a/n well here is the next chapter, sorry for the long wait. I had irl things going on as well as getting a new computer to write on, if you are enjoying it so far or have any tips let me know

cover image by Ren Lyles

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Chapter Three: A New Venture

It did not take long for the training to end, within a few seconds the little rabbit was lying in her back panting with a broken aura. Walking over to her I squat down beside her and poke her stomach softly to see if she was hurt anywhere. A soft groan was the only response I got. Laughing softly to myself I hold my hand out to pick her up, which she takes allowing me to easily pick her up off the ground. "So it seems as if we found the first problem of your new weapon, it takes too much of your aura with each copy you make. You will either need to learn to control the amount of aura you give your weapon to function or change something in the weapon itself."

With a nod and a soft pout, Velvet looks up at me with her mouth open to speak but is cut off by a ring coming from her back pocket. Quickly pulling out her scroll she answers the call "oh hello coc- oh yes I'm fine, I was training with someone. What yes he's a bo- noo it's not like that at all!! Yes, I'm sure it isn't. I'll be fine don't worry at all. Yes, it's the boy I told you about, hey wait!" the scroll blanks out signaling the end of the call, from the redness of her cheeks I could tell that the conversation had been a somewhat embarrassing one for her. She looks over at me, her cheeks reddening as she notices my questioning look."...sorry about that, that was my team leader, she got an alert that my aura dropped in the red and thought something had happened I kind of forgot to tell her that I was training today". A nervous chuckle escapes her as she slides her scroll back into her pocket.

"Well are you up for any more training or do you need to rest and let your aura go back into the green. If you are not up for it I'm sure the girls would not mind if I cooked something for us"

Tilting her head back and forth she thinks about it, a move that caused her bunny ears to sway in motion. The sight of it looking cute in my eyes. After a moment she nods and walks up to me with her hands behind her back "I am kind of hungry, and you know how to cook?".

"I have had to cook for myself for most of my life, mostly just campfire recipes from when I am out on a mission. But the few times I have had a temporary home I learned some basic meals"

"What do you mean by a temporary home?"

"The life of a mercenary takes me all over the kingdoms, so having a permanent home is never a priority for me. Hell, the longest I can recall staying in one place is around six months, and that was only due to my contractor paying for extended protection of my charge at the time." I walk into the house and motion her inside with a wave.

"Ah that makes sense I guess...is it the same way for a hunter I wonder?" she looks up in contemplation as we walk into the kitchen.

"Well not exactly, hunters usually take jobs close to home more often than the jobs that are out of the way. Us mercenaries usually take those due to the better hazard pay, we are more expendable in the eyes of the people after all". I look in the fridge and take out the ingredients to make a salad for us to eat.

"What is the difference between the two? They never have talked about mercenaries at the combat school or during my first year at beacon".

I think about what to answer for a few minutes as I begin to finish up the salad "well I would say the biggest difference would be that mercenaries are never trained to do the jobs that they do and they have no allegiance to any kingdom." I pull out my scroll and press a button on the side of it to show it to her. The license had the basic information any license would have with the addition of the words official mercenary guild member as well as my ranking in the guild, which was one of the highest possible in the guild.

"Ohh I see now, so you can go anywhere and take any jobs without having to bother about any of the kingdom politics". A look of confusion crosses her face before she asks " so why did you not become a hunter?". Her eyes light up as I sit a large bowl of salad in front of her, she begins to munch away happily as I think about her question

"Long story short as a child there was an accident in my village that caused it to be abandoned as well as made me an orphan. From there I grew up on my own and made my way into the job I have now". With a nod, she hands me her plate as if she is asking for more, a move that made her look like an adorable child.

Her smile grows even more with the second plate I give her, vegetables are a plus to her it would seem. Quickly finishing her second plate she stands up and pumps her fist in the air slightly "well are you ready for round two, I'm pumped and ready to go". Flashing me a grin she begins to walk out the door and into the yard motioning for me to follow her. Meeting her in the yard I go to speak before my scroll rings, looking down I see a message from Yang asking me to meet her and her sister at Vale.

"Well, it will have to be another time little rabbit, seems I have business in Vale. shall we walk back to the Patch airfield together?" I notice a blush spread on her face as she nods. We begin the walk back to town, talking about ways she can help with the aura drain from her weapon.

About an hour later I waved goodbye to her as we went our separate ways, shooting a text to Yang I let her know that I am on my way to the address she sent me. A short walk later and I am in front of a small cafe, catching sight of the sisters I walk over to them. "So what are we doing here?" I ask the older one as the little one wraps around me in a hug.

"Well our uncle is in town and he wanted to meet us here to talk about a few things and to as he put it, try and drink you under the table after the meeting," the blonde bomber tells me as she attempts to pull Ruby off of me. The little redhead reluctantly lets go of me before she pouts and starts to walk inside. Her sister laughs softly before looking at me "it is kind of funny, your a total stranger basically to me and her considering we have only heard stories about you from dad and uncle Qrow, but here she is acting like you mean the world to her".

I pat her on the head much to her displeasure due to having her hair messed with, she punches my arm away as I speak my thoughts "well let us hope that kindness will not be her undoing after all being a hunter is not as much of a bed of roses as she might think it is." Noticing the tilt of her head I answer her unspoken question "being a hunter or mercenary can have dark moments, not all assignments are for Grimm after all.

With a soft nod, she heads in allowing me to follow her in as we wait for the drunken uncle of theirs to show up, which meant we had time to eat and then wait some more for him to come. Eventually, the crash of an empty glass announces his arrival. Looking around the tables for a few seconds he finds us, stumbling over to sit down with a swig from his flask "hello there young brats and to you red wolf" his rough and gravely voice greets us with the stench of cheap whiskey coming from his breath. The girls jump over to him and hug him tight before he pushes them off softly "okay okay that's enough now, we will have some time for that later I want to talk to Mr. wolf here so why don't you two go do something else for a little bit". He turns to Yang and smirks softly at her "I hear a certain bar owner wants to talk to you about you apologizing to him" the blond's eyes widen and she chuckles nervously before walking out the door, the rev of a motorcycle engine sounding a second later. Qrow chuckles into himself and looks at the little redhead before rustling her hair "I hear the store across the street has the new issue of weapons monthly" she squeaks happily and speeds over to the store with a burst of rose petals.

"Damn maybe I need to use that one to have them leave me alone, they are sweet girls and all but they do get on one's nerves easily," I say as I take a sip of my drink before looking at Qrow, his eyes narrow at me some as his face seems to sober up quickly. "Now what business do you have for me?"

With a deep sigh he pulls out his flask, the crow emblem on it as he takes a swig, as he stows it in his jacket he starts to speak "well, to be honest, I wanted to use someone else but...at the moment you are the best option for this" a smirk appears as he leans in closer to me whispering lowly to where only my wolf ears could pick it up, "or rather I have need of your other identity".

With a nod, I look in his eyes and laugh softly "so its another morally grey area type job I take it? What are you going to have me do exactly and you know my prices are high"

"Oh I know you can be expensive but I have some information you might want, it concerns your little accident" putting emphasis on the word accident he pulls out a folder with the words ongoing investigation on it. At my obvious interest he lays it on the table and slides it over to me "it's not much but I was put on a job to follow that woman who attacked you" something in his words causes a red flag to pop up in my mind.

"How exactly do you know that this woman attacked me" I question the man.

"I just so happened to have been following her when I saw her attack you, I would have stepped in since you are an ally and all but you know how tailing someone can be, once they spot you it is over" waving his hand through the air he continues "besides with that bullshit semblance of yours I knew that you would be alright"

A sigh escapes my lips as I close my eyes thinking about taking the deal. On one hand, I needed the information as to who attacked me, on the other, I knew from past experiences that the man before me went on missions that often had him missing in action for weeks or months at a time. The times that he and Tai went out together is what led to my quick rise in the mercenary world after all. "Alright ill take the deal, now what is this mission of yours'' I hold my hand out to shake his, he grasps it as he tells me a location to meet him at and to come in the usual disguise of my other identity as we stand a woman screams from inside the cafe. We look over in time to see a man get thrown through the window, I walk over to him and see him wearing a black suit with a red tie along with a pair of red cracked sunglasses. After a moment I realized the crew that he belonged to. "Seems as if juniors men have taken on more than they can handle…" my words trail off as I see the shop that he had been thrown from "isn't that the shop you sent Ruby to?".

With a sigh, the old drunkard nods before starting to walk out to the street "yes it is, I better go clean up this mess". He looks up at the top of the building before continuing "never mind, its taken care of...come along and you will meet your new contractor sooner than I thought". His words catching my interest, I start to follow him. As we get to the shop we notice Ruby floating down beside a tall blonde woman with a riding crop and glasses. Her voice stern and authoritative as she was scolding the young girl.

" And lastly you need to work on that footing, I counted at least five times in that fight where your opponents could have tripped you...if they were smart that is" with a deep sigh the woman looks up and notices me and Qrow "why am I not surprised, did you have anything to do with this here Qrow".

He shakes his head before pointing at the little redhead "nope" with a pop of the p sound he picks Ruby up "all her fault".

With the woman closer I look her over, noticing how gorgeous she was; her older age being somewhat of a plus. It was at this time the inner voice decided to chime in with its own insight TAKE THE WITCH AND BEND HER TO YOUR WILL. The voice really was one of the worst parts of my semblance, that and what happens if I let it get out of control. A flash of a blood-soaked child enters my mind, with a shake of my head I turn to leave "I'll be in contact Qrow". After walking a few minutes I slip into a dark alleyway my aura flaring up as it does, a dark purple glow illuminates the area around me slightly. "Well let's see if I have enough aura built back up to do this" I mumble to myself as I feel shadows bend and wrap around me, the familiar coldness bringing a smile to my face. The shadows fully close around me and the sensation of falling soon follows, as it stops I open my eyes to notice I was in my room at the Xiao-Long household. "Well seems I did have enough, I should be able to teleport close to the address Qrow gave me with the aura I have left." Pulling off my gauntlet I place it on the bed before activating my semblance, causing shadows to bend and form around me as a hooded black trench coat. Walking over to the door of the room, I send a text to Qrow asking when to meet him. As I go to leave the house I pat Zwei on the head before I feel a buzz in my pocket. Pulling out my scroll I read the response from Qrow.

There is a change of plans, meet me at beacon as soon as you can, your contractor is waiting for you in the headmaster's office.

Raising an eyebrow I shrug before I activate my semblance again, shadows forming a mask in the shape of a wolf's face around my own face. The feeling of falling comes to me again as I teleport to the rooftop of Beacon, panting some I jump down to a balcony outside the headmaster's office, teleportation always taking a massive chunk out of my aura with each use. Looking up I see Qrow leaning on a desk drinking from his flask, almost dropping it as I knock on the window.

"What the hell, don't scare an old man like that, I could die from a heart attack at any moment you know" he scolds me as he opens the window allowing me to hop inside.

"If those girls have not killed you yet then you should be fine, so exactly what have you gotten me into, dusty bird," I say as I look around the office. All things considered, it was a bland office in every aspect but the massive clock gears inside the floor and ceiling. The old hunter goes to speak but stops as a ding sounds from a door on the other side of the room, an old man walks out using a cane in one hand while sipping a cup of something in the other. As he walks over to the desk I get a better look at him, grey hair with brown eyes glances over at me as he sits at the desk.

"Hello there Qrow I take it that this is the help I sent you to find?" the older man speaks as he looks me up and down, stopping at the mask I wore "and what an interesting person you have found"

Qrow looks at me before nodding to the man at the desk "he is, you have here the infamous Pariah, we know each other through a...mutual contact of sorts".

With a sip of his drink, the grey-haired man looks at me before chuckling softly "would that contact be a certain new mercenary would it? The same one that has been staying with your nieces"

Eyes narrowing under the mask I look at Qrow whose eyes were narrowed as well in disbelief, with a wave of his hand he speaks "the jig is up, seems old man Ozpin knows already"

The old man now known as Ozpin smirks to himself as I pull off the mask, it fading away into a whisp of shadows.

"I wonder exactly how he knows that I was sure that my tracks were covered thoroughly. As Ozpin takes another sip of his coffee his smug look starts to piss me off, I get the feeling that he loves to play around and have fun with those under him. If this deal was to go through, it seems that I would be in for a rough time.

"Oh do not worry, your secret is safe with me Mr.Tyler. And for all intents and purposes, you did cover your tracks well enough" taking a slight pause to finish his cup he continues "but for all its worth I am a headmaster and as such I know most things that happen in this city". Ozpin folds his hand in front of his face as he looks into my eyes " now shall we begin talking about this deal?" he motions for me to sit at his desk, as I do he continues on. "Now this job will be somewhat of a delicate matter involving you infiltrating a certain criminal group under the control of Roman Torchwick and during your infiltration gain information on his dealings as well as the one who hired him, if you choose to accept this you will be paid weekly from me as well as be allowed to keep any of the money you gain from whatever jobs you will need to run to get in Romans good graces. Although...from what I hear the infamous Pariah is in high demand as a bad guy for hire so to speak"

"Well, you are not wrong at that assumption. Pariah does have an influx of others to help them in...less than reputable jobs. So if I am to be correct you want me to infiltrate his crew and find out his dealings. Who he deals with. As well as follow him just like his little ice cream themed midget". When Ozpin nods I keep going "is there anything else you would have me to do?"

The headmaster smirks before looking me up and down "tell me, how do you feel about being a teacher here at beacon? The students here need teachings in...subjects that I feel you could help in." when he notices my raised eyebrow he smirks before standing up. "The students need preparation in learning how to deal with criminals and the like, as well as to more effectively deal with human targets. While they do have combat class for general combat. You would end up being a more specialized combat teacher meaning that you will develop them as...the killers they hopefully will not have to become"

I stand up and hold my hand out to him his offer being a tempting one to me for many reasons. On one hand, I would end up being able to live in my other life risk-free since if I was caught I would be bailed out by Ozpin, and on the other, I would end up being able to learn more about beacon and its staff: the knowledge that could come in handy in the future. "You have a deal, old man, as long as you will make sure my crimes will be absolved if I am caught"

"You have a deal…" his words trail off when he shakes my hand, a look of recognition crosses his face before he smirks, something that quickly has begun to get on my nerves "that is all for now, if anything else comes up Qrow here will get into contact with you. As for when you are to start your mission that will be whenever you are able to."


A short while after the meeting I am in front of a bar with a neon sign above it reading "The Club" in bright colors. Looking around I spot an alleyway that allowed me to conjure up my mask before walking to the bouncer at the door. One nod from me was all it took for the bouncer to let me in, much to the protest of those waiting in line. Sometimes being famous in the underground did pay off. A pair of voices speak to me in unison, one on each side of me.

"Our boss told us to bring you to the V.I.P room so you can rest before the meeting and have better privacy" looking down I am greeted by the smile of a set of twins, Melani and Miltia Malachite look back at my masked face. The twins had taken a liking to me when I began dealing with their boss, a man who went by the name of Junior. When I asked them why they acted this way towards me the only response was that I did not try to hit on them and I was able to tell them apart with ease, another reason being they found the mask hot and not knowing my face made them want to see it at whatever the cost.

"Alright then lead the way girls, and remember no funny business" the twins pout playfully as they take me to a backroom. Looking around I see a lavish red couch large enough for a few people to sit on it and have room to spare. Sitting down one twin sits beside me as the other walks out to get junior "so tell me, what mood is junior in tonight" I ask the twin that had stayed, Miltia.

Miltia sighs and runs a hand through her raven black hair before smoothing out her red dress making sure to twist her legs in a way that made it ride up her just enough to give me a look at her legs. Falling for her bait my eyes look down to her well-toned thighs as she pulls her dress up just enough to give me a flash of her pure white panties. "I seem to recall saying no funny business".

With a small giggle, she pulls her dress back down before tracing the mouth of my mask "ah but you looked didn't you? Seems you did not fully mean what you said hmmm" she teases as she leans in, placing a small kiss on the nose of the mask before moving away teasingly. Let your lust show take the girl as your own for once I was tempted to do as the voice said, I was a man after all gods dammit. Sighing I adjust my mask before looking at her sternly the effect being lost under the mask. "To answer your question he is a little stressed tonight, the club hasn't been getting a lot of visitors since that blonde bimbo wrecked it. But junior thinks of her as a little sister so he takes it easy on her. Speaking of, I hear him coming now" true to her words the door opens and junior walks in, his suit looking the same as his henchmen in every aspect but he was clearly more expensive. He nods to me before sitting down on the other side of Miltia who proceeded to walk over to the bar on the other side of the room.

"So tell me, what can I do for one of my most valued customers?" the man beside me spoke as he took off the sunglasses he wore as part of his crew's gimmick.

"Well, I need in touch with a certain ginger whose been making a name for himself in the news lately. My clients as of late have been of the lower-paying type, and word is he has involved himself with the white fang so I am sure he needs some extra protection." Junior laughs before taking the drink Miltia offered him. She hands me one and I hold it out to Junior "do we have a deal? Get me in contact with him before the weeks over and ill pay just a little bit more than the usual." he quickly clinks it with mine before nodding.

"I'll have you in contact with him tonight, after all, tonight is the usual night for his little psycho to come and mess with my patrons, how about you wait back here and ill send her in once she gets here? The twins can keep you company?" and with that, a new chapter to my life began.