Hello everyone! Now that the first two chapters are out I've had a chance to read the reviews! I'm happy to see people are so interested and it was my heart to write for you all!
On another note, many people expressed confusion about a lot of things, and that's okay! I understand your confusion and rest assured, I have plans that will make a lot of things more clear as the story continues.
I'll say more at the bottom, enjoy!
Was it wrong of him to think that he had gotten the short end of the stick? He didn't think so. He also didn't think he was in the wrong for being so upset about it. They're— ugh, leader was quite the character. A bad character. One that he wished was a better character. A character that was him.
Whitley bit back a sigh as he heard sheets rustling. The light peeked through the window and directly into his eyes. This made him unhappy. What was the point of having blinds if they weren't going to be drawn!?
He sat up and stared around the room. To his left, against the wall, was Adam. He scrunched his nose up at the man slightly. He didn't hate the faunus. Truly, he didn't. But he didn't think well of them either. Every faunus was a chance that they'd turn to the White Fang for "salvation". The thought of the group made him sick.
For the sake of the team, and to a greater extent, proving he wasn't a racist, he'd try and be amicable with the bull. He at least knew Adam was a competent fighter, and the man at least seemed wise enough.
He turned right. Opposite of Adam, on the other end of the room was Ruby. Whitley had to admit, the girl was quite the combatant from what he'd seen. She moved quickly, gracefully, and precisely. He hadn't seen her miss any of the shots she'd fired. Her obsession with her weapon was somewhat disturbing but he admitted that there was something respectable about the amount of care and maintenance she put into the thing. She certainly reminded him of death, and wasn't that a scary thought.
Then there was her.
He didn't hate her. He'd promised to give her a chance and he was raised, at least by Weiss and their butlers, to uphold his word. She wasn't as stupid as he originally had thought, though she was still a professional at annoying him. Sighing, he stood and stretched, rolling his arm.
Adam was awake, the man had his back to him and was cleaning his blade. Whitley didn't bother him. He didn't see a need to. Ruby was also awake, the girl bumming quietly as she brushed her hair.
His partner was sleeping like a rock.
"You doofus," he whispered. Everyone else was up and already preparing for the day and she looked like she had no plans of awaking until afternoon.
He checked the time. It was only slightly after seven. Classes started at nine and they would all need to get dressed and cleaned for the day ahead. They'd likely have to set up a system seeing as half the team was male and the other half was female.
"You shouldn't stare," a gruff voice told him off. He jumped slightly and spun to look at Adam. The young man had his sword sheathed and was folding the cloth he'd used to clean it.
"You're not happy," Adam noted. He tsked and turned away, ignoring the faunus as he collected himself for the day.
"It's bad for a fighter to bottle up their feelings. Those emotions can harm your performance," Adam commented.
Whitley ignored him still. It was too early for philosophical prattle. That, and he didn't want to admit that the man was right.
"You should give her a chance," Ruby chimed in from across the room. His eyes widened. He'd forgotten the two were sisters. Where was the relation though? They didn't share the same last name or look similar at all.
He was slightly embarrassed. Here he was bad-mouthing the brawler and criticizing her every move, all while her sister sat by and watched. He knew for a fact that he wouldn't stand for such a thing whenever other rich kids would talk poorly of Weiss.
"Maybe I'm biased, but she's a great person if you let her in," Ruby continued, placing the brush down, "I know she can be annoying, but she's as genuine as they come."
He sighed. He was being childish right now. He said he'd give her a chance and here he was still letting that anger carry over. He took a deep breath and nodded.
"I apologise. You're correct," he conceded, Ruby smiling motherly at him, "Had that been my own sister I wouldn't have put up with someone like me talking to her that way."
Ruby giggled. She stood and dusted herself down, grabbing her uniform off of her bed.
"She's a strong girl. If something really bothered her I'd deal with it myself," Ruby claimed, walking towards the bathroom to shower.
"And how do you deal with it?" Adam asked, finally adding to the conversation. Ruby had the same smile on her face. That made what she said next all the more disturbing.
"Let's hope neither of you ever find out," she said happily, closing and locking the bathroom door immediately after.
Both boys shivered. That smile was genuine, and yet the words she spoke were just as earnest. They shared a look. If they had thought Yang's red eyes and glare had been scary, then Ruby's casual disregard for threatening them was downright horrifying.
The bathroom door opened and she peeked her head out.
"Oh and you two might wanna shower before she wakes up. The girl likes to hog the hot water," Ruby recommended, dipping back into the shower again.
Forty minutes passed. The three of them had showered and dressed. Ruby fidgeted, not enjoying the length of her skirt. She had a pair of leggings on beneath them, but she still felt exposed. She still wore her hood, which Whitley didn't think was technically allowed but she seemed more comfortable with it on, so he didn't say anything.
He and Adam wore the blazers and dress pants. Adam had grunted as he looked at the tie. He left it on the nightstand. Seemed the young man was not a tie person.
Finally, when they were all ready, Yang decided to wake up. She let out a grizzly bear yawn as she stretched out.
"Good morning everyone," she groaned. She blinked when she realized everyone was dressed already.
"What time is it?" she asked. Whitley rolled his eyes.
"About seven fifty," he replied, "classes start in about an hour. Get dressed if you want to eat."
Yang didn't need to be told twice. She dashed into the bathroom to shower. Ruby turned to them and held up her hand, slowly lowering her fingers from five to zero. Once all fingers went down, Yang burst from the bathroom, grabbing her uniform and hustling back to the shower.
Twenty minutes later Yang walked out of the bathroom, sighing as she shook her hair and let the air touch her skin. She grabbed two hair ties and went about tying her hair into her twin tails.
"Okay! Ready to go!" she said with her hands on her hips.
"About time," Ruby said, flicking the younger girl's nose. She yelped and swiped at the reaper but Ruby simply stepped away. She opened the door and stepped out into the hallway. She looked right across the hall as the door opposite of theirs opened. Jaune was there and his eyes widened for a moment before they relaxed a little.
"Morning," he said, nodding her way. She did the same and smiled. Jaune stumbled a little as something crashed into his back. He didn't move from the doorway, he wasn't The Immovable for nothing, but he did look behind him skeptically.
"Move it Jaune! Daddy's hungry! And when he's hungry, he's horny! And when he's horny, people get hurt," Ren growled, pushing at the taller boys back. Jayne laughed and stepped out of the room, allowing Ren to dash past them and towards the mess hall.
"Sorry about him, Jaune," Nora said slowly, trudging out the room. The girl looked like she wanted to sleep more but the call of food overpowered that.
"It's fine Nora," he assured. As she walked past, Pyrrha stumbled out of the room as well, tripping on her own foot. She righted herself and blushed when she realized everyone had seen it happen.
"Good morning!" she said awkwardly. Yang just laughed and greeted them, the seven of them walking to the cafeteria. They took in the sights of the school around them, several garden areas around the school added a flair of life to everything.
Upon arriving at the large hall, they saw Ren waving at them energetically. They all went and got their food, sitting with the boy at the table.
"You don't mind if we join you?" Yang asked Pyrrha. The redhead shook her head.
"What's the harm in eating with friends?" she asked. Yang grinned. Fine by her!
They all are and talked, learning little tidbits from each other. Whitley, Adam, and Nora didn't say a lot. Ruby didn't at first, but once she got comfortable she started chatting with Jaune about his weapon. The boy seemed happy to discuss it, most people only ever telling him how cool it was and not caring about the work he'd put into it.
"Hey I have a question!" Ren said suddenly, "Yang, you and Ruby are sisters right? Why do you look so different and have different last names?"
Nora slapped a hand over his mouth and held the boy to her side, not letting him move. He struggled as she held him in place.
"I'm so sorry about him," Nora bowed deeply. Yang laughed it off and Ruby sent her a small wave.
"It's not a problem! Ruby is actually my cousin," Yang clarified. There was a chorus of 'ohs' and Ren was finally released.
"So why do you call each other sisters?" Pyrrha asked, curious seeing as the two were most certainly as close as sisters.
"We grew up together," Ruby said simply, "My mom is Yang's mom's sister in law."
"So Yang's mom is your aunt?" Pyrrha clarified. Ruby nodded. So etching still didn't add all the way up however.
"I can't help but notice," Adam finally chimed in, "that you haven't mentioned your fathers."
"My dad's dead," Yang said simply. That drew a sharp breath from the faunus. The others all turned to him and he wilted slightly.
"My dad's a deadbeat who left my mom," Ruby said just as simply. The table went into an awkward silence and Adam had his face in his hands.
"I... Am sorry for bringing that up," he groaned. Way to go Adam! This is why he didn't ever converse! This is why he was better at fighting!
"It's okay," Yang said, Ruby nodding, "it's not like it's forbidden information."
"Still," he said, looking at them both, "it was insensitive of me to bring it up."
"At least you have the decency to apologize," Ruby said, sending him a disarming smile, "some people don't know when to let a subject die."
Adam nodded. He understood that. Broaching an awkward topic in and of itself wasn't always evil. Continuing to talk about it afterwards was something else. Being a faunus was a testament to that. 'I'm not racist' can only be said so many times by a single person before you begin to really have some questions.
They went back to their chatter. Ten minutes before class started they departed and made their way for classes. They had Grimm studies first, and both teams were in the same block so they travelled together.
Yang seemed happy to have friends. She looked better surrounded by people than anyone else there sans Ren did. Ren too looked like he just got in when there were others around him.
Adam was the opposite. He looked out of place among the group, likely because he was an outlier in a few major ways. He was the only faunus and he was older than all of them by at least two or three years. He also clearly wasn't a huge socializer if his silence and stiff nature was anything to go by.
Whitley was an interesting case. He was like someone's awkward dad in a way. He wasn't exactly nice but he wasn't a total dick like he'd first made himself out to be. He was fast to point out any flaw he saw, such as when he told Ren quite abruptly that his braid had come slightly undone. Ren had surprised all of them with the speed he'd managed to fix it. He must've been trying that braid for a long time.
Nora was quiet, but where Adam was awkward with his silence, she looked pleasant with hers. When you stood her next to Ren, it was like he managed to fill the room for both of them. She would chime in occasionally with words of wisdom or to reign in Ren.
Jaune was friendly, but he was also a little too friendly at times in a way that said this was new to him. Pyrrha was similar in a way. They were both awkward in a way that said they hadn't had a lot of friends. Where Jaune was friendly, Pyrrha was very polite. It was like she didn't have a boastful bone in her body.
Then there was Ruby. Everyone was giving her a wide berth. She didn't seem to notice at all.
"Sis, you're scaring everyone," Yang bumped the reaper's hip with her own. Ruby yelped a little and looked around. Indeed, other students and even their own little group was giving her more space than was strictly necessary.
"A-am I scary?" Ruby asked. Yang 'pfft' and waved her off.
"No!"
"Yes," the rest mumbled.
"Okay well," Yang amended, "when you hole up in your hood like that you kindaaaa..."
"Kinda what?" Ruby asked, now slightly annoyed.
"You look like you're ready to kill," Adam said bluntly. Whitley scoffed.
"How very tactful of you," the Ice Prince commented. Adam only gave him a grunt and nothing more.
Ruby sighed. She knew that actually. It was the same tactic she used to scare away boys and girls from Yang. It was unfortunately the same thing she did when she was trying to hide her face from people.
"Hehehe... Sorry," she sighed and deflated. Adam laid a hand on her shoulder.
"It's hardly an issue. We just didn't know if you needed space or not," he said. She smiled at the man.
"Thanks for the concern. I'm just uh... Not great around people," she mumbled.
The others laughed a little. Such an imposing and beautiful girl and she had zero interest in other people. From what they'd seen at initiation, she was definitely a savage and talented fighter.
Finally they came upon the right room. Not waiting another moment, Whitley stepped forward and opened the door.
They entered the room and sat down, Team YSTR in front while Team PAVL sat in the middle row and across the room. They waited only two minutes for a large man to come in. This class was with one Professor Peter Port.
He was... Not quite the physique one would expect from a hunter. His hair was grey and his mustache covered his mouth.
"Good morning first year students!" he greeted jovially, "Are you all ready to learn!?"
There was hardly a response. He didn't seem to notice.
"Great!" he called. He launched into a long winded story about his youth. Not a soul in the room followed what he was talking about. Yang watched Ren's head slam into the desk in front of him after just two minutes. Nora looked like she was about to follow. Poor Pyrrha was trying to make heads and tails about what was being said. She just looked lost, and almost like she would cry if something didn't click soon.
"...I found the beast! And while she was indeed terrible, she was equal parts beautiful..."
Jaune had a smile full of teeth on his face. In no way did it meet his eyes. He looked like someone who knew others were watching him and was only smiling to show them he was listening. Looking around Yang noticed there were indeed a few people watching the boy. Creepy. She also noted he had gripped the desk so hard that it was starting to crack.
"... The beast was quite ferocious! But I could see the beautiful and caring soul that lay beneath..." he continued, ignoring the amount of students who, be it from boredom or it being too early in the morning, had fallen asleep.
Yang slowly turned to her own team. They were losing the battle too. Adam was frowning. It wasn't the normal glare he had, more like a very disappointed look that said 'I should be doing something else right now'. Ruby, bless her soul, was weathering the storm better than any of them. That wasn't to say she was doing well, she was just doing better than them. She was bouncing her leg impatiently but remained passive otherwise.
"... She may have been a fighter, but I am a lover..."
Turning to Whitley, she had to suppress a laugh. He looked absolutely horrified as he listened to the man go on. Sensing her look, he slowly turned his eyes to her and she sent him a shrug and an apologetic smile. He just looked back at the boastful man with a look that said 'this man cannot be a teacher' and she giggled again.
"... She was no match for my portly porter if you catch my drift..." he winked.
As the class went on, Yang felt herself drifting off. What about this was a study of Grimm!? And what was his story!? Did he fuck the Grimm!? Why did it sound like he fucked the Grimm!?
"So!" he bellowed, awaking the entire room, "Who here thinks they have what it takes to be a real hunter?"
Several hands went up, Yang's among them. Hell yeah she had what it took! She was here early, wasn't she?
Conversely, Jaune shrunk in his place and Nora and Adam looked like they had no intention of raising their hands. Strange considering the carnage that all three had proven capable of.
"Ah, Mr Schnee! Let's see that fighting spirit of yours!" he called. Whitley nodded and stood. Yang clapped him on the shoulder as he stepped past her.
"Knock 'em dead partner," she told him. He looked at her hand on his body and made a face but sighed and nodded anyways. He stepped out to grab his weapon.
He returned moments later, still in his uniform, which confused a few students. Why would he not change into his combat gear?
Yang understood. His normal outfit was essentially formal dress anyways. The difference between a vest and a blazer was just a pair of sleeves. Considering he used a gun on top of that? He didn't exactly need his arms free from what she'd seen.
"Are you sure you're ready Mr Schnee?" Port asked. The boy nodded, spinning his cylinder and letting it click into place. As it spun he put his right arm behind his back.
"If that's the case," Port stated, turning to the cage he'd pulled out, "you may begin!"
He used his axe to cut the lock on the cage. The door swung open and the shaking ceased. Everyone leaned forward to see what had been contained within.
A slimy noise could be heard and soon a spikey, black tentacle snaked out, only the tip covered in bone plating. Three more joined it, pulling a triangular body out of the cage. On either side of the body were large red eyes. As it hoisted itself up, the bottom of its body revealed a beak with four segments and razor sharp teeth.
"Watch closely, class!" Port called as the beast crawled its way towards Whitley. Adam hummed.
"A Cephaloscorn," he commented, "interesting that he was able to capture one."
"Are they super deadly?" Yang asked. He shook his head.
"They're no more dangerous than an alpha beowolf, simply trading a pack for more arms," he said. He'd seen a few on missions back in the Fang.
"So what's so weird about him capturing one?" she asked. Ruby answered this time, a critical look in her eyes.
"They're native to Atlas," the reaper said. Yang's eyes widened. Atlas was an entirely different continent! How had he brought this thing all the way from the tundra to Vale!?
Whitley seemed to know this as well, watching as the beast crawled towards him, raising its arm to attack. He dodged to the side as a tentacle speared forward. It pierced the tiles of the floor as it missed. Whitley aimed and shot, a red bullet flew forth and combusted against the creature's body.
It hissed and finally began to move faster. Leaping into the air, the four tentacles started spinning rapidly around. Everyone watched as the creature kept itself hovering, it's arms acting like the blades of a helicopter.
"Is that physically possible?" Pyrrha whispered to Jaune.
"Grimm come in all shapes and sizes," he whispered back.
The beast hissed as it flew low towards the boy. Whitley had to leap and roll to avoid being caught in the Grimm blender.
"Now the beast has you on the defensive! How will you fare?" Port commentated.
Whitley summoned a wall of glyphs around him as the beast flew at him again. It grinded against the glyphs, the boy gritting his teeth as he kept them in place. This wasn't working at all! It'd break through soon and then he'd be wide open!
"Whitley! The beak!" Yang called. He wanted to shush the blonde since he was trying to concentrate, but he still looked to see that the beak was indeed unprotected during the creature's assault. Annoying she was, but her cunning made up for it at least.
He devised a plan then. He pushed his glyphs forward, shoving the tentacles away. The creature wobbled in the air, but righted itself and flew back towards him, attempting to mangle the boy.
Whitley focused on a white glyph in front of him. Aiming through it, he used his thumb to change the chamber to the bullet he wanted. He waited for the beast to be in position.
When it was just ten feet away he fired. Five purple bullets wisped their way through the air towards the octopus-like monster. One struck its body and the creature's momentum slowed. The other four each hit a tentacle.
The beast floated where in place now, it's tentacles no longer spinning. The gravity dust had done it's work and immobilized the creature for a moment. Luckily, a moment was all he needed.
He ran forth and slid towards the creature on his knees. When he was directly below it he brought his gun up and shoved it into the beak, the Cephaloscorn squealing as he did.
It exploded as he shot a fire dust round directly into its body. He rolled to the side as the ashes fell from the air. Brutal, graceful, and effective, just as Weiss taught him.
"Bravo! An excellent display of strategic thinking!" Port commended. Whitley bowed slightly at the praise. The bell rang a second later, students gathering their belongings to move on to other classes.
"That was pretty cool Ice Prince," Yang said as she and the other two members of Team YSTR approached the boy. He blew the smoke from the barrel of his revolver.
"Yes well... I suppose your comment was helpful," he admitted. She beamed and he scoffed.
"Don't let it go to your head!" he snarked. She snickered at his snippyness.
"Aww, Whitley's bad at compliments," she teased. He growled. Ruby flicked Yang in the temple, drawing a squawk from the blonde.
"Don't tease someone with a gun, dummy. Especially one that just said you were helpful," Ruby chastised. Yang whined and slapped at the girl's hand. Ruby flicked her again. This devolved into a fight between the two. Adam took a few steps away, dodging a foot that came a little too close to his head.
Whitley sighed at the display. They weren't too bad. They were hardly the most intelligent but they were at least civil enough. He had to remind himself that they likely hadn't had to deal with business as he had for his whole life. Ruby and Yang finally finished fighting, the blonde conceding as the reaper gave her a wet willy. She pushed away and 'ewwed' as she shook her head. After a moment she stuck her tongue out at the taller girl before addressing the team.
"Hey guys I was thinking," she started, "the room was kinda boring. What if we renovated it!"
"Are we allowed to do that?" Adam asked. She blew a raspberry at him.
"It's our room right? Why wouldn't we be!" she answered. Adam was about to tell her that he was fairly positive it didn't work that way but the brawler continued before he could.
"I'm thinking bunk beds," she stated.
"How?" Ruby asked.
"I dunno, what if we just like, stacked them on top of one another?" she suggested as they left the room.
"That sounds like an awful idea," Whitley replied.
"Got any better ideas?" she challenged.
"Not bunk beds?"
"Not an option," she said with finality. He sighed.
"Yang, maybe we shouldn't go throwing beds on top of each other if we don't have a way to secure them," Ruby said, nudging the girl. Yang rolled her eyes.
"Think about all the space we'd have!" she tried. Adam shrugged.
"Seemed like enough space to me," the faunus said.
"Yeah I didn't see any probl—" Ruby paused and stopped. Without even turning, her hand shot out and grabbed at the air, stopping a plastic cup that was about to hit Adam in the back of the head.
"The hell?" the bull mumbled. They all turned and saw people retreating down the hallway. Ah. That made sense, he supposed.
"Sorry about that," Ruby sighed, tossing the cup in the recycling, "didn't mean to freak you out."
"Hardly," he said, waving her off, smirking, "least I know you've got my back."
"What assholes! We should go kick their asses!" Yang said. Adam extended his arm as the brawler turned and tried to chase the team, stopping the girl.
"Unfortunately, nothing will come from you humoring them. They want me to lash out so they can prove I'm the threat. Their plans fall apart when you don't give them the sensationalism they're so desperate for," Adam explained. The White Fang hadn't changed a lot since turning to violence, only succeeding in making people think the faunus could attack them at any moment. They weren't being respected as equals, they were being viewed as threats that needed to be kept passive.
Yang growled. Patch wasn't a huge island. Everyone knew everyone. That made it pretty uncommon to see any discrimination on the island. The few times it was seen it was normally frowned upon or the person would be ignored by the other residents.
Seeing Adam shrug off the issue was even more frustrating. She could see it on his face. It wasn't that he wasn't bothered by it, it was more like he was just tired of having to deal with it. That fact was more frustrating than anything.
"Why hasn't anyone done anything?" she asked, a frown on her face. He sighed.
"They have. What do you think the White Fang was?" he replied. The Fang was a response to the injustice that the faunus had faced after being promised rights and freedom after the Great War. The Fang didn't exist before then. The Fang existed because they were promised something they never got.
"They have an interesting way of solving their problems," Whitley humphed. Adam rolled his eyes.
"They weren't always violent though," Ruby commented, "that only started happening in recent years. I remember being a little girl when they were still just protestors."
"No they weren't. Some preferred it that way," Adam said morosely.
"Please," Whitley groaned, "if that were the case then how did they get this bad? They're no freedom fighters, they're renegades."
"Renegades that believe what they're doing is for their people. They're no less like humans in that regard," Adam shit back. Whitley growled, the two now facing each other.
"I know you're a faunus but can you really defend them so staunchly? They're criminals and terrorists by this point!" Whitley claimed. Adam barred his teeth at the boy as the words left his mouth.
"They are what they are because they were pushed to that point. Peace only made them easy targets," he said. He knew, back when he had been a more violent person he'd wanted action, not words. Action only got Blake hurt though, and it turned her into the machine she was today.
"They used to just conduct raids! Then they started killing people I knew!" Whitley was just venting at this point. The White Fang never failed to get him this upset. The thought that one day Weiss may be taken from him because they wanted to prove a point made his blood boil hotter than anything. That made Adam back down quickly, a complicated expression coming over his face.
"Yes. I remember that as well," Adam said softly, remembering that people as young as Whitley and Yang were being affected by the Fang. That caused the other three to stop.
"Adam... Were you part of the White Fang?" Yang asked. Ruby's eyes widened at the question and Whitley's glare intensified.
He stopped as well. Wasn't that a difficult question to answer where he currently was? Behind him was a member of the Schnee family. The same family that had been known for their sordid exploits of the faunus and their refusal to acknowledge the Fang's presence as anything other than a roadblock.
Had he ever been a part of those raids and attacks? He had, there was no denying that. Had he ever been the one of the members of the Fang who had lusted for their blood? No. He'd wanted the ones in charge to pay for their injustice, not be slaughtered.
But that's not what the Schnee behind him would think. He would be lying to his team if he said he wasn't a member of the Fang, but was that worth keeping the peace? He turned back to the three and looked among them.
No. He hadn't ever been known for keeping the peace. To the Fang, he was just an attack dog. His skill and training made him the first pick to go on the biggest operations. He refused almost all of them, knowing what they wanted wasn't his ability to disarm, but his ability to kill should he have to.
He'd taken lives. Once upon a time he did it happily. That had changed fast when he saw what it was making him. He killed still after, but only when there had been no other way. He remembered when Blake had been captured on a raid of an SDC camp. What they had done to her had changed her. She had once been the voice of reason. After that incident however, she rarely took off her mask, and she became much more volatile. He'd told her that he'd been on that path too, and that nothing good would come of it. She hadn't been able to make it out like he had.
"Adam?" Ruby asked. He hummed. His partner didn't even seem scared that he could've once been part of the same group known for killing humans. He hadn't known her for more than a week. Would she be so caring if she learned all the things he'd done? What he'd been?
He took a breath. They'd learn eventually. Better it be on his own terms.
"I was," he said, "but I'm not anymore."
As expected, Whitley's glare was fierce. He didn't move, but the way he tensed and the way he looked at Adam said all that he needed to hear. He had forgotten that Whitley had his weapon on him right now. He paid it little mind. He knew the boy wouldn't accept what he was. He would still be here regardless. Attacking him would only tell Adam what he needed to know about the boy.
Yang looked at him with her head tilted. She didn't look upset, she looked curious. Based on what he'd witnessed of the girl, she likely wanted to know more. Unfortunately, he wasn't the sharing type so he knew the girl would only get more annoying.
Ruby looked the most indifferent. He had to respect that about his partner. She seemed to have her own moral compass set in stone. She gave him a small smile, gentle and motherly even, and stepped forward a little.
"Thank you for telling us this Adam. It means a lot to know you trust us with that," she bowed slightly. His eyes widened slightly. He wasn't expecting gratitude for telling them about it.
"Yeah! I know that faunus and the White Fang get a bad rep, but you're pretty cool! Plus you and I have kicked ass together twice now! That's like, totally awesome in my book," Yang said, smirking his way.
They both turned to Whitley and Adam had to suppress a laugh at the way he looked at them. His face said, 'don't tell me what to do' and the way he had his arms crossed implied he wasn't budging without any pressing. Unfortunately for the Ice Prince, the sisters were notorious pressers.
"Whitley," Ruby said in a stern tone, "you're allowed to speak your mind."
"Yeah!" Yang said, pumping a fist, "as leader, I command you to!"
He looked at the blonde in what could only be called exasperated disgust. He turned between them and Adam a few times, his eyes still showing the anger he was feeling. Finally he growled quietly.
"The White Fang have killed members of my family," he muttered, looking the faunus in the eyes. Adam met his glare just as unflinchingly.
"I haven't," he replied resolutely.
"Who's to say you won't kill me in my sleep?" Whitley spat. Yang gasped and Ruby looked disappointed, though due to the girl's looks and generally optimistic attitude, it looked more like an intense pout.
"If I wanted, I could kill you while you're awake just as easily," Adam shot back.
The sisters facepalmed. That's not how you reply to a statement like that! You're supposed to assure the other person you're not a threat! Leave it to 'Good Boy Adam' to challenge the accusation with a threat.
"Ha!" Whitley sneered, "You think you could beat me in a fight?"
"I know I can. Perhaps even several times in a single two hour period," Adam said coldly.
Sparks flew between the two. Their glares were intense, Whitley's cool, icy blue eyes meeting Adam's own strong, deep blue eyes. The glares weren't of hate, Ruby noted with some surprise. Yang seemed to notice as well. It didn't look like they wanted each other dead.
It looked like they wanted to prove the other wrong.
"Is that a challenge," Whitley's eyes narrowed more.
"A promise," Adam turned his head up, looking down on the shorter boy.
And thus, where Yang was sure a deep hatred between the two would be born out of clashing opinions, an intense rivalry seemed to form instead. Yang watched the two shoot jabs back at each other for four more minutes before Ruby finally got sick of their bickering and grabbed both their ears, dragging them towards the cafeteria. Yang skipped beside them happily, sticking her tongue out when both asked her for help.
Boys, she noted, were dumb.
But at least they got over things so fast.
"You don't stand a chance! I was trained by the best in Atlas!"
"Over my horns I don't stand a chance against a child like you!"
"Brute!"
"Snob!"
"Degenerate!"
"Priss!"
"OW MY EAR!" they both yelled as Ruby tugged them around a corner. Yang laughed. She was so happy her team was cool. Also that Ruby was such a beast. That helped too.
"You remember what your mission was, yes?"
"Of course. My focus has not shifted."
"And the location of the maiden's powers?"
She sighed. They didn't know that yet. That told the woman on the other end of the scroll all she needed to know.
"Time is of the essence, Cinder."
For me maybe. We're not all immortal, Cinder thought as she bowed her head. The woman on the scroll sighed and waved her off.
"Very well. Keep us updated on your progress. We can't let the old fool keep up these games," the woman growled. Cinder nodded. They had a plan, and they wouldn't fail.
"I'll see to it as fast as I can," Cinder claimed. The woman sent a cryptic smile.
"I'm sure you will," and with that, she hung up.
Cinder sighed. This work was dangerous. Very dangerous. The powers of the fall maiden were hidden in Beacon, they were sure of it. That bastard Ozpin wouldn't let them have it without a fight though.
Not to mention he'd be surrounded by huntsman and huntresses. The maiden's powers were currently one of the most well guarded treasures on the planet. She held up her hand and a small flame manifested. She held only a piece of that power now. The rest resided in that girl.
For now.
"Soon," she mumbled, checking her scroll as she received a message from one Roman Torchwick. He had come across more dust and had insider knowledge on a large shipment coming next month. She let her hand graze across her face, feeling the large scar that marred her otherwise beautiful features.
Soon they would prevail.
The six of them watched. The battle before them was tense, neither opponent willing to give the other any ground. It was perhaps the most unique fight they'd ever seen. One side exuded a silent confidence, the other a smug haughtiness. They would've never expected such a civil match between the two just a few weeks prior.
Yes, they'd all managed to make it through over a month of Beacon. There was some confusion and learning to be done about each other still. None of them could say they trusted each other implicitly other than the sisters and Ren and Nora. But the two before them had formed an unexpected camaraderie. More of a rivalry if the battle before them meant anything.
"Check," Adam said.
Whitley moved a piece in front of his king.
"Check," Whitley said.
Adam moved his king to the left.
Whitley moved one of his pieces three spaces away and two spaces to the right.
"Check," Whitley said again.
Just as Adam was about to move another one of his pieces, the chess board was flipped. Both players, and their friends and teammates, looked up in annoyance at the offender.
"You were so about to lose," Adam sneered.
"In your dreams, Bullshit," Whitley replied, his face pinching a moment later, "was that racist?"
"A little bit."
"Sorry."
"You'll get the hang of it buddy."
"Excuse me!" the person who'd flipped the chess board exclaimed, "Are you first years ignoring me!?"
"Trying," Adam said, "you're quite loud."
"Not to mention obnoxious," Whitley chimed in. The person growled.
"You lot are boring," she hissed, turning and stomping away. The other six sighed.
"Ya know, you're supposed to ignore bullies, not egg them on," Jaune commented as he watched the girl walk back to her team, her large rabbit ears twitching in frustration.
"I could take them in a fight easily," Adam claimed as he stood.
"I have enough money to buy them out of house and home three times over, and that's if I'm feeling generous," Whitley said as he brushed himself off.
The six deadpanned. Leave it to the two most arrogant members of their group to agitate bullies simply because they knew they could ruin them. Not that either were wrong, but it was certainly a new experience for all of them to witness.
"I don't understand people like them. What do they get out of pushing people around like that?" Yang humphed, arms crossed as she thought about the rude students.
"Some people simply let power go to their heads. They probably think their slightly larger amount of experience makes them more powerful than any of the first year class," Nora mused. Jaune nodded along, thinking around the same thing.
"Doesn't mean they should just throw their power around," Yang grumbled. Their teams hadn't seen too much of the harassment themselves, but it doesn't mean the second year team didn't try to bug them every now and then.
Pyrrha seemed to be a popular target, but Jaune was such an imposing figure that they rarely tried anything unless she was alone. Jaune didn't seem to let the team out of his sight too often though, acting like their guardian angel at all times.
As for Team YSTR, the combined might of Adam and Ruby was enough to scare most people in general. People had quickly discovered the hierarchy of the first year students once combat classes had started.
Jaune stood at the top, though there was room for debate still since he hadn't fought Adam or Ruby yet. Adam admitted that the blonde was likely still stronger, but Jaune was too humble to say the faunus was right. Speaking of the other two, Adam and Ruby stood tied for second. The partners had fought once in class and once on their own time, coming to a draw both times, much to boths delight. A good opponent was just what the two wanted.
Nora stood around third, most people too afraid to see if the giant hammer in her back hurt as much as it looked. Whitley and Yang fought for fourth, with Yang being competitive and Whitley refusing to be lower than the blonde. Ren ranked around fifth, but he didn't seem to mind too much. He was still a vicious fighter and his energetic personality mixed with his ninja like style made him a fearsome foe.
Then there was Pyrrha. She was... Low. Last actually, but none of them ever mentioned it to spare the girls feelings. It was almost painful to watch her fight sometimes. It was like she never trained before she came here! But that was ridiculous, nobody could just get into Beacon with no training. Plus Pyrrha was quite the tactician!
"I say we slip laxatives into their food!" Ren suggested, a scheming look on his face. The others all gave the boy a disgusted face. Adam even took a step back.
"Or," Jaune placed a gentle hand on the ninja's shoulder, "we can just deal with them if they bother us."
"Didn't take you for the 'fight back' kind of guy Jaune. Figured you were more of a 'let the higher-ups take care of it' type," Yang commented. The blonde boy frowned.
"If someone threatens my friends, I'll deal with them as is necessary," he claimed. With the boy's tall and broad physique, coupled with his status as a monster in battle, it was pretty unlikely that anyone would threaten his friends.
The eight stood. They had all gotten closer in the last few weeks. Not all of them had opened up too much; Adam, Whitley, and Nora didn't seem like the most outspoken of people. Ruby had warmed up after a while, getting used to the two teams. Yang and Ren were the most social, never leaving a conversation dry. Jaune and Pyrrha were both awkward at conversation, but it was clear that both enjoyed the presence of others.
"We should get a move on. Combat class starts soon," Adam noted.
"Hell yeah! Maybe we'll get to see a real kick-ass fight today!" Yang cheered.
"Or more boredom from watching students who have no idea what they're doing," Whitley drawled.
Pyrrha looked downtrodden and Yang elbowed the boy in the ribs. He hissed and clutched his side, glaring at the brawler.
"We all learn at our own pace," Jaune said sagely, laying a hand in Pyrrha's back. One could hear fangirls foaming at the lips from outside, but they all ignored it.
"At any rate, it's time we get a move on," Nora said. They all agreed, Adam and Whitley cleaning the fallen chess set up and stowing it away. They'd settle that battle another time.
Right now, it was time for combat class.
A bit of a shorter chapter this time around. Setting more stuff up for all the big changes and such. Next chapter will have a bit of student vs student combat in it so be prepared.
Also yes, I had Adam reveal his past way earlier. Why? Because Adam doesn't seem like the type who would let it stop him. That and since they already know he's a faunus it would make sense that it'd come up sooner.
In other words, thank you all for such an incredible amount of support in this story! I hope you're all safe and that you're making sure to appreciate life as it comes.
Rest assured, you haven't seen all the changes I've made in this story yet. We're only in the beginning stages.
Make sure to follow if you want to know when the story updates, and tell me what you think in the reviews!
Thank you all and have a wonderful time!
Omake: The first morning— Team PAVL's side
Nora awoke on her own accord.
That was never a good sign. That meant only bad things really. And now that there were other people around that those bad things could happen to, she didn't exactly feel the relief she wanted when she normally woke up.
"AHHH! MY EYES!" Pyrrha screamed as she rolled out of her bed.
"Sorry Pyrrha! I thought that I'd take a picture to commemorate the first morning with our new team! Didn't know the flash was on!" Ren apologized.
That's where he'd gone. Nora sighed and stepped out of bed. It was then that she realized what Pyrrha was wearing.
She held a hand to her mouth as she stifled a laugh.
"Nora? What's so funny?" Ren asked, clearly enthused about anything fun related.
"Whazzat?" Jaune asked groggily as he sat up. The boy was clearly not expecting the strange wake up event. He looked around and saw Nora holding back a smile, Ren looking between her and the floor. Jaune too followed her gaze and stared at the floor.
He did not do as well to hide his laughter.
"What? What's so funny?" Pyrrha asked, a small amount of pink dusting her cheeks.
"N-nothing, Pyrrha," Jaune said, reeling himself in.
"If I didn't know better, I'd say you were laughing at me," she grumbled, pouting at him. He tried not to laugh again. He failed.
"What!?" Pyrrha humphed. He wiped a hand down his face, Nora finally finding her composure again. Ren still looked confused.
"It's just... I've never seen a girl our age wearing something quite like... That," Jaune pointed out. Pyrrha looked down at her attire.
She wore a honey colored onesie with a small cushy turtle shell on the back.
"What's wrong with my Choco Charlie limited edition onesie? It's got a cute little shell!" she pointed out. Jaune smiled now. The girl stood by her choices. He respected that.
"Nothing's wrong. It was just unexpected, is all. You look adorable," he said teasingly. She pouted more. Finally it clicked for Ren.
"OH! I get it! It's funny cuz it's supposed to be embarrassing! Like how Nora wears My Little Horsey underwe—" he was silenced as a pillow was buried in his mouth. He gagged and fell over as Nora pushed him down, her face bright red. Jaune and Pyrrha were smirking at the girl.
"You. Heard. Nothing," she glared, her anger being marred by the blush still coloring her face. Jaune laughed but made a zipper motion over his lips. Pyrrha just shrunk back at the glare.
It looked like Team PAVL would be getting along just fine.
"So who's showering first?" Jaune asked.
Ren, Nora, and Pyrrha both clawed at each other as they dashed towards the bathroom. By the looks of things, Ren was winning the battle race.
"THIS HAIR REQUIRES GOD'S TOUCH!" Ren cried as he kicked the two girls back, trying to close the door.
Maybe their team wouldn't get along too well after all.
