Jaune was starting to notice something.

Ever since their first training session, Cinder was becoming more and more common to see outside of class, so much so that even RWBY and the rest of JNPR had noticed. He could still remember how red he had gotten when Yang asked what he had 'done to the girl to get her so interested'.

No amount of claiming that he was just getting some training off a new friend had stopped the absolute tease-fest he had received from all angles after that.

Even with the teasing, though, he didn't mind seeing Cinder more often. Not only was she gorgeous, but he had even started to 'hang out' with her outside of training, and he had learned that she was rather funny, her dry wit allowing for quality banter… Or at least he was pretty sure it was just banter?

The other thing that he was figuring out was that Cinder was mean. In that 'mean-girl' way he had seen on TV, yeah, but also mostly she had what he would generously call a 'cruel streak' if asked about it.

The thing was, he was never the recipient of the cruelty. Was it because he had called out her 'mask' and told her that he could tell she was putting it on? Or was this because he had made friends with her?

And while he liked how smart and funny Cinder could be… He felt a little uncomfortable when she would insult other people or be cruel in other ways, so he'd started… Not manipulating her into being less cruel, but showing that he appreciated when she wasn't, or when she did good things.

It had started small, and he hadn't even meant to at first. A small boost as a thank you when she had seen he was upset at one of Cardin's teammates (he couldn't remember their name) bullying another student and stepped in before he could.

That was when Cinder had started to do 'good' things when he was nearby. He wasn't dumb, he knew she likely saw it as a way to get more boosts out of him, but… He was genuinely fine with that. If all he had to do was give Cinder a boost here and there to get her to be nicer then he would pay that price any day, especially now that his training had made calling upon his Semblance -almost- second nature.

At the very least he didn't have to sit still and close his eyes while he focused on his Aura anymore, so that was a definite improvement!

So yeah, Cinder was becoming more of a friend every day, and he was glad for it. She still didn't have any interest in hanging out with Ren, Nora, or Pyrrha, but for some reason, they were more than fine with that.

He could understand why they might dislike Cinder, especially with her initial motivation to get close to him being to use him, but he liked to think they were proper friends now. She had seemed distracted and conflicted as of late, but he knew that deep down she was probably better off for having a friend, and he was more than proud to be that friend.

Still, he wondered what was causing her so much stress, but she had been remarkably tight-lipped about anything in her personal life or history so far. That was fine with him, but he was curious.

Ah well, he'd get her eventually.

Things were progressing smoothly.

Okay, that was a bit of a simplification. Things were complicated, not smooth, but it was still stressful for her. She and Jaune were continuing in their mutually beneficial relationship, and she was starting to feel the permanent results regarding her Aura.

She had tested it with Emerald and Mercury's help, not trusting Neo to stop attacking when her Aura was drained, and had found that it took many more attacks than before to shatter her Aura, which had already been nearing the limit of how far she could train her reserves herself.

But now she had gone even further beyond those limits.

What should have brought her intense glee had instead given her a more solid idea of the decisions she would now have to make regarding her current timeline for her plans. Salem would likely not entertain her putting the Fall of Beacon plan on hold for years while Cinder got Jaune onto her side completely, but she had at least been easily able to convince Roman and Neo to hold off on the Mountain Glenn plan.

It wouldn't do for such an incident, and the increased tension the students would feel after it, to impact her and Jaune's training, and the subsequent Aura boosts he gave her as payment for them. The decision to postpone the Mountain Glenn plan was the first step, and she was going to have to figure out her next steps soon. But for now…

For now, she was 'hanging out' with Jaune, as he referred to it. She had done so a few times in the week or so after their first training, and while she would usually balk at the waste of time such pointless activities as 'walking around vale' and 'getting lunch with a friend' would usually be, they had allowed her to do two major things.

The first; find out what Jaune meant at the end of their first training session. She was more than sure by this point that Jaune was not a threat in the way she had been fearing, which was good. He seemed to have some idea in his head that she had some pressure on her to act a certain way, and that she was 'putting on a mask' when she did so, something she didn't need to do with him.

It was almost funny how correct he was, in all of the wrong ways. There was intense pressure on her to act a certain way, but it was by no means coming from a parent or guardian as he might think. She would quite literally be arrested, and quite possibly executed by Ozpin and his lapdogs if she was discovered.

Even if her only actions against them so far had been to take half of the Fall Maiden's power, failing to kill the Maiden fully… Cinder growled, shaking her head. She did not like to dwell on failure, least of all her own.

The second thing she had figured out, was that Jaune was a naive, idealistic do-gooder… And that was a good thing, in this situation. Not for everyday life, she was convinced that the world would chew him up and spit him out one day -much like she was doing, actually- but right now it gave her another avenue to Jaune's Semblance.

"Thank you, miss! Wow, you're really pretty!"

Using her Semblance to create a stick of black glass long enough for her to push a kid's ball out from where it was stuck in a tree, she grinned sweetly -almost sickeningly so, at her- and handed the small red ball to the little girl.

"Thank you, child. And it was my pleasure to help."

The girl ran off back to her friends and Cinder used her Semblance to melt down the glass, returning it to its place in its canister, hidden underneath her dress. She turned from the children and saw Jaune looking at her, a grin on his face.

A smug smile came onto her face as she approached him, and he seemed to almost instinctively Amplify her Aura a little. She had quickly noticed that doing 'good' things around Jaune was a quick way to make him more predisposed to giving her boosts.

She had gotten him to the point where he didn't even need to make contact with her now, or as close a proximity that he might as well be making contact. As long as she was within slightly longer than his arm's reach from him, he could Amplify her Aura. The fact that his range was growing was a trait that she was encouraging, the fantasy of long-ranged, constant Amplification drifting in her thoughts.

"That was so cliche, oh my god."

Cinder paused as Jaune's voice pulled her from her mind, and she raised an eyebrow at him, placing a hand on her cocked hip. "Excuse me?"

Jaune snorted, shaking his head and motioning towards the kids, his Semblance very clearly ending as the glow from his hands faded. "Getting a kid's ball out from a tree, getting called pretty… I think I've seen, like, seven different movies with that exact scene. You need more original material."

That had been a surprise to her as well, the way that Jaune talked with her. Emerald hung onto every word she said with awe. Mercury showed that he heard her with a grunt and little else. Neo… Said nothing because she couldn't, but usually made it clear that she was only working with Cinder for Roman's sake with some sort of rude gesture.

It was almost… Nice to have someone willing to banter back and forth with her. Such a feeling made her uncomfortable to no end so it balanced itself out, but it didn't stop her from feeling all of it. "Well, even if it is a common scene, I am not surprised that it has happened to me. I am one of the most beautiful people alive."

Jaune laughed out loud at that, and she was this close to skinning him alive for insulting her when he waved a hand at her. "At least you're aware of it. Sometimes I wondered if your being seductive was an accident or not."

She raises an eyebrow at that, making a show of being smug about him complimenting her when she was smug for an entirely different reason. Physical attraction was a boorish way to wrap someone around her finger, but one that she had used to manipulate people before, and was not afraid to leverage her if it meant securing Jaune's Semblance.

Before she could capitalise on it, however, Jaune pauses and looks over the street. "Say, we've been walking for a while. Wanna get something to eat?"

Cinder hummed as she looked at the cafe… It looked satisfactory at the very least. She didn't even really care what they did, as the purpose of this outing was merely to get him more and more under her control.

She nodded, and he smiled, darting over the road when there were no cars, and she followed. Entering the cafe, she was at least grateful for how empty it seemed, with very few customers dotting the tables around the one Jaune led her to. She didn't have much of an opinion about places like this, having never really been to one, but she did have an opinion on crowds of people, a decidedly negative one.

They reminded her too much of a much more powerless time.

The other benefit of the cafe being so empty is that their food arrived rather quickly. Jaune had gotten an ungodly large burger and a portion of chips so large she would bet it weighed half of what he did. Her meal was much less extravagant, opting instead for a simple chicken parmigiana and chips, a small serving of salad on the side.

They ate in silence mostly, and she finished her food far faster than he did.

Eventually, it got to the point where both of them had finished, but neither made a move to get up. She was fairly sure that he must just be trying to not throw up from the sheer amount of food he had just eaten, and her leaving first would be 'rude' which undermined her goal here.

"So, is chicken parmigiana your go-to meal or do you usually get something else?"

"What?"

She hadn't meant for her response to his question to contain so much bite, but she had been thrown off guard by the question and its inanity. Jaune didn't seem put off by her tone, however, and just asked his question again. "Is chicken parmigiana your go-to meal, or do you usually get something else?"

"I don't usually go to cafes. Emerald cooks."

It was true, but she hadn't meant to tell him the truth. She had intended to play into her cover by making up a believable backstory… It was just the suddenness of the question that had thrown her off.

Jaune nodded, his palm on his cheek holding his head up as he let out a small laugh. "Right… Is she any good at it?"

Cinder was still confused as to why he was asking things like this, but she forced herself to keep her goal in mind and answered after a moment to think. Was he trying to use smaller questions to try and find some inconsistency that he could potentially fact-check when they got back to Beacon? And if he did catch her lying about something like this, what else would she lie about?

She couldn't risk getting any extra scrutiny on her or her team. "She is proficient enough at it, having done it for a few years now. Why are you asking about this?"

Jaune looked a little sheepish for a moment, rubbing the back of his neck as he sat up. "Well, I mean, I like to think we're friends, but to be honest I don't know much about you. I guess I'm just curious, is all."

Cinder felt her shoulders loosen as the tension drained from her. Of course, he wasn't some mastermind trying to unravel her cover. He was just a boy who had probably become interested in the beautiful, powerful girl who was his new friend and wanted to get to know her.

Times like this, where she was blind to the obvious thoughts of simpler people, were the only downsides to being so far removed from any thoughts of romance for her entire life. Usually, she was more than happy for that removal, as it allowed her to focus on gaining power, but it was occasionally inconvenient for her plans when she was trying to predict others.

Putting on a false shy smile, she shrugged, her body language shifting to one that spoke of her supposed uncomfortableness. "Oh, there's nothing really worth talking about."

Jaune's forehead wrinkled at that, but she was sure that it was from disappointment, not from suspicion. "Really, nothing? But you're so skilled and awesome, surely you can at least tell me about your training, if not your hobbies or something."

Cinder frowned, pausing for a moment as she tried to think of a good enough answer to satisfy him, but not give away too much information. "My training was… Intense. My guardian had it planned that I would become a Huntress long before I aspired to it myself, and I was trained since I was young. My sheer level of talent did wonders for my skill level, too, of course."

Jaune hummed, his eyes focused on her as she spoke. He looked at her with admiration but of a whole different tinge to the soul-devouring devotion Emerald showcased, or the respect for her strength that Mercury showed. It was something else altogether, a respect for her, something that filled her with a surge of pride.

"I'll say. We're probably around the same age and you can kick me up and down a training field with ease. I did only start training at the start of- Uh, fairly recently, compared to you, I mean."

Cinder felt her interest pique at his clear deflection from his sentence, but didn't press onward, the uncomfortable, almost scared look on Jaune's face telling her clearly that pushing him to tell her about it could jeopardise their 'friendship.'

Jaune coughed into his closed fist and continued, steering to a different topic. Cinder was happy to let him. "But uh, yeah… Do you have any hobbies? I've never seen you in the library or workshop or anything."

Cinder opened her mouth to talk. Of course, she had hobbies, and why wouldn't she? Every sufficiently powerful and respectable person in history had something they could devote their free time to, it was a mark of someone strong to be able to spare time to pursue frivolous entertainment…

And yet, when she tried to list them to him, she froze up, her mind going blank as no answers came to her. She… Didn't have an answer for him. He seemed to realise that after a second, smiling at her softly.

"No, I do not. I've never had the time for it, my focus has always been on my training."

He nodded softly, a small smile on his face as he looked up at the roof for a moment. "Yeah, didn't think so. Y'know… You're kinda like Pyrrha in that regard. Pyrrha is wonderful and tries her best, but she's a mess when it comes to social stuff, especially with strangers, and not to be rude, but… Well, you're not exactly a social butterfly either, no matter how friendly your mask can be."

She flinched slightly at the off-hand mention of her cover persona but reminded herself that he had all of the details wrong about why she was using it. He chuckled under his breath, and met her eyes again, grinning. "Both of you seemed to have had a childhood full of lots of training and nothing else. I'd bet that you have a boatload of pressure on your shoulders to perform excellently at all times as well, don't you? "

She couldn't say that the comparison to the redheaded fighter was a welcome one, even if it was rather accurate how he put it. Cinder's eyebrows furrowed as she attempted to dispute him on that, but the lies died in her throat.

Instead, she clicked her tongue, leaning back in her chair as her arms crossed under her chest and one knee crossed over the other. "Yes, I would say I have a rather large amount of pressure on me to perform. That, as well as my training, leaves little time for hobbies, it seems. Does that answer satisfy you?"

She didn't know why she was telling him this. Didn't know why she was even entertaining this conversation or this outing. She hadn't been lying, there were so many things she could be doing at the moment to further her goal of extracting the rest of the Fall Maiden's powers, and yet she was here, with Jaune.

Why?

"Honestly… Not really. Maybe you could try glassblowing?"

She raised her head and met his eyes as he spoke, a confused look on her face. Jaune continued after taking a sip from his glass of water. "Glassblowing. It's kinda like what you do with your semblance, making glass super hot and reshaping it into things, just… Using it to make figurines and art instead of weapons."

"Are you suggesting a hobby to me? I was under the impression people were meant to find their passion themselves."

Jaune outright laughed at her words, shaking his head. "Well, you haven't so far. Plus, I'm the last person who would advocate for the 'lone wolf' way of doing anything. Had that drilled out of me during my first couple of weeks at Beacon. Everyone needs help, that includes me, that includes our classmates, and I'm sure it includes you, too."

She was sure that he could see her scowl at the suggestion that she needed help with anything. She wasn't quite sure why the suggestion was even bothering her so much. She didn't have a hobby, didn't need one, and was unlikely to take up glassblowing even with his suggestion.

But Jaune didn't seem to be done, even with her scowl seeming to have scared some of the confidence out of him. "I-I was mainly suggesting glassblowing because I actually have a little bit of knowledge about it that could help you start."

He coughed, turning his head to the side in an attempt to escape her scowl, scratching the back of his neck. "One of my sisters tried it for a week or two and forced me to pitch in to buy the supplies but she got bored after she didn't get her first figure right. I practised a bit and it didn't interest me much either, but I still remember the basics."

He stood up after he finished talking, winking at her and holding out a hand to her, a stupid, foolish grin on his face. "C'mon, why don't we give it a shot, at least! If I have to, I'll bribe you with a small boost to make you at least give it a sincere try. Everyone should have a hobby."

She hated the fact that he got a reaction out of her at that, her Aura singing for just a moment at the thought of getting another boost, and she groaned. She didn't want to waste any more of her time with this, but if she was getting a boost out of it…

"Ugh, fine then. I accept."

She moves to shake his hand, but he lunges and grabs her wrist instead, throwing some Lien down onto the table and dragging her out of the cafe. Only her surprise stopped her from effortlessly resisting his pull. He was physically strong, but not enough to outmatch her yet, at least without his Semblance boosting himself.

And speaking of his Aura Amplification…

"Awesome! I knew you'd agree. I actually have some glass that should be good for it already stashed in my dorm, so let's go grab it. Man, this is gonna be fun!"

The joyous feeling of his Semblance activating flooded through her as Jaune dragged her along, dodging civilians as they ran. He eventually did let go of her arm when he seemed sure that she was going to follow him back to Beacon, but with his increased Amplification range that didn't stop him from flooding her Aura the whole way back.

But even more than the elation her Aura was subjected to by his Semblance, there was a small kernel of something that felt even better, something that sprung up when she saw that goofy smile on Jaune's face. It was something she hadn't felt before and didn't have a name she could attach to the feeling.

All she knew was that as nice as it felt, it brought along an equal measure of fear and stress as if something was tearing her in half.

Cinder wasn't a nice person.

Jaune was aware of that. But, he was fairly certain he was not only figuring out why, but rounding out those sharp edges she had. After their trip to the cafe he had given her some tips about glassblowing on the way home and then handed her the bag full of the lumpy glass nuggets he had bought.

She hadn't seemed super enthusiastic, but he had kept his end of their deal and given her a boost, and he knew her well enough by now that her pride wouldn't allow her to back out of her end. She might complain to him later about him wasting her time, but he knew she would give it an earnest try.

And that's all he wanted. From the way she had spoken of her guardian and her training, and the fact that she had seemingly done nothing else, he could tell even without her saying it outright that her childhood wasn't the healthiest.

Was that an excuse for being a bit mean and rude to people? No. Was it an explanation? Yes, it was, at least in his eyes. That was why he wanted to try and get her on a hobby, however. With her at Beacon, she was away from her guardian and their influence, probably. He'd already grown as a person since -illegitimately- getting into Beacon, somewhat letting go of his self-imposed worries about 'living up to the arc name' and focusing on just being the best Jaune Arc he could be… And he hoped she could grow out of the shadow of her guardian, too.

Plus, he wanted to pay her back for the progress he was making with his swordplay. With both Pyrrha and Cinder helping him train, two of the strongest classmates in their year by a long shot, he could feel how much better he was getting at using Crocea Mors.

Pyrrha's style was fluid and professional, while Cinders was scrappy, and just as mean as she was. With both of them helping, he was starting to form his own way of fighting, one that they couldn't replicate, like he couldn't replicate their agility.

If he couldn't jump around and bounce off the walls at the speed of sound… Then he would become a wall. With his improvements in using Crocea Mor's shield and his Semblance, he was starting to become harder to put down for good than the majority of his classmates. He might never be as quick as his friends, or at least not until he had a lot more experience and training, but he could be a shield that the Grimm couldn't break.

He snorted from his position of lying down on his bed in JNPR's dorm room, glad that no one could hear his thoughts right now because that was super cringy… Ruby would probably think it was a cool line though, with how earnest and comic-book protagonist-y she could be… Maybe he would tell her and no one else, to spare himself the teasing.

Hopping up off his bed, he smiled, nodding to Ren as he moved over to the door. "See you, Ren. Almost time for my training with Cinder."

Ren hummed from his spot at his desk as he leaned over it, looking up from his homework. "I see… Did you not have that earlier today?"

Jaune shook his head, the door half-open. "Oh, no, we were just hanging out around Vale while I grabbed some supplies for the upcoming assignment. Extra pancake mix for Nora and the like, you know how it is."

That got a sly smile out of Ren, who closed his eyes as he did a small head motion that Jaune was pretty sure was his version of a chuckle. "Indeed I do. Well, good luck with your training, and with Cinder. A word of advice, though?"

Jaune cocked his head to the side, intrigued. "What's up?"

Ren turned his head and met his eyes, saying something with them that Jaune couldn't figure out but could tell Ren was serious about. "You have been spending a lot of time with Cinder recently, both during your training sessions and your… Outings alongside her. There are… Rumours circulating about the two of you."

He must have seen the flash of worry on Jaune's face at his words because he held up a palm to Jaune. "Good ones, I promise, nothing like the Cardin situation, but… Frustrating for some people either way. Perhaps consider clarifying your and Cinder's relationship to P- to your friends?"

Jaune's face went red as he realised what Ren was saying, and he coughed into his hand, embarrassed. "I mean, Cinder is a friend, and, uh… ahem…"

Ren hummed again, returning his focus to his homework. "It might be easier to figure this out for yourself before trying to explain. I am… Rather well-versed in the complexities of admitting such feelings to the world."

Jaune snorted at that, a smile forming on his face as he exited the room, closing the door behind him. Even knowing Ren couldn't hear him, he spoke to the air. "And here I thought you were oblivious to Nora."

Shaking his head, he started to jog down the hallway towards the training rooms, and he had just turned a corner around halfway there when he felt a flash of heat coming from behind him. Turning, he saw Cinder stomping towards him, her hands and slightly up her forearm glowing bright orange.

"YOU!"

He gulped, taking a step back as she got right up in his face, a complicated, almost confused look on it. She looked mad… but he couldn't for the life of him feel like he was in any danger of being hurt. Still, she was clearly upset about something, so he cleared his throat and spoke.

"Y-yep, it's me, haha… I-is everything alright, Cinder?"

Cinder outright froze at that, looking at him as if he were an idiot. "Alright?! ALRIGHT?! NO! Everything is not alright! Everything is wrong and it's your fault!"

He took a half-step forward to try and comfort her but winced as the heat her Semblance was releasing rose again, keeping him away. "I had everything planned! And now, all of a sudden, I feel like absolute shit, and everything I had prepared for is falling apart in my mind!"

She took a step forward and thrust her finger into his face, causing him to start to sweat under his armour as the superheated air scorched him slightly, but he activated his Semblance just enough to counteract it with his amplified healing.

"So, you are going to answer me right here, and right now, Jaune Arc-"

"-What the fuck did you do to me?!"