“What will my legacy be? How will I be remembered when I die?”
A pen slowly slid across a piece of paper, lit by candlelight. The holder of this pen was a girl. She had a head of dark purple hair, with matching sparkling eyes.
“I’ve been thinking about that a lot lately, and it’s driven me a bit paranoid to be honest. I left the inn because I wanted to be known for more than the family business. I can only dream of being remembered as a Huntress, and it’s so close to coming true. Or, at least I thought it was.”
The girl stopped writing for a moment. She let out a heavy sigh and glanced behind her. The desk she currently wrote at was placed within a much larger room, a dorm of sorts. Across from the desk was a set of bunk beds, a sleeping figure snoring away in each one. She turned away from the beds and back to the letter.
“It’s only been a semester and my time at Haven isn’t going well. Me and my team, Team MABL (Mable), failed the mid-term exams and have to take remedial courses. Despite that, we do get along fine enough. Well, most of us do at least. I don’t know how to explain it, but we just aren’t clicking I guess. We haven't really found our stride and it’s made for a tough past five months. The mid-term break ends in two days, I’m not really looking forward to classes, and I’m starting to miss the inn. Being a Huntress really isn’t all it’s cracked up to be I guess. Less going on missions and saving people, more stressing over tests, losing in sparring and arguing with teammates.”
She paused.
“But I guess to end it off on a positive note, I have met some pretty interesting people. The other first years are cool, the Professors are nice and to top it all off, Headmaster Lionheart wants me to meet him in his office tomorrow evening. I really hope it’s something more interesting than talking about the remedial courses.”
“I miss you guys a bunch, I can’t wait to come home. Love, your favourite daughter in the world, Merlot.”
“P.S. Please stop calling me Diana. Merlot is way cooler.”
Merlot put her pen down. She reviewed the letter in front of her one final time, before giving it a nod of approval and sealing it away in a nearby envelope. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out her glowing scroll and glanced at the time. 2:54 AM. Merlot turned to the candle that lit up her desk and blew it out with one short breath.
*
“You’re giving us a mission?!”
Merlot slammed her hands down on the warm, mahogany desk in front of her.
“Yes, correct Miss Merlot.”
The bearded face of Leonardo Lionheart smiled back at her from the other side of the desk. The girl’s excitement was visible in her sparkling eyes, as she stared down the headmaster.
“But we’re just first years… Why? Not that I’m complaining!” Merlot asked, removing her hands from the desk and leaning back in the chair with a small hint of embarrassment on her face.
“It is common in other academies for first year students to be sent on their first missions near the end of the year. Haven Academy, however, only hands these missions out to teams they deem worthy enough. Those who have performed exceptionally well in their classes, showed the most potential… You understand the memo.” Lionheart explained with a grin at her enthusiasm.
“R-really?!” Merlot seemed as though she would burst. “Are we really doing that good?!”
“Well…” Lionheart paused and Merlot’s smile faltered. “This is more of a special case. I have noticed that, while showing great potential, your team is struggling. My hope is that this simple mission will bring out the best qualities in each member of your team and help you truly move towards greatness.”
Merlot was silent. Her grin had completely faltered and she lazily slumped backwards in her chair. Lionheart caught on quickly, and hurriedly continued.
“B-but it’s still nonetheless an important mission. My wish is just that you and your team use it as an exercise of sorts, to grow closer and send you on a path of success as huntsmen and huntresses. Not only that, but completion of the mission will fill the need for remedial lessons. I’m sure you’d rather be doing this, than extra classes.”
“Right, I understand Professor.” Merlot sighed, but still made an attempt to recapture her fleeting excitement. “Team MABL will try their best… Or at least their leader will.”
“Glad to hear it, Miss Merlot. Here are the details of the mission, please go over it with your team.” Lionheart handed her a folder and smiled. “That should be all. Have a nice day.”
“Thank you Professor.” She took the folder and sat up, preparing to exit the room.
“Oh, wait!” Lionheart immediately shot up. “I nearly forgot to mention it. You will undertake this mission with a team of second years as well as a graduated Huntsman. They will help guide you on your way.”
“Oh. Ok. Goodbye, Professor Lionheart.” This information didn’t seem to change Merlot’s attitude much as she exited the office.
*
“There he is.”
A faunus boy peered over the edge of a balcony, overlooking an atrium, bustling with students below. The target of his gaze was a boy with an expensive blue robe and straight black hair. The faunus in question wore a ripped brown shirt. His similarly coloured hair was tied back into a ponytail, and poking out from his back was a curled-up scorpion's tail.
“You sure that’s him, Bruno?” Next to him, another spoke up. A rather tall and muscular boy in tight fitting grey shirt, with a thick head of long black hair.
“Of course I’m sure. It’s that rich brat, Nav Vidal.” Bruno replied.
“What if it’s his sister? They look pretty similar.” The boy squinted his eyes.
“It’s not his sister Ash. I wouldn't pull this kind of prank on Lazuli.” Bruno gazed downwards at the large bucket of fruit juice that was currently placed between the two boys. "Anyways, you ready?"
"What're you two up to?"
A third voice entered the conversation. The duo whipped their heads around in time to spot Merlot leaning over the balcony next to them.
“Nothing!” Bruno replied immediately.
“Yeah totally.” Ash added.
“Are you trying to get at the rich kids again?” She asked.
“Only because it’s funny.” Ash replied.
“Well, I have something to tell you guys that’ll be way more interesting!” Merlot exclaimed.
“I really doubt it.” Bruno replied.
“Just c’mon.” She grabbed Bruno by the scruff of his shirt and began to pull him away from the bucket.
“What- Hey! You can’t do this! You’re not my mom!” Bruno exclaimed, struggling against his leader.
“Merlot please, do you know how much money all this juice cost us?” Ash said.
“Don’t care.” She replied, pulling Bruno around a corner, with several students taking notice. Ash let out a disappointed sigh. He picked up the bucket, and glanced in the direction his teammates had gone in. Ash proceeded to dump the contents of the bucket off the side of the balcony and jog after them. Immediately, a series of angered shouts erupted from the floor below, as he disappeared around the corner.
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*
The dorm room of Team MABL could be easily described as quaint, yet homey. The floor was mostly covered by green carpeting, contrasted by dark wooden walls and floorboards. Fire dust lanterns lit up the space, and a large ornate window was found on the right wall. Opposite the window was an en suite bathroom and closet. On the wall farthest to the door was a set of bunk beds, carved from wood and in varying states of cleanliness.
“A mission?”
Bruno asked, gazing up at Merlot from his lower bunk.
“A mission!” She said happily.
“The headmaster really gave us a mission?” Ash raised an eyebrow.
“A pity mission, but a mission nonetheless.” The leader answered.
“A mission…” A fourth voice in the room spoke up. This voice belonged to a boy sitting on the ground of the dorm room, gazing up at his leader intently. He had short white hair, red eyes and a face covered in bruises. His attire consisted of a simple red tunic and gray pants. “This is so awesome… I can’t believe we get to go on a real mission!”
“Don’t get too excited, Robert. Like Merlot said, it’s a pity mission and we have to do it with some dorky second years.” Ash said.
“Yeah! I hate the second years!” Bruno commented.
“Do you even know any of the second years?” Robert asked.
“No. I still hate them based on principle though.” Bruno replied.
“Listen. I know some of you have reservations about this mission…” Merlot began, glaring at Bruno as she spoke. “But I think this is a really good opportunity for us. We get direct experience in the field, with a Huntsman and we can learn from the second years. We’d have to be idiots to say no-”
“I’m not going.” Bruno crossed his arms and shook his head. “You can’t make me and Lionheart can’t make me either.”
Merlot let out a groan of annoyance. “Bruno please, can you just be reasonable for once in your life?!”
“Merlot, just let it go for now.” Robert said. “Bruno isn’t gonna budge, you should know that.”
“Yeah, you should know it!” Bruno chimed in, jumping up from his bed and heading towards the door to the dorm. “Now if you excuse me, I have something to attend to!”
Bruno marched towards the door and into the hallway. Only a few steps down the hall, he ran into a familiar face.
“LAZULI!” He exclaimed, upon seeing the black haired and blue robed girl.
“BRUNO!” She shouted back. The two of them rushed towards each other and fist bumped. Lazuli looked at her friend with excitement. “The regional finals start in two hours! Ready to go?!”
“Heck yeah!” Bruno replied. Without further hesitation, the two rushed towards the exit of the dormitory building.
Merlot sighed with disappointment, closing the door behind Bruno as he left.
“If it makes you feel any better, I don’t mind going.” Ash said with a shrug.
“I appreciate it, but this isn’t gonna work out unless the entire team comes along…” Merlot mumbled.
“I’ll convince him.” Robert stood up from his spot. “By the end of today, I’ll get a yes out of Bruno, mark my words.”
*
“So who do you think is gonna win this year?” Lazuli questioned, walking alongside Bruno down a dirt road, lightly dusted with white snow.
“I just hope it’s not that Pyrrha Nikos. I know it’s a bad idea to bet against her but… C’mon, Arslan has to take it this year! She’s been training so hard for this!” Bruno replied.
“I’ve always been surprised that you hate Pyrrha so much. She’s so popular, and she’s a really good fighter, at only sixteen as well!” Lazuli said.
“That’s why I hate her.” Bruno said. “She’s way too popular. Mark my words, she’s probably some conceited little prick behind the scenes, like your brother!”
“Ok, there’s no way she’s that bad…”
“Ok, maybe not that bad.” Bruno corrected. “Anyways, I hope she attends Haven next year so I can put her in her place as a second year!”
“You know you’re not gonna get to be a second year if you don’t pass.”
“Yeah obviously I know that! I’m passing just fine.”
“You’re such a bad liar. You show me your test marks all the time. And the mid-term exam grades…”
“Shut up idiot, those were one time things!” Bruno snapped, looking away from his friend with slight embarrassment. “Semester two is gonna be a whole different story.”
“I sure hope so. I hate to be getting on your case but, I really just want you to pass. Haven wouldn’t be the same without you dumping juice on Nav’s head…” Lazuli said, skipping across a couple of stones next to the road.
“Hey, I never even got to do that! Ash did it while my dumb leader was dragging me away!” Bruno complained. “Was it funny though?”
“Totally!” Lazuli chuckled. “He was screaming about it the entire time I was getting ready to leave. His hair was all wet and sticky and the juice stained his robes!”
“Hah! Serves him right, asshole!”
“But, anyways, my main point in all of this is that you’re my friend and I want you to do good in school.”
“Oh come on, we nearly changed the subject…” Bruno rolled his eyes. “I guess you’re my friend too. I still find it kinda weird how we’re friends though. You’re a rich human, I’m a poor as shit faunus. Your family hates me and they sure show it.”
“I don’t have any reason to hate you or anyone based on race. I know how my family feels about it, but they’re just idiots. I’m friends with you because I like hanging out with you. It wouldn’t change things if you were a rich human.” Lazuli stated, whilst turning her head and giving Bruno a smile. This turn sadly caused her to lose focus on her stone jumping. Letting out a sudden yelp, a misplaced step caused her to slip off her current stone. Before she could hit the ground however, Lazuli disappeared in a flash of blue light, reappearing next to Bruno with a relieved expression.
“Phew… That was close!”
Bruno let out a chuckle, followed by an excited gasp. “Look! We’re here!”
Pointing ahead of him, the two found themselves only a street away from a large, towering arena. Fireworks burst forth from the open ceiling, illuminating the evening sky. A massive lineup of people stretched from the entrance, down the street. Lazuli and Bruno rushed to join this line.
“Finally! No more of this mushy friendship stuff, just hardcore manly battle!” Bruno exclaimed.
“Yeah! Battle time!” Lazuli cheered.
*
The interior of the stadium was just as impressive as the exterior. Rows and rows of spectators lined the stands, all gathered around the battlefield below. Bruno and Lazuli made their way through the crowds of people, tickets and popcorn in hand. The two found a seat as close as possible to the action, and seated themselves in anticipation.
“Welcome ladies and gentlemen, to the finals of the 78th Annual Mistral Regional Tournament!”
A booming announcer’s voice rang through the stadium, prompting cheers from the crowd.
“The fight will begin shortly! Grab your popcorn, get comfy and get ready for an explosive finale to Mistral’s biggest sporting event!”
Bruno cheered as the commentator went on. It was almost enough to distract him from the person taking up the seat to his right.
“Hey Bruno.”
The boy whipped his head around to find himself face to face with Robert. Immediately his face dropped. “Oh god, what are you doing here?”
“Hi Robert!” Lazuli greeted jovially from Bruno’s left.
“Hi Lazuli.” Robert waved at the girl, before turning his gaze to his teammate. “Don’t get so mad. I’m just here to watch the tournament too. You’d think I’d miss out on watching the regionals in person?”
“Whatever. Just don’t be a nerd about it.” Bruno mumbled, looking away from Robert.
“Coming in from the left side of the ring, having viciously fought her way through the bracket to finally get a shot at the gold, give it up for ARSLAN ALTAN!”
“YES! GO ARLSAN! KICK HER FUCKING ASS!” Bruno cheered, throwing his arms up in the air as the stadium exploded into cheers. Robert and Lazuli shared a glance.
In the battlefield below, a determined looking girl with a mane of pale white hair made her way into the middle of the ring. Arslan took a deep breath as she prepared herself.
“And coming in from the right… The winner three years running, the fighter who needs no introduction, give it up for ‘The Invincible Girl’ PYRRHA NIKOS!”
The cheers seemed to double in intensity as a girl sporting red hair, a set of armour reminiscent of a spartan and clutching a spear and shield strutted into the spotlight. She entered with a confident demeanour and equally serious expression as her opponent.
“BOOOOO! BOOOOO!” Bruno’s shouts were buried in the crowd of excited fans. A large screen was positioned above the arena. It displayed a portrait of Pyrrha and another of Arslan. Beneath each portrait was a bar depicting their aura level.
“Without any further ado… Let the finals… BEGIN!”
With the announcer’s call, the match began. The two fighters charged at one another, Arslan’s fist slamming directly into Pyrrha’s shield to initiate the fight.
“WOO HOO!” Bruno continued to cheer, the look of excitement in his eyes unlike anything else.
“Bruno.” A tap on the shoulder from Robert brought him out of this momentary excitement. He turned to find his teammate staring at him.
“What.” Bruno said with annoyance. “Can’t you see I’m trying to watch the match?”
“I just had a question for you.”
“What is it? Make it quick.”
“Why do you want to become a huntsman?”
The question took Bruno aback. He seemed to pause, his focus once being split between both the match and Robert now being on neither. It took him a few seconds to think up an answer.
“Well uh… I want to become a huntsman so I can be cool, like those guys down there. I wanna kick ass and have everyone like me!” Bruno said.
“Fair enough.” Robert grinned.
In the match below, Pyrrha and Arslan seemed neck and neck. The two fought at close quarters, Arslan threw punch after punch at Pyrrha, who in turn blocked with either her shield or newly transformed short sword. After another even exchange, Arslan’s rope dart flew out from her sleeve, wrapping itself around Pyrrha’s wrist. With one swift tug, she disarmed Pyrrha of her shield.
“Why are you asking me this now?” Bruno wondered.
“Well… Would the first step to becoming a huntsman not be going on a kickass mission?” Robert asked. Bruno’s face dropped.
“Hey, I see what you’re trying to do here! Nice try bucko, it isn’t gonna work! If that’s all you came here for then you should take your sorry ass back to Merlot!” Bruno exclaimed, immediately growing defensive.
“Hm? Mission?” Lazuli turned away from the match, glancing at Bruno and Robert.
“Uh, nothing Lazuli.” Robert said.
“Oh ok.” She returned to the match.
Arslan tugged on the wire, pulling Pyrrha straight into a kick to the gut. The crowd gasped. It was followed up by an elbow to the face, and a punch to the stomach. Each time that Pyrrha was knocked back by the force of a hit, she’d just get pulled in again by the wire.
“Bruno… How about you look at it this way. Sure this mission is a pity mission, sure it’s with second years… But it’s still a mission. You can still say that you went on a pro mission and other people didn’t.” Robert said thoughtfully.
“Hm.” Bruno crossed his arms. “Continue.”
“Just imagine how cool you’ll be to the other first years. You completed a mission before any of them, you and nobody else besides your teammates. That sound pretty kick ass to me.”
“Ok. Maybe I see your point.”
Pyrrha’s aura dipped below the halfway mark. Arslan went in for a palm strike to Pyrrha’s gut. All of a sudden, a tug from Pyrrha’s end of the wire threw her off balance. Strangely enough, it didn’t seem to be from Pyrrha’s trapped arm. Before Arslan could process things, a short sword slash to the face, followed up by a point blank gunshot sent her reeling backwards. Now free, Pyrrha picked up her shield.
“Just think of it. Your first real step towards becoming a real huntsman. How can you pass this up?” Robert asked.
“I definitely see your point now.” Bruno admitted. “But I can’t stand Merlot! She’s so damn annoying, I don’t want to deal with her and some second years for a full week!”
Arslan charged Pyrrha again, throwing a roundhouse kick at her head.
“Then… Don’t. Just, do your own thing. Stay out of their way and do the mission how you want to do it.” Robert seemed a little hesitant in saying this, but he continued regardless.
“I can do that? Huh.” Bruno thought about it for a moment, before shrugging. “Fine. I guess I’ll go then.”
The roundhouse kick was caught by Pyrrha. Before Arslan could react, she was pulled off balance straight into a waiting shield bash. The shield bash gave Pyrrha enough time to slam the side of her spear into Arslan’s side, before finishing her off with a well placed snap kick to the face. Arslan tumbled to the ground, her aura in the red. The crowd cheered.
“Sounds great. Can’t wait to have you onboard.” Robert grinned.
“And the winner of the 78th annual Mistral Regional Tournament… IS PYRRHA NIKOS!”