I'm having a lot of fun writing this story. More than I thought I would when I picked it up after my friend stopped writing because of real life responsibilities. Blake's dream was one I wanted to do really early on, but just writing smut made it feel too predictable. People are way more complicated than that. Still, Blake has a lot of untapped potential, so her dream was really interesting to design. Not only that, Jaune's going to learn a bit about his own power too. Hopefully, he can resist temptations. Not sure a teenager has a lot of self control.
Chuck B. Winanaki did a really good job in dream interpretation. I award him 10 points.
As for the guest who asked why I write so many stories? The truth is, it allows me to write more. When I focus on a story, I can do several chapters, but then I either get a mind block or get tired of it after a bit. If I try to force more chapters, they don't turn out well. By having another story or two active, I can swap around when I reach that point and keep updating.
Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.
Jaune never thought he would find himself in his current position.
With all of the 'weird dream' craziness, the boy was actually looking forward to some normalcy for once. It wasn't meant to be however. After much thought, he decided that all of these events couldn't possibly be mere coincidences. They had to be a semblance, his semblance. Last night with Glynda's dream was the final piece of the puzzle.
Today, he decided drastic actions needed to be taken, and so the boy took the final plunge and did what needed to be done—
—He went to the library.
"Ugh… Seriously?" Jaune grumbled, pulling down another few books from one of the many shelves around him. "I know I wasn't expecting much, but there has to be some books about dreams here, right?"
He had given up his Saturday morning for this, to research these stupid dreams, and that was AFTER his team's morning run. Jaune was officially tired and cranky. Now, the library didn't have many books on dreams. A few fairy tales and old stories dealing with dreams were all he had managed to find so far. When he stopped and thought about it though, it did make sense. Beacon was a Huntsman Academy, so why would they have books on things like dream interpretation?
"Guess I have to settle with these for now," The boy sighed to himself. "Maybe I'll head to Vale if there's nothing useful in them."
"What are you looking for?" A voice suddenly rang out from behind him.
"AHH!" Jaune gasped and jumped, before quickly spinning around to meet the unexpected company. He let out an internal sigh of relief upon seeing who it was. "Jeeze, Blake, don't scare me like that!"
There stood the raven haired girl of Team RWBY. Her bow firmly planted on her head to cover her cat ears. Jaune was one of the few people outside Blake's team that knew about her being a Faunus. He promised to keep the secret and while Blake wasn't a very talkative person, they did chat every now and then.
"Sorry," Blake apologized. "I just don't see you in the library much unless it's right before a test or something."
"I… yeah, that's true," Jaune sheepishly admitted, cheeks ever-so-slightly red as he bit down the desire to argue otherwise. He knew she was right. It was rather uncharacteristic of him to be there unless he was forced to, though in his opinion he really didn't have many other options at the moment. "Guess I'm just trying to figure some things out right now."
With a curious look in her eyes, Blake peaked around him and at the small pile of books that Jaune had set aside.
"This doesn't seem like your typical 'literature' either," She commented dryly, sarcasm dripping heavily enough that Jaune could practically feel the quotes in her sentence. "I'm surprised none of them are comics."
"Hey! Comic books are important literature," Jaune reminded her. "They make up a large percentage of all books people read!"
The girl stared at him flatly with disappointment before retorting.
"Comics aren't real books, Jaune," She declared. "Any real enthusiast will tell you the same."
"They're called comic books for a reason, Blake," Jaune snapped back. "I could even go get a dictionary to prove otherwise."
There was a brief pause as the two stared each other down, waiting to see if the other would concede.
"Do it then," The girl finally responded, calling him out on his possible bluff.
Unfortunately for her, Jaune wasn't bluffing.
Setting his books on a table, he quickly made his way over to the right section and picked up a dictionary. Flipping to the specific page, he found the definition. Making sure to peek ahead of time to guarantee the definition would back him up before swiftly returning. Blake was a bit of a book snob, so he didn't want to give her any more potential ammo.
"Book, noun…" Jaune carefully enunciated. "A handwritten or printed work of fiction or nonfiction, usually on sheets of paper fastened or bound together within covers. Hah! See?"
Blake's face twisted into a scowl.
"You can't tell me comics have influenced the world more than some of the classic novels," The hiding-in-plain-sight Faunus told him.
"To some, they have," Jaune countered. "Superheroes have impacted a lot of children's lives. I bet you plenty of police and Huntsman have gotten inspiration from comic books when they were young.."
"You could say the same thing about any literature!" Blake pointed out. "Plenty of real books deal with heroes and villains."
"Exactly!" Jaune smiled triumphantly. "They are pretty much the same, just presented differently. Everyone has their own likes and dislikes, Blake. I happen to like comics involving superheroes. You like Ninjas of Love and other smut works."
"It's not smut!" Blake protested almost instinctively, her pale cheeks instantly coloring red.
"Blake… I have seven sisters. SEVEN! Do you honestly think one of them didn't have that book? I've read it. I know what it's about. It has a good story, plot, and characters… but there's so much smut in there. There's a reason it's not marketed to kids."
Blake's cheeks puffed up indignantly, but she didn't have an argument. Her amber eyes darted away as the gears in her brain were turning to think of what to say to get out of this predicament. Seeing the books Jaune had pulled out on the table, they gave her a way out. She pointed to them, changing the subject.
"What about those books there?" Blake asked. "I've read some of them and they seem to all deal with dreams."
"Yeah, for the last few days I've been having some really weird dreams," Jaune decided it was okay to talk a little bit about what happened. Blake wasn't the type of girl to spread secrets. Not only that, she read a lot and was smart, so she might actually be able to point him in the right direction. "Like not normal ones I've had before. But really vivid weird ones."
"What are they about?" Came the question Jaune was dreading.
"Er… some of them are kind of personal." The boy muttered. This was true, as they weren't his dreams. He didn't want to give out other people's.
"Hmm, I can understand that." Blake nodded. "We all have dreams we don't want others to see… and regardless of what Yang says, I do NOT have those types of dreams. My dreams are pure."
"I never said anything!" Jaune raised his hands as Blake glared at him.
"Good, I get enough from Yang making jokes." The girl rubbed her forehead. "As for the topic of our conversation, its commonly believed dreams are derived from real life and are unconscious desires, hence 'a dream is the fulfillment of a wish'. You can think of dreams revealing unconsciously repressed conflicts or wishes."
"Then why are they so weird?" Jaune asked. "Like if one part of my dream is fish flying and birds swimming. What would that mean?"
"I don't know." Blake shrugged and her eyes seemed to be looking for something in his expression. "Maybe no one does. Because dreams happen when we are unconscious, the connections between real life and desires aren't directly connected. Instead of going to Point A from Point B, It starts at A, goes to D, then G, then back to C, then finally B. You have to figure out what unconscious wishes and desires you have and how they affect you."
"Ah… that actually makes sense." Jaune admitted. "Maybe these books won't be much help, but probably won't hurt to read them and expand my horizons on literature." He put a hand on his chest. "I for one don't judge people on the type of books they like to read."
Blake's eyes narrowed.
"I could probably find a comic book you might enjoy." Jaune teased, making her roll her eyes.
"Pssh, I'd rather find someone to discuss some of the books I like to read too if that's the case." The girl admitted. "Weiss and Yang won't even look at books I suggested for them, and Ruby's too focused on engineering magazines."
"I'm kind of busy now… but if you want, we could start a small book club or something?" Jaune shrugged. "While the Ninja's of Love series is kind of… erotic for what I normally read, I do like a lot of the plot. I haven't read the latest one yet."
Instantly, the boy found his personal space invaded as Blake stepped up toward him. Amber eyes stared directly up at his. Jaune didn't expect this reaction. The offer was more of a spur of a moment thing.
"Are you serious?" Blake asked, her tone betraying the seriousness of the situation.
"S-Sure," Jaune stammered. "Though, I probably won't be able to read a lot of books, but I'll try when I have free time. My schedule is filling up with a lot of extra training."
He did not expect the bright smile that appeared on her face.
"That's fine, we can talk a bit about Ninjas of Love next time you're free," Blake assured him, finally stepping back. She looked really happy and excited at the prospect. "I'm planning to head to the Vale bookstore this weekend. I'll let you know if there's any good books on dream interpretation that might help you."
"Oh… wow, thanks Blake." Jaune was a little taken aback by the sudden offer. "That would help a lot. I'm swamped as is."
"It's no problem," Blake was still smiling. "It's nice to know other people read besides basic text books for school."
"Ren reads a bit, but I'm pretty sure none of the ones he read has adult themes." Jaune rubbed the back of his neck.
"Because Nora would see it?"
"He hasn't exactly said that… but pretty sure that's the reason."
For the first time Jaune could recall, Blake let out a delicate laugh in front of him. She was really pretty when she smiled, but she always kept a moody or disinterested expression when around other people. Like she didn't want to stand out.
"Here," Blake looked at a shelf and took down a book. "I remember this one. It doesn't have a lot of dream information, but there are a couple chapters with the main character discussing dream interpretation. It might give some insight, even if it's not guaranteed to be accurate."
"I appreciate it." Jaune smiled as he took the book. "Not sure what I'm expecting to accomplish, but maybe it will calm my mind and I can have normal entertaining dreams.."
A light spark jumped between their fingers. Literally, a small spark.
"What was that?" Blake's eyes caught the sudden movement and light much better than Jaune did.
"Static?" Jaune shrugged as he took the book. "Anyway, thanks for the help."
"People feel more at ease when they believe they can control what happens to them." Blake warned. "We don't always get that chance. If the dreams keep coming, I recommend trying to learn from them. Maybe even write them down if you can remember them to review what happened."
"Huh… that's a good idea." Jaune considered it. "I'm glad you decided to jump out and scare me today."
Blake rolled her eyes again.
"Goodbye, Jaune."
Jaune hated to see her go because she did have a lot of good ideas, but at the same time, being a teenage boy, his eyes flickered to watch her leave. As Yang had mentioned before, that Bellabooty was a national treasure. He had to agree, even if he tried not to look but failed miserably.
The rest of the Saturday went by quickly with everything he had to do. He took the books back to his room and then hung out with his friends. Training with Pyrrha, along with doing homework. Nora and Ruby wanted to play video games, followed by some Aura training with Ren. He didn't get a chance to start reading until that evening after dinner.
"What are you reading?" Pyrrha asked, looking over from her bed.
"A book Blake recommended to me." Jaune answered. "A guy sees the future in his dreams and has to work out what they mean to help people."
"Interesting… I didn't know you and Blake were that close." Pyrrha commented casually. Nora's ears twitched and she looked over from her scroll, but uncharacteristically, didn't say a word. Ren didn't seem to be paying attention as he was looking at his own book.
"We met in the library and talked a bit," Jaune elaborated, still looking at his book. "I know some of the books she reads due to my sisters having them and we might discuss them a bit. Her team doesn't read them so she hasn't anyone to talk to about it."
"Oh, that's good." Pyrrha's smile seemed slightly strained, but Jaune didn't notice it as he was too focused in his own book.
Blake had been right about this story. Plot was pretty good and kept pulling Jaune in. The main character could see large disasters in his dream, but it wasn't clear. Like if an earthquake hit a town, he would have to examine the small details of the dream and figure out which town they relate to. There were no obvious things like signs out in the open. While it wasn't exactly Jaune's situation, there was some dream interpretation that might help him in the long run.
He really needed a professional psychiatrist book or something.
Eventually, he turned off the light as the rest of his team wanted to sleep too and he didn't want to disturb them. As he laid there thinking about the book, he wondered if he would explore someone else's dream that night. Last time he tried to enter Pyrrha's dream, but that didn't work. It was Glynda's. Was there a way for him to control it or would he just randomly hop from dream to dream?
"Guess I really need to work on Ren's teaching." The boy muttered to himself as he turned over in bed and eventually fell asleep.
He woke up standing at the edge of a forest with the sun in the distance beginning to set.
"Again?!" Jaune yelled out. "Not that I hate this, but I would LOVE some warning."
Still, while it was getting dark, the woods didn't have the same eerie feeling as the fog in Glynda's dream. The area was peaceful and relaxing. Not sure who's dream it was, the boy looked around and noticed a dirt path. It looked old, but well maintained. Without much else to go by, he set forth down the road. A bird chirped and the moon was now bright and full. While Jaune walked down the path, he wondered who this dream belonged to.
Then he saw a castle.
A stone wall circled large wooden oriental buildings using pagodas. Similar design to what he saw in Nora's dream, just much larger and more elaborate. The walls were white and the roof dark green. It had multiple stories and towered over him. It was the type of castle a feudal lord would be in surrounded by ninja and samurais. At the thought, Jaune's thoughts instantly turned to one person. The castle seemed so familiar and he remembered where he read about it.
"Oh no… this is Blake's dream and she must have reread Ninjas of Love… It has to be…"
Blake was the only person he knew at Beacon who read it. Now that's not to say other people didn't, it's just she was the closest person he really knew. For some reason, his power went after Blake today. Or maybe she was the only one nearby who was dreaming. It's not like everyone dreams every single night.
"Or maybe it was because I met her earlier today?" Jaune considered, as he made his way to the castle. "But I met my team and Ruby and others after her. I need to figure out how to control who's dream I enter rather than this random hopping."
As he approached, he saw a couple figures standing outside the big wooden doors. THey were wearing green armor that looked to hang down almost like a skirt. The guards were holding spears and wore broad rim triangular hats. Jaune instantly froze for a second before realizing they couldn't perceive him. Relieved at that fact, the boy strutted up confidently and was planning to push into the gate when he saw WHO the guards were.
They were Sun Wukong.
Sun was a Faunus Jaune and Blake knew. He had short blonde hair, a yellow monkey tail, and did not like to wear shirts to show off his impeccable abs. Sun was kind of a wild card and liked to have fun, though he has been known to swipe small items like fruit and get in trouble. He had a huge crush on Blake but the girl usually pushed him away.
"Looks like Blake dreams about him." Jaune snickered. "Well, assuming this is Blake's dream." He learned from Glynda's and Ruby's that the dreams can surprise him. "Hey, Suns!" Jaune waved to both of the guards. "Just going inside real quick. Say something if you mind." Neither guard acknowledged him. "That's what I thought." The boy pushed against the large wooden door.
It didn't move.
"What the…?" The boy pushed with everything he had. Nothing. "Come on!" He had punched the door and that did not work either. "Okay, guess I need another way in?" He eyed the walls. They were high, but not that high. "Is there a nearby tree?" He walked along the perimeter where a few more Sun guards were patrolling around. "Damn, there's a lot of them. Wonder why Blake is dreaming about so many of them. There's no way Yang was right about her…"
Jaune shook his head as to not imagine multiple Suns and one Blake.
"Focus!" Jaune told himself. "You don't know how dream time works. Blake could wake up any moment." Picking up his pace to a jog, he turned a corner and saw a tree with a large branch near the stone wall. "Perfect."
Jaune had climbed trees when he was younger plenty of time. Plus he was tall so he could reach the lowest branches with ease. Hoisting himself up, he scooted across the largest branch he could, holding a couple other ones to distribute his weight, before jumping toward the wall. He managed to grab the top and pull himself up. Thanks to all his training at Beacon and learning to hold his own against Cardin.
"Seems like learning to withstand Cardin's blows helped with my arm strength." The boy laughed to himself as he jumped down on the other side. "Huh… it's empty? I would have expected more people."
There was no one else within the walls that he could see. Jaune expected to encounter more Sun guards or maybe someone else Blake knew. Even if Jaune didn't know them personally. The courtyard was silent and Jaune's footsteps echoed on the hard stone pathway. Not seeing much here, the next step was to go into the castle building itself. Hopefully, the door wasn't locked like the outer wall.
Jaune pushed against the big fancy wooden doors and they creaked open to his delight.
"Woah…."
The inside didn't seem to resemble a chinese castle interior. It was also much, much bigger than the outside made it look. Jaune had to remind himself that with dream logic, things didn't have to make sense. A large entrance hall with white marble pillars and a red carpet welcomed him. On the far side, were two staircases that went up around a fireplace to the next level. The walls to his right and left had doors and hallways leading to who knew where. Blue banners with a white cat head hung from the ceiling.
"Fancy, but hardly the castle from the book, Blake." Jaune snickered, as he walked into the castle. His eyes fell on the fire pit. "Yep, it's Blake's dream. This proves it."
A large painting hung over the fireplace and Jaune stopped right before it. There were three people in the pictures. One was Blake, without the bow covering her cat ears. The second person was a woman who had to be Blake's mother. She was a beautiful woman with short black hair and yellow eyes, along with a black and white robe. The woman had cat ears too, though hers was bigger and pierced. The third person was a muscular man with short black hair and a thick beard. He was wearing an open dark violet coat with white fur trim.
"Blake's dad looks tough, but daaaaaamn, her mom's hot-..." Jaune slammed his hand over his mouth and looked around in a panic. Even reminding himself that he wasn't perceivable, it felt like something he shouldn't be saying inside Blake's dream. Like a part of her would realize he said something about her mom and it would translate to the real world. "I mean, her mom is very pretty like Blake."
Better be safe than sorry.
"Wonder why it's so dusty?" Jaune murmured, talking outloud since the silence was getting to him. He wiped his finger across the frame to reveal a thick layer. "What does that mean?"
From the little bit he read, dreams tend to have a lot of underlying meanings that wouldn't make sense normally until you took the time to connect the dots. Rather than fretting over it, Jaune decided to keep looking around. He should find Blake and follow her, since this was her adventure after all.
"Don't have much choice but to check each room." Starting on the right, Jaune opened the first door. "Huh…did not expect that."
The room was decorated in red and black. Dark red carpet, red sheets with black trims, and black curtains with red trim. Weapons and toys littered the floor as a pile of cookies sat on the desk. The book case was full of magazines and comics. It kind of looked like Beacon's room but made for one person. Jaune had an idea who it was for when he saw two pieces of information. The first was Crescent Rose, Ruby's red scythe that can transform into a sniper rifle, leaning up against the wall. The second was the large picture of Ruby hanging on the wall.
"Blake set up a room in her dream castle for Ruby. Ruby would love to know Blake thinks so highly of her. Shame I can't tell her."
Jaune shut the door and moved onto the next one. This had a large portrait of Weiss. It was a pristine white and blue room of a similar design. Nothing was on the floor, but a suitcase of dust vials was open on the bed. The desk had a plate of fresh food and vegetables on it. Weiss' Dust rapier, Myrtenaster, was in its case against a wall. The room was also empty of Blake, so the boy moved on.
The third room, of course, belonged to Yang. The blonde's portrait was crooked and the room was a bit of a pig sty. Snacks, games, weights were scattered across the yellow, orange, and black room. A plate of meats like sausage and steaks were on her desk, as a large boombox was unplugged on Yang's bed. Her gauntlet weapon, Ember Celica, was hanging on a coat rack hanger. Sighing, Jaune shut the door to this room too.
He wasn't trying to pry too deeply into Blake's dream.
Until another door eventually caught his eye as he made his rounds. The boy walked up to a large door made of some kind of black wood. Unlike the normal brown the other doors were made of. A large bolt lock was slid shut, oddly on this side of the room. Normally those locks were on the inside. His eyes then flickered up to the sign hanging on the door.
'KEEP OUT'
"I really shouldn't…" Jaune muttered as he rubbed his arm nervously. "It's probably private for a reason… but Blake might be in there? If she is, I can just wait out here. Yeah, that's it." He shook his head. "I won't try to spy on her. Just see if she's there. Besides, if I see anything, it's not like I'll tell anyone. I kept the fact she's a Faunus secret."
Taking a deep breath, Jaune pulled the bolt to the side with a loud click. The door opened slowly with a high pitch squeaking sound as if it hadn't been oiled for a long time. The room was pitched black and Jaune couldn't see anything. By instinct, his hand fumbled against the inside wall for a light switch.
There was a click, even though his fingers never touched anything.
Torches sprung to life on the walls and flickered on starting from the ones nearest to him around the room like a wave. The room was bare. Nothing but cobblestone walls and floor. The stone looked old and cracked. When all the torches were lit, they finally illuminated a figure against the back wall. It was a man with flaming red hair mixed with a little brown. The man had two bull horns indicating he was a Faunus. His clothes consisted of a black jacket with red lining and black pants. His eyes were covered by a small mask.
He was chained to the wall by his wrists and ankles.
"Blake… What the hell do you dream about?" Jaune's voice was hoarse.
The boy's foot instantly stepped forward to help the man before he could stop himself. This was only a dream person, so he had to have represented something to Blake. It was best he didn't interfere. Though, interfering was probably out of the question. No one noticed him when he tried to get involved. He could barely interact with the background items like doors.
Until the man looked up and straight at him.
If Jaune thought about it rationally, the prisoner probably was looking at the open door. At the time, a cold sweat formed on Jaune's neck. The man struggled against his chains, causing the metal to rattle and strain against the stones. For some reason Jaune couldn't find the strength to move. It was like something was weighing down on him. The bull Faunus opened his mouth in frustration.
Jaune threw his hands to his ears the moment the bull Faunus's grating, nauseating scream was let loose, as if cattle were giving their death cries.
The sound was inhuman and reverberated through his very soul. His body began to shiver uncontrollably as the piercing shriek echoed through his skull. The strength in his legs gave way as he fell to the ground. Sweat was soaking through his entire body as primal fear overtook all rational thought. Running away was all the boy wanted to do. If only his legs would find the strength to move! It took all his will power, but Jaune was finally able to look up.
Darkness was creeping up the man from the floor. His lower body was already encased in shadows. Fingers on the Faunus' hands began to stretch out into claws. The horns on his head grew longer. Normal teeth began to end in points. The primal shriek grew louder as the former Faunus continued his transformation. The tanned skinned began to pale as red vein lines began to pulse. His arms moved forward, stretching the chains attached against the wall.
Metal began to tear as the chains weakened. The grating sound added to Jaune's headache. The darkness reached the man's neck, flickering like a demonic shroud. The teeth in his mouth were no longer human or Faunus , but more like a shark.
CRASH!
One of the bolts in the stone wall were pulled out and clattered to the floor with a good chunk of stone still attached. The arm of the monster was free. Claws wrapped around the second chain as the beast ripped off the other binding. The darkness surrounding the monster's foot moved forward, causing an explosion as the bracer broke. Pieces of metal clattered and skittered across the stone floor. The same thing then happened to the other one.
The demon was free.
It let loose another howl that seemed to make the walls of its cage shake, before falling on all fours and dashing forward. Eyes were glowing blood red from under the mask. Jaune couldn't tell if they were fixated on him or the open door anymore. Terror was spilling out of his body. He couldn't let that creature out into Blake's dream. With the last bit of willpower he could muster, Jaune grabbed the handle of the door and slammed it shut before clicking the lock back into place.
BOOM!
The wall shook and Jaune scrambled back on all fours as the wooden door creaked. He wasn't sure if it would hold. There was another loud thud as the monster slammed against the door and then everything went silent. No howling, no shrieking, no chains clanging, nothing. The door must have been strong enough to keep it at bay.
"Huh phoo, huh phoo, huh phoo." Jaune heavily panted, a hand over his rapidly beating heart. "What the hell was that?!"
Obviously it was some kind of nightmare. There was no way it wasn't. The sign on the door was Blake's subconscious saying to stay the fuck away. Of course Jaune's curiosity almost released that terror into his friends dream. The boy sat there on the ground, still in shock from what almost happened. He wasn't sure what would have become of him if that nightmare had actually hit him. Would he have woken up? Been injured? Or was he immortal in dreams? The boy didn't really want to test that out in case it was the worst scenario. He would have to be more careful.
Slowly getting to his feet, Jaune turned to the fireplace. A source of warmth after the darkness. The warm flames were a welcome relief after that cold sweat. As he stood there, his eyes flickered up to the dusty painting. Something occurred to him when he opened that door.
"I can't interact with people… but I can interact with the surroundings." Jaune muttered. "Does that mean if I hadn't closed that door, that nightmare would have escaped and changed this entire dream? I need to be more careful."
While Blake and him weren't that close, they were friends. Their earlier conversation was proof of that. Even if they weren't, the guilt Jaune would feel if he turned someone's pleasant dream into a nightmare would eat away at him. Even if the person was an enemy. He would have to be more careful. While Jaune still wanted to know more about how his Semblance worked, he didn't want to hurt anyone in the process.
'I'll have to keep an eye out for people's inner demons.'
The blonde sighed loudly.
"I should make it up somehow. It's not like the dream didn't warn me to stay away." His eyes focused on the dusty painting. "Guess I can do that." Jaune ran his sleeve lighty across the painting and removed all the dust. It wasn't perfect, but the portrait looked exponentially better. "There we go. I made one mess, but I'll clean this one up. Okay, now to go back to finding Blake."
The ground floor looked pretty much deserted, so the dream intruder made his way upstairs. WIth the nightmare shut away, his body warmed by the fire, and his guilt somewhat sated, Jaune felt a lot better. His footsteps echoed around him in the deserted castle, but it's not like anyone would hear him. Once he reached the top of the stairs, his head took in the two hallways. The decorations were the same on both sides, but the hallway to his right had some very large ornate doors. Like it was a big important room.
"Ah hah!" Jaune cheered as he quickly made his way over to them. "Finally, Blake has to be there!"
For a moment, as his hand pressed against the cool wood, the boy feared the doors would be locked. That would have been a slap to the face. To his relief, the door creaked opened and he stepped inside. The room was pretty barren, except for a large king size bed with those poles that hung a ceiling over the bed. Jaune wasn't sure what they were called, but it was supposed to signify rich and wealthy royalty. Large glass doors lead to a balcony.
There was a lump under the sheets in the middle of the bed.
"That has to be Blake… but why is she sleeping? In a dream? Is she dreaming inside a dream?"
While Jaune was considering what this meant, he heard a light thud coming from the window. Spinning around, a shadow appeared on the glass doors as they were slowly and silently pushed open. When Jaune saw who it was, his eyes widened.
It was Blake.
Her clothing was different though. The purple and black outfit consisted of a high-collared shoulderless blouse and matching apron skirt. A red rope was tied around her waist, and she was wearing black gloves that reached halfway between her elbows and shoulders. A black mask covered her face from her nose downwards, but her eyes, hair, and cat ears were visible.
"Who goes there!" A familiar, very familiar, voice said from the bed as the sleeping individual woke up. Long blonde hair fell down around the woman.
The person Jaune originally thought was Blake, was actually her partner, Yang.
The boy kept looking between them. Blake's sexy ninja outfit and Yang's loose fitting robes that showed off a good part of her chest.
"It's me." Blake whispered, stepping forward so the full moon was right behind her "I had to see you again."
"You can't be here." Yang whispered, pulling off the sheets and moving to the side of the bed. "The treaty forbids it. If you're caught… the fighting could begin again."
"I don't care!" Blake's voice may have been hushed, but it was full of determination. "My life isn't complete without you. Whatever the cost, I need to be by your side."
"You don't mean that," Yang looked at her with sorrow in her eyes. "I know how important your oaths are." Blake looked down at the floor. "I miss you too, but we have to think of the good of our people."
This scene seemed oddly familiar to Jaune.
"I know… but every day without you might as well have lost its sunrise." Blake put a hand over her chest.
'That line is REALLY familiar.' Jaune realized
"Yes, I feel the same,"Yang admitted, her eyes full of sorrow. "But what's done is done."
"Please, can you accept this one selfish request?" Blake asked.
"For you, anything." Yang smiled.
"Can we spend one last night together?" Blake stepped forward and put a hand tenderly on Yang's cheek. "Share the love between us once more before it all has to end."
Everything clicked into place.
"It's that one scene from Ninja's of love," Jaune finally remembered. "Before the really… oh…OH… ooohhhhh!" The boy blinked and his face began to grow warm. "I should just… go then…"
Jaune Arc always thought of himself as someone who respected others. What was about to happen wasn't something he should be watching. Turning around, he bolted toward the door of the room, but to his horror, he found it locked. Eyes widening, the boy tugged and pushed at the door, trying to get it to budge. The heavy wood didn't give a single inch. Thinking back to the book, the room was locked because guards eventually arrived but couldn't get in.
'The balcony!'
The last shred of salvation crossed through Jaune's mind. If he purposely stayed and watched what was about to happen, he would be trash. This was a private dream and he shouldn't even be here in the first place. The glass doors were shut but they shouldn't have had a lock. Jaune charged and rammed against them, but they didn't even shake.
"Oh, come on!" Jaune shook his head and called out loudly, hoping he could reach his friend. "Blake, if you can hear me! Wake up, please! You don't want me to see-...!"
The words in his throat were cut short as a large yellow bra flew past his head. Instinctively, he turned around and his jaw dropped. This was better than anything he could have seen in a picture or online. Blake had probably seen Yang's naked body many, many times in the locker room and in their dorm. Since it seemed Blake was attracted to her partner, she probably secretly observed Yang many times.
This dream version was probably pretty accurate.
No teenage boy could have resisted the scene before him. Collapsing on the floor where he was, Jaune zeroed in on two girls tangled together on the bed. Everything they did was on full display. Gulping, Jaune's hands moved on their own too as a thought passed through his mind.
'Is Blake really that flexible?'
"Good morning team~!" Nora sang the following morning. "Rise and shine. Time to get up!" The morning team run was quickly becoming the norm.
"I'm always surprised how energetic you are every morning." Pyrrha smiled as she sat up. "You'll have to teach me your secrets."
"No big secrets, it's just each day is fun with friends." Nora explained, as she got out to get Ren up.
"She does make mornings a little more bearable, doesn't she." Jaune joked as he stretched.
"Did you sleep well?" Pyrrha asked.
"Actually yeah. Got a really good night's sleep."
There was no way he was ever going to mention what he saw. Not to anyone, especially Blake and Yang. He had a front row seat to a scene any guy, and some girls, in Beacon would kill to have seen. Not only that, because of his Semblance, the dream was clear and vivid. Everytime he remembered a few very energetic scenes, his face grew hot. Part of him hated the fact he couldn't look away and enjoyed watching his two friends.
'It's probably a good thing I can't interfere with the dreams. I don't know if I could resist if those two actually let me join.'
However, at breakfast, he couldn't look Blake or Yang in the face. In fact, he couldn't look at them for the next couple of days. Anytime he tried, their blissful expressions from the dream swam to the front of their mind along with their shiny, naked bodies. Jaune just avoided being in the same room with them as much as possible.
One person noticed the change in his actions pretty quickly.
"Are you avoiding me?"
Jaune jumped in fright as he was returning a book to the library two days later. Spinning around, he found himself looking again at Blake, the ninja who kept surprising him. Amber eyes were observing his face closely and he felt the familiar heat rise up within himself.
"B-Blake!" Jaune stammered. "Seriously, can you stop scaring me."
"Sorry, but ever since we talked about possibly having a small book club meeting, you've been purposely avoiding me." Blake's bow seemed to droop slightly. "Did you no longer want to do that?"
"N-No!" Jaune shook his head, coughed, and stabilized his voice. "Really, I haven't. I didn't mean to avoid you. I guess I've been busy with everything." He had an idea how to cheer her up though. "That book you suggested? I finished it yesterday. It had some information relating to dream interpretation, but I kind of got hooked on the plot."
A small smile graced Blake's lips.
"It is a rather interesting book that dives into the human psyche."
"I read through a good chunk the night you recommended it too," Jaune chuckled. "Weirdly enough, the next dream I had was pretty nice. Though I haven't had a dream since." It took every bit of willpower he had not to let his expression give her any signs of what really happened.
"Maybe since you started focusing and understanding the dreams, there was no need to keep having them." Blake shrugged. "Observing a subject can affect how they behave and dreams are a part of you. Just in case, here. When I was in Vale, I thought you might like this." She pulled a book out of her bag and handed it to him. "It's on dream interpretations and it's actually from a reputable author."
"Oh, wow." Jaune looked at the cover of the book as he took it. "Thanks, Blake. How much do I owe you?"
"It's a gift," Blake assured him. "It wasn't much anyways."
"Well… if there's anything you need help with, just let me know."
"We'll see." Blake chuckled. "After our last talk, I actually had an interesting dream that night." Jaune stiffened up and tried not to let it show. "I saw my parents in the dream. More vividly than I have before. Maybe it's because you talked about your sister."
"Have you not seen your family lately?" Jaune asked, surprised.
"No, not in a long time." Blake sighed. "Things are… complicated."
"If you need to talk…" Jaune offered but Blake shook her head.
"Sorry, it's private."
"I understand, so I won't pry."
Not on purpose anyways.
After Blake left and Jaune finished returning the book, he had a chance to think about what she said. When the, as Ruby would say, filthy scene ended, Blake left the room, but went into the main castle over the balcony. That wasn't what happened in the book itself, but dreams aren't going to follow them perfectly. No guards had interrupted the adult activities by banging on the lock door after all. Jaune didn't see what happened after that, as he was trying to get his own pants back on.
It was not his proudest moment, but he managed to make a connection.
"Did… dusting the painting of her family make it clearer to her in her dream?" Jaune muttered. "Nah, couldn't be. Could it? That would mean I could interfere with dreams a lot more than I realized… is my Semblance growing?"
The nightmare could have caused untold problems in Blake's dream. If his hypothesis was correct though, as long as he didn't directly interact with the person dreaming, he could make changes in the surroundings. It might be hard to predict what exactly a subconscious mind would interpret from them though. Dusting an old painting made Blake see the people inside it clearer, but that was a very specific outcome. Who knows what else could happen.
The thought both excited and terrified him.
Feel free to leave a review, comment, suggestions, or ideas, I love reading them. If you have a question you wish I ask and would like a quick answer, feel free to message me directly. I try to respond to those within a day or two. Comments, I tend to respond to in the next chapter.
This was a wild ride with so much happening as Jaune explored Blake's dream a bit. You can earn up to 10 points interpreting this dream too like last chapter. Deadline is when the next chapter is released. Again, Points have no monetary value and can't be redeemed for anything but bragging rights and seeing your name below.
Spoiler: Weiss' dream will be the next one.
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Chuck B. Winanaki: 10