Sicut tenebras celat
•
As the Darkness Hides
--
--
Morning came fast, and with the sun rising, the students prepares themselves for the incoming Initiation.
Hikaru Shin, however, is in a bad mood. You see, he didn't get a good sleep because of one thing he did not expect to encounter...
(Flashback)
After knocking both Ruby and Weiss unconscious, Yang was impressed by this and dragged Ruby back to her sleeping bag. The students in the ballroom are sleeping, and after a few minutes Blake fell asleep as well, leaving Hikaru alone.
Satisfied, he was about to tuck in as well, but his danger senses flared so much that it made his skin jump and snatching his Nichirin Blade in reflex.
A foul, dark, and a very hostile air lingers inside the ballroom that he hastily scanned the dark room with his eyes, from its walls to each corner.
With a piercing glare, he whispered loudly. "Who goes there?!"
A faint hand movement was seen by him that is obviously not a student's, and because he was faster than them, he skipped through and stabbed the hand, only to reveal that it was a shadow. "Shit..." He hissed as the hand sunk on the floor.
A creepy growl made his skin tremble as he felt someone is whispering into his ear. "Behind!" He predicted as he snapped his head around and did a tiny swing, only to slice the tip of a tongue.
The creature yelped quietly and retreated back to the darkness like a spider. "Cowardly heretic! Show yourself!" He indistinctly grinds his teeth in annoyance.
Waiting for the creature, it answers back with a thrust from its sharp tongue. Hikaru sees this and ducked, the attack missed some strands of his hair as Hikaru unsheathes his blade and pivoted his self around, delivering a quick upward slash at the slimy tongue.
Fortunately, he sliced a major part of it and the creature growled in pain with its sliced tongue disappearing in a form of burnt ashes.
The scene made his eyes wide, and looking back, his face changed in complete hatred. "A demon?!" He exclaimed in Japanese. "What is it doing here?! I thought Muzan's dead!"
(Remember: Slanted Dialogues are themselves speaking in Japanese like this)
Surprisingly for him, the demon talked as he retracted back his sliced tongue and darkly chuckled as it tilts its head ninety degrees. "A Hashira? The Mistress told me that there will be no enemies here that can able to track us!"
"Mistress?" Hikaru muttered. "Us? What do you mean by us?!" His blood run cold at that statement.
He then noticed the demon's appearance, making his grip onto his blade tighten. "Shita Oni...!(Tongue Demon)" Hikaru glared. "Zenitsu killed you before! How are you here?!"
"That is none of your concern, Hashira..." He lowly growled. "Need to retreat and tell the mistress that I've been-!"
"I won't let you." Hikaru angrily whispered as he prepared a stance. "Heretics like you doesn't even learn a thing..."
Alerted, the Tongue Demon's tongue grew back and blasted it like a bullet. Hikaru twisted to the side, avoiding the sleeping students and jumped, hand on his blade mid-air.
Hikaru then whispered,
"Light Breathing: First Form..."
A sudden flash of light popped inside the room for a second and in a transparent moonlight's reflection, the tongue of the Demon was sliced vertically, splitting it in half. "Damn you-!" He is still talking when the Demon felt his head flying above.
"Obscuring Light..."
It was already been cut off.
The decapitated head landed exactly on Hikaru's palm while the Demon's body starts to disintegrate into a pile of ash. The Demon's eyes turned at him and it chuckled. "Kehehehe! You thought I was the only one...? No... We are all..." As as his head disappears, he declared. "HERE..."
"All here...!"
That word sent Hikaru in a furious mood that he crushed the Demon's eye with his fist, his eyes gleaming murderously and teeth grinding. His mind is running wildly with possibilities and dangers the demon mentioned.
'Normal demons that we've killed? Lower Moons? Or the Upper Moons themselves?! Or maybe...' His mind stopped at instant as the incident sent shivers through his body.
"Muzan..."
But he defused that absurd thought, the possibility is real low. "But the demon mentioned a 'Mistress', maybe Muzan was turned into a.. girl?" He thought, yet removed it quick as he sheathed his sword back. "That would be impossible."
As he sees that the night was clear again, he sighed at the scene of his fellow students. "I need to ask Ozpin..."
(End of Flashback)
--
--
Eyebags can be seen hanging below his eyes as he was rudely been woken up by a obnoxiously loud girl named Nora.
Coincidentally, Hikaru's sleeping roll was beside the pair he'd encounted yesterday, Nora and Ren. The black-haired boy sluggishly rose up, giving Nora a nonchalant look.
"WAKE UP, SLEEPY-HEAD!" She then notices Hikaru, waking up as well. "HELLOOO, PONYTAIL!"
"Ugh..." Hikaru groans. "Morning, Nora..."
The ever energetic girl zooms beside Ren, pestering the still groggy boy. "It's mooorning. It's mooorning! So 'ya better get up, Renny!"
Ren tiredly looks at Hikaru and shakes his head. "Again, I would like to apologize for Nora waking you up."
Hikaru dismisses this, "It's okay. I was going to wake up when she yelled." He stands up, patting his clothes. "Maybe we should prepare ourselves, yeah? Don't want to miss it."
Ren chuckled. "True. Then we'll see you later, Hikaru."
Packing his bed, taking a shower, into his battle clothes, and through eating breakfast, Hikaru found himself placing all of his things in a locker at Beacon Academy's 1st Floor Locker Room. And as he wears a small crucifix around his neck, Hikaru overheard some things from the other side.
It was Ruby and Yang, the sisterd having a conversation with each other.
"You seem awfully chipper this morning." Yang spoke, Ruby giggled.
"Yep! No more 'awkward small talk or getting to know' stuff." She said in an excited tone, grabbing her weapon inside the locker. "Today, I get to let my sweetheart do the talking." and weirdly stroked her weapon.
"Uhh..." Hikaru awkwardly peeked, that was caught by the sisters.
"..." They both looked at him for a couple of seconds.
"H-H-How long have you've been there?!" Ruby squeaked in embarrassment.
"Seconds later after you said that you're 'let my sweetheart do the talki-'"
"Kyyaaahhh! Noooo!"
Ruby rushed next to him and covered his mouth. Yang, crosses her arms and had a smug look, probably amused by her sister's flushed reaction.
"Be quiet!" Ruby loudly whispered at him. Hikaru said some muffled words through her hand.
"Csn youfh lefh gho uf yhur hnd nuw?"
"Oh-uh...!" Ruby then realized that she's still covering his mouth and retracted it in shame. "S-Sorry about that! Just... don't do that again, okay?"
"No promises." Hikaru teased with a smirk, Ruby's cheeks puffed at this.
"You..."
Hikaru laughs softly.
"Speaking of the Initiation, Ruby... Do you know what'll happen? Don't want to be uninformed."
"He's right. You're not the only one going at it. If you want to grow up, you're gonna have to meet new people and learn to work together."
"But-"
"No excuses, Ruby. Sure, you can handle enemies by yourself..." Hikaru explained. "What if you are severely injured? Who's gonna help you?" He shortly glanced at her sister. "Yang?" And scoffs. "If you're lucky that she's with you."
"Ugh..." She sighed annoyingly, "You both sounded like Dad! First of all, what does meeting people have to do with fighting? And secondly, I don't need people to help me grow up." The statement caugh Hikaru's interest. "And third, I drink milk!" She declared.
"Okay. Let me answer those..." Hikaru walks in and crosses his arms. "One, meeting people is important, especially if you became a huntress in the future. Second, don't need anyone? Then don't ask anyone if you are in trouble. Lastly, that was a myth." He said with a scowl.
The bitter words was a great shock from both sisters, since they thought Hikaru was still jesting with them.
"I..."
"See what I mean, Ruby?" His brows furrowed, his anger slowly rising. But when he sees Ruby's face turning into a terrified one, it disappears. "Sorry for the words, but you need to hear it. Better to swallow the bitter truth than honeyed lies, right? Please let that sink into you..."
Yang immediately changed the gloomy atmosphere. "Hey, Hikaru... I overheard that teams will be put up after the Initiation, knew any of that?"
This unexpected rumor made him think. "Team formation? I didn't learned about that... But if that's true, only the Headmaster knows..."
"Aw, bummer."
"Hey, Hikaru!" A voice ran to meet him. As he turns around, it was Jaune, holding a map. "Can you tell me where's Locker 636? can't find it since I came here."
Hikaru gestures him to hand over the map, and as he scans its contents, he frowned. "Who gave you this map?"
"Uhh... It was a tall guy, orange-haired and had a sharp jawline? Why?"
"That wasn't sounds like the third and fourth year watchers... Did you manage to ask his name?"
"I...uhh- C-Cardin? Or whatever his name that starts in letter C"
Hikaru then placed his hand on Jaunes shoulder. "Jaune, this map... is fake."
The news made him flinch, eyes widening. "What?! I've been searching for a ghost locker in thirty minutes?!"
"Someone is picking at you. And you should be worried." Hikaru noted.
"Aww, man..." Jaune's shoulders slumped.
"If you are trying to find yours... Remember the ID, Beacon gave to everyone in the auditorium?" Jaune nodded. "At the very top left..." He pulled his ID from his pocket as Jaunes pulls his own as well, and pointed. "The last numbers there are separated by a dash, find that." He then read the number.
"626?"
That made them look at the locker near Weiss and Pyrrha that are both in a conversation. "I believe that locker... is yours."
"Thanks, man! You're a lifesaver." Jaune let out a sigh and a chuckle.
"Anytime. Oh, and if you saw that Cardin again, tell me. I'll run some errands from the Third and Fourth years regarding his name."
Then they both walked toward his locker, but Jaune was got distracted by something.
Or someone...
"Ugh, great..." Hikaru facepalmed.
"You know what else is great?" Jaune slides between Weiss and Pyrrha. "Me, Jaune Arc, nice to meet'cha."
"Jaune, did you just-?" Hikaru was still speaking when Jaune raised his finger, interrupting the Hashira that it made him frown. "You're digging yourself a hole there-"
"You again?!" Weiss bellowed, then her gaze snaps at Hikaru. "AND YOU?!" She jabbed her finger at his chest.
"What's your problem with me, princess?" He lowered her finger and glared.
"My problem? Well, my problem is that you are here, annoying my pretty, good, well-planned day, until I see your face!"
Jaune and Hikaru shared a confused look. "You like ugly people?" Hikaru innocently asks.
This made Weiss' face incredibly red. "What?! No! And don't get to be full of yourself, Shin!"
"Wait, Weiss..." Pyrrha interjected. "You know him?"
Weiss responded with a question of herself. "Huh? You know this guy?" She gestured at Hikaru. "How?!"
"Last night at the balcony." Pyrrha simply stated. "He's very entairtaining to talk to, Weiss."
"Hi, Pyrrha." Hikaru smiled.
"Hi!"
"Uhh..." Jaune tilts his head. "Do I skipped something real big?"
"Yeah. The teams." Weiss stated. And the conversation shifted.
"I heard about that as well." Hikaru calmly said.
"Four students in each time. But if someone's deserved to be in that spot, then five." Pyrrha revealed, which made them look at her.
"Four?!" Weiss shouted.
This was Jaune's turn to slide next to Pyrrha. It made Hikaru cringe at the sight. "Well, hot-stuff, play your cards right and maybe you could join up the winning team."
Weiss snickered and muttered. "Or the losing..."
"Also, Hikaru, here." Hikaru'seyebrow raised at this. "-Is joining the team."
"Hey, hey, hey. I did not announce anything, so don't."
"You do what?" Jaune, obviously, acted like he did not hear Hikaru. "See? He said he'll join. So! Whatd'ya say?"
Weiss hurriedly moved in the middle and stopped Jaune. "Do you two have the slightest idea who you're talking to?"
Hikaru decided to be silent this time.
"Not in the slightest, snow angel." Hikaru rolls his eyes while Weiss fought her urge not to facepalm next to Pyrrha that is giggling by their reactions.
"This is Pyrrha."
"Hello, again!" Pyrrha chirply waved her hand.
"She graduated at the top of her class in Sanctum."
"Never heard of it."
"She has won the Mistral Regional Tournament four years in a row! A new record!" Weiss explained.
"The what?"
"God... Why...!" Hikaru's head slowly looked up and groans. Pyrrha, again, giggled at his reaction.
With this, Weiss exploded in anger, repeatedly waving her arms. "She's on the front of every Pumpkin Pete's Marshmallow Flakes box!" She ranted. "Please tell me you know that...!"
"I, though, hated that cereal. Not the box and the model herself." Hikaru winked as he crosses his arms.
And finally, Jaune gasps. "That's you?! They only do that for star athletes and cartoon characters!"
"Yes. That was me. And Hikaru's right when he said that he hated the cereal, because it's not very good for your health."
"Who has the right, and sane mind to create an unhealthy cereal like that?" Jaune dumbly asks.
And everyone answered, "People?"
Silence fills their conversation for a second.
"Anyways, after hearing all of this, do you really think you're still in a position to ask her for your team?" Weiss questioned and Jaune's shoulders slumped in defeat.
"I... I guess I'm not. Sorry..."
"Actually, Jaune," Pyrrha walks in and places her hand on his shoulder. "I think you'd make a great leader."
"D'oh! Stop it!"
Weiss steps in, hands on her waist. "Seriously?! Please, stop that. Pyrrha, this kind of behavior should not be encouraged!"
"Let him be, Weiss." Hikaru intervened.
"And sounds like Pyrrha and Hikaru is on board for Team Jaune. Spots are filling up quick!"
The slayer deadpanned at him. "I am not in your team."
"Can't hear you, Hikaru. Sorry." He replied and then returned his attention back to Weiss. "Now, I'm not supposed to do this, but, maybe I could pull some few strings? Find a place for you? What do you say?"
"Err, Jaune. You sound like a shady man who's recruiting girls." Hikaru stated, then he looked at Pyrrha. "A little help, Pyrrha?"
Pyrrha gladly obliged and picks her spear up, throwing it towards the blonde that it sends him to a wall, pinning his armor. "AHHHH!!"
"Nice throw." Hikaru praised. "And thanks for stopping him."
Somehow, Weiss yelled the same response as Hikaru's.
"Your welcome." She said at him, and yelled at Jaune, "Sorry!"
"Now, let me handle the blonde." Hikaru grumbled as he nodded at Pyrrha and Weiss. "Initiation should start any minute now, best of you two to go before Ms. Goodwitch could-"
In the exact moment, the voice of Glynda Goodwitch spoke from the speaker.
"Attention, would all first year Beacon Academy students, please report to Beacon Cliff for the Initiation? I repeat-"
"Yep, that's the cue..." Hikaru shrugged, removing the spear from Jaune's armor as he dragged the boy away. "We'll see you girls later, and good luck!"
"Bye Hikaru!" Pyrrha waved as the two boys disappeared.
--
--
Beacon Academy Cliff
Above the Emerald Forest
Initiation
Students were lined up with a stone slab beneath their feet. Among them was Hikaru, already in his black Demon Slayer Corps uniform and a haori with a mix of gold and white colors.
He is placing his hand on his Nichirin Blade as he subtly scanning the area while his ears are listening attentively at the Headmaster and Professor Goodwitch.
"For years, you have trained to become warriors. And today, your abilities will be evaluated at the Emerald Forest."
It's Glynda's turn to speak.
"Now, I'm sure many of you have heard rumors regarding the assignment of teams. Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion."
Ozpin smiled. "Each of you... will be given your teammates... today."
The newd greatly shattered Ruby's hopes and dreams, also her world inside. Hikaru snickered at this, while the sudden reactions from the students increased. Glynda gestured and they all calmed down.
"These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here im Beacon. So, it is in your best interest to be paired with someone whom you can work well." Ozpin added, further flaring the students reactions and hushed voices.
"That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years."
Hikaru smirked as he caught Ozpin staring at him, only to reply with a sip from his mug. "Sly as ever..."
"After you partnered up, make your way to the northern end of the forest. You will meet opposition along the way."
Hinting a subtle look at Hikaru, Ozpin continued. "Do not hesitate to destroy anything in your path, or you will die. Don't hold back."
Slowly, the grin from Hikaru's face increased. Head nodding at the declaration.
Glynda spoke, "You will be monitored and graded for the duration of your initiation. But we, as 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 back here. We will regard that item, as well as your standing, and grade you appropriately."
Ozpin looked at everyone and smiled. "Are there any questions?"
Jaune was about to answer when the Headmaster spoke again. "Good! Then let's start!"
In a fast pace, one by one, the stone platform launched them up in the air. Jaune was trying to ask something at the Headmaster when he was already been launched in the air.
Ruby...
Yang...
And lastly, it was just him.
But before he left, the Headmaster stops the platform. "Hikaru. I know that you are hesitant to perform your styles, even without your aura." Ozpin stated. "But, down there, you will not hold back. Do you understand?"
"Professor, what happened last night at the ballroom-"
"I saw the camera footage, Hikaru." Ozpin interrupted him, causing his eyes to go wide. "And if... that 'demon' was lurking every night, then we'll have to tighten the security around Beacon. You have my word. Now go."
"Thank you, Headmaster Ozpi-AHHHHH!!"
With the cliff now cleared of students, the Headmaster and Professor turns around as the man chuckled at his cup of coffee.
"I love my job."
--
--
Flying above the sky, Hikaru was calm and collected even if he had been caught off-guard by the immediate launch, he can only laugh at that moment.
"Well, I guess three people will be unlucky to have me!" He shouted as he did a stance mid-air, feet tucked and tightened as he did a long and concentrated breath.
"Light Breathing: Sixth Form..."
The feet beneath him shine bright as his body feels like feather and did a lunge, boosting him as he zigzagged before he could hit the trees and the ground.
"Eight Rays of the Rising Sun!"
---
Somewhere around the Emerald Forest...
A man in a flaming red and white Haori trekked with two people behind him and was mesmerized by the tall pine trees around him. He had his blade on his left hip, and his gold with red tipped hair fluttered through the wind.
"Yo, did we just landed far from what the Headmaster had instructed?" The tall, flamboyantly white-haired swordsman scratched his cheek in thought.
The black-haired swordsman was silent and looked around instead. "No. That's not true if we landed incorrectly." He calmly stated, his checkered haori fluttered with the wind.
"Be vigilant, everyone! It seems we have found our first enemy."
They all unsheathed their weapons as the giant King Taijutu turns around, hissing.
"Uzui-san, Tomioka-san, let's deal with that snake!"
----
(To be continued)