The big reveal chapter at last! Though a chapter without any dream shenanigans. Was that a first for this story? Eh, too lazy to go back and check. We can't have dreams in every chapter without some plot progressing. Either way, a lot is revealed here. Hopefully Jaune can tell his friends what he's been doing without them being too upset. I'm not entirely sure how long this story will go. It probably won't go past the Fall of Beacon at the latest. This was more of a side project a friend and I thought about a long time ago.

Special thanks to Neoshadows for Betaing.

If you continue to enjoy my stories, feel free to check out my p a treon.

P a treon . com (Slash) Dark Betrayer

Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.

Saying Jaune was nervous would be an understatement.

Thankfully yesterday's dreams hadn't involved any of his friends. It allowed him to finally reveal his big secret to them without any of them having their dreams fresh in their minds. However, he was still slightly traumatized by Cardin's dream, left curious about Neo and Trivia, and still slightly aroused from the one with Cinder. They didn't do anything adult-related, but when he danced and walked with a stunning beauty in front of countless people, it was rather stimulating. Especially with the dress she wore.

His team had been understanding when Jaune told them he wanted to share some big news today, but they had to wait until 10 am. Even though he told them less than two hours ago, it didn't stop Nora from anxiously bouncing up and down as she stared at the clock. Like a kid waiting for their parents to wake up on Christmas. It was obvious Pyrrha and Ren were curious as to what Jaune wanted to tell them, but respected him enough to wait.

"Five more minutes!" Nora declared with a giddy grin. "The wait is killing me!"

"Just do something else to distract yourself and time will fly by," Ren suggested off-handedly.

"I am very curious as to what you want to tell us, but still a little confused why you wanted to wait until later in the morning," Pyrrha added with a glance at her Scroll in hand.

"Oh, Team RWBY is going to stop by too, since they need to hear this too," Jaune explained. "I figured it would just be easier to tell everyone at once over answering the same questions multiple times."

"Good plan," Ren agreed with a small nod. "No point when you can tell us together. Repetitive things can get tiring to explain."

"Are you and Weiss going to finally admit you're going out?!" Nora blurted out.

"NORA!" Ren shouted, covering her mouth with his hands.

CLANG!

Pyrrha's phone fell out of her hand as she stared at Jaune in shock and horror.

"W-What?!" Jaune spluttered. "NO! Weiss and I aren't dating, we're just friends!"

"Really?" Nora pulled out of Ren's grip. "But you two spend so much time with her! Plus you two sneak off after class sometimes."

"Weiss is helping me with something, that's all!" Jaune stated firmly. "It's what I'm going to tell everyone about today. Remember, I told you she and I talked about our relationship and wanted to just be friends. Besides, I asked our Cinder, remember? I would never ask two girls out at the same time. What kind of human scum would do something like that?"

"Heh, you're a good person, Jaune-Jaune." Nora beamed at him.

Pyrrha took a deep breath and picked up her Scroll, glad Jaune didn't notice. It took a lot of control for her not to say anything when Cinder's name was brought up, but Weiss? Cinder was one thing and Pyrrha could see how Jaune would be attracted to her. Weiss was… annoying in many ways and not as attractive physically. Of course, the moment Pyrrha thought that she felt ashamed of herself. Weiss was a pretty girl and it was wrong to think of her like that. Seemed not even the Invincible Girl was safe from jealousy's bite.

A knock on the door interrupted them.

"About time!" Nora bounced through the air and landed with a thud in front of the door, yanking it open. "Welcome!"

"Hello, Nora," Weiss answered, leading her team in. "I assume Jaune told you all we're coming and didn't chicken out."

"I thought about it." Jaune laughed from his bed. "Almost did, but we both know I have to tell everyone."

"You can always tell me!" Ruby zipped over to his bed and sat down next to him. "We're best friends! If you're having any problems or need advice, I'm here for you!"

"It's obvious what he wants to talk to us about." Yang shrugged and plopped down on Nora's bed. She looked tired, probably because Ruby and Weiss woke her up early on a weekend.

"Is it?" Blake raised an eyebrow.

"Well, yeah, that's why Weiss is helping him." Yang yawned. "They are finally going to admit they are secretly going ou-Ow! Hey!"

Weiss had thrown a pillow into her face.

"We are not going out!" Weiss stated firmly but lacked any disgust as when she denied it in the past. Jaune was rather happy about that.

"Yeah, I came up with that idea too." Nora giggled.

"Fine, then Jaune and Blake are going out for real this time-... ow!" Yang got smacked in the face by another pillow, this one from Blake. "How many pillows do you guys have?!"

"Quite a few," Ren smirked.

"We used to have pillow fights all the time," Nora explained and then got depressed. "Until Goodwitch stopped us."

"We accidentally broke a window and she banned us from doing any more." Pyrrha elaborated, her cheeks slightly red in embarrassment.

"So why are we here then?" Ruby wondered, confused, and looked around the room. "Doesn't look like a surprise party."

Weiss stared at Jaune and gave a small jerk of her head to let him know. She wasn't going to explain it, that was his job. All she would do was help assist when needed and give emotional support. It helped, but as Jaune stared at all his friends, he suddenly developed a case of stage fright.

This was it.

Anxiety buzzed like little insects squirming about beneath his skin.

How would they react? Would they be upset? Understanding? Disappointed? Despite only discovering his Semblance, would they be hurt that he didn't tell them earlier? Could their relationships change after they knew what he saw? It wasn't on purpose; he didn't have any control! Surely, they would get where he was coming from.

Right?

It was only thanks to Weiss being there that he could continue, her eyes bright with understanding at his hesitation. Her, just being there, quieted the doubts telling him to shut up and lie. But he was tired of lying.

Taking a deep breath, Jaune made his announcement.

"I discovered my Semblance."

Instantly, the breath left his lungs as Nora and Ruby leaped up from the bed and collided with him at high speeds. He might have broken a rib from the impact as he was knocked off his feet. There was no joy to be found in having two busty, cute, and sexy girls jumping on top of his body. Not right now.

Damn the situation for ruining this moment.

"That's amazing, Jaune!" Ruby gushed. "Congratulations!"

"What is it?! What is it?!" Nora demanded, her arms crushing him in a hug. "Come on, tell us?!"

"Trying… can't…. Breath!" Jaune gasped.

"You might want to let him go before he suffocates, Nora," Ren commented.

"You too, Rubes." Yang laughed.

"That is impressive he discovered his Semblance so quickly," Blake commented. "From what you told us, he didn't have his Aura unlocked until recently. It normally takes people years and some never discover it."

Pyrrha blushed and remained quiet. Team JNPR knew she was the one who unlocked Jaune's Aura, but Team RWBY just knew that Jaune used forged transcripts to enter Beacon without combat experience. They were under the impression he just unlocked his Aura shortly before Beacon. The other details were hidden for now. Jaune debated telling Ruby, but the opportunity never really came up. It wasn't something he wanted to bring up anyways.

Jaune was finally able to breathe when Ren and Yang saved him from their hyperactive teammates. Standing up, he dusted himself up and proceeded to tell them the truth about his Semblance. They were all staring at him, wanting to hear more.

"I've been using my Semblance for a while." Jaune continued slowly, deliberating his every word. "The circumstances were unique and my Semblance kept changing what was happening so I didn't realize the first few times I used it. When I finally realized what was happening, I was afraid to tell anyone due to the nature of my Semblance being intrusive."

"Huh, is your Semblance Mind Reading or something?" Yang asked.

"Can you read my mind now?" Ruby asked excitedly. "What am I thinking of?!"

"It's not mind reading." Jaune shook his head quickly, noticing Pyrrha and Blake looked a little anxious at the thought. "But… you're not terribly far off, Yang." The boy took a deep breath to steady his nerves.

No more lies.

He trusted them. They were his best friends.

Time to drop the bomb.

"I have the power to slip into other people's dreams."

"HUH?!" Confusion on most of their faces was obvious.

"When did this start?" Pyrrha asked, a little sweat on her brow. She didn't doubt him but seemed to want more information.

"A couple of weeks ago." Jaune thought back. "The reason it was difficult to realize it was my Semblance at first was because the first couple of times, it was just a vivid dream. So I thought, huh, weird, and that was it."

"Whose dream did you see first?" Ren asked.

"Nora's," Jaune answered honestly.

"Me?" Nora blinked in surprise and quickly recovered. "What did you see?"

"Do you want me to say it?" Jaune asked seriously. "My Semblance lets me see people's dreams which can manifest some personal stuff. I swear, on my name as an Arc, that I will never tell anyone else what I've seen unless the dreamer gives me express permission."

Weiss smiled as everyone else looked stunned by the firm resolution he just declared before a couple of them relaxed and looked pleased. They all knew how seriously Jaune took his oaths. Ruby was beaming at him while the others calmed down a bit to listen. Nora thought about it and shrugged.

"Sure, what dream did you see?" Nora gave him permission.

"The recurring dream you kept telling us about," Jaune informed her. "The one with the Grimm and making rugs? Oh, and Ren? Her dream was accurate with what she's been telling us."

"HAH! Told you!" Nora pointed triumphantly at Ren.

"Hmm." Ren crossed his arms but didn't argue, even if he looked slightly amused.

"So how did you learn it was a dream?" Blake asked the important question.

"Ruby was the one who made me realize it." Jaune glanced over at his best friend.

"Me?" The young girl pointed to herself. "How?"

"Do you remember our conversation about dreams when you told me about yours? The boat one?"

"Oh, right! The one where Yang tried to teach me math." Ruby recalled, snickering.

"Excuse me? Tried?" Yang crossed her arms. "Who tutored you when you were younger?"

"Dad."

That got a round of laughter from the others in the room.

"We talked about it, Ruby." Jaune continued, pushing the topic forward. "When you pretty much told me about your dream that matched mine perfectly, I started to realize these vivid dreams weren't just coincidental and I began to take note."

"That's why you asked me for books on dreams!" Blake gasped. "You wanted to try to understand your Semblance."

"Yep!" Jaune nodded. "At first there was still a chance I was just having weird dreams, but eventually I had to accept it was me going into other people's dreams. I was a spectator and couldn't interfere with any dreams. If I tried to talk to someone, they just acted like they couldn't hear me. I was virtually a ghost for a while until I finally was able to interact with someone's dream."

"Who's?" Pyrrha asked quietly, her face pale.

"Mine." Weiss crossed her arms. "For the first time, he was able to directly involve himself in my dream."

"Was he trying to get you to date him?" Yang blurted out before Blake smacked her arm.

"Why do you always assume that first?!" Jaune countered. "I'm not the kind of person who would manipulate someone like that."

"If anything, he helped me with a nightmare I was having." Weiss scoffed. "His intervention was unexpected though. I began to connect the dots when I heard him talking to Blake about dreams and was able to put two and two together. He was a very bad liar when I confronted him."

"Oh, so that's why you two suddenly talked more!" Nora blurted out.

"Yep, and Weiss has been helping me learn to control my Semblance," Jaune replied. "We learned a lot about it already."

"Jaune… why didn't you tell us?" Pyrrha asked softly, her eyes betraying her hurt. "We would have helped you learn to control it."

"I wanted to,." Jaune tried to keep his voice calm, but his anxiousness slipped out. "It's just… telling people I saw their dreams… someone's innermost thoughts, desires, fears, hopes, it felt like I was intruding on them. Some dreams like Nora's and Ruby's were innocent enough, but I saw a lot of dreams with very private thoughts. Telling them was not only embarrassing, but felt like I violated their trust. That's why when Weiss discovered it on her own, I jumped at the chance to tell her. Someone who could help me without going through the awkwardness of coming out and telling someone I saw their dream last night."

"Even when I was helping, he would never tell me the specifics of anyone's dream," Weiss added. "All I knew was whose dream he saw. Through trial and error, we discovered the trigger-"

"Did you see mine?" Yang blurted out. "I've had some pretty good dreams lately."

Jaune slowly nodded.

"And mine?" Blake raised an eyebrow.

"I think twice…" Jaune had to think back since he saw so many dreams.

"He was in mine a few days ago then." Ren declared and everyone stared at him.

"You knew?!" Jaune gasped. "And you didn't tell me?"

"I had suspicions like I'm sure Weiss had," Ren explained. "The dream was unusually vivid and took some turns my dreams normally don't have. I didn't have any proof so I decided to wait until you were ready to tell us. Oh, by vivid, I meant I could recall it clearly like it happened the day before. Unlike a normally fuzzy memory"

"Wait…" Pyrrha's eyes widened in horror. "Jaune… when your Semblance is active and goes into someone's dream, it makes it clearer?"

"Yes, that's what I heard," Jaune confirmed, his ears burning as he remembered Pyrrha's. "So if you remembered any dreams extremely well and I was in them, there's a good chance I was there."

There was a moment of silence as everyone thought about it. Weiss of course knew, so she was observing the others' reactions with Jaune. Ren was the most composed, already having guessed it to some degree. Nora and Ruby didn't have anything to say about it, as both of their dreams happened a long time ago and neither were that bad.

Everyone else though, had mixed reactions.

Yang had gone unusually quiet and Jaune knew why. He had seen her in her most vulnerable position. Wishing she never had to take care of Ruby. Of course, Jaune and Yang knew she loved Ruby, but years of raising a little girl when she was a little girl herself took its toll. Pyrrha had gone ridged, with all the color draining out of her cheeks. It seemed she remembered their little adventure and what almost happened. As for Blake, that girl had a completely unexpected reaction.

A pillow through the air and hit Jaune in the face.

"YOU DID THAT?!" Blake howled angrily, leaping to her feet.

"Woah, Vomit Boy, what did you do?!" Yang exclaimed, never seeing Blake act like that.

"I can explain!" Jaune held up his arms to defend himself in case she would throw more things at him. "We needed you to wake up and that was the only thing I could think of?"

Yang opened her mouth but Weiss cut in.

"Blake, it's my fault and I'll explain." The heiress interjected, earning the raven-haired girl's scowl. "We just discovered that Jaune's Semblance is based on his desire to get to know someone, or if he's curious about something in their lives."

"Dreams are the window to the soul," Ren commented mildly, thinking about it.

"So you tested it on me?!" Blake asked in disbelief that Weiss would betray her like this.

"No!" Weiss shook her head and spoke loudly to get Blake to calm down. "We discussed it and he used it on me. My idea was that he should attempt to enter my dream on purpose and see if he could make me realize we were in a dream. In the past, when he mentioned we were in a dream, I woke up immediately."

"You have to come to the conclusion on your own, and can't be told it's a dream or you wake up." Jaune elaborated.

"WAIT!" Nora shouted, her eyes widening in excitement. "You mean you can go into our dreams now and we can play all night!? You definitely needed to have told us earlier!"

"Yeah!" Ruby demanded. "We could have had so much fun!"

Yang opened her mouth and then closed it again, still seeming to be stuck in her thoughts, missing the chance to make a joke,

"Okay, then why was he in mine?" Blake asked, sounding calmer but her eyes were still narrowed in suspicion.

"After it worked and he was able to enter my dream, we were talking about a few things in it…" Weiss' cheeks tinged pink slightly. "And your name came up. Somehow, we slid from my dream into your dream. And I do mean we. I was there too."

Blake's mouth fell open.

"You… you were there too?"

"I'll tell you what I saw and I promise to never tell anyone else about it." Weiss quickly promised, understanding why Jaune was so nervous about telling anyone. "As for what he did, we weren't sure what would happen if we stayed in the dream much longer and we decided the only way was to get you to wake up."

"What did he do to get you to wake up?" Ruby wondered, looking at Blake.

"Nothing." The raven-haired girl muttered quickly.

Nora, however, jumped to her feet.

"Jaune-Jaune! You should come into my dream and then we could go into Ren's dream and pick him up, before going into Pyrrha's dream so we can all hang out all night and do cool dream adventures!" As Nora said that, Ruby's eyes widened too as she realized the potential.

"I want to do that too!"

Jaune shared an exasperated look with Weiss. Both of them knew their teammates would want to have cool dream adventures. The others? Based on Pyrrha's stunned horrified look and Yang's uncomfortableness, there was going to be a lot of awkwardness in the future. Jaune knew he had to step up and take responsibility. Just because it was an accident, doesn't mean you can just ignore blame. This was caused by his Semblance, no one else's.

"I can see a lot of you probably realize what dreams I saw," The boy continued slowly. "And I hope you can now understand why I've been hesitant to tell anyone. Again, I won't tell anyone what I saw in your dreams, but I'm willing to discuss with you what I saw so you are aware of what I know. I'm not going to try to keep that a secret or lie to you." He sighed and rubbed his forehead. "While we discovered why my Semblance worked, I didn't have control over it, which means accidents were going to happen. I still don't have full control over it, but I don't want any of you to think I'm purposely spying on your dreams."

"It's okay, Fearless Leader!" Nora assured him. "As long as you try to wake me up so we can do crazy dream stuff, I'm fine with you entering my dream."

"I understand and will not hold it against you." Ren agreed.

"Me either!" Ruby shook her head quickly. "I know what it's like learning to use a Semblance. You won't believe how many trees and walls I hit while trying to learn how to turn. We all go through it."

Jaune hugged his friends and looked at the others.

"I'll understand if you all are weary of my Semblance…" He began to say, but Yang held up a hand.

"Keep it a secret and it's fine, but know I'm going to talk to you later, alone." The blonde brawler warned him. She didn't look angry though… more resigned.

"I… guess as long as you don't pull that stunt again." Blake hissed.

"Blake, I simply told you comics were the superior literature." Jaune protested. "That had nothing to do with the dream."

"It was still blasphemous!" Blake cried out, as the rest of her team snickered at her words.

"Hmm, I'll forgive you if you tell me her dirty dreams." Yang winked, pointing to Blake, and trying to act like her old self.

"No." That one word from Jaune had pure steadfast determination with enough force to wipe the smile from Yang's face. "I told you. I will not tell anyone's dream to anyone else. It's bad enough that I see them."

Blake seemed to relax at that as Yang pouted.

BANG!

Pyrrha had fallen off the bed as she fell unconscious.

"Ugh… what happened?" Pyrrha blinked and woke up to find herself lying in her bed.

"Are you okay?" Jaune asked, handing her a glass of water. "You've been out of it for a little bit. Nora was going to get the nurse."

"I'm fine, just tired." Pyrrha sat up slowly as her head pounded. "I just had the weirdest dream that you could delve into people's dreams."

"Umm, that happened," Jaune reported slowly, rubbing his neck. "I take it you… you remember that one dream."

Pyrrha's eyes widened in horror as it turned out that what she recalled had happened. Sitting up in a panic, she turned to her friend.

"Jaune! I'm so sorry!"

"Pyrrha, stop!" Jaune held up his hand. "Let me talk first. We figured you wanted to talk to me about that dream, so Ren and Nora left. They don't know what happened but guessed there was something personal. Team RWBY left too as they have their own things to do. Now, first things first. One, what happened in your dream was only a dream. I will never blame someone for anything that happens in one of those. They don't have to make sense and can make connections that don't exist. Surges of emotions can affect them. Two, we've all had those dreams, Pyrrha. Every one of us. If anyone's wrong, it was me for invading yours."

"But it was my-..." Pyrrha started to say.

"It was YOUR dream, not mine." Jaune cut her off. "Again, we all have those kinds of dreams. I don't think any less of you. If anything, it makes you more relatable and human." He tried to give her a small grin to let her relax. "You said you don't like it when people put you on a pedestal after all."

The redhead didn't reply to this as she looked at the ground.

"Jaune… do you know… since you saw my dream… what I really think of you?"

"Pyrrha, I…" The boy took a deep breath. "Yes, I figured it out. Since I saw that dream, I realized all the signs I missed because I was an idiot. How I must have hurt you when I completely disregarded your feelings."

"You didn't do anything!" Pyrrha protested quickly. "I should have told you long ago. Not have you find out… like this. Nora kept it quiet because I asked her to, but she knew too."

"I wanted to talk to you earlier, I really did," Jaune admitted, rubbing his neck. "But how could I bring it up? I was hoping you would admit your feelings and we could talk about it. Part of me felt like if I went to you first, I was using your dream information to guide my decisions."

"I kept hoping you would recognize my feelings and talk to me." Pyrrha let out a weak chuckle.

"Looks like we both wanted to talk, but were too embarrassed to take the first step." Jaune sighed, sitting down next to her.

"Now that we are…" Pyrrha gulped. "Jaune, can you tell me honestly? I know you just asked out Cinder and she agreed, but if I had asked you out before, what would you have said?"

"I… don't know…" Jaune admitted slowly, trying to give her an honest answer. "For a long time, I saw you as a sister, Pyrrha. Someone I could come to about anything. Someone who helps me when I'm in trouble. Like all the work you put into making me stronger since you found out about my fake transcripts. I won't deny there were times I thought about you in a more… romantic way, but they didn't last long."

"I see…" Pyrrha's disappointment was fully on display.

"But that doesn't mean I don't care about you." Jaune patted her shoulder. "To me, you're an irreplaceable friend. No matter what happens, I'll always be here for you. We may not know what the future holds, but I can give you my word as an Arc, I will always consider you a friend."

"The future, huh?" Pyrrha looked up. "Do you think there's a chance?"

"Don't think like that, please." Jaune looked her right in the eye. "If you go that route, it's like you're saying that if things don't work out with Cinder, then you're my second choice. You should never accept that. Whomever you date should consider you their first pick."

Pyrrha smiled at that, her cheeks slightly pink.

"We'll have to see what the future holds then," She replied. "Fate sometimes has a weird sense of humor."

"I know whoever you end up with needs to treat you like the amazing person you are," Jaune told her seriously. "Or they will have to answer to me."

That was the last straw for Pyrrha, who could no longer hold back her laughter.

"Thanks, Jaune. I needed that. I'm lucky to have a friend like you." Pyrrha wrapped her arms around him. "We'll really have to wait and see what the future has in store for us."

"Yeah, but I'm sure we'll end up happy, one way or another." Jaune hugged her back.

The two of them hugged tightly for longer than they probably should have, but neither wanted to let go. Each for their own reasons. Jaune because he truly valued his friend and Pyrrha because she still held feelings for him. When they finally let go, both of them were feeling rather hot.

"Eh hem, so again, I'm going to apologize if I see anything in your dreams by accident." Jaune coughed. "Just because I know the trigger, doesn't mean it won't happen occasionally."

"Don't worry, I know firsthand how that works." Pyrrha shook her head. "Semblances are not easy to master, for anyone. Even the ones that seem simple can hide a deeper secret. Though I did just think of an idea how you could use your Semblance with your training."

"Huh, how?" Jaune blinked in confusion. "If it could be used for that, that would be amazing!"

"Well, if you come into my dream and wake me up," Pyrrha explained. "Then I should have control of the dream, right? I vaguely remember that being talked about.'

"Yeah, though if you get distracted weird things might happen." Jaune nodded. "It's an imaginary world after all."

"But what if we turn my dream into a sparring ring and have you fight opponents while in a dream?" Pyrrha mused. "Think about it. While it won't help with muscle training, you can practice techniques and strategy. It could speed up your progress. I know you told me before you wished things were progressing faster."

"Do you think it could work?" Jaune asked, eyes wide in eagerness.

"I don't know." The redhead shrugged. "But I figured we could try."

"Okay, if I get back early enough tonight, we can try." Jaune was excited to try this. "Remember, I can't tell you it's a dream, only guide you to that conclusion."

"Right…" Pyrrha had momentarily forgotten Jaune and Cinder had a date tonight. Her smile became sort of forced.

It would take time to fix that tic.

"Alright, I'm heading out, do I look presentable?" Jaune asked his team later that day, holding out his arms to his side in front of Nora and Ren. He was wearing a nice white undershirt with a blue long-sleeve buttoned-down shirt over it, though it wasn't buttoned at all. He also wore his nicest jeans that had no stains or holes. "It's just a movie and a quick dinner, nothing extravagant."

"Looking good, fearless leader!" Nora gave him a thumbs up.

"As long as you avoid the high-class restaurants, it should be fine." Ren agreed.

"I doubt Cinder expects anything that fancy, but I got to take her somewhere better than a fast food joint." Jaune rubbed his neck worriedly. "I doubt she'll enjoy something like that."

"She does seem to have… refined tastes," Ren commented.

"Stuck up, huh?" Nora giggled.

"NORA!" Pyrrha gasped. "Don't be rude!"

"Sorry!" Nora apologized quickly.

"I'm sure she'll be pleased you took the time to dress up," Pyrrha assured Jaune. "Go and have fun, but remember, be yourself. Don't fall into the trap you did with Weiss at the beginning." It was tough for her to give advice, but she valued her friendship too much to not try to help a little.

"Cheesy flirt lines only when the time is right." Nora crossed her arms and nodded sagely.

"Preferably none." Ren offered his advice, covering Nora's mouth.

Jaune took a deep breath and left his room, incredibly nervous, no matter how he acted. He was going on a date with Cinder Fall, one of the hottest girls from Mistral. For whatever reason, she had agreed to this when he asked her. Part of him kept wondering why she did. Was it pity or did she actually like him? Based on what Cinder had told him, she did enjoy spending time with him. The thing was people didn't always say what they truly felt. It could be just to spare his feelings. When he stood in front of the statue out front of Beacon, he felt even more nervous.

What if Cinder stood him up?

That would be downright humiliating.

"No, she's not the kind of person to do that." Jaune shook his head and smacked his cheeks with his hand. "She would have just told you no if she didn't want to go."

"I have found the direct approach works remarkably well."

The amused female voice coming out of nowhere caused Jaune to jump slightly as his heart stopped for a moment. Spinning around on one foot, Jaune came face to face with Cinder. His eyes immediately flickered down to her outfit. She was wearing a red and gold tank top, with a light brown jacket over it. Like him, she was wearing a pair of jeans, but they contoured to her body much better than his own, and she had a brown belt on them.

"A girl might take offense if you just stare and don't compliment her," Cinder remarked mildly.

"Ah… Sorry!" Jaune apologized and snapped out of his stupor. "You look nice."

"Just nice?" Cinder had an amused smirk on her face.

"Really nice?"

"I supposed that would do." Cinder crossed her arms. "I was debating what to wear and chose something casual for our movie date. It looks like I chose correctly when I read your intentions." She eyed him up and down. "You don't look that bad either."

Jaune felt relief wash over him at her words. Cinder had a way of making him feel like she was examining everything he did to judge him for his worth. It was probably her intense gaze that made people afraid to approach her. He knew her well enough that she was perfectly normal and even had a sense of humor. So as long as he was himself, things shouldn't go too badly. Probably. Worse case, she won't go on any more dates with him.

"Shall we get going?" Cinder continued.

"Ah, yes." Jaune nodded quickly. "We have some time before the movie, but you know how Bullhead travels can be delayed."

"Planned ahead," Cinder's mouth curved up in a smile. "I like that."

Jaune's heart raced and he was glad he thought to leave early, with a little unknowing help from Cinder herself. In his defense, he asked her directly in the dream and didn't sneak around looking for clues. It was close enough to just asking someone directly in the real world, wasn't it? Plus, she just told him what kind of movies she enjoyed, not what to see. Any thoughts of his tactic being underhanded left his mind when he saw the shadow of a smile. It made Cinder happy, so the end justified the means.

Something dark and dangerous flowed over him. He felt a creeping chill and he spun his head around.

From the second floor, he saw a familiar head of green hair and eyes glaring daggers at him. Emerald did not seem pleased as she pointed to her eyes and then at him in warning. Jaune knew she was protective of Cinder, but that murderous expression gave him pause. Turning around slowly, he took a deep breath and whispered to Cinder.

"Your teammate doesn't seem to like me."

"Does she now?" Cinder turned around slowly and glanced up at Emerald. The green-haired girl ducked out of sight but wasn't fast enough to avoid being seen. "I'll have to teach her some manners later."

"Don't be too hard on her, she just cares for you," Jaune suggested.

"Oh, I know. Believe me."

They arrived at the Bullhead and sat down, still talking all the way to Vale. Cinder talked a little about her childhood in Mistral. It seemed she had two sisters and a mother. She never did say if anything happened to her and Jaune kept his mouth shut what he saw in the dream. Instead, Jaune told her about his seven sisters, which allowed him to view a rare sight on her face. She didn't normally betray surprise. Most people didn't believe him at first when he told them unless they lived near his home of Ansel. The Arc family was pretty well known around there.

"Two sisters were enough for me." Cinder shook her head. "How did you survive without going crazy?"

"Who said I didn't?" Jaune laughed. "After a while, the craziness becomes the norm, and you just get used to it."

"Ah, right." Cinder pondered this. "Humans are very adaptable when it comes to their environment. Once we adapt, we strive to change it to fit our needs."

"Eh, I didn't do that." Jaune shook his head, knowing Cinder had a small control complex of some kind from her dreams. "I rather get along with people. Life is too short and it's more fun to spend time with friends than alone."

"If you're on top, don't you get to choose your friends?" Cinder asked, looking at him with an intense expression.

"I suppose, but are they your friends because they want to be or because you have power?" It was only thanks to seeing Cinder's Queen of the Kingdom dream that Jaune had the opportunity to ponder stuff like this. "I bet it would be pretty lonely at the top anyway."

"Hmm…" Cinder looked away for a moment, her eyes softening as she pondered something. "I suppose that's one way of looking at it. But if you stay at the bottom, those that rule above you will continue to use you for their desires."

"Then wouldn't the best outcome be everyone on the same level?" Jaune asked her. "No one above or below and only equality?"

"That's an unrealistic outlook."

"I prefer optimistic and I know, I'm not that stupid." The boy shook his head. "But I think that's the best outcome for everyone."

"The ones in power will never relinquish their holds willingly," Cinder stated firmly as if she had encountered this before.

"But enough good people can change anything." Jaune countered with a shrug.

"Perhaps, if they have power, which is what everything comes down to," Cinder commented.

"Eh, what's the old saying?" Jaune frowned as he thought about it. "People aren't born strong, but get stronger when they have something to protect?" He was sure he bastardized that quote, but it was close enough.

"Oh?" Cinder raised. "Is that why you want to be a Huntsman?"

"In a way, yeah," Jaune confirmed. "Protect my family and friends, but I also have some more selfish motives."

Cinder's eyes narrowed in on this.

"Oh? And here I thought you were some white knight who was always trying to help people, no matter the cost." The woman lightly needled.

"Heh, I'm full of surprises." Jaune grinned at her.

"Indeed." Cinder crossed her arms as they approached the theater. "By the way, what movie did you decide on?"

"This one." Jaune pointed to the movie poster hanging on the side of the building. "I figured you weren't too into hard romance movies, but also action movies might prove boring, being Huntsmen in training and all, so why not a drama?"

Of course, he only knew this because of Cinder's dream, and he was trying to say it in a way that wouldn't trigger Cinder to connect the dots. She seemed rather observant, so it was possible she could realize what he did. With how varied Semblances are, it wouldn't be that unusual for others to do something similar to what he did. Maybe if they become steady, he'll tell her about it. Or if she guessed it like Weiss. That would be fair and he wouldn't lie to her. Relationships based on lies hardly last.

Piercing yellow eyes glowed in familiarity. Seemed Cinder had her eyes on the movie.

"I've been meaning to see this, but never had the time," Cinder muttered. "You chose well."

"I thought you would like it." The boy hummed happily, glad his idea worked.

Once inside, Jaune picked up some drinks and popcorn before they took their seats. He let Cinder choose where they would sit and she chose the middle aisle. That just made him fall for her more. Most people think the front is the best spot, but then you're looking up at the screen the entire time and it hurts your neck. The screen-level row was the best because you got to look straight at the movie. The only other best seats were the ones in the back, but they weren't for actually watching movies.

The movie in itself wasn't too bad. The male and female leads wanted to get married, but the man was framed for murder and his fiance had to figure out who did it to save him since the police were no help. Even as a drama, there was plenty of action, including a car chase, shootout, and romance. This was something a couple of his sisters would like, even if they might have preferred a sappier romance. Jaune's eyes flickered over to Cinder to see her reaction as the movie was finishing up.

Her face was passive as she stared at the screen, sipping at her drink. For a moment, Jaune was worried she didn't like the movie and was just bored. Then he saw a flicker of a smirk on her lips and he relaxed. She was enjoying herself and that was the most important thing. Maybe she was just absorbed in the movie. For a brief moment, Jaune wanted to act smooth and put his arm around her or something, but he wasn't that brave.

This was real life and not a dream.

And if Cinder didn't like that, he might lose a finger or two.

Okay, she was a little scary.

"I didn't see that twist at the end," Jaune said as they left the theater. "Thought for sure it was the private detective."

"The clues they purposely placed in the movie were designed to point the audience toward either him or the police chief," Cinder answered. "Though that rarely happens in real life. Planted evidence isn't uncommon, but if the criminal is competent enough to do it well, they won't leave their own evidence behind. That part wasn't very realistic."

"But didn't most of that evidence apply to both of them?" Jaune wondered, thinking back.

"Yes and no," Cinder explained. "The audience could connect the dots because we have the full picture, but in the movie, no. The planted pieces were merely designed to lead toward the detective."

"Ah, no wonder he got tangled up with everyone." Jaune considered. "You're really good at analyzing these things."

"I learned long ago that learning about other people and how they tick makes choosing associates much easier." Cinder smiled lightly. "Only those I can trust can get close to me, you might say."

"So you trust me?" Jaune couldn't help grinning back at her.

"Maybe~," Cinder remarked, eyeing him closely. "Or maybe you're just not threatening, so I can relax around you. Like a puppy."

Jaune was suddenly reminded of the dream and faltered slightly, which might have been a mistake. Cinder was watching him closely. Analyzing his response. His heart dropped as she might have suspected him. Maybe he should come clean and admit he was in her dream. It might ruin his shot with her, but it's probably worse pretending it didn't happen and she finds out.

What should I do?

"I get that a lot." Jaune pretended to go along with the joke. "Even though I'm tall, I'm very approachable."

"By everyone?" Cinder raised an eyebrow. "I heard some interesting rumors about you and Weiss Schnee."

Burning sensations covered his face at her words.

"That's… when I was really stupid, like more than usual." Jaune sighed. "I was trying to be someone I wasn't and she saw through me. Once I was myself, we became friends, but we aren't going to be a couple."

"Hmm, so what I see when I'm with you is your real self then?" The girl asked, amused.

"Pretty much. You can't have a house of cards relationship. It has to have a firm foundation." Jaune answered seriously. "So I'm trying to be myself, no matter how embarrassing I am." He looked away and scratched his cheek. "And be honest…"

Cinder's eyes narrowed as he looked away, but not in anger or irritation, but more suspicion. Like she didn't trust him to be that truthful. If Jaune knew, he wouldn't blame her. People have a hard time being themselves when trying to impress others.

"Eh hem…" Jaune coughed loudly. "Should we go get dinner or do you want to do something else?"

"No, we can eat." Cinder answered, sounding agreeable. Jaune couldn't read her what she thought about his earlier words. It was so hard to know what she was thinking. "I'm not a big fan of popcorn, so I'm a little hungry."

"Okay, I found a cafe you might like." Jaune reached out to take her hand to lead the way before he realized this wasn't someone like Pyrrha or Ruby. He was used to traveling with his close friends, not an attractive girl from another school. For a second, Jaune started to panic when he realized his fingers were wrapped around her warm hand. Just when he was about to let go, her fingers tightened to prevent his escape.

His eyes widened.

"Lead the way then." Cinder told him. It wasn't a harsh order, but lighter and more playful. Not something he was used to seeing.

Jaune guided her down the main street in Vale before turning down a smaller side street. The area was full of shrubbery as the owners of the buildings planted plenty of decorative trees. A few blocks away a small cafe was set up, with flowery bushes acting as a fence. It could be easily missed if one didn't know where to look. It was only thanks to Weiss telling him about this place did he know about it. He even checked it out online and it was affordable, even for him.

"Oh?" Cinder looked around as they entered the outside seating area. "You didn't show me this place when we went out before."

"I discovered this recently when I was trying to set up this date." Jaune admitted. There was no reason to lie after all. "I thought it would surprise you. Did it work?"

"It did." The corner of Cinder's lips curved upwards. "You do that often. I'm not sure what to make of it."

"I just try my best." Jaune shrugged as they sat down and a waiter gave them menus.

To her credit, Cinder didn't seem to be someone who ordered really expensive food. Jaune thought for sure she would be the type to enjoy finer things due to her dreams. Like ruling a kingdom, drinking pina coladas on the beach, and fancy ballroom dancing. Those kinds of things. Though, if she grew up poor Cinder might understand the value of money. It was something he would have to learn about her over time. Jaune actually preferred finding these things out by spending time and talking with her, rather than discovering them in a dream.

Which he continued to do after they ordered.

"Hmm, not bad." Cinder dabbed at her mouth with a napkin when she finished her salad. "Having you around to show me Vale truly was a boon."

"I'm just glad you enjoyed the place." This was completely true, as Jaune hadn't been here before either. "But I'm having fun learning about you. I'm glad all the rumors are false."

"They might not be completely untrue." Cinder leaned forward and propped her chin on her hands. "I can be quite strict when I need to be. Like when people try to act tough to impress me. I shut that down. You don't have that problem."

"I've tried to act tough, and it doesn't work." Jaune's ears were burning again. "There has to be a real reason why I act that way. Like when someone hurts my friends."

"So you were tired of being the damsel in distress, huh?" Cinder asked mildly.

"Oh, you have nooooo idea." Jaune snorted a bit at that. "My older sisters would always be the ones who tried to protect me. And if you count the few times they put me in a dress, I might as well have been one. I was tired of being weak, being protected by others, so I decided to change."

The way Cinder's eyes narrowed on him made him think he said something wrong. It was like something clicked in her mind. What it was, Jaune wasn't sure. Maybe he was just imagining it or she could relate to his words.

"You mentioned before you were going to be honest with me, right?" Cinder asked suddenly.

"Yeah, I'll tell you anything you want to know about me," Jaune confirmed. "Just me though. I don't tell secrets about my friends."

"That's good to hear." Cinder stared at him, her expression sharpening. "I wanted to know, how many times have you visited my dreams."

Jaune froze when he realized what clicked in her mind.

Her words, his answers, were too similar to their dream talks.

Shit…

"Er…" Jaune gulped.

"So it's true…" Cinder trailed off for a moment. "I wasn't completely sure until now." Her eyes narrowed. "Were you using the information you gleamed in my dream to manipulate me?!"

A wave of icy cold aura washed over him.

"No!" Jaune shook his head. "I didn't… not really…"

"I'll give you until we leave this cafe to give me a good reason why I shouldn't end your life."

"It's illegal?"

"Only if your body is found and it's traced to me. That won't be an issue."

"Ozpin!" Glynda walked into the headmaster's office and closed the door behind her. "We found… oh, Shion! I didn't realize you had already arrived." The woman came to a stop and observed the person with long silver hair and a purple long-sleeve shirt. "It might actually be good that you're here early."

"Ozpin was just telling me about it." Shion nodded. "You've been discovering more Nightmare Grimms?"

"In the same condition." Glynda pointed to a box levitating next to her due to her Semblance of Teleportation. "They are injured and unable to move, but we avoid touching them so they can't invade our minds and recover." She set it down at the edge of Ozpin's desk. "That's the fourth one."

"So many," Shion muttered, staring at the box.

"Yes, that's why I called you back." Ozpin nodded. "So far we haven't had anyone injured by them, but the sheer number of Nightmares entering Beacon is a cause for concern. They are rare Grimm, usually only found in ruins, who attach to those unaware. But there haven't been any recent trips for our students to warrant this."

"Yet there's someone who is defeating them under our noses." Shion considered, crossing their arms. "Whoever is doing this has to be skilled, as they don't appear to need any setup like I do."

"I'm beginning to think the individual fighting these Grimm may not be aware of it." Ozpin offered his outlook.

"Why do you say that?" Glynda asked, surprised.

"We learn the Semblances of all students when they enter to avoid any misuse." The headmaster explained. "Or try to. This individual either hid his Semblance or recently discovered it. I'm leaning toward him recently discovering it."

"And you deduced this…?" Glynda waved him on.

"The Grimm weren't killed, just injured to the point they couldn't move." Ozpin continued. "It seems unlikely someone who was used to fighting them would leave them in such a state."

"If they recently discovered a dream Semblance to fight the Nightmares, they might not realize they are actually Grimm." Shion frowned at this. "I'm hesitant to think someone has such a convenient power though. Entering Dreams isn't a simple task and only a handful of people at a time have that ability. If they are doing this so effortlessly, that even Glynda hasn't realized anyone acting strange, then it can't be that taxing on them."

"They could be good at hiding it." Glynda pointed out reasonably. "Remember, teens are always quick to change their mood, get tired from staying up all night, and don't always eat well. Any sudden change could be hormonal. I'm keeping my eye out, but haven't seen anything recently."

"I would like to request that you stay within the walls of Beacon and Vale for the time being, Shion." Ozpin sighed. "I know that might be a lot to ask of you…"

"No, it's fine." Shion held up a hand. "With so many Nightmares converging here, there has to be a reason. It would probably be best for me to stay here and investigate. I might be able to locate the individual who is helping their fellow students."

"Thank you." Ozpin gave her a small smile. "I appreciate all your help, Shion."

"I'm a Nightmare Hunter." The person answered. "It's what I do. Besides, depending on who is the one defeating these Grimm, I might offer them a place in my group."

"We'll talk about that later." Glynda interjected. "That's not something to be discussed at this moment."

Feel free to leave a review, comment, suggestions, or ideas, I love reading them. If you have a question you wish to 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.