Hey guys, hope you have been enjoying my writing, any reviews or criticism would be helpful to make it a smoother read.

However, I'm going into a large exam period that will have a large impact on my life, so I won't be able to keep a proper schedule for releasing each chapter.

I'm really sorry and I hope you understand. :D

I felt skin tear, blood spraying on the walls as a scream echoed down the corridor.

Flicking the gore from my hands, I slowly crept along the hallway, blood sucking at my feet as I moved.

A faint drone filled the air as the emergency power started, the lights set above bathing the corridor in a pure white light.

I felt my leg buckle as a crack reverberated along the hallway, glancing down, I saw that something had passed through my thigh, as blood began to flow down my leg, mingling with that on the floor.

Scowling, I spotted a lone soldier at the far end of the corridor, his arm shaking slightly as he aimed a rifle at me.

I dashed towards him as he fired another round, the bullet deflecting off a shoulder panel, spinning my torso around, momentarily slowing me down.

Dropping the rifle, the soldier stepped back, drawing a pistol as two more stepped out from behind the corners, raising their sub-machine guns.

I left a dent in the wall as I leapt onto it, a hail of bullets tearing up the ground under me, pushing off as their aim trailed upwards.

Pouncing towards the group, I stretched out my arms, catching the two outermost soldiers, gouging deep cuts in their neck, their blood spraying out in a fine, bright mist.

I walked through the mist, shivered as it soaked through my shredded clothing, my muscles involuntarily twitching as the scent of blood filled the air.

As the remaining soldier bolted, I lunged forward, punching my fingers through his back, ripping his ribcage apart in a shower of gore, hearing his scream echo down the corridor. A messy end, but still more merciful compared to the puddles of flesh that remained of the scientists.

Holding onto the sides of the corpse, I-

Knock Knock

"Hey, head downstairs when you're ready, we got some work to do."

I heard Jarret's footsteps fade as I pushed myself out of bed, walking towards the mirror.

I inwardly sighed at I saw my appearance, still the same as the day before, and the day before that: sable skin, white hair, red eyes. Sometimes I hoped that it would somehow revert back to the way it was, and every morning since that day I've woken up disappointed.

Dressing quickly, I headed downstairs, finding Jarret eating in the kitchen, as he gestured for me to sit down.

"So I've been thinking, I can't let you stay here for free, so I called up my employer-"

"You WHAT?" I slammed my hands down on the table, Jarret quickly raising his in surrender.

"Woah, woah, all I said was that you were an acquaintance of mine. I called them up asking for any jobs that we would be able to take, and they gave me one. "

"Easy as that?"

"Yup, we're heading out to one of the testing grounds today to prepare it for some new recruits. You eat while I pack my stuff."

Piling up a plate with slices of meat and bread, I began to eat while Jarret moved in and out of the room, each time carrying more equipment and weaponry.

"This is uh, less than I expected." I was standing at the edge of a cliff, overlooking a vast expanse of forest.

"The trees are a lot taller than they seem. Step on that plate and we will get going. Try to follow me." Pulling out a tablet, Jarret typed in a command as he unwound a weapon from his other arm, a flat metal dart attached to the end of a chain.

I felt the ground rumble, gears grinding as Jarret was launched into the air, the plate beneath me sending me soaring after him.

"-Kuroi-" I only heard one clear word as Jarret dived past me, the wind rushing by distorting the sound.

Materialising wings, I dove after Jarret as he cut through the canopy with a flash of metal.

Suddenly I was pitched sideways, crashing though a dense weave of branches and foliage, my vision filled with blurs of green.

Tumbling down through the branches, I reached out blindly for anything that could support my weight, having lost my sense of direction on the way down.

My fall was abruptly halted, I clamped my leg down on a branch that whipped by.

Grabbing my foot to ensure that I wouldn't fall, I heard a very distinct crack as the branch dropped noticeably, shaking my view as I took in my surroundings.

Letting go of the branch, before it fell on it's own, I dropped down, digging a deep crater into the ground.

"Hey, Kuroi what happened?" Jarret appeared from behind a tree, swinging on a chain, unravelling it as he landed in front of me.

I could only shrug, I wasn't even sure what happened.

"Well, we got a decent amount of Grimm headed this way, so... we could either deal with them or get on with our business." Jarret hefted his satchel for emphasis.

"I'd think it's better if we just moved on." I couldn't take the chance fighting, if I were to lose control now…

"Yeah, it'll probably be really dark when we're finished." Jarret hopped back as an Ursa burst from the brambles.

"You might want to step back for this next bit." Jarret waved me backwards as he begun to spin the chain, wrapping it around his elbow, he launched the dart as the Ursa charged, embedding it into the beast's shoulder.

The Ursa howled in rage as Jarret ripped out the dart, swinging it back, I had to drop to the ground, it whistling through the air above me. Shortening the chain with the other hand, Jarret evaded the Ursa's swipes as he bounced the chain off his own body, keeping the momentum as he weaved in and out, slicing into the Ursa. Grabbing onto the dart, Jarret spun away, throwing it through the Ursa's neck and pulling it back out in a shower of gore.

"Nothing like a fight to get the day started! Oops, guess I got carried away, ahaa…" Jarret's smile quickly faded as he saw me lying flat on the ground, quickly rushing over to help me up.

"What's in the bag? I heard some jangling." I pointed to his satchel as we began running.

"I have no idea." Pulling it open, Jarret fished inside, pulling out some chess pieces. "Oh those are for people to collect, those that return similar pieces are put on the same team."

Eventually we arrived at a broken down temple, the Grimm had eventually gave up on the chase.

There were various plinths arranged in a circle, some already topped with chess pieces, as Jarret began to set down the others, I asked him about those that were already there.

"Sometimes, not all the pieces are brought back, not everyone makes it." Although he continued to set down the pieces, I felt a deep sadness emanating from him.

"Did you… lose someone?"

"All done, let's go, it's going to get dark soon." Brushing off my question entirely, Jarret headed back into the forest, with no other way out, I followed him.

We walked back in silence, Jarret uncharacteristically moody and silent.

"Down!" I found myself thrown off my feet as Jarret tackled me, a stream of bullets punching through the tree beside us, digging furrows into the ground.

"The fuck is going on?" Pushing Jarret off me, we both rolled behind different trees as another burst of gunfire pulping the ground between us.

Seeing a flash of metal above the canopy, I instinctively shielded myself, bone plates ripping out through my clothing.

I felt multiple heavy impacts jolt the limbs holding the shields in place, bullets whizzing by as the area around me was ground into dust.

As suddenly as it started, the storm of bullets stopped, the dust clearing to reveal a cluster of people spreading out, an assortment of weapons on display as they advanced.