"And that's the match."

Professor Goodwitch watched as the two students that had volunteered returned to the waiting majority. Checking the time on her Scroll, the woman fiddled with her glasses.

"Alright, I believe we have time for one more bout." Scanning the sea of heads up in the stands, the teacher's eyes stopped upon noticing a pair of burnt orange fox ears poking out of the crowd. "Miss Autumn? You haven't sparred in a few days," Glynda suggested.

Rember shrugged and stood up. "Sure!" she smiled, making her way down to the floor.

"Would anyone like to volunteer to spar with Miss Autumn?"

More than a few people snorted with amusement and reluctance. Many of the other students had been shocked and overwhelmed by Rember's whips before and had no wish to repeat the experience. In fact, only a few people could hold their own against the fox girl, including her team. Professor Goodwitch was about to voluntell someone when an exchange student raised his hand.

"I will," he said with a confident smirk.

The class watched the young man stand up and make his way down to the arena. Many of the girls started whispering excitedly to each other, he was rather attractive, while some of the students sneered at the lupine ears on his head. Rember, on the other hand, didn't get a good look at her opponent until he reached her level, and when she did her spine stiffened.

The grey and black wolf ears should have given him away immediately, but it was the steel grey eyes that held Rember's attention. The fox girl's keen ears could hear the tittering of female students. They giggled about the exchange student's height, and his smile. Someone commented on his dark hair, and his handsome face. Despite all this, Rember was paralyzed because she knew that face...and it was almost exactly as she remembered it. The high cheekbones, the scar on his chin, the way his eyes looked her over mischievously, and the signature smirk he bore.

"Lupin..." she breathed, her own eyes wide.

She hadn't seen Lupin Grey since...no. She wouldn't think about that. Not now.

Rember swallowed and readied her weapons as Professor Goodwitch called out for the match to start. Across the floor Lupin drew his sword and gestured mockingly for Rember to make the first move.

Up in the stands Azure honed in on Rember's discomfort immediately. His partner was always loose when she fought, but she looked tense and stiff. Tapping into his empath ability he was surprised to find anxious fear emanating from Rember, and he leaned in closer.

In the ring below, Rember forced her apprehension down and tried to relax her muscles as she started circling Lupin. The tall boy's grey eyes never left her green ones, and eventually Rember sprang into action.

The fox girl gritted her teeth and lashed out with one of her whips, beginning a battle dance. Lupin dodged the blow and was quickly forced to evade Rember's second whip. By the time he recovered from that, his opponent had worked her way behind him and pounced on his back, Ashweave retracted back into baton form and reached for Lupin's throat. Anticipating the move, the wolf boy ducked and Rember flew over his head before tucking into a roll. Snarling silently, the girl came up in a crouch and bared her teeth.

"Nice moves, Bera," Lupin grinned, "my turn."

His sword, which had been hanging limply in his hand, split down the center, revealing itself to be a firearm as well. Rember's eyes widened as Lupin took aim, and just as he fired she back flipped away from the shot. She danced away from three more dust rounds and turned to face Lupin with a snarl. Rember called on her semblance and heated the claws of her weapons before twirling and sending Stormshatter towards her target. A flurry of blows drove Lupin back as Rember drew closer. Ashweave wrapped around Lupin's weapon and Rember took the opportunity to send a shock down the length of the whip.

Lupin shouted in surprise as electricity travelled through his sword (which was conveniently made of metal) and into his body. As the shock subsided Rember wrenched Lupin's weapon away and did a handspring, kicking Lupin in the chest before she landed. The taller faunus fell to the ground with a grunt, and Rember pounced. She landed on her fallen opponent's chest and held a wickedly clawed baton to his throat. Green eyes glared down into warm grey ones, and Lupin smiled infuriatingly.

"Victory goes to Miss Autumn," Professor Goodwitch announced.

A cacophony of applause filtered into Rember's ears and she shook her head, getting to her feet. Any other time Rember would have stayed to help her opponent up, but this time she stalked out of the arena as quickly as she could. Azure nudged Jad and Gayle as Glynda Goodwitch dismissed the class, looking after his partner worriedly.

"Come on," he muttered, concern pulsing through him.

The second half of KRME followed silently with bemused expressions as Azure led the way through the crowded halls. Every few minutes he referred to his empathic ability to find Rember again, but he was pretty sure he knew where she was going. As they searched, Azure mulled over Rember's odd performance during the bout. There had been something vicious about her attacks, with none of the usual flair that accompanied her battle moves. Watching Rember fight was often like watching someone dance, and there was a certain beauty to it. That had been absent today. Her movements had been jerky and uncoordinated, at least for someone of her skill level. Clearly her anxiety had invaded the ring and reflected in her motions.

It wasn't long before Azure could make out Rember's favorite spot on the initiation cliffs. Narrowed eyes searched the usual spots, but he couldn't see her anywhere. Still, his ability told him she was here somewhere.

"Why are we out here, Pasty?" Jad asked. "I really hope you're not expecting us to go flying again."

Azure ignored his friend, trying to pinpoint Rember's position.

"This is where Ber likes to hang out sometimes," Gayle informed her partner. "He's looking for her. Right?" she directed to Azure.

"Mhm," their leader confirmed, trying to tune out his teammates.

He heard a rustle in one of the trees and looked up to see a flash of orange. Raising an eyebrow he frowned and turned to Gayle and Jad.

"I'm going to stay here for a bit, see if she turns up. You guys go back to the dorm, she might be doing a kitchen raid or something," he said.

Gayle gave him an unimpressed and disbelieving look, but Jad nodded and nudged his partner along. As soon as they were out of sight Azure turned back to the trees.

"I know you're there, Rem," he called quietly.

A quiet sigh reached his ears and a moment later Rember landed lightly on the grass a few feet away. Her eyes were red, and she sniffed as she straightened to face her partner. She didn't say anything, but Azure eventually ventured a statement.

"You know him."

Rember nodded and wiped her eyes. "He was my best friend at Sanctum."

Azure's mind flashed back to the night Rember had told him about the White Fang trying to recruit her, and how the person who'd asked her had been her friend. "The one who tried to recruit you?"

Rember looked away self consciously, fox ears pressed back against her skull.

"He did more than that..." she mumbled, massaging her left shoulder uncomfortably. She met Azure's gaze sullenly and took a deep breath. "I haven't been... entirely honest with you," she admitted.

Azure tapped into his empath ability. Heavy apprehension hit him, along with an undercurrent of fear and reluctant resignation. His eyebrows drew together and he frowned.

"What do you mean?" he asked, confused by his partner's emotions.

Rember looked at the ground and Azure noticed that she was trembling. This was more serious than he thought.

"Rember, please talk to me."

The fox girl pushed her hair off her face and took a shuddering breath.

"I'm marked, Azure," she said after a minute, finally meeting his eyes again. "The White Fang...well, you know how they are. They were furious that I turned them down. They decided that since I wouldn't join them they needed to mark me, make sure future White Fang members knew what I'd done." She snorted. "They actually called it a crime. Anyway...they tattooed me."

Rember pulled her gear aside and Azure saw a black tattoo, like a silhouette of the shattered moon, resting on her left shoulder blade. Seeing it reminded him of his own accursed brand, painfully grafted into his chest.

"I still don't get it," he told her, "they could have done worse than that."

"They did," Rember said through gritted teeth.

Her sudden anger threw Azure off guard, and he noticed a wave of heat roll off his partner as her mood darkened.

"Rem, why're you-" he started to say, but a stronger heatwave hit him and the grass at Rember's feet started to smoulder.

"Have you ever wondered why I don't use Dust? Why I shy away every time Gayle asks if we'll help her test a new compound? Why I won't even try to use someone else's weapon if I know they use Dust to power it?" she demanded, her voice shrill.

Azure had wondered from time to time, but never put much consideration into it.

"Everyone knows how dangerous Dust can be. You can weave it into your clothing, or forge your weapon with it, or even wield it by itself," hot green eyes flashed and Azure felt himself take an involuntary step back. "Well the White Fang took it one step further with me! They grafted Dust into my skin! They mixed some kind of Dust in with the ink they tattooed me with and now I can't use the damn stuff without killing somebody!"

Tears rolled unchecked down Rember's cheeks as she finally let her secret out, and it occurred to Azure that she must have been hiding this for years.

Rember let out a gut wrenching sob and buried her face in her hands before falling to her knees. Her shoulders shook as she cried and the heat that had been emanating from her disappeared.

The tears in Rember's eyes kept flowing.

"I-I had no idea what they'd- what they'd done," she whispered brokenly, her head downcast, "if I had I nev-never would have...oh, Fuschia..."

Azure watched as she collapsed in on herself, hugging her knees to her chest and burying her face in them. The archer had never seen Rember like this. He'd also never heard her say the name Fuschia before.

"What happened?"

Rember sniffed, her voice muffled since she didn't lift her head when she spoke. "We were sparring, a few- a few days after, and I went to use the Dust and it should have just- should have just been a training shock but I- I…"

At this point her voice failed her and another wave of tears overcame the girl.

"Rem, I'm sure Fuschia knows you didn't mean it…"

"She doesn't."

The flatness of the statement took him by surprise.

"How can you know that?" he probed.

"Because she's dead."

Oh.

Oh.

For a moment Azure was at a loss for words. He'd never once considered that another member of his team might have been responsible for the death of a person. Not once. And for it to happen like that? He could only relate so much since every kill he'd carried out had been deliberate, no surprises.

And for it to be Rember…she tried so hard not to hurt people. Oh, she hid it behind sarcasm and dumb jokes, throwing up the strong front that many students knew her for, but her teammates knew her better. If her tone was misinterpreted or one of her jokes taken the wrong way she fretted over it for hours, if not days. The idea that she'd hurt someone hurt her almost as much, and she second guessed everything she did the next time she interacted with that person to ensure she didn't cause unintentional harm again. For her to be placed in the position of a killer had probably done just as much damage as the branding itself.

"Rem, it wasn't your fault. You didn't mean for-"

"It was my fault!" she argued, lifting her head and glaring at him. "I'm the one that dealt the killing blow!"

"Did you know that's what you were doing?" Azure shot back. "Or did you think you were sparring in a practice bout?"

Rember shook her head. "What I did or didn't think doesn't change the fact that if it weren't for me, Fuschia would be alive right now! I was the one holding the weapon, I was the one who hit that button, and I was the one that watched the light go out of her eyes!"

Irritation flashed through Azure.

"Stop it," he ordered.

Surprised by the abruptness of his tone Rember looked up and opened her mouth to deliver a scathing reply, only to be silenced as Azure's hand cut through the air.

"That's enough," he commanded.

Rember shut her mouth. Azure's eyes were heated, though he tried to convey concern as well.

"I'm not going to let you punish yourself over this," he stated, an angry undertone in his voice.

Rember stared into her friend's yellow eyes and wanted to hide. The memory of pressure around her throat was still too vivid in her mind to match his angry stare. She buried her face in her arms again, shoving down the fear that arose inside her. Recognizing the brief flash of fear that crossed her face, Azure took a deep breath to calm himself.

"Rember, please look at me," Azure asked as softly as he could.

It took a moment but she eventually complied, looking up at him with red rimmed eyes.

Satisfied that he had her attention, the young man continued, "I understand what you're feeling, and why you carry the blame for Fuschia's death, but this is not your fault."

"You weren't there, Azure, you don't know that," she mumbled.

Azure knelt down and placed a hand on Rember's shoulder, taking the girl by surprise. Her partner wasn't one to offer gestures of comfort like hugs or anything.

"I do know that, because it's the White Fang that marked you," Azure said. "They're the ones who did this to you, and they're the ones who should be brought to justice. Rem, as far as I'm concerned you aren't a killer."

Rember glanced away at his conclusion and shifted. "Yes I am. I just hide it better." Turning back to her partner she let an expression of such fury slip onto her face that Azure's eyes narrowed. "I bury it, but it's still there."

Observing the faunus with analytical eyes, Azure debated his next move. He wanted to help, not do or say something that might make it worse.

"Is that so? How do you know that?" He asked, hoping he could get more from her, keep her talking.
"What, you think I can't hide something like that?" Rember snorted and gestured towards Beacon. "Every single student at this school is a killer in one way or another. It looks different on every person, but if we were all incapable of killing we wouldn't be in this field. Grimm, humans, faunus, it doesn't really matter where you've come from or how you got here, if you haven't killed something or someone yet, you will at some point. I just happen to have done it already, and learned that I don't mind doing it in the right circumstances."

"Mmmm, alright, you do have a point," Azure admitted.

Every Huntsman and Huntress had to be prepared to take a life in this job, regardless of who, or what it belonged to.

"Rem, tell me this: have you taken a human life before? No faulty dust, no third party, it was by your decision alone," he asked carefully, steeling himself for what she might say.
Rember refused to make eye contact, staring at the ground. She crossed her arms over her torso and remained silent. That was all Azure needed, and a weight tugged at his gut.

Looks like we have a lot more in common than I thought.

Frowning in contemplative silence, an idea surfaced in Azure's mind. Choosing his next approach he pondered the best way to articulate his message.

"You know, killing another person is something I've known how to do for a long time. Hell, I had to, so I could live," he began.

Rember didn't appear to be paying much attention, but one of her large, triangular ears was angled towards him so he knew she was listening.

"Out of all the things I've learned till now one of the biggest is that killing Grimm and killing people are two very, very different experiences.
"I had my first kill when I had to save Wisty-Wisteria from a Beowolf during the 'sifting of the numbers', so to speak. I was only twelve," Azure reminisced, delving into his memories. "Though, twelve seems to have been the age for me 'cause that's when I had to take someone out too. At first it was surprisingly easy, but as I see it now killing monsters is different from killing people."
"It's terrible that you had to kill so young, but I'm afraid I don't agree with you on your last statement," Rember said, shaking her head sadly. "People are monsters, just like the Grimm. The only difference is that we are capable of kindness as well as evil."
Azure drew out a long sigh.

"And you really believe that?" He asked. "Then what does that make us, Rem? What does that make you, a person who's killed someone because you chose to? Or myself, who's taken the lives of adults and children without a second thought? What are we then?"

He concluded his statement with a firm tone, fighting to quell his emotions. He would not accept his friend punishing herself as if she'd committed the same crimes he had. She didn't deserve it!
Rember's eyes were hard as she stared into the distant Emerald Forest. "It still makes us killers, Azure. The only difference is that most of the time we don't let it define us," She replied, finally turning to meet her partner's gaze. "Azure, every time I'm in battle I aim to kill or incapacitate as quickly as possible. I always tell people that it's just my fighting style, that I don't want to get into a prolonged confrontation, and sometimes that's true, but most of the time?" She sighed, closing her eyes and rubbing her temples. "Most of the time it's because if I don't get it over with quickly, I'm afraid of what I might do."
Azure's eyebrows pulled together as he tried to deduce what she was saying. "What do you mean?"
The fox girl's ear twitched, the way it did when she was nervous. She looked away again, and started massaging her shoulder unconsciously. Azure realized that she did that a lot when she was in a rough spot. Now he knew why.

Rember let out a deep breath, "I have a morbid fascination with killing. I...oh, I don't even know how to explain this. I just...have this problem, I guess. When I'm in battle, I don't just want to defeat my opponent, I want to toy with them. I want to see just how far I can push them. I want to see how much pain I can cause before they finally crumble, and gloat as the resignation sets in, and the realization of how helpless they are enters their eyes!" A strange hunger appeared in Rember's own brilliant greens, and she shook her head irritably, squeezing them shut. When she opened them again her eyes were cold and indifferent. "If that doesn't make me a monster, I don't know what does. I can't control it all the time, and to be completely honest I don't always want to. It's exhausting to hold it back all the time."
Azure took his time processing the news. This was a whole new side of Rember he'd had no idea existed. After a moment the boy broke out into a quiet, dry laugh, Rember's cold gaze snapping to him.

"Heh, having bloodlust? Believe me, I know. I mean, look who you're talking to: the infamous 'Nightmare'," he joked half heartedly, trying to invoke some sort of positive reaction from Rember.

If it worked, he couldn't tell.

"See, Nightmare was the codename given to me while in Black Claw. And soon he became a part of me. First he was just a voice in my head when I was fighting, and he got louder whenever I lost control. But then he became an entirely separate persona, an entity that eagerly awaited bloodshed. And he's always been there, lurking in the back of my head and urging me to take it a step further when my opponent's on the ground…that last part sound familiar?" The half faunus asked dryly.
Rember maintained her silence, but Azure's empath ability told him she understood perfectly.
"Thought it would," Azure stated flatly. "Rem, believe me when I say that I know what it feels like to be scared of what we would do if we let ourselves off the chain." The boy scooted a bit closer, feline eyes focused. "I fight every day to keep my inner evils at bay, hoping that somehow, someday, I'll be free of this...this inner demon. I've let myself fall before, and it took too much to put me on the path of light. I know someone who has the exact same curiosity as you, Rem, and he's the same man that I have to stop because he has no problem with letting his twisted pleasures run rampant."

Azure paused, letting his last statement sink in.

"Rem, people can be bad, there's no denying that. But if you're just going to blindly assume that everyone is evil then why are you at Beacon?"
Rember picked at the grass in front of her with a frown.

"Because she would want me to be here," she whispered after a moment, her eyes watering.

She wanted to say more, but there was a lump in her throat. A familiar smiling face swam in her mind, and Rember found herself fighting a sob.

"I'm a monster, Azure, a murderer. I'm just trying to-to use that darkness in me to take down other monsters. Because she would want me to do that. But she was -she was always so scared of them...oh, what would she think of me now?" Rember gasped, letting the tears fall.

Shifting onto one knee, Azure frowned sadly.

"I don't know, Rem. I'm not her. I can guess though, 'cause I had a sister too, ya know?" he offered gently.

Rember's flooded eyes sparked with some emotion Azure couldn't read, and this time it felt wrong to use his empath ability on her.

"If it were my sister, I think she would've understood that I did what I had to in order to survive," the archer continued, "and regardless of all the unforgivable things I've done, she would have forgiven me in a heartbeat because that's just who she was. I meant the world to her, and nothing could ever change that. Heh, even when she was being a smart mouthed brat." Azure felt a nostalgic grin sneak on his face for a moment before recomposing. "I have no doubt that your own sister feels the same way. And I know she doesn't think you're a monster. I bet she loves you just as much now as when she left."
The streams around the girl's eyes flowed harder. "But I-" Rember started before Azure placed a hand across her mouth, silencing her.
"No. No more of that," Azure ordered gently. "You want to know what I see in front of me?" He asked.

The fox blinked and sniffed. Lowering his hand, Azure continued.

"I see a girl in pain. Someone who's gone through terrible trials and horrible losses. A girl who, in spite of everything that has happened, still has the strength to smile. A girl who carries the weight of other people's actions on her shoulders as punishment, and makes them three times heavier than they actually are.

"You're no monster, Rember. Monsters forget about all the evil they've done. Monsters relish the pain they create. You and I haven't forgotten. We feel guilty about what we've done. But most importantly: monsters don't cry for the wrongs they've committed."

With uncharacteristic gentleness Azure reached over and wiped away Rember's tears, shocking the fox girl. She stared at him with wide eyes, salty discharge still clinging to her lashes.

"How do you do it?" she asked, voice hollow. "How can you be so calm after all the wrong you've done?"
"Heh, I wouldn't say I'm calm," Azure chuckled, his eyes contemplative while he scratched the back of his head, "I guess I just choose to be this. It's either this calm or it's the opposite, Rem. The only advice I can give is to just keep doing all you can. That's all I can do. That's all anyone can do. Find a reason to keep living."

Getting to his feet, Azure brushed off his clothes.

"I'm also gonna ask you the same question I asked Lynn: Why are you a Huntress? If you can figure that out, I think you'll be able to find peace. Not just for what happened with your sister, but for everything."
Rember blinked, her eyes slowly shifting back to their usual light.

"What're your reasons?" she inquired, her voice also returning.
Azure responded immediately with a smile. "Honestly? Still not a hundred percent sure. But if I had to pick...To find redemption for my sins. And because I promised Lynn I would, and I don't plan on ever breaking that promise."

He offered his friend a hand, pulling her to her feet when she took it.

"As for why I fight as a Huntsman?" Azure said, smile widening. "I just feel like it's the right thing to do."
A familiar ringing sound went off, coming from Azure's pocket, and the boy pulled out his Scroll.
'Have news regarding Reaper. Come when available. ~Junior'
Eyes widening, Azure stuffed the electronic handheld back in its previous place. He could do that in a bit.

"Anyways, you have a lot on your mind, and I bet you want some space for a while. I've said my piece, so here," the boy placed a small pouch of Rember's favorite cookies in the fox girl's hands, closing them over the confectionery. "In case you get hungry while you're out here."
Rember's eyes looked down at her hands before flicking back up to a departing Azure.

"Where are you going?"
The boy turned around.

"Something's come up and I need to take care of it. Don't worry, I'll be back soon," he replied reassuringly. "Feel free to let me know when you've got your thoughts in order and we can practice my dancing or something!"

With that Azure turned back to Beacon, a smile on his face.

After a moment of looking between him and his gift, his partner managed a small smile as well.