A/N: Hello again, everybody!
Believe it or not but the concept for this story came about in one day, and was entire written the next. Of course, then I read it over, thought it was actually too mean originally, and so, rewrote it
Hope you enjoy!
RWBY is owned by Roosterteeth and the late Monty Oum
Clout
During a hot, sunshine filled summer day at Beacon Academy a bunch of students were hanging out around one of the outside benches where students and faculty could eat at on their day off. It was the last summer break of theirs before their final year at Beacon and they were all ecstatic about finally graduating.
Unfortunately, all the excitement in the world couldn't keep this group of students from growing bored. After all, they had already done so much and their official careers hadn't even started yet. Summer vacation didn't mean the same thing when you had already stopped terrorists, gangsters and global annihilation from happening, to name just a few.
It was a well known group to many within the school and without. Two teams, one composed of all girls and the other a co-ed group of two boys and two girls. Teams RWBY and JNPR. Alumni of Beacon, and Atlas, Academy and the quote,unquote Saviors of Remnant!
And one of the eight students, and future Huntsmen, was sitting at the bench, regretting his life up to that point as he nervously watched his best friend, and fellow team leader, walk back and forth before him as she tried and failed to find the best spot to record their latest video.
"Hey, R-Ruby? Are you sure about this?"The blond-hair teen asked. "You sure that no one will be able to tell the difference between the two? Right? I don't want you guys to get in trouble with your fans or anything."
"Of course, Jaune!" The newly named Ruby Rose replied with a slightly predatory, yet still enthusiastic glint in her silvery eyes as she grinned at him encouragingly, her red hair so dark it was almost completely black except for the tips. "It's all the rage with streamers right now in Atlas and Mistral. It's the perfect time to jump on the bandwagon with everyone else. I'm positive that it'll increase our subscriber count for sure. And, as a bonus, it'll definitely make you more popular!
"Don't you want to be famous, Jaune?"
"I, I mean, I guess?" The boy, Jaune Arc, replied questioningly, scratching at his head as his friend continued to move around him, trying to get the best view of what was about to happen for their followers.
"Yeah, Jaune! Do it for the Clout!" Shouted a short, curvy ginger-haired girl name Nora off to the side as she stood with her not-boyfriend Lie Ren, a dark-hair Mistrali boy. Ren merely shook his head at her antics as always as he smiled encouragingly at his one male friend and team leader.
Jaune looked at them as he rubbed the back of his head nervously. "C-clout?"
"Yeah! Trust me, VB! This is going to be awesome!" Answered Yang Xiao Long, the blond-haired sister to Ruby and resident brawler of the same team. She smirked at him as she stood there with both hands on her hips. Then she bent over at the waist to look him in the eyes as she said, "What? You going to back out now? I thought that the Arcs always kept their promises? Was I wrong?"
Jaune coughed and shifted his gaze away from the girl as he noticed her lack of a bra, again, too embarrassed he missed how her smirk grew into a cheeky grin. "O-of course, we do. Cough, it's just that, uh. Well, uh, I'm just concerned. Is all."
"Don't worry, Jaune. I'm sure you can do it," said Pyrrha Nikos, his partner and arguably considered the strongest fighter of their year, as she grasped at his shoulder in support, only to almost immediately removed it as she saw the look Yang was giving her. "After all," she said. "You only have to eat one of them, right?"
Yang continued to glare at Pyrrha for a moment more then she got a wicked look in her eyes as she thought of something. "Hey, Jaune?" she asked after a moment.
"Y-yeah?" He replied as he saw the look she was giving him.
"How about we make this even more interesting?" she asked him, a shit-eating grin in her term.
"Oh-kay, how?" He asked her hesitantly.
"So, roll with me on this." She said quickly with her hands raised before her. "How about you eat all of them, without drinking the milk."
Jaune looked at her with mild horror as Weiss Schnee, ex-heiress to the SDC fortune and Ruby's partner, began pouring milk into a glass for him. The ex-heiress glanced at him before "humphing" and flipping her hair over her shoulder as she walked away to stand by her partner with her arms crossed, fuming, when she noticed that he wasn't paying any attention to her.
Ruby looked at her briefly in sympathy before returning to setting up for the video once more.
"Uh, why would I do that? It seems painful, and unnecessary." Jaune then said in reply.
"Oh, definitely!" Yang agreed before tapping her non-metallic finger against her chin in thought as she said, "But, what if I dare you to?"
"I'm not going to do that, Yang. And you aren't going to push me into this." Jaune returned as he shook his head in denial and crossed his arms. "I remember the last couple of videos. And what happened."
He shook his head again, "Not happening."
Yang looked at him for a moment more in silence then glanced at her sister and leader. Ruby grinned and nodded back at her subtly. She knew just what to do in this situation. And she agreed. It would make for a better video.
So, while she was still trying to get a good angle for the video, she looked at Jaune and gave him The Look as she asked, "Come on, Bestie! Won't you do it for me, at least? I just know that you could totally do it. And, if you win then Yang has to do anything you say! That's the rules!"
Jaune looked at his friend and fellow team leader and almost crumbled right then and there at the puppy dog eyes she had going on. He had never been able to say no to his sisters when they did it, and Ruby's was so much more powerful.
He quickly turned away, looking to Pyrrha for her support. "Pyr?" he asked.
Pyrrha looked back at him and smiled as she said innocently, "I don't know. Can it really be all that bad? They're just regular peppers, right? What's the harm?"
"Ah, you're killing me here, guys!" Jaune proclaimed as he he slumped in defeat.
"Why not?" Weiss then interjected as she rolled her eyes at the boy, annoyed with the whole thing, and him. Though, mostly him. "You've done so much worse."
"Yeah!" Nora once more exclaimed from the sidelines.
"Not the point, Nora! And I don't see you volunteering! So, can it!" The leader of JNPR returned as he looked up at his sister-from-another-mister, giving her the dreaded finger point.
"Eep! Sorry, Jaune! Shutting up now." Nora returned with a cute squeak of her own.
"Don't worry so much, Vomit Boy." Yang said, as she smirked once more before pulling out a plastic bag from between her, ahem, assets and handed it over to him. "Here, you'll be eating one of these for the video. You know, if you're scared, that is."
Jaune gave her a deadpanned look in return. She ignored it as she said while clenching both fists, "Remember, for the Clout!"
Jaune blushed at the antics of the busty, blond brawler, again, as he usually did and shook his head at the display, knowing what he was about to do, and regretting it already. But what was a guy to do when his best friend in all the world gave him That Look? Especially after he promised to her and her team with their videos. And an Arc never went back on their word, even if it killed them.
She let an almost predatory grin appear on her face briefly at that before she hid it as he looked up at her. "Are you sure this isn't anything illegal, or anything, Yang? Right?" He suddenly asked worriedly. "I, I don't want to get in trouble, you know? What with everything that went down in our first year and all that"
"I don't think that you of all people have to worry about that." The raven-haired beauty of Team RWBY known as Blake Belladonna said as she arrived and immediately took the Scroll from her leader's hands and adjusted it just so, before turning to him and smirking at him good-naturedly, her amber eyes almost glowing as they watched him squirm beneath everybody's attention before saying seductively. "Of course, if you don't want to do, I'm sure that the girls can could up with something else for you to do-"
"Yeah, what Flaky-Blakey said, Fearless Leader. It's not like just anyone could pull off something like that and get away with it." Nora once more interjected from the sidelines, much to the detriment of the resident Faunus among the group of friends and her attempts to change things around, as she referred to his previous illegal activities and had come about from them.
"Sigh, I thought, we agreed not to bring that up again, Nora?" Jaune asked her exasperatedly as he looked at her with his hands raised in a clear WTF gesture.
"Hehe, sorry, Jaune!" Nora called out to him sing-songy before smiling with her tongue sticking out. She started cackling when he shook his head at her in bemusement, unable to stay angry at her for long.
"Now, now. Jaune's been a very good boy since then. I don't think we have anything to worry about with him from now on. Do we, Jaune?" Weiss then said as the white-haired beauty stalked up to the table and stared at him with an eyebrow raised.
"Gulp, uh, r-right you are, W-Weiss." Jaune replied with a nervous swallow as he glanced around for a moment.
Weiss paused for a moment more as she gazed unnervingly at him before she gave him a small, sincere smile with her eyes closed, saying. "Good boy."
"Alright, alright. Laying it on a bit thick there, Weiss-cream." Yang said with a bit of a warning look to the ex-heiress as she seemingly elbowed her good-naturedly. Who promptly blushed at the admonishment before coughing politely in her hand and walking over to stand by her leader and fellow teammate once more. "Alright, VB. Once again, all you got to do is eat what's in the bag and then we go from there. Got it?"
"O-okay." Jaune said nervously as he looked at the bag's contents. All that was in it was what looked to be some kind of pepper. They were bright orange and that's about it. "If you're sure about this." he said nervously once more.
"Don't worry, Jaune. They're just regular old peppers. I swear!" Ruby coddled him. "All you got to do is eat the,m and we'll do the rest
She ten winked at him as she said, "Trust me. It's full proof."
He opened the bag and took out one of the peppers, inspecting it closely. While he did so Yang made her way over to her partner's side. "Blake, you got the right ones, right?" she asked quietly.
"Don't look at me like that. Weiss is the one who ordered them, not me." The cat-eared girl returned. They looked to the ex-heiress and rapier master of the team expectantly.
"Don't look at me like that!" She huffed indignantly. "Of course, I got the right ones!"
"Ssh," Their team leader said before the two could go at it like they often did. "Alright folks! Places everybody!"
She paused for a moment while the rest of the group got in place. Jaune stayed sitting at the bench with the bag of peppers and the glass of milk beside him, but Pyrrha went over to stand beside the rest of Team JNPR, outside the Scroll's POV so as to not ruin the shot. Her teammates stood with her waiting to start the video.
Usually for these videos Jaune was on his own with only the girls from RWBY watching over him, if not actively participating with him. If the girls needed the rest of their friends for something, or to appear as guests, they'd ask. The only reason why they were there this time was for emotional support.
Jaune had asked them not to interfere unless it was a medical emergency. And, even with all the reassurance from the girls of Team RWBY, he wasn't quite sure that it still wasn't one. Or, well, at least not yet.
He sighed softly to himself as he shook his head at his own idiocy. The things he did for his friends, for Ruby, for RWBY. Then he smirked quietly. Oh, this was going to hurt.
"Alright! Welcome back to Pollination Knight dear viewers!" Yang said energetically, off to the side. "Red here has a special surprise for you today! Tell 'em, Red!"
Ruby nodded at her sister as she began to explain what was going to happen. "Alright, guys! It's that time again as our resident Knight here takes on yet another challenge. For today's video our Knight shall be eating an entire bag of Mistrali Ghost Peppers! The hottest pepper in the world! Can our resident hero once again survive as he puts his body at risk? Find out, for the Clout!"
"For the Clout!" Echoed her teammates and friends.
"For the clout?" Jaune asked timidly as he looked nervously at the peppers once more. He sat there in silence thinking things over in his mind. About whether or not he should try and get out of whatever was about to happen, and what that might mean to his friendship with the gorgeous ladies of Team RWBY.
"For the Clout!" Everybody said again.
"Don't worry, Jaune." Yang whispered to him confidently from the side after a moment of silence. "If you don't want to do it, all you have to do is tell us, Okay. Everybody will understand. It's not like you'd be letting us down or anything. It's just a dare, okay?"
Jaune looked at her, and the sudden look of disappointment on her face, before squaring his shoulders. Hurting his friends was not something he was used to doing, and he wasn't to start now. He had his pride, he had his friends, and he had his Iron Stomach!
With sudden gusto he opened the bag and popped one of the peppers into his mouth and began to chew it. His face immediately started to flush red as he felt the fire in his mouth. But he persevered as he swallowed it.
He paused for a moment before he took another one from the bag and popped it in his mouth and began to chew again, his face already having beads of sweat appear.
"Alright! Way to go, Vo-uh, Dragonslayer!" Yang said enthusiastically as the rest of JNPR started to cheer their leader on. "And, just so you know, dear viewers, as part of this dare, our "Knight" has agreed to not drink any milk until he's eaten the entire bag. That's thirty Ghost Peppers!"
"Yeah!" Ruby excliamed. "Isn't he so cool? Guys, what do you say?!
"Black?"
Blake looked on stoically as the Scroll whipped over to her. She glanced at it, her amber eyes gleaming as she said, "I think that he's got it. The Knight's never failed us before. And he won't now."
"Good answer," Ruby whispered to her before rounding on Weiss. "And says you, White?"
Weiss tried to remain impassive as she watched Jaune starting to grunt in pain from the peppers even as he kept going. "It's say, you dolt. And, I think he's got this."
Then she turned to face the camera directly as she commented absently, "Perhaps the Punishment was too light? Should we make it harder for him?"
Ruby looked at her then her other two teammates before nodding as she read the looks in their eyes. It was only right. If the dense boy had just realized what was going on between them then they wouldn't have to do this in the first place. And, it was Jaune, her Bestie. He could handle it. "You make a fair assessment, Icequeen. I agree."
She turned to show Jaune once more.
He looked at the camera as she did so, sweating starting to pour down his face in sheets as he took another one of the peppers out of the bag and began to eat it. And another. And another. Stuffing them all in his mouth as he chewed and chewed and chewed. Until, finally swallowing.
Most of the bag was already gone.
"Alright everybody! As you can see our resident badass has eaten himself nearly an entire bag of Ghost Peppers!" Ruby suddenly shouted with glee. "But, it seems like it wasn't enough of a challenge for him. So, what do you say, you White Knight! You Dragonslayer! Ready to double down on the dare, or do you forfeit and accept your punishment?!"
Her eyes, like the rest of her team, shining with almost wicked delight and pride at the sight of their object of affection, and what he had gone through, just for them. "Let's see if the rest of you out there are even half as much of a badass as he is! Woo, go Ja-uh, I mean, Lancaster's Knight! Yeah!"
His face flushed and sweat pouring down his face in sheets, Jaune had begun to pant aloud from the pain in his stomach. He swallowed, shuddering at the pain as his body tried to rebel ,before finally speaking. "I accept! Double down!" He answered as he slammed a fist on the table top.
Yang, grinning with abject delight, then pulled out two more bags of peppers from between her cleavage as she walked in from the side, showing everyone watching, just how little shame she had at what she'd just done. She smacked the bags on the table dramatically as she leaned in to Jaune and shouted with glee, "You're on, VB! You make it through this, and I promise that me and the girls will do whatever you want for the next video!"
She looked him then and red and sweaty his face and lips were then she suddenly lunged forward and planted a kiss on his cheek. "For luck," she whispered in his ear before strutting back to her former position beside her sister.
"Woo! Way to go, Yellow!" Ruby whooped even as she glared at Yang for her audacity. "Maybe now the Knight will finally get it!"
Then she turned back to Jaune as he sat there, waiting. "Are you ready, Knight?"
Jaune sat there stunned for a moment, ignoring the ever increasing pain in his stomach at the sudden PDA then he shook his head and looked directly at Ruby, and the camera and nodded. He grabbed one of the bags of peppers and began to stuff handfuls of the stuff in his mouth.
Within a matter of moments he had eaten the whole thing. He stiffened and grunted in pain, almost groaning aloud as he grasped at the next bag. His friends and teammates shouting encouragements all the way.
He chewed and ate until the whole bag was emptied. Then he picked up the other two to show them to the camera before tossing them back on the table.
Everybody cheered him as he did so. Jaune stood and bowed before grabbing the glass of milk and chugging it as fast as he could.
Ruby flipped camera around to show her and the other three members of RWBY as they all stood in various poses with Victory signs raised. "Alright, that about does it for this video. Sorry, it's so short. But, as you can see, our resident blond Adonis has yet to show even the slightest signs of affections for us girls. So, punishments have to be made."
She smiled cheekily as did the rest of her team. Nora and the rest of JNPR chuckled off to the side. "Be sure to watch out for what we upload next here of Pollination Knight. Like, comment and subscribe for more! See ya then. Bye bye!"
"Woo!" Jaune whooped as he drained the glass of milk and poured himself another one, to focused on what was going on to even catch what his friend had just said. "You, you said that they were regular p-peppers! Guys!" he said in protest after downing the second drink. Then he started to groan as his stomach began to hurt even more.
He poured himself another glass. Maybe that would help.
"Sorry, Jaune!" Ruby teased back as she put down the Scroll, the video over with but for the editing. "But you wouldn't have done it otherwise. We still love you, though!"
"I, I'll get you all back for this!" Jaune groaned out at them as he drank a third glass of milk, his face starting lose color.
"But, but, you did so good! I knew you had it in you!" Ruby returned, somewhat mollified as she watched her friend and crush suffering. It was just supposed to be a fun video where they got back at him for not noticing their affection for him.
A Punishment video as Blake had termed them.
It wasn't suppose to make her feel bad watching him. It wasn't suppose to painful at all.
"Hey, uh, you're looking pretty bad there, Jaune. You doing okay there, Vomit Boy?" Yang asked as she stood there watching as Jaune got paler and paler.
"Urk! Wr-wrong words, Yang!" he returned before he stood up from the bench and ran off to the closest restroom, holding his mouth and stomach as he did so.
The others watched before looking at each and followed after him. It was just suppose to be a fun video.
A/N: So, learned a few things with this chapter. Yes, while I may not have emphasized it all that well all four girls from RWBY have a crush on Jaune, who as dense and oblivious as ever. Also, yes, events in the show did happen. How they were resolved will largely be left to your imagination, though.
Alright that's all from me.
Essiter out!
And remember, you're all awesome, stay awesome!