Here's chapter 36, everyone.
"Ya feeling a little better, partner?" Yang asked softly as she rubbed Blake's back, hearing her sniffling and feeling her tears whenever they traveled down to her arm. "You know me, I'll let you stay here as long as you need."
Blake only ever felt like she could cry to one other person in her life before, and with having a second, it was like a dream to her. "I-I'm sorry."
"Stop that." Yang spoke softly. "Let me see your face."
The request was so sudden, so Blake slowly pulled away, showing the tears that stained her cheeks, so Yang took her scarf off and started to gently rub her cheeks, making Blake blush lightly. "Y-You don't have to do this."
"I want to." Yang smiled, and after a bit of cleaning, she moved her scarf away. "There ya go."
Her tears had stopped falling partway through when Yang was cleaning her face up, and Blake sniffled a bit. "What makes you like this? So… Helpful."
Yang sat down on Weiss' bed and placed her scarf on her lap. "From how you talked about that last piece of trash you had as a partner, I can get why it's a bit surprising, but Blake, just because a lot of bad people are out there, doesn't mean there aren't others who want to care about you."
Her scars kept reminding her of the punishment she had endured, so she held her arm in response to what Yang had said. "Not a lot of people would want to… After knowing the kind of person I really am."
"Well those people can fuck off." Yang's swear surprised Blake. "No, I'm serious. They can miss out on getting to know someone as awesome as you," She smirked. "Just means I get you to myself."
"W-What? You don't…" Blake was at a loss for words.
"I still don't know everything about you, and… It's kinda exciting to be honest. Slowly learning more about you, it's… Rewarding. And I want you to know more about me too!" Yang cheered. "Like this one time, I was invited to a club for a few drinks, but I knew the guy was a total pig, so I beat him up, his two… Uh, sisters? I think? And a bunch of his thugs. Had the whole place shook!"
Blake blinked a few times. "You… Totaled a club?"
"Mhmm." Yang grinned proudly. "All in like, ten minutes. The perv even shot a rocket at me at one point, but don't ever tell my mom that, oh, uh, both of them. You know, my birth mom and-."
The cat Faunus couldn't help but let out a chuckle. "I know, Yang, I know." She walked over and sat next to the blonde, placing her hand on her right knee as she took a breath. "You're the first person I've decided to show this to."
"I'm glad you did." Yang smiled and gently put her hand on Blake's shoulder. "Because I would've hated having to learn about it from someone other than you."
Her ears drooped under her bow a bit. The fact that she was keeping another secret from her after hearing that, especially since Weiss knows, really hurt Blake. "Yeah."
Yang nodded and patted her shoulder a few times. "It's still pretty early in the day, so wanna do something?"
Blake shook her head and got up. Once she rolled her stocking back down and put her boot on, she sat on her own bed. "I think some rest would be better for me."
"You sure? I mean, it's pretty early still." When she saw Blake laying back on her bed, she smiled and nodded. "Got it. I'm gonna go see what Ruby and Weiss are up to, but don't be afraid to meet up with us later, kay."
"I'll be fine… But… Yeah, I'll let you know." Blake assured.
Yang gave her a thumbs up and left the dorm, but once she was out in the hall and the door was closed, she bit her lip and the red in her eyes were back. "Calm down… Dad told you that losing your cool isn't gonna help anyone." She did her best to repeat the words, but the thought of some guy hurting Blake that much was too much for her.
Since telling herself to calm down wasn't working, Yang decided to try and find Ruby and Weiss.
"Ruby, stop being so whiny about this. You should be the first one who would enjoy learning about elementals." Weiss stated as they were both sat down in the library. "Now stop slouching in your chair and read."
"Ugh, but I know enough about them. They're kinda Grimm, but some weird science team messed up with dust crystals and they were altered to lose the bone armor." Ruby explained.
"Yes, but can you tell me why multiple versions of them appear?" Weiss quizzed.
The rose girl sat up in her chair and shrugged. "Nope, since not a lot of people really know where the Grimm come from either. Some people just think that they're bred after the first incident."
Weiss nodded. "Very good. You knew that was a trick question."
"Y-Yeah, so knew it was… Um, so… Does that mean we can stop studying and maybe go and talk to my mom about some of her blacksmithing stuff?" Ruby asked.
"Really, Ruby, you should start trying to work harder in this field. It isn't just running around and cutting Grimm down you know." Weiss stated.
Ruby gave her a quizzical look. "Uh… But isn't it?"
Weiss simply sighed in response and closed the book she was studying from. "You are so hopeless, Ruby Rose." Once she got up, her partner knew to follow and quickly gathered the books up.
"Aw, come on, Weiss. It's what we do. Cut down all the Grimm in our way so people are safe." Ruby said with a cheeky grin, while Weiss rolled her eyes.
"Understanding what we fight is very important too, you dolt." Weiss reminded as the two partners returned the books. "But obviously you don't feel the same way… So how would you like to waste the rest of the day?"
"You make it sound like it won't be fun." Ruby pouted.
Weiss shrugged. "I simply just enjoy a nice day of studying over what we normally do is all."
Ruby almost wanted to pounce on her partner to prove her wrong, but she held back. "Well maybe we can do something we both like. That sound like a compromise?"
"That sounds like the normal outcome of what two people should do, yes." Weiss snidely remarked, while Ruby groaned.
A thought went through her head though. "Wait, if that's the case, then why did we come here to study when I didn't wanna? Hmm?"
"Y-You need to study, there's a difference." Weiss tried defending.
Ruby flicked the back of Weiss' head, making her yelp as she gave the rose girl a glare. "I'm doing just fine in classes, thank you very much. Sooooo, you need to calm down, woman!"
Weiss facepalmed at her mocked tone. "You are such a hassle, I swear."
"A hassle that you are best friends with." Ruby grinned happily, while Weiss blushed a little.
"Oh be quiet…" Weiss huffed and the two left the library.
Yang was taking breaths the whole time she was walking away from the dorm, only thinking about Blake's scars. How they made Blake cry, and how much they must have hurt receiving them. "I can't do a damn thing about it either." She said to herself in a hushed tone.
Without noticing, the blonde brawler walked right passed her mother, who had been on her way back to the dorm room. "Walking passed me without even a hello?"
"Wha…" Yang turned around to see it was Raven who had said that. "Oh, uh, hey, mom. Sorry. I just have a lot on my mind right now."
"Hmm… Right, well… I'll leave you to it then." She wasn't the best at handling those kind of situations, sticking to mostly avoiding her daughter, rather than figure out ways to confront her.
Yang sighed. "Uh, yeah, okay."
When Raven watched her daughter turn around, she bit her lip and walked faster to her to catch up, grabbing her shoulder. "Look, I'm not exactly good at… This stuff. So, exactly what's even on your mind?"
Yang couldn't be surprised at how inexperienced her mother was at being, well, a mother, so she humored her. "A friend of mine is just having some trouble and I feel like I can't do anything to help them."
That made Raven think about Willow, though she didn't feel like Yang was. She felt sorry for the woman, but could only do so much. "Sometimes, when you're not able to help, you just need to accept that."
"What? But why? I can't just ignore when someone is hurting." Yang stated, shocked her mother would suggest that.
"Because maybe the people you're trying to help need to fight their own battles so they can grow, instead of relying on others so much." Raven explained. "And you said it yourself, you can't help this person, so why add unnecessary stress to yourself about it?"
Yang leaned up against a wall and kicked her foot against the floor, choosing not to look at her mom. "You became a huntress to help people, didn't you?"
Raven sighed. "I became a huntress to get stronger, Yang… This, the way Summer, the way you and your sister, and your friends come here for, is not the way I was."
"But… Why a huntress then? There are more ways-." Yang was cut off.
"Because this is the best place for it." Raven answered, not missing a beat. "I can't say I didn't… Enjoy the time I spent here, but I kept one thing with me, and that's my reasoning, my trigger."
"Your… Trigger?" Yang looked confused.
"It's what drove me to even learn from this school. To grow stronger so nothing out there could take me down." Raven admitted. "I go on hunts, but not for the people. And you shouldn't be so surprised by this, Yang," She noticed how her daughter looked. "If you really want to help your friend, then try to not treat them like they can't grow."
Yang wasn't liking the conversation anymore and pushed herself off of the wall, glaring at her mom. "This isn't about growing. I don't doubt how strong they are. I'm just sick of watching them push themselves away… Like how you did…"
Raven's heart skipped a beat when she said that, so she crossed her arms and glared back. "If you're comparing myself to your friend, you have no idea how wrong you are."
"This isn't about comparing, it's about… It's about being not letting it happen again!" Yang flared up, her eyes turning red, but not out of anger because of Raven. "When you barely showed up! When you kept giving me… such bullshit answers… It just made me so angry!"
She knew she'd have to face that side of Yang eventually. "Yes, and you have the right to be, but it's in the past, so-."
"This isn't about you." Yang said in a serious tone. "I've got a lot to say to you, mom, but this," She took a breath and her lilac eyes returned to her. "I'm making sure that this person doesn't end up being an idiot like you were."
"Watch your mouth…" Raven warned.
"Mom, I'm not about to argue with you." Yang stated, walking passed her, as she decided to head back to the dorm. "And what I said, I was calling you an idiot because I only want to see you more than you'd let me…"
Raven heard Yang leaving, her words sticking to her as she shook her head. "Sometimes I wonder if you take after me more than I let on." Somehow though, she knew Yang would be okay, and that she'd talk to her about, everything.
Glynda was alone in her office, contemplating what she and Raven had spoke about. She lifted herself off of her chair and walked over to the picture she kept on her wall. "She was… Confirmed to be K.I.A." She leaned her hand over, sighing as she shook her head and pulled her hand back. "Nothing can change what happened. Lazuria is gone…"
The blonde professor walked back to her chair and rubbed her eyes after removing her glasses. Once she put them back on, Glynda started to go through her class' records, preparing for a combat course to keep her mind occupied.
"Team RWBY. Okay, so Summer Rose's child, Ruby Rose. Semblance, Speed. Hmm, shouldn't be too hard to find a suitable match for her. And her partner, Weiss Schnee. Willow's daughter… Wait, why… Her semblance isn't listed here."
Glynda shook her head and sighed, typing up a fix for that. "Glyphs. Everyone knows that. Versatility is key, so I'll need to throw her off in some way."
"Going to have to speak with Professor Ozpin about that. Okay, Blake Belladonna. Hmm, the Belladonna name. Daughter of Ghira Belladonna, the original White Fang leader. Semblance, Shadow. A tricky one, but not impossible to test against."
The last name on the list was Yang's.
"Yang Xiao Long. I know enough from my talks with Summer that Raven is her real mother. I'm glad she doesn't take after her too much now. Semblance, Double Damage Payback. Exploitable, but still dangerous to underestimate."
The team was new, first years, but showed promise. They reminded Glynda of the team she was put on when she attended Beacon. Her thoughts though, were mostly on Lazuria, the person with a very unique semblance. "If only you were still here…"
Yang isn't afraid to speak her mind against her own mother, and even then, she only does it because she wants her in her life. It's something I like to show in this story, since again, fanfics are a fun place to write out how I'd enjoy seeing things go down. This being one of them between Yang and Raven.
To JJ- A lot of connections are in play for this story, and a little tease, but even the resident cat Faunus may have a link to the overall plot of a certain wolf. As for what Blake actually deals with already, her past isn't going to define her future. It's something Yang will help her see.
I hoped you all enjoyed chapter 36. Remember, reviews are welcomed, but not required. See you all in chapter 37.