Red Is The Color Of Passion
Chapter 4: Intensity Intensifies
Jaune always knew that he wasn't exactly the brightest tool in the bunch...or however that saying went. He wasn't stupid per say, but when it came to certain topics, they just flew right overhead. For instance, he could name every one of his Arc forebearers for generations and what they were known for off the top of his head, give you their life stories, and even tell you what their favorite pancake topping was. (Why that information had passed through the ages was a mystery even to him, but he committed it to memory anyway.) When his sisters tried to teach him how to notice subtle changes in a girl's appearance so he could notice and compliment them, however, he was clueless.
So when the young man exited his dorm the next morning, (much to his shock, Pyrrha was still asleep in her blanket cocoon on the floor) it would have been an understatement to say that he was confused to see a group of older students, all female at the end of the hall, pointing, giggling and most confusing of all, blushing?
Jaune looked down at himself to make sure he hadn't accidentally walked out the door in his footie pajamas again, or heaven forbid, forget his pants and cause a reiteration of the disaster a few nights previous. He was completely dressed. In fact, he dared say that he looked pretty damn good for not having Pyrrha's help to tie his tie. He looked back up at the gaggle of school girls, only to catch one of them winking at him and sashaying away. He blinked in confusion once more, and scratched his head. That was…odd.
His stomach grumbled and he shrugged. Whatever was going on, he was sure it wasn't important. Maybe people were just screwing with him. Yeah, that had to be it. It was an occurrence that he'd encountered one too many times. For now, breakfast was required, and seeing how the rest of JNPR was still asleep, that meant only one thing.
He could finally eat some damn pancakes for once.
The Beacon Academy mess hall... or was it a cafeteria...? Whatever it was called, it was lively, to say the least. Several pockets of girls were spaced around the room. There weren't many, and they weren't very large, but they were noticeable. Occasionally, someone would run from one group to the next, and a minor explosion of excited whisperes would begin anew. Was there some sort of dance going on soon?
He honestly had no idea what could get so many women so excited at once, but not excite the guys as well. They get ready for dances too. Weird.
He looked to the usual spot to see that RWBY hadn't shown up either. To be perfectly honest, he felt fine with that. After Yang flying off the handle last night, and the rest of her team being less than helpful, he wasn't too put out at not seeing them.
He made his way over to the line, and was confused at the sour glares he got from the guys around him. What was going on? He grabbed some pancakes, thanking whatever gods convinced Nora to sleep in today, and made his way over to his spot, sitting in his seat more out of habit than anything else. No one else was there, he could sit where Yang did, or Ruby, or Ren...
His ferociously rebellious thoughts were interrupted by a hearty cough. He looked up, his mouth full of pancake, to meet the mocha eyes of Coco Adel. Her eyes gleamed with predatory excitement before being concealed behind dark shades.
"Hey Jaune."
"Hey Coco..."
CFVY had fought alongside them at the Breach, so it wasn't like they were perfect strangers, but none of the upperclassman had talked to them... pretty much ever. He'd seen Coco talking with RWBY, probably to congratulate them, but other than that, he hadn't ever really met her or her teammates.
"So Jaune..." She stepped up onto the bench and sat on the table, facing him as she traced a finger down his arm. In her carelessness, she had given Jaune something of a view down her shirt, and he hurriedly looked away. Getting pummeled for ogling first thing in the morning was not on his to-do list for today.
He kept his eyes fixed on his breakfast, but looked to her when she gave a dissatisfied cough. She had straightened, which was good, and her expression brightened when she saw he was looking at her.
He mentally chided himself. 'Girls want you to pay attention when they talk to you.'
"We're friends, right Jaune?" Oh no, he knew where this was going.
He turned back to his plate, scowling. "I'm not doing anyone's homework."
She laughed for a moment. "No, I meant like actual friends."
He didn't buy it. "No, not really. I think this is the first time we've talked."
She looked crestfallen, as if he had told her that her wardrobe had been set on fire.
"That's awful. I try to make friends with the underclassman. They're going on to save the world, and you can never go wrong with a few extra friends, right?"
That sounded... familiar. And nice. There was nothing wrong with being friends with more people. His scowl faded.
"Sure, yeah. That sounds like a cool thing to do."
"Right!" Coco sat down on the bench next to him, facing out towards the cafeteria. She scooted in closer, and he was immediately hit with the smell of vanilla. She put a hand on his knee underneath the table.
"So Jaune, I was wondering if you and I could be friends. Or at least, get to know each other better, you know?"
'Strangers are just friends you haven't met yet.' Coco was an acquaintance, just one degree shy of stranger, but he would love more friends.
"Sure, that sounds great."
"Wonderful." Her mouth caressed the words, and she bit her lip for a bit, the full shade caught before being released. "How would you like to come into town with me today?"
"I'd have to check with my team first, but-"
"I meant-" and she scooted closer, her hand scooted just a little bit up his thigh "-more... just you and me. Well, just you, anyway. I'd like to get to know you before your team. After all, the leader is a window into the group."
"Didn't you just say you wanted more friends?"
She let out a peal of laughter, and he was hit again with the smell. She was sitting very close...
"I don't mean I don't want to meet your team, silly. Just to get to know you first."
Okay, that made more sense.
"Sure, that sounds fine."
"Awesome! Your last class gets out at 2 today, so I'll meet up then and we can head out, yeah?" She had started to talk a little faster. She sounded excited, eager... hungry.
"Yeah." Wait... how did she know his schedule?
"How do you feel about casual sex?" an accented voice spoke from his other side.
He whirled around, choking on a bit of pancake, his vision filled with darker brown eyes. "Ah, Velvet! You scared me." There was no way he heard her right, right? Man, this morning had him so confused he was hearing what had to obviously be impossible.
"Damnit Velvet, I said I would handle this!" Coco hissed from behind him. She placed a hand on his shoulder, bringing his attention back to her. "Sorry about that, Velvet's got an odd sense of humor. Now, I figure the two of us can grab a bite to eat, see Vale's sights, and when we get back maybe, ah...spar?"
Jaune took another bite of pancake and swallowed it, cocking one eyebrow. "I'd like to, but seeing as how you're a year ahead of me...you'd utterly wreck me."
Coco smiled, but it wasn't a pleasant smile, at least not to Jaune's perspective. It felt more like a predator smiling at him than a friend and a shiver ran up his back. Come to think of it, her hand was riding a bit high up his thigh, wasn't it? Wait, who's hand was that on his other thigh- Velvet?! "Don't worry, Jaune. I promise, I'll be gentle."
Jaune sat silently for a few seconds before adding, "Don't really see how you'll do that. I mean you've got a freakin' Gatling Gun and all I've got is…"
"Your sword?" Velvet helpfully added, sounding a little too chipper.
Jaune frowned. "Um...yeah."
Coco's smile only grew. "You know, I bet Velvet would love to get see your sword as well."
"...Are we even having the same conversation here?" Jaune queried, the entirety of the situation becoming too surreal even for him. He hadn't even been awake for more than an hour and a half and this nonsense was bearing down on him?
The sound of someone clearing their throat snapped everyone's attention behind the three of them. Standing there, arms on hips, with an oddly displeased look on her face, was one Ruby Rose. "Coco. Velvet. Is something going on?"
Jaune, for once displaying self preservation tactics, immediately began to scan the room for Ruby's sister, massaging his throat in subconscious remembrance of the events of the night previous. What had Yang said, something about corrupting Ruby? He'd done no such thing! Coco's voice snapped him out of his paranoia-fueled reverie. "Just...making friends. You wouldn't want to hog Jaune all to yourself, would you?"
As Coco finished her sentence, Jaune could have sworn he heard Velvet add, "Not that you'd know what to do with him," under her breath.
If she had, Ruby didn't hear, or at least didn't appear to. "I'm sure he appreciates it. However, I'd like to have a bit of talk with my fellow leader."
"Oh?" Coco raised an eyebrow, her expression mostly unreadable behind her shades. "Did you forget I'm a leader too?"
"Alone?" Ruby added, tapping her foot.
The entire time, Jaune was starting to get a little nervous. Growing up around seven sisters, he was used to being around numerous females, but he also had a sort of sixth (or knowing his disaster sense, seventh) sense that could tell him when things were getting tense between women, and the tension in the air was palpable. To make matters worse, Jaune really couldn't get up and run as Coco and Velvet had yet to remove their hands from his thighs. In fact, if he didn't know any better, he'd swear that their hands were getting a little too close to Jaune Jr. for his liking. All he could really do was sit there, sweating nervously as Ruby and Coco stared at one another. "Oh, don't worry," Coco waved her other hand nonchalantly. "We'll bring him back in one piece. He'll be fine. A bit tired, maybe."
"A lot tired, actually." Velvet added in, with Coco quickly shushing her.
"Now!"
Jaune didn't think he would ever hear Ruby yell. Squeak in frustration, maybe, but Ruby yelled, her voice ringing throughout the room. Velvet flinched and rubbed at her ears, her hand finally leaving Jaune's leg. Coco stood up, towering over Ruby and glowering down at her.
"Alright Rose. We'll give you your 'word'. But you can't keep him to yourself. You really think such a little girl could handle all of that?" Coco smirked, and continued "You're not ready. But we are."
Ruby didn't bend. She stared at Coco, right through those dark shades, and almost hissed "Leave." Coco shrugged, and strutted away.
"We'll be waiting," she called back, and Velvet followed behind her, gesturing between her eyes and Ruby. Ruby turned and followed them as they walked away, the rest of the cafeteria staring at Ruby in surprise at her earlier forceful command. The innocent little cinnamon bun getting angry at someone? What had that been about?
Jaune on the other hand was frozen to his seat, eyes wide in terror. What the absolute hell was going on? What was with Ruby? As if he were the starring role in a horror movie, Ruby suddenly turned on her heel, her face all smiles and sunshine. "Sorry you had to see that, Jaune." The red reaper skipped forward and practically jumped into the seat vacated by Coco. Jaune barely had time to register her presence before she leaned over, resting her head on his shoulder. Perhaps in any other given situation, Jaune would have found it adorable. He'd be lying if he said she wasn't attractive in a cute way, but after everything that had been going on, all he could think of was that Yang would kill him if she saw her sister leaning on him like this. He slowly turned his head to the side to see Ruby's big silver eyes staring up at him. His heart skipped a beat.
"Uh-um, R-ruby, don't you think you're...ahem… a bit close?" Jaune stuttered. His eyes flickered away, but kept finding himself coming back to Ruby's face.
The young girl pouted. "You don't want me to be here?"
Jaune's heart skipped another beat. Damn those eyes! Those things are damn near hypnotic! "N-no! No, no, no, I-I like spending time with you!"
Ruby's expression lit up and for the second time in one week, the reaper embraced him tightly, burying her face into his side. "I love spending time with you too, Jaune! You know, I don't think we hang out often enough…"
Jaune scratched the back of his head and looked up. He almost winced. Men around the room were glaring at him, and the girls...his eyebrows knitted together. Were they glaring at Ruby? Nah, they had to be glaring at him. He grimaced. Great. The entire cafeteria wanted him dead now. He had to get away before Yang showed up. "S-say, Ruby, a-as much as I'd like to spend more time with you I...ah…" Jaune's mind raced. "I need to...uh...see a man about a dog." He finished lamely, using a phrase oft used by his own father.
Ruby looked back up at him, smiling widely. "Can I join!? I love dogs!"
Jaune felt like facepalming. This was bad. "No, Ruby, it's just a phrase."
She looked crestfallen. "What does it mean?"
"It just means I need to go to the bathroom."
She perked up, and held a hand in front of her mouth. Was she smiling?
"I could come with you anyways, in case you get lost."
He flushed, and protested "That happened once! In the first week of school!"
"Second."
"First!" He stared at her, incredulous, but she was still cackling behind her hand.
"Second!"
"It was not!"
"It totally was!" She threw his arms around her shoulders and laughed into his arm. "I remember because you ordered all those books, and they took so long to get here."
"Oh... well, Beacon's a big place!"
She pulled her face away from his sleeve and pushed it into his, grinning smugly. "So you want me to accompany you to the bathroom?"
He rolled his eyes and shoved her away, standing up from the bench. "I don't know if you should navigate me anywhere. You're too short to read any of the signs."
Ruby stood as well, her cheeks puffed in mock outrage. "Listen, mister!" She poked him in the chest. "At least I'm not breaking door frames everywhere I go! How's the weather up there, by the way? Any birds made a nest out of your messy hair yet?"
Mock insult after mock insult, her hand pulled lower down his body, until it hooked into the front of his jeans and pulled him closer.
He yelped, searching desperately for Yang. There was no way she could see him with her sister's hand down his pants. Beacon didn't cover the price of caskets.
His head darted to Ruby and her other arm wrapped around his waist, and she somehow stepped even closer to him. She bit her lip, looking up at him. "You sure you don't want me to come?" Her silver eyes almost seemed to sparkle.
He gulped, hiding his nervousness in a laugh. "I'm just going to take a pee, Ruby."
Ruby's eyes shone for a moment, before her face fell and she stepped away. "Fine. I'll see you when you get back."
Jaune nodded, and stepped away, heading to the doors leading outside. Ruby had been oddly touching. From grabbing his waist band, to rubbing her hands over him.
He snapped his fingers, a light bulb going off in his head. He'd gotten new fabric softener! He nodded his head, all right with the world.
"Come on..." Yang dialed for the third time, biting her thumbnail and pacing around the dorm.
"Yang, we're going to be late for classes." She waved Weiss off, the heiress scoffing and closing the door behind her.
Something was very very wrong, and her dad wasn't doing anything about it. There was only one other person she could go to.
"What?"
"Qrow!"
A pause, and then "Junebug?"
"Listen, there's something going on with Ruby. Sheaccidentallysawaboy'sdick and then shestartedmasturbating andIdon'tevenknowwhereshelearnedtodothatbecauseIsureashelldidn'tteachher, and whenhetalkedtodad,hedidn'tsoundmadatall, hejusttoldmetowaitforhim, butIthinkthisboymightbetryingtotakeadvantageofher, and I KNOW I'vealreadygivenherthetalk, but I'mnotreallysurewhattodocouldyoupleasecomehelpme?"
...
"All I heard was that a boy might be taking advantage of Ruby?"
Yang nodded, her finger clenched between her teeth and hair bouncing wildly.
"Yang?"
"Yeah?"
"Is someone trying to do something to Ruby?"
"I just said yes!"
"No you didn't, you just went silent for a second."
"What?"
"What?"
"Ugh, nevermind." She heard shuffling. Qrow was probably getting out of bed. "I'll come to Beacon, kick his ass, and-"
"Wait!" Yang switched hands, gnawing on her other thumb as she grimaced. "I'm not... totally sure. I mean, I don't know. And that's scary. I just... want your help in figuring stuff out. Could you come?"
There was silence on the other end as Qrow nodded. "Qrow?"
"Yeah?"
"So, are you coming?"
"Yeah, I just said I would."
"No you didn't! You just went quiet."
Qrow snarled and hung up.
S/N: Horray! Another chapter bites the...bytes? Hz? Iunno. Whatever chapters bite when they're done because this one is! Booyah!
As always, the humor is meant to be absurdist, silly, and a little bit dirty in places. We got a couple comments that the story was becoming a little racey, describing a girl frigging herself, and so I tried to tone it down a little bit for this chapter. You guys are right, this isn't gonna turn into smut, and that line is something we need to stay aware of.
L/N: Here we are again! That's right! I know I have tons of other work myself, but I've been having a slog getting through my own work, so I figured the least I could do was to partner up with Spooky here and present another chapter of perverted insanity. Hope this will tide you all over until our next update, and with any luck, that shouldn't take too long. Signing off for now, this is LaughingLefou.
Omake: LaughingLefou
Pyrrha was definitely a tournament fighter. But beyond even that... she was a huntress. She stalked her prey, tracked it across deserts and seas until she could corner it and capture or eliminate it.
Right now, she had tracked it to the JNPR bathroom. She froze as the water turned off. Any second now...She held her breath as she approached the door and very gently attempted to turn the knob. Locked. She smirked. It was cute how Jaune thought that a simple lock, a simple metal lock could stop her from finding her prey. She reached out with her semblance, subtly manipulating the small inner mechanisms of the lock that protected Jaune from her prying eyes. Once she was certain she'd moved the lock out of place, she waited for a few minutes more, heart pounding in her chest. Her hand tightened around the brass knob, she licked her lips and with one fast, fluid movement, threw the door wide open. "Oh, Jaune, I'm sorry, I didn't...know...you were…" Her voice trailed off as she noticed that Jaune was wearing a large, thick, blue bathrobe.
"Oh, Pyrrha! Nah, it's fine, I was just finished anyway. Thought I locked the door, but guess I didn't…" Jaune murmured.
Pyrrha bit her lip. Damn it! He never had a bathrobe before! She mentally slapped herself. No. She was not going to give up so easily! If Blake, and Yang and Weiss and even Ruby of all people could see Jaune's...other blade, than so should she! Thinking fast Pyrrha moved forward only to 'accidentally' trip and fall forward, her hand outstretched to grab ahold of Jaune's robe to pull it off of him. Her eyes lit up as she grasped his robe and with one fluid yank, pulled it down off of his shoulders and down to the floor. Eagerly, her eyes lit up and she looked back up, hoping to catch a glimpse of her prey and…
A towel. Not just any towel, but an insanely large towel that might as well have been the size of a circus tent folded across his waist. Pyrrha almost gave a cry of pure frustration as she saw it. Jaune, thankfully, assumed the best of Pyrrha and quickly extended a hand. "Pyrrha! Are you okay?" He grasped her hand and for a few moments, Pyrrha was at peace with the world. He was holding her hand. Pyrrha's face burned bright red as he hoisted her to her feet.
"I-I-I'm fine! Really!" Pyrrha managed to squeak out.
Jaune laughed. "Man, Pyrrha, normally I'm the clumsy one."
Pyrrha's face burned even more red, almost matching her hair color. "I...I must just be still tired." Already, her mind was racing as she attempted to figure out how she might be able to get away with taking off Jaune's next obstacle between her and 'Jaune Jr.'
"Well, let's get you out of here; we don't need you tripping and hitting your head on the sink." Jaune gently began to push Pyrrha out of the rest room. Pyrrha, thinking fast, proceeded to 'slip' and fall backward against him, subtly using her hand to unfasten his towel in mid fall and fell onto her bottom with an 'oof!' Immediately her head snapped up the moment she hit the ground to see what should have been the most glorious sight to behold just above and over her shoulder…
Only to be met with another towel. It was the perfect time for an awkward duck quack noise in Pyrrha's opinion. How many towels was the boy wearing?! This was unfair! Jaune gave a laugh. "Man, good thing I'm wearing multiple towels. Don't want a repeat of what happened the other day, that's for certain."
Pyrrha gave an inaudible whimper. This however quickly died when Jaune, much to her shock, knelt down and picked her up, princess-style. Pyrrha's eyes snapped wide open with surprise. "Come on, Pyrrha. Let's get you back to bed. If you're tripping over yourself this much this early, maybe you need more sleep."
"Wha-n-no! I-I mean I'm fine and-" Pyrrha stammered and tried to get her bearings, but Jaune had already exited the bathroom and brought her to her bed, placing her into her bed gently.
"Nonsense. Pyrrha, you're always up before any of us. It's the weekend, and you should get to sleep too." He grasped her blanket and moved it over her, Pyrrha's mouth opening and closing quietly as she found herself torn. On one hand she really wanted to see Jaune's 'Excalibur!' On the other hand, he was tucking her into bed, something so incredibly cute and endearing coming from the normally thick boy, that she couldn't say no to his kind gesture. "Now you stay there. I'm gonna finish getting changed in the restroom and get some breakfast."
As he turned away Pyrrha's hand reached out, in an attempt to pull off the last remaining towel off of Jaune's hips, already planning on using the excuse of trying to catch his attention for the reason behind her actions, but when she grasped ahold of the towel and managed to loosen it enough to pull it off of him, she noticed something that took the wind right out of her sails.
Little bigger than a small pair of shorts, was one last towel wrapped around his waist. Pyrrha whimpered and lay back, slumping half out of her bed.
This was so unfair.