Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY or any of its characters.
AN: I would have never thought people actually like this story. Thank you all for feeding my muse and sorry if this chapter is too short for you guys! I'm more of a quality than quantity person and i have no stamina to write 4k to 5k, even on a good day. It's nearly 12am and i have to work ten hours tomorrow (help) so all the grammar mistakes/spell errors are mine. I also want to thank everyone who followed, favourited and reviewed this whimsical story of mine. I uploaded this literally 4 mins away from Monday, Drednaught! I was actually side tracked because I was watching The road to El dorado (lol).
Italics – flashback.
Ruby groggily picked at her eggs, the fork puncturing the yolk and causing the yellow liquid to flow down the sides of the egg whites like a freshly erupted volcano. Wincing at the mess, she quickly shoveled what was left into her mouth while Jack looked on in exasperation. She downed her second glass of orange juice and shifted her sights to the half-eaten ham and cheese on her plate and started to chomp down on it once more.
Normal people would have felt their appetite disappear, but the man on the opposite side of the table just rolled his eyes and sipped calmly on his coffee, black with no sugar. The smell was so strong that it wafted over to Ruby, making her scrunch her nose in disgust. She never understood the appeal of such a bitter drink.
She was all about the sweets. Hot chocolate, candies, ice-creams and jellybeans could be devoured by the truck loads. Sugary treats made her life a little brighter and helped on those particularly bad days when she needed a pick me up, or craved something sweet on her tongue.
Jack folded his newspaper and set it on the table just as Ruby finished up her food. "Any plans for today?" He asked, picking up his fork and finishing up the rest of his own meal. "You need to get out more. I may be old but at least I know how to have fun."
"Hey! I have plenty of fun on my own." She pouted.
"Right." He responded skeptically. "Because working 24/7 in a small dim room is the epitome of fun."
Ruby glared at him and stabbed the remainder of her uneaten food with her fork. "Says the workaholic." She mumbled. Pushing her chair back, the girl headed towards the fridge and grabbed a large carton of orange juice, pouring a generous amount into her cup before stuffing it back into the metal contraption.
"It's your day off, girl." Jack threw his hands up in the air with such force that he nearly knocked over his plate. "Find something else to do that doesn't involve smoldering metal and passing out on the bed! All the other shop owners are starting to think that I'm a slave driver." He whined.
Ruby nearly choked on her juice. Hitting her chest repeatedly to make sure her lungs received their due she spoke again when the liquid went down correct pipe this time. "Really?" She asked in half amusement and half horror. The more she thought about it, the funnier it seemed. And then it dawned on her. Eyes widening in realization, Ruby had to hold back a guffaw as she spoke. "Ohhhh, now I know why people kept coming up to me and handing me these things. I thought they were just trying to recruit me or something." She stated and pulled a wrinkled piece of paper out from her pocket.
"What? Let me see that."
He flipped the brochure over and stared in horror at the big, bright purple words screaming 'The Vale Police: Change your life by calling today' with a long list of numbers below the bolded words. What was mortifying was not the heading, but the fact that the scroll number was circled and underlined. Twice.
'Sanity is overrated.' Was Jack's last thought as he crashed.
Ruby guessed that she would have been thrown out on the street at some point. Maybe for failing her classes, not being a good enough leader for her teammates (look how that turned out) or perhaps even for breaking too many rules.
But she had probably never expected to be booted out for quote 'working too much' unquote. So now, the huntress in training stood in front of the shop, staring at nothing in particular. Without any equipment Ruby couldn't even polish her darling weapon. All she had was a bank account full of lien and all the time in the world.
It was nice having a day off and all that but…what exactly was she going to do now?!
Ruby wandered around Vale, squeezing through the crowds which were the norm for a normal, sunny afternoon. She struggled against the throng, becoming increasingly irritated when most of them barely glanced at her before forcing their way past.
She yelped when somebody stomped on her feet, shooting a scathing glare at the person's back before forcing her way forward again. Not seeing any other choice, Ruby threw herself to the side, sighing in relief when she stumbled into an alleyway.
It was damp, dark and crowd free. The girl thought that such a dingy place like this would be a reprieve from the chaos going on out there. Crowds were never really her thing. It was more of Yang's scene then hers.
Yang.
The thought of her sister made the repressed feelings of bitterness resurface.
It was funny how bad thoughts had a way of worming themselves to the surface. They were like cockroaches. Disgusting little critters that lurked in the dark depths of your soul; just waiting for the right moment to come out of hiding. No matter how hard you tried to get rid of them, they just kept coming back. Like a thorn in your flesh, it bites deeply into your mind and stays there.
Ruby clicked her teeth. Now was a good of a time as any to plan on how to deal with the inevitable shit storm that would happen when she got back to Beacon.
Leaning against the cold, stone wall the girl began to ponder.
She wondered when it all went to hell.
The days were starting to blend together. She would wake up, only to find that her teammates had already gone down for breakfast. It hurt they hadn't bothered to wake her. Dragging herself out of bed, Ruby sluggishly moved to the bathroom to prepare herself for the dull day ahead.
Classes were much better than gatherings like lunch or breakfast. It wouldn't seem weird if teams sat apart. Weiss occupied one seat in the first row, scribbling furiously, while Ruby was in the third by the wall. Yang and Blake were somewhere at the furthermost rows, the stiff silence occasionally punctuated by familiar mischievous giggles and the crumpling of papers. Peeking over her shoulder, Ruby would see Yang nudging Blake, leaning into the cat Faunus's side and whispering something into her ear. Blake would turn red and hit the blonde with her pencil before turning her attention back to the teacher.
Weiss was sitting beside Pyrrha, figure poised and the picture of an ideal student. She seemed to scribble down every word that was said, and even from where she sat, Ruby could almost feel the drive for perfection being projected from the heiress's aura.
After classes, Ruby would head straight for the library.
It was of no use to follow the remainder of team RWBY. They would ultimately leave her behind, as if her existence was nothing but that of a mere ghost. Library time was peaceful. She would grab whatever book caught her eye, mostly fantasy stories, and seat herself in a plush chair next to the window. Usually, when she glanced outside, team JNPR could be seen with team RWBY. Sometimes it would just be Yang; playing Frisbee with the other four. Other times, it would be all three of them against the other four, with Jaune as the referee looking on in horror.
That ugly feeling of envy and longing would bubble up again, only to be forced down when she turned away, eyes wet and lips trembling.
Then, the day would end.
She would head back to their dorm room, her footsteps echoing off the empty walls. Hanging up her red cloak by her bed, she would study the night away, only stopping when her three team mates entered the room laughing uproariously. Good nights were exchanged; Ruby's going unnoticed under the noisy banter of Yang and Weiss.
Sleep would be difficult. The pain would come back twofold whenever she shut her eyes. The darkness was mocking and bitter, all her insecurities laid out as plain as day. Just as she thought the darkness would devour her, silver eyes would fly open.
Rinse and repeat.
But Ruby endured it. After all, every underdog would have its day. With that in mind, she waited and waited. For that opportune moment. The golden day where everything would change. The day when she would no longer feel like an outsider to her friend's happiness, when she would wake up to blinding smiles and warm laughter; receive hugs as soft as cotton candy and be spoken to with words as sweet as honey.
But it never came.
"We're going over to team JNPR's room! Catch you later lil' sis!"
Enough.
Enough.
Under the brightness of the fluorescent lights of the bathroom, everything became clear.
Nothing would change. She had to stop herself from self-destructing. Because if she didn't…no one would. On that day, Ruby made a promise to herself.
And from that moment on, the time which had stopped had begun moving again.
A light jingling sound snapped her out of her daydream. Looking to her right, down into the dark alley, Ruby saw something gold shine when a ray of stray light shot through the darkness. Her curiosity piqued, she threw one last glance at the crowded street and stepped further into the darkness.
Going closer to the source of the sound, Ruby felt her breath hitch in surprise when a small shop came into view. The shop was framed by old wooden beams with a large window of frosted glass. The words 'Tukson's Book Trade' in black bold words added to the overall atmosphere of mystery surrounding the shop.
Cautiously, Ruby stepped closer.
The bottom of her shoes scrapped the rough, paved ground as she approached the antique looking door. Looking around nervously, she used her palms to press against the grain of the door. It creaked and shivered at the pressure and slowly slid open.
The musky scent of old books was an odd combination with the fresh, peppy smell of new ones. Stepping into the shop, Ruby gently used the tips of her fingers to brush against the spines of several books as she passed by the tall shelves, forging her way to the counter.
"Welcome to Tukson's Book trade!"
Ruby nearly screamed at the sudden cheerful greeting. She whirled around to see a man with odd sideburns grinning at her. Amused yellow eyes twinkled as he watched her shuffle nervously, inching behind the hulking shelves of oak. "We have every book under the sun! If you've read it, then we have it!" He said with a wave. The girl replied with a weak smile. Not losing any pep at her less than enthusiastic reply, he started humming lowly as he grabbed several piles of books, picking them up and apparently going through a small door leading to the back of the shop.
Ruby's frayed nerves began to calm when she was left alone again.
"Wow…" She mumbled into the surprisingly cool air as she walked through the dimly lit book shop. Most of the light filtered in through the windows, lighting up the brown, plush seats littering the edges of the shop. It looked extremely cosy, reminding Ruby of the Beacon library where she read her days away.
Ruby continued browsing through the books. Eventually, she began losing track of time. All the tiredness she never knew she felt slowly began to drain away, as if being soaked up by the pages. Her tense shoulders began to uncurl themselves with each passing hour she spent there, idly flipping through different books and coming across some rare ones like 'The Anatomy of Grimm' and 'More than just glyphs: How to use dust for weapon oriented hunters'. The second one sounded pretty sketchy, Ruby reminded herself to show it to Professor Goodwitch to see if the concepts were applicable and not just some cock and bull story to make a quick buck.
Orange filtered in through the frosted windows, dyeing the shop in a warm, dewy colour. The huntress in training glanced at her watch and felt surprise gripped her chest. Sighing at the thought of trekking back to her temporary home with a bag full of books, Ruby spun on her heel and was about to head towards the counter to–
A shadow moved in the corner of her vision.
Slightly spooked and instincts on alert, She gripped the tomes tightly as she treaded towards the direction where it disappeared. The split second shadow which had been casted on the shelves when the thing moved looked distinctly human.
"Got you–!" She breathed and jumped out to see…nothing.
Only a lone table and two chairs stood before her. Snorting at her bout of paranoia, Ruby was about leave the isolated spot she had stumbled upon when something caught her eye. Specifically, what caught her eye was a book. When she went closer to inspect the mysterious object, her suspicion was transformed into awe.
The book was gorgeous, bound in red leather with a glittering gold spine. Reaching out, Ruby ran her fingers over its surface, marvelling at how smooth it was. To her surprise, the book was surprisingly thin. Most of its gait was due to how thickly it was wrapped. Gingerly flipping the book open, her surprise was further peaked when all she saw was a blank page. Confused, Ruby began flipping through the paper thin pages of this mystifying book.
For some odd reason, a strange feeling of excitement started to build in her stomach when she finally ended up on a page with lovely, cursive hand writing. She did a quick inspection on the rest of the pages, happy to find that they were also filled with the same jet black ink. Making a decision, the girl tucked it under her arm with the rest of her pickings and headed towards the counter.
The owner, Tukson, began punching in numbers on the cash register at lightning speed as he began sorting through the small pile. Ruby watched the green numbers increase with each click of the register and began digging through her pockets to fish out her wallet. She mentally patted herself on the back for remembering to keep some lien on her whenever she went out.
Tukson set down the book titled 'History of Weapons' and set it down next to the checked pile. Turning back to the last book, his eyes widened spectacularly when he saw it. The clogs in his head churned wildly, hand trembling as he reached for it.
"Is everything ok?"
He stumbled, quickly shoving the book into the bag.
"Y-Yes." Tukson gritted out and grabbed the fifty lien note deposited in front of him. He handed the change back to her with a weak grin, his demeanour a shadow of his former one. "Thank you, come again!" The man called out as Ruby left the shop. The jingle of the doorbell was something akin to a bucket of cold water, awakening her from the state of serenity she had ended up.
Thankfully, the crowds had long since thinned, allowing Ruby to head home with relative ease. She made it back just in time to see Jack galloping around in an apron, belting out an oldie. Ruby nearly burst her side laughing her guts out. It also didn't help that the apron her boss was wearing was decorated in white frills.
The memory of finding the mysterious book faded from her mind as she settled down for a delicious dinner.
Neo smiled when her scroll buzzed. Looking down, she saw a message from one of the white fang members she actually liked.
'Red riding hood has entered the den.'
'Good.'
The tri coloured girl felt satisfaction bubble from within her.
'Did she pick the flower?'
'Yeah. I can't believe she really found it. Not after how well you hid that thing.'
'You forget that I'm not just a side-kick to the flamboyant thief.'
The reply felt slightly more cautious and well worded. Neo smirked. Even if she liked the guy, it didn't mean that he was her equal. Tolerance only stretched so far, and she didn't even have much to begin with.
'Do you think she'll be back?'
'Obviously.' The message was accompanied by a soundless chuckle and a tap of a cane.
'How do you know, anyway?'
'Because…' Neo paused, contemplating the next words. Her gloved fingers swiftly typed out the reply before snapping the scroll shut. With the message sent, the girl exited the room, sashaying through the White Fang hideout. Some of the members stopped to stare when she walked past, making the edge of her lips hook up in a sly smile.
Roman bit on one end of the cigar, waiting for his hired gun to arrive. He looked up at the familiar and repetitive taps of the cane and blanched.
"Stop smirking like that." He rolled his eyes when she flipped him the bird. "Nothing good ever happens when you look like that. And what's so funny about today anyway." The thief grumbled as he began counting all the stolen crates of dust.
Neo just smiled cheerily and tapped the pocket of her jacket.
'We're both similar, you see. We like sweet things, fun things. So trust me when I say that the little red riding hood will come.'