A Guide to Surviving Against Monsters

"Two dead. They were killed by a monster."

The Headmaster of the Academy groaned. In the room, other than him, were three cops, a detective, myself and the entire group of supervising hunters. Sasora's bloody, gruesome kill had been done Wednesday night, which meant that civilians had been told to stay home where they felt safe for the entirety of Thursday, which was yesterday. Unlike the regular people, us hunters had helped the cops search the city for the 'suspect.' I didn't take the search seriously at all, because I knew who the real culprit was and I also knew that she wouldn't show her face that soon afterward. The cops had no clue who Sasora was, nor did they have any idea that the murder was the work of a demon. They suspected a random monster.

So here we were, during Friday's lunch break, reporting to the headmaster. Tonight, we'd be hunting mutated monsters outside the barrier, unless he canceled the expedition out of fear for his precious students.

I was damn sure that we were going hunting tonight.

Hence why I wasn't paying attention.

Thankfully, the meeting was disrupted by a hesitant knock on the door. Everyone in the room twisted, staring at the confident face that popped through the thin opening.

"Malekai," I sighed under my breath. Today, I was clad in black leather pants, my usual boots, a black long sleeve shirt, my rig and my trench coat. My black hair was brushed over my eye per its usual, slightly damp from this morning's shower. I was loaded with weapons; throwing knives were strapped into my rig, a whip hung on one side of my belt, and my chokuto hung on the other. A gun was tucked into the back of my pants, pressing against my spine.

The student grinned at us. "I need to borrow Emmalyn. She promised to teach me some defensive moves for tonight's mission."

Eyes passed to me, my eyebrow cocking as I leaned on one hip.

No one believed him, but in the end, I knew I didn't want to stay in this meeting any longer.

With a shrug, I saluted the headmaster. "I'd rather teach this brat last minute. Good luck."

The man sighed as I left, but none of them stopped me. Malekai cheered the second the door fell shut behind me, giggling even when I punched his shoulder. The student was bubbly today despite the mission ahead of him, and he was back to being his annoyingly happy self.

"So, what can you teach me, o' great Emmalyn?"

I deadpanned. "I'll throw a knife at you."

He held a finger in front of my face, smirking. "You already did that once."

Rolling my eyes, I led him outside the school. He trotted behind me like a dog, the two of us standing opposite of each other on the school's front lawn. Malekai was unarmed, save for a small knife tucked into his belt. I sneered, shrugging off my rig and coat. I left my whip, which worked as a lasso as well, on my belt, throwing my chokuto down on top of my pile of things.

"I'm going to come at you," I told him. "Your only goal is to put distance between us. Your last resort in any fight is to run like hell, got it?"

Malekai winked. "I can run like hell or run to you, because you'll protect me!"

I glared. Don't trust me with your life, kid, because one day you'll be doing a mission alone, and I won't be there.

I didn't tell him that, of course, instead taking a steading breath. In that single breath, I could feel my superior agility kicking in, my center of gravity lining up with my balance.

Malekai gaped as I shot toward him, using a single leap. My jaw clenched, the student's eyes widening as I sailed past him, my hand reaching for his hip. He fell to the side as I landed behind him, his knife now in my hands.

"I'm not protecting you now."

Malekai cursed, scrambling away. I watched, waiting for the right moment to surprise him. He glanced back, trying to see how far I was, and I took off, appearing only a step behind him. The boy screamed, part of me wondering if I'd made him pee himself. He ducked, throwing himself to the side. I landed with all the softness and grace of a cat, spinning on my toes. Malekai blocked my next slash, rolling to my non-dominant side. Normally a hunter had weaker offense and defense on that side, since it was naturally more awkward. Non-dominant sides were also practiced with less, so it was a good plan to attack me from there.

But I wasn't like most hunters. I practiced harder with my weaker side, to make it equal.

Not to mention, the exercise was meant to be about running away, not counter attacks.

Hence why I didn't hesitate to punch him square in the forehead -- with only a sliver of my strength, of course.

My knuckles throbbed, his butt hitting the ground with a thud.

"The exercise is to run, not to get cocky and attack. If I wanted to go easy on you, I would've told you to spar with me."

Malekai groaned, getting up as he rubbed his rear end, glaring at me.

"I saw an opening, of course I--"

Growling, I swept his feet out from underneath him, driving his back into the ground. My forearm pressed down on his throat, forcing him to fall silent as I straddled his waist.

"That wasn't an opening, Malekai. You should know damn well that for you there is no openings on me. You're not at that level yet. But this?"

I grabbed his collar with my freehand, heaving him upward. The student coughed as I slammed him back down, though it was softer the second time.

"This is an opening. When you mouth off because you're arrogant. So stop it."

He didn't find a smart remark for that, but it wasn't like he could speak clearly either. Not only did my arm press against his windpipe, but he was plain old winded as well. The student panted, his face pale as I finally let him go, sitting back on my heels.

"...With any other hunter, that strategy of attacking their left side might've worked. It was a good idea..," I admitted, pushing myself up. Malekai watched from the ground, his eyes meeting mine.

I gritted my teeth, forcing myself to spit out my next words.

"If you don't hate me yet, then I'll do it. I'll teach you. At least twice a week, but my jobs come first. And if you disrespect me, or goof off, I'll leave you in the dust."

His face lit up in glee, though he was still breathing like he'd been running for his life.

"D-Deal, Foxit. You're on."