Uhm… anyone still reading this?

Chapter 12 - Premonitions of Disaster

The air in the room was stale, the building had clearly been abandoned for several years now.

The shattered windows were boarded up and the door locked shut, but enough daylight seeped inside to be able to see just about everything in the dilapidated chamber.

"You…" An older man's voice, full of spite, began. "You won't get away with this…!"

His blue business suit was stained and scraped, the sleeves and pants torn where they had been tied behind behind his back and around the wooden chair he was currently occupying. His face was bruised and scratched up, and his graying hair was disheveled. His few possessions were laid out on a table before him; his wallet, car keys, cellphone, and an antique pocket watch. He was understandably agitated, breathing heavily into the frigid room. His wrinkled face was in a frown of both confusion and fear, and his body shivered under the unbelievably cold atmosphere… it was still winter, after all.

Adrenaline pumped through his veins as he tried to turn his head around, seeing the same four hooded figures standing around the room. They wore cloaks the color of blood, which hid most of their bodies. And their faces were covered with pale masks, holding no expression beyond two simple, round orifices to see through. The figures had barely moved an inch since he regained consciousness, with the exception of the one nearest to him… which would start shaking and muttering unintelligible nonsense every other minute.

"Release me, now!" The man yelled again, "Don't you hear me!?"

Like the first couple dozens of times, his words fell on deaf ears. None of the four moved an inch. Besides the shaking figure near him, there was another one which immediately caught his eye. It was a massive person leaning against a wall, so tall and muscular that the cape covering its body only went down a couple of inches past their hips, revealing a pair of black trousers with leather straps all throughout their length, and tall, dark boots.

The other two, fully covered, merely stood as far away from him as they could. One small, possibly a woman, and one he guessed to be about the same size he was.

Getting desperate, the restrained man raised his voice one more.

"Don't you know who I am!? Release me, now!" He yelled, "I command you!"

As soon as the last three words were heard, the shaking figure sharply turned its head towards him. Through the slits in the mask, the old man could see a pair of terribly bloodshot green eyes glaring at him with disdain. Safe to say, there was in instant feeling of regret in his chest.

"Command!?" The figure said almost in a shriek, walking two long steps over to the restrained man. "And just who are you to command me!?".

The figure's voice, which the man assumed to be a male, was high-pitched and erratic. This person was the skinniest of the four inside the room, despite easily being the second tallest. It wasn't hard for the restrained man to notice how the cloak hung loosely from a boney pair of shoulders, or how its sleeves were unbelievably baggy upon arms that must have been just as thin as his teenage daughter's. But even then, he was terrified of what this demented person could to to him.

"I...I-" The man's voice broke, "I'm the M-Minister of- GAH!"

The older man shrieked as an unbelievably long and skinny hand extended from underneath the cloak's sleeve to hold him by the top of the head. Despite it being a glorified skeleton with pale, blotchy and almost greenish skin, the hand gripped his head like a vice threatening to crush it like a melon. It became very clear now that the source of the pungent smell in the room was very likely this same person.

"The WHAT!?" The figure leaned down, shrieking into the man's ear through his mask. "I can't HEAR you!"

Almost crying, the man opened his mouth amidst the terrible pain assailing his skull.

"Agh! I work for the Government, I'm T-The Minister of J-Justice!" He yelped out, just barely.

"Justice!?" The hooded man shrieked, "And just what do you even know about JUSTICE!?"

The grip on the old man's head grew even stronger,so much that the hooded figure's long fingernails started to cut and dig into his scalp. The Minister started screaming, while the hooded figure could only laugh at his agony. Before he could goad him further however, the smallest figure on the other side of the room spoke up.

"Loki." The small figure spoke up with a feminine, yet very dry voice, "Stop it, I'm warning you."

The sadistic figure, which had been referred to as Loki, turned to face her. Through the slits in his mask, his eyes could be seen narrowing in disdain.

"Shut up, woman!" He shouted, "I don't answer to you."

The hooded female shook her head.

"My will is His will." She said, "Are you prepared to defy our Leader in front of me?"

Loki deliberated, hesitated and otherwise pondered on her words for a moment. He then cursed under his breath and slammed the Minister's face down against the table in frustration before walking away from him, producing a loud bang and a cracking noise upon impact. It didn't take a genius to know that the cracking wasn't from the table or from the chair, but rather from the man's nose.

"Aaaa…. Aaagh…!" The Minister groaned. His face now rested on a puddle of his own blood, which gushed out of his broken nose.

"WHY!?" Loki continued, holding his head with both hands and staring up to the ceiling. "I PRAY and I PRAY and I listen, and I follow. Always loyal, always ready, always faithful! So, why, WHY does this WOMAN get to speak for Him over ME!?"

Everyone watched quietly as the gaunt man threw one of his tantrums, stomping on the floor like a child. He clawed at his own head from over the hood, ripping it apart and revealing tufts of green hair which poked out from underneath. It was hard to tell if he was crying or laughing as he hollered, but both was a reasonable guess.

"SHUT UP, LOKI!" The man standing next to the female figure finally added. He appeared to be an averagely tall male of muscular build, though nowhere near as large as the silent man standing on the opposite side of the room or nearly as long as Loki. He angrily stomped his way over to the wretched figure, clearly bothered by the long cloak constricting his movement.

He grabbed the skinny male by the collar and pulled him hard to see him eye to eye, though Loki didn't seem to notice any of this happening. His bellowing continued.

"Oi, Beowulf!" The rough male called over to the massive figure, "Can you make this bastard shut up!?"

The large figure, referred to as Beowulf, merely shrugged and turned away.

"..." A low-pitched grunt was the only thing heard from him, exasperating the angered man even further.

"Tch... I'll just do it myself...!" The man raised his other hand, a nearly invisible energy appearing around it. The pressure inside the room suddenly increased manifold, but Loki's crying was yet to cease… something the man aimed to correct, as his gloved hand neared the squalid figure's throat.

"Stop it, Whisper… both of you." The woman spoke once again, "He will be here soon."

Both figures turned to her, and Loki's crying instantly stopped.

"He will!?" Loki asked excitedly, his entire aura completely different than it was a second ago.

The female nodded from behind her mask, "He and Mumei."

"That so?" Whisper let go of Loki, who scurried off to stand close to the room's only entrance.

It had been a while since all of them had been together in the same place, preferring to communicate indirectly or through intermediaries. Whatever their leader wanted with them, and with the man he had ordered them to capture, was big. The brash man walked over to the Minister, who was once again barely conscious after being on the receiving end of one of Loki's outbursts. At least his Quirk had not been activated throughout that whole mess, he wasn't sure the old man would survive it in his current state.

"Still…" Whisper lifted the man's limp head by the hair, "Whatever does he want with this geezer? Did you hear anything, Fujin?"

He turned to face the female, who shook her head silently. Fujin was generally the first one to hear from their Leader, or at least the one responsible for making sure his information reached the other members of their group. As far as hierarchy was concerned, Mumei was still above her.

"So, not even you…" He muttered, and then leant down towards the man. "Either way...

"I'd say you're already a dead man, friend." He said to his ear, getting only a desperate but barely intelligible groan as a response. He then let the Minister's head plop back down to the table, making a small splashing sound as it fell back into the pool of nose blood.

Whisper sighed, hanging his head "Old men are no fun…"

"But kids are?" The female asked accusingly, well-aware of what the male had been up to for the past several years. They had all been commanded to lay low, though some of them clearly had different standards for what laying low meant.

"Look-" Whisper turned to her, but was quickly interrupted by Loki's squealing.

"I can feel them!" The man jumped, "They're coming up, I can feel it!"

The room immediately went silent, all arguments put on hold for the moment. The Minister, who had no idea who this Leader they spoke of was supposed to be, nervously eyed the door. He raised his bruised head slightly, glaring at the entrance expectantly. He could hear the echo of footsteps approaching the door, and then again coming to a halt right before it. As if on cue Loki immediately went down to his knees, pressing his masked face to the floor.

The old man gulped as the metallic door creaked open, and the air in the entire room seemed to go still. A gloved hand pushed the door, and two more cloaked figures entered the room. Their robes were exactly the same, blood-red and tattered. However, their masks were different.

The one in front, opening the door, had a mask that was split vertically in two colors. Black and White, left and right respectively. It belonged to an admittedly slender and slim figure, who quickly made way for the person behind him to enter the room.

The Minister felt his headache grow many times worse as soon as that person entered the room. It appeared to be a man of slightly above average height, and of average build. However, not even the behemoth of a person standing by the corner felt as imposing as he did. There was an air about him that made the old man feel intensely threatened, even before the man had uttered a single word.

His mask was a reflection of everyone else's, except that it was made from a grayish metallic material and engraved in strange patterns. It was barely noticeable in such dim lighting, but his cloak may have also been a shade darker than everyone else's.

Every single person in the room went down to one knee, even the brash Whisper. Then, the woman who had been referred to as Fujin spoke.

"Welcome back, Master. We have captured the target, as you requested."

The Minister tensed up as their Master stood silent, until a voice broke the silence from underneath the metallic mask.

"Good. But, have I not told you to stop calling me that?" His voice was low-pitched yet smooth, sounding imposing yet charming at the same time. There was a charismatic, or perhaps endearing feeling to it, even as he scolded his underlings.

"I am not anybody's Master."

The four kneeling figures shook slightly, though none dared say anything for or against his argument. The Minister knew what that was. It was fear, they dared not recognize the man as anything but their Master. It was engraved into their psyche, almost as a self-preservation instinct. These same four people tore down an entire battalion of security guards and several layers of protection with minimal effort not even a day prior, and then successfully disappeared with a high-priority individual before any Pro-Heroes could arrive to the scene. Yet all they could do is lower their heads and remain silent before the dark figure.

The Master, however, quickly dismissed the subject and turned to the trembling old man still restrained in the middle of the room. Perhaps it was due to the Minister's current, sorry state, but something made him hesitate slightly before speaking.

"It was that guy's fault!" Whisper was quick to point out, "He still can't behave himself, all these years later…"

Loki squirmed, raising his head from the floor and shooting a deathly glare at the male.

"It was nobody's fault but his very own!" He defended, "He is a sinner! A filthy RAT who pretends to speak in the name of justice! He-!"

All it took was for the Master to raise his hand slightly, and the wretched Loki fell silent. Like an obedient dog, he turned around and went back to his whispering prayer.

"This man is our guest." The Master said, "But, we will address that later. We have more pressing matters to discuss."

Everyone quieted down expectantly, though they were very much aware of what the topic of discussion would be.

"It's about the Kirisaki Academy matter." He declared, catching the Minister's attention immediately.

Mumei, the person with the mask split between black and white, spoke up slowly. His effeminate voice contrasted with the Master's low tone, though he appeared to be just as serious.

"There's been a change of plans." He said, "We must act sooner; this weekend, in fact."

"What!?" Whisper exclaimed, "So soon!? W-Why!?"

"An ideal opportunity has presented itself." The Master interjected, his dry voice injected with a slight hint of pride.

Whisper stood up, "Did you… see this?"

The Master stood silently for a second, "It wasn't necessary. All you need to know is that we must act now, before we are noticed."

Although they didn't sit right with him, his words made sense. They'd exposed themselves for the first time in many years, it'd only be a matter of time for people to start connecting dots.

The Master turned to the two figures on the left.

"Loki, Beowulf." He called out, getting both figures to immediately look his way. "I have chosen you two to carry out my will, do you understand?"

The lanky figure on the ground practically crawled its way to the Master's feet.

"Understood!" He exclaimed ecstatically, "I will not disappoint you, I am ready to carry out your orders!"

"Good." The Master nodded, "You shall take a couple of your disciples as well, make sure they understand what will be asked of them."

"Of course! Of course!" Loki continued, "They are ready, they are! I have made sure of it… slowly… painfully…!"

"And you, Beowulf?" The Master asked.

The massive figure finally separated itself from the wall.

"...understood." The man growled in a low tone.

"Good." The Master said. He knew they would listen to him, that they would carry out his orders no matter the risk or consequence. That's the way they'd always been, no matter how long they went without contact. It was the first stage of his plan, and the most important. The introduction, no great story could exist without one.

"Now, then…" The leader turned towards the battered minister, "Onto the other matter at hand."

Everyone attentively waited to finally learn why they had risked their necks to grab a hold of the government official. Everything their leader came up with was not without reason, so there was bound to be a damn good one.

"This is Japan's Minister of Justice, Ichinose Seigo." The masked man began, his voice taking on an even more intimidating tone. "Throughout his life, he has occupied several different positions in the country's government; some more important than others. Either way, he has had a successful career, there are no scandals worthy of note attached to his name. And as far as anyone knows, he is an honest man and an exemplary citizen."

"However," He continued, after a short pause. "This is also one of the men who, 20 years ago, greenlit Project Pantheon."

The old man's eyes widened at the declaration, with everyone's hooded heads jolting in his direction shortly after. He hadn't heard that name in years, but everything suddenly came together.

The minister gritted his teeth.

"I see… of course, it all makes sense now…" He said spitefully, his bloodied face shooting an accusing look at the figures in the room.

And then, he laughed. An agonizing ordeal due to his bruised ribs, and the laughter soon turned into a painful cough.

"It's you…" The minister winced out, "The brats from back then… I remember now."

"You… you-!" Whisper clenched his fist and attempted to take a step forward, but was quickly stopped by the shorter Fujin.

There was an extremely heavy silence filling the room, one that was very surprisingly broken by the restrained man; whose mood had mysteriously lightened up.

"So?" Minister Ichinose began, "If this is about revenge, then I suggest you take care of it quickly. It won't be much longer until this location is discovered."

Nobody deigned to respond. Not the brash Whisper, the chaotic Loki, the stoic Fujin, the silent Beowulf, the endearing Mumei, or their mysterious leader… or master. The older man, thus, scoffed.

"If you want me to believe this isn't about revenge, you'll have to hit me harder."

"No," The Leader interrupted with a suave tone, "You are not mistaken, Mr. Minister. This is very much about revenge."

His voice held no animosity, no hatred, or contempt. He merely spoke matter-of-factly, fully in control of his emotions and not letting any of his feelings seep through his speech. He was unnervingly calm and confident, and one could tell that he was smiling behind that metallic mask of his.

"This is about revenge… and about so much more." He said, earning yet another scornful scoff from the old man. He was clearly challenging the imposing figure to enlighten him. It was hard to tell if he was genuinely interested, or merely trying to get them to stall themselves.

"What you people did to us… to all of us, it was certainly unforgivable." He said, walking over to the man. "However, it was merely a symptom of a larger problem. A problem that exists to this day… fear. A fear so great that it led you down the path of darkness, and to us."

The Minister laughed, "What is that senseless talk? Fear? Darkness? You are nothing but the failed solution to a practical problem, nothing more."

"Call it what you like." The leader continued, calmly. "But I see the truth. The truth in your words, the truth in the past, the present… and the future. This world is doomed, a great evil is looming in the shadows. The pillar that holds our fragile peace together is all but broken, and when it finally does fall… nobody will be there to stop it."

"All Might will never fall." The Minister declared decisively. "Your eyes see nothing but lies, the truth you claim to see is merely the truth you want to see."

"That is how things may have been before." The leader brought his hand up to his mask, lightly touching the area directly underneath its eyes. "I have evolved. The boundaries have been broken, and the truth of the world is laid bare before my eyes."

From within the darkness of the mask's eye sockets, the Minister could catch a glimpse of a pair of pristine silver eyes staring right back into his own.

"Minister." The leader began, "I will be the one to guide the world to its salvation, I have seen it."

Finally, the old man burst out laughing once more. He was hysterical, as if he had just been told the best joke in the world.

"But, I can't do it by myself… I need allies… friends in high places." He turned his head toward Mumei, who had been patiently standing by his side. The smaller figure nodded, immediately understanding what was being asked of him.

With surprising agility, Mumei took a hold of the back of the Minister's head. There was a pulsating feeling that traveled throughout the room and resonated on everybody's chest. The Minister immediately fell silent and sat perfectly still, his eyes rolling back into their orbits as his mouth appeared to be muttering a multitude of words at impossibly fast speeds. This went on for several seconds, until finally, the man fell back down into the table. This time, he wouldn't be waking up anytime soon.

"We should have just gutted him and left him to rot." Whisper said, "Annoying prick."

"That wouldn't do, now, Whisper-kun~" Mumei beamed, wiping his hands clean on his cloak. "People like him have their uses, at least for some time."

"Tch." You could practically feel the stocky man rolling his eyes, "So, do we just leave him here."

Fujin nodded, "Yes. It shouldn't take long for them to find this place. An hour, at the longest."

The leader turned to the group, and everyone was instantly back to their attentive selves.

"The path to salvation is an arduous one, but only we can make that sacrifice." He began, "Everyone knows what they must do, Kirisaki Academy is our first target."

Loki and Beowulf nodded in unison, remembering that they had been chosen to carry out the task. He then turned towards the door, and everyone walked up to him.

"In order for the world to be saved… Fubuki Hyoga must fall."

Kirisaki Academy - Training Camp Grounds

The days came and went, and finally, Saturday had come. Classes were finished by noon, and all the students in Class 1-A had been transported to a forested area within the school's grounds. And much like Artemis had warned them previously, they were put straight to work.

Shirou bent forward and leaned on his knees, panting heavily as he stood on the forested area's grass. He wore a plain white tank-top and a pair of black sweatpants. The air was chilly and rather cold, but the cold weather was pretty much still a non-factor for him. Still, some small beads of sweat had started to form on his forehead.

As he heaved for air, he could feel his abdomen burning and his chest hurting. They had been at it for hours non-stop; running uphill, climbing up a cliff, body-weight exercises, and everything in between. He frankly couldn't remember the last time he'd been pushed so far during endurance training, which was saying a lot given who his grandfather was.

"GET UP, YOU LAZY WORMS" He could hear Artemis' voice echoing through the plains. She was a devil's very own drill sergeant, of that much he was sure.

The white-haired boy straightened himself up with a groan, observing the area around him as he did. They were currently near the edge of the forest, where a grassy plain met the edge of the trees. There was even an impressively large pond nearby, though it really only was a few feet deep at most. There was a small stream that ran down from the woods and into said stream, with gravel and small rocks dotting the landscape around it.

"I'm straight up… not having a good time..." Shirou could hear the rainbow-haired Yasei groan out. The tall teenager was completely laid out on the floor, staring up into the cloudy sky. He wore a neon pink tracksuit that made him stand out like a sore spot in the green area, so much that looking at him made Shirou feel oddly more tired.

Looking off to the other side, Shirou saw the rest of his classmates in varying states of exhaustion. His gray eyes were immediately drawn towards Sosuou, who was already standing straight up with both hands on his hips. The tips of his long-ish black hair feel down into the back of his light green tracksuit as he stared up into the sky, taking calming deep breaths.

He was then distracted by Rie and Tsukijo-san, who had started arguing very early into the exercises and somehow still had the energy to keep going at it. The red haired girl had managed to hear their half-foreign classmate making a sly remark about her, and they hadn't stopped competing ever since.

"You just want me to beat you up, don'tcha!? Cus's you're asking for it!" The fiery Rie yelled as she got up into the shorter girl's space. She was one of the few other students who, like Shirou, weren't bothered by cold weather. Her physiology was partly undead after all, and it showed in her resilience and appearance both.

"Oh yes, straight to the fists with you, isn't it? Truly not much better than a gorilla if you ask me, all brawn and no brain." The pale girl smugly remarked, twirling a strand of her long silver hair around her finger.

"I will literally staple your eyelids to the back of your head."

Their loud argument started to rouse the people around them, who became increasingly worried that a fight could seriously break out. Miyuto, in particular, was very quick to get back up to her feet.

The golden-blonde haired girl approached the arguing pair, waving her hands around to try and get their attention. She appeared to be distressed, but alas, she wasn't able to get either of them to look her way even as she bounced up and down around them. She would've gotten closer, but the aura around the two girls was not the sort that one could easily walk into.

This was very easily subverted, however, by the frowning woman wearing all red.

"You-" She stood right next to the two, crossing her arms. She towered over them, and most of the class appeared to shriek in unison.

"What-!?" Rie cut her off, only to realize a second too late that the person standing beside them was none other than Artemis herself. The older woman raised an eyebrow expectantly, but even the feisty Rie knew she had just screwed up royally.

"I… uh…" The discolored girl took a couple of steps back, looking off to the side. Even Charlotte was reluctant to say or do anything, standing perfectly still in place.

The tall woman looked at them with great intensity in her blood red eyes.

"You both must really love running, don't you?" She said in an oddly calm manner. Everyone, though, knew that she was really pissed. "Since you love running so much, why don't you go run an extra twenty laps around the pond?"

Rie almost let a smirk form on her lips. The circumference of the pond, though fairly irregular, wasn't even as large as an actual running track. She thought the twenty laps were going to be a literal breeze, being bothersome at worst. Charlotte wasn't very happy about it, but she was ready and willing to just get it over with.

As they turned to leave, they were stopped by Artemis.

"Hold on." She said loudly, "I'm not done with you yet."

The tall woman buried a hand into a hidden fold in her martial arts dress, producing an item that stroke despair into the hearts of both girls.

"This is Artemis-chan's magical friendship renewal tool, you'll be wearing this as you run." She deadpanned, extending her arm forward.

It was a pair of handcuffs. One end of it was fixed on Charlotte's right wrist, and the other on Rie's left. The pair was then sent on their way, their mood infinitely more sour than before. Suddenly, the twenty laps felt much, much longer than before.

Kakeru laughed loudly as the pair of girls jogged past him, with both of them shooting a deadly glare in his direction. The short black-haired boy wasn't fazed however, and continued to joke.

"Have fun, have fun~." He said as he sat back down on the grass, preparing to enjoy their struggle very thoroughly. He was, however, quickly startled by a looming shadow standing behind him.

"What are you sitting down for!? You didn't even do half of the exercises." Artemis asked bluntly.

"Ah, you see Artemis-sensei, it's all about strategically allocating my resources where they are needed the most. Wouldn't want me to burn all of my energy within the first few hours now, would you?" He argued confidently, earning himself the deadliest glare he had ever seen. He could feel a cold sweat running down his back under the intensity of the woman's gaze, and finally stood back up without even having to be told to do so.

From a distance, Okimi and Rani chuckled together at this. The training was harsh, but the scenery was beautiful and it was very fun to be around their classmates in this type of setting. It wasn't so much a competition (at least not directly), and one could almost argue that it was shaping up to be an unexpectedly entertaining experience.

The dark-skinned girl stretched her arms, letting out a deep breath.

"I was surprised when we were asked to come here, but it's honestly not bad at all."

Rani had to think about it for a second, the brown-haired girl found it a bit harder to appreciate the subtle things that were going on besides all the running and exercise.

"Well... guess so." She began a bit hesitantly, "Sure beats math, or whatever that class was."

"Eh, Tanso-san, do you have a hard time with math?" Okimi asked, genuinely curious and trying to learn more about her classmate.

The taller girl simply shrugged, "Numbers are boring."

"Yeah… I guess you could say that." Okimi chuckled nervously.

She then looked off into the distance, to where most of the boys appeared to have assembled for the time being. They appeared to be chatting cordially with each other, which continued to be surprising for her. With the exception of a very specific pair, the boys in the class appeared to be a fairly quiet bunch. It was the first time she had been in a class where the girls were that much louder than the boys, at least on average.

Hibiki stood a few feet away from the rest of the boys, looking in the direction of the pond. He didn't appear to be interested in the two sour faced girls running laps around it, but rather, his copper-colored eyes appeared to simply focus on the pristine water that gently rocked back and forth as the breeze came and went. Despite facing the opposite direction, he was quick to notice that someone had approached him from behind.

"Suehiro-san…" A gentle voice called out. It was the dark-skinned, small boy known as Kurapati Itona. His long, ivory-colored hair had been tied into a high ponytail than usual to keep it from dragging on the grass, giving him an interesting change of image.

"You can call me by my first name." Hibiki interrupted, speaking in a calm manner. His face retained its perfectly neutral expression, though he didn't turn away from the pond until several seconds later.

"Then… Hibiki-san." Itona smiled nervously, "Are you alright? You've been spacing out… more than usual."

The quiet, lithe boy made an expression of curiosity.

"Is that so?" His long blueish hair was styled in a small braid, which rested on the top of his shoulder. He wore a navy blue tracksuit, contrasting with Itona's own orange colored one.

"I just like it." Hibiki said quietly, "This place, I mean."

Though his voice and overall demeanor didn't show much emotion, the short Itona realized it made sense.

"Huh, so you like places like this?" The long-haired boy walked up to stand next to Hibiki, and the two looked back over the pond. They were standing at the top of a small hill, so their view of the landscape was pretty good. Kirisaki Academy and the simulation complex were in the opposite direction, so there were no buildings anywhere in the vicinity. Just nature, as small a patch of it as it was.

"I think it suits you." Itona added all of the sudden, very much still focused on the landscape.

Hibiki raised an eyebrow, "How so?"

Itona suddenly became flustered, it appeared he hadn't intended to say that out loud.

"Ah-" He took a step back, scrambling for words. "I just… well, you have a rather… artistic air about you. Like a painting… I guess…. Is that weird thing to say?"

Hibiki didn't seem to react very strongly to the words, turning his sight back to the horizon. A breeze blew over from the direction of the pond, rocking a small set of waves over the rocky shore. The blades of grass danced back and forth, and the trees swayed behind them. It was starting to get rather chilly. And judging by the position of the sun, it was starting to get late.

"I don't know." He said, almost muttering. "But, thanks… I guess it does suit me."

"Oi!" Before either of them could say anything else, they could hear a very recognizable voice beckoning them over from behind. "Both of you, we're heading into the woods!"

They turned to see the bronze skinned, bronze-haired Nishinoya. He waved his hand at them from a distance, and they could see their classmates starting to assemble behind him and closer to the edge of the forest.

"We're going to set up camp, hurry up!" The teenager yelled once more, before turning and walking away to meet with the rest.

Itona let out a big sigh, "Camping, huh? I guess we were doing that, weren't we?"

The short boy wasn't looking forward to spending the night in the woods, but was at least willing to give it a try. Hibiki's expression however, as per usual, was nigh impossible to read. It didn't take the two boys long to follow behind their classmates, or to notice that Rie and Charlotte had already rejoined them. Their wrists, however, had not been separated.

The class then went into the forest, following Artemis down a fairly noticeable trail that ran along the side of the stream. It was rather wide, so the twenty students were fairly spread out and walking at their own pace.

Shirou walked somewhere by the middle, observing the woods surrounding them. He wasn't an expert on trees, but the vegetation around the area appeared to resemble the one from back at his family's estate. He loved to walk the woods as a child, and remembered fondly how he'd purposely gotten himself lost a couple of times to try and hide from his grandfather's search parties for as long as he could. He now realized it was a pretty stupid thing to do, but it they were nontheless some of the most memorable events of his childhood. The following scoldings, however, weren't.

As the white-haired boy walked lost in his own thoughts, he noticed that someone had approached him from the side. It was the sound, or rather the lack thereof, that quickly told him who it was.

He turned to see Miyuto leaning forward from the side to see his face, a warm smile present on the blonde girl's face. The tall girl wore a burnt orange and white tracksuit, as well as a black t-shirt underneath it.

"Hello, Miyuto-san." Shirou greeted with a slight nod and smile, earning himself a beaming grin from the mute girl. She straightened herself back up and pointed at Shirou's body, all while tilting her head slightly to the side and raising an eyebrow.

Shirou put a hand over his chest and moved his shoulder a bit.

"I'm still a bit sore, but my body's pretty much healed completely. I can move just fine, but I only confirmed that a bit earlier while we were running around." He explained.

Miyuto clasped her hands together and smiled, rather pleased.

"Yeah, I'm glad as well. But, I did tell you I was never really in danger, didn't I?"

The girl gave the slightly taller boy a frown and a slight pout, not happy with how careless he was with his own health. It was a difficult thing to get a mutual understanding on, since Shirou had been conditioned to merely work to push his limits as much as he could against any possible threats it may pose to his own body.

"Yeah, yeah… I'll try to be more careful next time." He defended himself, raising both hands in a sign of defeat.

The pair had sat next to each other for an entire week now, and Shirou was starting to get very good at understanding what Miyuto wanted to say just from reading her body language and facial expressions. Whether it was Shirou's natural observation abilities or Miyuto's talent for communicating despite her lack of a voice, the two were able to have surprisingly normal conversations with each other.

"Tch, Tch, Tch." Someone else added, "That won't do, Shirou-kun!"

The rainbow-haired Yasei appeared from behind, throwing an arm over the shorter Shirou's shoulder and leaning on his body as they walked . His mismatched eyes, one cyan and one violet, were looking straight at the white-haired boy from extremely up close.

"We are young men, you and I." Yasei said loudly, "It is in the spirit of youth to be reckless!"

Unbothered by the sudden contact, Shirou merely raised an eyebrow.

"I-Is that so?" He wondered, genuinely interested in what the taller teen had to say.

"Yeah! You have to be adventurous, just go wild and have fun my dude! The world is for those with the guts to take it!" He dramatically pointed up to the sky with his free hand, even though they were well underneath the foliage by that point.

"I… uh," Shirou looked over to the side, where Miyuto stood with crossed arms and a very unimpressed expression on her face. "I'll… keep it in mind?"

"You do just that, my friend! One day you will thank me for imparting this wisdom upon you, the wisdom of Konton Yasei himself!"

The students kept walking behind Artemis. It was a rather long trek going up a hill, but eventually they could see a clearing in the distance. As the group walked out of the woods, they were met by a large area of low grass and some patches of dirt. And most importantly, however, by a medium-sized white cargo vehicle.

The truck's door swung open, and from it, a young woman wearing white-and-blue climbed out slowly.

"I hate driving…" Nanao-sensei lamented, looking disheartened.

A portion of the students immediately rushed over to her, circling around both Nanao and the vehicle.

"Nanao-sense, you're here!" Okimi exclaimed, after having wondered where their homeroom teacher had disappeared to earlier.

"Well… yeah. I'm back now." Nanao replied, not very enthusiastically. The bespectacled woman appeared to be very stressed, or at least more than usual. She was very clearly not an outdoors sort of person.

Artemis made her way to the back of the truck, and pulled on a lever which brought the cargo door down. The students looked inside, to find all sorts of camping supplies and stuff such as tents, portable cooking stations, and the like.

"Everyone line up!" The tall woman commanded, "Let's get camp set up so we can get back to training!"

Some of the students groaned in unison, but everyone was quick to do as she said. They all made a line and passed stuff around as Artemis passed it from inside. Given that there were 22 people in total, it took them very little time to get everything down to the ground.

"Alright, now, everyone will be sleeping in groups of two." She continued, getting down from the back of the truck. "Just pick whoever you want and get those tents set up quickly, don't waste any time!"

There immediately was some muttering heard along the group of students, and the black haired Misao was quick to raise her hand.

"Uhm, sensei…" She began, "There are 11 boys and 9 girls in this class, doesn't that mean that one of the boys will have to share a tent with one of the girls?"

Artemis stopped and thought about it for a second, "Hmm, true, I don't think that's allowed…"

After a couple of seconds of quick deliberating, she then spoke up once more.

"Oh, well," The red-haired woman pointed her finger straight at one of the boys, "Koge Hajiro, you will share your tent with Nanao and I, it is the largest one."

The avian boy pointed to himself looked from side to side in disbelief, "E-eh? Me!?"

"Yes, you!" Artemis said angrily, "Now go get that tent set up, don't just stand there looking like an idiot!"

"Y-Yes, ma'am...!" The dark haired boy ran away in distress, picking the tent up from the ground with some difficulty. It was indeed the largest by far, easily twice the size than the rest. He then scurried off to the side, not even sure if he'd be able to get the thing set up by himself.

"Uhm, Artemis-sensei… there's still one girl too few." Misao continued. Getting rid of the extra boy had not gotten rid of that issue, as one of the girls would still be left alone nonetheless.

The woman, however, didn't take long to reply this time around. She pointed toward Rie and Charlotte, who were still joined together by their wrists.

"Those two count as a single one for all intents and purposes for as long as they are wearing Artemis-chan's magical friendship renewal device, they'll be sharing a tent with a third person." She declared matter-of-factly, earning her a disgruntled groan from the two girls.

"Why do I have to even share a tent with this annoying skunk!?" Rie pointed at Charlotte, who rolled her eyes at her for what must have been the tenth time in the day.

Artemis merely shot them one of her deadly glares, getting them to quiet down immediately.

"You'll be together until you learn to get along. And don't you even think about taking that thing off by yourselves… I will personally demonstrate to you what hell looks like if you do."

The two girls gulped down in unison, and quickly fell back in line.

"Now get going, you have fifteen minutes!" The red-haired woman turned around, and went off to help Nanao get the cooking station set up. Something told her that the brown-haired woman would end up burning the entire forest down if left to her own devices.

With their instructions clear, the students got to work. Pairing together took some time, especially since one of the girls had to volunteer to share a cramped -and potentially very noisy- tent with both Rie and Charlotte. Ultimately, Rani decided to go along with it out of her own volition.

The rest eventually fell into place with those they were already familiar with, or simply with the ones who happened to be closest to them. The tents were of a very uniform, straightforward sort, so it didn't take much thinking to figure out how to get them set up. Some pairs chatted as they worked, while others merely went through the motions to try and get their tent set up as quickly as possible.

Shiraishi Kirina was somewhat familiar with the subject, having camped out a fair share of times in her life. She dexterously fixed the base of the tent to the ground, and then helped her partner to get the upper portion of the tent to stand up straight. Neither she nor Chieki talked much, but they seemed to be working together just fine.

The reptilian girl, however, seemed to be calmly observing Chieki as she worked.

Noticing this, the red-eyed girl became a bit flustered. Kirina's amber eyes could be very intense when fixated on something, after all.

"I-Is something the matter?" The timid girl asked, almost hiding her face with the knot she was working on with her hands.

"No." The white-haired girl deadpanned, going silent for a few seconds. Eventually, though, she continued despite not looking at her directly.

"It's just that you have interesting eyes." Kirina said calmly.

As if getting really self-conscious, Chieki adjusted her round glasses.

"Is that so…?" She wasn't sure whatever the white skinned girl could be talking about. It couldn't have been about their color, since there were a few other people with red eyes around.

Kirina nodded, "There aren't many humans with eyes like yours."

The strangely detached way the reptilian girl said the word 'human' sent a slight shiver down Cheiki's spine. It wasn't hard to tell that the girl didn't consider herself to be human, or at least not a human like everybody else. She'd heard of people with mutant Quirks having those sorts of views on themselves, but to her, Kirina looked very much like just another girl with a slightly altered appearance. The slight distress in her face must have been apparent, since Kirina followed her statement up with some more words.

"If anything, your eyes are more like ours." The girl said, stretching an arm in her direction. Once again, her choice of words was interesting. The bespectacled girl didn't quite grasp what she was trying to say with 'Ours'. However, she found out soon enough.

Something could be seen moving under the sleeve of her white and gray tracksuit, slithering its way around Kirina's arm and towards her hand. The pale, diamond-shaped head of a small snake soon peeked out from underneath. The creature wrapped itself around Kirina's white wrist, resting on her hand and looking straight at Okimi with golden eyes not too much unlike the girl's own.

"This is Yuka." Kirina said, "She will be sleeping with us tonight, I thought I should at least tell you first."

The snake made what appeared to be a nodding gesture, or perhaps even a slight bow. Chieki thought she must have been hallucinating, but there it was right in front of her a mere couple of feet away.

"D-Do you… carry Yuka-chan with you all the time?" Chieki asked shyly. At the very least, she didn't seem to be afraid of the creature.

Kirina nodded silently, drawing her arm back towards her. And just as suddenly as it had appeared, the small snake slithered back inside her owner's clothes. That'd be something Chieki would have a hard time forgetting or unseeing. At the very least she wouldn't have to find out about it in the middle of the night.

The pair worked quietly for a couple more minutes, and all the while Chieki couldn't stop thinking about the meaning behind Kirina's words. Had they just been a weird way to lead into Yuka's introduction, or perhaps something more?

Just as they were wrapping up, a pair of footsteps was heard coming in their direction.

"Yo!" It was Nishinoya, now wearing his jacket around his waist. "Do you guys need any help?"

"No, thanks." Kirina muttered as she walked right past the stocky boy, throwing some leftover tools into his arms as she passed him.

"R-Right…" The bronze-skinned boy said, looking at their indeed finished and rather flawless-looking tent. He then looked at Chieki, who eyed him warily.

"Ah, Okita-san." Nishinoya began, "We'll be having something to eat before we continue training, just thought I'd let you know."

The pale girl nodded slightly, and watched as the boy turned around to leave. From the looks of it, everyone was just about done and lunch was going to take place now. That must've taken some convincing, as Artemis appeared to have been fully intent on having them go the whole day without eating anything until dinnertime.

Regardless, Chieki stood up. And after taking a couple of seconds to collect her thoughts, left towards the cooking area that had been set up by Artemis and Nanao-sensei.

There was some discussion as to who was going to take care of what and which of the students were going to help, but eventually everyone worked together to start preparing sandwiches and some soup. Knowing that they'd be worked to death for the remainder of the evening, the students took the chance to have a lively last meal in that little clearing surrounded by the forest.

All things considered, it was a beautiful day.

The rustling of the leaves, the rocking of the pond's waves, or the sounds of joyous laughter.

None could be heard all the way up the cliffside, where only the dry sound of the wind filled the silence.

And only five hooded figures populated the area.

Loki crouched down dangerously close to the edge, shielding his mask's orifices from the sun as he tried to look down to the forest in the distance. He cursed under his breath, the woods were too dense to see through. They'd have to go in blind.

The lanky man stood up, turning around to face the other four.

"Our Lord was right, the fools only sent two adults." He declared rather excitedly, giggling a bit. However, his laughter suddenly stopped as if it had never begun, "But, we must not be rash. Surely their reinforcements are only a call away…"

One of the three figures to his left, which wore violet cloaks, took a step forward. Aside from the color of their robes, the rest of their appearance was identical to Loki's.

"We strike fast then," It said, "Fast and true, so that nobody can come save them!"

Loki approached the person, a male, and raised his hand slowly.

"That's…" He said, suddenly grabbing the shorter man by the neck and pulling him close to his body.

"THAT'S RIGHT, YOU BEAUTIFUL, SMART BASTARD!" Loki emphatically ruffled the imaginary hair at the top of the person's hood, "You truly are ready, all of you are! We will carry out the Lord's will and let the sinners know the meaning of PAIN and DESPAIR, and JUSTICE!"

"But…" Loki suddenly let go of the man, letting him fall to the ground face-first. "There is another here."

He turned towards Beowulf, who stood silent as a statue looking in the direction of the forest.

"Another whose devotion is not as strong as our own…" Loki walked over to the much taller man, pointing a finger straight at his mask-covered face. "A monster, nay, a BEAST who cares for naught but for violence!"

Loki's three disciples gasped in unison, as if they had just heard the most terrible news in the whole wide world.

The lanky man then clung to Beowulf's torso, tracing circles along his chest.

"Say, you…" Loki continued, whispering softly "You wouldn't endanger our mission, now, would you?"

"Hnn…" The mountain of a man grunted, his body still perfectly still.

Satisfied, Loki pushed himself off of him. The lanky man turned back towards the cliff-side and spread his arms around in a dramatic fashion.

"Rejoice, friends!" He proclaimed.

"Rejoice, for tonight, our Lord's will is made reality by our very hands!"

Next Time: Chapter 13 - Dance Under The Moonlight

Finals are over so I can human again, at least for some time.

This took more time to write than I would have wanted it to take, but I like how it came out. I don't have much to say, quite frankly. If you're still reading this, please consider leaving a review to let me know your thoughts.