Nero's POV

Treating the injury to the child's chest had been no easy task. In an adult, it would have been a tricky procedure, to begin with. This just was not something he ever had to deal with in the small town. Most of his patients came from the local farms or a random huntsman here or there injured by Grim. The wound before him had not been made by Grim but instead by man. It made him sick to think someone could do this to someone so young.

The huntsman had done a good job in his first aid. If he was honest with himself Nero was surprised at how well it was bound. Even in a rush it was thought out and executed perfectly.

Carefully he pulled away the bandages to assess the wound fully. It has stopped bleeding recently but still looked raw and angry. He would need to clean both sides to ensure the wound didnt get infected. Checking the muscles and ligaments only took a moment. Pleasantly surprised he found that with time to heal there wouldn't be any damage to them.

Whoever shot the child aimed to incapacitate not kill. With the cane, he had seen on the back of the huntsman he had to assume the child at least had some skill. It was obvious the cane wasnt the huntsman's after all.

A frown crossed Nero's face from the lack of aura return. It had been a few hours from when the child's aura broke. At this point, it should have recharged enough to start the healing process without conscious prompting.

If his aura was not reacting that meant there was something else wrong. Unfortunately for the doctor to find out would mean using his semblance.

:This was going to pleasant,: he thought sarcastically.

Aura read was what he called his semblance. As a passive semblance, it was always active so he had to be careful about touching other people. It allowed him to assess the damage done to a person's aura and in turn their body. This was something passed down through his family on his father's side. Though the last person in his family that had it was his great grandfather.

It was said that despite his age he served in the Great War as a doctor. Aura read had labeled him a war hero and their family was still talked about to this day. It was the reason no one knew his last name. Telling people would only bring more questions than he was comfortable answering.

Pulling off his gloves he placed his hand around the child's wrist. His grey aura surrounded them both for a mere instance before retracting immediately. Breaths coming in ragged gasps he staggered back so that he was leaning against the far wall.

Never in his time as a doctor had he ever come across a soul in such a state. From the brief glimpse at the aura, he could see why it had not recharged yet. It couldn't. More than half of the child's soul was gone, forcefully torn from his body. Nero before now didnt think it was possible.

When someone's aura broke their soul remained intact, just weakened. For this to happen was something entirely new. To tear at someone's soul should have killed them. It was a miracle that the child was even still breathing.

He knew it was unlikely that this boy would wake up again. Wounds of the body can be recovered from. To only have half a soul no one could live like that. Even if they did their hold on life would be very tenuous at best.

Running through his memories he remembered the rumors of a semblance being able to tear its user's soul into pieces. Not ones as dramatic as this but similar in theory. If rumors were to be believed it was part of an Atleasian military project. To heal the soul would require someone in close relation. Possibly a sibling or parent.

Could it work in the same way here? If so they were short on time and he would need the huntsman's connections. There was a chance the kid had a connection to one of the academies despite his age. If he did they might find a parental record.

Otherwise, they would need to find the next of kin for him. Something about the child though felt familiar. Instinct told him that he knew this one. Who he was though eluded him.

Carefully he retrieved his gloves and put them back on. Unless he couldn't help it he did not want to do that again. That was absolutely terrifying. He would need a blood sample from the child to have a chance at this.

Pulling open a drawer he grabbed one of the syringes he kept for just such an occasion. It only took a moment for him to find a vein and draw the required blood. He would ask the huntsman to use his connections. If he tried to go through the system using his computer it would take weeks. That kind of time wasnt something this boy had and he wanted to ensure they at least tried to save him.

Returning to the main room he found the huntsman nursing a cup of coffee a distant look clouding his amber eyes. It seemed he was not the only one who had trouble sleeping. What he had to say would not help the man out either. In fact, it would likely haunt Nero for the rest of his life. The screams of the child's aura still rang in his ears.

It took a moment but the huntsman came back to himself. Once he noticed Nero he questioned, "How is the child? What is the blood for?"

He took a deep breath to center himself and began into the explanation. Disbelief crossed the man's face followed swiftly by horror. Then he agreed to help. Both could only hope that they would make it in time.

Ozpin's POV

A peaceful day was rare for one such as himself. As the Headmaster of one of the best huntsman academies there always was something that required his attention. As annoying as it was he preferred it to the wars of previous generations. Still quiet bothered him in ways that he couldn't explain.

The day before had been peaceful and allowed him to relax his guard. He should have known it was too good to be true. Early the next morning two teams had gotten into a brawl leaving three people in the infirmary. Punishing them was left to him thanks to Glynda having been gone at the time.

After that was dealt with he received a mountain of paperwork from a returning Glynda who seemed to get pleasure from his misery.

Ozpin lifted a hand to rub tiredly at his eyes barely withholding a groan. This was not a good start to his day and instinct told him it would only get worse from here. Who had he offended this time to deserve such punishment?

As if the Gods heard his thoughts his scroll buzzed. Barty's name and number appeared causing him to start in surprise. The historian wasn't one to call when on a mission no matter how small. Either he was on his way back or something had gone wrong. Ozpin silently hoped for the former he really didnt need an injured professor on top of everything else.

He answered his tone carefully neutral ignoring a second ping from the huntsman database, "Barty what can I do for you? How goes the hunt?"

Bartholomew "Barty" Oobleck was Beacon's resident historian. Many of the other academies wanted him to be on their payroll but he had accepted a position at Beacon along with Peter. Both were renowned hunters in their specialties. Ozpin had considered more than once bringing them into the fold. His agreement with the current group though would not allow for it unless there was a majority vote. To date, they wanted to keep it to a minimum number in order to prevent leaks.

He agreed to a certain point but if they all were killed he would be left alone again. To start a new group without the aid of those who fought by his side for years. Not something he wanted to go through again if he could help it.

Barty hesitated something that had Ozpin sitting up just a little straighter before he said, "Ozpin something unexpected happened last night. What would later be identified as a falling person showed up as a green light falling from the sky," as Oobleck recited coordinates he searched on his computer for reports.

Sure enough, there were reports of similar sightings all across Mistral. Haven and surrounding towns had sent huntsmen to investigate but it was too early to tell. Most likely it was a criminal with their aura unlocked. Not unheard of for criminals to betray and try to murder each other after all.

He wondered if the ping from the huntsman database was in response. Unlikely he decided a moment later. Leo wouldn't bother him with such a thing unless it had to do with Salem.

His interest turned to confusion and mistrust. Someone had run blood samples against his. With a little digging only half listening to Barty's explanation on how he found a child he found that the test hadn't been just against his blood. In fact, it had gone through the entire huntsman database in both Vale and Mistral.

For a moment he considered trying to trace where it had come from. Barty's words however were what stopped him.

A chill went down his spine when Barty said, "Ozpin the child is yours according to the blood test we took. According to the Mistral police file, it was brought up when I ran it through their database he is Oscar Pine, just turned 12 years old a few weeks ago. His mother was Cynthia Moon who was murdered by Grim four years ago along with her husband. Up until two months ago, the child had been living with his adoptive father's sister when he up and disappeared."

Cynthia Moon that was not a name he had thought about it more than ten years. She had been a waitress at a local diner that in Mistral when he was on a mission. The mission went on longer than expected and he ended up getting attached. She knew he was a huntsman and that he was only there for a short time. It was never supposed to be anything more than a brief romance.

When he left to return to Vale she had been heartbroken. It was only now thinking back on it that he realized she had fallen head over heels for him. Feelings that he couldn't return in full as his heart wasn't in it. It was why he tried to ensure everyone knew what they were getting into.

Barty continued bringing him back to the present, "What the doctor found when examining Oscar's aura shouldn't have been possible. Ozpin he has less than half a soul and..."

"He needs aura from a family match to have a chance at survival," finished Ozpin.

It had only happened a few times in history. Salem destroyed souls in order to get back at him. Ozpin had been careful in hiding the truth but a person with the semblance aura read would be able to tell. Now he knew why they contact him. He was the only one with a close enough match for their plan to have a chance.

It will take him four hours to get from Beacon to the coordinates. If luck was on his side then he might just make it in time.

Decision made he said, "I'll leave for Mistral immediately. Whether I knew he was alive or not I cannot abandon him again."

"We will be waiting for you, Headmaster," and the line clicked dead.