Draw of the Cards

Chapter 8: Diablo Gato

"I'm here!" Ginger yelled as he burst through the doors to the Vale City Police Department.

He panted heavily as his head darted around the room. His eyes scanned over all the police officers before finally falling on who he was looking for waiting in the lobby area. Ginger quickly sped over there as they noticed him.

"Ginger. I'm glad you got here fast." Tai noted in an exhausted tone as Yang gave Ginger a worried wave.

"When you send me the message 'Ruby was brought to the VCPD', I'm gonna get my ass in gear and sprint over here!" Ginger held back a scream as he ran a hand down his sweaty face.

It was still the same night. Ginger had managed to escape from Goodwitch and make it back home without being spotted or followed, but the moment he fell down onto his bed, seconds away from the sweet bliss of sleep after that disaster of a night, he had gotten that message from Tai that Ruby had 'somehow' ended up at the police station. Ginger felt so stupid for not realizing that would happen. Ruby was there right next to him! She's not a licensed huntress, so of course Goodwitch was gonna detain her!

Ginger should have grabbed her and run away with Ruby. But then again, if she was essentially kidnapped by 'The Fang Hunter', that would only make things worse for both of them. That wouldn't stop Ginger from panicking that he had accidentally cost Ruby a chance at being a huntress. He might not care about the job, but she did—far more than he ever did and even Yang.

He was so panicked that he rushed over to the VCPD in only his sweats and a plain brown shirt. He felt heavily underdressed for this, being dressed in only his sleepwear, a plain blue sweater, and slippers. Slippers! Ginger was just thankful that he had made a habit of almost always wearing his gloves to hide his command seals. He always forgets to take them off before bed, so thankfully he still had them on now.

Ginger began pacing back and forth as Tai told him that Ruby was still being detained, Zwei patiently following at his side as he did. Apparently, Glynda Goodwitch was in there with her, giving her one of her finest lectures. Ginger could imagine what she was saying right now—something along the lines of how foolish Ruby had been and how she endangered herself and others by involving herself. That was the impression Ginger got from their first meeting anyway.

Actually...now that Ginger thought about it a bit more, even if he wasn't there at the dust store, Ruby still would have tried to stop the robbery herself and gone after Torchwick. That was just how she was.

"You wanna take it easy there, Gin? You're gonna make trenches soon." Yang gave a weak laugh as Ginger kept pacing.

"Well, pardon me for freaking out about this," Ginger grumbled. "I'm not like you. I can't just brush something like this off."

"You worry too much. You and Dad both." Yang said as she turned to see Tai, his head in his hand as he leaned onto his lap. She tried to smile to get her the two of them to calm down. "Things will be okay. No one got seriously hurt, and Ruby actually helped instead of making things worse. I'm sure she's just getting a little smack on the wrist before she's let go. Believe in Ruby."

"...I know. She's a good kid. She'll be fine." Tai eventually nodded before letting out a tense breath.

"Y-Yeah. You're probably right." Ginger relented as he finally stopped pacing. "I just can't calm down. Stuff like this freaks me out."

Yang was about to make another joking remark but stopped when the doors to the station opened. All the cops on duty suddenly stood at attention as an older gentleman entered the station. Ginger turned to look at who warranted such a reaction, but his heart jumped into his throat when he saw who it was.