Tawny walked down the streets of downtown Vale, skimming through her checklist.

"Alright, first I have to get…. A uniform, which can be found at…." She skimmed to the right "ah, Tuckson's uniform paradise. Simple enough, thank god it isn't the place where I got my decoy…." as she thought about what excuse she would come up to the employee's ""see, at the last minute my dad transferred me,"" she thought to herself "like anyone would believe that..."

She arrived at the uniform store and noticed a sign outside "in loving memory of our founder Tuckson, we pray that you weren't killed so easily"

"Huh," Tawny shrugged "poor guy,"

She found the store to be completely empty as she walked up to the front desk and rang the bell. "Hello?" she said waiting for someone to respond. She was left in complete silence.

"Hm," Tawny said, "I'll try again some other time…" as she walked to the door.

"Let me guess…. Beacon?" a voice came behind Tawny as she jumped.

She turned around to see a tan boy with light black hair; his blended black cat ears were what stuck out to her "a faunus…." she thought to herself. She couldn't help but notice his yellow eyes and dashing smile.

"Oh, uh… yes...yes I am" she said with a blush "way to make first impressions…." She thought to herself.

"Heh, well the shop owners in the back," the boy said. "The walls back there are seriously thick. After the battle against Salem and the Grimm-"

"Construction was improved to keep buildings from crashing down so easily," Tawny interrupted. The boy looked at Tawny in confusion as her cheeks turned red "so uh…" she said to him trying to avoid making the conversation more awkward "how did you know I was going to Beacon?"

The boy laughed, "Isn't that obvious? The past few days have been jammed packed with Beacon students. You're just lucky you came at a later time," he said. "If you came here yesterday or the past 3 days? I bet you would reconsider going to another school"

The boy touched Tawny's shoulders and smiled "here, I'll help you out. I usually volunteer for the owner"

"T-t-thank you," Tawny smiled.

"No problem, the name's Nero by the way," he said.

"T-Tawny…" she said slowly.

Nero jumped behind the front desk to the back of the store. After about 2 minutes he came out followed by a bald old man "sorry about the delay," he stated "welcome to Tuckson's uniform paradise, home to every uniform under the sun."

Tawny reached into her pocket for her money "I'd like one medium girls uniform to Beacon Academy " she said shyly.

"Fair enough," the old man said as he walked to the back room. He peeked out of the wall and asked "what's your bust size?"

Tawny's face turned red "WHAT?" she screamed. The shopkeeper laughed hysterically "kidding kidding. Take a joke there, kiddo"

Tawny turned to Nero to see him giggling as well. "He asks that to every girl," he said, slapping Tawny on the shoulder. She turned to hide her frustration "you…. pervert…"

8 minutes passed by as the shopkeeper came back with a hanged skirt. It's black overcoat and white neck were overshadowed by it's stripped skirt. Tawny stared at the uniform in awe. She heard a snap of fingers as she looked up to see the shopkeeper snicker "all done in lala land? That'll be $950," he said.

Tawny reached into her pockets and pulled out her cash.

"Thank you," Tawny said. She felt her chest brighten up as she held her uniform. "This better not be a dream..." she said out loud. She felt a pinch behind her as she screeched "looks like it's not," Nero smiled. Tawny couldn't help but laugh back. After her brief moment of shock, she reached into her pocket to find her supply list.

"Having trouble finding what you need?" Nero asked.

"No! I grew up here! I know my way around!" she said skimming down her list. She spotted the names of the stores next to the items. "Carter's supplies…. I robbed that place so they won't let me in…Tuckson's Book Trade, I robbed that as well…."

Nero sighed as he tapped Tawny shoulder "well how about we go together. I know most of the shopkeepers around here so I'm sure I can get you in"

Tawny blushed "what is with me? I just met this boy and already I'm acting like a twelve year old girl meeting her favorite pop star," she thought to herself. She nodded back "Sure!" in an excited tone. "Way to hide it," she thought as she grit her teeth.

Nero turned to the shopkeeper and smiled "I'm gonna leave now Rick,"

"No problem Nero, thanks for all the help!" The shopkeeper yelled as Tawny and Nero left the store.

Each store Nero and Tawny entered Nero had to calm the shopkeeper from calling the police against Tawny. "Get that thing out of here!" they would yell as he reassured them that she's not up to her usual schemes. Hours passed by as Tawny and Nero crossed off items one by one.

"And, there we go!" Nero said as he crossed out the last part of the list. Tawny came right behind him carrying a sack full of school supplies.

"Are you alright?" Nero asked "you've been quiet since the last 3 stores"

"Can I ask you something?" Tawny asked.

"Sure!" Nero smiled back "Go ahead, shoot!"

"Why do you want to help me? We just met and already you're helping me solve my problems. You're no average stranger I'll give you that," she said as she shook her head. "Maybe it's my lack of trust in people that's giving me this worry" she shrugged.

Nero's smile was completely different then Tawny had seen all day today. It wore a sinister and snarky look "you know, I'm just not going to hold back anymore…" he said. He turned to Tawny "I know you Tawny, well, I don't know you but I've heard and seen a lot about you"

Tawny's skin turned pale as she stuttered "k-know me?" she said as she slowly backed away. "You mean…you've been spying on me? How? When? Where?" she panicked.

"Well," Nero said "not on purpose. I mean I've heard of you through my dad. But I'm sure you know him as the chief of police"

"Officer Sun?" Tawny said. She felt stupid for not recognizing Nero's similarities, if him being a Faunus didn't give it away the tan skin should have at least. Something wasn't adding up to her though "if you are his son than...why would you spy on your fathers own work?"

Nero snickered "Do you seriously think you're the only thief in town?"

Before Tawny's eyes, Nero vanished into thin air. She jumped only to increase her panic "What? Where? Who?" A bird chirp on the bench next to her she jumped to see it sitting down on the bench besides her. "Jumping at birds now..." she groaned, she noticed the bird held a pencil in it's beak. "Hey...that's the pencil I just bought!" she said as she snatched it from the bird.

"Boo," a voice came from behind her as she jumped again to see that Nero was right behind her. "Where did-" as she turned to see the bird had vanished from the bench. "Y-you were...wait a second" the thought came to her head as she pieced the puzzle together.

"Oh, it seems our little detective is onto something!" Nero smiled.

"It's not that difficult to figure out," Tawny smiled, trying to rid her remaining nerves from shaking. "I can easily deduct that you were the bird and you stole my pencil. What's your semblance? Bird fusion? Bird control?"

"Close," Nero smiled back "animal transformation. I have to say for a girl who hasn't been to combat school, you seem to know more about semblance's than the average person"

Ignoring the shock from him knowing more about her, Tawny scuffed "I've had my fair share of knowledge from books"

"Stealing from the book store?" Nero snickered "now there's something new"

Tawny shrugged "I like reading, fantasy has always been my favorite. But I've read a hand full of non-fiction about Huntress history and knowledge"

Nero laughed "and despite all of your so called knowledge, you find yourself caught in most of your thieving attempts"

The nervousness returned to Tawny. Clenching her fist she asked "how exactly could someone like you know so much about me? Wouldn't someone who volunteers in shops stay away from some petty old thief like myself?"

"Come on Tawny, there hasn't been a soul in Vale who hasn't heard about you! Why wouldn't a good little boy like me not hear about you? You're all the shopkeepers say to stay away from" Nero snickered "I've seen you around town, stealing cookies and weapon mods. I believe last week you stole another box of cookies?"

Tawny blushed as the memory flashed back into her head. Nero smiled at her sign of weakness. "You lack skill," he said "a good thief gains the trust of others while going behind their backs. It's like life! You never know if the most honest of people hide something dark. I've stolen food, mods, explosives, pharmacy drugs you name it! I dare you to go to the station and look up my name, it's doubtful that it'll be in the system"

"So why are you keen on helping me so much?" Tawny asked, "Just so you can call me an amateur? So you can rub all of my arrests in my face?"

"Of course not!" Nero smiled "if anything I admire you, despite all of the times you've gotten caught you seem to have determination. I appreciate that."

"It's not like I could do much else..." Tawny thought to herself. She viewed stealing as a way to express her true self to the world. Something she felt Jaune wanted to hide.

"You know what impresses me more?" Nero continued "How despite your father's objections you still continue to apply to Beacon!"

Tawny turned pale as a chill ran down her spine "How do you know that?" she stuttered. Hiding her fear even more, she knew Nero would feed off that.

"I just told you, didn't I?" Nero smiled "the way of thieving is to gain the trust of others. Right when they trust you the most is when you can go behind their backs. People are so stupid, especially you humans"

"You're willing to go as far as to turn on your own father?" Tawny guessed.

"Bingo, and you're one to talk" Nero smiled. "I can get info from time to time on what's what in Vale. Crime organizations, crazy cults, serial killers, you name it. How do you think I stay out of the system? Even my old man would be willing to add me to the record if I were to get caught"

Those words hurt to Tawny. She realized at how similar her and Nero's actions were. Nero would go behind Sun's back in order to clear his name, and Tawny would go behind Jaune's back in order to go to Beacon. "But I am different..." Tawny thought to herself "unlike him, I actually care about dad...he treats his own father like a tool." She felt as if Nero was the type of person who enjoyed exposing secrets. He was almost past the common criminal, he felt like a mastermind. Yet something told her he himself had darkness to hide.

"What's wrong?" Nero asked "just a couple of hours ago you where blushing and stuttering like a fanatic. Now you're just completely silent, do you hate me for knowing you? Do you hate me for spying on you? Or did your moral kick in when you found out how pathetic your work looks compared to mine?"

Tawny laughed, shaking her head. "No," she said "if anything…. I also admire you, you're even clever than I thought you were. You seem to get the job done better than me. I don't only just admire you, I'm jealous, completely jealous. How is it someone like you who claims to have stolen, sabotaged and spied has the loyalty and trust of almost every shopkeeper around here? I've lived here my whole childhood, I've been stealing quiet awhile. And despite my skills and development, I seem to find myself falling one step behind you"

"I wish I could say the same for you," Nero smiled. "As much as I admire your determination, your skill is what is going to get you killed at Beacon. This isn't your average school Tawny, it only accepts the best of the best. They want to unleash the ultimate abilities in Hunters and Huntress's, and in order to do that they will put you through hard tests"

"I'm ready for anything," Tawny said.

"That remains to be seen." Nero said "you have zero experience in the field. You'll be the prime example of a fish out of water at Beacon. If your thieving skills don't impress me, how will I know your fighting skills will?""

"There's more to me than meets the eye, Nero" Tawny said. "Don't act like you know everything about me"

"That's what a lot of people say," Nero said "but we'll see when you take your combat exam. Prove to me that your fighting skills are on par and I'll eat my own words."

"Everybody has a weakness," Tawny said "it's not something we like to reveal but it's the cruel truth." She glared at Nero with a fierce look. His devilish smile and cunning remarks was what really increased her anger "If you'd like, I'll prove to you that I can fight. That I'm no amateur, right here, right now"

Nero busted out laughing "please Tawny, don't let your determination cloud your logic. You know that would be a stupid idea." Tawny felt as if his devilish smile grew further, but she could tell it was her anger controlling her imagination. "I'll say though," Nero continued "I think I'm looking forward to your combat exam the most...maybe you'll be so good that you'll make team leader"

From the tone in his voice, Tawny couldn't tell if this was a compliment or sarcasm.

"You know," Nero smiled "despite our little chat...I actually do think you've got what it takes to lead..."

"Putting faith in me already?" Tawny asked "what happened to admiring my determination yet lacking my skills?"

"That waits to be seen. You are right when you say there is probably more to you than meets they eye. But first impressions mean a lot as well," Nero said "but who knows, if you prove yourself to me at Beacon. Maybe I will start trusting you more"

"who would have thought...my opinion about you would change...so fast" Tawny said

Nero shrugged "life holds many mysteries and coincidences...which reminds me haven't you been out for quite a while?"

Tawny looked up at the nearest clock "AH!" she yelled. It was 7 PM sharp Jaune get suspicious by now.

"I gotta run!" she said "Thanks Ne-" she looked back only to see Nero had vanished "of course..." she said to herself.

As Tawny ran home she couldn't help but think about her conversation with Nero. "A rivalry huh?" she thought about her meeting with Alice at the post office and smiled. "Another rivalry..." she added "only this time, we'll see who's laughing first when I come out on top"