Here's the next chapter, folks! I've got nothing to add, so on with the story!
Ruby thought she was good at many things. Killing? Easy peasy. Scavenging? She could find a spare bullet in a stack of dead bodies with her eyes closed. Surviving? She's not dead, so she must be good at it. Consoling people? Yeah, not her strongest skill, considering the fact that she had no clue what to say to the crying girl next to her.
Cecilia Burrows sat next to Ruby on the couch. Her cheeks were red, and tears streamed down her face. Ruby had an arm on her shoulder. Her eyes looked towards Cecilia before turning away. Welp, I'm completely useless here, Ruby thought to herself.
"I know this is hard for you, Cecilia." Ruby said. Cecilia simply sniffled, tears still falling down her cheeks. "Rest assured, he went down fighting." Ruby said the only thing that came to mind. Cecilia sniffled and then turned her head to face Ruby.
"You know… You really suck at this." Cecilia said, her voice coming out low and timid.
"No shit." Ruby closed her eyes and sighed, before turning to face Cecilia once more. "Look, I know that whatever you or I do won't bring your dad back. But know this..." Cecilia looked towards Ruby, the tears slowly beginning to disappear. "I'll find the bastard that killed him." Cecilia wiped the tears from her eyes and let out a light sniffle. "Mark my words. His head will be on a spike by tomorrow morning." Cecilia let out a light laugh once Ruby finished speaking. "Too edgy?"
"Yeah." Cecilia spoke, wiping away the tears from her face. Her cheeks were a little less red, and the tears had finally dried in. "Oh, and if you do see him…" Cecilia leaned in towards Ruby. "...Make him suffer."
Ruby let out a little laugh. Heh, I fully intend too. "Oh, I will." They both looked at each other for a moment before laughing once more. "Yep, too edgy." Ruby looked towards the kitchen and back towards Cecilia. "Tea?"
"Sure. I'll go make it." Cecilia got off the couch and walked towards the kitchen. Ruby sighed and kicked her bare feet up on the table. It was still raining heavily outside, and the sounds of thunder echoed through the air.
Ruby's thoughts drifted towards the killer that was still terrorizing the village. With Cecilia's dad dead, she's probably next on the chopping block. Of course, that's only if the killer is consistent with the whole 'kill everyone in the family' thing. If she wanted to catch this bastard, she'd have to watch Cecilia like a hawk. She would be her best shot at finding the killer and putting their reign of terror to an end.
Man, It's been a while since I've gotten involved in other people's affairs. I owe Cecilia for taking me in, though, and I intend to repay it in blood. Ruby went over the plan in her head, but one thing still irked her. Barlow was clearly a huntsman, even if he wasn't as flashy as most huntsman. Well, they were flashy before the collapse, as least. There was clearly a fight, and Barlow obviously lost. The killer was either extremely lucky or extremely skilled.
Ruby pushed those thoughts away as Cecilia walked back into the room with two steaming mugs of tea in her hands. She gave one to Ruby and sat back down beside her. She kicked her feet up on the table and leaned in to Ruby. Ruby looked to Cecilia for a moment with confusion, before giving in and leaning in closer to her.
"Oh, there's something I need to tell you. I have to drop some of the supplies I found from the village down to the clinic. I kinda forgot to do it, and considering the fact that… You, know… There's a madman going around so I've been putting it off." Cecilia spoke to Ruby. She sounded slightly tired but she spoke with more confidence.
"Don't worry about that asshole. If you need to head down to the clinic, I'll watch your back."
"Okay then, I guess I'll go there after all. Give me five minutes, I need to get some things."
"Same here." Ruby said as she pushed herself off the couch and went upstairs. She found her way towards the bathroom and entered it, locking the door behind her. She walked up to the mirror and looked at herself for a moment.
Her hair was long and, If she had to be honest with herself, messy. It's not like I've had access to any good barbers. Then again, I'm not really that bothered to look for any. Her dark gray eyes stared back at her, a constant reminder of the power that she lost. The very power that caught Ozpin's eye and, if he was to be believed, caused her mother's death.
She couldn't think of any positives that came from losing the power. Perhaps she would been less of a target if she lost it before becoming a huntsman. Hell, a lot of her problems stemmed from her particularly shitty choice of career. And to think, all those years ago I was enamoured with the idea of becoming a huntsman, a warrior, a hero. Good thing I'm not a naive idiot, unlike Ja-. No. Ruby pushed that man's name out of her head. It's better to forget him.
He chose to be a hero, and she chose to survive. And as far as she was concerned, it was the right call.
She went towards the bathroom door and left the room. Her room was nearby, and she entered it. Her clothes were still in the dresser and it only took a couple of minutes to put everything on. She left the room and walked downstairs, catching sight of Cecilia who was now fully dressed and carrying the bag that she wore yesterday on her back.
"Alright then, let's head out." Cecilia said before walking out the door. Ruby followed suit, praying to whatever God's were out there that she'd get a chance to do that killer in.
It was dark outside, due to the massive gray clouds blocking out the sun overhead. It was heavily raining, and the sound of thunder and the spark of lighting lit up the sky as a lone figure walked through the streets.
A short distance away, the person he was following walked along. Even in the dark, her faunus features were as clear as day, but the figure paid no mind to them. He was more concerned about everything around her. Lights from the nearby buildings lit up the area around her. It would cause a lot of fear If I pulled off a kill right in front of everyone, but I already tested my limits with that huntsman, the man thought to himself.
Slipping through the shadows, he kept his distance from the woman he was stalking. He had to pick the right moment to strike at her. Somewhere dark and empty would do, perhaps even her destination if there was no one there. The man giggled a little at the thought of it. She was the local doctor in the town, and it would be truly terrible if she died. The village could do nothing without her.
And the fear that came from their reactions was exactly what he wanted. Exactly what he needed. Oh, I've got a brilliant idea! I'll use some of the surgical tools to kill her, that'll shake up a few people! Perhaps I'll strike and keep her alive for awhile, then strike again to make it all the worse. There were just so many possibilities! The man laughed madly once more.
Then, he saw something. A figure walked a short distance away from the woman, slipping through the shadows just as he did. He couldn't make out any of their features, but it was pretty obvious that they were following the woman. Well well well, this has gotten interesting.
Soon, the faunus woman found her way towards the clinic and entered it. The man stayed back in the shadows and observed her from a distance. She was the only one in there, and now would be the perfect time to strike. Of course, the other stalker put a dent in that plan. He'd kill them and be done with it, but he couldn't find them anyway.
He waited for hours and hours outside the clinic, watching it hawkishly from the shadows. He would strike, but there's a chance, an ever so small chance, that the other stalker was there to defend the girl. It wasn't the first time the village guard did something like this.
And it wouldn't be the last. Not until he had done his work anyway.
His eyes darted to the clinic as he heard the front door open. The faunus woman left the building and walked away, probably towards her house. Well, I may as well strike her down at her house. Not as ironic as dying in a place where people are supposed to be made better, but a poor killer like me takes what they can get.
He chuckled to himself once more and wandered off into the shadows, following the woman from far behind.
Cecilia let out a sigh as she approached her house. It was dark outside, and the rain had only gotten heavier since she left the clinic. She approached the front door and unlocked it before stepping inside. Before she closed the door, a familiar voice came from behind her. "Hey! Wait for me!"
Ruby dashed towards her and then went straight inside. The black coat that she wore was soaking wet, dripping all over the floor. The door closed behind her, and she immediately threw the soaking wet coat over the hanger.
"Wow, your manners know no bounds." Cecilia said. Ruby had a lot of good traits, but manners weren't one of them. Sighing once more, Cecilia made her way towards the kitchen to make some tea. Even though it was warm inside, she still needed something to warm her, and Ruby, up.
She went into the kitchen and walked straight towards the kettle. She filled it up with a little water and went towards the stove to boil it. As it boiled, Cecilia looked out the window. The rain was even heavier than it was when they came in, and the sounds of thunder echoed through the air. Flashes of lighting lit up the darkness outside.
And the figure that stood outside her window.
Cecilia stepped back, shocked at the sight of the stranger outside. Another flash came, but the figure was gone. Calm down, Cecilia! It's just your imagination. There's nothing out there. Nothing at al-
The sound of a window breaking and the sight of a man jumping through it proved her wrong. His eyes darted straight towards Cecilia. Before she could get a better look at him, he charged towards her, weapons in hand. He raised one of his axes and ran towards her. Cecilia did the only thing she could.
She screamed.
A loud bang echoed through the house. A bullet went straight past the man's head and nailed the nearby wall. He looked frantically towards the source of the gunfire and stepped back. "Well, this is interesting. I see you've found yourself a noble defender." The man spoke to Cecilia. He sounded completely batshit insane.
Cecilia looked towards the staircase and found Ruby standing atop them, Crescent Rose in hand. Smoke came from the tip of her rifle. The man with the axe looked at her and let out a laugh before backing away. He leaped through the window and out into the night.
Ruby dashed straight for the window, turning into a storm of rose petals. They fell across the floor as she charged straight out of the window.
Cecilia looked at the whole thing in shock. She looked outside of the broken window, the rain from outside was blown by the wind straight into her kitchen.
The only thing she could do was pray that Ruby could win.
And here ends Chapter 4! Ruby has finally got the killer in her sights, and next chapter will mark a good ol' fashioned fight to the death.
As you might of noticed, this chapter took almost a week to come out. This is partly due to fact I'm lazy, but mostly due to school and other shit in my life. Anyway, enough with that, on to the next part of the story.