In RWBY's Shadow

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Before lunch the next day, Weiss took the time to show them all how to connect their scrolls to a single conference call. Smit had been worried that it would be some overly complicated process, but it ended up boiling down to accepting a call from Weiss like normal. She would use some easily accessed yet rarely used option to add people one at a time until everyone was connected. Smit still didn't quite understand why they needed to practice or know how to set one up himself, but decided it wasn't worth questioning.

Then, as if it wasn't already simple enough, Weiss made them all connect before they even left Beacon, leaving their scrolls on mute for the time being. To prevent people talking over each other, the plan was to use the conference call more like walkie-talkies, only unmuting long enough to say what they needed to say. Yang insisted on being on the call, even though they doubted the school viewing party would be a hotbed of criminal activity. Ruby worried about Yang being around all the other students so soon, but Cardin, of all people, had found them during lunch and asked if Yang wanted to watch with his team.

Told them he wasn't that bad. A lot of the school still kept their distance from CRDL, seeing them as nothing more than the bullies they'd been before, but Smit knew better. Sure, Cardin was still a bit of a jerk at times, but usually, he was just overreacting or falling back on old habits. Smit still wasn't sure what caused the change in Cardin, but he figured it would be pretty hypocritical to hold the boy's past over his head, given Smit's own struggles. Sure, Cardin had picked on just about everyone and been a vindictive butt crack, but Smit hadn't been a perfect angel, either.

Compared to him, Cardin was a saint. Lilly gave me a second chance, even when I'd done worse. Cardin deserves a chance, too.

Speaking of Lilly, Smit couldn't complain too much about his assignment. The teams knew better than to put him anywhere else. If this illusionist ever found out they were on to him, Smit was certain they'd target Lilly. Knowing that, there was no way Smit was leaving her alone, even if all four members of CFVY sat nearby, split into two pairs to guard each side of the Beacon seats in case someone approached. Having an extra excuse to stick by Lilly's side didn't hurt either. He only wished it came under better circumstances.

Despite how hectic the last couple of weeks had been, even before the whole criminal conspiracy thing, their relationship had actually been going really well. They'd spent a lot of their free time together at the Festival, and Lilly seemed to be getting more comfortable around him. Despite the weight of the afternoon's fights, the pair had accepted an invitation to breakfast with her family. The brief distraction seemed to help cheer Lilly up, even if her dad kept shooting questioning looks at her. They promised to have dinner with her parents after the Tournament before hastening back to the dorm to prepare for their secret mission.

"Lilly and I are in place," Smit announced over his scroll. They'd broken off from Ruby at the top of their section, while Randi and Honey split off to circle around to the Shade section. There wasn't any official designation for each school's section, but they tended to cluster for the most part due to familiarity. The schools had mingled a bit as the Tournament went on, but after yesterday's debacle, few strayed from their respective institution. "Everybody in place?"

"Blonde Bombshell standing by."

"Yang, I thought we said–"

"Crimson Crusader on overwatch." Smit abandoned his attempt at corralling the rambunctious sisters. Really, there was no need for code names. If anything, calling out something like that would only draw attention. The goal was to lay low and catch their target unawares. As long as Ruby focused on her task, they'd be okay. As the fastest of their group, she would need to rush to inform someone if they found anything. Originally, they'd hoped to warn Ozpin in his booth, but he was nowhere to be seen. Ironwood was still at the arena, though, overseeing the entire event from Ozpin's booth so he could direct security from a central point.