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Before Tukson and Oreonna knew it, they were both sitting at a gate in the Vale International Airport. The two were both quiet, the full reality of the situation was finally dawning on them. Oreonna was leaving, for at least four years for now, and most likely much longer once she became an officially licensed Huntress. Tukson had always known this day was coming, ever since Oreonna had enrolled at Signal Academy. But now that it was here, his heart felt unbelievable heavy.

"So I better not come home and find out you turned my bedroom into... I don't know, a weight lifting room, or a zen garden, or some other type of mid-life crisis project." Oreonna joked halfheartedly. Her usually chipper mood was also being affected by the vibe in the air.

Tukson let out a short, but genuine laugh. "Too late, the contractors will be at the apartment in about a half hour." His daughter smiled back at him, he felt the tightness inside of his chest increase.

There was so much he wanted to say to her. But at this moment, his thoughts were all jumbled and he just couldn't find the words. Tukson had never felt so powerless before. He always was horrible at goodbyes...

Tukson hated Mistral in the summertime, the humid air seemed to make everything sticky, every breath he took made him feel heavier somehow, not to mention the heat. His location in the kingdom didn't help, the wetlands of the southern continent were possibly the least desirable location in all four of the kingdoms.

The large faunus wiped his brow as he stood under the overhang of what he assumed was once a manufacturing plant in the swamp. Whether it had been the Grimm or perhaps just nature itself, the establishment was clearly no longer under humanities upkeep. Abandoned shipping containers and empty metal barrels littered the factories grounds, when people had left this place, they did so in a hurry. But Tukson hadn't chosen this destination for it aesthetics, he chose it because of what it was; A dump in the middle of nowhere, and hopefully the last place anyone would find him... or should he say, them.

Tukson's sharp yellow eyes scanned the heavily wooded horizon for signs of life, but there was no sign of his expected company. The faunus sighed in exasperation, looking up at the blazing midday sun, and then back down at the pair of large packed suitcase at his feet. Leaning against the wall next to them was his fire axe "Sfida Infinita". He wasn't expecting trouble, but the weapon was easily within his reach in case of unwanted guests, or worse; Grimm. They were a very real threat this far out from humanities settlements, but they were a necessary evil to prevent him and Neo from being discovered.

The human and faunus had been seeing each other for a little over a year now, and while Tukson wasn't exactly excited about the reason for this meeting, the thought of seeing the mysterious assassin again made his heart flutter. He smiled as he thought about just how far they'd come.

After the Drake incident, Tukson had made good on his promise to track Neo down. Why? He wasn't entirely sure at the time, he just knew he had to see her again. But the elusive woman hadn't made things easy for him, for three weeks the search consumed him. His work with the White Fang even began to suffer a bit as a result.

But finally, he caught up with her.

It had appeared to be a rookie mistake on Neo's part. For some reason, she'd been returning to the same warehouse after every job. Tukson didn't have a clue what she was doing there, but she was always there for at least a few hours after completing her objectives. It was risky, but if he wanted to see her, it was his only chance.

But when he confronted Neo there, she merely smiled at him in that same condescending way she had the first night they'd met and said, "What took you so long?". She'd wanted him to find her.

It was a trap... wasn't it? But... it hadn't felt like one.

"I certainly hope you've improved a bit since last time." Neo had said, opening her parasol and resting it on her shoulder.

Tukson smiled maliciously. Message received; She wanted to go another round with him. His axe eagerly unfolded itself in his hands and he brought it up two handed in front of him, pointing the sharpened edge at his opponent.

"Only one way to find out." He said, his blade igniting as the dust crystal in the end activated.

With that, the talking ended, and the two clashed once again. The feelings were all the same as the last time. The thrill of a good fight, the relief of not having to hold back, and the exhilaration of knowing that this person was entirely capable of killing them. It was heaven for both of them.

But when the dust finally settled it was Tukson who was left standing this time, albeit barely. He stood on wobbly legs, panting heavily, his semblance had been working overtime to heal his wounds. His arm hung limply at his side, his shoulder had been dislocated and was unable to heal itself in it's current state. It had been a smart move on Neo's part, strength meant very little when you didn't have an arm to swing your weapon.

Neo had impressed Tukson, even more so than the last time the two of them went at it. Tukson could still remember the look Neo had given him when he'd disarmed her, it was somewhere between anger and disbelief. Clearly defeat wasn't something she was used to. But in that moment, staring down at Neo as she knelt on the warehouse floor in front of him, Tukson's blade at her throat, when Tukson should have ended their rivalry once and for all, he realized he couldn't do it.

He didn't want it to end. He wanted the thrills to keep coming. Like a junky, he was hooked, and when he stared into Neo's mismatched eyes he could tell she felt the same way. So they parted ways again, this time though, they exchanged their contact information. Soon those little fights became a regular occurrence. They'd meet up somewhere; usually at night and where they wouldn't be seen, and they'd duke it out for hours. It was harmless fun really, neither of them got seriously hurt, nothing that couldn't be healed up in a few days. There was a little property damage, but they were always long gone before they ever faced any of the consequences for that. It was perfect.

Right up until it wasn't.

Tukson massaged his temple at the unpleasant memory, the events burned into his conscience began to replay in his head. The construction site they'd chosen as their stage for their duel that evening was bathed in pale moonlight. The path of destruction they'd left would ensure the frustration of the workers when they arrived in the morning. Girders bent, freshly laid concrete cracked, planks of wood left splintered all over the ground. This had been the most intense battle between the two so far.

Tukson had fought with more ferocity than usual that night. The two had been having these little matches for almost two months at that point and the burly faunus was decidedly behind in the wins category, something Neo was always quick to remind him of after a fight had ended. Tukson was desperate to even things out, so when he got an advantage after Neo twisted her ankle on a bad landing, he pressed it.

He rained blow after blow down on the smaller woman's parasol. His eyes were wild, animal-like. His pupils reduced to slits, the high of the fight was fully in control at that point. Sometimes Tukson got this way; lost in a blind rage. It was a side effect of his faunus heritage, the wild beast within him breaking out of it's cage. It didn't happen often, but when it did, things looked bad for his opponents.

Neo could barely keep up with him at that point. She'd pushed her semblance to it's limits to avoid the faunus' blows, and exhaustion was starting to set in.

Tukson made a horizontal slash towards Neo's abdomen, catching her off guard. Before she could intercept it with her own weapon, or escape with her semblance, the axes edge made contact, shattering her weakened aura. But the blade hadn't stopped there, and met little resistance against the petite woman's flesh. There was a sick, wet sound and both combatants froze.

Tukson's eyes drifted downwards to his hands that grasped his weapons hilt, then to the shaft leading towards to axes blade, and on to the weapons edge itself,

which was currently lodged in Neo's side.

Terror tore Tukson out of his adrenaline filled haze and back to reality. Neo's eyes never left Tukson's, both her irises a light shade of pink. She didn't seem to want to look down, as if not acknowledging the wound would make it it nonexistent. But then the color of her eyes faded to white, and Neo's legs gave out from under her as she fell to the ground.

Then there was blood.

Tukson's blade was no longer obstructing it's flow and the wound poured crimson onto the ground. Tukson couldn't remember ever being so horrified in his life. The realization that HE had done it, along with the sight of the shattered moons deep red reflection in the blood that was collecting on the cold concrete beneath them haunted him. Time seemed to stop. Tukson tried to help, but as luck would have it, that's when Neo's friend in the bowler hat showed himself. Neo had been followed.

To say the human was angry would be an understatement. The orange haired man fired dozens of flares from his cane at Tukson, screaming obscenities at the faunus as he dodged the best he could.

The faunus' options hadn't been great. He could of tried and talked it out, explain the situation, but that was incredibly unlikely to work and even if it did, Neo was running out of time. He could have stayed and fought, but that had the same issue, not to mention that evenings fight had already taken a lot out of him. So he chose the third option.

He ran.

Hoping that the darkness would conceal his identity from the human enough, and that he'd be more interested in saving his friend than giving chase, Tukson bolted off into the night, not stopping until he was back at his apartment three towns over.

The next few weeks were rough for the puma faunus. He barely slept, he barley ate, he took no jobs for the White Fang, he just laid around, reliving the events that had taken place that night. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw Neo's small crumpled body on the ground before him, and he could almost smell the blood in the air. He'd stare at his scroll for hours at a time. No messages, at least none from Neo. His colleagues sent him worried texts often, and a few even came to his apartment, but he never answered the door.

After two weeks he assumed the worst. He'd killed her. He'd killed the only person to make him feel truly alive in years. A sick part of him thought that maybe he deserved this. Years of taking other peoples lives without blinking an eye, it had finally caught up with him, taken away someone he had no idea he cared about so deeply. With that, Tukson just stopped. He was content to just waste away, lay down and die, semblance be damned. If he wanted it bad enough, death could find him.

Relief didn't even begin to describe his feeling when he got that message the next day. It was a picture of Neo wearing a plain white t-shirt and jeans, standing in front of a full length mirror. One hand held her scroll, taking the picture, the other lifted up the bottom of her shirt revealing a large scar on her side. At the top of the photo was one word, "Rematch?".

Tukson was half laughing, half crying when he saw it. It was like letting out a breathe he'd been holding for almost a month. It was around that time that he realized just how much this woman (whom when they met had nearly killed him) meant to him now. He cared about Neo. The revelation was only slightly less shocking than realizing he felt that way about a human. But for some reason, that hardly seemed to matter at this point. The only thing that mattered to him was if the ice-cream assassin felt the same way. So he set up another meeting between the two.

He'd never forget the surprise on Neo's face when she showed up for a battle, and Tukson had brought a small picnic lunch. It had been a risky move, he didn't want to pressure Neo into anything. But he also didn't want to fight her anymore either, the risk wasn't worth the cheap thrills anymore. Neo was understandably hesitant to the idea, standing there with her arms crossed, glaring at Tukson as he sat underneath a nearby tree and began reading the book he'd brought with him. He wasn't sure if it was that her injuries weren't fully healed yet, or the pint of ice cream Tukson had stored in his basket, but finally Neo just sighed and joined him.

That was that really. That one moment of trust, of acceptance, of... not trying to kill each other for five minutes was all it took. Their weren't anymore battles to the death between the two of them. Those little meetings turned into the two just relaxing and talking, well Tukson talked, Neo was about as chatty as usual, speaking only when it suited her. Usually it was about work, complaining about it mainly, troublesome clients, unsatisfying kills, not exactly the usual banter for people getting to know each other, it worked though. But they also talked about their history, where they grew up, their friends, including Roman (the one who'd saved Neo after their last fight) whom she had known since they were kids apparently. With every chat they'd gotten a little closer, opening up just a little bit more. Basically, the two of them were dating before either of them even realized it.

Tukson still couldn't wrap his head around how it happened, they made an odd couple to say the least. Had they ever met in public they'd attract more than a few stares on height difference alone. Really all they had in common at first was their bloody histories, but maybe that's what brought them together? Neo and him had spent so long living their dark lifestyles that they'd cut themselves off from nearly everyone. Reasoning that they didn't have the capacity to form normal relationships anymore. The world was cruel and unforgiving, and neither of them saw any reason to give anyone else a chance. But just having someone who not just understood, but had lived a life just as... unsavory, let them open up to each other... maybe? Tukson certainly wasn't an expert on relationships, all he knew for certain was that somehow the two of them had stumbled into something amazing and he wouldn't trade what they had now for anything.

Not to say things were perfect by any means, the only real issue to Tukson was the secrecy. He hated that he had to hide his affections for Neo. It was a necessary inconvenience though. They both lived dangerous lives and if their respective associates ever found out about their relationship, their would only be trouble. After Neo had been followed by Roman that one night (even though Tukson was insanely grateful she had been) the two had to be twice as vigilant. It was definitely worth the risk, but it was just exhausting for the faunus man. Staking out locations for hours before a meet up, coming up with convincing cover stories for their respective associates, renting out the seediest motel rooms-

Tukson felt his face heat up at that thought, thinking about how the two's relationship had...developed over time. He was still new to this whole affection thing, and Neo was never hesitant about teasing him about it. Stealing quick kisses when he was reading and laughing when he went tomato red as a result. It was only natural there relationship became physical eventually. It was an unfamiliar feeling for Tukson, having someone in his life he could be completely vulnerable with. But those few lucky nights they two of them spent together, when Neo would fall asleep in the faunus' large arms, they wiped away any fears or doubts he had about this.

Tukson smiled to himself as a light breeze blew through the abandoned factory. He was happy, another new feeling for him.

However, he knew that this relationship was about to face it's biggest hurdle, as he looked down at the hastily packed bags at his feet. He had no idea how he was going to break the news to-

There was a sound of metal scraping against metal behind him. Tukson's eyes shot in the direction, and he swept up his axe with his right hand. He waited for the sound to repeat itself, or for it's maker to appear. It could be a Beowolf or any number of Grimm having wandered this far out into the swamps. After a moment with nothing but the sounds of the birds in the tress around him, Tukson relaxed his stance. He was jumpy, it was probably just a normal animal scurrying around, or maybe the old building was just making old building noises, or it could-

Tukson didn't finish this thought, and when he turned around he never even saw the attack coming.

Of course said "attack" was smaller woman standing on her tip toes and pressing her lips to his.

Regardless, Tukson practically jumped out of his skin. He looked down at Neo's face beaming up at him.

"God, Neo! I could have killed you!". Tukson said, setting his axe back in it's place against the wall.

Neo gave Tukson an incredulous smile, almost as if to say, "yeah, right". Her eyes shifting colors when she blinked up at the taller faunus.

"Okay, maybe not." Tukson relented. "But still, you shouldn't sneak-".

Tukson was cut off when Neo grabbed his collar and pulled him into a deeper kiss. After getting over the initial shock, Tukson relaxed himself and wrapped his arms around her. By the time Neo released her hold on him, he had pretty much forgotten what he was about to lecture her about.

"I... uh, it's... good to see you too, Neo." Tukson managed to stammer out, trying his best to hide his blush.

Neo giggled at him and reached up and gently flicked the end of Tukson's nose with her finger.

"You are such a dork." said Neo in a teasing tone.

"Maybe," Tukson said, bringing his hand up and cupping Neo's cheek. "But as long as I'm your dork." It was a surprisingly smooth line for Tukson, not stumbling over his words was a rare occasion when it came to flirting like this. Neo's eyes shined brightly up at Tukson, and she offered a small smile and a nod.

Neo still didn't talk much, and Tukson had learned to treasure the moments when she chose to. But honestly, she didn't need to speak. In their time together, Tukson had learned to read her expressions, especially her eyes. Somehow the smaller woman said more with those two orbs than any words ever could.

Unfortunately, it was those same eyes that at that moment had noticed the suitcases at Tukson's feet.

She looked at the bags, and then back up to Tukson her eyes shifting to twin pink, he'd learn to recognize this as confusion, then realization flashed across her face. Neo wasn't even remotely stupid, Tukson wasn't surprised she'd figured it out so fast.

He was leaving.

Since she'd already unearthed the landmine that Tukson had been hiding, he decided to just skip straight to the explanation.

"Peter and Carmella are dead." the faunus said, closing his eyes at the still recent memory.

Neo looked more speechless than usual. Tukson had mentioned his two faunus friends from the White Fang a couple times to her. Friends seemed like the wrong word really, family was more accurate. The three of them were the only survivors of their kind from the faunus purge of Chip just over a two decades ago. Peter, Carmella, and Tukson had risen through the ranks of the Fang together. They'd bonded through the many hardships they'd faced growing up in a world so discriminatory towards their kind.

They were his best friends, and they deserved so much better than getting killed by a gang of anti-faunus radicals. Tukson blamed himself, he should have known the locations was compromised, he should have foreseen those freaks in the gold masks showing up. To be far, the humans that had done it had killed him too, but it didn't take, it never did. When he'd dug himself out of the shallow grave they'd left him in, he'd been the only one left.

Tukson did his best to brush the painful memories aside for a moment, at least until he'd said his piece to Neo. He recounted the story of their deaths, desperately trying to keep from breaking down halfway through. He could see the anger building on Neo's face, anger towards the ones that had done this to Tukson. Her overprotective nature was kind of cute actually... in a scary way.

"So yeah... they're gone. And I can't stay with the White Fang anymore." Tukson swallowed hard before continuing. "Losing them... it's just too much."

Neo placed a hand on Tukson's shoulder. The faunus saw the genuine sympathy on the pink and brown haired assassins face before him. It was no secret the two of them were guilty of far worse crimes than what had befallen Tukson. But the gesture was still appreciated by him, as he placed his hand on top of Neo's. He smiled for a moment, then it vanished from his face.

"But... that's not the only reason I'm leaving them." Tukson admitted.

Neo raised an eyebrow at this. "When they... killed me, I was terrified. I've survived so much thanks to my semblance, that I never really considered the concept of death before. I figured thinking about it would make me... I don't know, weak I guess?". Tukson's eyes seemed to go out of focus as he relived the horror. "But as I felt the life leave me for what I thought was the last time, I couldn't help but think about what I was leaving behind."

Neo continued to give her faunus boyfriend a confused look, "My legacy, what I had really contributed to the world, you know?" Neo gave Tukson's hand a supportive squeeze, strengthening him to keep going. "And all I could think about was all the lives I've taken, the pain I've caused. Ultimately I realized, I haven't helped anyone with my work for the Fang. All I've done is give people reason to hate my kind even more."

The truth hurt, it really did. Tukson's actions, the White Fangs actions as a whole, they weren't changing anything. The idea of becoming the monsters humanity had always seen the faunus as was just pushing the humans to fight back harder. War was the only possible outcome of this course of action, and that was the last thing either race needed. Tukson couldn't stop them, but he could take himself out of the equation, one less weapon to be used in the growing conflict.

"I've made up my mind." He stated confidently. "I'm not going to be a part of this anymore. No more killing, no more violence. I'm leaving to start a new life."

Neo looked at Tukson gloomily. She knew why he was leaving now at least, but that clearly didn't make it hurt any less. Apparently Tukson wasn't the only one who'd grown accustomed to this relationship they'd built together. In just a year, the two had become an integral part of each others lives. Someone they couldn't imagine living without. Well, Tukson hoped that maybe they didn't have to live without each other. With that, he moved to the real reason he'd asked Neo to meet him here today.

"Come with me."

Neo's eyes practically exploded out of her head at Tukson's request, and the faunus could of sworn he saw her eyes go white for a moment. Was she afraid?

It hadn't been the reaction Tukson had been expecting/hoping for, but he continued, "Think about it. We could just leave this life behind." Tukson gestured to one of the bags at his feet. "I've got enough money left from my inheritance that we could start a new life together."

It's true, Tukson's parents had left their son a substantial amount of money when they'd died on Chip during the purge. He'd kept this sum secret and secure for years now, only tapping into it in the most desperate of circumstances. But with his new life, he'd need a new occupation. His mother had owned a small bookstore on Chip, and Tukson had more than once thought about following in her footsteps.

"We'll go somewhere the White Fang and Roman's goons would never find us. Even if it means going to a different kingdom. I here Vale's beautiful this time of year." Tukson stopped there, his speech starting resemble more of a sales pitch than an impassioned request. So he took a moment to take in Neo's reaction to his plan.

She looked... conflicted. Her gaze was fixed on the ground between the two of them, she chewed on her lower lip, a nervous habit Tukson had picked up on. Her eyes colors changed as she blinked, as if she was processing the offer Tukson had presented.

"We could start over, have a normal life. We don't have to do what we do anymore... we don't have to be killers." Neo's eyes shot up at Tukson's words. "We'll leave that life behind us, and find something better."

That was it. Tukson's offer was on the table. It was up to Neo now.

For a second or so, the two said nothing. Neo still hadn't looked away from Tukson, her expression unreadable now. Then her brow began to twitch and her eyes narrowed at the faunus. The look had evolved to a full blown glare, then Neo closed her eyes and let out a quiet sigh.

"You're wrong." Neo said.

Confusion washed over the faunus' features. He wasn't sure what had Neo meant by that. But when he opened his mouth the seek clarification, Neo interrupted. "You're wrong about me. About us." Neo gestured at the two of them.

"A normal life? After everything we've done?" Neo's voice was full self deprecation. "No. People like us- like me, we don't get to have that."

Tukson felt his throat tighten as Neo spoke. He saw what she was getting at, there was no real way to escape the past. But the only way to break the endless cycle of violence they'd been stuck in was to just step off the playing field, right?

"You really think the people we work for would just let us go? Even if we did leave, they'd find us." Neo's look darkened. "It doesn't matter where we go, or what rock we hide under, they will be relentless." Neo took a step towards Tukson, the look on her face almost making him take a step back in response. He'd never seen her this way before.

"They'd track us down, and then they'd subject us to the same torture and horrors we've been putting others through our whole lives!" Neo was shouting by the end of her sentence. The normally mute girl's voice was starting to strain from the uncharacteristic yelling. The anguish in her voice, the way Neo was starring straight into his eyes like he'd committed some horrible crime against her. Tukson could feel Neo distancing herself from him, but he wasn't giving up. He hadn't heard a "No." yet.

"Life isn't like a fairy tale, Tukson! Especially for... villains like us! We don't get to ride off into the sunset at the end and live happily ever after! Okay!?" Neo's eyes were shimmering with tears building up behind them as she continued her tirade. But what she said next was in a calm, collected, and very disturbing voice, "The only was it ends for us, is bloody. And it's time you stopped kidding yourself about it."

Tukson could hear Neo's voice starting to crack as she spoke. Her emotions were threatening to boil over.

He had to tell her.

It seemed like a simple thing to say, but he didn't want to do it like this. As some last ditch effort to keep Neo around. He wanted the moment to be perfect, he needed her to understand how much she meant to him. But a part of him knew, if he didn't say this now, he'd regret it for the rest of his life.

"Neo-"

"What!? What part of this plan seems like even a remotely good idea to you!? What could possibly be worth the risk to-"

"I love you, Neo."

Everything stopped.

Even the birds seemed to go quiet, as if nature itself was aware of the gravity of this moment.

The two of them had been together for quite some time, and while romantic gestures had been shared between them, this particular milestone had yet to be crossed. Tukson had known his ultimate feelings about Neo for a while now, but it was only after his near death experience that he was able to articulate his emotions and see just how much he cared about this person before him. He didn't just want a new life, he wanted Neo to be an integral part of it. Honestly, he had a hard time imagining any kind of existence without the small ice cream loving woman. This life of secret rendezvous just wasn't cutting it for him anymore. Tukson wanted to spend as much time with Neo as possible, every waking moment if she'd allow it.

This was where they were, Tukson had played his final card, it was all up to Neo now.

And so she stood before him, fury extinguished, mouth hanging open, all her words gone, her eyes wide as saucers, arms limp at her side. She looked... frozen. After a few moments the world seemed to resume it's rotation, but Neo remained there, seemingly stuck in place.

Eventually, it was Tukson what broke the silence, calling out to her softly. "Neo?" The smaller woman flinched slightly at her name, she looked somewhere between confused and panicked, but still very far away mentally. Slowly Tukson moved his hand towards hers, trying to will her out of the trance he seemed to have put her in inadvertently.

But as soon as his fingertips made contact with Neo's she yanked her hand away and recoiled backwards like Tukson's hand had been burning hot.

Panic seemed to win the battle for expression as her irises went white and her breathing became short. Neo raised a hand to her chest over her heart. A faint blush appeared on her face.

"I-I... what?" Neo managed to stammer out.

Patiently and gently, Tukson spoke to her. "It's true, I think I've loved you for a while now. That's why I think- No. I know this can work."

Neo stared back at Tukson her breathing returning to normal slowly, shock had melted away to disbelief as she continued to listen to him.

"I know what I've done, and what you've shared with me. We can't change the past, and maybe we don't deserve to be forgiven. But it doesn't mean we can't change, that we can't do better." The pleading in Tukson's voice was evident. he'd been kept awake more than once with the unsettling memories of his deeds. But he had always believed that change had to start from within. You just had to be willing to try. The two of them would walk this path together, accept the past and that the tragedies they went through would no longer define who they were.

He just had to reach out to Neo. Give her that chance for change.

"We can be happy, I know we can. I'll open up a little shop in Vale, restart the family business maybe... and... I don't know, maybe we could even start a family of our own someday." Something seemed to shift in the way Neo looked at him when he said that. "I know you don't think so, but we deserve to be happy, Neo. At least we owe it to ourselves to try." Tukson outstretched his hand to Neo. "Right?"

The pink and brown haired woman studied the faunus' hand for a moment, her eyes were still brimming with tears, and when she closed them for a moment, a few slipped out.

Tukson felt his heart soar as Neo raised her hand up towards his, fingertips outstretched as they got closer and closer...

Then her arm snapped back to her side, and Tukson felt gravity retake it's hold, as his heart plummeted down to his feet.

"I... I'm sorry..." The tears met no resistance now as they fell down Neo's cheeks.

No.

Please, no.

"I can't." she half spoke, half sobbed.

Without thinking, Tukson sprang forward, his hand poised to grasp as Neo's wrist. He just had to get a hold of her before she-

CRASH!

Neo's image shattered before him. All Tukson had manged to grab was a handful of broken shards.

He stood still there. An expression of despair on his face. Staring at the vacant spot that Neo had once occupied. He brought his hand up to his view and opened it. A few pieces of the mirror like shards were stuck in his hand, a bit of his own blood pooling in his palm. In the shards he could see the refection of the pale skin on Neo's wrist.

He didn't want to remove them, he wanted at least that part of her to stay with him forever, anything to fill the growing void in his chest.

But after a few seconds, the pieces deteriorated into dust and flew off into the wind.

She was gone.

Just like that.

As Tukson stared at his rapidly healing palm he felt his knees get weak. The pain was excruciating. He'd been hurt before, left for dead more times than he cared to count. But nothing compared to this.

He wanted nothing more than to lay down on the cold hard ground and just wait for an Ursa to come by and finish the job.

But he wouldn't, he knew that. He often thought of his semblance as more of a curse than a blessing. The universe seems to take sick pleasure in punishing him. So naturally he'd been "gifted" the ability to heal from any damage.

He was born a survivor. No matter what was thrown at him, he always got back up and kept going, kept living. When his parents were murdered by hateful humans, when he took his first life for the White Fang, when Peter and Carmella died, he was always the one left standing. He was always the one left to continue on alone.

But this... this was different. As the his strength finally gave out and he fell to his knees, Tukson learned of a new type of pain. A wound that would never truly heal. It was the pain and loneliness of saying goodbye to someone you care about for the last time.

"Flight 18 to Mirage is now boarding at Gate 9 for all rows."

The PA announcement tore Tukson out of his memories, the bottom pretty much dropping out of his stomach.

Oreonna stood up and grabbed her bag. Tukson stood too, even though he wasn't going anywhere. He took in the sight of his daughter in front of him. Gone was the little girl in pigtails he'd made it his fatherly duty to protect, replaced with this promising young Huntress in training ready to take on the world. Dressed in her combat attire, a long black and white dress held up by two gray straps on her shoulders. Long white gloves cover from her fingers to her elbows, and black leggings with matching boots. Last of all, Symphonic Discord's shield/violin sat on her back, and her bow/sword was sheathed at her hip.

She was ready.

He wasn't. But no need to let his daughter know that.

"Well, this is it." Oreonna said, her voice brimming with much more confidence than Tukson had.

"Yeah... I guess so." Tukson scratched the back of his head awkwardly. Had anyone mentioned just how bad he was at goodbyes yet?

Luckily Oreonna took care of it, stepping forward and wrapping her father in a quick hug. "I'll see you when I come home for the holidays, okay?" She stepped away and smirked up at her dad. "Try not to burn the store down while I'm gone, alright?"

That was his daughter, always trying to lighten the mood.

He'd miss that.

"Oreo... just... just don't do anything too crazy, okay?" Tukson placed his hands on Oreonna's shoulders and looked her dead in the eyes. "And if you get into trouble, I'm only a phone call away."

"C'mon dad, what kind of trouble could I get into at a school designed to train kids to fight the deadliest monsters in existence?"

Sarcasm. Yeah, he'd miss that less, but still, he smiled.

"Hey, I'm proud of you. I just... need you to know that." Tukson felt a his throat tighten, and from the look Oreonna was giving him, she was having a similar problem.

"Thanks dad, that means a lot."

"Final boarding call for Flight 18 to Mirage, Vacuo." The PA system interrupted again.

Now or never, Oreonna finally took a step away and Tukson's arms fell back to his sides.

"Okay, then. I'll see you soon." Oreonna said, finally managing to turn around and began walking towards the gate. She stopped and looked back and gave Tukson a wave before she disappeared from sight.

Tukson was left alone, all things considered, he thought he held it together fairly well.

He went to leave, but once he had his back to the gate he heard the sound of footsteps running up behind him. He spun around just in time to have his daughter crash into him, locking him into a much tighter embrace this time. Tukson stumbled back in surprise from the force of the "attack", that would of sent a smaller man onto their back.

"I'm gonna miss you so much." Oreonna's voice cracked as she spoke.

Tukson returned the embrace just as hard."I'll miss you too, Oreonna." Tukson was barely holding back tears at this point.

"I love you, dad." Oreonna croaked out as Tukson felt his daughters tears begin to soak into his shirt.

"I love you too." Tukson replied with an extra squeeze. His resolve finally breaking, as a single drop of liquid escaped his eye. He quickly wiped it away before Oreonna could see, he had to keep up a brave face for her.

Eventually Oreonna backed away, taking a moment to dry her eyes. "Thank you. For everything." Regaining her composure, she offered her father a huge smile.

Tukson didn't know how to respond at this point. He opened his mouth, but immediately closed it, the feeling of the still very present tears threatening to break threw stopping him. He merely returned the smile and offered a nod of acknowledgement.

The attendant at the gate (who had been observing the entire exchange) gave the two of them a sympathetic look, but at the same time tapped his finger against his watch, in a "I get it, this is hard. But I'm gonna lose my job if I don't get this gate closed" kind of way.

With that, Oreonna turned around and walked away. This time not stopping, not looking back. It wasn't until the attendant finally closed the gate that it hit him,

She was gone.

Just like that.

Tukson remained in the terminal for a while after that, processing the fact. He thought he'd done a pretty good job at the whole "dad" thing that he'd kind of been thrown into. But at that moment, he felt he understood what parenthood was all about. That this was what everything built up to; The moment you set your child out into the unforgiving world, so they could continue to grow using everything you'd taught them. Eventually having children of their own someday, and then the cycle would begin anew. He understood, but it was still the hardest thing he'd even done.

But he knew Oreonna would be fine. She was strong and stubborn like her dad, and crafty and wild like her mom. Nothing would stop her.

After he felt like enough time had passed, long after Oreonna's airship had set off for Vacuo, Tukson began strolling out of the airport. Familiar feelings brewing inside himself, the feeling of being left behind, having to say goodbye to someone he cared about. It was all too similar...

It would be easy for him to slip back into that dark place he was in after Neo left. Surviving just for the sake of surviving. Because it was all he could do.

But it was different this time, there was another emotion that kept the cracks from forming, something that he knew would carry him threw this. That feeling was pride, in himself and his daughter.

Surprising even himself, Tukson felt a small smile creep onto his face. It was confident, but at the same time a little sad.

With his daughter safe, however, Tukson knew it was time for him to get back to work. The White Fang was still a threat to everyone, human and faunus, and stopping them had to be his number one priority now.

A part of him felt like he was getting a little over dramatic over his daughter leaving. I mean, it wasn't like this was the last time he'd ever see his daughter, right?

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Before Tukson and Oreonna knew it, they were both sitting at a gate in the Vale International Airport. The two were both quiet, the full reality of the situation was finally dawning on them. Oreonna was leaving, for at least four years for now, and most likely much longer once she became an officially licensed Huntress. Tukson had always known this day was coming, ever since Oreonna had enrolled at Signal Academy. But now that it was here, his heart felt unbelievable heavy.

"So I better not come home and find out you turned my bedroom into... I don't know, a weight lifting room, or a zen garden, or some other type of mid-life crisis project." Oreonna joked halfheartedly. Her usually chipper mood was also being affected by the vibe in the air.

Tukson let out a short, but genuine laugh. "Too late, the contractors will be at the apartment in about a half hour." His daughter smiled back at him, he felt the tightness inside of his chest increase.

There was so much he wanted to say to her. But at this moment, his thoughts were all jumbled and he just couldn't find the words. Tukson had never felt so powerless before. He always was horrible at goodbyes...

Tukson hated Mistral in the summertime, the humid air seemed to make everything sticky, every breath he took made him feel heavier somehow, not to mention the heat. His location in the kingdom didn't help, the wetlands of the southern continent were possibly the least desirable location in all four of the kingdoms.

The large faunus wiped his brow as he stood under the overhang of what he assumed was once a manufacturing plant in the swamp. Whether it had been the Grimm or perhaps just nature itself, the establishment was clearly no longer under humanities upkeep. Abandoned shipping containers and empty metal barrels littered the factories grounds, when people had left this place, they did so in a hurry. But Tukson hadn't chosen this destination for it aesthetics, he chose it because of what it was; A dump in the middle of nowhere, and hopefully the last place anyone would find him... or should he say, them.

Tukson's sharp yellow eyes scanned the heavily wooded horizon for signs of life, but there was no sign of his expected company. The faunus sighed in exasperation, looking up at the blazing midday sun, and then back down at the pair of large packed suitcase at his feet. Leaning against the wall next to them was his fire axe "Sfida Infinita". He wasn't expecting trouble, but the weapon was easily within his reach in case of unwanted guests, or worse; Grimm. They were a very real threat this far out from humanities settlements, but they were a necessary evil to prevent him and Neo from being discovered.

The human and faunus had been seeing each other for a little over a year now, and while Tukson wasn't exactly excited about the reason for this meeting, the thought of seeing the mysterious assassin again made his heart flutter. He smiled as he thought about just how far they'd come.

After the Drake incident, Tukson had made good on his promise to track Neo down. Why? He wasn't entirely sure at the time, he just knew he had to see her again. But the elusive woman hadn't made things easy for him, for three weeks the search consumed him. His work with the White Fang even began to suffer a bit as a result.

But finally, he caught up with her.

It had appeared to be a rookie mistake on Neo's part. For some reason, she'd been returning to the same warehouse after every job. Tukson didn't have a clue what she was doing there, but she was always there for at least a few hours after completing her objectives. It was risky, but if he wanted to see her, it was his only chance.

But when he confronted Neo there, she merely smiled at him in that same condescending way she had the first night they'd met and said, "What took you so long?". She'd wanted him to find her.

It was a trap... wasn't it? But... it hadn't felt like one.

"I certainly hope you've improved a bit since last time." Neo had said, opening her parasol and resting it on her shoulder.

Tukson smiled maliciously. Message received; She wanted to go another round with him. His axe eagerly unfolded itself in his hands and he brought it up two handed in front of him, pointing the sharpened edge at his opponent.

"Only one way to find out." He said, his blade igniting as the dust crystal in the end activated.

With that, the talking ended, and the two clashed once again. The feelings were all the same as the last time. The thrill of a good fight, the relief of not having to hold back, and the exhilaration of knowing that this person was entirely capable of killing them. It was heaven for both of them.

But when the dust finally settled it was Tukson who was left standing this time, albeit barely. He stood on wobbly legs, panting heavily, his semblance had been working overtime to heal his wounds. His arm hung limply at his side, his shoulder had been dislocated and was unable to heal itself in it's current state. It had been a smart move on Neo's part, strength meant very little when you didn't have an arm to swing your weapon.

Neo had impressed Tukson, even more so than the last time the two of them went at it. Tukson could still remember the look Neo had given him when he'd disarmed her, it was somewhere between anger and disbelief. Clearly defeat wasn't something she was used to. But in that moment, staring down at Neo as she knelt on the warehouse floor in front of him, Tukson's blade at her throat, when Tukson should have ended their rivalry once and for all, he realized he couldn't do it.

He didn't want it to end. He wanted the thrills to keep coming. Like a junky, he was hooked, and when he stared into Neo's mismatched eyes he could tell she felt the same way. So they parted ways again, this time though, they exchanged their contact information. Soon those little fights became a regular occurrence. They'd meet up somewhere; usually at night and where they wouldn't be seen, and they'd duke it out for hours. It was harmless fun really, neither of them got seriously hurt, nothing that couldn't be healed up in a few days. There was a little property damage, but they were always long gone before they ever faced any of the consequences for that. It was perfect.

Right up until it wasn't.

Tukson massaged his temple at the unpleasant memory, the events burned into his conscience began to replay in his head. The construction site they'd chosen as their stage for their duel that evening was bathed in pale moonlight. The path of destruction they'd left would ensure the frustration of the workers when they arrived in the morning. Girders bent, freshly laid concrete cracked, planks of wood left splintered all over the ground. This had been the most intense battle between the two so far.

Tukson had fought with more ferocity than usual that night. The two had been having these little matches for almost two months at that point and the burly faunus was decidedly behind in the wins category, something Neo was always quick to remind him of after a fight had ended. Tukson was desperate to even things out, so when he got an advantage after Neo twisted her ankle on a bad landing, he pressed it.

He rained blow after blow down on the smaller woman's parasol. His eyes were wild, animal-like. His pupils reduced to slits, the high of the fight was fully in control at that point. Sometimes Tukson got this way; lost in a blind rage. It was a side effect of his faunus heritage, the wild beast within him breaking out of it's cage. It didn't happen often, but when it did, things looked bad for his opponents.

Neo could barely keep up with him at that point. She'd pushed her semblance to it's limits to avoid the faunus' blows, and exhaustion was starting to set in.

Tukson made a horizontal slash towards Neo's abdomen, catching her off guard. Before she could intercept it with her own weapon, or escape with her semblance, the axes edge made contact, shattering her weakened aura. But the blade hadn't stopped there, and met little resistance against the petite woman's flesh. There was a sick, wet sound and both combatants froze.

Tukson's eyes drifted downwards to his hands that grasped his weapons hilt, then to the shaft leading towards to axes blade, and on to the weapons edge itself,

which was currently lodged in Neo's side.

Terror tore Tukson out of his adrenaline filled haze and back to reality. Neo's eyes never left Tukson's, both her irises a light shade of pink. She didn't seem to want to look down, as if not acknowledging the wound would make it it nonexistent. But then the color of her eyes faded to white, and Neo's legs gave out from under her as she fell to the ground.

Then there was blood.

Tukson's blade was no longer obstructing it's flow and the wound poured crimson onto the ground. Tukson couldn't remember ever being so horrified in his life. The realization that HE had done it, along with the sight of the shattered moons deep red reflection in the blood that was collecting on the cold concrete beneath them haunted him. Time seemed to stop. Tukson tried to help, but as luck would have it, that's when Neo's friend in the bowler hat showed himself. Neo had been followed.

To say the human was angry would be an understatement. The orange haired man fired dozens of flares from his cane at Tukson, screaming obscenities at the faunus as he dodged the best he could.

The faunus' options hadn't been great. He could of tried and talked it out, explain the situation, but that was incredibly unlikely to work and even if it did, Neo was running out of time. He could have stayed and fought, but that had the same issue, not to mention that evenings fight had already taken a lot out of him. So he chose the third option.

He ran.

Hoping that the darkness would conceal his identity from the human enough, and that he'd be more interested in saving his friend than giving chase, Tukson bolted off into the night, not stopping until he was back at his apartment three towns over.

The next few weeks were rough for the puma faunus. He barely slept, he barley ate, he took no jobs for the White Fang, he just laid around, reliving the events that had taken place that night. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw Neo's small crumpled body on the ground before him, and he could almost smell the blood in the air. He'd stare at his scroll for hours at a time. No messages, at least none from Neo. His colleagues sent him worried texts often, and a few even came to his apartment, but he never answered the door.

After two weeks he assumed the worst. He'd killed her. He'd killed the only person to make him feel truly alive in years. A sick part of him thought that maybe he deserved this. Years of taking other peoples lives without blinking an eye, it had finally caught up with him, taken away someone he had no idea he cared about so deeply. With that, Tukson just stopped. He was content to just waste away, lay down and die, semblance be damned. If he wanted it bad enough, death could find him.

Relief didn't even begin to describe his feeling when he got that message the next day. It was a picture of Neo wearing a plain white t-shirt and jeans, standing in front of a full length mirror. One hand held her scroll, taking the picture, the other lifted up the bottom of her shirt revealing a large scar on her side. At the top of the photo was one word, "Rematch?".

Tukson was half laughing, half crying when he saw it. It was like letting out a breathe he'd been holding for almost a month. It was around that time that he realized just how much this woman (whom when they met had nearly killed him) meant to him now. He cared about Neo. The revelation was only slightly less shocking than realizing he felt that way about a human. But for some reason, that hardly seemed to matter at this point. The only thing that mattered to him was if the ice-cream assassin felt the same way. So he set up another meeting between the two.

He'd never forget the surprise on Neo's face when she showed up for a battle, and Tukson had brought a small picnic lunch. It had been a risky move, he didn't want to pressure Neo into anything. But he also didn't want to fight her anymore either, the risk wasn't worth the cheap thrills anymore. Neo was understandably hesitant to the idea, standing there with her arms crossed, glaring at Tukson as he sat underneath a nearby tree and began reading the book he'd brought with him. He wasn't sure if it was that her injuries weren't fully healed yet, or the pint of ice cream Tukson had stored in his basket, but finally Neo just sighed and joined him.

That was that really. That one moment of trust, of acceptance, of... not trying to kill each other for five minutes was all it took. Their weren't anymore battles to the death between the two of them. Those little meetings turned into the two just relaxing and talking, well Tukson talked, Neo was about as chatty as usual, speaking only when it suited her. Usually it was about work, complaining about it mainly, troublesome clients, unsatisfying kills, not exactly the usual banter for people getting to know each other, it worked though. But they also talked about their history, where they grew up, their friends, including Roman (the one who'd saved Neo after their last fight) whom she had known since they were kids apparently. With every chat they'd gotten a little closer, opening up just a little bit more. Basically, the two of them were dating before either of them even realized it.

Tukson still couldn't wrap his head around how it happened, they made an odd couple to say the least. Had they ever met in public they'd attract more than a few stares on height difference alone. Really all they had in common at first was their bloody histories, but maybe that's what brought them together? Neo and him had spent so long living their dark lifestyles that they'd cut themselves off from nearly everyone. Reasoning that they didn't have the capacity to form normal relationships anymore. The world was cruel and unforgiving, and neither of them saw any reason to give anyone else a chance. But just having someone who not just understood, but had lived a life just as... unsavory, let them open up to each other... maybe? Tukson certainly wasn't an expert on relationships, all he knew for certain was that somehow the two of them had stumbled into something amazing and he wouldn't trade what they had now for anything.

Not to say things were perfect by any means, the only real issue to Tukson was the secrecy. He hated that he had to hide his affections for Neo. It was a necessary inconvenience though. They both lived dangerous lives and if their respective associates ever found out about their relationship, their would only be trouble. After Neo had been followed by Roman that one night (even though Tukson was insanely grateful she had been) the two had to be twice as vigilant. It was definitely worth the risk, but it was just exhausting for the faunus man. Staking out locations for hours before a meet up, coming up with convincing cover stories for their respective associates, renting out the seediest motel rooms-

Tukson felt his face heat up at that thought, thinking about how the two's relationship had...developed over time. He was still new to this whole affection thing, and Neo was never hesitant about teasing him about it. Stealing quick kisses when he was reading and laughing when he went tomato red as a result. It was only natural there relationship became physical eventually. It was an unfamiliar feeling for Tukson, having someone in his life he could be completely vulnerable with. But those few lucky nights they two of them spent together, when Neo would fall asleep in the faunus' large arms, they wiped away any fears or doubts he had about this.

Tukson smiled to himself as a light breeze blew through the abandoned factory. He was happy, another new feeling for him.

However, he knew that this relationship was about to face it's biggest hurdle, as he looked down at the hastily packed bags at his feet. He had no idea how he was going to break the news to-

There was a sound of metal scraping against metal behind him. Tukson's eyes shot in the direction, and he swept up his axe with his right hand. He waited for the sound to repeat itself, or for it's maker to appear. It could be a Beowolf or any number of Grimm having wandered this far out into the swamps. After a moment with nothing but the sounds of the birds in the tress around him, Tukson relaxed his stance. He was jumpy, it was probably just a normal animal scurrying around, or maybe the old building was just making old building noises, or it could-

Tukson didn't finish this thought, and when he turned around he never even saw the attack coming.

Of course said "attack" was smaller woman standing on her tip toes and pressing her lips to his.

Regardless, Tukson practically jumped out of his skin. He looked down at Neo's face beaming up at him.

"God, Neo! I could have killed you!". Tukson said, setting his axe back in it's place against the wall.

Neo gave Tukson an incredulous smile, almost as if to say, "yeah, right". Her eyes shifting colors when she blinked up at the taller faunus.

"Okay, maybe not." Tukson relented. "But still, you shouldn't sneak-".

Tukson was cut off when Neo grabbed his collar and pulled him into a deeper kiss. After getting over the initial shock, Tukson relaxed himself and wrapped his arms around her. By the time Neo released her hold on him, he had pretty much forgotten what he was about to lecture her about.

"I... uh, it's... good to see you too, Neo." Tukson managed to stammer out, trying his best to hide his blush.

Neo giggled at him and reached up and gently flicked the end of Tukson's nose with her finger.

"You are such a dork." said Neo in a teasing tone.

"Maybe," Tukson said, bringing his hand up and cupping Neo's cheek. "But as long as I'm your dork." It was a surprisingly smooth line for Tukson, not stumbling over his words was a rare occasion when it came to flirting like this. Neo's eyes shined brightly up at Tukson, and she offered a small smile and a nod.

Neo still didn't talk much, and Tukson had learned to treasure the moments when she chose to. But honestly, she didn't need to speak. In their time together, Tukson had learned to read her expressions, especially her eyes. Somehow the smaller woman said more with those two orbs than any words ever could.

Unfortunately, it was those same eyes that at that moment had noticed the suitcases at Tukson's feet.

She looked at the bags, and then back up to Tukson her eyes shifting to twin pink, he'd learn to recognize this as confusion, then realization flashed across her face. Neo wasn't even remotely stupid, Tukson wasn't surprised she'd figured it out so fast.

He was leaving.

Since she'd already unearthed the landmine that Tukson had been hiding, he decided to just skip straight to the explanation.

"Peter and Carmella are dead." the faunus said, closing his eyes at the still recent memory.

Neo looked more speechless than usual. Tukson had mentioned his two faunus friends from the White Fang a couple times to her. Friends seemed like the wrong word really, family was more accurate. The three of them were the only survivors of their kind from the faunus purge of Chip just over a two decades ago. Peter, Carmella, and Tukson had risen through the ranks of the Fang together. They'd bonded through the many hardships they'd faced growing up in a world so discriminatory towards their kind.

They were his best friends, and they deserved so much better than getting killed by a gang of anti-faunus radicals. Tukson blamed himself, he should have known the locations was compromised, he should have foreseen those freaks in the gold masks showing up. To be far, the humans that had done it had killed him too, but it didn't take, it never did. When he'd dug himself out of the shallow grave they'd left him in, he'd been the only one left.

Tukson did his best to brush the painful memories aside for a moment, at least until he'd said his piece to Neo. He recounted the story of their deaths, desperately trying to keep from breaking down halfway through. He could see the anger building on Neo's face, anger towards the ones that had done this to Tukson. Her overprotective nature was kind of cute actually... in a scary way.

"So yeah... they're gone. And I can't stay with the White Fang anymore." Tukson swallowed hard before continuing. "Losing them... it's just too much."

Neo placed a hand on Tukson's shoulder. The faunus saw the genuine sympathy on the pink and brown haired assassins face before him. It was no secret the two of them were guilty of far worse crimes than what had befallen Tukson. But the gesture was still appreciated by him, as he placed his hand on top of Neo's. He smiled for a moment, then it vanished from his face.

"But... that's not the only reason I'm leaving them." Tukson admitted.

Neo raised an eyebrow at this. "When they... killed me, I was terrified. I've survived so much thanks to my semblance, that I never really considered the concept of death before. I figured thinking about it would make me... I don't know, weak I guess?". Tukson's eyes seemed to go out of focus as he relived the horror. "But as I felt the life leave me for what I thought was the last time, I couldn't help but think about what I was leaving behind."

Neo continued to give her faunus boyfriend a confused look, "My legacy, what I had really contributed to the world, you know?" Neo gave Tukson's hand a supportive squeeze, strengthening him to keep going. "And all I could think about was all the lives I've taken, the pain I've caused. Ultimately I realized, I haven't helped anyone with my work for the Fang. All I've done is give people reason to hate my kind even more."

The truth hurt, it really did. Tukson's actions, the White Fangs actions as a whole, they weren't changing anything. The idea of becoming the monsters humanity had always seen the faunus as was just pushing the humans to fight back harder. War was the only possible outcome of this course of action, and that was the last thing either race needed. Tukson couldn't stop them, but he could take himself out of the equation, one less weapon to be used in the growing conflict.

"I've made up my mind." He stated confidently. "I'm not going to be a part of this anymore. No more killing, no more violence. I'm leaving to start a new life."

Neo looked at Tukson gloomily. She knew why he was leaving now at least, but that clearly didn't make it hurt any less. Apparently Tukson wasn't the only one who'd grown accustomed to this relationship they'd built together. In just a year, the two had become an integral part of each others lives. Someone they couldn't imagine living without. Well, Tukson hoped that maybe they didn't have to live without each other. With that, he moved to the real reason he'd asked Neo to meet him here today.

"Come with me."

Neo's eyes practically exploded out of her head at Tukson's request, and the faunus could of sworn he saw her eyes go white for a moment. Was she afraid?

It hadn't been the reaction Tukson had been expecting/hoping for, but he continued, "Think about it. We could just leave this life behind." Tukson gestured to one of the bags at his feet. "I've got enough money left from my inheritance that we could start a new life together."

It's true, Tukson's parents had left their son a substantial amount of money when they'd died on Chip during the purge. He'd kept this sum secret and secure for years now, only tapping into it in the most desperate of circumstances. But with his new life, he'd need a new occupation. His mother had owned a small bookstore on Chip, and Tukson had more than once thought about following in her footsteps.

"We'll go somewhere the White Fang and Roman's goons would never find us. Even if it means going to a different kingdom. I here Vale's beautiful this time of year." Tukson stopped there, his speech starting resemble more of a sales pitch than an impassioned request. So he took a moment to take in Neo's reaction to his plan.

She looked... conflicted. Her gaze was fixed on the ground between the two of them, she chewed on her lower lip, a nervous habit Tukson had picked up on. Her eyes colors changed as she blinked, as if she was processing the offer Tukson had presented.

"We could start over, have a normal life. We don't have to do what we do anymore... we don't have to be killers." Neo's eyes shot up at Tukson's words. "We'll leave that life behind us, and find something better."

That was it. Tukson's offer was on the table. It was up to Neo now.

For a second or so, the two said nothing. Neo still hadn't looked away from Tukson, her expression unreadable now. Then her brow began to twitch and her eyes narrowed at the faunus. The look had evolved to a full blown glare, then Neo closed her eyes and let out a quiet sigh.

"You're wrong." Neo said.

Confusion washed over the faunus' features. He wasn't sure what had Neo meant by that. But when he opened his mouth the seek clarification, Neo interrupted. "You're wrong about me. About us." Neo gestured at the two of them.

"A normal life? After everything we've done?" Neo's voice was full self deprecation. "No. People like us- like me, we don't get to have that."

Tukson felt his throat tighten as Neo spoke. He saw what she was getting at, there was no real way to escape the past. But the only way to break the endless cycle of violence they'd been stuck in was to just step off the playing field, right?

"You really think the people we work for would just let us go? Even if we did leave, they'd find us." Neo's look darkened. "It doesn't matter where we go, or what rock we hide under, they will be relentless." Neo took a step towards Tukson, the look on her face almost making him take a step back in response. He'd never seen her this way before.

"They'd track us down, and then they'd subject us to the same torture and horrors we've been putting others through our whole lives!" Neo was shouting by the end of her sentence. The normally mute girl's voice was starting to strain from the uncharacteristic yelling. The anguish in her voice, the way Neo was starring straight into his eyes like he'd committed some horrible crime against her. Tukson could feel Neo distancing herself from him, but he wasn't giving up. He hadn't heard a "No." yet.

"Life isn't like a fairy tale, Tukson! Especially for... villains like us! We don't get to ride off into the sunset at the end and live happily ever after! Okay!?" Neo's eyes were shimmering with tears building up behind them as she continued her tirade. But what she said next was in a calm, collected, and very disturbing voice, "The only was it ends for us, is bloody. And it's time you stopped kidding yourself about it."

Tukson could hear Neo's voice starting to crack as she spoke. Her emotions were threatening to boil over.

He had to tell her.

It seemed like a simple thing to say, but he didn't want to do it like this. As some last ditch effort to keep Neo around. He wanted the moment to be perfect, he needed her to understand how much she meant to him. But a part of him knew, if he didn't say this now, he'd regret it for the rest of his life.

"Neo-"

"What!? What part of this plan seems like even a remotely good idea to you!? What could possibly be worth the risk to-"

"I love you, Neo."

Everything stopped.

Even the birds seemed to go quiet, as if nature itself was aware of the gravity of this moment.

The two of them had been together for quite some time, and while romantic gestures had been shared between them, this particular milestone had yet to be crossed. Tukson had known his ultimate feelings about Neo for a while now, but it was only after his near death experience that he was able to articulate his emotions and see just how much he cared about this person before him. He didn't just want a new life, he wanted Neo to be an integral part of it. Honestly, he had a hard time imagining any kind of existence without the small ice cream loving woman. This life of secret rendezvous just wasn't cutting it for him anymore. Tukson wanted to spend as much time with Neo as possible, every waking moment if she'd allow it.

This was where they were, Tukson had played his final card, it was all up to Neo now.

And so she stood before him, fury extinguished, mouth hanging open, all her words gone, her eyes wide as saucers, arms limp at her side. She looked... frozen. After a few moments the world seemed to resume it's rotation, but Neo remained there, seemingly stuck in place.

Eventually, it was Tukson what broke the silence, calling out to her softly. "Neo?" The smaller woman flinched slightly at her name, she looked somewhere between confused and panicked, but still very far away mentally. Slowly Tukson moved his hand towards hers, trying to will her out of the trance he seemed to have put her in inadvertently.

But as soon as his fingertips made contact with Neo's she yanked her hand away and recoiled backwards like Tukson's hand had been burning hot.

Panic seemed to win the battle for expression as her irises went white and her breathing became short. Neo raised a hand to her chest over her heart. A faint blush appeared on her face.

"I-I... what?" Neo managed to stammer out.

Patiently and gently, Tukson spoke to her. "It's true, I think I've loved you for a while now. That's why I think- No. I know this can work."

Neo stared back at Tukson her breathing returning to normal slowly, shock had melted away to disbelief as she continued to listen to him.

"I know what I've done, and what you've shared with me. We can't change the past, and maybe we don't deserve to be forgiven. But it doesn't mean we can't change, that we can't do better." The pleading in Tukson's voice was evident. he'd been kept awake more than once with the unsettling memories of his deeds. But he had always believed that change had to start from within. You just had to be willing to try. The two of them would walk this path together, accept the past and that the tragedies they went through would no longer define who they were.

He just had to reach out to Neo. Give her that chance for change.

"We can be happy, I know we can. I'll open up a little shop in Vale, restart the family business maybe... and... I don't know, maybe we could even start a family of our own someday." Something seemed to shift in the way Neo looked at him when he said that. "I know you don't think so, but we deserve to be happy, Neo. At least we owe it to ourselves to try." Tukson outstretched his hand to Neo. "Right?"

The pink and brown haired woman studied the faunus' hand for a moment, her eyes were still brimming with tears, and when she closed them for a moment, a few slipped out.

Tukson felt his heart soar as Neo raised her hand up towards his, fingertips outstretched as they got closer and closer...

Then her arm snapped back to her side, and Tukson felt gravity retake it's hold, as his heart plummeted down to his feet.

"I... I'm sorry..." The tears met no resistance now as they fell down Neo's cheeks.

No.

Please, no.

"I can't." she half spoke, half sobbed.

Without thinking, Tukson sprang forward, his hand poised to grasp as Neo's wrist. He just had to get a hold of her before she-

CRASH!

Neo's image shattered before him. All Tukson had manged to grab was a handful of broken shards.

He stood still there. An expression of despair on his face. Staring at the vacant spot that Neo had once occupied. He brought his hand up to his view and opened it. A few pieces of the mirror like shards were stuck in his hand, a bit of his own blood pooling in his palm. In the shards he could see the refection of the pale skin on Neo's wrist.

He didn't want to remove them, he wanted at least that part of her to stay with him forever, anything to fill the growing void in his chest.

But after a few seconds, the pieces deteriorated into dust and flew off into the wind.

She was gone.

Just like that.

As Tukson stared at his rapidly healing palm he felt his knees get weak. The pain was excruciating. He'd been hurt before, left for dead more times than he cared to count. But nothing compared to this.

He wanted nothing more than to lay down on the cold hard ground and just wait for an Ursa to come by and finish the job.

But he wouldn't, he knew that. He often thought of his semblance as more of a curse than a blessing. The universe seems to take sick pleasure in punishing him. So naturally he'd been "gifted" the ability to heal from any damage.

He was born a survivor. No matter what was thrown at him, he always got back up and kept going, kept living. When his parents were murdered by hateful humans, when he took his first life for the White Fang, when Peter and Carmella died, he was always the one left standing. He was always the one left to continue on alone.

But this... this was different. As the his strength finally gave out and he fell to his knees, Tukson learned of a new type of pain. A wound that would never truly heal. It was the pain and loneliness of saying goodbye to someone you care about for the last time.

"Flight 18 to Mirage is now boarding at Gate 9 for all rows."

The PA announcement tore Tukson out of his memories, the bottom pretty much dropping out of his stomach.

Oreonna stood up and grabbed her bag. Tukson stood too, even though he wasn't going anywhere. He took in the sight of his daughter in front of him. Gone was the little girl in pigtails he'd made it his fatherly duty to protect, replaced with this promising young Huntress in training ready to take on the world. Dressed in her combat attire, a long black and white dress held up by two gray straps on her shoulders. Long white gloves cover from her fingers to her elbows, and black leggings with matching boots. Last of all, Symphonic Discord's shield/violin sat on her back, and her bow/sword was sheathed at her hip.

She was ready.

He wasn't. But no need to let his daughter know that.

"Well, this is it." Oreonna said, her voice brimming with much more confidence than Tukson had.

"Yeah... I guess so." Tukson scratched the back of his head awkwardly. Had anyone mentioned just how bad he was at goodbyes yet?

Luckily Oreonna took care of it, stepping forward and wrapping her father in a quick hug. "I'll see you when I come home for the holidays, okay?" She stepped away and smirked up at her dad. "Try not to burn the store down while I'm gone, alright?"

That was his daughter, always trying to lighten the mood.

He'd miss that.

"Oreo... just... just don't do anything too crazy, okay?" Tukson placed his hands on Oreonna's shoulders and looked her dead in the eyes. "And if you get into trouble, I'm only a phone call away."

"C'mon dad, what kind of trouble could I get into at a school designed to train kids to fight the deadliest monsters in existence?"

Sarcasm. Yeah, he'd miss that less, but still, he smiled.

"Hey, I'm proud of you. I just... need you to know that." Tukson felt a his throat tighten, and from the look Oreonna was giving him, she was having a similar problem.

"Thanks dad, that means a lot."

"Final boarding call for Flight 18 to Mirage, Vacuo." The PA system interrupted again.

Now or never, Oreonna finally took a step away and Tukson's arms fell back to his sides.

"Okay, then. I'll see you soon." Oreonna said, finally managing to turn around and began walking towards the gate. She stopped and looked back and gave Tukson a wave before she disappeared from sight.

Tukson was left alone, all things considered, he thought he held it together fairly well.

He went to leave, but once he had his back to the gate he heard the sound of footsteps running up behind him. He spun around just in time to have his daughter crash into him, locking him into a much tighter embrace this time. Tukson stumbled back in surprise from the force of the "attack", that would of sent a smaller man onto their back.

"I'm gonna miss you so much." Oreonna's voice cracked as she spoke.

Tukson returned the embrace just as hard."I'll miss you too, Oreonna." Tukson was barely holding back tears at this point.

"I love you, dad." Oreonna croaked out as Tukson felt his daughters tears begin to soak into his shirt.

"I love you too." Tukson replied with an extra squeeze. His resolve finally breaking, as a single drop of liquid escaped his eye. He quickly wiped it away before Oreonna could see, he had to keep up a brave face for her.

Eventually Oreonna backed away, taking a moment to dry her eyes. "Thank you. For everything." Regaining her composure, she offered her father a huge smile.

Tukson didn't know how to respond at this point. He opened his mouth, but immediately closed it, the feeling of the still very present tears threatening to break threw stopping him. He merely returned the smile and offered a nod of acknowledgement.

The attendant at the gate (who had been observing the entire exchange) gave the two of them a sympathetic look, but at the same time tapped his finger against his watch, in a "I get it, this is hard. But I'm gonna lose my job if I don't get this gate closed" kind of way.

With that, Oreonna turned around and walked away. This time not stopping, not looking back. It wasn't until the attendant finally closed the gate that it hit him,

She was gone.

Just like that.

Tukson remained in the terminal for a while after that, processing the fact. He thought he'd done a pretty good job at the whole "dad" thing that he'd kind of been thrown into. But at that moment, he felt he understood what parenthood was all about. That this was what everything built up to; The moment you set your child out into the unforgiving world, so they could continue to grow using everything you'd taught them. Eventually having children of their own someday, and then the cycle would begin anew. He understood, but it was still the hardest thing he'd even done.

But he knew Oreonna would be fine. She was strong and stubborn like her dad, and crafty and wild like her mom. Nothing would stop her.

After he felt like enough time had passed, long after Oreonna's airship had set off for Vacuo, Tukson began strolling out of the airport. Familiar feelings brewing inside himself, the feeling of being left behind, having to say goodbye to someone he cared about. It was all too similar...

It would be easy for him to slip back into that dark place he was in after Neo left. Surviving just for the sake of surviving. Because it was all he could do.

But it was different this time, there was another emotion that kept the cracks from forming, something that he knew would carry him threw this. That feeling was pride, in himself and his daughter.

Surprising even himself, Tukson felt a small smile creep onto his face. It was confident, but at the same time a little sad.

With his daughter safe, however, Tukson knew it was time for him to get back to work. The White Fang was still a threat to everyone, human and faunus, and stopping them had to be his number one priority now.

A part of him felt like he was getting a little over dramatic over his daughter leaving. I mean, it wasn't like this was the last time he'd ever see his daughter, right?