RWBY A Day in the Life of Crime

Chapter 23: All's Unfair in Love and War Specifically When it Comes to Gangs

A/N: Ugh, I really need to fix my updating schedule for this story.

It was too hot.

It was too cold.

Everything hurt.

It stung, it itched. And worst of all Ruby couldn't get her eyes to open up.

It was dark. And the dark scared her.

"Help...make this stop," she begged, trying to move her arms to brush the dark away except she couldn't move her arms. They felt like they were made of lead, sluggish like her thoughts. She couldn't remember anything. What had happened? What was going on? Where was she?

"Shh, it's going to be okay," a tender voice assured her and Ruby felt comfort at those words. She recognized the speaker.

"Cinder." She wanted to reach out to grasp the woman but her hands wouldn't obey her.

"It's going to be okay. I'm here Ruby." There was the touch of something to her lips. Was it water? Ruby felt parched.

"Can you drink this for me?" Cinder asked gently. Ruby could feel the woman's hands on her, cradling her head, fingers holding up her chin.

Ruby parted her lips a sliver in answer. Cold bitter tasting liquid went down her throat and she swallowed it down, grimacing at the taste.

"That's a good girl," Cinder cooed appreciatively before she began to hum some melody, one that Ruby had heard before but which she couldn't place as to where. And listening to those soft tones made her fall asleep.

Her sleep was restless. She felt like she was being chased by fiery demons that breathed out fire as she ran over a walkway, their breathes coming in through the meshed floor and scorching the soles of her feet.

And then she was so cold, walking through a blizzard without any clothes on, her fingers and toes turning blue. But through out it all she could hear that same melody playing, so that whenever she felt like it got too bad, like the heat was unbearable enough to make her cry, or that the cold was going to finally break her, that voice carried her through, ebbing and flowing like a river of sound. It gave her hope. She followed it through the heat and the cold and the dark until she made it to a door. And then she opened it up, the brightness on the other side astounding her and making her squint.

And when she opened her eyes she found herself on her back on sheets drenched with her sweat. And by her side, sleeping soundly, was Cinder. With trembling hands, as she still felt weak, Ruby let her fingers trace the curve of Cinder's cheekbone. This woke the woman up and she sat up quickly when she saw that it was Ruby that had touched her.

"Ruby." In that single utterance of the girl's name was conveyed all of Cinder's relief and happiness to see her girlfriend awake.

"Hey, Cinder. What happened?" Ruby croaked out, feeling like she had missed something important during the time she was out.

"I should be asking you that," Cinder breathed out as she took in the sight before her. "Do you feel better? No chills, no fever?" Cinder pushed some of Ruby's sweaty locks out of the way so she could kiss her sweaty forehead.

"Ugh, Cinder. Don't kiss me, I'm gross," Ruby pushed Cinder away but due to the poison she was weakened and nothing happened.

"So what happened?" Cinder asked, laying another kiss on Ruby's forehead anyways.

"I was out doing my regular stuff," Ruby recalled as she looked up at the ceiling. "And then this weird man and woman appeared out of nowhere."

"What did they look like?" Cinder interrupted. She knew the woman had to be Salem but who was the man? Cinder wasn't aware that the other had friends.

"One was a funny looking woman. She had really pale skin and weird eyes. And she had this funky power-it stopped my semblance in it's tracks and I couldn't move fast and it was really weird and it sucked major butt cause then I couldn't get out of the way quick enough to avoid getting hurt. And the guy was a faunus. He had a scorpion tail. He was the one who poisoned me when he scratched me with it." As Ruby spoke her memory came back to her. The sudden fight that had erupted between her and the two strangers, the confusion and irritation that she was no longer fast, and the sting and tingle of the poison as it entered her blood stream. So that was why she had been out all this time.

"A faunus?" Cinder asked with a hint of a dangerous growl to her voice. "I thought Adam had made a deal with the Grimm. That we would work together and now he pulls this shit?!" She bolted up from the bed and began to pace around the room angrily.

"Cinder, calm down," Ruby made to sit up but her body was still too weak and she couldn't manage to hold the position for more than a few seconds. "It wasn't one of Adam's faunus." She knew it because he didn't wear the customary colors of the White Fang. And he had refuted her question when she had asked him who he worked for by laughing manically and pointing at that strange white woman.

"And how can you be so certain?" Cinder snapped at her and Ruby flinched, unused to the woman yelling at her. "Sorry, sorry," Cinder apologized when she realized what she had done. "I was just worried over you this whole time. Worried that the antidote wouldn't work."

"Don't worry. I'm fine now," Ruby assured as she flopped back down to the mattress. She didn't feel anywhere near fine, but she was alive, so that would have to do for now.

"No, you're not fine." Cinder sat by Ruby, taking the girl's slender fingers into her clasped hands. "You're weak. You're going to have to stay in bed for a while. I just hope there are no lasting side affects, or else I'm going to kill that woman!"

"I thought you were going to kill her anyways for daring to harm me," Ruby joked weakly, alarmed by the dark emotions she saw swirling behind Cinder's eyes. The last time she had seen a look like this on the woman's face was back before Ruby had saved Cinder. Ruby was so used to seeing only surface level anger and evil on the woman's face, put on more as a facade for the gang and her victims more than anything else. But now there was a realness to her emotions that had Ruby concerned.

"Hey, are you okay?" Ruby asked softly.

"Of course. You shouldn't concern yourself over me. I can handle myself. Focus all your energies on getting better."

Ruby could sense there was a lot Cinder wasn't telling her but the girl didn't want to push it. "Okay..."

"Good." Cinder smiled, her smile doing nothing to assuage the raw emotions whirling behind her mask. "I'm going to get you something to eat. You think you can handle it?"

"Water would be nice." Ruby could still taste the bitter tang of the medicine Cinder had given her.

Ruby spent the rest of the week rebuilding her strength. She and Cinder were staying at Cinder's father's mansion. It was one of their hideouts, one that Cinder loved since it was the only thing she had remaining that was her father's. Cinder stayed by her side the whole time, feeding her, giving her water, changing her sheets, and washing her. Ruby was certain the other woman even stayed over while Ruby was sleeping. And Ruby slept a lot. She could barely keep her eyes open for more than one or two hours on end. But by the time Friday swung by Ruby was walking around the room, stretching out her sore and weakened muscles. As she was working on getting them moving again she couldn't help but wonder how come Cinder hadn't left the mansion. It seemed like she was always here. Didn't she go back to run the gang? Had she left Roman in charge of it or something just so she could take of Ruby?

Ruby enjoyed the fact Cinder was spending so much time with her but the other certainly had more important matters to attend to.

"Oh Ruby. I see you're up. I'm glad. But don't overdo it with the exercise," Cinder said as she entered the room. She was carrying a cold glass of milk for Ruby.

"Thanks." Ruby accepted the glass and chugged it down eagerly. "And don't worry. I need to put a little stress on my muscles or else they'll never get back up to their full power."

"You don't have to rush with that. We have a lot of time."

"Speaking of time..." Ruby trailed off as she handed Cinder the glass back. "Uh, you certainly must have a lot of time. To be taking care of me and stuff. Good thing you left Roman in charge of the gang, huh?" Ruby laughed awkwardly as she tried to casually to bring up this topic.

Cinder arched a brow. "Roman's not in charge of the gang."

"Who is?'

"Don't worry about it. They won't be in charge for long." And with those ominous words Cinder strode out of the room leaving a confused Ruby scratching her head.

Cinder and Ruby stayed in the mansion for two more weeks. Ruby's appetite had returned ten fold and she was going through enormous amounts of food in order to make up for not being able to eat as much before. Apparently, she had been out of it for three full days. This made her feel uneasy, as did the way Cinder was acting. She made sure to keep Ruby away from any TV's or news sources. It was like Cinder didn't want the girl to see something. But what could it be? She tried to be patient with it, figuring that the older woman would tell her when the time was right; that she wasn't saying anything because Ruby was still weak. But the younger girl was working really hard to get better. Already she could use her semblance again. Still, Cinder said nothing, only avoiding Ruby's questions even more.

Curiosity and annoyance at her girlfriend's actions was burning up in her, making her feel restless. And one day during dinner she could bear it no more.

"You need to tell me!" Ruby demanded, slamming her fist on the table and making the cutlery rattle.

"Tell you what?" Cinder asked innocently.

"What's going on. You can't just bottle everything up and not tell me. I'm the leader of the Grimm. I deserve to know. I'm also your girlfriend and I promised you that I wouldn't let you shoulder the burdens alone."

Cinder sighed at this. "Ruby, you are still weakened from the poison and I don't want to worry you-"

"You're worrying me more by not telling me anything!" Ruby pounded the table with her fist again. "Don't treat me like a little child. I'm the leader of one of the most notorious gangs in the world after all."

Cinder sighed at this and looked down at the table, setting down her utensils before she picked her eyes back up and looked Ruby in the face. "You're not the leader anymore."

This paused Ruby for a second or two. "What do you mean I'm not the leader? Did you take over the position again?"

"No. I didn't. I'm not part of the gang anymore."

"Huh?" Ruby's brows went down in confusion.

"Ruby, this woman...her name is Salem and I know her. I know her because I killed her."

"Killed her?" Ruby echoed.

"Yes. Burned her into dust. But she came back from the dead and I don't know how. She was one of the women who made me who I am today. She abused me, did terrible things to me." Cinder took a deep breath at this, briefly closing her eyes. "And now she was threatening to harm you too. She must have followed the gang's operations very closely. I don't know how she got information on us. But she knew you were the gang leader and she went after you. She hurt you." Cinder's hands curled into fists as her voice began getting choked with anger and pain. "She told me I could help you. That I could keep you from dying if I handed the gang over to her. So I did."

Ruby's eyebrows went up high at this, her mouth gaping open. "You chose me?" she squeaked out after an extended period of silence.

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Is it really that shocking?" Cinder gave a bitter laugh.

"You worked so hard to build up that gang and now you just gave up on it? You let her get her hands on it? She's super evil! There's no telling what she can do with all our resources at hand."

"Ruby, there is only one of you," Cinder insisted, placing a warm hand over Ruby's. "And if I had to make the choice again, I'd choose you each and every time."

Cinder's words filled Ruby's chest with warmth. "Don't say that you dummy."

Cinder smiled, looking at Ruby's face with adoration before it dropped back into her cold mask. "Get your rest Ruby. Get stronger again, because we're going to strike back after this."

"I thought you didn't want the gang?" Ruby asked, confused.

Cinder had a lot of time to think about it, and she had come to terms with things. In the grand scheme of things, she was only attached to the gang because it was all she knew for most of her life. But she was certain she could live without it. But she couldn't live without Ruby by her side. "I don't really care whether I have it or not, but I cannot let Salem be leader of them. I cannot let her live." Cinder stood up at this, her voice rising in volume.

"But wouldn't this be a good start?" Ruby suggested in a small voice.

"A good start for what?"

"You always said you wished you had a life away from the gang. A fresh start."

"I did," Cinder said after some consideration as to how to phrase her words next. "But Salem is too dangerous to stay alive. She has some sort of obsession with me, and will no doubt try to hurt you again to get to me. Besides, her powers are too hazardous. She can dampen others semblance's. And I won't let her use that power on you again. I won't let her hurt you again." Then with that Cinder was gone, her heels clicking up a storm as she strode away.

A/N: Just for clarification, Ruby is technically leader of the gang, but she is more of a figurehead most of the time because she leaves all the finances and operations to Cinder who also still holds power over the gang. So in a way, their both co-leaders of the gang.