Troll in Reviews

As has been noted, there is a troll in reviews spamming guest reviews and trying to frame people by writing their name in the name slot. Just ignore it. It's not worth the effort of paying attention to and I'm only writing this message so people are aware.

He's also pretending to be me by writing my name in guest review slots. I would only ever review something from this (logged-in) account.

Chapter 2

By the time the large passenger craft landed at Beacon, Adam was ready to commit genocide.

Too many people. Humans. Children. Somehow the latter was worse than being human, which opened a fresh discovery of hate within him. A hate-pithany. Whining, shouting, boasting, chatting.

They. Didn't. Stop.

It was almost a relief when one of them started throwing up everywhere, but the entertainment didn't last.

When the ramp came down, he waited for everyone else to depart before doing so himself. In part to keep an eye out for Blake, but mostly because if someone started shoving him around, his tenuous grasp on his self-control was going to snap.

I'm in the hornet's nest now. Do something wrong here and I'll have little chance of escape.

The students weren't a problem. Even if all at once they could have surely brought him down, they were inexperienced children likely to panic at the first sign of bloodshed. It was the teachers and the terrain itself. He'd need to flee into the Emerald Forest which, while not overly dangerous to him, would soon be full of huntsmen and monitored by Bullheads ready to gun him down.

Luckily, murder wasn't on the itinerary.

The metal ramp creaked with every step he took before his boots clipped down onto white flagstones. Beacon was beautiful – he wasn't so cretinous as to be unable to appreciate that. Tall spires, impressive architecture and a clear blue sky visible beyond the tall clocktower and sweeping arches. It was almost, but not quite, enough to instil a sense of awe in him.

"Not bad. Not bad at all."

A quick scan either way showed no sign of Blake. She was here, he was sure of it, but there had been so many people on the aircraft he couldn't bring himself to search for her. They wouldn't have been able to properly talk with all that noise. His hand slid down to Wilt, caressing the hilt for a moment before releasing and stuffing into a pocket. His other came up to adjust his eyepatch, the fabric still rough and uncomfortable compared to his old mask. It would take some getting used to.

A sudden blast from a short distance away had his body tensing, knees bent and hand on his weapon. Every nerve burned as one blue eye darted left and right. No ambush – why would there be? This was Beacon. Still, that had quite clearly been an explosion, if only minor.

The other students milling around looked curious but shrugged and continued on.

Adam sneered. Did they have no sense of self-preservation? They had no idea what that noise was, which meant it could have been Grimm, bombs, an attack or just about anything, yet they were willing to walk away without so much as a cursory inspection. I expected more from our so-called protectors, he thought, striding in the direction of it.

If they weren't going to check, he would. It may not have been the White Fang and his responsibility to check any disturbances but old habits died hard, and it was better to be in the know than not. Pushing through a chatty pair of idiots, he stormed across the green and toward a large circular plaza of the same white stone present across all Beacon.

There, he spotted a familiar figure.

Two familiar figures, though one of which he'd not had the immense pleasure of meeting personally, alone and unprotected in a dark alleyway.

"Schnee…"

Wilt clicked free, the barest hint of red showing as his lips peeled back. Right there, facing the other way, Weiss Schnee yelled and lauded over the same brat he'd seen at the robbery. Red. He was sure that was her name. It didn't matter. The Schnee wasn't paying attention to him. How hard would it be to walk up and drive Wilt through her spine, twist and drag it out with a spray of blood? Adam had already taken a step forward before something in the trees caught his eye.

A flicker of gold and black, then nothing.

Blake…?

It had to be his imagination – he'd made that mistake before, always hoping to see her come walking out the trees at camp, sit down and let them figure out their problems together. Here, it was slightly more possible but only that. A long breath escaped him. The raw shock of it combined with his already frayed nerves pushed the hatred away. For now. Wilt was sheathed with a soft sound, the Schnee spared her impending doom.

Killing her now would only prove Blake right and lose himself his place in Beacon, preventing him having a chance to show her that she wasn't the only one capable of change. There were other ways to antagonise a Schnee, however. Did he dare enter the scene on Red's side to aggravate the stupid girl? Did he dare risk his temper snapping and him doing something he might regret? The worst part was, he wasn't sure he would regret it.

"No. Best not to risk it."

Adam turned away, walking past a blond human who looked like he was about to ask him something. A quick glare had the boy in the cheap armour flinching and ducking his head, scurrying away like a frightened dog. Maybe he would have helped Red, maybe not. It didn't matter. If she couldn't hold her own against another person, he wasn't sure she could against the Grimm.

It wasn't his job to carry her along.

/-/

"All weapons are to be kept in designated storage lockers tonight. You will have received details of your own before your arrival. This rule is non-negotiable. You will all be staying in the auditorium until Initiation tomorrow morning."

Goodwitch tried her best to look like she was watching over all of them but her eyes repeatedly strayed back to him, watching like a hawk as he stood at the back of the crowd. Adam didn't bother pretending he hadn't noticed and stared back. Disarming him was a risky proposition but he supposed the chances of bloodshed would be lessened if he didn't have to worry about waking up and striking someone by accident.

"A teacher will be present tonight and prepared to deal with any shenanigans. Do not act out of line."

Don't kill anyone. Message received.

The lockers were ridiculous. Huge, garish things with launch pads for some unknown reason. Rocket lockers - he knew the theory, but it was all so pointless. Why would you ever find yourself in a bad spot without your weapon? What kind of huntsman were you if you let that happen? In fact, the very act of storing their weapons away put them at risk. He never went anywhere without Wilt and Blush, only taking them off for sleep or bathing, and even then, they would rest nearby.

Probably concerned we'd kill one another in the night. Adam scoffed as he sealed his own weapons away, immediately missing their reassuring weight. This whole thing felt so inefficient. Why transport people here late enough in the day that Initiation couldn't be held until the next? Why not open Beacon early in the morning, process and do the testing that same day?

Not that he had any reason to complain. The delay gave him a chance to search for Bla-

"Adam!"

That was not Blake.

For a second, he expected someone else called Adam to respond. It wasn't an uncommon name. Sadly, no such miracle saved him and he heard a pair of feet come to a stop behind. The high-pitched voice wasn't what he'd been looking for. He turned with the heaviest of sighs. The little girl from the other night and the explosion outside was stood before him. Red.

"It is you," she said quickly. "I thought so because the weapon and the coat – well, maybe that was obvious enough." She giggled and waved awkwardly. "It's me. From the other night? The robbery? Ruby?"

Ruby was her name? Well, that solved one problem. "I remember."

"Yeah, I guess you would. Kinda stupid of me to think you wouldn't. Oh, but I thought you were a proper huntsman. I didn't realise you were a student. Why didn't you say something!?" Ruby continued before he had a chance to create an excuse. "Never mind. You're here. That's cool. We get to work together. Where's Wilt?"

Dumbly, he pointed back at his locker.

"Oh. Right. Locker. Heh." Ruby rocked on her heels. "I still need to find mine. And my sister. Can you believe she just ran off and left me? Then I ran into this grouchy girl and exploded!"

"I saw your sister," Adam said quickly. "Over there." He pointed. "Just on the other side of those people."

"You did!? Thanks, Adam!" Ruby darted off, pushing through the crowd.

Adam retreated before she could figure out he'd lied to her. With any luck, she'd realise that meant he didn't want to deal with her. He could have said it, but with the teachers all paying attention he had to at least play the part of a repentant criminal. Kicking underage girls when they annoyed him wouldn't earn him any points.

He made his way back to the auditorium, still looking for Blake. Instead, he saw the Schnee again, now talking to a girl he recognised as being famous but little else. A face he knew he'd seen on magazine covers but who, for the life of him, he couldn't place. His shoulder slammed into a boy coming the other way but the blond profusely apologised before Adam could demand it, robbing the wind from his sails.

"It's fine," he muttered instead, slipping by and back into the wide and open chamber. Several people were already claiming space for themselves and he made his way to a stretch of wall, unwilling to sit in the centre of a mass of strangers. Crouching down, he hunkered up against it in his full clothes, watching every person who came through the main doors. That soon became impossible as people continued to crowd and mill, blocking off his line of sight.

She was here. Ozpin had as good as confirmed it. Was it bad luck that he kept missing her, or was it intentional? Hard to tell. Adam brought one knee up and laid the other leg flat, missing Wilt, which he would have normally slept with, ready to draw if the sentries sounded the approach of Grimm. Tonight there would be no Grimm, only children.

Honestly, he'd have preferred the Grimm.

/-/

"I made a friend!"

"Yeah? That's great." Pulling her sleepwear on over her head and over her chest, she fluffed her hair in the mirror. "I told you it'd be fine. You just need to break out and talk to a few people."

"I wouldn't have to if you didn't run off!"

A teensy amount of guilt came from that but she shook it off easily enough. Babying Ruby wasn't going to work out in the long run and might even make things worse for her. Much as she hated to, she had to make Ruby do some things on her own. And hey, it worked out. Guess I shouldn't feel so bad after all. Yang laughed, spirits rising.

"Why don't you introduce me to this friend of yours. Is she nice?"

"It's a he, and yeah, he's super friendly."

A guy, huh? Yang wasn't too worried about that. Ruby would probably get on better with guys anyway since her main obsessions were fighting, weapons and videogames. Maybe that had been her mistake at Signal, trying to introduce her sister to too many girls who wanted to talk about fashion and boys. Yang straddled the line but Ruby was firmly in the tomboy camp. She'd thought Ruby might grow out of that as she got older but it never happened. That wasn't so bad. Nothing wrong with focusing on your career.

"Him, then." Yang nodded her head toward the door. "Let's go find him."

"Eh? Now?"

"Sure." Unless he didn't exist. Ruby wouldn't go that far to avoid having to talk to strangers, would she? "Not a problem with that, is there?"

"No. No problem. Let's go find him."

Apparently not. Yang breathed out quickly, relieved. They gathered their sleeping rolls and walked out into the auditorium. It was like a house party gone mad. People stood atop sleeping bags and called out to friends. Cans of pop flew through the air. Some guys were wrestling, either showing off for the girls or satisfying their homoerotic fantasies.

Hey, she didn't judge. Well, not their preferences anyway – she'd definitely judge those tight butt cheeks. Rawr. Yang's head swivelled to keep an eye on a few as Ruby dragged her along. Why couldn't Ruby make friends with a beefcake for her? That would have been convenient.

A monster walked across her vision, all blue and gangly and horrible. "Ugh," she said, shivering and turning ahead again. "Talk about eye candy poison. Where's your new boyfriend, sis? Hiding somewhere?"

"Adam's not my boyfriend!" Ruby gasped. "And he's by the wall."

Adam…? That name sounded familiar. A face flickered into her head from a few nights ago but she shook it off. Nah. He'd been several years older than them and a proper huntsman. It was just a coincidence. Adam was the first name you thought of beginning with A. It wasn't a weird name like Yang or Taiyang an-

And there he was. Red hair. Bull horns. Eyepatch. Black coat and single blue eye looking at them like he was watching the approach of terminal cancer.

"Oh God," she whispered. "You made friends with Grumpy McGrumpinson…"

Ruby didn't hear her.

Adam's eyes narrowed.

Crap. Did faunus have enhanced hearing? Ah, damn it.

"Hi Adam!" Ruby said, waving happily as she came to a stop in front of his extended leg. "I found Yang. Thanks for helping with that by the way. You remember her, right? From the police station."

His eye looked her up and down. Yang felt uncomfortably judged by it, and not in the way most guys their age did. Yang felt like prey being sized up. "I remember."

"Great." Ruby, much to Yang's horror, tossed her sleeping bag down at Adam's feet.

No, no, no. They weren't doing this, were they? Surely not. She looked to Adam for help and he looked just as despairing, but also resigned. A man accepting his death in the face of some incurable disease. How could Ruby be this dense? How could she not see how little he wanted them there?

I take it back. I should have coddled her from day one. Damn you, reverse psychology!

There was no leaving her now. Yang rolled out her own sleeping bag beside Ruby's and sat down atop it, crossing her legs and facing the admittedly handsome but wholly unapproachable faunus that Ruby had, though the power of complete blindness, decided was her new friend.

He stared back at her from one eye. For a long moment it felt like they communicated silently. Her asking him to go easy on her sister, and him asking her to take said sister and carry her far, far away.

Why couldn't Ruby befriend normal people?

"And I couldn't find her at first and I thought you might have just tried to get rid of me, but then I did and she was right where you said she was." Ruby finished recounting her story with grand hand gestures. "So, we studied at Signal. Where did you study?"

"I didn't."

"You didn't go to one of the huntsman schools?"

"No."

Strange. Yang didn't doubt him. The way he said it made it clear Adam didn't care enough to bother lying, and he was certainly anti-social enough to have never been to school. What did that mean, though? Had he been trained as an apprentice to a huntsman? Had he survived in a frontier village? Both were possible and would have explained away the loss of an eye. Or she assumed it was a missing eye since he didn't look all that impaired by covering one.

"That's so cool!" Ruby cheered. "Did you get to fight against lots of Grimm?"

"Some. And some creatures that are worse than Grimm."

"Worse?"

Adam's lips twitched upward.

Yang didn't want to know what would make him grin like that and quickly interrupted. "Rubes and I went to Signal. That's a school on Patch in case you didn't know. She's two years younger but got accepted early thanks to that robbery you helped stop. Thanks again for that by the way."

"Hmph. It wasn't a problem."

Phew. Crisis averted.

"So, why did you come to Beacon?" Ruby asked.

Why is it you're able to hold a normal conversation with the one person you shouldn't, but completely useless with everyone else? Come on, Ruby…

"I'm… looking for someone."

Yang came out of her thoughts at that enigmatic statement. Less edgy than she expected, but somehow no less dramatic. Of course he's looking for someone. He couldn't possibly just be here because it was closest or because it's the best rated school. Nooo. He has to have some deep, dark reason. Yang looked longingly toward the normal people on the other side of the hall.

"Like a missing person?" Ruby asked, apparently believing life was a Spruce Willis movie.

"Yes."

Or maybe they were both idiots.

"Please tell me it's not us," Yang griped. If this was some terribly long-winded and awful attempt at flirtation, she wanted out now. Thankfully, Adam's indignant snort made it clear that couldn't be any further from the truth. "Fine. Who are you looking for?"

"You wouldn't know her."

"Her, huh?" Yang leaned forward. "Try us. I know a lot of people."

"You didn't know me and she comes from the same place I did." Adam sounded annoyed now, like they'd pushed too hard. "Whatever. Blake. Blake Belladonna. Do you know her?"

"Nope." Ruby scratched her head. "What does she look like?"

"Forget it." He closed his eyes, closing them out, as if by refusing to see them he could believe they didn't exist at all. "If you don't know her, you don't know her."

"Why are you looking for her?"

"My business is my own."

"We could help."

Take a hint, Ruby. He doesn't want our help.

Adam sighed. "Has anyone ever told you that you're incredibly annoying?"

"No." Ruby blinked. "Why?"

Yang's hand struck her own face.

"Wait… Are you saying I'm annoying? That's unfair! I was just asking if I could he-"

"You again!?" a new voice yelled, joining the impending argument so quickly Yang almost caught whiplash. She pushed back with her feet and looked up, finding a tall – no wait, she was short, just tall compared to her sitting on her ass – girl with white hair and a white sleeping gown stood behind Ruby, hands on her hips. "How loud do you have to be? Do you realise just how much of a commotion you're causing when people are trying to sleep?"

"Ahhh!" Ruby jumped to her feet. "You again!"

Again? Another friend of Ruby's? A quick glance at Adam told her this new girl definitely wasn't a friend of his. Not even nearly. On the bright side, seeing that look on his face made it clear he only disliked them. He actively hated this girl.

"Me? I should be the one saying that. Haven't you caused enough carnage today? I can't believe you're even here when you clearly don't deserve to be."

Okay. Too far. Yang planted a hand down, ready to stand and be the mediator even if she was halfway en route to giving this bitch a piece of her mind. Ruby was clumsy socially and made mistakes, but questioning her right to be in Beacon? Not on her watch. Ruby had taken a step back, equally hurt.

Yang never got her chance.

Adam beat her to it.

"No one cares what you think, Schnee."

Schnee. Weiss Schnee? Now that she looked, it was obvious. White hair, pale skin and bright eyes with a scar down one of them. The girl couldn't have been much taller than Ruby but she acted it, glaring down at Adam.

"Excuse me? I came here to help you. It's clear this immature child was annoying you; it was written all over your face. You should be thanking me for stepping up and saying something."

Ruby flinched and looked back at Adam, vulnerable for a moment. Yang's gut clenched.

Adam sneered and leaned back, his single eye closed. "The only annoying one here is you."

Ruby's silver eyes widened.

Yang sighed. Great. They were doomed now. He may have done it because he apparently hated Weiss more than he did them, enough so that he'd side against her even if she was correct, but as far as Ruby was concerned Adam had just defended her. It was official now. Best friends forever. He'd be invited to every birthday party, every holiday. Someone out there had to save her. This was going to suuuck.

"You – I… I can't believe…" Weiss stomped her bare foot on the floor, reminding Yang of her presence.

"Waiting for a butler to arrive, Schnee? I don't think stomping around like a child will impress anyone."

Yang couldn't hide her snicker. Okay, he'd done well there.

"How rude can you be?" Weiss hissed. "I came here to assist you! I thought you might appreciate-"

"I didn't ask for it, nor did I need it. Certainly not from your rotten family."

"Rotten!? What does my -?" Weiss' eyes roamed up to his hair. "Of course. You're a faunus, aren't you? I should have guessed you'd be like this..."

For the briefest of seconds Yang was sure someone was about to die. The very air became heavier and she shivered, watching Adam go still.

This... What is this? I feel like I'm watching a car careening right at me...

How the girl didn't notice, she had no idea. Ruby did. She'd gone completely still, eyes wide and hands straight at her sides. Even a few people nearby were looking over, their faces registering unease and a certain degree of fear. Yang still wasn't sure what caused it, only that she had the sinking suspicion someone was going to get hurt, and that it wasn't going to be Adam.

"I should expect you would judge me on that alone." Weiss went on, oblivious to it all. "Don't believe everything you read in the newspaper. The media sides against me and my family constantly, even when we do nothing wrong."

"Nothing wrong? You enslave the faunus."

"Those lies perpetrated by the media are just that! The SDC maintains adequate working conditions across all its facilities. Or are you going to believe some rag over a member of the family itself?" Weiss stared him down. "Well? Nothing to say? I thought not. Get your facts straight next time before you spout nonsense."

"Hey. Hey." Yang called out. "No need to be so cold about it."

"Cold? He insinuated that me and my family are slavers!"

"You are slavers, you-!" Adam cut off suddenly, one hand on his eyepatch. His hand trembled, lips peeled back. He had a foot under him, ready to rise, but he pushed it back out and flopped down. His hand fell, though even to Yang it looked like it took incredible effort on his part. The sigh he released was more furious than annoyed, like hot steam puffing forth. "Forget it," he snapped. "I won't prove her right. I refuse to. You're lucky, Schnee. Luckier than you know."

"Ahem!" A cough sounded as another person joined the melee. Yang almost swore – until she saw who it was. The scary teacher from the welcoming speech stood behind them, tall and stern, staring down at Adam. "Is something the matter here? I heard a disturbance."

"Of course you did," Adam scoffed, laughing under his breath. He closed his eye once more, sitting back against the wall. "The Schnee was just leaving after running her mouth. There's no disturbance beyond that."

"What? You have yet to apolo-"

"Miss Schnee," the teacher barked. "To your bed. Mr Taurus, please avoid causing any further trouble or we shall be having words."

Yang scowled, about to point out that he hadn't started this in the first place, but the teacher walked off before she could. Weiss did as well, storming away with one last glare for Ruby of all people, as if it were somehow her fault. Yang sat again, settling down and patting the sleeping bag next to her so Ruby would as well. Her sister looked glum. Yang felt it.

I hate teachers who blame both sides whenever something goes wrong. That was totally unfair.

"Well," Ruby said, giggling nervously. Bitterly. "That didn't go so well. One friend and one enemy. That puts me back at zero, doesn't it?"

Yang opened her mouth.

Adam beat her to it again. "Ruby." He said her name without opening his eye, without even moving. "A person can be judged as much by the enemies they make as any friendship. Making an enemy of a Schnee makes you less aggravating in my book."

That…

Was that a compliment?

Yang really wasn't sure. It was backhanded at best and hostile at worst. It didn't even suggest he liked Ruby, only that he found her `less annoying` than he had before, which still put her sister more as a pest to him than a person. If it was his way of trying to cheer her up then not only was it misguided, but it was just as clumsily delivered as Ruby might herself. It was honestly impossible for her to tell whether it was for Ruby's sake or just his way of saying he hated Weiss more.

"Adam…" Ruby stared at him, mouth forming a little `o`. Her lip trembled, before she nodded once, smiling. "Yeah. You're right. I've still made one friend. That's all that matters and I won't let her ruin it."

"That's not even remotely close to what I just-"

"Thanks Adam. You're the best!"

Their surly new `friend` only growled in response, hunkering back to try and sleep and doing his utmost to ignore everything and anything Ruby said. Yang wasn't sure if she should be amused or upset about that, or the fact Ruby didn't pay attention and continued chatting eagerly to him, even when he never once responded.

My life has officially gone crazy, she thought, crawling into her bag as the lights dimmed. Maybe it'll make more sense in the morning.

/-/

The book lay abandoned and untouched on her lap.

He was here.

Why was he here? How was he here? From the darkest corner of the auditorium with the candle she'd intended to use as evidence to deflect anyone from believing her a faunus, Blake watched with golden eyes as her ex-partner sat against the far wall, huddled up as he would normally, except with Wilt missing.

There was no mistaking him and hadn't been when she caught him approaching the Schnee. Still ashamed to admit she'd fled and abandoned the girl to possibly a brutal murder, she couldn't believe both were still alive. She also couldn't believe Adam was sharing breathing space with two humans. Then again, he didn't look happy about it.

He'd come for her.

What other reason could it be?

Blake drew her knees up and tried not to fall into a full-blown panic attack. She'd been an idiot to assume it would be as easy as cutting the connector and riding away from him and the White Fang. Of course he'd follow her. Deal with her. Did he want to take her back? Did he want to kill her? Either way, she didn't want to find out.

I just have to pass initiation. There's no way Adam will last. He'll do something. Snap. Show everyone just what kind of person he is.

All she had to do was outlast him.

/-/

"Today is finally the day! No more talking, no more waiting, I can finally put Crescent Rose to good use and show people what I'm made of."

"That's still going to involve talking, Rubes."

"I'm going to let my baby do all the talking for me."

"You can't if you want to be a proper huntress." Yang sighed and turned to him, cheek resting on her hand and elbow on the table. "What do you think, Adam? She needs to break out and talk more, right?"

"Actions speak louder than words," he grunted.

"See! See! Adam agrees!"

"Yeah," Yang muttered, "Because it gets you to stop talking."

She wasn't wrong there, though Adam reflected that his attempts had so far failed to make a dent on Ruby's impenetrable optimism, hence the fact they were somehow now sharing breakfast in the cafeteria. Mealtimes in White Fang camps were often loud and casual affairs where people could chat to keep up morale, but he'd always preferred eating alone or with Blake. People knew better than to approach him.

There'd been no escaping Ruby, however. From the moment they woke to collecting their weapons, she'd been at his side, chattering on excitedly about the day. It was… marginally less annoying than it had been the day before, though that wasn't to give her any credit. He'd just learned to tune it all out.

Putting up with her was a chore, but it upset the Schnee.

He'd take that.

Where Ruby went, Yang did too apparently, an ever-present and slightly more observant companion who always kept an eye on him. She knew. Not what he was or who, but she knew his opinion on them and was keeping an eye on her sister to make sure he didn't `misplace` her somewhere. Adam couldn't fault her that, even if he personally felt she could have dragged her off long before now.

It didn't matter. He wouldn't be `getting rid` of Ruby because he didn't need to.

"Is that all you're eating?" Yang asked, poking a fork toward his plate. "I'm feeling slimmer just looking at it. You realise we're probably going to be facing Grimm."

"I should hope so. Not much of a huntsman academy if we aren't."

"And yet you're eating berries and grain like some kind of ancient hunter-gatherer…"

Adam scowled. These people were so dramatic. "I'm eating porridge. I was unaware cavemen had microwaves."

"Same thing. You should be having a proper breakfast."

He wanted to ask if she was referring to her own with that, a frankly hideous stack of eggs on toast with bacon, sausages, beans and hash browns. Three eggs no less and three slices of toast, not to mention the butter. Was she hoping to add a layer of dense calories to her body like some kind of subdermal armour?

Eating that much would make him throw up in a fight.

"Grains are a source of slow releasing carbs," he said, spooning his breakfast around in lazy circles. He adopted the kind of tone he used when talking to the rank and file, that of a patient, if bored, instructor. "The fruit will provide the vitamins and nutrients I need to stay healthy but neither too hungry or bloated. The water content will-"

"Boring! Are you a huntsman or a personal fitness instructor?" Yang rolled her eyes and tossed him a slice of toast. Since he made zero effort to catch it, the damnable thing splashed down into his porridge and sank into the goop, pooling butter like a sickly haze. "There. Consider that me looking after you. Ruby will be devastated if her best pal dies out there."

Would she be devastated if her sister died here? Adam grimaced as he spooned the soggy mess out and let it splat down onto the table. No one would have dared do that back in the White Fang. No one could be so stupid and still somehow draw breath. Where was Blake? This had to be proof he could change. If he could resist killing Yang for this long, he deserved not only her apology but a statue in his honour. They could crown him the patron saint of patience.

"Come on," Yang teased. "Let's see that smile. I'm sure there's one in there somewhere."

He fixed her with his flattest, darkest scowl. One that had sent children running in tears. "You're insufferable."

"Nah," she said, immune. Or maybe too stupid to be affected. "I'm Yang."

Did she just `dad joke` him? Was that grounds for murder? That had to be grounds for murder – even Ruby was giving her sister a positively evil glare.

Calm, he told himself. I just have to put up with them until I partner with Blake, and then I won't have to deal with them again. This was all pre-team nonsense. Once Ruby had a team of her own, she would focus on that and leave him alone. He'd have to deal with a team himself which would be a fresh hell of its own, but it would be with Blake and thus infinitely more manageable.

"I'll be fine with my porridge..."

"Suit yourself. Just don't come crying to me if you get hungry out there."

"I do not cry to anyone, least of all someone like you."

"Yang…" Ruby elbowed her sister. "Sorry about her, she gets like this sometimes. Porridge is cool, I guess."

Adam looked to her plate and raised an eyebrow. Pancakes. Pancakes stacked high with milk. Forget vomit or hunger, she was going to suffer diabetes. Her problem. Shrugging, he went back to his food, grunting every few seconds to provide the appearance he was listening to whatever they were talking about. Since getting rid of them had proved fruitless, better he focus on enduring them for now.

A speaker came to life with a tinny hiss. "Will all students make their way to the Beacon cliffs for Initiation. All students to the Beacon cliffs. Thank you."

"Sounds like that's us," Yang said needlessly, stuffing her face and somehow avoiding choking to death. With the food down, she stood and smacked her lips horribly. "You two ready? This isn't going to be like any of that easy stuff before. This is Beacon!"

"I fought Torchwick," Ruby pointed out.

"I defeated him," Adam added.

"Y-Yeah well…" Yang floundered, suddenly realising that out of everyone there, she was technically the most untested. At least as of now. "That's different. This is Grimm. Remember what I taught you, Rubes-"

"Always use protection?"

Yang gaped.

"How about I remember what Uncle Qrow told me," Ruby said, giggling. "I'll be fine. I'm a big girl now and I've had my milk." Adam failed to see the relevance. He could feel brain cells dying just from being around them. "Besides, I'm too quick for the Grimm to catch me. I can just run away if I want to."

"And you?" Yang asked.

Adam snorted. "I'll be fine. Worry about yourself."

"Awww. He's worried about us. That's cute."

"That's not even remotely close to what I just said…" Adam sighed. "Forget it. Die if you wish. I'll not fault you removing yourself from the gene pool."

"Sheesh. You don't have to act like you're above it all, Adam. You're a student just like us."

"I'm nothing like you," he said, standing.

Humans were stupid. All of them. Adam ignored their chatter and attempts to catch up with him, then ignored Ruby's hasty apology when she somehow did. Must have been the Semblance she mentioned. He let the words waft over his head, attention fixed on the directions necessary to reach the next stage of this stupid induction process. The sooner he passed, the sooner he could find Blake.

The cliffs were beginning to fill with students, while the headmaster and Goodwitch stood at the precipice, unconcerned with the forests far behind and the Grimm that no doubt inhabited it. No more concerned than he was with the way their eyes followed him, tracking his every movement despite all the other students there.

And her.

Adam saw her at last.

Blake.

His love wore the same outfit she had when they parted, the black and purple stockings to a white and black short and vest combination. Her sleek arms were bare, Gambol Shroud at her hip. She looked tired and he wanted to go over and ask her what was wrong, but his feet cemented themselves to the ground when he looked higher.

There was a bow hiding her ears.

Why? Why are you hiding what you are – what we are? Are you ashamed? Ashamed to be a faunus!?

Adam forced his teeth to stop grating together. His horns were as clear as day. He wouldn't hide them. Would never allow it. If people could not deal with what he was then that was their problem. Faunus who hid their traits were cowards. They were people like Ilia, who crept along the line and pretended the harsh treatment was fine so long as it wasn't happening to them.

Scum, or so they'd always said. Cowards who would rather live as slaves than die free. Even Blake had called them that once.

And now you're one of them. How could you…?

No. He tore his eyes away. There had to be an explanation and a moment's thought provided one. Perhaps it wasn't a fear of being recognised as faunus but a fear of that connecting the dots to the White Fang. He wasn't planning to advertise the fact either, even if anyone with half a brain and an internet connection could figure it out.

Perhaps she was just trying to avoid trouble there.

I'll have to ask her once we're partnered, he thought, looking back out over the forest. You can't avoid me forever, Blake. I'll show you that you're not the only one who can do this.

"-your task will be to collect the relics hidden at the central ruins," Ozpin announced. Adam realised he'd missed the beginning of the speech, but it didn't sound like it mattered. "The Emerald Forest is filled with Grimm so you will be expected to defend yourselves. Once you have a relic, make your way back to the cliffs and you shall be accepted into Beacon."

Object retrieval. Simple enough, even with the Grimm. The biggest problem was if the objectives were limited in number, making the whole thing a race against time. Again, that wouldn't be much of a problem, though it might cut into his time to locate Blake.

"The forest is monitored and your progress will be tracked. Should any of you be injured or deemed unable to continue, a member of staff will intervene. Similarly, you will all be watched, so beware of your actions."

Hmph. They weren't even pretending now. Adam felt Goodwitch's eyes on him and nodded, telling them he understood the not-so-subtle warning to him. No killing the Schnee or anyone else in the forest, for they would be watching his every move.

"As for teams, you shall be partnered with the first person you make eye contact with."

What-?

"What!?" Ruby yelled.

For once, I agree with you, Ruby. What a stupid scheme. Though, if he could make it so that Blake made eye contact with him, then she would have no excuses. High risk, high reward. The teachers watching him could work to his advantage in trapping her. Let's see you avoid me when we're partnered and on the same team.

Just like old times.

"Are there any other questions?"

"Yes," a boy said. "Will you be providing parachutes?"

The launch pads jettisoned them off the cliffs a moment later.

One thing people have noticed and commented on is how… unfair it seems that Adam is watched at all times and treated like this while Blake gets an almost free pass. And yes, that's certainly something I wanted to highlight, but at the same time I'll add that the story will typically "seem" like it's more sympathetic toward Adam because it's his pov, so he's going to be sympathetic toward his own plight.

Blake is going to look like a bitch a couple of times in this, but it's worth remembering that she has good reason to want to avoid Adam. It's not like she can rely on the law to grant her a restraining order, so it's very understandable she be afraid of him. Any woman (or man) in her situation should gtfo that situation as fast as they could!

On a smaller note, which I'll highlight on more relevant stories, I have my big march event and speech again this year on the 25th march, so I'll be off with no updates for that week. It won't affect this story, hence why I'll be making a bigger note on my other ones.

Essentially, no updates from 23rd – 29th March.

Next Chapter: 17th March

P a treon . com (slash) Coeur