King: A nice short chapter for fun-sies. As per usual, hope you all like it.

Inspiration: n/a

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When the screen faded and King reappeared, Pyrrha decided to take a chance and ask, "Um… So, who is Montagne? In our world."

King floated. "Ulterior motives much?" He laughed a bit seeing Pyrrha's blush. After a bit, he explained, "Montesquieu Arc, eldest of two and father to Jaune Arc. Commonly referred to as la Montagne. So much so, that Montagne has become his preference over his actual name. He lives up to it being a mountain of a man, utterly immovable in battle, nurturing to a fault…"

Yang lost the tension in her body, knowing Jaune didn't have to go through what the Jaune on screen had.

"But, enough about people you could meet, let's get back to the screen~!"

Glynda raised an eyebrow, "You certainly seem chipper."

"I have my reasons. Now, shall we?"

The screen seemed to glow as the Emerald Forest appeared before them again, the main difference being the nighttime setting.

"Okay." Ruby smiled a little. "It's another Possible, then?"

"Seems it." Blake nodded.

The screen moved up to show a large, ornate castle in the distance. It's sloping jade colored roof matched well with its bright white walls. It was the seat of power to the surrounding area and home to the local warlord.

"Or not…" Blake was surprised to hear that.

Many uniformed soldiers walked along with lanterns held high. They marched on through the trees, unaware of a pair of eyes looking down upon them.

Roman chuckled, "Ominous."

A shadow seemed to move through the trees. The very branches gave no indication of its movements.

Blake marveled seeing that. Even she wasn't that stealthy. She wished she could do something like that. But something in the back of her mind made her pause. Why did this seem familiar?

The shadow moved along the trees and eventually stopped at the edge of the forest, just before the castle grounds. With the shadow now still, they could barely make out a human form. A form fitting set of chain armor and a robe blended into the night sky. He stood overlooking the castle's walls. His face was obscured by a midnight blue mask and hood. The only thing they could see were his bright blue eyes.

Ruby gasped so deep her friends feared for her need to breath, "JAUNE'S A NINJA!"

Most of the group had to admit it was cool, but one in particular was more than that. One in the group who grew up with an old childhood dream of becoming a ninja. Blake looked on in amazement. She'd never seen a real ninja's garb before. It was as amazing as she imagined… wait. She narrowed her eyes and looked closer at Jaune. He seemed familiar. Not because he was Jaune, but the attire. Blake thought for a moment. Green and white castle, feudal setting, ninja with blue eyes… why did this sound familiar?

Jaune jumped from the tree line and onto the walls. One short run later, he ducked down into a watchtower behind a guard. Jaune ducked behind a barrel used to store arrows for the guard. He took out a small rag and dripped a liquid onto it. In one fell swoop, he placed the rag over the guard's mouth and nose. The guard passed out rather quickly. Jaune dragged him over to a nearby chair and propped him up as though he'd just fallen asleep.

Roman nodded, "Smart. When he wakes up, he'll think it was all just a dream."

Ironwood's eye twitched, "He'll be blamed for falling asleep on the job…"

Jaune looked out over the castle's keep. Thanks to extensive intelligence networks, he knew this place better than its own residents. Jaune watched a series of guards walk through the courtyard and jumped down when the coast was clear. Using set of claws over his hands, he slowly descended to prevent bringing attention to himself. He made his way to the far wall and up through an open window.

Okay, Blake knew she'd seen this before. No… not 'seen.' Her eyes went wide. "No fucking way…" She kept her voice low to avoid anyone hearing her as she pulled a travel version of one of her books out of her pocket.

Yang looked to Blake, surprised by her actions, "Really, Blake? You're going to read now…" A small book was suddenly trust in front of her face. "What are you…?!"

Blake glared to Yang, "Read. Out loud."

This got everyone to turn toward them. Yang groaned. She knew about Blake's taste in… literature. She tried to lower the book out of her eyes, "Blake, I'm not going to…"

"Read it!"

"Jeez! Alright, fine."

Blake pointed to the left page, "Third paragraph down."

Yang sighed and started to read, "Taka moved in silence. His footsteps leaving no trace. He turned through each hall like a wraith. He paused, a patrol was due soon. He jumped up onto the rafters and hung himself out of site into the shadows. When they walked passed, they were none the wiser. Taka couldn't afford to get caught, after all."

Blake shut the book and pointed toward the screen. Everyone was in shock.

Jaune was hanging up in the rafters as a light source retreated in the background. Everything Yang had had just read had happened on the screen.

Yang's eye twitched seeing that. "No…"

Blake nodded, "Yep," she made sure to end the word with a pop.

Ruby was too busy watching Jaune move in shadows like an awesome ninja to notice why Yang tried to cover her eyes.

Blake sighed and shook her head, "Calm down Yang…"

"How can I calm down?! Ruby shouldn't see smut like that!"

This illicited a few looks from the adults in the room.

Blake shook her head and sighed, "Yang… One, it's not smut. Two, if you're worried about the more… intimate moments… they don't appear until the second book. This takes place in the first."

Yang groaned but removed her hands from Ruby's sightline. "It better be…"

Jaune moved through the keep and toward the central throne room. Once he reached the central room, he entered through the door while ensuring no one was around. Once he was certain he was alone, he got to work. He pulled out a small canister and hid some small caltrops in front of the door.

Ruby tilted her head in confusion, "Why would he do that?"

Blake, who read these books for a good while now, knew why. "Because boots don't exist in this world. When you enter a home, you don't wear shoes, either." The second part being a familiar part of Blake's life given her mother's house rules.

Jaune moved quickly. He couldn't be certain how long he had. Jaune drew a knife and started to cut into the floor. He had to keep it discrete but still effective.

Yang leaned toward Blake, "What's he doing?"

Blake had to think back and remember, given the plan's explanation was the chapter before. "He's deliberately weakening the floor. The hope is to make it seem like the warlord's cursed somehow at worst. Best case scenario would be an injury to prevent a coming war."

Jaune finished his job and stood back up. "I appreciate you letting me finish." He turned toward the far wall. "But that does leave us at a bit of an impasse."

A shadow in the background started to move forward. Hiding in the shades was a young woman in similar attire to Jaune. The only thing they could discern about her was her amber eyes behind a white cat mask. The mask itself was fairly plain, the kind you could get at any festival on the continent.

Blake thought back to the story, Okay… that's Yumiko. But which of us in that role? Amber eyes could be…

She got an answer when the Yumiko-placeholder spoke, "I suppose it does…"

Ruby smiled. "It's Blake! That's pretty cool. Appropriate, too. She's all ninja-like!" Ruby punctuated this by jumping up and doing her own version of martial arts.

Blake, however, wasn't quite as peppy about it. She knew the story. Taka and Yumiko were the main romantic pairing of the books. And this was chapter 19 of the first book, Yumiko's betrayal of the warlord for her love.

Blake drew a knife from her lower back and held it toward him. "I know your face. If you manage to escape, I can simply report you to Lady Kahn."

Jaune knew Sienna Kahn by her reputation.

Blake couldn't help but feel Sienna was appropriate for the warlord character.

Sienna Kahn was a ruthless dictator that never cared for the shinobi arts. She begrudgingly utilized a ninja here and there, but she made it clear it was only out of necessity. But a shinobi sticks to the mission, whether their employer likes them or not.

Jaune placed his hand on a sheathed blade at the base of his back. "So, where do we go from here, then? I'm not about to compromise my clan by dying here, after all."

Blake chuckled a bit and tossed her knife up.

Jaune dropped his stance, watching her rather than the knife. He wasn't about to be distracted so easily.

Weiss grinned, "At least this Jaune is a smart fighter. An improvement to the last one."

Blake smirked, "Wait for it…"

Said knife cut through a hidden wire and a section of floor flew up as a rope tightened. Jaune was caught by his leg and forced up toward the ceiling.

This got a chuckle from Ruby as Weiss was just impressed. She'd never seen a ninja in action before. Then again… that may have been the point? You know, if they were real.

Jaune drew his blade and cut the rope at the apex of his rise. Now on the ceiling, he jumped across a few beams, fully expecting Blake to throw a blade to try to knock him down. He found a weak panel and grabbed the edge. He swung himself over and through the panel and rolled onto the roof. He spun around, planning about how to deal with Blake.

She jumped through the panel and knocked it back into place. She stood opposite Jaune and smiled beneath her mask. She was certain Jaune had a plan set up on the roof. She was caught unprepared for Jaune's charge, however.

Jaune kicked out her legs and spun himself over her. He straddled her waist and held the blade of his short sword against her neck. He used his other hand to rip away her mask and reveal her face. After a moment, he stood back up. "Now I know your face as well. I don't want your blood on my conscious, so I'm offering an out. I'll know if they start to hunt me down. So, I'll make sure you go down with me." He started to slow in his speech. They'd met before.

He was shocked to see her face. "The girl from the pier…"

Blake smiled. "Hello again…"

Pyrrha was starting to catch on given Blake's books were more of the romantic. It was clear that Jaune and Blake were the main couple in this particular story. Thankfully, she'd gotten used to the idea that this was a different world. Still a little bitter seeing it though.

Jaune clenched his hand on his blade's hilt. "Why are you…" He shook his head, "No… That's not the right thing to ask. It's pretty obvious." His hand relaxed, but never left its position.

"You'd be surprised." She held her mask up and turned it around. Inside was an interweaving symbol of a briar wrapping around a golden arch.

Velvet was getting used to the otherworldly thing. But she had to admit, the symbol was rather… cute? Not cute in form, but more for what it represented. She started to wonder if she could make something similar with her own symbol.

Jaune was caught off guard. "You… You kept…"

"I did."

Jaune started to shake. He'd met with Blake a few times in the past. They'd never shared their names, always avoiding the topic if they could. Such is the life of shinobi.

Ruby looked over to Blake, "Why is their name so important?"

Blake took a moment to remember the description from the books, "A ninja isn't supposed to have a public identity. There's supposed to be no trace of the ninja for any records. They're a shadow meant to act for the will of others as needed."

Blake smiled in the moonlight, "My name is Blake."

Jaune had a talent for catching lies. It made him an asset to the clan. The fact that this wasn't a lie, that she had revealed her real name… His hand fell from his blade.

Yang smiled a little, "I'm guessing that's an important moment in the book?"

Blake nodded. "People usually say it's where the story really begins."

Jaune wanted answers. He wanted to know so much in that moment, both about her and whether their time together was genuine in any way. He would have to wait, though, as a wooden alarms and horns rang out over the castle. He and Blake were caught off guard to see a mass of torches approaching the castle. It was the banners of Adam Taurus.

Blake recognized the scene. And felt Adam as the third party, bloodthirsty attacker was a little on the nose.

Blake grabbed Jaune's shoulder, "We need to leave…"

Jaune was pulled from his shock and jumped to the side, hand returning to his blade. Could he trust her? After a moment he relaxed. "Fine."

They both disappeared into the night. Blake was sent by Adam to assassinate Sienna Kahn. Jaune sent to sabotage and prevent war. Neither truly completed their mission.

"Assassinate?!" Ruby jumped up in shock. "Why would she do that?!"

Blake sighed. "A ninja is supposed to work as a jack-of-all-trades. Sabotage, spying, even assassination. Whichever is needed in the moment. The first chapter of book one details Taka, or Jaune is this case, going about a spy mission to prepare for an assassin to come later."

Yang whistled, "I might have to read this book then."

Blake smirked, "Even though it's…" she tapped her chin, "What did you call it again? Smut?"

Yang groaned, fully recognizing what she'd said.

Blake and Jaune stopped a few kilometers away from the castle. The nearest town was still a ways off. For now, they'd have to wait. Jaune sighed. "Well… that's a wash…"

Blake chuckled a little, "Two missions down the hole. At least we have that in common."

"By that logic, we'll have a lot more in common once the war starts."

Ozpin sighed. He hated the idea that a war could have been averted, only to fail.

Blake gathered a few pieces of tinder and pulled a matchbox out of a pouch placed at the blade end of her sheath. "True. Better foundation than we had for a relationship."

Jaune looked to her surprise but relaxed after a moment, remembering their promise on the pier. "I guess…"

When Blake had the fire set, she sat down and warmed her hands. She smiled up to him and patted the ground next to her. "Lien for your thoughts?"

Jaune walked over and sat next to her. "Careful about the offer. My clan needs the money…"

Blake snickered before tossing him a single Lien coin.

Yang chuckled. "I have to admit. That was kind of funny."

Blake clarified, "Yumiko is notorious for moments like that, using people's words against them as a joke."

"I like her already."

Jaune rolled his eyes. "Alright. Guess that's fair." Jaune brought his knees up and rested his arms atop them. His chin, still masked, resting on his crossed arms, "I'm a little surprised to find out you're also a shinobi."

"Imagine my surprise when I found out."

"I think I just said that…" Jaune smirked beneath his mask. He glanced toward her and let out a breath. "Okay…" He placed a hand over the part of his mask coving the lower half of his face. He puled it away and ran the hand back to reveal the rest of his head. He smiled to Blake, "By the way, my name is Jaune."

Blake smiled back, "Nice to meet you…"

The screen pulled away, showing their hands now rested together, fingers interlaced as the fire roared before them. The screen ended the viewing with that scene.

Ruby giggled, "That was so cute! Too bad the rest of the books didn't keep that tone."

Yang's eyes twitched. "What…?"

"Blake propped up your bunk with her books, they're all over the place and I get bored."

Yang's head slowly turned toward Blake, who had jumped back two rows to avoid the wrath of the hot-headed blonde.

But this was a temporary fix. They'd have words later.