[hider=A Tragedy in the Evening] Oswald sat in the waiting room outside Ozpin's office, his hands folded on his lap, staring straight ahead. To others, he would appear to be the picture of serenity. Inside, he was battling a dozen different emotions: rage, betrayal, anger, sadness, and blodlust among them. His gauntlets and brigandine were covered in blood, as he hadn't gotten the chance to clean them yet before he was called to speak to the headmaster. 

After what felt like an hour or two, the door opened and Professor Goodwitch stepped out, riding crop nervously tapping against her leg. “Mister Connoly, the headmaster will speak with you now.” Nodding absentmindedly, Oswald stood up and went into the room, Goodwitch following after him. 

Oswald carefully took in the room around him, his instincts flaring in light of what he'd just witnessed. Ozpin's office was large, and felt even larger than it was upon closer inspection. Pillars, an extremely high glass roof, and the large semicircular window behind the headmaster's desk all added to the feeling of grandeur the room gave off. Headmaster Ozpin was sitting at his desk, Goodwitch moving to stand behind him at his right side, with a single Vale Police Officer behind him on each side. 

The cops were there mostly for show, and everybody in the room seemed to realize that. The murder of a Beacon Academy student was unprecedented as far as Oswald knew, and would likely be handled by the senior Huntsman and Huntresses of the school. “Mr. Connoly, I was informed that you were witness to the...horrific murder of Mr. Hung. I can see from your appearance, and have been told, that you attempted to revive him at the scene. For nearly ten minutes you attempted CPR, before our medical staff forcibly removed you from the body and confirmed Mr. Hung's death.

“Let me start this interview by thanking you for your valiant efforts, though there were sadly in vain. However, for our own knowledge, and in cooperation with the Vale Police Department, we need to know your perspective of what happened.” Ozpin was calm, collected, but clearly weary as he addressed Oswald. They both wanted the same thing: whoever did this brought to justice. Their ideas of justice were probably very different, however. 

Clearing his throat, Oswald made sure to sit up straight and speak properly. “Of course, sir.” Closing his eyes for a moment, Oswald brought himself back to what had happened. “I was returning late from my Computer Science class after speaking with my professor about receiving additional lessons outside of class time. When I turned the corner near the scene of the murder, I saw Geni Hung lying on his back, blood pooling around him.” 

Taking a slow breath, he continued. “I...tried to use my Semblance to get to him as soon as possible, but....it only works on living beings. Grimm, people, animals, as long as they're alive...but...nothing happened. I think it was about then that I transferred to instinctive control. I ran to him, took his pulse, and tried to revive him when I got nothing, but obviously it didn't work. I hadn't even thought to remove my gauntlets or deactivate my Aura until I heard his sternum break.” 

At that, Ozpin nodded slowly, one of the police officers shuddered, and Goodwitch grimly frowned. “It was too late the second I saw him, I know that, but I grew up surrounded by death and evil. Each life was worth more than its weight in dust. Everything I know told me that I had to do whatever I could, even if it meant breaking a few bones. At that point, anything is better than the alternative. But it didn't work. It wasn't until I got pulled off of him that I realized that I was covered in his blood. Do you have any idea who did this?” 

Standing from his desk and waving at the officers behind him, headmaster Ozpin shook his head. “Mr. Connoly, it's been less than an hour. While I admire your tenacity, these things take time. We will have to wait until a proper medical examination can determine exactly how Mr. Hung died, what type of weapon killed him, and if any students have weapons matching that description. In the meantime, I have assigned these officers to assist you and your team with security. The entire school must know what happened by now, and if anybody tries to act against your team or the rest of team Bast, these officers will be able to assist you in whatever way possible. I know you of all people understand the value of an extra few souls, even if they are not fully-trained Huntsmen. The staff will keep both teams informed of any major developments.” 

“I understand, headmaster. Thank you.” Nodding briefly, Oswald turned away from Ozpin and made his way out of the office, slowly closing the door behind him. [i]That won't be enough, though. Geni is dead...and I need to find out who did it.[/i]

The suspect pool was large enough: Geni had outed himself as a former member of the White Fang on their first day of normal classes, and while some had stood up for him, others refused to believe that he could redeem himself. Oswald had found himself in the former category, his logic coming from his home, where every person's past was considered nonexistent. Many malcontents from the kingdoms came. Some escaped the White Fang and knew they had to go somewhere they couldn't be found, and would be protected if they were. The White Fang were brutal, but in a world as cruel as Remnant, Oswald saw them only as an enemy to be defeated, not a horde of mindless monsters as many others did. 
==========================================================================================================

The next week had been spent angrily interrogating Geni's antagonists, but Oswald had focused on the people who were there in Armory class, regardless of their disposition: Ivan, Indigo, Daniel, Gren, Marcus, Sapphire, Mokuren, Victor, Rayna, Shiro, even professor Chatsworth was not above his scrutiny. 

At first, most of the students had been forthcoming with their opinions, but once they realized that Oswald had been suspecting them of the murder, they brushed him off one way or another. Some were angry, and others thought that he should stay out of it and let the staff handle it. Only Chatsworth, Marcus, Shiro, Gren and Sapphire remained cooperative in the matter, and even then, only Gren and Sapphire actively tried to help. The two were tense, but both seemed eager to find out who had done this. 

Every passing day brought Oswald closer to the edge, and when Ozpin called him to his office, he was nearing the breaking point. “Mr. Connoly, the full medical report has finally been complete. Geni Hung was killed by a standard-issue rifle, one of the many we have on campus for target practice. It seems he was stabbed through the back with an affixed bayonet, and shot several times with dust-infused rounds that detonated inside his chest cavity. His heart was torn into several different pieces, and he bled out in seconds. His aura had been broken that morning in combat class by a brutal strike that had been delivered by his sparring partner. 

“By you, Mr. Connoly.” Oswald's knees went weak at the revelation. He hadn't even remembered the two fighting that morning, but it was entirely possible that that was the day they'd sparred in class. “Now, Professor Goodwitch informed me that no rules were broken in the fight, and that it was simply a case of an extreme blow delivered at the lower bounds of allowed aura values, but...I thought you should be the first to know.” 

[i]The first to know that I'm the reason he died like a worm? The reason he didn't have a chance to fight back?[/i] This was mind-blowing. Like many people, Oswald had his secrets, his share of dark deeds in the past, but this was different. This was the first time he'd done something he felt guilty for. 

“It seems that this news is more important than I had believed it would be, Mr. Connoly. A Lien for your thoughts?” Oswald staggered over to a chair that Ozpin had set out for him, slowly sitting and burying his face in his hands. 

“I....oh dust, this...I feel sick. This....this is my fault.” Ozpin frowned at the comment, closing the distance between the two rapidly, before crouching down and putting his hand on Oswald's shoulder. 

“No, Mr. Connoly, this is not your fault. Yes, Mr. Hung's aura was broken by an attack you made earlier that morning. But it is not your fault that he was killed. That blame lies solely on whoever took that rifle and murdered him with it.” Oswald raised his head and shook it back and forth sadly.

“If I hadn't...hurt him so badly in that fight, he might've had a chance, but...no. He was a good fighter, he should have been fine.” Ozpin took the opportunity to put his other hand on Oswald's free shoulder, looking him in the eye. 

“If you have so much time to sit here and blame yourself for something that you did not do, Mr. Connoly, I know you can also put that time and energy into a better purpose. Namely, finding out who could have done this.” Nodding slowly, Oswald grimly hung his head before putting more vitality into his nod, finding the motivation necessary to continue his personal investigation.

“You're right, sir. I'll let you know if anybody tells me anything.”
======================================================================================

Over the next few weeks, Oswald spent every free moment of his time speaking to his fellow first years at Beacon Academy, since they all had combat class at once. A few people remembered Geni's aura having been broken, but on further investigation, all of them had solid alibis: a few took evening classes that accounted for their locations, and the rest had either been with their teams or with friends of theirs. 

Frustrated, Oswald finally relented to Marcus's pressure and decided to take a day to relax. He had admittedly been running himself ragged, but someone was dead. One of their fellow students! White Fang or not, he was still a person, and he might have been a valuable Huntsman. Oswald couldn't just let this go.

Determined not to let the investigation take over his mind completely, his team leader had invited him to join in on some maintenance for the [i]Unsubtle[/i]. While the idea had been unattractive at first, Oswald found himself really getting into the groove of things with Marcus's direction. It was when they were chatting about their classes that Oswald jokingly mentioned their first day in combat class, when Marcus won with three broken ribs, while the rest of their team lost their matches. 

“It took me a while to accept the fact that Sapphire was, and likely still is, a better fighter than I am. In terms of pure destructive output, I outclass her by magnitudes, but I came here without much technique. I relied purely on my raw strength, because for a long time, that was all I needed. I wasn't used to fighting other people. I thought that being a storm of steel was enough to beat anybody, but every beatdown I received served to further ingrain that into my mind.”

Marcus just shrugged and pointed to a tool he needed, which Oswald promptly handed over. “Actually, now that I think about it, the next day in combat class was weird. We got that lecture from Goodwitch about the fight in Armory class, and she seemed like she was sucking on a lemon the whole time.” Oswald's eyes shot open and he dropped everything, running out of the room. 

[i]Of course. It was so simple. There was only one person in combat class who had no alibi: Goodwitch has no evening classes. I remember what she told us that day: “Regardless of the backgrounds of the students at Beacon Academy, headmaster Ozpin's decision to accept them trumps any misgivings any students or staffmembers may have. The man wholeheartedly believes that Mr. Hung is of no threat to any of you, and if you wish to continue attending this Academy, you will accept his decision and leave it at that. Am I understood?"[/i]

She was so bitter about the whole thing, it had left a bad taste in people's mouths. He remembered team Swansong mumbling about it in the stands at the end of class, and he had a few words himself. 

When he reached Ozpin's office, Oswald stopped and hesitantly knocked on the door. “It's me, headmaster. I think I might know who killed Geni.” The door opened moments after, a hand beckoning Oswald inside.

“Oh? Would you care to enlighten me, Mr. Connoly?” Ozpin tilted his head in interest at Oswald, who sighed and looked the headmaster in the eyes. 

“Yes, sir, but you're not going to like it.” 
==============================================================================================================

“And what reason would I have to kill one of my own students, Mr. Connoly?” Professor Goodwitch smacked her hand with the riding crop angrily, her eyes glaring daggers at Oswald, who easily ignored them by looking through Goodwitch instead of at her; it had been a useful trick he'd learned during discipline training at home. It was only once he felt Ozpin's hand squeeze his shoulder in assent that he spoke: it had taken hours to convince the man of what he believed, and he was addressing the woman on his headmaster's terms, not his own.

“Ozpin told me everything. Summer Rose was your best friend when you attended Beacon, even if she was a year above you. That's why you were so angry when the White Fang killed her over a decade ago. You've spent years harboring a personal vendetta against them. Tell me, how many people died in the Breach of Vale?” 

“[i]Far too many.[/i]" Now Oswald saw the look in her eyes. It was one he'd been told he often displayed: a look of absolute conviction. The drive to do whatever was necessary to accomplish your goal, to protect that which you held dear. “You've let so many of those [i]monsters[/i] into our prestigious Academy, Ozpin, even knowing what they've done! [i]How could you?![/i]" 

Ozpin simply closed his eyes and shook his head, removing his hand from Oswald's shoulder. “Glynda, I have told you time and time again that the members of the White Fang are people like the rest of us. They are not a group of faceless monsters, even if they have chosen to don the visage of our ancient foe. 

“They are people who believe that there can only be true equality through violence and bloodshed. And if history is to be believed, they are not foolhardy to hold that belief. It took a civil war for humans to even consider allowing them to mingle among us rather than confine them to a prison island. Their methods are brutal, but protests and demonstrations only got them so far, that much is plain to see.” 

At this, Goodwitch was fuming. “Don't you dare tell me you agree with them, not after all this time! Not after they killed so many people!” 

Shaking his head, Ozpin could only frown at his friend. “No, Glynda, I do not agree with them. However, I do understand their frustrations. I have even seen it in our own school: faunus students being treated like animals, having their extraneous body parts pulled, hit, and even sometimes specifically targeted in combat classes. You know this as well as I do. And it is abhorrent.” The tone of his voice offered no disagreement, no resistance. 

“Glynda, tell me: did you murder Geni Hung, or not?” The headmaster's brown eyes seemed to bore holes into Goodwitch's entire being, and soon enough, the combat professor sighed and seemed to deflate. 

“I had to. I had to protect our students, Ozpin.” 

“I believe you, Glynda. At least, I believe that was what you thought when you tore my student body apart by killing one of the people you swore to protect no matter what.” 

Oswald watched as the two stared each other down, before Goodwitch dropped her riding crop and backed into a chair, her entire body seeming to relax. “Just do what you have to.” 
===============================================================================

“Mr. Connoly, thank you for your assistance with this. It seems I am in need of some serious introspection if one of my closest friends and confidants was capable of murdering a student without my suspecting a thing. I believe we may all be in need of some introspection after this, actually.” It was amazing how he was capable of doing that; of saying the exact right thing at the exact right time. To anybody else, it would have been, at least. 

Oswald, on the other hand, sighed and simply looked at his headmaster. “Our people's motto has not changed, sir. Nor have our methods.” The statement was met with a sad frown from Ozpin.

“I am sorry to hear that, young man. Children should never have to fight a war. Not even one as dire as ours.” Oswald shook his head slowly.

“If only we lived in a simpler world, sir, we wouldn't have to.” 

The truth in that statement weighed on the two like an anvil threatening to crush them, and Ozpin nodded in response. “If only indeed.” [/hider]