Hunted or Busted: A Side Story
Dusted 16: The Fox and The Hood: Under the Fireworks
((((((((Hunted))))))))
"Okay, you just have to hit it right in the middle."
"Ruby-"
"If you hit it right then hopefully all of them will topple over and we'll win."
"Ruby-"
"But I mean just knocking them over should be enough for us to win, but they also have to fall off the table too? How is that fair? I mean it's possible – obviously – but after knocking down the bottles it pretty much becomes a job for physics and gravity and stuff! It kinda sucks-"
"Ruby!"
The Huntress paused and looked around once she had been pulled out of her rant. She realized Naruto, the booth vendor, and some people watching nearby were watching her while she had vanished into her tirade. The red-haired woman coughed into her fist and stepped back sheepishly, "Go ahead."
Naruto exhaled, gripped the ball tightly in his hand, reeled it back, and spiked it across the booth. The ball smashed into the bottles violently and sent them all clattering off the shelf and onto the ground. As they dropped, the blond Faunus pumped his arm in victory and the crowd clapped around them. He pointed to one of the prizes and the vendor happily handed it over before he grinned at her, "Told you I had it."
He was totally right. Naruto had spent a long time honing his skills at throwing weapons with great accuracy, and that had obviously proved fruitful if he could translate that even to throwing a ball. She clapped and giggled as he walked up to her, "I never should have doubted you could do it."
"You really shouldn't have." He grinned and held out the big Beowolf plushie towards her, "Here you go."
"Aww, thank you." She cooed as she took the adorable toy in her arms and hugged it tightly. It was only after a minute that she realized it was quite large and the festival had only just started, "Wait, do I have to carry this thing around for the rest of the night?"
"Yep." Naruto's grin turned into a mischievous one as he looked down at her, "That's what you get for doubting me."
"You jerk!" She laughed and playfully jabbed at him as he chuckled at her misfortune. Once they finished they continued walking side by side along all the booths, attractions, and rides. The lights flashed brightly and the sounds of all the booths around them mixed with the laughs of the other patrons. Children and couples ran by to reach their next destination while Naruto and Ruby laughed and walked along.
And were definitely not on a date.
Despite what she had said when she had asked him to come with her to the festival, this was not actually a date. She had gone over the details and semantics in her head over and over and reached the conclusion that two friends going out to have fun was just a fun night. They weren't even remotely dressed for something like a date. Ruby was wearing a simple white shirt under her red jacket and a long skirt, while Naruto was in an orange shirt and black jeans. It was like the most casual clothes someone could possibly wear going out.
…
Did the fact neither of them were dressed up for tonight bother her for some reason? Pfft, n-no, that's just stupid. Stupid subconscious fretting about nothing.
"Hey, we should probably get something to eat." Naruto pointed out, "So we could go get an overpriced hotdog, or some overpriced cotton candy, or maybe-"
"Overpriced funnel cake!" Ruby cheered and threw her arms and her new plushie up in the air, "That stuff is delicious and we can only ever get it at a place like this!"
"You know that stuff is gonna clog up our organs, right?"
"Well duh, but it's just so good~!" Ruby smacked her lips before grabbing his arm and pulling him along, "C'mon! Let's go!"
((((((((Hunted))))))))
The funnel cake they bought was massive and more than either of them could handle by themselves. So they sat together at a table and started digging into it from both sides. She ate her share so quickly some powdered sugar ended up on her nose and cheek. And he wiped it off with a napkin and a soft chuckle at the mess she made.
Ruby had to quickly hide the red on her cheeks. And not just because she had embarrassed herself in front of him.
Afterwards they ran around and tried to get on as many rides as possible. The rollercoaster's length was pretty small but the amount of times it made that round at high speeds were amazing. Ruby was used to speeds a dozen times faster on just her feet so she just laughed in amusement. She laughed even harder at the fretful screams Naruto made on each drop.
They followed that up with a round on the teacups. No one around had ever seen one of those cups spin as fast as their one. Ruby and Naruto cackled like hyenas as they twisted the wheel and disappeared into a circle of red and yellow blurs. Although they moved so fast they had to follow it up with a wobble behind a booth and a quick vomiting session before they could move on.
Afterwards they had gone to playing games like ring toss or shoot the water to pop the Boarbatusk's balloon. Whether they were working together or challenging each other to see who could perform better, they both had a big smile on their faces as they enjoyed the fun and company with each other. And from all their wandering around they had finally arrived at this booth that offered them their greatest challenge.
"Come on. Come on." Naruto muttered furiously as one eye focused down the scope of his rifle and kept his target in sight. Filtering out all the other sounds and lights around him, the fox's eyes remained on the bullseye that waved back and forth before him before he took the shot. His pellet flew through the air and hit the edge of the Nevermore target, "Crap." He cursed as he pulled the bolt back and fired again only to miss, "Shit." He cocked it back one more time and fired, this time hitting the edge of the bullseyes as he threw up his fist, "I did it!"
"Sorry kid, doesn't count unless the Nevermore flies back when you hit it."
"Oh that's bullshit!" He exclaimed as the vendor just shrugged it off without worry. With a growl Naruto dropped the gun on the booth and walked back to his companion at the side. Ruby was hiding her giggle fit behind the Beowolf plushie before she clutched it back to her chest and smiled at him, "That game is rigged to shit."
"I don't know." Ruby playfully shrugged as she watched some kids step up to the shooting gallery and try their hands, "I think it's supposed to be super challenging but I'm not sure it's impossible."
"Are you serious right now? You think someone can knock down that big ass target with those tiny pellets?"
Ruby shrugged, "Granted factoring in the size of the pellet and its fire rate from a gun with a lack of real propulsion, along with such a distance and the weight of the target, it is impossibly difficult." The redhead than smirked up at her best friend and shrugged, "Unless you're the best sniper ever~."
"Oh?" She giggled at the way his eyes twitch at the sound of her tone. Snatching the plushie out of her arms, he motioned to the booth with a swing of his arm, "Care to show me what you can do?"
"Gladly." She gave an awkward curtsy and strolled over to the gallery with a confident swagger. Passing over some Lien, Ruby picked up her pop rifle and checked it over. It was a silly, crude thing that could barely be used in a game. The weight was oddly distributed and the sights were ever so slightly off that you could never hit a target looking down it. She would have better luck eyeballing it herself than trust the sights.
Which is exactly what she did.
Faster than anyone could have anticipated Ruby raised the gun and aimed it at the flying Nevermore target. She didn't have a proper aim but she had used a rifle so much that she could tell the line and aim just from feel alone. And the target was moving so slowly Ruby felt embarrassed for Naruto that he could barely hit it. She fired, pulled the bolt, fired, pulled the bolt, and fired again all in the span of a second.
The three pellets darted off the center of the bullseye and the Nevermore was knocked backwards almost instantly. Everyone standing around looked at the feat in complete disbelief as Ruby shined brightly and gently lowered the play rifle.
"I'd like that one please."
The crowd cheered and even the vendor marveled at what he had seen. Shrugging he reached up and grabbed the biggest toy on his shelf. The Ursa toy was so massive and cumbersome that even that large man had difficulties carrying it properly before dropping it on top of the counter. Ruby smiled and wrapped her arms around it, not even circling its stomach completely before she lifted it up with effort and wobbled over to rejoin Naruto. The whiskered Huntsman relented and clapped his hands, "Damn I gotta hand it to you. That was amazing."
Ruby gently lowered the giant plush to the ground and let out a sigh of relief. She then reached out and took back her Beowolf from his grasp. She hugged it to her chest and then just stared at Naruto with a content smile.
…
Disbelief formed on his face as he groaned, "Oh you can't possibly be that vindictive."
((((((((Hunted))))))))
"Hey, hurry up! We're gonna be late if you don't pick up the pace!" Ruby couldn't help but giggle to herself as she looked back at her friend and egged him on, "Can't you move a little faster?"
"Stop it." Her friend growled as he carried the giant inconvenient toy over his back and tried to maneuver through the crowd. It really was so big and unwieldy that it was really just a huge pain to have to carry it around. Ruby almost felt bad about getting it for him, but then she saw the frown on his face and the cute way his ears flicked around in irritation and that sentiment just disappeared entirely. He finally came back to her side, slouched over with the comfy Ursa on his back and took a moment to catch his breath. He then craned his neck back to look up at her, "So what time is it?"
"8:54 and the fireworks are supposed to start at about 9 if they keep to the schedule." Ruby started to frown as she noticed that the concentration of people around them had heavily increased as the show drew closer. It was going to be impossible to enjoy this if they were all pressed so closely together that she could feel the people behind her breathing down her neck. She looked around and spotted the ferris wheel cresting over the top of the booths, "What about the wheel? I bet we'd get a great view from up there."
"Yeah and I bet you aren't the first person that's had that idea." Naruto straightened up and hissed as his back popped, "I saw dozens of people stand in line ready to ride the wheel earlier so they could get a view. We could try getting in line but I seriously doubt we'd get on it in time for the show."
Groaning and bouncing on her feet, Ruby's brain worked in overdrive to figure out what they could do. The central viewing area was packed and the wheel's best spots for seeing the show were taken too. Which meant they had to pick a different spot away from the festival grounds in order to see the show. Ruby's eyes wandered over to the side and she saw a number of families and couples running to the hill to grab a spot. The wide grassy incline was filled with people settling down and preparing to view the spectacle. It was also turning out to be a little too overcrowded, but there were less and less people as the hill went higher and more difficult to climb-
"Up there!" She got Naruto's attention as she pointed up to the top of the hill where only several people had climbed up to the top to view the upcoming show, "I bet there's a great place for us up there!"
"H-Hang on Ruby this stupid bear-"
"Let's go!"
Ruby grabbed Naruto's arm and in a flash they were gone, spinning around in a red and orange blur that flew over the heads of the crowd and up the hill. When they reached the top, Ruby's released her hold and Naruto dropped to the ground with the Ursa in his arms. The Huntress cheered triumphantly and tossed her Beowolf into the air before catching it, "We did it! I told you this spot would work!"
"H-Hold on, my stomach's gotta catch up with me." He always did have trouble keeping his focus after she was done carrying them like that. She knew he could handle the speed, but apparently the swirls and turns were just too much for him. Ruby watched as he set the large Ursa plushie behind him and settled back into its stomach with a sigh, "You know this stupid thing sucks but it is actually super comfortable."
"It is?"
"Yeah, try this out."
"You're kinda hogging the whole thing." He reached back and tipped the Ursa over so it was lying long ways on the ground. He the scooted over and took up the head and chest before patting the ground beside him for the rest of its body. She quickly took up his offer and sat beside him before leaning back into the cozy body of the massive prize, "Oh my god."
"Right?"
"I am so glad I won this thing."
"I'd agree if I didn't have to carry it over the whole damn festival. But right now it is definitely proving its worth." She laughed at his frustration and even he had to let out a chuckle as they sat back into it and stared up at the sky, "But it was a pretty great shot you made earlier. Don't know why I even doubted you for a second. Can't even count how many times you saved our lives with an impossible shot like that."
"Same for you." He looked towards her and she just shrugged in response, "How many times did you save my life from some wandering Grimm coming up on my back or a criminal that was gonna take a shot?" She nudged his side with her elbow, "Remember when that explosion went off on the Mistral cliffside, and you jumped off at the last second to grab me and then latched on to the edge? My hero."
"I totally did that on reflex. I'm sure you could have used your Semblance to make your way back up or glide over the forest below."
"Maybe. Maybe not." She poked him in the shoulder as he looked directly into her eyes, "But you didn't even give me the chance to think about it. Faster than I could use my Semblance you tried to help me. And that means so much to me."
"Ruby..." She watched him smile and look at her so fondly before looking back out over the view before them, "Thank you so much for coming with me on my trip. I've wanted to visit all the Kingdoms for pretty much my entire life, but whenever I dreamed about it I just thought about doing work and being a Huntsman during the whole trip."
"O-Oh, s-sorry if I kinda got us off course-"
"No but that's the point." He interrupted with a grin towards her, "You took a lifelong dream and you turned it into an experience. I don't think I could have enjoyed myself half as much as I did with you by my side, and I couldn't have done as much to help people as we did together. And we were able to do that because we were together. So thank you Ruby," He nudged her back with his large shoulder, "Thank you for being the best Huntress, and one of the best people I've ever met."
...
There it was again. Her heart was doing that thing.
That thing where it was light and heavy and still and fluttering all at the same time. Once more without even trying he was making her heart do things that it shouldn't have been doing. It happened every once in a while when they were on their trip. The fights together. The time they spent recovering from their battles. When he caught her before she dropped off that cliff. When she saw him awake after the Vacuo battle.
This wasn't just because of the praise. Seeing him smile...at her...happy...with her...it did so much with so little. It couldn't just be nothing. It really had to be something. Conflict and hesitation battled eagerness and anxiety in her mind.
Ruby barely opened her mouth, "Na-"
A loud whistle came from the horizon before it exploded in a bang and flash of lights. People already started to cheer and clap as the fireworks started. Naruto also turned out to the vast view and watched the show, as she just stared at him silently.
She knew it...she could feel whatever this was receding. Whether it was lunacy or bravery it had only welled up for an instant in the heat of the moment. One more minute and her tongue would stay tied. Five and she'd hide her face to forget about it. And by the time the fireworks were over she'd have buried whatever niggling, nascent emotions these were crawling in her chest.
She'd just have to wait until the fireworks ended.
"Haha! They made a pack of Grimm getting chased by a puppy!" She watched Naruto clap and turned back to look at her, "Hey you think your dog-"
She grabbed his shoulders and lifted herself up until her lips pressed into his own.
For a moment Ruby thought she had done it wrong because she had nearly slammed her lips into his. She worried that it might not so much be a kiss as a thumb war with lips before she settled. It was definitely a kiss, because she felt an indescribable feeling of warmth fill her body starting from where they were connected. Naruto had been surprised and stilled while they shared the experience, but after a moment he relaxed and closed his eyes.
Ruby's heart was beating so fast she worried that he might have felt it. She was so glad she had done this while they were sitting, because otherwise she would have had to get up on her toes in order to kiss him, and then he would have had to choose to lean down or just stare at her. But now they were connected, and all she had to worry about was everything else in the world.
One round of fireworks finally ended as Ruby slowly pulled back from the kiss. She felt her face burn so intensely she could barely handle it. Remembering that he could see in the dark and see her blush anyway only did more to exasperate her embarrassment. After a moment she finally steeled her will and looked up at his shocked expression and wordless mumbling.
The fireworks continued to explode around them and drown out all sound. They couldn't talk. They couldn't say anything to each other. Not while the fireworks were going off.
So instead Ruby leaned over and rested her head into his chest. The sound of his rising heartbeat did little to comfort her, but right now she just wanted to close her eyes and not focus. After a moment she felt his arm awkwardly circle around her shoulder and back to hold her close. It wasn't so much a hug of acceptance or excitement as a gesture that he was still here holding her despite what just happened.
They stayed like that for several more minutes until the last firework flew up and filled the sky with its brilliance. The explosions faded away and the people watching clapped before returning to their enjoyment. All except the two Hunters who were simply waiting in silence.
"..."
"..."
"I think I like you."
"Y-Yeah, I gathered."
She should have just waited for the fireworks to end.
((((((((Hunted))))))))
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