(F/N) POV
During our walk around the fairground we spoke quietly to each other and avoided Qrow, Mercury told me about him, and from Emerald's reaction he could be a problem. While we walked I also thought about what to do next, while we all agreed to keep our heads low now that Ozpin knows that I had contact with Salem, I couldn't help but feel there was something I could do. Then, as I watched a child run by pretending to be a Beowolf, an idea popped into my head, and a smile found itself on my face.
The thought must have brought me an odd sense of joy, I told Emerald and Mercury that I had enough fun for one day and was going to head back, I didn't tell them the truth in case they thought I'd double-cross them. Heading to Ozpin's office I thought of ways to convince him I was on his side, when I walked in he seemed to tense up slightly, him and Ironwood were in the middle of discussing something it seems, I walked up to the desk and stood beside Ironwood.
Ozpin: "Mr. Light, is there something you need?"
(F/N): "I was thinking... can I join you?" Ozpin looked at Ironwood.
Ironwood: "And why exactly do you wish to join us?"
(F/N): "I was... thinking about my team more, I know if they had to choose between you or Salem, they'd choose your side without a second thought."
Ozpin: "Well... alright."
Ironwood: "What?"
(F/N): "Just like that?" Ozpin leaned back and tossed his arms.
Ozpin: "The only thing you could do to harm us is kill us, and you've already displayed that just being in the same room as you is dangerous. Of course you still have to prove yourself before we bring you in fully like Ironwood." I look at my arms and slowly take off my right gauntlet, placing it on his desk.
(F/N): "The greatest weapon a Huntsman or Huntress could ask for, at your disposal."
Ozpin: "You're just giving it to me?"
(F/N): "I thought you wanted it for war, well I was half right wasn't I?" Ozpin nods.
Ironwood: "If you send us over copies of the-"
(F/N): "All blueprints and notes were destroyed." I look at Ironwood. "As I said, I thought you wanted it for war, the amount of lives this thing can take is great, not even a most skilled Huntsman or Huntress can beat it."
Ironwood: "So Raven got away using luck?" My stare turns hostile.
(F/N): "She got away because I let the shock of seeing my team die affect me, if I hadn't she'd be the one buried."
Ozpin: "We'll have it looked over later, for now I believe you'll need it for the tournament." I pick it back up and put it on. "As a side note, do be a good sportsman and give your opponents a fair fight, we don't want the crowds to get bored."
(F/N): "Sure, and once it's over you can have it as long as you need it." I start walking out but stop like last time. "I never had a lot in life... maybe I'll find something after the tournament."
After I entered the elevator I wished them a good day, at the ground floor I took the fastest path to the dorms in hopes I'd be there before the others. Luckily I was and went to take a shower, when I got out they had returned, Iris, like the quiet girls she's been, didn't say a thing and went to her desk. Emerald was looking through her scroll while Mercury sat against his bed and started adjusting his prosthetic legs.
Emerald: "Hey (F/N)."
(F/N): "Yes?"
Emerald: "Here." She hands me her scroll, it was a text from Cinder.
Cinder: "(F/N) will be the one to kill Ozpin, her orders."
(F/N): "Her." No doubt 'her' refers to Salem. "Alright." I text her back, she actually responded quickly.
Cinder: "I've also been informed of a silver eyed girl, kill her as well." I paused for a moment, I only knew one girl with silver eyes, Ruby.
Emerald: "What's wrong?"
(F/N): "Huh, oh nothing, just waiting for her to respond." Without looking I had deleted the last message, I look down at the scroll and send a message that looked as though I was reaffirming my last message. "Maybe now she'll she believe me?" I hand back the scroll.
Emerald: "I'm sure she will, so you up for training tomorrow, or do you want us to rest up?"
Mercury: "Either way we're going to the finals."
(F/N): "Hmm." We could use the rest, scout the other teams while also acting like a team of friends, if we just trained and Ozpin was watching me-
Mercury: "Remnant to leader."
(F/N): "Huh?"
Emerald: "Merc, he was clearly thinking."
Mercury: "What's there to think about?" I sit on my bed and fall back.
(F/N): "Sigh, let's just enjoy ourselves, not like we had much time to, right?"
Iris: "The roads kept us busy. Classes are a nice change." I sat up quickly.
(F/N): "Oh my god she spoke! The end is nigh!" I earn a chuckle from Emerald, but Iris just buries herself deeper into her book. "I was just teasing you."
Suddenly a book found itself hitting my face with enough force to knock me out, before my eyes reopened I had a dream with a heavy tint of purple with a hint of gray, a coldness wrapped my body the closer I got to the object within my dream. When the alarm rang my eyes slowly opened, my arm struggled to reach the scroll, my eyes focused, Emerald had gotten up and turned it off. My arm went limp, a sigh escaped from me, I'm glad we'd not training this morning, it feels like my body just doesn't want to move. There were still classes we had to attend so I forced myself out of bed and got ready with the others.
As we walked the halls to breakfast I thought about the orders I had been given, killing Ozpin, killing Ruby, the girl underground I told myself was a mercy but with those two it was different, there was no way I could convince myself that their deaths would be a mercy. I tried to stop thinking about it and just ate my pancakes, but as I looked down I saw the gauntlets on my arms, I've kept them on, I even made them water proof for when I shower. I just sat there staring at them, my hands, my arms, they were weapons now, my hands made a tool of death and so in turn became death.
Emerald: "(F/N)? You there?" I look up.
(F/N): "What's up?"
Emerald: "You spaced out there, is something wrong?"
(F/N): "No..." I looked back at my gauntlets and slowly took them and placed them next to me, my hands felt odd. "My hands just started tingling, the Cell might be getting a bit tight for me."
Mercury: "You could always give it to one of us." I give a fake laugh.
(F/N): "Yeah no."
Once I had finished my breakfast I put them back on and found my thoughts drifting throughout the day, that was until near the end of the day. Professor Port had kept me behind, he lectured me about paying more attention in class, he did ask if something was troubling me which I denied. After he was done I left and started making my way to the library, I was looking for a book, something that could relate to what I was going through, something that could convince me killing was right. Oddly enough there was a book, Huntsmen go after criminals, sometimes people die in the process, whether it's the criminal, a hostage, the point was it can get to you.
I was looking for a quiet place where I could be alone when I faintly heard them, I got closer and peeked around the corner of a bookshelf, there I saw team RWBY, Arslan, and Reese talking to each other at a table. I didn't want to speak with them, I had more important problems than them, but then Reese brought me up, and I found myself standing still behind a bookshelf, listening. If I ever needed a reason to kill someone, to kill Ruby, perhaps I would hear it here, perhaps she'd admit to being like Weiss, only dating me for my weapon.
Yang: "He's definitely different." She said with a negative tone.
Ruby: "You're just mad because he kicked your butt."
Yang: "If it wasn't for that stupid weapon of his he wouldn't have lasted a second."
Reese: "What was he like before?"
Weiss: "Not Huntsman material, that's for sure." Says the cheater to the cheater.
Ruby: "I think he just needed more training, it looked like his team was helping him with that."
Blake: "I don't think he would end up a Huntsman even with more training." Oh, so you're on their side.
Ruby: "What do you mean?"
Blake: "(F/N) seemed desperate to quickly beat Yang, like he didn't want to fight." Okay, maybe you're not on their side.
Weiss: "If he didn't want to fight then its just a sign of cowardliness."
Yang: "Whatever, can we just drop it?"
Reese: "Well... I was hoping to learn more about him."
Arslan: "Reese."
Reese: "Yes, yes, we've been over this, I cheated on him so it's unlikely he'll want to even be friends, I get it. I just want to know what he never talked about."
Arslan: "Like?"
Reese: "Family, what he liked, you know, those things he never talked about because he was busy with his weapon." I look at my empty hand, still wearing them.
Ruby: "Well he was-" I place a hand on her shoulder, my body just moved on its own, I spoke without thinking.
(F/N): "Liked that since my father died." Ruby panics and turns to face me. "If you're going to talk about people, do it in a more private location."
Weiss: "It was a private conversation, and it's wrong of people to eavesdrop."
(F/N): "Sure it is." I start walking out. "As for family... I hate them, and like it when their not brought up."
In order to be as far away from people, and them, as possible, I leave the campus and head to Beacon Cliff, a place where no one should be. I sat down on the grass and opened the book, it wasn't a quick read as a lot of it was fluff, that is to say a lot of it was unnecessary and boring. There were points though that stood out, even if a lot of the advice was unoriginal, one said 'talk about it with others'. I looked up and closed the book, I recalled getting launched into the air, meeting Auburn.
(F/N): "Auburn... did I do the right thing? Or am... am I only going to make mistakes... was it all a mistake? The Cell... Beacon... RWBY... Reese... the mission... all of it was just a mistake, wasn't it?" My tears started to fall on the hard cover of the book.
Ozpin: "People make a lot of mistakes." I turn around and see him walk up to me.
(F/N): "You're out here?"
Ozpin: "Once initiation is over no one really comes here, so I do when I need a change of pace. I take it you need a change of pace too?"
(F/N): "Yeah... something like that." I turn around and face the forest. "I could just leave, but would that be a mistake too?"
Ozpin: "As I said, people make a lot of mistakes." He stands beside me. "But it does depend on how you see it, for instance, I could say I've made more mistakes than anyone on Remnant, but through a different lens that might not be true, and if it isn't then it might be forgivable."
(F/N): "If... I killed Raven... would you hold it against me?"
Ozpin: "A difficult question, on one hand she was once a student here, I knew her and the team she was on, and then there's the matter of her daughter. At the same time what her and her ideology have become is a problem, killing innocent people, burning down villages, and all in the name of survival of the fittest."
(F/N): "How do you know her ideology?"
Ozpin: "Her brother, that and she showed hints of it when she attended Beacon."
(F/N): "In a certain lens, let us say in the lens of one of her victims, would her mistakes, what she had done, would it all be forgivable?"
Ozpin: "Hmm, I don't know. You're a smart one, what would you say?"
(F/N): "No."
Ozpin: "I guess-"
(F/N): "Survival isn't everything, neither is being the fittest, her ideology is flawed and shallow. There's no point in killing the weak and the innocent, all you do is waste energy, and if you want to be strong then you must go after the stronger, and only through defeat, not constant victory, can you find the weaknesses that hold you back." My emotions about the past.
Ozpin: "But in real life you can't afford to lose most of the time, but I do believe you have a point in everything you said. I take it that book is the reason you can't beat the one stronger than you?"
(F/N): "What I said to Ironwood... it was half true. I wanted to kill her, but wanting to and having the resolve to do it... it brings up a question, are you no different than them? They chose to kill innocent people, you chose to kill them."
Ozpin: "It doesn't help when justice fails at times, whether it's in capturing the person or convicting them."
(F/N): "Is finding Raven that hard?"
Ozpin: "Sometimes, is real problem is two fold, bringing Vale soldiers into the kingdom of Mistral could be seen as an act of war or used as an excuse for war, second is her ability to stay one step ahead of most people. If we did move a large number of people after her she'd no doubt catch wind and move."
(F/N): "So why not send Huntsmen after her? Or send a small group of elite soldiers disguised as everyday people?"
Ozpin: "Raven is a skilled Huntress, who would make short work of any soldier or Huntsman, especially one that has little experience in actual battle."
(F/N): "Are you referring to me?"
Ozpin: "As an example, yes."
(F/N): "Sometimes... I wonder if I should have died there with them."
Ozpin: "Survivors in this line of work eventually wonder such a thing."
(F/N): "Have you?"
Ozpin: "Yes."
(F/N): "So it-"
Ozpin: "But I continue to go on, I chose a path where I could help people rise above situations, so that they'd never wonder such a thing. As I look at you I see I failed in that task, I made a mistake and so not only you, but the family members of your former teammates now have to suffer for it. To return to the previous topic, in your lens, is that mistake forgivable?" It wouldn't be mercy.
(F/N): "Yes.. I think so." You've given me the reason I need to kill you. "You're not the one who killed them." You're just the one who put me on this path which led to their deaths.
Ozpin: "I see, it relieves me to hear that." He starts to leave. "Don't forget to return that book when you're done."
(F/N): "I won't."
I won't forget, you will die, I don't need to listen to Cinder, Salem is the only one I need to kill Raven. Since you show no interest in capturing her, since you stole from me, since you are the price it takes to show Salem I'm loyal to her, you will die Ozpin. I get up and stare into the sky as a bird flies off, once more a smile found itself on my face, I reached my empty hand into the air. I have the power to kill, I simply need to focus, to no longer hold back, to desire the fight, to want the kill.