Author's note: It is time. Try to figure out who my villain OC is based on.
Also, short chapter this time, because I wanted to focus entirely on the villains, and there isn't much I can do with them.
After Lich had killed the Tempest, the fusion took a moment to catch their breath and recover from the long assault. A Seer floated over to Salem, who was still standing next to them, and made a few clicking noises. Salem looked genuinely confused for a moment, then turned to face Lich.
"Someone, somehow, found us," Salem said, "Deal with them." Lich went on their way, following a Beowolf to the unwanted visitor. On the way, they created a few spectral Griffons, as well as some augmented with plant-dust. The minions were made up from vines, with leaves for feathers and bark instead of bone plating, and had thorns all over them.
~o~
Near the edge of the Land of Darkness, Lich found a rabbit faunus fighting Grimm. She had white rabbit ears, red eyes and short, strawberry blonde hair. She wore light red thigh-high high-heeled boots, a pink combat skirt with light yellow accents, and a dark blue vest over a white shirt with puffy sleeves. She also wore white, fingerless gloves.
"Hey there," the girl said and asked, "What's your deal? I'm Ichigo, by the way. You better remember that name." She swung a mace in her right hand, which resembled a whisk, and cheerfully jumped around the area, killing Grimm.
"I'm here to deal with you," Lich answered. They sent their summoned Griffons to attack. Ichigo jumped up and decapitated them with her flaming mace.
"So, how about we fight now?" Ichigo asked with a cheeky smile and put her mace away as a clear sign that she didn't consider the fusion a threat. Lich got upset and attacked, trying to land a hit with their right hand. Ichigo swung her right leg forward and jumped past the attack. She spun around mid-air and wrapped her left leg around Lich's neck, kicking the fusion's knee with her right foot. The force and leverage sent Lich flying, ending with the fusion on the ground face-down.
"Grimm, get her!" Lich yelled, and dozens of Beowolves charged at Ichigo while the fusion got back up. Ichigo drew her mace again and slammed it on the ground, sending razor-sharp gusts of wind through the Grimm. The Grimm died immediately, and the surroundings got carved up by the winds. Ichigo seemingly tasted the air and frowned a bit.
"Why so salty?" Ichigo asked and said, "Come on, give me some of that sweet, sweet agony you're hiding." She hit Lich with an upward swing of her mace as the fusion was pushing themself up again. She kicked Lich in the stomach with her left leg, putting all the force in the narrow tip of her high heel. Lich was thrown back by the surprisingly powerful kick and stumbled a bit, trying to catch their breath.
"What was that?" Lich asked in disbelief. Ichigo suddenly landed behind them and landed another equally devastating kick, this time aimed at where the fusion's scorpion tail connects to their body. Lich was thrown to the ground, rolling and sliding forward several meters, and grabbed their lower back in pain. With Tock unable to handle the pain, the fusion split up again. Tock grew some leaves from her scales that would numb pain, and gave them to Tyrian.
"What a twist," Ichigo said, "I knew something was off about you guys."
"How'd ya find us?" Tock asked. Tyrian began chewing the leaves, and almost immediately felt the pain lessen.
"It was easy," Ichigo answered, "I just followed the sound of failure."
"Whatever," Tock said, "These are the last sixty seconds of your life anyway." She started her stop watch and activated her semblance, and Tyrian got up as well, his eyes turning purple. Tock charged at Ichigo, who had no problem jumping out of the way, and way out of reach. Tyrian shot at her from the ground. Ichigo swung her mace, sending a wall of ice to catch the bullets. Ichigo landed again, and Tock went on the offense immediately. Tyrian jumped in from time to time, trying to touch Ichigo and disrupt her aura. Ichigo blocked and dodged the attacks with seemingly no effort, maintaining a playful smile the entire time. She made a backflip onto a rock spike, staying out of reach for any melee attacks.
"Let me guess," Ichigo said and asked, "Your semblance has a time limit, and yours depends on touching the opponent, right?" Tock created a series of thick vines leading up to Ichigo and went to attack her.
"So what?" Tyrian asked.
"I'm just saying," Ichigo answered, "I know your semblances, but you don't know mine. I'm at an advantage here." Just as Tock was about to hit her, Ichigo jumped to another rock spike, which seemed too far away for anyone to reach in one leap.
"It's got something to do with jumping, right?" Tock asked and extended the vines to Ichigo's new location and followed her, with Tyrian close behind.
"Nope, that's different," Ichigo answered, "Let me join you guys, and I'll teach you."
"Wait, what?" Tock asked and stopped in her tracks, and Tyrian stopped next to her.
"You want to join us?" Tyrian asked, and both he and Tock looked at each other in confusion. Ichigo lit her mace on fire and hit the vines, causing them to catch fire and break off. Tock and Tyrian plummeted to the ground, and Tock's semblance wore off as she clawed her way out of the burning splinters.
~o~
Ichigo stood in front of Salem, with Tock and Tyrian flanking the newcomer. Salem eyed her suspiciously, trying to figure out whether she would make a good asset to her inner circle.
"How did you find this place?" Salem asked, "And how did you survive the Grimm?"
"Like I told those two," Ichigo answered, pointing at Tock and Tyrian, "I followed them. And my semblance is quite versatile, too. So, it was actually pretty easy to get past those small fish."
"Your semblance," Salem said and asked, "What is it, exactly?"
"I call it Cream Decoration," Ichigo answered. Tyrian snorted a little, trying to suppress his laughter.
"Sorry," Tyrian said, still smiling at the name. Ichigo aimed her right hand at his feet and shot a stream of sticky pink liquid from it. The liquid solidified almost immediately, trapping Tyrian's lower legs in a pie-shaped structure.
"Anyway," Ichigo said, "It lets me shoot this substance from my hands. It can solidify into a rigid structure, or act like a liquid. It can also act like rubber, or like a rope. And if I want, it can stick to the ambient aura in the air, giving me platforms to jump off from and quickly change direction mid-jump. Also, with enough fire-dust, guns are easy to make. So, as long as I have aura, I'm never without a weapon." Tyrian began hacking away at the solid mass locking him in place. Whenever small chips broke off, they fizzled and turned into bubbles that stuck to whatever surface they landed on, then popped and disappeared shortly after.
"Sorry boss, I gotta ask something," Tock said, looked at Ichigo and asked, "How'd ya jump like that?"
"So, I'm on board?" Ichigo asked, looking at Salem.
"Yes, you are," Salem answered.
"Great," Ichigo said, turned to Tock and answered, "I learned to use my rabbit instincts to increase my control over my aura, so now I can increase my leg strength to what a rabbit of my size would be capable of if scaled up."
"Ain't that the thing the Star clan does?" Tock asked.
"You mean like Argent?" Marcus asked, walking into the throne room.
"You knew that?" Salem asked, eyeing him suspiciously.
"W- well, I knew of it, yes," Marcus answered nervously, "B- but I f- figured, since you're so powerful, you'd know about it already."
"I see," Salem said, turned to Ichigo and asked, "How quickly can you train those two?"
"Not sure," Ichigo answered, "I've never trained anyone before. Also, I kind of learned all of this out of necessity. It was either learning to adapt, or die."
"Well then, you will train them," Salem said, "Tock, Tyrian, I expect you two to follow her orders until you learned the abilities she is teaching you. Then proceed as planned." She left the room to do something else, and Tock, Tyrian and Marcus looked at Ichigo, who seemed completely unimpressed by Salem's appearance, as she had maintained her carefree smile the entire time while talking to her.
~o~
While Tock and Tyrian were meditating in their rooms to get in touch with their animal sides, Ichigo walked around the castle to get to know it a bit better. As she turned a corner, she ran into Hazel.
"You're new here," Hazel said, "Hello."
"Hello, my name's Ichigo," Ichigo said and asked, "And you are?"
"Hazel Rainart," Hazel answered, and Ichigo's ears perked up.
"Rainart?" Ichigo asked, "I think I know someone with that name."
"Really?" Hazel asked and said, "It's a rare name, and I've never met anyone outside my family who has it."
"Your family?" Ichigo asked.
"My parents," Hazel answered, paused for a moment, and said, "And… my sister, Gretchen."
"Hey, I met a Gretchen once," Ichigo said, sensing Hazel's sorrow.
"Really?" Hazel asked, "Are you an old friend of hers?"
"Yeah," Ichigo answered and asked, "So, why are you here?"
"I'll get back at Ozpin for sending her to her death," Hazel answered angrily, and Ichigo grimaced a bit.
"You know, I was there when it happened," Ichigo said, "I've been trying to find you ever since, to tell you something."
"Wait, really?" Hazel asked, "What is it?"
"She wanted you to continue what she started," Ichigo answered, "To make sure noone else dies to the Grimm, or anyone else trying to destroy the kingdoms. Keep her memory alive, and become the best huntsman in the world. Someone everyone can feel protected by." The words hit Hazel in all the wrong places, and he fell silent as guilt overcame him.
"I… need to be alone for some time," Hazel said and walked past Ichigo. She happily walked away, enjoying that sweet agony. After Hazel returned to his room and locked the door, he screamed in despair. The Grimm outside looked up, and a flock of Giant Nevermore got up from their perches and flew towards the castle, drawn in by the misery.
~o~
The following day, Ichigo was walking around the castle again, after enjoying some of Hazel's suffering. She ran into Lethena, who was holding the twins in her arms, and was a bit put off by them at first.
"Are you new here?" Lethena asked.
"Yes, why?" Ichigo answered and asked, "And why are you so sour?"
"Sour?" Lethena asked, lowered her voice and said, "Anyway, you best get out of here, before it's too late."
"Lethena, I see you met Ichigo," Salem said as she came around a corner, "I believe her semblance can help you arrange some things for the babies. Consider her at your disposal for everything she can help with."
"Of course," Lethena said nervously, turned to Ichigo and said, "This way." She walked away, leading Ichigo to the room where she and the babies stayed, and had her make all kinds of furniture for the babies. She made the room feel more like a home, putting up curtains and such, to mask the scary interior.
~o~
After a few days of training Tock and Tyrian, with no results in sight, Ichigo went to report to Salem. Noone had seen Hazel since Ichigo had arrived, but everyone heard him, and Ichigo usually hung out around his room when she wasn't trying to train the other two faunus on the team.
"Salem, I have something to confess," Ichigo said as she entered Salem's throne room.
"What is it?" Salem asked.
"I don't know how to train Tock and Tyrian," Ichigo answered.
"Well, alright," Salem said, "Take the two of them and go to Atlas. Cause enough chaos to get Arthur out of prison, then come back."
"Alright," Ichigo said in her usual cheerful tone. She left the throne room again and passed Marcus, who wanted to speak to Salem. Ichigo stayed for a bit after the door closed, and listened to figure out what he wanted.
~o~
Tock and Tyrian were sitting in the latter's room, talking about their past adventures and generally getting to know each other better. They both agreed that Ichigo was a pain to deal with, and utterly unsettling due to being completely unfazed by Salem's appearance.
"I don't know what she did to Hazel," Tyrian said, "But it has to be bad. He usually never lets anything get to him like that."
"Are ya worried?" Tock asked teasingly.
"Sort of, yes," Tyrian answered and asked, "I mean, if she can do that to him, what else can she do? And how did she even do that?"
"Also, what'd she mean about us hiding pain?" Tock asked and said, "I ain't hiding anything."
"Yeah, me neither," Tyrian said. The two got quiet for a moment, until Tock got an idea.
"Wanna go for a sparring match?" Tock asked, trying to cheer Tyrian up.
"I guess," Tyrian answered and got up.
"Tell ya what," Tock said, "Since the Grimm are getting stronger, what with Hazel being a mess and all, maybe we can kill some of those. You know, as Lich."
"Now that's more like it," Tyrian said and jumped up to hug Tock, and the two fused almost immediately. They left the room and headed outside, looking for powerful Grimm to fight.
~o~
Ichigo leaned in close to listen what Salem and Marcus were talking about. Thanks to her experiences, her already superior hearing was even more enhanced, allowing her to hear through walls.
"I… have been thinking," Marcus said and asked, "Why did you bring back those infants?"
"For their semblances," Salem answered, "They will be useful to me once they are older."
"Can't I just steal one of them?" Marcus asked.
"No, you cannot," Salem answered, "They need to develop naturally." Suddenly, a cold shiver ran down Ichigo's spine, and her ears twisted themselves up in shock for a moment. She left and headed to where she felt the sensation coming from.
~o~
Lich took a direct hit from a Nuckelavee, but held on to its outstretched arm and pulled it closer. As soon as it was within reach, Lich formed a crocodile's head from the hard-light-dust in the scales on their head, and grabbed the horse portion's neck with it. The fusion threw the Grimm around until its body flew away and its head evaporated in the fusion's mouth. Lich shot a lightning from their stinger, killing the rider portion with a precise head-shot. The Grimm evaporated, and instead of simply dissipating, the smoke spiraled into a cone shape and collected into a nearby pool. Lich smiled and set their sights on a small group of Sulfur Fish scurrying around the nearby rocks. Much to their surprise, however, the fusion could somehow sense the tiny feet walking around behind the rocks.
~o~
Ichigo entered Lethena's room, following the sensation of something happening to one of her constructs. Lethena was looking around frantically, and the sensation died down quickly.
"Ichigo, there you are," Lethena said and asked, "Can you make me a new spoon to feed the babies? The one I used just disappeared when I turned my back to the two."
"Sure," Ichigo answered and created a new spoon, then handed it to Lethena.
"Thanks," Lethena said and went to grab another jar of baby food to feed the babies.
"It's nothing," Ichigo said. While Lethena wasn't looking, Ichigo created a small pink chunk of hardened material from her semblance and gave it to one of the babies. The young bat faunus played with it for a bit, then a cold and sinister feeling overcame Ichigo, and she heard a light gargling noise. She held her head and turned away from the babies. The feeling disappeared after a few seconds, and when Ichigo looked at the babies, she noticed that the chunk of pink material was missing. She also noticed the same feeling that had led her to this room.
"Did you hear that?" Lethena asked when she heard the sound.
"Yes," Ichigo answered, still a bit hazy from the dark feeling.
"I also heard it when the spoon disappeared," Lethena said and asked, "Do you know what it was?"
"No," Ichigo answered, "But it was accompanied by a very dark feeling."
"What… kind of dark feeling?" Lethena asked hesitantly.
"Something… evil," Ichigo answered, "And unnatural."
"Do you know where came from?" Lethena asked, worried about the babies' safety.
"There," Ichigo answered and pointed at the babies. Lethena froze up and Ichigo grimaced again, as if she had accidentally eaten a sour candy.
"No, it can't be," Lethena said, "Those are babies. They're not evil, they're cute, and sweet, and innocent."
"Well, there was definitely something evil coming from them," Ichigo said, "In any case, I have to leave now. Be careful not to lose anything else while I'm gone." She left the room again and headed out to meet with Tock and Tyrian, before the three of them left for Atlas again.
Author's note: Ichigo did the thing those mediums do to make you think your late grandma wants you to give them all your retirement money, but with the goal of making Hazel as miserable as possible.