Red energy rested beneath my hands, flowing and shaping according to my will. My aura. The aura that still rested within.
It taken several weeks since the second tomoe formed in my left eye for the right to follow but now that both had matured to the same level I could see my aura clearly. Its color. How much of it was present at any given time. The natural movements born from its nature. With only a single tomoe in each eye I was granted perfect control over my aura. An unparalleled advantage that came with a single disadvantage.
I lacked the understanding of aura huntsmen at that level gained through intensive training and constant experience. I'd been a cook, merely following the directions of a recipe with no idea why each ingredient was used. Okay, that was an analogy stolen from one of the goats, but it worked well here.
Now that I've laid eyes on my aura, watching how it worked while idle and under active use, I knew exactly how to use it with or without my Sharingan active.
"-maybe but I must still insist against this."
"Then leave. I-"
"Come on, you two. Now's not the time to be arguing."
I looked up from my hands, watching Raven, Summer, and Glynda all descend the steps of the backyard porch, the fallen snow crunching beneath their steps as they approached.
A motionless red so dark that it appeared blackened at times made up the aura that rested within Raven.
In contrast, Summer's aura was a more vivid red that steered on the brighter side, the energy at her center like everyone but constantly shifting about, nearly unpredictable and ready to be used at a moment's call.
My aura, both in color and nature, rested somewhere between those two.
Glynda had the largest pool of aura by far, the dark purple energy taking up far more space than any of ours even at rest. Despite the sheer amount of it within her, while her aura was nowhere near as still as Raven's, its few shifts followed practiced patterns.
My Sharingan's current maturity didn't just offer me a perfect understanding of my aura but that of others.
Including the motions the energy took during the use of a semblance.
"Come." Raven ordered as she walked past me, only sparing a single glance my way before she pushed open the wood gate at the very end of the backyard, making her way towards the distant forest of leafless trees.
Summer ruffled my hair as she passed while Glynda smiled, both following after Raven without any explanation.
Weird. Maybe they had some new training in mind or Raven was planning on testing me in some way?
I followed after them, closing the gate behind me.
No words were exchanged. Another oddity while in Summer's presence. Cold winds, the crunch of snow, snap of dead branches, and distant howls kept total silence from taking hold. The howls grew louder and louder the deeper we went.
Soon we were far past any trees I was familiar with. Patch might be relatively safe, especially near the single town on the whole island, but I still wasn't allowed to go very far from the house. Especially not towards the forest that lined our backyard.
Grimm could be anywhere.
Honestly the deadened woods would be creepy even if that weren't the case, the darkened clouds above adding to the cold dreariness of the place. Luckily that creep factor was completely nullified by the fact that I was surrounded by three professional huntresses.
I might not be behind kingdom walls, but I was arguably the safest kid across all of Remnant right now.
Faint growls overtook the distant howls.
Fur the darkest black I'd ever seen. Eyes crimson pools that lacked pupils, irises, and everything in between, the things bearing an ominous glow. A maw full of razor sharp teeth that put the fiercest predators to shame.
A beowolf.
Canon fodder at best among its kind, constantly chopped down throughout the show with little to no struggle.
All the same, my heartbeat quickened, the thumps filling my ears.
As it stood on it hind legs, growl intensifying, the others only stepped aside.
No, no, no. Raven might have a cruel streak but pitting a child against a Grimm? Her own at that? Surely she wasn't-
A quick look her way and the only thing on her face was that usual reserved judgment whenever she was overseeing my training.
Fuck me.
I turned.
And threw myself aside, a swipe of those clawed hands cutting through where I'd just been standing. I scrambled back, quickly pushing myself up to a stand as the creature turned upon me, its animalistic form towering over me several times over.
It made another swipe that I dodged. With the others out of the way and easy prey seemingly being served up to it, the thing had lost the hesitation that initially restrained it, doggedly pursuing me with leaps, snapping bites and deadly swipes. I used the trees for cover, avoiding its relentless pursuit.
My heartrate refused to slow but I retook control of my breaths.
Despite the situation I wasn't in any real danger.
Summer and Glynda both stood close, my Sharingan able to pick up on their minute frowns, neither able to replicate Raven's impassive expression. Those two were ready to swoop in at any minute, a beowolf nothing to them. Not to mention that my aura should be able to take a few hits before it went down.
I ducked beneath a swipe, using my smaller size to dive past the beowolf before it could try another.
Not that that I would be hit.
I avoided more swipes, the thing's wild but simple movements easy to avoid. It was already slower than what I faced in spars against Raven and, after only a few attacks, predicting what it was going to do long before it fully winded up for a lung or pounce was child's play. Fear inducing as it appeared, going up against this thing was more like a light exercise than a fight to the death.
As I ducked, its claws tore through the trunk of a dead tree, bark sent flying.
I snatched one of the thicker pieces out of the air, arm pulled back as I jumped.
"ARRGGGH!" A whimpered growl left it, its left eye reduced to a bloody mess. Something that would've sent any ordinary creature reeling for at least a few moments served only to anger it, the thing leaping forward with savage swipes. I'd already kicked off it and got back on the move, sliding beneath it and picking up one of the many sticks half buried in the snow along with more of that bark.
Weak or not it was trying to kill me and Grimm weren't known for running out of stamina. I needed to take it out quickly.
As it turned so did I, the gathered bark chucked up at its face again. This time it was avoided, the thing dropping on all fours to pursue. Even then it was taller than me, wrapping me in its shadow as it approached. Its attacks grew wilder but easier to predict and avoid, its damaged eye doing it no favors.
I took full advantage of that, constantly keeping to its left side and forcing it to reposition in search of me. I wasn't strong enough to try a head to head battle, nor did I have a weapon capable of cutting into it, but I was fast and perceptive enough to keep it dancing to my tune.
I kept up with my dodges, and the beowolf kept twisting around in search of me until its own rabid pursuit led to it whipping around and slamming its head against a tree, snow and branches knocked free as it staggered aside.
I shot forward.
Turning its own strength against it had been easier than I thought.
Branch shoved into its other eye, another roar left the creature. It rose onto its hind legs, bringing me with it.
"OWWWWWW!" Howl ignored, I grabbed onto its fur with one hand and snapped the branch, bringing the newly splintered half deep into the other eye before kicking myself off it.
I landed on my feet, kicking up and readying another branch.
Fortunately, its echoing howl died away as it collapsed into a limp heap.
Unfortunately, as if the world itself sought to balance out things, two more of the fur creatures were quickly approaching on all fours, their ebony black fur a stark contrast to the snowfield.
"Talon." I glanced towards Raven, eyes instantly snapping up to track the slim object tossed my way.
A short silver blade. Black handle. It wasn't a katana, but it wasn't a traditional sword either. Some kind of custom short sword made to fit my size.
I caught it.
I didn't waste any time fully looking it over, this time shifting into a run towards more trees. Weapon or not, I was still too small for a direct fight.
That said, it did open up other possibilities.
Just as I did with the one before this, I made use of my Sharingan's abilities, leading them around by their snouts. This time, however, I slid and ducked around their legs, cuts inflicted on them, the pristine blade leaving behind deep wounds that I wouldn't have been able to manage before.
One already on the ground dissipating, I fully sliced open the back of one of the other's knees as I slid beneath it. Both legs now a bloody mess, slicing open its neck as it collapsed was easy enough.
Another stepped out from among the trees. Armoring, boney in nature, covered its skull and many of its vital areas.
I raised my sword.
It took one look towards Raven and the others then backed away. The pack that'd been behind it growled lowly but followed the silent retreat.
I kept my eye on them even as the Summer and Glynda approached. Somehow watching a group retreat was far more chilling than having others rush me.
Grimm really were capable of making intelligent decisions.
XOXO
(A/N: Sharingan's OP for real. Without the heightened perception and reaction time, fight would've gone real differently for him at that age.
Anyways, game awards soon. Don't give a crap what wins what but I am looking forward to seeing what gets announced. Specifically interested in seeing rpg and jrpg stuff. I'm hearing there might be something for Divinity from Lorian Studios so I have pretty high expectations for once. Any fellow gamers? What are you guys hoping to see?)