Here's chapter 83, everyone.
Weiss felt her scroll going off, so she got up and checked to see that her Mother was asking her to meet her outside her dorm. "My Mother wants to talk… I need-."
"Hey, don't even say it. We'll wait till you're done, Ice Wolf." Yang assured with a thumbs up.
Ruby nodded and kissed Weiss' cheek. "Let us know if there's anything you need, kay."
"Okay…" Weiss returned the kiss and headed back to the dorm, while waving to the team.
Blake watched her go and looked to the two sisters. "I didn't try to listen in, but… There were a few moments where I did hear what they were saying. I just didn't think I was really hearing right was all."
"Yeah, it's crazy. I never thought her mom would keep something like this from her." Yang said in a somber tone. "Her mom has always been really nice, so I didn't think-."
"Yang," Ruby kept her from continuing. "We don't know everything about it. I don't want any of us to think badly of her."
"Whoa, relax, Rubes. I wasn't gonna say anything like that. It's just surprising is all, y'know?" Yang reiterated. "I'm not looking to point fingers here."
Ruby sighed. "Sorry, sis…"
"Hey, don't worry, Ruby." Yang patted her back a few times. "I kinda get how things are when someone's birth mom isn't ready to, well, raise you and stuff." She reminded, and Ruby felt a little worse, so Yang playfully rolled her eyes at the sad look she gave her. "Sheesh, Rubes. Don't give me that look. I'm happy mom raised us, silly."
"O-Okay." Ruby couldn't help but hug her sister, while Blake glanced over at Yang, giving her a bit of an apologetic look as well, while Yang let out a light chuckle and waved it off, not saying anything more.
Blake nodded, choosing not to make a big deal out of it, but in the back of her mind, she wondered when Yang herself would talk about how she really feels herself one day.
Willow was waiting right outside her daughter's dorm room, thinking about what she should say to her at the time. "Maybe I should just ask her how her training went. She's not happy talking about Lazuria as much… God, I wish you were here now, Lazuria. I painted a horrible picture of you… I can't do that."
"Mom." Weiss' voice snapped her out of it, and Willow was glad her daughter didn't take long to come over. "Are you okay?"
"I think I should be asking you that, Snowflake." Willow let out a smile and continued. "How was training? I don't get to see you train anymore, so I get a little excited on hearing how you've improved."
Weiss sighed. "Honestly, I didn't train the way I normally do, mom… I didn't want to use my semblance. I was being such an idiot…"
"You didn't want to use your semblance?" Willow repeated, wondering which of her two abilities she didn't want to use.
"The one my birth Mother has… The one I got from her." Weiss frowned, feeling awful about trying to disconnect herself from Lazuria. "I thought that if I just stuck to fighting as a Schnee, then, then I'd really be one." She whispered that since Team JNPR's room was across the hall.
Willow held her hand to her heart in pain, and she shook her head several times. "Oh, Snowflake…" She watched as Weiss opened the door and stepped inside for some privacy, so Willow followed her in. "You're always going to be a Schnee, sweetie."
"I know, trust me I do." Weiss was smiling at that point, albeit a small one. "Ruby got me to realize how dumb I was being. Yang and Blake too… Yes, I told them."
"The people closest to you." Willow nodded. "I understand why you wanted to tell them, sweetie. And you weren't being dumb. A lot I told you was said all in one day. It's my fault for overloading you."
"I don't want to sit here and play the blame game, mom." Weiss bluntly said. "I only want things to stay the same."
Willow herself wanted that as well, but at the same time, she also wished for Lazuria to be able to hold Weiss in her arms one day. "Nothing will change, Snowflake. I promise you that."
Weiss nodded a few times and sat on her bed. "Still," Willow waited on her to continue. "I wouldn't mind hearing more about her. Lazuria, right?" Her mom let out a small gasp, but she nodded happily at hearing that.
"Yes, sweetie. A-Are you sure you want to?" Willow asked.
"You're my Mother in the end, but you also told me she couldn't risk me. She had her reasons, so… I'd like to get to know the person she was before." Weiss explained.
If Lazuria was there, Willow would have pulled her and Weiss together, but she wasn't, so Willow settled for painting her in the way she should be. "She was truly special, and she wasn't afraid to live the life she wanted. Just like you, Snowflake."
Weiss smiled, enjoying the start of that already.
As everyone at Beacon was still figuring things out, there was a certain group that hunted Shifters gaining more and more recruits to add to their numbers. "Enter," A voice said from the other side of the door as a Relentless member walked in.
"Ma'am, we have more recruits for processing. Shall I-." Before he could finish, he froze on the spot when the woman in the blue chair turned to face him.
Both eyes bore into the man with venom, as the orange glow was cursing every foul word imaginable without even uttering a single sound. Without a second of thought, the Relentless member instantly bowed his head in respect, but more out of fear.
"M-My apologies, Ma'am… I humbly request that the recruits are blessed with your semblance…" He was sweating, while the woman's eyes continued to stare into him, though her face was covered by the steel mask, grey in color as it had a support system installed into it to help her breathe.
"And why did you come here?" The question was simple, yet the Relentless member knew what she meant by that, so he gulped and hoped the answer he would give was good enough.
"F-From what we have seen… That one animal… She continues to evade us, so as I went to the lab, I was told to inform you of the effects that-."
The woman dressed in a black suit, with a blue tie, only used in certain occasions slammed her fist against his desk, startling the Relentless member. "I don't believe that concerns you. Now tell Dr. Tenso that he is ordered to continue with the processing. Now."
Not a second later, the frightened hunter saluted. "Y-Yes, Ma'am, Master Korrina." After that, he left the room post haste.
"What a coward… If those animals are to be hunted, there will need to be less of his kind." Korrina muttered in annoyance as she took a moment to breathe, which only angered her more until she received a message on a communication device made to be more discreet than using a scroll.
"Ma'am, I have made modifications to your support system. I shall bring it on your order."
Korrina grinned, finally having better news that day as she simply sent out the order to bring her new support system up to him.
"Finally, now I don't have to rely on such ridiculous soldier such as that coward." She moved her sleeve up, showing a wolf head mark on her right arm. "Soon, I'll be able to deal with the monster. Your days of hiding and running away will come to an end. I'll make sure of that."
A few days had passed, and while Winter wished she could stay longer, she knew her duties could not be delayed any further. "I'm sorry I have to leave so soon, but-."
"Don't be sorry, sweetie." Willow smiled and hugged her eldest daughter, still proud of her for how far she's come, so as she pulled away, she gave an understanding expression. "You have your work to do, so don't let us keep you from that."
Winter, while glad that her Mother was very understanding was more worried for her sister. "Yes, but," She looked to her little sister, who was standing to the side of their Mother. "You know that if anything comes up, you can call me."
Weiss nodded, almost tearing up because her sister truly hadn't changed from learning that she wasn't a blood related sister. "Thank you, Winter, and yes, I'll remember that. It… It was really good to see you again, Winter."
The Specialist leaned over, embracing her little sister as she rubbed her back a few times. "Same to you, little sister."
Willow couldn't be happier with how Winter was handling everything, and even though they had a bit of a spat days earlier, she knew it was Winter's caring nature for her little sister that caused her to become angry with the lie she had kept going for over seventeen years.
After a couple of moments, Winter pulled away and looked over her shoulder at her airship. "Well, it's time for me to go. Is there anything-."
Weiss giggled a bit, cutting her sister off. "If you keep asking, you'll be here all days, Winter. Go. I promise I'm okay now."
Winter was surprised by that, but instead of arguing to stay, she simply nodded and looked to her Mother. "I'd like a call or two this week, Mother… Some things we didn't get to speak of."
"Of course, sweetie." Willow knew she meant more about Lazuria, and while she couldn't say everything, she was happy to speak of what she was allowed to talk about, which was who Lazuria was as a person.
"Thank you." Winter bowed to the two of them and turned on her boots, so both Weiss and Willow watched her go.
As they did, Weiss sniffled a bit and wiped her eyes, not wanting to let herself cry as Willow noticed, but said nothing. Winter's airship began to takeoff a few moments after the Specialist got inside, and both Weiss and Willow waved her off.
Weiss sighed for a moment and she looked over her shoulder, seeing Ruby, Blake and Yang waiting for her. "Mom… Thank you for telling me more about Lazuria… It was something that I needed to hear."
"Don't thank me, Snowflake. I should have told you about her years ago…. But still, I'm glad you know of her now." Willow looked up at the clouds, wishing her old friend was standing next to her right then and there.
Weiss nodded. "Yes, well, I think I'd like to go back to my team. We all decided to have a team training day, so I don't want to delay it any further."
Willow let out a soft chuckle, since her youngest daughter wasn't letting her dream be affected by the news she had received. "Go along, Snowflake. I'll be here for another day, since Summer needs to get back to Atlas tomorrow."
After her Mother said that, Weiss gently hugged her, but it lasted only a moment as she pulled away and began running over to her team. Willow didn't turn around from that, since she was taking in how Weiss responded.
She had hugged her, the woman who raised her since birth, and even learning about Lazuria, Weiss was true to her word. Willow was her Mother, and nothing would change.
Korrina was fixing up her gear, the same Relentless outfit as the others used, since she didn't want her presence to be known. "Master Korrina, if I may ask, is your support system up to your standards?"
"Hmm, it could be better, but it will do. Tell me, how many of those monsters are on the list still?" Korrina asked the technician who worked on her mask's support system.
"There are still over twenty that are marked, and about three that are being looked into. As usual, we are making sure they aren't simple civilians that have a shift type semblance." The technician answered.
"Good. And you make sure that those three people are properly investigated. I don't need any innocents killed because those idiots investigating them failed their job." Korrina ordered.
The technician bowed in respect. "Of course, Ma'am."
"Now, I expect my weapons are ready as well." Korrina waited on what he'd say.
"Ah, well I believe they are, Ma'am. It's not my department, but through communications, I do know that they only needed to be sharpened for proper use." As he said that, Korrina nodded.
"I shall go and inspect them. Continue to work on improvements on the support system." Korrina demanded and walked past the technician, who breathed out a sigh of relief, since he hadn't angered her.
As she walked through the facility, she knew that with time, she'd be back up to par in terms of her combat abilities, but until then, Korrina would need to re-train her body. It angered her, but in the end, the Relentless leader knew her wishes would be granted soon, and on her own accord.
"You monsters will see that I can't be kept down forever. I'll be sure to bring back what it means to be a hunter."
She smirked to herself while rubbing her right arm, thinking more about the target she had in mind. It truly irked her, how the target could be still alive, and with that, she was driven to find the one that had managed to escape her hunters for over seventeen years.
I think it's been long enough to finally introduce this character. Wait… 83 chapters and now getting to her… Oh. Well, I did say I liked slow burns.
To the guest on chapter 81- I apologize for forgetting to respond to your earlier review, and for the wolf name, well as I said, Okami also sounds better in my opinion for her last name too. And the game is just beautiful to me, so using the word Okami is just something I enjoy.
To JJ- Similar to Blake and Ruby, I want to make sure characters are interacting with each other, so if there is a moment that feels like certain people should interact more, I'd love to hear suggestions on it. Since again, character building also stems from interactions with the other characters.
I hoped you all enjoyed chapter 83. Remember, reviews are welcomed, but not required. See you all in chapter 84.