With the sun's warm rays shining down, Kagami slowly shifted around on the blanket of snow as the rays ran across her face. She slowly sat up, rubbing her face a little before yawning. She blinked a little as her eyes opened. To her right, there was a dying fire still blazing with warm embers while to her left there was... nothing. She pushed herself up, looking around. "Chey? Kris? Elise?" She took a few steps around. She went to reach for her sword, only to blink as she pulled out Cheyenne's rifle. She blinked a few times, staring at it for a moment before she flashed her teeth and with narrowed eyes looked around. "Baren!" She shouted at the top of her lungs.
Dropping down from the trees with a thud as snow fluttered around her, the old warrior stood up straight with a grin unlike any other. "What?" She cocked her head to the side.
"What did you do?" She stepped forward, irritation growing in her voice.
"Hmph." Her grin grew as she gave a shrug. "I've been watching the four of you. A problem all of you have is the fact you're too dependent on your current fighting styles. You need to be aware and able with all kinds to become better at fighting enemies."
"That still doesn't explain where my friends are!" She held out her arms.
"I scattered you." She moved her arm behind her back. "Scattered the four of you and swapped your weapons. Mantle is that way." She pointed towards the west. "Head that way. Don't hesitate to kill anything that hinders your path." She gave a nod, hauling herself back into the trees as she disappeared.
Blinking, Kagami stood still in near disbelief for several seconds before she let out a small growl as her eyebrow twitched. Changing the setting on the rifle to ice Dust, she fired a blast. An explosion of icicles forming as she stepped over. Looking for the thickest one, she brought her leg around to kick it off. As it broke and fell into the snow, she reached down and picked it up. Weighing it a bit, she spun it around in her hand like her sword for a moment before dropping it and jumping back as was sliced in half.
"No cheating." Baren narrowed her eyes as she sheathed her ninjato. "Learn to aim and shoot the rifle. Understand?" She raised an eyebrow.
Groaning, she eyed the weapon in her hands before sighing with a slow nod. "Fine, fine. I'll figure out how to defeat Grim from a distance." She glanced up, quickly looking around only to see no sight of her mentor. She sighed, reaching up to rub her face before she pulled out her scroll and checked the time. It was a couple minutes before seven. Taking a deep breath, she exhaled. "Okay. Let's... learn to use this."
A few hours passed as the jadette found herself walking through shin deep snow. The bottom part of her pants along with her shoe laces growing wet and freezing stiff. Doing her best to keep her mind clear, it didn't help all that much from the overwhelming amount of emotions pulsing through her veins. She knew it was only a matter of time until the Grimm showed up because of that.
And she was right.
As she trudged along, she heard the faintest sound of crunching snow behind her. Her eyes narrowed as she shot a glare behind her. "Alright..." She exhaled, outstretching her right arm. Only holding the rifle in one hand, she held her finger against the trigger. "Let's do this." She flashed her teeth, watching as a sabyr step out from behind a tree with a growl. Pulling the trigger back, her arm recoiled from the shot. An explosion of ice shattering next to the sabertooth Grimm as it tilted its head.
Kagami blinked a few times, gritting her teeth as she fired several more shots. Each missing the creature and landing around it. Eventually, the Sabyr glanced around before snarling as it slid a foot back. It then lunged forward before breaking into a full on sprint.
"Oh... crap." She exhaled, turning around on her heels as she took off running while reloading the weapon. "Terrible idea! Very terrible idea!" She glanced back behind her, the creature easily and quickly closing the gap between them. She clenched her jaw, swinging the rifle on her back as she looked ahead. Taking a deep breath, she jumped into the air while reaching up. Her hands gripping a branch which she hauled herself up and over. Grunting as she landed on top, she crouched down while pulling the rifle back out. "Alright, take two." Sliding the rifle back around, she grabbed onto the tree with her left hand to balance herself while pressing the stock against her hips in hopes to better stabilize the weapon. She pulled the trigger, firing a few more missed shots.
Down below the Sabyr growled, dodging between blasts of ice before charging and headbutting into the tree. As the tree shook, it pulled back before striking it once again.
The first time, the jadette managed to hold herself steady but by the time the Grimm charged the second time, she lost her balance. She fell down below into the snow with a thud and a groan as she sat up. Her eyes widening at the Sabyr baring its teeth and teeth right at her. She quickly brought the rifle up, her left hand holding onto the underbarrel as she pulled the trigger again.
The recoil shot the weapon back, sending it into her shoulder. She grimaced, watching as the creature was frozen in a chunk of ice. The ice slowly forming cracks as it could be heard snarling. With wide eyes, she quickly reached over, changing the Dust setting on the rifle. Pulling the trigger once more, a blast of red struck the frozen beast. It exploded into chunks of sparkling ice which soon faded away into nothing but smoke.
Kagami took several deep breaths, slowly falling onto her back as snow puffed up around her. "I really... really want my sword back."
An hour or so after the sun was overhead, the jadette was resting beside a tree. With Cheyenne's rifle at her left and her poem book in front of her, she slowly moved her right arm around to stretch out her shoulder. Despite her aura, it was still aching from the recoil of each shot she took. Letting out a soft groan, she stretched out her neck just as she heard a faint thud behind her. She let out a soft growl while leaning back up against the tree. "I hate you."
"I don't care." Baren let out a low chuckle while stepping over and sitting beside her. In her left hand, a half eaten box of strawberries that she set to her side. "How are things going?" She raised an eyebrow while tilting her head.
"Terrible." She huffed, looking away and glaring. "I think I'm about to start brushing my shoulder. So let's just skip how you've been having me fail all morning and get to the point where you tell me what I'm doing wrong." She glanced back. Her gaze trailing towards the box of strawberries. Her brow furrowed a bit before she shook her head. Better not to ask knowing her mentor.
She smiled back, shaking her head as she looked up through the trees. "Well if you're going to act like that, I might as well not tell you anything."
"No, no please..." She let out a small groan before taking a deep breath. She closed her eyes, rolling her head back. "I'm sorry. I'm just..." She sighed again.
"Stressed? Worried? Afraid?" She glanced over.
Nodding very slowly, she closed her eyes. "All of the above." She swallowed.
The old warrior sighed, exhaling softly. Eyeing the green book on the snow, she turned her head back towards the jadette. "Can I read about it or will you tell me?"
Going silent for a few seconds, Kagami stared down at her book of poems before reaching out and grabbing it. "We can talk about it." She gulped a bit, slowly flipping through the pages. She paused again, taking a few seconds before taking a deep breath and reading.
My adventure began when I was young
When everyone thought I was troublesome
Back when I couldn't even begin to envision
What would happen throughout the duration
After I had been thrown off that cliff for initiation
I kept up with my homework while stopping swarms of criminals
Nearly won a fight against someone who's moves were invisible
Survived being kidnapped and prevailed strong
And fought for Beacon even though now it's long gone
I lived through falling down into a deep and rapid river
Even destroyed a Grimm that for years resided within her
Pushed out a poison that was in my blood rather painfully
And fought a crime lord and my cousin's bandit tribe simultaneously
With my friends I traveled over halfway across this world
To help the former enemy have their lost hope restored
Somehow won an underground fight club on my first try
And with no aura charged at a Grimm that ruled the sea and sky
All these impressive feats I have survived and conquered
Yet you're still the one that has me check mated and cornered
In the distance, the wind howled against the trees. Baren took a very deep breath before she exhaled and looked over. "You really are afraid to go back home..." She trailed off, the tone in her voice different.
"She shoved me aside like I was nothing. Sent me away not even knowing what would happen to me." Her jaw slowly clenched. "What kind of mother just sends away their daughter into the unknown?!"
The pinkette sighed, closing her eyes with a slow nod. "Maybe she had a reason then. Maybe she somehow knew fate would allow me to find you."
"No one can see the future." She mumbled, bringing her knees to her chest as she looked away.
"Not exactly, no..." She glanced up at the sky. "But I've met some strange men and women with very strange semblances before. Some you wouldn't even believe unless you saw the truth for your own eyes." She reached over, placing her hand on her shoulder. "You trust me, I know you do. I'm sure your mother had a reason. And when we get there, you can have her explain it to you. Try to understand what she did before throwing hatred around. Okay?"
She slowly nodded back, holding her legs tighter. She went silent again while staring ahead. "She... she told me to become someone who could change the world. That was the last thing I remember her telling me. And all I've done is run around causing trouble with my friends."
"The Great War didn't end in a day." She smiled while rubbing the jadette's shoulder. "How about instead of asking yourself how you can change the world, ask yourself what a warrior would do."
Kagami faintly smiled, glancing over. "Because we're both warriors and if we keep moving forward, always moving forward, we're untouchable. Right?"
"Right." Baren nodded as she got up and brushed the snow off her. "Now," She picked up Cheyenne's modified rifle and placed it in her arms. "I never really cared since I find them primitive, but Wuile taught me a lot about shooting firearms. You put the stock of the rifle in the pocket of your shoulder. Keep your hand on the grip and finger off the trigger. Off hand goes under the barrel to help stabilize it. And you aim down your sights. Maybe try closing one eye, at least for now to help your aim."
Elsewhere, on a mountain in Mistral, Nihilus and Thanaton both sat across from their mother while at a low table. Taking a deep breath, Sakuya sipped from her glass of tea before slowly setting it down. "So Valentine-"
"Val." Her son corrected. "Or Valerie."
"Right." She nodded while setting her hands on her lap. "Valerie. I'm still having a little trouble processing all of this..."
"It does sound like a bunch of nonsense." The purple haired young woman waved her hand. "But honestly it's all true. All of it. We have no reason to lie."
"I know you don't." She nodded back slowly, staring at the two for a moment. Almost two decades had cane and gone. She had nearly given up hope. Yet here they were. She shook her head, rising to her feet as she grabbed the empty tea pot. "I'm going to make some more. Is there anything either of you want?"
"I'm fine, thank you." Her son nodded towards him.
"Yeah well, I'm starving." Her daughter pointed towards herself.
She let out a faint chuckle, shaking her head slightly. "Good to know one of you is still polite and the other isn't. Guess some things really don't change."
As she returned with a fresh pot of tea and a stuffed bun and she sat down, Thanaton took a deep breath. She glanced at her quiet brother for a moment before back at her mother. "So... what happened to dad?" Her voice went soft.
Sakuya blinked, sighing as she poured herself a cup of steaming hot tea. "He searched. Everyone. Exhausted every resource he could. And when he kept finding nothing, he began to drink to drown the pain away. Each day I watched as more and more of his soul disappeared. Eventually, everything caught up to him. I'm sure he'd be happy to know you've found your way back home finally after everything."
She nodded, glancing down as she brushed her purple hair behind her ear. "I guess..." She muttered, grabbing the stuffed bun.
She sighed again, glancing around at the quiet home. "Actually, you know... I know I have it somewhere." She stood up, setting her tea down as she began to look for something.
The two twins blinked, glancing at each other before shrugging. Neither knew what was happening.
After a few minutes, their mother returned with something long wrapped in cloth. "He made this a long time ago. For you." She eyed her son. "He spent months working on it so it would be perfect." She began to unwrap the cloth, revealing a broadsword with etched markings covering both sides of the blade. The handle wrapped in black leather. "He was going to train you when you were old enough..." She trailed off.
Blinking, Nihilus very faintly smiled with a nod as he held out his arms. "I'd be glad to if you'd let me."
She smiled back, carefully handing him the weapon. "He made it to be used with Dust. It's useful on its own, but much more so when combined with Dust crystals." She took a deep breath, pulling her arms away.
"Really? What about me? Do I get a cool new weapon?" Thanaton flashed a grin.
"Well," She rubbed the back of her head. "I suppose he imagined you'd mellow out when you got older. I suppose we were both wrong there." She waved her hand. "I have some clothes you could try on?" She smiled.
"Uhh... well, um..." She swallowed, strands of her purple hair falling across her face.
Sakuya let out a small laugh, shaking her head. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding." She smiled, staring at her two children. "What do you two plan to do next now that you are here?"
Nihilus glanced at Thanaton before back at his mother. His smile growing. "Spend time with you and catch up." He eyed his sister. "And do what we do best." He nodded, gripping the sword his father made tight in his hands.
*New Year happens*
Me: *has nearly fixed my insomnia*
Me: *is being super productive*
Me: *is eating healthy*
Me: *is playing a reasonable amount of video games*
Me: *is typing my fan fiction and updating weekly again*
*the god damn apocalypse starts*
Me: *doesn't understand how to sleep anymore*
Me: *loses all will power to do literally anything*
Me: *can't eat correctly at all*
Me: *video games are now a chore*
My laptop: *literally stops working so I have to write on my phone which is a pain in the ass*
*coughs*
This is fine. Everything is fine.
Remember to be nice to everyone.