Standing alone under the cold, pale moonlight was a girl wearing a red hood, dressed in black. On her shoulder rested a mechanical scythe the color of her hood, while on the side of her waist was a crossbow. As her small hands rested in front of her skirt and on her scythe, she chatted animatedly with her mother.

"And so, I decided to give those rude suit men a big whooping! I bet Miss Giovanna would be proud of that, y'know, the whole doing the right thing. Would you be proud of me as well?"

After a moment of silence, the only response the girl got was the crashing of the waves below the cliffside where her mother's grave stood.

After a few minutes of solemn silence, the girl scratched the back of her head as her tail swung nervously.

"So yeah, that's what I did before I went to catch up to you, mom. Yang wanted to visit your old home here in Siracusa, or at least the place where you spent your early childhood."

Thinking that she's said enough to her mother, she waved to the stone marker.

"Thanks for listening as always, mom. I'll see you soon whenever we get to visit here again."

Not long after, Ruby began trudging through the snow-covered forest, humming some tunes to herself as she leisurely walked back to the mobile city.

"Wonder what Yang and that nice mister are doing now? That old familgie-man she was talking to told me to explore the city a bit more and do as I please. Dad told me and Yang that man was Mom's childhood friend, so she should be fine. Besides, it's not like I should be worried about her anyways. She can kick butt better than some of the stronger people in the familgie." Ruby asked herself out loud as she enjoyed the cold winter breeze, making her feel at home.

It was countless cold, albeit wet nights like these that she most fondly remembers while working for the familgie.

As the black-haired Lupo was lost in thought as the wind blew, her ears twitched as she picked up a familiar sound.

The sound of metal biting into flesh, followed by howls of pain and agony

Snapping out of her thoughts, she immediately rushed to the source of the sound as adrenaline began coursing through her body.

In front of her was a clearing in the middle of the woods and just beyond the shadows of the trees was an ongoing battle. The freezing winds blowing the snow upwards obscured some of the combatants further away but she could still see some of them up close. Although she could recognize some of them as the "rude Lupo suit guys" from earlier, what confused her was their opponents. A large fangbeast on all fours with a strange mask on its face. One could have thought it was one of the mythical Signore dei Lupi if it weren't for the bloodthirst in its eyes.

Without wasting another second, Ruby immediately grabbed her scythe by its shaft and handle and dashed toward the beast. It only had enough time to turn its head before a curved blade bit into its neck. Ruby was surprised with the toughness of its hide but it would not hinder her beloved Crescent Rose. As the beast's maw widened in a holler of pain, a pulse of Arts ran through the shaft of the scythe and into the blade, making it glow a pale yet pure light. Another tug and a burst of red petals bled through as the blade easily slid through its neck like it was a stalk of grain, decapitating the beast in one fell swoop. As the head fell and rolled forward, bleeding red rose petals fluttering into the night, the mafioso that was fighting the beast moments ago was slack-jawed at what happened.

"Y-you! You're that little red Columbian pup!" exclaimed the mafioso in a white suit and red undershirt.

Paying no heed to the stuttering Lupo, Ruby had vanished into a comet of red swirling petals, heading upwards in a diagonal.

Reforming mid-air with the moon behind her, she appeared on top of the snow and fog, her crossbow drawn out in exchange for her scythe, Crescent Rose, now on her back.

The world came to a standstill as Ruby's hood fell, unveiling her glimmering silver eyes and dark brunette hair (and furry Lupine ears) that gradually became a luscious dark red color on the tips, being blown by the frigid winds of winter. The mafiosi were equal parts enchanted and unnerved as they saw in this child the eyes of a predator, a wolf on a hunt, as she nocked in a slightly glowing crossbow bolt from a quiver dangling securely from her belt. The moment was shattered as the bolt she shot punched a hole through two beasts, one through the head, the other through the heart. The awe-struck and terrified men snapped back to reality as the wolves who had seen the murder of two of their kin began to howl and snarl in rage.

As soon as she landed on the ground, she was already beset on all sides by beasts. Expertly weaving between the numerous claws and sharp teeth as a comet of red death, Ruby soon made a maelstrom of rose petals as she materialized and de-materialized, lopping heads off or punching holes through the strange fangbeasts. One by one, Ruby began to put a dent in their numbers, freeing more mafiosi in the process, who then began to help the others still fighting the beasts, relieving the pressure off her in turn.

Executing them like a grim reaper in red, Ruby began recklessly tapping into her reserve of arts. Splitting their face along with the mask, cutting their entire spinal column in half, removing all their legs before putting a bolt or a scythe through the head, Ruby's methods of executing the beasts required tremendous amounts of arts to perform.

But as their numbers dwindled, so did Ruby's reserve of Arts. Abruptly stopping her arts, Ruby materialized just behind a snarling fangbeast.

"Uh oh" a thought flashed in her head.

As the beast turned around with a snarl, it got hit by a barrage of arts and arrows, followed by a man in a white suit, slashing at its already weakened neck, leaving a big bleeding gash, suffocating the beast in its own blood.

As the wolf trashed around, a hand dragged Ruby by her hood, pulling her away from the dying beast.

"Young pups like you could really benefit from having more caution." scolded the same man she first saved as he flourished his sword.

"Sit this one out, little red *Siracusan profanity*. This is our fight still." Said the Lupo as he swung his sword at another beast.

Ruby was confused. Was this man trying to be nice? But why does he sound so condescending at the same time? Argh, don't think about it for now, Ruby! Just focus on the fight.

"Um, thanks but no thanks?" Ruby said as she twisted the handle of Crescent Rose and then pulled it back before twisting it again to lock it in place.

As her scythe's gears cranked, Ruby charged at the beast with incredible speed. Now, with a war-scythe in hand, Ruby severed the front leg of the beast with a diagonal slash downwards. The beast suddenly found itself crashing to the ground as its right leg was severed. Wasting no time, the mafioso in white immediately plunged his blade through its left eye, skewering its brain as it tried to get a bite off him.

The man slightly twisted his head towards her direction, glared at her with annoyance for a couple of seconds before rolling his eyes, focusing once more on the approaching beasts.

Taking a window stance, the mafioso charged as arts and crossbow bolts crashed into the fangbeasts, with the rest of the melee fighters following behind him.

Moving quickly out of the way, Ruby ended up on the right flank where she had ample space to begin her bloody harvest.

*Schwing* *Slice* *Slash*

In a rhythm of motion, the Lupo with red-tipped hair began to reap her way through the beasts like a field of wheat in the harvest season. Utilizing the new shape Crescent Rose has taken, Ruby began to incorporate stabs and more complex slashing motions into her flurry of attacks.

Skewering the brain of a particularly aggressive fangbeast, Ruby used its skull to turn her scythe into a lever, lifting herself off the ground through pure strength, giving her enough momentum to split through its upper skull in half all the way to its snout. Her ample weight had enabled her to soar above the beasts once more. Taking advantage of the momentum she gained, she swung Crescent Rose forward while tucking herself in to decrease the amount of air resistance she generated, turning into a spinning wheel of death.

The mafiosi were surprised to see some of the beasts they were fighting suddenly fall to the ground paralyzed as Ruby cut their spines from above in a straight line, from the right side to the left side. Landing perfectly on her feet a few good feet away from the nearest beast, Ruby's perceptive ears began to register a couple of new footsteps running toward the area as the snow crunched as she wobbled a bit, slightly disoriented by her stunt.

"More beasts? Not good." Ruby thought as she stabbed the spike at the end of the shaft to steady herself. She'll have to sharpen the point again, later. Wait, footsteps?

"Ruby!" cried a familiar voice

"Yang?" Ruby asked just as her nausea dissipated, only to be greeted by her sister's chest as her sister tackled her with a flying bear hug, nearly causing her to fall down had she not been holding on tightly to Crescent Rose's shaft with one hand.

"Gaaah, get off me, Yang! I'm perfectly fine." said Ruby as she was smothered against her sister's massive racks, her words coming out so muffled, it was drowned out by her sister's words

"I've been worried so much for you baby sister! Why haven't you returned to town in half an hour?"

Just before she could continue on her barrage of questions, Yang ended up letting go of her sister as she saw one of the fangbeasts charge at them, raising her fists in a boxing stance.

As soon as her sister let go of her, Ruby quickly grabbed her weapon, swiftly pulled the handle backward, then pushed the handle of her scythe upwards then twisted it, locking the handle in place as Crescent Rose returned to scythe mode once more.

Just before Yang could land a punch, Ruby launched herself forward with a dash and bisected the would-be attacker vertically with her arts-infused blade.

Giving her scythe a flourish before suddenly becoming conscious of who is her back turned against, she turned around to face her sister, whose arms were crossed, looking mightily upset.

"Ruby…"

The look alone was enough to wilt Ruby's confidence as she began trying to think of an excuse to appease her sister.

"U-Uhhh wait Yang, I can e-explain myself! I…uhhh." Ruby stammered as she raised her hands somewhat defensively

But before she could form an excuse, her back suddenly got crushed by a pair of overwhelmingly strong arms as Ruby's Liberi half-sister gave her bear-hug her once more, this time even stronger than before.

"Ruby, I was so worried! I thought that someone kidnapped you. Or worse, murdered you!" Yang, releasing Ruby from the bone-crushng experience.

"Just because its not Columbia doesn't mean people won't be after us, especially you." scolded the blonde Liberi as she wagged her finger.

"You should have told me you went out hunting fangbeasts with Signore Conti's men!"

"…aah yeah" Ruby suspiciously looked away from her sister's gaze, deciding she'll roll with that excuse for now. "That's totally what I was doing out here…"

Slightly raising one brow for a bit, Yang just shrugged it off and walked ahead.

"Alright then, it's time for the Yang to make these naughty beasts look like a Yin!"
"Ughhh, not that joke again." Internally moaned Ruby as she cringed at her sister's joke.

Trying to not think about it, Ruby remembered she heard 4 footsteps earlier before Yang smothered her. Realizing she hadn't heard from the other remaining person, Ruby whirled around only to find a Lupo in the middle age range sporting a red and white suit, the inverse of Signore Conti's men, which meant this was…

"Oh, uh Signore Conti, sir, uhmm Hi, uh…and Good…evening?"

The man himself in question chuckled a bit which turned Ruby stiff as she thought she messed up. But before she could panic more, he gently raised one hand to assure.

"You remind a lot of your mother, when she was younger."

"Oh, really!?" Ruby felt happy, excited and a little bit embarrassed after hearing that. "In what way?" She curiously inquired as her tail wagged in excitement.

"Addressing her seniors was never her strength back then when she was younger." Reminisced the middle-aged man as he turned his head upwards to gaze at the moon.

"You still have a lot to grow, young Rosa. Why not leave this old man to reminisce for a bit and help my men drive out those strange fangbests?" offered Signore Conti.
"Sweet! See ya later, Signore!"
With that she was gone like the wind, much like her mother when she's in a hurry, the man bemused as he saw a red ball of red rose petals appear behind a fangbeast, decapitating it.
"Boss!" Getting out of his thoughts, Signore Conti turned his eyes to face the youngest and brashest captain, Mario. He had just sheathed his sword away and looked quite frankly annoyed.

"I'm glad the patrol finally found those ravaging beast. Or is what I would have said had you and your men been closer to the river."

Stiffening up at the accusation, Mario's ears bended a bit as he tried to defend himself.

"But Boss, we-"

"Enough, listen to me closely, you brazen fool." Commanded the patriarch of the familgie.

Continuing on, he then shifted his gaze towards his youngest captain.

"I keep telling you that patience is a key. Had you waited for one more week and Old Gio would have repaid his debt. Instead, I hear you picking a fight with a member of the Rossati famiglie." A look of disappointment was all Signore Conti could give him

Gulping visibly, Mario suddenly felt a pang of fear wash over him.

Letting it sink in for a bit, the middle-aged Lupo took a deep breath to school his features and then spoke. "Not just anyone."

"Y-you mean she's someone special?" asked the now-even more frightened younger Lupo.

"One of the 'undertakers' of the Rossati, Ruby di Rosa."

"A hitwoman!? But wait, di Rosa… Wait, you don't mean…"

"Yes, Mario. The daughter of the very same hitwoman of the Texas familigie, Summer di Rosa."

Breaking on to full-on panic, the mafioso all but begged to him "W-what do I then? A-a-are they gonna-"

"No, you oaf. Have you not seen how sweet that little girl is?" admonished the slightly chuckling Signore Conti.

"Count the fur on the ends of your tail for now, because there shall not be a next time." The words he used were simple but the implications were too dreadful for the mafioso to consider. Instead, he just slowly and slightly nodded as he lowered his head in a mix relief and shame.

Now finished with his piece, Signore Conti looked towards the two sisters rounding up the last of the stragglers along with the rest of the men.

A swirling cloud of petals and a flaming-haired whirlwind of punches and kicks.

"That's one less thing to worry about" He sighed internally.

Pulling two letters from his pocket, both sealed with the hawk insignia of his family, with the recipient "To Signorina Kal'tsit" written on the back of each letter, he wistfully thought to himself.

"I hope this helps them both be as free as you always wish them to be, old friend."


Author's Notes: Guten tag! おはよう! Bonjour! Or whatever the hell you greet with. This is my first time in a long time to be posting fanfic. Now where to start?

As I mentioned in the summary, this is a series of oneshots for now until I can decide how to go with it. Lots of questions plague me like whether I should stick as close as possible to canon or how far should the derailing go.

This particular chapter, I've been writing since Il Siracusano due to time constraints on behalf of college. Now that I'm done with most of my damnable subjects, I can now focus on writing stuff much faster like the White Trailer. Still, I cannot say when I will release it.

I have big plans for some of the main cast (Excluding Blake, idk what to do with her other than what race she is and her faction of origin) is all I can say.

I would very much appreciate any criticism on behalf of my writing skills since mine are as rusty as a bike left out in the rain for 30 years.

Another thing I must note is that as much as possible, I would like to avoid using any other language than English for the POVs of pretty much anyone in the story as much as possible. When I read Il Siracusano, my brain was half-fried trying to understand what a 'cazzo' is other than its a swear or a synonym to the word 'idiot' in English. We will not be doing that here for the sake of not having to use DeepL or Google Translate too much. Stuff like a good Signore/Señor, Signorina/Señorita or terms in game like the Adeptus Sprawiedliwi Kazimierz, will pass as well as the names of the characters(obviously).

Just to clarify, Mario is not Roman. He's a random mook I've generated with my brain, same with Signore Conti, though his colors and name comes from a historical Italian house when Italy was still a bunch of small city-states.

I will be also crossposting this in Ao3 and SB only because those two are pretty much the only sites I visit.

That's it for me. Have great day, comrades and arrivederci!