"So, you want to be a huntress?"
Mayumi glances up, her dark eyes staring back at the steady gaze of the man sitting across from her. He pushes a teacup toward her, offering an easy smile. A single light hangs above their heads, casting heavy shadows across his thin face. In this lighting, the tired canyons and valleys that had settled across his countenance stand out. Mayumi would normally feel sorry for him, if sitting at this very table hadn't been the cause of so much stress.
In order to calm her nerves, she reminds herself of the care she had taken to prepare for this moment, and of how ready she is. Ivan's words rang in her ears.
So long as you look the part, playing it will be that much easier.
Before the interview, she had pulled her dark hair into a ponytail, no strand out of place. Special care had been given to the long, bushy tail that now twitches uneasily behind her, the brown fur that covered it groomed just for the interview. That morning, Pixie had helped Mayumi ensure that her outfit was on straight and without any unnecessary creases. However, this didn't stop Mayumi from fidgeting and adjusting the cropped jacket and shorts that made up her battle gear, right up until she sat down for the interview. She had hoped to wear something to cover up the criss-crossing scars that decorated her skin, but she didn't have anything better. Now, her scars were the last thing on her mind; it was too preoccupied with Ozpin's question.
"Yes. Yes, I do. I would like to help people," she rests her hands in her lap, breathing a sigh of relief. For a moment, she feels transparent, as if each lie, each act of this play she was about to perform, was going to be exposed. She felt as if right then and there she would fumble and disappoint everyone she's ever known! Chaos is resting on this little interview, and that weight sits heavy on her shoulders. But in that simple answer, the tension drains from her muscles and she flashes him a sweet smile.
"What a noble desire for someone so young," the man responds warmly, and without skipping a beat he continues: "It says here that you don't seem to have any official transcripts from any other academies. However, you didn't have any issues getting into my academy. In fact, you passed the entrance exam with a higher score than those who undertook the rigorous training that's usually needed."
Mayumi pauses, staring down at the steam rolling off the tea. She starts slowly, carefully, with a voice full of caution.
"Well…ah, I grew up as a traveler. We, uh, me and my friends, well, more like family…um, we encountered Grimm everywhere. We had to learn how to fight well, otherwise we wouldn't have made it this far."
"Hmmm, I see. Where are you from again, Miss Nise? Where is your family? They must be proud of your accomplishments,"
"I'm from Mistral, my mother and father were killed...a long time ago."
"I am very sorry to hear that, can you tell me what happened to them?" He leans forward with interest, raising a brow. Mayumi's smile falters as she reaches for something foggy, her eyes glossed as she struggles with the memory.
"Ah, Grimm attack on our village. My friend Pixie - she came here with me - she took me from the village after it happened. Please, don't feel pity for me, it happened when I was very young. I…I can barely remember it," she says with forced cheeriness, hoping to change the subject to anything else. Even if she couldn't remember her mother, or what had killed her, the subject was always one that struck the core of her heart. Whenever she tries to grasp at what had happened, it's as if she's spiralling into a dark hole filled with toxic gas, leaving her blinded and her skin burning.
Her words fall flat and the two of them dip into static silence. That awful pause is enough to make the air thick and Mayumi jittery. She stares down at her hands, which busy themselves with the hem of her shorts.
"Miss Nise, how did you get that brand on your stomach? It's quite different from your other scars," he asks. Mayumi's mouth goes dry. As rehearsed as her response was, the truth behind the butterfly brand burns in her mind even as she spoke. Of all her scars, the bite marks of her arms and the lashes down her back, this one held the most weight.
"The people of my village branded faunus. I-I'm sure that, as a professor, you know that still happens in Mistral." Her voice is winded as she fights to calm her desperate lungs.
"I am sorry to hear that. I only have a few more questions, we're almost done," he assures her in a kinder tone, noting her distress. "Mayumi, who are you?" he asks seriously, resting his elbows on the table, fingers interlocked.
She looks up in surprise. She wasn't expecting this sort of question. Her paperwork should state enough: she was Mayumi Nise, a sixteen year old girl, hoping to get into a prestigious huntsmen academy a year early.
"I'm Mayumi...I-I don't understand, you should already know that."
"No, no. That's your name. I'm asking who you are?"
"I- um, uh…well, that's… I don't…"
She stumbles over her words for a moment, only to be swiftly cut off by Ozpin. He starts speaking without skipping a beat, moving smoothly as if Mayumi hadn't even attempted an answer.
"Mayumi, have you ever killed anyone?"
She stares at him, eyes glittering as she feels his gaze scorch through her. His expression is relaxed, but within the depths of his brown eyes, she sees something sharp. Her tongue and inner cheeks go dry. She bites her lip, mustering her courage to meet the knife's edge that was his stare and defy it.
"No, Ozpin. I have not killed anyone." Mayumi has to force her eyes to stay locked on Ozpin's.
Ozpin chuckles, tension draining from the room as he leans back. Mayumi's tense chest deflates and she gives a tight smile. Ozpin extends his hand and she takes it, shaking it firmly just like she was taught to. His next words ring in her ears, hovering in the air around her until they become almost physical. As they settle in with her, she's finally able to truly smile.
"Welcome to Beacon Academy, Mayumi Nise. I hope by the end we both will figure out who exactly you are."