Summer Rose had made a terrible mistake.
She had thought it was the right choice at the time. Her life for so many others. One thing led to the next, however, and now, here she was, all of time laid before her.
Perhaps if she'd known she would be here, she would have stayed in Patch. Her husband by her side, her daughters on her lap.
Her daughters.
Yes, she had daughters. Two of them. Yang, her feisty firecracker, always seeking out adventure. And Ruby. Her sweet, innocent little Ruby, the girl she had brought into this world.
The girl she had doomed to die.
Though not set in stone, she could see the passage of time like a tree with a thousand branches, all growing out from her death. In every single one, she could see her sweet Ruby, inspired by her death, pursue the path of the huntress. And in every single one, she saw her daughter meet a violent end.
Her fault. This was all her fault. If she hadn't died, her daughter would have the happy life she deserved, and because of her... because of her...
But what could she do? She was dead. No more could she hold her daughter close, or guide her away from the path she had doomed her to take.
Unless...
The Gods. They stood before her, glowering over her as she fell to her hands and knees.
Please, she begged, please save her.
But they made no move to help her, watching in silence.
So she spoke again, louder this time, begging for someone, anyone to hear her cry. Not just the Gods, not just her Gods, anyone.
And then, someone responded.
A gentle light tugged on her soul, almost kindly pulling her away from the world that had been her own. Its touch was warm like the sun, rippling with energy.
Grab on, it seemed to say.
So she did, and it, whatever it was, whisked her away in a flash of light.
Someone was screaming.
Ruby Rose had no clue how she'd ended up here, in this dry and sandy street, the sun beating down her back. She barely noticed how the dirt kicked up into great big clouds behind her, or how people stopped and stared at her as she sprinted past them. She didn't bother to wonder how she'd gone from the comforts of her dorm room in Beacon to the rusty orange of wherever this was, because someone was in trouble.
A blur of red tore across the dusty unpaved street. In her wake, billows of sand and rose petals ripped through the town like a miniature sandstorm, pelting bystanders and blowing sheets to the wind. Ruby barely heard the curses thrown her way. There was no time to apologize–someone could be getting killed right now at this very moment, and Ruby couldn't stop until she was sure they were safe.
Then she threw a glance over her shoulder and oh wow that was a lot of sand. Great clouds of orange furled out from behind her, consuming everything in its path. People, vehicles, those dry and cracked buildings on the side of the road that she was beginning to realize looked nothing like Vale.
A pained cry shook her out and snapped her back. Yes, there was someone in danger. It didn't matter where she was. She had to move.
Ruby swerved. The sandy hurricane swallowed her. Dust filled her lungs, sending her shooting out to the side a coughing mess. Her hand reached up to rub the dirt from her face. The other one fell to Crescent Rose still strapped to her hip as she took off again.
Then she saw them. A man, cowering and helpless as a dark shape towered over him. A Grimm. It had to be.
She streaked forward without a second thought. Thirty feet away. One swing would be all it would take. Crescent Rose unfurled at her side with a click. Twenty feet away. The Grimm would never see it coming. She raised her weapon. Ten feet away. She had to act now.
She jumped up. Crescent Rose swung down.
A pair of blue eyes stared into her soul.
Ruby gasped. Crescent Rose stopped mid-air, and with a jolt, Ruby suddenly found herself hanging from the handle of her scythe.
Well, she thought, this is awkward.
Jotaro Kujo stared up into the silver eyes of his attacker, hiding a pained grimace beneath a scowl.
Who is this girl? How'd she get here so fast? he thought as Star Platinum's fingers held fast onto the wicked edge hanging just above his face. Good grief. I get done with one Stand user, and now I have to deal with her? What a pain.
This girl–because she couldn't possibly be any older than he was–she was bold, Jotaro would give her that. With such a loud, flashy strike from behind, he would have been cleaved in two, were it not for Star Platinum's lightning fast reactions.
She also hit much too hard for someone so short. Already, Jotaro could feel his arm buckling beneath the heavy weight of her oversized gardening tool. A Stand, perhaps?
Whatever it was, Jotaro was willing to bet his life that it would still take his head off if he wasn't careful.
"Um... hi?" the girl said, breaking the stand-off.
Jotaro's eyes narrowed. What sort of a response was that? Was she trying to play innocent? And right after she'd tried to split open his skull, too?
Bold was putting it too lightly. She was downright brazen.
Her silver eyes flicked over his shoulder, betraying just what it was she had tried to do. Jotaro cursed, throwing the girl aside and turning around just in time to see Steely Dan crawling toward a nearby alleyway.
Dammit, I should've expected backup! For all his posturing, with a Stand as weak as his, even he wouldn't be stupid enough not to have a plan if things went wrong!
Of course, though hindsight was twenty-twenty, it was utterly useless now. Backup or no, Steely Dan still had a debt to pay, and Jotaro was going to make him pay it. With a growl, Jotaro started for the pathetic wimp of a man on the floor.
"Hi-yah!"
In an instant, Star Platinum surged out of him and slapped the girl's blade away as Jotaro spun around to face her angrily.
"Hey! Don't you touch him!" the girl said, holding her big red scythe out in front of her. "Take on someone your own size!"
Jotaro took note of the height difference between him and the girl, but he chose to clench his teeth and remain silent. Really, he wasn't in the mood to take another fight, but as the girl slid her feet back into a fighting stance, Jotaro realized he wasn't going to have a choice.
Gritting his teeth, he growled, "Get out of the way, or I'll beat the shit out of you too."
"I can't do that. There's no way I'd let you hurt an innocent man like that!"
Innocent? Jotaro's nails ground against his palms. He'd been dragged around town to be used as a plaything for Steely Dan's sadistic enjoyment. He'd been walked over, he'd been kicked into the dirt, he'd been humiliated like some helpless kid on the playground, and this bitch had the absolute gall to pretend she and Steely Dan were the victims here?
As his scowl deepened, he didn't fail to notice that Steely Dan had disappeared. That only made him even angrier, His knuckles turned white as he clenched his fists tight, and as he started forward, he felt Star Platinum's hand materialize at his side, just as furious as he was.
There was still a debt to be paid, and he would be damned if someone wasn't going to pay the bill when he was done.
"Hey! Didn't you hear me?" The girl's squeaky voice tore through his ears, burning away at what little patience he had left. "I said, I'm not going to let you–"
"ORA!"
The girl cut off with a gasp, her tiny frame wrapped around Star Platinum's arm as it buried its fist into her stomach. Served her right. Jotaro wasn't in the mood to listen to another tirade today. He just wanted to make her hurt.
Star Platinum let out a shout, and his fist rocketed forward. The air exploded from the sheer force of the blow, and the girl flew away, landing in a heap down the street. Dust sprayed into the wind from the impact, but his eyes remained fixed on the girl laid on the street.
Groaning, she staggered to her feet, clutching her scythe close, her cloak billowing out behind her as the dust settled beneath her. She wobbled, before planting the hilt of her scythe into the dirt, leaning against it for support as she gasped for air.
A hit like that would've knocked a normal person out cold. That means this girl is another one of DIO's Stand users. His brows pulled down, as he let Star Platinum fully emerge from the depths of his soul, he let out an angry huff. Good. That means I won't have to hold back.
"O-ow! That hurt!" the girl moaned. "You can't do that!"
"You were in my way," he replied.
"But I was talking!"
"I don't give a damn!" Jotaro spat, noting how the girl reeled back as if she hadn't expected anger, which was stupid because she knew who he was, didn't she? Every one of DIO's followers had known so far.
She was a damn good actor–good enough that he'd almost have believed her ignorance, if he wasn't boiling mad right now.
Gramps and the others can't be a few minutes' walk from here. Kakyoin should know where I am, so I just need to hold her off until they get here. Not that he would need their help if he kicked her ass first. A desert draft passed between them, ruffling his coat. Jotaro narrowed his eyes, watching her every move.
The girl didn't back away, for one. If she really was one of DIO's, then she knew who he was, and what he could do. That meant either she had a close-ranged stand, or she was just plain stupid. Most of the Stand users he'd faced were the latter. Their Stands alone could have finished him off just fine on their own, and they wasted their time gloating over him. This girl, though... maybe she was different.
The whole "running up to him and trying to slice him in half" certainly said she was not someone to be taken lightly, but when had he ever?
"I'm real pissed off right now," he said, watching her reaction as he took another step forward. "That guy owed me big. Get in my way, and you'll be paying the bill for him."
"Well, I'm sorry, but you're going to have to go home empty handed!" The girl paused. "Or... jail, actually. Because that's where you're going when I'm through with you!"
Jotaro's scowl grew. Just who the hell did this girl think she was, some kind of superhero? The Stand users he'd faced had always been delusional–Steely Dan, Grey Fly, Justice, they all thought they were hot shit–and she was just another loon in the bin.
"Oi. Just shut up and bring out your stand."
That actually got the girl to stop. "Huh? Stand?" she said, tilting her head. "What's that?"
Jotaro didn't answer. No use telling her what she didn't know. He didn't owe her answers.
No one moved. No one spoke. The girl's cloak fluttered in the wind, leaving a trail of rose petals behind her. Her Stand remained hidden.
That would make figuring her out that much harder.
The girl was small. She couldn't have been very strong, and she sure as hell couldn't have enough muscle to swing around a weapon nearly as tall as her. Her stand must have been the one lugging it around–or maybe it was her stand–but what did it do? Her denial must've been some ploy to keep it a secret.
A strength based Stand, maybe? It would explain her brazen attitude. But could it be as strong as Star Platinum? Jotaro hated not knowing for sure, and he was hesitant to risk stepping into her range to find out. Dammit. What the hell is taking everyone else so long? Fighting this girl on my own could get messy, especially when she starts swinging that red hunk of junk around.
From the corner of his eye, he could see a crowd beginning to form around them. Jotaro would be the first to admit that they stood out here, but couldn't they be bothered to just mind their own damn business for once? Invisible or not, that girl's scythe could cause some serious damage if he wasn't careful.
Good grief. What a pain this has become, he thought. It was times like this where he really needed a smoke. Sighing, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a cigarette.
Then the girl moved. Tearing toward him in a blur of red so fast, he might have missed it, had he not expected just that. Jotaro flicked a cigarette toward her face. If he could blind her, he'd be able to end it without much risk.
Of course, she disappeared in a flurry of rose petals before it could connect. Her shadow dropped over him. Star Platinum spun around before he could, catching the blade between his palms.
Pain jolted up his hands. Jotaro winced. A trickle of red seeped through his fingers, but he didn't let go.
Jotaro dragged the scythe back. The girl yelped, dragged along with it. He swung her up in the air. Turned toward a nearby building.
A crowd of people had gathered before it.
Jotaro cursed, turning on his heel at the last minute and hurled the girl toward the ground.
The moment her feet touched the dirt, she wrenched the scythe out of his hands and was gone. She reappeared a few meters away, digging a line into the ground as she dragged herself to a stop down the road and kicking up a cloud of dirt and petals behind her.
She had to have some kind of super speed, too. There was no way anyone could move like that without the help of a Stand. Something to do with the petals?
"Oh wow," the girl said, and she wrenched the weapon out of the dirt. "You're strong!"
And now she was complimenting him? Jotaro frowned. Was she trying to trick him into letting his guard down?
No. This girl was one of DIO's assassins. He couldn't let her open him up like that. She was trying to kill him–he had to remain vigilant, no matter how strange she might be.
Jotaro blinked.
And suddenly, her cape was fluttering in front of his face.
"Yah!"
The girl swung. Her swing was wide and telegraphed. Jotaro would have been able to easily lean out of the way if it wasn't so devastatingly fast. Star Platinum's arm came up to block it. The girl's weapon ripped straight through. Jotaro grit his teeth as a red line tore through his arm.
And she wasn't even done. Almost immediately after, the girl spun on her heel and her scythe came back down. Jotaro forced Star Platinum away, and the scythe nicked the red scarf around his neck. Her swing became a sweep. Star Platinum jumped over. The girl twirled around and swung for his neck. Jotaro ordered Star Platinum to back away.
With how quickly the girl was swinging, Star Platinum was quickly becoming more a liability than an asset. As strong and as fast as it was, it made him twice as easy to hit, and every hit from that fucking gardening tool hurt like hell. Jotaro called Star Platinum back inside.
With both of them breathing down each other's neck, all it would take was one good hit to end the fight, from both him and her. Every Stand had a weakness–he just needed to find it and blow it open, like he always did, but that was nearly impossible when her Stand was so much like his own.
That meant he needed to find an opening in her attacks instead.
But how the hell am I supposed to find one? Jotaro cursed, ducking under another overhead cut. The girl was too fast. Each swing led into the next so smoothly, Jotaro couldn't slip a blow through if he tried. He hadn't had to move this much since getting Star Platinum, and if he was honest, it was starting to grate on him.
Again, the girl swung down. Again, Jotaro stepped to the left. The girl took her momentum with her, spinning the blade in her hands as she slashed across once, twice, three times. Jotaro ducked the first, dodged the second. The third would have split his neck in two, had he not called Star Platinum out to block the attack.
Another cut opened on his arm.
The girl yanked her blade away and ducked back in a shower of rose petals before he could retaliate. Growling, Jotaro lunged after her.
The girl jumped. Her blade swung overhead. Star Platinum crossed his arms to catch it, but the girl bounced off Jotaro's head, swung back around, and slashed at his back.
Jotaro jumped forward, holding back an irritated hiss as he felt the weapon rip through his jacket, missing him by a centimeter. Star Platinum flickered in to swing out at her. The girl was a second faster. She ducked under and swung for his legs. Jotaro jumped back, but the girl seized the chance to close the gap again, swinging for his face.
Another dodge. Another swing. Jotaro slapped this one aside on his own. The girl let him, carrying the momentum of the swing down, around, and back over, using it to lift herself in the air and swing for his head.
Anyone else would have stepped away. Jotaro stepped in. His hand came up to grab hers, resting on the shaft of her scythe. The girl's silver eyes widened.
Momentum. That was just it. No matter how much strength her Stand was giving her, it couldn't be easy to lug around a weapon nearly as tall as her and at least half her body weight, and from the looks of it, it certainly wasn't. Starting a swing, that was easy. Ending it was a different matter altogether. That was what made her reach a little too far. That was what let him close in.
That was what had decided this fight.
"ORA!"
Star Platinum's fist burst out of his chest. The girl's own chest folded around it. She gasped, spit flying out of her mouth.
But Jotaro wasn't finished with her. Not by a long shot. He roared, all of his pent of rage spilling out in a single breath as Star Platinum struck the girl again and again. Her face, her chest, her arms and legs, he smashed his fist into her again and again and again, each blow strong enough to shatter steel. He heard something crack. He didn't care. Steely Dan and this girl had put him through hell. He wasn't just going to hurt her. He wanted, no, he needed to break her.
With a huff, Jotaro turned on his heel and drew his cap over his eyes. "Consider your debt paid," he said.
And with one last shout, Star Platinum drew his fist back and drove his fist into the girl, and she shot off like a rocket. Her body broke through a nearby wall with a crash. Bricks exploded outward and showered onto the ground below. The civilians watching flocked out of the way with horrified gasps. Jotaro didn't care; he'd already begun to walk away.
What a day, he thought, placing a cigarette into his mouth and lighting it. If anything, I'm just glad I finished that before Gramps and the others got back. With a Stand that strong, they could've gotten hurt. He scowled, biting down on his cigarette. Now, to find that bastard Steely Dan.
Then, he heard the bricks move. Jotaro's eyes widened. He turned around just in time to see a red blur emerge from the debris and into the air. Four gunshots rang out.
Star Platinum moved before he could, snatching the bullets out of the air one by one. As he watched, the red blur came to a stop on the other side. Cape flowing out behind her, rose petals pooling out from her feet–there was no mistaking it.
Standing before him, the girl gave him that stupid, smug grin that had never left her face since the fight had begun. He briefly caught a red glow flickering around her before it vanished.
"You weren't thinking of leaving already?" the girl asked, raising her scythe at his face as he watched the blade retract and mechanical parts shift into place, revealing the smoking barrel on the other end.
Out of all the fights she'd had since she'd entered Beacon, Ruby wouldn't be lying if she said this was one of the hardest. Everyone said she was good at fighting stuff–it was why Ozpin had let her into Beacon early–but she wasn't sure if this was a fight she could win.
For one, this guy was fast, nearly as fast as her. Even with her semblance, she had barely been able to graze him.
For another, he was strong. Ruby would even go as far to say he was stronger than Yang. Every hit she'd taken had scooped chunks out of her aura. That last attack, whatever it was, had taken out half of her aura alone. And she had yet to land a single blow on him! If he could do that much damage in such a short amount of time, there was no way Ruby could catch up and overpower him with aura advantage alone.
Third was his semblance. She couldn't see whatever he was attacking her with. No weapons, no dust discharges, nothing. It had to be some sort of telepathic semblance, like Miss Goodwitch–except she couldn't see where it was coming from. She hadn't had to worry about blocking any invisible attacks just yet, but that was because she'd been on the offensive this whole time. If the offensive momentum ever swung against her favor, the fight would be over in an instant.
But... she wasn't out of hope just yet–there was a chance, a small chance, yes, but a chance that, if she pressed on, she could win this. And she would win this, because she was Ruby Rose, daughter of the legendary huntress Summer Rose, destined to be a hero!
For one, this guy's semblance, though really strong, had very little range. She'd noticed it every time he stepped toward her, because why else would he approach her and risk getting hit unless he couldn't fight from further away? And the only times he'd ever scored a hit was when she'd gotten too close–she thought she could pepper him from far away to stay out of that range, but as she watched her bullets fall to the floor by his side, released from the grasp of that powerful semblance, she remembered that there was no way someone as fast as him wouldn't be able to catch them out of the air.
But not to worry! With Crescent Rose by her side, there was no way she could lose! He couldn't attack if he had to catch Crescent Rose with his semblance, that much she could figure out. He was playing her game, and she intended to keep it that way, because, for another, he didn't seem to have any idea what he was doing. He had no weapon, no control of his aura, and from the way he stared at her in shock, she guessed that he'd never faced a real huntress before, even if she was still in training. Figures that a guy like him was just like Roman–he could bully regular people with his super strong semblance, but the moment someone with aura showed up, he'd get his butt kicked.
No doubt the cut on his back hadn't done any real damage, but if he really knew how to use his aura, he would have been fast enough to shield himself. She just needed one more hit like that, one he wasn't expecting and wouldn't be able to get his aura up in time to protect him from, and she'd be able to knock him out with a single blow.
Ruby hadn't missed all the people running away–probably from the gunshot she'd just fired. She was lucky that the guy hadn't tried to take any hostages yet, or tried to hurt anyone else. His eyes were on her, and her alone. She needed to finish this before he tried anything else.
Reaching up to crank back the bolt, letting another shell fall to her feet, Ruby rolled back her shoulder and grinned. That means I'll have to go all out on him, she thought.
She'd held back on Crescent Rose's capabilities before, because she thought he didn't have a weapon, but if she was being honest, fights were the most fun when she got to us Crescent Rose at her full capacity.
"Good grief," the guy said, scowling. "That thing's also a gun? What kind of a crazy world do I live in?"
Ruby scoffed. "A gun? Crescent Rose is not just a gun! She's my baby!"
"You've got a kid?"
"She's better than any kid! She fires high speed dust rounds and cuts through Grimm like butter, and she's perfect for the butt-kicking I'm about to send your way!"
Crescent Rose swung over her shoulder, her blade out with a push of a button, and with a grin, she fired, letting the blast carry her forward.
Ruby drew back Crescent Rose and swung. The guy ducked to the side–fast enough to avoid a direct hit, but not fast enough for her to slice through his lapels. Her red boots kicked dust into the air as she skidded past him. Anyone else would have had to stop before launching another attack.
Ruby threw Crescent Rose's barrel behind her and squeezed the trigger, reversing her movement in an instant. The guy hadn't expected that, barely managing to turn around before she was swinging for his neck. He danced the other way. This time, the tip of her blade snagged the giant gold chain hanging from his collar.
In a way, he moved a lot like Yang, with how he tried to weave through her attacks. He hadn't thrown a single punch himself, yes, but every time he'd hit her in the stomach were openings that Yang would have taken. His attack patterns, his defensive movement–it didn't take a genius to realize that he telegraphed his blows just like a brawler. It had worked well enough with Yang for her to beat Ruby every time they'd sparred. But this guy was no Yang, and he didn't have the same experience fighting someone like Ruby that she had fighting Yang.
Ruby stretched out her arm, letting the chain bring her to a stop as she finished her swing. The chain followed, and she ripped it from its place, tossing it to the ground a few feet away as the momentum of her swing carried Crescent Rose into a twirl back toward the guy.
Like the last time she overextended, she saw his stance tense. His hand unclenched, his arm drew back.
Only this time, Ruby fired Crescent Rose, and suddenly, Crescent Rose spun out of his reach and swung the other way. The guy's eyes widened. Clearly, he hadn't been expecting it. Again, Crescent Rose stopped short of hitting him, his semblance deflecting her swing away, but Ruby didn't miss how he staggered back from the blow.
"Are you getting tired?" Ruby asked. "If you are, just turn yourself in, because there's no way I'm letting you hurt anyone here!"
"Even that piece of shit Steely Dan?" the guy growled.
Ruby blinked. Steely Dan? Who was that? The guy he'd been about to beat up? She shook her head and puffed out her chest defiantly. "Especially him! Even if he's done some bad things, there's no one here as mean as you!"
"I'll show you mean!" The guy opened a hand and thrust it forward, hurling dust into her eyes. When had he grabbed that?
Eep! That's bad! Ruby jumped back with a yelp. Her feet nearly snagged on her cape as she landed, and she threw out her arms to catch her balance. She swung out Crescent Rose wildly, in an attempt to keep him at bay.
Something stopped Crescent Rose. The guy's semblance, no doubt. Any second, he would follow up and break through the rest of her aura.
There was no time to think. Ruby launched herself up and pulled Crescent Rose's trigger. The force ripped her scythe free from the invisible grip and higher into the air.
And now she was falling. Ruby reached up to wipe the dirt from her eyes. As soon as she opened them, she saw the ground rushing up to meet her. She reached out to catch herself.
In front of her, she felt the air part. Ruby's eyes widened. Of course the guy would try to catch her mid-air. How could she be so stupid!
Crescent Rose swung down–but not to block the incoming blow. Ruby's eyes met the guy's blue gaze. Ruby squeezed Crescent Rose's trigger. The kick alone was enough to push her out of reach. It also caught the guy in the stomach. She could see the dust bullet stop right in front of his chest, but catching it with his semblance wasn't enough to stop him from flying through the wall of a nearby shop.
A shop with people in it.
If anyone got hurt, it'd be all her fault–and Miss Goodwitch would never let her hear the end of it–as soon as Ruby's boots hit the ground, she activated her semblance to follow after him, just to make sure he didn't try anything funny.
She just hoped she made it in time.
If things had been bad with Steely Dan, they were downright awful with the girl.
He didn't think the gun would change anything–but it had changed everything. The girl moved faster, hit harder, and it made her movements more sudden and unpredictable–he could hardly keep up, and any opening he could find, she slipped out before he could press it.
And what the hell was with her Stand? Speed, strength, durability, and a wicked edge–most Stands had one thing to tie everything together, but for the life of him, he couldn't figure out how the stupid thing in the girl's hands could give her all that. If it were possible, he'd have thought she had another Stand in hiding, keeping her safe.
Already, he could feel his legs buckle, his head light from the amount of blood he was losing from the cuts running down his arms. Not even Star Platinum could completely shield himself from so many hits–and Gramps and the others still weren't back yet. Stalling the girl out was beginning to seem like less of an option, because at this rate, she'd kill him before help could arrive, and if he couldn't beat her, she'd kill them too without breaking a sweat.
He hadn't survived for this long just for him and everyone he cared about to be killed by some stupid girl.
That weapon had to go. It gave the girl too much of an advantage, because neither he nor Star Platinum could get close without risk of losing a limb.
From what he'd seen and heard–and he had many chances to get close enough for that–there were countless mechanics inside that thing that he couldn't even begin to understand. But he didn't need to. If it were simply a manifestation, it wouldn't have needed all those moving parts to hold itself together. They had to do something. Maybe they were what let the thing change shape, or fire, like a real gun. It wouldn't be strange for a girl who liked weapons as much as her to mimic a real weapon down to the mechanisms. And maybe, just maybe, if he found a way to jam the parts, he could force her to recall her Stand, even for just a moment. If he could do that...
That would be it.
He couldn't give up hope, not when victory was just out of reach. Just how he'd take it–well, figuring stuff out as he went had worked so far. Why would he stop now?
Groaning, Jotaro reached up to pull himself to his feet, only to pull away when whatever he'd grabbed on burned his hand. He looked up. A bowl of stew, sitting on a stovetop. Just what he needed.
Ignoring the shopkeeper's protests, he grabbed the bowl and tossed it toward the hole he'd come through. Not a moment too soon–the moment the stew landed on the floor, the girl burst in, slipped on the stew, and slammed into the opposite wall.
Jotaro hid his hands with a flourish of his coat, grabbing a pair of tongs and hiding it in a coat pocket.
"Sorry!" the girl said as she scrambled to her feet, her weapon held in front of her. "Official huntress business!"
Huntress? What the hell was that? Was that just her way of calling herself a bounty hunter?
If it is, it's stupid, Jotaro thought.
Grabbing a nearby spice bottle, Jotaro unscrewed it and hurled it at the girl. Her cape immediately came up to cover her face–not nearly well enough, from the sounds of her coughing. Jotaro lunged, Star Platinum's hand outstretched to seize the advantage, but the girl was not as stupid as she looked. She ducked under his grasp and jumped to the side.
Right into a nearby spice rack. Spice bottles tumbled to the floor, coating her and everything around her. Among the chaos, the girl hurled her cape aside and swung at him before he could try to grab her again, her scythe carving through the store like a hurricane.
His back hit a wall. There wasn't enough space to dodge. He had to block the attack.
Or, he could make some more space.
Star Platinum burst out behind him with a roar, caving in the wall with a single blow. Jotaro ducked through, into the clothing shop next door.
The shop owner shrieked, startled. Jotaro paid her no mind, carefully backing away from the opening he'd made. The girl stopped before it, realizing it was too small for her to swing through. If she came in, she couldn't bat him away if he wanted to approach. But... she was the only one of them with a gun.
The realization seemed to hit her at the same time. In a whirl of parts, the girl raised the gun up to her shoulder, aimed down at him, and fired. Jotaro threw himself to the side, cursing. Holes opened up in the clothes hanging on the rack behind him.
The rack!
Jotaro ducked under another shot, before he grabbed a nearby rack with both hands and hurled it toward her. The girl ducked to the side.
Too late, she noticed him lunging after the rack. With a yelp, she transformed the gun back into a scythe. Jotaro pulled the tongs out of his pocket and tried to jam them between the gears.
The girl vanished into a shower of rose petals, leaving him swinging at nothing but air. She'd moved herself a meter back–enough to make him miss, not enough to be out of reach of her weapon. As the blade flicked back out, she swung again. Jotaro ducked away. The tip sliced through his shirt. Nearby, one of the shopkeeper's boxes fell to the ground, sliced down the middle and spilling meat over the floor.
Jotaro bit back a grunt of pain and stepped back again, missing the following swing by a centimeter. He reached out to grab it with the third swing–the girl didn't miss it, and reversed the swing with a wild shot, forcing him back again.
His back slammed against the wall again. The girl drew her arm back and swung for his head.
Jotaro ducked. The scythe buried itself into the wall.
The girl's silver eyes widened. She tugged at it, but the weapon refused to come free.
Star Platinum grabbed the tongs from his hands and, roaring, he plunged it between the seams of the weapon's mechanical parts.
Only for it to evade his grasp again with a gun blast, leaving him to stumble as his attack met nothing but air.
The girl dashed back, her scythe held between the two of them. It seemed that she was finally beginning to catch on what a poor idea it'd been to engage him in such a closed environment. For once, it was the big scythe that was dragging her down, and Star Platinum that gave him the edge.
"What's the matter?" Jotaro asked, stepping forward. "Where'd all that bravado go, punk?"
The girl raised her weapon toward him. "I'd watch your words if I were you! I still have Crescent Rose with me, and I'm not afraid to use her!"
"And hurt all these people? What, I thought you were some kind of superhero."
"I'm not just a superhero! I'm a huntress!"
There it was again. A huntress? What kind of bounty hunter took such pride in serving justice and all that crap?
From the corner of his eye, Jotaro saw the girl try to make her way toward the exit, and stepped with her to cut her off.
"Don't delude yourself," Jotaro huffed as Star Platinum hovered in front of him, ready to strike if she tried to make a break for it. "You bounty hunters are all bred from the same stock of scum."
Suddenly, the girl paused. "Bounty hunter?" She shook her head. "No, I'm not a bounty hunter! I'm a huntress!"
"Yes. That's what I said."
"No! You didn't!" Again, the girl shook her head and stomped her foot. "How do you not even know what a huntress is?!"
This time, it was Jotaro's turn to pause. "You act like there's a difference."
"Because there is! A huntress is better than any old bounty hunter! We protect people from the Grimm!"
"The Grimm?"
"Yeah! The Grimm! You know, those big, black... uh... animals? You've seen one, right?"
Jotaro glanced down at his large, black jacket laced with cuts. If this was supposed to be some kind of joke, it wasn't very funny. She was a Stand user, anyway. What was he listening to her for?
"Shut up!" he snapped. "I don't need to listen to your nonsense."
"It's not nonsense. It's true! Surely you've heard of–"
"ORA!"
With a roar, Star Platinum lunged forward to shut her up.
Jotaro expected her to block it, or jump away–she certainly was fast enough to react to it. He hadn't expected her to just take it–by the time he realized he could have followed up, she was already flying through the wall and into the next shop.
Had she not seen him?
Now that he'd thought about it, the girl's eyes hadn't left him since the fight had started. Had he not been distracted by the giant farming tool in her hands, he might have picked it up earlier, but not once had she looked for Star Platinum's movements–just his.
He'd assumed she could see Star Platinum by default. After all, everyone who'd tried to kill him so far had been a Stand user too, but she'd said she had no idea what a Stand was. Maybe it hadn't been some stupid bluff.
As he stepped into the shop after her, his scowl deepened. He recognized this shop, and from the sound the shopkeeper made as soon as he saw him, so did he.
"You!" the shopkeeper snarled. "You're the foreigner who tried to steal from my shop!"
The girl gasped. "You stole from his shop? That's awful! Your evil knows no bounds!"
"I didn't steal," Jotaro replied, but the girl was already charging toward him, her scythe raised.
Normally, if he made to catch it, she'd reverse the swing with a wild shot. But, if she couldn't see it...
Standing still to conceal any intent, Star Platinum stepped in front of him and snagged the girl's blade. The girl yelped, completely surprised. And why wouldn't she be? He'd given nothing away with his movements. If she'd seen through it, he'd be dead for sure, but she hadn't, and here she was, caught like a fish on a hook.
Jotaro reached out and grabbed the haft with his own hand. The girl, her eyes wide with panic now, tried to free herself with a gunshot, but Star Platinum snatched the bullet centimeters away from his stomach with his other hand. Star Platinum's foot lashed out, kicking the girl in the stomach, and as she staggered back, Jotaro finally tore the weapon from her grasp, hurling it against a nearby display case, shattering the glass beneath the massive metal contraption.
If the girl had been panicked before, the look on her face was downright terrified. About damn time.
"Got nothing to say now?" he said, taking a step toward her. For once, she said nothing as she stepped back.
After all she'd put through him, after all the stupid things she'd said, after all the times he thought he was dead, when the tides of the battle turned against her, she was just like the rest of them–all talk, no bite. No weapon, no Stand–tough as the fight had been, he would get to live to see another day.
The same could not be said for her.
This was bad. This was really, really bad.
Yang had always told her she should pick up some unarmed combat techniques, in case she ever lost Crescent Rose. Before, Ruby had brushed her off–after all, the thought of ever losing Crescent Rose was just ridiculous–but now that it'd been ripped out of her hands, she had to admit, Yang might have had a point.
Not that it would help her at all–with this guy's semblance, if she got close, weapon or no, she would be royally screwed.
The last time she'd been faced with danger like this, back with the lady on the Bullhead, she'd been lucky enough to have Miss Goodwitch show up. This time, though, as she looked around, something told her that no one would be coming here to save her.
For a moment, she thought about running–the guy clearly couldn't run as fast as her, so if she fled now, she'd get to live to fight another day. It was the first time she'd ever considered it, the first time she'd ever felt scared enough to consider running away from a fight instead of towards it.
But... she wasn't going to leave all these people to suffer at the hands of this guy. If his semblance could do this to a huntress, she shuddered to think what it could do to someone without aura.
Ruby straightened her back and clenched her fists. The guy raised an eyebrow, almost as if daring her to try.
So she did. Ruby rushed forward in a burst of semblance. She could feel the guy's eyes track her, not missing a single beat. He made no move to catch her–maybe he'd caught on to how she'd been reading his moves.
At the last minute, Ruby ducked back. The wind ripped through in front of her, her cloak fluttering from the blow that Ruby was sure she'd dodged by inches. Ruby threw herself underneath what she imagined was an invisible punch. She reached out to grab Crescent Rose, just inches away.
Something slammed into her stomach. Aura flashed out to catch the blow. A kick? Ruby didn't have time to guess, before she flew away, breaking through another glass display. Glass shards peppered her skin, aura barely holding on enough to deflect all the sharp bits.
Ruby jumped to her feet and lunged again for Crescent Rose. This time, she ducked, backed away and stepped forward, jumping over display cases and doing everything she could to be unpredictable. A case exploded next to her. Ruby danced out of the way of the falling debris, and dashed toward Crescent Rose, her semblance blending rose petals with the glass shards littered over the floor. She managed to brush her fingers against the haft before the guy's semblance smashed into the side of her face and sent her crashing into the wall on the other side of the room.
Her aura flickered weakly, nearly spent. Her head spinning, Ruby watched as the guy approached with a groan, the gears in her head turning. She couldn't go down, not like this! But what could she even do? She couldn't hope to dodge blows she couldn't even see.
Standing over her now, Ruby braced for a blow. Was she about to die here?
Then the guy paused. "You're rather young to be working for DIO, aren't you?"
Young. Yes, she was young. Something about that stirred something within her.
She was the youngest ever to attend Beacon. Her mom, she'd gone to Beacon too, and she'd become a hero. Ruby, she was going to be a hero just like her.
And a hero never gave up, so neither would she!
A sudden burst of energy overtook her, and Ruby jumped to her feet and ducked between the guy's leg. Behind her, the wall exploded. The guy cursed. She saw him lunge after her, his hands outstretched. His fingers closed around her cloak.
Ruby unclasped her cloak, leaving it to flutter behind her as she made one last dash for Crescent Rose.
Jotaro couldn't believe how stupid he'd been. For one moment, he'd let his guard down.
Maybe it was about to cost him his life.
No! he thought, shaking his head. It's not over! That little bitch–I won't be tricked again. I'll make her pay for this!
Jotaro hurled the girl's cloak to the side, Star Platinum fully out and by his side. In the distance, he could hear Gramps and the others closing in.
He needed to finish this, right here, right now.
The girl threw herself at her weapon, laid just a meter away. Jotaro lunged after her.
She grabbed it. Turned around. Star Platinum drew back a fist.
They swung.
...
Slowly, very slowly, an icy feeling began to creep up his stomach.
Jotaro looked down, and he saw his own blood pooling at his feet.
Ruby sucked in a breath, her heart hammering in her chest. She'd landed a hit. She could feel it. Finally, she had landed a hit.
It wasn't a surprise attack like she'd intended, but for the first time today, she could feel the taste of victory on her lips.
Ruby spun around and lunged, drawing Crescent Rose for a slash across his back. This fight was just getting started, and she was going to win it!
Then his legs gave out beneath him, and he collapsed face-first into the dirt.
Ruby's swing passed over him as she slid to a stop. For a moment, she just stood there, confused. But... I didn't even hit him? she thought.
Maybe the shock of the first hit had been enough to knock him out? If it had, then he really didn't have any idea how to use his aura at all.
Carefully, she made her way back to the guy. "Hey!" she said, nudging him with the butt of Crescent Rose. "Helloooo? Are you still there?"
If he wasn't, that'd make it a lot easier to keep him here before the police arrived. Ruby reached into her pocket to pull out her scroll.
Before she noticed the blood pooling at his feet.
Nearby, the shopkeeper screamed.
Ruby's eyes widened, and she jumped back. Blood? But she hadn't cut him deep enough to draw blood, had she? She'd hit him hard, yeah, but even if he had no control over his aura, there still should've been some aura there to protect her from actually hurting him.
Unless... he didn't have aura.
Now that she'd gotten a closer look at him, she could see all the cuts running down his jacket. Cuts so small, she'd missed them in the heat of battle, cuts that he'd probably taken when he'd tried blocking her attacks, but even a novice with aura would have had enough control to keep it up there.
Suddenly, things began to add up about their fight. About his insistence on dodging her attacks, about the cut on his jacket, and now the giant gash on his front, and now that she was looking closely, she could see his breaths becoming more shallow and his skin growing paler by the second.
With the fight over, the rush of adrenaline began to wear off, and as it did, a cold, horrifying realization began to sink in.
Had... had she killed him?
"Let me through!" a voice shouted behind her. Ruby turned just in time to see three men burst through into the jewelry store. As soon as they saw her, and they saw the body at her feet, the oldest of them sank to his knees, his eyes wide.
"No! That's impossible!" he cried.
Ruby's eyes fell to the motionless body on the ground. It shouldn't be possible. She'd been so sure he had his aura unlocked, with his semblance and all, but if he didn't...
Then his blood was on her hands.
No. No no no no, it couldn't end like this! She'd never meant to kill him! Heroes weren't supposed to kill anyone, but she had, and it was all her fault!
What can I do, what can I do? she thought, grasping for something, anything she could do to undo this horrible mistake. I can call the hospital–but what if they don't make it in time! Think, Ruby, think!
And then, it hit her.
If he didn't have aura... then maybe she could unlock his, maybe, just maybe, she could save his life.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw one of the three men break away from the group. To check up on their friend, no doubt. She'd have to make this quick.
Ruby clasped the guy's shoulder, and she closed her eyes. Softly, she began to chant.
"For it is in courage that we achieve immortality. Through this, we become a paragon of hope and light to rise above darkness. Infinite in compassion and bound by duty, I release your soul, and by my shoulder, help thee."
A burst of deep, purple light engulfed the two of them, a glow so bright, even with her eyes closed, she had to look away.
When she opened them, she glanced down at her handiwork.
For a moment, nothing. Then, the body at her feet began to breathe again, and color began to return to his face
Ruby let out a huge sigh of relief.
Just before someone punched her in the face, and she was out cold before she hit the floor.
End of Chapter 1
AN:
Stands are bullshit, huh?
Anyway, new fic! And on Valentine's Day, no less. Been a while since I've started something new, since I take really long to get through any of my old stories, but it's a really obscure crossover fic for a pair of popular fandoms that have no overlap, so it's not bound to get much traction. Why'd I start writing it? Well, because it's a concept that I really like, that's why. That, and Stand battles are a lot of fun, and it's not like the other Jojo fic I've been planning for a while has much of those.
I think it was back in 2020 when I was perusing through RWBY x Jojo fics, and I realized that there so many fics about Jojo characters coming to Remnant, but there are next to no fics about RWBY characters coming into the Jojo world (or, not in a way that significantly alters the plot). It's not something specific to Jojo–in all the other crossovers, it's usually the other characters who come into Remnant instead of the other way around, and I suppose the fact that it took me so long to notice when I've been reading fanfic for maybe 8-ish years is because I've seen it so many times that my brain has just normalized it. Remnant's cool and all, but there's a part of me that wonders what would happen if Blake ended up in, say, Ohio.
So that's what we're doing. Members of the audience who are not blind may have noticed I said 2020. That's because this fic has been 2 years in the making. Anyone else who likes the idea, buckle up, because we're going to be here for a while. Hopefully not as long as the story I've put on hiatus for a bit, but just long enough to explore the concept well.
I'll try to get a semi-regular upload schedule going, maybe once a week or so (or at the very least, within two weeks), but between homework, grinding out fighting games, and the other fics I've been trying to finish, I can't guarantee anything. Until then, thanks for stopping by! Feel free to leave a review–it keeps the story at the top of my mind, and keeps my brain gears running. Take care of yourselves out there, and stay safe!
P.S: I got Ruby's Aura mantra from Reddit. I'd burnt out my brain writing a 12-page long fight scene, so I stole it from someone else. I'd credit the person if I knew who they were, but they seem to have deleted their account. Massive shoutout to them, whoever they are.