Here we go.

Chapter 6

This wasn't how Beacon was supposed to go.

Weiss lay flat on her back and stared up at the sky, face smudged with dirt and sweat, combat dress sticky and streaked with grass stains. Her scroll lay by her ear, merrily beeping that her aura was in the red. Myrtenaster stood discarded beside her shoulder, thrown to the floor with a lack of care the graceful blade didn't deserve.

Steel clashed to her right. Her head fell, cheek touching the grass as she took in the sight of Adam and Pyrrha going at their second spar of the morning, the two redheads tearing up their chosen training field with blurred movements, chambered blocks and strikes so hard it was a wonder their weapons didn't shatter.

Weiss was used to sparring. This wasn't a spar. This was a fight to the death.

Pyrrha slid under a piercing thrust that no one had any right taking in a friendly training match. Her left foot stamped down and twisted, powering her up into a slash at the back of Adam's knee. Aura or not, the force behind it could have broken a bone, to say nothing of deadening the limb for hours. His response? To hop, grapple and roll himself over Pyrrha's shoulder, land on both feet and jump away before she could complete the turn and cut him in two. He barely got Wilt back around and in the way. Their blades struck with such force that Weiss' teeth ached.

This wasn't how Beacon was supposed to go!

Everything had been meticulously planned. She would arrive, locate suitable teammates, wow them with her hard-earned abilities and form a team around them. Naturally, she would be the leader, though when she realised Pyrrha Nikos was here, she accepted she would not be averse to a second-in-command role. Either way, their team would be the best in Beacon. If her teammates were deficient, she might even lower herself to help train with them. Such had been the theory.

Reality was not so kind.

As it was, she may as well have been the weakest on the team. Oh, she could probably beat Ruby in a one on one – her glyphs could mess with her Semblance – but what would that prove? Ruby was two years younger than her and had already gotten one-up by becoming their team leader. Worse, by being accepted as team leader by Yang and Adam despite them being far stronger.

The degree of difference between their strength, the delta, had never been more apparent than when she invited herself along to this morning training session. In her head, she'd thought to impress Pyrrha Nikos and offer herself as a much more `friendly` sparring partner. After all, Adam may do well in the ring, but no one could say his social skills were the best.

Pyrrha had been surprised to see her; not upset, however. That granted some hope. Waking up at five in the morning would have been far too painful otherwise. Or four-thirty in reality, since she'd still needed time to wash, prepare and make sure her hair and combat dress were in acceptable condition. Presentable, prepared and proper, Weiss had flourished Myrtenaster, looked them both in the eyes as an equal and politely asked how they were going to do this.

Then Adam tore her to shreds.

Not verbally for once. No, his acid tongue had been reduced to a raised eyebrow instead, the damnable brute managing to convey all too much disdain with that. As if he needed to. There were times she thought he might hate the Schnee family more than the White Fang did! So no, no caustic words today in front of Pyrrha. He'd had them both warm up, brought her to a position by which they could fight, calmly stated the rules…

And then killed her.

Metaphorically, that was. He'd strike blows that would kill if this weren't a spar, disarmed her, knocked her around like a ping-pong ball, dropped her to her knees and ultimately defeated her about ten times in the space of thirty minutes.

The experience had been galling. Glyphs? Useless. He attacked the second she started to summon one. Dust? Useless. He was too fast and would close the distance, forcing her to stop or be swatted down by Wilt. Swordplay? That was a damning choice and no mistake. She knew her skills were top notch, but his were a level beyond.

Outclassed. That was the only way to put it. She was outclassed as badly as the average person was against Pyrrha, and watching those two go at it afterwards, with barely any rest for Adam, only further drove the sobering experience home. As far as Team RYST went, she was the worst performing member. Weaker than Adam and Yang, ranked subordinate to Ruby. About the only thing she might have was book smarts, and it was too early in the year for those to show.

Painful as it was to watch Adam and Pyrrha go at it, she couldn't take her eyes away. It wasn't beautiful; Adam was too vicious for that. It was more… exciting? Like watching two predators fight in the wild, a Beowolf and an Ursa. Pyrrha was quick and graceful, seamlessly switching between three weapon forms for any range and situation. Adam was direct and to the point. No wasted movement. Perfect awareness. Constant aggression. It had to be terrifying having that bearing down on you, and she could attest to how small it had made her feel.

Which was why it was yet another blow to her pride to see Pyrrha Nikos smiling vibrantly.

Not only because it drove home the differences between them, but because it showed without a shred of doubt that the smile that had been given to her before initiation when she'd tried to convince Pyrrha to join her team had been fake.

This wasn't how Beacon was supposed to go…

A bell tolled out the hour's warning before first classes. Pyrrha and Adam came to a stop almost in synchronisation, their weapons inches from flesh. "It's that time already?" Pyrrha almost despaired. "It didn't feel like we were fighting all that long."

The two of you have been fighting for almost half an hour! Weiss wanted to scream.

"Hmph." Adam drew back and sheathed Wilt, brushing a hand through red locks damp with sweat. The only visible sign that he was, in fact, not a robot incapable of feeling fatigue. "I suppose we should stop here. Will you be joining me tomorrow?"

"If I may?"

"I could use the exercise."

Would it have killed him to show a little more emotion? Maybe say `yes, I'd like that` or somehow show some degree of gratitude for the spar? Apparently so. The worst part was that instead of being justifiably upset at the downright frosty response, Pyrrha appeared pleased because of it.

"Thank you! I enjoyed myself as well. I suppose since we didn't finish, that marks this bout as a draw as well." If it meant a chance to do it again and seek that ending, she would accept it. "I'll see you tomorrow, Adam." Pyrrha turned to leave, then stopped. "Oh, and you as well, Weiss!"

Yes, of course. It would be a shame to forget her existence, wouldn't it? Weiss scowled at the sky once more, grumbling under her breath. It would have been less galling if Pyrrha really had forgotten her. At least then she wouldn't need to lay here like she'd been left for dead. Weiss closed her eyes against the sunlight, the exhaustion and life in general.

And spluttered when cold water trickled down onto her nose. "Bwah- Spff! Stop that!"

Adam stood next to her with his one eye looking emotionlessly down on her. The bottle he'd been tipping onto her face drew back and he took a long drink of it before screwing the cap back on. He tossed a different bottle on her stomach, some vending machine bought mineral water infused with so-called `sport energy`. She wasn't familiar with the brand but couldn't stop herself popping the lid and taking a greedy swig. It tasted sweet on her tongue and she eagerly guzzled at it.

"You should know better than to dehydrate after training."

It was amazing how he managed to sound dismissive and judgmental even when doing what some might have called a nice gesture. No, he wasn't worried she might dehydrate – he was criticising her stupidity for failing to account for that herself. He did that with Ruby as well, and it was at times impossible to tell if he liked and indulged her or was just a critic of life in general. Even Yang didn't seem to know whether she should defend her sister or let him handle it.

"I was tired."

"You'll develop cramps if you stop moving after exercise. I'd have thought the best instructors money could buy might have imparted that knowledge."

"Are you physically incapable of empathy, or is it a life choice?" He didn't dignify that with an answer, nor did he offer a hand to help her back to her feet. Weiss pushed her own down, scrambling up in an undignified manner while that brute watched with a smirk he didn't hide quite as well as he thought he did. "I shall be returning to the dorm for a shower and a change of clothes," she said, dusting herself down. "Thank you for the spar."

He could have left it there, could have accepted that, but he wouldn't have been Adam Taurus if he didn't chase her away with a final barb.

"More of a warmup…"

/-/

A morning together apparently hadn't resulted in Weiss and Adam becoming best friends forever, Yang noted without any real surprise. They ate together in the cafeteria and Weiss took the seat behind her – probably a lesser of two evils thing more than enjoying her company – put her breakfast down and proceeded to ignore Adam's existence. In turn, he hadn't bothered to signal any awareness of Weiss' arrival in the first place.

Just another Team RYST morning.

"-and I was thinking of making some modifications to Crescent Rose. Maybe a better non-lethal option because it was kinda hard to fight those thugs in the robbery when I have a scythe or a sniper rifle. Sure, I can hit them with the haft but it's not all that useful."

And as usual, Ruby was the only person immune to the mood, chatting animatedly away with her silent, broody and downright oppressive partner.

Yang had no idea what to think about that. On the one hand, Ruby was making friends and coming out her shell. Great. Wonderful. Everything she'd hoped for. On the other, it was one-sided at best and weirdly misplaced. It wasn't wrong, just… too far. Like teaching your child to ride a bike then pushing them onto a dirt motocross track. Ruby was meant to take baby steps and talk to friendly and dorky people first, not whet her teeth on someone less friendly than a Beowolf.

"You're too weak to make that work," Adam grunted back. Yang winced, ready to offer sympathy when Ruby inevitably took that the wrong way.

Ruby blinked. "Weak?"

"Thin arms. Little muscle, height or weight." He eyed her critically, and Yang thought that if it had been any of her friends from Signal in her place, he'd have sent them away in tears. "You're never going to be able to overpower someone bigger than you."

"Hey," Yang said, stepping in. "Ruby is plenty-"

"Then I should add something that can disable people that doesn't use brute force!" Adam grunted his approval, nodding once. "Thanks Adam!" Ruby practically squealed. "Ooh, I have so many ideas."

Yang sat back down again.

That. That was things in a nutshell. Adam wasn't patient or indulgent with Ruby – he was brutally honest and a downright asshole at times – most times, actually – and yet instead of taking it for what it was, Ruby liked it. Was her sister an M? Was this something she was supposed to step in and stop? Was that something she dared get involved in at all? Why was their team simultaneously the most and least dysfunctional thing she'd ever seen?

Adam and Weiss hated one another. It wasn't just bickering; she'd seen the way Adam looked at Weiss, and honestly, Weiss hadn't failed to notice either. There was genuine hate there. Something like that should have ripped the team in two as her and Ruby had to dance with keeping their teammates apart, preventing fights and mediating.

And yet it never happened.

It was like Adam and Weiss had, without any communication, agreed to keep their hatred professional. They walked to lessons together, ate together, shared a room and took every chance to snipe, bait and put the other down.

All without any team friction.

Which shouldn't have been possible.

Our team should be a mess, Yang thought. Weiss and Adam should be incapable of even looking at one another, Ruby should be at wits end trying to bring them back together and I should be torn between loyalty to my partner or my sister. Meanwhile, their dorm should be some awkward warzone neither she nor Ruby felt any comfort returning to.

And yet – nope! Their team operated perfectly well, like a flash flood that had somehow avoided killing any innocent people and had, at the same time, prevented several muggings, run for Government and fixed world hunger.

It shouldn't have worked…

But it just did.

Maybe the less she thought about it the better. It was almost a relief when lessons were called because she could do just that. Team RYST filed into Doctor Oobleck's history classroom and took their seats by the door. Adam often did that. Why, she wasn't sure, but if he had the choice, he wanted those seats. Not that it bothered her any – first out, which was always a bonus. Adam took the seat closest to the edge with Ruby next to him. Yang and Weiss took the two in front and a step lower down. The rest filed in soon after, expanding out and spreading across the classroom.

"Hey Weiss," she whispered. "You okay?"

Her partner raised an eyebrow at her. "Is there a reason I wouldn't be?"

"Just concerned. You and Adam-"

Weiss huffed and turned away, signalling the conversation over the moment his name was uttered. Sighing, Yang balanced her elbows on the desk and waited for the teacher to arrive. It was hard to even know if she should do something about her team. If they hated one another but didn't cause any issues with it, was she meant to step in? It would have been nice to have someone she could ask that to.

/-/

The faunus war and the White Fang.

Adam wasn't sure if the teacher chose that on purpose to bait him or if it had been planned in advance, but the topic could not have been more designed to annoy either way. The worst part wasn't the ignorance the rest of the class showed. He expected them to be forgetful of the Battle of Fort Castle. After all, it wouldn't do for them to be taught humans could lose to faunus.

It was the misrepresentation of the White Fang that really stung.

What had he expected? Of course a school for huntsmen in a Kingdom closely allied with Atlas would portray them as violent sociopaths. Can't consider the White Fang's views or why they'd been pushed to what they had. No one wanted to blame Atlas for allowing constant abuse, ignoring and attacking peaceful rallies or instilling labour laws that benefited the SDC. No, it was clear the faunus had totally overreacted to being victimised, abused and attacked, and were completely out of line for fighting back against their oppressors.

"Who here has experienced some degree of discrimination?"

Adam held his hand up, as did one other person in the classroom. That person was not Blake and he shook with barely restrained anger. Are you hiding from this as well now, Blake? Are you going to dance to their tune, saying what we went through wasn't racism?

That was the usual human excuse. It's not racism – we're just stopping the White Fang because they're bad! Strange how no one cared to stop the SDC even when they were branding their initials into people's faces. It was all too easy for faunus to feel pressured into believing that as well, into convincing themselves the person insulting them was just having a bad day, that they'd done something to invite it or that it wasn't as bad as they thought it was.

Something wet hit the back of his head. His hand came up to his hair and came back with a wadded piece of paper scrunched up and damp. Behind him, someone laughed quietly. Judging the sound and its position, he launched the spit ball back over his shoulder. It didn't hit but he heard a scrape as the person moved their chair out the way.

"Terrible," Oobleck said, oblivious to it. "Simply terrible. The racism felt toward the faunus since the advent of the faunus wars hasn't departed, and some may well ask what lessons we've learned from this tragedy at all? That is why I aim to teach. History is a useful tool not only for looking back at the past but for learning from it so that we don't make the same mistakes."

Another spit ball struck and splatted onto his head. More laughter, this time not nearly as quiet. Ruby turned her head to look but couldn't see without being obvious. Instead, she looked to him, concerned. He waved it off, this time flicking the thing under the table and out the way.

"Mr Winchester," the teacher said, looking their way. "Does something about the subject amuse you? Perhaps you'd like to share with the class."

"No, prof-"

"Doctor, please. I did not study my doctorate for nothing."

"Doctor, then," Cardin said. "I thought what you said was spot on. People got to learn from the mistakes they make, right? I bet everyone learned from the mistake General Lagune made. They won't make that mistake again."

Adam sucked in a sharp breath, as did a few others who caught what he meant. Yang turned in her seat, elbow on Adam's desk, to glare back and up. Doctor Oobleck didn't come quite so close but he did watch carefully. His eyes also slid to Adam a seat down. Wondering whether I'll snap and kill your student?

There was no need. Mouth off like that to the wrong people or in the wrong places and Cardin would get himself killed.

"I'm not sure I like the choice of your words, Mr Winchester. The greatest mistake made in the faunus wars was not its conclusion but its inception. There is no need for prejudice between faunus and humans, especially when it has been shown without a shred of doubt that both can co-exist side by side."

"What about the White Fang? They're not exactly co-existing."

Oobleck tensed. Again, his eyes slid to Adam. Make it obvious, why didn't he? If Goodwitch was there, she'd have likely already dragged Winchester out. They both expected him to fly off the handle at the smallest of insults, didn't they? Laughable. This was nothing compared to what he'd experienced. Some asshat running their mouth wasn't worth the effort.

"You're not very open-minded, are you?" Pyrrha stepped in to defend him.

Pyrrha. A girl he'd met and sparred with.

Blake didn't so much as look at him.

"I'm just calling it as it is. The White Fang are perfect examples why this so-called prejudice still exists. You can't blame people being afraid when they see a faunus walking down the street. No way to know if they won't become a monster the moment they put on a mask."

Adam chuckled loudly. "Do I frighten you that much, Winchester?"

"Shut it, cyclops."

Ruby gasped and stood. "You can't say-"

"Miss Rose!" Oobleck barked. "Please sit. Mr Winchester, see me after class. Mr Taurus, if you could also stay-"

"No fair, teach!" Yang shouted. "He didn't do anything!"

"Mr Taurus is not in trouble. I only wish a word." Oobleck paused as the bell rang. "And I still wanted to say a few things to finish our first lesson. Everyone, I expect you to read up on the faunus wars. It will be on your midterm exams. Mr Winchester, Mr Taurus, to me please."

The class was already funnelling out and Adam swore, forced to slump back in his seat as Blake mingled with the crowd and escaped a second time. How many times was he going to lose the chance to corner her after a class? This was fast becoming ridiculous.

Winchester's teammates did their best to jostle him as they walked past his seat. Adam rocked in his chair but otherwise ignored them, closing his eyes and feigning a yawn as they stormed out. Eventually, it was just the two of them and Oobleck summoned Cardin down first, engaging in a heated and fast-paced tirade. It ended with a threat of detention and Cardin sent away with a scowl.

"Mr Taurus, if I may?" Adam stood and walked down. The teacher looked tired and just a little upset but not, he noticed, at him. "You're not in trouble as I told your teammate. I simply wished to make it clear that I know of your unique circumstances and how difficult certain discussions may be. I apologise for not stepping in sooner with Mr Winchester."

Adam crossed his arms. "Is that all?"

"Not all. I also want you to know that not everyone is against you. I happen to believe that the White Fang was formed on the best of intentions and that those intentions were not returned by our kind. That sparked the conflict and later the violent arm of the White Fang. Though I cannot extinguish it, I will not put up with racism within my sight so please do come to me should you experience any, especially if it happens in my very classroom!"

"Will do. Am I dismissed, Doctor?"

The bespectacled man nodded. "You are. I'm sorry to have kept you."

His teammates were waiting outside the door for him. Yang and Ruby had obviously been trying to eavesdrop from how defensively they jumped away, but he knew they couldn't have heard by their reactions. They'd not be this calm. Adam eyed the rest of the corridor, spotting Winchester and his cronies storming away but no one else. The fact was no longer a surprise.

Yang stepped up. "You didn't get in trouble, did you?"

"No."

"Good." She relaxed. "What was that all about then?"

"The usual. Authority figure telling you they'll stand up for and not accept racism."

Weiss looked bothered by what he'd said. "Usual…? Does that happen often…?"

"All the time."

"Well that's a good thing, isn't it?" Ruby asked, all innocent naivety.

Talk was cheap. Everyone who could ever speak said those words. Teachers, judges, politicians and anyone else asked. Not on their watch, not in their classroom, not in front of their eyes, but when push came to shove, how many of them followed through? Call it shock, the moment being harder or something else, but it all came to a great bit pile of nothing in the end.

Oobleck might have had the best intentions but racism was still here, still in front of his eyes and the only thing he could say was "Terrible. Simply terrible." The faunus didn't need his sympathy; they needed action. Oobleck wasn't part of the problem but he wasn't part of the solution either. Just another bystander watching on and chipping in if he saw it right in front of his face. It must have been nice to live in a world with such narrow vision.

"Adam?" Ruby chimed, looking up at him nervously. "Is everything okay?"

"Hm? Yeah, it's fine." He pushed those dark thoughts aside. "And it was good of him to say what he did. You three didn't need to wait up for me-" He saw Weiss narrow her eyes and open her mouth. "But thank you for doing so."

"Y-Yes. Well." Weiss huffed as the wind was stolen from her sails. "No trouble at all. Speaking of trouble, Ruby tells us Winchester and his lot were throwing things at you. Is that right?" Weiss crossed her arms and stood in front of him, and Yang followed suit in a rare show of solidarity. He wasn't sure if the wall of two girls mismatched by height was supposed to be intimidating. If so, they failed spectacularly.

Ruby didn't join it and shied away from his eyes. So, she had noticed. Noticed and gone running to her team for advice, no doubt. It was technically the right thing to do. Teamwork, camaraderie and looking out for your allies were all things he'd drilled into the White Fang, so he couldn't even fault her for it now, much as he wished he could.

If Blake can be hypocritical, why can't I? Damn it, Ruby.

"Adam! Stop spacing out!"

"It's called `thinking`, Yang. You may wish to employ it once in your lifetime." His automatic response drew a snort from Weiss for once. No weakening of the united front of concerned teammates, however. "Yes, he threw something at me. Some balls of paper. They deeply wounded my head and my heart, and I'm prepared to cry my eyes out to you."

It was rather intriguing how Yang and Weiss managed to adopt the exact same expression, one eyebrow raised, frowning, the kind of `unimpressed girlfriend` expression Blake had sometimes given him, except without the promise of a fun make up session after. Adam's entire brain flinched. Not, for once, at the recollection of Blake, but at the very suggestion he and a Schnee might be that close. Nauseating.

"It was a wad of paper," he grumbled. "I gave it the attention it deserved – absolutely none. If Winchester wants to try and take out his insecurities on me by acting like we're ten years old, let him."

"You can come to us if you're in trouble, you know," Yang said. "Or me or Ruby anyway. Weiss might cheer the other party on."

"I would not!"

"If I am ever in trouble I cannot deal with on my own, I shall." It wasn't a difficult promise to make seeing as the worst trouble he'd likely end up with in a school was getting stuck in a faulty toilet cubicle. "Cardin Winchester is not that trouble. In fact, if he ever has the misfortune of going up against me in one of Goodwitch's classes, he'll learn just how beneath me he is."

"After what I saw this morning, I can well believe it," Weiss said. "Well, I suppose that's over then. Come on, we have to get to Miss Goodwitch's class. If we're late twice in a row, I don't think she'll be merciful."

Adam frowned. "The only reason we might be late is because you're all trying to interrogate me…"

"No time to point fingers," Weiss growled. "Let's go!"

He didn't get to fight Cardin in class. In fact, he didn't get to fight at all. Goodwitch decided to focus on the students who had missed out the day before, leaving him to sit and watch in boredom as inconsequential idiots fought one another. Some of them were okay – in all fairness even the worst of them was better than the average White Fang recruit – but they were all so dramatic with it. Flashy moves, over the top weapons and wasted movement.

The few good examples earned his grudging approval. The Ren boy was skilled and calm. He had a good head on his shoulders. One of Blake's teammates, he noted, watching without trying to be caught. That might be a point of contact if he could wing it. Blake was obviously avoiding him, but he doubted she'd told her team that or why, so it might be possible to worm his way in with one of them.

It would have to be the dark haired one. The other girl looked far too excitable, while the blond was downright useless. He'd watched that fight in awe, impressed that there was someone who actually was on the level of the average recruit. How he made it into Beacon I have no idea. And to lose to Winchester as well.

By the time the lesson ended, he'd done nothing but stand in the crowd and spectate. He hoped not every lesson would be like that; drawing people up in pairs to fight didn't seem an efficient method of training. It might have been the teacher wanting to judge them all first or work out sparring partners. Given that Oobleck believed he might have reason to wish Winchester ill, Adam somehow doubted he'd end up matched against the racist anytime soon.

Yet more people added to the list of those the teachers wouldn't pit him against.

"We shall cut lessons there for today," Goodwitch announced. "However, I've been asked to advise you all that there shall be a combat-related field trip after the weekend." This naturally brought out more than a few whispers and excited chattering, which she waited to die out before continuing. "The journey will be via Bullheads to Forever Fall, which is Grimm territory. Make no mistake, this will be a live combat mission, so any ammunition or supplies should be prepared before Tuesday."

"What will we be doing?" someone asked.

"The specifics shall be discussed within Forever Fall."

Within? That was a foolish way of doing things. Ah, it was to be a test then? That was the only reason you would intentionally deprive your people of important information. The spars were clearly to test and get a handle on individual performance. Forever Fall must have been for judging teamwork. Initiation didn't really do enough of that since it was to form partnerships more than teams.

This would mark the first time Team RYST had to fight together as a four-person unit. It wouldn't be a challenge. Leaving aside his own skills, his teammates were in the upper half of their year mates from what he'd seen, and their teamwork wasn't as bad as their arguments suggested. There was good reason for that. The White Fang was full of faunus from all ideologies, locales and of many different personalities. Friction was to be expected, but he'd always made sure the recruits knew that once the mask was on, they were allies. Nothing less, nothing more.

He hated the Schnee and didn't consider Weiss as having fallen far from that tree but hating someone didn't mean he couldn't work with them. More of a surprise was that she acted the same way. That was interesting. He'd assumed the Schnee would just get rid of anyone who didn't worship the ground they walked on.

"Not even two weeks into Beacon and we're already going out on a mission," Yang said. "That's kinda cool."

"I'm not sure being stuck in the wilderness will count as `cool`, Yang." Weiss tossed her hair back. "There's no telling how long we'll be out there either. Initiation was one thing but I'm sure they had teachers watching us. We will be at real risk here."

"Scared?"

"Not at all. I'm simply pointing out that this is no joking matter. People could well die out there."

Tempting. If it were just Team RYST alone, there would be ample opportunity to kill Weiss and leave. Adam frowned. The thought didn't bring the thrill he expected it to. In fact, he felt sickened by it. That realisation had him squaring his shoulders. Was this what it meant to go native? Too easy. All too easy. He touched his fingers to his face instead, pushing against the white medical bandage covering half his face. The letters burned beneath, reminding him why he hated them.

"Is your eye acting up?" Yang asked tactlessly. Ruby elbowed her in the gut.

"My eye is fine."

"You never did tell us how that happened." Ruby elbowed her again – and even Weiss shot her a scandalised expression. Yang almost buckled under the pressure, wincing and rubbing her hair. "And you don't have to tell us if you don't want to. I'm just sayin' that if it hurts, there's always the infirmary. And shouldn't we know what it is so we can help you if anything ever goes wrong?"

"Yang. Oh my- just stop talking already!" Ruby's indignant yell brought the tiniest of smiles. Or maybe it was seeing her wail and beat on her apparently `tactless, idiot, airhead sister`. Ruby's words. Not his.

They had a point, though.

"I have both my eyes."

Ruby paused mid blow on Yang. "Eh? They both work?"

"Yes." He watched the confusion show on their faces. They knew a blindfold as a fashion statement would never fly with the teachers, and that he had to have medical reasons to be allowed to wear it. As such, they didn't accuse him of anything untoward. Fortunate for them on that front. Still, if he kept it a mystery for too long, they'd only grow more curious. "My retina is scarred," he said. It wasn't untrue. "There was an incident when I was younger. I was burned badly, and the damage affected both my skin and my left eye."

"O-Oh." Ruby looked down. Even Weiss looked uncomfortable, while Yang just looked like she was kicking herself. "C-Can you still see out that eye?"

"If I open it, yes. Doing so is painful, however. The eye is sensitive. I've grown used to fighting like this." His White Fang mask had specialised lenses in it to darken light that came in, letting him see normally without being blinded. Perhaps glasses would have been easier here as well, but then the scar would have been visible. "There's no reason it should ever cause a problem any of you need to deal with. There's no lingering condition or disease involved. It's just scar damage."

"You know, we're not gonna judge you if you have a burn on your face." Yang said it softly. "I mean, Weiss has a big scar on her face and no one cares. Hell, it even looks badass."

"I prefer the term dashing myself," Weiss chimed in. "But Yang has the right idea. If you don't feel comfortable showing it to everyone, you can at least take off the blindfold in our dorm. We're not going to stop and stare."

Really? With her family name branded across his filthy faunus face? Adam scowled and turned away. "I'm fine as is. Leave it alone. All of you." His piece said, he marched away, pushing through the crowds leaving the lesson and out of sight, on his way to the cafeteria. For once, his team didn't chase to catch up with him.

"Shit," Yang said, watching him go. "You think I shouldn't have brought it up?"

"YES!"

"OBVIOUSLY, YOU DOLT!"

I had to go look closely at pictures to find out whether Adam still had his eye. Hard to remember from the scene because all I could think was "This should be a hugely defining character moment for Blake and Yang, and instead it's ruined because Adam has been turned into a cartoon villain". Hard to see his eye when I had my face in my hands.

Well, Pyrrha and Adam have become friends of a sort, with Pyrrha even stepping in to defend her sparring partner in class. To be fair, I like Oobleck, but I wanted Adam to be quite dismissive of him here. I think he'd take the view that anyone who says they want to help the faunus is a liar unless they get up and do it. I figure that's why he joined the violent White Fang, because he felt the peaceful one led by Ghira and Kali was too much talk, not enough action.

Next Chapter: 19th May

P a treon . com (slash) Coeur