Hi sorry for the lack of updates recently! Had a lot to do (well, still have a lot to do) and given the time I can, I can only work on one fic at a time. So anyway, hope you enjoy these chapters! ^^

An orange haired boy looked around with dull eyes. He had already read all of his books, played with all his toys to the point where they were boring and there wasn't much else to do within the boring little apartment complex he and his caretaker lived in. It was this way for a long time until one day, he decided to sneak out of the apartment. His first stop...the library.

~~~~ O ~~~~

"Wow, that's a lot you're reading." Came a voice from behind him that made the little boy cringe. He looked around to see another boy with silver to white hair, glasses and a cane.

"Oh, yeah. I'm finished with these actually." The orange haired boy said to the other and pointed to a pile of books that were stacked on one side, while he read another. The other looked at him with wide eyes and a rather surprised look. Taking a look at the books, he noticed that most of them were on strategy, planning, probability, weapon mechanics, and weapon engineering. The rest were all books on Remnant, history, some story books, etc.

"That's a bit of a boring selection don't you think?" The silver haired boy asked. "I mean, you read those everyday in school don't you? So why choose them?"

"...Well, I umm..." The boy was hesitant to say but then continued. "I don't go to school actually. My caretaker doesn't have money to send me there."

"Caretaker? That's a harsh choice of words for your parents." The other said, sitting down next to the orange haired boy. The latter frowned and scratched the back of his head. "I don't have parents. They died in the recent war."

"Oh uh...S-sorry. Umm, I'm sorry." The silver haired boy said and there was a rather awkward silence between the two as the other just looked down with a frown. "I didn't mean to-"

"Don't worry about it. They died as heroes and I...I want to be like them one day." The orange haired boy said and then smiled somewhat sadly. He took out a picture and looked down with morose eyes. "I can't help but miss them though..."

"Um...S-so, you don't go to school right? Want me to teach you a thing or two? It's not all just reading and answering questions you know. They also teach you how to fight. That's an essential of being a Huntsman or Huntress." The silver haired boy asked in an obvious attempt to change the subject. The other caught on and put on a smile.

"Sure. I wouldn't mind that." The orange haired boy smiled and looked up at the other. The other smiled and held out his hand. "Great! First things first, my name's Ozpin. What's yours?"

The orange haired boy took Ozpin's hand and shook it, replying "I'm Roman. Nice to meet you Ozpin."

~~~ O ~~~

"I want to be like them one day."

"I was so naive." Roman thought to himself, taking out a cigar and lighting it up. He looked at himself in the mirror. His body wet with water, full of scars...hair all messy and unkept, and eyes...so numb and dead. Roman ran a hand through the back of his hair, feeling the scar at the back of his head. Ah, he remembered how he got that scar...The brutal way his head was nearly bashed open were it not for James and his men who had intervened.

"So...so naive." Roman let out a puff of smoke, filling the bathroom with it. He breathed in the smoke and allowed himself to get lost in the drug, closing his eyes and putting the cigar in his mouth for another taste. Soon enough, he felt the drugs taking effect. Roman's body became numb and his head started to swirl. A few seconds later, and everything went black...

~~~ O ~~~

Alarms rang throughout the facility and everyone was on full alert. Roman read through the documents with eyes of disbelief and overwhelming distress. His breathing became faster as he began to tremble and tears began to form. Suddenly, a well dressed man accompanied by several guards broke into the room. Ozpin ran towards the room, cursing frantically to himself.

"You knew...You knew that would happen!?" Roman's face was now red and wet with tears. The man then began "...It was a necessary-"

"YOU KNEW?!" Roman yelled, slamming his fist into the desk. Ozpin took a step forward but one of the guards held his hand in front of him, signaling for Ozpin to stop. They were on full guard now and he knew well why...Roman was breaking.

"They were my brothers! They were MY FAMILY! AND YOU HAD ME KILL THEM!?" Roman was now screaming at the man. The other then yelled "You saved countless lives Roman! Countless INNOCENT LIVES! We found their leader, their MOTHER BASE because of you! We won the war because of you! Because of their sacrifice!"

"No, no, no, NO! You can't speak to me like that! Not after what you made me do!" Roman yelled and then grew dead silent, his head hanging down with eyes wide open. Ozpin couldn't do anything...not console him, not even put his hand on Roman's shoulder. All he could do was watch him break. Roman then said "I gave everything, I believed in you...in your cause. And you betrayed me?"

"We took a necessary action Roman. These things happen...and you signed up for that the moment you became a Huntsman." The man said sternly and sadly. Roman's voice was now monochrome and lifeless. "Yeah, I did...didn't I?"

"But you know what else you signed up for? To protect the people...the innocent, those who can't protect themselves. We have all lost people close to us...Huntsmen are no exception. But...as a Huntsman...we don't live for us anymore. We live for they, who can't protect themselves." The man stated passionately. Roman's eyes grew wide with anger as his lips curled into a frown, his fists now clenched until they were bleeding slightly. Suddenly, he ceased all expression and his fists loosened.

"Yeah...Sorry to have bothered you." Roman said and calmly walked into the hall, brushing away the guns that were pointed at his head. The man sighed and went to the desk, reading over what exactly Roman had read. His expression told him he wasn't pleased with what he saw. Ozpin watched his friend disappear into the hallway and ran after him only moments after.

~~~ O ~~~

"Rooman! We're all done here! Don't leave us hanging!" Neo asked, practically pounding on the bathroom door. There was faint smell of smoke and Neo couldn't help get a bit worried at the combination. She decided to try once more "Hey, if you don't answer, I'm gonna have to break this door down!...Roman?"

There was no reply. With this, she knew that something was wrong and in one graceful movement, the door was knocked down. Although for fearing what she might see, she asked several White Fang troops nearby to investigate for her before she entered.

"Mister Torchwick? Hey! Can you hear me?! Hey!" Was their response and Neo went in. Roman was naked and lying on the floor with a burnt out cigar in his hand. Though she was worried for him, she couldn't help but thank the White Fang for at least putting a towel over...well you know where. However, this wasn't the first thing she noticed. The first thing that immediately caught her eyes was...

Neo grabbed a half empty bottle of pills and examined it. Her eyes became wide with the label and she clicked her tongue. She had to report this to Cinder immediately.

"Antidepressants? Just what on earth are you doing with this Roman?" Neo mumbled to herself and went out to inform Cinder. Taking out her scroll, she then called. "Cinder we have a problem. It's Roman."

"Oh? What did he mess up now?" Cinder hissed. Neo couldn't help but chortle to her comment but then reverted back to her normal tone. "No, he's unconscious. He's been taking...antidepressants. It seems he took a bit too many this time."

"Is he still alive?" Cinder asked. Neo then replied "Yeah. Just passed out for the moment."

"Then I don't see a problem." Cinder said but then rolled her eyes to her sudden realization. "Aside delaying things, of course."

"You're harsh Ma'am." Neo chuckled. "But for the record, we're done here. So what's next?"

"Wait for him to wake up, then interrogate him. But for the meantime...go see what you can find about him. We'll be there as soon as we can." Cinder replied. Neo smiled "Yes Ma'am."

Just then...his scroll began to ring.