Cover art - Mike (It was his funeral today. I was the only one who showed up. I forgot to send the invites. I'm the only one he'd want there anyway)

Chapter 11 - Shimmering Reflection

Jaune sat under the tree with his eyes glued to his scroll's screen.

The stories he was reading were simply captivating. Every word he read sent waves of emotions he had never felt before crashing through him. This writer was a genius. A pure bloody genius. Their work was on par with the author of Ninjas of Love - maybe even surpassing it if such a thing were possible.

Jaune's stomach rumbled, but he didn't care. Food didn't matter. Water didn't matter. All that mattered was the masterpieces before his eyes. He tried not to blink. He didn't want his eyes off the scroll for a second.

"Incredible," he whispered in awe. "Absolutely incredible."

Alas, those were the only words he had to describe the brilliance before him. His talent for literature and vocabulary wasn't anywhere close to the writer's. Unfortunately, they were the only words that came to mind to express his gratitude.

"Jaune, there you are!" Blake called to him.

Jaune held back a sigh. He didn't want to look up from the story, but he always made exceptions for Blake. He saw her jogging towards him, carrying some kind of box under her arm.

He greeted her with a smile. "Ah, Blake. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"I wanted to show something. I was in Vale and… are you reading something?"

His smile stretched further. "I sure am. I was scrolling through the net looking for some books to buy, when I came across something really interesting."

"Oh yeah?"

"Have you ever heard of fanfiction?"

Blake nodded. "Sure, I read it all the time. It gets a bad rep, but a lot of the stuff you can find is really good."

"That's exactly what I'm thinking," Jaune eagerly said. "I found this one author, and I've been on a reading binge of their stuff for pretty much the whole day. I've never seen this level of writing before. It's beyond anything that should be possible."

"Really?" Blake said, coming over to look at his scroll. "You'll have to send me the link to this guy. I need to check some of their work if you say they're that good."

"Will do. I'm not kidding, when you read his stuff you're never gonna want to stop-"

"Wait a minute!" she cried as her eyes scanned the screen. "I recognise this writing! There's only one author who can write like that!"

Jaune's heartbeat raced. He had to be dreaming. This was way too perfect to be true. "Don't tell me," he said quietly.

"This is a Constable Paperbag story!" she squeed in delight.

Jaune felt like his body was filled with light. He started jumping up and down, clapping his hands like an excited seal. "Oh my god, no way!" he fangirled. "You read Constable Paperbag's stuff too?"

"Are you serious? He's my favourite fanfiction author of all time! His stories are incredible! I can't read one without getting emotional!"

"Neither can I! They're the best things I've ever read! I reckon he could make millions if he started publishing books! He puts most authors to shame!"

"Oh, you know it! But that's not even the best part! I hear he's one of the sexiest men alive! His face and body are the very definitions of 'alpha male', and he's got a massive penis!"

"Normally I'd feel self-conscious from hearing that, but I totally believe you! He must be swimming in women! Hell, I want to be a woman just so I can sleep with him!"

"If I could just run my fingers across his chiselled abs for only a second, I can die a happy woman!"

It was like a scene from a movie. The two of them held hands and spun in a circle, laughing and dreaming about their mysterious idol, playfully squabbling about which of them was his biggest fan.

They did this until they were completely spent of energy, collapsing onto the grass in a tired slump. They both stared up at the perfect blue sky.

"You know, Jaune, we've really bonded over these past few days," Blake eventually said, breaking the silence between them.

"It's been one heck of a ride," he agreed. "The more I understand about you and the struggles of faunuskind, the more accepting of myself I become. Now look at us. We're spitting images of each other. I am you and you are me."

"You know, there is one more way to sell the illusion."

"How so?"

Blake stood up and picked up the box she had brought with her. "So… I went out and got these tailored today. I don't know your measurements, so you might want to try them on first. I kept the receipt in case they don't fit."

Jaune craned his head up. "You got what tailored for me?"

"Come and see for yourself."

Jaune stood up and took the box from Blake's hands. Whatever was inside was carefully packaged like a birthday present. He didn't know what he had done to deserve it, but a gift from Blake was more valuable than his newly-acquired faunus blood. He accepted it without hesitation.

He opened it with the excitement of a pirate after discovering a treasure chest. He peered inside.

His eyes widened. His heart fluttered. He let out a huge gasp that lasted so long, his chest threatened to explode with how much air he was inhaling. His trembling hands could barely hold on to the box. It was only thanks to his last shred of self-control that he didn't drop it.

"So? What do you think? Is it alright?" Blake asked. She was doing everything she could to sound neutral, but Jaune knew she was excited to hear his response.

"Is it alright?" he whispered. "Blake, this… this is…"

Jaune was utterly and thoroughly humbled, as if the Gods themselves had graced him with their presence. He looked down at his current clothes in disgust. Why the hell was he still wearing them when he had this?

He closed the lid and grinned. "Gimme a sec. I need to go change."

[/]

A loud crack rang in the air.

"Gargh! Son of a bitch!" Cardin yelled as he covered his face with his hands. He was pretty sure his nose was broken. Sure, aura would heal it, but it still really fucking hurt!

"Maybe that'll teach you to not be such a pervert next time," that bitch Yang growled, her hand still clenched into a fist. He saw blood on her knuckles. His blood. Once again, bitch.

"What the hell was that for?" Cardin yelled, his voice slightly muffled because of his hands.

"You're lucky to walk away with just a bloody nose," she said. "I catch you looking at my chest like that again, my fist's going straight through your head.

"Are you kidding me?" he cried. "Guys stare at your tits every day, and you don't punch them for it!"

"That's because they're not looking at them through fucking binoculars!" she snapped. "If I hear of you doing something like that again, I'm gonna find you and finish the job!"

She stomped off, leaving him alone in pain. Goddamn blonde bimbo. To think he once considered giving her the chance to have sex with him. Well, she wasted that opportunity. He was gonna extend the offer to someone else. Probably Nora Valkyrie. She was super into him, he could tell.

Growling, he made his way back to his room. His nose throbbed as his aura set to work patching it up. It wouldn't be fixed by the time he got there. He wasn't lucky enough to have huge aura reserves like Arc, the prick. What was it with yellow-haired people being just the worst people on Remnant?

If any of his team asked about his nose, he'd just say he got into a fight with a million White Fang and one. He was manly enough to make the story seem believable. The thought of that made his face sting a little less.

"Cardin Winchester!" came a voice from behind him.

He knew that voice. Jauney boy had apparently decided to pay him a visit. He grinned. He was gonna enjoy this.

"Well, well, look who it is," Cardin began, turning around to see him. "How's the transformation going, Arc? You started growing a… tail… what the hell?"

Had Yang punched him so hard that he was starting to see things? Because that was the only explanation for this.

Jaune was dressed in the same clothes that nerdy faunus Blake wore - albeit, designed for dudes in mind. That said, there was nothing manly about the black bow sitting on top of his head. He looked stupid. Like a black and white clown.

A mime?

Yeah, he looked like a mime! A stupid one!

"I've been looking for you," Jaune smiled like the idiot he was. "I knew if there was one person that needed to see me like this, it had to be you."

"Jauney boy, is that you?" Cardin gawped. "Gods, I knew you dressed like a dumbass normally, but that getup's trash even for you!"

Jaune threw his head back and laughed. "Still at it again with your insults? Can't say I'm surprised. There's little else going on in that head of yours."

"Did you seriously just call me stupid when you're dressed like that?" Cardin cried. "Dude, have you looked in a mirror lately?"

"Yes, that's right, keep hurling insults at me," Jaune nodded. "They are but glass being thrown against stone. I can take whatever you throw at me. I've evolved beyond your petty ways - and I mean that quite literally."

Jaune took a few steps forward, causing Cardin to jump back. "Dude, stay away from me!" Cardin snapped.

"My oh my, how the tables have turned," Jaune chuckled. "Now it is you who fears me."

"I'm not scared of you," Cardin sneered. "I just don't wanna be seen with a weirdo like you. I've got a reputation to manage. The last thing I want is people thinking I hang out with guys who put bows in their hair!"

Jaune put his hands up. "Fine. Then I'll say what I came to say from a distance."

"Didn't you hear me? I said back off! I want nothing to do with you!"

"You can't keep hiding from me forever, Cardin. I do exist, whether you want to accept me or not."

"Jaune, seriously, I will pay you to leave me alone."

"Then pay me a moment of your time. That's all I ask. Then I'll go."

Cardin groaned. It was embarrassing having to negotiate with a freak like him. "Can you at least get changed first? I dunno why you're dressed like that, but it's creeping me out."

"Blake gave these to me," Jaune told him. "I'm staying in them forever."

"You're asking to get your ass kicked in those things. I wanna punch you because I think that's what you want me to do."

Jaune put his hands on his hips and sighed. "Again you refer to violence. That's the problem with you people - you seek war wherever you go."

Cardin's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean 'you people'?"

Jaune cocked his head, confused, then his eyes widened. "Oh goodness," he chuckled. "My apologies, I didn't even realise I said that. Your ways must be rubbing off on me."

"You've lost your damn mind," Cardin murmured.

"Alright, alright, I'll get to the point. I didn't come here to start a fight. I'm a man of peace, Cardin. I came here to thank you."

"Thank me?"

"You were right, Cardin. You were always right. I doubted you at first because you're… well, you. But now I see that the blood of faunus flows through my veins. It invigorates me. It gives my life meaning. I'm just one final step away from completing my transformation, then I will be whole."

Cardin stared at him like he was a maniac. Because he was. "You… I don't even… what?"

"And while I'd like to say it was Blake and myself who set me on this path, you were the first to tell me about it," Jaune continued. "You were the first to inform me of what I was becoming. Granted, you did it to frighten me, but I don't blame you. I was frightened myself at first. I thought I was turning into a monster. Now I see this is one of the best things to happen to me."

Speaking to Jaune was like looking at a spiralling mess of all the fucked up shit in the world. Cardin wanted to look away, but at the same time, he couldn't. Every word that came out of his mouth sounded like reality was taking a piss in his ear. He felt his brain melting away.

"In a way, you are the prophet of my ascension," Jaune said. Did he have to sound so damn happy? "You saw the signs right from the beginning. You told me the truth, even when I chose to ignore you. I wouldn't have been able to accept myself if it hadn't been for you, and for that I thank you."

Jaune held out his hand. "May my final transformation mend the bridge that has divided us for so long. Together, we shall show that even the most ignorant of us can see the truth if they open their eyes."

Cardin stared at the hand with dumbfounded eyes. Then he looked up at Jaune's face.

Then the hand.

Then Jaune.

Then he turned around and ran as fast as he could.

He heard Jaune's laugh ringing in the hallway. "You can't keep running forever, Cardin. I tried that once. It's better to just accept the truth."

"You're fucking crazy, man!" Cardin shouted back.

Cardin ran until he was sure he was miles away from that lunatic. When he reached his dormroom, he burst through the door and quickly locked it. Only then did he pause for rest.

He slid down the door until he sat on the ground, breathing heavily. "What… the hell… was that?"