"Hello mister hunter. Still can't find my mum?"
A young girl, adorning a distinctive white ribbon, who would have seen no more than ten winters, had asked him about the progress of his search for her missing parents, as she peeked throughout the window.
He was asked by the young girl to find her mother, who had gone to find her father, who had gone to join the Hunt.
He agreed to the young girl's request, and in turn was given a music box to help her father regain his memories, should the father forget about his family as he usually did.
He was told that a bright red brooch was worn by the mother to easily identify her.
Yet when he found the mother with said bright red brooch and the father, it was already too late, the father had gone mad and the mother had been slain by the father.
He could not bear to tell the young girl of the gruesome fate brought to both her mother and father, withholding even the red brooch that would have told her of their demise.
And so he lied to the young girl, he told her that he was unable to find her parents.
That he would bring her to the safe haven of the nearby chapel while he continued his search for her family.
"Thank you very much mister hunter! I love you almost as much as mum, dad and grandad!"
______________
The Hunter awoke abruptly from his sleep with a startled leap from his bed, hyperventilating as he tried to calm himself down. Rapid quick glances were taken of his surroundings, upon seeing that he was still not in Yharnam, he made an attempt in calming himself down. The Hunter turned to the windows, noting that he awoke in the middle of the night, with the moon still hanging low.
Another terrible dream, the night terrors were progressively growing more frequent and progressively growing worse the more the days passed. Even with the thickened layers worn, it did not ease the chills the Hunter felt as he reminisced of the young girl. Her hopeful voice, filled with an unbreaking trust in him, still haunted him. Reminding the Hunter of his many failures he experienced during the Hunt, had he been more careful, she would have not suffered such a terrible fate...
But why was he dreaming of the young girl now the Hunter wondered.
Was it some twisted form of premonition?
______________
The new Monday of the new school week was the day the student rankings for the midterm exams were to be posted for the student body to observe. Yet instead of the expected collective panic the Hunter had anticipated from the students, having had enough time to understand the collective mindset of an average student. What he witnessed instead was a collective attention towards a commotion.
The Hunter observing both Moka and Kyoya shielding Yukari from the latter's 'Class President', Tadashi Wanibushi, and his two subordinates, the three whom the Hunter recalled showing disdain towards the young girl before he went to deal with the incident revolving Kurumu two months ago, a crowd of student bystanders surrounding them and witnessing the commotion.
The Hunter could already surmised upon first glance the cause for the commotion, being discrimination towards Yukari for her heritage. Even after the 'Clubs Day' festival, Yukari still tended to keep a quiet presence, yet still was she shown disdain. If anything, it seemed the discrimination had intensified after she had been marked as the top student of the year level.
Yet the Hunter himself knows the meaninglessness of attempting to revert a history of bad blood, even if the reason for the bad blood itself was a strange thing. The 'Witches' whom the Hunter knew were far sinister than what the young girl could ever be. For now, he supposed he should break up the confrontation before any escalation happens, marching to break up the commotion.
"Cease your aggression." The Hunter ordered, moving pass the crowd of spectating students. "I will not tolerate further discrimination."
With the Hunter's arrival, Tadashi decided it best to remove himself along with his friends from the scene, clicking their tongues as they left, and the commotion died down. While watching as the three disappeared from sight, the Hunter believed it would be wise to make note of these three for any further commotions regarding Yukari.
"Are you three alright?" The Hunter asked, turning towards the three female students.
"You looked like you didn't sleep well Mr. Syn." Moka mentioned, noting the slight fatigue from the Hunter.
"... It is of little issue." The Hunter reassured. Because of his abrupt awakening in the middle of the night, he was unable to return to sleep, remaining awake until the sunrise. But he would not say this aloud. "Marking the exams for over seven hundred students (256 Junior Students) was a lengthier process than I had expected."
______________
The ringing of the bell has indicated the ending of the current period, and with the current period being the final period, meaning it was now the end of the school day. And with the end of the school day, Yukari immediately barged in the classroom of 1-C mere moments after, slamming the classroom door open and catching the attention of the entire class.
"Kyoka~!" Yukari shouted, heading towards Kyoka's desk. "Let's go home together!"
"Sorry Yukari, I need to ask Syn-sensei about the exams now." Kyoka responded, holding up her exam papers in view of Yukari.
"Aw..." Yukari cried, later turning her attention and marched towards Moka. "Then Moka! Come with me!"
"Huh?" Moka pointed to herself, unsure if she had heard Yukari correctly. "Alright...?"
"Yay!" Yukari shouted, grabbing Moka by her arm as she begun to drag her towards the exit. "Sorry for the interruption Mr. Syn!"
"Please be more mindful for next time, Miss Sendo."
The Hunter supposed it was just Yukari acting her age, watching in slight amusement as the younger girl pulled the older by her arm outside of the classroom, only for Yukari to then... sexually harass Moka via groping at her bosom immediately after the two made their exit. The Hunter could only be left stunned upon this observation, unsure of how he was supposed to react to the young girl committing improper conduct.
Was this another cultural aspect he was unfamiliar with?
"... Did something transpire afterwards?" The Hunter muttered dumbfoundedly.
"If it's okay with you Mr. Syn, can I ask some questions about the midterms?" Kyoka asked interrupting his thought process, in her hands her mathematics practise exam with its marks.
Perhaps it was better to not put much thought into it the Hunter decided, turning to face Kyoka to distract himself from Yukari's actions.
"Of course, Miss Tetsu."
______________
"SOMEONE DO SOMETHING ABOUT THAT BRAT!" Tsukune screamed atop his lungs in anger, his cheek reddened with a slap mark.
When Yukari dragged Moka out of the classroom, Tsukune l̶i̶k̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶s̶i̶m̶p̶ ̶h̶e̶ ̶i̶s̶ had followed closely behind, leading with Yukari to make fun of Tsukune, of his grades, athletic abilities, and appearance as quoted: "Grades: Average! Athletic Abilities: Subpar like a human! The perfect picture of an ordinary boy!". Followed by comparing the sheer differences in quality between Moka and Tsukune, Yukari even making it a point to comparing him to the only other male person she knew, Syn-sensei.
Since Yukari had already long came to a conclusion that Syn-sensei was the total polar opposite of Tsukune, his intellect matching or even being greater than hers because of the immediate speed Syn-sensei solved her equation which she wrote as a joke during his supplementary lesson, which even she had to spend a few minutes to internally calculate. And his overwhelming performance during the Archery Club as well as every other club when she followed along was enough evidence for Yukari of Syn-sensei's athletic abilities.
And so Yukari declared a 'war' upon Tsukune so 'her beautiful Moka be brought down into the dirt by someone like him', harassing him with her Witch powers to manipulate objects to cause bodily harm. Going so far as to use a Voodoo Doll to control Tsukune into groping Kurumu's breasts, leading to the mark on Tsukune's face and the current situation. Right now, Yukari was hiding behind Moka, with the latter attempting to defuse Tsukune's anger.
"You're being too easy on her Moka!" Tsukune shouted in response to Moka's defusing attempt. "You have to tell her she's being a bother! It's better for her sake as well!"
"I suppose..." Moka replied with slight confliction. "But..."
"She'll chase away everyone from her if she keep acting like that!" Tsukune shouted, cutting off Moka. "Won't she lose all of her friends and end up alone!?" [A.N. Got to love how Tsukune kept shouting at someone who could've 100% killed him if she truly wanted to at that point.]
Strangely, Yukari became angered by Tsukune's lack of tack to bring up her losing friends. After all, Kyoka was her very first friend she had made in this whole academy which showed her disdain. And while Syn-sensei was a teacher, Yukari also saw him as a friend and intellectual equal. And most importantly, they both didn't discriminate against her for being a Witch, even including her in their company without hesitation so that she wasn't alone. Yukari supposed if she didn't have those two as friends, then she would've passively brushed off Tsukune's remarks, but she did have those two as friends, and so Yukari shouted at Tsukune in return. "And this is why you'll never be with Moka! Syn-sensei's a better match for Moka than you'll ever be!"
"W-wait Yukari! Why mention Syn-sensei here?! He's a teacher!" Moka cried with a fluster, yet Moka's concerns fell on deaf ears, the irritation within Tsukune reaching its peak upon the mention of Syn-sensei.
"Syn-sensei! Syn-sensei! Syn-sensei!" Tsukune repeated. "You keep bringing up Syn-sensei! Wouldn't Syn-sensei also be disappointed if he finds out what you've been doing?! Wouldn't he also think you're being a bother too if you keep acting like a brat?!"
Tsukune continued bringing up Syn-sensei as a means to insult Yukari's behaviour. Yukari, no longer willing to deal with Tsukune's insults, summoned a washtub atop Tsukune's head to knock him unconscious, and she ran away.
It didn't matter where she ran, as long as it wasn't where Tsukune was, until she bumped into someone of solid physique, causing her to fall onto the ground.
"Oww, stupid! Why don't you watch where you're go--." Yukari was about to shout before noticing who she had bumped into.
It was Syn-sensei, who had been talking with Kyoka. Recalling Tsukune's words, Yukari only held her silence with a sorrowful expression.
"What is wrong, Miss Sendo?" Syn-sensei asked Yukari, noticing her solemn mood. Looking up at him and recalling Tsukune's words of Syn-sensei potentially thinking of her as a nuisance, only now did she understand how intimidating Syn-sensei was with his abnormal height, hallucinating as if Syn-sensei was looking down at her like everyone else.
"Are you alright Yukari?" Kyoka asked as she knelt down towards Yukari, offering the young girl a hand to pick her up.
Yukari did not answer Kyoka's concerns, standing up and running past the student and teacher.
~~~~~
"It's awful of you to get so mad at Yukari, Tsukune!" Moka shouted at Tsukune, who had regained consciousness after Yukari had ran off into the distance.
"W-why are you mad at me?!" Tsukune shouted in return. "Why won't you just leave her alone Moka?!"
"And why can't you sympathize with Yukari?! How can you be so cruel to say what you said when she has a friend in Kyoka?!"" Moka shouted in return, wording as if Tsukune didn't notice Yukari calling for their classmate Kyoka beforehand.
"Then how about you forget about her and leave her to Kyoka?! She's caused me to suffer a lot as is! So why do you keep taking her side?!"
"That's not what this is! Why can't you understand Yukari's feelings?!" Moka shouted.
"Did you forget I'm a hu--." Tsukune paused, glancing at Kurumu who had been listening in their conversation. "That Yukari's 'pranks' might actually kill me if she's not careful Moka?!"
The pause from Tsukune made Moka suddenly remember that only she and Syn-sensei knew Tsukune's true identity, and that humans were much more frail than Youkai were. "... I guess you're right Tsukune, but it didn't mean you have to shout something so hurtful to her."
"Here I thought you would know better to teach a child not to pull dangerous pranks. Instead you're just letting it slide while I suffer!"
Moka kept her silence, unable to give a rebuttal to the justified dangers Tsukune had faced. Having decided it wasn't worth prolonging the conversation with Tsukune, Moka turned to the direction Yukari had headed and ran after the young girl.
Although despite Moka's words and determination, she doesn't have a single clue where Yukari had ran off. It was surprising to Moka how fast it was to lose track of Yukari, having already spent a few minutes trying to track the young girl with little progress to be given, Moka felt it was soon to become a hopeless endeavor, until she saw two familiar people in her direction.
It was Syn-sensei having a conversation with Kyoka, Moka recalling the latter wanting to ask the former about the midterms. With Moka knowing at the very least that Syn-sensei and Kyoka were close with Yukari, she made a desperate call.
"Mr. Syn!"
______________
After the incident in the supplementary lesson, the Hunter had been frequently approached by students who had witnessed his apparent mathematics prowess, inquiring him of solutions for equations and an explanation of his method, despite him having already told them to ask their respective mathematics lecturer for assistance instead of him. And of course, Kyoka was one of such students who had witnessed the calculative feat, deciding to ask him about her mathematics exam errors. At the moment, student and teacher were both strolling outside while conversing about Kyoka's exams.
"The methodology you used to solve this logarithm here is unsuitable." The Hunter explained to Kyoka, scribbling tidbit notes on Kyoka's exam about the errors she had made. "I would instead recommend this method."
Kyoka read the notes the Hunter had written. "This makes sense, so that's what I did wrong. Thank you for your time Mr. Syn."
"The pleasure was mine Miss Tetsu." The Hunter responded. "But as I said in the supplementary lesson, please ask Miss Ririko for mathematics inquiries. Although I cannot surmise a reason why you would ask for assistance. After all, you had reached the top ten of your year level."
"I wanted to solve it on top of my head without a calculator like you could. So I tried without a calculator for that specific question."
"I suppose it is a worthy aspiration, but as I have earlier stated. What occurred beforehand had been a mere fluk--" The Hunter tried to say, before he felt someone bump into him, cutting him off mid-sentence and catching his attention. It was Yukari.
"Oww, stupid! Why don't you watch where you're go--." Yukari shouted, before noticing it was the Hunter and Kyoka she had bumped into. The Hunter did not fail to notice the sorrowed expression upon the young girl.
"What is wrong, Miss Sendo?" The Hunter asked in slight concern.
"Are you alright Yukari?" Kyoka asked as she knelt down to the young girl, offering her a hand up.
Yukari did not answer, nor did she take the hand. Instead, Yukari stood up on her own and ran past the two.
"...? What's wrong with Yukari?" Kyoka asked aloud.
"... I am unsure. It is certain however, she was in distress."
"Then should we go to her?"
"I suppose it would be wise, I worry whether the commotion this morning may bring forth annoyances."
"Mr. Syn!" Moka called out.
"Miss Akashiya, is something the matter?"
"We have to find Yukari!"
The Hunter and Kyoka glanced at another, the coincidence of Moka asking about Yukari when the latter had passed them earlier not going unnoticed. "Miss Sendo passed by Miss Tetsu and I a few moments ago, has something transpired?"
Outside of teaching Yukari's English class and the supplementary lessons she would attend occasionally, there was little actual time of interaction between the Hunter and the young girl because of his teaching schedule. Therefore the Hunter was unaware of any actions taken by Yukari outside of these times, and his reason for asking.
"Does it have something to do with her distressed mental state?"
"Tsukune said something very insensitive to Yukari!" Moka answered. "So she ran!"
"...! Then we must make haste." The Hunter stated. "Her mental state would make it a ripe opportunity for malicious characters to target her."
~~~~~
With great urgency, Moka, Kyoka, and Syn-sensei were all probing the surrounding area with no stones left unturned for any signs of Yukari's location, but to no avail much to their collective frustrations. The last place they had checked was the woods, with an obscuring fog causing difficulty in seeing anything past, but with little possibilities left, the three had little choice but to check, walking headfirst into the deep fog so as to not lose direction.
"I must ask Miss Akashiya, what had Mr. Aono spoken to Miss Sendo to cause her to run?" Syn-sensei asked Moka after a brief walk through the fog.
"Yes Moka, what did Tsukune say to Yukari?" Kyoka asked Moka with concern for her friend. "Yukari's a smart girl, so not much should've affected her asides from the discrimination."
"Did Tsukune discriminate against Yukari because she was a Witch?" Kyoka asked again, her tone turning dark.
"N-no Kyoka! It wasn't that! But... Well..." Moka paused, unsure how she should answer. "It's about you Mr. Syn."
Syn-sensei held a slightly confused expression upon her answer. "Of me?"
Moka could only shyly nod at the question, still uncertain how she should've answered.
"What had Mr. Aono said of me to Miss Sendo?"
Moka could see both of Syn-sensei's and Kyoka's curiosity peaking.
"Yukari kept comparing Tsukune to you Mr. Syn. And he eventually ended up snapping at her." Moka answered, leaving out the parts where Yukari used her powers against Tsukune.
After finishing, Moka waited for Syn-sensei to respond, but it did not come.
Only then did the two girls noticed Syn-sensei were not by them, turning to face back, they noticed Syn-sensei had stopped in his tracks, his eye showing an expression in what they could only describe to be shock. Turning to the direction of Syn-sensei's gaze, they saw it. Even through the thick fog, Moka, as well as Kyoka, saw a terrifying sight.
It was Yukari, pinned against a tree and surrounded by three Lizardmen, her wand shattered to pieces. The Lizardmen were most definitely Yukari's Class President and his two friends from earlier in the morning, possibly out for revenge for their humiliation. The Class President, Tadashi, had his fangs laid bear as if he was about to eat Yukari.
"STO--!" Moka tried to cry out and run towards them, before an unexpected sight caused her to stop.
Syn-sensei immediately bolting at Tadashi, and delivering a powerful punch on the head.
"Grah!" Tadashi cried out as he was launched unto the ground.
______________
When Yukari ran away from both Syn-sensei and Kyoka, her luck really turned against her badly, since she bumped into her Class President and his two lackeys immediately afterwards. And so she was dragged into the nearby woods by the three and thrown against a tree, becoming greatly outnumbered and isolated, the thick fog hiding anything and any crimes which may happen to her.
"No one's here to help you, you disgusting witch brat." Tadashi stated, having already transformed into his true form, a Lizardman. "Not even that disgusting teacher is here."
"Don't make fun of Syn-sensei you lizard-brains!" Yukari shouted at her Class President, not tolerating Syn-sensei to be chastised for no reason, waving her wand in an attempt to cast magic.
The effort however proved futile, the Lizardman that was her Class President bit the wand, causing it to shatter. Her wand was what allows her to be able to use magic in the first place, without it, she was as powerless as an ordinary girl.
"Now what should we do with this disgusting brat?" Tadashi asked his lackeys, gnawing at what remained of Yukari's wand.
"Let's eat her up! The fog's so thick that no one will ever know!" One of Tadashi's lackeys suggested.
"That sounds perfect!" Tadashi shouted, extruding his claws and entrapping Yukari in place. "We should eat her and leave no traces behind! Imagine the reaction of that shitty teacher should he not find this brat anywhere!"
Yukari screamed as she closed her eyes, believing her fate to be sealed. No one knows where she had gone, yet desperately she tried to think of anything or anyone to come to her rescue.
"Grah!" Yukari heard Tadashi shout, from what sounded like a heavy blow, no longer feeling his claws entrapping her.
"WHAT THE FU--" Yukari could hear Tadashi try to shout, before she heard him forcefully cut off with a sickening cracking noise.
"WAIT ISN'T THAT THE SHITTY TEA--" Yukari heard one of the lackeys try to shout, before he was immediately silenced with a crackening sound. "GRAHHHH! MAH GAWS!"
"STOP YOU MOTHERFU--" Yukari heard the other lackey screamed, before audible squelching sounds were heard. "MY EYES!"
"HOW DARE YOU TRY FIGHT US YOU FU--" Yukari could heard Tadashi try to shout again. Only to be silenced by another cracking noise, and another, and another, growing progressive louder and more impactful. Until only a gurgling noise could be heard from Tadashi.
When Yukari opened her eyes, even through the thick fog, the sight that she saw had shocked her.
It was Syn-sensei, pinning down Tadashi on the ground with a boot to the head, alternating between delivering powerful kicks with the metallic shin guard and stomps after another on the head. A vicious beating on Tadashi with little remorse to potential consequences, not even Tadashi's scales provided any sort of protection against the powerful blows, leaving behind a bloodied puddle and fractured fangs around him, eventually the stomping sounds devolved into a squelching noise as the scales all cracked under the weight of Syn-sensei's boot with only the flesh left to be stomped on. One lackey had his jaws dislocated while the other desperately grasped at his eyes as if he wanted to soothe the pain.
Yukari trembled at the sight as she watched the continued brutal assault by Syn-sensei as he became increasingly more bloodied the further the beating continued with more force progressively added in each stomp, but despite that she could hear Syn-sensei hyperventilating, and his diluted, bloodshot pupil showed he was in a deep state of panic. And Yukari could hear him anxiously muttering the same phrase over and over again in a loop: "Not again..."
~~~~~
Red.
Everything within the view of the Hunter was only red.
It was not the red from the blood of the reptilian beasts splattering all over the ground which he could see.
It was the red from that harrowing memory.
A bloody red ribbon.
The sight which still haunted him.
When he saw that sight that reminisced of that moment, it was as if something had snapped within him.
It was as if he was being made to relive that nightmarish experience all over again.
And before he even realised it, the reptilian beast was beneath him.
Yet all that he could see was a beast that had to be put down, regardless of what may transpire afterwards.
The Hunter continued to trample upon the reptilian beast even after it lay motionless, no longer even twitching unconsciously as he stomped.
His attire and boots caked with blood from the beast, yet he still continued.
He would take care of these beasts here and now.
So they may never cause anymore problems, so that it will never happen again.
The Hunter felt something attempt to drag him off the reptilian by his arm, he shook erratically to try to return to his stomping spree. Yet when the grip in turn grew tighter, and the Hunter threw a powerful cross punch at his captor.
"Ow." A familiar feminine voice called out when the punch landed, in turn capturing his fist, and snapping the Hunter out of his panicked frenzy.
It was Moka, summoned while the Hunter was in a state of panic, to think he had been momentarily become so far gone he did not even realise Moka had been summoned.
Moka held her grip on his arm and his fist, refusing to release it, an uncharacteristically concerned expression staring upwards at him. "I don't know what's going on in your head, but you should stop before you go too far."
"...? What do you mean by... too far?" The Hunter questioned with concern.
Moka lowered her attention to the ground, as if telling the Hunter to follow her gaze. Complying, the Hunter saw below him was the transformed Tadashi and his two subordinates, the latter having their jaws and eyes damaged while screaming in great agony when they had tried to stop him in his frenzied rampage, while the former was on the brink of death from the severe stomping he was given, with his head a near bloody paste with all his fangs shattered, becoming near unrecognisable from its former reptilian appearance.
A small panic ensued in his mind about Yukari, recalling why he was sent to a frenzy. When the Hunter turned to her, she was watching him in great fright of his actions, Kyoka having been trying to comfort the young girl, yet was also shocked at the sight. Tsukune and Kurumu had also arrived on the scene while the Hunter was in his frenzy, the former holding the Rosary in his grasp to release Moka when he saw the brutal violence directed to Tadashi from the Hunter, both equally shocked by his excessive beatdown.
Only now did the Hunter realise what had transpired.
He had lost his self-control, and he almost lost himself to madness as a result.
It truly was a dreadful premonition after all.
______________
Probably should've explained this earlier, but to clear potential confusion, I usually write from two main point of view to separate how Syn is referred by, as well as to differentiate language.
For example, in Syn's point of view, he only sees himself as a 'Hunter' and therefore primarily referred to as 'the Hunter'. And since Syn primarily speaks English, his dialogue (and everyone else speaking English) aren't underlined while everyone speaking Japanese have their texts underlined.
While everyone else's point of view, Syn is not seen as the 'Hunter', but as 'Syn-sensei', since it would be strange for them to call him the 'Hunter' at times he's not around. And since their primary language is Japanese (since you know, it's Japan), their dialogue aren't underlined whenever it's in their point of view, while Syn's dialogue are underlined since he speaks in English (and everyone else speaking English).
In other words, underlined dialogue = different language from primary language from person's point of view.
The break lines made from dash lines ( ____ ) is how I indicate a change in time, with the possibility of a change in point of view. The break lines made from tildes ( ~ ) is how I indicate a change in point of view in the same scene. I do this instead of typing something like <Hunter's P.O.V> or <Moka's P.O.V> since I strangely have a aversion towards it.
Even then, point of view isn't entirely accurate either since I hardly write in first person perspective lmao, preferring to write in a sort of third person perspective with a leaning towards perspective. For example if it was in Moka's point of view. I took the opportunity and bit Tsukune in his neck again to drink his tasty blood (First Person). Once again, Moka took the opportunity to bear her fangs upon Tsukune's neck, indulging herself in his supposedly succulent blood (Third Person-ish). For some reason I find it cringeworthy to read first person perspective and I have no idea why.