A/N
This is the condensed version of Schnee: Hero or Huntress for those who would prefer to binge in a single sitting instead of a spam of chapters.
A/N End
Let's see what the Schnee name really means."
"I'm more than just a name."
"Hm, then prove it."
Weiss was losing, it didn't take a genius to figure that out. Despite being a part of one of the top first year teams at Beacon Academy, having killed numerous Grimm throughout the school year, reaching the semifinals of the Vytal festival, and surviving the Fall of Beacon, Weiss knew that she was outclassed. Despite her years of training with Myrtenaster, her Multi Action Dust Rapier, Weiss stood no chance against a bandit with years of experience, especially one with the powers of the Spring Maiden.
Still, that wouldn't stop Weiss from doing her best, fighting till her last breath, despite this ambush. She was a Schnee after all, as much as she hated what her family stood for, Weiss Schnee was a part of Team RWBY first and foremost. She won't disappoint her teammates, and the remains of Team JNPR. The interior of Haven Academy had turned into a battlefield, Ruby, Yang and the others facing off against their respective opponents.
Running her finger along her blade, Weiss narrowed her eyes. The Atlesian etchings in Myrtenaster's blade turned orange, the color of the fire dust imbued in her blade's hilt.
"Hyah!" Weiss swang Myrtenaster, a wave of flames aimed at Vernal, that stupid bandit using the powers of the Spring Maiden for selfish reason. Stupid Branwen bandits, stupid White Fang, stupid Cinder and her followers, stupid Lionheart that traitor! Most of all, stupid Salem for causing so much pain and suffering.
Vernal simply jumped back, avoiding the flames. She fired a few shots from her crescent blade weapon, forcing Weiss to switch to ice dust. Forming a glyph right in front of her, Weiss stabbed the ground, forming a wall of ice that managed to block Vernal's bullets.
This was bad, this was really bad. Weiss aimed Myrtenaster at the ground again, forming another glyph, the snowflake having the pattern of a familiar sword. The Arma Gigas could help Weiss turn the tide! It was strong enough to face a Queen Lancer, so it should be strong enough to help her fight a maiden.
Armored arms pulled themselves out of the glyph, the knightly armor of the Arma Gigas rose from the white snowflake. Suddenly, yellow lasers sliced through the ice wall, decapitating the half formed Arma Gigas in the process.
"Damn it!" Weiss mumbled under her breath. She barely rose Myrtenaster in time to block a strike from Vernal's crescent blade.
"Did you think I was going to let you take the easy way out?" The Branwen second in command growled. Weiss only glared in return and formed a black glyph, this one pushing her away from the fallen Spring Maiden. Vernal threw one of her blades towards Weiss, forcing her to use another glyph to deflect the strike.
Vernal caught her weapon easily and started firing, Myrtenaster easily being able to deflect several of the bullets. Using a glyph to launch herself in the air, Weiss dodged a few of Vernal's bullets, using Myrtenaster to deflect those she couldn't dodge.
Gracefully landing back on the ground, Weiss stabbed the ground again, forming her summoning glyph. Only an arm was formed when Vernal suddenly struck, both of her crescent blades locking with Myrtenaster's blade.
"You should have focused on fighting me instead of trying that trick again." Vernal boasted when she unleashed a barrage of lasers straight into Weiss' chest at point blank range.
Weiss was sent flying through the air and she struck the ground hard, her aura shattering upon impact. Gritting her teeth as her blue aura disappeared, Weiss used Myrtenaster to force herself upon her knees. That was definitely going to leave a bruise, until her aura returned at least.
"No!" Weiss heard Jaune scream from across the commons. Before she could turn, Weiss gasped, something had pierced her side. Feeling her eyes widen in pain, Weiss struggled to breathe. Looking at the golden spear that had impaled her, Weiss had never felt this much pain before in her life. Not even the training exercise that gained her a scar over her left eye caused her this much pain.
The golden spear disappeared, leaving a bloody hole in her side, and the last thing Weiss saw as the floor rushed to meet her was darkness.
Yu Takeyama, better known to the public as Mt. Lady, was bored. Patrol was fun half of the time, but the other half was extremely boring. Well, it was certainly much better than hanging out at her agency building. The rising hero didn't really have any sidekicks as of yet, but that was something she could fix in the future. At least the paparazzi took plenty of good pictures. That could help boost her ratings.
At the rate she was going, Mt. Lady would soon become a household name! Those sponsorships would come flooding in once she managed to slide herself into the top ten. Hero insurance was starting to become expensive, especially with all of the damage that her quirk caused. Shinji was never going to let her hear the end of it. Always talking about responsibility and other boring stuff.
Ignoring the stares of her dedicated fans as she flashed a few winks and a couple suggestive poses towards those who had cameras, something caught Mt. Lady's eyes. A bright flash of blue appeared near the mouth of an alleyway, not even a few feet away.
"Excuse me." Mt. Lady formed a smirk as she grew a few inches. Walking through the crowd, Mt. Lady turned into the alleyway, when she suddenly paused.
Laying in a small pool of blood was a teenage girl with hair as white as snow.
"Somebody call an ambulance!"
Today just turned out to be a lot less boring. The blood was going to be a bitch to get out of her costume though. It would be worth it, as long as the girl survived, which she would.
Mt. Lady was here to the rescue after all.
Detective Tsukauchi was a very busy man. Being a walking lie detector meant more than a few cases came across his desk, and even more had to be investigated in the field. This time would be no different according to his briefing. Mt. Lady found a young girl bleeding to death in an alley, age about fourteen or fifteen, wearing a blue dress that seemed to be a size or two too big for her. Such an occurrence wouldn't have batted an eye from an emergency worker or any other police officer, except for the other pieces of evidence.
The girl's injuries were quite extensive. She had an old, nasty looking scar over her left eye, it stuck out even more when compared to her pale white skin. It didn't look like it was caused by an accident. Tsukauchi leaned against the hospital's wall. The girl was currently in the operating room, with doctors whose quirks best suited this situation.
That gaping hole in her side. From what he heard from the nurses, the girl was lucky that none of her vital organs were hit by whatever caused it. Bullets were too small and wouldn't cause a 'neat' hole like the one she had. That left melee weapons, or perhaps someone's quirk.
The weird looking sword-revolver that was found alongside the white haired girl had been the first suspect weapon, but that was discarded once Tsukauchi held the sword in his hand. The blade was too skinny, and the metal itself had strange markings from a language that Tsukauchi didn't recognize. It was also obvious that the sword wasn't made for just anyone, its grip was too big for Tsukauchi's hands, so it most likely belonged to the white haired girl. It did match her outfit too, which helped to support that theory.
"She's still in there?" Tsukauchi didn't need to turn around to know that it was Mt. Lady who was speaking to him. Tsukauchi turned his head slightly. It seemed that she went back to her agency to change into a cleaner, less bloody costume.
"Yes. The nurse said that they're finishing up. She lost a lot of blood, but she'll live. She was lucky you found her when you did." Tsukauchi pulled out his notepad which held his notes. "Once she's stable, they're going to run an X-ray, to see if she has a quirk or not. Then we'll see if we can find her parents or a guardian." He already sent a sample of the girl's DNA back to the station since she didn't have any contact information on her. She did have a weird box on her that seemed a bit like a phone, but forensics didn't want to risk breaking it so they gave it back to Tsukauchi, who placed it in a box alongside the weird sword. Said box was now sitting on the chair next to him.
The rising heroine seemed to preen at his words. "That's good. We almost lost her in the ambulance a few times. She must have a strong will to live."
Tsukauchi nodded slightly as he adjusted the fedora that sat on his head. His phone started ringing, the vibrations causing it to shake in his pocket.
"Please excuse me for a second. Let me know if the doctor has any updates." Tsukauchi said. Mt. Lady simply gave him a mock salute. Walking out of any bystanders hearing range, he answered the call.
"True Man here."
"Forensics got back to me on that DNA you sent in." Tamakawa's voice answered. The cat-headed man was a good officer, and he knew when to not ask questions. "She's not in any of our systems. In fact, we cross referenced with the Koreans, Russians, and Americans while we were at it since you said she didn't look Japanese. None of them reported any missing white haired girls."
Tsukauchi's eyes narrowed. That is not what he was expecting. Was she a victim from one of the remaining Yakuza families? That could explain why she didn't exist in their records, but what about her wounds? Hopefully the doctor had a better explanation about that.
"I see, thank you. Make sure this stays out of the Chief's desk, you know how he gets whenever a half-assed report reaches him."
"Of course sir." With that, Tsukauchi said his farewells and ended the call. What was the deal with the mysterious girl? Mt. Lady reported seeing a blue light when she found her. Was that the use of a teleportation quirk? Was she an illegal immigrant? There were more questions than there were answers, just like every other case Tsukauchi worked on. Making his way back to Mt. Lady allowed him to gather his thoughts.
"Any good news?" Mt. Lady sat next to the box with the white haired girl's possessions, minus the bloody dress.
Tsukauchi shook his head. "She doesn't exist in any of our records, and there aren't any search warrants out for her."
Mt. Lady cursed under her breath, something that Tsukauchi couldn't catch. "So what does that mean?"
Tsukauchi shrugged. He would need more information to complete the picture. "It means she's either the victim of a trafficking ring, or she's an illegal immigrant." Tsukauchi wouldn't reveal any other theories he had. This was police business now.
"Or she's from a different dimension." Mt. Lady blurted out, which earned her a raised eyebrow.
Yeah right, there's no way that was right.
Weiss felt weak. Not that weakness she felt when she couldn't do anything as Beacon fell, or when Father decided to take her back to Atlas. She physically felt very weak. Weiss groaned softly as she kept her eyes shut tight. What happened? Did they win? Did they lose?
"Ruby!" Weiss' eyes opened, only to be blinded by a white light. She closed her eyes again quickly. It seemed that her aura hadn't returned yet judging by how sore she felt. Opening her eyes slowly, Weiss was momentarily blinded until her eyes adjusted to the brightness.
She was sitting in what seemed to be a hospital room, the door sitting to the right of the bed where she laid. Weiss attempted to sit up, only for a sharp pain to stop her in her tracks. Yup, her aura definitely wasn't back to one hundred still. Wait a minute, where was everyone? Where was Ruby? Yang? Hell where was Jaune? Sure she might have been mean to them sometimes, but would they really leave her alone while injured?
Weiss narrowed her eyes as she slowly forced herself into a sitting position. She looked down at her hospital gown, it was a design that seemed to be a mixture of Mistralian and Vale cultures.
Suddenly, the door to the room opened, revealing a young woman wearing a nurse outfit.
"Who are you and where am I?" Weiss demanded, her voice speaking in Atlassian that always felt familiar on her tongue, as soon as the Nurse's eyes met hers. The Nurse tilted her head in confusion.
"I don't speak German. I'll go and let the Doctor know that you're awake." The Nurse said in Mistralian. She left as soon as she finished speaking.
Weiss growled softly. Some Nurse that was, but at least she confirmed that she was still in Mistral. Learning the languages of each of the Four Kingdoms was not a waste as Yang tended to say. One's education must always be balanced. Wait just a second-
What's German?
After the rude nurse left, Weiss was left alone to her devices. Naturally, if this was one of Cinder's plots. Weiss wasn't going to take it sitting down. Whoever these people were, they were not about to take Weiss as a hostage. Even with her losing her position as heir to the Schnee Dust Company, Weiss was still a Schnee. Father would just pay the ransom to punish her himself. Weiss' eyes darted around the room. While it may seem like a normal hospital room, who knows what hiding beneath each counter or desk.
Weiss touched her side, feeling the bandages beneath her hospital gown. Yup, it seemed that someone got a lucky hit on her once her aura was down. If only she had her scroll on her. Being able to see her aura level would allow Weiss to plan an escape using her glyphs. Of course finding Myrtenaster would have to be next on her top list of priorities.
The door opened again, revealing that rude Nurse, this time accompanied by an older man wearing a white lab coat. They both had some type of name tag on them, but it was in a language that Weiss didn't understand, which was surprising.
"Can you understand me?" The Doctor said in Mistralian. He took out what seemed to be an older scroll and pressed a few buttons. He spoke again, but more hesitantly. "Or do you understand me with this language?" He said that last sentence in Atlassian. Weiss rolled her eyes. He had butchered every word in that sentence.
"I can understand you just fine." Weiss replied in Mistralian before he could butcher her native language anymore than he already has. While she prefered speaking in Atlassian when alone or at home, she could easily speak to her friends in Valish, which served as trade language for all of the Four Kingdoms for some reason. The perks of knowing multiple languages ensured that she always knew what people were saying about her.
The Doctor shared a glance with the rude nurse.
"My apologies. Your Japanese is pretty good." The Doctor said while forming a smile on his face. Weiss only glared in response. What the hell was Japanese? That sounded like something Yang would have been into. "I'm Doctor Miura and this is Nurse Hayashi." He motioned towards the rude woman from earlier who also gave Weiss a warm smile.
She didn't trust them. Something bad happened at Haven, otherwise Ruby, Yang, Jaune or even Ren and Nora would have been here already. Ruby would have been here before the doctor, attempting to break Weiss' ribs.
"May I ask your name?"
Now that was very insulting. While Weiss may have been known as the heir, now former, to the Schnee Dust Company, she also was a very popular singer throughout the Kingdoms. Every single one of her concerts never had an empty seat for crying out loud! Her last album stayed at the top of the charts for weeks. Weiss seethed inside, but she forced herself to swallow her pride. Exposing herself wouldn't do her any good if they were kidnappers or working with Salem.
"Ruby Rose." Weiss said confidently, the Mistralian translation of her partner's name easily leaving her lips.
"We shall see if that's true." Someone else said, the voice coming from the door. Weiss glared at the intruder once they made themself known. Walking through her hospital room's door was a tall man dressed in an oversized trench coat with a fedora. The man's face was impassive, not showing a single bit of emotion.
"And who are you supposed to be?" Weiss said sarcastically. He looked important, but how did he know she was lying? Was that his semblance?
"I'm Detective Tsukauchi from the National Police Agency." He pulled a small notepad from one of his many pockets. Oh, so he was a member of the police then? That was worse than dealing with the hospital staff here. The Detective exchanged a glance with Doctor Miura. "I have several questions for you once the good Doctor is done giving you an examination."
Was he one of Lionheart's goons? She did just survive an ambush laid by the traitorous headmaster. Still, there was a chance that he could have been one of the few huntsmen that was on their side. Either way, Weiss didn't like him.
"Very well."
Weiss could play along for now or at least until Mytenaster was back in her possession.
Doctor Miura and the rude woman who should not have been a nurse were much more annoying than Weiss expected them to be. Not Jaune trying to ask her out on a date every five minutes annoying, but extremely so. They kept asking her how many fingers they held up, and the rude woman's index finger started to glow at one point, having Weiss follow the light with her eyes.
A weird, if a bit useless when it came to semblances. None could compare to the hereditary glyphs of the Schnee family of course. Combine that with her swordsmanship, Weiss was sure she could easily escape should the need arise. Thankfully, her aura returned when the Doctor and Nurse weren't looking, covering Weiss' body in that comforting blue color before disappearing.
Now that stab in her side was a dull ache instead of causing her extreme pain. Doctor Miura examined her wound, and replaced the old, blood covered bandages with new ones. As much as Weiss hated to admit it, they did a pretty decent job. Not as good as the Atlas professionals that would clear an entire floor just for her, but passable.
"Make sure you don't agitate the wound, otherwise your stitches are going to open up. It'll leave a faint scar, but I'm sure thats better than being dead." Doctor Miura's failed attempt as a joke only earned him a glare from Weiss. He coughed into his fist awkwardly. "I'm afraid we couldn't do much about the scar on your left eye."
"It's ok." It was Weiss' choice to keep that scar. Father was livid, and Mother was a bit too drunk to care or show what she thought. She didn't regret it of course, seeing Father's angry face made blemishing her pale, perfect face worth it. What was one more scar? "Thank you."
Doctor Miura smiled in return. "Do you need anything before we send Detective Tsukauchi in?"
What did she need? A mirror would be nice. Even wounded and stuck in a hospital bed, Weiss still needed to keep up her physical appearance.
"A mirror would suffice."
Nurse Hayashi nodded. "I'll see what I can do. I'm sure I can find one somewhere."
The two said their farewells and left soon after. They didn't seem like they worked for Cinder, but Weiss wouldn't let her guard down. Cinder, Emerald, and Mercury had fooled them all when they infiltrated Beacon.
Weiss wouldn't be fooled again.
She was taken out of her thoughts by Nurse Hayashi, who returned with a small handheld mirror.
"Here, I know how much you youngsters love taking care of your appearances. I'm sure you have more than a few guys or girls going after your heart." The still rude woman said as she handed Weiss the mirror. While Weiss was relatively young, that was still a weird thing to say. She was of age to attend one of the best academies for huntsmen and huntresses, and Nurse Hayashi only seemed a few years older than Weiss. Most likely around Winter's age if Weiss had to guess.
"Thank you." Weiss said politely, keeping her face neutral. Nurse Hayashi gave her a wink and left Weiss to her devices. Weiss sighed as she leaned back, her aura finally working on her injury.
"Finally." Weiss muttered under her breath as she held the mirror up to her face. Yup, same old scar, same light blue eyes, same-
What was this?
Weiss' eyes widened in shock as her hand that held the mirror started to shake slightly. That wasn't possible. Was this one of Professor Ozpin's schemes? He did manage to turn Ruby's uncle and Yang's Mom into birds. Yes, that must be why they weren't here! Weiss must've volunteered for some special mission. That's right, there was no other explanation for this.
Why else would she look younger than Ruby?
Weiss allowed her hand to drop, the mirror landing in her lap undamaged. What the hell was going on here? First Ruby and the others don't even bother to show up, someone took Myrtenaster along with her other belongings, those earrings were made out of the purest dust! And now she looked like she could be Whitley's little sister. At least she stopped growing around this age, if only gaining an inch or two right before being accepted into Beacon. Weiss was definitely going to need a new pair of heels once she got out of here, right after she tore into Ruby for not being here as soon as she woke up.
The door opened, revealing Detective Tsukauchi from earlier and a woman dressed in an outfit that would make even Yang blush, with weird purple horns. Weiss narrowed her eyes, steeling her features. Never reveal anything that could be used against you in the future, that was one of the first lessons Father taught her, and as much as she hated to admit it, Father's lessons would serve her well as she dealt with this man and possible huntress.
"Good afternoon." He took a seat that was next to Weiss' hospital. "As I said earlier, my name is Detective Tskauchi from the National Police Agency and this is Mt. Lady. She is the hero that found you and brought you to the hospital." The Detective pulled the same notebook from his pocket. The Huntress gave Weiss a warm smile, before suddenly grabbing her with a death grip, throwing her arms around Weiss' smaller shoulders before the white haired girl could even say a word.
"I'm so happy that you're ok! I almost lost you a few times in the ambulance on the way here!" Weiss struggled to keep her blush down as her face was pressed into the strange woman's bosom. C-Can't breathe-
Using her aura to strengthen her muscles, Weiss was about to force the wanton Huntress off of her when Detective Tsukauchi spoke.
"You're going to reopen her wound if you don't let go."
"Oops, sorry!" Mt. Lady blushed as she wiped a few tears off of her face. Weiss felt a damp spot on her shoulder, causing her to seethe inside. Who was this woman to touch her without permission? If only she had Myrtenaster she could run that woman through-
"My apologies." Detective Tsukauchi interrupted Weiss' plans for murder as he took the seat that sat next fo Weiss' hospital bed. He glared at the promiscuous woman. "Mt. Lady requested that she be allowed in the meeting since she was the hero on the scene that found you."
"I see." Weiss eyed the huntress. "Thank you for helping me in my time of need." Being polite could help Weiss score some points, points she could use to regain her belongings.
"You're welcome." If Mt. Lady was a bird, Weiss was sure that she would be showing off her feathers. "I just did what any hero would do." Now the lady was pushing it. Did she save Weiss' life? According to everyone here she did, but what about the doctors and nurses who also did their part? Calling herself a hero was pushing the limit.
"Now, I would like to ask you a few questions. Could you answer them to the best of your abilities?" Detective Tsukauchi asked. Mt. Lady took a seat on the other side of Weiss' bed.
"Of course." Weiss replied. She just had to be careful of what she revealed or concealed. This could be a long scam, with the Doctor, Nurse, and this 'Detective' being scammers that were trying to siphon information out of Weiss.
"Thank you." Detective Tsukauchi said. His eyes met Weiss' blue ones. "What's your name?"
"Ruby Rose." Weiss answered immediately.
Detective Tsukauchi scratched something out of his notes and he rubbed his forehead slowly.
"Hey kid, I hope you know that my quirk let's me know when someone is lying." He leaned back in his chair. "I want to help you, but I'm going to need your full cooperation. Now please, what's your name?"
Weiss' eyes turned into pinpoints. Why did he call his semblance a quirk? Perhaps her brain made an error when translating? Yeah right, Weiss never made mistakes that were well within in area of control.
"Weiss Schnee." Weiss almost growled through closed teeth. Detective Tsukauchi nodded and went back to writing in his notebook.
"You have a pretty name." Mt. Lady interrupted. Weiss only smirked in response. Of course her name was pretty, a beautiful name for a beautiful huntress-in-training.
"Thank you." Weiss said, this time her politeness was genuine. It was a bit strange that they haven't recognized her yet. How far away from civilization were they? Why was this lady wearing such an ugly and form fitting costume? No, Weiss was not jealous. She was a Schnee, and she loved herself.
"Your Japanese is pretty good. Nurse Hayashi informed me that you also spoke German, are you from around here?" The Detective asked.
There were those two words again, Japanese and German. Was that what they called Mistralian and Atlassian around here? Was she in a village that was so cut off from the rest of the Four Kingdoms that they had a different name for languages? That could explain why they called Weiss' Atlassian, German earlier.
"Thank you, and that would depend on what or where 'here' exactly is." Weiss responded. She wasn't going to give this man her whole life story and how her tutors hammered all those languages into her head.
Detective Tsukauchi raised an eyebrow, an act that Weiss mirrored with one of her own. He turned his attention to his notebook and wrote something down silently. It took all of Weiss' self restraint to stop herself from grinding her teeth.
"You're in the Republic of Japan, more specifically Musutafu, Shizuoka Prefecture." Those names sounded foriegn to Weiss' ears. She had never heard of such a place, which definitely meant that she was deep in Mistral's countryside.
"And where in the Four Kingdoms is that?"
Detective Tsukauchi was in the middle of writing something down when he paused, his inexpressive eyes now wide. He turned to Mt. Lady' whose eyes were also as wide as his were.
"Let's see if we can find a map."
Detective Tsukauchi had seen many things in life that could be called 'weird.' Stepping outside of the room briefly with Mt. Lady, he asked a nearby nurse if she could bring him a map, or even a world globe if possible.
"What do you think?" Mt. Lady asked quietly. He gave her a side glance. Talking to Weiss directly managed to disprove some of his original theories.
"I believe that her mind is too alert, especially since she was stuck in a coma for two days." Tsukauchi gave his notes a brief look. "The X-Ray indicates that she's also quirkless judging by her joints, and after looking at her belongings again, I don't believe she may be an illegal immigrant." Her bloody dress looked expensive, as well as the jewels that she was found with.
"The possibility that she's a victim of a trafficking ring has just risen." Or perhaps she comes from a rich family, and she was kidnapped in order to extort money from her family. Except no search warrants were out for a white haired girl, which immediately killed that theory.
The Surgeon's medical report said that parts of her wound were already cauterized, mostly around the edges. Was she one of Endeavor's? Most likely a no since Weiss didn't seem to have a single bit of Japanese in her.
"I see." Mt. Lady placed a finger on her chin. The Nurse soon returned with a foldable map of the world. Tsukauchi took it after quickly saying thanks.
Walking back into the room, Tsukauchi walked up to Weiss' bed and carefully unfolded the map, placing it on her lap. She gave him a weird look, but quietly turned her attention to the map.
"Tell me, do you recognize any of these countries?"
Weiss' eyes darted all over the map, her features darkening. Tsukauchi wrote down a few notes as Mt. Lady easily looked over his shoulder.
"Stop pulling my leg and bring out a real map." Weiss grumbled angrily. Wait what? "If this is a prank, I hope you know it's not a funny one. Did Yang put you up to this?"
Tsukauchi felt his eyes widen as Mt. Lady's jaw practically fell to the floor in shock.
That was not the reaction he was expecting.
Weiss' eyes darted between the two adults in front of her. What were they confused about? They were the ones who brought out such a fake looking map after all. Heh, the names of some of these countries were pretty funny. The United States of America? Who's America? Why did so many countries have 'Republic' in their name? Weiss shrugged internally, none of that really mattered. She just needed to get out of here and find the rest of her team.
"I assure you that this map is real. In fact, it's last year's edition so it should be up to date." Detective Tsukauchi said with a frown. Weiss' lips turned into a thin line as she glared back at him. Yang must've paid them quite a bit of money if this was a prank. "Are you sure you don't recognize any of these countries?" He pointed at one of the continents that the map called 'Europe', it's wording written in neat Valish.
Weiss humored the man and gave the fake map a glance. Nope, nothing on there seemed familiar. Why did that one country look like a boot? Yup, definitely a prank.
"I'm positive."
Detective Tsukauchi shared another look with Mt. Lady. Were they disappointed that their prank failed? Well they should be, it was the worst prank Yang had ever tried pulling on Weiss.
"I see. What was the last thing you remembered?" Detective Tsukauchi placed the notebook back in his pocket. Mt. Lady tried fishing it out, but a light slap to her hand stopped her. "Any event would work."
Weiss bit the inside of her cheek. If they were actors, they should seriously consider going to those award shows Whitley liked watching, but why hadn't she spotted any cracks? Weiss was proud of her ability to read people, it allowed her to know who wanted to be her friend just to advance their own social status, and what boys tried winning her heart just because she was pretty.
Was it obvious that Weiss didn't have any friends before going to Beacon?
"Me and my friends were ambushed by bandits." Weiss said. They didn't need to know all of the details like Professor Lionheart's betrayal and Weiss fighting that rogue Spring maiden. "I remember something piercing my side here." Weiss glanced toward her bandaged side. Thankfully her aura was dulling most of the pain. She should be fine in a few hours. "Everything afterwards is just a blur."
Mt. Lady's eyes started tearing up. "You poor poor child." She looked like she wanted to give Weiss another hug, but a sharp glare quickly shut that idea down. Weiss didn't like it when strangers touched her.
"Do you remember anything defining about them?" Detective Tsukauchi asked, his eyes softening a little. Weiss softened her glare, and took a deep breath. She couldn't lie, not with this man's semblance in effect.
"I remember their leader wielding a sword." Yang's Mom did wield some mechashift weapon, being able to switch blades in its sheath if Weiss' guess was correct. She was strong, being more than a match for Qrow, Yang and Ruby's usually drunk uncle. Detective Tsukauchi remained silent for a few seconds, the light from the fading sun slowly turning orange.
"Please excuse me for a few minutes." He quickly left the room, leaving Weiss alone with the strange huntress.
"I like your hair." Mt. Lady said casually, leaning forward in her seat, her purple eyes scanning Weiss' form. She ran her hands through her long, blonde hair. "You must take great care of it."
Weiss nodded, her pride already starting to rise. Perhaps she overreacted earlier when she was ready to spill the huntress' guts. These people had been nothing but kind to Weiss. Unless they were hiding the fact that they knew she was a Schnee. Still, it wouldn't hurt to be polite in return. Weiss' hair was down, and in need of her daily brush, so she was obviously lying.
"Thank you." Weiss gave Mt. Lady's outfit a quick glance. The fabric looked like it could easily tear. Not really useful when it came to fighting Grimm, but Weiss didn't have any right to complain about Mt. Lady's wardrobe. Her own literally consisted of various dresses and combat skirts. "I like your horns."
Mt. Lady gave her a large grin. "Thank you! I designed them myself. It should help me stand out, you know?" She ran a finger along the outline of her purple mask, which connected to the horns. "Plus it keeps my hair out of my face."
"That seems useful."
"It is."
Any further conversation was interrupted by the return of Detective Tsukauchi, who held a long box in his hands. Closing the door behind him, he placed the box on Weiss' bed, near her feet. Opening the box slowly, the top folded upwards, blocking Weiss' view. Noticing his mistake, the Detective changed the direction the box faced.
Weiss' eyes widened in shock, with a large grin taking over her face. Myrtenaster! Along with the rest of her belongings! Her scroll, her purse that held extra vials of Dust, the tiara that held Weiss' hair in place when she tied her hair into a ponytail, and even dress she wore during the Battle of Haven, a large hole in the side she was struck.
"Is this the blade that their leader used?" Detective Tsukauchi asked.
Weiss shook her head. "No, that's my sword." Just like Ruby said, their weapons were an extension of themselves. Without Myrtenaster, Weiss felt naked and defenseless, like she was missing a part of her very soul.
Mt. Lady's eyes seemed to grow. "That's your sword?! And you know how to use it?"
"Of course I do. I designed her myself." Weiss smirked. Every groove, every Atlassian marking that was carved on Myrtenaster's blade was created to Weiss' specifications. Myrtenaster was the perfect weapon, especially when paired with the Schnee's glyphs.
Both adults stared at Weiss in shock, with confusion slowly overtaking their features.
"Mt. Lady, may I speak to you in private?" Detective Tsukauchi said slowly. Mt. Lady nodded slowly as she got up from her seat. The Detective turned his attention back to Weiss. "I'm not usually allowed to do this since your belongings are still considered evidence, but I'll leave them here in your keeping as a sign of good faith."
Weiss nodded, trying and failing to keep her excitement off of her face. Detective Tsukauchi left right after, leaving Weiss alone with the comforting silence. Quickly grabbing her scroll, Weiss powered up the device after inserting her passcode. Thankfully it still had some power, and she never went anywhere without her charger.
Scrolling through her contacts, Weiss pressed on the one that had a red rose as a contact photo.
'Calling Doofus.' The scroll's screen rang for exactly one second, and the message that came afterwards caused her heart to sink.
'Caller not in range.'
Weiss' hands wouldn't stop shaking, no matter how hard she tried. What was going on? Was Ruby out of range? But that wasn't possible. Unless Mistral's CCT was taken down at the same time as the Battle of Haven, communications shouldn't be done. Weiss' heart stopped for a second. She pressed the call button again.
'Caller not in range.'
Her fingers started to shake as she scrolled through her contacts. She tapped on the one with a large yellow flame, this one named Doofus-who-needs-Comedy-classes. Taking a deep breath to control her emotions, Weiss pressed the call button. It rang for exactly one second when a message popped up on the scroll's screen.
'Caller not in range.'
Oh no. Hundreds of thoughts flew through Weiss' brain. Did her friends leave her behind as they continued on their quest? Was she really that injured during the battle? Did something happen to them?
Weiss found Blake's contact, pressing on the picture of Blake holding a nice tea set Weiss had given her after they got back from break. She held her breath as a shaky finger touched the call button, tears starting to form in the corner of her eyes.
'Caller not in range.'
Weiss felt her tears fall onto the hospital gown she wore. The calls to Jaune, Ren and Nora ended the same way.
'Caller not in range.'
Did they block her? Did her friends abandon her? Did they not love her as much as she loved them? She allowed a soft whimper to escape as she pulled her knees to her chest.
Weiss truly was alone.
Mirror, tell me something.
Heh, the single that shot Weiss' music career all the way to the top. Father only gave her a scowl once he heard the news. He didn't even bother listening to any of the songs, and if he did the lyrics surely didn't bother him. Father probably thought of it as a PR tactic, to use his 'heir' to boost his credentials among the SDC's younger consumers. How fitting it was.
Tell me who's the loneliest of all?
A lonely heiress, what a horrible lie everyone must've thought. Lonely? With all of that wealth at her fingertips? Those lyrics were probably written by someone else, why would a Schnee be lonely? Just buy some friends, she could certainly afford that. Weiss had heard the whispers, how people called her an attention seeker when the song first released.
I'm the loneliest one of all.
Weiss poured her feelings to each verse, the song slowly repeating itself in her head as she stared at the scroll in front of her. What would she do now? Weiss eyed the box that held Myrtenaster, her tears blinding her only a little bit.
She didn't escape Atlas, escape Father just because she was being a rebellious teenager. Her friends needed her, Ruby needed her, Yang needed her, Blake needed her, and Weiss, she needed them. You couldn't spell Team RWBY without the W after all. Something must jave happened to them. Weiss' friends would never abandon her, and she would never abandon them. Weiss grabbed Myrtenaster and opened its hilt, revealing the Dust tubes.
She still had a decent amount of Dust in the hilt itself, plus her purse had several vials that she always carried in case of an emergency. If things truly got desperate, the Dust earrings Weiss wore and the extra vials could be used to create more. Normally such a process was more expensive than mining pure Dust due to the need for an experienced person with aura, but an emergency was an emergency, and Weiss was a Schnee.
She studied Dust all of her life, Dust was the lifeblood of the Schnee family. Grabbing her purse and the rest of her belongings, Weiss took out the IV lines that were in her arms. The machine started making a weird noise, but a press of a button immediately silenced it. She saw one of the nurses messing with it earlier.
Tying the dress around her waist and slipping on her heels that were a little too big, Weiss jumped off of the bed and faced the window with a small stumble. The sun was almost done, she could easily escape into the darkness. Her eyes glanced towards the door, where Detective Tsukauchi and Mt. Lady must've been on the other side. Hopefully they were good people, they seemed like they were.
Weiss shook her head and took a deep breath. Closing her eyes, she formed a glyph beneath her feet. Running her right index finger along Myrtenaster's blade, another glyph formed behind her. She wasn't going to waste dust on trying to break that stupid window, her aura and Myrtenaster could handle that.
Opening her eyes, she released the breath, and the glyph shot her forward, Myrtenaster aimed straight at the glass. The Atlassian metal in Myrtenaster's blade easily broke the window, Weiss' aura protecting her from the broken shards of glass.
Flying through the air, Weiss formed another glyph which she jumped on, forming another ome that softened her landing on a nearby rooftop of another section of the hospital, she gracefully turned around, two figures staring at her in shock from her former hospital room. Weiss felt a little bad, considering how much they 'helped' her, and for the efforts the hospital workers put in that helped save her life.
"Thank you!" Weiss shouted, waving her right hand in the air.
It was the polite thing to do after all.
"She's not lying." Tsukauchi sighed as soon as Mt. Lady closed the door behind her. The hero gave him a confused look, raising one of her eyebrows.
"What?"
Tsukauchi rubbed his forehead. "Everything she said there is true. She designed that sword, she was in an ambush, and she wasn't playing dumb when we showed her the map. Weiss truly believes everything that she said."
Mt. Lady's mouth formed an O. "So what does that mean?"
"It means that either your theory about her being from a different dimension is correct, or she belongs in a mental asylum." Tsukauchi whispered. "And since we can't find her in any records, I'm leaning towards your idea." In a world with the internet, she should have been easy to find.
Mt. Lady nodded slowly. "Or she could have been locked up somewhere, designing support weapons for some nefarious organization."
"True, but there still should be some trace of her somewhere. Doctor Miura confirmed that white is her natural hair color, and while it's not extremely rare, it's also not that common." Tsukauchi remained silent when a random nurse walked past them.
"So what's going to happen to her?" Mt. Lady asked, her eyes filled with worry turned towards the door.
"I'm afraid that's out of my pay grade. I imagine that the government will want to question her themselves, or worse, experiment on her. Best case scenario, she either ends up in a mental hospital or foster care." Quirks were weird, what's to say that there's one out there that could make interdimensional portals? The world had far weirder quirks, All Might's for example, but that wasn't Tsukauchi's secret to tell.
"Experimentation? But she's just a little kid! They can't do that." Mt. Lady raised her voice, only lowering it when Tsukauchi shushed her. She looked around carefully before glaring at him.
"I know and I agree with you, but there's nothing I can do." Tsukauchi looked away. "It took a few favors to get her blood work done that fast, plus there's no place where she could stay."
"I'll take her in."
Tsukauchi's head never turned so fast. "What? Are you sure? Raising a kid is no easy matter, especially when you're a hero. Plus you have to pay for meals, clothes and extra bills."
Mt. Lady nodded with a small smile on her face. "I have plenty of room at my agency, it won't be much, but she'll have a roof over her head. Besides, you're talking to a future top ten hero here, money is not an issue." She pointed her thumb at herself.
That was surprisingly generous of her, a far cry from the rather vain hero from earlier.
"I'll do what I can with the paperwork. I'm the only one working on this case, so I'm sure no one will notice if this is blamed on a random Yakuza family." Tsukauchi pulled out his phone. It would take a lot of favors, but he could come up with some identification that should be real enough to pass even U.A's security system. He had done his fair share of coverups before, and the Chief didn't really care as long as he could come up with excuses to write warrants.
He extended his hands towards Mt. Lady. "So we're in agreement then?"
"Yup." As soon as Mt. Lady shook his hand, a loud crash sounded from the room. Quickly bursting through the door, Tsukauchi's eyes widened in shock. Weiss managed to break the window somehow and escaped.
Carefully running over the glass, Tsukauchi and Mt. Lady could only stare in shock as Weiss jumped through the air, a large snowflake forming beneath her legs each time she jumped. She landed on the roof of another section of the hospital with such grace that only a professional ice skater could have.
Slowly turning around, Weiss gave them a friendly wave. "Thank you!" Her voice was almost drowned out by the wind, but Tsukauchi's ears caught it. W-Was she taunting them?
"I thought you said that she was quirkless." Mt. Lady said, her voice cracking near the end. Tsukauchi nodded silently as Weiss started running without even a limp. She was going to open her wound!
"Well, I'm glad I placed this on her." Tsukauchi pulled out a small button from his pocket. It was made of a silver metal, the red light in the center blinking. He turned around, walking past the confused nurses that gathered near the door.
"You placed a tracker on her?" Mt. Lady scoffed as she speed walked alongside him.
"Better safe than sorry. I have it connected to my phone. Contact someone you trust, we need to find her before she hurts herself or stabs someone." Tsukauchi said. Hopefully Weiss didn't notice the tracked in her haste to escape. He had slipped it on one of the hospital gown's buttons.
Mt. Lady smirked when they entered the elevator.
"I know just who to call."
Ten minutes into Weiss' escape, she started to regret not taking a few seconds to tie her hair into her signature ponytail. Every once in a while, right as she was about to jump off one of her glyphs, parts of Weiss' hair decided that it would be funny to cover her eyes. Stupid wind, this was why her bangs were kept shorter than the rest of her hair! Landing on another of her glyphs, Weiss finally managed to leave the hospital grounds, using her semblance to gracefully step on the concrete sidewalk.
It seemed that the streets were mostly empty in this area, with lights only coming from a few restaurants. Hopefully nobody questioned the hospital gown she wore, but there was no time to worry about that. Without another glance, Weiss started running down the street. A quick glance at her scroll showed that her aura was still in the green levels, but Weiss still had to deal with that annoying injury in her side, and she didn't want to risk her glyphs disappearing midair because she pushed herself past her limits too soon.
A few Mistralians gave her a few weird looks, but Weiss ignored them. Once she was far enough, she could buy a change of clothes using the lien she still had in her purse. Weiss would have prefered changing into her dress, but there was still a large whole in it that needed to be fixed, and she was a bit smaller now. She could always have another one made.
Weiss ran past a man with a bush for a head. Wait what? She paused, her feet practically skidding along the sidewalk. With wide eyes, she turned around and finally took a chance to look at the few people that were still out on the street. She rubbed her eyes and blinked a few times. Yup, that man she walked past had a bush for a head. Another person had three eyes, while another's head looked like his brain was exposed. And another person who gave her a weird look looked like he was entirely made of wood.
While there were a few 'normal' people, there were just as many people with features that blew Weiss' mind. Did someone at the hospital drug her before she escaped? Maybe they were actually faunus and her mind was playing tricks on her? Weiss shook her head and was about to take another step when she felt a sudden urge to look towards the sky.
Myrtenaster almost fell from her hand as her eyes widened. Releasing the breath that she didn't realize she was holding, Weiss fell to her knees. W-Why was the moon whole? This time Myrtenaster did fall to the ground, a loud clang filling the silent street, the full and unbroken moon shining its light down on Weiss' pale body.
Grabbing her head, Weiss screamed her lungs out.
Was she even on Remnant?
"So you're after a girl who escaped from the hospital, who you saved after finding her bleeding to death in a hospital? And she's from a different dimension?" Shinji, better known to the public as Kamui Wood, said through the phone. "And you want me to help you find her?"
"Yup." Yu said, making sure to pop the P at the end. Detective Tsukauchi's eyes darted between the tracker and the road ahead of them. "And keep that last piece of information to yourself, it's classified."
Shinji sighed. "I'll let you know if I see her. How does she look?"
"She has white hair, light blue eyes and a scar over her left eye." Yu replied as Detective Tsukauchi took a left. They were going to split up, until Yu realized that unless she used her quirk to grow, she wasn't going to get much ground covered without gathering much attention. "Let me know if you see her-"
"I'm literally staring straight at her. I'll send you the address now-." Shinji's voice was suddenly cut off by the sound of a familiar girl screaming.
"Kamui? What's going on?" Yu shouted into her phone. The call ended, but a text message quickly popped up soon after. Was Weiss ok? Did something bad happen to her? Did she aggravate her wound-
"Where are they?" Detective Tsukauchi's hands tightened on the steering wheel. Yu's eyes scanned her phone as the address appeared on the screen.
"She's two streets away from us, near the intersection on Ren and Xiao street. Take a right here." Yu said as the car started to speed up, causing her to hold onto the shoulder rest.
"Got it." Detective Tsukauchi as he took a sharp turn, causing Yu to tighten her grip on the shoulder rest as she screamed internally. She wasn't about to embarrass herself in front of this man she had known only for a few days.
Yu's mind turned back towards the young white haired girl she saved, that screamed sounded extremely painful. No one deserved to go through something like that, especially at such a young age.
Hopefully Shinji could keep her safe until they arrived.
By the time they arrived, about a few minutes later, Yu was shocked to see Weiss hugging herself on the sidewalk, Shinji standing off to the side awkwardly as he tried comforting her to no avail. Exciting the car alongside Detective Tsukauchi, she motioned several nosy passerbyers to keep on walking.
Turning her attention back to the young girl sniffing on the dirty concrete, Mt. Lady gave Kamui Woods a small smile and nodded her head. Taking the hint, he walked over to Tsukauchi to clear the area and prevent pictures being taken.
"I'm not home anymore aren't I. '' Weiss mumbled as Yu placed a hand on the blue eyed girl's shoulder. Yu remained silent as she gently wiped away Weiss' tears and pulled her into a light hug. Feeling her freeze up, Yu pulled away with a sad smile on her face.
"I'm sorry."
Weiss shook her head, her eyes looking at the sky sadly.
"Let's head back. Doctor Miura wants to give you one last check up before he discharges you." Yu said softly. Weiss nodded slowly, and grabbed her fallen belongings. Helping her to stand up, Yu mouthed Shinji a thank you as she helped Weiss towards Detective Tsukauchi's car.
"Good job." The Detective said once Weiss was seated, the door closed. Yu sighed in response and waved Shinji goodbye, the wood hero already walking away as he scratched the back of his head.
"I'm sure she's had a long day. Let's get her some food before heading back." Yu opened the passenger side door. Detective Tsukauchi nodded as he gave Weiss a worried look, the young girl staring outside the window blankly. Yu just wanted to know one thing at that moment.
What triggered such an emotional response in her?
Weiss stared out of the car window blankly, her mind still thinking back to the events of the previous night. The moon, that wasn't her moon. Back home you could always see pieces of the shattered moon, even during the time of month when it was supposed to be full. Here, she didn't see the fragments that shone like the stars, only the round fullness of a moon that wasn't her own. She was stuck in a world that wasn't her own, that much was obvious. Now that she had a better view of the outside world, Weiss realized that the streets here looked nothing like the ones in Mistral. Humans, faunus, and others with more extreme quirks, as Detective Tsukauchi explained, roamed the sidewalks.
This world was weird. They had no Grimm, no Dust, no huntsmen or huntresses, and they didn't have any aura. Instead this world had quirks, sort of a more extreme semblance, and they had heroes who attended hero school's instead of huntsmen academies.
Weiss pinched herself. Yup, this was not a dream. After she was returned to the hospital, she underwent one final check up, and was discharged. Doctor Miura was confused why her wound healed so quickly, but dismissed any questions after a brief chat with Detective Tsukauchi.
The conversation that came afterwards with Mt. Lady and the Detective was the most uncomfortable talk Weiss ever had, and that was counting those meetings she had with Father and the board members of the SDC. They asked questions, some of which Weiss answered, and then she would ask her own questions. She didn't like any of the answers she received.
"Are you hungry? I'm sure you haven't eaten breakfast yet." Mt. Lady asked from the front of the car. No longer dressed in her 'hero' costume, she was a pretty woman, most likely around Winter's age if not a bit younger. She told Weiss to call her 'Yu' when she was out of her costume.
"No, thank you for asking." Weiss answered politely. She stayed at the hospital last night since it was too late at night to leave without a place to stay. Yu had promised to come back to pick her up in the morning, after making sure that Weiss wouldn't try escaping again, not that the idea crossed her mind. Even if it did, where would she go? Her lien was useless, she didn't know the city, and Weiss was all alone.
"If you say so. I'll pick something up since we're already out, and you can eat it whenever you feel like it." Yu said as she parked on the side of the street. She gave Weiss a small smile. "I'll be right back."
Weiss didn't respond as Yu left. She didn't tell them the complete truth about where she was from, only the basics. How she was a huntress-in-training from Beacon Academy, and how she was seventeen years old. That last one earned her a confused look from both adults. The doctor's had placed Weiss' age at around fourteen to fifteen years old, and the 'official' paperwork Yu signed for Weiss' release said that she was fourteen years old. Looking at her reflection in the window, that was understandable. Why did this happen? Was this one of Professor Ozpin's schemes? If it wasn't him, did that Spring Maiden do this to her? Magic was able to turn Qrow and Raven into birds, what if it could also deage someone and send them to a completely different world?
The lack of sleep caused Weiss' head to hurt, but she couldn't sleep. Everytime she closed her eyes, silver, lilac and golden eyes always stared back. Her eyelids slowly started to drop.
You left us, Weiss.
N-No! Weiss jumped awake just as Yu got back into the car.
"And I'm back! Sorry if I took too long, the line in there was killer." Yu placed the bags of food on the passenger seat. She turned her head to look at Weiss. "Thank you."
"For what? I didn't do anything." Weiss sighed. She should be the one thanking them. Yu was the one that saved her life after all.
"For not driving away with my car. I just bought this baby." Yu gave her a grin as the car started moving again. Weiss tried glaring at the blonde woman, but she couldn't. Everything was happening too fast, it was like a blur. "Hey Weiss, what kind of snakes are found on cars?"
"I don't know." Weiss said absentminded. Her eyes were busy scanning the strange signs that covered some buildings, and staring at passerbyers that had strange appearances. If Father didn't like the Faunus before, he would have a heart attack once he saw how different people looked here. Some had extra hands, perhaps an extra eyeball, anything seemed to be possible.
"Windshield vipers."
Yu's blonde hair was suddenly replaced with a familiar gold. Weiss' eyes widened at the sight of Yang and Ruby bickering in the front of the car, Blake seated alongside her with a small smirk. The vision disappeared as soon as it came, leaving Weiss alone in the backseat.
"Weiss? Are you ok?" Yu asked, looking at the rearview mirror.. Taken out of her thoughts, Weiss touched her cheek, her tears wetting her pale fingers. Was she crying?
"I'm fine." Weiss said, rubbing the sleeve of her borrowed hoodie that was a few sizes too big on her cheek and eyes, the purple cloth turning damp.
"Ok…" Yu turned her eyes back towards the road. "We're going to my agency. You can stay there as long as you want to. Detective Tsukauchi said he'll come by later so we can talk in more detail. Too many ears at the hospital you know?"
Weiss nodded silently as her hands tightened around the box that held Myrtenaster along with her other belongings, her only connections to her friends. What was she going to do? What could she do? She was just a child now, a child armed ti the teeth, but a child nonetheless. What could a huntress-in-training do without any Grimm to fight?
Nana Schnee always liked telling stories when Weiss was younger. Many of them were about her own ancestor, the Schnee's were one of the ancient houses of Atlas and had a long history. Yet despite hundreds of conflicts or economic crises that came their way, the Schnee's survived, and that's what Weiss would do.
Survive.
Weiss was used to seeing different types of architecture. The Schnee mansion was built using the designs of the old Atlassians given a modern twist, Valish buildings were built with a simple design to maximize the amount of space they had available, and Mistral's designs differed from place to place, but they all had flowing curves in common. When Yu told Weiss that they were heading to her hero agency building, she didn't know what to expect. The buildings they drove past seemed to be a mixture of Valish and Mistralian cultures, with a dash of other styles that Weiss couldn't recognize.
What Weiss did not expect was an average multistory building with two giant horns on the roof. The fact that it was in the middle of the city only made it worse.
"Is that safe?" Weiss asked slowly, holding her box closer as she stood in front of the rather unstable looking building. Yu walked up to her side, bags of food in hand. Another thing that Weiss didn't notice earlier, Yu was in fact, not a faunus despite what she initially thought, the horns were just a part of her costume.
"Of course it is. The repair company did an excellent job fixing the room after that cave-in last month." Yu said casually with a grin. She gave Weiss a wink. "Don't worry, I'm the one that caused it anyway, so there's nothing you have to worry about."
That just made Weiss worry even more.
"Come on, let me show you around and then I'll show you the room where you'll be staying." Yu started walking towards the front door casually. Weiss gave the building one last lookover, and swallowed the saliva that had gathered in her mouth. Hopefully the building was up to code.
Mt. Agency, as Yu called the building, was definitely not up to code, more specifically, it wasn't up to Weiss' code. Not that the building itself was terrible, the structure seemed solid enough with all of the renovating it must've gone through, Yu was just a really messy person it seemed.
Carefully stepping over a bag of old chips, Weiss' eyes darted all over the living room.
"Sorry about the mess. I wasn't expecting company, and I just went straight to bed after what happened last night." Yu said kicking over an empty soda can. Walking over to the kitchen, she placed the bags of food on the table. "Feel free to make yourself at home. Mi casa es tu casa."
What did Yu just say? Casa? Great, now there's a language that Weiss didn't understand. Or was that some type of slang that this world's version of Mistralian came up with.
"Thank you."
Yu returned from the kitchen with a bottle of water, which she handed Weiss. Weiss grabbed it with her free hand with a small nod of thanks.
"So this is the living room. I practically live here since I let the lease on my apartment finish. It's much cheaper than paying for two buildings." Yu said. "That's the kitchen over there. I'll have to go grocery shopping later, so the fridge is kinda empty at the moment." She pointed at various objects. "That's the TV, don't turn to channel Sixty-Nine after nighttime unless you want to scar your brain."
Weiss' face formed a grimace. She knew what porn was, and Blake had several magazines hidden around their room back at Beacon. Yang almost died of embarrassment when she caught Ruby about to start reading one.
"I see." Weiss said dryly. Yu gave her another smirk before leading her down a hallway. Trash was everywhere, with old wrappers and bottles decorating every free space available.
"And this is your room! The door to your right down the hall is where I sleep. Downstairs is where I handle hero business, but feel free to explore. I don't have any interns or sidekicks yet, so you have the run of the whole place." Yu opened the door, revealing a rather modest bedroom, not that Weiss was complaining. She appreciated what the 'hero' was doing for her.
"Thank you." Weiss' vocabulary seemed rather limited today. Words couldn't describe how grateful she felt that these strangers were helping, out of the goodness of their heart it would seem unless proven otherwise, but help was still help.
"Decorate it, paint it, do whatever you want with it! The room is yours as long as you want to stay here!" Yu said as Weiss took a small step into her new room.
"It's perfect." It was more than Weiss should have accepted. She felt bad, having to accept this much charity without being able to do anything in return. She would find a way to repay Yu as soon as possible.
"If you get hungry, the food is on the table." Yu placed a hand on Weiss' shoulder, giving her a reassuring smile. "And I'm here if you ever want to talk."
"Thank you." There were those two words again. Weiss forced a smile on her face, the ones she used whenever she was performing in front of large crowds. "I really appreciate it."
Yu left soon after, leaving Weiss alone in her new room. Placing her box on her new bed, Weiss opened the box slowly. She had a limited supply of Dust, so she had to be careful with the amount she used until she could grow more. Her earrings could be used to create more ice Dust easily, but the other types would be a bit trickier.
Tricky, but not impossible. Weiss was still a Schnee after all, and Dust might as well run through her veins. Carefully taking out her torn dress, she placed it on the bed. Once she was settled in and found a way to make some money, she was going to need to buy some new dresses. Weiss didn't want to ask Yu for money, she wouldn't be that shameless.
Next, she grabbed her scroll. Thankfully she was still able to charge it, but it drew more than a few glances whenever she had it out. It held too many memories to be used in situations it could be destroyed. Weiss would have to keep it in a safe place. Activating the scroll, Weiss' fingers slipped and she pressed the button that opened her music gallery.
"It starts with the unexpected loss of someone dear." The recording of Weiss' voice started to sing. This was one of the songs that she never released, she hadn't even showed Ruby and the others. The Path to Isolation was too personal, too raw to have someone hear. "The warmth that comforted and cradled, just disappeared."
Weiss quickly pressed the off button, her shaking hand allowing the scroll to gently fall on the bed. She fought too hard to get back to her friends, suffered those months back in Atlas, hoping she could find a way back to her team. Did that mean her efforts went to waste?
Perhaps, but at least Weiss managed to fight alongside them one last time. At least she got to hear Ruby's voice, and be able to admire Yang's golden hair. If only she could have seen Blake before all of this happened.
Weiss hardened her eyes, and grabbed Myrtenaster's hilt. Weiss Schnee was a survivor, Weiss Schnee was a former student at Beacon, and Weiss Schnee was a member of Team RWBY, the best first year team from Beacon.
Weiss wouldn't stop fighting, she would find her friends one day. Either in this life, or in the one that came after, Weiss would never stop looking for her loved ones-
A loud growl interrupted her inner monologue. Blushing softly, she placed Myrtenaster back in the box.
Maybe she should take up Yu's offer to eat.