The Jewel He Clings To

Chapter 18

The crowd parted as Adam appeared. Everyone looked at the scar that was on his face. He made his way through the crowd and walked onto the stage. 

"Thank you, Adam," Ghira said and stepped back from the podium.

"I'm sorry I'm very late, everyone. I was taking care of some family business before arriving."

"Sure you were," someone said in the crowd.

Adam sighed, "You can believe me or not, but I was honestly trying to work things out with my family."

"Why don't you work things out here?" someone yelled.

Adam nodded his head, "Where do I even begin? I might as well start at the beginning. The start of it all. I worked in Mantle under the Schnee Dust Company's watch. I worked in the dust mines along with my mother and father. As well as countless other Faunus. Their work conditions are what you call, not good for lack of better words. If we didn't do what they told us, they would beat us. If we rested when we weren't supposed to, we would be punished. If we even helped each other, it was considered bad and we were punished. If we didn't follow strict guidelines and rules, we would be severely punished. I started to work there as young as the age of ten. As the days and weeks went by, more and more Faunus were collapsing from exhaustion. One fell and caused a dust cart to fall. It was ice and it interacted with some agitated fire dust. It not only caused a huge burn on the Faunus' arm, but it caused the ice to react and freeze on his arm. I did my best to help, but as soon as they saw I helped, I was punished. I helped another Faunus a few weeks later and I was punished as well. From then on I learned that I shouldn't help others, even if I wanted to. 

"After my experience with the mines, my mother and father knew it wasn't the best place for me to be. They organized for us to come to Vale. It was the best decision my parents have made. As for me, there were some decisions I wish I could go back on. While I was High Leader of the White Fang for sometime, I did some things I wish I didn't do. I robbed from the Schnee Dust Company trains in secret. It was during this time was when I was under the control of a possession Grimm. Y/N was the one who saved me. But I was pressured into returning back to what I once was. That footage you have just seen, that was me being branded by the police. The reason was because three other Faunus wanted to do another robbery. There was a train that was secretly coming in to Vale to get fuel and let the crew rest. We robbed the train and I suffered the major consequence. A scar that will forever be apart of me. I know this may not persuade you to believe I am changing. But there is a main reason I want to change.

"You might not think that Faunus are capable to be loving, caring, and compassionate beings. I came to say that you're wrong. We are just as capable of love as you all are. And there is someone important in my life that makes me want to change. She makes me want to become a better person. Not just for my sake, but for her's. I want to be better because I love her. And I want to show her that I can change because of my love for her. I will change. You might not think I can do it, but it doesn't matter. All that matters is that this one person is able to see change. All it takes is one person to change the world. In this case, it takes one person to change another."

The audience was silent. He turned and faced me. Tears were streaming down my face as he looked at me. He walked towards me and smiled.

"Everything I said a the end, it all came from here," he said and rested his hand on his chest.

I smiled and hugged him. He hugged me back and the audience cheered. For the first time, they cheered. Adam turned to look at them. There were some that had tears in their eyes while others were clapping. Ghira walked towards the podium and settled everyone down.

"Thank you for coming out. We will be around to talk to you if you have questions."

Ghira walked towards Adam, "That was a well deserved applause, Adam."

"Thank you, Mr. Belladonna."

"No need for that, Adam."

He nodded his head, "Understood."

We walked down from the stage and met up with Ruby, Weiss, and Yang. There were some news reporters who were there. They went up to Ghira and asked him some questions. Someone came over to me and tapped me on my shoulder.

"Pardon me, are you Y/N?"

"I am," I said.

"Do you mind if you can answer a few questions?"

"Of course."

"When did you first encounter the White Fang?"

"Back when I was a freshman in high school."

"I remember you being High Leader once. Do you think this path is the the path you would of liked to continue?"

"Yes. I believe that Ghira is doing a great job to keep the peace and to keep the path I had set."

"Do you mind if I ask about Adam?"

I turned and saw Adam was talking to another reporter.

"It's alright if you don't want to."

"I will determine if I will answer them," I said. "I hope that's alright."

"It's alright. I understand he can be a sensitive topic. Were you there when he was branded?"

"I was. I was the one who was able to get the footage."

"What do you think you're going to accomplish if the police find out about this?"

"They already know. They contacted Ghira a few days before the rally. They asked if the footage was real and he said it was. They asked him a few more questions and then they decided it was best to fire the police who had done that. Ever since Ghira had taken over, the police are more than willing to help us if we need them."

"I was just about to get there. Do you hope to have more alliances?"

"I wouldn't say 'alliances.' I would put it as support."

"Right. Do you have time for one more question?"

"Of course," I said.

"What is the relationship between you and Adam?"