Sharon Arashi was worried about her son.

For so long she'd thought she'd lost him forever, and now that he was back, she was scared to lose him again.

The call she received the morning after he left didn't help matters. She was sitting at the breakfast table, watching her TV, where a news reporter was detailing an attempted attack on Haven Academy.

Suddenly, her scroll chimed. She hurriedly scooped it up and slid it open. Her brow furrowed, confused; the message was from a number she didn't recognize. She began to read:

Dear Mrs. Arashi,

This is the Haven Academy infirmary staff. We are pleased to inform you that your son will be released from our care this morning at 10:00 AM. You may come and collect him at your nearest convenience.

Thank you for your patience and have a good day.

Sharon dropped her scroll and lept up, snatching up her coat and sword. Swiftly strapping Mourning Glory to her side, she quickly locked the door and took off jogging down the road toward Mistral.

Come on Sharon, she thought to herself, He's fine, they said they were releasing him, he can't be hurt that badly...Right?

By the time she reached the city, she was breathing hard and sweat dripped steadily down the side of her face.

Damn Sharon, she thought, bemused, You are getting old.

She stepped onto the central lift and took the time to catch her breath as the lift ascended to the first tier. Having adequately recovered her breath, Sharon took off running toward the school. She reached the main school building, slowed to a walk and stepped inside.

The cool air of the schools AC washed over her as she walked forward into the foyer. To her left, was a small reception desk and sitting, or rather sleeping behind it was the receptionist. She was a bit on the shorter side with black hair pulled back in a ponytail and thick round glasses sitting crooked on her nose, having slid down as she dozed.

Sharon cleared her throat, "Ahem, excuse me?"

The receptionist started awake and straightened her glasses, "My apologies ma'am!" she said hurriedly, "Is there something can I help you with?" Her eyes swept up and down the faunus, lingering on Mourning Glory before sliding up to the two large cat ears on her head.

Sharon cleared her throat again and nodded, "Yes. I received a message this morning that my son Roy was being released from your infirmary this morning?"

The receptionist's eyes refocused on her screen as she tapped several keys on her keypad, "Roy...Roy...uhhh no Roy here." she said.

Sharon face palmed mentally, "Oh I'm sorry, Shiroi Arashi?"

The girl retyped the name, "Ah yes here he is! I'll show you the way." Sharon nodded her thanks and followed the girl down the hall.

"By the way," Sharon said as they walked, "How did you know he was my son?"

The receptionist handed Sharon a scrap of paper with his name scribbled on it. "We asked him to write his name and we did a search for anyone with his last name in the surrounding arena." The girl muffled a large yawn with her hand, "Sorry for being asleep," She apologized as they walked, "I was called in late last night and I've been here ever since. The attack was a rough one, we're going to have to make extensive repairs to our great hall, and Professor Lionheart...Well, never mind that."

The two women came to a stop outside a large wooden door.

"Here we are." the receptionist said, opening the door and holding it for Sharon.

Sharon nodded her thanks and walked into the room. It was a long room with cream colored walls and large rectangular windows. Beds were laid out in front of every window, made up with green comforters and pillowcases that matched the walls.

Sharon scanned the beds, finally catching sight of a pair of cat ears poking up above the covers on the bed in the far right corner.

She pointed at the bed and looked at the receptionist. The girl nodded and bowed slightly, "I'll leave you two alone. Oh, our doctor may want to have a word with you."

With that, the receptionist turned and exited the infirmary. Sharon sighed and walked over to Roy's bed. She knelt down beside her son's bed and gently placed her hand on his head, "I'm here Kitten, Everything's-"

Roy flinched violently and curled into a tighter ball under the covers, causing Sharon to slowly pull her hand back.

"Oh Kitten." She sighed sadly.

She heard footfalls behind her and turned to see a tall man in a long white coat striding towards her from across the infirmary. He had short black hair and kind brown eyes.

"Good evening ma'am," He began in a soft monotone voice. "Would I be correct in assuming you are this young man's mother?"

She nodded, "Yes. Could you tell me what happened?"

The doctor placed his hands in his pockets and began to explain, "Physically, He's fine, the only injuries we could find was severe bruising on his knuckles and a shallow cut along his ribs."

Sharon's brow furrowed, "You said physically fine," she began "is there something else wrong?"

The doctor rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "That is the question. Since we found him, he's not said a single word outside of answering yes or no questions. He's stayed curled up like that unless he has to use the restroom and we had to sedate him last night so he could sleep."

Sharon listened solemnly, "Do you know what might have caused this?" she asked after the doctor had finished.

"One explanation could be that he's suffering from a form of shell shock," the doctor said, "When you're the resident doctor in a battle school infirmary, you encounter this sort of thing once and awhile."

Sharon sighed and looked sadly back at her son, "I am free to take him home, correct?" she asked.

The doctor nodded "indeed, I think what he needs is rest and time to process. Take him home and just keep an eye on him, call me if his condition worsens."

Sharon nodded, "Thank you, doctor….?" she trailed off, realizing she had neglected to ask the doctor his name.

The man smiled, "Oh, of course. I'm Dr. Oum, it's a pleasure to meet you."

:

It had been a struggle to get Roy out of bed, but Sharon had managed it and gently led him through the winding streets of the city and out onto the dirt road that led home.

The only thing Roy registered during the walk back to the cabin was the feeling of his mother's hand in his. When they made it home, Sharon sat him in the sun room and covered his legs with a blanket.

"I'll make some tea." She said softly, "Would you like some?"

Roy nodded dully and Sharon kissed him softly between the ears before left the room, closing the door softly behind her. Roy stared sadly out the window at the sun shining brightly on a new day.

It's a morning Ratan will never see. Roy thought bitterly, Because of me.

Roy gripped his chair arm tightly, causing it to creak loudly under the pressure.

The sun room door opened softly and his mother returned carrying a tray of tea. Setting it on the small table between the two chairs, she poured Roy a cup and handed it to him. The cool ceramic mug was brown with a pattern of pink flower petals on it, part of a set that Roy's father had bought his mother for their first anniversary.

The chill of the ceramic was slowly overpowered by the heat of the tea and the warmth spread through his hands into his body, trying valiantly to chase away the chill that had gripped him since the night before. He took a sip of the tea; a lemon blend, and felt the lump in his throat grow slightly smaller.

Sharon poured herself a cup of the tea and sat in the neighboring chair. She reached over and gripped his hand, "Do you want to talk about last night?" she asked softly. |

Roy gripped his teacup, "I-I murdered someone." he said quietly.

Sharon gripped his hand tighter, "Was it in self-defense?" she asked.

Roy turned his head to look in her direction, "Does it even matter?! He's dead!" he snapped.

Sharon stared levelly at him "It does matter if you didn't kill him in cold blood. He was trying to take your life and you defended yourself."

Roy looked away from his mother, the lump in his throat had returned and his hands began to shake violently. A loud clatter made him flinch and his stocking feet were suddenly soaking wet. Looking down he faintly registered that he'd dropped his teacup, drenching his feet in tea. Sharon leapt into action, swiftly picking the teacup and using the blanket to mop up the excess tea.

"Mom?..." Roy choked out, causing his mother to look up. "I...Didn't mean to kill him," tears slid down his cheek, "I just l-lashed out…"

His mother set the teacup down and enveloped her son in her arms, "Shhh, it's okay Kitten, it wasn't your fault." she tried to comfort him.

"But it was!" Roy sobbed, "If I'd just fought normally, without showing off, He'd be battered and bruised, but he'd still be alive."

Sharon stroked his head, "Roy...tell me what happened." she said quietly.

Despite his tears, Roy managed to tell his mother what had occurred, sparing no details. As he finished, Roy gripped his mother like a lifeline. "The feeling of his ribs giving way beneath my hands…" he shuddered.

Sharon stroked his back, "Don't think about it anymore, what's done is done and we can't change the past."

A few minutes later, Roy released his mother from the hug and sat back in his chair.

"Sorry...About the tea" he apologized.

His mother ruffled his ears affectionately. "It's okay, at least the mug didn't break."

Roy held his hands in front of his face and watched them tremble "I feel like life keeps taking pieces of me...I don't know if I can put myself back together."

Sharon gripped his hands, "You won't have to try alone, you've got me, Ebony and the rest of your team to help you."

Roy looked into his mother's eyes, "Even if I-we succeed, I don't think I'll ever be the same."

Sharon kissed her son between the ears once more, "And that's not a bad thing. All of us, human and faunus, are molded by our experiences. You've made a mistake, but you'll learn from it." Sharon gently lifted his chin with her finger, "Just keep your head up. Remember your mistakes, but don't let them define you and strive to be better."

Roy nodded, "Thanks mom." he whispered.

She stroked his cheek gently, "You'll have a lot of sleepless nights in the future." she said sadly, "But it'll get better. Things never stay awful forever."

The motto I live by; "Things never stay awful forever." This was an interesting and challenging chapter to write, but I consider it one of the more important ones. It shows that Roy is Human (well, faunus) and that he understands the gravity of taking a life.

I hope you enjoyed the chapter. we only have 3 more to go!

Until next we meet,

-Ar3mRising.