It was just supposed to be a normal day for Ruby.

"Wow, I never had fish mashed up like this before!"

She woke up early to open the bakery, preheat the ovens, and stack the goods along the shelves and display cases.

"Hey, human, give me more of this meh-lon bread!"

Large flows of customers came by everyday to satisfy their daily cravings — kids snacked on cookies after school, adults ate sandwiches on their way to work, the elderly threw bread crusts for the pigeons, and so on. When it was all done, Ruby would prep for the next day, clean up, then head home.

It was just supposed to be another normal day at the bakery—

"I didn't expect to find a place like this in a dungeon!"

"Wait, dungeon?"

— another normal—

"I've never seen pastries like these before, amazing!"

— day...

A few hours ago

CHIME-CHIME

"Thank you for your patronage!" Ruby thanked, waving the last customer goodbye.

"Please tell me that was the last of them."

Ruby turned around to see Yang stick her head out of the kitchen door — her hair and apron a mess, covered in countless layers flour and milk.

"Yeah, don't worry, that was the last of them." Ruby laughed.

Yang let out a breath of relief, stretching her strained back and arms. "Phew, thank Oum! Sorry Rubes, but as much as I am thrilled about how well our little bakery is doing, I don't think I can stand being in that giant oven you call a kitchen a second longer!" she complained.

For the past 6 hours, the blonde had been pounding, rolling, and baking — it was safe to say that Yang was on the verge of collapsing.

"Sorry Yang, I didn't expect it to be this crazy," Ruby apologized. "But I guess this is what happens when you open a bakery right in the middle of the business district."

Ever since Ruby moved her shop from her small hometown of Patch to Vale, life had been hectic. Originally, Ruby had opened her bakery in a small neighborhood, and became quite popular and close with the people there, but unfortunately, a week later, she was forced close shop because the store's property had been sold off to make room for a new shopping mall. So, Ruby went searching for a new place to bake her pastries. According to a realtor she talked to, there was only one place in the entire city where she could go — Beaconstreet — Vale's center for financial investments and the stock exchange.

Ruby took a step back and inspected the bakery — the shelves were in disarray, the floor was covered in thousands of footprints, and the trashcan was overflowing with wrappers, the aftermath of the so-called dreaded "Lunch Rush."

"Sigh, I wish one of them would least sit down and eat," Ruby sighed. Ruby dreamed of running a bakery where customers who would come and chat, spend some time to tell some stories or laughs, and savor the pastries she made, definitely not the to-go type of bakery where people just grabbed whatever was on the shelf before rushing back onto the streets without any form of greeting or exchange of words. "I might as well get rid of the table and chairs," she sadly said.

As Ruby lamented, Yang brought her in for a hug, "Hey, at least you have me around, right?" Yang reassured.

"Yeah, you're right, thanks Yang." Ruby smiled. "That means a lot—"

"By the way, I gotta go."

"What?"

"Yeah, sorry sis, I got this date to catch and I don't wanna show up smelling like flour and sweat. So, I'mma head out early, laters!"

"Wait, Yang hang on—"

CHIME-CHIME

"— and you're already gone... great..." Ruby looked up at the grandfathers clock by the door. "Sigh~ Well, I might as well close up and start preparing for tomorrow."

This is how her day usually went — minus Yang ditching her. Ruby didn't mind Yang leaving the baking to her, in fact, she loved it — it gave her the chance to try out new recipes and practice decorating pastries.

The floor was swept, the blinds were closed, and the bread was replaced — signaling the end of another day. Business was good, there was plenty of customers who came by to fill their bellies, there were almost no leftover bread by the end of the day, and money was flowing into their pockets, but still, Ruby wasn't satisfied.

It had only been a day since the store opened, but Ruby quickly learned that life in the business district meant two things:

One, time was money, and two, time was money, which meant people were always in a rush.

I hope they enjoy this one, Ruby thought, delicately decorating a bear shaped bread. Ruby knew that the customers that came by to eat her bread didn't really take the time taste it — if anything, it was just a break from their usual subsistence: fast food, packaged lunches, hot dog stands, there was a bunch of unhealthy options to choose from. At least she was happy to provide something that was freshly made and not jam-packed with preservatives or frozen.

Hours passed, and Ruby continued baking, still trying to figure out a way to make people stop and take their time to enjoy her bread. Although the baker's fire burned within her, she felt her eyes start to wane.

"Yawn~ … Maybe I'll take a nap," Ruby yawned, resting her head on the dough she was rolling. "I'll just rest for a couple min— SNORE."

And so, the young baker loudly snored with the most relaxed expression, her mind drifting off to a land where bread sheep frolicked and cake giants roamed.

As the night grew late, people went home, shops were closed, and the lights went out — soon, the stars could be seen.

Quiet, peaceful, serene, there was not single soul in sight. The streets empty, the trains have stopped, and darkness had taken over — complete darkness, all except for one small bakery.

DONG~ DONG~ DONG~

The hour was midnight.

DONG~

The grandfather's clock had struck—

DONG~

— and at the last chime—

DONG~

— a magical moment had arrived.

"Snorrt— Wha— Mr. Sheep come back, I promise I won't eat you!" Ruby yelled, still half asleep. "Huh? Oh, just a dream." Ruby rubbed the sleep out of her eyes while she looked up at the window to see that the darkened sky. "Wow, I slept for that long? I guess today was a busy day— yawn— better head home before Yang starts worrying."

CHIME-CHIME

Huh? Shoot, I forgot to flip the sign!

Rushing out of the kitchen, Ruby hastily put on an apologetic smile, "Sorry, we're closed for..."

Cat ears.

That was the first thought that popped into her head after seeing the girl in front of her. Cute, adorable, fluffy, cat ears was on top of her head.

An uncomfortable silence hovered over them as Ruby continued to stare the girl. She was totally enamored by the cat ears.

It wasn't until the cat girl coughed did Ruby realize she was ogling.

"O-oh sorry Miss, I couldn't help myself, hehe," Ruby nervously laughed.

"... What is this place?" the cat girl asked.

Ruby looked at her questionably. "Uh, a bakery?"

"A bakery... hmmm," the cat girl hummed.

Once again, another uncomfortable silence hovered over them, but this time, it was Ruby's turn to be stared at.

Why is she just looking at me? Ruby asked herself. Do I have something on my face?

Just as Ruby was about to say something, the cat girl walked up to one of the shelves, looking keenly at one of products.

"Hey, you," the cat girl called out to Ruby.

"Yes?"

"What this?" the cat girl asked, pointing at a box of sandwiches.

"That's a tuna sandwich..." Ruby trailed off, noticing that the girl's tail started to sway around. That can't be real... right?

"Tuna..."

"... Would you like to try it? I can give you a free sample."

At the mention of the word ''free', the girl instantly turned toward her and furiously nodded. The young baker swore that she saw the girl start drooling.

"Hold on for a sec," Ruby reached out towards the selection and grabbed the tuna sandwich, quickly bringing it back to the counter to cut a small piece out.

"Here ya' go, give it a try," Ruby said, holding out a plate with the cut out piece. The cat girl carefully picked up the piece and smelled it, before finally putting it in her mouth.

Ruby watched in anticipation as the girl slowly chewed.

"So, do you like it?" Ruby asked.

The cat girl grabbed her shoulders, surprising Ruby. "Wha—"

"This... is..."

"This is?"

"... is... delicious!" the girl exclaimed.

"Really? That's great!" Ruby smiled.

"I never had fish mashed up like this before, there's even bread and vegetables in here!" the girl excitedly explained, gripping Ruby's shoulders even harder. "May I know who is the person that made this?"

"Um— that would be me," Ruby weakly replied. "Also, do you mind letting me go? I think you're crushing my shoulders."

"Oh, my apologies," The girl quickly let go of her grip. "I-I just wanted to say that this dish was wonderful."

"Heh, thanks! You really like tuna sandwich huh? Should I wrap up this one for you to go?" Ruby asked. The cat girl instantly deflated, the cat ears on top of her head flattening on her head.

"I-I don't have any money on me at the moment," the girl sadly said. "That was actually my first bite in three days..."

Ruby went wide-eyed. "THREE DAYS! Then here, take it!" Ruby shoved the rest of the sandwich into the girls hands. "Don't worry about money, you can just pay me back next time."

The girl stared at her in shock. "Really!? But— but—"

"No buts! Just enjoy it!" Ruby insisted. "As a baker, it's rewarding enough to see their customers happy faces, and I for one was happy after seeing yours."

The girl smiled, "... Thank you."

Ruby laughed. "Hehe, anytime!"

DONG~

"Huh, oh shoot, I need to get going!" The cat girl ran to the door, but stopped as she was about to open it. "Look, I don't like charity, so I promise to come back tomorrow to pay you back! For now here, take my ribbon," the cat girl pulled out a ribbon from her pockets and threw it to Ruby.

Ruby caught the ribbon, and huffed. "I said don't worry about it!"

Red and orange leaves drifted into the shop when the cat girl opened the door, confusing Ruby. Huh, isn't it summer time in Vale?

"Y'know, I never expected to find such a charitable soul in middle of the forest, much less a bakery. My name is Blake, by the way."

"Nice to meet you Blake, my name is — wait, forest? What are you talking about—"

Trees, leaves, and animals, nature — it was clearly autumn — Ruby saw it all when Blake opened the door.

"What the..."

"Farewell for now," Blake said, finally exiting the shop.

CHIME-CHIME

"..." Ruby stood there for a moment, perplexed. She rubbed her eyes and blinked. "... I'm probably just tired, I really need to get some sleep... but what if..."

Ruby looked back at the front door, and questioned herself if what she saw was real. She walked over to the door and cautiously gripped the handle, her palm sweaty from being nervous.

Okay, it's summer in Vale right now. Outside is supposed to be the street, cars, and street lights — also, it's supposed to be night! Okay calm down Ruby, just breathe, there's no way that was real, just breathe.

She opened the door and saw...

Nothing.

Ruby wiped her forehead in relief. "Phew — haha— of course there was no way I was in a forest— haha… ha... ha... wait, nothing?"

Ruby looked again, and once again, saw nothing. Literally nothing — a blank void where, no matter where Ruby looked, continued to stretch into nothingness.

"..." She slowly closed the door and backed away, backtracking her way into the kitchen, and sat down.

"... WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON!?"

DONG~ DONG~

CHIME-CHIME

"Huh? Did Blake forget something or —"

"WHO DARES TRESPASS ON MY LAND!?" a voice thundered, shaking the entire shop.

CRASH

"Ow..."

"IF YOU DON'T SHOW YOURSELF IN THE THE NEXT FIVE SECONDS, I'M BURNING THIS WHOLE PLACE DOWN! FIVE—"

"AH! WAIT-WAIT-WAIT, HANG ON! I'M HERE!" Ruby yelled, scurrying out of the kitchen.

"I'm here, so please don't burn down my..."

Hot. It was literally, hot.

Standing in front of her was a giant woman wearing a mask with red horns and most notably, flaming yellow hair. Waves of heat radiated from the giant woman, threatening to swallow the entire shop into a blazing inferno. Once again, Ruby found herself staring at a customer, but this time not out of interest, but out of awe.

"Fire..." Ruby awed, the flames of destruction reflecting in her eyes.

"What? Never seen a fire demon before?" the demon asked.

"A whaa?" Ruby asked, still awing at the the demons flaming hair. The demon rolled her eyes.

"Hmph, figures. There isn't a single sane human out there who would dare venture this deep into a dungeon," the demon said. The demon looked around the bakery, curious about the strange food surrounding her. Her eyes stopped on a particular basket of pastry, intrigued by its smell and shape.

"What is that?" the demon pointed. "It smells good."

Ruby, who had just snapped out of her daze, followed the demons finger. "Oh, that's melon bread," she answered. "If you want, I can give you a samp—hey!"

Ignoring Ruby's protest and pushing her aside, the demon grabbed the entire basket of melon bread, and tossed it into her mouth.

"Chew-chew-chew- Mmmmmm! It's crunchy and sweet!" the demon exclaimed.

The demon turned towards Ruby, who was pouting and crossing her arms. "Human, do you have more of this 'meh lon' bread?"

"First of all, my name is Ruby, and also, I don't think I'm willing to sell bread to someone who just pushed me," Ruby pouted.

The demon's flaming hair flared up in anger. In the thousands of years she's been alive, not once had a human ever stood up to her, especially not over food. Sharp teeth popped out from under the demon's mask as her body grew twice as large — threatening to break through the ceiling, and two extra pair of arms carrying swords and axes appeared behind her, a sight that sent the mightiest of heroes crawling back to their mothers. Yet, Ruby stood steadfast, her expression locked in a cute, yet fearsome, pout.

"Heh, impressive," the demon complimented. She retracted her teeth and weapons, and shifted back to her original size. "I must say, for a human, you're quite something to still be standing—"

"Ah-buh-buh-buh," Ruby interrupted, waving her finger. "I'm not listening to single word until you apologize for pushing me," Ruby said.

"Grrr, look here human—"

"No, you look here! It's not human, it's Ruby, and if you want any bread, you have to say sorry, got that!?" Ruby yelled.

"... Fine, Ruby. I'm sorry," the demon apologized, bowing her head.

Ruby smiled. "Hmph, now was that so hard?"

"No..." the demon grumbled.

Ruby walked back into the kitchen and brought out another batch of melon bread she baked a couple hours ago. The melon bread was still warm with the sweet scent of sugar wafting from through the air. Addictively crispy on the outside, and otherworldly soft on the inside, the melon bread was a weapon of pure destruction. The sight of the pile of pastries made the demon's mouth water, and as she was reaching for one, Ruby smacked her hand away.

"You still have to pay for the basket you ate earlier," Ruby said.

"Ah, right." Holding her hand in the air and summoning a portal, the demon reached in and pulled out a bag and placed it onto the counter. "Here's all the money I got from adventurers trying to take my head. This should be probably be enough."

The demon then grabbed the batch of melon bread, before walking towards the door. Curious, Ruby opened the bag to see what was inside, only to be blinded by the piles of jewels and gold coins. "I-Is that gold!?" Ruby yelled, mouth agape.

"Oh, by the way, the name's Yang — the boss of this dungeon," Yang said. "I'll come by around sometime, so make sure you have more melon bread next time. Ciao~"

"Hold on! You gave me too much—"

CHIME-CHIME

"— money... Did she just say her name was Yang?... And a dungeon..." Ruby scratched her head. "This is some crazy dream I'm having. First a cat girl, then a giant fire Yang. Ha, I wonder what's next, a unicorn?"

Ruby walked over to the door and opened it, once more greeted by darkness. "Hmmm, I wonder if this is symbolism for how empty my head is... meh, oh well."

She closed the door and retreated back to the kitchen — even if it was a dream, Ruby still wanted to bake.

DONG~ DONG~ DONG~

CHIME-CHIME

"What is this place?"

"Ugh, I'm starting to grow tired of hearing that," Ruby cringed. "Well, I better see who it is this time..."

Walking out of the kitchen for what seemed like the umpteenth time, Ruby saw something she didn't expect — a princess.

Long snow white hair, deep sapphire eyes, a beautiful white dress, glass heels — Ruby could somehow sense that this girl was royalty... though the small crown resting on her head kind of gave it away... She wasn't the unicorn she hoped to see, but it was close enough - maybe even better.

"H-hi," Ruby stammered. The girl turned toward her, letting Ruby see into the rich blue eyes that seemed to pierce through her.

Ruby was left breathless. "Wow..."

"Are you the owner of this establishment?" the girl asked.

"Y-yes I am! H-how can I help you today?"

The girl began striding towards her, each of her steps echoing loudly as they hit the floor. With each step taken, Ruby could feel her heart rate rise, and her face grow warmer. Uwaaa— why do I feel so weird all of a sudden!? Ruby thought.

When the girl finally stopped, she was standing in front of Ruby, squinting at her.

"What is this place?" she asked.

"A bakery." Ruby answered.

"A bakery!? In my room?"

Ruby raised an eyebrow. "Your room?"

"Yes, my room," Weiss then gestured at the open door to reveal a grand bedroom. The room was decorated in extravagant white silk, the walls covered by large portraits, wooden dressers, and a diamond chandelier.

Ruby blinked. "Huh, what do you know? A forest, a dungeon, now a princess's room, can't say I'm complaining about the variety."

Weiss continued to looked around the bakery, intrigued by the strange décor and shelves of bread. "I've been to a few bakeries before, but none of them looked like this."

"Really? I'm pretty sure this is just like any other bakery I know," Ruby said, scratching her head.

"I'm positive. In fact, I don't think I have ever seen these type of pastries anywhere," Weiss said, before drawing her attention to a basket next to her. "Like this for example, I've never seen a pastry folded this way before."

"Oh, that's called a croissant," Ruby explained. "It's folded that way in order to give the bread this buttery flaky texture. The outside is nice and crunchy, while the inside is soft and airy, making it really delicious and easy to eat. When you bite into it, you get to taste all the separate layers of flaky goodness. It's really good by itself, but sometimes people like to add things to it like strawberry jam, blueberry jam, nutella, more butter, mmmmm butter..."

Drool trailed down Ruby's mouth as she described the croissant, unintentionally causing Weiss to also drool.

Ruby looked at Weiss, and giggled. "Looks like you want to try one."

"Huh? Oh!" Weiss blushed, taking out a handkerchief to wipe her mouth. "Ahem, S-sure, I'll try one."

"Hehe, here, I promise it's delicious," Ruby gave Weiss a croissant. Weiss inspected the pastry for a couple seconds before taking a bite.

The moment Weiss took a bite, Ruby saw something amazing — Weiss's smile. Her blue eyes shined when the satisfying crunch of the croissant sang throughout her mouth, the bitterness of the slight burnt edges, the crispy texture of egg coated crust, the savory taste of butter — it was pure bliss.

DONG~ DONG~ DONG~ DONG~

Ruby looked at the grandfather clock. "Wow, an hour went by already. Time seems to pass really fast tonight."

Snapping out of her daze, Weiss went wide-eyed. "Did you say an hour already passed!? I'm late for my meeting!" She quickly gobbled the rest of the croissant and ran towards the door. When Weiss put her hand on the door's handle, she paused. "Will you be here tomorrow?" she asked.

Truthfully, Ruby didn't know, she still thought that this was all a dream. Girls with cat ears and tails, a giant Yang with six arms and flaming hair, and a beautiful princess that loves croissants?

Looks like I really need to sleep, Ruby thought. She looked at the Weiss, who was still waiting by the door. Expecting eyes looked at her, making the baker's young melt inside. Even if it was a dream, who was she to make a cute girl cry? That was Yang's job.

"Yeah, I'll be here," Ruby smiled.

Weiss smiled back. With that, she opened the door, and finally left.

CHIME-CHIME

"Yawn… What a dream," Ruby yawned. "I wonder if I can sleep in my own dream? For some reason— yawn— I feel really tired."

As Ruby made her way to the counter, she noticed that Weiss had dropped her handkerchief.

Looks like I have a reason to see her now, Ruby thought happily.

Laying her head down on the counter and staring up at the clock, Ruby counted the seconds, her eye lids ever so slowly closing to the the sounds of the clock ticking.

"I wonder what I'll dream in my dream— SNORE."

...

"Ruby, wake up!"

"SNORT— HUH!? What?" Ruby yelled. She looked up to see that the sun was out. Ruby turned around to see her dear sister Yang, hovering over her.

"Did you spend all night baking?" Yang asked. "I'm starting to think you want me to worry about you."

Ruby stretched her arms, letting out a loud yawn. "Sorry, Yang, guess I fell asleep. Didn't realize how tired I was. Forgive me?"

Yang crossed her arms, trying to look mad, but Ruby's puppy dog eyes was already having it's effect.

"Sigh, yeah yeah, I forgive you. Just go wash up while I go make breakfast," Yang smiled.

"Thanks Yang!" Ruby cheered. "By the way, how did your date go last night?"

"Meh, it was whatever, nothing worth talking about," Yang waved off. "How about you? anything interesting happen last night?"

"Hmmm, I had this crazy dream about a cat girl, giant lady, and princess, coming to the bakery."

"Heh, lucky you, that already sounds more interesting than my evening. C'mon, tell me what happened!"

"Well, let's see, first there was Blake, this girl with really cute cat ears —"

As Ruby recalled her vivid dream to Yang, she didn't notice the black ribbon sitting under the counter, the bag of treasures shining in the kitchen, and the white handkerchief tucked away in her pocket.

A/N - I hope you guys enjoyed this.

Just to let you guys know - this note is for current and future one-shots - if you guys really like a particular story and would want me to write more about it, I can revisit it in later chapters.

Anyways, thanks for reading, give thanks to Storystratos for editing.

Have a swell day.