Here's chapter 91, everyone.
Blake had asked Ruby to speak with her privately, and the cat Faunus wasn't as nervous as she was when she spoke with Weiss. So as the two were talking outside, since the school was too packed with students for any privacy, Blake was ready yet again. "Ruby, I want to know something."
"Okay? Well, shoot." Ruby said.
"You've been friends with Weiss for years now, so you must know a good bit about the White Fang, don't you?" Blake asked, and Ruby's expression changed.
"Them, yes I know about them." Ruby looked a little angrier. "They targeted a lot of workers in her family's company, and sent threats to them. I don't like them one bit."
Blake bit her lip. "I can't really blame you for that. People who threaten others in that way tend to scare people almost as much as the Grimm…"
"It's just not right. Weiss and her family shouldn't have to deal with those people." Ruby defended. "They act like they're doing good for the Faunus, but they're not. They make it worse."
"Yes…" Blake figured Ruby would have that opinion of them, as she was friends with Weiss. "Ruby, there's something I need to tell you." She reached up to her bow, and while she would love to take it off then and there, she couldn't. "You already know I hide my ears, but… I also used to fight for a way to not have to wear this."
Ruby just assumed she meant that she'd be part of protests, and felt bad for the cat Faunus. "I hate it too, and I know I'm not a Faunus, but it's still not fair how things are."
"Some people would agree, but a lot would disagree. It's why I fought for a better life for the Faunus." Blake frowned. "It's why I used to be part of the White Fang."
Hearing that, Ruby's eyes lit up in shock. "Blake?"
"You have every right to be angry at me, but I've told Yang and Weiss already. So I had to tell you as well." Blake said, watching Ruby's expression on her face change to a saddened one.
"I never thought someone like you would ever work with people like that… They're terrible people, Blake. Why would you ever-." Blake stopped the rose girl.
"Ruby, I told you exactly why… I couldn't stay quiet for my whole life, so I went to the one place I believed would make a difference, but they don't. As you know it yourself, they make things worse." Blake noted.
"This is a lot to take in, Blake." Ruby said bluntly, but she let out a small smile. "Still, you're not like them, and I don't think you'd ever be like them."
"You aren't mad?" Blake asked, shocked that Ruby wasn't angrier with her.
Ruby rubbed the back of her head. "I mean, we've all gotten to know you more since we're on the same team. What those people did and still do makes me angry, but you're not with them."
"I used to be though…" Blake reminded.
"That's in the past, Blake. You have to keep moving forward if you ever want to be the person you really want to be." Ruby said while eyeing her bow.
Blake noticed where she was looking and sighed. "I'm not sure that day is anytime soon, but… Thank you for understanding."
Ruby was a pure hearted girl in Blake's eyes, so she knew that Ruby wasn't going to change how she felt about her. "Mhmm. We should get back inside. I'm sure Weiss is probably gonna bite our heads off to start packing."
"Right." Blake smiled, knowing her team at least wasn't going to lump her with the White Fang, though she did have to settle things with Weiss at some point.
Yang strapped a backpack on, grinning a bit as she leaned down to rub Zwei's head. "You ready to go, boy? You're gonna have to keep yourself still when we're on the airship y'know." The corgi whimpered a little at that, not enjoying the thought of that. "Hehe, I'm kidding. One of us will hold onto you till we land."
The corgi barked at her, wagging his little tail as he was glad she said that.
A moment later, the door opened, with Ruby and Blake walking in. "Hey, Yang. Where's Weiss at?"
"Not sure. She did something embarrassing and walked out." Yang teased with a smirk.
Ruby was curious at that point. "What she do?"
Yang chuckled. "Not telling, but if ya want, you can bug her about it. Anyways, serious time. I thought more about where we're going. It's in Mistral, so remember that different Grimm might show up there, sis."
"I know, Yang, but that doesn't mean anything will change. I'll know when to fight or run." Ruby assured.
"You better," Yang said in her continued serious tone. "Oh, and Blake, I was gonna ask, did you ever go to Mistral for long? I've only been there a couple of times when mom would take us out there for small trips."
Blake nodded. "I've been there enough times to know the different kinds of Grimm there… If we run into a Nuckelavee… I suggest we not fight it. Just because they'll be eight of us, I still think we should be better trained."
"I can't blame you for thinking that way. Besides, it wouldn't just be the one Grimm if Kuroyuri got trashed that bad." Yang reminded.
"Hey, we can't underplay how tough we are either, sis." Ruby remarked. "Safety is important, but we don't need to run away from just any small battle."
"Listen, you know me, Rubes. I'm down for a fight any day of the week, but I-." Ruby ran over and crossed her arms, surprising Yang.
"The moment I mentioned something about fighting or running, you got serious. If this is about me, then just say it." Ruby demanded.
Yang sighed. "You're my little sister, Rubes. You know I'll always be worried about you."
"I'm not saying you can't be, but you have to let me prove why I'm here two years early in the first place. Besides, we're on a team for a reason. We've got each other's backs." Ruby confidently said.
The blonde brawler let out a light, yet proud chuckle. "Sometimes I wonder who's the older sister…"
Blake spoke up. "We'll be smart. That's all that really needs to be said."
"Exactly! So let's not just talk about running, since we've gotten training in for our new team attacks." Ruby smiled, hoping she'd be able to use several of those attacks if they did in fact run into Grimm.
"I can hear you from down the hall, Ruby." Weiss said as she walked inside, and the team turned to see the white haired girl. "You need to learn to keep your voice down, you dolt."
Ruby giggled. "Eh, people don't complain. Where'd you go though? Oh, and Yang said you did something embarrassing, so be mad at her for bringing it up."
Weiss' eyes widened and she glared at the blonde. "Nothing happened. Now start getting your things ready. Klein will be here in a few hours, and Jaune had an idea I'd like to pass along to you three."
Yang was actually interested at that point. "Vomit boy has an idea? I so need to hear this."
The white haired teen rolled her eyes. "Oaf, it's about cheering Ren and Nora up. He thinks that we should try cleaning up Kuroyuri a bit, at least for them to feel better about their old home being fixed up."
Ruby smiled, and even felt a little jealous since she wished she came up with that idea. "I think that sounds great, and maybe even one day if people see it fixed up more, and the Grimm there are cleared out, it might be rebuilt entirely."
Weiss shrugged. "I'm not sure how far that will go, but I will say I at least believe we should try to help too." She was trying to take a page out of Ruby's book, being the first to jump into helping people.
"Hey, it's not gonna be too much work. Besides, I could use a bit of heavy lifting." Yang remarked.
"I won't complain either." Blake simply said, not caring about how much work they'd have to do.
"And you know I already like the idea." Ruby grinned. "So that means it's settled. Not only will we be back up, but we're gonna fix up Ren and Nora's old home."
Weiss let out a smile, as Ruby's enthusiasm was very uplifting. "Good, now start getting ready. As I said, Klein will be here in a few hours."
Not too long later, an airship was docked at one of the landing zones, and Weiss was behind Ruby, smiling up at the airship. "Everyone, be respectful to Klein. Nora, do not ask him about butts just because he's a butler."
"What?! I would do no such thing!" Nora then mumbled something about how Weiss already called her out on what she was going to do.
Ren was actually able to smile at that, while he was ready to return home. "Thank you again for-."
"Uhp, Uhp, Uhp, do not thank me. Thank the man who is piloting that airship. He's the one doing this for us." Weiss reminded, and Ren nodded, not wanting to argue over who to thank.
Ruby chuckled a little. "It's been awhile since I've seen Klein. Wish I could've asked him to bring us some of the sweets he makes…" She was drooling a bit, and Weiss sighed as she pulled out a handkerchief, cleaning her girlfriend's drool.
"Do not drool in front of Klein, you dolt." Weiss ordered.
Blake leaned over to whisper to Yang. "How come Weiss is trying to make things more presentable right now?" She didn't know anything about Klein after all.
"Klein is basically the guy who raised Weiss, well, with her mom of course. He's the dad she should have… So she cares a lot about him." Yang smiled, wishing Jacques was a better father.
The cat Faunus's mouth gently opened a bit, wanting to say something, but she decided to stay quiet as she looked at Weiss' back, seeing the Schnee symbol on her jacket. "Something else I didn't know about you… ."
Jaune spoke up as he wanted to ask Weiss about Klein. "So what's he like?"
"Kind," Weiss said the one word, not having to say anything else, and Jaune was surprised she didn't say anymore.
Not a moment later, the airship's main door opened and Klein stepped out as Weiss walked over. She wasted no time, as she started to sprint towards the man she looked to as a Father. "Klein," She hugged him, and the butler returned the embrace. "I've missed you."
"So have I, Snowflake." Klein smiled and pulled away as he looked past Weiss. "I assume those are your friends?" Weiss nodded, and the butler also noticed two familiar faces. "Ah, and young Miss Rose and Xiao Long."
Weiss giggled. "You know they like to be called by their first names, Klein."
Yang was the second to walk over. "Yo, Klein."
The way she said that annoyed Weiss, so she spun on her heel. "Yang, you do not just walk up to people and say, yo. That is incredibly rude, and-."
Klein's eyes turned red. "And you will show proper respect to your elders, young lady." He said to Yang, and the blonde yelped.
"O-Okay… I mean, yes, sir!" Yang saluted and backed away, as Weiss blinked a few times, turning to see Klein's eyes went back to normal.
She giggled lightly. "Thank you for that."
"Hmm?" Klein played it off like nothing happened, as the others walked over, and Ren was the first to bow to the man, since he was the most grateful of the bunch, along with Nora.
"Weiss told us you'll fly us to Kuroyuri. Thank you for doing this. It was… A place that I have a lot of history with." Ren noted.
Klein motioned his hand up, basically telling the boy to raise his head. "Do not worry, young man. Any friend of Miss Schnee's is good in my book, so I'll happily help. Now then, she has told me of how dangerous this can be, so I expect you all to be smart about this."
Pyrrha spoke up. "We will, sir. We have plans to scout the area to make sure no Grimm will get the jump on us, and we also did discuss on leaving two of us behind to protect you and the airship just in case. I'll be one of them."
"I'm glad you all have thought ahead, and I appreciate the protection." He looked over the eight students, and even the little corgi. "If you're all ready, then let's go."
This is the last time Blake will explain her White Fang past, but as I said before, I wanted to show all of their reactions. It shouldn't be something that is talked about out of a chapter. So I hope everyone is okay with how it was handled in this story.
To JJ- Weiss can't stay angry with her Mother for long, and for the gift Summer gave her, it's to show that Summer does in fact care for Weiss as well. Zwei will be there, but not sure if he'll be involved in any fights that may happen. As for Lazuria, I always wanted her to get Weiss something, so I'm hoping the gift idea she got her was okay.
To the guess on chapter 90- I'm glad you're enjoying it and how the characters are growing. It's something I enjoyed showing in my stories.
I hoped you all enjoyed chapter 91. Remember, reviews are welcomed, but not required. See you all in chapter 92.