Here's chapter 23, everyone.
"Nora, what else can I tell you? Weiss doesn't like it when you say that." Ruby said, taking a bite of her sandwich as she, Yang, Ren and Nora were sat down at one of the lunch tables.
"I don't mean it like that though!" Nora shouted, earning a few looks from other students, but she paid them no mind. "I'm just curious is all. How many people have you seen have the semblance of animal-."
Ren covered her mouth up, the hammer wielder's words being muffled. "Weiss asked us specifically to not mention what her semblance is, Nora." He whispered.
Once she nodded, showing she wouldn't say anything, he moved his hand away. "Sorry. Anyways, I just wanna know stuff about it is all."
"Then ask Weiss in private at some point. But don't ask insensitive questions either." Yang said as she jabbed her fork into her scrambled eggs.
"Define insensitive." Nora requested.
Yang pulled the fork away from her mouth, not taking the bite of her eggs as she sighed. "Asking if she gets fleas, if she can bark, shit like that, Nora. It isn't that hard to know what an insensitive question is." With that she ate some of her eggs.
Nora pouted as she leaned against Ren's shoulder. "Well there goes two of my questions."
Weiss walked over with a tray of her own breakfast. "What are you pouting about this time?" She asked the orange haired girl as she sat next to Ruby.
"Uh… Nothing?" Nora moved away from Ren, not wanting to admit she was going to ask Weiss if she gets fleas, which got an eye roll from the white haired teen.
"You're a terrible liar. Lucky for you, I'm hungry." Weiss said as she took a bite of her apple.
Ruby finished her sandwich and burped, getting a look of disgust from her partner. "W-What? I've burped on call before."
"I'm sitting next to you and eating, you dolt." Weiss countered, setting her apple down, but she noticed something, or someone was missing. "I know Jaune and Pyrrha are in the training hall, but where's Blake?"
Yang knew, which made her a little annoyed since her partner was still doing her best to avoid being around the heiress. "She's probably just in the library or something."
"Hmm, well I don't see why she should skip out on lunch." Weiss commented. "Jaune and Pyrrha at least grabbed something to eat before they left."
Yang shrugged, keeping up the lie for her partner. "Maybe she did too and we didn't see her."
Blake looked through the pages of her book, wanting to find one specific paper she had left hidden inside. "It has to be here." When she found it, she sighed. "Why is she so different?" The black haired huntress in training asked herself as she pulled the paper out from her book.
It was a list of names from the Schnee family. With it showed the long line, including Weiss' grandfather who first started the company. She looked at Weiss' name, remembering how Adam told her everything she needed to know about the white haired girl.
"She's seventeen, the daughter of Jacques Schnee and Willow Schnee. They announced her birth at the grand opening of the ice dust mine in Atlas, yet some recounted not seeing any sign of her mother being pregnant."
Blake shook her head, not caring about that question in her mind, only thinking about why a Schnee would want to come to Beacon, and have a semblance that wasn't glyphs. "What am I missing here?" There was no answer for Blake, not one. She could dig deeper into it, but from the records, there was no way she could answer why Weiss had a different 'semblance'. "Is it really possible to break the chain of a hereditary semblance?"
"You can just ask me." Weiss' voice startled Blake, who turned to see the white haired teen standing at the door, so she made sure to not let her see the paper she had. "If my semblance is what makes you avoid me, then just tell me."
"What?" Blake placed the paper back in her book as she stood.
"I'm not an idiot." Weiss crossed her arms. "I know you've been avoiding me, Blake. So is it because of my semblance or not?"
Blake was surprised the white haired teen paid that much attention to her. "I… No, it's not that, and I'm not avoiding you." She lied.
"Hmph. Sure you haven't." Weiss walked over to her bed, taking a seat as she crossed her leg over the other. "If you're shy, I get that, but when it's literally just me you avoid, I get to ask why."
"And what makes you think you can?" Blake said in a challenging tone, since talking to a Schnee was getting her riled up.
Weiss sighed. "Because we're going to be on the same team for four years. Do you honestly plan to avoid me that entire time." When Blake said nothing and looked to the side, Weiss was shocked. "You really were… What did I ever do to you to warrant such a thing?" The white haired huntress in training got up, clearly offended.
"You're… You're just a Schnee." Blake admitted, not able to lie anymore and seeing Weiss' shocked reaction. "What? Are you honestly surprised?"
With a frown, Weiss shook her head. "I guess not… Is it because of my father?"
Blake crossed her arms, keeping her glare. "You can say that."
"Whatever he did, I won't apologize for it." Weiss said, watching as Blake looked a bit angrier. "I have zero interest in what my father does. So to apologize on his behalf would be an empty lie and you know it."
"Then we have nothing else to say here." Blake said, lowering her arms as she was about to turn away from her teammate, only for Weiss to place her hand on the black haired huntress in training's shoulder, making Blake's reflexes kick in. With a spin, she slapped Weiss away, but she gasped, not meaning to do such a thing.
Weiss backed up, clearly shook by the slap as she brought her hand up, cupping her left cheek as she looked at Blake in shock.
"I-I didn't… I didn't mean to." Blake held her hand out, though not completely since she was still a Schnee. Still, she felt bad for slapping her like that. "You grabbed my shoulder and-."
She didn't get to finish as Weiss ran out of the room, not saying a word, leaving Blake alone as she could only watch. With the Schnee out of the room, Blake looked to the ground, feeling guilty, and feeling regret as she wished there was a way to stop herself from doing what she did.
"I wasn't trying to hurt her."
As she ran through the halls, Weiss was fighting back her tears. "S-She hit me…" Those words continued to echo in Weiss' head as she ran passed students here and there, some giving her confused looks as she ran.
She clutched her wolf pendant in her other hand, squeezing it as a tear fell, unable to fight it back. Once she saw there were no students around, she stopped running and let a few more tears fall. Her cheek stung as she lowered her hand, knowing it was a little red.
Weiss shook her head, refusing to let any tears fall, so she took a deep breath and blinked the tears away. "No more crying…" She repeated those words in her head a few times.
"Weiss?" Yang's voice startled the white haired girl, making her hide her cheek with her hand as she did her best to lean on the wall, using her elbow as leverage.
"H-Hey, Yang. What are you doing here?" Weiss asked, doing her best to not show Yang the red on her cheek.
The blonde brawler looked at how Weiss was leaning on the wall, seeing as she never really let her posture fall to that level. "Uh, walking to the bathroom… But why were you running earlier?"
"W-What ever do you mean? I was simply walking fast since-." Weiss yelped when Yang pulled her from the wall, her hand falling from where she kept it.
When Yang saw the red on her cheek, her lilac eyes change to blood red. "Who?"
"Yang… It was no one. I just tripped and made myself look like an idiot in front of people." The lie was clearly not getting through to Yang, and Weiss frowned.
"Who the hell hit you?" Yang clenched her fist, ready to pulverize whoever laid a finger on her friend, and Weiss felt bad about what she wanted to do next, but she needed Yang to calm down.
"If you even think about doing what Ruby has done… I won't forgive you." Weiss said, biting her lip. Yang's red eyes were still present, but she looked confused by what she said, only for Weiss to look to the side as she held her arm. "I'm not a child that needs protecting… You and Ruby helped me with that meathead day one… Then all Ruby could do was worry over me during initiation. Let me handle things on my own!"
Yang's eyes widened, her lilac color returning to her eyes. "But… Someone hit you, Weiss. You can't just tell me to ignore that."
"Yes I can, and you will… Understand?" Weiss said defiantly.
The blonde groaned and turned around, showing the girl her back as she crossed her arms. She shook her head, annoyed that Weiss would even ask her to let it slide. "You've got to be kidding me, Weiss…"
"I am not." The only reason Weiss didn't accept Yang's help was because it was Blake. She didn't want to break the team apart when it had only been a week since they formed. "This," She rubbed her cheek after Yang turned back around. "Just caught me off guard."
"Will you at least tell me who hit you?" Yang asked, hands on her hips.
"With you? That person would be hunted and beaten to a pulp, so no, I am not about to see you getting detention, suspended, or even worse, expelled because you couldn't let this one thing slide." Weiss explained.
"Ugh, for… Fine…" Yang walked up to Weiss, leaning her hand over to cup her cheek, making the white haired girl sigh. "Damn it, Weiss. You know I don't like this…"
"I know," Weiss took a step back, having Yang's hand off of her face. "I can't say I'd be any different if you or Ruby were hit."
Yang kicked her boot against the ground, sulking as she hated that Weiss was denying her the right to beat on whoever hit her. It wasn't that she wanted to hit someone, it was that someone laid a finger on her friend. "Alright… Well, come on. Let's get that cleaned up."
Weiss sniffled and nodded, taking the blonde's hand as she was led into the bathroom a few halls down. "I'm glad it was you who found me and not Ruby." Weiss said as she splashed some water on her face, while Yang offered her scarf as a rag.
"How come?" When she saw Weiss hesitate to take the scarf, she playfully rolled her eyes. "It'll dry up, ice wolf."
She didn't argue and accepted the scarf, rubbing the water off of her face. "Because I literally told her last week to not worry about me so much. If she saw me with a mark on my face, well I don't think I need to say the rest." Weiss kept on rubbing her face, hoping the mark would slowly fade away.
"I can see what you mean." Yang commented.
Weiss nodded, pulling the scarf away as she looked in the mirror, still seeing some red on her cheek. "Ugh."
"It'll be there for a bit, but if you want to get it by Ruby and Blake, just say you couldn't get your locker opened and it hit ya in the face when you pulled it too hard." Yang smirked.
"I doubt Ruby would fall for that…" Weiss said as handed Yang her scarf back.
Yang put her scarf away, not wanting to wear it since it was a bit wet. "Eh, I think she could, but it's your call, Weiss."
"You aren't going to try and convince me to tell her what happened?" Weiss asked, surprised a bit.
"Not if you don't want to, Weiss. I'm still pissed, don't get me wrong, but this whole not wanting Ruby to worry so much means a lot to you, right?" Yang asked, getting a weak nod from her friend. "Well that settles it then. I'll keep my mouth shut, but if this does happen again… Please tell me, okay?"
"I suppose that's fair." Weiss was able to let out a smile.
"Good. Now come on. Let's head back to the dorm." When Yang said that, Weiss fidgeted a little, the blonde catching that.
"Um, maybe we can go outside instead? Get some fresh air and all." Weiss suggested, hoping to avoid seeing Blake.
"I mean, if you want, sure. I don't have much going on." Yang replied with a shrug, both girls walking out of the bathroom. "Hey, I never got to ask, but do you ever use your semblance to just relax?"
Weiss wasn't actually taken aback by the question, as she simply nodded, surprising Yang since she didn't expect that answer. "There was a day once where I wanted to train, but when I used my semblance… I don't know. I guess I lost the feeling to train and laid on the grass." She smiled at the memory. "It was calm and the breeze was just right that day."
Yang chuckled a bit. "I'd say that's pretty damn cute, but you'd probably bite my head off with those teeth of yours, ice wolf."
"Ugh, why did I even show you my semblance again in the first place?" Weiss asked aloud as the two teammates walked down the hall.
"Beats me. You were the one who ran up to me with your tail going all crazy." Yang smirked.
Weiss blushed, pushing her friend a bit and earning a laugh. "S-Shut up! I was just glad you didn't get eaten by a Taara or something. You reckless oaf."
"Aww, and she says we shouldn't worry about her." Yang continued teasing.
After groaning a bit, Weiss gave up. "Whatever."
Yang held her arms behind her head as they walked, but once she saw her sister, she moved her arm down and poked Weiss' shoulder, getting her attention. Weiss looked over, seeing the rose girl and she felt a little nervous. "Don't worry. Just tell her you got too hot and needed some fresh air."
"O-Okay." Weiss responded.
Ruby was in the middle of putting Crescent Rose away and noticed her sister and best friend. "Hey, sis. Hey, Weiss…" She looked closely at her white haired friend, who frowned since she knew she would notice immediately. "Weiss, what happened-."
"A bit of heatstroke is all. I was just going outside for some air if you'd like to join us." Weiss let out a reassuring smile.
"Oh, well then if you need it, then yeah! Come on." She took Weiss' hand, gently walking her to the front of the school, while Yang followed close behind, stopping for a moment when an annoying thought came to her.
"Actually, you guys go on ahead!" Yang called out to them. "I wanna go get to work on some of this homework. Ugh, kinda let it pile up a bit and this is my only free time till tomorrow."
"Okay, sis!" Ruby yelled back, but Weiss seemed to look nervous since Yang would be going back to the dorm. She couldn't say anything though as Ruby was still walking her away and Yang had already turned around to head back.
Try not to be too angry with Blake. She has a lot of baggage, and she honestly didn't want to hurt Weiss. Reflexes will get to even the best of us, but that doesn't mean their issues are going to simply go away by me saying to not be so angry with her. More on that soon enough.
To JJ- Yeah, with Whitley, he has a lot to work on, and with Blake, well, as you can see from this chapter, she herself needs to get away from hating certain Schnees. Raven will still be a hardass in future chapters, but hey, she's not like she is in canon at least.
To Lotus-one- Trust me, I think everyone hates Jacques. And for the ownership thing, contracts are a thing, and since he is married into it, he technically can't be thrown out legally. With Weiss, there is more than just her wolf power. And I've had a request for Willow x Raven. I didn't pick out the pairings from the beginning. I wrote the story and let the story fall into place for who would be together. So yes, it's possible, but I can't promise anything.
I hoped you all enjoyed chapter 23. Remember, reviews are welcomed, but not required. See you all in chapter 24.