Due to me being ill last Tuesday and not updating "Rabbit Among Wolves" the next chapter of this story has been pushed back a week - to the 15th September.

Cover Art: JustFun101

Chapter 14

Adam was faintly aware of the people staring at him during breakfast. Faintly in the sense that they always were but that it felt more pointed now. The tables around Team RYST's had gone curiously silent, and though no one had moved away like he was a leper the reason for the sudden interest eluded him somewhat.

"Yikes." Yang said. "Tough crowd."

"Is this because of my fight with Team CRMN?" Adam wondered.

"It might be." Weiss picked at her breakfast, enjoying the attention as little as he. "If it is then people need to remember this is a huntsman academy. Combat is kind of what's expected here."

"Might be the fact Adam won," Ruby said.

"But I didn't."

The three girls rolled their eyes, entirely unimpressed with his words. Yes, he'd won in terms of completing the objective set out by the fight, but not everyone here knew that. The people staring at him should have been content to believe he'd lost. It could be that I held my own at all, but they should know better. I'm obviously older than Yang and Weiss. Can't they just assume I was held back or delayed in my studies? It would have made sense if it was just the faunus staring.

"Ahem. Mr Taurus." Glynda stepped up to their table with her perennial frown set firmly in place. Evidently the mere sight of him was enough to set her off. "If you will come with me, the headmaster wishes to speak with you."

Adam set his cutlery down.

Team RYST wasn't quite so accommodating. "Why?" Ruby demanded. "Adam hasn't done anything!"

"Mr Taurus is not himself in trouble. This time…"

"Then why can't we go with him?"

"Because what the headmaster wishes to say does not concern you."

"Adam will just tell us anyway."

"That is a decision Mr Taurus can make after the fact, as his right. Now, if you are done interrupting and glaring at me like a spoiled child, I would like to be off. He will return to you before your first lesson of the day finishes."

"He better," Ruby muttered.

Glynda scowled back, clearly unhappy with what was – even Adam had to admit – some fairly blatant defiance from Ruby. He hadn't realised their detention had gone that badly, not that it was any of his business. He nodded to his teammates and fell in behind Glynda, walking out the cafeteria with every student watching them go. This wasn't going to help his reputation any.

"I would appreciate it if you don't corrupt any other huntresses."

Adam genuinely had to consider that for a second to figure out what she meant, before eventually giving up and asking. "What?"

"Miss Rose. She was an excitable and shy huntress before you joined her team. The first time I met her, she wouldn't have dared speak back to me, let alone so many times in quick succession. Ozpin may be prepared to give you a chance to see if you can change yourself but do try not to change anyone else along the way."

"I don't think it's me that has made Ruby change…"

"Who else can it be? Not her sister or Miss Schnee."

The person who it was might have been walking right in front of him, but she couldn't see it, or couldn't accept it. He wasn't sure it'd be a good idea to point it out or whether she'd accept it if he did. He knew Glynda wasn't racist just as much as she knew it, but whether or not that was the cause of her dislike of him, Ruby was his team leader. It was to be expected that a good leader would stand up for their subordinates, even if he didn't need it. He wasn't about to criticise her for doing the right thing. As for Glynda, well, it really wasn't any of his business to interfere – especially not when he knew his input would be about as welcome as a bullet.

By now, he knew the way to the headmaster's elevator by heart. Glynda pushed him in and followed after, standing as far from him as the confined space reasonably allowed. When the doors dinged open, she practically hurtled out, leaving him to pace toward the waiting headmaster, who was wearing a hefty frown.

"Mr Taurus." he said wearily. "Good morning."

"Is it? The look on your face would suggest otherwise." After a long moment he remembered to add, "Sir."

Ozpin quirked a smile. Either at the impertinent question or even the fact Adam Taurus would call him sir. "No. I suppose it's not. You appear confused. I assume, then, that you haven't seen the morning's news?"

"I don't make it a habit to read city news. Always too biased. It's part of the institution and spouts off whatever the Government wants them to."

"While I'll admit that the news is not always as objective as it could be, this piece should have caught your attention." He slid the newspaper over the desk. Adam made to lean over and take it, but Ozpin summarised before he could. "The White Fang have been spotted within Vale, attacking dust stores and making off with the contents."

Glynda slammed her hands down on the table. "Anything we should know of…?"

"Is that what this is? An interrogation? I left the White Fang. I don't know what their plans are now – or why they'd be wasting their time hitting shopfronts for dust when SDC convoys have to travel through contested land anyway."

"One might think it easier to steal from defenceless civilians."

"If one does then one is not thinking properly," he parroted, earning a harsh scowl from Glynda. "It's less risk, but so is trying to evoke change by whining about inequality online. If you want to get something done you need to go out and do it. How many stores do you think the White Fang would have to attack to equate to even the smallest SDC convoy? Easily over a hundred. That's one hundred raids, one hundred escapes and one hundred chances for huntsmen to come crashing down on you." Adam pushed the paper back. "It's inefficient, stupid and certainly not something I would come up with."

Ozpin and Glynda looked toward one another. Whatever communication passed between them had Glynda stepping back and Ozpin smiling. He turned back to Adam, hands laying calmly on the desk.

"I happen to agree. This is… an unusual direction for the White Fang to take and certainly not mirroring any actions taken while you were in charge. If you would offer your opinion, what would you say might have triggered this?"

"Idiocy." His immediate answer brought a roll of the eyes, and he felt a rare flush of embarrassment. To make up for it, he expanded. "The White Fang would need a new leader to take over my position after this… betrayal." The word annoyed him. "Clearly, they've chosen someone without too much in the way of brains. One of the biggest reasons to ambush dust convoys outside the cities is because smuggling the dust out is the hardest part."

"Unless they don't intend to smuggle the dust out of Vale at all." Adam's silence said enough. "You hadn't considered it?"

"No," he admitted. "There were no plans toward Vale when I left."

"Hm. Thank you for letting us know. It may be that they want vengeance on you and Miss Belladonna, but it may also be something else. Is it possible a new leader might want to impress or validate his position by dealing with you?"

"Possible, but unwise. Not just because I'd rip them in half," he added when Glynda looked like she was about to criticise his ego. "But because it doesn't serve any purpose. It doesn't help the White Fang in any way. I'm not sure what this is. It's… It's amateur, so that makes me think they're using local sympathy elements and not their main forces, but as for why." He shrugged. "I don't know. Whatever this is, it was decided after I left."

"Troubling." Ozpin's fingers drummed on the table. "For what it's worth, I believe you. This does seem unusually blunt for your methods and they've even targeted stores owned by faunus. I see that evokes a reaction," he said as Adam snarled.

"We don't target faunus."

"These White Fang do," Glynda remarked.

"A new leader, then." Ozpin sighed. "One with new goals and a changed agenda. I intend to have an associate of mine look into it for me, but I wanted to ask if you would be prepared to assist him. It would go a long way to cementing your place here and dealing with any… future questions as to your loyalty."

"You want to throw me against the White Fang? Is that wise?"

"No. However, the Vytal Festival is coming up soon and it's foolish to assume no one will recognise your face when it's broadcast across the four kingdoms. There will be questions, especially from General Ironwood. It would help assuage some of those if we had clear evidence of you fighting against the White Fang. I might even be able to swing it that you were a double agent working for me the whole time."

"Hmph. Sounds dishonest. Corrupt."

"It is." Ozpin admitted. "And yet my allowing you and Miss Belladonna to study here at all is the same. By the rule of law I am expected to follow, I should have thrown the both of you in a cell. I prefer to follow the spirit of the law rather than the word. Will you help us? I won't make it contingent on your remaining here. You are free to say no."

Free. Tch. If the White Fang were causing problems in Vale, then they ran the chance of discovering where he'd gone. Like Tsune said, every faunus in Beacon knew his name and it was possible some of those were sympathisers or related to those who knew some. The news could work its way down, and then there would be problems. Not attacks, not straight away, but the White Fang could make his life difficult in other ways. For one, they could just announce his identity. That would cause immediate problems.

He wouldn't put it past them to try and blackmail him either, demand he do something for them against the risk of his name being outed. It wouldn't work; he would spit in the face of anyone who tried that. Still, the threat was a very real one and even if they didn't go that far, keeping his identity secret wouldn't be aided by White Fang running around in front of him.

"Fine. I'll help. There are conditions, though."

"Go on."

"Firstly, I want protection from anything that comes from this. Not diplomatic immunity – I know you can't do that. But if the White Fang reveal my identity as reprisal for fighting them, I want you to suppress it or come in on my side."

"Granted. I wouldn't leave you in the lurch for assisting me. Any others?"

"Yeah. You need to explain this to my team in a way that makes sense, doesn't reveal who I am and doesn't have them giving me the stink eye for the next four years."

"Ah, the far greater challenge. Well, I suppose it's only fair I handle that, isn't it? The easiest method would be to suggest one-on-one training, but then they might ask to join in. Missions aren't possible without making them worry. Perhaps we could manufacture some alleged issue that you need to take time out of Beacon to deal with. This will mostly be on weekends unless we discover something of importance. Leave it to me," he eventually said. "I'll see it done. There is one other thing I needed to speak with you about, however."

Adam scowled. "More?"

"Not related to the White Fang or any criticism on our part." He indicated the newspaper again. "Turn to page six. You may find the story there concerning."

He did so, laying the paper out and growling down at the page. On it was a picture of his face, the bandage thankfully covering his scar, but his red hair and horns clearly visible. The shot had been taken in the cafeteria, though given his arm didn't have the injury from the fight with Team CRMN, it hadn't been recent. The headline at the top was more concerning.

"Faunus student savages huntress team."

"I've already arranged a conference to set this straight," Ozpin said. "I'll also be meeting with Miss Lisa Lavender to discuss her use of the term `savage` and express my distaste. You can rest assured that every student here knows this is patently false. They all saw or have heard about the fight."

This explained the staring contests, then. They didn't actually think he was a savage about to go off, but they had been looking to see how angry he was about the news. Or just looking in awe at someone who was in the newspaper that very morning. That wasn't the problem. Neither was the article. It was bullshit and everyone who mattered would know it. The problem was his face – Adam Taurus' face – splashed in full colour.

There were too many people who would recognise it.

/-/

He arrived back late to Port's class and slipped in next to his team who all gave him inquisitive and expectant looks. They had to wait, though, much to Yang's frustration since she kept knocking rolled-up balls of paper into his lap. He had about six over his legs and a forming bruise where she was kicking him incessantly under the table when the bell rang. Outside, he told them about the article.

"So that's why everyone was staring," Weiss said. "Still, this is ridiculous. Savaging? It was a spar."

"Most people know that," Adam said. "It's more the people outside."

"If they knew it was false then why did everyone look at you like you were a wild animal this morning?" Ruby asked.

"Probably wanted to see what my reaction to it would be."

"Civilians don't always understand huntsmen." Yang said. "Least that's what Uncle Qrow says. They see an adult man backhand a young girl across the face and start going crazy with accusations of bad parenting, never realising it might be training. I had a woman once say she'd call social services on dad because he pinned me to a tree and punched me, like, five times." Yang said it with a little shrug. "That was back when I kept thinking my Semblance would get me out of trouble, so it was okay to just take hits and never dodge. Dad wanted to beat that out of me before I got hurt."

Adam honestly hadn't ever considered it. He'd never had parents to rely on and also hadn't grown up in what one would call normal society. He could see the logic, though. One faunus beats up four schoolchildren sounded bad until you kept in mind it was a school all about beating one another up. Someone had to have sent it from Beacon to Lisa Lavender, and they might have exaggerated it. Honestly, it could have been anyone. The racist students hated him and even some of the faunus were worried he'd make lives harder for them. He'd have accused Velvet if he wasn't sure the girl was so passive she'd let a steamroller run her over and then apologise for getting in the way.

It's not any of the faculty, though. Ozpin and Goodwitch looked bothered by it, Tsune doesn't strike me as the type and Oobleck is an idealist. Port… no. I can't imagine he'd care. It was almost certainly one of the students.

"What do we do about it?" Ruby asked.

"Nothing."

"What!?" She rounded on him, hands clenched into fists and eyes shining. "Adam, no! You can't just ignore bad things happening to you!"

"I'm not. It's baseless accusations and Ozpin is going to make that clear. The newspapers will be looking for more to slap on me to justify their side of the story, so doing nothing will ruin their chance."

"Leaving them a laughing stock." Weiss finished. "Adam is right. This is one of the rare instances were not acting is the right solution. Besides, what else can he do - storm the editorial offices and demand Lisa Lavender's head on a pike?"

"Yes!" Ruby held her scowl for all of two seconds and then giggled. "Okay. Fine. Do nothing. As long as it's not because you're letting it get to you, that's fine. You could always have Pyrrha speak up for you, though. She's famous."

"I'm not relying on someone else's fame to get me out of this, Ruby."

Weiss nodded, pleased with the answer. If he wanted to take that route, she'd have been an easy way out of it – after all, no faunus on a team with a Schnee could be called anti-human. It would quell even the smallest accusations. It sounded like a good idea, but it really wasn't. If he appeared in newspapers next to Weiss Schnee, the image would travel far. Sienna would lose her mind and there was a good chance Winter Schnee would as well. He'd fought her, after all, and he doubted she'd forgotten what he looked like.

"I guess if people are only staring because you're suddenly famous then it'll have blown over by tomorrow." Yang sounded pleased by that. "And hey, this beats racist assholes tossing breakfast all over you."

"It's a welcome change, yes."

The bell rang, interrupting their chatter. Ruby gave the call and Team RYST headed off to their next lesson, trusting the news would die out before long. True to the expectation, most of the students had gotten over their shock by lunch, and although one or two decided to keep scrolls out and ready to photo or video him if the opportunity arose, he didn't give them the chance to make a quick lien. He ate and spoke with his team, discussing lessons, dust and Grimm until the afternoon bell rang and more lessons commenced.

At four, Weiss pushed her scroll over and showed him the story of Ozpin debunking the claims and fully explaining the nature of a sanctioned spar officiated by Glynda Goodwitch with the express permission and all safety regulations of any other within Beacon. The headmaster hadn't explicitly accused anyone of misrepresenting him because he was a faunus, but the implication dripped form every quote and cheered Ruby up to no end. There were questions – one of which worried him as someone asked how a first year could hold his own against a team higher up – but Ozpin brushed past it with a simple answer of "overconfidence and strategy" and that was it.

The problem was dealt with so quickly he couldn't help but stop worrying.

/-/

A fresh problem came that evening with a knock on Team RYST's door. Ruby was busy on her computer game and the only way he'd gotten out of it was by goading her into challenging Yang. Weiss was laid out on her front reading and though she did make to stand, she looked over to him. Sighing, Adam put down his own book and stood. He was the only one not in his nightclothes, so it only made sense. Weiss mumbled a thank you as he went over and opened the door a crack.

The face of a grown man met him.

"Yes?" Adam asked.

"I guess this must be Team RYST's dorm if you're here."

Adam raised an eyebrow. "Do I know you?"

"No, but I know of you. Name's Qrow. I'm Ruby and Yang's uncle. Open up."

He didn't. Closing the door, he turned back and called the name out to the two, earning a surprised look from Yang, an "Uncle Qrow?" and then a startled "Hey, no fair! I wasn't looking!" when Ruby took her chance to execute a combo and send Yang's character's head spiralling off into the sky with an improbably powerful uppercut.

Adam opened the door a moment later, letting the man in. He was quickly swarmed by Yang and Ruby even as Weiss ducked her feet under the covers indignantly as though she were some actress in a period drama afraid of letting a man see her ankles.

"Yeah, yeah, it's me." Qrow rubbed his niece's heads. The name was oddly familiar, not enough for Adam to recognise, but enough for him to assume it was a huntsman. The weapon and outfit gave that away, but there was a difference between a huntsman and a huntsman whose name you thought you knew from somewhere. Those were usually the dangerous ones.

"What are you doing here?" Yang asked. "Did something happen to dad?"

"Nothing like that, firecracker. I'm doing some work in Vale for old Ozpin. I'm a huntsman before I'm a teacher. Thought I'd drop by and meet your team while I was around. So, this is Weiss Schnee, huh?" He smirked. "Has your sister mentioned me?"

"Not once."

"Erk." Qrow's face fell, then fell again when Ruby sniggered. He swiped a hand back that his niece dodged. "Guess Winter is just shy. Must not know how to introduce the man who gets her heart pumping and blood rushing."

Weiss practically recoiled. "E-Excuse me!?"

"You're excused. And this is your final member, hm?" The look the huntsman sent him was far more measured. Dangerous, even. He knew. Qrow knew who and what he was and clearly didn't like it. "Heard about him in the news. Hoping that's exaggerated."

"It is," Yang said.

"Excuse me! I must ask what your relation is to my sister."

"Glad to hear it." He jutted out a hand. "Qrow Branwen."

Adam took it. "Adam Taurus."

The man's grip was firm and callused. He didn't try and squeeze or wrench him in – that kind of display would only earn furious howls from Ruby and Yang. Instead, the man gave him one good shake for warning and then let go.

"What work are you doing in Vale, Uncle Qrow?"

"What is your relationship status with my sister, Mr Qrow?"

"Just a little information gathering. Partly to do with that unsavoury man you ran into before Beacon started."

"Torchwick?"

"Hm. Something like that."

Adam could have laughed. Ruby had technically run into him as well in that instance, and Qrow hadn't confirmed which unsavoury character he was referring to. So, this was the man Ozpin would have looking into the White Fang. He supposed it made sense the huntsman would want to meet with him in person.

"So, how is being a team leader going for you, squirt?"

"It's good!" Ruby chirped. "And I'm not a squirt. Adam is helping me learn what it means to be a leader, too. I'm going to be the best team leader in Beacon."

"That so? Well, you'll have to live up to your mother's reputation there. A finer leader there never was. Speaking of your little friend here, you mind having a chat with me outside?"

Adam stood. "That's fine."

"Uncle Qrow, no!" Yang groaned. "Don't do this. None of us are dating him."

"Hey. Hey. Got to get it in his head early." Qrow wrapped an arm around Adam's shoulder and guided him to the door. "I'll bring him back in one piece, promise. You three do whatever it is schoolgirls do when they're alone. Pillow fight. Wet T-shirt contest. I dunno." He ducked a thrown pillow. "Be back soon!"

The camaraderie faded once they were outside and Qrow's arm turned to a steel band threatening to strangle him. The man hauled him aside and a distance away from the door, then pinned him to the wall and snarled.

"Interesting potential boyfriend talk." Adam mocked.

"Don't fuck with me, Taurus. You have no idea how hard it was for me to hold back from running you through back there."

"I'm sensing anger issues."

"You must be a damn psychic, then. Ozpin has told me your little game, Taurus. Personally, I don't believe it but I'm also not the one making the decisions, so I'll have to trust in Ozpin. Not you, though. I know your type."

"Without even knowing me…?"

"Do I need to? It's written all over your face, what little of it I can see. You're not here to change or leave the White Fang behind, you're here to prove a point like some jaded lover stalking a girl. And that fits, doesn't it? Must have been a real shocker when you came here and she wanted nothing to do with you, huh?"

A haze settled over Adam's head and his hands balled into fists so hard his fingers creaked and cracked. The huntsman was leering down on him tauntingly, every word dropping with mockery and his lips curled into a smug shit-eating grin that he longed to wipe off with the edge of his sword. Knocking his teeth out now wouldn't have been hard – Qrow was too close to dodge. His team would accept it too, assuming Qrow pushed him. The perfect crime.

Which was what Qrow wanted.

Gritting his teeth, Adam forced the anger down. It went thrashing and screaming, begging him to lash out, knock this bastard down a peg and then find Blake, demand answers and break her for what she'd done. The visceral hatred was enough to surprise even him, and that helped him force it away for now.

"Nice try," he forced out, as casually as he could. "But I'm not going to lash out just because some asshat pisses me off. If I did, I'd have had to kill at least ten people by now."

The mockery disappeared. He wouldn't call it a test because a test suggested he could pass and Qrow clearly wasn't convinced yet, but it had been a trap. Something to goad him into acting out and proving the man's suspicions true. It didn't look like his seeing past it offered Qrow any reason to relax. If anything, it only made things worse. The huntsman released him and stepped back, allowing Adam to dust his black jacket down.

"Ozpin tells me you've agreed to help with the White Fang." Qrow was all business now, terse and quiet in the hallway. "I'll be leading the search for them but having insider information could help. Problem is, I'd have to be exposing my back to you."

Adam wouldn't insult the man's intelligence by suggesting he trust him. "I don't see a way around that," he said instead. "Unless you only want me as a source of information. That will be outdated, though. Especially now that the media has as good as outed me to every White Fang member in the city."

"Yeah. Codes and whatnot will have changed by now. It's not worth the risk, especially when you're more a frontline fighter anyway from what I'm told. Ozpin has explained what this is for – to give you a chance to `prove` your intent when Ironwood comes rocking up asking what the fuck we're doing letting a monster like you in a school. That's not going to work unless you're right in there taking down the White Fang with me."

"Send me in first, then."

Qrow hummed.

"You can't trust me to cover your back, so keep me in front of you. The Fang have plenty of reason to want me dead now, so they'll take the bait and focus on me. I'm not some first-year rookie, either. You know I can handle myself against the chaff they'll have here. Even your nieces could handle the kind of people they'll be fielding."

"And you're fine playing the bait?"

"It wouldn't be the first time."

"I guess not." Qrow crossed his arms. "What about fighting your fellow White Fang? We both know you're not here because you disagreed with their methods. Will you be able to fight them if it comes down to it?"

A good question. Fundamentally, he was still loyal to the White Fang. He agreed with their goals and why shouldn't he? He'd given so much of his life to it. In his mind, he'd always imagined he would come here, prove Blake wrong, win her back and then depart to join the White Fang again, either with her at his side or with them having an understanding. That was looking increasingly unlikely considering he'd been here this long and Blake wouldn't even talk to him. Wouldn't even let herself be caught in the same corridor as him without at least ten people between them.

The White Fang would be getting in the way of his goals here, that was undeniable. He had to deal with them in one way or another.

"Their goals here don't make sense," Adam eventually said. "There's nothing to gain from stealing from other faunus and shopkeepers. It's not them who have enslaved and mistreated us, but the SDC. They're better targets for dust, for vengeance and for not being seen to attack civilians who can't fight back. The White Fang actions here are harming the reputation and the mission of the organisation as a whole."

"That's going to be your excuse?" Qrow laughed. "Fine. Whatever you have to tell yourself to make this work out. I've got intel on a recruitment meet going down this Friday – ten at night. You'll need to make your own excuses to leave the girls behind, but I've got permission from Ozpin. Your tracker won't impede you leaving the school grounds. Once you're in Vale, call me and we'll meet up. I'll have the location of the meeting sent to your scroll."

"Is this an assault or information gathering?"

"The latter. We'll fight if it comes down to it, but I doubt whoever is leading this will show. Unless you think they will?"

He shook his head. "Not to a meeting where anyone attending could be a plant. I can think of a few people they might have given command of my unit to, but none that would be so stupid as to come here and talk in front of a crowd. I'll find a way to ditch the team," he said, stepping away. "Just be sure you and Ozpin remember your side of the deal."

"Just be sure you remember whose side you're really on," Qrow said. "Because if it isn't ours, I won't give you the chance to run away and hurt Ruby or Yang."

Short chapter. Sorry, it's a busy week since my editorial assistant is still on holiday and I'm still behind on copy that the sales team was meant to ensure would be in, oh, last Wednesday. It's not in, so the magazine still hasn't gone, and the printers are demanding to know where it is. Fun times! Soon, the distributors will be asking, too.

Next Chapter: 15th September - This has been pushed back because I had a week's illness where the other Tuesday story didn't update.

P a treon . com (slash) Coeur