For the whole time that Ruby was in his classroom Roman acted the same as he usually did. He knew this would surprise little Red and would mean that he could have more fun later. Even if he did like the girl too much didn't mean he couldn't have his fun with her. After all he had chosen her to be his new toy. That day he had been teaching the class about the different types of killers, such as premeditated killers and spur of the moment killers. The class then had a debate about the advantages and disadvantages of both. Weiss brought out that since non-planned murders were just that the killers themselves would be easier to catch, while a premeditated killer thought ahead on how to avoid detection. Kasai acknowledged the girl's statement but added, "That may not always be true, the planning doesn't have to be good, in fact, an unplanned murderer could get away with a murder when a premeditated crime might be caught. It all depends on the person. For instance if the perpetrator was a serial killer then they would have experience with covering their tracks, while an average Joe might know next to nothing about staying low in the system. Does anyone know what the disadvantage of being a serial killer is for getting caught?"
Pyrrha, as always the smart one, raised her arm, more used to the class and having already studied ahead in the book. The professor called on her and she spoke, "A serial killer's weakness is the same as his advantage. Since he or she has committed many crimes there are more clues for the police and us to follow to find the perpetrator and bring them to justice."
Professor Kasai paced in front of the students, he glanced at Ruby and grinned at her blushing face, she hid her face in her arms when she realized he was watching her, "Correct Ms. Nikos, there is one more reason, does anyone know," he glanced around the room and Blake raised her head to look at him, "Ms. Belladonna?"
"I don't know... 'Sensei'," her words were laced with sarcasm, Kasai raised an eyebrow underneath his mask, her attitude was new.
"How about you Ms. Rose, I haven't heard you contribute all class. Do you know the other reason serial killers are caught?"
Ruby head jerked up off her desk and she glared at the teacher in front of her, "They get too cocky and they don't expect to be caught." she glanced pointedly at the criminal standing at the front of the class.
"Surprisingly... correct. When a criminal, serial killer or not, becomes complacent, that is when you knock them off their feet and kick them while they are down..."
The bell rang abruptly, stopping the gruesome teacher from going into more detail, Ruby started packing up her stuff, however the masked professor quickly ushered the other students out of the room. Yang winked at Ruby as she passed and Ruby blushed scarlet, blood heating up the skin on her face. When the students had left the room and little Red was the only one who remained, Roman approached her desk, the mask still glinting in the florescent light. The girl pulled her hood up and hid inside the folds of fabric. Finally Torchwick removed the constricting mask and stared at Ruby hiding in her cloak for a few seconds. Unaware of his unwavering gaze, Ruby peeked out of the rose hood and glanced upward at the man's face. "Do you still hate me little Red? After all we've been through," As he finally spoke, Ruby jumped at his words.
"N-no. I d-don't hate you," the Rose girl stuttered, then paused, thinking of what she wanted to say next.
"Why did you do that?!" she blurted, and Roman leaned closer on the desk.
"Do what?" he asked.
Her stutter returned and she turned away to hide the blush forming on her face, "Y-you k-k-ki-kissed me."
Roman's grin widened and his pearly teeth shone, "Yes I did."
"Why?" her face was still turned away from his and her neck was a brilliant red, as was her face.
"Do you know why people kiss Red, or are you still to young, hmm?"
Ruby's face whipped back, her eyebrows narrowed, "Of course I do!"
Torchwick's face was now mere inches away from the huntress-in-training. Finally it dawned on her what Roman was hinting at, plus the closeness of his face, "Then that's the reason."
The girl looked terrified when she heard the words coming from his mouth and froze in fear, it wasn't possible that he liked her, right? He was a con man, so it was a trick, yeah? He was a criminal, so there was no way that he was telling the truth, correct? Ruby knew this and yet her heart still beat like a horde of elephants running to a stream of water, like an African drum, a tune thrumming in her ears. Ruby wasn't stupid. She had listened to enough of her friend's crushes to know what this was. But that wasn't possible. He was a criminal. And her teacher. And she hated him, didn't she?
The criminal pulled away, satisfied with the result his words had on the fifteen year old, he placed the discarded mask back on his face and prepared for the next class he taught while Ruby sat still in her chair. Her face kept changing expressions and she looked uncertain of her next actions, or even of her current mental state. She jerked out of her stupor in about a minute, after Torchwick had left the room to retrieve a few printouts for the next class.
-It's been awhile since we've had a time skip, so here it is-
Torchwick really didn't think that Red would come to guard his room overnight, as she had been doing the past few weeks. This morning, when he had woken and remembered his actions, he felt that he might have overdone it a bit and that the girl would be scared away. Then, when he saw her sitting quietly in his classroom he couldn't help himself, especially after seeing that adorable blush of her's. Then she had asked that stupid question and he had answered without thinking. It was becoming a habit, a bad one, responding to the girl without thinking. Answering truthfully. In this instance, thankfully, the answer he gave might have been the words he would have used, honest or not. Therefore, when Ruby climbed through the window shortly after 10 o'clock, Roman was completely unprepared for her. His face remained grinning though, even if his nerves were buzzing uncontrollably, "Still feel the need to 'guard' me Red. I thought we determined that we weren't enemies last night. Or do you want to repeat that particular conversation."
Ruby shook her head rapidly but grabbed a pillow off his bed and sat down on the carpeted floor. She leaned on the bed and buried her face in the pillow. Roman raised his eyebrows and sat down next to her, his legs brushed against her's as he lowered himself to the floor. Ruby looked up at the man through her eyelashes, her silver eyes burning into his skull. Memorizing the handsome criminal's face. At long last, she spoke, her voice quiet and muffled as she spoke into the pillow. "Do you really like me? I haven't done anything nice to you at all. Were you lying?"
The orange haired man took a deep breath, about to tell the girl, either a lie or maybe possibly the truth. No one will ever know what he was going to say that night. The night it all changed. Only the criminal knew the words that would come out of his mouth, for right as he went to answer Ruby's quiet question a shudder went through the dormitory and a loud crash was heard in the distance. The building shook once again and melting platings plunged from the windows to cover the sources of light. Another fell over the door, cutting off any chance of escape. The lights flickered out leaving the two people in complete and utter, total, resounding darkness.
