a/n well now that the first few setup chapters are finished it's time to start focusing on the plans I have laid out for it. And without further adieu the first full-length chapter of The Outcast Of Remnant

cover image by Ren Lyles

Instagram: renlyles


Chapter Four: Dubious friends

Within the hour a knock came from the door to the V.I.P room and in came Junior, his voice strained some as he steps aside to allow someone in "just as promised, i'll let you two have some privacy. Oh and if you need anything else just knock on the door, i'll have a guy posted here" and just as quickly as he came, he left. Despite his bravado, this newcomer had unnerved him and one could not blame him. Neopolitan had a reputation that was greater than even my own in the criminal underground. Not much was known about her past from what I could tell, even the best information brokers were able to find out anything. It was as if she had just suddenly appeared one day, and ever since then, her skills had become infamous.

Looking her over I take note of her eyes first, one being pink and the other brown matching her namesake. The same could be said for her hair one side brown and the other pink with a light grey streak through it. Her outfit consisted of a whitetail jacket with pink accents as well as a black corset that allowed just a small amount of skin to be shown on either side of her hips due to her pants riding just under the waistline. Standing up I walk over to her and extend my hand slowly, not knowing what she might try, her beauty being just as dangerous as her psychotic tendencies "Hello Neopolitan, would it be correct to assume Junior told you why I wanted to meet you as well as who I am?"

With a nod, she takes my hand which completely swallowed hers up due to her very small stature and by small I mean almost the size of a young teen. With a tilt of her head, she motions towards the couch before walking over to it, swaying her hips with the grace of a master seductress. Sitting on the opposite side of her I begin the discussion "so as you have heard from Junior I would like to meet up with your boss and join the crew, not as some lowly grunt mind you; I do believe my skills would be better served in another position". Pulling one finger to her lips she tilts her head back and forth as if thinking it over, after a few seconds her eyes widen as her mouth opens in an oh gesture as she holds the finger above her head "You have an idea?" she nods quickly pointing at herself then at me before holding her hands together. "Yes, I'm suggesting I help be his bodyguard. No offense to you since I know you are more than capable of helping him out." at my words she pouts playfully before punching my arm with just enough force to show her intent. Laughing softly as I nod to her "yes you are very strong, in fact, I would love to fight against you one day. Not to the death mind you, but to at least an aura break." at the glint in her eyes I could tell admitting that was a mistake. The shadows voice pipes in with its brilliant wisdom TEST YOUR METTLE AGAINST THE SMALL ONE AND SHOW YOUR MIGHT. Choosing to ignore the voice I continue on "you do have to admit that even you cannot be in two places at once right?"

Standing up the ice cream themed woman walks over to me and stands in front of me, due to how low the couch was I am forced to look up at her, a sight that was pleasing to the eye if I do say so myself. If only this wasn't a business call I think to myself as she places a hand on my chest to trace the slight muscles there. She pulls away and nods before pulling out a scroll, she quickly types out a message then shows it to me.

I find you acceptable, I will set up a meeting with Roman. All I need is your scroll number and we have a deal

Due to the number of emoticons she had at the end of the text, it was hard to see her as the danger she was known to be. "Alright then you have a deal Neopolitan" she shakes her head as I say her name "would Neo be okay then?" with a nod she hands over her scroll for me to program my number in. While I do that she reaches up to my mask, no doubt aiming to attempt to take it off. Stepping back I push her scroll into the outstretched hand before putting a finger up " only a choice few know who I am under this mask and I would prefer to keep it that way"

Crossing her arms she pouts while stomping her feet like a child. When I take no action to continue she bends forward letting her arms hang low in a sulking way before she straightens up and walks out the door. As she leaves she blows a kiss at the guy guarding the door who proceeds to stammer in embarrassment. Well, that was an interesting conversation, but at least I have my way in hopefully. I should probably stay in Vale for the night. Shooting a message to the sisters I head out the club. Hearing the sound of a crow caw behind me I turn in time to see Qrow walkout from an ally beside the club, I follow him as he motions towards the ally.

"Soo, the ice cream midget left looking smug with herself. Can I take that as a good sign" when nod he laughs some before placing a hand on my shoulder. "Well, then good job, as a reward here is the first payment from good old Ozzy boy" he hands me enough lien to rent a motel for a week. When I pocket the lien he continues "there will be more from him after your first report, don't spend it all in one place" he starts to walk off before he turns and looks at me "oh before I forget, here" he throws me a black scroll, as I catch it he continues. "That is the official scroll for teachers at Beacon, Oz wanted you to have it." and with that, he walks off to leave me with my own thoughts.

"Huh, never thought that I would be a teacher...seems that my life has gone off the rails even more than one would think. Now, where should I sleep tonight" I mutter to myself as I get a text from my regular scroll. Pocketing the black scroll in my left pocket I pull out my normal scroll from my right pocket to see a text from Cindy. While reading it I allow the mask to fade away before smiling softly to myself. It seems that I have a place to sleep for the night after all.


A short cab ride later leads me to stand in front of a medium-sized house with an attached garage, which I knew housed only materials and weapons that need finished. Walking up to the door I knock, the sound of quick footsteps grow louder before I hear the door unlock as Cindy speaks from inside.

"Come on in, you know the way still I hope" her voice grows softer as she walks down the hall before I can enter. Walking in I look around at a seemingly bland entryway knowing well enough that the small weapon maker would rather spend money on her projects than her own home. When I walk down the hall I hear her voice again "come on you slowpoke I don't have all day here."

"Oh so I'm the slow-" my words cut off quickly as my eyes widen at the sight that awaited me when I walked into the living room where she was at. Standing in front of me was the woman I had known for over a year now, who I counted as one of my closest allies, and here she was standing in front of me with her hair straightened out from its normal large bun. My eyes trail up to the top of her head where a pair of small mouse ears twitched softly, looking down lower I notice that she was wearing only a large oversized white t-shirt which only made her small frame even more apparent.

Noticing the rising color to my cheeks she smirks before quickly walking closer to me, making me look down at he as she speaks "ohhh is the big bad wolf turned on by a little old mouse hmmm" her words take on a teasingly seductive tone as she places a hand on my chest. She laughs softly before pulling me onto the couch, straddling me as she does. "Where was this when I tried it all before? You are not as cold and emotionless as you were when we first met." she holds one finger to her lips and gives me an innocent look. "Could it perhaps be spending times with those two girls has cracked that shell of yours?" when I stutter some she laughs before leaning in and placing a quick kiss on my lips which made my blush only grow even more. Noticing my increasing blush she giggled before laying her head on my chest to look up at me "well well well I like this Tyler very much~"

Looking down at her I try to get myself out of this situation when I see something familiar about the shirt that she had on. Studying the tag I see that it was from a shop I frequent and immediately see she was wearing one that I had left for her to safe keep. Deciding to try and use it to get her off I confront her about it "is that one of my shirts, huh Cindy?" this turned out to be a mistake as she smirks before standing up and backing up a few inches.

"Oh, you are right? How about I give it back to you hmm~~" with a shit-eating grin she slowly proceeds to pull my shirt off of her, revealing that her small frame was more of a muscled build as she pulls the shirt above her hips. Taking my stunned silence as permission she pulls it up further, just barely revealing her womanhood before I hold my hand out activating my semblance.

"Enough!" I say as shadows form in my hand before they shoot out to her, wrapping around her as well as forcing her to drop the shirt allowing it to cover her fully. I close my eyes to focus on getting my mind back on track before I speak to her "Now you cannot just surprise someone like that okay?...who knows what I may have done…" I whisper the last bit hoping that she could not hear them. The twitch of her mouse ears, as well as her smirk, tells me she heard.

"Oh I reeeaaalllyy~ like this version of you, care to tell me why the sudden change?"

With a wave of my hand, the shadows around her fade away letting her go as I groan to myself "no clue...if I were to guess then I would say that my accident and almost dying would have a profound effect on myself"

"Hmmm, or could it be those girls you are staying with," she asks as she sits beside me.

"You could be right…' my words trail off in thought before looking at the mouse faunus "so tell me what is it that you have to show me?"

At my words, her eyes seem to sparkle before she quickly runs into a room at the back of the house before running back with her scroll. "Here lookie at these blueprints for that bunny girls weapon. She told me to adjust a few things according to your words" she turns the scroll to me to look over it.

Looking over the blueprints I look at her questioningly "well it does not look like anything has changed. But considering that I am not good with these things that is not saying much"

With a pout, she facepalms before sighing to herself as she mumbles something even my hearing could not pick up. "You are hopeless at times, the big bad mercenary is hopeless beyond all hope."

Laughing I pat her head softly, letting my hands run on her mouse ears which caused her to lean into the touch instinctively. Touching the animal part of a faunus would normally be reserved for someone you care deeply about but Cindy had often stated how she wanted someone to do it for her. This continued for a few seconds before she realized what I was doing, her eyes widen and she looks at me with an almost childlike innocence.

"Okay now I really like this new you...can you do it again?" at my laugh she pouts and crosses her arms.

"Well, that is the only nice thing you will get out of me tonight. And speaking of tonight mind if I sleep here tonight?"

With a tilt of her head, she thinks for a few seconds before nodding softly "on onnneee~ condition, you give me one free pass to call in for whatever I need no questions asked"

"Okay you have a deal and don't try anything else or the deal will be null and void, got it?" narrowing my eyes at her I let my aura pulse around me. A dark purple almost black color forms around me in the shape of my body like a bodysuit. As quickly as it appeared it fades away, leaving the smell of an earthy forest.

"You know I find it interesting that your aura creates a scent so strongly, normally its more subdued right?" nodding I make to stand up, starting to head to the guest room she left vacant for me for occasions such as this. "Hey! Aren't you going to tell me goodnight or something" the mousey blonde yells playfully at me.

With a small chuckle, I walk back over to her and place a kiss on her forehead whispering "goodnight little mouse." her eyes widen before she punches me hard on the arm, the strength of it would be surprising to many due to her size but for me, it was normal at this point. My friendship with her had always been an interesting one when we first met she had been excited to have a faunus customer in an area of Vale that had hated faunus. When I had told her of the plans for my weapon she ended up loving the weapon to the point she had joked about shared custody. Over the few months, it took to figure out the technique we used to build the weapon we had grown closer, even though I acted somewhat cold to her like I did many others.

"Goodnight to you. .Wolf" she scurries off to her room, a blush appearing on her cheeks as she does. It had become commonplace for her to try and get me flustered but she could never take what she dished out. With a laugh to myself, I walk into the guest room to sleep as the voice speaks TREAT THE MOUSE LIKE THE PREY THAT SHE IS sighing at the voice I shake my head before laying down.

The next day I wake up to the sound of my scroll going off as if someone was sending spam text, looking at it I see it was from an unknown number and as I read the text I could see it was from Neo. I save the number and put her contact image as a bucket of ice cream for comedic reasons. As more messages flood in I respond back and she responds quickly

Yes, I am up you can stop flooding my phone now.

Oh, goodie~ now come to this address tonight and Roman will meet with you. Oh, and I will be there, of course, ~ ill play nice with you ;)

From the stories I have heard, I'm sure you will play nice

A series of emojis is all I got in response to my last message before she quits responding. From the rumors spread throughout the kingdom, the girl was a danger to anyone she feels like messing with. Her sadistic nature, as well as her combat skills, were just an infamous as her child-like attitude. Stories of her using that childlike attitude to kill many an unsuspecting foe came to mind. "Well Tyler, you've gotten yourself into a minefield haven't you...this pay Ozpin promises better be worth it otherwise I may skip town again," I say to myself. Standing up I stretch, feeling the popping of a few joints as I do before walking out to the kitchen to fix some food for Cindy as payment for letting me stay the night. When I finish the food I leave her a note saying it was in the microwave before I leave the house. I had some free time till tonight so I figured I could spend some time with the little bunny if she was available. I send her a text before heading into town.


A short while later I find myself sitting in a coffee shop with the little rabbit in front of me, hot cocoa in her hands. "So tell me about your team some? You mentioned them last time we met up. Knowing about them and their fighting styles may help me in training you some"

An embarrassed look comes to her face as she tries to hide her face with her rabbit ears "w-well one of them is on her way here. I'm sorry I didn't mention anything!" she proceeds to keep her face hidden as her face grows red.

With a laugh I take a sip of my coffee before patting her head softly "don't worry, it is no problem at all. In fact, this is even better considering I can get a first-hand account of the way she fights. Can I ask her name?"

"My name is Coco, may I ask your name Mr. red-haired wolfy" the sound of a female voice comes from behind me, causing Velvet to squeak softly in an attempt to hide her face even more.

I stand and turn around taking in the newcomer, the first thing I notice is the shades she is wearing even indoors as well as the black beret. Her outfit consisted of a coffee-colored sweater with a black scarf wrapped around her neck. Black leather pants fit tightly against her legs that seemed well-toned, a feature made more apparent due to the high heeled leather boots she had on "well Coco this wolf has a name" holding out my hand she takes it as I continue "the name is Tyler".

"How strange, you aren't named after a color?" she walks over to sit beside velvet, wrapping an arm around her as she does. "Now tell me what is your interest in my little Bun Bun here?" looking over her shades at me I see the small dangerous glint in her dark brown eyes.

It seems she is a bit overprotective, just as Velvet had told me. Although her intimidation had little effect on me I decided to play along with her game. "Well, the little Bun Bun" Velvet seems to flatten her ears against her face even more as I speak the nickname "has a weapon design that I can help her train with due to my semblance acting as a version of her weapon."

"Oh she told me all about you, in fact, she would not shut up the day she met you"

At this the little rabbit jumped up "I'm going to the bathroom now!" she tries to hide her blood-red face with her hair as she walks past me to the bathroom.

The girl across from me laughs to herself before reaching across to take a sip of my coffee, with a grimace she puts it back down "well I was starting to like you until I tasted that abomination of a drink"

Raising my eyebrow I take a drink as well, noting the taste of honey vanilla lip balm as I do "it is just black coffee what's wrong with that?" her disgusted face is all I got in response before she changed the subject.

"So from all the information, I have found on you has made me wonder why you offered to help her out. The few who worked with you said that you were cold heartless and efficient at what you do. All the signs show someone who would not help my little Bun Bun." she leans in some before continuing on. "And if this is some ploy just to get into her pants I-"

Putting a finger to her mouth I stop her "that is not it in the slightest, and besides why would I want to do that when you are here now?" my voice takes on a teasing tone as I pull my finger away.

"Hmm okay maybe I do like you again, but back to the question. Why are you not like what the information has said" she leans back into the chair getting comfortable.

"Well, to be honest, I would say almost dying is one hell of a reason to change your outlook on life. I had a run-in with someone who gutted me. If it wasn't for the healing factor of my semblance then I would have died."

Nodding she taps one finger on her chin as she mulls over my response. After a few seconds, she nods and takes a sip of Velvets hot cocoa before speaking "well I guess I'm fine with it, after all, no one I know of could help her with a weapon as complicated as hers." it was at this time Velvet comes back and sits down, having obviously splashed some cold water on her face. Coco leans in and whispers softly to the long-eared girl next to her "I like your boyfriend Velvs"

"Coco stooooop!" and with that, the blush had returned as well as Velvet's accent coming out thicker than before. She proceeds to push Coco away who only laughs in response before standing up and saying she would see Velvet later.

Face Planting on the table Velvet groans loudly before looking up at me "I am so sorry about her...she is a handful at times. Especially when it comes to being protective of me"

Chuckling lowly I pat her shoulder softly "well at least it means she cares right?" at her groan I laugh and stand up asking if she would want to go somewhere else.

"Well I need to go to Cindy's to drop this off" she motions to the weapon strapped to her hip.

"We can head over to her shop then, I am sure she wants to kill me after what I did last night anyway so this should be fun" noticing her curious look I laugh softly and start walking in the direction of Cindy's shop "it turns out that she cannot take the type of teasing she dishes out.

"Ohhh I got you, hey wait up!" she starts to run after me to catch up.

The shop comes into sight soon after and something seemed off in the air, both of us seem to feel it. "Hey wait here, something is not right here." my words were proven right as a man runs out of Cindy's shop holding a bag. "Oh this is about to be fun, watch this" activating my semblance I push my right hand forward causing a tentacle shaped shadow to arc out and into the hand of the man.

Dropping the bag he cries out as he holds his hand "Fucking hell, you done messed up you Faunus trash"

The racist remarks cause Velvets ears to droop down sadly while only angering me. Whipping the shadow tentacle again it slaps him across the legs causing him to fall to the ground. Walking over I form a small shadow dagger in the other hand. "So what was that remark? I love to cut out the tongue of racist trash such as you." the man grows silent as I kneel down and push the dagger near his lips. "That's what I thought" I slam the hilt of it into the man's temple to knock him out. "Hey Velvet do you wanna call the police for me?"

"O-okay!" she pulls out her scroll and begins calling the police to let them know just as Cindy walks out of her shop with a massive hammer in her hand.

"Okay you little shit I'm gonna beat your as- oh hello there you two" she looks down at my right arm and points to it "hey you okay?"

Looking down at my right arm I see dark lines creeping out from my sleeve. "Seems I let my emotions slip more than I had hoped...damn racist" another of the drawbacks to my semblance. If I use it while having a strong negative emotion such as anger, the shadows can sort of take over and cause me to act in ways that are best kept hidden. YES LET ME FREE LET ME RUN WILD. "would you shut the hell up" I whisper lowly enough so no one hears it before turning to Cindy "ill be fine, just gotta cool off for a second"

Velvet runs up and looks at the guy on the ground before marveling at the shadow tentacle coming from my hand "whoa..i thought it was only weapons you could create" she pokes it before pulling her hand away quickly "that's cold!"

Chuckling Cindy walks up and pats her on the shoulder before pulling her into a massive bear hug, which caused the little rabbit to squeal softly "oh he can make a lot with his shadows, you should see the summons he can do." she sets Velvet down before sirens sound, causing all of our ears to flatten some due to the sound.

"Well you two might want to head into the shop, I'll deal with the cops for ya" with a wide grin she signals me to let the unconscious man free before she heaves him over her shoulder with ease to walk towards the cop car that came into view. As I walk into the shop I hear Velvet start to walk in with me. She proceeded to set her weapon onto the counter before walking over to me. At my raised eyebrow she pulls up my sleeve to look at the lines on my arm which had faded away quickly.

"Wait they are gone already?...what were they?" She looks up to me with wide eyes that made her look more adorable than she already had. Her eyes widen even more as she realizes the closeness "s-sorry!" she backs up some hiding her hands behind her back.

"It is a part of my semblance, if I let negative emotions influence my actions then the shadows can..take me over for lack of a better term. It is another of those reasons that people stay away from me due to them fearing this 'dark power' as they call it." a sigh escapes my lips as I lean on a glass display. "It can be bothersome but it is what I have to live with"

"Well, you have had a good job of controlling it from everything I have seen" the sides of her lips curl up in a soft smile as she hops up onto the counter I'm leaning on, her legs swinging slowly as she does. Her cuteness seemed to grow the more time I spent with her.

The bell above the door rings out causing both of our ears to flatten out when Cindy walks in, tying her hair up in her usual large bun to hide her ears. With a glare to me, she walks over and pushes her finger into my chest before chewing me out "now tell me how in the hell are you going to make up for that last night huh? Tell me tell me?"

Putting my hand on her head to push her away I laugh softly and looks at Velvet who had a curious look on her face "see I told you she could not handle the teasing she does to everyone else." the small blonde huffs softly as she grabs the weapon beside Velvet.

"Oh hush up you red-headed little..well not so little bastard. Now come on back with me little rabbit and let us get started on these improvements." she grabs the rabbits' hand before pulling her to the backroom leaving me alone.

"Well, I will see you two some other time," I say loud enough for them to hear before heading outside the store. Vibration comes from my pocket and I pull it out seeing it was the scroll that Qrow had given me. On it read a message from a contact named Oz that told me to meet up at the headmasters' office in beacon. "Well, it seems my day has some more things to do before the meeting tonight..although if I wanted all these meetings I could have just joined the S.D.C" with a small sigh I call up a cab to take me to the school.

The school had always had an air of oldness to it, probably due to the castle-like theme to it. Making my way into the courtyard I look around at the design of it, noting places that seemed to hide cameras. It seems that Ozpin has a better security system than one might think due to the old style of building. A scoff catches my attention as a woman walks towards me, her blonde hair and sharp gaze only making her beauty even more striking. At a closer look, I realized she was the woman who was scolding Ruby the night she stopped the robbery.

"You are Mr. Morgan, am I correct?" she asked me with a tone that showed she was unimpressed with me.

Nodding I hold my hand out to her which she ignores, choosing to turn and start walking into the school.

"I see, now follow me at once. The headmaster is waiting on you" following her the thought crosses my mind that she seemed to need some good destressing, maybe I should ask Qrow about that. We continue to walk through the school, some students who chose to stay during summer break whisper as we walk by.

"Hey is that the new teacher?"

"He seems kind of young, about the age of a fourth year."

"I heard he should be feared as a beast" that comment caused me to sigh softly, which caused my escort to turn around and scowl at the students who quickly ran away no doubt afraid of the woman.

"I apologize for those students, word spread quickly about your being hired and many students figured out that you were a mercenary and...those other rumors about you due to your-"

Holding a hand up to cut her off I shake my head softly "no need to apologize, this is something that has happened since I was a child. It does not affect me as much anymore" her face softens just slightly as she nods.

"Very well then, let us continue on then." we make our way to an elevator that takes us up into the headmasters' office, the man himself standing at the large window as we walk in.

"It is good to see you again, I assume the scroll is working well for you?" with a nod from me he walks over and extends his hand out to me. "Now I called you here to discuss a few things, chief among them being exactly what you will be doing here as a teacher" as I shake his hand he walks over to a coffee pot on the side of his massive desk before pouring two cups. "Do you take yours with cream or sugar?"

"No, actually I take mine black"

His eyes light up softly as he turns to the woman in the room "see Glynda, someone else agrees with me" with a small scoff Glynda turns to walk out the door. "I am sorry about her, she is somewhat prejudiced towards you. I am afraid it is my fault though, after all, I am the one who chose to hire you on as a teacher as well as give you your...other job"

With a nod I take the cup he offered me, after testing the heat I activate my semblance causing shadows to wrap around it. Noticing his questioning look I decide to explain "the shadows in their purest form have a very low temperature, some would say freezing in fact" the shadows around the cup fade away as I take a sip. The taste of it causing a small surge of happiness as I drain the contents of the cup.

"So that would explain why your hand has felt so cold whenever I shake it. Another thing that is interesting about you that I shall keep in mind." with his usual smug smirk he takes a sip of his own cup before continuing. "Now we should discuss exactly what you would be doing here as a teacher. As well as making sure you are prepped for the start of the year in a few months."

Having already been wondering what I would be teaching, I nodded with a slight interest in my eyes. He smirks even more before walking over to the window, taking a deep breath before talking again.

"The air in the kingdom has changed lately into one that is of a more volatile nature, what with the white fang presence being even more pronounced as of late. As well as Roman torchwick's affiliation with them. And lastly, the one that they both work for...this one being the worst of the three. If I can be frank with you..war is on its way to the kingdom or rather all of the kingdoms I should say." his expression grows dim as he turns to me. "And my students will need to be prepared to fight...in any way they need to for them to survive"

A question enters my mind as he speaks " from what I know, beacon already has a combat class led by Glynda. Is that correct or am I wrong?" with a nod his facial expression returns to the normal smugness that I have grown to associate him with.

"While that is correct, the class she teaches is a more general style of combat that is designed to give them a small bit of combat against human opponents but…" taking another sip of his coffee he pauses for a moment. "But in actuality, it keeps their reflexes in shape and does not give them the teachings for what will be necessary should this war come" another moment of silence lets me speak again.

"So due to my experience in more morally grey areas, of which I still want to know how you do know about" his smirk enters the shit-eating grin territory as he sees the small anger on my face. "With all that in mind you want me to teach your students to kill other humans, you do know many will not want to take a class like that. As well as the council more than likely would not approve of a class such as that"

"While that is true about the council if the description of your class is altered some to say something like.." waving his hand his tone takes on a playful tone "a specialized combat class designed for those who want to exceed in taking on human targets. The council would be happy with that. As for students not wanting to take your class, it will be completely optional for them." folding his hands in front of his face he gets a mischievous look in his eyes.

"I see...so you want me to mold these kids into something like me. Are you sure about this?"

"While...it is something I may regret doing in the future, it would be more regrettable to lose many of them in a battle that they did not even ask for '' at his words his face seemed to age many years before he sighs softly. "Is this acceptable for you?"

Thinking over it I nod after a few moments "yes it is, I will give you a small army of capable fighters should they choose to join my class"

"Great! Now you should be getting a document sent to your official scroll detailing things like your payment as a teacher and the benefits associated with being one. Oh speaking of, hand me the scroll" as I hand him the black scroll he slides it into an access port on the desk before handing it back to me "now you have access to one of the teachers' rooms on campus, use it as you see fit"

"Is this all you need of me?"

He nods closing his eyes "for now yes, oh and do let me know how your meeting with that woman goes tonight." and with that, I leave, my intention being to check out the room given to me. A message from Ruby changes my mind.

Hey, can we meet up? I'm kinda bored and in Vale and I remembered you were in town on business you said but I hoped you would be free and yeah...ehehe

Laughing softly to myself I tell her to meet me at the beacon entrance then I head to the gate to wait for her. It takes her all of a few minutes to appear in a flood of rose petals.

"Why are you here at beacon! Tell me tell me tell me!" her wide eyes and childlike giddiness causes me to pat her on the head as she jumps up and down while talking.

"Oh did your uncle not tell you? I am now a teacher here at beacon, I will be teaching a combat class." seeing her mouth open to ask a question I put a finger to her lips to stop her. "And yes there was already a combat class here, my class will be of a different style of combat."

"Wait, that means I can be in your class!" she excitedly states before she sees my curious look. "Ohhh you didn't come back to the house so you don't know silly me" she hits the side of her head softly before striking a heroic style pose "due to my heroic actions in stopping the robbery of that store, headmaster Ozpin offered me to join his school when the year starts after this summer is over." her grin was infectious as I could feel my lips curl up some.

"Well the class I teach is optional, but you would have two combat classes if you took mine, think you're up to that challenge hmm?" leaning in I flick her nose causing her face to scrunch up. "Well do you want a tour? I don't know my own way yet but I do have an idea where my room will be. They gave me a teacher room to live in." her eyes grow larger and she jumps onto me wrapping her arms around my neck as she does.

"PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE!" she quickly said as she attempted to shake me with each word. A blush starts to form when she notices the position she was in she drops down and smooths her skirt before coughing nervously. "Um, y-yes I would like that very much" the little redhead laughed softly at herself as she started to follow me into the school. Her child-like attitude began to show as she looked around with wide eyes and an open mouth. "Look at all these weapons! Is that a multi shifting shield oh my gods it's another scythe!"

"Hey, little rose we are almost at the rooms" as the words leave my mouth she stops suddenly and looks at me with a small almost somber smile. "Did I say something wrong?"

"No...its just that what my mom used to call me when I was a kid"

"Ah, I see. Do you want me to not call you that then" we reach the rooms and I look at the black scroll to see the room number given to me.

"No no no it's fine I actually like hearing it again…" her words trail off as we step into the room.

The first thing one could say about the room is that it was bigger than most apartments and was fitted with all someone would need to live comfortably. After checking the kitchen out it seemed it had been recently stocked as well, almost as if Ozpin had known I would accept the offer. There were two bedrooms, one a master bedroom with a king-sized bed and the other a guest room with a queen-sized bed. The bathroom was massive as well with a bathtub that swallowed ruby up as she giddily laid inside it.

"Oh wooow this is amazing, I hope the student rooms will be like this." a flurry of rose petals float around the room as Ruby flits around the room looking at everything and anything she can find. She ran back to me with a bottle that had a note on it. "I found this in the refrigerator I think it's for you?" as quickly as she came with the bottle she rushed back and put it into the refrigerator before collapsing onto the couch in the living room.

"Well someone is excited it seems" walking into the living room from the doorway I laugh and sit in a chair that was seated across from the couch. "I guess I'll be staying here from now on. I'll need to go by Cindy's to get some of the stuff she keeps for me"

An almost shit-eating grin spreads on her face, no doubt learning it from her sister "ooooohhh, are you dating your weaponsmith how romaannntiiicc" she squeaks softly as a small shadow ball hits her on the forehead.

"That is not something I will discuss with you" as she opens her mouth to speak. I form another ball of shadows onto my pointer finger before pointing it at her. With an audible snap she closes her mouth "that's what I thought"

"So are you gonna come back and visit us?..." and there it was, the insecurity I've come to expect from her no doubt having come from the past with her mother and the way her father had handled it.

"Yes I will come to visit you two at Patch, as well as I could possibly see about Ozpin letting you two come stay here or something like that." the way her eyes lit up made a smile appear on my face. " speaking of, where is your sister at? I'm surprised at her leaving you alone like this"

She starts pouting before sitting up cross-legged with a small huff "she is having a date with some random guy she met at some bar last night...hmpf blonde bimbo.." she whispers the last part hoping I could not hear her.

"Well she is an adult with her entering beacon now, as are you" her eyes grow to the size of dinner plates as she suddenly jumps off of the couch and zips around squealing "I'm an aduuulllttt"

"Well you might be one but you don't act like one" the laws of the four kingdoms had always swayed to favor hunters more often than the civilians. The biggest being anyone who entered one of the four major academies would be considered an adult, this was due to huntsmen and huntresses risking their lives on an almost daily basis among other reasons why. This would allow students to do anything that a normal civilian adult would be able to do, no matter the age of the student. The same thing applied to anyone who was romantically involved with a hunter, although some restrictions applied in terms of age for that rule. For instance, someone who was Rubys age of fifteen would be allowed to date someone up to six years older than her and the law would find no problem with it. This age would go up with each year passed until she was eighteen then she could date anyone with no problem. It is due to laws like this that would help allow the population to increase despite the lives lost due to Grimm.

"I am so going to rub this in her face when I see her next time" a mischievous tone comes into her voice before she sits back down on the couch. The sound of my regular scroll vibrating constantly catches both of our attention. As I read the text I see that Neo had sent me a message saying get to the meeting place now and Roman will not wait long for me.

"Well it seems I have some business to attend to little rose, how about you do something for me and get my stuff from Cindy? I'm sure she would love to hear about your weapon since she is as big a weapon nut as yourself. And if I am not back when you are, then you can stay and wait for me if you feel like it"

After giving the little reaper the address and letting Cindy know about it, I make my way to the address given to me by the ice cream themed woman.


The address given to me lead me to a small warehouse on the outskirts of Vale, forming the wolf mask I put it on as shadows swirl around me. As they fade a black trench coat is in place of my normal attire. Placing the mask on I also pull the hood of the trench coat up before walking inside the warehouse.

"Well well well, if it isn't the infamous Pariah and come to see little old me about a job in fact. I should count myself lucky on this one" a voice from above me calls out, looking up I see a ginger man wearing a bowler hat in a white business style suit. He grins at me before flipping his cane around so the handle of it is pointed at a support beam above us. With a clinking sound, the handle shoots out and wraps around the beam allowing him to glide down a few feet in front of me. "Now theatrics aside, lets talk business shall we?"

With a slight chuckle, I nod "that is fine by me, I assume your associate told you what it is that I am wanting?" lighting a cigar he puffs it before looking me up and down. After a moment of debating, he answers with a long drag of the cigar.

"Smell that? This is the best cigar money can buy, in fact, I would go as far as to say its the best I have ever had. So as you can see, I enjoy only the finest things money can buy. This goes even better for the help that I decide to employ. What makes you different from my little Neo?" at the mention of her name she appears beside him with the sound of shattered glass to signal her arrival.

"Well the fact your even meeting with me should show you know of my skills, otherwise your associate there would have killed me when I had asked to meet her. Would this be correct?" the ice cream themed woman nods her head with a sickly sweet smile. "Well with her acknowledgment of that is it safe to assume you are interested in my services" I allow a smug tone to enter my voice.

With a small glare to Neo, roman waves his hand back and forth as he speaks "so what if I am? What you can do, Neo here can do just the same."

"Hand me a dust crystal and ill show you what I can do better" after a moment of silence Roman digs into his jacket before throwing me a small red dust crystal. "Hmm grade two fire dust, wouldn't have much of a explosion now would it?" I activate my semblance and send shadows into the crystal, turning it black. I toss it back to the ginger who looks at it in surprise. "Now see how much power that thing has."

With a shrug of his shoulders, he tosses the crystal into the air before pointing the end of his cane at it which opens up with a shunk sound. A flare like projectile shoots out and hits the now black fire crystal, which explodes in a massive heatwave. "Well ill be dammed...that sized explosion would come from a grade eight or nine crystal id say...so what is that your semblance then. I had wondered why in all your jobs I've never heard of you using one." his eyes take on an almost money-hungry look to them.

"Yes it is, my aura powers up dust crystals of any kind, making them exponentially more powerful than what they were already. Now with that and my skills in combat do we have a deal?" I hold my hand out to him which he quickly takes, causing the girl beside him to clap enthusiastically.

"Well my masked fellow, you have yourself a deal." with that he drapes one arm over my shoulder and has a Chesire grin on his face. "I think this will be the start of something beautiful wouldn't you say?"

With a nod, the smallest one of us pushes me and Roman apart before pointing at my mask wit a questioning look. It was almost as if she was asking for me to take it off.

"Now now Neo everyone has their own secrets to hide, besides doesn't the mask give of that mysterious vibe I know turns you on?" the sound of a slap and glass shattering was the response he got as Neo disappeared from the warehouse. With a chuckle Roman runs his hand along the handprint forming on his face "Mr. Pariah id say you might want to watch your back because if she wants to see your face, she will see it. One way or the other. Now I bid you farewell, I have a date with a nice sexy Firecracker" laughing at his own self he makes to leave.

With the meeting finished I start to walk out of the warehouse before feeling eyes on me. "You can show yourself now. I'm better at hearing than most" turning around I see a pouting Neo who proceeds to stick her tongue out at me before walking up to me to hold her phone out for me to read.

Oh cmon what would it take for me to see your face?!

"It will take much more than you are willing to give" I point my hand down to her body, intending to just tease the woman but this was to be a mistake.

A smirk wider than any appears on her face as she presses herself onto me, her lips gracing the bottom of the mask before she presses harder into my crotch. Noticing my stiff body language she laughs silently before reaching up to take the mask off.

"Not so fast" I grab her wrist before pushing her away softly, her silent laugh growing worse before she shatters away for real this time. Shaking my head to rid myself of the thoughts that entered my brain. This woman could end up causing me to act upon some rather unsavory thoughts that I would rightfully say it was the darkness taking me over. With a loud sigh, I proceeded to head back to the room Ruby was left in, making sure no one was following me while I did so.

Ducking into an alleyway I let the mask and trenchcoat fade away before making my way to the room. As I go to press the black scroll to the doors lock I hear a familiar voice coming down the hallway. My ears flick towards the voice as it comes around the corner.

"I'm telling you Velvs if you don't get him then I-"

Another voice interrupts the first "oh dust he is here what why is he here?!" the sound of someone pushing another person back around the corner was heard as I look at the direction the voices came from.

"Velvet, Coco I can hear you two ya know? Faunus ears and all. And to answer your question as to why I'm here, I am the new teacher." the girls pop their heads around the corner before discussing something to themselves quiet enough for me to not hear them. With a grin, Coco pushes the faunus around the corner and into the hall before walking away whistling some tune.

"O-oh hello there Tyler...um she wasn't talking about you or a-anything when she said the get him thing and um" her sentence devolves into a nervous chuckle as her face turns a shade even Ruby would find to be too red. With a beep of my scroll, I unlock the door before motioning for her to come in with me.

Walking into the room the sound of light snoring causes both of our animal ears to flick softly. Entering into the living room area we see Ruby passed out asleep on the couch with cookies on the floor beside her and one half in her mouth.

"O-oh I didn't know you had a girlfriend"

With a low laugh, I pat Velvet on the head between her large floppy ears before pointing at the little reaper "no I am single, this here is Ruby. Her sister and she were the ones taking care of me while I was healing. Their house is the one we trained at." with a large soundless Ohh she facepalms herself before looking around the room "let me carry her to the guest room and we can talk if you want to"

"I never knew the teacher's rooms were so big, this is almost like an apartment by itself. No wonder the teachers never seem to leave" the sound of her looking through each room can be heard as I walk into the guest room.

Setting Ruby into the bed I go to leave but a tug on my shirt stops me, turning I see her hand gripping my shirt. With a small chuckle, I pry her hand off softly before returning to Velvet.

Walking into the living room I see the little rabbit looking curiously around the room, marveling at each thing she saw. After seeing she didn't notice me come in, I clear my throat causing her to almost drop the vase she held in her hands. "S-sorry it's just this is so much bigger and even fancier than the dorms we had that I um…" with a nervous chuckle she places the vase back onto the small table it had set on before quickly returning to the couch.

"Don't worry about it, that little redhead did the same thing, saying she had never seen something as fancy as this place. To be honest, it is much to fancy for even my own taste" having grown accustomed to living motel to motel due to the jobs I took, having a place to stay permanently seemed like a foreign concept to me. Walking over to a chair in the room I look at Velvet and smirk softly "so what was Coco going on about before she pushed you my way?" the blush that quickly spread along her face was priceless as she attempts to stammer out an answer.

"I-I um um it's just she likes to and I'm a target and um"

Holding my hand up I stop her "it's okay no need to explain. When we met it was made clear she likes to tease people and with you being her partner id assume your a prime candidate for it. Well…" my smirk grows as I feel the need to tease her "that and your expressions are cute"

Her eyes widen and she flattens her bunny ears against her face to attempt to hide herself "st-stop it!" it seems her accent came out, even more, when she was embarrassed.

"Fine, I just couldn't resist messing with my student some. Oh well, a student in two ways I suppose, teachers giving private lessons to students is accepted isn't it?"

Her ears spring back up as she nods quickly to answer me "yes it is a common practice...so you will still teach me how to use my weapon is that what your saying. Even though you're going to be a teacher here as well. Oh! And speaking of that, what will you teach"

Putting my hand on my chin as if to think about it for a second I look her up and down before answering her questions in order " the deal to teach you was made before I was appointed to be a teacher so yes ill keep teaching you. And the subject I am going to teach is combat"

Tilting her head she looks at me with slight curiosity before shrugging her shoulders some "i guess Mrs. Goodwhich needs a break too."

"Oh no she will still be teaching combat class as well, my class will be more focused on taking down human targets instead of just combat to keep your mind and body sharp during battle. Plus my class will be optional to students or so I have been told."

"Is it open to second years? I could use some help with fighting people."

Nodding I smirk softly before standing up to walk into the kitchen "you thirsty? They where kind enough to stock up the fridge for me"

Looking at her scroll she shakes her head some before standing up "thanks for the offer but I-i need to go, Coco keeps sending me some things that I would rather not say"

"Alright then, if Cindy is done with your weapon tomorrow how about we train. You could invite your team along if you want to." looking over to her I see a large smile on her face.

"Well, I believe Fox and Yatsuhashi are still busy but ill make sure ask, I know Coco would come in a heartbeat to watch. I'll send you a message tomorrow goodnight Tyler" with that she walks out the door just in time fo the voice of the shadows to pipe in with its wisdom LET US BREAK THE TRUST. LET US VIOLATE THEM ALL.

"You really are tasteless you know, no wonder I tune you out most of the time." with a sigh I walk to the master bedroom and send a message to Yang to let her know where her sister was before laying in bed to sleep.


a/n I hope you all will like this chapter. As usual, let me know in the reviews if you have any words of advice or any questions. As for the length of this chapter, ten thousand words is the goal I have set myself for the chapters in the future. The first few chapters were short due to me always sucking at writing the start to stories. Alright, Pariah fading away now.