Chapter 8: A New Opponent

It took about a quarter of an hour to reach the correct location Hikaru pointed out, even with Ruby's enhanced speed. She had to speed around towering buildings, late night foot and vehicle traffic, and even sprinted through a park in order to cut her travel time down. She needed to get there as soon as possible, especially after hearing over the phone that Tamaki was getting ready to watch the fireworks.

She was going so fast at one point that she almost sprinted right by it. Only by the tiny shred of light from the beginning burst of the firework show did she see her destination.

Teito Bank, Ruby thought, reading the gold-plated sign hanging over the double doors. The building looked normal enough, with no easy access to the roof and the front doors and windows shuttered close. But she knew that someone was inside with ill intentions.

Torchwick's guys were probably already inside or they had someone inside let them in, Ruby guessed. Either way, I need to find a way in.

With one final glance at the shuttered doors, Ruby slipped into the alleyway between the bank and the adjacent building. She scanned the building for some sign of weakness, one that she can use in order to slip in without alerting anyone of her presence.

Rounding the corner, Ruby took stock of two things at once. The first was that the alley at the back of the building was a lot larger than the sides. It was wide enough that vehicles can easily slip between the buildings for back door access. The second was that one of the back entrances to the bank was, in fact, sitting open for anyone to gain access to.

Upon closer inspection, Ruby spotted a couple of vehicles located in the opening. Two large vans and a motorcycle were parked in what seemed to be a locking bay the bank probably uses to load and unload money. If this entrance was shuttered close like the front, then someone on the inside opened the gate to let the robbers in.

Thinking back, she remembered that the man in the kimono was an employee of the bank, maybe even one of the chief's trusted right-hand men. It could very likely be that either the guy himself or someone he trusts let Torchwick's men in.

Pulling out Crescent Rose and setting it to sniper mode, Ruby slipped into the back entrance, passed the vehicles and walked through the door leading into the heart of the bank.

The inside of the bank was surprisingly bright, though you could never tell from the outside. She padded down the lit hallway, careful to reduce the sound of her footsteps.

Turning the corner, the room severely opened up. It seemed that she was in a passage way that lead to the restrooms and the back entrance. Just off to the side and slightly up were clusters of desks, probably for the employees. A long desk cut across the floor, with several windows for people to do business at. After that it was surprisingly spacious, ATMs lining the walls.

Lounging about at the desk and on the counter were half a dozen bank robbers, all wearing white and red-streaked masks. Torchwick does have a thing for consistency, Ruby thought, noting that the masks were very similar to the ones used by the White Fang.

"How much longer is this going to take?" one of the men asked, discarding a magazine he had found lying about.

"Not too much longer," another man replied. He was at the counter with a briefcase that, Ruby saw from afar, was packed to the brim with money. "Chief had to go check our escape route one more time. Once he returns, then we double check the loot and get the hell out of here."

A third man got up from one of the desks with a computer and joined the man at the counter. "I just confirmed that the transfer is complete. We also have access to all other banks, as well as any investments that were made in the last year. Given a good couple of days to run its course, we can expect a hefty paycheck."

Excited exclamations were made by the group, confident of their plan going off without a hitch. With that much money, even the most innocent of men can grow corrupt. So, give it to an already criminal and you're asking for serious trouble. No, Torchwick and his band of misfits will not be getting a paycheck today.

Not if Ruby can help it.

Tucking Crescent Rose away, she rounded the corner and into the bright light of the main bank room.

Her boots echoed on the linoleum floor as she slowly made her to the group of masked crooks. "Hello? I'm here to make a deposit."

The excitement choked to an end as the group all turned to look at her. A small stare off happened for a few seconds before the group sprang into action. The second man grabbed the briefcase and ran off to the opposite wall where even more were gathered. Meanwhile, his buddies raised standard Remnant pistols at her.

"What the hell do you think you're doing here, little girl?" one man asked, looking her over. "Shouldn't you off at the festival giggling with your friends?"

"I was," Ruby shrugged. "Until I found out that there was a bank heist in the process. So, I am here to arrest you all for theft."

A beat passed, then the group busted into laughter. "You think we're threatened by you?" the guy reading the magazine asked, clutching his sides.

"Yeah, I think so," Ruby said, whipping her hand behind her to grab Crescent Rose. The weapon fully extended into its deadly scythe mode, the sharp steel blade glistening. The group only had the second to exclaim alarm and shout a command to fire before Ruby shot forward with her Semblance, whacking the men upside the head and knocking them all unconscious.

When she slowed out of her speed boost, she stumbled slightly, becoming lightheaded. She mentally cursed, realizing that she had overused her Semblance and needed time to recharge.

Probably using it almost the entire way wasn't such a great idea, Ruby thought. She walked over to the collection of briefcases stacked against the wall, counting seven total. All she has to do was wait for the police to arrive and hand over the thieves and money.

"Well, well, well. I'll be damned. You actually did manage to show up," a deep voice chuckled from behind her. "Now I'm going to have to apologize for calling him a liar."

Spinning, she set her sniper on her new opponent. A black leather biker jacket covered a white button-down, which was tucked into stylishly-ripped dark jeans. Black leather boots and matching fingerless gloves completed the ensemble, as though he didn't have any concern with leaving fingerprint evidence behind. Coiled around his waist was a black utility belt, decorated with a multitude of pouches and loops to hold various weapons and equipment. Laced through one of those loops was a mask similar to those on the other robbers, though slightly larger that it could cover the whole face.

The absence of the mask allowed the man's face to be on full display. Jet black hair was slicked back in a stylish manner that would require copious amounts of hairspray and gel to accomplish. A five o'clock shadow was casted across his face, as prominent as his dark brown eyes. The feature that caught her attention was a jagged scar racing over the bridge of his nose.

Silver eyes widened at the sight. This must be the Lieutenant, Ruby realized, recalling the brief description given the other day. Narrowing her gaze, she releveled her weapon at the man's chest.

"Easy now, Red. No need to be hostile," the man said, raising his hands in a mock surrender. "You are Red, correct?"

"Who's to know?"

"Hirofumi Matsuno, at your service," the man proclaimed, giving a slight bow. "Torchwick told me quite a bit about you, among other things. About how you seem to constantly pop up all over the place like a persistent tumor. Quite the reputation, if you ask me."

Ruby chose to ignore to that comment. "I bet. What exactly is he trying to accomplish here? Japan isn't like Remnant."

"Oh, he's fully aware of that," Hirofumi said, staying in his bowed position but having his head tilted up to keep dark brown eyes locked onto silver. "There are reasons for his wanting to run the underground of this country, but that isn't my place to discuss. As long as his plans allow me to continue to do whatever I damn please, I'm willing to go along for the ride."

"Of course, there is a way for you to get those answers," he continued, slightly shifting his posture to slide an arm behind his back but never breaking eye contact. "I bring you to him for him to do whatever his pleases. Whether that be willingly or unconscious and dropped at his feet completely depends on you. Though, I hope you would at put up a fight before I hand you over. It would make my night a lot more interesting."

Ruby huffed, switching Crescent Rose into scythe mode. "Not going to happen."

Dark brown eyes dulled and a malevolent smile broke out across his face. "Excellent. It's always more fun when they fight back."

He sprung up from his bow and slashed towards her, a weapon suddenly in hand.

Ruby was a fraction too late to react, having to roll to the side to avoid being cut. Whirling around, she caught a glimpse of the weapon now in hand.

It appeared to be a khopesh sword, made of dark steel and black leather. The handle was shaped like a snake's head, with a purple jewel eye twinkling. Normally, she would've admired the craftmanship if it wasn't currently being held by some crazy guy.

He dashed after her, twisting the khopesh in a deadly arc. She swung Crescent Rose upward, catching the blade in its curve. Sparks flew between them as each wielder tried to shove the other back. Despite Ruby having more experience, Hirofumi was twice her size and much stronger.

Ruby tumbled back, trying to keep a hold of her weapon. Just as she regained her footing, Hirofumi was back again, forcing her to play defense and dance around in order to avoid getting sliced.

I'm at a major disadvantage here, Ruby thought briefly between each blow. Size is not on my side. She grunted as she popped up from another evasive roll. I need to get some distance.

Tapping into her severely dwindled Semblance, she shot across the room. A laugh followed after her, sending a chill racing down her back.

"Smart move, Red. Get away from the danger. Great survival tactic," Hirofumi called out from the other side of the room. He was closing one of the pouches on his belt and twirling his sword with a grand flourish. "I saw you admiring my new weapon earlier. Call it Ophiuchus, based on the serpent zodiac. No reason to, but you people give your weapons names so I thought, 'What the hell'?"

He positioned himself into a low crouch, his khopesh-wielding arm crossed across his body. "But I'll let you in on a secret, Red. Nothing is ever as it seems." Pressing the jewel snake eye, he swung his arm in a deadly arc, sending a wave of fire racing towards her.

Panicked, Ruby spun her scythe to dissipate the oncoming flames, only to have more chasing after. Steel combatted fire, trying to keep it away from the young reaper. Still, she could feel her Aura working double-time to keep her protected. If this kept going, she had no way of telling if her Aura would last much longer.

After extinguishing another burst of flames, she raced forward to close the distance. He seemed to expect this and, with lightning reflexes, popped another dust crystal into the chamber on the handle and activate the snake's eye.

Crescent Rose swung down and ate into a chunk of solid ice. Hirofumi spun down to the ground and brought his weapon up to catch her. Arms still holding onto her scythe, Ruby kicked her boot down, crashing into his hand and sending his sword clattering to the ground. Using the momentum, she yanked her blade free and fell into a back roll, popping back up into a ready stand.

Cursing, the man lunged for his khopesh, which she swiftly shot away. The criminal stared at her, fists curled and dark eyes sparked with anger.

Behind her, Ruby could hear the tell-tale sign of sirens closing in. Bring in the cavalry, the reaper thought, sighing in relief. Once they get here, they can take care of Hiro and his men and we'll be one step closer to Torch-

WHAM!

Ruby's head snapped to the side, pain blossoming all over her face. Thick red liquid raced from her newly battered nose, splattering her once nice kimono with blood. Clutching her face, she glanced up to see the Lieutenant smirking triumphantly, with more of her blood sprinkling his gloves.

The smirk disappeared when the sound of sirens became louder. "Man, just when things were getting good." He bowed to the bleeding Huntress-in-training, retrieving his khopesh and hooking it back onto his belt. He reached into two pouches, pulling out a fire and ice crystal. "Well then, Red. Until next time." And he threw them on the ground, creating a steam screen.

Ruby swiped at the air, trying to get rid of some of the steam. When it finally dissipated enough, she noticed that Hirofumi was gone, leaving her alone with the other knocked-out bank robbers.

"Freeze!"

Ruby leapt at the sudden command. Turning towards the hallway leading to the back entrance, she spotted half a dozen police officers in riot gear. A smile broke out on her face. Even though Hirofumi got away, she still stopped the bank heist.

"Put the weapon down and slowly put your hands up!" one of the officers shouted. It took her a second to realize that he was talking to her. Stunned, she laid Crescent Rose on the ground, not even bothering to compact it.

When she raised her hands, the officers moved forward, making their way around the room to collect the fallen robbers. One of the officers approached her and grabbed her arms. The clanking of chains and feeling of cold metal encasing her wrists didn't register immediately. It wasn't until she was being escorted out the recently unshuttered front door that it clicked that she was being arrested as well. She tried to speak up to protest, but someone beat her to it.

"Ruby!"

The reaper turned to see the Host Club running down the street, everyone still dressed in their festival garbs. A limo sat along the curb just a little behind the group, meaning that they had someone drive over to meet up with her. She could the worry in their eyes, taking in the blood and bruises that were starting to darken.

Two officers stepped forward to keep the group back, much to their dismay. "Please stay back. This area is still being secured."

"But that's our friend right there," Honey said, pointing over at the cuffed girl.

"She didn't do anything wrong," Karou shouted, everyone nodding in agreement.

"Guys," Ruby called out, catching their attention. She looked at each one individually, her gaze straying a second longer on Kyoya. "I'm sure everything will work out, okay? They probably just want to ask me some questions. I'll be back with you all in no time."

She listened to her friends calling out her name as she was placed into a police car. The door slammed shut and the vehicle took off, carrying the Huntress-in-training with it.

X

And that's a wrap! Thank you to all who have favorited and followed the story so far, and I would like to give a shout out to darkvampirekisses for their comment on the last chapter. See you next time! :)