Izuku's eyes shot open. His face was buried in his wet pillow, stained from his sweat. He quivered as he very gently tried to lift himself up from the bed. His bed was dry, gently placing a hand to his face, feeling the still fresh tears on his cheek. He shivered as his hair moved to cover his eyes, still in shock at the sights he had seen.
Izuku gently placed a hand to his face. He shivered as his hair moved to cover his eyes, still in shock at the sights she had seen. The vivid images of the dream he had just slept through came back in his mind. His battle against many villains he had defeated, his fight against Shigaraki, Bakugou's bloodied corpse... it felt so real. Izuku shook his head viciously, trying to remove these thoughts from his head.
Izuku dashed into his bathroom. Emptying the contents of his stomach into the toilet, as the vivid images of what he'd seen in his dream flashed before him once more. He felt wretched, nauseated. Tears leaked down his cheeks, staining the porcelain bowl. He wiped at the tears angrily, wanting to erase all his memories of those horrors. He stood up slowly, leaning against the bathroom counter for support.
After a few minutes he sat on the toilet with his head in his hands. Staring at nothing in particular, feeling his chest rising and falling quickly. He could feel his heart pounding wild against his ribcage, beating as though he was still living through the last waking moment, even though he vaguely became aware he was no longer in danger. Fresh adrenaline coursed through his veins - eager and waiting for something that would happen, which it already had. Not only was his body motivated to be alert thanks to the adrenaline, but it also sharpened his other senses.
Izuku blinked.
He felt someone's hand on his shoulder.
Izuku lifted his head up and met the source's eyes. The spirit of Nana Shimura crouch on one knee, her hand on placed warmly on his shoulder. She stared back at him with worry washing over her countenance.
"It's okay, Izuku," Nana said. "It was just a nightmare."
Izuku blinked. Completely aware he was no longer feeling the dread of incoming physical danger, he closed his eyes and tried to get his body to slow down, bringing himself out from the last memory of whatever it was. He took slow deep breaths, repeating the action twice.
Izuku opened his eyes and stood up.
"Wake up, Lazy bum! It's morning! It's morning! It's morning! It's morning!"
Nora Valkyrie exclaimed to Lie Ren as they awoke for the day of their initiation with the other first years. Ren sat upright with a sigh, not subjecting himself to Nora's bubbly singing. As he prepared for the day, he listened silently to Nora's excited ramblings about their acceptance to Beacon.
"I can't believe we've been at Beacon for a full twenty-four hours! Not that I thought we'd get kicked out or anything, I mean you're the perfect student and I'm well... I'm me! But it's just crazy, ya know? We've been friends for soooo long! What are the odds we'd still be together? Well not together-together, not that I'm saying you're not handsome, you are handsome, but that just be weird. Right? Right, what was I thinking? But so, I hope that we still end up on the same team together! Oooh! We should come up with some sort of plan, to make sure we end up on the same team together! What if we bribe the headmaster? No, that won't work. He has a school."
Nora's ramblings continued even into the locker room as they collected their gear. "I know! We should have some sort of signal! Like a distress signal! Oooh! A secret signal so we can find each other in the forest! Can you imitate a sloth?"
"Nora?" Ren finally spoke.
"Yes, Ren?" She asked as he slid his weapons into his sleeves.
"I don't think sloths make a lot of noise." Ren told her.
She paused for a moment. "That's why it's perfect! No one will suspect we're working together!"
"Come on, Nora. Let's go." Ren said as they began to leave the locker room.
"But not together-together..." She continued as they passed by Ruby and Yang, who were also gathering their equipment from their respective lockers.
"Wonder what those two are so worked up about." Ruby observed.
"Oh, who knows?" Yang brushed off. "So, you seem awfully chipper this morning."
"Yep!" Ruby grinned excitedly as she pulled out Crescent Rose from her locker. "No more awkward small talk or getting-to-know-you stuff. Today, I get to let my sweetheart do the talking." She caressed her beloved weapon.
"Well remember Ruby, you're not the only one going through initiation." Yang told her younger sister. "If you wanna grow up, you're gonna have to meet new people and learn how to work together. And no, Izuku doesn't count."
"Hey, he does count!" Ruby replied harshly, narrowing her eyes at her sister.
"Okay, whatever you say." Yang held her hands up defensively, a playfully skeptical smile on her face.
"And what does meeting new people have to do with fighting, anyway?" Ruby continued. "And I don't need people to help me grow up! I drink milk!"
"But what about when we form teams?" Yang asked.
"Um... I don't know." The youngest sister looked away rather shyly. "I... I'll just be on your team orâ something."
"Maybe... you should try and be on someone else's team..." Yang brushed her own hair somewhat nervously.
"My dearest sister Yang, are you implying that you do not wish to be on the same team as me!?" Ruby narrowed her silver eyes with a pouty expression.
"What?! No! Of course, I do!" The eldest sister quickly replied. "I just thought... I don't know... maybe it would help you break out of your shell."
"What!? I don't need to break out of my shell! That's absolutely—"
"Ridiculous!" They both heard Jaune's shout of frustration as he tried to find his assigned locker, looking at the assigned sheet in his hands. "There's no way I put my gear in locker 636 yesterday, I would have remembered to count that high! Oooh, why does this have to happen today?"
Jaune also happened to pass by Weiss. The heiress was gathering her own gear alongside another young woman. She had long red hair tied back in a ponytail, with green eyes. She wore golden and bronze armor similar to that of an Amazonian warrior, complete with a breastplate and thigh-high armored greaves, with black skirt and a red sash tied over it.
"So Pyrrha, have you given any thought as to whose team you'd like to be on?" Weiss asked her. "I'm sure everyone must be eager to unite with such a strong individual, such as yourself."
"Hmm, I'm not quite sure." Pyrrha answered. "I was planning on letting the chips fall where they may."
"Well, I was thinking that maybe we could be on a team together." Weiss suggested.
"Well, that sounds grand." Pyrrha smiled.
"Great!" Weiss beamed, turning away from her as a sinisterly wide grin graced her lips.
Sinister comically thoughts began to appear in overdrive.
'This will be perfect! The smartest girl in class combined with the strongest girl in class! Together, we will be unstoppable! I can see it now! We'll be popular! We'll be celebrities! We'll get perfect grades! Nothing will come between us now!'
"Ya know what else is great?" Jaune said, literally coming in-between them, trying to act like a cool ladies' man. "Me. Jaune Arc. Nice to meet you."
"You again?" Weiss questioned irritably.
"Nice to meet you, Jaune." Pyrrha greeted in a friendly manner.
"Yeah, yeah." He seemed to direct his attention toward the Schnee girl. "So Weiss, I couldn't help but hear your fondness of me the other day."
Jaune flexed his arm, while Weiss simply ran her hand down her face in annoyance.
"Oh, you've got to be kidding me."
"Don't worry, no need to be embarrassed." Jaune continued. "So, been hearing rumors about teams. I was thinking you and me would make a good one. So, what do you say?"
"Actually, I think the students are comprised of four students each." Pyrrha interjected. "So—"
"You don't say." He then directed his attention toward Pyrrha. "So, hot-stuff, play your cards right, and maybe you could join-up with the winning team."
Weiss quickly came in-between them. "Jaune, is it? Do you have any idea who you're talking to?'
"Not in the slightest, Snow Angel." He answered.
"This is Pyrrha Nikos." Weiss introduced.
"Hello again." Pyrrha gave a friendly wave.
"Pyrrha graduated top of her class at Sanctum." Weiss continued.
"Never heard of it." Jaune shrugged.
Weiss scoffed. "She's won the Mistral Regional Tournaments four years in a row! A new record!"
"The what...?" Jaune asked with a raised eyebrow.
Weiss' eyelids lowered before shouting.
"She's on the front of every Pumpkin Pete's Marshmallow Flakes Box!" She comically waved her arms in frustration.
Jaune gasped.
"That's you?!" He pointed to Pyrrha in overly dramatic fashion. "They only do that for star athletes and cartoon characters!"
"Yeah, it was pretty cool." Pyrrha looked away with a shy smile. "Sadly, the cereal isn't very good for you."
"So, after hearing all of this, do you really think you're in a position to ask her to be on your team?" Weiss pointedly asked Jaune, causing him, and even Pyrrha, to look down slightly.
"I guess not. Sorry."
"Actually Jaune, I think you'd make a great leader." Pyrrha told him, trying to help raise his spirits, which seemed to work.
"Oh, stop it!" He comically blushed.
"Seriously, stop it." Weiss said seriously. "This kind of behavior should not be encouraged."
"So, Pyrrha's on board for Team Jaune." He said to Weiss, going back to his cool ladies' man facade. "Spots are filling up quick. I'm not supposed to do this but, maybe I could pull some strings, find a place for you, what do you say?"
"Alright. That's a bit too close." Weiss pushed him back slightly. "Pyrrha, a little help please!"
Pyrrha sent her spear forward to pin Jaune by his hood to the locker on the other side of the room.
"I'm sorry!" Apologized Pyrrha.
"Would all first-year students please report to Beacon Cliff for initiation? Again, all first-year students please report to Beacon Cliff for initiation."
"It was nice meeting you." Pyrrha told Jaune as she retrieved her spear and left the locker room with Weiss.
"Likewise..." He said dejectedly.
"Having some trouble there, lady killer?" Yang asked as she and Ruby walked up, the latter offering her hand to help Jaune stand up.
"I don't understand. My dad said, 'all women look for is confidence.'" Jaune said in a defeated moan. "Where did I go wrong?"
"'Snow Angel', probably wasn't the best start." Yang said as they were among the last to leave the locker room.
"Come on Jaune. Let's go." Ruby told him.
As Ruby carried Jaune towards their destination, she couldn't help but wonder what Izuku's up to.
All the first-year students had all assembled at Beacon Cliff. Among the students were Ruby, Yang, Weiss, Blake, Jaune, Pyrrha, Nora, and Ren. Facing the forest below as Ozpin and Glynda began to give them their instructions for the test.
"For years, you have trained to become warriors." Ozpin began. "And today, your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest."
"Now, I'm sure many of you have heard rumors about the assignment of teams." Glynda added. "Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates, today."
"...What..?" Ruby muttered nervously.
"These teammates will be with you the rest of your time here at Beacon." Ozpin continued. "So, it is in your best interest to be paired with someone with whom you can work well."
Ruby's nervousness increased along with her expression.
"That being said, the first person you make eye-contact with after landing, will be your partner for the next four years." Ozpin finished.
The world cracked around Ruby akin to a spiderweb before shattering in pieces.
"What!?" Ruby exclaimed.
"See? I told you!" Nora said to Ren.
"After you've partnered up, make your way to the northern end of the forest." Ozpin explained. "You will meet opposition along the way, do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path, or you will die." Now it was Jaune's turn to look nervous as he gulped. "You will be monitored and graded for the duration of your initiation, but our instructors will not intervene. You will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path containing several relics. Each pair must choose one and return to the top of the cliff. You will guard that item as well as your standing, and grade you appropriately. Are there any questions?"
"Um... yeah. Sir..?" Jaune nervously raised his hand, but Ozpin appeared to ignore him.
"Good. Now, take your positions." He instructed as the students each took some form of position on the individual platforms that they were each standing on.
"Uh sir... I've got a question..." Jaune still had his hands raised as the platforms began to launce each of the students out one-by-one, Weiss being the first. "So, this landing strategy thing—um what is it? You're like, dropping us off or something?"
"No. You will be falling." Ozpin answered as more of the students were launched into the forest.
"Oh... I see... So, like did you hand out parachutes for us?" Jaune asked as Nora was launched next, followed by Ren.
"No. You will be using your own landing strategy" Ozpin replied.
"Uh-huh, yeah." Jaune nodded nervously.
Yang was about to be launched next as she gave her sister a friendly wink, put on a pair of sunglasses, and was launched. Ruby was next with a smirk before she too was launched, leaving only Jaune.
"So... uh... what exactly is a landing strategeeeeeeeyyyyyyy!" Jaune screamed as he was launched as well.
Ozpin took a sip of his mug. He turned his gaze and smiled when he saw Izuku approaching them. Izuku focused his gaze to where he saw all the students, including his friend Ruby, were catapulted high in the air before he had arrived.
"Ah, good morning Izuku," Ozpin greeted with a slight bow. Glynda emulated Ozpin's actions with a slight bow of her head as well.
"Good morning Professor Ozpin," Izuku returned, turning his gaze towards him. "I'm not late am I?"
"No, you've arrived just in time," Glynda replied.
"Oh alright," Izuku said, briefly looking up to where the students were sent flying before redirecting his gaze towards Ozpin. "I have a question."
Ozpin waved his hand. "We're listening."
"From what I gathered in the books, the purpose of the Academies is to train them so that as they grow older they will be better prepared to face the Grimm," Izuku stated. "All the students who attend the four major academies have previously enrolled and graduated from other combat schools, right?"
Ozpin nodded. "Right."
"Then I have to ask... why do you have to catapult them? Why not just have them climb or slide down on a ramp or something?" Izuku asked.
"There are scenarios in which a Huntsman or Huntress end up falling from great heights, and this is a way for them to practice a landing strategy in which they do not die from said fall." Ozpin explained.
"Oh, I guess that makes sense." Izuku replied thoughtfully before glancing back up at the sky.
"That's... oddly specific." Nana commented.
"Well, at the end of the day it's their school. So we'll respect how they run it." Yoichi said, a small smile gracing his lips.
"I kinda overheard what you're having those students do for this test, but what about me?" Izuku asked. "I mean I'm not technically a student..."
"Much like our students, you will enter the Emerald Forest and make your way to the abandoned temple." Ozpin explained. "However, you do not need to guard any relics, as those are our way for assigning the students into teams. Just make your way past the Grimm to the temple and return to the cliff. We will be monitoring you to see how you fight and get a better grasp of your capabilities. You may choose to help the students if you wish."
"However, just as they must learn to work with others, it is also important for them to handle themselves and not become too dependent on outside parties for help." Glynda added. "As the professor said, you can help them, but it is not required. This test for them is to assess their abilities and teamwork, we are just simply observing what you can do."
Izuku cupped his chin as he stared at the ocean of trees far ahead of him.
"I see... get to the temple, eliminate any Grimm in sight, and return back to the checkpoint." Izuku summed up, shifting his gaze towards the adults. "Well, I don't mind lending a hand whenever I can. Helping people is the job of a Hero after all."
"If that is what you wish, just be certain you don't do their work for them." Ozpin said.
Izuku nodded then glanced up at the sky. Ozpin and Glynda eyes widened when the boy's person illuminated as bright red veins danced in loops around his body. Said veins reached up to his forehead in a cross before fading away, now shrouded by crackle emerald energy.
Izuku slams one boot into the ground creating a small crater. Quickly followed by leaping high in the air with incredible speed, leaving behind a gust of wind that threatened to push Ozpin and Glynda to the ground. The pair watched in awe where Izuku flew off towards the Emerald Forest. Disappearing beneath the clusters of trees.
Ozpin hummed in thought and took a sip from his mug.
Ruby successfully landed on the ground on one knee. She glanced up with determination washing over her countenance then immediately ran off deeper in the forest. As she sprinted forward, thoughts began to appear in overdrive.
'Gotta find Yang! Gotta find Yang! Gotta find Yang!'
"Yang! Yang!" Ruby called out for her older half-sister but only silence replied as she ran further and further into the Emerald Forest.
More thoughts appear as Ruby subconsciously lets her body go on autopilot.
'Oh this is bad, this is really bad! What if I can't find her? What if someone finds her first? There's always Jaune. He's nice, he's funny. I don't think he's very good in a fight though. Oh! What about Blake? So mysterious, so calmâ plus she likes books! Well, then again, I'm not sure I'd be able to hold a conversation with her. Ugh! Okay, who else do I know in this school? There's Yang, Jaune, Blake, and...'
A white blur pulled Ruby out of her thoughts. She stopped herself from running, kicking up a small gust of dirt. Her eyes crawled up from the dirt floor all the way up to the only other person that she met at Beacon so far: Weiss. Both girls stared at each other for a moment, a small and hopeful smile forming on Ruby's face. However, Weiss immediately turned around and walked away without saying a word.
"Wait! Where are you going?!" Ruby questioned, before looking down dejectedly. "We're supposed to be teammates..."
Weiss pushed past some bushes with a semblance of hope that somebody else could serve as her partner. But she happened to glance up at the sounds of struggling to see Jaune hanging by his hood, impaled with Pyrrha's spear to the tree. No doubt she used that to keep him from crashing. He glanced down toward Weiss and waved nervously. Deciding to pick a less embarrassing option, Weiss turned back around to meet up with Ruby.
"By no means does this make us friends." She told the younger girl as she began to drag her away by her own hood.
"You came back!" Ruby cheered as she was literally dragged away.
"Hey, wait! Come back!" Jaune called to them, but they were both out of earshot already. "Who's gonna get me down from here?!"
"Jaune?" He looked down to see none other than Pyrrha looking up to him with crossed arms and a smirk. "Do you have any spots left on your team?"
"Very funny." He pouted before smiling slightly. "So... uh... a little help here?"
"Hang on, I'll get you down."
Both looked up in surprise to see a young man flying in the air. He donned an unfamiliar dark green suit, adorned with ivory stripes along its periphery and gold outlines. Encasing his hands were substantial gauntlets, while his lower limbs were encased in metallic greaves with blue knee-pads. A timeworn yellow scarf encircled his neck, and his body was shrouded in green electricity.
He hovered down toward them before grabbing the spear and pulling it out with a yank. Jaune gave a yelp as he fell halfway until a black, teal tint thread shot out from the boy's back and caught Jaune by the arm. The pair slowly landed back on the earth's floor. Jaune and Pyrrha wordlessly looked toward the boy as he handed the spear to Pyrrha.
"I'm assuming this is yours?" The boy asked.
"Oh, yes. Thank you." Pyrrha took back her weapon.
Before Jaune could say anything, the boy turned away and sprinted fast in the forest's depths.
Once Ruby trailed after Weiss as she walked on ahead. Almost as if she was trying to lose Ruby despite begrudgingly accepting her as her partner. Something the poor little rose was not picking up, due to her being more happy at the fact she has a potential teammate.
"Why are you in such a hurry?" Ruby asked.
"I will not let my mission be delayed because you're too slow!" Weiss told her. "I swear that if I get a bad grade because of your—"
Ruby suddenly appeared in front of her, much to Weiss' surprise.
"What the—!?" Weiss was shocked.
"I'm not slow, see?" Ruby said. "You don't have to worry about me!"
"When did—" Weiss double-backed to make sure she wasn't seeing things. That really was fast.
"Weiss, just because I don't exactly know how to deal with people, doesn't mean I don't know how to deal with monsters." Ruby interjected as she put her arm around her shoulder, trying to act confident and friendly. "You're about to see a whole different side of me today, Weiss! And after it's all over, you're gonna be like, 'Wow, that Ruby girl is really, really, cool. And I wanna be your friend.'"
Ruby dashed away before Weiss could utter a word. Leaving a trail of rose petals which Weiss brushed away from her face, right before she heard some of the bushes around her creak and crack.
"You may be fast, but you still excel at wasting time!" Weiss called out but looked concerned when she didn't get a response. "Ruby?"
More bushes were ruffled around her, causing her to look somewhat nervous.
"Ruby..?"
Weiss found herself completely surrounded by a pack of Beowolves that growled and snarled at her with deadly intent. The one in front of her lashed out with its claws, but she immediately drew Myrtenaster, and parried the strike. The force sent her skidding back on her feet as the pack surrounded her.
'Remember your training, Weiss,' Weiss thought. 'Head up, shoulders back, right foot forward... not that forward! Slow your breathing, wait for the right time to strike and... Now!'
She shot herself with Myrtenaster pointing forward. Ready to attack the Beowulf in front of her. Only for Ruby to suddenly appear in front of her and cut that same Beowulf down with Crescent Rose.
"Gotcha!" Shouted Ruby.
Weiss gasped as her countenance softened. Stopping her momentum, slicing Myrtenaster the other direction, sending a trail of flame along the ground to ignite a nearby tree. This alerted Ruby and left her distracted to get sliced by a Beowolf, sending her tumbling into Weiss.
"Hey, watch it!" Ruby exclaimed.
"Excuse me!" Weiss exclaimed back. "You attacked out of turn! I could have killed you!"
"You'll have to try a lot harder than that." Ruby muttered as they came back-to-back, facing the entire back of Grimm.
The largest one, the Alpha, gave a howl, and the fire from Weiss' accident began to spread around the area. But before anyone else could make a move, a green streak shot forward to strike down the nearest Beowulf. The emerald assailant moved toward a second, a third, fourth, and fifth, already taking down half the pack as a certain green-curly haired boy appeared in mid-air after the fifth attack.
"Izuku!?" Ruby recognized him immediately as he landed on the ground.
Izuku went on the attack again by boosting towards another Beowolf and caving his fist to its face. He used his speed to quickly take out all the others one-by-one, save for the Alpha whom he saved for last. Before Izuku could reach said Alpha, a burning tree landed in front of him and stopped him in his tracks. He quickly noticed the flames around the area then folded his arms in an x cross.
"Carolina, Smash!" Izuku shouted, spreading his arms wide in a quick swipe.
A powerful wave of wind pressure shot forth towards the dancing flames. In a matter of seconds, the flames were already put out before the fire could spread further. The Grimm were genuinely shocked. None more so than Ruby and Weiss.
Ruby looked with stars in her eyes. A wide smile gracing her lips, practically squealing at the display while Weiss was rendered speechless. Izuku turned around to where he spotted the Alpha Beowolf and found that it was already gone.
'Must've left while I was distracted,' Izuku thought.
Izuku hopped down and met up with the two girls.
"Hey Ruby," Izuku greeted.
"I-Izuku! That was so cool of what you did!" Ruby beamed. "You were so fast! Fast like me! And you just punched through those Grimm like wham! Pow! Bang! Oh my goodness, I felt like I was watching something out of a comic book in real life!"
Ruby continued to squeal while Izuku watched. A small smile gracing his lips. In a brief moment, Uraraka took Ruby's place before fading away. His trance was broken, however, when the Snow Princess stepped up to him.
"Who are you?!" The heiress questioned pointedly. "What kind of Semblance is that? You successfully punch your way through a pack of Grimm like they were nothing! The fact you were able to create wind pressure with the swipe of your hands proves that you are clearly no ordinary person! And this place is private property of Beacon Academy! I know I didn't see you on the cliff with the other students, so where did you come from?!"
Izuku was a bit intimidated by the interrogation-styled questioning that was just presented to him. But he stayed composed and just stared blankly at the heiress before taking a deep breath.
"Well, my name is Midoriya Izuku," Izuku started. "From your point of view, my power could be assumed as a Semblance. But truth be told, I didn't develop nor unlocked a Semblance. It's actually my Quirk that I've used to take down many different villains and monsters before, so this is nothing new to me. As for what I am doing here, I was invited here by Ozpin who's testing me, and no I'm not a student. Let's just say we've got a mutual agreement going on. Does that answer all your questions?"
Izuku finished by ruffling the back of his curly hair and smiled a little at the heiress. Weiss simply blinked her wide eyes, not expecting her accusations to be answered so directly and calmly.
"I believe so..." Acknowledged Weiss.
"Good." He turned back to Ruby. "I'm guessing she's your first partner?"
"Yeah she is!" Ruby beamed before looking confused. "But, why are you here if you're not a student?"
"Like I established, Ozpin agreed to let me join this test to see what I can do cause we got an agreement going on. I'm aware you guys gotta get these relics for your team, he said I could help if i wanted to, so that's why I'm here. I'll explain the rest of the details later." Izuku summed it up.
Weiss blinked in bewilderment. Having taken in all Izuku said, she was still having trouble processing most of it.
"Hold on, you said you didn't develop a Semblance?" Weiss was confused. "Then how else could you move so fast?! And what in the name of Remnant is a Quirk?!"
"Because I'm not from Remnant." Izuku answered.
Weiss blinked a few times. "Pardon me?"
Ruby's lips slightly formed a wincing smile. Having already heard some of the basics of his story at the hospital a few days ago. She turned her gaze towards Weiss while poking her index fingers together.
"Would you believe me if I told you he's from another world?" Ruby asked, smiling sheepishly.
Weiss briefly stared at Ruby and Izuku as if they grew three heads. She couldn't comprehend what she was hearing.
Silence permeated the air.
Yang strode through a single file. The dirt path was flanked by towering trees and dense foliage. The Emerald Forest was like a lost world, seemingly untouched by the hands of man. One that disconnects any soul from the familiarities of civilization and transports them to a realm of raw, natural beauty. But it is also primordial and untamed. The trees towered high enough to touch the sky, the thick undergrowth created a wall of vegetation that swallowed the faint sunlight, casting a gray hue over everything in its path. Despite the forest's beauty, it was also a place where death lurked in every shifting shadow.
"Helloooooo? Is anyone out there?" Called Yang as she strode through a misty part of the forest. "Hellooooooooo! I'm getting bored here."
Yang blinked.
Her attention was drawn to some rustling in the bushes.
"Someone there?"
Yang ran over to investigate, shoving the foliage aside.
"Ruby is that you?" She asked, smiling. A growl answered her and she looked up. "Nope."
The blonde back-flipped out of the way of a massive claw swipe. Two Ursai, the Grimm's twisted version of a grizzly bear, charged after her. She rolled to the side as the second Ursa swung for her head. Activating her gauntlets, Ember Celica, she stared her opponents down.
"I don't suppose you two have seen a little girl have you? Black hair with red ends, wearing a red cloak?"
The Ursa's answer was to charge her again. She smirked and dodged underneath another claw swipe, sending a punch into the Ursa's chest. A shotgun blast from her gauntlet accompanied the punch. Three more were beat into the Grimm, forcing it to stumble backwards on its hind legs. Yang followed it up with a jump, spinning side kick into its chin.
"You could just say no!"
The ursai roared in response, one stepping forward to take another swipe at her. Yang laughed as she vaulted back out of range.
"Geez. You guys couldn't hit the broad side of a-"
Time seemed to slow as a single, gold lock of hair drifted past her vision. It fell to the floor, making not even a fraction of a sound, yet it felt like a gavel had dropped. Yang briefly closed her eyes and tightly clenched both of her fists.
"You..." Yang growled out as her aura began to flare.
The Ursai looked at each other in confusion.
"You monsters!" She roared, eyes turning scarlet, her body erupting in flames as she tapped into her Semblance.
The Grimm had no time to react as Yang shot forward with fiery speed. She buried her fist into the first one's stomach, following up with a relentless barrage of punches, shotgun blasts, and kicks. The ursa was dead before it even hit the ground, its body thrown through multiple trees. The second one roared out to her, squaring up to deal with the new threat.
"What, you want some too?!" Yang challenged.
Yang expected it to reply with a roar but surprisingly It didn't respond. its body locking up as the sound of a blade severing its spine echoed throughout the clearing. The ursa, having been reared back on its hind legs, fell forward with a crash, revealing Blake standing behind it with her hand wrapped around the ribbon attached to Gambol Shroud, her chain scythe, embedded in the Grimm's back. With a yank, the blade pulled free and she promptly stowed it away, smirking the whole while.
"Eh, I could've taken him." Said Yang, shrugging her shoulders. Blake shook her head in amusement as she motioned Yang to follow.
Yang trailed after Blake and the pair ventured deeper into the forest.
A/N: And that's chapter 8, young readers! I'd like to thank everyone so much for the amount of support you guys had for this story. From day one this story only had like fourteen favorites and twenty followers, at least that's what I remember. But now it has skyrocketed by hitting hundreds and two hundreds. That is absolutely insane! I also wanna say that I will do my very best to keep everyone in character to the best of my ability, especially Izuku. So I apologize if I make a mistake and some of the characters act out of character that does not fit their personality from the main canon.
With all of that said, I'll be taking my leave. See you all in the next chapter, young readers!