In a world where people can only be killed by those they truly love, you are an assassin.
"The job was simple!"
Ruby turned away from Torchwick and pretended to wipe spit off her cheek. He spun about and paced to and fro before her, holding his cane in one hand like a sword.
"All you had to do was get inside her heart and rip it apart!" Torchwick swung his cane at a nearby crate, the weapon carving into the wood and getting caught for a moment before he could free it, splinters firing out of the crate when he finally drew Melodic Cudgel free. "One stupid celebrity! That was it!"
Ruby bit down on her bottom lip, holding in the retort she wanted to throw in his face. Her hands behind her back tightened and started to leave red marks around her wrists where she was gripping them.
"But no! You just had to get all caught up in feelings!" Roman sneered, leaning uncomfortably close to her face.
Teeth grinding, Ruby kept her mouth shut, simply allowing a glare through to direct at Torchwick. Roman sighed and took a step back, bringing his cigar to his lips to inhale it before breathing a puff of smoke up at the ceiling.
Slowly he seemed to calm down until he lowered the cigar to his side and spoke through smoke-stained teeth. "You're a good agent, Ruby. Just stop letting all these silly emotions get into play. I'll send you your next assignment later." Roman waved her off and turned away, mind already travelling elsewhere.
Ruby bit her tongue one last time, not hard enough to draw blood but with enough pressure that she could memorise every last inch of her teeth with her tongue. She turned about abruptly and strode out of the dimly lit room, hearing Roman drop and crush his cigar into the concrete with his cane. Ruby paused outside the door as she heard some of her colleagues talking as they approached. She just wanted to be alone with her thoughts. Quickly, she slipped behind a nearby shipping container and waited to allow them to pass by.
"I haven't got a mission yet," The lazy voice carried over to her ears with ease. "You wanna head out for some drinks?"
"Be careful what you do with that tongue, Mercury, I may end up cutting it out."
"I didn't hear a 'no'. Did you hear a 'no', Sun?" Ruby reached out with one hand to trace the peeling paint of the cargo container.
"I really don't care."
The footsteps passed by Ruby and the voices began to fall off into the sound of the waves. Swallowing a glass ball of discomfort, Ruby tried to calm down and simply listen to the sea, her fingers tracing a groove down the metal container before moving on to the next. A breeze shuffled through and Ruby could smell the salt in the air, closing her eyes as her breathing slowed. The world fell away from her as her mind went back.
Ruby sat on the hard metal bench of the bullhead, her feet resting up against a wall while she flicked through files on her scroll. She only glanced over them, ensuring that every fact had already been put to memory. Height, tall. Personality, reserved. Hair, red. Eyes, green. Location, penthouse. Security, minimal.
All she had to do was play the part of the unknowing passer-by, pretend to not know who the celebrity was, sneak her way into the target's heart, then follow that up with a knife.
Simple.
Ruby focused on the picture of her target, ignoring the beauty of the face to instead focus on memorising every single inch. Every single one deserved a spot in her memory. Her penance.
Slipping the scroll into her back pocket, Ruby stood up and stretched, letting out a long yawn. Then she freshened up, hoping to get this mission over with quickly and return to her colleagues, as insufferable as they usually were.
Ruby walked down the near empty street, bouquet of red roses in hand as the moon shone down upon her, an eerie white glow surrounding everything. She had been forced to extend her mission after her target, the famous Pyrrha Nikos, had tried to shut her out completely for nearly a week. Now here she was, walking down a moonlit street in the cold with her red hood around her shoulders and a bundle of flowers in her hand. And a knife in the other.
It had taken her longer than she had cared to admit to burrow her way into Pyrrha's heart. Usually she'd just flutter her eyes, spend some time with them, act all coy, spend a few nights over at their place, then kill them and move on. Occasionally she came across a difficult or even impossible target, usually being reassigned by Roman before bothering to crack through the cold armour of those who couldn't or wouldn't love. But this time she was confident that she would succeed.
Pyrrha had been… annoying to be around. She was always so polite and smiling, welcoming Ruby into her home and making them meals, always the picture perfect host. But slowly, as Ruby had all so innocently warmed her way into Pyrrha's heart, she began to see the real Pyrrha Nikos, the one hidden so far from Remnant that only splinters of her reached the outside.
Ruby had sat with her in a cold, dark room on a cold, dark bed, trying to rub warmth into shoulders of ice. Ruby had caught falling tears and tried to thaw a stone heart, enveloping Pyrrha with her precious cloak. Ruby had held her, uncaring of time or space and just remained there, existing to comfort Pyrrha. And then, slowly, oh so slowly, the unthinkable happened.
Pyrrha became more than just another target.
Ruby could never quite pinpoint the moment the transition had happened. Usually she was always so careful to never let anyone in. To never allow even a split second of weakness. Remnant was cold, and any weakness was met with brutal force. She simply had to keep ahead of the curve. But now? She was doomed. She had never known Roman to keep an assassin once they had faltered. It didn't matter now when she had begun to allow Pyrrha into her heart, because she was going to fix it.
Permanently.
Ruby strode through the reception area with careful grace, welcomed with open arms by security who had seen her enough to no longer be suspicious. Of course, once the deed was done she'd have to be rotated to another city, but Roman would see to that, as he always did following the death of a high profile target. And any news of her role in events would soon be memory alone once Penny had removed any trace or record online. And memory could always be trusted to fade.
The elevator ride up was too slow for Ruby's taste, giving her ample time to prepare herself for the deed ahead. She was almost certain that Pyrrha had fallen for her, and for only the briefest of moments she allowed her heart to flutter. Her body didn't know what was good for her. It had never known and would never get a say in her decisions. Calming her beating heart, Ruby shook herself out of her stupor and gripped her knife behind the roses.
With a quiet 'ding', the metal doors slid open. Pyrrha would be caught flat footed. Ruby hadn't informed her that she was coming and as far as Pyrrha knew, she wouldn't be stopping by for a week, less time for news to spread. Pyrrha wouldn't be asleep. She was never asleep without Ruby there to wait and watch until emerald eyes closed in the faint light of dawn. Ruby crept through the spacious apartment overlooking all of Vale, bright, colourful lights dancing far down below. Everything was in pristine condition, from the wide, unused television, to the plumped and untouched cushions resting on the couch. Looking around the apartment, someone might get the impression that it was lived in and cared for. Ruby knew better.
Ghosting towards the bedroom and silently thankful that the door was still ajar, Ruby paused by the doorway. For a brief moment she heard nothing but the beating of her heart and her breathing rattled around her skull. Then, as her ears adjusted to the near silence, Ruby heard the sobbing. It wasn't uncommon for Pyrrha to be crying at this time of night, and her state would only aid in covering any, if any, noises Ruby made.
The door slid open quietly on well-oiled hinges, Ruby's feet not making a sound as they graced the soft carpet, each step made with practiced care. She passed the door and saw Pyrrha sitting against the other side of the bed, still weeping. The entire bed was between them and Ruby mentally cursed as she weighed her options. She could jump over the bed and alert Pyrrha instantly. She could move around the bed and come within Pyrrha's sight. Or she could throw the knife and risk failing her kill in one swift movement. Ruby was no idiot, Pyrrha was a well-trained self-defence artist and without the element of surprise there was no chance of success.
Ruby slid the knife into a hiding spot in her cloak and cleared her throat, knocking on the door behind her. Pyrrha panicked and Ruby watched as she frantically spun around and hesitated when she saw the familiar figure in the room. Ruby stepped over quickly and Pyrrha jumped to her feet, clumsily trying to conceal something behind her back. Gently, Ruby reached behind her and pried it from her hands, holding the razor on her fingers, the blade glinting dangerously in the light.
Gripping Pyrrha's wrists before moving down to her hands as she flinched, Ruby brought Pyrrha's arms into the light. Ruby's tongue turned to ash as Pyrrha's tears fell sparkling under the moon to soak into the carpet beside blood.
"I couldn't…" Her feeble voice trailed off into more sobbing, red hair falling over emerald eyes and obscuring them from Ruby.
Ruby wrapped Pyrrha into an embrace, holding her as close as physically possible. Ruby tossed the razor onto the ground in the corner, feeling sick as her fingers ran slick. Why did this bother her so much? Why couldn't she just kill Pyrrha? Ruby felt Pyrrha apply pressure against her arms and slowly released the celebrity, giving her distance.
"I can't," She whimpered, and Ruby fought the urge to hold her again. "Please, Ruby," She begged. "Please."
Ruby swallowed hard as she looked from crying eyes down to outstretched arms. Ruby felt her heart skip a beat when she saw the knife in her hands, the handle stained red. She could just reach forward and end Pyrrha's suffering, complete her mission, and move on.
Silver eyes faced pleading, tear-filled emerald.
"Please."
Ruby tossed the knife away.