*Thunder and lightning noises*

Good evening one and all. I am Constable Paperbag, and I wish you all a very merry October. What say we give the month the attention it deserves, unlike most shops that are already starting to sell Christmas calendars.

With Halloween on the horizon, I thought it'd be best to celebrate with a two-shot horror story, involving our favourite noodle discovering his semblance as a mind reader.

I've read a lot of stories where writers have Jaune's semblance be mind reading. Thing is though, most of the stories I've read have him use it only to pick up girls. Whilst this is all well and good, I thought I'd write my own spin on things, as I feel there's so much more you can do with the concept. And so I bring you this - The Mind's Eye.

Special thanks to Exvnir for doing the cover art for me. Go check out his stuff on Deviantart if you haven't already. Without further ado, enjoy:


Part One - The High...


The hardest part about Mondays was waking up to them.

That said, Jaune always was a bit of a morning person. He stretched his limbs and surveyed his dorm room. He and Ren seemed to be the only ones in it. Pyrrha was undoubtedly doing her morning jog that she always did, and Nora was in the shower, judging from the sound of running water coming from the bathroom.

Poor Ren was still fast asleep. The eastern boy was always the last to wake up, and it seemed the duty of waking him befell on Jaune. He hated disturbing someone's sleep, but he had no choice. Ren would sleep through the end of the world if he was given the chance.

"Rise and shine, Ren," he said softly, gently nudging the boy. "Come on, we gotta get up. We have Grimm studies in thirty minutes. You can sleep during Port's rambling."

"Mmm, I'm awake, I'm awake," the boy mumbled, swatting Jaune's hand away. "Just give me a minute."

"Fine, but if I catch you dozing off again, I'll send Nora on you," he chuckled. The threat went over his head, as he just turned onto his side with his back to him. Jaune left him to it, heading to his drawer to grab his stuff.

"I don't know how he looks so fresh at this time of day," he heard Ren mumble. "Mornings were designed to be slept through."

"I dunno about fresh," Jaune laughed. "I'm still feeling pretty out of it right now. Can't imagine I'll be any better as the day goes on." He took a moment to quickly inspect himself in the mirror. Huh, maybe Ren had a point. He could probably rock the 'bed hair' look if he tried hard enough.

"Are you talking to me, Jaune?" Ren asked, still lying on his side with his face away from him. It looked like he hadn't even attempted trying to get out of bed yet. He was probably gonna have to drag him out.

"Who else, man? You're the only one here." He gestured to the empty room. "Besides, I was just responding to what you said."

"But I didn't say anything."

Jaune blinked in surprise. "Sure you did," he said, slightly confused. "You said something two seconds ago." This was probably Ren's grogginess talking. He never made much sense when he was half-asleep.

"Uh, no I didn't."

"See, this is what I'm talking about. Waking up at this hour makes people crazy."

"I'm not crazy, Ren," Jaune huffed. "If anything, you're the one acting weird right now."

"I never said you were crazy."

"Are you kidding me!? You literally said it just now!" What the hell was going on? It wasn't like Ren to act this way. He might have misheard him, maybe, but he had definitely heard Ren say something.

"Jaune, I'm telling you, I didn't say anything." He sat up and turned to face Jaune. "Seriously, what's gotten into you?"

The look on his face showed that he wasn't lying. Ren was just as confused as he was. Maybe he hadn't said anything and he had just imagined it? But it had sounded so real, so clear. His voice sounded no different to him speaking now.

"I… I don't know," he pondered. "Sorry, I didn't mean to confuse you. Guess I'm not as awake as what I thought."

"It's okay, Jaune," Ren mumbled.

"Hopefully this won't happen again today."

Jaune's eyes went as wide as saucers. Okay, he definitely hadn't imagined that. He hadn't even opened his mouth, yet Ren's voice was as clear as day.

"How did you do that?" he gasped.

"Do what?"

"You spoke without moving your lips just now." He wasn't crazy, he wasn't! "Come on, tell me. How are you doing this!?"

"Jaune, I don't know what you're talking about."

"He's lost his mind."

"There it is again. Your speaking, I can hear you!" Was his teammate a ventriloquist or something? That was the only explanation as to how he was able to talk like that. He wasn't crazy and he never would be!

"Alright then, what did I say?" Ren asked, a hint of annoyance in his voice. "Or rather, what did you think I said?"

"You said I've lost mind. I know I'm not imaging things!" How could he mishear someone who was sitting right next to him?

Ren's groggy eyes widened slightly. "I didn't say that, Jaune." he said softly.

"Damn it, yes you did!"

"No, listen to me for a minute. I didn't say that you've lost your mind… but I did think it."

He thought it? What the hell was that supposed to mean? And he had said it, he heard him say it just now. Granted, he didn't know how he had said it, but he had said it nonetheless.

"What are you trying to say?" Was Ren trying to test him somehow? It certainly felt like it, but he couldn't imagine why he would want to.

"What I'm saying is I only thought that you were going crazy. I only said it in my head, not out loud."

What? But… he did say it out loud. He heard him. How was that possible if he only thought about it? Ren looked to be wide awake now. His expression was dead serious and locked on Jaune. Hopefully, he was understanding this better than he was.

"What am I thinking now?" He said suddenly, startling Jaune a bit.

"W-What?"

"Tell me what I'm thinking now." His tone was sharp and authoritative. "Go on, tell me."

"How am I supposed to do that?"

"Because if you can do what I think you can do, then it should be no problem. So then, tell me what I'm thinking."

Jaune's head was spinning. Tell him what he was thinking? He couldn't do that, not unless he read his mind or something-

Wait… read his mind? Was that…

No, no, that couldn't be what was going on here. There was no way Ren was suggesting something like that. He wasn't a mind reader. He couldn't read minds before and he certainly couldn't do it now. Hell, how was he even able to do it now? It's not like he was trying to!

Still… it would explain how he was able to hear Ren speak, even when he hadn't moved his mouth. And how he was able to know that Ren thought he was crazy. Well, maybe he was and this was some kind of hallucination, but it felt real enough.

Maybe it was worth giving it a go?

"O-Okay, I'll try," he said slowly, concentrating on Ren. He didn't really know what he was doing. He wasn't sure how he was able to hear him before, so he didn't know how he was supposed to now. It wasn't like people had a speaker in their head that he could just mentally turn on.

Although come to think of it, that might actually work…

Taking a deep breath, he locked eyes with Ren and thought about pushing a button that would make his thoughts play. It seemed silly, but it was worth a shot. And hey, if it didn't work, then maybe-

"One of these days, I will return to Kuroyuri!"

Jaune gasped at the sudden sound of his voice. Ren's mouth hadn't moved an inch, yet the words came out loud and clear. Ren's face lit up at the sight of Jaune's expression and he leaned in closer.

"What did I say?" he hastily asked. "Repeat what I said, word for word."

"One of these days, I will return to Kuroyuri," he whispered. Those were the only words he heard, so they must have been the right ones.

It seemed like they were, as Ren nodded with a smile beginning to grow on his face. "Yes, that's right. That's exactly right. My word, I don't know what to say."

"Oh my God, what's happening to me?" His hands were trembling as he brought them to his head. He saw nothing amusing about the situation he was in. He was hearing people's freaking thoughts. Why was this happening to him? This wasn't something to celebrate, this was bloody terrifying!

"Oh dear, he's panicking. I must do something."

"Jaune, everything's okay, just breath," Ren said, coming down to put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "I need you to calm yourself if you're gonna listen to me, Jaune. Can you do that? Can you take a deep breath for me?"

How was breathing gonna help at a time like this? He wouldn't be saying that if this was happening to him. Oh God, his heart wouldn't stop pounding. It felt like he was gonna collapse. He was already beginning to feel lightheaded.

"Would you rather I spoke to you like this?"

"No, not like that!" he nearly shouted. Okay, fine, he would breathe. Whatever got him to stop speaking in his head.

He sucked in a lungful of air and exhaled. At first, he was breathing to quickly, but he eventually managed to control his breathing. He felt his heart slow down and his body relaxing again. His mind was still reeling from the whole experience, but he at least felt like he had a better grasp on himself.

"Now listen to me, Jaune. I know things might seem scary now, but trust me when I say that this is a very exciting time."

"It doesn't feel exciting," he mumbled. He felt like he had gone mad.

"Probably not right now," he agreed gently. "Having power suddenly thrown at you is a little shocking at first, but I think you'll change how you feel about it soon enough. Especially when you start getting the hang of it."

Before he could respond, Pyrrha walked through the door, looking a little worn out from her jog. Her face was a little sweaty and she had a small towel draped over her shoulder.

"Morning guys, I-" she stopped and looked at the position the two boys were in. A blush started to form on her face. "Um… am I interrupting something?"

Ren chuckled slightly at her embarrassment. "On the contrary, you're just in time to hear the good news."

"Good news? Is Port's lesson cancelled today?"

"Even better-" He paused for a moment. "Well, mostly better. And it involves Jaune over here." He lightly patted him on the back when saying it. "It seems our leader just unlocked his semblance."

[/]

Mind reading… his semblance was mind reading.

It felt like such an odd thing to associate him with. Wasn't a semblance meant to be part of one's character or something? How did mind reading fit into his personality? There was probably some deep reason as to why, but he didn't want to overthink it.

Regardless, the reception he got for discovering his semblance was… warm, to say the least. Pyrrha had immediately hugged him, saying that she was so proud of him. That felt really nice. Nora had hugged him too, but she hugged him so hard that he thought he was gonna spit out his spine. It still felt nice though, in its own crippling way.

Team RWBY was just as positive; with Ruby instantly rushing up to him and asking him what it was, Yang giving him a hi-five and Blake nodding her approval. Weiss had said it was about time he discovered it but still congratulated him regardless.

They were all sitting in the canteen, with Jaune being the main source of entertainment for the day.

"Ooh, what am I thinking of now?" Ruby asked him, buzzing in her chair from excitement. "Come on, tell me, tell me!"

He rolled his eyes in amusement and concentrated on Ruby. He was starting to get a little better with his semblance, though he still heard the occasional thought by accident. It was no longer as daunting as what it had been initially, but it was still a little creepy to hear people's inner thoughts.

An image of cookies flashed before his eyes. They were raining from the sky, crashing to the ground with a chocolatey thud. There was so many that he couldn't even count them all. He could feel his sweet tooth tingling at the sight of them all.

"You're thinking of cookies, of course," he chuckled. Was there anything else she thought about, other than her weapon?

She squeed with joy. "Ahh, that's so cool!" Honestly, it was amazing how easily impressed she was.

"Come on, Rubes, he doesn't need to read your mind to know that," Yang laughed. "Hell, I could've told you that."

"Aww, but it's so much cooler when he does it," she giggled. "It's like he's a wizard or something."

"Please, my semblance isn't that impressive," he said with an eye-roll. "You're the one with the super-speed and all."

"Don't be silly, of course it's impressive," she beamed. "I bet you can do all kinds of cool stuff with it. Now all that's left is for Ren to discover his."

"Um, actually I already-"

"How did you discover it, anyway?" Blake asked, eyeing him curiously.

He shrugged. "I wish I could tell you," he said. "But it was honestly just pure luck. I was just getting ready for today when I suddenly started reading Ren's mind. I didn't even try to, it just sorta happened."

"Interesting," she murmured. "It's not unusual for someone to discover it by accident. But at such a late age…"

"Well, it wasn't too long ago that I had my aura unlocked," he said. "Maybe that had something to do with it?"

"Maybe," she nodded. "Well, you've discovered it now, so good for you."

"And how do you plan to use this new ability of yours?" Weiss asked him with a suspicious tone. "Because I think I speak for everyone here when I say there should be limits."

"Limits?"

"You know, concerning our privacy. I don't want you reading my mind every time I see you. There has to be some boundaries. What if I'm thinking of something embarrassing - not that I ever would - and you-"

"Whoa, whoa, I would never do that," he said, holding his hands out in front of him. "Come on, Weiss, you know me better than for me to intrude like that."

"Do I? During our first few weeks here, you pestered me to no end."

Oh, come on, he gave that up a long time ago. Forgive and forget, you know?

"Yeah, but as you say, there are limits." He could be a bit annoying, but he wasn't a pervert or a creep. "Look, I'm still figuring this whole thing out. If I hear or see something I'm not meant too, then trust me, it'll be an accident."

"It had better be," she huffed. "Otherwise you and I will have trouble."

"I get it," he nodded. He didn't exactly want anyone worming around in his head either. "But I promise, once I've got this thing under control, I'll never pry. I understand if I'm making you all a little careful of what you think right now."

"Ah, don't sweat it, Vomit Boy. We're all open books here," Yang laughed. "Here, I'll prove it to you."

An image of a muscular man flashed in his mind. He was grinning sensually as he slowly started taking off his clothes, finishing with his boxers and pulling out his large-

Jaune wretched away in embarrassment and horror. "Yang, what the hell!?" he spluttered. The blonde cackled like a madwoman at his reaction.

"Huh? What was she thinking about?" Ruby innocently asked.

"Never you mind, Rubes," Yang winked at him. "It's just me and Jaune's little secret."

"If they're all like that, then trust me, your mind is the last place I'll ever look." Oh God, judging from her laughter, she was gonna spend all four years screwing with him like that. He was gonna have a real love/hate relationship with his semblance, wasn't he?

"Joking all aside, this is fantastic news," Pyrrha said, smiling at him and putting her hand on his. "This calls for a celebration. How about we all go out to Vale for dinner tonight?"

Jaune cocked his head in a confused manner. "Celebration? Just for discovering my semblance? Is it really that big of a deal?" It's not like it was his birthday or anything. Besides, celebrating him discovering something that his peers discovered years ago seemed pointless.

Nora jumped on his back and gave him a noogie. For such a loud girl, she could be terrifyingly sneaky at times. "Are you kidding, of course it's a big deal! Our fearless leader just discovered his inner superpower. What's not to get hyped about?"

Okay, he appreciated Nora's enthusiasm, but he felt like he was losing IQ points from how hard her knuckles were digging into his skull. Thankfully Ren swooped in to pry her off his back. What a bro.

"She does have a point, Jaune." Pyrrha smiled. "Discovering your semblance is a very important thing. They're extensions of ourselves, after all. By unlocking yours, you've essentially come to a better understanding of who you are as a person. Now do you understand why this is worth celebrating?"

Wow, that was actually kinda insightful. Perhaps Pyrrha was right, this was an important occasion. He usually blushed under constant praise, but he truly felt proud of this accomplishment. He would've never achieved something like this if he had stayed at home.

"She's right," Weiss nodded. "Semblances are what define us. They're what makes us unique from everyone else."

"Doesn't your family have the exact same semblance?" Blake asked with a raised eyebrow.

"M-My take on it is completely different!" Weiss spluttered, going off on a wild tangent to the faunus about how she used hers differently.

"I gotta admit, I never thought of it like that before," Jaune smiled, ignoring Weiss' rant and going back to the previous conversation. "I'm totally up for celebrating if you guys are."

Pyrrha beamed at him. "Then its settled. I know this lovely restaurant that serves the most amazing-"

"What? Come on, P-Money, you can't celebrate with something like that," Yang laughed. "Going out for dinner is way too chilled. The only way to properly celebrate is with strong drinks and loud music. It's how I celebrated when I discovered mine."

"Yang… you discovered yours when you were nine," Ruby said.

"Yup," she said proudly. "And let me tell you, I had the strongest fizzy drink at the under-fifteens disco that night." She sighed happily. "Good times."

"The decision should be Jaune's to make," Ren said, serving as the voice of reason once again. "This is his moment. He should be the one to decide how to celebrate."

"I really don't mind what we do," he shrugged. "I'll let you guys decide. I'm no good at organising this kind of stuff anyway."

"Then let's do it all!" Nora cheered. "We'll have a fancy dinner in the evening, then afterward we'll party till we're passed out. Forget about lessons the next day, you only discover your semblance once, after all."

"This girl gets it," Yang cheered, giving Nora a hi-five. "Rest assured, Jauney Boy, you're gonna wake up the next morning wishing you hadn't told us this."

For some reason, he was starting to think that already.

Although he was dreading the hangover he would undoubtedly have tomorrow, listening to Yang and Nora discuss party plans was incredibly humbling. Come to think of it, everything about this was humbling. Right now, all of his friends were discussing all the ways they could make his night special. Even Weiss was throwing out a few suggestions.

When was the last time anybody had planned anything like this for him? His family always celebrated events like his birthday and always made him feel like the most important person in the world during times like that, but anyone outside of his family? He had no memories of anyone else going out of their way to plan something for him, not even the few friends he had before coming to Beacon.

Seeing everyone now organising something special for him… he felt the happiest he had ever felt in a long time. He smiled as he watched his friends - his family - argue back and forth on the best way to celebrate. He honestly didn't know how to handle being put under such a spotlight.

You guys are the best, he thought, his mind being the only one he needed to read right now. Screw how he would feel in the morning after. He was gonna party with these fantastic people until he dropped.

[/]

"Mr Arc, to the stage if you please."

Ah crap, here we go again. Jaune groaned as he stood up from his seat and made his way to the locker room. Combat class was supposed to be about observing your peers and learning from each others strengths and weakness. But when he was in the arena, the whole class might as well have been at the circus with him as the clown.

But Ms Goodwitch's word was law, so he got Crocea Mors out of his locker and walked into the arena, ready to give the class the performance they were expecting. It didn't matter how many words of encouragement his friends shouted his way, they all knew how this was gonna go.

So, who was gonna be the lucky guy to face him in front of everyone?

Why none other than Cardin Winchester, of course. That was, what, the tenth time he had gone up against the bully? Didn't he ever get tired of throwing him across the room like a ragdoll? Were there seriously no other practice dummies Goodwitch could've given him to use?

Complaining about it wouldn't change anything though, so he walked to the centre stage and prepared to face the music. Cardin showed up a few moments later, carrying his mace over his shoulder and staring him down. He no longer wore that cocky smirk he usually did whenever he was around him, but he still didn't look pleased to see him.

"Don't think Forever Fall changes anything, Arc," the bully growled. "I'm not gonna go easy on you."

When did he ever? Still, it was nice to see he remembered that time he saved his life, if only to repay him by slamming his face into the floor. His father once told him that a hero's work often went unpraised, but he thought that kind of logic was reserved for comic books only.

The two took their positions, giving each other enough distance and time to prepare themselves. He always hated the waiting before a fight. It made him think of all the ways he was gonna get his ass kicked. Cardin's gaze never left him. His fingers clenched tightly around his mace in anticipation for the fight.

"One swing to his head will end this. There's no way his scrawny arms can block a hit like that."

Jaune blinked. He had just unintentionally read Cardin's mind. Well, what do you know? Apparently the bully did have a brain knocking around in that head of his.

Witty comments aside, this suddenly shed a whole new light on things. That hadn't been some meaningless thought he had just heard, that had been Cardin's plan of attack. That was how he planned to win the fight.

And Jaune now knew this…

"Begin!" Ms Goodwitch announced, commencing the start of the fight.

Cardin charged forward with his mace, moving at a surprising amount of speed from someone of his size and weight. He brought the mace over his head and sent it swinging down to Jaune's head. Had he not already known he had planned to do this, Jaune probably would've frozen in shock due to the speed of the attack.

But this was different. He knew Cardin would do this. He didn't even blink when he saw his terrifyingly large weapon raised at him. Cardin had made his move, now it was time for him to make his!

Before the mace struck, Jaune quick rolled out of the way. The ground beneath the mace exploded from the impact, getting slightly stuck in the process.

"The hell?" Cardin grunted, trying to pull the mace out. Jaune took advantage of this and slammed his shield against the bully's face. Cardin yelped and staggered onto the floor, quickly covering his face from any other attacks.

Looking at the monitors, he could see Cardin's aura begin to dip.

Holy crap… he hit him! He actually hit him! He would've let the small victory got to his head if he didn't see Cardin getting back on his feet and looking more pissed than ever.

"Beginners luck," he snarled. "Now you're really gonna get hurt." With one last tug, he pulled the mace out of the ground, gripping it tightly in his hand as he prepared for his next attack.

"Sneaky prick. He won't feel so lucky after I destroy his kneecaps."

His legs. Cardin planned to hit his legs next.

Oh my God, his semblance was amazing!

Cardin charged forward again and swung his mace at Jaune's legs. The mace would have swept them under him, but Jaune jumped over the mace before it could even touch him. From such a powerful swing, Cardin went stumbling as he tried recovering from his miss.

But Jaune wouldn't let him, so he slashed the back of Cardin's right leg with his sword, almost mimicking what he tried to do to him. Cardin cried out in pain and dropped to one knee, giving Jaune the chance to knee him in the chin. A hiss came from Cardin's mouth as he fell backwards onto the floor.

He couldn't believe it. He was standing his ground. He was beating Cardin.

This was happening! This was real!

The cheering voices from his team and Team RWBY gladly reminded him that this was all very real. Pyrrha, Ruby and Nora were standing up and roaring their praise at him. The rest of his friends remained seated but were still clapping ecstatically.

"That little bastard," he heard Cardin grunt behind him. "How has he gotten so fast?"

Jaune turned around to meet Cardin, a cocky smirk on his face as he watched the bully try to find his feet. "Want me to slow down, big guy?" he snarked. "I can slow down if you want." He never imagined he would get the chance to finally give the bully a taste of his own medicine.

"You son of a bitch," Cardin spat. "Hold still and break already."

"Try laughing with a collapsed lung, you prick."

Cardin lunged his mace at Jaune's chest, but Jaune casually sidestepped out of the way almost gracefully. Cardin staggered forward but was already preparing his next strike.

"Screw it, I gotta end this now. I'll hit his head again."

He swung his mace back around, aiming for his head. Jaune smiled and quickly ducked under it. Sweat was pouring down the bully's face. He looked like he about to have a cardiac arrest.

"His arms."

Dodge.

"His legs."

Dodge.

"His chest."

Dodge.

"Hold fucking still!" he roared in fury and exhaustion. Cardin wasn't so much moving anymore as he was dragging his body across the arena. His mace was hanging limply from his hand and each swing was devoid of energy. He panted and gasped every time he had to swing the giant weapon.

Jaune meanwhile had all the energy in the world. He was buzzing from the sense of euphoria this fight was giving him. For each failed strike, Jaune jabbed, smacked and punched the bully, chipping away at his aura with each hit. It was unclear what was destroying him first - the exhaustion or Jaune himself.

Either way, Cardin was down for the count. He dropped onto his hands and knees, breathing deeply with sweat dripping off his face. He tried grabbing his mace again, but he lacked the energy to even lift the weapon. All he could do was kneel there looking like a fool.

Jaune stood over him, feeling on top of the world. He looked down at the bully, taking a short moment to revel in the sight of him before picking up by the scruff of his neck. Cardin was a heavy guy, but his feeling of victory gave him the strength to hold him up.

"How… how the hell..." Cardin wheezed, his eyes looking dazed and half-closed. "How did you…"

"Speak up, Cardin," Jaune laughed. "You're kinda mumbling there, buddy."

"You… you haven't won anything!" The bully snarled, and in one last effort to win brought his fist towards Jaune's face. Jaune didn't even need to read his mind to block this one. He swatted the fist away and used his own to hit Cardin square in the nose. The bully slumped to the floor, looking very knocked out. His fingers twitched slightly but he made no other movements to get up.

The crowd was silent, almost as if no one could comprehend what they had just seen. To be fair, Jaune was having a hard time believing it himself. Cardin lay crumpled at his feet while he stood victorious. It sounded like something out of a fever dream.

Ms Goodwitch's voice brought an end to any doubts everyone was having.

"Cardin's aura has sunk into the red. The winner is Jaune Arc."

The crowd erupted into applause, everyone standing out of their seats to cheer for the unlikely winner. He caught Ms Goodwitch giving a small clap of her own and nodding her approval. Seeing the stern teacher finally look proud of him was an image he'd take to the grave.

As for his friends, well, they were going absolutely crazy. Pyrrha and Nora looked like they were ready to launch themselves at him and hug him for all he was worth. Ren had to be the one to hold them back. Yang as well looked like she was struggling to stop her sister from throwing herself at him.

He felt himself blush under the praise everyone was giving him. Never in his wildest dreams did he ever expect to have this kind of reception. He almost didn't know how to react. What would Pyrrha do in a situation like this? Regardless, he still loved every second of it. He had finally proved his worth to everyone in Beacon.

He gave a silent prayer to whatever god was out there for giving him his semblance. His life just got a whole lot easier with it.

[/]

Ren had been right. When he had first discovered his semblance it terrified him. Being able to hear other people's thoughts freaked him out to no end. He could thank his team and friends for helping him level with himself.

But Jaune had been in control of his semblance for the past few weeks now.

And it. Was. AWESOME!

Nora hadn't been kidding when she called it an inner superpower. It pretty much was to a large extent. He had dedicated a lot of his time practicing and experimenting with his semblance, realising along the way of all the many advantages it offered him.

And today it would help him pass Oobleck's stupid history test.

He sat at his desk, staring blankly at the questions written on the paper. Most of them seemed to be about the Great War and other historical battles. At least, that's what it seemed like as he was skimming through the pages, seeing if there was any question that looked easier than the others.

Oobleck had warned them all a week ago to study for it, threatening them with a week of detention to those who failed it. And whilst he did study a little for it, he never had the best concentration. The day of the test came quicker than he realised, and so here he was - knowing nothing and writing nothing.

The old Jaune would have panicked under the stress. On his seemingly limitless list of fears, doing tests was definitely on there. But not anymore. His semblance had made sure he would never have to worry about something like that ever again.

Why? Because whilst he may not have known the answers, that had to be someone in the room that did. Such as the person who assigned the test in the first place...

Some may view what he was about to do as cheating, and to be fair it probably was. But they were always encouraged to use whatever means necessary to achieve victory. Besides, no one was getting harmed from this. Why shouldn't he use his gift to his advantage?

He locked his gaze on Oobleck, the green-haired teacher sitting at his desk writing a report or something like that. He had long since controlled his semblance, and could now use it ad nauseum. It wasn't hard to activate, all he had to do was concentrate on someone and he would start hearing their thoughts. It worked quicker if he was making eye-contact, but it worked even if he wasn't.

After a few seconds, Oobleck's inner voice filled Jaune's head.

"OfcourseIshouldhaveplannedinadvanceforsuchathingbuthowwasIsupposedtoknowwhowasattendingOzpinreallyneedstoworkonhiscommunicationskillsbecauseInearlyhadtoleavetheroomsoembarrassingmustnotletithappenagain-"

Uh, English, please? Jaune's eyes blinked rapidly as he tried to process all that information. As impossible as it seemed, the eccentric teacher somehow spoke even quicker in his mind. Even if he did know the answers, he'd never be able to understand what he was saying.

But there were plenty more minds in the classroom, so Jaune looked around as casually as possible, trying to find the smartest person in the room. Someone had to know more than he did, it was a scientific certainty. He just had to find the right person.

Looking to his left, he saw Blake working on her paper. The faunus never said much, but he had seen her grades in the past. Stupid people didn't get high marks like her. Plus she was an avid book reader. She probably read every literary source on this test for fun.

After quickly checking that no one was looking, Jaune focused on her, waiting for his semblance to kick in.

"But Akio can't fall in love with Maaya because he already has feelings for Sakura. Patty darling, you know I love you, but it's like you don't even read your own work anymore. If this goes on, I may have to give you some writing advice. My journal already has tons of stories-"

Jaune pulled away from his mind, frowning in confusion from the girl's rant. He had no idea what she was on about, but it didn't sound like anything related to the test. He left her alone and looked for the next person.

His eyes briefly caught Yang, but he quickly looked away from her. The blonde's mind was a minefield of dangerous imagery and puns. Ever since he told her about his semblance, she went out of her way to think of the most embarrassing and disgusting things whenever he was in her presence. Even if she didn't know he was looking at her, he didn't want to risk it. Yang's mind was a scarring place.

He saw Ren looking down at his paper, seemingly in deep concentration. The eastern boy was pretty smart too, so there must have been something in his head that could help him out. It couldn't hurt to try, so he focused on him and waited.

"..."

… and waited.

"..."

Nothing? Seriously? Even if he was quiet on the outside, Jaune knew from past experience that he spoke plenty on the inside.

Before he could wonder what the problem was, he saw a thin line of drool coming out of his mouth and onto the paper. Looking closer, he saw that Ren's eyes were closed and his body was looking a little hunched.

Sleeping during a test? That guy really needed to work on his energy levels, or at least get an earlier bedtime. Oh well, at least he'd be with a familiar face in detention if he would fail this test. Not that he would fail this test, though. He just had to find the right mind and then it would be smooth sailing.

He quickly scanned the room again. There had to be someone who thought this test was easy. He didn't need to know every single answer, he just needed to know enough to pass. But who among them would have the knowledge he needed?

And then he saw her - working away at her paper and looking very proud of herself.

Weiss Schnee, the snow angel of Beacon - who looked like a literal angel now in his eyes - was sitting at the far end of the room breezing through the paper in front of her. The girl prided herself on being more knowledgeable than most people in the school, always blabbering on about her academic ability whenever she could.

Perhaps it was time to put her knowledge to the test?

"The battle took place in Sanus, of course. Honestly, a child could have guessed that one."

That sounded like the answer to question seven! Jaune quickly rushed down the answer and locked his sights on the heiress again, the girl blissfully unaware of what he was doing.

"They named the king of Vale the Warrior King. Come on, give me something challenging here!"

And that was question eight! Oh, Weiss, you beautiful little snowflake. He would never question her intelligence after today.

"Four hundred casualties, making it the least devastating battle during the Great War. It's a sad time when four hundred people dying is considered a small consequence."

Question number nine didn't stand a chance. Jaune could barely contain himself. This was perfect for him. Weiss Schnee was a fountain of knowledge. As long as he didn't get caught, he could use her brainpower to ace the test with flying colours. Who knows, perhaps this would be the day he got his first A+? He looked back at the girl who was the key to his salvation.

His bright blue eyes locked with her pale ones.

He didn't know what had caused her to move her head, but now she was staring right at him. For some reason he chose to hold her gaze, feeling strangely powerless to look away. Neither of them moved a muscle as they stared each other down. He could feel cold sweat running down his neck as he resisted the urge to gulp.

Arc, I swear to God, if you're in my head right now-"

Abort! Mission abort! Look away now, you idiot!

His neck almost snapped at the speed of him looking away from Weiss and back at his paper. Okay, that was enough mind reading for today. A very pissed off Weiss Schnee was the last thing he needed. Sadly, failing this test was his safest option right now.

He groaned at the inevitable detentions that were heading his way.

[/]

"I should strike his right shoulder while it's vulnerable."

Pyrrha was as honest in her head as she was on the outside. He would've admired it if it didn't give him a huge advantage. Jaune raised his shield to protect his right shoulder. Pyrrha's spear bounced off it, forcing her to jump back and rethink her strategy.

The two were having their usual sparring match, with him finally making huge amounts of progress. He was successfully blocking her strikes and even managed to get a few good hits in when her guard was down. Okay, most of that was due to him using his semblance, but progress was progress damn it!

"His stance looks pretty weak. I should sweep his legs under him."

Jaune jumped over Pyrrha's sweeping leg that was aiming for his own and lunged at her with his sword. She quickly blocked it with her shield and kicked at him again, which he successfully dodged by stepping to the side. The two circled each other with their weapons at the ready.

He was getting a little out of breath, but then again so was she. He had her on the ropes. As long as he kept reading her strategy, he'd be able to win this fight relatively unharmed. The prospect of finally being able to give his partner a worthy challenge excited him.

"Okay, I'll aim for his legs again. He won't be expecting the same move twice."

Pyrrha charged forward, closing the distance between him and her. Jaune raised his shield over his legs in anticipation for her strike. Pyrrha was almost upon him now, her spear was aiming straight for his legs. Jaune held strong and awaited the attack-

-only to be surprised when she sheathed her spear and punched him right in the face.

He yelped and dropped to the ground, his hands coming up to nurse his throbbing nose. What had happened? She had definitely planned to go for his legs. He heard her think it. When he looked up, he saw his partner standing over him and laughing happily at his expense.

"I knew it," she giggled. "You were using your semblance the whole time, weren't you?"

Wait, what? How did she know this? Was she a mind reader too? Oh God, how overpowered was his partner!?

"How did you know I was using my semblance?" he asked as he got up, still wincing from the pain his nose was causing him. It's not like he started glowing like Yang when he used it. About the only clue he gave was that he was looking at someone. But they were in the middle of a fight, so of course he was gonna look at her.

"From your reactions," she smiled. "I'll admit, you did a good job of hiding it at the start, but you weren't that sneaky. It got to the point where you were reacting to moves I hadn't even made yet. Almost like you knew what I was gonna do next~"

He honestly wasn't too surprised that Pyrrha had figured it out. His partner was a genius in all things combat. Nothing got passed her on the battlefield. He wished he had her levels of perception.

"Sorry," he said with a blush. "I guess that was kinda rude of me, huh?" He had no problem using his semblance against someone like Cardin, but now he felt dirty for using it against someone as honest as his partner. He needed to learn a thing or two about honour.

"Not at all," she chuckled. "Actually, I'm glad you used your semblance. It gives me a chance to finally talk about it."

"Huh? Talk about it? What do you mean?"

"Jaune, your semblance is a powerful thing," she said in a surprisingly serious tone. "But it's making you predictable. I purposely thought about hitting your legs to throw you off guard. You were too busy reading my mind to pay attention to the actual fight. My body language sent clear signals that I had changed my strategy, yet you failed to pick up on them."

Yeah, he would admit that he barely paid attention to her movements during the fight. Though he felt he could be forgiven for that, as he never had to worry about things like that with his previous opponents.

"I knew I was able to trick you, because I know how much you rely on your semblance these days," she continued. "I'm afraid you're becoming a little too dependant on it, Jaune."

Jaune turned his head away and blushed in embarrassment. She was right, he had been using it a lot lately and it was a kinda embarrassing how much he relied on it during combat and academic lessons.

But it was so helpful that how could he not use it? It gave him such a huge advantage over most people, unless of course they pulled what Pyrrha had done just now. Its power was just too good to pass up on.

"I know what you mean," he sighed. "But it's so useful, Pyr. Thanks to my semblance, I feel like I'm finally starting to improve myself. My academic and combat scores are already starting to increase. Do you have any idea how good that feels?"

"Jaune, you shouldn't have to rely on your semblance to excel here," she said in that motherly tone she always used when trying to cheer him up. "Our semblances do give us advantages in life, but they're not supposed to be crutches. You've already come so far even before you discovered it, so you shouldn't have to feel dependent on it now."

"Pyrrha, before discovering it, I don't think I won a single battle in combat class." He thought real hard about it, but no victories came to mind until recently. It was a bittersweet revelation, but not completely unexpected. "Now look at me. I've finally schooled Cardin and given his team a run for their money."

"And you definitely earned those victories," she nodded. "But all I'm saying is that you're constantly relying on your semblance to win the fights for you. If you keep this up, you'll never be able to improve your other skills. You can't just enter a battle as a one-trick pony. You need to be more versatile."

He was about to ask what other skills she was talking about but quickly decided against it. He would just get a long speech from her about how amazing he could be with just a little more practice. He wasn't blaming her for saying such things - on the contrary, it was incredibly heartwarming how much she valued him - but he felt she was wasting her breath.

Before discovering his semblance, he hadn't improved a bit. It didn't matter how much he practiced with Pyrrha or how hard he tried studying, nothing worked. He would always be less than average compared to the warriors he was surrounded by in his daily life.

But no more. He had a trump card now, and he intended to use it until the day he died.

"I don't see what the big deal is," he grumbled. "Yang uses her semblance all the time, yet no one judges her for it."

"I'm not saying what Yang's doing is good," she said. "In fact, I think she's making a huge mistake relying on it the way she is. It gives her a boost in power, yes, but I've seen her movements when she uses it. She becomes sloppy. She relies too much on her power than her technique. She's been lucky so far, but one of these days someone will find a way past that power and defeat her. Power is no substitute for skill, Jaune."

That was easy for her to say. Pyrrha was already a force of nature even without her semblance. She was powerful enough to only have to use it as a last resort. Him though? How could he ever be expected to win anything without the use of it?

"I'm saying this for your own benefit, Jaune." she said gently. "People can get addicted to their semblances. I've seen it happen before."

"You make it sound like that's a bad thing," he challenged. "Aren't addictions supposed to ruin someone's life? My life's never been better since discovering my semblance. I'm stronger, smarter, more confident. Why shouldn't I use it?"

"Nothing perfect lasts forever, Jaune," she sighed. "There might come a day when your semblance comes back to bite you. I don't want you not having a backup plan when that day happens."

When?

When that day happens?

What did he have to worry about? His semblance was one of the most passive yet effective ones in the entire school. He never hurt anyone when using it and most didn't even notice when it was activated. Aside from some unwelcome imagery from Yang, what could possibly go wrong?

But he couldn't get angry at his partner. As always, she was only trying to help him. She was the only one who believed in him despite his horrendous swordplay. And whilst he didn't exactly get stronger through the ways she had intended for him, he still owed her everything for putting up with him.

And that's why he was gonna keep his mouth shut about the issue. Pyrrha was a brilliant girl, but she wasn't right about everything. He didn't blame her though because semblances were a very personal thing. He obviously knew a little bit more about his than she did.

But he wasn't gonna argue with her about it. For now, it would just be best to say what she wanted to hear. He would still use it on the side, but she didn't have to know that.

"I'll try, Pyr," he said. He hated lying to her like this, but she wouldn't be satisfied with an honest answer. "It might take a while, though. You're gonna have to bear with me while I sort this out."

"That's why I'm here, Jaune," she said. Her kind smile that stretched across her face as she spoke made him feel even more like an asshole. "We're partners, remember? I'm here for you and you're here for me. Rest assured, I will help you reach the top without having to constantly use your semblance."

He smiled and nodded, pretending to take on board what she was saying. She had a point, he was making it a little too obvious that he was using his semblance in combat. He needed to work on slowing down his reaction times, otherwise people would trick him the same way she had. That seemed to be the only flaw of his semblance.

He felt his scroll buzz in his pocket. He took it out and saw his alarm go off. They always set an alarm for how long they should train before heading back to their dormroom. The hour always seemed to fly by.

"Looks like we're out of time," he said. "We should start heading back. You know what Nora's like when she's bored."

"Don't I ever?" she laughed. "You go on ahead. I'm just gonna get some fresh air. I'll see you when I come down."

Jaune turned his back to her and started walking to the door. His semblance could be a funny thing at times. He was now so used to using it that he sometimes activated it accidentally. It didn't matter if he was even facing the person or not, sometimes he would just start hearing their thoughts by mistake.

Which is why he was able to hear his partner's voice ringing in his head now.

"I hope I didn't come across as being too pushy towards him," he heard her sigh in her head. "How's he supposed to find me attractive if I sound like such a nag?"

He nearly tripped up from what she was saying. He turned around in surprise and saw his partner still standing in her original spot. Upon seeing him, her green eyes widened and her face turned as red as Ruby's cape.

"Oh God, no! He can hear that! Gods, um, think of something else. Literally anything else!"

"Pyrrha?" His partner didn't respond, she just kept staring at him like she had seen a ghost. Her breathing was becoming frantic and it looked like she was about to pass out.

"Okay, just shut up, Pyrrha. Just shut your mouth. Er, brain. Shut your mouth brain? Damn it, just shut up!"

"Is something wrong?"

"Wrong? Nothing's wrong, everything's fine," Pyrrha said in a sudden burst of nervous laughter. She sounded almost hysteric from how over-the-top her laughter was. It made him back off slightly as he felt his partner was about to burst. "Yes, everything's grand. Don't mind me."

"Okay, it's just that you seemed like-"

"Didn't you say you were going now?" she said frantically and with a slight twitch of the eye. Jaune took that as all the warning he needed and headed for the exit. He wasn't quite sure what to make of his partner's thoughts, but it was something he could dwell on later. Right now he needed a shower after all that training.

He heard her voice one more time before shutting the door behind him.

"Dodged. A. Bullet."


All good things must come to an end. I hope you're all ready to say goodbye when the time comes.

Part two will be out next week.