[u][h3]Kuhaku Shiro - Beacon Academy Rooftops[/h3][/u]

When Gren began speaking again, Shiro sighed as his ears drooped. Turning back around to face him, Shiro tilted his head when Gren looked away. It wasn't like him to be as hesitant as he was. There must been something that weighed heavily on his friend's mind. He could detect the honesty in his words, in his voice. Gren was serious. When he realized this, Shiro felt a little bad about himself for wanting to dismiss the conversation as a whole. To just attempt to walk away when his friend was trying to hold a heartfelt connection in place.

When Gren spread his arms, Shiro had figured him to be done with his piece and started to speak. But, for the third time that he could remember his voice froze in his throat. Eyes widening as Gren's armor, no...[i]body[/i] started to fall away from him like the rotting pieces of a dead carcass. Horrified, Shiro took a few steps back as he recoiled from the shock. Expression wrenched in a mixture of confusion and terror. As Gren resumed speaking, Shiro's eyes snapped to various places on the Boar faunus' body. His mind trying to process just what exactly he was looking at. 

[i]"Machine? He's a freakin' machine?!"[/i]
Shiro's stomach churned, he clasped his gloved hand over his mouth to prevent himself from regurgitating his breakfast.
[i]"Th-...that explains why my Semblance doesn't seem to work on him..[/i]
Realizing how he may have looked, Shiro removed his hand from his mouth.
[i]"That...explains the unnatural scents..."[/i]
Unnatural, to say the very least.
Parts of Shiro wanted attack Gren out of anger.
Gren was an abomination. Part flesh and part technology.
[i]"N-no...That's not right. He's still Gren. He's still my friend. I can't think of him as a monster."[/i]
After all, didn't Humans view the Faunus the same way? As monsters?

Dryly swallowing that hard pill, Shiro looked down at the palms of his own hands. He didn't like being involved in such a heavy situation so early on in the day. He'd be lying if he said that he didn't want to run and jump off of the side of the roofs. But again, that wouldn't be fair to anyone. Not if Gren was seeking help, beseeching them. His gold eyes followed Gren as he circled them, showing the two of them his 'true' body. He flinched when Gren removed his arm and swung it around like a baby with its toy. 

[color=00a651][b]"Won't you let me help you, Shiro?"[/b][/color]

An electrical current shot through the Tiger Faunus when he said that, jumpstarting a fragment of his memory.
How many times had he sought help when he stood against the bullies of his youth?
How many times did he wish for all of the abuse to end, for someone to show him mercy?
He stood alone for the entirety of his life, never having anyone to trust. 
He never had anyone to share his thoughts and feelings with.
He never had anything. Yet, somehow he discovered the strength within him to carry on alone.
But now, he wasn't exactly alone. Was he?

Brow creased heavily, Shiro breathed out a ragged and shaky sigh. Stepping away from Abel and Gren to make a sort of 'circle' between the three of them, he dug within himself to find that spontaneous courage he harbored within his soul. Plopping onto his bottom, he grabbed at the gloves that sheathed his arms and tugged them off. After removing them, he began to unravel the layer of white bandages that acted as extra 'protection'. His eyes flitted up at Abel momentarily as he did this. His arms bared, he turned his hands over and lifted them so that Gren and Abel could clearly [url=http://static.zerochan.net/Konoe.full.1029976.jpg]see.[/url] He felt strangely uneasy, seeing his tattooed arms. It wasn't often he ever looked at them. Scratching at the back of his head, he grumbled slightly.

[b]"I appreciate it, boss. I really do. Just...You have to understand why this is hard for me. I'll...explain in a little bit. To start from the beginning..."[/b] He paused, itching his ears again. [b]"Well, like I said I'm an orphan. I don't know who my parents are and I don't know if I have any family. If they're even still alive, that is. I was found by a group of Hunters during a patrol in some forests or something. I was in pretty bad shape, so they took me to the nearest medical facility. They found me in the burning ashes of what was left of a nomadic village. They told me it looked like a nasty herd of Grimm had gone through. For some reason or another, I was the only one left alive. No other bodies were found."[/b] Shiro chuckled darkly. [b]"Sounds like some stupid cliche, I know. Anyways, when I was in stable condition and came to my senses, we all discovered that I had no memory. None whatsoever. Not a single idea of who I was, where I came from, and even exactly how old I was. Shoot, I didn't even know my name. Over time, only bits and pieces came back. I remembered what should've been my name and roundabouts how old I was."[/b] Reaching behind him to grab the hilt of Kladenets, the weapon unlocked from Perun and Shiro unsheathed it. Looking at the blade in his hands, he sighed. [b]"Kladenets and Perun were found near my unconscious body. When they did a bit of research, they found these two weapons to be registered to a Hunter pair with the same last name as mine. The one I managed to remember. They told me that the original Hunters that wielded these had died years before. How their weapons managed to come into my hands, no one really knew. They figured some graverobbers may have gotten a hold of them or they were passed on to old comrades of theirs. Whatever, it was some lame excuse. Either way, it was the only thing I had. Some memento of deceased parents I may have had."[/b] He laughed, sheathing Kladenets to put it away. Running his fingers through his silvery head of hair, his laughter died when he thought of Sapphire and what he did to her own treasured heirlooms. [b]"This hunk of metal became my parents, in a way."[/b] He blankly stared at the ground in a moment of silence.

Looking back up at Abel and Gren, he resumed. [b]"Well, with no one around to care for me. No kin to take me in, I was placed under the government's care and tossed into an orphanage."[/b] He looked at the angry tattoos on his forearms and frowned. [b]"Because I was a Faunus and I had these weird markings on my arms...You can imagine how tough it was for me."[/b] He lightly traced the tips of his fingers across the tattoos, withdrawing in what looked like pain and sucking through his teeth. Muttering, [b]"Well, I won't go over that. But, I was a fighter and caused trouble for the other kids that gave me a hard time. So much so that I...[url=http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/lamento/images/4/48/RAI.600.168398.jpg/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/640?cb=20141026215849]hurt someone[/url] badly. After that, I didn't stay at any one orphanage for long. I transferred from one to the other until I was old enough to start school. From there, the rest gets a bit blurry and vague."[/b]

[b]"When I started at Signal and we started learning about Semblances, we found out that my Semblance had some nasty side effects. As I'm sure the both of you know already. The 'docs' at Signal did every test imaginable on me, only to find nothing. I was in perfect health and they couldn't come up with a reason for me to be badly affected by my own powers. As far as these 'scars' of mine, they had always been around since I was discovered that fateful day in the forest. I just...hide them because they dig up some uncomfortable memories from my time back at the orphanage. They're more trouble than they're worth and I've even tried to..."[/b] He hesitated, stopping himself. Clearing his throat, he took a breath and finished up his piece. [b]"Anyways..."[/b] Shiro thought about what Sapphire had found of his back at their dorm room. He wondered if it would be better for her to tell his teammates or for it to come from his own lips. While they were at it, why not just reveal it? They would find out soon enough and if they find out later, it could potentially damage his building relationship with the two of them. [b]"The docs gave me some anti-psychotic meds. Told me that they might help. Might. With the added bonus of being a mood stabilizer and gut shredder."[/b] He looked away, his cheeks reddening slightly. [b]"I don't take them like I should because they make me feel barfy and stuff. Sapphire found out not too long ago and may be talking to us about that soon."[/b] Shiro threw his arms up and declared, [b]"Well, that's all there is to it! The entire life story of Kuhaku Shiro, the approximate 17 year old who wants to become a legendary Hunter! Who [i]will[/i] become a legendary Hunter. Just like most of everyone, I just want to help people. I want to be a role model for other Faunus and stop them from having to go through what I did. To stop [i]anyone[/i] from having to go through what I did. Sappy enough sob story for ya?"[/b] Shiro grinned as he picked up his bandages to begin re-wrapping his arms. Not mentioning the fact that his 'scars' as he called them, looked as if he had gotten them just that morning. The same as they looked when Abel first saw them during their most recent and only mission.

As he wrapped up his arms, he looked to the two of them.
[b]"Before Abel starts running his gab about his own life story, should we go find our fearless leader? Maybe have her sit in with us as we pour our bleeding hearts out to one another?"[/b] he smirked.
He eyed the two of them curiously.
[b]"Maaayyybe skip class to do so? Huh? Anyone?"[/b]
He chuckled to himself as he tugged his gloves back on.
Remembering something else, he pointed a finger at the sky.
[b]"Oh, and Gren? That's really everything I can remember. I've tried in the past to recall other details but I get those same mental breakdowns and psycho attacks as when I use my Semblance. So, there's not much else to it boss."[/b]