“Snakes prefer to hide under flowers.”

In the rural village of Mistral, Hanakotoba, a young man wandered down the busy market area. Crowds of people lined the streets as the vendors and merchants called out to their potential customers, promoting their goods to the best of their abilities. The young man lifted his shaded glasses to his forehead, eyeing the possible items that he could purchase.

"See anything you like?" The street vendor showcased several items at his stand. The young man moved his shades over his eyes and shook his head.

"Sorry, I don't see anything I would need on my journey. Good luck with your sales, though." The young man smiled and waved goodbye to the vendor.

"Alright then. Be happy." The vendor waved then returned to calling out to other customers.

Almost immediately, dozens of others repeated the vendor's words as if they were a mantra. The young man questioned why the villagers repeated that phrase on loop. To him, everyone already seemed happy without having to mention the mantra. He couldn't spot a single person without a smile on their face.

Not that he minded.

Throughout his travels in Remnant, a village full of smiles was one of his most significant discoveries.

Along with his walk further down the road, he stopped when he noticed a large group of people gathering at a single point. His curiosity drew him closer. When he gently made his way through the crowd, he spotted three grown men in armor standing over a bunch of children, laughing and jeering at them with evident delight. The children, on the other hand, were on the brink of tears.

Lying at the feet of the children were several deflated balls. From all the holes punctured into them, it was evident to everyone that they were all stabbed.

“Why did you do that?” One of the children sniffled, trying his best to hold back his tears.

“It was in my way, brat. What would you have done if I tripped and fell because of that ball? That would’ve upset me.” The leader of the three men responded with a haughty tone. He was the largest of the group. His equipment was clearly of a higher grade than his partners.

“And once our boss gets upset, bad things tend to happen. Say, attracting the Grimm, for instance.” Another man announced.

Worried glances traded between the people of the village after hearing the man’s words.

“You don’t want the Grimm to come here and destroy this village now, do you?” The third man leaned in, grinning mischievously at the kids.

“…No…” The kid shook his head.

“Then, all is forgiven.” The leader shrugged his shoulders with an arrogant smirk. “You should be more careful when playing ball in the street, kid. It’s dangerous after all.”

And with that, the three men wandered down the street without a care in the world. Their disgusting laughter vanished the farther they got from the scene, which delighted the young man. The villagers dispersed and cleared a path for them. Afterward, a few of the villagers approached the children, ensuring that they were safe from harm.

“Damn those, Huntsmen. Why did we even bother hiring them if they were just going to throw their weight around?” A disgruntled villager asked.

"Free food and drinks, housing, they're slowly taking everything from this village." Another villager complained.

“But what can we do? If we try and tell them to leave, we’ll have no one else to protect us from the Grimm or bandits.”

“We’ll just have to continue tolerating them for now. Their actions haven’t escalated that far.”

The young man frowned after listening to the villagers. It wasn’t his place to say since he was just a wanderer, but he didn’t like the Huntsmen. It was a Huntsmen’s duty to protect humanity from the creatures of Grimm. And yet, he encountered three who were abusing their power against the people they were meant to protect.

He had heard of cases where Huntsmen fell from grace then turned to crime to support themselves. He believed it was genuinely pathetic for Huntsmen to sink so low. To him, if they failed their sworn duty to protect humanity, then what was the meaning of their training? Their existence even?

They were worthless.

A waste of space.

Garbage.

Garbage that needed to be disposed of before they spread their filth to others.

The young man steeled himself then approached the children, wanting to ensure that they were unharmed.

“Excuse me,” He called out to them, “None of you kids are hurt, right?”

The kids hesitantly traded glances before shaking their heads in unison.

“That’s good. That’s good.” He knelt to meet them at eye level. “My name’s Watchet Amin. Want to explain what happened here?”

“It’s nothing, Mr. Amin. Please, don’t concern yourself with them.” A villager told him, wishing just to squash the situation as soon as possible.

“Those jerks destroyed our ball.” The kid looked to Watchet. “We didn’t do anything wrong.”

“No, you didn’t.” Watchet turned his head in the direction the three Huntsmen left.

“I’d like to give those jerks a piece of my mind. But…” The second kid stopped mid-way.

“We’re not allowed to be upset. The Grimm will come here.” The third kid reminded everyone.

“That’s why…we’re not allowed to cry….” The first kid added.

“I see…” Watchet nodded his head in understanding. At that point, everything began to make sense why he kept hearing the same phrase always, why the villagers tolerated the Huntsmen.

The threat of the Grimm. Enemies of humanity. They're drawn to negative emotions and destroy anything in their path.

The people of the village repeated their mantra of "be happy" to brainwash themselves into false perceived happiness. A pointless tactic. They could try and fool themselves all they'd like. But, their false feelings wouldn't stop the Grimm. In fact, it's the opposite.

“Listen, Mr. Amin,” Another villager called out to him, “I’m sure that you doubt our way of life here. But, this is all we have right now. Grimm activity has increased in this area. We need those Huntsmen here for protection for now.”

“No, no, I understand.” Watchet dismissed the villager’s words. “I’m not judging you. Desperate times call for desperate measures after all. But still…it’s no excuse for their behavior. They need to be taught a lesson.”

The venom in his words alerted the villagers around him. In an instant, numbers of villagers had surrounded him, begging him not to confront the Huntsmen. However, their words fell on deaf ears. The young man looked down at the kids.

“Would you like for me to get those mean men to apologize?”

The eyes of the kids brightened immediately. They jumped up and down with broad smiles, looking up towards Watchet with eyes of expectancy. Those expressions alone were more than enough to convince him to go through with his plan.

The villagers continued to plead for the man to drop the situation, but he refused. With great conviction, he marched down the road, following the Huntsmen. It didn’t take long for him to find them. They situated themselves outside of a tavern, cat-calling female villagers that crossed their path.

“Excuse me,” Watchet called out to them. The Huntsmen turned their heads then scowled at the sight of him. Any ordinary person would’ve been intimidated, but not Watchet. “Hello there. My name is Watchet Amin.”

The Huntsmen exchanged glances then looked back to Watchet. The one in the middle stepped forward then said, “Braith.”

“Well, Braith, let me start by saying that I didn’t appreciate what you three did back there with those kids. It was uncalled for.”

“Uncalled for?” Braith asked while his cronies stood behind him with mischievous smirks. “How so? Those kids were dangerously playing out in the busy street with that ball. Someone could’ve gotten hurt. Someone had to step in doing something about that.”

“So, stabbing a kid’s ball was your best solution?” Watchet tilted his head to the side, carefully gauging the Huntsmen’s reactions. His jaw tightened the moment a smile flashed across Braith’s face.

“It solved the problem, didn’t it? Those kids won’t carelessly play around in the street anymore.” The other Huntsmen mentioned.

“Especially when we’re passing through,” said Braith, turning his back to Watchet.

“Pathetic. How far have you three fallen from your righteous path?” Watchet wondered aloud as he brought his hand up to his chin. The Huntsmen slowly turned to face him again; their expressions grew fierce. But, Watchet remained unaffected.

“Who the hell do you think you are?” Braith glared at him.

“We’re doing our jobs and keeping this village safe.” The other Huntsmen added.

“The people are happy thanks to us.” said the last Huntsmen.

“Erroneous,” Watchet shook his head, glancing around and taking notice of the unsettled expressions from the onlookers, “You three are failures as Huntsmen. But, I’m not here to administer any punishment. All I would like for you three to do is to apologize to the kids whose ball you ruined.”

“Oh yeah?” Braith stepped forward, getting into Watchet’s face. “And what if we don’t? What are you going to do?”

“Then…I’ll make you do it,” Watchet replied with sheer conviction. The Huntsmen surrounded him, their hands placed on their respective weapons. “I’d rather avoid using violence. But, it doesn’t appear like you three will back down so easily.”

“Of course, not….” The Huntsmen pulled out their weapons then took their respective stances.

Watchet eyed them carefully from behind the safety of his shades. From his perspective, they didn’t seem all that strong. They were men that picked on helpless children and villagers. But even then, he refused to underestimate them. He was already at a disadvantage fighting three people at once.

The first thing he tried to do was gain some distance. The moment he took a step back, the first two Huntsmen were already on him. They attacked from both sides simultaneously, showing enough teamwork and precision not to hit each other during their attacks. Watchet walked backward and deflected each attack with the palms of his hands.

Braith moved in once he believed that Watchet was too occupied with his partners. The swordsman closed in from behind then performed a horizontal slash. His sword only cut through the air.

Watchet had jumped then landed on a building behind him. He reached to his hip and unsheathed his sword, [Serpent's Tongue]. It shone in the light and danced around him like a cloth until he came to a complete stop.

“Not gonna do down easy, are you?” Braith turned his head to face his partners, nudging his head for them to continue with the fight.

The two Huntsmen charged ahead with confident expressions. Watchet launched himself from the building in a blink of an eye, passing through the Huntsmen with ease. Once on the ground, he swung his sword. The intricate movements of the flexible blade overwhelmed the Huntsmen. They were forced to retreat and gain some distance.

But, their efforts were futile. The blade appeared to chase after them as if it had a mind of its own. The first Huntsmen defended himself with his twin axes while the second one moved in for the attack. He reached Watchet in an instant then attacked with his sword.

The young man used his free hand to redirect the sword in another direction, leaving the Huntsmen wide open. Then, he slammed the palm of his hand into the Huntsmen’s chest, sending him reeling into the other one. Braith gritted his teeth at the sight of his partners being defeated. He raised his sword and charged forward.

Watchet retreated to gain some distance, meanwhile using his weapon to halt Braith’s charge. Braith remained steadfast and showcased enough proficiency to deflect each attack thrown at him. Once within range, he made several quick but futile swings at Watchet as the young man dodged the blade. It wasn’t until the Huntsmen’s final swing that he found an opportunity.

He leaned backward, watching the blade cut through the air. Afterward, he straightened himself and reverted his sword whip to its previous form before he careened past Braith. At first, Braith felt no pain. He sharply turned around and prepared to continue with the fight. However, he stopped once he heard cracks appearing on his armor.

At that moment, it shattered. The pieces fell around his feet. When he raised his head, Watchet’s sword was there, inches away from his face. Braith gritted his teeth once more before he dropped his sword on the ground.

“…You win…” He reluctantly admitted. He expected to see a smile cross the young man’s face. But, it never came.

Watchet’s calm disposition never faltered. “This was never about winning. This is about redemption.” He removed his shades, revealing his copper-colored eyes to the Huntsmen. However, his eyes soon flashed different colors, alarming Braith.

But he couldn’t move from that spot. He was frozen. Although his brain ordered his body to move, it refused to listen.

“The first thing you are going to do is go back to those children and apologize for your rude actions. Afterward, you will apologize to the people of this village and request for other Huntsmen to protect this place other than yourselves. And then once that is completed….” Watchet stepped forward, leaning in closer to Braith to whisper, “I want you to kill your partners and then yourself.”

“…Understood…” Braith immediately replied. His eyes flashed the same colors that Watchet’s eyes did.

Once satisfied, Watchet put his shades back on then smiled. “Excellent. Run along now. It’s getting late.”

“Right.” Braith turned around to face his partners that soon recovered from the fight. “Let’s go.”

Although confused by their leader’s sudden change in behavior, the two Huntsmen followed after him. Once they disappeared down the road, the spectators quickly surrounded Watchet, openly cheering.

“That was amazing!”

“You showed those Huntsmen whose boss!”

“Are you a Huntsmen?”

“How long are you planning on staying here?”

A wholeheartedly chuckle escaped past Watchet’s lips. He spoke with the villagers for a while before he decided to move on. He had a destination to reach after all, and he didn’t wish to be late. He bid the village farewell then continued out into the wildlands.

He reached into his pocket then pulled out a small poster. The front of the poster featured two silhouettes with “Haven Academy. Be A Hero.” on them. That single poster brought a smile to his face. He set the poster back in his pocket then ran down the road as fast as he could.