Chapter 4: Ruby Rose

I stared at the ceiling of the room I had been sleeping in, well, if you could call it sleeping. Every time I tried to close my eyes I would be brought back to the forest. It was always the same, starting with me running through a storm. I was being chased by a number of bright lights with no idea where I was going. It was almost like watching a movie, but... It felt so real that I couldn't help but be woken up by it. Eventually I had given up on sleep and just lay there waiting. I looked over to the window, a hint of sunrise shown over the top of the city.

"I guess I'd better get ready for work. Ugh..." After two nights of minimal sleep, working was the LAST thing I would want to do. I did agree to helping out today, though... So I figured I'd better keep my word on the matter. With great reluctance, I dragged myself out of bed and stumbled over to the cabinet to get dressed as I recounted the events of the night before. After returning to 'The Dusty Spoon', Jack was kind enough to have prepared another meal for me that was basically a fried chicken sandwich and some lemon-lime flavored drink which I enjoyed before heading up to the spare room for the night. I spent some time toying with my new knife before I finally decided to take a shower and try to get some sleep.

With a yawn I slipped on my red jacket and, after much consideration, strapped my new weapon to the back of my belt to be safe. Once I was sure that I had it covered with my jacket, I headed downstairs where I was immediately welcomed by a delightful aroma coming from the kitchen. I took in the pleasant smell of Jack's cooking as I reached the bottom of stairs. "I gotta hand it to you Jack, you sure know how to make a simple breakfast smell like a five-star meal." I complimented as Jack poked his head out from beyond the serving window, a big smile on his face as always.

"Good morning to you too, Hiro. I assume you're ready for your first day of work here at The Spoon?" I walked behind the front desk and looked at him through the window.

"As ready as I'll ever be." I smirked and gave the man a thumbs up, "So, what exactly am I going to be doing here? I'm not going to be working that stove of yours, am I?" He cocked an eyebrow at me before bursting out into laughter.

"If you think I'm letting just anyone cook food here while I'm still kickin' and breathin', you might as well be as crazy as the White Fang." He continued to laugh a bit more before he resumed speaking. "No, you'll be right where you're standing for the most part, working the register and passing me the customers orders. I'll cook, you'll serve them drinks, and we keep this place running like a well oiled machine. Think you can handle that?"

I crossed my arms in thought. COULD I handle this? "I'm pretty sure I can do that, I just have one question..."

"Hm?" He paused there holding two plates, which I'm sure was our completed breakfast. "What is it?" I glanced off to the side as I scratched the back of my head in embarrassment.

"I... was just wondering... if you could explain to me... how Lien worked...?"

Silence...

When I finally looked up at his face he appeared as though I just asked him if rocks floated on lava. His smile had faded and he just blinked at me a few times before shaking his head and letting out a deep breath.

"Man... Ozpin told me you had memory issues, but..." He walked around to where I stood and handed me a plate. "Take a seat kid, I'm going to give you a crash course on Lien here... Currency 101." He took a quick glance at the clock above the serving window, letting out a small sigh. "I hope you're a fast learner..."

Saying that I was given a 'crash course' on how to use Lien, was an understatement. With only fifteen minutes until the opening, Jack Greene crammed as much information as he could into my head about the different forms of Lien, how to give change, how much each item in the cafe was worth, and anything else he could think of before the cafe was open for business. When the first few customers began to trickle in, he stood by my side as I took their orders and made the transactions. After feeling satisfied on my ability to do simple math and give correct change, he proceeded into the kitchen and began working on the requested meals.

I was slow at first, but I began to speed up as I became more and more confident in what I was doing. Until...

"I'd like some pancakes with a side of eggs and bacon." "Can I get the 'Dusty Special'?" "Get me another serving of these hashbrowns!" "Oh wait, I'll have some hashbrowns too!" "Can I change my order to eggs with sausage instead?" "More ketchup please!" "Less ketchup please!"

Whoa... Whoa! WHOA! WHERE DID ALL THESE PEOPLE COME FROM?! The calm atmosphere of the cafe was lost beneath a sea of neverending requests for service! Keeping up with the onslaught of orders was nearly impossible as I haphazardly scrambled around behind the counter passing the orders to Jack while delivering the already completed orders to the awaiting customers.

"JACK! WE NEED MORE HASHBROWNS OUT HERE!" I was in a state of panic as I jotted down another order and almost threw it through the serving window to Jack. In great contrast to my actions, Jack had a somewhat serene demeanor as he quickly, yet ever so calmly, completed each and every order made by the customers of his beloved cafe.

"Coming right up, Hiro." I didn't even acknowledge his reply; with so many people lining up to give their order, I couldn't let my focus falter for even a moment. Everything was happening so quickly, yet at the same time I felt as though things were going slower than they should be. My adrenaline must have been working in order for me to be able to keep pace with the rest of the cafe. It was probably the only thing keeping me going as the day rolled on, and almost as quickly as it had started...

"It's... over..."

I collapsed to my knees, catching myself with my hands before I fell any lower. "I would rather... Fight Cardin... Than go through all that... EVER AGAIN." I was breathing heavily between words as I tried to re-compose myself. The afternoon sun was shining through cafe windows and the dining area was empty, save for a few customers, and my shift had finally ended, leaving me completely drained of all energy in the back of the kitchen. It took me a minute or two before I could gather up the energy to slowly get back to my feet.

"You did a good job, kid." I felt a hand slap me on the shoulder causing me to stumble downwards for a moment as I tried to maintain my footing. I spun around to speak but came face-to-face with a white envelope. I blinked once or twice before peering past it, meeting Jack's gaze as he just smiled and nodded to me. I looked back at the envelope, and after a moment's hesitation, slowly took it from his outstretched hand to open it. "I already took out the amount you owe me for the chair and glasses, so the rest is all yours."

Wait... was he... PAYING me? I knew I was working to pay off the damage I had caused the other night, but I never expected to actually be paid as well! I took a look at the contents of the envelope and was shocked at how much I had actually made in just one day. "Jack... Are you really giving this to me? I don't know what to say." I looked back up at him. "Thank you." He just smiled at me.

"Hey, you earned it. Working here ain't no walk in the park, I know, but you held it together a lot better than I thought you would. I figured you might as well have something to show for all of your hard work." I felt his hand on my shoulder as he finished talking, and I just smiled back at him. "One more thing before I let you go,"

"Hmm?" He pointed his thumb off to the side.

"Do you mind taking the kitchen trash out with you?"

I still couldn't believe how much Lien Jack had actually given me! After taking the trash out to a dumpster in the alley, I decided to make my way around town to spend some of my earnings. I had to to force myself to spend my money wisely, since there were more important things that needed to be bought before anything else. I bought a small red gym bag from a nearby store and began my shopping excursion.

After a couple of hours and about half a dozen shops, only a small amount of my Lien remained. My bag, previously empty, now contained a toothbrush and toothpaste, a towel, some soap, and various articles of clothing which more or less matched what I was currently wearing. I also bought some pajama bottoms and a new black T-shirt with a logo on the front to sleep in.

Slinging my bag across my back, I began my walk back to Jack's. The sun had gone down at this point, and my exhaustion from earlier in the morning was beginning to take its toll. The crowded streets were beginning to thin out as I walked along the sidewalk. I was only about a block away from the cafe when something caught my eye. I stopped walking and watched as someone entered the dust shop across the street. I only saw them for a moment and didn't see their face, but... something was keeping me rooted to the sidewalk. Something that gave me a headache. Did I maybe… know that person...?

I rubbed my eyes and tried to think about why they caught my eye. Maybe it was what they were wearing? I mean, red is my favorite color (I think...). So maybe that was it? But this headache must mean that I know them from somewhere. If I know who they are maybe they know who I am! Considering that logic, I made my way to the front of the store and pushed open the door.

Long cylinders full of what I can only imagine could be dust lined both sides of the shop. I suppose the different colors must represent the type of dust it was. The center of the shop had shelves with an assortment of different containers, jars, and other dust-related products.

"Can I help you find anything?" My gaze snapped back in front of me as a grey-haired man walked up to the counter. He seemed rather old and his hair looked like he had gone through a wind tunnel. (Not that I'm one to talk...)

"Um, I'm just looking around, is all. Thanks." I looked around the store, but didn't see the person I had followed in here.

"Is there anything in particular you might be looking for?"

"I'm not sure, really. I don't know too much about dust, to be honest." I figured I might as well learn something while I'm here, since I'll be able to tell if someone leaves the store. The man just smiled and shook his head.

"Don't worry, you're not the first. Do you at least know what you plan to use it for?"

"Yeah, this here." I reached back and unsheathed my weapon, setting it on the counter in front of me.

"Ah... A fine blade. May I?" He gestured to the knife, I gave him a nod in return before he gently picked it up and began examining it. "Hmm... The chamber looks like it might hold one of the smaller capsules. One moment." I watched as he walked towards the back of one of the aisles to retrieve a small item from the shelf. He returned with a small oval-shaped container in his hand. "It's a simple device that holds the perfect amount of dust that you need for any use. We have them in different sizes but this one should work for what you need."

I set my bag on the floor and took the small object in my own hand, examining it. It had a kind of bronze coloring to it with four transparent glass slits that you could see the insides through. A few of these would definitely make it much easier to load dust into the handle without having to carry a jar of the stuff everywhere I go. I bought four of them with almost all the money I had left, and the shopkeeper was kind enough to give a quick explanation of what the different kinds of dust could be used for.

After some thinking, I decided to fill two of them with red dust, while the others held blue and yellow dust. I was nearly broke at this point and couldn't afford any pouches to hold them in, so I just stuffed them in my jacket pocket for now. I re-slung my bag and turned to the old man.

"Thanks for your help. Hey, you didn't happen to see someone in red walk in here did you?" He smiled and pointed his thumb towards the back of the store.

"Oh, I figure she's probably in the back by the magazines again." I chuckled.

"Again? I take it she's a regular then?"

"Oh, yes. She comes here about once a week to get the new issue of-"

He stopped. I watched his smile quickly fade and the color leave his face. Concerned, I was about to ask if he was okay when I heard the door open behind me causing me to turn around. I was immediately shoved aside before I got the chance to see just who had entered the store.

Once I finally noticed who was standing at the counter, I froze. I couldn't tell what was scarier: the man in the white coat, or the fact that I knew who he was. Nothing seemed to make sense as I watched the scene play out in my mind, barely a second before it actually happened in real time before me. The only difference was that one of the goons that had followed him in was also pointing a gun at my head.

"Hand it over."

I almost didn't hear him at first. I was still shocked by the fact that Roman Torchwick was here, and more so that I actually knew his name. I didn't even have to hear what he was saying to know what was happening. He wanted the dust crystals from the display counter.

"I said, hand it over!" I brought myself back to reality and stared at the gun being pointed at my face. "I won't ask you again!" The goon pointed at the handle of my knife with his free hand as I put my hands up by my face in surrender.

"W-whoa, whoa, whoa, man. It's cool. Just gonna take a second, okay?" Another thug passed next to us and began collecting some dust from the wall as I slowly brought my hand down towards the handle. "See? Nice and easy, right?" I could feel his eyes watching me through his dark sunglasses.

I did my best to stall for time. I somehow knew what was happening and was hoping that I could at least remember how this would end. I glanced past the black suited gunman when I noticed that one of his buddies had drawn his sword across the store. Apparently someone else had caught his attention- WAIT! The girl in red! She was here, too! My head was throbbing as I tried to piece together an escape. My hand had reached the handle of my knife at this point.

"Now bring it out and toss it on the floor at your feet." I felt a bead of sweat run down my face as I removed the blade from the sheath.

*SLAM*

A robber hit the ground near the other wall. The gunman twitched his head to the side but didn't lower his weapon. I watched as Torchwick, leaning on the counter, gestured to another of his lackeys to go check it out. My blade was in front of me, I just had to wait for the right moment.

"Put it on the ground, kid. You're wasting my time." He took a step closer to me as he said this. I watched as the other lackey ran around the last aisle and disappeared.

"Freeze!"

*CRASH*

I saw a red figure smash the other gunman through the far window and into the street. The man holding me hostage looked away at the sudden sound of shattering glass, lowering his weapon just enough for me to act. I jumped up and knocked the gun further to the side, catching the thug off guard. "What?!" I continued my movement with a spin before smashing the butt of my knife into the back of his skull, sending him staggering forward. Thinking on my feet, I grabbed a bag of dust from a nearby shelf and threw it at his face as he turned around, causing a yellow powder to be sprayed everywhere. "GAH! IT'S IN MY EYES!" I saw the open opportunity and ducked behind a set of shelves.

"Get those brats!" Torchwick did not sound pleased about what was happening. Two more of his goons ran over, swords drawn, to assist their partner. I reached into my jacket pocket and pulled out my yellow dust canister, hastily shoving it into the hilt of my blade.

"Red light sale!" I shouted. The two thugs shifted their attention to me as I revealed myself. "Yellow Dust now at SHOCKINGLY low prices!" I pushed the button by my thumb, activating the Dust within the handle. It immediately sent its energy to the blade, causing it to glow a golden color as sparks crackled around it. I swung the knife in a downward arc, sending a wave of electricity flying straight at their feet. The dust scattered around the floor ignited and discharged its energy into those foolish enough to be standing directly on top of it. The hair on my arms stood on end for a moment before three bodies hit the floor with a 'thud'.

After making sure that the electricity had died down, I ran over to the gunman's limp form and snatched up his weapon before taking cover behind a nearby aisle. Roman and the rest of the robbers had ran outside to deal with the girl in red, and from the sound of it, it wasn't going well. I looked over at the counter and saw the shopkeeper peering over the top of it, watching everything happening outside take place.

"Are you okay?!" I called out, causing him to jump in surprise. He looked at me and nodded. I sheathed my knife and ran over towards the doorway to look outside.

"Well, Red, I think we can all say it's been an eventful evening," It was Torchwick. He was talking to the girl in red by the sound of it. I peered through the open door to get a good look and was surprised at how young she actually was. But even more surprising was the size of the weapon she was holding; it was huge! A scythe by the looks of it, as red as the color of the red hood she was wearing. "And as much as I'd love to stick around, I'm afraid this is where we part ways." He pointed his cane at the girl. My eyes went wide, and I left the safety of the doorway pointing the gun straight at Roman.

"Look out!" Too late.

*BOOM*

Before I could pull the trigger, an explosion rocked the street, blinding me for a moment. My vision rushed back as a red figure landed in the middle of the intersection. Torchwick had disappeared. The girl stood and stared at me with her silver eyes for a moment, but now was not the time for greetings. We both looked around the street for any sign of the criminal, he couldn't have gotten far. My eyes scanned the nearby buildings until-

"There!" I pointed to a ladder across the street. He was climbing up to the roof of a building. 'Red' looked back at the shopkeeper who was now stood in the doorway.

"You okay if we go after him?" He gave an affirmative-sounding noise in response.

"Let's go!" I held the gun in my hand as I ran over to the ladder. It was too large to fit in my pockets so I had to hold it as I began to climb as fast as I could. I had made it about halfway up when I heard a BANG as the girl launched herself up to the roof.

We had him cornered; he had nowhere to run. After a few seconds I made it to the top and saw how wrong I really was. As I stood on the roof of the building, I helplessly watched as Roman boarded an airship across from us. He turned back to us as it took to the skies. I ran up next to 'Red' and prepared to open fire.

"END OF THE LINE, RUNTS!" He screamed over the sound of the engines before tossing a large red crystal that landed a couple of yards in front of us. I watched as Roman lifted his cane and fired another shot straight at the crystal before we could react.

Impact.

"Whoa-ho-ho-ho!" Roman's laughter made its way to my ears along with a slight whirring sound coming from right in front of me. I opened my eyes to see someone in a purple cape standing before me holding what I can only describe as a magic wand. The way she was dressed was almost a cross between a witch and a secretary. I looked to my side to find that the scythe girl seemed to have the same look of shock that I did, but with a little more 'awe'. I shifted my gaze back to the witch and watched as she sent bolts of energy into the side of the airship, causing Torchwick to stumble around before disappearing from view.

"Whoa..." I looked back to the girl, she had a greater look of awe on her face than before. Almost like she was watching a movie instead of being three feet from a battle. Not that I was doing any better. She turned to me, squealing, "This is awesome!" I gave a slight smile in return.

"Awesome is... one way of putting it I suppose..." We returned our attention to our protector, whom had started to glow a slight shade of purple before sending sending another blast of energy above the craft. At the flick of her wrist, the resulting storm-cloud sent large crystals of hail flying towards the ship causing moderate damage to outer hull.

As I once again shake off the feeling of deja vu, I noticed another figure on the airship. Fire pulsed around their form for a moment, before a burst of energy was launched towards us. The witch blocked it, but the flame splattered behind her, glowing hotter with the enemy's raised hand.

Backflipping away from the subsequent explosion, she used her wand to gather up the scattered debris from the damaged rooftop, shaping it into a large spear before launching it at the craft. Several blasts of fire struck the projectile several times, but it instantly reformed before colliding with the side of the hull. The wreckage then reshaped into more spears that circled the ship, but the fiery enemy destroyed them before they were able to do any damage.

*Bang* *Bang*

Gunshots snapped me back to my senses as I realized that I had been staring at the battle the entire time, doing nothing to help. I took aim at the ship along with my new ally and let off a few rounds at the cockpit. My shots seemed to just bounce off the side of the ship, while even more surprisingly, the shots that burst from the girl's massive scythe were blocked by the woman's bare hands.

"Come on!" I cursed under my breath. Looking down, I noticed red circles starting to take shape at our feet. I brought my eyes up towards the girl, it seemed she hadn't noticed the danger yet.

"Oh- Give me a break! Ruby, RUN!" She turned, surprised, as I ran towards her.

"W-What? How do you know my-" Her eyes went wide as she noticed what was happening. I could feel the heat burning beneath me as I tried to close the distance between us as fast as possible. Moments before reaching her, I realized my feet were no longer making contact with the rooftop as the pair of us were flung forward by an unseen force. I landed on my side, and it only took me a moment before I got to my feet just in time to watch the enemy fly off into the distance.

*Sigh* Well, that was... something... My head hurt more than anything, but that was nothing new at this point. I should really stop getting involved in these situations.

"You're a Huntress..." an awed voice said. I looked over at the girl... No, I looked over at Ruby, who was speaking to the witch-lady. A fangirl-like expression found its way to her face. "Can I have your autograph?!" I walked up next to them.

"Wait... Is she famous or something?" I asked. Because that would be good to know.

"You can't be serious! She's a Huntress!"

"Yeah... I heard you say that. What's a Huntress?"

"W-Wha-?!" Her face seemed to be stuck between shock and skepticism at my words. "W-What do you mean, 'What's a Huntress?'" She paused in thought for a moment before continuing. "And how do you know my name?!"

"W-Well... You see, um..." This wasn't going well. I opened my mouth to say something else, but was cut off.

"Do the two of you know how much trouble you are in right now?" The Huntress pushed her glasses closer to her face. The look she gave us made me nervous. "Come with me." Ruby and exchanged worried glances as we followed her from the rooftop.

I held my face in my hands. I had been taken to a building in downtown Vale along with Ruby. We said nothing to each other but occasionally caught each others eyes as we followed the Huntress into the structure and down a hallway. I had been led into a small room that just screamed 'Interrogation Room' from the looks of it, and told to wait. The door to the room closed, and I was alone. The lone light above me shone down unforgivably onto a table, only to further push the point that I was probably being arrested. Great.

I lifted my head up and leaned back into the chair, staring at the ceiling, trying to remember my rights.

"They started it!"

Hmm? I stood up and walked over to the side of the room, putting my ear to the wall. It was faint, but I could swear I heard-

"Eeek!"

-Ruby?!

"But... There is someone here who would like to meet you."

The Huntress? Though the wall muffled the voices, I could almost visualize what was happening. Professor Ozpin was here too?! I felt a bead of sweat drip down my face. I was sure he was going to have a few words to say to me.

I continued to eavesdrop as Ruby explained where she learned how to fight and how she wants to be a Huntress, among other things... When I heard Ozpin agree to let Ruby attend Beacon Academy I decided to return to my seat. I sat down and began to think. Trying to remember... well, anything really. Everything that I've experienced in the last few days seemed like I was half a step ahead of what was happening. I knew the names of people I've never met, remembered things that haven't happened yet, and nearly got myself killed over a situation that didn't seem to faze me at the time. My head started to throb as I pressed myself for more information.

"C'mon... Think dammit!" I clutched the sides of my head as I tried to force up memories, anything. There were some colors... Some silhouettes... A rabbit or something... Some sort of catapult... A princess- No... An heiress...?

The more I remembered, the less sense everything made. *Sigh* I opened my eyes, and nearly fell out of my chair in surprise.

"P-Professor Ozpin!"

"Why hello." He was sitting across from me, coffee cup in hand.

"H-How long have you been sitting there?"

"Not too long." He calmly took a sip from his mug before setting it down. "You seem to be causing quite a bit of trouble, young man."

"Hey, they started it!"

"As I've heard." The door opened and the Huntress from earlier took her place standing next to Ozpin before speaking.

"Professor Ozpin, the arrangements for Miss Rose to be added to the school's attendance roster have been forwarded to the administration office." She gestured to the screen of the device she held in her hands. "Her transcripts from Signal are being sent to us as we speak.

"Thank you, Glynda." He took the tablet from her and began looking it over. I watched him until I felt a glare from the Huntress; I then forced myself to stare at the table. It was a nice table.

"Do you mind telling me what you were doing in that dust shop at this hour?" My head snapped back up at the professor's question. He had passed the tablet back to Glynda and was now looking at me with a near emotionless face.

"W-Well... You see..."

"Go on." It was the cafe all over again. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

"I thought I had remembered something."

"Really? And what might that have been?" Both of their eyes were on me.

"Well... I remembered Ruby."

Ozpin gave me a slight puzzling look, leaning in a bit closer. "You know her?"

I shook my head. "I know of her. I think. I'm not really sure. I-I saw her go into that store and thought she would know who I was."

"And did she?"

"No. I don't think we've ever even met actually."

"But you know her."

"Yes. I mean no! I mean... Argh..." I buried my face in my hands. I could hear the sipping of coffee as I did so.

"So you've remembered someone you have never met before and can't remember how or why?"

"That's the gist of it. Yeah. I can't say that it was the first time though."

"There are others?" I lifted my head back up again.

"Yeah." I looked to the side, taking a moment to think. "There was this guy in the park. His name was... Cardin. Cardin Win- something..." Another pause. "And when we first met I remembered your name and the Schnee Dust Company name." Back across the table, Ozpin had closed his eyes in thought as Glynda swiped her hand across the tablet, looking for something.

"Professor Ozpin."

"Yes, Glynda?"

The Huntress pointed to a face on the screen. "We have a Cardin Winchester on our freshmen roster this year."

I nearly stood up from my seat at this new information.

"That was him! That was the guy in the park!"

"Interesting." Ozpin scanned the tablet before resting his eyes on me. "So, you have the knowledge of different people that have nothing in common, aside from one thing. Or rather, one place." It only took a second for the puzzle to fit together.

"Beacon?"

He gave me a nod. "Beacon."

7-27-2014

3:27 AM

Central Desert Area

PastHNinja: I apologize for how long it took for me to get this out, but for the last couple of weeks I have been in an area that lacks internet connection and phone service. Besides the ever-lingering writers block and not having a reliable reference to the main series for dialogue and events (Besides my own memory), finding time to actually sit down and write has also been a challenge. :/

Anywho~ This chapter is probably even longer than the last, but I have my reasons. Cutting this chapter into two parts just didn't feel right to me. I'd personally rather have the one long chapter as opposed to two smaller chapters, but if you would rather I make them smaller please let me know.

I rewrote the shop scene a few times, but I still feel weird about how I wrote it. Also, BAD PUNS~! *Confetti* Gotta love 'em! I guess that's something that Yang and Hiro probably have in common, at least a little. But we'll have to wait and see. I'll let PresentNinja add whatever he feels needs to be said when I upload this. PastNinja out!

PresentHNinja: I spent way too long going over this chapter... I am never making one this long ever again... Even though I probably will forget this and do it again anyways.

Jacklyn Frost- I am curious as to what will happen as well... (Goes to read the next 4 chapter drafts)

Flamewing98- Thank you so much for your support, man! It totally means a lot to me that you like it! ^^

Big thank you to my Beta-Reader/Grammar-Nazi for helping me resolve all errors in this chapter. You know who you are. And with that, I sleep.

-Stay Gold!