"What do you think boss?" Brid asked with a smile as she showed off the pictures she had taken to the leader of their group, Lug Tawn.

The dog faunus, now decked out in a brown cape and a captain's hat in the now refurbished Whitey's bar inspected them for a few seconds before turning towards Bay and nodding to him.

"Ow! What did you do that for?" she asked in response to the horse faunus smacking her on the head.

"Are you stupid? Blackmail is a felony; you guys are still on probation."

"That's why I'm showing them to you; we don't need to get involved, you can handle it yourself. It's easy money."

Lug looked at Bay once more, nodding in approval.

"Wait," she said jumping up from her seat and glaring at her teammate, "I get it, it's too risky, it was stupid of me to even suggest."

"At least you know that much," he said, leaning forward on the table, "Keep as low of a profile as possible, Ozpin isn't stupid."

"Yes boss," they said simultaneously.

"Any news from Shouter?"

xXx

I could get used to this, Cardin said to himself as he sat feet-up in the middle of class.

Ever since the attempt by some students to intimidate him, he had established a solid position in the school's hierarchy as one of the toughest students in his class. As a result, he now had a collection of lackeys he bossed around.

He had at first thought that he'd need to act as reserved as possible since he was on probation, but the nature of Shade Academy fit him very well so he decided to let loose.

"You seem to be making yourself comfortable Mr. Winchester," the voice of their History Professor called out from the other end of the hall, "Do you mind assisting the class with a demonstration on our topic?"

Cardin analysed the mischievous face of his Professor, looking for any indication of her usual antics- they'd not been together long, but he felt that she was always gunning for him. After a few moments, he stood up swaggeringly, signalling his teammates to follow suit. Even if he didn't trust her, he couldn't as well disobey a direct instruction.

"What are we doing?" he asked after he went down to the stage with her.

"Well," she said, trying to mask her irritation at his flippant manner, "Today's lesson is on the history of the Vytal Tournament, so I'd like your team to help illustrate that."

So she wants to kick our asses in front of the class, he said internally, observing her with his usual distrust.

He signalled Jaune and Sky to flank him from behind and for Shouter to station himself at a distance so that he'd provide support. The Aura meters appeared on the screen in the area and the stage descended and transformed into a ring.

"Ready when you are, feel free to pull out if it's too much for you."

At her invitation, Cardin came charging with the Executioner, unloading several rounds of explosives as he did so.

Rumpole blocked easily with her hand, but the pair at his back emerged from the smoke left by his explosions and attempted to strike her from either side, forcing her to dodge by jumping high up, pulling Cardin forward into the trajectory of their blows as she did.

Once airborne though, she was vulnerable to the arrow strike that Shouter let loose from Arciris. Still, she reacted in time, plucking the projectile out of the sky and throwing it back at the archer forcefully.

On landing on the floor once more, she saw that the trio had regrouped; Cardin once again leading the charge while the other two followed closely behind to take advantage of any openings that their team leader would be able to make.

Cardin struck the floor, sending splinters flying helter-skelter. The Lilliputian teacher raised her hand to make sure none of them got into her eyes, but she was instantly surprised by the force each splinter hit her with. Her surprise allowed for Sky to aim a diagonal strike that hit home on her abdomen although there was virtually no damage dealt.

Jaune made an attempt for a follow up, but she dodged easily since he wasn't fast enough.

Tsk.

Cardin clicked his tongue in annoyance at Jaune's failure. He raised his hand, seemingly ready to launch another attack.

"We forfeit," he said simply, turning around once he'd declared that.

Rumpole looked at him tensely then cracked a smile.

He's smarter than he looks.

She had requested a demonstration for the class, seeing as it wasn't a real duel; none of Cardin's rep would be damaged by forfeiting, especially forfeiting after his team had landed a successful hit. She had honesty allowed them to get a hit in, hoping to leverage on Cardin's cockiness and get him to be careless. He had instead used it to his advantage.

"Good work Team CLAD, Mr. Winchester, I'd like to see you after class."

Cardin gave a grunt of acknowledgement as he sat down on his seat, recrossing his legs and covering his face with a book for a nap. Despite his leisurely manner, he was sweating underneath that book.

Rumpole was infamous for beating students into a pulp and humiliating them. If either he or anyone on his team ended up pissing their pants or something (a phenomenon unfortunately not uncommon for first years here) then the damage to his rep would be devastating. As a bully, he relied more on influence than actual strength; embarrassing displays would inspire revolt in his victims and although it would end in him winning, a victory that wasn't utter and complete might further embolden them. Luckily, his forfeit was done in such a way that it gave an air of nonchalance and although all the students were aware that Rumpole would destroy him, calling the match off on his own terms after successfully landing a hit counted as a sort of flex.

"That was an example of duel-style combat," she said, dragging the students' attention back to the class at hand, "It was deemed superior to the battle royale of the first Vytal Tournament and is still used today..."

xXx

Cardin sat behind the desk of Rumpole's office as he waited for the tiny woman to finish grading some papers and get to the matter she called him for.

"Are you aware of why you're here Mr. Winchester?" she asked, still looking at the work before her through her reading glasses.

"I'm sure you're gonna tell me."

His reply conveyed both apathy and annoyance simultaneously; he was really not in the mood for this conversation.

Rumpole wasn't someone that would be mischaracterised by the word 'rough', the environment she grew up in had shaped her that way, but she also believed that she had chosen to be rough because rough worked. And when it didn't, she decided to a different method. Unlike her boss, she wasn't such a staunch believer in the school motto.

"I don't usually sit my students down for conversations," she admitted, leaning forward in her seat in an attempt to convey seriousness, something Cardin found amusing instead, "I generally pummel them and give them enough hardcore training to make sure that they don't get killed."

"However, every once in a while, there's a student who doesn't need any help in the strength department and instead needs to worry about something else getting them killed. You're too unstable Cardin and you're attempting to isolate yourself with your actions, that will only hurt you more."

Cardin looked at her in boredom, clearly waiting for her to finish yapping so that he could be excused.

"You're drowning Cardin, and if you don't grab on to those around you, you'll sink."

The pair maintained eye contact after her declaration, his brown eyes were cloudy and still; distant.

"Then I'll sink."

He said the words solemnly, his tone that of someone who had thought it over extensively and knew exactly what he was saying.

Rumpole had seen dozens with his expression and tone in her lifetime; men who had waded so deep into the waters that they hadn't only lost hope of finding shore, they'd lost desire for it. She saw Cardin for what he truly was despite his posturing and bravado.

Cardin Winchester was a dead man.

xXx

Adam got up punctually as he generally did; taking a shower and donning his battle wear before heading to the training room. After a while of that, he walked back to the dorm, ready to take another shower and wander about till it was time for lessons.

He faced a slight change in his plans though when he returned to see Pyrrha fully dressed and clearly distressed.

"What's the matter?" he asked, cocking his brow at their new class rep.

She passed an envelope into the faunus' hand, her expression very disturbed.

On opening it, he saw pictures of him and Pyrrha together. They showed them holding hands at the Festival of Lights and on the roof of the auditorium.

"Blackmail huh?" he said coolly after reading the message attached to the pictures.

One would generally think that it wouldn't be such an issue; after all, there was nothing scandalous about two people holding hands. But one would be wrong.

Remnant was a world overcome by terror; despite the existence of the Kingdoms, the Creatures of Grimm were a constant threat and a constant reminder of the mortality of the citizens. The citizens therefore put their best into everything they started, were always considerate and compassionate and lived their lives to the fullest in awareness of how short and therefore precious life was.

Not really lol.

As with all things, the default response was to ignore it. Remnant fostered a culture of distraction and escapism in response to the perpetual existential horrors. 'All men are mortal, but a cloud of smoke above your head and a whore in your bed will let you forget that' was a common quote from a Valean philosopher, or maybe a Mistralian philosopher or maybe a random drunk. No one really knew but it hardly stopped the line of thought from being practised.

As for those who were against STDs and a hit to their IQ, there were other more mainstream means of escapism.

The battle idol culture that Pyrrha was a part of was one such means.

Similar to pop idols and actors, battle idols were young, good-looking, talented and charismatic Huntsmen-in-training or Combat Academy enrolees. Through performances at tournaments and related events, they gathered a religious following and leveraged that following to earn a living.

Most were scouted young, and put under contract by large companies to not only participate in their tournaments but promote products of theirs and others' brands. On the surface it was a good deal; young and talented Huntsmen who might have gone into dangerous field to cope with poverty could instead participate in relatively low-risk tournaments and make even higher incomes.

But every religion has its fanatics. Although battle idols weren't as susceptible to the attacks and physical harassment of other idols, they were still subject to harassment especially in response to relationships.

"Yeah," she said worriedly, "As a representative of the Pumpkin Pete's brand, this would probably start a, and pardon my language, shitstorm especially since you're a faunus."

Adam understood what she meant partially and therefore understood her distress; he was still slightly surprised and amused at her 'expressive' language.

She must have notice his amusement as she coughed softly in response.

Adam smiled at her for a second before looking at the note once more. It was written on a bar napkin to show where the meeting would take place.

Whitey's? He asked himself, feeling a bit of déjà vu on reading it.

Back when he and Blake were laying low in Vale, he had noticed the bar because someone had casually mentioned it was a White Fang base. He of course had known that that was untrue, but he still took notice of it at the time.

"We're supposed to meet them at a bar in town," he stated, "What do you want to do?"

Pyrrha looked at him uncertainly; she was sure as heck not going to cave in to blackmail, but this could open up a whole kettle of fish. Besides the backlash from the public, companies that managed idols frowned on their talent dating as they saw it as a threat to the brand the person was building. Pyrrha's contract didn't say anything explicitly about it, but she was aware that the folks at Pumpkin Pete's wouldn't be pleased even one bit.

She's unsure.

How about this?" he started, "Cover for me in classes today and I'll go talk to them there."

"Are you sure?" she asked, not wanting to put the burden on him.

"It could cause even more problems if you go asking about for these people; I'll go and do it as discreetly as possible."

The redhead was still unsure; she didn't feel comfortable just sitting and doing nothing in this situation.

"Hey, you're not the only one getting blackmailed; the exposure could cause problems for me too."

"You're right," she said reluctantly, "I was only thinking about the consequences for myself, sorry."

"Don't sweat it," he said easily, flashing a smile at her as he pulled something out of his luggage before heading to the door, "I'll be done before you know it."

Let's pay them a visit then.

xXx

"You did what?" Lug asked in annoyance as he heard his employees explain what they had done.

"We sent the pictures to Pyrrha Nikos, she should send the money soon."

"Where'd you get these pictures from?"

"Bay and Brid took them and we decided to 'borrow' them" one of them responded slyly, "She's a soft target; she can't afford the publicity the pictures will start, especially since she's with a faunus in them."

"Did you have to send the message on a napkin for this bar though?" he asked tiredly. The bar was a place that had a clear connection to Bay and Brid, if the mark decided to report it, it would be problematic.

"It's actually best we did it like that; she won't call the police or track us down because it'll bring the same publicity as us releasing the pictures, more in fact."

In all honesty, Lug still had a bad feeling about this business; their last business with Huntsmen-in-training ended up in serious trouble, although the money he had received as compensation from the Winchesters was used to spruce up the bar nicely.

"This too risky, find a way to resolve this without getting those two into trouble."

Ting.

Immediately he said this, there was the chime of the bell at the entrance of the bar.

xXx

"You didn't need to follow me you know?" Weiss said for the fourth time to her partner as they moved through the city of Vale.

"Are you kidding?" Ruby replied energetically next to her partner, "It's the perfect opportunity for some team bonding."

"So, what are we doing?"

"I'm following a lead down on a particular organisation."

"Cool, like detective work?"

"Yeah," Weiss said while averting her eyes.

In truth, she had simply paid a private investigator and he'd given her a few places she should look out for.

First on the list of potential hideouts was a bar named Whitey's.

That's a little conspicuous isn't it?

"Hey," Ruby called, dragging the heiress' attention from her scroll, "Isn't that guy from our class?"

She looked up to see Adam walking into the very bar that they were headed to.

What's he doing here?

"Should we follow him in?"

"Yeah," Weiss said after thinking for a while, "Let's see what he's up to."

And so, the partners slinked in after a few minutes, trying their best to be discreet.

xXx

"Welcome to Whitey's," Lug said uncomfortably, "We're closed now."

"That's good," Adam said, taking a seat comfortably across them.

"Boss," one of them said, whispering into Lug's ear, "He's the guy in the pictures."

The dog faunus had assumed as much already, but the confirmation from his worker made him increasingly nervous because this guy was dangerous.

Adam threw an envelope onto their table, looking disinterestedly at them.

"I think there's been a misunderstanding," he started, sweating nervously under his cape, "My guy's were just playing around; there's no way they'd blackmail Huntsmen-in-training, that's just stupid."

Adam's eyes lit up with amusement on hearing what the bar owner had to say.

"I agree that there's been a misunderstanding too," he responded airily, "I'm not giving you that money because you're blackmailing me, I'm giving you that money because after you give me the pictures, you'll all require a visit to the hospital."

Adam hadn't had a very long life, but he had learned many things. One thing he learned is that some people were like strays; the more you fed them, they more they came back and each time they expected more. A kick in the teeth on the first meeting was often enough to stop them from bothering you again though.

Suddenly, he transformed into a black and red blur and rushed at the trio. His first target was one of the workers; he seemed like someone who he could make quick work of.

Surprisingly, his momentum was arrested by and he was sent flying back towards the entrance. Adam observed the culprit, the boss of the place. He pulled off his cape and took a stance with his five-pointed spear, looking intently at the redhead.

Adam smirked at him, rushing once more at the worker who was still dazed from the first attempt; he estimated that the dog faunus was skilled and opted to use his companions as decoys. He appeared just before his target again and swung his blade at him. As he jumped forward to defend again, Adam flung his sword at him fiercely.

The bar owner could barely react in time and blocked with the shaft of his weapon clumsily before looking forward to see the gloved fist of his opponent directly in front of him.

"Stop."

The silent command left Adam immobile for a second, allowing him to escape.

"Interesting Semblance," Adam stated after he regained autonomy of his limbs and walked over to grab his still sheathed blade.

"It's called Holy Oath," Lug said nervously, before lowering his weapon, "Look, could we just not do this? It was stupid of my guys to try and blackmail you. I'll have them turn themselves over as well as give every copy of the images to you; we won't cause you anymore trouble."

Adam looked coldly at him but still saw the merit in what he said; he had expected that he'd be able to make quick work of them, but the boss was a lot more skilled than he had anticipated and his weapon was... bizarre; his arm still felt a little numb from the exchange. He hadn't quite felt anything like it and it was hard to put into words.

He was still confident that he'd win, but he felt that it was best to agree with him; another thing he learned was that in negotiations, it was best to make peace after a show of strength. It avoided unnecessary losses as well as serving as a caution to the other party.

"Sure," he said, leaning into one of the chairs, "But one more thing."

"Yes?"

"I want to know who took the pictures; these two couldn't prance around so freely on campus so it means that a student or perhaps staff took them. Tell me who they are and we'll have no problem."

Lug's smile, that was already nervous, shook as he heard the demand. Of course he couldn't tell him; Bay and Brid would be screwed if he did.

"I'm sorry," he said with a pained face, still attempting a smile, "I can't do that."

"I'll get my answers either way," he responded simply as he rose to his feet and placed his hand on his blade hilt. Ultimately, Adam had learned that when threats and negotiations failed, the answer wasn't simply violence, it was terror. It wasn't enough to simply beat your opponent, it was necessary to crush them.

As he turned to look at them, the temperature of the room dropped dramatically; those present felt a chill run through them as they looked in horror at the lad before them.

This was killing intent; Aura didn't act simply as fuel for Semblances and armour, but almost the same as an identifier. Meaning, one could discriminate between two people based on their Aura as one could discriminate them by smell or sight. Unlike other someone's appearance or smell though, Aura could be completely malleable.

Its malleability enabled one to further amplify it to convey certain messages; the same way an animal could release scents to indicate readiness to mate, mark territorial borders etc, ones Aura could be used to convey hostility as well as other emotions.

That was what Adam was doing, and like a potent scent or bright appearance, it was a jarring experience for the beholders.

Been a while, he thought to himself.

"You're my little apple, like the most beautiful cloud in the sky..."

Suddenly, Adam's scroll rang and although he felt the urge to ignore it, it was Pyrrha's ringtone. He sighed silently and picked up the device, placing it next to his ear.

"Yes?"

The trio watched him take the call in trepidation and tried to make a plan to escape.

These bastards are always getting me into trouble, he thought angrily at his subordinates.

"I see," Adam said finally before hanging up.

He turned awkwardly at the three of them before woodenly saying: "Hand me the pictures."

"Huh?" the assault they'd all been expecting ended up not happening.

"Quickly," he said testily, knocking them out of their bewilderment.

xXx

"So," Adam said embarrassedly, as he dropped an envelope onto Pyrrha's bed, "How'd you find the people responsible?"

"Well," Pyrrha said with a similar embarrassment to him, although she wasn't sure for what, "I was planning to follow after you (sorry about that) then I ran into Principal Ozpin and decided to ask his advice on the matter."

"Apparently, he knew instantly who was responsible and he got them to confess to it pretty easily. They admitted to taking the pictures but said they had no intention of blackmail; I believed them so the Principal isn't pushing it too hard."

So I was useless once again, he said silently, and after all his swaggering as he left earlier.

"Thanks for your help," she said with a bright smile, "You're as reliable as always."

That makes me feel somehow worse, he lamented internally.

xXx

It was evening in Shade Academy, and all was silent and peaceful. All except the rocket locker that was tracing a trajectory through the sky before landing abruptly in the schoolyard.

The locker's door shook violently for a few seconds before it opened forcefully, releasing a tall blonde warrior from within; it was Jaune.

Rocket lockers weren't a thing in Shade Academy because they were seen as a tool for weaklings and students were expected to always be ready for a fight, not to wait for some machine to bring it for them. Still, some particularly industrial students decided to make a few for the purpose of their amusement; although they didn't carry their stuff in it, they stuffed others and sent them on short trips.

Jaune shook his head to recover from the 'jetlag' and on looking up, his eyes met with those of his partner Sky Lark.

The blue-haired boy silently offered him Crocea Mors, which had been stripped off him when his fellow students had shoved him in.

"Um, thanks," he said with a forced smile as he received his weapon.

We're partners after all, Sky said silently before pointing to the direction of the cafeteria with his head.

"Um, sure," Jaune said, following behind him.

Notes: Read about idols in Korea, Japan China and other countries; crazy stuff.

Chapter's later than usual because I had work to do (translation: catching up to OPM manga).

If anyone's curious about Sky's character, feel free to check out chapter six of my other fanfic linked below.

Favourites, kudos, bookmarks, reviews, comments etc are always appreciated.

/works/39317370/chapters/98389749

https/s/14087875/0