Here's chapter 96, everyone.
"Weiss, you doing okay?" Yang asked as she was carrying some wood from a destroyed building to put to the side. "You've been pretty silent since that Nel chick went off to sleep."
The white haired teen sighed. "She spoke to me specifically, Yang. And I still have no idea why. What she kept saying made no sense."
"Well you heard what she said. She was mixed up about you, so I say just ignore the crazy girl." Yang suggested and set down the pieces of wood. "Besides, we're not here for her, we're here for Ren and Nora."
Weiss nodded, focusing back on her glyphs as she used one to carry some concrete pieces away. "She was only adamant on me leaving, and why did she ask if I can do more than just what my wolf semblance can do…"
After glancing over her shoulder at the house Nel went into, Weiss shook her head a few times and went back to work, while the hawk watched her, mostly to keep an eye on what she'd do.
"She's curious. Can't blame the cub, but Nel made her choice already."
The hawk looked up at the night sky, knowing that it was going to be tough for the group of teens to work on fixing up the village. "Yo, Nora! I fixed up this house over here as much as I could. Need help over there?!"
Nora looked over, popping her head out from the side of another house. "Nah, I'm all good over here! I think Ruby was working on one of the bigger ones, so you should check on her!"
Yang gave her a thumbs up and walked around the destroyed village, cupping her hands around her mouth. "Ruby! Where are you?!"
"Over here!" Her younger sister had called out, and Yang looked to her left, seeing the girl's scythe poking out from the front door of a house as a signal.
The blonde brawler chuckled and walked over, and when she turned the corner, she saw Ruby was inside the broken down home. "You need any help, sis?" Yang offered as she walked over a few pieces of broken glass.
"Hmm, I guess. I don't really have anything to move the glass, and no way am I about to pick it up." Ruby said as she was moving some rocks away from a destroyed bed. "You already finished with your first house?"
"Yeah, there wasn't a lot to really fix up. So I wanted to see if any of you guys needed some help," Yang explained, but she had another reason for talking with Ruby too. "Anyways… You're still a little upset from before, aren't you?"
Ruby stopped moving some of the debris around and sighed, glancing over her shoulder. "Well yeah, that woman kicked Weiss in the stomach. Of course I'm still upset with her."
"Don't get me wrong, seeing that pissed me off too. I honestly wanted to deck her in the face, but I know starting a fight won't help anything… We just gotta do our thing here and leave. No sense worrying about her." Yang said in hopes of getting Ruby to not be as angry.
"It's not exactly comforting to know someone like her is just in one of these houses while we're distracted. And we still have no idea who else is with her around here. Remember what Blake said." Ruby reminded.
"We've been here for almost an hour now, sis. I'm pretty sure if anyone was gonna ambush us, they'd have done it already." Yang pointed out while looking at a picture frame, seeing the picture was missing, more than likely taken by the family to preserve the memory.
Ruby still wasn't happy with Nel. "Well I still don't like it, and besides, she did hurt Weiss, so shouldn't we-."
"Sis, you're letting your feelings for Weiss get in the way. You gotta relax and realize that we really don't need to get involved with that woman." Yang said after placing the picture frame down.
"Ugh, I don't get why you're not mad about this too." Ruby complained as she crossed her arms with a scowl adorned on her face.
Yang sighed and rubbed the back of her head. "Honestly, I thought I'd be the one to stay mad about it the longest, sis. You know how I get sometimes… But y'know Weiss is fine, and that woman won't get in the way."
"That's not the point." Ruby grumbled, and Yang walked over, rubbing her shoulder a few times.
"I know… Trust me, I do. I'd probably be just the same as you right now, but-." Yang stopped herself, thinking of her talk with Blake, so she pressed her hand on the bed, seeing it was sturdy enough to sit on.
Ruby watched her sister sit and pat a spot next to her. "Should we really sit on a messed up bed that could fall at any moment, Yang?"
Yang chuckled. "You calling me fat, sis?" Ruby yelped and gently sat next to Yang, not wanting to accidentally piss her off. "How have you and Weiss been? Y'know, with your relationship?"
"Uh… We've been fine. Why do you ask?" Ruby wondered.
"I don't know, I mean, you're my little sister, so I like to know that the girl you're with is making you happy." Yang smiled, and Ruby blushed a little, thinking about the moments she had with Weiss.
"Y-You don't need to look after me for that, Yang… And besides, we're both happy." Ruby remarked.
Yang wrapped an arm around her, making her pout a bit, since she thought her older sister was treating her like a kid. "I'm kinda jealous of what you have, sis."
Ruby's eyes widened and she slightly turned her head, giving her a dumbfounded and shocked look. "You're jealous of me? What are you talking about, Yang? You're like, way better than me at a lot of stuff."
"Am I?" Yang chuckled and tilted her head back, looking up at the clouds since the roof of the house they were in was gone. "Maybe a few things, but look at you," She looked back at her sister. "You skipped ahead by two years to get into Beacon, and you're the leader of the team… But I think I'm mostly jealous that you managed to find the person in your life you care a lot about."
The older sister Ruby knew wouldn't easily admit something like that, so she scooted away from her and shook her head. "Yang, you're still amazing too! And I know you'll find someone you care-." Ruby's voice started getting muffled by Yang, who had her eyes closed with an annoyed look on her face.
"Ugh… Could you maybe not yell that to the heavens, Rubes…" Yang had a light blush on her cheeks, not wanting the others to know she felt jealous of her little sister for finding love before her.
Ruby nodded a few times, so Yang moved her hand away. "Sorry, but I really mean it. Me and Weiss have known each other forever… Honestly, I was kinda nervous that you and her would end up together one day… I feel bad saying that."
Yang blinked a few times, and a small smile slowly formed as she chuckled. "Wow, I guess we both had something embarrassing to admit there, sis." She sighed happily. "Look, the whole reason I asked about you and Weiss, is just to know how much you really love her."
"There's no amount, Yang… I love her, and that's it." Ruby had no reason to lie.
"Good, cause if you didn't, then maybe I'd have to steal her from you myself. Seeing as she did end up walking into my chest earlier today." Yang said, sticking her tongue out at Ruby in an attempt to get her to not focus on Nel.
Ruby's entire face lit up red and she jumped out of bed. "What?!"
Yang got up as well, holding her arms up in front of her in defense. "Hey, chill out. It was so her fault. Besides, she didn't move away for a few seconds, sooooo, y'know, maybe you should go yell at her for that one."
The shorter and younger sister was full of rage, and she walked out of the house with her blush still red as her cape. "Weiss! Did you seriously motorboat my sister?!"
Weiss' voice was heard next, as the sound of several pieces of concrete hitting the floor was heard. "W-What?! I-I did no such thing!"
Not a moment later, Yang started to laugh, finding it funny that Ruby even knew what that meant, and as she fell back on the bed, it actually ended up collapsing, making her yelp as it broke apart under her.
The blonde brawler groaned a bit, but the sound of Ruby and Weiss bickering made her smile as she sighed, resting her head against the destroyed mattress. "Worth it."
"Raven, it's okay, really." Willow let out a smile as the two women were in the restaurant, while some people would give Raven confused looks, mostly for her attire. "Just try to enjoy yourself. The food here is fantastic, you'll see."
The black haired huntress mumbled something about high maintenance, and how it wasn't her style, but as she looked at Willow checking the menu, she sighed and decided to just relax. "Fine. I'll just take a steak."
"You don't need to tell me. Hmm," Willow chuckled and gave it a thought. "I'd rather not get too much, so a chicken salad will be enough for me."
Raven hummed, trying not to show much interest, but as Willow was continuing to look at her menu, she noticed that the white haired woman looked different that day. Willow had been able to grow closer to Raven, seeing as the black haired huntress was her instructor, but to Raven, getting close to someone again wasn't at the top of her priority list.
"So, you keep telling me that you're busy a lot. What's been keeping you?" Willow asked as she set the menu down.
"I'm a huntress, so I'm sure you can piece that together." Raven said, her deadpan look earning her an eyeroll.
"Missions are one thing, but sometimes you end up being busy for more days than you'd usually be on a mission for." Willow remarked, as she showed Raven she was paying attention.
Raven simply shrugged. "It depends on how tough they can be, and you should know that it's the only real way for me to make money, which need I remind you is what's paying for our dinner."
"Well I'm sorry for being intrigued by what you're doing, Branwen. Besides, you still need to get ready to take me on a hunt with you." Willow smirked, and Raven crossed her arms.
"You still know that I have no plan on going easy on you." Raven reminded.
"That's fine with me." Willow was up for the challenge, but she took a breath, thinking about something she wanted to talk to Raven about. "About earlier, I really shouldn't have let myself get so angry with you."
Raven shrugged. "I said my own words I shouldn't have, and honestly, the day you finally knock some sense into that man will be a good one."
Willow folded her arms over the table, sighing a little. "Sometimes I feel like I should do it by now, but then other times I'm simply too afraid."
"I don't know why you are. With the training I've put you through, you could easily deal with that moron." Raven repeated.
"Beating people down isn't always the solution, Raven… What he could do in return is what I'm afraid of." Willow shook her head. "Never mind that. I'm not here to complain about my problems. We're going to have a nice dinner."
Raven was surprised that she stopped speaking about that, since it was always something she hated dealing with, but just the fact that she wanted to have a nice dinner with her spoke volumes. "I guess we are… How long do these people take by the way?"
"Hmm, well it depends on the order, but it shouldn't take too long after we hand the waiter our orders." Willow answered.
The black haired huntress was content with that answer, as she wanted to bring Willow somewhere after they had dinner, hoping it wouldn't get too late in the night for the two.
"I was going to ask another question," Raven looked into Willow's eyes. "I get you wanted to get away from talking about the moron, but have you thought about what YOU want to do if you end up dethroning old mustache?"
Willow held back a chuckle at what she called her husband, and she did think about what she could do with the company, and her life if she ever went against Jacques. "I'm not sure to be honest. My Father was the one who started the company, and while I watched him grow the company to what it was, I myself can't say I'm a businesswoman."
"Can't say I blame you. It sounds like a boring job to begin with, but maybe thinking about people who could take over for you might be good to look into." Raven suggested, surprising Willow.
"What's your sudden interest in my family's company, Branwen?" Willow inquired.
It wasn't the company she cared about, but it was how Willow could be happy with her life after overcoming one of the biggest obstacles in her life.
"Nothing really," Raven tilted her head back and brought her arms behind her. "Maybe I'll tell you later."
Willow raised an eyebrow and decided not to pry, so she simply waited for her order to be taken, while smiling a little, since she was actually enjoying herself and their dinner date.
Sorry this chapter is more of a talking chapter. I honestly didn't want to delay things, but at the same time, building up things between Willow and Raven has been on my mind, and Ruby being conflicted on what Nel said is something I also needed to show before getting into it more.
To JJ- So with the enhanced senses, I have no thought on making them overwhelm her. The transformation itself did that once before, and while the senses are started to overlap with her human form, it won't overtake her. Nora is only angry due to where she is, so yeah, luckily Ren is there to keep her calm. As for Weiss and the truth, well, time will tell.
I hoped you all enjoyed chapter 96. Remember, reviews are welcomed, but not required. See you all in chapter 97.