The next day at school, classes passed by as usual. Weiss was a bit more quiet than usual, her voice sounded a bit raspy from pouring her emotions into song the night before, but it wasn't like she cared what people thought of her. The Path to Isolation was a private song, for her eyes only. Not even the rest of Team RWBY heard it, much less knew about its existence. No, that song would remain a secret for as long as Weiss lived. The class divided up as soon as the school day officially ended, with the more serious students sharpening their quirks and minds.

Weiss would have loved to do the same, but she had to balance that personal training with dealing with Hatsume in the Development Studio, her new weapon was coming along nicely aside from the few new lumps Hatsume had growing on her head, courtesy of Mr. Power Loader's thrown wrenches. And now she had to attend something that she was already starting to regret.

Therapy.

The white haired idol found herself standing in front of another door like the day before, except this time this one led to the counselor's room. Who was behind that door? She wished she knew the answer. If people back on Remnant, Weiss was sure she would have been Mantle's laughingstock. Is Weiss Schnee not able to push her emotions down? To conceal them and not attract any Grimm? It would have been on every tabloid in all Four Kingdoms.

Raising her left hand slowly, Weiss gently knocked on the door, carefully preparing her mask. Smile, don't let the quack know what she was really thinking, and most important of all, do not reveal anything about her true origin. Nobody, aside from Yu and Detective Tsukauchi, should know the truth. Her lungs took in a deep breath, filling themselves with air, and she opened the door upon her exhale.

Quickly entering and closing the door behind her in case anyone saw, Weiss finally got a good look of the counseling room. It looked the exact same as Principal Nezu's office, albeit less decorated. A rather comfortable looking chair faced another longer chair that someone could lay on, with two couches in the center of the room facing each other, a coffee table sitting in between them. What caught Weiss' attention however, was not the furniture or the pile of dog treats sitting on the coffee table, but the large man-dog that sat behind the desk near the back of the room.

A Beowolf snarled, snapping its ugly maw before Myrtenaster unleashed a wave of fire, disintegrating it. Four more took its place, jumping into the burning village. Weiss rotated the Dust Chamber, landing on electricity as the time dilation glyph formed beneath her feet. Defend the village at all costs!

"-ss Schnee? Are you ok?" The dog faunus said, standing a few feet from her.

Weiss' eyes widened, and she allowed her arm to drop, which had moved to her waist to grab Myrtenaster, who was still in its case back at the classroom. I-It moved without her even noticing.

"I'm fine." Weiss said, hardening her eyes again. "A pleasure to meet you Mr?"

"Hound Dog. If you had been paying attention earlier you would have noticed, but you can call me Mr. Inui." Mr. Inui took a seat on one of the couches, towering over Weiss even while seated. That was a rather rude thing for him to say, but Weiss did blank out. "Please sit."

"Thank you, Mr. Inui." Weiss sat on the couch across from him. UA really loved this setup huh, how unfortunate. They really needed to hire a better floor planner.

"Toy?" Mr. Inui grabbed a rubber bone and held it out towards her, slobber still dripping from the pink thing.

Barely able to hide her disgust as her lips curled, Weiss shook her head slowly. "No thank you." That was extremely unsanitary, and just plain nasty.

"Suit yourself." Mr. Inui growled as he started chewing on it, more saliva forming as he shook his head side to side violently. Some drool landed on the sleeve of her blazer, causing a wet spot to form on the fabric. She would have to get that cleaned once she got home. Principal Nezu was much cuter than Hound Dog.

The two sat there for a few minutes, the only noise in the room being the squeaky bone that Mr. Inui chewed on.

"Aren't you going to ask me anything?" Weiss said, annoyance already starting to creep in. Just as she thought, this was a complete waste of time. There are more important things she had to do, things that wouldn't be as useless as this therapy session.

Mr. Inui glared at her, and allowed the chew toy to fall from his mouth, wiping the drool that hung from his snout with a tissue that he pulled out of his pocket.

"Nooooooooooo!" He howled angrily. Mr. Inui held it for a few seconds, reaching a rather impressive high note Weiss had to admit.

"So what are we going to do here then?" Weiss scoffed. What kind of therapist or counselor was he?

"You are going to sit there until your hour is up." Mr. Inui pulled out his cellphone. Was it Weiss, or did his voice always sound angry? "I'm going to play solitaire."

Weiss leaned back against the couch, her eyes focused on the Quack, or Bark should she say, as he started swiping at his phone. He started howling again.

"Hoooowwwwwl!" Mr. Inui stopped and went back to swiping. Well, might as well get started on homework. Except she left her backpack at the classroom. Damn it! "Hoooooowwwl!"

"Do you really have to do that?" Weiss crossed her arms.

"Yes. I just beat my high scooooreeeeeee!" Mr. Inui's head pointed towards the roof as he howled. He turned his attention back to his game. "You should give it a try."

"No."

"Why not? Let's make a deal. Beat me in a game of cards and I'll stop howling. If I win, you have to howl." Mr. Inui pulled out a box of cards out of his costume's pocket.

"Or we don't play and I don't howl." Weiss raised an eyebrow.

"If you say sooooooooo!" Mr. Inui howles again, causing Weiss' scared eye to twitch. "The Ice Queen is scared of losing I guess."

"I'm not scared." Weiss gritted through her teeth.

You're a failure.

"Then let's play. I'll even explain the rules to prove I'm not cheating." Mr. Inui started growling at that last sentence, barking for a few seconds afterwards.

"Fine, let's play." Weiss snarled as she leaned forward as Mr. Inui started to shuffle the deck.

"Now we're talking Ice Queeeeeeeeeen!"

"I'm already starting to regret this."

Time passed by rather quickly, and soon the day of the Sports Festival arrived. Weiss spent her time after school and therapy, which primarily consisted of card games that Mr. Inui was teaching her, finishing up her new weapon, the paperwork that allowed her to use it being approved, and practicing as best as she could without Myrtenaster, which felt a bit weird, but it was doable. Myrtenaster would stay at home for now, locked away in the case next to her bed. Wielding a weapon that wasn't her beloved sword felt weird, almost as if Weiss was cheating on Myrtenaster. She lifted the blunt replica of Myrtenaster in her hands, swinging it softly as its unsharpened edge tore through the air.

Dolt's steel wasn't as durable as Myrtenaster's Atlesian steel, but her aura should be able to reinforce it. Sadly, Dolt's Dust chambers would remain empty today, instead of being filled to the brim with various types of Dust powders and crystals. She didn't need people looking into the fact that she could literally light Dolt on fire, and sprout ice from the ground with the flick of a switch and with some help from her glyphs. Using Dust back at the USJ was already a huge risk. Thought, perhaps she should bring some electricity Dust, just in case she needed to use time dilation. It wasn't as obvious as the other kinds. Weiss grabbed a vial and slid it into her blazer's pocket.

"Are you ready to go Weissy! I'll make you walk to school if you aren't!" Yu shouted, her voice faintly carried by the artificial wind that their AC unit created. Placing Dolt into the new case that Hatsume had helped her build, Weiss gave the unworthy weapon one last look, her eyes scanning each rune that she had personally etched.

"I'm coming!" Weiss closed the case, securing the locks before easily holding over her shoulder, her backpack also securely in place.

"You better not disappoint me, Dolt." Only then shall the imitation be able to gain a worthy name,

"I'll be outside patrolling with Shinji and Death Arms. UA's checkbook is pretty decent when they want to hire security." Yu gave Weiss a wink. "I'll be cheering for you from the steamed bun stand." Life had taken an abrupt turn, with Yu's career as a hero steadily rising. She was famous now, and had more money thanks to her endorsements and commercials that she filmed. Life was good for the gigantification hero.

Patrols and endorsements took up most of her time, which seemed to have combined with Weiss' busy schedule, resulting in the two hardly seeing each other anymore, which made Yu feel bad.

"If you keep eating all of the free samples, you're going to rip your costume." Weiss said dryly, her eyes focused on the road ahead of them. She formed a smirk.

"Good thing it stretches." Yu shrugged as she pulled up near the curve. A crowd was already starting to gather, with reporters attempting to interview any student that walked past. Biting her bottom lip as Weiss started to unlock her seatbelt and the door, Yu reached out a hand and placed it on the younger girl's shoulder. "You know, I'll be proud of you no matter what happens, right?'

Weiss only gave her a small smile and a slight nod. "I know, thank you, Yu."

Yu smiled back, patting the tsundere on the shoulder gently. "I'm sure you're going to kill the competition." Weiss flinched softly, but Yu squeezed her shoulder just barely.

Hopefully Weiss didn't take that literally.

Weiss kept her back straight, feeling Dolt's weight distribution that had taken weeks of preparation, with Hatsume's help of course. The eccentric girl had wanted to outfit Weiss' new weapon with dozens of new additions, all of which Weiss denied. She didn't have time to make any additions to her fighting style, and was already handicapped without using her Dust crystals. Electricity would serve only as a last resort. She would actually prefer if she didn't have to use, as hard as they were to reproduce.

"I still find it unfair that you can bring a sword." Kaminari said, his eyes aimed at Dolt. The entirety of Class 1-A were loitering in their designated room somewhere inside the Sports Festival Stadium. Her friends were scattered around the room, with Mina stretching and Kyouka seated next to the electricity boy.

"This sword is a core element of my quirk, allowing me to control it." Weiss lied as easily as she breathed. "And I don't remember you filling out the proper paperwork to bring in a piece of support equipment." She narrowed her eyes.

Kaminari raised his hands defensively. "Chill out Ice Queen, '' I'm just saying. I'm just saying that it's a bit unfair " Even if he was saying, Weiss was not amused.

"Ha! Ice Queen! Do you get it?" Hagakure laughed from her spot at the plain table seated in the middle of the room.

"He is right." Ojiro spoke up from his spot near Mina. "They didn't let us wear our costumes to keep it fair."

"Then Aoyama shouldn't be able to use his belt by that logic." Weiss scoffed, motioning her hands towards the feminine blond. "But he also filled out the proper paperwork in order to use it, so it's not against the rules."

That seemed to shut the tail boy up thankfully, who went back to stretching silently.

"You're not wrong Weissy, but you could have used a different tone." Kyouka finally spoke up with one eye open. Was she taking a nap?

Weiss shrugged as she finished doing her last minute checkup of Dolt.

"Alright everyone, it should be about time for our turn to enter." Weiss said loudly, marching towards the middle of the room. The room's atmosphere turned a bit darker, which was understandable. The moment the festival began, they would all be rivals for first place. "I hope you're ready to give your best."

"Schnee!" A calm voice said from off to the side. Hm, this was the first time Todoroki spoke directly to her. Was he finally tired of staring at her? The rest of the class stared at the two of them nervously, minus the dog who glared at everyone like an idiot.

"What is it?" Weiss narrowed her eyes as the taller boy walked up to her slowly.

"Looking at this objectively, you're physically stronger than me, faster too." Of course she was, Weiss had been in life or death situations. Todoroki's voice was monotone, as his eyes hardened.

"Whatever you're saying, spit it out." Weiss tightened her fingers into a fist.

"You may be faster, and stronger, but I have more firepower than you. Even though you may be a distant family member of mine, I won't be holding back." Todoroki said, his monotone voice filled with conviction. "I'm going to beat you."

Those five words started a loud commotion, with most of the class shouting in agreement.

"Same here!"

"You're going down Schnee!"

The room's atmosphere immediately lightened with fierce determination, with the majority of the class having serious looks on their faces, from Iida to Midoriya. That only seemed to make the dog scowl even more. Weiss smirked as she flipped her ponytail off of her shoulder.

"I hope you all put your money where your mouth is."

Wait, what did he say about family?!

"I can't believe that you're so shameless." Kamui Wood sighed as Yu happliy ate the free takoyaki she had been given. Give a guy a few nose bleeds and a blush and he'll do whatever you tell him too. Her costume being skintight certainly helped as well, plus her killer body.

"Don't be jealous, I'm hot. Old Midnight has nothing on me." Mt. Lady took a bite of the fried food.

"We aren't jealous." Death Arms grumbled. The trio wandered around the festival grounds, officially working as security, indicated by the lanyards and IDs that they wore.

"Whatever you two say." Yu finished the takoyaki, dumping the cardboard container in a nearby trash can. "Let's get some coffee before the games start. I don't want to miss Weiss kicking butt, and I want to get rid of the onion taste in my mouth."

Shinji gave her a blank stare, and sighed for the hundredth time that day. "That sign says Baked Alaskan coffee, buy it there so we can find a decent spot at a monitor around here."

"Too bad Nighteye's already taken, cause that would've been the perfect hero name for you Wood." Mt. Lady grinned as she walked through the crowd, thankfully without any perverts attempting to touch her. "Do you two want anything?"

"Just get your coffee." Death Arms said tensely.

"Alright alright, no need to get your tighty whities in a bunch." Mt. Lady waved him off as she walked up to the stand counter. A rather handsome man wearing a bowler hat and an eyepatch stood behind it, with a little blonde girl with a top hat sitting next to him.

"Why hello there. Are you a bank? Cause you certainly have my interest." The coffee man blinked, not being able to wink with only one eye. The blonde girl scowled, but remained silent. Blushing softly, Mt. Lady wiggled in place for just a second and placed a hand above her rather generous bosom.

"I'll take a small americano please." Yu said sweetly. Coffee man nodded with a smirk.

"That'll be five hundred yen." Coffee man said as the blonde girl finally got up and started playing with the coffee machines.

"Oh, I'm not sure I have that much. You know how girl pockets are the worst." Mt. Lady wiped a fake tear from the corner of her eye. She could feel Kamui Wood and Death Arm staring at her. Coffee man gave her a blank one eyed stare.

"Himiko, cancel that order."

Shit.

"EVERYBODY SAY HEY!" The image of Present Mic screaming appeared on the giant screens that were carefully placed around the stadium. The sold out stadium roared to life, excitement and curiosity filling the air, along with the smell of sweat. "PAY ATTENTION LISTENERS AND VIEWERS HERE IN PERSON AND AT HOME! THIS YEARS RODEO IS ABOUT TO BEGIN! EVERYBODY, ARE YOU READY?!"

The crowd started screaming again, everyone's combined voices sounding like thunder. Many even clapped along. Present Mic's grin never left his face.

"IT'S TIME FOR THE FIRST YEARS TO ENTER THE STAGE!"

Weiss was used to large crowds, thanks to her concerts back on Remnant and the few that she had here. Being such a well known figure also allowed her to become rather comfortable with stares from thousands if not millions of people. Schnee's did not get stage fright, Father made sure to beat that out of her from a young age. Walking onto the field with her classmates would be the easiest part of today's events.

"T-There's so many people." Mineta mumbled as he waddled behind her, his voice just barely being heard over the screams and shouts from the crowd.

"Thank you for stating the obvious Mr. Perceptive." Weiss grumbled as their class formed up. Class 1-A were the first ones out on the field it seemed. The other classes soon started emerging from their respective tunnels.

"PRESENTING THE CLASS WITH WILLS OF STEEL, THE NEW STARS WHO FACED OFF AGAINST VILLAINS COURAGEOUSLY, CLASS 1-A!" Present Mic shouted, his excited form visible on large screens for everyone to see. A bandaged Mr. Aizawa sat next to him, not even moving an inch or showing an ounce of excitement.

"WE LOVE YOU WEISS!" A rather loud shriek came from a row of white haired individuals-wait a minute. Were those wigs? Weiss' eyes widened slightly at an entire row of people wearing her merchandise, all while chanting her name. A rather muscular person, Weiss couldn't tell their gender from how far away they were, even holding up a large poster with her face on it. Well, as creepy as that was, at least she had more people than just Yu rooting for her.

Forming her idol smile, Weiss waved in their direction. There were too many cameras here to ignore them. "Thank you!" Her fans' screams were drowned out by the roars of the rest of the stadium. This was starting to remind her of the Vytal Festival, minus the invasion of Grimm and the White Fang attack.

Shutting her eyelids tightly for just the briefest of seconds, Weiss took a deep breath. This wouldn't be like the Vytal Festival, no one would die, they wouldn't lose, not on Weiss' watch. Opening her eyes again, they turned to her fellow classmates, many who seemed nervous by the large crowd.

"THEY HAVEN'T BEEN GIVEN MUCH SCREEN TIME, BUT CLASS 1-B IS JUST AS TALENTED." Present Mic continued introducing the other classes, from general studies to the support and business course. Hatsume would be causing everyone quite a bit of trouble with her 'babies', but that was their problem now. With all of the first years now gathered upon the field, Weiss slowed her breathing.

It was time to win.

"It's time for the player pledge!" Midnight the R rated hero held a weird cloth whip in the air. Her costume was more risque than most heros, just as her theme indicated. Yu hated her, with the two women often fighting over the sex appeal fanbase. Weiss didn't particularly care about their squabble, but there was something about Miss Midnight's voice that made her sound familiar.

"That's not an appropriate costume for school." Weiss mumbled low enough to ensure no one could hear her think out loud. Sadly, Mina's giggling next to showed that Weiss failed. Damn it.

"Representing our first year students is Weiss Schnee from Class 1-A." Midnight dramatically moved her arm with the whip to the side. Weiss could sense the lecherous stares from most of the men and women that populated the stadium, students included.

Holding her head up high and with her back as straight as a board, Weiss walked through the spaces in between a few taller students, making her way to the stage. Whispers were already starting from her fellow classmates, with a mixture of boos and cheers coming from the ravenous crowd. Popularity didn't always mean love, Weiss knew that she had her own fair share of haters that wouldn't be pleased no matter what she did.

"Schnee? Well she did place first in the entrance exam."

"Nah, it's because she's an Idol."

"She's so hot."

"Meh, a bit too flat for my taste."

"Step on me-"

Weiss forced all of those whispers out of her mind, narrowing her eyes as she formed her signature idol smile. She had to play nice for now, especially since she would be singing for the halftime show once the third years started competing. Walking up to the microphone stand that faced the crowd, Midnight adjusted it quickly since it was set up for someone that was a bit taller, which led to a few seconds of awkward silence.

"I pledge that no matter the results of today's competition, anyone can be a hero, anyone can do good, provided that they have the will to do so, because good isn't something that we are, it's something that we do. If you have the will to win, to do good, then don't back off, fight to the very end." Weiss' narrow eyes didn't match the smile on her face. "A narrow victory is still a win, no matter what course we're from. Even if we lose, if we push past our limits, I call that a victory." Weiss bowed her head politely and took a deep breath.

"PLUS ULTRA!" Weiss raised a fist in the air, the shouts of 'Plus Ultra' from the crowd drowning out the boos. Was Yu watching?

Hopefully the news station got her good side.

"My my, what passionate students we have." Midnight started speaking after Weiss rejoined the waiting crowd. The familiarity of her voice and the way the R-rated hero sent an uncomfortable shiver down Weiss' spine. The rest of the class flashed determined stares and grins, with even that idiot with the purple hair from the other day giving her an unsure look. "Let's get started! The first game is a qualifier. Every year without fail, many taste the saltiness of their delicious tesrs. Now here is the first game!"

Midnight swang her riding crop in the air, and a holograph of a spinning box appeared. Weiss held her head high as her eyes scanned her fellow competitors. While she knew the capabilities of those in Class 1-A, and a few from Class 1-B, the rest of the first year student body were essentially unknown, an advantage that most would surely use. Meanwhile, thanks to the USJ attack, Class 1-A was mostly exposed, or would be the first to be targeted by the other classes. Jealousy worked that way.

"This!"

The boxes stopped spinning, landing on a square that had English and Japanese words. An obstacle race? There had to be a catch somewhere. Midnight continued speaking.

"All eleven classes shall participating, with the course being the outer circumference of this stadium, about four kilometers." Midnight formed a sultry grin as she licked her lips seductuvely. "Since UA's selling point is freedom, as long as you stay on the course, anything goes!"

There it goes, no fair play. Weiss' fingers immediately tightened around Dolt's handle. Performing well would make Yu proud, and hopefully the rest of Team RWBY, wherever they were. Mina and Kyouka would want to win by their own strength, not just because Weiss helped them, which was understandable. Unless they were on a team, it was every person for themself, similar to Beacon's initiation, up until they ended up with a partner.

Thanks to Weiss' lack of freetime, she should perform well in today's activities. Whenever she wasn't studying for class, writing new songs, performing for an audience, or forcing Yu to train without weapons, Weiss spent a decent chunk of her time training her aura.

Weiss' skill with a blade was a hard one to match, her style being refined down to the smallest step.

"Now take your positions! Show us your strength! Show us your skill! Show us your virility!"

Midnight really needed to touch some grass.

Not even five minutes later the crowd of first years found themselves staring down a large red entrance, with three green lights flashing. Anything went right? Weiss' eyes darted around the students in front of her, not daring to look behind her lest she lose her concentration. Who would be the first to do something dirty?

Weiss placed her right foot forward, her hand hovering over Dolt's handle. A smirk formed on her pale lips. Midnight never said that they couldn't go above. Her height would be detrimental if she tried running, and gliding on her glyphs could work, but there were too many people in front of her.

The green lights started disappearing. Weiss could smell the tension in the air, and the apparent lack of personal hygiene of some of her fellow students, or was that just their nervousness bleeding through.

The final green light disappeared as Midnight yelled, "Start!"

Instinctively a glyph formed beneath Weiss' feet, launching her into the air as hundreds of students started running into the narrow stadium gate. Weiss made it past the wall, when a stream of snow and ice blasted through the corridor.

Todoroki?!

Avoiding the large chunks of ice that formed with more glyphs, Weiss couldn't stop herself from grinning as the creepy boy started running on the side, with various members of Class 1-A hot on his heels, along with a few other strangers.

"Yang would have loved this." Weiss murmured to herself as another glyph launched herself forward, flying last Mina and Tokoyami. Her eyes briefly met eyebags, who was being carried by a few of his classmates. What exactly was his quirk?

Sadly, Weiss was too occupied to continue that train of thought, avoiding a laserstream from Aoyama the pretty boy. Another glyph launched her ahead of Todoroki, ice no longer covering the ground.

Hm, this was too easy, where are the obstacle-

Weiss avoided a large metallic fist, using another snowflake to change her directions, this time sending her straight up in the air. They brought back the faux villains from the entrance exam?

That was kinda disappointing.

"IT'S TIME FOR THE FIRST BARRIER YALL! WELCOME TO ROBO INFERNO, I HOPE YOU ENJOY YOUR STAY!" Present Mic screamed, the speakers stationed in and around the stadium amplifying his voice. "WITH WEISS SCHNEE IN FIRST PLACE, LET'S SEE IF SHE'LL BE ABLE TO HOLD ON FOR LONG."

Weiss darted forward, using various glyphs to avoid the strikes from the former faux villains. Whatever happened behind her didn't matter, especially after the ground froze again and a loud thud sounded out. Enjoying the now chilly air, Weiss pressed onwards. She didn't even need to use Dolt yet. Fighting the robots didn't matter, they were just there to slow them down.

"SCHNEE MADE IT PAST THE ROBOTS WITHOUT A SINGLE SCRATCH, BUT TODOROKI IS CATCHING UP FAST. WHAT A DIRTY MOVE! HE ATTACKED AND DEFENDED AT THE SAME TIME."

Weiss' grin disappeared as easily as it came, a weird feeling from her gut. She felt rather disappointed. Was this truly the best obstacles that they could come up with?

"THEY HANDLED THE FIRST OBSTACLE, BUT CAN THEY HANDLE THE SECOND? SINCE SCHNEE'S FLYING SOMEHOW IM BETTING MONEY ON HER."

Weiss' lips formed a thin line.

"THAT WAS A JOKE, PLEASE REMEMBER THAT GAMBLING IS ILLEGAL."

Very disappointing indeed.

"You know, I'm not even sure why the UA Festival needs security, they have their entire staff here and a police presence! Their third years are basically sidekicks, only an idiot would plan an attack here!" Mt. Lady ranted as she watched a large screen set up on the fairgrounds outside the stadium. Oh how she wanted to be in there cheering Weiss on! But money was money, and UA was paying handsomely for security.

Yu didn't need Weiss lending her anymore money.

"Its not that." Kamui Woods interjected himself. "I believe its about sending a message, to show the world that we are here and that we won't cower before evil!"

Mt. Lady and Death Arms gave him a blank stare.

"That how we know you're a UA alumni." Yu muttered as she turned her attention back to the screen.

"GO WEISS! BEAT THEIR ASSES!"

Yeah, nothing bad was going to happen.

"THE NEXT BARRIER IS THE FALL! IF YOU FALL DOWN YOU'RE OUT!"

Weiss had quite a lead thanks to her glyphs, deploying them to avoid turns to continue launching herself faster. The Fall was essentially an extremely large hole with rock rowers of various heights and widths connected by cables. Sighing softly, another glyph launched Weiss through the air, forming another to continue her flight as the air behind her continued to drop.

Todoroki was performing well, but that did little to stop Weiss' boredom, especially since she didn't even have to adjust her current strategy. Forming glyphs on the top of several rock towers, Weiss landed perfectly, using them to launch herself across the large ditch. Hatsume's 'babies' should be useful for the insane tinker. The time Weiss spent with the pink haired girl wasn't for nothing, her eccentric tendencies aside. She managed to create several pieces of support equipment all while helping Weiss develop Dolt. Another shiver went down her spine. Mina and Hatsume meeting could spell the end for Weiss' mental health.

Still, at least that wouldn't be as boring as these 'challenges'. Perhaps Weiss was being too unfair, she did train much longer than someone her physical age should have, and she had more experience when it came to using her aura and semblance in combat.

"SCHNEE'S WAY FASTER THAN I EXPECTED, WE MIGHT AS WELL GIVE HER THE TROPHY AT THIS POINT. CAN TODOROKI USE HIS ICE TO SLIDE HIS WAY INTO VICTORY?" Present Mic's voice echoed throughout the course somehow.

"Stop picking favorites and announce correctly." Mr. Aizawa's bored voice followed.

"DON'T TELL ME HOW TO DO MY JOB AND I WON'T TELL YOU HOW TO DO YOURS! ANYWAYS, BAKUGO BLASTED TETSU-"

Weiss stopped paying attention to the screaming, and flew past a pair of signs. This part seemed even more disappointing, with the clear ground. There must've been something hidden for this to look that easy, which meant landing on the ground would be a bad idea. Thankfully, Weiss' glyphs meant she never even had to step foot on the muddy ground. She didn't even have to use time dilation.

"-NEE'S OUR FIRST PLACE WINNER!" Present Mic's rather annoying shouting prevented Weiss from doing another internal monologue, his voice barely drowned out by the screams of the crowd. When had she crossed the finish line? She hadn't even noticed. Causing her glyphs to disappear with a dramatic wave of Dolt, to keep up appearances of course, Weiss landed elegantly, and gave the crowd a polite bow.

Time to see how the rest of the class did.

"Miss Schnee's worth is going to rise." Blue eyes with bags underneath scanned the lone first year student waiting for the rest of the competitors to arrive.

"While possible, there are still two more rounds to complete, if she throws a tantrum her worth could drop as easily as it could rise." Sharp red eyes stood next to the taller red blond. The second year business students were busy scribbling their notes into whatever notebook or tablet they were using.

"So far she hasn't thrown one, and she's not particularly known for that. With her current popularity, Miss Schnee could be a top ten hero a few years after she graduates, if she manages to keep the public's attention. The head of her own agency with multiple branches even." The taller student pushed a few strands of blond hair to the side, preventing them from obscuring his view.

"The public's attention is such a fickle creature, she would have to firmly establish herself between now and her third year." The dark haired girl fired back.

"She's already being called Japan's Ice Princess, and her albums sell out as soon as they are released." He handed her a tablet, the screen showing the sales of multiple artist.

"She's just a popular trend, if she manages to establish herself as a legitimate artist instead of an idol by her second year I'll have to agree with you." The girl shrugged, when a third figure walked up to them, holding a bucket of popcorn.

"What are you both talking about?" The new girl said, a smirk on her rather unassuming face, a small bow in her pink hair. "Oh! Oh! Did you guys place bets like Ishigami?" She stuffed her face with a handful of popcorn.

"How cute, you should know that such bets are illegal, Miss Fujiwara." Shinomiya Kaguya turned to the pink haired girl. "Isn't that right Mr. President?"

"It is, and as members of the student council, it is our duty to be examples for the rest of the student body." Shirogane Miyuki nodded along. Fujiwara frowned, but said nothing as she shrugged.

"You guys are no fun."

Weiss spent the next five minutes watching the rest of the race unfold from one of the many large screens located around the stadium. It turned out that the last unassuming open space was actually a minefield, which would have been a minor challenge, if Weiss didn't use her glyphs without touching the ground. After several rather large explosions, the runner ups were revealed.

"SECOND PLACE IS MIDORIYA IZUKU FOLLOWED BY TODOROKI SHOUTO AND BAKUGOU KATSUKI!"

Huh, the green boy managed to make it? With that self destructive quirk of his? Todoroki and the dog must've let their guard down for them to lose to someone so untrained. As much as Weiss disliked the dog, she had to admit that he had some skill. Not Beacon or even combat school level, but decent enough among UA students.

"SEVENTH PLACE, IIDA TENYA, EIGHTH PLACE MINETA MINORU." Speaking of Weiss' number one fan, the short purple ball boy stuck himself to the back of the class secretary. As entertaining as that was, Weiss was more interested in seeing if any of her friends made it, her eyes scanning the other other students that started arriving, many of them staring at her in awe, or throwing nasty glares. That last one mostly came from the dog, who seemed like he was going to explode any second now. Mina ran into the stadium, with Yaoyorozu following quickly behind her, her gym uniform unbuttoned showing her assets for everyone to see.

Weiss turned away and shook her head. She never thought that Yaoyorozu would be so brazen, not that loving one's body was necessarily bad, but the whole event was being broadcasted live. Who knew how many perverts were watching, ogling minors? She received her fair share of messages on her social media accounts. Mina usually blocked them straight away.

"NOW THAT EVERYONE'S COMING IN ONE BY ONE, WE'LL HAVE A LIST OUT WITH THE RESULTS SOON. EITHER WAY, GOOD JOB EVERYONE!"

Weiss loosened her grip on Dolt, but that didn't mean she lowered her guard, the last time that happened Vale fell to the White Fang and the Grimm. She sensed someone standing behind her.

"You were awesome, Schnee! I didn't know you could fly."

Angling her head slightly, Weiss' blue eyes met the green eyes that reminded her so much of Ruby. Midoriya flashed her a smile, with determination rooted in his expressions. Standing a few feet away was Uraraka, who was staring at the two of them. What was her problem? Did she have a crush on the green haired idiot?

Weiss' lips formed a thin line. "Tsk." Without another word, she walked away, aiming her feet to the small circle the rest of Class 1-A had gathered.

Winning the festival was all that mattered at that moment.

"The top thirty two students shall move onto the next round." Midnight smirked as she scanned the crowd. Weiss felt the older woman's gaze fall on her, just for a few seconds. Yeah, that was as uncomfortable as it sounded. The holographic screen behind her showed a list of names, along with a number beside them. Naturally, Weiss ranked first, with Kyouka, Mina and Yaoyorozu also making it to the next round! "Don't worry if you didn't make it!"

Midnight continued speaking. "We've created other chances to allow you to shine." She licked her lips again as she lightly tapped her riding crop into the palm of her opposite hand.

Forget touching grass, Midnight was going to need a whole field! Even Yang would be blushing at this point.

"The real competition begins now, so make sure to give it your all!" The screen changed, showing the spinning box from earlier. "What could it be, what could it be!" Midnight posed dramatically, well more risque than dramatic but Weiss' point still stood.

The spinning box stood still.

"I hope you're ready for dodgeball!"

Dodgeball? Never heard of it, and that was with Weiss' balanced education growing up, not that she was allowed to play sports outside of ice skating and fencing. The body must be as sharp as the mind Winter always said, so any free time she had outside of her studies were dedicated to ballet, fencing and skating among other things. These had served her well, bruises were often a wonderful teacher. But dodgeball? Yeah, Weiss was going to need more information than that.

If the game went by its name, then it sounded rather easy, another disappointment. Pushing down the urge to shush her whispering classmates, Weiss forced her eyes to focus on Midnight. Hopefully she didn't look like a pervert.

"Let me explain how it will work! There shall be eight teams of four, with the top four teams advancing onto the second round." Midnight practically bounced on the stage as an example video played, showing All Might, Present Mic, Mr. Aizawa and Thirteen holding red balls.

"However! Just because your team may lose doesn't mean that all is lost! Should you perform better than someone on the winning team, a panel of judges chosen randomly from the crowd may choose who to advance." Midnight bit her bottom lip. "You may choose whoever you want to be on your team, however unlike normal dodgeball, you are allowed to use your quirks."

That seemed simple enough, Weiss could recruit Kyouka, Mina and Yaoyorozu to her team. Mina's athleticism would work well here in synergy with Weiss' glyphs.

"A team is out when all members are taken out, or whichever team has more team members standing at the end of ten minutes. In the event that two-and-two are standing, the students that still remain shall move on." Fair enough.

Weiss' eyes were already scanning the crowd beside her. Where were her friends? Hopefully she didn't end up with any undesirables-

"And to make this more of a challenge! The student that ranked first in the obstacle race shall be worth more! Should they be taken out, their opponents shall advance no matter how many are standing on their team!" Midnight's eyes met Weiss' own, the risque woman flashing Weiss a wink. As soon as the words left that insufferable woman's lips, Weiss felt the gaze of everyone on her.

Well, she did kinda ask for this. Still, at least that could make this dull affair interesting, as unfair as it was for her potential teammates. With her skills and experience, Weiss was sure that not even such a handicap would be able to do much. Her glyphs would be able to grant her victory.

"You have fifteen minutes to form your teams!"

Perfect, that would be just enough time to-

The space around her had suddenly become barren, with most of her fellow first years avoiding her eyes. Were they that afraid of a challenge? Of losing? If they were afraid of losing, then they didn't deserve to be called 'heroes'.

Smiling as she finally found Mina, which was rather easy with her pink skin and hair, Weiss' smile disappeared as soon as it came. Kirishima, Seto and Tsuyu were already with her. Damn, her eyes darted around, only to find Kyouka with Sato, the dog and Kaminari. Even Yaoyorozu was in a group with Todoroki!

They were all traitors! Weiss released a breath she didn't realize she was holding. Well, there went her entire plan, and team. As much as Weiss disliked it, she didn't fault them for having other friends, and to show off their skills without her overshadowing them.

Weiss stood there silently as most teams formed, groups of four standing away from the others. Stragglers were still trying to find their own teammates. Suddenly, Weiss sensed someone standing behind her. Turning her head slightly, Weiss felt the urge to punch someone.

"I am at your service, my Queen." Mineta bowed politely again. Well, he did well during their hero vs villain exercise, so he would have to suffice for now.

"NO! I shall serve you my Goddess!" The weird blond guy from 1-B jumped in front of Mineta, an insane smile on his rather average face. "It shall be an honor to fight alongside you! To show you that you truly belong in Class 1-B, and not those thieves from 1-A!"

Uhh, these guys really needed therapy if they viewed her that way. Placing a hand on her hip, and using the other to rub her forehead, Weiss started to grind her teeth.

Why did she always end up with the weirdos? Still, at least she didn't end up on the same team as the dog or Midoriya. Ignoring them for a second as her eyes darted around the remaining students, Weiss sighed for the millionth time that day.

"Fine…you're both on my team now, I guess." Weiss muttered, earning her a barrage of praise from the two psychopaths. Now all she needed was one more person. Turning away from her new 'teammates', she nearly slammed into another familiar pink head, this one with dreadlocks.

"White! Team up with me! I need to show off my babies and everyone's going to be looking at you." Hatsume grinned as she invaded Weiss' personal space, her face inches away from Weiss'.

"Back off you fiend! None are worthy to touch the Ice Goddess of Japan!" Blond guy shouted, with affirmations from Mineta. Hatsume, for her part, didn't even bother turning to look at them. She was covered in her support gear from head to toe. Hm, this could work, as eccentric as the inventer was, Weiss had dealt with worse.

"Sure."

She couldn't be as bad as Nora on coffee.

Did Weiss trust her teammates? If someone had asked her that back on Remnant, the answer would have been an undeniable yes. Weiss trusted them with her life, which sad to say, ended rather tragically at Haven. Did she trust her dodgeball teammates?

Weiss didn't even trust Mineta to reach the top of a shelf, though he was good at following orders. Mineta did well during their hero vs villain exam, but Monoma and Hatsume's combat capabilities were essentially unknown. Monoma was in Class 1B, their hero sister class, which meant he should be useful, somehow.

Hatsume on the other hand was from the support course, and Weiss knew that the eccentric girl had next to no experience fighting, unless she counted dodging Hatsume dodging Power Loaders wrenches-

Never mind, they should be fine. Hatsume was going to be extremely useful here.

While the three would not have been her first picks, they were definitely going to win. They had Weiss on their team after all. Only a few minutes remained before the first matches started.

"What's your quirk?" Weiss turned to Monoma, who was basically groveling at her feet alongside Mineta. Hatsume's quirk wasn't exactly built for combat, her eyes being able to see far away. That would be useful if she had a gun and a vantage point to shoot from, none of which was useful at this moment. Coming up with a plan was always Ruby's job, but that didn't mean Weiss was a slouch.

"Your Majesty, I can copy any quirk as long as I touch them." Monoma said, bowing his head. A quirk copier? Weiss discreetly took a step back. She didn't need him exposing the fact that she was quirkless, by this world's standards. Mineta stood right next to him, bowing even lower due to his smaller frame while Hatsume fiddled with her equipment beside her.

"Hmm." Placing a finger on her chin, the gears in Weiss' brilliant mind turning like a well oiled machine. A sardonic smirk formed on her pale face.

"Ok then, here's the plan.."

Toshinori Yagi was nervous, well that was the simplest way to describe how he felt. The World Symbol of Peace and Justice couldn't turn away from the two teams that were going to compete next, his gaze focused on a single person.

His two hands intertwined as his left foot tapped against the floor. Young Midoriya was doing well, even managing to get second place in the obstacle course against a monster student like Weiss Schnee. Young Todoroki and Bakugou weren't slouches as well, but there was something off about Class 1A's lone foreigner and idol.

In All Might's decade-long career, he had met many heroes and villains, made lifelong friends and bitter enemies. Young Schnee didn't act like a woman her age, he could see it in her eyes, the way she talked, the way she held herself when she dealt with others. That's not even mentioning how easily she was able to deal with those villains at the USJ, defeating them in less than a minute, doing so without any effort.

Then she held her own against Nomu, who was able to match his speed, and she got away without even a scratch. She fought like a pro hero, with years of experience under her belt.

"I hope you're right." Toshinori mumbled under his breath as he leaned back on the couch in the luxury teacher suite from where he watched the competitions. Principal Nezu said not to worry, but that was easier said than done.

After all, Miss Schnee was living proof that All For One was out there, somewhere. But enough of that for a moment! Toshinori stirred in his seat.

Young Midoriya's team was going first.

The first round passed by rather quickly in Mina's opinion. Midoriya and his team narrowly managed to pull a victory against a team composed mostly of 1B students. Too bad Aoyama was replaced by the judges with that steel guy, that must've really sucked.

"NEXT UP SHALL BE TEAM TWO VS TEAM FOUR." Present Mic screamed through the speakers. Mina felt a large grin form on her face as she bounced on the balls of her heels. The last team she wanted to face was the one that had Weissy in it.

She loved the white haired tsundere, platonically, but she really needed to open up to other people. Plus that was payback for ignoring them the first couple weeks of school, Kyouka agreed to the plan in a heartbeat, while Momo was a bit harder to convince, but it worked out in the end!

"Let's go guys." Kirishima said, flexing one of his arms with a determined look on his face. "We can't let our Ice Ace show us up."

"I think she can do that just by standing there. I feel bad for the team that's going against her." Seto shook his head as they walked to the makeshift dodgeball court that Cementoss made.

"I agree, ribbit, but at least we don't have that handicap." Asui added.

"Yup." Mina popped her p as she stretched her arms. This was going to be so much fun! Giving team four a glance caused her grin to drop just for one second.

That was Kyouka's team, not that it mattered much, they would always be friends, win or lose, but that could only mean one thing.

They were going up against Bakugou.

Maybe she should have joined Weissy's team.

"REMEMBER THAT THE ONLY WAY TO GET SOMEONE OUT IS TO HIT THEM WITH RHE BALL, NOT MURDER. AND STAY ON YOUR SIDE PLEASE!"

"Ok guys, with each round that passes the chances of us facing Schnee grows higher." Itsuka placed a hand on her hip, meeting the eyes of the three that had joined her team. Shoji from Class 1A was a perfect addition, with his quirk essentially being made for dodgeball. His extra arms just multiplied their firepower, along with her own. Ignoring the sound of explosions and screaming coming from the court, she kept speaking. "Thanks to the handicap her team has, all we have to do is to get Schnee out, so Shoji and Reiko will focus on her."

Pony nodded, excitement practically written all over her face. Itsuka gave her a warm smile. The American was a big fan of the Ice Princess, especially since she recorded her songs in multiple languages which was rather nice and thoughtful. Of course, that was most likely another way to maximize profits, but Pony was happy since it allowed her to practice her Japanese.

Reiko shrugged, but she didn't disagree with the plan, looking bored as always. The end of one of Shoji's appendages formed into a mouth.

"Thank you for inviting me. We may be from different classes, but here we shall be on the same team, aiming for victory." Shoji said, his voice serious. "But with teamwork, I'm confident that we will be able to win."

"Yeah!" Itsuka and Pony grinned as they raised their fist in the air. Reiko still seemed impassive as her lips finally started to move.

"What they said."

Weiss' ice blue eyes casually scanned the current match that was going on, her boredom starting to reach its peak. Though seeing Mina running from the dog's explosions while screaming almost brought a smile to her mouth, almost. Crossing her arms, her eyes turned to the other teams that were waiting for their turn. There was Todoroki and Yaoyorozu's team, the team with that arrogant guy with purple hair, and a team full of 1B girls, plus Shoji.

Todoroki's team would be the hardest to defeat no doubt, with his quirk essentially allowing him to control the battlefield much easier than Weiss could thanks to her Dust limitations. The other two teams would be child's play. That didn't mean that victory was guaranteed though, especially with the handicap. All it took was one person, one ball, getting lucky enough to land a hit on her. The plan she came up with was risky, but if it worked, then victory would be all but assured.

The dog threw a ball as hard as he could, an explosion coming from his fingertips, hitting Kirishima, who was too slow in the face. Seto was already out, leaving Mina and Tsuyu as the last ones standing on their team. Twisting her body at the last second, the pink fiend dodged an attack from Sato, and threw her own ball, hitting the idiot who kept blicking her view in the classroom, in the chest.

This looked like it was going to be close, they just needed to survive the dog, and get one more person out.

"White! I need you to wear one of my babies!" Hatsume slid up into Weiss' personal space. She had a large grin on her face, her eyes wandering around the stadium. Weiss could already sense Mineta and Monoma getting ready to argue with the mad inventor.

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because I said so, and we already discussed the plan."

"I'm willing to give you ninety-ten custody, the ten being yours."

"No, just no."

"That looks like it's gotta hurt." Itsuka commented just as the girl from 1A with the frog quirk used her tongue to slam a ball straight into the girl with the short hair from the opposing team. She got back up with a ball shaped red mark on her face.

"TIE, BOTH STANDING MEMBERS OF TEAM TWO AND FOUR SHALL MOVE ONTO THE NEXT ROUND!" Present Mic announced, causing the pink girl to start cheering while the angry blond guy started screaming again. "TEAM THREE AND FIVE GET READY, YOU'RE GOING NEXT."

"Let's go guys, that's us." Itsuka said with a grin, flashing the rest of her team a thumbs up. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Schnee's team starting to move as well, just as Itsuka guessed. "Looks like everyone's going to be watching our match, even if they weren't paying attention before."

Schnee was a popular idol after all, and the UA Sports festival was as big as the former Olympic in Japan, which basically spelled millions of people watching their performance. Pony gave her a nervous smile upon hearing the loud cheers and boos.

"Win or lose, let's do our best! Plus ultra!"

"Plus ultra." Reiko said boredly waving her hands sarcastically.

"LET ME EXPLAIN THE RULES ONE MORE TIME SINCE SOMEONE KEEPS TRYING TO KILL PEOPLE, AND BY SOMEONE I MEAN YOU BAKUGOU, CHILL OUT MAN." Present Mic shouted, which caused Itsuka to laugh. Cementoss had to repair the shattered dodgeball court after the angry blond boy blew up a large chunk of it. "STAY ON YOUR SIDE OF THE COURT, IF YOU'RE HIT WITH A BALL YOU'RE OUT, CATCHING IT DOESN'T TAKE SOMEONE OUT, AND TRY NOT TO KILL EACH OTHER, WE HAVE KIDS WATCHING. OH AND ONLY USE THE BALLS THAT ARE ON YOUR SIDE, SO NO STEALING UNLESS THEY'RE ON YOUR HALF."

Schnee stood in the middle of their side of the court, with boredom written all over her pretty face. She was shorter than Itsuka expected, but she was prettier in person when compared to the photos of her online.

Monoma, how he managed to get on Schnee's team Itsuka will never know, stood a few feet away from Schnee's right, his blond hair now composed of a bunch of purple balls.

The other guy on their team was being carried by the girl with dreadlocks, her boots allowing her to float a few inches off of the ground.

"Do ya think I could get her autograph after this?" Pony said in accented Japanese, her smile even more nervous by now.

"Well, she did give Komori one, so maybe if you ask nicely once the festival is over?" Itsuka suggested locking eyes with the Idol of UA. All they needed was to hit her, just one ball and they would make it to the next round.

"Yeah!" Pony held her arms out as the countdown started. Soon, eighty balls would be dropped onto the court, and chaos would reign.

Itsuka narrowed her eyes, even as Schnee somehow even looked more bored, while Monoma only started to laugh maniacally.

4

Itsuka's hands started to enlarge and her breath started to slow.

3

Monoma and the purple guy started to reach for their heads.

2

Schnee grabbed her sword from her side, aiming the point straight up in the air.

1

The balls were launched onto the court, and Itsuka ran, her hands up to shield her from any balls thrown her way.

It was time to show the world what she was made of!

In her haste to throw as many dodgeballs as possible towards Schnee, in hopes of one landing on the Ice Princess, Itsuka failed to notice one thing. Taking a step back and using her right hand to catch a ball that Monoma had thrown, she felt that something was wrong, even as Reiko sent a dozen balls flying straight in the air towards the other team.

Each balm was intercepted by a black snowflake, and flown towards the back of Schnee's side of the court. Attempting to throw the ball she caught, nothing left her hands. Quickly flipping her palm upwards, her teal eyes widened in shock.

A purple ball was stuck to her. Quickly glancing around the court and holding her hands up to block another shot, this time from the short boy and the pink girl, Itsuka cursed herself internally.

Those purple balls littered their side of the court, with some even on Reiko's, Pony's, and Shoji's clothing, but that wasn't what caught Itsuka's attention.

"Where are the dodgeballs?" Itsuka's eyes darted towards the opposite side of the court as a huge wall of black snowflakes with dodgeballs formed, with Weiss not even having moved an inch. All eighty balls floated in the air casually, as Schnee finally stopped looking bored, a sardonic smirk forming on her face.

Schnee aimed her sword towards Itsuka's team, and a shiver went down the orange haired girl's spine. The black snowflakes turned white, shimmering and reflecting the sunlight, looking as if Schnee summoned them out of some magic portal. The balls started to rotate as Schnee opened her mouth to speak.

"GATES OF ATLAS!"

That was the last thing Itsuka heard before a dozen balls knocked her unconscious.

"DAMN IT SCHNEE, WE JUST SAID DON'T MURDER ANYONE! ANYWAYS, TEAM FIVE IS THE WINNER BY A COMPLETE KNOCK OUT! THEY'RE ALL MOVING ONTO THE NEXT ROUND." Present Mic shouted as several paramedics rushed out with stretchers. Now that earned a light laugh from the lone occupant in the room.

Golden eyes stared at the short white haired girl displayed on the large screen, the one that had utterly decimated the other team, in less than five minutes at that, and the majority of those five minutes were used just to hoard enough balls to knock the other team unconscious in one attack. Was it unorthodox? A bit, but it did work out in the end.

Full pink lips formed a lazy smirk as she leaned back against the luxurious couch that the organizer of the UA festival had so graciously moved into her private suite, her ears wiggling as she felt her body relax. It's been a few years since she had been in Japan, but the young woman would much rather enjoy watching the competition in peace instead of being swarmed by her fans in the bleachers. Plus, this was technically a work trip as she finished setting up their new hero agency in the area. And what was a better way of setting up in the area by having a rival idol intern with her? By turning said rival into a sidekick and eventually a full hero, they could gain a new face for the brand.

"So you're the one cutting into our profits in Japan and America." Her tails swang from side to side as her mind went to work just as the next two teams started fighting. She wasn't interested in them, though Endeavor's boy seemed quite powerful, sending him an invitation for an internship would be a waste of time since he would just follow daddy dearest. No, she was here for one reason, and only one reason.

Stretching her legs like a cat, which were covered by skin tight pants, and running a perfectly manicured hand through her luscious blonde hair, Ahri grinned as her eyes remained focused on Weiss Schnee, who soon disappeared from view with the rest of her misfit team.

"She's so cute."

Weiss smirked from the sidelines as Todoroki's team completely destroyed the arrogant purple hair guy's team. The half and half boy completely iced their side of the court, causing them to slip and slide until they were all finally picked off one by one. It wasn't his fault that he was outmatched by arguably one of the strongest students in the hero course.

And Yaoyorozu did ok she supposed, mostly just standing there following whatever orders were given to her by creepy Todoroki. Distant family member? Really? Was that why he kept staring at her in class? Her blue eyes gave the teams that also made it to the next round a glance. Todoroki and the dog would be her biggest challenges, the others not so much.

Mina was good, but she wasn't a decent fighter yet, and Yaoyorozu took too long to come up with a plan. Everyone else should be easy enough, with some strategy of course. Weiss wasn't going to stomp onto the court and fight someone that could freeze her with a touch of his hand head on, no she was going to have to fight smarter not harder.

All it took was one misstep, and everything would come crashing down, like the Vytal Festival. Weiss' eyes darted around the stadium, her hand on Dolt's hilt. That wouldn't happen again, not on her watch. She ignored Hatsume's mumbling as she hastily worked on one of her machines to Weiss' right. The other two idiots were happily chatting while giving her glances.

"Jeez Weiss, you destroyed them." A familiar voice came from her left, who just so happened to be Kyouka, resting a bag of ice against her now black eye.

"Aren't you glad you weren't on their team?" Weiss said dryly as she turned attention back to the roaring crowd. "And why haven't you been checked out by Recovery Girl?"

"She's busy with the people you knocked unconscious, and the burns from Bakugou's explosions. I'll have my turn soon anyways." Kyouka shrugged with a wince. "Congrats on making it to the next round."

"Was there ever any doubt?" Weiss smirked as she angled her head ever so slightly. She was still mad that her friends ditched her.

"None actually, Mina and I already know you're the best in the class, somehow." Kyouka stood next to her and gave Weiss a smile. "We just wanted you to open up, make some friends and meet new people."

Kyouka stretched her neck to view the rest of Weiss' team. "Our plan seems to have worked in the end."

"I hate you."

"I love you too, now go and beat everyones ass so I can feel like I won through you." Kyouka smirked. Weiss tightened her grip on Dolt as she met her friend's eyes, her own blue ones narrow and serious.

"Please, you do know who you're talking to right?"

"WOOOO! YOU GO WEISS!" Yu shouted, raising a cup of water in the air, spilling a few drops onto her costume. Yu had to admit, she had been extremely nervous about Weiss competing. Not as in, nervous that Weiss was going to do bad, especially with all that extra training she did after school, but rather, nervous about how Weiss would react should she lose a match.

She wasn't blind to the fact that Weiss was arrogant, but the younger girl backed up that arrogance with such skill and power that Yu had completely forgotten about it.

"I'm so glad I didn't go to school with her." Yu heard Shinji shiver next to her. Along with Death Arms, they had been watching intently, cheering on her ward. "I'm sure some of them ended up with concussions."

"Hey, a win is a win." Yu shrugged as she sat back down in the plastic chair she had claimed. "Everyone should be going above and beyond, Plus Ultra! As you UA nerds always say."

"Quiet, Endeavor's kid is next." Death Arms interjected himself into the conversation. Ah yes, the son of Japan's number two hero, second only to All Might.

The screen showed a scarred boy, with red and white hair.

"He's kinda cute." Yu grinned. Now she had ammunition to tease Weiss with once this was all over.

Now if she could only get more free snacks.

After the final dodgeball match, Present Mic announced that there would be a break for lunch, enough time for students and spectators to fill their bellies and to rest up for the final part of the competition. Sadly, Weiss found herself swarmed by a horde of students as soon as she stepped out of the stadium. Thankfully Mina managed to redeem herself by launching a rescue mission with Kyouka, Yaoyorozu and Kaminari's help, thus saving Weiss from breaking her image of the perfectly polite Ice Queen. Apparently Mineta got caught up in the crowd due to his shorter status, and couldn't make it.

Thankfully, the cafeteria UA had set up nearby for the students proved to be Weiss' refuge as she carefully measured a spoonful of rice. She needed to perform at her best if she wanted to win. Today's lunch proved to be the weirdest one yet. While she normally sat with Mina, Kyouka, Mineta and occasionally Yaoyorozu, Weiss now found that half the class wanted a seat at the table, those blood sucking parasites.

"If I had known you were going to do that, I would've been the first in line to join your team, Schnee." Kaminari said from his spot besides Kyouka, rarely being separated from the musician.

"Lucky me." Weiss answered dryly, taking in another spoonful of rice afterwards. She pointed her spoon at everyone she knew that sat with her. "You're all traitors, especially you three." She gave Mina and Kyouka a glare, while Yaoyorozu only blushed softly as they ate.

"Who knew that Mineta was the most reliable person here?" Weiss mumbled, which earned her a round of laughter from the table. It wasn't a lie, despite his rather creepy obsession with her, the short boy did well during the training exercise weeks ago, and his quirk allowed them to trick the opposing team, all while disabling them.

Perhaps she had judged him too quickly-

Weiss' eyes widened mid bite as she balled her free hand into a fist. W-Was she acting the same she did when she first arrived at Beacon? No, that was impossible! She was a different person now, a better one. She wasn't the same old Schnee that treated others as beneath her, right?

That thought made her stomach feel as if someone dropped a rock in it, placing her spoon back onto her tray.

"Excuse me." She stood up abruptly, grabbing her tray, causing Kyouka and Mina to turn to look at her.

"Are you ok, Weissy? Don't be maaaad." Mina grinned as she waved her hands. Kyouka nodded in agreement as she stuffed a steamed carrot in her mouth.

"I'm not mad, I just need to think." Weiss answered flatly, forming one of her idol smiles. "Enjoy your meal." She left without another word, walking through the crowd that kept talking loudly.

She swore someone called her a b, but Weiss' mind was too distracted to care.

Was she truly regressing to the way she used to be? Sure she might be mean to people sometimes, defensive too, but she didn't actually look down on anyone right? Well, except maybe for the dog, but that was his own fault for being the biggest asshole Weiss had ever met, here and on Remnant.

Leaving her tray at the cleaning section, Weiss found herself walking towards the entrance, when a faunus, uh, the girl with blonde hair and horns from the opposing team. Her hands were hidden behind her back.

"Hiya!" She grinned, bowing deeply, causing Weiss to take a step back to avoid being poked by her horns. "You were so awesome out there! Oh, I'm Pony by the way."

At least she was brave enough to speak to Weiss directly, unlike those hangerons.

"Thank you." Weiss' idol smile remained on. "You did well too, you almost got me with one of your horns." A lie, she had seen it coming a mile away. Oh, she was doing it again wasn't she…

Pony blushes as she finally revealed what she had hidden behind her back, extending her arms as she bowed her head.

"Can I please have your autograph!? I love you, your music and the message that you spread!" Pony shouted in fluent English, though Weiss couldn't tell the kind of accent she had. Blinking slowly, Weiss turned to the album in her hand.

The English version of the Yellow album, with songs such as I Burn, Ignite, and Armed and Ready. At least Pony was respectful, and that was good enough in Weiss' book.

Plus, she did kinda knock the girl unconscious when she shouted Gate of Atlas.

"Sure." Weiss took the album gently and reached for her pocket, only to remember that she didn't have a pen or pencil on her. Damn it! She should've been more prepared. She turned to the thinning crowd behind her.

"Does anyone happen to have a mark-"

A dozen pens and pencils were already out before Weiss even finished her sentence. She grabbed a marker at random, resulting in cheering and awing.

"Thank you." Weiss turned back to Pony, whos's face was turning an even deeper shade of red. She started writing.

"To Pony?" Weiss started speaking in English, giving Pony a wink. English seemed to be her original language, so that's what Weiss was going to use.

"T-Tsunotori."

"To Pony Tsunotori, keep moving forward, love, Weiss Schnee, your number one fan." Weiss drew a heart. Yeah, that should be a good enough apology for almost giving her a concussion. After returning the marker back to its owner, Weiss handed the album back to the English speaking girl, who received it with shaking hands.

"T-Thank you so much! I'll be cheering for you!" Pony bowed repeatedly as she held the album close to her chest.

"No, thank you for being my fan." Weiss smiled sincerely. Maybe she should try being nicer to people.

Sadly, their conversation was interrupted by the footsteps of another person that walked up to them.

"Schnee." Todoroki said, his mismatched eyes were hard and serious. "Can I have a moment to speak to you?"

"You're speaking right now aren't you." Weiss said, her annoyance barely being held at bay. What did he want now?

"I mean alone." Todoroki's head turned to Pony and the rest of her fans. They all started whispering. Damn, no doubt there would be dozens of rumors by the end of the day.

How annoying, but it wouldn't hurt being nice for once.

"Very well." Weiss gave him a shrug and a glare, before turning to Pony with a smile. "Take care Pony!" PR skills were such a miracle to have.

But what did he want now?

"Who are your parents?" Shoto blurted out as he stared down the smaller idol, who returned it with her own glare. The two were standing in a hallway that wasn't being used much, similar to the one he confronted Midoriya in earlier.

It felt weird, talking to someone whose music he listened to right in front of him. Schnee's bangs did little if anything to hide the scar that went over one of her eyes.

Schnee scoffed and crossed her arms. "I don't think we're close enough to be asking these kinds of questions, Todoroki. Let me guess, its about that family member thing."

He needed to know, was she related to Mother? Their hair was the same shade of white, and while Schnee's were like a light blue sapphire, he couldn't get rid of the suspicions.

"True." Shoto said plainly. "But it doesn't hurt to ask."

"Hurt you perhaps, my parents are dead." Schnee rolled her eyes. "Is that what you want to hear? I'm German, not Japanese, so there's no way that we're related." She said bluntly.

Shoto paused, and looked away. He didn't mean to have her bring that up.

"And besides, why bring this up when the festival isn't over yet." Schnee took a step forward. "Until this is over, we're rivals, not classmates, and certainly not family members."

Schnee turned with a flip of her hair, leaving without giving Shoto to respond. She was right of course, this was a competition, and it didn't matter how much he liked her music.

Shoto was going to win, without using his Father's side.

He was sure of it.

After that extremely weird discussion with Todoroki, who seriously had bad timing, Weiss found herself back at the UA stadium with the other students. Naturally, she walked with her friends, with the addition of Monoma who kept drawing a bit too close for Weiss' taste. Still, Weiss would try her best to be nicer to people, aside from those who annoyed her or obviously just wanted to use her.

That distinction was going to be hard to make wasn't it.

"NOW THAT THE LUNCH BREAK IS OVER, WE SHALL ANNOUNCE THE THIRD AND FINAL ROUND SHORTLY." Present Mic screamed as if he was at one of Weiss' concerts. "IF YOU DIDN'T MAKE IT, DON'T WORRY! IT'S SPORTS DAY NOT SIT AT HOME DAY, SO WE'LL HAVE PLENTY OF ACTIVITIES TO KEEP YOU AND OUR VIEWERS ENTERTAINED."

The crowd cheered loudly as they walked in. Weiss smiled and waved of course, she had an image to uphold after all.

"WE EVEN BROUGHT IN CHEERLEADERS FROM AMERICA FOR FANSERVICE."

Weiss' eyes briefly turned to the girls that formed a line off to the side that danced in ugly orange outfits.

"At least we don't have to wear that." Kyouka said with her hands behind her head. "Can you imagine if someone tried tricking us into wearing that?"

"I think you, Momo, and Weissy would look cute in them." Mina grinned with a lazy shrug. "We could've made it work." Yaoyorozu on the other hand, looked rather wary.

"LET'S HAVE SOME FUN WITH THE RECREATIONAL GAMES! WHEN THAT'S OVER, THE REMAINING SIXTEEN STUDENTS THAT MADE IT TO THE FINAL ROUND SHALL DUKE IT OUT TOURNAMENT STYLE, ONE ON ONE!" Present thundered, cutting off any further conversation.

This really was starting to remind Weiss of the Vytal Festival, except she would be performing in the tournament, not Yang. Weiss kept smiling as she waved towards her fans that cheered for her, their white wigs and signs with her face making them stand out. She could focus on her…attitude once the Festival was over. Until then, all that mattered was winning.

"I hope I can make you proud, Ruby." Weiss whispered under her breath.

She would make team RWBY proud.

"Now let's draw lots to determine the brackets." Midnight returned with a box that had lots written on it sloppily. "Once the brackets are chosen the recreational games shall begin! The sixteen that made it to the last round shall have the choice whether or not to participate." She bit her bottom lip. "I'm sure some of you will want to save your strength for later."

Her voice sent another shiver down Weiss' spine. She sounded so familiar, but Weiss still couldn't tell why. A mystery for later she supposed.

"Now for the brackets based off of the drawing!" Midnight swang her riding crop as the large screens around the stadium showed who would be facing each other. Weiss' eyes started from the far left of the screen.

Tetsutetsu vs Ashido.

Monoma vs Todoroki.

Bakugou vs Yaoyorozu

Midoriya vs Hatsume.

Mineta vs Ochako.

Schnee vs Kaminari.

Weiss paused when she found her name, the only one written in English. She was fighting electricity boy huh. She gave Dolt, who was completely made out of metal, a look. Hm, this was workable. She finished reading the bracket.

Iida vs Tsuyu

Ibara vs Ojiro.

Weird, most of Class 1A were the ones that made it in, with only two from 1B and Hatsume the lone competitor from the Support course. None of the General education students made it? This seemed a bit unfair, but that was how the world worked, this world at least.

She would dedicate her halftime show tomorrow for those who didn't make it to the finale.

If she won her match vs Kyouka's friend, then she would end up either against Mineta or Ochako, the brown haired girl that was always with Midoriya. Speaking of the green haired boy that brought back memories, there was a chance that Weiss would end up facing him as well, should he win the matches that were before him.

Such a match would prove to be interesting, but that didn't matter because the future wasn't set in stone. The only two she had to worry about was the dog and Todoroki, with their superior fire power.

She tightened her grip on Dolt's hilt.

"Damn, I'm going to die." An exasperated voice took Weiss out of her thoughts. Angling her head to view the offender, Kaminari was already starting to cry. "Ice Queen's going to murder me. I'd rather fight Bakugou."

You're a murderer.

"Only if you misbehave." Weiss spoke up, causing Kyouka and Kaminari's head to swerve violently in her direction.

"Was that a joke?" Kaminari said nervously. Weiss only gave him a smirk in return.

"You'll find out soon enough." Weiss shrugged.

See! She was nice after all.

In the end, Weiss decided not to participate in the recreational activities, sitting alone in one of the rooms that had been prepared for the competitors, with her headphones on. The last tournament she participated in didn't exactly end the way she had thought it would, with team RWBY as the victors of the Vytal Festival, and making Winter proud with her accomplishments.

No, instead everything was ruined. Beacon fell, parts of the Vale fell to the White Fang and the Grimm, and the deaths of her two closest friends outside of team RWBY. Still, at least Mr. Beethoven's several hundred year old symphonies helped to calm Weiss' nerves.

Each string, each instrument, they felt as if they were talking to her, an ode to her joy. This tournament would decide her future as a hero, it would shape people's perceptions of her as more than just a singer. Sure she had a few more Sport's festivals to attend once she wasn't a first year, but first impressions were always important.

Her timer started to ring, which made her take off her headphones just before the symphony reached its crescendo.

"Yang, Blake, Ruby…" Weiss mumbled as she stood up, perfecting her posture as she moved her bangs out of her sight.

"Please give me your strength."

"IT'S TIME FOR THE MOMENT YOU'VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR BEAUTIFUL AUDIENCE! THE FIRST MATCH IS TETSUTETSU VS ASHIDO BOTH FROM THE HERO COURSE. THE RULES ARE SIMPLE, FORCE YOUR OPPONENT OUT OF BOUNDS OR IMMOBILIZE THEM." Present Mic's ever present narration was starting to grow to become an annoyance, in Weiss' opinion at least. The crowd seemed to like him, so what was her opinion worth in the end? Absolutely nothing. "YOU ALSO WIN IF YOU FORCE YOUR OPPONENT TO SAY I GIVE UP!"

Weiss kept her back straight as she sat in the stands, their area set aside specifically for the students competing. She controlled her breathing as she spotted her friend's pink hair and skin. Mina grinned as she waved towards the crowd, as Tetsutetsu the iron guy marched towards the simple battleground that Cementoss created using his quirk.

"This match is going to be close." Weiss said under her breath, though Kyouka, who sat next to her, caught it. Yaoyorozu sat to the other side of Weiss, watching the upcoming match intently.

"What makes you say that?" Kyouka leaned back in her seat casually.

"Mina's acid might not be enough to get past his metal, and if he gets a good strike on her, she's out." Weiss shrugged. It was an honest assessment, especially since most of her classmates were focused on improving with their quirks, and not a particular fighting style at the moment. "She'll have to keep her distance while spraying him if she wants to win."

Kyouka nodded in agreement as she turned her attention back to their friend who was bouncing on the balls of her heels. "She'll be fine."

Weiss was not inclined to agree. Hundreds of hero agencies were watching, waiting to see who performed to the best in order to send them internship offers, and if they didn't do their best, then the less offers they would have. At least Weiss had Yu as a backup plan, but she didn't want to use her friend in such a manner. Even then, she still had her image as an idol that would surely gain her more than a few offers.

Her friends didn't have such luxuries.

"BRING ON THE INJURIES! RECOVERY GIRL IS ALREADY ANNOYED BY THE DODGEBALL MATCH SO WHAT'S A FEW MORE BRUISES AND MISSING TEETH." Present Mic spoke up again as his face appeared on the screen. "PUT ASIDE YOUR ETHICS AND MORALS FOR JUST A FEW MINUTES TO WATCH THESE FUTURE HEROES DUKE IT OUT. HOWEVER, ANYTHING LIFE THREATENING IS NOT ALLOWED."

Cementoss formed a seat made of, well, cement off to the side, but still close enough to affect the match if needed. Even Midnight was on guard, her quirk essentially perfect when it came to immobilizing hormonal students, and people in general.

"NOW LET'S BEGIN!"

The fight between Mina and the boy from 1B went just as Weiss expected. Though, was it a bit mean that Weiss thought it was a rather boring fight, watching Mina run around the iron boy spraying him with her acid?

It ended in tragedy when Mina drew too close to Tetsutetsu near the edge of the court, and ended up with a haymaker to her face, knocking her out of the competition. Now that must've hurt, especially since she didn't have any aura.

"Don't say it." Kyouka spoke up as soon as Mina was off of the court.

Weiss parted her lips just slightly. "I told you so."

Yaoyorozu started giggling politely as she held a hand over her mouth. "I hope she's ok."

"She'll be fine." Weiss shrugged. She had faced worse at a younger age, and her friends would have to as well if they wanted to be heroes. Winter had left her with dozens of bruises, and her fencing instructor often left her hands bloodied.

What was a scratch when a Grimm could tear your arm off? That wasn't even mentioning how her ballet and ice skating instructor punished Weiss for her mistakes.

The way the teachers taught here was practically a vacation.

"TETSUTETSU WINS BY A KNOCKOUT! AS YOU CAN SEE LADIES, HE ISN'T AFRAID TO HIT A GIRL! NOW THAT'S TRUE GENDER EQUALITY." The screens showed a replay of Tetsutetsu punching Mina in slow motion.

The DJ really needed to install a filter, but the crowd ate him up anyways.

"It's time for that other guy from 1B now right?" Kyouka turned her head to the section where their sister class was sitting. Monoma walked past his classmates, each one of them giving him a high five, except for Shiozaki who was also competing.

"Monoma, and he's competent I suppose." Weiss looked away when the blond boy started shouting in her direction, asking for her blessing. He was more embarrassing than Mineta honestly. Now this match should be interesting, with Monoma's copy quirk and Todoroki's superior firepower.

"Does that mean you think he's cu-"

"Finish that sentence and I will end your boy toy."

"MY WHAT?!"

Neito formed an easy grin walking onto the court. It was time to show those losers, aside from his glorious Goddess and Minoru who was a decent fellow, that the Ice Princess of Japan truly belonged in Class 1B. He would make her proud!

"ANOTHER CLASS RIVALRY MATCH WITH MONOMA NEITO VS TODOROKI SHOTO!"

Not even the son of Endeavor, the number two hero, could match the power of most of Class 1B combined. The Half-and-Half boy seemed rather angry, which Neito's grin grow even larger. Did he also know the futility of this fight?

"You're not worthy of being in the presence of the Great Schnee." Neito said loudly as the countdown started. What quirks should he use first? Fukidashi? Kaibara's?

Todoroki remained silent, and the countdown ended.

"FIGHT!"

In an instant, Todoroki took a step forward, and formed a pillar of ice heading straight towards Neito. Time to use Fukidashi's quirk then.

"Boom." The ice exploded as the large words slammed into the pillar, and the fight began earnestly. The stadium was filled with the sound of Neito's laughter as the ground started to freeze, inching towards him rapidly, but that only made his laughter sound even louder.

It was time to watch him ignite!

Neito needed to end the fight as quickly as possible, before his time limit with the quirks he copied ended. That was easier said than done with how Half-and-Half boy was fighting, but it was doable. Neito was amazing after all.

Dodging another fast moving glacier with help from Shishida's beast quirk, Neito switched to Honenuki's quirk and touched the ground. The concrete yard that Cementoss created started wiggling like mochi as Todoroki started to sink.

"HAHAHAHAHA!" Neito laughed proudly as Endeavor's son struggled to get free, using his ice in an attempt to free himself. "What's wrong rich boy? Finally realizing that you're all hype with nothing to back that up?" Touching the ground once more which returned it back to its solid state, Neito charged, activating Shishida's quirk as hair grew all over his body.

Todoroki shattered the concrete around him with a blast of ice, and moved his body backwards, missing Neito's haymaker by just inches. Todoroki countered by reaching out with his frost covered hand, which forced Neito to switch to Kamakiri's quirk, with blades forming from his arms.

"Why aren't you using your fire?" Neito laughed, his eyes focused on the arrogant bastard, backing off slowly. Just one touch and he could match his firepower. "Is it because you think you're better than all of us? Better than me?!" He switched to Kendo's quirk, causing his lands to grow as large as a person on its own."

"Shut up." Todoroki finally spoke, shooting a blast of ice from his right hand. More and more frost was starting to cover him.

"No, I don't think I will!" Neito said dramatically. That's right, get angry, get angry and make mistakes. Neito didn't have a quirk that could stand on its own, so he had to play dirty in order to win. As soon as Neito got into that bastard's head, this fight was as good as his.

Taking a deep breath, Neito switched to Tsuburaba's quirk, and exhaled deeply, forming a wall of air between himself and the ice.

"You think you're better than all of us, just because you're Endeavor's son!" Horns popped out from the top of Neito's head, launching themselves towards his opponent. "I bet you already have a cushy job as a hero lined up once you graduate." Neito laughed even harder even as Todoroki froze each horn.

"Well guess what, Daddy dearest isn't here to save you!" Neito used Fukidashi's quirk again. "BOOM! BOOM!"

Words exploded around the scarred boy. He truly wasn't worthy to stand by the side of the Goddess like Neito was.

"What kind of hero are you? I would say a bitchy one but then that'll insult dogs everywhere. You're just going to let people get hurt? Some hero you're going to be, Endeavor Junior."

Neito wasn't strong, he could never be the main character like his Goddess, but that didn't matter! He would give a wonderful performance and force himself to be able to stand by her side!

"SHUT UP!" Todoroki's half frozen body touched the ground, freezing the damaged battleground as his other half started to light like a match. Touching the ground again with Honenuki's quirk, all Neito could do was grin. Even that much power was useless when the ground turned into quicksand.

Perfect.

"I'm going to be a hero." Neito said with a forced grin, his footsteps leading him to who knows where. They made fun of him in class again, since his quirk was useless.

'How could you be a hero? Your quirk is useless.'

'What villain is going to let you touch them?'

'No hero wants you copying their quirk.'

What did they know? Absolutely nothing. Neito was going to become a great hero, just wait and see! He could rise to the top, even if he had to drag himself there inch by inch. Even if nobody else believed in him, Neito would rise, it was just a matter of time.

Neito walked past an electronic store, its display being dozens of screens showing the same video. A gorgeous girl who seemed to be around his age was sitting in some studio, her luscious white hair done in an off center ponytail. She sang beautifully, with practically perfect Japanese despite being a foreigner.

"It's my turn! I won't be held down any longer!" The girl sang the heavy rock song with passion. "I've waited all my life and finally it's here."

Neito felt his heart start to beat faster.

"It all begins, a chance to win." The girl sang a bit slower before speeding up again. "A dream that's been a lifetime, an endless vast uphill climb-"

Yes! She knew exactly what Neito was thinking! The girl was unnaturally beautiful, even with the scar that went over one of her eyes, as if she was Elsa reborn. T-This gorgeous singer, she was-she was a…

"The day I've waited for is drawing near!"

She was a Goddess.

"MONOMA NEITO WINS BY IMMOBILIZATION! WHAT A TURN ABOUT! CAN CLASS 1B KEEP UP THE WINNING STREAK?"

"Woah." Weiss heard Kyouka mutter, which no doubt reflected the thoughts of the rest of the class. Weiss had honestly expected Todoroki to win, and almost did near the end just as he was about to unleash a blast of fire and ice. That is, until Cementoss interfered and ruled in favor of Monoma after Todoroki was covered to his waist in that weird cement mixture.

Yaoyorozu stood up slowly. "I must prepare for my match now. Wish me luck!" She smiled sweetly and walked away after an encouraging shout from the rest of the class.

Yaoyorozu was going to need a lot of luck, especially against the dog. A quirk, or semblance, could be the strongest in the world, but a bad match up could quickly turn that around. As much as Weiss hated to admit it, she knew that Yaoyorozu didn't stand a chance the way she was now.

Weiss stared at the ruined courtyard as Cementoss freed Todoroki from his confines, and repaired the damaged concrete. Soon it would be her turn to fight. Would she end up like Todoroki? Everyone, including her, thought that he waa going to win.

Could Kaminari pull off something similar?

Weiss narrowed her eyes. The fight would need to end as soon as it began.

Good thing she already had a plan.

As expect, and what should have not been a surprise to anyone with more than a few brain cells, the dog slaughtered Yaoyorozu without mercy. Weiss could only watch with a neutral expression as, well her friend she supposed, struggled to create a shield to defend herself from the dog's explosions. It was a given, especially with the rules and the way the tournament was set up. Yaoyorozu's creation quirk needed time and preparation, and with the rules dictating that quirks shall not be used until the actual match started, she was already at a disadvantage.

The rabid dog essentially blew up the court as soon as the match started, and easily won all while screaming 'die'. His brutality earned him more than a few boo's, which also wasn't surprising. He claimed to want to be the future number one hero, yet his attitude and personality was nothing more than that of a bully.

Even Cardin Winchester would have found the dog to be extreme, and that was saying something.

"Poor Momo…" Mina said loudly from the row directly in front of Weiss. The pinkette returned from her brief visit to Recovery Girl with her usual large grin adorning her face stating that she was proud that she even made it to the last rounds.

"It was a bad matchup with rules that didn't favor her." Weiss shrugged as the dark haired girl was lifted onto a stretcher and led away by the paramedics.

"That's gotta hurt." Kyouka added. People continued to boo the dog as he stomped out of view just when Cementoss started repairing the damage once again.

"BAKUGO WON BY KNOCKOUT AND RING OUT!" Present Mic announced with his usual shouts. Weiss only narrowed her eyes as her mind kept working, attempting to plan her fights against any opponents she may face, with Kaminari being the first.

She wouldn't go all out, that would result in someone getting injured, and it might people start asking questions that should remain hidden, but all Weiss needed was just enough strength to win.

Her eyes briefly glanced towards the yellow-blond haired boy who sat next to Kyouka nervously. As if he sensed her, Kaminari's yellow eyes met Weiss'. She did promise Kyouka that she wouldn't hurt him, much.

Flashing the younger, mentally that is, boy a smirk, Weiss turned her attention back to the screen, ignoring how Kaminari suddenly started sweating violently.

The large screens showed off the photos of Midoriya and Hatsume, their match about to begin. Tightening her fist, Weiss took a deep breath.

She hoped Hatsume would win.

In the end, Hatsune forfeited after thoroughly embarrassing the broccoli boy who reminded Weiss so much of Ruby. Somehow, the insane girl with dreadlocks managed to convince lime boy to wear some of her support equipment, which led to a nearly ten minute showcase of everything her inventions were capable of.

It was rather amusing though, and was more of an infomercial or company pitch than an actual fight. Hatsume purposely took a step out of bounds, allowing Midoriya to pass onto the next round.

"Make sure to remind me to invest in Hatsume." Weiss leaned forward and whispered into Mina's ear. A music career did make plenty of money, but Weiss wasn't raised to put all of her eggs into a single basket. That's why she also did a bit of modeling on the side.

She still wasn't going to cosplay Elsa though, despite how much money various companies were willing to pay her and the House of Mouse in America.

"You got it Weissy." Weiss' self proclaimed manager said with a casual salute. Too bad they still weren't allowed to use their phones.

"NEXT UP, MINETA MINORU VS URARAKA OCHAKO!"

Weiss watched the match from the waiting room she was assigned to, practicing her form with the precision that had been ingrained into her. She had to win, she had to make Yu and her friends proud, she had to make Ruby proud. Casually swinging Dolt as its blunt edge sliced through the air, Weiss' eyes darted around the television screen.

Her predictions regarding this match were blurry at best, with Mineta's sticky ball quirk giving him control of the small battlefield. Uraraka was a bit taller, heavier too, but her quirk wouldn't match up well unless she managed to tag her obsessed fan and ring him out.

Her two classmates walked out onto the elevated concrete, a serious look on both of their faces. Pausing her next swing, Weiss stood still.

"BEGIN!"

Mineta immediately started throwing the purple balls from his head as Uraraka charged the shorter boy. She managed to dodge a ball here and there, but a few managed to stick onto her gym uniform.

She threw a punch, causing Mineta to tackle her in response, grabbing balls from his head and slamming them onto her leg. The two struggled on the ground, with a few nasty hits were shared, until Mineta started to float in the air while she remained stuck to the ground.

"MINETA WINS BY IMMOBILIZATION! HE'S FLYING AWAY BUT HE'S STILL WITHIN BOUNDS!" Present Mic's voice was still loud, even from the smaller speaker from the television.

What was going on here? How did both of her hangerons manage to make it to the next round? Was this going to be harder than she expected? Did Kaminari have a trick up his sleeve?

"UP NEXT, WEISS SCHNEE VS KAMINARI DENKI, I CAN ALREADY SEE THE MEMES PEOPLE."

Time to find out.

As Weiss expected, there were both loud cheers and soft, but audible cheers as she stepped out, marching towards her current challenge with her head high. She arrived a few seconds before a nervous looking Kaminari.

"THE MATCH I'M SURE A GOOD CHUNK OF YOU HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR, YES I CAN SEE THOSE WIGS FROM HERE!" Present Mic started.

"Hey, Kaminari." Weiss said loud enough for the electricity boy to hear. He flinched slightly, but forced a grin onto his face.

"Yeah Schnee?" Kaminari started getting into position, extending his arms slowly as Weiss kept Dolt aimed to the ground.

"I'm sorry." Was all that could escape her lips just as Present Mic spoke again.

"FIGHT!"

"FIGHT!"

Weiss had trained her whole life, preparing her mind, body, and soul to defeat the creatures of Grimm. She dedicated herself to mastering the blade, turning herself into a living weapon alongside her glyphs. As a result, Weiss was proud to admit that she was one of the finest swordswoman there was, as far as she knew since weapons were really varied back on Remnant.

But that didn't mean that Weiss was useless without Myrtenaster, or Dolt in this case. She knew how to kick someone where it would hurt them, and she wasn't afraid to throw a punch when she had to. Yang made sure to teach Ruby and Weiss the basics when it came to unarmed combat after their fight against Roman Torchwick in that stolen Atlesian mech. And while Weiss was nowhere near being a hand-to-hand master, she certainly wasn't a slouch that was going to go down without a fight.

Electricity started sparking from Kaminari's arms as he started running towards her. Weiss took a small breath as time seemed to slow down, and she wasn't even using time dilation! Casually swinging Dolt even though Kaminari was still a few feet away, Weiss released her grip on the blade, sending it flying towards the yellow haired boy even as his sparks drew closer. She already emptied it of her Dust canisters, just in case. She would put them back in after the match was over.

Dolt landed a foot in front of him.

"YAH!" More electricity crackled as it spread around her opponent, and it would have struck Weiss except for one single reason.

The science of this world was largely the same, aside from everything that should have used Dust back on Remnant. Metal still attracted lightning, so Weiss watched in amusement as Kaminari shouted with his eyes closed, all of his electricity directed towards her replacement blade.

It would have been a waste of aura trying to tank all of that, but it would have been doable. Still, Weiss would prefer ending the fight decisively than taking a risk and ending up like Todoroki.

Kaminari kept shouting for a few more seconds as he poured his all into the fight, until the electricity arcs finally stopped dancing and striking Dolt.

"Hehe." Kaminari formed a stupid face as he gave two thumbs up. "Hehe."

Sighing softly, Weiss launched herself towards him with a glyph, her right leg outstretched. She kicked him in the abdomen, switching to her left at the last second, sending the poor boy flying through the air and out of bounds.

"KAMINARI'S DEFINITELY GOING TO FEEL THAT IN THE MORNING, BUT HEY! AT LEAST DIDN'T GET KICKED IN THE-"

Weiss stopped listening, and instead did a curtsey with an imaginary skirt as the crowd cheered. She had to admit, that was rather disappointing. Did he really try to overpower her by short circuiting himself? Grabbing Dolt with a little flourish, Weiss marched back towards the entrance where she came from.

At least she made it to the next round.

Walking through the hallways after storing Dolt and inserting her limited supply of Dust, Weiss didn't find herself in a hurry to make it back to her seat. There were screens everywhere showing off the next match, which allowed Weiss to plan out any potential matchups.

Tetsutetsu would be rather easy to fight, he had brute strength but no finesse. Monoma would be unpredictable, but if Weiss played it smartly she could beat him as well. With Todoroki out of the competition, the dog would be the only one to give her even just a sliver of a challenge. Midoriya's quirk was too self destructive, all Weiss had to do was dodge his attacks and allow his body to break itself apart.

He hurt his finger during that testing Mr. Aizawa made them do the first day of school for Brother's sake. Taking a right at an intersection, Weiss paused since some idiot decided that they didn't want to look where there were going.

"Schnee." Todoroki said in greeting, all of his determination gone. He looked rather sad actually. As much as Weiss disliked the younger boy, she did say she was going to try being nicer. She wasn't that spoiled brat who caused problems during the first semester of Beacon, not anymore.

"Todoroki, nice showing out there." Weiss said a bit awkwardly. That whole potential family members thing from earlier was weird. "Shouldn't you be with the others?

"I lost." He looked away. Damn, she didn't wsnt to, nor deal with the problems of others, but what would Ruby do?

"And, you don't lose the war if you're defeated here and there." Weiss said sharply. "Besides, it's your fault for not using your quirk to its full potential. If you want to win, you use everything at your disposal." She tilted her head to look at his red hair. "And I do mean everything."

Todoroki's mismatched eyes finally met hers.

"You could have ended the fight in one blow if you had used your fire." Weiss shrugged. She was just saying things at this point.

"Why are you telling me this?" He croaked.

"You're in my way, literally." Weiss said dryly. "If we ever spar, I want you to go all out with your quirk." Just being polite and nice, totally not a mean person.

"Why?"

It took all of Weiss self control to stop herself from slapping her forehead or stomping off. Falling back into old habits was an easy thing to do.

"Because its your quirk, duh. You're one of the strongest guys in class." Weiss rolled her eyes and moved to step around the idiot. "You really should listen to my music, buy an album or two." She flashed him an idol smile once she saw a few teachers walk by.

Self control was important, but purposely hindering ones self was idiotic. Heh, if Weiss had a quirk like his then the Battle at Haven would have ended in their favor, and she would never have to be stranded in another world.

Weiss started walking away, when Todoroki saod her name again.

"Schnee!"

Turning her head ever so slightly to look at him with one eye, Weiss paused midstep.

"Yes?"

Todoroki's hands started to shake slightly. "Thwnk you."

"Don't mention it."

Like literally, don't ever bring this up again. Todoroki still made her feel uncomfortable after all that time he spent staring at her, and the whole family thing. She didn't need him investigating and finding the cracks in her cover story.

Weiss kept walking, never notcing the stare from a man on fire who was just around the corner.

There was little Ochako could do to stop her from tapping her foot against the concrete of the stadium floor, her fingers pressing against each other. Her tears made it hard to see the current match of Iida vs Asui. She lost to Mineta of all people. That was unfair, she was clearly winning! All she had to do was slip out of her uniform, even if she had to show off the safety shorts and tank top she wore underneath. She had him! She tagged him! He was floating in the air!

The water she took a small sip from tasted bitter in her mouth. Everyone was out there, doing their best to win, going beyond their limits, and she lost to freaking Mineta. How was she going to get any internship offers now? Ochako cursed herself internally, she needed to do better, even if her parents said that she should take her time.

"Uraraka, are you ok?" Midoriya said from his seat beside her. Wiping her tears with the sleeve of her gym uniform, Ochako nodded slowly.

"Yeah, I'm ok." Ochako replied. Just being a disappointment, losing to who was arguably the weakest person in Class 1A due to a bad call from the judge. She was winning! Not that anyone seemed to care, the rest of the class was busy fawning over Bakugo, Mineta and Schnee, who were advancing to the next round. They would do the same to any of their classmates who made it past this round.

Asui hopped out of the way of Iida's kick, and tried using her tongue to trip the taller boy, but Iida was faster and managed to get away.

"A-Are you sure?" Deku asked, his face turning a light shade of red. He looked away, his cute green eyes focused on Iida's and Asui's fight.

"I'm not sure, but I'll get over it!" Ochako said, doing her best to sound enthusiastic. She even raised her right and squeezed her muscle with her left.

"I think you should have been the winner." Midoriya turned his head to look at her again. "The judges and referee aren't perfect, but if the fight had gone on for just a bit longer, I'm sure you would have definitely won."

"Do you really think so?" Ochako blushed softly. No one else bothered telling her that, only saying that she'll have better luck next time. But what if there wasn't a next time? Or what if Ochako fell behind the others? Would she still be able to get a good internship? Would she be able to be a hero?

Would she be able to keep her promise, and make enough money for her parents to live a comfortable life?

"Yes! Once you tagged him you basically won the fight! Even though he managed to get one of your legs stuck to the ground, Mineta was actually in greater danger thanks to your quirk-" Deku started ranting, which eventually led to him mumbling rapidly under his breath. Ochako grinned and turned her attention back to the fight.

At least someone besides her parents believed in her.

The match between Iida and Tsuyu was over by the time Weiss returned to her seat. The taller boy narrowly managed to get the win, despite Tsuyu's superior maneuverability. The fight could have honestly gone either way, from what Weiss had seen on the smaller screens on her way back to her seat anyways.

Her friends cheered when they caught sight of her, as they cheered for their other classmates when they won their matches. Kaminari seemed to have arrived before her, though he looked a bit lightheaded.

"I didn't hurt him too much." Weiss said with a smirk as she took her seat next to Kyouka, scooting past Yaoyorozu who was now healed. Kyouka's grimace was the only answer she needed.

"Excellent job Miss Weiss!" Yaoyorozu said with a large smile. Weiss smiled back. The dark haired girl had been hanging around with her for a while, and she didn't seem to be after Weiss' influence and the like, she already had enough money as is. Could Weiss count her as one of her friends? Sure she wasn't as close to her as say Kyouka or Mina, but Yaoyorozu had been nothing but polite even with Weiss being rather cold towards her.

Weiss needed to be nicer, Ruby would be disappointed in her with the way she had been acting, but old habits die hard.

"Thank you Momo." Weiss said. Using Momo's name would be a good start, for now. That was a sign of friendship or closeness in Japanese culture, right? Momo smile grew even larger as they turned their attention back to the center of the stadium.

She could focus on being a better person once the festival was over.

"NOW IT'S TIME FOR SHIOZAKI IBARA VS OJIRO MASHIRAO!"

Himiko yawned loudly, showing off her pearly white teeth for anyone who just so happened to be looking at her. Smacking her lips, she turned her catlike eyes towards Dad, who was busy flirting with some lady who had green hair and an orange bandana. Her laughter was pretty annoying, but she was pretty, not pretty like Himiko was, but pretty enough. More people were starting to come out to buy their last minute snacks before the finals started.

The fights were pretty boring, though the most exciting one was when the blond guy blew up that one girl, leaving her bruised and bloodied. Mmm, Himiko licked her lips, only for her to pause. Damn it, she was doing it again wasn't she. Hopping off her stool without much fanfare, Himiko headed towards the back of their makeshift coffee stand.

Reaching under a table covered by a tarp, she pulled out a small cooler that had her name scribbled on it. Grabbing one of the blood red popsicles that Roman had made by infusing drops of his blood and a lot of cherry syrup, Himiko stuck it in her mouth after removing the plastic wrapper.

Mmm, much better.

She walked back out after hiding the cooler once more.

"SHIOZAKI IBARA WINS!" Present Mic screamed from the small screen they had attached to their stand. She could hear the cheering from the stadium, sounding as if she was actually sitting in there.

And Roman was still flirting with that lady, the two of them still telling each other bad puns. Sighing as she held the popsicle in her mouth, Himiko made her way to their coffee machine, serving herself a cup of Roman's secret recipe. She made sure the top wasn't on the right way.

Feeling a smirk form on her face, she practically skipped over, and with a trained precision, tripped, sending the coffee flying through the air, splashing Dad and the wannabe comedian.

"IT BURNS!"

"HIMIKO!"

Another successful mission.

"THANKS FOR WAITING EVERYONE, IT'S NOW TIME FOR THE FIRST MATCH OF THE SECOND ROUND!" Present Mic's shouting remained consistent. "IT'S ANOTHER CIVIL WAR, WITH BOTH COMPETITORS FROM CLASS 1B IN THE HERO COURSE!"

Weiss' sapphire eyes watched with mild interest, she would do well to analyze the fighting styles of her rivals, just in case she ended up fighting one of them. Mineta, as competent as he's proven himself so far despite his rather lackluster performance in the last match, stood no chance against her. His only chance of winning would end with Weiss immobilized by his purple balls.

"FIRST OFF WE HAVE THE IRON MAN, TETSUTETSU TETSUTETSU! MAN TRYING SAYING THAT A FEW TIMES." The boy with the weird stuff around his eyes approached the elevated battleground, fire from the four corners rising high into the air.

"AND HIS OPPONENT, MONOMA NEITO THE GUY WITH THAT WEIRD LAUGH. AND HE CAN COPY QUIRKS OR WHATEVER." That earned the spiky haired man a round of laughter as Mr. Aizawa scolded him right after.

"How do you think this match will go, Kyouka?" Weiss asked despite knowing the answer. Developing her friend's tactical ability should help keep them safe, should something like the USJ attack ever happen again.

"Uh, Tetsutesu's physically stronger I guess, but Monoma's quirk gives him more options." Kyouka answered hesitantly. "If he manages to get Tetsutetsu to sink into the ground, Monoma's got this in the bag."

"Good." Weiss smiled as the fight began. Just as she predicted, Monoma touched the ground while Tetsutetsu turned into metal and charged towards her psycho fan. The concrete started to jiggle like jello, or some kind of pudding, and Tetsutetsu started to sink.

"How do you know so much about fighting Weissy?" Mina turned her head just slightly. That earned Weiss stares from Kyouka and Momo.

"Yeah, you came out of the USJ without a scratch, and you're easily the best fighter in the class." Kyouka added. Thankfully Momo remained silent, a finger on her chin as she furrowed her eyebrows together.

Damn, should Weiss have held back more during practice? She wouldn't apologize for what she did during the USJ attack, she didn't want her friends getting hurt, but Weiss also didn't need them finding out the truth about her. They didn't need to know that she had been lying to them this entire time.

"Is this really the best time to bring this up?" Weiss avoided their stares, keeping her gaze focused on the match. Cementoss was talking to Tetsutetsu, who was up to his neck in cement. Hm, she might as well throw them a bone, since she rarely mentioned her past, sticking to the cover story Detective Tsukauchi helped come up with. "When I was younger, I never really had friends. All of my free time was spent in ballet, skating, and ballet lessons." She left out other details, such as exactly how long she had been training.

Momo nodded slowly in understanding. It felt weird, using her personal name instead of her family name like she had all this time.

"I combined all three aspects from my lessons, since I wanted to be a hero, to create my own style of fighting." Weiss gave Mina a smirk. "Heroes don't just save kittens that are stuck in a tree." The attack on the USJ proved as much.

If necessary, they must be willing to die for those who couldn't defend themselves.

"You're so cool, Weissy." Mina said with a grin, which earned her a laugh from Kyouka and a giggle from Momo. Weiss' smirk simply turned into a grimace.

"Puns are the lowest form of comedy Mina."

"MONOMA NEITO WINS!"

Izuku had never been as nervous as he was now. Not even the entrance exam or the USJ attack made him feel this nervous, though that last one did scare him. Millions of people were watching, thousands of heroes were watching, Mom was watching, All Might was watching. Izuku curled his fingers into a fist. He still didn't have enough control over One For All, but he did have ten fingers.

But would that be enough against Katsuki? Katuski was strong, one of the strongest in the class, if not one of the strongest first years. Izuku took a deep breath as he marched down the hallway that would lead to his challenge. He would go beyond, go Plus Ultra and show the world that he was here!

With determined eyes staring forward, Izuku was ready to redeem himself from that first embarrassing match. He never should have accepted that offer from Hatsume to try out some of her gadgets, which led to a bunch of things that he would rather forget. He didn't even give her a straight answer, his stutter and blush preventing him from declining.

It made Izuku feel sick inside, moving onto the next round like he did, especially since everyone else was battling to prove themselves, going all out and pushing past their limits. Izuku finally saw the literal light at the tunnel as he neared the exit.

It was time to prove himself and to stand out, to show All Might that he didn't make a mistake when he chose Izuku as his successor.

"ITS CLASS 1A VS 1A, WITH THE GREEN HAIRED WONDER, MIDORIYA IZUKU!" Present Mic announced as Izuku stepped out of the tunnel to loud cheers. He kept walking forward without hesitation or stumbling. Izuku started climbing the concrete stairs.

AND HIS OPPONENT, ALSO FROM CLASS 1A, BAKUGOU KATSUKI WHO ALSO PROVED THAT HE ISN'T AFRAID TO HIT GIRLS, OR BLOW THEM UP IN HIS CASE." The cheers for Katsuki were mixed with loud boos.

The two reached the top at the same time. Katsuki's eyes appeared to be blazing with fire as he snarled. "Deku."

"Katsuki." Izuku said firmly. He admired his childhood friend, he had everything Izuku didn't have, or had. Now Izuku had a quirk that came from the World Symbol of Peace and Justice.

If Izuku was going to win, he was going to need as much strength as possible. He knew Katsuki's quirk, and how he fought. Everything he knew about his friend was written down in his journal, along with the rest of the class.

It was time to show the world that Izuku was here.

"FIGHT!"

Despite being one of Weiss' close friends, the bassist knew that there was a lot that she didn't know about the Ice Princess. She rarely talked about her parents, or how life was back in Germany. From what Weiss had revealed, they didn't sound too abusive, but little things here and there always sounded an alarm in Kyouka's brain. Like the whole having no friends when she was younger, and how skilled the Idol was when it came to fighting. Then there were her eyes, which made Weiss seem older than she actually was.

"FIGHT!"

"What do you think about this fight?" Kyouka smirked as she angled her head just so slightly to see Weiss' face. It was fun, hearing her friend's perspective on the matches, and other opinions, though she could word them much nicer.

"Midoriya's going to lose." Weiss answered flatly, her eyes focused on said boy. He flicked one of his fingers, sending a powerful wave towards Bakugou. "His quirk is strong, but what use is it if it leaves his body broken after every use? I'm surprised he even made it this far. He's either a fool, or a suicidal idiot."

Kyouka winced as Bakugou used his explosions to dodge the attack. Midoriya's bruised finger was obvious since the cameras zoomed in on him. Of course Weiss would say that in the harshest way possible. Bakugou used his explosions to launch himself towards Midoriya, who used another finger to keep their aggressive classmate at bay.

"He's all power and no finesse. His chances of winning diminish with every finger he uses." Weiss shrugged. "Although, due to said power, all he needs is one solid hit." Kyouka had a feeling that was going to be the nicest thing Weiss was ever going to say about Midoriya.

"Let's place bets!" Mina whispered loudly just as Midoriya ran as fast as he could to dodge a particularly large explosion.

"I'm in, I need to beat Schnee at something." Kaminari said from Kyouka's left. The effects of his quirk dumbing his brain had worn off by now, and his bruises were gone thanks to treatment from Recovery Girl. Turning back to the match, Midoriya was down by two fingers now, each flick sending a powerful wave of air that was felt even at their seats.

"Betting is illegal, count me out." Weiss said dryly.

Bakugou ran his hand against the concrete down, showering Midoriya with an explosion of rubble, who flicked his finger again, the wind sending the rocks back towards the blond.

"Come onnnn Weissy. If we don't bet money, it won't be illegal." Mina continued which made Weiss frown. Explosions kept ringing from the court, with smoke obscuring their vision only for another windblast to dissipate it.

"No." Weiss crossed her arms.

"I'll do it." Kyouka smirked, which earned her a scandalous look from her friend. Ignoring the white haired girl, Kyouka leaned forward to look at Momo. "What about you Momo? You wanna place bets on who's gonna win?"

Momo blushed softly, and shook her head. "I'd rather not take sides when it comes to the abilities of our classmates." That was understandable, since Bakugou decimated her without mercy.

"Aww, you guys are no fun." Mina pouted before turning her attention to Kyouka and Kaminari. The wind was starting to pick up again, which caused their hair to ruffle slightly. "So what are we betting?"

Kaminari smirked, which made Kyouka roll her eyes and slap the yellow haired boy on the back of his head.

"I swear to God, if you say our bodies, I will let Weiss murder you." Kyouka muttered as a sheepish Kaminari rubbed his new bruise.

"I'd do it for free too." Weiss spoke up after a large explosion, an evil smile etched onto her pale face.

Weiss no!

Even with the power of One For All, Izuku knew that any victory here would be a well earned one. He couldn't let Katsuki get close enough to use one of his explosions, which forced him to use his fingers to keep his childhood at bay. He had managed to dodge Katsuki's first strike from his right hand, the same way he always did.

Izuku flicked his third finger, sending a shockwave to the air above him. Katsuki used an explosion to launch himself to the left, with smoke and air swirling around them. Katsuki landed on the ground with a light thud, and rushed forward, not even bothering to hide his snarl for the crowd.

Katsuki was always that way, he didn't care what others thought of him.

"Shitty Deku!" Katsuki growled as he waves his hands, his explosions destroying the concrete ground with ease. Izuku swallowed the saliva that had built up in his throat as his good hand held his damaged one.

Each flick sent a wave of pain throughout his body, his fingers becoming a weird mixture of brown and red. Izuku's frame shook slightly, it was taking all of his willpower just to keep himself from stumbling. Katsuki used his explosions to launch himself forward again, his eyes filled with rage.

Izuku shouted as Katsuki extended one of his arms, and time appeared to have slowed down. Raising his uninjured hand, he flicked once more, only for Katsuki to use another explosion to stop himself from flying away.

That's right, Izuku was here! And he wasn't going to go down without a fight.

There was little Momo could do to stop herself from biting the inside of her cheek. She was pretty sure that she had callouses in there somehow if that was possible. With her hands folded politely in her lap as Midoriya and Bakugou battled with ferocity. She lost without even getting a chance to fight back, only being able to create a half-formed shield.

How weak was that, losing in less than five minutes. She got into UA based on a recommendation, and she couldn't even give a good fight, a good showing. Momo sighed internally as she gave her new friends a glance.

They were all focused on the match, Midoriya was running out of fingers, and Bakugou was becoming more reckless. Mina had a good match, only losing once that boy from Class 1B got a good hit on her once she got too close. Kyouka may had been disqualified during the dodgeball round, but Momo was sure that she would have performed even better than herself. Even Mineta and Uraraka had a good round, the fight ending on what Miss Weiss had called, 'a faulty call'.

Suddenly, Momo heard a loud explosion and a violent gust of wind caused her hair to flap wildly. Turning back to the match, she immediately looked away from the carnage.

Midoriya looked smaller, especially with a battered and bruised Bakugou standing over him.

"BAKUGOU KATSUKI WINS! NOW SOMEONE CALL RECOVERY GIRL!"

After the dog's rather close fight with Midoriya, it was time for Weiss' turn to fight once more, this time against Mineta. Standing a few feet away from the purple boy as they waited for Present Mic's signal to fight, Weiss sent the slightly shorter boy a glare.

"You better not forfeit, or I swear that you're going to regret it." She seethed, which made Mineta blush softly. "I want you to go at me with everything you have, understand? I don't care how big of a fan you are."

"As you command my Queen." Mineta bowed respectfully. Present Mic was still hyping up the crowd, taking his sweet time.

"Good." Weiss' hands hovered over Dolt's handle, ready to end the fight as soon as it started. She didn't want people saying that she only made it to the finals because she paid off the students she was competing against. She wanted to win with her own skills and strength, not because someone forfeited.

"FIGHT!"

"You didn't have to beat him so hard." Kyouka said the moment Weiss took her seat. The match ended in less than five minutes, with Mineta covered in bruises from Dolt. It took that long since she didn't want to hurt her loyal minion too badly.

Just use enough strength to win, ensure that the victory is indisputable, and don't turn your back on the enemy until they have been dealt with. Even a wounded Beowolf could kill a Huntsman in the prime of his life if he wasn't careful. Naturally, Weiss also made sure to use as little aura as possible throughout the various challenges. Watching the matches also helped her rest, and mentally prepare for the next fight. Psychological warfare was effective, especially since most of her opponents were inexperienced.

"I didn't want to end up like Todoroki." Weiss said bluntly, which made Momo start coughing violently as she took a sip of water. It was true, and since she was already handicapped by only bringing a limited supply of Dust, she was going to have to fight smarter. "Just because someone or something looks weak and defenseless, doesn't mean that they won't be able to hurt you." Grimm pups often did that to ambush overconfident Huntsmen and Huntresses.

Kyouka, Momo, and even Kaminari nodded, the two younger girl's eyes suddenly turning serious as the next two participants walked onto the field.

"That's why you're the Class Rep." Kaminari said jokingly. Ah yes, that horrible position that was forced upon her, but at least Momo was a decent deputy, and Iida made for a good secretary despite his eccentricities. Speaking of which, he was going up against some girl from Class 1B with vines for hair.

"I've seen the stickers on your binder, I know the real reason I won." Weiss was sure that she only won because her classmates wanted to show off that their Class Representative was a celebrity. Kyouka would have qualified by that since she did perform on stage with her, but she always concealed her identity before every concert or music video.

"You won because you're smart, Weissy." Mina spoke up, turning her head around. "Can you imagine if Bakugou won?"

That sounded like the plot to a bad horror movie.

"WE NOW HAVE OUR FOUR SEMI-FINALIST!" Present Mic shouted, much to the delight of the crowd who cheered just as loudly. Weiss clapped politely, she had an image to uphold of course. The screens showed off the picture of four students, Weiss included.

"MONOMA NEITO FROM CLASS 1B IN THE HERO COURSE!"

The crowd cheered loudly. Weiss furrowed her eyebrows. His unpredictable nature when it came to the quirks he would use made him dangerous, though he did seem to favor the quirk that lets him turn the concrete into putty.

"BAKUGOU KATSUKI FROM CLASS 1A IN THE HERO COURSE!"

The cheers were mixed with loud boos. The dog was arguably the strongest out of her potential opponents. He wasn't as versatile as Monoma, but his aggression and destructive nature more than made up for that.

"WEISS SCHNEE ALSO FROM CLASS 1A!"

This time the boos were overpowered by the cheers of her adoring fans. Weiss knew that the world's eyes were on her, and not just because of her fame. She was a foreigner competing in a well known competition, all her opponents were native born Japanese. It was the same way back home during the Vytal Festival, with each kingdom cheering for their own people, even Weiss couldn't admit that she hadn't done that. They would prefer their own countrymen in the end.

"IIDA TENYA ALSO FROM CLASS 1A. JEEZ AIZAWA, WHAT DO YOU FEED YOUR STUDENTS?"

Her next opponent was arguably the weakest out of the three. Weiss had fought countless times with Ruby, she knew how to fight those who focused on speed. And besides, Weiss wasn't a slouch, she could match him thanks to her aura and glyphs.

"FOUR REMAIN, BUT ONLY ONE WILL REMAIN STANDING! WHOEVER SHALL IT BE?"

"Its the battle of the blonds. This should be a fun one." Kamui Woods said as Yu downed another cup of free coffee. Unlike that stingy guy in the bowler hat, the pervy old man a few rows away happily gave her any drinks she wanted, free of charge.

It was all thanks to her killer bod of course.

"Just tell me when Weiss is on." Yu was already reaching for her new bag of chips. Angry blond guy was too aggressive for her taste, and the other one looked like an asshole.

"FIGHT!"

The explosions from the Angry one nearly blew out the speakers, though they seemed more subdued when compared to the fight he had with that Green haired boy from earlier. She didn't bother remembering their names, but it was fun, seeing the students that Weiss spent time with all day outside of Kyouka and Mina.

Resting her eyes, she nearly fell off her chair when Present Mic started screaming again.

"BAKUGOU KATSUKI WINS!"

What? So fast? Mt. Lady turned to screen, whipping her luscious hair around, lightly slapping Death Arms bicep. Asshole blond was still on his side of the court, with Angry blond standing a foot away, breathing heavily.

"I guess Weiss is going to fight him in the finals." Yu stood up with a lazy grin. "This calls for more snacks to celebrate!"

"She hasn't even won her match yet. What makes you so certain?" Death Arms grumbled.

Because Weiss had survived worse? Because she already had the skills of a Pro despite having the body of a child? Because she spent every waking moment training? Because she came from a world full of monsters and trained her whole life to fight them?

"Because I believe in her." Yu smiled as the screen showed Weiss' face alongside a boy with glasses. "So snacks! What do you want?"

"Just bring me a coffee, black."

Ew.

"IT'S TIME FOR OUR LAST SEMI-FINAL MATCH, WITH IIDA TENYA VS WEISS SCHNEE!"

Tenya sharply walked up the stairs where he would face his opponent. This battle would be a hard one, but he would do his best to show the world that he was worthy of the Iida name. Schnee had arrived a few seconds before Tenya did, despite her shorter legs.

He would have to end this fight as quickly as possible, the same way he did it during his match against Shiozaki by pushing her out of bounds. The longer the fight went on, the faster Tenya's chances of winning disappeared.

Tenya would have to ring her out to win.

"Let's have a good match!" Tenya bowed politely, one that Schnee returned. Good thing his legs were already warmed up from his previous matches. Win or loser, it was an honor to be here representing Class 1A!

"READY!"

Schnee didn't move to grab the blade at her side.

"SET!"

Tenya bent his knees slightly. The outcome of this match would be decided in the first few seconds!

"FIGHT!"

"RECIPRO BURST!" Tenya shouted as he felt the energy in his legs start. He launched himself forward, going straight at Schnee who was barely unsheathing her sword. He needed to outflank her before she struck with her snowflakes!

Tenya took a sharp turn to go around the white haired girl. Time appeared to have slowed, which was normal thanks to his speed. He changed his angles, and ran straight towards, her body still facing where he had originally ran from.

Suddenly, Schnee's head turned. A lesser person would have gasped in shock, but not Tenya! They made eye contact, and something hard slammed into his stomach, sending him flying through the air. He landed on the ground hard.

"IIDA TENYA IS OUT OF BOUNDS, WEISS SCHNEE WINS!"

The few minutes that came before a sparring match were always the most nerve wrecking, even more so than the actual fight itself. It was like that at Beacon, even during Professor Goodwitch's class for the simplest of fights. She was a Schnee, and such a name didn't always bring the best kind of attention. She had a name to uphold, a legacy to protect, and her own pride at stake whenever she stepped into the ring. Weiss was sure that half of her class was praying for her downfall, the faunus ones especially.

Weiss' eyes scanned Dolt's blunt blade, checking each and every Atlesian rune that she had painstakingly carved. Even with her skills, Dolt was still inferior to Myrtenaster in every way, which was made out of the finest steel available. Still, at least her aura allowed her to turn even a raw swordfish into a deadly weapon. Sliding her electricity Dust into Dolt's chamber, she closed it shut with a snap.

The dog was fast, and his explosions could be deadly when combined with his attitude. She would have to fight smartly, and attempt to end it as soon as possible. Weiss gave Dolt a few practice swings as the Dust chambers shifted. Overconfidence would be her downfall, she would have to treat this like any other fight. The dog's fighting style primarily relied on his aggression to surprise his opponent, the best defense would be a good offense.

Some idiot kicked the door to her waiting room open. She whipped her hair around to glare at the intruder, who just so happened to be that foul mouth rabid dog.

"Hey! What are you doing here?" The dog shouted angrily. He paused and read the sign next to the door. "Wait, it's waiting room…"

"How did you even make it into UA if you can read?" Weiss sighed, keeping her glare focused on the dog.

"Shut up you stupid Ice Extra! Damn it!" The dog sauntered in anyways, his hands in his pocket. Hm, was he already trying to build up his quirk? "Don't think that you're going to win just because you made it to the finals."

"Ice Extra? My my, I wasn't aware that you were a theater kid." Weiss smirked as she sheathed Dolt. "What's wrong? Juilliard kicked you out?"

The dog swung his hand in the area in front of her, setting off a small explosion that filled her nose with the smell of smoke. Good, Weiss was sure that his body was already pushing itself to the limit.

"I'm going to beat you." The dog growled. "And I'm going to show-"

"-everyone that you are the strongest student at UA, thereby humiliating me on live television. Something, something number one hero." Weiss interrupted, replacing her glare with a bored expression. "How much of that did I get right?"

The dog clenched one of his fists, and kicked the lone table in the room, flipping it on its side. He pointed a finger at her accusingly. "You better go all out, I know that you've been holding back this whole time."

Weiss only shrugged in response, walking past the blond boy. She stopped at the doorway, angling her head to look at him with one eye. It was time somebody put that bully in his place. The dog's face contorted into something ugly with an evil smirk on his face. She had fought countless Grimm, survived White Fang assasination attempts, survived a crash, and fought against blood thirsty bandits, including the Spring Maiden. Who was the dog when compared to all of that?

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

The walk down the tunnel felt longer than the last few times Weiss had walked through there. The world was watching, Kyouka, Mina and the rest of the class were watching, Yu was watching, and deep inside, Weiss hoped that Ruby was watching, wherever she was. Hardening her eyes and keeping her back straight, she approached the end of the tunnel, the sunlight shining brightly.

"IT'S TIME FOR THE FIRST YEAR'S FINAL MATCH! AND BOY HAS THIS BEEN ENTERTAINING!" Present Mic screamed. The crowd roared to life as well. Weiss gave her loyal fans a polite wave, showing off her pearly white teeth with her idol smile. She would have to talk to Mina later, since it was probably her idea to sell licensed wigs.

Weiss reached the top and took a few steps until she finally reached her position. The dog was already there, his hands inside his pockets. She held Dolt casually in her right hand, just as she planned.

"FROM THE HERO COURSE WE HAVE WEISS SCHNEE!"

The crowd roared and cheered as the large screens showed a photo of herself looking rather bored.

"VERSUS BAKUGOU KATSUKI, ALSO FROM THE HERO COURSE!"

The cheers lessened for the dog, but the excitement never left the air. The dog's glare never lessened as he bent his knees slightly. He was expecting her to go on the defense, allowing him to make the first move and take the initiative.

"LET'S GET THIS PARTY STARTED!"

Weiss took a deep breath, and placed her right foot forward. Remember the training, don't underestimate the bastard, make Yu proud.

"FIGHT!"

Mina had to admit that she was nervous, and she wasn't even one of the fighters! Weiss was one of the strongest people she knew, and that included a few of their teachers. Her friend even made it out of the USJ attack without even a scratch, despite being covered in blood! Whoever sprayed that must've had a weird quirk.

"FIGHT!"

Weiss launched herself forward with one of her snowflakes instantly, and she slammed Dolt into Bakugou's side, sending him flying through. Bakugou recovered quickly and used his explosions to change his direction. Landing on the ground, he charged Weissy, using his explosions to increase his speed. Black smoke was starting to make it harder to see both of their classmates.

"Oh no." Mina could barely hear Kyouka mumble over the sound of Bakugou screaming. Tearing her eyes away from the fight for just a second, she turned to her other friend.

"What's wrong Kyouky?"

Kyouka frowned and shook her head. "You didn't see that?"

"See what?"

One of Kyouka's earlobes lifted and pointed back at the match. "Weiss is left-handed, but she's using Dolt on her right."

Mina turned back to the fight just in time to see Weiss dodging one of Bakugou's explosions easily, the concrete shattering beneath her. And her sword was in fact, being held by her right hand.

Why would she handicap herself?

The smoke cleared as Weiss used her snowflakes to skate around Bakugou, slamming Dolt into his joints. She danced away the moment Bakugou used his explosions.

"STAY STILL AND DIE!" Katsuki screamed as he swung his arms. Shitty Ice Brat was fast, faster than that one Four Eyes guy with the nasty looking legs. Katsuki launched himself into the air, using his explosions to observe the ground. Good, there wasn't any movement from that cloud of smoke, but that didn't mean she was down. Destroying the flat ground would deprive her of her snowflake's use, forcing her to chase him into the air where he could knock her back down.

Shitty Ice Brat didn't stand a chance against the future Number One hero. Suddenly, something sliced through the cloud of smoke, and a flash of white slammed into him before Katsuki even had a chance to react.

"Gah!" Katsuki reached for Ice Brat's head using his other hand to launch himself toward her, that should make her back off. Instead she formed a snowflake in between him which tanked the explosion and pushed away. She stood on a snowflake several feet away, an annoying smirk on her face.

Katsuki could feel his body being pushed to the limit, which was stupid Deku's fault!

"And here I thought you would be a challenge." Ice Brat bounced her shitty sword from her right hand to her left. "I guess you're all bark and no bite."

"AHHH! SAY THAT AGAIN!" Katsuki formed a large explosion behind him. Ice Brat caused her snowflake to disappear, dropping beneath him at the last second. He swung his arm in her direction, another explosion obscuring his view.

Ice Brat landed onto the shattered battleground, and aimed her sword straight at him.

"I'll run circles round ya I can touch the sky, I'm gonna make ya heart and I'm gonna make you cry!" Ice Brat started to fucking sing, which made Bakugou scream. She wasn't taking him seriously! That was it! He was going to end this now!

"You want to mess around? Well come on and go, I got no time to waste so let's start the show."

Using his explosions to launch himself further into the air, he allowed gravity to take him. Aiming straight towards Schnee, he used his explosions to make him spin around. It wouldn't be as strong as the Howitzer Impact he used against Deku, but Katsuki was more than strong enough to take Shitty Grandma out with this attack. Even if it pushed his quirk to the limit!

Schnee formed another snowflake in front of her, this one not having a pattern that he recognized, not that he paid much attention before. It was larger than the others.

"MORTAR BARRAGE!"

Katsuki would make her pay for not taking him seriously.

The enormous explosion from Katsuki ruffled Izuku's hair. It took some convincing, but Recovery Girl finally allowed him to come and watch the final match in person, instead of on the TV in the infirmary. Using his bandaged arms to protect his face from the gust, he lowered them slowly, the entire stadium silent.

The fight did not go the way he had expected, Schnee had thrown out his predictions out of the window. She was fast enough to catch Iida off guard, and she even managed to keep Katsuki on his feet. Even so, there was no way Schnee could take that explosion and still keep standing.

The smoke started to clear, and he heard Uraraka gasp. Standing on the other side of the concrete was Schnee with a frown on her face, a light blue coloration shimmering over her body.

Izuku's eyes widened and he stood up as the stadium was suddenly filled with cheers. How was that possible? How was she able to take that attack? How did she cross all of that rubble in just a few seconds? Schnee must've definitely been holding back during those training exams-

"Quiet Midoriya! Your mumbling is quite distracting." Iida said sharply. Izuku bit his bottom lip. Where was Katsuki?! The smoke disappeared, revealing the blond boy who was barely standing on his feet. In a flash of white, Schnee slammed into Katsuki, sending him flying out of bounds.

T-That was impossible!

"WEISS SCHNEE WINS!"

"FUCK YEAH! I TOLD YOU DEATHY! I TOLD YOU SHE WAS GOING TO WIN!" Yu shouted, all of her tension gone. She had been sitting on the edge of her seat the whole time. The screens showed a picture of a bored Weiss with winner on top in English, and in Japanese on the bottom.

"You act like you're the one that won." Shinji said dryly, but she ignored the haters. Weiss had won! She won! Yu felt like crying, but instead she threw herself into her cheers.

This called for a party!

"And with that, all of the first year events for the UA Sports Festival have been completed." Midnight announced. Weiss wasn't paying that much attention, even as the reporter's cameras kept flashing, and as her classmates crowded around her. She underestimated him, even though she had told herself not to. "And now we will begin the award ceremony!"

Weiss stood on the highest podium, a forced smile on her face. She allowed her distaste for the boy to show in how she played with him, extending the fight by pulling her strikes. Still, allowing the dog to tire himself out was a solid plan. Speaking of the dog, he was silently standing in his spot on second place podium, he kept staring at his hands. Standing on the third place podium was Monoma and Iida, the two of them proud.

"And now we shall present the medals!" Midnight posed seductively. "And we have a special guest!"

The shadow of a man appeared above one of the large screens. The man jumped, revealing a large grin and two strands of blond hair.

"All Might!"

He landed in front of them with a thud, and flashed them all a grin.

"I am here! With the medals!" All Might declared much to the delight of the crowd and other first year students.

"We shall begin with both our third place winners!" Midnight added, licking her lips.

It felt weird, now that this was all over, now that Weiss had won. She wished Ruby was here to see her, she wished that their Vytal Festival didn't have to be ruined. What would life look like if the Fall of Beacon never happened?

"Congratulations Young Schnee!" All Might's deep voice pulled her from her thoughts. He held a golden medal in his large hands.

"Thank you Sir, it means a lot coming from you." All Might was a true hero, always giving his all.

"May I offer you some advice?" He placed the medal around her neck gently.

"Of course." Weiss said. What was he going to say?

"Don't be afraid to show your real smile." All Might patted her shoulder. He turned around before she could respond. What did that mean? Could he see right through her?

"Here are our this year's winners! But that doesn't mean you won't get your chance to shine. Each and every one of you have the potential to stand on these podiums. Keep competing! Keep improving! Climb even higher and tell the world that you are here!" All Might spoke clearly and truthfully. Next time, anyone of them could replace her. "Now I have one last thing to say, and I want all of you to say it with me. Are you ready?!"

The crowd cheered yes.

"Thank you for your hard work!"

"PLUS ULTRA!"

Well that was awkward.

"N-No! Please!" The voice of the false hero Native did little to stop his blood from spilling onto the alleyway floor.

"False heroes deserve no mercy." He raised his katana high into the air. "You became a hero for profit, you're no true hero." The katana came down, and thus, the life of another imposter had come to its end. Placing his katana back into its sheath, the Hero-Killer sniffed the air. He had done the best he could here in Hosu City, it was such a pity that he wouldn't have a chance to finish off Ingenium who ran away like a coward. Still, he had bigger fish to topple, and he did hear that Mustufu was pleasant this time of year.

After all, it was Idol hunting season.

A/N

Its been a while since Ive updated this version, but for good reason! This is now my longest arc yet.

Question of the day:

Do you prefer the binge version or the standard one?

Till next time on Schnee: Hero or Huntress!