August is off to a crazy start. On top of a bunch of medical appointments and other issues, I'm trying to sort out the AC issue from last week. To their credit, the company that installed the UV light and caused all the trouble were very quick to respond. Already made me a settlement offer above what I expected from them, but gonna see if they will add a little more to cover the repair bill as well. Still, while I'm not happy that all this happened, I can at least respect them making a legitimate offer so quickly. Still lost my business, of course, but I get to stay pleasant and resolve the problem respectfully. Almost a shame, since I don't get to go full angry Goose very often, but I'm glad I don't have to.
Adam had problems. A lot of problems.
"Again."
"But I'm not lefthanded."
"Again."
As always, his complaints went ignored by his new taskmaster. Kaito watched him with a critical eye as Adam reloaded the handgun and took aim…with his left hand. He'd started with his right and quickly proved himself, but before he even had a chance to revel in his triumph, Kaito demanded he switch hands. He'd never shot with his left before, and it showed. Every day since, he practiced with the wrong hand with limited results.
The first two shots missed the target entirely. The third managed to graze the outermost ring. A few others found the target but were all over the place, dotting the target everywhere except the center.
"Again."
Adam snarled as he slammed the gun down. "Why? I can shoot just fine with my right."
"Which is why you must practice with your left." Kaito stared him down until Adam began manually loading the trio of spent magazines in front of him, even as his new instructor took advantage of the pause to continue lecturing. "You fight with a sword in your right, but have no use for your left. I plan to change that."
"Couldn't I just use a shield or something?"
"Any idiot can hold a shield," Kaito said dismissively. "An offhand weapon suits you better, especially if you face someone with more range."
"Like Sienna?"
"Like Sienna."
It always came back to that. One fight. Kaito had seen one fight and had already picked him apart, building a training regiment around even the tiniest flaw he could find. Shooting practice for range. Cardio, box jumps, and hill sprints for speed. He'd even spent half an hour bouncing a ball against a wall and catching it to work on coordination and reflexes.
When Kaito offered to train Adam, he'd assumed they'd focus on his Semblance. Maybe do some spars or something to draw out his new power and learn how to control it better. So far, Kaito hadn't so much as handled a weapon in their sessions. Instead, it was just non-stop exercise and practice until he was too tired to keep going. The fun didn't end there, though. They'd sit around and chat, followed by meditation. Kaito claimed he needed to become more in tune with his soul.
Adam wanted to become more in tune with his bed.
It wasn't just the exhaustive training he had a problem with. Winning his fight with Sienna hadn't just earned him a trainer. It earned him a following. Everyone in the White Fang heard about his fight. Ghira loved hearing him talk about beating Sienna, taking far too much pleasure in knowing he'd bested their best fighter. Sienna kept dropping unsubtle hints about another spar. Corsac and Fennec…well, actually they hadn't changed much.
The real problem was everyone else. Even now, he could see a handful of people watching him, waiting to see what he'd do next. Eyes watched him wherever he went. Conversation died when he arrived. It was just like Orostachys but a thousand times worse. Some revered him from a distance, whispering tales of his greatness. Others approached him, thanking him for his help or other such nonsense. He hadn't helped any of them. A few even asked for his autograph!
The Hero of Orostachys. He'd gotten tired of that name. Worse, they'd started giving him other monikers. The Branded Bandit had a better ring to it than the Seared Savior, but he hated them all. He was just Adam - a faunus with terrible luck that fate seemed to enjoy torturing.
Except he wasn't just some random faunus anymore. They saw him as some sort of mythical hero. He couldn't go anywhere on the island without people recognizing him. They didn't recognize him, though. Not all of him.
They recognized his scar.
Where the people of Menagerie had been fine with it before, they now revered it as the mark of their idol. When people talked to him, he'd spot their eyes straying to his brand over and over again. He caught the mix of pitying and vengeful looks sent his way. Children would point him out, having no doubt heard of the marked hero in their midst, only to be loudly shushed and reprimanded by embarrassed parents. Somehow that bothered him more than the kids' behavior.
As painful as Kaito's training could be, at least it helped him ignore the new fame he'd achieved. The White Fang hardly helped, spreading the word of his membership far and wide. Their numbers had seen a sudden jump as a result. He'd even spotted some of the workers from Orostachys donning the black and white. Jakob had been the first, naturally, though he'd only barely edged out Bane. All of his crew - even Maurice - had joined within a few days of him signing up. Most of the other workers had, too, though not all of them would be staying in Kuo Kuana.
"We have supporters in every Kingdom," Sienna explained when Adam asked, "but they are untrained. Unorganized. Instead, we have a small cell of members in every major city to coordinate efforts better and maintain contact with us here."
"They are our eyes and ears among the Kingdoms," Corsac added, he and his brother present for his meeting with Sienna as they always were.
"And our voice," Fennec added. "Through them, we can have a much wider reach in even the most unwelcoming of Kingdoms."
"Atlas?" Adam hazarded a guess. Their nods confirmed his suspicions.
"We have operations in every Kingdom," Sienna said, nodding to a map on the wall. "Recruitment. Supplies. Demonstrators. Funding. What we don't have - what we need - is a symbol. Someone to rally our more hesitant members and inspire them."
Subtlety was not one of Sienna's strengths. "And you want me to be that symbol."
Sienna nodded with a pleased grin on her face. "Exactly."
"Why me?" Adam questioned. "Why not you? Or Ghira?"
"Ghira was our symbol, once upon a time," Sienna sighed. "But his time is past. The White Fang has changed, and he refuses to change with it. As for me…I'm too well known. I can lead people, but I can't inspire them. Not like you do."
Like he…oh gods. She wanted him as some sort of recruitment tool, didn't she? Or worse, plaster his face on one of those recruitment posters or have him do some silly rally in the other Kingdoms to draw in more members. It didn't help that it was already working in Menagerie. Bad enough everyone here practically revered his scar. Would they turn it into the ultimate recruitment tool next? He really didn't need to have posters of him circulating the Kingdoms.
It only took a few seconds for him to remember Mistral already had his face plastered everywhere.
Still, if he wanted to get closer to Sienna and her followers, then this sounded like the best path forward. "What would you need me to do?"
"For now, nothing more than you're already doing." Driving more faunus in Menagerie to join. She had to be loving his impact. "I believe Ghira wants you to help him with a little project of his own." Crap! Did she already know about him spying on her? "Some sort of press release or something, if I'm not mistaken."
He did? Wait, hadn't he said something about that when they first met? Something about letting the world know what happened at Orostachys? "I think so."
"Good. Ghira believes it will show people the horrors of the SDC camps and force them to change."
"You don't think it will?"
"We've been telling people about the camps for years," Sienna explained with a hint of disappointment. "Everyone knows something's not right there, but no one does anything. They all just sit around and talk. What has talk gotten us? What did all their talk do for you?"
Nothing. Ferric and his minions had been left to do as they pleased while people back in Mistral shook their heads and moved on with their lives. Not one of them had so much as raised a finger to help. "You want me to refuse, then?"
"I want you to push for more," Sienna corrected. "Pictures. Video. Anything that shows your face. Show the world just how cruel the SDC can be to faunus."
"But didn't you say that wouldn't change any minds?"
"It won't change any human minds," Sienna answered. "At least, not enough to do anything. What it will do is show faunus everywhere just how far their so-called equality actually goes. Let them see the truth of our suffering and they'll understand it could happen to them next."
"Driving them straight to the White Fang," Adam said, seeing the real motive for her plans.
"Or just away from the SDC. As vile as they are, faunus still voluntarily sign up to work for them." Like Adam had, though he'd been desperate at the time. Then again, how many others had turned to them as a last resort? "Let them see the cost of bowing the knee to the Schnee before it's too late. If nothing else, you might help save a few faunus from following in your footsteps."
Put like that, her goals sounded a lot less antagonistic. Sure, they'd see more people join them, but so what? If the White Fang were looking out for faunus everywhere, then would it really be so bad to see more people support them? And if it meant the SDC couldn't find as many workers, they'd struggle to keep up with demands for dust. He'd hit them where it hurt most - their profits. It wouldn't make up for what they'd done to him, but every little bit counted.
"I'll do it."
"Good. I knew we could count on you, Adam."
One thing still bothered him, though. "You really think nothing will happen when people learn the truth?" Sure, they could make up stories about Orostachys and how the workers were treated, but even the firmest SDC supporter would be against branding faunus, wouldn't they? They'd have to investigate the SDC and force some sort of change.
Sienna shook her head. "I think a few people might complain, but that's it. Change does not come easily. People are too comfortable with the status quo. Change has to be fought for. You have to push and push until something starts to give, then push even harder to make it stick. That's something Ghira doesn't seem to understand." It always came back to their little feud, somehow. "You'll see. They'll sweep this all under the rug and life will go on as normal."
/- - - - - - - - - -/
Adam had problems. Kaito's brutal training regiment. His ever growing following. Being caught in the middle of Ghira and Sienna. But none of those were quite as annoying as the pesky little problem waiting for him the moment he stepped outside.
"Train me."
A pesky, black haired, cat-eared problem that he just couldn't seem to get rid of.
"No."
"Train me," Blake repeated, stomping her foot indignantly.
Every afternoon, ever since his fight with Sienna, Blake tracked him down with her single minded demand. Training. Every day, he said no.
And every day she ignored his refusal.
"You owe me," Blake argued.
"What are you on about now?"
Blake jumped in front of Adam, cutting him off. He had to bite down on the urge to keep walking and run her over. "You stole training time from me."
"I didn't-"
"Kaito's too busy training you to focus on me as much anymore. You robbed me of valuable training, so you owe me."
Such simple logic. Simply annoying. "I don't owe you anything, squirt. If you've got a problem with Kaito, take it up with him."
"I did, and he said to talk to you." Son of a- "Besides, all Kaito ever does is make me practice my forms or run laps all day. I want real training. Combat training."
"Then ask Sienna. Maybe she'll teach you." Better her than him. Sienna could deal with the constant nagging, not to mention the ire from Ghira and Kali. Adam had a feeling they wouldn't like him training her how to fight. Plus, they already hated Sienna. Why add another person to their list? Adam stepped to the side, hoping to escape his tiny tormentor.
Blake hopped in front of him, cutting him off again. "Sienna used to train me, but she doesn't have time anymore." That sounded an awful lot like something that wasn't his problem. Or shouldn't have been. "And you beat Sienna, which means you're the strongest person here. And I want to learn from the best."
Oh, so now she hoped to butter him up a bit? Probably should've led with that. "I didn't really beat her." The denial flowed out easily enough, especially since it might save him from an annoying little sidekick. "It was a lucky hit on her weapon. Not sure I'll have as much luck next time." And he was certain there'd be a next time. Sienna had already been hinting at it. In other words, she'd all but scheduled their next spar at this point.
Adam dodged to one side, only to kick back the other way. Blake took the bait, stumbling as he slipped past her before she could recover from the feint. See? He'd taught her something already.
Blake didn't take the hint, chasing after him as the nagging continued. "There's no such thing as luck in a battle. There's winning and losing, and you won." As much as it pained him, Adam had to admit she was right. The only question was who she was repeating, Sienna or Kaito. His money was on Kaito. "You won. She lost."
"It doesn't matter."
Blake snagged his sleeve, yanking him to a stop. "It does." If she thought her scowl intimidated him, she had another thing coming. "I've never seen anyone beat Sienna before. I…I want to beat her too. I want to be strong…like you."
"Even if I'm some evil spy for your father?" Blake's eyes darted to the ground with a frustrated grunt. He knew that would get a reaction out of her. Despite how she begged for his help, she still stared daggers at him every chance she got and avoided him like the plague at the house. "Why do you wanna fight, anyway?"
"I don't want to fight," Blake muttered childishly before looking up with a scowl. "But I don't want to be helpless, either. If someone wants to hurt us, then I need to be ready to defend myself."
Hm. Self-defense. That was something Adam could get behind. As much as Ghira may have wanted peace, there were always people out there that wouldn't give it to him. Humans bent on violence against the faunus, no matter how innocent they might be. What happened when Blake faced one of them and couldn't defend herself?
Protect my daughter. Those had been Ghira's exact words, hadn't they? He couldn't be around all the time to keep an eye on her. Wouldn't it be better if Blake could protect herself a little? Even if he only taught her enough to hold out for help, it had to be better than leaving her to fend for herself. Plus, if he trained her, he could help convince her to tone things down a bit. If Ghira wanted him to get close to his daughter, then training her might just be the best course of action.
"Fine."
"You don't even have to train me that much. Just a few-" Blake froze mid-sentence as her brain finally processed his one word response. Her eyes lit up a second later. "You'll do it?"
"On one condition," Adam hedged, holding up a finger. Blake leaned back, wary of the digit as if it would attack. Smart girl. She knew better than to assume the best. "I want to know more about Sienna."
Blake's ears flattened at the request. "You want me to spy on my friends?" Friends, eh? Adam wondered if that went both directions. "I'm no traitor. I'd never betray the White Fang like that."
"I'm part of the White Fang too, you know. Not like I'm asking you to run to the SDC with dirt on her." Not to mention Sienna wasn't in charge of the White Fang. Ghira was. At least officially. Blake's reaction hinted at her having a little more sway than he realized. "Besides, it's nothing bad. Just little things."
"Like what?"
Adam shrugged. "She wants to spar again. I wouldn't mind knowing a little more about her fighting style. Anything that might give me the advantage, like what her Semblance is."
"That's cheating!"
"Think of it as information gathering," Adam said with an easy grin. "Intelligence. Think of this as your first lesson. Going into a fight blind is a bad idea. So is half-blind," Adam scratched at his left cheek, right near the edge of his scar. "But I'll take what I can get."
Adam wanted more than that, of course. Sure, he wanted to win their next fight, but that was just the start. If he could gain her trust, she might tell him more - things Ghira might find useful. He still wasn't fully sold on one side or the other, but Ghira provided food and shelter. All Sienna had done was fight him and turn him into a recruitment prop.
Right now, in the battle for Adam's allegiance, Ghira was winning.
Which meant he needed to start returning that favor. Protecting Blake and gathering intel on Sienna would be a great way to get things rolling. Blake looked unsure, so Adam figured he would speed things up a bit. "But if that's too much for you to handle, I guess you'll just have to keep training with Kaito. I'm sure he'll get around to practical lessons someday."
"I'll do it!" Blake blurted out. ""I'll help, but only if you promise to train me. Real training. Stuff I can actually use."
"De-"
"Tomorrow," Blake hastily added. "We start tomorrow. Afterwards, I'll tell you what I know. Deal?"
Persistent little thing. Had Adam ever been so desperate? He cringed at memories of him chasing Jean around and attacking him to force training. Worse. He'd been worse. Jean would laugh himself hoarse to see Adam now.
"Deal," Adam said, offering his hand. She shook it without hesitation. "Meet me on the training grounds at nine and we'll get started."
Blake nodded once. "Got it." With her promise secured, she hurried away, clearly excited about whatever training Adam would give her.
Adam smiled as she left. Poor girl had no idea what she'd signed up for.
/- - - - - - - - - -/
Telling Ghira he'd be training the man's daughter to fight wasn't part of the plan. No matter how Adam justified it in his head, he had a feeling Ghira wouldn't be quite so understanding. What Ghira didn't know couldn't hurt him.
Ghira knew.
"You did what?!" Ghira roared, slamming his hands down on the table at dinner. Adam flinched at the sudden, yet expected, explosion. After all, how did he expect the man to react to Blake's sudden announcement?
"He's gonna train me to fight," Blake repeated, further condemning him. Adam should've put another condition on his agreement. Namely that she had to keep her big mouth shut around her very large, very angry father. A man whose eyes were focused squarely on the only non-family member of their table.
"May I speak to you…alone?" The way he snarled the last word made it clear Adam wouldn't enjoy their little chat. Or yelling match. Heck, they might even come to blows.
Cooler heads prevailed, saving him from becoming Ghira's punching bag - at least for now. "Ghira." The single word, combined with Kali's gentle hand on his arm, convinced Ghira to sit back down and postpone any plans for Adam's demise. "Not at the table."
"When I asked you to look after my daughter, this isn't quite what I had in mind."
"You what?" Great. There went any chance of being sneaky. Blake couldn't seem to decide who to glare at more - Ghira or Adam. Eventually, she settled for her father. "I don't need anyone looking after me."
"Blake, I was only worried that-"
"What? That I'd run off and start killing people? Is that what you think of me?" Ghira recoiled from the words. Worse, he didn't have an answer. Blake shoved herself up from the table. "Well, I can tell when I'm not wanted. I'll be in my room."
Blake turned to leave, spurring Ghira into action. "Blake, wait-"
"No!" Blake whirled to face him once more. "I'm tired of waiting. All we ever do is wait!" Adam sat there awkwardly as the family feud played out around him, doing his best not to move and drag himself into the fray. Blake showed no such mercy. "Forget it. I'll let you and your new favorite faunus get back to business. Maybe he can be the son you always wanted."
Her words hung in the air as she stormed off, shoving her way out the door as the guards hurriedly avoided her path. They sat in stunned silence until Kali sighed and said, "I'll go talk to her," before excusing herself from the room, leaving Adam alone with Ghira and a couple of ever-present guards.
Whatever anger Ghira had for Adam a few minutes ago had vanished, buried under a ton of guilt. "I'm sorry about that. Blake…"
"Don't worry about it," Adam insisted before Ghira could come up with any excuses. Adam hadn't known Blake for very long, but she seemed like a very emotional person. Blunt, too. She wore her emotions on her sleeve and said whatever was on her mind. As annoying as it could be, at least there were no games with her. What you saw was what you got, even if what you got was a petulant little pain in his side.
"Now what is this about training her to fight?" Crap. Ghira hadn't forgotten, though he seemed a lot less likely to murder him this time around. Yay for small mercies!
"She's been begging me to train her ever since I fought Sienna."
"Since you beat her." The small upturn of Ghira's lips proved he still hadn't lost his enjoyment of that story.
"She wouldn't leave me alone, so I told her I'd train her a little." A decision that was already coming back to bite him in the butt. He'd just known Blake would be the death of him. "She's already being trained by Kaito, so I figured a little extra training wouldn't hurt."
"Kaito's a good man," Ghira hummed. "He fought in the Faunus Revolution. Saw more than his fair share of bloodshed. No one's as eager as he is to avoid another war."
"I figured she'd just go and get Sienna to train her if I kept saying no." Ghira didn't look pleased at the idea, earning Adam some more wiggle room. "I mostly trained to fight Grimm, so I can focus more on self-defense. Plus, I told her I'd only do it if she told me about Sienna."
"And she agreed to spy on Sienna for you?"
"I think she'd agree to almost anything for more training." She had drive and wouldn't hesitate to go after what she wanted. He just wished she'd focus on someone else. "Figured I could help her protect herself and get a little more information on what Sienna was up to at the same time." And if he got to knock the little brat around for pestering him so much, then all the better.
Ghira considered his idea for a moment. "While I don't like the idea of using Blake like that, I guess you did it for a good reason. What kind of training are you planning, exactly?"
The vicious kind. "Same training I started on. I'll have her attack me and wear herself out, then force her through some practical drills on defensive fighting and technique. If that doesn't wear her out, I'll just have her run laps until she collapses at the end."
"Hm." Ghira didn't give much away on his thoughts, but he didn't shoot down the idea either. "Well, good luck. As for Sienna, what have you learned so far?"
And just like that, they were back to politics and planning. Adam told him how she knew about the press release Ghira had been working on. The plan was to announce it tomorrow morning as part of a press conference that Ghira held from time to time in front of his mansion. Basically they'd have a couple of local reporters and a whole bunch of scroll recordings on hand, but Ghira said a few larger international outlets had representation on the island. Not officially, of course, since Atlas would complain, but the news would travel in time. Ghira planned to speak a little on what happened at Orostachys and send out the official release that afternoon for everyone to read.
He'd already drafted a copy and just needed to make some final edits. Adam already read it over as well, making some of his own notes. They'd taken a single photo of him, sort of like a mugshot in Adam's mind, and slapped that alongside a headline. It clearly showed the scar from Orostachys, which they made sure to refer to multiple times in the report. The whole thing was clean and clinical in its reporting, followed by calls for investigation into the SDC's practices in all of their camps and punishment for those involved at Orostachys.
Watching Ghira sit at a desk with his reading glasses, sipping his tea while typing away, had been an odd experience. It just didn't seem to fit the rough and ready image such a man carried. Still, he'd churned out a thorough document and clearly had the connections to see the word spread.
Not that it'll do much good. He hated that he couldn't dismiss Sienna's concerns. What good would a strongly worded essay do against the largest company in Remnant? The picture would help, proving what had happened to him, but how long would it take for them to bury a story like that? If they really wanted to make an impact, they needed more than just a single article.
Adam grit his teeth, knowing what he had to do.
"I should speak at the press conference tomorrow."
Ghira arched an eyebrow at the offer. "Why? We've already got your story typed up."
"More exposure," Adam explained. You said there'd be representatives from some of the bigger news outlets, right?"
"Officially, no."
"But they'll be there," Adam finished, earning a nod from Ghira. It made sense. The White Fang had been in the news from time to time back before Adam signed up with the SDC. He'd seen footage of Ghira on some of the TVs when they stopped at hotels, and not just at rallies outside of Menagerie. Reporting was all about having the biggest news faster than anyone else, so getting information directly from Kuo Kuana made sense. "Then let them see me. Let me speak about what I went through. Let them see this." His scar. Because nothing would have as much impact as direct evidence of what went on in that accursed place. "A few minutes of that will do more than some article."
"And what exactly do you plan to say?"
Honestly, Adam hadn't gotten that far in his planning. "I'll just tell them what they did to me and my men. I'll even let you handle the questions afterwards if you want." So that he could control the narrative however he liked. Definitely not so Adam could avoid the worst part of the whole thing.
"I'd leave out the part about you killing those guards," Ghira advised, already warming to the idea.
"Of course."
"Maybe…I guess it's worth a try." Ghira waved a guard forward - one who seemed to always be nearby when Ghira was around. He wore the familiar guard attire of House Belladonna - a similar look to what the higher ranking officers of the White Fang wore - but with a mix of armor across his shoulders, chest, and sides highlighted by yellow fasteners and engravings. The light-colored scar across his right eye - a straight line starting at his hairline and swiping down across his face - stood out against his darker skin, hinting at the combat he'd seen in his time, despite his relatively young appearance. "Saber, send word that we'll have a guest speaker at tomorrow's conference. Let the press know they'll get to hear from the hero of Orostachys directly."
"I'll see it done," Saber agreed, walking briskly out of the room before Adam could complain about the hated title.
"Leave us," Ghira instructed the two guards remaining in the room. They bowed respectfully before slipping out, leaving the two of them alone. It still felt a little weird being treated as some sort of unofficial member of the Belladonna family. The rest of his crew had found places to stay in Kuo Kuana, but Ghira seemed intent on keeping him close for now. "Now then, let us speak about what Sienna has you doing."
The rest of the evening saw him and Ghira discussing everything he'd heard and seen of Sienna over the last few days. Ghira took it all in, occasionally sharing his thoughts on what her movements meant and what they might do to counter any of her more aggressive ideas. For the most part, there wasn't anything too obvious. Like Sienna had said, she didn't really trust him enough yet to give him everything. He'd need to prove himself before they let him into the inner circle.
Adam told him everything, except Sienna's insistence on Adam being more involved in the press release. If Ghira knew his offer came from her, he might've shot it down. Adam just hoped she'd be proven wrong on their effectiveness.
Bit of a short chapter this week, as I'm sort of transitioning into his White Fang involvement and just need to put some things in motion. Looking forward to getting beyond this introductory phase so we can get to the real fun...
Public relations!
Just kidding. I've got a lot of missions and stuff planned beyond the shores of Kuo Kuana, but they aren't gonna send a new recruit out right off the bat. He needs time to ingratiate himself to everyone first and prove his worth. Until then, we'll just relax in Kuo Kuana, though we'll accelerate time a little bit and get to the good stuff soon enough. Meanwhile, Adam will have to decide which faction to throw his lot in with.
Also, did anyone else know that one guard at the Belladonna house has a name? He's the captain of the guards in Menagerie in Volume 5. Saber Rodentia - a gerbil faunus. Names like that make me feel better about some of my ridiculous naming plans. Heck, maybe I should offer to name some minor characters for them. Would fit right in!
Next chapter: Blake's training begins and Adam braves the most fearsome foe - the media.