Here's Chapter 2. Now, I'd like to make one thing clear before I go any further. This fic will have a lot of terrible things in it. There's a lot of death and a lot of depravity, but this story will never fucking ever fall to the levels of depravity featured in Blood Rose. That story is eff'd up and the occurrences in this fic, as horrid and as dark as they may be, will never stoop that low. With that out of the way, onto the story!


Just my fucking luck, Ruby thought to herself as she rummaged through the open sack that lay in front of her. All that remained inside was a can of tuna, a few bandages, a small cooking kit and some scrap metal.

She checked over the bag once more and sighed when she confirmed what was in there. She closed up the sack and checked her hip for her flask. It was small, made of metal and was covered in dents and scratches from years of use. She picked it up and swayed it around a little, checking to see if any water remained inside. Thankfully, there was still some left. Well, I'm not about to die of thirst…. Yet.

She reattached the flask to her hip and looked towards the short sword that hung from the opposite side of her hip. It was as worn and damaged as the brown leather sheathe that held it. She sighed and went to pick up the sack. She swung it around her back and it bashed lightly with Crescent Rose. It was old and mostly busted, and was stuck in it's sniper form. The red paint that once made her weapon stand out had mostly worn away, and scratches covered every inch of it. Still, it worked as a gun and right now that's all that mattered.

She stood up from her resting spot and began the journey towards her destination once more. An old road lay a short distance away. It was a decent way to travel, a remnant of the convenience that was a predominate part of the old world. She would still have to go on foot most of the way.

Ruby walked through the forest, brushing past bushes and leaves as she went. The Autumn air was cold and breezy, and the sky overhead was filled with light gray clouds. It was noon, and the sun was slowly beginning to set.

Soon, the road ahead entered her view. It was empty and devoid of any life. The gray tarmac was dirty and broken. Cracks littered the road and puddles of dirty, muddy water covered the area. There were no creatures in sight, not a single animal or Grimm walked the path.

Ruby stepped on to the road and looked around. Ruby looked towards the sun, and noted the direction it set. She began to walk to what she presumed was west, towards her destination. As she walked, the trees along the road swayed and swashed as the wind brushed past them, dropping leaves onto the road.

Hmmmm, maybe I should walk down this path a lot more often. It's kinda peaceful, Ruby thought to herself. The only sounds she could hear were her boots on the ground and the wind in the air.

Ruby stopped for a second. In the distance, she saw a figure. She couldn't make out who it was or what they were carrying. She picked up the pace and walked towards the figure, making sure to keep her distance.

Eventually, the figure became clear. It was woman in what looked to be plain clothing. She had short brown hair, and what looked to be animal ears. What caught Ruby's eye was the backpack that she had on her back. If the way the woman was carrying it was any indication, it was probably full. Ruby thought back to her own supplies, and the fact that she had practically none.

She's clearly a civilian. I could take her supplies without so much as a sweat. Ruby entertained that thought. It would be easy to just take a few tins of food. Hell, she wouldn't even have to fight or, worse, kill the woman. It's clear that the woman has a lot of supplies. I'll just leave her with the rest of her shit.

"Hey boys, lookie here! A woman wandering all alone. And with a big bag full of goodies, too!" Ruby stopped that line of thought when a voice came from up ahead. Two figures jumped from out of the treeline, startling the woman that lay ahead. If their messy hair and shitty style of clothes was any indication, they were bandits. They pointed their weapons, a short sword for one of the men and a revolver for the other, towards the woman.

"Take whatever food you want. Just don't kill me…. Please." The woman spoke, and to Ruby's lack of surprise, she sounded as timid as she looked. One of the bandits simply laughed and walked towards the woman, his sword pointed towards her neck.

"When we're done with you, you'll be begging to die" The raider responded. His companion laughed with him and walked slowly towards the woman. She flinched back as one of the men tried to grab her, but the other came around her and grabbed her from the side.

The woman screamed as the men dragged her off the road and towards the forest. Ruby followed the bandits through the trees, watching her every step and trying her best not to make any noise. She heard voices in the distance, and saw a smoke trail coming up from behind the trees.

The bandits and the woman that was being dragged away by them approached a small camp in a little clearing. Three more bandits wandered about the camp. They looked up towards the three approaching figures. One of them, a girl with jet black hair and pink eyes approached the group.

"Good work, boys!" The girl inspected the woman in the centre and then snapped back towards one of the men. "Nice catch. Tie her up and throw her somewhere. I'm going to rummage through her bag."

The girl snatched the bag from the woman's back and dropped It on the floor. The bandits dragged the woman away but Ruby paid little attention to her, instead focusing on what lay around the camp. Six bandits in total wondered the camp, two of them lounging by the fire while the leader rummaged through the bag on the floor. The two bandits from earlier entered one of the tents that lay in the camp with the woman, but Ruby paid no mind to them. Another bandit was loitering about the camp with a shotgun in hand.

What caught Ruby's eye was a small pile of supplies that lay near the fire in the centre of the camp. Food, ammo and what looked to be medical supplies lay next to one of the bandits. Coming here was worth it after all, Ruby thought to herself as she pulled Crescent Rose off her back. I'll take out the leader first, she'll be an easy kill.

Ruby raised Crescent Rose and aimed it towards the leader of the bandits. She was still rummaging through the sack and murmuring to herself. Ruby looked through the sight. It was worn and dusty, and the cross hairs were mostly faded, but it was still easy to tell where the centre of the scope was. The reticle came over the bandit leaders head. Ruby's finger pulled on the trigger and the weapon fired.

The bandit's head found itself with a new hole after the bullet travelled straight through her skull. The sound of Ruby's weapon alerted most of the camp. The bandits from the fire stood up, shocked at the sight of their leaders death. The lone bandit scanned the trees, looking for the source of the gunfire. He gripped his shotgun tightly in his hand, and his eyes darted around the perimeter.

Ruby aimed Crescent Rose towards the lone bandit's head and fired once more. The bullet smashed straight into his head, knocking him back a good few feet and killing him. These fucks don't even have their aura unlocked. Idiots.

The two bandits came out of the tent they were in, weapons held firmly in their hands. "WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT!?" The bandit with the revolver shouted, eyes frantically searching the environment. He looked towards the two dead bodies on the ground and raised his weapon. "Spread out! Find the fucker that did this! They'll fuckin' pay for this!"

They won't have to search for long, Ruby thought to herself as she unsheathed the short sword from her hip, gripping it in her right hand. The bandits spread out across the camp. One of them came close to where Ruby stood. He had a revolver in his right hand and a sword in his left. Ruby waited and waited until the man came close, then she struck.

Before the man could act, a sword pierced his chest, going straight through his lungs. Blood came gushing out of the wound and dribbled down his mouth. His eyes locked on to her for a brief moment, but soon became lifeless. His limbs fell to his side, but Ruby grabbed his right hand and snatched his revolver.

The bandit with the shotgun saw the commotion and raised his weapon. A single shot fired through the air, but it wasn't his. A large bullet hole lay in the temple of his head, and he slumped to the floor. Ruby raised her revolver but heard another gun fire. A bullet slammed into her side, but didn't pierce it. Her aura glowed after the shot landed, and the man that fired it looked towards her with shock.

"Huntsman! She's a fucking Huntsman! Run!" The man shouted, lowering his weapon and running for the trees. Ruby raised her weapon and aimed it towards him and pulled the trigger. Nothing happened. The gun jammed. Just my fucking luck. Guess we'll have to do this the hard way.

The man ran as fast as he could, his breathing was heavy and his footfalls were loud. Before he knew it, a mass of rose petals dashed past him, landing directly in front of him. Ruby looked to the man and charged once more. She lifted her sword and struck at the man, but he lifted up his sword in time to block it. It was only a temporary reprieve as Ruby's knee went straight into his crotch, causing him to falter. Ruby swung her sword at his chest, and the man screamed in pain. Blood came rushing out of the wound, and he fell to the floor.

"PLEASE, DON-" Before he could finish, Ruby's sword went straight through his face, killing him instantly. Ruby pulled the sword out of his head and lowered it to her side. Now, where's the last- The sound of rustling leaves came from behind her. She turned around and found the last bandit. He was behind the woman that she saw on the road, and he had a revolver pointed at her head. It was the same revolver that jammed when she tried to use it.

"I'll shoot this bitch if you so much as dare come near me. I know your type, Huntsman, so stop playing hero and back the fuck away!" The man spoke, and Ruby couldn't help but laugh at him inside her head. Man, these bandits are a fucking joke.

"I was never playing hero, I'm just one pissed off scavenger. Now, here's the deal. You run away from this camp with whatever belongings you have on you, and I won't beat you into a fucking pulp with the butt of my little friend here." Ruby pointed to Crescent Rose on her back. Turning her gun red with the blood of this idiot would be a nice little bonus to the rest of the supplies in the camp.

"You- you think you can just walk away with all our shit. I'll…. Uhhhhhhhh….. Ummmmm." The man looked frantically towards her. Your supposed to be a fuckin' bandit, grow a pair. "I'll just….. Fuck this!" The man dropped whatever charade of bravery he had and lowered his weapon. He pushed his hostage away and ran for the trees. Ruby rolled her eyes and pulled Crescent Rose from her back. She raised it and took aim. The bandit ran and ran as fast as he could, but before he could get any further a bullet went straight through his head. He crashed into the flow and rolled down a small hill out of view.

..That was worth the bullet

Ruby holstered Crescent Rose on her back and checked around her in case any other bandits showed up. Confirming that they were all dead, she began to walk away. Then, she remembered something, Oh yeah, that woman on the floor. She looked towards the woman in question and walked towards her. She looked towards Ruby with tears in her eyes.

Ruby came right up to her and knelt down on one knee. "Are you alright?" Ruby asked the woman. It was clear just by looking at her that the bandits hadn't done anything too bad to her, but the ripped clothing suggested that they were about to.

"I…. I'm fine…. Mostly." The woman spoke. She looked directly towards Ruby and then back to the ground. She tried weakly to lift herself off the ground, struggling to do so. Ruby stretched out her hand towards her and she accepted it. Ruby lifted her up and the woman stood up once again.

"Good." Ruby looked into the woman's face. There were still tears running down her cheeks, but she stopped crying. Note to self: I was about to mug this woman. Ruby pushed that thought aside. Sure, she was going to rob her, but she had a single tin of tuna and, to be quite frank, that's not enough to make the whole journey back home. She would of left the woman with some of her belongings at least.

"Thank you. They were about to-" The woman hesitated for a second. Ruby simply nodded to show she understand what the woman was implying. "-Do something horrid. You saved me." Before she could continue, a loud noise came from up above. The sound of thunder went through the air, and with that came the possibility of heavy rain. "There's a storm coming soon. Perhaps you'd like a place to stay for a little while until it's over. I can give you some food as well."

Ruby perked up at the offer. A roof over my head and food to boot? Hell, I should of come into this camp with the sole purpose of saving this woman if that's my reward. "I accept your offer. But first…." Ruby looked towards the camp and the supplies that lay within. "I've got a little pillaging to do."

"I'll go get my backpack, then. Mind if I take some stuff as well?" The woman spoke with more confidence in her voice. Damn, she's willing to take from the dead, too. I might warm up to this lady.

"Take as much as you can. My bag isn't exactly bottomless." Ruby motioned for her to head towards the camp, then followed suit. She went straight for her backpack while Ruby went towards the supplies that lay near the camp fire. She knelt down on both knees and inspected the pile of supplies. There were a few cans and tins of food, along with a couple of boxes of ammo. Ruby picked up one of the boxes and sighed when she saw what was inside. None of the rounds were the correct calibre, and she sure as shit wasn't going to carry a faulty revolver around.

Another object in the pile peaked her interest. A fairly large black backpack lay neatly on the floor. It was far superior in comparison to her shitty rucksack. She picked it up and pulled her sack off her back. She opened it up and dumped the few items that remained into the other backpack. She grabbed some of the food that lay in the supply pile and dumped it into the bag as well. She decided to ignore the medical supplies, as most of them were clearly busted up. One the boxes had a bunch of syringes filled with…. Questionable substances. Of all the vices I picked up, I'm thankful that drugs weren't one of them.

Checking over her supplies one more time, she lifted up the backpack and swung it around her back. She stood up and waited for the other woman to come over and fill up her backpack. After she was done, they both walked off back towards the road.

Well, that was eventful, Ruby thought to herself as she walked towards the road with her…. Companion? Friend? Eh, it didn't matter what she was to Ruby.

Free food and a roof over her head awaited her tonight.


Here ends Chapter 2. As you can probably tell, Ruby went straight for the Terrifying Presence perk the first chance she got. Anyway, see you for the next chapter!