Chapter Twenty-One: The Cat Cafe

Ruby woke up the next morning to someone knocking on the door.

She sat up, smiling as she felt Blake's arms around her waist. She gently tapped Blake's forehead, the older girl grunting as she opened her eyes. Her eyes flicked up to Ruby's, a faint frown on her face. "What time is it?"

"Eight."

Blake nodded, leaning back and yawning as Ruby sat up. She went to the door, opening it to reveal none other than Jaune standing there. He was clad in a white t-shirt with a pair of jeans, along with his normal shoes. He gave a small smile at the sight of Ruby with her massive bedhead. "Oh, sorry, did I wake you?"

"It's our day off, of course you woke me."

Jaune nodded. "Sorry, I was just wondering if you wanted to get breakfast with me. There's a cat cafe just a few blocks from our hotel."

Ruby's eyes widened. "Cat cafe?"

"Yeah! You know, where they have a bunch of tame cats resting in the cafe, they come up to you while you eat and demand to be pet? Thought it would be fun."

Ruby nodded, rubbing her eyes. "Well," she yawned. "Give me a few minutes to get dressed. Mind if anyone else comes or is this just a me and you thing?"

Jaune's face tinted pink as she rubbed the back of his head. "I mean, if anyone else wants to, sure. The rest of my team are still asleep."

Ruby gestured behind her. "So are mine, except for Blake."

Ruby shut the door, walking to the nearby closet, and pulling out a simple, black sundress. She turned to Blake, who was now standing and looking over her dresser. "Hey, you wanna come to a cat cafe with Jaune and me?"

Blake stared at her for a second before shrugging. "Sure, why not? Just give me a bit to get ready."

Ruby walked into the bathroom after grabbing some underwear, turning on the shower. Meanwhile, Blake changed out of her yukata and into a pair of jeans and a black tank top.

When Ruby walked out, she gave Blake a small smile. "You look nice."

"So do you."

The two walked to the door, walking out and to team JNPR's room. Ruby knocked on the door, stepping back and placing her hands behind her back. She leaned back and forth a few times before the door opened, revealing Jaune standing there. "Ready?"

"Whenever you are, buddy."

The three made their way to the elevator, Jaune pressing the button for the lobby. Ruby turned to him, leaning back against the edge of the elevator. "So, what's this place have, anyway?"

Jaune gave a faint smile. "Standard cafe things, mostly. Coffee, tea, biscuits, cookies, things like that. Apparently, they also have something called 'Fire Dust Croissants' which have actual fire dust in them. Which sounds cool!" he looked up and to the left. "And also dangerous."

Blake nodded. "I was gonna say, what are they? Just uncooked bread that you activate the fire dust in to cook it yourself?"

Ruby shook her head. "Nah, they're probably regular croissants with fire dust sprinkled over them. That way it gives you a little of that fire dust tang but without actually being dangerous."

Jaune frowned. "Wait, how do you know fire dust is tangy?"

"I put pretty much everything in my mouth when I was a kid—mom's bullets included!"

Jaune chuckled, the elevator doors opening a moment later. The three made their way out and onto the sidewalk. He reached back, taking Ruby's hand. "Come on, it's just this way!"

The two followed, Ruby's face tinting pink as her eyes trailed to his fingers. She squeezed a bit tighter, a smile finding her face as she felt his warm hand against her naturally cold fingers. Blake, meanwhile, looked between the two with a neutral expression.

She took Ruby's other hand without a word.

Ruby looked back at Blake, about to ask why when she saw Blake staring straight ahead, her eyes fixed on the back of Jaune's neck. She looked back ahead. Is she…is she jealous? That looks like a jealous look, but what is she jealous of? That Jaune took my hand and not hers? Or maybe…

Her face went bright pink as she shook her head. No, there's no way.

It took only a few minutes of walking to reach the cat cafe—which was appropriately called Cat Town. Inside the windows you could see patrons eating breakfast pastries, playing with the small felines, and generally having a good time. Ruby smiled as she saw a black and white cat paw at the window near them, and gently reached forward to place her finger where their paw was.

The three entered a moment later, the hostess guiding the three to an empty table near the back. Ruby and Blake sat with their backs to the entrance, Jaune sitting opposite them. He looked over to his left, a faint smile on his face as a white, orange, and brown cat approached their table. "Hey little fella. Come here!"

To his surprise the cat jumped into his lap without hesitation, pawing at his chest and meowing directly at his face. He chuckled, running a hand over the feline's fur. "What's your name, little guy?"

"It's a she, actually."

The three looked over to reveal a waitress standing nearby, clad in a black and white maid outfit and clearly fake cat ears. "This is Spleens—one of our oldest rescues. She's actually the mother of a lot of cats you'll see in Cat Town!"

Ruby tilted her head slightly. "Spleens? That's a weird name for a cat." (a/n-If you know, you know)

"Well, her previous owners were a bit…eccentric."

Ruby reached over, stroking Spleens's tail as Jaune hefted her up onto the table. The calico promptly sat down, simultaneously looking at Ruby and Jaune with her 270-degree vision. Blake, able to look at Spleen's directly, turned to the waitress. "Is it normal that her eyes are canted so far apart?"

The waitress clapped. "Oh, yes! Spleens has astigmatism in both eyes, you see. Now, is there anything else you'd like to know about Spleens, or would you like some drinks today?"

Jaune turned to her. "Coffee for me."

Blake smiled. "Tea."

Ruby looked over the menu for a second. "Milk!"

The waitress wrote down their orders before nodding, leaving the three alone with Spleens. Ruby smiled as she turned onto her back, meowing at Blake as if demanding a belly rub. Blake obeyed, scratching the cat's large stomach with two fingers. "Bit of a demanding cat, isn't she?"

Ruby nodded, rubbing Spleens's tail. "Yeah, but she's so cute! Look at her little face! She almost looks like she's got a baby lump with her belly."

Their drinks were brought out a moment later, the waitress asking what they wanted for their actual meal. Jaune, naturally, ordered a plate of fire dust croissants, Blake ordered a tuna fish sandwich, and Ruby ordered a large, strawberry muffin. She'd never even heard of a strawberry muffin before, but it sounded amazing.

Ruby looked at Blake, who, despite petting Spleens, had a faint frown on her face. "Is something the matter, Blake?"

Blake rolled her eyes. "You mean other than the fact this place fetishizes the type of faunus I am and makes us all out to be a servile caste?"

Ruby blinked twice. "I understood some of those words."

Blake sighed, leaning back in the booth. "This place makes every waiter and waitress wear cat faunus accessories, yet I doubt they let actual faunus even work here. It's hypocritical at best, speciest at worst."

Jaune looked away, a faint spark of guilt in his eyes. "I'll be honest, if I'd known about the fake cat ears thing, I probably wouldn't have suggested it. I thought it was just a regular cafe but with…well, cats."

As he said that, Spleens jumped into his lap.

Blake sighed, her ears flitting behind her bow. "It's fine, you didn't know. Let's just get our food and get out of here."

The waitress brought back food to a significantly less cheerful table. A tray of eight croissants drizzled in honey and flecked with fire dust chunks, a large strawberry muffin that took both hands for Ruby to hold, and a tuna sandwich of normal size. Ruby looked at Jaune. "That's a lot of croissants. Plan on eating them all yourself?"

Jaune shook his head, taking one of them. "Nah, I bought the eight plate so we could all try one. They're apparently really good. Let's see," he bit into one.

His eyes widened as he grabbed his coffee, drinking down a gulp of it. "Okay, be warned, they're a little spicy."

"It's okay, I've got milk!"

Ruby bit into one, finding that Jaune was right. The flavor of a normal croissant was there, but the moment the fire dust connected with her tongue, it was an explosion of spice—as if a large piece of red-hot cinnamon candy brushed across her taste buds. She quickly downed some milk as well, nodding at Jaune. "It's…unexpected, but they're still pretty good."

Blake took one, only to immediately drown it out with tea and put it back, shaking her head. "Way too spicy for me. I'll stick to my tuna sandwich, thank you."

Jaune nodded, eating five of the croissants as Ruby ate three of them—along with her muffin. All the while Spleens sat in Jaune's lap, occasionally licking at his fingers whenever he set them down, pawing at his chest once in a while. Once they were done and each was given a check, Jaune hoisted Spleens up by her stomach and set her back on the ground.

The three left shortly after, Ruby looking back at Jaune and Blake. "I mean…the food was good, and the cats were adorable. Just a…slight issue of the speciest cat ear things."

Blake nodded, looking back at the cafe. "I hate to admit it, but that was a really good tuna sandwich. Even if it was filled with bigotry."

The three stood still for a moment in awkward silence, until Jaune cleared his throat. "So, uh…now what? Plan on heading back to the hotel, or looking around for anything else to do?"

Blake looked up and to the right. "You know, the hotel we're staying at does have an indoor pool. Provided you brought a swimsuit, Ruby, we could always go swimming."

Ruby frowned, shaking her head. "Nah, I didn't think we'd be swimming on this trip so…" her eyes widened a bit. "Actually, there's plenty of shops around here. I'm sure I could find something to wear."

Jaune pulled out his scroll, tapping away for a moment before turning it around. "There's a mall not too far from here. I'm sure you could find a bathing suit there."

Ruby smiled. "Sweet! Let's go!"

Blake and Ruby followed Jaune—who stared at his scroll telling him where the mall was—for a good two minutes before they saw the large strip mall. There was a grocery store, several clothing stores, etc. Plenty of places that potentially sold swimsuits. The three made their way into the nearest clothing store, titled 'J.C. Nickels', to search for a swimsuit for Ruby.

The three immediately made their way to the women's section, finding a whole wall of potential swimsuits—one-piece and bikinis alike. Ruby gravitated towards a nearly clear swimsuit with rose patterns on it. "What do you guys think of this one?"

Blake's face tinted pink as she looked at it. "Don't you think it's a bit…revealing? I mean, one slip and everyone can see everything."

Jaune nodded. "Blake's got a point, Ruby. Maybe pick something where the majority of it isn't clear."

Ruby nodded, putting the thing back. She picked her way through several of the others before grabbing a red bikini. "What do you think of this one?"

Blake slowly nodded. "I think it suits you."

Jaune nodded. "Yeah, how about you go try it on?"

Ruby nodded, making her way to the nearby dressing room. She slipped in before slipping off her clothes, pulling on the bikini. She looked in the mirror, smiling as she saw herself. Huh, bit more revealing than my swimsuit at home. Looks nice though.

She opened the door, smiling at Jaune and Blake before leaning against the doorway. "What do you guys think?"

Jaune's face tinted pink as he looked away, Blake's the same way as she gave a thumbs up. "It looks great, Ruby."

Ruby nodded, closing the door and changing back into her clothes. She draped the swimsuit over her arm, the three making their way toward the cash register. Ruby gladly paid the thirty lien for the bikini, the clerk bagging it before handing it off to her.

The three made their way back toward the hotel, Ruby looking back at Blake. "How come you brought a swimsuit anyway, Blake?"

Blake shrugged, eyes flicking around absently as she spoke. "I figured we might go somewhere where we could swim over the course of the summer. It's hot in Amora, after all."

Ruby looked at Jaune, who seemed to read her mind. "Nora insisted everyone pack a swimsuit since she read about a water park just outside the city. She loves water slides."

Ruby chuckled, turning back ahead as the three made their way back to the hotel. They made their way to the elevator, Blake hitting the button for their floor. She looked at Jaune. "We'll meet you at the pool after we get changed, okay?"

"Alright, I'll see you down there."

As soon as they entered the room, Ruby disappeared into the bathroom, changing into her new swimsuit. The moment she walked out, she heard a faint whistle.

She looked around, frowning as she saw Yang staring at her, a faint smirk on her face. "Showing off, Rubes? Last time I checked you always preferred the one-piece to the old bikini."

Ruby sighed, grabbing a towel and letting Blake enter the bathroom. "I saw a pretty swimsuit and I bought it, so what? You wanna come swimming with us, too?"

Yang shook her head, leaning back on the bed. "Hmm…nah. I'll stick around up here with Ice Queen. You have fun with Blakie~"

She rolled her eyes, trying to suppress her blush to no effect.

Blake walked out in a black bikini a moment later, Ruby staring at her for a moment before shaking her head, walking to the door. "Come on, let's not keep Jaune waiting."

The two made their way to the elevators, looking over to see Jaune walking through. He was clad in a pair of bright-blue swim trunks with white flowers on them, his torso exposed to reveal a toned, slightly muscular physique.

Ruby smiled, waving at him as Blake's eyes flicked to his toned stomach. Her eyes trailed over Jaune twice before she looked back to Ruby, watching her press the button on the elevator. Blake's eyes flicked to Jaune. "Those trunks suit you."

"Hmm? Oh, thanks, Blake!"

The three entered the elevator, heading down to the lobby before walking across to the pool room. There were a few people in the hot tub, along with a few people outside the pool, but no one was actually in it.

The three sat their towels on a few chairs near the edge, heading for the pool. Ruby went in first, deciding on the 'screw it' strategy of jumping in rather than climbing down the steps. She dove off the side, nearly screaming into the water as the cold substance enveloped her. Gah! Cold! Cold!

Jaune and Blake both went for the steps, shivering slightly as they made their way into the water. Ruby swam over to them, her body rapidly adjusting to the somewhat cold water. She smiled as she swam past them, resting on the steps. "Come on, guys! Water's fine once you get used to it!"

Jaune took her advice, diving in headfirst as Blake simply walked forward, letting out a faint 'mrrp!' as she took the last step and the water hit her groin. Jaune, meanwhile, emerged like a dolphin, swimming back towards them with a faint smile on his face. "Come on, Blake, just dive in!"

"Yeah, come on Blake!"

Blake rolled her eyes before gesturing at her hair. "I don't want to get my bow wet, otherwise it might come undone."

Ruby pouted. "Aw, boo! You're no fun."

Blake glared at Ruby before pulling her hands beneath the water, splashing her with all her might. Which, given Ruby had already been fully submerged, wasn't that effective. Ruby just smirked at her, bending slightly at her knees before flinging water at Blake in a small wave.

Blake came up sputtering, rubbing at her eyes as Ruby swam around her, circling her hips before splashing her back. "Come on, Blake! Have some fun!"

Blake rolled her eyes before diving toward the deep end, caution thrown into the wind. Ruby watched as Blake swam a full lap of the pool, stopping just next to her and Jaune. Her hair was soaked, clinging to the sides of her face and her body alike. Her bow was limp, resting flat on top of her head instead of being perked up like it usually was.

Ruby smiled up at her, swimming in front of her in such a way that only her head was above the water—despite the fact she could easily stand at this end of the pool. "See, not so hard, right?"

Blake rolled her eyes, half-heartedly splashing Ruby.

Ruby came up sputtering, only to smirk as she looked around the pool. "Hey, you guys wanna make a whirlpool?"

Jaune's brow furrowed. "How do we do that?"

"Easy! Just follow my lead!"

Ruby began swimming around the outside of the pool, her semblance triggering as she got over the deep end. To the other two her legs were blurs, sending torrents of water in every direction. The two rapidly followed Ruby's example, swimming in a circle.

Ruby, meanwhile, was in her own little world. There were few sounds in the hyper-speed zone, letting her focus on only what she was doing. Her arms pushing against the water, her legs constantly slamming up and down, up and down against the water's disrupted surface. She felt the water cradle her like a baby, wrapping around her every time she hesitated for even a moment. Like a blanket and a shroud, all in one.

Jaune and Blake, meanwhile, did their best to stay out of Ruby's way. Both swam, of course—Blake doing a simple breaststroke while Jaune swam the same way Ruby was—but they were no match for Ruby's sheer speed. Jaune looked at Blake, a faint smile on his face. "Didn't think I'd be swimming to avoid a Ruby typhoon today, did you?"

"Can't say it occurred to me."

Ruby had been at it for about a minute before she finally stopped, turning to Blake and Jaune. "Aaaand stop! Now watch what happens when you stand still!"

The three were motionless, yet the current kept them moving. With Ruby's maximum speed swimming, there was even a little whirlpool in the center of the pool, pulling the three inward very, very slowly. Jaune looked at Ruby, a faint smile on his face. "Well, that was fun."

Ruby nodded, swimming through the whirlpool to get across to the other side where Jaune and Blake were. She looked between the two, panting slightly. "Well, I don't know about you guys, but I need a breather."

Ruby made her way to the steps, sitting on the second one down so that she was submerged up to her belly button. Jaune and Blake sat beside her—both slightly less submerged due to the height differences between them. Blake leaned back on the first step, letting her hair cascade behind her, the end just dripping into the water. "Any idea what Oobleck plans for us later?"

Jaune looked over, giving a faint smile. "Yeah, he mentioned we were heading to eat around noon. Not a gala dinner or anything fancy this time—just a normal restaurant. Not sure where it is this time, though."

Blake looked over. "Somewhere within walking distance, I presume?"

"Probably."

Ruby looked at Jaune. "So, when's our next extermination mission, anyway? I'm kinda curious about the whole 'blacksoil forest' thing."

Jaune shrugged, leaning back to where he was entirely floating. Ruby placed a hand on his wrist to keep him from floating away. "I don't know, exactly. I'd have to ask Oobleck. I'd guess probably next week—that's how I'd organize it if I were him. One mission a week, you know?"

Ruby shook her head. "We'll be here for almost three months, I'd think he'd sooner have it be one mission a month than a week, if we're going by separation logic. Then again, they might be time-sensitive things? Hard to say for sure."

Blake shook her head, leaning forward slightly. "You two are overthinking it. I think we'll do them when Oobleck thinks they need doing, and not a second before or after."

Ruby nodded, letting herself lean back so she was floating on her back. Now Blake grabbed her wrist to ensure she didn't float away, connecting the three hand-to-wrist. "You're probably right. Either way—

"—that gives us plenty of time to relax between missions."