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 4

"We should make bunk beds!"

Adam paid little attention to the resulting argument to what, he felt, was a rather simple solution. Bunk beds were the obvious way to make the most of a limited amount of space and were commonly used in White Fang barracks in Menagerie. The only dangerous part of Ruby's statement was the making part, since he was fairly sure neither Ruby, Yang nor the Schnee would have any idea how to build a safe bunk, but to hear the Schnee go on, one would have thought Ruby had suggested genocide.

"Let's put it to a vote. All in favour of bunk beds?"

Yang and Ruby held their hands in the air.

"All against?" Weiss chimed.

Only her hand went up.

"Adam!" Ruby wailed. "You didn't vote."

"I abstained."

"You can't abstain. This is a democracy!"

It wasn't, and he felt the urge to point out forcing him to vote kind of went against what she just said. "Which way did the Schnee vote?"

"I voted against."

"Then I vote for."

Yang sniggered and the Schnee shouted something – he didn't listen, but it was probably about how rich she was and how a faunus didn't deserve a vote anyway. The usual. He kept his eyes closed as he sat cross-legged on his bed.

"We need to do some decorating as well," Yang said. "Liven this place up. How's that gonna work? Shall we split the walls up or what? I've got a few posters."

"Of scantily clad men, no doubt," Weiss snarled.

"I'm sorry. I can get some of scantily clad women if you prefer?"

"What? No, I-"

He heard Ruby slide over to him while the others descended into an argument. Or the Schnee seemed to believe it was an argument; Yang was just mocking her – something he could get behind. Sensing Ruby near but not hearing her speak, he cracked his eye open. She was stood before him, nervously poking the floor with one foot.

Adam sighed. He wasn't used to dealing with someone so shy. "Ruby…"

"Heh. I thought you were asleep…"

"Sitting up?" he asked. "And after just speaking…?" When her face became redder still, he sighed a second time. "I was resting. What is it you wanted to ask? I won't snap."

"I thought we could do this without the fight." She nodded back to the other two. "So, do you want to split up the wall space? For posters, I mean."

"Take it all."

"Ah? R-Really? That doesn't seem fair."

"Ruby, I don't have any posters."

"Oh." She giggled and relaxed a little. "I guess that makes sense. Well, what about wardrobe space? I only have comics, so do you want the bookshelf? We can trade for the wall space."

"I don't have any books either."

"Ugh. Um." Her silver eyes darted around the room. "The drawers? For your clothes…?"

She's trying to be fair, he reminded himself as his temper rose. All they'd ever fought for was for humans to treat them like other people, so he couldn't snap at Ruby for doing just that. He took a deep breath and let it go. Smiling at her was too much and would probably just frighten her. He managed a shake of the head instead.

"I don't need the room, Ruby. You can take what you want."

"B-But then where will you put all your belongings?"

"What belongings?"

Somehow in the brief interaction, Weiss and Yang had stopped fighting and started listening. He couldn't say he appreciated it, especially the almost pitying look from Yang.

"You don't have anything…?" Ruby whispered.

"I own my clothes, my weapon and my pride. That's all I need."

There'd hardly been time among the Fang to drag luggage around. Blake had always made an exception for her books, but he could respect that. They were small, easy to transport and could occupy her for hours or even days. Beyond that, they'd had nothing but one another. And now, I have nothing at all. Tch.

"How can you not have any luggage?" the Schnee asked incredulously.

"I know it must come as a shock to you – but not everyone can snap their finger and have everything they've ever wanted delivered to them on a silver platter." He peered at her stacked bags, easily four times as much as Ruby and Yang had combined. Skincare, haircare and make-up from the sounds of it, not to mention more sets of clothing than he'd ever owned.

"Hmph. I was only asking."

"Yeah, well, maybe Adam doesn't want you sticking your nose into what's obviously a touchy subject," Yang said. She was wrong – it wasn't touchy at all – but he nodded anyway, happy to take the easy way out.

As a bonus, it further riled the Schnee.

"Hey Adam…" Ruby was still watching him, still nervous and still painfully earnest despite all that. "If you… If you ever want to use some of my stuff, you can. I can share my comics and my game system."

"Ruby…"

"I'm just saying you can! You don't have to. I just want you to know."

How irritating could she be? Sweetness was nice in moderation, but she was so sugary he could feel diabetes oncoming. All the more irritating because he couldn't muster any of his characteristic anger when dealing with her. There's such a thing as too nice, Ruby. People will eat you alive for that. Luckily for her, he wouldn't stoop to their level.

"I appreciate the thought."

Ruby managed to look even more like a wounded puppy.

Adam sighed. "And I'll read your comics if I get bored…"

"Good! We're teammates now. Partners. That means what's mine is yours!"

Partners. That was what it meant, and that was what it had meant between him and Blake. Sharing everything, food, laughter and even a bed. Adam let his eye close and was grateful for Ruby going off to unpack her things. He didn't cry, he wasn't sure he had that in him, but the long sigh that slid forth carried just a little sorrow.

Laying down, he pulled the covers up and over him, tuning out the noise with the experience of one used to sleeping among large crowds of often rowdy companions. If the other members of Team Rust thought anything of it, he didn't hear it.

/-/

He'd gone to bed already.

Did I do something wrong? Ruby watched her partner to see if he was faking it, but his soft breathing said he really was asleep. Her game console sat on her bed next to a carefully wrapped picture of her family – one taken back when their mom was still alive. Next to that were a stack of weapons magazines, a few spare changes of clothes, a weapon maintenance kit, some video games, a thick book on engineering and a few other assorted bits and pieces.

None of it was too expensive or too over the top, but with what Adam had said, she felt awful.

Was he upset at her for pointing it out? Had he wanted to keep it secret and now hated her for dragging the fact out in front of Weiss and Yang? Biting her lip, she stored her things away on what should have been his and her shelf, the one sat between their beds. It didn't feel right to take up all that, but when she laid it out so her stuff only took up half, it looked even worse! The empty spaces where his things should have been were conspicuously bare.

She slid her things to the middle, taking the space up but in a way that her things could be pushed aside if he wanted to. It was the best solution she could think up, even if it still felt horrible that the bedside table had a picture of the Xiao-Long – Rose family on it and nothing from her partner.

I wonder if there's anything I can do for him. Maybe get him something? Or would that annoy him even more? If he thinks I'm feeling sorry for him, he might throw it away. Ugh. Why is this so hard?

"Why do you even need all this anyway? There's more skin cream here than I'd use in a lifetime!"

And on the other end of the scale…

Weiss and Yang's situation was probably a lot more normal. Honestly, she'd have preferred that with Adam. Yang didn't have a lot of stuff, but she still had her things. Boots, trainers, shoes, clothes, repair kits and beauty products – especially shampoo. That paled in comparison to Weiss' belongings, which only contrasted with Adam even further.

As much as she wouldn't admit it, Adam might have been right when he called her spoiled.

"I need all of this!"

"You can't possibly need all that. Look, we're going to have to work out a compromise. Can't you keep the cases under your bed and draw things out as you use them?"

"They're expensive. They'll get damaged."

"Your problem, not mine." Yang walked to the shelf case between their beds and laid a finger on it. "Half and half. That's the rule. My side, your side. You can put as much of your stuff as you can fit on here and no more."

"That's not fair. I have more than you!"

"So what, you think you automatically get more space? Nuh-uh. Ruby?"

"Ah. Uh." Ruby jumped as both stared her way. Her first instinct was to shy away and say it wasn't her place, but then she remembered she was team leader. Leadership means taking control, she remembered Adam saying.

This was that time.

"You should split the space in half."

"Ugh." Weiss tossed her head. "You're only agreeing with her because she's your sister."

"N-No. It's fair this way."

"Well, can't I use the shelf space he isn't using?"

"No! That's Adam's!"

Weiss flinched, surprised by the sudden outburst. To be honest, so was she – and Yang by the looks of it, though she nodded, supportive. "W-Well he doesn't want or need the space. Why is it such a problem if I take it?"

"Because even if he doesn't need it, it's still his. Taking it from him would be stealing!" Ruby put her foot down. Literally. "I'm team leader and I've decided."

Weiss muttered angrily about empty space going unused and how pointless that was but eventually gave in, opening her cases and tightly packing as much as she could onto her limited space, soon filling it with several times the quantity – and the value – of Yang's. It felt kind of petty even to Ruby, but Yang shrugged over Weiss' shoulders and made a `what can you do` gesture.

Ruby giggled quietly back.

"We need to work out how all this is going to work," Yang said. "Sharing a room with a guy, I mean. We'll probably need to get dressed while he's in the shower but we might as well talk it over as a team so everyone is okay with things."

"Hm. That's a good idea. Can it wait til the morning, though? I don't want to wake Adam up."

"Yeah. Course." Yang ruffled her hair and winked. "Look at you being all responsible and looking after your partner. I'm so proud."

"Yaaang!"

"I'm serious. It makes me all warm and fuzzy inside."

The worst part was she could tell Yang was being serious there, proud of her for stepping up to defend her partner. Ruby blushed and kicked at the floor. It was just what she was supposed to do, and as harsh and sharp and unfriendly as he could be, Adam was still her partner. Plus, he'd not been mean to her.

"Do you think he's okay…?"

"Ruby." Yang petted her head. "I'm sure he'll be fine. Even if he doesn't have anything now, that just means we'll need to get him stuff, right? I'm sure he'll be fine an-" Yang's eyes narrowed. Pushing down on Ruby's head, she stalked away. "I saw that! You moved the dividing line. I said half, Weiss. You get half the space!"

Watching them argue, she couldn't help but sigh and look back to Adam, who was somehow able to sleep through all that noise. The two of them got on better than Weiss and Yang did. If nothing else, they had that.

Ruby crawled into her own bed. "Goodnight Adam."

/-/

Adam's eyes snapped open. The sounds of people snoring around him came as no surprise – he was used to bunking or camping with other White Fang members. Rising quietly so as not to disturb anyone, he took stock of the situation.

Beacon. Huntresses. Blake. The reminder brought forth a sigh. No wonder they hadn't so much as twitched for him getting out of bed. They probably never had to worry about an ambush in the middle of the night. Ruby was curled up on her side, face toward him, eyes closed and blanket drawn up to her mouth with two small hands. Trapped amid a pleasant dream she giggled and drew the blankets up.

Beyond her lay the Schnee. Unawares. Unguarded. Vulnerable.

He didn't have Wilt but what fight could she put up? A pillow over her face or his hands around her neck. If he dug his thumbs into her windpipe, she'd be dead before she could wake up to realise what was happening. It would be a message sent straight to the SDC, shattering the strength of the Schnee family and warning them the White Fang would find them wherever they hid.

Grunting, he turned away, picking up the male uniform left in their rooms and making his way to the shower. A quick check of his scroll said it was four-thirty. Time to be up before the shift changed and the sun rose.

By the time he'd finished his shower and changed into the overly tight and frankly far too formal school uniform, Team Rust were not in fact awake as he'd expected. It was five now, time for early morning training in his book. Ruby seemed to disagree, curling tightly into a ball on her bed while Yang lay flopped on her back one arm hanging out and over the bed's side, her mouth open wide like she was trying to catch flies.

He didn't see the point in waking them and instead made his way out, stepping into his shoes, unlocking the door and leaving without any of them waking up. The corridors outside were still new to him, more the reason to explore. Their room was on an upper floor – third, he recalled – so finding a staircase down was the order of the day.

Luckily, Beacon had prepared for the new students and paper signs were taped to the corridors labelling public bathrooms, staircases and where they could find the cafeteria. Good of them to put the effort in, he supposed. Or maybe they were sick of lost students on their first days failing to find classrooms and turning up late.

The sun was up by the time he'd visited his locker, collected Wilt and made his way outside. It only occurred to him then that training in his uniform before lessons was a bad idea, at which point he was too far gone to care. Stepping into a kata, he drew Wilt and flourished, slashed and sheathed, spreading his feet wide and stretching muscles. His body warmed up, fortunate in the cool air, and soon he was lost in the dance, twisting and turning, cutting his way across the open field with Wilt flashing red.

He kept the workout light for now. No use doing a full day of lessons with his sweaty uniform stuck to him. An hour at most, all of it gentle, just enough to warm himself up and prevent his muscles falling into bad habits. Coming to a stop, he sheathed Wilt with a soft click. Around this time, members of the White Fang would be watching. The younger ones especially liked to watch him, dreaming of the day they could be as skilled as he.

Though he'd always hated it, he often took the time to tell them they could be if they trained hard enough. Sienna's influence, and lessons on the importance of keeping morale high. He wondered how low that might be now with his betrayal.

No one had come to watch him. Adam left the training field alone, entering an academy only just beginning to rise for the day, and even then with only a few teams showing up. The cafeteria was mostly empty, a relief on his part. He ate alone in a corner, a simple meal of eggs scrambled on toast with an apple, a banana and a pomegranate to wash it down.

Fuel for the day. The bacon, hash browns and other fatty foods on offer wouldn't provide enough, and he silently scoffed at a rabbit faunus who ordered nothing more than a fruit salad. It wouldn't provide the carbs required for heavy training or combat. He almost stopped her, ready to force more food on her plate and give her a stern lesson.

He stopped himself at the last second. This wasn't the White Fang; she wasn't his responsibility and he was meant to be blending in. Finishing his meal and depositing the tray by the door on the way out. A walk would help clear his head and freshen him up, then lessons for the day – a chance to see what it was the most famous Academy on Remnant taught its students.

/-/

Team Rust were late.

He wasn't, but apparently being a part of their team meant he had to take the blame with them, or so Yang appeared to believe. Professor Port thought otherwise but had chosen mercy seeing as it was their first day. Or he phrased it as that, but Adam wasn't so sure. The man was a pleaser – the type who wanted to be popular with his students. There'd been people like that in the White Fang and he despised each and every one of them.

Hard knocks were needed. So was discipline, and had a newcomer shown up late to a training session with him, he'd have had them running until exhaustion to drive the point home. That his team were late because they couldn't wake up on time was no excuse. Alarms existed for a reason.

"Why didn't you wake us up?" Ruby asked as she sat down next to him. He'd not exactly saved seats for them, but no one had elected to sit near him.

"I thought it best to let you sleep."

"Let us get in trouble, you mean," Weiss hissed. "Would it have killed you to warn us it was time for lessons?"

"I was up a little before that…"

"How early?" Yang asked.

"Half four."

"FOUR!"

"Miss Rose!" The teacher's voice made Ruby flinch. "While I appreciate your enthusiasm, I must ask you to wait until I'm finished with the story. And it was not four Goliaths, it was five. Do pay attention now."

"Y-Yes professor! Sorry professor!" Once his attention was away, she whispered. "You were up at four? Why?"

"Because that's when I woke up." Wasn't it obvious? Did she expect some long and convoluted explanation, like he had a rare condition that meant he died if he woke up after five? "I showered, trained and had breakfast, then came here."

"Why didn't you come back to the dorm?"

"Why would I have…?"

Ruby looked upset by his answer, almost distraught. He didn't understand it – or her! Their room was for sleeping in. That was its purpose. Sleep, shower and to store their belongings, assuming they had them. Once he was up and ready to start the day, what was the point of returning? Or did she mean that he should have come and woken them up? He wasn't their butler.

"Why are you upset?" he asked gruffly.

"Do – Do you not see us as teammates?"

He noticed Yang looking over warningly but ignored her. "What are you talking about? What does being teammates have to do with me going straight to lessons? I already had a shower. I already did everything in there I needed to. I assumed you would be meeting me here."

"So… you're not angry…?"

Adam sighed, rolled his eyes and surrendered. "No, Ruby. I'm not angry. Nor do I understand why you think I should be."

"I'm not! I don't!"

Idiots, all of them. He caught Yang sending him a grateful smile and raised his eyes toward the heavens. Things were so much easier in the Fang. He led, others followed and everyone knew their place. It couldn't have been an age thing because Blake had never been this asinine. Speaking of Blake, he could make her out on the other side of the classroom, sat between a blonde boy and an orange-haired girl with a textbook open before her. He suspected there might be something else behind it.

His finger twitched, circling on the table as his eyes fixed on hers. Blake didn't return the cypher, or rather, she refused to look in his direction. Growling under his breath, he gave up and turned back to the fat teacher.

You can't ignore me forever, Blake. I won't allow it.

"Who here believes they have what it takes to be a huntsman or huntress?" Port boomed. It woke up those napping and caught his attention. "Who believes they have what it takes?"

He did, but he'd be damned if he was going to show off for children. Who needed to? If you felt the need to prove your worth, that only mean you might believe deep inside that you weren't worthy of being a huntsman in the first place.

"I do!"

And then there was the Schnee, who might just be volunteering as a chance to show off.

They were forced to wait for a solid five minutes as Weiss went to fetch her weapon, further proving his theory that this teacher hadn't really planned the lesson at all. When she came back, Port had brought out a large, covered cage, and Adam was forced to reassess his theory.

Killing a Grimm is one thing but capturing one? It's much harder to take one alive without harming it. Did this man do that…? He was reluctant to admit it, but it was possible Port was just a bad teacher, not a bad huntsman.

He wouldn't feel comfortable trying to catch a Grimm himself. He could do it, but it'd be a needless risk he wouldn't take but for the most extreme of circumstances. If Port felt the need to do that for a lesson, he was either insane, reckless or more skilled than he let on.

"Well, this just got a lot more interesting…"

"You saying that because we're gonna see some action or because Weiss might get mauled?" Yang grinned at first, though the lack of an answer from him made it falter a little. "Hey, she'll be okay, won't she? We may not get on, but I don't want to see her hurt."

"The teacher will step in if she's in trouble," he said. More was the pity. "They can't afford to upset the Schnee family by letting her get hurt. Beacon will bend over backwards to please her."

"You know, she isn't that bad."

He shrugged. "It doesn't change the fact Beacon can't afford to displease the SDC."

"I just think you're being a little unfair putting all that on her shoulders." Yang looked back as Weiss returned. "Let's cheer her on. Hey, Weiss! Team RYST represent!"

"Whooo!" Ruby cheered. "Go Weiss!"

"Grimm! Grimm! Grimm!"

"ADAM!"

"I am a man who roots for the underdog."

Weiss ignored their bickering, and Ruby's attempts to get him to show `team spirit`. Marching to the centre of the classroom, she flourished and flicked her rapier to loosen up her muscles. That she didn't squat, jog or stretch bothered him, but perhaps she'd done that outside. Going into a fight prepared wasn't always possible but it certainly was here.

"Are you ready, Miss Schnee?" Port asked it with his usual grandiose tone, but Adam could tell even he was trying to give Weiss a chance to get, as he said it, ready.

"I am."

You're not, Adam thought. Port must have thought it too for he looked back to his own weapon, no doubt judging the distance should he need to intervene. Honestly, if he did, then the Schnee was undeserving of her place in Beacon.

When the cage opened, a Boarbatusk rolled out. An interesting choice – but also a good one. They were fast but telegraphed, requiring some time to get rolling. A Beowolf could have jumped into the audience or run out the door, but a Boarbatusk was much more limited. Port must have had that in mind when he went after it. Perhaps he'd baited it into charging at him while he stood before the cage.

On seeing Weiss, it curled into a ball and charged forward.

Adam expected dust. The Schnee were famous for it and he'd had the pleasure – or displeasure – of facing off against Winter Schnee once. Not in a real fight, but a brief skirmish in the middle of a far larger engagement. Their battle had been inconclusive, but she'd been skilled. Very skilled. Had it gone on further, he might well have perished, for her control with dust and the Schnee Semblance was downright terrifying.

It came as a surprise then that Weiss lunged with her rapier.

"What…?"

The tip impacted armour – because really, what else was it going to impact when the thing was rolling around like that? – and deflected off. Her footwork took her to the side and out its path, but it turned without stopping, sweeping around before the raised desks and coming in for a second assault.

"Go for the underbelly!" Ruby yelled.

"Ruby! Stop distracting me!"

Now that was just unfair. If the Schnee was going to receive coaching, wasn't it only fair the Boarbatusk did as well? He wasn't sure Yang or Ruby would appreciate him shouting, "Go for the throat" however.

The fight, if one could call the casual execution of a Grimm, was over soon after. Weiss made a few half-hearted attempts to fence with the thing before realising it was a Grimm, it wasn't interested, and using a glyph to stop its charge. The Boarbatusk flew onto its back and Weiss leapt up, stopping herself on a second glyph in the air before lunging forward to dispatch it, sagging to her knees after.

Adam was conflicted.

On one part, being so exhausted after fighting a single Grimm was downright pathetic. She was a Schnee who got by on wealth instead of merit so being so useless was expected, but still, she was a part of their team and that looked ridiculous.

On the other, those glyphs were potentially the most powerful thing he'd ever seen – and he didn't make the comparison lightly. Why didn't she use those from the start? The one in the air cancelled her momentum and acted as a solid platform for her to kick off of. Could she use those to fly? That degree of control would make her more dangerous than Winter if she mastered it.

All the potential in the world with so little of it realised. The drill sergeant in him ached to make something of it.

Tch. As if he'd help a Schnee.

"Excellent. Truly an inspiring display." Port was another he had to reconsider, because the man was apparently a fanof sarcasm. "If all our students here today can fight with your skill, I dare say our borders will be safe.

A master of sarcasm.

The bell went off soon after. "Ah. Is it that time already? My, time runs fast when we're having fun. Off you go now, I do believe you have Glynda's lesson next. You don't want to keep her waiting, believe me."

Adam stood quickly, eyes on Blake. She and her team were making their way down off the stands and toward the door and he moved to intercept, only to be stopped by Yang.

"Not so fast, buster. You already ditched us this morning, you can walk with us to our next lesson as an apology."

"An apology for what, letting you sleep?"

"For letting us make fools of ourselves on the first day."

Adam tore his arm free from her and whirled around, cursing under his breath as he realised Blake had slipped out while he'd been distracted. His chest burned but he forced it down as he had been ever since coming here. He had time. Patience was something he could afford.

"What are we waiting for exactly?"

Yang pointed. "Weiss ran after the prof to ask something. As good teammates, we should wait."

Hm. She was probably going off to whine or complain about something. It wasn't anything he wanted to be a part of, but Ruby and Yang seemed determined to do this team spirit thing. Rather than argue, he tried a different tack. "That's true, but we could be in trouble if our team arrived late to two lessons, especially Goodwitch's."

They shared nervous looks.

"Ruby and I could go ahead," he offered. "Make our presence known and inform her as to why you're late while you wait for Weiss."

"Adam has a point," Ruby said.

"Hm. She did look like the sort to throw you in detention at the drop of a hat. Especially you," Yang added toward him. "Alright. Better safe than sorry and I guess Weiss is my partner. Go on then, but make sure to cover for me!"

/-/

Despite being awkward, Ruby wasn't dumb.

Holding a conversation was one thing but telling when someone was upset with you was another. Given how severe Adam was, he probably should have been the one she meant there, but yet again, he wasn't.

"Hey Adam. Do you think I was wrong to shout out advice for Weiss?"

"Yes."

"Oh…" Her head fell.

"You should have let her get mauled."

"Not that!" She giggled despite herself and punched his arm. He probably didn't mean to make a joke to lift her spirits – chances were, he meant every word he said – but it worked all the same. "I meant with how angry she got. You know, because I was distracting her."

"Almost anything can be a distraction in a fight, Ruby. Some things are less forgivable than others. I'd say shouting pertinent advice to help an ally isn't something to be ashamed of." Adam rolled his eyes. "And if she let herself be distracted by it, that's more her fault than yours. Does she expect every fight to be done in complete silence, no one making noise or getting in her way?" He scoffed. "Ridiculous. She may as well tell you off for warning her a car is speeding toward her back."

The example was a little extreme but Ruby nodded, already feeling a little better. He was right. If they were out facing Grimm, she might have to shout orders or warn Weiss about stuff, and if she was going to complain about it being a distraction, well, that was silly, wasn't it?

"You're right. Weiss is the one being unfair. I don't know what's bothering her so much…"

"You as team leader."

"Wha-? How can you be so sure?"

"Because she's a Schnee, Ruby."

He picked his way through some older students, Ruby jogging along to keep up with his pace. Adam didn't run but he walked with the kind of stride of a man determined not to waste a second he didn't have to. If it were anyone else, she'd have said they were power walking to get away from her, but she had the strangest feeling this was just an Adam thing.

"Is it really that big a deal?"

"For Yang or me? No. The Schnee is determined to make a name for herself, however."

"Her name is Weiss. You could stand to call her that…" Adam only grunted, and Ruby decided to leave it there. "What about you?" she asked. "You always have good advice. Maybe you should be team leader."

"There are reasons I can't be."

Now that was interesting. "Reasons…?"

"If you don't know them, you don't know them. Ozpin chose you for a reason. Leave it at that. Instead of trying to find ways to change who is team leader, you should focus on becoming a good one before we have to go out into the field."

Adam always sounded like that – so much older than her. To be fair, he was. Everyone else was seventeen to her fifteen, but she was certain he was a few years older than that as well. Maybe nineteen or twenty, maybe even twenty-one. He looked about as old as some of the students they passed, those being third and fourth years.

"Look ahead," he said, nodding. "We're here – and you'd best talk to Goodwitch. I don't think she'll want to speak with me." He made for the changing rooms. "I'll get changed and see you at the back of the crowd."

"Oh. Okay!" While she felt a little miffed being left to talk to the teacher alone, she liked that he said where she could find him. Yang would have just ditched her and left her to search through the crowd for her.

Miss Goodwitch was busy monitoring something on her scroll and looking at the combat rings when she approached. The teacher noticed or sensed her before she had to say anything, turning with a raised eyebrow.

The moment she saw her, something flashed through her eyes.

"Miss Rose," she said quickly. "Is something the matter!?"

"Ah, No." Ruby backed away, surprised by the intensity. "I was just… My teammates Weiss and Yang stayed behind to talk to Mr Port. They asked me to let you know they might be late because of it, so you didn't think… yeah…"

"Oh. I see." Standing up tall, the teacher straightened her glasses. "For a moment I… No, forgive me. Yes, that's fine. Please get changed and I'll be sure to grant them time to do the same when they arrive. Thank you for informing me."

Ruby took the dismissal for what it was, wondering why Miss Goodwitch had been so weird about it. Or did she think something had happened? The question plagued her in the changing rooms but soon vanished when Yang and Weiss arrived, actually managing to make it so they weren't late at all.

"Hey guys! How did it go?"

"Hmph." Yang slammed her shoulder into Weiss, knocking her bodily aside and storming over to Ruby. "It went fine," she gritted out, making it clear it very much wasn't that `fine` thing. "Where's Adam?"

"Uh. Not in the girl's changing room? What did Mr Port say?"

"Nothing you need worry about, sis. Nothing that's your problem."

"O-kaaay." Ruby's eyes slid to the door. "I'mma talk to Adam?"

"Yeah sure. See you there."

Ruby fled. How was it that out of the two partnerships in her team, hers was the less dysfunctional. She was a socially awkward fifteen-year-old team leader partnered with a maybe-twenty guy who knew far more than her, hated talking and was about as unfriendly as they came. And yet somehow, somehow, they got on better than Weiss and Yang.

Better still, Adam was waiting exactly where he'd said he would be.

"Hey!"

He raised a single eyebrow. He might have done both but the white patch over his other eye hid everything. She would have asked if it bothered him in a fight except he'd done fine against the Nevermore, so why worry.

"Weiss and Yang are back."

He hummed.

"Aaand they're arguing."

"Is Yang winning? I'm willing to hold the Schnee down if she needs me to."

"They're arguing, not fighting – and no, none of that."

"Shame." He looked back to the stage. "And here I was trying to be a good teammate and all that."

Ruby pouted and poked his side again. He glared at her like he always did and while he did look genuinely angry whenever she touched him, she oddly enough didn't feel all that threatened. Maybe that was a mistake on her part, but she needed someone to talk to. "Looking forward to fighting?"

"A little. If they let me…"

"Why wouldn't they?"

Adam didn't answer. "How about you? Everyone here is older than you."

"Ugh. Don't remind me. I'll give it my all – and I've got my baby with me this time." She hefted Crescent Rose. "I'll show you what I'm made of."

He frowned down at her. "I already saw you against the Nevermore."

"Ah, well, I meant…"

"You were passable then. I doubt you've gotten any worse."

Her face lit up. Passable! Passable. That was good, right? A pass was better than a fail. Weiss wouldn't have called her passable; she'd have called her reckless and stupid and stubborn and a whole lot of other mean words. And Yang's analysis didn't count either because Yang was her sister and always sided with her.

He's saying I don't need to prove myself to him. Yeah! He knows how awesome I am.

Maybe she was paraphrasing a little there, but she'd take it.

When Yang and Weiss came through, still not talking, Miss Goodwitch got up onto the arena and called for silence. No one dared break it as she went through the rules of the spars, which weren't all that much different from Signal. The level of competition would be higher, though. Yang was the best in her year at Signal, Ruby the best in her own, but she'd seen Pyrrha Nikos in the crowd, not to mention Adam, who she'd honestly thought was a professional huntsman the first time she'd seen him.

They weren't going to make partners fight, were they? Adam probably wouldn't hurt her too bad, but she had the feeling he didn't do `holding back`.

"You will stop when the aura meter reaches red or I say stop. I repeat," she said, staring straight at her for some reason! "You will stop immediately, or I shall step in and STOP YOU."

W-Why is she saying that like I'm the problem…?

Beside her, Adam chuffed, amused at something – probably her panic.

"For the first bout…" Miss Goodwitch closed her eyes and gritted out, "Adam Taurus."

"First, huh?" He chuckled. "Looking to make an example? How unexpected…" Without explaining what that strange comment meant, he pushed away from them and toward the ring. The other students got out the way, though more out of politeness than anything. He stepped up and into the ring, cracking his neck and winding his arm around to loosen muscles.

"To reiterate, you will stop the very second the opponent's aura touches the red. Failure to do so will result in immediate action by myself, and a quick trip to the headmaster."

Why was she saying that straight to Adam? Ruby frowned and puffed her cheeks out. That didn't seem fair. Yang had said it was like she hated Adam before, but Ruby had thought that a joke. It really wasn't looking like one.

"Not ominous at all," Yang muttered.

"Am I understood?" Miss Goodwitch asked.

Adam snorted. "I heard you the first time." He lunged, dropping to one knee as he warmed himself up. "Do I get to select my opponent."

"Absolutely not!" Miss Goodwitch all but blurted that out, horrified at the very thought. She coughed a second later, catching herself. "I'm afraid not. I shall select opponents based on who I believe will offer either a fair fight or will help a student focus on fixing a weakness. It helps no one to be put through a one-sided bout."

That sounded fair but how would she know who was stronger than who when she hadn't seen them fight? Unless she was doing it based on grades – but that didn't make sense. Both she and Yang were top-ranked students, but a fight between them was going to have Yang knock her around like a ping-pong ball. It also kind of meant you could tell what she thought of your skill by what opponent she chose.

"Hm. And my opponent…?"

"Pyrrha Nikos. Please come up to the ring."

Glynda had two options here really, give Adam a weak opponent as a "test" of his control but risk that person genuinely being hurt if he fails the test, or pick the strongest person in the hopes they can hold Adam off and prevent lasting damage.

Considering the first would essentially mean taking a sacrificial attitude to a student, I'd say Pyrrha makes for the most obvious choice. And Glynda obviously assumed he wanted to pick Weiss for his fight, when Adam would have chosen Blake.

Next Chapter: 21st April

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