"Man, these missions have been pretty peaceful lately, haven't they?" Yang Xiao Long pointed out, stretching her arms over the unconscious form of a common criminal. "It's almost sad the Grimm are gone...I kinda miss pounding their ugly faces in."

"You would feel that way, wouldn't you?" Weiss Schnee sniffed as she rolled her eyes.

"As fun as killing Grimm may have been, I for one am glad they're finally gone." Blake Belladonna said, also a bit miffed by her partner's comment.

"Yeah, Yang!" Ruby Rose threw in. "No Grimm, less people getting hur-" She had placed her hand on her hip where the pocket of her skirt was...and she noticed that it was empty. Her eyes widened, and she began digging through both pockets. Her team looked at her, exasperated.

"You lost your wallet again, didn't you sis?" Yang asked as she rolled her eyes.

"...Yes..." Ruby said, grinning sheepishly. Yang turned to her other team mates and opened her mouth to speak...

"We know the drill." Blake rolled her eyes as she turned and walked to look for the leader's wallet elsewhere.

"I am seriously considering gluing that wallet to your arm, Ruby." Weiss said, shaking her head as she walked away.

"Well, let's get your wallet back...AGAIN..." Ruby grinned sheepishly as all of her team mates went looking for her lost item. Sighing in annoyance with herself, the young woman turned around and went to look for her wallet.

Twenty minutes later...

Ruby was now on her hands and knees as she searched around for the missing wallet.

"Ugh...Come on...Where is that stupid thing?" The young woman muttered under her breath...until her hand clasped around something familiar...Picking up the object, Ruby grinned and fist pumped when she saw it was, in fact, her wallet. She sighed with relief and placed the item back in her pocket.

She was about to turn and leave...but then her ears picked up a terrible sound...First, it sounded like a man yelling obscenities. Then, she heard the sound of a child screaming in pain. The huntress turned to see a normal looking house...but she knew that the sounds were coming from it.

The noises made her extremely uneasy. She was a huntress, it was her job to make sure people were safe. So, she decided it couldn't hurt yo take just a little peek... Using her semblance to quickly dash to the window, she looked inside...and promptly placed a hand over her mouth in horror.

There was a massive blob of a man towering over the tiniest little boy she had ever seen in her life. The poor little thing probably wouldn't even come up to her knee, and here this fat bastard was raining down a series of punches and kicks all over his little body, drawing blood and causing nasty bruises. Then, the man lifted the child up by the scruff of his shirt, and Ruby could see the spit flying into the poor child's face as the man yelled. She listened closely, and managed to make out him saying...

"YOU DO NOT SCREAM IN MY HOUSE, YOU WORTHLESS, UGLY LITTLE FREAK! YOU SHOULD HAVE DIED IN THAT CAR CRASH WITH THOSE WORTHLESS PARENTS OF YOURS! YOU NEVER DO ANYTHING RIGHT! THE CHORES ARE NEVER FULLY COMPLETED! AND THEN YOU TRY TO BLAME IT ON DUDLEY?! HE'S A PERFECT CHILD! YOU'RE NOT A CHILD, YOU'RE A DISGUSTING ABOMINATION, AND YOU'RE DAMN LUCKY THAT WE WERE WILLING TO TAKE YOU INTO OUR HOME! NOW TOMORROW, THE CHORES BETTER BE DONE, OR I WILL KILL YOU SO WE DON'T HAVE TO DEAL WITH YOUR INEPTITUDE! DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?!"

With every word the man spoke, Ruby felt herself grow more and more enraged, to the point where she was digging her fingers into the windowsill. And when the fatass threatened to kill the poor little boy over not doing chores properly, she had had enough. It was her job to help those in need...and this poor kid needed help more than ever.

Vernon was about to drag Harry back to his cupboard, when the sound of shattering glass made him snap his head around. A figure had crashed through his window and rolled upon hitting the ground, before stopping in a kneeling position, allowing Vernon to get a good look at her.

She was pale, and had neck-length reddish-black hair, which covered one of her eyes. She was wearing a black corset, with a matching skirt and leggings, as well as a pair of black boots.

And she was also pointing a rifle at him.

Vernon screamed at the sight of the gun, and immediately held Harry in front of him as a human shield. The little boy looked at the gun, eyes wide with terror, and then closed his eyes and gritted his teeth, waiting to be shot.

Ruby scowled at the man. To think he would stoop so low as to use a child as a human shield...

"Let the poor kid go, or so help me I am going to RIP YOUR HEAD OFF!" Vernon was terrified. This woman was clearly an experienced huntress...and she had caught him red-handed abusing the freak. Self-preservation took over his mindset, and with a terrified whimper, he roughly tossed the child in his hands so that he landed at the woman's feet in a crumpled heap.

Ruby stared in shock as the child hit the ground...then he let out a pitiful whimper that took a butcher's knife to her heartstrings. Tentatively, she placed a hand on the tiny boy's shoulder. He flinched at the touch, but gradually calmed himself when he realized she wasn't hurting him.

Ruby's free fist clenched, and she began trembling with anger. Slowly, she rose to her feet, eyes now completely hidden by her hair. Vernon backed up against the wall, knowing that she meant business.

"...Why?" Vernon looked at her nervously. "Why did you do that to a child?" Vernon couldn't find the words to speak. Ruby slowly began to approach him. "Do you think I'm just gonna let you get away with that? I'm a huntress. It's my job to protect people...even if it's from other people. I think it's high time someone gave you a TASTE OF YOUR OWN MEDICINE!"

Screaming the last words, Ruby slammed the blunt end of Crescent Rose, her beloved scythe, into the fat man's stomach. As the man fell, she kicked him as hard as she could nonstop, then sat on top of him and began nailing him with a series of punches to the face. She may not be that physically strong normally...but since she was far beyond pissed, her punching power could give even Yang's a run for their money. By the time she was done, Vernon's face was covered with blood and bruises. He groaned in pain, and Ruby stepped off of him, scowling. Then, she turned her attention back to the boy. He was desperately trying to get back to his feet...but his injuries were too severe. He could barely even lift his arm...

Ruby's expression softened at the pitiful display, and she approached the child and knelt by his side.

"Hi there." She said, trying to remain cheerful to ease the tension. Harry's expression contorted into one of sheer terror, and he curled up into a ball.

"P-Please...don't hurt me..." He whimpered.

Ruby's smile faded, and she teared up a little at the child's fear. Wiping the tears away on her sleeve, she forced herself to smile. "Hey, come on, little guy." She said, a barely audible quake in her voice. "I wouldn't hurt a little cutie like you." Harry looked at her, appearing slightly surprised...then he flinched when she put a hand on his shoulder. He waited to get punched...but all she did was help him sit. He looked up into her smiling face, confused. "...I can get you out of here...if you want me to." Harry's eyes widened. A nice woman wanted to take him away from the pain and suffering the Dursley's inflicted on him? This was something he thought could only happen in dreams...Harry looked up at Ruby, and nodded his head shyly.

Ruby grinned, then gently scooped him into her arms, his little head resting snugly on her shoulder. He at first tensed at the touch...but forced himself to calm down, worried about offending the pretty lady. He took note of how nice it was to be held like this...and let out a soft yawn. Slowly, his eyes closed, and he fell into slumber.

Ruby's lips formed into a genuine smile at how peaceful the previously terrified little boy now looked. She rubbed the top of his head...and barely held back a squeal of delight as he snuggled up closer to her.

"Aw, you're just so CUTE! I just never wanna stop hugging you! I wanna pinch your little cheeks, and feed you cookies, and-" As she babbled on and on about how cute Harry was, she found herself walking out of the house, completely forgetting about the unconscious Vernon.

With the others...

"Any luck?" Yang asked as she regrouped with Blake and Weiss.

"No." Weiss huffed. "You know I wasn't joking when I said I was considering gluing that wallet to her arm."

"I didn't find it either." Blake shrugged.

"Well, I hope Rubes found it, or else-"

"Uh...Yang? Does your sister have a bleeding child in her arms?" Yang blinked, and she and Weiss turned to see their friend walking down the sidewalk. Sure enough, she was holding a sleeping, injured child tightly in her arms.

"Hey, uh...Ruby?" Yang said. Ruby didn't notice her, as she was too busy looking down adoringly at the tiny little boy and audibly cooing at how cute he was.

"-And I'm gonna buy you a little panda costume on Halloween, and we'll get lots of candy, and then I'll put some cookies in your trick-or-treat bag because Halloween needs cookies, and-"

"Ruby!" Weiss snapped.

"EEK!" Ruby squeaked at the harsh tone. "Oh...Hey girls! How'd you find the house?"

"...Ruby, take a look around you." Blake said flatly. Ruby blinked, then realized she had wandered away from the house without even realizing it.

"Geez...I could have gotten lost! This kid's cuteness is very distracting..." Ruby cooed out the last part, gently resting her chin on top of the boy's head.

"Okay, Ruby...What the hell is going on?!" Yang exclaimed, confused.

"SHHHHH!" Ruby hissed harshly, covering one of Harry's ears with one hand while smothering his other ear against her body to drown out the noise. "Are you TRYING to wake him up?!" Yang rubbed the back of her head and apologized.

"So...Why do you have a child, Ruby?" Blake asked. The other three girls were taken aback as their leader adopted a grim expression on her face and tightened her hold on Harry.

"I...I saved him from an abusive caretaker...H-He was so much bigger than the poor thing...Look at how tiny he is...And then the guy was like a mountain by comparison...He...He was punching him...Kicking him...Calling him useless...a freak...Telling him he should have died...And then he threatened to kill him...I...I beat the SH*T out of that bastard..." Ruby's friends stared in shock. It took a lot to get Ruby to swear... Then they noticed the tears forming in her eyes as she put her chin back on the little boy's head. Weiss looked down, hiding her sad expression. Blake's cat ears folded back against her head as she clenched her fists. Yang crossed her arms and muttered "Sick bastard..." under her breath.

Weiss looked up, trying to maintain a stoic demeanour. "So, what are you going to do with him?" Ruby adopted a thoughtful expression...then smiled at her friends sincerely.

"I'm gonna adopt him, and make sure he gets the life he deserves."