That volume 8 finale, huh?

Finally, the last paragraph.

A dim lamp light peered down on the stack of papers. The tapping of pencil echoed in the silent room and so did a few yawns. By this point, her eyes were drooping and she was hunching.

The essay was almost finished. Weiss was going to get it done a week ahead of time. This way, her teammates could read it as a template for their own. Her team was a force to be reckoned with on the battlefield, but not the best when it came to academia. If she had to carry them on her back to get the best overall team rank, she would.

It had been a long few weeks since school started. Meanwhile, there hadn't been a single peep from Atlas. At least this way Weiss could concentrate on what matters. Her friends and excelling at being a huntress.

After finishing the last paragraph, Weiss leaned back in the chair with a tired sigh. She stretched out her arms and heard a satisfying crack. Fatigued, she glanced to the side and noticed golden eyes piercing through her.

"Oh my goodness," Weiss gasped, keeping her voice low to not wake the others. "I didn't realize you were awake. Was the light too much?"

From her reaction, Blake smugly smiled and propped herself up on her pillow. "I didn't mean to scare you. I don't typically fall asleep until later. You weren't actually keeping me up."

"That's good, then," Weiss said in a whisper as she stood from the chair. "Are they awake, too?"

"No," Blake replied. "When Yang doesn't snore, it means she's in a deep sleep. And Ruby hasn't moved for an hour."

Impressed, Weiss crossed her arms. "How do you know when I'm asleep?"

"When you're all the way under the covers," Blake said knowingly, which earned a shrug. "Are you cold all the time?"

Upon hearing the question, Weiss tugged down on her long sleeves. "Always."

"You should get a heated blanket or something," Blake suggested. "I heard they work wonders."

"I'll give it some thought," Weiss said, intrigued by the suggestion.

Quietly, Weiss turned off the dim light. Blake plopped back on her pillow as she watched her teammate climb into bed.

"By the way," Weiss whispered in the silence, facing her teammate. "Your ears droop noticeably. That's how I know when you're asleep."

"Ah, so you watch me sleep," Blake said in amusement, watching her expressions.

"Hush, I could say the same about you."

That earned a light chuckle.

In the darkness, the two gazed at each other from across the room. It was bathed in the night, so Blake was wondering why and how her teammate was locked in a staring contest with her. Wanting to find out, Blake made several strange gestures directly at her. This garnered a confused expression from Weiss.

"What are you doing?"

From the question, Blake was amused. "So you can see me."

Briefly, there was a look of shock on Weiss' face, only to turn into a poker face. "Of course I can. The curtains are open."

Only slightly, but it was enough to allow some moonlight to trickle inside. It was rather dim, so maybe Weiss could see an outline of Blake by that viewpoint.

Simultaneously, the teammates flipped over so their backs faced each other.

About two hours later that same night, Weiss silently rolled down the sheets.

She looked around as her mind was in overdrive. There was so much to do with such little time. She needed to get moving. All her teammates were finally fast asleep. Reassured, she silently hopped out of bed and retrieved a backpack from underneath the bunk.

After, she put on a jacket. She didn't make a single sound with her robotic movements in the night. After throwing the heavy bag on her back, she tiptoed to the door.

Every night, she had to do this like clockwork.

After quietly shutting the door, Weiss took off with one destination in mind. In a few minutes, she was finally outside. In the outskirts of the Emerald forest. She liked to be hidden under a certain giant tree, which called her name. Under the tree, the grass was dead and withering. It was brown and sickly compared to the rest of the greenery. She felt guilty for causing that, but no other tree was so large that she could hide her whole body behind it.

Far out of sight, she was a prisoner of the night.

Finally made it.

Weiss sighed and released the backpack, letting it plop on the forest floor. Easily, she found all the supplies she needed. One was a big bottle that'd been wrapped in gray duct tape to properly seal what was inside.

It didn't leak. Good.

Reluctantly, Weiss removed her jacket. This left a tank top underneath, which exposed her arms. Along her arms, there were black stripes embedded in her skin. They were exceptionally faded. Every time she saw them, bubbles of anger drifted to the surface.

Disgusting. They need to vanish.

These stripes were the sole source and cause of everything.

If she could rip off the stripes, she would a million times over. Unfortunately, she couldn't. She had tried that in the past, but the blackness returned no matter how many times she tried. All the pain had been for nothing.

So Weiss thought of another solution. She resorted to bleaching them the last few years. This way, the black color faded without returning. And one day, maybe the color would be gone completely. It was wishful thinking, but she had to try.

Over time, she had been suffocating under this burden. She struggled to fill her lungs. And there was nothing she could do. She told herself that some things couldn't change. She was sinking deeper and fading with what little light she had left.

If the stripes disappear, I could lead a normal life, is what she kept telling herself.

Prepared, Weiss sat on the forest floor, unscrewed the tight seal on the bottle, and drenched an arm in bleach. It burned. It always burned. Grimacing, Weiss looked away. She could handle the pain, but the sound of her flesh being devoured by chemicals bothered her.

This is the price I have to pay.

No one can ever know about her stripes. She was willing to go to great lengths to prevent that from happening. Always wearing long sleeves, no matter the weather. And bleaching her arms when she could.

Winter's words echoed in her mind every time she did this:

Uphold the Schnee legacy. No matter the cost.

Robotically, Weiss grabbed a sponge and scrubbed the black stripes roughly. As if she was punishing herself. Every time she even looked at these stripes she felt like she shouldn't have been born. Her normally white skin was bright red, while the black remained faded as she rubbed vigorously. Weiss felt she deserved this. She was a Schnee. She had duties to uphold.

There was no way in hell- she couldn't be a faunus!

Gritting her teeth, she scrubbed until the area was numb. The pain always cut deeply. Not the pain of the bleach, but the pain of her past. It was slowly breaking her, taking everything. All the beauty in her life had melted away.

When the arm was numb, she put the sponge away.

That's enough for that one.

Sore, Weiss poured the bleach over the other arm.

She grimaced as the chemicals flowed down, devouring the entirety of her arm. She sat there taking deep breaths, letting the initial pain fade. When it was bearable, she leaned over to grab the sponge.

Before she could pick it up, the bottle was slapped out of her hand.

Weight pinned her down as air fleeted from her lungs. She was forcefully held down with her hands over her head. She struggled to get out of the grip, but it was no use. Not with all this weight on her.

"Weiss! What're you doing?!"

From hearing the voice, Weiss opened her eyes.

"Blake?"

I'm surprised how many of you thought her faunus trait was her feet. Nope! Weiss is always tugging on her sleeves to hide the stripes. She has a lot of shoes because that's a quirk I gave her.

Lyrics from Asphyxia: "Far out of sight; a prisoner of the night hides a small child taking a final breath." "Some things you just can change so open your eyes. Sinking deeper, fading with the setting sun." "But in the end the pain that cut so deeply is breaking me, taking everything." "Let all the beauty fade and melt away."

Stay dandy,

~Toto