| two: little good wolf |

×××××

Red Hood stayed at home for an entire week, just collecting more information through the eyes and ears of his drones. His arm healed after a few days, in spite so he had been immobile inside his monitor room, surviving on water and unhealthy snacks like bags of chips.

It was a vice that he couldn't get rid of since he had been living on his own. He would get so caught up in his work that he would usually forget to eat or sleep at times. This kind of scenario would often happen as he didn't had much pleasant activities outside his house.

With that said, he had tight security in his house despite living alone. He had countless of wannabe intruders that had attempt in breaking into his abode, however most of them had failed to even step a foot in. There were some of his drones on the look out, plus traps were set throughout the building and garden. If things were to get out of hand, he could just deal with it himself.

For the past few days, there were half a dozen attempts. None of them managed to surpass his traps, until that faithful day.

On that day, his focus was solely on his desktops as usual. He was in the middle of eavesdropping in a conversation between two gang members when a monitor made some alarming noises. Pushing his spinning chair, he headed towards the monitor to notice the drone notifying him of an intruder before the drone's screen blacked out.

Groaning to himself, he picked up his pistol lying beside his main desktop and hid his face behind his silk red hood once more. Tapping the pistol lightly against his palm, he shook his head as he made his way out the door. His drone was last located on the rooftop, a place he didn't plant any traps yet. For a person in his early teens, he didn't bother putting up extremely tight security to such drastic measurements.

Internally rolling his eyes, he couldn't predict his idiotic intruders to be that desperate. However, he needed the fresh air anyway, so dealing with these intruders might be refreshing for him.

Silently walking down the hallway, he stashed his pistol onto his belt that was also accompanied with blades and a few tools. As he went in the elevator, a familiar fluffy critter dashed inside before the doors shut. Leaning on the walls, he watched as the white bundle of fur scanned its surroundings and then stared up at him. The critter scurried right towards him and climbed up his body to rest on his shoulder. He felt the critter rub its nose brush lovingly against his cheek, which caused him to chuckle.

"You're too overprotective, Carrot," he whispered softly and pressed the button to the top floor.

He earned a gentle touch on his cheek as if it were a playful punch.

Although rabbits live an extremely short lifespan compared to humans, Carrot was a few years older than him. He had first gotten him as a pet before he started to live on the streets, since he was born to be specific. Due to old age, he turned Carrot into a semi-android to extend his life.

Carrot had been with him at every second since he began his new life. It used to be a helpless, adorable companion that wanted nothing but to take care of him. With a few modifications here and there, he granted its wish. Besides that, the rabbit was the only being that had been with him through thick and thin.

The chime of the elevator rung into their ears, which signalled that they had arrived. Taking a deep breath, he glanced a look at the little critter on his shoulder. To the untrained eye, it only blinked at him blankly, yet he knew it was the rabbit's way of reassuring him.

He lightly flicked its nose. The rabbit rubbed the back of its head, understanding that he didn't need comfort at the moment. Exiting, he then went to the metal stairs on the wall and climbed up nonchalantly. The stairs accessed him to the rooftops.

Suddenly, Carrot bolted off his shoulder to get on top and inside of his hooded head. Removing the hatchet to the roof, the rabbit and him both were peeking out quietly. On the other side, there was a hot air balloon with men dressed in black around it; black thief masks, black shirts, black trousers and of course, black shoes.

He noticed that they seemed to be in the heat of a discussion, not taking notice of his drone or him for now. He couldn't hear anything from this distance, and he honestly didn't feel like risking his location at the moment. Gingerly, he climbed out and placed back the camouflage hatchet.

He slowly tiptoed towards the chimney, which was near the hot air balloon. Feeling Carrot tense up on his head, he tugged the rabbit back down onto his shoulder. Rubbing his cheek delicately against the rabbit's fur, he managed to pacify the rabbit.

As he pressed his back on the cold cemented-chimney, he reached down to his belt and lace his fingers on his pistol. He cautiously took a small look at the men. In the corner of his eye, he spotted four figures.

"Red Hood won't know what will hit her," a brunette snarled delightedly, feeling the man smirking at his words. He held onto a motionless pigeon drone.

A redhead then scoffed, "Rumour says Red Hood is a him." He was punched by the slightly taller brunette.

"It won't matter, because once we capture Red Hood. With that bounty on the kid's head, we'll be filthy ass rich,"  a gruff voice then cut off the small fight. This was probably the leader; the tallest, messy and hideous.

"B-But Boss," a rather hush voice uttered. He was the weakling among the four, as he was really scrawny.

The leader of the four intruders faced the stuttering one and shot a firm glare. This deflated his subordinate completely, although he watched as his subordinate hold up a shaky finger. It was pointing right towards him.

In his subordinate's eyes was pooled with downright fear and shock, this shifted his rage into deep confusion. His two other subordinates quickly shared the same look, pointing out their fingers right at him as well. His puzzled expression twisted back into furious one.

"You all dare to disrespect me?" the leader raised his voice, ignited instantly.

The fat redhead's voice cracked as he replied,  "S-She's right t-there, b-behind you boss!"

As soon as the leader spun his head around, his eyes were greeted with the sight of Red Hood sitting casually on the chimney. The informant's legs were crossed with a pistol spun lightly in hand. He couldn't spot the informant's face as it was covered deeply under the silk cloth, yet a shiver ran down his spine when his ears heard a chuckle from the child. Not comprehending how could the child be intimidating, he mustered a wavering glare.

"I didn't expect any visitors today," Red Hood told him with a calm tone, playing around with the pistol, "but it was rude to not enter through the main door."

The leader snapped out of his trace before growling at the child. He spat through his clenched teeth,"We came here not to play tea party with you, Red Hood. We're here to get you."

Red Hood hummed at the man's declaration, pushing himself off the chimney to land gracefully on his feet. His long cape-like hood swished gently behind him as he stepped towards the men. His fingers stopped the circular motion on his pistol and he managed to receive another round of shivers.

The subordinates backed off immediately while the leader remained still. Pulling the trigger on, Red Hood swirled the pistol leisurely in his hand before stopping his movements all together. Under his hood, he stared down at his intruders with arms behind his back.

"Come and get me then,"  he challenged, smirking under his hood.

At that, the leader gestured the men to charge. Hesitant for a few seconds, the four men then came rushing towards Red Hood all at once. The men flashed out their sharp blades with their own battle cries. Red Hood just stood there as they sprinted right at the informant.

The stuttering one with a bald head swung down his arm that had a blade towards Red Hood's body. Dodging the attack swiftly, the latter kicked the man from behind and sent the man tumbling down across the roof. The latter spotted the bald one grab onto a part of the roof hastily.

A brunette took a turn to thrust a blade at him, but his fingers wrapped around the brunette's arm tightly. Although the blade didn't touch him, his timing was perfect enough to let it halt right in front of his face. He took note of the stunned expression before tossing the man aside without a care.

Ducking down abruptly into a squatting position, the redhead's blade stabbed nothing but thin air above him. He kicked the man from below, which caused an unexpected and unpleasant trip off the roof. The redhead didn't had enough reaction time to hold on any parts of the roof.

The man's howling scream was silenced after a loud thud, although he was already being attacked with the leader's strike. While the subordinate was still falling before the splattered death, the leader rushed over with a thrust of a blade. The two others was still recovering from the fact of their fellow subordinate's death.

Red Hood swiftly and skillfully grabbed both of the leader's wrists. He then abruptly twisted the arms in agonizing directions, witnessing the leader dropping suddenly onto his knees. Although, he promptly felt two large hand grasping onto his shoulders to signified that the two finally came to their senses.

Forcefully ripped his hold from their leader, he was met with the brunette that showed him an ugly grin as if the brunette had actually captured him. He only reacted with an expressionless look. This man was dead wrong to think of that way.

Before Red Hood could do anything, Carrot hastily appeared from its hiding spot, which was under his silk hood. Since it was on top of his head, the hood fell back and accidentally revealed the his face. He held back a grunt.

It bared its tucked fangs towards the gawking man before it scurried on brunette's arm, whipping out its metal claws. The brunette screamed out loudly and was frantically trying to grab the white fur-ball, releasing Red Hood in the process, when it scratched harshly on the face. In spite so, it jumped off before the man could even lay a finger on its fur.

Taking aim at the stumbling man with his pistol, Red Hood already rose on his two feet. He let Carrot crawl back up to rest on his shoulder while he waited for the right moment. Without a moment to soon, an echoing bang filled the air. The brunette soon crumbled on the roof like a rag doll, sliding off to join the same fate as the redhead. He turned to see the bald man helping up the leader as the brunette fell to inevitable doom.

"O-Oh my god," the bald man mumbled under his breath as he met the child's eyes, "The rumours were false. S-She really is a beauty."

"We should really capture her now," the leader weakly muttered beside the other.

Red Hood's lips were pressed in a straight thin line, while his aero blue eyes gazed onto the dumbfounded two. The rabbit on his shoulder was hissing with pure hostility, showing its blood-stained claws and fangs. Still dazed, the leader and the subordinate could only stare at him.

In a snap, he titled his head slightly in an innocent manner. The rabbit instantly pacified itself when he reacted that way. What the other two didn't know was that he was pulling on the trigger behind his back. Observing as the two had yet finally realise his intentions, a tiny sinister smile curled onto his lips.

"Not many folks have to opportunity to see my face and return alive," he spoke painfully tenderly before his face twisted into a blank one,"You two are no exception."

Bang! Bang!

×××××

Carrot nuzzled its pink nose against Red Hood's cheek as if it was congratulating him on a job well done. He sighed softly to himself as he examined the stained dead bodies on the ground. The gardens certainly looked awful thanks to spattering crimson liquid coaxing the area. It looked like he had to clean up after this mess, luckily there were a few drones free at the moment to aid him.

His pigeon drone, Feather, was knocked out by a stab from behind. Nothing major was broke like the small data boxes inside of Feather, which acted as the organs for the drone. It would had been an easy fix if it was just little circuit failure, although there were broken wires that he needed to replaced.

In less complex words, it could be compared with a human's blood loss. Luckily, the drone was a full-android to not lose actual blood. It would as good as new with new wires. Luckily, he had a lot of them in his storage room.

He had ordered Astor and Heru, his hawk and falcon full-androids respectively, to dispose of the two bodies on the roof. Meanwhile, a badger full-android named Badge and a coyote full-android called Yota worked together to get rid of the ones in gardens. That had left him and the friendlier-looking critters to wash up the blood off.

It didn't consumed up much time, not with his drones helping him out. After an hour or two had passed, the house seemed like as if it was never attacked. The hot air balloon was stored away in his storage building a few miles away by both Astor and Heru.

After that, Astor and Heru flew separate ways as he had commanded them to be on the look out for more intruders. Once the bodies were gone, he petted Badge and Yota before he sending them off back into the woods to continue their hunt. He let them live their own lives, but they gladly assisted him when required.

All four of the androids weren't born as a living animal, just plain old metal hardware and mental behaviour programming. They were also coded to recognize his other drones that were their usual type of preys, as they still kept their true brutal natures. Despite so, they also had their own unique traits that make them recognisable to the other full-androids he had built. It was as if they were also living creatures.

He let out another sigh, feeling Carrot caressing its nose against its neck in worry. Even if his cleaning was finished, he had leftover business to do. Walking inside his house, he closed the door shut behind him.

Most of his drones were out and about, yet two or three of the critters would usually stay at home with him. It was amusing to him that Carrot wasn't asleep and curled up in his bed as usual today. Instead, he watched the rabbit examine around the room in full focus.

"Carrot, did you know you've been a pessimist lately?" he teased his furry friend, petting him softly.

The rabbit only replied with another painless punch to his nose.

He shook his head at that, before he headed towards the spare room he had. On the way, the rabbit crawled up onto his head while pulling up his silk hood for him. Even though he didn't see it, he knew Carrot had his fangs out as it was ready to threaten anyone who would go near him. A easily-missed smile decorated his face before it faded to his motionless facade.

Opening the door noiselessly, his eyes meet the reflective black eyes of one of his drones. The grey wolf drone sat obediently beside the queen-sized bed in the corner, looking up promptly with its tail swinging gleefully. Its ears twitched upwards.

As he came inside, he then pressed his back against the closed door. The wolf drone got up and approached him, before curling up against his feet. He crossed his arms as he glanced at the creature he had found.

On the bed, an unconscious human-sized wolf was snoozing there with the most boisterous snores he had ever heard. It was the only snore he had heard to be exact after he left Chester, to live alone. Although, these snores were louder than Chester's. He had found the human-sized wolf in the hot air balloon tied up in ropes, knocked out.

Something about the human-sized wolf intrigued him, so he decided to take him in for the time being and would put the said wolf under interrogation. Carrot didn't look too thrilled with the decision, so he summoned his wolf drone known as Olcan to watch over the human-sized wolf.

If he didn't, Carrot would 'watch' over by tearing the said wolf into shreds.

Olcan was like Carrot, a half-animal and half-android drone. He took Olcan in after fixing up the wolf drone up in one of his recent trips abroad. Unlike most of his drones, Olcan and Carrot are the few drone species that were of their only kind, so the two would usually be found inside his house. While Carrot would be napping in his room, Olcan would often roam around in his gardens.

As time had passed inside the room, Carrot remained alarmed on top of his hooded head while Olcan slept blissfully nearby his feet. After a while, the human-sized wolf finally showed signs of life as it turned to its other side on bed.

He heard a low hiss from above his head, indicating Carrot was ready to pounce and attack. Meanwhile, Olcan let out a yawn as it lifted its head up lazily. He didn't programmed these drones' personalities to differ from their original ones, but now, he actually tempting to do so for Carrot to act like Olcan for once.

After a few moments of tossing and turning, the human-sized wolf jolted upright on the bed with wide grey eyes. This startled Carrot, as it slipped right off his head and landed on top of Olcan who also jerked up at the sudden new weight. Then, Carrot crawled back up to rest on his shoulder. He only eyed the panting human-sized wolf carefully.

". . . Where am I?" the flawless English language skills caught him off guard, but he masked his face to not let it be readable.

He didn't utter a word, however Carrot hissing on his shoulder caught the human-sized wolf's attention. The grey eyes scanned his body from head to toe, as if he was the most interesting thing in the world. Olcan sat quietly, being its normally observant self, beside him. As Carrot was prepared to become more hostile and bare out its claws, he hushed the rabbit by tapping its nose lightly.

"It's alright," he reassured the small white fur ball, successfully pacifying it.

The human-sized wolf's ears perked up instantly and it asked, "Who are you? How did I get here?"

"You were simply kidnapped. Your kidnappers made a stop here and tried to do the same to me," he responded smoothly while rubbing affectionately Carrot under its chin. "They call me Red Hood, short for Little Red Riding Hood."

"Ah, so you're the Little Red Riding Hood I've heard about. So, where are they?" the human-sized wolf reacted with a nod, looking around instantly. After that, it stared at the aforementioned person in front of it.

Red Hood faced him sharply and answered as if it was an everyday thing, "Dead, exactly like how you're about to be."

"Oh~ I heard you were sassy, but I guess I was wrong to not believe it. I like this side of you already," the human-sized wolf whistled, chuckling. Its face transformed into a serious one, "If you wanted me dead, you would have killed me in my sleep."

Red Hood hummed before crossing his arms again. He retorted, "Wolves are usually out of sight. Why did you come out of your hiding place?"

"I have a mission. To find a specific someone and protect them at all cost, and looks like I've found them," the human-sized wolf shot back with a cute grin, its sharp teeth in plain sight. It got up from the bed before bowing slightly. "Hello there Missy! I'm Woof. They call me the Little Good Wolf, nice to meet you."

"Pardon me, Woof," Red Hood replied with a raised eyebrow as he watched Woof step closer. Woof was a few heads taller, so he had to reluctantly look up. He shot back,"I'm not female."

"I'm pretty sure you must be kidding me there, Missy. Someone as pretty as you can't possibly be a lad," Woof ejected, daringly pulling down the other's hood to look at the hidden face. "Now, now, it's a waste to hide your beauty from me."

Red Hood's midnight locks fell on his shoulders, causing Carrot to push them away like a curtain and it bared its fangs to grinning Woof. He rolled his eyes at the two, yet replied,"That compliment isn't much appreciated, but you may live for now."

×××××