When Roy woke up, the sun was shining through the window once more. The faunus sat up and yawned, lightly scratching at his cat ears.

Did I really sleep through the rest of yesterday? he thought, staring at the blue sky outside, I must've been wiped out.

Despite the kind words of his comrades, a cloud of guilt still hung over him. Normally, this would've made a night's sleep difficult and the soundness of his sleep spoke to just how exhausted he'd been. The aches and pains from the previous day's battle were mostly gone, leaving only a dull throbbing in his back. Standing up, Roy stretched and took a deep breath through his nose. He promptly gagged as the stench of sweat and blood assaulted him. It clung to him like a musk, making him realize that he'd neglected to shower the day before.

"You're such a mess Arashi," he growled, grabbing some fresh clothes and heading toward the bathroom.

He reached the shower without running into anyone and slipped inside, tugging his shirt over his head as the door closed. His pants were stained with black grimm gunk and blood. But, they could still be washed, so he threw them into the wicker basket. The blue undershirt, on the other hand, was completely unsalvageable. He threw it in the small trash below the sink, making a mental note to buy a new one in Argus. Taking a quick look in the mirror,

Roy realized he'd developed a very noticeable five o'clock shadow over the past few days. I'll have to buy a razor in Argus, I hope no one minds the scruffy look. Grumbling quietly to himself, he turned away and resumed undressing.

Half an hour later, Roy re-entered his bedroom, shutting the door behind him. The stink of battle was gone, replaced by the smell of lavender and his hair was combed back. He was wearing a dark grey undershirt and a pair of blue jeans, his last set of clean clothes.

I really need to buy more clothes, he thought, looking down at himself, too bad I don't have the funds for it.

Pulling his sheets back, Roy slid Μόνος out from where she lay. Sliding the her from her sheath, he found that she was quite dirty from the day before. Blood from the guard's wound still clung to the blade and black slime stained the rest, leaving only a small amount of the blade untouched. Roy shook his head sadly at the state of his weapon.

"Sorry girl," he murmured, grabbing something wrapped in leather and a small ceramic bottle from his pack, "I'll get you cleaned up."

With the sword cradled lovingly in his arm, Roy left his room and descended the stairs. The great hall was empty, meaning that breakfast had come and gone as he slept. The faunus was partially thankful for this; he wasn't sure if he was ready to face Coal just yet. Slipping out of the town hall, Roy quietly made his way towards the front gate.

He walked at a measured pace, allowing the sun to soak into his faunus ears. The streets were calm, only a small number of people moving to and fro along the main avenue. Passing through the front gate, Roy took a left into the forest. He moved through the trees, his boots making no noise in the woodland floor as he walked.

His ears swiveled in all directions as he noticed that sound had returned to the woods. Birds sang in the trees, crickets chirped in the long grass and squirrels could be heard moving through the undergrowth. The sun filtered through the gaps in the leaves, casting beautiful patterns on the ground. Roy took another deep breath, reveling in the wave of fresh air that dominated his senses.

He suddenly came upon a small clearing with a stretch of river passing through it. The sound of the water trickling over the rocks filled air, banishing the last cobwebs of fatigue from Roy's body. A large tree had fallen across the river, creating a natural bridge over to the opposite bank.

He eventually found a clear section of the bank and sat down, laying the leather bundle on a patch of soft moss. Unwrapping the crimson chord that kept the bundle closed, Roy unrolled it to reveal a cleaning kit. It had been a gift from his mother, one of the little surprises she'd slipped into his pack before he left.

The faunus selected a small wire-bristle brush and poured a small amount of oil from a ceramic jar onto the blade. With the weapon in his lap, he began to stubbornly scrub at the blood and ooze coating his weapon. Μόνος' blade was tough to clean due to its segmenting blade. The individual segments created numerous little places for filth and grime to hide. So, once he'd finish scrubbing the surface clean, Roy shifted the blade into its whip form.

The blade now laid out before him, he set to cleaning each and every one its segments. After he finished cleaning her, Roy applied a light coating of oil to each of the interlocking parts so they wouldn't stick. Returning Μόνος to her standard form, the faunus dipped his rag into the stream and wiped the weapon down.

Once the blade gleamed proudly in the sun once more, Roy turned his attention to the gun part of his weapon. He gave the pommel a brisk twist and pulled the barrel free of the handle. Pulling a second brush from the kit, he inserted it into the end of the barrel and scrubbed the inside. A large amount of grime came with the brush as he pulled it back out and dipped it into the stream to rinse it off. Wiping down the barrel with a clean rag, he laid it down on the bank to dry.

Moving on to the interior mechanisms, he made sure the firing pin was undamaged and still responsive. Finally dabbing a small amount of oil on the trigger to keep it from sticking, he carefully slid the barrel back into place and secured it with a brisk twist.

Laying the weapon down beside him, Roy packed away his cleaning kit and stoppered the bottle of oil. He settled back on the bank with a sigh, allowing the sound of the river to soothe him. For the first time in days, his mind felt as calm as a still lake.

The calm was broken as his keen ears picked up the sound of footsteps approaching from the opposite bank. A few moments later, Edel Veiss stepped out from behind a tree. Her hair was tousled and she had circles under eyes; both signs of a sleepless night. Roy sat up and watched her walk toward the river, her silver eyes burning into him. Her sword hung at her side, her fingers wrapped around the handle in a white-knuckle grip. She stopped on the opposite bank, glaring across the water at him.

Roy stood and offered her a small bow, "Mrs Veiss, I…"

"Stop." The older woman cut him off, "I will speak my peace."

Roy shifted uncomfortably under the bandit's intense gaze, but he nodded and gestured for her to continue. Edel let out a shaky breath and sat down on the bank, her hand gently plucking a small wildflower beside her.

"We buried Morado yesterday." She said, plucking the petals off of the flower one by one as she continued, "it made me go over the past few days to find just where everything went wrong." She crushed the flower in her hand, her eyes glinting dangerously, "The answer I came up with was you. The moment you showed up, you ruined everything! You broke an agreement that's been around for almost 80 years, you put everyone in the village in danger and yet you still got to be the hero!"

Angry tears were dripping down Edel's face, her body shaking with sobs, "Why do you get to live?! Why is everyone still on your side?"

The faunus felt every one of her words like a punch to the stomach. His hand clenched beside him as the bandit matriarch continued, "I could kill you. Gods, I honestly want to kill you. But...I...can't."

Roy forced his face to stay passive as he spoke, "Why not? I won't defend myself."

Edel clenched her fists, her hands shaking, "Because as he was dying, Morado asked me not to." Roy's eye widened as Edel roughly scrubbed her hand across her eye and sniffed, "Well? What do you have to say for yourself?!"

Roy stood silently for a moment, doing his best to gather his thoughts. "I could say I'm sorry for your loss," he began, "I could say how guilty I feel about everything. But I know that's not what you want to hear."

The faunus crossed the log bridge to join the bandit matriarch on the opposite bank. He sat down next to her, watching the sun light dance across the moving water. "I never wanted to be a hero," Roy said quietly, "I simply wanted to change the world in whatever small way I could." He sighed, picking at the grass between his feet, "As good as my intentions are, I've failed more times than I've succeeded. I've lost friends and hurt others." He glanced at Edel, "I can't tell you why my friends stay with me, that's something you'd have to ask them."

The bandit matriarch played with her sword's handle as she listened. "Have you ever gotten revenge...real revenge on someone?" she breathed, her silver eyes glinting dangerously.

Roy raised his hand, showing Edel the pale scar on his palm, "There was someone who hurt my team, left us for dead, and burned our school. I wanted to make him pay so badly, but I've never gotten the chance."

Edel's eyes narrowed, "Given the chance...would you kill him?"

The faunus shook his head, "No. I've seen what revenge can do to someone. Revenge is a dead end, full of hate and despair. A friend of mine was consumed by that hatred and died because of it. He didn't get the chance to change, to move on." Roy clenched his hand and felt his knuckles pop, "but we've still got that chance. To turn our backs on revenge and live a better life." The faunus reached out his hand to Edel once more, "The chance to find our own closure."

The angry light in Edel's eyes slowly died away, replaced by the bright glimmer of tears, "But how do I do that? How do I find closure like that?"

Roy looked at the ground, his ears drooping sadly, "If I knew the answer, I would tell you."

Edel studied him carefully for several seconds before standing, brushing the grass from her cloak. "Come with me," she said softly, motioning for the faunus to follow. He stood and trailed after the bandit, consciously feeling Μόνος' absence at his hip.

They walked in silence for several minutes, the only sound being their footsteps. Eventually they reached a small clearing with a clear pool in the center. On the bank of the pool was a large willow tree that extended out over the water, allowing the sun to cast beautiful patterns across the surface. Edel gently pushed the curtain of boughs aside and motioned for Roy to go first.

The faunus did as he was bid and passed through the provided opening. The trunk of the tree was an ancient knotted affair that was almost twice as thick as Roy's waist. Between two large roots was a plot of freshly disturbed earth. A large white stone was placed at the head of the plot, the sun filtering through the willow's branches gleaming off of its pitted face. Edel stepped around Roy to kneel at the foot of the grave, bowing her head as she gently laid her hand on the fresh earth.

"This is Morado's grave?" Roy asked softly.

The bandit matriarch nodded, a quiet sob wracking her frame. She looked smaller to Roy than she had a few minutes ago, frailer even. He stepped forward and knelt beside her, not knowing exactly what to do. He simply sat beside Edel and listened to her softly cry.

After a while she turned to him, wiping her eyes on the corner of her sleeve. "After we buried Morado yesterday evening. I stayed here all through the night and into the morning. Every time I felt like I'd cried all the tears I could cry, a fresh wave would come. But I can't let grief hold me down, I am one of our tribe's leaders and I must lead by example!" The way she said this sounded as if she was trying to convince herself.

Roy reached out and gently gripped the bandit matriarch's shoulder, "But you are a mother first. You are allowed to grieve and take your time."

Edel stiffened under his touch and Roy half expected her to slap his hand away, but she allowed his hand to remain where it was.

"I know I need to be better than I was," the faunus murmured, "otherwise something like this could happen again." He stood and drew his plasma bayonet, sliding the unactivated blade across his open hand. The sharpened blade emitter cut his hand deeply, allowing dark blood to swiftly pool in his palm.

Squeezing his hand closed, he felt the blood trickling through his fingers as the pain caused him to clench his teeth, "I swear on your son's grave, that I will never let another person die because of my carelessness. I will work to better myself and become exactly the sort of huntsman I should be." He held out his hand to the bandit, looking her full in the eye, "This is my vow and promise."

Edel stared evenly back at him, tears still trickling down her cheeks, "I will hold you to that vow Shiroi Arashi. When you come back, I will ask your companions what sort of man you've become. If I don't like the answer, I will kill you." Edel drew her sword and slashed her own hand, holding it out to accept Roy's offered hand, "This is my vow and promise."

The two shook hands, their blood mingling and dripping onto the freshly turned earth. They released each other, allowing their auras to activate and swiftly heal the cuts.

Edel held Roy's gaze for several more seconds before settling back down beside the grave, "I hope you plan to leave soon, you have much to make up for."

Roy nodded, "Believe me, I know."

The bandit matriarch nodded silently back, her eyes remaining fixed on Morado's grave.

Roy offered Edel a small bow and turned away, gradually making his way back to the river. As he picked Μόνος up, his mind turned back to Ronin. I wish things ended differently between us, he thought sadly, But like mom said, 'what's done is done and we can't change the past.'

Gently clipping Μόνος back to his waist, Roy turned and headed back towards the village. The weight on his shoulders seemed lighter somehow and a breeze played over his face as he walked, I won't let your death be in vain Morado. I will be better...whatever it takes.

Not going to lie, I actually researched blade and gun cleaning techniques for this chapter. This was another chapter that was hard for me to write. I literally rewrote parts of it as I reformatted it. I hope it comes out how I intended.

Catch you later!

-Ar3mRising.