In a week, lessons were going to start back up and Ruby was going to make sure that the day before classes was going to be jammed packed with awesome. It was going to be so awesome that it would balance out an entire half a year of dull lectures and Prof Port's boring stories-though one in five were pretty okay. You had to give the big PP a little credit—and her team was going to love it!

But sadly, Ruby wasn't going to be able to pack absolutely everything awesome in that day's agenda.

The best place in town for midnight munchies was going to be closed down. Not for renovations or for a vacation. It was going to be closed down for forever.

Right when she heard Moonlit Bonbons were going "Bon Voyage" to town, Ruby tried to drag her team mates over as fast as she could but bad luck was tripping her up. Yang and Blake were somewhere doing something and Weiss was being Weiss-ier than usual.

"Not in the mood, Ruby," Weiss had said, seated on her mattress. She was crossing her arms and looking away from her partner to glare crossly at an innocent wall. "Plus, isn't that place literally on the other end of town? I'm not walking all the way there just for some hard candy."

"Oh but Weiss please!" Ruby whined, tugging on the other girl's arm. "They're pretty, cute, tasty, and glitter! They're like tiny delicious stars. Come on! This could be the last time you'll get the chance to try!"

"I said no!" Weiss yanked her arm away from Ruby, making her stumble backwards.

Dejected and wondering if she really had pestered Weiss to much, Ruby bowed her head.

"Ah…sorry."

"Look—" Weiss began, noticing the shift in Ruby's mood. Pressing her lips together for a moment as her phone vibrated again in her back pocket, Weiss took out her wallet. "If you want me to try it so bad, here." Stuffing a wad of money into Ruby's hands, Weiss re-crossed her arms. "I'm too tired to go so just buy as much as you want and maybe I'll have a bite…what? What's with that look on your face?"

"Awww, Weiss!" Ruby squeezed her partner into a hug and Weiss couldn't do much but groan in annoyance and hide her blush. "Don't worry! With all of this plus my savings, we'll have enough for a lifetime!"

"Well, then just go already! You can't get us a lifetime supply if you're late!" Weiss sighed, feeling a bit better now that Ruby was happy again.

"Oh right! Thank you! Gotta go! Bye! See you later!" Ruby said before speeding off campus, leaving a trail of rose petals behind her.

She didn't slow down once her entire trip to that candy but once she did, Ruby bent over and started panting from exhaustion. Weiss hadn't been wrong. This place was really out of the way. In fact, it was so out of the way that it looked practically deserted. The empty streets under the evening sky was a little spooky.

But when did anything like that ever bother Ruby?

Satisfied that she had made good time, Ruby began to walk towards a small corner store. The sign didn't have any lights but the moonlight reflected off of the silver lettering and Ruby found enough energy to jog towards it.

Bursting through the door, Ruby shouted with glee, making all of the jars of candies on the shelves shake.

"Made it!"

The shopkeeper screamed and went to duck under the counter.

"Oh whoops!" Ruby clapped her hands over her mouth. In a much quieter voice, she apologized. "Sorry about that. I didn't mean to scare you."

"Wh-who's there?" The shopkeeper looked over the counter, tugging her beanie down snuggly over her head. Seeing that it was only the cute girl in the red hood, the shopkeeper let out a slow shaky sigh and stood back up. "Come for the last day of business, huh? You're in luck! I was just about to close shop but for you, a couple of minutes won't hurt."

"Yes!" Ruby made a small fist pump and made her way to the cash register. "Don't worry. I'll be quick!"

Ruby hummed contently, shoveling scoop after scoop of goodies from the closest jars into the little clear baggies.

"I'm going to miss that." The shopkeeper said, watching Ruby marvel at the gold star shaped mango bits. "I love it when people smile that big for the things I make."

"Of course they smile!" Ruby exclaimed, tightly holding a bunch of candy bags under one arm. "They're all delicious and I'm going to miss them to death when you're gone," She continued, trying not to sound sad. "Where are you going anyways? Did you strike it big? I mean, being the master that you are, did some big shot strike a big deal with you?"

"I…I wish that could have been the case," Touching her beanie, the shopkeeper smiled sadly. "Some problems came up and I have to move. That's all." The sides of the shopkeeper's mouth tugged up in a small smile when Ruby tried to lean over the counter to grab another jar. She ended up tumbling over and falling behind the counter instead.

Laughing, the shopkeeper knelt to help Ruby back up.

"Sorry," Ruby smiled, embarrassed. Man, she was apologizing a lot today. "And did you say problems? Is it money problems? I can't believe you'd have money problems!"

"Oh uh, it's actually not money that's the problem—"The shopkeeper paused, hearing the shop's door open. "Hello? How can I help…you…"

Ruby tried to stand up with the shopkeeper but they quickly shoved her back down. She fell back, looking up at the shopkeeper in confusion but the fear in her eyes was telling.

'Don't move,' the shopkeeper mouthed before turning her gaze straight ahead.

"So this is your cute little hide-away," A voice teased and Ruby recognized the mocking tone immediately.

That jeering mightier-than-thou voice had his image, jacket and bowler hat and all, tacked right on to it.

"Torchwick." Ruby whispered, pressing herself against the back of the counter as much as possible. Judging from the sound of the footsteps clacking against the floor, either Torchwick was tapping his foot really fast or he had some henchmen with him.

Touching her chest and remembering the shot Torchwick had fired at her at the docks, Ruby grimaced. Crescent Moon was on her back but the space behind the counter was too cramped. Torchwick's weapon was smaller, giving him another advantage on top of the greater numbers he had on Ruby.

But he didn't know she was here yet. Surprise, at the least, was on her side.

"What are you doing here?" The shopkeeper audibly growled, glaring at Torchwick and his men. Ruby could hear him getting closer.

"That's what I was going to ask actually," Torchwick replied, twirling his cane. "Just what are you doing here? Packing up shop, packing your bags, and catching a ride to who knows where? Knowing your kind—" Torchwick used his cane to knock the shopkeeper's hat off of their head, revealing her mouse ears. "—I would have thought you'd just dig a little hole and hide there."

Both the shopkeeper and Ruby scowled but it was only the shopkeeper that was shaking with fear.

"Do you know how many of you animals are turning tail and running?" Torchwick asked, getting no answer. "More than enough to spread my men out so thin that I actually had to actually go out and round some of you up myself. I can barely keep track of how many little rats are scampering off on top of shaking down every corner store for dust."

Judging by the distance of his voice, Ruby could picture him and his annoyed grimace right in front of the shopkeeper. The moment he gets close enough…

"So now, what are we going to do with our flighty little mouse? Hmm?" Torchwick asked, jabbing the end of his cane at the shopkeeper. Flinching at the weapon pressed against her chin, she leaned back ever so slightly and Ruby jumped up and grabbed the end of the cane.

"What—" Torchwick managed before Ruby wrenched the cane back, pulling him over the counter along with it. His men tried to get their weapons ready to retaliate but Ruby was already on the counter, having wrestled Torchwick into a chokehold with his back forced against her front.

Now that she had enough elbow room, Ruby reached back with her free hand to brandish Crescent Moon. The scythe unfolded and she held the curved blade under Torchwick's chin.

"Red! What an absolutely wonderful coincidence. With some déjà vu to boot," Torchwick said with a lethal amount of sarcasm, glaring down at the scythe. "You and your team keep running into me oh so very much, I'm beginning to wonder if the whole team thing is a cover and you all just came together to make a Torchwick fanclub," The blade pressed harder against the skin of his neck. "A very zealous fanclub."

"Oh dream on, Torchwick," Ruby scoffed, keeping her eyes trained on the henchmen. There were only three that she could see and maybe a few more outside on watch. She could possibly overpower them but with how isolated this place was, help might not come fast enough if she called. Apprehending Torchwick and all of his henchmen may have been close to out of the question but Ruby knew she could help the shop's owner.

"You can't do it, Red," Torchwick taunted Ruby, clutching at the arm keeping his neck trapped. "Can an adorable little poppy like you really rip a handsome head clean off such a nice a body? Red, if that can make me queasy, there's no way you can even try."

Hesitating for a moment, Ruby swallowed before she spoke up.

"No one move or else…Or else, I might accidentally freak out and cut his head off!" Ruby threatened. "Then there's going to be a really gross mess, all the candy's going to be ruined, and no one's going to be happy."

Glancing back at Ruby, Torchwick let out a short annoyed groan. She had him there.

"Right right, boys? Back off for a moment and let little Red have her fun," Torchwick ordered his men and reluctantly, they complied.

Not actually having planned that far ahead, Ruby darted her eyes around the room and tried to figure out where to go from there.

"Uhh, all of you!" She shouted suddenly, making Torchwick wince. "Um, is there anyone else outside?"

Two of the henchmen shoot their heads and the last one nodded. Torchwick made a note to himself to put that one down personally.

"Okay! Uh!" Ruby cast a glance over to the shopkeeper. This really was going to work! "I can hold these guys so don't worry. Just get the phone, call for some help, and tell them the address and how many people are here. Everything will be fine, I promise!"

The shopkeeper rushed over to the phone plugged into the wall and promptly ripped its cord out of the outlet.

"What the—Why?" Ruby gaped as the shopkeeper smashed the phone on to the ground. Torchwick couldn't help but laugh at the surprise on Ruby's face.

"Red? What's wrong?" Torchwick asked with feigned concern, thrashing under Ruby's hold to test her tight grip. "I thought you were a huntress. Aren't hunters and huntresses supposed to keep the peace? Stop vicious criminals like me and—" He grinned at the faunus. "—That dirty rat? The White Fang haven't been that kind to your lot, haven't they? It wouldn't be fair to lock me away and let her go scampering into the woods."

"Were you after me too?" The shopkeeper kept her head down but Ruby could see the slight shiver in her shoulders. "I thought you were just a customer but you were tailing me the whole time?"

"Wait wait, this was a whole misunderstanding!" Ruby tried to calm the situation down but her flustered voice wasn't helping things. "I had no idea you were a faunus! I didn't even know your full name or even what color you liked. Not even your favorite food!"

"Cecilia Dormouse, surprise surprise there, the color purple, and come on. It's probably cheese,"Torchwick filled in the blanks for Ruby, attempting again to slip out of Ruby's hard hold. "Now that you know, what are you going to do, Red?"

"She's going to do nothing." The faunus took out a matchbox, lit one of the matches and held it in front of her for everyone to see. It wasn't clear what she was about to do until she pulled something out of her back pocket that ruby hoped was just a weirdly shaped sausage.

"Oh! Oh…Oh boy," Torchwick's smile fell so hard into a frown that it just about cracked his face. "I knew you were serious about escaping but I didn't think the afterlife was a getaway option. Whoo boy, Red. Do your nice girl thing."

"Wha-whaaat?" Ruby began to stammer, her heart thundering in her chest as she stared at the now lit explosive in Cecilia's jittery hands. "Cecilia? Cecilia, right?"

The faunus didn't answer.

"Yes, I am a huntress but I wasn't here to catch you!"

Still no answer. Torchwick's henchmen were getting antsy. One raised his weapon but his boss' death glare pushed it back down.

"The first thing I'm worried about is your safety, so please. Don't do this. It doesn't matter if you were part of the White Fang or not. Me and the others, we'll definitely help you!"

"You should listen to her. I don't think this girl could lie without getting spasms." Torchwick added and Ruby squeezed his neck and quickly told him to shush.

"I've been pushed around by the human authorities all my life. And when I thought the White Fang could help me, they shoved me around too. I'm done being afraid and I'm done taking orders!" Cecilia looked up at them with red rimmed eyes. "And if I can save even just some of my faunus brothers and sisters from that monster, I'll have already accomplished more than enough with my life."

"They smile for you too, right? You're faunus friends? The other people who come to the shop?" Ruby shouted, grabbing back Cecilia's attention. It was honestly really difficult to talk someone out of violence when Ruby had been forced into threatening violence with someone else. The awkward pose with Torchwick and Crescent moon wasn't helping at all. "You can't just give up on that. How many people are going to be devastated to lose you? I was already so sad to see you leave. Please, put that away."

The faunus' grip on the explosive loosened but that thing had been lit for too long in Torchwick's opinion. Noticing that Ruby's hope had distracted her, he threw his head back and slammed it against Ruby's chin. The shock of the bump stunned her and in that time, Torchwick grabbed for his fallen cane, knowing he could shoot that damn animal before they were all blown sky high.

One of his henchmen had the same idea and acted faster. They just didn't execute it as well as he could have. They aimed at Cecilia's hand and with flawless precision, shot the explosive out of her hand and sent it flying towards Torchwick and Ruby.

"You idiot!" Torchwick shouted but it was too late. The thing fell at his feet and exploded. The flash blinded him and the heat of the explosion burned against his face. Faintly, he could feel himself flying backwards but there was something quite odd about this fiery death.

The burning really didn't hurt all that much and the red in his face felt soft rather than the usual searing pain. And that faint scent of flowers; Torchwick really didn't think a guy like him would go to a nice place when he died.

On Ruby's side of things, her panic was only beaten back by her desire to help others. Even if it was Torchwick that she was shielding and using her semblance to propel behind the counter, away from the blast.

Gripping him tightly once more, Ruby blindly threw them both against the back wall and it crumbled, letting them fall into the dark.

Author's Note: Here I am, starting a new series when I just started one before. Well, this ship has been on my mind since forever and Yashiosan (please check out her tumblr!) and her art are wonderful! They fueled the ideas in my garbage head until finally, there was enough to do a sort of AU.

There isn't really any shippy stuff in this chapter but it was really more of an introductory thing (and something to help me test out how I write these characters). Anyways, I hope that was okay and that maybe I'll get to sending out the next chapter soon! (This was a lot longer than I expected).

Another thing to note...So this was made on a whim again I have a bunch of scenes but stringing them together is going to be something alright. Also, let's be real. Ruby is 15 Roman is probably 20 or 21 at the very least and I am garbage and acknowledge that. Like seriously it's probably a really really unhealthy pairing but here I am DOING THIS ANYWAY BECAUSE I AM ROSEWICK TRASH.