Ignore the troll as usual

Chapter 11

Ruby saw the crowd outside in one of the training fields and didn't doubt for a second who it was about. Her normal reaction facing crowds of people was to clam up and dither on the outside, but this time she slammed into the back of them and fought her way through like a wild animal, jamming elbows and knees forward to push people out the way. She got her fair share of complaints and nasty names for it and might have apologised normally.

None of this was normal.

Yang and Weiss were somewhere behind her but less able to squirm through as her – Weiss was too polite and Yang was too big. Ruby reached the front alone, pushing through the final people to break into the small opening between the ring and the spectators. It wasn't a raised platform like the indoor arenas Adam was stood upon, but a stretch of grassy field clearly marked with white paint. He stood on one end with a hand on the pommel of his sword, while opposite him stood four people with weapons drawn.

"Adam, no!" she cried out. "You can't!"

Something prevented her running onto the arena. A solid force that wrapped around her midriff and chest like an invisible band. Forward momentum became backward as she was yanked off the arena and back to a tall, blonde woman.

"There will be no interference in the match, Miss Rose." Glynda Goodwitch increased the force of her Semblance when Ruby tried to struggle free. "This is irritating enough without turning it into a four on four brawl. The same goes for you, Miss Xiao-Long and Miss Schnee."

Ruby barely listened. She only had eyes for Adam, but he didn't have eyes for her. Her stupid partner didn't even turn to look at her, nor even to tell her it'd be okay. She knew he'd heard her, which meant he was ignoring her.

"M-Miss Goodwitch!" Weiss panted, finally breaking through the crowd. "Four on one? And they're older students. This is ridiculous and not something-"

"Mr Taurus enforced these terms. Team CRMN accepted them."

"At least let one of us go up there and help," Yang pleaded.

"I will not. Combat while outnumbered is an important skill to learn-"

"In our first month in Beacon!?" Ruby shrieked. "Against a team two years older than us!?"

"-and if you will let me finish, Miss Rose, so is knowing one's limits. Mr Taurus insisted on this. I am here to make sure nothing untoward happens during the bout. You will remain silent or you will be serving detention with me-"

"You hate him!"

"E-Excuse me?" Miss Goodwitch turned on her. "What was that?"

Yang was hissing in her ear to be quiet, but Ruby wasn't having it. Mom always said to stick up for what you believed in, so she squared her shoulders, forced down her fear and met the woman's gaze head on.

"I said, you hate him! A-And you never gave him a chance. You've hated him from the start and-"

"Miss Rose, you will be silent. You know nothing of what you're talking about."

"I know my partner is being bullied by his teach-"

"Detention." Miss Goodwitch closed her eyes and turned back to the fight. With a wave of her hand, she was dismissed. "You, Miss Rose, will be serving detention with me tomorrow evening. Speak of this further and I'll take your whole team in with you."

That had her lips sealing shut, even if she didn't stop glaring at the horrible woman. Punishing her was fine but getting everyone else punished if she talked wasn't the same. Ruby made sure her opinion was known with an angry scowl. If the teacher wanted an apology, she'd be waiting a long while for it.

"This spar is between Adam Taurus of Team RYST and the four members of Team CRMN," she announced for the audience. "You will retire once your aura touches the red, when you step out of the arena or when I call for you to do so. Continuing after that fact will result in my intervention and quite possibly your suspension or even expulsion."

Miss Goodwitch was still directing that more at Adam than the bullies!

All around her, Ruby could hear people muttering how Adam was going to have his ass handed to him. First year against third years. One against four. Rookie. Arrogant. Stupid. Faunus. The words tumbled out in a jumble of nouns and adjectives that had her teeth grinding together. Yang had to take hold of her shoulders and pull her back against her chest. Both she and Weiss looked as upset as she felt, but they controlled it better.

It wasn't their partner being put through all this.

"Combatants," the teacher called. "Am I understood?"

/-/

Adam kept his eyes away from his team, nodding his head once to Goodwitch's question. The ire of his teammates was something he was prepared to accept for the sake of dealing with this once and for all. He could survive that. There was a good chance he couldn't survive continuing to allow these morons to test him. His temper would snap sooner or later, and then Goodwitch and Ozpin would have their excuses to kill him.

His hand drifted down Wilt's hilt, fingers curling into position as he inspected his foes. Four on one was bad odds even with a skill gap – and he was confident of the individual skill gap being in his favour. They may have been three years older than his team, but he was a full year older than they were, and he'd spent that time fighting. Still, the White Fang espoused teamwork for a reason. Together, a coordinated force could defeat a superior foe.

The battle was by no means settled and was in fact in their favour. If this were life or death, he might be able to take a hostage, break them apart, force one to disengage to attend a teammate bleeding out, but all that was off the table here. Simulated combat always was like that – too sanitised and fixed. It favoured those who could end the fight quickest or, if that weren't possible, those that could last the longest, at which point the ability for them to trade off in fighting and wearing down his stamina was just as valuable as skill and experience.

Fighting them normally is a recipe for defeat.

Losing here wouldn't change the status quo. It might even give them the confidence to keep coming at him. No. This could only end one way – and that meant he'd need to take this beyond the boundaries of a schoolyard spar.

And Adam knew just how to do that.

Across from him Team CRMN were standing ready. Cocky – as might have been expected given the odds being stacked so far against him. Cassandra was whispering instructions to her team as a leader ought to, and the two girls, Rachel and Nicole, were listening intently. Their remaining member, Michael, was not, and instead wasted his time glaring hatefully Adam's way. He carried an assault rifle-axe combo reminiscent of Professor Port.

Adam's eyes rose to meet those of the boy. He snorted dismissively, pretending to look away and watching out the corner of one eye as Michael bristled. There was the weak point he needed. Men trying to impress women often were. Perhaps I'm no better there, he thought, resisting the urge to check if Blake was in attendance.

"Team CRMN is ready!" Cassandra Stripe called.

"I'm ready," Adam echoed. "Let's get this pathetic show over with."

"Pathetic?" Cassandra asked slyly. "Don't you think you're just a little too big for your boots?"

No faunus insults. They were holding back for the sake of the audience. Not all of those would be as forgiving of her slurring and swearing. Despite her waspish nature, Cassandra was at least smart enough to know that.

"Comparing myself to you? I think not."

"Don't you dare talk to Cass like that!"

Cassandra frowned. "Michael…"

"Silence, mutt." Adam leered at him. "Mommy and Daddy are speaking."

Goodwitch had apparently had enough of the pre-fight banter. "BEGIN!"

Nicole and Rachel spread left and right to flank him – a clever, if obvious, use of their superior numbers. It showed they weren't going to take this stupidly and get upset because of overconfidence. At least, three of them weren't. The very second the fight began, Michael dropped to one knee and brought Adam into his sights. His rifle was loaded with dust ammunition to give it that extra, explosive kick.

Cockily, Adam didn't even draw Wilt. He spread his arms instead, smiling in as mocking a manner as he could.

"Get fucked, Taurus!" Michael shouted, opening fire.

Perfect.

The rounds came screaming in and Wilt slashed up, taking the brunt of the blast and glowing red. His aura surged down his arms to the blade, one foot sliding forward as he angled down and unleashed a crimson wave not at his opponents, but at the ground five or so metres in front of them. Michael and Cassandra didn't know that, however. They scrambled left and right to get out the way.

The red beam struck the ground and caused it to explode upward. Mud, grass and more importantly a vast amount of dirt was kicked up as smoke, blanketing the field in a large V-shape originating from where the attack hit. It cut a vertical line through the battlefield, dividing Team CRMN in two while also leaving Cassandra coughing smoke and covering her eyes.

Four against one was bad odds. Two against one was so much more manageable.

"Cass, look out!" Nicole's warning came just in time for the blonde to get her sabre up. Wilt screeched off the metal. The force of his assault knocked her back, and the girl's footing was already uneven from escaping the explosion. She managed to work a second hand on the flat of her sabre and buckled to one knee rather than tripping.

It honestly wasn't bad - but she was no Winter Schnee.

Twisting Wilt to the left, Adam drove his knee into the side of her head. The girl toppled with a grunt and he had to lean back from a spear thrust. Nicole stabbed for his head and warded him back with a sweep. The moment he built distance, she smirked and pressed a button further down the haft, launching the spear – or harpoon's – head with a chain attached.

Hidden weapons like that were rare nowadays. Most people relied on brute force. Still, it meant little when he'd convinced Tsune to show him their records. Side-stepping the spike, Adam stabbed Wilt through a link in the chain to pin it down, then stamped on the chain to keep it there. Running back along it, he forced Nicole to abandon her weapon and dive to the side. The instant she did, he kicked her weapon up into one hand and hurled it out the ring.

In a real battle, that'd buy him five, maybe ten seconds tops. Here, it was a crippling blow.

The exchange had only taken a few seconds but that was enough for Cassandra to get back up and swing at him from behind. Darting forward and out of reach, he turned and slapped her blade aside, eyes tracking Nicole as she ran into the smoke in search of her allies or potentially a spare weapon off one of them. It wasn't the worst move Team CRMN could have made. Team leaders were usually the strongest on the team, so holding him off while her friend fetched reinforcements was a viable strategy.

If this were anyone else.

There wasn't the time to take this slow and enjoy himself. As a team of four they could still beat him. Parrying her next attack, Adam pushed it aside and stepped in to slam his pommel up and into her chin. He'd done the same to Winter Schnee and could remember her clever parry with the dagger concealed in the hilt of her weapon. He had a scar on his inner bicep because of it.

Cassandra lacked the experience for that and the humbleness to know she couldn't rely on a single weapon. Gripping her right wrist with his left, he pinned her sword back and slashed Wilt up and down, striking hard on her shoulder and causing aura to spark out.

"Arghhhh!"

"Cass!"

Michael came charging through the smoke and screaming at the top of his lungs. Spying Adam, he brought his rifle up and snapped off two quick shots, no doubt expecting to drive him away from his beloved team leader.

Adam tanked both. The rounds exploded on his chest and shoulder and the pain was enough to have him gritting his teeth. His aura dropped by a good fifteen per cent, but he managed to grab Cassandra's arm before she fell from his first attack. Twisting her body against his, he twisted her wrist until she was forced to let go of her weapon and spun her into the path of Michael's frantic follow-up shots, planting a foot on the small of her back and kicking her forward.

Cassandra looked up into the explosive rounds that struck her face and neck, detonating all over her. The girl was launched back and came to a smoking heap behind him, curled up on her side and moaning in pain.

"C-Cass!? I didn't…"

The two remaining girls came out the smoke. Rachel had twin knives and looked like she knew how to use them, while either her or Michael had produced a spare handgun for Nicole. One down but three remain, and they'll not be split up like they were the first time. He'd caught them by surprise and dealt with Cassandra before they could regroup. Now, they would be much more cautious about sticking together. This is where the real fight begins.

If he let it.

"I don't hear a yield," Adam taunted, turning and running back to Cassandra's downed body. Her aura was close to red but not quite – and really, it was only a good idea to make sure a downed enemy couldn't get up behind you.

"Cass! No!"

"Michael, don't!" one of the girls shouted. "He's baiting you-"

Too late. More shots exploded off Adam's back as the man threw caution to the wind and charged right in, racing him to his downed leader's side. He was picking his shots a lot more carefully and driving Adam to the right. He let himself be, feigning a stumble and letting Michael outpace him and take a defensive stance before his downed leader. It also meant Adam was trapped in a pincer, locked between Michael and Cassandra on one side and Rachel and Nicole on the other. Or, as he saw it, Michael and Cassandra were split off from any support.

If you're engaged in a pincer, that means your enemy has divided his forces. Your best bet is to attack one side and overwhelm them before the pincer can close.

Adam heard the two girls rushing in to do just that, but he reached Michael first – and this time the brat couldn't run without leaving his `beloved team leader`, which he clearly wasn't prepared to do. That was fine by him. Deflecting two shots with Wilt but missing a lot more, Adam's aura dripped down as he charged through the barrage and swept Wilt up into the barrel of the gun.

His role on the team was obviously that of long-range support. He must have been the type to stand back and pin enemies down, provide recon and tip the scales where he needed to. A teammate like that was worth their weight in gold if they had a cool head and could stay back. They were the worst liability in the world if they couldn't.

Adam's sword drove into the man's shoulder. It would have pierced through without aura, but instead slid over with an agonised screech of metal on aura. The force knocked Michael back, toppling him over Cassandra's body and leaving them in a heap on the floor. Adam stamped on Michael's wrist and ground the bones down.

"Arghhh!" he cried. "Gahhhh!"

"Michael!"

The man's hand opened reflexively as his muscles and bones were pinched together. Using the tip of Wilt, Adam flicked the rifle up and caught it in his free hand, pointing it back behind him and turning halfway to aim.

"Look out!" Michael cried a warning to his teammates.

It was much too late for that.

The rifle barked and bucked in his hands, spraying inaccurately with his aim not helped by the fact he was firing an automatic weapon with one hand. The accuracy was frankly appalling and the only one good hit he got on Nicole was because he was covering a wide area with dust rounds. Most, he angled down, causing the explosive dust to churn up great holes and rents in the grass, while also kicking up more and more smoke. Adam kept firing until the magazine clicked empty, at which point he threw the weapon out the arena and stepped off his downed foe.

Two down. Two remaining. One of those was disarmed, the terrain was a mess and they were struggling through the smoke, their plans shattered and their teamwork nowhere to be seen. All of that and it was at best two minutes into the fight. Shock and awe, he believed Atlas called it. Strike hard and fast with overwhelming force before your opponents could adapt a plan to the changing circumstances.

Together and as four, they could have beaten him, but he'd shown such overwhelming dominance that their morale was in tatters. It didn't help that he'd prioritised and taken out their leader, the best chance for them regrouping. That was the thing about leaders who tried to take too much control – the authoritarians, as bullies so often were – they fell apart the second the head of the snake was cut off.

"All you had to do was stick together and fight me as a team," Adam said. "You would have beaten me soundly. Instead, you spread out and let me dictate the pace of the fight. There hasn't been a proactive move you've made since this started."

"Shut up!" Nicole raged. "It's still two on one. You're toast."

"It must be a surprise to face a faunus willing to fight back. You're so used to cowards playing the victim that you've forgotten what to do if one fights back."

"Nic. Calm. Don't get wound up like Michael did." Rachel was by far the calmer, stepping around a pothole to draw his attention. "Cass is down. It's up to us to bring this home."

A quiet whisper was shared that he didn't catch, but Nicole nodded and started to flank left, keeping far enough away that he couldn't engage her without being intercepted. Those two were partners themselves, and obviously ready to take him seriously. Rather than try to outpace them, Adam stepped in toward Rachel, bringing Wilt up to his shoulder with the blade angled outward. He had the range advantage over knives.

Their blades clashed with a furious charge from her. She had to be the one to make the first move or he'd keep her at blade's length and chip her aura down. Even so, he gave ground, content to prevent her closing into that sweet spot where knife would be more viable than swordplay. The one time she did threaten to get in close, he opened fire with Blush, catching her off guard and scoring a weak hit on her aura but knocking her back a little.

Nicole didn't open fire. Instead, she circumnavigated the fight entirely and closed in on her downed teammates. Really? Did they think he couldn't handle one person on his own?

"You're underestimating me again. Shocking after everything you've seen so far."

"Attacking while our guards are down doesn't equate to skill." Rachel gritted her teeth and deflected the tip of Wilt from her sternum. "You got lucky."

"Really? Then allow me to show you just how far my `luck` extends."

Slashing into her guard, Adam watched the girl's eyes widen as she realised just how much strength he'd been holding back. His first attack forced her knife back and she was hit on the arm. The second, she had to use both blades to block, and even then she was almost borne to the ground. Understanding dawned on her face and it was delicious to witness.

Between Wilt and Blush, he forced her back toward the smoke – back through potholes her ally's weapon had left that she had to navigate in reverse with her eyes on him. It was only a matter of time until her foot stepped back, and she gasped, not finding the even ground she expected. Her ankle twisted so that she was leaning on that instead, and she staggered back, hands waving for balance unevenly and guard dropping.

Wilt slammed into the juncture between her neck and her shoulder. It would have been a beheading strike without aura, but even with it the shock ripping through her body all but paralysed her left arm. Drawing back, he drove his hilt into her face, stepped in and planted Blush right before her startled eyes, barrel outward.

"I yie-"

Buckshot smashed her head back. Screaming, she fell back, both hands covering her face.

"RACHEL!"

"And then there was one," Adam mocked. "You know, it's ironic. Here I was expecting to face a team of four and all I've really fought are a series of disconnected one on ones. Is this what Beacon's vaunted teamwork amounts to? No wonder you spend your time cornering faunus in corridors. It's to make up for having no ability in the field."

"Shut up!" Nicole came in with Cassandra's sabre. So, that had been her target. If she couldn't get her spear, she'd gone for another melee weapon. It didn't look like she knew how to use it. The first swing was done with two hands like she was wielding an axe. Adam stepped back and diverted it with a gentle tap.

"That's not how you use a sabre."

"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!"

"I'd say that's not how you fight either, but you've probably figured that out." He slid under a horizontal swing but didn't bother to attack her exposed flank. "You know, when I looked into your team, I expected Michael to be the exploitable one. Didn't realise it'd be you."

Swinging the precision weapon like a cleaver, Nichole activated her Semblance, unleashing a wave of wind that would have sent him flying had he not known all about it. Holding Wilt up vertically, he let the wind pass around the blade. It didn't entirely prevent him being hit, but wind, like water, took the path of least resistance. It flowed around him if he didn't fight it.

"I knew about that too. I know all your Semblances. It wasn't hard to ask around." Not the entire truth. He'd only asked Tsune. "I guess you made a lot of enemies with your petty power plays. You wouldn't believe how quick they were to roll on you."

"Shut the fuck up!"

"You didn't even bother to look into me, did you?" Of course they hadn't. If they did, they might have found out who he really was. "You just assumed I'm some idiot first year running his mouth. That's why your teammates lost. Well, that and the fact you let them down." Locking his blade with hers, he pushed her into the smoke, leaning in to whisper, "But then, what can I expect of a bunch of pathetic humans like you? Always so weak that you need to belittle faunus to feel powerful."

"Shut up!" Nicole screamed. "You're nothing! You're just some worthless faunus! An animal! You don't deserve to be here! You don't deserve to live!" Screaming at the top of her lungs, she swung Cassandra's sabre down at his throat. "Die!"

Check and mate.

/-/

"Die!"

Ruby heard the battle cry and shouted out in alarm. She wasn't the only one. Adam and the girl had disappeared into the smoke but the words she said carried even if they couldn't see her. The vitriol and the hatred, the blatant anti-faunus sentiment. Even those who had been cheering for Team CRMN to show the "uppity first year" his place were now silent. Some were even muttered angrily.

"Enough!" Miss Goodwitch roared. "The fight is over. Cease!"

Above the arena, the bar that showed Adam's aura had been hovering in the yellow. Even if the fight was absolute dominance form start to finish, it hadn't been at no cost. Her partner sacrificed aura constantly to tank attacks that would let him finish someone immediately where most fighters would have defended and let the fight drag on.

Before her eyes, Adam's bar chunked down into the red – all the way into the red.

Ruby's stomach dropped out. An agonised cry burst past her lips.

"Miss Rose- what? Oh no." Miss Goodwitch charged into the field, sweeping her hand away. Her Semblance lashed out and dispelled the smoke, blasting it away and revealing the horrible scene.

Adam was down on one knee, Wilt flat to the grass and his free arm up in defence of his face. There was a sword lodged in it – a sabre sliced what looked to be at least an inch into his arm. Ruby could see the blood dripping down his white shirt and onto the grass.

"Mr Taurus' aura has entered the red!" Miss Goodwitch yelled. "The spar is over!"

The girl stood over him with a panting and snarling teeth didn't seem to hear her. In fact, it looked like she'd forgotten she had an audience at all. With a grunt, she wrenched the sabre free, spraying blood up into the air. To Ruby's horror, she brought the sword up in both hands, ready to strike down and kill Adam.

Ruby blurred out of Yang's grip.

"Stop!" Miss Goodwitch barked. "Put the weapon down!"

The girl hesitated and that was too much for safety's sake. The sword was ripped out of her hand and sent skittering across the floor, coming to a stop at Pyrrha's feet. Seeing the danger over, Ruby skidded to Adam's side, gripping his shoulders and staring at his arm with panic tearing through her.

"D-Doctor!" she shouted. "He needs a doctor!"

"It's fine," Adam said. "It's just a cut."

That was not a cut! A cut was what you got when you scraped along a doorframe or touched a bit of paper too hard. That was a wound! Ruby could see the blood pooling out of it all down his hand and over his fingers, staining them red.

"Miss Rose, take Mr Taurus to the infirmary. Miss Barker," she snapped, making Nicole flinch. "You are coming with me to the headmaster's office. You will be lucky not to be suspended for this, even more so after what you said before breaking the rules."

"I – but I…"

"Save your words for the headmaster, Miss Barker."

/-/

Adam flinched as the needle was pulled through his skin with a little more force than was strictly necessary. Tsune tugged on the thread and sweat beaded across his brow. It was one of those funny little things, how a huntsman could be so unflinching in the face of the Grimm but turn into a coward come a visit to the doctor or a dentist. To be fair, it was because you couldn't kill them for hurting you.

"I hope you're satisfied," Tsune said. "Nicole Barker is facing suspension, perhaps even expulsion, and Team CRMN have been thoroughly humiliated in front of their peers. All because you chose to fake your defeat at their hands."

"I am quite satisfied, actually. Ah!" He winced when she pinched the needle back in. "Could I get some painkillers here?"

"No."

Adam sighed and looked up at the ceiling. Not seeing the treatment didn't make it hurt any less. He had a feeling that wasn't entirely based on the rumours she was a sadist. "Why are you upset? The other option was that I cripple them so badly they break out in tears at the very sight of me. You asked me to deal with this in a manner that didn't involve me making things worse for the faunus. I did just that."

"You followed the rules of the school to the letter," Tsune admitted. "And made sure they didn't. I watched the fight. You were almost disappointed when Michael went down so easily."

"I thought he'd be the one I could goad into spouting racist drivel."

"So did I. Perhaps Miss Barker has a crush on him. Or had. I doubt it will last if she's expelled…"

"Are you waiting for me to feel sorry about that?" Adam asked. His reward was another painful tug that had him pinching his eyes shut. "Damn it. That wasn't even close to the wound! Don't stab me in my hand."

"You deserve this and more," she said, doing just that. Adam made to snatch his arm back, but she held onto it, pinning his wrist down. "You didn't break any rules, Adam. We both know that. It doesn't make what you did much better, though. And do you know who it's really unfair on?"

"The friends I've made along the way?"

"Actually, yes. I was going to say Glynda – but how about your teammates? Miss Rose was in tears when she brought you here. Ah. I see that's garnering a reaction." Tsune smirked at him as he looked away. "You don't like her crying over you."

He didn't. It hadn't been necessary. Leaving aside the fact the wound had been relatively minor, he'd also taken it on purpose. He could have dodged, which meant Ruby's reaction bit all the deeper because it was entirely his fault. He'd tried to calm her down en route, but she kept going on about how it was her fault, how she hadn't gotten there in time.

"I don't understand her," he said. "It wasn't her fault."

"Miss Rose is your team leader. Are you saying you've never blamed yourself for a raid gone wrong?"

"Of course I have. Everyone who died in an operation planned by me is blood on my hands. That doesn't apply here. Ruby had no say in what I did."

"Take it easy on her, Adam. The girl is fifteen."

"I was fifteen when I joined the White Fang."

"You and she are nothing alike."

Didn't he know it. Sighing, he leaned his head back. While his victory over Team CRMN was as sweet as he'd thought it would be, that satisfaction was all but drowned away by the look on his teammate's faces. Weiss looked uncomfortable, Yang lost and Ruby devastated. If he'd known it would be that bad…

What? Would he have changed his plan? Not done it…?

Ridiculous. I outsmarted Team CRMN. This was a complete victory.

Maybe the problem was that Team RYST didn't understand that. Ruby was only afraid for him because she didn't know better. He could have told them, but the question then was whether they'd let him go through with it. Probably not, but he could have then done it against their wishes. Anger would be easier to deal with than this.

"It's not any easier on Glynda either," Tsune remarked. Adam's sympathy dried up faster than the deserts of Vacuo. "Glynda and Ozpin know full well you threw that fight, but they can't admit as much. What are they to do? If they expel Miss Barker, they deprive a young woman of the chance to become a huntress. If they let her back into Beacon, they face accusations of racism."

"None of which would be a problem is they ran a tighter ship in the first place. This shouldn't have had to happen." He said it looking at his arm but meant the situation in its entirety. "The fact it did and that I of all people had to deal with it is Beacon's fault. If the teachers stepped in to prevent such racism taking hold, we wouldn't be here today. And if certain faunus stood up for themselves, it wouldn't be this bad."

"Victim blaming again?"

"Velvet Scarlatina is no victim; she is a huntress in training."

"Really, with how much you go on about her I'm beginning to think your goal in Beacon is to win her instead of Miss Belladonna."

Adam scoffed. Blake had no relevance here and he'd rather marry Weiss than so much as hold hands with Scarlatina. Yet again, she'd outsourced her protection to someone else. Team CRMN wouldn't be a problem for her anymore and it was all because he stood up and did something.

"Your arm is fine." Tsune disinfected his skin around the sutured wound and snipped the final thread. "I'm sure you've dealt with this enough to know the rules." He opened his mouth, but she beat him to it. "No, you may not stay here tonight."

"I'm injured."

"If you're so content to call people out for cowardice, you should feel no trepidation facing your team. Miss Rose earned detention for defending you, by the way, and if you're wondering then yes that is your fault."

Adam scowled. "I wasn't wondering. I'll make it up to her."

"To all of them, I would hope. The fear of losing a close friend is something all huntsmen and huntresses must deal with sooner or later, but to intentionally put them through it this early is a cruelty I would not even attribute to the White Fang."

"You can stop beating me over the head with it," Adam growled, pushing his sleeve down his arm. "I understand. I'm a terrible teammate for making them worry." Rolling his eyes, he stood up from the seat. "I fully intend to go make it up to them now."

"Do you regret it?" Tsune asked.

"Dealing with Team CRMN?"

"Yes. Misleading everyone. They're bad students but not murderously so. You made them that – you terrified them so badly, refusing to finish off your opponents and forcing them to attack one another. You surrounded the arena in smoke so they'd lose track of the aura bars and the audience, forgetting that they're in a school spar at all. I've seen battlefields, Adam. What you did out there wasn't a spar. It was a war. You put them through all that fully expecting – nay, planning – for them to break. Congratulations, you've exposed them, but you did it by crossing every line imaginable and hurting your team in the process. So…" Her eyes met his. "Do you regret it."

"No." He knew the answer disappointed her by how she sighed. It was probably pointless, but he tried to explain his side. "Like I said before, punching them once won't make them go away, nor will sitting back and letting them get away with it. Oobleck tried, I'll grant, but he's one man and can't be everywhere. Here, I've destroyed their reputation, singled them out to Goodwitch and maybe even ripped their team apart." Adam's eyes flashed as he pulled on the eyepatch, covering the grisly brand once more. "Now, they're dealt with. Permanently. Even if they're not expelled, they'll not dare act out against the faunus again. Maybe my teammates suffered, and I'll deal with that now, but how much worse would it have been if this were allowed to fester?"

"Worse, I expect. You sound so reasonable at times that I wonder if your tongue wasn't your greatest strength as a terrorist leader. It's so easy to listen to you and think you're in the right, even when you're framing people for crimes they haven't committed." Tsune sighed and cupped her face, shaking her head with an air of despair. "You realise this won't change anything for the faunus. Even if you do end up making Team CRMN afraid to bully them anymore, it won't be because you've fixed the animosity between human and faunus. All you've done is made them afraid. You're using fear as a weapon. Terror tactics."

"The Schnee taught us that."

"Even so, you technically lost the battle."

"It was never about the match," he said, walking away. "And I'd be a terrible commander if I wasn't willing to lose a single battle to win a war."

Not much of Team RYST in this one.

So, yes, Adam won. I don't find that too unrealistic, but you know what, I also think he could have lost to a team that showed more teamwork. Team CFVY would have probably trounced him, as could Team JNPR if it existed here. I tried to show that this wasn't a typical spar. Adam didn't give them a chance to fight him two on one, sacrificing aura to take people out the fight and abusing the rules of the match by throwing their weapons out the ring. Most of the fights in it were actually 1v1. Team CRMN didn't use their numbers properly in part due to arrogance, but also Adam's method of controlling the battlefield and their individual tempers.

This is something I honestly think Nora could do for Team JNPR, btw. Her grenade launchers could form big smoke screens, split up teams, isolate members for Pyrrha to go after and annihilate. Heck, if Nora just fires a grenade in the middle of a team and half of them dodge left, the other half right, then she's instantly cut them in two. Keep firing to force one half back while Jaune, Ren and Pyrrha triple-team the stranded two. I do wish we saw a little more teamwork in the show. I loved Team RWBY vs the Nevermore in initiation for that, but much of the Vytal Festival was sporadic 1v1's occasionally interspersed with a last moment bit of teamwork that catches the enemy team off guard as though no one has heard of team strategy before.

It's probably also worth nothing – even if this is obvious a protagonist shounen thing – that when the Vytal Festival came around in the show, Team CFVY was the only older team to even be involved. Again, I know it's shounen protag power that made this a thing, but if the four teams sent from Beacon are literally, RWBY, JNPR, CRDL and CFVY – then it's a poor sign as to the teamwork or strength of the other students.

I mean, three first year teams is one thing but at least JNPR has Pyrrha and RWBY has Weiss – two famous people with good reason to have advantages. CRDL, though? Really? CRDL is just better than most teams in the upper years? We can't even say that maybe the Vytal Festival only allows certain year groups since CFVY were there.

Next Chapter: 28th July

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