Roman woke the next morning to find the young girl out of bed. Her small frame somehow possessed a great warmth that comforted him while he slept, and even in his sleep, he knew it was missing. The teen stumbled out of bed, his eyes trying to tear through the crusty glue that held them together, worse today due to his crying in the night. His orange hair was matted and greasy, telling him he really needed a shower. It had been a while since the two of them had been physically clean since water wasn't available in the abandoned section of the city.

Roman pawed his eyes, scraping away the crust, a yawn taking over his mouth. Padding through the apartment, he entered the kitchen and living room, only to find his savior not there, nor was she on the balcony that protruded out of the living room. He searched the rest of the apartment even though he found it unlikely she be in any of the other bedrooms, but she could not be found.

A claw clutched Roman's chest slightly. He quickly slipped on shoes before hurrying out of the building in search for his companion. He shouted her name but received no reply, but he knew she would come for him if he called. The fact that she didn't tightened the clutch on Roman's chest.

Maybe she went into the city, Roman thought. I could check the city and get us new clothes while I'm doing it.

The worried boy practically ran all the way to the wall that enclosed the city of Vale. Their way into the city was a tiny hole in the wall settled near the ground, barely big enough for Roman to squeeze through. Soon he wouldn't be able to fit in it any longer.

Roman wiggled through the hole into the beautiful city that betrayed him. He didn't want to draw attention to himself, but it was hard to do so when he was a boy in great need of a shower and new clothes. He decided clothes and a shower were a priority to lessen the attention he drew to himself.

The boy found a new clothing store and wandered inside. The clerk was an older man of gray hair, his eyes pinched shut as if he were about to loll off to sleep at any moment. Roman nearly chuckled with his luck. This would be easy.

Slowly making his way through the racks of clothing, he found a pair of jeans for both him and Neo. Feeling particularly gutsy today, Roman grabbed another pair for each of them as well before making his way to the shirts. Slightly blushing as he crossed the undergarments on his way there, he grabbed underwear for the two of them as well. Choosing a plain white shirt and another plain black for himself, he struggled to find shirts small enough to fit the tiny girl. Wandering further into the store, he crossed a line of backpacks, pulling one into his hands. That would be useful for sneaking the clothes out considering he had quite a bit.

He finally came across shirts for Neo, and he chose a plain purple before setting his eyes upon a light blue shirt with a kitten on it that said "Meo!" Roman chuckled to himself and hauled it into the pile on his arm. She would hate him for it, but he thought it was adorably hilarious.

The boy made his way to the very back of the store to stow away the clothing, but as he stuffed the clothing into the bag, he glanced up at a glowing pink before him that caught his eyes. A small dress, small enough to fit his tiny companion, was neatly placed on a hanger. The color radiated a soft pink, and around the waist was a ribbon of white and brown swirl. It reminded him of the girl, of her delicate beauty, and he knew he had to get it for her. He couldn't wait to see what she thought of it as he hastily ripped it off the hanger and stuffed it into the bag with the rest of the soon to be stolen goods.

Quietly making his way to the front of the store again, Roman took a long look at the store clerk before realizing he was asleep, a drip of drool slipping from the corner of his mouth. Smiling at his luck, Roman slipped out of the door unconfronted and hurried away from the store he had just pillaged.

Retreating into his mind, Roman routed out the nearest bathroom. There were community bathrooms in Vale just in case, but they were scarce and spread thin throughout the city. The internal map Roman held in his brain depicted the nearest to be four blocks away, actually close to him. He set off in that direction, keeping his eyes open for the pink and brown-haired girl. Of course he didn't find her, but at least he would be clean.

Despite his great desire to stay in the shower for as long as possible, the claw that held his chest wouldn't allow him to do so. He hurried in his shower, but as long as he was clean, he didn't really care. What he really cared about was finding Neo.

Dressing in some of his freshly stolen clothing, Roman set out on his search of Neo, finally ready to tear the city apart to find her. She was his only friend, his only tie to socialization. If she was gone, he might as well be too. He couldn't bear the thought of her abandoning him; it was just too hard to grasp, and he nearly started to tear up at the mere thought of it.

Roman scoured the city, searching anywhere the young girl could be. The fact, though, was that the city was just too large. He would never be able to find her.

As daylight started to recede, Roman decided he would go home. Maybe she was waiting for him there and had made her own way home. Dejectedly, the boy gripped the straps on his backpack and forced his exhausted legs in the direction of his dirty, run-down home.

"Roman? Roman Torchwick?" a familiar voice said in disbelief.

His eyes widening, Roman's head slowly moved toward the voice. His eyes registered an old friend from Signal when he had attended, and Roman nearly bolted.

"It is you! Where have you been?!" the boy exclaimed.

The friend Roman had made had an unusual color of green hair, paired with his name, Loden. The two had helped each other in their first year of combat school. That is, until Roman didn't come back.

"We heard that your parents had died, and we were worried you had too, but nobody could find any evidence that you had or hadn't," Loden bursted out in his usual manner. "Are you okay? Why didn't you come back to Signal?"

Roman looked at the ground before answering his old friend. Even though he knew he shouldn't say anything about his situation, he couldn't help but relay bits of it to his good friend.

"After my parents died, I wasn't sure what to do," Roman started, not daring to look into Loden's brown eyes. "I-I didn't have any money, and I thought, without money, I couldn't attend combat school anymore. So I hid out."

Loden's eyes widened. "Roman, you can still attend it without money. The headmaster will allow you to continue at Signal. He told me."

"He did?"

Pink creeped into Loden's cheeks as he eyed his shoes. "He hoped I would see you sometime so I could tell you. He knew we were friends."

Loden paused on the last word, almost as if he were questioning the status. Roman could feel heat crawl into his face as well. He knew exactly why his friend had done so, but Roman didn't dwell on it.

"So, will you come back to Signal?" Loden asked. His right foot twirled around his left, drawing a semicircle, his nervous tick.

Roman looked to his right, gazing at the street that was laid out before him.

"Meet me back here in a week, and I'll have an answer," Roman said.

"The year's already started though. It'll already be hard to catch up."

"A week. That's all I need. I have to think about it."

"Okay, Roman. I'll be here in a week, same time. I'll arrange transportation."

The two boys looked each other in the eyes, an understanding passing between them. Roman needed time to think, and Loden knew a change in heart about being a huntsman had taken place.

"I should go," Roman said awkwardly, turning to leave. Before he could, Loden smashed into him with a hug, sucking the air out of Roman's lungs and helping the claw around his chest tighten.

"I'm glad you're okay," Loden said quietly.

The two boys stood still for a moment, and Roman wrapped his arms around the green-haired boy. It was a moment of safety for Roman, something he hadn't felt in a while besides next to Neo, and he relished it, wishing it would never end. It did though, and his friend wandered off, waving and promising to be there in a week.

Roman continued his journey home, contemplating the situation that had been laid before him. He had loved his time at Signal Academy; it was the first step in becoming the huntsman he hoped to be. That had changed, though, the day his parents died. Yes, it was true he didn't know if he was still allowed to attend, but he also wasn't sure he wanted to be a huntsman anymore. The man that had watched his parents die led him to this change of heart, and if that's what huntsmen were like, he didn't want to become one.

On the other hand, if he was a huntsman, he could rid the kingdoms of scum like the awful huntsman he knew, in addition to the slaying of the dark creatures of Grimm. Roman loved the idea of it, and he nearly turned back to tell Loden at that moment, that yes, he would return to Signal, but Roman knew he should think it out more. He also had more to think about than just himself; there was a young, unusual girl he had to care for as well. What would happen to her if he left?

As Roman neared his home, he once more glanced about his surroundings for the girl, but she wasn't seen. He hoped she was waiting for him in the apartment, angry and about to scold him for worrying her, but as he entered the apartment, she was still nowhere to be found. His chest clutched more, now starting to slightly affect his breathing. Trying to keep his mind off his missing friend, he made himself a sandwich and half-heartedly ate it even though he was starving from his search.

After his small meal, he aimlessly wandered the apartment, half in hope that the girl would appear, half in boredom of what he should do. He really did miss his life at combat school where he was always busy with class and studies and friends. Here, all he could do was lay around their apartment or wander around Vale.

When the sun had long ago set and the crystalline, shattered moon was high in the sky, Roman finally realized how tired he was. Even though he wanted to stay awake and hope for Neo to show up, he also desperately needed sleep. He lay in their bed, telling himself he would stay awake until she came home, but his eyes fluttered close too soon.

However long later, Roman didn't know, he awoke to the tiny, warm body climbing into the bed and hovering next to him.

"Neo?" he croaked out, still half asleep.

A small, familiar hand settled on his arm, and he smiled. She was finally home. The claw holding his chest released, and Roman sighed with relief for both.

"I searched for you all day," Roman murmured, his eyes fluttering close again. He refused to fall asleep until he was sure she was okay, though, and he forced himself to sit up and look at her.

"Are you okay?" he asked her, barely able to see her in the dark. It didn't help that she daren't look him in the face, and she slowly shook her head.

"What's wrong?"

Roman stroked the young girl's greasy yet beautiful hair, wishing she could speak in order to tell him why she had gone.

The girl looked up at him, and even in the dark, her eyes radiated white so bright that Roman nearly gasped. He had longed to see her eyes that way again, but not this way. Not when Neo was frightened so much that she was shaking. She pointed to herself and then her head, and Roman immediately understood her unspoken communication.

"Your worst memory?"

She nodded and held up three fingers.

"Three? Three what? Years?"

Her hair bounced up and down with her head.

"Are you ready to tell me now?"

Neo hesitated. She looked down at her hands, cloaked in darkness. She refused to meet Roman's green eyes for what seemed forever to him, but finally, her white eyes slid to his, and her head slightly tilted up and down.