Yes, this the rewrite of the previous rewrite. People wanted me to keep this story up, so I am! You are all welcome! It's going to have the same plot, the same characters, the same deal. Just tweaked a bit so I can look at it without wanting to scream in horror and punch a hole through my screen.
Enjoy!
Drip…
Drip
Drip…
Ruby counted the drops of water that fell from the exposed pipes of the alley walls to distract herself from the throbbing pain that flared like fire across her body. Pain that flowed from the gaping hole in her stomach. She had screamed for a while, begging for the pain to stop, wanting it to all be over.
But then again, when did pain ever stop?
For almost as long as Ruby could remember; there had been the pain. Of course, she did have blissful memories of sunlit days, of the smell of cookies wavering through the air, and the warm presence of her mother whose mere memory made Ruby feel safe even as blood stained her pale skin.
Then her mother died, alone and far away, and her daughter's life was plunged into Hell.
When she first heard that her mother was never coming back, Ruby's heart felt it was smashed and the pieces ground into dust. But as horrible as her pain was, what happened to her father was far, far, worse.
Taiyang Xiao Long, the man that used to call himself Ruby's father, had his heart was shattered and his mind broken with grief. He devolved from a man worthy of love to a monster that brought only fear and hate.
A monster that blamed Ruby for the death of her mother.
In some twisted way, Taiyang had taken the fact that his wife was killed on a Hunter mission and had warped it to find someone to blame. Someone to take his rage out on.
Someone like Ruby. The girl who looked so much like her mother that Taiyang could not bear it.
When he had first hit her, Ruby had just stood there; the blood dripping down from her lip and eyes wide with horrified shock.
"Papa…"
But all that she received, in turn, was a sneer and dismissive jerk of the head.
The second time, Ruby wasn't sure what was louder, the sounds of her arm snapping or her own screaming. She was dragged and thrown into her bare room regardless.
The third time Xiao Long had come home, reeking of alcohol, and darkness had soon followed; blasting her mind apart when a booted foot slammed into her face. She woke up with her face swollen to twice its normal size and half her teeth missing. Luckily, they were only baby teeth.
But it was the fourth time that seared into Ruby's mind. It was when her sister abandoned her that Ruby truly felt the coldness seeping into her body and soul. Ruby knew that she wasn't the only one who suffered because of Xiao Long's insanity, that she had seen bruises marring her sister's skin on the mornings when Ruby had not dared to come out of her room the night before, too afraid to leave her bed.
Xiao Long never liked working for his prey. He much preferred easy targets.
But the thought of her sister, of Yang, turning against her never once passed through Ruby's battered mind. Of course, that did not matter as Yang's hand slapped across her face. Her lilac eyes glowing with hate.
That was when the last remnants of her soul shattered. That was when the true horror began.
Alone in the world, Ruby suffered at the hands of the people she once called family.
Until they grew tired of it, of all the abuse, and drove a broken pipe into her stomach. Leaving her to die in some godforsaken alley far away from their home. Their own daughter and sister. Their own forsaken flesh and blood.
Drip…
Drip…
Drip…
No.
She was six years old. She was a child. And she didn't deserve to die, alone and filthy, in a place where her corpse would only be discovered when the stench of rot filled the air. Placing a hand tight against her stomach, Ruby attempted to stand up.
Only to fall, screaming, back down on the cracked concrete. Breathing harshly through clenched teeth, Ruby splayed her palms wide on the ground.
I-I don't want to die!
The thought repeated in her head as a mantra and Ruby pulled herself forward, crawling out of the alley. A trail of blood marking her progress. The late night sky spun above the world as a young girl fought for her life.
And only the shattered moon was there when it watched her win it.
With a pained gasp, Ruby pulled herself out of the mouth of the alley and into the empty street beyond. Panting for breath, she dug her broken fingernails into any hold she could find, pulling herself forward in an obsessive bid to stay alive. To survive.
To not let those that she used to call family to succeed in their efforts to extinguish the flickering fire of her soul from existence. To survive in a harsh world. To achieve her heart's every desire and live to see the ones who hurt her proven wrong about their every twisted assumption about the red-stained girl.
Nine years later, in the Kingdom of Vale…
The blood spray from the man's severed head splattered across a red cloak. The street empty of all other people, but for a corpse and a girl in a hooded cloak the same color as the lifeblood staining the pavement.
A wickedly sharp scythe blade dripped droplets of red before its wielder gave it a firm shake, cleaning the metal of the preponderance of the gore. The hooded girl shifted the long weapon into a compact rifle before hooking it onto the straps on her back, hiding the machine of death under her cloak.
That's what you get for trying to cheat Roman Torchwick. The girl thought as she stared down at the cadaver with contempt. Now, you're going to feed the rats. Hopefully, they won't get sick off your stinking meat.
Turning on her heel, the girl left the visceral mess behind and strolled into the more lit areas of the Kingdom, looking for all the word like she was simply out for an evening stroll. The gentle breeze, carrying the scent of autumn, making it that much more of a pleasant evening for a long walk.
After all, who would ever link a grisly murder to a fifteen-year-old girl?
And the fact that I'm carrying a large weapon probably won't even be noticed. Not with all of these combat students and hunters-in-training running amok. Good that they are useful for SOMETHING. The soft chirping of her Scroll made the girl snap out of her thoughts and pull the device out of her pocket, briefly smiling when she saw who it was.
"Hi, Ro. What's up?" The girl heard a soft chuckle on the other end before the voice of a man feared by many answered.
"Red," Roman Torchwick said. "I'm just calling to make sure you don't forget we are supposed to meet Neo at the factories in about an hour. Given the fact that you picked up, I assume that our little problem has been taken care of?
The girl stopped dead in her tracks. Oh, yeah…the factory job, riiiight. "Yep, it has been! And I'm on my way to the factories right now!"
"Don't think I didn't notice that pause there, Ruby Rose"
Ruby just grinned at Roman's words and after a second, she heard him chuckle again. Roman and Neo could never be angry with her forgetfulness. Just as she could never be angry with Roman's constant need to clean something or Neo's near-obsessive pursuit of new ice cream flavors. It was just one of those quirks that made them who they were.
"Yeah, yeah, don't we have a factory to blow up?" Ruby tilted her head to the side and she could almost hear Roman's eye-roll on the other end.
"Always so eager for mass destruction, aren't you? I'll see you there, Red, but don't be late or Neo will have to do your job too and then she'll pout for days."
"Can't let that happen, now can we. See you there, Ro!" As she hung up, Ruby thought about Roman's words.
I mean, a pouty Neo isn't THAT bad. In fact, she's really cute when she puffs out her cheeks like that-and I do NOT have the time for those thoughts or those mental images, I have people to see and crimes to commit.
Giving her head a firm shake, Ruby Rose, rising criminal in the violent underworld of Vale, sped off. Leaving only a trail of rose petals in her wake, like a path of blood drops, drifting in the wind.
It may not be perfect, but I like it better then what it was.
That's good, right?
Anyways, thank you all so much for putting up with my madness! A couple of notes before we are done here, Street Rose will stay up and maybe I'll tweak the chapters that need tweaking, and who knows? Maybe I'll even continue Street Rose!
…
You can all stop laughing now.