Disclaimer: I own nothing but my original characters and works; all other characters and worlds belong to their respective owners. I'm just playing with them.
Betad by
New Game Plus, GOTY Edition
Chapter 11: Part of the System
– Jaune Arc –
"Out of curiosity, how many times were you dropped on your head as a child?" Shiro asked, making him flush with embarrassment at the slow and deliberate tone of the handsome man's words. Why'd he have to be such a pretty boy, wasn't it enough that some guy barely older than him was already so successful while Jaune was forced to come on bended knee to help fake his way into something vaguely connected to 'success'.
"I- um, what?" Jaune asked, probably not helping his position as Shiro stared at him in a mixture of barely hidden amusement and disdain.
"Mr Arc, do you know why I had you fight my associate here?" Shiro asked with a sigh, gesturing to the white and pink nightmare he'd pitted Jaune against. Somehow he didn't think the answer they were looking for was 'because it was funny to watch Neo stab me over and over again.'
"Umm-"
"Umm, indeed," Shiro sighed with a roll of his eyes. "I needed a baseline of your skills before we agreed to any forged documents. When you came here I figured you were self-taught and just needed the faked documents to get into Beacon as it often requires a recommendation from one of the combat schools to get in. Jaune, I have seen literal children fight better than you. Have you ever used that sword before today? And if the next thing out of your mouth is 'umm' I will shoot you."
"I- I have! I trained with it-"
"You stole it from wherever your family was keeping it, waving it around wildly and pretending that was 'training', likely harming yourself multiple times in the process as you don't even have your aura awakened," Shiro cut in, watching Jaune go bright red at the very accurate guess. "Jaune, you wanted Sombra to make you a report of graduating with honours from some combat academy… and you barely know which end of the sword is the pointy side. Did it occur to you that schools talk, and that Professor Ozpin has contacts in just about every combat academy on Remnant? Did it occur to you that the test to enter Beacon frequently filters actual graduates who trained for it for years? Did it occur to you that the Professors would take a single look at you and know your record is full of shit?"
"I-" Jaune started, feeling the crushing weight of reality coming down on him. Every single point he was making was incredibly valid, and Jaune hated it. "Is- is it not possible? Sombra thought-"
"Silence. Let me think," Shiro ordered, resting his chin on his fist for a moment as his brows furrowed. "It will not be simple, especially given that you want this done for this year. It'd be far easier to just skip a year and join a year later. You're already faking everything else, why not put your age down as a year younger?"
"But it is possible?" Jaune asked, clinging to the only part of that statement that he heard. He didn't want to do the age thing, it'd be so lame to be going there older than anyone else. Starting a whole year late just felt… pathetic.
"Maybe. The issue isn't faking the documents. Even if I got you documents that were believable, you wouldn't have a chance of even surviving the initiation, let alone passing and getting admittance to Beacon," Shiro mused. Wait, people died just trying to enter? "Why are you so surprised? You're trying to enter the most dangerous career path in the world. There are lab rats being experimented on in Atlas blacksites with a higher survival rate than the average huntsman, let alone the laughably below-average huntsman that is Jaune Arc."
He knew that… intellectually. He just hadn't really thought about it, because Beacon was the best and they'd teach him everything he needed to know to survive, no to thrive as a Huntsman. Right?
Asking Shiro that, he was unsurprised that the answer was a mocking laugh.
"Jaune, everyone who is going to Beacon already knows all that stuff. That's the entire point of the combat academies. Beacon won't teach you the basics because you're meant to know it already. You don't go to university and expect them to teach you basic addition and the alphabet," Shiro countered bluntly. "No, the issue here is that you need several years of experience in… about two months before Beacon starts. I can get you the right documents, passing you off as someone self-taught who got a recommendation from some minor huntsman. Probably one who is either dead now, or better yet, has a vice I can exploit to get them to support your lie."
Why'd he have to put it like that?!
"But the skill remains the issue. No documents are going to make you magically competent, and the moment you so much as draw your sword, the lie is revealed. You don't even stand right, your grip is all wrong, you hold your shield like a fucking retard," Shiro tore into him, scowling. "But, I might be able to help with that."
"Like, by teaching me?" Jaune asked.
"No, fuck no. You think I have the time to spend two whole months babysitting you? Even if I did, I don't use the same type of weapon as you, and I doubt you're a fast enough learner to pick up more than the basics before the time limit hits. If you were, you wouldn't need fake documents," Shiro snorted. "No, I have a much better idea. As you should know, I am something of a genius. Every piece of technology you've seen today, I designed and made. One of my creations might be able to… fast-track your education."
"What's the catch?" Jaune asked, well aware that Shiro wasn't hearing him out because he was interested in supporting Jaune's dream.
"Firstly, you couldn't normally afford my services. The money you brought with you was barely enough for faked documents, and that's because Sombra took pity on your naive ass. You caught her in a good mood, she'd have normally just robbed and laughed at you," Shiro explained. "But the main catch is simple. This is untested technology. I won't sit here and pretend that there are no risks, because you're at least smart enough to know better than that. Given time and research, I could improve the technology and reduce the risks and side-effects but you are determined to do this this year instead of waiting or going to a less prestigious school."
"I- what are the risks?" Jaune asked, clinging to the lifeline thrown to his drowning dream. "And what will it cost me?"
"As this is mostly untested, I am willing to greatly reduce the costs simply because it will be good data for me. As for the risks? Chronic headaches, identity dissociation, body dysphoria, just outright fucking dying, and more. I will do everything in my power to prevent such things, because they'd be the sign of a failed test, but I won't deny that each of them is very possible," Shiro admitted. "For the price, I'm willing to give you a long-term loan. If you graduate Beacon, you will pay me back once you're a fulltime Huntsman, and if you drop out we'll call it a failed test and I'll waive the costs."
"What- what are you going to do?" Jaune asked, the weight of Shiro's words heavy in the air. Was… was this worth all the risks? What was he saying, he'd decided any risk was worth a chance to be someone rather than Jaune the Farmboy when he'd stolen his family blade and run away from home.
"I have been studying the brain, and more specifically, how the human brain holds knowledge. Consider it an area of interest to me. I theorised that it would be possible to download knowledge from brains, storing and copying it as you would any file on a computer, as the brain is simply the most complicated computer of all," Shiro admitted. "I've made good progress in doing so, paying volunteers to take part in the tests where I copy their knowledge but have only recently made a breakthrough in how to impart that knowledge back into another mind."
Woah… he wasn't kidding about being a genius. Jaune guessed that when you could do that kind of sci-fi bullshit, you got to call yourself whatever you damn well pleased.
"I am at the forefront of transhuman research, and this experiment would involve me chipping an implant in your skull that connects to your brain. Then, you'd be wired into a… I suppose virtual reality pod would be the best description that you'd understand, where you'd experience time at an accelerated rate, learning the skills that way. Attempts to directly download the knowledge into the brain did not… pan out," Shiro explained, waving his hand.
"Transhuman? You're going to turn me into a girl?" Jaune asked, squeaking slightly. Shiro blinked, seemingly genuinely surprised for just a moment before he gave the heaviest and most 'done with your shit' sigh that Jaune had ever had the misfortune of having directed at him.
"That's not- that's- for fucks sake. I really am scrapping the bottom of the barrel here," Shiro huffed under his breath. Neo made some gestures that Shiro watched calmly, before laughing. Yes, I suppose you're right. At least this way, the world doesn't have much to lose."
Ouch.
"Jaune, Transhumanism is about using technology to transcend human limitations, both physically and cognitively. Technically, even using a prosthetic limb would count but only at the very bare minimum. The goal of transhumanism is to overcome the limitations of our fleshy forms, such as aging and disease, through the advancement of technology. It has no real connection to being transgender, beyond the possibility of using technology to change gender. What, exactly, do you think I have to gain from removing your penis?" Shiro lectured as Neo giggled to herself. "I assure you, if you annoy me to the level where such a thing is needed, there won't be any technology. Neo's blade will suffice."
Wincing, he closed his legs a little more and stepped away from the grinning bodyguard as she twirled her umbrella.
"Sorry," Jaune squeaked out. "I- are these tests legal?"
"Yes, actually. In truth, I might not even need to use false documents to get you into Beacon if my plans continue to shape up. Using you as proof that this technology works might be able to push the council into getting you into Beacon legitimately," Shiro explained, leaning back with a thoughtful look again.
So… he wouldn't be a fraud? And this technology sounded really useful, he could see why they'd like a way to safely impart years of knowledge quickly. Shiro spoke of the council like he already knew them personally. Just who was this guy? Jaune wasn't deluded enough to not realise that Shiro definitely was either a criminal or had criminal connections but it also sounded like what he did was legal and he had legitimate connections as well.
"Do I have time to think about this?" Jaune asked cautiously.
"Not much, simply because we're already on a tight deadline. We're already pushing it to try to achieve this before the start of the school year," Shiro shrugged. "Look, before you tear yourself up about this, why don't you have the initial scans done? I want to make sure you would be eligible for the tests before we go any further. Any abnormalities in your brain or undiagnosed medical conditions could make you ineligible and waste both our time. You can spend the weekend here, at my research lab, undergoing the basic, non-invasive tests to ensure you are even capable of doing this and decide while you are here."
"Y-yeah, that works," Jaune said, trying to sound more confident than he felt.
"Excellent. Give me a moment," Shiro said, holding his finger up to silence him as he pressed a button on his desk with his other hand. "Ms Autumn, I'm sending a next test participant down. Can you please take him through the basic scans and arrange a contract. I'll send you the details while you guide him through the tests."
Jaune barely heard the response, but Shiro just nodded.
"My associate will take things from here while I work out the exact training regimen that would be best suited for your needs. Neo, would you be so kind as to show him to the lab?"
This all felt nice and professional as Neo led him out of the office and down an elevator to a very sci-fi research lab with nice, clean and sterile corridors. And, if nothing else, the women here were amazing as Ms Autumn approached him in a professional blouse and skirt, blazing gold eyes making him flinch back despite her not doing anything aggressive.
Suck it up, Jauney boy. Time to become the hero you've always wanted to be.
– Cinder Fall –
Shiro, for all his ego, ran a tight operation. She could admire it, in truth, because while he had her at his beck and call, something she could barely tolerate, he also knew that she was too useful to just sit around or be his arm candy. Not that she hesitated to use her looks with a tight blouse, showing a hint of a red bra, and her short skirt as his 'assistant' Ms Autumn. It was a stupid pun, but she enjoyed the idea of mocking Atlas' efforts to find her with such an obvious alias.
Besides, few outside of Shiro's own men would ever see her. Jaune wasn't smart enough to connect her with the woman on the wanted poster with her hair up and a pair of glasses. It was disappointingly effective, the sheep of the world proving just how stupid they truly were.
Shiro understood that she was smarter than the rest of his minions. Neo was a good bodyguard, true, but she was no leader and neither was his pet assassin. The twins he'd hired from Junior were more talented, but they were helping manage his nightlife empire, not the real business going on behind the scenes.
For that, he'd chosen her. In truth, she had to admire his ability to twist the laws to get his experimentations legalised. His VI was able to learn everything there was to know about Vale law, and Shiro had the connections to ensure that the paperwork was filed and accepted promptly. In some cases, he'd even gotten research grants for his work, getting the Kingdom to pay him for what he was doing down here. Of course, he had two labs, one for the public and another for his private experimentation. It was part of his counter for the Atlas issue, having a legal and official laboratory.
Atlas hadn't shown up yet, despite the Specialists that were allegedly lurking around. She was careful to never make an actual appearance at the legal laboratory for exactly that reason. She wasn't convinced a pair of glasses and hair bun was going to fool the Steel Shadow. Still, there was plenty to do despite that fact.
Jaune was a fool, but he was exactly the type of fool that Shiro was looking for. Young, physically fit, dumb as a brick. Perhaps his head being so empty would make it increasingly fitting for the testing going on here.
She was truly awed by Shiro's idea. The concept of skipping years of training by simply downloading a handpicked collection of knowledge and skills into the brain. It wouldn't make anyone truly great, but that wasn't the intention. It was to make an army of identical grunts.
Atlas had fucked the world with the Omnic crisis, and every kingdom had moved further away from automation as best they could, but the truth remained that every single Kingdom needed manpower. They needed a reliable source of obedient soldiers willing to fight the armies of the Grimm.
And if Shiro could access the brain to add things, why wouldn't he be able to change what was already in there? Why wouldn't he be able to edit the… unwanted personality traits? Disobedience, recklessness, self-preservation. With the right testing and programs, he could turn anyone into an obedient and loyal slave. So many would argue against it, but behind the scenes where the councillors were looking for their next tool against her mistress, men and women in positions of power would quietly support this avenue of training.
Atlas would kill for the chance to mass produce Specialists in months rather than years, taking anyone with decent physical conditioning and putting them through the intensive VR training to make them stronger, faster, smarter. Even without the personality alteration, this technology had endless potential… for both the side of 'good' and her own mistress who would find the idea equally enjoyable. The idea that anyone could be chipped into his system and have their knowledge and memories laid bare, to be searched through as if they were an unprotected hard drive.
She wouldn't need to negotiate and recruit when she could just grab people from the streets and make them into her tools. Shiro's technology was a game changer for the mass production of workers, both for war and labour. And here she was, helping oversee the experiments.
Leading Jaune through the battery of tests was easy enough. Shiro was a man of efficiency and his laboratory VI knew every procedure and it guided her through each test via her earpiece. People were just more… pliable when the words came from an attractive woman in a short skirt rather than an emotionless machine.
As Jaune nervously got changed into the medical gown, she was careful to inflate his ego. The fool was desperate to be important, to be more than the worthless trash he was destined to be. Stroking his ego to the thought that he was 'volunteering' to be part of something greater was an easy task. She imagined he'd be stroking something else to the memory of her encouraging words and barely covered thighs later.
It was true as well, he was taking part in something greater. Just not as heroic as he originally hoped. Still, as the prototype, he'd become the Huntsman he wanted to be, just not perhaps as free as he had believed. With her coaxing, Jaune signed the contract before the day was done despite having been told to use the weekend to think about it, and the first of the operations took place that night. If she wanted to stay in this position, she needed to show she was worth keeping around, and manipulating a fool like Jaune Arc was no great challenge for her. The way he beamed
Watching theW 'auto-doc' do its work, she smiled to herself. The port was a small slot on the side of Jaune's head, just behind the ear and it was done with such care and accuracy that his hair barely had to be shaved, allowing it to be hidden completely by his mop of blond hair. It also had a 'RealFlesh' cover, hiding it from all but the closest of inspections. Shiro had given her an explanation of the cybernetics and nanotechnology involved but she was well aware that she was not a… technical person and such explanations were lost on her.
As part of the tests, Jaune was convinced to sleep in the pod tonight. He believed it was so the system could get a good baseline of his mind while he was unconscious since he'd effectively be in a minor coma while going through the training program. It was actually the truth, mostly.
Climbing into her own pod, she placed the headpiece on and got to work. She wasn't chipped, of course. While she wasn't opposed to the idea, in theory, it was not something she would be willing to do with untested cybernetics. Fortunately, Shiro had the same opinion on such things and made a headset that allowed an inferior but functional connection to the pods.
Now, to see what made 'Jaune Arc' such a laughably naive fool as she dove into his unconscious mind. The funniest part, as she began her careful examination of his own memories, was that Jaune had agreed to all of this in the contract he'd barely read. Now, his mind, memories, emotions and even personality were legally Shiro's to meddle with as he pleased for the sake of 'science'.
What a fool.
– Shiro Eis –
You know, it takes a special kind of arrogance to get into the 'personality altering' machine with a 100% certainty that it won't do anything to you. Cinder truly is impressively confident, even if she thinks the headset is read only, letting the user interface without allowing any modification.
Fortunately for her, she's right to be at the moment. My creation just isn't subtle enough as it is and either she, or her minion Emerald, would notice if I actually did anything to her head. The truth is, Cinder is useful as she is and messing with her head wouldn't really do much beyond that. She's intelligent, if not wise, and morally compromised enough to go along with any experiment or research that could benefit her down the line. While I can have the Lab VI do a lot of the actual heavy lifting, I need someone to be there to handle things it can't and with so much going on, I don't have time to be everywhere.
My first thought was to make a synth of myself to handle matters, but I rapidly tossed that idea away. If any synth is going to break free of its programming and try to kill me, it's going to be a synth of me. I won't have a second Omnic crisis start because I tried to make a VI of me and it turned itself into an AI. Unlike the God Machines, I wouldn't lose.
Okay, that's enough ego stroking for today.
Jaune is going to change the world, in his own special way. That is to say, I'm going to change the world and put him down as a footnote in my eventual research papers. Jaune is just the test dummy that I can mess with. If things go well, he'll become everything he wants to be, so it's not like I don't plan to deliver my side of things.
The ability to mass produce skills means that there will never again be such a thing as 'unskilled' labourers. I can just copy-paste the skills needed for whatever role I want to fill. Yes, the military applications are obvious and this is a fucking death world where the Grimm push humanity further back each year, but the ability to mass produce literally any job is far too useful. For me, I'm testing this out with mixologists for the nightclub.
Yes, I could make synths and give them the knowledge but… Synths are expensive as shit and people are cheap. Making an android takes time, resources, money and more than that, it takes my time. I'm not at a level where I can automate one hundred percent of the android production process. Some of the fiddly bits require my hands on attention.
All it takes to make a person is two horny idiots and time. I've got Faunus coming from other Kingdoms to move into my Little Menagerie, because my advertising and PR campaign isn't just working, it's working too damn well. Fuck their little tropical island, Vale is the promised land for Faunus now. Which means, these idiots are coming here with the clothes on their back, a handful of lien and a dream. They need work, but most of them don't have the skills to be genuinely useful. Sure, my businesses are expanding and having an endless supply of eager workers helps, but the time it'd take to train them up slows the entire thing down to a halt.
In a tiny amount of time, I've become one of the main employers in Vale. That was always the goal, but this Little Menagerie project has skyrocketed out of control and is growing almost faster than I can keep control of it. The Vale Council is split on the matter, because we've got one racist asshole who doesn't want Faunus in Vale, one more… progressive woman who is eager to see how this particular plan pans out and then Sombra's 'good friend' who has his balls in a vice and neither me nor Sombra hesitate to squeeze if he gets in the way. That's two out of three votes going my way.
Obviously, I have my eyes on the racist douchebag's seat but it's not going to be that easy. I'm still too young, too unproven. Meanwhile, I had dinner with Councilwoman Kiramman two days ago. Nothing untoward, even if the older woman is very much a cougar despite her age. She had issues with the Euphoria trade, but she's not a bleeding heart and I was able to prove that Euphoria has lessened Vale's drug problems. It's a safe alternative to far more addictive and dangerous substances.
I even started a fucking needle exchange program in my little slice of Vale, and opened a clinic to aid with the drug problems because… it hurts the competitor drugs far more than it hurts me. For every customer who gets rid of their Euphoria addiction, ten more shake off one of my competitors drugs. As I expand my drug empire, that's only going to become more and more damaging until the only drugs you can find in Vale are mine. All legal, all 'safe' and all sold over the counter instead of having to rely on back alley deals or shady sites. And if some of those shady drug labs start to have mysterious issues, such as an armoured asshole who is definitely not Mercury burning them down and killing their dealers, all the better for me.
Councillor Kiramman is progressive, for an old money council member. Her family have strong ties to Atlas, and are the definition of Old Money. She's the type to look down on Jacques Schnee because he's too new money for her blood. She likes the idea of the Faunus having their own place because it means they're further away from hers. It's amazing how a little PR changes things from 'we're segregating the city' to 'we're giving the Faunus a place to truly call home'. One is toxic, PR wise, the other makes me sound like a true supporter of Faunus rights. Both are the exact same thing.
As long as things keep going well, Cassandra Kiramman will stay on my side. She's becoming my 'patron' in my research, and has pushed to give me some official authority over Little Menagerie as part of this social experiment. Basically, she doesn't want someone not actually connected to the Vale Council succeeding where they failed so she wants me under her direct control. It's the main reason I didn't try to seduce her, because she sees herself as above me, since I'm very new money. She'd see herself as the one in control if I took things that way and that's not how I roll. For now, professionalism works better. When I've got the power to leash her? That's a different matter entirely.
So, thanks to the Council not wanting my rising star to surpass them, they've given me an official position as district manager. Little Menagerie is my domain, officially now. It means my success becomes their success, but I'm not overly worried. Ideally, I replace the councillor who keeps getting in the way, but in the worst case I expose the dirt we have on our good friend then force him to kill himself to open up a position. Wouldn't be the first time a politician ended their life over a scandal.
Blake's face when she found out I was officially part of the government was hilarious. Because she keeps wanting to say 'this won't work' to make herself feel better about the wasted effort of the White Fang, and every time she has doubts, reality laughs in her face and I succeed even more.
I'm even opening up a legitimate school in my district now. It's going to take some time to get all the pieces moving, because even I can't completely shake off the red tape of democracy, but it's happening. Councilor Kiramman has started to help fund things because the Kiramman have the 'fuck you' amount of money that I told Blake we'll need and she wants her name on the project, her fingers in my pies. It's a pittance for her, pocket change she wouldn't stop to pick up on the street, but it means she's officially a part of things. A few manufactured scandals for the opposition will only convince her further to keep herself on my side.
I am still concerned about the presence of Atlas specialists but for now, Camille Ferros doesn't seem to be doing anything. She sniffs around my operations, and has captured several pieces of my tech (which self-destructed to avoid study) but she's made no real push to fully investigate. I was expecting them to show up and demand I submit to their investigations by now but she just… isn't. I was concerned that Kiramman was working with them but it turns out that Cassandra can't stand the Specialists or General Ironwood. Funnily enough, she shares an issue with Jacques Schnee. Her heiress ran off to go and 'play soldier' instead of doing the responsible thing by going into politics. Unlike Winter Schnee, Caitlyn Kiramman remains the heiress (and only child) of the Kiramman family and Cassandra is convinced that Caitlyn will come to her senses but it came up during our dinner meeting since Cassandra was glad to see someone as young as me getting into politics instead of 'wasting my life'. As far as I can tell, Specialist Ferros has made no effort to contact Kiramman but her moves are still confusing and I don't like it.
Shaking my head, I get back to work. The Grand Opening is tomorrow, and while basically everything is already set up, I want to double and triple check things. I swear someone is working to disrupt my schedules, deliveries being delayed, goods damaged in transport, invoices having errors on them. A thousand tiny inconveniences that are adding up to truly piss me off.
I half believed it was Ferros doing it, but that fell apart instantly. Unfortunately, that means I likely have two groups doing things behind the scenes. I also thought it was Kiriko but this is too subtle for the would-be vigilante. I still leaked the names of one of her little gang friends to the Hashimoto though.
Because fuck her, that's why.
– Blake Belladonna –
Walking the streets of Little Menagerie, she smiled slightly as one of locals waved at her. Most of the district knew that she was a 'security specialist' who helped Shiro keep the gangs out of the area. The kids had told her that she was 'totally cool' after she drove out some minor nobodies who wanted to make a mess.
Stopping for some food at a new bakery, she decided to people watch for a while. Even now, she could see Shiro's emblem on the bakery window. It was a subtle decal that just said that this bakery was part of Shiro's business empire. One of the small businesses that he'd sponsored as part of his 'economic growth' strategy. The nice dog faunus behind the counter outright refused to take her lien, knowing she worked directly for Mr Eis. She always tried to pay anyway, and always got refused.
Her eyes moved over the crowds. More and more people every day. Even Shiro had been caught by surprise but as always, he had plans within plans and schemes for every possibility. Homelessness was at zero percent. Not 'close to zero' but actually zero after Shiro fasttracked the low income apartments. It was a holding ground, basically, temporary housing until whoever applied could be moved into a more suitable housing. It was still better than what a lot of the locals were used to, and the newcomers had arrived with horror stories about Mantle, Atlas and Mistral. Each story only made the locals more slavishly devoted to Shiro. She genuinely wasn't sure if he intended that, but at this point she half expected him to make a church to himself.
Then tell her it was for tax evasion purposes.
She even knew that that Councillor he was in talks with had hired him to build some housing outside of their little slice of Vale, copying his exam answers but replacing every mention of 'Faunus' with 'Human'.
Walking down the street, she checked the new app on her scroll and changed directions, arriving at the stop just in time to get onto the new bus service. It'd be faster than walking, and Shiro knew how to make things run efficiently. Mostly because he took a hammer to whatever was slowing his perfect machine down. Sometimes she was that hammer. Using the app to select her stop, she watched the streets go by as the automated self-driving bus continued along its route. It was unreal watching the area change in realtime. Many of these buildings hadn't even existed a week ago, or had been abandoned factories or rundown or falling apart. Now, Shiro owned them all. Piece by piece, he was spreading his tendrils far and wide.
Going to her favourite spot, she looked out over the park he'd set up. A lot of the parents had wanted to talk to her today, because she was the best way to talk to Shiro, wanting to thank him for setting up the youth clubs and daycares. She didn't have the heart to tell them that Shiro just didn't want kids and teenagers being all over the place and set up several differing ages youth clubs as a quarantine to keep the kids in one place and out of his hair.
Her eyes watched as a drone hovered by, emptying a trash can before floating away. She had to give credit where credit was due, Shiro did know what he was doing. He'd recently set up an entire waste collection/management system right down to the differing recycling and his drones kept the area pristine.
Because if things looked untidy, it'd make him look untidy.
The Faunus race, dependant on Shiro being too egotistical to allow anything he controlled to fail. But, he'd forced her to accept the harsh reality of why the White Fang was never going to achieve their goals.
You couldn't change the system from outside of it. The system resisted any outside influence because it would lessen their power. But when the change came from a cog in that system, they were so eager to let him make the entire thing run smoother, even if it meant that that cog grew bigger and bigger. Shiro could make all the changes her people needed because he worked out how to get inside the system, and now he was hollowing it out from the inside until all that was left was him.
And Gods save her, she was going to help him.
— Bonus Scene — Emerald Sustrai
Agreeing to seduce Shiro was one of her dumber moves. Yes, Cinder was relying on her but what the fuck did Emerald know about seduction? With Cinder busy helping run the lab, and Mercury off harassing the gangs, Emerald was more or less left sitting on her hands, and every time she spoke with Cinder she could tell that Cinder was disappointed that she hadn't made any progress in getting close to Shiro.
But Neo was always there, right by his side. How was Emerald supposed to counter the mute bitch when she never left Shiro's side except for when he needed violence committed. The obvious answer was that Shiro just didn't trust her, so he always had someone else with him when she was around, either Neo or his catgirl.
Still, she'd found a brief opening. Neo was off doing… something and Blake was nowhere to be seen.
"Miss Sustrai," Shiro greeted, looking up as she approached. "Is there something I can do for you?"
"I'm bored out of my mind," Emerald said bluntly, catching him by surprise. "Cinder and Mercury both have stuff to do, but all you've had me doing is sitting on my ass and there's only so much TV I can watch. I need something to do before I pull my hair out."
She was sure she could have just walked up and asked if he wanted to fuck, but it wouldn't help her actual goal. Shiro would happily pump and dump her, she was sure of that, but Cinder needed her to find out what Neo was scheming and make sure Shiro didn't turn on them. Just spreading her legs wasn't going to help there.
She needed to slide into the same position Neo was in, someone Shiro trusted and relied on. Unfortunately, it still meant she needed to fuck him because Cinder was right. If he had to pick between his little sex pet assassin and them, he'd pick Neo every time at the moment. Even 'geniuses' still thought with their dicks, apparently.
Standing with her arms crossed, she saw his gaze flicker to her cleavage thanks to the way she was pushing her tits together.
"I need something to do. Cinder agreed that we'd work for you, so put me to work already. Cinder said we were supposed to make ourselves useful to you and I've never let her down. Do you know how shitty it feels to see Cinder and even fucking Mercury doing so much while I sit around doing nothing?" Emerald continued, pushing that she was only trying to be useful because Cinder told her to. Anything else would look suspicious. "I'm a damn good thief, but the only thing I'm stealing at the moment is Mercury's snacks. Shit, put me in a fucking waitress dress and have me work at the club as subtle security for all I care. Just give me something to do. I'll take literally anything."
"A fair point," Shiro agreed, leaning back with a thoughtful look. "I do have some work that could require a more stealthy approach. I've been using Neo for it, but she prefers jobs where stealth is optional."
Nice way of saying she wanted to kill people.
"What'd you need?" Emerald asked, straightening up. Anything that made Neo less valuable had to be good, right?
"Firstly. I know your Semblance is useful for this kind of work, but I prefer to have backup plans. What is your opinion on skintight bodysuits?" Shiro asked, his eyes sliding down her body for a moment.
Like the one the cat wore that looked like it was painted on? Ugh.
"If it helps get the job done, right?" Emerald shrugged.
"Perfect. We'll need to go to the workshop to take your measurements first, as each bodysuit is custom made for its user," Shiro explained, getting a huff of laughter and a roll of her eyes.
"If you want to get me out of my clothes, you could just ask. I'm bored enough to take anything," Emerald flirted with a lazy smirk, hoping her complexion hid her blush.
"Good to know," Shiro drawled back, returning her smirk. "But for now, you're right that your talents are being wasted. Business before pleasure, and all that."
Author's Note: Shiro is officially a government worker. Truly the most evil of MCs.
I have played too much Cyberpunk because Shiro is becoming a corpo. The world didn't know how good it had it with the SDC, but now it's time for 'definitely not Arasaka'.
Written: 31/03/2026