Busy week this week. Made sure to start the chapter earlier than usual and still barely got it done on time. I normally do most of my writing on Thursday, but we had my brother's kids over for the day, so I didn't really have time. Lots of fun, though. We took them to Five Below and let them pick out an item and a snack, then went home and spent the afternoon hanging out. They've recently been hooked on Harry Potter, so my wife helped my niece make some custom wands while the boys and I played some video games together. Soon as they left, I ran upstairs and hurried to start stream since I was a little late.
Looking forward to tomorrow. My wife and I are celebrating my birthday early (33 on Tuesday) the same way we always do - I'm gonna go stuff myself with steak at Texas de Brazil. Also gearing up for my big birthday/Twitch anniversary stream next Saturday. Got a bunch of stuff in the mail and a few more things to order. Gonna be a busy stream that might end with my wife cutting my hair rather short at the end if we meet all the goals (we're halfway there already). It's a crazy time that I look forward to every year. Between all the terrible things I'll probably have to eat and the long stream, I'll probably be useless the next day, but it's worth it.
Keeping Ghira and Kali in the dark proved easier than Adam expected. He doubted they'd take the news of Blake being shot well, but the issue never came up. Then again, maybe he shouldn't have been surprised. Blake's absence from dinner wasn't exactly a rarity anymore. He spotted her the next morning, watching her for any signs of pain or bruising, but she covered it up. Literally. He caught her rubbing her shoulder at one point, but her outfit concealed what had to be a nasty welt. She'd run off the first chance she got, much to her mother's disappointment but with no one the wiser of what happened yesterday.
No one in the Belladonna house, that was.
The White Fang was a different story. He'd thought it a little odd all the people loitering around the training fields. There were always a few people out there practicing, but most of them stuck to the gun range. The few that came to the field were either busy exercising or actively training. No one really hung out there.
Until today.
It didn't take long to figure out what they were there for. Not with how they zeroed in on him the moment he arrived, or the hushed whispers that rippled through the area as he unsheathed his new sword and did some warmups while he waited for Kaito to finish Blake's morning training. His old sword sat safely back in his room, replaced by its new and improved counterpart. He didn't bother experimenting with the scabbard-gun yet - Kaito promised to work with him on that later.
Even with their success yesterday and a fresh arrangement of training dummies clad in SDC and Atlas uniforms, his first few tries did nothing. Well, nothing with his Semblance. He'd set a dummy or two on fire with his dust-infused blade, but that wasn't on purpose. Kaito proved a capable firefighter with his own sword. Like everything else, Adam still needed to learn how to better control his fiery blade, both to avoid accidental fires and to avoid a lot of extra weapon maintenance. The dust would run out eventually, meaning Adam would have to add more somehow. Kaito hadn't shown him much about that yet, but it sounded like a pain.
"Calm yourself, Adam," Kaito instructed after another failed attempt. Easy for him to say. The buzz of his Semblance felt stronger than usual, as if the single success made it hungry for more. Adam said as much, knowing Kaito would want every detail. "I expected as much. It seems yesterday's success has only made the build-up more noticeable."
"Shouldn't it feel better?" Adam questioned, curling and uncurling the fingers of his free hand. "I used it. Shouldn't there be less pressure now?"
"You didn't just use it. You learned how to use it." The two sounded remarkably similar. Adam waited for an explanation. "You're finally tapping into all that power, as you call it. Yes, it finally relieved the pressure for a bit, but it also showed you that such was possible to control. You've weakened the walls that were holding you back. Your body - your soul - knows it and is eager to do so again."
"Is that really how Semblances work?"
Kaito shrugged. "How should I know?" The old man laughed at Adam's disappointment. "We still know so little about aura and Semblances. All I can tell you is what I've seen from experience. I've helped plenty of others unlock their Semblances, even before joining the White Fang. It's normal to be eager, but have a little patience. We'll get there in time."
So it wasn't really building up faster or stronger? That made sense. He doubted he'd grown his Semblance after a single use. More like it was just closer to the surface than before. In other words, it would get easier as he made more progress.
True to Kaito's words, their next attempt proved victorious as a dummy practically exploded from his sudden surge. Whether it was just practice or Kaito's words, Adam felt the ecstatic release of his Semblance. It left him gasping for air, even as the poor remains of his victim lay smoldering on the ground behind him. A few deep breaths did little for his racing heart. Slowly, he sheathed his sword, knowing Kaito would want to discuss what happened to pick apart the details and figure out how they could improve. He turned, fully expecting the pleased smile from the old man.
He didn't expect the applause from everyone watching.
It started simple enough. One or two awkward onlookers clapping. Then someone cheered his name, which spurred everyone else into joining in. Voices and applause mixed as they celebrated, some of them looking more excited than even Adam, which was a little weird. They hadn't done anything, nor did his new ability benefit them at all.
"Quiet down!" Kaito barked, rolling his eyes at their display. The clapping died off rapidly, though the crowd remained, focused on him more than ever now. "Bunch of rubberneckers. This is training, not some sort of circus. They should be focused on their own training, not gawking at you like some sort of entertainer." His voice was more than loud enough for everyone to hear, but aside from a few nervous coughs and some reddened faces, his words had little effect. "Run it again."
"Again?" But they'd done it. Mission success.
"Again," Kaito repeated, putting action to words as he readied himself once more. "The more you use it, the easier it'll get. Plus, with your class starting in a few days, you'll have less time to focus on yourself. Might as well take advantage of your free time now while you still have it."
He'd completely forgotten about his class. He still wasn't a hundred percent sure what he'd teach them. He kept meaning to sit down and write up some sort of lesson plan, but something always came up and he'd promise himself that he'd do it later. Now, many laters later, the reality of what was coming hit him like an Ursa.
"Worry about that later," Kaito insisted, sensing his panic but only making it worse with his poor choice of words. "Focus on the here and now. On the field of battle, those who worry too much about tomorrow do not often live to see it."
"But we're not in a ba-"
Kaito cut off his complaint with an attack, catching Adam's arm as he tried to dodge away and forcing his aura to protect him. Adam snorted in aggravation but kept his mouth shut, knowing Kaito would just lecture him on focus if he complained.
Fine, if Kaito wanted his undivided attention, he'd get it. He felt tempted to wear the old man out by giving ground and forcing him to give chase, but that would leave Blake exposed to attack. Even if she hardly looked concerned, sat on the ground and barely sparing more than a periodic glance over her latest book, he still had to act like it was real. At least until he could activate it without her there. His class could wait for now.
He'd get to it later.
/- - - - - - - - - -/
"Welcome to class, everyone."
Adam hoped his introduction sounded more confident than he felt. Stood in front of a room full of people, most of which were older than him, Adam was completely out of his element. Knowing a few of them personally hardly helped. Blake had claimed a seat up front and waited eagerly, a fresh notebook opened and pen at the ready. Adam scanned the room, easily picking out a handful of other familiar faces. Jakob. Bane. Yuma and Trifa. Most of the class was made up of White Fang members he'd never met before. Strangely enough, it was easier to focus on them than the ones he knew better.
"Sienna asked me to teach you all the basics of direct combat, specifically melee combat against both Grimm and human opponents." Ranged combat wasn't exactly his specialty and they had plenty of people more qualified for that. Melee combat, though, wasn't something they focused on very much. "Our priority is teaching you how to defend yourselves in the event an opponent gets too close." A hand shot up suddenly from the back. Adam wasn't surprised to see it belonged to Jakob. "Yes?"
"Why are we inside, then?" Jakob looked around the small classroom, earning a few nods of agreement. "Shouldn't we be outside with, you know, weapons and stuff?"
Adam whispered a silent thank you to Kaito. He'd pulled Adam aside two days ago to go over Adam's plans and offer some advice. The first thing he recommended was not rushing directly into active training, both so he could establish some ground rules and to make sure his students were serious about their training. "We'll get there," Adam promised with an easy smile, "but fighting is about more than just learning how to swing a sword or aim a gun. A sharp mind is often deadlier than a sharp sword."
Several people nodded appreciatively at his words, never knowing they weren't his at all. Between Kaito and Jean, he had a lot of material to draw on.
Most of the hour was spent going over the basics of his class, from goals to sparring rules and anything else he could think of. With Kaito's help, he'd developed a detailed outline of topics for lectures, but those could wait until later. Things like types of weapons and the pros and cons of each were best saved for another time. Instead, he spoke of safety procedures during spars, terminology, scheduling, and even exercise recommendations for those looking to practice outside of class, which he highly encouraged. Just showing up to learn wasn't enough. Those that were serious - those that truly wanted more - would have to fight for it.
"I guess that's enough talking for today. Maybe we'd do better with a demonstration." His class certainly perked up at the idea. Good. He'd always been more of a man of action. Once they got settled into a routine, he planned to spend far less time cooped up inside talking about fighting. He'd let his sword do the talking later. "Before we head outside, anybody have any questions?"
Adam silently prayed no one would, only for half a dozen hands to raise at once. Seriously? He'd only asked because Kaito told him to. Wouldn't they rather get to the actual fighting than pester him for details? Knowing he couldn't avoid it now, he called on a short woman in the second row. "Are we going to be expected to fight?"
"That's the best way to learn." Not to mention the only way he knew how. "We'll mostly use wooden swords starting out, so there shouldn't be much to worry about." The relieved look on her face told him he'd made the right call there. Last thing he needed was some overzealous students hacking each other to bits. He turned to a young man in the front. "You."
"How'd you get your aura?"
"That's…not really important." His class didn't agree. They waited eagerly, leaving him in an awkward silence. "Fine. Someone unlocked it for me. My mentor. He taught me how to use it."
"So are you gonna unlock our auras?" Murmurs broke out around the room at the idea.
Adam shot them down before they could spread any further. "No." He'd never seen so many adults pout like children before. "I don't actually know how," Adam admitted before they could turn on him.
"How'd she get hers then?" This guy certainly was a talkative one.
Blake ducked her head a little as all eyes turned to her. Eyes fixed on the ground, she quietly answered, "My parents unlocked it for me."
Before anyone could dare to ask the obvious next question, Adam decided to step in. "Aura isn't just a shield you get to use whenever you want. It takes months of training just to learn the basics and a lot longer to use it properly." At least, it had for him. He couldn't help but wonder if Blake had figured it out faster. "More than that, it's also a Grimm magnet." The enthusiasm died an ugly death at those words. Adam recalled some of his early lessons from Jean when he'd been just as gung-ho about aura. "Grimm can sense people with aura easier, which means having it unlocked makes you a target. Probably best you know how to defend yourself first. But if any of you still want to go demand the leader of the White Fang personally unlock your aura for you…good luck."
Blake smiled up at him for the save as even the original questioner backed down. He had a feeling none of them were brave or foolish enough to think they'd be able to make demands of the Belladonnas. Sure, they'd unlocked Blake's aura, but she sort of outranked everyone else in importance when it came to her parents.
"Now, if everyone could head outside, we'll-"
"I've got a question, teach!"
Adam sighed as his easy escape vanished before his eyes. "Yes, Jakob?" Because who else would be so bold? Now that he thought of it, he should probably pull his friend aside later and make sure he didn't go charging up to Ghira and demand his aura or something stupid like that.
Jakob's grin was the only warning Adam received before his friend said, "Tell us about Shidekobushi."
Nope. Nuh-uh. No way. He would not be sucked into one of Jakob's stupid plots to make him seem larger than life again. "That's not a question."
"Fine. What happened in Shidekobushi?" Maybe Adam should use Jakob as a training dum- sparring partner. Maybe being trounced in the ring would knock some sense into him. "How did you kill all those Grimm and even scare off a Huntsman?"
And just like that, his day was ruined. Probably everyone in the room had heard the stories by now, yet they still looked in awe at the words. There'd be no denying or shutting down his question. Well, if Jakob wanted an answer, then Adam would give him one. "Training. Years of it. And if we all go outside, I'll show you just what it took to get this far."
That certainly shut Jakob up, even if it didn't wipe the smile off his face. Adam led the group outside to the training rings, where Kaito waited for him. They'd agreed to work together on the practical training, mainly because of how many people had signed up. A second set of eyes would be invaluable.
"Kaito will be assisting in training all of you. Whatever he tells you to do, do it." A rack of wooden swords stood nearby, pulled out specifically for their class. Adam snatched two of them and approached the scattered crowd of suddenly nervous students. No one wanted to be the first spar, especially with everyone watching. Thankfully, he'd planned for that in advance. "Blake, you mind helping me demonstrate for everyone?"
He'd warned her in advance, of course, but no one missed how excitedly she nodded, nor the ease with which she caught the training sword he tossed at her. In terms of skill, she likely outclassed just about everyone here, not to mention she might be the only one with her aura unlocked. If any of his students could hope to put on a good show against him, it would be her.
"Spars will begin only when instructed. More importantly, they end when either side yields or if Kaito or I say so. Anyone caught breaking the rules will face me in the ring, and I won't hold back." He would, but they didn't need to know that. That didn't mean he wouldn't still beat the living crap out of anyone who dared to cause trouble, not to mention the rest of the class would get to watch. Public humiliation could be a strong motivator. "If you step out of the ring, you lose. If you're disarmed, you lose. If you yield, you lose. Those that do well get extra training. Those that don't get extra laps. You ready Blake?"
"Ready," Blake answered. They both knew what the outcome would be, but that wouldn't stop Blake from giving it her best shot, even with an unfamiliar weapon. To be fair, he'd been telling her for months to work on her basic swordplay.
Time to see if she'd heeded his advice.
"Begin!"
The fight lasted longer than it should have, and they both knew it. As much as Adam pretended to take her seriously, Blake had fought him enough to recognize him holding back. He let her take the early initiative and focused on defense, giving her a chance to show off her speed and ruthlessness against an unwavering defense. With how much younger she was than most of her classmates, Adam figured she could use the early boost.
Not too much of one, though. No one would take him seriously as a trainer if he lost to someone so young. Eventually, he turned the tables and began ramping up his own attacks. In no time, she was the one on the back foot, desperately blocking and creating distance that Adam closed just as fast. He picked her apart every step of the way, eventually leaving her the unenviable choice of an open strike or a ring out.
She wisely chose to dodge back.
"Blake is eliminated by ring out," Kaito announced to a light round of applause.
"Well done, Blake," Adam followed up, partly to soften the blow of defeat but mainly to head off whatever nagging she had planned to guilt him into more training. Surely their spar had to count, right? "We'll be pairing everyone up for an initial spar." He almost laughed at how nervous everyone looked. "This is just to get an idea of where you're at. There's no pressure today, but I expect you all to take this seriously."
"Like you just did?"
It would've been easy to ignore the sarcastic comment. Maybe play it off as him not quite catching it or something. But there was one thing Sienna had stressed to him about taking this role. He had to have control. If he wanted to lead, whether in the classroom or on a mission to Atlas - a rather unsubtle warning - then he had to command the respect of those around him.
Even if it meant calling out his friends.
"What was that, Jakob?"
Jakob's mouth clicked shut, but the damage was already done. Silence fell over the group as a few went so far as to back away from the cutup, distancing themselves before they could be caught in the teacher's wrath. The fact that said teacher was much younger than some of them didn't seem to matter much. All that mattered was Jakob was in trouble and they didn't want to join him.
Jakob might not have been the brightest bulb in the box, but even he knew he was screwed. He also wasn't one to back down from a challenge, even from someone he knew could end him in an instant. "I thought we were gonna get to see you fight."
Adam looked at Blake, then back to Jakob. "Did you miss the spar Blake and I just had?"
"I saw you playing around with the kid, but I thought we'd get to see a real fight." Uh oh. Adam didn't have to look to know Blake wasn't taking it well. "Why not take on the old guy? Or Sienna? Fight someone challenging, not just some little girl."
The gap around Jakob widened as a new glare settled on him. If looks could kill, Blake would be guilty of murder a hundred times over. Adam turned to see she was actually baring her teeth, likely imagining the best way to choke the life out of his imbecilic friend. Worse, Adam couldn't blame her. Whatever her faults - and boy were there plenty - she'd worked hard to get to where she was. Jakob couldn't hope to hold a candle to her in the ring.
He probably should've felt bad for the plan that hatched in his head, but it was too perfect to pass up. "Alright. If you think she's such a pushover, then it seems we've found our first pairing for the day." Jakob froze at the announcement. As dumb as he could be sometimes, even he knew fighting Adam's little trainee wouldn't go well. Despite her age, she had far more experience than him, not to mention aura and something to prove. Oh yeah, and he'd just insulted her to her face, making things about a thousand times worse. To add insult to injury, Adam turned to Blake - not Jakob - and instructed, "Try not to kill him."
"No promises," she growled back through clenched teeth.
"Everyone else, line up! Kaito and I will assign you partners." No one wanted a mismatch like Jakob and hurried to comply before they could draw Adam's attention. "Once everyone's ready, we'll get started."
"Um…Adam?"
"Yes, Jakob?"
Jakob pulled him aside, lowering his frantic voice as he glanced back at his opponent. Her eyes followed his every movement, promising nothing but pain and suffering the moment the fight began. "Hey, buddy. I was thinkin'...maybe I could have a different partner? Someone a little more my size?"
Adam patted his shoulder reassuringly. "Don't worry, Jakob. She's tougher than she looks. She can handle it."
"Yeah, not what I meant." Adam smiled innocently. Maybe a little too innocently for Jakob's liking. "She's already had a fight, right? Maybe she could sit out and help you…you know, observe everyone? Yeah, that! It wouldn't be fair to make her fight twice."
"Maybe you're right." Adam enjoyed the hopeful look in Jakob's eye before he pulled the rug out from under him. "I'll check. Hey Blake! You okay doing a second spar?" Blake didn't answer, too focused on plotting her victim's demise and trying to telepathically send the images to him. "Yeah, I think she'll be okay."
"But I might not be."
"Don't worry," Adam said as he turned Jakob around and shoved him into the ring. "After all, she's just some little girl."
/- - - - - - - - - -/
Lunch brought a much needed break for Adam as he wrapped up the first day of class and dismissed everyone. Other than his spar with Blake, he'd barely done anything, yet he still felt exhausted. Their initial fights had been a mess, but a few showed promise. A quick lecture at the end about not getting discouraged at a single loss, followed by some demonstrations from Kaito on some basic drills to practice had carried them through to the end as a crowd of tired, sweaty, and somewhat smelly faunus scattered for the afternoon, most of them heading for the locker rooms to clean up. Adam made a mental note of anyone who went straight to lunch. Either they hadn't pushed themselves hard enough or they were about to stink the place up.
Either way, he knew who would be running extra laps tomorrow.
Adam stayed behind to straighten up a bit after class, putting the training equipment away and going over everything with Kaito. The old man assured him it'd gone well despite the lack of experience of his students. Most of them had never actually handled a sword before, even a wooden one. Kaito rattled off a few names of people he thought would go far, and Adam wasn't overly surprised to recognize most of the names. Blake, of course, but she'd been training for a while now with both of them. Yuma and Trifa had actual combat experience and it showed. Bane's raw strength, honed by years of wielding pickaxes, chainsaws, and other handheld tools, proved an even scarier force in the ring than Adam expected. Even Jakob had done well, holding out longer than Adam would've guessed against a rather vengeful Blake.
Speaking of which, he'd have to check on his friend later when he got out of the infirmary. Bane had promised to keep an eye on him. As a friend, Adam should've felt bad for putting Jakob up against such a furious opponent. As a teacher, he probably wasn't meant to show such favoritism. But he couldn't help the pleased smile as he remembered the methodical thrashing Jakob had earned himself.
Blake was good for her age. It was easy to underestimate her when he beat her in every spar, but the disparity between her and most of the class had become obvious the moment her fight started. She hadn't just won. She'd controlled the fight every step of the way, leaving Jakob no chance from the moment the fight started right until the very end. She could've ended it at any moment, but Blake took great care to not let it end. If Jakob dropped his sword, she waited for him to pick it back up. If he neared the edge of the ring, she herded him back to the middle. He even tried to step out on purpose at one point, just to end his suffering, only for Blake to cut him off. His suffering only came to an end after a particularly cruel blow to the head. Almost everyone else had finished their spars and got to watch Kaito call the match. Jakob never even landed a single blow.
Kaito eventually chased Adam off to go get some food while he locked up the supply room. As usual, he headed for the small cafeteria. Food there was free for any White Fang member. He could probably afford to eat out when he wanted, what with his recently increased pay and his lack of any real expenses, but wasting lien on slightly better food when a free meal was even closer never really appealed to him. It was no surprise to find most of his students there, too.
What was surprising was how people treated him all of the sudden. He'd gotten used to being seen as some sort of hero - well, as used to that as someone could get - and even the annoying glances and stares at his scar had become commonplace. Honestly, he hated that the most. They'd all seen him around and knew about his scar. It wasn't new. It didn't change. So why were they always looking?
Something felt different today. The chatter in the room died down when he entered. People watched him and whispered. But that wasn't the part that weirded him out.
The weird part was when people spoke to him.
"Are we meeting outside tomorrow?"
"Will we have different partners next time?"
"Thanks for the lesson today, sir."
Sir? Sir?! She had to be at least ten years older than him, and she still called him sir. It seemed like everyone from class had to say something when they saw him, but no one really spoke to him. Just a bunch of random questions or empty comments about class. Then they'd hurry over to join their friends, leaving him sat alone at an empty table. No one wanted to sit with the teacher. How could he be so popular and alone at the same time?
Jakob would've joined him, but he was getting checked out by a nurse. Knowing Jakob, he was probably checking out the nurse in return. Bane was with him. He almost wished Sienna would wander in and join him at the teacher's table. Even the Albains would be a welcome relief to the awkwardness of being the most popular loner in existence.
"Mind if I join you?"
Adam could've cheered at Blake's arrival, but that would've been a little weird. "Sure. Plenty of room."
"I noticed." Wait, was he being pitied by a preteen? It should've been embarrassing, but right now, he'd take the brat over nothing. "Sorry about earlier."
What did she have to be sorry for? She hadn't done anything wrong. ""No, I'm sorry."
"For what?"
"For Jakob," Adam said. "He's…he's a bit of an idiot. I'm pretty sure there's no filter between his brain and his mouth." If there was, it sure wasn't doing its job. "The things he said-"
"He wasn't wrong." Blake shrugged as she kept her eyes on her food. "You did take it easy on me at the start, and I am just a little girl." She looked up to him with a pitiful excuse of a smile. "You didn't have to stand up for me like that."
"Stop it." Adam wouldn't let her talk like that. "You're not just some little girl. Everything you have, you've earned. Maybe I took it easy at the start," or definitely, "but you didn't need it. You're a strong fighter, but you didn't get that way because of your name or luck. You've put in the work, and they need to learn to respect that."
"Oh, they respect it now, all right." Adam didn't understand, so Blake explained. "After today's fight, they're all afraid of me."
"No they're not."
"They are," Blake assured him. "Why do you think I'm at the teacher's table?" Ha! He knew it! No one wanted to be the uncool kid hanging out with a teacher.
Then why was Blake sitting with him?
"They're not afraid of you," Adam tried, though after seeing her rip Jakob a new one, maybe they had reason to be.
"They are. Someone even asked me to take it easy on them if we got paired up next time." As much as she complained, the amused quirk of her lips let him know she at least somewhat enjoyed the fear. "I have a feeling there won't be many people willing to spar with me."
That could be a problem. She couldn't just stand to the side and do nothing during spars. They'd still have some drills, lectures, and practical training that would benefit her, but he planned on making a daily spar a requirement for everyone. Should he use her as a punishment on anyone that acted out? While it might be effective, it wouldn't exactly be fair to Blake to make her the boogeyman for her classmates. They might catch up a little in time, but he doubted many of them would get close enough to give her a real challenge anytime soon.
Which meant he only had one option. One he'd absolutely regret later. "I'll spar with you, then." Blake's ears perked up excitedly as he dug his hole deeper. "You won't gain much fighting people below your level, so you'll train with me instead."
"Won't you need to watch the other spars?"
"We'll do it after class," Adam explained. "Or during Kaito's lessons. It's all stuff he's already taught you, so you won't miss much." He'd just be stuck standing around then anyways. A spar sounded better than sitting through basic lessons again. "Maybe you can even help us oversee the other spars a bit."
"Like an assistant?"
"Sure." That sounded better than unpaid labor. "I'll talk to Kaito later and let him know. Get to class early tomorrow and we'll go over everything."
Blake crashed into his side, wrapping her small arms around him in a hug. "Thank you!" Huh. Guess the whole being singled out thing was bothering her more than she cared to admit. Adam wasn't really sure who to blame for that. Blake for getting offended and going a little overboard? Jakob for insulting her? Himself for letting the two fight afterwards?
Jakob. Definitely Jakob.
Unsure what to do with his new attachment, Adam reached up and patted Blake's head. She leaned in a little more before suddenly going stiff and lurching back into her seat, eyes fixed on the table again. He couldn't really blame her. Hugging your teacher would be pretty embarrassing. Almost as bad as calling your teacher mommy or daddy.
You could've called me mommy. I wouldn't have minded. And just like that, the moment was ruined. Aw, don't hold out on her, Adam. Maybe she wants more than a hug. No. Just no. Age difference aside, Blake was like a little sister to him. A really annoying little sister. You're already teaching her one-on-one. Maybe she could use some private tutoring. Just the two of you alone in a room. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were copying me. Adam copied Blake's pose, staring a hole through the table as he tried to shut the voice in his head up. What he would give for an off switch right now. Maybe you should ask her if she-
"Here."
Adam looked over to find Blake holding out a folded up strip of ribbon. He wasn't sure what it was for, but if it shut Alyssa up, he'd gladly take her strange gift. Adam unfolded it, holding it up in front of him when nothing fell out. It had to be around a yard long. In the middle, it looked like there were a pair of narrow slits cut out.
"I heard you were going to Atlas," Blake mentioned. It barely surprised Adam she knew. "I thought…you know, with your scar and all, they'll recognize you. Maybe you could use that to cover it up?"
Anyone else suggesting he cover his face might've earned a fist to the face, but somehow Blake made it almost touching. She was right, too. Atlas might not expect him to show up on their shores, but one look at his face would raise every alarm. There weren't many bull faunus with an SDC brand across their face.
At least, he hoped there weren't.
Adam held it up to his face, lining up the openings until he could see out of them properly. He'd probably need to open them up a little further, especially on his good eye - his left eye was still next to useless - but it wasn't bad. If nothing else, it was a good first step.
Blake looked less comfortable as she added, "Plus, I've seen the way people look at you. At your scar. You always look upset when they do, so I thought this might help."
So, she'd picked up on that too, had she? Not hard, considering how often people stared. No one liked being stared at like that. Hiding his face felt like covering up what the SDC had done, but leaving it on display did nothing but make him feel awkward. Maybe wearing a mask wouldn't be a bad idea.
"Thanks, Blake," Adam said as he lowered the ribbon and tucked it in his pocket. He still had training with Kaito in the afternoon. He'd need to get used to wearing it before he tried it in a fight. "This…this means a lot."
More than she knew. Blake's gift was more than just a kind gesture. It was a reminder of what he planned to attempt. The Atlas mission was probably a ways away still, but he couldn't afford to wait. Invading the most hostile Kingdom on Remnant wasn't an undertaking to be taken lightly. If he did, he'd find himself arrested or killed in a heartbeat.
His best chance of making it work would rely on stealth and speed. The longer it took them to recognize him, the more time he'd have to do what needed to be done and get second counted against the most heavily armed Kingdom in history who all knew exactly what he looked like. He needed to change that, and while a simple mask wouldn't be enough, it was a good start. He already had a new weapon and now a new mask. Why stop there?
Maybe it was time for a rebrand.
Somewhere, Yang is cackling at the terrible wordplay.
Still scratching the surface on Adam's Semblance here, but I imagine mastering a Semblance can be a real pain. Especially ones like Yang's and Adam's that require some sort of charging and activation. I still have no idea how someone like Qrow or Clover discovers theirs unless there's some sort of instinctive element to it. I mean, how would you know you have good/bad luck and it's not just a coincidence? Did Yang have people punch her a bunch in training? Did Raven one day swing her sword and freak out at the portal that formed? Did she just walk through it and terrify someone else?
And now I have a stupid idea of Raven thinking about Tai in Beacon while training and accidentally opening a portal, only to walk through and find herself in the shower with him or something. Or poke the portal with her sword to test it and hear a scream across campus from the teammate she just stabbed. Feel like there needs to be a crack fic exploring how each character discovered their Semblance now.
Next chapter: Adam works on his new look.