Professor Ozpin, Headmaster of Beacon Academy, sits in his office at the top of Beacon Tower. His elbows are resting on his desk, fingers interlaced as he examines the numerous screens before him, the flashing colors reflecting in the lenses of his glasses.

"Tensions continue to rise as White Fang attacks increase in frequency and brutality."

"Support for the Purifiers grows as the White Fang..."

"A family of Faunus were found murdered in their home early this morning. Police suspect Purifiers are behind..."

"Another peace rally was ambushed by members of the extremist cult known as the White Fang."

"...Vale police still refuse to take action against the Purifiers..."

"As violence is met by more violence, one question remains..."

"The question on everybody's mind is..."

"Citizens can't help but ask..."

"Is Vale about to become a battleground?"

"How much longer before tensions finally snap?"

"Is war..."

"War..."

"War..."

"Is war imminent?"

"As we conclude our study of the Faunus wars, I would like to take a moment to reflect on the similarities of the events leading up to the first battles, and the events happening today. Any thoughts?"

Oobleck takes a sip from his thermos, waiting for a response.

"No volunteers?"

"Well," Cardin says from the back row, "like usual, it's the animals that started the whole thing."

"That's not fair." Blake says angrily. "The Faunus only felt the need to fight because humans denied them any semblance of equal rights."

"Oh please." Cardin scoffs. "We don't treat pigs with respect, how are the Faunus any different? They're animals. What's next? Are you gonna start asking me to get all chummy with Grimm?"

"Mr. Winchester." Oobleck says forcefully. "As usual, your mind shows the reflective ability of a broken mirror."

"Hey doc, even a broken mirror lets me check my hair."

"Perhaps, but it distorts the image." Oobleck responds.

"The only distorted image I see is why people are demanding we treat animals like they're worth something."

"Perhaps detention will help you fix your skewed perception. My office, this Saturday at noon. Everybody else, you're dismissed."

The classroom is filled with the sound of books being put away and notes being gathered as students stand and make their way out of the classroom.

"I swear," Blake says angrily, "one of these days Cardin's mouth is gonna get himself killed."

"Just try to ignore it." Jaune says. "He's a piece of crap. Guy's not worth worrying about. And besides, it's not like anyone'd miss him that much."

"Jaune." Pyrrha scolds.

"Don't get mad at him." Blake defends. "It's people like Cardin that make Remnant such a horrible place for the Faunus."

"I don't think that's fair." Weiss says. "I mean, I used to think a lot like him before I met you. I think behavior like Cardin's is just a symptom of a much larger problem."

Blake opens her mouth to say something, but she thinks against it, instead electing to look resolutely ahead. Entering their last class of the day, the two teams take their seats next to each other. Pyrrha places her things on the desk in front of her and looks to her left, staring at the empty seat with a small frown.

"Still no sign of (F/N)?" Ruby asks.

"No." Pyrrha shakes her head. "It's been three days. I haven't seen him since... well, I'm starting to get a little worried."

"Have you tried checking in on him?" Weiss asks.

"I didn't want to intrude." Pyrrha says quietly.

"Why don't you drop by his room after class." Yang suggests. "I'm sure he'd be happy to see you." She adds with a wink.

Just then, Professor Goodwitch enters the room and the class falls silent.

Three days ago (F/N) closed his curtains and locked himself in his room. He hadn't showered in that time and, keeping no food in his room, hadn't eaten either. He just couldn't go out. The nightmares which plagued him at night were getting worse. He'd never been a victim to PTSD before, but recently loud noises started triggering flashes of the war. It was just something about seeing Charlotte being gunned down that brought all these thoughts to the forefront of his mind. He needed to get away from it all, away from the noise of the outside world. So he locked himself away in a dark secluded room to deal with it. He just needed a little time, that was all. Just some time to compartmentalize. Shove it to the back of his head and in a few days, he'd be fine, passing it off as having been sick or something. Until then, he'd stay in this corner of his room.

A sudden knock at his door caused him to jump, his arm instinctively converting to its secondary configuration at the sound that his mind perceived as gunfire.

"(F/N)?" The visitor asked gently. "Are you alright?"

Pyrrha. (F/N) thought to himself, and he could physically feel himself relaxing at the sound of her voice.

"Can I come in?"

(F/N) gave a bit of thought to her question. On one hand, he could just remain silent and she would go away. After all, he really wasn't in the right mind for visitors. His hair was a mess and he had grown a bit of stubble over the past few days. What was more, he was currently huddled in a corner of a dark room with a large blanket around his shoulders. That probably wouldn't present the best image. On the other hand, Pyrrha always made him feel different. In a good way. Like he wasn't someone who had killed thousands of people. Just the fact that hearing her voice had the effect that it did said enough. He heard her sigh and her feet start to shuffle as she turned to walk away.

"It's unlocked." He said, loud enough for her to hear.

Sure enough, the door handle turned, and the wooden frame slowly opened as Pyrrha stepped inside, pausing slightly at the darkness of the room. Tuning on the light, she heard (F/N) hiss through his teeth as his heavily dilated pupils were suddenly bombarded by the sudden amount of light.

"Sorry." Pyrrha says, quickly shutting the light off.

Carefully crossing the room, she locates the lamp on (F/N)'s desk, turning it on. The small bulb illuminates the room enough for Pyrrha to see, but no so much that it hurts (F/N)'s eyes. Looking around the dimly lit room, Pyrrha is surprised to find (F/N) in the corner.

"(F/N)?" She asks in concern. "Is everything all right?"

(F/N) gives a noncommittal shrug and secures the blanket around his shoulders, pulling it closer. Slowly, Pyrrha approaches and kneels in front of him.

"Hey, are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

Pyrrha smirks and looks at (F/N) with a knowing look, taking in his unkempt hair and five o'clock shadow.

"Of course you are." She says skeptically. "That's why no one has seen you in the last three days."

"I just wanted to be alone." (F/N) says heavily.

"Why? Is everything alright?" Pyrrha asks again.

"Yeah, I'm good. I've just been having nightmares."

"About Charlotte?"

(F/N) looks up at her in surprise.

"I've been having them too." She says, moving to sit next to him.

"It's just... I keep seeing them. Every time I close my eyes all I can see is their bodies. And watching Charlotte die, it just brought back some bad memories."

"You know, you didn't have to burry her alone." Pyrrha says gently. "I could have helped."

But (F/N) shakes his head. "No." He says firmly. "I didn't want you to have to do that. Watching someone die is one thing, but burying them? I just didn't want you to go through that if you didn't have to."

"You sound like it's something you've done before."

Again, (F/N) shrugs. Pyrrha frowns. It's times like these that she feels like she doesn't really know (F/N). He was her friend, maybe even her closest friend, but there was something about him that made her feel like he was hiding something. Some big secret. Several minutes pass in silence, their breathing the only sound in the room.

"Why'd you let me in?" Pyrrha asks.

"What?"

"You said earlier that you wanted to be alone. So why'd you tell me the door was unlocked?"

"Because..." (F/N) says slowly, searching for the right words, "because you're different. Most people here are only here for themselves. It's written all over them, and no one can read it better than me."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean everyone here is looking to get something out of being a huntsman. People like Weiss who are only here to restore her family name. Or Yang, who's just looking for some thrill. Jaune wants to be a hero, Cardin's here for the glory, hell, even Nora and Ren are here to make a couple bucks, even if they don't know it themselves. With my semblance, I can see it all."

"Then why are you here?" Pyrrha asks. "Why bother putting up with them?"

"Because every once in a while, you get someone like you." (F/N) says simply. "You're not here for fame or glory. You already have that, and quite frankly, you detest it. And you're not here to play make believe or to get rich. You're here because you want to help people. Genuine altruism. It makes you special. That's why I put up with the rest of them."

(F/N) pauses to think, then turns his upper body so he's facing Pyrrha.

"Really though, I let you in simply because it was you. I really like you Pyrrha."

Pyrrha blushes, looking at her lap before saying quietly. "I really like you too."

(F/C) reaches across their bodies, gently cupping the far side of Pyrrha's face. Her breathing is choppy and her heartbeat sporadic. Her eyes flutter closed as the gap between them closes, tilting her head towards (F/N), her lips parting ever so slightly.

Just as their lips are about to meet, a loud knock comes from (F/N)'s door and the two jump apart.

"Pyrrha? You in there?" Jaune asks.

"What is it Jaune." Pyrrha says, both flustered and upset.

"Ozpin wants to see us. (F/N) too."

Pyrrha sighs in frustration. "Alright, we'll be with you in just a minute."

Hearing Jaune walk away, Pyrrha turns back towards (F/N) only to find he's not there. The sound of the shower starting causes her to frown. Sighing, she gets to her feet.

Really Jaune? Shethinks to herself as she walks back to her dorm. If only you could have waited another ten seconds.