A/N: Apologies for missing the post last week, I was in the middle of moving.

The morning came, Adam woke up around five in the morning and attempted to make his way out of the room without waking the others. It had been a few days since he had done some actual training, something he hadn't done in months, maybe doing some training would help him relax.

Slipping down the hall he saw another figure moving around the dorm hallways, white and black flickered as the figure went around the nearby corner. Pausing Adam debated whether or not to investigate for just a moment before chasing after the unknown figure. Truthfully he was curious who else would be awake this early in the morning.

Turning the corner again the figure seemed to be turning another corner, the figure was moving just quick enough that he could catch a glimpse of them before they made it to the next corner. Pushing himself faster Adam turned the corner to find no one there but he spun around, his instincts telling him someone was behind him, but again no one was there. It seemed that the person had escaped his pursuit.

Suddenly he felt a hand snake around his neck and another hand went under his left shoulder and locked with the one around his neck. Adam froze for a moment about to begin struggling before a voice spoke softly into his ear. "Stop following me, Adam."

Glancing down the arm of the person holding him he saw it was much darker than his own, however he didn't recognize the voice. It was a feminine voice, and he didn't know any women with such a skin tone and nearly his own height, at least not here at Beacon. "Sienna?"

"Who? I'm hurt. That's not my name, lover boy. Now I'm going to let you go and I'll run off…" The voice was right in his ear, the breath hot on his neck, "You chase me again and I'll have to hurt you… I don't want to do that, 'kay?"

"Do you have the ability?" Adam asked tone sharp, annoyed that once again someone had gotten the drop on him.

The voice giggled and suddenly he felt pain from his ear, a warm liquid beginning to move down his neck. "I think I can… Now, be a good boy and let me have some privacy."

"Did you just fu-"

"Shhh, shhh… people are still sleeping," they chided him. "Now close your eyes, count to ten and I'll be gone."

Adam growled in his throat but did as the figure asked, his eyes closing and he began to count. "One… two…"

The pressure on his neck and against his back disappeared, he heard footsteps that rapidly disappeared. "Nine… ten." Adam's eyes snapped open and he reached up, wiping his neck on the right side where the other person had bit him. Blood. Somehow they had bit his earlobe hard enough to draw blood in just a moment. "Who the hell was that?" Adam wondered aloud as he pressed his fingers into the bleeding ear, he would need to clean it up.

Adam headed towards the nearest male restroom, running some water over a paper towel that he used to wipe the bite before leaning over to run the water over it directly. After a couple minutes he turned off the sink, then grabbed a few more paper towels that he used to press down on the small wound.

The strange early morning encounter had thrown off his plans of training early and getting dressed before the girls were up. It wouldn't be impossible, but now his actual training time would be cut short.

Heading to the Locker Room quickly and quietly he retrieved Blossom's Eclipse. Finding an empty yard Adam drew Blossom and attached Eclipse to his hip. For now he just did light exercises to warm up, followed by the kata he had been taught when he was first learning to use a sword.

An unexpected figure appeared in the yard he was in, it was Pyrrha, one of Capri's teammates. "Hello there!" She said with a polite smile and a short wave.

Adam shook his head and continued to run through the kata, his movements were unsteady and improper, this bothered him, this should be the simplest thing in the world. Pyrrha seemed disappointed being ignored but set up in the yard to begin her own training routine. Going through her own warm up routine and a few of her own kata, though hers involved a sword and shield instead of an individual sword.

Minutes passed in silence as the pair trained, separately but together. Adam eventually slid Blossom back into Eclipse and moved a bit further away from Pyrrha. Not out of disrespect, or wanting to be away from her, but to be a safe distance for training. Adam gave a small bow from the hip before taking a kneeling position, his mind conjuring several enemies in the yard, different distances and armed with different weapons.

Pyrrha observed Adam's training from a distance, her keen eyes noting the tension in his movements and the furrowed brow that betrayed his inner struggle. She had seen him in combat before, his skill evident, but today something seemed off. As he knelt, preparing to face his imaginary foes, Pyrrha couldn't help but feel a pang of concern.

Approaching cautiously, Pyrrha stopped a few feet away, not wanting to startle him. "Adam," she called softly, her voice carrying a gentle tone.

Adam looked up, his expression guarded but curious. "Pyrrha," he acknowledged, his voice neutral.

"Is everything alright? You seem off today," though they were not teammates she was there during the battle with the Death Stalker and Nevermore, he shouldn't be struggling with his morning routine. "I know what happened yesterday, with your brother."

"I'm fine, Pyrrha." Adam said, his voice taking a flat tone, she was Capri's teammate and they lived literally across the hall from one another, being rude would gain him no advantage nor peace.

"How's about a sparring match then?" Pyrrha asked, with a small smile.

Adam looked up at her in confusion, why would she want to train with him? It wasn't as if they were close, and his abilities were much more suited to fights to the death than sparring matches. "Are you asking because you need a partner, or out of pity or concern for your teammate's brother?"

Pyrrha's smile faltered slightly at Adam's response, sensing the guardedness in his words. She understood his skepticism, but she couldn't help but feel a twinge of disappointment at his reluctance to accept her offer.

"It's not out of pity, Adam," Pyrrha replied earnestly, her voice soft but resolute. "I genuinely believe that a friendly spar could help both of us. It's a chance to learn from each other, to improve our skills, and perhaps even gain some insight."

Adam regarded her for a moment, his expression unreadable. Despite his reservations, he couldn't deny that she was right. Besides perhaps a spar would serve as a distraction, a way to channel his pent-up frustrations and clear his mind, if only temporarily.

"Very well, Pyrrha, I shall accept your challenge," Adam stated, his voice showing a surprising amount of eagerness in his voice, something he hadn't expected, "I won't hold back."

Pyrrha nodded, a flicker of determination gleaming in her eyes. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

Adam got to his feet and took several steps away from Pyrrha who moved in the opposite direction, each taking their own ready stance. Adam stood slightly crouched, sword still sheathed but right hand gripping the hilt while his left was on the trigger of Eclipse. Pyrrha was standing in a different style, shield forwards with her sword held over her head the point towards him.

"Let's check that nickname," Adam gave a small taunt before launching Blossom in his usual starting move, the hilt flying towards her face. The shield came up to block it, but Adam didn't just stand where he had been, instead he was there to catch the blade after it was blocked and followed up with a heavy downwards chop.

Pyrrha met his strength head on, using her shield to deflect the blow to the side, her sword coming up in a slash hidden by the shield.

Adam anticipated a counter attack, the normal idea in such a fight would be to back off or dodge towards the blindside created by the shield. Instead of doing the common tactics Adam stepped towards her sword arm, narrowly dodging the slash while bringing Blossom down in another heavy chop, aimed at her now extended sword arm.

However, Pyrrha wasn't a four time champion due to weak enemies, her reflexes were sharp, and she parried Adam's blow with a surprising move, her sword expanded into a spear and the half caught his blade and tried to create a bind. The clash of metal ringing out in the morning air. Adam was forced to break the bind, stepping back to avoid getting in too close with her where she could use her shield to bludgeon him. With a fluid motion, she spun the spear around and followed up with a quick series of thrusts and feints, probing Adam's defenses for any weaknesses.

Adam's golden blade flashed back and forth, catching the probing attacks. A small shimmer beginning to appear on the blade of Blossom, he couldn't capture much energy from the simple attacks but he began to build up a reserve. A sudden leap back and Adam sheathed Blossom, his stance dropping into a slight crouch. "Come on then!"

Pyrrha took the challenge and rushed him, catching him off guard with a thrown shield, something he had forgotten she had mastered. A truly skilled opponent, something he hadn't had much of in his original life, most members of the White Fang were normal Faunus tired of their mistreatment. At the last moment he got Blossom up, halfway out of Eclipse and caught the edge of the shield with it, more energy being captured gave Adam a sense that the blow might have forced him back had he failed to catch it.

Unsurprisingly Pyrrha was right behind the shield, it seemed to fly right back to her hand, locking itself back onto her forearm. However Adam didn't have a chance to think too deeply about the shield's motions as now he had to contend with her sword slashing, stabbing, and chopping, his sword barely able to keep up, though the shimmering was now showing a red haze around the blade. A twisted smile found itself onto Adam's face as he continued to give ground while blocking Pyrrha's attacks.

Suddenly the sword extended into the spear form again, this time she was striking at his head and feet instead of his body. With an annoyed growl he fully unsheathed Blossom, fighting one handed, his sword flashing back and forth, barely seeming to keep up with Pyrrha's barrage of attacks. The haze around the sword darkened slower than when it was inside of Eclipse despite blocking more blows in a shorter time period.

Adam released a weakened attack, the crimson haze flared and he struck her spear to the side. The weapon being knocked from her hand, likely due to not expecting such a strong attack from a one handed swing; though the haze around the blade had become much thinner and almost impossible to see. With a follow up backslash he knocked the shield wide and brought forward Eclipse, aiming squarely at her chest. The weapon barked and yet somehow he had missed, just a foot away and he missed. "Wha-"

Pyrrha's fist caught him in the chin and pushed him back, suddenly her spear was in her hand again and Adam was basically defenseless as she struck out, landing half a dozen hits before he could recover. Adam caught a smirk on Pyrrha's face and he returned a glare, she had done something. Trying to search his memories about her while blocking her blows and beginning to get into the pace. Blossom and Eclipse beginning to work together, the sheathe snapping up and deflecting her attack while he tried to counter attack only to be blocked by the shield.

Deciding a new tactic was necessary he dropped low and lashed out with his foot at her leg while his weapons moved in defensive circles. Pyrrha jumped back and seemed to recover instantly, her spear transforming into a rifle that she began to fire at him. Adam growled, his sword snapping back and forth, shattering the bullets but the haze was deeping around the blade again.

The rhythmic clashing of steel and gunfire echoed through the training yard as Adam and Pyrrha engaged in a relentless duel, their movements a blur of speed and precision. With each exchange, Adam felt the weight of Pyrrha's prowess bearing down on him, her skill and adaptability pushing him to his limits.

As Pyrrha's rifle spat out bullets, Adam's focus sharpened, his instincts honed by years of combat experience. With Blossom and Eclipse in hand, he deflected the incoming rounds with calculated precision, the crimson haze around his blade flickering with each impact.

Despite his efforts, Pyrrha's relentless assault pressed on, her movements fluid and unpredictable. Adam found himself forced into a defensive stance, his mind racing as he sought to anticipate her next move.

With a sudden burst of speed, Pyrrha closed the distance between them, her spear flashing in the first rays of sunlight as she launched a flurry of strikes aimed at Adam's flank. He barely managed to block her attacks, his muscles straining against the force of her blows, as the fight dragged on she seemed to get stronger.

Feeling the weight of exhaustion settling in his limbs, Adam knew he needed to change tactics if he had any hope of turning the tide of battle. Drawing upon his reserves of strength and determination, he focused his mind, channeling his energy into a single decisive strike. With a desperate gamble he fired Eclipse at her at nearly point blank range, the rounds scoring several glancing blows but most were blocked by her shield… Then he took his chance, he threw the rifle at her face, forcing her to raise the shield high.

The air crackled with tension as Adam's blade arced in a horizontal slash towards its target, the crimson haze around Blossom swirling with intensity, the light swelling to a brilliant shine. Yet, to his astonishment, his strike fell short, missing its mark by a mere inch, the energy unreleased.

Before he could react, Pyrrha seized the opportunity, her fist connecting with his chin in a swift and unexpected blow. Staggering backward, Adam struggled to regain his footing, his mind reeling from the sudden turn of events. This was the second time she had caught him with a blow from her hand; it made him angry, was she toying with him?

Adam let out an angry roar, Blossom snapped into Eclipse, red and black flames sprouting from his head and shoulders as he ignored her quick barrage of attacks. Blossom began to emerge from the mouth of Eclipse, the world taking on a red hue when suddenly he stopped, his scroll was beeping, his aura had dropped into the red… he lost the fight. The flames went out and the sword snapped back into the sheathe. "I've lost."

Pyrrha stepped back, coming out of combat mode, her breathing heavy and fast. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, you were just stronger than I expected."

"No, Adam, your ear is bleeding. I'm sorry." Pyrrha looked genuinely apologetic, believing she had hurt him during the spar.

Adam shook his head, reaching into his pocket to pull out the balled up paper towel that he still had, and pressed it against his bleeding ear. "Some girl bit me earlier."

"Oh… oh my."

"Not like that," Adam groaned, lots of misunderstandings with girls over the last day. First Weiss and that picture, then the issue the night before, then that strange woman who bit him earlier, and now Pyrrha. "Some girl jumped me in the corridor and bit me."

Pyrrha laughed a bit, but the serious look on Adam's face cut her giggle short. "Really?"

"Yes. I got attacked by someone I didn't recognize. They knew me though."

"Well, you have made a bit of a splash in the last few days, I think almost everyone in our year knows you by now."

Adam ran a hand through his hair between his horns, brushing it back out of his face. "I know. It wasn't exactly planned."

Pyrrha laughed and nodded. "I wouldn't expect such fame to be planned," she suddenly held out her hand. "You already know my name, but we were never properly introduced. I'm Pyrrha Nikos."

Adam froze at the sudden shift in tone but he reached out and grasped her hand in a hesitant handshake. "Adam Szarvak."

"I know, your sister talks about you so much. You are her hero, did you know that?"

Adam gave a shrug. "I appreciate you being kind to her."

"Of course, why would I treat her po-"

"You know exactly why." Adam said simply, and Pyrrha had to look away in embarrassment before nodding, she did know what he meant. The fact that three Faunus siblings all got into the Academy at once was noteworthy in of itself, less than one in ten students at the Academy were Faunus, and even those that were there were treated poorly, even those in the Huntsmen classes. "So… thank you, truly."

Adam blinked a few times, he was thanking a human for just treating one of them like a person… There was no spite or hatred, in fact he felt glad that Capri was with such a polite girl like Pyrrha, despite the fact she defeated him in battle.

'This was one of the outcomes we fought for… and here is a girl who did it without being threatened… shame she died in the Fall.' A voice spoke in his mind, it was like the slimy angry voice but gentle and sad. Not all humans were cruel it seemed.

"Pyrrha! Adam!" They were shocked to hear the voice of the person they had just been discussing; turning the pair saw Capri walking with Aries. The two of them were dressed in exercise clothes and sheened with sweat.

Adam saw Aries' face and he felt shame gnawing at his stomach, Aries' nose was a large bulge under gauze and a splint. Both of his eyes were ringed in black and a good portion of his face was bruised, black and yellow. "I…" Adam turned away, unable to face Aries.

"Hello Capri!" Pyrrha called back and waved the two to come over.

Obliging the younger Szarvak siblings made their way over to where Adam and Pyrrha stood. "Morning!" Capri called out, a smile in her voice and she wrapped her arms around Adam, then she let him go and punched him in the arm. "You shouldn't ignore my calls!"

"Sorry," Adam muttered, Adam was feeling very awkward near Aries, they had fought, throwing heavy blows against one another and tried to seriously harm the other. Aries was his brother and he had turned against him, for who? Weiss Schnee, someone he should hate and want to kill, but instead defended her.

"Is that for me or for Aries?" Capri said, putting her hands on her hips before looking between the two brothers. "Hug."

"What?"

"Hug, you two, now."

Aries looked very awkward at the command, scratching the back of his head. Adam sighed and stepped over to the younger boy, wrapping his arms around him in a quick embrace. "Sorry Aries…" Aries tensed up but then hugged Adam back.

"Yeah, me too… I don't know what came over me… all day I was in a strange state… just everything was getting to me." Aries admitted, slowly breaking away from the hug. "I shouldn't have called you a dog… I shouldn't have implied… what I did." He looked away, embarrassed.

"Well, that's good, brothers shouldn't fight." Pyrrha said, a somewhat awkward smile on her face, she felt like she was intruding on a family affair.

"That's right!" Capri said with a bright smile, happy that her brothers would be willing to resolve things this quickly. Though there was the shadow of worry, they still weren't sure of what had caused Aries to have the sudden outburst. Yes, Aries was aggressive, and often fought, but he hadn't ever spit venom at Adam or Capri before, his anger had always been directed outwards, never towards family.

Pyrrha gave a more genuine and relaxed smile after Capri's encouragement. "You fought well Adam, had this been actual combat I may have lost." It sounded like she was trying to comfort him, but in reality he had enough Aura left to survive several more hits and that his final attack may have put her life in jeopardy had he not aborted the swing. A similar attack had nearly bisected a giant Death Stalker, even if he missed he would have damaged some of the campus buildings. "You held your own quite well, you'd have done well in the Junior Tournaments."

Adam grunted, he doubted he'd be allowed to qualify for the Tournaments in any of the four Kingdoms, partly due to the dangerous nature of his Semblance, partly due to his bloodline. Things in their group were getting awkward, Adam let out a sigh and looked around. He froze, a familiar figure flitted into view; dark skin, long black hair, white clothing…

"Daiki!" Capri called out seeing the boy walking, head up with a confident smile on his face. Adam blinked a couple times, the clothes were similar if not exactly the same, however Daiki had at least a couple differences from Adam's attacker.

"I don't like him…" Aries muttered as Daiki changed course to approach them.

Adam grunted and gave a nod, his voice low, "I'm finding him less bearable this morning as well."

Daiki came over, his smile barely faltering under the withering glares of the Szarvak brothers. However Adam swore when he made eye contact there was a hint of something hidden in his gaze, however Daiki's eyes flicked to Capri and the two shared a quick friendly hug. "We were worried about you after everything that happened yesterday," he stepped back but his hands lingered on her arms, "Weren't we Pyrrha? She never came back to the dorm."

"Of course, Jaune was panicking too…" Pyrrha looked a bit thoughtful before turning to Daiki. "Do you know if he has woken up yet? We should go as a team to eat breakfast."

Daiki shook his head and shrugged. "I don't know, he was asleep when I got up… you want me to go wake him-"

"No! I mean… I'll do it." Pyrrha practically shouted, everyone felt the excitement in her voice.

"Uh… sure Pyr… go ahead. We'll head back and get ready in a few."

Pyrrha took off at a brisk walk in the direction of the first year Huntsmen's dorms.

Aries looked confused at what had just happened. "Why didn't we all just go?"

Daiki let out an exaggerated sigh, looking at Aries with great faux pity, "Ahhhh, to be ignorant of the hearts of women, alas I am burdened with such wisdom…"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Aries said with a growl in his voice.

"To be young and foolish as you again, a wasteful youth too brash to understand the delicate nature of women."

"You!" Aries tried to lung but found Capri's hand wrapped in a vice grip around his right horn.

"This is what I mean… simply put I have divined, through my great wisdom,that our beautiful and powerful champion is infatuated with our fearless leader."

"You mean she has a crush on Jaune?"

"Of course, it should be obvious…" Daiki stared at them, Aries and Adam's expressions showed they either didn't understand or didn't care, Capri was nodding along with a smile. "… maybe only to those of us with a more gentle nature. Like myself and our wonderful Capri…" he took one of her hands in his and gave a soft squeeze.

Aries' eyes turned cold at this gesture, "Hands to yourself Human…"

Daiki let go, deliberately slow, before gripping his chest and covering his mouth. "Oh, I'm hurt, you wound me Mister Aries, that you think me a lowly Human, nothing more than one of a faceless mob, your gaze cuts deep that I cannot run away now…"

Adam grunted, this time it was his eyes that narrowed, his voice carried an accusatory edge, "Did we run into one another earlier?"

Daiki blinked a couple times as if confused by the question, "You'll have to be more specific than that, I was there during your brawl, I am your sister's partner and we were…"

"This morning," Adam interrupted, voice sharp and tinged with annoyance.

"Hmmmm…" Daiki acted like he was thinking, a finger on his chin, "I don't think so. I'm fairly certain I would remember you."

Adam let out an exasperated sigh, something about Daiki reminded him about the woman who attacked him, but he couldn't quite place it. Aries and Capri he could understand being up and about this early in the morning, they were part of him and likely had similar routines. Pyrrha was a renowned fighter, and probably saw him in the Locker Room and wished to have someone to spar with. Daiki however appeared from nowhere, did not have his weapon with him, nor did he seem like he had just finished exercising, and yet he appeared after they had all congregated.

"So… what are you doing up and about this early in the morning? You don't look like you've been training."

"Oh, you know, woke up and decided to go for a walk around the grounds. Nothing serious, just a walk through the halls and the areas near the major buildings. Early morning is a great time to see the growing flowers," Daiki said with a smile and a wink, "I was so sad and worried that Capri hadn't returned that I couldn't sleep."

Capri blushed, and began to fidget a bit nervously, hands unsure of what to do. "I'm sorry Daiki, I was with Aries, the nurse kept him overnight."

"Oh, I don't blame you. Never."

"Okay, I think I'm going to puke… Back off." Aries said, putting his arm around Capri and glaring at the other boy. Clearly he wasn't good enough for their sister. "Let's go…" Aries tried to lead Adam and Capri away but Capri pushed his arm off.

"You need to go back to your team, they must be worried about you!" Capri scolded Aries. "And you need to shower, you stink!"

Aries fell back as Capri continued to scold him, Adam shaking his head at the turn of events Daiki just gave a shrug. "I'm going back to shower and change… you cause Capri any harm and I'll break you."

"Oh, you think you have the ability?"

Adam's eyes narrowed at the phrasing, it was almost exactly what he had asked his attacker in the hallway. "I'm sure I can."

Capri began to play with her hair and motioned for Adam and Aries to go ahead. "I'll be fine… I'm just going to go for a walk with Daiki."

"But…" Aries tried to argue but Capri shut him up with a glare. "Okay…"

Daiki gave a smile and a somehow sarcastic bow. "Pleasure to meet you both again."

Adam gave a shrug and decided to let things go, if Capri was interested in him why should he interfere? Once, not long ago actually, he would have been furious and been more like Aries… but the last few days had left him in a daze.