/==/ Chapter Fifteen /==/

The five days following "the Incident" were the best Jaune had ever had since coming to Beacon. Excused from classes, for reasons, she spent that time going through the various exercises that her Aunt had developed for her, in an effort to help her master her abilities. Energized and motivated, she threw herself into her studies, as during her downtime she was rewarded with Coco-time. There was still some hesitation between them, but it was growing less noticeable, it became an almost regular sight, to see the skirted forms of Beacon's Fashionista and the Blond Angel walking the grounds holding hands or sitting extremely close to each other at the few mealtimes they could share.

Ren kept an eye on the situation, and aided Jaune when he could by covertly alerting her to the actions of their teammates. But he wasn't the only one watching. Velvet was also keeping a close eye on the lovebirds. Questions still rolled about in her mind, and decisions begged to be made, but she hesitated. There were so few options. Ignore what she knew, confront Professor Goodwitch, or spill it all to Coco. All three had merits and pitfalls, yet she hesitated.

There were two others keeping an eye on the couple. Blake was, and had made several unnoticed approaches. Each one designed in her conspiracy filed mind to gather more information. All meant to assist her in understanding what her senses had been telling her. She was absolutely positive that the young woman Coco called Jaune was also the Jaune Arc, leader of team JNPR. It was the why and how that drove her actions. Actions that were being noticed by Velvet and Ren.

The second wasn't even in Beacon. Tasked by Cinder to find out everything she could, Emerald was spending hours upon hours scrubbing and scouring Beacon Social Media sites for any tidbits of information. She was positive that the woman in the videos she had shown Cinder was indeed a maiden, but that wasn't the issue. Who she was, where she came from, and why they hadn't been informed were the questions Emerald had been tasked to discover the answers to. The why had become rapidly apparent, and was supported by Lionheart's utter shock in regard to the revelation.

"Ozpin is playing things close to his chest." Cinder had commented after ending the call with Haven's Headmaster. "Our actions against Amber must have driven him to be more vigilant."

One question had an answer, the others did not. So Emerald worked herself to mental and physical exhaustion seeking the other answers. The images and videos she was finding, made her chest hurt, and her stomach flip. She knew the names of the pair… Coco and Jaune. Seeing them together, reading the posts about Beacon's newest couple, made Emerald wish for more. She owed Cinder, and she did not hide that she desired the femme fatale in a less than platonic way.

/=/

As always, the change was painful and agonizing, but at least this time Jaune had assistance. It happened part way through the morning of the sixth day after the 'Incident'. Jaune had been on her way to meet up with Coco, to share her limited time between classes, when it hit. Barely holding in the bile that rose in her throat, she staggered and stumbled her way to a janitorial closet, and locked herself inside. Jaune knew her Aunt Glynda would be in class, and was hesitant to call her, even though she knew that Glynda would drop everything to assist her. So instead with shaking hands, she called the only other person that knew of her condition.

Ren skilfully slunk off from the remainder of JNPR, and quickly gathered a few essentials from the dorm before making his way to the location Jaune had messaged him from. A couple quick knocks on the door followed by a whispered "It's me" after checking to make sure the coast was clear, gained him entry. Inside the small room, he found his team leader in her male form, dressed in an obvious ill-fitting Beacon uniform. Handing over the bundle of clothes he had gathered, Ren turned his back, giving Jaune some privacy to change.

"Where is everyone?" Jaune asked over the rustle of fabric.

"Probably looking for me." Ren replied, "We were on our way to get some reference books to do the essay on the Faunus Revolution Professor Oobleck assigned for next Monday when I got your message."

"Crap." Jaune moaned in defeat. "I totally forgot about that. You can turn around now."

"Considering the amount of time I've seen you with Coco… I wonder why?" Ren partially stated and asked at the same time with a sly grin on his face, causing Jaune to pout. An action that Ren would have to admit would be cute if Jaune didn't look like a boy at that moment.

"Sue me for trying to find some happiness." Jaune replied with a huff.

"I would never on account of Professor Goodwitch. So how are we going to do this?"

"This?"

"Getting you back to the dorm, or back to your Aunt's room without anyone noticing."

"I…" Jaune paused as if she had a great idea, before her shoulders slumped. "I've got nothing."

"Well, if we had a suitcase, we could play it off as I was meeting you as you returned." Ren offered.

"There's my overnight bag in Aunt Glynda's room."

"But how do we get there and back to the dorm without being noticed?"

"I could stay in here until bedtime, and then show up at the dorm tomorrow morning."

"It's not even noon, Jaune." Ren commented. "There is no way you can spend several hours here with no water, food or access to a bathroom."

"Oh, yeah…" Jaune's shoulders slumped even more.

"How about this, I'll leave first to check to see if anyone is round. " Ren placed his hand on the doorknob as he spoke, "If you hear three knocks, the coast is clear, and we can make a dash to the main doors and get outside."

"Then what?" Jaune asked, not fully understanding Ren's full plan.

"Then we circle the school, as not as many people will be outside…"

"And then get into the professor's wing through the side door."

"Right."

"Okay, let's do this!"

Ren nodded, and carefully opened the door, before stepping outside. Jaune couldn't suppress the urge to fidget as she waited for the three knocks that would signal the coast was clear, and she almost jumped when they happened. Grabbing hold of the doorknob, she hesitantly opened the door and seeing Ren who nodded to her, she stepped out into the hall. The pair then made their way towards the main entrance at a quick by steady walk.

"You are a girl, so WHY are you trying to look like a guy?" Came a voice from around a corner, that a moment later revealed herself. The disguised sole faunus member of team RWBY stepped out in front of the pair, causing them to freeze in their tracks. "And don't lie about it. I know."

"Blake?" Jaune asked in a whine, not believing her own eyes

"I don't know what you are trying to insinuate, Blake, Jaune has just returned from his trip to see his sick…"

"Bullshit." Blake cut Ren off as she crossed her arms over her chest. "I saw you both enter and leave that closet… a closet that a certain blond bombshell entered first."

"You were following me?" Jaune half asked, half accused, "How could you?"

"I KNEW it!" Blake exclaimed, totally ignoring the whined accusation. "Now I want to know why? What are you hiding? Are you a sleeper agent for the White Fang, I know they have human sympathizers."

Jaune and Ren looked at each other in confusion. They knew Blake was right about Jaune's true nature, they just couldn't fathom how she went from that, right into a White Fang conspiracy theory. Ren decided in a second to nip that rabbit hole thought train in the butt.

"Blake, do you REALLY think Professor Goodwitch's niece would be involved with such an extremist group? Seriously?"

"Ren?" Jaune whined as her true nature was confirmed as that of being a girl by Ren's statement, but also being outed as directly related to Glynda Goodwitch.

"Er, what?" Blake's whole train of thought shorted out at that admission from Ren.

"Grab her left arm, Jaune. I'll get her right. She's coming with us."

"Er… what?" Jaune and Blake both asked in shock at Ren's statement.

"I already informed…" Ren held up his scroll, open to the Beacon chat app. A scroll neither Jaune nor Blake had seen him takeout or even use. "Professor Goodwitch."

Jaune covered her face with her hands in utter embarrassment. She could already hear the lecture she was going to get. Blake on the other hand stood ram-rod straight, her eyes wide in fear. If Jaune was related to Professor Goodwitch… her mind conjured so many less than kinky things THE Disciplinarian of Beacon would do to her, if she thought she was a threat to her niece.

"So, do you want to come quietly, OR?" Ren asked with a rather uncharacteristic grin on his face.

"Or?" Blake whimpered, her bow flattening against her head.

"Do I TELL Aunt Glynda you ran after making Jaune cry?"

"You… You…"

"I would." Ren responded as he turned his scroll about and lifted his thumbs as he prepared to type. "She's waiting for a response. What is it going to be?"

"You win." Blake's whole body slumped in utter defeat. "I'll come quietly."

/=/

Ren and Jaune worked slowly to clean up her room and repack her overnight bag as they waited for Professor Goodwitch to return with Blake from an impromptu meeting with Headmaster Ozpin. Jaune was a little apprehensive as to what was going to be discussed at that meeting, while Ren knew, as he had gone through one before.

"Would you have?" Jaune asked as she finished making sure her make-up table was properly arranged, not that she used much, but still things did have a proper place, and they needed to be in that place.

"Would I have what?" Ren asked in return.

"Told Aunt Glynda that Blake made me cry? I wasn't crying, you know."

"I know, and yes, I would have."

"Why?"

"The Headmaster told me to do whatever I needed to in order to protect your secret."

"And telling my Aunt that someone made me cry, does that?"

"In a way, it would."

"I don't get it."

"It's a moot point, now, anyway. It kept Blake from running, and that was what I was trying to do."

"It's not like you to be so…"

"So?"

"Underhanded."

"When there is a need, I will do what I must."

"That is kind of scary, if you think about it." Jaune commented as she took a seat on her bed. "Almost Serial Killer-y. Is that a word? Killer-y?"

"No, it's not a word, and should I be concerned that you think I could be a serial killer?"

"I'm sorry?" Jaune replied with a smirk, "Please don't murder me?"

Ren smirked in return, "I might as well bury myself if I did. You know you have a free pass."

/=/

Blake's mind was a whirl with information. Inundated with everything that Headmaster Ozpin told her. Fairy tales, magic, possible threats to Jaune's life. It was all very heavy, and sobering to know. Yet there was one thing that she really wanted to understand, something she couldn't hold in any longer. The professors at Beacon knew who Blake was, despite her 'disguise', but that made what she was going to do all the easier. It was during the ride up to Ozpin's office, with Professor Goodwitch. In the small space, the older woman's scent invaded Blake's nose. She instantly picked up on it, and the similarity to someone else. So it was on the trip down, once again escorted by Beacon's authoritative icon, that Blake struck.

"Does Jaune know?" Blake asked her Combat Instructor.

"Know what?" Glynda asked.

"That you're his… er… her, this is confusing." Blake admitted.

"I'll ask again, what is it that you think Jaune does or does not know?"

"That you're his… er… her mother? This is going to be diff…" Blake froze as she felt the tip of Professor Goodwitch's riding crop touch the underside of her chin.

"She does not, and it would behoove you to NOT mention that fact in her presence. I am her Aunt, nothing more."

"So it is true?" Blake asked after swallowing nervously. She had never seen this side of Professor Goodwitch. It was exciting and terrifying to witness.

"I am her Aunt, remember that." Glynda.

"No you're not."

"Why do you say that? What possessed you to think that I'm Jaune's mother?"

"Your scent." Was all Blake needed to say. Glynda took a long, slow breath, before lowering her riding crop. So Blake decided to push the issue, seeing as Professor Goodwitch was well aware of her own heritage. "Yours and his… er… her scents are too familiar. Too close. I can tell a parent and child, as probably any other faunus student in Beacon could, and has."

"You will NOT mention this around Jaune." Glynda gave the former White Fang operative a glare. "Understood?"

"Can I know why?" Blake hesitantly asked.

"It is none of your concern, and leave it at that. Understood.?" This time Glyna's glare was much more intense, causing Blake's curiosity to whither, and her feline ears to flatten against her head. "Understood?"

"Yes."

"Yes?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Good." Glynda remarked as she sheathed her weapon on her hip, and returned her attention to the elevator doors. "Put your bow back on. Once we reach my quarters, I'll leave it up to you and Mr. Ren as to how you will explain the pair of you escorting Jaune back to her dorm room."

The remainder of the ride down was made in utter silence. Blake considering her recent choices, and Glynda making plans to confront another young faunus woman, about what she most likely knows, about Jaune's parentage.

/=/

Glynda paused at the door to her apartment, giving the disguised faunus one more withering glare before granting her admittance, Blake was a little surprised at how homely and inviting Professor Goodwitch's personal space was. Family photos decorated the walls, knick-knacks, obviously given to her by young children, lined a couple of the shelves. Others filled with books. Though it was very organized and tidy, it was much less spartan than Blake would have assumed.

"I have another matter to attend to, so I leave it in your hands on how best to proceed with Jaune's 'return', understood?"

The three young adults nodded their agreement, and then watched as Professor Goodwitch left. Blake was positive she knew what this other 'matter' entailed, and if it was anything like how her discussion with Professor Goodwitch went; Blake was sure that a certain Rabbit faunus was not going to enjoy having a surprise meeting with the Professor. Blake as sure as hell didn't relish the encounter, and had a suspicion, much to her own internal embarrassment, that she had wet herself during it. At least she hoped she wet herself, because if it wasn't urine that had damped her panties, she would need to look into getting herself some serious therapy.

/=/

Jaune's return to JNPR's dorm flanked by Ren and Blake was heralded with lies, and omissions. So while Blake excused herself, Jaune fielded the tidal wave of questions from his friends. Her stomach twisted as she gave her practised responses. She hated all of this. It hurt her to mislead people she considered her friends, and deep inside that ball of guilt grew. Its dark voice filtering to her ears, unheard by anyone else. "They're going to hate you." It told her, "You're a fraud, and a liar. Untrustworthy. Not worth a second of their time."

Ren could see something was bothering Jaune, as their circle of friends moved from questions to just idle chit-chat. So he moved closer to the blond team leader and after a light nudge of his shoulder to hers, he spoke in a very low whisper.

"Are you okay?"

"I hate this." Jaune replied in an equally low voice. "All these lies."

"It shouldn't be for much longer, right?" Ren asked, his magenta eyes watching for any indication that anyone in their friend group was showing signs of overhearing them. "Didn't your Aunt say Ozpin was fixing this… situation?"

"Yes, she did. But not until after the Forever Fall field trip."

"That's only in a week. So hang in there." Ren offered, "Blake and I are here for you."

"But what about after?"

"After the field trip?"

"No, after Ozpin fixes this… issue."

"I don't follow."

Nora, magically appearing in front of them, ended the conversation instantly. Ren grimaced as Nora grabbed Jaune by her right arm and yanked her forward towards the cafeteria.

"Nora?" Jaune squeaked in a decidedly unmanly way.

"We must celebrate Fearless Leader's return!" Nora shouted as Jaune stumbled along behind her. "To the cafeteria! We must consume Honey Glazed, Rainbow Sprinkled fluffy goodness!"

"That's too much sugar this late at night for you!" Jaune screeched as the gathered members of JNPR and RWBY, sans Blake, just shrugged their shoulders, and moved to follow the pair.

"Nonsense Jaune-Jaune!" Nora cheerfully bellowed. "There is no such thing as TOO much sugar!" That statement sparked many disagreeing looks, but were completely ignored by the hyper ginger.

A moment later, Blake stepped out of RWBY's dorm room. She looked much more comfortable and relaxed. She looked about the empty hall, and screwed her lips together. Blake had easily heard Nora, and knew exactly where everyone was headed. The question was should she join them, or use this fleeting moment of peace to work on her own projects? Sighing, she pulled out her scroll, and opened the CCT-Net browser and started typing. She had some research to do, and this time it had nothing to do with the White Fang.