Dear You

Synopsis
Sixteen year-old student Asher C. Stahl is as normal as anyone in Vale. That is until he saves a girl with no name, no home and no purpose. Despite the event, he is then thrown into the new world of Hunters, Huntress, Grimms and Lolitas.

- Cry - (Heart Arc)
Perhaps it was just a fated meeting, perhaps it was not. But I,ah, never mind, I don't think it  matters much, because no matter the case, it was her that appeared before me that day. That girl, with no name, no home and no purpose. Only a glistening blue bladed sword and the rags she calls her clothes as her only personal property.

To start this, I must do so from the beginning.

The beginning.

That was, March Break.

I, Asher Stahl, an ordinary student of 16, was only nonchalantly walking back home after our dismissal from school. It was rather late, as the sky has gone dark and the air turned frigid from the absence of the brilliant sun.

Still thinking of the work assigned to us for the holidays, I failed to notice the unnatural and excessive darkness that surrounded me.

More precisely, all the street lights that were placed in 5 meter intervals were out.

“Must be a blackout…” I thought at the time.

I’m kind of still a little bit scared of the dark, but anyway let’s move on.

Of course, “all” was the word I used to generalize most of the street lights.

In fact, there was one still lit.

One light, shined down like a message from up above, unto an insignificant limp figure. While thinking about that, although it didn't particularly bother me and I just accepted something like that could happen too, I continued to walk ahead. As I approached the oddity, the buildup of something started within myself.

What I saw sitting there, was the well sculpted face of a girl around the age of 16, shining silver hair decorated with the stunning odd golden eyes. A truly noble and righteous face, a drastic contrast to her ragged clothes that appears to have been made from unprocessed materials of the wild. It showed signs of multiple mends and modifications. Near her lay a long black rectangular object. As one inspects the scene, one cannot just ignore the fact that the situation was a tad off.

I at least, took a little longer to notice.

The limbs of the girl were in strange and unnatural positions. Her left arm was bent awkwardly beyond the elbow joint. The right arm was behind the back, off of its shoulder joint. Both legs had been dislocated from the knee caps. She was not sitting at all.

More like, dying.

Approaching even closer now, I find the girl still conscious even through all the physical pain the internal injuries should have caused. As our eyes met, I was greeted with the golden eyes and a simple question.

“Have you come to finish the job?” the girl questioned.

At the moment, I didn’t know what to say. How should one react in a situation like this?

“Shit…what happened?” I instinctively replied as I reached out to her.

“Don’t fucking touch me!” the ragged girl bit back. The shear force behind those words were enough to cause me to flinch back a couple of steps.

A few minutes passed without an exchange. Until suddenly…

“Your *cough* Aura, I need It.” whimpered the girl.

“…what? Sure, whatever you need, just take it. Whatever you want, just, please live!” I begged.

“Give me your…hand.” she whispered. I followed her directions and gently placed my hands on her head. At the same moment, I witnessed the birth of a bright light flickering between my own hands. In front of me, the girl prepared a reservoir of air within her lungs.

And those fateful words were said.

“Aura is the manifestation of our soul, it bears our burdens and shields our hearts. Thus, I impose my burdens and heart upon you, Asher C. Stahl.”

An explosion of brilliant light radiated between us. Suddenly, a sharp pain surged from my hands and settled into my joints, the weight of my whole body doubled and I was forced to collapse on my knees like a limp doll.

One could say the physical pain I experienced at the time was overwhelming.

“That helps with the pain,” the girl said,” thank you. Now I can die peacefully.”

Die? She is going to die?

No, this is not where it ends.

That is not how it is meant to be, not after all she’s been through.

“Your…limbs! I have some knowledge, I will fix them! Just…stay! Bear with me here! I’m here! Stay here!”

Drawing on borrowed strength, I forcefully snapped all the joints back. With that, my contract with the girl ended and the life of the 16 year old student named Asher C. Stahl was no more.

Or so, that was how it was supposed to go.

I woke up the next day in an unfamiliar room.

Perhaps it was all just a dream, maybe I got hit by a car in the dark or something.

“That girl did quite a number on you didn’t she?” a middle aged man said as he made a gesture towards someone on the side of my bed.

“Who are you talking about? Who are you? Where am I?”

As I examined the man, I noticed his unnatural tousled gray hair, the black glass spectacles and his well dress outfit.

“No wait, don’t answer that, I know who you are, you’re Ozpin. The Ozpin of Beacon Academy.”

“My my, a person who knows my name but is not a combatant at all, you must be quite well read.” he complimented.

“I don’t get out of the house much.”

“Isn’t that kind of sad?” Ozpin retorted.

“Who asked you!?”

“Haha well anyway, it’s good to be knowledgeable, and as to where you are. Beacon Infirmary,” holding out his arms, showing off the whole room, “I have to hand it to you though, to allow a person you have never met to harness most of your Aura and still be conscious after a mere two days is quite a feat.”

“I’ve been unconscious for two days?”

“Yes, and the girl here has not left your side ever since you saved her…say have you ever thought about joining Beacon Academy?”

“Hmm, no, no I have not, and I have no intention to, but… I know this girl does.”

“How do you know that? You two have not even talked to each other since that day. What a talker you are, and what is the name of this girl? She never told me.”

“…Heart, her name, is, Heart.”

Of course, what Ozpin said was not entirely true, we talked. In the moment of Aura transfer, we talked.

This girl did not just take my Aura that day to ease her pain.

As a matter of fact, she did not take anything from me at all.

She imposed her burdens upon me.

She imposed her heart.

That’s why I know the answer, her name is Heart.

And with that, the girl with no purpose, no home, and no name is no more.

- Feel - (Rayne Arc)
(In Progress 30% complete)

- Kind - (Tana Arc)
(Coming Soon)

- Hope - (Asher Arc)
(Coming Soon)

Trivia

 * The Heart Arc is based off of the scene in Kizumonogatari where Araragi Koyomi saves a dying vampire known as Kiss-Shot Acerola-Orion Heart-Under-Blade
 * The Rayne Arc is an allusion towards my struggle with religion in my life
 * The Tana Arc alludes to...
 * The whole story is named after the song Dear You from Higurashi no Naku Koro ni or When They Cry and each title of the stories are named after different versions of the same song