AZAKAN ON THE WIND

He passed through them without sound or light, a quiet shadow in their cruel eyes. Before long, he had reached the center of them all, and thus he drew his twin blades. The Grimm, once uninterested, gained direction and focus as his blades tore through them. They roared into battle. He was silent.

He sheathed his blades as the last remnants of hunting were dispelled, and so he continued upon his path. To her.

Yone examined her and the two men around her. She lay on the ground, battered and bruised, while the two men stared silently at him.

"Release her." spoke Yone

This seemed to snap them out of their trance, as the thin man laughed and started clapping

"My, what a show! I haven't seen a performance like that in a long time." he said

"You will see it again, if you do not release her" responded Yone, blades clasped at the hilt. "Release her."

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Summer gained consciousness with a start, a burst of pain behind her eyes letting itself be known.

She groaned and sat up, clutching at her head and moving slowly around to gaze at the landscape before her. She was on a standard Grimm extermination mission, and was attacked by two of what she assumed were Salem's thugs before she was beaten down and lost consciousness.

"Where are you allies, huntress?" spoke a voice behind her

Summer's head spun so fast she thought she might break it. Standing behind her was a masked man, hands on a blade sheathed at his side. He stood tall and straight, looking down on her with an unreadable expression present on what could be seen on his face.

He wore bandages and a simple kilt-like dressing secured with a belt of strange and particular masks adorning his waist. His blade too, appeared to be sheathed by his side in a simple fashion, disappearing into the folds of his cloaks. His long black hair flowed in the gentle wind, gliding softly with an almost unearthly grace.

She must have been staring longer that she realized, becuase the swordsman repeated himself in the same passive and soft-spoken tone.

"I, uh, don't have any with me. This was supposed to be a solo-mission, before I got attacked." said Summer

Attacked! She looked around frantically, trying to find any hint of the men that assaulted her. The swordsmen spoke again.

"The men that attacked you are dead. You are safe."

She turned back to him in suprise and spoke,

"You killed both of them? And the Grimm?"

"Yes."

Summer was silent, and unsure how to feel when the swordsman looked away at the sky,

"Soon it will be sundown, and the Azakana will come again. It is foolish to hunt without allies, you know..."

Summer looked at the sky and sighed,

"Yeah, I better call a bullhead. Listen, you saved me life out here, and I'm sure my boss would love to thank you, as well as my family. Why don't you come with me? I have yet to thank you as well."

The swordsman was silent, and continued to look at the sky.

Summer waited, and the man continued his silence for a few more mintues before Summer shifted nervously and spoke again

"Well... if you want to, that is. You don't have to co-"

"I shall."

"...Oh, okay."

Summer was silent as the swordsman sat beside her in the bullhead, thinking of something to say to break the silence.

"Sooo... you're a huntsman?"

The swordsman turned to look at her and Summer cringed. Of course he was a huntsman! What kind of stupid question was that! Summer went to speak again when the swordsman turned away and spoke.

"I am a hunter. I hunt azakana, no matter which skin they choose to wear."

"You mean the Grimm? Why do you call them that?"

"It is what they are." responded the man

Summer fell silent again, and the rest of the journey fell that way.