Daniel sat in class leaning into his open palm trying to pay attention to Oobleck's lesson while avoiding gazes from the yellow, red and white coloured members of team RWBY and other students at the fact that he was a faunas as well as a conduit.

As Daniel tried to focus on Professor Oobleck's lecture, he couldn't help but feel the weight of the room's collective gaze on him. He could sense the curiosity and surprise emanating from his teammates, Ruby, Yang, and Weiss. It was as if their eyes were burning into him.

Struggling to maintain his composure, Daniel shifted uncomfortably in his seat, tugging at the hem of his new pants. The loose fabric allowed the physical representation of his Faunus heritage to hang freely. He had made the decision to embrace his true self, but the reactions he anticipated were beginning to weigh heavily on him.

Ruby, with her silver eyes widened with a mix of shock and confusion, leaned closer to Daniel. "Daniel, is it true? You've been a Faunus this whole time?"

Daniel swallowed hard, feeling a lump forming in his throat. He nodded slowly, his voice barely above a whisper. "Yes, Ruby. I am a Faunus."

Yang leaned forward into her hand trying to look at the conduits face. "But why didn't you ever tell us? We're a team, Daniel. We should know each other's secrets."

Daniel's gaze dropped to the floor, his voice tinged with regret. "First, I wouldn't go that far. Second, I was afraid. Afraid of being judged, treated differently, or even rejected. It's not easy being a Faunus and a conduit at the same time. The title of mega-terrorist doesn't bode well."

Weiss, whose icy demeanor had softened slightly, reached out and placed a hand on Daniel's arm. Letting out a sigh as you looked at her "Daniel, I may come off as rude and cold."

"Oh really?" Daniel said pretending to be shocked.

Weiss' eye twitched. "Anyway. I understand your concerns, but we're a teammates. We've gone through this with Blake and just like I told her. I don't care."

Daniel smiled and leaned in while humming with an eyebrow raised "Aww. Is the Ice queen melting just for me?"

Weiss just rolls her eyes "Don't push it. I'm still sceptical about you with the white fang." She pulls away from you and pays attention to the lesson before smiling "Conduit."

This caused Daniels heart to skip a beat as he smiles, feeling slightly better. As the class moved on, Daniel checked his schedule to see he had combat class next. He smiles and gets all giddy. He's been trying out some new things that he wants to test.

As the bell rang, signaling the end of Professor Oobleck's lecture, Daniel gathered his belongings and joined Team RWBY in making their way to the combat training arena. The walk was filled with animated discussions about combat strategies and recent missions, but Daniel couldn't help but feel a sense of anticipation building within him.

"Daniel." Daniel looked behind to see Velvet.

"Oh! Hey Velvet!" Daniel says enthusiastically.

Velvet notices his extra appendage and goes wide eyed "What is that?"

Daniel looked at his tail and chuckles "Hehe. It's my tail."

Velvet was immediately in front of him "You're a Faunas?!"

Daniel nodded, a small smile playing on his lips. "Yes, Velvet. I am a Faunus. I've been hiding it for a while, but I've decided to embrace who I truly am."

Velvet's eyes sparkled with curiosity and excitement. "That's amazing, Daniel!"

Daniel felt a surge of warmth in his chest at Velvet's compliment. He had been prepared for a lot of judgment and rejection, cause he hid his Faunas heritage, but her genuine interest and support were a pleasant surprise. It made him feel more at ease with revealing his true self to his teammates and friends.

As they continued walking towards the combat training arena, Velvet walked alongside Daniel, her ears twitching with excitement. "I've always wondered what it would be like to have a tail. Can I... touch it?"

Daniel blushed and scratched the side of his cheek "Velvet. I hardly think it's the time and place." Daniel said with a chuckle.

Velvet pouted "But I let you touch my ears..." She says.

Daniel found her expression cute. "That was one time cause you were hurt and needed one of your bunny ears wrapped up cause you got cut by that asshole, Cardin." Daniel peaked over her head and saw team CRDL going into combat class "Speak of the devil." Daniel thought to himself as he chuckled, remembering the incident with Cardin yesterday.

Daniel shook his head, pushing the memory aside "I got class now Velvet. I'll see you later."Daniel bid farewell to Velvet and made his way to the combat training arena, joining his teammates and other students who were already gearing up for the class.

Glynda Goodwitch stepped up to the stage and began to talk about aura and using it for both offensive and defensive strategies. As Daniel paid attention. He felt his tail get pulled causing him to yelp and look at the perpetrator to see Cardin with a smirk on his face. "Look at that boys. A full-blooded terrorist." Daniel's wolf tail vanished into paper, slightly cutting Cardin's aura causing him to back off.

Daniel's tail reforms as the Faunas conduit stares at Cardin.

Daniel's eyes narrowed as he stared down Cardin. With a swift and confident motion, Daniel stepped forward, standing tall and proud. "Touch me again and I'll sneak a thousand paper spiders into your dorm."

The other students in the arena fell silent, their attention now focused on the confrontation between Daniel and Cardin. Even Glynda paused her lecture, her stern gaze fixed on the two students. Cardin's smirk faltered slightly as he realized the gravity of the situation. Daniel's previous display of power after every encounter made it clear that he was not someone to be taken lightly. However, Cardin refused to back down.

"Ha! You think you're tough, freak?" Cardin snapped back.

"Mister Winchester and Mister Ries!" Professor Goodwitch shouted at the two causing the boys to stop and look at their teacher "If you want to settle a dispute. Now is the time to do it. We do need our match of today." She states.

Daniel and Cardin exchanged a tense glance before nodding in agreement. "Don't chicken out wolf boy." Cardin says smugly as he walks to the other side of the arena "Gladly Miss Goodwitch." Cardin answers politely, clearly putting on a facade.

Daniel chuckles and points at him 'I'm coming for that ass' He thought to himself as he went to the opposite end of the arena.

As the rest of the students cleared the arena, Glynda stepped back to let the two boys take their positions. The atmosphere was thick with anticipation as everyone watched, eager to see how this confrontation would play out.

Without wasting a moment, paper surrounded Daniel's arms as he then fired at Cardin.

Cardin, caught off guard by the sudden barrage of paper projectiles, clumsily dodged and blocked the attacks with his weapon. Daniel was relentless, his paper constructs swirling and maneuvering with precision, keeping Cardin on the defensive.

The other students watched in awe as Daniel showcased his conduit powers. Daniel however got bored and stopped firing. He put his hand out as a paper sword materialised in his hands.

Ruby's eyes sparkle at the sight as Daniel taunts Cardin to come closer.

Cardin, seething with anger, charged at Daniel with his mace raised high, ready to strike. Daniel deftly parried Cardin's attack, his paper sword clashing against Cardin's weapon with a resounding clash "What the hell?! It's paper! How is it that solid?!" He yelled in frustration as you smirked at his confusion. He goes for another strike, only for Daniel to manoeuvre around him by turning his whole body into paper. He falls forward and looks around before getting kicked in the back as Daniel completely rematerialised. Deciding to change it up a bit, Daniel began adding shots of paper at him which knocks him off balance after he tries to hit Daniel with another attack.

Cardin, fueled by his anger, fought back with brute force, his attacks powerful but lacking finesse thanks to your paper shots.

As the battle raged on, Daniel's confidence grew. He had spent countless hours honing his conduit powers, practicing and experimenting with different techniques. Now, he was finally able to put them to the test.

With a sudden burst of speed, Daniel somersaulted over Cardin's head, landing behind him in a crouch. He swiftly spun around, slashing his paper sword at Cardin's legs, knocking him off balance and sending him crashing to the ground.

Looking up at the screen, Daniel saw that Cardin's aura was still in the yellow. He turn to Miss Goodwitch "Professor. I don't technically have to win by just getting his aura into the red right?"

Glynda adjusts her glasses and nods "Yes, that is correct. You can subdue them, forcing them to quit or if it was a battle like in the Vytal festival. A ring out would do as well."

Daniel clicks his tongue and point at her with a wink "Gotcha."

Daniel kicks Cardin onto his back then puts his hand on his chest as paper began to surround his entire being "Huh?! What is this?! I can't move!" Cardin says as he flails around while you stand up.

The crowd erupted in applause as Daniel stood victorious over his opponent. He could feel the respect and admiration from his fellow students, their cheers filling him with a sense of pride and accomplishment.

Glynda stepped forward, a small smile playing on her lips. "Well done Mister Reis." She then turns to Cardin's teammates who looked on in disbelief "I suggest you three grab some scissors and starts cutting your leader out of that paper." With that said, the rest of team CRDL grabbed their leader and carried him back to their dorm so they could cut him out of the binding.

As the crowd dispersed and the arena began to clear out, Daniel took a moment to catch his breath and reflect on the battle. As he made his way back to his team, he was met with cheers and pats on the back from his friends. Ruby, with her usual exuberance, practically tackled him in a hug. "That was amazing, Daniel! You really showed Cardin who's boss!"

Yang grinned and gave Daniel a playful punch on the shoulder. "Yeah, way to go, handsome! I always knew you had it in you."

"Daniel. I didn't know you could make weapons out of paper. Let alone that they would work." Blake says.

Daniel looked to the side "Well. I had the thought going around in my mind for a long time. So that's why I've been experimenting." He admitted.

"Could you make a minigun?" Ruby questioned.

Daniel thought about it before clicking his fingers and looking at her while also pointing at her "If I can, you'll be the first to know." This got Ruby all giddy.

Weiss, though still maintaining her composed demeanor, couldn't hide a small smile. "You were...Impressive, Daniel."

Daniel looked at Weiss "Two nice things from you about me today Weiss? Is the world gonna end?" Daniel ads jokingly.

Weiss rolled her eyes at Daniel's comment but couldn't hide the amusement in her voice. "Don't get used to it, Reis. I just call it like I see it."

Timeskip~

Amelia was playing with Crystal. She was making little water dolphins that caused Crystal to clap and giggle "You're such a cute little angel. I can see why Daniel grew attached to you so fast."

Amelia smiled, her heart warming at Crystal's innocent delight. She had only been a part of Daniel's life for a short time, but she already felt a deep connection with him and a sense of protectiveness over him and those he cared about.

"He's a special person, isn't he?" Amelia said softly, watching as Crystal reached out to touch one of the water dolphins. "He's been through a lot, but he still manages to find joy and strength. I'm grateful to have met him in my life."

The door opened revealing Daniel with one button unclipped on his school uniform "Thought today would never end." He exclaims as he walks in and is immediately tackled by the mute wolf faunas. He smiles and kneels to her level "Hey Crystal." He signs to her "Have fun with Amelia?"

Crystal nods as Amelia goes to the two wolf faunas "So. How did it go?" She asks.

Daniel looks at Amelia and smiles "Good. Better than I thought."

"See? It's not always gonna be bad." She says. "Next step is to have it out in public." She continues.

Daniel just squints and looks up at the ceiling "Maybe..." He pondered.

"Where's RWBY?" Amelia asked.

Daniel looked up at Amelia. "They took off to Ozpin's office. Not sure why though. He must have a secret mission or something for them."

Amelia nodded understandingly. "Well, I'm sure they'll be back soon. In the meantime, how about we have some dinner? I made your favorite, spaghetti."

Daniel's eyes lit up at the mention of spaghetti. "Spaghetti!"

Immediately, Daniel was at the table with a fork ready. Amelia chuckles and uses her new ability to bring the food to the table "Whoa. I see you took my advice and trained with your powers like I said." He noticed as he backed away from the water then took a bite of the delicious spaghetti.

"Yeah. It's all thanks to you Dan." Amelia says with a heartfelt smile. Daniel couldn't help but think that maybe, just maybe, things were gonna be different from here to the upcoming future.

....

....

Crystal came running in and tugged on Daniel's jacket causing him to look at her "Hey. What's up?" Daniel asks as he quickly stands up as Crystal takes his hand and guides him to the tv. Amelia comes next to you as you turn on the volume to the tv.

"Three dead white fang and thousands of dollars worth of property, burnt to the ground." Daniel crossed his arms and listened to the news. "Is that....is that what's been confirmed?" The reporter inconspicuously talked into her mic before clearing her throat "We've just confirmed the identity of one of the bodies. A man of high importance. The identity of the man was Finley Grey. For those unfamiliar with the man, he is....was one of the former council members that represented Vale." Daniel's eyes widen.

"From what we can piece together on scene, is that the former councilman may have been over seeing the dust collection after recent bio-terrorist attacks and was unfortunately ambushed by white fang and amongst the firefight, a stray bullet may have penetrated a container full of dust that was located in the warehouse at the time and imploded." A police officer told the news crew. Daniel narrows his eyes at the screen as the video showed the damaged and some bodies, some burned and some half burned.

"A fire conduit?" Amelia asks.

Daniel shook his head "There was a container in the warehouse. It could have been a dust heist gone wrong by the white fang."

Amelia returns her attention to the screen before speaking up again "How can we be sure?" Daniel covers his mouth as his eyes slightly dart around as he thinks "What are you thinking?" Amelia asks him.

....

....

"...I think someone owes me a goddamn Frappé." Daniel responds, turning around to face a confused Amelia and Crystal.
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Until next time :)