Kinda got a bit lazy thanks to the cold weather but now I'm back and better than ever. In fact I think I'll start on the next chapter right now.
Restraining ruby was probably the best call he made today since she was so clearly ready to go after Romans head that she ignored the other danger in the room. Jaune looked through the crack to make sure none of them knew they were there. When he was sure they hadn't heard him he lowered his head to whisper in ruby's ear "I'm going to let you go but don't you dare try to run in there".
The small girl glared back at him before giving a muffled reply swearing to listen to his orders since he was a team leader. Jaunes hand left her mouth so she could speak more clearly but he still held her in place with his other hand just in case. Ruby pulled crescent rose from behind her but placed it on the floor so jaune would know she was serious about following orders.
The message was clear and he removed his arm from around her before adjusting himself so the two could look through the doors crack.
"Mr Torchwick what are you doing here" the store owner asked. Roman walked through the stock room eyeing several weapon cases filled with fire arms that were likely to be sold at cheaper prices. "Oh you know just browsing for some gear for a little party in the coming months" torchwick said as he picked up a hand gun from the weapons case.
The shop owner didn't seem bothered by the request instead he seemed far more eager to help the crook then anything. "Ah I see, well if your looking for quality weaponry you needn't look any further" the owner motioned to the array of weapons, armour and attachments they could purchase. Adam took one look around and huffed "all this looks like second hand junk to me show us the good stuff".
The owner glared at the bull faunus "I didn't think animals were blind as well a stupid. If you don't have any business here I'd like you to leave your stench is stinking up my shop". Adam placed his hand on the hilt of his sword but Roman stopped him by dropping the hand gun in front of the shop owner.
"Tch, you call that quality goods" Roman pointed his cane towards the discarded weapon at the owners feet. "I've gotten a better arms deal from a street punk but unfortunately I suppose beggars can't be choosers and you at least have enough for what I need". Torchwick pulled out a cigar and held it out to the shop owner "before we do business I'll need a light first".
The store owner pulled out a lighter and lit the end of Romans cigar. Torchwick puffed a few times before flicking some of the ash away "right, now where were we again"?
Ruby looked up to jaune "we can't let them get away with those weapons who knows what they'll be used for". Jaune didn't disagree with her on that "alright we make our move together". Reaching down ruby picked up her crescent rose and held it at the ready before looking back to him. Her eye's drifted down slightly noticing the scroll in his hand "jaune even if we called our teams they wouldn't arrive in time" she whispered.
The blonde held up his scroll so ruby could see he was actually recording the conversation Roman and the rest were having. Ruby was surprised cause she didn't know when he had started recording. Jaune put his scroll away and pulled out his weapons "move on my mark and take out Roman as fast as you can".
"What about you"?
Jaunes eye's narrowed on the bull faunus "I'll take the one with the red hair and bull horns". There was a certain edge in his voice that offered no room for discussion.
Roman pulled out a slip of paper that he handed over to the store owner "get me everything on that list and I'll make sure you get your money's worth". Adam grabbed torchwick's shoulder and spun the crook around to face him "this deal isn't over until you get my people weapons that'll actually work and not this trash". The thief was about to respond when the door blasted opened and a red blur flew in and with great force slammed the blunt end of her scythe into the crooks head.
Roman hit the ground hard cracking the wood of the floor with his face. There was a few seconds that Adam was frozen in shock from what just transpired that left his flank open for a secondary opponent to close in. Adam heard movement behind him and instinctively used his sheath to block the incoming attack as he spun on his heel.
His eye's widened behind the mask as he not only realized who was attacking him but just how horribly he had blocked the initial attack. The barrel of jaunes handgun leaned against the side of Adams sheath with the muzzle facing Adams face. Before he could move the trigger was pulled and a bullet smashed into Adams mask causing his head to rock back. Jaune took the opportunity to push the sheath away and delivered a kick to Adams chest launching him into the nearby wall.
Jaune made to continue his attack but the site of ruby flying passed and slamming into the floor gave him pause. The sound of a single shot from a rifle drew jaunes attention back to his foe only to see the hilt of a sword flying towards him. Instinct kicked in as jaune pulled his combat blade to deflect the flying sword back the way it came.
The katana didn't get very far as Adam moved quickly catching the sword with his right hand before it got too high in the air. Adam brought his sword down aiming to slice his enemy in two but jaune side stepped to the left and let the blade fly passed him. Jaune didn't let the moment go when he spun the handgun in his hand as he side stepped before throwing a left that caught the side of Adams jaw.
The strike felt off and jaune realized why when Adam spun on the spot and delivered a spin kick that struck jaunes back. Jaune was pushed forward by the attack but quickly turned towards Adam in time to deflect two slashes. The first attack came from the left side and the second came from above but were both blocked when jaune shifted his knife to it's long sword form.
Jaune tried to put some distance between them but Adam was relentless in his pursuit. Their battle descended into a high speed game of tag as jaune and Adam raced about the back room with each trying there hardest to land a effective hit. Black and red blades smashed into each other with neither giving way under the intense force of their respective owners attacks.
Jaune defended against another side slash when Adam drew his sword from his sheath. The attack didn't end there especially when Adam tossed his blade at him and the sword spun like a saw as it clashed against black steel. The red katana shot upwards and was caught by it's owner before he brought it down full of power from his semblance.
A fierce roar tore from Adams lips as he slammed his katana down causing a explosion that destroyed a portion of the stores wall. Jaune had saw Adams hair and sword glow with a ominous red and knew tanking his attack wouldn't have been in his best interest so he lowered his stance and fired his gun backwards.
The force of his gun launched jaune under Adam and out of the way of his attack with a second shot in front of him jaune was sent back towards the way he came and where Adam was now. Ducking low allowed jaune to dodge the side slash Adam tried before jumping upward delivering a slash diagonally up Adams chest. The spin kick jaune launched while in the air crashed into Adams face, shattering the mask and revealing the scar beneath.
Ruby's eye twitched as she looked between the fight jaune was in and the downed thief. Something weird was happening cause one minute she was over by torchwick before she felt someone pull her hood and threw her away. The answer became clear when Romans hat began to crack and the illusion shattered along with the rest of his body to reveal someone ruby knew all too well.
Neo was crouched on the floor with the tip of her parasol exactly where the fake Romans head used to be. Another crack appeared just a few feet from neo and just like the first it shattered to reveal ruby's original target. Roman puffed on the last bit of his cigar before flicking it away "nice try red but I knew you were coming long before you did".
Ruby held her scythe at the ready but had trouble figuring out who she should engage first, torchwick or neo. Her eye's fell on neo and she just couldn't figure out why her friend was working for a criminal like him. Ruby felt pain in her chest from this betrayal but she knew jaune would be devastated once he found out.
Something clicked in ruby's mind and the image of jaune looking downcasted when he said that neo found something she wanted to do more than be a huntress played in her mind. Realization dawned on her and the sadness she felt deepened because she knew that jaune tried to keep the truth cause he knew it would hurt her. Sadness turned to anger and ruby glared at her pink and brown haired friend "how could you"?!
Neo's face held a blank expression and that only angered ruby more "we trusted you, jaune trusted you and this is how you treat your friends?! Why"?! Neo's eye's turned to the blonde who was still dealing with the faunus before looking back to ruby. Her expression saddened as her eye's looked down at the floor in shame before Roman cut in "sorry red but neo's been working with me long before she ever met any of you".
Romans attention seemed to wander of for a split second before he let out a sigh "there's just never enough time in the day sometimes I swear". Ruby didn't understand what he was talking about until the faint sounds of sirens were heard in the distance. The thief stood a little straighter "well red it's been nice seeing you again but let's not do this anytime soon".
Ruby wasn't going to give them a chance to escape so she used her semblance to close the distance between them. Roman knew she'd try and stop them if she could so he lifted his cane and fired at ruby when she came after him. The fire dust shot would have missed when ruby zipped out of the way but Roman was just as quick and caught his fire dust with the handle of his cane. The attack was quickly redirected into ruby's path blasting her out of the air and into a nearby shelf with ammunition on it.
"Rambunctious little kid isn't she" he asked neo only to get not even a shrug in response. Roman shook his head before turning to Adam "authorities are coming, time to wrap things up". Adam growled as he put his sword in his sheath "this isn't over Arc I swear I'll have you head if it's the last thing I do". Jaune tried to stop the bull faunus but Adam unleashed a powerful slash that destroyed the floor and filled the room with dust and debris.
The blonde stood at the ready just in case but when the dust cleared Roman, neo and Adam had vanished. Jaune put his sword away as he called out to ruby to see if she was ok. Ruby was all about speed which meant taking as little damage as possible as she fought. Unfortunately taking a fire dust blast to the gut was a little more than she was used to but she pushed through the pain and pulled herself out of the rubble "I'm ok" she called back.
Funny cause the only thing really damaged was her pride as a huntress.
Poor ruby 2 to nothing in the bad guy catching department.