Unknown Location: Months Later After the Fall of Beacon
The landscape is cold and dark, with the freezing cold temperature indicating signs of it being winter. Accompanying this is heavy rain that pours down, with the setting not being visible at all, it is seemingly pitch black outside, but as the rain continues to fall at a never ending and rapid speed, a pair of eyes open, at last adding color to contrast the darkness. They are dark blue eyes that do not open all the way, and they express nothing but coldness and anger. It is Link, he stares out into the shattered moon of Remnant; his attention never leaves the moon, despite the hard rain soaking him, the strong wind, and cold being impossible to ignore… and yet, he ignores it perfectly. Despite internally reacting negatively to the snow, the blond young man has suffered so much, he is numb to the weather. Apart from not reacting to the rain, wind or the freezing cold, his only action after staring at the shattered moon is to close his eyes, quietly sighs, think hard, and reminisce when times were better
(This… is what… it is… truly like… to be… alone.)
...
...
...
Flashback: The Secluded Village of Garanda
Link is fast asleep in the family home of Hiroku the father, Morgan the mother, Liam the blond older brother, and Ray the youngest of the family. The four are a happy, peaceful, energetic family with big hearts and unmatched stubbornness. Ray and her parents stand over Link as he lies in the bed of the girl, exhausted and having slept for far too long than anybody should. Ultimately, it is Hiroku who clears his throat and makes an attempt to wake him up
"Hey kid, wake up!" The older man cups his hands over his mouth, projecting his voice even louder
"DON'T BE SO BRASH FATHER!" Ray gasps. "HE'S BEEN WORKING HIS AS-!"
"RAY! Language!" Morgan, the mother of Ray and wife of Hiroku, angrily but gently smacks her daughter on the back of the head to silence her
"Sorryyyyyyy." Ray giggles and lightly shakes Link by his shoulder. "Cmon sleepy head, wake up already."
"Hm?" Link opens one eye and sees three people around him, staring with concern. "O-Oh! Hello, Ray. Good morning, to all of you."
"We were getting worried about you idiot." Ray smiles and quickly hugs him. "You've been out like a light for about twelve hours or more now."
"R-Really?" He gasps and immediately sits up. "But I did not even-!"
"Stop." Hiroku promptly interjects, "You dedicated the entirety of yesterday to the village, kid. I haven't seen a man let alone a boy go out of his way to train troops, work with individuals one on one and still have the energy or dedication to go around helping other villagers do their daily tasks." He chuckles and snorts in amusement. "Hell, I have never seen my soldiers go around helping the elderly with their simple tasks such as gardening, carrying stuff, or cleaning."
"I see." Link grins. "It is an honor to help as much as I can. This village feels like a second home… not that I even remember what my first home was like, heh."
"Well then forget about it, silly." Ray covers her mouth when realizing what she just said. "Sorry."
"It's okay." Link chuckles, "I know it was not intended to be hurtful but still, you are correct." He nods. "So how are things? Am I needed for something? I would be happy to help."
"Nonsense." Morgan mumbles with a big smile on her face. "We actually wanted to just wake you up and see if you were okay or needed anything, you've done so much for us and the village but never ask for anything in return."
"And I am okay with that." Link shakes his head, "Allowing me to stay for a month is all the reward I need, if I wasn't here I would still be on the run from mercenaries or thugs." His grin morphs into a big smile as well. "So getting to stay here is amazing. Now that I am awake, please tell me if there is anything I can do?"
"Well if you really insist, besides individual training for my soldiers, you could go to the academy and train the kids your age." Hiroku nods in approval. "Professor Abha does a good job, but an extra pair of hands wouldn't hurt."
"Then I will be sure to make my way to the academy before the day ends." The blond nods
"Can you two stop calling it an academy?" Ray sighs whilst rolling her eyes. "It's nowhere near the size of a real academy, it's basically just a day care for older people."
"Is that so?" Her father laughs. "As good as your joke is, you're not enrolled at that 'day care' so what does that make you in comparison to them?"
"Hey hey… none of that." Link glares at the condescending man. "She has her reasons for not attending, Liam can tell you all about it too. It is up to them since it is not really my place to reveal their reason. But now that you mention it." He turns to the brunette. "Why don't you come with me, Ray?"
"REALLY?" Ray jumps with joy. "Do you really mean that?"
"Absolutely, who is going to stop you?" Link nods
"You kids." Hiroku shrugs, but beneath that tough exterior is a big smile. "We'll leave you to get ready and go whenever you're ready, come on now ladies."
"I promise to not take long." Link pulls the blanket off himself, scoots over until he is almost off the mattress, and promptly stretches, only experiencing slight soreness. (I do not understand how this aura stuff works… but what I do know is I feel great. I still cannot believe they gave me an entire month to live here, I expected to be given three days at most, but these are good people. Not all have been good to me but I understand their reasons. I'm sure if the roles were reversed, I would be hesitant and unable to trust a new stranger with a dark, violent, and bad past into our secluded village that nobody on the outside knows about.)
Dressing himself as fast as he can, Link springs out of bed, and exits Ray's room with explosiveness he would normally only use in combat. He runs down the hall and heads for the door, ready to continue the day that has already started
"WAIT!" Morgan calls out
"Yes?" Link turns to the generous woman, a determined look in his eyes. "Is something wrong?"
"O-Oh! W-Well, nothing that grave, but you cannot leave on an empty stomach and I know you have barely eaten since you first arrived here. Please, sit down and eat." Morgan walks over to their wooden dining table, then sets down a plate with glazed apples, scrambled eggs drizzled with syrup, battered fish and a mushroom stew on the side
"H-How did you... I've only been awake for minutes-!"
"Our 'plan B' was to simply wake you up at some point, so I made all this food and then we decided it was time to wake you up." She laughs and pats Link on the shoulder, before walking off. "Eat up, I hope you like it."
"I appreciate this… how did you know I really like apples? I must have told Ray at some point." Link grins as he sits down on the table. "Either way, thank you so much."
Cherishing the sight of the well prepared food, a massive smile appears before Link instantly grabs the mushroom stew, presses the bowl to his lips, tilts his head back, and begins consuming the liquid despite its piping hot temperature
"Oh my goodness! Slow down, Link!" Ray giggles as she sits in front of him. "Don't be a pig!"
"Sorry." Link pushes the other plate towards his 'new' friend. "Do you want some?"
"No no no, that's alright, I already ate." Ray promptly pushes the plate back towards the blond
"Are you sure?" Link raises an eyebrow as he lifts the bowl above his head and tilts it to pour the stew down into his mouth once more, this time finishing all of the stew in his second attempt. "I do not mind sharing."
"The way you're eating? I am absolutely sure." Ray smiles and softly kicks Link's leg underneath the table. "Enjoyyy."
"You're missing out. Your mother is an awesome cook-!" His eyes widen in embarrassment. "...although I'm sure you already knew that."
"YUP!" She nods, exclaiming with a hint of pure happiness and amusement in her voice
"So, were you interested in learning anything specific? I said I would go to the academy later today, but helping you is my biggest priority, Ray." Link smiles as he chomps down on the battered fish. "If anything is on your mind, please share."
"Honestly? Nothing specific, I just want to pick up everything I can from you. Although I know being a teacher is new to you as you are also still learning." Ray nervously twiddles her fingers and exhales quietly. "So I don't want to be intruding on your development either."
"Hey now..." Link reaches across the table and squeezes her right hand with his left. "You would not be intruding, if anything I want you there while I learn everything I can. After all, I could not imagine life without you."
"R-Really?" She smiles, both lips quivering. "You have no idea how much that means to hear."
"I can certainly try my best to understand." He nods. "Your smile is really nice so the more I see of that, the more I know I've done a good job."
"Now you're just being too sweet." Ray blushes
"And how is that possible?" Link shakes his head
"Shhh! Just take the compliment, silly!"
Following her earlier request, Link slows down his eating and takes the time to savor the food graciously prepared for him. Having gone from cheap food and any fruit available such as apples and berries to a real meal feels like night and day
"Can I ask about some things?" Ray squeezes back as her smile remains. "About… you know."
"Absolutely… you are warned when I say that I cannot remember that much about that night, apart from right before I got sent into a river."
"Fair enough, how about telling me what you remember from the start." She squints her eyes in an overly dramatic way, to indicate she is not completely serious but listening diligently
"I will keep the first part brief because it is not something I hope to tell anyone ever again. It is all a blur as well, but I remember my 'father' burning a little cabin we called home. For some reason, the fire was not going out despite it raining heavily, it almost did not feel real. As far as I know, my 'brother' and 'mother' escaped safely, but I do not remember what they even look like." Link sighs. "I believe I helped them escape too, and when it was my turn to run, that is when my 'father' realized his plan failed, saw me, came after me, then I was grabbed with all of his strength. I am sure of it because I... could not move at all."
"What happened next?" Ray gasps and nearly sheds a tear. "Were you able to break free and catch up with your mother and brother?"
Link sighs and quickly takes a bite of the now eggs that are not sweetened by syrup., then slowly shakes his head
"Then..." She motions for him to continue. "What's next?"
"I do not know if they are alive or not." Link stares at his meal for a short period of time before lifting his head and looking into his friend's eyes once more. "I only remember that the rain got heavier and lightning began to strike. I broke free from my 'father's' grip and was able to run to the edge of a cliff. I was ready to turn and fight, then I-!."
Suddenly he stops and contemplates telling Ray about the first emergence of the demon. After a few minutes and a stare down with Ray, he ultimately decides on what he must say
"I almost killed him, let's just keep it at that. By some crazy chance, lightning struck directly in between him and I. And I do not know what happened to him, I just know that I was sent off the cliff and into a river and ummm... it was a not very deep river, so I was knocked unconscious by the rocks at the bottom."
"What is it with you and falling into water streams or large bodies of water?" Ray breaks the tension with her joke, which thankfully manages to get Link to smile. "First a river and now our lake?"
"You are not wrong." Link chuckles, "Maybe it's all happening for a reason, because the first time I was saved, it was by a woman, but at least you are more real and believable to explain to someone." He nods. "The girl who saved me felt like a character in a fiction book."
"How so?" Ray asks
"Her name was Amber and to describe her… let's see. She had light brown skin, short brown hair, and wore a long cloak… ummm, she wore it on top of a white shirt with a brown vest and pants. Amber also had a shiny gold gauntlet on her left arm, a pair of what looked to be golden boots, even some golden armor on her right shoulder; as well as a shoulder strap with some pouches across her body. Like I said, she could be a character straight out of a book with how majestic she looked. In fact, she is the reason I like apples so much, my first apple came from her. You would not believe me when I say I was like a wounded and scared animal when I first saw Amber. I was convinced that I was dead but no… she saved me from drowning."
"Wooooow that is amazing!" Ray happily cheers. "This badass Amber woman sounds like she came straight out of The Story of the Seasons."
"I agree." Link's eyes light up, having read that story during his down time with the Black Hawks, his old mercenary group. "We did not say a lot to each other, but it was a nice conversation. Considering I was a few bad words away from panicking, Amber was a saint and knew how to calm me down."
"Have you been able to see her again?" The brunette eagerly slaps the table. "Please say yes."
Link's heart suddenly starts pounding loudly as he nearly chokes on his food
(Crap... I certainly cannot say yes considering I did see Amber again, seeing as I was tasked to kill her.)
"N-No." Link turns away, not being able to look in his friend's eyes whilst lying to her, "And believe me, I was on the lookout for her. I did focus more on mercenary work and that was my top priority, but other members of the group did not know what was on my mind." He turns back to Ray and grins. "They also did not know what exactly I was doing during my free time. Some tried to follow me but my instincts and awareness developed fast, and I caught anyone who attempted to spy on me. But there was no punishment for doing that, I simply told them to leave me alone."
"The stuff being done in your free time was... you trying to locate your mother, brother and Amber?" Ray asks as she raises an eyebrow
"Yes." The blond boy nods, "Unfortunately nothing came of those efforts but I am confident that I will find all three of them some day. This is a big world but since I will eventually keep moving as I cannot stay here permanently, I have no choice but to continue forward. If you want to ask another question, go ahead or would you like me to elaborate more on the current question?"
"Oh I will certainly ask more about Amber and hopefully you are able to remember your mother and brother more, I'd love to hear about them too. Regarding another question I do have... it is about that woman who incapacitated me." Ray's smile fades and she glances at her wounded bicep. "Who is she with and what did they want with you?"
"Hmm, okay well I am going to give you the shortened version, because a lot of the details are not needed. I used to be part of a mercenary group like I mentioned not long ago. It was a mercenary group I led, although I did not create it. Before my life as a mercenary, I was on my own, trying to survive by doing something worth praising. If anything I should have been arrested or killed, and that could have been the end of my journey, but a lot of people had sympathy and saw me for what I was… a kid on my own with no family or friends for support."
"What did you used to do exactly?" Raw slightly narrows her eyes, not aware of her judgmental look
"Well, I would steal food and attempt to shake down innocent people. Sometimes I would fail and get beaten up, other times I would barely come out of it with anything and a lot of physical pain." Link sighs as he feels the young woman staring directly into his soul. "That is what I did to survive."
"You? Beaten up? That is so crazy to believe." She scoffs
"Nobody starts off strong, such as my previous mercenary partner Carter proclaimed I was good enough to be in prestigious academies. I will admit, as much as the praise felt great, I also felt down about myself because I have not even been training or fighting or doing anything of the sort. Not nearly as much as other people my age who started training at a young age. I am never going to have the skill, technique or form that people with thousands of hours of training will have and-!"
"Buuuuuuuut!" Ray quickly cuts off Link and smiles wide. "Your disadvantages could also be a way you stand out for good reasons. Think about it, if you fight and your style is unique, will your opponents know what to expect? NOPE! And you do not even need set moves or a certain attack style, you can just go into battle however you want to and emerge victorious, I am VERY confident when I say that too."
"You say that, but you do know I am trying to teach you traditional fighting... right?"
Link covers his mouth to hide his giggling, but the sounds from the boy come through clear as day
"Believe me, why do you think I look like an amateur sometimes? AND NO!" Ray snaps. "It is not because I am still a beginner." She giggles. "I'm learning from a bad teacher."
"Sure you are." Link smirks and rolls his eyes. "Then do you want to fight exactly like me? I don't have to keep pretending like I know how to train someone traditionally, I can make you my real protege and everyone else can get my attempts at being a… trainer? Teacher? Instructor?"
"YES PLEASE!" Ray nods happily and grasps her sword handle, "I am so happy we got to this point because you honestly are really strong for someone who has not even been fighting for that long." She grins. "I cannot wait to learn as much as I can from you and I promise I will be like a sponge and absorb everything you throw at me, so give me your best shot."
"I am happy to hear that." The blond boy nods back and continues eating, "Now to continue, we did not get to make the changes we wanted to make as a mercenary group. The way mercenaries work is like this: take the highest bid, no questions asked. But I, along with Carter, wanted to change things. We wanted to become rebel mercenaries. The type who take cheaper jobs in order to serve justice to the rich, who usually hire mercenaries to rob and kill the poor or other threats. Unfortunately we encountered the White Fang far too soon, then we were essentially forced to merge with them. Although, I never saw it as a merger but a partnership, we did work for them and did our own jobs too." He sighs. "Unfortunately that did not last long either. Change took place when the White Fang wanted profit from our individual work, and soon we decided to stop doing our own missions and only do the White Fang's bidding."
"Why not fight back?"
"Because no matter how strong and rebellious the Black Hawks were, we could never retaliate." Link shrugs his shoulders. "We were not scared of them, but knew we would lose. The White Fang had numbers, too many for us to handle."
"And that ultimately led to you here?" Ray tilts her head to the left in confusion. "But how?"
"Let's just say the White Fang and three new associates had a plan in place that would either benefit them while having the leader of our group killed… as in me. The other option to this plan would destroy the Black Hawks and the lives of every member involved. I was asked-!" Link cuts himself off and shrugs. "More like demanded and forced to do a mission. Someone or some people needed to go undercover and spy on 'certain' individuals. The only issue was that no White Fang members could do it, nor could the people who threw the mission on the White Fang to begin with. These people did not belong to an organization, it was two teenagers like us and a woman who possessed a lot of influence and clearly some sort of amazing power. I could feel how powerful she was just by standing in front of her."
"Oh wow, were you scared of her?" The brunette gulps in anticipation
"Scared? No. But I should have been." Link mumbles. "Ultimately, since my group primarily operated under masks and I was the leader and deemed the most powerful, I was selected. However, our group was not made of fools, we knew-! Or at least Carter and I knew they had a plan in case I failed or succeeded."
Link takes a deep breath as he finishes speaking momentarily, remembering everything about that encounter vividly but hesitates on what he wants to say
"If I succeeded, I would have come back to a disbanded mercenary group and a few members wiped out to send a message, and I would have been forced to officially join the White Fang. If I failed then those three people who had a grip on the White Fang said they were going to personally kill me, AND kill all the mercenaries in my group, but I figured that was just to scare me to not fail-!"
"The likely outcome would have been they kill you and take over your group, essentially ending the black hawks and taking in your members forcefully." Ray winces in disgust. "That's horrible."
"Correct, great observation." Link smiles. "We didn't come up with a plan but I made sure to tell Carter that regardless of whether I come back or not, they were to immediately take off, successfully escape, run, keep running, hide, and lay low-!"
"To do what they can to survive?"
"Exactly." The blond boy nods. "And ultimately as you see where I am now, the Black Hawks disbanded. After all, escaping with our lives was more important and continuing as mercenaries. I have not seen any of them, but that is due to the fact that I haven't looked back, going back to where we used to operate would bring on immediate fights and death more than likely. I can and will fight to defend myself, but I would rather avoid conflict if it's an option."
"Do you think your friends are alive?"
"It's too early to tell in all honesty, but right now? Definitely. They are all smart people and even though the White Fang knows what we look like, they would have to exert a lot of effort and resources just to hunt us down and maybe that is something they will do slowly but it will take time too." Link nods whilst enjoying some more egg. "They would be foolish to target us, primarily when they have so much evil and destruction to cause, all while tarnishing the reputation of every faunus in the world."
Link puts his fork down and balls up a fist whilst saying the last sentence, he then quietly exhales to express his frustration
"I'm sorry Link. Not that your life was perfect before it all got torn apart, but it really seemed like you had some stability and you were about to turn your mercenary group into vigilantes for justice, in a very good way of course." Ray sighs. "I would have loved to hear about that."
"Yes, but what happened is what we have to live with. I suppose you could say it was not meant to be but I digress. But it does ignite me with motivation, the specific reason for me is that if I keep improving, getting stronger, and traveling, I will get the chance to take all of them down myself, especially Adam. He was the leader of his brainwashed White Fang soldiers, the actual leader of the White Fang is not a target of mine." Link smirks a little as he remembers his lone encounter with Sienna Khan. "She is brash and really aggressive, but also passionate and misunderstood."
"As in she wants the best for faunus but she doesn't go the best way about it so she is seen as a villain?"
"That sounds about right, good job Ray. I only hope she realizes what Adam is up to before he turns the entire organization on her." He nods. "And while I do not know exactly when I will be able to get my hands on them, I do see myself facing the four of them in the future. Whether it is Adam first or the other three, they have to be stopped. Not only for what they did to me, but for what they have done to the world around them and what they will continue to do if nobody stops them."
Silence takes over the house, as neither of them speak for a brief period of time, the outsider is simply looking down at his food while the villager looks at him with sympathy, until...
"One more and I promise I'm done." Ray squeezes Link's hand once again. "If you could go back and change anything, what would you have done?"
"Good question." Link thinks carefully. "I want to say stick with Amber and follow her, whether it was directly by her side or closely behind but we of course agreed to part ways . I also had the chance to take out one of the most important White Fang members in a one on one fight and ultimately decided to help him. I definitely regret that."
"And by an important White Fang member, do you mean Adam?"
"Yes." Link closes his eyes. "But this one might be THE ultimate regret. After I failed my mission and set off on my own journey, I believe the woman and two teenagers came after me but didn't attack, they only tried to scare me. I wish I could have stopped them right then and there but... who am I kidding? I was already exhausted and likely would have been killed."
"So instead of regrets you're just happy to be alive." She smiles warmly
"Yes. I like that answer." Link nods, opens his eyes, and quickly finishes his food with it being the final bits of the egg, fish and rapidly eating the apples last. "Ready to go?"
"Yessss finally!"
Ray excitedly jumps out of her seat and guides Link to the door of their home hand in hand, so excited that she does not turn to say goodbye to her mother, but Link manages to wave his hand on his way out
"Stay safe! Oh and don't go overboard, you have plenty of time to get better!" Morgan calls out as the two leave and forget to shut the door. "Those kids, I'm glad to see Ray find a new friend she really likes. I do hope he is able to stay by some miracle."
Minutes Later, on the brink outskirts of Garanda, Link and Ray are stretching to limber up their bodies as they prepare to spar in just a few moments
"You know, for never leaving the village you sure do tease the idea often." Link says with the most sarcastic tone ever. "And by that I mean every time you come out here."
"Oh stop being so dramatic silly, I'm like ten feet away from re-entering the village, by leaving I mean reallyyy leaving like to another village or even a bigger place like one of the bigger regions. I'd really like to visit the Kingdom of Vale first, it's so coooool!"
"Yes I know, I'm just messing with you." A big smile appears on his face as he stands completely still and simply wraps his left hand around the handle of his sword. "Are you ready?"
"Always. Now abide by my terms and go all out, if I am going to get stronger, I need to face stronger opponents and as much as I appreciate all your help, I know you have been going easy on me." Ray says with determination as she plants her feet and holds her sword with both hands. "Please, Link."
"Okay. Get ready." Link's smile fades as he narrows his eyes and grabs his sword and shield while he also plants his feet
The village girl suddenly shuts her eyes and starts to panic, her heart pounds fast and hard to the point where anybody in close proximity could hear it, she knows her teacher would not really hurt her but after all, she did just request for him to go all out
"Come on Ray, snap out of it before you get sliced up into little pieces!" Ray shouts internally as she opens her eyes and Link is already directly in front of her in a span of a second
"Ray!" Link cries out as he swings his sword rapidly but with minimal power
"YOU WON'T GET ME THAT EASILY!" She reacts almost too late and lifts her arms up, bringing the handle up in the air and the blade aimed downwards, successfully blocking the incoming attack. "You're pretty fast for someone with no proper training."
"I could say the same for you, another second and I could have seriously hurt you. Apart from that, nice block." Link nods and in a swift motion, he plants his feet and spins in place with his arm outstretched and sword pointed directly at his student
"Whoa!" Ray manages to retreat, her already torn blouse feeling the effects as she feels the breeze of cool air on her midsection now
"I'm not done yet!"
Link smirks and stops what he's doing to immediately get back in Ray's face, she starts his sequence with a direct charge, bashing his shield into her and with slick footwork he switches stances, lifts his sword up in the air and directly swings his sword downward directly onto Ray three times
"Ahh!" She takes minimal damage with careful backsteps and even better sword blocks until at last she swings her sword in retaliation and not wildly but with composure and skill
(Amazing. Even while I'm attacking her, she is able to fight back in the middle of an exchange, rather than countering and waiting for an opportunity to strike like I would. I like it, she's gaining more courage and confidence every time we train or spar, and she's developing her own style too.)
With a smirk on his face, Link takes the fight and immediately turns it unconventional as he puts his shield away and charges as Ray. She attempts to mimic his spinning slash attack, but spins too late and is also far too slow, and she is caught directly by her opponent; he tightly pulls on her blouse and in a split second she is thrown up into the air
"O-Oh my goodness!" Ray's eyes widen, not expecting this amount of strength to be possible from an off balance Link using one hand
"Get ready!" Link's smirk turns into a smile as his arm is low, blade touching the ground, he grips the handle and swings in upwards motions
"Are you crazy!?" She yelps out but manages to compose herself fast enough to reposition herself now coming back down to the ground feet first, sword tightly held and bringing her blade aimed downwards, her target being her teacher's head. "GOTCHA!"
"...!"
Link sees what's coming right at him and does not test fate as he backs away, dodging Ray's attack with ease but does watch her carefully as she comes down and her sword perfectly penetrates the ground, she also lands in a perfect stance, left knee and right foot on the ground, hands still holding onto the handle of her sword
"I like that, I might just copy that from you, is that fair? Considering you try to copy my moves."
"Absolutely, I owe you everything after all." Ray smiles
"Who said we were done?!" Link shouts but with clear sarcasm in his voice as he slowly jogs towards her
"R-Right!" She nods and gets in a defensive stance, ready for anything that is coming next
The pair spend the next hour and more light sparring, with the occasional increase in aggression, and it continues the way it started. Link testing and pushing Ray, but at a reasonable pace and the exact same way he wants to teach her, not the way he thinks he should be teaching her. The earlier talk the two of them had has clearly influenced this change
Several Hours Later: Garanda Academy
"That will wrap it for today everybody, excellent work all of you. I can see that you are only getting better and better, the future of Garanda is in good hands."
These words are spoken promptly by a polite professor who wipes her weapon of choice, a shiny silver rapier with a thick cloth
"You really think so, Professor Abha?" A familiar voice speaks up… it is Mason, one of the four bullies who one attempted to jump Liam days prior
"Absolutely Mason! You were all more athletic and talented than I was at your age." She smiles and gives everyone a big nod. "I must be going now but I enjoyed staying an extra hour. Feel free to stay and continue practicing on your skills or head to the library and focus on your studies. The academy is always open to you kids until it is actually time to close our doors."
"A-Aw can't you... stay for another hour?" The second bully, Kami, speaks up but is clearly out of breath and needing rest more than extra training
"Now now Kami, let's not be foolish as well. You need to be at your best physically and mentally, that involves rest and recuperation. If you're as exhausted as you are now, how will you be able to get better? Or worse, who could you defeat in combat? And may I point out..." Professor Abha walks directly to Kami and eyes him along with his other three bully friends. "You, Mason, Jay and Baku have all been pushing yourselves extremely hard lately, did something happen that caused this change in behavior? You are all usually so confident that one may confuse it for arrogance."
"N-No ma'am!" Baku exclaims
"Are you sure? You know you are my students right? You can tell me anything. Especially you Jay." She turns to the 'leader' of the pack. "You went from being the loudest one in here to the quietest, is there a reason for that?"
When she gets no response, the Professor walks past the three and stares down Jay. The cocky loudmouth with bandages around his bicep and thigh, he simply shakes his head and grips his staff tightly
"No ma'am, I am just trying my best to get better. I need to get stronger for the sake of the village."
"That's a good mindset to have." Professor Abha nods and smiles. "Take care of yourself in the process. Wanting to protect the village should be a top priority, but not at the expense of your health."
From a short distance, Liam snickers and rolls his eyes at their obvious lies and deflections, but also finds himself agreeing with them regarding needing to become stronger
"Where is he? Father said Link would come here and help us become stronger, I mean he is already doing that outside of when I attend school. But him coming to the academy will be a first. How much training could he possibly be doing with my sister?"
"Very well then, good evening to every single one of you and I look forward to seeing you tomorrow at the exact same time. Remember if you are-!"
SLAM!
The professor is interrupted by the rapid opening of a door used to enter the combat room as a disheveled Link and Ray burst into the room, both panting and with clear worry in their eyes, they both slump over, hands on their knees, and catch their breath
"Well well, you did make it after all." Liam smiles warmly but then his eyes widen upon spotting his sister. "Ray! W-What are you doing here?"
"Change of plans, I asked her to come with me." Link promptly rises back up, stands upright, his eyes widen when he sees the professor in disbelief. "I apologize, did I interrupt your lesson?"
"No no that is quite okay. I was just saying my goodbyes because it is my time to go, I already stayed an additional time too because some of my students wanted the extra training."
"Well that's good, you cannot go wrong with extra training to get better." He nods, then nudges Ray, signaling her to stop slumping over
"S-Sorry sorry sorryyyy." Ray shrugs and in a show of fear, quickly gets behind Link, only the top of her head and eyes are visible to everyone. "Eeep!"
"Ray?" Link whispers whilst turning his head. "What are you doing?"
"I don't know, I just never felt welcome here. It feels weird being in this building again so I just-!"
"There is no need to fear miss." Professor Abha smiles warmly and signals for her to come out of hiding. "It's been a long time since you were last here hasn't it, Ray?"
"You... remember me?" Ray blushes and slowly steps forward
"Of course I do, you still have the same pretty eyes and that warm expression on your face."
"W-Wow." Ray giggles. "That's really sweet of you, especially since I don't even attend the academy and often just sneak in to read books in the library."
"Nerd." Kami rolls his eyes
"Kami!" Professor Abha narrows her eyes, "Being an exemplary warrior and a future huntsman is more than just being a good fighter, you must have a good heart, knowledge, intelligence, and the desire to protect those who cannot protect themselves, that includes anybody. Whether they have no experience, little experience or plenty of experience but are in danger. You must treat everyone with the utmost respect, especially those of our own village."
"Y-Yes professor." Kami looks down in shame, clearly only showing remorse because he was called out
"Good, now back to what I was saying." The professor turns back to Ray, "You are more than welcome to come back to the academy Ray, you will be behind on combat training but you are a smart young lady who can make up for what you lack in strength with your intelligence." She smiles. "I am sure you could easily outmaneuver and tactically any opponent that comes your way. If my assumptions are correct you won't be that far behind on your combat training with that young man in your corner."
"Hm?" Ray notices the professor glancing at Link. "Ohhhh yes I have been working a lot recently on the basics and I would love to say I'm a fast learner but I still have plenty to learn."
"Wonderful, please consider my offer to come back, I would love to train and mentor you." She smiles and then chuckles a bit. "Plus how could I possibly forget you, I hear your name all the time. Considering that Liam adores you and always talks wanting to shield you from any danger."
"PROFESSOR!" Liam turns away in embarrassment
"There's no shame in caring for a sibling. It's good that you care so much and want to protect the people you love with your life." Professor Abha smiles at Liam and walks right up to Ray, giving her a pat on the top of her head before all her attention turns towards Link. "And you must be the new boy I have been hearing about."
"Yes ma'am." Link smiles cordially and extends his hand. "My name is-!"
However, before he can even answer, professor Abha manages to move in between Ray and Link without them or anybody else noticing how fast she moved. Within a split second, she is already shaking his hand and smiling brightly once again
"I am aware of who you are. If what I'm hearing is true and you really want to help the future of Garanda, then I look forward to seeing your hard work pay off."
"H-How did you..." Link grins in amazement. "I did not even see you move."
"There is a reason." Professor Abha leans towards Link's ear and whispers. "Semblances my dear."
"I see." He nods, pretending to know what she means. (What is a semblance? A-Anyway, she has an incredible amount of speed. Although it does not seem like she can use it all the time or freely.)
"Goodbye again children. I look forward to seeing all of you tomorrow and maybe you could join us." The professor says with her gaze still on Link. "Or at least consider it."
"I will consider it." Link nods and lets go of her hand, as the quick and light on her feet professor exits the combat room
When the door shuts all eyes and attention goes towards both Link and Ray as they stand in front of the room of about twenty or more students, all of them happens to be boys
"So what is she doing here?" Baku shrugs
"I invited her, she has just as much right to train in combat as all of you in here." Link narrows his eyes as he recognizes the foursome of bullies. "If anyone has a problem with it, too bad. Do not even waste air by protesting and simply bite your tongue because Ray is here to stay, in just one month's time I'm going to train her and push her hard enough to where she is stronger than all of you."
"L-Link! Don't overestimate my potential." Ray stammers and shakes her head. "Everyone ignore what he just said, he's a silly guy."
"Everyone's potential is limitless if they apply themselves, don't get me wrong though I am not an expert. I will not stand here and tell you all about 'the right path' to take when it comes to applying yourselves." Link begins to walk back and forth in a straight line, eyeing everyone in the room. "But what I can say is we all have a path to walk. All of you have better form and discipline than I do, yet I am seen as stronger, do you wonder why that is?"
"We understand, you have more experience fighting huntsmen, huntresses, mercenaries and grimm." Liam answers and rolls his eyes
"Yes, but it goes deeper than that. I do not know what is in store for all of you, but I know that everyone here is capable of great things, the way we get there is a different story. You see, I have walked a path of pain and misery up until now and I can only hope my fortune will turn around for the better now that I am in your amazing village. Some of you I'm sure have also walked a painful path too..."
Several of the students in the room slowly nod in agreement while others look down in regret before also nodding their heads.
"And on the other side I can assume others have maybe never faced a single moment of hardship in their lives. My point is that there is no 'right way' to proceed when it comes to maximizing your potential." Link smiles. "What does matter is that you don't lose yourself in that journey. No matter what life throws at you, whether it is easy and stagnant or difficult and hopeless, all of you must aspire to be the best version of yourselves that you can possibly be."
"No offense guy but..." Mason speaks up with his hand raised. "...no disrespect intended either, I appreciate the words of wisdom but if I wanted to hear this speed, I would talk to my mother or older sister. I would not want to hear it from a stranger who is not even completely trustworthy."
(Carter did tell me that statements that begin with no disrespect are always going to be disrespectful…) Link shakes his head in disbelief
"H-Hey!" Ray stomps her foot. "Link is trustworthy, way more than you! Ya jerk! All you've ever done is try to torment my brother and pick on me just because our father outranks yours!"
"Why you little..." Mason grabs his weapon of choice, a longsword and charges at Ray. "Okay then! Let's see that combat training of yours in action so I can shut that big mouth of yours!"
"STOP!" Liam chases after him but is held by both of his arms courtesy of Baku and Kami. "If you touch my sister I will end you!"
"I'm not scared of you!" Ray holds her sword with both hands but she shakes heavily, still exhausted from her spar with Link…
Who now protectively steps in front of Ray with his arms crossed and stares down Mason as the bully continues to run towards them. He gives the incoming bully the coldest expression possible, with his eyebrows furrowed and showing a complete lack of fear
"No weapon? You getting cocky now!?" Mason scoffs but conveniently stops himself short a small distance from Link
Suddenly, he begins to tremble as the actual aura coming from the person standing in front of his target is something he has never felt before,
"What is this energy coming from you?"
(What's what? I have not even attacked.) Link wonders to himself
"Scared?" Ray taunts and sticks out her tongue in the process
"N-No it's just..." Mason shakes his head and attempts to continue charging at them, but his brain and legs do agree with his intentions. "What are you doing to me?"
"I am not doing anything to you. I think you simply do not want to fight me, and it would not be wise for you to attack her. Ray has been through a lot today physically and you can clearly see that by using your eyes, yes?"
"S-Sure." Mason shakily speaks
"You saw that and still tried to attack her, that is a very cowardly move." Link narrows his eyes. "I would not take another step if I were you. In fact, with the way you angered me by almost attacking Ray… you would be better off not even looking in her direction. Or I will personally do what Liam said he would do to you."
"Enough Mason." Jay speaks up as he shoves Baku and Kami away from Liam. "We can't beat him, not the four of us and certainly not you alone. Let's be honest for a change too, what Liam's sister said is true."
"Jay...?" Liam raises an eyebrow at his biggest tormentor, who is actually being reasonable and somewhat kind for once in his life
"If he is here to stay, whether permanent or temporarily, and he's going to teach us… then let's take in everything we can." Jay does not even bother looking Link in the eyes but nods in his direction. "We can learn a lot from him."
"He's right. All of this energy you're putting towards attacking Ray could be used in a much better way." Link nods in respect before noticing the bandages around the boy's thigh and bicep. (I remember him, he was the guy with the most to say at the festival. What has gotten into him lately?)
"Psst! I think I know why he's being nicer." Ray whispers. "I don't know the exact details but based on what I've learned from my father here is what I know. Jay's father is a really good man and the village was speculating that Jay's father finally found out how much of a bully his son is, which is obviously not the way he raised him."
"I see." He nods again. "Those are some broad assumptions but if they are true then it looks like Jay's father sorted him out for the better, not with physicality either but talking."
"Why would you assume physicality?" Ray almost loudly gasps. "Did you father-!"
"I-I do not remember, but I know I really despised the memory I have of him." Link's face drops as his eyes well up with tears. "It is good to see that parents actually care about their kids."
"A-Aw… hey, I know my parents aren't yours, but they will care about you as if you were one of their own." Ray grabs his hand, shakes it, and purposely giggles in his ear. "Now come on, I want to see you in action again."
"..." Link wipes away the incoming tears and smiles. "Right, if you feel better then please join us too. If not, then watch and give pointers if you would like to."
Link motions Mason to get back to his peers as he stands where Professor Abha normally does, as an instructor
"I am not going to pretend and lead you on as if I know anything, but with that being said, let's talk about aura. I know many, if not all of you haven't unlocked your aura, but from what I have heard you're all aware of its existence. Luckily for me, it means I do not have to explain what it is because trust me... I would just have to make things up."
Link smiles and shrugs his shoulders sarcastically as the last part of his sentence garners laughs and chuckles out of everyone, even the aforementioned bullies
"Everyone is capable of unlocking aura, take a look around, who do you think has unlocked their aura in this room?"
"W-Well..." Baku speaks up and points at Link, as does everyone else. "It has to be only you of course. You're so reckless and the way you fight is weird as all hell but you're very good at what you do. I imagine your aura helps a lot with that since you can recover and keep going."
"Thank you? I am not sure if that was a backhanded compliment but..." Link shrugs once again. "Now it is time to surprise all of you. We have another person in this room with Aura."
Many 'who's' and 'huh's' are muttered as the students look around, suspicious of each other until at least they are divided between Jay and Liam
"And she is right over there." Link lifts his arm and points at Ray
"Link!" Ray blushes and hides her face
"HER?!"
"That's right." Link chuckles. "This is why I will not pretend to be an expert, I unlocked my aura on my own, Ray did not... in fact I helped her unlock hers, how you might ask?"
"Nobody asked." Baku smirks
"Good one you jokester, the answer is your guess is as good as mine. This is what leads me to believe that everyone has aura within them that will be unlocked in some way." The blond swordsman nods. "I was in a high stress situation fighting for my life, I know of a man who pushed himself to the limit until he unlocked his aura too, and of course you all heard about Ray I helped her unlock her aura with my own."
Link laughs again as he raises his left hand and balls it up into a tight fist, glancing at everyone with a look of determination
"Train hard, never stray from the path to become stronger and do it for the right reasons. Do not do this simply to be strong and arrogant about it, but have a reason to get stronger. Unlock your aura for the sake of protecting those you love." He grins. "Lastly, not to contradict myself but, thinking about yourself is not entirely selfish, as it is important to be happy within yourself and to become a better person for the sake of being happy and living your best life. So tell me, do you want to be huntsmen?"
The room falls silent but a beaming wave of energy fills the whole room, it is Ray's smile and watery eyes as she claps quietly
"YEAH! I DO!" Liam shouts, followed by the rest of his classmates one by one, until the entire room is chanting and cheering
"Then let's get to work." Link nods as he folds his arms and watches the huntsmen in training begin to spar
...
...
...
Present Time: Unknown Location
Link opens his eyes once again as lighting strikes and at last his surroundings are revealed. Although barely visible, it is the remaining land of what was once Garanda and where he is standing is a place he thought he would never return to, in front of the house of the once happy and jubilant family consisting of Hiroku, Morgan, Liam, and Ray. It also happens to be the least damaged house and only standing building in the entire village, with only smashed windows and a destroyed front door. However, the house is not what Link is focusing on, it is the front yard. More importantly, the two graves that are right next to each other, a sword sheath partially dug into the ground in front of one grave, and a quiver for arrows also partially dug into the ground for the other grave. The weapons acting like tombstones, reveal the graves to be Ray and Morgan
(...)
Plenty of words are dying to spill out of Link's mouth, but the more he tries to blurt out anything, the more his heart aches in pain and his entire body shakes. That is, until he ultimately falls to his knees in front of Ray's grave and the tears flow out of his eyes
(...I-I'm sorry... Ray...) Link struggles internally as words emerge within him, a nasty scowl is present on his face, along with the the crying eyes of a frightened animal
Minutes that feel like hours slowly pass until they really turn into hours and Link does not move an inch. He continues to stare at Ray's grave as his mind only replays tragic events such as the slaughtering and destruction of Garanda, Ray's heartless murder, Amber in her state of near death, and the most recent death of another friend in Pyrrha
(...I will...) Link's heart begins to pound rapidly as even forming words internally hurts him down to the core. (...avenge you all!...)
The distraught boy remains where he is until the crack of dawn, and at last something within him clicks to finally move. He blinks, then lets out a sigh before sliding over to Morgan's grave and paying respects to her too. Next, out of respect to everyone in the village, even those who did not want him to stay, Link walks deeper into the village and does the same to every grave that is still visible, considering the destruction happened over a year ago. He walks around the entire village, mourning graves, with his slight hope of buildings remaining standing to no avail as they are mostly rubble now. Link then stops in place as he reaches the council building that was flattened by an Atlas ship
(...And... I mean… avenge… all of you!) Link's fists balls up as he wipes the tears away from his eyes and all that remains is a furious expression. (...I know where... I must go... next.)