Five Years later, somewhere in Anima.
Whoosh figures gliding through the forest at high speed. One of them has a weak presence, barely noticed by the local wildlife.
A girl with heterochromatic hair and eyes fell from the trees, wearing a white crop long-sleeved jacket with a pink interior and boots with high heels.
"You lose," said the green-haired girl who landed first unnoticed. She seems to blend in with nature, visible but easily ignored.
"Neither of us has reached the camp yet," said the huge guy, who runs towards the two with 5 feet catfish biting his hand.
"With a slowpoke like you, I'll definitely win," The green hair girl said.
Their scroll rings. Emerald and Aiden halt and look at their scroll.
[(;´・`)>?] An emoticon pops up to both Aiden and Emerald's lower left view.
"No worries, Neo-nee," Aiden replied. As they noticed Neo, pointing at the fish.
"I felt like I heard that before. Oh yeah, someone said the same thing when catching a tiny boar. I believe that person got beaten up badly. Who was it again? Hmm… OH, it's you!" Emerald mocked Aiden.
"I was caught off guard!? Who would have thought a 4 months old pig would be a prodigy at Aura and combat," Aiden retorted.
Both their scrolls ring again,
[Hawk... his name is Hawk.] A message pop-up, halting the argument of the two.
Aiden apologizes and calls the boar by its proper name. Emerald stayed silent. Nevertheless, she acknowledged it.
[(^_−)☆] Neo replied.
Both Aiden and Emerald confuse they look at Neo.
Neo suddenly shattered, and her silhouette could be found a bit further away.
[I won.]
"When did she? It's your fault I didn't notice." Emerald yelled at Aiden, then speeds up, trying to catch up to Neo. Aiden also tried but can't close the gap. He notices both Emerald and Neo standing still. Not long after, he did the same.
"You guys are done? Hmm, nice catch, Aiden. Can you clean it? I'll grill it later. I'm nearly done here." I focused on building our camp.
"Umm, Onii-san, how long did you build that?" Em asked as she looked at a bamboo treehouse.
"Around 45 min give or take. Took me a lot of time creating a bathroom's water system so that the water's running and not stagnant."
"We have a bathroom?!" Aiden Shouted.
"Hey, keep it down we're still in the wild. Besides, I build it mainly for the girls. I'm nearly done here, so clean that fish already," I said.
"Yeah, Aiden, you clean the fish. We already did our part." Emerald smugly said.
"I set up the traps and catch food. You guys just do surveillance duty," Aiden complained.
"Hey, we'll cook the soup, and we also set up some traps." Emerald notices Aiden's dissatisfied face.
"What? You want me to feed you?"
"Haaah?!" Aiden's face turns red.
"Hah, gutless!" Emerald Smugly said.
"Sure! but I'll feed you too!" Aiden shouted.
"Hah? W. Wh... Why would I let you do that? You're just taking advantage of me." Emerald retorted.
"How is it taking advantage of you when I do it but not when you do it? You're just using your gender as your reason. Admit it, you're embarrassed, and you can't do it." Aiden argued in an insulting tone.
"Huh, Are you challenging me?" Emerald intimidating said.
"Yeah, I am," Aiden said in a confident tone.
"Humph. You're all talk." Emerald said in the same tone as well.
"You know it will be a good anime fight if both of you at least try to look at each other's eyes. No, even opening your eyes are good enough." When they both open their eyes. The moment they saw each other's faces as red as Ruby's cape.
"You better start 'cleaning/cooking' the 'fish/soup'." They both scolded each other at the same time.
"Neo and I are already doing it. So you guys just prepare the table for your fight. I mean for our food." I said.
Neo's restraining her laughing did not help the two from embarrassment.
"Nope, it's my duty. I'll prep/cook the fish/soup Sora-bro/Neo." They both said simultaneously again.
I was about to disagree, but I noticed Neo shook her head. So I let Aiden prep the fish.
A few hours later.
"They sure took their time," Aiden complained as he dips inside the hot bath.
"Sora-bro, how did you learn to build this?" Aiden asked.
"During my training and free time. Don't you have training in the wild too?" I said as I massaged my body.
"Yeah, but I just built a hammock with some cover and a place for the campfire." He said, then leans his head backward.
"But you were asked to capture a 100-year golden hind before? It takes you a year to catch it, right? Don't tell me you did not build a shelter? That would be uncomfortable." I asked.
"Well nope. I didn't, I'm focused on catching the hind." He answered as he placed the towel over his face.
"I'm pretty sure you have time to do something else while tracking the hind?" I asked.
It's not like looking for the hind's track could be easy. Especially that catching the Golden Hind before turning 20 was one of the requirements to be a hunter.
Hunter is one of the fields in Huntsman/Huntresses specialized on tracking, exterminating, and capturing Grimm and animals who activated their Aura.
"I did focus on observing animals. So that I at least have some general idea on how to fight Grimm. Since most of them have an animalistic physique." He explains.
"You really like observing animals, huh?" I ask as I lean my head at the corner of the hot tub as well.
"Well yeah. I mean animals have a stronger soul, but they can't use their Aura like us humans. They use their Aura only for strengthening their body, increase their healing capabilities, and lengthen their lifespan in a very inefficient way. Aren't you curious?" Aiden moves the towel a bot from his eyes.
"I am, especially why they won't get attacked by Grimm. I mean, there are few records of Grimm attacking animals, but they could be counted by one hand. So why?" I ponder. Animals like stated earlier can strengthen their body but are incomparable to E Class Low-Rank Grimm, the only thing worthy
"Well, the books said they just choose to attack humans, right?" I shrug my shoulders, "I mean it's not like we encounter Grimm since we got here at Anima." Aiden said.
"Well, I did. Just some 10-year-old Baowolves." Aiden suddenly sits straight.
"Even if they're just at The lowest class. F Class Middle-Rank Grimm are still dangerous for combat school graduates, you know?" He looks at me in disbelief and a bit of curiosity.
"It's only dangerous because they panic. Besides, most Rank-F & E Grimms are not that durable anyway." I said, not bothered by it too much.
I mean I fought with a bandit that could use his Semblance. Given that he didn't seems to use his Semblance or dust. Well, not that I remember, and I'm only 9 at that time. Facing a Grimm who's less durable and slower was nothing to be scared of.
"But they could cut 1-meter thick tree, like butter." I just shrug my shoulder and softly muttered, "As I said, they're slow."
"Show off" Aiden lean back his head again.
He was about to place his towel on his face when something caught his eyes. He turns around to see it clearly.
"Is that soap and shampoo!?" Aiden asked in disbelief.
"Bro, you haven't wash before soaking?" I went out of the bath, then cleaned again.
"Who would bring soap and shampoo in a Grimm hunt!? Did you create those using only natural resources?" Aiden asked.
"I brought the soap and toothpaste. Ohh the shampoo was wild made." I wash the soap off my body again then walk out of the bath.
"Hey, that's too much just because I forgot to use soap."
"I'm about to head out anyway. You just make it a bit earlier. You could stay for an hour at most. We needed to be on ou peak condition for tomorrow's hunt." I wear my clothes then walk out.
I climb up the treehouse. I noticed Neo already asleep on her hammock. While Emerald's on her bed playing with her scroll.
"Hmm? Onii-san, that was quick. Did Aidan did something?" Emerald asked.
"Nope, just not in the mood." I walk closer to the makeshift table with a portable lamp.
"So he did something." Emerald walks closer. "What are you doing?"
"I'm checking my grappling hook, just making sure it's working fine." I disassemble my grappling hook.
"You build that? It looks incomplete."
"Yeah, It's also supposed to be a high caliber handgun, but the old man said the gun part won't be able to handle high-grade dust."
"The old man? The guy who helped you with the kidnapping case 5 years ago? The old man uses his fist instead of his hammer when he's had a hard time-fighting. Can he be trusted?" She has a bit of doubt because, to her, people who use one item for a specific purpose when you could use it for multiple purposes were stupid. Especially when in a dire state.
Yes, she also thought that Aiden and I were stupid because we always bought a chef knife and fillet knife everywhere. She does now understand why I always brought it with me. But not for Aiden, though. I wonder why?
"Yeah him. I didn't trust him at first, but I asked uncle Pietro about it and if he could test it. The results are spot on what he said. I also sent Uncle Pietro the altered version by the old man. The simple alteration with the wire increase trice a load of my grappling hook can take," He said it could take double the load, not trice, so he's wrong. But that's beside the point.
"His that good? Do you think it's a fluke?" Emerald's a bit interested.
"I don't think so... the alteration he did for the wire of my grappling hook helped uncle Pietro's personal project. For it to be that good, it was less likely a fluke. Besides, I already told Uncle Kiyoshi about this. He thinks the old man is part of the urban legend of Sanus. The family was said to be the descendant of the Vale's first king's personal craftsman. They are said to craft better than the state of the art machinery of Atlas." Human skill is better than a machine. Well, for a person who can jump from any height without the use of Aura and not be harmed. It's not that hard to believe.
"Do you believe that?" Emerald is now full of doubt, especially that it came from Uncle Kiyoshi.
Uncle Kiyoshi kinda trades Emerald's trust just to record her being gap moe. Personally, I think it's worth it. Aiden even paid for it. Sensei, your sacrifice shall be remembered.
"I do." Aiden suddenly replies from behind. Makes Emerald threw a punch.
"Neo's sleeping." I hastily said.
Emerald stops her fist before it hit Aidens palm.
We all looked at Neo and saw her sleeping in her hammock like the most docile thing that ever existed.
When Neo was forced to wake up before she had at least 2 hours of sleep makes her dangerous. It's not that she became faster or stronger. She's just harder to notice. As stated earlier she's like the most docile animal when sleeping, so when she attacks when she's half-asleep you won't even notice her. To make it worse if you notice her, you will unconsciously lower your guard down. The first victim was uncle Kiyoshi trying to annoy Neo. So he got knocked out for an hour.
A collective sigh was emitted.
"You intentionally wanted to punch me," Aiden said.
"You startled me. Pure reflex." Emerald excuse. I cut in before Aiden said anything.
"You said you believe. Why?" I asked, changing the subject.
"My master's friend met one, but she did not gain the full inheritance of their family due to lack of talent..."
"And..." Emerald said
"And... Well, it's because when you told me about him, he did what their whole family does. They always bring their hammer, but they can't use it other than forging." Aiden explained.
"But anybody could do that." Emerald started to lose interest.
"The hammer you saw ain't really their hammer. It's just the case for their personal hammer." Aiden's eyes shine as he explains.
"Still stupid, always carrying something heavy but not use it." Emerald walks away toward her hammock.
"I was asked by uncle Kiyoshi to have a good relationship with him. You're the best at a business here. Any suggestion?" I said as I re-assembling the grappling hook.
"You never really care about the benefits when befriending someone. Just be yourself, Sora-bro." Aiden walks towards his sword and shield.
"You better sleep after that. We might meet your first Grimm ever since we started our training." I went to my hammock and slept.
A few days later.
Near the 100-meter diameter lake surrounded by a roughly 50-meter cliff. With only 2 paths for going in and out.
"Aiden, can you brief us about the Grimm again," I said, waiting for the Grimm to swim out any minute now.
"Leaf Terrapin Grimm, 50 years old. Height 1 meter, Length 3 meters, and width 2 meters. So E Class Peak Rank Grimm. Attack 4 Stars due to the poison when you got bitten. Durability full 5 Stars, nearly comparable to D Class Low-Rank Grimm with 1 star Defence. Speed 1 Star on land 3 Stars on water. Mobility 1 Star on land 4 Star on water. Attack speed 5 Stars, its head can move in 20 meters per second. Known attacks Bite and Tackle. The bite can be evaded as long as you're 2/3 of the shell's length away from its front shell. In our case 2 meters away. The front part was the rising part that looked like a saddle. All in all, a dangerous Grimm can be considered a Pseudo D class Grimm when it's in the water due to its drastic increase in movement speed. Not much of a problem when on land as its movement was restricted in 1 direction. It took at least 3 seconds to turn to the side. Most death cases are getting ambush at the water and getting poison by attacking from the front. Since we already have the antidote, as long as we fought it here at the coast. It won't be a hard hunt." Aiden said.
"When the Grimm swims out of the water, Aiden's collapse the side of the cliff to block its way back to the water. Then Me, Onii-san, and Neo are going to keep it occupied and create an opening for your attack while stealing some damage if possible. Yeah, yeah. Got it. A perfect plan." Emerald said.
"You better make sure of your position and distance," Aiden said.
Emerald's starting to get pissed off. I pulled Aiden to the side.
"Relax, bro. You know she's taking this seriously. Besides, you know how strong she is. We also have an SOS flare. In 15 munited we will have back up," I said.
"I know, but this is not training anymore. There's no such thing as a perfect plan," Aiden said.
"I know you like Emerald, and I know how you feel about letting her in danger. I'm her brother, remember, and being in a group with you guys is both scary and reliving. You guys... No, we all choose to train for this with our OWN REASONS, and I can't stop you, any of you. The best thing I could do was to become stronger and help you guys be stronger as well. Panicking right now will only endanger. With our current strength, only you can deal serious damage to that thing, and we trust you in doing so. I hope you trust us as well." Aiden then looks down. I hope he understands that his panicking will only make Emerald panic.
Then I walk towards Neo and Emerald. Neo walks towards me. While Emerald's staring at the lake.
"So, how is she."
A direct message was sent to me.
[Still pissed off.]
Neo looks at Aiden.
"Not sure if he got's the message."
We then both notice Aiden walks towards Emerald.
"Hey Emy sorry for panicking earlier," Aiden said.
"Yeah, stupid... you finally got yourself together. Don't worry, you can watch us kill the Grimm ourselves. You just block its path towards the lake. After all, you will be the last one in our group to be able to kill a Grimm." Emerald said on her smug attitude.
"Well, are you doubting my skills as a hunter? I will not only kill that Grimm and be the second to kill a Grimm in our group." Aiden regains his confidence.
"You sure? Then prove me a wrong tough guy," Emerald said in a sarcastic tone.
"Sure am I will." They both calm down.
"Aiden, you said that Grimm will only go this way. Why again?"
"The other route on the other side is the swamp area. Although Grimm switches hunting spots, they won't go to other terrains. Unless there are some special cases. Is the Grimm heading that way? But there's no town or villages that way. The closest civilization was Akihabara City which is at least 500 km away, facing this route. The last few times were scouting, it always goes this way."
"But that doesn't change the fact it's heading towards there," I said.
"How did you know Onii-san? I thought Vision can't detect soulless things."
"True, they won't glow like living things, but I could still see moving things if the colors are a bit diluted," I said.
"Ohh yeah, it's different per person. Aunty can see sounds, right?" Aiden said.
"Not only that, mom can see sounds from the future for a few seconds as well." Neo nodded to Emerald's remark.
"Let's follow the Grimm first." The Grimm already emerges out of the water on the other side.
"To the swamp, you sure it's dangerous there."
"Why, scared?"
"It's not about being scared. We're not prepared for that. With the restricted moment at the swamp, Grimm's not the only problem even animals could be a threat to us." Aiden explains seriously.
"We will only follow it on the outskirts, and we'll stick on the trees. But we still have to be careful. Also, prepare your flare gun so we can ask for help as quickly as possible." They all nodded. We run towards the other side of the lake.
"Onii-san question what can you see with your Vision?" Emerald said.
"I'm not certain, but I have some theory. I think I could see people's hearts. You know, not the physical heart but the heart that I always use to judge people. The few things I could see with my Vision are people's emotions, whether they are happy, sad, afraid, or angry, but it's not just emotion. I can also see whether a person is lying or not, but it's not 100% accurate," I said as we followed the turtle, Grimm.
A few minutes later.
I raised my hands to signal them to stop.
"We can't risk going any further. Let's just report back its unnatural behavior, then wait for it to come back at the lake," I said as the turtle, walks deeper inside the swamp.
They all nodded, then suddenly, we got launch into the air by a strong gust of wind.
Boom!
"AHHHH!!!"
The next thing I saw was we were falling while suspended 1 km above the lake. I saw the others a few meters away from me. They are now trying to glide towards each other. I contact them through our earscroll.
"Our Aura can't take this damage. We need to slow down your descend. Aiden uses your Semblance on the flare gun then shoots me I don't need Aura to protect myself from this fall." I am not really sure if the leap of fate could negate all falling damage, but they won't survive if they hit the water at this speed. I dive downward to have some distance between us. Aiden Aim his flare gun at me. He fires his flare gun with 50% of his Aura, but due to him not being trained in using range Aura skills, the ammo only has 10% of what Aiden poured into it.
I used my grappling gun to activate Aiden's Semblance instead for 3 reasons. First, if I waited for it to hit me, there might not be Aura left in it. Second, at least I'm not at point-blank range of the explosion. The third was to use the wire of the grappling hook to constantly send my Aura to the tip.
Btooooom!!!
The explosion pushes me down faster. I hit the water instantly and sinking deeper till I hit the bottom of the water uninjured. The grappling hook shot took 90% of my Aura. Before I could do something else, the still water suddenly moved. Before the torrent drags me away. I stab my Tanto on the water bed. A few seconds of holding on to my Tanto like it's my lifeline until I can suddenly breathe.
After shaking my dizziness away, I saw a huge rock a few meters away. The lake's water was like a giant wall from all sides. It looks like the 2 pathway to this lake was blocked off. For what caused that explosion, I wish it's just my brain playing tricks on me, but if not, I hope that explosion killed both of them. I look around and see the others just a few meters away. I rush towards them to check whether they are fine.
"Neo, Em, Aidan! Are you guys ok!" I shouted at the. They are all conscious, but they have a really low Aura.
"Onii-san!!!" Emerald shouted. Neo runs towards me then hugs me really tight.
Then small debris hit the giant boulder. It has a bit of fire dust and causes a small explosion.
Boom!
The water is now returning to the middle of the lake. Due to the strong shockwave caused by the rock, a lot of water spilled. Currently, the water's only around our calf. Once the water return in a few seconds, It will reach knee height.
Then a silhouette fell from the sky. It's the Leaf Terrapin Gimm. With the explosion, it was able to survive with little to no damage.
"Fire the SOS again," I ordered.
With the height of the water, it won't be able to use it to its advantage, meaning it's then when it's in the land. The only problem is the water still affects our movement. We might not be able to kill it, but we will still keep our distance. The problem is we have another water source. The giant boulder has Water dust in it, increasing the water depth to who knows how much.
"10%," I said.
[28%] Neo texted.
"20%," Emerald said.
"5%," Aidan said.
"Team, a new objective. We need to survive for 15 minutes," I said.
The hunters are now being hunted.