Academy of Beasts

8 - Yukari Sendō

"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.