welcome to Ren's Dare! you may have noticed that I haven't updated this in a long time- I've now returned to this as a way to spend some free-time. As of 1/9/18, I have updated this chapter to flow more smoothly, and make it look less like... well, you know. shabby.
i can't promise that you'll like this story- if you're looking for any type of romance, I'm afraid you won't find it here. i do, however, try my darned-hardest to make a story with humor that revolves around Ren and his escapades with RWBY.
think of it like a slice of life, but with Ren as the protagonist.
and it isn't a harem.
so, without further ado (because god-damn there's been a lot of that recently!), here's the first revamped chapter of...
Ren's Dare!
"Ren! Ren! Ren! Ren!" She looked down at the black-haired hunter-in-training, still sound asleep. Frowning, she sighed.
"Lie Ren! Wake up!" she shouted.
No sign of waking from him.
Seeing as how her partner wasn't going to be woken up by regular shouting, she looked around for something to do. After glazing her eyes around the room, they lazily rested upon the drapes. A sinister plan- open the drapes and ruin everyone's sleep- arose in her mind. She started tip-toeing towards the curtains before Ren's voice rose from her left.
"Nora." She looked at him, his eyes now slightly opened. The magenta shining through his morning haze, he managed to look both incredibly tired yet alert. "If you're about to do what I think you are, don't."
She groaned. "But I had to wake you up somehow..."
"Well," he said with a small smile, "I'm awake. So now we don't have to disturb their sleep," he yawned as he leaned up against the bed frame, "because they need it too."
Nora looked over at Jaune and Pyrrha, both of them looking content with sleeping for however more hours. It was, after all, Saturday: usually a sleepy day for Beacon as a whole.
"Okay," she replied.
"Now, I trust you're going to 'brief' me on my objective for this weekend?"
"Oh! Right!" She chuckled. "Wow, I almost forgot about that."
Ren looked at her. "Really? You were the one who dared me. How did you-"
"- Oh, well, you know. I'm tired too, you know," she said. "Now then!"
Swinging his feet over the bed, he turned on his scroll to check the time. He blinked before shaking his head.
"Nora, didn't I tell you not to wake me up before six, though?"
She offered a sheepish grin. "Hey, you've got four people to hang out with in forty-two hours."
"Forty-eight," he corrected.
"Forty-two, forty-eight, it doesn't matter," she waved. "Now, let's get you ready!"
Blinking a few more times to dry and get reoriented with the world around him, he noticed that Nora had already dug out his old, black suitcase from the back of their shared wardrobe, propped against their dorm room door.
"Nora, let me rest for five more minutes." Upon seeing her pout more, he began to plead. "Please?"
"… Oh… Ren. You're such a lazy sloth! You can't just stay in bed all day, that's no fun!"
"Just five minutes..."
"Nosiree! Nope, zilch, nada, no! You're gettin' up right now!"
30 minutes later...
"What?" He gave her a confused look. "I can't ask Jaune or Pyrrha for help?"
"Yep," popping the 'p'.
"Why?
"What if you cheat?" she said in an incredulous tone, saying it like it was the most obvious thing on Remnant.
He ignored her last statement."Is this so that I don't go having too much fun without you?"
"Well, you're supposed to have fun, but..." she trailed off. Looking away for a moment, she toed the floor as she spoke again. "... Yeah, pretty much."
Ren sighed. Her imagination knew no bounds. "Nora, the most fun I will likely have is a day of peace and quiet with Blake."
Immediately, she perked up. "Oh, great! Reading's super-duper boring, so I bet I won't be missing much!"
He rose an eyebrow, letting the jab at the perfectly respectable past-time of reading slide. "You were the one who gave me this dare," Ren reminded her. "This is the second time I've told you this."
"I know, I know," she sighed. "But it just feels weird sending you off to go socialize."
He offered a small smile. "You make me sound like a child, Nora."
They met eye-to-eye for a moment before they both looked away.
"Well, it's just concern. Yang's pretty fiery," she said. "She might take you to a night-club."
Ren slightly shuddered at the thought but didn't show any visible reaction. "I'll manage if she does," he lied.
"And Weiss might be tough."
"I actually think she and I will do fine," he reassured. Truth be told, he probably knew the least about the heiress apart from the fact that she was a Schnee. He didn't say that out loud though.
"Ruby's super energetic too," she frowned.
"I can deal with you," he replied. "I can manage with Ruby."
She blinked and looked around, snapping herself out of her worrisome self. "Well, sounds like you've got it all planned out!"
He nodded and gave a small smile.
"Alright! You're ready!" With that, she opened the door and shoved him out. She gave the still-tired teen a quick wave before she slammed the door.
Anti-climatic, he thought to himself.
Without another word in edgewise from him, she shut the door, locking it for good measure, and shouted. "Remember the rules! Can't find or contact us for help, and if you cheat, you have to do it again."
"Got it," he said. Before walking away, he listened to Nora's footsteps fade farther back to her bed, making an audible thud when she flopped onto it and starting snoring instantaneously, adding to the noise of Jaune's restful snores as well. He checked the time.
Well then. Not only do I hate truth or dare now, I'm on my own at 6 in the morning. What does RWBY even do on the weekend? Knowing the time, probably sleep. Only Blake would be awake... maybe.
He put his suitcase on the ground, and pressed his ear against the door of RWBY's dorm, and tuned his hearing.
Well, the loud snoring is definitely Yang. I hear a shower running; odds are it's Blake. Does Ruby snore? She most likely does. But I can't discern whether or not Yang's just drowning her out or if they're snoring together. Weiss most definitely doesn't snore. He narrowed his eyes. Reconnaissance inconclusive, I suppose.
Ren brought his head away from the door and leaned against the wall next to Team RWBY's door on his left, making a small thud. Putting his suitcase on the right, he closed his eyes and prepared himself for the challenges ahead. His mind still fairly bogged down by the morning fog, he attempted to collect his thoughts.
Blake's tolerable. If it's anything that we share other than a love of books, it's our ability to be an introvert and still survive in close proximity with others. How she survives being partners with Yang is like me with Nora I suppose; we just got used to it, but seeing her adapt to Yang in months where it took me... His mind drifted to memories of childish arguments between him and Nora. It certainly took me longer. I know she likes to read all kinds of books, from cold, historical tomes to fiction and romantic dramas. I've had my fair share of those, and they're not my preferred choice to read.
The word reverberated in his mind. Lascivious books weren't his thing.
Alright, maybe I won't talk about that part with her. Not exactly a good way to break the ice.
Speaking of ice... Weiss. Ren shook his head at his own Yang-worthy pun. 'Ice Queen', as her friends so affectionately call her, is another case of a person that had a very hard outer shell. She's stuck-up, politically firm, and very wordy when it came to proving her point. But her team has gotten her to both simmer down, warm up, and she's proven to be important to RWBY as their main Dust caster, along with their voice of reason when Blake's too busy off reading her assorted collection of novels and novellas. She's not exactly a social butterfly either; her cold, uptight demeanor is usually enough to drive people off. How am I supposed to have fun with Weiss? Drink tea? Talk about Dust 101? He shook his head. She's partners with Ruby… maybe I'll ask her for help.
His mind glazed over Ruby, the energetic little girl who has impressed many, including Ren, with her command over the sniper-scythe known as Crescent Rose. She's just like Nora in a lot of ways. Hyperactive, loves sugar, optimistic, nearly inhuman ability to grin, and hates to do school work. But Ruby's a bit more mature, even though we've got two years on her. Loves her team, and will do anything for them to ensure their safety. But she's still lacking in some worldly knowledge due to her age: innocent in her own ways. I'll have to be sure not to overstep some line that Yang probably has set up for her… Ren shuddered at the thought of seeing Yang angry, crimson eyes and fire blazing from her hair. I shouldn't ever have to confront that stage of events. Highly unlikely. Otherwise, dealing with her will be similar to how I manage Nora. That thought brought him some comfort; after all, he knew how to deal with Nora, so it shouldn't be as different with Ruby.
Finally, Yang. He sighed deeply. The scary one. Yang is going to be more than a handful.
His mind drifted back to Nora putting forward the possiblility that Yang might take him to a night club. The words tasted foul in his mouth. Pounding music, blazing lights, absolute chaos, shaking his head. I never understood how people tolerated that.
She's going to be bucketsful of activity and trouble. I hope she doesn't take me clubbing... or motorcycling... or anything that involves destruction or anything that represents a danger to my well-being. I've always seen her as the motherly figure for RWBY as a whole, but perhaps that's only towards Ruby. She has been seen to deploy some mannerism of maturity on occasion, and she is a nigh-unstoppable force on the battlefield if you even glance her hair.
After shaking his head, he took another glance down at his scroll. It was now 6:10, and even though Ren was a highly skilled hunter-in-training, standing still for ten minutes outside of a dorm filled with four sleeping females still didn't feel comfortable for the lotus warrior.
The fog out of his mind, he began to think-panic-about what he would do when he knocked on RWBY's dorm door.
Should I even knock? I know that Yang's not a morning person until she's downed three cups of coffee, and that Blake might not be as hospitable to me standing outside their room at such an early time of day.
He reconsidered. Then again, if I don't knock, who knows when they're going to come out. What if they don't? What if they're going to have a party inside this weekend or something? I woudl rather not do party stuff again; I did enough of that last night and Nora nearly put lipstick on me in her drunken stupor. What if Nora walks in and finds me drinking and playing spin the bottle or something? Or other compromising acts? I would never hear the end of it from her.
Augh… maybe I'm overthinking this. Just be cool. Calm. Collected. Be the Lie Ren that everyone knows-
The door to his left creaked open, and a raven-haired head with amber eyes popped out of the dorm room, causing Ren to stand up straight against the wall in surprise. Her hair was still visibly wet even though a towel was wrapped around it as some strands were still clumped together, one such group sticking to her left cheek, which she nudged out of the way with a finger; it was obvious that she had just showered.
Neither of them said anything for a good half minute, both of them noting the awkward silence being involuntarily shared. After a few seconds, they were locked in a staring contest, Blake giving Ren a strange look, and Ren awkwardly deer-eyeing Blake while tapping his fingers on the wall.
Alright. Remember the lessons you had with Jaune. Ask basic things. Count the weather out; we're indoors. The day has just begun; we can't talk about that. Did I go over the weather already?
Luckily, before Ren was able to tear himself a new one trying to words, Blake spoke up in a demure voice.
Probably to not wake her team up, Ren guessed.
"If you're planning on sneaking into our room, you shouldn't make as much noise as you do." She nodded her head towards Ren's fingers, lightly tapping staccato on the thin walls.
Oh. Oh, she thinks I'm attempting to break in? Ren rose his hands in defense.
"I'm not trying to sneak in."
"I know." She took a step out with one bare alabaster leg, revealing that she was clothed in a towel and nothing more. As only half of her body was visible, Ren assumed that Blake was holding the towel with the other hand, and made the wise decision to not move in front of her. "So why are you here?" Her visible arm was on her hip, looking like a mother scolding their troublesome child. "It's six in the morning."
He started to scratch the back of his neck, a pose vaguely familiar of his team leader's. "Nora may have already informed you but…" Taking a pause, he composed himself. He shouldn't have this much trouble talking to a friend; someone that trusts him with a secret. Shaking his head slightly as if ridding himself of a small headache, he stopped leaning against the wall and stood up straight and tall, putting his hands behind him.
Be the green-clad, stoic Hunter-in-training that everyone knows you as, Lie Ren. You can do this.
"If Nora has not informed you already, I will be staying with your team for this weekend. Treating each of you to a 'fun time," he quoted in the air. "And before you ask if I'm joking or not, feel free to ask Nora. I'm sure she'll tell you all the details." A slight frown slighted his face, a natural expression that came along with what he was feeling.
Blake just blinked a few times, staring at Ren like he was a man who had just signed his own execution willingly.
"I'll be right back." With that, her head zipped back into the room, shutting the door behind her quietly. Ren let go a breath that he didn't know he was holding, slumping back onto the wall.
Inside the dorm room, Blake's back was pressed up against the dorm room's door.
I thought Nora was drunk when she messaged us that Ren was going to be staying with us. Oum… this is bad. What do I do? Blake remembered that she was still in a towel, which wasn't exactly every-day wear. Walking over to her desk to start changing into her typical outfit, she contemplated what she could do. Maybe I could just send him off somewhere and promise that I'll tell Nora he ran off to look at...
She paused. What does Ren do? He makes pretty good pancakes, but pancakes aren't as good as fish cakes… and it's not like I can ask him to cook all day or something. After a moment more of thinking, an idea flared up.
"He reads!" Blake said this out loud in her eureka moment, and cupped her hands over her mouth, looking towards Yang to see if she had woken up the not-so-peaceful giant from its slumber. Much to her relief, her blonde-haired partner was still snoring peacefully on her stomach, drool trailing out of the right corner of her mouth.
He's the only one that I've seen who really appreciates a good book… Weiss is all about perfection, so she's too busy studying to enjoy some pleasurable reading. Ruby's heart is in the right place, but she can't sit still long enough to read more than five pages… and Yang…
Blake looked back at her partner, just in time to catch her fart and scratch her butt, earning a smile from her partner.
… Yang's Yang. There isn't anything I can say about that one.
Taking a glance down at her scroll, she noticed that five minutes had passed since she started changing. She hurried towards her bookshelf and quickly picked out some titles that she remembered were very engaging. Assorted romantic dramas, comedies, tragedies, non-fiction and fiction. At the end of her collection, she put her own special book at the very bottom; it was noticeably the thickest book there.
It was the latest book she'd started to tackle, a book with no title and a spine made of fairly tattered leather implying decades of wear and tear, but had the most intricate story that she had ever read and the most detailed love scenes that she's ever read, and it was exactly 3000 pages long; she was only a third of the way through. The book itself was apparently so obscure that when searched on RemNet, nothing even came up, leading her to believe that the book was either a limited edition, or removed from the public eye. Whenever she read it, she made sure that she was somewhere obscure, where prying eyes such Yang's bright lilac wouldn't find her and never let her hear the end of how she keeps herself fueled with guilty pleasures…
That only made the book that much more valuable to her, that much more enticing and enjoyable to read. Although Blake was a seasoned (smut) reader, she's been stuck on the book for more than a week and a half now, loving the story-line so much that she's actually gone back and re-read some passages.
And I want to find the author, she thought to herself. They must have been a very experienced person. Knowledgeable in many ways… a story filled with tragedy, drama, angst, love and hope… it's a perfect romantic drama. Frowning, she looked at the cover. But he or she didn't credit themselves. If I could travel back in time, I wish I could ask the person I stole this from where they got it… or even better, travel back to when it was written.
When Blake was done with her mini-swoon over an author she'd never get to know, she took count of the tiny collection she'd assembled for Ren. She had six books, five more than what she usually brought nowadays due to the mega-book that she was currently putting her efforts towards. Breathing in and out in a quick motion, she stacked the books up from smallest to largest, top to bottom, and made her way to the dorm room. Balancing the books on one hand, she opened the door to find Ren standing right across from her, scrolling some random page on his scroll.
"What're you looking at?" Blake still had the books precariously balanced on her hands, but she seemed to pay it no mind.
He glanced up. "I'm just finding a new book to read." His voice remained monotonous and devoid of any charm or joy as he tried to make it look like he was simply swiping through applications with a four-finger sweep.
At least he was already planning on reading. Means that I'm on the right track, she thought with relief.
Blake decided to play along since whatever he was looking at wasn't any of her business, and she of all people should understand such things. She slightly shrugged her shoulders and replied in the same nonchalant tone. "Alright." After closing the door gently behind her once more, she lifted the books up with both hands.
"Help me carry these?"
"Oh, of course." He tucked his scroll into his sleeve and started to put his hands on the pile of books, top and bott-
Alarm! Alarm! Alarm!
"Uh, actually, I can carry the lower one. Can you just get the top few?" Unlike Ren, Blake has had much more practice keeping a poker face while bluffing, which worked much to her benefit when Ren just nodded and shifted his grip to carry the remaining five books. She noticed that during the process though, his eyes were glued to her new favorite book.
Either he's a pervert and likes looking at crotches or he wants to know what the book's about…
As if answering her question through reading her thoughts, he asked. "That seems like a fairly old novel. Does it have a name?"
"No."
"Hm. Alright." Ren, apparently forgetting about the thick book that Blake was holding to her chest, took on a questioning tone. "So, why did you bring books again?"
"You said that the dare entails that you must have a, 'fun time,' with us, correct?"
He nodded. "Yes."
"Well, then I hope you like books. I just so happen to like to indulge in reading." She turned on her heel and started walking towards the library, purposefully walking fast in order to stem any opportunities for conversation, forgetting to mention to Ren that he was already doomed to hang out with RWBY next weekend as well due to an inconvenient event...
Notes: Ended a bit abruptly. Sorry! I've had some experience with creative writing before, but I've never really found that... oomph to get me started. enter, 'RWBY,' the show that's been sucking up my time since about a month ago with tears of sadness and laughter. and fanfics.
holy crap, lots of fanfics. so I said, hey, why not try it? I'll be adding more; the second chapter is already in the works!
And here's the note from 1/9/18 me, saying thanks for reading. have a fun time relaxing in this story!