Wherein Ruby uses a racial slur.
- - -
The next leadership class was a free study period, as Headmaster Ozpin and Simin had business elsewhere. Ruby Rose sat at her usual desk with Jaune, her red cloak pooling around her. Her silver eyes were clouded with frustration as she vented to a small circle of fellow team leaders: Jaune Arc, Cardin Winchester, Sun Wukong, Coco Adel, and, lurking nearby, the smirking Cinder Fall. Ruby's voice was a mix of exasperation and exhaustion, her hands gesturing wildly as she resisted the urge to tug at her hair.
"Being a leader is rough," Ruby said, her tone heavy. "Clashing personalities, egos, mutually exclusive beliefs, historical grudges. It's all a powder keg waiting to explode, and it takes unerring vigilance to keep it together. It's a-a delicate balancing act and the slightest tip one way or the other could destroy it all!"
Jaune blinked, his blue eyes puzzled, his armor clinking as he shifted.
"Uh, no? Ruby, I've had none of that. Are you okay?"
Cardin, leaning back in his chair, snorted.
"My team had some issues to start, but now we get along great together. I don't know what she's talking about."
Sun grinned, his tail flicking. "Yeah, we're all brothers from another mother."
Coco adjusted her sunglasses, her voice smooth but concerned. "We had some issues in our first month, but we got over them real quick. You okay, Little Red?"
Ruby's face flushed, her voice defensive as she sank deep into denial.
"I'm sure you'll be eating your words when it all falls apart!"
Cardin arched an eyebrow, his tone skeptical.
"Uh-huh. Sure we will. But hypothetically, if your team was stressing you out…?"
Ruby hesitated, her voice dropping to a whisper.
"…How much trouble would I get into if I murdered one of them? Hypothetically?"
Jaune patted her shoulder, his voice gentle but firm.
"A lot."
Ruby groaned, slumping forward, her voice muffled.
"It's just that… Ya know…"
Coco leaned in, her grin teasing.
"Yes?"
Ruby's restraint snapped, her voice furious.
"Can someone explain to Blake that everything is NOT FUCKING RACIST?! WHY IS SHE ACTING LIKE SUCH A FUCKING MITTENS?!"
She slapped her hands over her mouth, horrified, her eyes wide. The group froze, jaws dropping, except for Cinder, who smirked, her amber eyes glinting with amusement.
"Slurs from the pipsqueak, oh my," she purred.
Ruby's temper erupted, her voice a shriek as she whirled on Cinder. "SHUT YOUR COCK WARMER, HARLOT! SLUT! WOMAN OF THE NIGHT!"
Cinder's eyes widened in disbelief.
Jaune lunged, wrapping his arms around Ruby in a hug that doubled as a restraint, his voice frantic. "Ruby, it's okay, I'm sure Cinder was just—!"
"IF I HEAR 'That's oppressive towards indigenous Faunus peoples' ONE MORE TIME, I'M COMMITTING A FUCKING HATE CRIME!" Ruby wailed, struggling in Jaune's grip.
Cinder, caught between disbelief and rage, took a deep breath and decided to just focus on pretending to be working on schoolwork. Still, it was something to file away: The little Red Reaper had issues with her team. Might be useful in the future.
Cardin's eyes widened, his voice dry. "Wow. So that's what it's like from this side."
Coco laughed, her voice rich with amusement. "I have to ask, why are your teams such troublemakers?"
Ruby groaned, her words barely audible, sounding like, "Blake, Weiss, and Yang."
Coco's grin widened. "You're overdoing it, Pipsqueak. Save that for senior year!"
Cardin smirked, leaning back. "Even we, the bad boys of Beacon didn't get into a fight with terrorists and gangsters!"
"Nobody calls you that," Coco deadpanned. Cardin ignored her as he plowed ahead.
"Though Russel did get in a street motorcycle race."
Jaune's curiosity piqued, his voice earnest. "Did you win?"
"Of course we won!" Cardin said, puffing out his chest. "I wouldn't be telling you about it unless we did!"
"Shame, the stories where you guys fail miserably are a lot funnier," Coco teased, which Cardin again manfully ignored.
"Though the sidepiece of the guy running the races wanted Dove, Dove wasn't interested, so she said he hit on her, and we had to fight his goons… Wasn't much of a fight, just smashed a motorcycle, and they got the idea that fighting us was a bad idea."
Ruby's scowl deepened, her voice bitter even as she snuggled into Jaune's arms.
"Seriously?! Why can't White Fang be that sensible?! WE'RE HUNTRESSES! WE HAVE AURA! We're gonna beat you up! Just surrender!"
Cardin nodded, his tone surprisingly empathetic. "Why can't fanatical extremists be reasonable? I wonder that too, pipsqueak."
Ruby softened, then glared. "Thanks, I—HEY!"
Coco chuckled, her voice warm. "He has a point, Ruby."
Jaune's voice was hopeful, his eyes bright. "Though I really hope they can be reasonable one day, too. Nora punting one of them between the legs was more than enough for me."
Every guy shuddered, wincing in unison. Ruby turned her scowl on Jaune, her voice accusing.
"Why do you keep getting away with fighting alongside us, anyway?! You were with us but you didn't get put into detention!"
Jaune scratched his neck, sheepish.
"I call the police before we get into these things?"
Ruby's jaw dropped. "Wha—You do?!"
"Yeah," Jaune said, shrugging. "And send an alert to Professor Goodwitch that we got caught in a melee."
"Why do you have her number?" Coco asked, her voice a mix of envy and disbelief.
"Because I didn't want to go to jail," Jaune said, "Why?"
Cardin rolled his eyes while Coco stewed.
Ruby's voice was a mix of awe and frustration.
"…Why the hell didn't we bring YOU GUYS instead of Sun and Neptune?! Those guys were USELESS!"
Sun, lounging at a desk nearby, bristled, his tail stiffening. "Hey! I did fight!"
"You got taken out in ONE HIT!" Ruby snapped. "And Neptune ran off the moment things got serious! You're both useless!"
"Blake doesn't think so," Sun argued.
"Yeah but you're her like, sort of not actually boyfriend!" Ruby argued. "Besides, I don't take advice from her! I'd be crazy to do that!"
"No, she has lots of good ideas!" Sun argued.
"Like infiltrating a White Fang Rally without calling the cops?" Coco asked dryly, "Pure genius."
"Well… It worked out, didn't it?" Sun asked.
"With no help from you!" Ruby growled.
Coco winced.
"Gonna need more sun lotion for that burn, Abs Boy," she said consolingly. Sun groaned.
"This is why I don't usually come to these meetings," the monkey Faunus muttered, leaning back and eating a banana.
Ruby turned to Jaune, her smile bordering on the manic.
"From now on, Jaune, you're coming with us!"
Jaune blinked, his voice cautious. "On your illegal vigilante activities?"
"Yes!"
Jaune sighed, and shrugged.
"…Okay, sure."
Cardin's eyes widened, his voice skeptical. "Wait, really?"
"Yeah," Jaune said, his tone matter-of-fact. "In Radian, we don't have cops, just a militia. So I sometimes went with my dad and his troops to bring in fugitives or help take out Grimm. I wasn't allowed to fight, just support, but I learned a lot."
Ruby's voice softened in disbelief.
"…Why did your parents not unlock your Aura?"
Jaune's blush deepened, his voice sheepish. "Um… They wanted me to be a doctor before they did that."
Cardin's jaw dropped, his voice incredulous. "Wait, wait, wait… You didn't have your Aura unlocked… When?"
"Um… When I came to Beacon?" Jaune said, rubbing his neck.
Coco's sunglasses slipped down, her eyes wide. "And you got unlocked… When?"
"Initiation?" Jaune said, his voice uncertain.
Cardin's voice was a mix of awe and disbelief. "And… You figured out how to use it in… What… An hour?"
"Well, yeah," Jaune said, frowning. "But… That's really hard, right?"
Cardin stared, his voice flat. "…Holy fuck, dude, you're just ridiculous."
Coco whistled, her voice impressed. "Geez…"
Ruby's scowl returned, her voice petulant. "IT'S NOT FAIR! You're like those harem-having guys in Blake's terrible Mistral manga!"
Jaune's face flushed, his voice a stammer. "What? What?!"
The tension broke as Arslan Altan, leader of Team ABRN, approached, her golden eyes bright with barely contained excitement.
"Jaune Arc… Are you by chance the son of Nicholas Arc, the Radiant Paladin?"
Jaune blinked, his voice hesitant. "Er… Yeah?"
Arslan took a deep breath, repressing a squeal, her voice trembling with reverence.
"Ahem… He is, in fact, one of my childhood heroes… Do—Do you think I could meet him?"
Jaune's blush deepened, his voice soft. "Um, sure?"
Arslan's face lit up, and she hugged him, planting a quick kiss on his cheek before hurrying off, her steps practically a skip.
Ruby's scowl deepened, her voice accusing as Jaune's cheeks burned bright red.
"See? Stupid harem having jerk!"
"Now hang on-" Jaune tried defensively, "I'm pretty sure she's a nun!"
"A hot catgirl warrior nun," Coco grinned, "You dog, you."
Ruby continued her tirade.
"And your dad's a superhero?!"
Jaune's voice was defensive, his hands raised. "Your mom was a superhero too! Basically! I mean that's what Hunters are, kind of?"
"Yeah, but it's just, like, totally unfair!" Ruby huffed, crossing her arms. "You're totally unfair in every way!"
Jaune sighed, his voice gentle. "Ruby, come on. You can still kick my butt, you know this!"
Ruby's scowl softened, her voice reluctant. "Yeah…"
"And we're best friends, right?" Jaune said, his smile warm.
"Yeah…" Ruby mumbled, her anger fading.
Jaune pulled her into a hug, his voice earnest. "So don't feel down about anything, okay?"
Ruby's lips twitched into a smile, her voice brighter. "…You know, just for that? I'm setting you up with my sister."
Jaune's eyes widened, his voice a nervous stammer. "Er… Thanks? I think?"
Ruby's grin turned mischievous. "Well, if I don't, she'll just end up some lonely biker lesbian with an apartment full of cats."
Coco laughed, her voice rich.
"That's cruel."
"You've never seen her flirt," Ruby said, her grin widening. "Like, she'll be all flirty-seductive, then she gets shy and runs off or punches the guy! It's kind of hilarious! But honestly, she had to look after me and basically raise me. So she couldn't really… Well… Get any closer. But if you date her, it'll be fine!"
Cardin's voice was dry. "You make her sound like a single mom."
"Yeah, and?" Ruby said, unfazed. "Jaune, don't you like MILFs?"
Jaune's face blazed red, his voice a strangled yelp. "How did you—HOW do you know that word?!"
Ruby rolled her eyes, her voice teasing. "I'm sixteen, not six! And anyway, if you make her happy, I'll marry you next!"
Jaune's jaw dropped, his voice a squeak. "Huh?!"
"That's how it worked with our moms and dad!" Ruby said, her grin unrelenting.
Coco's eyes gleamed, her voice dripping with gossip-hunger. "Oh, All-Team Taiyang Xiao-Long? Yeah, I heard about him!"
Cardin's brow furrowed, his voice confused. "There were only two girls on his team, though!"
Coco chuckled, her grin wicked. "Yeah, and?"
Cardin blinked, then groaned. "…Ugh."
"Don't knock it, buddy!" Coco said, her laughter infectious.
"I'll knock it all I like!" Cardin grumbled, then softened, his voice sincere as he looked over at Ruby. "Though, uh… I hope your dad and uncle are happy together?"
Ruby's smile was warm. "Thanks! They are!"
Coco's grin turned predatory. "How happy?"
Jaune's voice was desperation itself.
"COCO!"
"This is the gossip potato chip bag!" Coco said, her voice gleeful. "I can't stop at just ONE!"