Chapter 6

-[Beacon Academy]-

Inside team JNPR's room, Rowan leaned against the wall as the four teens stared at him with varying emotions.

Nora looked like a hyperactive child that just found a new toy while Ren simply observed. 'At least do something about this.' He complained internally.

Pyrrha just smiled politely while sitting on her bed. Jaune on the other hand…

"What are you doing here?! Why didn't you tell me you were also coming to beacon?! How did you even get in?!" The boy's barrage of questions were met with a blank stare from Rowan.

"One at a time, sheesh." Rowan said with a sigh.

"Jaune calm dow-!" Pyrrha tried to assuage their team leader only for the boy to interrupt.

"I can't calm down! What is my little brother doing in beacon?!" Jaune questioned to Rowan's growing irritation.

"You know, you've been repeating the same question for a while." He said, looking his supposed older brother in the eye.

"Sorry." Jaune finally paused, rubbing his neck sheepishly.

Talking with his younger brother always had that effect on him. It felt like he was the one being lectured instead of it being the other way around.

"For the first but obvious question, I'm here to study and get a huntsman license." Rowan answered, partially telling the truth. "As for not telling you, it slipped my mind."

Another lie.

"He looks so much like you! Except that he's shorter! How come he's not wearing armor like you?" Nora literally zipped into his face, throwing off random questions.

"Okay that's enough, Nora." Ren said, pulling the struggling girl back by her collar. "I apologize on her behalf."

"No harm done." Rowan replied, waving it off. He looked at Jaune and he could see the multitude of emotions on the boy's face.

"Does dad know about this?" Jaune asked.

"He's the one who saw me off." Rowan answered with a deadpan.

"And mom?"

"She's not happy about it. Not in the slightest." The woman had been adamant about him not attending beacon.

He couldn't blame her. Rowan was her 'baby boy'. The innocent child of the Arc home who tested out of school early unlike his older siblings.

When she heard that he was training to go to Beacon, she went hysterically. She went to the point of attempting to bribe him with books which he accepted but didn't change his mind.

Both he and the original Rowan loved books so how could he refuse them? Still, there was no stopping what was out there so he had to be ready.

"So Rowan, how are things with your teammates? We didn't get a chance to meet them in the forest." Pyrrha asked, clueless to the frustration he was preparing himself for as the leader of his team.

"I'd prefer that you don't meet them." Rowan said, tiredly massaging his temple. "Both for your sake and mine."

"That bad?" Jaune asked with a small frown.

"Worse than you can imagine. I'm not sure how long I'm going to be able to control myself around them." Rowan complained with a sigh.

Being on a team with Cardin and his soon to be lackey was one thing, having a Branwen spy as well just made things worse.

"Yikes!"

-[Later]-

He spent some time talking with team JNPR and catching up with Jaune. It wasn't as awkward as he thought it would be but it was still weird.

He was currently walking through the streets of Vale. Students were supposed to be in the dorms resting for the classes that would begin the next day.

He turned the corner, finding himself in front of a slightly beat up building. The exterior didn't bother him as he knocked on the door.

A few moments later, the door was opened, an elderly woman standing behind the door. "Rowan, it's good to see you. It hasn't been long since you last visited. Is something wrong?" She said as she ushered him in.

"Nothing's wrong. My schedule's changed a bit so I'm not sure how often I'd be able to visit." He answered as she led him to a room.

"That's so nice of you." She said, gesturing to one of the chairs in the room. "Take a seat. I'll go get them." With that, she left the room.

Rowan began to bring out a few grocery bags from his inventory, dropping them in front of him. It didn't take more than a minute for him to hear tiny footsteps rushing in his direction.

""You're here!""

Two tiny blurs crashed into him but it didn't so much as make him budge as he caught them both. He smiled looking down at the two children who were holding on to him.

It was after his first visit to Vale. When he got back home, he found himself feeling guilty, the fearful faces of the oppressed faunus he saw during his short trip to Vale.

He wished that [Gamers Mind] would take care of it, make him stop feeling the guilt. It helped him stay calm but it didn't change how he felt about it. He didn't know whether to be mad that it didn't allow him to feel nothing while looking at them or be happy that his thoughts were still his own.

It only took two days for him to find himself back in Vale. He may put up a calm and collected facade but it was nothing more than that, a mask to hide how he was truly feeling.

The last straw was when he found two young faunus, being beaten by a young man. A few people passed but didn't even bat an eye at it, he felt sick to his stomach.

Never in his life had he wished for a person's death so much. The man was a simple civilian so it only took a moment to send him off running.

His metaphorical mask cracked a bit when he looked at the two faunus. They didn't look older than eight years old. They had the same faunus features, being the antlers on their heads. That and the fact that despite their opposite genders, their faces were identical told him that they were siblings.

He had found an orphanage with a decent matron, his semblance allowing him to discern who was biased or not.

It had been a month and he stopped by every few days to see the kids and drop off some groceries. As for where he got the money, the original Rowan was quite a saver.

"I hope you guys haven't been causing trouble for Miss Skye." He asked the two who shook their heads quickly. He let out a chuckle at their enthusiasm before noticing something.

"How did you manage to get yourself injured again? It's only been a few days." Rowan asked, referring to the bandage on his knee as the small boy sheepishly turned away.

"He was running again and scraped his knee when he tripped." The girl said, exposing the boy immediately.

"You said you wouldn't tell!" The boy accused in shock.

Rowan could only smile fondly as the two argued. "Alright let me see it." He said as the boy slowly raised the leg.

Unwrapping the bandage, the reddish skin underneath was revealed. Rowan's palm gained a golden glow as he placed it above the wound for a few moments, watching as it quickly regained its normal appearance, devoid of any injuries.

"All better." He said as the boy looked at his knee in wonder.

"That ability of yours is always a sight to behold." The elderly woman said from the entrance of the room. "It suits you."

"It's nothing special. I'm just doing what needs to be done." He deflected only for the woman to scoff.

"You think anyone else would give a damn if they saw those two kids on the street. Kid, no matter how much you try to convince yourself and otherwise, you're a good person." She said softly. "I mean look at what you're doing. You're not getting paid yet you come here to visit and heal the kids. Heck, you even bring groceries." She gestured to the bags on the floor.

The two children weren't the only ones in the orphanage. There were other faunus children inside and Rowan had extended his healing sessions to all of them.

Miss Skye was the only person he could find that was willing and non prejudiced to take the children in. It was also because of that that she lacked the proper funding. Humans didn't really care about the plight of the faunus and it was shown everywhere.

Rowan pitched in, bringing groceries once in a while and healing the kids to reduce any possible medical expenses.

"You're a good person. Besides, I have good good news." She changed the topic, seeing that she was getting nowhere in convincing him.

"What good news?"

"Someone came over a few days ago and he wants to adopt one of the kids." She answered as Rowan's eyes narrowed.

"Really?"

"I was suspicious at first but I did a light background check. Apparently he and his wife have been trying for a child for a while with no result. They don't even mind that the kids here are faunus." Miss Skye explained, Rowan's eyes narrowing further.

The two kids were in their own little world, playing with Rowan's hair and clothes, not minding the world around them.

"I guess that's good. When will they get here?" He asked.

"They're coming by later today. You want to meet them?" She wondered only for Rowan to shake his head.

"I wish I could but I have to get going or else I'll be in trouble." He apologized, Miss Skye waving it off.

He spent a few more minutes with the kids before going to meet the other kids in the orphanage, doing the routing healing before leaving.

He lied. Beacon expected its students to be able to take care of themselves. Being able to pass the initiation meant that they were able to handle themselves properly and thus they were allowed the freedom in the manner of a lack of curfew.

He instead his nearby, using [Stealth] and [Disguise Mastery]. He had figured out how the latter worked. It was more appropriate to call it a transformation skill seeing as how it changed the appearance of the user. The higher the level, the more accurate the disguise and the lower the aura cost. The skill was currently at level 18.

He didn't have to wait too long as he watched a short fat and bald man get out of a car and walk towards the orphanage before knocking on the door. From what Skye said, nobody visited her orphanage so this was most likely the guest she was expecting.

He immediately used [The Author] as the man stood in wait.

•••••

Character Name: [Parker Mitchell]

Title: [Faunus Slaver]

Age: [32]

Character Type: [Human]

Status: [Alive]

Affiliation: [None]

HP: [100%/100%]

AP: [Locked]

MP: N/A

Semblance: [Locked]

Status Ailments: [None]

Current Emotion: [Excitement]

Thoughts: [Acquiring new merchandise] [Profit]

Relationship Status: [None]

Special Skills: [None]

Secrets: [He runs a slave operation] [He enjoys toying with his slaves] [He has connections in the council]…

Overview: [Parker Mitchell was born to a family of two children. When he turned 18, he found himself in a strip club being attended to by a Faunus worker. Seeing a Faunus being so submissive awoke something in him. By the time he turned 24, he had started his own Faunus slave ring with great success. He goes around under the pretense of adoption and kidnaps Faunus to be sold and used in his operations.]

•••••

He felt his anger soar before [Gamers Mind] quickly brought it under control as he grit his teeth. 'You bastard.'

He was sure Miss Skye had no clue about what this man intended to do with the children. She honestly believed that the man wanted to raise the kids and he couldn't blame her.

Seeing someone who seemingly wanted to give the kids a better life was more than what she hoped for so he couldn't fault her for having that hope.

He watched as Miss Skye opened the door for the man, letting him in. He wasn't worried about the man taking one of the kids today. Today was only for him to meet the kids before the decision would be made at a later date.

He laid in wait, patiently waiting for Parker to come out. It was almost thirty minutes when the door opened and the man exited with a smile on his face that made Rowan frown in disgust.

He watched the man get back into the car before driving away. Getting to his feet, Rowan took chase.

He wasn't worried about the man getting away. He already used [Bookmark], making sure that he wouldn't lose track of the man. He followed it from a good distance, making sure to make sure he wasn't seen.

It was over an hour when the vehicle finally got to its destination. They were in the more quiet part of Vale, the dark sides of Vale where you could find anyone willing to do just about anything for the right price.

Parker walked out of the car, walking to the front door of a somewhat decent apartment building. A buff man opened the door, widening it quickly upon seeing who it was, allowing the man to enter.

'I'm really going to do this.' He thought as he looked at the entrance of what was most likely a slave organization. 'Can I do this?'

He steeled himself as he took a deliberate sigh. 'Can I really take another human's life?' He wondered sadly as he prepared himself.