Well, shit.

Jaune floundered as Pyrrha stared at him like a sheepdog at a pack of misbehaving animals. The look in her eyes said she wouldn't be deflected by petty talk or a change of topic. This was Pyrrha Nikos at her most determined, and her muscles were tense, ready to propel her up and after him if he tried to run. He'd never felt so hunted.

"I must have heard about it—"

"My agents quashed everything," she said, hand shooting out to grip his wrist. "They even worked to remove Ashley's name from any articles online. It was like she never existed, like we were never friends at all." Her fingers squeezed. "How did you know? How? You couldn't have found out on your own and no one would have told you."

"It's... ah... I must have overheard it."

"Jaune." Pyrrha didn't sound angry, not yet, but there was a definite note of mounting frustration there. "Jaune, please. Don't lie to me."

Trapped. He felt trapped. Caught between Pyrrha's hurt expression and the hand holding him in place, he couldn't think of any good excuse for having known. He'd known this was bound to happen eventually. There were too many little things he knew about people, too many little nuggets of information he wasn't meant to have, and one was bound to slip out in conversation sooner or later. Sometimes it was hard to keep track of what he was supposed to know and what he wasn't.

And he'd always intended to tell his team sooner or later, hadn't he?

Maybe this was to be his trial run – whether he was ready for it or not.

"It's... It's my Semblance..."

Jaune glanced away as he said it, making sure no one was within hearing distance. Beacon's early risers were up and about, but they were training, jogging, studying, or just making out with one another away from their suffering teammates. No one was listening to two more people sitting on a bench.

"The one that left you with a slit throat in your bed?"

"The same. I've... I've not been entirely honest about what it does." He wanted to get the apology out first, because he wasn't sure if she'd stay to listen after she heard the explanation. "It's not something I asked for and it's not something I can control. That's why I've been taking extra lessons and sessions with Doctor Oobleck. The teachers are aware of it and what it does, and they're doing their best to help me control it, but it's not been easy."

"And your Semblance lets you pick names from a person's mind?"

"Not quite. First of all, my Semblance only works when I'm asleep. I've never been able to use it while awake and I can't consciously use it while I'm sleeping either. Which makes sense, I guess, because the whole point of falling asleep is that you're no longer conscious, so of course I can't consciously control it."

Pyrrha hummed, accepting but impatient, wanting – needing – to know more. At least she didn't interrupt him, probably guessing that would only drag this out.

"That's the reason why my aura kept running low before. I was using it every night whether or not I liked it. Things have gotten better there because Doctor Oobleck has taught me how to know when I'm using my Semblance and minimise the aura usage, even if I can't stop it entirely."

"Doesn't turning your aura off work?"

"No. I've tried that. Hell, you must remember those mornings I woke up with little to no aura at all. Theoretically, my Semblance should cut off when my aura runs low but it doesn't. We're not sure what would happen if I fully ran out. The Semblance would probably end before my body could be hurt, but we're not sure. A big part of my sessions with Doctor Oobleck have been on controlling how much aura I use, and things have been getting better."

"But there's still no full control?"

"No."

"Would there ever be?" she asked. "I don't mean that to belittle you, Jaune. It's just that the mind and body become disconnected when we sleep. Moderating your aura is a complicated task at the best of times, but asleep? I don't think even I could do that. It'd be like asking Ren to cook pancakes with every single one of his senses cut off."

That was something he'd been doing his best not to think about, because if she was right then it meant he'd never be able to control his Semblance. The worst part was that it made perfect sense, too. There may have been anecdotal cases of people being able to lucid dream, but those people still couldn't force themselves to wake up or control what their body did in the waking world.

"I don't know. I'm doing my best. The worst part is my Semblance has been evolving—"

"Impossible!" Pyrrha blurted out, more shocked than disbelieving. "How can it have evolved already? You've had this for a month at best! I've had my Semblance for years!"

This was more his wheelhouse, ironically. Semblance theory. He and Oobleck had spent hours discussing it, and Jaune had done a lot of reading in his spare time as well. The doctor joked that he might as well apply to become a teacher at Beacon once he graduated for all the random knowledge he had on it.

"Ah, but how often do you use your Semblance, Pyrrha?" Jaune smiled knowingly. "Most people use them either in combat or when they need to, and you don't do either. You never need it to win your matches because you're so far ahead of everyone else, and it's a waste. Isn't it? You see it as needless aura expenditure when you're already winning."

Pyrrha blushed, even if she really didn't need to. It was hardly a criticism to say she was too good for her Semblance.

"I use mine a minimum of eight hours a day, even if I don't want to, and Doctor Oobleck says that's more time using my Semblance than most people manage in a week. I think only Ruby uses hers anywhere near as often since her speed is so convenient. But even then she's gated by physical stamina and... well... need. If Ruby needs to use her Semblance to get to class on time, her Semblance cuts down the time that takes – so, in a way, she's still only using it for a couple of minutes each day."

"And a couple of minutes in a spar," Pyrrha said. "Here and there, even on a busy day, she probably only actively uses it for twenty minutes. And people like Yang or Blake can go days without using theirs. I don't think Ren has used his Semblance this whole month. I think I see your point."

"Hmm. It may sound crazy fast from the outside but I'm doing at least fifty-six hours a week of my Semblance to everyone else's two hours or less. Some people aren't even using theirs for ten minutes a week, so it's little wonder mine has been changing. Doctor Oobleck thinks it might be because of intensity, too. Like someone who is suddenly straining their Semblance a lot might push it to evolve faster."

"That is all interesting but you still haven't told me what it is."

Ah, she caught that. Rats. He'd been hoping to distract her with theory and study until the first bell rang. At least then he could have snuck a chance to talk to Doctor Oobleck and ask for advice. He should have known Pyrrha would be too good for him to slip by.

"It's dreams."

Better to rip the plaster off.

"I get thrown into people's dreams." It sounded better than invading them. "And I'm stuck inside them trying not to see too much or change too many things. That's why General Ironwood wanted to arrest me. I ended up in the dream of someone and he thought it was espionage or something."

"Really—? That sounds like an overreaction."

"Exactly."

Had Pyrrha accepted it so easily? Had he worried for nothing?

Or was it just that she hadn't connected the dots yet.

"Wait," she said. "Then why did you end up bleeding all over the bed?"

"Ah. That's the evolution. Doctor Oobleck thinks my Semblance might be trying to translate things that happen in dreams to having happened in the waking world. I was in someone's nightmare and got attacked. A lot of nightmares are violent like that. I didn't think anything of it since I'd had bad stuff happen before, but then I woke up with a throat wound in the same place. I've been focusing on protecting myself in dreams since, which is why it's never happened again. Doctor Oobleck thinks it might be possible for me to leave marks on other people, too. Like I did with Cinder."

"Cin—" Her eyes widened. "That's why she tried to kill you! You saw something in her dream!"

"Yep. I found out she snuck into Beacon to cause harm to it, and that she was working with the White Fang. The teachers and Atlas are all searching for her now, and security is going to be beefed up during the festival. Cinder tried to assassinate me before I could take the news to the headmaster but Blake saved me."

"That explains so much!" she whispered. The whole why as to Cinder's actions must have been plaguing them for a while. "It seemed so random that she'd up and try to kill you of all people. We tried to come up with theories but nothing made sense. How could it? We didn't know that you'd have found evidence of her crimes in her dreams, or that you could tell—"

Pyrrha froze. Her mouth kept moving, trying to form words, but none came out. Her eyes grew wide and all the blood drained from her face. Her hand, still gripping his wrist, slowly let go and drew back, withdrawing from him.

She'd realised, then.

It took a while, longer than he'd thought, but she was finally putting two and two together.

"I'm sorry," he wheezed. "I don't have any control and I can't pick who I get thrown into the head of. If I could, I'd not be using it on the people closest to me. I've been in everyone's heads. Not just our team or Team RWBY, but Team CRDL, Team CFVY, transfer teams – even the teachers. I've seen things I've got no right to see, and other things that I've never wanted to." He swallowed, wishing she'd say something and not just stare at him. "A—And I've kept all of those secrets, Pyrrha. I haven't shared a single one. And there are so many worse things than one accident in a match."

Her green eyes widened further.

"What happened between you and Ashley was an accident. It was two kids sparring when they weren't fully trained and ready for it. They should have had more safety measures. Even Miss Goodwitch stops fights before anyone gets into the red and we're in Beacon. They should have been even stricter on children your age."

"Y—You saw..."

"I saw Ashley. I saw that memory. I'm sorry. If it's any help, I think you didn't do anything wrong. Your agents overstepped themselves when they silenced her, and they ruined what looked to me like a wonderful friendship. Maybe you should reach out to her and—"

"You saw," she whispered, choking off into a sob.

His heart lurched. "Pyrrha, I'm sorry. What happened to Ashley is—"

"I'm not talking about Ashley!" she wept, big fat tears rolling down her cheeks.

Jaune froze, not understanding. If this wasn't about Ashley then what was it about? The only other thing that happened was her having a nightmare about hurting Ruby, but he couldn't believe she'd be crying over that. The Pyrrha of today had so much more control compared to her younger self, and she'd never make a mistake like that.

Neither would Ruby. Her aura control was fantastic, and Ruby regularly fought with people like Yang and Blake. She was more than capable of taking a beating and getting back up. The only other thing he could remember from the dream was the moment with her agent, and Pyrrha misrepresenting their own relationship as boyfriend and girlfri—

Oh.

Oh, shit.

"Is this..." Jaune tried to sat it calmly. "Is this about the kiss? Because it was just—"

The bench creaked as Pyrrha jumped to her feet and ran away, sprinting faster than he could hope to keep up with her hands over her face. He was left, one hand outstretched as if to stop her, sitting on his ass with his sentence half-finished.

And really, what would he have said anyway? It didn't matter? That would probably hurt her feelings even more. That he'd known for a while now that she had feelings for him? That would crush her. Jaune swallowed and let his hand fall. It was bad enough having to confess his Semblance. How was he meant to confess that he'd known for weeks now that she was in love with him? Pyrrha must have felt like such a fool, and then to find out the one she was in love with had known all along. No wonder it was that which sent her running.

"Fuck me," Jaune sighed, slumping back on the bench. "How am I supposed to sort this one out?"

/-/

The teachers were hopeless.

Doctor Oobleck simply confessed to not having much of a love life to draw experience from, while Ozpin commented that he had made many mistakes in his life – at least one of which was so grand that it cost him the love of his life. He'd added that the only advice he could give was not to follow any advice he did give, which wasn't useful.

Jaune had avoided Port because he really couldn't look the man he'd once thought of as a jovial buffoon in the eye. Miss Goodwitch had simply stared at him like she was sucking on all the lemons in existence at once until Jaune apologised and backed out the room.

Who else was he meant to ask? He couldn't talk to his team because of Pyrrha, and he didn't want to spread her secrets elsewhere. Trivia might have been an option if he could properly get in touch with her, but she was out keeping herself alive. Qrow? Even he knew Qrow was bad with women. Yang and Ruby wouldn't stop saying it, and Qrow never once denied it.

Pyrrha was avoiding him.

Not that he blamed her.

She hadn't told anyone about his Semblance and he didn't get the feeling that she would. He trusted her, and he liked to think she still trusted him. That wasn't the problem. This wasn't an incident that was going to lead to them hating one another. Ironically, that might have been easier to handle. This was an interpersonal issue the likes of which he had no experience in handling. Did Beacon not offer team-leader lessons in running a team? It really felt like they should.

He'd even considered going to Blake. He knew she had past experience in romance he might draw on. The problem would be explaining Pyrrha, and maybe even his Semblance, and then he'd be sharing things without Pyrrha's permission. That was one of his biggest rules. No exposing what people saw in their dreams.

Not unless they were dangerous criminals like Cinder.

He wasn't about to expose Pyrrha just because it'd be more convenient. That was literally what Pyrrha was most afraid of – her feelings for him and this drama between them spreading further and further. Blake was Yang's partner, too. It might make it back to her and no one needed Yang and Pyrrha at odds over him. He didn't think Yang would be the type to get defensive or jealous, but she might worry that Pyrrha could, and then their own friendship would suffer. They'd start avoiding one another, and that would drive a wedge between Team JNPR and RWBY. He couldn't have that happen, so Blake was out.

A shame, too, because she felt like such a safe bet to talk to.

That left him with one awful choice left.

Or, well, maybe there were more than one, but this one felt most relevant to his needs. Jaune knocked on the door and waited for it to open.

Pale blue eyes narrowed dangerously. "Arc..."

"Hello Miss Schnee." Weiss' sister, Winter, both looked and sounded like Weiss used to whenever he called on her. At least he hadn't come with a guitar to serenade Winter, because he had a feeling he'd have died if he did. "Can I have a moment of your time? I'd like to ask for advice."

"Advice? You?" Winter sounded like she didn't know if she should be curious or aghast, or whether the most ridiculous thing was him coming to her, or him thinking she should care at all. In the end, curiosity won out. Or maybe General Ironwood had ordered her to try and spy on him. "Come in," she said, stepping away from the door. "I can give you no more than fifteen minutes. I am needed in a meeting soon after."

"That's enough. I hope." He winced as the door closed behind him. Ozpin and Oobleck wouldn't let him be taken, but Winter already didn't like him for being in Weiss' head. "This isn't about Weiss," he said, just to be sure. "But you're a Specialist, right? Does that mean you've been a team leader at some point?"

"I have led squads," she said, carefully. "But I've not been a team leader in an academy if that is what you mean."

"Right. But have you had to deal with... uh... interpersonal issues between your squad?" Her eyebrows rose, and he got the feeling her impatience was mounting at his roundabout speech. "Like if one member of a squad develops feelings for another and they get rejected, and suddenly the squad is super tense."

"Enough." Winter raised a hand and took a deep, calming breath.

Jaune cringed. "I can go—"

"Sit." The woman pointed and Jaune sat, too afraid not to. Winter took another deep breath and placed her hands on the back of her own chair's headrest, standing behind it while leaning on it. "I have... been on the receiving end of affections," she said, slowly and with great fatigue. "I have had people claim they have fallen in love with me. Perhaps they even had," she said, though she sounded like she didn't fully believe it. "Or perhaps it was simple attraction. I don't know. Either way, I rejected them and experienced what it feels like to have a squad slowly fall apart due to those issues you mention. I take it that is what you mean."

"Yeah. Yeah, that's... well... it's a little different. I'm already in a relationship and she didn't confess to me per se..."

"You saw it in her dream."

That was the benefit of coming to Winter. She already knew. Jaune nodded.

"Does she know?"

"I've told her about my Semblance." He saw Winter's surprise. "She's the first on my team I've told, being my partner and all. It only felt right. Pyrrha was... She was fine with the dream walking and it not being under my control, but then she freaked out because she realised that meant I knew about her feelings for me."

"Feelings you do not return."

"I mean, I might have returned them if she asked me before, but I'm dating Yang right now."

"And do you love her?"

"I... I don't know. I'm not sure if I love any of them. I thought I was in love with Weiss but I realised after I got my Semblance that it was more that I was attracted to her and wanted to posses her." He did his best to ignore Winter's arctic scowl. "And since then, I've not really felt that interested. I think I've been too stressed over my Semblance to worry about it. Yang and I went to the dance and we started dating, but we haven't done much other than hold hands and kiss every now and then. I guess I'd be lying if I said I wasn't sexually attracted—"

"Please spare me your teenage dithering. A simple yes or no would have sufficed."

"Then no. I love her as a friend but not like that. But I think that's hurt her."

"Of course it has. People are naturally hurt when they get their hopes up and it goes poorly. This is precisely why relationships within teams – be those huntsman teams, military squads or anything else – are so dissuaded. That's not to say they can't work, but for every couple that got together and fell in love in a team, there will be a hundred cases of spurned feelings and unrequited love and jealousy leading to the dissolution of another."

"You will be together for four years, and many huntsmen stay with their teams long after. It's entirely possible that she might harbour feelings for you the whole time, and that she'll have to fake a smile as she watches you with someone else. Some people can pull that off. Others can't. Their jealousy turns to resentment and they start to act out, or their hurt feelings make them angry and bitter. I had to leave my squad once all teamwork died. There was no other option."

Jaune winced. "I don't want to do that."

"Then I suggest you take a proactive approach and speak to her."

"Pyrrha is avoiding me."

"Then hunt her down. You are a huntsman. It may be easier to give her space and let her try to sort through this on her own, but then you'll have no control over what conclusion she comes to. It's best to involve yourself and cut off any undesirable outcomes like Miss Nikos deciding it's for the best of the whole team for her to request a transfer."

His heart stopped in his chest. Would she—? He didn't think so. Pyrrha's fame would make it so that the whole world would be talking about it if she did. Winter was just throwing out an example – and it did a good job of panicking him, so mission accomplished.

"I cannot advise you on what to say or how to handle this because I don't have any good experience with it myself. What I can say is that you will need to appeal to the person beyond the feelings. Unless you plan to give in and be with her, you're going to need to convince her that this won't get in the way of your friendship." Winter sighed. "How, I don't know. The cold truth is that this will get in the way. Even if you decide to remain as friends, you'll forever remember this moment. It's doubtful it will ever go away. Even if she somehow falls out of love with you and in love with someone else, this memory will still remain as a source of awkwardness and embarrassment."

"What if... What if I promise to go out with her and give us a chance if I ever break up with Yang?"

"You'd be delaying the issue at best and encouraging her to want your current relationship to fail at worst. Even if she's a good enough person not to try and sabotage it, she'll feel awful for wanting you and your current paramour to split apart."

Jaune groaned. "You're making this sound like there are no good options!"

"Then I'm doing a good job of explaining why this is such a complicated issue," said Winter. "Good. There's a reason the military actively takes a stance against relationships between squads, and this gets twice as complicated when it's a relationship between a commanding officer and someone under their command. At least you don't have that to the same degree."

"I can't just ban romance, though. I think my other two teammates are into one another as well."

"Then I'll wish you good luck for the future. Perhaps you'll be lucky and they never break up. That's the ideal solution. Of course, relationships are rarely ever so convenient. People argue. And while I'm not sure on the statistics, I highly doubt that most people stay with the first person they ever dated. You are teenagers. You are at that age where you are experimenting, making mistakes, and learning what it means to be adults. Dating someone is not a contract, and you shouldn't act like it is. Even your relationship now is unlikely to last forever or lead anywhere meaningful. You said yourself that you're not sure if you love her. Can you really say you see the two of you getting married and starting a family?"

He couldn't. Not with Yang or with Pyrrha.

"That makes it all sound so pointless, though..."

"Nothing is ever pointless. You're learning what it means to be in a relationship. You are growing, expanding, getting closer to someone – but beyond all that, you are both happy in the immediate term. Not every decision you make has to have long-term implications. There's nothing wrong with being happy for a year or two. Not every split is acrimonious, either."

"Right. Yeah. I guess I shouldn't make this even worse by developing a complex about Yang while I'm at it. This is complicated already with Pyrrha." He took a deep breath. "I should confront her, then?"

"Yes."

"And if she refuses to discuss it with me?"

"Force the issue. You are her team leader. You have a responsibility to take care of her physical and mental wellbeing, and you should not shirk it on the excuse that you're respecting her wishes to avoid the topic. That's nothing more than cowardice on your and her parts." Winter sighed dramatically. "No issue is solved by avoiding it. Confront it, deal with it, and if you cannot find an amicable outcome then you will need to have a difficult discussion with her."

Jaune's eyes narrowed. "I won't let Team JNPR break apart."

"Don't tell that to me, Arc. Tell that to her."

"Okay. Thank you." Jaune stood and bowed to her. He wasn't sure why. Maybe it was because, as a Schnee, Winter came across as being that formal. "Thank you for your advice. You've been amazing, even when I know you hate my guts."

"I hate your continued presence inside my sister's dreams. I hate that you continue to intrude on her privacy whether or not she knows and whether or not you feel bad for it." Winter's voice was harsh, her visage even more so. "But do not think me so unprofessional as to withhold advice from someone I dislike. I am a soldier first and foremost. If I refused to work with those I dislike, I would not be trusted with the promotions I've earned. I certainly wouldn't be trusted in any leadership position."

"You are a leader as well," she said. "Whether or not you've earned that is up for debate, and it's not my place to criticise Beacon's process of selecting team leaders. It ultimately doesn't matter. Whether you were chosen, elected, or won your place, you now need to show you're deserving of it and fix the issue with your team. Fail, and you shall have no one to blame but yourself."

Those haunting words chased Jaune out her borrowed dormitory. Pyrrha's scroll was turned off, refusing calls, but Winter was right. He was a huntsman. He could track her down and, if all else failed, he knew he would be able to reach her when she slept. All it would take was finding his way back into her dreams and he could force her to sit down and talk with him.