P.O.V. [Name]

I sighed as I looked at Neo. We had just recently gotten the word that we were going to be joining Beacon today. For Neo hiding who she was wouldn't be that hard, for me it was going to be a lot more difficult. After all, if someone recognized her she could just use her semblance to disguise herself. It was a bit different for me however if someone recognized me I couldn't just transform into someone else.

I could try convincing them that they're mistaking but I'm not sure how well that would play out for me. Although knowing my luck, it probably wouldn't work unless the person I was talking to was either really stupid or really gullible. Well, whatever the case I need to get ready for her plan. She wants us to join Beacon and pose as students. She's apparently already done most of the heavy lifting for us by forging some documents for us.

She even went out of her way to give us a backstory that we can stick if we're pressed enough. Then again that might not do Neo any good considering she can't speak. But I doubt that would be her first go-to option when she can literally just turn into someone else, especially when that someone else is who's going to be on her student ID card. I then heard a knock on the door and looked at it.

"It's unlocked," I said as I looked at the door. When I said this Roman walked into the room and looked at me.

"Are you ready?" Roman asked as he looked at me.

"As ready as I can be for a mission like this," I said with a sigh. "I see why she wants Neo to infiltrate Beacon but why me? I can't get out of a pinch and blend into a crowd as easily as she does," I said as I looked at Roman. In fact, even that was underselling it a little bit. Neo was almost the perfect person to do an infiltration mission. It honestly wasn't a surprise she wanted her to help. But me? I just couldn't see her reasoning behind it.

"I mean, what am I supposed to do if I get caught? I've been spotted with you and Neo. I doubt they'll be will to just let me slide when they know I have connections to one of the world's most wanted criminals," I said as I looked at the male in front of me.

"Don't worry," The male said as he held up a hand. "We've already figured something out in case that happens," Roman said as he looked at me.

"We?" I asked as I looked at the male in front of me.

"Yeah, Neo and I thought of it last night," Roman said as he looked at me. I sighed a bit relieved when he said this. For a moment I thought he might have been talking about Cinder. Honestly, I don't know what's made him so obedient to her. I couldn't think of anything that would make him have this much of a turnaround compared to the person he used to be.

If she slept with him, he'd be treating her just like he did any of the other girls he had been seeing, if she had threatened him or blackmailed him then he'd just be biding his time while reminding some of the crew who we were supposed to be loyal to. I don't know what she did or told him but whatever it was, it must have been big for him to just go along with her plan so willingly.

"Well, it's good to know I won't be rotting in a jail cell if this plan of hers goes up in flames," I said as I looked at him.

"As if I'd let one of my best rot away. Just try not to do or say anything too suspicious. There's always the chance one of your teammates notices something out of the ordinary. And while we can break you out of prison, I think it goes without saying that we'd rather not do that," Roman said as he looked at me. I chuckled a bit hearing this and nodded.

"Yeah, I bet," I said as I looked at the male in front of me.

"Anyway, another reason I came in here is to let you know that you'll more than likely be on your own while you're at Beacon," Roman said as he looked at me. When he said this I looked at him a bit confused.

"Why? What's going on?" I asked as I looked at the male in front of me.

"Well, Cinder believes it would be best to keep as many people together as possible. So she'll be forming a team with Emerald, Merc, and Neo," Roman said as he looked at me. When he said this I was a bit dumbfounded. That just put me at an even bigger risk of being found out if I didn't have someone to help confirm my story. It's true stick together would help us, but if she really believed that then it should have been me and Neo sticking together, while those three grouped up together. It was almost like she wanted me to get caught!

I was silent for a moment thinking of something I could say to maybe convince Roman not to go along with this plan of her. However, nothing came to mind so I just sighed and conceded to defeat. "Alright," I said as I looked at the male in front of me. When I said this Roman smiled and stood up.

"Great! I'd suggest getting ready as soon as you can and be careful while you're sneaking into Beacon. Some of those new recruits are dying for a chance to prove themselves and what better way than by locking up a wanted criminal?" Roman said as he began to walk out of the room I had been staying in.

"Wait," I said looking at him causing him to stop. "What do you mean by get ready? We're not supposed to join until after Cinder gets whatever files she needs from-" I began only for Roman to cut me off.

"No, they're not supposed to join until they get the files. You're going in a bit earlier than them. You'll be taking the entrance exams along with the rest of the huntsman," Roman said as he looked at me. When he said this my eyes widened and I looked at him in shock.

"Are you serious?" I asked in almost complete disbelief. Not only would I be doing it by myself but I'd have to do it for months before the others joined as well?

"Indeed, she was concerned that they wouldn't be able to take the exam due to how they form teams. But since you're going in alone, it doesn't really matter what team you get placed on. In fact, it might even help, depending on whether you get put on a team with that Nikos girl," Roman said as he looked at me.

"Nikos? . . . You mean Pyrrha Nikos?" I asked as I looked at the male in front of me. What is she doing joining Beacon? I've only seen a few clips of her in action but if those clips are anything to go on then we better be careful. I'm sure Neo and I could handle her together but in a one-on-one fight, I'm not too sure how I'd fare against her.

"Yeah, that's one. She had a last-minute change and decided to join Beacon for the Vytal Festival. If nothing else keep an eye on her team. I don't know much about how Beacon decides their teams but if her teammates are as skilled as her. Then we might have some trouble out of them," Roman said as he looked at me.

I smiled a bit hearing this and nodded. "Yes sir," I said as I watched as he was walked out of the room I had been staying in. When he did I sighed and began to lay down on my bed. Great so on top of everything I won't even be around people I recognize. I'll have to get friendly with a bunch of people I'm just going to betray. At least Neo and the others have each other, when they're alone in their dorm they can drop the act and quit pretending to be nice to each other.

I won't even get that luxury I'll have to keep it up all the way to the end. Then again, I can't imagine I'd be too happy in Neo's position either. I can't stand Cinder, especially the way she talks down to everyone. If she were doing that to just her two lackeys then I would understand, but it's not just them. It's literally anyone she's talking to. As far as I'm concerned she's not my boss, Roman is, and the moment he stops taking orders from her so do I. So I can't imagine constantly being around her and her two yes men would be a pleasant experience either. Actually, maybe Neo's doing me a favor by being the one to stay with them.

Plus if my teammates ever get to be too much to handle Neo and I can always get into trouble some time. After all as long we don't get caught I can't imagine Cinder being too against the idea. Then again I don't really know her that well, so chances are just as likely that she'll blow up in our faces for doing something so reckless without her 'permission'. Not that I need her permission like I said Roman's my boss, not her.

So I'll be joining the exams tomorrow huh? In that case, I had better hurry up and pack the important things. I really hope this Cinder girl knows what she's doing, and there's just some bigger picture I'm not seeing. Because at the moment, I'm really not that impressed. I sighed and looked through what I had. Of course, I'd be bringing my weapon, I know that just makes me more likely to get caught but even so, I'd rather have it on me and risk getting caught than need it and not have it.

Some clothes to change into, and a few other essentials. When finished packing I sighed and walked out of my room. At least I have something to do now by keeping an eye on Pyrrha and her team. At least Roman has a plan beyond just infiltrating Beacon academy. As I was walking down the halls I pulled out my scroll and began to send a message to Neo and Roman telling them that I was leaving.

When I did I put my scroll away and continued down the halls of the building we were in. It took me a bit to find the exit and when I left the building I sighed a bit as I began to walk down the streets. Hopefully, I can pull off the nice person act, if not then the following months were going to be hard. I can only hope my teammates weren't too annoying otherwise I might end up blowing my cover early.

Before long I was away from the 'abandoned' building we used as our headquarters. It was only now that what was happening began to sit in. I'm really about to go to Beacon and pose as a student. If I get found out I don't think I can fight my way out of the situation. Fighting one or two people sure, but fighting the entire school? That wasn't gonna happen, especially with Pyrrha Nikos there.

Before long I saw the massive building dedicated to huntsmen and huntresses in training. I could see several people walking around in front of the building and I began to feel a bit sick. Every instinct I had was telling me that this was a bad idea, that I should just turn around while I still got the chance and leave before someone notices me. I then took a deep breath to help still my nerves and began to walk forward.

I have to remember I'm no longer [Name] the criminal, I'm now [Name] the huntsman in training. At least the backstory Cinder gave me will come in handy so that I don't need to think of a lie on the fly. I wasn't sure where I was supposed to be, but I could see a large majority of students walking in a certain direction, so for the most part I just followed them. As I slowly walked into the building I saw that they were all heading towards what appeared to be an auditorium.

The room was almost entirely filled with future students and on the other side of the room, I could see a microphone standing on top of a large stage. Yeah, it seemed like this was definitely the place to be at the moment. I walked away from the others a bit trying to find a place I wouldn't stand out too much. When I found somewhere I saw two people walk onto the stage. A female with blonde hair and green eyes wearing a pair of glasses.

While I couldn't be sure her attire suggested that she was one of the teachers for Beacon, and the other was a figure that I recognized but only from the news and a few magazines. The headmaster of Beacon Academy Ozpin. I tried to make myself even smaller really not wanting to stand out as much as possible with him around. The two seemed to talk to each other for a bit before Ozpin began to make his way towards the microphone causing some of the students to become quiet.

The male then cleared his thought as he moved closer to the microphone. "I'll keep this brief," The male said as he pushed his glasses back up into their proper spot. "You have traveled here today in search of knowledge. To hone your craft and acquire new skills. And when you have finished you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people. But I look amongst you and all I see is wasted energy, in need of purpose and direction," The male began as he looked at us. I'll admit I certainly wasn't expecting him to insult his students in such a manner so this caught my attention.

"You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far. It is up to you to take the first step," The male said as he began to walk away. As he did the blonde female that was behind him walked up to the microphone.

"You will gather in the ballroom tonight, tomorrow your initiation begins," The female said as she began to walk away as well. I sighed a bit seeing this and once again stood up not trying to hide myself as much as I was before. It didn't take long for the students to begin funneling out of the room with me following closely behind him. I could see several people already talking to each other and starting to become friends.

I'm not sure how teams or partners work here but if they do let us choose then I would say that some people have already found who they want to be partnered with. And that would make my time here a bit more bearable if they did that. After all, I could just partner myself with someone who was a bit more easy-going and didn't pry into my private life too much. When we arrived in the ballroom we saw several covers and pillows laid out on the ground.

So when they said we'd be spending the night in the ballroom it seems they were a bit more literal than I was expecting. I could see several students already picking out which cover they wanted to sleep in. Not that it really mattered, of course, you were going to be surrounded by other people sleeping no matter which one you chose.

I sighed seeing this and began to walk towards the bathroom that Beacon had before I began to change into a pair of pajamas that I had brought with me. I knew I'd be having dormmates so bringing them with me was just a courtesy to them. But now that I know I'll be sleeping in the same place as hundred or maybe even thousands of other students I was really glad I brought them with me.

When I made my way back to the ballroom I began to look for a spot that hadn't been taken yet. When I finally found one I placed my things beside it and began to lay down as I looked at that ceiling above me. So this is huh? My life as a Beacon student starts tomorrow . . . or maybe the day after? I don't know I'm still not too clear on the whole thing. I'll have to keep this act up for months at least before the others arrive.

I can only hope that I don't have to do it much longer after that. I wonder what my team is going to be like? I hope they're a bunch of airheads that I can't stand being around. I feel bad about betraying them if that was the case. After all, the last thing I need is to get cozy with my team while I'm here. Especially when I know I'm just going to betray them in the end. And I can't try to be obvious about the fact that I don't like them either otherwise they might get suspicious.

At least I can still keep an eye on Pyrrha no matter what I decide to do. Even if I am a part of another team hearing what a celebrity like her is doing won't be that hard. Man, this really sucks. I hope this doesn't take too long.