𝐈𝐧 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐃𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐬 (English)

Chapter 82

Team JNPR took the news of becoming honorary aunts and uncles well, Jaune felt. There was only a little screaming, a little panic, and then Ren calmed them all down so Jaune could explain it fully.

Not that having time to explain really helped in any way.

"You're younger than her!" Ren said. "What made you think it was a good idea to convince her you adopted her?"

"It wasn't a planned thing! I was grasping for straws and she waved one in front of my face when her dream-self begged me to adopt her. I ran with it."

"Explain that to us..."

It took half an hour to get the basics out – and it was all well and good for them to come up with alternative ideas, and things he could have done better. They had the benefit of hindsight, and they didn't have to worry about a hundred little things including Salem and Yang's safety. He'd been the one under pressure and he'd done the best he could with the hand he'd been dealt.

And he liked to think removing Cinder and Emerald from the board was a pretty good result.

"So, she thinks we're her old friends...?" Nora asked. Jaune nodded in response. "Huh. That's gonna be weird. And we're, what, twenty years younger than you...?"

"Yep."

"Despite looking the same age."

"Good genes."

"And parents who are middle-aged."

"Good genes must run in the family."

"And how about all the people in Beacon who aren't going to be in on this, and who will say you're seventeen?" Ren asked. "Or are you going to come clean to everyone? Cardin included? Because we can't keep Cinder away from them all, and they'll recognise her as a fugitive."

That might be a problem. Jaune had been more worried about Team RWBY and having to tell the truth to them, but what about everyone else? The teachers would keep his secrets and play along with Cinder, but no one else would. Most of them would recognise her, and although the ears might convince some that she wasn't the same person, it wouldn't work for everyone. Cinder still looked the same as she always had.

"I could suggest she cut her hair. Change her style."

"You'll almost have to," Pyrrha said, "but the more immediate thing is us meeting her, isn't it? We need to act natural. Can you at least run us through what you made her dream? It's going to be awkward if we get our friendships with her wrong. How did we act? In what way were we friends? Are there things we're supposed to know? Did I meet her in tournaments or what?"

"I don't know."

"Jaune!"

"I'm trying to remember. It's... You know what it's like recalling dreams, and I was at knifepoint the moment I woke up. And then we had to take the hostage back to his mother, and I had emergency meetings with Ozpin, and I was busy trying to sort Cinder out. Remembering every little detail isn't easy."

"It might not be for Cinder either," Ren said, coming to his defence. "The story of her being in a coma can be a convenient way for us to write off any discrepancies. Though I hate to say it, we could just gaslight her if she thinks we're acting strange. Convince her she's muddling memories with us and dreams she must have had of us when she was in a coma."

Nora crossed her arms. "That's cruel."

"I know. But it's an option."

"And this is Cinder," added Pyrrha. "She tried to kill Jaune before, so let's not feel too sorry for her. Even if she's now Jaune's daughter." Pyrrha pinched the bridge of her nose. "This is going to take some serious getting used to."