Merlot’s attention immediately turned to Bruno’s leg. It was torn and bloodied, though luckily it didn’t appear to be broken.

Merlot immediately got to work. She scoured the small cabin’s bathroom, eventually throwing open a cabinet and coming up with only a small bit of gauze.

She did her best to disinfect the wound, pouring some water from the sink onto it, leaving a crimson puddle on the floor of the cabin in the process. The wound looked painful. It was almost lucky that Bruno was unconscious, or he certainly wouldn’t have been taking this well. After cleaning the cut, Merlot did her best to dress it. She wasn’t skilled in the medical department by any measure and this was all incredibly basic, taught to her by online articles and videos.

Soon, she had finished wrapping Bruno’s leg in bandages. From there, she ripped the comforter off the bed in the corner and draped it over Bruno, only then allowing herself to finally sit down against the nearby bookshelf and rest.

The situation had gone from bad to worse. Bruno seemed to be in a stable condition now, but stable didn’t mean travel ready. She tapped her scroll, opening up the map. They were over halfway there but the remainder of the trip was a trek down the mountainside. Would it be worth the risk taking Bruno if it meant proper medical attention in Vinland? That question would almost be answered a second later as the muffled sound of howling filled her ears.

Merlot jumped back up to her feet and rushed to the cabin’s front door. Peeking out the keyhole she spotted them. A group of four beowolves, fresh from traversing the rope bridge, spreading out and beginning to encircle the cabin. Merlot panicked, instantly turning to the cabin’s two windows. She went to each one, locking it and pulling down the blinds, before hurriedly moving next to Bruno. She took deep breaths in and out as low growls and snow crunching under the weight of clawed paws filled her ears.

She did her best to steady her breathing, reduce any negative emotions and block out the danger outside, instead focusing her mind elsewhere.

***

“Lazuli Vidal, Viola Lila, Dante Florris and Roy Farran. From the hedge maze, you four retrieved the rabbit masks, and will henceforth work together as Team LVDR! (Lavender). Led by… Lazuli Vidal”

Professor Lionheart’s voice rang out through Haven Academy’s grounds, from his spot atop a large stage. Stars twinkled in the night sky above and a flood of warm light illuminated the massive crowd of students and teachers that were gathered on the campus.

A large screen displayed the aforementioned Team LVDR, as the four exited the stage. Lazuli in particular was overjoyed, seemingly bursting at the seams with excitement. Lionheart cleared his throat and spoke once more.

“And last but not least, Diana Merlot, Ash Taylor, Bruno Rice and Robert Linen. You four brought back the tiger masks, and will henceforth work together as Team MABL! Led by, Diana Merlot!”

“Me? Seriously?” Merlot stared at the screen above in shock.

“Don’t look so surprised Diana, clearly Professor Lionheart was impressed with how you navigated the hedge maze.” Robert said with a grin.

“I mean I guess but… Seriously? What do I even do as a leader…?” She scratched her head. “Also, please call me Merlot.”

“I’m sure you’ll figure it out, Merlot.” Robert assured.

“Glad I wasn’t picked. Way too much responsibility. Plus they’d have to rename us to like, Team AMBR or something.” Ash commented.

“Don’t fuck this up.” Bruno said as the four disembarked the stage. “Or do. I don’t really care actually.”

“Thanks for the positivity you two.” Merlot said flippantly, rejoining the crowd of new Haven students below.

“Haven Academy welcomes its new students! We hope that your time here will serve you well, and that you all emerge from your training as fully fledged huntsmen and huntresses!” Lionheart proclaimed. “With that, I wish you all a good night. Sleep well, you’ve all earned it.”

As the group dispersed, Merlot caught bits of various conversation from the gaggle of first year students around her.

“Haven Academy, this is so cool!”

“Why couldn’t they just give us these teams instead of dropping us into a maze…?”

“Wait a second, these dorms are co-ed? I have to live with a boy?!”

“I never expected to make it this far…”

“I suppose Professor Lionheart will give the title of leader away to just anyone…”

That last bit made her frown. She turned her attention in the direction of the comment, spotting two elegantly robed students. Nav Vidal and Lazuli Vidal.

“Nav, don’t be like that. I’m sure your leader is plenty capable!” Lazuli said.

“He seems more like a brute. I’m sure he stumbled his way through the maze with that goof Natsu.” Nav shot back. “And just look at the other teams. Aside from you, we have a beastly faunus, a glazed over druggy with his head in the clouds and some oblivious girl who looks like she was raised in a pig pen…”

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

“Don’t say that!” Lazuli exclaimed, glancing at the others around her hurriedly.

“I’m only stating the facts, Lazuli. How do any of them expect to graduate with-...”

Merlot frowned as soon as she heard those words, averting attention from the conversation. She had half a mind to contest the claims, but didn’t want to start an argument with a Vidal of all people.

“I’ll be a great leader.” Merlot muttered to herself. Still with no idea why she had been chosen, she pushed the thought aside for now and simply followed after her teammates to the first year dormitory.

*

Natsu dodged past a swing of Viola’s mace.

The two swiftly dashed around an open arena, the light of day shining down upon them. This arena was wedged between two sections of building, built on perfectly flat ground surrounded by a lower section of Haven Academy. Markings on the ground displayed the perimeters of the sparring zone that the pair fought within.

A gaggle of students watched the pair from the sidelines, and a large holographic screen displayed their aura levels nearby. Amidst the students was a tall, middle-aged woman, clad in samurai-esc armour. Her straight, teal hair was tied off into a ponytail behind her and a dadao sword hung sheathed at her side. She observed the battle intently, watching as it moved back and forth.

A punch from Natsu flew past Viola’s face giving her the opportunity to slam the butt of her mace into his chest. He staggered slightly, but managed to dodge a follow up blow and twist his body, delivering a spinning elbow to the side of her head.

Merlot stood at the sidelines with her team, standing just behind the woman clad in armour, her purple eyes glued to the match.

“I wonder how he keeps dodging all those attacks…” Robert whispered.

“It’s because her weapon is so big and clunky, dummy!” Bruno said, rolling his eyes.

Merlot too rolled her eyes. Not at the idea of Viola’s weapon being too heavy to damage the swift Natsu, but rather the entire interaction as a whole. Her attention was swiftly taken away from the fight however, as soon as she noticed something out of the corner of her eye. A new arrival, approaching the crowd of students and soon stopping next to the armoured woman.

The woman turned to this new arrival, a look of surprise on her face.

“Professor Lionheart, it’s nice to see you. May I ask what the occasion is? You don’t normally visit my classes.”

“I simply wanted to see our fresh faced first years in action again, Azula.” There was no mistaking the bearded, smiling face of Lionheart. Merlot’s heart rate immediately quickened. The pressure was truly on with him observing their training. “There’s quite a bit of potential in this group, and I’m looking forward to seeing what they are capable of.”

“I can assure you that all of their potential will be brought out under my tutelage.” The woman said with a firm nod.

The match finally reached its climax, with Natsu seemingly failing to dodge his opponent’s blows like he had been earlier. Viola now wailed on him, using the momentum of each mace swing to lead into the next attack. The match finally ended with a slam to the head, knocking Natsu to the ground. His red aura flickered.

“That’s the match!” The professor said, raising her hand into the air. “Natsu, Viola… Well done. That was an excellent fight.”

“Thanks Miss Vidal.” Viola said, reaching a hand down to help Natsu up.

“Yeah, thanks Professor… And Viola.” Natsu said accepting the hand and returning to his feet.

“Natsu. You clearly had the advantage in the opening stages of the fight, but from what I could surmise, you used your semblance too much on simple attacks. It dropped your aura and you couldn’t use it in the deciding moments of the fight. Precognition, correct?” Professor Vidal asked.

“Yep.” He nodded.

“Your semblance is very powerful, but overuse will ultimately hurt you in the long run, like any semblance. You need to choose your battles more carefully instead of predicting every attack.”

“You’ve got it, miss.”

“And as for you Viola…” Professor Vidal continued.

Merlot was less focused on her professor now, and instead more focused on the headmaster standing before her. Taking a deep breath in and out, she slowly mustered up the courage to speak.

“Um… Professor Lionheart?”

The bearded man turned to face his student, a warm smile still present on his face. “Ah yes, Miss… Merlot, was it?”

“Yes sir.”

“How may I help you?”

Bruno and Robert stared in disbelief at Merlot’s courage, remaining silent and watching her more intently than Professor Vidal. Ash didn’t seem all that phased.

“Well Professor… I just had a question to ask.” Merlot said slowly.

“By all means, I’d be happy to answer it.” Lionheart replied.

“I was just wondering… What does being a team leader even mean? Like… What am I supposed to be doing?” Merlot asked. “I know it seems like a silly question, but…”

“There’s no such thing as a silly question while a student. In fact, it’s an excellent question.” Lionheart said. “As a leader, you’re the glue that holds your team together. You are the one your teammates will look up to and the one with the most responsibility.”

At this Merlot frowned slightly. The headmaster took notice. “Don’t look so down about it. As a huntress, you will have responsibilities placed on your shoulders much greater than a trio of students. But know this, leaders are not randomly assigned. They are explicitly chosen based on a number of factors… More than just one’s transcripts or performance on their entry exams.”

“I still don’t get it… Why me?”

“Why not you? What makes you believe that you can’t do this? It’s only been a day.”

“I’ve just never had this kind of responsibility before, what if I mess up?” Merlot said nervously.

“Then at least you’ll have messed up in school rather than in the field. It’s the entire purpose of going to a huntsman academy after all.” The Professor spoke kindly. “But personally I don’t think we’ll ever have to cross that bridge, Merlot. I have faith in you and your team.”

Merlot simply nodded in response, before being snapped back to the lesson currently being taught by Professor Vidal.

“I need two more volunteers for the next match!” The Professor called to her class. The students seemed reluctant, with very few hands going up. Merlot gave Professor Lionheart one last glance. He had returned to focusing on Professor Vidal, hands behind his back. Reluctantly, Merlot raised her hand.

“Ah, Miss Merlot. Please, step forward. Now who would like to be her opponent…?”

Merlot stepped into the arena, a hand on one of her chakrams. She scanned the students ahead, eyes flicking around nervously until she caught the eye of Lionheart. He gave her a reassuring nod. She let out a deep breath and smiled.

***

A shuffle nearby snapped Merlot out of her thoughts. She turned her head to find Bruno stirring in his sleep. Instantly a smile came over her. She watched quietly as one of his eyes slowly blinked open.

“Bruno. Are you awake?” She asked slowly.

“What the…” He mumbled groggily, his eyes slowly scanning the room. “I feel like… Shit.”

“Better than being dead.” Merlot continued to grin.

“What do you even mean by that? Are you implying that you’re gonna kill me…?” Bruno asked, semi-aggressively. The effect was significantly lessened by the fatigue in his voice.

“Of course, you don’t even remember. Just try to go back to sleep.” Merlot said.

“No, I remember that bear shit, it's just… Hazy.” He grumbled, his eyes slowly closing. "Better not wake me up."

Merlot rolled her eyes and let out a yawn. Her head leaned back against the nearby wall. The crackling of fire within the wood stove filled her ears and her eyes felt heavy. She slowly drifted off within the warm cabin, the memories of Haven Academy fading from her thoughts for the time being.