LJNT

Tick, Tick, Doom!

The two huntresses disappeared without another word, leaving Tanya to stand there in disbelief. Now that they were alone, Lyra didn't waste a second.

"Hey, Tanya! What the hell was that?" Lyra folded her arms after she dug her axe into the ground. "Were you really just going to let me slam into the ground like that!? I was like, two seconds away from dying, and it would have been your fault!"

"Yeah, sorry! I just-"

"Y-You're okay, r-right Lyra?" Nico asked worriedly, and Lyra nodded. Nico sighed a breath of relief. "G-Good...We-We're lucky those huntresses were there..."

"Yes. Zaeya and Clarisse," Janelle eyed Tanya. "Jenks. Those are your parents, right?"

"Yeah!" Tanya eyed the two huntresses wistfully as they continued to walk away. "Yeah, they are..."

"Those are your parents?" Lyra raised a brow. "Huh. I really should start paying more attention to other hunters and huntresses....wait hold on, how come they didn't say hi!? ...This doesn't mean you're off the hook about almost killing me, by the way."

"W-Well, they did say hi!" Tanya defended. "That's just how they always are. I mean, this is the most interaction I've had with them in four years, so...I-I'm happy!"

"They treat you like that?" Lyra's fake smile faltered. "How can parents do that...? They should be lucky they even have their child alive. If I had known they were your parents, I would have kicked their ass halfway across the planet-"

"M-Me too," Nico agreed. "N-No one treats y-you like that, T-Tanya. R-Right, Janelle?"

Everyone turned to their purple haired teammate, slightly concerned for what she would say. After all, she had once denounced Tanya as 'nothing'. Janelle frowned.

"Right. Your parents are just as insufferable as my own. Why does no one here have good parents?"

"Hey, my parents are-are good! They're just busy," Tanya said. "They've always been busy. It's not their fault. I've just got to wait until I become an official Huntress, and then I'm sure they'll have time for me."

"Tanya, a parent should always have time for their child, no matter what," Janelle said. "I learned that the hard way. Pay them no mind."

"I can't do that. They're my family!"

"So you were willing to let me die just because you saw them?" Lyra raised a brow. "Cool. Glad to know you have your priorities straight."

"That's not what it was about, Lyra! I just-I just
choked, okay!?"

"Tanya, I am aware this is hard for you to hear, but people who treat you in such a matter are not your family," Janelle shook her head from side to side. "You should not let them bother you so much."

Suddenly, Nico's ears perked wide up. She ignored the others' bickering as she picked up on the sounds of rustling and a sword being drawn. Someone was out there, but who?

Then she heard it;

the quiet ticking of a bomb.

"G-Guys, s-shut up," Nico tried to get the others' attention, but they were still locked in argument. "H-Hey!"

Well, she'd have to do it herself if no one was listening. Nico placed her katanas into one sword before she rushed at the sound of the ticking, where her blade hit the knife of a cloaked figure. A flashback of the cloaked figure at the Mittlefranken Opera hit Nico as her breath hitched in her throat, allowing the assassin to catch her off guard and disarm her.

Surprisingly, the first person to notice Nico was Tanya, who didn't waste anytime in jumping in to block. Together, they managed to ward off the assassin, and with the help of the full team, managed to disarm and disable the assassin.

"Uh, hey, does anyone know how to stop this bomb?" Lyra chuckled, her breath slightly hitched in panic.

"Let me try something-!" Tanya took her staff and slammed it as hard as she could against the side of the bomb. The other three teammates of hers just stared in absolute shock as they half expected to just blow up on the spot right there.

But they didn't.

"Did that...actually work?" Janelle just blinked her eyes in utter surprise. "I am sorry- you just smacked it, and-that was a ridiculous idea, but it managed to work-!?"

"My Grandpapa taught me some stuff," Tanya shrugged. "He told me about dust bombs, so...I figured that this one was no different!"

"This one literally is not a dust bomb!" Janelle scolded, but couldn't keep her stern tone for long. "You keep making rash decisions, Tanya....But I suppose it all worked out in the long run. But you need to be smarter about this! I do not wish to see you hurt."

"Hey, what about me? She almost killed me-! Can you care about me for a solid second!?" Lyra huffed before she softened her tone. "...Good job. Just could you warn us next time before you're about to go all crazy?"

Nico wanted to make a snarky remark about that, but she refrained from doing so. Instead, she just perked her ear up at the sound of people approaching.

"H-Hey, guys, p-people coming," Nico warned, and the group turned to see the crowd of villagers that Zaeya and Clarisse had been trying to calm down. The aforementioned huntresses had their arms crossed in discontent, and Nico immediately pulled her hood over her head. "U-Uh oh..."

"Thank you for saving us from that bomb and all those Grimm!" A villager with long magenta hair and a twitching nose grinned widely, his hands clasped together. "You guys are the best. With the bomb and all, too...Thanks for always being alert!"

"Yeah!" Other civilians agreed, and Tanya couldn't help but smile at the praise. However, the worst was yet to come. After all the civilians had had their share of praising the team and had gone away, Zaeya and Clarisse remained, and they did not look happy whatsoever.

"You took unnecessary risks this entire fight," Clarisse didn't waste any time in chastising, her stormy gray eyes devoid of any energy or happiness. They may have been the same shape and color as Tanya's, but the warmth was nowhere to be seen. "Risking your teammate's life, running our into the middle of Grimm with no plan, hitting a bomb without consulting anyone else...your grandfather raised a girl who will never become a proper Huntress-"

"You do not have any right to speak to her like that!" Janelle was the first one to speak up, beating even Lyra as Janelle glared fiercely at Clarisse. "During this fight, Tanya fought with all her valor and strength, and saved many lives by disabling the bomb. That is what a proper Huntress would do- fight to save everyone! I did not see either of you even notice the assailant or bomb. What would you 'proper' Huntresses do in that occasion? Let those civilians just die!?"

"Don't you speak to Clarisse in that way!" Zaeya's eyes narrowed, but Janelle wasn't done.

"I will speak if I want to! I am done listening to parents who think they are in charge when they have done nothing for me!" Janelle pointed her finger in Zaeya's face accusingly. "You owe Tanya so much more than you both gave her."

"We owe her nothing. We didn't want her in the first place-"

"Well, then Tanya doesn't need you either!" Lyra protectively stepped in front of her teammate. "You should be ashamed. Come on, Tanya."

Tanya pursed her lips together, unsure of what to do. Her parents were looking at her with expected disappointment while her teammates waited for her to join them. She was frozen, she didn't know what to do...until she felt the sudden pressure of a small hand in hers, pulling her away.

It was Nico, who just led her away from the toxic Huntresses. The rest of the team followed, leaving the Huntresses by themselves. Tanya sighed loudly, unsure of what to say.

"I-I really a-am sorry about almost killing you," Tanya settled on that as she stumbled over her words. "I just-"

"...Don't worry about it," Lyra placed a hand on Tanya's shoulder. Her eyes momentarily flickered to where Nico's and Tanya's hands intertwined before her focus shifted back to Tanya. "Tanya, I know your family sucks...but we're here for you. Just like we were here for Janelle. We always will be."

"...Always...?" Tanya sniffled. "You-You won't ever leave me like they did...?"

"We'll always be here for you, Tanya. That's a promise."