Here's chapter 125, everyone.
"You're kidding me, right? Why would you make her that promise when you yourself told that woman she can't see her?" Qrow asked his sister as they were outside the warehouse. "Seriously, you even said it wouldn't be safe to get Willow involved."
Raven rolled her eyes. "I'm not an idiot, Qrow. I know what I said, but things change. And I don't see why you're so upset about this when it has nothing to do with you."
"If you think I'm upset, then you really can't gauge people that well." The huntsman said as he took a sip from his canteen. "I don't really care whether you bring her to Willow or not. Just wondering why you'd want to now of all times."
"What do you mean now of all times?" Raven questioned.
"Seeing as we still haven't gotten any further with The Relentless, I thought you'd want to wait till it was completely safe first." Qrow reasoned.
Raven sighed, looking back at the warehouse to make sure no one was listening in. "There's no telling if this woman will even live by that point." Qrow wasn't one to get taken aback by her words, as he too sighed, knowing the very real possibility. "So if she and Willow could have a guaranteed moment to see each other again, maybe they should have it."
"Right… I'd rather not bring anyone's hopes up… You and I both know enough on that sort of thing." Qrow took another sip. "So, when you planning on bringing them together?"
"I need a bit of time first." Raven looked away, feeling a twinge of guilt. "If I just show up so soon, she might suspect that I've lied to her this whole time about Lazuria."
"To be fair, you have been lying, but for good reason. Besides, when the hell have you cared if someone got mad at… You…" Qrow noticed his sister wasn't looking at him, so he smirked. "Ah, got it."
Raven's eyebrows raised, turning her head to see her brother was smirking. "The hell is with that look?"
"Don't worry about it." He put his hands in his pockets and started walking back to the warehouse. "Pick a day when you're gonna do this, and don't just take her out of here. Tell us first. I know you like splitting off without saying a word way more than you should."
Choosing not to say anything, Raven pressed her hand over her sheath, sighing to herself. "Okay then."
"Yang, did Mom say when she'll be back?" Ruby asked after changing out of her school uniform. "Cause I really need to talk to her."
The blonde had been laying in bed just reading a magazine she had, shrugging at her younger sister. "Nope. Gonna guess and say she'll be here tomorrow though. You know her work schedule, sis."
Ruby sighed and sat back down on Weiss' bed. "Right." She kept thinking to herself what she really wanted to do next. On one hand, she thought about how she was going to ask her Mother to help with finding Weiss' birth Mother, and on the other hand, she wanted Weiss to avoid contact with The Relentless.
Since her birth Mother was marked, finding her would clearly bring the risk of her being discovered by The Relentless.
Yang noticed her sister had gotten silent, as she looked over, setting the magazine down. "You got something on your mind, sis? Y'know you can't hide much from your big sister."
Groaning, Ruby laid back on Weiss' bed, looking up at her own bunk. "Have you ever had two decisions to make, and if you make one decision, it makes the other one worse?"
Hearing that, Yang was getting into a more serious tone. "Honestly? Yeah. Having to decide whether I wanna have my Mom involved in my life… I could've said no and make things harder on us both, and even dad." She let out a small smile when she saw her sister sitting up, with a surprised look of guilt on her face. "Hey, don't worry, sis. It's not hard to bring up anymore."
"I… I'm still sorry. I shouldn't have thought I'm the only one here with that kind of problem." Ruby said as she lowered her head.
Yang jumped off her bunk and walked over, rubbing Ruby's shoulder. "You're just a bit stressed out. And besides, every situation is different, so mind telling me the two choices on your mind?"
Ruby looked up at her sister, knowing she could trust her to not take her lightly. "It's about Weiss. I told myself that I could ask Mom to try and find her birth Mother, but if I do that, it might get Weiss more involved with this Relentless stuff."
"And obviously you don't want that to happen." Yang squeezed Ruby's shoulder supportively. "I get that, sis. I mean, hell, I don't want those murdering pieces of shit near her either."
"Yeah… But I know she wants to meet her birth Mother. At first she didn't, but she was just angry at the time." Ruby reminded.
Yang sat next to the rose girl, nodding at that. "I don't wanna repeat myself, but I do get that too. It's not easy letting things go, but you heard what I just said. Not involving Mom in my life… It would've brought more bad than good."
"So what should I do? If Mom is able to find Weiss' Mother, then it could risk Weiss' life…" Ruby held her head in her hands, groaning and shaking her head a bunch of times. "Ugh, how can I be a team leader when I can't even make a decision?!"
"Whoa now. Relax, sis. Don't start doubting yourself over this. And… Not to sound mean, but this isn't just your decision." Ruby's eyes went wide, and she froze. "Weiss is the one who needs to make the choice in the end."
Blinking a few times, Ruby almost wanted to slap herself in the face for not thinking what Weiss would really want in the end. "I… I shouldn't have even thought about telling Mom… Damn it, Yang. What do I do now?"
"You talk to your partner, sis. Help her see she has options now, and whatever SHE wants, you should just go with it." Yang suggested.
"But you told me that if you didn't involve your Mom in your life, it would've made things worse. What if Weiss-." Ruby yelped when her sister flicked her forehead. "Ow!"
"Sis, not every situation is the same. Maybe it would be better if Weiss meets her birth Mom, but that isn't our decision to make. We have to respect her choice, especially you, since you are her girlfriend. The girl she trusts more than anyone in the whole world." Yang said supportingly.
"M-Me?" Ruby was stunned by hearing that.
Yang nodded, as she had a more somber expression. "I'm not mad at her Mom, y'know, not her birth Mom, but she did have to lie to Weiss for a long time, so I can tell Weiss has a bit of trust issues with her, but you," She wrapped her arm around Ruby. "You're the one she'll always trust, Ruby."
Ruby blushed at that, since she really did want to be the one person Weiss could trust no matter what. Not in the sense of taking advantage of her, as Ruby refused to even let that thought enter her mind, but to show her that even if the whole world was against her, she wouldn't be.
"I need to find her…" Ruby got up and ran out the room after quickly opening the door, leaving her sister smiling as she knew her work was done for the day.
"Everyone needs a little push sometimes, even you, sis." Yang got up and stretched as she was preparing to get on her bed, but then looked over, seeing Blake walking in, though looking back out the door.
"Was that Ruby just now?" Blake asked when she noticed Yang was in the room.
Yang chuckled a few times, nodding as she decided to sit on Blake's bed. "You know her. She likes to speed off when she wants something done." She stretched a bit more. "Soooo, whatcha been up to, Shadowcat?"
Blake's ears twitched under her bow. "Every time?" Yang shrugged and gave her a wink, so Blake sighed in response. "Weiss and I decided to spar a bit. And, uh, well something weird happened."
"Oh? Wanna fill me in or should we play twenty questions so I can figure it out that way?" Yang inquired.
"Don't be a smartass." Blake warned, while Yang just stuck her tongue out. "Seriously though, during our sparring, she howled louder than I've ever heard her before, and it created a shockwave."
Yang was surprised by that. "Huh. No shit?" Blake didn't really know how to explain it. 'Wow, looks like Ice Wolf is learning more about her animal powers… Man! I need to catch up with her! No way am I being left in the dust!" She got up and looked pumped.
"Uh, right… About that. Could you maybe do whatever you plan on doing later?" Blake's request made Yang give her a questioning look. "I wanted to call my parents, and since you're here already… I was hoping they could get a chance to meet you." She had a light blush on her face.
The blonde picked up on her blush and smiled, not wanting to joke around when it came to Blake's more serious moments. "You know I'd love to meet them, Blake. Here," She sat back down and patted the bed a few times.
Blake's ears perked up and she smiled, taking a seat next to her partner, as she got her scroll out.
Lazuria was staying safe inside the warehouse, taking bites of an apple here and there, while Tai was with her. "Did you ever tell your wife about your opinions on this?" She suddenly asked the blonde huntsman.
Tai was surprised that she even spoke up, let alone asked that kind of question. "My opinion? Well, I mean it's a whole mess if you ask me. Not you, but those people who are after you." He had his arms crossed, shaking his head with an aggravated look. "They're the kinds of people who make this world, which is already filled with monsters feeding on negative emotions, even worse than it already is."
"You have a lot of anger towards a group you've only recently learned of." Lazuria said as she looked at the apple, a huge chunk bit off, focusing on the emptiness of it.
"I don't need to be told more than what I have been. Though, I'm curious on why you'd think I wouldn't hate a group of murderous psychopaths." Tai inquired.
Lazuria placed the apple down. "I'm not surprised by your hatred for them. I just find it funny how similar people could be to them," She continued staring at the apple. "They choose to hate my kind without any thought of who we could be behind the fangs and claws."
"Hey, that's not exactly what I'd call a comparison." Tai remarked.
"And why not?" Lazuria turned to face the man. "They're murderers that I hate with my entire being, but who am I to them? In their eyes, I'm a murderer that they want to destroy."
Tai shook his head. "All you want to do is live your life. They just want to destroy lives. I don't see the comparison, even if you explained it a million times."
Lazuria felt herself tense up a bit, letting out a light laugh. "I won't ask if it's fair to just hate them… They've ruined more than just my life, while all my kind has done is live amongst humanity."
"There's no question about it. Going after these people, it's what we need to do. And no offense, but it isn't just about helping you. It's about making sure they can't ruin anyone else's life." Tai stated.
"Hmm, I'm glad I picked the right set of hunters for this then." Lazuria smiled, but suddenly the sound of a gun went off, and she instantly looked to the entrance to the warehouse. "T-They're here? But it's too early…"
Tai was instantly out of his seat, getting in front of her. "Stay here. Raven should be guarding the front with Qrow." The usually drunk huntsman had walked in before, but he was on break, so he would be outside with his sister. "Damn it… Summer is out in town right now." He pulled his scroll out and informed her of what was happening.
Lazuria felt her hand shaking. She wasn't expecting to have a Relentless member going after her at this time, and yet there was no way it was anything else. She grabbed her wolf mask from the table and placed it over her face.
Even when she was afraid, she would still honor who she was in the face of her greatest enemy. "I can still fight you know. I've killed enough of them to know how to handle-."
"That's why I want you to stay back. You've done more than enough to defend your life. Let the people you've called for help out this time." Tai said, not keeping his eyes off the entrance.
Lazuria bit her lip, as she hated the idea of just standing back. Only because she's only done so in her life. And that was just fighting. "What happens if your team ends up hurt then? You wouldn't want that."
Her attempts at persuading him to let her fight were clear. "I can understand why you wouldn't have as much faith in them as I do. You've only known them for such little time," Tai smirked. "But if I know one thing about those two, they wouldn't let some thug be the reason to lose now."
"You really want to bank their safety on this? Just to keep me out of this?" Lazuria asked angrily.
"We're hunters. And from what I've heard about you… I can pick up on you having been one yourself. So you know we won't give up on anyone in need of help. We'll fight till the bitter end. That's just what we choose to do." Tai proudly stated.
Another shot ran out, but that time it was followed up by an explosion, shocking both of them as they almost fell off their feet.
With that, the apple Lazuria left on the table rolled off, and the wolf woman stared at it. The chunk missing, and the emptiness she felt when staring at it.
"What it meant to be a huntress?"
"If that's the case… Then I'll let your team handle this after all." Lazuria said in a somber tone. "I can't claim to be one after all…"
Tai looked confused as he glanced over his shoulder, while also listening in on the fighting outside. "You can't claim to be what?"
"A huntress."
Again, a bit more set up moments here, but at least with this chapter the point of the set up is coming up next. So hopefully this isn't too much of a bother to have to wait on the next big moment(s).
To JJ- I will decide on how far I want the Hidden to go in terms of power. I don't want to make them overpowered with the amount of abilities they could possess. The howl was more of a throwback to when Weiss discovered she could use glyphs, but it will be a power she can still use now.
I hoped you all enjoyed chapter 125. Remember, reviews are welcomed, but not required. See you all in chapter 126.