary, and even moreso outside of the Kingdoms' borders. Surely at least one of the four Kingdoms would've discovered Shinji's home by now. Ruby chose to stay quiet for now and finish her meal while Yang did the talking. They'd figure this out one way or another.

Shinji chose to add his two cents.

"I'm from Japan! I-I don't even know where Wyvos is!" Shinji declared.

"It's the dragon-shaped continent to the west of here! I'm guessing it's called something different where you're from?" Yang asked.

Shinji recoiled back. A continent shaped like a dragon? That sounded like absolute nonsense, but Yang didn't look like she was joking. He rubbed his temples and drained the rest of his coffee in one go. He had a feeling he was going to need it.

The two sisters stared at him with comically shocked expressions. Did he really just do that?

"That's the first time I've ever seen some chug coffee. You, uh, want some more?" Yang asked with a smile and a laugh.

"No, thank you." He waved his hand before looking into Yang's eyes.

"And about your question a second ago. I don't mean to be rude, Miss Xiao Long, but I have no idea what you're talking about. There is no continent shaped like a dragon." The lad continued.

The blonde's smile drooped, and she scratched the back of her head nervously. It was time to call for backup because she was quickly forming another theory and she really hoped it wasn't true. She decided to offer an olive branch.

"Hey, why not ask our dad about this? I'm sure he'd be more knowledgeable about world geography and stuff than us since he's a teacher. He's out right now but I'll text him and tell him you're awake!" Yang remarked as she pulled a small device from her pocket.

With a push of a button, the small device expanded and the lilac-eyed teen began rapidly tapping away on the touchscreen.

'I guess they do have phones. Never seen one like that before though.' He thought.

Shinji just nodded his head. Perhaps they were actually messing with him. Being bad at geography was one thing, but thinking there was an entire continent shaped like a dragon was just too much. After he met the girls' father and got a sense of where he was, he'd ask and see if they would lend him a phone to call Misato.

Yang seemed to pick up on his state of discomfort and echoed it. A tense silence filled the room for a few seconds until Ruby spoke up.

"Hey, why don't we go into the living room and play with Zwei while Yang tells our Dad to get his butt back home?" Ruby asked a bit nervously.

Shinji's eyes lit up for a split second, and the two sisters took notice.

"Good idea, Rubes! I'll take care of the dishes after I text Dad." Yang encouraged her sibling's idea.

"O-Okay." Shinji stammered.

Ruby stood from her chair and made her way into the living room, with Shinji and Zwei following suit. Once they were out of the room, Yang let out a quiet sigh. What a strange night.

In the living room, Zwei seemed to realize that his master and the new human wanted to play, and his excitement boiled over. He charged around the room in random patterns, repeatedly leaping up on the couch before jumping off again.

"He's got the zoomies!" Ruby giggled.

"Zoomies?" Shinji asked.

"Hehehe, yeah! That's what I call it when he does that!" She laughed.

Shinji did not fully share the girl's amusement. He truly didn't want to be rude, but he wasn't in the best of moods. He needed to get home ASAP and find out what happened after he was sucked into the Angel. What happened to Rei and Asuka? Were they okay? How much damage to the city did this Angel cause?

Ruby lightly touched Shinji's shoulder, and he jumped slightly at the physical contact.

"Don't worry so much. I'm sure we can get you back to Tokyo-3… wherever it is." Ruby assured him.

The tension slowly began to drain from the lad's shoulders, and he gave the redheaded girl a strained smile in return.

'She's right, I'll be home before I know it. I need to calm down before I make myself look like an even bigger idiot.' He thought.

SQUEAK SQUEAK

The sudden sound at Shinji's feet caught his attention. Zwei sat before him, happily squeaking a stuffed turtle in his mouth. Shinji moved to pet the small canine but hesitated and looked at Ruby for permission.

"Go ahead, he doesn't bite. Well, unless you're a Grimm. But you're not a Grimm, so you… don't have to worry… yeah…"

And just like that, her confidence left her, and Ruby's social anxiety returned with a vengeance.

'No duh, he's not a Grimm! Why'd I say that?!'

"Uh… right." Shinji blurted out. He chose to ignore the girl's awkwardness.

'It's not like I'm any better at interacting with people…' He thought, sadly.

He then bent down and scratched behind the corgi's left ear. Zwei's stumpy tail somehow wagged even faster, and he squeaked his toy loudly. The small dog nuzzled his toy into the boy's hand. Shinji picked up on the pooch's intent and took the stuffed turtle into his hand.

Zwei backed up slightly and let out a happy bark. Shinji moved the hand holding the toy back and forth. Zwei's eyes stayed locked on it, following it wherever it went. Shinji suddenly gave the toy a toss, and the stuffed turtle sailed through the air before landing near the barrel at the far end of the room.

Zwei snatched it a second after it landed and sprinted back to Shinji. Zwei sat back down at the Third Child's feet. Shinji petted the small dog again before giving the toy another throw. Zwei retrieved the toy and ran back to the boy once more.

For the first time that day, Shinji gave a small smile. Zwei decided that he liked this human. A new friend was in the house! And now it was time to test his new friend's mettle!

When Shinji grabbed the toy this time, Zwei didn't let go. Instead, he initiated a tug-of-war. When Zwei yanked on the toy, Shinji almost lost his balance and fell forward. He managed to stop himself and pulled back on the stuffed turtle.

Zwei shifted his position and tugged towards Shinji's right. Again, he stumbled a bit and almost lost his grip on the toy. Zwei pulled a bit harder and slowly started pulling the lad towards the glass door that led out to the porch.

"What the hell?! Why is he so strong?!" Shinji gasped.

"It's because he has his Aura unlocked! You're gonna have to pull harder if you wanna win! C'mon, Shinji, pull harder! That turtle is really sturdy, it won't rip!" Ruby cheered the boy on.

'Aura?' He pondered.

The unknown word nearly cost him the game as Zwei tugged even harder. Shinji was forced to give up more ground as the small dog yanked him further towards the door. The young pilot put more strength into it and quickly gained the lost ground back.

Zwei's eyes narrowed slightly. It seemed his new friend was stronger than his skinny frame let on. It was time to start getting serious. Zwei was determined to win this game. His master's cheers for his opponent to win only fueled his determination.

Shinji noticed the look in the pint-sized pup's eyes and began tugging in earnest. It was all or nothing. And so the real contest began. After about a minute of the two losing and gaining ground, it was apparent that Shinji was fighting a losing battle. Zwei was slowly using more of his Aura-fueled strength to gain an advantage over the boy.

If Zwei could've smirked, he would've at this moment. It was time to show this human who was the king of tug-of-war around here!

The puny canine suddenly used a lot more of his enhanced strength and yanked on the toy a final time, sending Shinji stumbling forward with a yell. His already injured head smacked into the wall next to the glass before he crumpled to the floor.

Uh oh! Zwei dropped the stuffed turtle and ran over to his new friend, who was now sprawled on the floor. He didn't mean for that to happen!

"Are you okay?!" Ruby shrieked as she crouched next to his prone form.

Rapid footfalls could be heard moving through the kitchen before Yang burst into the living room. She gasped as she took in the scene of the Third Child on the ground, clutching his forehead while her little sister knelt next to him.

"What happened?!" Yang cried as she rushed over to the pair.

"Zwei got too rough during tug-of-war and Shinji hit his head on the wall!" Ruby explained.

Yang carefully pried his hands away from his forehead and held his face in her hands as inspected him for any further injuries. Thankfully, the bump hadn't torn his stitches. Their eyes met for a moment and he blushed at the intimate contact before breaking contact and staring towards the wall. He wasn't great with maintaining eye contact sometimes. It felt like people could see directly into his soul if they looked hard enough, and that was a scary concept for the young introvert.

"Are you okay?"

The question brought Shinji's eyes back to Yang's, and he let out a quiet "Yeah".

"Thank goodness." Yang sighed in relief.

The boy slightly recoiled from Yang's touch when he noticed the blonde teen's eyes had shifted from light purple to a deep red. The blonde girl noticed his frightened reaction and removed her hands from his face. She blinked and her eyes were lilac again.

"Sorry. Didn't mean to scare you. They change when I'm upset." Yang pointed at her eyes as she helped the Third Child to his feet.

Shinji had no idea what she meant by that. What he did know was that it wasn't normal. People's eyes didn't just change like that.

'Maybe she has some kind of condition? Ayanami's eyes are red like that too.'

Shinji tried to rationalize what he'd just seen, but whatever answer his brain came up with just didn't click. Besides, Ayanami's eyes had always been red, they'd never changed colors. He watched Yang while racking his abused brain for any possible solutions to the mystery he'd just witnessed.

Yang's gaze zeroed in on the corgi who had caused too much trouble for one night. She snapped her fingers and pointed to Zwei's doggy bed next to the couch.

"Bad boy! Go to your bed! You're in timeout for the rest of the night!" Yang scolded.

Zwei's ears drooped, and he let out a high-pitched whine as he sadly skulked off to his bed. He'd won the tug-of-war, but at what cost?

"Sorry about that, he's used to playing with people who have their Aura unlocked. I guess you don't have yours unlocked?" Ruby inquired.

He shook his head and spoke up.

"No. And it's not his fault, I should've let go earlier. I just... well... " Shinji didn't finish his thought. His right hand clenched into a fist before releasing. He repeated the process several times as he stumbled to find the right words to say.

Ruby noticed the lad's nervous quirk. It reminded her of Yang's odd habit of sticking her tongue out when she was particularly focused on something.

"Just what?" She asked.

"It's just that I got too excited when we were playing. This is the first time I've ever been around a dog before." He said.

"What?!/Seriously?" The sisters exclaimed.

He gave a small nod in response. Ruby and Yang gave the young pilot a bewildered stare.

"You've really never met a dog before?!" Ruby exclaimed.

"Nope. There just weren't any dogs where I lived. I saw them on TV and stuff, but never in real life." He answered meekly.

Shinji's only experience with animals were with bugs, the odd stray cat, and one peculiar penguin. It was hard to keep one's family fed in the first few years after Second Impact. The average person had to cut costs somehow, and owning a pet was expensive. Thankfully, things weren't nearly as bad these days.

"You missed out, dogs are so awesome! Especially Zwei, he's the best dog ever!" Ruby beamed.

"Not tonight, he's not. He could've opened up Shinji's stitches with that little stunt he pulled!" Yang gestured towards the boy's forehead.

"Stitches?" He wondered.

With all the excitement, he'd forgotten about the stinging pain above his eye. He moved to touch his forehead, but Ruby grabbed his wrist before could.

"Don't touch them, they might come out!" She pleaded.

The pure amount of care in her voice shocked the lad. They'd only just met, so why did she care so much? She didn't have to save him. She could've just called the police. But she didn't. Ruby had brought him back to her home to have his wound mended. And now she was concerned he might reopen said wound.

His depressed brain reminded him that he would have to repay her and her family somehow and that people did not do things for him out of the kindness of their hearts. Everybody always wanted something in return.

Even Misato, whom he cared about so much, had an ulterior motive for being his guardian. She had told him about how she'd been at ground zero during Second Impact. Apparently, her Father had neglected Misato and her mother during her childhood years but had ultimately saved her during the horrific event. Misato wanted revenge against the Angels who had taken her family from her and he was among three tools she possessed to get it. He didn't mind, though. He was okay with being used so long as she was nice to him. It was at times that her kindness made him forget he was a tool for the lavender-haired Major. Sometimes it felt like they were a real family.

His eyes drifted from hers and onto the floor. He felt like a scolded child.

"Right, sorry." He apologized.

Ruby released his arm and shied away. Once again, her burst of confidence faded into her meek state. Ruby's random bouts of confidence peaked his interest. One second she was nervous and awkward but there were moments where that veil of anxiety fell away. He wondered what that was about but didn't dare say anything. He was far too shy to even attempt it, lest he accidentally embarrass or offend the sisters. Instead, he focused his thoughts back on his wound.

"Is it bad?" He pointed to his head.

"Nah, it wasn't too bad. It'll probably leave a scar since you don't have your Aura unlocked, but you should heal up just fine." Yang explained.

'There's that word again.' He thought.

He had no idea what the girls meant when they mentioned the strange word. Ruby had said that Zwei had whatever his 'Aura unlocked'. And speaking of the corgi in question, how in the world was he so strong? Shinji may have been small and skinny, but there was no way such a small dog should have been able to pull him around like a ragdoll. At least, no normal corgi should've been able to do that.

'He must have been genetically engineered like Pen-Pen was!' Shinji thought.

Misato had mentioned that the lab where she used to work had quite a few different animals that were being experimented on to better adapt to the post-Second Impact world, dogs included. He glanced at the small pooch, and Zwei stared back at him from his doggy bed. His stumpy tail thumped lightly against his bed, and he let out a whine. Yang noticed the two and smiled slightly.

"Don't worry, you two can play tomorrow. Zwei's serving out his prison sentence tonight." Yang stated.

"Tomorrow?" He asked.

"Well yeah. You're staying with us tonight." Yang informed the lad.

"A-Are you okay with that?! I mean, I've already caused so much trouble!" He fretted.

She waved it off.

"It's really not a big deal." The blonde argued.

"Do you even have anywhere else to go right now?" Ruby piped up.

She had him there. For the time being, he was stuck here. He still didn't even know where he was. It looked like he was going to have to rely on these girls for a bit. Plus, it wouldn't hurt to play with Zwei one more time before he went home.

"...No." Shinji relented.

"Then it's settled. You're staying with us tonight. Besides, you'd probably freeze to death if you left with that suit you were wearing!" Ruby remarked.

"Freeze?" He wondered. What was she talking about?

"Yup! Patch gets early snow in the fall sometimes and it gets super cold for like a week and then it goes back to normal." Ruby explained.

"Sucks that it takes off most of the pretty leaves off the trees." Yang chimed in.

Shinji stared at the girls with a bewildered expression. What the hell were these two talking about? Everyone in the world knew that the four seasons had pretty much been erased by the Second Impact knocking the planet off its axis, so why did they act as if the seasons still existed? Plus, if the girls were to be believed and he really was on some island, then there shouldn't be any snow. All the islands he knew of all had tropical climates.

The girls noted the look on his face and a stilted silence passed over the room. It stretched on for a few seconds until Shinji couldn't take it anymore.

"W-What are you talking about?" Shinji yelped.

"Look." Yang said as she walked past him to the sliding door.

She flicked on a switch next to the door and a light turned on outside, revealing a wooden porch and just beyond it...

Snow.

"See? Early snow, like my little sis said." Yang stated.

Shinji made no attempt to answer the girl. He was too busy trying to process what he was seeing. His eyes bugged out of his head, and he walked towards the door in a zombielike state. He stared outside, seemingly entranced by what lay beyond glass.

"Holy shit…" He whispered.

"Huh?" Yang said.

He didn't answer her. His brain was rebooting and his body was now on autopilot. After a few seconds of staring outside, he realized that it wasn't some kind of waking dream. This was real! There was real snow outside!

Rational thought left him and in a burst of motion he flung open the sliding door and charged out onto the porch. Wooden railing separated the lad from his goal, but he didn't let it slow him down a bit. He clumsily vaulted over it and ran several feet ahead, ignoring the sisters' cries for him to wait.

The biting cold made him start to shiver almost immediately, and the snow underfoot soaked into his socks, turning them into a squishy mess. He didn't care. This was something he'd wanted to experience for as long as he could remember. Snow was something all children born after Second Impact only dreamed of experiencing.

An elated smile broke out on his face as he gazed at the beautiful sight of the snow-covered land. Moonlight streamed down and reflected off the snow in a dazzling display. The forest surrounding the cabin was mostly bereft of leaves with gleaming icicles hanging from their branches.

He couldn't help it. Tears of joy spilled down his cheeks, and Shinji began to laugh. It started small before gaining power, and before he knew it, Shinji was laughing so hard he could barely breathe.

The two sisters watched from the porch and were completely baffled by the Third Child's rapid change in behavior. Shinji dried his eyes as best he could and spun around to face the girls. The lad's smile was infectious, and Ruby couldn't help but grin as well.

"I take it you haven't ever seen snow before either?" Ruby smiled.

Shinji shook his head.

"No, I haven't… It's beautiful." A small cloud formed in front of him with every word and breath he took.

"Then I guess this means you're extra excited to play with Zwei in the snow tomorrow, huh?" Ruby teased slightly.

He just grinned bashfully and averted his gaze.

Yang watched the whole thing unfold with her arms crossed. The blonde girl kept her face politely neutral to not show her distaste for what was happening. She was almost positive about her theory about this boy now, and that was not a good thing.

She'd seen people get excited over snow for the first time. She had friends that moved to Patch from Vacuo and they had certainly been excited by the snow, but never had they burst into tears over it.

Shinji swung his head around to view the frozen landscape once more. This was pure ecstasy for him, a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Once he got home, it'd be more heat, humidity, and the constant chirping of cicadas. He wasn't about to waste this chance.

He gazed skyward and stared up at the brilliant infinity of the cosmos. Twinkling stars shone down on the world from lightyears away. It reminded him of stargazing with his fellow pilots after they defeated the Ninth Angel.

'I wish they could be here to see this!' He thought.

The whole situation felt surreal to the lad. First, he'd survived what seemed like an inescapable situation, then he'd met a dog, and now here he was, standing in real snow! Seeing the gorgeous constellations twinkling above was just the icing on the cake.

Sure, he was no longer in his Japan, but that'd get worked out soon! Ruby and Yang's father would come home and he'd thank the man and politely ask to use his phone to call Misato. It was best to enjoy this while he could.

Shinji hadn't smiled like this in so long that he thought he may have forgotten what real happiness felt like. No bad thoughts of Eva or his father. No worries of the next impending battle. He was on cloud nine. Nothing could spoil this moment for him.

Or so he thought.

Shinji turned around to view the moon, and his overjoyed face shifted to one of pure horror. His breathing grew heavier and, despite the cold, he began to sweat. He shook in place, his hands trembling at his sides.

"Something's wrong..." Ruby whispered, worried.

"Yeah, I noticed." Yang replied.

The blonde girl's face was now one of concern instead of the neutral mask she sported moments before. Yang's muscles tensed at the Third Child's actions. She had no idea what to expect from the lad next.

"Shinji… are you okay? What's wrong?" Ruby called out to the boy.

He raised a trembling hand and shakily pointed at the looming satellite in the night sky. Terrified blue eyes peered at the girls. Shinji's trembling intensified until his whole body shook. He looked like a frightened animal.

"T-T-T-The m-moon…"

He could barely get the words out before collapsing to his knees. More tears welled up in the young pilot's eyes, but this time they were not of joy.

In place of what should have been a perfect circle was a partially shattered celestial body that looked to be about twice the size Earth's moon was supposed to be. He stared at the broken satellite with a look of incomprehension. Shinji raised his arm and slapped himself across in a vain attempt to change what he was seeing.

Yang extended a hand to halt her sister, but she was too late.

"Shinji, what are you doing?!" Ruby cried as she vaulted the porch railing and ran over to the lad. She knelt next to the boy and placed a hand on his shoulders. He didn't even acknowledge her presence. Shinji kept his eyes locked on the shining satellite above.

Yang watched the exchange with a small frown on her face. She was sure of it now.

'Maybe he has some brain damage from the crash or some kind of mental disorder or something…'

She didn't know what it was, but something was very wrong with their guest. No regular person goes nuts over snow and dogs, only to be scared witless by the moon. Shinji's strange attire and injuries only helped to further Yang's theory that all the lights weren't on upstairs.

She didn't think Shinji was dangerous or had anything nefarious in mind, but she did worry about the effect the boy might have on Ruby. Her baby sister wanted to help people and do good in the world, but she could be painfully naive about the world's cruelty sometimes. Yang worried about what meeting someone who couldn't be helped would do to her.

Over on the ground, Ruby was trying desperately to snap Shinji out of his trance by shaking his shoulder. Still no effect. The small redhead moved over to block the Third Child's line of sight of the broken moon and placed her other hand on the boy's opposite shoulder.

"Snap out of it! What's wrong?!" Ruby yelled.

Blocking his view seemed to break the lunar spell on the boy, and he pointed a badly shaking hand past her to the moon once more.

"T-The moon…" He repeated.

"Huh?" She blurted out as she turned to look at the moon in the night sky behind her. There wasn't anything different about it. It was the same old shattered moon that had always been there.

"What about it?" Ruby asked.

"I-I-It's b-broken!" He whimpered.

Ruby's head tilted in confusion.

"Well yeah, Remnant's moon has always been like that." She replied softly.

Shinji felt like he'd been hit by a bus when Ruby's words reached his ears. All emotion left him for a second before a wave of fear the likes of which he'd never known crashed into him like a tsunami. Not even his near-death experiences piloting Unit-01 could compare to the fear he now felt. At least when he fought Angels his brain could comprehend what was happening.

"REMNANT?!" He yelled fearfully.

He saw Ruby's lips move, but he couldn't hear what she was saying. What did she mean by 'Remnant's moon'? Humans lived on Earth and Earth's moon was round and whole. It had always been that way Not even Second Impact changed that. His savior spoke almost as if she didn't live on planet Earth. What was it she had called him earlier? That's right, she thought he was…

'An alien…'

His thoughts were a jumbled mess. The mental dam in the young introvert's mind finally burst. He'd hit his threshold. It was too much for the boy, so he did the one thing he knew how to do when things became too much for his heart to bear.

He ran.

The Third Child shot to his feet and took off through the yard and into the woods. He didn't care where he was going or what he was going to do when he stopped running. Neither did he care that the girls must've thought he was crazy. And right now, he wasn't so sure they were wrong about it either.

He vaguely heard their cries for him to stop and slammed his hands on his ears and ran even faster. He didn't want to hear it. He wanted this dream to be over now, but every time he glanced up at the sky, the shattered moon remained, taunting him.

Behind him, Ruby panted as she raced after the panicking pilot. Normally, she would have already caught up with him but after lugging his unconscious body all the way home while using her Semblance she was exhausted. She knew the terrain and could navigate it easily, but Shinji's surprising speed and randomness in where he ran, made him quite hard to catch. She stopped for a mere second to catch her breath and Shinji disappeared out of sight. She sucked in a final breath and took off again. The sound of snow crunching under the scared lad's feet was the only indication of where Shinji was. A look over her shoulder revealed a blur of gold quickly approaching her. Her sister had finally caught up.

XXXXXXXXXX

The trees seemed to blend together as Shinji sprinted through the icy labyrinth as fast as he possibly could. Faster, and faster he ran, pushing his legs farther than he ever had before. Eventually, he could feel himself running out of steam.

Shinji came to rest in a small grove of snow-covered trees. He doubled over with his hands on his knees.

He took a moment to catch his breath and looked up again. Still, the broken moon hung in the sky unchanged, still mocking him. A fresh wave of tears arose, and he stood there in the grove, sobbing quietly.

'Where the hell am I?! What's going on?!' He thought.

The lack of answers to those questions was nearly enough to drive him mad. Reality felt like it'd been flipped upside down. Nothing about this night added up.

His thoughts were interrupted by a nearby sound.

GRRRRRRR

Behind him, a sudden monstrous growl was followed by the crunching of snow. A feeling of intense dread crept up his spine as he turned slowly and gasped in horror at what he saw. Approaching the lad was something straight from a nightmare.

A monster. A real life monster.

The beast had a coat of pitch-black fur with bony spikes protruding from various spots on its body. Patches of fur were missing, revealing old scars littering its muscular body.

But the absolute worst part was its head. It resembled a werewolf that had part of its face melted off. The wolf-like creature's exposed skull was covered with red markings, in an almost tattoo-like fashion. Yellowish-red eyes radiated pure malice at the boy, trails of crimson light following them whenever the thing moved its head.

It trudged closer, a small cloud erupted from the hole in its skull where a nose should've been with every snorting breath it took. When it got within 20 feet of the boy, it stood up on its hind legs, revealing how big it truly was. The beast stood almost two and a half feet taller than its prey. The monster was easily the size of a grizzly bear.

'I-It's a demon!' He thought fearfully.

What else could it be? If so-called Angels existed, then why couldn't demons? The young pilot didn't have the time to ponder it. His death was walking toward him at a leisurely pace, and he was too terrified to move.

The monster was close now. Its horrid mouth opened and its tongue extended to lick its non-existant chops. It let out another deep growl, and Shinji's life began flashing before him. There were so many things he regretted. So many things he wished he'd done. So many people he was going to miss.

As the beast got within a few feet of him, Shinji remembered the voice that had spoken to him before he'd been ejected from the entry plug.

"Anywhere can be Heaven so long as you're alive" it had said. He didn't know who the voice belonged to, but he knew one thing about them…

"You're a liar…" He whispered.

Wherever he was, it wasn't anything like Heaven. It was much closer to Hell.

He was foolish to believe he came out of the battle with the 12th Angel okay. All the good things he'd experienced tonight was just the buildup to a cruel joke. And the monster before him was about to deliver the punchline.

It grinned evilly as it reared back a clawed hand to deliver him to the ferryman. Shinji stood terrified but made no attempt to run. With any luck, one swipe would kill him. The lad didn't know what might happen if he ran. The creature was surely faster than him, and being mauled wasn't the way he wanted to go out. Being mauled was assuredly painful, and Shinji wasn't a fan of pain.

He closed his eyes and waited for his end.

"RAAAAAAAAGGGHHH!"

A primal scream made his eyes snap open. The world almost seemed to slow as Yang's fist impacted the monster's face and sent the beast flying. Wood splintered and cracked as it grazed a tree as it soared through the air. A cloud of snow and dirt erupted from where the demon landed.

Yang slammed her fists together and took up a combat stance in front of the young boy. Her eyes were trained on the area where the living nightmare had impacted. Ruby came charging out of the woods after her and ran over to the pair.

The abomination surged to its feet and snarled at the newcomers. It was furious at having an easy kill taken from it and even more furious about the small crack on the tip of its snout by the blonde girl's punch. It realized it was outnumbered, so it hung back and began to circle the three humans.

Shinji felt like its gaze was burning a hole through his chest. He was so far beyond scared and confused, it wasn't funny. One of his gracious hosts had come sailing through the air and belted the nightmarish creature in the face with inhuman strength that sent the demon flying like it was nothing. It was like something right out of an anime!

Yang glared at the beast as it seemed to study them while it paced. Ruby kept her vision on a swivel, searching for any more potential dangers. When she saw none, she called out to Yang.

"There's only one of 'em!" Ruby informed the blonde.

"Good. Now take him and get outta here!" Yang ordered.

"What about you?!" Ruby cried.

"I'll be fine, just get back to the house!" The blonde yelled.

"But you don't have Ember Celica!" Ruby argued.

"I don't need it! I can handle this punk without my weapon! You're a sitting duck without yours!" Yang snapped.

She hated to admit it, but her sister was right. Without Crescent Rose, Ruby was helpless in a fight. Plus, she needed to get Shinji out of here ASAP!

"Fine, but be careful!" The redhead cautioned.

"I'm always careful!" Yang grinned as she cracked her knuckles and stomped forward toward the snarling Beowolf. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched her little sister grab Shinji's hand and take off running back home, dragging the scared boy along behind her.

The Beowolf stopped its circling and its eyes flicked over to the two teens booking it back the way they'd come before settling back on Yang. It decided it would go after them later. There were bigger fish to fry, and it had been a while since it got to fight.

It threw back its head and let out a roar before rushing toward the young Huntress-in-training.

Yang met its challenge head-on with a roar of her own as she sprang into action. The two sprinted toward each other with snarls on their faces. When it neared her, the Beowolf swung a massive clawed hand at the blonde that she deflected with a roundhouse kick.

Yang used the momentum from her kick to spin around and deliver a powerful uppercut to the Grimm's chin that knocked the beast's head back and sent a few of its teeth flying. The enraged creature quickly retaliated by lunging back down at her with a snap of its jaws. She sidestepped the bite with another spin and slammed her elbow into the monster's temple, delivering another small crack to its skull.

It staggered a few steps sideways before collapsing onto its knees, and Yang rushed forward to keep up the pressure. The Grimm spotted her out of the corner of its eye and waited for her to get close before propelling its arm in a backhand swing. Yang's eyes widened, and she put up her arms in an X shape to guard against the attack. The impact of the backhand sent the Huntress-in-training skidding back on her feet a few meters. The bloody thing had set a trap for her!

"Smart bastard, aren't you? You must be old." She growled

The Grimm roared again before charging after her on all fours. When it got within a few feet of her, it stood up on two feet and raised its arms above its head. The creature swung its fists downwards with a growl.

Yang stood her ground and raised her own arms to block the blow. Her Aura flickered gold and snow exploded outwards as the Beowolf's massive forearms slammed into hers, creating a small shockwave. The beast's strength had almost broken through her guard.

"This is… a lot harder… without weapons!" She hissed through clenched teeth as she struggled against the monstrous force. If she had Ember Celica with her, this Grimm would already be dead. Her shotgun gauntlets could have filled this Grimm with slugs or helped her bash the thing's head in by now. Luckily, there was always one thing she could count on, even without her gauntlets.

'Screw this thing!' She thought.

The Beowolf's head snapped back in surprise as its prey's eyes changed from a soft lilac to a raging crimson and her blonde hair became a raging inferno. Yang roared in anger as she broke her guard and grabbed the demonic-looking creature's arms. With its forearms securely in her grasp, Yang jumped up and kicked the Grimm squarely in the chest with both feet.

It went soaring and its spiked back impacted a tree. It barely had the time to shake its head and come to its senses before Yang sailed through the air and hit it like some sort of blonde comet. The Beowolf raised an arm to block, but it was no use. The force behind Yang's punch shattered the monster's arm with a sickening crunch and the force continued on to smash into the Grimm's chest so hard that it was launched through the tree behind it.

The Beowolf was sent skidding several yards away before coming to rest in a heap. The broken tree fell to the ground with a loud crash, and the snow near Yang had turned to steam due to the sheer amount of heat and force her punch had produced.

Yang trudged out of the steam, panting lightly. Her eyes remained a deep crimson, but her hair was no longer alight with searing flame. She stomped forward, angrily. This night had not gone how she wanted. She was too tired for this crap.

The Beowolf slowly pulled itself up onto its feet with a whining growl. It stared down at its mangled right arm before looking back at the approaching girl. Its arm was completely ruined, a mess of mangled flesh and broken bone. The monster snarled as black blood oozed from its wounds and dripped onto the forest floor before turning into wisps of blackened smoke and faded away.

When the Grimm didn't make an immediate move to attack, Yang stopped in her tracks.

"Had enough, or are you thirsty for more?" Yang taunted the beast.

It glared at her with unfathomable hatred, as if it knew she was mocking it. It wanted nothing more than to crush this annoying insect that had dared to harm it, but the Grimm knew it was suicide to continue. It had survived battles with humans before, and its instincts were screaming at it to run away.

If it died here, it would never get a chance to eat the other puny humans from earlier. And there was something about the boy's scent that made him smell especially delectable to it. It couldn't wait to get its claws on him.

It roared at her one last time before releasing a billowing howl and sprinted away deeper into the woods. Yang's eyebrows raised in surprise at the monster's course of action. It was rare for her to see a Grimm retreat. Most of the ones on Patch were young and too stupid to do anything else besides fight until they died.

'Ehh, whatever…' Yang thought as she lowered her guard.

Her sister wouldn't like that she let the Grimm live, but right now she had bigger things to worry about than one stray Beowolf with a useless arm. With that in mind, Yang turned and started back to her house at a moderate pace. As she ran, Yang tried desperately not to jinx herself by wondering what else could go wrong that night.

"At least it's the weekend..." Yang muttered as she ran.

XXXXXXXXXX

Najimi no nai tenjō - Unfamiliar ceiling

Author's Note: Little lore bit. All of Shinji's thoughts are in Japanese since it's his first language.